Austin, Monitored: Council considers development, art, food trucks and… plantations?
Friday, June 6, 2025 by Austin Monitor
Today’s newsletter is supported by Austin Energy and the Value of Public Power
Quote of the Day
“It’s essential that we strengthen the effectiveness of these programs so they better serve our low- and moderate-income residents.”
— Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, from Focused on real affordability, City Council moves to improve density bonus programs.
Focused on real affordability, City Council moves to improve density bonus programs
From Chad Swiatecki:
City Council voted Thursday to initiate a review and potential overhaul of the city’s density bonus programs, signaling a shift toward more flexible and customized incentives to promote affordable housing and community benefits across different parts of the city.
The resolution was supported by all of City Council but Council Member Krista Laine, who abstained. It directs city staff to develop new types of density bonus combining districts in the Land Development Code. The proposed changes could introduce districts with varying height entitlements, tailored affordability standards, and a broader menu of community benefits such as ground floor activation, civic space, and design upgrades.
Austin food trucks no longer have to move trailers for health and safety inspections
From Luz Moreno-Lozano, KUT News:
The new health safety inspection program comes more than a year after the Austin City Council promised to improve the inspection process for mobile business owners. The city’s current program requires the owners to move the trailer to a city facility in North Austin, which they said can be complicated and costly.
Sergio Trujillo, who co-owns Desnudo Coffee, said the annual process requires them to close down for at least a day and a half to prepare for the inspection. He said it also means finding a way to tow the trailer to the city facility, which can be expensive.
Now, the business owners will have more options following the council meeting on Thursday. Council members approved an expansion of the program that allows for on-site inspections and permits with an increase in cost for the convenience. On-site permits will cost $740 and the on-site re-inspection fee will be $230. The cost for re-inspections at the city facility are $109. Permits there start at $212, according to city documents.
A message from today’s sponsor, Austin Energy:
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Council approves airport art, initiates Plantation Road name change
The City Council on Thursday approved a slate of Art in Public Places contracts for the ongoing expansion of the airport, but not without some public opposition to awarding a portion of the work to artists outside of Austin. In March, the Council delayed voting on three of the contracts – all with out-of-state artists – so city staff could address concerns about the lack of local representation in the solicitation process. Those contracts, totaling up to $10.6 million, moved forward Thursday, along with the approval of seven other contracts with Texas-based creatives from Austin, Houston and Laredo. Several individuals registered either against or neutral on the bundle of contracts, but few provided testimony. One resident, Jennifer Robichaux spoke against the selection process that included a call for national artists. She urged the Council to reject those contracts “and prioritize the local artist to reflect our city’s values and keep taxpayer dollars here.” Meantime, a recent staff memo to Council states that national artists are now required to subcontract at least 10 percent of the total contract cost to Austin-based artists.
In a separate matter regarding art in public places, Council approved a $225,000 contract with The Trail Conservancy for managing temporary art in public places on the Ann and Roy Butler hike and bike trail.
Plantation Road in southwest Austin is going the way of Confederate Street in Clarksville, Robert E. Lee Road in South Austin and other local representations of the Confederacy. That is, it’s headed for a stakeholder process to rename the street to something more appropriate. With City Council’s vote Thursday, the city will begin soliciting feedback from residents, including the congregation of the nearby Zion Rest Missionary Baptist Church. The church has remained active since opening its doors in 1903 in what was once a thriving African American farming community called Kincheonville, founded after the Civil War by Thomas Wesley Kincheonville and his wife, Mary, according to the resolution brought by Council Member Paige Ellis.
— Amy Smith
Elsewhere in the News
After a witnessing a series of stopped robotaxis in front of their own station, KXAN decided to get to the bottom of things and found that… they will eventually move.
KUT details the educational fallout in Austin from a recent decision that undocumented students in Texas are no longer eligible for in-state tuition as well as the fear some international students now have about travel after the Trump administration revoked their legal status.
The Austin Chronicle has their take on the city’s looming budget crisis.
And, though we are by no means recommending this read, we’ll note that the Daily Mail is now reporting on the Lady Bird Lake “serial killer.”
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