Stories by Jack Craver
Travis County already has a public defender's office – for juveniles
Amid the contentious public debate over the creation of a public defender’s office in Travis County is an oft-neglected fact: Travis County already has a public defender’s office. It just doesn’t serve adults. The Travis County Juvenile Public Defender, founded…
Travis County • By Jack Craver • Mar 28, 2019
Tense meeting over arrest at library
The Library Commission heard impassioned testimony Monday night over the arrest last month of a 13-year-old girl at the Austin Public Library’s Carver branch. Activists showed up to the meeting at the Terrazas branch on Cesar Chavez Street to urge…
Austin • By Jack Craver • Mar 26, 2019
Contractors cry foul over changes to Austin Energy's weatherization program
Why is Austin Energy spending so much less on its weatherization program than in the past? The answer depends on whom you ask. In the 2017 fiscal year, the utility spent $1.6 million on a long-standing program that offers free…
Energy • By Jack Craver • Mar 25, 2019
Planning commissioners push for more transit-oriented mobility plan
City Council is scheduled to take up the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan at its next meeting on March 28. In recent weeks, various city commissions have offered comments on the plan, which aims to shape city transportation policy over the…
Transportation • By Jack Craver • Mar 19, 2019
City manager presents options for a new land development code
City Manager Spencer Cronk released a memo on Friday proposing the first steps of a new process to rewrite the land development code. The memo comes seven months after City Council voted unanimously to suspend its last land use code rewrite…
Land Development Code • By Jack Craver • Mar 18, 2019
Planning Commission OKs taller building in West Campus
The Planning Commission granted near-unanimous approval for a rezoning in West Campus to allow an old student housing complex at 2408 Leon St. to be replaced with a new, larger apartment complex. The property owner, Arlington Capital Austin, wants the…
Zoning • By Jack Craver • Mar 14, 2019
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Council signals support for row houses over staff objection
City Council signaled support for a project that will bring five row houses to the Blackland neighborhood in East Austin, over the objections of city staff and a vocal contingent of neighborhood residents. Council approved “on first reading” rezoning the…
Zoning • By Jack Craver • Mar 8, 2019
Planning Commission rebukes city staff in Blackland rezoning
The Planning Commission voted to endorse five townhouses just south of Manor Road despite a recommendation from city staff against the development. The property at 2107 Alamo St. is currently occupied by an aging duplex. The owner, Anmol Mehra, wants…
Planning • By Jack Craver • Mar 7, 2019
City begins process of spending $925 million in bonds
Spending money is not always easy. Four months after voters approved $925 million in bonds to fund housing, parks, transportation, fire stations and a wide assortment of other municipal priorities, city staff and City Council are beginning the process of…
Bonds & Propositions • By Jack Craver • Mar 6, 2019
Can Austin get dedicated transit lanes without losing car lanes?
Mayor Steve Adler and Capital Metro Transportation Authority leaders say it is critical that Austin put in place a high-capacity public transit system that runs in a dedicated right-of-way, but that the new system does not have to come at…
Transit • By Jack Craver • Mar 5, 2019
Protesters show up late to protest postponed Riverside project
Although there was additional security at Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting, the commission discussed the case without incident, voting to indefinitely postpone action in order to allow city staff to continue evaluating Project Catalyst, a major mixed-use development proposed near East Riverside…
Development • By Jack Craver • Feb 28, 2019
Council passes resolution to ease regulations on affordable housing projects
City Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday aimed at producing more affordable housing units in the city by easing regulations on subsidized developments. The resolution, authored by Council Member Greg Casar, instructs city staff to draft an ordinance that will…
