Stories by Joseph Caterine
Rezoning applicant loses rematch with neighborhood
A property owner expected different results at last Tuesday’s Zoning and Platting Commission meeting when making the same rezoning application for a Northwest Austin property. The zoning had been previously cut down by City Council, and the commission decided to…
Zoning • By Joseph Caterine • Sep 12, 2017
Council gets preview of CodeNEXT 2.0
Many of the answers amounted to “wait another week,” but City Council was able to pry some information about the second draft of CodeNEXT from consultants and staff at a special called meeting Wednesday. One of the main criticisms of…
Land Development Code • By Joseph Caterine • Sep 7, 2017
Single-family occupancy limits drop back to four in CodeNEXT second draft
There is a two-sided nature of the CodeNEXT drafting process. On the one hand, staff and third-party consultants meticulously work through the details of the new land use code on a daily basis. And, on the other, the land use…
Land Development Code • By Joseph Caterine • Sep 1, 2017
Harvey revives flooding concerns about CodeNEXT
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the land use commissions questioned staff on how CodeNEXT would address local flooding at their Aug. 29 joint meeting. “Austin came real close to having another catastrophe this (past) weekend. Real close,” Zoning and…
Planning • By Joseph Caterine • Aug 31, 2017
Trustees cast doubt on success of UT partnership program
At its Aug. 28 meeting, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees approved an interlocal agreement with the University of Texas at Austin to renew the Literacy First program at 22 Austin schools for the coming school year, but…
Education • By Joseph Caterine • Aug 30, 2017
Limits of land use code exposed in unique zoning case
An application for commercial zoning at the corner of a North Austin neighborhood elicited a tiresome recommendation from the Zoning and Platting Commission at its Aug. 15 meeting. Commissioners had to go item by item through a list of zoning…
Planning • By Joseph Caterine • Aug 29, 2017
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Commission finds itself at CodeNEXT crossroads
Only a few weeks before the scheduled release of CodeNEXT Draft 2.0, the Planning Commission at its Aug. 22 meeting took a step outside of business as usual and considered the alternatives in proceeding with the revamp of the city’s…
Land Development Code • By Joseph Caterine • Aug 28, 2017
Mosaic Sound Collective one step closer to East Austin campus
Tuesday night, the Planning Commission voted to approve recommendations for the rezoning of a property in East Austin that would allow for the expansion of a local music collective’s campus, despite some commissioners’ wariness of how the upzoning might attract…
Zoning • By Joseph Caterine • Aug 25, 2017
Crowd demands answers from AISD trustee at east side rally
Austin Independent School District Trustee Jayme Mathias struggled to find common ground with parents, teacher assistants and other community members at the Save East Austin Schools rally Wednesday night. The event was organized by Bertha Delgado and Monica Sanchez, who…
AISD • By Joseph Caterine • Aug 4, 2017
Former Code director's delay put STR renewals in limbo
The former Code Department Director Carl Smart’s decision to pause judgment of several appeals from Type 2 short-term rental owners became clear over the course of the July 26 meeting of the Building and Standards Commission, over a year after…
The Code • By Joseph Caterine • Aug 3, 2017
Commissioners spar on definition of family-friendly housing
With a school district facing cases of severe under-enrollment, it has become clear that the city needs to do more to cater to younger families and especially to provide housing that suits their needs. CodeNEXT, currently being mulled over by…
Land Development Code • By Joseph Caterine • Aug 1, 2017
Flag lots could be making a comeback
There’s more to CodeNEXT than zoning, believe it or not, and last week the land use commissions received an update from staff on non-zoning changes that would be part of the rewrite’s second draft, with the hottest item of discussion…
