Earlier this month, City Council voted to approve an ordinance on first reading to put in place regulations for companies that immobilize illegally parked cars by putting “boots” on their wheels. On first reading, Council approved setting the maximum fee that a business can charge to remove a boot at $50, a price that booting […]
Jack Craver
Posted inHousing
How can Austin incentivize affordable housing?
Members of City Council believe it’s time for a change to the city’s density bonus programs. Currently, Austin has 13 “development incentive programs” that offer developers additional building entitlements if they provide a certain amount of housing that is affordable to lower-income people. State law does not allow the city to mandate a certain number […]
Posted inWhispers
Council to vote on zoning to protect mobile home parks
A number of mobile home parks in Austin are not zoned specifically for mobile homes, meaning that developers can easily purchase them and convert them into more profitable residential or commercial uses. On Thursday, City Council will take up a proposal to apply mobile home zoning to three existing mobile home parks in the hopes […]
Posted inCity Council
North Shoal Creek plan prompts debate over density
City Council may have given up on CodeNEXT, the proposed comprehensive rewrite of the city’s Land Development Code, but the debate over growth and development is certainly not going away. On Thursday, Council will take up the North Shoal Creek Neighborhood Plan, which lays out the principles of development for the area bounded by U.S. […]
Posted inDevelopment
Despite progress, builders complain of long waits for permits
Among the many factors blamed for Austin’s affordability crisis are the city’s notoriously complicated development regulations. The development review process is so cumbersome, critics say, that builders have to hire agents to get their permits approved, creating a cost that is invariably passed on to those purchasing or renting the housing that gets built. For […]
Posted inPlanning
Do ‘flag lots’ threaten neighborhood character?
No neighbors voiced opposition to the plans, but two members of the Planning Commission last Tuesday voiced concern about a developer’s attempt to subdivide three large lots in East Austin to create “flag lots” that would each include two homes. The properties are at 2106 EM Franklin Ave. and 1191 and 1197 Greenwood Ave. Developers […]
Posted inAustin
City budget boosts spending for homelessness services
The new city manager and City Council agree: The city needs more money to address the homelessness situation. The proposed Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget submitted by City Manager Spencer Cronk includes $3.1 million in new spending on homelessness-related services. That’s on top of the roughly $25 million of spending on such services that will continue […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Planning Commission wonders what to do after CodeNEXT
CodeNEXT might be dead, but most members of the Planning Commission seem to agree that they can’t give up on making big changes to the Land Development Code. For over a year, discussion of CodeNEXT has been a standing item on the commission’s agenda. Although the commission did not always exercise its right to take […]
Posted inWhispers
Bunch and Levinski have very different takes on efficiency audit
On Tuesday, the Texas Supreme Court agreed to review an emergency motion filed by attorney Bill Aleshire that seeks to change the wording of a ballot initiative that voters will decide on in November. If approved, the initiative would require city government to submit to an “efficiency study” by an outside consultant. While the two […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Council faces legal action over wording of two ballot initiatives
Supporters of two ballot initiatives are threatening legal action against the city of Austin over ballot language that they claim City Council crafted to mislead voters. Just after midnight on Friday, Council approved language for 11 separate propositions that voters will have the opportunity to approve or reject in November. One of those is a […]
Posted inWhispers
Council sets maximum tax rate increase at 6 percent
City Council bound itself to not increasing property tax revenue by more than 6 percent when it approves the Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget next month. That means the maximum city tax rate this year will be 44.2 cents per $100 of property valuation. State law requires local governments to adopt a maximum increase before beginning […]
Posted inAustin
Council boots big booting fees
City Council approved a measure Thursday to reduce the amount that drivers can be charged to have boots removed from their illegally parked cars. Council voted in favor of an ordinance that will bar booting companies from charging more than $50 to get a dreaded boot removed from a car. Currently, getting a boot removed […]