Dawn Hennessey said she was going to cry. “Honestly, I’m just in shock,” Hennessey, who owns a bakery in South Austin, said. “I’m appalled. It’s a setback. We’re gonna have an underground railroad next thing you know. It’s horrifying.” Austinites stopped on the street by a reporter Friday expressed disbelief and alarm at news of […]
Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Posted inLand Development Code
How tall should buildings be when they’re near single-family homes?
There’s a building on South Lamar that looks like a stepladder. Well, maybe a stepladder if you laid it on the ground. Or, maybe just a set of stairs – for a giant. “As you move across Lamar, you’re literally seeing the diagram of the zoning,” said Maija Kreishman, a principal with Michael Hsu Office […]
Posted inAustin
Alamo Drafthouse owners bought an old school and promised affordable housing. Years later, there is none.
For a moment, the possibilities for a former school building in one of Austin’s most coveted neighborhoods seemed endless. A contemporary arts center with space for restaurants. What about a community theater? The 4-acre spot in Hyde Park, several groups suggested, could be used to build homes public school teachers could afford. Even in 2017, […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Austin votes to ban no-knock warrants and decriminalize small amounts of weed, initial results show
By a sweeping margin, voters in Austin appear to have approved a proposition to sanction small amounts of marijuana and ban the use of no-knock warrants by police. Nearly 85% of voters were in favor of Proposition A, according to initial voting results from Travis, Williamson and Hays counties. (The city spans portions of all three […]
Posted inHousing
The value of your Travis County home has gone up a lot. That doesn’t mean your property taxes will.
People who own property in the Austin area recently received new valuations from the local appraisal district. This number, known as your appraised value, estimates what your property would currently sell for in Austin’s record-breaking housing market. The appraisals are a lot higher than they were last year. According to the Travis Central Appraisal District, […]
Posted inCity Council
Austin postpones vote on pilot program to provide basic income to struggling families
Elected officials in Austin decided Thursday to delay a vote on a program that would have sent a monthly stipend to low-income families, no strings attached. City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly, who represents far Northwest Austin, first called for a postponement. “There are parts of this item that have raised questions that remain to be answered,” […]
Posted inCity Council
Families could get $1,000 a month as part of Austin’s first guaranteed income program
Government aid programs often come with a laundry list of do-nots. For example, if you receive SNAP benefits, more commonly known as food stamps, you can’t use them to buy to-go food, soap, vitamins or medicine. So, what if the government stepped back? What if it offered people cash without stipulations? That’s the question Austin […]
Posted inHousing
The median sales price of a home in Austin has surpassed $600,000
The price of buying a home in Austin knows no other mode than acceleration, it seems. According to the latest numbers from the Austin Board of Realtors, homes in the city sold for a median price of $624,000 in March. That represents a record-high price, and a 22 percent increase in sales price over the […]
Posted inHousing
Austin says it will sell city-owned property to families affected by gentrification
The city of Austin says it will give people from gentrifying neighborhoods priority in the application process for more than two dozen homes it’s selling to low-income families. This is the first time the city plans to use what it calls a “preference policy,” which was approved by City Council members in 2018. Other cities, […]
Posted inHousing
As Austin-area evictions rise, lawyers are on hand (virtually) to help tenants
Travis County eviction court has looked different during the pandemic. Hearings, for the most part, have been held virtually; people can log in from anywhere and learn if they have to be out of their house. Standing in a parking lot. On break from their job. In the car. On the couch. Some of the […]
Posted inHousing
A rush of applications for housing help forces Travis County to close its program months early
Following what one official described as an “absolute deluge” of interest, Travis County says it has stopped taking applications for a program to help people make their rent and mortgage payments. The county had nearly $9.2 million in federal and local funds to help people making below a certain income pay for housing. Staff opened […]
Posted inHousing
Travis County likely to close housing assistance program months early after ‘deluge’ of applications
Travis County last week reopened a program with millions of dollars in funding to help people make their rent and mortgage payments. Initially the county said it could accept applications through September, but staff members now say they will likely close the program this month because they’ve received so many applications. County Commissioner Brigid Shea […]