As Austin’s new Land Development Code, CodeNEXT, is being crafted, some residents see the process as a chance to address longstanding issues of racial and economic inequity. Neighborhood activist Susana Almanza said Austin needs to talk about its past before it plans the future. Almanza, a member of the Eastern Crescent Right to Stay Coalition, […]
Syeda Hasan
Posted inCity Hall
CodeNEXT consultant not meeting goals to hire women- and minority-owned firms
The California-based company hired to help rewrite Austin’s Land Development Code is not meeting contractual goals to hire local minority-owned and women-owned firms. The city’s contract with Opticos Design Inc. calls for about 32 percent of the consultant’s work on CodeNEXT to be subcontracted out to minority- and women-owned businesses. The percentage goals are set […]
Posted inPreservation
Austin loosens rules for designating buildings historic
It may be easier for properties in Austin to be zoned historic now. Until a few weeks ago, if a property owner filed written opposition to the designation, the city’s Historic Landmark Commission needed a two-thirds vote to override those wishes and recommend the site for historic zoning. An ordinance passed by City Council last […]
Posted inHousing
A new development is bringing ‘micro-units’ to East Austin
A new development going up in East Austin hopes to provide a more affordable option for home ownership. The Fourth & condos in East Austin feature what are called “micro-units,” efficiency apartments that span just a few hundred square feet. “It is laid out to where you have a living space, you have a bookshelf […]
Posted inHousing
People with criminal records are often locked out of Austin’s housing market
After almost a year of searching, Annette Price is settling into her new apartment in North Central Austin. She lives alone in the one-bedroom unit with her dog, Candy. But Price doesn’t totally feel at home. This apartment complex is one of the few places in the city where the 52-year-old could get approved for […]
Posted inPreservation
After demolition plans are scrapped, segregation-era school could become museum
After much debate over redevelopment, Austin is considering buying the Montopolis Negro School to preserve the segregation-era property. At the height of segregation, there were 42 schools for black children throughout Travis County; the Montopolis school is one of the few still standing. The school sits vacant in a largely empty field in East Austin. […]
Posted inAustin
Homeless service providers say pilot program made downtown Austin safer
An effort to reduce crowds loitering outside the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless has made downtown safer, local service providers say. A 30-day initiative was launched last month to address homelessness outside the ARCH, where dozens of people congregate on lawn chairs and blankets on any given day. The goal was to disrupt the […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Austin aims to simplify the language around CodeNEXT
The upcoming second draft of Austin’s new Land Development Code is expected to eliminate one of its key zoning tools, known as “transect” zones, which focus on a building’s form rather than its use. In theory, transect zones would allow for a wider range of uses in a given area, as long as a building […]
Posted inLand Development Code
MAP: Central Austin neighborhoods are providing the most feedback on CodeNEXT
The complete rewrite of the city’s Land Development Code known as CodeNEXT will have significant effects on housing, transportation and commercial development throughout Austin in the coming years. But so far, public input on the code has been anything but equal across the city. Online feedback, in particular, has been overwhelmingly focused on the wealthiest […]
Posted inAustin
Council considers using city-owned buildings to ease overcrowding at homeless shelters
City Council is looking at using city-owned buildings as temporary homeless shelters. The idea comes from Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, who says overcrowding at downtown shelters has led to harsh conditions for people experiencing homelessness. Speaking at City Hall on Tuesday, Tovo said it’s an issue that demands action as the city works to […]
Posted inHousing
Austin residents are beginning to move back into renovated public housing
Lisa Martinez walks around her newly renovated two-bedroom apartment at Manchaca Village, pointing out her favorite features: the blue accent wall in her living room, a new washer and dryer, and, best of all, a new dishwasher. It has made it much easier to clean up after her four kids. The 33-unit apartment complex in […]
Posted inHousing
Measure seeks ways to spread affordable housing more evenly across Austin
City Council is set to take up a measure Thursday to encourage development of affordable housing to be more evenly dispersed throughout the city. Low-income housing tends to be built in higher-poverty areas on the outer edges of the city. Rental housing that’s affordable to people earning $25,000 or less a year is scarce or […]