TipSheet: Austin City Council, 5.18.23

Once again, this Thursday, Council will convene for their regular meeting. The nitty-gritty of said meeting can be found online, as usual, but we’ve taken some time to read through and make somewhat-educated guesses about what might be interesting today. 

As discussed at their most recent Public Safety Committee meeting, Council is set to take up a new contract for police license plate readers after years of debate between those that worry about privacy concerns and those that argue the readers are a crucial tool in policing. We’re expecting that debate to continue at today’s meeting.

Everyone who enjoys racing up (or down) North Lamar at 50 miles per hour ought to live it up now, because Council is voting on lowered speed limits between Braker and Parmer lanes. (Here’s a handy little map to show what’s being contemplated.)

Council will also vote on a fix to the city code by passing amendments that dull a 2017 change (also by Council) that left about 85 percent of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail legally non-compliant because it is located too close to the lake.

In other news, Council will also contemplate a resolution that designates city rec centers and libraries as “Safe Places” for the LGBTQIA+ community. Council will also take up a resolution to support and expand mental health training that we covered earlier this week.

In terms of zoning, there are a number of cases that could be interesting, should Council choose to discuss them. Looming large over the handful of cases on today’s agenda is the huge Brodie Oaks PUD, though it’s kind of been in limbo as details get worked out offline since Council’s first-reading vote in December. Other potential zoning discussions include a 330-unit project on Dessau Road, a Southeast Austin rezoning that sparked a conversation about whether industrial areas should be preserved by the city, the proposed redevelopment of that frontage road Denny’s near MLK that caused the Planning Commission to bemoan our city’s “broken” Land Development Code, and a mixed-use proposal that was rejected by ZAP and now has a valid petition against it. And, though it likely won’t be contentious at all, Council could vote to preserve the Broken Spoke as a historic landmark today. 

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