The Planning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend an update to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s Master Development Plan Ordinance. The airport’s Master Development Plan Ordinance must be updated every 10 years. It allows the city to look at the site comprehensively, and for a streamlined construction process on future projects. This version will replace the last […]
Development Services Department
A city department that reviews development and inspection services.
Posted inCity Hall
Site plan appeal reveals city tech failings at ZAP
Though an appeal to a site plan extension failed at the Zoning and Platting Commission’s most recent meeting Aug. 15, the case exposed what happened after mayoral declaration to help development held up by the pandemic went into effect. In this case, Cindy Barron was contesting the extension for a storage unit project at 9718 […]
Posted inPlanning
New building under construction on your block? Austin could change how you’re notified.
East Austin residents flooded a City Council meeting last month for a vote on rezoning the Borden Dairy plant to allow mixed-use development. The 21-acre site will make room for apartments, hotel rooms and a mix of office, restaurant and retail space. Many residents expressed concerns about the impact to traffic and air and water […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Housing and Planning Committee grapples with how to prioritize code amendments
Members of City Council’s Housing and Planning Committee grappled during a Tuesday briefing with how to best approach moving forward on a set of amendments to the city’s Land Development Code. The discussion occurred at the committee’s May 23 special called meeting, during which it received a briefing from staff on a plan for prioritizing […]
Posted inCity Hall
Garza makes major changes to city organization
Interim City Manager Jesús Garza announced a series of major organizational changes in a press release late Friday, saying his “highest priority is to organize our people and our work so that we are operating cohesively and focused on problem-solving.” The new structure “will be conducive to reducing process redundancies and to operating at the […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Safer Sixth Street memo pushes new cameras, advises against gun buyback
The city is moving ahead with several new components of last year’s Safer Sixth Street initiative, with police, fire and emergency services staff already using a new staging area on Neches Street intended to improve response times for medical needs and “no-notice” events. In a memo released last week, Joe Chacon, chief of the Austin […]
Posted inThe Code
Tree division seeks to make enviro manual more user-friendly
The Environmental Criteria Manual, a book of rules used to help implement the city’s Land Development Code, hasn’t had a significant update in the past decade. But best practices for urban forestry have changed since then, and the manual is overdue to reflect those changes. The Community Tree Preservation Division of the Development Services Department […]
Posted inDevelopment
Development Services has a full plate managing environmental concerns
The Development Services Department briefed the Environmental Commission last week on some of the work it has been doing to improve environmental protections on construction sites. The DSD is in charge of regulating tree protection measures as well as inspecting control measures that prevent sediment runoff and erosion caused by rainfall. While DSD inspects construction […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
How sound permits regulate the Austin music scene
In the Live Music Capital of the World, sound and noise policy is critical both to those who enjoy the entertainment industry and those who live within earshot. On Wednesday, the city’s Environmental Commission was briefed on the different types of sound permits and how they are enforced. While sound management is in the commission’s […]
Posted inBudget
With Council approval, DSD to add 41 new workers
City Council on Thursday approved a staff request to hire 41 new reviewers and inspectors in the Development Services Department starting in July, with a goal of having those new employees trained and ready to work by the end of the year. The vote was 10-0, with Council Member Mackenzie Kelly absent from the meeting. […]
Posted inBudget
Development Services seeking more staff this summer
The Development Services Department, which conducts inspections and approves permits for new housing, remodeling and commercial construction, is facing an ever-increasing volume of work, as Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales and department Director Denise Lucas explained at Tuesday’s City Council work session. In order to meet demand, the department is requesting approval to hire 41 […]
Posted inDevelopment
Uproar over update of plumbing, mechanical codes
Every four years, the city’s Development Services and Austin Code departments go through a process of updating their technical codes related to plumbing, heating and air-conditioning design, installation and inspection. And with those updates comes a renewal of the battle between proponents of two different codes in each area – the International Plumbing Code vs. […]