City staff told the council Oct. 6 that housing actions in the recommended 2026 budget focus on enabling private-sector housing development, updating state-required plans and advancing the Salt Flats project where the city has existing infrastructure commitments.

Key elements

- Salt Flats infrastructure: The budget continues capital and infrastructure investments at the Salt Flats site, which staff described as a partnership between the city and multiple developers. Council has approved several agreements with developers at that property; staff said the city’s funding is focused on site infrastructure to unlock housing projects on private parcels.

- Incentives and impact fees: The city retains a policy allowing transportation and parks impact-fee waivers for projects that meet AMI (area median income) eligibility as part of its affordable-housing incentives. Staff noted two incentive components: (1) waiving transportation and parks impact fees (which do not require a city budget backfill) and (2) a proposed budgeted backfill for water and sewer connection fees if the council elects to fund that component. Staff said the second component would be a policy decision and would require council direction and budget appropriation.

- Plans and required updates: Staff reminded council that the city must update the state-required housing needs assessment and the housing action plan in 2026; the budget includes grant funding to support the updates and the federally required five-year consolidated plan tied to HUD-funded programs.

- Land-banking and collaborations: Staff noted work on land-banking and partnerships with the housing authority, nonprofit developers and other local entities. The presentation also noted ADU (accessory dwelling unit) initiatives and other policy efforts to streamline housing production.

Questions and next steps

Council members asked where incentives would come from and whether the city would backfill certain fees; staff answered that the transportation and parks fee waivers are policy-based and do not require a backfill while any water/sewer connection fee backfill would require a budget allocation from council. The housing items are brought forward as a mix of planning, incentive design and targeted capital commitments for sites such as Salt Flats.

Speakers and sources

City Manager Mike — City Manager (government)
Staff (Housing and community development)

Provenance:

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topics:[{"name":"housing","justification":"City presented housing actions, the Salt Flats infrastructure commitment, state-required plan updates and incentive mechanics tied to impact fees.","scoring":{"topic_relevance":1.00,"depth_score":0.78,"opinionatedness":0.06,"controversy":0.50,"civic_salience":0.88,"impactfulness":0.80,"geo_relevance":1.00}}]