COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – North Idaho is taking steps to increase affordable housing options through development agreements. A workshop was held in Coeur d’Alene to explore how development agreements can benefit the community.
Ben McGrann highlighted the importance of collaboration during the event hosted with the Housing Solutions Partnership. “Everybody’s gotta work together to find real solutions,” he said. The event emphasized the need for cooperation between developers and city jurisdictions to reduce costs in housing developments. “Oftentimes there’s a lot of push and pull and compromise that needs to take place, and everybody needs to be willing to give a little,” McGrann added.
The average household income in Coeur d’Alene as of 2022 stands just over $70,000, according to Data USA. A home priced at $300,000 would qualify as affordable under these circumstances. However, McGrann noted, “there’s not too many homes in our area that are suitable for a family of three people that are in that range.”
Retired planning professional Patricia Nilsson spoke about the regulatory benefits of development agreements, pointing out that they can provide clearer guidelines for community projects. “So the development agreement can help kind of put that little box around it so generally people think it will fit in the community,” she said. She emphasized that development agreements could prioritize affordable housing in re-zones. “Hopefully everybody benefits in that it’s a way to put conditions on a rezone so that the project that’s being contemplated can actually meet community goals,” Nilsson stated.
With community objectives in mind, McGrann underscored the role of community involvement in reducing housing costs. “If there’s a way that we can all work together collectively through a lot of different donations and grants we can help bring those prices down for people to be able to afford them,” he said.
For more information on affordable housing efforts in Kootenai County, visit www.housingni.org
