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Council workshop turns to housing affordability; members debate impact-fee waivers, density bonuses and down-payment aid
Summary
City staff and outside experts briefed College Station's council on impact fees, parkland dedication, and permitting costs and on several options the city could use to support affordable housing. Council members voiced differing views on zoning, fee waivers, incentives and programs to expand starter homes and rentals.
College Station's City Council spent more than two hours in a staff-led workshop on Thursday weighing whether changes to impact fees, parkland dedication charges, building-permit fees or new incentives could encourage more affordable housing.
"If you can go somewhere else and make more money doing the same thing, why would you not go do it," said Anthony Armstrong, the city's planning and development staffer, summarizing the tension behind the discussion: the city charges development-related fees to pay for future infrastructure but those fees also affect the economics of new housing.
Staff presented three levers for council to consider: developer-side incentives such as waiving certain fees through development agreements; buyer-side rebates or expanded down-payment assistance; and regulatory changes such as density bonuses or changes to the Unified…
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