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Council reviews construction excise tax, low‑income rental tax exemption ahead of Wednesday vote
Summary
Councilors received a staff briefing on a proposed housing construction excise tax (CET) and a 20‑year low-income rental housing property tax exemption; staff answered questions about revenue estimates, exemptions and how the city would ensure savings reach renters, and indicated the items are scheduled for a second reading on Wednesday.
Albany City Councilors on Aug. 11 reviewed two housing tools the city is scheduled to consider for a second reading: a construction excise tax (CET) on added building value and a low-income rental housing property tax exemption for qualifying affordable projects.
Planning staff member Anne Caitlin walked councilors through state law parameters for the CET, which the memo noted was added to state statute in 2016 and allows a one-time excise charge on the value of residential or occupiable commercial improvements at the building-permit stage. Caitlin said the CET’s proceeds must be used under specified allocations: for example, roughly half of residential CET funds must support developer incentives and 35% must go to affordable housing programs as the city defines them. The memo in the council packet included example revenue estimates using five years of building-permit history: a residential CET at 1.0% paired with a 1.5% nonresidential…
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