At a special called joint meeting Monday, commissioners from the Electric Utility and Resource Management commissions praised Austin Energy’s response to last month’s winter storm that left hundreds of thousands of people without power for days. Commissioners also offered ideas on how the utility could improve if a similar scenario were to occur again. Resource […]
Jonathan Lee
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission picks favorite Dougherty design option
On Tuesday, the Planning Commission weighed in on preliminary design options for the relocated Dougherty Arts Center, adding an important recommendation to feedback already collected from other boards, commissions and community members. The community arts center is currently located in an aging circa-1959 building at 1110 Barton Springs Road. “Dougherty is, as I’m sure everybody […]
Posted inZoning
Council postpones decision on Delta Kappa Gamma rezoning
City Council last Thursday postponed rezoning the historic Delta Kappa Gamma headquarters at 416 W. 12th St., yielding to a request from a property owner on the same block. Delta Kappa Gamma, an organization that supports women educators worldwide, seeks Downtown Mixed-Use (DMU) zoning to allow Stratus Properties to replace the circa-1959, midcentury-modern building, which […]
Posted inAustin
Council bans declawing of cats
City Council has voted unanimously to ban the declawing of cats, a move also adopted by many other cities, states and countries to protect cats from a practice widely seen as damaging to the animals. “Declawing is a painful and unnecessary surgical procedure in which the cat’s toes are amputated at the last joint, often […]
Posted inWater
Austin Water responds to ‘demoralizing’ water outages
Austin Water gave a presentation to the Water Oversight Committee on Wednesday detailing the timeline of the water outages last month, preparation for future disasters and upcoming utility bill relief measures. City Council members demanded to know how a substantial portion of Austin residents lost water during the freeze, among other questions about Austin Water’s […]
Posted inPolice
APD details cadet academy reforms
The Austin Police Department presented reforms to its cadet academy at Tuesday’s City Council work session, moving Council closer to a vote on restarting the academy after halting it last summer. The changes respond to a preliminary report by consulting group Kroll Associates. More broadly, they answer longtime calls for change that crescendoed last summer […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission recommends making Chalmers Avenue block car-free
The Planning Commission said at its Feb. 9 meeting that the city should allow Chalmers Avenue between East Third and East Fourth streets to become a car-free zone, with pedestrian and bike paths and green space replacing the asphalt. The proposed “urban park of sorts” is part of the Pathways at Chalmers Court public housing […]
Posted inCity Council
Council critiques Uri response – and looks ahead to future disasters
On Thursday, City Council launched a wide-ranging review of the city’s response to the devastation wrought by winter storm Uri, beginning the long, complex work of preparing for the next storm – even as the current crisis persists for many. “I appreciate the beginnings of how we approach this looking back (on the crisis), ” […]
Posted inPreservation
Design Commission gives feedback on Fiesta Gardens vision
On Monday, the Design Commission reviewed plans for Fiesta Gardens, a city-owned events center in East Austin that is set to receive extensive renovations within the next two years. The venue, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, includes a dining hall, a grandstand overlooking Lady Bird Lake and a Parks and Recreation […]
Posted inAustin
Design Commission eyes Dougherty Arts Center plan
The Design Commission on Monday gave feedback on design alternatives for the Dougherty Arts Center redevelopment, setting up a City Council discussion next month. Though commissioners differed on the best alternative, they commended the project as a whole. The “beloved” community arts center, currently located at 1110 Barton Springs Road, will move next to the […]
Posted inWater
City says water outages could last for days
Many Austinites remain completely without water Friday as tens of thousands of cold-related leaks riddle water mains and pipes, leaving the city in a water crisis that is set to last days. “We never imagined the day where hospitals wouldn’t have water and large segments of our customer base wouldn’t have water,” Austin Water Director […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission recommends rezoning for East Austin townhome project
The Planning Commission last week backed a request to rezone a vacant East Austin tract at 4908 Lott Ave. to allow 62 townhomes – including five income-restricted units. Michael Whellan, who was representing the applicant, said that because the current zoning only permits “McMansions,” the rezoning “would make it feasible” to provide “missing middle” and […]