MetroBike, the city’s rebranded bike share service, saw two consecutive months of record ridership this year, driven by a pandemic-era bike boom and a new fleet of e-bikes. “This year, we hit record numbers for the past few years,” Chad Ballentine with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority said, “so the future of bike share is […]
Jonathan Lee
Posted inCity Council
Council to increase homestead exemptions, tax rate ceiling
City Council plans to vote this week on three items affecting Austinites’ property taxes. Two measures would give homeowners modest property tax relief through increased homestead exemption rates. The third measure would effectively set a higher maximum property tax rate, allowing the city more flexibility as it decides what rate to set in August. All […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission supports latest East Austin VMU rezoning
The Planning Commission last Tuesday recommended approval of a rezoning to allow a 126-unit multifamily building at 1200-1208 Springdale Road. The developer requests Vertical Mixed Use (-V) zoning, which would allow more units, on top of the current Community Commercial-Mixed Use (GR-MU) zoning. The site is currently vacant. With the existing zoning, the developer would […]
Posted inPlanning
As temporary Healthy Streets close, permanent version prepares to open
As Austin’s Healthy Streets program winds down, with less than four miles of the temporary slow streets remaining, the city is preparing a new pilot program for 10 permanent Healthy Streets. The pilot will “test the application of our Healthy Streets principles – calming traffic, opening up street spaces to people walking, biking, driving, parking, and […]
Posted inAustin
Austin’s music and arts community to receive windfall from American Rescue Plan
The American Rescue Plan spells huge relief for Austin’s music and arts scene. In a resolution passed last Thursday, City Council proposed spending $25 million over a two-year period to revive the city’s creative industry, mostly using money from Austin’s $188.4 million cut of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package. While Austin’s creative sector has received some […]
Posted inCity Council
Council members worry water conservation efforts could make development more expensive
City Council advanced several initiatives at last Thursday’s meeting to make the city’s water supply more sustainable and resistant to drought. Some Council members, however, worried that new policies could increase development costs, thereby exacerbating the city’s affordability crisis. “I’m proud that as a city we led the way when it comes to environmental sustainability […]
Posted inParks
Council OKs Pease Park public-private partnership
City Council on Thursday approved a public-private partnership between Pease Park Conservancy and the Parks and Recreation Department, making the conservancy the official private steward of the park. Initially, the conservancy will oversee event programming, capital improvements and maintenance to Kingsbury Commons, a 7-acre section of the park that has undergone extensive renovation. As the […]
Posted inDevelopment
Central Health PUD passes on first reading
City Council has approved Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning on first reading for the 14-acre Central Health site at 601 E. 15th St., formerly home to Brackenridge Hospital. The zoning, if approved on second and third reading, will allow tall and dense buildings on one of the biggest redevelopment tracts in Central Austin. Council first […]
Posted inPlanning
Council adopts new interim fees for Downtown Density Bonus program
Developers of some downtown towers will have to pay more toward affordable housing after City Council voted 10-0-2 on Thursday to increase the Downtown Density Bonus program’s in-lieu fees. The program offers developers more height and density in exchange for on-site affordable housing and/or fees-in-lieu toward housing vouchers and permanent supportive housing for people experiencing […]
Posted inPlanning
A neighborhood’s request to build a private park draws concern over policing
Last week the Planning Commission heard a surprisingly controversial debate among neighbors in East Austin’s Senate Hills over whether to allow the construction of a new neighborhood park. Though the commissioners all sided with those in favor of the park, the park’s future is uncertain after a majority of commissioners indicated their preference for a […]
Posted inCity Council
Early list of potential campsites for the homeless causes stir
City Council weighed in Tuesday on an initial list of 45 city-owned properties that could potentially serve as campsites for people experiencing homelessness, embarking on the logistically and politically fraught process of deciding whether to establish a campsite in each of the 10 Council districts, as proposed earlier this month. Though Council has previously rejected […]
Posted inAustin
Piecemeal shelters during winter storm highlight need for better coordination
At a meeting Monday to discuss the city’s response to Winter Storm Uri, City Council highlighted one of its biggest priorities to prepare for future disasters: strengthening Austin’s network of disaster shelters. Though Council members praised the community and city staffers for their “all hands on deck” effort to help fellow Austinites find a warm […]