San Antonio committee forms working group to address housing for veterans, people with disabilities, elderly, LGBTQ and youth experiencing homelessness

The Planning and Community Development Committee on Sept. 23 recommended creating a working group to address housing needs for several special populations, including veterans seeking vouchers, people with mobility or sensory disabilities, older adults, LGBTQ residents and youth experiencing homelessness.

Verónica García, director of Neighborhoods and Housing, outlined the proposed focus areas and said the working group will produce reports and recommendations to the council with a target report date of Jan. 18. García said the effort will build on existing partnerships with the housing trust, county agencies and nonprofit providers and will incorporate nine recommendations already developed by departmental partners to increase landlord participation in voucher programs.

The committee discussed outreach and data needs, including focused surveys and community meetings to understand the housing types and locations these populations prefer and to track progress toward existing goals. Members raised the need for frequent updates from the working group, coordination with county partners and attention to accessibility features in new construction; García said more than 550 units already include accessibility modifications and that policies require roughly 5 percent of new construction to include certain accessibility modifications.

A motion recommending formation of the working group and directing staff to proceed was made, seconded and passed by voice vote; the transcript records the motion passed unanimously but does not identify the mover, seconder or a numeric roll-call tally. The committee asked that the group include city staff, members of the housing trust and nonprofit partners and that it consider incentives and process changes to increase landlord acceptance of vouchers.