Community Development Commission Regular Meeting of the Community Development Commission - This regular meeting of the CDC will follow a hybrid format (in-person and virtual). Please see agenda for details.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (CDC) April 12, 2022 – 6:30pm Austin City Hall, Board and Commission- Room 1101 301 West 2nd Street, Austin, TX 78701 Some members of the Community Development Commission may be participating by video conference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once, either in-person or remotely, and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation. To register, call or email the board liaison assistant at 512-974-3119 or lisa.rodriguez@austintexas.gov CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Amit Motwani, Chair Public Sector Appointee Karen Paup, Vice Chair Private Sector Appointee Bertha Delgado East Austin Joe Deshotel Public Sector Appointee Fisayo Fadelu Public Sector Appointee Cheryl Thompson St. John’s Miriam Garcia North Austin Cynthia Jaso Dove Springs Kendra Garrett Private Sector Appointee Julia Woods South Austin Eloise Sepeda Public Sector Appointee Heidi Sloan Public Sector Appointee Vacant Rosewood-Zaragosa/Blackland Jose Noe Elias Montopolis Michael Tolliver Colony Park Please visit https://austintexas.gov/cdc for more information about the Community Development Commission. Purpose: The purpose of the board is to advise the Council in the development and implementation of programs designed to serve the poor and the community at large with an emphasis on federally funded programs. CALL TO ORDER AGENDA PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Discussion and possible action on the March 8, 2022, Community Development Commission meeting minutes. 2. COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT (CSBG) Briefing and discussion on the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) (Angel Zambrano, Manager, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health) 3. PUBLIC HEARING a) Briefing and discussion on upcoming spending priorities for federal housing and community development grants as part of the Community Needs Assessment for the FY 22-23 Action Plan (Max Horstman and Mandy DeMayo, Housing and Planning Department) b) Conduct a public hearing to receive input on community needs related to housing, homelessness, and community development as part of the Community Needs Assessment for the FY 22-23 Action Plan. Public hearings are required by 1) the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and 2) the Texas Local Government …
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (CDC) March 8, 2022 – 6:30pm Austin City Hall, Board and Commission- Room 1101 301 West 2nd Street, Austin, TX 78701 Some members of the Community Development Commission may be participating by video conference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once, either in-person or remotely, and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation. To register, call or email the board liaison at 512-974-1606 or jesse.gutierrez@austintexas.gov CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Amit Motwani, Chair Public Sector Appointee Karen Paup, Vice Chair Private Sector Appointee Bertha Delgado East Austin Joe Deshotel Public Sector Appointee Fisayo Fadelu Public Sector Appointee Cheryl Thompson St. John’s Miriam Garcia North Austin Jose Noe Elias Montopolis Cynthia Jaso Dove Springs Kendra Garrett Private Sector Appointee Julia Woods South Austin Eloise Sepeda Public Sector Appointee Heidi Sloan Public Sector Appointee Vacant Rosewood-Zaragosa/Blackland Michael Tolliver Colony Park Please visit https://austintexas.gov/cdc for more information about the Community Development Commission. DRAFT MINUTES Members in Attendance Amit Motwani, Chair Karen Paup, Vice Chair Miriam Garcia Fisayo Fadelu Jose Noe Elias Heidi Sloan Cheryl Thompson Bertha Delgado Kendra Garrett Cynthia Jaso Julia Woods Members Absent Joe Deshotel Eloise Sepeda Michael Tolliver Staff in Attendance Jesse Gutierrez Angel Zambrano Zach Baumer James May Lisa Rodriguez CALL TO ORDER – Chair Motwani called the meeting to order at 6:37pm with 11 members present. Commissioners Deshotel, Sepeda and Tolliver were absent. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. Three speakers addressed the CDC during public communication: • Susana Almanza • Deserah Alvarez Telles • Caroline Rendon Escobar 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Discussion and possible action on the February 8, 2022, Community Development Commission meeting minutes On Vice Chair Paup’s motion, Commissioner Delgado’s second, the February 8, 2022 minutes were approved unanimously. 2. COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT (CSBG) Briefing and discussion on the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) (Angel Zambrano, Manager, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health) Angel Zambrano gave the presentation. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable …
