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Eden Prairie updates housing strategic plan, allocates $336,000 in LAHA funds and proposes TIF use for St. John’s Woods rehab
Summary
Council approved an update to the community development strategic plan that directs Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA) funds toward first-time homebuyer, rehab and rental-assistance programs and proposes pooled TIF dollars to fund a large townhome siding project at St. John's Woods.
The Eden Prairie City Council on Jan. 7 approved an update to the city’s 2023–2027 community development strategic plan and endorsed a one-year spending plan for Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA) funds.
"Eden Prairie will receive allocations twice a year and in 2024, we received approximately $336,000 in LAHA funds," Community Development Director Julie Klima said. Staff proposed distributing the 2024 allocation roughly as follows: $100,000 for the traditional first-time homebuyer program, $90,000 for housing rehabilitation loans, $60,000 for a newly proposed first-generation first-time homebuyer program to address equity, and $86,000 for rental-assistance administered through community partners such as The PROP Shop.
Klima told the council the LAHA dollars must be used for affordable housing programs and cannot be used for staffing. She said staff expects LAHA allocations to fluctuate because they are sales-tax driven and that 2025 receipts could be up to about 70% higher than 2024. Staff said it will prepare annual spending plans until the strategic plan is next updated in 2027.
Separately, council discussed siding and window work planned by the St. John’s Woods homeowners association. Many units are occupied by low- and moderate-income households, and the city received multiple requests for rehab assistance. Klima said using LAHA and CDBG funds to cover all requests would likely exhaust those sources. "As an alternative, city staff is proposing that we would use pooled TIF dollars to support the St. John's rehab loans," Klima said, adding the pooled TIF balance is ample and would allow LAHA and CDBG funds to remain available for other priorities.
Council member questions clarified program mechanics: first-time homebuyer assistance is a forgivable loan that is forgiven after 30 years of owner occupancy and is repayable if the house is sold earlier; similar terms apply to the rehab loans, Klima said.
The council voted to adopt the updated strategic plan and the one-year LAHA spending plan. Staff will return to the council annually with proposed allocations and monitor program demand.
