Board waives bylaws and advances EDA-backed tax-exempt bond request for English Oaks senior housing

Liz Barber, director of economic development and the county staff liaison to the Economic Development Authority (EDA), told the Board of Supervisors that the EDA has asked the board to approve a resolution enabling the authority to apply for qualified residential (tax-exempt) bond allocation to assist April Housing in rehabilitating English Oaks, an existing affordable senior community in the Falmouth District.

Barber said the EDA held the public hearing required by Virginia code on April 11 and that the EDA voted 6–0 (one member absent) to pass a resolution supporting issuance of the bonds. April Housing and EDA representatives attended the supervisors’ work session to answer questions about project cost, resident impacts and schedule.

Paul Brown, a consultant to April Housing, said the bond allocation round required by Virginia Housing has two main application windows (January and April). Because of the size of the request, he said April was the appropriate round; if the April allocation is not available there is a possibility of a later round this summer but that would be unlikely and the next definitive opportunity could be next April.

Board discussion focused on resident impacts during rehabilitation, the project’s financing structure and whether the item should have come to a work session for a vote. Supervisors Bumpke and Young requested a follow-up meeting with April Housing staff before the board took any action; Brown and April Housing staff said they had met with supervisors and provided a project budget breakdown in advance.

Supervisor Vannouch objected to the item being placed on a C‑day work session for a vote, citing the bylaws that generally prohibit formal votes during work sessions unless two‑thirds of the board deems a matter time sensitive; she said the format limited public comment. Other supervisors said the project was time sensitive because of Virginia Housing bond allocation timing and the potential disruption to senior residents if the allocation was delayed.

After discussion, the board voted to deem the matter time sensitive and waive the bylaw restriction (motion made and seconded; vote recorded in the meeting as 5 in favor, 2 opposed). The board then voted on proposed resolution R25-115 to authorize the EDA to apply for qualified residential bonds. Supervisors and EDA staff discussed project costs, the developer fee (reported as set by Virginia Housing’s Qualified Allocation Plan), and that April Housing would defer a substantial portion of its capitalized developer fee rather than collecting it fully at closing.

Outcome: The board approved the resolution supporting the EDA’s application for tax‑exempt bonds to assist April Housing with rehabilitating English Oaks. The public hearing required for the EDA had already been held on April 11; April Housing said remaining approvals and underwriting timelines require acting before the April 30 application deadline. Staff advised that the bonds are tax-exempt allocation authority (federal tax exemption administered via state allocation), not a state cash grant or loan.

Ending: EDA and April Housing staff said they will proceed with the Virginia Housing application before the end of April and continue discussions with county staff about resident relocation logistics and project budget details.