All right, good morning, everyone.

Today is Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

I officially call the Housing and Affordability Committee to order in chambers.

We have staff representation from Councilmember Jackson in District B, staff representation from Councilmember Castillo's office, district H, staff representation from District I, Councilmember Merc Tinez.

In chambers, we have Mayor Pro Tim, Martha Castex Tatum, Councilmember Ramirez, and staff from Council Member Carter at large three, Councilmember Alcorn out at large five.

And Vice Chair Davis is in chambers as well.

Today our agenda is solely focused on single family.

We'll hear presentation by assistant director Cedric Lassain.

And we'll hear directors' comments and of course our standing presentation of finance.

And we have two individuals currently signed up.

No three.

I see Doug, it wouldn't be right if Doug wouldn't on the agenda.

Then we it wouldn't be right.

So we have three um public speakers, and so at any point in the meeting, if you wish to speak, you just sign up and we'll give space to you.

Each speaker will have three minutes.

So good morning director, the floor is yours.

Thank you for having me.

And again, this is we're we're this is the beginning of our moving fast from the DR21 DR24s, and we're excited about that.

And today we're focused on single family, which of course is a significant priority of you as chairwoman and of the mayor to make sure that we um improve our stock of single family homes and improve the lives of those who live in them.

We'll start with the uh Cedric Lussain, who runs our single family program, and we'll go to the next slide.

Good morning.

Hi is everybody.

Good morning.

Uh good morning, madam chairwoman, vice chair, members of the committee.

I am presenting items 2A through 2D on behalf of the housing and community development department.

Items A and items B are together, uh, the same item.

Uh so we are recommending council approval for an ordinance authorizing the Eighth Amendment to the amended and restated home buyer assistance program, also known as HAP guidelines to increase the maximum subsidy from 50,000 to 75,000 to decrease the length of time for a participant to find a home from 120 days to 90 days, and incorporate the standard eligibility criteria that's across all single family programs, and this will affect all districts.

You want me to go on to item B?

We have item B.

HCD recommends council approval of an amendment to the homebuyer closing documents for the home buyer assistance program to align with the eighth amendment of the amended restated home buyer assistance program guidelines.

The homebuyer closing documents include the second lien deed of trust, the notice of occupancy restrictions, deferred payment loan note, and the terms and conditions, which affects all districts.

Okay.

All right.

Um, gonna go on to the question on A, uh, just from the can you just explain the reduction of the 120 to the 90 days?

Sure.

Um, so what we're seeing in uh the HBAP 2.0 program, uh, that length of time that's letting it hang out there.

Uh we're not getting the money spent.

So we're decreasing that time down to 90 days to go ahead and push that buyer to go and start looking for a home.

Sure.

Um we have homes that are available through our NHDP program, through our partners that uh with our affordable home development program.

So there are homes that are available and just trying to get those buyers a little bit of a more of a push to get out there and do it.

Um I also want to point out the assistance that's being provided under the HAP program is for 80% and below buyers.

Um, and that's gonna go up to eight-year affordability period.

Ah, okay.

Uh, and we're also gonna maintain the 33 and 45 percent ratios, so just to make sure that they're only using 33 percent of their income for housing.

Yep.

Uh, it's still gonna focus on the home buyers uh that have not owned a home or that have not owned a home in the last three years.

Um, so is it three-year cycle and not a seven-year?

It's a three-year, so they must not have owned a home in the last three years.

Sure.

Um, also want to add is the home buyer education will still be in place.

The assistance that will be provided will be through down payment assistance.

Yeah, through uh principal mortgage reduction, uh, as well as some ancillary fees that are included with the closing of the uh loans.

Sure.

So you're seeing the 90 day is almost like the median of the for the in order to strike from an administrative perspective to get the money down.

Okay.

Correct.

That makes sense.

Councilmember Ramirez.

Just following up on that, Cedric.

Uh you said uh we're not getting the money spent.

Uh are we losing any money?

Are we having to give any back or what?

I'm glad you asked.

So I want to give a little bit of update on HBAP 2.0 before we go into the next item.

Uh so just to think about the assistance that's we we're providing.

So there are 708 applicants that have applied for the HBAP 2.0.

Of that breakdown, 216 uh have been approved by the GLO.

And of that 216, there are 139 buyers that are considered LMI.

And then I'm sorry, considered what?

LMI.

Low to moderate income.

And there are 77 files that is under uh urgent need.

And then if we want to break down, I'm gonna break that down a little bit further as well.

So there are 89 files that have closed for 8.9 million dollars.

There are 49 files under the urgent need, that is 3.8 million dollars for a total of 12.7 million dollars, and we have spent that money in the last nine months.

