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Upcoming Austin Bond - $800m+

3,309 Views | 32 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by evan_aggie
evan_aggie
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AG
Curious what residents in Austin think? I know some have already resigned themselves to accepting that this will pass. My biggest focus has generally been the affordable housing portions.

CoA is suggesting a $161m AH component. I've vacillated on this topic. Part of me wonders if AH is just a band-aid for poor city planning and is passing on real solutions to the housing problem down the road. Part of me wonders if it is inevitable when you have high paying jobs in a concentrated area. I don't like that a few of the city council members point to Portland and Seattle having passed $250m-$300m AH bonds as justification for why we need to do more. Is it getting ahead of the curve, or enabling bad city management? Do we want to become Seattle?

http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Finance/CFO/2018-Bond/2018_Bond_Program_Staff_Update_Report_5_21_18.pdf

Affordable Housing $161.0 M $161.0 M Transportation/Mobility $180.0 M $176.0 M Parks and Recreation $142.0 M $142.0 M Stormwater/Open Space $184.0 M $184.0 M Libraries & Cultural Centers $99.0 M $99.0 M Public Safety $69.0 M $38.0 M Health and Human Services $16.0 M $16.0 M TOTAL $851.0 M $816.0 M
KT 90
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I mostly hate that all this crud gets rolled together in one package, all or nothing. Haven't looked at any of the details yet, but I'm starting with a no vote out of principle, but might be persuaded to a yes vote after looking into it in more detail.



johnson2012
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I agree with this. We'll never get it, but I would love for these to be broken up so I could pick specific parts.

Without a doubt the AH money will be horribly managed. I think there are much better things to spend money on than housing subsidies and AH. The $50MM for land acquisition sounds especially open to misuse. CIty buys land and can use it for city managed AH, or a non-profit developer, or a FOR profit developer. I'm just glad they didn't have to money buy the bull creek property and turn that into some sort of affordable shared disaster.
evan_aggie
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Well, they still did manage to redefine the space from 650 units to 1500 units with ~125 AH subsidized...
Bitter Old Man
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Gotta Love City Politics.
Staff Starting Point: $640MM / Ending Point: $816MM

Public Safety being the only category to get a significant cut, because F--- tha Police, amirite? J/K, they are spending all that money on renovating fire stations.

$161MM for Affordable Housing, but $367MM on Parks and Cultural Centers.
Because COA really only cares about the poor and homeless, not the poor who are trying to make it and need a place to live. F--- them, they can live at the libraries. City Council spends almost as much on Park/open space acquisition as they do on the entire affordable housing package. Yet, they will tout this as a bond to address affordable housing.

God bless Ellen Troxclair. How she does her job without her head exploding is beyond me.
stardustag
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Yeh of course there's AH stuff. Austin City Councils want Austin to be like Portland and Seattle. I am surprised we haven't heard about taxing big companies to address homeless issues... I bet that'll come soon.

With that said, bonds are like cable packages... you either get everything or you get nothing. I am okay with the other stuff in the package... so I guess there's something in there for me, even if AH is the biggest item that i dislike.

It's funny if you think about it... the reason we need AH help is because these politicians keep making it more and more expensive to live here... what a vicious cycle, right?
oldarmy76
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650?
evan_aggie
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The original plan was 650 units/homes. Austin City Council wanted more affordable units, so they changed the density.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mystatesman.com/business/after-delays-final-may-near-for-grove-plan/W0vNRE3aGXGQBk6r7stJIP/amp.html
oldarmy76
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I don't ever remember it being 650 total units. I believe the staff recommendation back in 2015 cut it to around 1450 units or so and then some were added back in as it went through ZAP and council.
evan_aggie
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"The Grove at Shoal Creek as currently planned will include 1,015 residential units with retail and office space."

https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2015-08-21/frenemies-of-the-grove/

I had read 700 units in another article dated 2015-2016
evan_aggie
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Just grew by $100m. Greg and his socialist peddling pals got their way.

$250m now to affordable house. From $61m in 2013 to $250m.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/big-vote-expected-on-mls-stadium-ahead-of-council-break/1268978099

Furlock Bones
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I just saw the final total. Well, that settles it. No vote for me. What a ****ing joke.
KT 90
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Furlock Bones said:

I just saw the final total. Well, that settles it. No vote for me. What a ****ing joke.

They also cut the transportation money while they added more to affordable housing. Plus the upped the overall total for the bond.

evan_aggie
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Greg Casar and Pio Renteria couldn't help themselves, even with the Affordable Housing Task Force recommending $160m. They strategically banked on voters going with it to get the other items. My rep, Alison Alter admitted that it was likely a risky move and disagreed with the $250m but still voted for the final total.

