Are air taxis on Austin's horizon?

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Will Austin embrace air taxis?

From Miles Wall:

At their most-recent meeting, City Council’s Mobility Committee heard a presentation from Assistant City Manager Michael Rogerson the burgeoning air taxi industry, which Rogers framed as an emerging issue for city transportation.

“As a matter of fact, we’ve had these (vehicles) here in Austin, at South by Southwest,” Rogers said, referring to test flights hosted in March by local aviation start up Lift. “So this is happening, this is real.”

Austin wasn’t warned that state police would be clearing homeless camps on city land, mayor says

From Andrew Weber, KUT News:

Gov. Greg Abbott says he’s using state police to clear homeless encampments across Austin – including on parks and trails maintained and owned by the city.

That was news to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson.

Watson said Tuesday that the order from the governor came, partly, as a shock – and it came as Austin was rolling out a plan of its own to clear up encampments ahead of winter and amid a wildfire risk.

A message from today’s sponsor, Austin Energy:

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But we’re not just an electric utility. As community members, we care deeply about this ever-changing city we call home.

See how public power works for Austin at AustinEnergy.com/PublicPower

Hadavi to be named city auditor

Following an executive session Tuesday, Mayor Kirk Watson announced that City Council will, this Thursday, make a motion to name the current Deputy City Auditor Jason Hadavi as city auditor starting in January, 2026. The current auditor, Corrie Stokes, is retiring at the end of this year. During the executive session, Council interviewed Hadavi, as well as two other finalists for the job — Spencer Bright of the Port of Seattle and Suresh George of Richardson, Texas. Hadavi has been with the City Auditor’s Office for the past 20 years.

— Jo Clifton

This PUD’s for Riverside

Tuesday’s City Council work session included only one in-session item, held after an closed-door executive session to discuss operations and resource issues for Austin Energy, and Thursday’s agenda item that covers the hiring of a new city auditor.

After the executive session, Council members heard a briefing and development assessment for a proposed planned unit development at 1400½ and 1404 East Riverside Drive. The 2.62-acre site fronting Lady Bird Lake just east of I-35 was once home to the Acton Business School, and is currently zoned Mixed Use within the Waterfront Overlay and Lady Bird Lake watershed. Online documents suggest the project’s planned name is Mill Creek East Riverside.

The applicant, South Shore Apartments Owner LP, is proposing a 381-unit residential project and seeking Planned Unit Development zoning with General Commercial Services as the baseline district. The plan is seeking 12 code modifications, including an increase in maximum height to 180 feet, up from the 96-foot cap under current rules, and an impervious cover limit of 65 percent. In exchange, the project would provide 15 on-site affordable units at 60 percent of the area’s Median Family Income. The project would also have 44 percent of the property dedicated as parkland, with enhanced stormwater treatment, and long-term bicycle parking at 150 percent of code requirements.

Council Member Ryan Alter questioned the cost and usefulness of the city’s preliminary “development assessment” process, suggesting it adds expense without moving projects forward in a timely fashion. Council Member José Velásquez echoed that concern, also saying the project’s roughly 4-percent affordability share should be increased. Council Member Mike Siegel asked for an estimate of the fee-in-lieu payment the developer could make in exchange for a lower amount of affordable housing, but zoning officer Joi Harden said that won’t be calculated until a formal zoning application is submitted for full departmental and commission review.

— Chad Swiatecki

Watson looks for new routes of expression

Mayor Kirk Watson said in a recent City Council Message Board post that the city will comply with state and federal directives to remove decorative roadway markings, while looking for other ways to showcase local diversity, art and inclusion.

“It’s ridiculous that with all our needs and all the good we could be doing, some people use their power to divide and demean people and to devalue things that make our communities special,” wrote Watson. “We must protect Austin’s values. These artistic expressions are important to our constituents. They’re important to me. This threat, whiIe uninvited, creates an opportunity. In fact, I want to use this opportunity to enhance bringing people together, to better celebrate every Austinite’s value, and to highlight our diversity and creativity more. I want to increase the ways we show our love. And I want to do all these things while fulfilling our responsibility and obligation to safeguard hundreds of millions of dollars we need to meet critical city needs.”

In addition to seeking an unlikely exception from the directives that target areas including the rainbow crosswalk on Fourth Street and the “Black Artists Matter” mural on East 11th Street, Watson has called for the creation of a task force charged with exploring other ways to publicly celebrate the city’s culture and diversity.

The task force, which he hopes to convene by early next week, will look for public-space options to celebrate the city’s LGBTQIA+ and Black artist communities using sidewalks, banners, lighting, utility poles and other city-owned properties that comply with roadway regulations. The task force would include representatives from city boards and commissions such as the Arts Commission, LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission and Urban Transportation Commission, the Six Square Cultural District and the Austin LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce, Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce.

“Whether or not an exception is given, this is something I think we should do. As I’ve said, this gives us an opportunity, should reenergize us, and prompt even better celebration of Austin’s love, pride, diversity, and creativity,” Watson wrote. “There’s more than one way to show our love, our pride, our respect for diversity, our defiance. Let’s protect, defend, and shine a light on Austin’s values at the same time we protect grants for programs and projects important to Austin like the airport expansion, Vision Zero, climate pollution reduction, potentially Project Connect, and other current and future State and Federal grants that we’ll want and need to properly build Austin.”

— Chad Swiatecki

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ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS

KUT reports on big changes that are on the way for CapMetro transit service after approval of Transit Plan 2035.

Also, UT Austin has remained quiet on a proposed compact with the Trump administration that has been rejected by all the other proposed schools save Vanderbilt University.

Austin-Bergstrom International Aiport had its busiest travel day ever this week.

And, as if AISD didn’t have enough trouble these days, religious nonprofit “Texas Values” is upset that the district will keep schools open this Good Friday.