D3 Council Member Pio Renteria joins Monitor publisher Mike Kanin to discuss his first weeks in office, eastside gentrification, and more. Sponsored by Kerbey Lane Cafe. Show is embedded below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/198016086″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
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 inTransportation
City-led Traffic Congestion Action Plan on the way
The Austin Monitor has obtained a memo from City Manager Marc Ott that briefly details plans for Austin’s new Traffic Congestion Action Plan, or “Traffic CAP,” though officials delayed a planned news conference on the topic until today due to a partial bridge collapse near Salado. In the memo, Ott writes, “The plan’s goal is […]
Posted inDevelopment, Planning, Zoning
Council puts off vote on vacating right of way
City Council postponed action on vacating right of way on several streets in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood Thursday and sent questions about the development to Council Member Leslie Pool’s Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee. Pool had pulled the item from the consent agenda for discussion. It seemed at first that the item might go […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Development, Land Development Code, Zoning
Adler promises to change building permit process
Speaking to a receptive audience at the Real Estate Council of Austin on Wednesday, Mayor Steve Adler said he and his colleagues intend to make sure that they fix problems in the city’s development and permitting process sooner rather than later. In response to the highly critical Zucker Report on the city’s slow, complicated and […]
Posted inAustin, Parks, Resources
Council weighs in on Parkland Events Task Force
Some City Council members say the naming of a public parks task force will finally bring action on discussions the city has been having for years about the strain special events place on the city’s parkland. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo said the creation of a Parkland Events Task Force, passed unanimously at Council’s March […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Austin City Council, 3.24 & 3.26
Council has two meetings Thursday: Its inaugural Austin Energy committee of the whole and the regular Council meeting, pushed back to 11 a.m. to accommodate for the AE committee. Their agenda continues to be light, relative to those of their predecessors. As always, the Austin City Council meets in an agenda work session Tuesday and […]
Posted inCity Council
City seeking 567 volunteers for commissions
In order to keep the city’s many boards and commissions running on time, City Council must make 500 appointments by June 30. Other groups need to appoint an additional 67 individuals to participate in the process of advising Council on everything from animal welfare to energy and water. As one of its final actions, the […]
Posted inCity Council, Transportation
Council members lock down South Austin gate
The Planning Commission and the city’s legal department will address a section of city code today that could give commissioners discretion over connectivity in preliminary plans. Last week, City Council exercised its own discretion and passed a resolution that will install a traffic-blocking gate at Aldwyche Drive. Both discussions were borne out of the Lightsey […]
Posted inCity Council, Housing
Springdale apartment complex appeal denied
City Council has rejected an appeal by DeWayne Lofton, who was seeking to overturn a decision of the Planning Commission to grant a conditional use permit for an affordable housing complex at 5905 Springdale Road. Lofton, president of Pecan Springs/Springdale Neighborhood Association, told Council he felt that commissioners did not pay enough attention to his […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Development, Parks
Two committees to take up Decker Golf questions
After raising numerous questions about the deal it is being asked to approve for creation of two high-end golf courses at the Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park in far East Austin, City Council voted 9-1-1 Thursday to send those questions to two Council committees. District 1 Council Member Ora Houston voted no, and District 4 […]
Posted inAustin, Development, Education
Council backs application for Obama Promise Zone
The Austin City Council threw its support behind an Obama administration initiative Thursday when it backed the city’s application to have a large tract of East Austin dubbed a “Promise Zone” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Council members passed the item after motions to postpone and send it to committee floundered. […]
Posted inCity Hall, Development
It’s not over till it’s over: Lightsey 2 at Council today
Today, City Council members will consider a resolution that could conclude the saga of a South Austin development that is no stranger to City Hall. The item is another chapter in the seemingly endless saga of the Lightsey 2 development. That development has come under fire from neighbors, who have been battling the development and the […]