Barring a handful of exceptions, fences in Austin are generally 6 feet tall. A fence may exceed that standardized height, however, if “a structure, including a telephone junction box, exists that is reasonably likely to enable a child to climb over a 6-foot fence and gain access to a hazardous situation, including a swimming pool,” […]
Jessi Devenyns
Posted inWhispers
Guerrero Park comprises city rights-of-way
Project Catalyst raised some eyebrows recently when the developers announced that they would need to cut a right of way through 11,000 square feet of Guerrero Park. After speaking on the matter before several commissions, Malcolm Yeatts decided to dig deeper into the rights of way through the parkland to find that the portion of […]
Posted inUncategorized
Board of Adjustment split over gas station lanes
Despite the city’s goal of reducing the number of people driving in single passenger vehicles to 50 percent by 2039, 74 percent of Austin residents currently drive to work alone. With so many vehicles on the road, that means gas stations are far from being a relic of the past. However, Jim Wittliff argued at […]
Posted inPreservation
Eureka Holdings seeks rehabilitation approval for I.Q. Hurdle House
In less than a week, the I.Q. Hurdle House at 1416 E. 12th St. went from a demolition-by-neglect case to a voluntary restoration project. When Dallas-based Eureka Holdings – under the name Poisonous Poinsettia – bought the home of the celebrated minister and public school educator Isaiah Quit Hurdle a year and a half ago, there […]
Posted inWhispers
New leadership at the Historic Landmark Commission
April 22 marked the changing of the guard at the Historic Landmark Commission. Although Emily Hibbs, Matt Jacob and Terri Myers were absent, officer elections took place per the requirements set forth in the commission’s bylaws. Both Myers and Emily Reed were nominated for the position of chair in a unanimous vote. Commissioner Reed took […]
Posted inWhispers
Wheatsville marks a new stop for Cap Metro
Capital Metro has finally made it to Wheatsville Food Co-op. To celebrate the arrival of the 801 and 803 MetroRapid lines to a bus stop on 31st and Guadalupe streets, Council Member Kathie Tovo and Cap Metro President and CEO Randy Clarke came to clip a ribbon and commemorate the new transportation option for Austinites […]
Posted inParks
Parks and Recreation lacks $2.4 million in funding, potentially faces more cuts
As the question of property tax caps continues to loom in the state Legislature, city departments are wrestling to pare down their budgets in anticipation of what management expects to be a $51.7 million gap in funding for the entire city by 2022 (estimate made per 2.5 percent rollback rate). For the Parks and Recreation […]
Posted inPreservation
West Austin home causes impasse at HLC
City code requires a structure to meet two out of five requirements in order to be designated historic. One of the most often-used requirements is that of historical association with an individual who “contributed significantly to the history of the city, state or nation.” The tricky part is that the individual must have been noteworthy […]
Posted inPreservation
East Austin home slated for historic zoning against owner’s wishes
It is rare in Austin that a home is preserved against an owner’s wishes. According to Preservation Austin, the city has disregarded an owner’s wishes in this manner exactly three times since 1974. Now there is a chance it will happen a fourth time. One hundred and seventeen years ago, German immigrants constructed what is […]
Posted inPlanning
Environmental Commission recommends rimrock stairwell to lake
Shoreline access from the rimrock cliffs of Lake Austin has been a touchy subject in the past. While mechanized access has not been permissible for nearly a decade and property owners are only allowed to install pedestrian access, there are still cases that come before various commissions to rock the boat. The latest shoreline case […]
Posted inEnergy
Should natural gas be a required secondary fuel source?
Even as the city strives to reach net-zero community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the Energy Code for Austin still, with some exceptions, requires the use of natural gas for water heating when a residential building is constructed adjacent to natural gas service. Recognizing this inconsistency with the city’s goals, the Resource Management Commission unanimously […]
Posted inPlanning
West Austin housing development claims vested rights, compromises on development regulations
Even if a property remains undeveloped for years, the property’s vested rights can, in some cases, allow a project to be grandfathered into another era’s development regulations. In the case of a project at FM 620 at Storm Drive, that era is the 1970s. According to Atha Phillips, the Watershed Protection Department’s environmental program coordinator, who […]