On May 16, Austin City Council will take public input and vote on housing reforms aimed at making Austin more walkable, transit-friendly, affordable, and sustainable. These changes are: Council is billing these as “transit-supportive” changes because these changes are partly…
Who should determine what housing can be built in Austin? Austin’s democratically elected city council or an archaic process that only gives power to property owners? Groups opposed to a new land development code are suing to only include property…
People say houses have gotten expensive in Austin. That’s wrong. The houses haven’t gotten expensive — the land has. And it’s mostly due to our laws. Building a house is not expensive. While the cost of building a house went…
The recent decision by the Travis County District Court ruling that policy changes such as the land development code rewrite are subject to zoning petition protests by homeowners is disappointing. Unless overturned, the ruling effectively requires a super-majority of City…
Much of conflict over Austin Land Development Code rewrite occurs over the “Transition Zones”. During the city council meeting on February 12th, Mayor Adler and Council Member Tovo discussed the possibility of reducing the size of these Transition Zones to…
Most of Austin’s zoning regulations prevent the construction of missing-middle housing like townhouses, duplexes, and fourplexes. In fact, according to the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan land inventory about 80% of Austin’s land zoned for residential use is zoned single-family. But…
Since the beginning of the Land Development Code rewrite process, AURA has supported a code rewrite to create an Austin that’s affordably and environmentally sustainable with opportunities open to everyone. The first draft of the rewrite was a promising step…
AURA is a grassroots, all-volunteer organization that advocates for an Austin that is inclusive, open to change, and welcoming to everyone. Unfortunately, the second draft of the new Land Development Code rewrite is a significant step backward from the first.…
TX law prohibits the tax assessor from appraising a residence homestead as any other use, regardless of zoning Recently changed TX law requires a tax election if the City raises rates more than 3.5%, down from 8% The broader the…
How Obama's housing recommendations are implemented in Austin's Land Development Code
