Under state law, Austin is only allowed to raise its tax rate by 3.5 percent without asking voters for permission. That law has been on the books since 2019 without the city scheduling a regular tax rate election. But it looks like this is the year. As a reader pointed out, Austin did have a […]
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 inEnergy
Burying Austin’s power lines would cost $50 billion (and is pretty much impossible)
Two years ago, after Austin’s lush urban tree canopy froze and downed power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, the city resolved to look into a simple solution: burying the power lines. Now, a new city-commissioned study shows that would be damn near impossible. The draft study from consulting firm 1898 & Co. found […]
Posted inCity Council
City pauses $10M in airport art over concerns local creatives were excluded
The city has paused three significant public art contracts intended for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport expansion, in a move that may signal a reconsideration of how prominently the city should promote local artists in major public spaces. Three contract approvals totaling more than $10 million have been pulled from next week’s City Council agenda, following […]
Posted inCity Hall
City moves toward starting downtown strategy office
In response to a resolution from City Council, as well as the many projects and disruptions foreseen for downtown in the next few years, the city plans to create a new downtown strategy office by the end of September. The Council resolution, approved on Feb. 13, urged the city manager to develop a comprehensive strategy […]
Posted inPublic Health
City IDs progress, funding needs to carry out area food plan
A pair of recent city memos shows progress and the need for additional funding sources to implement the first comprehensive food plan for the Austin area. The two memos were released last week, outlining nine goals and 61 strategies aimed at strengthening the local food system, addressing food insecurity and improving food resilience. The plan, […]
Posted inFire
As wildfire anxiety grows, Austin plans to designate half the city as at risk of fire damage
Austin plans to greatly expand the amount of land, and therefore homes, considered at risk of wildfire damage. City Council members are scheduled to discuss updating rules surrounding Austin’s WUI, or Wildland-Urban Interface, later this month. This is the area where wilderness and development meet, and where there is a higher risk that a fire […]
Posted inWater
Austin’s water reuse program is moving forward, but slowly
Austin adopted what were called “historic” water reuse regulations a year ago, so the program is still in its infancy, especially compared with Los Angeles and San Francisco, which adopted regulations requiring builders to put in the necessary plumbing to reuse water at least a decade ago. “San Francisco started its program in 2012 and […]
Posted inLand Development Code
City Council approves phase two of ‘site plan lite’
City Council has passed phase two of “site plan lite” – an ordinance amending development regulations for residential re-subdivisions and multifamily residential site developments of five to 16 units. The final version of the ordinance was passed with five amendments and was approved by 10 members of the dais, with Council Member Marc Duchen voting […]
Posted inHousing
Housing panelists examine what’s worked in Austin, and across Texas
At a South by Southwest panel discussion last week on housing policies in Texas, City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison shared possible new components of the “agrihood” housing-plus-agriculture approach she championed last year. While sharing her views on steps the city has taken in recent years to address affordability concerns around housing, Harper-Madison talked about the […]
Posted inPreservation
Council decides against historic zoning for Running Rope Ranch
Despite strong statements of support for historic zoning from two of the newest members of City Council at last week’s meeting, fewer than half of the Council members voted in favor of designating a portion of the property known as Running Rope Ranch at 7304 Knox Lane in Northwest Austin as historic. As the Austin […]
Posted inCity Council
Prompted by convention center controversy, Council seeks changes to public art program
In response to increasing scrutiny over Austin’s handling of public art, City Council voted Thursday to modernize the Art in Public Places program by updating policies to prevent mishandlings like the controversial deaccessioning of artwork at the Austin Convention Center. The resolution, which was approved on the consent agenda, follows a heated debate over the […]
Posted inPublic Health
Council adds funding to bolster Integral Care’s mental health efforts
Responding to the need for more mental health workers to staff Integral Care’s Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, City Council on Thursday voted to allocate additional funding to the program. The action will inject more than $1.4 million into the diversion program, drawing dollars from the city’s 2025 budget stabilization reserve fund. Council initiated the […]