May 2024 -Support for the Home Options for Middle-income Empowerment (HOME) Initiative Phase 2, and Compatibility, and Equitable Transit Oriented Development (ETOD) land development code changes
March 2024 – Letter to Mayor Watson and City Council Re: Reclaimed Water
October 2023 – Support for the Home Options for Middle-income Empowerment (HOME) initiative
HousingWorks emphatically supported the resolution sponsored by Councilmember Leslie Pool and other cosponsors to adopt the Home Options for Middle-income Empowerment (HOME) initiative in July 2023. The resolution initiated amendments to the Land Development Code that would allow for greater opportunities to develop a greater variety of housing than is currently allowed in single-family zoning districts. These changes would include:
- Allowing three units by-right in single family zones, to facilitate the development of more duplexes, triplexes, and accessory dwelling units on lots that previously would only contain one housing unit.
- Reducing the minimum lot size in single family zones to allow for more modest home sizes than the LDC currently permits, such as townhomes or cottage courts
HousingWorks is proud to support this initiative, as we believe that it possesses great potential for increasing access to attainable housing opportunities for households at a range of income levels, especially first time home buyers, and for increasing housing opportunities in high opportunity areas.
On July 19 and October 24, 2023 HousingWorks sent a public letters to Mayor Watson, City Council members, and Austin Planning Commission members to express our support for the HOME initiative.
You can read the July letter here. You can read the October letter here.
August 2023 – Expansion of the Residential in Commercial Zoning District to allow for development of more homes on lots currently zoned for commercial use only
In August 2023, HousingWorks gave its support to Councilmember Ryan Alter’s effort to expand the Residential in Commercial (RIC) zoning district so that more homes could be developed in commercially zoned areas of Austin. The resolution would initiate amendments to expand the current RIC zoning districts to:
- Allow a commercial-residential development in any commercially zoned district
- modify all standards applicable to a commercial-residential development so that these standards mirror those applicable to a VMU2 building and maximize appropriate ground floor commercial development for the area;
- Authorize an applicant to develop residential uses if the applicant provides income-restricted dwelling units and other community benefits.
These changes will allow for a broader range of housing development opportunities in parts of Austin which previously could only be used for commercial purposes. HousingWorks will continue to support efforts to allow more tools to increase and make more equitable housing opportunities in our city.
On August 30, 2023 HousingWorks sent a public letters to Mayor Watson, Mayor Pro Tem Ellis, and City Council members to express our support for the Residential in Commercial (RIC) zoning resolution.
June 2023 – Relaxing compatibility standards and creating new affordable housing density bonus programs
In June 2023, HousingWorks proudly supported three resolutions initiated by the City Council that would expand affordable housing opportunities throughout Austin. The three resolutions would initiate changes to the Land Development Code to do the following:
- Relax compatibility standards, which dictate how new multifamily housing developments can be developed in relation to single-family zoning districts, so that Austin’s rules more closely matches peer cities
- Create a new density bonus program targeted for affordable homeownership opportunities in single-family zoning districts
- Add a new tier to the Affordability Unlocked Development Bonus program for developments that do not utilize City of Austin housing development assistance programs
These changes will facilitate the increased development of affordable and attainable rental and ownership housing. These items could play a critical role in expanding affordable rental and ownership housing throughout our community without relying on City subsidies to create units.
While HousingWorks is supportive of these resolutions, we further recommend that in developing the proposed ordinances, City Council and staff consider equitable dispersion of housing opportunity, and specifically ensure that new housing opportunities be provided for in high-opportunity areas, particularly in the western parts of Austin. Additionally, as staff is developing these ordinances, we recommend that steps be considered to ensure that new affordable housing programs are calibrated to ensure maximum community benefit and participation in the program.
On June 5, 2023 HousingWorks sent a public letters to Mayor Watson, Mayor Pro Tem Ellis, and City Council members to express our support for relaxing compatibility standards and creating new affordable housing density bonus programs.
November 2022 – Proposals to allow residential uses on commercially-zoned lots
As the cost of housing in Austin continues to rise to unprecedented levels, the supply of safe and affordable housing stands as a critical issue to ensuring that all Austinites can live comfortably across the city. The proposals brought to allow residential uses on commercially-zoned lots, create a new overlay to reduce compatibility and parking requirements along certain corridors, and appropriately scale site plan review requirements for missing middle housing developments, aligns with HousingWorks’s mission to increase the supply of affordable housing in Austin. However, more work is needed to ensure that these increased entitlements are equitably distributed throughout the city and ensure that the impacts of these amendments are evaluated within a defined period to maximize equitable housing opportunities citywide.
On November 29, 2022, HousingWorks sent a public letter to Mayor Adler, City Council members, and City Manager Cronk to express both our support for the adoption of the resolutions to facilitate the development of more diverse housing opportunities throughout the city and recommendations to further investigate the equitable impacts of such changes.
April 2022 – Proposed amendments to the land development code known as VMU2
As the cost of housing rapidly increases in the Austin area, one of our biggest challenges is producing the amount of affordable housing needed to meet the City’s goals. VMU2, a recently proposed amendment to the land development code, is commendable for its forward-thinking approach to incentivizing affordable housing without straining local funds. In practice, however, the VMU2 program as currently proposed requires modifications to make it a truly effective tool for producing affordable housing in Austin.
On April 5, 2022, HousingWorks sent a public letter to Mayor Adler, City Council members, and City Manager Cronk to express both our recommendation to approve the VMU2 ordinance and recommendations to maximize the effectiveness of the proposed density bonus program.
We are dedicated to seeing an Austin that has all kinds of homes in all parts of town for all kinds of people. This is why one of our main focus areas is advocacy. By striving for smart, equitable housing policies, we can help Austin be built in a way that promotes more diverse housing in more areas of town.
Some of our specific advocacy efforts include:
- Increasing housing choice for Austinites and allowing accessory dwelling units and other housing types to be built throughout the city
- Increasing the geographic dispersion of affordable housing across the city and ensuring there is adequate housing throughout, including legally-restricted affordable housing
- Assessing and expanding tools to incentivize affordable residential development
- Considering companion policies to the land development code that go beyond the code and help achieve additional goals of the Strategic Housing Blueprint
- Weighing entitlements against affordability, including gaining a better understanding of community benefits and the need to address fair housing concerns
- Improving the development process by creating an expeditious and predictable development process that can ease the pressure on housing supply and contribute to greater affordability
- Preserving existing affordable housing and ensuring that low-income residents can remain in their neighborhoods and have access to high opportunity areas.
HousingWorks Austin – Advocacy Committee Members
- Greg Anderson , Austin Habitat for Humanity
- Awais Azhar, Advocacy Committee Vice Chair, University of Texas at Austin
- Emily Chenevert, Past Chair, HousingWorks Board, ABOR
- Joao Paulo Connolly, Austin Justice Coalition
- John-Michael Cortez, Advocacy Committee Chair, Google Fiber
- Catharine Echols, University of Texas at Austin
- Nicole Joslin, Capital A Housing
- Shoshana Krieger
- Nora Linares-Moeller, HousingWorks Austin
- Matthew Mollica, Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO)
- Karen Paup, Texas Low Income Housing Information Services
- Mark Rogers, Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation (GNDC)
- Megan Shannon, Momark Development
- Dave Sullivan, University of Texas at Austin
- Taylor Smith, Austin Board of Realtors (ABOR)
- Scott Turner, Riverside Homes & Turner Residential
- Kathy Tyler, Austin Women in Housing
- Bill McCamley, Transit Forward