ITEM #8 Affordable Housing on City Land

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Ann Kitchen
Posts: 294
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:04 pm

ITEM #8 Affordable Housing on City Land

Post by Ann Kitchen »

All

I want to thank the Mayor Pro Tem and my fellow Councilmembers for bringing forward Item #8 related to identifying city land available for affordable housing. There have been discussions related to this items in various settings for a number of years and this helps move to the next steps so the city can begin taking action on this critical policy approach.

I listened to the discussion at the Council Worksession (while I was away on City Business) and will be pulling the item to offer the following amendments.

These amendments strengthen the resolution as follows: recognize the connection with our strategic planning process for the COA Strategic Housing Plan, state additional criteria related to transportation for identifying suitable land, allow for public input on the criteria as part of the strategic planning process, and allow staff one additional month to bring information back to the Council, and provide that information also be brought back to the Housing Committee to allow a forum for public discussion.

Proposed Amendments to Item #8

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN:
The City Manager is directed to use the above criteria and the earlier work to identify properties within the City’s real estate portfolio suitable for development as affordable housing, mixed-use housing developments, and emergency shelters.

The City Manager is directed to develop and include in the Strategic Housing Plan, for public input, criteria for identifying and a list of all properties within the City's real estate portfolio suitable for development as affordable housing, mixed-use housing developments, and emergency shelters. To identify such suitable land, the City Manager shall consider criteria that furthers the connection between housing, transit, and jobs including but not limited to:

• Existing or planned high-capacity transit line or other public transportation, including through planning efforts such as Connections 2025 and Project Connect
• Location along and/or within walking distance of existing and future transportation corridors as identified by the city in documents such as the Strategic Mobility Plan
• An attendance of an elementary school with high ratings from the TEA
• Imagine Austin Regional, Town, or Neighborhood Center
• A hub for commercial services or other jobs
• ½ mile of an accessible transit stop
• Medium to high-opportunity district as identified by tools such as, but not limited to, the Kirwan Opportunity Mapping

Using the above criteria, the City Manager is further directed to return to the Housing and Community Development Committee and to City Council by January 1 December 1, 2016, with at least three potential projects that could be developed on underutilized city tracts and to provide recommendations for timeline, financing, and other related matters and to include this information in the COA Strategic Housing Plan. The City Manager is further directed to bring the list of all properties identified as suitable for development to the Housing and Community Development Committee and the City Council for briefing and discussion.

Best Regards
Ann Kitchen
Council Member District 5