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December 7, 2023

Citywide

November 30, 2023

District: 1

District: 3

District: 5

District: 7

The City Council met to debate and vote on the controversial HOME ordinance to allow more housing density in certain single-family zoned neighborhoods. The proposal would enable property owners to have up to 3 units on lots currently restricted to one house through a streamlined permitting process. It also eliminates limits on the number of unrelated adults living together.

Several amendments were proposed and adopted, including:

There were over 130 in-person speakers and 50 remote speakers providing testimony during a public hearing.

Opponents cited concerns about gentrification, affordability declines, property tax increases, tree and environmental damage, infrastructure limitations, public safety, inadequate public input, and more. Some called it a "land grab" by investors without community protections.

Supporters argued it is needed to help housing supply, provide "missing middle" housing options, reduce sprawl, and follow a market-driven approach aligned with the Imagine Austin comprehensive plan. They say it allows "gentle density" done properly.

After hours of debate and multiple revisions, the ordinance passed 9-2 with Council Members Kelly and Alter voting against. The policy marks a major shift for housing density in Austin's single-family zoned neighborhoods.

More Information

The City of Austin is redeveloping 208 acres of vacant, city-owned land in east Austin into a mixed-use community called Colony Park.

The developer, Catellus Development Corporation, will construct up to 3,000 homes, 700,000 square feet of retail space, roads, utilities, parks and other infrastructure. At least 20% or 600 units must be income restricted affordable housing.

Financing sources will come from multiple public and private sources:

The city has already dedicated $3.3 million to reimburse the developer’s expenses. The preliminary financing plan approved by Council allows these public funding sources to pay for all "hard, soft, and development costs."

The developer has multiple revenue streams from fees, financing mechanisms that utilize public funding sources, and a complex profit sharing arrangement with the city from project proceeds.

In summary, the City of Austin has established a public-private partnership with incentives aimed to spur the transformation of a long vacant site into a mixed income community.

A request to rezone property at 5506 and 5514 Grover Avenue and 5515 Roosevelt Avenue from SF-3-NP and MF-4-NP to MF-6-NP was amended to MF-6-CO-NP following opposition from the Brentwood Neighborhood Association. The association expressed concerns about increased traffic and the removal of existing affordable "missing middle" housing on the site.

While some neighborhood residents wrote in support of the original zoning change to allow a 195-unit multifamily development, the association engaged with the developers but ultimately remained opposed to changing the zoning from MF-4 to MF-6. As a compromise, the rezoning request was amended to include a conditional overlay limiting the maximum height to 45 feet and 4 stories.

The neighborhood traffic analysis also influenced the revisions, finding that the development would increase traffic on narrow, residential streets like Grover Avenue by 14-26%, taking them to undesirable levels. Recommendations included sidewalk improvements and a requirement to reassess if the number of units changed.

The 9-acre Ed Bluestein Blvd parcel sought a routine rezoning from general commercial to commercial mixed-use to allow for more flexible development. The case glided through approvals, with staff citing consistency with the area's neighborhood plan and the city's greater housing goals. Minimal debate ensued over the largely vacant freeway-abutting lot. Its rezoning fills a gap between existing apartments and industrial buildings, logically enabling mixed-use.

Heartwood Group requested to rezone approximately 3.44 acres SF-3-NP to MF-2-NP in order to develop 244 multifamily units, with 40% of the units being affordable at 80% MFI. They faced pushback from the community concerned about the adjacent historic Bethany Cemetery. After being postponed to allow time for additional archaeology review to ensure no unmarked graves would be disturbed, the rezoning request was approved by the Planning Commission on October 10, 2023 and subsequently by City Council.

The 3.3-acre Hyatt West property along Lady Bird Lake sought to amend its PUD to remove minimum parking requirements, prompting debate between competing environmental priorities surrounding water conservation versus reduced car dependence.

After objections over $2 million in redesign costs to add reclaimed water plumbing, the Planning Commission approved the parking reduction but required partial onsite reuse of reclaimed water in a compromise attempt.

Here it receives its 3rd reading approval at Council.

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