May 16 at City Hall--Let's Legalize Housing!

[427MM]

Hey friends,

This Thursday, Austin City Council will vote on crucial housing reforms to improve our city's walkability, affordability, and sustainability. These include Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD), HOME 2 (reducing minimum lot sizes), and compatibility reform.

Despite relentless NIMBY lawsuits, we're addressing these reforms piece by piece, though it's not the ideal approach—it's necessary. These changes aim to dismantle barriers in our zoning code that have segregated communities by race, class, and age.

Your voice is crucial. Please register your support for these reforms during the public hearing. Sign-ups open tomorrow morning (5/13) and close Wednesday at noon for virtual speaking and at 9:15 am on Thursday for in-person; remember to sign up online before noon on Wednesday, or use a kiosk in the City Hall lobby. Stay tuned for the link.

Let's shape the future of our city together and legalize housing! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm eager to hear everyone's thoughts.

P.S. The compatibility reform is crucial—no other rule in our code hinders housing like this. Housing isn't incompatible with housing unless we want a housing crisis.

[gillynova]

Keep us posted!

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by 427MM

Hey friends,

This Thursday, Austin City Council will vote on crucial housing reforms to improve our city's walkability, affordability, and sustainability. These include Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD), HOME 2 (reducing minimum lot sizes), and compatibility reform.

Despite relentless NIMBY lawsuits, we're addressing these reforms piece by piece, though it's not the ideal approach—it's necessary. These changes aim to dismantle barriers in our zoning code that have segregated communities by race, class, and age.

Your voice is crucial. Please register your support for these reforms during the public hearing. Sign-ups open tomorrow morning (5/13) and close Wednesday at noon for virtual speaking and at 9:15 am on Thursday for in-person; remember to sign up online before noon on Wednesday, or use a kiosk in the City Hall lobby. Stay tuned for the link.

Let's shape the future of our city together and legalize housing! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm eager to hear everyone's thoughts.

P.S. The compatibility reform is crucial—no other rule in our code hinders housing like this. Housing isn't incompatible with housing unless we want a housing crisis.

I encourage you to stop driving walls between supportive homeowners in Austin with legit concerns by lobbing the "Nimby" term around. It reeks of more divisiveness. Just address the issues, which may of us established home owners support. You can't lump everyone with a concern into a monolithic enemy.. or you will get nowhere. I, ( who does share many of your concerns) , will read your proposals with a more critical eye because of your prejudicial name calling. Think about it.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

I encourage you to stop driving walls between supportive homeowners in Austin with legit concerns by lobbing the "Nimby" term around. It reeks of more divisiveness. Just address the issues, which may of us established home owners support. You can't lump everyone with a concern into a monolithic enemy.. or you will get nowhere. I, ( who does share many of your concerns) , will read your proposals with a more critical eye because of your prejudicial name calling. Think about it.

You can support or be against whatever policy you want. However, that support is a reflection on you and you alone. It's not a reflection of terminology that someone else uses. If you don't like it then just ignore it. You don't need to try to micromanage how someone else communicates.

[enragedcamel]

Originally Posted by freerover

You can support or be against whatever policy you want. However, that support is a reflection on you and you alone. It's not a reflection of terminology that someone else uses. If you don't like it then just ignore it. You don't need to try to micromanage how someone else communicates.

Exactly. It reeks of concern-trolling.

[427MM]

BANANAs, build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything; CAVEs, citizens against virtually everything; HOGs, housing opposition groups...

Every time there is an effort to make housing easier to build the same small group of folks come out to block it. Meanwhile, housing affordability is worse for more and more families and sprawl is bursting at the seams.

We all have to call out NIMBYims! It's time to legalize housing!

https://twitter.com/cbsaustin/status...90787917300168

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by 427MM

BANANAs, build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything; CAVEs, citizens against virtually everything; HOGs, housing opposition groups...

Every time there is an effort to make housing easier to build the same small group of folks come out to block it. Meanwhile, housing affordability is worse for more and more families and sprawl is bursting at the seams.

We all have to call out NIMBYims! It's time to legalize housing!

https://twitter.com/cbsaustin/status...90787917300168

[dilliam]

Originally Posted by 427MM

BANANAs, build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything; CAVEs, citizens against virtually everything; HOGs, housing opposition groups...

Every time there is an effort to make housing easier to build the same small group of folks come out to block it. Meanwhile, housing affordability is worse for more and more families and sprawl is bursting at the seams.

We all have to call out NIMBYims! It's time to legalize housing!

https://twitter.com/cbsaustin/status...90787917300168

Hell yea brother!

[PolskaFly]

Home Phase 2 passed! Also the ETOD did as well. Super exciting times.

I was watching the council meeting these last 2 days, and man was it a slog but also entertaining haha.

[Lobotomizer]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

I encourage you to stop driving walls between supportive homeowners in Austin with legit concerns by lobbing the "Nimby" term around. It reeks of more divisiveness. Just address the issues, which may of us established home owners support. You can't lump everyone with a concern into a monolithic enemy.. or you will get nowhere. I, ( who does share many of your concerns) , will read your proposals with a more critical eye because of your prejudicial name calling. Think about it.

