Public Notice: Hear Ye, Hear Ye

As I write this, the city of Austin is about halfway through a process known as CodeNEXT: a complete ground-up rewrite of the city's Land Development Code – the rules by which everything in the city gets built, from your bathroom remodel to the newest high-rise tower Downtown – in order to align code with the planning goals expressed in the recently completed Imagine Austin comprehensive plan.

More immediately, the city and lead consultants Opticos Design are about halfway through the week of interactive sessions that are Sound Check, an attempt to unveil and get feedback on the guiding principles that will define the CodeNEXT process and results (see "Sound Check Gets Under Way," Nov. 20). To no one's surprise, there is considerable trepidation and mistrust surrounding this initiative. Last week, I wrote about some of the concerns the city Planning Com­mis­sion had about the paucity of available information heading into the Sound Check. Now, a few days into the process, the initial reviews seem to be positive.

I think, so far, most everyone has been hearing what they'd hoped to hear.

Neighborhoods are hearing: We're not coming for your babies. Existing, fully developed neighborhoods will see few changes, except along corridors. Your house will see little or no substantive change, except that its zoning will be written in a more straightforward language. We will do away as much as possible with overlays and restrictions, and other amendments to current zoning; but we will incorporate the gist of those overlays, etc. into the base zoning of the affected tracts. Ditto with neighborhood plans. A well-crafted neighborhood plan that's in line with the goals of Imagine Austin has nothing to fear from this process. It will be rewritten in the new language; but it won't be changed. So where a neighborhood plan may have used a variety of tools – overlays, additional compatibility limits, exceptions to code requirements, or whatever – to define that a certain block should be three-story mixed-use buildings, but should transition into single-family residential by the next block over, CodeNEXT will try to honor that vision, but rewrite it into new code that makes it more likely to actually get built that way, with less incentive for code amendments.

The development community and density advocates have been hearing: We feel your pain. The existing code is too complicated and open to interpretation. The new code will be cleaner and clearer. And: We're all about density, and we're all about making Imagine Austin happen. There's a massive amount of potential growth envisioned in that plan, but currently, there are a lot of impediments to actually building it out. Some of those impediments are written into the code – in places where the current zoning doesn't encourage, or even allow, the kind of development that Imagine Austin would like to see – and we can fix that. And some of those impediments that are political – an appeals process that can go on forever and where no decision is ever final – can be ameliorated if the rules are clearer from the outset, and if all the governing regulations, such as neighborhood plans, are truly brought in line with the Imagine Austin vision.

At least, that's what I've been hearing, as I've listened to the planners trying to allay different people's fears and concerns. If that's right – if what I've outlined above is really the framework for the process, and the Opticos team can really achieve all those aims – then I think there's clearly a lot that everyone can agree on.

The devil is in the details, as always. But, halfway through this weeklong introduction, everyone's at least listening.

Blackshear Elementary Fine Arts Academy, 1712 E. 11th, will open its doors to students, families, alumni, and the community during the East Austin Studio Tour. The "little e.a.s.t." event includes craft booths, student artwork, performances, gardening, a storytelling chair sculpture, and more. 10am-3pm, Sat., Nov. 21.

Austin Habitat for Humanity hosts a Grand Open­ing celebration of its new Community Home Center and ReStore at 500 W. Ben White Blvd., on Sat., Nov. 21, 10am-2pm, with remarks at 10am from Mayor Steve Adler and CM Pio Rente­ria. After the ceremony, and throughout the day, there will be activities for all ages: face-painting, a bounce house, DIY presentations, and more, plus samplings from local food vendors.

The Chestnut Neighborhood Revitalization Corp. is holding a groundbreaking ceremony for its new development, the Chicon, Sat., Nov. 21, at 10:30am at 1301 Chicon. The Chicon will provide a mix of affordable and market-rate housing, and ground-floor commercial space. See more at www.thechicon.com.

What's Out There Weekend Austin, organized by the Cultural Landscape Foundation, promises free, expert-led tours of Austin's diverse landscape legacy, from public parks to cultural institutions. More than 30 tours include Austin City Hall, Deep Eddy Pool, the Elisabet Ney Museum, McKinney Falls State Park, the State Capitol, and more. See a schedule and pre-register at www.tclf.org. All day Sat.-Sun., Nov. 21-22.

Friday, Nov. 20, is the deadline to submit comments on the South MoPac toll road expansion plan (see "Public Notice: One Ring to Rule Them All," Nov. 6). Take a minute to let your voice be heard; you can send an email through the KeepMoPacLocal.org website.

In what seems a near-permanent condition, the Austin Animal Center is "desperately" overcrowded, and is waiving adoption fees on all ready-to-go dogs and cats – including spay or neuter surgery, a microchip, and vaccinations, a package valued at more than $200 – indefinitely, until overcrowding abates. They'd also love to have some foster homes volunteer.