Government
BY BEN THOMPSON
Austin officials sworn in; elect mayor pro tem Six Austin City Council members were inaugu- rated Jan. 6 to start off the new council term. The big picture Three incumbents were sworn in after their reelection in the fall, joining three newly elected officials: Krista Laine from District 6, Mike Siegel from District 7, and Marc Duchen from District 10. The action taken Following inauguration, the new-look council took its first action by holding an election for mayor pro tem. Recent councils decided to split up mayor pro tem duties on an annual basis, a trend that contin- ued this year. District 2 council member Vanessa Fuentes was chosen for the role in 2025, and District 4’s Chito Vela is set to take over in 2026.
City sets standards for hospital entrances All new medical facilities in Austin will be required to build safety barriers at their pub- lic entrances under new standards approved by City Council. The setup The security requirement was formally codified in December months after former council member Mackenzie Kelly first proposed the change. In a resolution she drafted this summer, she cited a fatal crash at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center as an example of the types of incidents that could harm hospital patients, visitors and staff without features like security bollards in place. Going forward, Austin hospitals and clinics must include safety bollards or other barriers at all pedestrian entryways.
Austin Council terms
2023 2025 2027 2029
Mayor Kirk Watson
Vanessa Fuentes, District 2* Natasha Harper- Madison, District 1 José Velásquez, District 3
Chito Vela, District 4* Ryan Alter, District 5 Krista Laine, District 6 Mike Siegel, District 7 Zo Qadri, District 9 Paige Ellis, District 8 Marc Duchen, District 10
*SELECTED AS MAYOR PRO TEM
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Austin reports impacts of HOME development Nearly a year after the policy went into effect, Austin released a report on the early impacts of the Home Ownership for Middle-income Empow- erment, or HOME, initiative. The big picture City Council passed the first phase of
The city processed dozens of plans for two- and three-unit housing projects. HOME development plans Applications approved Applications submitted
December. The land-use update officially went into effect in February, and hundreds of applica- tions for construction under the new rules have since been filed citywide. Through HOME Phase 1’s first six months, nearly 160 applications for projects of various sizes were submitted to the city with about 100 approved in that same time. Altogether, those applications included 300 potential new housing units.
120 103
72
80 40 0
40
22
16
5
HOME—allowing up to three housing units on single-family properties across Austin—last
Two-unit
Duplex
Three-unit
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT *APPLICATIONS FROM FEB. 5-AUG. 7, 2024.
Learn more about school funding issues and how they affect your local schools. THE 89 TH LEGISLATIVE SESSION IS HERE
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RaiseYourHandTexas.org/school-funding
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NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION
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