12 - 5-In-5 Housing In-Fill Program Moratorium

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Item No. 12 Memorandum TO: Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem & City Council Grayson Path, City Manager FROM: Robert G. Vine, Deputy City Manager SUBJECT: 5 -in -5 Housing In -Fill Program Moratorium DATE: March 11, 2024 BACKGROUND: The City of Paris created and implemented the 5 -in -5 Housing In -Fill Program to incentivize the construction of new housing units on vacant lots. Since the inception of this program, 9 agreements have been executed with a total of 25 housing units constructed within the 5 -In -5 development area with a breakdown of 9 single family units and 8 duplexes. There are active permits for 1 single family dwelling and 1 duplex with the remainder of the expected 47 new dwelling units not yet under construction. When all 9 of the active agreements have been completed, we will have a total of 75 new dwelling units constructed. STATUS OF ISSUE: A Housing Assessment conducted by a third party consultant is currently underway and will provide an inventory of the City's current housing units along with strategies to capitalize on opportunities to meet the specific housing needs of our City. The completed assessment is expected to be received in April 2024. The information in this assessment is expected to provide guidance for various City processes and programs, including the 5 -In -5 Housing In -Fill Program. Prior to this report being completed, staff has conducted a preliminary, internal review of the 5 - In -5 Program and identified some minor changes that could make the program even more successful and the process more efficient than it has been to date. Staff believes that while the program is being reviewed and amended it would be appropriate to temporarily pause the program for a period of 90 days, during which time no additional applications would be accepted or approved. This temporary pause of the program would provide staff time to focus on making the necessary adjustments to the program without the distraction of processing new applications and working around some of the issues identified as needing to be changed. This pause also allows staff enough time to bring recommendations back to the City Council for consideration before reopening the program and accepting new applications. As of this date, there are 2 open applications that Staff will continue to process. Staff does not believe a temporary pause of the program will have a negative impact on the program and anticipate the program will be more efficient and effective when it returns.