Reinvestment Housing Incentive District Policy Revisions
At a glance
Based on auto-generated captions; names and numbers may be misheard.
- What: staff proposed revisions to the city's Reinvestment Housing Incentive District (RHID) policy, currently Resolution 9695 (adopted 2025).
- Where it stands: first briefing to the Policy & Finance Committee on 2026-10-12; no vote. The chair asked to bring it back for action at the November 4 meeting before it goes to the Governing Body.
- Next: committee action in November, then the Governing Body.
The proposed changes
- Replace the 2020 housing study references with the 2026 housing study and housing needs analysis, with language that the study is updated about every five years as budget allows so the resolution need not be rewritten each time. The city may stop offering RHID help for a housing type once that need no longer exists.
- Require developers, when filing the step-two application, to engage school districts, Shawnee County and other affected taxing jurisdictions and document it: amount sought, planned use of the increment, duration and the financial impact on each. This goes beyond the 30-day veto period state law gives those bodies after final action. Staff said developers on current applications are already doing this, and USD 501 had raised concerns.
- Clarify reimbursement of eligible expenses against the $25,000 step-two application deposit.
- Allow the Governing Body, by resolution, to grant an exception for special obligation bonds if a bond trustee is written into the agreement, the city is only the issuer (no backing or guarantee) and proceeds go first to the trustee. Pay-as-you-go remains preferred; bonds otherwise only after four years of stabilization.
- A certificate of good standing is now to be supplied with the application rather than pulled by staff.
- The revisions were drafted by city staff with Braxton Copley, the city's financial adviser (Columbia Capital) and bond counsel (Gilmore and Bell); names as captioned.
Discussion
- Bradberry asked why earlier outreach and bond flexibility were wanted; Banks asked whether the language updates itself every five years.
- A resident, Henry McClure, said the "but for" test and added review are unneeded hurdles because the city has a housing shortage.
- McGee (by Zoom) asked that the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan be revisited; Dan Warner's department manages it, the plan runs through 2027 and review is expected in the first quarter of 2027.
- See also Industrial Revenue Bond Policy Revisions.
Sources
Discussion time
About 23 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-12 - Policy & Finance Committee | 23 |
Log
- 2026-10-12 - Policy & Finance Committee - first briefing on the RHID policy revisions; questions on outreach, bonds and the five-year study update; chair asked for the item to return for action in November; no vote.