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Des Moines reviews tax-abatement program ahead of housing strategy, cites low uptake for sustainability incentives
Summary
Development Services staff reviewed the city's Urban Revitalization (tax-abatement) program: Des Moines offers a 10-year, 100% residential abatement and a suite of declining schedules; staff reported only about 23% of new single-family homes choose sustainability features (R20 walls + EV-ready circuit) that earn an extra abatement year and said further stakeholder engagement will follow ahead of Q1 2025 policy discussions.
Cody of the Development Services Department presented a review of Des Moines' Urban Revitalization Program (tax abatement), outlining current schedules, recent state-code changes and options for updating the plan as part of a forthcoming citywide housing strategy.
Cody said the city offers a widely used 10-year, 100% abatement schedule for improvements to residential property, and noted the state tax-code changes that now protect school-district levies from residential abatements and require a minimum-assessment agreement for commercial abatements. "The state then sets the code, sets the limits on what cities have to work…
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