In the fall of 2008, the City Council, concerned about the lack of affordable housing in the city, commissioned a comprehensive housing market study from BBC Research & Consulting. BBC presented its final report to Council in March. (H/t Katherine Gregor.)
I haven't had time to work through the entire 142-page report. I disagree with some of what I've read, but there is much here to like -- and much that echoes this blog's themes.
BBC's very first recommendation is that the city "reevaluate the zoning and development process." BBC recognizes that part of the problem is the role played by neighborhood groups and part of the problem is the lack of density; not surprisingly, these are linked:
Austin’s current process of evaluating applications for residential development is community based. The city’s zoning and land use regulations also reflect the city’s dedication to environmental preservation and commitment to smart growth.
These principles are part of what makes Austin a great city. However, they can conflict with providing affordable housing for residents and workforce. In desirable areas where there is much demand for housing, anything that constrains the supply leads to increased housing costs.
We have identified several opportunities for the city to modernize its current development process that will reduce the barriers to affordable housing development in Austin. These include:
- Reconsider the role that many neighborhoods groups are playing in development decisions.
- Develop a strong, citywide Comprehensive Plan that guides development and forms the basis for the acceptance or denial of development applications.
- Increase density by approving dense developments that offer opportunities for affordable, attached housing products.
- Educate residents about the need for workforce housing in Austin and the consequences of not meeting current and future needs for housing.
(Italics mine.)
And more on neighborhood groups and density two pages later:
The city’s current neighborhood-based planning process does very little to facilitate the development of affordable housing on a citywide basis. Some of the neighborhood plans have affordable housing as a goal; others do not. We were also told many times in our focus groups with more than 100 stakeholders that Austin has lost many affordable units to neighborhood resistance.
Austin is not unusual in this regard. Residents in every city and town are notoriously resistant to density, and the more affordable the project and the greater the density, the higher the resistance. Neighborhoods often forget that a desirable city will grow; they cannot stop this momentum. Restricting workers from obtaining housing in an area does not mean these workers will go away— they may live farther away, but they still need to drive to work. Growth limits almost always lead to increased traffic congestion and the leapfrog effect of affordable housing being pushed farther and farther from employment centers.
Neighborhoods often use declining property values as successful arguments to fight affordable housing developments. Many academic studies have adeptly demonstrated that the effect of density and affordable developments on property values is not negative.
As I said, there is a lot more to this study, and it flags other problems with Austin's housing market. I intend to cover some of the other points after I've finished working through the study. But it's good to see the city hired consultants willing to provide a clear-eyed assessment of the city's problems.
