Stories by Elizabeth Pagano
City beefs up transit portion of SMART Housing
With a swift, unanimous approval, City Council members amended the transit requirements for the city’s SMART Housing program last week. SMART stands for Safe, Mixed-income, Accessible and Reasonably-priced Transit-oriented housing. Last week, Council tweaked the “T” to require that SMART…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 11, 2014
Committee mulls medical center skybridge proposal
A proposed medical center skybridge continued to provoke discussion Monday, when the City Council’s Comprehensive Planning and Transportation Committee took its turn questioning the need for a pedestrian walkway. The pedestrian bridge, to be located at 15th and Red River…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 11, 2014
Council OKs 'local' loan for planned hotel franchise
Questions from City Council Member Katie Tovo about a proposed Family Business Loan led to an illuminating discussion at Thursday’s Council meeting about what the word “local” really means. Tovo said she was surprised to find out that the program…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 10, 2014
Neighborhood buys time for Cherrywood house
Though no one seemed particularly taken with the house up for demolition, concerns about the looming loss of neighborhood character in Cherrywood were enough to win a postponement at the Historic Landmark Commission’s last meeting. Pecan Valley Homes was seeking…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 10, 2014
Divided Council debates approach to CodeNEXT
Those who enjoy debate about how the city will approach the rewrite of the its Land Development Code are in luck: City Council will consider its approach to CodeNEXT for a third time later this month. Council held the first…
City Council • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 7, 2014
More questions raised about Austin micro units
It’s been a tough road for the micro unit ordinance, and so far this week hasn’t been any easier. While City Council passed a micro unit ordinance on first reading Oct. 16, at its most recent work session, it was…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 6, 2014
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Austin's most comprehensive list of election parties
What’s an election without post-election parties? Looking forward to them is the only way we get through the long, exhausting election season. We have included as many post-election parties here as we could find, and we welcome information on any…
Elections • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 4, 2014
Housing, not retail, on the way for East Austin
A fight for more retail space proved unsuccessful at the Planning Commission last week, where commissioners unanimously approved a conditional use permit that will allow an affordable housing project to be built despite the neighborhood’s wishes. “It may not be…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 4, 2014
Oakmont Heights neighbors concerned over demos
With three houses in their neighborhood slated for removal to make way for new construction, residents in Oakmont Heights are concerned. At their most recent meeting, Historic Landmark Commissioners voted 4-0 to postpone the release of the demolition permit for…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 3, 2014
Crowd pleads with HLC to save Pine Street Station
The possible demolition of East Austin’s Pine Street Station drew impassioned pleas to the Historic Landmark Commission this week. On Monday night, a crowd of Austinites implored the commission to initiate historic zoning for the buildings located at 414 Waller…
Development • By Elizabeth Pagano • Oct 31, 2014
Neighbors lose fight against Lightsey plan
As an illustration of how heated the discussion about the South Austin Lightsey 2 project has become, Planning and Development Review Department Director Greg Guernsey opened the meeting by clarifying that his staff had not taken graft and that he…
Development • By Elizabeth Pagano • Oct 31, 2014
Urban farms battle is back at Planning Commission
The fight over urban farms reignited at the Planning Commission on Tuesday night, where a battle took place over whether East Austin’s Springdale Farm should get a zoning change that would allow it to continue to hold events. The owners…
