Austin Community Foundation has invested $250,000 in the Texas Impact Housing Fund to cover the remaining construction on AHA! at Briarcliff, an accessible housing complex in Northeast Austin. The investment allows the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation to increase financing for the Briarcliff project to $995,000, a $300,000 increase, with a 2.5 percent interest rate over a two-year construction period. The three-story complex will feature 27 units, half of them accessible for those with disabilities and the other half adaptable. Units will be priced for those with incomes at less than 50 percent of the Austin area’s median family income, and construction is expected to begin early next year. Accessible Housing Austin, the nonprofit group developing the project, has secured $3.7 million in additional financing from the city of Austin, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and an affordable housing grant from Frost Bank of Dallas. The project will be exempt from local property taxes through a partnership with the city Housing Authority.

The city’s Dougherty Arts Center is now accepting exhibit proposals for the 2020 gallery season. Each season, an anonymous panel of jurors selects a group of artists to exhibit their work at the center’s Julia C. Butridge Gallery, a multicultural community art gallery with multiple exhibit spaces. Past gallery exhibits exemplify the diversity and scope of Austin’s visual arts culture. Both emerging and established artists are invited to apply. Artists must submit a statement, an exhibit proposal and images of their work. The deadline to submit has been extended to Feb. 17. Submit online here.

Arguments over development of the Austin Country Club’s 179-acre tract did not end with last Thursday’s Council meeting as was expected. The item will be back on the second agenda of 2019, on Feb. 7. The country club sued the city when the city’s environmental staff insisted that the club abide by current regulations, as opposed to the limited regulations that were in effect in 1982. After hearing staff members’ presentation about a proposed settlement agreement between the city and the country club, Council still had questions and wanted more time to consider the proposed settlement. Under the 1982 regulations, there were no critical water quality zones, no critical environmental features and no water quality treatment required. The heritage tree ordinance had not yet been enacted and there was limited tree protection. Under the proposal outlined for Council on Thursday, impervious cover, or hardscape, would be limited to 20 percent, as opposed to the 25.5 percent impervious cover limit in the 1982 regulations. The Zoning and Platting Commission had urged Council to “carefully consider the details of the proposed development terms, specifically to emphasize that current code applies unless otherwise specified and to ensure utmost protection from flooding, tree removal, and open-ended development timelines.” According to a memo from Council Member Alison Alter to her constituents, “The terms and conditions recommended by staff seek to strike a balance between the environmental and scenic protections provided under these two different regulatory schemes. Austin Country Club’s property, located off of Loop 360 in Northwest Austin, is approximately 179.67 acres. The proposed conditions would apply to future development of the property, which could include expansion and improvement of the golf course, clubhouse, and outdoor recreational facilities, as well as additional residential and commercial land uses.”

The Austin Cooperative Business Association is looking for researchers to participate in two new investigative projects examining the impact of the local cooperative economy. The first project will look at opportunities for traditional businesses in Central Texas to convert into cooperative models, with research showing the economic impact as well as the best methods and techniques for making the conversion. Sectors of interest include food and agriculture, retail, service industry and restaurants, art and culture, and construction and professional services. The second project will look at gaps in technical assistance for those looking to start or improve a cooperative business in Central Texas. Research will include a compilation of existing resources and finding ways and opportunities to improve the cooperative community. Proposals are due Dec. 31, with full details available here.

City Council voted to expand the city’s downtown public improvement district boundary to include Third + Shoal, a 29-story building developed by TIER REIT Inc. and Cielo Property Group. The development partners formally requested inclusion in the PID in November. The properties in the downtown district, which was created in 1993, are assessed an additional 10 cents per $100 in assessed value (with exemptions) which is more than $8.3 billion. Money captured by the PID (about $7.8 million) is used by the Downtown Austin Alliance, which uses the funds for things like safety, cleaning and promoting growth. In a press release about the new addition, Dewitt Peart, president and CEO of the Downtown Austin Alliance, said he was excited to welcome the property into the PID. “Third + Shoal will be home to many companies that are integral to Austin’s growth as a corporate and technology hub, and we look forward to the partners’ involvement and support of our efforts to create, preserve and enhance the value and vitality of our downtown.”

At the Dec. 10 meeting of the Animal Advisory Commission, the commissioners discussed changing the pet restrictions that the city Housing Authority has placed on its housing units. “Clearly what we have is a housing authority policy for people who live in Austin regulated by the city of Austin that is grossly inconsistent with city of Austin policies,” said Commissioner Ryan Clinton. He noted that some restrictions include no pets over 30 pounds, no so-called “dangerous” breeds including chow chows, boxers, pit bulls, Dobermans and Rottweilers, and a prohibition on pet-sitting such breeds. The Housing Authority also requires that pets be licensed, a requirement that Clinton said does not exist at either a city or state level. These policies, which were adopted in 2010, are applicable to any units under the Housing Authority including nonprofits and for-profits that provide city-funded projects. “We don’t have authority (to change the rules), we’re just going to have to ask for help,” explained Clinton. The commission voted to begin a working group focused on “reducing or limiting restrictions to pet ownership in city run, funded, or subsidized housing.”

