A $20,000 incentive is now being offered to developers in exchange for attaching permanent affordability and occupancy restrictions to homes in McCall.
The new incentive was adopted last night by the McCall City Council as part of updates to the city’s housing program, which was established in 2019.
The updates target creating rental units priced for households making $35,000 or less per year and homes for sale for families making about $93,000 per year.
“We’re excited about being able to add more incentives and being able to sort of, I think, strengthen our existing program,” McCall Community and Economic Development Director Michelle Groenevelt said.
How does it work?
The $20,000 incentive is available to any developer or homeowner who agrees to place permanent deed restrictions on new housing units being built in the city. The restrictions would guarantee affordable rental rates and local occupancy, regardless of who owns the units.
The incentives would be paid by the city in the form of building fee waivers or public infrastructure cost offsets, like for sidewalks and city water connections.
Income qualifications and rental rates for the units would be set and regularly adjusted based on the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development standards for 50% of market rate in Valley County.
For 2024, the rates set by HUD for Valley County price a three-bedroom rental home at $1,183 per month, or about $300 less than what the agency deems fair market rent.
The lower rates could help reduce an estimated 38% of McCall workers who could not afford rent in 2022, based on median rental prices and U.S. Census Bureau data.
The incentive also applies to homes for sale, which would be subject to sales prices established by the city based on the area median income.
For 2024, that would mean sales prices ranging from about $440,000 up to $500,000—a price that would be in reach for families making about $93,000 per year, according to a housing consultant hired by the city.
Occupancy rules tweaked
The updated program also adjusted the rules for who qualifies to live in the deed-restricted units.
The homes are available to people ages 65 and up, but only if they have lived in the McCall area for at least 10 years. Previously, the deed-restricted units were available to anyone older than 65.
A previous version of the update increased an occupancy requirement from six months to nine months, but that change was dropped amid the council’s concerns that it could bar seasonal workers from living in the units.
Other requirements to occupy the units include working at least 30 hours per week for a McCall area business.
Administrative change
The updated program no longer requires the city council to approve each individual deed restriction issued by the city. Instead, a monthly progress report will be presented to the council.
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“That’s sort of an extra level of administration, and sometimes we might need to act a little faster than that,” Groenevelt said of the change.
The city’s housing program has produced 16 homes that are deed restricted for use only by local residents since it was created in 2019. Another 45 units have been approved for construction.
Those units, however, are not subject to affordability requirements and instead are priced at market rate.
Developers received a $10,000 incentive under the original tier of the housing program, which remains available following the update adopted by the council.
