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Austin Monitor
Austin launches education and outreach initiative targeting hate crimes
The city of Austin last week launched the We All Belong Anti-Hate Initiative, an education and outreach campaign intended as a response to a string of hate crime incidents reported across the city. A group of leaders from the city, Travis County and other parts of the community gathered at...
Downtown Commission hears plans to address Rainey Street safety
The Downtown Commission last week gave an unofficial thumbs-up to the city’s efforts to improve safety in the Rainey Street nightlife district, in an effort to prevent more drownings in the area. On July 19, representatives from the Parks and Recreation Department and The Trail Conservancy gave an update...
Greg Casar calls for national standard to prevent heat-related illness, deaths on construction sites
Amid an oppressive summer, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar is calling on the federal government to enact stricter protections for workers to ensure they don’t suffer heat-related illness on the job. Casar, a former City Council member whose congressional district includes parts of Austin and San Antonio, led efforts to...
Council approves taller buildings in part of Sixth Street entertainment district
City Council has approved an increase in building height for a portion of the East Sixth Street entertainment district that has been targeted for redevelopment by a Dallas-based real estate firm. The ordinance amendment approved Thursday after a public hearing will allow buildings on the 500 and 600 blocks of...
New rules for addressing City Council ‘postponed indefinitely’
At the beginning of Thursday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Kirk Watson announced that a plan to cut back on public input had been “postponed indefinitely.”. Many speakers criticized rules originally proposed by City Clerk Myrna Rios, and they expressed hope that such restrictions would not come back at any time.
Austin ISD considers adding 70 police officers to comply with new Texas school safety law
The Austin Independent School District is considering nearly doubling the size of its police department to comply with a new state law that takes effect Sept. 1. House Bill 3 is a piece of sweeping school safety legislation that Texas lawmakers passed this year in response to the Uvalde school shooting. HB 3 requires school districts to have at least one armed security officer on each campus during regular school hours. Districts can meet the requirement in several ways, such as hiring school police officers or partnering with local law enforcement agencies to assign personnel to campuses.
Council greenlights change to reduce land size needed to build a home in Austin
The size of land Austinites need to build a home on is about to get smaller – as part of an effort to encourage developers to build smaller and cheaper houses. City Council on Thursday approved a resolution that will start the process. The initiative would reduce the size of land required to build a home, or what is referred to in the land code as minimum lot size, by more than half.
Council OKs lawsuit settlements related to injuries, land
City Council agreed Thursday to settle five lawsuits, including paying $1.2 million to a protester who was injured during the protests outside the Austin Police Department in May 2020. Bomani Barton, who was shot by a police officer with three beanbag rounds, agreed to drop his suit against the city...
$9.1M emergency homeless shelter at the Marshalling Yard expected to open by end of August
City Council on Thursday approved a proposal to operate a $9.1 million temporary emergency homeless shelter at the Marshalling Yard, a city-owned facility located near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The move comes as Austin sees 10 straight days of temperatures reaching 105 degrees or higher, creating urgency for Council members...
Council orders overhaul of SMART housing program
City Council voted this week to proceed with an overhaul of the SMART housing program. The SMART (Safe, Mixed-Income, Accessible, Reasonably Priced, Transit-Oriented) housing program grants certain fee waivers to housing developments that agree to include affordable housing. The list of waived fees includes permit, capital recovery and construction inspection fees.
Proposed budget emphasizes city basics, long-term financial stability
Interim City Manager Jesús Garza and city financial staff on Wednesday presented their proposed $5.5 billion budget for 2023-24. Austin taxpayers currently pay 46.27 cents per $100 taxable value. That rate will decline to 42.42 cents for next year, although increased property values will mean that the typical Austin homeowner will still see a 1.5 percent increase in their tax bill from the city, which is estimated to be close to $26 a year. Overall, the city expects to collect 3.2 percent more in property taxes next year than it currently does.
Garza explains motivations behind proposed changes to Equity, Civil Rights offices
At Wednesday’s budget work session, interim City Manager Jesús Garza offered some of his rationale behind the proposed reorganization of four city offices, a change that has drawn criticism from community groups involved in equality and racial justice. During the session, City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes asked Garza...
Council to formalize $200 minimum pay for musicians at city events
City Council will likely adopt a new pay scale for musicians performing for city events today, adopting a rate of $200 per musician as a base rate with a sliding scale for performers in larger groups. The resolution set for a vote Thursday would formalize a rate that has been in place in many departments since last year, sending a clear message to all local agencies that there is a new, higher minimum rate for municipally sponsored concerts.
County approves Travis Club development, despite community objections
The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday passed a motion approving an initial phase of the Travis Club development, a 1,047-acre property – featuring golf course lots, a marina and more than 500 housing units – that is slated for construction at the intersection of Bee Creek Road and Thurman Bend Drive. This was despite appeals from community members who took to the Travis County Commissioners Court to voice concerns with the project.
TipSheet: City Council, 7.20.23
Today, City Council returns from its summer break with a hefty 196-item agenda that may test the startling efficiency of Mayor Kirk Watson. Of course, not all of those items will warrant a discussion (or coverage), but we’ve done our level best to figure out which of those 196 topics might cause a stir on the dais.
Council considers code amendments to relax single-family zoning rules
City Council will consider an item at this week’s meeting that would begin the process of relaxing the city’s strict single-family zoning rules. Item 126, sponsored by Council Member Leslie Pool, directs the city manager to propose code amendments that reduce the minimum lot size from 5,750 to 2,500 square feet or less, so that existing standard-size lots can be subdivided and developed with a variety of housing types, such as row houses, townhomes, tri- and fourplexes, garden homes and cottage courts. The resolution would also amend the code to permit the development of three units on single-family lots.
Do Austin’s new bus shelters cut it in the Texas heat?
Under Austin’s scorching afternoon sun, Elijah Archie finds himself at the outskirts of Capital Metro’s service area. He’s on Decker Lane, earbuds in, eyes scanning for the bus. He’s standing next to one of the public transit provider’s sleek, new silver bus shelters. Archie wasn’t...
Council member asks for analysis of Austin Tourism Public Improvement District plan, including homelessness aid
The plan for an Austin Tourism Public Improvement District is set for a deep-dive analysis, after City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes requested a briefing on it during a work session Tuesday. The draft plan would create an agreement with local hotels that could generate about $7 million a year for...
City makes Barton Springs Road safety improvements ahead of pilot
The city recently began work on a series of safety improvements to the crash-prone stretch of Barton Springs Road between Stratford Drive – inside Zilker Park – and South Lamar Boulevard, ahead of a yearlong pilot program that has prompted a mixed response. The improvements include a reduction...
Proposal to reorganize Equity, Civil Rights offices draws criticism ahead of budget release
The proposed reorganization of a handful of city offices under the early draft of the city budget is drawing criticism from community groups, who argue the changes will undermine years of work to improve equity, civil rights and services to underserved communities. As part of the budget plan delivered to...
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