BY ELLE BENT, KATY MCAFEE & BEN THOMPSON
Council pushes for climate investment plan City Council voted to prioritize new sustain- ability and environmental investments to address slow progress on Austin’s Climate Equity Plan and resilience efforts. A closer look A resolution passed Feb. 15 directed city man- agement to seek community input and outline the investments needed to fulfill several adopted city plans related to the environment. The Climate Equity Plan outlines 74 strategies like greenhouse gas reduction and support for community-led initiatives. Austin’s $5.47 billion fiscal year 2023-24 budget includes $385,000 in one-time funding for climate plan recommendations. Council member Ryan Alter said a goal of the effort is to look at how city officials can budget for specific investments toward climate.
Partners split on homeless strategy A review of Austin-area homeless services is moving forward, despite some skepticism about the plan. The background Austin, Travis County, Integral Care and Central Health began planning for a third-party evaluation of their responses to homelessness last fall. The plan would’ve cost up to $2 million. However, Travis County commissioners voted to exit the process in January citing concerns with the project and the involve- ment of consultant McKinsey & Co. While some city officials sought to revisit the plan’s framework, interim City Manager Jesús Garza has defended the need for the project and said it’s still moving forward for $1.35 million overall. Land development code changes moving forward this spring include: • Cutting minimum residential lot size in HOME Phase 2 • Limiting the reach of compatibility standards on building height and placement • Allowing electric vehicle charging on some properties • Promoting dense development around future Project Connect rail lines
"We as a city have made a lot of plans with a lot of great environmental goals
for reducing our impact on the climate but in too many instances have failed to make the investments needed to meet those goals or just, quite frankly, [have been] falling short" RYAN ALTER, COUNCIL MEMBER
Funding could come through increased utility rates, general fund spending, or new bonds. Despite city staff recommending council pause on bond elections until 2026, Alter said the matter is too pressing to wait another two years. What’s next A public hearing will take place May 30 regard- ing the city’s climate investments. A location and time are to be determined.
Public meetings for citywide land-use updates ahead Austinites will soon be invited to weigh in on several wide-ranging changes to local land-use policy, months after City Council’s passage of the controversial first phase of the “HOME” initiative intended to increase residential housing density. The details line for key revisions this year. Several City Council proposals are up for community review this spring beginning with a joint hearing before council and the Planning Commission April 11. That unique public feedback format was also
used for HOME Phase 1 last year when hundreds of Austinites turned out to speak for and against that policy’s approval.
Austin’s land development code, the extensive rules governing what can be built and where, is in
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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