State Mandated Affordable Housing by town (Dallas, Plano: section 8, apartments, rentals)

[skids929]

Does Texas have any regulations on Affordable housing in each town? Here in MA. they have what is called 40B whereby as each town develops within the state they have to have a certain percentage of affordable housing to be in compliance with the regulation.

Anything like this in DFW MP or Texas in general?

[loves2read]

nothing I am familier with as a state regulation--
TX is pro business which translates to everyman for himself much of the time

there are some towns that have allowed section 8 housing to be built and some that have had special tax incentives for companies building handicapped living space or for seniors but that is kind of on case by case basis

[hamiltonpl]

No -- there are no state or local laws that would require that.

We do have federal housing assistance (section 8). Many of those places are south of I-30. But there are some sprinkled around the suburbs as well.

Also if Housing and Urban Development funds are used to rehab a building, a certain percentage has to be "affordable." But "affordable" is a moving target. Most of those buildings still rent out at $1,000+ per month for a small apartment.

[skids929]

Thanks for the validation..I didn't find much with the exception of some fair housing law for counties that have between 800,000 and 1.4 million residents. Not sure which counties this would actually apply to since most are less populous than that, Dallas maybe?

This might also help explain what people often describe on these forums as a dividing line between north and south Dallas when it comes to demographic and wealth. In the Communist state of Ma, you have poverty in even the wealthiest of towns, every town has a section where there is more of a diverse population of folk. Most of the Towns I have been to in Texas (Southlake, Flower Mound, Plano etc) I hadn't noticed much of that. But I may have missed it.

Either way, this is an interesting socioeconomic difference I want to learn more about.

[momof2dfw]

Um, folks, read what happened in Sunnyvale recently. Some group did file a court order to force them to have affordable housing. For many years (decades) Sunnyvale was a very nice $$$$ small rural feel town. The city limits itself are very small and only till recently did they have their own school system. A developer wanted to buy a large piece of land (former farm land) and develop it for apartments........ not just any apartments either. He wanted low density apartments and he wanted them to cater to a much lower income than had ever been in Sunnyvale. The town and the citizens fought it and lost The developer was fighting saying he could not make money if he tried to build fewer units and at a higher rent rate. They were fighting that there was no affordable housing in Sunnyvale and that the restrictions that all lots in the city be of a certain size (it was either 1 or 2 acres) hurt the possibility for those that wanted to live there from being able to do to not being able to afford it. No kidding sherlock....... not everyone can afford to live everywhere

Here is the link to the lawsuit filed:
No.

[hamiltonpl]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Here is the link to the lawsuit filed:
No.

That's a 1998 Supreme Court opinion that was argued in 1996 and issued after two appellate court opinions and a bench trial. So it was most likely filed in the late 1980's. Was there a case filed recently?

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by hamiltonpl

That's a 1998 Supreme Court opinion that was argued in 1996 and issued after two appellate court opinions and a bench trial. So it was most likely filed in the late 1980's. Was there a case filed recently?

It was fought for many years. It was decided about a year or two ago. It was mentioned on here when it got decided what it was. I'll try and find that thread.

[momof2dfw]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...ing-force.html

[skids929]

This lawsuit seems to be more about zoning..I am looking to know if there is a state regulation that mandates that every town, regardless of zoning ordinances, has to have a certain percentage of affordable housing. Doesn't look like that is the case, but I swear I read something that said there was a rule for counties with populations of a certain size, can't find that article now. Darn it!

Although this excerpt says enough to lead me to believe there no rules around this:

October 1, 2010

"Texas approved clustering low-income rentals in poor, minority areas, rejected ones in affluent, white neighborhoods, group alleges
Clearing the way for a trial, a federal judge has determined that there is enough evidence that the state’s largest affordable rental housing program has directed low-income housing projects disproportionately into poor and minority neighborhoods.
In a court order filed this week, Sidney Fitzwater , chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Dallas, agreed that over the past decade, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs appeared to have approved the development of a relatively high number of low-income tax credit-financed projects in poor, minority areas while rejecting a disproportionate number of applications for such projects in affluent, white neighborhoods."



That quote says alot actually, and could provide some momentum for a Federal case I guess. I know MA. is not the only state to have something like this as a general rule. I personally find it interesting that Texas doesn't have laws like this, although I am sure it brings drawbacks as well. But if this is the case in Texas, it would explain alot of the dividedness there is in Dallas. Not saying it's bad, because the MA. method certainly hasn't solved any problems of poverty etc... Although the lawmakers here think they are part of some Beautiful People contingent on their way to solving any existing diversity issues the state has. Paaallease..

[hamiltonpl]

Originally Posted by skids929

This lawsuit seems to be more about zoning..I am looking to know if there is a state regulation that mandates that every town, regardless of zoning ordinances, has to have a certain percentage of affordable housing. Doesn't look like that is the case, but I swear I read something that said there was a rule for counties with populations of a certain size, can't find that article now. Darn it!

Hmmm... I certainly don't know of any state regulation like that. But I would like to know what you find.

The Sunnyvale cases dealt with federal laws, not any specific Texas, city or county laws requiring "affordable" housing. Most of the purportedly "affordable" housing in Downtown Dallas is actually pretty expensive. I don't know how they came up with formula to determine "affordability." Frankly, I wish there was a bit more middle class housing in downtown. It caters way too much to the highest end and neglects the middle class.