City Council has asked staff to suggest changes to a density bonus program, known as DB90, that Council approved last year in their effort to address Austin’s housing supply issues.
DB90 allows developers to build apartment towers up to 90 feet in height in exchange for setting aside units that would be rented below market rates (in the zoning districts where DB90 is most often pursued, the maximum building height is 60 feet). These kinds of density bonus programs are one of the few tools Texas cities have to create affordable housing units. DB90 requires 10% or 12% of a new development’s units to be reserved for below-market rents.
But, as Mayor Kirk Watson wrote on the Council message board in May, “DB90 has been an unhappy experience.” In the year since Council adopted the program, there have been a number of contentious zoning cases that have utilized the tool to redevelop older properties. “[DB90] is proving to be divisive, difficult to utilize, and ultimately too far from achieving the goal of Council to provide more housing by allowing more density,” Watson wrote.
Particularly concerning for some Council members is how the program has been used to demolish older apartments that are more affordable to make way for new builds (older apartments are sometimes called “naturally occurring affordable housing”) – as was the case at Council’s June 5 meeting where the body approved a Northwest Austin rezoning case that will ultimately result in the demolition of 290 older apartments to make way for around 700 newer units. The affected property, the Acacia Cliffs, has generated a groundswell of community support that, in part, motivated Council to review the DB90 program altogether.
“DB90 has been an unhappy experience.” – Mayor Kirk Watson
Now, city staff will look at ways to improve the program via a resolution introduced by Watson. The resolution directs staff to recalibrate the affordability requirements in DB90 using the results of staff’s recently completed Comprehensive Analysis of Density Bonus Programs report. Staff will also look at additional community benefits to include in the program, such as improved uses of a building’s ground floor and reserved space for commercial or civic use. An amendment proposed by Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes asks staff to consider new rules proposed that would require developers to replace demolished affordable units with some new units that would be rented below the market rate.
While acknowledging the concerns expressed by some community groups, Council members also acknowledged how DB90 has been used with support from existing neighborhoods. “Almost all the DB90 rezonings in District 4 have passed with the active support of the neighborhood,” District 4 CM Chito Vela said. “We must craft affordability and redevelopment requirements to ensure they are feasible and well-calibrated. I do not want to break a tool that is currently working.”
This article appears in June 20 • 2025.