The City of Austin has released the first iteration of its CodeNEXT zoning map. It marks city staff’s first public attempt at applying a draft of the city’s new land development code, released in January, to neighborhoods throughout the city.
“It affects everybody in Austin, whether you’re a renter or whether you’re a homeowner,” said Alina Carnahan, CodeNEXT public information specialist. “It affects where you live, work and play.”
You can compare the zoning of your neighborhood under current regulations to the proposed new rules on the CodeNEXT website.
The city is moving away from current use-based code, where each plot of land has a designated use, such as commercial or residential. Instead, the new code lays out at least a dozen zones – called “transect zones” – of a form-based code, which focuses on the look of a neighborhood, allowing for varied uses throughout. Portions of the city will continue to live under use-based code.
Mayor Steve Adler said at an event this morning announcing the release of the map that the city hopes to increase housing supply along corridors and in city centers, with an eye toward density and growth management.
"We know the path we’re on right now with gentrification. We know the path we’re on right now with congestion in this city," Adler said. "If we don’t do anything, if we don’t change how we approach where we are, then there can’t be an expectation that we would end up in a different place."
City council members are expected to vote to adopt the new code in December.
