Callout: Today’s newsletter is supported by “Austin Parks Foundation’s Party for the Parks”
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Quote of the Day
“My team has been out door-knocking at night at properties where we have tenants associations, and they’ve seen tenants frantically packing boxes, saying that the manager threatened to call ICE if they didn’t move out the next day. All of those stories are captured in the numbers that I’m about to talk about.”
— Shoshana Krieger, of BASTA (Building and Strengthening Tenant Action)
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Number of evictions in Travis County on track to surpass 2024’s record
From Lina Fisher:
Earlier this year, Princeton University’s Eviction Lab came out with a harrowing statistic: Austin’s eviction filings are the highest number they’ve been since 2020. During the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, Austin applied an eviction moratorium, but they returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 when the ban was lifted and have since continued climbing.
On Tuesday, local tenant organizing group BASTA (Building and Strengthening Tenant Action), a project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, presented its findings to the City Council Housing and Planning Committee, explaining what Council can do to curb this worrying trend. Recommendations include intervening before an eviction gets formally filed and providing prevention plans at properties to facilitate conversations with tenants and landlords to resolve issues and work on payment plans. A BASTA leader also said focusing more on enforcing the protections that do exist is also important, as landlords aren’t always following them, and urged the city to reconsider how it calculates eligibility for affordable housing.
City and union leaders present creative workarounds to federal challenges on climate justice
From Mina Shekarchi:
Despite recent federal setbacks to the climate justice movement, Austin has a pathway to reduce its carbon footprint, create hundreds of jobs and save nearly $3 million per year in energy costs, according to the Texas Climate Jobs Project (TCJP). The coalition launched its new report, “Powering Public Progress: Decarbonizing Austin’s Municipal Buildings for a Resilient Future,” at a press conference last week alongside city leaders. The report outlines pathways to bolster Austin’s sustainability initiatives while creating union-supported work.
Labor unions across the state formed the TCJP coalition in 2021 to explore policies to strengthen climate resilience while addressing income inequality and creating jobs.
“Texas is the energy capital of the country — but it’s also the most dangerous state for workers, with the highest rates of workplace fatalities, injuries, wage theft and misclassification,” said Jeremy Hendricks, secretary treasurer of the Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 1095. “Texas has the potential to lead the nation in climate action and job creation. But that only happens if labor is at the table — not as an afterthought, but as a driving force.”
Environmental Commission applauds progress on bird-safe buildings
From Amy Smith:
With more than $5.5 billion generated annually in Texas from birdwatching and bird tourism, Austin leaders and community stakeholders want to ensure the safety of the roughly 400 species that reside in or migrate through Travis County each spring and fall. Watershed Protection staff have developed a set of recommended code amendments and policy updates that they’re rolling out to boards and commissions before sending the proposed changes to City Council.
Bird-friendly designs can include limiting the use of glass, adding solar shading or screens, applying ultraviolet coatings, using glazed or etched patterns or incorporating bird-friendly markers directly on the glass. Additionally, staff recommends implementing dark-sky lighting compliance standards to reduce light pollution that can cause birds to become disoriented.
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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, Oct. 8.
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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Downtown Commission proposes boundary expansion
Downtown Commissioners have voted to recommend expanding its area of oversight to align with the proposed Center City/Central District Plan, which will guide the next update of the Downtown Austin Plan.
The recommendation asks City Council to amend the commission’s bylaws so its purview extends north into West Campus and the University Neighborhood Overlay area, and south into the South Central Waterfront. Current boundaries — which are set at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Interstate 35, Lady Bird Lake and Lamar Boulevard — have been in place since the commission was formed.
Planning Department staff previously suggested expanding the Downtown Austin Plan to better reflect downtown’s regional role, noting the need to incorporate adjacent areas that are seeing rapid development. Commissioners agreed, saying the new boundaries would allow the group to weigh in on projects and policies that directly affect downtown but currently fall outside its scope.
Commissioners also noted that if Council pursues a merger of the South Central Waterfront Advisory Board into another body, the Downtown Commission would be the logical home for that combined body.
— Chad Swiatecki
Opponents of enlarged convention center still arguing
The Save Our Springs Alliance sent an email Tuesday urging Austinites to sign up to speak against approval of a site plan for the enlarged convention center. As the email points out, Council already approved it once but there was very little backup at the time. SOS appealed and now item 63 has 200 sheets of design drawings, which opponents are busy analyzing.
Meanwhile, there’s a petition “that would force a (public) vote on the $5.6 billion project.” Authors of the petition say they are in the home stretch on that petition although it is not clear when such an election would happen. Seems like a lawsuit is likely on that.
— Jo Clifton
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Elsewhere in the News
A former Council staff member shared with KXAN a photo of a bingo card with squares for “MAGA hat,” “‘Do your job,’” “Israel Palestine” and “Sassy mayor” that some staffers play as a game during comments from constituents.
Programs at AISD elementary schools where kids learn in English and Spanish are likely in for massive change as the district pieces together a plan to consolidate schools.
The Texas Office of Attorney General has responded to a lawsuit filed by students at UT Austin and UT Dallas who say the UT System’s new “expressive activities” policies restrict their right to free speech on campus. The state says that isn’t the case and wants the lawsuit dismissed by the U.S. District Court.
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