BG Reads | News You Need to Know (July 8, 2021)
Photo by Highsmith, Carol M.
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
Winter Storm Review Task Force - Regular Meeting Agenda (Friday, 7/9 @9AM)
Presentation of the City Manager's proposed budget (Friday, 7/9 @9AM)
The Austin Council next meets for regular business on July 22.
[BINGHAM GROUP]
What Will a Post-Pandemic Austin Look Like? (for Texas CEO Magazine)
Following a prolonged, pandemic-induced pause, Austin is on its way somewhere. Could the city be back in a significant way? That’s possible—and for most of us, it can’t happen fast enough. Arms have been jabbed with vaccines, most mask requirements have been lifted, flight traffic at Austin-Bergstrom International has picked up, and festivals are scheduled to reignite the city’s recent glory as a music lover’s destination—i.e., the “Live Music Capital of the World.”
However, taking an honest temperature of Austin means cogently visualizing both the positives and negatives laid bare during the worst of the pandemic. Yes, Austin is on its way back; but it’s how we politicians, leaders, and constituents collectively choose to steer its direction going forward that will make the difference… (LINK STORY)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Make it easier to build ADUs, city staffers tell Council (Austin Monitor)
In response to a City Council resolution last year aimed at making building accessory dwelling units more feasible for low- and moderate-income Austinites, city staffers have come back with several recommendations for Council action in the form of a memo from Rosie Truelove, director of the Housing and Planning Department.
ADUs, which are smaller homes built next to larger single-family homes and typically rented out, are seen as a strategy for creating denser, more affordable housing in single-family neighborhoods. City code allows one ADU on lots with Single Family-Standard Lot (SF-2) and Family Residence (SF-3) zoning, as long as the unit is less than 1,100 square feet and is 10 feet from all other buildings.
One of staff’s primary recommendations included loosening regulatory barriers to ADU construction – something that anyone, but particularly low- to moderate-income homeowners, could benefit from.
The biggest barrier, according to the memo, is the requirement that ADUs be detached from the primary residence. Though attached or internal ADUs – called “accessory apartments” – are allowed, city regulations “require at least one of the occupants to be a person who is 60 years of age or older or physically disabled.” Getting rid of this requirement would allow more accessory apartments and save people the cost of building a new structure. Staffers also recommended allowing garage apartments and accessory apartments whose entrance is visible from the street – two things that are currently not permitted.
Another recommendation included creating a “menu” of pre-approved building plans developed by design and architecture professionals. Having ready-made plans would let homeowners skip part of the development process and save them from having to hire an architect to draw up custom plans… (LINK TO STORY)
San Marcos City Council punts on law requiring reporting of lobbying until after election (Community Impact)
San Marcos City Council voted 5-2 to postpone the vote on an ethics ordinance until after the Nov. 2 election, with Council Members Max Baker and Melissa Derrick dissenting on the heavily argued item.
The new law would require people defined as lobbyists in the ordinance to register with the city and report their interactions with elected city officials, city board and commission members, and city employees, who would also be required to report the interactions when certain conditions are met.
Council Member Shane Scott, who stated early in his term he would not respond to ethics complaints filed against him, moved to postpone the vote until the day after the Nov. 2 election. It was seconded by Council Member Saul Gonzales, and supported by Mayor Jane Hughson and Council Members Mark Gleason and Alyssa Garza.
"To me, it seems that [they are] wanting for another council to vote on this after the elections in November, at which point none of these council members will know that much about the lobby ordinance, other than things they've heard," Derrick said, while also noting misinformation shared about the ordinance during the meeting's citizen comment period.
Scott explained his desire to postpone the vote was to create time to rewrite the ordinance, which he said "was unfair to certain groups." Scott went on to say he also believed the ordinance was not specific enough, and he expressed a desire to form a new committee to change the ordinance, which was drafted by the San Marcos Ethics Review Commission…(LINK TO STORY)
More height for Lamar Beach property means more access for all (Austin Monitor)
With the help of a variance from the city’s Board of Adjustment, a new development on a puzzle of a downtown parcel will be moving forward, connecting a neighborhood to the lake in the process.
