* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] UH, I'M MIKE SIEGEL, VICE CHAIR OF THE HOUSING [CALL TO ORDER] PLANNING COMMITTEE. UH, JOINED HERE BY CHAIR, UH, COUNCILMAN HARPER MADISON ONLINE, AS WELL AS MAYOR PRO TELA AND COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS. AND, UM, I'M HERE TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. UH, WE ARE AT CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS IN AUSTIN, TEXAS. IT IS 1:02 PM ON TUESDAY, APRIL 14TH. AND THIS IS THE MEETING OF THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE, UM, STAFF. DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS [Public Communication: General] TO JOIN US TODAY? YES, SIR. THERE'S TWO. JACOB REACH AND MARIA CAMPOS. GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS IN OUR AUSTIN HOUSING AND PLANNING STAFF. MY NAME IS JACOB REACH AND I'M THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER AT COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS OF CENTRAL TEXAS. SO, CIS IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS, AND THAT'S WHY I'M EXCITED TO SHARE THE COMMUNITY BUILDING WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IN AUSTIN THAT'S ALIGNED WITH THIS COMMITTEE'S WORK, UH, COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS IS DIRECTLY WORKING WITH STUDENTS IN AUSTIN, ISD AND DELL VALLEY ISD, ENSURING THAT THERE'S A STRONG CONNECTION TO THEIR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY THROUGH OUR RELATIONSHIP FOCUSED WORK MODEL. I'M GRATEFUL TO HAVE SUCH A STRONG PARTNER IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND ONE OF OUR STRONGEST PARTNERS OVERALL. THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF, UH, EXCUSE ME, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UH, THANKS TO YOUR PARTNERSHIP, CIS IS ABLE TO PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS DIRECTLY TO AUSTIN'S CHILDREN AT A SCALE AND EFFICIENCY THAT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE THROUGH OTHER VENUES IN ALIGNMENT TO THIS COMMITTEE'S WORK. WE ALSO PROVIDE DIRECT SERVICE TO STUDENTS AT HAWKE SITES IN EAST AUSTIN. THIS IS ENSURING THAT THEY HAVE A SAFE AND RELIABLE PROGRAM THAT INCLUDES CASE MANAGEMENT AFTER SCHOOL AND SUMMER CARE AND MEALS AND ACTIVITIES AT THOSE HAWKE SITES. CIS IS ALSO SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS' FAMILIES THROUGH DIRECT ASSISTANCE AND FAMILY ASSISTANCE. THIS IS TYPICALLY ONE-TIME SUPPORT THAT MAY INCLUDE RENTAL ASSISTANCE, BILL ASSISTANCE, HELP FINDING PERMANENT HOUSING, OR EVEN TEMPORARY HOUSING FOR FAMILIES. THIS ALLOWS OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES TO MOVE PAST THESE UNEXPECTED EVENTS AND FOCUS INSTEAD ON THEIR EDUCATION, ALONG WITH THEIR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL NEEDS. I'M ALSO EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT A GROUNDBREAKING STUDY FROM OPPORTUNITY INSIGHTS THROUGH THE ED REDESIGN LAB AT THE HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION. UH, THIS STUDY FOUND THAT COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS EMPIRICALLY IMPROVE STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES, GRADUATION RATES, AND INCREASES EARNINGS IN ADULTHOOD. THE RESEARCH WHEN RESOURCES MEET RELATIONSHIPS DEMONSTRATES THAT CI S'S RELATIONSHIP DRIVEN APPROACH DRIVES OUTCOMES THAT SHAPE STUDENTS' FUTURE LIVES. AS I MENTIONED, THIS INCLUDES IMPROVED TEST SCORES, HIGHER GRADUATION RATES, INCREASED ECONOMIC MOBILITY. UH, IT ALSO DEMONSTRATES THAT CIS LEADS TO MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT, HIGHER RATES OF MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT, DECREASED RATES OF RELIANCE ON PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, AND INCREASED IMPACT OF OTHER PUBLIC INVESTMENTS WHEN THEY ARE ALSO PAIRED WITH THEIR RELATIONSHIP BUILDING APPROACH LIKE CIS. SO I WANT TO THANK THIS COMMITTEE AGAIN FOR OUR CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP AND OUR COMMITMENT TO BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS IN AUSTIN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MARIA CAMPOS. GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIRWOMAN HARPER MADISON, VICE SIEGEL, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. MY NAME IS MARIA CAMPOS AND I'M HERE REPRESENTING COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS OF CENTRAL TEXAS IN SUPPORT OF YOUR CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN. CIS IS A DIRECT RESPONSE TO TWO URGENT CHALLENGES. THE CITY HAS PRIORITIZED THE STUDENT ATTENDANCE CRISIS AND YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH. WE PROVIDE RELATIONSHIP BASED TRAUMA INFORMED SUPPORTS ON CAMPUS TO STUDENTS DIRECTLY SO THEY CAN GET HELP EARLY BEFORE CHALLENGES ESCALATE INTO CRISIS CARE, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, OR MORE COSTLY PUBLIC SYSTEMS. WE NOW HAVE RIGOROUS TEXAS-BASED EVIDENCE SHOWING THIS APPROACH WORKS AND PAYS OFF A NEW HARVARD CORNELL STUDY WITH OPPORTUNITY INSIGHTS USING EDUCATION RECORDS, CENSUS DATA AND FEDERAL TAX DATA ANALYZED OUTCOMES FOR MORE THAN 16 MILLION TEXAS STUDENTS AND FOUND THAT SUSTAINED ACCESS TO CIS AND MIDDLE SCHOOL INCREASES HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION AND STRENGTHENS LONG-TERM ECONOMIC MOBILITY. HERE'S WHY IT MATTERS IN TERMS OF RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. THE STUDY FINDS THAT CIS CHANGES ADULT OUTCOMES BY REDUCING THE LIKELIHOOD [00:05:01] THAT A STUDENT ENDS UP IN THE BOTTOM INCOME QUARTILE DEFINED AS UNDER 15,000 A YEAR OR 80% ARE NOT WORKING. INSTEAD, CIS INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD STUDENTS MOVE INTO THE NEXT QUARTILE, MEANING MORE YOUNG ADULTS ATTACHED TO EMPLOYMENT AND STABLE EARNINGS, AND THE FISCAL IMPACT IS REAL. THREE YEARS OF CIS AT AN ESTIMATED COST OF $3,000 PER STUDENT IS PROJECTED TO GENERATE APPROXIMATELY $7,100 IN ADDITIONAL LIFETIME FEDERAL TAX REVENUE PER STUDENT IN PRESENT VALUE. IN OTHER WORDS, CIS MORE THAN PAYS FOR ITSELF THROUGH INCREASED EARNINGS AND TAX CONTRIBUTION. THAT IS WHY CIS IS NOT ONLY A STUDENT SUPPORT STRATEGY, IT IS SMART AND GOOD FISCAL PUBLIC POLICY. INVESTING IN CIS HELPS PREVENT LONG-TERM COSTS TIED TO NON-EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC INSTABILITY, AND IT STRENGTHENS AUSTIN WORKFORCE AND TAX BASE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND FOR YOUR CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO AUSTIN STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. THANK YOU MS. CAMPOS, FOR YOUR IMPORTANT WORK. UM, ALL RIGHT, Y'ALL WELL, SO FOR THIS MEETING, WE'RE GONNA TAKE UP OUR ITEMS IN ORDER. THE FIRST ITEM IS [1. Approve the minutes for the February 10, 2026 meeting of the Housing and Planning Committee.] ITEM ONE ON THE AGENDA APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. UH, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? UH, MOVED BY MAYOR PRO TAMELA, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS. WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. OUR NEXT ITEM NUMBER [2. Briefing on status and timeline of amendments to the City’s Land Development Code [Stevie Greathouse, Division Manager - Austin Planning]] TWO IS A BRIEFING ON THE STATUS AND TIMELINE OF AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE. THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE PROVIDED BY STEVIE GREATHOUSE WITH AUSTIN PLANNING. THE FLOOR IS YOURS. GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR, VICE CHAIR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UM, STEVIE GREATHOUSE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR AUSTIN PLANNING. I'M HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON, UM, OUR PROCESS FOR UPDATING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE. SO IN THE BACKUP FOR THIS ITEM, YOU WILL FIND A MEMO THAT INCLUDES THE APRIL, 2026 EDITION OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS TIMELINE, GANTT CHART. SINCE MATERIALS WERE LAST SHARED WITH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE IN FEBRUARY, STAFF HAVE MADE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TIMELINE TO REFLECT THE ADOPTION OF RECENT CODE AMENDMENTS AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS. IN THIS PRESENTATION, I'LL BRIEFLY COVER THE ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN ADOPTED OR COMPLETED SINCE FEBRUARY, UPCOMING ITEMS AND THE UPDATED VERSION OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS TIMELINE. GANT CHART TWO ACTIONS HAVE OCCURRED SINCE FEBRUARY RELATED TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE IN EARLY FEBRUARY. A STUDY WAS DISTRIBUTED BY A OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTION THAT INCLUDED STAFF ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO DEVELOPMENT OF NEW ZONING DISTRICTS THAT WOULD BETTER SUPPORT MIXED USE AND MISSING MIDDLE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT. COUNCIL TOOK ACTION ON MARCH 26TH TO INITIATE CODE CHANGES RELATED TO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND STAFF ANTICIPATES BRINGING BACK THE FIRST PHASE OF THAT WORK. UM, LATER THIS SPRING ON MARCH 26TH, COUNSEL ALSO ADOPTED CHANGES TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE RELATED TO THE POSTING OF ZONING NOTIFICATION SIGNS. I DID ALSO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT COUNSEL HAS ALSO RECENTLY TAKEN ACTION TO INITIATE SEVERAL ADDITIONAL CODE AMENDMENTS OR STUDIES THAT ARE NOT YET SHOWN ON THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS TIMELINE, BUT THAT WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE TIMELINE IN THE FUTURE, INCLUDING DIRECTION RELATED TO REGULATION OF FRONT YARD BUSINESSES. AS INDICATED IN THE MEMO, SEVERAL AMENDMENTS THAT WERE ANTICIPATED TO BE PRESENTED DURING A POTENTIAL JOINT MEETING IN FEBRUARY CONTINUE TO BE SHOWN UNDER TIMELINES TO BE DETERMINED ON THE GANTT CHART PENDING IDENTIFICATION OF AN APPROPRIATE REVIEW PATHWAY FOR THOSE AMENDMENTS, AND STAFF ANTICIPATES UPDATING THE TIMELINE TO REFLECT REVIEW OF THESE ITEMS LATER THIS YEAR. OOPS, GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF. SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT CODE AMENDMENTS WILL BE COMING TO CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION THIS SPRING, INCLUDING A PROPOSAL FOR A NEW CITYWIDE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM THAT WILL COME TO CITY COUNCIL FOR A HEARING AND POSSIBLE ADOPTION CONSIDERATION ON MAY 21ST, WE ANTICIPATE BRIEFING THE COUNCIL ON THIS ITEM AT A WORK SESSION ON MAY 5TH. ALSO, ON MAY 21ST, COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER AN IN OR AN ORDINANCE AMENDMENT RELATED TO REGULATION OF TRANSIT SYSTEM PROJECTS THAT IS BEING LED BY STAFF IN THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE. ON MAY 28TH, STAFF WILL BE BRINGING FORWARD THE FIRST PHASE OF A PROPOSAL TO UPDATE THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM FOR HEARING AND POSSIBLE ADOPTION CONSIDERATION. