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Grants Pass council asks staff for memo on state'run MURAL housing loan program
Summary
Council heard an OHCS presentation on the new Moderate Income Revolving Loan (MURAL) program (SB 1537), raised questions about tax-foregone impacts and program size, and directed staff to prepare a memo with example projects, cost estimates, and implementation considerations.
Representatives from Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) and city staff briefed the council on the Moderate Income Revolving Loan (MURAL) program, a new state-funded, no-interest revolving loan designed to boost housing for households up to 120% of area median income.
OHCS representatives described the statutory framework (Senate Bill 1537 with technical fixes under Senate Bill 48), the structure of the program (OHCS issues a loan to a sponsoring jurisdiction; the sponsoring jurisdiction issues a grant to a developer; the county assessor collects a program fee akin to tax increment and remits repayment to OHCS), and program requirements including a 10-year affordability period or the life of the loan, an originating ordinance, and a master agreement between the jurisdiction and OHCS. The state also provides technical assistance and a toolkit to jurisdictions standing up programs.
Councilors focused questions on several topics: how deed restrictions and affordability terms are recorded (OHCS: 10-year minimum deed restriction for rentals and resale restrictions for ownership projects), the likely per-unit gap funding range (state conversations have suggested estimates in the low tens of thousands per unit, e.g., $20,000'$25,000 per unit, but OHCS said specifics depend on project scale and local tax base), how foregone tax revenue for up to 10 years would affect the city'county revenue stream, and whether admin fees and state capacity-building grants could cover city staff time. OHCS noted two early sponsoring jurisdictions (Coos Bay, Tillamook County) and offered to provide technical assistance and illustrative project examples.
After questions, the council directed staff to prepare a memo with example project scenarios, estimates of likely tax-foregone impacts, projected staff and administrative costs (including how the 5% local admin fee is expected to be used), and recommended next steps for whether and how Grants Pass might participate as a sponsoring jurisdiction. The council did not adopt an originating ordinance at this meeting; it requested more information before deciding.
Next steps: staff will work with OHCS to prepare a memo with example project numbers, foregone-tax estimates for sample projects, and recommended options for local program parameters.
