DEPARTMENT: Center City Development and Operations Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: John Jacks
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
SUBJECT: Center City Housing Incentive Policy (CCHIP) amendments and program extension.
SUMMARY:
This ordinance approves amendments to, and the extension of, the Center City Housing Incentive Policy (CCHIP) adopted in June 2012 to stimulate high-density housing development in the Center City. Staff proposes extending the program through June 30, 2018.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In spring 2011, the City of San Antonio commissioned the creation of a Downtown Strategic Framework Plan to facilitate the revitalization of the Center City. The plan recommended a housing-first strategy of attracting more residents to live in the downtown area. Subsequently, the Center City Implementation Plan, adopted in 2012, provided recommendations for implementing the Strategic Plan. The Implementation Plan recommended that the City establish a predictable housing development incentive program for the Center City that would assist in normalizing land values reducing the risk associated with infill development.
In June 2012, City Council adopted the Center City Housing Incentive Policy (CCHIP) - an as-of-right housing incentive program designed to encourage the development of multifamily housing in the center city, particularly in targeted growth areas identified in the Downtown Strategic Framework Plan.
The CCHIP applies to multi-family rental and for sale housing projects within the CRAG area - the original 36 square miles of the City of San Antonio. Eligible projects receive city fee waivers, SAWS impact fee waivers, real property tax reimbursement grants, low-interest loans, and mixed-use development forgivable loans based on the terms outlined in the CCHIP. The program encourages historic rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, brownfield redevelopment, transit oriented development, and mixed use and mixed income redevelopment.
Since i...
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