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS UNDERWAY RELATED TO BOTH OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM PROPOSALS, AND FOLKS CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THOSE PROPOSALS AND HOW TO GET INVOLVED@SPEAKUPAUSTIN.ORG SLASH LDC UPDATES. LOOKING AHEAD, WE ANTICIPATE A NUMBER OF CODE AMENDMENT RELATED ACTIVITIES. AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION IS LEADING WORK ON A CODE AMENDMENT RELATED TO PROTECTION OF STEEP SLOPES THAT WILL LIKELY COME BEFORE CITY COUNCIL IN LATE JULY. WE HAVE WRAPPED UP THE FIRST ROUND OF OUR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS FOR AN UPDATE OF THE EAST RIVERSIDE COURT ORDER PLAN AND REGULATING PLAN, AND ANTICIPATE BRINGING BACK AN INITIAL DRAFT PROPOSAL FOR AN UPDATE [00:10:01] OF THE VISION PLAN IN LATE 2026. AND FINALLY, WE ANTICIPATE BRINGING FORWARD CODE AMENDMENTS TO CREATE NEW MIXED USE ZONING DISTRICTS IN LATE 2026 AND NEW MISSING MIDDLE OR MISS MIDDLE RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICTS IN EARLY 2027. ON SCREEN, YOU'LL SEE THE DETAILED SCHEDULE THAT IS ATTACHED TO THE MEMO INCLUDED IN YOUR BACKUP. AS YOU REVIEW THE TIMELINE, YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE A NUMBER OF AMENDMENTS FOR WHICH TIMELINES ARE YET TO BE DETERMINED AS SPECIFIC TIMELINES ARE DEVELOPED FOR THESE ITEMS. THE OVERALL SCHEDULE WILL BE ADJUSTED TO REFLECT THOSE TIMELINES. THE SCHEDULE CONTINUES TO REFLECT AN AMBITIOUS WORK PROGRAM, AND AS PROCESSES MOVE FORWARD, STAFF WILL MAKE ADJUSTMENTS WHILE WORKING TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC REVIEW AND ADOPTION DATES. FOR THE PROPOSED TIMELINES ON THE CHART. FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK, FOLKS CAN VISIT SPEAKUP AUSTIN.ORG/LDC UPDATES. AND WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, COLLEAGUES, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? AND I I CAN'T SEE, UH, CHAIR HARPER MADISON. OKAY, WELL, I HAVE ONE. UM, UH, MS. GREATHOUSE, CAN YOU PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON THE AUSTIN PROJECT CONNECT ITEM, UH, AMENDMENTS TO TRANSIT SYSTEM PROJECTS? SURE. SO THERE IS AN EXISTING ORDINANCE THAT COUNCIL APPROVED THAT RELATES TO HOW WE REGULATE, UM, THE PHASE ONE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT AS KIND OF A LINEAR PROJECT THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN SITE FOCUSED DEVELOPMENT THAT MAY HAPPEN. UM, DEFINITELY DIFFERENT THAN THAN THE KIND OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S HAPPENING ON A SITE BY SITE BASIS. THAT ORDINANCE ALREADY EXISTS AND AS THEY HAVE, ARE MOVING FORWARD, GETTING READY TO ACTUALLY DO THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE PHASE ONE LIGHT RAIL. UM, THEY'LL BE COMING FORWARD WITH AMENDMENTS TO THAT EXISTING ORDINANCE THAT SPEAKS TO REGULATING, UM, THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT. GREAT, THANK YOU. AND JUST ONE OTHER QUESTION, UM, COULD YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE, THE RESPECTIVE ROLES OF PLANNING AND WATERSHED IN REGARDS TO THE SLOPE PROTECTION FOR STEEP SLOPES ITEM? UM, SURE. SO WATERSHED IS LEAD ON THAT ITEM. IT WAS PREVIOUSLY DIRECTED BY A COUNCIL RESOLUTION DIRECTING THAT, THAT, UM, WORK BE DONE. UH, THEY ARE ENGAGING PLANNING SUPPORT IN TERMS OF, UM, MAKING SURE THAT IT APPEARS ON THE GANTT CHART AND HELPING THEM WITH COORDINATING AROUND PLANNING COMMISSION AND COUNCIL DOCKETS AND KIND OF SCHEDULING FOR THE ITEM. UM, AND I BELIEVE WE ARE INVOLVED IN SOME KIND OF TECHNICAL ADVICE AS WELL, BUT IT IS PRIMARILY FROM A, A, THE CONTENT OF THAT ITEM IS WATERSHED LED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, WELL WITHOUT FURTHER DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS, APPRECIATE YOUR REPORT AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM. THANK YOU. UM, ITEM THREE [3. Briefing on research related to preventing eviction [Awais Azhar, PhD, Executive Director HousingWorks].] IS A BRIEFING ON EVICTION PREVENTION STRATEGIES, AND THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE PROVIDED BY VE AZAR WITH HOUSING WORKS AUSTIN, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO VEZ AT THIS TIME. CHAIR, VICE CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR GIVING ME THIS OPPORTUNITY. UM, JUST AS I GET STARTED HERE, TO LET YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN HOUSING, UM, HAS ESSENTIALLY, WE DID A RESEARCH PROJECT WITH THEM LAST YEAR LOOKING AT EVICTION PREVENTION PLANS THAT WORK WENT INTO THIS YEAR. WE CONSULTED WITH STAFF, OTHER ADVOCATES WORKING IN THIS SPACE, UM, AND THEN SOME OF OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPERS AND HEARING SOME CONVERSATION FROM THEM AS WELL AS A PART OF THIS. UM, YOU KNOW, AS THE SLIDE GETS PICKED UP, I'LL JUST MENTION THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, MY NAME IS SSR, I SERVE AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HOUSING WORKS AUSTIN, AND WE WERE OF COURSE, PARTNERING WITH THE CITY ON THIS, UH, WORK AND MOVING IT FORWARD. I THINK IT'S JUST BEING PULLED UP. MAYBE I'LL GET STARTED, UM, AS THE SLIDES ARE BEING PICKED UP, PARTICULARLY, I THINK WHERE MOST OF IT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF STUFF THAT'S GONNA BE, UM, YOU KNOW, TEXTS, SO I CAN HAPPILY GO WITH Y'ALL CAN DEFINITELY REVIEW IT AS WELL. I THINK JUST STARTING OFF, UH, YOU KNOW, EVICTION PREVENTION PLANS ARE LOOKING AT PROACTIVE PLANNING STRATEGIES WITHIN LARGER EVICTION PREVENTION FRAMEWORKS. AND THE AIM IS REALLY AT REDUCING THE NUMBER OF EVICTIONS OR THE IMPACT OF AN EVICTION OR REMOVAL OF, OF REMOVAL ON TENANTS. EVICTION. PARENTAL PLANS ARE REALLY DRAFTED AND PUT IN PLACE BY PROPERTY OWNERS AT THE TIME OF LEASING TO GUIDE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. SO THERE'S SORT OF AN EARLY ON PROCESS. AS A PART OF THAT. THEY OFTEN DEAL WITH NONPAYMENT OF RENT OR OTHER LEASE VIOLATIONS, UM, PROVIDING INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORT AND FLEXIBILITY TO TENANTS TREATING THEM FORMAL EVICTION PROCESS AS A LAST RESORT. AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE'LL COME BACK TO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BEST PRACTICES AS WELL. THE ONLY OTHER THING I WANNA MENTION HERE TO INTRODUCE IT IS THAT WITHIN A LARGER EVICTION PREVENTION FRAMEWORK, SUCH PLANS ARE OFTEN COMBINED WITH RENTAL OR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, CASE MANAGEMENT, MEDIATION, A LOT OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF SUPPORT, AND THAT'S PART OF THE BEST PRACTICES TO REALLY MAKE THEM INTO A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM. I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING [00:15:01] THAT ALMOST EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM WOULD KNOW, BUT I'LL GO OVER IT JUST BECAUSE IT IS WORTH TALKING ABOUT. UH, JUST LOOKING AT EVICTION IMPACT. SO OF COURSE, THERE'S SEVERE HOUSING IMPACTS ON TENANTS, EVERYTHING FROM INSTABILITY AND REDUCED ACCESS, LONG-TERM FINANCIAL INSECURITY RESULTING FROM LOW CREDIT SCORES AND OTHER FACTORS. LOWER EDUCATIONAL SCORES FOR CHILDREN. WE SEE THAT, WE HEARD THAT ACTUALLY IN OUR UH, TESTIMONY THIS MORNING AS WELL. NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON, UH, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING. AND THEN THERE'S LONG-TERM INSTABILITY FOR HAVING AN EVICTION FILING REGARDLESS OF THE RULING. SO WE'VE SEEN THAT, THAT EVEN IF YOU, THEIR EVICTION, UM, DOES NOT GET RULED IN FAVOR OF THE LANDLORD, THE TENANT MIGHT STILL FACE SOME DISCRIMINATION IN THE MARKET LATER ON. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THERE'S ALSO A FINANCIAL IMPACT ON PROPERTY OWNERS BEYOND TENANTS. IF THERE'S LOST RENT, YOU DO VACANCIES OR UNPAID RENT. LEGAL FEES ARE A BIG ASPECT OF THIS, AND WE'LL SEE THAT IN JUDGMENT. AND LASTLY, THERE'S, UH, SEVERE ECONOMIC IMPACTS TO THE PUBLIC SECTOR AS WELL FOR FROM EVICTIONS. ONE IS INCREASED DEMAND FOR EMERGENCY AND SOCIAL SAFETY NET PROGRAMS. UM, AND THEN DEFINITELY THERE'S LONG TERM INCREASED ECONOMIC INSTABILITY FOR HOUSEHOLDS LEADING TO EXTERNAL EFFECTS. WHAT I MEAN BY THIS IS ESSENTIALLY FOLKS MIGHT LOSE THEIR EMPLOYMENT BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO GO TO COURT. THAT HAS AN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY JOB LOSS AND ALL THE THINGS THAT COME WITH IT. IT'S A COMPLEX SORT OF FITTING WITHIN THAT SYSTEM. ONE, UH, DISTINCTION I WANTED TO DRIVE ON EARLY ON IS LOOKING AT EVICTION PREVENTION VERSUS DIVERSION. UM, BOTH THINGS WILL COME UP AND I'LL PRESENT CASE STUDIES ON BOTH OF THEM. BUT ESSENTIALLY, AGAIN, EVICTION PREVENTION IS REALLY THOSE PROACTIVE STRATEGIES THAT ARE IMPLEMENTED BEFORE ANY LAWSUIT IS FILED. SO BEFORE ANY FILING OF THE COURT, THAT IS WHERE EVICTION PREVENTION HAPPENS. EVICTION DIVERSION ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE OFTEN STRATEGIES THAT ARE IMPLEMENTED AFTER A LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FIRED. THE AIM FOR DIVERSION IS REALLY TO MAINTAIN HOUSING STABILITY BY AVOIDING FORMAL EVICTION PROCESSES. SO THIS CAN BE DONE THROUGH EITHER VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL IF THERE'S AN AGREEMENT RELATED TO THAT, OR MITIGATING SOME OF THE EFFECTS IF INDEED THE EVICTION IS GOING TO MOVE FORWARD. SO WE CAN THINK OF, YOU KNOW, MOVING FEES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, EXAMPLE, OF COURSE INCLUDE LEGAL REPRESENTATION, MANDATED MEDIATION AND SO ON. FOR EVICTION PREVENTION, REALLY THE AIM IS, AGAIN, OF HAVING PREVENTION STRATEGIES THAT FOCUS ON HOUSING STABILITY AND ACCESS IN THE LONG TERM AND SHORT TERM BY REALLY AVERTING A TENANT'S ENTRY INTO THE LEGAL EVICTION PROCESS. AND EXAMPLES OF THIS, OF COURSE, ARE NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENTS, UM, WHICH CAN BE DONE THROUGH LEGAL SERVICES, FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND COUNSELING. OUR HOUSING STAFF, UH, WILL LIKELY TALK ABOUT THIS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO FIT THIS CONVERSATION WITHIN A LARGER EVICTION PREVENTION FRAMEWORK THAT AUSTIN HOUSING IS LOOKING AT NOW, LET THEM SORT OF TALK ABOUT IT, BUT PROGRESSIVELY AS WE GO FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, WE SEE, YOU KNOW, HOUSING FROM A STABILIZED POSITION GOES TO A MORE DESTABILIZED POSITION WITH THE SORT OF MORE DIRE SITUATION ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE. AND THOSE EVICTION PREVENTION STRATEGIES, AS YOU CAN SEE, FIT WITHIN THAT FRAMEWORK BEFORE EVICTION IS FILED. AND THEN THE DIVERSION STRATEGIES COME AFTER, BUT BEFORE A DIRE SITUATION IS ENTERED IN. AND EXAMPLES OF THAT THAT I'LL BE SHARING TODAY VERY BRIEFLY, THERE'S MORE DETAIL IN A MEMO THAT WE HAD SHARED WITH, UH, CITY STAFF IS LOOKING AT INDIANA AND CHICAGO FOR EVICTION PREVENTION. AND THEN THE DIVERSION IS IN THERE, HONESTLY, MORE TO PROVIDE CONTEXT AS WELL, BECAUSE THERE'S OFTEN CONFUSION BETWEEN DIVERSION AND PREVENTION. THE BEST PRACTICES, UH, THAT COME OUT OF THIS RESEARCH, THERE'S SEVERAL GO THROUGH THEM ONE BY ONE REALLY. ONE, WE DID SEE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF EFFORT TO TIE THESE TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUBSIDY OR TAX EXEMPTION PROGRAMS, ESSENTIALLY SOME KIND OF A PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROGRAM. WE'VE SEEN THAT, THAT SEEMS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST PRACTICES THAT COMES UP. THEY REALLY HAVE TO BE TENANT CENTERED. AND OF COURSE, THIS VERY CRITICAL, WE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR FROM TENANT, UH, ADVOCATES INTENT TO ORGANIZE THE PEOPLE, UH, WHO ARE WORKING WITH DANCE DIRECTLY ON HOW DO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO IMPLEMENT REALLY TAILORED PLANS FOR SPECIFIC NEEDS, KNOWING THAT EVEN THOUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, THE REASONS FOR EVICTION ARE OFTEN NOT FRIEND OR LEASE VIOLATIONS, THERE CAN BE VERY SIGNIFICANT, UM, UNIQUE EXPERIENCES THAT ARE HAPPENING WITHIN THAT PROCESS. PARTNERING WITH LANDLORDS, OF COURSE, IS REALLY CRITICAL. UM, REALLY MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S GOOD FAITH EFFORT BY ALL PARTIES, PARTIES. EARLY INTERVENTION IS REALLY CRITICAL. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ADDRESSING ANY ISSUES REALLY UPFRONT. SO WHAT THIS WOULD MEAN IS THAT EVEN BEFORE, LET'S SAY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A LEASE VIOLATION BEFORE IT REALLY GETS OUT OF HAND OR NON-PAYMENT OF RENT, HOW DO WE SORT OF CATCH IT EARLY ON RATHER THAN, LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, GETTING TO A POINT WHERE WE'RE ASKING SOMEONE FOR DEFERRED PAYMENT OF RENT FOR SIX MONTHS. JUST AN EXAMPLE. SIMILARLY, I THINK THIS IS A REALLY CRITICAL PART OF IT AND COMES OUT REALLY CLEARLY IN ALMOST ALL EVICTION PREVENTION WORK, IS REALLY LOOKING AT EVICTION AS A LAST RESORT. OFTENTIMES WE DO SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT EVICTION CAN BE SEEN AS A WAY OF COMMUNICATION. AND SO THERE HAS TO BE A PROCESS FOR HAVING OTHER FORMS OF COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION OUTSIDE OF EVICTION. SO REALLY TREATING IT AS A LAST RESORT, NOT OFTEN AS A FIRST STEP TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE TENANT. [00:20:02] UM, OTHER SETS OF BEST PRACTICES OF COURSE INCLUDE CLARITY AND INFORMATION SHARING. UM, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT FOR EVICTION PLANS AND STRATEGIES, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE EASY AND TO IMPLEMENT, THEY'RE CLEAR. THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TENANTS ARE CLEARLY ARTICULATED. EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT THEIR ROLES ARE AND WHAT THEIR RIGHTS ARE IN THE PROCESS AS WELL. FOR THE OTHER ASPECT OF IT, AND AGAIN, OUR STAFF WILL BE PRESENTING ON THIS, UH, RIGHT AFTER THIS, WHICH IS LOOKING AT COMPLIANCE AND MONITORING. REALLY IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS COMPLIANCE AND MONITORING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH THE CAVEAT THAT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EVICTION PREVENTION PLANS, LIKE HAVING A PLAN ON THE BOOKS IS EASY TO TRACK AND MONITOR, BUT LOOKING AT IMPACTS AND THE QUALITY OF THE PLAN, OF COURSE, IS MUCH MORE COMPLEX. SO I JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AS WELL, THAT THE COMPLIANCE AND MONITOR IS NOT AS EASY AS FOR SOME OF OUR OTHER PROGRAMS. LASTLY, I'LL SAY, UH, AND THIS IS A CHALLENGE I KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT AS A COMMUNITY, BUT WE DO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, MAKING SURE THAT EVICTION PREVENTION PLANS ARE TIED TO CASE MANAGEMENT OR MEDIATION, FINANCIAL RESOURCES. THOSE ARE ALL REALLY CRITICAL AND EFFECTIVE WAYS OF ENSURING THAT WE HAVE THE DESIRED OUTCOME THAT WE WANT TO SEE. AND WE DO ALSO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE STRUCTURE ASSISTANCE IN A WAY THAT STABILIZES JANETS IN THE LONG TERM. UM, WE'LL SEE AN EXAMPLE OF THIS, BUT ESSENTIALLY, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE PHILADELPHIA PROGRAM, IF YOU HAVE IT, I FORGET THE TIME PERIOD, BUT FOR I WANNA SAY 90 DAYS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO EVICT THAT SAME TENANT FOR THE SAME ISSUE. SO THERE'S SOME SORT OF LONG-TERM STABILIZATION WITH THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FOCUS ON AS PART OF PROGRAMMING AS WELL FOR THE CASE STUDIES THEMSELVES. AGAIN, I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO DO MUCH DETAIL HERE, BUT, UM, INDIANA AND CHICAGO ARE REALLY GOOD EXAMPLES, UH, FOR LOOKING AT EVICTION PREVENTION PLANS. SPECIFICALLY. UM, FOR THE STATE OF INDIANA, THEIR LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT, UM, APPLICATION PROCESS THROUGH THE QUALIFIED ALLOCATION PLAN ALLOWS, UH, FOR FOLKS WHO HAVE EXTRA POINTS, IF THEY'RE UTILIZING AN EVICTION PREVENTION PLAN, IT IS REQUIRED FOR ANY PROJECT THAT IS DOING A, UH, HOUSING FIRST FUNDING SET ASIDE. WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS IN A SECOND AS WELL. SIMILARLY, FOR CHICAGO, IT'S REQUIRED FOR CHICAGO'S KIND OF UNUSUAL, INSTEAD OF HAVING A STATE PLAN, THEY HAVE A LOCAL, UH, LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT QUALIFIED ALLOCATION PLAN IN THAT, AND IN THEIR LOCALIZED FUNDING, THEY REQUIRE EVICTION PREVENTION PLAN FOR ALL DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, WITH THE CAVEAT THAT THEY REQUIRE 5% PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING IN ALL OF THEIR, UH, PROJECTS. SO TO SOME DEGREE, YOU KNOW, EVICTION BUDGET PLANS ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED MUCH MORE WIDELY. AND THEN AGAIN, PHILADELPHIA IS NOT A, IT'S A DIVERSION PROGRAM, BUT IT'S A PRETTY WELL KNOWN, UH, NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PROGRAM THAT REALLY LOOKS AT HOW TO HAVE GOOD FAITH PARTICIPATION FROM TENANTS OF AND LANDLORDS. ONE THING THAT IS WORTH WHERE YOU'VE MENTIONING HERE IS THAT THE PHILADELPHIA PROGRAM APPLIES TO ALL, UH, PROPERTY PROPERTIES, UH, CITYWIDE. AND OF COURSE THAT'S SORT OF A UNIQUE ASPECT TO THEIR LOCAL LAWS. AND REALLY AS EDP APPLICATIONS COME IN, THEY CAN BE ASSIGNED ON DIFFERENT PATHWAYS. AGAIN, LOOKING AT DIFFERENT NEEDS, WHETHER THAT'S MEDIATION, DIRECT NEGOTIATION, OR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON ALL THE DIFFERENT FACTORS. AND AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT MORE DETAIL BEHIND THESE, BUT YOU CAN JUST LOOK AT SOME OF THE PLACES THAT ARE DOING THIS WORK. I DID WANNA JUST HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE, UM, EVICTION PREVENTION PLAN SAMPLE REQUIREMENTS THAT EXIST FOR IN THE STATE OF INDIANA. THEY'RE VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT CHICAGO HAS AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN OTHER PLACES. I WON'T GO INTO MUCH DETAIL, BUT JUST TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT GO INTO THOSE PLANS. UM, AN EVICTION PREVENTION PHILOSOPHY, AND THIS SOUNDS REALLY ARCANE, UM, BUT IT'S INTERESTING THAT WE'VE SEEN THAT FROM BEST PRACTICES AND ADVOCATES, THAT EVEN SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS REALLY ARTICULATING CLEARLY WHAT YOUR EVICTION PREVENTION PHILOSOPHY IS AS A MANAGEMENT OR A LANDLORD GOES A REALLY LONG WAY IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING HOW THAT, UM, IT GETS IMPLEMENTED. LOOKING IN RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT PRACTICES, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, REALLY TO SEE HOW DO WE GET MORE RESOURCES TO HOUSEHOLDS, REALLY CLEAR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT STAFF, UM, TENANTS AS WELL. HOUSING RETENTION PLANS ARE OFTEN UTILIZED IN, UM, AGAIN, INDIANA HAS A SAMPLE FOR THAT AS WELL, BUT THESE ARE REALLY INDIVIDUALIZED FOR SPECIFIC NEEDS AND CIRCUMSTANCES. SO WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE IS THAT WHEN SOMEONE IS REALLY REACHING A POINT WHERE AN EVICTION FILING MAY BE COMING UP, THEN AN EVIC, A HOUSING RETENTION PLAN IS IMPLEMENTED, THAT HAS VERY CLEAR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AND TIMELINES THAT HAVE TO BE ACHIEVED FOR THE TENANT TO, UH, NOT ESSENTIALLY HAVE AN EVICTION FILED AGAINST THEM. AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE STRATEGIES FOR MITIGATING AND RESPONDING TO COMMON LEASE VIOLATIONS IS A BIG PART OF THAT AS WELL BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH WE DO SEE THAT, UH, THE MAJORITY OF EVICTIONS IN TRAVIS COUNTY INCLUDED ARE FOR NON-PAYMENT OF RENT, LEASE VIOLATIONS CAN PRESENT ANOTHER CHALLENGE. AND THOSE ARE SOMETIMES NOT AS CLEAR FOR TENANTS TO BE WHAT THE ISSUE IS AND HOW THEY CAN RESOLVE [00:25:01] IT. AND THEN LASTLY, HAVING SOME REALLY CLEAR EVICTION PROTOCOLS THAT DESCRIBE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR HOW THE EVICTION PROCESS MAY PROCEED, BUT ALSO FOR HOW AN APPEAL PROCESS MIGHT WORK FOR THE TENANT. AND HOW DO WE ESSENTIALLY MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS ARE STAYING AWAY FROM A FORMAL EVICTION PROCESS IN THE COURT. UM, I WILL JUST QUICKLY GO THROUGH TWO SLIDES OF PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS AND TURN IT OVER FOR QUESTIONS. JUST IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATIONS. WE'RE LOOKING AT EXPLORATION, A LOT OF THESE WILL REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES, MORE WORK DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS AND SO ON. AND THAT'S WHY I FEEL LIKE THESE ARE JUST SORT OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE WORTH EXPLORING. LOOKING AT THE RESEARCH THAT'S COME OUT OF HERE, ONE IS REALLY SEEING IF WE CAN INCENTIVIZE PREVENTION PLANS FOR LOCAL FUNDING PARTNERSHIPS OR APPROVAL FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SO SIMILAR TO WHAT CHICAGO HAS DONE