Austin is no longer pursuing a 100-bed shelter in South Austin and could opt instead to provide housing in motels for homeless Austinites. The move comes after a suggestion from the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, the nonprofit that coordinates Austin and Travis County’s efforts to address homelessness. Council members will vote on the proposal at their […]
Andrew Weber, KUT
Posted inAustin
Gov. Abbott says he’ll use five acres of state-owned land to temporarily house homeless Austinites
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said the state will use five acres of state land at U.S. Highway 183 and Montopolis Drive as a temporary campsite for homeless Austinites. The site would serve as a stopgap until a privately backed effort brings a temporary shelter online in the downtown area. John Wittman, the governor’s spokesman, confirmed […]
Posted inAustin
Abbott says TxDOT will start cleaning up homeless camps under highways in Austin starting Monday
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says it’s forging ahead with cleanups of homeless encampments under overpasses in Austin. Ahead of a Nov. 1 deadline for state intervention, Abbott’s spokesperson John Wittman confirmed that the Texas Department of Transportation will clear underpasses of encampments and direct campers to city and county resources for people experiencing homelessness. The […]
Posted inAustin
As Austin rolls out its revised camping and resting bans, the future is uncertain
Everitt Walls is a company man. The 73-year-old veteran served in the Army in Vietnam. He follows rules and he follows chain of command. He also shares a camp across the street from the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) with a friend. He doesn’t camp on a sidewalk, or in front of a […]
Posted inAustin
Gov. Abbott moves to clean up homeless camps under bridges in Austin
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says the Austin City Council has taken a “meaningful step” to address homelessness after its vote last night to partially reinstate a camping ban, but that he intends to ask the Texas Department of Transportation to clean up camps under bridges. Spokesman John Wittman says the governor’s decision is meant to […]
Posted inCity Council
Austin reinstates limited bans on camping and resting in public
The Austin City Council reinstated partial bans on camping, sitting and lying down in public on Thursday. After hours of debate, Council approved the new ordinance on a 7-4 vote. The city’s new rules ban camping, sitting and lying down within 15 feet of a doorway to a home or an open business and within […]
Posted inCity Hall
Austin’s homelessness czar steps down a month after her first day
A month after her first official day on the job, Austin’s homeless strategy officer, Lori Pampilo Harris, is quitting. In a letter to Austin City Council on Wednesday, Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales said Pampilo Harris is transitioning to a role as a consultant, rather than a full-time employee. In a statement Thursday, Pampilo Harris […]
Posted inAustin
Gov. Abbott threatens state intervention (again) unless Austin reinstates its camping ban
Gov. Greg Abbott doubled down on his threat to intervene over Austin’s homelessness ordinances. Abbott sent a letter to Mayor Steve Adler on Thursday threatening to send in “state agencies and resources,” unless the city reinstates rules banning camping, sitting or lying down in public by the end of the month. The governor’s warning comes […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Abbott vows to ‘unleash’ state resources if Austin doesn’t change its homelessness rules by Nov. 1
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he’s prepared to “unleash the full authority of every state agency” if Austin doesn’t address issues surrounding homelessness by Nov. 1. In a letter to Mayor Steve Adler, Abbott said Austin’s revision of its homelessness rules presents a public health and safety concern and that he could marshal state resources […]
Posted inCourts
Manchaca Road can now be called Menchaca Road after judge tosses case
Manchaca Road is no more. A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block the city of Austin from changing the name of the South Austin road to honor a Texas revolutionary. The nearly yearlong battle stemmed from the city’s public input process before a planned name change. The lawsuit brought by the group […]
Posted inCity Council
Austin City Council punts on reinstating rules to limit camping and resting in public
City Council declined today to revise rules passed in June that rolled back ordinances banning camping, sitting or lying down in public. Council members may take up the measures again next month. After months of uncertainty on the part of police, the public and the city itself, Council was set to vote on ordinances clarifying […]
Posted inCity Council
Council members offer revised plan that phases in restrictions on camping or resting in public
City leaders have a new proposal to regulate behavior related to homelessness ahead of a possible City Council vote that could happen as soon as Wednesday. The proposal comes after roughly a week of infighting among Council members. Kathie Tovo and Ann Kitchen put out one plan last Tuesday, and then Greg Casar and Mayor […]