[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74,86],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":56,"_68":69,"_70":56,"_71":72,"_73":72},"mediaId",6178338,"mediaKeyId","5321352-2bc8a7dbe1e05d85a4f5ffcf4636fb10","parentId",5321352,"title","Board directs developer outreach and legal review to shape county TIF use for housing","audioSeconds",2841,"startMs",1601000,"endMs",4442000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5321352-2bc8a7dbe1e05d85a4f5ffcf4636fb10&start=1601&end=4442","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5321352-2bc8a7dbe1e05d85a4f5ffcf4636fb10/thumbnail_1601000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6178338/Story-County/Iowa/Board-directs-developer-outreach-and-legal-review-to-shape-county-TIF-use-for-housing","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6178338-f2853bcdcc610ea8d9667852c6ae3289/orig.mp4?Expires=1772680983&Signature=ckcSxHDkIVnH-DsilvVz-ymPNzn~CaAodQ3G8WqUvTD9K3R1thMcEZd73uprxpEu2PolHTE0u6hC~JPWOVLSTKPxep08aMOoZ5sUHMhdIVy3Dr1Vxrw~za55DPtkhqz9uzNPJ7TbzrjeYgDfXOv7QkYM2D8qgBgoPAdjEBAYC~Wfmlnt9lWRjyz4Cn5DgVYZ0~49o2gKqw~wYGV2zG9OO9gnzNpm1Z~~NmgrFEB6OrX18ykVDr6TtG15cugHZQH-O4zjKw2DfeB025poY~dvlSrwFuj1sZaKzfxW7ESgyYVgwTiTCr-Ub0wXkNy7dnHn10aLc1hS-lWcQqzl5ue8BQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Story County, Iowa","date","2025-07-07T20:33:58Z","article","Story County supervisors agreed July 7 to next steps intended to translate an earlier May 20 board decision into usable housing funding: staff will re-survey developers, meet with bond counsel about permitted uses of tax-increment financing (TIF) and prepare an amendment to the county\u000economic development/urban renewal plan.

Leanne Harter, Story County planning and development director, said the board previously acted on May 20 to confine this year\u000fast urban renewal projects to county projects and to consider funding housing through that process. She told supervisors the county already designates the whole county as an urban renewal area and that, to direct TIF toward housing, the board will need to amend the plan.

Regional partners briefed supervisors on TIF mechanics and examples. Brenda Dreyer of the AIMS Regional Economic Alliance explained how some subdivisions generate LMI set-aside dollars when a higher-end subdivision lacks an LMI requirement; those set-aside funds can be used later to support lower-income units in a separate project. Dreyer described examples in Nevada and other cities where counties and cities layered TIF and set-aside accounts to produce affordable units.

Staff recommended legal counsel review allowable TIF uses before a public outreach step. A supervisor said the county needs bond counsel to explain what is permitted under Iowa\fode chapter 403 and how to structure contributions — for example, direct grants to cities, grants to developers, or development agreements. Staff identified two law firms commonly engaged for TIF in Iowa: Dorsey & Whitney and Ehlers.

Staff also proposed re-soliciting feedback from developers and expanding outreach beyond Story County to regional builders. Greg Bicklop, of AIMS Alliance, and others said advertising that the county has funds to deploy would generate stronger developer responses than an information-only survey. Staff suggested a targeted email or press release after the board defines how it wants to channel funds. “The press release... would generate the carrot to get a better response that we didn't get the first time on the survey,” a staff member said.

