The current Mayor of Austin, TX Kirk Watson Wire: Getting (Stuff) Done for Housing

We’ve seen in recent years that the very qualities that drew so many people to Austin for so long – an ethos of acceptance and an economy of abundance – are now jeopardized by the incredible growth they produced. At the same time, economic forces far beyond our control have further compromised Austin’s affordability, with rising housing costs as the central cause and effect.

I worry a lot about intergenerational inequity. If housing costs in Austin put home ownership – typically the basis of long-term financial stability – out of reach for our children and grandchildren, we’ll be undermining their future. Even if people don’t want to or can't own, being able to find a place to live that’s affordable is key to building a future. The next generation should have a right to build lives in Austin (and build wealth in Austin) the way so many of us did for so long. We can’t protect Austin – in fact, we'll fail Austin – by cutting off the next generation of Austinites. For that matter, we can't cut off those folks here right now that are in desperate need of housing and provide essential services and play essential roles in our city.

But the good news is that the fight is not lost, and we still have powerful weapons at our disposal – namely, an extraordinary consensus about what our challenges are, and a shared determination to find solutions that change the equation. If we respond thoughtfully but decisively to our housing emergency – if we come together around a positive vision, and quickly take steps to turn that vision into a reality – I know that we can protect Austin’s special quality of life, for ourselves and future generations.

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the first steps we’ve taken to address our housing emergency was to bring in consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to examine our wildly inefficient development review process that both drives up costs and limits the supply. Their focus is on streamlining the work of the 11 city departments involved with development review to ensure the city is part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Their findings, which we expect very soon, will help us to get moving quickly on more housing and critical infrastructure.

When it comes to housing, I believe that Austinites want to expand the availability of a full range of housing options without damaging the essential character of our existing neighborhoods or putting our environment at risk. And I’m talking about neighborhoods all over Austin, not just in certain parts of the city. Neighborhood character, culture and community are important everywhere.

Shared Determination to Find Solutions

The other day, I heard someone say that this Council, in six months, has made more progress on making changes that will create or allow more affordable housing to be built in Austin than we saw in the previous decade or so. A big part of the reason we’ve been stagnant in the past is because Austin’s policymakers have taken an all-or-nothing approach to enacting land-use changes. As a result, we got nothing.

In the Austin Chronicle’s new Best of Austin poll, one constituent who voted for me as Best City Official offered what I assume is a compliment: “Love him or hate him, he's gettin' (stuff) done.” I’d argue that our City Council is gettin’ (stuff) done on housing now because we all understand that doing nothing is no longer an option and we haven’t fallen into the trap of making things an all-or-nothing proposition.

Instead, the Council has started targeting some of the thorny land-use code provisions that have been obstacles to building more housing and addressing them, specifically, those include:

Creating tools for greater density along transit corridors, known as Equitable Transit-Oriented Development.

Addressing the city’s parking minimum requirements so that they don’t unduly hamper affordable building.

Making it easier and cheaper to build on small lots and we should anticipate policy that will be coming forward soon with proposals to reduce our minimum lot sizes and ease the process for building Accessory Dwelling Units.

Addressing our Affordability Unlocked development program to encourage market-rate housing density without taxpayer-funded subsidies while also working to create a new bonus program that focuses on affordable home ownership in our city.

Addressing our compatibility standards to allow for denser development closer to residential neighborhoods. The current standard is 540 feet, while the resolution adopted calls for 100 feet.

Prioritizing public property to build deeply affordable housing.

It’s important to note that these Council resolutions are the beginning of the policy discussion, not the end. The Council gives policy direction to the City Manager and staff to develop an ordinance and then bring it back to the Council for adoption. That process allows for plenty more opportunity for folks to weigh in.