City Council Minutes 2022 09 06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes September 6, 2022 Page 7 of 13 Councilmember Leh noted a housing study and the Comp Plan were going to be done this year but they needed to be postponed due to fire recovery. He is concerned that without the full housing study, the Council may not have the data they need in order to create a good process. He noted everyone on the Council supports affordable housing but without understanding what the market will bear, how to incentivize the process, etc., he worries we could end up discouraging any affordable housing being built if the percentage is too high. He stated he is not ready to go to 30% without more information and is worried this ordinance has no reasonable expectation of success. Councilmember Dickinson stated there has been concern that turning commercial to residential could affect sales tax, but it could also be a boon. He likes the 30% requirement, likes it being on site, and not having a fee in lieu option. However, he is also concerned it could be a disincentive to redevelopment for residential development. He would like to see more incentives to make sure this is feasible and to show this is important to us. Would prefer to see a housing study and the Comp Plan first to make sure this will be successful and we actual get more affordable housing. Councilmember Most stated this is very important and we need to also have incentives. She would like to start with this without waiting for a housing study. Online shopping is not going away and we are not likely to lose tax revenue. We need to move aggressively now and we can continue to revise it if needed. Councilmember Brown stated we are not under any obligation to create a profit for developers, but we have an obligation to get the best development for Louisville. Housing that is affordable and purposeful is the goal. We should discuss incentives, but not at the delay of this ordinance. Councilmember Fahey stated she is very much in favor of affordable housing, however, she is less inclined to go with the requirement than to find a way to use incentives. She supports getting the housing study and the Comp Plan done first to know what percentage will work and what incentives are needed. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney agreed that there is a sense of urgency that we need to act. He noted incentives will be very important to get what we want, density, parking, etc. He would like to see a broad strategy to address affordable housing across the City and look at all options. Thirty percent may not be the right number, maybe it could work with incentives. The 30% may just be a disincentive, we don't know without a broader strategy and plan in place. Public Comments — None. Councilmember Most stated there are no easy answers and we simply need to move forward with the areas we want to see change and building. We need to find a way for the community to get what it wants now and not wait any longer. We have to find a way