City provides updates on financial, anti-displacement efforts related to HOME initiatives

The city has started to make a series of moves intended to make it easier for middle- and low-income residents to build accessory dwelling units and generate new income from properties that are now able to host more housing.

Last week’s meeting of City Council’s Housing and Planning Committee included an update from Mandy DeMayo, interim director of the Housing Department, on three actions called for in a resolution approved by Council in May. That resolution was a follow-up to the two HOME policy packages that updated the city’s land use code to reduce minimum lot sizes and encourage density throughout the city as an answer to the rising cost of housing in Austin.

DeMayo said the task force called for in the resolution has been formed, with staff from the Development Services, Housing and Planning departments convening for the first time last month to develop ways to increase the number of ADUs constructed by lower-income property owners. That group is expected to deliver a work plan to Council by late October, with findings expected in January.

Related to access to financing and other financial tools related to ADU construction, DeMayo said her department is evaluating current programs for private financing, low-interest and forgivable loans. The advocacy nonprofit group HousingWorks Austin is helping the city with its assessment, which is also looking at the requirements of a December resolution from Council Member José Velásquez that called for down payment and other forms of financial assistance related to the push for greater housing density.

Prior to the passage of the resolution, Velásquez said the city needs to provide education and other forms of assistance to prevent longtime residents from being displaced.

“(This resolution) aims to offer financial support to lower- and middle-income people who want to build an additional housing unit on their property while ensuring we create a process of working with our partners to engage and inform the community with the goal of reaching the people that need it most,” he said.

The third piece of action related to the May resolution will take a wide look at education and technical assistance offered by the city that can prevent displacement and increase the likelihood of vulnerable residents taking advantage of the push for density.

DeMayo told the committee that Huston-Tillotson University is conducting an evaluation of the city’s pilot program focused on navigating anti-displacement resources. That program concluded in June, and the evaluation is due later this month.

Afterward, the Housing Department is expected to issue a solicitation for an improved and expanded navigator program that should launch this fall. The department will also release a solicitation related to estate planning in the winter, which DeMayo said will help to smooth the transition of inherited property to rightful heirs without extended legal battles.

“That is a new program that is coming under our displacement prevention team. It’s something that we have contemplated for a while and it’s been a community priority,” she said. “We’re looking at the possibility of doing much broader estate planning for heirs’ property. We often, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color, have challenges with transfer of property and multiple heirs involved in property and kind of untangling that to ensure that that asset can be either maximized or held on to for the long term.”

DeMayo also said the city’s “Austin Is My Home” public relations initiative will be revamped and expanded to provide residents with information on new city policies and programs that can help them remain in their homes.

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