Kudos to the Ames City Council for lifting homeonwership restrictions on participants in the Habitat for Humanity program in Ames. Under a previous agreement between the City of Ames and the Community Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity homeowners were subject to periodic income checks. The intention of these checks was to ensure no family living in a Habitat for Humanity home would have an annual income greater than 110 percent of the Story County median income, ensuring homeowner families did not rise above middle-income levels.

City Council members rightly recognized the freedom that should be afforded to homeowners and the disincentive inherent in the periodic income check agreement. Families owning Habitat for Humanity homes had to face a tough choice: ensuring their income stayed at or below the median or losing their home if they became too financially successful. Such a policy is particularly antagonizing for the family homeowners who advance their earning capabilities through completing more education or achieving professional success.

Overturning the previous agreement not only allows Habitat for Humanity family homeowners to achieve their goal of homeownership, but also frees them to follow their professional dreams. Habitat for Humanity should not be a constraint on a family’s ability to provide the quality of life they aspire to.

Another move by the council made Habitat for Humanity more humane. Under the old agreement, if a Habitat for Humanity homeowner passed away, their spouse would have lost the home in the event of a life insurance payout. This not only provided a disincentive for owning a life insurance policy, forcing homeowners to choose between providing for their families in the event of their death or putting their spouse in the position of losing the family home.

Will greater freedom for Habitat for Humanity families in Story County create a problem? Will people no longer be subjected to income checks abuse the the program?

The likelihood for participants to abuse or defect from the program is very low. Habitat for Humanity participants are vested in their homes and neighborhoods beyond the loan they take on to buy the home. Habitat for Humanity homeowners must provide hundreds of hours of sweat equity to their homes and the homes of other program participants. Homeowners often take better care of their property and get more involved in their neighborhoods.

The City Council made an excellent decision to support families and their freedoms to follow their goals and dreams.

Editorial Board: Cavan Reagan, Amber Billings, Rachel Faber Machacha, Charlie Weaver, Zach Calef, Ayrel Clark.