Housing Authority Action Expected After New Year

MOSCOW – A request to establish a housing authority in Moscow won’t be reviewed by the City Council until after the new mayor and council members are seated in the new year, the Fair and Affordable Housing Commission was told at its monthly meeting Thursday. The commission in September sent a letter to the council requesting formation of the housing authority .

There has been some pushback against a housing authority, notably by John Slagboom, who observed at Thursday’s meeting. He is a Moscow renter and unsuccessful City Council candidate with a background in resource management, sustainability and energy efficiency. Find his most recent comments about a housing authority at https://www.facebook.com/share/1BwjQHbWwM/?mibextid=wwXIfr. 

Similarly, an Oct. 9 letter to the editor to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News stated that housing authorities established in other Idaho cities have not realized the benefits that were anticipated.

In its housing authority letter, the commission expressed wishes that an authority not impose fees or taxes on the community nor become a burden to the city or its staff. But it also expressed hope that after the initial start-up, the housing authority would be self-sustaining via grants and development income.

The commission in early 2025 was approached by Casey Bolt of the nonprofit Sojourner’s Alliance (https://www.sojournersalliance.org/) about creating a housing authority in Moscow. In subsequent commission meetings, Bolt presented: the economics of housing; his discussions with the city about composing a volunteer board with a paid director; a proposal by the volunteer Moscow Housing Authority Working Group to subsidize the cost of rentals rather than purchasing property for low-income housing; and the option of a vacancy tax on owners who leave their properties unused. 

Throughout the spring and summer, the commission also heard from:

* Moscow Housing Authority Working Group members Nancy Chaney, Kathy Dawes, Breanna Sipley, Brandy Brooks, Ryan Urie and Suzy James. Chaney discussed a League of Women Voters poverty study. Brooks, Urie and James described personal experiences about finding housing in Moscow.

* Dan Schoenberg of Palouse Properties, a property management company, about his experience as a multifamily property owner in the community.

* Nils Peterson, executive director of the nonprofit Hills and Rivers Housing Trust.

* Julia Parker, City Council member and liaison to the commission, about requirements for a housing commission, including: a 3-year plan; budget and finances; executive and operational structure; coordination with nonprofit organizations; and definition of targets specific to transitional housing and manufactured home parks.

In its May meeting, the commission discussed concerns that affordable housing developers have voiced in regard to requirements and processes. 

In April, the board discussed:

* Idaho code regarding housing authorities

* A possible housing needs assessment

* How housing authorities are funded

* What oversight is needed

* Rent prices in Moscow

* How existing housing authorities in Idaho operate

In other business, the commission reviewed lists of local housing resources and income-based rentals compiled by Lucy Falcy, City of Moscow planner and staff liaison to the commission. 

“People call me, sometimes they are desperate, asking where they can go or who they can contact to get help with housing,” Falcy said. She asked the commission’s help to refine her lists of resources: “Where can I direct people? Is there anything I am missing?”

Falcy’s lists can be found on pages 5-7 of the commission agenda packet at https://moscowid.portal.civicclerk.com/event/3409/files/agenda/9323. Other potential resources mentioned by commissioners include: Palouse Properties, Community Action Partnership in Lewiston, Disability Action Center Northwest, Intermountain Fair Housing Council in Boise, Alternatives to Violence on the Palouse, Northwest Justice Project, Latah Recovery Community and the legal aid clinic at the University of Idaho law school. 

Commissioner Randy Baukol asked where the lists could be made available to the public. Falcy said there is no place appropriate right now on the city’s website. Commissioner Jennifer Wallace suggested adding the resources lists to the commission’s website documents (https://www.ci.moscow.id.us/358/Fair-Affordable-Housing-Commission). 

The commission also discussed an article in the Idaho Capital Sun about an Idaho Land Use and Housing Study Committee report (https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/10/24/infrastructure-zoning-incentives-idaho-housing-study-committee-homes-in-on-recommendations/). It reinforces that housing is a concern statewide and nationwide, noted Eija Sumner, commission chair.

Commissioners said responsibility rests with the state to take action to address some of Idaho’s housing challenges, such as funding the housing trust fund to match federal allocations or allowing rent control or amending 2021’s House Bill 389 – which capped local government budgets and reduced new construction taxes in order to ease resident property taxes.

Because of its state Legislature, “Washington can do much more than Idaho can,” said Commissioner Jo Ellen Force. She noted there has been a “huge cultural change” in housing affordability, adding that could be moderated by individuals who decide not to resell homes for huge markups nor hike rents significantly in order for more in the community to have decent housing.The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Fair and Affordable Housing Commission will be on Jan. 8, rather than Jan. 1, because of the New Year holiday.