The third and supposedly final draft of Austin’s controversial CodeNEXT redevelopment plan was released in early February to criticism from all sides. Community advocates argued that it threatened Austin’s neighborhoods, and the local real estate industry said it didn’t do enough to encourage the construction of high-density housing.

Enter Austin’s Planning Commission, a 13-member body that reviews local zoning changes and makes related recommendations to our city council. Already under investigation because of its extensive ties to local land developers, the commission quickly went to work on hundreds of special-interest amendments to CodeNEXT, including a “wish list” of changes that industry lobbyists are dying to see made.

As the Austin City Council debates CodeNEXT this month, no one has any idea what it will use as a starting point. Will it be the plan’s third draft, or will it be the Planning Commission’s even more radical blueprint?

Here are a handful of the most alarming changes that the Planning Commission would like to see:

 

The transformation of more than 100 of Austin’s streets into high-density corridors, all of which are at least a half-mile wide.

Mayor Steve Adler promised that Austin’s neighborhoods would be protected under CodeNEXT, but the Planning Commission apparently didn’t get the memo. It has proposed turning Cameron Road, Mesa Drive, Enfield Road, Burnet Road, Stassney Lane, Mary Street, and more than 100 other roadways across Austin into higher-traffic commercial corridors, with dramatic redevelopment encouraged within five city blocks on either side of each. So if you live within a quarter-mile of any of these streets, then get ready to see a variety of new and larger structures, including more mixed-use apartment buildings between six and 12 stories tall. (Yes, you read that correctly: Under the Planning Commission’s proposed law, many of these corridors will contain buildings 120 feet tall, the equivalent of 12 stories!) And if you live anywhere in Crestview, Travis Heights, South Congress, or other neighborhoods sandwiched between two or more corridors, then get ready for the bulldozers. Those areas lie in overlapping corridor zones and are threatened with complete makeovers. Check these maps to see if your home is in the Planning Commission’s crosshairs.

 

The removal of rules that have protected Austin’s natural environment for generations.

The real estate industry has always hated Austin’s local environmental regulations. They lower the city’s flood risk, keep pollutants out of our waterways, and preserve open parkland—but they also reduce the amount of land that can be built upon within city limits, and that hurts land developers’ profits. The Planning Commission has come to their rescue. It wants to waive the open-space requirement for all development projects under eight acres, which will replace even more of Austin’s trees with buildings. The commission also wants to allow developers to pave over front yards throughout town, worsening flood risk, increasing the “urban heat island” effect, and exacerbating climate change.

 

The loss or reduction of parking requirements throughout the city, which currently keep our streets less congested and safer for pedestrians.

Unbelievably, the Planning Commission has directed city staff to amend CodeNEXT so it has “as close to no parking requirements as possible,” stripping away rules that ensure Austin residences have a certain amount of off-street space set aside for parking. Without them, residential streets across our city will become choked with cars, making our neighborhoods less safe for children and pedestrians—and as has happened in other cities, residential parking permits and parking meters will begin spreading like wildfire.

 

These are just a few of hundreds of developer-friendly changes to CodeNEXT that Austin’s Planning Commission is urging our city council to adopt. You can read about more of them here.

Call the mayor and your council member today and tell them to reject the Planning Commission’s last-minute attempt to make CodeNEXT even worse! Tell them it’s time to drop this unwanted, ill-advised plan—or at the very least to put it to a public vote, as nearly 32,000 area residents demanded in a legally certified petition.

Mayor Steve Adler512-978-2100
Ora Houston (District 1): 512-978-2101
Delia Garza (District 2): 512-978-2102
Sabino Renteria (District 3): 512-978-2103
Greg Casar (District 4): 512-978-2104
Ann Kitchen (District 5): 512-978-2105
Jimmy Flannigan (District 6): 512-978-2106
Leslie Pool (District 7): 512-978-2107
Ellen Troxclair (District 8): 512-978-2108
Kathie Tovo (District 9): 512-978-2109
Alison Alter (District 10): 512-978-2110

Together we can build an Austin for everyone!