Austin

The rising cost of construction has made it harder to build affordable homes in Central Austin, housing analysts said Thursday at the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin midyear housing forecast event.

A program the Austin City Council approved in March to fast-track permitting for builders who pay construction workers at least $13.50/hr, offer training in safety and worker's compensation along with other requirements could be eliminated as part of an effort in the Texas legislature to speed up construction permitting.

We spoke to Texas Tribune reporter Andy Duehren about his story on this.

In Austin and about 60 other Texas cities, you need a permit before you can cut down some large or historic trees. Opponents of those tree-preservation rules –including Gov. Greg Abbott – call them a violation of property rights. Now, Attorney General Ken Paxton has weighed in – and those opponents may not be happy with his opinion.

Paul Slutes is accustomed to less-than-enthusiastic welcomes.

At times, this often resembles a recent scene at Balcones Pool: Despondent swimmers greet him, seated on the concrete with their knees to their chins. Forty minutes earlier, a lifeguard closed the pool because of low chlorine levels. That’s why Slutes is here.

The 2017 regular session of the Texas Legislature was one of the most contentious in recent memory. It had plenty of protests, some infighting, a few filibusters and even a death threat. Now, after all that drama, lawmakers are headed back for more.

On a Sunday in late April, Pastor Clarence Jones asked his congregation to join him.

"Oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. Congregation?" he said, his voice booming from the front of the church. Roughly 40 congregants seated in the pews responded: "I saw the Lord and he heard me ..."

More than 100 people filled an auditorium yesterday to hear from Democratic candidates running for the Texas House District 46 seat – a district that stretches from East Austin out to Manor and north to Pflugerville – to hear five candidates opposing 12-term state Rep. Dawnna Dukes of Austin. 

When we talk about gentrification in Austin, the conversation tends to center around rapid redevelopment on the city’s East Side. But residents of other neighborhoods near the city center have their eyes on the changes that Austin’s new land development code, CodeNEXT, could bring.

If there were a checklist of things to do in Austin, Cherno Nije has checked a lot of boxes.

He moved to Austin in 1985 to attend UT. He worked for the state, raised a family, moved to Lakeway and eventually started a real estate development firm. He enjoys going to jazz shows downtown.

He also plotted a coup d’état.

When you’re out enjoying some live music in Austin, you’re probably not thinking about the development rules governing the venue you’re in. But Austin’s new land development code, known as CodeNEXT, will have implications for clubs and the city’s other creative spaces. 

When you're driving down Lamar Boulevard between Lady Bird Lake and Fifth Street, do you ever look at the walls of the underpass beneath the train bridge? Do you look at those blank blue signs on the walls of the underpass and wonder: What the heck are those things?

Laura Bauman does. So she asked about them for our ATXplained project.

As Austin’s new land development code, known as CodeNEXT is being written, city staff and the private sector are working to understand how it will shape future development.

The Austin City Council has approved some changes to the review process for the city’s new land development code, known as CodeNEXT, allowing for additional scrutiny at City Hall before its planned adoption in April of next year.