The Save Our Springs Alliance and the City of Austin will be in Travis County District Court on Thursday afternoon to joust about what the city may and may not do with the old Statesman site.  Almost a year has passed since the Austin Monitor reported that SOS had sued the city over the Planned Unit Development that was to be built on the site previously occupied by the Austin American-Statesman. Council approved the PUD in late 2022, thinking they would use money generated by a tax increment reinvestment zone. Although a judge found that use unlawful, the zoning plan went ahead, and SOS is concerned that the new buildings on the property could be 725 feet tall. Most troubling to SOS, however, is that the plan would include moving the Hike and Bike Trail, erode environmental protections along the Lady Bird Lake shoreline and allow for the removal of almost 100 trees. The parties expect to be in court at 2pm at the Travis County Courthouse, 10th floor in the court of Judge Jan Soifer.

The Urban Transportation Commission unanimously recommended the addition of new “vision plans” for the area around two bus park-and-rides operated by Capitol Metro on North Lamar and South Congress boulevards during a meeting on May 6. The Austin Monitor has previously reported on the plans and some local opposition to them as they wind through the digestive tract of city government, with the likely result of being approved. In voting to recommend, the urban transportation commission joins the planning commission, giving the plan an extra boost on its way to a scheduled hearing before council for adoption on May 22.

In an effort to reduce weekend and holiday traffic, the city will launch a new Zilker Loop shuttle that will move Austinites around Zilker Park, free of charge, beginning on Saturday, May 24. Specifically, the loop will take visitors from the park’s Stratford Parking Lot to more popular areas like Barton Springs Pool and Zilker Playground. According to a press release from the city, the shuttle will run on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., visiting stops every 15 to 20 minutes. While parking at the Stratford Lot is not free, the first two hours of fees can be waived. Coolers and pets are not allowed on the Zilker Loop. More information can be found on the city’s website.

Two right-of-way vacations requested by separate developers at a small cul-de-sac called Julieanna Cove near Airport Boulevard and the Colorado River Park Wildlife Sanctuary and at 11632 Saint Thomas Drive in Del Valle, on the southeastern side of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, were granted by the Urban Transportation Commission on May 6, with minimal discussion. Both were proposed to enable redevelopment at the sites, but no specific site plan has been submitted for either. Right-of-way vacations are one area where the commission has final authority, with the power to grant, deny, and hear appeals on cases.

Sometimes Austin and Travis County get into a little competition. But it’s not often you see them publicly fight. This Sunday, starting at 2pm, however, Travis County and the City of Austin will face off in a charity baseball game. All proceeds from the sale of tickets will be donated to the Sobering Center. The battle will be at The Long Time Austin. Tickets for the event can be found here. As the website for ActBlue explains, the Sobering Center, which was founded with cooperation between Austin and Travis County in 2018, gives members of the community “a safe place to recover from intoxication in lieu of jail or the emergency room and to then be referred to community-based resources as needed.”

Travis County is creating a plan that will guide how it spends money on parks for the next decade, and it’s looking to the public for help in doing so. To that end, Travis County Parks and the Travis County Parks Foundation have launched a second round of community engagement around its 2026 parks comprehensive plan. A survey about the plan’s vision, goals and objectives can be found here until Monday, May 19. In addition, in-person feedback will be welcome at Travis County Parks Foundation’s For the Love of Parks event at Richard Moya Park, which will take place this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Richard Moya Park. Questions about the plan and community engagement can be sent to TCParksCompPlan.2025@traviscountytx.gov.

Despite the large number of boards and commissions in Austin, it’s not every day that one can witness the public debut of a new one. This week Austinites can, with the first public meeting of the Community Police Review Commission on Friday, May 16 at 3 p.m. The commission, which is made up of volunteers separate from the Austin Police Department, was formed in November 2024 as a mandate of the Austin Police Oversight Act. Members are entrusted to review complaints and police misconduct, among other things and report “at least annually” to the public on the results of its activities. This week’s meeting will be held at City Hall and livestreamed to the public on ATXN.

The new Colony Park Pool envisioned in the city’s plans for aquatics and Colony Park development is here, and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department is ready to celebrate with the public. On Saturday, May 24, everyone is invited to a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark its opening. The pool will be open year-round with no entrance fee. “Pool amenities include a lap lane pool, zero-entry activity pool (toddler pool), water slide, spray features, diving board, shade structures, bathhouses and family restrooms, training/party room, and aquatic office space. Programs that will be provided include swimming classes for a variety of ages and skill levels and lap swim times,” according to a city press release about the pool. The ribbon cutting will take place at 10 a.m. at 7400 Loyola Lane. More information about the project can be found here.

