BG Reads | News You Need to Know (October 27, 2022)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Code change to allow housing on commercial properties (Austin Monitor)
A code change that would allow housing on commercial properties got an initial hearing at the Planning Commission Tuesday. After some discussion, the commission postponed the item until Nov. 8 amid concern over a recommendation by city staffers to not allow housing near highways.
City Council initiated the code change almost a year ago as a response to the city’s housing crisis. The ordinance, if approved by Council in the coming months, would allow housing on 7,474 additional properties, potentially increasing the city’s housing capacity by 46,324 units.
The code change would allow housing on properties zoned Commercial Liquor Sales (CS-1), General Commercial Services (CS), Community Commercial (GR), Neighborhood Commercial (LR), General Office (GO) and Limited Office (LO). Site development standards like building height and floor area ratio would remain the same. Existing commercial uses would still be allowed… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin City Council to vote on proposed ordinances concerning renters' rights (KVUE)
On Thursday, the Austin City Council will vote on a number of items that are part of the council's renters' rights agenda.
Some members of the council have long pushed for better tenant rights and more affordable housing, as many Central Texas struggle with unaffordability.
City leaders say more than half of Austinites are renters but renters' rights are minimal. The agenda items set to be voted on on Thursday are focused on prioritizing renters. If passed, the items would mark a major step in protecting renters in Austin and combatting displacement… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
From living in the shadows to managing a city, Sylvia Carrillo takes lead in Bastrop (Austin American-Statesman)
Sylvia Carrillo has always had to work hard. From “living in the shadows, under the radar” as a child due to having an immigrant parent who was undocumented, to finishing her college degrees in between work and on weekends and going on to become one of only two Latinas in Texas in 2019 with an International City/County Management Association designation, Carrillo is now at the helm of Bastrop’s city management. In September, the Bastrop City Council announced Carrillo was picked to serve as the city’s manager. “I am pleased to welcome Sylvia Carrillo to Bastrop,” Mayor Connie Schroeder said in the September announcement. “Council has the highest expectations of her and our support for her was demonstrated by the unanimous vote.”
Carrillo, who will earn $180,000 annually, began in her new role Oct. 3. Her first two weeks on the job have been very busy, but she said the city has a collective group of people and organizations working toward its prosperity and growth in a managed and organized way, as exemplified in the city’s revamped land-use code that’s aimed at guiding development through responsible planning and preservation of Bastrop’s unique character. She said the city is also committed to investing in its infrastructure, and “as we get down to the details of execution, my goal is that my skill set can keep us all moving forward in a positive and fiscally responsible manner.” “It’s an incredibly talented and multifaceted staff and external partnerships that make this town so awesome,” Carrillo told The Advertiser. “Everyone does more than their fair share and then some! The devotion to the town is palpable and something truly amazing to be a part of.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Lyft shutters self-driving service in Miami, Austin as Argo AI closes operations (Fast Company)
Lyft has discontinued its self-driving offerings in Miami and Austin just hours after its partner, Argo AI, announced it was ceasing operations.
Ford, which is a major backer of Argo AI, said it was shifting its self-driving plans and that the company was shuttering Wednesday afternoon. “We’re optimistic about a future for L4 ADAS [level 4 advanced driver assistance systems], but profitable, fully autonomous vehicles at scale are a long way off, and we won’t necessarily have to create that technology ourselves,” Ford CEO Jim Farley wrote in the company’s earnings report. Volkswagen, another key backer, also changed its strategy and said in a release it will focus on other AV efforts and partnerships.It’s a swift downfall for the company that was discussing going public just over a year ago… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City of Leander now limiting residential zoning requests in response to future water capacity concerns (Community Impact)
Leander City Council unanimously voted in favor of limiting zoning requests seeking to add residential zoning or to increase density of residential land uses at its Oct. 20 meeting.
This decision came in response to the city’s current water capacity and its ability to support the number of residential water accounts to come.
“If we do keep adding residential, at historic rates, let’s say two years from now—maybe even a year from now—if we had to entertain the same type of repair scenario, where we were only relying on Sandy Creek ... I don’t believe we would be able to manage through it,” City Manager Rick Beverlin said at the meeting, citing the recent repair of a Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority pipe that took that treatment plant offline… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
After 10 years of F1 racing in Austin, Tavo Hellmund reflects on how he brought world's top motorsport to Texas (Austin Business Journal)
Tavo Hellmund has garnered some grandiose titles in the past decade, from "F1's billion-dollar man" to "North America's F1 hero."
