With the Austin Fire Department objecting to the zoning change, City Council decided to postpone a decision on downzoning a limited industrial property to allow vertical mixed-use retail and residences on an East Austin tract located next to a facility that stores large amounts of motor oil and lubricant. Council members Pio Renteria and Greg […]
East Austin
East Austin is the quadrant of Austin that, generally speaking, is east of IH-35.
Posted inAustin
Mayor, community leaders unveil new facility for the homeless
A $14.6 million facility combining housing and services for Austin’s chronically homeless is expected to break ground in Central East Austin early next year with the support of Mayor Steve Adler, the Downtown Austin Alliance, various nonprofit organizations working to end homelessness and several prominent community leaders. The 40,000-square-foot Housing First Oak Springs facility will […]
Posted inZoning
Mt. Zion rezoning finally moves on to Council
It may have taken the most circuitous route imaginable to get there, but the the Greater Mt. Zion Baptist Church rezoning case is moving on to City Council after bouncing around the Planning Commission since June. This time, the church had the support of the neighborhood in seeking a zoning change from General Office (GO) […]
Posted inPreservation
Questions circle East Austin demolition
A skeptical Historic Landmark Commission voted to initiate historic zoning on an East Austin house this week, despite the objections of the owner, who told a story that some commissioners had trouble swallowing. In the words of Commissioner Blake Tollet, “Something’s wrong here.” Commissioners voted 6-2 to initiate historic zoning with Commissioners Alex Papavasiliou and […]
Posted inPlanning
East side Boys and Girls Club draws crowd at Planning Commission
City Hall was filled with children from the Boys and Girls Club of Austin – and its opponents – at the Tuesday night meeting of the Planning Commission. The students were there to support a zoning change from Single Family (SF-3) and Neighborhood Commercial (LR) zoning to Community Commercial (GR) zoning at 4717 Turner Lane, […]
Posted inPreservation
East Austin cottage relocation plan worries some
A plan to relocate four Calcasieu cottages from East Austin has stalled at the Historic Landmark Commission for the time being, with some commissioners deciding the current plan is just too risky to endorse. Built by the Calcasieu Lumber Company of Austin in the 1920s and 1930s, the cottages at 2819 and 2821 Manor Road […]
Posted inPlanning
Mt. Zion zoning turns a corner
After months of struggle and complications, it looks as though there may be compromise on the horizon for East Austin’s Greater Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The new tack will have to go through the normal approval process in the future, but at their last meeting, Planning Commissioners voted unanimously to initiate zoning for 1801 and […]
Posted inDevelopment
Planning commissioners explore development options for East Austin
Will there be a development moratorium on the east side? Probably not, but the Planning Commission is taking a closer look at its options for slowing development in the East Cesar Chavez corridor. Commissioners examined the tools available for dealing with the extreme development pressures currently facing the corridor at their most recent meeting Tuesday. […]
Posted inPreservation
In East Austin, another demolition
East Austin will soon say goodbye to yet another home built in the early 1900s. At last week’s Historic Landmark Commission meeting, commissioners voted to release a demolition permit for the house at 1613 Canterbury St. Commissioners Terri Myers, Grace McKenzie and Michelle Trevino were absent. Mike Chibib, who is one of the owners of […]
Posted inPreservation
Pine Street Station may not be stationary for long
East Austin’s Pine Street Station may soon be on the move, with the unanimous approval of the Historic Landmark Commission. In what Historic Preservation Officer Steve Sadowsky called “an extremely unusual situation,” historic zoning was extended to the building earlier this year but not to the land that it sits on. The Capital Metropolitan Transit […]
Posted inPlanning
Commission reverses Mt. Zion church decision
Confronted with new information about zoning regulations related to the Greater Mt. Zion Baptist Church at 1801 Pennsylvania Ave., the Planning Commission voted Tuesday night to reverse a decision it had made in June aimed at helping the church sell the property. Commissioners also voted on 7-3 on Tuesday to recommend denial of Greater Mount […]
Posted inPreservation
Landmark Commission’s first case reveals deeper concerns
An ideological split and a skeleton crew of a commission have left the landmark status of an East Austin home in limbo for now. Historic Preservation Officer Steve Sadowsky “wholeheartedly recommended” historic zoning for the residence at 2005 Hamilton Ave., which was once home to one of Austin’s first African-American doctors and his wife, who […]