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Planning
Council weighs mixed messages from staff on car dealership
City Council approved a request Thursday to provide water and wastewater service to a car dealership in northwest Travis County over the objections of the city’s Watershed Protection Department. The car lot, 620 Volvo Dealership, is going to be built…
Planning • By Jack Craver • Feb 11, 2019
2019 could be the year to end city parking minimums
The Pedestrian Advisory Council is asking City Council to confront a broad spectrum of issues this year with a simple change to the city’s dated land use code. In a unanimous vote Monday evening, PAC approved a recommendation to Council…
Planning • By Ryan Thornton • Feb 7, 2019
Zoning and Platting Commission discusses validity of previous vote
At the last meeting of the Zoning and Platting Commission on Jan. 29, even with a full dais the commission was unable to muster the supermajority vote needed to approve a request for a flag lot at 11603 Tedford St.…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Feb 7, 2019
Planning Commission OKs change to 30-year-old development agreement
Homes produce a lot less sewage now than they did 30 years ago. That’s partly why the Planning Commission decided Tuesday to allow the construction of an office building in western Travis County over the objections of city staff. The…
Planning • By Jack Craver • Jan 24, 2019
Neighborhood planning poised to change
The Planning Commission was recently briefed on the future of small area planning by Planning and Zoning staff. Austin has focused its small area planning around the neighborhood planning strategy since a 1997 City Council resolution. But subsequent to a…
Planning • By Alyx Wilson • Jan 14, 2019
To light or not to light, that is the question
While no one wants to light West Campus up like the Las Vegas Strip, with such density comes a need for signage that can be seen both night and day. “We think that (not having signage) may be a safety…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Dec 19, 2018
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A new neighborhood group hopes to speak for student renters in West Campus
While many University of Texas students were busy studying for final exams, senior Allie Runas was thinking about cracks in the sidewalk. After years of stepping over cracks in West Campus, she decided to do something and founded the West…
Planning • By Syeda Hasan • Dec 11, 2018
Waller Creek taxes ID'd to possibly fund $30M in housing for homeless
City staff members have recommended that City Council consider using funds from the tax increment refinancing zone (TIRZ) created for the Waller Creek improvement project and system of parks as the biggest funding source for providing housing and services for…
Planning • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 11, 2018
Old mine to become new town center
A decades-old sand and gravel mine just east of Austin city limits may be about to get a face-lift as a new Mueller-esque planned unit development (PUD). The proposal for the 2,122-acre property includes 12,000 residential units, 2.25 million square…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Dec 10, 2018
Waterfront board waits for progress on city's development corporation
City staff has been slowed in their work to research and make recommendations on how City Council could move forward with creating an economic development corporation (EDC) that could help facilitate public/private investment deals. The demands of dealing with the…
Planning • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 21, 2018
Austin explores options for new pedestrian bridge over Lady Bird Lake
There are enjoyable ways to walk or bike across Lady Bird Lake, but the Pleasant Valley Bridge is not one of them. A narrow sidewalk, a chain-link fence and low guardrails are all features that make the East Austin crossing…
Planning • By Mose Buchele, KUT • Nov 20, 2018
Board of Adjustment postpones setback request with no site plan
The Board of Adjustment needs a good reason to grant a request for reducing the setback from the waterfront. If a case from its most recent meeting is any indication, asking for an arbitrary number of feet without having a…
