Flagstaff updates wording in affordable-housing incentive policy; council confirms $250,000 budget allocation

The Flagstaff City Council adopted a technical amendment to the city’s Incentive Policy for Affordable Housing (IPPA) on May 20 to update terminology, clarify eligible fees and replace outdated tables with links to the city’s current area median income (AMI) charts.

Housing planning manager Jennifer Michaelson told council the changes are primarily technical: replacing references to the old Development Review Board with the inter-division staff review, clarifying that water and sewer system charges (meter, capacity, connection and associated taxes) are included under the policy’s eligible fees, and replacing embedded AMI tables with links to current charts so the policy does not become outdated. The revisions also clarify that the city does not assess “impact fees” for water and sewer but rather charges capacity and related connection fees.

Michaelson and housing director Sarah Darr said the city plans a more comprehensive IPPA rewrite later, once a separate development-code analysis and the 10-year housing plan work are farther along; that fuller revision will consider accessibility and financial thresholds for incentives. Council members pressed staff on the size of the current incentive account; staff said the budgeted pool for this program for the coming year is $250,000 in total for allocations from the IPPA account, and that larger reservations (for example, the prior $1.1 million reservation for a low-income tax credit project) have required additional budget approvals.

Council approved the resolution amending the policy language and adopted the resolution to implement the technical edits. Staff emphasized there is no change in the policy’s intent or the way fees are paid: departments are reimbursed from the IPPA account and council approves the annual budget appropriation for the program. Council members requested future council-level briefings on the IPPA and any sizeable budget requests tied to major affordable-housing projects.

Discussion vs. decision: staff presented technical amendments and rationale (discussion). Council asked for follow-up briefings and clarity on funding (direction). The council formally adopted the resolution amending the IPPA (decision).

Ending: Staff said they will continue work on a comprehensive revision tied to the broader code analysis and the ten-year housing plan; council requested notices when large reservations or unusual budget requests are proposed.