Advocates rally at City Hall for $200 million in bonds to tackle Dallas’ housing ‘crisis’

Dozens of Dallasites gathered in front of City Hall on Wednesday to push for $200 million of affordable housing funding to be included in next year’s bond election. Without the funding, they say Dallas will face a growing housing crisis that squeezes the people who live here, drives up homelessness, and limits the city’s appeal to new residents and businesses.

The rally was organized by the Dallas Housing Coalition, a growing 150 member group that wants the city council to allocate $200 million of the roughly $1 billion 2024 bond measure, which voters will vote on next spring.

“This issue affects everyone, especially the people who make our city function: Our teachers, our firefighters, our nurses, our waiters, our first responders and more,” said Ashley Brundage from the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, “In all corners of Dallas, in all stages, from college graduates to first time home owners to seniors with fixed incomes who deserve to age in place”

The funds would pay to build and preserve single family homes that lower- and middle-income residents can afford, as well as rental housing that will serve people who don’t make a lot of money.

Brundage told the crowd that the $200 million in bond funds should be expected to leverage about $2 billion in private development, which would produce 15,000 subsidized housing units, repair over 500 homes and create more mixed income developments.

Market forces simply aren’t producing this kind of housing, the advocates say. The cost of a typical single-family home now outstrips the financial capacity of a family earning the city’s median income. The city’s nearly 34,000 shortage in affordable rental homes is projected to grow to nearly 84,000 in the next decade, affecting people higher and higher up the income ladder without intervention, according to research from the Child Poverty Action Lab.

“We are in a crisis, we are in a deficit, and you don’t do things the same way when you’re in a deficit than when you’re on par,” said Billy Lane, senior pastor at Camp Wisdom United Methodist Church and executive director of the South Dallas Fair Park Innercity Community Development Corporation.

Dallas needs to build or refurbish 100,000 lower- and moderately-priced homes in the next 10 years to meet its housing demands, according to the coalition. Otherwise, they say Dallas will see more residents priced out of the city and moving to the suburbs, and it’ll make the city less attractive for new businesses.

“Housing is economic development,” said Council Member Tennell Atkins.

Raul Reyes from the community group West Dallas 1 said affordable housing funding is essential to push back against gentrification and displacement in the historically Black and Latino neighborhoods of West Dallas.

“Affordable housing is the most critical issue for my neighbors and me,” said Raul Reyes, who leads the community group West Dallas 1.

Five city council members joined the group – Atkins, Adam Bazaldua, Kathy Stewart, Jaynie Shultz and Chad West.

Since 2006, Dallas has approved about $46 million in bond funds for affordable housing, according to city documents. By comparison, just last year, Austin voters approved $350 million. Columbus, Ohio, approved $200 million for affordable housing, as did Palm Beach County, Florida.

Housing advocates will need to get at least eight council members to support their cause by the time the bond allocations are set in the early months of 2024. Coalition members say they plan to continue to host education sessions around the city, organize rallies and public speakers to convince council members and build public support.

But they’re up against calls for increased funding to support an array of other needs, from streets and infrastructure to parks and recreation to arts and culture priorities. Bond can only be used for building and rehabilitating buildings and other structures, not to support ongoing operations.

Council Member Adam Bazaldua panned an earlier proposal to put half of the next bond package — about $500 million — into city street upgrades. Historically, Dallas transportation projects and street maintenance have gotten the lion’s share of funding in city bonds.

“That’s not investing in people. That’s investing in business. That’s in vesting in being a commuter city. And it’s time to start focusing on the people that make Dallas what it is,” Bazaldua said.

The Community Bond Task Force will submit its final recommendations to the city in November, and the city manager will present the bond program to councilmembers in December.

In January, council members are expected make the final decision about how to split the roughly $1 billion pie in January and call the election for May 2024.

Then it’s up to voters to give it a thumbs up or thumbs down.
Got a tip? Christopher Connelly is KERA’s One Crisis Away Reporter, exploring life on the financial edge. Email Christopher at cconnelly@kera.org.You can follow Christopher on Twitter @hithisischris.

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