Follow up form letter for zoning proposals 
FOLLOW UP FOR CIVIC ACTION !
Dear Neighbors,
The following information is from our OWANA Chair for you to share with your friends and neighbors including a form letter for easy action!
⚠️ URGENT: ACTION NEEDED BEFORE THURSDAY, MARCH 26
This Thursday, Austin City Council votes on two resolutions that would begin rewriting zoning rules for every residential neighborhood in the city. These are not small changes. This kit gives you everything you need to take action and help spread the word — no research required, just copy, paste, and send.
WHAT IS BEING VOTED ON
Item 40 — Missing Middle Housing & Mixed-Use Zoning
•Allows 4–6 residential units on any standard single-family lot — including on your street
•Brings mixed-use commercial buildings into the interior of residential neighborhoods, not just along major corridors like Lamar or Burnet
•Enables city-initiated rezoning of entire neighborhoods without individual homeowner consent
•Weakens or eliminates compatibility standards that protect homes near new development
Item 42 — Front Yard Businesses & Accessory Commercial Units
•Allows homeowners to operate retail shops, studios, and businesses from their front yards
•Permits construction of separate commercial structures on residential lots
•Brings commercial signage, customer traffic, and business activity onto quiet residential streets
These are resolutions — not ordinances yet. They launch the code-writing process. The best time to shape what comes next is right now, before the process begins.
STEP 1: KNOW YOUR DISTRICT
Use this quick lookup to find your City Council district if you’re unsure:
District Lookup Map: austintexas.gov/GIS/CouncilDistrictMap
Or just search “Austin Council District Lookup” online and enter your address.
COUNCIL MEMBER REFERENCE GUIDE
The sponsoring council members are listed below. Items highlighted in orange sponsor both resolutions.
District
Council Member
Your Neighbors’ CM
EmailAddress
D1 – NE Austin
Natasha Harper-Madison
Item 42 sponsor
Natasha.Harper-Madison@austintexas.gov
D2 – SE Austin
Vanessa Fuentes
Item 42 sponsor
Vanessa.Fuentes@austintexas.gov
D3 – East Austin
José Velásquez
Item 42 sponsor
Jose.Velasquez@austintexas.gov
D4 – N/Central Austin
José “Chito” Vela
BOTH items sponsor
Chito.Vela@austintexas.gov
D5 – South Austin
Ryan Alter
Item 40 sponsor
Ryan.Alter@austintexas.gov
D6 – NW Austin
Krista Laine
BOTH items sponsor
Krista.Laine@austintexas.gov
D8 – SW Austin
Paige Ellis
Item 40 lead sponsor
Paige.Ellis@austintexas.gov
D9 – Central (OWANA)
Zo Qadri
Our CM
Zo.Qadri@austintexas.gov
STEP 2: EMAIL MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS
Send to:
• Mayor Kirk Watson: kirk.watson@austintexas.gov
• CM Zo Qadri: zo.qadri@austintexas.gov (refer to your district member above)
Subject line:
Please Protect Our Neighborhood — Items 40 & 42, March 26 Council Vote
Dear Mayor Watson and Council Member Qadri,
I am a resident of Old West Austin and a member of the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association (OWANA). I am writing to urge you to oppose — or significantly amend — Items 40 and 42 on the March 26 Council agenda.
I understand Austin faces a real housing affordability challenge and I support thoughtful solutions. But these two resolutions do not meet that standard.
Item 40 would initiate code changes allowing 4–6 residential units on any standard single-family lot and introduce mixed-use commercial development deep into residential neighborhoods. It also contemplates city-initiated rezoning of whole neighborhoods without individual homeowner consent, and would weaken the compatibility standards that protect our community.
Item 42 would allow retail businesses and commercial structures to operate from front yards in residential neighborhoods — bringing commercial traffic, signage, and activity onto streets that families chose for their residential character.
Old West Austin and Clarksville are among Austin’s most historic communities. Our Local Historic Districts, neighborhood plan overlay, and compatibility protections represent decades of stewardship by residents. These resolutions put all of that at risk.
I am asking you to:
•Require genuine community engagement before any code amendments are drafted
•Explicitly protect Local Historic Districts and neighborhood plan overlays from these new zoning categories
•Ensure affordability — not just density — is a measurable and enforceable outcome of any new zoning framework
•Reject city-initiated rezoning without meaningful community consent
Our neighborhoods are not laboratories for urban planning experiments. We want to be real partners in solving Austin’s housing challenges — and we can be, if the City will engage us honestly.
Thank you for your service to our city and District 9.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Street Address]
Austin, TX 78703
✏️ Personalize it: Replace the orange fields above with your name and address. Adding one sentence about how long you’ve lived in the neighborhood or a specific street or block makes your email stand out from form letters.
Thank you!
Stephen L. Amos, Chair
Old West Austin Neighborhood Association