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Port Orchard committee clears path for multifamily tax exemption public hearing after builder concerns
Summary
City staff will present affordability scenarios and a redlined ordinance at a public hearing on Oct. 28 after the Kitsap Home Builders Association asked the city to reduce the proposed rent-discount threshold for 12-year multifamily tax exemptions and requested clarifications about mixed-use and parking provisions.
Port Orchard city staff said the multifamily tax exemption (MTE) ordinance will go to a public hearing on Oct. 28, and committee members asked staff to provide additional affordability scenarios before the council takes action.
Nick Bond, Port Orchard community development director, told the Land Use Committee that the Kitsap Home Builders Association (KBA) submitted a packet comment focused on affordability metrics. “They are pretty certain that no one is going to take us up on that offer for the affordable units unless it is lowered,” Bond said, referring to a proposed 25% rent discount below the HUD-published area fair market rent for projects seeking a 12-year exemption.
Why it matters: The proposed change affects whether developers choose the 12-year MTE — which carries a longer tax exemption — versus an 8-year exemption with no affordable-unit requirement. Committee members said they want concrete comparisons showing how different discount levels would affect tenants and developers, and staff agreed to deliver numbers for…
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