Allandale residents concerned about the arrival of intense commercial activity in a largely residential neighborhood achieved a partial victory at the Zoning and Platting Commission on Tuesday. Robert P. Stern, who is planning to add a 2,424-square-foot restaurant and 994 square feet of retail space to the southwest corner of Hancock Drive and Bull Creek […]
Jack Craver
Posted inZoning
Del Valle neighbors lobby against mobile home park
Del Valle residents who came to a meeting of the Zoning and Platting Commission on Tuesday to oppose the construction of a mobile home park in their area clearly didn’t do themselves any favors with some of the arguments they presented against the requested zoning change for a parcel of land at 6101 Ross Road. […]
Posted inResources
Push to expand city composting continues
Austin has made major progress in its efforts to reduce the amount of trash it sends to landfills, but the city will have to make a big change if it wants to realize the ambitious goals it has set through its Zero Waste initiative. Current recycling efforts have succeeded in diverting 43 percent of the […]
Posted inEnergy
Environmental groups demand that Austin Energy ditch coal plant
Two environmental groups say that Austin Energy, the city-owned utility, is ignoring an important sustainability goal set for it by City Council. Public Citizen and Sierra Club, which are intervening jointly in the Austin Energy rate review, argue that it’s time for the utility to take serious steps toward retiring the Fayette Power Project coal […]
Posted inPlanning
Zoning Commission narrowly recommends Grove PUD
After 13 hours of testimony and debate over two meetings, a proposal to build a 75-acre mixed-use development on what is now a vacant tract of land between Bull Creek Road and 45th Street won an important endorsement Thursday night from the Zoning and Platting Commission. Just before midnight, the panel voted 6-4 to recommend […]
Posted inParks
Why don’t Austin parks have recycling bins?
All commercial properties in Austin will be required by October of next year to have on-site recycling containers, but the same is not true of all properties owned by the government that put the requirement in place. The Parks and Recreation Department, the city agency one might expect to embrace green living most fervently, has […]
Posted inLocal Government
Recall petition launched against Bastrop mayor
A political action committee run by a longtime Austin-area activist is launching a petition to recall Bastrop Mayor Ken Kesselus. The petition, which was released by the Linda Curtis-led Independent Texans PAC, takes Kesselus to task for a number of instances of political maneuvering, some of which it alleges were illegal and all of which […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Fire Dept. on Barton Creek drownings: There’s only so much we can do
There is only so much the city can do to prevent people from putting themselves at risk in Barton Creek or other area waterways, an Austin Fire Department official told members of the Public Safety Commission on Tuesday. “Water is always dangerous,” said Assistant Fire Department Chief Brian Tanzola. Tanzola had been requested to brief […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission OKs zoning change for St. James Baptist Church
Concerns voiced by neighbors about gentrification and traffic resonated with members of the Planning Commission but ultimately did not sway members from recommending a zoning change that will turn a plot of undeveloped land in East Austin into dozens of condominium units. The 6.27-acre parcel at 3417 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. is owned by […]
Posted inPolice
Commission wants ongoing scrutiny of police body camera policies
Activists and city leaders who pushed for the Austin Police Department to equip its officers with body cameras continue to voice concerns about the implementation of the program, including whether it will bring the intended transparency and protect the privacy of crime victims and witnesses. On Tuesday, the city Public Safety Commission approved a resolution […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission OKs Thornton apartments over neighbor objections
The increased traffic might not be ideal, but neighbors opposed to a proposed 70-unit apartment building on Thornton Road are getting about as good a deal as they can expect from the land, suggested members of the Planning Commission on Tuesday. The panel voted to recommend a zoning change requested by the developer, PSW Real […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council backs ordinance to expand, improve Rebekah Baines Johnson Center
What would LBJ do? That was the question invoked repeatedly by both supporters and opponents of a code amendment aimed at facilitating the rehabilitation of the Rebekah Baines Johnson Center, the retirement community at 21 Waller St. created by federally insured mortgages during Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration and named after the former president’s mother. The […]