City of Austin lawyers are refuting the claims of an Austin nonprofit that has been campaigning for property owners to protest the possible rezoning of their land under the city’s land use code rewrite. “City officials plan to rezone your home and neighborhood,” reads a flyer circulated by Community Not Commodity, which opposed the city’s […]
Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Posted inPublic Health
Audit says Austin could better track outcomes after it refers people to mental health services
The city of Austin does a poor job of tracking the outcomes of people it refers to mental health services, despite the fact that improving access to these providers is one of City Council’s goals over the next couple of years. “Tracking of referrals to services was informal and varied across and within departments,” Cameron […]
Posted inDevelopment
Dallas-based owner of much of East 12th Street teases future plans
Eureka Holdings, the Dallas-based company that has remained mum about plans for the more than two-dozen properties it has purchased on East 12th Street, has unveiled some initial goals for the area. The plans offered by Austin-based consulting firm Lionheart, give a conceptual look at what could come to the historically black, bustling commercial street […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Latest draft of Austin’s land development rules permit denser housing, loosen parking restrictions
The city has proposed allowing for denser housing while loosening parking requirements in its latest revamp of rules dictating what can be built in Austin and where. The draft proposal, released to the public Friday afternoon, also allows for accessory dwelling units anywhere you can build a home and outlaws the construction of a single-family […]
Posted inTransportation
Updated: Austin eliminating traffic deaths by 2025 a remote possibility, city audit finds
The city of Austin is unlikely to reach its goal of zero traffic deaths or serious injuries by 2025, according to a new report from the city auditor’s office. “While a goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries is an appropriate vision for Austin, (Transportation Department) staff acknowledged that it is unlikely the city […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Austin ranks in the top five cities in the U.S. for potential wildfire damage
A new report from a California-based market research firm finds that Austin ranks fifth in a list of cities facing the highest reconstruction costs due to potential wildfire damage. Researchers with CoreLogic found that 53,984 Austin residents live within an area designated as having a high-to-extreme wildfire risk, representing the potential for roughly $16 billion […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
While it’s held up in court, Austin’s paid sick leave law comes closer to being undone by the state
Texas lawmakers advanced a bill on Thursday that would prevent cities from requiring private employers to give their workers certain benefits, such as paid sick leave. “This bill creates a statewide policy for consistent regulation by giving clarity to our private employers and prohibits local governments meddling in their business for paid sick leave, predictive […]
Posted inCity Council
City of Austin orders outside review of police handling of sexual assault cases
The city has ordered an independent review of the Austin Police Department’s handling of sexual assault cases, asking investigators to track incidents from when they’re first reported to police to when they’re closed or handed off to the district attorney’s office for prosecution. “The goal of the evaluation is to understand the deeper why behind […]
Posted inPolice
Austin Police Department orders outside audit after state finds it misclassified cleared rape cases
The Austin Police Department has ordered a third-party audit of rape investigations after state auditors found it misclassified certain rape cases. “This review will look from the beginning to the end,” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said. “From the moment we receive the 911 call, the officer’s response to that call, all the way through […]
Posted inHousing
As shutdown drags on, low-income housing providers in Austin worry funding for rent could run out
Prak Property Management Inc. has been digging into savings to keep some of its low-income properties in Austin running. “It’s like a savings account that every month we are required to put a certain amount of dollars into for things like roofs, appliances, that sort of thing,” said Brad Prak, a management agent with the […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
The city-state fight continues in the 2019 legislative session: Here are bills to look out for
When the Texas Legislature reconvened on Jan. 8, lawmakers already had on their desks bills aimed at undoing city of Austin rules. The city-state conflict is nothing new. Last time they met in 2017, state lawmakers passed bills overturning Austin ordinances affecting ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft, and passed a “sanctuary cities” bill. Several […]
Posted inPolice
Advocates say APD should focus less on how rape cases are coded and more on solving them
When Austin Police Chief Brian Manley announced last week that state auditors had found problems with the way police classify rape cases, some people were not shocked by the news. “It wasn’t a huge surprise to us,” said Kristen Lenau, who co-founded the Survivor Justice Project, an organization made up of advocates and survivors of […]