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Denton Council hears plan to refocus housing tax credit support toward deeper affordability
Summary
City staff proposed shifting the housing tax credit (HTC) support process from an "a la carte" packet to an annual, council‑informed scoring matrix that prioritizes 30% and 50% AMI units, requires pre‑application and neighborhood meetings, and ties larger property tax exemptions to higher scores.
City staff presented proposed changes to Denton's housing tax credit support policy during a Nov. 18 work session, urging the council to concentrate support on projects that produce the deepest affordable rents for Denton residents.
"When developers are seeking these tax credits from the state, they require a resolution of support or resolution of no objection from the city," Jesse Kent, director of community services, said as he outlined the city's role in providing supporting resolutions and the rationale for a new scoring matrix. Kent framed the change as a move away from bringing every applicant to council: the city would instead run an annual work session to set priorities and then bring forward only projects that meet those priorities.
Staff showed data that Denton's market rents often fall below the HUD 80% AMI threshold used by the state, meaning units targeted at 80% AMI generally do not reduce rent locally. Kent said units at 50% and 30% AMI are the categories most likely to reduce rents in Denton. He proposed administrative changes including a required pre‑application meeting to confirm site readiness, mandatory neighborhood meetings with advance notice, verification letters for zoning and a scoring matrix that heavily weights deep affordability.
Mayor Pro Tem expressed cautious support for trying the new matrix, but urged annual reviews to ensure the new rules do not inadvertently reduce overall production of affordable units. "I definitely would like to see the annual work session so that we can make any revisions needed," the Mayor Pro Tem said during the Q&A. Several council members asked staff to publish an ISR that shows every applicant and the staff scoring to "show our work" in the first year, and to allow a grace period during the initial rollout so promising developments are not unfairly excluded.
Staff also said projects seeking property tax exemptions would need to partner with a local entity and score additional points for larger exemptions; full exemptions would require the highest scores and the greatest demonstrated benefit to Denton residents. Kent noted that the state administers the credits and the city’s support is a policy position that helps producers compete for federal credits.
Next steps: staff will solicit feedback from local housing providers and developers, publish an ISR after the application window closes in December, and return with the matrix for council direction and an annual work session to refine priorities.
