Lower- and middle-income homeowners are the target population for a resolution approved by City Council on Thursday intended to create the financing needed to build more homes on existing lots. The resolution, which was led by Council Member José Velásquez, was approved on the consent agenda with Council Member Mackenzie Kelly voting against. The item […]
Development
Posted inHousing
Affordability panel looks to city, schools, churches to deliver needed housing
Austin-area housing advocates see major institutions such as the city, local schools and religious organizations as having the most potential for adding affordable housing units throughout the city in the coming years. During a recent panel discussion on the city’s affordability challenges, underutilized tax-free property holdings were seen as one solution to be explored in […]
Posted inHousing
East Austin organizers push for equity/anti-displacement overlay to address affordability
A coalition of community groups representing East Austin is pushing City Council to require new infill residences built on smaller lots in the Eastern Crescent be made affordable for longtime residents at risk of being displaced due to the rising cost of living. Prior to Council’s recent passage of the HOME 2 slate of land […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Council tailors ETOD zoning, affordability requirements to maximize transit use
Included in last week’s slate of land use changes approved by City Council were adjustments to the density bonus incentives and other guidelines covering equitable transit-oriented developments intended to maximize usage of transit corridors throughout the city. Following the prior day’s marathon public comment session, Council reconvened on May 17 to consider a dozen amendments […]
Posted inZoning
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 Affordability Unlocked program. In return for the development incentives offered through the program, the project […]
Posted inPlanning
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 across Austin. Earlier this month, Bishop Chappell – a commissioner and also a member of […]
Posted inPreservation
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 first appeared as a demolition case last spring, when commissioners unanimously ruled to initiate historic […]
Posted inLand Development Code
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 to allow some properties to be used for electric vehicle charging stations. The vote came […]
Posted inLand Development Code
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 owners to build a home on as little as 1,800 square feet of land. This […]
Posted inPreservation
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 13th and Bob Harrison streets since the early 1900s. Staff and the Historic Landmark Commission […]
Posted inLand Development Code
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 you? These are the questions facing City Council members as they prepare to vote today on […]
Posted inLand Development Code
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 the proposed set of rules designed to make it easier to build more housing on […]