CodeNEXT

If we lost you at land development code – also referred to as a land use code – the LDC is in fact city law, dictating what can be built where within city limits. It answers questions like how big buildings can be, how much impervious cover (aka surfaces that can’t absorb rainfall such as driveways, city streets, rooftops, etc.) is allowed on a given lot, and what environmental features must be protected – super fascinating right? Those answers are different on every lot, as determined by zoning – think single-family homes, mixed use (apartments over stores Downtown), and commercial (stores, businesses, etc.). The LDC also provides easements for different means of transportation including roads, bike lanes, and hiking trails.

The rewrite is really a massive undertaking that all began with Imagine Austin, the city’s comprehensive 30-year plan to make Austin a safe, inclusive, livable, affordable, accessible, engaged, and healthy city. The plan was adopted by City Council in 2012. After that, replacing the current LDC was the next logical step (so they say).

What it can’t do: While the LDC carries a lot of power, it’s not all-powerful. For one, it can’t fix Austin’s affordability problem. You’ll hear that the code is one of many tools in the toolbox that can help address affordable housing, but thanks to Texas law there are a lot of limitations on what cities can require. Here we get density bonus programs. These DBPs are incentives to entice developers into including a certain number of cheaper units in projects by offering them more area to build on, or in some cases, up. That's the goal, anyways; sometimes these developers can access the bonuses by paying a fee to the city’s Affordable Housing pot, or by building affordable units off-site – this last option is no one's favorite.

The new code is also attempting to make it easier to build different types of housing that’s often cheaper than, say, a single-family home. One example of this is ADUs (accessory dwelling units), which is really just a fancy term for those cute back houses you and your boo dream of renting.

What’s most important to remember is that CodeNEXT doesn’t actually exist or mean anything, yet. In February, city staff and their team of consultants released the third and supposedly final draft of the proposed code – now dubbed the staff policy recommendation. That code is now with two different land use commissions for review: Planning and Zoning & Platting. Commissioners are also holding public listening sessions to receive your feedback on CodeNEXT 3.0 as well as your neighbor’s, your boss’, and the barista who made your coffee this morning. (The first session will take place on Sat. April 28, 10am at Dove Springs Rec. Center, the second will be held Tue., May 1, 4pm at Palmer Events Center.) After all that, both commissions will submit their recommendations to City Council as to whether or not CodeNEXT should be implemented and – if so – what, if anything, needs changing. (Council will hold public hearings as well at City Hall: Tue., May 29, 10am, and Sat., June 2, at 10am.) Council will likely receive the Code and these Planning and Zoning & Platting’s recos sometime in May, and their first read is expected to happen before Council's July break, with a possible final vote by late summer. Of course, it could also take longer, so don’t go making any bets just yet.  – Sarah Marloff

For more of your CodeNEXT questions answered, see “A CodeNEXT Questionnaire” (June 9, 2017).