Owners of homes on Susie, Joy and Easy streets told City Council last week that they do not wish to be annexed any more than they did in 2016, when Council voted not to annex the approximately 34-acre Mooreland Addition in southwestern Travis County. Failing to annex would leave a hole in the doughnut, as […]
Planning
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Environmental Commission OKs Holdsworth Center PUD
At its Oct. 4 meeting, the Environmental Commission weighed the benefits of allowing the Holdsworth Center planned unit development to go forward in lieu of adhering to the current zoning for single-family residents on a 44-acre swath of undeveloped agricultural land along the shores of Lake Austin. Andrea Bates, environmental program coordinator for the Watershed Protection Department, […]
Posted inPlanning
Commission recommends East 12th stay on urban renewal course
No speedometer exists for the vehicle of urban renewal, so the Planning Commission at its Sept. 12 meeting had to rely on guesswork to decide whether sections of the booming East 12th Street corridor should maintain their current pace of redevelopment or if they should be slowed down to accommodate one adjacent neighborhood. In the […]
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City to set ‘high bar’ for Colony Park developer candidates
City planners leading the move to redevelop more than 200 acres of East Austin property are making no bones about it: Developers looking to turn dirt on the Colony Park project will have a high bar to clear in terms of expectations. The city’s Request for Qualifications for master developers on the project is expected […]
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Council declines to annex Entrada tract
With the backing of Council Member Jimmy Flannigan, Council Member Ora Houston at last Thursday’s City Council meeting asserted her intention to oppose annexation for approximately 246 acres of land in northeastern Travis County known as Entrada. The property, owned by Lennar Homes, is contiguous with Houston’s District 1. Council then proceeded to approve setting […]
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Harvey revives flooding concerns about CodeNEXT
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the land use commissions questioned staff on how CodeNEXT would address local flooding at their Aug. 29 joint meeting. “Austin came real close to having another catastrophe this (past) weekend. Real close,” Zoning and Platting Commissioner Ana Aguirre said at the meeting. The storm event has opened up a […]
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Limits of land use code exposed in unique zoning case
An application for commercial zoning at the corner of a North Austin neighborhood elicited a tiresome recommendation from the Zoning and Platting Commission at its Aug. 15 meeting. Commissioners had to go item by item through a list of zoning district uses, almost as if they were crafting a new zone, before signing off on […]
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Report spells out Congress Avenue’s potential transformation
The future of Congress Avenue leading up to the state Capitol could see bicycles claiming the middle of the road as cars pass on both sides. That is one configuration in the discussion for an eventual makeover of the street from Riverside Drive to 11th Street, in a bid to turn the outdated and somewhat […]
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Council looks to adjust TOD density bonus programs
An extra helping of housing for low-income families could be coming to near East Austin soon thanks to action taken by City Council on Thursday. The body unanimously supported an item sponsored by Council Member Pio Renteria and aimed at allowing Austin Habitat for Humanity to build substantially more units on two adjacent properties than […]
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Planning Commission endorses east side plan to replace auto salvage yard with mixed-use project
Continuing tension over gentrification, density and a lack of adequate planning for growth on the city’s east side converged on an unlikely fight to preserve an East Austin junkyard at the most recent meeting of the Planning Commission. In the end, commissioners showed strong support for Painter Enterprises Inc.’s request that the zoning be changed […]
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Flag lots could be making a comeback
There’s more to CodeNEXT than zoning, believe it or not, and last week the land use commissions received an update from staff on non-zoning changes that would be part of the rewrite’s second draft, with the hottest item of discussion being the loosening of flag lot regulations. The subdivision tool, intended to facilitate infill and […]
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St. Johns ‘project of change’ gets needed break
After months of compromise, the Board of Adjustment has opted to let a St. Johns work/live project live, despite lingering concerns from neighbors about entering into a new era of transportation-oriented development. In order to build a two-story, five-unit multifamily project at 608 W. St. Johns Ave., developers were asking to reduce the east setback […]