The Zoning and Platting Commission spent just over half of its four-hour meeting Tuesday debating the merits of a project that the panel does not actually have the authority to change or reject. The commission ultimately voted to approve city staff’s recommendation that a property owner be allowed to add two houses to a 1.17-acre […]
City of Austin Zoning and Platting Commission
The City of Austin’s Zoning and Platting Commission addresses issues of land use as assigned to it by Austin’s City Code. It has sovereign authority, or the right to make final decisions on certain cases.
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: STRs forever (and ever)
Airbnb talks SXSW… Once again, short-term rentals are coming back to City Council. With a phase-out of Type 2 short-term rentals still on the table, the industry’s biggest players are working to let Austinites know the value they bring to the city. And, with South by Southwest just around the corner, Airbnb has released some […]
Posted inZoning
ZAP OKs medical offices in South Austin
Competing concerns over facilitating the construction of a medical office and maintaining the character of a quiet area led to a compromise among members of the Zoning and Platting Commission on Jan. 19. The panel voted to recommend rezoning a 1-acre plot of land at 8701 Manchaca Road in South Austin, but attached conditions to […]
Posted inZoning
ZAP says no to gas station, yes to office space
The site of a burned-down day care center will now likely become office and retail space, thanks to action taken by the Zoning and Platting Commission last week. The commission adopted city staff’s recommendation that the .96-acre plot of land at 11812 Millwright Parkway, near the intersection of Anderson Mill Road and Highway 183 in […]
Posted inDevelopment
Zoning commissioner voices concerns about Austin Oaks charrette
Developers and neighbors participating in the design charrette regarding Austin Oaks, a proposed major mixed-use development at the southwest corner of MoPac Expressway and Spicewood Springs Road, told the Zoning and Platting Commission on Tuesday that preparations for the event are going well. The charrette, which is an attempt to bring area stakeholders together to […]
Posted inDevelopment
ZAP postpones project over pipeline concerns
The Zoning and Platting Commission postponed a decision on a proposed project at its Dec. 15 meeting over concerns relating to a nearby gas pipeline. In the course of the discussion, commissioners suggested that current city regulations do not require a great enough distance between buildings and potentially hazardous pipelines. The development before the commission […]
Posted inHousing
Zoning commission OKs northwest SMART homes
A speech by a neighbor denouncing a proposed SMART housing complex as dangerous and poorly planned didn’t stop the Zoning and Platting Commission from unanimously approving it at its meeting last Tuesday. The site plan for a 120-unit apartment complex at 11015 and 11017 Four Points Drive was requested by Foundation Communities, a nonprofit that […]
Posted inDevelopment
ZAP chair hopes to avoid more PUD postponements
Gabriel Rojas, the chair of the Zoning and Platting Commission, told colleagues at the commission’s meeting last week that he hoped the discussion over the Grove at Shoal Creek Planned Unit Development – a controversial proposal for a mixed-use development at the intersection of 45th Street and Bull Creek Road – would not take as […]
Posted inDevelopment
ZAP encourages heritage trees, connectivity
Before the Zoning and Platting Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a setback waiver for a new subdivision between Peaceful Hill Lane and Shallot Way, Vice Chair Jackie Goodman took a moment to express gratitude to Matthew Mitchell of Alm Engineers, the project applicant. “I wanted to make sure that you publicly got the credit […]
Posted inZoning
How much can a city zone?
You don’t need a badge and a gun to have police powers. Just ask the members of the Zoning and Platting Commission, who on Tuesday listened as Assistant City Attorney David Sorola gave a presentation outlining the extent of the volunteers’ authority. “The courts have said that zoning is a valid use of the police […]
Posted inDevelopment
Mobile home development stokes hope and fear
The Zoning and Platting Commission narrowly approved a recommendation Tuesday for an 855-home expansion of the Oak Ranch mobile home park on the east side after three hours of contentious testimony from neighbors on both sides of the issue. The commission voted to recommend rezoning the property from small lot single-family (SF-4A) and medium density […]
Posted inDevelopment
Connectivity concerns complicate Cooper Lane rezoning
A zoning change requested for 30 new condominium units on Cooper Lane prompted some hard questions for city staff at a Tuesday meeting of the Zoning and Platting Commission. The panel voted overwhelmingly to change the zoning for the parcels at 7513 and 7603 Cooper Lane from Development Review (DR) and Single Family-2 to Single […]