IN THE STATE OF INDIANA, HAS DONE REALLY DEVELOP READILY AVAILABLE RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPERS AT PROPERTY MANAGERS. UH, THIS AGAIN CAME OUT VERY CLEARLY AS A BEST PRACTICE BECAUSE WE DO SEE THAT MANAGING AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE, WHAT ARE BEST PRACTICES IS HARD FOR AN INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY OR A PROPERTY OWNER. HAVING SOME RESOURCES THAT HELP GUIDE, UM, IS ONE OF THOSE BEST PRACTICES. STUDYING THE EVICTION PREVENTION STRATEGIES, UM, YOU KNOW, UTILIZED BY SOME OF OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVIDERS TODAY. NONE OF OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVIDERS, THEY DO NOT HAVE STRICTLY EVICTION PREVENTION PLANS AND SORT OF THE WAY THAT ARE LOOKED AT NATIONALLY, BUT THEY HAVE SOME STRATEGIES AND THINGS THEY'RE WORKING WITH SOME CONSULTANTS TRYING TO SEE IT IS A PATCHWORK, UM, ACROSS DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, DIFFERENT PROVIDERS, UM, WITH DIFFERENT SORT OF STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES. SO ALL THAT SAID, I THINK LOOKING AT WHAT OUR LANDSCAPE IS, BUT THEN ALSO REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WHATEVER PROGRAMS WE'RE IMPLEMENTING ARE ALIGNED WITH THOSE EXISTING PRACTICES, RIGHT? SO WE'RE NOT RECREATING THE WHEEL LOCALLY OR CIRCUMVENTING THAT WORK, BUT MAKING SURE THAT IT'S ALIGNMENT, BUT ALSO MEETING THE GOALS OF EVICTION PREVENTION PLANS. AND REALLY THIS IS A REALLY DIFFICULT ONE, UNDERSTANDING OF COURSE THAT THERE'S, UH, REAL CHALLENGES WITH THE RESOURCES THAT ARE NEEDED FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS. BUT AGAIN, COMBINING SOME DEGREE OF, UH, TENANT SUPPORT SERVICE RESOURCES SUCH AS RENTAL ASSISTANCE, NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT FUNDING AND OTHER THINGS ARE REALLY A CRITICAL PART OF THAT LONG-TERM STABILIZATION AS WELL. AND THEN, UH, REALLY LOOKING AT HOW DO WE, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVE MORE MEDIATION AND CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES AND SUPPORT. AGAIN, THIS IS A CHALLENGE BECAUSE OF RESOURCES. DIFFERENT MODELS HAPPEN. THE PHILADELPHIA DIVERSION PROGRAM ACTUALLY HAS, UH, VOLUNTEER MEDIATION SERVICES. OF COURSE, THERE HAVE TO BE CERTAIN STANDARDS, SO PEOPLE HAVE TO GO THROUGH CERTAIN TRAINING, BUT ESSENTIALLY THERE'S A VOLUNTEER FORMAT. AND OTHER PLACES WE DO HAVE LEGAL REPRESENTATION HELPING, UH, WITH MEDIATION. UM, AND THEN AGAIN, CASE MANAGEMENT, WHICH INCREASINGLY IS BECOMING DIFFICULT AS WELL BECAUSE WE'RE SEEING SOME LOSS OF FEDERAL DOLLARS FOR CASE MANAGEMENT. THAT, OF COURSE, IS A CRITICAL PART AS WELL OF ENSURING FOLKS ARE CONNECTED TO THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED TO BE CONNECTED TO. THE LAST TWO THINGS ARE REALLY JUST LOOKING AT THE, REVIEWING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EVICTION PREVENTION PLANS WITH PROPERTY MANAGERS, TENANT ADVOCATES DURING THAT SORT OF ANNUAL PERIOD. IF WE'RE GONNA BE STARTING SOMETHING NEW, IT WOULD BE WORTHWHILE FOR US TO ASSESS IT PERIODICALLY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RESPONSIVE TO CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE. AND THEN LASTLY, HAVING SOME PEER LED COHORT BASED CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR PROPERTY, UH, UH, FOR LANDLORDS AND PROPERTY MANAGERS TO BOTH FOSTER A SENSE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED COLLABORATION, BUT ALSO PREVENT KNOWLEDGE LOSS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT VERY CLEAR IN THE RESEARCH IS THAT THE CHALLENGES THAT THERE'S HIGH TURNOVER IN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT. AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT OFTEN FOLKS ARE NOT AWARE OF PRACTICES THAT WERE BEING FOLLOWED AND MIGHT NOT HAVE THE SAME RELATIONSHIP. SO HOW DO WE HAVE PERHAPS MORE OF A PEER LED COHORT BASED, UH, EDUCATION FOR FOLKS? AND LASTLY, I'LL JUST QUICKLY SAY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CREATING ALL OF THESE AND EXPLORING ALL OF THESE OPTIONS, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE THE IMPLEMENTATION WOULD HAVE TO BE COORDINATED WITH OUR CITY STAFF ACROSS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS, BUT OUR HOUSING PROVIDERS AND DEVELOPERS, PROPERTY MANAGERS AND TENANT ADVOCATES. UM, AND AS I WRAP THIS UP, ONE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD SAY IS IT IS WORTH THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE HAVE EVICTION PREVENTION PLANS, BOTH IN DEPARTMENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING SPACE, BUT ALSO FOR OTHER TENANTS, KNOWING THAT THERE MIGHT BE UNIQUE NEEDS, UH, FOR TENANTS IN EACH CATEGORY. AND THAT IS THE END OF MY SLIDES AND I'LL STOP THERE AND OPEN UP YOUR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS GREAT PRESENTATION. AND OF COURSE THE HOUSING WORKS FOR ALL OF YOUR POLICY ADVOCACY AND COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY. UM, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS OR ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION? I'VE GOT A COUPLE, I GUESS IF NO ONE ELSE IS JUMPING IN. UM, WELL, GOING BACK TO YOUR PRESENTATION, UM, IF YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS THAT ARE EXPERIENCED BY TENANTS. UM, MAYBE IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE THE TYPES OF BURDENS YOU'RE THINKING OF AND WHAT MIGHT BE A SOLUTION. DO WE PUSH THOSE ONTO PROPERTY MANAGERS OR CASE MANAGERS OR LEGAL SERVICES? SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, QUESTION VICE CHAIR. I THINK, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN BURDENS THAT COME FOR TENANTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. KIND OF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. THE IDEA IS HOW DO WE HAVE TWO THINGS THAT WE [00:30:01] DO TO REDUCE THAT? ONE IS MAKE SURE THAT NOT ALL OF THE EFFORT IS FALLING ON THE TENANT. AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS, BEST PRACTICE WOULD MEAN THAT IT IS NOT ONLY THE TENANT'S JOB TO REACH OUT AT THE TIME OF, LET'S SAY NON-PAYMENT OF RENT, BUT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT REACHES OUT AND SAYS, HERE WE ARE STARTING A PROCESS. LET'S SAY WHATEVER THAT WAITING PERIOD IS IN WHICH WE'RE GONNA WAIT FOR PAYMENT AND SO ON. SO MAKING SURE IT'S TWO-SIDED. AND THEN THE OTHER PIECE AGAIN IS FOR BOTH TENANTS AND LANDLORD LANDLORDS, HAVING REALLY, UM, CLEAR GUIDELINES ON WHAT THE PROCESS LOOKS LIKE IS A BIG PART OF THAT. HAVING CLARITY UPFRONT IS REALLY CRITICAL. OFTEN IT IS MUCH EASIER WITH NONPAYMENT OF THREAT WITH LEASE VIOLATIONS, IT'S A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED, BUT REGARDLESS, HAVING CLARITY ON WHAT AN APPEAL PROCESS LOOKS LIKE FOR EVEN A LEASE VIOLATION IS A BIG PART OF ENSURING THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN ON FOLKS. UM, AND I KNOW YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR THAT, BUT OF COURSE, IF THE CITY WERE TO IMPLEMENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS, THERE IS GONNA BE AN ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN ON STAFF TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE RESOURCES WE NEED TO IMPLEMENT IT, MONITOR FOR COMPLIANCE AND SO ON. GREAT, THANK YOU. UM, YOU HAVE A NICE LIST OF, UH, RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES. UM, WOULD YOU EMPHASIZE ANY OF THESE IN PARTICULAR WHERE AUSTIN SHOULD FOCUS? UM, I THINK SOME OF THESE THAT ARE NOW, OF COURSE I'M LIKE ALL OF THEM ARE IMPORTANT, BUT THAT'S NOT THE CORRECT ANSWER. UH, I THINK THE MOST CRITICAL PART OF THAT IS EVICTION IS A LAST RESORT, IS A REALLY KEY PART OF THAT PHILOSOPHY OF ENSURING THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT EVICTION, UM, IS NOT BEING USED TO COMMUNICATE. AND LET ME EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT WHAT I MEAN BY THAT. BUT WE DO SEE THAT SOMETIMES, UM, A TENANT STOPS, LET'S SAY, DOESN'T PAY RENT FOR 48 HOURS, DOESN'T SEEM TO BE RESPONDING TO MESSAGES OR EMAIL. AND A PROPERTY MANAGER MIGHT FEEL LIKE, WELL, THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE TENANT'S ATTENTION IS FOR ME TO FILE AN EVICTION. SO THEY GO FILE AN EVICTION, YOU KNOW, THE NOTICE GETS SENT OUT AND EVERYTHING. THAT'S REALLY NOT BEST PRACTICE ENSURING THAT WE HAVE OTHER THINGS THAT GO BEFORE THAT. SO THAT EVICTION IS TREATED AS LAST RESORT, NOT AS A START OF THE CONVERSATION BECAUSE AGAIN, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE RULING WAS, HOW THE EVICTION IS FILED AND THINGS LIKE THAT CAN BE PART OF A RECORD AND CAN MAKE IT CHALLENGING FOR FOLKS TO ACCESS HOUSING. THE OTHER ONE THAT I'LL JUST MENTION WITHIN THAT THIS IS WHILE PHILADELPHIA'S PROGRAM IS REALLY UNIQUE AND THAT APPLIES TO ALL PROPERTIES CITYWIDE, THAT'S REALLY A UNIQUE THING THAT WE'VE SEEN AND IT GETS A DIVERSION PROGRAM. TYING IT TO INCENTIVE BASED PROGRAMS IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S REAL, SOME ALIGNMENT FOR MISSION. UM, PART OF THAT, AND THEN THE LAST THING I'LL JUST SAY ON THE BEST PRACTICE LIST IS AGAIN, UNDERSTANDING THERE'S RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS, BUT THOSE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES BECOME REALLY CRITICAL, WHETHER IT'S MEDIATION SUPPORT OR HAVING SOME DEGREE OF, OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, NON-PAYMENT OF RENT AND OTHER THINGS. AGAIN, WITH THE CAVEAT THAT THAT IS FOR ALMOST ALL THE CASE STUDIES. WE HAVE STUDIES, IT'S GAPED, SO THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT THAT YOU CAN APPLY FOR AND GET, UM, OF JUST GIVING AN EXAMPLE. BUT IN THE PHILADELPHIA DIVERSION PROGRAM, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE $10,000 IN RENTER YEARS, YOU'RE NOT EVEN GONNA BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PROGRAM. AND THE LANDLORD KNOWS THAT UPFRONT THAT THEY'RE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THAT. SO ALL THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, THERE'S LIKE A LIMITATION OF WHAT KIND OF RESOURCES FOLKS CAN ACCESS, BUT THOSE RESOURCES DO BECOME A CRITICAL PART OF THE OVERALL EVICTION PREVENTION STRATEGY. THANK YOU. UH, JUST A COUPLE MORE. UM, IN TERMS OF THE, THE VALUE OF AN EVICTION PREVENTION PLAN FOR PROPERTY MANAGERS, IS THERE AN ECONOMIC CASE THAT SAYS THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE BENEFICIAL TO YOU ECONOMICALLY OVER THE LONG TERM? CERTAINLY, YES. UM, YOU KNOW, SAME SORT OF, UM, BENEFITS THAT WILL APPLY TO EVICTION PREVENTION, THERE IS REAL LOSS IN, UH, COSTS. SO THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH