Nineteen local property owners filed suit against the city of Austin Thursday, alleging that the city has deprived them of their right to protest under state law as the city adopts changes to zoning classifications throughout the city. City Council voted 7-4 Wednesday to adopt the new code on the first of three readings. The […]
Courts
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Council looks at legal options after appeals court throws out housing voucher challenge
Members of City Council have criticized a recent decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out the city’s lawsuit against state Attorney General Ken Paxton over a state law passed in 2015 that prevents cities from requiring landlords to accept federal housing vouchers. The law was passed in response to a […]
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State appeals court strikes down Austin rules on short-term rentals
A state appeals court has declared some elements of Austin’s rules governing short-term rentals unconstitutional, including provisions banning non-owner-occupied rentals and occupancy limits. In 2016, the City Council passed sweeping new regulations of short-term rentals, like those you find through Airbnb or Homeaway. The rules included a phased-in ban on what are called “type 2 […]
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Austin joins legal fight against Permian Highway Pipeline
The city of Austin is signaling it intends to sue Kinder Morgan, the company behind the proposed Permian Highway Pipeline – a 430-mile natural gas line that has provoked major opposition in the Texas Hill Country. In filing its notice of intent to sue, Austin joins opposition already being mounted by San Marcos, Kyle, the […]
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Manchaca Road can now be called Menchaca Road after judge tosses case
Manchaca Road is no more. A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block the city of Austin from changing the name of the South Austin road to honor a Texas revolutionary. The nearly yearlong battle stemmed from the city’s public input process before a planned name change. The lawsuit brought by the group […]
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Commissioners must find replacement to head family violence court
It’s probably not a position most voters spend time thinking about, but members of the Travis County Commissioners Court stressed the importance of County Court #4 as they discussed appointing somebody to fill the vacancy created by departing incumbent Judge Mike Denton. The court, which was set up 20 years ago, deals almost exclusively with […]
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State court calls city’s convention center ballot language ‘misleading’
The 3rd Court of Appeals has ruled that the city must make two changes to recently approved ballot language related to an attempt to limit city spending on the Austin Convention Center. In a ruling issued Thursday, the court of appeals for the third district of Texas issued an opinion that City Council omitted a […]
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Convention center opponents challenge city’s language on ballot measure
The president of the Austin NAACP has petitioned the Texas Supreme Court over the ballot language approved by City Council last week related to a challenge to a planned expansion of the Austin Convention Center. The Tuesday filing by Nelson Linder was prepared by attorney Fred Lewis, who is also a member of the Unconventional […]
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SOS, Save Oak Hill sue TxDOT, other agencies
Two different lawsuits were filed Monday seeking to change the Texas Department of Transportation’s plans for the Oak Hill Parkway. One suit emphasizes protection of endangered species; the second seeks to change the design of the parkway, not only for environmental protection but for the good of the surrounding neighborhoods. The Save Our Springs Alliance […]
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Opponents plan lawsuit over Hill Country pipeline’s impact on endangered birds
A new front has opened in the legal battle against a proposed, 430-mile natural gas pipeline through the Texas Hill Country, focusing on how the project will impact the endangered golden-cheeked warbler. Hays County, the Travis Audubon Society and private property owners say they plan to file what is called a “notice of intent to […]
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State Bar accepts complaint against former assistant city attorney
The State Bar of Texas has determined it will be pursuing a formal investigation of former Assistant City Attorney Brent Lloyd. Lloyd was the subject of a complaint filed last month by Board of Adjustment Chair William Burkhardt and former Board Member Bryan King, with the support of Board Member Don Leighton-Burwell. The three alleged […]
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Landowners, pipeline company meet in court today
Attorneys for Hill Country landowners along with the city of Kyle and Hays County have prepared for a fight this morning with lawyers for Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline and the Texas Railroad Commission over the route of the proposed natural gas pipeline and whether the commission has lived up to its constitutional responsibility in overseeing […]