San Antonio District 5 Councilmember Teri Castillo has unveiled two major housing policy proposals to tackle the city’s affordable housing crisis. Joined by Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Congressman Greg Casar, Castillo introduced the Community Land Trust (CLT) Tiered Affordability and Stay SA policies. These initiatives aim to increase affordable housing by offering density bonuses for developers and prioritizing community land trusts that build affordable homes on city-owned land. The proposals are part of the city's broader Strategic Housing Implementation Plan, targeting the construction or preservation of 28,000 affordable homes by 2031.

San Antonio Council Member Proposes New Affordable Housing Policies

In a bold move to address San Antonio’s growing affordable housing crisis, District 5 Councilmember Teri Castillo introduced two new policy proposals aimed at increasing the city’s affordable housing supply. At a recent press conference, Castillo was joined by Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Congressman Greg Casar, and other local leaders to unveil the Community Land Trust (CLT) Tiered Affordability and Stay SA policies.

The Stay SA Policy

The Stay SA policy is designed to incentivize developers to create more affordable housing units by offering density bonuses. Under this program, developers would be allowed to build more units per acre than typically permitted, provided the units are designated as affordable. The policy specifically targets areas experiencing Transit-Oriented Development and regions around universities and colleges. In addition, it proposes exploring whether developers who opt to pay Fees in Lieu of Production can redirect those funds to support the city’s affordable housing efforts, such as the San Antonio Housing Trust Fund or Opportunity Home’s Accessibility and Modernization Fund.

The CLT Tiered Affordability Policy

The CLT Tiered Affordability policy focuses on expanding community land trusts (CLTs) that commit to building deeply affordable housing on city-owned land. By separating land ownership from homeownership, CLTs can maintain long-term affordability, ensuring that housing costs remain low even as property values rise. This innovative approach seeks to prioritize the development of affordable housing in areas that need it most, maximizing the city’s limited housing resources.

Addressing the Housing Crisis

Councilmember Castillo emphasized the importance of cutting through bureaucratic red tape to make these changes possible. “By ensuring that we reduce some of that red tape, we can ensure that with our limited housing dollars, we’re able to support the construction of the housing where our constituents know we need it the most,” Castillo said.

Moving Forward

Both the Stay SA and CLT Tiered Affordability policies will be reviewed by city committees before being presented to the full City Council for a vote. These initiatives are part of San Antonio’s broader Strategic Housing Implementation Plan, which aims to build or preserve over 28,000 affordable homes by 2031.

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