Brie (the city’s new housing program manager) and representatives from LEAP Housing asked the City of McCall to authorize staff to explore a partnership to build affordable housing on two city-owned parcels. The proposal includes a 30-unit low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) infill project on the northwest corner of the civic campus and a lower-density roughly 16-unit homeownership project on Flynn Lane.

The housing program manager, Brie, said McCall is using ground leases and deed restrictions to preserve local housing and that deed-restricted units will include appreciation caps tied to inflation or 3% per year. She described recent compliance work and a local wage snapshot (11 of 24 households reported wages; reported wages ranged from $18 to $54 per hour, with an approximate average of $29 per hour), which she said underlined the need for both rental and ownership options for residents who work locally.

Bart Cochran, founder and CEO of LEAP Housing, told the council his organization has developed both rental and ownership housing across Idaho and has LIHTC experience. LEAP described the LIHTC application timeline (state application round in August; awards later that year) and said a competitive application and multiple funding elements would be required. LEAP estimated the LIHTC project could reach construction in the 2027 season if awarded credits, while the Flynn Lane ownership project could move faster and potentially begin construction in 2026 if required approvals and funding align.

Brie said the civic-campus site is within the city’s civic zoning and Urban Renewal District and argued that using city-owned land counts as a public monetary contribution that strengthens a LIHTC application. The Flynn Lane parcel was described as serviced, relatively flat land adjacent to Ponderosa State Park and suitable for a neighborhood-style homeownership cluster that preserves the city’s land ownership to keep homes perpetually affordable.

Council members and commissioners asked about site impacts, previously expressed senior-center concerns from a past developer proposal, parking, building height constraints (flight path and tree height discussed), unit mix and typical unit sizes (LEAP noted a common unit-size average of roughly 1,000 square feet, often with three bedrooms in mountain-town products), and how subsidies would stack (ground-lease value, charitable capital, down-payment assistance, and potential low-cost mortgage pilots were discussed). In response, staff and LEAP emphasized the need for early, collaborative design work and community engagement to reduce neighborhood concerns and to make LIHTC applications competitive.

No formal ordinance was adopted at the meeting. Instead, councilors signaled they were generally supportive of staff pursuing feasibility work and more detailed documents with LEAP Housing; staff said they would return with redlines, specifics and any necessary procurement or program documents. The council later moved forward with the meeting’s second agenda item (zoning code amendments).