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Planning
New medical office moves forward with no recommendation from Environmental Commission
Trees are such an essential resource in Central Texas that even the thought of razing them to the ground can rattle the branches of the Environmental Commission. The city of Austin does not have the authority to mandate the preservation…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Apr 9, 2019
Waterfront board calls out Council, staff for 'stalled' status on development plans
The body charged with overseeing the development of the south end of the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge has called out city staff and City Council for not moving forward with recommendations it claims are needed to properly manage…
Planning • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 3, 2019
Board of Adjustment does not approve variance to 'preserve neighborhood character'
The desire to build a house is not a sufficient reason to receive a variance, in the eyes of the Board of Adjustment. After having his case postponed at the February meeting of the Board of Adjustment, Joshua Inscoe, who…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 25, 2019
BoA grants boat dock variance, swayed by trees
After being denied a variance to reconstruct an existing dock to 44 feet instead of the code-compliant 30 feet, the case of 1515 Manana St. returned before the Board of Adjustment at its March 11 meeting. Based on a “substantial”…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 22, 2019
Debate over rezone gets in the way of voluntary annexation deal
A decision by the Zoning and Platting Commission Tuesday to push a zoning case hearing back to April could jeopardize an opportunity for the city to annex a 42-acre lot south of FM 2222. The heavily wooded property, east of…
Planning • By Ryan Thornton • Mar 21, 2019
Bowie High School development plan nullified by new survey
Technological advancements are generally welcomed with open arms thanks to their potential to save time, money and recalculations. Unfortunately, applying these new capabilities to work done almost three decades ago can reveal errors that throw carefully negotiated plans out the…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 11, 2019
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Planning Commission rebukes city staff in Blackland rezoning
The Planning Commission voted to endorse five townhouses just south of Manor Road despite a recommendation from city staff against the development. The property at 2107 Alamo St. is currently occupied by an aging duplex. The owner, Anmol Mehra, wants…
Planning • By Jack Craver • Mar 7, 2019
Brush Square Master Plan gets wholehearted approval from HLC
Brush Square may be the least memorable of the four original squares designed as part of the 1839 Waller Plan. Today, thanks to a new master plan, that may be about to change. Kim McKnight, a planner with the Parks and…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 5, 2019
Commission drills down on Grove at Shoal Creek park plans
After years of contentious planning, the Grove at Shoal Creek has broken ground and begun construction on the first two blocks of residences of this mixed-use development in central Northwest Austin. The plan for the accompanying parkland remains under discussion. At…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 4, 2019
Landmark commissioners say they feel double-crossed over West Austin property
Despite a local homeowner and the city spending months compromising, negotiating and working to comply with suggestions from Austin’s Historic Preservation Office, Historic Landmark commissioners were flabbergasted Monday night at the final plans for a multimillion-dollar home in Old West…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 1, 2019
Board of Adjustment seeks neighborly consent for variance
There are occasions when even though the Board of Adjustment deems a request reasonable, procedure dictates that it is unable to approve the request. Such a petition came before the BoA at its Feb. 11 meeting, when the homeowner of…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Feb 21, 2019
Boat dock variance dredges up concerns at the Board of Adjustment
There are occasions when, regardless of how a homeowner may redesign, reorient or reimagine a site, there is simply no option to make a project code-compliant. That still doesn’t mean that the request for a variance will be supported. This…