Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workforce Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sisters URA updates Workforce Housing Program to ease eligibility rules
Summary
The board repealed the 2024 workforce housing resolution and adopted URA Resolution 2026-04 to clarify definitions of purchase price and rental-rate calculations, allow flexibility on AMI caps and address debt-to-income constraints cited by housing partners.
The Sisters Urban Renewal Agency unanimously adopted changes to its Workforce Housing Program on June 10, passing URA Resolution 2026-04 to repeal and replace the 2024 policy.
Jordan Wheeler, staff, told the board that the 2024 program allocated $400,000 but its eligibility rules—particularly a strict 30% debt-to-income cap tied to household income—made it hard for partners such as Sisters Habitat for Humanity to find qualifying households. Wheeler said the updated resolution revises definitions for workforce purchase price and rental rates, and preserves board discretion to set different AMI limits when executing grant agreements. "So, all this that I'm kind of conveying to you and summarizing is like in the definition of workforce purchase price and the rental rates," Wheeler said.
Board members framed the change as a technical fix to improve program delivery. A member noted the change "might sound scary" if viewers later watch the meeting, but argued that relaxing the strict DTI cap allows more households to participate without permitting unreasonable leverage. The motion to adopt URA Resolution 2026-04 passed with all attending members voting in favor.
The revision is intended to give the URA and its housing partners more flexibility in pricing assumptions and eligibility thresholds to help move workforce units into occupancy.
