City Council unanimously approved its own Green New Deal resolution last week in response to the devastating consequences of the climate crisis, from record temperatures to the historic flooding seen in Austin and Central Texas over the last decade. Council Member Leslie Pool sponsored the resolution, while Council Member Alison Alter said the intent is […]
City Council
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Dougherty move OK’d but questions remain
Council voted Thursday to instruct the Parks and Recreation Department to move forward with preparing a design for a new site for the Dougherty Arts Center at Butler Shores Park. However, the instructions were not an all-out endorsement of the park site and left open the possibility that Dougherty might end up somewhere else. The […]
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Council passes affordable housing density bonus program
In keeping with its previous support of Council Member Greg Casar’s proposed density bonus program, City Council unanimously approved the Affordability Unlocked bonus program Thursday evening, an ordinance amending city code by loosening site restrictions and promoting construction of more units in affordable and mixed-income housing developments. The program applies to developments without more than […]
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Harper-Madison questions electric vehicle resolution
Council Member Alison Alter’s resolution furthering Austin’s commitment to combating climate change seems exactly like the sort of statement Austinites expect from their leaders. Austin city councils have backed environmental initiatives, including reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, for many years. The resolution, which appears on today’s agenda, zeros in on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from […]
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Development code vote kicked down the road
City staffers are not quite in the clear to officially start work drafting a new Land Development Code. City Council was preparing to make a vote this week that would provide direction to City Manager Spencer Cronk regarding the code, but that vote had still not come up by the time Council adjourned its meeting […]
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City begins search to fund new center for homeless families
The city is looking for money in the current budget to help open and operate a recently constructed homeless shelter for families. At Thursday’s meeting, City Council approved a consent agenda resolution directing City Manager Spencer Cronk to look for possible funding sources to pay for operations at the Salvation Army’s Rathgeber Center for Women […]
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Council hears convention center options, with work sessions on deck
City Council members heard many of the gritty details Tuesday on the question of whether or not to expand the Austin Convention Center. The special meeting came after last week’s arrival of a long-awaited study from the University of Texas School of Architecture that examined how a westward expansion of the facility could reopen and […]
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Hyde Park flood plain variance finally OK’d
Even though Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza did not really approve of granting flood plain variances to allow construction of a home at 4515 Avenue D, she changed her vote last week so that the property owner would not have to come back to Council a third time. When the matter came before Council on […]
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Flood plain variance a conundrum for Council
After hearing from the city’s flood plain expert, Council voted 6-5 Thursday to grant a variance to allow a property owner to replace an older, smaller home in the flood plain of Waller Creek at 4515 Avenue D with a larger home that would sit above the flood plain. Kevin Shunk, Austin’s flood plain administrator, […]
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Alter worried about cost of city leases
Council Member Alison Alter is worried about how much money the city is spending on renting space for city offices as compared to purchasing or building those offices. At Tuesday’s work session, Alter grilled Alex Gale, the city’s interim real estate officer, about a proposed 60-month lease agreement with CCI-Burleson I for up to $38.8 […]
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Petition drive to stall stadium will likely head to voters, after construction start
The petition drive started last year in an attempt to stall or prevent the construction of a soccer stadium on city property could go before voters in November, roughly two months after construction of the 20,000-seat facility is expected to begin. City Council will ultimately set the date for the election, with late August as […]
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Casar makes small changes to affordable housing resolution
City Council appears poised to approve a resolution aimed at easing regulations on affordable housing developers. At a Tuesday work session, Council members offered suggestions, but not significant criticism, of the measure drafted by Council Member Greg Casar. The proposal, which Casar has dubbed “Affordability Unlocked,” would exempt subsidized housing projects from numerous development regulations, […]