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Council directs rewrite of 9% housing tax credit policy and splits on four local applications
Summary
Council unanimously directed staff to rewrite the city's 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) evaluation policy and later voted 5–4 to offer letters of no objection on four regional competitive applications after debate about location scoring and neighborhood fit.
Council directed the city manager to undertake a formal rewrite of the city’s policy for evaluating 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) applications, adding a geographic index for location‑based scoring, a minimum points threshold for letters of support or no objection, and an option to designate a single location in a year for which the city will accept applications. The directive (sponsored by Representative Chris Canales) passed unanimously after an amendment to align the rewrite with the city’s ongoing regional housing plan timeline; staff were given 240 days to return with a recommended final policy.
Later in the meeting, council considered four 2025 regional competitive LIHTC applications. After public comment from applicants and advocates, council voted 5–4 to provide resolutions of no objection for all four proposals: Pebble Hills Place (Green Mills Holdings), Pebble Hills Estates (Investment Builders Inc.), Richstone Senior (Investment Builders Inc.) and Vias at Augusta (Investment Builders). The vote was contentious: councilmembers who opposed the action said several applications scored low under the city’s existing geographic/strategic investment rubric and argued that the city should use the policy rewrite to establish clearer location standards before endorsing projects. Supporters said the city needs housing now and that several projects respond to neighborhood needs such as senior housing and proximity to transit and services.
Context: council members and applicants debated how to weigh neighborhood access to grocery stores, transit and services against the city’s existing ‘‘tier’’ map used in scoring. Representative Canales and other members said the tier definitions are outdated and should be replaced by a geographic index that assigns points across the whole city rather than a small set of radii around BRT stops. Representative Nino pushed for targeted support for a senior project located where seniors live in his district.
Staff next steps: begin policy rewrite with stakeholder input, return with a recommended policy after coordinating with the ongoing regional housing plan, and publish proposed scoring language for public review.
