The Lincoln City Council took up five housing-related items on May 12, headlined by a public hearing on how the city will spend millions in federal housing dollars over the next half-decade and a pair of zoning changes that clear the way for new homes in the Village 1 area.
Federal housing dollars: how Lincoln plans to spend them
The council held a public hearing on the Draft 2026–2030 Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan — the document Lincoln must file with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD, the federal agency that funds local housing and community programs) to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money. CDBG is a flexible federal grant that cities typically use for things like affordable housing, homeless services, sidewalk and infrastructure work in lower-income neighborhoods, and small-business assistance.
The Consolidated Plan sets Lincoln’s spending priorities for the next five years, while the Annual Action Plan lays out what the city will actually fund in year one. For residents, this is the document that determines whether federal dollars flow toward rental assistance, first-time buyer help, accessibility upgrades for seniors, or neighborhood improvements. The public hearing is the formal chance for residents to weigh in before the plan is finalized and sent to HUD.
Zoning changes in Village 1 and the Northeast Quadrant
The council moved forward two zoning ordinances tied to ongoing master-planned development on Lincoln’s east and northeast sides.
The first amends the Village 1 General Development Plan — the master blueprint that controls land uses, lot sizes, and street layouts in the Village 1 area — to accommodate the Stardust 12 Project. General Development Plan amendments are how the city fine-tunes an already-approved master plan when a builder wants to adjust lot configurations or product types. For nearby residents and prospective buyers, the practical effect is that Stardust 12 can now move into the next stages of permitting under its updated rules, which typically means new for-sale homes coming to market in the next year or two.
The second ordinance amends the zone text — the written zoning rules — for Special Use District B in the Northeast Quadrant General Development Plan. “Special Use District” is a custom zoning category Lincoln uses inside master-planned areas to allow uses that don’t fit standard residential or commercial zones. Adjusting the zone text changes what can be built there and under what conditions. Both ordinances will need a second reading — the formal final vote following this initial approval — before they take effect.
Fee credits for Taylor Morrison
The council also took up a Public Facilities Element Fee Credit Agreement with Taylor Morrison of California, LLC, one of the major homebuilders active in Lincoln. Fee credit agreements are deals in which a developer builds a piece of public infrastructure — a park, a road segment, a fire station site — and in exchange receives credit against the public-facilities fees it would otherwise owe the city on each new home. The Public Facilities Element is the part of Lincoln’s General Plan that lists the parks, civic buildings, and other public amenities the city expects to need as it grows.
For homebuyers, these agreements typically mean infrastructure gets built sooner, alongside the homes, rather than years after rooftops arrive. For the city, they shift upfront construction risk to the builder. The specific facilities and credit amounts in the Taylor Morrison deal were laid out in the staff report tied to the agenda item.
Homelessness update
Staff delivered an Update on Lincoln’s Unhoused Services and Support Initiatives, summarizing the city’s current programs and partnerships addressing homelessness. The update was informational — no vote was required — but it gives residents a fuller picture of where city dollars and partner-agency resources are going, from outreach and shelter referrals to coordination with Placer County service providers.
What’s coming up
The Village 1 and Northeast Quadrant zoning ordinances return for a second reading at an upcoming council meeting before becoming final. The Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan are expected to be adopted after the public comment window closes, and then submitted to HUD. Residents who want to influence how Lincoln spends its federal housing funds have a narrow window to submit comments before the plan is locked in.