City officials are discussing possible adjustments to codes and funding mechanisms in support of workforce housing development.
In March, representatives from Great Falls Development Alliance, NeighborWorks Great Falls, Home Builders Association of Great Falls and the Great Falls Association of Realtors presented four suggestions to commissioners.
They wrote that the city can make housing development more appealing to developers by:
- aligning existing urban renewal tax increment financing districts with the state law provision allowing workforce housing as a reimbursable expense
- leveraging special improvement districts to address infrastructure cost and barrier to new development
- considering the highest and best use of city-owned properties that might be appropriate to develop into housing through a request for qualifications/proposals process
- pre-approve plan sets for accessory dwelling units
The four local groups wrote that local housing costs are up 61 percent since 2020 and “without a new and consistent supply of housing units in Great Falls housing costs will continue to rise, putting extreme pressure on our most vulnerable residents and major employers alike.”
They wrote that there’s been some recent successes to increase housing stock, but the city is still “severely behind production numbers highlighted in the 2024 housing market demand assessment required to curb the rise in housing costs.”
GFDA releases updated housing assessment showing increased demand [2024]
That assessment found a need for more than 650 new units per year.
The four agencies asked the city to include their feedback in the growth policy process and encouraged commissioners to also consider the changes.
During their May 6 work session, Commissioner Joe McKenney said that he had asked Mayor Cory Reeves save some time for discussion on those March housing recommendations.
McKenney said that using TIF for workforce housing wouldn’t need a new district, but the city could update the existing TIF program for residential units on the currently vacant upper floors of many downtown buildings.
“There’s room downtown for workforce housing,” he said.
To consider that, McKenney said, commissioners need to direct the city manager to bring a presentation for their consideration.
The city planning department has scheduled two discussion sessions about the use of downtown TIF funds for workforce housing.
Those sessions are both in the commission chambers at the Civic Center:
- May 28, noon to 1:30 p.m.
- May 29, 5:30-7 p.m.
The city has defined workforce housing as housing that is affordable to families earning 60 percent to 140 percent of the area median income or state median income.
In a TIF district, the taxes paid on improvements within a district stay within that district for use toward additional eligible improvements under state law.
The city has five TIF districts, one of which is the downtown district. Two are industrial, one is the airport and the other is the West Bank Urban Renewal District.
McKenney said the city hadn’t done much with special improvement districts but with the growth potential, they could seriously consider that option, though he had concerns with bonding and city liability.
McKenney said using city owned land for housing wasn’t a priority to him but staff could bring a proposal for consideration at the appropriate time, and he wasn’t sure pre-approved ADU plans should be a city policy, but could consider conceptual plans.
McKenney asked his fellow commissioners to guide the city manager to look at those options and bring something they could consider in the near future.
Reeves asked if he was looking for guidance that night or at their next meeting in two weeks.
McKenney said they received this information in March.
“We receive a lot, we look at it and we kinda forget about it,” he said, but was comfortable giving guidance that night.
Commissioner Rick Tryon said he was in favor of considering the options and that their planning director had sent them a memo shortly after the four local organizations presented the letter in March.
City Manager Greg Doyon said that using TIF for workforce housing would take some time and the city had already engaged outside counsel to explore special improvement districts.
As for city owned land, Doyon said the city had considered sale or development before of undeveloped parkland.
City approves grant submission, debates parks, parking [Tribune, 2014]
Doyon said the idea on ADUs didn’t seem the priority and needed more discussion.
He said the city planning director could provide a timeline on the options in his memo, but that commissioners should keep in mind the department is working on the growth policy.
Mayor wants Gibson Park development [Tribune, 2014]
Reeves said it was all important, but he was “really passionate about developing undeveloped parkland and getting some housing in there. People are gonna lose their marbles.”
McKenney said he believed the commission was telling staff to get to work on those suggestions.
In a March 19 memo to commissioners, Brock Cherry, city planning director, assessed each of the recommendations and offered potential next steps.
“These recommendations could be pursued immediately or incorporated into the upcoming growth policy update as goals and objectives to guide long-term housing strategies,” Cherry wrote.
TIF funds are currently primarily used for infrastructure and redevelopment improvements.
Several years ago, the city expanded its downtown TIF program to allow more private developers to apply for funds for specific eligible property improvements such as life safety code compliance, façades and environmental safety.
City approves expanded TIF programs for downtown projects [2021]
State law allows workforce housing as an eligible TIF expense, but the city’s TIF policies would need to be adjusted, Cherry wrote, which requires amending the city’s urban renewal plans and defining what qualifies as workforce housing within the city.
The city would also need to further discuss that change with the Downtown Development Partnership and others to ensure the change “aligns with existing redevelopment goals,” he wrote.
Commission to consider amendment to downtown plan for drainage projects [2022]
Commissioners could direct staff in the near term to draft amendments and policies that include workforce housing as an eligible TIF reimbursable expense and provide clarification if they want those requests determined solely by commissioners or would allow some staff discretion to administratively approve some of those funds like other downtown TIF programs.
In the longer term, such as the growth policy process, commissioners could evaluate the role of TIF in supporting workforce housing as part of broader housing and redevelopment policies, Cherry wrote.
To use special improvement districts for infrastructure costs to ease new development, Cherry wrote that it’s been more than 20 years since the city administered an SID and the city’s SID policy is more than 30 years old so it may need updating to reflect current regulations and industry practices.
SIDs are a funding mechanism allowing property owners to collectively fund infrastructure through property assessments.
According to project application materials from Upslope for a housing development on the east side, the developers are in preliminary discussions with city staff about using an SID to help with infrastructure costs.
Creation of SIDs requires commission action.
Cherry wrote that commissioners could identify in the short term priority areas where SIDs could be beneficial for housing development and staff would review the existing policy to update as necessary.
In the growth policy process, commissioners could develop policy guidance on using SIDs to strategically support future housing growth and infrastructure improvements, Cherry wrote.
To use city owned properties for housing development, Cherry wrote that the city owns several parcels that may be suitable for housing and conducting a request for qualifications or proposals would ensure the city attracts qualified developers with viable projects.
The city would need to consider the feasibility of mixed-income developments, infrastructure needs and zoning requirements for such proposals, Cherry wrote, and a transparent selection process would be needed.
In the short-term, commissioners could direct staff to conduct an inventory of city-owned properties in partnership with GFDA and assess suitability for housing development. City staff could seek commission approval to issue solicitations for development proposals on those properties.
Through the growth policy process, commissioners could identify and prioritize surplus city land for housing development as part of future planning efforts.
