2017 Update to Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing 

Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice Update

The Analysis of Impediments (AI) to Fair Housing Choice Update (PDF) was revised to reflect changes to the community and impacts from the Floods of 2015 and subsequent awarding of $25,080,000 in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery funds.

Background

In 2013, as part of the Five Year Consolidated Plan process, the City of San Marcos developed an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice ("AI"). In normal circumstances, there would not be another AI completed for five years when the next five-year consolidated plan was due. However, 2015 turned out to not be a normal year due to major area floods that year

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated $25,080,000 in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds directly to the City to assist with ongoing recovery needs from the flooding. Several things had to occur in order for the City to expend the funds. The grant required the city to submit an action plan that addressed how the CDBG-DR funds would benefit the community. That plan was approved on November 9, 2016. In addition, the City updated the 2013 AI to reflect changes to the community and impacts from the storms. These documented changes to the community helped guide funding decisions, impact planning and policy strategies.

This Update will not stop or delay the ongoing responses to the Impediments identified in the 2013 AI. The City responded directly to the impediments to fair housing choice by adopting an action plan that addressed many of the remedial actions suggested. San Marcos has a visible and active fair housing program. During the review process, many of the prior impediments, such as high levels of poverty and high rents, were confirmed again and reviewed for current impacts.

This update provides more focus on the new HUD rule related to affirmatively furthering fair housing ("AFFH"). To that end, this update will look at concentration of poverty and how that impacts schools and fair housing choice.

City Council Approval

The City Council approved the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice Update during the City Council meeting June 6, 2017. See below for link to Resolution.

2013 Analysis of Impediments (AI) to Fair Housing Choice

This report provides an analysis to determine whether barriers exist that hold people back from obtaining the housing of their choice. The AI contains a community profile, a review of fair housing complaints, the results of community focus group discussions, an analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, and a description of impediments that were identified, along with examples of remedial activities.

Once the impediments were identified, the City adopted an action plan that describes how San Marcos will address the issues.

AI Information