Holland City Council adopts housing TIF incentive to spur attainable housing

HOLLAND, Mich. — The Holland City Council on Oct. 2 adopted a revision to the city’s Housing Development Support Policy to add a housing TIF incentive, a tax‑increment financing tool that staff said will help cover the gap between construction costs and sale or rent prices for new housing developments.

City economic development staff framed the change as an implementation of recent state Brownfield amendments that explicitly allow housing as an eligible activity. “The Brownfield act allows for tax increment financing — that’s the capture of new taxes from new development value — to reimburse developers for costs such as cleaning up contamination, demolition and infrastructure,” said Mark Meers, senior staff presenting the proposal. The council approved the amendment in a unanimous vote.

Why it matters: Staff and supporters said the housing TIF is intended to make more for‑sale and rental units financially viable for developers, with the stated goal of producing more “attainable” housing in Holland. Meers and City Manager Keith Van Beek told council the policy can reimburse construction costs and thereby narrow the difference between what it costs to build a unit and what a household can afford to buy or rent.

Key provisions and debate: The Brownfield Redevelopment Authority reviewed the policy and expressed support for incorporating a housing incentive while leaving specific eligibility criteria to the council. Staff recommended changes after a study session and meetings with local developers. The policy as adopted raises the area‑median‑income (AMI) target for certain for‑sale units to 120% (from an earlier 100% cap) for units that exceed 50% of a development, a change staff said reflects local project realities and developer feedback.

Council members asked how rehabilitation projects would be treated. Meers said rehab can qualify under the statute but that the law generally excludes single, owner‑occupied homes; major rehab of multi‑unit properties would be handled case‑by‑case. Members also cited examples of local projects — including work by Jubilee Ministries and Habitat partners — as models for how the new tool might be used.

What happens next: With council approval, the policy will be available to developers who apply for Brownfield TIF under the city’s criteria; specific project requests will return to council or the Brownfield board for review and a separate approval process. Council did not set additional programmatic funding in the meeting itself.

The vote: The council adopted the housing TIF policy amendment by roll call; all members present voted in favor. The item will now be used as part of the city’s development review and incentive discussions moving forward.