Testing City Council's Appetite for Lakeshore Pudding
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Beyond giving 600 more Austinites the ability to live in central Austin near LBL, the planned project includes numerous community benefits, like $225,000 for city parks, space for a police substation, rent-free meeting space for nonprofit groups, the option of 60 subsidized-rent units or a payment of $1.5 million to $2 million. Those benefits might have allowed the development to exceed the waterfront overlay ordinance's height restrictions based on development bonuses, but the development bonus part of the ordinance has still not been drafted.
The vote will be an interesting indication of the new City Council's appetite for development. Anti-development groups made strong showings in the last two elections (and may show up to oppose this development), but the faltering economy and lagging tax rolls may make councilmembers hesitate to kill a beneficial project.


