On Thursday, City Council made good on its promise to apply the same sick leave requirement to city government that it voted two weeks ago to impose on private employers. In a 9-2 vote, Council approved a resolution directing city staff to establish a paid sick leave policy for the city’s many temporary employees who currently […]
Jack Craver
Posted inCity Council
Council buys local on computer training contract
City Council rejected the advice of city staff and awarded a technology training contract to a local group over a national nonprofit that only recently arrived in Austin. Staff had recommended that the city contract with Community Technology Network to manage seven computer labs and provide a range of digital literacy services. The programs are […]
Posted inHousing
Austin could use rising property values to create affordable housing
City Council Member Greg Casar wants to get the most out of the hundreds of millions of dollars that the city is poised to spend to upgrade its transportation corridors in the coming years. The improvements coming to Austin’s corridors will naturally contribute to increasing property values in the surrounding area. If the city does […]
Posted inCity Council
Council to vote on extending paid sick leave to all city employees
Two weeks after approving an ordinance that will require private employers to provide paid sick leave, City Council is scheduled to vote on a similar measure to extend the same benefit to all city employees, including its many temporary workers. Throughout the debate over the paid sick leave ordinance, opponents accused Council of hypocritically imposing […]
Posted inBudget
Council tries ‘outcome-based’ budgeting
Last year, City Council talked about the idea of doing “outcome-based” budgeting. 2018 is the first year that it is giving it a try. The idea is based on six strategic outcomes that Council developed last year: Having economic opportunities and resources that enable us to thrive in our community. Getting us where we want […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Newest CodeNEXT draft gets criticism from all sides
CodeNEXT has plenty of critics, but they’re far from united in their criticism. The third draft of the proposed Land Development Code is being attacked from both sides of the perennial debate over growth. Neighborhood preservationists say it will lead to the destruction of single-family home neighborhoods and displacement, while urbanists and some housing advocates […]
Posted inAustin
Homelessness action report calls for doubling spending
If Austin wants to get serious about ending homelessness, it needs to spend about twice as much on the variety of programs that currently serve the more than 2,000 people living on the streets. That’s according to an action plan endorsed by the Membership Council of the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, which is chaired by […]
Posted inCity Council
Council approves paid sick leave ordinance
Shortly after midnight on Friday, Austin became the first city in the South to require employers to provide workers with paid sick leave. The ordinance, authored largely by City Council Member Greg Casar, will require businesses and nonprofits to provide employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Workers at […]
Posted inPlanning
Council approves Champion tract deal
By a one-vote margin, City Council on Thursday gave its blessing to the controversial Champion development. Mayor Steve Adler, along with Council members Greg Casar, Pio Renteria, Delia Garza, Jimmy Flannigan and Ellen Troxclair, voted to approve an amendment to a 20-year-old settlement agreement involving a large tract of land in Northwest Austin. The amendment […]
Posted inLand Development Code
CodeNEXT draft boosts housing capacity
A day after the third version of CodeNEXT was unveiled, City Council members expressed cautious optimism about the proposed overhaul of Austin’s land development rules. Notably, Council members were happy to see that the new version dramatically increased the amount of housing capacity. The second draft would have allowed for 145,000 new units to be […]
Posted inWhispers
Evolve gives CodeNEXT draft mixed review
Evolve Austin has mixed feelings about the third draft of CodeNEXT. The group, which is backed by a coalition of environmental groups, nonprofits focused on affordable housing, and real estate interests, is pushing for a code that facilitates New Urbanist principles of dense and transit-oriented development. In a statement released Wednesday, the group noted some […]
Posted inPlanning
The battle over conditional overlays
City Council Member Jimmy Flannigan is fed up with conditional overlays. Conditional overlays – COs in the parlance of City Hall insiders – are zoning rules that apply to a specific property. They often end up included as part of a negotiation between a developer and nearby residents in a zoning case, whereby the developer […]