The rocky road to approving a new Vested Rights Ordinance didn’t get much smoother at Thursday night’s City Council meeting, where the discussion to approve the ordinance on first reading managed to be both hopelessly detailed and strangely abstract all at once. In the end Council members did approve the ordinance on first reading, […]
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 inDevelopment
Planning Commission OKs increased FAR for downtown high-rise
The Planning Commission heard its first Downtown Density Bonus Program case last week. And, while there will be a contribution to the city’s affordable housing trust fund, developers were also asking for entitlements greater than those offered under the Downtown Austin Plan. Ultimately, the commission supported the project unanimously. Riverside Resources Investments II, Ltd., […]
Posted inDevelopment
Commission denies commercial zoning for resident’s garage
An attempt to rezone a North Austin property from single-family to residential simply to increase the impervious cover on the lot found no friends at the Planning Commission last week. Minh-Tu Ngoc Doan explained that he had no intention of operating a commercial garage on the site. He said that fixing cars was a […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Vested Rights Ordinance headed back for Council vote this week
A revised Vested Rights Ordinance is headed back to City Council again this Thursday. The ordinance is intended to fill the hole left when Council repealed Austin’s Project Duration Ordinance in March 2013, after an opinion from Attorney General Greg Abbott that the city law was in conflict with state law. Though at the […]
Posted inDevelopment
Planning Commission split over upzoning for West Austin office
Residents of a West Austin neighborhood want the Planning Commission to prevent a local business from changing the small office zoning on their residence to Mixed Use, which does not comply with the neighborhood plan. The owners of the property at 2208 Lake Austin LLC were asking to change the zoning of the lot […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment
Planning Commission backs amendments, new Lake Austin Overlay
Upcoming changes for Lake Austin may have gotten a unanimous nod from the Planning Commission, but beneath the placid surface of that recommendation was a lot of consternation. The Planning Commission had discussed the proposed Lake Austin Overlay amendments previously (See Austin Monitor, April 3), but given the magnitude of the changes, decided to […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council hears early report on future of boards and commissions
Austin City Council members appeared generally receptive to a host of potential changes to the structure of the city’s many – some say too many – boards and commissions. Still, as the Boards and Commission Transition Taskforce, which has become known as the Commission on Commissions, made its presentation at last week’s Council work session, […]
Posted inTransportation
Planning Commission hears pros, cons of Megabus permit
Austin Megabus, the low-cost intercity transit company, will be making a return stop at the Planning Commission next month in order to address the concerns of unhappy neighbors. Megabus NE, LLC was seeking a Conditional Use Permit from the commission in order to change the use of their depot at 2002 Whitis Avenue. Currently, […]
Posted inDevelopment
Vested Rights Ordinance jumps final hurdle on way to Council vote
After several months delay, the latest version of the Vested Rights Ordinance is headed back to City Council. Members of the Planning Commission expressed reservations from the dais Tuesday about what effect it might or might not have on the city, though the ordinance ultimately passed. “It seems like now the Death Star […]
Posted inDevelopment
Planning Commission punts Baylor House issue to City Council
City Council will soon be asked to consider whether or not to grant historic zoning for Clarksville’s Baylor House, but they will have to do it without input from a dividedPlanning Commission. A split Planning Commission was unable to offer a recommendation on the zoning change, which would be made against the current owners’ […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment
Planning Commission takes a turn at tackling Lake Austin zoning
It was the Planning Commission’s turn to tackle new Lake Austin regulations last week, and they had questions. The proposed changes are the result of a nearly two-year process of looking at Lake Austin, proposing changes to the code that deals with zoning as well as regulations that detail Boat Dock and Shoreline Regulations. […]
Posted inDevelopment
Planning Commission denies MF-2 zoning for West Austin tract
A controversial development plan on Exposition Boulevard is back at City Hall. Austin Elm Terrace, LP was asking for Multifamily (MF-2) zoning on the 3215 Exposition Boulevard lot, which is just over two acres. The tract was formerly part of the Austin State School, and the majority of the land is currently unzoned. […]