Sedgwick County Commissioners have denied the creation of a Reinvestment Housing Incentive District for the City of Goddard.

The Goddard City Council had created the district to help with financing for a planned 100-unit apartment complex at 3rd and Goddard Road.   Kansas City attorney Joe Oaks, representing the city, told county commissioners that the project is targeted at moderate income households and renters.  He said Goddard has had fast growth in population and there hasn’t been an apartment project in the city in decades.  Oaks said a 2023 study found that the housing supply has not kept up with demand, and there is a significant need for more housing options for renters and smaller-income households.

The county’s deputy chief financial officer, Brent Shelton, said the project would be economically feasible without support of the incentive district.   He said the $17 million project has $2.6 million in public support from a sales tax exemption granted by Goddard and from a $2 million housing grant from the State of Kansas.   Shelton said the agreement for the project does not have enough safeguards to protect against risk for local government.

Commissioner David Dennis said the project doesn’t have enough of a return on investment for taxpayers, and it’s shifting the tax burden for county services for that area to the rest of the taxpayers in the county.   He also said under legislation that created the incentive districts, counties only have two options: take no action and allow the district to be created, or take action to deny the district.  He said counties aren’t able to make modifications in any housing development agreements.   Commissioners Pete Meitzner and Jim Howell said they want to push for changes in the legislation to allow for more flexibility.   Howell said he hopes Goddard will still find a way to get the apartment project done.

The RHID is a new economic development tool created by the Kansas Legislature to encourage housing development that would spur economic growth in a community.   In creating the district, cities and counties would have to find that there is a shortage of quality housing, that it is expected to persist, and that the shortage is a deterrent to future economic growth.

Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution finding that the Goddard district would create an adverse economic impact on Sedgwick County.   Commissioners approved a policy in April for addressing RHID requests, and this was the first proposal brought to them for consideration.