Most members of the Planning Commission appear to believe that something should change about city infill tools attached to neighborhood plans, but none appear certain about what specifically should change. After a half-hour discussion with city staff about how neighborhoods dealing with unwanted infill tools could remove them from their neighborhood plans and how 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 inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: Imagine Austin BBB
This is the complete audio from the Monitor’s July 27, 2015 BBB, a discussion about Imagine Austin, CodeNEXT, and the economic implications of it all. Panelists are Steven Yarak, Jeff Jack, Jim Robertson, and Jim Duncan. The audio is embedded below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/217470737″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inDevelopment
Panelists discuss growth policies at BBB forum
The cranes crowding Austin’s skyline reveal that the city is growing quickly. But is it growing in a sustainable way? And what policies and strategies can city leaders adopt to ensure that it does? These are some of the questions that a group of growth policy advocates discussed Monday during a forum at the North […]
Posted inCity Council
Committee circles accessory dwelling unit changes
The City Council Planning and Neighborhoods Committee took on accessory dwelling units at its Monday meeting. Though members acknowledged they had a lot of work to do on the ADU ordinance, at their most recent meeting they largely steered clear of discussing it, or ADUs in general, and instead focused on what their future discussion […]
Posted inCity Council
Council increases CodeNEXT advisory group, ANC still chagrined
The Land Development Code rewrite team is about to get a lot more voices. City Council voted unanimously Thursday to increase the size of the CodeNEXT Citizen Advisory Group at its regular meeting. This resolution, sponsored by Council Member Greg Casar, comes after a call for greater geographic and viewpoint diversity in the group, especially […]
Posted inCity Council, The Code
Committee studies expanding CodeNEXT group
At its first meeting Tuesday, the Planning and Neighborhoods Committee dove into the ongoing rewrite of the Land Development Code and looked at a recent push to add more members to the CodeNEXT Advisory Group. Specifically, the committee considered a proposal from Mayor Steve Adler to add more members in order to increase representation. Whom […]
Posted inAustin, Development, Land Development Code, Planning, Zoning
Subcommittee seeks help for ADU changes
The Planning Commission Codes and Ordinances Subcommittee met Thursday to discuss amendments to a city ordinance regarding accessory dwelling units — apartments located on the same property as a house. But city staffer Ming-ru Chu could barely read through the proposed changes before members of the public and committee members were up in arms over […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Local Politics
Kitchen says Council meeting reform is top priority
Though District 5 City Council Member-elect Ann Kitchen ranks affordability, transportation and growth management as her top citywide issues this year, she believes that the new Council should start by streamlining its legislative process. “My first priority is to change how we work with the public,” Kitchen told the Austin Monitor. “I think we immediately […]
Posted inAustin, Bonds & Propositions, Courts, Development, Elections, Environment, Local Politics, Public Safety, Resources
2014: An Austin Monitor review
This past year was a dynamic one in Austin, and though the future promises to be just as interesting, at the close of 2014 we invite you to take a trip back over the past 12 months. Though a lot went on in the city and this list is far from comprehensive, from our ever-particular […]
Posted inAustin, Development, Elections, Local Politics, Transportation
Candidates debate development in District 7
Two North Austin City Council candidates, who will face off in a Dec. 16 runoff election, say the city is growing rapidly and that the District 7 Council member must make sure the area stays affordable. District 7 candidate Leslie Pool, 59, is an executive assistant for Travis County Constable Carlos Lopez. She sailed ahead […]
Posted inAustin, Development, Housing, Resources
Consultant outlines affordable housing study data
Affordable housing advocates and residents gathered at City Hall on Monday to weigh in on the findings and recommendations of a July report that outlines Austin’s affordable housing needs and fair choice impediments. According to the 2014 Comprehensive Housing Market Study, the city has lost a significant amount of affordable housing since 2000, though it […]
Posted inCity Council, Development, Land Development Code
Land Development Code rewrite marches forward
A once-divided City Council got behind a compromise Thursday on how the city will approach the Land Development Code rewrite. Council Member Bill Spelman said the decision had been “clouded” by its framing, which had turned the choice between approaches “symbolic and political.” “We all kind of lost sight of the fact that what we […]