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Most Popular Stories
- Council members celebrate unanimous defeat of bill that proposed putting Austin under state control
- A once-banned type of building is back in favor – and the Planning Commission approves
- Eviction crisis spreads as affordability pressures worsen
- Audit shows former Austin Water employee directed search of boss’ inbox
- Austin churches answer prayers for affordable housing – by building it themselves
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Austin
RECA members talk transit, land use and homelessness with other city leaders
Members of the city’s real estate community got a look Thursday at what is and isn’t working in similar cities across the country on three of the biggest issues facing Austin: land use, transportation and homelessness. The panel, titled “What…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Sep 13, 2019
Austin City Council proposes bringing back ban on camping, sitting or lying down in certain areas
City Council members have presented plans to roll back city laws passed in June that effectively allowed camping, sitting or lying down in public. Council members will consider the changes, which limit that behavior at specific locations, at their Sept.…
Austin • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Sep 11, 2019
Salvation Army seeks funding on top of city dollars to open shelter for families
The Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation has pledged $100,000 to help open a new shelter for homeless families in East Austin, months after the city agreed to a one-time contribution of $1 million. The funding will help cover some of the…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Sep 10, 2019
Austin City Council could use e-scooter regulations to limit homeless encampments, memo says
City officials released additional guidelines Friday on how to limit homeless encampments in Austin, including spatial limitations on sidewalks and along waterways. The memo from the city manager and the Homeless Strategy Office is meant to guide the Austin City…
Austin • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Sep 3, 2019
City memo says Austin could put limits on where homeless people may camp or rest
Austin will reexamine its new rules governing homelessness, according to a memo released Friday. The memo sent to City Council on behalf of Austin’s Homelessness Strategy Office says the city could abandon its idea to make space for emergency encampments…
Austin • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Aug 19, 2019
Tourism Commission wants agreement between city, short-term rental companies
The Tourism Commission has asked City Council to change its long-held stance toward short-term rental platforms like Airbnb in favor of an agreement that would earn the city millions of dollars in new Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue each year. At…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 14, 2019
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City outlines displacement mitigation strategy based on People’s Plan
Following a Council directive last year to analyze the recommendations put forth in the People’s Plan, city staffers from a variety of departments have released a Displacement Mitigation Strategy report detailing an approach to contend with gentrification and displacement in…
Austin • By Jessi Devenyns • Aug 12, 2019
Council approves hotel tax increase
Despite requests from Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and commissioners Margaret Gómez, Brigid Shea and Jeff Travillion, Austin City Council voted early Friday to approve a 2 percent increase in the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax, which will allow the city…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Aug 9, 2019
Legislature cuts farmers market fees, costing city
Passage of a little-known bill, Senate Bill 932, which establishes a $100 maximum fee for food sales permits at farmers markets, will cost the Austin Public Health Department about $4,000 in the current fiscal year and an estimated $41,485 in…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Aug 8, 2019
Showdown over hotel tax increases could put city and county at odds
A week after the Travis County Commissioners Court voted to explore tapping a 2 percent increase in the local Hotel Occupancy Tax for its own uses, Austin City Council appears set to claim the same tax increase to fund an…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 7, 2019
ECHO has a new leader
The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, one of the leading organizations involved in addressing Austin’s homelessness problem, will have a new top executive today as the group’s co-founder, Ann Howard, steps down to focus on her campaign for a seat on…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 5, 2019
Travis County, city of Austin ramp up census efforts
Travis County and the city of Austin are mounting an aggressive effort to make sure the 2020 U.S. census count is as complete and accurate as possible. The county and city are collaborating by jointly funding a temporary position “to…
