Regional Housing Coordination

H-GAC is pursuing funding through the PRO Housing Grant to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing in the Houston-Galveston Area Council region. The PRO Housing Grant award ranges from $1 million to $7 million, with approximately $100 million allocated for this funding source. If selected, H-GAC will work with the Houston Land Bank as a local partner to make transformative change in the Settegast community of Harris County, by developing infrastructure to foster housing development in this disadvantaged community. Additionally, H-GAC will conduct data analyses on regional housing issues, informed by the Settegast model project, to boost decision-making capacity on housing for the region as a whole. Our overall goal is to use local investment as a model to develop the resources to stimulate housing production and the preservation of affordable housing for low-income and middle-income residents in the 13-county H-GAC region. This proposal builds on existing efforts in Harris County, but will not duplicate those efforts.

• Developing road and utility infrastructure for an undeveloped area in the Settegast community of Harris County, as a precursor to housing development;
• Conducting community outreach efforts to help inform project decisions, future housing decisions, and develop model approaches for regional dissemination of the work as a model project;
• Creating publicly available data analyses of infrastructure capacity, current and future housing need, vulnerability of affordable housing, and recommendations needed to increase decision-making capacity for increasing housing choice and removing barriers to affordable housing across the region; and
• Coordination with the H-GAC’s Livable Center Program, and other regional planning programs to disseminate outcomes to inform other efforts.

Public Comment

H-GAC staff accepted public comment on the grant application from September 30, 2024, through October 15, 2024, by email, phone message, postal mail, or hand delivery.

Public Comment

In addition to the methods listed above, H-GAC accepted oral and written comments related to the grant application during a public hearing on Wednesday October 9, 2024, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The hearing was held in person at 3555 Timmons Lane, Houston, Texas, Second Floor Conference Rooms, and on Zoom. This hearing was open to the public.

In 2020, H-GAC developed a high-level plan as a first step in identifying shared challenges and exploring ways the agency can support the efforts of the region’s local governments in achieving a range of housing choices that will sustain their future needs.

The first phase of this plan focuses on local governments within and including Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Walker, Waller, and Wharton counties. H-GAC will incorporate the housing initiatives of the City of Houston, Harris County, and the cities contained therein in the future.

Regional Housing Plan

The National Fair Housing Act, as amended, prohibits discrimination in housing and declares it a national policy to provide, within constitutional limits, for fair housing within the United States. The H-GAC Board of Directors recognizes April as Fair Housing Month for the Gulf Coast State Planning Region. H-GAC urges that all citizens of the Gulf Coast Region become aware of and support fair housing law.

Fair Housing Act

HUD Section 3 (Employment)

Section 3 of the HUD Act of 1968 requires recipients of HUD funding to "direct employment, training, and contracting opportunities to low-income individuals and businesses that employee these persons within their communities".

In the Houston-Galveston Region, job opportunities for candidates who meet Section 3 requirements can be forwarded to:

[email protected]
713-688-6890

The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) applied for funding through the PRO Housing Grant to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing in the Houston-Galveston Area Council region. The PRO Housing Grant award ranges from $1 million to $10 million to be distributed to approximately 20 jurisdictions nationwide.