AUSTIN, Texas — Thursday was filled with public testimony at Austin City Hall as hundreds voiced their thoughts about why they believe the "Home Options for Middle-Income Empowerment," or HOME initiative, would either help or hurt the city of Austin.
The joint meeting held by Austin City Council and Public Commission was considered "unique," according to Mayor Kirk Watson, as the goal was to hear strictly from Austinites on the proposed initiative.
Public testimony began around roughly 3 p.m. and ended just before 10 p.m.
The testimony started with city staff as they presented and clarified what exactly "HOME" would do.
The initiative, which was spearheaded by Councilmember Leslie Pool (District 7), would allow up to three housing units to be built on a single-family lot instead of the current two.
The proposed change would also remove a restriction on how many unrelated adults can live in these homes.
Supporters of the initiative pointed to the affordability crisis and high costs driving people out of the city.
"When housing when there's more housing available, the price of housing goes down and and it certainly shouldn't get worse," said one man in support of the initiative.
People against it, however, raised concerns about existing infrastructure, the environment and property taxes.
"You're experimenting here and you're experimenting with people's lives and their biggest investment in those lives... that's just not okay," said one man speaking against the initiative.
City officials noted that housing was not keeping up with the pace of job growth ever since the city has been scrambling to tackle the affordability crisis, which Pool believes this will do.
"We have struggled as a Council and a city to find enough ways to accommodate the housing crisis -- to address the housing crisis, and our efforts in the past haven't really moved the needle," Pool told KVUE ahead of the meeting.
Pool explained that there is a great deal of misinformation being spread about the proposal, and Thursday's public testimony was an opportunity to hear from everyone who wanted to speak up and eventually clear the air.
"It's not changing the zoning and it is not replacing single family homes with multi-family homes," said Pool. "That is not what this is about, and yet that is some of what I'm hearing from the critics," said Pool.
Thursday is not the only time Austinites had an opportunity to voice their thoughts on the matter.
A recently mailed out lavender notice included three dates for public hearings on the Land Development Code amendments.
On Nov. 14, the Planning Commission will meet and allow further public input. According to Mayor Watson, if on that date commission feels it is ready to move forward, a vote can then be held.
It will then be followed by a work session on the item on Nov. 28, and eventually on Dec. 7, the Austin City Council can vote to adopt the proposed changes.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.