Platteville staff propose raising affordable housing program cap to $185,000; council asks for eligibility checks

City staff told the Platteville Common Council on Nov. 10 that the affordable home-improvement program created in 2020 (funded by TID 4) should increase its maximum qualifying home value from $150,000 to $185,000 to reflect inflation and local home-value changes.

Staff said they used a variety of calculators and indices (a home-price calculator, CPI-based calculators and Zillow's home value index) to estimate that a $150,000 qualifying value in 2020 would be roughly $184,000 to $198,000 in 2025 depending on the method; the staff recommendation was to set the cap at $185,000 on the basis of assessed values. "I think we've got plenty of documentation to show that, you know, an increase up to a 185,000 would be perfectly justified," staff said.

Council members asked whether the program's prior eligibility rule that homes be built before 1950 would remain. Staff said that age cutoff was a local choice intended to focus assistance on older homes that tended to remain rental properties without incentives to return to owner-occupancy, but that the age limit is not mandated by the affordable-housing designation and can be adjusted. Staff also confirmed they check a property's build year as part of an application review.

The recommendation to raise the maximum qualifying value will go forward for formal action; council asked staff to report back with the distribution of previously assisted homes by age so members can see how the build-year cutoff affects eligibility.