The Galveston Planning Commission’s workshop on Galveston Housing Authority’s plan for rebuilding public housing struck many people as ironic and premature. Discussing a plan presumes there is one. And it’s not clear what plan the housing authority will pursue.
Also, some information is missing from the document that the housing authority presented to the city council. Some of that information is essential. We’d say its absence is an indication that the plan just hasn’t been completed.
The city council, you might recall, was asked to approve $25 million in federal funds for the housing authority’s plan. One obvious question anyone would ask before signing off on that much money would be: Is that money really needed? It’s a question that the housing authority hasn’t really answered.
There are several of those questions that really deserve an answer at this point.
• Before you rebuild public-housing units, shouldn’t you have a firm idea of the need? And, if so, what is it? How many units are needed? Is that need based on real, flesh-and-blood human beings on a waiting list? Are we talking about people who were living in public housing before the storm? And, if so, how many? Or is the need based on projections based on demographic data? What, exactly, does the waiting list of public housing look like?
• Housing officials have said that no units within public-housing developments can be specified for student housing. Is that an ironclad rule? Or is that something that Texas congressional leaders could ask an exemption for? Some communities in other states have been granted exemptions to federal rules after being hit by hurricanes. Is the student-housing rule something that congressional leaders could get an exemption for, given Galveston’s institutions of higher learning?
• Housing officials have said that renovating existing houses on scattered sites would be cost prohibitive. What are the cost estimates for building new units, as opposed to renovating existing ones? And, again, is that something that congressional leaders could get an exemption for, given Galveston’s stock of historic houses?
• Could Galveston rely solely on Section 8 for public housing? Or could Galveston’s housing authority, like Texas City’s, move away from owning buildings?
We think the public-housing debate could be steered in a better direction if public officials could provide clear answers to those questions.
