The Renton Housing Authority owns about 20 acres in what could become a new City of Fairwood, but it has no plans to build a massive apartment complex to house low-income individuals, according to its deputy executive director.

How the housing authority might use the 20 acres near Petrovitsky Road and 140th Avenue Southeast is an issue in the debate over whether to incorporate the Fairwood area.

Fairwood incorporation is on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

A sign near the property read: “Stop Renton Housing Authority 400 Sec 8 units Here.”

The driving force behind incorporation, the Fairwood Municipal Initiative, on its Web site expresses concern about the impact that low-income families would have on Fairwood’s quality of life.

The group’s Web site includes a link to the Highlands Community Association Web site that lists concerns that association has had about low-income housing in the Highlands area of Renton.

The “Sec 8” in the Fairwood sign refers to Section 8, the federal rental subsidy program that requires that low-income individuals pay about 30 percent of their income toward rent, with the federal government paying for the rest.

The individuals receive vouchers from a housing authority, which are then used to rent apartments or houses in the private marketplace throughout a city.

After that, just like in any rental situation, the landlord is responsible for addressing any concerns raised about the actions of a tenant.

The Renton Housing Authority has a number of complexes in Renton for low-income families and senior citizens, which have different programs for rent payment. According to deputy executive director Mark Gropper, the agency can evict any tenants who are violating any part of the rental agreement.

“The Section 8 families recognize they have a grand opportunity to get help with their rent and don’t want to jeopardize it,” said Gropper. The agency can take back the voucher and “they don’t get it back.”

The Renton Housing Authority has 316 Section 8 vouchers, with about 800 families on a wait list. The wait list is closed to new applications.

Only about two dozen of the Renton Housing Authority’s Section 8 vouchers are being used outside the agency’s service area.

The voucher is not a “cash source” for the housing authority, said Gropper. The agency gets most of its operating revenue from the federal government.

The housing authority has owned the Fairwood property since 2006. Then, its appraised value was $3.1 million. Right now, the zoning for the property allows for either four homes per acre or six homes per acre or roughly 90 units.

That density could change if the land’s zoning is changed.

The figure of a complex with 400 or 500 unit is from “someone trying to imagine a large number of units that would get people’s attention,” Gropper said.

Joe Giberson, president the Fairwood Municipal Initiative, said his group has used a figure of up 400 units, based on the acreage, the zoning and the potential to transfer development rights from another piece of property to the housing authority property.

However, Giberson said the issue is not about “a special number. It’s about local control.”

“It’s not like we’re against low-income housing,” Giberson said. “There is an opportunity for the city to ensure it’s done in a way that won’t impact the quality of life of Fairwood.”

The City of Renton is not commenting either way about the Fairwood issue, other than to clarify information specifically related to its services or procedures raised in the Fairwood debate.

On Sept. 22, city officials received such a briefing paper from Marty Wine, the city’s assistant chief administrative officer, in which she responded to several statements in a circular sent to Fairwood residents.

According to the briefing paper, one statement in the circular read: “Protect the quality of your (sic) Childs Education. If 400 families from Renton’s downtown “at risk” community move to Fairwood, the quality of the education provided to your child will be devastated.”

In the response, Wine noted the Fairwood area is served by the Renton and Kent school districts and that the statement doesn’t indicate where the families are moving from or to.

She writes: “It is unlikely that families moving in and out of the Renton School District have a material affect on the quality of a child’s education. It would be useful to consult with the Renton School District to understand how educational and academic standards are maintained throughout the entire school district.”

At the time the Renton Housing Authority purchased the 20 acres, it explored possible uses for the property, including an affordable-home program and a senior assisted-living program, such as cottage homes centered around a complex with senior apartments and more intense assisted-living services, Gropper said.

At this time, however, Gropper said the agency has no specific plans for the property. The zoning and geography of the property limits the number of units that can be built on the land.

Gropper’s comments are similar to ones he provided to the Fairwood Greens Homeowners Association at a Feb. 27, 2007, meeting. The minutes read in part:

“There are no plans for development at this time as RHA is presently working on developing the Renton Highlands area. The land has been banked for future affordable housing for mid income housing, not low income housing. The RHA will hire a consulting firm to evaluate the best use of land and will hold public meetings sometime in the next 2-3 years.”

In an interview, Gropper pointed out that cities must have a plan to provide a certain level of affordable housing, typically in cooperation with a local housing authority.

Such cooperative efforts “help bring costs down,” he said.