So we're in our 10th month now from launching the actual program.

Oh, that's great.

With the a max out of eighteen million, the reallocation.

Oh, this is great.

Correct.

But we haven't lost any, had to give any money.

No, okay.

Right.

Because this is the 2.0, this is our program.

So 2.0 was the reallocation of the DR 17 single family.

Correct.

Back to down payment assistance.

This is our down payment assistance program that's modeled after that.

Correct.

Yeah.

And that's what the focus is, is looking at the uh increasing to the 75,000.

We're seeing an average for our LMI buyers somewhere around $90,000.

Uh, but you know that the amounts are up to.

So just depending on the homes that are chosen.

Um the LMI buyers need to be within a certain price point.

Yeah, and there are quite a few homes on the market, so the the inventory is available.

Wonderful.

No other questions in the queue.

Thank you, Councilmember Ramirez.

Okay.

Uh, item number C.

Uh HCD recommends council approval of an ordinance adopting the 2024 Derecho and Hurricane Barrel single family home repair program guidelines.

The DR 24 home repair will provide rehabilitation and reconstruction services to eligible low to moderate income households at or below 80% area median income, and whose principal residence was directly or indirectly impacted by the 2024 Derecho and Hurricane Barrel storms.

This affects all districts.

Item D.

HCD recommends council approval of an ordinance using uh using the legal documents associated with the 2024 Derecho and Hurricane Barrel single family home repair program to align with the newly adopted program guidelines.

The legal documents include but are not limited to the tri-party agreement, the deed of trust, and the promissory note, and this affects all districts.

Councilmember Ramirez.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Uh Cedric, this correct me if I'm I'm wrong.

This is item 19 on tomorrow's agenda.

Yes.

Okay.

So I I had a question about the guidelines themselves.

And as far as um how much money can be spent on each single family home, um the backup indicates you've got three tiers with tier one being emergency and minor repairs up to 50,000, tier two, moderate substantial rehab 50 to 80,000.

And tier three, complete reconstruction and substantial gut rehabilitation.

Uh and up to uh another document in the backup says up to 300,000 can be spent on one home.

And you know, that's that's an awful lot of money and a large chunk of the overall award, which is what, three million, if I remember correctly?

No, it's it's fifty million and forty-eight million is 45 million is going toward uh reconstruction and rehabilitation.

All right.

Um obviously, if you're reconstructing uh homes, that's that means there's less money for emergency and minor repairs and moderate to substantial rehabilitation.

Um I'm curious to know in in practice how how often uh does this occur?

You know, how many of these uh homes that are repaired fall into tier one, tier two and tier three?

Sure.

So it's it's it's uh so as Mike explained.

So we're looking at making sure that we are revitalizing housing stock and making sure that it's not declining.

Uh, one of the things that we do is when we go in and do a damage assessment, we look at these homes for every single item.

It may not necessarily be related to the actual storm.

So, for instance, if we go in and we know that the home has had an electrical issue from hurricane uh barrel, one of the things that we're gonna make sure is that we're not gonna just fix that electrical issue, we're gonna make sure that that home is going to be able to sustain for the affordability period of 10 years.

So there are there are there are some mitigating factors that our permitting department requires to make sure that the home remains in code compliance.

That means that if you touch an item in that home, that item must be brought up to code.

So when you go in and you know, you touch the plumbing system, that whole plumbing system must now meet the current code requirements.

So there is some things that when it gets into the permitting phase and they're looking at what the value of the home is uh compared to what the amount of work that's going to be done, you potentially may trigger uh substantial damage.

And with a substantial damage, it's gonna make you bring everything up to code.

And do you have a sense of how often uh these projects end up being tier one, how often they end up being tier two, and how often tier three?

So on on homeowners that have made repairs, we probably see five to ten percent that fall in with that may need a roof or may need electrical or you know, may need a plumbing repair.

Um, a lot of the homes that we are seeing that are coming through the pipeline.

I'm gonna say probably 80 percent fall within that reconstruction.

Uh as you know, the city of Houston uh has a gumbo soil, and it's very rough on foundations here.

Um that's the main thing that we generally see in our program is when we go in, there's damage to foundations, and that automatically pushes those homes to a reconstruction.

So about the 80% then fall into re complete reconstruction, correct, or gut rehab, and um the affordability period is 10 years.

10 years, yes.

10 years.

So they have to hold on to the home and correct.

And what if they what if they sell it within that 10-year period?

So one of the things is is item D, we put in a um a deed of trust and a promissory note.

So in the event that they go to sell that home, the city is going to recoup all the money that we have put in at closing.

