City Staff Proposes Code Amendments to Allow for More Housing, Support Project Connect

City of Austin residents will soon see another purple postcard in their mailbox. This latest citywide notification outlines proposed changes to the land development code (LDC) aimed at increasing housing options throughout the city and supporting the Project Connect light rail investments.  

The City’s Planning Department has also launched a comprehensive website detailing the proposed code amendments and how they could help create walkable neighborhoods and more housing within the reach of residents at all income levels. The City is hosting two open houses in April, one in person and one virtual, where community members can speak directly to staff to learn about the proposed changes. The Austin City Council is expected to vote on the amendments in May.  

“Planning staff have been working around the clock on these draft code amendments ever since Council gave us direction to do so last year,” said Planning Department Director Lauren Middleton-Pratt. “These changes will create more opportunities to make housing more attainable for Austin residents along our transit lines and throughout the city. We’re excited to hear from our community before we bring the final ordinances to Council.”  

Two notices have been mailed out. The first is a purple postcard mailed to every property owner in Austin that describes the three amendments that apply citywide. The City also took the additional step to mail the notice to everyone in Austin who receives a utility bill from Austin Energy.  

A second notice for the ETOD Overlay is being mailed to about 40,000 addresses in the vicinity of where the new regulations would apply (generally within 1/2 mile of the Project Connect Light Rail corridor and priority extensions). The notice includes maps of where the regulations would apply, and lists land uses that would be prohibited under the proposal. The notice also includes language required under state law related to prohibiting uses. However, the proposal does not prohibit single-family housing nor does it discontinue the current use of existing businesses.

Prohibiting certain uses in the future — like car washes, gas stations, and other car-focused businesses — is intended to support the Project Connect transit line and promote a lively, safe pedestrian environment.

“These amendments are not only important to addressing our housing challenges, but also to tackling our mobility challenges. The changes will support our overall goal of providing the infrastructure needed to allow more people to get around town by train, bus, bike, scooter, or walking, and they will also improve Austin’s competitiveness when it comes to securing the federal funding vital to building our light rail system,” said Annick Beaudet, director of the City’s Project Connect Office. “The City has coordinated this land use policy effort with our Project Connect partners, and we’re excited for the opportunities it represents.”

On Thursday, April 11, City staff will lay out the proposed changes at a joint meeting of City Council and the Planning Commission which will also include a public hearing. Community members can then attend two open houses the next week to learn more about the proposals, ask questions, and share their thoughts:

• Wednesday, April 17: In-person event at the Austin Central Library, 710 W. Cesar Chavez St. from 6 to 8 p.m. Attendees can come and go during the event as their schedules allow.   

• Saturday, April 20: Virtual event, 10 a.m. (Register on the LDC Updates website) 

At both events, staff will be available to discuss the proposed amendments, which would:

• Reduce the minimum amount of land needed to build one home. 

• Modify compatibility rules that limit the height of buildings adjacent to single-family homes. 

• Encourage transit-supportive development and affordable housing along the Project Connect Phase 1 Light Rail corridors and Priority Extensions. 

• Create a new Electrical Vehicle Charging Use that would define where EV charging facilities could be located and prevent them from becoming concentrated within active or residential areas.  

More information about each of the proposed code amendments can be found at speakupaustin.org/ldcupates. 

Spanish interpretation will be available during the open houses. For all other languages, please request a language interpreter by calling 3-1-1 no later than five days before the meeting. 

Intérpretes de español estarán disponibles.  

Yêu cầu thông dịch viên bằng cách gọi số 3-1-1 trễ nhất là năm ngày trước buổi họp quý vị muốn tham dự.  

اطلب مترجم لغوي عن طريق الاتصال بالرقم 3-1-1 في موعد لا يتجاوز خمسة أيام قبل الاجتماع الذي ترغب في حضوره.  

참석을 원하시는 회의일 최소 5일 전까지 3-1-1로 전화하여 통역자를 요청하십시오.   

请于您希望参加的会议前提前至少 5 天拨打 3-1-1，请求提供口译人员。  

請不遲於您想要參加的會議開始前的 5 天，致電 3-1-1 請求提供口譯人員。  

သင်တက်ရောက်လိုသည့် အစည်းအဝေးရက် မတိုင်မီ ငါးရက်ထက်နောက်မကျဘဲ 3-1-1 သို့ ဖုန်းခေါ်ဆို၍ ဘာသာစကား စကားပြန်ကို တောင်းဆိုပါ။  

Sollicitez un interprète en appelant le 3-1-1 au plus tard cinq jours avant la tenue de la  réunion à laquelle vous souhaitez assister.