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Urbandale council approves Westover and downtown ‘Doona’ urban renewal amendments, adds affordable housing use
Summary
The council approved amendments to the Westover and Downtown (Doona) urban renewal plans to update CIP schedules, add affordable housing as an allowable TIF use, and modify standard incentive policies (Westover: 5→4-year standard; Doona: removal of standard incentive in favor of custom agreements) to better match redevelopment goals.
At public hearings the council approved amendments to two urban renewal districts intended to align development incentives, infrastructure schedules and allowable uses with current policy and market conditions.
Aaron DeYoung, Urbandale’s economic development director, told the council the Westover amendment contains four primary changes: aligning capital improvement project schedules; updating development-agreement payment schedules; explicitly allowing affordable housing as an allowable use for tax-increment financing when acquiring commercial or industrial land; and modifying the standard incentive approach (moving from a five-year to a four-year standard schedule starting at 8% in year one). "With the uncertainty of the property tax bills and things of the state…we've kinda determined that…to be a little more judicious in our standard policy," DeYoung said when explaining the shorter standard incentive.
On the Downtown Urbandale ("Doona") amendment, DeYoung recommended removing the district’s standard three-year 90% TIF rebate because downtown revitalization is expected to rely on redevelopment and individualized development agreements rather than ground-up construction. He said staff wants flexibility to negotiate custom incentive packages to meet the needs of specific revitalization projects.
Both amendments also add affordable housing language into the districts' allowable TIF uses to support housing objectives in eligible projects. The council closed the hearings and approved council letters 8528 (Westover) and 8529 (Doona) by voice vote.
Why it matters: The amendments change how the city can use tax-increment financing and incentives to promote redevelopment and affordable housing, and they give staff more discretion to tailor agreements to individual projects rather than rely solely on a one-size-fits-all standard incentive.