Okay, thank you.

Yes, sir.

Really good questions.

Thank you, Councilmember Ramirez, um, for bumping that up.

And and I will tell you as someone who completed a full construction December.

Do we do that in December, Ms.

Stone?

In December, transformational, um, became the the gym of the block.

Um, the contractors that we have in place to do full construction are exceptional, and it definitely lifted the spirits of the of the entire neighborhood.

Um, and people were definitely jealous, and uh, I think we ease some neighborly tensions because we were able to get that house back uh restored.

Um so I I appreciate you raising the data points about you know um reconstruction, repair, you know, rehab and the differences around that because we do have uh different pockets of money related to that.

There are no other questions in the queue related to this item.

Just as a closing aside before the director speak, I just want to, you know, a lot of times we talk about a um rental affordability, and that's so important, making sure that our uh neighbors that make 30 to 60 AMI have a place to stay.

I know we're aggressively working towards that goal, um, but I think it's important to talk about the phenomenal work the single family division does um with very limited funds.

So y'all are making brick with no straw.

Um, and you know, as a disaster city, uh, when those notices to proceed go out.

I know residents are uh deeply grateful, so thank you for that.

Um, and thank you for keeping our beloved neighborhoods whole, right?

That's what the communities we represent and love so much that make our city.

Um, and so it's nothing like repairing a blighted home, um, and giving the homeowner that those keys back.

So thank you for your work on down payment assistance um and the rehab assistance program.

I'm looking forward to voting on that item.

All right, thank you.

Uh one wanted to add one more thing.

So just to give you guys an update for disaster recovery 21 winter storm.

So we have had over 1,200 applicants in the same nine-month period.

So we've cut off in April of accepting additional applications as we are processing through.

Um, there are 59 homes that are approved.

There are 31 that are in damage assessment out of that 59, and there are 47 that are sitting in the QAQC process, along with another 57 behind that in review.

Um, so we are looking to serve somewhere around 130 to 140 uh homes out of that fund.

That's amazing.

Thanks for raising that point.

I meant to ask that question, and so um for those that are in the 1200 that once they meet the the cutoff will have a wait list, and so what's the alternative?

Are we getting them to DR24?

We're gonna get them to our TURS rehab.

Yeah, so we are seeing some homeowners that are stating that they have DR 24 uh damage, and we are taking those applicants and making sure that we are keeping them in a queue uh to make sure that they're gonna get served.

Okay, so I don't have to uh sit on another roof and say apply, apply.

It's it's it's closed.

Okay.

Thank y'all for your work on that.

Yes, ma'am.

So thank you.

We go to the next slide.

All right.

One of the things I want to speak to, Councilman Romero's comments and questions, these are big policy questions and that HUD's involved in and that we're involved in.

I think this is the right decision to make sure when we repair a home, we are leaving the neighborhood in better shape than before.

And that's has added an expense.

But in the big picture, this is the right decision to go in and put some windows and doors in and not have appropriate plumbing or electrical system is just not the way to go.

And um again, it's if it impacts lesser fewer people, but in the long run, I think it makes a stronger city and a stronger housing stock, which is our joint goal, both helping people in the who've had who've been hit with disaster and growing our housing stock.

Uh next slide, please.

Uh, this is some good news.

Um, Ryan Bibbs is sitting.

If we have any questions, HCD currently has a multi-family NOFA available to support affordable housing recovery and communities impacted by the 2024 Derecho and Hurricane Barrel through the DR24 multifamily program, approximately 52 million in CDBG DR 24 funding may be used to support the construction, rehabilitation, acquisition and or acquisition of multifamily properties serving low to moderate income households across Houston.

The application deadline is June 8th, 2026.

We encourage your council officers to share this opportunity with eligible housing partners, developers, and community networks to help broaden awareness and participation.

Again, this is a huge deal.

This is the this is the multifamily side of the DR 24, which uh again, thanks to your work.

We ended up with a hundred million dollars going to housing.

This is the multifamily half.

Thanks so much.

Next slide.

We had one submission, which is currently undergoing the evaluation process.

For background, the NOFA is currently undergoing uh for background.

The NOFA sought qualified nonprofit organizations or and local government entities to apply to operate the facility known as the Navigation Center, located at 2309 Jensen Drive in District B.

The center will be supported by approximately 10.5 million dollars in CDBG, DR24 hunting funding and other local sources.

This is the DR 24 funding for homelessness.

The Navigation Center connects individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness to immediate supportive services, helping residents in crisis stable stabilize and access the next step toward housing.

It remains a critical component of Houston's homeless response system.

Really significant services, and the cost, the cost operated is much higher per person.

