More than 90 percent of the city’s historic tax exemptions in 2023 went to property owners west of Interstate 35, with a significant portion concentrated in downtown commercial areas, according to a recent analysis conducted by the city’s Planning Department. A recent memo to City Council from Lauren Middleton-Pratt, director of the Planning Department, included […]
Planning and Development Review
The Planning and Development Review Department is responsible for Austin’s city planning, preservation, and design. The department also provides development review and inspection services for the city.
Posted inCity Hall
Zoning chief Rusthoven retiring from city
Jerry Rusthoven, the city’s chief zoning officer, has told the city he intends to retire at the end of the month. Rusthoven, who has been with the city for 29 years, is arguably the city’s most knowledgeable person when it comes to the intricacies of zoning and how those rules relate to other land use […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council directs staff to develop ‘site plan lite’ process
In an attempt to speed up city processing of plans for “missing middle” housing developments, City Council approved a resolution Thursday that sponsors and housing advocates hope will shorten the wait for developers seeking to build triplexes, fourplexes and other small developments. Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter abstained from the vote, expressing concern that the […]
Posted inCity Hall
With public comment procedures in flux, two dozen zoning cases postponed
City Council heard many fewer zoning cases than expected last week after city staff decided to postpone the cases because of a surprise reinterpretation of public meeting participation rules. When staffers originally gave public notice for 24 zoning cases scheduled for Council’s Oct. 1 agenda, the notices said people must testify in person; that was […]
Posted inCity Hall
Planning, Development Services still operating
Despite the unprecedented challenge presented by the COVID-19 outbreak, the city is attempting to conduct its land use and development services business to keep those processes moving forward. Jerry Rusthoven, leader of the Planning and Zoning Department, told the Austin Monitor on Wednesday that all members of his 55-person staff are doing their jobs from […]
Posted inPlanning
New rules put pressure on land use commissions
Operating under new rules as a result of the so-called “shot clock bill,” members of the Zoning and Platting Commission and the Planning Commission will be under pressure to rapidly make decisions about whether to approve or reject subdivision development applications. Commissioners will also be under greater pressure to attend meetings and, in many cases, […]
Posted inLand Development Code
City prepares for ‘shot clock’ bill with code amendments
Just in time, City Council approved changes to the Land Development Code Thursday intended to buffer the city’s subdivision development application process against House Bill 3167, known as the “shot clock” bill, effective statewide Sept. 1. Council members across the dais took aim at the state’s attempt to accelerate the subdivision review timeline, arguing that […]
Posted inThe Code
‘Shot clock’ reviews hit Council’s agenda
Under a looming deadline from the state, Council is set on Thursday to pass changes to the way the city reviews and approves subdivision development applications, despite the possibility of “unfortunate and unintended consequences,” in the words of Council Member Alison Alter. House Bill 3167, known as the “shot clock” bill, requires cities and counties […]
Posted inDevelopment
‘Shot clock’ bill resets development review time
As Austin city leaders had their attention focused on the 3.5 percent tax cap that moved through the Texas Legislature, legislators were busy approving a bill that could have a serious impact on the city’s efforts to regulate development. The Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, which supported the bill, calls it the “shot clock” […]
Posted inDevelopment
Seven protesters arrested, public expresses opposition at community meeting for Project Catalyst
Anticipating a situation similar to last month’s Planning Commission meeting, Assistant Planning and Zoning Director Jerry Rusthoven opened the March 27 community meeting to discuss Project Catalyst with a word of caution. “It’s important to us that this meeting be conducted in a civil manner,” he said. Nevertheless, several dozen protesters from Defend Our Hoodz, or […]
Posted inLand Development Code
CodeNEXT: The devil is in the details
As the development process for the land use code rewrite known as CodeNEXT has progressed, a common refrain heard from critics is that it will drastically alter Austin’s existing zoning. However, at Tuesday’s work session, Planning and Zoning Department Director Greg Guernsey emphasized to City Council members that under the proposed code, the majority of […]
Posted inPlanning
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 extraordinary implications. At the Jan. 9 Planning Commission meeting, commissioners debated whether a request for […]