Property owners in Texas hoping to stop or stall new housing next door will soon find it harder to do so. Texas lawmakers finalized a bill last week that loosens a little-known state law guaranteeing homeowners the right to protest zoning changes in their neighborhoods. A zoning change is when a landowner asks for the […]
CodeNEXT
CodeNEXT is the name given to the land development code rewrite process undertaken in the early 2010s by the City of Austin.
Posted inElections
Bowen pledges to bring transparency to City Hall, starting with independent audit
Not many people wake up on the day of the filing deadline for mayor and decide to throw their hat in the ring. But that’s what Jeffery Bowen did when he became the fifth candidate in the race to become Austin’s next mayor. Bowen, who owns a small construction services company, joins Kathie Tovo, Doug […]
Posted inLand Development Code
As Council moves to adopt HOME 2, groups call on Council to reject it or make major changes
At Tuesday’s work session, City Council discussed proposed amendments to the Land Development Code labeled HOME 2, as well as Equitable Transit-Oriented Development, citywide compatibility standards and rules for electric vehicle charging stations. But the majority of discussion was about the proposed set of rules designed to make it easier to build more housing on […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Planning Commission considers working group to tackle ‘archaic’ land use code
Austin’s Planning Commission is once more dipping its toes into turbulent waters, with plans to form a working group that would tackle small-scale reforms to the 38-year-old Land Development Code. On Tuesday commissioners opted to postpone action for another two weeks to iron out differing opinions over approach. Commissioners aim to reconvene next Tuesday with […]
Posted inLand Development Code
City loses Land Development Code lawsuit appeal
On Thursday, the Texas 14th Court of Appeals upheld a ruling by Travis County District Judge Jan Soifer invalidating two votes by Austin City Council rewriting the city’s Land Development code. Soifer ruled that the city had violated property owners’ procedural rights by failing to notify the owners of their right to protest and holding hearings […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Latest draft of Austin’s land development rules permit denser housing, loosen parking restrictions
The city has proposed allowing for denser housing while loosening parking requirements in its latest revamp of rules dictating what can be built in Austin and where. The draft proposal, released to the public Friday afternoon, also allows for accessory dwelling units anywhere you can build a home and outlaws the construction of a single-family […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Pushing land use equity, new coalition looks to build new activists around city policies
A cross section of local social justice and housing activists have joined the four Council members representing the city’s Eastern Crescent communities to advocate for more equity and inclusion of people of color in the city’s housing plans. The group, known as Planning Our Communities, held a press conference at City Hall Tuesday to announce […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Nearing October, code rewrite team admits difficulty with Council direction
Residents will soon be able to peruse the draft version of the new land use code, scheduled for public release in October, but the Land Development Code revision team says complications in the current code have made it difficult to follow the entirety of City Council’s direction. In the latest update on the process Wednesday […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Staff proposes exchanging parking for sidewalks
There is a controversial assumption informing the work of the Land Development Code revision team: That is, shrinking the city’s mode share of motorists driving alone from 74 percent to 50 percent in the next two decades will require, to some extent, giving less priority to parking. Per City Council’s direction in May, staffers are […]
Posted inLand Development Code
$2.8M earmarked for land use rewrite
The rewrite of the city’s Land Development Code is expected to account for approximately $2.8 million in the next budget, all of it coming from funds put on hold when City Council canceled the process known as CodeNEXT last year. Consultants connected to the Opticos firm that led the canceled effort – specifically Peter J. […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Housing supply and demand debate resurfaces over code rewrite
The Land Development Code rewrite team is going far beyond previous efforts in Draft 3 of CodeNEXT with its housing capacity goals. According to staff, aiming for more housing units in general will also help secure affordable housing while addressing market-rate demand. However, Council members Alison Alter and Leslie Pool told staff Tuesday morning that […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Land Development Code team previews compromise
City Manager Spencer Cronk’s Land Development Code rewrite team claims to have struck a balance between respecting the long-term plans of current homeowners while encouraging new density to meet the city’s housing and transit goals. As part of the overall effort to eliminate red tape and encourage the development of a mix of housing types […]