Title
Discuss City of Farmers Branch-owned residential parcels.
Body
REQUESTOR:
Councilmember Omar Roman
BACKGROUND:
In 1999, the City of Farmers Branch established the Neighborhood Renaissance Program to serve as a catalyst for encouraging residential developers to construct new residences in the area. The City purchased certain lots and desired to offer those lots to residential builders.
In 2009, the program was rebooted to focus on the Branch Crossing area until 2014, when the City phased out of the area. In 2017, the City initiated a new target area, identified as the Valwood Area. In 2023, the City partnered with Builders of Hope for five (5) homes located within the target area to promote other means of homeownership.
DISCUSSION:
The City currently owns 22 residential lot parcels. The staff is seeking direction on whether to transfer them to a community developer, list them on the open market, a combination of transferring the lots and selling them, or keeping the lots.
In addition to discussing the City-owned lots, the City of Farmers Branch seeks to implement a unified, long-term housing strategy that maximizes the value of City-owned residential lots while aligning redevelopment with broader Council goals for equity, sustainability, and neighborhood revitalization through various other housing programs the City manages. Although past investments through the Neighborhood Renaissance Program have yielded localized successes, the absence of a comprehensive citywide strategy has led to inconsistent outcomes and reactive decision-making. The proposed approach will be discussed at a future workshop, and these gaps will be addressed by establishing defined housing goals, formalizing a Housing Action Plan, creating transparent guidelines for public-private partnerships, and instituting community engagement and performance metrics. Immediate actions include pausing reactive lot sales, holding a strategic workshop, and benchmarking peer cities. Ultimatel...
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