Lake City council pushes for housing study, public comments sharply criticize outside proposer

At a Nov. 17 workshop on housing, Lake City council members signaled support for commissioning a professional housing study and asked staff to prepare a request for proposals (RFP) to identify priorities and guide any public–private partnerships.

"My recommendation that we ... go out to bid and get a housing study done," Council member Carter said, urging the council to hire an expert firm so the city can "substantially prove that it is in the public good" before entering agreements with private developers.

The study push followed a staff presentation cataloguing a large pipeline of projects. Scott, a staff presenter, listed multiple developments the city has in planning or under construction, including projects described on the record as Hunters Creek ("3 35 units" as stated), Baskin Norris Subdivision first phase (125 units), Sweetwater Apartments (120 units), Sugar Mill Apartments (48 units), Legends of Lake City (225 units) and smaller phases of Bailey's Cove and Melrose Platte. Staff also described text amendments under review to permit smaller single-family lot sizes, allow duplexes and accessory dwelling units, and increase multifamily density to about 40 units per acre.

Council members framed the study as a way to set a clear municipal goal and avoid pursuing multiple, unfocused initiatives. "We hire a firm. We get a study. We figure out where our hotspots are," Carter said. Other members said staff could pursue multiple parallel tasks—developer outreach, reuse of city-owned lots and CRA redevelopment—if the council provided clear direction.

Public commenters pressed for different outcomes. Several local developers and contractors told the council it should rely on local capacity rather than hire an out-of-town firm. "I don't think the city has any business getting into land development," Miss Chadwick said, urging the city to "keep everything local" and to expand utility service so property can be developed at reasonable cost.

Other residents criticized a proposal from a company identified in public testimony as Precept (also spoken of as "Precepts"). Mister Sampson challenged the Precept concept for lacking documentation of principals' resumes and development experience and called the packet before the council insufficient. "The so called proposal from precept acquisitions contains no resumes, no professional qualifications, no evidence of principal's ability to perform," he said.

Precept's representative responded that while the company is newly organized, its assembled leadership brings decades of experience. Ms. Buckholtz said Precept's team includes planners, architects and engineers and pointed to work done by members of the team, noting, "I’ve got about 30 years of project management, process design, consulting experience." She listed regional projects and clients tied to people on the team and asked the council to weigh team experience when reviewing proposals.

Several speakers also raised equity concerns and asked the council to consult residents about where to focus redevelopment. Mister Warner said blight and affordability are concentrated in northside neighborhoods and urged council members to engage local developers and taxpayers before contracting outside firms.

The workshop also included a brief, personal appeal from Kalina Stevens, a resident displaced by an Aug. 27 apartment fire. Stevens said she and other residents remain without a place to stay and urged the council not to forget those still displaced.

The council did not take a formal vote during the workshop. Multiple members repeatedly advocated issuing an RFP and receiving study proposals; staff said they would act on the council's direction. The mayor closed the workshop and noted the council would reconvene at 6 p.m. for the regular session, where any formal actions such as authorizing an RFP could be considered.