Staff proposes citywide expansion of CRA, longer rehab abatements and program fees

Cassie Scott, the city’s economic development manager, presented an overview of the Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) program and the staff recommendations at a work session. Scott said the program applies to commercial, industrial, mixed‑use and residential rehab projects and stressed it is a temporary tax incentive for a permanent public asset. "I'm proposing that we expand the boundary to include the remainder of the city," she said, adding that staff also recommends increasing rehab abatements to 15 years at 100% and implementing administrative fees to offset program costs.

Scott and other staff pointed to the program’s recent local results — about 3,300 housing units in the pipeline, with more than 2,400 using the CRA — and gave examples including a mixed‑use renovation producing 74 apartments and a brownfield turned into 34 townhomes. Commissioners asked for comparative benchmarking with peer cities and for updated analyses on whether broad application would displace private development that would occur without incentives. Scott said staff commissioned an independent housing study that supported expansion and that the policy will be reviewed yearly and adjusted with market conditions.