RENT AND MOVE OUTS AND REFURBISHING AN APARTMENT, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT. YOU CAN ACTUALLY NOT HAVE LONGER TERMS VACANCY BECAUSE YOU'RE TRYING TO RESOLVE ISSUES WITH TENANTS. AND AGAIN, WE DO SEE THIS REALLY VARIED ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE HERE IN AUSTIN WHERE SOME PROPERTY MANAGERS MIGHT ACTUALLY BE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH TENANTS AND TRYING TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS. OTHERS MAY NOT. IT REALLY VARIES ACROSS THE BOARD. BUT ALL THAT SAID, I THINK HAVING THAT DEGREE OF, UM, INTERACTION AND SUPPORT IS LIKE A BIG PART OF THAT. UM, ENSURING THAT THOSE COSTS REMAIN DOWN LEGAL FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THE EVICTION FILING PROCESS, OF COURSE THEY KICK IN AS WELL. OFTEN WHEN WE SEE, UM, EVICTION HEARINGS BEING SOLVED THROUGH COURT ACCESS, THAT WILL BE A BIG ASK FROM LANDLORDS AND LANDLORD ATTORNEYS AS WELL FOR PAYING THOSE FEES BECAUSE THOSE HAVE TO BE COVERED. AND THEN LASTLY, I'LL JUST MENTION THAT I THINK, UM, FOR PROPERTY HAVING, UM, SOMETHING THAT IS ON THE BOOKS FOR THE EVICTION PREVENTION ASPECT, IF YOU HAVE LONG-TERM STABILIZED TENANTS, IT JUST LEADS TO A BETTER COMMUNITY, MORE ENGAGED, UM, YOU KNOW, PROPERTY, MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS ARE ACTUALLY LIVING MUCH MORE FULLY, WHICH WITH STRONGER NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTIONS, WE SEE BETTER RESULTS JUST FOR THE PROPERTY AS A WHOLE. GREAT, THANK YOU. AND THEN LAST QUESTION, UM, YOU TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT RENTAL ASSISTANCE AS BEING SOMETHING THAT'S A LITTLE CHALLENGING RIGHT NOW, GIVEN FISCAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CITY. UM, IS THERE AN ARGUMENT THAT IT'S STILL A GOOD INVESTMENT, YOU KNOW, KINDA ALONG THE LINES OF AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION [00:35:01] IS BETTER THAN A POUND OF CURE? UM, THAT'S A CHALLENGING ANSWER QUESTION. SORRY. LET ME THINK THAT THROUGH. AND I THINK WHAT I WOULD SAY IS TWO THINGS. YES, THERE IS A CASE TO BE MADE THAT THERE ARE SAVINGS, AS WE SAY, THERE'S LONG TERM SORT OF SAVINGS, IF NOT HAVING FOLKS ACCESS THE LARGER SOCIAL SAFETY NET WITH A FEW CAVEATS. I THINK ONE IS THAT HAVING NARROWLY TAILORED PROGRAMS IS ONE WAY TO CUT COST AND REALLY HAVE IT FOCUSED, WHETHER IT'S TIED TO, FOR EXAMPLE, A DIVERSION PROGRAM OR EVICTION PREVENTION PROGRAM. SO FOLKS WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN A PROGRAM, THE POOL OF, UM, APPLICANTS WILL, YOU KNOW, BE MUCH SMALLER. SO THAT'S ONE ONE WAY OF LOOKING AT IT. CURRENTLY. I KNOW THE CITY LOOKS AT NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENTS, UM, AS PART OF THAT WORK. THE OTHER PIECE IS AGAIN, REALLY ENSURING THAT THOSE, THERE'S STRUCTURAL THINGS BUILT INTO PROGRAMS THAT ARE LEADING TO LONG-TERM STABILITY AS WELL. SO WE'RE NOT JUST, WHAT WE WOULDN'T WANT, AND I DON'T THINK ANYBODY WANTS THAT, IS THAT WE PROVIDE RENTAL ASSISTANCE TO SOMEONE WHO IS STABILIZED FOR ONE MONTH AND THEN THE MONTH AFTER THEY GET EVICTED AGAIN. SO HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT FOLKS ARE TRULY BEING STABILIZED AND THOSE SERVICES ARE HELPING WITH THEM? AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS, YOU KNOW, RENTAL ASSISTANCE BY ITSELF IS IMPORTANT, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT SOME OF THE OTHER FINANCIAL SOURCES, RESOURCES THAT MIGHT BE NEEDED AND, UM, MEDIATION AND CASE MANAGEMENT WOULD BE A BIG PART OF THAT AS WELL. GREAT. COUNCIL MEMBER, I APPRECIATE YOU RUNNING THIS MEETING. YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB SO FAR. UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY ANECDOTALLY, I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT THE EVICTION NOTICE NOT BEING THE FIRST POINT OF COMMUNICATION. UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS TO FEEL LIKE WITH THEIR PROPERTY OWNER ASSOCIATION, WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE IS, IS A BACK AND FORTH WHERE PEOPLE CAN SAY, HEY, LOOK, I CAN PAY A LITTLE BIT LATE. UM, I'M GONNA GET YOU THE RENT THAT YOU'RE OWED, BUT NOT TRY TO TRIGGER THAT EVICTION NOTICE THAT QUICKLY. UM, THE STATE OF TEXAS RECENTLY CHANGED THEIR LATE FEE CHARGE TO I BELIEVE 10% OF YOUR RENT UP FROM 5%, IF I'M REMEMBERING CORRECTLY. UM, THAT'S, THAT'S A LOT, THAT'S A LOT OF DIFFERENCE FOR YOU TO HAVE TO GIVE, YOU KNOW, 10% MORE OF WHAT YOUR RENT IS OWED. YOU KNOW, THAT'S MONEY FOR GROCERIES, THAT'S MONEY FOR CLOTHES FOR YOUR KIDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND SO THAT WAS NOT REALLY HELPFUL, I THINK, ON FOLKS THAT ARE PAYING RENT LATE. BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE BILLS CAN GET PAID AND THAT EVERYTHING IS, IS BEING SORTED OUT. UM, ANOTHER THING THAT I'VE NOTICED IS THAT WHEN APARTMENTS OR OTHER SORTS OF PROPERTY OWNER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS CHANGE, WHEN THEY GET NEW OWNERSHIP, SOMETIMES IT GOES FROM BEING ABLE TO SPLIT RENT THROUGH THEIR PORTALS TO NOW ONE PERSON HAS TO PAY ALL OF THE RENT. AND IF YOU HAVE NO HEADS UP THAT THAT'S GONNA BE THE NEW ARRANGEMENT, THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR ANYBODY THAT'S RENTING A PROPERTY WITH, YOU KNOW, TWO OR THREE ROOMMATES TO FIND, YOU KNOW, GET INTO THAT POINT OF, WELL NOW I NEED TO MAKE SURE I CAN ALLOCATE THOSE DOLLARS A COUPLE WEEKS EARLIER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HITTING THOSE MARKS. AND SO I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE A QUESTION SPECIFICALLY, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE THE THOROUGH DEEP DIVE IN WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP PREVENT EVICTIONS AND HELP FOLKS BE BETTER COMMUNICATORS ON BOTH SIDES TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS CAN STAY IN THEIR HOME AND NOT BE DESTABILIZED, THEIR KIDS CAN STAY IN THEIR SCHOOLS AND ALL OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT MAKE OUR COMMUNITY GOOD. SO I APPRECIATE THE REPORT. THANK YOU COUNCIL M, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, MAYOR, UH, UH, THANK YOU VICE CHAIR. UM, I, I'D REITERATE REALLY WHAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HAS SAID, AND HONESTLY, JUST THINKING ABOUT MY OWN EXPERIENCE AS AN ATTORNEY, YOU KNOW, THE LAWSUIT BEING THE FIRST THING THAT YOU HEAR FROM SOMEBODY IS GENERALLY NOT A GOOD WAY TO RESOLVE THE, THE, THE PROBLEM. UH, THAT, THAT COMMUNICATION AND, AND AGAIN, OBVIOUSLY THIS HAS TO HAPPEN IN A RELATIVELY QUICK TIMEFRAME, UH, BUT, UH, I I, I APPRECIATE THAT AS A VERY SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD, YOU KNOW, FIRST PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL THEM, THEN SEND THEM A LETTER, AND THEN YOU JUST KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT KIND OF SLOW AND STEADY ESCALATION. AND DON'T JUST START OFF WITH A EVICTION NOTICE IS, UH, THE FIRST THING THAT YOU'RE, UH, GETTING. UH, I THINK THAT THAT REALLY KIND OF RUINS, UH, THE LANDLORD TENANT RELATIONSHIP AND, AND KIND OF HAS PEOPLE TO DIG INTO THEIR POSITIONS AND THEY'RE LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT? I AM OUT OF HERE TO HELL WITH YOU AND I'LL ANYWAY, THINGS CAN GO DOWNHILL. SO I I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT EMPHASIS ON JUST KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE, THE SKILLS AND TACTICS INVOLVED IN THE, THE ENTIRE PROCESS. THANK YOU MAYOR BRODA. AND, UM, I, I WOULD COMPLETELY AGREE AND, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT AGAIN, DIDN'T MATCH HERE, IT'S IN OUR MEMO FOR SURE TO STAFF IT IS ALSO HAVING PREDICTABILITY FOR THE LANDLORD. SO IF, LET'S SAY REALLY SOMEONE IS BEING UNRESPONSIVE FOR WHATEVER REASON, IT IS NOT TO SAY THAT THE LANDLORD HAS TO WAIT FOR AN INDEFINITE PERIOD TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY RESPOND. IT IS REALLY ABOUT HAVING SOME PREDICTABLE CYCLES. AND THIS IS WHERE SOME CASE MEDIATION AND MEDIATION WHERE AND CASE, UH, MANAGEMENT SUPPORT COMES IN HANDY WHERE SOME FOLKS ARE, UM, NOT RESPONDING 'CAUSE THEY'VE HIT AN AVOIDANCE WALL AND THEY'RE JUST STRUGGLING [00:40:01] WITH EVERYTHING HAPPENING OFTEN. UM, YOU KNOW, EVICTION IS ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE IN SOMEONE'S LIFE THAT SEEMS TO BE HAPPENING AT A MOMENT. AND SO I THINK HAVING SOME EXTERNAL SUPPORT TO HELP GUIDE TO THAT CAN BE A BIG PART OF ENSURING THAT THAT COMMUNICATION KEEPS GOING. WELL, THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. ANY FINAL WORDS? THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND THANK YOU TO OUR HOUSING STAFF. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. TAKE CARE. UH, THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA [4. Briefing on compliance and monitoring of properties participating in the Rental Housing Development Assistance Program and updates to tenant protections. [Brendan Kennedy, Program Manager; Casey Smith, Process Improvement and Data Analytics Manager - Housing]] IS ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON ROTA, COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND TENANT PROTECTIONS. AND WE'LL HEAR FROM CASEY SMITH AND BRENDAN KENNEDY WITH AUSTIN HOUSING. HELLO, CASEY SMITH WITH AUSTIN HOUSING, UM, WHERE WE ARE CREATING AND PRESERVING HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES TO STABILIZE COMMUNITIES. SO WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A BRIEFING ON RENTAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE, ALSO KNOWN AS RHDA, UM, COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND UPDATES TO TENANT PROTECTIONS. DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF? GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS BRENDAN KENNEDY. I'M A DIVISION MANAGER AND I WILL BE SHARING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE TENANT PROTECTION SPECIFICALLY AND OUR UPDATES, UH, TO THE LEASE. ALL RIGHT, NEXT SLIDE. THERE WE GO. SO THESE, THIS IS AN UPDATE TO THESE TWO RESOLUTIONS, 21 AND 23, BOTH RELATED TO THE RHDA PROGRAM AND WE'LL GO TO NEXT SLIDE. UM, I'M GONNA, WE BROKE THIS OUT INTO TWO DIFFERENT PROJECT TIMELINES. SO THE FIRST ONE IS ONE THAT MY TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, SO MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE AS A PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. AND THIS IS OUR TIMELINE. SO WE HAVE, UM, SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED OUR PREP PHASE AND DISCOVERY, WHICH IS INTERVIEWING A LOT OF PEOPLE, UM, GATHERING A LOT OF NOTES, AND WE ARE JUST BEGINNING TO WORK THROUGH THE