photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

To increase the community’s stock of affordable housing, the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority wants more freedom to buy property without asking local government leaders first, and the County Commission could grant that at its meeting this week.

On Wednesday, commissioners will consider whether to modify the Housing Authority’s joint city-county resolution to allow the Housing Authority to buy and sell property independently and in its own name, and to pledge property it already owns to secure more funds for affordable housing. The City Commission already approved the changes at its meeting on July 11, and they will take effect if the County Commission signs off.

According to a memo from the Housing Authority to county leaders, the current agreement prevents the Housing Authority from incurring debt, borrowing money, issuing bonds and acquiring or disposing of real property without first getting approval from the Lawrence City Commission. It also can’t do any of these things in its own name; instead, the City of Lawrence holds all of the deeds associated with Housing Authority properties.

The Housing Authority says similar agencies in other Kansas cities aren’t nearly as restricted, and that the rules hinder it from expanding its affordable housing portfolio and seeking tax credits.

In the memo, the Housing Authority says that the lengthy city approval process makes it “difficult to negotiate” prices in real estate deals, and that “parties selling real estate are not open to having the process delayed by months.”

It also says it’s missing out on a potentially valuable way to develop significant numbers of affordable housing units: Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

The tax credits are “the only avenue available to develop a significant number of affordable units,” according to the Housing Authority’s memo. It listed several other communities in Kansas whose housing authorities have used them to build low-income housing projects: Topeka, Eskridge, Parsons, Salina, and Wichita. In order to take advantage of them here, however, the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority would have to hold the deeds to the properties itself, which it can’t do under the current resolution.

Even if the new rules are approved, the Housing Authority would still have some restrictions. It would still require permission from the Lawrence city manager and the Douglas County administrator before it could incur new debt, and it wouldn’t be able to issue bonds or have eminent domain powers.

As of Tuesday afternoon there were no other items listed on the County Commission’s agenda. The commission’s meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Douglas County Courthouse; a Zoom link can be found on the county’s website, douglascountyks.org.