Housing remains top of mind for Moscow

MOSCOW — Affordable housing continues to be an elusive issue for Moscow city officials given the city’s staff and budget constraints.

The Moscow City Council held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss general housing issues. No vote was taken.

According to data provided by Moscow City Administrator Bill Belknap, the average Moscow home value in 2025 was over $467,000. The average rent price is approximately $1,400.

Homes are taking longer to sell, Belknap said, as they stay on the market for an average of 64 days.

Councilor Sage McCetich, who is a real estate agent, said the cost of homes has doubled since he first started selling them a decade ago.

He said this is one of the most discussed topics among constituents.

“It is the central issue that has been knocking on our doors for years,” he said.

The council recognized community land trusts as a model that has worked locally. They cited Hills and Rivers Housing Trust, which has built affordable homes in the area by using the community land trust model.

Under this model, a land trust owns the land and only sells the house. A ground lease is provided to the owner of the house at a nominal cost.

The city has also had multiple discussions about developing a housing authority. A local group of affordable housing advocates has been pushing for a quasi-governmental organization created with the purpose of providing affordable housing for low-income residents.

The city council, though, has asked for more details about how it would be funded and staffed. A major concern discussed Tuesday is the city’s tight budget, which has forced it to leave eight staff positions vacant.

That is why Mayor Hailey Lewis asked the council to think about how much staff time they want to devote toward helping a housing authority get established.

She wants to use city staff time wisely, but also recognizes that a housing authority has been on the table for the past two years.

“I don’t want to kick the can down the road,” she said.

Belknap said city staff will begin updating Moscow’s strategic plan in two months and encouraged the council to consider how to address housing in that plan. He said when the city’s budget is laid out, housing will compete with other important issues such as improving EMS in the city, covering the costs of the Moscow Police Department transporting inmates to the Nez Perce County jail and addressing the city government’s rising health insurance costs.

Councilor Evan Holmes said he wants to have more housing meetings like this and would like the city to coordinate with Latah County on the issue.

Scott Sumner, a civil engineer, said the city could look at speeding up the approval process for developers to get permits or to change restrictions on parking to allow for more homes.

Casey Bolt, director of Moscow homeless shelter, Sojourners Alliance, attended Tuesday’s meeting. He is one of the people leading the housing authority effort, and said he felt the Moscow City Council had a good discussion that understood the complexity of the housing issue.

However, he disagrees with the notion that time and budget constraints should prevent efforts to help homeless families. Bolt said there are currently 60 homeless individuals and families who need assistance.