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Author: Leah Michel Bojo Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 266
Book Description
Austin is alleged to be more contentious than its peer cities with regard to land use decisions. Local blogs and media are critical of the city's land development code and public processes and there is a perception of unfairness when it comes to changing the city's zoning ordinance. This research explores land use decisions in Austin, El Paso, and Denver. I look at the level of conflict and the public processes in each city to understand the factors that may make Austin feel more contentious than other cities or if that heightened contentiousness is only the perception of an inherently controversial issue. Through the data collection I found that Austin does have many more changes proposed and granted to its zoning ordinance than its peer cities, likely because of how complicated and out-of-date the land development code is. The approval ratings are similarly high across all cities. This high number of changes, combined with an even higher number of zoning items posted to council agendas but then postponed, may be perpetuating a perception that the land use covenant between the citizens and the city is being amended more often than it should be. I also look at innovative ways that cities across the country are reducing conflict, or the perception of it, with regard to public input, code structures, and public education. With its approval of a new comprehensive plan, Austin is poised to rewrite its land development regulations. The city would likely benefit from exploring some of these, and other, creative solutions to these common municipal conflicts.
Author: Leah Michel Bojo Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 266
Book Description
Austin is alleged to be more contentious than its peer cities with regard to land use decisions. Local blogs and media are critical of the city's land development code and public processes and there is a perception of unfairness when it comes to changing the city's zoning ordinance. This research explores land use decisions in Austin, El Paso, and Denver. I look at the level of conflict and the public processes in each city to understand the factors that may make Austin feel more contentious than other cities or if that heightened contentiousness is only the perception of an inherently controversial issue. Through the data collection I found that Austin does have many more changes proposed and granted to its zoning ordinance than its peer cities, likely because of how complicated and out-of-date the land development code is. The approval ratings are similarly high across all cities. This high number of changes, combined with an even higher number of zoning items posted to council agendas but then postponed, may be perpetuating a perception that the land use covenant between the citizens and the city is being amended more often than it should be. I also look at innovative ways that cities across the country are reducing conflict, or the perception of it, with regard to public input, code structures, and public education. With its approval of a new comprehensive plan, Austin is poised to rewrite its land development regulations. The city would likely benefit from exploring some of these, and other, creative solutions to these common municipal conflicts.
Author: Pooja Anil Chaudhari Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 158
Book Description
Transit-oriented development is a planning instrument where land use and developments are driven by the presence of transit around them. This planning tool is particularly crucial in urban cities facing rapid growth, where local and regional governments encourage sustainable developments via land use planning, zoning laws, and changes to building codes, among other things (Transit-Oriented Development, 2015). Many metropolitan cities may have Council-adopted districts to promote transit-oriented developments with an aim to balance density, mix use, affordability, sustainability, alternate modes of transportation, using land use policies and public transit investments. The objectives of any given city for their transit-oriented developments will be unique, subject to context and priorities. Currently, the City of Austin regulates and promotes such developments for three transit-oriented developments and two special regulating districts. It is important to evaluate the performance of Austin’s transit-oriented development districts against the city’s larger strategic goals. The City of Austin adopts many strategic plans with different scopes; some are city-wide, while some as program-based or area-specific. These comply with each other in order to address various city priorities. A crucial component of Austin’s strategic planning process is performance management. While there are many ways to approach performance evaluation in planning, currently there is no globally accepted gold standard for assessing transit-oriented developments. The City also revises and updates these plans/ ordinances when required, to reflect the current conditions and challenges. Large public investments, capital improvements and partnerships are driven by these strategic plans. Hence it becomes important to evaluate the results of implementation. By identifying and informing the gaps and opportunities from periodic performance evaluation, the city stands to optimize the benefits of transit-oriented developments. This report identifies ideal metrics for TODs in Austin, derived from the city’s strategic planning goals and evaluates these metrics using empirical data. This progress report will focus on a quantitative approach and serve as an important tool for making informed revisions in policy and providing transparency and accountability in decision-making. This assessment has potential importance to the city’s officials to keep track of progress, or lack thereof, of their implemented policies. Such studies also help for future relevant planning decisions
Author: John Wallace Blunt Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 174
Book Description
The purpose of this report is to analyze the zoning change process in Austin, Texas. The report examines Austin's type of city government followed by an overview of zoning in the United States and Austin. The report chronicles the evolution of the Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan and the Neighborhood Planning Area during the time period 1979-1997. Since 1997, zoning change protocol has become intertwined with neighborhood planning such that both must be discussed in detail. The extreme real estate cycles from 1982 to the present are also discussed. Economic conditions played a key role in the slow enactment of neighborhood planning in Austin. The report examines the jurisdictional boundaries of Austin and the governmental bodies charged with hearing zoning cases. After discussing the motivations of the market participants seeking zoning changes, the report analyzes four case studies to illustrate the basic types of zoning cases today. Finally, the report draws conclusions and offers suggestions for improving the efficiency and fairness of the zoning change process in Austin, Texas.
