Austin City Council approves HOME Phase 2, reducing minimum lot size to build one unit

Ella McCarthy, Austin American-Statesman
Updated ·3 min read
The City Council has voted to reduce the minimum lot size needed to build one housing unit in Austin from the current 5,750 square feet to 1,800 square feet. The council also loosened restrictions on the height of new developments based on their proximity to single-family lots.

After more than 14 hours of public comment and a meeting that spilled over into Friday, the Austin City Council passed Phase 2 of the HOME Initiative, which will soon reduce the amount of land needed to build one housing unit in the city.

HOME — Home Options for Middle-Income Empowerment — is a two-part initiative led by District 7 Council Member Leslie Pool that seeks to allow more and different kinds of housing to be built by amending the city's land development code.

Phase 1, which passed in December in a 9-2 vote, allowed for up to three units on many lots. Phase 2, approved Friday, will reduce the minimum lot size needed to build one housing unit in Austin from the current 5,750 square feet to 1,800 square feet.

Phase 2 also passed in a 9-2 vote. Council Members Alison Alter and Mackenzie Kelly voted against both phases. Alter, who has been the most outspoken on the dais against the initiative, said Thursday that she was "deeply concerned" about the changes.

"I think the timeline has been unnecessarily rushed, leading to a product that isn't fully vetted, which may have dangerous, yet predictable, outcomes," she said.

The initiative, like many other proposed changes to the land development code that have come before the City Council in years prior, has become deeply controversial. Supporters say it will help affordability by allowing for more housing options to be built, while opponents say it's being rushed and could cause further displacement, specifically on the city's Eastern Crescent.

Read More: Will HOME initiative help Austin's housing affordability? Opinions split ahead of vote

An amendment from Council Member José Velásquez that was added to the ordinance directs the city manager to look at the feasibility of adding an "equity/anti-displacement overlay" in the future that would make the ordinance inapplicable in certain areas identified as vulnerable to gentrification. Such an overlay has been supported by several community groups opposed to HOME.

Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison pointed out during Friday's meeting that in the past there has been an attempt to add such an overlay that was widely explored but ultimately didn't work.

As part of the initiative, the City Council voted to delay implementation in areas that are currently experiencing or are prone to displacement.

Velásquez also plans to bring forward an ordinance during the May 30 council meeting "that directs the city manager to streamline processes, builds on the City's existing resources, and initiates new programs to ensure HOME entitlements are both feasible and accessible to all residents," he posted to the City Council message board.

“There is much work to be done, but this is a hopeful day as we work to achieve equitable outcomes for our vulnerable communities,” Yasmine Smith, vice president of justice and advocacy for the nonprofit Austin Area Urban League, said in a news release.

In addition to HOME, the City Council loosened restrictions on the height of new developments based on their proximity to single-family lots and approved an equitable transit-oriented development overlay that prohibits or makes conditional some kinds of new developments in certain areas within a half-mile of Phase 1 of Project Connect, the city's planned light rail, and its priority extensions.

Some of the areas included in that overlay are parts of South Congress Avenue and North Lamar Boulevard.

Additionally, the City Council approved a new density bonus overlay along Phase 1 of the light rail. The new density bonus program will allow developers to build up to 60 feet of height, with a maximum of 120 feet in total height, in exchange for a certain number of affordable units within a quarter-mile of the planned light rail line. The maximum total height is 90 feet after the first quarter-mile until the half-mile boundary of the equitable transit-oriented development overlay.

Read More: Did you get another purple notice from the city of Austin? Here's what it means.

Compatibility regulations limit the height of new developments based on their proximity to single-family lots.

There are currently limits in the city's code on the height of developments within 540 feet of a single-family home. The ordinance approved Friday brings that restriction down to 75 feet.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin City Council approves HOME phase 2, reducing minimum lot size