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9 <br />Austin <br />S.M.A.R.T. <br />Housing <br />Initiative <br />In an effort to provide more affordable housing <br />within the city limits,the city of Austin enacted <br />in May 2000 its S.M.A.R.T. (Safe,Mixed-Income, <br />Accessible,Reasonably Priced,Transit-Oriented) <br />Housing Initiative. “Reasonably priced” housing <br />was defined as affordable for households that <br />make 80 percent of Austin’s median income, <br />which then was $44,300 for a family of four. <br />To qualify for S.M.A.R.T. incentives,units must <br />remain affordable for at least five years. Devel- <br />opers who agree to meet S.M.A.R.T. housing <br />standards—incorporating a portion of afford- <br />able units,building near mass transit,and devel- <br />oping compatibly with green building standards— <br />qualify for incentives offered by the city. <br />The incentives include: <br />•Wa ived development fees,with the amount waived <br />increasing as the percentage of affordable housing <br />units increases; <br />•Expedited permitting and zoning reviews; <br />•Reduced parking requirements; and <br />•Support from the Neighborhood Housing and <br />Community Development Department in the city’s <br />development process. <br />S.M.A.R.T. housing is funded by the city’s Housing <br />Tr ust Fund commissioned in 2000 at $1 million. Of <br />that total,75 percent is designated to subsidize the <br />construction of multifamily affordable housing units, <br />with the remainder serving to guarantee home im- <br />provement loans for low-income city residents. <br />The program’s stated goal is the development of <br />5,000 new affordable housing units in the city by <br />2005. The program has met with a greater success <br />rate than anticipated: in the first two years of the <br />program,1,400 units of S.M.A.R.T. housing were <br />built,87 percent of which were affordable. Another <br />2,100 units are expected to be built during the <br />program’s third year.18 <br />Profilelots, plan for land assembly and redevelopment, and streamline <br />the legal and administrative requirements for land acquisition. <br />A strategic combination of public policy measures can help to <br />stimulate the production of mixed-income housing. Localities <br />can modify area plans, local zoning, subdivision regulations, <br />and building codes to more readily accommodate a mix of unit <br />types or housing products. For instance, by allowing residential <br />development anywhere in the downtown area, reducing parking <br />requirements, and mandating affordable housing, the city of San <br />Rafael, California, has sparked new vitality in its central business <br />district and stimulated mixed-income housing. As a result, 314 <br />units—148 of which are affordable —have been added or <br />approved for the downtown since 1990.12 <br />State initiatives also can help stimulate the production of afford- <br />able housing in a mixed-income setting at the local level. The <br />Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) is a self-supporting <br />state agency that promotes the development and preservation <br />of affordable rental and for-sale housing in cities and towns <br />across the state through a variety of finance and technical assis- <br />tance programs.13 In addition, Massachusetts’s Comprehensive <br />Permit Law, also known as Chapter 40B, allows local zoning <br />boards of appeals to approve affordable housing developments <br />under flexible rules if at least 25 percent of the units have long- <br />term affordability restrictions. Since 1970, projects have been <br />approved in 170 communities representing approximately <br />25,000 units of housing.14