Four members of City Council will be visiting Toronto, Ontario, with a delegation from the Austin Chamber of Commerce on Sunday. Their return to Austin is scheduled for next Tuesday night, according to chamber spokesman Jeremy Martin. Martin said the Austin delegation would include about 100 people. Among those are Council Members Sheri Gallo, Pio Renteria and Ellen Troxclair. Jim Wick, spokesman for Mayor Steve Adler, told the Austin Monitor, “Mayor Adler is traveling to Toronto at the invitation of Mayor John Tory, who we hosted here during South by Southwest of this year. It happens to coincide with the Austin Chamber trip, as well.” The chamber sponsors a similar trip to an urban destination every year, with the goal of educating its members and other attendees about how other cities solve their problems. According to Martin, “The sessions we’ve scheduled will feature Toronto’s best practices on affordable housing, regional transit, special events, the creative economy, workforce development and a special presentation featuring Richard Florida.” Florida, a social scientist and economist who developed the Creative Class concept, is also the researcher who published a study earlier this year saying Austin is the most economically segregated large metropolitan area in the U.S. and Canada. He is also on the faculty of the University of Toronto. City management types have been wondering how many Council members would go on the trip because they needed to know whether there would be a quorum for next Tuesday’s work session. Apparently there will be. In case you were wondering, Martin said the high temperature in Toronto is expected to be in the 50s, with the low in the 40s.

Based on a conversation at a work session Tuesday, it appears that City Council will postpone a public hearing on an ordinance that would limit the redevelopment of small, substandard lots. Though scheduled for Thursday’s Council meeting, Jerry Rusthoven of the Planning and Zoning Department told Council that staff plans to request postponement of the item until Dec. 17. According to backup documents, the postponement will allow additional time for the Planning Commission to review the ordinance. Hearing no objections from Council members, Mayor Steve Adler announced that he expects Council will grant the postponement request. “I want that to be known far and wide, if possible,” he said. According to backup documents, the ordinance would limit use of the city’s small-lot amnesty infill tool – which exists to allow development or redevelopment on substandard lots where it would have “otherwise been impossible” – so that the tool cannot be used to break sites down into smaller lots that do not meet current size requirements.

Austin Habitat for Humanity announced Tuesday the appointment of Phyllis Snodgrass to be the organization’s new CEO, beginning Nov. 2. Currently, Snodgrass serves as the COO of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, and in the past she has been an executive at the Texas Association of Business and president of the San Marcos and Athens chambers of commerce (both in Texas). “In my mind, affordability is the most critical issue in our community today,” said Snodgrass in an announcement about her appointment. “Austin Habitat is certainly going to do its part to provide as many affordable homeownership opportunities for Austin families as possible.” Snodgrass’ appointment is just one of several causes for celebration, according to Austin Habitat’s announcement. Not only is the nonprofit celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, but it will be opening a new Community Home Center in the fall. The new facility, to be located at 500 W. Ben White Blvd., will combine the organization’s administrative offices, construction warehouse and ReStore (where it sells used construction materials), which are currently located at three different facilities.

The Workers Defense Project/Proyecto Defensa Laboral declared victory Tuesday after The Austin Chronicle reported that the city had bested White Lodging Services Corp. in a long-running dispute over wages. As Chronicle reporter Michael King noted, Thursday’s City Council consent agenda shows that White Lodging will be repaying the city $2.4 million in fees that were initially waived for construction of the JW Marriott downtown. According to an announcement from the Workers Defense Project, “In 2011, White Lodging Services Corps. agreed to pay construction workers prevailing wages in exchange for millions of dollars in City of Austin fee waivers. … In 2013, Workers Defense Project and other community groups alerted Austin City Council that despite receiving the fee waivers, White Lodging was not requiring prevailing wages on their Marriott project.” In apparent agreement, White Lodging will not only be returning those fees, but it will be dropping a lawsuit against the city related to the matter; the city will be dismissing its countersuit in return. “This agreement is a victory for Austin construction workers and taxpayers,” announced the Workers Defense Project. “With this settlement, Austin is holding White Lodging accountable for breaking their end of the bargain. Tax breaks must be used responsibly, and in a way that benefits the broader community.”

The City Council Public Safety Committee voted 3-0 Monday to recommend that the full Council disapprove an application from Acute Medical Services, LLC of Humble, Texas, to provide nonemergency ambulance services in Austin/Travis County. Although Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services provides the only emergency ambulance service, there are two franchisees that provide nonemergency transport, American Medical Response and Acadian Ambulance Service, according to EMS spokesman Rick Branning. Branning told the committee that Acute Medical Services had applied to operate in Travis County last September. The department performed a final review and vehicle inspection in April and found significant deficiencies, including an inability to demonstrate sufficient liability insurance. In addition, he said, the vehicles proposed for use were missing required medicine. Staff recommended to the ATCEMS advisory board that members disapprove the application. Council will set a public hearing on the franchise application as part of Thursday’s Council meeting.

