Austin Housing Plan, Your Voice is needed!

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Got ideas to fix ATX housing needs? Let's hear them! Community events launch for new Austin Housing Plan  With housing prices continuing to rise at an alarming rate, we need a strategic housing plan to meet the needs of people who call Austin home. A new Austin Housing Plan will address these topics: (1) How might we ensure our children can afford to live in Austin? (2) Where should Austinites who work hard – cooking food, watching your children, and caring for the sick – be able to afford to live? (3) The cost of housing is inter-connected with City decisions around job access, parking, permitting, and housing types allowed. For City leaders, doing nothing different is not an option. So, which changes can you live with? COMMUNITY EVENTS: Austin Housing Plan Tuesday, March 29, 6-8 PM Windsor Park Branch Library (District 1), 5833 Westminster Drive Wednesday, March 30, 6-8 PM Southeast Branch Library (District 2), 5803 Nuckols Crossing Road Monday, April 4, 6-8 PM Terrazas Branch Library (District 3), 1105 E. Cesar Chavez St. Tuesday, April 5, 6-8 PM Northwest Recreation Center (District 7), 2913 Northland Drive Wednesday, April 6, 6-8 PM  Turner Roberts Recreation Center (District 1), 7201 Colony Loop Drive Saturday, April 9, 10:30 AM-12:30 PM Manchaca Road Branch Library (District 5), 5500 Manchaca Road Monday, April 11, 6-8 PM Pleasant Hill Branch Library (District 2), 6405 Circle S. Road Tuesday, April 19, 6-8 PM Little Walnut Creek Branch Library (District 4), 835 West Rundberg Lane Wednesday, April 20, 6-8 PM Spicewood Springs Branch Library (District 6), 8637 Spicewood Springs Road Monday, April 25, 6-8 PM North Village Branch Library (District 10), 2520 Steck Ave. Wednesday, April 27, 6-8 PM Hampton Branch Library (District 8), 5125 Convict Hill Road Thursday, April 28, 6-8 PM (Affordability & CodeNEXT) Town Lake Center at Austin Energy (District 9), 721 Barton Springs Road See map of meeting locations and find one near you. These are come-and-go events. We’d love for you to stop by at any time.  At these outreach events, you can also share your priorities for improving mobility around Austin with the Mobility Talks team. What has been your Austin affordability experience?  #ATXhousing The Austin Housing Plan seeks to increase housing choices available to all Austinites, as called for in Imagine Austin. If you cannot attend any of these meetings, you can also host a small-group conversation with your friends and take the Austin Housing Survey coming out next month. Sign up to be notified about the survey and Conversation Kits.

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2015 – The Year in Affordable Housing, Austin, TX

Austin, Texas is on many desirable “Top 10 Lists.”  However, in 2015, the Martin Prosperity Institute rated Austin as one of the most economically segregated cities in the country.  Much of the segregation that occurs in Austin is due in large part to the lack of affordable housing across the city.

 

Affordable homes at Westgate Grove.

In 2015, housing builders and developers have reported finishing or closing a total of 725 affordable rental and homeownership units.  This number is significant because it falls short of the supply needed to keep up with the demand.

In the City of Austin’s Housing Market Study of 2014, it was reported that a gap of almost 48,000 rental units for low-income residents.  Austin Mayor Steve Adler has called for building 100,000 new housing units by 2025 to affordably house the residents of Austin.  At the current production rate, it will be a long time before the gap will be filled.  And as Austin continues to grow in population, the gap could only get wider.

Some bright spots for last year included the establishment of the Community Land Trusts, HACA’s acquisition of The Bridges, Foundation Communities’ opening of Capital Studios, and the passing of the Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance.

With the purchase of The Bridges of Center Ridge and The Bridges of Tech Ridge, The Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) was able to preserve over 300 units for affordable housing.  In January, Foundation Communities opened Capital Studios, downtown and in December opened Homestead Oaks, in Southwest Austin.  These projects contain 275 new residential units.

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Highlights for the year include:

Austin Habitat homeowner getting the keys to her home.

·         Community Land Trust – The City of Austin closed on the first 7 units in their Community Land Trust in 2015.  A Community Land Trust is a new form of homeownership for Austin and Texas.  This type of housing allows the buyer to own the home at an affordable price, and build equity while owning the home.  Under this model the buyer, usually making 80% of Austin’s Median Family Income or lower, purchases the unit through taking out a home loan.  The buyer owns the housing unit, but not the land on which it is built.  The land is held by the CLT agent, which is usually the government or a non-profit organization.  Because the buyer is not buying the land, the price for the housing unit is affordable.  The buyer will pay a monthly lease for the land, but this is usually a nominal amount.  Future CLT projects in Austin will allow for more homeownership across the entire city, especially in high opportunity neighborhoods.  In addition to the City’s effort Guadalupe CDC also operates a CLT.

·         Accessory Dwelling Units – In November, the Austin City Council passed an ordinance making it easier to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as granny flats or garage apartments.  The ordinance allows garage apartments on SF-3 (and some SF-2) lots , between 5,750 and 7,000 square feet, which encompasses roughly 56,000* lots in Austin.  This change allows for potentially more affordable housing units to be built across the city, but especially in central neighborhoods.

·         HACA – The Austin Affordable Housing Corp., the nonprofit subsidiary of Housing Authority of the City of Austin, and the Community Development Trust, a national lender and investor in affordable housing collaborated to purchase The Bridges at Tech Ridge and Center Ridge.  This purchase ensures that 321 apartments in Northeast Austin will have affordable rents for income-qualified tenants for forty years.

As we look forward, for Austin to fill the gap of affordable housing units more will need to be done at the policy, financing, development and regulatory levels to meet the ever increasing demand.  However, the most important driver will be the building of affordable homeownership and rental units now, as we continue to grow.

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About J. Michael Willard

J. Michael Willard – Principle, Willard Consulting, has been involved with affordable housing for more than 20 years.  In his work with Habitat for Humanity he has built homes in Austin, TX and around the world.  Currently he is consulting with non-profit organizations on affordable housing and other strategic and operational issues.

willardconsulting@gmail.com

Call/Text 512-426-5004

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* Council Member Greg Casar contacted me to correct this number.  Earlier I had reported only 9,000 lots were available.