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Land Development Code
City could reduce compatibility buffers to 75 feet to encourage new housing
City staff has recommended the city end building compatibility height restrictions at 75 feet from single-family homes that for decades have had a barrier of several hundred feet from tall buildings. That recommendation is one of nine included in a…
Development • By Chad Swiatecki • Sep 18, 2023
Council considering allowing tiny homes, RVs as accessory dwelling units
City Council seems poised to initiate changes to city zoning regulations that will allow tiny homes and recreational vehicles to be used as accessory dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods. Council Member Leslie Pool is sponsoring a resolution on today’s Council…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • Sep 14, 2023
Council approves push to make air conditioning a requirement in Austin
This summer, a stretch of hot, dry weather in Austin has tested everyone’s patience. The record-high heat has also posed a danger to those not lucky enough to feel the relief of air conditioning. A new City Council resolution looks…
City Council • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 1, 2023
Council hears plan to overhaul site plan review process
Few who have dealt with the city of Austin’s site plan review process would dispute that it’s cumbersome, time-consuming and expensive. But consulting firm McKinsey & Company, which analyzed the process and then outlined improvements for City Council at Tuesday’s…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • Aug 30, 2023
City facing new legal challenge over Affordability Unlocked, other rules this week
The 18 plaintiffs who won a judgment against the city of Austin over its attempted rewrite of the Land Development Code in 2020 are going back to court this week. This time, they’ll attempt to overturn city regulations created in…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Aug 29, 2023
Board of Adjustment fee assistance program will launch Oct. 1
A long-awaited assistance program granting low-income homeowners waivers when seeking zoning variances will launch Oct. 1. The yearlong Board of Adjustment Applicant Assistant Program pilot will fund up to nine waivers – or $10,000 – for eligible applicants, according to…
Land Development Code • By Emma Freer • Jul 27, 2023
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Council greenlights change to reduce land size needed to build a home in Austin
The size of land Austinites need to build a home on is about to get smaller – as part of an effort to encourage developers to build smaller and cheaper houses. City Council on Thursday approved a resolution that will start…
City Council • By Luz Moreno-Lozano, KUT • Jul 21, 2023
Council considers code amendments to relax single-family zoning rules
City Council will consider an item at this week’s meeting that would begin the process of relaxing the city’s strict single-family zoning rules. Item 126, sponsored by Council Member Leslie Pool, directs the city manager to propose code amendments that…
Land Development Code • By Nina Hernandez • Jul 19, 2023
Staff releases expedited timeline for housing code amendments
An updated timeline for implementation of a bundle of city code amendments aimed at increasing housing supply is in the hands of City Council. In a memo dated July 13, Planning Department Director Lauren Middleton-Pratt revealed the updated Schedule of…
Land Development Code • By Nina Hernandez • Jul 18, 2023
Planning Commission urges quicker processing of Land Development Code amendments
With dozens of amendments to the city’s outdated Land Development Code currently in the works – many aimed at increasing supply and lowering costs for housing – City Council members and city staffers in recent weeks have discussed how to…
Land Development Code • By Jonathan Lee • Jul 5, 2023
Landmark commission pushes for ‘partnership’ on Sixth Street redevelopment
Despite trepidation from developers, the Historic Landmark Commission has recommended a heftier review process for Sixth Street properties slated to be redeveloped under proposed regulations. The code amendments, which were initiated by City Council in June 2022, could raise height…
Land Development Code • By Elizabeth Pagano • Jun 21, 2023
City code amendments moving slowly, including change to parking requirements
Remember all those amendments to Austin’s land use regulations that City Council directed city staff to write – ideas that seem particularly important in light of the housing shortage? They’re moving slowly. Those amendments include eliminating parking requirements from the…
