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Hospital and school officials warn proposed Section 42 housing could strain local EMS, schools and police
Summary
Price Hospital and school district representatives told the council that a proposed affordable housing development using Section 42 financing may increase demand for EMS, police and educational services; officials urged the council to consider impact studies and ordinance changes before approving more units.
Hospital and school officials urged the Price City Council to consider capacity limits for emergency medical services, law enforcement and schools before approving future affordable housing projects that rely on federal tax-credit financing.
Dr. Engar, who identified himself as an emergency department physician, told the council the hospital has seen a sharp rise in transfer requests and that, in the last six months, “we've had, like, 38 transfers we can't even fill,” creating situations where critically ill patients could face delayed access to specialty care. He linked higher utilization of EMS and hospital services to large low-income residential developments, and asked the council to require impact studies or other regulatory measures so the city does not approve projects without the capacity to serve new residents.
School district representatives said new apartment units already house students from outside the district and reported 12 identified students tied to the recent development (about six from inside the district and six from outside). The district said children from higher‑need households require more services and staff capacity is limited; officials requested that future development approvals consider workforce housing that better matches middle‑income needs for teachers, police and other essential workers.
Several speakers raised financing details: Section 42 tax‑credit financing was described as providing deep subsidies (a speaker said “70% of their production costs” may be covered through federal allocations passed to states) and that the developer’s executive summary indicated later phases require 60% area‑median‑income (AMI) financing to be feasible. Council and staff said once an approval and financing plan is in place, it can be difficult to change project terms without re‑zoning or developer agreement revisions.
Councilmembers said they will review the city's ordinances and consider convening planning and zoning discussions to ensure future phases and similar projects align with the city's desired mix of housing types. No ordinance or formal restriction was adopted at the meeting; the council discussed outreach and potential ordinance changes to be studied by staff and the city attorney.
