Plano’s neighborhood-services director outlined plans to reinstate the city’s role in reviewing applications for federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and recommended returning evaluation responsibilities to a staff team rather than the Community Relations Commission.

Curtis Hauer, director of Neighborhood Services, told the council the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs administers the state-level competitive process and that municipalities play a key role by providing either a resolution of support, a resolution of no objection, or no resolution. Hauer said those city determinations can substantially affect developers’ scores in the competitive allocation.

Hauer reviewed the local history: the city began the program in 2014, used staff evaluation through 2021, switched reviews to the CRC in 2021–22, then hired consultants who recommended reverting to city staff to reduce the CRC learning curve and improve scoring consistency. The CRC voted unanimously to return to a staff-based review and recommended a multi-department team evaluate applications before council makes a final decision.

Hauer said staff has an application being finalized based on the 2023 consultant recommendations. He proposed posting the application on the city website at the end of November, with applications due in January 2026; staff would score applications and forward recommendations to council. Developers would be allowed to present to council, and the city would then submit selected applications to TDHCA for the state’s final determination.

Council members asked about why the CRC had been used and whether it improved the process; Hauer and staff said limited frequency of applications created a learning curve for volunteers and that staff evaluators would provide more consistency. Council also requested to review the final application before staff posts it. Council indicated support for option 1 (staff evaluation) during the discussion.

The presentation did not include final scoring criteria or specific project applications; those details will appear in the application staff will provide to council before posting.