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In order to keep the city’s many boards and commissions running on time, City Council must make 500 appointments by June 30. Other groups need to appoint an additional 67 individuals to participate in the process of advising Council on…
The city released a draft copy of the Zucker Report last week amid growing curiosity about what it contained. This week, the aftershocks began. Zucker Systems analyzed the city’s Planning and Development Review Department last year, and in its 700-plus-page…
A voter-led initiative that banned hydraulic fracturing — also known as “fracking” — in Denton last fall appears to have inspired a Texas House bill that could quash similar measures in the future. House State Affairs Committee members heard arguments…
After verbal clashes between Austin City Council Member Don Zimmerman and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, the Central Texas Clean Air Coalition approved its version of a draft letter to the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday about possible changes in…
Board members with the Capital Metro Operations, Planning and Safety committee directed staff to begin crafting a board policy that gives parameters around future sponsors and partnerships at their committee meeting Wednesday. On the heels of a presentation overviewing CapMetro’s…
The Board of Adjustment pulled no punches Monday night, but it did knock out a pair of questionable variance requests. Board members swiftly denied two Lake Austin impervious cover requests and brushed off a last-minute withdrawal request that could have…
A proposal to add four tolled lanes to MoPac Expressway, including two elevated lanes, raised concerns Monday from Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea and others during a Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Board meeting. “I don’t think there’s…
Travis County Commissioners Court settled the final act Tuesday in a lengthy drama surrounding a proposed new district attorney’s office building. In a 3-2 vote, the commissioners gave the green light to a moderately revised version of the Ronnie Earle…
After some deliberation, the Planning Commission has released the legal interpretation that clarifies how much discretion it must deny subdivisions that include required connections to streets, if the commission disagrees with the connections. The city’s legal opinion, according to a…
Transportation Department staff revealed that the city is out of funding for pedestrian hybrid beacons, leaving a backlog of more than 100 requests for beacons around the city. During the regular meeting of the Pedestrian Advisory Council, staff presented the…
The Austin Independent School District board of trustees directed district staff Monday to — after many years of discussion — create a timeline ending in January 2016 for the district to spend bond money to buy land for a proposed…
The City Council Audit and Finance Committee had a wide-ranging discussion Monday about the possibility of hiring more staff to help Council, but arrived at no conclusions. The conversation was sparked by an attempt by Mayor Steve Adler to add…
