City Council members this week reassured a Fairview resident about their recent intentions for facilitating housing development at Keith athletic field — even as they informed her that those intentions are moot, because the city failed in an attempt to buy the tract from the Altoona Area School District.

Discussions about the potential for housing on the partially sloping field on 13th Street between 25th and 28th avenues were held “behind closed doors,” which led to “rumors swirling” and worries about unintended consequences like neighborhood safety, home values and even stormwater runoff, Katie Buchanan said at a council meeting.

Discussions with the school district about selling the property to the city Redevelopment Authority, so it could develop townhouses there, ended before they “got to the point where we could work anything out,” said Mayor Matt Pacifico. Now the school district is moving forward with plans to market the property to a private developer, and “nothing is going on between the district and the city,” Pacifico said.

AASD Superintendent Brad Hatch told the Mirror Monday that while the field was for sale in 2020, it is not currently for sale. He said it would take board action to relist the field for sale.

Council members are constantly looking for opportunities “to put good housing in the city for people who work for a living and who would contribute to the tax base,” said Councilman Bruce Kelley.

“We’re looking to build opportunities for working families to call Altoona home,” said Councilman Jesse Ickes.

Council members are looking throughout the city to fortify housing, not to “put anything in a neighborhood that would not enhance what is there,” said Councilman Dave Ellis.

“Mid- to upper-end housing opportunities” in Altoona are currently scarce, Ickes said.

Council wants to facilitate construction or renovation to create “homes people want to live in,” said Councilman Ron Beatty, citing justifications for that plan in recent studies by Altoona Blair County Development Corp. and Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission.

Enhancing the housing stock is a critical tool for building up the city’s tax base to pay for necessary services, Beatty said.

The city’s population has declined, so there are fewer people paying the bills, and moreover, the percentage of residents living below the poverty line has almost doubled over the last decade, Kelley said.

Council members “all believe that what you’re doing is right for the city,” Buchanan said.

But she and her neighbors want “input and transparency” on matters like the fate of the large tract of ground in their midst, she said.

“You’re right: transparency for a project like this is paramount,” Pacifico said. “But it never got to that point before it slipped out to the newspaper.”

The discussions with the school district included “a lot of cloudiness and murkiness,” Pacifico added.

If council members wouldn’t want something in their own neighborhoods, they shouldn’t “consider it (for) ours,” Buchanan said.

The value of the tract includes the green space it provides, Buchanan said.

“Very fair,” said Councilman Dave Butterbaugh, after Buchanan’s presentation.