The question of how an urban farm should be used got heated at a meeting of the Planning Commission on Tuesday when a motion to grant a conditional use permit for outdoor entertainment and off-site parking at East Austin’s Springdale Farm failed. Owners of the 5-acre farm at 755 Springdale Road sought a permit allowing a […]
Planning
Posted inDevelopment, Monitor News & Media, Planning, Radio
Audio: The UT Dell Med School and its impact on the City of Austin
This is the full audio from the Monitor’s April 2015 UT Dell Med School panel discussion. Guests for the evening were Med School dean Clay Johnston, Austin Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, Travis County Central Health President and CEO Trish Young Brown, and Civic Analytics’ Brian Kelsey. The event was subsequently broadcast as part of […]
Posted inDevelopment, Planning
Council may revise Mueller Commission eligibility
Though residents of any Austin neighborhood can currently join the commission that guides City Council on the Mueller development, a proposed ordinance would limit membership to those who live in that community and 24 surrounding neighborhoods. Council members debated the merits of such a change at a work session Tuesday as they consider making it […]
Posted inPlanning
Radio Coffee and Beer wins Planning Commission case
Though there were a number of conditions attached to the approval before it was all said and done, plans to allow liquor sales at Radio Coffee and Beer are moving forward.Planning Commissioners granted a request for a cocktail lounge permit at Radio Coffee and Beer. Radio Coffee and Beer, located at 4204 Manchaca Road, was […]
Posted inDevelopment, Planning, Zoning
Northwest PUD project remains stalled
Though developers introduced it last summer, the Austin Oaks Planned Unit Development continues to linger among the city’s boards and commissions as the neighborhood and developers work on hammering out some kind of compromise. Developer Spire Realty Group LP has already made some changes to the initial proposal for the 32 acres located on the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Planning
Concerns raised over 18-foot-wide trail design
A proposed urban trail that is as wide as a city street became an issue Wednesday, after residents voiced concern about the pathway’s design. During an April 1 meeting, Environmental Board members heard an update on the Upper Boggy Creek Trail design. The Public Works Department is gathering input from the city’s boards and commissions on […]
Posted inAustin, Development, Planning, Zoning
Planners, residents call for Rainey master plan
The Planning Commission says it will likely deny several property owners’ joint request to vacate land on East Avenue, near Rainey Street, because the area needs a neighborhood plan. Ben Turner of Consort Inc., representing four landowners, asked the commission at its meeting Tuesday to allow a total vacation of 19,700 square feet at the […]
Posted inDevelopment, Planning, Zoning
Council puts off vote on vacating right of way
City Council postponed action on vacating right of way on several streets in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood Thursday and sent questions about the development to Council Member Leslie Pool’s Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee. Pool had pulled the item from the consent agenda for discussion. It seemed at first that the item might go […]
Posted inAustin, Planning
Planning Commission wants AISD representative
The Planning Commission is looking into adding a new member to the dais to advise its members about how zoning changes might affect Austin schools. At a meeting Tuesday, Commissioner James Nortey said Austin Independent School District President Gina Hinojosa can serve as an ex officio member of the commission. He said the commission had […]
Posted inAustin, Development, Housing, Land Development Code, Planning, Zoning
Ott splits Planning & Development Review Dept.
Like the couple that marries and divorces but marries again only to divorce a few years later, the Planning and Development Review Department is once again being broken into a neighborhood planning department and a development review department. In a memo to Mayor and Council released this afternoon, City Manager Marc Ott said that in […]
Posted inLand Development Code, Planning, The Code
Commission drops secrecy, shares legal opinion
After some deliberation, the Planning Commission has released the legal interpretation that clarifies how much discretion it must deny subdivisions that include required connections to streets, if the commission disagrees with the connections. The city’s legal opinion, according to a memo written by Assistant City Attorney Brent Lloyd, is that the land use commission does […]
Posted inAustin, Development, Housing, Land Development Code, Planning, Preservation, Uncategorized, Zoning
Explainer: The Zucker Report marginalia
There was a lot of unveiling in the Zucker Report. We saw that a third-party analysis of the City of Austin’s Planning and Development Review Department did, indeed, show what appears as evidence of multiple divisions in shambles, as had been suggested for some time by department patrons. And, no doubt, there will be plenty […]