Members of the Historic Landmark Commission came very close to taking action on the Sebron Sneed House at their meeting Monday. The ruins of the house, which are historic, have long stood in disrepair at 1801 Nelms Drive. City attempts to rectify the situation have been slow moving, to say the least. This time around, Historic Preservation Officer Steve Sadowsky issued a caveat that he thought it was “still too early to take action.” Sadowsky advised commissioners to postpone the case once again. “Last time I made an impression on (the owners) by visiting their offices, so I think I will do that again.” Commissioner Terri Myers observed, “I’ve been on the commission for a long time, and I think it’s been on for my entire tenure … it’s been on for six years, at least. I remember when the architect used to actually meet with us.” Sadowsky said that was different ownership, and different negotiations. “We are on it,” he said. The city recently sent a second certified letter and has yet to hear a response. A 60-day limit has not yet been reached, though, and Sadowsky indicated that they should wait out that deadline. “I’m ready for you to drop the hammer,” said Commissioner Alex Papavasiliou. Myers, after repeating the phrase “six years” a few more times, declared, “This is ridiculous. It’s sitting out there like a bump on a pickle, and has been for years.” Sadowsky explained that the next step “could include taking them to Municipal Court” if the city’s Law Department agreed. Commissioners voted to postpone the case to their next meeting, which will take place on April 23, with a request that information about next steps and how to take them will be included.

The Austin Monitor obtained a copy of an email sent the morning of March 27 formally requesting that Travis County and the city of Austin investigate Stephen Oliver for a possible conflict of interest between his professional work as an architect and his review of CodeNEXT as the Planning Commission chair. The email, signed by Bill Aleshire, Bill Bunch, Mike Hebert and Fred Lewis, alleges that Oliver has used his position in the Planning Commission to influence the CodeNEXT draft’s regulation of breweries, a business that his firm, OPA Design Studio Inc., specializes in designing. Oliver’s failure to recuse himself from discussions involving breweries, the email concludes, is a violation of Texas Local Government Code Chapter 171 as well as Austin City Code, section 2-7-63. “We ask the City Council to remove Oliver from the Planning Commission,” the email states. In a written response given to the Monitor, Oliver said: “When expertise was of value in conversations related to code, market factors, or the development process, I have offered my opinion. In matters related to recommendations specific to breweries, distilleries, wineries, and their respective code and mapping, I will continue my practice of appropriately recusing myself from any related votes.”

Developed in 1871 as a freedom settlement, Austin’s Clarksville neighborhood has a rich history. In conjunction with Rodney McMillian’s exhibition “Against a Civic Death,” and in connection with the University of Texas photography exhibit “Seen & Unseen: A Sunday Afternoon in Clarksville,” the Contemporary Austin is hosting a walking tour of the neighborhood on Saturday, May 19. Reservations for the free tour open April 2, and space is limited. Participants will visit historic landmarks such as Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church and the Haskell House and discuss the impact of these historic places against the backdrop of the current landscape.

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors voted unanimously on Monday to suspend fare collection during the first full week of June. The free rides will coincide with the major bus network overhaul that came out of the Connections 2025 planning process. Now branded as the CapRemap, the new system will prioritize frequency over geographic coverage and feature a total of 14 routes that arrive every 15 minutes or faster during daytime hours. The agency predicts the free week, which runs from June 3 to 9, will cost approximately $310,000 in lost revenue. However, sales tax receipts have so far this year been higher than forecast and will be able to cover the losses. City Council Member Delia Garza, the board’s vice chair, raised the possibility of extending the free period to two weeks or perhaps throughout the entire month of June. Based on the staff recommendation, Chair Wade Cooper suggested passing the free week for now and exploring extending it at subsequent meetings, a proposal that Garza accepted. One reason for supporting the free rides, she suggested, is the palliative effect it could have on lingering public anxieties over the sweeping changes in store for the bus network. “If we could expand that free fare, it provides another opportunity for our community to get buy-in on this big change,” she maintained. “So I would appreciate the further consideration of extending it as long as we could financially do that.”