ANALYSIS OF ALL THOSE NOTES TO IDENTIFY HOW WE CAN BEST MEET THESE RESOLUTIONS, UM, AND THE PRIORITIES IN THEM. WE WILL BE COMPLETED WITH THIS IMPLEMENTA OR WE'LL BE LAUNCHING THE IMPLE IMPLEMENTATION, UM, IN SEPTEMBER. AND YOU WANNA GO OVER THE NEXT TIMELINE, NEXT SLIDE. ABSOLUTELY. SO WITH REGARDS TO, UH, THE RHODA LEASE ADDENDUM UPDATE AND ASSOCIATED UPDATES TO OUR RDA GUIDELINES, WE ARE ALSO COMPLETE WITH OUR PREP WORK. IN THE CASE OF THIS PROCESS, WE'VE BEEN, UH, HAVING SOME SORT OF TOUCHPOINT MEETINGS WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS. WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING WITH THE, UH, LEARNING ENGAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE OR LEAD, WHICH IS SORT OF AN IN-HOUSE SUPPORT TO FACILITATE OUR ENGAGEMENT PROCESS. UH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO BE STARTING THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT THIS MONTH, CONTINUING INTO MAY, UH, AFTER WHICH POINT WE WILL SYNTHESIZE THE FEEDBACK WE'VE RECEIVED, UH, WORK ON A DRAFT THAT WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE SUMMER, COLLECTING ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED REVISIONS THAT WE'VE DRAFTED, UH, AND THEN PURSUING FINAL DRAFTING FOR, UH, PUBLISHING AND IMPLEMENTING THOSE UPDATES, UH, IN OCTOBER OF 2026. PART OF THE REASON THE OCTOBER DEADLINE IS IMPORTANT IS THAT FOR THE RHDA PROGRAM, WHICH IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY PROGRAMS THAT REQUIRES THIS ADDENDUM, WE ARE LOOKING TO RECEIVE OUR FIRST APPLICATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027 FUNDING IN OCTOBER. AND SO OUR GOAL WITH THIS TIMELINE IS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE ALL STAKEHOLDERS AND APPLICANTS ON THE SAME PAGE, ON A FINAL APPROVED LEASE ADDENDUM BY THAT TIME. ALRIGHT, SO OUR PROGRESS TO DATE ON THESE TWO RESOLUTIONS, UM, WE'LL GO THROUGH EACH OF THE BE IT RESOLVES FOR, WE'LL START WITH RESOLUTION 21, UM, AND YOU'LL SEE THE LITTLE CHECK MARKS NEXT TO THE BEIT RESOLVES WE HAVE EITHER COMPLETED OR WE ARE WORKING ON. SO WE'LL GO THROUGH ACTUALLY FOUR OF THESE. AND DO YOU WANNA START WITH NUMBER ONE? ABSOLUTELY. SO AGAIN, SPEAKING TO THE UPDATE TO THE ROTA, WHICH AGAIN, AS YOU ALL MAY KNOW, IS UTILIZED FOR THE RENTAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FUNDING PROGRAM, AS WELL AS OTHER PROGRAMS. UH, IT IS CALLED THE TENANT PROTECTION LEASE ADDENDUM. UH, IT HAS BEEN IN PLACE SINCE 2021 AND OF COURSE THE RESOLUTION AS CA CASEY MENTIONED, DIRECTED STAFF TO PURSUE AN UPDATE PROCESS FOR THAT. UH, WE HAVE WORKED WITH THE LEAD OFFICE WHO ARE PROVIDING THAT IN-HOUSE SUPPORT TO PLAN STRUCTURE AND FACILITATE OUR ENGAGEMENT. AND THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE GOING ON THIS MONTH AND INTO MAY. WE'RE BEGINNING WITH TWO ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, BOTH AN IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL OPTION, INVITING STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDING TENANT ADVOCATES, SUPPORTIVE HOUSING SERVICE PROVIDERS, DEVELOPERS, PROPERTY MANAGERS, AND OTHER KEY INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE DIRECT EXPERIENCE UTILIZING THE CURRENT LEASE ADDENDUM IN THEIR WORK. UH, EACH OF THOSE GROUPS WE'RE LOOKING IN THOSE FIRST TWO ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS TO COLLECT THEIR PERSPECTIVES AND REAL WORLD EXAMPLES OF HOW THE LEASE ADDENDUM HAS BEEN WORKING IN PRACTICE. UM, WE ALSO WANT TO USE THOSE SESSIONS TO START GATHERING, UH, IDEAS FOR IMPROVEMENT OR UPDATES [00:45:02] AND THOSE SUGGESTIONS FOR AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT OR UPDATES. WE'LL REALLY BE THE FOCUS OF A FOLLOW-UP SESSION WITH ALL PARTICIPANTS THAT WE ARE CALLING A, A WORKSHOP SESSION TO BE HELD MAY 18TH. SO THE IDEA THERE WILL BE TAKING THE CONCERNS, FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED IN THOSE INITIAL SESSIONS, UH, BRINGING ALL STAKEHOLDERS TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH EACH OTHER AS WELL AS CITY STAFF TO IDENTIFY WHAT THEIR SHARED GOALS ARE, IDEAL OUTCOMES, UH, AND EXPLORE POSSIBLE WAYS TO ADDRESS THE CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED, UH, IN A WAY THAT'S A MUTUALLY AGREEABLE, UM, PROMISING SOLUTION. SO IN THAT RESPECT, WE HOPE TO NOT ONLY COLLECT FEEDBACK ON WHAT IS AND ISN'T WORKING, BUT START WORKING WITH STAKEHOLDERS ON SOME POSSIBLE AVENUES, UH, FOR MOVING FORWARD. UM, AND LASTLY, I I WANT TO ADD THAT WE ARE ALSO EXPLORING FURTHER ENGAGEMENT DIRECTLY WITH RESIDENTS. UH, TWO REASONS THAT, UM, THIS MIGHT COME LATER THAN THESE ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS I'VE LAID OUT HERE, WHICH IS FIRST THAT AUSTIN HOUSING IS PLANNING TO ENGAGE WITH RESIDENTS AS PART OF OUR DEPARTMENT'S ACTION PLAN, UM, LEADING INTO THE SUMMER MONTHS. OUR HOPE IS TO COORDINATE THOSE EFFORTS AND WE DON'T WANT OUR RESIDENTS TO FEEL ENGAGEMENT FATIGUE. SECONDLY, WE REALLY WANNA USE THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GET FROM THE STAKEHOLDERS IN THESE ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS TO PROVIDE DIRECTION ON HOW, UM, WE'RE ENGAGING WITH RESIDENTS. THE LEASE ADDENDUM, IT'S A FAIRLY DENSE COMPLEX DOCUMENT, NOT ALWAYS THE EASIEST TO UNDERSTAND. SO WE WANNA WORK WITH RESIDENTS TO ALLOW THEM TO PROVIDE THEIR OWN PERSPECTIVE ON SPECIFIC REAL WORLD QUESTIONS THAT ARE GONNA COME UP FROM OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH STAKEHOLDERS. SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO START THESE SESSIONS, UH, GET THE INPUT THAT WE RECEIVE AND LOOK FORWARD TO USING WHAT WE LEARN TO INFORM OUR UPDATES. ALRIGHT, SO YEAH, SPEAKING OF ENGAGEMENT, UM, BOTH PROJECTS, THE MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT AND THE PROJECT BRENDAN JUST SPOKE ABOUT, WE WILL BE ENGAGING ACTUALLY IN TOTAL ABOUT 40, UM, DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS WITH ONLY ABOUT FIVE PARTICIPANTS THAT ARE OVERLAPPING. SO IT REALLY HAS BEEN A BROAD, UM, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS BETWEEN THE TWO, TWO, UH, ELEMENTS OF THE, UM, IFCS. AND YOU COULD JUST SEE HERE, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT WE'VE ENGAGED WITH SO FAR. SO OUR LONG-TERM, OUR CONTRACTED LONG-TERM MONITORING PROVIDER, WHICH IS U-U-P-C-S INSPECTORS, LLC, SOME PEER CITIES, HOUSTON, SAN ANTONIO, DALLAS, EL PASO, AND SEATTLE. UH, INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS, NOT JUST IN AUSTIN HOUSING, BUT WITH AUSTIN CODE LAW, HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE AND EQUITY INCLUSION OFFICE, UM, PARTICULARLY THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, PROPERTY MANAGERS, CASE MANAGERS, UH, OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPERS, HOUSING DEVELOPERS GENERALLY, AND THEN TENANT RIGHT ADVOCATES. UH, AND YOU JUST HEARD OF SSA'S PRESENTATION, WHICH WAS, UH, ONE OF, AND ONE OF THE BE IT RESOLVES IN THE IFC, UM, AROUND EVICTION PREVENTION PLANS. AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE RESEARCH AND BEST PRACTICES PROVIDED. AND THESE WILL BE CERTAINLY TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION AS WE BEGIN THIS ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS PHASE. UM, WE DO THINK THAT HAVING AN EVICTION PREVENTION PLAN WITHIN THE BROADER EVICTION PREVENTION FRAMEWORK IS A GOOD IDEA. EXCELLENT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR CLICKING . UM, ALRIGHT, SO THE NEXT BE RESOLVED IS EXPLORING HOW THE LEASE ADDENDUM UPDATES CAN BE APPLIED TO CURRENT RHODA PROPERTIES, RHDA PROPERTIES. UM, AND WE DID A CONSULTATION WITH LAW, AS I MENTIONED, AND OUR THIRD PARTY MONITOR AND WE HAVE BEEN CONDUCTING DOCUMENT REVIEWS, LITERALLY GOING THROUGH EVERY SINGLE LOAN AGREEMENT. UM, AND WHAT THE LEGAL LIMITATIONS ARE IS THAT WE, UH, THE LEASE ADDENDUMS ARE OFTEN ACTUALLY THEY ARE, UM, IN THE LOAN AGREEMENT ITSELF. SO CHANGING THE LEASE ADDENDUM AFTER THE LOAN AGREEMENT HAS ALREADY BEEN SIGNED AND EXECUTED IS CHALLENGING. SO WE UM, WILL BE WORKING THROUGH HOW TO HANDLE THAT. IT'S NOT RECOMMENDED TO LEAVE THE TERMS UNDEFINED IN THE LOAN AGREEMENT AS IF, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE YOU WILL ADOPT WHATEVER THE MOST CURRENT LEASE ADDENDUM IS. THAT, THAT THAT'S NOT GONNA WORK, UM, LEGALLY. ALRIGHT, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT RESOLUTION, ITEM 23. UM, WE'LL GO THROUGH THESE, BE IT RESOLVES THAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED. SO WE WENT THROUGH ITEM NUMBER ONE OF THE SUMMARY OF THE RHDA COMPLIANCE, WHICH I'LL MENTION IN JUST A MOMENT. AND THEN, UM, CONSULTING ANOTHER SET OF VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDERS. SO THE SUMMARY SO FAR, WE DO HAVE SOME SUCCESSES AND WE DO HAVE SOME AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT. UM, SO THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT PROPERTIES ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH WHAT OUR LONG-TERM MONITOR IS CHECKING FOR. UM, IT IS NOT ALWAYS IMMEDIATELY IN COMPLIANCE, BUT PROPERTY MANAGERS ARE QUICK TO GET IN COMPLIANCE IF THEY'RE FOUND OUT OF COMPLIANCE. [00:50:01] UM, ALL THE PROPERTIES THAT WERE MONITORED SINCE 2024 ARE USING THE CURRENT LEASE ADDENDUM. THAT'S GOOD NEWS AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT ARE TO INCREASE AND MAINTAIN THOSE PROPERTY MANAGER POINTS OF CONTACTS. YOU HEARD FROM ESSA'S PRESENTATION THAT THERE IS A LOT OF TURNOVER FOR PROPERTY MANAGERS AND WE UM, SEE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO A BETTER JOB OF MAINTAINING CONTACT. WE WANT TO ENRICH THE EXISTING COMPLIANCE EXPECTATIONS, UM, RATHER THAN, FOR EXAMPLE, DO YOU HAVE AN EVICTION PREVENTION PLAN, YES OR NO? YES, GREAT, YOU'RE IN COMPLIANCE, BUT MORE ABOUT, WELL, OKAY, IS IT WORKING JUST A BIT MORE IN DEPTH? UM, WE WANT TO DEVELOP AN ESCALATION PROCESS FOR NON-COMPLIANCE. UH, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEBODY IS OUT OF COMPLIANCE AND DOESN'T GET IN COMPLIANCE? WHAT DOES A TENANT DO IF THEY'RE HAVING AN ISSUE WHERE, WHO DO THEY CALL? WE'D LIKE TO ESTABLISH TRAINING EXPECTATIONS FOR BOTH NEW AND EXISTING PROPERTY MANAGERS, UH, TO MEET THAT HIGH TURNOVER AND THEN OF COURSE INCREASE THE FREQUENCY OF MONITORING. TODAY WE MONITOR OUR PROPERTIES A THIRD OF THE PROPERTIES ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS AND WE LOOK AT A 10% SAMPLE, WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT OUR, WITH WHAT, UM, TEXAS T-D-H-C-H DOES AS WELL. ALRIGHT. AND THEN, UM, BE IT RESOLVED, THREE HERE AROUND CONSULTING A VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDERS. SO IN ADDITION