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Austin leaders looking to lessen restrictions for affordable housing builders

Austin City Council has come up with a new plan to encourage people to build more affordable housing complexes

Rapid growth that isn't going away in Austin is causing rent and housing prices to skyrocket, but city leaders have a plan that they hope will alleviate some of the issues.

This plan is all about making it easier for developers to build affordable places to live.

The city council is considering a resolution that would relax restrictions for developers as long as half of their units are classified as low-income housing. It would waive requirements for parking spaces, building size and the number of units.

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City council member Greg Casar has backed the plan, saying this is different than past land development changes like CodeNext.

Part of the funding for this would come from the 2018 $250 million affordable housing bond. Creators said this would increase the number of affordable homes by up to 500 percent in some locations.

This proposal was brought up at city council early this February with some community leaders saying it could negatively affect nearby apartment complexes and neighborhoods. Others have asked for even more relaxed rules.

There will be a press conference about this plan at 9:00 a.m. Thursday before the city council meeting at 10 a.m.

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