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City shows housing dashboard and proposes $8 million for 40'50 new owner-occupied infill homes
Summary
Development services director Jake Eckholm unveiled a live housing dashboard tracking infill progress and proposed a Phase 3 brownfield-funded infill round estimated at $8 million to build 40'50 for-sale units aimed at increasing lower-priced owner-occupied options; commissioners pressed for strategies to reach the lowest price bands and to address homelessness as part of the housing strategy.
Jake Eckholm, director of development services, presented the city's infill housing progress, zoning reforms and a new live housing dashboard intended to track development, incentives and progress against the 2023'2027 housing needs assessment.
Eckholm summarized results: zoning reforms lowered minimum lot sizes and allowed duplexes and accessory dwelling units; the city has programmed or completed roughly 1,770 new housing units since 2018 and staff reported 1,290 of the 2,924 units identified in the housing needs assessment are programmed or under construction since 2023. He showed demographic and satisfaction data from an owner-occupied buyer survey and a map-based dashboard that will publish project-level details.
As a next step staff proposed a Phase 3 infill effort to design and build 40'50 for-sale homes city-led using brownfield and housing fund support. Eckholm estimated a capital ask of about $8 million, with roughly 75% repayable from sale proceeds and 25% subsidized by the brownfield fund; the staff goal is to include significant numbers of homes priced near the $100,000'$120,000 band where the study shows the greatest gap.
Commissioners asked how the city would make homes affordable (projected per-unit rough figure of $200,000 used in high-level planning), whether AMI caps would be applied to some units, and how the city would manage lots reserved by larger developers that do not build quickly. Eckholm said staff will refine pro formas, pursue targeted lots, bring RFPs for prescribed house plans and revisit agreements where builders are not progressing. He also said staff will continue to explore single-room-occupancy and other interventions to address rental needs and homelessness, but those items will be studied further before any construction commitments.
Commissioners and staff thanked builders and partners; Eckholm said the dashboard is expected to go live to the public later in March and staff will bring financial details for Phase 3 in the coming months.
