BG Blog: Land Development Code Amendments (4) Overview

The Austin City Council will begin the process to approve four major Land Development Code (LDC) amendments in a Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission on April 11. 

Recognizing the importance of these proposed changes, Bingham Group has created a document briefly explaining the amendments and the City’s proposed timeline. 

Citywide Compatibility 

  • What is Compatibility? 

    • A zoning regulation that limits the height of buildings and types of buildings or structures that can be built near single-family homes.

  • Draft Ordinance (March 29, 2024)

  • Proposed Changes: 

    • Revise height, placement, and other related land use regulations known as Compatibility Standards that apply to a property based on its proximity to a single-family home. 

    • Redefines triggering property to a property with between one and four units and properties zoned SF-5 or more restrictive. 

    • Lowers required distance between a triggering property and a development from 540 feet to 75 feet. Revises height limits to allow taller developments within the new 75 foot distance. 

  • The City of Austin has a “Guide to Zoning” which lists and defines all zoning categories. You can find that here.

Equitable Transit Oriented Development (ETOD) Overlay 

  • What is an Overlay?

    • A regulatory tool that creates a special zoning district, placed over an existing base zone(s), which identifies special provisions in addition to those in the underlying base zone.

  • Creates additional regulations for a specific area to address a site or area-specific need or objective.

  • Proposed Changes

    • Changes would allow more density along the planned Light Rail and Priority Extensions. In order to receive federal funding, the federal government has requested that municipalities amend their land use regulations to allow for more density. 

    • Creates regulations that would apply to properties that are located within a half mile of the planned Project Connect Phase 1 Light Rail and Priority Extensions. 

HOME Phase 2 

  • What is “minimum lot size”? 

    • The smallest square footage a parcel of land can be for new housing developments. 

  • Proposed Changes

    • Reduces the lot size needed to build one home, and revises related regulations that apply to properties with one home.

    • The current minimum lot size in Austin is 5750 Square Feet. The proposed changes would lower that to 2000 Square Feet. 

Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging 

  • Proposed Changes

    • Creates a zoning category for EV charging in order to allow for EV charging infrastructure throughout the city. 

    • Creates regulations that allow properties to be used exclusively for charging electric vehicles. 

Helpful Links 

CONTACT US WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

info@binghamgp.com

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