The Austin City Council approved the creation of the task force 10-1, with District 8 Council Member Ellen Troxclair as the lone no vote. The task force will be made up of 17 people who will work to recommend strategies for five specific categories of action:
- Preserving and expanding the supply of affordable housing
- Controlling land for community development
- Preserving and growing small businesses and cultural assets
- Income and asset creation by providing services such as childcare, transportation, a basic retail sector, access to health care and employment opportunities
- Financing strategies to provide community-specific ways to fund the previous four categories of action.
The proposal of a task force did get some pushback from council members, who said the task force was superfluous, as causes of gentrification were well-known and it was now up to the council to make decisions.
The task force will meet once a month for 10 months, and come back at the three-month and six-month benchmarks to provide updates and potential strategies for immediate action.
Council also approved an interlocal partnership with The University of Texas at Austin to study gentrification and displacement as well as map out neighborhoods that are vulnerable to its effects.
