Denton commission unanimously approves amendments to affordability incentive program
March 18, 2026 | Denton City, Denton County, Texas
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City staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission moved on March 18 to amend the affordability incentive program in the Denton Development Code (section 2.12) to expand access and better target local affordability. Leah Atkinson, housing programs coordinator, presented the changes and recommended approval.
Atkinson said staff proposes four principal changes: removing the right-of-first-refusal requirement, eliminating the program’s scaling qualification in favor of a 15% threshold to access incentives, distinguishing rental and ownership affordability thresholds to better reflect Denton market rates, and clarifying requirements for small developments with fewer than 20 homes. She told the commission that the program, created Oct. 15, 2024, has received six applications so far, with two multifamily projects under construction after executing program contracts.
"We found that the right of first refusal does very little to protect the affordability," Atkinson said, adding that Denton’s existing lien process and other program rules protect affordable units while the right-of-first-refusal created administrative friction for developers and lenders. On homeownership projects, staff proposed shortening the affordability period from 30 years to 5 years and setting the homeownership threshold at 80% AMI to improve feasibility.
Commissioners asked about outreach and whether projects would have been built absent the program. Atkinson said staff hopes the amendments will encourage more applications and noted staff attends pre-application conferences and other developer outreach. Commissioners also noted long waiting lists for some housing programs; Atkinson said housing authorities’ voucher waiting lists can be several years long.
Commissioner Ketcher moved to approve the development-code amendments; Commissioner Riggs seconded and the motion passed 5-0.
Next steps: the approved recommendation moves to City Council for final action (per the code-amendment process).
Atkinson said staff proposes four principal changes: removing the right-of-first-refusal requirement, eliminating the program’s scaling qualification in favor of a 15% threshold to access incentives, distinguishing rental and ownership affordability thresholds to better reflect Denton market rates, and clarifying requirements for small developments with fewer than 20 homes. She told the commission that the program, created Oct. 15, 2024, has received six applications so far, with two multifamily projects under construction after executing program contracts.
"We found that the right of first refusal does very little to protect the affordability," Atkinson said, adding that Denton’s existing lien process and other program rules protect affordable units while the right-of-first-refusal created administrative friction for developers and lenders. On homeownership projects, staff proposed shortening the affordability period from 30 years to 5 years and setting the homeownership threshold at 80% AMI to improve feasibility.
Commissioners asked about outreach and whether projects would have been built absent the program. Atkinson said staff hopes the amendments will encourage more applications and noted staff attends pre-application conferences and other developer outreach. Commissioners also noted long waiting lists for some housing programs; Atkinson said housing authorities’ voucher waiting lists can be several years long.
Commissioner Ketcher moved to approve the development-code amendments; Commissioner Riggs seconded and the motion passed 5-0.
Next steps: the approved recommendation moves to City Council for final action (per the code-amendment process).
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