DEPARTMENT: Neighborhood and Housing Services
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Verónica R. Soto, FAICP, Director
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Briefing on the City’s Strategic Housing Implementation Plan (SHIP) and ForEveryoneHome (FEH) anti-displacement initiative’s progress and next steps.
SUMMARY:
Briefing on the City’s Strategic Housing Implementation Plan (SHIP) progress including the definition of affordability, funding plan, and recommended strategies as well as the City’s ForEveryoneHome (FEH) anti-displacement initiative’s progress and next steps.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
San Antonio’s Housing Policy Framework (HPF), the final document produced by the Mayor’s Housing Policy Task Force (MHPTF), has been the City’s affordable housing policy document since it was accepted by the City Council in 2018. The HPF contains overarching policy areas with a list of potential strategies to address those areas, and 10-year affordable housing target goals. To further develop strategies in the HPF related to protecting neighborhoods, staff applied for and was selected to participate in ForEveryoneHome, an effort by Grounded Solutions Network to develop anti-displacement strategies for cities. In 2020, staff began work on a Strategic Housing Implementation Plan (SHIP) to actualize other strategies presented in the HPF by determining timelines, partners, specific action steps, and funding approaches. Additionally, the 10-year target goals are being adjusted upward to account for a broader range of community needs through a recalibration effort that ensures solutions be data-driven.
The HPF is the foundation for ForEveryoneHome and the SHIP and will serve to guide any future framework plan implementation. The SHIP is being developed in collaboration with community and housing stakeholders including but not limited to the San Antonio Housing Trust (SAHT), San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA), South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless (SARAH), Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), VIA, Bexar County and applicable COSA departments. This collaboration builds on another value of the MHPTF to promote public participation and to value both lived experience and technical expertise. In addition, the SHIP will include an outreach and input process to receive community input that will be overseen by the Housing Commission. This process aligns with HPF action item Number 1: Develop a Coordinated Housing System.
The ForEveryoneHome initiative is being coordinated with the SHIP process. The SHIP process will define affordability for the city, recalibrate the city’s affordable housing target goals, and develop an implementation plan to reach those goals. The implementation plan will include strategies that coordinate with other departments, entities, and initiatives. Included in these strategies will be those that Protect and Promote Neighborhoods in line with the anti-displacement focus area from the Housing Policy Framework. ForEveryoneHome will be the lead initiative for those anti-displacement strategies, with the selected implementation strategies from the anti-displacement agenda incorporated into the SHIP strategies.
ISSUE:
The SHIP will be completed in two Phases, 1) Synthesis and Strategy and 2) Management and Operations and is projected to be presented to City Council in FY 2021. The two phases have been running simultaneously as much as possible to make up for lost time during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Phase 1 began in September 2020 and will have two main outcomes which will guide the SHIP’s final recommendations. First, Phase 1 will include a recommended definition of affordability determined by the Housing Commission. Phase 1 will also produce recalibrated 10-year production and rehabilitation goals. This is a recalibration of the goals included in the Framework Plan based on two years’ worth of housing data since the Framework was accepted. Economic and Planning Systems, the consulting firm that assisted in the creation of the Framework Report, is overseeing the recalibration. The recalibrated goals will be more specific and based on the need of San Antonio’s residents and the definition of affordability.
Critical to the SHIP is defining affordable housing. The HPF definition includes rental housing for people with incomes up to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 120% AMI for homeownership.
The Housing Commission has started their conversations regarding the definition in March and have narrowed down their recommendation during their annual retreat on April 7th.
The next steps for this process includes additional feedback from our Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDO’s) before making a final recommendation for inclusion in the SHIP.
As a starting point for implementation strategies, staff worked with our four stakeholder forums to build off other housing related initiatives that have taken place over that last few years, mainly those identified in the framework. The four stakeholder forums are Residents & Community, Affordable Housing, Housing Policy, and Real Estate & Developers. Other documents that are being referenced include the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan, ForEveryoneHome initiative, COVID-19 Community Action Working Groups, Homeless Strategic Plan, Climate Action Plan, and Opportunity at Risk Report, among others. In addition to these reports and their strategies, there have been other issues raised through community groups, council offices, and city departments that have led to the consideration of additional policy issues for possible inclusion.
The four stakeholder forums received a survey with a list of the strategies outlined in the Housing Policy Framework and other initiatives listed above. Respondents were asked to prioritize the strategies they would like the City to focus on in the next 10 years. Stakeholders also had an opportunity to recommend strategies they believe need to be focused on in the next 10 years. The stakeholder groups have divided these strategies among themselves.
Since staff’s last briefing, the stakeholder forums have met several times to complete their draft recommended initiative(s) related to their strategies. The other forums are currently reviewing and providing comments on each of the other forums’ recommended initiatives. Once the comments are received, they will be included in the final recommendations.
NHSD’s consultant, Economic and Planning Systems, is finalizing the recalibrated goals and the final funding plan which will estimate the level of investment needed to attain the recalibrated goals.
PLDC will continue to receive regular updates to provide feedback on the progress of the SHIP before formally recommending the plan for Council consideration. The Boards of the San Antonio Housing Trust and San Antonio Housing Authority will also receive updates and have the opportunity to provide feedback before adoption.
Included in the SHIP document will strategies for the ForEveryoneHome initiative. The ForEveryoneHome Team is currently in its final phase of its partnership with Grounded Solutions Network. The ForEveryoneHome team developed a draft report called Growing Together: An Anti-Displacement Agenda for San Antonio which identified 5 displacement and inclusive growth challenges and 34 actions to address those challenges.
Since staff’s last briefing, the ForEveryoneHome team conducted a survey and hosted four virtual community meetings in English and Spanish. The survey was designed to solicit public input on which strategies in the anti-displacement agenda should be priorities for the city to pursue within the SHIP. The survey was open from April 1-May 2, 2021 and received a total of 330 responses (318 in English and 12 in Spanish).
During this final phase of the ForEveryoneHome initiative, the ForEveryoneHome team selected “Cease public support for market rate development that displaces residents.” The second strategy will be selected on May 27th. The implementation plans should be completed in June 2021.
Staff anticipates sharing with PLDC draft SHIP and ForEveryoneHome content at their next June meeting with adoption of the SHIP taking place this summer.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact at this time.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing only.