Nikelle Meade, representing Pressler RRI, acknowledged that increasing the height of the project from 60 to 75 feet via a variance was “odd and unusual.” However, she explained, stakeholders had made it clear that the creation of a planned unit development as an alternate route to increased height within the waterfront overlay would not be supported.
The variance for the increased height was approved by the board in a unanimous vote.
The proposed development will span 300 and 301 Pressler St. and 1409, 1501 and 1505 W. Third St. on a plot of land sandwiched between Lamar Beach Park and the Union Pacific railroad tracks. The parcel of land presents a number of challenges and the developer has been working with the city since 2017 to untangle them. But now the resulting solution promises to create a new access point to Lady Bird Lake, bike trails and the Colorado River Corridor.
“This is an unusual request, we know that,” Meade said. “It is very clear that no one wanted us to ask for a PUD. That is why we are before you today.”
Board Member Brooke Bailey, who is a former chair of the Waterfront Planning Advisory Board, said she was “extremely” familiar with the property – at one point she even worked to come up with design solutions for the property. She asked Meade whether the railroad had given permission to cross the tracks, noting they had never done that before.
“You are exactly right, yes. They are very difficult about it and we do have that permission. We worked pretty extensively with the city of Austin, City Council and UPRR, Union Pacific railroad, to come to an agreement about constructing those arms. And I’m actually happy to say that construction started today,” said Meade, who stressed that the developer was paying for the crossings alone. “It’s a pretty big deal.”
“I’m impressed,” Bailey said. “I’m usually more hardcore when it comes to height in the waterfront, but I think this has achieved so many of the long-term goals of the neighborhood.”
Brockett Davidson, who chairs the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association, wrote a letter in support of the variance, saying it would “address long-standing issues impacting our neighborhood and help advance the goals of our neighborhood plan without cutting against the intent and goals of the waterfront overlay.”
In the letter of support, the neighborhood association highlights the 1986 Town Lake Corridor Study, which called out the neighborhood’s lack of pedestrian access to the waterfront. It notes that the development will fix that issue through “the creation and construction of two new accessways that will provide bicycle and pedestrian access from the neighborhood to areas south of the Union Pacific railroad tracks, including Lamar Beach Park, Lady Bird Lake and the Hike and Bike Trail,” as well as providing a safe route to Austin High School, improving Lamar Beach Park and creating new railroad safety crossings… (LINK TO STORY)
Completion dates for Austin homes continue to get pushed back due to supply shortages (KVUE)
With homes flying off the Austin housing market at record speed, some are trying a different route in the hopes of making things easier: building a home of their own.
But it turns out, local construction companies are facing delays due to supply shortages. First, it was lumber and now it's paint, window and worker shortages.
Mary Clare Robinson and her fiancé first purchased a lot for their first home in a neighborhood in southwest Austin in December 2020. They were told their completion date would be April 2021.
Since moving out of their apartment, the couple has had to separate to find temporary housing with friends and family. Now Robinson says if they aren't able to move into the house by August, she's going to be scrambling for housing.
"I call it a domino effect. Every time our house gets delayed, we have to call our fridge people, we have to reschedule our movers. So, every time it gets delayed, it creates this uncertainty and a list of task we've done five times," Robinson said.
She recommends creating a backup plan if you are renting right now and talking with your apartment complex about the potential of going on a month-to-month lease if your house isn't ready in time.
"Be patient and flexible," Robinson said. "We're trying to stay positive with things."… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Gov. Greg Abbott includes voting restrictions, critical race theory and rules for transgender student athletes on special legislative session agenda (Texas Tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott has announced the agenda for the special legislative session that begins Thursday, asking lawmakers to prioritize 11 issues that largely appeal to conservatives who wanted more out of the regular session.
The announcement of the agenda came just over 24 hours before lawmakers are set to reconvene in Austin.
