The Paris City Council on Aug. 26, 2024 voted unanimously to amend the city’s 5 and 5 housing infill program, a package of incentives intended to encourage development of infill housing in targeted areas.

The council approved the revised guidelines and criteria by resolution, 6–0. Staff told council the revisions were drafted after a temporary moratorium and discussions with developers and staff and are intended to make the program more accessible while steering development toward single‑family infill.

What changed

- Minimum units: staff reduced the program entry minimum from five units to one unit to allow smaller developers or owner‑builders to participate; time limits in the contract will vary depending on units agreed.
- Contract cap: a per‑contract cap of 10 units was added to address building and fire code technicalities.
- Completion threshold: a developer must finish at least 80% of the signed contract before becoming eligible for another contract.
- Incentives restructured by housing type: single‑family, duplex and multifamily are treated differently for the five incentive categories (low‑cost lots, tax abatement, reduced building plan review, reduced permit fees and reduced water/sewer tap rates).
- Tax abatement: single‑family properties may receive a 5‑year, 100% abatement; duplexes receive a 3‑year, 100% abatement; multifamily abatements phase down over three years (100% first year, 75% second year, 50% third year), per staff presentation.
- Plan review discounts: staff will provide 100% plan‑review fee reduction for single‑family plans and for sprinkled duplexes (encouraging sprinklers); unsprinkled duplexes receive a 50% reduction; multifamily projects receive no plan‑review reduction under the new draft.
- Tap fee reductions: 25% reductions for water and sewer taps for qualifying projects in each category.

Staff said the program will allow pre‑approved plan designs and that plan design guidance will encourage compatibility with existing neighborhoods; staff emphasized that architectural standards will be encouraged but not mandated under the infill program.

Council discussion focused on the program’s purpose and the change to a one‑unit minimum. Several council members said they worried the revision could dilute the program’s original goal of producing multiple new single‑family units in targeted neighborhoods. Staff responded that the one‑unit option is intended to help individual homeowners or small builders with constrained parcels and that contract timeframes will be tailored to unit counts so very small projects cannot indefinitely tie up program capacity. “The 5 is not the 5 minimum, but now it is 5 incentives in 5 years,” a staff member said during the debate, explaining the shift in the program’s framing.

The council asked staff to clarify a sliding scale of time limits tied to the number of units and asked staff to more clearly document timeframes in future presentations; staff said those details will be written into individual agreements.

A final vote: Councilmember moved to approve the amended 5 and 5 program and a second was recorded. The motion carried, 6–0.

Ending

Staff will finalize the revised program documents, include the clarified timeframes in the contract templates, and post the changes to the application form. Council members asked for continued guidance to ensure the program remains focused on single‑family infill where intended.