A change to the Land Development Code that would include multifamily zoning in the city’s density bonus programs hit a stumbling block at last week’s Planning Commission meeting. Commissioners voted overwhelmingly to pass the proposal on to City Council without a recommendation and expressed doubt that the change would ultimately do much at all. Essentially, […]
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 inBicycles
Bike Austin rallies toward transportation bond
More than 100 people gathered in front of City Hall on Tuesday afternoon to urge City Council to focus on investments in alternatives to automobile transportation. Hosted by Bike Austin, the rally was the latest step in the nonprofit’s effort to put a bond proposition on the November ballot that would fund $411 million worth […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Planning Commission launches measured approach to CodeNEXT study
At its most recent meeting, the Planning Commission worked to establish how it would stay up to date on what’s going on with CodeNEXT, the ongoing effort to rewrite the city’s Land Development Code. “There’s a certain amount of effort we need to do so it’s not like a presentation on every product you do,” […]
Posted inCity Charter
Too many land-use professionals?
At Monday’s City Council Audit and Finance Committee meeting, Council members rejected the idea of allowing the Environmental Commission to have five land-use professionals among its 11 members. The current rules governing membership on the Environmental Commission allow for only three land-use professionals, but because there are currently more than three members involved professionally in […]
Posted inPreservation
Planning Commission debates historic significance of Pemberton home
Now that it has won approval from two key city commissions, a bid to confer historic landmark status on a $1.4 million home in Pemberton Heights appears poised to succeed. The Planning Commission recommended Tuesday that City Council approve $8,500 a year in tax abatements for the 85-year-old house at 1502 Hardouin Ave., five weeks […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Planning Commission OKs changes to garage rules
In a situation similar to the one surrounding the small-lot amnesty tool, Austin’s garage placement standards are currently being used in a way that differs from how they were originally presented to neighborhoods when established nearly a decade ago. This time, the infill tool in question requires a garage to be farther from a property’s […]
Posted inDevelopment
Affordable housing manuever loses at City Hall
Though it earned the respect of some Planning commissioners, an attempt to leverage a site plan extension for more affordable housing on the near-east side didn’t pay off last week. At last week’s Planning Commission meeting, Nikki Hoelter, who works in the city’s Development Services Department, detailed the appeal of an administrative extension at 2015 […]
Posted inPlanning
City looks to change neighborhood plan process
The Planning Commission has unanimously endorsed a new approach to the development of neighborhood plans that could shrink the process to six months, down from two to three years. Mark Walters, who is with the city’s Planning and Zoning Department, explained to the commission on Tuesday that the new approach is intended to address Zucker […]
Posted inZoning
County association project gets measured OK from city panel
Though developers may not get the height they are after, plans to develop the Texas Association of Counties’ offices near the downtown campus of Austin Community College got the unanimous blessing from the Planning Commission Tuesday. Commissioners voted to change the zoning of 1204 San Antonio St. and 1205 Nueces St. from General Office (GO) […]
Posted inDevelopment
City mulls planning review time fix
Changes to the way the city processes development applications sailed through the Planning Commission last week, and the city hopes that the changes will effect a similar swiftness in its Development Services Department. Donna Galati, who is with the Development Services Department, said the changes are part of a larger effort to streamline development review […]
Posted inDevelopment
Crowd turns out to decry One Two East project
Anyone who has spent time on the near east side of Austin in the past few months has probably seen the (literal) signs that neighbors have been gearing up for a fight over development plans for the CVS shopping center at East 11th Street, along the I-35 Frontage Road. Last Tuesday, that fight came to […]
Posted inDevelopment, Planning
Boys & Girls Club gets nod from Planning Commission
A major new Boys & Girls Club will likely be coming to Northeast Austin, thanks to action taken by the Planning Commission at its Jan. 26 meeting last week. Despite objections from some nearby residents and opposition from the University Hills Neighborhood Association, the panel unanimously adopted a recommendation from city staff to change the […]