BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 7, 2021)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Overhaul out of reach, Adler pushes to gradually update Austin's land development code: 'We need to do everything we can' (Austin Business Journal)
Fast-growing Austin is still leaning on a land development code largely crafted in the 1980s. It's affecting everything from housing affordability issues to traffic.
A previous city effort to overhaul the code — which determines what can be built where throughout the city — is still held up by a citizen-led lawsuit, but city officials are open to finding other ways to make changes to what is considered the largest economic issue right now for developers.
Mayor Steve Adler said his goal is to bring these conversations back to the Council dais in the coming months and move forward with individual changes to the land development code that Council is in agreement on. He expects to have these discussions after the next fiscal budget is adopted later this summer.
“I think we need to do everything we can,” Adler said. “The court case will get decided. I think it's an important case for the courts to decide, however they go. … But in the meantime, we should figure out what are the things on the land development code that we can all agree to, and at the very least, do those.”
Aimed at encouraging more dense development, a code rewrite has been a top priority of the city for several years now, starting with CodeNext, which was abandoned in August 2018 amid deep community divisions. Another effort emerged in 2019 but was stopped by a lawsuit that's currently ongoing. A group of 19 residents filed the suit under the claim that the city violated local government code when it did not notify individual property owners of potential zoning changes.
Many Austinites believe the revamp can't come fast enough as the city deals with an extreme shortage of housing supply amid a surge of new residents. That's led to affordability issues running high and concerns of ever-clogged streets due to suburban commuters forced to buy homes far from the urban core... (LINK TO STORY)
Austin airport sees second day of long TSA checkpoint lines (KVUE)
On Saturday, passengers at Austin's airport again faced long waits and large crowds at ticketing and TSA checkpoint lines, especially during the morning hours.
Problems began on Friday, with many passengers experiencing a two-hour wait to get through security, plus additional wait times at ticketing.
The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) said passengers should give themselves extra time to get through. The airport recommends travelers with flights before 8 a.m. arrive at least three hours prior to their flight. It also recommends travelers with flights later in the morning avoid arriving too early – more than two hours before the flight – to avoid adding additional congestion to already busy morning lines.
Delays on Saturday caused more large crowds and many missed flights.
Passengers going through Austin's airport on Sunday should also be prepared to pack their patience. An airport spokesperson told KVUE they are anticipating 25,000 outbound flyers on Sunday, June 6. For context, the busiest day, including non-pandemic times, was approximately 31,000 outbound flyers.
"Chaotic. It was chaotic. Nobody knew where to go. So many people, no social distancing," Emily Mangin, whose boyfriend echoed that travelers were "packed like sardines," said on Friday.
Mangin said she and her boyfriend arrived about two hours before their flight. However, after a tough time parking and an hour-and-a-half in the security line, they missed their flight and decided to drive 15 hours to the wedding they were trying to fly to.
AUS is recommending passengers arrive three hours early for peak departure times and two-and-a-half hours early for non-peak departure times. AUS said its peak departure times include 5 a.m. to 8 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin’s multifamily market continues remarkable post-pandemic growth (Austin Business Journal)
Austin’s apartment market was hit harder by the pandemic than any other Texas metro, but now it’s experiencing the strongest post-pandemic rebound.
A new report from ApartmentData.com shows occupancy is at its highest rate since March 2020, and prices are higher than they’ve been in the past two years.
This growth comes after Covid-19 effectively stopped the local apartment market in its tracks about a year ago. Apartments saw fewer new leases as people moved out of the urban core, lost their jobs or discontinued short-term corporate rentals. Prices and occupancy rates dropped. The average rent declined for the first time since 2009.
As of June 2, Austin boasted a 90.7% apartment occupancy rate, up slightly from March of this year and higher than the 90.5% occupancy average for 2019.
Other major Texas markets are following suit, with Houston, San Antonio and Dallas/Fort Worth all seeing occupancy rates between 90% and 92% earlier this month.
Cindi Reed, vice president at ApartmentData.com, said the nearly 16,000 units under construction in the Austin area will likely drive the occupancy number down in the future, but developers should not be afraid as that won't affect the overall strength of the market.
Although on par with other major Texas metros, in terms of occupancy, Austin’s rent was the highest of them all this month, with an average monthly rate of $1,371 across all apartment sizes and classes.
The Austin rental rate was up 5% over the past 12 months, which Reed said is extremely healthy. Rental rate growth, on an annualized basis, sits somewhere between 3% and 3.5%.
Austin is also seeing a particularly strong absorption rate, or change in occupancy month over month, with 13,318 units currently occupied that were vacant or not yet on the market a year ago. A large chunk of newly absorbed units were filled within the first five months of this year… (LINK TO STORY)
City Council makes plans for City Hall return (Austin Monitor)
In news that will be welcomed by those who have grown tired of staring at digital grids of local officials, City Council members have begun to make plans to hold in-person meetings again.
Though there is no firm date, and no clear plan for how they will return to the physical dais, Council members discussed their options at Tuesday’s work session and emerged with a tentative plan to return to the corporeal world in some form at some point in July.
