Priorities remain, but Cedar Rapids City Council’s focus shifts on affordable housing and place-making

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids City Council’s priorities remain the same this year, but the focus now shifts to develop more specific plans and targets for affordable housing and the attraction and retention of workforce.

During the Cedar Rapids City Council’s 2024 goal-setting session Wednesday, members discussed the community's work in creating a desirable place to call home and the need for affordable housing options.

Members also debated the prioritization of infrastructure projects, including street maintenance, flood protection and public transportation, and emphasized the importance of prioritizing critical services while addressing gaps in housing and workforce recruitment.

Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell pushed for continued development of a long-term phasing plan for quality of life projects, including green spaces, events and cultural opportunities.

A facilitator asked members: In five years, as a result of your leadership, what will Cedar Rapids be recognized for?

“A proud community that has the public and private sectors working alongside citizens to create a vibrant and prosperous community,” O’Donnell said.

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Council member Ashley Vanorny responded: “A safer place everyone is proud to call home,” with a focus on those age 45 and under

“At some point I want to not have to convince my friends to stay here,” Vanorny said.

Vanorny represents District 5, which primarily encompasses southwest Cedar Rapids

Council members also discussed developing a more refined definition of their goal to "strengthen and stabilize neighborhoods,“ including supporting neighborhood associations as part of the priority.

“We're able to point to some progress in these same priorities,” O’Donnell told The Gazette following the meeting. “And, then, I think it's a real opportunity when we're in a position to say, ‘Let's refine them.’ And so affordable housing is a great example of an opportunity where we have to dig a little deeper and be a little bit more specific, where we want to focus our time and resources.”

Affordable housing

Council member Dale Todd, who represents District 3 that encompasses the downtown area, emphasized the need for intentional, targeted efforts to address affordable housing and homelessness, particularly for the "poorest of the poor."

“The folks that are a step or two away from being homeless. The single mom with two kids that’s working at a Casey's that’s trying to make it but her entire paycheck goes for rent,” he told The Gazette.

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Todd said the city should identify specific organizations and their capacity to develop affordable housing for underserved populations, assign responsibilities for outreach and partnership to develop housing options for individuals experiencing homelessness who are currently not being served by existing facilities, and evaluate reasons for unused bed capacity at emergency shelters and transitional housing.

To help developers balance affordability and profitability, Todd suggested the city help foster partnerships with landlords and nonprofits to address housing gaps.

“There are numerous tools out there to provide for the financing. But, we need to have the tough discussions with the people who have the capacity to do it to encourage them to do it in a way that builds on the tools that they already have in place,” he said. “I mean, we need to use our position to really sort of circle the wagons. … We need to help incentivize the supportive service piece that makes some of these projects cost prohibitive. And we need to have some serious conversations about who has the capacity to do it.”

Construction was slated to begin by late spring on 76 single-family homes for low- to moderate-income households affected by the 2020 derecho through a city program using $15 million in federal disaster recovery funds to expand affordable housing.

And in January, council members approved financial assistance to redevelop a 2020 derecho-damaged Midwest Athletic Club building into affordable housing. KCG Development is seeking Low-Income Housing Tax Credits through the Iowa Finance Authority to transform the building at 1220 Jacolyn Dr. SW into a $16 million, three-story building with 58 units. Plans call for a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units renting to tenants who earn at or below 60 percent the area median income.

The city’s incentives were part of the required local match to apply for tax credits.

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Cedar Rapids this year also made changes allowing low-income families to better access support by reducing lengthy waits for housing assistance.

Under the change, the city — which serves as the public housing authority for Linn and Benton counties — will allocate 55 vouchers per year to individuals experiencing homelessness, youths who have aged out of foster care and to refugee households based on referrals from social service agencies.

Flood control system, greenway plan

O’Donnell stressed the city’s main goal should be to attract workers and spur economic development by prioritizing projects that aim to improve quality of life through flood protection and recreational spaces.

The mayor, as well as other council members, advocated for separating the city’s Greenway Plan from flood protection and creating a singular focus on it as a community amenity essential for population growth and retention.

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The plan aims to revitalize the more than 100-acre greenway along the Cedar River and transform how city residents and visitors interact with the river.

The plan updates the original 2014 plan and is to come to the Cedar Rapids City Council this spring once the city gathers more public feedback on the concept.

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O’Donnell said the city needs to continue fostering close relationships between public and private sectors to facilitate redevelopment goals. She cited Greenville, South Carolina as an example of successful community redevelopment through public-private collaboration.

“We have to make sure that our city is vibrant — (that) it has an energy and an innovation to it, while it retains its 175-year-old character,” the mayor said. “Quality of life is at the top of the list in terms of for us to be successful in achieving our goals. We've got to have (and) we've got to get quality of life right. And we've got to invest in that. That means in planning and in resources, which this council today agreed to.”

Cedar Rapids resident Isacc Davis, 30, who attended the goal-setting discussion, highlighted the need for intentionality in economic development. He also emphasized the significance of prioritizing enduring issues like flood control, homelessness and streets, noting that Cedar Rapids has the potential to serve as a model for other cities.

Davis said he agrees with the priorities identified and appreciated the more focused discussion, particularly on affordable housing.

“How do you really do that? Because, throwing money at the problem isn't working,” he told The Gazette. “Making more units outside of any more context, that's not really going to get you anywhere. And something that I was really happy to see happen this year is there was a lot of conversation about our public transit system” as “one of those key ingredients that's often overlooked” in addressing economic development, homelessness and quality of life.

Other priorities continue

Current priorities remain a commitment and have seen traction, including:

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com