City to calculate housing gains possible with new building height compatibility rules

City staff members are moving ahead with analyzing how a change to area building height compatibility requirements could disrupt the local housing market. The analysis, which was called for as part of a December resolution by City Council that was intended to lessen restrictions on taller developments near single-family homes, could be disrupted by state lawmakers who appear determined to wipe away many such height restrictions in major cities across the state.

A memo released Friday outlines plans for city staff to use geographic information systems data to measure the footprints of commercial and high-density parcels located within 540 feet of single-family homes. That footprint will help to determine the number of housing units currently being lost, or undeveloped, due to existing height limits.

The estimate will be a result of multiplying allowable building coverage by the allowable heights in the compatibility setback compared to the heights allowed by right.

The memo notes that staff will also calculate the number of market-rate and affordable units that could be realized if property owners participate in incentives for projects located along compatibility corridors.

There are other considerations that could limit housing potential in the designated areas, such as watershed restrictions and parking requirements. Staff will attempt to incorporate those factors into the analysis.

The analysis will specify the impact of compatibility standards and the proposed changes in each City Council district, with respect to the goals of the Austin Strategic Housing Blueprint.

Staff will also take into account the relationship of development restrictions in key areas related to ethnicity, income, access to community amenities such as parks, schools and grocery stores, displacement risk, high-opportunity areas and proximity to transit-oriented development areas. Those factors play heavily into how equitably the city can act while looking to solve its growing housing affordability crisis.

The affordability concerns that have taken hold in Austin and other major metros around the state have pushed lawmakers to file bills in both houses of the Legislature that would reduce the limits on building heights to only 50 feet from a single-family home. Current limits in Austin take a gradient approach to building heights near those homes and extend up to 540 feet away, drastically limiting the amount of apartments, condominiums and other housing that can be offered in taller projects.

The state Senate approved a bill in late April by Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola. Its companion House bill was filed by Rep. Cole Hefner, R-Mt. Pleasant.

Those attempts to greatly reduce restrictions on building heights are part of a comprehensive move by state Republicans looking to make substantial changes to land use in major cities, with other proposed new laws targeting minimum lot sizes and the ability to build accessory dwelling units making their way through the Legislature ahead of its May 29 recess.

If approved, those laws would push forward some of the goals Austin City Council attempted to realize with a protracted and ultimately unsuccessful overhaul of its building code. Subsequent attempts to update smaller portions of the building code were hampered by a lawsuit that resulted in requiring a supermajority of Council to approve such changes, as was the case with the compatibility changes approved in December.

The state legislation is being supported by the activist group Texans for Reasonable Solutions. That group is led by strategist Nicole Nosek and her husband Luke, who was a co-founder of PayPal. Other members include Whole Foods founder John Mackey and the pop musician Grimes.

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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