BG Reads | News You Need to Know (December 15, 2021)
Downtown Austin
[BINGHAM GROUP]
The BG Podcast is back! EP. 148 features Jose "Chito" Vela III a candidate for Austin's Council District 4.
The immigration and defense attorney declared in early November, following Council Member Greg Casar announcing his candidacy for Congress (triggering an automatic resignation).
Bingham Group CEO A.J. and Associate Wendy Rodriguez discuss Chito's campaign and what he hopes to achieve if elected.
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Council to allow ADUs in more places (Austin Monitor)
In response to rising housing costs, last Thursday City Council proposed several changes to allow accessory dwelling units in more neighborhoods and to make them easier to build.
ADUs are set to become legal in Single Family Residence-Large Lot (SF-1) and Single Family Residence-Standard Lot (SF-2) zones – but only if the existing home is left intact (a requirement intended to discourage tear-downs). ADUs are currently allowed on most lots zoned Family Residence (SF-3).
Occupancy restrictions, another big barrier to ADU construction, are set to be removed. Current code requires attached or internal accessory units – think granny flats or above-garage apartments – be occupied by an elderly or disabled person or a family member. Since anyone will be able to live in all types of accessory units, internal and attached ADU construction is likely to surge. Council will also overturn a ban on garage conversions.
Beyond being allowed in more places, ADUs may soon become easier and cheaper to build. Council Member Kathie Tovo’s resolution directs city staff to explore creating pre-approved ADU blueprints for public use. Staffers will present the details of such a program by Feb. 1.
The resolution, which passed unanimously, builds on a 2015 rule change that allowed ADUs on most lots zoned SF-3 and relaxed other regulations. After that rule change, ADU construction has increased every year, according to data through 2019. Council passed an ADU resolution last year that prompted a thorough city staff report on barriers to ADU construction in the city.
Council members hoped the proposed changes will allow more housing options for all residents. “Our middle-income earners, they’re going to win the most here,” Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison said. “But I also think this makes housing attainable across the city for our lower-income earners.”
The resolution also directs staffers to work with third-party lenders to create loans for ADU construction. Not being able to finance construction prevents many middle- and lower-income Austinites from building ADUs, according to the city staff’s report.
Despite the unanimous vote, there were still concerns. Some Council members questioned a part of the resolution that directs staff to study scaling allowable ADU size to lot size. Harper-Madison worried that even though such a rule might produce smaller, more affordable units, those ADUs could be less attractive to families or could prevent people from living with roommates – the only way some can afford to live in Austin in the first place.
Some members also weren’t satisfied with the resolution’s scope. “Obviously, I’d like us to go further than this,” Mayor Steve Adler said, adding that Council, for now at least, is only considering consensus land use policies in order to make progress on housing policies without the divisiveness that has marred past efforts… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
As omicron arrives in the area, Austin and Travis County extend COVID restrictions (KUT)
Austin is extending COVID-19 restrictions that mandate masking in public schools and impose penalties for violating the public health order.
The Austin City Council and Travis County commissioners moved Tuesday to reauthorize the joint mandate ahead of the holidays and just a day after likely cases of the omicron variant were detected in Central Texas. The order is extended until at least June 10, though officials can vote to end the restrictions earlier.
Per the order, anyone on the campus of a public school over the age of 2 is required to wear a mask. That includes public charter schools and public colleges. Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order in May banning mask mandates, but its legality has gone back and forth in the courts.
Tuesday's order also reauthorizes Austin and Travis County's risk-based guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Austin is currently in Stage 3 of the guidelines, which means vaccinated people don't need to wear masks at outdoor gatherings or when dining or shopping. Vaccinated people who are at high risk of severe illness should continue masking. All vaccinated people should wear masks at indoor gatherings and when traveling. The order also allows for civil penalties for businesses that violate the guidelines… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Travis County candidates file for races in March primary elections (Community Impact)
Travis County races are starting to take shape as the candidate filing period ended Dec. 13 for the March primary.
The primary date is March 1 with early voting happening Feb. 14-25. The primary contest winners will then advance to the general election Nov. 8.
The county finalized new maps in November after the 2020 U.S. census data showed it grew by 20.6% between 2010 and 2020, reaching 1.29 million residents.
Below are the primary races for county judge, Precinct 2 commissioner, Precinct 4 commissioner, county clerk, State Board of Education District 5 and county party chair. Voters have until Jan. 31 to register and can find more information on the Texas secretary of state's elections division website… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Cord Shiflet takes the reins as new Austin Board of Realtors president (Austin Business Journal)
Cord Shiflet is the new president-elect of the Austin Board of Realtors, but the longtime Realtor has been a familiar face in the organization for years.
A Realtor with Moreland Properties for nearly 25 years, Shiflet has been a high performer in the Austin real estate scene for years, frequently earning a spot on the Austin Business Journal’s list of top individual agents.
He made his name specializing in high-end properties. Several times, he’s been a member of the Luxury League, an exclusive list that ranks Realtors based on their luxury sales volume, as well as the Elite 25, putting him in the top 1% of local Realtors.
