Government
BY ELLE BENT, KATY MCAFEE & BEN THOMPSON
Third-party oversight of APD training reforms ends Continuing reforms at the Austin Police Depart- ment’s cadet academy will be left up to police leadership, after the APD was reportedly slow to adopt or resisted such changes during extended third-party supervision. The specifics Training reforms were initiated after city overall was “appearing to do just enough to suggest progress without completely embracing and accepting the hard work of change.” Heightened scrutiny of the academy came as the police department also focused on boosting recruitment. The APD remains short hundreds of budgeted officer positions.
TravCo OKs tax cuts for child care centers Qualified child care centers in Travis County can now apply for a 100% property tax exemption this tax year. The context County officials hope to lower expenses for both child care facilities and families. The new policy follows the passage of Proposition 2 in November, allowing local tax breaks for child care centers. The move also comes as the federal relief funding given to child care centers during the pandemic is expected to expire by the end of this year, according to a news release. “Today marks a historic milestone in providing relief for working families as Travis County faces the highest child care costs in the state of Texas,” Travis County Judge Andy Brown said. “This action sup- ports safer, more stable and more resilient families by expanding access to high-quality, affordable child care.”
Dripping Springs cuts building fees in ETJ City Council voted to reduce site develop- ment fees for projects in the extraterritorial jurisdiction, or areas outside of city limits, following review of a project on Hwy. 290. The building fees cover city costs for processing and reviewing permits, and are based on the value of site improvements, city officials said. officials launched a review into APD’s culture and paused all cadet classes in late 2019 and early 2020. Seven cadet classes have graduated under a rebooted model since the academy reopened in 2021, although analysts and some community members said many updates are still being met with internal opposition and more work is needed to cement the process forward. City leaders have contracted with advisory firm Kroll Associates, Inc. to review several aspects of APD operations, particularly cadet training. In March, the Kroll team wrote that its ini- tial working relationship with police officials “devolved into a series of stops and starts and unmet deadlines,” especially given frequent APD staff turnover, and concluded the department
Academy outcomes Quit, failed testing or kicked out Graduated/currently enrolled
13
66
22
10 39
15
9 25
33
19
May 2023
summer 2024*
Sept. 2023
Jan. 2024
April 2024
GRADUATION DATES
*IN PROGRESS
SOURCE: AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Austin development code changes near finish line A slate of land development code amendments including “HOME” Phase 2 are nearing approval. What’s happening
HOME Phase 2 would reduce the amount of land needed to build one unit of housing in Austin’s most common single-family areas. Last year’s Phase 1 allowed for more units on a single lot. SF-1: Single-family residence large lot; low density for homes SF-3: Family residence; moderate density for homes or duplexes SF-2: Single-family residence standard lot; moderate density for homes
Code changes are being considered in response to city officials’ stated desire to promote acces- sible housing options and make Austin more transit-friendly: • Cutting residential minimum lot sizes to 2,000 square feet, following on a 2023 change allow- ing more residential housing per lot • Reducing the reach of compatibility, which limits new building size near existing homes • Creating new zoning overlays along the future Project Connect rail line to encourage denser development and housing near transit A joint City Council and Planning Commission public hearing April 11 featured feedback from scores of Austinites, and was followed by more engagement and review. Council is scheduled to vote on the items on May 16 at City Hall.
New fees
Lot size for one residential unit
ETJ fees are 20% less than projects in city limits.
Current
SF-1: 10,000 square feet minimum SF-2 and -3: 5,750 square feet minimum
City limits
ETJ
$1,000
Small projects ($10K-$50K) Medium projects ($50K-$100K)* Large projects ($100K-$500K)*
$800
$1,500
$1,200
Proposed
$2,000
SF-1, -2 and -3: 2,000 square feet minimum
$1,600
*MEDIUM, LARGE AND MEGA PROJECTS MUST ALSO PAY AN EXTRA 1.5% OF THE TOTAL CONSTRUCTION COST OF REQUIRED SITE IMPROVEMENTS.
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: CITY OF DRIPPING SPRINGS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
11
SOUTHWEST AUSTIN - DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION
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