The LDC changes would allow for more duplexes Credit: photo by Getty Images

Members of the public will have the opportunity today, Oct. 26, to share their thoughts with City Council members and Planning commissioners on forthcoming changes to the Land Development Code that represent the most sweeping changes to the rules that regulate housing development seen in decades. These changes are intended to address Austin’s affordability crisis by increasing housing supply throughout the city. The proposed LDC changes under public review are:

• Rezoning all single-family (SF) lots, citywide, to allow up to three units per lot.

• Permitting the use of tiny homes and RVs on SF lots.

• Increasing the number of unrelated adults who can live in one dwelling unit.

• Revising site regulations for duplexes, including reducing the minimum lot size for those housing types from 7,000 square feet to 5,750 square feet.

Council will not vote on any of the proposed ordinance changes at the meeting – that will happen in December, after two additional public hearings – but the hearing will serve as the first opportunity for residents to provide comment to both bodies. That makes the meeting unprecedented – it’ll be the first time Council and the Planning Commission hold a joint session to hear from residents on potential LDC revisions; doing so is one way for local governments considering zoning changes to notify property owners of the changes, a requirement under state law.

Who attends the public hearing will be interesting to observe. In the past, individuals and groups who have opposed such policies – mostly older, whiter homeowners – have dominated the conversation. But that dynamic has shifted over the past year with a younger, more diverse crowd showing up to public meetings to plead for policies that would allow for more housing development.

The proposed changes mostly stem from a resolution authored by Council Member Leslie Pool that her office has dubbed the Home Options for Middle-income Empow­er­ment initiative, which was approved on a 9-2 vote (CMs Alison Alter and Mackenzie Kelly against). Other ideas included in the resolution, such as reducing the minimum lot size in all SF zones to 2,500 square feet and allowing more impervious cover on those lots, are likely to be considered at a later date.

This article appears in October 27 • 2023.

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