Austin's citizens have lost faith in the LDC re-write process and the people behind it (Mayor, Council Majority and the staff/consultant Code Team). Our recommended path forward would be to toss their 1,300 page draft into the shredder- it's too flawed in concept and execution to use as a starting point for any serious code discussion. We could get to a consensus solution much more easily by updating/amending our current code.
Our current code was written in 1984, but it has been amended over time to adapt to Austin's community values (SOS Ordinance, McMansion Ordinance, VMU, etc.)
What would we change if we were writing the code? Here's our Top Five list:
1. ADU's (Accessory Dwelling Units). We need small ADU's in more places and we need to make them easy to finance and build.
 |
| 420 sf ADU in Cherrywood |
Small ADU's (Accessory Dwelling Units) are the easiest way to add affordable "missing middle" housing into existing neighborhoods. The proposed code allows an ADU on the median Austin lot to be 3,980 sf, which is obviously a step in the wrong direction. A better code would promote ADUs that are smaller than 800 sf, with incentives for units smaller than 500 sf.
2. Duplexes. Smaller Duplex units should be easy to build in more neighborhoods.
 |
| Modest-scale Duplexes |
Duplexes are another great way to allow a bit of affordable density into our neighborhood context. Our current code has bizarre rules that were added to the code in 2006 that make it very challenging to build duplexes. We could allow duplex use on all Central Austin single family lots, as long as the FAR stays in the affordable range- roughly .4 as mandated by the McMansion Ordinance.
3. Compatibility Standards. We need 'em, but we need to find a compromise that promotes redevelopment on our Transit Corridors.
 |
| ZAP member Jim Duncan's Compatibility Compromise diagram |
Austin added Compatibility Standards to the LDC in the 80's to prevent construction of very tall buildings adjacent to residences. Even though we upzoned (VMU) in 2008 along our corridors, redevelopment has been suppressed by the Compatibility Standards. We'd adopt a compromise standard that allows more height without requiring new upzoning.
4. McMansion Regulations. Keep the good parts that enhance Affordability, simplify the parts that got complicated.
 |
| One of my 2006 models for McMansion Ordinance discussions |
It's often overlooked that Austin's McMansion Ordinance (adopted in 2006) was our first Affordability policy effort, slowing the proliferation of huge new homes that were popping up in central neighborhoods. The ordinance has developed some complexities and loopholes over time, and it needs an update. We'd ditch the "tent" element and eliminate exemptions for Attics and parking areas and keep the FAR (Floor Area Ratio) at .4, with a possible reduction in FAR for single family use to .35 to help incentivize additional units.
If we want to slow the rise of housing costs in Austin, FAR restrictions are perhaps the best tool we have at our disposal. The proposed code increases (sometimes more than 2x) the allowable FAR, which is exactly what we don't want to do.
5. New housing types. We need to go "Back to the Future" to allow types of housing we eliminated or over-regulated in the 1980s.
 |
| Yours truly, at Chestnut Commons. Affordable Cottage housing. |
Our current code makes it tricky (sometimes impossible) to construct Townhouses, Triplexes, Fourplexes, internal ADUs and "Cottage Court" housing. We need to add these uses to our toolbox, and map locations all over town that would allow them. The proposed code envisions extensive redevelopment of our existing neighborhoods, but that would put too many homes in landfills and too many tenants/lower-income homeowners out on the street. There are lots of opportunities for insertion of new housing types that wouldn't cause so much negative impact.
What would be on your Top Five list, Austin?? Let's get talking now while we have the chance!!