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Land Development Code
Planning Commission wants more teeth in HOME proposal
After 12 hours of listening to citizens’ suggestions and complaints about the proposed changes to the Land Development Code, known as the HOME initiative, the Planning Commission last week came up with a number of technical recommendations for City Council…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • Nov 21, 2023
Environmental Commission ponders HOME initiative
Dave Sullivan, a longtime advocate for environmental causes and a member of the city’s Environmental Commission, offered his colleagues a motion supporting City Council’s proposed HOME initiative at this week’s meeting. According to Sullivan’s motion, last month the commission heard…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • Nov 17, 2023
City loses second suit over development rules
A group of citizens who sued the city over four ordinances designed to make it easier to develop new housing projects have apparently prevailed on three of the four laws. That means the city will have to go back to…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Nov 14, 2023
Council votes to eliminate off-street parking requirements
City Council voted Thursday to eliminate requirements for minimum amounts of off-street parking on new construction projects, marking a shift in the city’s push to increase the amount of housing stock while decreasing development costs. The amendments to the city’s…
Land Development Code • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 3, 2023
HOME proposal draws a crowd of speakers, both pro and con
A total of 297 interested citizens signed up to address a joint meeting of City Council and the Planning Commission on Thursday about proposed changes to the city’s zoning regulations intended to increase the amount of housing available to middle-income…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • Oct 27, 2023
Council’s plans to change housing rules upset some neighborhood advocates
Austin’s “single-family neighborhoods are in jeopardy of losing big” with the proposed changes to the city’s zoning regulations, according to Ana Aguirre, president of the Austin Neighborhoods Council. While housing advocates have praised City Council Member Leslie Pool’s HOME initiative,…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • Oct 25, 2023
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Austin policy lets builders forgo red tape. The result? More affordable housing, less public input.
Tomás Ramírez moistens a reed, puts in his teeth, gulps down the last of his coffee and begins to play. The sound that comes from his alto saxophone is a mournful riff. “I just sort of make things up when…
Land Development Code • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Sep 25, 2023
Council to consider joint hearing with Planning Commission on code amendments
Mayor Kirk Watson wants everyone in Austin to know that City Council will be holding a hearing on changes to the Land Development Code. Specifically, Council will be considering comments on proposals to allow three units per lot in single-family…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • Sep 20, 2023
City could reduce compatibility buffers to 75 feet to encourage new housing
City staff has recommended the city end building compatibility height restrictions at 75 feet from single-family homes that for decades have had a barrier of several hundred feet from tall buildings. That recommendation is one of nine included in a…
Development • By Chad Swiatecki • Sep 18, 2023
Council considering allowing tiny homes, RVs as accessory dwelling units
City Council seems poised to initiate changes to city zoning regulations that will allow tiny homes and recreational vehicles to be used as accessory dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods. Council Member Leslie Pool is sponsoring a resolution on today’s Council…
Land Development Code • By Jo Clifton • Sep 14, 2023
Council approves push to make air conditioning a requirement in Austin
This summer, a stretch of hot, dry weather in Austin has tested everyone’s patience. The record-high heat has also posed a danger to those not lucky enough to feel the relief of air conditioning. A new City Council resolution looks…
City Council • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 1, 2023
Council hears plan to overhaul site plan review process
Few who have dealt with the city of Austin’s site plan review process would dispute that it’s cumbersome, time-consuming and expensive. But consulting firm McKinsey & Company, which analyzed the process and then outlined improvements for City Council at Tuesday’s…
