A city incentive program intended to produce “Safe, Mixed-use, Accessible, Reasonably-priced and Transit-oriented” housing may be getting a little smarter with changes working their way towards City Council. The Housing Department is proposing four amendments to improve the “operation and functionality” of the program, per a presentation on the amendments given to the Planning Commission […]
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 inFire
City and county officials kick off Wildfire Awareness Month
As Austin/Travis County heads into another scorching hot wildfire season, city and county leaders are sharing updates on community-wide preparedness efforts and emphasizing how individual Austinites can do their part. Local officials held a press conference on Tuesday to kick off Wildfire Awareness Month. Austin currently ranks fifth on a list of major U.S. cities […]
Posted inRoads
Council approves grant award to replace Barton Springs Road Bridge
A long-running debate over replacing the iconic Barton Springs Road Bridge appears to be settled, with City Council’s unanimous vote Thursday to formally accept $32 million in grant funds for the project. Although the Council voted in 2023 to move forward with replacing the bridge, funding wasn’t available to cover construction costs. That changed late […]
Posted inTipSheets
TipSheet: Austin City Council 4.24.25
The Austin City Council will convene today for their regular Thursday meeting. We’ll be watching and, after reading over the full agenda, here are a few things that we’ll be watching closely. The Council will consider its second artificial intelligence resolution in recent memory with an agenda item from the office of Mayor Pro Tem […]
Posted inCity Council
Council looks to expand AI policies, examine energy and water needs for data centers
Later this week, City Council will consider a substantial expansion of the city’s artificial intelligence oversight, incorporating detailed guidance on workforce protections, public transparency, and the environmental impacts of growing AI infrastructure. The resolution on Thursday’s agenda builds on a policy passed in February 2024, but goes further by requiring audits, defining acceptable AI uses, […]
Posted inCity Hall
Animal Center gets interim leaders to help with five-year improvement plan
The city is moving forward with new leadership at Austin Animal Center, following a memo from city manager T.C. Broadnax announcing the appointment of an interim leadership team. As of last week, Rolando Fernandez took over as interim chief animal services officer, bringing nearly two decades of city government experience to the role. Melissa Pool […]
Posted inFire
Firefighters, city reach agreement on retirement fund
Negotiators for the city and Austin firefighters have finally reached agreement on how to deal with the Austin Firefighter Retirement Fund so that it complies with state law and can promise retirement benefits to current and future retirees. This has been a vexing problem for the city and its firefighters for some time. Mayor Kirk […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning staff spells out steps for preservation and coordination in 78702 and beyond
The city is preparing to move forward with a long-term planning effort that would coordinate public and cultural investments in a portion of East Austin seen as under threat of gentrification and other growth pressures. A new memo from the Planning Department issued last week responds to a 2024 City Council resolution directing staff to […]
Posted inHousing
Facing displacement, Acacia Cliffs apartment tenants mobilize at City Hall
Plans to redevelop an apartment complex in Northwest Austin are off to a rocky start, drawing a crowd to City Hall last week with demands for more concessions to displaced tenants. Acacia Cliffs residents and their neighbors took to the podium on Thursday to request time for more robust negotiations with owner Price Realty Corporation, […]
Posted inCity Council
Austin requires all homes to have working air conditioning
Ahead of Austin’s scorching summer months, City Council members adopted a property maintenance code Thursday that requires all homes in the city to have functioning air conditioning. The new rule does not require property owners to have central air conditioning. But owners are required to have some form of air conditioning equipment, such as window units, […]
Posted inCity Council
Council OKs next steps in planning improvements to Sixth Street district
With early data suggesting the area’s safety can continue to improve, City Council approved a detailed resolution Thursday directing city staff to pursue a wide-ranging set of improvements and operational changes aimed at encouraging daytime activity in the Sixth Street Entertainment District. The resolution, approved in its fourth version as part of the consent agenda, […]
Posted inRoads
Austin has only weeks to decide where to put parks over I-35
Austin must decide within just a few weeks whether to commit hundreds of millions of dollars to installing support structures on Interstate 35, or give up the chance to build parks over the highway. City Council has until May 31 to choose locations for the foundational elements that would hold up large decks – or […]