KEY POINTS:

  • The City of Austin has sent out postcards about proposed initial zoning changes for single-family neighborhoods that would allow three units per residential lot
  • The postcard neglects to tell you that the second phase of the city’s plan will allow each residential lot to be subdivided into 2,500 square foot lots and building height and impervious cover will be increased, and setbacks will be reduced—for an average 7,500 square-foot lot, this means that nine units could be built where one house is now
  • Concerned residents should sign up Monday after 10:00 AM to attend the city council hearing on Thursday, October 26, and electronically file formal protests to protect their homes

If the lavender color of the postcards the city sent out  did not make Austinites queasy, then the momentous proposed zoning changes to single family neighborhoods surely did.  Yet, the postcard tells  only half the story—the part the city calls Phase 1.

Phase 1 of the proposed zoning changes can be summarized as follows:

  • Three units will be allowed on all SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3 zoned property (“SF” stands for single family)
  •  “McMansion” standards will not apply, which means much bulkier  and larger buildings, enabling multiple units will be permitted
  • Removes many current Auxiliary Dwelling Units limitations, including those limiting Short-Term Rentals (STRs)
  • The minimum lot size for a duplex is  reduced to 5,750 square feet and is  no longer  limited to two stories
  • Eliminates dwelling unit Occupancy Limits, which controlled the number of unrelated adults who can live in a dwelling

Phase 2, coming in early 2024, is the killer multiplier. In accordance with the Council’s July 20 resolution, Phase 2 will allow neighborhood lots to be subdivided into multiple lots of “2,500 square feet or less”—each with three units. So, combining the changes from both phases, the three units per lot the city intends to approve this year will become six, nine, or twelve units, depending on the existing lot size, next year.  A City of Austin website confirms that Phase 2 “adjust ” (reducing or eliminating) regulations including setbacks, heights, impervious cover, and FAR, and even allow recreational vehicles to be used as dwelling units on single-family lots.

Three units per lot is the beginning, not the final action, to ending single-family neighborhoods across Austin.

More information: You can read the proposed ordinance here and in regulation format here.

Action You Can Take

  • Sign up for the public hearing before the city council: Thursday, October 26 at 2:00 PM
    Speaker registration for the October 26, 2023, meeting of the Austin City Council and Planning Commission will open on Monday, October 23, 2023, at 10:00 AM.  The registration link will be available on Monday here.  Even if you are unsure if you can make it to the meeting, signing up leaves your options open and enters your name in the record as opposed.
  • File your protest (in two ways).

Property owners concerned about the elimination of single-family zoning should electronically file formal protests to preserve their rights.  This is an electronic submission and includes both Phase 1 and Phase 2 planned changes.  The city is unfairly and incorrectly contesting electronic petitions, so demonstrate your resolve and, after protesting electronically, download a paper protest form here and mail it in or use the city’s form (limited to Phase 1) available here.

The resolution’s zoning changes are being sold under the acronym “HOME,” standing for “Home Options for Middle Income Empowerment.” Perhaps HOME more accurately reflects the “Harmful Opportunities for Market Exploitation” of our neighborhoods.