McCall council adopts formal housing appeals process after resident questions

The McCall City Council unanimously adopted an administrative update on May 14 that creates a formal appeals process for determinations under the city's housing program.

The change, presented by Breeze, the housing program manager, establishes defined timelines, procedures and responsibilities for applicants and an appeals board. Breeze said the draft is modeled on existing appeals processes in the city code, including procedures used by the building board of examiners and planning and zoning hearings, and has been reviewed by the city's legal team and consultant Adrian Quinn.

Why it matters: Council members said the limited appeals scope and procedural clarity will help ensure fairness and administrative consistency for participants in McCall's affordable housing program. The procedure narrows the grounds for appeal to a short list of causes so the board will only consider issues directly tied to housing program determinations, staff told the council.

Resident Steve Cavney, who identified himself at the start of public comment as living at 1563 McCall Avenue, urged caution before creating a separate appellate board. "The language of the lease as we have it now seems pretty clear, and there seem to be steps within that lease to appeal both the price that would be assessed for that monthly lease and the eligibility," Cavney said, asking whether a new board was necessary and how the council would be involved in appointing members. Breeze and other staff said the appeals board is intended to provide a clear, consistent process and that unsatisfied appellants would be able to seek Council review in limited circumstances.

Council discussion focused on how members would be appointed and the limited scope of issues the appeals board would hear. Council members repeated that the procedure is intended to apply to affordable housing determinations only and to keep the process narrow so it does not duplicate other hearings (for example, conditional use permits or land-use matters). One council member explained that the housing board would be chosen by the community development director, and only if parties remained unsatisfied would a matter be eligible for Council consideration.

The council adopted the update as Resolution 26-22 by roll-call vote.

What happens next: Staff will implement the new administrative procedure and return to the council with any necessary amendments to the housing program documents or additional information on board appointments.