Callout: Today’s newsletter is supported by “Austin Parks Foundation’s Party for the Parks”
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Quote of the Day
“This has been a thorny and difficult issue. It has been through many different lawsuits and permutations… I feel like we’re finally getting to a point where we have a workable, enforceable STR ordinance that will be able to stand up to legal challenge and also generate the Hotel Occupancy Tax that we’ve been trying to get into the city coffers.”
— Council Member Chito Vela, from Council OKs new rules for short-term rentals
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Austin police canceled a shelter-in-place order while a shooter was on the loose
From Andrew Weber, KUT News:
People in parts of Austin were told Wednesday morning just after 6:30 that a man who shot a police officer and another person near Zilker Park was no longer a threat.
But, he was. The man was still at-large just outside an elementary school – armed and on the run from police.
The Austin Police Department says it’s looking into why the shelter-in-place order, which was sent via text to more than 178,000 Austinites, was canceled. The incident highlights a lack of communication between the department and Austin residents.
Council OKs new rules for short-term rentals
From Chad Swiatecki:
City Council voted Thursday to approve a series of regulations for short-term rental properties, taking the next step in advancing changes that were kicked off by a February vote. The resolution, which collected several amendments and had others withdrawn or voted down, was approved 10-0, with Council Member Marc Duchen abstaining.
“We have the ability to mitigate the impact of STR proliferation on our housing supply and the potentially profound effects it has on neighbors and neighborhoods,” Duchen said early in the discussion of resolution. “I’m particularly concerned that parts of Austin already facing the pressure of gentrification are also the same areas most negatively impacted by the unchecked STR growth. The regulation, as it’s currently written, doesn’t include any geographic or spatial-based assessment of the appropriate locations.”
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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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Council moves to update and strengthen graffiti ordinance
City Council members on Thursday approved updates to the local graffiti ordinance, adding more teeth to the prohibition against graffiti on public and private property. The changes broaden the definition of graffiti to include any marking – whether a signature, a design or a single letter – made without the property owner’s consent and visible from the street.
Council Member Marc Duchen added two amendments – one for tracking and collecting data and another emphasizing the city’s duty to remove graffiti from city-owned properties.
“I’ve had the privilege of consulting with a variety of stakeholders, business owners and Downtown Commissioners regarding this issue and one point that keeps percolating up and up is that if we leave this issue alone it gets worse and worse, and so abatement is key to managing this problem,” Duchen said.
Mayor Kirk Watson agreed, stating, “I strongly feel that if we want to preserve and protect and enhance our sense of place in Austin, Texas… we need to be moving forward on things like this.”
The updated ordinance also adds a definition for transportation infrastructure as “public and private assets designed to facilitate various modes of transportation, such as roadways, rail systems airports and aviation facilities, maritime and waterways, and public transit systems.”
— Amy Smith
Lawsuit over ballot language still pending at Texas Supreme Court
Former mayoral candidate Jeffery Bowen, who sued the city over language slated for the November 4 ballot on the city’s tax rate, is still waiting for the Texas Supreme Court to rule on his petition.
The city has told the court that the deadline for changing the language has already passed. Since they have to give notice in order to have a meeting and vote on changing the language, it seems likely that the current language will be what appears on the ballot. Aleshire told the Austin Monitor that the Supreme Court frequently issues its rulings on Friday. On Thursday, Council approved an amendment to the city’s contract with Rose Fulbright, the firm representing the city in its fight with Bowen. The amendment adds $124,000 to the contract for a total of up to $200,000.
After the Third Court of Appeals ruled in the city’s favor, Attorney Bill Aleshire, who represents Bowen, filed an emergency request for a writ of mandamus with the Texas Supreme Court that asked the court to declare Austin’s proposed ballot language insufficient.
Bowen argues that the language does not adequately tell voters what their money will be used for and that future Councils could decide not to spend it to fund homelessness services, parks and public safety needs. The city also plans to use the money to erase a $33 million shortfall.
The city is seeking a five-cent tax rate hike, which voters must approve due to a state law that requires voter approval to increase the tax rate more than 3.5 percent.
— Jo Clifton
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Elsewhere in the News
The Austin Chronicle has its take on the 21-foot sound wall that could soon loom over Cherrywood.
We continue to appreciate Community Impact’s coverage of an unauthorized billboard on Bee Caves Road, which is now headed to court.
AI security robots in our neighborhoods? Sure, why not!
KUT looks at the storied history of West Lake Hills as part of its atxplained series.
And the Barbed Wire heads over to the Bullock Museum to ask “who’s history is this, anyway?”
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