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Council approves MOU to support Big River Community Land Trust grant application for ~42 affordable homes
Summary
Hood River authorized a memorandum of understanding to serve as a pass-through for a state housing-infrastructure grant to support an approximately 42-unit Big River Community Land Trust ownership project; the city also discussed complementary financing including a proposed moderate-income revolving loan structure.
The council approved a memorandum of understanding to let the city serve as a pass-through applicant for a state Housing Infrastructure Financing Program grant to support a proposed Big River Community Land Trust project on Avalon Drive.
Will (urban-renewal staff) and Big River’s executive director, Alicia Sherburne, explained the application and the project concept: roughly 42 permanently affordable ownership units, a mix of townhomes and standalone units, targeting a mix of incomes (Sherburne said roughly half of the units might be around 70–80% AMI and the other half up to about 120% AMI). The city’s role would be administrative — receiving and passing grant funds for infrastructure (water, sewer, storm, frontage) if the grant is awarded — and the MOU approved tonight was accepted in "substantial form" subject to city-attorney edits to eliminate liability.
Councilors asked for clarity on numbers and affordability targets; Sherburne said the development budget and unit-by-unit pricing were still being finalized and that the project team was structuring a funding stack that could include state LEAP/LEAF-type funds and other gap financing. Will also introduced the concept of setting up a local moderate-income revolving loan mechanism (a program similar to a single-parcel urban-renewal financed loan) that could provide grant-like funds financed by future tax increment; staff estimated a potential award in the $845,000–$945,000 range for the Avalon project, repayable via tax increment over a roughly 10-year horizon.
Council action: The council voted to authorize the city manager to sign the MOU in substantially the form presented, subject to city-attorney approval and edits; Councilor Anna publicly recused herself from the vote because of a disclosed business relationship with the applicant.
Ending: City staff and Big River will continue to refine cost estimates, finalize the funding stack and return to council with any final agreements and a recommended package for council approval.
