It’s no comfort to the homeowners living nearby, but the Butler Township commissioners made the correct choice Monday night when they unanimously approved a 50-unit subsidized housing complex on North Duffy Road.

The Woda Group, a private developer based in Westerville, Ohio, now has the green light to build its $11 million Thompson Greene development on the Ritenour property. The 11-acre site is just north of U.S. Route 422, sandwiched between the highway and the Westwood Manor housing development.

Westwood Manor residents have complained about the development; some have labeled it “low-income housing.” They say it will invite a criminal element to their doorstep and will pull down the value of their properties.

No one wants to see an increase in crime or a decrease in home values, nor should anybody expect either — and it’s up to the commissioners and township officials to see that these things don’t happen.

The commissioners had little choice except to approve the development. Their solicitor, Larry Lutz, said compliance leaves them with “no legal basis to deny the owner the right to use its property.” And Woda’s plans are in complete compliance.

Furthermore, the housing is consistent with development happening just south of Route 422. The community has come to know the New Castle Road corridor as a shopper’s paradise, and the multitude and variety of bargains are the result of stores, restaurants and other businesses employing many people at a wide range of income levels. People carving out careers in the bustling retail shopping and motel district deserve affordable, attractive housing near their places of work.

It’s unfair to imply these likely residents of the new development are potential criminals. It’s also unfair to compare the Thompson Greene development to a tenement building. The eight buildings will encompass 30 two-bedroom and 20 three-bedroom townhouses. Each two-story home would have a one-stall garage, and shared outdoor space would include a half-court basketball court, a bike path and a playground.

Woda intends to build “work force housing” under a federal low-income tax credit program, targeting people who make no more than 60 percent of the area’s median income. The average resident would make $19,000 to $30,000 a year and would pay about $675 per month for a two-bedroom townhouse or $800 per month for a three-bedroom townhouse.

The plan hardly sounds like slum housing for destitute or transient people. Rather, it sounds more like prudent anticipation of the growing demand for homes near a bustling retail district.

Woda representatives pledged to screen and monitor the residents with in-house management — and it’s crucial for the township commissioners to hold them to that pledge. Commissioners also need to monitor ongoing development and consider increased police and other services and improvements to North Duffy Road.

The worse thing that could happen would be if the Westwood Manor residents were proven right.