City Council has only just dipped its toe into the debate over the Grove at Shoal Creek, the controversial mixed-use planned unit development proposed for a 75-acre lot in Central Austin. After postponing further discussion of the case after a three-hour public hearing last month, Council members spent just under two hours on Tuesday discussing […]
Zoning
Posted inZoning
Environmental Commission fears Austin Oaks PUD will threaten too many trees
After months of contentious negotiations, the Austin Oaks planned unit development is nearing its hearing before City Council. But the Environmental Commission hopes to hash out a better tree plan before deciding whether to sign off on the project. At its meeting on Sept. 21, the Environmental Commission voted to convene a committee with representatives […]
Posted inZoning
Commission split on mixed-use zoning near Lamar
The Planning Commission urged a property owner and his neighbors to try to reach a compromise Tuesday after a hearing in which both sides of a contentious zoning case accused the other of duplicity. “They’re traumatized; I’m traumatized,” said John Scott Neal, the owner of a parcel of land that includes 1507, 1509, 1511, 1601 […]
Posted inZoning
East Austin neighborhood fights church over redevelopment plan
It was meant to be a practical plan for a local church to get out of debt. But when St. James Missionary Baptist Church requested that part of its property be rezoned in order to build new condominiums, it tapped a nerve in rapidly gentrifying East Austin. Members of a historically African-American neighborhood near the […]
Posted inZoning
Zoning Commission tries to limit lengthy testimony
Apparently traumatized by two marathon hearings over the controversial Grove at Shoal Creek planned unit development, members of the Zoning and Platting Commission spent more than an hour Tuesday discussing ways to limit the amount of time consumed by public testimony on zoning cases. As a result of the commission’s action, applicants in zoning cases, […]
Posted inZoning
Playground plan stalls at BoA
Although those hoping for a playground at Club Creek Apartments will get another shot at a variance next month, it’s not looking promising. Laura Klein spoke on behalf of the apartment complex’s owner, PPA Group, at the Board of Adjustment meeting on Monday. At the moment, the apartment complex at 502 West Longspur Boulevard is […]
Posted inZoning
More neighbors sued over restrictive covenant
Attorneys for Mark Dawson Homes have made good on the threat to sue 61 homeowners in the Crestview neighborhood’s Meadowlawn subdivision, claiming that the lawsuit is the only avenue they have to remove a restrictive covenant that might prevent the developer from building what it wishes to build on property at 7801 Mullen Drive. Initially, […]
Posted inZoning
Neighbors seek to block new mental health clinic in North Austin
A group of neighbors in Northeast Austin is seeking to stop a mental health clinic from coming to their area, saying they are concerned about the safety of children at a nearby elementary school. Austin Travis County Integral Care, the public health authority, is planning to build a behavioral health clinic at 1120 East Braker […]
Posted inZoning
After some haggling, commission approves a few apartments in Allandale
Allandale residents concerned about the arrival of intense commercial activity in a largely residential neighborhood achieved a partial victory at the Zoning and Platting Commission on Tuesday. Robert P. Stern, who is planning to add a 2,424-square-foot restaurant and 994 square feet of retail space to the southwest corner of Hancock Drive and Bull Creek […]
Posted inZoning
Del Valle neighbors lobby against mobile home park
Del Valle residents who came to a meeting of the Zoning and Platting Commission on Tuesday to oppose the construction of a mobile home park in their area clearly didn’t do themselves any favors with some of the arguments they presented against the requested zoning change for a parcel of land at 6101 Ross Road. […]
Posted inZoning
South Congress hotel waivers trump some neighbors’ worries
After a successful night at the Planning Commission, a new South Congress hotel will have both a pool and a driveway — despite concerns about their placement from neighbors and the church next door. While the zoning at 2510 South Congress Ave. does allow for a hotel, Krug Development was seeking compatibility waivers from the […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission OKs zoning change for St. James Baptist Church
Concerns voiced by neighbors about gentrification and traffic resonated with members of the Planning Commission but ultimately did not sway members from recommending a zoning change that will turn a plot of undeveloped land in East Austin into dozens of condominium units. The 6.27-acre parcel at 3417 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. is owned by […]