San Antonio provides a case study of the difficult politics of funding affordable housing measures.

Vianna Davila reports on troubled legislative waters for a proposed housing bond in San Antonio.
A proposed bond package is expected to before voters in May 2017, totaling $850 million with provisions for streets, stormwater, parks, and other infrastructure projects, in addition to three initiatives to address the city's lack of affordable housing. The complete bond package would be the largest in the city's history, with a housing component previously expected to total $50 million.
Problems arose in June, when the Housing Commission to Protect and Preserve Dynamic and Diverse Neighborhoods, tasked with crafting the housing components of the bond package, encountered "a series of complicated legislative and city charter limitations," according to Davila.
That charter problems, explained in more detail by Davila, will require a work around the trims the housing package to only one of the three previous initiatives, and down to $30 million, instead of the original $50 million. The city would also have to launch "an urban renewal program through the Office of Urban Redevelopment San Antonio — the former San Antonio Development Agency…" The potential of such an action already inspired reluctance among some on the commission.
FULL STORY: San Antonio’s proposed housing bond is in limbo

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

Nevada Legislature Unanimously Passes Regional Rail Bill
If signed by the governor, the bill will create a task force aimed at developing a regional passenger rail system.

How Infrastructure Shapes Public Trust
A city engineer argues that planners must go beyond code compliance to ensure public infrastructure is truly accessible to all users.

Photos: In Over a Dozen Cities, Housing Activists Connect HUD Cuts and Local Issues
We share images from six of the cities around the country where members of three national organizing networks took action on May 20 to protest cuts to federal housing funding and lift up local solutions.
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