The fees that developers of certain projects in downtown Austin must pay in lieu of providing affordable housing were updated for the first time in years following a vote by City Council May 20. However, the new fees may prove to be a temporary step toward modernizing the city's fee schedule ahead of a more comprehensive recalibration in the coming months.
Optional Downtown Density Bonus Program fees come into effect when a planned building exceeds zoned area or height restrictions, with a developer's payments then directed to city affordable housing programs. Developers may also elect to include such housing units themselves instead of paying the fees in lieu.
The bonus program fees were last set in 2013, and council earlier this year spent time discussing the city's path toward modernizing the payment requirements with a focus first on the downtown area. Following the May 20 update, which saw in-lieu affordable housing fees for residential and commercial downtown developments set between $5 and $18 per bonus square foot based on location, staff will bring a broader analysis on the city programs and fees to council later this summer.
The program's in-lieu fee adjustments were approved by a majority of council via consent Thursday, with Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison and District 8 Council Member Paige Ellis abstaining. Through April and May discussions council members had mainly expressed a desire to dig deeper into bonus program revisions, although some were not supportive of focusing only on the downtown fees first and implementing a short-term fix without a full recalibration in place.
