The Planning Commission approved a proposal by the Organization of Central East Austin Neighborhoods to tighten the McMansion restrictions applicable to the smallest lots in Central East Austin. The proposal would remove the current McMansion rule allowing a house up to 2,300 square feet on any size lot. Instead, these lots would only be allowed to build floor area equal to 40% of lot size (e.g. a 1,500 square foot house on a 3,750 square foot lot). City Council may take up the issue tomorrow, but will probably wait until next month. more ›

Image of criminal couple (Bonnie and Clyde) from WikipediaThe media often portrays criminals as warped master-minds, or at least uncaring creeps. A less popular, but more true to form characterization would be just-plain-stupid. Aspiring criminal master-minds, the husband and wife team of Alan and Basilia Gonzalez, were able to round up "four to six accomplices" according to KXAN, but we wouldn't go so far as to call it an organized burglary ring. A moniker like... more ›

SFist witnessed a new apartment building tszuj the skyline with spectacular, gaudy turquoise aplomb, the (informal) renaming of the Mission/SOMA neighborhood border, the return of the Maltese Falcon, the Mayor Gavin Newsom mea culpa-ing over his Hawaiian getaway during the oil spill, and double-decker buses hitting the streets of San Francisco. Oh, and some baseball player named Barry Bonds is a liar whose pants, it seems, are totally on fire. LAist continues to cover the... more ›

Google MapsGeorgetown Village, a new master planned community 35 miles north of downtown Austin, is hoping to become the first green subdivision in Georgetown. According to the Statesman: Green Builders Inc. is creating an 800-acre master-planned community with 2,000 houses that will be environmentally friendly and feature rain harvesting and energy-saving heating and cooling systems. Georgetown Village will offer 15 floor plans, from 1,800 square feet to 2,400 square feet. Several models are near completion.... more ›

CAMPO's voting on tolling existing roads tonight. . . they say they won't toll the parts of the roads built with tax money. Guess we'll see how that works after tonight's meeting. Looks like rough waters ahead for councilmember Jennifer Kim in the upcoming May election. Woman's body found on UT campus this morning. Tyrell Gatewood, suspended indefinitely from the Longhorns in September for possession, is once again in trouble for. . . possession.... more ›

The American Planning Association has named Old West Austin one of the first ten Great Neighborhoods in America, noting that "Resident Participation Keeps Neighborhood Character Intact." Some might quibble with the characterization of this neighborhood as the "most dense and diverse" in Austin. Also, some haters would probably dispute (apparently contradictory) statements like "Voluntary efforts of residents and developers alike have kept the neighborhood's character intact in the absence of local ordinances governing building... more ›

Lee Nichols has a nice article in this week's Chronicle about destruction of the urban forest resulting from infill development. Mature trees are a key factor that makes older neighborhoods more pleasant than suburban sprawl. Unfortunately, large trees are often taken down when an old house is replaced with a larger new house. Austin's Tree and Natural Area Preservation Ordinance requires a permit for removal of a tree with a 19-inch diameter. Removing (or killing)... more ›

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors Dearest members of our esteemed Neighborhood Association Board of Directors, I would like to begin this letter by way of gracious manifest: you are all perceivably noble and considered generally benevolent in all the interest you show toward our collective reputation to outside neighborhoods. I feel that your presence here has been... more ›

At the upcoming August meeting, the city council will discuss an ordinance placing rules and regulations in place for BYOB businesses. If customers are allowed to bring in their own alcohol to a club/restaurant/place of business, that business will be required to obtain a permit. To obtain the permit, businesses must: provide security guards, close at or before 2:15am, and not allow alcohol in the parking lot. This is most likely a response to such... more ›

The Historic Landmark Commission will consider at its meeting tonight whether to designate Harthan Street as a Local Historic District. Harthan Street is a short, dead-end street north of Sixth and west of Lamar. It would be the first Local Historic District in Austin. The "Local Historic District" designation is more restrictive than the "National Register Historic District" designation already in place in many Austin neighborhoods. With a "Local Historic District" designation, all building... more ›

Alexis Jones’ powerful voice paces The Jones Family Singers’ uplifting message and equally inspirational music. However, it is Dr. Fred A. Jones, a pastor as well as band manager, who binds this gospel act together. The Jones Family Singers, as the name would imply, consists of Dr. Jones’ daughters, sons, grandson, and even a son-in-law. The band’s resume includes an appearance on BET as well as tours all over North America. The Jones Family Singers... more ›

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic... more ›

Despite the sprawl-loving Statesman's spin attempt, it is clear that the majority of Austin neighborhoods are embracing VMU zoning. Out of eighty neighborhoods given the choice to opt-out, forty-six did nothing, which apparently means the VMU zoning will be implemented as suggested by the city. Seven neighborhoods responded, but did not opt-out for any properties. It isn't clear whether they opted-in for additional properties, or just submitted applications saying that they agreed with the city's... more ›

In case you hadn't noticed, transit-oriented development (TOD) is picking up steam in Austin. For newbies to Urban Development, "TOD" refers to the process of installing a rail-based public transit system in a city and developing dense residential/retail/commercial projects around it. Yes, people of Austin: It's your old vaporous friend, rail. But this time, it looks like he's here to stay. A few years ago, installing a rail system was just one of many possible... more ›

