Council to consider discharges for 1990-era affordable-housing project; members raise tax and tenant concerns

Deputy Director Salo Diaz told the council that the "Halliday" project — a set of nine two-family homes originally built under a 1990 affordable-housing agreement — has completed the 15-year affordability period, and staff asked for certificates of completion and discharge for the listed addresses.

Council members expressed concern about what a discharge would mean for tenants and taxes. One council member noted that when affordability restrictions end, some owners have faced steep tax increases and asked whether owners who choose to keep their second units affordable could retain lower assessments. Corporation Counsel replied that the city cannot use tax assessment on a case-by-case basis as an incentive and that any incentives would need to come through standardized programs or other legal levers, not selective reassessment.

Staff said they had communicated with owners and title companies; the developer and title companies requested the discharge and a certificate of completion to clear the record. Council members asked staff to provide addresses, to confirm outreach to current tenants, and requested law-department analysis of what policy tools the city might have to encourage continued affordability short of tax-assessment adjustments.

Corporation Counsel said the city will review the underlying agreements to confirm what contractual rights the developer or owners possess and report back to council prior to final action.