TO THOSE MENTIONED EARLIER ON SLIDE EIGHT, UH, WE ALSO LOOKED AT PREVIOUS STUDIES AND RESEARCH, UM, INCLUDING PREVIOUS AUDITS DONE FOR THE DEPARTMENT. UH, WE INTERVIEWED THOSE PEER CITIES AND THEIR APPROACH. WE LOOKED AT THE WAY THE STATE OF TEXAS T-D-H-C-A DOES THEIR COMPLIANCE AND HOW DOES THAT ALIGN WITH WHAT WE DO. UM, AND THEN AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE LOOKED THROUGH LOTS AND LOTS OF LOAN AGREEMENTS. ALRIGHT, SO NEXT STEPS. UM, I WILL, I WILL SAY THAT SOMETHING THAT IS EXCITING THAT'S ALREADY UNDERWAY, UM, DIRECTOR DEAN, WHO'S NEW TO THE DEPARTMENT, ESTABLISHED A NEW DIVISION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT USING EXISTING RESOURCES. SO, UM, TEAMMATES HAVE BEEN REORGANIZED AND WE NOW HAVE AN ASSET MANAGEMENT TEAM, WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING AND THAT IS VERY MUCH IN LINE WITH WHAT OTHER CITIES DO, UM, AND DIRECTOR DEAN'S PAST EXPERIENCE AS WELL. SO I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THAT IS ALREADY UNDERWAY. UM, ALSO BY AUG, AUGUST 1ST YOU'LL SEE THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. SO RIGHT NOW I MENTIONED WE'RE IN THIS ANALYSIS PHASE, WE WILL DEVELOP A PLAN AND THAT'S WHAT WILL BE SHARED, UM, AUGUST 1ST AND THEN BY OCTOBER 1ST. AT THAT POINT, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE HOPING TO RECEIVE OUR FIRST APPLICATIONS FOR FY 2027 FOR THE RDA PROGRAM AND HOPING TO HAVE A CLEARLY ESTABLISHED FINAL PUBLISHED, UH, RHDA TENANT PROTECTION LEASE ADDENDUM AND ASSOCIATED UPDATES TO THE GUIDELINES BY THAT TIME. THANK YOU. RIGHT ON. WELL THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION Y'ALL AND UH, TO DIRECTOR, DEAN AND THE DEPARTMENT FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK TO RESPOND TO THESE TWO RESOLUTIONS. UM, I'LL JUST SAY THAT MY OFFICE HAS HEARD GREAT THINGS FROM ADVOCATES WHO'VE BEEN A PART OF THE STAKEHOLDER PROCESS. THEY REALLY APPRECIATE THE ENGAGEMENT AND THE WORK Y'ALL ARE DOING. UM, COLLEAGUES, UH, ANY QUESTIONS? UM, WELL, UH, I HAVE JUST TWO QUICK ONES. UM, I GUESS IF YOU COULD PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE LONG-TERM MONITORING PROVIDER, UH, UPCS INSPECTORS AND THE SERVICES THAT THEY PROVIDE. FOR EXAMPLE, ARE THEY DOING TRAININGS, INSPECTIONS, OR BOTH AND ARE THEY ONLY WORKING ON ROTOR PROPERTIES? SO ANY ADDITIONAL CONTEXT PLEASE. YEAH, UH, U-S-P-C-S HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT FOR 20 YEARS, UM, AND HAS LOTS OF PRIOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXPERIENCE BEFORE HE STARTED CONTRACTING WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UM, THEY DO, THEY DO MONITOR NOT JUST RHDA BUT PROPERTIES IN OUR PORTFOLIO, THE, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING INVENTORY. AND WHILE IT'S NOT IN HIS CONTRACT TO PROVIDE TRAINING, HE DOES DO A LOT OF TRAINING. UM, AS SOON AS HE FINDS A PROPERTY MANAGER IS NOT IN COMPLIANCE, HE WORKS WITH THEM TO TRAIN THEM OFTEN IT IS JUST A LACK OF AWARENESS OF WHAT'S EXPECTED. UM, SO HE IS, HE IS DOING A LOT OF WORK AROUND TRAINING FOR THE PROGRAM. THAT'S GREAT. AND I THINK YOU SAID THE FREQUENCY WAS ONE THIRD OF THE PROPERTIES EVERY THREE YEARS. THAT'S RIGHT. AND HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT UH, WHAT IT WOULD COST TO INCREASE THE FREQUENCY? THAT IS PART OF OUR ANALYSIS PHASE, UH, BUT DEFINITELY IS AN INTEREST TO INCREASE. OKAY. WELL THANKS SO MUCH. APPRECIATE Y'ALL. GUESS NOTHING FURTHER. ALRIGHT, THANK UM, NOW, UH, COMMITTEE, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM FIVE, [5. Briefing on potential future Homestead Preservation Districts. [Rachel Tepper, Planner Principal Austin Housing]] WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON POTENTIAL FUTURE HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION DISTRICTS AND REINVESTMENT ZONES. AND THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE PROVIDED BY RACHEL TEPPER WITH AUSTIN HOUSING. [00:55:03] ALRIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS. UM, MY NAME IS RACHEL TEER. I'M A PRINCIPAL PLANNER WITH AUSTIN HOUSING. UM, AND I'M JOINED TODAY WITH MARK GILBERT FROM HYATT BROWN, UM, WHO WILL BE SHARING A LITTLE BIT MORE LATER IN THE PRESENTATION. UM, WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE A BRIEFING ON HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION DISTRICTS AS THEY'RE A MAJOR TOOL, UH, THAT WE USE TO SUPPORT LONG-TERM AFFORDABLE HOUSING. UM, SO JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION DISTRICTS OR HPDS, THEY WERE CREATED BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IN 2005. UM, AND THEY, UM, AND THEY WERE SPECIFICALLY CREATED TO PRO PROMOTE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND PREVENT DISPLACEMENT. THEY HPDS, UM, UH, ARE DESIGNATED AREAS THAT ARE GEOGRAPHICALLY RESTRICTED. YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN HERE, UM, THE HPD THAT WE, UM, THAT WE'VE HAD FOR A VERY LONG TIME, HPDA. UM, AND IN THESE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, UH, THE STATE ALLOWS US TO USE THREE TOOLS, HOMESTEAD LAND TRUST, HOMESTEAD LAND BANKS, AND HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION REINVESTMENT ZONES. SO OUR FIRST DISTRICT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2007 AND THE TOOL THAT I'M GONNA TALK THE MOST ABOUT TODAY IS HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION REINVESTMENT ZONES. AND THAT'S PRIMARILY BECAUSE AUSTIN HAS FOUND THE GREATEST, UM, BENEFIT FROM THESE THREE TOOLS. BUT THESE THREE TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE, UM, SHOULD WE BE INTERESTED IN, IN THE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION DISTRICTS. UM, BUT FOR HP ZS, THESE ARE MODIFIED TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE OR TUR OR TIFFS, UM, THAT ALLOW YOU TO ESSENTIALLY COLLECT THE INCREASED PROPERTY VALUES OF AN AREA AND REINVEST, UM, THAT MONEY INTO THE SAME AREA THAT SAW THAT INCREASED INVESTMENT. SO IT HAS TO BE A GEOGRAPHIC, GEOGRAPHICALLY RESTRICTED AREA. INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT IT CAN ACTUALLY BE SMALLER THAN THE HPD BECAUSE THE HPD, IT'S SORT OF LIKE A, YOU KNOW, NESTED, UM, NESTED DOLLS. THE HPD CAN BE LARGER AND THERE ARE THOSE OTHER TOOLS AS WELL, BUT THE HPRZ CAN SIT INSIDE OF IT. UM, OUR HPRZ THAT WE ESTABLISHED, UM, WE ESTABLISHED IT IN 2015, AND IT MATCHES THE BOUNDARIES. I EXACTLY WITH THE HPD, UM, AND THE WAY THAT IT WAS ESTABLISHED. AND THE WAY THAT YOU KNOW, THESE, THAT SORT OF, THE LEGAL PROCESS FOR GETTING H HP ZS ESTABLISHED IS THAT YOU MUST ESTABLISH THE HPD, SORRY FOR ALL THE ACRONYMS, JUST FASTER. BUT, UM, YOU MUST ESTABLISH THE HPD AND THEN YOU STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF HP ZS. AND THAT'S THE PHASE THAT WE'RE KIND OF IN NOW. UM, AND THEN IF HP ZS MAKE SENSE, UM, COUNCIL WOULD DIRECT STAFF TO ESTABLISH THOSE. UM, AND THEN A POINT A BOARD OF DIRECTORS, SIMILAR TO A , AND THEN THAT BOARD OF DIRECTORS WOULD APPROVE A PROJECT AND FINANCING PLAN. SO, AS FOR OUR CURRENT HPRZ, UM, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE ESTABLISHED IT IN 2015 WITH A 10% TAX INCREMENT, THEN WE INCREASED IT IN 2019 TO A 20% TAX INCREMENT. AND THE MONEY IS SPECIFICALLY, UM, DIRECTED TO A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE FUNDS MUST BE SPENT ON, UM, HOUSEHOLDS OR FAMILIES AT UNDER 70% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, 50%, UM, HAVE TO BE AT 50% MFI OR BELOW. AND ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE MONEY HAS TO BE SPENT ON FAMILIES AT 30% MFI AND BELOW. AND IF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL THE MONEY IS, IS FOR INVEST, UM, IS FOR, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION OR REHABILITATION, AND THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING MUST BE, MUST REMAIN AFFORDABLE FOR AT LEAST 30 YEARS. SO WHEN WE ADOPTED THE HPRZ NUMBER ONE, IT WAS A 10 YEAR TOURS, UM, AND IT WAS SET TO EXPIRE IN 2025. JUST AS FAR AS THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF, UM, THE, THE WORK THAT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, DONE DUE TO THIS FUNDING SOURCE, UM, WE'VE INVESTED, UM, OH, UH, WE'VE COLLECTED AROUND $22 MILLION IN REVENUE. AND THE INVESTMENTS HAVE GONE TO PROJECTS LIKE THE REBECCA, THE WORKS, THREE AT ARTILLERY, THE IVORY, AND SANTA RITA COURTS. SO WE'VE MADE MEANINGFUL INVESTMENTS IN HUNDREDS OF UNITS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH THIS FUNDING SOURCE. [01:00:01] UM, SO IN THE FALL, CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED A RESOLUTION AND AN ORDINANCE TO EXTEND HPRZ ONE THROUGH 2035, UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME INCREASE THE INCREMENT FROM 20% TO 40% AND APPROVED A PRELIMINARY AMENDED PROJECT FINANCING PLAN. HOWEVER, UM, WE'RE NOT DONE. UH, THE NEXT STEPS ARE, UM, THIS STUDY THAT WE'RE DOING, UM, WITH HYATT BROWN IS HELPING US CALIBRATE, UM, THE, THE REVENUE PROJECTIONS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO BRING FORWARD A FINAL AMENDED PROJECT PLAN, UM, WHICH WE'RE AIMING FOR THAT SUMMER JULY, 2026 COUNCIL MEETING. WE'RE TRYING TO GET IT IN BEFORE, UM, THE BUDGET HEARINGS, UM, IN THE FALL. NOW YOU MAY WONDER WHY WE ONLY HAD ONE HPD, AND THAT WAS FOR A VERY LONG TIME. FROM 2010 TO 2023, AUSTIN GREW OUT OF THE POPULATION, UM, PARAMETERS, UH, OF STATE LAW. SO ESSENTIALLY WE GOT BIGGER THAN WE THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA GET. UM, AND WE WERE INELIGIBLE TO ACCESS THIS, UM, THIS STATE LAW 'CAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN, UM, WITH AUSTIN'S POPULATION IN MIND. AND WE, WE GREW OUT OF IT, AND IT TOOK US QUITE A LONG TIME TO, TO FIX THE SOMEWHAT CLERICAL ERROR. BUT IN 2023 HOUSE BILL 45 59 WAS PASSED. AND THAT CORRECTED THE ISSUE MAKING US INELIGIBLE TO CREATE MORE HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION DISTRICTS. AND, UM, YOU CAN'T ADOPT THEM EVERYWHERE. THERE ARE SOME RULES ABOUT WHAT AREAS ARE SUITED FOR HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION DISTRICTS, AND THOSE ARE UP ON THE SCREEN. SO THE AREA HAS TO HAVE, THE COLLECTIVE AREA HAS TO HAVE A OVERALL POVERTY RATE TWICE THE POVERTY RATE OF THE CITY, UM, AS WELL AS EVERY CENSUS TRACT IN THE AREA HAS TO BE BELOW 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME. AND THE OVERALL POPULATION HAS TO BE UNDER 75,000. SO STAFF GOT TO WORK ON, UM, IDENTIFYING AREAS OF THE CITY THAT MET THIS REQUIREMENT. AND THE GOAL REALLY, UM, WAS TO SORT OF JUST SHOW WHAT ARE THE REST OF THE AREAS OF THE CITY. 