The news was welcomed by City Clerk Jannette Goodall, who has implemented virtual meetings during the pandemic.
“From what I’m hearing, the majority of Council is interested in coming back,” she said. “For us, logistically, full in-person Council meetings reduces our workload and our stress, so we are actually looking forward to having you all back.”
From her side of things, Goodall emphasized that there was a lot of flexibility in terms of how in-person meetings could take place. She said that, if necessary, the numbers of community members allowed in the chamber can be limited and socially distanced. Goodall also explained that staffers could still appear virtually, or wait in another area of City Hall until they needed to speak, if that was their preference. In addition, she said, her office could accommodate Council members who needed to occasionally join meetings remotely once in-person meetings resume.
However, she noted that a hybrid meeting that included video testimony from the public would be more complicated. Currently, due to the emergency order that is in place, audio testimony is allowed during meetings. When the order is lifted, people participating remotely would have to do so via video, which would require crucial participation from public libraries, which Goodall explained will not yet be ready in July.
The shape public testimony will take during non-virtual meetings has yet to be determined. During the pandemic, testimony has generally been taken in two chunks, in the morning and later in the afternoon, prior to zoning cases. Mayor Steve Adler said he appreciated the new system was more efficient, saying it was a reason meetings had not run so late over the past year.
Council Member Mackenzie Kelly advocated to keep the newer system of grouping testimony moving forward. She said she has heard that the old system was a barrier to participation, requiring a whole day’s commitment, unlike the scheduled blocks of time.
Council Member Kathie Tovo did not disagree with that benefit, and acknowledged the change has made City Hall more accessible, but warned against losing the benefit of hearing testimony along with Council discussions in addition to retaining blocks of scheduled testimony.
“I hope that whatever system we land on will continue to preserve the opportunity for people to provide testimony right before the Council takes up an item,” Tovo said, noting that Council members cannot ask questions or engage in further dialogue about testimony when people have left the virtual meeting. “I’ve seen a greater impact from testimony when the information is conveyed to those decision-makers at the time they are about to have that conversation.”
Council ended its discussion last week without a blueprint for how meetings will be held in July, though the majority of Council members seemed ready to return to City Hall. Adler suggested the rest of the discussion could take place online, or through memos, as they get ready to go back to physical meetings… (LINK TO STORY)
In final COVID-19 briefing, Austin Public Health says it may roll out booster shots this Fall (KUT)
On its last regular COVID-19 briefing since the pandemic started, Austin Public Health officials say they are preparing for a possible mass COVID-19 vaccine booster rollout in the fall.
The need for booster shots is yet to be determined. It will be based on how long the current vaccines are deemed effective in ongoing clinical trials.
Cassandra DeLeon, APH's Chief Administrative Officer for the Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division, said the booster shot may be different from the current vaccine and might include protection against some of the virus variants that have emerged around the globe.
Austin health officials are still encouraging people who qualify for a vaccine and haven't received one yet to get their first dose, including children 12 years and older.
Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County's new Health Authority, said it was important for people who had COVID-19 to make sure they also get vaccinated. Walkes said their antibodies may not be effective in fighting variants and may only last for about 90 days.
President Joe Biden set a national goal of having 70% of adults get at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the Fourth of July. Currently in Travis County, 66% of adults have been vaccinated, DeLeon said.
The city's health department, which has wound down its mass vaccination clinics, said it is trying to remove the barriers that may be preventing some people from getting vaccinated. APH is holding more events with trusted community partners, ensuring vaccine administrators can speak the preferred languages of the local community, and providing more information to those still concerned about the safety of the vaccines.
DeLeon said people don’t have to present their ID, share their citizenship status or have medical insurance in order to receive the vaccine.
Interim APH Director Adrienne Sturrup said she has heard that some workers are worried about taking time off from their jobs to get vaccinated.
“[We are] having conversations with local businesses and community partners to allow their workers to have the flexibility to take time to go and get the vaccine,” she said.
Sturrup said APH is also working with city and county leaders to come up with an effective incentive program to get more people vaccinated.
Austin Public Health said Friday's COVID-19 news update was the last regular briefing it would have for now. The agency had been hosting these standing news conferences — first weekly and then bi-weekly — throughout the pandemic. They come to an end as the number of cases and hospitalizations in the area have declined and more people get vaccinated… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Mattie Parker declares victory in Fort Worth mayoral runoff (Texas Tribune)
Mattie Parker has declared victory in the runoff to become Fort Worth mayor.
Parker, a former top city staffer, led with 54% of the vote Saturday night to 47% for opponent Deborah Peoples, according to unofficial results. Until recently, Peoples served as the chairwoman of the Tarrant County Democratic Party and is a former AT&T executive.
Parker’s election, which she noted Saturday makes her the youngest mayor of any major U.S. city, marks political continuity for Fort Worth, the state’s fifth most populous city. She is the former chief of staff to the current mayor, Betsy Price, who is retiring and had endorsed Parker to succeed her.
Price is one of the few remaining Republicans in charge of a large American city, and Parker also considers herself a Republican. But both she and Peoples sought to downplay their party affiliations as they ran for the nonpartisan office, talking about middle-of-the-road issues and unifying the city.
