The Planning Commission recommended that City Council approve a zoning change that will allow a 290-unit apartment complex to be built at 1125 Shady Lane, near the intersection of Bolm Road and Airport Boulevard. The commission voted 7-4 to change the zoning on the 8-acre lot from single family to multifamily, despite objections from the […]
Planning
Posted inPlanning
BoA puts Bouldin variance on hold
There’s no use being coy at the Board of Adjustment. That’s the lesson one Bouldin Creek homeowner learned at its most recent meeting. Architect David Webber spoke on behalf of homeowners William Mass and Nancy Hellman. Webber was seeking a variance to decrease the minimum front yard setback from the existing 25 feet to 15 […]
Posted inPlanning
Grove PUD remains in limbo
The drama over the Grove at Shoal Creek may be far from over. The project has been tangled in city bureaucracy ever since City Council greenlighted the controversial planned unit development at the corner of 45th Street and Bull Creek Road in December 2016. While the Council vote granted the zoning needed to build the […]
Posted inPlanning
Grove PUD plan postponed
The Grove at Shoal Creek Planned Unit Development was back at City Hall for a moment this week. This time, the Zoning and Platting Commission postponed approval of its preliminary plan, with some commissioners citing unanswered questions about the plan, which was submitted well over a year ago. City Council approved the Planned Unit Development […]
Posted inPlanning
City leaders discuss legacy of segregation from 1928 plan
At a press conference at City Hall on Monday, city leaders and activists recognized the 90th anniversary of Austin’s first zoning code, which enshrined legal segregation by race and ethnicity. The 1928 Master Plan was most notable for establishing the former East Avenue, which has since been replaced by Interstate 35, as a dividing line […]
Posted inPlanning
Austin could change the way it issues demolition permits
As the number of demolitions soars in Austin, the city is considering changing the way it issues permits to make sure teardowns are done safely and people affected are properly notified. Since 2010, the number of demolition permits issued in Austin has gone up an average of 13 percent each year. In the midst of […]
Posted inPlanning
Staff overrules Design Commission on downtown tower
A controversial downtown tower is moving forward despite the Design Commission’s declaration that it violates the city’s urban design guidelines. The project at 405 Colorado St. would replace a surface parking lot with a 25-story structure with 13 levels of parking. The building would feature 11 floors of office space on top of 13 floors […]
Posted inPlanning
Catellus on shortlist to develop Colony Park
The city has taken a big step toward selecting Catellus Development Corp. as the master developer for the Colony Park development in East Austin. Catellus, the company chosen in late 2004 to be the master developer for the Mueller community, is the only developer on the city’s shortlist to develop the 208 acres on Decker […]
Posted inPlanning
Entrepreneur has a new plan for Champion tract
Lake Austin Collective, the neighborhood group that has fought, threatened and sued over the fate of the Champion tract on RM 2222, may have finally found a hero in entrepreneur Jonathan Coon, the founder of 1-800 Contacts. Coon has taken an option on the tract and promised far less development, far less traffic and considerably […]
Posted inPlanning
Council approves Champion tract deal
By a one-vote margin, City Council on Thursday gave its blessing to the controversial Champion development. Mayor Steve Adler, along with Council members Greg Casar, Pio Renteria, Delia Garza, Jimmy Flannigan and Ellen Troxclair, voted to approve an amendment to a 20-year-old settlement agreement involving a large tract of land in Northwest Austin. The amendment […]
Posted inPlanning
The battle over conditional overlays
City Council Member Jimmy Flannigan is fed up with conditional overlays. Conditional overlays – COs in the parlance of City Hall insiders – are zoning rules that apply to a specific property. They often end up included as part of a negotiation between a developer and nearby residents in a zoning case, whereby the developer […]
Posted inPlanning
East Austin ADU stalled at BoA
Over the past few years, the city has worked to make it easier to build accessory dwelling units. But, despite a chorus of those who tout the addition of a small secondary home as a way for homeowners to capitalize on development pressures and increase density without destroying “neighborhood character,” it’s not always simple to […]