Despite a City Council directive to identify mobile home parks with improper zoning and work toward aligning the zoning and the use on sites, in some instances city staff identified mobile home zoning as inappropriate and withdrew those sites from consideration. At Council’s direction, however, Palm Harbor mobile home park at 810 Bastrop Highway returned […]
Jessi Devenyns
Posted inWhispers
Board of Adjustment chair steps down
Yesterday, William Burkhardt, who has chaired the Board of Adjustment since 2015, tendered his resignation from the board. “It’s just time for me to step down,” he told the Austin Monitor. Burkhardt, who was Council Member Kathie Tovo’s District 9 appointee, was serving his third term on the board, which would have extended through February […]
Posted inWater
AW assures: Austin’s lead pipes pose little threat
In the wake of the drinking water scandal in Flint, Michigan, the issue of lead in drinking water has come to the forefront of the nation’s – and Austin’s – attention. Until July 9, Matt Cullen of Austin Water said neither his team nor many longtime field employees had ever run across lead water service […]
Posted inPlanning
Board of Adjustment denies case in consideration of trees
On Monday night, trees became the centerpiece of a dock variance discussion at the Board of Adjustment. The property at 2710 Scenic Drive currently has a half-constructed boat dock, big enough for only one boat, that the new property owners were hoping to widen. They asked the board for a variance to reduce the interior […]
Posted inPlanning
Cultural center variance goes before Board of Adjustment for a third time
When the Board of Adjustment voted last month to deny the reconsideration of a case and let their original judgment for a variance at 810½ San Marcos St. stand, it turns out that the vote negated their original vote of approval. Board Chair William Burkhardt explained to the Austin Monitor that last month’s vote on […]
Posted inPreservation
Faux Victorian windows prompt Historic Landmark Commission to reconsider historic zoning
After initiating a case for historic zoning for the home at 1903 New York Ave., investigations by the city’s Historic Preservation Office revealed at the June 24 meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission that significant alterations in the 1980s compromised the integrity of the historic structure. New windows, replaced siding and a remodeled porch, although […]
Posted inZoning
ZAP case triggers discussion on affordable housing and transit in North Austin
Northwest Austin is developing quickly. Many of the large tracts of developable land in the far reaches of the city’s jurisdiction, by Farm to Market 620 and Texas State Highway 45, are outside the city limits, which makes it difficult to regulate how development is rolling out. Such was the case at 14310-15700 N. FM […]
Posted inPreservation
‘Sensitive’ addition prompts Historic Landmark Commission to open historic zoning case
In order to expand a home and obtain room to display a 300-piece Hispanic art collection, the owners of 1216 E. Seventh St. submitted plans to the city to construct a 2,200-square-foot addition to the back side of their 1919 Craftsman-style bungalow. Although the homeowners did not file an application for historic zoning, Art Ramirez, […]
Posted inPreservation
Historic Landmark Commission looks for a pitch-perfect roofline solution
The Historic Landmark Commission recently discovered that the design guidelines of a local historic district may not always be practical in real-life situations. When Mike Synowiec, the owner of 305 W. 45th St., came before the commission’s Certificate of Appropriateness committee, he was directed to design an addition with a roofline that was not so […]
Posted inPreservation
I.Q. Hurdle House makes slow but steady progress
The old adage that slow and steady wins the race came into play during a discussion about the status of the I.Q. Hurdle House at the June 24 Historic Landmark Commission meeting. Pam Madere with the Jackson Walker firm, who is representing Eureka Holdings on this property, told the commissioners that the developer had followed […]
Posted inCourts
State Bar accepts complaint against former assistant city attorney
The State Bar of Texas has determined it will be pursuing a formal investigation of former Assistant City Attorney Brent Lloyd. Lloyd was the subject of a complaint filed last month by Board of Adjustment Chair William Burkhardt and former Board Member Bryan King, with the support of Board Member Don Leighton-Burwell. The three alleged […]
Posted inPlanning
City adjusts flood map adjustment timeline
The Atlas 14 study conducted by the National Weather Service indicated that in the immediate future, Central Texas is likely to experience more powerful storm events that will increase flooding by 30 percent. Last fall’s major floods turned scientific conjecture into observable reality. Now Atlas 14 has rendered the city of Austin’s current flood maps out […]