BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 1, 2022)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
Join us in recognizing Associate LaRessa Quintana on her One Year Anniversary with Bingham Group! Prior to the firm she served as campaign manager for now Councilwoman Vanessa Fuentes for Austin's District 2 seat. She is a also a graduate of Austin's Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders.
[HEARINGS]
Wednesday, 6/1
[AUSTIN METRO]
Ahead of Council vote, committee sculpts VMU2 proposal (Austin Monitor)
City Council members at Tuesday’s Housing and Planning Committee meeting shared their latest thinking on proposed changes to Vertical Mixed-Use (VMU) zoning ahead of a vote on June 9.
Council Member Chito Vela outlined a new compromise to reduce compatibility and parking requirements for VMU properties along Project Connect light rail lines to allow more housing to be built near public transit.
Under Vela’s proposal, compatibility – a rule limiting the height of buildings near single-family homes – would only apply within 100 feet of a triggering property for VMU1 or VMU2 parcels along the Orange and Blue light rail lines. Compatibility currently applies within 540 feet of triggering properties. Most sites with VMU zoning are heavily constrained by compatibility, shrinking projects or rendering them infeasible altogether.
Parking requirements along the two light rail lines would be reduced to 25 percent of what the code otherwise requires. The proposal is more drastic than what currently applies to VMU buildings, which only have to build 60 percent of required parking.
With the changes, Vela is eyeing competitive federal funding for Project Connect. “I want to make sure that we send a message to the federal government that … we’re serious about housing along our light rail corridors,” Vela said. How much money comes through may depend on land use patterns near transit lines.
Council Member Ann Kitchen, who originally proposed the VMU changes, accepted Vela’s amendment. This proposal is separate from recent discussions about reducing compatibility and parking along major streets… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Why Austin Interfaith fights all Chapter 313 incentives (Austin Business Journal)
As numerous large companies apply for future tax abatements from regional school districts to support manufacturing facilities, a group of Austinites is leading a concerted effort to discourage public school leaders from accepting the deals.
Austin Interfaith, a nonpartisan organization comprised of members from 43 congregations, public schools and unions, has taken a firm stance against the incentives outlined in Chapter 313 of the Texas tax code.
The incentives program, which is set to expire at the end of the year since it was not renewed by the 2021 Texas Legislature, allows school districts to cap the taxable value of a property for a portion of school taxes at up to $100 million for up to 10 years. The cap only applies to school taxes for maintenance and operations, not debt payments, and companies such as Tesla and Samsung have used the program to subsidize large factories here… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
$28 million plan to relocate the Dougherty Arts Center in design phase (KXAN)
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department is continuing work toward moving the Dougherty Arts Center from its current location along Barton Springs Road to Butler Shores.
The Dougherty Arts Center building has been in the same place since 1947 and was originally built as a Naval and Marine Reserve Center. The DAC was dedicated to the city and named for the late arts advocate Mary Ireland Graves in 1978. Since then, it has been serving the community as an arts center, but the building is beyond repair and needs major upgrades… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Workforce Solutions Capital Area launches 'Hire Local' plan, offers 1,000 scholarships for training programs (KVUE)
Workforce Solutions Capital Area publicly launched its "Hire Local" plan on Tuesday morning, alongside Austin and Travis County leaders. It also announced 1,000 new scholarships available for its workforce training programs.
The 1,000 scholarships are being funded by the City of Austin and Travis County. The scholarships are for trainings in the health care, manufacturing, information technology and skilled trades industries. People who are older and want to switch jobs, or people right out of high school, are able to apply. In order to be eligible for a scholarship you must:
Be unemployed, work part-time, classify as low-income or not have a high school diploma.
Live in Austin-Travis County and be authorized to work in the U.S.
You can apply for a scholarship here… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Narratives, and blame, shift again as dysfunction engulfs shooting probe (Texas Tribune)
The official response to the mass shooting at an Uvalde elementary school — a response already marred by shifting narratives, finger-pointing and a general lack of timely and accurate information — took a further turn toward dysfunction on Tuesday.
The Uvalde school district’s police chief — who made the decision to wait for more resources rather than confront the gunman sooner — has stopped cooperating with state investigators and had not responded to requests for information for over two days, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
And the agency walked back an assertion that a teacher at Robb Elementary School propped open a back door prior to the shooting, allowing the gunman to enter and kill 19 students and two teachers. Earlier Tuesday the teacher’s lawyer had pushed back on the state’s account… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Gov. Abbott mum on calls for special session in wake of Uvalde (KXAN)
Days after Democratic state lawmakers and at least one Republican called on Gov. Greg Abbott to call an emergency special legislative session in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting tragedy, it remained unclear Tuesday whether he plans to do so.
A spokesperson for Abbott’s office directed KXAN to the governor’s comments last Friday in which he said “all options are on the table” when asked about a special session.
The Texas Legislature is set to meet next January; however, the governor can call a 30-day special session to address emergency items.
The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus sent Abbott a letter on Saturday, asking for the immediate passage of laws that would raise the minimum age to purchase any firearm to 21, require universal background checks, implement “red flag” laws, and regulate ownership of high capacity magazines.
During his remarks Friday, Abbott said legislation would be passed following the Uvalde massacre but did not offer details. He said other laws would be reviewed.
“For example, I do fully expect to have every law that we passed in the aftermath of the Santa Fe shooting to be completely revisited,” the governor said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
How Uvalde will lay its fallen children, teachers to rest (Dallas Morning News)
From the empty swing set outside Robb Elementary School — where last week 19 children and two teachers were killed in the deadliest school shooting in Texas history — is a clear view of the Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home. The two buildings, their purposes once obverse, are now irreversibly linked, as this is where Uvalde starts to say goodbye. Hillcrest, one of only two funeral homes in the small, predominantly Latino community of just 16,000 people, held the first in a long series of services Monday: visiting hours for 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza.
In her obituary, Amerie was described as a “kind, caring, blunt, loving, sweet, sassy ... funny little diva,” who had a “heart of gold.” She loved swimming, drawing and spending time with family. She dreamed of becoming an art teacher. Instead, she will be buried Tuesday afternoon. Amerie was shot and killed as she tried to call 911 during Tuesday’s shooting. “A protector of her brother, and as we now know her classmates, this world will never have another Amerie,” her family wrote in the obituary. Less than a mile away, at Rushing-Estes-Knowles Mortuary, the second service began two hours later, this one for 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez. In her obituary, Maite was described as “kind, ambitious, friendly and a sweet soul.” Maite loved learning about the ocean and animals; especially dolphins, whales and dogs. She dreamed of becoming a marine biologist. Outside Maite’s service was a row of service dogs, ready to comfort family and friends who were holding one another up as they walked toward the building. Outside Amerie’s service were two chaplains, prepared to do the same. Reporters were not allowed inside either service, but a photo shared from Amerie’s showed a slideshow playing on a TV above a large flower arrangement in the shape of a heart — and to the right, her casket… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 158: Managing Growth in the City of Kyle - A Discussion with Council Member Dex Ellison
Today’s episode (158) features City of Kyle Council Member Dex Ellison. He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the growth and associated challenges with one the fastest growing cities in Texas.
According to the U.S. Census, the city grew from a populations of 5,000 in 2000, to just over 52,300 (and growing) in 2020.
First elected to Kyle City Council in November 2019, Council Member Ellison was re-elected in November 2019. -> EPISODE LINK