Waukon City Council looks to aid housing development with Residential TIF

During a special meeting Monday, January 11, the Waukon City Council worked for three hours on the city budget before turning its attention to discussing the need for housing lots and how the City might encourage housing development. The mayor and all council persons were in attendance.
Representatives from Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission and City Attorney Jim Garrett shared with the Council and others in attendance avenues for City participation with area developers to promote more home building. A funding option known as Residential Tax Incremental Funding (Residential TIF) seemed to be the direction that generated the most comments. A recent housing assessment, conducted by Black Hills Energy Community Assessment Team and presented December 18, 2009, noted that there should be about ten new homes built in Waukon annually to meet housing needs identified in the study.
Mayor Loren Beneke, who attended the meeting, noted that the presenter, Martin Shukert, shared some very useful information on the need for additional housing units in Waukon. Mayor Beneke also stated that he hoped to get Shukert back at a time more convenient for more people to hear his report.
Dennis DeBuhr, President of Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), indicated that his organization had been studying what it perceived as a housing shortage in Waukon for some time now, and that WEDC’s estimate, based on discussions with area developers, for new housing starts was similar to Shukert’s.
After about two hours of information sharing and discussion the Council approved a motion to develop a long-term housing plan that would include incentives for developers to create new subdivisions. The motion also suggested that the Council would utilize Residential TIF which requires a percentage match for the benefit of low- to moderate-income households.
To facilitate the negotiations between the City and prospective developers the Council asked WEDC to initiate activity in this area which will require new urban renewal plans and development agreements between developers and the City. The Council is encouraging individuals and companies interested in partnering with the City to contact WEDC or council persons to discuss the process further.