City of Austin Wins U.S. Housing and Urban Development's Robert L. Woodson, Jr. Award: The City receives award for addressing regulatory barriers through S.M.A.R.T. Housing^TM

Austin, Texas– This week, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) named the City of Austin as a recipient of the 2005 Robert L. Woodson, Jr. Award. In its inaugural year, the national award recognized 13 cities and 1 county nationwide who demonstrated extraordinary achievement for reducing regulatory barriers to affordable housing in their communities.

In November, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced a new national award program designed to recognize governments that work to reduce cumbersome, excessive or exclusionary regulatory requirements and/or processes that discourage the construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing. The award program intends to make reducing regulatory barriers a priority to create environments supportive of affordable housing.

The City of Austin submitted its S.M.A.R.T. Housing^TM Policy for consideration of the award. S.M.A.R.T. Housing^TM is an incentive program designed to stimulate the production of affordable housing that meet certain standards. The Policy provides advocacy, certainty and clarity through the development process and works to minimize barriers such as land use regulations, inspection/development review regulation and the "Not In My Backyard" issue.

"Housing affordability is a critical national, state and local issue," said Austin Mayor Will Wynn. "I am proud that HUD has recognized S.M.A.R.T. Housing^TM as a successful strategy for addressing regulatory barriers at the local level. S.M.A.R.T. Housing ^TM provides a good foundation for us in Austin and we will continue to seek additional tools to invest in housing affordability so we may remain a diverse and high-quality community," he said.

The Robert L. Woodson, Jr. Award is named for HUD’s late Chief of Staff who devoted his life to expanding housing opportunities. Recipients will be honored during an awards ceremony in Washington, DC on June 29, 2005.

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: Brenda de la Garza, 974-3175 (voice), 802-7105 (pager)