At Austin City Hall, debate over affordable housing rule

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/l...housing/nWYbQ/

Posted: 4:24 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013
At Austin City Hall, debate over affordable housing rule

By Sarah Coppola
American-Statesman Staff

Affordable housing advocates say Austin city officials are ignoring part of a 5-year-old law that should require developers to provide much more affordable housing than they must now for big projects that get special development bonuses from the city.

City staffers say that part of the law, as written, doesn’t reflect their recollection of the law’s intent, so they have interpreted it in a different way.

The dispute is over a handful of words, that in the long run, could mean Austin misses out on hundreds more affordable apartments or condos, or millions of dollars in fees for affordable housing, said Heather Way, an Austin lawyer and advocate for low-income housing.

“We as a city have a vision to have affordable housing in every part of town, and this (law) is important to help us reach that goal,” she said. “When we work to create these tools, they need to be enforced and not diluted by ad hoc interpretations.”