I was talking with a really sharp agent today who will be partnering with me soon. She asked what I thought about the East Austin land trust to help conserve the home prices for residents who don't want to lose their houses to gentrification.
I've been reporting on the issues in East Austin because it's one of the highest-appreciation areas in the city. This causes a debate with locals on whether the change is godsend or god-forsaken. Most would agree that the sharp increase in home prices is somewhere in the middle.
The Austin Statesman reported Monday on one of the ideas the community had for preserving home prices and/or the tax base for long-term residents. Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, got passed a law last year to set up a homestead-preservation district in East Austin.
The law's aim is to build affordable housing in East Austin and help low-income homeowners there stay in their homes. It would plow some tax revenue from new, high-priced development back into affordable housing and allow existing homeowners to keep their homes but sell the land, which would reduce their property taxes and allow them to pay for repairs or other expenses.
The law could have taken effect in September 2005. But the Austin City Council must adopt the district first, which it hasn't done. City officials say the law has major flaws that must be fixed in the upcoming state legislative session, Rodriguez says he's agreed to most of those changes.
Housing advocates say city officials are stalling because the law would require Austin to set aside a potentially big chunk of property tax revenue for affordable housing.
This is definitely a major issue that will require a good balance of fairness to all tax payers. I don't think the city is stalling for the sake of drawing the issue out. They have a duty to work out as many kinks in the plan as possible.
Read the full story online at the Statesman: East Austin homestead-preservation district still isn't a reality.
Comments