Using a strategy to get around a court ruling that recently struck down three of Austin's new development tools, the City Council Thursday approve a new zoning change aimed at increasing residential density in some city neighborhoods.
The changes enable a new program, dubbed DB90, that will allow developers to build up to 90 feet high on commercially zoned properties that will have residential uses in exchange for offering onsite affordable housing in specific parts of the city.
DB90 will replace a vertical mixed-use density bonus development program that was struck down by the December court ruling on a case brought by opponents on the grounds that there was a lack of sufficient public notice before the council approved it. That program, called VMU2, which would have allowed a project to move forward without going through a rezoning process if affordability requirements were met.
Projects under DB90 must be reviewed through the city’s zoning process, and community notices for proposed rezonings must be received through the U.S. mail at least 10 days before a joint public hearing.
The program requires that developers of rental projects either set aside 10 percent of their units for affordability for families earning 50 percent of the area median family income or set aside 12 percent of the units at 60 percent MFI. For ownership units, 12 percent of a project’s units must be set aside for households earning 80 percent MFI.
Representatives from community groups asserted that the change is not enough to address affordability problems in historically underserved areas of the city. “The use of a density bonus on these areas without adequate affordability and anti-displacement components represents a continued exploitation and harm to the people in these neighborhoods who are negatively impacted by gentrification,” said Go Austin/Vamos Austin's Monica Guzmán.
Council Member Chito Vela said that "we need more housing of all types, we need better public transportation so people can get around without a vehicle," and we need more market-rate units" to solve affordability problems. "We need more subsidized units and we need more permanently supportive housing,” he said. “The strategy is clear. ... We’ve got to continue to build more housing"
