The Planning and Community Development Committee (PCDC) met on March 30, 2026, from 2:01 PM to 4:54 PM. The meeting included public comments, interviews for the Building Standards Board, a briefing on the Opportunity Home San Antonio Strategic Plan Framework, and a briefing on the Special Housing Supply Task Force report. The committee discussed the future of public housing, proposed lease changes, and recommendations to increase housing supply for vulnerable populations.
Good afternoon, everybody. We will begin. The time is now 201 p.m. on March 30th, 2026, in the meeting of the Planning and Community Development Committee's now called order. Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll? Councilmember Corr. Councilmember Castillo. Here. Councilmember Galvan. Here. Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez. Councilmember Mungia. Present. I'm sorry. Chair Mungia. That's okay. Chair, we have a quorum. Thank you very much. And I'll just note uh she'll be a little late, but we have a new member to our committee, Councilwoman Iva Lise Mesa Gonzalez. So we welcome her to our committee and look forward to working with her today. Um so the first item on the agenda is approval of the minutes. Are there any corrections to the minutes? And if not, can I get a motion to approve? There's a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed. Motion carries. We are now gonna move on to public comment. And we have some folks here signed up. Um signed up for item number three is Tyler Ferguson. You will have three minutes. Oh, good afternoon. Uh my name is Tyler Ferguson. I'm the executive director of Blueprint Ministries. We're a nonprofit that has been serving uh low-income homeowners in San Antonio for over 20 uh 20 years, um, and we're also a partner in NHSD's minor home rehab program. Um wanted to come today to both express my support uh for the work reflected uh in the uh special housing supply task force report and um more broadly because any time housing is discussed, I feel an immense responsibility to give voice to the over 60 low-income homeowners that we work with every day. As you know, the housing crisis in San Antonio cannot be attributed to one specific problem, but is rather multifaceted, requiring a multifaceted solution. Blueprint ministries is grateful for the effort that NHSD has put into the Special Housing Supply Task Force report as we've seen firsthand that while the housing crisis affects everyone, already marginalized groups are absolutely hit the hardest. I want to take this opportunity to remind you of the importance that preserving and restoring our existing housing stock plays in the overall goals outlined, not just in this report, but in the broader ship. We work with over 60 homeowners every year whose physical and mental health is critically impacted by their housing situation. Yet none of them benefit from the things that tend to be what most people focus on when it comes to housing. Things like additional affordable housing construction, support for renters, and programs aimed at housing the unhoused are all extremely important, but not at the expense of the thousands of severely cost-burdened homeowners located within a two-mile radius of where we are right now. Most of us think of homeownership as the goal, and yet for many extremely low-income homeowners in our city, staying in the home that they've owned for decades is often the only thing standing between them and experiencing homelessness. Your investment into the minor home repair program and organizations like Blueprint has made an impact. However, restoring our substandard housing supply is not a quick task. It's going to take decades and decades of consistent investment as we go house to house making the repairs that everyone needs to live safely and with dignity. Your commitment to solving our substandard housing crisis is unmatched when compared to every nearly every other city of our size, as I'm reminded often by my colleagues across the country who are very envious of our city's commitment to substandard housing. And yet, I humbly ask today that as these important discussions take place around housing that you not forget these homeowners who are living in unsafe, unhealthy, and undignified conditions, who oftentimes fly under the radar. Thank you.