As immediate follow-ups, staff committed to three tasks: 1) re-send a developer survey with regional outreach and program parameters; 2) consult bond counsel and report back on permitted uses and constraints for TIF-funded housing; and 3) prepare an amendment to the county\u000economic development/urban renewal plan so the board can consider an application process. The board did not adopt a final TIF allocation or award at the July 7 session.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","July 7, 2025 Board of Supervisors Housing Worksession","oneSentenceSummary","Supervisors asked staff to re-survey developers, consult bond counsel about tax-increment financing rules and prepare an urban renewal amendment; staff proposed a regional developer outreach and a future work session with bond counsel.","taxTitle","taxId",4974,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":56,"_68":69,"_70":56,"_71":72,"_73":72},6178343,"Supervisors identify affordability, location and NIMBY opposition as central housing problems",468,623000,1091000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5321352-2bc8a7dbe1e05d85a4f5ffcf4636fb10&start=623&end=1091","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5321352-2bc8a7dbe1e05d85a4f5ffcf4636fb10/thumbnail_623000.jpg","/articles/6178343/Story-County/Iowa/Supervisors-identify-affordability-location-and-NIMBY-opposition-as-central-housing-problems","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6178343-95ae08f7804897dfac2295fb21888e51/orig.mp4?Expires=1772680983&Signature=OJQCXqSNATM671cpiH6ZhOnrmiVYXfcIOmhBZ2ctEc5OEfOLWKSb~j~RRYQpg-U2Mbow~0~FT6Lj9ZSsVLMzdw2aamkQGlLQ6q9XewtALpaF9MmG68e6W6mQY9ukoxSy~~9GVbLS7v-MOSvoG0HRIw4HW-rkZqljkK6aOFglYCU4CPnvpLxE9lJLRw6Ruppwe0N9p4MzSRJ~GmAUwTRjnI~ptUxB78t6H-zgkYLzbqrHtp52G3-W14ZSzmkqjIpbcxfP1tDjAJPXEqmHcfHAFsESEnnt06YaI0DNzesH3f5qNrwjx2F3h1nBmUZYhLuH00FZdn8PynUI7yY~zrHLng__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Story County officials and regional partners used a July 7 housing work session to list the county’s core housing problems and barriers to development, from rising construction costs to local opposition and regulatory limits in unincorporated areas.

Supervisor remarks and staff discussion singled out affordability and low housing supply as primary problems. “I could throw a few out. Affordability and lack of like, lack of housing,” a supervisor said during the session. Staff noted building costs for a basic new home can be roughly $250,000 or more, a figure several participants referenced as out of reach for many households.

County staff and partners emphasized location and access to services as central concerns for household viability. Sandra King, Story County director of external operations and county services, said about 23.2% of the county population does not live near a supermarket or large grocery store, and she flagged limited access to health care and transportation as constraints for locating affordable housing in some communities.

Participants described regulatory and market barriers in unincorporated parts of the county. Leanne Harter said county land-use regulations prioritize preservation of prime agricultural land and favor development inside city limits; most county parcels have a 35-acre minimum, and septic capacity can limit smaller-lot development in villages. “If we’re looking at what we’ve always called affordable housing, you’re probably not gonna get that as much out in the unincorporated areas with new construction,” Harter said.

Several speakers noted social and political barriers. Sandra King said NIMBY attitudes “continues to be a concern of residents when you start talking about affordable housing.” Staff and partners recommended focusing resources where housing would connect to grocery, health care and transportation to limit added household burdens.

The work session also discussed housing types and demand: workforce housing, rental units for lower-income households and units to help people transition out of homelessness. Lucas Young of Mid Iowa Planning Alliance summarized the supply-side remedy: “More units will help the affordability side. And if you guys can support that side of things by adding more units, that is highly beneficial.”

