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Development
Sign Board postpones confounding variance case
After calling the plan “confusing” and “difficult to follow,” the Sign Review Board voted unanimously Monday to postpone consideration on a variance package to allow larger signs at an Austin hospital. The sign plan sought multiple variances for four signs…
Austin • By Gene Davis • Jan 13, 2015
Fate of Crestview land parcel remains in limbo
Though the fate of an Austin Energy-owned parcel of land in the Crestview neighborhood remains uncertain, there was an update about 6909 Ryan Drive last month. Planning and Development Review Department Director Greg Guernsey wrote the Dec. 10 memo that provided…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Jan 13, 2015
New preservation district on hold after staff error
The Bluebonnet Hills preservation district will be returning to the Historic Landmark Commission this month, after a determination that the city did not give proper notice for the hearing. When the district was before the Historic Landmark Commission in November,…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Jan 12, 2015
2014: An Austin Monitor review
This past year was a dynamic one in Austin, and though the future promises to be just as interesting, at the close of 2014 we invite you to take a trip back over the past 12 months. Though a lot…
Austin • By Michael Kanin • Dec 29, 2014
Riley looks beyond rail bond loss to Austin's future
Council Member Chris Riley started his look back at 2014 with an examination of the transportation situation faced by the City of Austin. Rather than lock on to the November failure of a $600 million rail bond that would have…
City Council • By Michael Kanin • Dec 23, 2014
Audit reveals big trouble with PDR fees
A city audit of the Planning and Development Review Department has found that the Office of the City Auditor “cannot provide assurance that development-related fees are charged accurately and consistently.” In one part of the audit, 40 percent of the…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Dec 22, 2014
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BOA sides with staff on neighborhood appeal
Plans for a home at 2015 Goodrich Ave. will go on after the Board of Adjustment ruled against a neighborhood appeal earlier this month. Before the appeal reached the earlier hearing, three of the neighborhood’s other complaints had been resolved. The…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Dec 22, 2014
Reporter's Notebook: City cuts ribbon on WTP4
After 30 years, WTP4 finally begins pumping water … Do you remember what you were doing in September 1984? If you lived in Austin and were of voting age, you may have voted “yes” to allow the city to go…
Austin • By Austin Monitor • Dec 22, 2014
ZAP gives Spicewood Springs project new life
After a denial from City Council earlier this year, the developer of the Overlook at Spicewood Springs has returned with a compromise. Currently, the property at 4920 Spicewood Springs Road is undeveloped. The developer is seeking a zoning change from…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Dec 19, 2014
Homeowners seek to preserve vegetation, lake view
A fight over the value of invasive species ended in a postponement at the Board of Adjustment last week. Ginger and John Mitchell are permitted to build a dock at their home on Lake Austin. But the places where they…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Dec 18, 2014
Commission seeks to preserve Tarrytown home
On Monday, the Historic Landmark Commission pushed to preserve a Tarrytown house. Its owners would like to see it gone. Though commissioners had the option of postponing the case to allow for more research, Commissioner Terri Myers instead urged her…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Dec 18, 2014
Audit finds short-term rental enforcement lacking
Members of the Council Audit and Finance Committee learned Monday that, though the city has had success in bringing illegal short-term rentals into compliance, those that do not come into compliance are falling through the cracks. On a positive note,…