The navigation center is a lower cost, and for really people with less acute mental health substance use issues, and who are on their way to housing.

So I think it's a really very good system, and by bifurcating it this way, we are not chart, we are not costing the city so much money for every individual experiencing homelessness and trying to uh differentiate those who just need a light touch and those that need a every touch.

Director here, um, the funding stream for this NOFA, is this general fund?

Or is this the restricted fund we created for the homelessness deterrents?

This is neither.

This is DR 24 funding.

This is DR 24 funding, 10 million dollars over 30.

Oh, we're doing the 10 out of the 30.

That's right.

Ah, yes.

10 out of the 41.

Right, right, right, right, right, right.

Sure, yeah, yeah, it's a 419.

Okay.

Because I remember there was a previous, I think a housing committee, where you talked about the need for more general fund for us to deeply invest in the navigation center for some continuity.

And so I just, we were able to work this out.

We think this is the best way to do it.

We do have the five-year commitment on the navigation center, um, because we're putting a new roof in.

Um, you know, it's it's um we're glad to have this DR money.

We're glad that we worked out the right mix between the DR money and other funds for 419 emancipation.

Yep, yep.

Thank you.

Next slide.

Uh this goes back to Sudric's work.

HCD continues to expand homeowner opportunities homeownership opportunities by connecting residents and industry partners to program information training and available resources.

Recent outreach included realtors and lender information sessions as well as applicant training focused on promoting HC HCD's traditional home buyer assistance program.

Again, these efforts help strengthen awareness, improve application readiness, and ensure more Houstonians understand the resources available to support their path to ownership.

Part of transparency is making sure that larger and larger groups know about the benefits that the Houston plan has for them on homeowner assistance programs.

Slide 20.

As reflected on the slide, both HBAP 2.0 and DR 21 home repairs continue to demonstrate the need for housing support and the meaningful roles these programs have played in helping residents recover, repair, and move toward home ownership.

Over $12.6 million dollars achieved in closings for HFAP 2.0 and $499 applications received in DR under DR 21.

As these programs begin to wind down, we look forward to spotlighting their impact across the Houston community.

HCD is also excited to shift focus toward outreach and marketing efforts for our upcoming DR24 single family program, which will build on the momentum and continued connecting families to critical recovery resources.

Thank you, Director.

And can you um uh clarify or define rather inactive?

Yes, active.

Oh, those are okay.

And active will be files that uh did not have uh or did not have a tie back or did not meet the criteria for eligibility of 80% and below.

We spend a great deal of time checking boxes to make sure that that the people that folks who apply are eligible.

Right at the same time, we do not want to hold back people from trying.

And it is it is a complicated process, and the eligibility is complicated, and we wish it was easier, broader, but this really impacts those with the right funding streams, those with the right uh background to make sure that we can do this work for the most vulnerable.

Slide 20, please.

Um sorry, this is 21.

Uh, talk about the emancipation center.

Um, I think we're about we don't have a name yet, but I think we know what it is.

We now call it a 222 bed residential, homelessness resource center, and that's it's starting it's starting to at least know what it is, and the triage transition and treatment are the uh key components again.

Uh the idea is that we'll serve uh at 24 7.

It'd be an easy entry facility to provide this triage transition and treatment for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Um the fillet facility is a critical component of the mayor's broader strategy to address street homelessness and strengthen Houston's regional homeless response system, and I want to make sure we understand that we still have a regional homeless response system.

We we in the city work our role in that and our leadership in that.

Um last Wednesday, city leaders and project partners continued community conversations with district H as uh and I constituents creating space to share updates, answer questions, and hear directly from residents about the path ahead.

That was a pretty intense meeting, but the residents are starting to understand how this works.

They have lots of suggestions.

I'm very impressed with even those people who have opposed this in the past, are coming forward with suggestions in very constructive ways.

Um the conversations reflect the city's continued commitment toward transparency partnership and thoughtful implementation of 419 emancipation.

It remains on track for a phased opening in late May, as May comes down to the last few days.

Literally, people are working, they we worked many, many hours this weekend, and we feel very comfortable about the work that's going on that we are gonna have an opening in late May, and we'll get close.

We get close to we don't want to make a commitment because we're always worried about that one more thing.

It will be a phased opening.

Uh the first folks coming in will be those brought in by outreach and law enforcement.

Um, the leadership at the Harris Center are the kind of people who say, you know, although that's phased.

If people walk in this door and want to come in, we're not we're gonna take them in.

And we have employees set up well trained.

Um, one of the great things about the Harris Center is they do 900 behavioral health beds.

So right now we're gonna move some of the more they are going to move some of the more trained employees uh to 419 emancipation.

