What’s happening
Castillo was joined in a press conference at City Hall by several elected officials, including Mayor Ron Nirenberg and U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, and community leaders for a presentation of the housing proposals.
One proposal is called the Community Land Trust Tiered Affordability policy, which Castillo said could help make sure the city prioritizes community land trust organizations that will develop deeply affordable housing while distributing unused city-owned land.
Another proposal, called the Stay SA policy, would find ways to expedite affordable housing projects at the city’s bureaucratic level. Castillo said the Stay SA policy would also review and develop solutions to maintain and rehabilitate existing affordable housing stock, and encourage the production of more affordable units.
Castillo said both policies, if implemented, would align with the city’s adopted Strategic Housing Implementation Plan.
What they’re saying
Castillo said these proposed policies are meant to convince developers that building deeply affordable housing can be done without having to focus on barriers such as preconstruction regulatory costs.
“Transformative policies like these recognize San Antonio should be reinforcing its historic investments in housing with commonsense policies that cut red tape and use innovative strategies, which lower development costs and speed up affordable housing construction,” Castillo said in a statement.
Castillo said, even as the city continues to approve projects funded by the 2022 voter-approved $150 million housing bond, local officials must find additional ways to boost San Antonio’s deeply affordable housing portfolio.
“San Antonio needs housing now. If implemented, these policies may help San Antonio build and rehabilitate more units and realize its affordable housing and supportive housing goals sooner while helping more families accomplish the dream of owning homes they can comfortably afford,” Castillo said.
Sorting out details
City leaders said one in two renters and one in four homeowners in San Antonio are housing cost-burdened, meaning housing costs take up at least 30% of their income.
Other speakers at the July 17 news conference said providing more affordable homes and apartments can help at-risk individuals and families when it comes to housing stability and the ability to concentrate on one’s educational pursuits without worrying about having a roof over their heads.
Harlandale ISD Superintendent Geraldo Soto said having reliable, affordable housing in inner city communities will encourage families to stay there. Some speakers said San Antonio ISD’s recent decision to close several campuses and realign other facilities was mainly due to declining enrollment in areas where young families have left because of decreased affordable housing and job opportunities.
“By creating and preserving affordable housing throughout our inner city, we can make it easier for our former students to raise a family in the neighborhoods they grew up in and give their kids the opportunity to learn in the classroom they once did,” Soto said in a statement.
Other speakers pointed to Close to Home’s 2024 homelessness point-in-time count, which found a 6.8% rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness, and that many find themselves homeless because of increasing local housing costs.
Robert Hernandez, an executive advisory committee officer with Local Initiatives Support Corp.-San Antonio, joined the press conference. He emphasized the importance of community land trusts helping to secure large, publicly owned properties on which to develop affordable housing.
In this case, a community land trust owns the land, while homes built on it are sold to residents, resulting in homeowners only needing a mortgage for the house itself, as well as reduced property taxes.
“Our working-class residents deserve to enjoy the benefits of improved creekways, activation of long vacant buildings, and transit-oriented development without being priced out of their neighborhoods,” Hernandez said in a statement.
What’s next
The City Council Governance Committee will review both policy requests in the near future and could make a recommendation to the full council.
