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Lawrence AHAB reviews proposed Affordable Housing Incentive Policy, debates 50- and 99-year affordability requirements
Summary
City staff presented a draft Affordable Housing Incentive Policy and asked the Affordable Housing Advisory Board (AHAB) for feedback before a Nov. 11 city commission work session; board members split between stronger long-term affordability and concern that stricter requirements could deter private development.
City staff presented a draft Affordable Housing Incentive Policy to the Affordable Housing Advisory Board on Sept. 11 and asked members to provide feedback ahead of a Nov. 11 commission work session.
The draft, traced to policy recommendations presented to the commission in June 2022 and incorporated into the 2024 A Place for Everyone plan, would formalize a toolkit of incentives — including tax instruments (IRBs and NRAs), fee waivers, public land donations and an expanded trust-fund loan program — with eligibility tied to specific affordability commitments. "The policy is designed with the overarching goal of ensuring that public investments have the greatest possible impact for the community and serve the highest public good," staff told the board.
Staff proposed a 50-year default period of affordability for projects receiving incentives, with 99-year requirements for grants and public land donations. The draft would reserve 99-year affordability for projects seeking grant funding and allow shorter commitments to be eligible for low-interest trust-fund loans.
Board members debated the trade-offs. One member cautioned that the criteria as written may "disincentivize" private developers because projects with stricter affordability strings can fail to "pencil" financially; that member urged careful, page‑by‑page review and engagement with developers. Other members pushed back, citing research and local nonprofit experience indicating that stronger affordability terms have not reduced the number of applicants in comparable jurisdictions. "What affordability in perpetuity does is it prevents displacement," one member said, arguing that permanent or long-term affordability can create generational benefits.
The draft also ties incentives to accountability: staff proposed clearer procedural guidelines, scoring matrices and public-facing materials so applicants and the public can track commitments. Staff said smaller-scale homeownership projects and tenant purchase conversions would be explicitly included in revised eligibility language to avoid unintentionally excluding single-family or lower-density developments.
Because the commission’s work session originally scheduled for Sept. 16 was postponed to Nov. 11, staff offered the AHAB an opportunity to review a working draft and return recommendations. The board agreed to review changes and, if helpful, to place the item on the Oct. 23 AHAB agenda for further discussion before the Nov. 11 commission meeting.
Next steps: staff will circulate a revised working draft incorporating technical edits and community feedback; AHAB members can submit tracked changes and staff will compile final recommendations for the commission’s November work session.
