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Affordable housing, displacement and tools RDAs can use: loans, bonds, land and policy guardrails
Summary
Salt Lake City’s RDA director reviewed the statutory 10% affordable-housing set-aside for project areas, the range of income targets that count as "affordable housing," and program-level steps RDAs can take to reduce displacement and increase transparency.
Danny Waltz, director of the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, told webinar attendees that under current Utah rules a community reinvestment project area must allocate at least 10% of tax increment for affordable housing. "That that is the bare minimum," Waltz said, and he added that cities typically have needs that exceed that statutory floor.
Nut graf: RDAs can deploy a range of financial tools — loans, grants, reimbursement agreements, bonding and property acquisition — to produce housing and other public benefits. The statutory 10% housing allocation is a minimum; agencies and cities can adopt higher commitments and design income target levels for differing public objectives. To reduce displacement and gentrification risks, Waltz recommended up-to-date relocation plans, program requirements for developers, transparency and targeted incentives that prioritize existing residents and small businesses.
Waltz explained that “affordable housing” under statute is income-targeted and can include a range from owner-occupied starter homes at about 80% of area median income (AMI) to deeper subsidies at 30% of AMI for permanent supportive housing. He said 17C authorizes spending housing funds not only for unit construction but also for neighborhood improvements that support housing outcomes (for example, pedestrian crossings or bridges that enhance access).
On tools, Waltz listed common agency options: low-interest loans, forgivable loans, grants, tax-reimbursement agreements tied to performance, property acquisition and disposition (including price write-downs to incentivize development), developer reimbursement agreements and bonding to finance large infrastructure. He said agencies should favor investments in durable physical infrastructure over short-term tenant improvements and should tie incentives to measurable public-benefit benchmarks.
Waltz addressed displacement and gentrification directly. He said RDAs are required to have relocation-housing plans and that agencies should update and adopt citywide displacement policies, require developer commitments when agency funds are used, and use incentives to keep or return residents to neighborhoods rather than pushing them out.
Ending: Waltz recommended clear mission statements, measurable livability benchmarks, political support and cross-department coordination to sustain long-term outcomes.
