TipSheet: Austin City Council, 9.26.24

Today, City Council will convene for its regular meeting, and we’ve taken a look at the agenda to piece together some educated guesses about what the most interesting things on said agenda are. 

As evidenced by today’s edition of the Austin Monitor, we’re pretty excited to see how the new work session rules shake out, now that a court ruling has determined speakers must be allowed on items that are up for deliberation. Since the ruling, work sessions have been canceled. The new rules, according to the Save Our Springs Alliance (whose Executive Director Bill Bunch brought forward and won the suit about work session), “would move the City Council toward minimum compliance with the Open Meetings Act but still fall short,” so we’re expecting some discussion about the changes. In the meantime, you can read the proposal for yourself here.

Council will also consider a new ordinance that requires pets to be microchipped in an effort to, among other things, keep animals out of our perpetually overcrowded shelter.

Council will also move forward with the gas rate case today, and it’s likely that Council Member Ryan Alter’s comments on the City Council Message Board will be backed by most of the dais. On Wednesday, he wrote, “I cannot support the proposed settlement in the Texas Gas Service rate case. The proposal does not discourage lower use, provides minimal support to low income customers, and increases corporate returns on the backs of hard-working residents. To that end, I will be offering the attached motion sheet, which removes our affirmation of the settlement. While I appreciate the work of the coalition’s negotiating team, I do not believe the proposal is consistent with the city’s climate values and duties to our constituents.”

With no ready alternatives in sight, Council will also consider another extension for the Marshalling Yard Emergency Shelter. We covered what’s being considered earlier this week.

The massive overhaul of the city’s convention center is still underway, and with Council work sessions on ice this week again, Council will get a briefing on the expansion during the regular meeting today.

It took a while, but Council is now set to use Historic Preservation Acquisition Funds to purchase properties that will serve as cultural spaces, thanks to a resolution from Council Member José Velásquez.

Following a six-month update of the city’s new water reuse rules, Council will consider extending the GoPurple pilot, allotting $4 million toward incentives that could amount to as much as $500,000 per project.

After some time to think them over (we guess), Council will reconsider a handful of programs that will help preserve cultural spaces, create cultural districts and revise business incentives.

In another procedural change, Council will consider handing over its authority to approve procurement methods on construction projects to the city manager. Why? According to meeting documents, “Currently, items sent to the Council to authorize the use of certain procurement methods add multiple months to the procurement’s processing time and over the last ten or more years, there are no known instances where Council declined to authorize the procurement method recommended by staff.” If the change is approved, the contracts themselves would still need approval from Council.

In an ongoing effort to reduce the cost of child care and expand the amount offered in the city, Council will consider eliminating Street Impact Fees for day cares. 

In order to assist with a flurry of code changes, Council is looking to approve an $8.5 million contract for outside assistance for the Planning Department from AECOM Technical Services Inc.; HR&A Advisors Inc.; Lionheart; Perkins & Will Inc. d/b/a Perkins+ Will, Inc.; SOM; and The Goodman. According to meeting documents, the firms will assist with the Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) overlay, directing transit supportive policy and code updates including an update of East Riverside Corridor Plan, and directing implementation of the Palm District and directing future ETOD work. The backup also notes that, “If the contract is not approved, the Planning Department will not be able to effectively fulfill the Council directed obligations and produce a long-range plan.”

In terms of zoning, we expect some heat around a proposal to create a PUD near the former Statesman site. We will also be watching a Thornton Road rezoning that has neighbors worried about traffic and a West Fifth Street Planned Development Area proposal that has drawn opposition from OWANA.

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