Newsletter Signup
The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one.
-
-
Most Popular Stories
- U.S. accuses six landlords of rent price fixing. See which apartments they own in Austin.
- Objections arise over Project Connect’s plan to use parkland
- Advocates urge immigrants in Austin to plan – but not panic – over new Trump orders
- New areas at Enchanted Rock could open as soon as this fall after park more than doubles in size
- Lady Bird Lake’s water levels dropped (again), raising questions about dam’s integrity
-
-
-
Discover News By District
-
-
-
The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Development
Affordable housing complex competes for space with a church in Payton Gin zoning change
Planning Commission members have embraced an affordable housing project in North Austin despite concerns from the church it will replace. Developers plan to build a 100 percent affordable, six-story, 192-unit apartment complex at 1706 Payton Gin Road using the city’s…
Housing • By Elizabeth Pagano • May 22, 2024
Following HOME 2 passage, advocates seek Council action on short-term rentals
Members of the Tourism Commission are pushing City Council to move forward with an agreement with short-term rental platforms that could make it possible for the city to more easily regulate the thousands of unlicensed homes operating as lodging businesses…
Planning • By Chad Swiatecki • May 21, 2024
Developing a former summer camp proves to be more than a seasonal project
Efforts to redevelop a former ranch and summer camp in Northwest Austin have hit another snag with the city’s Historic Landmark Commission, which has voted for a second time to postpone the convoluted case. The house at 7304 Knox Lane…
Preservation • By Kali Bramble • May 21, 2024
Council adopts ordinance for electric vehicle charging stations
After adopting ordinances that promise to provide more housing on smaller pieces of land and changing compatibility requirements to allow taller buildings to be built closer to single-family housing, City Council quickly adopted changes to the city Land Development Code…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • May 20, 2024
Austin cuts minimum lot size by more than half, requiring less land to build a home
More homes, less lawn. This was the pitch made by Austin City Council members Friday when, for the first time in 80 years, they voted to lower the amount of land needed to build one house. The change allows property…
Land Development Code • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 17, 2024
Planning Commission backs historic zoning for east side beauty shop
Despite its recent history, the Planning Commission unanimously endorsed historic landmark status for East Austin’s Fashionette Beauty Shop as a step toward more equitable historic preservation this week. The Fashionette Beauty Shop and McDonald Jackson House have stood at East…
Preservation • By Elizabeth Pagano • May 17, 2024
Subscribe to our newsletter
Austin will vote on rules that impact housing. Here's what's on the table.
This explainer was originally published April 10. It has been updated ahead of City Council’s vote. How do you retrofit a city that never planned for a population of nearly 1 million or for an extensive public transit system? Should…
Land Development Code • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 16, 2024
As Council moves to adopt HOME 2, groups call on Council to reject it or make major changes
At Tuesday’s work session, City Council discussed proposed amendments to the Land Development Code labeled HOME 2, as well as Equitable Transit-Oriented Development, citywide compatibility standards and rules for electric vehicle charging stations. But the majority of discussion was about…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • May 15, 2024
Landmark Commission greenlights demolition for former Mary Lee School campus
A former special education facility for mentally disabled girls may soon be slated for demolition and redevelopment after the plans earned the Historic Landmark Commission’s seal of approval last Monday. The seven-building campus that was once home to the Mary…
Preservation • By Kali Bramble • May 13, 2024
State preservation case may halt plans for new athletic facility on UT campus
Plans to bulldoze the historic Steve Hicks School of Social Work building on the University of Texas campus may soon be derailed, with an alumni-led campaign to secure landmark protections winning over the state’s Antiquities Advisory Board last month. Next,…
Preservation • By Kali Bramble • May 9, 2024
Music Commission wants clubs, creative space required in Red River Cultural District
The Music Commission wants the city to ensure that any new multistory development within the Red River Cultural District would need to provide discounted space for music venues or creative uses, without offering any density bonus incentives. At Monday’s meeting,…
Planning • By Chad Swiatecki • May 8, 2024
Environmental Commission recommends site plan changes
At last week’s Environmental Commission meeting, members gave a positive recommendation for reducing the size of infill residential lots, including changes designed to make the process more efficient and less costly, while ensuring that drainage requirements are sufficient to prevent…
