Austin releases reworked land code ahead of second of three votes to finalize

The Austin City Council released the second draft of its Land Development Code Friday, the latest step in the city’s more than half-decade-long attempt to update the rules determining what can be built in the city and where. “The code…

Reporter's Notebook: Wake wake

Is nothing sacred?… The Historic Landmark Commission exercised its right to delay the advancement of an application for a two-story deck at 311 E. Sixth St. at its Jan. 27 meeting. In a unanimous vote, commissioners asked staff to postpone…

Austin Monitor Radio: Austin Tenants Council

On this week’s edition of Austin Monitor Radio, Daniel Armendariz, a senior housing advocate with the Austin Tenants Council, joins Austin Monitor reporter Jessi Devenyns to talk about the issues renters face in Austin. Listen in below for a conversation…

Black and Hispanic drivers are increasingly more likely to be stopped by Austin police

While the black population in Austin hovers around 8 percent, black people made up roughly 15 percent of drivers pulled over by police and 25 percent of people subsequently arrested in 2018 – a disparity that has worsened since 2015.…

Oakwood Cemetery chapel report soon to be released

After years of anticipation, the Parks and Recreation Department has finalized its report on the East Austin Oakwood Cemetery chapel restoration project. The two-volume report will soon be delivered to the Texas Historical Commission for review. The city received the…

Parks board members call for better oversight of city's bond spending

Members of the Parks and Recreation Board lobbed criticism at the city’s Bond Oversight Commission over frustration that the group has canceled the majority of its meetings since late 2018 and failed to properly review the city’s use of bond…

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Planners seeking the 'missing middle' in zoning

During the past 10 years, only about 2 percent of housing units built in Austin fell within what planners call the “missing middle,” according to planners rewriting the city’s Land Development Code. Annick Beaudet and Laura Keating, who reported to…

Austin to look for new Zilker Zephyr operator as current one steps down

The company that runs the Zilker Zephyr, the miniature train that runs through Zilker Park, will stop operating the ride. But the Austin Parks and Recreation Department says it’s looking for another company to run it. The family-run business Texas…

City moving forward with centralized office for enforcing civil rights laws

The city appears to be moving ahead with a proposal to create a central office for the enforcement of civil rights ordinances, which are currently handled across an assortment of city departments with no formal framework for how to best…

Planning Commission recommends rezoning for half of Castle Hill Graffiti Park

Two projects intending to replace the internationally famous “Graffiti Park” came before the Planning Commission on Jan. 28. However, only the 10-condo Colorfield project at 1006 Baylor St. received the commission’s recommendation. When the Historic Landmark Commission approved the demolition of…

Real Estate Council warns of potential land use code pitfalls

Members of the Real Estate Council of Austin believe their input was largely ignored when the city made its last major attempt at a Land Development Code revision under CodeNEXT. At a Land Development Code luncheon Wednesday, Geoffrey Tahuahua, the…

Commission recommends ban on cashless retail

Human Rights Commissioner Garry Brown noticed recently that more and more businesses across the nation are going cashless in order to make doing business safer, cleaner and more efficient. But for millions of people without bank accounts or with limited…