At its most recent meeting, the Board of Adjustment ruled against a Lake Austin homeowner hoping to overturn a staff decision and retain their wall. Though board members expressed sympathy for a frustrating experience with the city and heard testimony that the wall fell under suspicion after complaints by an irritable neighbor, they voted unanimously […]
City of Austin Board of Adjustment
The city’s Board of Adjustment is a quasi-judicial body that decides on variances, special exceptions and can issue interpretations of code.
Posted inDevelopment
Carport door raises big issues in Zilker
A recent case at the Board of Adjustment will allow one Zilker resident to finally close the door of their carport. But the case has also opened the door on neighborhood association politics and what happens when a complex Land Development Code collides with homes built to the brink of their entitlements. Garage doors are […]
Posted inPlanning
St. Johns ‘project of change’ gets needed break
After months of compromise, the Board of Adjustment has opted to let a St. Johns work/live project live, despite lingering concerns from neighbors about entering into a new era of transportation-oriented development. In order to build a two-story, five-unit multifamily project at 608 W. St. Johns Ave., developers were asking to reduce the east setback […]
Posted inLand Development Code
West Austin Triplex bid stalls at BoA
Time and money did not prove to be a sufficient hardship at the Board of Adjustment, where an Old West Austin homeowner hoping to build a triplex on a multifamily lot learned the price of 600 feet this week. William Schaub explained that he hoped to build three residential units on his property at 804 […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Mixed vibes surround Bouldin carport variance
It takes more than heat and birds to justify a carport in this town. Heat and birds are just a part of life in Austin, Texas. That was the lesson at the Board of Adjustment for Aaron McGarry, who owns the home at 2210 S. Second St. McGarry is asking to reduce the front setback from […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics charges dismissed against official in trellis case
A member of the city’s Board of Adjustment will not face a final hearing on charges he involved himself inappropriately in an appeals process involving the neighborhood association of which he is also a founding member. At Wednesday’s meeting of the Ethics Review Commission, commissioners voted 8-0 that there was not enough evidence to move […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Not our jam
Bit of turbulence during that pilot program… An attempt by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department to make “data driven decisions” went slightly off the rails at Tuesday’s City Council work session, where Council members learned that a “parks pass” pilot program may be having unintended consequences. The pass, which is a voluntary program implemented […]
Posted inDevelopment
Developer accuses BoA’s King of ethics violations
The city’s Ethics Review Commission will hold a preliminary hearing next Wednesday to determine whether there are “reasonable grounds” to consider an ethics complaint filed against Board of Adjustment member Bryan King. Ross Wilson of PSW Real Estate, which is building duplexes in South Austin, filed the complaint against King. The complaint alleges that although […]
Posted inPlanning
Board denies appeal accusing church of being front for multifamily residence
Wading through the gray area between religious assembly and residential uses, the Board of Adjustment decided at its Feb. 13 meeting to deny an appeal to reverse staff’s determination that the property at 2530 South Congress was being used for religious worship. Agent Nikelle Meade filed the appeal on behalf of David Krug, manager of […]
Posted inDevelopment
Form-based considerations inform West Campus variance case
In the haze of CodeNEXT fever, the form-based language of building types and footprints continues to creep into discussions of land use, and those considerations found their way into the Board of Adjustment’s meeting Monday night. For its final item, the board heard applicant Sudhakar Allada’s parking variance request for a small-lot multifamily apartment project at 911 W. […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Wider discretionary powers for Board of Adjustment envisioned in CodeNEXT draft
Assistant city attorney Brent Lloyd made a small presentation at the joint meeting of the land use commissions last Tuesday night outlining a possible reconfiguration of the Board of Adjustment’s role in city planning as part of the changes on the CodeNEXT horizon. Currently the BoA is mostly occupied by granting variances, specifically those relating […]
Posted inCity Hall
Board of Adjustment considers a fee change
After more than a year of discussion and drafting, the Board of Adjustment continues to move forward with a request to change its fees. Board Member Bryan King read his proposal for a change to the fees charged for interpretation cases at the board’s meeting on Feb. 13. Interpretation cases are opened when someone believes […]