Almost five years ago, Council recommended that Austin Energy retire its portion of the Fayette Power Plant, which is run on coal, by 2022. Despite intense pressure from environmentalists to move that date up, the city utility is sticking to their plans for retirement on that date. However, the path forward toward retirement remains clear. […]
Jessi Devenyns
Posted inEnergy
EUC recommends code amendment to expand electric vehicle use
Soon Austin may have as many electric charging stations as gas stations. Currently, city code does not allow for the resale of city energy by third-party entities. However, the code was written before there was any inkling that electric vehicles would one day be rolling down the streets as everyday transportation. Now, seeing the possibilities […]
Posted inEnvironment
After 20 years the city protects 25 percent of the Barton Springs recharge zone
Since 1998, the city of Austin has been working diligently to preserve and care for the crown jewel of our city: Barton Springs. Doing so involves a lot more than draining and cleaning the pool every so often. According to Sherri Kuhl, the environmental conservation division manager at Austin Water, it in large part involves […]
Posted inWhispers
Water Forward plan to go to Council this fall
After over three years of meetings, the Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force is finally ready to bring its Water Forward plan to Council this fall. Although there is not yet a set date to appear in Council chambers, Teresa Lutes of Austin Water told the members of the Water and Wastewater Commission […]
Posted inDevelopment
Board of Adjustment postpones Travis Heights ADU case, again
Citing neighborly discord, the Board of Adjustment postponed for the third time a variance request to treat an already-standing 1930s bungalow as an accessory dwelling unit. In a creative solution to add more density and square footage to a lot, architect Norma Yancey designed a plan to flip-flop the traditional scenario of the main residence […]
Posted inWhispers
Austin Water sees gigantic jump in revenue
Things are looking up for Austin Water this quarter. “We were trailing budget projections in March by about $3 million … we are now about $3 million ahead,” said Joseph Gonzales, a finance manager with Austin Water. “It’s about a $6 million swing.” Total revenues for the year now sit at $453.37 million. However, Gonzales […]
Posted inDevelopment
Board of Adjustment fails to grant ‘ugly’ variance
On occasion, members of a neighborhood find a redevelopment project to be such an eyesore that they use it as their case as to why it shouldn’t be built in the first place. “We don’t need any more ugly. We’ve got a lot of it,” Mary Ingle, past president of the Austin Neighborhoods Council who was speaking […]
Posted inEnvironment
Tree removal permitting to change in October
Sometimes trees have the most powerful voices in our city. At the Sept. 5 meeting of the Environmental Commission, Max Elliott, who is a resident of the Govalle neighborhood, alerted the commission that recently a builder removed five heritage trees “on a Saturday morning when the neighborhood couldn’t really ask any questions.” The applicant removed […]
Posted inAustin
Citing historical lessons, Environmental Commission opts for mitigation rather than preservation
It’s not often that a variance to remove heritage trees comes before the Environmental Commission. But when it does, the decision is no walk in the park. “Trees like this are one of the challenging cases for us,” City Arborist Keith Mars said at the Sept. 5 meeting of the commission. He acknowledged that it is […]
Posted inWhispers
33 acres of ETJ released to Dripping Springs
Soon, Austin will have 33 fewer acres in its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Virginia Collier from the Planning and Zoning Department informed the Environmental Commission at its Sept. 5 meeting that the city of Dripping Springs has requested the release of approximately 33 acres of the city of Austin’s ETJ near the intersection of U.S. Highway 290 […]
Posted inDevelopment
Development Services preliminary budget asks for 50 new employees
According to the 2017 customer satisfaction poll by the Development Services Department, the time it takes to complete the inspection process was ranked as the most important component but had the lowest satisfaction rating. In an effort to change that perception, the department is asking for 50 new employees. The cost of this new staff […]
Posted inPublic Safety
For juveniles, no more curfew tickets does not mean more crime
Last September, City Council unanimously voted to end the late-night curfew for minors that had been on the books for 27 years. Those who made the case to nix the ordinance argued with data that showed that curfews do not serve to reduce lawbreaking. Although the ordinance was originally intended to address juvenile crime, community […]