City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department is planning to turn Reed Park’s ball field into a water retention pond – depositing 30,000 lbs of sediment per year into the ball field.  Our green space and park land are in danger of becoming a mud pit and the historical preservation and natural beauty of our park will be forever changed for the worse.  Everyone who visits our beautiful park will be affected.  Sign this petition to show you OPPOSE the Watershed Protection Department’s proposed plan for Reed Park!  Help us put an end to this proposal and keep Reed Park’s open play field the way it is!

https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-proposed-watershed-plan-at-reed-park

The Central West Austin Neighborhood Plan Contact Team will hold its Annual Meeting on Monday, April 21, 2025 (6pm) at Howson Branch Library.  The meeting agenda is set forth below:

I.  Call to Order

A.    Officer Election.  Our current officers are Mike Cannatti (Chair), August Harris (Vice Chair), and Joyce Basciano (Secretary).  Mike is stepping down as Chair, but August has offered to take over as Chair.  We are looking for a new Vice Chair.  Pursuant to our bylaws, any officer candidate must be qualified NPCT Executive Committee Members in good standing.

B.    NPCT Executive Committee Election.  We are looking for Executive Committee members to fill the “residential renter” position and a “WANG Planning Area Residential Property Owner” representative position required by our bylaws.  In addition, we need to confirm that the board member representative positions for the WANG, BWNA, and PHNA boards are correctly filled.

C.  Neighborhood Plan Amendment NPA-2025-0019.02 for “City-initiated NPAs for the University Neighborhood Overlay.”  This does not relate to our plan, but instead adds “High Density Mixed Use” to the Central Austin Combined Neighborhood Plan FLUM for numerous properties between MLK, S. Lamar, W. 29^th, and Guadalupe.  More details at https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/permit/public-search-other?t_detail=1&t_selected_folderrsn=13484876&t_selected_propertyrsn=589454.

D.  Discussion re Neighborhood Plan Amendment NPA-2025-0027.01 for 2406 Lake Austin Blvd — FLUM change from “Neighborhood Commercial” to “Mixed Use” in support of zoning change (C14-2025-0026).  This discussion will precede the noticed “Virtual Community Meeting” on Thursday, April 24^th from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm.  From what I can see at the Microsoft Teams meeting link (https://publicinput.com/neighborhoodplanamendmentcases), there is no meaningful information provided regarding the requested FLUM amendment.

E.  Discussion and Possible Action regarding Rider to Senate Bill 1 regarding proposed redevelopment of Austin State Supported Living Center.

II.  Adjourn

WANG has sent a letter to the City of Austin Planning Commission regarding the Proposed HOME Ordinance.  Click below to see the letter and information about the ordinance.

WANG Letter to PC HOME 042224C  H.O.M.E. and Compatibilty Ordinances

What Passed? and What Is Coming?

Land Code Changes Passed in 2023 (“H.O.M.E” Phase 1)

More Dwelling Units on Single-Family Lots
Three dwelling units per lot are now authorized in single-family districts SF-1, SF-2, and SF-3. An 11,500 square foot lot zoned SF-2 or SF-3 can now have six units without a zoning change, with a re-subdivision into two lots. If you don’t know your property’s current zoning designation, you can find it by entering your address here.

More Cars on Your Street
If more than one unit is being built on the lot it can be 15 feet from the street, with up to four parking spaces in the front yard. Mayor Watson’s council eliminated minimum parking requirements earlier in 2023, so all other parking may be on the street.

More Short-Term Rentals (STRs)
For a duplex or two-unit build, one unit can be used as an STR. For three units, there are no restrictions on short-term rentals.

Loss of “McMansion” Protections
Floor area ratio (FAR) regulates the cumulative size of structures on a site, and Phase 1 of “H.O.M.E” increases FAR as additional units are added. If all or part of an existing dwelling unit is preserved, the new units are exempted from the limits. The previous “McMansion” rules, limited FAR to .4, meaning a 4,000-square-foot house was allowed on a 10,000 square foot lot. Under Phase 1 of “H.O.M.E.”, a landowner or developer can build 10,000 square feet of units on a 10,000-square-foot lot if the existing unit is preserved.

Loss of Occupancy Limits
Local housing occupancy limits are removed, overriding previous rules limiting occupants to four unrelated people or fewer.