Austin Electeds Hope Site Review Improvements Achieve Affordability Gains

After receiving scathing reviews about the frustrations and inefficiencies of its site review process, Austin has contracted with McKinsey to begin the work of overhauling the process.

1 minute read

September 5, 2023, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Austin Mayor Kirk Watson is prioritizing an overhaul of the city’s site review process, after receiving scathing reviews from a recent analysis by the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

After surveying customers completing the site review process, as well as 150 city employees working in the 11 departments involved in the site review process, “found only 1% of respondents were satisfied with the process,” according to a paywalled article by Mike Christen for the Austin Business Journal.

Non-paywalled reporting on Mayor Watson’s response to the analysis is available in an article published by the Real Deal. Mayor Watson is quoted connecting the frustrations and the inefficiencies of the city’s site review process to the increasingly unaffordable hosing market in the city.

The Austin City Council subsequently voted on Thursday, August 31 to spend $2.5 million to hire McKinsey & Co. on a six-month contract to improve the site review process, as reported in a separate paywalled article by Christen (source article below)

Thursday, August 31, 2023 in The Real Deal

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