5/23/23 Housing and Planning Committee Meeting

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John Lawler
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:13 pm

5/23/23 Housing and Planning Committee Meeting

Post by John Lawler »

Greetings colleagues –

The Housing and Planning Committee will be receiving a briefing and taking action on two important items this afternoon at 1 PM in Council Chambers.

Items 3 and 5… Colony Park PUD Amendment

This amendment represents one of our greatest opportunities to leverage public land, develop affordable housing, and improve the lives of both current and future Austinites. This community initiative is the culmination of decades of advocacy by East Austin residents and collaboration between City of Austin Departments.

Staff has provided a resolution for the Housing and Planning Committee to recommend for full Council consideration before the summer break (Link to resolution here: https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/ ... ?id=409252 ). I hope you will join me in supporting the collective work this effort represents by voicing your support at this afternoon’s meeting and voting in support of the resolution either at today’s committee or when it returns to us at full council.

Items 2 and 4… LDC Amendments Prioritization

This is a critical step our Council can take to help provide clarity and direction to City Staff so that their time and resources are being spent on policy that will have the greatest impact on our housing goals. Today’s briefing will include a staff walk-through of existing LDC amendments, their status, and suggested prioritization based on a number of factors. These amendments and staff’s memo outlining prioritization is posted as back-up to our committee agenda (Link to staff memo here:https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/ ... ?id=409251 ).

As you will remember, the Housing and Planning Committee voted in April for staff to provide this briefing and suggested prioritization at today’s meeting so that we could recommend any changes or new amendments for the full council’s consideration. I expect and encourage conversation from both committee members and non-committee members at this afternoon’s meeting. This is an opportunity to discuss in the public and without quorum constraints our collective ideas and vision for how we can take bold action with consideration for the existing direction the Council and Planning Commission have already initiated.

If you are planning on introducing an LDC amendment or other policy initiative to full Council in the near future, I hope you will consider this an opportunity for you to spotlight your work and identify how it could or should fit within Staff’s proposed prioritization and the broader context land use reform. The committee is posted to take action on this proposed prioritization which may include suggested changes and additional items for prioritization.

Colleagues – we have a long road ahead of us when it comes to fixing our broken and oppressive Land Development Code. Conversations and actions like the ones we are having today represent a crucial first step towards addressing our critical housing needs.

Thank you,

Chair Harper-Madison


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Posted on behalf of Councilmember Harper-Madison
John Lawler - Office of CM Harper-Madison
John Lawler
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:13 pm

Re: 5/23/23 Housing and Planning Committee Meeting

Post by John Lawler »

Colleagues,

We want to thank staff and each of you who participated in yesterday’s Housing & Planning Committee meeting.

It was a robust, illuminating discussion that covered all housing-related code amendments currently in-the-works, and initiated the critical task of prioritizing these many items. After staff’s presentation, Vice Chair Alter introduced an initial prioritization matrix, and we adjusted the document based on feedback from the dais and staff. We believe the current draft includes each requested update, and we are happy to add anything that was missed in the discussion.

Going forward, the Committee voted to present the prioritization matrix to the full council for discussion at the June 8th meeting, where we hope to reach a consensus and move forward collectively. In advance of that meeting, we will continue to work with staff and our colleagues to ensure that the document is comprehensive and captures priority, timelines, and level of effort.

We believe this prioritization exercise is critical for both transparency and continued collaboration. The level of energy our council is dedicating to addressing our community’s housing needs is immense, and we must balance individual initiatives with collective goals to be the most efficient and effective with limited resources. To that end, we will work with staff to ensure reporting and prioritization is established on a regular, recurring basis and that any future items from council are reviewed and incorporated.

Thank you all again for your time, energy, and attention to this issue, and we look forward to continuing the discussion at our June 13th Housing and Planning Committee meeting.

CM Natasha Harper-Madison, Chair
CM Ryan Alter, Vice Chair


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Posted on behalf of Councilmembers Harper-Madison and R. Alter
John Lawler - Office of CM Harper-Madison
John Lawler
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:13 pm

Re: 5/23/23 Housing and Planning Committee Meeting

Post by John Lawler »

Colleagues,
 
Here is a link to the prioritization table recommended by the Housing and Planning Committee on May 23rd and referenced in the post above. It reflects Tuesday's discussion and is the first step in the prioritization process, which will continue at the June 8th council meeting.
 
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 111748.pdf

The Agenda Office has received this table and it will be included as back up on the June 8th Committee Recommendation to full council.  
 
Thank you,

CM Natasha Harper-Madison, Chair
CM Ryan Alter, Vice Chair


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Posted on behalf of Councilmembers Harper-Madison and R. Alter
John Lawler - Office of CM Harper-Madison
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