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Planning
Council OKs Springdale Green PUD on first reading
While a number of residents of Saucedo Street next to the former East Austin tank farm strongly support plans to turn the property into a six-story office building with a height ranging from 75-93 feet, other neighbors object to the…
Planning • By Jo Clifton • Apr 28, 2021
Council to change Downtown Density Bonus fees, consider new FAR rules
Long-awaited changes to the Downtown Density Bonus Program are back on track after City Council passed a resolution Thursday aimed at maximizing the affordable housing fees generated through the program. “I am very confident that the changes that we’ve initiated,…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • Apr 26, 2021
Devil is in the details when it comes to recalibrating density bonus
City Council is set to approve a resolution recalibrating the Downtown Density Bonus program’s affordable housing fees, a first attempt to pick up the pieces of the city’s failed Land Development Code rewrite. Almost all Council members have said they…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • Apr 21, 2021
Planning Commission recommends newest Foundation Communities project
The Planning Commission has backed the latest project by local affordable housing developer Foundation Communities, recommending Multifamily-Moderate Density (MF-4) zoning for an 8-acre, church-owned property at 2105 Parker Lane in Southeast Austin. The Parker Apartments will offer 135 units affordable…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • Apr 15, 2021
Council approves Rainey towers, pledges new LDC push
On Thursday City Council approved increased floor area ratio for three new towers in the Rainey Street area, bringing 1,000 more homes – 55 of them affordable – to the area. The approval of the towers may have consequences beyond…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • Apr 9, 2021
Neighbors tell ACC board: No concrete plant here
Neighbors of Austin Community College’s Pinnacle campus in Oak Hill begged the ACC Board of Trustees to reverse its apparent decision to allow a Texas Department of Transportation contractor to operate a concrete batch plant on the campus. About 20 neighbors…
Planning • By Jo Clifton • Apr 8, 2021
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Council discusses a recalibrated Downtown Density Bonus program
City Council members on Tuesday supported recalibrating the Downtown Density Bonus program to increase the community benefits developers must provide in exchange for more floor area ratio. The changes – should Council vote to implement them – could shape the…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • Apr 7, 2021
Panel weighs future potential of city's health care innovation district
The battle over reconstructing Interstate 35, and the stalled Land Development Code update, are factors that continue to influence the shape and scope of the developing health care innovation district in the eastern section of downtown Austin. Those larger civic…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 5, 2021
Planning Commission throws support behind Springdale Green development
The Planning Commission last Tuesday recommended rezoning a 30-acre brownfield site in East Austin to make way for Springdale Green, a proposed 800,000-square-foot, mixed-use development. The commission voted 7-4 to support Planned Unit Development zoning, though only at the current…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • Mar 30, 2021
Council postpones vote on Rainey towers, Tovo pushes density bonus changes
Council Member Kathie Tovo previewed her upcoming push to change the downtown density bonus rules as part of her opposition to three new residential towers planned for the Rainey Street District. “I believe we need to have a policy conversation…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • Mar 26, 2021
Planning Commission picks favorite Dougherty design option
On Tuesday, the Planning Commission weighed in on preliminary design options for the relocated Dougherty Arts Center, adding an important recommendation to feedback already collected from other boards, commissions and community members. The community arts center is currently located in…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • Mar 11, 2021
Planning Commission recommends making Chalmers Avenue block car-free
The Planning Commission said at its Feb. 9 meeting that the city should allow Chalmers Avenue between East Third and East Fourth streets to become a car-free zone, with pedestrian and bike paths and green space replacing the asphalt. The…
