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City awards $4.5M to help Austin Playhouse construct dual-theater facility
The city has selected the Austin Playhouse theater group as the latest recipient of creative space bond money, with City Council set to approve a $4.5 million award at today’s meeting. That money will allow the independent arts group to construct two theater venues with an outdoor patio, lobby, classroom and studio space and the ability to serve as an art gallery as needed.
TipSheet: Austin City Council, 12.14.23
The last City Council meeting of the year is here. Breaking from a tradition that the final meeting of any year is longer than reason, Council opted to take up its most contentious items – amendments to the Land Development Code – in a separate (and very long!) meeting last week. Nonetheless, there are still several items of note on this week’s regular agenda, and we’ve compiled them below. The entire agenda can be read here.
Summer heat surge caused $115M overspend at Austin Energy
High energy usage brought on by months of severe summer heat caused Austin Energy to spend far more than the utility forecast through the end of the last fiscal year, with a forthcoming rate increase likely to help restore its cash reserves. At Tuesday’s meeting of City Council’s Austin Energy...
Council to consider eliminating nonresident library card fees
City Council will consider an item this week directing the city manager to amend the fee and fine ordinance to do away with the nonresident library card fee for residents of the city’s limited-purpose and extraterritorial jurisdictions. Currently, Austin residents can get a free library card only if they...
Bald eagle sightings appear to be on the rise in Austin
A slew of bald eagle sightings in Austin has excited birders and nonbirders alike. The iconic raptors are not particularly common in the area, but, according to reports by citizen scientists, their numbers appear to be on the rise. The first well-publicized recent sighting took place over Lake Austin in...
Court signs order overturning three zoning ordinances
On Monday, Travis County District Court Judge Jessica Mangrum released her official ruling in Acuña v. City of Austin, finding that City Council violated prior court orders and state law when it approved three major zoning ordinances in 2022. The court also found that one ordinance challenged by plaintiffs is still valid because of a state law preventing challenges of municipal ordinances after three years.
Council set to commit $15.4 million for design work on I-35 caps and stitches
City Council plans to move forward with adding four plaza-like caps and four “stitch” crossings to portions of the reconstruction of Interstate 35. A memo released yesterday from Transportation and Public Works Department Director Richard Mendoza updates Council and Mayor Kirk Watson on the timeline and funding options involved in the cap-and-stitch effort, which is projected to cost more than $500 million on top of the state’s budget for sinking and expanding the roadway.
Austin declared new drought restrictions in August. Water use stayed the same.
On Aug. 15, Austin was 39 days into its longest triple-digit heat wave ever recorded. The extreme heat had created a “climate feedback loop,” locking in the worst drought the city has seen in 113 years. By mid-August, reservoirs on the Colorado River – which provide the city with water – were 46 percent full and dropping.
Planning Commission to allow time donation once again
In a return to prepandemic form, speakers at the Planning Commission will once again be able to donate and amass time in order to allow presentations of up to 10 minutes. As of today, in-person speakers can receive donated time that is about double what they would normally be allotted. That means primary speakers will get up to eight, not five, minutes. And speakers who would normally have two or three minutes to speak can get up to four or six minutes, respectively. They will not apply to those who opt to speak virtually at Planning Commission meetings.
Austin hasn’t allowed more police oversight, despite voter approval. Now it’s getting sued.
A lawsuit in a Travis County court aims to force Austin’s hand in rolling out a voter-backed plan to increase police oversight. Austin voters approved Proposition A in May by a four-to-one margin. The measure, known as the Austin Police Oversight Act, roundly defeated an opposing plan backed by the city’s police union. The APOA was set up to bolster the investigative power of the city’s citizen-led Office of Police Oversight.
Labor, affordability remain concerns in strong Austin real estate sector
Austin’s diverse and growing economy has kept the Central Texas region one of the most attractive real estate markets in the country in recent years, but local developers see some recurring issues – affordability, land use policy and the local labor supply – impacting the construction of housing and other building types.
Program supporting underutilized businesses shows progress
Travis County’s Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program made remarkable progress in the last few years despite a few setbacks and political challenges, county officials say. The annual report for the program, which promotes equal procurement opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses, showed increases in the percentage of county contracts...
Austin to allow more homes on one plot of land in the pursuit of cheaper housing
In an attempt to encourage the construction of middle-class housing, Austin voted Thursday to amend land use rules to let property owners build more homes in neighborhoods restricted to one family living in one house on one plot of land. City Council members voted 9-2 in favor of the changes,...
Audit shows changes needed at Development Services Department
Nearly a decade after a damning evaluation of the city’s planning and development processes resulted in more than 460 recommended changes, a recent audit of two smaller components of the Development Services Department found some steps left incomplete from a pair of more recent reviews. On Wednesday, the Audit...
County emphasizes winter safety awareness
As Travis County officials detailed plans and preparations for the next big winter storm, some said that the public might not be taking the threat seriously enough. On Tuesday, leaders from the Office of Emergency Management, Transportation and Natural Resources, Health and Human Services, EMS and other departments briefed the Travis County Commissioners Court. Commissioners applauded the work completed so far and voted unanimously in favor of a county winter safety awareness proclamation.
Republican push for hand counting leads to uncertainty about Travis County’s 2024 primaries
A divide between Travis County’s local political parties on hand counting and paper ballots is leading to uncertainty about how the county will administer the 2024 primaries. In a Tuesday letter to Travis County Clerk Dyana Limon-Mercado, Travis County Democratic Party Chair Katie Naranjo expressed the party’s concern about...
Amendments, memos point to finer steps for implementing HOME initiative
With City Council slated to decide the fate of the HOME initiative today, a last bit of analysis from city staff appears to back the intent and approach of the push to add more housing stock throughout the city. In a memo released Tuesday, Housing Department Director Rosie Truelove responded...
Preservation of East Austin Folk Victorian home advances to City Council
A Historic Landmark Commission-led bid for historic zoning in East Austin won the endorsement of the Planning Commission at its most recent meeting, despite opposition by the owner. Commissioners voted 10-1 in favor of preserving the original footprint of the home, with Commissioner Jennifer Mushtaler voting in opposition. Vice Chair...
Total eclipse could bring massive crowds in 2024
Parts of Travis County could double or even triple in population in April 2024 as visitors come here to see the total eclipse of the sun, county officials said Tuesday. Travis County sits on the eastern edge of the 115-mile-wide viewing path of the eclipse, which will begin just after noon April 8. Western Travis County is well within the path and is expected to attract the most visitors.
Public Safety Commission pushes for full implementation of police oversight measures
The Public Safety Commission chided the Office of Police Oversight for its lack of communication and progress regarding the implementation of the Austin Police Oversight Act and a related ordinance enacting some of the act’s provisions. “It’s now December, and we are now finally starting to see some of...
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