Tag Archives: City of Austin Environmental Commission
Compromise reached at Lantana PCA, Environmental Commission recommends project
After postponing its recommendation on the project consent agreement at the Lantana project in Southwest Austin, the Environmental Commission has reached an agreement with the developer and the Save Our Springs Alliance on how to move forward. On Tuesday, the…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Apr 27, 2020
City of Austin releases update on climate resilience plan
Resilience is a word that seems particularly relevant as Austin closes public spaces and dining institutions and limits gatherings in response to the spread of Covid-19. Although the city has yet to develop a holistic resilience plan that prepares the…
Environment • By Jessi Devenyns • Apr 13, 2020
Watershed Protection Department debuts new pollution spills map
When the Watershed Protection Department went to renew the city’s permit to discharge under the Texas pollutant discharge elimination system this past year, it found new requirements. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently changed its rules to require cities…
Environment • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 10, 2020
Environmental Commission recommends city develop holistic resilience plan
In many respects, Austin city officials are striving to create an environmentally sustainable city. However, according to the Environmental Commission, the city is not as resilient as it needs to be. “Right now, we don’t have a resilience plan,” Commissioner…
Environment • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 9, 2020
Environmental Commission postpones Lantana PCA to encourage compromise
On Feb. 19, the Environmental Commission heard from divided parties arguing their case for whether to recommend implementing a Project Consent Agreement at the Lantana project in Southwest Austin to allow for a mixed-use residential project rather than office space…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Feb 26, 2020
Environmental Commission recommends revising green building standards
Green buildings are intended to be superior constructions built with environmentally sustainable materials and design. While not required, the city encourages this type of construction on a voluntary basis through Austin Energy’s Green Building Program, which rewards builders for green…
Development • By Jessi Devenyns • Feb 25, 2020
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Environmental Commission recommends a variance for 19 feet of fill
A developer building a commercial storage facility project requiring a variance for 19.5 feet of fill to construct a driveway on slopes steeper than a 15 percent grade received a unanimous recommendation from the Environmental Commission at its Feb. 5…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Feb 18, 2020
UT professor maps climate vulnerability in Austin
Communities within Austin are disproportionately affected by climate change based on their social vulnerability. Social vulnerability refers to a community’s sensitivity to natural hazards and community members’ capacity to rebound from natural disasters. In a study by Patrick Bixler with…
Austin • By Jessi Devenyns • Feb 12, 2020
East Austin 2K-acre PUD gets unanimous seal of approval from Environmental Commission
The future of a decades-old sand and gravel mine just east of the Austin city limits on Harold Green Road is now clearer with the latest set of plans developers presented to the Environmental Commission on Jan. 15. Known as…
Development • By Jessi Devenyns • Jan 27, 2020
Monetizing the carbon cycle may lead to ecological solutions
In the very near future, there is a possibility that Texas landowners will be able to reduce carbon emissions while earning money on their unused land. Jim Blackburn, a professor at Rice University and the president of the Trinity-Edwards Springs…
Environment • By Jessi Devenyns • Jan 23, 2020
Environmental Commission pushes for additional tree protections on Apple campus
Apple Inc. is well on its way to bringing a billion-dollar campus to Austin on a 133-acre parcel of land at 6900 Parmer Lane called Robinson Ranch. In an effort to offer increased protections for the trees on the property,…
Environment • By Jessi Devenyns • Dec 16, 2019
Land Development Code: Density and impervious cover
With the first reading of the new Land Development Code draft expected by Council in two short weeks, the Watershed Protection Department is working to finalize its recommendations. Despite the tight timeline, Environmental Officer Chris Herrington told the Environmental Commission…
