DEPARTMENT: Neighborhood & Housing Services Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Verónica R. Soto, FAICP, Director
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Briefing and possible action related to appointments to the Public Engagement and Outreach subcommittee and the Dashboard and Annual Report subcommittees of the Housing Commission.
SUMMARY:
Briefing and possible action on the appointment of Housing Commission members to the Public Engagement and Outreach subcommittee, the appointment of public members to the Public Engagement and Outreach subcommittee, and the appointment of Housing Commission members to the Dashboard and Annual Report subcommittee.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
With the acceptance of San Antonio’s Housing Policy Framework on September 6, 2018, City Council recommended the Housing Commission become the oversight commission for the Framework implementation.
Per Ordinance 2018-11-15-0919, passed and approved November 15, 2018, Section 9: In order to support its work, the Commission may also seek voluntary technical or specific professional assistance from individuals in the community representing certain technical disciplines or areas of special expertise.
On April 7, 2021, the Housing Commissioners elected to create the following subcommittees to support the Commission’s Charge:
• Public Engagement and Outreach (PEO)
• Dashboard and Annual Report (DAR)
On April 28, 2021, the Housing Commission formally voted to form both subcommittees and appointed commissioners to determine each subcommittee’s purpose and charge; subcommittee composition including the number of commissioners and non-commission members; and the regularity of meetings.
The DAR, is charged to measure and report on the Housing Policy Framework and Strategic Housing Implementation Plan, along with producing an annual report, and ongoing dashboard. The DAR will be composed of 4 commissioners. The PEO, is charged to efficiently engage public stakeholders, by giving voice to those underrepresented and impacted by housing instability. The PEO will be composed of 4 commissioners and 5 non-commissioners representing a variety of vulnerable populations.
At the June 14, 2021 meeting of the Culture & Neighborhood Services Committee of City Council, Councilmembers directed the commission to create a subcommittee to focus on renters’ issues. The Housing Commission also has been asked to form a Removing Barriers subcommittee. This subcommittee would continue the work of the Removing Barriers Committee whose work was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The formation of these subcommittees, their composition, and their charges will be discussed in an upcoming meeting of the Housing Commission.
ISSUE:
The San Antonio Housing Commission must formally vote to appoint members to the Commission’s subcommittees. There are 4 commissioners recommended for the PEO subcommittee and 3 commissioners recommended for the DAR subcommittee. The DAR subcommittee has one open position which is available to any Commissioner. The prospective Commissioner appointees are:
Dashboard & Annual Report:
Commissioner Alanis
Commissioner Arndt
Commissioner Sanchez
Public Engagement & Outreach
Commissioner Abraham
Commissioner Davila
Commissioner Hinojosa
Commissioner Johnson
The Housing Commission invited the public to apply for the 5 non-commissioner spots on the PEO subcommittee. The application was open from July 14, 2021 and closed September 13, 2021. Fifteen applications were received. The acting members of the PEO met to discuss the applications on September 16th to recommend applicants as non-commission members to the Housing Commission. The acting members of the PEO recommend the following 5 non-commissioners be vote by the full Commission to join the PEO subcommittee:
Christina Wright
Laura Salinas-Martinez
Melanie Cawthon
Mike Lozito
Tajanieke Gardner
The acting members of the PEO selected the following applicants as alternatives:
Shelia Brown (She/her)
Victoria Febus (She/her)
Adrean Avilla
ALTERNATIVES:
The Housing Commission may vote to appoint different members to either subcommittee. This will delay the work schedule of the subcommittees.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.