Stories by Chad Swiatecki
Commission chair accuses member of ‘pattern of bullying'
The chair of the Community Development Commission is pushing the city to conduct an investigation into the behavior of another commission member that led a presenter at a December meeting to say she felt threatened and intimidated and request a…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Jan 13, 2023
City preps $1.5M in assistance for creative spaces facing displacement
The city is preparing to open the application for the latest iteration of the Creative Space Assistance Program, which provides up to $50,000 to organizations, artists or for-profit venues facing financial hardships that could lead to their displacement. The $1.5…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Jan 11, 2023
Live Music Fund headed for final Council vote next month
The city’s Live Music Fund is expected to get final approval from City Council in February, nearly three and a half years since it was created using millions of dollars in Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues. At last week’s Music Commission…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Jan 9, 2023
Culture, climate district gets mixed reviews from feedback sessions
An effort to create a new “living room” in the center of Austin along Lady Bird Lake needs some fine-tuning and a more precise mission, according to early community feedback gathered by an outside consulting firm. A memo delivered on…
Planning • By Chad Swiatecki • Jan 6, 2023
Mobility, housing progress among the highlights of Cronk's 'most normal year' in Austin
Spencer Cronk takes a measure of perspective when asked to look back on 2022 and a year that demanded constant attention to homelessness, ongoing labor negotiation, and persistent difficulties filling open positions within city government, among other issues. After a…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 29, 2022
Tovo considers changes and challenges after 11 years on Council
After more than a decade on Austin City Council, Kathie Tovo’s view on the nature of elected life is that plenty of day-one priorities and worries for new Council members are likely to remain top concerns for years to come.…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 28, 2022
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In D5, Ryan Alter hopes to bring momentum to city operations
Ryan Alter will bring a state-level perspective to City Hall next year when he takes over representing District 5 from Ann Kitchen, the two-term City Council member who was term-limited and unable to run in November. As a policy analyst…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 27, 2022
Harper-Madison looks to spark D1 civic involvement in 2023
After completing her fourth year in office, City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison wishes she’d known from her first day roughly as much as she knows now about the workings of city government. Her thinking: There should be an apparatus that…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 22, 2022
Ethics commission sends Ellis letter on campaign finance violations
The city’s Ethics Review Commission has issued a letter of notification to City Council Member Paige Ellis, documenting a handful of campaign contributions that exceeded campaign finance rules and were not returned to donors in a timely fashion. Last week…
Elections • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 21, 2022
City moving forward with new floodplain maps from Atlas 14 rainfall study
The city is moving forward with its effort to update its floodplain maps, in anticipation of an expected increase in dramatic rainfall and flooding events caused by climate change over the next decade. Earlier this month, the Watershed Protection Department…
Land Development Code • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 20, 2022
Development leaders see public-private partnerships as cure for 'lazy' public dirt
State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt created a new branding term for proponents of public-private partnerships at Urban Land Institute Austin’s monthly breakfast panel last week. “Something I’ve discovered after 20 years in local government is governments have a tendency to have…
Development • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 19, 2022
Qadri credits focus on housing in win for D9 seat
Political newcomer Zohaib “Zo” Qadri will represent City Council District 9 beginning in January, defeating challenger Linda Guerrero by 352 votes, according to unofficial totals reported Tuesday night. The final vote for the two-candidate runoff according to Travis County elections…
