Category: UDC Changes

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The Removing Barriers for Affordable Housing (RBAH) Task Force Notes and Information

The Removing Code Related Barriers for Affordable Housing Committee (RBAH)

What it is: This task force will look at the recommendations made by the Mayor’s Housing Task Force and will will focus on minimum lot size, building setbacks, street construction standards, utilities, storm water management, parks and open space requirements, and tree preservation among other recommendations and ideas. One of the important recommendations is how to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) less expensively and more easily to help homeowners meet the rising costs of taxes, utilities, etc. and to provide affordable housing to seniors, students, and others. Read: A recent study, “Opportunity at Risk: San Antonio’s Older Affordable Housing Stock,” prepared for the San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) by PlaceEconomics (2019) and

Note: Subcommittees have finished their recommendations and they will be reviewed by the entire task force on Friday, February 28th from 10 a.m. – noon. View the full recommendations here

T1NC Contact: Cynthia Spielman

CoSA Department: Neighborhood and Housing Services Department (NHSD) – Kristen Flores

Notes, minutes, recommendations are on RBAH page of NHSD

Subcommittee Meetings held at NHSD at 1400 S. Flores –

Focus Group Meetings TBA

Removing Barriers Updated 2020 Timeline and Meetings

EventDate & TimeLocation
Full Removing Barriers MeetingFriday, February 28th from 10 am – noon NHSD, Conference Room A 
Public Engagement Early MarchTBD
Final Removing Barriers MeetingTBA March NHSD, Conference Room A
Final Public EngagementEarly AprilTBD
Planning & Land Development Council CommitteeMonday, April 13thfrom 2 pm – 4 pm Municipal Plaza B Room
Housing CommissionWednesday, April 22ndfrom 4 pm – 6 pm TBD
Submit Amendments to Development Services April 30 by 4:30 pm Development Services
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UDC Committees – What you need to know

Updated as needed.

Unified Development Codes (UDC) Changes Happening Now 

The UDC changes are happening now and it is important for neighborhoods to be involved. There are neighborhood leaders sitting on those committees, but we all need to be attending and supporting those leaders with input and help.
Several committees and technical working groups (TWG) are meeting now:

The Removing Code Related Barriers for Affordable Housing Committee (RBAH)

What it is: This committee will look at the recommendations made by the Mayor’s Housing Task Force and will will focus on minimum lot size, building setbacks, street construction standards, utilities, storm water management, parks and open space requirements, and tree preservation among other recommendations and idea

Why it is important: The kind of “by right” incentives for mixed-unit projects may be controversial. There is an effort to focus on non-profit affordable housing producers instead of giving more incentives to pro-profit developers for market rate housing. Read Rich Acosta’s (My City is My Home) remarks at the first meeting about the problems non-profit developers of affordable housing face.

Meetings: Meetings will be the second Monday of the month until December at 11:30 p.m. at One Stop (1901 S. Alamo) Board Room. RBAH meetings will be suspended while the subcommittees meet (see below).

Next Meeting: The task force has been divided into subcommittees: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Public Outreach, and Regulatory Cost Burdens. The regular task force will not meet for a while to give time for the committees to complete their work.

T1NC Contact: Cynthia Spielman

Other: Meeting minutes and information

CoSA Department: Neighborhood and Housing Services Department (NHSD) – Kristen Flores

Subcommittee Meetings held at NHSD at 1400 S. Flores

 Removing Barriers to Affordable Housing Public Engagement & Outreach 
• Wednesday, October 30th from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm  • Wednesday, November 20th from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm  • Wednesday, December 11th from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm 
Accessory Dwelling Units 
• Friday, November 1st from 10 am – 11:30 am  • Friday, November 22nd from 10 am – 11:30 am  • Friday, December 13th from 10 am – 11:30 am 
Regulatory Cost Burden 
• Wednesday, November 6th from 2 pm – 3 pm  • Tuesday, November 26th from 2 pm – 3 pm  • Wednesday, December 18th from 2 pm – 3 pm 

The UDC Task Force – Historic/OHP/HDRC

What it is: The Historic UDC Task Force is working on UDC for historic districts and the process for designation. Read update from Monica Savino.

Why is important: This task force is not only important for historic districts: Design codes could be the model for any form-based codes that they City may consider in the future for compatible infill. Meetings will take place every two weeks from 3 – 5 p.m. on Thursdays from July 11 to September 12, 2019 at One Stop (1901 S. Alamo).

Next Meeting: This committee has adjourned. Its recommendations will presented in other committees and boards. Schedule TBA

T1NC Contact:  Tony Garcia or Monica Savino

CoSA Department: Office of Historic Preservation (OHP)

MF-33/RM-4 Committee

What it is: MF/RM Committee is working through issues about those lots zoned MF-33/RM-4 in our neighborhoods.  This committee is a result of a CCR by D1 Councilman Trevino. Read MF/RM Task Force Issues and MF/RM Task Force Update

They are also working on, at his request, Denver’s ordinance restricting or banning “slot homes” condos or apartments crowded into a lot that face one another which have been the model for developers in the downtown neighborhoods. There has been an effort to include a representative from the Westside and Denver Heights because they will be directly affected but DSD has denied the requests for inclusion.

