Efforts are underway to provide workforce housing
The San Marcos City Council has taken steps recently to push its workforce housing initiative forward. Finding ways to provide housing that is affordable for more San Marcos residents — residence options that City Manager Bert Lumbreras describes as neither subsidized nor executive housing — has become one of the city’s policy priorities.
At its meeting last week, the council approved a resolution authorizing the submission of an application for the Texas HOME Investment Partnerships Program. The program provides funds to assist lower-income households with rehabilitation, reconstruction or new construction. The application will go through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. To apply, the city has to confirm that it has a minimum of $40,000 in local cash reserves, authorize the application and commit to a 15 percent local match. The program gives the city several options to provide local match, including cash or cash equivalents, the waiving of taxes or fees, donated labor or site preparation, donated professional services, donated demolition services or donated real property. City staff anticipates completing two to four homes per year using the Texas HOME funds.
Council also voted on a resolution to amend the city’s economic development policy to allow the use of the city’s Economic Development Supplemental Fund to include the acquisition of real property, land planning, engineering and other activities related to workforce housing development. However, rather than approve the amendment as proposed, council postponed the vote until a line item is created specifically for workforce housing.
In other business last week, council approved a resolution supporting the submission of an application for low-income housing tax credits for a proposed multifamily development at the intersection of Clovis Barker and State Highway 123. The El Camino Real development will offer a variety of apartment sizes, from one-bedroom to four-bedroom units.
“Just from my perspective, I think it definitely meets our workforce housing needs,” Lumbreras told the council, noting that renting an apartment at the development could be a step toward home ownership for some residents.
“Staff has taken a lot of time to evaluate this proposal,” Lumbreras said. The company, Michaels Organization, has done a market analysis to pay attention to salaries in the area, and the development will include crime mitigation and security efforts.
“I feel like these are great developers,” council member Melissa Derrick said. “They’re going to give us a great product and they’re going to fill a hole in our market of unmet housing needs.”
Council also approved a budget amendment that will allocate $60,000 of sales tax revenues for the city’s Homebuyer Incentive Program.
