SUBJECT
title
An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Laredo, Texas, authorizing the Community Development Department, subject to the approval of the City Manager and/or his designee, to administratively establish, revise, and adjust rental rates for certain City-owned senior housing and affordable housing properties; requiring advance written notice to tenants of rental rate increases; authorizing the City Manager and/or his designee to execute lease amendments and related documents; providing for severability; and providing for an effective date. There is no immediate fiscal impact associated with adoption of this ordinance.
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PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION
N/A
BACKGROUND
The City of Laredo owns and operates several affordable housing and senior housing developments administered through the Community Development Department. These developments provide safe, affordable housing opportunities for low-income households, seniors, and other qualified residents while helping preserve affordable housing options within the community.
Currently, rental rates for each housing development are established by separate City Council ordinances. Any future adjustment to rental rates requires additional City Council action, regardless of whether the adjustment is necessary to address routine operational costs, changes in federal affordability limits, utility expenses, insurance premiums, maintenance costs, or other administrative considerations.
The proposed ordinance establishes an administrative process authorizing the Community Development Department, subject to the approval of the City Manager and/or his designee, to establish, revise, and adjust rental rates for the following City-owned housing developments:
• The Fernando A. Salinas Elderly Rental Housing, located at 1803 and 1806 Juarez Avenue, for which rental rates were established pursuant to Ordinance No. 2019-O-100
• The Downtown Elderly Duplexes, located at 1901 Farragut Street, for which rental rates were established pursuant to Ordinance No. 2019-O-101
• The single-family dwelling, located at 419 “A” Zaragoza Street, for which rental rate was established pursuant to Ordinance No. 2019-O-131
• The Martha C. Narvaez City Hall Apartments, located at 820 Convent Avenue, for which rental rates were established pursuant to Ordinance No. 2020-O-070
• The San Enrique Duplexes, located at 302 San Enrique Avenue, for which rental rates were established pursuant to Ordinance No. 2023-O-071
• The Market Street Elderly Affordable Rental Housing Project, located at 810 Sanders Street, for which rental rates were established pursuant to Ordinance No. 2024-O-007
• The Lafayette Tiny Homes Rental Housing Project, located at 3602 Eagle Pass, for which rental rates were established pursuant to Ordinance 2025-O-196
• The Southern Hotel Apartment, located at 1210 Matamoros, for which rental rates were established pursuant to Ordinance No. 2026-O-76
The rental rates currently established by existing ordinances will remain in effect until revised administratively under the procedures established by this ordinance.
The ordinance also requires that any rental rate increase be preceded by a minimum thirty (30) calendar-day written notice to affected tenants and requires the Community Development Department to maintain an official Rent Schedule approved by the City Manager and/or his designee and filed with the Office of the City Secretary.
Additionally, the ordinance expressly requires continued compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local affordable housing program requirements, including HOME, HOME-ARP, CDBG, and any successor programs. Administrative rental adjustments may not exceed applicable affordability limits or conflict with any funding or regulatory requirements.
VIVA LAREDO PLAN ALIGNMENT
Alignment Rating: Moderate
Supporting goal(s)/policy(ies): Based on the available Viva Laredo Comprehensive Plan material in the uploaded file, no verbatim housing goals or policies are available for citation. The uploaded document primarily contains workflow instructions and sample agenda analyses rather than the full text of the Comprehensive Plan's housing chapter.
No applicable goal or policy identified in the Viva Laredo Comprehensive Plan.
Relevance
Although no verbatim policy could be cited from the available document, the proposed ordinance is generally consistent with the Comprehensive Plan's broader themes of:
• Preserving affordable housing opportunities.
• Supporting housing for seniors and low-income residents.
• Improving administrative efficiency while maintaining regulatory compliance.
• Ensuring continued affordability through adherence to HOME, HOME-ARP, CDBG, and other federal housing program requirements.
• Providing tenant protections through a required 30-day written notice before rental increases.
These objectives are consistent with sound community development and housing management practices, but a Strong alignment cannot be supported without an identifiable verbatim goal or policy from the Comprehensive Plan.
Summary of alignment: The proposed ordinance establishes an administrative process for adjusting rental rates at City-owned affordable and senior housing developments while preserving existing affordability requirements and maintaining compliance with federal housing regulations. The ordinance also incorporates tenant protections by requiring advance written notice of rent increases and centralized approval through the City Manager's office.
Because the uploaded Viva Laredo Comprehensive Plan document does not contain the applicable housing goals or policies needed for verbatim citation, the agenda item is best classified as having Moderate Alignment. The ordinance clearly advances the City's affordable housing administration and operational efficiency, but a Strong alignment requires direct citation of applicable Comprehensive Plan goals or policies, which are not available in the uploaded document.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
NA
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Approval of this ordinance.
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Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Year: 2027
Budgeted Y/N?: Y
Source of Funds: Municipal Housing
Account #: 555-000-361-1071
Change Order: Exceeds 25% Y/N: N/A
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no immediate fiscal impact associated with adoption of this ordinance. The ordinance provides administrative flexibility to periodically adjust rental rates when necessary to address operating expenses, maintenance and repair costs, insurance, utilities, capital improvements, and other housing program needs while maintaining compliance with applicable affordable housing regulations.