WARREN — One city council member praised the expansion of housing as opposed to the reduction as part of his remarks, following a resolution building upon the city’s desire for growth.

Council at Wednesday’s meeting approved a Community Reinvestment Area application submitted by Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning Valley on behalf of a homeowner, providing a 15-year, 75% property tax abatement for a single-family, three-bedroom home on Burton Street.

Michael Keys, the city’s director of community development, said during the caucus before the meeting that the development is the result of a specialized district that allows the city to schedule such considerations.

“This is the Community Reinvestment Act that you put this under, this allows us to do tax abatements for residential (properties),” Keys said. “You’re all familiar with the tax abatements for companies that command the big property taxes — this allows us to abate property taxes for residential.”

Keys noted such abatements aren’t seen too often, pointing out a lack of new housing coming into the city.

“This is a tool to use working with nonprofits and low-income folks to help the new homeowners to get a tax abatement for a community,” Keys said.

In terms of the project’s timeline, Keys said the homeowners are ready to go and that they were waiting on city council’s approval.

“Under our guidelines, similar to what we do with the state, we tell them they can’t actually break ground on or start the construction until council gives them approval on the abatement,” Keys said. “This does not have to go to the county; it’s an LLC that approves these — they’ve already prepped the ground, they already had a ribbon-cutting or groundbreaking, but they haven’t started construction yet.”

Keys said the anticipated completion date was a bit off because his office got started late with the homeowner’s application, but he anticipated the work to take approximately 30 to 60 days.

“It’ll be (completed) this year,” Keys said.

Councilman Michael Shrodek, D-5th Ward, brought the resolution to the floor during the meeting, and praised the program, noting many houses have been built with it.

“It’s good to see that Habitat for Humanity is building these homes, and we do have someone who has been accepted,” Shrodek said. “I think, moving forward, seeing these new homes coming up in our city as opposed to the ones being torn down, it’s great.”