2015 state law on affordable housing has Houston Mayor Turner taking a 'closer look'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- President of the Briargrove Property Owners Association Whitney Russell came to Houston's city council on Jan. 24 to voice displeasure with a plan to turn some of the residences at The Deerwood apartments, located at 5800 Woodway Drive, into affordable housing.

"The primary concern is how the Houston Housing Authority has had the authority to remove significant property tax revenues from our property tax base," she said.

This stems from a 2015 law enacted by the state legislature that gives private apartment owners a tax-exempt status if they change some of their units into affordable housing.

However, a 2020 study on the law by the University of Texas Law School says it doesn't serve the state's affordable housing needs, nor does it come with a lot of provisions or oversight.

Russell's concern is that taking away property-tax revenue from The Deerwood and another complex in the area would create added resource issues for the neighborhoods of Briargrove and Tanglewood.

"We have countless requests to repair broken mainline, repair broken lights, let alone traffic control," she said when describing issues she and other homeowners face.

The way the law works for properties like The Deerwood is that they come to an agreement with the HHA, which is not actually a city department.

There are currently 13 of these projects in the works in Houston, per reporting from our partners at the Houston Chronicle.

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During the council session Russell attended, Mayor Turner said he wouldn't get into concerns about having affordable housing in a particular neighborhood but would address the issue of private entities not paying their fair share.

"If, for example, a developer is getting tax credits for 100% and only providing 10% affordability, that is not a good deal," Turner said.

For now, Turner said in a statement to ABC13 on Tuesday that approvals and denials of these kinds of affordable housing projects, known as public facility corporations, are on hold.

He said he's also looking to see if entities other than the HHA can issue such decisions.

The HHA also sent a statement to ABC13, saying in part they will continue to work with the City of Houston to address Houston's "affordable housing crisis."

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SEE ALSO: Houston public housing waitlist now accepting applications for first time since 2018

For the first time in years, eligible applicants can get on the waitlist for affordable rental apartments. You have until Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. to sign up.