The Pedestrian Advisory Council is asking City Council to confront a broad spectrum of issues this year with a simple change to the city’s dated land use code. In a unanimous vote Monday evening, PAC approved a recommendation to Council to eliminate mandated parking minimums from the city’s land use code entirely. Among other requests, […]
Planning
Posted inPlanning
Zoning and Platting Commission discusses validity of previous vote
At the last meeting of the Zoning and Platting Commission on Jan. 29, even with a full dais the commission was unable to muster the supermajority vote needed to approve a request for a flag lot at 11603 Tedford St. Dissatisfied with the decision due to what Commissioner Bruce Evans called an “inability to articulate” […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission OKs change to 30-year-old development agreement
Homes produce a lot less sewage now than they did 30 years ago. That’s partly why the Planning Commission decided Tuesday to allow the construction of an office building in western Travis County over the objections of city staff. The story begins in 1986, when City Council approved the creation of the Senna Hills Municipal […]
Posted inPlanning
Neighborhood planning poised to change
The Planning Commission was recently briefed on the future of small area planning by Planning and Zoning staff. Austin has focused its small area planning around the neighborhood planning strategy since a 1997 City Council resolution. But subsequent to a resolution passed in September 2017, staffers have come up with three new planning services that […]
Posted inPlanning
To light or not to light, that is the question
While no one wants to light West Campus up like the Las Vegas Strip, with such density comes a need for signage that can be seen both night and day. “We think that (not having signage) may be a safety concern if people are too busy looking at their phone to see where they’re going,” […]
Posted inPlanning
A new neighborhood group hopes to speak for student renters in West Campus
While many University of Texas students were busy studying for final exams, senior Allie Runas was thinking about cracks in the sidewalk. After years of stepping over cracks in West Campus, she decided to do something and founded the West Campus Neighborhood Association. “One of the things that I’m hoping (to do) with this is […]
Posted inPlanning
Waller Creek taxes ID’d to possibly fund $30M in housing for homeless
City staff members have recommended that City Council consider using funds from the tax increment refinancing zone (TIRZ) created for the Waller Creek improvement project and system of parks as the biggest funding source for providing housing and services for the growing homeless population downtown. In a memo issued last week, Interim Assistant City Manager […]
Posted inPlanning
Old mine to become new town center
A decades-old sand and gravel mine just east of Austin city limits may be about to get a face-lift as a new Mueller-esque planned unit development (PUD). The proposal for the 2,122-acre property includes 12,000 residential units, 2.25 million square feet of commercial space, 700 acres of parkland, and a three-acre fire station. According to […]
Posted inPlanning
Waterfront board waits for progress on city’s development corporation
City staff has been slowed in their work to research and make recommendations on how City Council could move forward with creating an economic development corporation (EDC) that could help facilitate public/private investment deals. The demands of dealing with the October storm water crisis that required a weeklong boil water warning for residents has made […]
Posted inPlanning
Austin explores options for new pedestrian bridge over Lady Bird Lake
There are enjoyable ways to walk or bike across Lady Bird Lake, but the Pleasant Valley Bridge is not one of them. A narrow sidewalk, a chain-link fence and low guardrails are all features that make the East Austin crossing unsafe. For years, the city has floated ideas to improve the crossing, with no results. […]
Posted inPlanning
Board of Adjustment postpones setback request with no site plan
The Board of Adjustment needs a good reason to grant a request for reducing the setback from the waterfront. If a case from its most recent meeting is any indication, asking for an arbitrary number of feet without having a site plan in place will meet with its disapproval. David Cancialosi, who was representing the […]
Posted inPlanning
Reporter’s Notebook: Dark arts
Manchaca, continued… An Austin business group plans to file a lawsuit against the city over the recent decision by City Council to rename Manchaca Road. An announcement from attorney Roger Borgelt, also a board member for the Republican Club of Austin, said the Manchaca Business Association is scheduled to file its lawsuit today (Nov. 13) […]