By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
For years, Bowling Green officials have been looking at ways to woo homebuilders to add to the city’s housing stock.
In 2023, city leaders wanted to clear hurdles that may have been holding back new housing in the city. So City Council passed two pieces of legislation hoping to encourage residential builders to break ground in Bowling Green.
Now, the city is looking to remove another possible barrier by waiving some utility related fees for new home construction.
The original ordinance in 2023 placed a two-year moratorium on residential building permit fees for expenses such as sidewalk staking, subdivision plan approval, zoning permits, construction inspections, and excavation permits.
And the initial resolution offered tax abatements on the increased assessed valuation on renovated or new housing.
Since the fee moratorium was first approved in 2023, Bowling Green has seen some growth in new homes being constructed. Information from the city’s planning department shows the number of new houses built each of the last five years as:
- 2020 – 23 houses.
- 2021 – 24 houses.
- 2022 – 22 houses.
- 2023 – 29 houses.
- 2024 – 48 houses.
Conversations between city leaders and area businesses, economic development officials and Bowling Green State University leaders often circle back to the lack of housing options in the community.
“That’s a common theme we hear,” Mayor Mike Aspacher said when the initial fee moratorium was first introduced. “We need to develop more housing options in Bowling Green.”
Past efforts had focused on improving existing neighborhoods – and those will continue, according to Aspacher. But the 2023 legislation was intended to increase the diversity of housing options in Bowling Green.
The need for more housing is clear, city leaders said, as evidenced by the low housing inventory, increasing workforce demands, and feedback from economic development partners that new housing is imperative.
The original fee moratorium dropped charges to homebuilders. Those fees include $1,451 for the city planning department, $275 for the public works department, and $180 for the engineering department.
The new legislation, introduced at last week’s City Council meeting, would cut some utility related fees. Those new residential construction fee moratoriums include the following:
- $75 for temporary electric service.
- $100 sanitary lateral inspection fee.
- $35 storm lateral inspection fee.
Brian O’Connell, director of the city’s utilities and infrastructure, also recommended the utility department reduce water meter fees and water tap fees by eliminating city labor and city equipment costs from the fees. This would still allow the city to collect the cost of the water meter, valves, and other materials needed to serve the house.
Reduction in the meter and tap fees would change the rates to:
- From $1,090 to $910 for a ⅝-inch meter.
- From $1,330 to $1,150 for a 1-inch meter.
- From $1,520 to $800 for a 1-inch tap.
City officials have said the financial impact of dropping the fees is worth it if the moratorium attracts new housing. Adding homes will benefit the community, with the city consensus being that those benefits will offset the temporary revenue reductions. And with rising construction costs, it is anticipated that future homeowners will benefit from these changes.
While the fee moratorium may seem like a drop in the bucket for builders, Aspacher heard from contractors in 2023 that it would be helpful.
“I’m told that it is enough to make a difference,” Aspacher said.
When the legislation was being considered in 2023, the city’s Economic Development Director Kati Thompson said while business is booming in Bowling Green, the housing sector was stagnant – and had been for the last decade.
“Our workforce demands have increased sharply and housing has not kept up,” Thompson said.
The concerns were elevated when Abbott Lab announced it was building a manufacturing plant in Bowling Green – creating 450 new jobs. Local leaders questioned if the city would have housing options to attract employees to live in Bowling Green.
Thompson talked about using Community Reinvestment Areas as a tool to offer real estate tax abatements for improvements made to properties, either for new construction or remodeling.
Through the CRA program, 100% abatement over 10 years is offered. But Thompson explained that the program includes an agreement that Bowling Green City Schools and Penta Career Center be made whole, and not lose any tax revenue.
While the CRA abatements apply to the increase in taxes created by improvements, the current taxes remain on the books. The abatements increase the likelihood of investments in housing in the city – then the taxes are collected in perpetuity once the abatement period expires.