Author: Colton Wayne Sanders Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 184
Book Description
Land use planning requires patience, organization and fortitude. This especially true in Austin, Texas and specific to The Grove at Shoal Creek PUD that is determined to create a mixed-use development that will be a model for future urban infill projects in Central Austin. The City of Austin is currently rewriting its Land Development Code embracing form-based code to better facilitate the complete communities objectives of the Imagine Austin comprehensive plan adopted in June 2012. This report explores the strengths and hindrances of the current land development code’s planned unit development (“PUD”) regulations to address the goals of complete communities through a case study of The Grove at Shoal Creek PUD proposal. The proposed development has been touted as a leading example of how PUD zoning can be used to accomplish these objectives, and this report will critically analyze both the regulatory processes and content of the developer’s proposal against the desired objectives of the Imagine Austin Plan. CodeNEXT is a three-year undertaking by city staff to rewrite Austin’s land development code (“LDC”) that began in September 2013. CodeNEXT embodies the re-visioning of the LDC incorporating form-based code districts to providing an illustrative, hybridized land development code guided by participatory planning activities (Community Character Manual, 2015). The concepts of form-based code are introduced to discuss current trends surrounding the re-visioning of conventional (Euclidean) land development code to one that primarily focuses on the form of the public spaces and then the uses within the buildings as a secondary concern. There is also an emerging trend of hybridized code which combine convention and form-based codes, and it is expected that CodeNEXT will follow this process to guide future development in Austin, Texas with a new regulatory framework. Hybridized land development codes seek to retain and clarify the objectives of conventional code while formulating districts along activity corridors incorporating form-based code to create predictable development. This report seeks to determine, as a case study, how form-based code will facilitate or hinder future urban infill developments similar to The Grove at Shoal Creek. The developers of The Grove have submitted proprietary Project Design Guidelines to administer development within the site. The design guidelines are analyzed and compared to form-based code districts from other towns and cities in Texas and across the United States within this report. Also, the Envision Tomorrow suite of planning tools are used in connection with ArcGIS mapping analysis to compare and contrast the developer’s proposal with that of the stakeholders and a single family low density development scenario. The conceptual land use plans are evaluated against the requested entitlements of the zoning application to determine whether or not the illustrative concepts may become the final product. My report uses predictability as the ultimate indicator of a successful planning process while given consideration to flexibility required during the planning process and after approval of zoning to allow for changing market conditions. Furthermore, I find that form-based code and the phased planning approach prescribed by the Form-Based Code Institute facilitate predictable form of the built environment and flexibility with the uses within those building. The principles of form-based code seek to create a memorable relationship between the structures and the public spaces that is attractive to people allowing a place to stand the test of time by promoting compatibility and adaptability with its surroundings. My discussions with neighbors, city staff, developers and investors have afforded me a wide perspective on how land development code is understood as well as the perception of the regulatory environment in Austin. The regulatory delays inherent of real estate development in Austin have been observed for decades and widely discussed. This report seeks to address these short-comings by envisioning emerging methods of placemaking through form-based code. My hope is that the lessons learned from this analysis of The Grove PUD application process, and prescriptions formed by the creation of CodeNEXT will address recommendations from the Zucker Report through a hybridized land development code to effectuate placemaking in Austin preserving its eclectic character while guiding development to serve the needs Austin, Texas for the next thirty years.
Author: Leah Michel Bojo
Author: Leah Michel Bojo
Author: Diana Claire McAdams
Author: Tian Huang
Author: Research and Planning Consultants (Austin, Tex.)
Author: Pooja Anil Chaudhari
Author: Saurabh Kumar
Author: John Wallace Blunt
Author: Austin (Tex.). Dept. of Planning
Author: Philip Brandimarte
Author: Colton Wayne Sanders