Copyright by Benjamin Andrew Martin 2019 The Report Committee for Benjamin Andrew Martin Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Report: Code Enforcement Activity and Impact in Austin, TX’s Gentrifying Neighborhoods APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Jacob Wegmann, Supervisor Elizabeth Mueller Code Enforcement Activity and Impact in Austin, TX’s Gentrifying Neighborhoods by Benjamin Andrew Martin Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning The University of Texas at Austin May 2019 Acknowledgements I am deeply grateful for the guidance, advice, and mentorship of Jake Wegmann and Liz Mueller, on this project and so many others. Thank you to my interviewees in the Austin Code department and Austin tenant advocacy community. This project would not have been possible without their generosity, time, and wisdom. Heather Way and the rest of the “Uprooted” research team paved the way for this report and guided me into a deeper understanding of displacement risk, tenant support, and residential affordability issues. Lynn Osgood bolstered me with unhesitant support and provided sage advice on the soft wheelings and dealings of Austin civic life. Zac Traeger and Shirley Rempe were invaluable sounding boards and thought partners on all things Austin regulatory environment-related. And, of course, thank you from the bottom of my heart to my partner Beth Link for spurring this new phase of growth and supporting me every step of the way. Now let me try to return the favor. iv Abstract Code Enforcement Activity and Impact in Austin, TX’s Gentrifying Neighborhoods Benjamin Andrew Martin, MSCRP The University of Texas at Austin, 2019 Supervisor: Jacob Wegmann Elizabeth Mueller Abstract: Community members and advocates have expressed concern that Austin Code enforcement activity in the city’s gentrifying neighborhoods contributes to residential displacement pressure. However, there is lack of clarity as to whether code is over-enforcing, causing financial pressure on low-income homeowners and property owners, or under-enforcing, exacerbating health, safety, and displacement risks for low- income tenants. In this report, I compare the frequency of residential code complaints for 2018 and stage of gentrification for Austin census tracts. I find that neighborhoods in Austin that are vulnerable to gentrification or in a stage of gentrification experience considerably higher rates of code complaints than neighborhoods that are not gentrifying and not vulnerable. This finding holds true for all major code complaint categories. Furthermore, this heightened complaint frequency cannot be accounted for by age and quality of housing stock alone, as complaint categories that are not related to structural conditions follow similar patterns. Several code complaint types increase in frequency v between gentrification stages. Code complaints for multi-family properties are highest in neighborhoods that are susceptible to gentrification and adjacent to a gentrifying tract, or “next in line” to gentrify. Interviews with supervisors from the Austin Code department and expert- advocates from the Austin tenant advocacy community help clarify and interpret the results of these tests, and provide additional insight on the impact of code enforcement on residential vulnerability and neighborhood change. Topics that are discussed and debated include: potential developer abuse of the anonymous code complaint system, Austin Code’s mission and strategies, rental registration and proactive enforcement tradeoffs, and Austin Code data management and public data sharing processes. Recommendations suggest both administrative and legislative considerations that could help Austin Code better understand and serve the needs of the city’s vulnerable renters and homeowners. vi Table of Contents List of Tables .......................................................................................................................x List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Background and Literature Review .................................................................14 Code enforcement history and controversy in Austin, TX .......................................14 Recent studies on correlations between 3-1-1 complaint calls and gentrification ....24 Neighborhood diversity and social conflict ..............................................................27 High-level code enforcement history and conceptualization ....................................29 Chapter 3: Methodology ....................................................................................................37 Primary test ...............................................................................................................37 Additional tests .........................................................................................................42 Interviews ..................................................................................................................44 Chapter 4: Findings ............................................................................................................46 Tests by complaint type ............................................................................................47 Land Use Violations .....................................................................................48 Property Abatement ......................................................................................49 Structural Violation .......................................................................................50 Work Without Permit ....................................................................................51 Isolated Single- and Multi-Family property tests .....................................................52 Single-Family ................................................................................................52 Multi-Family .................................................................................................53 Test by C-TERM priority number ............................................................................54 vii Chapter 5: Interviews .........................................................................................................56 What test results suggest, and limitations to what conclusions we can draw ...........57 Initial insights into displacement risk associated with code enforcement for low- income renter and homeowner-occupied properties, and differences between the two ................................................................................................................61 Data hygiene issues, and overall limitations of code data ........................................66 Code’s mission, as it is and as it should be ...............................................................70 Austin Code’s understanding and training on gentrification and displacement .......77 Code officer discretion and departmental strategic discretion ..................................79 Anonymous complaint systems ................................................................................81 Abuse of code by developers or others .....................................................................83 Code’s understanding of how community in gentrifying neighborhoods understands them ................................................................................................86 The value of rental registration and proactive enforcement .....................................87 Where can improvements be made? .........................................................................89 Code’s feelings about community/advocate feedback ..............................................92 Chapter 6: Discussion ........................................................................................................94 Takeaway 1: Code complaint frequency and gentrification correlation ...................96 Takeaway 2: The housing stock quality factor .........................................................97 Takeaway 3: Multi-family property complaints .......................................................99 Takeaway 4: Late-stage gentrification tract complaints .........................................100 Takeaway 5: Property abatement complaints .........................................................102 Takeaway 6: Possible developer abuse of complaint system .................................102 Takeaway 7: Austin Code’s mission and strategies ................................................103 Takeaway 8: Code officer discretion ......................................................................106 viii Takeaway 9: Rental registration and proactive enforcement ..................................107 Takeaway 10: Austin Code data hygiene and transparency ...................................109 Chapter 7: Conclusion ......................................................................................................112 Code enforcement, gentrification, and low-income homeowners ..........................112 Code enforcement, gentrification, and low-income renters ....................................114 Code enforcement, gentrification,