Middleton committee reviews affordable-housing action plan tied to $11 million in TIF authority
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Summary
Presenters outlined a proposed affordable-housing fund seeded by an estimated $11 million in tax-increment financing authority; strategies include a revolving loan fund, supportive services, energy-efficiency upgrades and down-payment assistance. Council review is scheduled for April.
Middleton’s Sustainability Committee on Wednesday reviewed an affordable-housing action plan intended to use tax-increment financing (TIF) authority the city has identified for housing purposes.
Alan Hickel of the Workforce Housing Committee and Scott Heacock of the Middleton planning department described roughly two years of outreach and changes to zoning intended to make it faster and more certain for developers to build housing. Hickel said zoning updates ‘create a lot more certainty for developers’ and noted the work was developed in the context of Dane County’s regional housing strategy.
Committee members pressed presenters for financial detail. Chair exchanges and follow-up questions prompted a clarification from committee staff: the city has authority to use approximately $11,000,000 in tax-increment financing toward affordable-housing projects, and a separate $3,000,000 figure cited during planning refers to a 2024 community development block-grant pass-through to a specific project. Abby Atuan, director of planning and community development, summarized the financial picture: “The city has provided $11,000,000 in tax increment financing,” and she said the $3,000,000 was a passthrough from a community development block grant; neither pool had been spent yet.
Presenters pitched four strategic uses for a new affordable-housing fund: (1) increase the supply of legally restricted affordable units targeted roughly at households making 30–60% of area median income; (2) fund tenant protections and on-site supportive services to help residents remain housed; (3) expand energy-efficiency efforts through programs such as an ‘efficiency navigator’ to reduce utility costs for tenants; and (4) offer preservation and down-payment assistance to create more pathways to homeownership for historically excluded groups.
Hickel framed the TIF-extension as a time-limited opportunity to seed a fund and said the plan’s first-year priorities would focus on shovel-ready items such as supportive-service grants and housing rehab that can demonstrate early measurable results. He also told the committee staff would seek to add a position in city government to administer the program if the council moves forward.
Atuan said the plan itself does not yet contain final budget allocations and that any spending from the TIF authority would need annual council approval through the city’s budget process. She described the near-term schedule: planning commission review imminent, public listening sessions planned for February, and a common council approval target in early April.
No vote was taken on the plan at the committee meeting. Presenters said feedback from the committee would be incorporated into a final draft the council will consider.