Candidates went head-to-head in the race to represent East Austin voters in District 3 at the latest in a series of community forums hosted by the Austin Monitor and KUT News. All of the district’s 12 candidates attended Monday’s question and answer session at the North Door on Brushy Street to talk about affordability and […]
Affordability
A multi-faceted discussion that centers around the relative cost-of-living in a given municipality. In Austin, this debate has returned discussions on such divers concepts as land use, density, living wages, and public transportation.
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Study shows Austin housing market still growing at record levels
A housing study that the City of Austin is required to perform every five years is providing City Council members more confirmation that the city’s housing market is continuing to change at a breakneck pace. The five-year planning mandate is requirement for city officials to receive federal entitlement grants. One component of that plan is […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government
Demographer says city’s rapid growth a complex statistical issue
Austin’s growth has received a lot of attention over the past few years. The pace of that growth certainly warrants attention – but are we seeing it clearly? The Austin Monitor sat down with City Demographer Ryan Robinson to try to figure that out. “People just grasp on to how many people move here […]
Posted inDevelopment
Residents say population surge is pricing Austinites out of their homes
A number of Austin homeowners aired their frustrations with rising residential tax appraisals at a community forum Tuesday. The forum was hosted by the Brentwood Neighborhood Association, the First Universalist Social Action Committee and Brigid Shea, the Democratic nominee for Travis County Precinct 2 Commissioner. About 300 people attended the forum, and homeowners lined up […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Morrison resolution seeks to preserve ability to get New Starts grant
Council Member Laura Morrison has crafted a resolution she hopes will help preserve affordability along a proposed new mass transit route and ensure that the city can secure federal money in the form of a Federal Transportation Agency New Starts grant. Her resolution is on today’s Council agenda. At Tuesday’s work session, Morrison told […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Tovo puts affordability issues at top of her 2013 list of successes
For Council Member Kathie Tovo, a lot of the successes in the past year have to do with affordability. “I think we are hearing from the community that they are very overwhelmed by taxes and by other increases, and that we need to hold the line on property tax increases,” said Tovo. “I think […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Cole cites affordable housing bonds’ approval as major event of 2013
Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole lists a set of familiar responses as milestones for her 2013 Council year. And though she clearly sees the importance of such items as the start of the Land Development Code rewrite, wage floors, and the potential coming of Urban Rail, she quickly focuses on what to her was the […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government
Apartment occupancy rates, rental costs at all-time high
As Austin’s population continues to increase, occupancy rates and rents for apartments and the construction of new multifamily properties are at all-time high levels. And while that may be a financial boost for owners and landlords, City of Austin housing officials say it presents a serious challenge to their mission of creating affordable housing. […]
Posted inDevelopment, Elections
Austin voters approve Affordable Housing bonds by wide margin
City of Austin voters handily approved $65 million in affordable housing bonds Tuesday. The vote recharges an Affordable Housing program left without a clear funding path after $70-million-plus ballot question failed at the polls in 2012. At the end of the evening, more than 60 percent of those voting cast ballots in favor of […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council clarifies affordability calculations on PUD Ordinance
Moving with a swiftness seldom seen at City Hall, City Council members approved changes to the city’s Planned Unit Development Ordinance at last week’s meeting. Council voted 5-2 to approve the new ordinance, with Council Members Kathie Tovo and Laura Morrison voting in opposition. The changes are a result of a lack of […]