Austin, Monitored: Creative space proposals and after-school care

More than 2,000 Austin-area kids will get free or low-cost after-school care this year

From Katy McAfee, KUT News

Twenty-seven schools in the Austin area are getting free or low-cost after-school care programs this year thanks to funding from a tax rate increase Travis County voters approved in 2024.

The programs will open at schools with the most economically disadvantaged students in the Austin, Manor and Del Valle school districts. More than 2,000 pre-K and elementary school students are expected to participate. The county is working on getting after school programs to Pflugerville ISD, too, according to county documents.

Rally Austin eyes bond proposal to shape future sites and programs

From Chad Swiatecki:

Rally Austin has identified $259 million in projects and initiatives to be funded through the city’s 2026 bond election, with plans to expand programs supporting cultural venues, legacy businesses and affordable workspace.

There appears little chance that total amount of funding will be included in the final bond package, which is expected to top out at just under $700 million. But the proposal serves as a roadmap for the organization’s evolving role in economic development for the years ahead.

“Austintatious” developer ruffles feathers in suburban northwest Austin

Last week, the Zoning and Platting Commission heard two cases related to a developer in Northwest Austin identified in city documents as “Austintatious Enterprises LLC.” One has to do with a deed restriction, the other with a public restrictive covenant, and both have to do with a corner of the city annexed less than 20 years ago that’s changing quickly. Read on for Part One, ye curious and civically engaged (and stay tuned for Part Two tomorrow!)

An upzoning for condos neighbors say would be “inconsistent” (and, possibly, illegal)

Our intrepid landowner is asking for a change to a property at 13608 Caldwell Drive inside a longstanding northwest Austin subdivision called Acres West, from “interim rural residential” zoning to “townhouse and condominium residential,” and has earned the support of city staff. Some neighbors, however, are not happy.

Cindy Barron, who served as the primary speaker against the rezoning during the hearing, described herself as a native Austinite and said she has lived in Acres West for 54 years. She said the current zoning was already inconsistent with the neighborhood and the requested zoning would make it worse.

There’s where it gets complicated. According to Barron, all of the lots in the subdivision, which was established in 1967 on then-unincorporated land, were annexed by Austin in 1984 under limited-purpose jurisdiction. At that time they were granted SF-2, or single family residential, zoning. Then, in 2008, the neighborhood was annexed under full-purpose jurisdiction, which carried over the SF-2 zoning for most properties.

(Sidebar: anyone lost in the haze of zoning and procedure can check out this helpful city fact sheet on annexing and jurisdiction types.)

The lot at issue in the case had been dis-annexed from the limited purpose jurisdiction in 1989 along with two others, stripping them of the SF-2 zoning. When they were all then re-annexed in 2008 they received the interim rural residential zoning. The “interim” there hints that these are supposed to be temporary.

Further complicating matters, Barron also said that a set of deed restrictions covering the whole subdivision since its founding makes building anything on the property other than a “detached single-family or two-family dwelling” illegal. That would mean that, in theory, even if the zoning were granted, the owner wouldn’t be able to build more than that.

Tisha Titter, who spoke at the meeting as a representative for the owner, didn’t comment on the purported deed restriction during the hearing. Worth noting is that while deed restrictions are binding, the city isn’t responsible for enforcing them, and isn’t supposed to consider them when making zoning decisions.

As to why the neighborhood opposes the rezoning, over a dozen residents submitted letters in opposition to the city that referenced fears of heightened traffic and noise and damage to the neighborhood’s character.

Veteran architect Mac Holder, who said he had worked on the original project to build the subdivision, said the street the property is on was “not a normal city street,” noting its 21-foot overall width and lack of features like gutters and sidewalks, as well as the lack of viable turnarounds for large vehicles.

“There’s no, really, way for emergency vehicles to get into this subdivision, to turn around, to provide emergency services to anyone,” Holder said.

Commissioner Luis Osta Lugo motioned to advance the request to City Council with the commission’s endorsement. That motion passed in a vote of 6-1-1, with Vice Chair Betsy Greenberg voting “no” and Commissioner Alejandra Flores abstaining.

— Miles Wall

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Elsewhere in the News

The Travis Central Appraisal District’s Board of Directors going after Tesla and appealing has given authorization to appeal a $1.2 billion reduction in the appraised value of the gigafactory approved by the Appraisal Review Board. The Austin Bulldog has the details.

As expected, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar is running for reelection after Congressman Lloyd Doggett gracious stepped aside and away from a redistricting-provoked conflict.

KXAN has an update on South Austin’s Brodie Oaks redevelopment.

Community Impact reports that an audit of nonprofit spending at City Hall didn’t find much trouble.

And a bill that would further limit city and county taxes has been approved by the Texas House.

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