Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will hold a work session on an updated draft affordable housing incentive policy that aims to increase development to meet the community’s needs and clarify the process, requirements and more for developers seeking city funds.
Some projects receive funding through the city’s affordable housing trust fund, which comes from a special city sales tax. 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 54-page draft policy lays out details such as requirements that proposals must meet to qualify for city funds; definitions of affordability; various types of incentives the city will consider providing for projects; how long housing units must remain affordable as opposed to being rented at market rates, and much more.
City staff members published a draft policy over the summer and sought feedback from community members and people who work in housing development. A redlined draft with some changes is included in the commission’s agenda for Tuesday.
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The updated draft states that an application is ineligible if a site is on or would have an impact on a wetland — a firmer line against wetland development than the first draft, which said such applications “may be ineligible.”
The policy 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 current AMI for a household of four in Lawrence, as of April 1, is $103,500.
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The updated 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 80% 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 60% of AMI under the revised draft. That is $43,500 for a household of one; $49,680 for a household of two; or $62,100 for a household of four, as examples.
The update lessens to 20% a requirement from the first draft stating that at least 65% of units in a project must “include three or more bedrooms, be fully accessible units, be designated and set aside for households at or under 30% of AMI, or any combination of the three.”
The updated draft also states that projects may be ineligible for city funding if a developer has “violated any terms of City agreements, including Affordable Housing Trust Fund agreements.”
City commissioners aren’t planning to take firm action on the policy during their Tuesday work session. City staff members are seeking guidance from the commission about whether the policy should be broader to increase unit numbers or focused on criteria to generate priority units; how long units must remain affordable; whether the city should consider loans rather than grants for projects with shorter affordability durations and other criteria.
City staff members hope to bring a final policy back to the commission this winter for implementation in spring of this year, according to the agenda item.
See the draft affordable housing incentive policy agenda item at this link.
Meeting info
City commissioners will meet for the first time this year at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.
The commission accepts written public comment emailed to ccagendas@lawrenceks.org until noon the day of meetings. The commission also hears live public comment during meetings, both in person and virtually.
City commission meetings are no longer livestreamed on YouTube. In order to watch the meeting online remotely, attendees must join via Zoom at this link, which also allows participants to provide public comment virtually. Meeting recordings are uploaded to the city’s YouTube channel the next day.
See the commission’s complete meeting agenda at this link.
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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.
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