The Forever Green Tournament was held on Sept. 15th at the historic Lions Municipal Golf Course. This beloved annual tournament benefits the Muny Conservancy and its mission to Save Muny for Good! The 4 person scramble with 8 AM and 1 PM shotgun starts was followed by a party with BBQ dinner and music at at the Muny Clubhouse and Patio. Visit https://themunyconservancy.com/ for full photo gallery.

The future of the historic Lions Municipal Golf Course is still uncertain. Through events like Forever Green and Imagine Muny, the Austin Community is coming together to send a message that saving this historic Civil Rights Landmark and beloved open green space from development is the highest and best use of the land. The Muny Conservancy is a non-profit organization of citizens, formed to actively engage the University of Texas Board of Regents, City of Austin officials and Austin citizens to help facilitate the preservation and restoration of all 141 acres of Muny as a historic 18 hole public golf course, FOREVER!

Reduction in Minimum Lot Sizes
Having established the right to build three units per lot in Phase 1, the city council plans to reduce minimum lot sizes from 5,750 feet in SF-2 and SF-3 zones during Phase 2. It also plans to reduce the 10,000-square-foot-lot limit in SF-1 to a much smaller size (perhaps as small as 2,500 square feet) and allow existing single-family lots to be subdivided into multiple lots. According to the council’s Housing and Planning Committee, the planned ordinance will “adjust setbacks, height, and impervious cover for single-family zoning to allow more units on smaller lots.” After lot subdivision, the net effect will be as many as nine or more units on existing lots depending on current size.

Extreme Changes to Compatibility Standards
The city plans to reduce compatibility standards to only regulate building height for the first 75 linear feet from a single family home.

Happy New Year to our West Austin Neighborhood Group members and neighbors. Please join us for our first meeting of 2024, on Wednesday January 10, 6 PM at the Howson Public Library. 2023 presented many challenges for our growing neighborhood and City. We hope to continue working with City policy makers to encourage more COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT as a stronger part of City Planning this year.

On Dec. 7 th the Austin City Council passed the “HOME” Ordinance which will allow up to 3 buildings on every single-family zoned lot in Austin. WANG’s proposed amendments to “HOME,” to encourage smaller housing, less displacement, less demolition, less loss of tree cover, less stress on infrastructure, less environmental damage, by limiting the size of the buildings, were ignored by the majority of Council in their deliberations. Only Council Members Alison Alter and MacKenzie Kelly voted against the “HOME” Ordinance as proposed. You can view the draft ordinance here:

https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=420018
What does this mean for single-family zoning in neighborhoods?

• Phase 1 (approved Dec. 7, 2023) will allow up to 3 units to be built on any single-family zoned lot with a minimum lot size of 5750 sf.
• Properties that redevelop with 2 and 3 units are not subject to the McMansion
• Ordinance and will be allowed .65 FAR (floor area ratio,) for 3 units and .55 FAR for 2 units.
• Garages 200 sf and under do not count toward FAR
• City front setback for 3 units is 15 feet (formerly 25 feet)
• Restrictions on number of unrelated adults living in a housing unit are removed