james b. duncan, faicp austin neighborhoods council august 26, 2015
TRANSCRIPT
James B. Duncan, FAICP
Austin Neighborhoods CouncilAugust 26, 2015
Tale of Two Cities(Austin and Seattle)
James B. Duncan, FAICP, CNU
August 26, 2015
2015 Austin Seattle
economic base high techuniversity governme
nt
high tech
university
aviation
population 900,000 650,000
metro area population
2,000,000 3,600,000
metro area share 45% 18%
downtown population
13,000 65,000
downtown share 1.5% 10%
land area (sm) 320 84
density (p/sm) 2,800 7,250
racial mix
white 49% 69%
black 8% 8%
latino 35% 7%
asian 6% 14%
Community ProfileGrowth Rate2012-2013
2013-2014
1800 miles
James B. Duncan, FAICP, CNU
August 26, 2015
Affordability
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2
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20
Seattle Mayor unveils 65 recommendations by task force on housing affordability, including:• Require all developers to build affordable homes or pay fees• Prioritize use of public properties for affordable housing• Subsidize rents/operations for extreme low-income housing• Reform city design and historic review permitting process• Modify codes to maximize wooden building construction
• Dedicate new property taxes for affordable housing• Offer tax breaks to landlords who restrict rents• Enact real estate excise tax for affordable housing• Increase housing levy for affordable housing• Expand property tax exemptions for new restricted units
• Launch proactive multi-family housing preservation strategy• Minimize displacement of marginalized populations• Increase access to rental housing for people with criminal past• Provide funding for tenant counseling and landlord education
• Devote more land to multi-family near transit/amenities• Expand housing choice in Villages and corridors• Boost production of accessory dwelling units• Allow more housing types in single-family zones
Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda
• Allow More Housing Types in Single-Family Zones
7 July
13 July
19 July
28 July
29 July
Neighborhood Sleeplessness in Seattle
•
• Boost Production of Accessory Dwelling Units
1994-2014 total: about 1,200
• Expand Housing Choice in Villages and Corridors
Urban Village Plandowntownurban centersurban villagesmanufacturing centers
Imagine Austinregional centerstown centersneighborhood centersactivity corridors
Recent Planning History1988- neighborhood districts1994- comprehensive plan 1998- neighborhood plans2004- comp plan update2014- comp plan update
Recent Planning History1978- Austin Tomorrow1984- neighborhood plans2013- Imagine Austin
Neighborhood Districts (13) Neighborhood Sectors (15)
RacialDiversity
DisplacementRisk
RentalOccupied
Mayor Wynn: “25,000 Downtowners”
Year Population
Households
HH size New Units
2015 900,000 370,000 2.4 0
2030 1,150,000
500,000 2.3 +130,000
2045 1,350,000
610,000 2.2 +240,000Who? families, singles, retirees and/or disadvantaged
What? single family, multi-family and/or “missing middle”Where? core, centers, corridors and/or neighborhoodsWhy? affordability, livability and/or profitability How? by-right, fast-tracking and/or incentives
Mayor Adler: “100,000 New Homes”
Quantitative:
Qualitative:
What does the “Father of New Urbanism” think of Austin?
“One of the most disappointing things to me is the number of urbanists who admire a place like, say, Austin, confusing urban vitality with the existence of a hundred bars.”
Andres Duany, Terrain.org, 16 April 2013
"I'm disappointed in what I see here. This city is acting like a beggar. Austin is hot! You don't have to go out on every date! Austin accepts too many things others would not."
Andres Duany, Austin Chronicle, 13 April 2007
“Missing Middle”
… Housing Types… Housing Prices… Ground
CAVEs vs. DUDEs (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) (Developers Under Delusion of Entitlements)
OIL-driven (Only In Leander)
“Remember the Armadillo!”“Don’t Tread on My Neighborhood!”“Gentrification without Representation!”
GAS-driven (Greed, Avarice and Stupidity)
“In Growth We Trust!”“Fifty-Four Floors or Fight!”“Give Me Density or Give Me Death!”
CAVEs
DUDEs
“Missing Middle Ground”
“When you are getting shot at from both sides, you must be doing something right!”
Ronald Reagan (in response to reactions to his South Africa sanctions in 1985)
"Come let us reason together (Isaiah 1:18)" Lyndon Johnson (in his efforts to achieve congressional consensus in 1965)
So, Who is Doing Better? Austin or Seattle?
Austin is doing better than Seattle in promoting growth, but Seattle is doing much better in promoting;
• quality over quantity,• process over product, • green over gray and • people over profit.