The following information was received from the President, Austin Neighborhood Council (ANC) concerning City Council Hearings for Short Term Rentals and the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan, and is published for your information and possible action:
This week there are two very important public meetings at City Hall. On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, at 6:00pm, the Planning Commission will vote on a draft ordinance on short-term rentals (STRs). On Thursday, May 24, 2012, at 6:00pm, the City Council will hold a public hearing on the Imagine Austin comprehensive plan. (IACP: Agenda Item # 135.) The City Council also has scheduled a public hearing on the STR ordinance on Thursday, May 24th; it is not certain what time City Council will consider the STR ordinance. (STRs: Agenda Item # 140.) These topics are of great importance to the membership of the Austin Neighborhoods Council (ANC). The ANC encourages you to attend these meetings, sign-in, and support neighborhoods. You don’t necessarily have to speak, but if you are staying for the duration of the meetings you may donate time to designated speakers. To allow members to attend these meetings, ANC has canceled its regular monthly meeting that would have been held on Wednesday, May 23, 2012.
As you know, the ANC membership spent several months developing and debating a position statement on STRs. In November, 2011, the ANC membership adopted a policy resolution on STRs (see the full resolution on the ANC website: www.ancweb.org). In short, the ANC resolution asks the City to allow homesteaded STRs that are owner occupied but continue the prohibition on commercial (non-homesteaded) STRs. In other words, there would be no issue with homeowners renting out their homesteaded homes occasionally on a short-term basis but there would be a ban on using a house in a residentially zoned area that is not your homestead as a short-term rental. Please attend the Planning Commission meeting and let the Commissioners know that commercial STRs are wrong in our neighborhoods. Simply write “No commercial STRs in residential neighborhoods” on the sign-in card. Noting your opinion is important whether you elect to speak. By completing a sign-in card, you have the option of donating your time to a designated speaker as long as you are there when the designated speaker is called to speak.
As you know, the ANC membership spent several months participating in the development of the Imagine Austin comprehensive plan. Last month in a straw poll of the ANC membership there was an almost unanimous agreement that work remains on the comprehensive plan from the neighborhood perspective. The ANC Executive Committee has identified five key topics that must be fixed before City Council adopts Imagine Austin: the growth concept map, the priority program to revise the Land Development Code, the role of neighborhood planning and neighborhood plans, support of locally owned neighborhood businesses, and the overall tone of the plan to ensure inclusion of all communities that live in Austin. In short, ANC wants to preserve what is unique about Austin which is our neighborhoods. Please attend the City Council meeting and let the Council Members know that what attracts people and businesses to Austin are the strong neighborhoods that give Austin character and identity as much as anything else. Sign in as opposed to Imagine Austin to signify that work remains. Noting your opinion is important whether you elect to speak. By signing in, you have the option of donating your time to a designated speaker as long as you are there when the designated speaker is called to speak.