Why it is important: Cosima Colvin explains how important this issue is on Tier One Neighborhood Coalition Face Book page:   “Several of the T1NC Neighborhoods are on the Task Force and have worked with other T1NC members on an ad hoc committee to develop language that will address the concerns that many of our neighborhoods have regarding these two zoning categories and how to balance developers’ “by right” development choices with neighborhood preservation. We strongly urge neighborhoods to check DSD’s Zoning Map webpage to see where you may have RM4 and/or MF33 Zoning in your neighborhoods and understand what those zoning districts/categories will allow. More info is available here: https://www.sanantonio.gov/DSD/Resources/Codes#233873531-rm-4–mf-33-ccr

So far neighborhood representatives are facing stiff opposition from the development community on the committee and need support. See Mary Johnson’s (Committee member and President of Monte Vista Terrace) interview here .

Next Meeting: This committee has adjourned. Recommendations will be reviewed by PCTAC on Monday, October 21st at 9 a.m. at Board Room at Development Services, 1901 S Alamo St.

T1NC Contact: Mary Johnson

CoSA Department: Development Services Department (DSD) – Catherine Hernandez

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RM/MF Task Force – Issues

In this video, Mary Johnson, President of the Monte Vista Terrace Neighborhood Association, explains some of the problems with San Antonio’s UDC Sections 35-310 and 35-517, which deal with building heights on properties zoned MF-33.

Background

In 2017 the Monte Vista Terrace Neighborhood Association faced a development on a property in their neighborhood that was zoned MF-33. The property is surrounded by single-family homes, but the proposal included four new condos, detached from one-another, each four stories high.

Condo development proposed at four stories high in a single-family district. – Courtesy Monte Vista Terrace Neighborhood Association
Site Plan showing proposal of four units on an MF-33 lot in a single-family district. -Courtesy Monte Vista Terrace Neighborhood Association

When the section of the UDC dealing with MF-33 zoning was written, this development pattern was not anticipated. Historically, a multi-family property in a neighborhood would have attached units, for example a duplex, triplex or quadplex. Developing the lot with detached units creates a far more intense development while maintaining the historic density of the property’s zoning. While it’s still just four units, the units themselves are larger, taller, and taking up more of the lot.

The Monte Vista Terrace Neighborhood Association filed an appeal with the Board of Adjustment when they found out that the project was approved for building heights exceeding what was specified in the Unified Development Code.

35-517. Building Height Regulations – San Antonio Unified Development Code

When Mary and her neighbors went to the city after reading the code, it was discovered that there was a typo in the UDC. The code is written to allow growth while at the same time protecting neighborhoods. This typo is being exploited.

The way developers and the city staff are interpreting the code is allowing excessive heights on lots zoned MF-33 and RM-4 that are adjacent to single-family homes or adjacent to single-family districts. This affects how other parts of the UDC are applied on projects such as storm water requirements.

These interpretations have led to many RM-4 and MF-33 projects being built with a higher intensity than some projects being developed on lots zoned IDZ. The projects are having much greater impacts on neighborhoods than what has historically been built on RM-4 and MF-33 lots, which were originally intended to be low-density zoning designations. Because there is no rezoning required for these lots, neighborhoods have little time to react.

What is being done?

In response to these problems, District 1 City Councilman Roberto Treviño filed a CCR to review these zoning designations. There is a Task Force working to strengthen and clarify the UDC for the RM and MF properties in our neighborhoods.

The RM/MF Task Force is made up of a mix of neighborhood members and representatives from the development community, including developers who have been using the RM-4 and MF-33 zoning designations to their advantage. The task force is being facilitated by Cat Hernandez in the Development Services Department.

At the most recent meeting, there was pressure from the city and the developers to leave code largely unchanged and rely on Neighborhood Conservation Districts and Historic Districts to protect neighborhoods. This is not satisfactory, since we know that many of our most vulnerable neighborhoods do not have NCDs or Historic Designation to help them, and even those that do are still seeing this kind of development occurring. In the same way, we cannot rely on the land use categories to protect us. The code as it is written is unclear and is being manipulated for profit to the detriment of the surrounding neighbors.

It is important to remember that the council and the mayor set the agenda for the task force; our council has asked for this CCR because the constituents in the various districts have asked for help concerning the incompatible, intense, and dense development in our traditional neighborhoods. It is the job of the task force to set the policy concerning MF and RM zoned lots scattered throughout our traditional neighborhoods. Those task force members representing neighborhoods need to keep pushing for accountability when the city and developers want to rush to conclude the task force meetings without meaningful changes to the code’s language that make the code clear.

How Neighbors Can Help

Community is allowed to attend/observe the RM/MF Task Force meetings. Having members of the community there is important for transparency and accountability. The neighborhood representatives on this task force need community support in the room, and the city needs to see that this is an issue that the community cares about. Please plan to attend the next RM/MF Task Force meeting. It has been scheduled for 2:00pm on May 28th at 1901 S. Alamo.

You may read a summary of the CCR and the Task Force meetings so far on the city’s website, here.