Lede: City staff told council the home improvement repair program has run two rounds, helping dozens of owner‑occupied homes, and proposed two new programs to convert vacant infill lots into marketable housing — a city‑directed neighborhood revitalization program and an employer‑led missing‑middle housing pilot.

Nut graf: Staff said Round 1 of the home‑repair program disbursed $89,034 to 32 households and Round 2 used higher per‑project caps and is serving more applicants; for infill sites staff proposed a competitive builder RFP to aggregate narrow parcels and produce several clustered homes or a separate employer‑driven approach to produce deed‑restricted, workforce‑scale housing priced in an affordable band.

Body: Luis Rodriguez, assistant director, described two programs staff will pursue if council supports them. The Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) would identify blocks with multiple vacant lots, consolidate parcels where necessary and issue a competitive RFP to builders for clustered single‑family or small attached homes. The design aims to create a marketable package of lots so a builder can complete multiple homes efficiently rather than chasing scattered parcels.

A second option would be an employer‑led program focused on retention and recruitment: the city would partner with local employers to identify housing needs for workers earning roughly in the mid‑wage band and use incentives (site acquisition, tax‑exemptions on materials, port authority options) and deed restrictions to produce owner‑occupied "missing middle" homes priced to the local market. Rodriguez said staff has begun conversations with developers and county finance partners on feasibility.

On the home repair program, staff reported Round 1 distributed $89,034 among 32 projects; Round 2 increased the per‑project cap to $8,500 and has roughly 94 projects in process, with completion expected in spring (extensions for weather are in place). Staff asked council whether to authorize a Round 3, and suggested council could set geographic targeting or income weighting if it prefers (for example a focus on specific corridors or senior/fixed‑income households).

Ending: Council members supported continuing the home‑repair work and asked staff to return with options and budget impacts for a Round 3 (including geographic targeting and income thresholds). Staff will outline program caps and possible financing sources for council review in early summer.