Affordable housing plans discussed

Nebraska municipalities would have more flexibility in creating affordable housing plans under a bill considered Jan. 18 by the Urban Affairs Committee.

LB724, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Matt Hansen, would allow revenue from the Local Option Municipal Development Act to be used to create an affordable housing plan, which are required of cities with populations greater than 20,000.

“This bill is an opportunity to further support our cities,” Hansen said. “This is a solely local program — local cities using their own local resources.”

Christy Abraham of the League of Nebraska Municipalities testified in support of the bill. Some Nebraska municipalities are required to develop affordable housing plans, Abraham said, and LB724 is a “creative” way to help cities do so.

“This is expanding [current law] just a little bit to allow those funds to be used to create their affordable action plan,” she said.

Carol Bodeen of the Nebraska Housing Developers Association also spoke in support of LB724.

She said the bill would enable more Nebraskans to own a home and enable cities to exercise local control in producing affordable housing plans.

No one testified in opposition to LB724 and the committee took no immediate action on it.