Dear Mayor and Council Members,
The Austin Housing Coalition (formerly the CHDO Roundtable) has represented the
community of “housers” across Austin and Central Texas since its founding in 2003. We are nonprofit housing developers, housing and policy experts, and other interested organizations, businesses, and residents who support the development of safe, affordable housing for Austin residents. Our members work to house people experiencing homelessness, help low-income students access housing, repair the houses of low-income homeowners, provide quality affordable rental housing, and empower low-income households to become successful, first-time homebuyers.
We want to express our support for the Land Development Code Revision second reading draft along with council amendments. The proposed draft text and map move Austin closer to our community’s affordability goals and respond to many of the concerns raised by the Austin Housing Coalition during the revision process.
The Austin Housing Coalition supports the Land Development Code Revision draft because:
- it allows us to achieve the housing goals laid out in the Austin Strategic Housing
Blueprint, - it expands the affordable housing density bonus program throughout the city,
leading to an increased number of affordable units and housing dispersion, - it fosters greater housing construction in high opportunity areas, including
affordable housing, - It provides protections from displacement for our most vulnerable communities,
- it supports the creation of missing middle housing throughout the city,
- it strengthens the S.M.A.R.T housing program to support the creation of more
affordable housing, and - it improves the management of the affordable housing density program, ensuring the effectiveness of the program.
Furthermore, the Land Development Revision includes anti-displacement proposals that provide protections to housing in gentrifying areas and disincentivize the redevelopment of existing multifamily housing.
We thank council, staff and community members for their efforts in creating this Land Development Code draft. The Austin Housing Coalition is supporting the Land
Development Code Revision because it facilitates the work of our members in creating safe and affordable housing for all Austin residents.