Council hears follow‑up on housing program funds, tenant/homeowner loan fund and NOAH preservation pilot

Salt Lake City staff on July 8 presented final policy recommendations for the city’s housing program funds, including a new tenant and homeowner loan fund, adjustments to budgeting and reporting standards, and three program proposals: home repair, a community land trust (CLT) program with city‑issued mortgages, and a pilot program to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH).

The policy would centralize program income and create a self‑replenishing loan fund to support city‑operated programs and subrecipient projects. Tammy Hunsaker, director of Community and Neighborhoods, described the proposed loan fund and the administrative structure: a housing program funds loan committee would approve funding directly to homeowners; the council would make final funding decisions where disbursements go to landlords or third‑party property owners.

Program terms discussed included a home repair program that provides project management and pays contractors directly on behalf of homeowners, with grants for seniors and people with disabilities up to $2,500 and loans up to $50,000 (deferred or repaid depending on AMI). Hunsaker described the CLT program’s unusual city role: the city would issue below‑market 30‑year mortgages and the city would need budget to repurchase or pay out shared‑equity amounts when CLT homes are resold. She said the CLT equity formula would allow homeowners to receive 1.75% of the original sales price per year of ownership, subject to appraisal, when selling.

On NOAH preservation, staff outlined a pilot that combines a loan and grant per unit with a 15‑year affordability period (or length of loan if longer). Council members provided a straw poll asking staff to prioritize NOAH incentives for smaller property owners (for example, buildings with fewer units), but they asked legal and administrative staff to return with a recommended and legally feasible threshold (number of units or other measures) and to analyze whether acquisition should be an eligible use of funds. Council member Dugan, among others, said prioritizing smaller landlords — not large institutional owners — should be a policy goal; staff said they would return with recommendations on unit counts or other metrics.

Council members also asked for midyear check‑ins and annual reporting on program metrics, to ensure budget allocations remain aligned with federal funding changes. Staff noted a $1.2 million council allocation to seed the NOAH pilot, and said program income returned from CLT mortgages and loan repayments would flow back into the tenant and homeowner loan fund to sustain future cycles.

What’s next: staff will return with legal analysis and recommended thresholds for prioritizing small property owners in the NOAH program, further detail on CLT operating costs and options for public–private partnerships, and midyear reporting metrics before the planned August adoption.