This past Sunday, Zilker neighborhood resident David King sent out an email to his neighbors calling on them to petition members of City Council and various city and county boards and committees to reappoint Jeff Jack and Jim Duncan to the city’s Code Advisory Group, which was established by Council in 2013 to “facilitate public outreach and make recommendations regarding the rewrite of the land development code (LDC),” according to King. The new 10-1 Council is currently in the process of appointing new members and reappointing new members to the CAG, which it recently expanded, and King is concerned that without Jack and Duncan, the group will be less vigilant about ensuring that “neighborhood interests” are taken into consideration in the LDC. “Their detailed knowledge of the current land development code is essential to ensuring that neighborhood plans, compatibility standards and hard-fought protections for the waterfront, environment, trees and watersheds are accurately reflected in the new land development code,” King wrote.

City Council Member Leslie Pool has joined her colleagues in Districts 1 and 4 by offering her constituents a chance to weigh in directly on their transportation spending priorities. Interested parties can find that opportunity here, where they will be asked to, according to a release from Pool’s office, “prioritize mobility projects in District 7.” Adds the release: “My staff has worked with the Transportation Department to identify some of District 7’s highest needs, based on community concerns we have heard and research staff has done. We have grouped these projects into ‘mobility packages.'”

Starting next Monday, Oct. 5, at 6 a.m., a portion of the Southern Walnut Creek Trail will be closed for 15 business days while staff from the Public Works Department addresses erosion issues and do a little preventative maintenance. The portion of the trail stretching from Delwau Lane to FM 969 (MLK Jr. Boulevard) will be open on weekends and then will reopen for good at 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23. In the meantime, weekday trail users traveling south are advised to exit at the YMCA and use 51st Street to get to Springdale Road, while those traveling north would do well to use Springdale as an alternative to the trail. For your inconvenience you can thank flood damage from earlier this year and the promise of a rainy fall.

City Council members are turning their attention to the quarter-cent fund, which was created in the early 2000s by an interlocal agreement between the city of Austin and the Capital Metro Transportation Authority. Much of the fund has been spent, but the remaining portion – $21.8 million – is to be divided “equitably across all districts” on transportation and mobility improvement projects, per a Council resolution passed in June. District 4 Council Member Greg Casar posted a message on the City Council Message Board announcing the results of a survey soliciting feedback on residents’ preferences for spending in the district and explaining that after receiving those results, “We block-walked and phone-banked residents in the areas where the improvements would take place, completing more than 200 surveys.” He also noted that his team had received more than 100 RSVPs for a Sept. 30 community meeting about the matter. Meanwhile, District 1 Council Member Ora Houston has requested more time for public outreach in her district. According to a message posted by her policy aide, Christopher Hutchins, she wants 30 more days to gather input and hopes to postpone an Oct. 17 town forum on the matter so that District 1 neighborhoods can discuss the issue first, during their October meetings. Hutchins did not suggest a new date for the forum.

The next Beers, Brains and Betterment event is around the corner, this time with a focus on the state of Austin music. Hosted by the Capital of Texas Media Foundation/the Austin Monitor, the monthly series brings local luminaries together to discuss Austin’s most pressing issues. This month’s installment focuses on Austin’s music scene, particularly in light of the recent releases of the Austin Music Census report and Austin Music People’s biennial white paper, and considering ever growing tensions between outdoor music festivals and the Travis County Commissioners Courts’ new restrictions on mass gatherings. Monitor Publisher Mike Kanin will host a panel discussion featuring City Council Member Greg Casar (District 4), AMP Executive Director Jennifer Houlihan, local artist Tee-Double, Transmission Events General Manager Bobby Garza, and Brad Spies, former chair of the city’s Music Commission and current head of brand development for South by Southwest. The panel will take place Oct. 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at the North Door, 502 Brushy St. Save your spot here.

East Austin residents of Lakeview Apartments protested Saturday morning in front of the suburban home of their apartment complex’s owner in West Austin. After learning in June that their apartment building, at 2401 South Lakeshore Blvd., would soon be demolished, they received notices that they would need to move out by the end of September, according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman. With the hope of postponing a move-out date, the group of about 30 or so residents, along with supporters, took the matter straight to the landlord’s front door, where they left notes detailing their demands and then lined up in front of the home, chanting, “Que queremos? Justicia! Respeto! Respeto! Respeto nuestros derechos!” The landlord did not answer the door.

The Austin Monitor‘s annual survey is back, and we hope readers will take this chance to share feedback on our coverage over the last year (give or take). As an extra incentive, one respondent will win a free five-day pass to Wanderlust yoga studio. The survey is available here until Wednesday, Oct. 14. Let us know what you think!