Council to consider eliminating occupancy limits

Today’s City Council agenda includes a few items that may raise the temperature in Council chambers. That includes one related to getting rid of occupancy limits based on familial status. A number of groups – the Austin Justice Coalition, Austin Housing Coalition, Austin Cooperative Business Association, Planning Our Communities, Farm & City and Aura – jointly put out a statement Wednesday urging Council to ditch the rules. According to their statement, “34 percent of Austinites are cost burdened by housing and 15 percent are severely so.” The groups said that “eliminating occupancy limits would do a huge amount to allow Austinites greater flexibility and affordability in their housing choices immediately, without costing the city or taxpayers anything.” However, Council Member Mackenzie Kelly has a different viewpoint on the issue. On the City Council Message Board, Kelly proposed an amendment to the item that would considerably slow down the process of changing the section of the Land Development Code governing occupancy. She proposes directing “the city manager to conduct a comprehensive study of the areas affected by these proposed changes.” The study would gather feedback from the community and “establish a stakeholder working group consisting of members from the impacted areas.” The proposal does not change occupancy limits related to health and safety, which are in the city’s building code. The item is sponsored by Council Member Zo Qadri with co-sponsors Vanessa Fuentes, Leslie Pool, José Velásquez and Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis.