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Community and Economic Development reports housing gains, cites online application and incentive gaps
Summary
DCED said it delivered 648 housing units (435 affordable) and tracked growing parking-enforcement revenue while identifying an urgent need for an online application platform and more flexible incentive funding.
Director Carter of the Department of Community and Economic Development told committee members that DCED expects to report improved metrics next year and highlighted three priorities: housing production, improving online application services, and maximizing incentive funding to support transformative projects.
Carter said DCED delivered 648 housing units during the reporting period, 435 of which were affordable, and that the department is tracking housing subsidies and incentives used to support units. She told council the total subsidy for recent housing incentives tracked in the presentation was $8.6 million and that incentives come from multiple programs, including the Catalytic Improvement Program (CIP), neighborhood NOFAs and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
The office also reported progress in parking enforcement: DCED said it hired 12 parking enforcement officers and planned five more hires, and that citations issued increased about 50% year-over-year compared with October. Carter said the department is using parking-enforcement data to measure the return on onboarding officers and to plan deployment beyond the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine.
Carter emphasized a major operational gap: many DCED processes remain manual or email-based. She said the residential property-tax abatement has been moved online but applications for financial assistance, parking private-lot licensing and other services still require an electronic platform or improved automation to reduce manual work, increase transparency and allow applicants to track status.
Council members praised the senior-housing and downtown projects DCED outlined and pressed Carter on how technology needs would be prioritized. Carter said options range from simple online submission forms to a fully externally facing tracking portal and that the department is coordinating with the city manager’s office to evaluate choices and costs.
"An electronic platform improves our external transparency by allowing applicants to track their progress and automates data collection on key milestones," Carter said.
Less critical details: DCED reported assisting creation of 1,473 FTEs (direct jobs) and retaining 256 jobs tied to development projects; staff noted the agency’s parking enforcement metrics will inform future deployment to neighborhood business districts as capacity and vehicles permit.
