Senate committee considers bill allowing community and technical college land to support affordable housing (SB 5725)

The Senate Housing Committee on Feb. 19 heard testimony on Senate Bill 5,725, which would explicitly authorize the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (CTC Board) to lease, transfer, assign, pledge or otherwise dispose of underutilized college property for affordable housing purposes and to use long‑term instruments — including up to 99‑year leases — to facilitate development.

Melissa Van Gorkholm, committee staff, summarized the bill and the central changes: the CTC Board would be permitted to use fee transfers or long‑term leases to support affordable housing development on surplus land; leasehold interests used for affordable housing would be exempt from the leasehold excise tax when a lessee commits to renting or selling 100% of units at affordable levels for 99 years; and the bill includes a right‑of‑first‑refusal provision for CDCs (community college districts) and a repurchase‑agreement mechanism allowing a CDC to reclaim land if a project fails to commence…