Staff and developer explore RHID plus special-assessment model to finance attainable for-sale homes on 150th Street

The committee heard a policy and feasibility discussion about creating attainable for-sale housing on roughly four acres near 150th Street east of Metcalf. City staff and a private team (landowner and developer) described a concept that layers a Reinvestment Housing Investment District (RHID) with a special-assessment financing mechanism to pay upfront infrastructure costs that typically make small-lot, lower-priced homes infeasible.

Project concept and need Staff and the developer said regional and local market conditions have made new entry-level, for-sale housing scarce: recent new-home price data for the county show large increases (staff cited median new-home prices), and the Blue Valley School District average new-home price was reported as very high. Developers told the committee the main barrier to delivering homes in the roughly $300,000'$400,000 range is the upfront public-infrastructure cost (streets, sewer, water, storm), which can be $1.5'$2.0 million for a small subdivision and is typically carried by the developer.

Proposed financing approach Staff and the developer described a layered approach: the city would use a special-assessment mechanism (statutory special-assessment financing) to borrow for infrastructure, then use RHID increment capture to repay the assessment over time. That structure would reduce the upfront capital the developer must raise and make smaller-lot, lower-priced for-sale homes more financeable. Staff noted mechanics require the city to issue debt to finance the infrastructure; repayment would be secured by the special assessments and the RHID increment.

Committee response and next steps Committee members reacted favorably to the concept and suggested safeguards: limiting investor/rental conversions (covenants or HOA rules), exploring community land trust models for permanent affordability, and ensuring a clear process for instruments and risk management. Staff said the model needs additional legal, financial and program work; committee members encouraged continuing that work and discussing potential pilot parameters. No formal vote was taken, but the committee signaled support for staff to pursue detailed feasibility work and to consult possible partner entities (community land trust organizations, housing counseling partners) and to report back with proposed terms and risk mitigations.

Why it matters The approach aims to bridge a practical financing gap that prevents smaller, attainable for-sale homes from being built in higher-priced jurisdictions. Committee members framed the idea as a potential tool to produce workforce housing near good schools and services without requiring large-scale subsidy programs.

What comes next Staff will perform more detailed legal and financing analysis (special-assessment legal steps, debt issuance mechanics, RHID structuring), discuss community-land-trust and HOA protections, and return with proposed pilot parameters and a recommended process for council consideration.