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Planning
Environmental Commission rejects Champion tract amendments
After years of lawsuits related to the development of the Champion tract, proposed amendments to the original 1996 development agreement will go to City Council without the Environmental Commission’s blessing. “We are here to tell you what the best environmental…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Jan 23, 2018
Mobility plan preview raises questions at Planning Commission
At a special called Jan. 18 meeting, the Planning Commission got its first look at the beginnings of the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, what will be an amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan, Imagine Austin. The plan is still in…
Planning • By Joseph Caterine • Jan 23, 2018
Environmental Commission weighs options, recommends boat dock variance
It is always difficult to plan a project. However, conventional wisdom suggests that when three construction options exist, you pick the path of least resistance and do not select the choice that requires you to seek a variance from City…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Jan 19, 2018
Flag lot variance request revived after failed approval
Having already been postponed once before, a plat application for a new subdivision in West Austin was postponed again by the Zoning and Platting Commission at its Jan. 2 meeting after a motion to approve failed to pass. Two of…
Planning • By Joseph Caterine • Jan 18, 2018
Commission struggles with perplexing conditional use permit
CodeNEXT may make the current Land Development Code seem outdated, but there are still buildings around the city that have yet to be registered with the city. In these cases, something as simple as changing a building’s use can carry…
Planning • By Joseph Caterine • Jan 12, 2018
Champion case moves to commission
Champion land use cases never die; they just move to another forum. In this case, the question of development restrictions on the 45-acre tract at 6409 City Park Road has gone from City Council to the courthouse and back to…
Planning • By Jo Clifton • Dec 22, 2017
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Champion tract returning to Council
Because neighborhood activists won their open meetings lawsuit against the city last month, City Council will be reconsidering an ordinance that amends an old settlement agreement related to development on the Champion tract at 6409 City Park Road at next…
Planning • By Jo Clifton • Nov 30, 2017
Rosedale bar expansion elicits neighborhood resistance
For established neighborhood businesses like the Draught House in North Central Austin, it can be an uphill battle to convince those nearby that expansion does not necessarily mean selling out to the new kids on the block. At its Nov.…
Planning • By Joseph Caterine • Nov 27, 2017
Request for lakefront bulkhead variance creates new questions
It’s not often that a request for a variance from the city’s code has no predecessors against which it can be compared. At the Environmental Commission meeting on Nov. 15, this unlikely scenario became reality. Janis Smith, civil engineer and…
Planning • By Jessi Devenyns • Nov 22, 2017
Council OKs annexing commercial area only
Last year, at the urging of District 5 Council Member Ann Kitchen, City Council rejected annexation of a 34-acre tract of land in Southwest Travis County that is almost totally surrounded by the city of Austin. On Thursday, Kitchen again…
Planning • By Jo Clifton • Nov 14, 2017
Five years later, Imagine Austin gets progress report but no update
Despite a long road ahead, the progress report on Imagine Austin presented at the Nov. 7 joint land use commission meeting indicated that the city was on track in its implementation of the comprehensive plan. Still, some commissioners expressed frustration…
Planning • By Joseph Caterine • Nov 9, 2017
Council to reconsider annexing 'doughnut hole'
Owners of homes on Susie, Joy and Easy streets told City Council last week that they do not wish to be annexed any more than they did in 2016, when Council voted not to annex the approximately 34-acre Mooreland Addition…
