It’s not easy serving on a city land-use commission. If sitting through meetings that often stretch into the early morning hours isn’t bad enough, those who submit to the task are mere volunteers and thus forced to study up on the issues during whatever spare time they have between their day jobs and personal commitments. […]
Jack Craver
Posted inThe Code
Building professionals distraught over proposed city lobbying changes
Area engineers and others in the building industry showed up to a Monday meeting of the Ethics Review Commission to voice concerns over a proposal that would likely require many of them to register as lobbyists because of their regular interactions with city officials. A final draft of the changes is still a ways off, […]
Posted inAustin, City Council
Zimmerman will face ethics charges
Members of the Ethics Review Commission didn’t seem to know what to make of the four complaints lodged against Austin City Council Member Don Zimmerman. The charges, leveled by Mark Walters, a law clerk, forced the panel to explore the murky line between the public and private life of an elected official, a line that […]
Posted inEnergy
LCRA’s transmission business prospers in wake of deregulation
Typically it’s not public entities that benefit from deregulation, but a 1999 law deregulating Texas’ electricity-generation market has been a boon for the Lower Colorado River Authority’s transmission business. “It’s a future of continued growth,” said Ross Phillips, LCRA executive vice president of transmission services, at a meeting of the LCRA Planning and Public Policy […]
Posted inThe Code
Council pursues unusual process for STRs
The debate over short-term rentals isn’t over in Austin. Not even close. After approving a series of recommendations for future restrictions Tuesday, City Council delayed further action on its ongoing resolution until Oct. 8. While the goal of the resolution was to present a comprehensive vision for short-term rental regulations that city staff could use […]
Posted inPlanning
HEB asks commission to help neighbors
One after another, the neighbors emphasized that they were not anti-HEB. But in the midst of a pronounced spike in traffic fatalities throughout the city, Park Ridge neighborhood residents came to voice their concerns at a Tuesday meeting of the Zoning and Platting Commission about the increase in traffic that a new grocery store at […]
Posted inPlanning
Zoning Commission delays Austin Oaks PUD indefinitely
The Austin Oaks Planned Unit Development (PUD) drama will live to see many more days. But some members of the Zoning and Platting Commission are not happy about it. “When we heard this case before, on July 7th, we were promised that there would not be another request for postponement,” said Commissioner Jolene Kiolbassa to […]
Posted inThe Code
Committee moves short-term rental discussion on to Council
Proposed regulations for short-term rentals will be on City Council’s agenda Thursday after a Council committee hearing displayed consensus from members and staff that the city needs to more strictly regulate the short-term rental market. The committee did not vote to recommend all of the proposals floated at the meeting, but it decided unanimously that […]
Posted inDevelopment
When is it OK to postpone a project?
When should a project be postponed? While some commissioners believe projects that are in line with code should be approved quickly, others believe that no project should be OK’d without first hearing from those opposed to it. A debate over a proposed resubdivision on Harbor Village Trail during a Sept. 1 meeting of the Zoning […]
Posted inThe Code
Confusion reigns over Zoning and Platting Commission’s duties
The Zoning and Platting Commission’s attempts to work more closely with the Planning Commission continue to encounter confusion and pushback from commissioners, city staff and City Council. For starters, Chair Gabriel Rojas is still smarting over Council’s decision last month to abolish the Economic and Capital Budget Joint Committee, one of the two joint committees […]
Posted inCity Hall
Commission opts to proceed with complaint against Historic Landmark commissioner
Few members of the Ethics Review Commission indicated at a Monday hearing whether they believed that ArijArif Panju, a member of the Historic Landmark Commission, violated city conflict-of-interest rules over votes he took on a policy affecting his neighborhood. The commission nevertheless voted 10-1 to proceed to a final hearing on the matter on Sept. […]
Posted inThe Code
Ethics Commission begins to examine proposed lobbying changes
The Ethics Review Commission is under pressure to deal quickly with proposed changes to city lobbying rules. On Monday, City Council Member Leslie Pool, the chief backer of a resolution directing the city manager to draft a substantial revision to the city lobbying ordinance, urged the commission to set up a public hearing on the […]