Council directs staff to return with MFTE code changes to advance Eaton Park workforce housing

The Battle Ground City Council on July 21 asked staff to return with ordinances to (a) add the Eaton Park parcel to the city's multifamily tax exemption (MFTE) residential target areas and (b) allow a 12-year MFTE option that would require a 20 percent affordable set-aside for projects that use that term.

The direction came after a work-session presentation on the MFTE program by city planner Kristen and a project briefing from representatives of Principal Properties, who described Eaton Park as a workforce housing development that would set aside 20 percent of units for households at 80 percent of area median income for 12 years.

The council's instruction was procedural: staff was asked to draft amendments to the Battleground Municipal Code and return them for public hearings and formal council action. No final ordinance was adopted at the July 21 meeting.

Why it matters: MFTEs reduce or defer property taxes on the residential improvements for a fixed term in order to make new multifamily construction financially viable. Local adoption of a longer term or different percentage can materially affect how many affordable units a project must provide and how developers structure financing.

What the developer said: Principal Properties represented that Eaton Park would provide about 19 workforce units under the proposed 12-year/20-percent scenario. The developer also described a significant off-site infrastructure package tied to the project: construction of a sewer pump station intended to serve roughly 100 acres (about 70 acres zoned regional commercial), extension of Southwest 15th Avenue and Southwest 19th Street, and other street and utility work. In the presentation the developer estimated a present-value cost to the city of roughly $210,000 in foregone city property tax revenue over 12 years (about $18,000 per year) based on an assessed value the presenter estimated around $17.5 million.

Fire district levy: The developer told council that, for Eaton Park, the project team would pay the fire district levy for the duration of any exemption period; the commitment was offered to address concerns raised by council and members of the public about displaced tax revenue. Council asked staff to ensure any explicit commitments with the fire district were memorialized outside the code amendments (for example, by a separate agreement between the developer and Clark County Fire District 3) and to bring those agreements to council as part of the project approvals.

Next steps: By consensus the council directed staff to return with draft code amendments to (1) expand the residential target areas to include the Eaton Park parcel and (2) enable a 12-year MFTE option in BGMC tied to the required affordable set‑aside, plus any standard contract language and monitoring requirements. Those draft ordinances will require public notice and public hearings before final council adoption.

Council members stressed they wanted to see the draft contract language, financial breakdowns, and any agreements with the fire district before making a final vote. Staff said it would return with the required ordinances, an analysis of fiscal impacts, and recommended contract/monitoring language.

Ending: Staff indicated the code changes and project-specific agreements would be prepared for council consideration at upcoming meetings; the council's direction preserves the project's ability to seek MFTE benefits but stops short of final approval pending the formal ordinance and any developer-firet district agreements.