Rosewood Neighborhood Contact Team Monthly Meeting
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Austin City Council Chamber

Present
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dusty McCormick, Gilbert Rivera, Jane Rivera, and Gerard Verkhart

New Business
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Neighborhood Preservation District
The Austin City Council was considering whether or not to approve the
creation of a Neighborhood Preservation District in East Austin,
including all of the Rosewood Neighborhood Planning Area. Travis
County also must approve the district. The legislation allowing this
district created three tools to assist to preserve existing and
encourage new affordable housing:

    * Land Trust: Land trusts are usually non-profit
    organizations that own land for the purpose of building long
    term affordable housing. This is achieved because the land
    trust owns the land and the low-income family owns the home
    on the land. The owner of the home is responsible for paying
    taxes on the home only while the land trust is responsible
    for paying AISD taxes on the land. Families who
    qualify could, if they choose, buy a land trust home and
    would earn equity in the home over time just like any
    other homeowner. A family could also voluntarily sell their
    property to the land trust and continue to own the home in
    order to minimize the property tax burden while keeping the
    home for the next generation. The land trust could also own
    rental property for low-income families. The HPD Land Trust
    will be created by both the City and the County and will be
    overseen by a board appointed by the City and County that is
    made up of people living within the HPD. To be eligible to
    buy a land trust home, the family must earn between 30%-70%
    of median family income ($20,790 - $48,510) to qualify.
    
    * Homestead Preservation Reinvestment Zone: This is
    basically a Tax Increment Financing Zone (TIF) that will
    encompass the entire HPD. The City and County will
    participate equally in the TIF. The idea behind the HPD TIF
    is to, for the first time, have a steady and dedicated
    funding source for affordable housing. The revenue from the
    HPD TIF will be used for the purpose of providing new
    affordable housing and preserving current affordable
    housing. If the City and County create the HPD TIF before
    the end of the year a baseline value will be established
    based on 2008 property values. The City has estimated that a
    30% TIF will yield approximately 1.3 million a year, while a
    100% TIF will yield approximately 4.2 million a year.
    
    * Urban Land Bank: It permits the acquisition of abandoned
    and foreclosed land for the purpose of creating affordable
    housing. The purpose of the land bank is to expedite the
    process of clearing title to vacant and abandoned lots with
    delinquent taxes and putting affordable homes on these lots
    via the land trust or another non-profit affordable housing
    corporation.
 
Following discussion, the City Council voted 7-0 to establish the
district with a 50% TIF.

*Meeting adjourned*