City of Austin Economic Development staff briefed City Council members Thursday on a proposed new set of incentives aimed at creative industries such as film, television and computer gaming. The package, set for a vote May 1, would offer production companies as much as a 0.75 percent rebate for salaries paid to local production staff. […]
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 inLocal Politics
Surprise Council mid-year evaluations of Ott, three others withdrawn
It seems that some City Council members were planning on giving City Manager Marc Ott – and perhaps others – a piece of their minds in private Thursday, but due to the absence of Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole, Mayor Lee Leffingwell was able to at least postpone that confrontation. The executive session agenda […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council backs code amendment to require landlords to take vouchers
Austin City Council members Thursday initiated a code amendment process that could end in the approval of the inclusion of source of income as a protected class for the purposes of determining rental housing discrimination complaints. Staff is set to bring any proposed code amendment back to Council by Aug. 1. The action came […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council postpones decision on former Austin State School property
With only six City Council members on the dais, the vote on a contentious West Austin zoning case was a draw Thursday night, pushing off further a decision that has been years in the making. Developers are asking for Multifamily (MF-2) zoning on their parcel at 3215 Exposition Boulevard. Staff is recommending a lesser […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council hears early report on future of boards and commissions
Austin City Council members appeared generally receptive to a host of potential changes to the structure of the city’s many – some say too many – boards and commissions. Still, as the Boards and Commission Transition Taskforce, which has become known as the Commission on Commissions, made its presentation at last week’s Council work session, […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council ponders changes to SMART Housing beyond mass transit
Austin City Council members Thursday approved the initiation of a code amendment that could result in changes to the city’s SMART Housing regulations. Initially, the proposed change would have only addressed whether the city could support housing not located next to mass transit routes. Council Member Chris Riley authored the original resolution. However, Council […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Politics, Resources
Riley proposes goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
A resolution set for approval by Austin City Council members today would set a goal “of reaching net zero communitywide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050” – sooner if possible. The document, brought forward by Council Members Chris Riley and Bill Spelman and Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole, lays out a path to the establishment of […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council continues debate on Riley’s SMART housing proposal
Austin City Council members continued to struggle Tuesday with a proposal from Council Member Chris Riley to update the transit portion of the city’s SMART housing ordinance. Though some of their discussion revisited issues raised at Council’s most recent Thursday meeting – when Riley first tried to initiate a code amendment to change the SMART […]
Posted inDevelopment
Planning Commission punts Baylor House issue to City Council
City Council will soon be asked to consider whether or not to grant historic zoning for Clarksville’s Baylor House, but they will have to do it without input from a dividedPlanning Commission. A split Planning Commission was unable to offer a recommendation on the zoning change, which would be made against the current owners’ […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council denies East Cesar Chavez restaurant a late-hours permit
East Austin’s Weather Up Restaurant will have to weather at least another year without late night hours, after an unsuccessful trip to City Council last week. In February, the Planning Commission rejected the request for the conditional use permit for Weather Up in an even split. The owners took the case to Council as […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council moves forward with proposal to allow micro apartment units
The discussion about micro apartment units boiled down to a few small details at Thursday’s City Council‘s meeting. Council members approved a resolution 7-0, initiating a code amendment that could decouple parking requirements from units that are less than 500 square feet in size. This decoupling already exists in the University Neighborhood Overlay, where […]
Posted inResources
Council, EUC fill most seats on city’s Generation Plan Task Force
Austin City Council members and their appointees on the city’s Electric Utility Commission Thursday filled the majority of the seats on a task force set up to complete the first review of Austin Energy’s 2010 Generation Plan. That document, a plan that governs Austin Energy’s generation purchases up through 2020, is a key point of […]