Mayor Steve Adler and members of the Austin City Council will answer residents’ questions about the controversial CodeNEXT process at a pair of neighborhood meetings next week.

The Rosedale Neighborhood Association’s meeting is set for 6:45 PM on Monday, August 28th, at Congregation Beth Israel. The Cherrywood Neighborhood Association is gathering at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, August 29th, at Maplewood Elementary School.

If CodeNEXT passes in its current form, Rosedale, Cherrywood, and much of Central Austin will be rezoned to allow for more “high-density” development and commercial uses. Area residents worried about these changes are encouraged to attend these meetings in order to learn more about neighborhood impact.

Austin architect William Burkhardt has created detailed renderings showing just how dramatic this impact could be:

AURA, a “new urbanist” group that supports CodeNEXT, has publicly stated that Austin’s entire urban core needs to be rezoned to allow for the housing density shown above.

Rosedale and Cherrywood residents who are concerned about neighborhood character, property-tax increases, traffic congestion, and increased on-street parking should attend these meetings and ask their elected officials the following questions:

  • Do you favor reducing on-site parking requirements by 50 percent, effectively converting our streets to parking lots?
  • What data do you have to support the argument by “new urbanists” and the real-estate industry that demolishing existing homes and replacing them will result in housing that’s more affordable?
  • Do you believe it’s good public policy to give the community just six weeks to comment on 1,100 pages of revised code and new zoning maps? Why the rush?
  • Do you believe our taxes will not go up if adjacent lots are up-zoned?

Community Not Commodity believes that CodeNEXT’s current draft will do irreparable harm to our city and its residents. Senior citizens and working families are already being displaced at an alarming rate, and CodeNEXT will speed that process up if it is enacted without community input.

Before voting on CodeNEXT, we have demanded that the Austin City Council pass a temporary moratorium on residential rezoning and demolition in displacement-prone areas, and that it then develop and pass solutions to prevent future displacement by consulting independent, nationally recognized experts.

If you agree, we urge you to sign our petition and follow us on Facebook. Tell the Austin City Council to take its time and get CodeNEXT right!