After members of the Environmental Commission postponed a vote on a proposed Zilker Park landscaping project to gain a deeper understanding of the environmental suitability, two weeks later the tone of their response was not much different from their initial reaction. At its June 20 meeting, the commission recommended that the Stratford Drive Landfill Redevelopment […]
City of Austin Environmental Commission
An advisory board to members of the Austin City Council. Its purview includes “all projects and programs which affect the quality of life for the citizens of Austin.” In many cases, this includes development projects.
Posted inEnvironment
Watershed Protection budget accounts for approval of CodeNEXT
This year, as the Watershed Protection Department goes through its annual budgeting cycle, things are looking good. At the June 6 meeting of the Environmental Commission, Watershed Protection staff presented an overview of its upcoming projects and the related finances. According to Mike Personett, the interim director of the department, “We’ve got fairly good news with […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Environmental Commission rejects Planning Commission CodeNEXT amendment
At their June 6 meeting, members of the Environmental Commission found themselves faced with an unusual question: “What if developers had the right to build up to 90 percent of their base impervious cover without having to abide by the city’s many development regulations?” At its last meeting, the Planning Commission passed a recommendation to […]
Posted inParks
Salamanders key as city considers improvements at Barton Springs
A variety of improvements totaling millions of dollars for the area around Barton Springs will move slowly forward in 2019 and 2020, with the protection of the endangered Barton Springs salamander as the primary consideration of city staff. At a combined meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board and the Environmental Commission on Tuesday, members […]
Posted inPlanning
South Central Waterfront’s environmental standards approved by Environmental Commission
After years of planning on paper, the South Central Waterfront Regulating Plan is finally one step closer to reality after the Environmental Commission recommended the associated environmental development standards to City Council. Along the shores of Lady Bird Lake, there is a 118-acre area of land comprising 32 private properties next to Auditorium Shores, from […]
Posted inEnvironment
Austin’s cave frontier gets slowly uncovered
Austin is home to a complex of underground aquifers that we know are filled by a system of underground caves. However, if we know that to be the case, why we don’t see caves everywhere? “Basically, because all of them were filled, historically, on ranch land,” Nico Hauwert, Balcones Canyonland Preserve program manager, explained to […]
Posted inAustin
Austin can now access a database dedicated to the effects of development on trees
The City Arborist Program has just released a new, interactive tool where everyone has access to all active tree permits at any given time online. Not all trees are being tracked on this dashboard. The city arborist only reviews and protects trees that have heritage or protected status, which is only 5 percent of the total […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Environmental Commission recommends CodeNEXT drainage regulations with review
How many complaints on an issue are sufficient to warrant a change in city code? This question cropped up continually at the April 4 meeting of the Environmental Commission as commissioners worked to pass a resolution regarding CodeNEXT drainage regulations. According to several of the commissioners, Austin residents have approached them repeatedly to express their […]
Posted inParks
Commissions weigh use of parkland for stadium
In the face of a lawsuit brought against it by the Ohio attorney general and the city of Columbus to prevent it from relocating to Austin, Precourt Sports Ventures, the owner of the Columbus Crew SC Major League Soccer team, continues to search for the perfect piece of land on which to build a privately […]
Posted inLand Development Code
CodeNEXT Draft 3 makes significant changes to water-quality and drainage regulations
After months of waiting, last month the third and final staff draft of CodeNEXT was released. After allowing adequate reading time, on Feb. 21, Matt Hollon, the manager of the Watershed Protection Department Planning Division, gave the Environmental Commission an overview of the relevant changes between drafts two and three. “Spoiler alert, there are almost […]
Posted inParks
FEMA grants Austin funding to help fix Guerrero Park
Eight months ago, Austin’s Watershed Protection Department optimistically declared that the washed-out bridge over what’s known as Country Club Creek West in Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park would be completed by 2020. Unfortunately, now the plan has been shifted back to 2021. In an update to the Environmental Commission on Feb. 21, Janna Renfro, an […]
Posted inPlanning
Council approves Champion tract deal
By a one-vote margin, City Council on Thursday gave its blessing to the controversial Champion development. Mayor Steve Adler, along with Council members Greg Casar, Pio Renteria, Delia Garza, Jimmy Flannigan and Ellen Troxclair, voted to approve an amendment to a 20-year-old settlement agreement involving a large tract of land in Northwest Austin. The amendment […]