The city is moving forward with reforms to several of its density bonus programs, following the recommendations from an analysis completed earlier this year. A recent presentation to City Council’s Housing and Planning Committee outlined several modifications underway or in the planning stages that will better align with the changing economics of development and construction, […]
Planning Department
Posted inPlanning
Future land use plans for CapMetro sites pick up a recommendation from Planning Commission
A bundle of subtle planning changes around two Capital Metro park-and-rides in North and South Austin may lay the groundwork for a major redevelopment on the sites, and some residents still aren’t happy about it. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve nearly a dozen related items during their regular meeting on April 22, as […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning staff spells out steps for preservation and coordination in 78702 and beyond
The city is preparing to move forward with a long-term planning effort that would coordinate public and cultural investments in a portion of East Austin seen as under threat of gentrification and other growth pressures. A new memo from the Planning Department issued last week responds to a 2024 City Council resolution directing staff to […]
Posted inZoning
Council-initiated Dessau Road rezoning for nonprofit office to be returned with dueling recommendations
A rezoning initiated by City Council on two properties that local nonprofit Foster Village plans to use for office space will come back with dueling recommendations from the Planning Department and the Zoning and Platting Commission after the latter voted down the former’s and submitted its own during a special called meeting on Feb. 6. […]
Posted inHousing
City outlines proposed code changes to regulate short-term rentals
The city plans to move forward with an overhaul of its short-term rental regulations, with public hearings beginning next month to discuss the code amendments under consideration to manage the industry and collect Hotel Occupancy Tax from the more than 10,000 STRs believed to be operating throughout the area. The proposed changes are outlined in […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Planning memo details performance, possible changes for density bonus programs
A new analysis of the city’s density bonus programs finds mixed results in their ability to deliver community benefits such as affordable housing in new real estate projects. A memo released last week by Planning Department Director Lauren Middleton-Pratt details the findings and recommendations of the analysis commissioned by the city and prepared by Clarion […]
Posted inCity Hall
Report finds slashed site plan review times, with further improvements on tap
An analysis of the city’s ongoing work to improve its widely criticized permitting process for building within the city shows substantial improvements in turnaround times for the main types of reviews, with further gains expected as the city moves forward with later phases of its plan. The site plan review process applies to any type […]
Posted inCity Hall
Planning Commission calls for reorganization at City Hall
Planning Commission members have unanimously approved a series of budget requests aimed at reforming and streamlining the way their commission is run. Most significantly, the recommendations would establish an Office of the Land Use Commissions that would work with the Board of Adjustment, Planning Commission, and Zoning and Platting Commission. The office would also include […]
Posted inCity Hall
For one city employee, Facebook posts lead to an impossible process
A city department head who disapproved of her employee’s social media posts about city management has filed a human resources complaint against him, an unusual move that gives her the power to validate her own complaint and field any appeal that might be made in the future. Andrew Rivera has worked for the city of […]
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission checks in on new density bonus program
At their most recent meeting, members of the Planning Commission took the temperature of the city’s newest density bonus program, which is designed to allow developers to build more in exchange for community benefits like affordable housing. The program, dubbed DB90, replaces the short-lived, now-scrapped VMU2 program that had the same purpose. In June 2022, […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Department announces update of Imagine Austin, due by late 2026
Austin’s Planning Department has announced its plans to update Imagine Austin, the city’s 30-year strategic plan, over the next two-and-a-half years. The department plans to begin six months of community engagement that will end in December and provide the initial topic areas of most importance for assessing how the city will look 30 years into […]
Posted inHousing
With Austin office buildings 20 percent vacant, conversion to housing remains out of reach
Two years ago, with the office real estate market in Austin stuck at a 20 percent vacancy rate, Brad Stein took the first of two trips to other markets to see if some of the hundreds of thousands of empty spaces in downtown Austin and areas beyond could be converted into badly needed housing stock. […]