Manhattan city commissioners on Tuesday agreed housing incentives should be as flexible as possible. In an initial discussion about how to use sales-tax revenue to develop workforce housing, the commission acknowledged Manhattan is in a housing crisis and that it needs to take steps to address that. “We do a lot of studies at the city,” mayor Wynn Butler said. “We do a lot of talking at the city, and now it’s time to take some action on the housing. So I think that’s where we are going. I think the commission all agrees with that philosophy.” City staff asked the commission for direction about how to use funds from the 0.5% economic recovery and relief sales tax, which voters passed in 2020. Seventy percent of that revenue is dedicated to paying down city debt and fixing infrastructure, 20% to creating new jobs and 10% to workforce housing. Kristen Dolf, assistant to the city manager, said the city projects a total revenue of $80 million between 2023 and 2033. That means an estimated $8 million will be available for workforce housing. Over the past year, the Workforce Housing Steering Committee has reviewed the housing market challenges and discussed the “workforce housing initiatives” portion of the sales tax. Some of the committee’s recommendations include incentives on projects like higher density housing, prioritizing housing projects over parking developments, avoiding repetitive actions like studies and avoiding specific requirements for the sales tax funding.
Source: themercury.com
