Committee approves resolutions supporting 12 competitive 9% tax credit projects

Erica Ragsdale of the Neighborhood & Housing Services Department briefed the Planning & Community Development Committee on the city's recommendations for competitive 9% low‑income housing tax credit applications for 2026.

Ragsdale said the city received 16 applications (12 new construction, 4 rehabilitation), of which four withdrew; NHSD recommended issuing resolutions of support for 12 remaining projects that met the city's scoring threshold. The projects include new construction proposals such as Nuestra Tierra, Razor Lofts and Vista at Culebra, and rehabilitation projects including 111 West Travis and several National Church Residences properties.

Ragsdale explained that resolutions of support can include waiver language for state scoring rules (for example, one‑mile/three‑year proximity waivers or census‑tract saturation waivers) and emphasized that a city resolution does not guarantee a state award. She also highlighted that some projects propose deeper affordability (units at or below 30 percent AMI) and that three projects include high‑quality pre‑K facilities as part of their proposals.

Councilmembers applauded projects with deep affordability and the Housing Trust's role in several applications, asked why some projects withdrew (Ragsdale said they dropped out after assessing state competitiveness), and then moved and approved the staff recommendation to issue resolutions of support for the recommended projects. The committee carried the motion with voice vote; the transcript records the motion and the chair stating "motion carries" without a recorded roll‑call tally in the committee record.