The popular watering hole Clive Bar inhabits a small Craftsman house at 609 Davis St., which is just on the corner of Rainey Street. The owners are looking to reconfigure the property to add a two-story structure with a mezzanine and balcony to the rear of the property. Built between 1918 and 1920, the home […]
Jessi Devenyns
Posted inEMS
Public Safety Commission questions path forward for EMS providers being assaulted
After reports from EMS personnel raised questions about the frequency of field officer assault by patients, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services conducted an internal survey. The results showed that the majority of Austin EMS personnel say they’ve been assaulted on the job in the last two years. “We certainly are being assaulted,” Selena Xie, the president […]
Posted inPreservation
Masonic lodge face-lift sent back to the drawing board, again
After the Historic Landmark Commission vetoed designs for a modern addition to the Royal Arch Masonic Lodge on the corner of Seventh and Lavaca for being a “desecration” of a landmark, a new design came before them at their Aug. 26 meeting. Brett Rhode of Rhode Partners maintained the design brought something “extraordinary” to the […]
Posted inPlanning
Despite reduction in size, subdivision still troubles neighbors and ZAP
After failing to get his 82-lot subdivision at 9406 Morninghill Drive approved last fall, David Knapp refiled a subdivision application for his 51-acre ranch late last year. But this time he requested the approval of a plan that would include only 30 homes and would not require a variance to forgo a second entrance to […]
Posted inCity Hall
Youth outreach program is cut after city doubled funding
When the city funds grants, should it do so based on achievable objectives or program intent? That question was at the crux of a debate at the July 24 meeting of the Environmental Commission’s Urban Forestry Committee. Last budget cycle, before the city’s Community Tree Preservation Division even had a chance to review all the […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Board of Adjustment seeks more information, postpones adaptive reuse project
In an effort to create market-rate affordable housing in North Austin, a developer is attempting to reuse the existing 281 units of the Austin Suites Motel at 8300 N. Interstate 35. In order to accomplish this goal, the developer came to the Board of Adjustment seeking a variance to decrease the minimum site area requirement […]
Posted inWhispers
Environmental Commission recommends lowering toxicity levels in pavement
In 2005, Austin passed an ordinance banning the use of coal tar pavement products due to their use of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. PAHs, which are designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as “priority pollutants,” are known carcinogenic compounds that raise the risk of cancer for children and are acutely toxic to aquatic life. Ten years […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission debates transportation corridors and density
Does an extra 0.05 miles from a transportation corridor make a difference when it comes to deciding the appropriate level of density for a property? The Planning Commission found itself pondering this question at its Aug. 13 meeting while deliberating on rezoning the properties at 4507 and 4511 Vinson Drive from single-family residential (SF-3) to […]
Posted inEnvironment
Toxic algae blooms expected to recur
Algae in Austin’s waterways is nothing new. In the summertime when the water warms up and flows slowly, it’s common to see tendrils of blue-green algae floating in the current. “It’s a very seasonal pattern. A very regular pattern,” Brent Bellinger with the Watershed Protection Department told the Environmental Commission at its Aug. 21 meeting. […]
Posted inHousing
North Lamar Mobile Home Park residents protest landlord negligence
The city of Austin has been working to tackle gentrification head-on through stabilizing mobile home parks throughout the city. This is one avenue to ensure that residents are able to stay, but there are other ways besides incongruent zonings and that make it difficult for residents to remain in their homes. When Frank Rolfe and […]
Posted inFire
Zoning and Platting Commission weighs in on proposed fire code
As Austin weathers the dog days of summer, wildfire risk is once again a hot topic in the city. A new report this week by the Office of the City Auditor said that the city could be doing a better job of fireproofing areas outside of the urban core, an area that’s roughly two-thirds of […]
Posted inPreservation
Planning Commission unmoved to recommend preservation for East Austin grocery store
After a unanimous recommendation from the Historic Landmark Commission to preserve the 1922-era corner grocery at 220 Comal St., the momentum behind preserving the East Austin structure slowed at the Planning Commission. “I’m getting the sense that the owner can preserve the building better without historic designation,” Commissioner Carmen Llanes-Pulido said at the Aug. 13 […]