Community Needs Assessment Community Development Commission Discussion on community needs and spending priorities for the FY 22-23 Action Plan Agenda Review of FY 20-21 Performance Federal Reporting Process Review of Existing Programs Community Needs Assessment/ Public Comment Schedule Provide Your Feedback Review of Past Performance A look at services provided with federal funding in FY 20-21 FY 20-21 Accomplishments Snapshot • Total number of people served through federally funded projects: 3,552 • Total number of people/households earning Extremely Low-Income (<30% MFI) served: 2,688 • Total number of federal dollars spent: Entitlement: $9,765,175 CARES Act: $10,196,749 4 Population Served by Income 2,688 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 411 406 85 Extremely Low Income (<30% MFI) Very Low Income (31%-50% MFI) Low Income (51%-80% MFI) >80% MFI 5 Population Served Vs. Population of Austin by Race Data includes persons served by CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, AND ESG funded activities *Austin Population data provided by the American Community Census *Population served data provided by Housing and Planning Department and Austin Public Health staff 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Other (multi-racial, declined to say) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Native American or Alaskan Native Asian Black/African American White Population Served FY 20-21 Population of Austin, 2020 11.02% 0.10% 0.86% 1.77% 31.36% 54.79% 14.32% 0.07% 0.72% 7.71% 7.79% 69.39% White Black/African American Asian Native American or Alaskan Native Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Other (multi-racial, declined to say) Population Served Vs. Population of Austin by Ethnicity 120.00% 100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00% 32.41% 33.30% 67.59% 66.70% Population Served, FY 20-21 Population of Austin, 2020 Not Hispanic/Latinx Hispanic/Latinx FY 20-21 Services Provided- Goals vs. Outcomes Select Programs Down Payment Assistance Tenant Based Rental Assistance Senior Services HOPWA Programs • Goal: 85 • Actual: 113 • Budgeted: $1,140,849 • Goal: 175 • Actual: 184 • Budgeted: $123,995 • Expended: $123,995 • Goal: 273 • Actual: 343 • Budgeted: $1,949,497 • Expended: $979,663 • Actual: $2,035,509 • Goal: 25 • Actual: 43 • Budgeted: $1,484,108 • Expended: $1,585,999 Ownership Housing Development Assistance • Goal: 16 • Actual: 42 • Budgeted: $6,293,366 • Expended: Federal: $202,562; GO Bonds: $5,860,334 FY 20-21 Services Provided- Goals vs. Outcomes Select Programs Architectural Barrier Removal-Owner Minor Home Repair • Goal: 80 • Actual: 29 • Budgeted: $1,510,000 • Expended: $567,166 • Goal: 200 • Actual: 85 • Budgeted: $900,000 • Expended: $781,409 Homeowner …
CDC Presentation Home Repair Programs April 12, 2022 Home Repair Grant Programs Grant Programs ABR - Homeowner Eligible Services ABR - Renter GO Repair MHR PLP Plumbing Assist eligible seniors and people with disabilities who would like their property to be more accessible Assist eligible seniors and people with disabilities who would like their property to be more accessible Assist eligible homeowners with repairs that pose health and safety risks to the occupant. Keep property Dry, Clean, Contaminant-Free, Pest Free, Safe, Energy Efficient, Well-Maintained, Well-Ventilated Assist eligible homeowners with repairs that pose an immediate threat to the health and /or safety of the occupant Assist eligible homeowners who are customers of the Austin Water Utility, with repairs relating to the private lateral line. Assist eligible homeowners with plumbing repairs and other work, or equipment directly related to public health and safety, and water savings. Funding Source CDBG CDBG GO Bonds CDBG AUSTIN WATER AUSTIN WATER 2 Home Repair Grant Programs Grant Programs ABR - Homeowner ABR - Renter GO Repair MHR PLP Plumbing $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 $5,000 $15,000 $15,000 Budget $ $1,510,000 $185,000 $7,000,000 $900,000 $200,000.00 $350,000.00 7 0 0 208 200 10 23 30 0 44 16 3 1 0 0 Funding Amount Goal FY 21-22 In Progress Units YTD Accomplish ments 82 28 4 3 Summary of Goals and Accomplishments (Grant Programs) Previous Years 545 494 Grant Programs 521 386 563 330 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 FY 18-19 FY 20-21 FY 19-20 Goal Accomplishment 4 Summary of Goals and Accomplishments (Grant Programs) Previous Years Council District 35% 350 300 250 200 100 50 0 150 16% 16% 11% 11% 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 Other 2% 1% 4% 3% 0.5% 0% 6 5 Summary of Demographics for previous years ( For all Grant Programs) 135 165 173 20-21 67 49 43 18-19 103 90 75 18-19 74 29 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 19-20 98 19-20 200 150 100 50 0 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Black White Hispanic Asian Other Black White Hispanic Asian Other 0 1 Female Head of Household Disability Elderly Female Head of Household Disability Elderly Female Head of Household Disability Elderly …
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (CDC) April 12, 2022 – 6:30pm Austin City Hall, Board and Commission- Room 1101 301 West 2nd Street, Austin, TX 78701 Some members of the Community Development Commission may be participating by video conference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once, either in-person or remotely, and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation. To register, call or email the board liaison assistant at 512-974-3119 or lisa.rodriguez@austintexas.gov AGENDA ADDENDUM CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Amit Motwani, Chair Public Sector Appointee Karen Paup, Vice Chair Private Sector Appointee Bertha Delgado East Austin Joe Deshotel Public Sector Appointee Fisayo Fadelu Public Sector Appointee Cheryl Thompson St. John’s Miriam Garcia North Austin Cynthia Jaso Dove Springs Kendra Garrett Private Sector Appointee Julia Woods South Austin Eloise Sepeda Public Sector Appointee Heidi Sloan Public Sector Appointee Vacant Rosewood-Zaragosa/Blackland Jose Noe Elias Montopolis Michael Tolliver Colony Park Please visit https://austintexas.gov/cdc for more information about the Community Development Commission. Purpose: The purpose of the board is to advise the Council in the development and implementation of programs designed to serve the poor and the community at large with an emphasis on federally funded programs. 4. NEW BUSINESS g) Discussion and possible action to honor a CDC commissioner and their service The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice by calling 512-974-1606 at least 2 days prior to the meeting date. TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Community Development Commission, please contact Jesse Gutierriez at 512-974-1606. CDC Commissioners may contact CTM for email/technology assistance: 512-974-4357.
MEMORANDUM City of Austin Mayor and Council Members, Austin Transit Partnership Board Chair and Board Members, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Chair and Board Members FROM: Awais Azhar, Chair, Project Connect Community Advisory Committee TO: CC: Randy Clarke, President and CEO, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and Executive Director, Austin Transit Partnership Spencer Cronk, City Manager, City of Austin Gina Fiandaca, Assistant City Manager, City of Austin; and Ex Officio Board Member, Austin Transit Partnership Rodney Gonzales, Assistant City Manager, City of Austin Rosie Truelove, Director Housing and Planning Department, City of Austin DATE: March 23, 2022 SUBJECT: Project Connect Community Advisory Committee Anti-Displacement Community Acquisition Program (ADCAP) Recommendations In 2021, the Austin City Council approved the utilization of $23 million of the Project Connect anti- displacement funding to address land acquisition and affordable housing preservation in Resolution No. 20210204-062. In response, the City of Austin launched the Project Connect Anti-Displacement Community Acquisition Program (ADCAP) to provide community-based organizations with funds to acquire property for the development, preservation, and renovation of affordable housing in areas identified as vulnerable to displacement along the Project Connect high capacity transit corridors. Land acquisition and the preservation of existing affordable housing are key strategies for addressing potential transit-induced displacement and creating opportunities for vulnerable communities. To make the program more effective and achieve anti-displacement outcomes, the Project Connect Community Advisory Committee recommends the following: • Prioritize the development and preservation of housing that serves households at deeper affordability levels. For renter households, this would mean prioritizing projects that serve households with an annual income at 30 percent of area median family income or lower. In 2021, this was $20,550 for a single-member household and $29,300 for a four-person household in the Austin region. In order to achieve our desired anti-displacement outcomes, it is critical to provide housing opportunities to those most in need and leveraging other programs and initiatives to achieve this goal. • Expand community outreach to key community organizations and stakeholders to share the availability of funding under the ADCAP program and provide greater assistance in completing applications. To ensure greater program participation from community development organizations, it is critical to share the program more widely and support organizations going through the application process. Leverage the availability of other programs and funding opportunities to build capacity among Community Housing Development Organizations. This is critical to ensure that we continue to create the new …
Note: Due to time constraints, this recommendation was provisionally authorized by the CDC (March 8, 2022) for submission to COA Budget recommendation portal prior to text being finalized. The CDC will vote to memorialize this finalized version at April 12, 2022 meeting for procedural prudence. As such, highlighted items will be updated accordingly on the finalized recommendation COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION FY22/23 BUDGET RECOMMENDATION 20220331-01 Date: March 31, 2021 Subject: COA Community Land Trust Program – Add New FTEs Motioned By: Vice Chair Karen Paup Seconded By: Commissioner Cheryl Thompson Authored By: Commissioner Kendra Garrett Recommendation The Community Development Commission recommends that the City Manager increase the budget to provide an additional 1.5 to 2 FTEs (est. $150,000 to $225,000) for the Community Land Trust Program in the Housing and Planning Department. These funds should be allocated from the general revenue and/or from dollars designated for anti-displacement efforts. Rationale In 2005, City Council adopted Resolution No. 20050526-021 to research various forms and the feasibility of land trusts for affordable housing. From this research and analysis, the city created a Community Land Trust (CLT) and currently, there are 43 ownership properties in the portfolio. On May 21, 2020, the city announced that AHFC will purchase 20 single-family homes from HACA – to be rehabbed and sold to low-to-moderate income residents under the city’s CLT program. However, there is only one staff member employed by the City to administer this program: • This results in delays (i.e. status quo relative to recommendation) in the “make-ready” of these properties for resale to qualified residents, particularly in a very tight and very expensive housing market where the economic opportunity costs of delays are quickly magnified. • Additional staff would also multiply the professional and administrative capacity to concurrently research, innovate, develop, pilot and forecast a development pipeline of more quickly scalable CLT-driven affordable homeownership models (e.g., beyond single-family) that can be brought to market more quickly and in higher numbers. As one of the fastest growing cities in America, Austin is also one of the least affordable cities for current and future residents. In the NYT article, “How Austin Became One of the Least Affordable Cities in America,” the author writes that home sales prices have skyrocketed to a record median of $536,000 in October, more than doubled since 2011, when the median sales prices was $216,000. “The surging prices have created a brewing housing …
Note: Due to time constraints, this recommendation was provisionally authorized by the CDC (March 8, 2022) for submission to COA Budget recommendation portal prior to text being finalized. The CDC will vote to memorialize this finalized version at April 12, 2022 meeting for procedural prudence. As such, highlighted items will be updated accordingly on the finalized recommendation COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION FY22/23 BUDGET RECOMMENDATION 20220331-02 Date: March 31, 2021 Subject: Increase Economic (Direct) Assistance For Renters Motioned By: Vice Chair Karen Paup Seconded By: Commissioner Cheryl Thompson Authored By: Commissioner Kendra Garrett Recommendation The Community Development Commission recommends that the City Manager increase the budgeted amount for economic assistance to renters by at least an additional $15MM, with suggested allocations of $5MM to be disbursed through Austin Public Health (APH) Neighborhood Services Unit and $10MM to be disbursed through Housing and Planning Department (HPD) rental assistance programs. We recommend that these dollars be allocated from the general revenue and/or from applicable federal funds allocated to the city through whichever configuration results in the least and/or most flexible restrictions on expenditure to assure that economic relief most quickly reaches Austinites who will require it. Rationale Over the last year and half, the City’s RENT program has provided $35MM in rental assistance to over 8,000 households. That is a tremendous feat! This funding source, along with food distribution, utility assistance, and many organizations and neighbors help out residents in need have staved off thousands of evictions and reduced the likelihood of a family from falling into poverty. We cannot thank the city enough. However, two years later, Austin residents are still affected by the pandemic, compounded by high gas prices, high inflation, and federal interest rate hikes. With food, household staples, and rents increasing, we cannot afford to lose sight of making sure our residents remain stably housed and able to financially meet life’s other demands. In early March 2022, Travis County (TC) announced that $9M of TC general revenue and ARPA funds will be used for rental assistance. This is in addition to the $18MM TC has spent on rental assistance due to the impact of Covid-19 In less than a week, the county received nearly 4,700 applications, effectively forecasting complete extinguishment of that funding source. March 1, 2022 also marked the final expiration (per State statute) of Travis County’s moratorium on evictions “Travis County recognizes there is still a great need …
Note: Due to time constraints, this recommendation was provisionally authorized by the CDC (March 8, 2022) for submission to COA Budget recommendation portal prior to text being finalized. The CDC will vote to memorialize this finalized version at April 12, 2022 meeting for procedural prudence. As such, highlighted items will be updated accordingly on the finalized recommendation COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION FY22/23 BUDGET RECOMMENDATION 20220331-03 Date: March 31, 2021 Subject: Increase Budgeted Resources for COA Community Development Commission to foster Strategic Planning Motioned By: Vice Chair Karen Paup Seconded By: Commissioner Cheryl Thompson Recommendation The Community Development Commission recommends that the City Manager ensure availability of budgeted funds in the amount of $6,000 (six thousand dollars) to be expended at the discretion of the Community Development Commission (CDC), within appropriately allocable cost centers, and with applicable staff oversight, for the purposes of strategic planning, team building and board “retreat” or similar activities. Rationale 1. It is widely accepted that “retreats” and planning sessions outside of the traditional working environment are useful tools in developing chemistry (i.e., Building trust, mitigating conflict, encouraging communication, and increasing collaboration) among group/team members whose collective work is to solve difficult challenges, especially in an environment where participants or members frequently rotate in or out of service due to appointment procedures. 2. The CDC participated in similar activities “pre-pandemic,” presumably validating a shared belief by department and City management in subpoint 1 above. 3. The onset of the pandemic resulted in the very reasonable halting and curtailing of a broad range of activities, including strategic planning and related retreat/s to both mitigate viral spread and help ensure that limited resources may be focused on the most mission critical activities during a period of unprecedented unknowns. 4. During the pandemic, Neighborhood Housing & Community Development (NHCD) and Planning & Zoning (PAZ) were merged to form the Housing and Planning Department (HPD). The CDC was formerly operationally administrated by NHCD and is now, in turn, operationally administrated by HPD. Per staff implication, this has ostensibly resulted in: o 10 Boards and Commissions under the umbrella of HPD o Diluted or cannibalized resources across the array of boards and commissions within HPD (Item 3C, Dec 14, 2021 CDC Meeting) Through some combination of factors in subpoints 2, 3, and 4 above, the ability to operationalize CDC strategic planning retreats and related activities is now clearly hampered, with no appearance of …
Community Services Block Grant Programmatic/Financial Report April 12, 2022 The Community Services Block Grant funds the delivery of services to low income Texas residents in all 254 counties. These funds support a variety of direct services in addition to helping maintain the core administrative elements of community action agencies. For the City of Austin, the grant provides funding for the delivery of basic needs, case management, preventive health and employment support services through the City’s six (6) Neighborhood Centers and the three (3) Outreach Sites. Mission: The Neighborhood Services Unit improves the lives and health of people experiencing poverty by providing public health and social services and connecting residents of Austin and Travis County to community resources. Basic Needs (food, clothing, information and referral, notary services, transportation, car safety education and car seats, tax preparation, Blue Santa applications, fans, Thanksgiving food baskets and other seasonal activities); Preventive Health (screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar including a1C, and cholesterol; pregnancy testing; health promotion presentations, coordination and participation in health fairs, immunizations, coordination of wellness activities, linkages to medical home providers and diabetes case management); Case Management (individual/family support counseling, advocacy, self-sufficiency case management, crisis intervention, linkages with employers, educational opportunities and training, and working with individuals on quality of life issues); Employment Support (intake, assessment and goal setting, job readiness training, job placement assistance, and job retention services) Expenditures Categories 2021 Contract Budget Personnel Fringe Benefits Other Total $704,239.27 $387,277.37 $10,589.36 $1,102,106 Cumulative Expenditures as of 2/28/22 $748,818.75 $347,359.60 $0 $1,096,178.35 % of Total 106% 90% 0% 99.5% 1 SRV 3O 4 4E 4E 5 5B 5D 4C 4C 4I 5A 5JJ 7A 7B 7D 7N Transition Out of Poverty Goal Goal Achieved TOP Individuals who transitioned out of poverty 43 4 Success Rate% 9% Austin Public Health Report on PY22 Community Action Plan MISSION: To prevent disease, promote health, and protect the well-being of our community. TOP 5 NEEDS: Housing; Health; Employment; Basic Needs; Education Report Date February 2022 FNPI Outcome Description Target #Enrolled #Achieved Success Rate % Housing Households who avoided eviction Households who avoided eviction (CARES ACT) *2021 1200 1,458 Health and Social/Behavioral Development Individuals who demonstrated improved physical health and well being Individuals who improved skills related to the adult role of parents/caregivers Service Description Tax Preparation Programs Rent Payments Rent Payments (Cares Act) *2021 Utility Payments Immunizations Food Distribution Case Management Eligibility …
HOUSING & PLANNING DEPARTMENT Project Connect $300 Million Anti-Displacement Funding Contract with Voters: $300 Million Anti-Displacement Investments •When voters approved Project Connect in November 2020, Proposition A included $300 million for anti-displacement work. •Project Connect Anti-Displacement funding is designed to help prevent the displacement of people due to rising costs that may result from transit-oriented development. •The goal of the anti-displacement investments is to create long-term impact with a focus on creating affordable housing units and asset-building opportunities that enhance people's economic mobility and prevent displacement. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: The City Manager is directed to include in the Joint Powers Agreement with Austin Transit Partnership and Capital Metro, a provision to provide a total of $300,000,000 of the Project Connect Tax Revenue, in accordance with the Implementation Sequence Plan as shown in Exhibit A, to Austin Transit Partnership for the purpose of (1) acquiring real property, and (2) financing tools and other anti-displacement strategies related to the implementation of Project Connect. The following two Be It Resolved clauses provide direction for the expenditure of these funds. 2 Utilizing the Equity Tool & Report Key components of the Nothing about Us Without Us Report & Tool will guide the use of anti-displacement funding: • Priority Places: Investments will be made in displacement risk areas within 1 mile of a Project Connect stations and lines. • Priority Purposes: Investments will advance at least one Affordable housing priority purpose. • • BIPOC-owned businesses • Minimize immediate BIPOC resident displacement • High-quality jobs • Cultural anchors • • Community power and capacity • Strengthen tenant and homeowner rights Anti-Displacement Tool maps and dashboard: Investments will be informed by data on neighborhood conditions. Application and scoring criteria: The Tool will shape the scoring criteria for the Community-Initiated Solutions. Land bank • • 3 Geographic Focus 4 Investment Strategy The Investment Strategy is not one single thing, but it is a series of informative steps, processes, research and data that informs how we focus the investments. Who? Demographic Focus – Persons identified by the Uprooted Report as Vulnerable to Displacement Where? Geographic Focus – Within 1 mile of a Project Connect station and lines and living within an area that is experiencing Active, Chronic or Vulnerable displacement risk. What? Protect, Preserve, Produce When? Timing – is a crucial consideration as to what investments should be made and when. How? Establishing Equitable Processes – Centering community …
Community Development Commission CDBG Request Presented by Tod Marvin, President, Easterseals Central Texas April 12, 2022 Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak with you this evening. My name is Tod Marvin and I am the President of Easterseals Central Texas, a nonprofit organization serving people with disabilities in this community for the past 85 years. Eight years ago Easterseals acquired Vaughn House, a nonprofit organization located at 1701 Evergreen Avenue in south Austin. Vaughn House has been in operation since the 1960’s, serving deaf individuals with multiple physical and/or intellectual disabilities. Since 1984, Vaughn House has been operating a Day Habilitation program at 1701 Evergreen Avenue as well as a janitorial employment program. These programs are an important resource for the deaf community in Austin with multiple disabilities, and their families. The Day Habilitation program provides meaningful day activities for clients, and needed respite for their caregivers. Prior to the covid pandemic, the program was serving 10 clients. Unfortunately, many Day Habilitation programs did not survive the pandemic. Today, our program is serving 28 adults and we have a waiting list of other clients needing services that we’re unable to serve today. When Vaughn House acquired its current property in 1984, it worked with the city of Austin to secure CDGB funds to upgrade and expand the facility. For the past 38 years, those funds have supported critical services to deaf citizens with multiple disabilities. Vaughn House and Easterseals have been excellent stewards of those funds, leveraging them to the greatest degree possible in service to our mission. We’ve provided direct services to nearly 1,600 hearing-impaired people with disabilities while supporting the mental and physical health of countless additional family members and caregivers. Today, the need is greater than at any time in Easterseals Vaughn House history. The pandemic has undermined the community’s ability to provide quality services to our people and if we do not respond, the consequences could be serious. I am here to request Community Development Block Grant funding needed to expand and repurpose our existing facility in order to meet the current need for Day Habilitation services in Austin. We have the property and the existing space, but currently it is not appropriately configured nor constructed to provide Day Habilitation services. The space has been used primarily as storage and staging for our Janitorial Services Employment program. Renovating our existing building would allow …
1 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION FY22/23 BUDGET RECOMMENDATION 20220412-4d(1) Date: April 12, 2022 Subject: Increase Economic (Direct) Assistance for Renters Authored By: Commissioner Kendra Garrett Recommendation The Community Development Commission recommends that the City Manager increase the budgeted amount for economic assistance to renters by at least an additional $15MM, with suggested allocations of $5MM to be disbursed through Austin Public Health (APH) Neighborhood Services Unit and $10MM to be disbursed through Housing and Planning Department (HPD) rental assistance programs. We recommend that these dollars be allocated from the general revenue and/or from applicable federal funds allocated to the city through whichever configuration results in the least and/or most flexible restrictions on expenditure to assure that economic relief most quickly reaches Austinites who will require it. Rationale Over the last year and half, the City’s RENT program has provided $35MM in rental assistance to over 8,000 households. That is a tremendous feat! This funding source, along with food distribution, utility assistance, and many organizations and neighbors helping out residents in need have staved off thousands of evictions and reduced the likelihood of a family from falling into poverty. We cannot thank the city enough. However, two years later, Austin residents are still affected by the pandemic, compounded by high gas prices and high inflation. With food, household staples, and rents increasing, we cannot afford to lose sight of making sure our residents remain stably housed and able to financially meet life’s other demands. In early March 2022, Travis County (TC) announced that $9M of TC general revenue and ARPA funds will be used for rental assistance. This is in addition to the $18MM TC has spent on rental assistance due to the impact of Covid-19. In less than a week, the county received nearly 4,700 applications, effectively forecasting complete extinguishment of that funding source. “Travis County recognizes there is still a great need for rental assistance. We remain committed to prioritizing and serving our most vulnerable communities,” said Pilar Sanchez, TC HHS. Even with this additional flow of assistance funds, March 1, 2022 marked the final expiration (per State statute) of Travis County’s moratorium on evictions. We recommend that the city strive to continue to meet the need for assistance by providing $5 to $10M in additional rental/economic funding for residents, as the effect of the pandemic lingers for many Austin residents. of 2 Date of Approval: April 12, 2022 Vote: …
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION FY22/23 BUDGET RECOMMENDATION 20220412-04d(2) Date: April 12, 2022 Subject: COA Community Land Trust Program – Add New FTEs Authored By: Commissioner Kendra Garrett Recommendation The Community Development Commission recommends that the City Manager increase the budget to provide an additional 1.5 to 2 FTEs (est. $150,000 to $225,000) for the Community Land Trust Program in the Housing and Planning Department. These funds should be allocated from the general revenue and/or from dollars designated for anti-displacement efforts. Rationale In 2005, City Council adopted Resolution No. 20050526-021 to research various forms and the feasibility of land trusts for affordable housing. From this research and analysis, the city created a Community Land Trust (CLT) and currently, there are 43 ownership properties in the portfolio. On May 21, 2020, the city announced that AHFC will purchase 20 single-family homes from HACA – to be rehabbed and sold to low-to-moderate income residents under the city’s CLT program. However, there is only one staff member employed by the city to administer this program: • This results in delays (i.e., status quo relative to recommendation) in the “make-ready” of these properties for resale to qualified residents, particularly in a very tight and very expensive housing market where the economic opportunity costs of delays are quickly magnified. • Additional staff would also multiply the professional and administrative capacity to concurrently research, innovate, develop, pilot and forecast a development pipeline of more quickly scalable CLT-driven affordable homeownership models (e.g., beyond single-family) that can be brought to market more quickly and in higher numbers. As one of the fastest growing cities in America, Austin is also one of the least affordable cities for current and future residents. In the NYT article, “How Austin Became One of the Least Affordable Cities in America,” the author writes that home sales prices have skyrocketed to a record median of $536,000 in October, more than doubled since 2011, when the median sales prices was $216,000. “The surging prices have created a brewing housing crisis that is reshaping the city of nearly 1 million people, and pushing mostly low-income Black and Latino residents away. In 2018, [the UT report shows that] at least 35 Austin neighborhoods were undergoing some stage of gentrification.” Increasing housing stock and utilizing a long-term affordability tool like land trust must be a top priority for the city to prevent displacement and provide affordable housing option for residents. …
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (CDC) April 12, 2022 – 6:30pm Austin City Hall, Board and Commission- Room 1101 301 West 2nd Street, Austin, TX 78701 Some members of the Community Development Commission may be participating by video conference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once, either in-person or remotely, and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation. To register, call or email the board liaison assistant at 512-974-3119 or lisa.rodriguez@austintexas.gov CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Amit Motwani, Chair Public Sector Appointee Karen Paup, Vice Chair Private Sector Appointee Bertha Delgado East Austin Joe Deshotel Public Sector Appointee Fisayo Fadelu Public Sector Appointee Cheryl Thompson St. John’s Miriam Garcia North Austin Cynthia Jaso Dove Springs Kendra Garrett Private Sector Appointee Julia Woods South Austin Eloise Sepeda Public Sector Appointee Heidi Sloan Public Sector Appointee Vacant Rosewood-Zaragosa/Blackland Jose Noe Elias Montopolis Michael Tolliver Colony Park Please visit https://austintexas.gov/cdc for more information about the Community Development Commission. MINUTES Commissioners Absent Staff in Attendance Commissioners in Attendance Amit Motwani (Chair) Karen Paup (Vice Chair) Bertha Delgado Joe Deshotel Jose Noe Elias Fisayo Fadelu Miriam Garcia Kendra Garrett Cynthia Jaso Heidi Sloan Cheryl Thompson Julia Woods Eloise Sepeda Michael Tolliver Mandy DeMayo Janes May Letitia Brown Max Horstman Nefertitti Jackmon Lisa Rodriguez CALL TO ORDER Chair Motwani called the meeting to order at 6:34pm with 10 members present. Commissioners Deshotel and Garcia joined the meeting at 6:40pm. Commissioners Sepeda and Tolliver were absent, and Commissioner Deshotel left the meeting at 7:10pm. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. Tod Marvin (President, Easterseals), Kori Hattemer (Foundation Communities) and Zenobia C. Joseph addressed the CDC. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Discussion and possible action on the March 8, 2022, Community Development Commission meeting minutes. On Commssioner Garrett’s motion, Commissioner Thompson’s second, the March 8, 2022, minutes were unanimously approved. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. …
