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After 20 years the city protects 25 percent of the Barton Springs recharge zone

Since 1998, the city of Austin has been working diligently to preserve and care for the crown jewel of our city: Barton Springs. Doing so involves a lot more than draining and cleaning the pool every so often. According to…

Environment • By Jessi Devenyns • Sep 18, 2018

Arts space assistance doubles in new budget, but is it enough?

The city has revived the Arts Space Assistance Program that was created in 2017 and received overwhelming demand from local arts groups facing a loss of space, but was discontinued in the current budget due to lack of funding. The…

Budget • By Chad Swiatecki • Sep 17, 2018

Cap Metro: Key to high-capacity transit is dedicated right of way

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is still a few months away from announcing what modes of transportation it plans to propose for Project Connect, the long-term plan to bring high-capacity public transit to the Austin metropolitan area. Potential solutions include…

Transit • By Jack Craver • Sep 17, 2018

Board of Adjustment postpones Travis Heights ADU case, again

Citing neighborly discord, the Board of Adjustment postponed for the third time a variance request to treat an already-standing 1930s bungalow as an accessory dwelling unit. In a creative solution to add more density and square footage to a lot,…

Development • By Jessi Devenyns • Sep 17, 2018

Reporter's Notebook: The meatloaf index

Don’t tell your constituents… During a Cap Metro board meeting at the Austin Convention Center attended by City Council members, transportation consultant Jeffrey Tumlin bemoaned the current state of transportation planning in most American cities, which prioritizes minimizing “vehicle delay…

Reporters' Notebook • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 17, 2018

Ballpark Apartments protesters disrupt Planning Commission meeting

This week’s Planning Commission meeting came to an unexpected and abrupt pause on Tuesday. Around a dozen protestors from Defend Our Hoodz, or Defiende el Barrio, chose to stand and chant in the middle of the agenda reading rather than…

Zoning • By Alyx Wilson • Sep 14, 2018

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Commission calls on Austin to ban cat declawing

The city Animal Advisory Commission has unanimously recommended that the city ban cat declawing. The commission unanimously approved the resolution on Monday after hearing an hour of testimony from veterinarians and animal rights activists, most of whom described declawing as…

Austin • By Jack Craver • Sep 14, 2018

On the eve of East Austin school consolidation, community still has questions

The Austin Independent School District’s board of trustees will vote in a little over a week on how to consolidate three elementary schools in East Austin. Students at Metz, Zavala and Sanchez elementary schools will combine into one school, which…

AISD • By Claire McInerny, KUT • Sep 14, 2018

Plenty of PACs for November bond election

District 2 Council Member Delia Garza wants to make sure that when Austin voters go to the polls to vote on the city’s $925 million bond package on Nov. 6, they understand how important it is to support Proposition E,…

Bonds & Propositions • By Jo Clifton • Sep 14, 2018

Fee increase at Barton Springs among host of aquatics centers plans

A far-reaching analysis of changes in operations at the city’s pools and aquatics centers includes a jump in admission prices for Barton Springs, one of the city’s most popular tourist and recreation spots. The new fee schedule included in a…

Parks • By Chad Swiatecki • Sep 13, 2018

City boosts spending on homelessness, but advocates still disappointed

The Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget approved by City Council on Tuesday includes a $3.4 million increase in funding for homelessness services. City staff estimates that the new funds come on top of more than $26 million in annual city spending…

Budget • By Jack Craver • Sep 13, 2018

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Board of Adjustment fails to grant 'ugly' variance

On occasion, members of a neighborhood find a redevelopment project to be such an eyesore that they use it as their case as to why it shouldn’t be built in the first place. “We don’t need any more ugly. We’ve…

Development • By Jessi Devenyns • Sep 13, 2018

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