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Council amends moderate-income housing definition to include rental units; ordinance passes 4-1
Summary
The Kamas City Council amended its moderate-income housing definition to include rental units to provide developers with flexibility; the ordinance passed 4-1 after debate over the area median income benchmark.
The Kamas City Council on Sept. 8 voted to amend the municipal code to include rental units in the city's moderate-income housing definition, a change staff said would give developers additional flexibility and better address housing affordability within the city.
Jill (city planning staff) explained the rationale: including rental dwellings will help the city comply with state law guidance, provide flexibility in meeting moderate income housing needs, and encourage developers to include rental options in proposals. Staff clarified the change does not mandate developer action but is intended to enable incentives and program eligibility.
Council discussion centered on which area median income (AMI) should be used to qualify moderate-income units. Some councilmembers cautioned that Kamas's AMI is lower than Summit County's AMI and argued that using the city's AMI would better target local residents; others urged consideration of Summit County AMI to broaden eligibility and improve access to external financing. Councilmembers discussed trade-offs for developers' ability to finance projects and the intended beneficiaries of the program.
Councilmember votes were recorded: the ordinance passed 4–1. Councilmembers David, Larry, Jessica and Leslie voted yes; Councilmember Monica voted no. Several councilmembers said the amendment applies to developers seeking the city's density/frontage incentives and does not impose rent controls on existing private landlords. Staff and council agreed to monitor the change and consider further adjustments to AMI thresholds and incentives if necessary.
The council's action updates section 15.36.0.02 of the Kamas Municipal Code; staff noted some cross-references to other code sections would be hyperlinked or updated as needed.