The agenda includes Abbott's priority bills related to overhauling Texas elections and the bail system, as well as pushing back against social media “censorship” of Texans and the teaching of critical race theory in schools. Most of those issues were anticipated after they did not pass during the regular session and Abbott faced pressure to revive them or had already committed to bringing them back… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas economy humming as COVID-19 ebbs, giving lawmakers more to spend, Comptroller Glenn Hegar says (Dallas Morning News)
Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Wednesday issued a revised revenue estimate that gives lawmakers at least $7 billion more for state discretionary spending, either in the special session that starts Thursday or when they return for the 2023 regular session. To spend it in the special session, the Legislature would have to apply the new dollars to topics Gov. Greg Abbott specified Wednesday in his “call,” or agenda, for the 30-day meeting. They include improving law and order at the Texas-Mexico border, buying down local school property taxes, boosting state payments to foster-care providers and augmenting state efforts to fend off cyberattacks.
Hegar pointed to soaring auto sales and vigorous consumer spending as he laid out the financial good news. “It is really amazing how overall economic activity is just so strong now,” he said in an interview. In a letter to Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, Hegar said he expects the state will end the current two-year budget cycle on Aug. 31 with a general revenue ending balance of $5 billion. In early May, he forecast the cushion only would be $725 million. Some of the gain was the result of additional federal COVID-19 relief funds sent to Texas, which could be swapped out for spending of state general-purpose revenue, he said in the interview. Hegar also wrote the Big 3 leaders that lawmakers would have for the upcoming cycle $123.02 billion of available general-purpose revenue. That compares with his May estimate of $115.65 billion. Unless lawmakers spend some additional dollars, which seems highly likely, the state’s general revenue funds will close the 2022-23 cycle with a $7.85 billion ending balance, Hegar said… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas to receive another $4.1 billion in federal stimulus money for schools (San Antonio Express-News)
Texas is expected to receive another $4.1 billion Wednesday in federal stimulus money to address the post-pandemic needs of students. The funding comes as the U.S. Department of Education approved plans for spending $12.4 billion allocated to the state, according to the agency. Texas’ plan is among the first proposals to receive approval from the federal government. Plans from South Dakota, Massachusetts, Utah, Arkansas, Rhode Island and Washington D.C. were also approved. TEA’s plan calls for prioritizing support of student mental health needs and addressing lost instructional time. The plan will fund expanded tutoring, high-quality instructional materials and job-embedded learning.
“The approval of these plans enables states to receive vital, additional American Rescue Plan funds to quickly and safely reopen schools for full-time, in-person learning; meet students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs; and address disparities in access to educational opportunity that were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
The Department of Education distributed $81 billion nationally earlier this year, which accounted for two-thirds of the American Rescue Plan’s emergency relief funding for K-12 schools. The remaining funding will be distributed to states as their plans are approved. Texas received $8.3 billion in late March. Districts throughout the state must submit their own plans for using the funds by July 27… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
15 states drop opposition to controversial Purdue Pharma Oxycontin bankruptcy (NPR)
Fifteen states that led the effort to block a controversial bankruptcy plan for Oxycontin-maker Purdue Pharma have abandoned the fight.
That's according to court documents filed by a mediator late Wednesday as part of a federal bankruptcy proceeding in White Plains, N.Y.
Among the states that have agreed to sign on to the bankruptcy deal are Massachusetts and New York, whose attorneys general had mounted fierce legal opposition to the agreement.
"The negotiations were difficult and hard-fought, with the outcome uncertain," said federal bankruptcy Judge Shelley C. Chapman in the legal filing.
Chapman was appointed in May to try to hash out a modified deal that the so-called "non-consenting states" could accept.
The settlement plan, which is now all but certain to be finalized next month, would shelter members of the Sackler family, who own Purdue Pharma, and many of their associates from future opioid lawsuits… (LINK TO STORY)
Gates Foundation lays out contingency plan amid high-profile divorce (Reuters)
The Gates Foundation said Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates, in the midst of a high-profile divorce, will continue to work as co-chairs for a two-year trial period and after that time if the arrangement unravels, she would step down.
The contingency plan for one of the world's largest philanthropic foundations was announced by Chief Executive Officer Mark Suzman, a move that would ensure a successful transition for the foundation that has spent over $50 billion in the past two decades toward combating poverty and disease.
If Melinda resigns after two years, she would receive personal resources from Bill for her philanthropic work, which would be completely separate from the foundation's endowment, the foundation said in a blog post on Wednesday.
Bill will then assume the full stewardship of the foundation, which the couple had often referred to as their "fourth child"… (LINK TO STORY)