Ryan Alter reflects on ‘tangible results’ of his first year in office

When Council Member Ryan Alter was running for office in 2022, he stressed the need for housing affordability, specifically rejecting the slow approach favored by his predecessor. When he came into office in January, he began to work on that issue along with his colleagues.

Alter told the Austin Monitor, “I came into office, I think, with a mandate to address our affordable housing issues. Austin is struggling with housing throughout the city,” not only newcomers, but also “people who have lived here for a long time,” including teachers, nurses and people with higher-paying jobs.

“This Council was very aggressive in implementing reforms to address our affordable housing crisis,” he said. Alter authored a resolution to start a program called Opportunity Unlocked and helped sponsor reforms to allow simpler subdivisions.

Opportunity Unlocked is a density bonus program linked to bedrooms, not merely housing units, for families making up to 120 percent of the median family income.  The program will not move forward until staff brings back the ordinance, which is anticipated in the spring.

Alter said the HOME initiative, brought forward by Council Member Leslie Pool, will help people with larger lots create more housing. He believes elimination of parking requirements for new developments and compatibility reform will have a positive impact. He said HOME would align “our code with the needs of today … not 40 years ago.”

Alter also worked with Council Member Vanessa Fuentes on another project that was underway long before either came into office: the tourism public improvement district. Hotels with 100 rooms or more would start collecting an extra 2 percent in room fees to be paid to the city.

Originally, he noted, the city was going to create this district, with 60 percent of the dollars going to directly benefit the hotels through marketing to bring in more visitors. The other 40 percent would benefit people experiencing homelessness and the hotels, too. But a new state law changed all that, raising concerns that the city would see little benefit from the PID. Under the plan devised by Alter and Fuentes, the city will be reimbursed for public safety expenses and other costs associated with large events such as South by Southwest and the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Helping find homes for unhoused people is a big issue for the District 5 representative. He noted that his district saw the greatest increase in homeless residents during the most recent ECHO point-in-time count, which was conducted in January. Alter said one reason that unhoused people have come to South Austin is to get services from the Sunrise Community Church on Menchaca Road. South Austin also has parks and wooded areas that attract people without reliable places to live, but do not actually serve their needs, he said, noting that the area behind the Brodie Oaks shopping center has drawn homeless campers.

Alter is particularly interested in developing more permanent supportive housing. “We have to make a sustained investment. You can’t just do it once and then it’s fixed,” he said.

To help people without homes and the wider community, Alter pushed for a budget amendment requiring the city to develop walk-up navigation tools that can be dispersed throughout the city. He said it was not acceptable for the city to have just one or two places where unsheltered people can find assistance.

Alter is looking forward to working more on environmental issues in 2024, including the amount of carbon generation mix for Austin Energy. He said the utility needs to be at least as aggressive as it was five years ago in pursuing lower carbon emissions. One of the challenges with our current solar and wind generation is that it is mostly located in West Texas. “If we had that locally, it would be more beneficial, whether it’s rooftop solar or utility size solar,” he said.

Environmentalists have pushed for years for Austin Energy to close the coal-fired Fayette Power Project plant, but the reality is Austin can’t do that alone because the Lower Colorado River Authority, the co-owner of the plant, intends to continue operating it as long as it is reliable and cost-effective. Austin Energy is scheduled to present a new generation plan to Council in early 2024.

The transportation sector is an easier place to work on environmental issues. Alter wants to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations within the city and get more electric vehicles into the city’s fleet. He said GM has come up with a pursuit-rated police vehicle that the city should consider. He also pointed to Vancouver unveiling its first electric fire truck.

Alter is also interested in increasing Austin’s tree canopy and acquiring more land to protect the environment. He will encounter new challenges in doing that because state law now limits the amount of parkland the city can require developers to donate to the city.

Alter told the Monitor, “Serving on Council has been even more rewarding than I could have ever expected. It’s been very exciting to see all the progress we’ve made in one year and to be able to see the tangible results of some of our actions right here in our community. There’s still more to be done, and I’m excited to see us continue pressing forward in the year to come.”

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Posted In: City Hall, District 5