Civil and Municipal - Jan 2024

daycare, which is an up-and-coming thing, they need to be in a unique area.” ATTRACTING DEVELOPMENT AND INCREASED HOUSING INVENTORY While the goal is to maintain the small-town charm of the community, Jason Vacura, City Administrator, highlights the need for all levels of housing in Le Mars. “We’ve had incentives in place for years to help spur construction of single-family homes and multifamily apartment buildings,” he shares. “We went through a stagnant period where we saw no new residential subdivisions being platted, and we initiated these tax incentives which slowly brought those developers to us.”With multi-family apartment buildings bringing 100 new units to the city in recent years, Vacura says that was just a small dent in the need, noting,“As soon as they came online, they were filled with waiting lists.” Partnering with the Le Mars Business Initiative Corporation, the city is hoping to attract more multi-family and entry-level housing development. 195 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 5, ISSUE 01 LE MARS , IA