This November, Austin residents will have the opportunity to approve Proposition J, which calls for a public vote on any comprehensive, once-in-a-generation revision of the city’s land-development code. If it passes, voters will have the freedom to approve or disapprove future plans like CodeNEXT, the controversial redevelopment scheme that city leaders “hit pause on” this summer, when everyday Austinites realized real-estate insiders had taken control of the plan.
But rather than debate Proposition J on its merits, its land-developer opponents are trying to mislead voters. They have claimed that Proposition J calls for voter approval of every single change to the city’s land-development laws.
That is false. If Proposition J passes, local residents will be given the right to vote only on comprehensive plans like CodeNEXT. Proposition J will have no effect on specific development projects or routine amendments to our land code, like those that are occasionally needed in order to protect our natural environment.
Land developers hate Proposition J because they’ve been profiting from Austin’s runaway growth for decades. Their lobbyists want to keep writing Austin’s land-development laws on their own, behind closed doors, without public scrutiny or input from the community.
Here’s the problem those land developers are now facing: Proposition J is a very hard thing to argue against. All it does is provide Austinites with the opportunity to vote on plans like CodeNEXT—and that’s something we clearly deserve, because comprehensive revisions of our land code will have a significant impact on our homes, neighborhoods, and the affordability of the surrounding community.
Don’t believe land developers’ lies. This November, have a say! Vote yes on Prop J!
Paid Political Advertisement by Community Not Commodity, Austin Texas.