Austin homeowners hoping to build accessory dwelling units on their properties now have a better chance of being able to do so, based on new rules that City Council passed on Thursday. The measure reducing restrictions on accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, in the Land Development Code passed on a 7-4 vote. Mayor Pro Tem […]
Land Development Code
Posted inLand Development Code
Council mulls granny flats, garage apartments
Ahead of a Thursday vote that could loosen rules for building accessory dwelling units such as granny flats and garage apartments, City Council debated the potential benefits and risks of the move at a work session on Tuesday. Council Member Greg Casar, who chairs the Planning and Neighborhoods Committee and has recently led the effort […]
Posted inLand Development Code
BoA fails to get past cinder block wall
Fences might make for good neighbors, but apparently 9-foot-tall cinder block walls are another matter entirely. At their last meeting, Board of Adjustment members considered a variance for a wall that has already been constructed along Speedway at 101 W. 32nd St., which is on the corner of West 32nd Street and Speedway. The homeowner, […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Murky CodeNEXT process raises eyebrows at Planning Commission
This month, the city will hold events designed to test aspects of the ongoing CodeNEXT Land Development Code rewrite, and last week some Planning commissioners were concerned that they were unprepared for the exercise. The events, called “Sound Check,” will take place Nov. 16-21 and feature open studio hours, speakers and even live music, with […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Casa de Luz parking troubles back at City Hall
It’s been a while since Casa de Luz was at City Hall, but the business and its parking woes were back, albeit briefly, at last week’s Board of Adjustment meeting. This time, founder Eduardo Longoria was at the Board of Adjustment seeking a parking variance to reduce the number of required spaces from 46 to […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Clarksville home gets its basement at the BoA
Though not everyone was thrilled by the news, plans for a new home in Clarksville are moving forward as proposed after a variance from the Board of Adjustment. Matt Fajkus, who is the architect for the project, spoke on behalf of Jennifer Parker, the owner of 806 Patterson Ave. He explained that they were requesting […]
Posted inLand Development Code
ADU discussion takes a turn
Though there was some hope that City Council would end its consideration of an accessory dwelling unit ordinance yesterday, it was misplaced. Council voted unanimously on Thursday to adopt the recommendations of the Planning and Neighborhoods Committee, but it did so only on second reading, which means the ordinance will return at least one more […]
Posted inCity Council, Land Development Code
Council may finally bid adieu to ADU deliberation
After more than a year, City Council is closing in on new regulations for accessory dwelling units that, ostensibly, will make it easier for Austinites to build small, secondary homes on their property. As Council Member Greg Casar announced at Tuesday’s work session, “It’s been such a long process, and we’re finally here, sort of […]
Posted inLand Development Code
PUD rules change ambles on
A bid to change the way the city approves Planned Unit Developments is moving forward, sort of, but it appears that no changes will be made in haste. On Thursday, City Council passed a diluted version of Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo’s resolution that would impose restrictions on those seeking PUD zoning on unzoned land. […]
Posted inLand Development Code
BoA tempers West Austin parking plan
A West Austin homeowner hoping to expand his house will also have to find room for a parking space, after a semi-successful visit to the Board of Adjustment. Heidi Goebel, who is an architect (and former Board of Adjustment member), explained that in the time since owner Todd O’Neil bought the house at 809 Norwalk […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Music school wins parking reduction variance
A future music school earned a parking reduction variance from the city of Austin’s Board of Adjustment two weeks ago when attorney David Cancialosi successfully argued that parking compliance would have run the property afoul of the city’s Save Our Springs Ordinance. Cancialosi was representing property owners Shana and Dave Guidi, who requested a parking […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Griffin School wins variances, though protests lingered
The Griffin School has finally received its variances from the city of Austin’s Board of Adjustment. Board members voted unanimously to amend a previous variance that decreased the minimum street width requirements for the school, which is located at 5000 Martin Ave., from 40 feet to about 27 feet, attaching a condition raising the cap on […]