Developer of parking-free downtown apartments surrenders building to lender

A parking-free, 30-unit apartment building that gained attention as one of the first attempts to bring “missing middle” housing downtown has been turned over to its lender after failing to generate enough occupancy to operate successfully. Weaver Buildings, the company…

City continues to work on wildfire mitigation strategies

The public may not have noticed, but Austin-Travis County had 963 different brush and grass fire alarms in September, Assistant Fire Chief Andre de la Reza told members of the city’s Public Safety Commission on Monday. The department was able…

TipSheet: Austin City Council, 10.5.23

Today’s regular City Council meeting promises to be a total snooze, with only 41 things on the agenda. We’ve done our best to highlight the most interesting of those things, though it’s pretty slim pickings, as illustrated by Tuesday’s work…

Report finds widespread action needed to prepare city for future weather emergencies

The city has received dozens of steps for staff at all levels to take to reduce the impact of future weather emergencies. The full after-action report for the February 2023 winter storm evaluates problems experienced during the freeze that disrupted…

Follow-up zoning case promises more housing for South Lamar

City Council on Thursday will consider two linked zoning cases that developers hope will result in tracts for multifamily uses under a unified zoning designation of MF-6, the highest density of multifamily zoning. Council approved the initial zoning for a…

City plans to remove Barton Springs tree ‘Flo’ this week

The city’s Parks and Recreation Department announced on Monday morning that they would be removing Flo, the nearly 100-year-old pecan tree that leans over Barton Springs Pool, before the pool opens on Thursday. In addition, the department invited members of…

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Mobility Committee airs financial, environmental concerns over I-35 expansion

City Council members expressed a variety of concerns about the Interstate 35 expansion through downtown Austin, including a desire that the state and Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization delay funding approvals on the $4.5 billion project until concerns over construction-related…

Airport unveils first-ever Environmental, Social and Governance Report

The Airport Advisory Commission heard a briefing on the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s first-ever Environmental, Social and Governance Report at its regular meeting Sept. 13. The report, which was published in May, is a review of the organization’s impact and performance…

APD's 911 center seeing progress in filling dispatcher, call taker vacancies

Austin Police Department has made progress in filling vacancies and improving retention in its Emergency Communications Center over the past 12 months, with more new hires expected by the end of the year. A memo released last week from Robin…

Austin's Office of Sustainability lands EPA grant to tackle greenhouse gas emissions

The city of Austin will soon join cities across the nation in a federal initiative to curb greenhouse gas emissions, with a $1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency slated to kick off the planning process this October. The…

Austin interim city manager appoints head of police oversight without promised national search

Austin has named interim Director Gail McCant to run the Office of Police Oversight – one of the highest-profile offices in the city. And it has done so without public notice. Created in 2018, the office oversees police policy, conduct…

TxDOT ignored I-35 expansion health concerns, county says

The Travis County Commissioners Court says the Texas Department of Transportation has ignored their concerns about the impact of Interstate 35 expansion on the health of Austin residents.  “We specifically asked TxDOT to do a number of important studies –…