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• Wed., Dec. 11, 2019 — Austin City Council votes 7-4 to approve the LDC on first reading, with Alter, Kitchen, Pool, and Tovo voting no. Council Member Pool offers an amendment to recognize the right of property owners to protest LDC zoning changes. Her amendment fails 4-7, with Alter, Kitchen, Pool, and Tovo voting in favor.
• Thurs., Dec. 12, 2019 — A group of 19 homeowners sue the city, asking that Council’s approval of the rewrite be invalidated and that the city be forced to recognize the right of individual property owners to protest rezoning. The City of Austin maintains that the state-mandated right of a property owner to protest the rezoning of his/her property does not apply to the broader rewrite of the land code. The case is scheduled to be heard February 18 in Travis County District Court.
Why does this lawsuit matter? If the homeowners prevail, then a three-fourths majority – the vote of eight council members — will be required to approve zoning changes. This means the four council members who voted against adoption of the LDC revision as currently written will be able to block zoning changes on properties whose owners have filed protests of the zoning change.
The current LDC revision rezones 26 houses on Rockwood to R4 (the least intense transition zone). All other single-family homes in North Shoal Creek are zoned R2A, which allows up to 2 housing units on a single lot – e.g., a single-family home, a single-family home with an ADU, or a duplex. If a home is more than 30 years old and the homeowner chooses to remodel rather than replace it, then 3 housing units are allowed. R4 allows a duplex up to a 4-plex, with 4 additional units allowable as an Affordable Housing Bonus. While existing single-family homes are grandfathered in, new single-family homes cannot be constructed in an R4 transition zone. The Development Committee believes the properties zoned R4 should be changed to R2A to match all the other single-family homes in North Shoal Creek.
Our Future Land Use Map (FLUM) calls for Buell to emphasize missing-middle housing and local businesses and to serve as a live/work zone. The current LDC revision rezones more than half of Buell to MU5B-A (mid-rise mixed use). The Development Committee wants the Buell properties zoned MU5B-A changed to Flex Industrial (FI) to match our FLUM.
Council Member Pool is aware of our position and supports it, but she might not be able to get our two problem areas changed to match our FLUM. So, the Development Committee suggests this back-up plan: property owners on Rockwood and Buell whose properties were changed to R4 and MU5B-A zoning, along with their neighbors within 200’ of their properties, file protests of the R4 and MU5B-A zoning. If the court rules in favor of the homeowners, a zoning change for the properties whose owners filed protests would have to be passed by an eight vote supermajority of the Austin City Council.
To file your protest
• online, go to https://fileyourprotest.com/. Then fill in the form and click the Submit Form button
• by mail, go to https://fileyourprotest.com/file-by-mail/. Then select the format you want to print (PDF or Word), print the form, complete it, sign and date it and mail it to:
Communications and Public Information Department, City of Austin
P.O. Box 1088, Austin, Texas 78767You can also hand deliver your completed protest form to:
Communications and Public Information Department, City of Austin
301 W 2nd Street, 3rd Floor, Austin, Texas 78701Or, you can email the form to:
LDC@austintexas.govWho can file: the property owner; property owners within 200’ of the property being rezoned
You must file your protest before council holds the third and final reading on the code and map, which will probably occur in late March.For more information: https://fileyourprotest.com/ and http://www.austintexas.gov/ldc
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The North Shoal Creek Neighborhood Association’s (NSCNA) first General Membership Meeting of 2020 is 6:30-8:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 7 in the Pillow Elementary School Library. Please enter through Pillow’s front door; the library is the first room to your left.
The agenda includes election of the association’s 2020 officers and directors, plus an update on the City of Austin’s Land Development Code Revision.
If you haven’t already paid your $15/household dues for 2020, you can pay by cash or check at the meeting. You can also join online at www.nscna.org/join; online payments are $16/household which includes a $1 PayPal processing fee.
Only dues paying members can vote.
Hope to see you there!
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A photo album of the mosaics installed on the Steck Avenue Bridge is now available on NSCNA’s Facebook page at http://facebook.com/nscna, along with a link to the City of Austin Public Works Department photos of the event and a link to the KVUE video that aired as part of its 10:00 p.m. news broadcast on December 14, 2019.
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From NSCNA Beautification Chair Mary Jane Holland Wier:
“I would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers and neighbors who contributed to the success of the Steck Bridge Mosaic Project.
A heartfelt thanks to the following:
Karen Bodiford
Amelia and Brian Cobb
Patti and David Garing
Darlene and Steve Watson
Kenneth Webb
Jennifer Whaley
Kevin Wier
Allen Lea
Jenny Bailey
Sarah Brandon
Kate Brien
Suzanne Chaney
Sarah Cox
Nora Deram
Jeff Gore
Tina Huckabee
Valerie Hurlbert
Sharon Justice
Veronica Kerr
Dale Kirkland
Odilia Leal-McBride
Tomas Rodriguez
Sue Sharpe
Lenora Shaw
Rima Star
Marilyn Querejazu
Doug Watson
Steven Weintraub
Jack Williams
Matt Williams
Roger and Jeri WinesThanks to Jeremy Gunn for use of his land for the mosaic dedication and to him and our neighbor on the south side of Steck for providing us a water source.
Thanks also to Jersey Mike’s Subs and the Eldorado Café for their food and coffee donations.
Without the support and help of these people, our project wouldn’t have been possible!”
Mary Jane Holland Wier Beautification Chair
North Shoal Creek Neighborhood Association