The City of Lawrence is seeking community feedback on a draft policy that details how the city will invest in affordable housing projects and what criteria developers must meet.
The 54-page draft policy lays out details such as definitions of affordability; requirements that proposals must meet; various types of incentives the city will consider providing for projects; how long housing units must remain affordable and much more.
The policy is a piece of larger city and county initiatives intended to increase housing availability in Lawrence, particularly for financially stressed households, and to reduce homelessness. (See the full draft policy at the bottom of this article.)
The Kansas Legislature has limited cities’ options — for instance, the city cannot implement rent control to combat ever-increasing rent prices — but cities can incentivize development of affordable housing options to lessen the costs for developers.
Some of the incentives for projects are funded through the city’s affordable housing trust fund, which comes from special sales tax receipts. Lawrence voters in November 2024 approved doubling the affordable housing sales tax to one penny for every $20 spent in town. The funds have supported numerous projects over the past several years.
The draft uses the Area Median Income, an amount calculated annually by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to set income qualifications that projects must adhere to. The AMI for a household of four in Lawrence, as of April 1, is $103,500.
The draft states that all units in a project must be set aside for households whose incomes are 120% or less of the AMI, and at least 90% of the units must be set aside for households making at or less than 80% of the AMI — that is currently $58,000 for a household of one, $66,250 for a household of two, or $82,800 for a household of four, as examples.
At least 40% of units must be set aside for households earning at or less than 50% of AMI, which is $36,250 for a household of one; $41,400 for a household of two; or $51,750 for a household of four, as examples.
The policy also aims to increase housing options for families, people with accessibility needs and people with very low incomes. The draft states that at least 65% of units in a project “include three or more bedrooms, are fully accessible units, are designated and set aside for affordable housing for households at or under 30% of (Area Median Income), or any combination of the three.”
Certain incentives would require the housing to remain affordable for at least 50 years; some incentives would “require affordability in perpetuity,” according to the draft. Projects receiving any incentives would be prohibited from refusing to accept Section 8 vouchers for affordable units.
In addition, projects must be located within half a mile of at least two of the following: public transit, a grocer, a park or a public elementary school.
Projects might be ineligible if the housing area would be on a floodplain, have an impact on a wetland, and/or be close to adult entertainment, sources of excessive noise, sources of environmental justice concerns and more.
The draft also includes some requirements for lease agreements. For instance, if a tenant’s income increases beyond the eligible limits of their unit, they are eligible to continue to live there for one additional year.
Give feedback
There are three upcoming opportunities to provide feedback about the draft:
• A public meeting is set for 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28 in Meeting Room C at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St. “The City of Lawrence invites affordable housing developers and community stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed Affordable Housing Incentive Policy. Join staff for a brief presentation, discussion and Q&A session,” according to a city email.
• The Affordable Housing Advisory Board will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. People can attend in person or via Zoom; register for the Zoom meeting at this link.
• The Lawrence City Commission will hold a work session on the policy at the meeting starting at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16 at City Hall. Commissioners do not take formal action during work sessions, but they will take public comment about the draft policy. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.
Written public comment about the policy can be emailed to Lea Roselyn, affordable housing administrator, at lroselyn@lawrenceks.gov.
Here’s the full draft policy (click here to open it in a new tab):
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
More coverage of housing and homelessness:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
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Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
