Tag Archives: accessory dwelling units
Council considering allowing tiny homes, RVs as accessory dwelling units
City Council seems poised to initiate changes to city zoning regulations that will allow tiny homes and recreational vehicles to be used as accessory dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods. Council Member Leslie Pool is sponsoring a resolution on today’s Council…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • Sep 14, 2023
City staffers provide ADU, "site plan lite" updates
City staffers updated the Planning Commission last week on efforts to make accessory dwelling units easier to build and to create a “site plan lite” to streamline permitting for small multifamily developments. City Council initiated the efforts through multiple resolutions…
Land Development Code • By Jonathan Lee • May 5, 2023
Planning Commission considers working group to tackle 'archaic' land use code
Austin’s Planning Commission is once more dipping its toes into turbulent waters, with plans to form a working group that would tackle small-scale reforms to the 38-year-old Land Development Code. On Tuesday commissioners opted to postpone action for another two…
Land Development Code • By Kali Bramble • Jul 6, 2022
Council to consider new ADU policies, ditch preapproved blueprints
City Council shifted priorities this week on policies related to accessory dwelling units, with members showing little interest in creating preapproved ADU blueprints and instead considering a new measure aimed at making ADUs easier to build. At Tuesday’s Housing and…
Land Development Code • By Jonathan Lee • Jun 3, 2022
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Creating preapproved ADU plans could take 2-3 years, produce few units
With City Council seeking to make it easier to build accessory dwelling units, city staffers provided an update on Feb. 16 about a key part of Council’s ADU strategy: creating a menu of preapproved, publicly available ADU plans. In a…
Land Development Code • By Jonathan Lee • Feb 25, 2022
ZAP members OK 'spot zoning' for ADU
Last Tuesday, the Zoning and Platting Commission heard what may be one of the last requests to build an accessory dwelling unit on a Single Family Residence-Standard (SF-2) lot after City Council resolved to allow ADUs in such spots in December.…
Planning • By Jonathan Lee • Jan 11, 2022
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Council to allow ADUs in more places
In response to rising housing costs, last Thursday City Council proposed several changes to allow accessory dwelling units in more neighborhoods and to make them easier to build. ADUs are set to become legal in Single Family Residence-Large Lot (SF-1)…
Land Development Code • By Jonathan Lee • Dec 15, 2021
Housing and Planning Committee examines barriers to ADU construction
The city’s Housing and Planning Committee met Tuesday to discuss the regulations for accessory dwelling units, secondary housing units located somewhere on a residential lot. As Austin’s housing crisis persists and the median sale price of homes continues to rise, ADUs…
Land Development Code • By Willow Higgins • Oct 7, 2021
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BoA holds off on approval for 'flipped' ADU plan
While a request to build an accessory dwelling unit larger than the existing home was not a sticking point, the lack of a preservation plan for a variance that hinged on preservation did present a problem for the Board of…
Land Development Code • By Elizabeth Pagano • Oct 28, 2020
Council pushes for financing, streamlined planning to encourage accessory dwellings
A resolution passed by City Council earlier this month may make it easier and less expensive for homeowners to construct accessory dwelling units on their property. City staff has been instructed to look for funding to provide low-cost loans to…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 20, 2020
Board of Adjustment does not approve variance to 'preserve neighborhood character'
The desire to build a house is not a sufficient reason to receive a variance, in the eyes of the Board of Adjustment. After having his case postponed at the February meeting of the Board of Adjustment, Joshua Inscoe, who…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 25, 2019
Board of Adjustment postpones Travis Heights ADU case, again
Citing neighborly discord, the Board of Adjustment postponed for the third time a variance request to treat an already-standing 1930s bungalow as an accessory dwelling unit. In a creative solution to add more density and square footage to a lot,…