Have the new employees work at some of the other facilities.

Again, I cannot say anything, but these folks, led by Keena Pace and Wayne Young are outstanding leaders, thoughtful leaders.

And it's been doing this for decades.

Hold on, Director.

One second.

Thank you, Chair.

Director, I wanted to make a comment about the 419 emancipation.

We had a visit from the National League of Cities a couple weeks ago, and we were talking about the event we will host here in the city of Houston with large city council presidents from across the country.

These are council presidents in cities over 400,000.

And the number one thing they wanted to talk about was our 419 emancipation and how we are handling housing in the city of Houston.

So when we did a brief visit, everyone was blown away that this is how the city of Houston is moving to help with this issue, which unfortunately is an issue across the country.

So I wanted to let you know that in August, when we have our group here of large council presidents, they want to see how we how we are operating, and that I do believe 419 emancipation will be an opportunity for us to share our successes and our challenges and how we are working to get people off the streets and into long-term housing and handle so many of these quality of life issues that happen in large cities.

I mean it happens in small cities too, but you see it more in large cities.

So kudos to the entire team and everyone who's worked to um get us this far.

Um but I do think that eyes across the country will be on 419 emancipation in the Harris Center and the work that we will continue to do in the city of Houston around homelessness.

Thank you.

We look forward to welcoming them.

Um pleased that it's not tomorrow.

No, it's in August.

And I want to shout out to our mayor who's um been unusually patient with me and Chief Satter White.

As you know, as you can recognize, there's not any kind of grand opening because really what we want and what he wanted, and I'm deeply appreciative for this, is let's get some days, months under our belt, and look what we've learned and see our successes before we pound our chest about how great it is.

It's it's going to be a great ride.

And again, um we are partnering with the Harris Center, Harris Health, and the homeless response system led by the Houston uh Houston Coalition for the Homeless, and all of them are learning organizations.

I think um I think in dealing with homelessness because it's such an individual crisis.

We're talking about all of us have our experiences, and it's very individual.

It really helps you understand what the best of government, which is when you're in a learning phase and you don't go in assuming you have all the answers.

And this is a it's a terrific, it's a terrific learning process.

Um, and I hope that we see that.

Uh I like that how we're working with other governments.

The county, you know, uh Harris Health is going to be right there working with us.

That's a learning process.

Um we look forward to Harris County stepping up on rapid rehousing.

Again, part of the learning process, and we'll we're watching and we need the state and federal to really do their job and not just talk about things, and we'll see how that works out too.

Last slide.

Hold on one second, Director, Councilmember Davis.

Thank you, Madam Chair, Brother Director.

Thank you.

Just wanted to ask uh a couple of things.

Number one, you mentioned in the intake side that it would be outreach as well as law enforcement, um, as you know, um, and addressing that, many pastors are asking about doing the tour.

We're trying to put together through the mayor's the Ministry advisory board a day that we can bring in a group and see, you know, the tour of the facility as well locally because many of them are concerned about that process and how they can filter people from those to the churches.

So we like to set that up.

Let's let's do that.

Let's do that quickly.

And even if we even if we can just have a meeting about it, that may be one way to do that.

Great.

Again, the churches have to play a big role in this.

The faith community has to play a big role in this.

And as you speak to that, I want to make sure that you that we all recognize this is a component in a bigger program, bigger process.

I mean, we have such good partners out there doing remarkable work, um, led by the faith community and the big pro big partners like Starve Hope and Salvation Army and Open Door Mission, Missionary Yahweh, these are these are good partners.

And this wouldn't be successful without them.

And I'm I want to keep saying that because I don't want anybody to think that this is the only answer.

When when you get your fundraising from these other organizations, send your dollars in, yeah.

Um, because this is just one peg in a more one cog and a more in a broader process.

But we'll we need that we need the ministers right there.

Yeah, so we'll we'll fast we'll we'll set up a meeting and get that done and uh fast tracking.

Let's do that quickly.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh slide 22.

One more.

All right.

Uh HCD in the uh in the community, West Side Mobile Care Day.

We used to participate in the Chair Thomas' West Side Mobile Care Day.

Uh staff connected and attendees with information on HCD funded programs, including rapid rehousing, mental health and services through the Hair Center, job regidious initiatives while assisting with intake and coordinated entry assessments.

Again, this is very exciting, and and part of what you see here is we've had great work on the assessments and for housing.

Now we have great work beginning soon on the assessment of mental health issues.

This is the way we solve many of the problems in our community.

Thank you.

Thank you, Director, for um spotlighting this.

I was like, oh, they look familiar.

