RE: CodeNEXT

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Steve Adler
Posts: 533
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:12 pm

RE: CodeNEXT

Post by Steve Adler »

The message below is posted on behalf of Council Member Alter, Council Member Kitchen, and I.

Since the 10-1 Council took office, we as City Council members have been listening to the people of Austin, our city staff and consultants throughout the difficult process of creating a new Land Development Code that reflects our shared values and meets the challenges of a growing city.

Because of the length and detail of the Code, we have decided to outline our thoughts on some of the major issues that will determine how we move forward as the Code enters its next phase.

Imagine Austin provides a vision for Austin’s future, but our existing 30 year-old Land Development Code lacks the tools to help us realize that vision. Under our current Code, our fast growing city is facing a confusing and costly permitting process. This is contributing to rising housing costs, demolitions of homes and older affordable housing, gentrification and displacement of long-time communities. The current Code also limits our ability to address risk of flooding, traffic congestion, and to provide more affordable housing options.

It has become clear that we cannot allow the current, unwieldy Code to remain in place.

We share the belief that a new Code is a critical opportunity to create tools to help address many of our city’s challenges, better manage our growth, and protect what we love about our city. We do so while acknowledging that a new Code by itself cannot solve all our community’s problems and that local government is limited in its ability to control the market. The task before us is to calibrate the tools and levers that we do have to achieve, in practice, Imagine Austin’s vision.

The goals listed here: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 183337.pdf , cover many, but not all, of the major Code challenges and opportunities, including housing supply and affordability, permitting, flooding, impacts of growth, transportation, and environment. These goals represent many of our shared expectations for a successful rewrite of Austin’s new land development Code and a path forward.

Mayor Steve Adler
Council Member Alison Alter
Council Member Ann Kitchen
Mayor