Consensus.

Merriam-Webster defines it as “the judgment arrived at by most of those concerned” and “group solidarity in sentiment and belief.”

Unfortunately, Austin City Councilmember Sabino “Pio” Renteria seems to be opposed to consensus when it comes to updating our land development code, which is one of City Hall’s priorities this year.

“The push for consensus last year really slowed things down,” he recently told Community Impact Newspaper, referring to the city’s controversial CodeNEXT rezoning plan. “I think voters said this election that it’s time for a heavy hand.”

If that’s true, then we have a serious problem. That’s because it was heavy-handedness on the part of local officials that led our City Council to unanimously withdraw CodeNEXT last August. The city’s lack of accountability, lack of transparency, and a lack of public involvement doomed the plan, and our elected officials cannot afford to go back down that road. Doing so will deepen the divisions within our community.

That would be disastrous, because there is little doubt that the city needs to update its land development code. The code that Austin’s land developers use now was first put into place in the early 1980s, when the city was a third its current size, and our new code needs to address the demands of a modern, fast-growing metropolis.

But when it comes to drafting that code, everyday Austinites and small businesses must have a seat at the table. Our new code must reflect their needs, not just those of land developers who see Austin’s street corridors and neighborhoods as profit centers. It must also protect the city’s lower- and middle-income residents from displacement by affluent newcomers.

Austin must learn from the mistakes made in Los Angeles, where recent zoning changes prompted developers to construct housing too expensive for local residents; in London, where specialized consulting firms help builders skirt affordable-housing requirements; and just down the road in San Antonio, where tax dollars have helped subsidize luxury mixed-use developments, worsening that city’s affordability crisis.

Local community groups and the advocates that lead them can help Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk navigate these stormy waters. Our City Council has tasked him with coming up with a new process for updating the land development code, and he is in the early stages of its design.

Cronk’s initial steps are promising. He has sought input widely and carefully studied CodeNEXT’s failures. We hope he continues doing so while in dialogue with neighborhood and community advocates.

This is not the time for people in or around City Hall to apply “a heavy hand” to Austin’s code rewrite. It’s time to come together and walk toward that goal hand-in-hand.