Our Mayor and City Council members have 221 items on the agenda for Thursday, August 29th. If they even spend 5 minutes on every item, that would be an 18 ½ hour meeting. But don’t worry, they like to “Move Fast”    even if it means breaking rules.

Among the items they are “moving fast” on:

  1.  A proposal to grant 30 feet of additional height and no setbacks (compatibility) in exchange for an “affordable” bar with live music! Cocktail lounges are “creative spaces” according to the City. Yes, you read that right. It is modeled after the recently passed Density Bonus 90 (DB90), which is supposed to promote affordable housing. If a developer can put in an “affordable bar” with live music or affordable housing to get similar entitlements, which would be more profitable for them? More importantly, which has greater social utility? (Items 157 & 167). Are “creative spaces” as important to the community as affordable housing?
  2. Adopting a Marketing plan for the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau (a private non-profit) at a cost of over $27 million for 2024-2025. (Item 18)
  3. Redefining the Density Bonus program (DB90) passed in February (Item 158) and rezoning properties with the new DB90 designation on the same day. (Item 171-210) The Austin Neighborhoods Council requested a moratorium on DB-90 until a review of cumulative impacts can be conducted. One of the most egregious cases involves the application of DB90 to a 1-acre tract on 3117-3121 East 12th Street (Item 194). This rezoning would allow a massive development towering over the modest neighborhood on a low-level local street if granted.
  4. Redefining Enterprise Zones – severely distressed areas of the state (Item 154) and redefining St. David’s Hospital District as an Enterprise Zone (Item 24).

Sign up to speak in person or online Thursday, August 29th in person or online or or register your opinion with the council here. The deadline for online registration is Wednesday at noon.

 

Stand up together to support Austin’s neighborhoods!