Board of Adjustment fee assistance program will launch Oct. 1

A long-awaited assistance program granting low-income homeowners waivers when seeking zoning variances will launch Oct. 1.

The yearlong Board of Adjustment Applicant Assistant Program pilot will fund up to nine waivers – or $10,000 – for eligible applicants, according to a July 20 memo from Development Services Department Director José Roig to City Council. 

Modeled on Austin Energy’s and Austin Water’s assistance programs, the pilot will help offset the costs – roughly $800 to $2,650, according to the city’s fee schedule – of applying for a residential zoning variance, exemption or appeal. 

Jessica Cohen, who chairs the Board of Adjustment, said the impetus for the program was a growing awareness that most applications were for docks in Lake Austin or for commercial uses rather than from “Joe Schmoe on the east side.” Such applicants often were unsuccessful or deterred by the city’s complicated land use code.

Frustrated by this “lack of equity,” she and other board members, including Yasmine Smith, whose term has since ended, advocated for the creation of an assistance program. 

With its launch date nearing, Cohen is proud of their accomplishment.

“The few that it does help, it’s really going to help,” she told the Austin Monitor. “It covers all the fees and the cost of service.” 

To qualify, applicants – or a member of their household – must participate in a program such as Medicaid or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or have a household income less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level – $60,000 for a family of four, according to the memo and federal poverty guidelines. Eligible applicants also may access pro bono legal assistance through the city’s contract with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. 

The funding stems from the city’s General Fund and could be included in future budgets, according to a 2022 memo from Development Services Department leadership to Council. 

Cohen said the program – in the best-case scenario – could help homeowners manage Austin’s rising costs of living. For instance, an applicant might receive a waiver to apply for a variance allowing her to build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or granny flat for rent on her property, creating a new revenue stream that offsets her property tax bill. 

Council members voted unanimously to direct city staff to create the pilot in February. 

Smith spoke in support during the public comment portion of that meeting. 

“Everyone deserves to be able to go before the Board of Adjustment,” she said. 

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