City Council puts bond issue back on ballot; nonprofit plans homes in Southwest Austin

Affordable housing returned to the local spotlight in August.

Austin City Council decided Aug. 8 to place a $65 million affordable housing bond referendum on the November ballot. If the bond is approved, officials say the city could afford to take on the debt without raising the property tax rate.

Last fall, voters rejected spending $78.3 million to continue developing properties, offer home repair for low- to moderate-income homeowners and create housing for the homeless.

Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole said the city is asking for another bond because previous bond money for affordable housing has already been allocated and spent.

"I think we've made the commitment to support affordable housing, especially in light of the need in our community for our veterans, our disabled, our women and children, and the homeless," she said.

Regardless of the election results, Southwest Austin may gain a few more affordable housing properties in 2014.

Local nonprofit HomeBase has filed permits with the City of Austin to build Westgate Grove, 50 single-family homes near the intersection of West Gate Boulevard and Cameron Loop.

When completed, the development will join a number of local properties deemed affordable, a term the federal government defines as costing less than 30 percent of a household's monthly income.

Westgate Grove and Southwest Austin

Westgate Grove has been in the works since 2008, HomeBase Project Manager Ivette Benitez said. HomeBase bought the land using grant funds from the city's 2006 bond election.

The nonprofit, which is affiliated with Habitat for Humanity, is accepting resident applications through Sept. 6 and may begin construction in November.

With Westgate Grove, HomeBase hopes to replicate its work managing affordable housing in the Mueller development.

"We want to create affordable housing for working families within city limits. That's the main goal," Benitez said.

Westgate Grove has measures in place to prevent homeowners from selling affordable housing for an unfairly large profit.

HomeBase tries to encourage homeowners to stay in their homes as long as possible by offering homeowners 2 percent of the home's appreciated value for every year of residency at the time of sale.

If a homeowner wants to sell, he or she must first attempt to sell their home back to HomeBase. HomeBase does this in order to keep prices low.

HomeBase retains the right of first refusal before a homeowner can sell the property to someone else.

"We are not looking for investors," Austin Habitat for Humanity spokeswoman Fiona Mazurenko said. "We are looking for people who want this as their primary residence."

The price of land is one reason there are not a lot of affordable single-family housing options in Southwest Austin, she continued.

"There are a number of affordable rental properties because it's often cheaper to build multifamily housing than single-family housing," she said.

Two renters' stories

Southwest Austin renter Kristiana Colegrove, a working single mother of two boys, recently earned a bachelor's degree. In her spare time, she runs half marathons and publishes her own poetry.

"I was not too proud to ask for help. I hit rocky times. It's what you do about it that matters," she said.

She said the biggest advantage of affordable housing is the peace of mind that her rent won't jump 30 percent when she renews her lease. She can also live in a desirable area that has access to good schools for her sons.

Foundation Communities, a local nonprofit that offers affordable housing and support services, manages her complex.

"I have child care provided for [my sons] there. I have counseling for them if I need it. I have so many opportunities," she said. "It's not just affordable—it's a community that's giving you the basis for any kind of assistance you need in your life."

According to the nonprofit, Foundation Communities offers English language help, free tax preparation and job-seeking and career advice.

Colegrove said Foundation Communities monitors residents' eligibility very strictly. Each time she renews her lease, the nonprofit looks at all possible sources of income.

She knows she will no longer qualify for affordable housing someday—"and rightfully so," she said— and has been saving half of each paycheck for when she has to move.

"I make good money now, but it's still going to be a challenge when I don't qualify," Colegrove said.

A few years ago, Southwest Austin resident Dalton Duffie had a home, a common-law wife, a child, a good job and addictions to drugs and alcohol. He became addicted to crack cocaine, lost everything and was homeless for three years, he said.

His youngest sister convinced him to get clean, and he enrolled in a rehabilitation program through the Salvation Army.

Duffie said he has stayed clean for five years, rents affordable housing and manages a Salvation Army store in North Austin.

"... You give [a homeless person] a place to eat their food and rest at night, that person becomes a whole different person. ... It made a difference in my life because it gave me a chance to reconnect with society," he said.

Opposition

In November, 51.42 percent of voters opposed affordable housing bond Proposition 15, according to Travis County.

An electorate map generated by City Demographer Ryan Robinson shows that support for Prop. 15 was stronger downtown but tapered off into the suburbs.

Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty described Precinct 3—which includes Southwest Austin—as a more fiscally conservative part of town.

He said residents are struggling to pay bills, and taxing authorities, including Travis County, have raised taxes and fees lately.

"I think the reason that people turned it down [in 2012] is not because people don't realize that there are people who need affordable places to live, but I think what people are realizing is that in order to vote to be okay with [a bond], I am voting myself a tax increase," he said.

"If people think it through, then I think it really causes them to perhaps question [whether] they need to [support it]."

Don Zimmerman, founder and treasurer of the Travis County Taxpayers Union PAC, said TCTU plans to oppose the bond.

"Our initial comment is, 'No means no,'" he said. "When it comes to the government, they have only one position, and that is to take more money. If we vote the 'wrong' way, [City Council will] just put it back on the ballot.

"If we vote it down again, [I predict] it will come up a third or fourth time," he continued. "It underscores the fact that the government has lost touch with the people."

Additional reporting by Peter McCrady