Austin City Council Member Greg Casar unveiled a plan Tuesday for a citywide affordable housing program that's far more ambitious than the programs already in place and also stretches beyond the proposed incentive program that died with the demise of CodeNext.

Casar's resolution, which the City Council will take up Feb. 21, would trade relaxations to building size and parking restrictions for the inclusion of affordable housing in projects. The city already has several similar programs in place, but unlike those geographically isolated "density bonus" programs, such as ones downtown and in West Campus, Casar's proposal would apply to the entire city, including West Austin, where affordable housing projects have been few and far between.

READ: City Council revives effort to raise density bonus fees for developers

Casar told the council that his plan also differed from existing density bonus programs because it's designed to expand building opportunities for nonprofits and developers that already specialize in building affordable housing, as opposed to enticing market-rate developers to jump into the game. So far, the City Council's East Austin contingent of Natasha Harper-Madison, Delia Garza and Sabino "Pio" Renteria have co-sponsored Casar's resolution.

Most of Austin's existing density bonus programs allow developers to pay a fee in lieu of actually building affordable housing units, an option that has drawn criticism over the years from some council members. Casar's plan requires the construction of affordable housing.

"We all know how dire the need is (for affordable housing) so we really want to do the most we can with the limited dollars we have and limited land available," Casar said.

Casar's plan calls for participating developers to make at least 50 percent of all rental units affordable for families earning 60 percent of Austin's median family income or less. For housing units built for homeowner purchase, income restrictions would be set at 80 percent of Austin's median family income.



Casar said the 50 percent benchmark arose in part because the figure matches what the federal government requires to grant housing tax credits that help affordable housing developers finance projects. In exchange for a developer meeting the 50 percent requirement, the city would in many instances:

• Waive compatibility standards that often restrict building heights and other characteristics.

• Eliminate minimums for parking spots tied to new developments.

• Allow developers to erect a structure that rises 25 percent higher than allowed under the current building code.

• Allow a developer to build 50 percent more units than allowed under existing zoning restrictions.

During a work session Tuesday at City Hall, council members widely praised Casar's resolution, though some had questions they said they will pose later. But while the resolution likely will pass the council, finalizing land-use code for a citywide density program will face far more scrutiny.

Casar's resolution comes as the city is preparing to start allocating money from Austin's $250 million affordable housing bond, which won voter approval in November. The proposal also comes just before the council weighs Thursday whether to endorse housing tax credits for 16 affordable housing projects.

"Our city's potential to build more affordable housing for families is currently locked up by needless restrictions," Casar said in a statement.

A case in point, he said, is the Aria Grand development being built in the Travis Heights neighborhood of Central Austin. One of the project's co-developers, Megan Lasch, told the American-Statesman on Tuesday that she would have built 50 percent more affordable housing units on site under Casar's plan. Current building codes, though, allowed for only 60 affordable units as opposed to 90.

The Aria Grande project received a $1.5 million subsidy through the voter-approved 2013 housing bond.

"After a historic election, voters demanded loud and clear for us to get serious about affordable housing," Casar's statement said. "It's time to change our policies so that every dollar of the successful $250 million affordable housing bond goes to help as many as possible."