Cape Council to discuss fee deferral for ‘affordable housing’
By JIM LINETTE
City Council’s monthly workshop session convenes on Monday with four main topics for discussion.
City staff supports the concept of an impact fee deferral program for single family homes to help meet the needs of the population for affordable workforce housing. Staff met with Habitat for Humanity president Kitty Green and Gary Aubuchon where the need for a deferral program was demonstrated.
The pilot program consists of a maximum of 150 homes over the course of five years, helping the city meet its obligations to provide workforce housing. Habitat for Humanity serves families making 80 percent or less of the area median income, made up of restaurant servers, store clerks, lawn maintenance, construction and hospital workers.
Council members also will mull the city’s bicycle and pedestrian plan that seeks to achieve a bike and pedestrian friendly community, increasing the numbers of people using the network while decreasing the number of crashes along major roads.
Members will be updated on city’s economic development master plan which is comprised of six initiatives. The first two initiatives were discussed at January’s workshop session, so staff will go over part or all of the remaining initiatives as time permits.
Those initiatives include attracting key and emerging sectors, developing a competitive workforce, enhancing and revitalizing infrastructure as well as encouraging entrepreneurs and small business development.
Lastly, Utilities Director Jeff Pearson will present the annual utilities report. The report includes an assessment of the ability of the system to meet anticipated service demands and an estimate of the revenue necessary for such purposes.
The meeting starts at 4:30 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 1015 Cultural Park Blvd.