Parker echoed that message in her victory speech Saturday.
“In Fort Worth, we’re gonna embrace positive policies and consensus building with ferocity,” Parker said, noting that she had spoken to Peoples prior to taking the stage. Peoples conceded shortly before 10 p.m., the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, got involved late in the runoff, endorsing Parker on Wednesday and criticizing Peoples’ positions on law enforcement. Peoples had high-profile endorsements from some of the state’s best-known Democrats, including Julián Castro and Beto O’Rourke… (LINK TO STORY)
MORE: Why both parties are so fixated on a nonpartisan Texas mayor’s race
Beto O’Rourke shares timeline for decision about whether to run for Texas governor (WFAA)
Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke is on the road again in Texas.
We caught up with the one-time Senate and presidential candidate for Inside Texas Politics after he had just arrived in Midland. It’s his first stop on a statewide tour focusing on voting rights here in Texas.
O’Rourke said he’s trying to prevent GOP efforts to make it harder to vote, particularly for minorities, with legislation such as Senate Bill 7 in Texas, which was just defeated after a Democratic walkout of the Texas House. But O’Rourke said plenty of other states have already enacted such legislation.
“If ever democracy were on the line, it is right now. If ever we needed to be talking about it, it is at this moment,” the Democrat said on Inside Texas Politics.
O’Rourke argued that it is time for the federal government to protect voting rights for all Americans, primarily through the passage of House Resolution 1, also known as the “For the People Act.” That legislation would provide some federal standards for elections to be applied across the entire country… (LINK TO STORY)
Runoff wins add to San Antonio City Council's progressive tilt (San Antonio Express-News)
San Antonio’s City Council will tilt further left with the addition of young progressives who prevailed in runoff elections, but whether that translates into policy outcomes is still guesswork.
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, 26, a math teacher at Madison High School, and Teri Castillo, 29, also an educator, trounced more moderate opponents in their path to win seats Saturday on the city’s East and West sides, respectively.
Challenger Mario Bravo ousted District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño and pledged to work on an environmental agenda.
McKee-Rodriguez ousted first-term District 2 Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan — for whom he previously worked as a communications director — with a commanding lead of 26 percentage points.
In the runoff to replace outgoing District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales, Castillo soundly defeated retired city employee Rudy Lopez, who had drawn Gonzales’ support. Castillo beat Lopez by more than 15 percentage points.
Castillo and McKee-Rodriguez had the backing of former Mayor Julián Castro, the Democratic Socialists of America’s San Antonio chapter and the Texas Organizing Project, a progressive group that specializes in community and election organizing and that spent heavily and deployed legions of block walkers to get the pair elected.
Each will now represent parts of town with high poverty and poor public infrastructure, and they took their wins as a sign that voters there have had enough of decades of discriminatory practices that led to a lack of investment in Black and Hispanic areas.
“Folks are tired” of the status quo, Castillo said Saturday night. “They’re ready for bold change, to meet the material needs of the established communities in District 5.”.
To push an agenda that includes reforming police, boosting investment in affordable housing and giving more legal protections to renters, the pair will have to navigate a council that leans left but whose work on these issues has not been aggressive enough, in their view.
“I consider sometimes what I’ve witnessed as being a bit wishy-washy,” McKee-Rodriguez said Sunday. “I think having the presence of two people who you know the perspective they come from, you know that we’re both progressive and you know we’re fighting for working-class people … I don’t think it’s ever going to be a question of where we’re going to vote or how we’re going to vote.”
To get majorities on the council to vote with them, the two will have to get Mayor Ron Nirenberg in their corner, said veteran political strategist Christian Archer. Nirenberg, for his part, will likely have to court the young progressives to get them on board with his third-term agenda… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Summer job market for teens is sweet (Wall Street Journal)
Young Americans are saving the summer.
Businesses are counting on teenage workers to staff restaurants, golf clubs, resorts and other hot-weather entertainment spots emerging from pandemic lockdowns. Many employers are struggling to find enough adult workers, and so to fill the gap, they are leaning on teens like never before and heavily courting them to keep businesses running in a busy summer.
For many young adults now flooding into the hot summer labor market, conditions are creating a job bonanza, complete with more accommodating bosses, greater schedule flexibility and even higher pay than in summers past.
Teens are answering the call to work. In May, the share of 16- to 19-year-olds who work rose to 33.2%, the highest rate since 2008, according to figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. That teenage-employment rate is still far off the near-50% levels of the 1970s, when summer and part-time jobs were more common rites of passage into adulthood. But it marks a sharp rebound from the record-low 20% employment rate among teens in April 2020, shortly after the pandemic set in and dried up millions of lower-wage job opportunities.
Likewise, the unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds dropped in May to 9.6% from 12.3% in April, its lowest level since 1953, according to the federal jobs data.
Ric Serrano, chief executive of Serrano’s Mexican Restaurants, with five locations in the Phoenix area, says he is turning to teens to solve a hiring crunch, which he partly attributes to enhanced unemployment benefits keeping many adult workers on the sidelines… (LINK TO STORY)