The Planning Commission’s recent support for an incentive program for creative spaces in new developments gave City Council additional direction for how to address affordability for local arts spaces and the workers in those industries. Council is slated to conduct a public hearing and consider the ordinance change for the creative space combining district framework […]
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 inZoning
Austin Pickle Ranch seeks rezoning to restore rooftop pickleball operations
A request to rezone Hartland Plaza to permit the continued operation of Austin Pickle Ranch set off a contentious back and forth at last week’s Planning Commission meeting as local residents pushed for more measures to mitigate sound and light disturbances from the rooftop pickleball courts. Austin Pickle Ranch began its operations at Hartland Plaza, […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission supports rezoning lakefront property
The Planning Commission supported rezoning 200 E. Riverside Drive, which is just east of South Congress Avenue, for a multiuse development project that would include multiple towers where a vacant office building currently sits. The development will be 160 feet from the banks of Lady Bird Lake and adjacent to the Ann and Roy Butler […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Noisy neighbors: Council to consider changes in decibel limits for some new construction
At Thursday’s meeting, City Council will consider adjustments to the recent DB90 zoning classification that could result in a significant reduction in the noise levels allowed in residential areas. A scheduled public hearing on the possible ordinance change could also result in adoption of one of two ordinances that take opposite positions on the noise […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission endorses multifamily project in Montopolis
Despite some consternation about the impact to the neighborhood in terms of scale and potential for displacement, Planning Commission members have voted in support of a new multifamily development on Montopolis Drive between Caddie and Fairway streets. The project is expected to bring around 189 units to the 2 acres that currently stand empty. Victoria […]
Posted inZoning
East Austin church rezoning reveals cracks in DB90
Plans to expand an East Austin church are moving forward, but not before they sparked criticism of the city’s new density bonus program, DB90, at the Planning Commission last week. Christ Church of Central Austin, which is located at San Marcos and Medina streets in the Cesar Chavez neighborhood, went to the Planning Commission in […]
Posted inCity Hall
Planning Commission calls for reorganization at City Hall
Planning Commission members have unanimously approved a series of budget requests aimed at reforming and streamlining the way their commission is run. Most significantly, the recommendations would establish an Office of the Land Use Commissions that would work with the Board of Adjustment, Planning Commission, and Zoning and Platting Commission. The office would also include […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission OKs affordable Sunset Ridge site plan in District 8
A plan to build affordable housing on Southwest Parkway continues to move forward, despite continued opposition from surrounding neighborhoods and the Save Our Springs Alliance. “There’s always a reason to stop housing. There’s always an excuse to sue to stop housing – especially housing that’s affordable to so many. I’m excited that we get to […]
Posted inCity Hall
After heated discussion, Planning Commission bylaws to stay unchanged
An attempt to codify when information is posted online for Planning Commission members and the public is not moving forward, but the discussion about the issue revealed strain on the dais at the commission’s last meeting. Commissioners Nadia Barrera-Ramirez and Jennifer Mushtaler proposed a change to the commission bylaws that would require relevant documents known […]
Posted inPreservation
Despite appeal, new home project to move forward in East Austin historic district
A last-ditch effort to stop construction of a new home in the Robertson/Stuart & Mair Historic District failed at the Planning Commission, despite mixed feelings about the structure from the chair of the Historic Landmark Commission. Neighbors Mark Rogers and Sue Gaul appealed the Historic Landmark Commission’s decision to issue a certificate of appropriateness to […]
Posted inCity Hall
For one city employee, Facebook posts lead to an impossible process
A city department head who disapproved of her employee’s social media posts about city management has filed a human resources complaint against him, an unusual move that gives her the power to validate her own complaint and field any appeal that might be made in the future. Andrew Rivera has worked for the city of […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission checks in on new density bonus program
At their most recent meeting, members of the Planning Commission took the temperature of the city’s newest density bonus program, which is designed to allow developers to build more in exchange for community benefits like affordable housing. The program, dubbed DB90, replaces the short-lived, now-scrapped VMU2 program that had the same purpose. In June 2022, […]