Art in Public Places is extending TEMPO, its temporary public exhibition, to include muralists.  AIPP has opened up a request for qualifications for TEMPO 2-D, soliciting submissions of mural designs that will be “hand-painted, digitally-printed vinyl adhesives or temporarily attached panels for locations ranging from public parks to the Austin Bergstrom International Airport, among other sites.” Once a design is chosen, the press release says, “artists will work with the community to develop murals that reflect the character of their chosen location and special consideration will be given to artists with lived experience in the neighborhoods where they are proposing artwork.” Muralists who are chosen will receive anywhere from $2,000 to $7,000, “contingent on the size and complexity of the project.” Artists may apply here by Thursday, April 26, at 5 p.m. In addition, AIPP is holding three informational meetings: Thursday, March 22, 6-7 p.m. at Howson Library; Monday, March 26, 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Dougherty Arts Center; and Thursday, March 29, 6-7 p.m. at North Village Library.

The city’s Development Services Department is improving the process for demolition permitting, and it has been collecting citizen input on how to do so at SpeakUpAustin.org. This survey will remain open through Sunday, April 1. In addition to, or in lieu of, providing online comments, those with an interest in the issue are invited to the second public meeting this Wednesday, March 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Waller Creek Center. After input has been collected, staff will hold a third meeting to share the draft proposal Wednesday, April 11, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at One Texas Center.

Every year, Austin Public Health receives Federal Community Services Block Grant money to develop and support city and county services that aim to combat poverty. The funds are distributed among the department’s six Neighborhood Centers, which then provide the services, such as food pantries, health screenings by registered nurses, social work and more. To keep up with the changing population, the department conducts a survey every three years to assess the biggest needs in the community. The data collected in the survey are used to determine how to distribute the funding to the centers. All Austin and Travis County residents are encouraged to complete the survey, which takes about 15 minutes. It will be online until March 30.

There are 10 cities in PolicyLink’s All-In Cities Anti-Displacement Policy Network, and Austin will be one of them. The network’s purpose is to develop a comprehensive anti-displacement policy agenda thorough exploring equitable development strategies like inclusionary zoning, community land trusts and renter protection programs. The other nine member cities are Boston; Buffalo, New York; Denver; Nashville, Tennessee; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; San Jose, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Representatives from the participating cities will have their first meeting in Chicago at the PolicyLink Equity Summit from April 11 to 13. Austin’s representatives include Nefertitti Jackmon, executive director of Six Square – Austin’s Black Cultural District; José M.A. Velásquez, executive director of Hermanos de East Austin; Nadia Kalinchuk, program manager for the city’s Equity Office; and Matthew Ramirez, planner in the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department, as well as Mayor Steve Adler and Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo. “Dealing with displacement is a huge priority for Austin,” said Tovo in the city’s news release. “Our collaboration with other cities will help us identify the most effective strategies, and our team’s participation will complement other anti-displacement efforts currently underway in Austin.”

On Thursday, City Council voted to set the date of its CodeNEXT public hearings. Those meetings will take place on Tuesday, May 29, and Saturday, June 2. Both meetings will start at 10 a.m. and focus exclusively on the Land Development Code rewrite. With those dates looming, CodeNEXT fever is officially upon us, as the massive rewrite is moving forward in earnest. In that spirit, on Tuesday, the City Council Housing and Planning Committee will have a briefing on the affordable housing section of CodeNEXT. In a post on the City Council Message Board, Council Member Greg Casar noted, “To prevent an identical presentation at a special called meeting, I would like to extend an invitation to all Council Members to attend our meeting on Tuesday.”

Despite a very strongly worded letter about the Waller Creek Tunnel’s “defective” construction, KUT reports the project might not be a complete disaster after all. Mose Buchele reported on Friday that “staff at Austin’s Watershed Protection Department remain confident that the tunnel will still lift 28 acres of downtown real estate out of the 100-year floodplain.” Read more on their site, here.

The Economic Development Department will try to use pedal-power to unlock the potential of a burgeoning East Austin corridor. The department has decreed Saturday, March 31, to be Bike to Manor Road Day, an event designed to highlight the street’s relative bicycle and pedestrian friendliness and bring attention to the shops and restaurants along Manor. Some of those businesses will provide discounts, Austin’s Yellow Bike Project will offer free giveaways, and staff will hand out free bike maps and trip planning advice. More information can be found right here.

On Saturday, April 14, the Parks and Recreation Department and Public Works Department will present plans for the Nash Hernandez building at Festival Beach and the first phase of the Holly Shores Master Plan. The meeting, which will take place at Metz Recreation Center from 10 a.m. until noon, will have a short presentation, and time to review plans and ask city staff questions.