Vela reflects on his first term and looks to the future

Chito Vela is about to complete his first term as District 4’s City Council member. Vela was re-elected in November for a second term, running on the issues of housing, transit and public safety.

While reflecting on his first term, the first item on Vela’s mind was HOME Phase I and II. The “Home Options for Mobility and Equity” code amendments are phased changes to the city’s Land Development Code, with the goal of increasing single-family housing supply and offering more types of housing. “Additional supply will help moderate prices and that’s exactly what happened,” Vela said.

“Passing those, seeing them launch and, more importantly, seeing housing prices go down,” was a highlight for Vela.

The Austin housing market has been booming in recent years. In 2021, Zillow predicted that Austin would “outperform the nation in home value growth.” In 2023, SmartAsset ranked the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metro area as number one for growth and stability.

Despite these major growth trends, renters in the city have experienced more stable and affordable housing options. A “national anomaly,” Vela called the phenomenon. “That’s a lot of money in my constituents’ pockets because my constituents are heavily renters,” Vela said.

“Staffing has been a huge part of this,” he said. Before Vela took office, the city was largely understaffed. “Multiple changes had to be made,” he said. Over the past four years, the city hired a new city manager, deputy city manager, assistant city manager, police chief and multiple department heads – effectively “steadying the city and making sure we have the people in place and capacity to reach our goals,” Vela said.

City Council recently adopting Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan was also a highlight for Vela.

“When I look at the renewable energy landscape, solar in the day, wind at night, peak and dawn is a struggle,” he said. This plan accounts for these gaps at peak and dawn and uses natural gas peaker plants to fill them, while still investing in battery storage for wind energy and solar power buyback incentives; providing a reliable, affordable and environmentally sustainable power supply for the city.

In his first term, Vela took a citywide approach to his service.

“As I’m entering my second term, I really want to turn inward on my district,” he said. Improving transportation connectivity, dangerous intersections, and safety for pedestrians and cyclists was a major goal of his.

Sitting on the Capital Metro Board of Directors, Vela wants to add a ninth frequent riding member to the current board of eight members.

“I’d really like to bring more of the voice of our ridership into the agency,” he said. This additional board member position would require a legislative change, but Vela is eager to start the conversation.

Also regarding transportation, making sure Project Connect and the light rail project move forward was a priority for Vela. Noting that Austin is a “major American city,” this light rail is “a huge missing puzzle piece,” Vela said. Investments in this area are expected, with the goal of “making it cheaper to get from point A to point B,” he said.

Noting the number of street vendors and immigrants among his constituents, Vela wants to establish a traditional, open-air mercado as a place where people can try ideas at a low cost. “There’s a real entrepreneurial spirit out there. … We need to give them a place to thrive.”

Making portions of Lady Bird Lake swimmable is also among Vela’s second-term goals. A hot topic among Austinites, swimming in Lady Bird Lake has been off-limits since 1964. However, there is a large misunderstanding as to the reason. This restriction is “not because of pollution, (but) mostly because of debris from constructions and floods,” Vela said. Beginning the cleanup process of dredging and removing debris from the lake bed could allow for more recreational development.

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Posted In: City Council, District 4