At the first City Council meeting following the end of the recent bombings, Council members spent nearly two hours debating a largely symbolic resolution about police staffing. Originally, explained Council Member Ellen Troxclair, the resolution was meant to simply convey Council’s commitment to filling a number of vacant police positions in the upcoming budget. “I’m […]
Jack Craver
Posted inPreservation
Which historic sites should be covered by hotel occupancy taxes?
Last year, City Council voted to reallocate millions of dollars from the Austin Convention Center and Visit Austin (formerly the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau) to historic preservation efforts. Now, it’s up to Council to decide what projects will benefit from those newly available funds. The money all comes from the 9 percent tax that […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Council discusses economic, cultural benefits of Major League Soccer in Austin
On Thursday, City Council will take up a resolution directing city staff to analyze whether a vacant lot at 10414 McKalla Lane would be a suitable spot for a future Major League Soccer stadium. So far, no Council members have signaled opposition to welcoming the Columbus Crew SC to Austin or allowing the McKalla site […]
Posted inPlanning
City leaders discuss legacy of segregation from 1928 plan
At a press conference at City Hall on Monday, city leaders and activists recognized the 90th anniversary of Austin’s first zoning code, which enshrined legal segregation by race and ethnicity. The 1928 Master Plan was most notable for establishing the former East Avenue, which has since been replaced by Interstate 35, as a dividing line […]
Posted inZoning
South Lamar neighbors to get office traffic instead of residential traffic
Nearly two years ago, the Planning Commission voted 10-1 to recommend a zoning change that would allow a 70-unit apartment building to be built on a vacant lot at 2413 Thornton Road. As is often the case in zoning battles, nearby neighbors objected to a development that they feared would bring additional traffic to an […]
Posted inElections
Kathie Tovo gets an opponent
Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo will face at least one opponent in her bid for re-election. Danielle Skidmore recently filed paperwork to join the race for District 9, which includes all of downtown and many Central Austin neighborhoods between MoPac Expressway and Interstate 35, including Bouldin, Hyde Park, Clarksville, West Campus, Old West Austin and […]
Posted inAustin
Council considering another $110 million for Waller Creek park system
City Council members have expressed interest in the idea of extending the life of a tax increment reinvestment zone that was set up to fund the Waller Creek chain of parks, an ongoing project that city government is betting will become a cultural and recreational gem that will spur further economic activity downtown. It is […]
Posted inPublic Safety
What happens when top public safety officials are accused of harassment?
Members of the Public Safety Commission expressed concern and befuddlement over policies that the Police, Fire and EMS departments rely on to hold their top officials accountable for harassment. “It doesn’t make sense to me that the policies are so different (between departments),” said Commissioner Rebecca Gonzales. In all of the departments, said Chair Rebecca […]
Posted inAustin
Council wants action on city-owned vacant lots
City Council is looking to more than a dozen city-owned properties as opportunities to provide affordable housing, arts spaces, parkland and economic development, in some cases looking to emulate past developments on public land, such as Mueller and Seaholm. City staff has identified five sites as top candidates for major redevelopment that could have a […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council approves plan aimed at holding city programs accountable
City Council approved a wide-ranging plan on Thursday aimed at forcing city programs to prove their worth. The Austin Strategic Direction 2023 Plan has been in the works since the beginning of 2017, when Council began exploring the concept of “outcome-based” budgeting, which is based on the simple premise that Council should not fund programs […]
Posted inAustin
Council considers gentrification and ‘right to return’ policy
On Tuesday, City Council members got their first glimpse at a study they voted to authorize that examines gentrification in Austin. The first phase of the study, conducted by three University of Texas professors, analyzed the demographic profile of nearly every census tract in the city. The analysis sought to highlight areas that have experienced […]
Posted inEMS
EMS union urges city not to forget it
The union that represents the city’s paramedics is urging the city to come to the bargaining table and approve a new contract that will offer ambulance workers what it describes as a much-deserved 2 percent pay raise. Tony Marquardt, president of the Austin-Travis County EMS Employee Association, told the Public Safety Commission on Monday that […]