The ruling impacts ordinances passed in 2022 aimed at increasing housing density and supporting mixed-use development.
A Travis County District Court judge in Texas ruled against the city of Austin in a lawsuit challenging multiple zoning ordinances passed by the city in 2022. According to an article by Jo Clifton in the Austin Monitor, “All of the ordinances were designed to allow more residential units in areas not previously considered appropriate for housing. But Council will have to start over in enacting the Vertical Mixed Use Ordinance as well as the Residential in Commercial Development program and the Compatibility Ordinance, all of which were approved in 2022.”
The judge ruled a fourth ordinance challenged in the lawsuit, Affordability Unlocked, can go forward. Lawyers for the plaintiff in the lawsuit, Doug Becker, say they are now “assessing the legality” of the Home Options for Middle-Income Empowerment (HOME) passed last week by a vote of 9-2 and are fundraising to challenge future zoning reform proposals.
FULL STORY: Court signs order overturning three zoning ordinances (Austin, has implications for zoning just passed)
Opinion: Austin Zoning Reform Won’t Have Major Impact
Despite heated controversy, some experts believe the zoning changes made last year won’t make a significant dent in the local housing crisis.
Zoning Reform Faces Uphill Battle in Dallas
Proposals to boost housing production through ‘gentle density’ increases face strong opposition from residents concerned about losing single-family neighborhoods.
Will Salt Lake City’s Zoning Reforms Create More Affordable Housing?
The city’s new rules allow for more flexibility in housing development, but other market forces could limit production.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association