AUSTIN (KXAN) — The City of Austin was aiming for more density, but the latest draft of the Land Development Code (LDC) has rolled back the size of areas where density can be added.
The city staff released the latest draft of the code last Friday. Highlights included:
- The elimination of transition areas in parts of Austin that are most vulnerable to gentrification and displacement
- Further reduction of transition areas with consideration to local area flooding and corridors that are primarily residential in character and use
- Regulations aimed to incentivize the preservation of homes while also allowing thoughtful house-scale multi-unit housing.
Carmen Llanes Pulido, Executive Director of Go Austin Vamos Austin, told KXAN she still doesn’t believe a 1,300-page code is the answer.
“It’s really, really difficult to get a grip on it and follow it and actually have a pathway for engagement,” she said. “You’re trying to blanket with a big rolling brush, put this here, put this there. It incentivizes redevelopment, and there’s no anti-displacement plan in place to mitigate that.”
In the new code, the city uses “transition zones” determine where multi-unit buildings can be built. In those zones, lots zoned single-family will change to allow multi-unit buildings. In some cases, allowing up to six units per lot.
The city placed those zones along busy roads and “high opportunity areas.”
“They’re close to jobs. They’re close to transit. They’re places that people want to live for those reasons,” explained Kevin McLaughlin, Chair of Land Use Committee for AURA (An Austin for Everyone).
McLaughlin said, “When the city released draft one of the LDC rewrite, we thought that was a very strong step in the right direction. This draft two is unfortunately a step backward.”
While scaling back in gentrifying areas is understandable, McLaughlin said transition zones should be bigger, not smaller, in high opportunity areas in central and west Austin.
Attached townhomes you see in Mueller or the Grove are the types of missing middle housing that can be built in transition zones, McLaughlin said.
“It’s a great example of the kind of housing we should be allowed to build everywhere,” he explained. “People love the [Mueller] neighborhood. What we would love to see is for that kind of housing to be available everywhere.”
Llanes Pulido said the city is rushing to update the code without thinking about people being pushed out of areas in east Austin like along Pleasant Valley Road and Airport Boulevard.
“What I would much rather the city look at is small area planning, how can we preserve and protect the existing affordable units that we have and incentivize good development that’ll be mixed income and make as many as affordable units as possible,” she said.
City Council started reviewing this draft this week and can still make changes. They are scheduled to vote on this second draft next week.
Credit: Source link
