In our last email, we introduced you to the Acacia Cliffs apartments in Northwest Hills. We called it an Austin treasure because its 290 units provide its residents with good, affordable housing in an area of Austin not known for that. Preserving affordable housing is an essential part of affordability policy as it prevents displacement, is more cost-efficient than new housing, and fits in with existing land-use patterns. We need your help to ensure that sound policy and fairness to the tenants carry the day.
On May 22nd, the City Council will consider a rezoning application (C14-2024-0181), Agenda Item 70, that would destroy these apartments and replace them with 700 units, of which only 70 to 80 will be affordable (but not as cheap as the 290 that exist today). The demolition of these 290 hard-to-come-by, good, affordable units will displace residents and upend lives. It’s not smart and it’s not right.
The zoning applicant has asked the Council’s permission to destroy the apartments, under the City Council’s infamous Density Bonus 90 (DB90) zoning ordinance. That ordinance gives massive development entitlements in exchange for a mere 10-12% of affordable units. Here, as applied to Acacia Cliff’s existing affordable housing, it will result in the net elimination of over 200 affordable units. It is estimated that this will destroy about 6 times the number of affordable units built in District 10 over the last 5 years. Progress thrown in reverse.
Acacia Cliffs is exactly the housing this city needs. The City promised to create avenues to conserve affordable housing over 8 years ago. It is time to deliver on that promise. They cannot claim to support affordable housing while destroying affordable housing.
We can’t let these affordable apartments be destroyed and our neighbors be displaced.
Call and email the Council or testify at the Council meeting in person or remotely (#Item 70) and insist that they:
- Do not grant DB 90 zoning, but instead
- Indefinitely postpone this case to give time to find and implement options to save Acacia Cliffs for its residents. A responsible property owner should be willing to accommodate this request. Council Member Mark Duchen is the leading proponent for a postponement, but he needs help.
- Reform DB 90 to become an equitable tool for affordable housing.
If you want to testify in person or by phone on Thursday, May 22nd, sign-up begins Monday, May 19 at 10:00 and runs through Wednesday, May 24th at noon. You can also sign up in person the dat Sign up to speak on Agenda Item 70, Far West Multifamily.
Individual emails for Mayor and Council
Mayor kirk.watson@austintexas.gov,
District 1 natasha.madison@austintexas.gov District 2 vanessa.fuentes@austintexas.gov
District 3 jose.velasquez@austintexas.gov District 4 chito.vela@austintexas.gov
District 5 ryan.alter@austintexas.gov, District 6 krista.laine@austintexas.gov
District 7 mike.siegel@austintexas.gov District 8 paige.ellis@austintexas.gov
District 9 zohaib.qadri@austintexas.gov, District 10 marc.duchen@austintexas.gov