Unaware that it was prohibited by city code, Daniel Salazar carefully nestled his new home against his back property line. The project was approved by the city and the mistake was not identified until after the structure was built. As a result, Salazar came before the Board of Adjustment seeking a variance in order to […]
District 3
Posted inHousing
85 families at affordable apartment complex told they must leave due to winter storm damage
More than 85 families at an affordable housing complex in Southeast Austin are being evicted this month after the management company told them it needs to do repairs caused by February’s winter storm. Capstone Real Estate Services, which manages Rosemont at Oak Valley, a complex at 2800 Collins Creek Drive, informed the affected tenants Friday […]
Posted inAustin
An Austin nonprofit is raising money to help make state homeless camp feel more like a neighborhood
For the better part of two years, the Esperanza Community in Southeast Austin has been home for many people experiencing homelessness. On any given day, roughly 150 people live and work on the weather-beaten, 5-acre blacktop owned by the Texas Department of Transportation. It doesn’t look like a traditional “neighborhood,” but it has felt like […]
Posted inZoning
Council gives final OK on tank farm site rezoning
City Council voted 10-0 last week to grant planned unit development zoning on the former site of the East Austin tank farm at 1011 and 1017 Springdale Road. Council Member Pio Renteria made the motion to approve rezoning for the site, which sits in his district. Council Member Mackenzie Kelly was off the virtual dais. […]
Posted inZoning
After fireworks, Springdale PUD moves a step forward
On Thursday City Council approved on second reading Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning for the properties at 1011 and 1017 Springdale Road, home of the infamous East Austin tank farm. But the 10-0 vote came only after Council Member Vanessa Fuentes argued in favor of postponement, angering Council Member Pio Renteria, who called her a […]
Posted inParks
City devising permanent solution to erosion threat in Guerrero Park
Southeast Austin’s Roy G. Guerrero Park is home to a disc-golf course and baseball fields and is a popular destination for birding. But according to the city, a growing threat poses a risk to the popular park: erosion. The 360-acre park is home to two separate creeks: Country Club West and Country Club East. The two […]
Posted inZoning
Owner withdraws mini mart rezoning case
Although City Council gave preliminary approval for rezoning of the Sunrise Mini Mart at 913 and 915 W. Oltorf St., the road ahead looked bleak to property owner Abdul Patel and his agent, Jim Wittliff of Land Answers. With a valid petition opposing the zoning change, the property owner needed nine votes to win approval. […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission gives developer and neighbors more time to break ‘impasse’
The developers of a small East Austin mixed-use project will have to keep talking it out with concerned neighbors to resolve their differences. The Planning Commission, after trying and failing to break the “impasse” between the developer and several neighbors, voted to postpone the zoning case until June 8 to give the parties more time […]
Posted inPreservation
PARD publishes update on Montopolis Negro School preservation effort
For nearly three decades in the 20th century, the Montopolis Negro School gave Black children an education in an era when they were not welcome in Austin schools. The schoolhouse at 500 Montopolis Drive was not just a place of education, it functioned as a community center in the then-rural Montopolis neighborhood. At one point, Travis […]
Posted inHousing
Council approves rezoning for Foundation Communities project, quashing valid petition
A 100 percent affordable apartment project is coming soon to Southeast Austin. City Council has approved a rezoning for the Parker Apartments, a project by affordable housing developer Foundation Communities with 135 income-restricted units catering to families. Council members voted 10-0 on Thursday, with Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison off the dais, to grant Multifamily-Medium […]
Posted inPlanning
Council OKs Springdale Green PUD on first reading
While a number of residents of Saucedo Street next to the former East Austin tank farm strongly support plans to turn the property into a six-story office building with a height ranging from 75-93 feet, other neighbors object to the height. Last week City Council voted 7-0-3, with Council Member Pio Renteria leading the charge […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission recommends newest Foundation Communities project
The Planning Commission has backed the latest project by local affordable housing developer Foundation Communities, recommending Multifamily-Moderate Density (MF-4) zoning for an 8-acre, church-owned property at 2105 Parker Lane in Southeast Austin. The Parker Apartments will offer 135 units affordable to households at or below 60 percent area median income, in addition to a learning […]