The Deep Eddy Bathhouse will be celebrating its re-opening this Saturday from 10am to 7pm. There will be a ribbon cutting, tours, free admission, refreshments, live music and performances by the Austin Angelfish synchronized swim team. The renovations to the bath house include restoration of the men's dressing area, women's facilities, handicapped accessible rest rooms, unisex bathrooms, a handicapped accessible path and ramps, a ticket desk and a concession stand. Limbacher & Godfrey Architects... more ›

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors Predictability seemed paramount at the time. The end-all, want-all. It was the sole reason we were even living here back then. Our purpose. Goals and whatnot. We’d had enough of the side-dealings associated with chaotic under-tabled business ventures and the perils of potential imprisonment (by either: society in prisons, or society in... more ›

Several East Austin groups are asking the city to wait to implement the VMU ordinance until October 1. Their primary concern is that "East Austin is experiencing rampant gentrification ... and that the application of vertical mixed-use zoning will further speed the loss of affordable housing and locally-owned businesses." East Austin is certainly experiencing rampant gentrification. Property values (particularly in 78702) have risen faster than almost anywhere else in the city. However, VMU zoning... more ›

We were excited to find out that we no longer have to rely on walking our dog by at night to see the inside of those cool old houses near Duval St. because this Saturday, they will be open to the public as part of the Heritage Society of Austin’s 15th Annual Homes Tour. This year’s theme is “Duval Street in the 20’s,” and six of those beauties will be part of a walking... more ›

Maquilapolis ("City of Factories") Regal Metropolitan, Theater 12, 7pm Carmen Durán lives in Tijuana, where, like most women in her neighborhood, she works in a maquiladora: one of over 800 factories owned by the countless multinational corporations that flocked to Mexico following 1994’s NAFTA treaty in search of cheap labor. The maquiladoras—where workers manufacture everything from TV components to pantyhose for about $6 a day—sit in hillside clusters towering over Carmen’s village, spewing toxic sludge... more ›

As we mentioned Monday, a new development is launching near Webberville 15 minutes east of Austin that could put our city on the worldwide film, television and music production map at long last. A designer's sketch of Villa Muse Studios, the production zone that forms the core of Villa Muse and constitutes Phase One of the Villa Muse project. It’s called Villa Muse, a sort of self-sufficient creative-industry village that’ll consist of some of the... more ›

Aside from being an accomplished documentary filmmaker (and Guggenheim, Rockefeller, NEA and AFI Fellowship award recipient), Third Ward TX director Andrew Garrison is also an associate professor at the University of Texas, and the founder of East Austin Stories, an ongoing student documentary program that focuses on East Austin neighborhoods. We recently had a chance to talk to Andrew about Third Ward, East Austin Stories and South by Southwest. Tell us a little bit about... more ›

The City of Austin is going to be rolling out their recently completed project to coincide with the start of SxSWi: an interactive DVD, titled Austin Past and Present, which tells the history of Austin. The DVD incorporates historical documents from local archives (mainly the Austin History Center) into 300 slideshows and stories about our fair city. You can learn about the geological beginnings of our area, learn more about the beginnings of neighborhoods such... more ›

At the behest of home-builders, Representative Edmund Kuempel of Seguin has filed a bill that would eviscerate Austin's McMansion ordinance, along with similar regulations passed by cities throughout the state. While it is not 100% clear that the McMansion ordinance is a good thing, this seems like an entirely local issue that cities should be allowed to resolve on their own. Allowing the state government to override what cities can do about local zoning... more ›

Katherine Gregor has an excellent article in this week's Chronicle about Austin's move towards Vertical Mixed Use zoning on core transit corridors. It does a nice job explaining what the city's VMU overlay means (residential and office space above retail space), why it benefits developers (allows them to build more condos on a given lot), and why it benefits residents (affordability, better building design requirements, pedestrian-friendly, green, integration reduces need for car trips). The... more ›

We've been all over the city in this column, covering houses from the south side, all the way to the heart of suburbia. In this edition, Austinist returns to our love of life on the cheap. Artists, thrift store hawks and the underemployed by choice - no need to get over a barrel when buying those new digs. This lovable city is still choc-a-block with awesome homes to be had for under 200K, especially... more ›

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend... more ›

For those of us who have tasted the good life--spending some part of our residency in the '04--the idea of living anywhere else in the city can induce sweaty palms and a sincere doubt about the viability of social life beyond Polvo's and bud-induced trips to Homeslice. In recent years however, the popularity of this neighborhood has driven up prices to the point that buying is significantly more expensive than renting, creating a financial... more ›

The magazine Natural Home has put South Congress second on its list of America's Best Eco-Neighborhoods. The list appears to be arranged alphabetically by city name, so being second doesn't really matter, but at least it's in the top ten. The area's walkability, integration of residential and commercial space, and access to public transportation helped put it on the list. Great local stores like Farm to Market and Ecowise probably also helped. SoCo is... more ›

Councilmember Mike Martinez' office sent out a press release this afternoon saying that Austin city council and WalMart have come to an agreement that WalMart will suspend development at the Northcross location for 60 days. This news comes before the council meeting tomorrow where councilmembers were certain to hear about the Northcross debacle. There have been many mixed signals on this whole deal, and this suspension leaves time for the council and residents of... more ›

For those of us who pine for a centrally-located Craftsman's-style bungalow, but refuse to pony up two fiddy per square foot or hold down an extreme job to bankroll it, this week's column focuses on the house that made America's heartland great - the ranch-style home of the 1950s and early 60s. A spate of home construction in Austin during this time--in areas that were then considered 'suburban'--provides creative and cost-concious house hunters with... more ›