Redevelopment Authority ties Affordable Housing Development Fund disbursements to building permits

The Redevelopment Authority of Waukesha City voted 5-0 to amend the Affordable Housing Development Fund program to tie most disbursements to issuance of building permits, saying the change will protect limited fund balances and focus city dollars on projects closest to construction.

Staff member told the board the fund (reported around $561,000) has limited capacity and that requiring building permits before release reduces the risk of committing funds to projects that stall. “Either way, the money won't go out till they have building permits,” the Staff member said.

The amendments preserve flexibility in two ways: the RDA may approve exceptions in cases where releasing funds earlier is necessary to acquire property the authority plans to own, and some pre-construction reimbursable expenses (for site work or engineering) can be structured so projects are later reimbursed when permits are in place.

Board discussion also noted prior practice with tax-increment financing and the need to be a ‘‘last dollar’’ fund that developers exhaust other financing sources before relying on RDA funds. The board approved the changes on a 5-0 vote during the meeting, and staff said the policy update is intended to give clearer guidance to developers about when authority funds are available.

The authority’s vote does not change other program rules (uses remain targeted to land acquisition, site prep, housing construction and conversion, rapid rehousing and similar objectives) and staff said project-specific timelines and extensions can be considered case by case.