Baldwin City council approves RHID for Maplewood Place, clearing way for eight rental townhomes

Baldwin City Council approved an ordinance creating a Rural Housing Incentive District (RHID) for Maplewood Place, a proposed rental development of four duplex-style townhomes (eight total units) that the applicant said will target working-class, median-income households.

Michael Burns, identified as an owner of Confluence and with ties to Auburn Pharmacy, presented the proposal and described Maplewood Place as "townhome style duplex multifamily homes for rent" with three-bedroom, two-bath layouts and slab-on-grade construction. Burns told council the project qualified under the state's MIH (median income household) program, which restricts initial move-in by income band rather than designating the units as low-income housing. "Once you're eligible, you come in. If you continue to make more money, that doesn't mean that we have to make you leave," Burns said, summarizing MIH occupancy rules.

Burns said the project includes enhanced energy and accessibility requirements as part of the MIH process and estimated construction costs "right at $3,000,000." He told council the project's cash flow depended on both the city RHID support and the MIH grant: "We cannot construct the project without both."

Council members probed rent expectations and the RHID term. During the Q&A, council discussion referenced a likely rent range discussed in the hearing of roughly $1,300–$1,600 per month for the units, and the developers stated the RHID request follows the jurisdiction's standard RHID period (discussed at about 22½ years in the hearing). Several councilmembers said they were concerned that a long property-tax abatement could mean lost municipal revenue for more than two decades; supporters said without the RHID and MIH the project would not be feasible and the parcels would remain undeveloped.

Opponents and cautious councilmembers asked whether the development could price out local residents, whether rents might rise after initial years, and how the city would prevent student housing being misused for MIH units. Burns and his representatives said MIH includes an audit and compliance mechanism and that leases and management practices would bar improper occupancy. The developer referenced comparable projects in neighboring Garnett, Kansas, where similar units had strong demand and waiting lists.

After discussion the council moved and seconded the ordinance; the motion carried. The hearing was closed and council directed staff to follow the statutory notice and waiting period (including county and school-district review windows) ahead of construction.

The next procedural steps are the statutory notice interval to Douglas County and the local school board, both of which have a period to file objections under the RHID process, and then permitting and site work if those bodies do not exercise denial. The developer said construction would begin "in about 30 to 35 days" if approvals and notices proceed as expected, subject to county and school-district response times.