Austin City Council Member Greg Casar looks back at his first months in office, including his efforts as chair of Council’s Planning and Neighborhood Committee. The program is embedded below: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/232422797″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
City Charter
Posted inAustin, City Charter, Development, Land Development Code
Casar proposes ADU policy revision timeline
Amid a public outcry for more available housing, City Council is reconsidering restrictions on accessory dwelling units such as granny flats and garage apartments. Council Member Greg Casar has proposed an approach to that review that considers related issues, including short-term rental regulations and parking requirements. Casar suggested Wednesday that the Planning and Neighborhoods Committee, […]
Posted inPremium Types
TickTock: Austin City Council Meeting 6.25.15
Tick Tock is the sortable-by-item-number transcript of Monitor publisher Mike Kanin’s Twitter feed from Council day. Simply click on the item number to scroll to the corresponding. Votes are color-coded: Green for yeas, red for nays, et cetera. It’s embedded below.Tick Tock is the sortable-by-item-number transcript of Monitor publisher Mike Kanin’s Twitter feed from Council […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter
Council to decide on X Games funding application
The Austin City Council is considering whether to endorse the application of the Circuit of the Americas for funding from the Texas Major Event Trust Fund for the summer X Games this year and in 2016 and 2017. The Major Event Trust Fund applies local and state gains in sales and other taxes generated by […]
Posted inBudget, City Charter, City Council, City Hall
For Austin’s City Manager, change is a constant
This week, Marc Ott celebrates his seventh anniversary as Austin’s city manager. The Austin Monitor sat down with him to talk about his tenure, the future and how his office is tackling the myriad changes proposed by the new City Council. Ott told the Monitor that he was hired just prior to the Great Recession […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council, Local Politics
For Martinez, 10-1 dominated 2014
Council Member Mike Martinez is fresh off a campaign for mayor, one where he did his level best to bring up big-picture issues. Indeed, as many have reported, affordability and transportation became key notes in the campaign. Still, when he sat down to talk with the Monitor about the past year, the very first thing […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council, Elections, Local Politics
Residents express concerns over final Council districts map
A week after the final proposed map of Austin’s first single-member districts was released, Austinites gathered mainly to tell the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission what they felt was wrong with the map and, occasionally tell them what the panel had done right. The meeting, held at The Lodge at 700 Dawson (formerly the Elks Lodge), […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council, Elections, Local Politics
ICRC holds final public hearing on proposed Council districts
As the deadline for a single-member district map grows closer, the crowd wanting to address the map has grown larger and more vocal. Wednesday night, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission held its fourth and final public input meeting designed to solicit testimony about the Sept. 28 preliminary map. The commission heard from a full […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council, Elections, Local Politics
ICRC continues hearing on preliminary 10-1 Council Districts map
As a deadline for establishing Austin’s first single-member districts looms, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission continued to listen to citizens over the weekend. The commission is currently on a whirlwind tour of the four Travis County Commissioner precincts. This past Saturday, they were in Dove Springs, taking public input on the preliminary map, which […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council, Elections, Local Politics, Uncategorized
Second Council district map emerges as critics pan ICRC’s first effort
A preliminary map drawn by the members of Austin‘s charter election-born Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is now not the only proposed single-member district Council outline drawing criticism. A map dubbed by its architects as a “Compact District Map” emerged over the past week and quickly drew fire from the group behind the election-day passage of […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council, Elections
Neighborhoods mostly unhappy with first map of Council districts
Though some may have worried that breaking Austin up into 10 Single-Member Districts would divide the city, that hasn’t proven to be true so far. Monday night, Austinites from across the city united in expressing their discontent with the initial map drawn by the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. The complaints emphasized two main points […]