Housing and Urban Development and Zoning Committee - November 10, 2026

The City of St. Louis Housing and Urban Development and Zoning Committee met on November 10, 2026. The committee advanced Board Bill 107 (committee substitute) with a due-pass recommendation, reallocating about $4 million in remaining ARPA funds for water infrastructure and repairs, ARPA closeout/reporting costs, and services for unhoused residents. A mayor’s office representative described a proposed roughly $3 million, three-part homelessness response involving housing assistance, medical and substance-use treatment, and encampment services. The committee also recommended due passage of Board Bill 102 for improvements to the south riverfront transfer station: the project is estimated at roughly $12 million and could approach $15 million, with funding from state and federal sources, including a $5.5 million ARPA allocation, and future Port Authority revenues. About $2.5 million of that ARPA allocation had been spent; officials said they may not be able to spend all of it by the deadline and are still seeking additional funding. Construction, including expansion from one to six truck bays, is projected to finish in early 2028, subject to underground utility work. The committee also recommended due passage of Board Bills 113 and 114, involving tax abatements for housing development; discussion described affordable senior housing and a proposed grocery-store opportunity, though detailed financial terms were not provided.

Board Bill 105, a proposed data-center operator license fee, was heard for discussion but not voted on. The proposal sets a rate of $5.70 per megawatt-hour (equivalent to $0.0057 per kilowatt-hour), with an inflation adjustment, and would direct revenue to an Energy Affordability Fund for measures such as residential energy efficiency, solar and battery storage, cool roofs, and grid resilience. Because it would create a new tax, the proposal would go to city voters. Supporters cited utility affordability and environmental impacts; opponents, including existing data-center interests, warned that the fee could burden smaller operators. The sponsor said stakeholder discussions and revisions would continue before a later committee hearing.