Middle Income Down Payment Pilot program launches
April 30, 2023
"In 2019, Boulder residents overwhelmingly passed Ballot Issue 2I, with nearly 70% voting “yes.” The measure sought to give the city the ability to accrue $10 million in debt in order to provide down payment assistance to middle-income earners in Boulder.... Under the program, first-time buying, middle-income households — defined as households earning up to 120% of the area median income — could receive up to $200,000 in down payment assistance... Boulder would cover interest payments on the loan.
In April 2023, Council voted to approve implementation of the Middle Income Down Payment Assistance Pilot Program. The loan amount is $200,000 or 30% of the home’s sale price, whichever is less. City web page.
With the city approved for $10 million in debt, reporting from 2019 presumed the program would provide assistance to roughly 10 home buyers each year." Daily Camera Editorial,
If each family got $100K, then $10M would help 100 families, courtesy of Boulder taxpayers.
Let's compare this effort to converting BDU to a neighborhood.
BDU acreage is the largest plot of develop-able land in Boulder. The City already owns this land. That is, taxpayers own the land. It is already within the City limits and zoned for development. Consider that if 175 acres of BDU land was developed at 16 units per acre, like the Holiday neighborhood in north Boulder, it could support 2800 middle income housing units. Also, the city would reap new property taxes on every unit.
Contrast that with spending up to $200K for ten home buyers each year. (This is doesn't even count all the subsidies to maintain the airport, nor the opportunity cost of increased tax revenue from a converted use.) Is supporting 150 airport tenants and providing free services for other pilots from elsewhere worth this tradeoff?
Maybe with the increased tax revenue the neighborhood could generate we could have some transportation that benefits everyone, and not just a privileged few.
"In 2019, Boulder residents overwhelmingly passed Ballot Issue 2I, with nearly 70% voting “yes.” The measure sought to give the city the ability to accrue $10 million in debt in order to provide down payment assistance to middle-income earners in Boulder.... Under the program, first-time buying, middle-income households — defined as households earning up to 120% of the area median income — could receive up to $200,000 in down payment assistance... Boulder would cover interest payments on the loan.
In April 2023, Council voted to approve implementation of the Middle Income Down Payment Assistance Pilot Program. The loan amount is $200,000 or 30% of the home’s sale price, whichever is less. City web page.
With the city approved for $10 million in debt, reporting from 2019 presumed the program would provide assistance to roughly 10 home buyers each year." Daily Camera Editorial,
If each family got $100K, then $10M would help 100 families, courtesy of Boulder taxpayers.
Let's compare this effort to converting BDU to a neighborhood.
BDU acreage is the largest plot of develop-able land in Boulder. The City already owns this land. That is, taxpayers own the land. It is already within the City limits and zoned for development. Consider that if 175 acres of BDU land was developed at 16 units per acre, like the Holiday neighborhood in north Boulder, it could support 2800 middle income housing units. Also, the city would reap new property taxes on every unit.
Contrast that with spending up to $200K for ten home buyers each year. (This is doesn't even count all the subsidies to maintain the airport, nor the opportunity cost of increased tax revenue from a converted use.) Is supporting 150 airport tenants and providing free services for other pilots from elsewhere worth this tradeoff?
Maybe with the increased tax revenue the neighborhood could generate we could have some transportation that benefits everyone, and not just a privileged few.