CITY & COUNTY
News from Austin & Travis County
East Austin regulations updated AUSTIN A divisive change to neighborhood plans for East 11th and East 12th streets was approved by City Council on Sept. 15. said that allowing a diverse mix of business and entertainment
Parkland fees get smaller hike; commercial properties included
NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION COMBINING DISTRICTS The NCCD passed with a limit of at least 200 feet between any new bars that may be approved in the future. A rough city staff analysis found up to 10 properties along the street could house cocktail lounges. options, potentially including bars, would bring the area more in line with its history as a Black cultural district—a designation the city is working to restore.
AUSTIN Several aspects of Austin’s parkland dedication process were updated Sept. 15. In Austin, residential builders have faced a city policy designed to offset new development with the commu- nity benefit of added green space for decades. That parkland dedication process collects either fees or land from developers to be used on park expansions. City Council’s review of annual parkland fee adjustments ended in September with a lower increase than the amount proposed earlier this year by the city parks department. Council also added commercial developments to Austin’s parkland dedication for the first time, requiring contributions from projects such as new offices and businesses. Dedication figures originally presented to city officials this year would have doubled Austin’s fiscal year 2021-22 fees.
Below are the fees developers of high-density units—over 12 units per project—on new residential projects to pay for public parkland. PARKLAND DEDICATION FEES
Development along the central East Austin corridors is governed by a pair of Neighborhood Con- servation Combining Districts. While the East 11th Street revision was approved earlier this year, a controversial new piece of the East 12th plan allowing for cocktail lounges—including bars—led to extended public debate ahead of a final vote. Bars are now allowed as a conditional use, meaning any new establishments would have to clear a public process before opening. Local opinions on that change are split, and many area residents turned out to City Hall to protest a shift they said could allow East 12th to become an entertainment district with new noise and safety concerns. Other community members
2019-20
$1,525.25
2020-21
$1,538.52
2021-22 $3,438.66
2022-23 $3,782.53
*$7,026.39
*PROPOSED
East 12th Street NCCD
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
E. 12TH ST.
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However, a majority of council ended up agreeing that asking for thou- sands more dollars per unit would burden developers and likely hurt both new construction and housing affordability.
East 11th Street NCCD
N
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This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
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