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Landowner pitches RHID housing project and asks Oakley to consider annexation
Summary
Raeleen Keller told the council she and a developer are exploring a roughly $7.2 million rural housing project on 11 acres and asked the city to consider annexation and to allow city counsel to draft an RHID agreement; council agreed to examine annexation but took no formal vote.
Raeleen Keller told the Oakley City Council July 21 that she and a developer are exploring a rural housing project on an 11‑acre parcel she owns in Thomas County and asked the city to consider annexation and assist by preparing a Rural Housing Incentive District (RHID) agreement.
Keller said the developer’s initial proposal is roughly $7,200,000 to build about 18 dwelling units (duplexes), with roughly $1,800,000 available to pay infrastructure costs such as water and sewer extensions. She described the RHID mechanism as using the incremental increase in property tax revenue to pay bonds backing the infrastructure rather than drawing on existing city revenues.
Keller asked the council whether it would consider annexing the parcel into the city and for the city attorney to draft an RHID plan. She said the developer — identified in the meeting only as Wayne — was interested but needed the city to show active pursuit before proceeding with federal and state grant applications. Keller said the developer already has experience building duplexes in nearby Colby and described a demand for rental units there.
Council members did not take formal action but several said they would look at annexation and review the materials Keller offered. “I would vote to look at annexation because I think it's a great idea thus far,” one council member said. Council staff advised that annexation discussions would include negotiating which city services would be provided and at what cost, and staff confirmed that drafting an RHID would be a primary first step if the council wanted to proceed.
Keller provided several quantitative items during the discussion: 11 acres currently taxed as agricultural land; project example figures of roughly $7.2 million for 18 units; an infrastructure allocation of about $1.8 million; and a multi‑year payout timeline similar to other RHID projects. She also said the developer expected to apply for certain competitive grant programs and that award decisions for some programs could occur in August or in subsequent funding rounds, depending on the program.
The council asked staff to follow up and said a more detailed annexation proposal and draft RHID language would be necessary before any formal vote.