I will do everything, reasonably within my power, to discuss this openly and try to make sure it doesn't pass until that $250m gets rolled back.
TexLeoAg
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You can throw all the money you want at this city, but you can't fix stupid. I will tell y'all this, if you can't walk down the street at night because public safety has been completely compromised then what use is having affordable housing? What use is having anything if your possessions are stolen, you are a victim of a crime, but the suspect cannot be arrested?

Freedom City... A one billion dollar bond package..

So sad.

However, I bet it passes. And the people of Austin will love it. And then ***** about how their property taxes are too high.
Aggietaco
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Where can you not walk at night?
evan_aggie
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I would not wander around in many parts: around 35 between 4th and 11th street. East Caesar past pleasant valley. East riverside...
TexLeoAg
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And there lies the problem. You don't have a clue. I don't mean that as an insult. Most Austin voters don't. If you really care about your community please schedule a ride out with an APD officer down in the southeast or north central region.
Potcake
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You live outside the wall, why do you care?
You can wave your arms all you want but Austin is not exactly San Pedro Sula and whichever WillCo suburb you live in is not Mayberry. I have to go raise my drawbridge and heat the oil now.
TexLeoAg
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You do what you need to do buddy. Enjoy your little city, your Code Next (which will be deemed illegal at best), your Freedom City, and everything else your little slice of Heaven has to offer you. Keep your head in the sand.
TexLeoAg
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And ya, I am screaming at the sky. Sorry.
Potcake
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I'm sorry ACC, Cap Metro, and APD turned you down.
TexLeoAg
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Unfortunately, quite the contrary.
Keeper of The Spirits
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Quote:

For instance: the most dangerous parts of Texas, generally, are not the largest cities, with only one of the five most populous cities to to place in the top five on the list. Also: West Texas, generally, has a higher violent crime rate than the rest of the state. And: Austin is basically a fairy tale land populated by elves and hobbits, with a violent crime rate roughly that of Odessa, the top city on the list.


https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/the-fbis-list-of-the-most-dangerous-cities-in-texas/

Don't let facts get in the way of your anecdotes in the dangerous hellscape that is Austin. The odds of crime especially violent crime affecting you in Austin in very low.
SteveBott
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Austin is like any big city I've lived in including Houston and LA. There are plenty of areas I would not worry about walking around at 2AM and some areas I would not walk in carrying my 9mm at 2PM.
Potcake
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Good grief
SteveBott
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Good grief what? How about you walk around SE Austin and scout it out for us. Or take a stroll down Rundberg
Keeper of The Spirits
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Just ate dinner at a noodle place off Rundberg last weekend, a great meal and I forgot my gat
Potcake
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Wife got a tattoo at Triple Crown on Chicon. I waljed from there to the Grackle. A second time, I walked from Haymaker on Manor Rd. down Chicon to meet her again at Triple Crown Tatoo. Y'all can do a separate thread on tattoos.
I've also eaten at several taco joints along Runberg and been to several mercados. Believe it or not they aren't out to get us all.
Furlock Bones
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Potcake said:

Wife got a tattoo at Triple Crown on Chicon. I waljed from there to the Grackle. A second time, I walked from Haymaker on Manor Rd. down Chicon to meet her again at Triple Crown Tatoo. Y'all can do a separate thread on tattoos.
I've also eaten at several taco joints along Runberg and been to several mercados. Believe it or not they aren't out to get us all.
what exactly is your point? that rambling anecdote is not a response to bott's comments.

do you really think that a city with a million people doesn't have places that you shouldn't walk around late at night?

does Austin have anything comparable to Acres Homes or the Bloody Nick in Houston? not that ive seen.but, there are places that a smart person would avoid at certain times of day just like any other big city.
evan_aggie
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Can you do a separate thread on Austin safety too? Not sure any of that is really about the $925M bond.
Potcake
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Talking to the wrong poster. I didn't turn it into a safety thread.
Keeper of The Spirits
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Does anyone have a good overview of how the AH dollars are planned to be spent? Open for jokes but also seriously is this just Section 8?
evan_aggie
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I have the breakdown of the original $160M proposal. Let me find it..

http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Finance/CFO/2018-Bond/Affordable_Housing_Working_Group_Recommendation_Detail.pdf

$75M was slated to go to apartment building and subsidized units.
$18M home acquisition and development (single family homes to be *OWNED* by people around MFI levels)
$50M land acquisition to buy land opportunities as they arise
$18M for home repair


I do not know how the new $250M is allocated.

I get that people making minimum wage or close shouldn't be priced "out". But there are no stipulations about being "in" for a number of years before qualifying. They keep talking about folks not being able to afford their homes, but no one discusses how to keep people < MFI in an home despite high property taxes.

I also am disgusted that their goal is 50,000 subsidized homes/units in some form. There are 750,000 households (including apartments is my understanding) in Austin proper so ideally 1/15 is tax-payer funded to an extent. That is what Greg Casar and Pio Renteria want.
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