Saint Charles Inclusionary Housing Ordinance
Pulte Homes proposed to build a 105-home development on the 27-acre forested/industrial site west of downtown Saint Charles. The developer will be challenged to preserve the character of neighboring street’s existing homes.
In the Seventh Street Commons (formerly known as the Ninth Street Commons) proposal, the commissioners challenged Pulte with several Land Use Policies, which pertain to their concept plan:
-Preserve the character of existing homes
-Evaluate the impact the development may affect our schools and traffic
-Incorporate affordable units into the project
In the current neighborhood where Pulte wants to add their subdivision, the homes range from 200,000-450,000. The lot sizes range from 50×50 and some have 1/3 acre lots. On Dean Street, the most recent newly constructed home was a Habitat for Humanity House. The Seventh Street Commons homes have an absurd price range with a two-bedroom townhome starting at a base price of 530,000. The homes, without meeting the minimum lot size requirements of Saint Charles of 50×50, have a starting price of 600,000 with a 41×50 lot.
Title 19
The Pulte Homes Seventh Street Commons Development will be subject to the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, Title 19 of the City Code.
According to Title 19, “The affordable unit requirement is for 11 units; 2 townhome units and 9 single-family homes (10% of the units).”
While the code provides a means for site plans to incorporate affordable housing, developers can instead pay a fee-in-lieu of providing affordable units.
All Pulte has to do is pay a low fee of $262,274.00 to avoid providing any affordable homes. The fee breakdown is shown in the left graphic.
The Cost
The developers proposed the townhomes could be suitable for those who are trying to “downsize.” While the square footage of the units would be appealing for those who want to downsize – the cost would have a base priceof $530,000. This doesn’t include the upgrades they offer and they’re expecting those to sell for around $600,000. They consider these to be the most “cost-effective.”
Home Values and Property Taxes
The 40-foot ranch series they offer will start at $600,000 and they expect to close on these for $725,000.
To put this into perspective, they plan to add these homes in an area where the average home is around $300,000 to $490,000. Commissioner Wiese weighed in on this during the initial meeting stating, “St. Charles is actually one of the few communities left, where people can buy into the downtown at a relatively affordable price.”
When developers invest into neighborhoods, the surrounding homes will see their property values increase – but they will also see their property taxes increase once they are reassessed. For those that have lived in these homes for 20-30 years, they will get crushed by increased property taxes. For those that are renting from property owners, their rent will increase. Everything comes with a price and Dean Street, State Street and the surrounding areas will be the ones paying the price.
