Seguin Gazette: City Council approves resolution for development of multi-family housing near TLU

Seguin, TX - A developer’s proposal to add 195 units of affordable housing near the Texas Lutheran University campus drew criticism from Seguin’s mayor Tuesday night who said the city didn’t need more affordable housing.

“Since I’ve been in city government, the community as a whole and the realtors and anybody who’s trying to promote this community as a great place to be, has complained at the fact of the numerous and multiple public housing units we have in the city,” he said. “It’s been kind of a stain on our community, if I can say that.”

Keil added that Seguin has “been a dumping ground” for affordable housing.

“I think it’d been one of the things our surrounding communities have used against us,” he said. “Per capita, we have three times the public housing that New Braunfels does. I think we have enough. I think if you want to have further ground you might try New Braunfels. I think there’s plenty of people there that might want to use this stuff.”

Keil added that he didn’t support the proposed development for several reasons including “social reasons.”

“You say it’s $40,000 maximum household income. If it’s a married couple that’s $20,000 apiece that is some very low paying jobs, which means more than likely I think you will have single families and single people with maybe children or something,” he said. “I think you will probably have problems with the significant other showing up who are not married being a part of the situation … I don’t know how you’re going to police that. That’s going to be very difficult, but you will have unmarried couples there that probably are not legally part of what you would call the family unit.”

Since December, LDG Multifamily, LLC has sought a resolution from the Seguin City Council that would allow them to apply for tax credit funding from the Texas Department of Housing.

The developer initially presented the project to the council at the Dec. 18, 2018 meeting. At that meeting, staff asked for more information and asked the developer to speak to others in the proposed neighborhood, including Texas Lutheran University.

On Tuesday the council voted 5-3 to grant the resolution, with Fonda Mathis, Penny Wallace and Jet Crabb all casting votes against it.

“I’m very pleased with the council’s decision,” development coordinator Jake Brown said. “I can tell that a lot of thought was put into this decision by each member of the council. I think going forward it really just shows how the council is making a commitment to not only affordable housing but the community as a whole.”

The basics

The proposed income-based development is expected to create 195 units within eight buildings on the property at 1231 W. Court St. Residents who earn 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) or less are eligible to apply for the complex. Sixty percent of the AMI for a family of four in Seguin is $40,080, according to Brown.

The complex will include one, two and three bedroom units, a clubhouse, theater room, exercise room, business center, playground, swimming pool, sitting areas, patios and balconies as well as a community gathering area.

There are also various safety and security features like gated access, security camera, ample lighting and a police substation written into the development plans.

Location, location, location

The project is proposed to be constructed across from Texas Lutheran University, in an area that Councilman Chris Aviles said needs something like it.

“We don’t have anything other than the Early Bird (Stone Ranch) apartment complex on the west side of town,” he said. “Everything is more located on the eastern side of town. We don’t have that type of housing on the western side. We want a nice place where people want to live and people want to come to Seguin.”

However, the location of the project was one the reasons City Council postponed approving anything in December.

It’s why Councilwoman Penny Wallace voted against the resolution, she said.

“It was a very difficult decision for me. I recognize the need for this housing in Seguin,” Wallace said. “I did ask the developer if he had considered any other land and he said he had looked at some area, but this one was his first choice.”

Before coming to City Council a second time, Brown said they met with TLU to talk about what they were proposing.

“Though they said they would not make a public comment on whether or not they would endorse the project some comments from the meeting were positive from our perspective,” Brown said.

Designation concerns

One of the initial concerns and confusion when the project was presented in December was if it would fall under the Housing Choice Vouchers Program also known as Section 8.

LDG Multifamily does not develop Section 8 housing communities. Instead, most of their developments fall under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Service’s Low Income Housing Credit, Brown said.

“We’re not Section 8 developers. We don’t own Section 8 properties — that’s not what we do,” he said. “One of the questions we get a lot is can an individual with an individual Section 8 voucher be let on to our property? The answer is yes if they re able to pass all of our requirements. They certainly couldn’t just show up and have the Section 8 voucher and that be their ticket into the property. There is still held accountable to our requirements.”

Those requirements are undergoing a criminal background check to ensure a potential tenant does not have any felony convictions and doing a credit check. Tenants also need to have a job to make a twice the amount of their rent; be 18 years and older; and have a good six months to a year of good rental history.

“The way Section 8 works is it is administered through the Seguin Housing Authority. (Executive director) Brenda Edwards would be heading up that effort at the housing authority if it were Section 8,” Brown said.

Stratton Oaks Apartments, which the Seguin Housing Authority owns 1 percent of, are considered Section 42 housing as well as Stone Ranch Townhomes.

Edwards, who is not part of the project, said she believes there is a need for more affordable housing in Seguin.

“Affordable housing is needed for people who cannot afford a home, but who can have a nice living,” she said. “Stratton Oaks, as well as Early Bird (Stone Ranch) they are nice units and they, are based on the people’s income. They might not be able to qualify for a house, but they can live in a nicer apartment complex. With all the business we’re bringing to Seguin some of those people might not want to purchase a home right away or can’t afford it.”

The Seguin Housing Authority has 188 tenants in the public housing program, 54 in Section 8 multifamily units and 40 in an elderly multi-family.

“In our Section 8 program we can house up to 286 tenants, but we don’t have the funding. Right now we’re helping 221 residents under our Section 8 program,” Edwards said.

The difference between the two is that Section 42 does not provide tenants with governmental assistance, while Section 8 does. The rent is set by the Urban Housing and Urban Development based on the AMI, while the rent for Section 8 tenants is based on vouchers given by the state. Through Section 8 a tenant only pays 30 percent of their income towards rent.

The market need

Brown said the reason they chose Seguin for their new project was because of the growing manufacturing job market, which has an average hourly wage of $15.

In 2017, it was reported by the U.S Census Bureau that the median household income in Seguin was only $41,250 with a per capita income in 12 months of $21,979. The median income for New Braunfels was reported at $64,208 with a per capita income in 12 months of $29,831.

“Seguin is doing a great job at growing their job base,” Brown said. “The problem is when you get into a situation — and it doesn’t just happen in Seguin it happens all over — you grow your job base and housing stock, but just because you’re growing your housing stock doesn’t mean you’re serving the people that make up the majority of the population in town.”

A gap is being created when an affordable product is not offered and LDG Multifamily wants to break that while helping break the stigma of affordable housing, Brown said.

“Certainly low income does not equate to you being a criminal. It’s just a common misconception across the board with that,” he said. “Our motto is that everybody deserves a quality place to live and that goes regardless of your income bracket. Just cause you’re on the lower income spectrum does not mean you should be regulated in a lower quality housing.”

Housing should be available for everybody regardless of income level, Aviles said.

Herbold repeated a similar sentiment.

“It gives folks within $40,000 a nice place to live with a clubhouse and a pool — things they wouldn’t normally be able to have,” he said.

Valerie Bustamante is a staff writer for the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail her at valerie.bustamante@seguingazette.com.

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