Government
BY BEN THOMPSON
Crisis response revision underway A consultant’s recent review of lessons learned from Winter Storm Mara advised Austin and Travis County to fix communi- cation breakdowns with residents, address planning and operational shortfalls, and dedicate more resources to resilience and infrastructure. The details The after-action report released Oct. 3 dove into city and county emergency plan- ning around the storm from late January into February, highlighting how govern- ments can better ready for weather events. Austin leaders said multiple departments will now lay out a citywide corrective action plan by the end of the year—especially after similar emergency preparedness propos- als weren’t fully addressed in the past.
Affordable development rules challenged in court A push to roll back city land use programs aimed at creating affordable housing is progressing following the successful challenge to a wholesale rewrite of Austin’s zoning guidelines last year. What’s happening? City lawyers and attorneys for a property own- ers’ coalition seeking to overturn multiple updates to the land development code—the rules governing the location and size of new construction through- out Austin—argued their cases before District Court Judge Jessica Mangrum on Sept. 26. The opposed Austinites said action is needed to keep city officials from repeatedly violating the rights of property owners by sidestepping civic engagement rules amid the passage of housing policies. Mangrum said she’ll take time to study both sides’ arguments before deciding on the issue. No decision was made before press time. Austin tackles sexual assault prevention Nearly $1 million has been set aside for audits of the Austin Police Department’s work with sex crimes, victim counseling services and a sexual assault prevention initiative, a notable step in ongoing reform efforts in response to the city’s history of failures in properly responding to such cases and survivors.
ROLLING BACK BONUSES Residents are calling for the cancellation of the following development bonus programs due to insufficient notice or protest opportunities. Affordability Unlocked , one of Austin’s most prolific development bonus programs that has created thousands of income-restricted housing units since its passage in 2019 VMU2 , an expansion of the vertical mixed- use bonus program that produced hundreds of income-restricted units, approved in spring 2022 “ Residential in commercial ,” an incentive program that allows housing development in commercially zoned areas if affordable units are included, approved in 2022
“ Compatibility on corridors ,” a zoning overlay that waives development restrictions, such as height limits, for new construction along specific roadways and transit routes
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
The funding from the Sept. 21 meeting also comes as a new city- and community-led collabora- tive project is underway to advance more than 100 proposals for structural change in Austin’s sexual assault response system. What else? A new collaborative, the Collective Sex Crimes Response Model project, has been formed to see the improvements through. The project team will provide quarterly check-ins with the city’s Commis- sion for Women and Public Safety Commission.
FUNDING BREAKDOWN The nearly $1 million investment includes:
for five new staff positions for counseling and victim services a contract with End Violence Against Women for an APD audit a team of experienced investigators to monitor high-risk areas a contract with EVAW for a randomized review of APD cases
$507,510
$237,500
$106,063
$100,000
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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CEDAR PARK - FAR NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION
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