mrfootball Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Lookout Fairfield Residents! Somebody wants to build a lovely new Tax Credit (Welfare) Housing Complex on your front doorstep. I just received the following notification from the State of Texas.You are receiving this notification because you are subscribed to the HTC Zip Code email list. This email is being sent to list subscribers who have selected the zip code: 77433 or who have opted to receive email to all zip codes.The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs has received a pre-application for Housing Tax Credits for the Fairfield Creek Estates Development proposed to be located at 27800 Block of Highway 290, East of Fairfield Creek Dr., Houston, TX. For additional information, visit the Housing Tax Credits Web page at http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/multifamily/htc/ or you may reply to this email.Lookout Tomball, FM 1960, and two dozen other areas of Greater Houston...the pre-applications are being made public today. Better get organized now. PM me if you want details on how best to oppose these projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite_jim Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 How exactly can you legally oppose these developments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAZ Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 How exactly can you legally oppose these developments?The best way to oppose (or support) the developments is to go to the TDHCA hearings for them. If you go to the TDHCA website or read the notification letters they send out, you should be able to find the date, time, and location of the hearings (though they might not have set it yet).The more people in attendance, the better. Last year they actually separated out a particularly contentious development, because so many people were there to oppose it. Writing letters also works. It's best to do both. I'll be there to oppose a development they want to do at the corner of South Gessner and Fondren Meadow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 I was given some info a few years back from former county commissioner Bob Eckels. It has helped in opposing several projects including one that was proposed near the Windrose neighborhood. Harris County has a policy in place to determine whether or not subsidized housing is viable in an area by establishing the occupancy rates of other projects located within a 3-mile radius of a proposed project (5-mile radius for Senior projects.) If a nearby project is less than 90% occupancy, then no new project will be approved. fyi - there is a brand-new Senior project that is mostly empty sitting across from the Towne Lake development that I believe falls within the 5-mile radius. Additionally, The Pinnacle Apartments off Huffmeister are more than 10% vacant as well (though I'm not sure if this falls within 3-miles of the proposed project).Harris County Multifamily Housing Concentration Policy (.pdf)http://www.hctx.net/...licy_031011.pdfUse the following search to find Subsidized Apartments within 3-mile radius of any proposed development. If it has more than 10% vacancy then it should be dropped from consideration per the Harris County Multifamily Housing Concentration policy. (note: the zip code search function doesn't appear to work, so you'll have to search by county and examine the list)TDHCA Vacancy Search Enginehttp://hrc-ic.tdhca....SearchResults.m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbcu Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Fondren Meadows? They have $200K homes out there...if that development goes through then I give up....We fought a tax credit off of Fondren and Independence and was successful as they ruled there was no grocery store nearby and not enough retaul as they think a large number of residents will use the bus or not own cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Lookout Fairfield Residents! Somebody wants to build a lovely new Tax Credit (Welfare) Housing Complex on your front doorstep. I just received the following notification from the State of Texas.Welfare!? Please elaborate. I think that you've been misinformed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Subsidized housing is a form of welfare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 No, it's an entirely different program. Similar effect, I know, but it is administered through completely unrelated agencies and with different goals in mind. Have you ever bought a house with an FHA loan? By your definition, that's welfare. How about your neighbors? They're on welfare. Have you or they ever taken unemployment? Welfare. Did anybody buy a house in your neighborhood with a guaranteed payment from the American Dream Act? Welfare. And while we're at it, how about Fannie Mae loans? You got one of those? May as well be welfare.So what's the difference between welfare for poor people and welfare for the middle class? As I see it, the difference is unprincipled NIMBYism. Come on, be honest. You know that there are only so many tax credits to give out, you know that if the project in your neighborhood doesn't get it, it'll just go somewhere else. You aren't fighting the big fight (which I would agree needs to be fought); you're fighting the little fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 Niche, that's not even a good try. You cannot possibly argue that these Tax Credit housing developments aren't welfare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Niche, that's not even a good try. You cannot possibly argue that these Tax Credit housing developments aren't welfare.Well by my definition, welfare is welfare, LIHTC housing is LIHTC housing, and FHA loans are FHA loans. They are what they're called. However, each program is alike in that they enable certain people to consume more than the marketplace would otherwise allow. They are all transfer payments. Since you are in the habit of equating similar programs to one another, FHA loans are welfare.Are you on welfare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAZ Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Niche, that's not even a good try. You cannot possibly argue that these Tax Credit housing developments aren't welfare.Well, yes and no. Low Income Housing Tax Credits are a government subsidy, just like welfare is a government subsidy. Housing built with the credits typically must accept Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8), which is a welfare program. But LIHTC is not itself, welfare.That said, I'm once again reminded of why I stopped cross-posting from my blog to HAIF. A handful of regulars (Niche is one of them) have made it virtually impossible to have a good discussion here. It's pretty difficult to talk about the finer points of the LIHTC program with someone who says that those opposed to it are "unprincipled NIMBYs." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 It's pretty difficult to talk about the finer points of the LIHTC program with someone who says that those opposed to it are "unprincipled NIMBYs."To be clear, it is my belief that mrfootball is an unprincipled NIMBY. This is based on what he has said. To your credit, WAZ, you've done a lot more research, bring more facts to the table, and have always struck me as quite the principled NIMBY. And FWIW, you and I would probably agree that the program has been mishandled at the state level and violates the spirit of the law that established the federal program. When you say something that I think is an error or that is clearly propagandistic, you can bet that I'll call you on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAZ Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 To be clear, it is my belief that mrfootball is an unprincipled NIMBY. This is based on what he has said. To your credit, WAZ, you've done a lot more research, bring more facts to the table, and have always struck me as quite the principled NIMBY. And FWIW, you and I would probably agree that the program has been mishandled at the state level and violates the spirit of the law that established the federal program. When you say something that I think is an error or that is clearly propagandistic, you can bet that I'll call you on it.Fair enough. NIMBYs get a bad rap anyway. I'd rather fight for my neighborhood, and bear that label, than flee at the first sight of unwanted development.We do agree that Texas has mis-handled the LIHTC program, though I think we disagree on how. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbcu Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 hell...I tried to get in one of those new developments as it looked shiny and brand new a long time ago...found out I can't qualify because I make more than what they want....My cash, clean rental history, etc. ain't good enough for them...they want government money, families to cram in apartments at reduced rates instead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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