Travis County District Judge Jan Soifer heard arguments Wednesday from attorneys for 19 Austin homeowners who sued the city over the new Land Development Code. The homeowners filed rezoning protests, but the city denied their requests for a hearing. The plaintiffs claim that by filing a rezoning protest they can force City Council to hold a […]
Local Government
Posted inTravis County
Travis County Commissioners Court extends emergency disaster declaration
Following the local disaster declaration last Friday, the Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously extended the county’s disaster declaration in light of ongoing concerns about public health risks associated with COVID-19. This state of emergency will continue indefinitely or until the Commissioners Court rescinds it. The declaration announced March 6 is valid only for a week. […]
Posted inCourts
The city’s rewrite of its land use code heads to court (again)
Lawyers representing a group of Austin homeowners will argue in court this week that landowners have the right to formally protest the rezoning of their property under a citywide land code rewrite. If the court sides with them, it could mean that a portion of the city’s land would be exempt from a broad rewrite […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County seeks a ‘Marshall Plan’ for east side
Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion and Joe Straub, president of Rodeo Austin, started a conversation with members of the City Council Audit & Finance Committee Wednesday. “Let me just say for the record, I did not come to pick a fight,” Travillion said. Instead, he hoped that Travis County and the city of Austin could […]
Posted inCourts
Municipal court cases linger longer these days
Four years ago, the Austin Municipal Court generally took under 190 days to close cases. The number of days has since gone up to roughly 215 days, due to Senate Bill 1913 passed by the Texas Legislature in 2017, said Mary Jane Grubb, Austin Municipal Court clerk, at the Feb. 10 City Council Judicial Committee […]
Posted inTravis County
Eckhardt talks revenue caps, Palm School negotiation in State of the County address
At several turns during her State of the County address Thursday, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt reminded listeners that in many respects, the county operates as an extension of Texas’ state government. The pluses and minuses of that framework, she said, are numerous. Among the challenges are finding ways to manage land use in fast-growing […]
Posted inTravis County
Activists push to protect Palm School, eyeing property’s role in proposed cultural district
With Travis County moving ahead with action that could lead to development of the historic Palm School site downtown, local activists are hoping the city can find a way to preserve the property and make it a major part of a long-planned cultural and heritage district for the Mexican American community. In December the city […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
State Sen. Kirk Watson stepping down in April to lead Hobby School of Public Affairs
State Sen. Kirk Watson, who has represented Austin in the Texas Senate since 2007, announced he’s resigning this spring to become the founding dean of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. In a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, Watson, a Democrat, said his last day in office will be April 30. […]
Posted inCourts
Lawsuit claims TCAD hiding sales price information
Protax, which represents property owners who are protesting the property values assigned to their homes, and 10 of its employees have sued the Travis Central Appraisal District alleging the agency has violated the Texas Public Information Act. According to the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday, “TCAD has an automated pool of evidence it uses to […]
Posted inTravis County
County leaders champion no-cash bail
Amidst an aggressive push from activists to reduce arrests and incarceration, Travis County leaders highlighted two important initiatives Tuesday as evidence that the county is a leader in progressive criminal justice policy. First, the Travis County Commissioners Court quickly approved a request from Sheriff Sally Hernandez to close down four buildings at the Travis County […]
Posted inTravis County
Babies, immigrants fueling Travis County growth
Contrary to public perception, Travis County’s population would be booming even without newcomers from California. That was one of the main takeaways from a presentation to the Travis County Commissioners Court on the most recent population data from the American Community Survey. In 2018, the most recent year for which figures are available, the population […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County hires law professor as its first-ever public defender
Travis County has hired University of Virginia law professor Adeola Ogunkeyede as the first person to lead its public defender office. Until last year, the county was the largest jurisdiction in the United States without an office to handle cases for poor adults accused of crimes. Travis County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to hire Ogunkeyede, […]