Castillo Unveils Two Housing Proposals Aimed at Expanding Deeply Affordable Units in San Antonio

San Antonio District 5 Councilmember Teri Castillo introduced two housing policy proposals at a press conference on Wednesday, saying they would expand the city's supply of deeply affordable housing. The measures, the Community Land Trust (CLT) Tiered Affordability policy and Stay SA, are aimed at encouraging new affordable development and cutting red tape that can slow it down.

"San Antonio needs housing now," Castillo said, adding that she had filed the two council consideration requests to support the equitable construction and preservation of affordable housing citywide. Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Congressman Greg Casar and Harlandale Independent School District Superintendent Gerardo Soto appeared with her.

Nirenberg said such policies are needed to keep housing affordable in a city growing as fast as San Antonio. He said solutions should focus on denser growth within and between regional employment centers, and that proposals must truly advance affordability and density. He noted that the city's $150 million Affordable Housing Bond is doing significant work but cannot solve every housing problem.

Community land trusts are local nonprofits that buy land and keep it out of the speculative market, so costs stay low for residents even when property values rise. Residents hold long-term leases and effectively act as homeowners, while the trust keeps ownership of the underlying land permanently.

Under the CLT Tiered Affordability policy, the city would give priority to land trusts committed to building affordable housing when it disposes of vacant land, something it does regularly. Trusts would submit proposals showing they can develop the land. Viable proposals would be ranked by how affordable the housing would be, with top priority for projects serving households earning 30% or less of the area median income.

Graciela Sánchez, director of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, which runs a community land trust, stood with supporters at the event. She said she hopes her organization benefits, particularly with city-held vacant lots and buildings in the historic West Side. "We hope that at least the ones within the historic West Side neighborhood are deeded to the Esperanza community land trust," she said.

The Stay SA policy calls for new density bonus programs that would let developers build more units per acre than normally allowed if the units are affordable. Participating developers would also see certain administrative barriers removed. Castillo said cutting that red tape would help limited housing dollars support construction where constituents most need it.

The proposal repeatedly cites Austin's 2019 development policies, which helped spur affordable housing. Casar, who served on Austin's city council then, said San Antonio can get ahead of a problem Austin is still working to fix. He recalled having to discuss bringing back thousands of families pushed out of Austin, and said it would be far better to keep people in San Antonio in the first place.

The policy specifies three density bonus programs, with room for more. Two would cover areas where transit-oriented development is underway and where universities and colleges are located. Others to be explored include the Downtown Business District and the 13 SA Tomorrow Regional Center Plan Areas, such as Brooks, the Medical Center and Stone Oak. The proposal also asks staff to study whether fees in lieu of production, paid by developers instead of building units, could go to the San Antonio Housing Trust Fund or Opportunity Home's Accessibility and Modernization Fund. It argues the programs would make the city more competitive for federal grants.

Soto said rising housing costs have placed an enormous burden on district employees, many of whom struggle to find affordable homes near work when rents exceed their salaries. The proposals will likely take several months to reach a vote before the full City Council.