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 Michael Whellan, the company’s rep. In addition to the residential, retail and office space, the […]
Kara Nuzback
Posted inPolice
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 the DNA rape kit backlog has been in the public eye. At a Public Safety […]
Posted inCity Hall
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 about six weeks to search for candidates and allow 10 weeks for interviews to take […]
Posted inCity Council
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 the economy. Troxclair pulled the item from the consent agenda to allow Council members to […]
Posted inAISD
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 students younger than third grade in a disciplinary alternative setting, except as required by law. […]
Posted inCity Council
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: traffic. Jason Morado, project manager of the Kansas City, Kansas-based ETC Institute, presented the report […]
Posted inCity Council
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 Steffen, deputy director and chief financial officer of the convention center, presented several proposals to […]
Posted inTransportation
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 off an initiative yesterday called Vision Zero in Action, which includes additional enforcement of traffic […]
Posted inAustin, Development, Planning, Zoning
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 at its meeting Tuesday to allow a total vacation of 19,700 square feet at the […]
Posted inHousing, Preservation, Zoning
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 the plan was a topic of discussion at City Hall. In February, after hearing about […]
Posted inThe Code
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 for ADUs in most of the city. A motion made by subcommittee member Stephen Oliver […]
Posted inAustin, Music & Entertainment, Zoning
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. Officials are still investigating whether they are treating the property as commercial, as a short-term […]