Um and just to tell you about the work that has happened, and just want to shout out Nick from your team who was with us on ground zero.

What we experienced was really transformational, probably more so for us than the people we served since that point.

Um West Houston's assistance ministry has created a satellite intake um center at the Agape Fellowship Church.

Um they are routinely intaking, averaging around 25 unhoused individuals, many who have never been in HMIS, which just speaks to the um I think the larger point that we have to continue to fund outreach, and when these contracts come before us, we have to get them to the street and make sure that they're really going into the hidden parts of Houston.

Um, you know, good news.

We were able to secure a couple of IDs.

Uh we've been able to uh purchase birth certificates so they can start the process of stabilization, and so lots of good work.

We do plan on holding a second one in June, July during our summer safety.

So I just want to thank your team for being out there with us and lending their expertise and our partners, healthcare for the homeless who are phenomenal and a host of others, but this is what it takes.

Um, and uh just really grateful that the people who need the service trust us enough to show up from showers to haircuts.

Uh, the Houston Health Department provided immunizations on the spot.

So just the collaboration of city departments and um our county uh partners as well, and of course, our faith community for putting their money where their mouth is.

Thank you.

This is this is very important, and and again, this is this homelessness and vulnerable people in every single district.

It's uh it is not it is not just in uh downtown, it's just not on the east side, it's in every single district.

So we appreciate that and appreciate the council members making sure that we're doing the right thing and we see the city as a whole.

Uh, last slide.

Uh, this is uh some just our favorite progress reports.

We always like these.

Maybe that's not the last.

Uh this is um 775 20 Avenue C, uh New Hope new project.

Um there's a grand opening this week.

We're all very excited about.

Seems like yesterday we were just starting it out.

This is great.

Uh next slide.

This one, District D, 1117 Bland Street, another New Hope Weekly, a great project.

Again, when you see these numbers, you know, the whole the total project's 31 million.

HCD funding was four million of home dollars.

That four million dollars is what makes the difference.

That's why I'm I keep saying people when if we if we can put some money in, we can make the difference in these developers that they can build this, and this is the answer.

Government doesn't need to build it, we need to fund that gap and uh just encourage us to think of more ways to do that, put pressure on our federal government to keep funding home and other projects like that.

Next slide.

Uh 800 highway six south, the rushmore.

Remember that we came in that there was a lot of activity, but here it is.

Um, it's uh completion is November 2026.

Um again in an excellent school district, and this is gonna be a really good project.

Again, 85 units at 30 percent, 30 to 60 percent.

That's great news.

Next.

Uh 6,000 and 101 Richmond, District J, uh, Boulevard 61.

Again, October 2026 is the opening coming soon.

Again, you can see the numbers with that four million dollars of city home money did.

Next slide.

All right.

Um, we're glad to be here.

We're very appreciative of this committee's your interest, your drive when we get things to city council.

Y'all have been right there supporting us.

It is a um, it's a real pleasure to work with this whole committee.

Thank you.

No, thank you, and shout out to your communications team.

I see the graphics have elevated.

We love it.

The dashboard, that's really good stuff.

And so, yeah, any time y'all want to get that over to council offices so we can continue to communicate the data points.

You know, I think that's important so we can you know tell people what it is and what it's not.

Um, yeah, put it in our newsletter so people have a status report.

Please allow us to, you know, use our digital real estate for the advancement of your work.

Thank you, and thank you for doing that.

Again, this whole idea of transparency, making sure people know about these programs.

Uh, that's the only thing I've ever upsets with me.

Someone says, I didn't know about it.

Right, right.

No, really, really good work.

We do, thank you, Director, so much.

Um, we do have, or we're not having the finance.

Yes, yeah, yeah, yes.

Okay.

Does the money lady not want to talk?

Okay.

TJ is uh Tamika Jones has been a um whirlwind of activity.

Um we she and I were just trying to get together Thursday and Friday, and she didn't have any time because she was working on so many important projects.

But this is great.

Thank you.

I don't know if you have slides on a very good thing.

Thank you.

Next slide.

This was giving the committee.

I know we'll have another contract amendment that is coming forward here soon.

But if we move forward, one slide, I do want to just provide the committee with a small update as we move closer to closing out our DR 17 award.

Um, as you know, we the grant does expire February of 27, so we have a very short window, less than a year to go.

So we are anxiously closing out some of our programs.

You'll see just a snapshot, a couple of items to highlight to you.

We are getting close to expending all of our administrative funds.

Um, the GLO does have an administrative draw that they are holding on to until we meet a lot of the programmatic spend, and then once we meet the programmatic spend, then they will approve that.