'CAUSE WE DID DO SOME EXPLORATION BACK, UM, IN 2015 ABOUT OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY THAT MET THIS CRITERIA. BUT, UM, UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF THOSE AREAS NO LONGER MEET THE CRITERIA. SO WE WANTED TO SORT OF ADOPT ALL THE ELIGIBLE AREAS OR MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALL THE ELIGIBLE AREAS, UM, AND, AND THEN WE COULD FIGURE OUT WHAT TOOLS TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT SORT OF LATER. AND SO IN SEPTEMBER OF 2025, COUNCIL DIRECTED STAFF TO DRAFT ORDINANCES. UM, AND WE SUBSEQUENTLY, UM, IN NOVEMBER, ESTABLISHED THREE NEW DISTRICTS. THEN YOU CAN SEE THEM ON THE SCREEN IN THE SOUTHEAST. IT'S, UM, HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION, DISTRICT B, HOMESTEAD PRESERVATION, DISTRICT C UP IN THE NORTH CENTRAL AREA, AND HPDD, UM, IN THE WEST CAMPUS AREA. UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME, UM, THAT COUNCIL DIRECTED US TO ESTABLISH THESE DISTRICTS, UM, BY RESOLUTION. THEY ALSO ASKED FOR A STUDY, UM, TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF H PZS. WE KNOW IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO PUT ALL OF THESE, THIS, THESE LARGE AREAS INTO A REINVESTMENT ZONE. UM, SO THE DIRECTION TO STUDY IT MADE A LOT OF SENSE. AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT NOW. SO JUST, UM, THERE'S A LOT ON THE SCREEN, BUT THIS IS JUST THE TIMELINE BECAUSE IT IS A BIT OF A COMPLEX TOOL AND WE'VE HAD SOME STOPS AND STARTS WITH IT. UM, WE DID PUT THIS ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL, SO THAT FOLKS COULD SEE HOW WE'VE BEEN USING THE TOOL OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES. UM, AND NOW WE'RE HERE AT STUDYING THE FEASIBILITY. UM, AND I'M GONNA, UM, PASS IT OVER TO MARK WITH HYATT BROWN TO TALK MORE ABOUT THE DETAILS OF THIS FEASIBILITY STUDY. UM, BUT I JUST, YOU KNOW, THE HIGHLIGHTS ARE THAT WE, WE, UM, KICKED IT OFF IN FEBRUARY AND WE'RE AIMING FOR IT TO BE DONE IN JUNE. UM, SO THAT WE CAN COME BACK TO YOU WITH, UM, SOME UPDATES LATER THIS SUMMER. THANKS, RACHEL. UH, MARK GILBERT WITH HYATT BROWN. UH, AS RACHEL MENTIONED, WE ARE IN THE THICK OF PROJECTION ANALYSIS. UH, JUST QUICKLY GO THROUGH KIND OF HOW WE'RE GOING ABOUT IT. WE CAN GET AS WONKY AS Y'ALL ARE INTERESTED IN, BUT WE LOOK AT A LOT OF HISTORIC TRENDS. UM, WE BENEFIT A LOT IN THIS PROCESS FROM HAVING AN EXISTING HPRZ NUMBER ONE, WHERE WE HAVE ANNUAL DOLLAR FIGURES CAPTURED. SO IT'S VERY ACCURATE DATA SETS. WE CAN PULL OUT NEW [01:05:01] CONSTRUCTION VALUES. UM, WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK AT ALL THE, THE DIFFERENTIALS FOR ACTUALS. IT'S VERY HELPFUL IN PRODUCING, UM, PROJECTIONS. AND WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO LOOK AT, UM, THE FLUCTUATIONS IN THE CITY'S TAX RATE AND OTHER TRENDS. UH, ONCE WE LOOK AT THE HISTORIC INFORMATION, WE MOVE RIGHT INTO CURRENT AND FORTHCOMING CONDI CONDITIONS. SO A LOT OF SUB-MARKET ANALYSES WITH, UH, FOR, FOR DIFFERENT MAJOR CATEGORIES, COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, MULTIFAMILY. UM, WE ALSO LOOK AT PLANNED PIPELINE PROJECTS FROM MULTIPLE DATA SOURCES SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE FIRST THREE YEARS OF PROJECTED NEW CONSTRUCTION, REALLY ACCURATE. UM, AND THEN WE GET RIGHT INTO DEVELOPING THE PROJECTIONS. AND WE'RE VERY AWARE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF A SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS. I'VE SEEN A LOT OF TURS IS OVER THE YEARS, THEY'RE ALWAYS WRONG. THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS WRONG BY THE SAME FIGURE. SOMETIMES THEY'RE LOW, SOMETIMES THEY'RE HIGH. SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE RANGE OF PARAMETERS THAT COULD TAKE PLACE. UH, AND THEN USING THOSE THAT SHOULD HELP STAFF AND COUNCIL DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE INCREMENT CALIBRATIONS FOR THOSE ZONES. ONCE YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF THE VALUATIONS IN THE FUTURE, YOU'LL HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH OF REVENUE YOU'LL WANT TO CAPTURE AND LIKELY TO CAPTURE AT DIFFERENT INCREMENTS. UH, WE'LL ALSO BE HELPING MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS. OBVIOUSLY AUSTIN HOUSING IS NOT THE ONLY, UM, IMPORTANT DEPARTMENT TO CONSULT ON THIS. THERE'S OF COURSE, UM, FINANCIAL SERVICES AND, AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE AN INTEREST IN UNDERSTANDING, UH, THE INTERPLAY OF, UH, WITH THE GENERAL FUND OF ANYTHING THAT GOES, UH, SIPHONED TO A REINVESTMENT ZONE. SO, AS WE'RE GOING ABOUT THIS, THERE'S SOME REALLY IMPORTANT FISCAL AND POLICY CONSIDERATIONS, AND WE'LL OF COURSE HAVE A LOT OF THIS IN OUR REPORT, BUT JUST KIND OF AS A, AS A PRECURSOR TO GET, TO GET YOU ALL AWARE OF WHAT'S COMING. UM, WE DO EXPECT TAX INCREMENT GROWTH TO SLOW IN FUTURE YEARS. UM, THE TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE NUMBER ONE WAS IMPLEMENTED AT THE PERFECT TIME. IT CAPTURED A WAVE OF REDEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH IN THE 7 8 7 0 2 ZIP CODE, UM, WHICH IS OF COURSE FANTASTIC FOR THAT FUND, BUT WE DO NOT EXPECT THAT AT THE SAME LEVEL IN THE, IN THE, IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS. UM, WE ALSO NEED TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS OF, UM, HOW WE INTEGRATE SENATE BILL TWO, WHICH OF COURSE IS THAT, UM, THE REGULATION ASSOCIATED WITH HOW MUCH, UH, ADDITIONAL FUNDS ABOVE THE EFFECTIVE TAX RATE THAT CAN BE CAPTURED OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR. IT DOES HOLD HARMLESS FUNDS THAT GO TO A TS OR AN HPRZ, AND IT DOES HOLD HARMLESS NEW CONSTRUCTION VALUES. BUT THIS ALL HAS, UM, THIS ALL HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR HOW THAT MIGHT BE COMPENSATED WITH A SLIGHTLY HIGHER CITY TAX RATE ACROSS, UH, THE REST OF THE MUNICIPALITY. UM, WE DO KNOW THAT THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION VALUE IS CRITICAL TO THE GENERAL FUND. SO AGAIN, WE'RE BEING VERY THOUGHTFUL OF, OF THE TRADE-OFFS, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE SAYING THAT BALANCE IS ESSENTIAL. UM, THE NET BENEFIT OF ONE OF THESE H HP ZS REALLY IS GOING TO BE DEPENDENT ON HOW MUCH IT'S OFFLOADING FROM THE GENERAL FUND, RIGHT? SO IF IT'S ABLE TO ADDRESS THINGS THE GENERAL FUND WOULD WOULD'VE OTHERWISE ADDRESSED, THEN, THEN THAT, THAT WOULD DEFINITELY BE A NET BENEFIT. UM, SO IT'S ALL ABOUT BALANCE AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO MAXIMIZE COMMUNITY IMPACT, UH, ENSURE THE FUNDS THAT YOU DO COLLECT CAN FEASIBLY BE DISPENSED OVER THE, THE TERM OF THE ZONE AND MINIMIZE THE TAX BURDEN ON PROPERTY, UH, OWNERS BY, BY AS MENTIONED, MAKING SURE YOU'RE ADDRESSING OTHER, OTHER NEEDS AS LEGALLY ALLOWED. SOME OTHER POLICY CONSIDERATIONS. UM, WE ARE LIKELY TO ENCOUNTER, UH, THE NEED FOR, UM, EITHER A MODIFICATION TO OR, UM, ADDITIONAL DETAIL IN THE CITY'S FISCAL POLICY. MY UNDERSTANDING IS, UM, THE REGULATION THAT THE CITY HAS ADOPTED THROUGH ITS CHARTER IS THAT NO MORE THAN 10% OF THE TAXABLE VALUE WILL BE IN A TOURS OR A SPECIAL DISTRICT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UH, WE'RE CURRENTLY EXCEEDING 6%, AND THAT'S BEFORE, UM, REALLY MUCH OF THE COLONY PARK TOURS HAS REALLY BEEN REALIZED. UM, SO THAT'S TO SAY THAT THE ADOPTION OF ANOTHER HPRZ IS LIKELY TO PUT YOU IN EXCESS OF THAT 10%. NOW, IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT THAT CALCULATION DOES NOT CURRENTLY ACCOUNT FOR THE LEVEL OF INCREMENT IT TREATS, WHETHER YOU PUT 10% OF THE INCREMENT, UM, INTO, INTO A SPECIAL FUND OR A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE INCREMENT INTO A SPECIAL FUND THE SAME WAY. SO THAT MAY BE ANOTHER AREA THAT, UM, LAW AND FINANCE WOULD WANT TO ADDRESS. UH, AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE REGULATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH WHAT CAN BE IN HPD AS RACHEL WENT OVER, WE, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, UM, LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS CENSUS TRACKS IN THE CITY. SO IT'S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO BE AWARE OF THE INVESTMENTS THAT YOU MAKE THERE, THAT THEY ARE, UH, POSITIVE AND NOT NECESSARILY RESULTING IN A CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY. AS, AS I KNOW, THAT'S, UH, A, [01:10:01] A PREFERENCE AND IMPORTANT FEATURE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO NOT DO THAT. UM, AND THEN AGAIN, THAT INCREMENT ALLOCATION SHOULD CONSIDER PROJECTED REVENUE AND CAPACITY TO EXPAND ON THOSE FUNDS. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THOSE FINAL PROJECTIONS, WANNA LOOK AT HOW MUCH YOU'RE CALCULATING EACH YEAR, UH, AND HAVE SOME IDEA HOW TO CONNECT THAT TO A SPENDING PLAN. I, SO WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF COMPLETING THOSE PROJECTIONS FOR H-P-D-B-C AND D. UH, I'LL BE WORKING WITH RACHEL TO HOLD SOME INTERDEPARTMENTAL MEETINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DIFFERENT STAFF, UH, FROM THE CITY, DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS ARE ALIGNED, THAT WE CAN DEVELOP THOSE CONSENSUS RECOMMENDATIONS TO SHARE WITH CITY COUNCIL. UH, AND WE WILL BE SUBMITTING OUR FINAL REPORT, UH, IN ADVANCE OF JUNE OF THIS THIS SUMMER. ALRIGHT, SO AS MARK SAID, WE REALLY HAVE TWO TASKS LEFT. UM, WE'LL BE, UM, BRINGING BACK A FINAL AMENDED PROJECT FINANCING PLAN, UM, FOR HPRZ, NUMBER ONE. AND THEN WE'LL BE ISSUING THIS MEMO, UM, WITH HYATT BROWN'S, UM, FINAL REPORT, UM, ON THE COMPLETION OF, OF THE STUDY. AND WE'RE HOPING FOR ALL THAT TO HAPPEN, KIND OF MIDSUMMER. UM, AND WE ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. AND WE, WE PUT OUR EMAILS UP ON THE SCREEN IF ANYONE WANTS TO, UM, EMAIL US AND ASK US QUESTIONS THAT WAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, COLLEAGUES, ANY ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS? I CAN'T SAY I DO. SORRY WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS TODAY, BUT THEY'RE ALL FANTASTIC REPORTS. THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION. UH, I GUESS MS. TEPER, MY OFFICE MIGHT FOLLOW UP ON OFFLINE. UM, REALLY, UH, EXCITED ABOUT THIS, THIS POLICY AREA. SO APPRECIATE YOUR WORK WITH THAT COLLEAGUES. UH, OUR LAST ITEM IS [6. Identify items for future meetings.] JUST TO DISCUSS WHETHER THERE ARE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO DISCUSS. ALL RIGHT. WELL, WITH THAT, WELL THANK YOU CHAIR FOR LETTING ME, UH, HOST THE MEETING HERE. AND THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US TODAY AND WITH NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. . * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.