Callout: Today’s newsletter is supported by “Austin Parks Foundation’s Party for the Parks”
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Quote of the Day
“Either we are contracting as a city or we are growing, and if we want to grow, we need to make sure that the regulations and policies that we place give less friction… Here is where you all have a lot of power and discretion to reduce some of these policies and processes that make very little sense,”
— Austin Infill Coaltion’s Sharad Mudhol, from Planning Commission asks Council to defend the HOME Initiative
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Planning Commission asks Council to defend the HOME Initiative
From Miles Wall:
Austin’s HOME Initiative was supposed to make it easy for homeowners, landlords and developers to build more units per lot, and thus help swell the city’s supply of affordable housing. In a letter to Ctiy Council, the Planning Commission says it has “serious concerns” that HOME may not be delivering as many homes as it should.
The letter, submitted to Council as a recommendation that passed unanimously during a meeting on September 9, argues that a host of “new or conflicting regulations” on the part of city staff in several departments, mixed with flaws in the language of the ordinances that make up the initiative, threaten to block a “substantial portion” of the housing boost it was intended to create.
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Today’s newsletter is supported by “Austin Parks Foundation’s Party for the Parks”
Join Austin Parks Foundation for the 11th Annual Party for the Parks, featuring Passion Pit! This beloved event is happening under the lights at ACL in Zilker Park on Wednesday, October 8th.
Partygoers will enjoy delicious dining options, libations from Austin’s premiere beverage brands, games, a live auction and an intimate concert—all while helping raise funds for our city’s nearly 400 parks, trails and green spaces. Click here to get your tickets and join the fun!
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No swimming, seriously
There won’t be swimming in Lady Bird Lake any time soon if city officials have anything to say about it. Directors of the city’s Police, Fire, Public Health, Parks and Recreation and Watershed departments banded together to recommend against recreational swimming in the lake through a memo addressed to City Council last week citing “persistent, intractable safety hazards and the prohibitive costs associated with ensuring public safety.”
Swimming in the lake has been banned since 1964 after a decade of documented drownings. In 2020 the lake’s hazards were reaffirmed in a report from the Watershed Protection Department that confirmed the persistence of dangerous “underwater hazards from flood debris, bridge construction debris, unpredictable currents from historic submerged dams, and the potential for unannounced swift currents related to dam discharges and stormflow,” according to the memo.
“Despite this long-standing prohibition, staff continue to observe significant and ongoing risks to humans and pets, including drownings. Since 2019, six dogs have died, and their deaths have been attributed to toxins from unpredictable blue-green algae proliferation (cyanotoxins). These toxins can cause a rapid onset of severe symptoms in dogs, including excessive drooling, tremors, unsteady gait, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, paralysis, and sudden death. It is important to note that ingestion of algae represents a health hazard for humans as well,” notes the report.
Over several pages, last week’s memo reiterates the many hazards of the lake and the “impractical” costs and complications of attempting to ensure safe general swimming. As an example, staff estimated the cost of opening Deep Eddy Pool Shore as an initial $11 million and annual $4.5 million and Fiesta Gardens Lagoon at $17 million with annual costs of $4.5 million.
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Elsewhere in the News
KUT talks to nonprofit groups that provide abortions to Texans, and they aren’t backing down.
KVUE reports on more broken glass from the ATX Tower, which is currently under construction downtown.
A local cyclist is suing Avride after an alleged collision with one of its delivery robots.
The Texas Tribune dives into the chaos at Texas A&M.
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