Affordable Housing is a big issue for Austin City Council and they have pushed items hoping to bring more affordable developments to town. But Councilmember Greg Casar recently wanted to pump the breaks on a pair of affordable projects in South East Austin.
During the Thursday Feb 21st Council session Casar voted against the first reading of zoning changes for a affordable housing projects near East Riverside Dr and Pleasant Valley Rd, because they didn’t have the right paperwork in place detailing what was going to be built and who could be forced out in the process.
“There’s so many other areas of our city where we can add the housing that we need, and I just want to be as extra careful as we can, when we’re adding housing where there is housing that already is multi-family and dense.”
Casar wants to know how many units the projects would put up, how many they would be destroying in the first place, who would be displaced in the process and at what economic level those families live.
However many on Council deferred to Councilmember Pio Renteria as the project is in his district and he supported the projects. Councilmember Natasha Harper Madison was comfortable with the projects as they have some right to return elements involved.
The items passed will all but Casar voting to move forward.
(Photo:Shutterstock/Brandon Seidel)
