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Planning
County rebuffs city's offer to buy Palm School, leaving its future uncertain
In a vote few people were aware of until last week, the Travis County Commissioners Court rejected the city of Austin’s offer to purchase the historic Swante Palm School building on the eastern edge of downtown. Community activists, who for…
Planning • By Amy Smith • Jun 28, 2021
Council delays considering wastewater service in Bull Creek watershed
City Council put off a decision on whether to grant a wastewater service extension request to CWS Capital Partners in the environmentally sensitive Bull Creek Watershed at Thursday’s meeting. The postponement came after Council Member Leslie Pool announced that there…
Planning • By Jo Clifton • Jun 11, 2021
Palm planning process kicks off, with school preservation a key goal
After years of talk, a long-held dream of creating a district that celebrates the cultural history of a historically Hispanic neighborhood in the eastern segment of downtown Austin is finally ramping up with the Palm District Planning Initiative. The planning…
Planning • By Amy Smith • Jun 8, 2021
As temporary Healthy Streets close, permanent version prepares to open
As Austin’s Healthy Streets program winds down, with less than four miles of the temporary slow streets remaining, the city is preparing a new pilot program for 10 permanent Healthy Streets. The pilot will “test the application of our Healthy Streets…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • May 28, 2021
Council adopts new interim fees for Downtown Density Bonus program
Developers of some downtown towers will have to pay more toward affordable housing after City Council voted 10-0-2 on Thursday to increase the Downtown Density Bonus program’s in-lieu fees. The program offers developers more height and density in exchange for…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • May 21, 2021
A neighborhood’s request to build a private park draws concern over policing
Last week the Planning Commission heard a surprisingly controversial debate among neighbors in East Austin’s Senate Hills over whether to allow the construction of a new neighborhood park. Though the commissioners all sided with those in favor of the park,…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • May 20, 2021
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City seeks input on vision, plans for downtown's Palm District
Residents can begin offering their thoughts to the city about the future use and look of the Palm District, a section of downtown that features historic structures and is surrounded by rapid growth and development. The city will hold a…
Planning • By Chad Swiatecki • May 5, 2021
Council wants Project Connect TOD plans in place 'pronto'
The city is set to overhaul its transit-oriented development policies to allow denser, more equitable development near future Project Connect stations as soon as possible. “We need to be ready from the word ‘go’ to let areas near our transit…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • May 5, 2021
Neighbors wary as ACC takes a step back from concrete plant
After hearing numerous complaints from neighbors of Austin Community College’s Pinnacle campus in Oak Hill, the ACC Board of Trustees approved a new resolution Monday night specifically excluding the use of the campus for a concrete batch plant. The board…
Planning • By Jo Clifton • May 5, 2021
Carver Museum expansion plans headed to Council in May
City Council is set to approve expansion plans for the George Washington Carver Museum in May, the final step in a yearlong – and entirely virtual – process of planning, community engagement, and board and commission review. The museum is…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • Apr 30, 2021
In Earth Day win, Environmental Commission sides with salamanders over developer
At its April 21 meeting, the Environmental Commission fielded discussion over a wastewater service extension request (SER) from a prospective developer of a property located at FM 620 and Anderson Mill Road. Kaela Champlin, an environmental program coordinator with the…
Planning • By Seth Smalley • Apr 30, 2021
City gains parkland along Williamson Creek, but access proves tricky
The Planning Commission tried to settle a dispute Tuesday over public park access between the Parks and Recreation Department and the developer of a South Congress multifamily project. When finding the best solution for both parties proved elusive, commissioners blamed the…