Those who fight housing where parking lots exist are peak NIMBY. NIMBYs are pretty terrible. So yeah, screw NIMBYs!

[ahealy]

Yes to housing reforms + walkability, sustainability and affordability. This city desperately needs all of that.


Also, let's turn people on to equitible urbanism. Not to sound like the forum police, but the knee-jerk NIMBY name-assigning for anyone who has a nuanced opinion actually pushes me in the opposite direction of what we're discussing at times...and if we know anything about humans, that just strengthens neighborhood associations and their "cause". Just being honest. I know if I feel that way, others do too and we need allllll the support we can get for this really important issue.

[427MM]

It's already been shared but yes--all items passed! Huge shout out to Mayor Watson, Mayor Pro Tem Pool and Council Members Harper Madison, Velasquez, Vela, Ryan Alter, Ellis and Qadri! Two CMs, same two that could not support eliminating Parking Mandates, had a list of excuses of why they couldn't get there. One is termed out (District 10) and the other one reps District 6 which oddly enough is the only Austin District to have never re-elected an incumbent...

Congrats to all who favor legalizing a variety of housing types for a diversity of income earners IN AUSTIN!

[ILUVSAT]

Great news!!! Progress! So, as I don't have feet on the ground in Austin...is this a baby step forward or more of a leap?

Also, will that a** Allshire try to upend this too by suing the City because they forgot to dot an "I" or cross a "T" on some obscure form?

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by 427MM

It's already been shared but yes--all items passed! Huge shout out to Mayor Watson, Mayor Pro Tem Pool and Council Members Harper Madison, Velasquez, Vela, Ryan Alter, Ellis and Qadri! Two CMs, same two that could not support eliminating Parking Mandates, had a list of excuses of why they couldn't get there. One is termed out (District 10) and the other one reps District 6 which oddly enough is the only Austin District to have never re-elected an incumbent...

Congrats to all who favor legalizing a variety of housing types for a diversity of income earners IN AUSTIN!

[Lobotomizer]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Great news!!! Progress! So, as I don't have feet on the ground in Austin...is this a baby step forward or more of a leap?

Also, will that a** Allshire try to upend this too by suing the City because they forgot to dot an "I" or cross a "T" on some obscure form?

It's enormous! Minimum lor size reduced from around 5700 square feet to 1800 square feet. Compatibility reduced from over 500 feet to less than 100 feet. Front setbacks reduced to 10 feet. Minimum 120" height all along the streets which will have light rail.

When added to what this council has already accomplished it will be transformational for Austin over the coming decades.

[427MM]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Great news!!! Progress! So, as I don't have feet on the ground in Austin...is this a baby step forward or more of a leap?

Also, will that a** Allshire try to upend this too by suing the City because they forgot to dot an "I" or cross a "T" on some obscure form?

Probably. NIMBYs will NIMBY.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

I encourage you to stop driving walls between supportive homeowners in Austin with legit concerns by lobbing the "Nimby" term around. It reeks of more divisiveness. Just address the issues, which may of us established home owners support. You can't lump everyone with a concern into a monolithic enemy.. or you will get nowhere. I, ( who does share many of your concerns) , will read your proposals with a more critical eye because of your prejudicial name calling. Think about it.

I want to lend my support to your statement.

People:

Building a stable and long lasting majority means not demonizing whole groups of people as antithetical to your cause—that drives them away and does nothing but encourage oppositional groupthink, not-so-paradoxically often inviting and engendering a backlash that often undoes all of the progress. Sometimes those backlashes end up backtracking progress so far that it does more than just undo the specific policy actions taken that spurred the movement. It is important to harken (and I appreciate the irony of ME of all people saying this) to our better angels with our political speech so that we bridge divides rather than create them.

I’m doing this AFTER the fact precisely to warn: stop demonizing established homeowners, because without their continued political support to these candidates…

Originally Posted by 427MM

Huge shout out to Mayor Watson, Mayor Pro Tem Pool and Council Members Harper Madison, Velasquez, Vela, Ryan Alter, Ellis and Qadri!

… these policy changes can easily be reversed by a future (albeit with a changed composition) council. And we aren’t even done! Keep in mind there are more agenda items to be voted on w/r/t housing over the next few years and to get those passed, we need to hold together the coalition we have by being respectful.

These policy changes are only the opening salvo of a longer, more protracted political battle going on nationally. Austin is on the forefront of the changes at the municipal level, but that just means we are going to be the laboratory for the opposition to find ways to undo the work. Don’t give them ammunition or ideas with your language.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Austin is on the forefront of the changes at the municipal level, but that just means we are going to be the laboratory for the opposition to find ways to undo the work. Don’t give them ammunition or ideas with your language.

This exactly. We're gonna have a spotlight on us... best to keep moving forward and educate people instead of pushing them away.