By Kriston Capps, Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America, Bloomberg CityLab, February 10, 2022
San Antonio residents will soon get a chance to vote on a measure to shape affordable housing in the city, an approach built on a Biden administration push to end homelessness that backers say could model a solution to one of the most stubborn ills in American urban life.
Back in May, voters of the fast-growing Texas city approved an amendment to the city’s charter to allow bond sales to fund affordable housing. That vote set up a proposal for a $1.2 billion bond measure, the city’s largest ever, which includes significant funding for housing for the first time. The San Antonio City Council is set to determine the exact shape of the referendum before it goes up for a vote in the May 7 election, but it’s likely to include $150 million for housing initiatives.
“The proportion of resources that we’re focusing into the housing ecosystem is unprecedented,” says San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “We have also essentially quadrupled the amount of resources in our annual budget going to housing.”
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