Though it hasn’t gotten a lot of attention, local sign regulations could drastically change with the implementation of CodeNEXT. While that is still a ways away, that didn’t stop the image of Austin’s homey neighborhoods being overrun by digital billboards from haunting the review of a draft code amendment at last week’s Planning Commission meeting. […]
Joseph Caterine
Posted inZoning
Commission decides mistake made in East Austin plan
Cold case zoning files may not have the same morbid allure as the cold case murders unearthed on late night television, but for the neighborhood and stakeholders involved in these mysteries, justice is still on the line. Last week, the Planning Commission sided with staff’s judgment that a 16-year-old zoning rollback of an East Austin […]
Posted inAustin
Commission talks reversing institutional racism
Cast out of its usual place in the shadows, racism was put front and center as a topic of discussion during a briefing at the Planning Commission Tuesday night. Eric Tang and Jane Rivera, co-chairs of the Real Estate and Housing work group of Mayor Steve Adler’s Task Force on Institutional Racism and Systemic Inequities, […]
Posted inWhispers
Planning Commission submits feedback on CodeNEXT first draft
About a month after the original deadline, the Planning Commission voted Tuesday to finalize a letter of recommendation to City Council in response to the first version of CodeNEXT produced by city staff and consultants. In accordance with a resolution passed by Council last month, the commission will submit another letter in January after reviewing […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Recent study reveals benefits of Austin’s historic neighborhoods
Longtime Austin residents and historic preservation advocates have new data to back up their defense of neighborhood character thanks to a report that has made its way into local CodeNEXT discussions. Last week, Council Member Leslie Pool shared a link to the Atlas of ReUrbanism, published late last year, on the City Council Message Board […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Commission fights for seat at CodeNEXT table
The Zoning and Platting Commission has been perceived by some as the proverbial “stick in the mud” since the CodeNEXT drafting process began earlier this year, but a resolution passed at City Council’s most recent meeting reiterates the commission’s inability to stop the scheduled third reading of the new code by Council next April. According […]
Posted inAISD
School board calls for biggest bond in its history
Unprecedented in cost, the $1.05 billion bond package the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees officially approved at its last meeting before summer break is its most ambitious yet. Unlike the 2013 bond election where the package was divided into four separate propositions, this November voters will only have one choice: take it or […]
Posted inWhispers
AISD plans bond election, elects vice chair
Though it won’t be announced officially until this morning, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees is moving forward with a $1.05 billion bond election this November. The Austin Monitor will have the full story in Wednesday’s edition, and the district will have more information about the bond package on AISDFuture.com “in the next few […]
Posted inAISD
Bond doubles down on segregation, trustee says
At last week’s Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees meeting, only one trustee voted against the adoption of the list of projects to be included in this year’s bond election: District 1 representative Edmund Gordon. In a sit-down interview with the Austin Monitor, Gordon elaborated on his opposition to the bond package. What it […]
Posted inAISD
School board wary of tax rate increase in bond election
Read their lips: no tax increase. With the exception of District 1 Trustee Edmund Gordon, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees was united in its stance against raising the tax rate with the 2017 Bond Package as it voted to adopt the proposed list of projects Monday night. Before staff made its presentation, Superintendent […]
Posted inWhispers
AISD Board Approves Item List for 2017 Bond Election
Short of initiating the bond election itself, the Austin Independent School District Board moved closer to setting it in motion by voting to approve the list of items for the bond 8-1 at their June 19th regular meeting, with Trustee Ted Gordon dissenting. The current project total sits at $990 million $952,644,000, and superintendent Dr. […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Garage placement tool ignites political blowback from Bouldin Creek
Light shone through the cracks in the contact team model for neighborhood planning during deliberation over a neighborhood plan amendment at the most recent meeting of the Planning Commission. The Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Plan, adopted in 2002, includes voluntary design guidelines for the area, one of which is to minimize the use of the garage […]