A South Austin homeowner’s plea to retain a garage door ended this week at the Board of Adjustment. Ginny Catania, who is the owner of 903 Ethel St., won her latest variance request. Though Catania had initially sought to retain the garage door that she added after buying the house, the amended request allows her […]
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 inAustin, Development
BOA puts plan for new kindergarten on hold
Plans to add a kindergarten to St. Andrews Episcopal School remain on hold for now. McLean & Howard, LLP attorney Jeff Howard represented St. Andrews School, which is located at 32nd Street and Wabash Avenue. He explained to the Board of Adjustment that it needed to reduce the required road width with a variance in […]
Posted inAustin, City Hall, Development
BOA sides with staff on neighborhood appeal
Plans for a home at 2015 Goodrich Ave. will go on after the Board of Adjustment ruled against a neighborhood appeal earlier this month. Before the appeal reached the earlier hearing, three of the neighborhood’s other complaints had been resolved. The remaining issue of the appeal was whether the home’s attic exemption complied with the requirements […]
Posted inAustin, Development
Homeowners seek to preserve vegetation, lake view
A fight over the value of invasive species ended in a postponement at the Board of Adjustment last week. Ginger and John Mitchell are permitted to build a dock at their home on Lake Austin. But the places where they could build the dock without a variance would either kill the plants they love or […]
Posted inAustin, Development, The Code
Cultural icon or not, panel says Airstream is still RV
They may have a dedicated following, but under city code Airstream trailers are still recreational vehicles, and parking one in your front yard comes with the same consequences. Andrew Hutton is asking the Board of Adjustment for a variance from a section of the code that would require him to construct a 6-foot wood or […]
Posted inAustin, Development, The Code
Board of Adjustment worries about envelope pushing
With the likelihood of a complete pass from the city fading, one South Austin homeowner will be looking for creative solutions for the problems triggered by a garage door this month. Though some members of the Board of Adjustment appeared reluctant to grant a variance, they did vote unanimously to postpone the variance request at […]
Posted inDevelopment, Zoning
BoA changes designation for two CrossFit facilities
During a dramatic, packed-beyond-capacity special meeting, the Board of Adjustment voted to reverse a previous staff decision and change the land use designation for two CrossFit locations in Brentwood. The new land use designation could potentially put CrossFit Central, 6205 Burnet Road, and BVM CrossFit, 6711 Burnet Lane, out of business at their current locations. […]
Posted inDevelopment
Speedy BoA won’t indulge no-shows at meeting
Toward the end of what a staff liaison called a historically short meeting, the Board of Adjustment took the uncommon step of denying three variance requests in which the applicants did not show up on time to present their cases. Board members traditionally postpone cases when applicants do not show up to make their case. […]
Posted inDevelopment
Highland area development still seeking signs
A second visit to the Board of Adjustment was not enough for a North Central Austin development that hopes a network of signs will help increase its visibility. Since the last visit, developers of the Linc on Middle Fiskville Road had modified their request. They returned asking for seven signs, not 10. They also reduced […]
Posted inDevelopment
Cherrywood casita gets BoA approval
Despite a squabble over parking that split the Board of Adjustment last week, plans for a Cherrywood casita will move forward. Homeowner Holly Kincannon was asking for two variances in order to build a casita behind her house at 3102 Lafayette Ave. for her mother-in-law. The first variance would reduce the parking requirements, and the second […]
Posted inDevelopment, Elections, Local Government, Local Politics, Resources
Whisper Roundup: Accuracy a casualty in mayor’s race
Longtime readers of the Austin Monitor and its predecessor will remember Whispers as a column of information about what is really going on at City Hall, Travis County and the myriad other entities we cover. With our recent changeover to a new publishing format, Whispers became more difficult for our readers to find, so we […]
Posted inDevelopment
Board grants variance for novel preservation plan
The Board of Adjustment gave the go-ahead for a novel preservation strategy at its Monday night meeting. Newcastle Homes’ Lex Zwarum’s proposal, which he describes as a “win-win,” will zone the existing house at 2100 East 14th St. as a historic landmark. The variance, which was unanimously granted by board members, will allow him to […]