The city of Austin will be allowed to move forward with plans to implement its Reproductive Justice Fund, despite a lawsuit challenging its legality, city officials said. The Reproductive Justice Fund is a provision in the city’s 2024-25 budget that is meant to provide money to people seeking out-of-state abortions due to the medical procedure being […]
Austin City Council
The Austin City Council is the body with legislative purview over the City of Austin. It offers policy direction, while the office of the City Manager implements administrative actions based on those policies. Until 2015, the body contained seven members, including the city’s Mayor, all elected at-large. In 2012, City of Austin residents voted to change that system and as of 2015, 10 members of the Council are elected based on geographic districts. The Mayor continues to be elected at-large.
Posted inLand Development Code
Council pushes forward with density bonus changes
Though it has been in place only since February, the city’s newest density bonus program – DB90 – was updated by City Council during its Thursday meeting. DB90, which is a new zoning category ushered through the codification process at a more rapid clip than land development changes usually are, was intended to replace VMU2 […]
Posted inCourts
Judge’s order halts Nov. 5 charter election
Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble on Thursday ordered the city of Austin to eliminate 13 proposed charter amendments from the Nov. 5 ballot because City Council violated the Texas Open Meetings Act in setting a hearing on the proposed charter items. Other items on the ballot, such as Council races, are not impacted […]
Posted inParks
Parks board asks City Council to review why boating concession ordinance exempted community input
The Parks and Recreation Board wants City Council to reexamine, and possibly rescind, a 2019 ordinance allowing an adventure excursion company to operate a boating concession in East Austin without going through a public process. The company, called the Expedition School, is poised to begin building out its concession operations along Lady Bird Lake’s north […]
Posted inTransportation
Council to see start of contracts for nearly $2.5B to fund airport expansion
City Council will consider a handful of funding items today that collectively would approve almost a half-billion dollars in contracts for the expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The five requests total $497.8 million and represent the next major decisions in a series of possible approvals that would total nearly $2.5 billion in the coming months. […]
Posted inTipSheets
TipSheet: Austin City Council, 8.29.24
Today, City Council will convene to hold its regular Thursday meeting and, to celebrate the occasion, we’ve put together a collection of things that caught our eye while reading through the agenda. Behold! In February, Council approved a new density bonus program, DB90, to replace VMU2, which was eliminated by a court ruling. Now, DB90 […]
Posted inResources
Texas Gas Service rate hearing at Council this Thursday
City Council will host a hearing on Thursday to allow members of the public, particularly customers of Texas Gas Service, to voice their opinions about a large rate increase the utility is proposing. The city has also joined a coalition of cities seeking to convince the Texas Railroad Commission, which makes the final decision about […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Noisy neighbors: Council to consider changes in decibel limits for some new construction
At Thursday’s meeting, City Council will consider adjustments to the recent DB90 zoning classification that could result in a significant reduction in the noise levels allowed in residential areas. A scheduled public hearing on the possible ordinance change could also result in adoption of one of two ordinances that take opposite positions on the noise […]
Posted inAustin, Elections
Texas Supreme Court to decide whether Austin has a charter election this year
The Supreme Court of Texas has accepted a petition for a writ of mandamus in the Save Our Springs Alliance lawsuit against the city of Austin regarding alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act. If the court agrees with the plaintiffs that the city violated the Open Meetings Act in setting a charter election […]
Posted inPublic Health
Austin and Travis County’s first Food Plan nears its finish line
Texas has the second-highest rate of food insecurity in the country, and Austin’s numbers aren’t much better: 158,270 Travis County residents, or 16 percent, are food insecure. Not being able to pay for food is a symptom of larger failures of the social safety net – the Central Texas Food Bank reports that “two-thirds of […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Council could OK task force to design bond package focused on climate change
Next week, City Council will consider forming a task force to design the city’s next bond package expected to go before voters by fall 2026. Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool has led on the resolution that calls for the creation of a 22-member body that would begin meeting in October, with Mayor Kirk Watson and […]
Posted inPublic Health
Austin faces lawsuit for providing financial support to people seeking out-of-state abortions
The city of Austin is being sued for a provision in the budget providing money to people seeking out-of-state abortions. City Council last week approved $400,000 to fund travel – including airfare, gas, hotel stays and food – for people seeking the procedure, which is banned in Texas. Former City Council Member Don Zimmerman, who […]