Kimberly Reeves

The Residential Design and Compatibility Commission approved one attic expansion and delayed another, with some commissioners rebuking city staff for failing to provide sufficient materials in the commission’s agenda backup.   The case that passed the commission, just barely, was to increase the floor-to-area ratio in a Hyde Park house from 40 percent to 50 […]

Travis County was one of a dozen counties that got caught in the crossfire last week between a federal three-judge panel in San Antonio and the Texas Secretary of State’s office.   During court proceedings on Thursday in a hearing to discuss how to draw interim Congressional election maps, Assistant Attorney General David Mattax informed […]

Congressman Lloyd Doggett was front and center during a review of options for the Texas Congressional map before a federal three-judge panel in San Antonio on Monday.   The trio of jurists has announced they intend to draw interim maps for Congress, House and Senate in coming weeks. The effort likely will push back the […]

Mayor Lee Leffingwell used a speech at the Real Estate Council of Austin on Wednesday to pitch his proposal for single-member districts, as well as four-year concurrent Council terms and a permanent move to November elections.   That pitch was only topped by Leffingwell’s acknowledgment to the crowd that, yes, he would be seeking a […]

Travis County has erred on the side of caution in setting out groundwater regulations for county development, looking to other counties for guidance.   That’s not unusual for the county when it comes to environmental regulations. Travis County typically has been cautious. While the county could claim authority for groundwater regulations under its authority for […]

A Planning Commission subcommittee has tightened up the language in a short-term rental proposal one more time before sending it off to the legal department for drafting an ordinance the full commission will consider.   Commissioner Danette Chimenti guided stakeholders one more time through some of the staff questions on the ordinance. The group overruled […]

The Downtown Commission gave attorney Steve Drenner another win last night on CURE zoning for a 380-foot downtown tower that features office and hotel space.    The proposed site, which would combine the former Hickory Street Bar & Grill and the historic Bosche-Hogg Building, would offer a number of features: an open air plaza at […]

School administrators laid out new options to relieve crowding in North Central Austin elementary schools at a Saturday morning community forum, another attempt to get a handle on Austin Independent School District’s changing facility needs.   Superintendent Meria Carstarphen has re-booted AISD’s facilities master plan process, starting a three-month tour of community forums and public […]

The Lower Colorado River Authority agreed yesterday to put up the $5 million local match necessary to secure Bastrop County’s FEMA funding for clean-up efforts from the Labor Day wildfires.   Bastrop County, which expects a slow painful recovery process, approached LCRA for support in late September, along with local leaders. Right now, removal of […]

Monday’s CAMPO Transportation Policy Board meeting was proof that as soon as local leaders take one step forward in the name of regional planning, they’re just as likely to take two steps back.   Members of the regional planning board had, at one point, appeared to agree that they approved of regional goals to reduce […]

Attorney Richard Suttle won rezoning of a series of properties along West Avenue near the intersection on Seventh Street at Council last night; no small feat given a valid petition had been filed to oppose the zoning changes.   The property covered 705, 707, 709, 710 and 711 West Avenue, although the combined parcel was […]

Agent Jim Bennett had to take his case on Curtis Avenue to the Residential Design and Compatibility Commission four times before he got approval for increased floor-to-area ratios on a two-story duplex.   Vice Chair Karen McGraw and Commissioner Mary Ingle were still holdouts on the variance, which passed on a 5-2 vote last night. […]