Affordable housing requirement axed

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004 | 10:14 a.m.

The Henderson City Council on Tuesday agreed to drop a requirement that affordable housing be included in the development of 1,940 acres the Bureau of Land Management is scheduled to auction June 2.

Developers cited that requirement, among other reasons, when explaining why no one bid on the property during last year's BLM auction.

The mayor and some City Council members said they want an affordable housing program, which is also called workforce housing, for future development. However, they went along with city staff members who said Tuesday that the specifics of such a program still need to be worked out and couldn't be completed before June.

"We do not feel we are in a position to develop specifics ... by June," City Attorney Shauna Hughes told the council. Hughes said confusion among potential bidders over exactly what they would be required to do led, at least in part, to no one bidding on the property during the last auction.

The affordable housing requirement would have required builders to sell 10 percent of the homes on the site at reduced prices. Developers pointed to that requirement, along with the $250 million appraised price tag and an estimated $214.4 million in infrastructure costs, as reasons why the property solicited no bids last time.

Developers also complained about the requirement for low-density housing, a high concentration of green space and difficult terrain. The land is south of the Henderson Executive Airport.

City staff said last month they wanted to eliminate the affordable housing requirement from the upcoming auction of the 1,940 acres.

Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers said during Tuesday's meeting that she is concerned housing in Henderson is becoming too expensive for the teachers and nurses in the community. Cyphers also cautioned that an affordable housing program won't be any easier to create later.

Councilman Steve Kirk said he was comfortable with leaving affordable housing out of the development requirements

"It's not government's responsibility to involve itself in the market," Kirk said.

However, he said that one way the city could influence housing prices is by allowing higher density residential developments.

Mayor Jim Gibson concluded the council discussion with a warning that the increasing price of homes could upset the demographic mix the city currently enjoys.

But the mayor added that at this time the council is "not going to insist upon the workforce housing element."