At the urging of two Zoning and Platting commissioners, the Planning Commission unanimously denied a rezoning request for a conditional overlay for drive-in services at 623 West 38th St. during its Jan. 24 meeting. City staff had supported Pioneer Bank’s request to remove the current prohibition on drive-in services from the current zoning, in part […]
City of Austin Planning Commission
This commission addresses issues of land use as assigned to it by Austin’s City Code. These include the abilities “[t]o make and amend a master plan, recommend approval or disapproval of proposed zoning changes and control land subdivision within neighborhood planning areas and submit, annually, a list of recommended capital improvements.” It has sovereign authority, or the right to make final decisions on certain cases.
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission recommends Council negotiate MUD consent agreement
At its last meeting, the Planning Commission voted to approve a staff recommendation on the second part of a request to amend the consent agreement for Moore’s Crossing, a municipal utility district east of Austin proper, in order to clarify the developer’s transportation infrastructure obligations. The commission went further than the staff recommendation on the […]
Posted inPlanning
Developer, city arborist agree on heritage tree removal
In a rare exception to the city’s 95 percent preservation rate for heritage trees, the Planning Commission approved staff’s recommendation of a variance during its Jan. 10 meeting that would permit applicant Stantec Inc. to remove two heritage trees in order to construct a new hotel at 400 Josephine St. In fact, the applicant plans […]
Posted inPlanning
Unadopted South Lamar Corridor Plan influences Planning Commission appeal
A subpar neighborhood traffic analysis did not stop the Planning Commission from granting an appeal for a 60,000-square-foot mixed-use project at 2010 South Lamar Blvd. during its Jan. 10 meeting. Due to the site plan not meeting city code with its driveway on South Lamar, the applicant, Frontier Realty LLC, was forced to move the […]
Posted inPlanning
Specter of CodeNEXT informs vertical mixed-use cases at Planning Commission
In two separate cases on Tuesday, the Planning Commission approved vertical mixed-use zoning on Congress Avenue. The majority of the commissioners continue to see VMU zoning as a way to increase density along or near core transit corridors in line with the goals of Imagine Austin and CodeNEXT. The first applicant, Guefen Development Company, applied […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission approves Plaza Saltillo project, affordability level disputed
After what Chair Stephen Olivier called “officially our longest case ever,” the Planning Commission approved three rezoning items associated with the six tracts of the Plaza Saltillo project at its Jan. 10 meeting. The properties, owned by the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, span 11 acres along East Fifth Street and the rail line. In 2013, […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission approves South Austin rezoning despite traffic, flooding concerns
Despite opposition from neighbors, the Planning Commission last week voted to support the rezoning of a South Austin property to allow condominiums and townhouses. At its Dec. 13 meeting, the commission unanimously approved the rezoning of 4507 and 4511 Vinson Drive from Family Residence (SF-3) to Townhouse & Condominium (SF-6) in the South Manchaca Neighborhood […]
Posted inPlanning
Waiver applicant pitches restrictive covenant with themselves
The Planning Commission voted 7-4 at its Dec. 13 meeting to postpone a decision on a compatibility waiver for a new multifamily residential development called the Lofts at 12th, located at 2724 East 12th St. The waiver would accommodate the five-story apartment complex by allowing the developer to scale down a 25-foot setback triggered by […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Land use commissions scramble to prepare for CodeNEXT draft release
Apprehension was in the air as representatives of the CodeNEXT team, led by Planning and Zoning Department Director Greg Guernsey, addressed the joint meeting of the Planning and Zoning and Platting commissions on Nov. 29. “The fact that we’re here, and it’s almost December, and there’s so much we don’t know know, makes us the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Slow response to flood report frustrates some commissioners
The city does not have many options for supporting individuals who suffer loss or damages from flooding caused by a development upstream, based on an exchange at the Nov. 29 joint meeting of the Planning and the Zoning and Platting commissions. After a presentation on the Land Use Review Process by the Development Services Department […]
Posted inCity Hall
City attorney presence could be scaled down at land-use commission meetings
The city’s land-use commissions may lose their on-call legal counsel, according to Mitzi Cotton, assistant division chief at the Law Department, who presented at the Nov. 29 joint meeting of the Planning Commission and the Zoning and Platting Commission. After the city adopted its 10-1 City Council system, then-city attorney Karen Kennard decided that the […]
Posted inZoning
Despite protest, commission OKs liquor rezoning
The Planning Commission has endorsed a rezoning case that will result in a Twin Liquors store opening near the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. Despite opposition from Austin Neighborhoods Council President David King, lack of objection from the school itself resulted in a unanimous decision by the commission at its Oct. 27 meeting. […]