San Antonio City Council B Session on Affordable Housing Funding and Veteran Source of Income Protections - April 1, 2026

The San Antonio City Council held a B session on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from 2:02 PM to 3:52 PM. The meeting focused on two agenda items: a post-solicitation briefing on affordable housing gap funding awards and a discussion on source of income protections for veterans using housing vouchers. Council members reviewed proposed funding for eight projects totaling nearly $21 million and debated a potential ordinance to prohibit landlords from denying housing to veterans solely based on their use of a housing voucher.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Peter Brown (Bear County Commander, American GI Forum) urged the council to pass the veteran source of income ordinance, emphasizing that many veterans are too prideful to report discrimination and that they need the barrier removed. He described himself as a "grunt" and begged for passage, noting similar ordinances in Dallas and Fort Worth.
• Cynthia (American GI Forum) stated that they have provided numbers of affected veterans to council members multiple times and argued that veterans deserve better treatment for their service.

Discussion Items

1. Affordable Housing Gap Funding Post-Solicitation Briefing

• Veronica Garcia (Director, Neighborhood and Housing Services Department) presented the results of the competitive procurement process for affordable housing funding.
• The city allocated $21 million for eight projects from the 2022 voter-approved $150 million housing bond and federal CDBG/Home funds. Approximately $129.5 million of the bond has been committed to produce or preserve more than 5,000 units.
• Rental housing: $14.4 million recommended for four projects creating or preserving 505 rental units, including 156 deeply affordable units (at or below 30% Area Median Income, about $26,000/year for a family of three). Projects include:
  • 11 West Travis (District 1): $4.5 million for rehab of 63 affordable units, including 13 at 30% AMI, with on-site services and a second elevator. Also up to $1.7 million in CDBG loan forgiveness.
  • Judy at Vita (District 4): $4.2 million for 68 supportive housing units for youth experiencing homelessness or aging out of foster care.
  • Aurora MLK (District 2): $1.75 million for 288 affordable units (44 at 30% AMI), 94% family-sized, near St. Philip's College.
  • Heritage Estates at Medina (District 4): $2.5 million for 86 units for older adults, focusing on veterans. This project already has 9% low-income housing tax credits.
• Homeownership: $4.2 million for two projects creating 47 new affordable homes:
  • Habitat for Humanity (District 4): Homes sold for ~$160,000 with 0% interest mortgages.
  • Casitas Affordable Homes by Arcasas (District 5): Four infill units for families below 80% AMI.
• Community Land Trust (CLT): $2.2 million for two CLT projects (Silk Road Cultural CLT and Esperanza CLT) supporting 20 affordable single-family homes with 99-year affordability.
• Council members praised the rigorous scoring process but raised questions about the Wheatley Senior project (not funded due to missing needs assessment), universal design requirements, and the need for more market-rate housing along transit lines.

2. Veteran Source of Income Protections

• Staff presented options to prohibit housing discrimination against veterans using VASH or Housing Choice Vouchers, as allowed by state law (preempts broader protections but allows for veterans and city-incentivized properties).
• Current situation: San Antonio has ~90,005 veterans (2024 census). Of those, ~1,140 have Section 8 housing choice vouchers and ~800 hold VASH vouchers. Combined, about 127 veterans with either type of voucher are currently seeking housing (40 VASH, 87 regular). Only about 300 of 3,000 rental listings on the MLS accept vouchers.
• Staff noted that existing city-incentivized and federally funded properties already accept vouchers. A working group (REACH) has reduced payment delays from 30-60 days to as low as 17 days.
• Councilmembers expressed mixed views:
  • Support for immediate ordinance: Mayor Jones, Councilmembers McKee Rodriguez, Galván, and Castillo (who also proposed a CCR for landlord incentives) argued that the ordinance is simple, urgent, and would give veterans more agency to live near VA healthcare facilities. Mayor Jones noted that only 3 of 13 VA clinics are south of Highway 90.
  • Prefer further study at PCDC: Councilmembers Viagran, White, Mungia, Elderete Gavito, Mesa Gonzalez, and Core supported sending the item to the Planning and Community Development Committee (PCDC) to couple with Councilwoman Castillo's CCR (for landlord incentives) and to address concerns about administrative burden, inspection failures, and potential unintended consequences (e.g., landlords converting units to short-term rentals). Councilwoman Core noted that the voucher success rate for regular vouchers is 68%, while VASH success rate is 90% due to case management.
• The American GI Forum representatives reiterated the need for immediate action, stating veterans are reluctant to report discrimination.

Key Outcomes

• No formal vote was taken on either item. The affordable housing funding recommendations are expected to return for a council vote at a future meeting.
• Veteran source of income protections: The council majority (as expressed by several members) favored sending the discussion and associated Council Consideration Request (CCR) to the PCDC committee for further refinement, with the goal of coupling an ordinance with incentive programs for landlords. The mayor acknowledged this consensus, stating the item would move to PCDC. No timeline was set, but Councilman Mungia suggested as early as next month.

Note: The meeting did not adopt an ordinance; it was a briefing and discussion session. The final decisions on funding awards are pending council approval.