On Thursday City Council rejected an appeal from Casa de Luz, a vegan restaurant on Toomey Road that has had multiple disputes with building officials, the latest one specifically about compliance with requirements of the city fire code. The appeal in question was from a determination by the Building and Fire Code Board of Appeals […]
City Council
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Council expands pilot program providing employment for homeless
On Thursday City Council authorized $720,000 from the city budget to fund an additional year of the growing Workforce First program, which offers temporary work opportunities and supportive services to individuals experiencing homelessness. The money will be drawn from the operating budgets of Austin Resource Recovery, Austin Public Health, Parks and Recreation, and the Watershed […]
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Casa de Luz continues fight with city
Casa de Luz, a vegan restaurant on Toomey Road, has been involved in an ongoing dispute with city building officials over its compliance with requirements of the Fire Code for the past eight years. City Council will be asked to resolve the latest clash at Thursday’s meeting. At issue is an appeal of a ruling […]
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Adler, others on Council want staff to lead on homelessness; DAA says city at ‘tipping point’
Mayor Steve Adler and City Council members Jimmy Flannigan and Paige Ellis weighed in Wednesday and Thursday with their views that the city manager, leaders from the Austin Police Department and the city’s new homeless strategy officer should determine how to rework city policies concerning homelessness. In a series of postings on the City Council […]
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Community concerns with teeth: Council postpones vote on animal-related code changes
Austin is the largest no-kill city in the country and residents would like to keep it that way. Yet some have expressed concern that maintaining the animal shelter’s no-kill status could come at the expense of community safety. Although much of the draft code changes remain uncontroversial and there is support for the current draft […]
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Boundary change puts landfill site under Travis County’s watch
City Council voted Thursday to change the boundaries of its extraterritorial jurisdiction, in essence giving up regulation of more than 800 acres that includes the controversial Austin Community Landfill property. By a unanimous vote, Council approved an ordinance change amending the ETJ boundaries to put the property, which sits between Giles Lane and Springdale Road […]
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Council approves $3M annually from hotel tax for musicians, venues
For the first time, Austin’s city government will provide direct annual funding to the local commercial music industry, including venues and performing musicians. On Thursday, City Council unanimously approved an ordinance and amendments to city code covering the allocation of the city’s portion of Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue, specifically funding for historic preservation projects and […]
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Austin City Council punts on reinstating rules to limit camping and resting in public
City Council declined today to revise rules passed in June that rolled back ordinances banning camping, sitting or lying down in public. Council members may take up the measures again next month. After months of uncertainty on the part of police, the public and the city itself, Council was set to vote on ordinances clarifying […]
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Council members offer revised plan that phases in restrictions on camping or resting in public
City leaders have a new proposal to regulate behavior related to homelessness ahead of a possible City Council vote that could happen as soon as Wednesday. The proposal comes after roughly a week of infighting among Council members. Kathie Tovo and Ann Kitchen put out one plan last Tuesday, and then Greg Casar and Mayor […]
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City facing challenges in changing sidewalks
When Stephanie Hayden, director of Austin Public Health, sent out a memo last Friday explaining improvements the city was making to the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, she underlined one sentence: “Please note the sidewalk construction is scheduled to begin Monday, September 16 and is estimated to last two weeks.” Although the announcement just […]
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Advocates cheer abortion aid funding; Zimmerman sues city
As city leaders and advocates for reproductive choice gathered for a press conference Thursday morning, most of the conversation focused on how Austin became the first city in the country to allocate funding for logistical support, such as transportation and child care, for abortion. On Tuesday, Council voted to add $150,000 to the upcoming budget […]
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Council tells staff: Get municipal court move done
So far, the process of reviewing plans and preparing for relocation of the Austin Municipal Court has been “very, very extensive,” according to Municipal Court Clerk Mary Jane Grubb. Impatient with the lagging timeline, City Council is pressing staffers to wrap up the move as soon as possible. In preparing to move the court from […]