City awarded Federal trademark for its Housing Policy

The City of Austin is setting a national trend in affordable housing. In November of this year, the Department of Neighborhood Housing and Community Development (NHCD) was granted a federal trademark for its S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM program.

The NHCD received the trademark registration of S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM with the State of Texas on June 20, 2003. The federal registration application was submitted in August of 2003 and granted this year.

In the past two years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the City of Austin more than $250,000 to expand S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM and promote it to other cities as an example of removing barriers to developing affordable housing nationally.

"The trademark for S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM signifies that Austin is taking a unique approach to the critical affordable housing issue facing urban America. Affordable housing is an increasingly important issue for local governments and S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM is proving to be a vital tool for diversity and economic sustainability. The trademark is intended to show that Austin strives to be on the cutting edge of effective housing policy," said Paul Hilgers, Director of NHCD.

S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM (Safe, Mixed-Income, Accessible, Reasonably-priced, Transit-Oriented) promotes the creation of reasonably priced homes within the city limits and offers developers incentives by way of advocacy through the City’s development review process and fee waivers for developing affordable housing units. In exchange for fast-track review, fee waivers and certainty through the development review and inspection process, developers are required to discuss potential developments with affected neighborhoods and provide a portion of the units at affordable prices.

Since its inception in 2000, more than 4,900 S.M.A.R.T.Housing^TM units have been completed, and nearly 80% of these have been affordable to families at or below 80% Median Family Income (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 OR Kim Kelsall, 974-3175