Austin, Monitored: Valid petitions, SOS suit and APD staffing

A multi-family rezoning at the rugged edge of Northwest Austin

From Miles Wall:

Jim Wittliff, speaking on behalf of the owners, said that the request was prompted by an arcane detail of the Comprehensive Watershed Ordinance. The lot sits in the Lake Travis Watershed, and specifically in a “water supply rural watershed,” according to environmental information assembled by city staff. Wittliff explained that the applicants wanted to develop a home and a guest house on the property and “would have been happy” with SF-1, or single-family large lot. However, the ordinance requires at least two acres of land suitable for development in order to build under SF-1 for properties in a sensitive watershed area.

Texas lawmakers finalize bill limiting property owners’ right to protest new homes nearby.

From Audrey McGlinchy, KUT News:

Texas lawmakers finalized a bill last week that loosens a little-known state law guaranteeing homeowners the right to protest zoning changes in their neighborhoods. A zoning change is when a landowner asks for the right to build something other than what current rules allow.

The bill lawmakers passed raises the threshold to formally protest a zoning change. It requires owners of at least 60% of nearby property, up from 20%, to sign off against land use changes — but only when their neighbor plans to build housing.

City wins, SOS loses lawsuit over plans for old Statesman site

Travis County District Judge Jan Soifer has ruled against the Save our Springs Alliance and in favor of the city of Austin and the developer who intends to redevelop the Austin American-Statesman site. In a brief order, Soifer granted the city’s motion for summary judgment and denied SOS’ request. Bobby Levinski, attorney for the SOS Alliance, said via text, on Tuesday that the group would be “considering our options for appeal.” SOS argued that the city violated the Texas Open Meetings Act and the City Charter in approving plans for the site. Those plans would include moving the Hike and Bike Trail and allow for the removal of almost 100 trees, according to the lawsuit.

— Jo Clifton

City Auditor provides new perspective on APD staffing issues

During the Public Safety Commission’s June Meeting, City Auditor Corrie Stokes dialed into several inefficiencies found in a recent audit of Austin Police (APD) recruiting and hiring strategies.

First, Stokes said APD does not have adequate recruitment or social media strategies. Second, APD does not have a recruitment pipeline, described by Stokes as “programs that feed into and coordinate with each other” to generate interest.

The audit recommended four approaches: establishing measurable recruitment goals, coordinating recruitment posts on social media, updating standard operating procedures and staff training, and creating a recruitment pipeline.

APD Chief of Staff Robin Henderson described her department’s participation in the audit as “collaborative.”

“It affected our ability to hire candidates when we were out of contract,” Henderson said. She also noted that the 2020 cadet class was paused for a year and a half to implement reforms. According to Henderson, police attrition has slowed since the latest contract. APD is now better-positioned to recruit.

Henderson said recruitment will focus more on women and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. APD is establishing “touch points” to contact candidates who don’t complete their applications. The department is updating procedures around tracking application data, and will hire a data analyst. APD will integrate recruitment content across their social media platforms. Henderson also addressed the pipeline goal. APD will utilize grant funding to develop a youth recruiting model.

Some commissioners asked about attrition within the cadet academy. “The bigger issue is the retention,” said Chair Nelly Paulina Ramírez. “Once we get them in the door, that’s when the investment in the cadet actually starts. That’s when the city dollars really start to get spent.”

Stokes said, “We felt like it was important to look at how we’re getting people into the system.” Cadet training may be further revisited once ongoing academy reforms are implemented.

Commissioner Rebecca Bernhardt asked why recruitment and hiring are led by officers rather than HR professionals.

The commission may revisit the topic next month.

— Mina Shekarchi

Public Safety Commission supported recent halt to controversial Automated License Plate Reader program

Austin’s Public Safety Commission also feared that motorists’ data could be shared with federal agencies and recommended the City Council halt Austin’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program.

City Manager T.C. Broadnax recently withdrew a controversial extension of the ALPR program from a Council agenda, although the item could return for future consideration. ALPR is a surveillance system that scans license plates for connections to active warrants or criminal investigations. After discontinuing a prior ALPR program in 2020, Council authorized a one year trial, which was considered for an extension.

On June 2, the City Auditor’s office presented a report on Austin’s ALPR use to the Public Safety Commission. Auditor Jake Perry described the ALPR vendor contract language as “vague and possibly expansive”. Commissioners shared concerns about motorists’ data being vulnerable to unintended use through the vendor (Flock Safety), which could be legally required to share information with federal or state agencies.

“Theoretically, if the data was truly anonymized, there wouldn’t be a risk, but the contract does not specify what counts as anonymized data,” Perry said.

The prior Council ALPR authorization protected access to reproductive care, immigration status, and other activities. However, if the federal government requested data from Flock, protections are not guaranteed. “I have zero confidence that we can control our vendors,” said Chair Nelly Paulina Ramírez. “In this age where looking up license plate data is as easy as a google search…information can be accessed (for unintended purposes).”

Michael Bullock, President of the Austin Police Association, spoke in support of ALPR and said data can be safeguarded. “This is information that has been used to apprehend and identify murder suspects,” he said. “I would caution y’all not to advocate for the stoppage of (the) program altogether….”

Commissioners acknowledged the potential for improved protections, but said the current political climate presents too many risks. “I think (ALPR) is a great tool if used the right way. But…a detrimental tool if it’s used the wrong way,” said Commissioner Pierre Nguyễn.

Commissioner Rebecca Bernhardt said, “…we are not under normal circumstances right now in the United States. …Any opportunity that federal law enforcement have to access the City of Austin’s data really should be viewed as an opportunity for civil rights and civil liberties violations….”

The commission approved a recommendation that City Council halt the ALPR program and attempt to better secure previous data. One member abstained.

Austin is joining other cities, including Denver, in opting out of ALPR technology (for now).

— Mina Shekarchi

Elsewhere in the News

Austinites have take to the streets over Trump’s immigration policies, and were met with arrests and threats of state troopers.

The STAAR Test results are in, and Austin-area schools saw better scores in math but lost ground in English.

In case you missed it, the city of Austin signaled its support for public broadcasting with Austin PBS Day.

And KXAN has a nice collection of Juneteenth celebrations happening about town this week.

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