BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 10, 2023)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Texas lawmakers review bills to cut zoning limits, bring more housing to large cities such as Austin (Community Impact)
Texas lawmakers are reviewing several bills this year that could significantly roll back some of Austin's building rules, potentially opening the door to more housing development citywide.
State-level discussion over the bills—which are aimed only at the biggest cities and counties in Texas—ties into longstanding local debates over Austin's complex and antiquated zoning rulebook, managing growth and added density, and the protections that Austin's abundant single-family neighborhoods receive.
The proposals are under consideration in a session in which the Texas Legislature is pursuing several proposals targeting local government control of various municipal issues, including land use. The bills would affect other large cities in addition to Austin, but the capital city has frequently been referenced as an example of one with uniquely outdated and restrictive zoning rules.
Austin's two most recent efforts to comprehensively revise land-use regulations lasted years and cost millions of dollars but ended up producing no permanent changes after residents sued over the city's process and halted the effort… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
There's no easy fix to Austin ISD's special education evaluation backlog. Students are left waiting. (KUT)
As of late March, 1,808 Austin ISD special education evaluations were overdue. That figure includes both initial evaluations and reevaluations for students who are already receiving services. Reevaluations must occur at least once every three years.
According to the Texas Education Agency, Austin ISD’s failure to provide special education services in a timely manner runs so deep that state oversight is required.
Last week, TEA announced a plan to install a management team in Austin ISD's special education department. This comes almost exactly two years after an advocacy group called Disability Rights Texas filed a federal lawsuit against the district over long-delayed evaluations. Steven Aleman, a senior policy specialist for the group, said it was about time for the state to get involved. He said even though it is encouraging that the interim superintendent and school board are focused on improving special education, the problem has persisted for too long.
“Regardless of changes in the boardroom or even in the superintendent's office, for that matter, the bottom line is that the district itself has had a problem that's actually grown from bad to worse,” he said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City stepping up safety measures to address Rainey Street concerns (Austin monitor)
City leaders are moving ahead with lighting and other safety measures in the Rainey Street district in response to a pair of recent late-night drownings and growing speculation that nightlife patrons are unsafe in the entertainment district.
The Austin Police Department focused patrols in the district over the weekend, joining additional park rangers stationed along the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail in an attempt to prevent additional drownings. The city has also installed fencing between the trail and the shoreline of Lady Bird Lake, and installed solar lighting in four areas to make the contours of the trail and waterway area more visible to visitors.
This week City Council is set to consider a resolution that directs city staff to create a comprehensive safety plan for the district that could include additional high activity location observation (HALO) cameras as well as stepping up safety planning for bars operating on Rainey Street.
Council Member Zo Qadri, whose district includes the Rainey neighborhood, said he expects to learn this week from emergency response leaders what steps are possible to improve safety there. Qadri has co-sponsored the resolution set for a vote on Thursday… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Plaza Saltillo developer wants to milk Far East Austin site for massive mixed-use project (KVUE)
A site in Far East Austin that houses a Borden Dairy plant might be transformed into a mixed-use development with three office buildings, 1,400 apartments, a 220-room hotel, and numerous shops and restaurants.
Endeavor Real Estate Group, an Austin-based real estate developer, wants to rezone the 21-acre property to make way for the mixed-use development. The site is at 71 Strandtman Cove, near U.S. Highway 183 South and Levander Loop. Endeavor’s request is in the early stages of the City of Austin rezoning process… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Spurs break Moody Center attendance record, sellout arena in first Austin game (KSAT)
The I-35 series started Thursday night as the Spurs played their first-ever regular season game in Austin in front of a sellout crowd.
The announced crowd for the Spurs inaugural game in the state capitol was 16,023, a new Moody Center attendance record.
Fans in Austin celebrated a 129-127 Spurs win over the Portland Trail Blazers. This is the first of two games the team will play in Austin to close out its regular season home schedule… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Abortion pill order latest contentious ruling by Texas judge (Associated Press)
A Texas judge who sparked a legal firestorm with an unprecedented ruling halting approval of the nation’s most common method of abortion is a former attorney for a religious liberty legal group with a long history pushing conservative causes.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, on Friday ordered a hold on federal approval of mifepristone in a decision that overruled decades of scientific approval. His ruling, which doesn’t take immediate effect, came practically at the same time that U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, essentially ordered the opposite in a different case in Washington. The split likely puts the issue on an accelerated path to the U.S. Supreme Court… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dallas’ bold new housing plan hinges on the city’s ability to issue building permits (WFAA)
A vote in the coming days will have a profound effect on the future of affordable housing in the City of Dallas.
Councilmembers will vote on a new, comprehensive housing plan that differs from those in the past by including racial equity elements and covering the entire city.
The goal is to provide quality, affordable housing to previously underserved minority and low-income communities.
Known as the “Dallas Housing Policy 2033” (DHP33), the goal is to improve housing disparities that include lower homeownership rates, higher housing cost burdens (paying more than 30% of your income for housing) and lower median property values in communities that have been historically disadvantaged.
Those pockets can be found throughout the City of Dallas and the plan also includes improving infrastructure in those areas.
“We’ll make sure that we can scratch the areas that have been historically itching and provide incentives for our builders, even our builders of color who have not had the opportunities, in order to move forward,” Councilmember Casey Thomas told us.
The Dallas City Council is scheduled to vote on DHP33 on Wednesday, April 12. (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Local officials are poised to send expelled Tennessee lawmakers back to state HousE (NPR)
Impending local meetings could pave the way for former Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis to return to their posts in the Tennessee state legislature, at least temporarily.
The two former Democratic lawmakers, who were expelled by Republican colleagues after they staged a protest on the House floor calling for gun law reforms, say they want their seats back.
Jones and Pearson, both of whom are Black, were voted out of the Tennessee House on Thursday for their actions that took place in response to the deadly school shooting in Nashville.
Some 130,000 voters in heavily Black districts are currently without representation in the House. Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, who is white and also led the protest, survived expulsion by one vote.
The majority of Nashville's 40-member council have already vowed to reappoint Jones, according to NBC News — with some signaling their intention to do so before the council meeting was even called.
After the council appoints an interim House representative nominee, the county will hold a special election — in which Jones is eligible to run — to carry out the term.
Meanwhile, the board of commissioners for Shelby County, which includes Memphis, plans to consider reinstating Pearson… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Walmart Plans to Expand EV Charging Network to Thousands of StoreS (Bloomberg)
Walmart Inc. plans to add thousands of electric-vehicle charging stations by 2030, joining a broader US push to make it easier for US motorists to pivot away from cars powered by fossil fuels.
The expansion will add to the retailer’s existing network of 1,300 fast-charging stations at 280 locations, Vishal Kapadia, Walmart’s senior vice president of energy transformation, said in a statement Thursday. Walmart didn’t say how many charging stations it would build, but the company has about 4,700 US stores plus 600 Sam’s Club locations. About 90% of the US population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart location, according to the company… (LINK TO FULL STORY)