Some tenants of the Acacia Cliffs apartments in Northwest Austin held a press conference outside City Hall Thursday to protest proposed changes to their property, citing the likelihood that the currently affordable apartments will be displaced by less affordable ones. The Acacia Cliffs Tenants Association then carried their demands into City Hall, with a number standing at the back of the chambers with signs. However, during discussion of other zoning cases, the group started shouting at Council, blowing whistles, and were escorted out of the building by police. Residents have complained that the DB90 density bonus program “offers the incentive of 90-feet of height to developers in exchange for 10-12% income-restricted affordable housing, is incentivizing the demolition of their affordable apartments,” according to their press release.

The zoning case that might impact the Acacia Cliffs tenants is on the May 22 agenda and was not discussed at Thursday’s meeting. Council Member Marc Duchen is hoping to convince his colleagues to postpone the case on May 22 to give tenants more time to negotiate with the developer. He wrote on the City Council Message Board, “Like many other Austinites, the families and individuals living in Acacia Cliffs are hardworking renters living in an increasingly expensive city. Postponing the May 22 vote would provide them with more time to reach a reasonable and meaningful arrangement with the developer, one that ensures that our most vulnerable residents have access to housing they can afford in Austin.

“I believe the main cause of the Acacia Cliffs emergency is DB90, an ordinance that was designed to improve local affordability but, when impacting naturally occurring affordable housing, has worsened affordability since it went into effect last year. In cases that don’t involve naturally occurring affordable housing, it can create affordability where there was none – which we always need! But in cases like this DB90 gives land developers the freedom to demolish affordable housing in exchange for a woefully inadequate preservation of affordable units. This is antithetical to the affordability issues that DB90 was intended to address.

“Voting against DB90 rezoning cases is very problematic for Council. In their arguments for rezoning, developers leverage the fact that they may demolish naturally occurring affordable housing should a rezoning fail to pass, providing nothing in return to impacted residents or communities. That has turned DB90 into the lesser of two evils, preventing Council from protecting Austin’s most vulnerable residents.”

John Lawler started his City Hall experience with the newly elected Council Member Greg Casar in 2015. Casar moved on to Congress but Lawler stayed in Austin, working for a variety of jobs, some political, some policy. Now, he’s headed over to the Travis County Clerk’s Office.

Recently Lawler has been working for Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, but she was unable to attend Thursday’s meeting in person. However, Council Member José Chito Vela, followed by most of his colleagues, praised Lawler’s hard work and dedication to helping people. Vela noted that when Casar appointed him to the Planning Commission, Lawler was his “handler.” Lawler told the Austin Monitor he will be starting his new job on June 1. He will be working for Travis County Clerk Dyana Limon Mercado and could face any number of challenges from the Texas State Legislature.

This whisper has been changed since publication to adjust Lawler’s job title.

José Roig, who was appointed director of the Development Services Department in June 2023, is moving on. Council presented him with a Distinguished Service Award on Thursday at his last Council meeting. Roig has more than 30 years of experience dedicated to building safety, including 18 years in various leadership roles with the City of Austin. Even though he is retiring from the city, he is not going to be resting. Roig announced that effective June 2 he will join the International Code Council’s Global Solutions Team as the Regional Director of Latin America and the Caribbean. His last day with the Development Services Department will be May 30. He told those gathered to honor him on Thursday that he intends to keep living in Austin. However, it seems likely he will be doing a lot of traveling.

In a recent report, the department noted that the Development Services Department united 11 departments that play a role in the City’s site plan review process, with one goal: Transforming Site Plan Review (TSPR). The report notes, “An independent review of the site plan process identified over 40 initiatives, and this year, workgroups completed 26 of them, focusing on process, technology, and customer-centric solutions. These efforts have improved both staff and stakeholder experiences, leading to the lowest turnaround times in six years.”

Texas Senator John Cornyn has announced his campaign team for the 2026 election, warning his major opponent in the Republican primary, “It’s going to be a long, miserable 10 months for Ken Paxton.” The press release says, “We will accurately convey my record in the U.S. Senate and make sure that Texans understand the character and record of my opponents.”
The team member most familiar to Austin voters is Matt Mackowiak, who is the co-chair of Save Austin Now.  He will serve as communications director. Mackowiak stepped down from his local Republican Party job in February. Cornyn named Andy Hemming, who served as senior advisor for Governor Greg Abbott’s 2022 re-election campaign, will be campaign manager. He has considerable experience in Republican politics, having worked on the 2016 Trump campaign, as well as the campaign of Governor Rick Perry, among others.