The Transportation Department has begun planned safety improvements at the intersection of Slaughter Lane and South First Street. The $2 million project, which is expected to take six months to complete, will include new dual left-turn lanes, upgraded medians, enhanced crosswalks and green arrow left-turn signals on Slaughter Lane. Improvements completed over the weekend to Slaughter and Cullen lanes include upgraded signals and more space for vehicles waiting to turn left on Slaughter. These safety and mobility improvements are funded by the 2016 Mobility Bond, which dedicates $15 million to improving the city’s most dangerous intersections.

The Austin Housing Conservancy, a recently formed local investment fund created to preserve workforce housing, has acquired two more properties in cooperation with Austin Affordable Housing Corporation. Late last month the fund completed deals for The Place at Terracina, located off MoPac Expressway in North Austin, and Northwest Hills on Greystone Drive. Enterprise Community Partners and the Community Development Trust were partners in the acquisitions, which give the fund three multifamily properties in its portfolio, with 792 total units in North and Central Austin. The fund was created earlier this year and intends to keep rates in its properties at a level affordable to Austin’s middle- and working-class residents, who are at risk of being priced out of the city as property values continue to climb. Conservancy leaders aim to acquire 5,000 total units in the next five years, and plan to have 10,000 units in the portfolio in the next decade.

The Austin Chamber of Commerce has conferred its highest honor, Austinite of the Year, on local businessman Ray Wilkerson in recognition of his decades of community and civic leadership. Wilkerson, the CEO of commercial real estate investment firm Ray Wilkerson Companies Inc., is known for his philanthropy, his strong ties to the community and his dedicated civic involvement. He is the co-founder of the HeartGift Foundation, which has provided critical surgeries for more than 400 children around the world who were born with heart defects. He also serves on several boards and commissions, including the Colorado River Land Trust and the Greater Austin Crime Commission. “Austin is better because Ray Wilkerson stepped up in so may ways,” said the chamber’s Board Chairman Phil Wilson. The chamber will present the award at its annual meeting on Feb. 5.

After a court ruling, Austin is in the position of “asking nicely” when it comes to not using single-use bags. But yesterday the Texas Campaign for the Environment spread the word that state Representative Gina Hinojosa of Austin has filed a bill that would restore the right of local governments to regulate single-use bags. “Bag pollution is bad for Texas, and if the state government isn’t going to take action to eliminate it, then they need to stand out of the way of local governments ready to lead on the issue,” said Andrew Dobbs, legislative director for Texas Campaign for the Environment. “Texas businesses and taxpayers foot the bill for these unnecessary products, and HB 514 will help our local leaders save us those resources.” A press release about the filing noted that “(a) similar bill filed by Rep. Hinojosa in the 2017 session, HB 3482, passed out of committee and out of the House Calendars Committee on bipartisan votes. It did not get a House vote because of procedural deadlines.”

Travis County is considering using Certificates of Obligation to fund construction of a women’s facility at the Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle. County Sheriff Sally Hernandez has cited numerous structural and design flaws with the complex that prevent the county from meeting the specific needs of female inmates. Apart from the physical deterioration of several buildings within the complex, a report presented to the court outlined several inherent design flaws including inadequate housing capacity, location of beds for women scattered across four buildings, a lack of on-site OB-GYN health services and insufficient gender-specific programming addressing the needs of female inmates. A new women’s facility is included as part of the Travis County Adult System Master Plan and may offer a wide variety of benefits to the prisoners resulting in improved physical and mental health, better relationships between incarcerated mothers and their families and more effective rehabilitation. Benefits are also expected to extend to the staff through a better work environment. The Commissioners Court discussed plans for the new facility Tuesday afternoon and mentioned a possible vote in April that would allow the county to move forward with construction without need for a public-approved bond.

After several months of contentious discussion between the Board of Adjustment, members of the North University Neighborhood Association, and the developer of the property at 2713 Hemphill Park, in November the board approved the request to grant a variance for minimum lot size. However, the neighborhood association came back at the board’s Dec. 10 meeting to request a reconsideration of the case. Specifically, Mary Ingle, who was speaking on behalf of the neighborhood association, requested that the board remove the reasonable conditions attached to their initial ruling. In a Nov. 19 letter to the board, Rick Iverson, the co-president of the North University Neighborhood Association, requested the removal of conditions associated with the University Neighborhood Overlay in order to be replaced with conditions that aligned more closely with the neighborhood character. Gregg Andrulis, representing the original applicant for the variance, said that she “supports the recommendation for the removal of the condition.” The neighborhood association requested 4-foot sidewalks instead of 12-foot sidewalks, 15-foot setbacks, appropriate landscaping for the area, and no required lighting. After reopening the case, the board unanimously re-approved the motion to approve the lot size variance “using the findings we previously used at the last meeting” with the conditions itemized on the letter from Rick Iverson.