Stories by Kara Nuzback
Council clashes over changes to Austin Oaks plan
City Council members struggled to find common ground on changes to the Austin Oaks planned unit development Thursday. Spire Realty Group’s proposed 1.19 million-square-foot mixed-use project would create a “meaningful employment center” on 31 acres away from downtown Austin, said…
Austin • By Kara Nuzback • Mar 24, 2017
Safety commission discusses staffing for APD sexual assault unit
The Austin Police Department’s struggle to indict perpetrators of sexual assault crimes could be due in part to a lack of staffing, according to data examined by its Sex Crimes Unit. For nearly a year, the APD’s battle to clear…
Police • By Kara Nuzback • Mar 8, 2017
Council debates process for hiring city manager
The firm hired to find Austin’s next city manager said it hopes to get the job done by this summer. At a Feb. 28 City Council work session, Steve Newton of Russell Reynolds Associates Inc. said the firm would take…
City Hall • By Kara Nuzback • Mar 6, 2017
Council members slam Troxclair's affordability plan
At City Council’s work session yesterday, several Council members hammered on District 8 Council Member Ellen Troxclair’s Austin Affordability Action Plan. The plan proposes that Council focus on affordability in the areas of housing, transportation, budgeting, cost of living and…
City Council • By Kara Nuzback • Mar 1, 2017
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Austin ISD will no longer suspend pre-K through second grade
The Austin Independent School District’s board of trustees voted unanimously to approve a ban on suspending students from pre-K through second grade at a board meeting last night. Trustee Jayme Mathias moved to approve the ban, which also prohibits placing…
AISD • By Kara Nuzback • Mar 1, 2017
Survey says: Austinites dissatisfied with traffic, happy with most else
New survey findings show Austin residents are generally happier with city services such as fire, police, library, and parks and recreation than residents of similarly populated cities. But Austin falls behind the national average of satisfaction in an unsurprising category:…
City Council • By Kara Nuzback • Feb 16, 2017
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Council hears funding options for new convention center
Faced with concerns that the city is losing revenue because the Austin Convention Center is too small, City Council heard proposals for convention center expansions that ranged from $400 million to $600 million projects at its work session Tuesday. Carla…
City Council • By Kara Nuzback • Feb 8, 2017
City boosts traffic enforcement in areas with high crash rates
Austin officials are boosting roadway safety enforcement as part of the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to eliminate by 2025 car crashes that kill and severely injure people. The Austin Police Department and the Austin Transportation Department kicked…
Transportation • By Kara Nuzback • Jan 24, 2017
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Planners, residents call for Rainey master plan
The Planning Commission says it will likely deny several property owners’ joint request to vacate land on East Avenue, near Rainey Street, because the area needs a neighborhood plan. Ben Turner of Consort Inc., representing four landowners, asked the commission…
Austin • By Kara Nuzback • Mar 30, 2015
Swede Hill residents ward off condo proposal
The Swede Hill Neighborhood Association scored a victory at Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting when commissioners denied a developer’s zoning change request to allow him to build condominiums in the historic neighborhood. It was the second night in a row that…
Housing • By Kara Nuzback • Mar 26, 2015
Panel OKs parking cuts for some small apartments
In some parts of the city, accessory apartments on residential properties — called accessory dwelling units, or ADUs — may soon have fewer parking requirements. The Planning Commission Codes and Ordinances Subcommittee voted 2-1 in favor of easing parking requirements…
The Code • By Kara Nuzback • Mar 19, 2015
City fails to patch SXSW crash-pad issue
An East Austin home whose lease holders are housing musicians in exchange for promotion on social media has city officials flummoxed. Neighbors of the Waller Street property argue that it is an inappropriate use of the house, which is zoned residential.…