So that will likely um get approved at the very end, but you will see a notice of just over 329,000 from I thought it was April we met, but it looks like that was March, so about two months ago.

On the home buyers 2.0 program, that one is fully operational.

Uh considerable progress from March.

We'll see um just over to almost 2.9 million dollars in approvals and submissions, about 3.3 million or 3.4 million in submissions to the GLOM over the last two months.

So that program is um Cedric mentioned is blowing and going.

And then on our multifamily side, what you'll see is a lot of closeouts.

So you'll see a lot of retainage payments being released.

So over the in summary, over the course of the last two months, you'll see um approvals totaling, meaning dollars received backs.

I know we have that question during our general fund presentation, uh approvals and funds reimbursed to the city of 5.8 million, and then additional submissions of just over 4.7 million.

So again, getting a lot of those dollars back to the city that have been expended for some of the critical projects.

And that concludes my presentation.

On deck.

Thank you.

At this time, we'll open the floor for public comments.

We do have five speakers that have signed up.

First is Pastor Camellia Joseph.

I do not see her in chambers, but I'm gonna call her again for the record, Pastor Camellia Joseph.

Uh hearing nine, we're gonna move on to Dominic Mazak.

Okay.

I know I have my 180 uh three minutes, okay.

One, I did take Metro here 96 to the red line and walk.

Have a good trip.

Okay, uh, second of all.

I think this crosses two council uh communities, uh quality of life in this one.

I think City of Houston about 25 years ago in Harris County stepped up during the Katrina disaster.

We opened up the Astrodome, or I should say Harris County opened up the Astrodon because they that's a they own that facility, and there were thousands of people.

We put cots everywhere.

I mean, they were organized, but and my thing is these people were de housed because of of a tropical system, and uh we stepped up.

I was a ham radio operator, I saw it firsthand.

I was helping with communications and on the dump.

And we did a good job.

I think we need to take some of that energy from that from that lesson and apply it to the homeless situation.

Granted, I think we have to be very careful.

I think it has to be all single men in an area, single females in the area.

Maybe we need cubicles.

But you know, we have plenty of old storage facilities.

I don't want to as it were housing poor uh poor people.

That's not Christian, but to get the people off the streets, get them three hots of the cots, that is very Christian.

Link you say, will it?

And so I think we we need to look beyond even uh that could be an intake way to get people off the at least, it's not full house.

Second of all, housing.

Uh using containers, you know, those containers are on trucks, chips, and trains.

They were out.

We have thousands of them next to the port.

Why can't we come up with some city uh code to convert that into housing?

Now, granted, I wouldn't want that in River Oaks.

I think that could be in areas that with that, and all so, you know, but the other thing I'm saying is I think there's certain places in the city of Houston where that type of housing could be done, or it could be you take the container and you put foam around it, and it doesn't look like a container.

I think there's some good things we got to think completely off the shelf, off the you know, if it's a good idea, let's look at it.

Now I'm not saying the idea should be permanent.

But I think we need to try some things to see if they work.

Also with housing.

Number two, what's gonna happen when uh Irvington village closes?

I pass that thing on the red line every time I come into down into downtown.

Where are those people going?

I think it's supposed to be closing because it's uh it's in a uh flood zone with water low wild bar in the background.

I don't I don't know what the plans are, but it's something to consider.

And lastly, we put housing up, make sure it's on a metro route so people can get to and from where they need to go.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

And I'm sure Councilmember Ramirez and the Quality of Life Committee would love to engage with you and your bold ideas.

Councilmember Ramirez is the man for the job.

Well, he's not mad.

I know he's he's right.

Oh, okay, okay.

I was taking across the table.

No, and Councilmember and Councilmember Castillo, I believe, is sending out communication along with the Houston Housing Alliance about uh Irvington and the residents uh in their and uh to interrupt displacement, and they've been offered um alternatives, and many of them have expressed excitement about the opportunity to move in a new location.

So thank you for expressing that.

Thanks, Councilmember Ramirez.

Okay, next we have Julia Orduña.

Good morning, everyone.

Um, happy to be here.

I hope you all had a restful uh break.

Um my name is Julia Arduña, I work with Texas housers, so I moved to Houston seven years ago to explicitly focus on the Hurricane Harvey recovery and the home repair programs.

So I have been watching since um we started the Harvey program, and we all know what happened with the general land office and that first program, and so happy to hear the updates of how this new uh 21 DR21 and DR24 programs are being stood up.

Um I think a lot of the considerations and and what has been written in the plan is very good.

Um I think there's a lot more transparency that when we see what we've seen in the past, um, the eligibility requirements seem very heavy, and so maybe something to look at or to really understand that these things are very intense to go through.

