#NEWS // BG Reads | February 17, 2023
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin to review regulations for granny flats (Austin Business Journal)
New opportunities for homeowners and builders to create additional value on single-family lots may be on the horizon in Austin, as city leaders plan to review regulations for accessory dwelling units.
ADUs, also referred to as?granny flats, are separate, independent units sharing a property with a traditional single-family home and are smaller in size than otherwise outlined by Austin's land development code. Many believe them to be a crucial component to curbing affordability woes.
Austin's Planning Commission voted unanimously Feb. 14 to approve the creation of a working group to review the city’s policies on ADUs and duplexes and create a set of recommendations for the City Council to consider.
As the city continues to face a daunting housing shortage, relaxed rules around ADUs are seen as one way to add housing inventory.
Infill developers previously told Austin Business Journal that accessory dwelling units are a step in the right direction. Some say encouraging more granny flats won't do nearly enough to impact affordability,?while others call it a step in the right direction…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
$10B Airport Envisioned (Austin Business Journal)
For more than a decade, thousands of acres along a wooded stretch of the Colorado River east of Austin have been eyed for a project that could bring thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue to Bastrop County — but thus far have remained untouched.
It's here where a developer once announced plans?to create a private airport and business campus. The site has since become a magnet for development rumors that have spread through this tight-knit community and beyond. Some have wondered whether they involve billionaire?Elon Musk,?who's expanding his own business empire a few miles away.
Work on the project, now named Greenport Airport, has ramped up in recent months, Austin Business Journal has learned.?Marketing material posted online?sketch a plan for a 5,000-acre "World Trade Center Austin," with a mixed-use industrial campus and technology park surrounding the private airport.
But that's just one part of a larger wave of growth envisioned by Austin-based developer Carpenter & Associates Inc. for the eastern half of the Austin metro. A few miles west of Greenport, on the other side of Webberville, a resort city has been proposed with multiple hotels, an indoor ski resort and more. An online brochure declares it will be a mix of Las Vegas, Disney World and Venice, Italy…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Architects, builders suggest ‘low-hanging fruit’ land use code changes (Austin Monitor)
The Planning Commission shared the findings Tuesday of a housing policy working group?formed last summer?to identify potential Land Development Code changes that could make housing more affordable.?
The working group gathered?recommendations?from three industry groups: American Institute of Architects Austin, Preservation Austin and Austin Infill Coalition.?
“We talked with them about trying to find some of the low-hanging fruit – codes and stuff that are often roadblocks in creating housing,” Commissioner James Shieh said.?
“Some of the stuff might need more discussion, but they wanted to just go ahead and get it out there,” he said.
The Austin Infill Coalition and Preservation Austin propose a “preservation bonus”?to discourage demolition of older homes, which may be more affordable.?
“The current Land Development Code incentivizes demolition,” the groups wrote. “This proposal aims to incentivize the preservation of Austin’s older and historic homes by maintaining the unique and diverse character of Austin’s neighborhoods, while providing new housing for all types of people.”
The preservation bonus would allow an additional unit on single-family lots if the existing home remains or if it is replaced by a new home of the same size.
AIA’s recommendations address a number of topics, including accessory dwelling units, minimum lot sizes, barriers to cottage court and townhome developments, and compatibility…?(LINK TO FULL STORY HERE)
One of the Largest Private Collections of Chicano and Latino Art Comes to Blanton Museum (UT NEWS)
More than 5,000 works of art by U.S. Latino artists are now at the Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin as part of an initiative to expand the museum’s focus on Latino art. The artworks come from the Gilberto Cárdenas and Dolores Garcia Collection, one of the largest private collections of Chicano and Latino art in the world.
The Blanton, known for its collection of American contemporary art and one of the oldest and most distinguished collections of Latin American art in the U.S., has long been committed to exhibiting and researching Latino art, even before such efforts became more prevalent. This is one of the reasons Cárdenas, a former UT Austin professor and pioneer in the field of Latino art, and his wife Garcia, a UT Austin alumna who worked to advance Latino arts and academic programming at the university for 30 years, selected the Blanton to receive more than half of their collection…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Gov. Greg Abbott calls for legislative action on school choice, property taxes and fentanyl in State of the State (Texas Tribune)
Gov.?Greg Abbott?on Thursday outlined his highest priorities for the legislative session, offering an agenda centered on the economy, schools and public safety, complete with some proposals to push Texas even further to the political right.
During his biennial State of the State speech, the Republican governor named seven emergency items that lawmakers can vote on immediately: cutting property taxes, ending COVID-19 restrictions “forever,” expanding school choice, making schools safer, ending “revolving-door” bail policies, securing the state’s border with Mexico and cracking down on fentanyl.
“This session, we will ensure Texas remains the leader of this nation as an unflinching force in this world,” Abbott said during the speech in San Marcos. “Together, we will build a Texas for the next generation — the Texas of tomorrow.”
