City of Austin Housing Policy Recognized

This week, on the 5th Anniversary of the City of Austin's S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM policy, the International City/County Managers’ Association (ICMA) has named it a best practice. More than 400 attendees will have an opportunity to explore duplicating this policy in their communities this week during a symposium, hosted by ICMA, which is being held in Austin.

Five years ago, the City of Austin established the S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM (Safe, Mixed Income, Accessible, Reasonably Priced and Transit Oriented) Initiative to stimulate the creation of reasonably priced homes within the city limits of Austin. This initiative provides development fee waivers for projects that meet all S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM standards, including at least 10 percent of the units meeting the "reasonably priced" standard by serving families at or below 80 percent of the Austin Area Median Family Income. In addition, the City provides faster subdivision and site plan reviews, expedited zoning, and advocacy through the course of the development process. The S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM Development Review Team works proactively with developers to secure approvals and to resolve any conflicts with other City departments.

ICMA is the professional and educational organization for chief appointed managers, administrators, and assistants in cities, towns, counties, and regional entities throughout the world. The management decisions made by ICMA's nearly 8,000 members affect more than 100 million individuals in thousands of communities--from small towns with populations of a few hundred to metropolitan areas serving several million.

"We are thrilled with the success of S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM. Providing certainty, advocacy and consistency through the development process is a top priority for the City of Austin," said Paul Hilgers, Director, Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department. "Our S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM policy is making it easier for developers to assist the City with creating reasonably priced housing for Austin residents." Because of its success, the S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM Policy serves as a model for cities nationwide to replicate. Austin has presented information about the program to other communities such as Tucson, Arizona, San Francisco, California, Vail, Colorado, and Amherst, Massachusetts.

The more than 5,000 completed S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM units represent the following positive changes: increasing the production of reasonably priced units inside the Austin city limits; reducing the commute time for many residents since families can live in the same city in which they work; increasing the tax base for Austin; expediting the development process for developers of reasonably priced housing (therefore encouraging more developers to build affordable units); increasing the number of units accessible for persons with disabilities; increasing the number of units that meet Green Building standards, resulting in energy savings for homeowners, renters and for the City of Austin; and, increasing the supply of housing units built near public transit.

In addition, the production data reflects the following statistics:

79% of completed S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM units serve families at or below 80% Median Family Income (MFI)

39% of completed, reasonably-priced S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM homeownership units serve families at or below 60% MFI

88% of completed, reasonably-priced S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM rental units serve families at or below 60% MFI

The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Please call 974-3100 (voice) or 974-3102 (TDD) for assistance. This project is made possible by funding from HUD through the City of Austin.

CONTACT: Julie Beggs, 974-3121