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Presentation, discussion, and possible action on an appeal of the termination of Trinity East Senior (25090)
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, Trinity East Senior is a 2025 9% Housing Tax Credit Application that requests $2,000,000 in Competitive Housing Tax Credits for the new construction of 90 affordable units in Houston;
WHEREAS, staff terminated the Application on April 1, 2025, due to the presence of a Neighborhood Risk Factor under 10 TAC §11.101(a)(3)(D)(ii) relating to Part I violent crime rates exceeding acceptable thresholds;
WHEREAS, an appeal of the termination was timely submitted on April 8, 2025, asserting that crime-reduction efforts and neighborhood revitalization initiatives underway in the Third Ward community should reasonably support continued eligibility;
WHEREAS, after the meeting of the Governing Board held on May 8, 2025, staff issued an Administrative Deficiency that requested the Applicant to provide clarification on the proposed crime mitigation strategies, to which the Applicant timely and satisfactorily responded; and
WHEREAS, based on the clarified mitigation provided by the Applicant, staff believes that there is a reasonable expectation that the crime rate will fall to an acceptable level within two years;
NOW, therefore, it is hereby
RESOLVED, that the appeal of the termination of Trinity East Senior is granted.
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BACKGROUND
This matter was originally presented to the Governing Board with a neutral recommendation at the meeting held on May 8, 2025. The original background from that item is available at the end of this report for context. The following is a summary of the matter, as well as the events and updates that have occurred since that meeting.
Trinity East Senior is a 2025 9% Housing Tax Credit Application that proposes the new construction of 90 affordable units in Houston’s Third Ward. The Application was terminated by staff due to the high crime rate of the neighborhood, which triggers a Neighborhood Risk Factor under the QAP. In order for an Application to be eligible when a Neighborhood Risk Factor is present, the Applicant must provide acceptable mitigation, which for crime, would include either sufficient data to demonstrate that the crime rate provided by NeighborhoodScout.com is incorrect, or sufficient evidence to demonstrate that there is a reasonable expectation that the crime rate will be acceptable within two years.
Staff could not conclude that the mitigation initially provided by the Applicant was sufficient, and therefore terminated the Application. The Applicant appealed to the Board, which tabled this item at the meeting held on May 8, 2025. The Board requested that staff issue an Administrative Deficiency to allow the Applicant to provide clarification to the mitigation proposed in the Application. Staff has reviewed that clarifying information and has concluded that it is reasonable to expect that the crime rate will be acceptable within two years.
The Applicant’s clarifying information is attached immediately behind this item. The response provides a high level of detail about current trends in the neighborhood as well as the extensive crime prevention programs either currently in effect or planned for the neighborhood. As a high-level summary, the response states that:
• The Part I violent crime rate reported on NeighborhoodScout.com is 35.68 per 1,000 persons annually, which was the rate that triggered the termination initially. Based on more current data calculated using data from LexisNexis, the violent crime rate is 29 per 1,000 residents annually, which demonstrates a favorable downward trend.
• Using police beat data, comparing January-May 2024 to January-May 2025, aggravated assaults in the overall police beat have fallen 24% and robberies have fallen 48%. These reductions surpass the City of Houston as a whole.
• The neighborhood is rapidly changing. According to the response, incomes in the census tract grew 264% from 2012 to 2022, compared to just 35% for the city. Poverty fell 28% in the tract over the same period, declining twice as fast as for the city as a whole.
• The request further details the extensive crime-reduction strategies being deployed by law enforcement and other organizations, including funding for increased police and security presence in the neighborhood, as well as the deployment of 50 Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras in the project’s vicinity.
Based on this extensive response, staff recommends that the appeal be granted and the Application be reinstated.
ORIGINAL BACKGROUND FROM THE MEETING HELD ON MAY 8, 2025
Trinity East Senior is a 2025 9% Housing Tax Credit Application that proposes the new construction of 90 affordable units in Houston’s Third Ward.
In 2024, the Houston Housing Authority was awarded a $50 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant from HUD to support the redevelopment of the aging Cuney Homes public housing community. Choice Neighborhoods grants represent a significant federal investment intended to replace severely distressed public housing and fund comprehensive neighborhood revitalization efforts. Under the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), certain Applications that are part of a Choice Neighborhoods initiative may receive an automatic award; however, such Applications must still satisfy all applicable threshold requirements to remain eligible.
The QAP establishes certain Neighborhood Risk Factors that must be adequately mitigated in order for an Application to be eligible. These factors include Development Sites with a Part I violent crime rate greater than 18 per 1,000 persons as reported on NeighborhoodScout.com. According to a report obtained from that website by staff, the Part I violent crime rate for the proposed site 35.68 incidents per 1,000 persons annually, which is functionally double the allowable threshold.
The QAP provides that, to mitigate this Neighborhood Risk Factor, an Application must submit evidence establishing either:
(1) A reasonable expectation that the crime rate will fall below 18 per 1,000 within two years, supported by a written statement from the most qualified person (e.g., the Chief of Police or an area commander), or
(2) That the data reported by NeighborhoodScout.com inaccurately reflects the conditions in the neighborhood, and that actual conditions do not warrant concern.
The Application included a Neighborhood Risk Factor Mitigation Package citing ongoing efforts such as the "One Safe Houston" program, the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Plan for the Third Ward, and other community policing initiatives. Supporting materials included a summary of crime trends within the broader police beat, a letter from the Commander of the South Central Division of the Houston Police Department, and excerpts from the Houston Housing Authority’s HUD-approved Choice Neighborhoods plan. The package includes the following data related to the number of Part I violent crime offenses:
The Applicant states in the Application that a goal of the Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant is a “20% reduction in crime rates in the neighborhood.” Presuming that this reduction comes to fruition, the crime rate would still be above the allowable threshold of 18 per 1,000. Because staff could not reasonably conclude that the Neighborhood Risk Factor was mitigated, the Application was terminated, which the Applicant timely appealed (two separate appeal letters were submitted on behalf of separate entities within the ownership structure, and those two letters constitute a singular appeal). These letters and their supporting documentation are attached to this item.
The appeal reiterates the points initially presented in the Neighborhood Risk Factors package, and asks the Department to consider the impact that the significant investment will have on the neighborhood’s crime rate. While the Department acknowledges that the Application and appeal materials demonstrate significant and commendable investment in crime reduction and neighborhood revitalization, staff maintains that it cannot reasonably conclude that the site should be eligible. Specifically:
• No evidence was provided establishing a reasonable expectation, based on data or projections from a qualified law enforcement official, that the violent crime rate will fall below 18 per 1,000 within two years.
• The Houston Police Department’s letters describe ongoing efforts to reduce crime but do not project a future crime rate or assert that crime levels will fall below the threshold.
• Beat-level crime statistics indicate only a slight 1% decline in violent crime incidents over the last two years, insufficient to demonstrate a significant downward trend.
• Documentation submitted shows that an expected outcome from the Choice Neighborhood grant is a 20% reduction in Part I violent crime, which would not be sufficient to be below the allowable threshold.
Despite this, staff acknowledges that there is necessarily a subjective component to the analysis of crime reduction strategies and what effect they may have in the future. The QAP requires that the Applicant demonstrate that, “there is a reasonable basis to proceed on the belief that the crime data shows, or will show, a favorable trend such that within the next two years Part I violent crime for that location is expected to be less than 18 per 1,000 persons” (emphasis added). It is difficult to presume what conclusion a reasonable person might draw based on the materials presented by the Applicant, and because of this, staff’s recommendation on this item is neutral.