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Planning director summarizes housing study and outlines zoning and code options to boost housing supply
Summary
Planning director Aaron Fanoib summarized a 116-page Restel housing study, presenting data on local household income, housing stock and policy options including smaller lots, targeted infill, preapproved plan sets and permitting streamlining to encourage development.
The San Angelo planning director gave a comprehensive briefing on the Restel housing study and possible policy responses, highlighting stagnant household growth projections and policy levers the city could use to spur more housing.
Planning and development services director Aaron Fanoib summarized key findings from the 116-page update: the city population is around 39,000 (Tom Green County roughly 46,000), the median household income in 2019 was reported at about $59,000 (roughly $62,000 when adjusted for inflation), and the city contains approximately 43,598 housing units with around 4,000 units unoccupied. The study projects limited household growth over the next five years and flags a gap in entry-level housing affordability.
Fanoib highlighted recommended tools to address those findings: consider smaller lot sizes and targeted infill, explore allowing limited duplexes or ADUs in specific locations, create preapproved small-scale plan sets to lower development costs, evaluate permitting and plan-review processes for further automation, and examine code relaxations (for example, allowing a single stair in small residential buildings to avoid triggering commercial-code requirements). He noted staff is weighing trade-offs — narrower streets and reduced paving can lower development costs but can also shift maintenance costs to taxpayers or bring safety considerations.
Fanoib said the study, commissioned by the City of San Angelo Development Corporation and conducted by Community Development Strategies, includes recommendations on zoning updates, subdivision and land-development code changes, and targeted incentives. He urged the commission and public to review the report closely as staff prepares development-task-force recommendations over the next six months.
Direct quotes from the meeting: "I really encourage our community to really start digging in to that housing study," Aaron Fanoib said. "Within the next six months, we're going to be bringing some items forward that are generated from our development task force and some subcommittees...to try to help impact housing to move forward in a faster direction."
Fanoib also emphasized practical constraints such as the high cost of subcontractors and materials since the COVID era and the need to attract more people into trades programs to address labor shortages.
Ending: Staff will return with more specific recommendations and proposed code or ordinance amendments; commissioners and staff indicated this will be a multi-step effort likely unfolding over the next 12–20 months.
