The Austin Environmental Commission on Wednesday approved a recommendation to City Council to adopt the proposed Austin/Travis County Food Plan and ensure its complete funding over the next four years. The recommended resolution, sponsored by Mariana Krueger and approved unanimously, also called for the allocation of a “significant amount of resources” in the new fiscal […]
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
Balancing conflicting public interests, Watershed Protection aims to promote native aquatic vegetation
Austin’s reservoirs do a lot of double duty. They’re known both as top-tier recreation spots for Central Texans and our source of dwindling drinking water. Subject to invasive species, drought and big rainfall events that bring in pollutants, they’re still doing remarkably well, all things considered, a reservoir ecologist told the Environmental Commission on Wednesday. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Environmental Commission looks to make Austin safer for birds
The Environmental Commission voted Wednesday to form a working group to delve into how Austin can live up to its “Bird City” title by creating bird-safe buildings. The near-unanimous vote, with Colin Nickells abstaining, followed a presentation by Heidi Trudell, who researches the prevention of birds colliding with human-made structures and who prepared her report […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Environmental Commission recommends site plan changes
At last week’s Environmental Commission meeting, members gave a positive recommendation for reducing the size of infill residential lots, including changes designed to make the process more efficient and less costly, while ensuring that drainage requirements are sufficient to prevent flooding neighboring lots. In addition, they approved a resolution supporting changes to the Land Development […]
Posted inPlanning
Environmental commissioners air concerns about waterfront district plan
A proposed framework for how the south shores of Lady Bird Lake will build out in future years received a lukewarm response from the Environmental Commission on Thursday. While only the Planning Commission and City Council are scheduled to vote on the draft regulating plan in April and May, the fact that several commissioners expressed […]
Posted inParks
Commissioners seek parking study, Polo Field restoration
Two parking items cleared the Environmental Commission last week, a notable achievement considering that certain parking issues tend to devolve into prolonged debates. At its Feb. 7 meeting, commissioners considered two proposals within the framework of City Council’s elimination of minimum parking requirements. First, Commissioner Hanna Cofer introduced a proposal requesting that the city of […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Environmental Commission ponders HOME initiative
Dave Sullivan, a longtime advocate for environmental causes and a member of the city’s Environmental Commission, offered his colleagues a motion supporting City Council’s proposed HOME initiative at this week’s meeting. According to Sullivan’s motion, last month the commission heard that in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support Project Connect, Austin needs to […]
Posted inEnvironment
Environmental Commission recommends code variances for Old Lampasas Dam modernization project
At its meeting on Wednesday, the Environmental Commission voted to approve a set of Land Development Code variances to accommodate the Watershed Protection Department’s Old Lampasas Dam #3 Modernization Project. The Northwest Austin dam was built in the early 1980s and is classified by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as an intermediate size and […]
Posted inTransit
Report suggests Austin reach net-zero climate goals via housing density and increased transit
The Environmental Commission heard a presentation last week on a research paper that discusses how Austin can reach its net-zero carbon emission goals via increased housing density. The report is the result of nonprofit Transit Forward, which is dedicated to educating and engaging the public regarding transit projects, particularly Project Connect. One of the nonprofit’s […]
Posted inEnvironment
Austin’s Blackland Prairie reforestation project underway
The work to restore Austin’s heavily degraded Blackland Prairie floodplain has begun with the help of local urban forestry nonprofit TreeFolks. The Environmental Commission heard an update on the results of the city’s Blackland Prairie ecoregion study at its regular meeting Aug. 2. The study was intended to expand the Watershed Protection Department’s understanding of […]
Posted inParks
Environmental Commission can’t agree on Polo Fields parking solution
After a lengthy discussion, the Environmental Commission this week tabled an item that would recommend the Parks and Recreation Department end vehicle parking on the Zilker Park Polo Fields. The discussion happened at the commission’s Aug. 2 regular meeting, and the recommendation was written by Commissioner Richard Brimer. As the recommendation notes, the parks department […]
Posted inEnvironment
Environmental boards push for telework policy for city employees
Two city environmental panels have approved resolutions asking City Council to direct interim City Manager Jesús Garza to reconsider his proposed policy requiring most employees to do their jobs at the office three days a week. Both the Environmental Commission and the Joint Sustainability Committee have recommended that employees be allowed to work from home […]