So, how do we have uh very uh deep case management and intense case management with these folks?

I think the one of the largest parts of our time weighted is the administrative time when piles of papers are just kind of waiting to be checked.

And so we see in the regulations that um a homeowner has 30 days from the day that they get a notice to respond, but sometimes that's not always reciprocal to say people are waiting for months for a response after they've submitted documents.

So, how do we work more intentionally and deeply with the homeowners?

And I know Cedric and the folks in the housing department um have worked very long on these things.

I used to work uh meet monthly with Cedric.

Uh before then I met monthly with Nancy and Tom McCastland, and before then the community would meet monthly during the Ike programs with um Anise, uh former mayor Anise Parker and Tom McCastlin too.

So, how do we continue listening to the community?

I think a community oversight committee in these programs to ensure that these applications are moving, or how do we support these homeowners a little more intentionally would be really good.

Um, and particularly like we see the uh death on deed uh transfer that is in a mandatory requirement, and most people don't have that.

So, are there warm handoffs to be ensuring that our applicants have those things are not eliminated and becoming inactive because of some of these guidelines or some of these um eligibility requirements?

Um, and I really think that uh I heard funding outreach in not just the uh housing portion but in the homelessness portion, and how do we hire the people in the community that know the people in the community?

So uh the money coming to us, not through us is what we hear a lot from the people.

So, how do we ensure that that oversight and that outreach is really done meaningfully?

Um I'm also thinking about that 10-year affordability period seems a little heavy.

Originally, we'd seen a 20-year affordability period with the Harvey program.

I think that's come down to three years.

So, so how can we meet somewhere in the middle for people?

Thank you.

Lacey Lugo.

Hello.

Good morning.

It's been a couple months.

Um, so my name's Lacey Lugo.

I'm the CEO of the apartments concierge.

We're excited to continue building partnerships to both support housing providers and families throughout the Houston area.

At the Apartments Concierge, we've actually just invented a prop tech technology platform that is designed to help simplify the leasing process for voucher holders while giving them access to property partners and subscribers better access to affordable housing opportunities.

Our consumer portal will allow clients to log in, submit their information, whether it be affordable or a housing choice voucher program, or consider section eight, to search for participating properties with real-time inventory within the appropriate budget and connect directly with the housing support resources in order to have a more streamlined and effective manner.

This will also allow cultivating the buying process for the housing choice voucher homeownership program.

Our TAC subscribers consist of brokers, realtors, and community partners.

The goal is simple, faster communication, better placement support, and increased housing accessibility across Houston.

We're committed to working alongside property managers, housing organizations, and the Houston Housing Council to help create more successful placements and long-term housing stability for the families in our community.

Currently, we are partnered with 360 apartment communities that will accept Section 8 housing vouchers and affordability clients.

We are seeing the support of the city.

We are we're seeking the support of the city to deploy these resources in the community alongside the appropriate organizations.

Thank you guys for your time, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate together.

Last and definitely not least, Doug Smith, representing the best of Houston.

It's appropriate that most of the talk today was on single family because it goes right into the request to the idea I had regarding factory built homes.

And I know that has a bad connotation, but things have dramatically improved uh with building like that, and it would be a very rapid way to get houses on the ground, people in those houses, and solve a lot of the problems that they were talking about that they have to deal with.

That's all I have to say.

What I would like to know is what the department's thought is on that, and if it's not something they can do, I'd like to understand why uh they can't do it.

Thank you, Doug, and I would be happy to entertain a developer that has uh on the west side that has you know some acres of land that is interested in piloting something similar.

I saw this, I think it was 60 minutes.

Exactly.

It was a six-minute segment, and I was like, Well, I was very impressed with when I think about affordability, young people coming out of college, young families.

It's an option, right?

And um, I've had to evolve my um ideology and thought around housing from everything from single family purchase to single family rental, right?

Because we can't penalize people because we do need the production.

Um so I do think there's hopefully an appetite for us to look at creative ways of creating affordable pathways in an affordable manner.

So hopefully we can do something on the west side and see.

Yeah, you mentioned the 60 minutes.

That was really appropriate because we had the big meeting at the neighborhood center two days after that, and that's where I came up with the idea after seeing that.

And if anybody has not seen the 60 minutes, I'm sure there's a way to go back and take a look at it, and it's really it's impressive.

Very much so.

Thank you.

Thank you.

It is 10 54, and I want to turn it over to our vice chair.

Thank you, everyone for being here, and uh just remind you also that the uh housing affordability could be held in June 16.

Uh, um, one of the mention, um, is to get up and we send it out on the next one.

We're done.