Des Moines council hears public‑review draft of comprehensive housing strategy; public comment period set

The Des Moines City Council on a recent morning reviewed a public‑review draft of a citywide housing strategy and set a roughly 30‑day public comment period ahead of a planned June 30 return to the council for possible action.

The draft, presented by Charles Buke of consulting firm CZB and introduced by Michael Ludwig, Deputy Director of Development Services, lays out three core imperatives: diversify the housing supply through development and redevelopment, preserve large amounts of naturally occurring affordable housing, and raise overall housing quality. "We boiled down the strategy to really hinge on 3 imperatives," Buke said.

Why it matters: Council members and staff said the strategy connects multiple existing programs and aims to address both a market gap (demand for higher‑value housing) and an affordability gap (many low‑income households paying too much for low‑quality housing). The draft recommends reordering how the city deploys funds so public dollars better link to redevelopment, rehabilitation and targeted neighborhood investments.

Key proposals and figures

- Public review and schedule: Staff said the steering committee will meet the afternoon of the presentation, the city will release the draft and an online survey, and the public comment window will remain open through about June 15, with the item returning to council on June 30 for consideration.

- Funding mix and scale: The consultant recommended adding roughly $9 million a year in new bonding and expects that will leverage about $11 million a year in private sector capital. The draft estimates the city currently allocates about $71.5 million a year across related programs and recommends a target near $92 million annually across funding sources.

- Reprogramming abatements: The draft suggests reexamining the city’s abatement program and identified approximately $4.5 million that could be redirected toward scaling Invest DSM and ION, while noting the need for legal review of abatement authority and statutory constraints.

- Invest DSM and ION: The strategy proposes expanding Invest DSM’s city contribution from $5 million to $12.25 million annually (assuming no county reduction) and increasing ION from about $2 million to $6 million to amplify rehabilitation and small‑project upgrades.

- Prevailing standards and land tools: The plan calls for raising maintenance and residential standards so city housing can better compete regionally and recommends land‑trust tools where land values make affordability otherwise unsustainable.

- LIHTC and regional "fair share": The draft recommends pausing new Section 42 (Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit) projects in Des Moines until the region achieves a more balanced distribution of tax credit awards. "Until that, you should pause," Buke said. The consultant and several council members discussed using state QAP (Qualified Allocation Plan) engagement to seek changes that better account for Des Moines’ fiscal context.

Findings cited in the draft

- The consultant described Des Moines as "generally healthy" but noted concentrated areas with weak housing quality and low incomes. He cited roughly 34,000–35,000 households with incomes below $50,000, about 23,000 of whom are cost‑burdened and roughly 15,000 cost‑burdened renters.

- Federal entitlement funding (HUD) was reported at about $35–36 million; the consultant said addressing the identified shortfall for bottom‑income renters would require roughly 3.25 times current federal resources (about $105 million) and warned the rules that accompany entitlement money can constrain local use.

Discussion vs. direction vs. decisions

- Discussion: Council members raised concerns about neighborhood impacts, the locational concentration of affordable housing, and the plan’s emphasis on preservation versus creating new affordable units. Multiple members urged nuance on LIHTC advice, noting some tax credit programs (for example workforce credits) differ from Section 42 projects and may be appropriate in selective locations.

- Direction to staff: Ludwig and other staff confirmed they would post the draft, open the survey, compile comments and return the revised plan and fiscal analysis to council on June 30. City legal staff agreed to provide a primer on the statutory framework and options for modifying the abatement program.

- Formal actions recorded in this session: none (the presentation launched a public review period and requested further staff work; earlier the council had approved the CZB contract in August 2024, referenced during the discussion).

Quotes and attributions

- "This morning we have Charles Buke here from CZB to present an overview of the public review draft of the housing strategy," Michael Ludwig, Deputy Director of Development Services, said when introducing the consultant.

- "We boiled down the strategy to really hinge on 3 imperatives," Charles Buke, CZB consultant, said, summarizing the draft’s goals.

- On LIHTC: "Until that, you should pause," Charles Buke said about new Section 42 projects in Des Moines until regional distribution improves.

- On voluntary redevelopment: the consultant emphasized that proposed redevelopment actions in the plan are voluntary. "Voluntary. Voluntary," he said when asked to clarify whether property acquisition or redevelopment would be mandatory.

Ending

The council and consultant framed the draft as a realistic, fiscally conscious plan designed to connect existing programs (Invest DSM, ION, TIF and federal programs) and to scale interventions where public dollars return the most leverage. Staff will release the draft publicly, collect comments through the city survey, and return to the council June 30 with compiled feedback and follow‑up analysis, including legal options on abatement and the debt implications of the proposed bonding.