As part of a recent push to help Austin’s homeless, the city has been looking into using city-owned buildings to help ease overcrowding in downtown shelters. Last week, the Parks and Recreation Department provided a list of recreation centers that could work as temporary shelters, though that use could interfere with existing programming. The Aug. […]
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Posted inEnvironment
How zebra mussels will change Austin lakes (and maybe Barton Springs) forever
The invasive zebra mussel has been moving south for years, leaving destruction in its wake. Now, it’s in Lake Travis, and it will soon make its way downstream, changing the look, feel and maybe even the taste of Austin’s lakes forever. At first glance, the mussels don’t look very threatening. They’re about the size of […]
Posted inThe Code
Regulation Vacation: City collects taxes from unlawful Airbnbs
Becca Dobberfuhl has a name for her Bouldin Creek home. “It’s all this rusty, rusty, rusty color,” she said. “And the house is a modern house and it has a box-like look to it so we call it the ‘Rusty Box.’” Users of short-term rental company Airbnb can pay to stay in the “Rusty Box” […]
Posted inAustin
Report shows compensation for nonprofit leaders
A report provided by city staff sheds light on how much top executives of Austin nonprofits get paid. The document was prepared in response to a budget question submitted by Council Member Ora Houston, who wanted to know how much the leaders of organizations that receive city funding earn per year. The salaries reported were […]
Posted inTransportation
Guadalupe plan still in the works
The long-delayed report that will recommend giving two lanes of Austin’s iconic Drag entirely to buses is near the finish line, according to Austin Transportation Director Rob Spillar. “If these improvements are to be considered for funding, we’ve got to get them out the door,” Spillar said of the Guadalupe Street Corridor Improvement Program’s final […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission endorses east side plan to replace auto salvage yard with mixed-use project
Continuing tension over gentrification, density and a lack of adequate planning for growth on the city’s east side converged on an unlikely fight to preserve an East Austin junkyard at the most recent meeting of the Planning Commission. In the end, commissioners showed strong support for Painter Enterprises Inc.’s request that the zoning be changed […]
Posted inParks
Council wades nervously into pools plan
City Council delivered decidedly mixed reviews of the Parks and Recreation Department’s recently unveiled Aquatic Master Plan, with some Council members decrying what they fear is a plan to shut down neighborhood pools and others bemoaning the unequal distribution of facilities throughout the city. Acting Parks and Recreation Department Director Kimberly McNeeley kicked off the […]
Posted inTransportation
Capital Metro blames cheap parking for one sector of ridership declines
The University of Texas isn’t the only institution of higher education whose students are turning cold on public transit. On Monday, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors learned that a partnership with Austin Community College has seen dwindling fortunes since its launch at the beginning of the decade. Since the spring of 2011, […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Proposed bond includes big money for parks
The Austin parks system is looking to win big from a major bond that voters will likely be asked to approve in 2018. A citizen task force is currently in the process of drafting a general obligation bond to fund affordable housing projects, stormwater infrastructure, libraries and a variety of other upgrades to municipal facilities. […]
Posted inPlanning
Flag lots could be making a comeback
There’s more to CodeNEXT than zoning, believe it or not, and last week the land use commissions received an update from staff on non-zoning changes that would be part of the rewrite’s second draft, with the hottest item of discussion being the loosening of flag lot regulations. The subdivision tool, intended to facilitate infill and […]
Posted inHousing
Austin real estate exec shifts focus to preserving middle-class housing
Looking to address the problem of Austin’s diminishing supply of middle-class housing, the head of the area’s lead real estate trade group is rounding up investors more interested in social good than eye-popping returns. David Steinwedell plans to leave his position as executive director of Urban Land Institute-Austin in September so he can lead Affordable […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Clarksville meeting displays fear of CodeNEXT and density
On Wednesday night the pews at St. Luke United Methodist Church in Clarksville were packed with nearby residents who had come to hear about how their surroundings would be impacted by CodeNEXT, the proposed rewrite of the city’s Land Development Code. The meeting, which had been advertised for weeks by signs throughout the area alerting […]