The Wenatchee City Council on July 10 approved Resolution 2025-22 to amend a multifamily housing limited property tax‑exemption agreement for a 14‑unit building at 1417 Fifth Street, reducing the affordable‑unit obligation in the agreement to the 20% minimum required by state law.
Community Development Director Lehi DeVries told the council that the original 2021 application and the April 2023 agreement had required all 14 units to be affordable; the property owner, FCP LLC, said that was a scrivener’s error and that the company intended only to provide the number of affordable units necessary to qualify for the 12‑year exemption.
Christy Thomason, representing FCP LLC, asked the council to amend the agreement to match state law under RCW 84.14, saying: “Requiring all 14 units below income is more restrictive than state law and makes participation in the multi family housing property tax exemption program financially unfeasible and would prevent us from providing any affordable housing units to our city.” She requested the council approve the amendment so the project could provide three affordable rental units (20% of 14).
Speakers at the public hearing offered mixed views. Builder Flint Hartwig and others said the tax‑exemption program is an important tool to build housing and urged approval; resident Brian Campbell urged further investigation, noting a prior project that lost affordability due to application errors and asking for more disclosures about rents, occupancy and management. Chris Weidner, who said he had worked on similar projects, explained the practical choice facing the council: if the city does not approve the amendment, the property owner can forgo the tax benefit and the city would likely receive zero affordable units from the project.
DeVries confirmed the building has received certificates of occupancy under the city’s building code but that FCP had not filed the final tax‑exemption certificate. If the owner files for the tax exemption, the owner would be required to meet the affordability obligations specified in the amended agreement.
After discussion, Councilmember Hornby moved to approve Resolution 2025-22; the motion passed.