Having already been postponed once before, a plat application for a new subdivision in West Austin was postponed again by the Zoning and Platting Commission at its Jan. 2 meeting after a motion to approve failed to pass. Two of the three existing single-family homes located on the 1.98 acres at 1401 Allen Road will […]
Joseph Caterine
Posted inAISD
AISD submits top picks for Transformation Zone partner
After meeting with representatives from eight Northeast Austin campus advisory councils last week, the Austin Independent School District administration has selected its top picks for the role of design partner in a Transformation Zone grant. Empower Schools Inc. from Boston earned the district’s first choice, followed by Mass Insight Education and the University of Virginia’s […]
Posted inWhispers
2018 CodeNEXT land use schedule takes a breather
The demanding schedule of last year’s CodeNEXT review by the land use commissions, replete with joint meetings and fifth Tuesdays, has taken a temporary reprieve due to the postponed release of the third and final draft. Originally scheduled for the end of November, the code rewrite’s final draft version will now be coming out Feb. […]
Posted inPlanning
Commission struggles with perplexing conditional use permit
CodeNEXT may make the current Land Development Code seem outdated, but there are still buildings around the city that have yet to be registered with the city. In these cases, something as simple as changing a building’s use can carry extraordinary implications. At the Jan. 9 Planning Commission meeting, commissioners debated whether a request for […]
Posted inAISD
AISD pumps brakes on Confederacy renamings
The initiative to change the names of Austin school facilities bearing the titles of Confederate military personnel lost steam at the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees’ Jan. 8 work session. The item was scheduled to come to a vote at the board’s Feb. 26 meeting, but the consensus Monday was to drop that […]
Posted inWhispers
Commission subcommittee to re-examine tenant relocation ordinance
The Codes and Ordinances subcommittee of the Zoning and Platting Commission will be reviewing the Tenant Relocation Ordinance to close potential loopholes brought to light by a recent Planning Commission case. At the Dec. 19 ZAP meeting, Commissioner Betsy Greenberg proposed the action be put on the agenda of the next meeting of the subcommittee. […]
Posted inZoning
Commission tries in vain to add affordability requirements to commercial rezone
The legal constraints of Vertical Mixed Use zoning stalled efforts to add income-restricted affordable housing to a rezoning request at the Zoning and Platting Commission’s Dec. 19 meeting. The 2-acre property at 9829 1/2 North Lake Creek Parkway is currently zoned Multifamily Residence-Highest Density (MF-6) and is located at the corner of a commercial intersection. […]
Posted inZoning
Commission recommends mixed use family-friendly project in East Austin
A mixed use commercial rezone request in the middle of an east side single-family neighborhood met unanimous approval from Planning commissioners at their Dec. 12 meeting. Staff had recommended against placing such intense zoning in a residential area, but the applicant’s intentions to build several four-bedroom units as part of the project made the rezone […]
Posted inZoning
Valid petition helps broker compromise in Montopolis rezone
The Planning Commission recommended to limit the units for a Montopolis condominium project proposed in a rezoning request at its Dec. 12 meeting, largely in response to strong opposition from the neighborhood. “I think this is a testament to you all and your neighborhood,” Commissioner Nuria Zaragoza said at the meeting. “I think any other […]
Posted inAISD
School communities to have more say in new facility designs
Following an intensive community engagement process in the drafting of the 2017 bond package, Austin Independent School District staff informed the board of trustees at its Dec. 11 work session that the designs of the new facilities will continue in that spirit by prioritizing the inclusion of school communities in the implementation of the Facility […]
Posted inZoning
Commission votes against rezoning former mobile home park property
Many commission decisions set a precedent, but only some make a statement. At its Dec. 12 meeting, the Planning Commission voted to recommend denying a rezoning application for a Montopolis property in what some commissioners called a clear example of gentrification. 2110 Thrasher Lane used to contain a mobile home park of 17 households before […]
Posted inAustin
Environmental Commission moves Onion Creek buyout plan forward
Over four years after the 2013 Halloween floods racked the Onion Creek neighborhoods, the Environmental Commission voted unanimously at its Dec. 6 meeting to approve staff’s recommendation to move forward with 128 buyouts of houses at immediate risk of flooding come the next downpour. The Watershed Protection Department’s recommendation is a culmination of multiple years […]