He’s been a Realtor for the majority of his professional life, with some notable side gigs. He started a company called Concord Limousine when he was in college. He sold the company around 2013. He also founded a luxury real estate magazine, ReFine, in 2010, which is still in print.
He's also known as the creator and routine competitor in the annual Cannonball Run-style event called Fool's Roll, which consists of teams racing from Austin to Las Vegas in outlandish cars and costumes.
Shiflet has been a member of ABOR for more than two decades. Beginning in 2015, he served on the board of directors, but his tenure was interrupted when the organization's leaders controversially planned to merge the multiple listing service (MLS) with the San Antonio Board of Realtors'. In 2017, Shiflet and fellow board member Brian Talley were removed for asking questions about the merger and bringing it to the attention of the other members.
Shiflet filed a suit against ABOR in September 2017, along with Realty Austin co-founder Jonathan Boatwright, alleging that the upcoming election — which wouldn’t have allowed Shiflet and Talley to re-run for their seats — was a violation of the bylaws. Shiflet got his name on the ballot via petition and won his seat back. Then-ABOR CEO Paul Hilgers abruptly resigned.
Following Hilgers’ departure, Emily Chenevert took over as CEO and president of ABOR, and the organization has enjoyed a relatively conflict-free few years. In October of this year, the Austin MLS, owned and operated by ABOR, teamed up with MLSs in Atlanta, Kansas City and Miami to buy real estate software company Remine Inc. This purchase allows the MLS providers to have a greater say in the software Realtors use in their day-to-day processes… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Republican primary for attorney general heats up, with challengers taking aim at Ken Paxton’s legal troubles (Texas Tribune)
Four years ago, Republicans watched closely to see if Attorney General Ken Paxton — who had been battling a high-profile securities fraud indictment — would draw a last-minute primary challenger as the candidate filing deadline loomed for the 2018 primary.
But despite his apparent vulnerability, Paxton ran unopposed in his party on his way to a second term.
This election cycle, things are different. Paxton is facing what is shaping up to be the biggest, most contentious fight among Texas Republicans next year, with the fate of the state’s top law enforcement official on the line. He has attracted three primary foes who are well known in Texas politics, a lineup that was finalized when candidate filing closed Monday evening for the 2022 primary. They are Land Commissioner George P. Bush, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
LULAC drops use of 'Latinx' as term for Hispanics, considering it 'non-inclusive' (Houston Chronicle)
The country’s oldest Hispanic civil rights organization has decided to drop the use of “Latinx” as a pan-ethnic term to refer to people of Hispanic or Latino heritage, saying it considers the word to be “non-inclusive” and at odds with its centric, non-partisan political positions. Domingo Garcia, the national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, instructed the organization to stop using Latinx in official communications after a survey by the research firm Bendixen and Amandi published last week found only 2 percent of Hispanic or Latino voters chose the word Latinx to describe their ethnic background and 40 percent said the term bothers or offends them.
“I thought it was important that we drop a term, Latinx, that is not used by José and María on the streets and is not used by most people to define themselves in our communities,” García told the Chronicle. The new survey confirmed similar results of polls during the last couple of years. A national poll of over 3,000 Hispanic adults by Pew Research Center conducted in December 2019 found that only 23 percent of U.S. adults who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino had heard of the term Latinx, and just 3 percent say they use it to describe themselves. Another study last year by ThinkNow Research found that 98 percent of Latino-Hispanic people do not identify with the word “Latinx.” Latinx has emerged as a term gaining greater use among a sector of progressive organizations and politicians, arguably for being more inclusive than Hispanic or Latino. Latinx is also used by some marketers and entertainment firms. But Garcia said many Latinos see it differently… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Buyers rush to snap up rural Texas properties (San Antonio Express-News)
Rural land sales in Texas continue to soar as buyers rush to purchase property for subdivisions, investments, farming or bucolic retreats, according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. Sales statewide surged to 9,331 in the third quarter, up 40 percent from a year ago, and the average price per acre jumped nearly 25 percent to $3,717. The research center divides Texas into regions and grouped Austin, Waco and the Hill Country together. Sales and average prices there were both up more than 30 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30, with more than 160,000 acres sold. “If you want property in this region, take a number,” research economist Dr. Charles Gilliland said in a statement. “Brokers have buyers lined up.”
Some of the acreage is being broken up into tracts for subdivisions as demand for homes surges, he said. Ranch and crop land is also sought after. Investors and speculators are snapping up chunks, too. “U.S. buyers are coming from as far away as Alaska and as near as Austin, Houston and Dallas,” Gilliland said. “Meanwhile, investors from India have an insatiable appetite for land near the city of Austin and Williamson County. In many cases, these buyers make offers that exceed asking prices.” Sales surged in west, northeast and south Texas and along the Gulf Coast in the third quarter. In the Panhandle and South Plains, sales are expected to reach record levels this year. “With buyers, mostly farmers, flush with cash from both government stimulus payments and strong commodity prices, sales increased dramatically,” said Gilliland… (LINK TO FULL STORY)