“The Workforce Housing Advisory Committee really met over a period of two years, save for a little break during COVID[-19], to really become educated on what the housing problem was in New Braunfels and to learn how the housing market works and what practices cities deploy across the country,” said Jeff Jewell, director of economic and community development in New Braunfels.
Workforce housing was defined as being affordable housing, meaning no more than 30% of a household income, is spent toward housing costs for moderate- and middle-income workers close to their jobs within the local community. Both homeownership or rental housing can apply to workforce housing.
“When households are spending more than 30% [of their income] on their housing costs, that often contributes to household instability,” Jewell said. “And so folks can't save adequately. They can't address medical needs; they prioritize every other necessity in order to keep a roof over their heads. That's typically how it works, and so they fall further and further behind as they're overspending.”
In New Braunfels, 7 out of 10 households earning up to $50,000 annually are not in housing affordable to them and are considered cost-burdened households, according to the city.
“The percentage of folks that earn less than $40,000 a year has increased significantly over the last five years, and we have more and more folks commuting into New Braunfels to work here than ever,” Jewell said.
The committee has considered the risks of increasing housing unaffordability, including household instability, reduced localized spending on goods and services, and increased commuter congestion. Some solutions recommended by the committee include a focus on preservation, production and policy.
The committee focused on preserving and protecting existing options, expanding housing options through production and aligning nonfinancial incentives. The committee developed a recommended two-year timeline that includes utilizing regulatory and financial incentives in exchange for the provision of affordable units and aligning city and utility fee waiver policies to provide sufficient incentives for workforce housing projects as well as establishing a housing incentive fund for proposal solicitations.
“This is a critical economic development issue,” said Jonathan Packer, president and CEO of the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce. “I think the workforce at large is the largest economic development issue both for New Braunfels, and this nation, and it's not going anywhere as an issue. If you look at demographics, workforce housing is such a key part of that workforce puzzle.”
The committee also recommended partnering with existing public entities, including local school districts, New Braunfels Utilities and the New Braunfels Housing Authority to identify land for pilot projects. Expanding existing homebuyer assistance and down payment assistance programs is also on the recommended two-year timeline to address unaffordable housing.
The next steps to be taken by the council are to formally adopt the committee's recommendations and issue a solicitation for consultants to assist with action plan elements, including the Housing Incentive Fund. The Housing Incentive Fund is intended to help the city secure funding toward a housing trust fund for workforce housing development, according to the city.
“Nationwide, this is an issue. So every community is trying to deal with this. We can't ignore it. We can't walk away from it,” District 6 Council Member James Blakey said.
