On Monday, the City of Dallas hosted the first of four virtual town hall meetings to gather community input for updates to its Affordable Housing Strategy. It comes less than two weeks after the Jan. 17 Dallas City Council briefing on a Market Value Analysis report by Reinvestment Fund, a nonprofit conducting this research and analysis for cities across the U.S. The data tool is playing a leading role in the development of the City’s new 3-year rolling strategy.
The technology used for the meeting was especially impressive. I’m a little concerned how the city had my number to begin with, but once I opted in by text, it was seamless. I received a call at the appointed time, watched at dallascitynews.net or on Facebook live, could easily ask questions, indicate I wanted calls for future meetings, and even submit my email for followup info – they hired the right consultants to put this together.
The three upcoming meetings will go a little more in-depth than the first topic, “How Residential Development Gets Financed”, or what I’d call “Introduction to the Housing Market.”
There were good questions from residents and great info from staff about the tools and programs available for low-income residents. A basic explanation of the market forces at play and data from the Market Value Analysis. Staff even speculated on some programs they’re looking into incorporating in the new housing strategy. Lots of phone numbers for more info were given out – you can listen to the full hour-and-a-half meeting below or flip through the presentation.
Next up is “How to Reduce Development / Rehab Costs” at 6 p.m. tonight, Jan. 31, for the virtual meeting or 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Hampton Illinois Library. Then “How to Increase Access to Capital” and lastly “Programs, Tools and Strategies to Increase Housing Production.”
City staff are especially requesting input from the development community in these next three meetings. You can sign up for your own auto-call for the next virtual town hall or get info to show up in person. Or simply email your thoughts to [email protected]