Officials did not adopt a binding definition of “affordable” at the meeting and noted different programs target different income bands: workforce housing (often targeted near 80% area median income) versus low-income tax-credit projects that serve households with much lower incomes. Staff said they will return with more data from an updated housing needs assessment and with developer feedback on barriers and incentives.","At a July 7 work session supervisors and staff cited affordability, limited housing stock, location and access to services, NIMBY resistance and land-use regulations in unincorporated areas as key barriers to building affordable housing in Story County.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":56,"_68":69,"_70":56,"_71":72,"_73":72},6178348,"Story County reviews decades of housing work and recent implementation steps",529,133000,662000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5321352-2bc8a7dbe1e05d85a4f5ffcf4636fb10&start=133&end=662","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5321352-2bc8a7dbe1e05d85a4f5ffcf4636fb10/thumbnail_133000.jpg","/articles/6178348/Story-County/Iowa/Story-County-reviews-decades-of-housing-work-and-recent-implementation-steps","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6178348-7439a9dddeb0f1621ce1eae986acf5d4/orig.mp4?Expires=1772680983&Signature=WcKru86-cYYgt5gfQaP~j2BE93GrVrx7tNQ1Z2GlhSH56n0MpKe4dk-fqoszqrbT6XMfZiMgpTYkIuL~mTHmwW7C4wb4zIpf4g~ksKABP4sjFr8skSmClGVKq4i3rxNkzvPAqFo2-uFCvTU6JnrVThzY4ENi00cYLk6Z7Ahu~xLtRKSWktAixuaOPUvXT6NU53npFa4gMBMcIOcnajWRyFUSJeWp8XCpcSNi6vB7mSVNdxjVxWH33ydYMAW0JRDG0w5UUUrojDlNFtagS-c99iNzAwpqCn3Mb7M6SHe1RzJYCaUloEAaQhvc49Y2i8ZlpmgePELr4ZzD9QZx1K98Xg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Story County supervisors met July 7 for a housing work session that reviewed the county’s housing planning history and recent steps to implement its Housing Action Plan.

Leanne Harter, Story County planning and development director, summarized more than three decades of county housing work and said county policy shifted in the 2010s to treat housing as part of economic development. “It was acknowledging the role is of the board as necessary and then also acknowledging that housing is a component of economic development,” Harter said.

The county described the sequence that led to current implementation work: a county development plan adopted in 1993; an Ames–Story County housing needs assessment in 1998 and a resulting 28E partnership; the C2C comprehensive plan adopted in 2016 with housing goals; formation of the Story County Housing Trust in 2017; a RDG housing study completed and approved in 2021; and a Housing Action Plan adopted in 2022. County staff said in April 2023 the county entered a contract with Mid-Iowa Planning Alliance (MIPA) using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for implementation work. The board also recently approved a memorandum of understanding with the Story County Housing Trust to implement a county weatherization program, with MIPA staff to administer it.

County staff and partners told supervisors the implementation work is intended to convert planning goals into on-the-ground projects and programs, including updating the housing needs assessment and working with community partners and developers to deliver housing. Lucas Young, of Mid-Iowa Planning Alliance, said implementation work is focused on adding units: “More units will help the affordability side. And if you guys can support that side of things by adding more units, that is highly beneficial,” Young said.

Staff did not provide an ARPA dollar total tied specifically to every project during the work session. The county said it will propose an amendment to the existing MIPA implementation agreement to update housing needs assessments for most communities at no additional ARPA cost; staff said they expect to bring that amendment to the board later in July. The memorandum of understanding for the weatherization program was described as already approved by the board; staff identified MIPA and the Story County Housing Trust as implementers.

The meeting concluded with staff agreeing to three near-term tasks: re-survey regional developers about barriers and incentives, start discussions with bond counsel about permitted uses of tax increment financing for housing, and pursue updated housing needs assessments for jurisdictions that have not recently updated them. Staff said they will schedule another work session for the board after consulting bond counsel and assembling updated developer and needs-assessment information.

Details on contract terms, ARPA allocations per project and the weatherization program’s budget and timeline were not specified at the meeting and will be returned to the board for future action.","County staff reviewed 30 years of planning that led to a 2022 Housing Action Plan, ARPA-funded implementation contracts and a recent memorandum of understanding to run a weatherization program through the Story County Housing Trust.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Board directs developer outreach and legal review to shape county TIF use for housing

Supervisors identify affordability, location and NIMBY opposition as central housing problems

Story County reviews decades of housing work and recent implementation steps