The Environmental Commission approved a list of variance requests for the Iglesia Camino del Rey Church during its Nov. 4 meeting, despite the fact that there was no tree survey for review. The new church with parking will cover 10,000 square feet on a 7.7 acre lot in east Austin. But, in order to complete […]
Joseph Caterine
Posted inPlanning
Austin Oaks PUD wins ZAP recommendation
After hours of heated testimony and intense deliberation, the Zoning and Platting Commission passed a motion during its Nov. 1 meeting recommending the Austin Oaks planned unit development rezoning request with conditions. The project has been in the works since mid-2014, although the application submitted for review Tuesday night bears little resemblance to the original […]
Posted inZoning
Despite protest, commission OKs liquor rezoning
The Planning Commission has endorsed a rezoning case that will result in a Twin Liquors store opening near the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. Despite opposition from Austin Neighborhoods Council President David King, lack of objection from the school itself resulted in a unanimous decision by the commission at its Oct. 27 meeting. […]
Posted inWhispers
Affordability a middle-class issue? ANC speakers weigh in
Affordability is not just a low-income issue but a middle class issue as well, according to speakers at the Austin Neighborhood Council’s Oct. 26 meeting. Scott Swearingen, a lecturer in the University of Texas Department of Sociology, and Assistant City Manager Bert Lumbreras both presented on the subject, emphasizing the scope and urgency of the […]
Posted inLand Development Code
‘Train wreck’: Planning Commission discusses CodeNEXT
A working group of the Planning Commission had only negative things to report at the commission’s Oct. 25 meeting after analyzing the final prescription paper for CodeNEXT, the city’s overhaul of the Land Development Code. The paper, which addresses fiscal health, had been presented at the commission’s Oct. 11 meeting. Commissioner Angela Piñeyro De Hoyos […]
Posted inWhispers
Plaza Saltillo rezoning almost postponed again
Kelan Robinson, an architect representing the applicant for the future Plaza Saltillo redevelopment, rushed to the podium at the Oct. 25 Planning Commission meeting to protest another postponement of the rezoning application to the commission’s Dec. 13 meeting. Heather Chaffin, the project’s case manager from the Planning and Zoning Department, said that staff members recommended […]
Posted inPlanning
‘Spot Zoning’ case moved to subcommittee
A strange example of patchy zoning came before the Planning Commission at its Tuesday meeting. Chair Stephen Oliver and Commissioner Michael Wilson co-sponsored an item that proposed initiating a code amendment to create an overlay district for two lots on Second Street so that a developer, represented by Land Use Solutions, could proceed in constructing […]
Posted inHousing
First-of-its-kind housing plan presented to Planning Commission
In a city where 200,000 additional housing units will be needed over the next 30 years to meet the growing number of newcomers, having a plan to keep those units affordable is prudent. Accordingly, Jonathan Tomko, a senior planner with the city of Austin, presented a draft version of the Austin Strategic Housing Plan, the […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission debates connectivity over rezoning application
Following a CodeNEXT presentation advocating for greater connectivity in Austin, the Planning Commission had an opportunity to emulate that theme in considering a rezoning application at its Oct. 11 meeting. Applicant Brown & Gay Engineering, represented at the meeting by Steven Buffum, had filed a request that the zoning for 5016-½ E. Ben White Blvd. […]
Posted inPlanning
CodeNEXT prescription papers scrutinized at Planning Commission
CodeNEXT Advisory Group members Dave Sullivan and Colby Wallis – joined by city staff members Annick Beaudet, Ashley Greenstein and Paul DiGiuseppe – were met with skeptical looks when they presented the final two CodeNEXT prescription papers at this week’s Planning Commission meeting. The two papers – about mobility and fiscal health – followed previous prescription […]
Posted inPlanning
Lamar Beach Master Plan moves to Council
Pitching a park master plan at a Planning Commission meeting is a hard sell, especially when you’re following presentations on the city’s fiscal health and its affordability crisis. Rebecca Leonard of Design Workshop nevertheless took up the task before an exhausted commission last Tuesday evening. City Council passed a resolution in June 2014 to initiate […]
Posted inPlanning
Tovo pushes alternatives in lieu of fees-in-lieu
Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo is pushing ahead in her efforts to steer the city’s density bonus programs in a new direction. Near the end of last year, she initiated a staff review of the current programs, suspecting that there was room for improvement. Neighborhood Housing and Community Development staff members presented their findings to […]