Stories by Ryan Thornton
Council looks beyond the budget
City Manager Spencer Cronk sat down with Council members at a special called work session Thursday to give an overview of four budget-related topics that have come up in recent weeks: the Hotel Occupancy Tax; an emergency-response report by the…
Budget • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 30, 2019
Staff proposes exchanging parking for sidewalks
There is a controversial assumption informing the work of the Land Development Code revision team: That is, shrinking the city’s mode share of motorists driving alone from 74 percent to 50 percent in the next two decades will require, to…
Land Development Code • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 30, 2019
Capital Metro talks batteries over electric bus contract
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is pressing on with its fleet electrification plan despite a number of kinks yet to be fully ironed out. After the agency’s board of directors approved a contract with New Flyer of America on Monday…
Transit • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 27, 2019
City prepares for 'shot clock' bill with code amendments
Just in time, City Council approved changes to the Land Development Code Thursday intended to buffer the city’s subdivision development application process against House Bill 3167, known as the “shot clock” bill, effective statewide Sept. 1. Council members across the…
Land Development Code • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 26, 2019
Riverside development inches closer to approval
The so-called “Domain on Riverside” fell one vote short of the seven needed to pass City Council on both second and third readings. Council members rehashed common concerns about the development’s size and location on Thursday before passing the 4700…
Uncategorized • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 23, 2019
Mobility Committee advances push for safe railroad crossings
A long-standing concern with pedestrian and bicycle safety at railroad crossings has earned support from some City Council members, but questions about equity and process may temper hopes of swift improvements. Since October 2018, both the Bicycle Advisory Council and…
Transportation • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 22, 2019
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Housing supply and demand debate resurfaces over code rewrite
The Land Development Code rewrite team is going far beyond previous efforts in Draft 3 of CodeNEXT with its housing capacity goals. According to staff, aiming for more housing units in general will also help secure affordable housing while addressing…
Land Development Code • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 21, 2019
Shoal Creek trail project gets special attention
To support both the city’s transportation goals and the ongoing work of the Shoal Creek Conservancy, City Council passed a resolution Aug. 9 directing the city manager to consider ways to prioritize the Cypress and Shoal Creek Project, a heavily…
Transportation • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 19, 2019
City tightens standards for housing development assistance loans
The Austin Housing Finance Corporation plans to be more selective with loan applications and partnerships for its Rental Housing Development Assistance and Ownership Housing Development Assistance programs in the coming years. The programs offer loans to developers promising housing units…
Housing • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 15, 2019
Land Development Code team previews compromise
City Manager Spencer Cronk’s Land Development Code rewrite team claims to have struck a balance between respecting the long-term plans of current homeowners while encouraging new density to meet the city’s housing and transit goals. As part of the overall…
Land Development Code • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 14, 2019
Capital Metro board awards bus operations contract to single firm, MV Transportation
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors voted Monday to combine operations at its two garages under one company, Dallas-based MV Transportation, Inc. The contract includes a base five-year period for $575.1 million with two optional three-year extensions and…
Transit • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 13, 2019
Council OKs 'Domain on Riverside' on first reading
City Council sided with the Planning Commission Thursday in approving a first reading of a request to rezone five tracts of land comprising nearly 100 acres to accommodate the mixed-use development project once known as Project Catalyst, now known as…
