Proposed City Council Neighborhood Zoning Changes 
URGENT OPPORTUNITY FOR CIVIC ACTION
One of the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association’s roles is to do our best to keep you informed of local and regional government policy & infrastructure changes that would affect our neighborhood. We want you to have the information you need to let policy makers know how you feel about these issues. On that note, please read the following important information about potential new zoning laws that will affect all neighborhoods if passed by the City Council.
Dear Neighbors,
This coming Thursday, March 26th, the Council is voting on two resolutions Item 40 & 42 that represent a far reaching, top-down overhaul of our neighborhoods. Ignoring the need for truly affordable housing, City staff is pushing a “missing middle” agenda that would allow 4 to 6 units on standard-size lots, expand mixed-use buildings from corridors and major roadways into neighborhoods, and permit small buildings in the front yards of single-family homes to operate as retail stores.
Building on the removal of parking and occupancy standards, this three-part initiative further undermines the integrity of single-family zoning. This shift toward higher-density, higher cost development prioritizes commercial interests at the expense of family stability, school enrollment and resident retention.
We need development that honors existing communities, not destroys them. Our neighborhoods are not labs for urban development experiments. We deserve policies that value our neighborhoods without overdeveloping them. The City’s current direction of experimental planning rather than partnering with the neighborhoods in building a thoughtful future is misleading and untrustworthy.
Points to remember:
– City staff envisions the “missing middle” zoning (4 to 6 units on standard lots) would be available for area-wide “city-initiated rezoning” or by property owners in “lower- to mid-density residential neighborhoods,” in the interior of existing neighborhoods and that “[g]oing forward, the new base zones could be used instead of the current ones.” ]
– City staff proposes mixed-use zones, to support live/work, small-scale neighborhood retail, offices, missing middle-scale housing, and low-rise multifamily buildings” in low- to medium-density areas.
– The second proposed resolution, if adopted, would announce Council support for Front Yard Businesses in residential areas.
This coming Thursday, March 26th, the Council is voting on two resolutions Item 40 & 42 that represent a far reaching, top-down overhaul of our neighborhoods. Ignoring the need for truly affordable housing, City staff is pushing a “missing middle” agenda that would allow 4 to 6 units on standard-size lots, expand mixed-use buildings from corridors and major roadways into neighborhoods, and permit small buildings in the front yards of single-family homes to operate as retail stores.
Please click on the link to contact the Mayor and Council and voice your concerns that these resolutions will/could have on your quality of life. You can also contact our district Council member CM Zo Qadri independently of the group email.
Beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday the 23rd, you can also register to speak at the City Council meeting on Thursday March 26th in person or remotely about ITEM 40 & 42 .
Thank you for considering having your voice heard!
-OWANA Zoning
Information courtesy of Community not Commodity