by Daryl Slusher | May 30, 2024 | City Council 2023, Land Development Code/Zoning, Leslie Pool HOME proposal
One unreported element of the May 16 hearing on HOME 2 is that Council Members José Velasquez and Natasha Harper Madison were not present at the meeting. They joined remotely, but blocked their cameras except when discussing votes. So people in the Council Chamber and...
by Daryl Slusher | Dec 19, 2023 | City Council 2023, Land Development Code/Zoning, Leslie Pool HOME proposal
As folks have probably heard, the Austin City Council passed the HOME (Home Options for Middle-Income Empowerment) initiative on a 9-2 vote at the end of the December 7 eleven hour plus public hearing on the matter. Council Members Alison Alter and Mackenzie Kelly...
by Daryl Slusher | Dec 6, 2023 | City Council 2023, Land Development Code/Zoning, Leslie Pool HOME proposal
I attended Tuesday’s City Hall press conference hosted by Council Members Leslie Pool and Chito Vela, featuring a lineup of Pool’s HOME (Home Options for Middle-Income Empowerment) initiative supporters. I have to say that what they were promising sounded pretty...
by Daryl Slusher | Dec 4, 2023 | City Council 2023, Land Development Code/Zoning, Leslie Pool HOME proposal
Who knew? Council Member Ryan Alter is a developer; or at least he was until very recently. I just learned that this weekend. I was a little late to the news. The answer to my question — “who knew” — is Ken Martin of the Austin Bulldog. Martin reported the...
by Daryl Slusher | Nov 27, 2023 | City Council 2023, Land Development Code/Zoning, Leslie Pool HOME proposal
“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Rich Boy, 1926 I was reluctant to quote that F. Scott Fitzgerald line because I don’t like statements that attribute the same qualities to any group of individuals, or...
by Daryl Slusher | Nov 13, 2023 | City Council 2023, Land Development Code/Zoning, Leslie Pool HOME proposal
It’s been a few weeks since we published. A lot has been going on at City Hall during that period, but probably nothing more far reaching than Council Member Leslie Pool’s HOME (Home Options for Middle-Income Empowerment) initiative. That’s the one which would allow...
by Daryl Slusher | Oct 5, 2023 | City Council 2023, Leslie Pool HOME proposal
Well folks, my last five articles or so were lengthy deep dives. So this time around I’m going to keep it shorter, do some follow-ups and also report briefly on some items we have not yet covered. A logical starting point is to follow up on our last article... by Daryl Slusher | Sep 20, 2023 | City Council 2023, Land Development Code/Zoning, Leslie Pool HOME proposal
Well, folks there’s just too much going on in local government and politics for one person to really be able to keep up and report on it. This week I’m picking one Council item from the flood of items roaring by. And, that’s Mayor Kirk Watson’s initiative to give...
by Daryl Slusher | Aug 8, 2023 | City Council 2023, Land Development Code/Zoning, Leslie Pool HOME proposal
Council Member Leslie Pool’s proposal to change zoning definitions and criteria on single family housing could affect up to an estimated 171,944 “parcels” or properties. That estimate was provided by City staff in response to an inquiry from the Austin Independent....
by Daryl Slusher | Apr 17, 2023 | City Council 2023, Police and Public Safety
Some very preliminary results are in from the deployment of DPS (Texas Department of Public Safety) troopers in Austin to help the understaffed Austin Police Department (APD). Data on the first week of the partnership runs contrary to the longtime assertions of police...
