(Photo:KLBJ 590AM/99.7FM/Jon Cooley)
The tedious nature of Council had some on the dais frustrated, including Mayor Protem Kathie Tovo and Counilmember Delia Garza .
But in the end the Mayor Protem called it productive, when it came to Housing density.
She saw consensus with her colleagues on building dense housing along the city’s major corridors and activity centers and not in the core of neighborhoods.
Despite this victory, she added, there is still more code to pour though like affordable housing rules and zoning, which she hopes they’ll tackle further next week.
Though Austin City Council’s Special Meeting on CodeNEXT was at times tense, Mayor Steve Adler called it a good step forward. “Any conversation on CodeNEXT will be a difficult conversation.” The Mayor looks forward to talking about the city’s dwindling housing supply and how much needs to be added.
But as residents and lawyers make ready for a legal battle over not being allowed to vote on the controversial land use rules rewrite, Councilmember Greg Casar is sticking to his guns, and reiterated his statements when Council voted down a measure to put CodeNEXT on the November ballot, since the code is a zoning ordinance, it cannot legally be put to a public vote. But he added, Council looks forward to a judge telling council what’s what, be they in the right or the wrong.
