Danville’s Town Council approved a $75,000 grant Oct. 20 to help a 44-unit affordable-housing development absorb a sharp increase in its annual landscaping and lighting assessment.
The money will go to Community Resources Inc. for Walnut Apartments at 100–200 Beech Street. Town staff said the increase created a particular challenge because the project’s affordability agreements limit rents, restricting its ability to pass higher operating costs to future tenants.
The council approved the grant 5–0 as part of its consent calendar, which groups routine or previously discussed items into a single vote.
The problem stems from a change in how Danville distributes the cost of maintaining public spaces. Property owners approved a replacement Landscaping and Lighting Assessment District in 2025. Its assessments help pay for streetlights, parks, roadside landscaping and related facilities.
Under the previous system, apartment complexes were assessed according to land area and parcel count. The new formula calculates the charge using the number of rental units. Town staff described the change as correcting an imbalance between apartments and other multifamily housing, including condominiums.
For the Beech Street property, staff calculated an annual assessment of $8,182 under the new system, compared with $758 under the old one. That is an increase of $7,424 a year for the development as a whole. The $75,000 grant is based on roughly 10 years of that difference, giving the project time to adjust its operating budget, according to City Attorney Robert Ewing’s report.
Danville’s Town Meeting Hall in a Sept. 23, 2007, file photograph.
Photo credit: Jon “ShakataGaNai” Davis / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
The town considered reducing assessments for affordable housing, but staff concluded that a lower rate could not be justified simply because residents have lower incomes. In an April review, Ewing explained that assessments are based on the benefit provided to a property, rather than who owns or occupies it.
The grant therefore leaves the assessment in place and uses a separate housing fund to help the project meet the higher expense.
That money comes from Danville’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund, which is restricted to supporting affordable housing. Staff reported sufficient money available for the grant and cited the town’s housing plan, which calls for using the fund to help meet its housing goals.
Walnut Apartments remains under construction. In a separate Oct. 20 update, Development Services Director Diane Friedmann reported that the two buildings’ exteriors had been weatherized and crews were working on interior mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems. The town’s latest projected completion date is spring 2027.
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