City: Subsidies Should Favor Blighted Neighborhoods, Not Southland

Still licking their wounds from a very vocal public response to two proposed low income housing projects earlier this year, city council Tuesday engrossed themselves in a discussion on how to best vet future projects.

The discussion stemmed from controversy surrounding two proposed apartment complexes that divided citizens in February on socio-economic lines. With Outlook on Valleyview proposed in Southland and Maplewood Park proposed in the north, citizens cried for a class divide, expressing that they felt the city was trying to hoodwink them by planting apartment complexes in their neighborhoods that would drive down the quality of life and home values, all without seeking any public approval.

Bob Salas, Neighborhood and Family Services Director was tasked at a past council meeting with creating some guidelines and policies for future developer candidates of low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) structures. The policy lays out general eligibility requirements the developer must meet before earning the city’s support.

 “In order to better vet the process we are recommending a policy,” Salas said. “We feel that projects should support our neighborhood revitalization plan and be located in one of our four target areas. Projects should consider rehab or reuse of the current housing stock.” The neighborhoods targeted for revitalization include Rio Vista, Blackshear, Fort Concho and Regan.

What was voiced repeatedly by citizens throughout the housing debates was that there was a lack of communication going on between the city and community. Salas talked about holding town hall meetings with developers to engage with the citizens as another requirement. By having town hall meetings as a required part of standard procedure it would help to ensure an open line of communication not only between the city and her citizens, but the developers who want to become a part of the community as well.

The developer’s last step in that vetting process would be a presentation to city council asking for a letter of support. At the present there are no guidelines set for a developer to seek city support; in essence these requirements/policy will aid in ensuring San Angelo’s best interest when it comes to housing.

“We don’t have any guidelines set up at this time,” Salas told the mayor. “The reason I want to steer them in the neighborhoods targeted for revitalization is because you will get a lot of support, you’ll get it from our state representative and the neighborhoods. The people in those neighborhoods will want to build in those areas, they will want to build up the community, and this is a great program to help us do that.”

Councilmember Grindstaff made a few suggestions. “The city's comprehensive land use plan and thoroughfare plan, they have both come up before when we have talked about multi-family or single-family developments, I think that criteria is also important. I would like to see it prior to it coming to us, to see what the school district would respond to. I think we have a chance to this right and not always be in a reactionary mode.”  Grindstaff also asked if Salas could also include the guideline/policy information for developers on the city website so that they are aware of the cities rigid policy regarding LIHTC properties.

All of the council members agreed that Salas is on the right track to laying the foundation of the city policies and guidelines for LIHTC developers seeking expansion in San Angelo, he will return to council with a more defined draft at a future council meeting.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) awards housing tax credits (HTC) to eligible participants to offset a portion of their federal tax liability every year. In exchange, the contractor or developer provides the production or preservation of affordable rental housing by constructing a newly developed apartment complex or renovating an existing complex. The value associated with the tax credits allows residences in HTC developments to be leased to qualified households at below market rate rents.

San Angelo is in competition with Midland at the moment for those HTC’s. There are many different ways developers earn credits. One of the most efective means is having the state representative in your corner cheering it on. Apparently the opposition was so loud over both of the proposed San Angelo projects that state Rep. Drew Darby would not put his signature on a letter of support for either project. Midland is likely to win over the credits this time around. However, the final decision will not be made by the TDHCA board until July, so there is still a slim chance for one of the housing projects to call San Angelo home.