But, at the most basic level, the Austin businessman and entrepreneur remains a humble race promoter. The races he's promoting just happen to be for the world's most popular and technologically advanced motorsport.
"My business card doesn't have any title. It just has my name, an email and a mailing address," he said. " ... Formula One has been my life. Racing has been my life."
Hellmund was the one who came up with the idea, back in the mid-2000s, to bring Formula One to Austin. He sketched the initial track drawing on a napkin while eating at The Salt Lick in Driftwood in 2007. That eventually led to the creation of Circuit of The Americas, a 3.4-mile track on about 1,500 acres southeast of downtown Austin. F1 just hosted its 10th U.S. Grand Prix on Oct. 23.
After Hellmund left COTA — disagreements with partners spiraled into a lawsuit that was later settled — he helped bring F1 back to Mexico in 2015 after a more than 20-year hiatus. He advised on the Miami Grand Prix, held for the first time this year, and is doing the same with next year's inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix.
That makes Hellmund one of the most influential F1 figures in the United States at a time when the sport's popularity is surging nationwide. It's a natural if sometimes surprising place for the Austin native, who grew up involved with racing thanks to his dad's work with F1. Hellmund even spent years racing cars himself, at levels below F1, before switching to promotion full-time a little after the dawn of the new century.
In addition to his work with F1, Hellmund is an investor who's co-CEO of a special purpose acquisition company, SportsTek, and is part-owner of soccer clubs Cancun FC in Mexico and CD Leganés in Spain. He also helped orchestrate the deal to bring South by Southwest to Australia — the Austin-based organization is set to host its first festival in Sydney in 2023… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Gov. Greg Abbott says he's open to expanded casino gambling in Texas (Houston Chronicle)
Gov. Greg Abbott is opening the door a crack to expanded casino gambling in Texas if he wins re-election. While far from an all-out promise to turn Texas into Las Vegas, the Republican is now saying that while he doesn’t want a proliferation of gambling in Texas, he’s willing to listen to the gaming industry's proposals. “We don’t want slot machines at every corner store, we don’t want Texans to be losing money that they need for everyday expenses, and we don’t want any type of crime that could be associated with gaming,” said Renae Eze, Abbott’s press secretary. “But, if there is a way to create a very professional entertainment option for Texans, Gov. Abbott would take a look at it.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas tops 17.7M voters as early voting begins (Houston Chronicle)
Texas now has almost 17.7 million voters — 1.9 million more than four years ago, when Gov. Greg Abbott won re-election. New voter registration totals from the Texas Division of Elections show the state’s voter rolls are continuing to grow even faster than the population. While the state’s population has grown about 7 percent since 2018, voter registrations have grown about 12 percent.
Nowhere has the surge been bigger than in Harris County, where 230,000 people have been added to the voter rolls since 2018. Tarrant and Bexar counties are next, with more than 130,000 more voters than four years ago. All three counties voted Democratic in the 2020 presidential election. The result is that at least 1 of every 5 voters in Texas never cast a general election ballot in the Lone Star State prior to 2014 — a remarkable wild card in a state that had stable politics and a slow stream of new voters for a generation before that. Some of the biggest percentage increases in voter registrations are coming from booming counties that voted Republican in 2020. Comal County, just north of San Antonio, saw a 29 percent increase in voter registrations from four years ago — the highest growth percentage of any county in the state… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Sonal Shah is The Texas Tribune’s next CEO (Texas Tribune)
In Sonal, the Tribune will have a business leader who can build on the successes of the past 13 years and work with the staff, board and all our stakeholders on behalf of readers to establish the organization’s path to thriving over the next decade (and beyond). She will drive strategy and oversee fundraising, operations and business development, ensuring the financial health and independence of the Trib. Sonal will be a collaborative partner with Sewell Chan, the Tribune’s editor in chief, ensuring that the operational and financial needs of the newsroom are well-supported. Under her leadership, Sewell will continue to oversee the Tribune’s newsroom and its journalism, which was recently recognized with a National Edward R. Murrow Award… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 168: Market Talk - Lobbying in Philadelphia with Mustafa Rashed of Bellevue Strategies
Today's episode (168) features a discussion on entrepreneurship and lobbying with Mustafa Rashed, Founder and President, of Philadelphia-based Bellevue Strategies.
He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. also discuss current municipal issues in the Philadelphia market.
Enjoyed this episode? Please like, share, and comment!