A fight pitting affordable housing against neighborhood quality is headed to the Austin City Council.
´¡³Ü²õ³Ù¾±²Ô’s is recommending a reduction in the number of unrelated adults allowed to live together in single-family homes: the maximum would fall from six down to four.
Last night’s action was in response to complaints that neighborhoods were suffering from what opponents call “stealth dorms.�
“I don’t think stealth dorms are the correct way to look at densifying the city � yes we do need to look at that,� said Planning Commissioner Danette Chimenti. “But these illegal stealth dorms � where you cram tons of people into a house and it’s not safe � that’s not the way to do it. � We wanna stop the bleeding, and there is bleeding going on in our single family neighborhoods and we do need to stop it.�
Those against the reduction point out that Austin is already suffering from an affordable housing crunch. It’s a reasonable concern, says Jerry Rusthoven of the city’s . He noted last night that “the neighborhood housing staff does feel it has a negative impact on affordability overall.�
The proposal now heads to the City Council for potential final approval, scheduled Feb. 13. .
