Before their March 27 joint meeting with the Zoning and Platting Commission, the Planning Commission passed a motion at their own meeting to revisit the structure of the rules and procedures for the upcoming April 28 and May 1 CodeNEXT public hearings. As planned now, those meetings would only allow speakers who have signed up […]
Joseph Caterine
Posted inLand Development Code
As deadline nears, CodeNEXT capacity figures still in question
The land use commissions received a briefing on the affordability implications of the third and final draft of CodeNEXT Tuesday night, with only a few weeks left before they turn in their official recommendations to City Council. Consultants and staff shared the most up-to-date projections on how many affordable units would be facilitated by adopting […]
Posted inWhispers
Request filed to investigate Planning chair for conflict of interest
The Austin Monitor obtained a copy of an email sent the morning of March 27 formally requesting that Travis County and the city of Austin investigate Stephen Oliver for a possible conflict of interest between his professional work as an architect and his review of CodeNEXT as the Planning Commission chair. The email, signed by Bill […]
Posted inZoning
Commission strikes compromise in contentious mixed use zoning request
In line with the emphasis on mixed use zoning proposed in the CodeNEXT draft, the Zoning and Platting Commission voted to approve staff’s recommendation of mixed use Limited Office zoning for a lot on Slaughter Lane during its Mar. 20 meeting. The request had originally been to upzone both 1109 W. Slaughter Lane and 9401 […]
Posted inZoning
Commission votes to deny rezoning for Northwest bar
The Zoning and Platting Commission voted to side with members of a Northwest Austin neighborhood against a request that would permit a bar to open in their neighborhood. It is not the first time this neighborhood has opposed similar requests, and the bad memories of past cases, rightly or wrongly, weighed on the outcome of […]
Posted inHousing
Planning Commission moves Rosewood Courts case to Council
Voting against a request to postpone the case, the Planning Commission unanimously approved staff’s recommendation to grant a portion of east side public housing project Rosewood Courts historic zoning at its Mar. 13 meeting. Controversy has centered around whether all of the 1939 public housing buildings should be zoned historic or if only some of […]
Posted inWhispers
Commission to push for better formatting for its CodeNEXT recommendation
During CodeNEXT discussion at the end of its Mar. 13 meeting, the Planning Commission impressed upon the staff to include its recommendation for the text of the proposed Land Development Code within the document itself, rather than attached as an addendum. Planning and Zoning Assistant Director Jerry Rusthoven said that staff was concerned about overloading […]
Posted inZoning
East side zoning case gets personal
It takes great care for the Planning Commission to balance developer and neighborhood concerns for any zoning case. That can be especially true when the land in question is smack dab in the middle of one of the most rapidly gentrifying ZIP codes in the city. Not only was a compromise not reached and a […]
Posted inWhispers
Yet another CodeNEXT review schedule
The Planning Commission has passed yet another updated CodeNEXT review schedule to accommodate the delayed release of the proposed Land Development Code’s third draft. The motion, which passed unanimously at the Feb. 27 meeting, sets two “mega” public hearings: one on Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the second on Tuesday, […]
Posted inAISD
School board approves Confederate school renaming process
The Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 7-2 last night to approve an action initiated by district staff last fall to rename five school facilities named after Confederate military personnel. Deliberation on whether to change the names for the John T. Allan facility, Zachary Taylor Fulmore Middle School, Sidney Lanier High School, John […]
Posted inAISD
Middle school turnaround plan impresses board
Having to reinvest in a failing school is typically a somber affair, but the Austin Independent School District’s board of trustees was pleasantly surprised by the thought and energy that had been put into the Burnet Middle School Turnaround Plan shared at the Feb. 12 work session. The Texas Education Agency accountability ratings released at […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Land use commissions skeptical about CodeNEXT 3.0 promises
The third draft of CodeNEXT made its long-awaited debut last Monday, presented to the public at an open house that evening in the flattering light of the golden hour – but by the next night, at the joint land use commission meeting, the congeniality of first impressions had given way to sober deliberation. Consultants and […]