DEPARTMENT: Neighborhood and Housing Services
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Verónica R. Soto, AICP
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Briefing on the status of the 2017-2022 Neighborhood Improvements Bond
SUMMARY:
This item includes a briefing on the status of the 2017-2022 Neighborhood Improvements Bond
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On May 6, 2017, the San Antonio voters approved six propositions for the City’s 2017-2022 Bond Program totaling $850 million. Proposition 6, Neighborhood Improvements, authorizes the City to issue bonds in the amount of $20 million to acquire real property within the City Council approved 12 Neighborhood Improvement Areas and engage in permitted activities as set forth by the Urban Renewal Plan. The Neighborhood Improvement Bond funds will be used to facilitate private sector and/or non-profit development of single-family, multi-family or mixed-use affordable/Workforce Housing consistent with the 2017 San Antonio Urban Renewal Plan, adopted by City Council on February 2, 2017. The City will not build housing but rather will use non-profit and private sector housing developers to build affordable/Workforce Housing.
The City of San Antonio adopted the 2017 San Antonio Urban Renewal Plan, a plan for strategic neighborhood reinvestment, to spur the creation of new affordable/Workforce Housing in Neighborhood Improvement Areas. As part of the Neighborhood Improvements Bond, the City may undertake some or all of the following in order to prepare a site for the private sector to construct affordable/Workforce Housing: Acquisition and disposition of property; Site improvements; Repair, limited rehabilitation or demolition of buildings for the purpose of reconstructing existing buildings for multi-family affordable/Workforce Housing; Right-of-way (ROW) improvements (streets, sidewalks) contiguous to housing site; Extension and/or expansion of utilities; Remediation of hazards, such as asbestos, lead-based paint or other environmental concerns. Individual single-family homes are not eligible for rehabilitation pursuant to a development contract.
ISSUE:
This item includes a briefing on the status of the 2017-2022 Neighborhood Improvements Bond.
As a complement to the 2017-2022 Neighborhood Improvements Bond Program, City Council approved a 17-member resident advisory committee to guide the housing program implementation. Members of the Neighborhood Improvements Advisory Committee (NIAC) include Ray Flores (Chair), Abe Juarez (Mayor), Andrea Sanchez (Mayor), Natalia Tovar (Mayor), Brian Dillard (Mayor), Taylor Allen (Mayor), Jennifer Gonzales (Housing Commission), Tom Hager (D1), Ruben Guerrero (D2), Imelda Davis (D3), Karla Gomez (D4), Cynthia Alejos (D5), Dominick Dina (D6), Coda Ray Garza (D7), Tony Valdivia (D8), Colleen Waguespack (D9), Connie Marszalek (D10).
The Neighborhood Improvements Advisory Committee has met twice since the program launch in February 2018; those dates include February 1, 2018 and March 22, 2018. The next scheduled meeting is tentatively set for May 24, 2018 at 5:00pm in the Central Library Auditorium.
The City’s Neighborhood & Housing Services Department staff released a Request for Information (RFI) on March 5, 2018 with responses due April 6, 2018. The RFI’s purpose was to seek insight regarding areas considered most suitable and desirable for redevelopment for affordable/Workforce Housing. The RFI intended to narrow the focus to particular properties and conceptual development types. Staff will pursue earnest money contracts for selected properties beginning as early as April 2018.
Additionally, each of the 28 Neighborhood Associations located within a Neighborhood Improvement Area were offered informational presentations.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item includes a briefing on the status of the 2017-2022 Neighborhood Improvements Bond. No formal action is required of the Commission.