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Hotel, multifamily developers sought for convention center reconstruction project
Leaders at the Austin Convention Center have set their sights on building a new hotel or a multifamily residential project as part of the forthcoming reconstruction of the downtown site. The timeline for the solicitation of developers was among the details shared during Tuesday’s City Council work session, with convention...
Austin receives $1M from EPA for plans to combat pollution
The city has received a $1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency that will fund climate action plans for Central Texas. The grant was announced Monday morning at City Hall, where members of City Council and federal lawmakers gathered to celebrate the award that is part of the EPA’s $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program.
Partners unite in fight against opioid epidemic
On Thursday, the city of Austin, Central Health and community partners delivered presentations to the Travis County Commissioners Court addressing ongoing opioid crisis abatement measures in the greater Austin area. At present, major interventions include the distribution of naloxone (a lifesaving drug that can reverse opioid overdoses), overdose education, harm...
Public Safety Commission begins discussion of how people with disabilities relate to policing
The Public Safety Commission recently considered a pair of reports issued by the Office of Police Oversight regarding policing and people with disabilities. At the commission meeting last week, Austin police leadership also responded to the reports, emphasizing ongoing training on building empathy for people with disabilities and also emphasizing obstacles to implementing some of the resulting recommendations, including those related to data collection.
Possible Austin city manager candidate causes ‘s—show,’ but also sheds light on recruiting process
Austin’s been without a permanent city manager since Spencer Cronk was fired a year ago. The search for his replacement began in earnest this year, and it took a pretty messy turn when a possible candidate for the position called Austin a “- – – -show.”
Commissioners seek parking study, Polo Field restoration
Two parking items cleared the Environmental Commission last week, a notable achievement considering that certain parking issues tend to devolve into prolonged debates. At its Feb. 7 meeting, commissioners considered two proposals within the framework of City Council’s elimination of minimum parking requirements. First, Commissioner Hanna Cofer introduced a proposal requesting that the city of Austin work with an independent research partner to study the environmental impacts of various types of parking and determine best practices toward advancing the city’s climate goals.
Legacy grocery and botanica in East Austin on its way to landmark status
An East Austin grocery-turned-herbal and spiritual goods shop is on its way to securing historic zoning protections, with Historic Landmark Commissioners voting unanimously last week to punt the case to the city’s Planning Commission. Commissioners say that Green and White Grocery, which has stood at the intersection of Waller...
Public Health Committee weighs Marshalling Yard complaints, McKinsey homelessness study
Members of Vocal-TX, a grassroots organization that represents low-income people directly impacted by homelessness, and other Austin residents raised concerns about City Council’s handling of homelessness at the Public Health Committee meeting on Wednesday. Their concerns centered on Marshalling Yard, the city’s new temporary emergency homeless shelter, and a recently approved $2 million contract with McKinsey & Company to assess related Austin-area services, spurring committee members to ask city staff to bring the contract back to Council for further review.
City, event planners talk planning and street closures during SXSW festival season
The city has started evaluating event permits and scheduling street closures taking place during next month’s South by Southwest festival, the 10-day period referred to in city planning circles as spring festival season. One of those planned closures announced during a stakeholder meeting held last month by Austin Center...
Water reuse plan coming back to Council next month
In March, City Council is scheduled to consider making on-site water reuse mandatory for a majority of large future projects as part of the city’s Water Forward plan. Council postponed consideration of the reclaimed water reuse rule last November after Austin Water recommended a delay to look at how they might lower the price and establish some exemptions for affordable housing projects.
Dirty Martin’s would be spared under new concept for light rail
A 98-year-old hamburger restaurant wouldn’t be flipped off the map to make space for Austin’s new light-rail system under conceptual plans revealed by the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP), the local government corporation building the 10-mile transit system. But the owner of Dirty Martin’s Place, established in 1926, isn’t...
Lost Creek, five other areas to vote on leaving the city
Texas Republicans and Democrats will be going to the polls on March 5 to select their candidates for the November election. But another election is coming in May, and the only people who get a chance to vote in it are those who live in the Lost Creek Municipal Utility District or one of five other areas seeking to disannex from the city.
Music Commission wants tight guidelines on venues receiving Live Music Fund awards
The Music Commission has formed a working group that could reshape how the city will award grants to live music venues as part of an expansion of the Live Music Fund. The group, which will likely include five commission members and operators of a handful of local venues, is expected to deliver its recommendations by the end of March so city staff can move forward with the rollout of the $4.5 million program.
Charter Review Commission suggests more transparency in petition process
The city’s Charter Review Commission continues to take a close look at the petition process in Austin in anticipation of putting changes on this November’s ballot. At the most recent meeting, commissioners discussed a new “letter of intent” that aims to add transparency to a process that is somewhat shrouded in secrecy until signatures are collected and handed in to the city clerk for validation.
New restaurants to pave the way for Stream Realty’s Sixth Street revitalization
The real estate group looking to revitalize the Sixth Street entertainment district just west of Interstate 35 is betting that a wave of new restaurants will be the initial difference-maker in the move to gradually strip the area of its “Dirty Sixth” reputation. Paul Bodenman, senior vice president...
Council takes next step toward new density bonus plan along rail line
City Council last week approved a resolution designed to increase Austin’s chances of winning federal money to assist in building the first phase of Project Connect with an emphasis on development of housing for low- and middle-income residents along the rail line. In addition, the resolution directs staff to modify downtown parking regulations and amend the East Riverside Corridor Regulating Plan by creating an Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) overlay for properties located on or near the rail line. The new overlay will offer opportunities for creation of a density bonus program within the ETOD district.
Austin police investigating stabbing of pro-Palestinian demonstrator as hate crime
Austin police are investigating a stabbing near the University of Texas campus over the weekend as a hate crime. Zacharia Doar, 23, was grabbing a bite to eat with three of his friends Sunday after attending a rally in support of Palestinian rights and calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Interfaith organizer, LGBTQ advocate Doug Greco running for mayor
A third official candidate jumped in to the race for mayor of Austin on Monday. Doug Greco, who announced last week that he was stepping down from his post as executive director and lead organizer of Central Texas Interfaith, announced his candidacy, declaring that he wants to address “inequality, unaffordability, (and) the increasingly difficult path of making ends meet for folks in Austin.”
Push for low-carbon concrete taking longer to solidify than anticipated
The city of Austin is following up on its promise to transition to low-carbon concrete, though it says the plan will take several years to settle into place. Staff from the Office of the City Engineer joined the Joint Sustainability Committee last week for the first update since City Council’s resolution to mandate standards for lower emissions for cement mixes used on city projects last April. While staffers insist they have sprung to action gathering construction emissions data and reaching out to local concrete vendors, they say a lag in industry participation and public safety concerns will likely drag out implementation to sometime in 2026.
HealthSouth redevelopment scenarios spell out options for affordable housing downtown
The Housing Department has presented City Council with the four scenarios most likely to spur redevelopment of the former HealthSouth site on the eastern edge of downtown. A memo from Housing Director Mandy DeMayo spells out for Council the findings of Economic & Planning Systems Inc. in its analysis of how the city can adjust levels of affordable housing, subsidies and density to bring different kinds of mixed use to the parcels located at 1215 Red River St. and 606 E. 12th St.
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