The legislative session, which began in early January, is Abbott’s fifth as governor, and it comes months after he secured a decisive reelection victory for a third term. It also comes as he has emerged as more of a national political figure for his attention-grabbing efforts to secure the border — and as a possible 2024 presidential candidate…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Mexican political parties are courting voters living in Texas ahead of Mexico’s presidential election(Texas Tribune)
Nearly half of all immigrants in Texas — about?2.5 million?— are from Mexico, and they represent an enormous pool of potential votes for Mexico’s political parties. All Mexican citizens can vote from abroad in presidential elections, but only a fraction of them have registered to vote in previous elections, and even fewer actually cast ballots in Mexican elections.
Cortés and the other PAN officials see this as an opportunity worth seizing as the party challenges President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party. In last year’s gubernatorial elections, Morena flipped four states and now holds 20 of Mexico’s 32 state governorships.
At the Dallas event, the party inaugurated its first “Comité Azul de Acción Migrante” — or Blue Committee for Migrant Action — networks of Mexican migrants in the U.S. that encourage others to join the party and help with outreach to voters before the election…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dallas mayor appoints new group to come up with solutions to homelessness (Dallas Morning News)
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said Thursday he is appointing a group of local homeless service advocates to come up with new strategies to help the city more quickly aid people without stable shelter. Johnson said the new volunteer, independent group will assess current policies, research other plans to address homelessness and issue a report of recommendations to his office by June 15. The suggestions would later go to city and regional officials for consideration, and help them better collaborate on plans, he said. The mayor said he felt the task force was necessary because the city needed to “throw the kitchen sink” at the issue and draw from all available resources to address homelessness in the Dallas area.
“While the city of Dallas has stepped up in major ways over the years, this cannot continue to be a Dallas city government problem alone to solve,” Johnson said. “We need Dallas County, we need our neighboring cities, we need nonprofits, we need medical institutions, and we need other levels of government to play a role in this as well.”…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
领英推荐
Apple flexes lobbying power as Apple Watch ban comes before Biden next week (The Hill)
Apple is boosting its lobbying might as President?Joe Biden?nears a decision next week on whether to block a potential Apple Watch ban.?
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in December that Apple infringed on medical device company AliveCor’s wearable electrocardiogram patents. The commission’s ruling could result in an import ban on popular Apple Watch models, unless the Biden administration steps in.
Apple responded by contracting with Shara Aranoff, a lobbyist at Covington & Burling who chaired the ITC during the Obama administration.
The former Democratic commissioner has been lobbying on trade, intellectual property and health issues since her hiring in early January, according to a recent?document?filed with Congress.
The apparent effort to win over the White House is the latest lobbying push by Apple, which leans on former congressional staffers and federal officials to relay its message in the nation’s capital.?
“Apple has unlimited resources. They’re gonna go after everyone they can get and that’s what they’re doing,” said Priya Abani, CEO of AliveCor. “We are just a startup.”…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Democrats, Republicans join up to urge Biden to send F-16s to Ukraine (Politico)
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing President Joe Biden directly to send F-16 warplanes to Ukraine as the fight against Russia’s invasion enters its second year.
Five House members argued modern jets — which Kyiv has sought, but the administration has so far not agreed to — “could prove decisive for control of Ukrainian airspace this year” in a Thursday letter to Biden obtained by POLITICO…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[MEETINGS/HEARINGS]
TODAY, FEBRUARY 17
FEBRUARY 21
FEBRUARY 22
FEBRUARY 23
[BG PODCAST]
Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia and CEO A.J. discuss the Austin City Council's vote today to terminate City Manager Spencer Cronk's employment with the city.
The vote was 10-1, with Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison voting against.
Council Members agreed to a severance package totaling $463,000, which includes one year of the city manager's salary, plus health care and vacation payouts.
Council has appointed Jesús Garza to be the city's interim city manager. Garza last served as Austin's city manager from 1994 to 2002
Austin is a Council-Manager form of government, with the City Manager serving as the CEO of the city and reporting, receiving guidance, oversight from the Council.
Helpful Links:
? Austin City Council fires City Manager Spencer Cronk in wake of winter storm response (KUT, 2.15.2023) -?bit.ly/3ItrhaM
? A review of Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk's tenure ahead of Wednesday's meeting (2.14.2023) -?bit.ly/3YRbtDN
? AG Rejects City’s Reasons for City Manager Search Secrecy (1.19.2018) -?bit.ly/4103A0U
Episode 186
ABOUT THE BINGHAM GROUP, LLC
Follow Bingham Group on LinkedIn at:?bit.ly/3WIN4yT
Connect with A.J. on LinkedIn at:?bit.ly/3DlFiUK
Connect with Hannah on LinkedIn at:?bit.ly/3RberR3
Contact us at:?[email protected]
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Bingham Group works to advance the interests of businesses, nonprofits, and associations at the municipal and state level.