Southwest Austin - Dripping Springs Edition - October 2021

HOUSING STRAIN Austin set a 10-year goal to add 60,000 aordable housing units for those earning those earning no more than 80% of the median family income (MFI). A family of four in Austin makes $79,100 at the 80% level. Each of Austin’s 10 City Council districts is lagging behind targets—especially on the western side of the city. The data below is from 2018-20.

BU I LD I NG BLOCKS The city outlined how its goal of more than 60,000 aordable homes could be funded in one decade with both public and private dollars.

8,233 HOMES sources to include: • housing bond programs • federal support • density bonus programs and Travis County funds to come from Austin Strike Fund, which provides: • nancing to preserve or create aordable spaces 5,000 HOMES

GOAL 60,949 HOMES

PERCENTAGE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING GOALS 0-10% 11-20% 21-30%

183A TOLL

130 TOLL

COUNCIL DISTRICT 6 Total unit goal: 8,590 136 units built

COUNCIL DISTRICT 7 Total unit goal: 6,651

620

47,716 HOMES to come from various city tools and programs. Austin plans to reach its goal mainly with: • expanded density bonus programs • housing incentives • special zoning areas • public nancing

45 TOLL

1,037 units built

183

620

COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 **

COUNCIL DISTRICT 4 Total unit goal: 3,105

1 0

SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

24 units built Total unit goal: 8,456

290

535 units built

MOPAC

housing metric, according to city data. While the city fell behind on all of its goals in the rst three years, it struggled the most adding units it hoped would serve “extremely low-income” individuals, those making 30% or below the median family income. Austin achieved about 1% of its goal in this category, according to the report. Austin’s progress for more aordable housing remains sloweronthecity’swest side,HousingWorks research manager Woody Rogers said. “We need to make sure that we’re identifying opportunities in all parts of Austin … because either there’s a lack of aordable housing in these areas or because they’re areas of high opportunity that we want to make sure that people with lower incomes are able to access as well,” he said. While no City Council district is on track to hit its goal, the worst-performing districts are 6, 8 and 10, mainly west of MoPac. Those districts saw 384 new aordable units added through 2020 out of a combined goal of 24,263, according to the report. District 10 Council Member Alison Alter said her 2017 vote for the blueprint plan came with an understanding that the 10-year, 8,456-unit goal for her area was “unrealistic” from the start, given a local market that “will not provide aordable housing on its own.” She said the district would need considerable investment to meet the targets. Three Central and East Austin districts are faring better, adding nearly 3,500 units in total out of more than 15,000 targeted, according to the blueprint. Policy barriers, forging ahead The land code, which sets development requirements such as height and density, currently restricts more aordable options, according to some housing advocates. In 2012, city ocials began looking at a policy rewrite, a plan known as CodeNEXT. After CodeNEXT was shot down by city leaders, a new proposal became the subject of a 2019 lawsuit that

**DISTRICT 10 CURRENTLY HAS NO AFFORDABLE UNITS AT 40% MFI OR BELOW, WITH A TOTAL OF 317 UNITS BELOW 80% MFI.

COUNCIL DISTRICT 1 * Total unit goal: 7,086

290

1,749 units built

COUNCIL DISTRICT 9 Total unit goal: 3,635

183

*DISTRICT 1 IS HOME TO HUNDREDS OF RENTAL AND OWNERSHIP UNITS BELOW 80% MFI, INCLUDING MANY SINGLE FAMILY DEVELOPMENTS.

858 units built

SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTINCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

MAP NOT TO SCALE N

COUNCIL DISTRICT 5 Total unit goal: 4,473

COUNCIL DISTRICT 3 Total unit goal: 6,295

COUNCIL DISTRICT 2 Total unit goal: 4,492

COUNCIL DISTRICT 8 Total unit goal: 7,217

588 units built

1,122 units built

867 units built

224 units built

units by 2028, according to the blueprint. The plan denes those units as aordable to those earning 80% or less of the median family income. Under the city’s plan, these homes can be single- family or apartments, available for rent or purchase. Some of the units will be built through city projects, suchas the redevelopment of theSt. Johncity-owned lot into multifamily housing. Others will come from developers adding aordable components to their plans, per city regulations. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development views housing costing less than one- third of a person’s income as aordable. Austin also measures aordability based on income and family size. Households are considered to be in a low income housing bracket when earning 80% or below the area’s median family income. In Austin, the median family income is $98,900 for a family of four. Nearly half of Austin’s population is considered to be low income by this

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Austin’s population shot up more than 21% in the past decade, from 790,390 to 961,855. That further strained the housing market and forced many to reevaluate their options. A growing gap between prices for homes and rental properties and the slower growth of residents’ paychecks means many are seeing options for stable housing slip away. Newhousing goals JameyMay,Austin’sactinghousingandcommunity development ocer, said the Strategic Housing Blueprint, passed in 2017, outlines a path forward. “We need housing for a wide variety of income levels,” May said. “The other [guideline] is we need them everywhere in all 10 council districts.” So far, Austin is o track on both of those fronts. From 2018-20, the city added 7,140 units, less than 12% of its overall goal for 60,000 new aordable

COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM