Item4b_Project Connect Community Advisory Committee ADCAP Recommendations — original pdf

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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 partnerships necessary to achieve our affordable housing and anti-displacement goals in the coming years. • • Explore opportunities to strategically leverage the ADCAP program in relation to other anti- displacement and affordable housing efforts. To best utilize the limited funds available for anti- displacement strategies, we must coordinate efforts with existing and new initiatives to expand the impact of the program and achieve desired outcomes. The ADCAP program is a key component of the overall anti-displacement strategy associated with Project Connect. It is critical that we continue to prioritize land acquisition as a key anti-displacement strategy in the future and aim to create deeply affordable housing opportunities to serve those most vulnerable. If you should have any questions, I can be reached at bc-awais.azhar@austintexas.gov. Date of Approval: March 23, 2022 Record of the vote: Approved on a 9‐0-0 vote (Committee Members Connolly, Fong and, Lopez absent; one vacancy) Attest: , Project Connect Community Advisory Committee Chair