Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell found himself Wednesday defending a controversial vote to take references to climate protection and greenhouse gas emissions out of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s 2040 plan. Leffingwell told In Fact Daily that he cast his vote with an eye toward preserving regional harmony. An original supporter of Austin’s Climate […]
Local Politics
Posted inLocal Government, Local Politics, Transportation
County ponders how to deal with heritage tree in path of road extension
Travis County Commissioners will face a tough decision next week as they decide the fate of a 100-year-old oak tree that is in the way of an extension of Frate Barker Road in South Austin. The item came up on the court’s agenda on Tuesday, but after examining a complex array of solutions, Commissioners […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council approves fund to preserve heritage of Rainey Street District
Though they ultimately voted unanimously to create a Rainey Street District Fund from collection of development fees, it took at fair amount of bickering for City Council members to get there last week. It remains to be seen exactly how much money will go into the fund, but that was only a part of the […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
Fleet Services says it needs more staff, bays to service vehicles
The head of the city’s Fleet Services Department told members on the Council Audit and Finance Committee last week that his department has numerous unmet needs, noting that department is short 60-80 repair bays for the city’s vehicles, including nearly 2,000 public safety vehicles. “We have about 87 bays right now,” Gerry Calk told […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council, Elections, Local Politics
ICRC continues hearing on preliminary 10-1 Council Districts map
As a deadline for establishing Austin’s first single-member districts looms, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission continued to listen to citizens over the weekend. The commission is currently on a whirlwind tour of the four Travis County Commissioner precincts. This past Saturday, they were in Dove Springs, taking public input on the preliminary map, which […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
Council votes to raise water impact fees to near maximum rate
Austin City Council members Thursday approved an immediate increase of impact fees for public infrastructure to just below the maximum allowable rate. Those are the fees that the Austin Water Utility assesses to help offset the cost of extending water and wastewater utility lines. The move, which came by unanimous vote, sets the fees to […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Transportation
Council reluctantly votes to end overnight access to bicycle trails
City Council members voted Thursday to end the pilot program that had opened portions of the city’s urban trails to bikes overnight, though many members expressed frustration about the position the issue put them in. Council members had the options of either leaving the trails open or consenting to remove officers from the city’s […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council OKs prevailing wage as part of economic development deals
The City Council on Thursday voted to make Austin the second city in Texas to mandate prevailing wages for construction workers as part of its economic development process. Mayor Lee Leffingwell was the only Council member to oppose the measure. The discussion and vote, a four-hour conversation, solidifies what has become an automatic late […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Final vote on Special Events Ordinance may wait until January
Though Council members unanimously approved the pending on first reading Thursday, that action came with anticipation of the creation of a Council subcommittee that would deal with lingering issues about the matter. Chief ordinance sponsor Council Member Mike Martineztold his colleagues that he and Council Member Chris Riley would bring forward an item to create […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council, Elections, Local Politics, Uncategorized
Second Council district map emerges as critics pan ICRC’s first effort
A preliminary map drawn by the members of Austin‘s charter election-born Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is now not the only proposed single-member district Council outline drawing criticism. A map dubbed by its architects as a “Compact District Map” emerged over the past week and quickly drew fire from the group behind the election-day passage of […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council to hear proposals linking wage rules to development deals
Council members remain at work on potential amendments to a proposal from Council Members Mike Martinez, Kathie Tovo, and Laura Morrison that would link wage requirements to city economic incentive deals. It was unclear as of Wednesday afternoon just what form those amendments might take. An up or down Council vote is expected as part […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council scrutinizes details of proposed Special Events Ordinance
Austin City Council members will have the opportunity to take action tonight on what Council Member Laura Morrison on Tuesday called the “much discussed, monster ordinance on special events.” At the work session, Council discussion focused on a host of issues surrounding the Special Events Ordinance, including the process – or lack thereof – […]