Decision comes amid conflicting smart growth and neighborhood-level planning approaches, which differ over treatment of larger homes.
"After years of debate over the issue, the resolution of the McMansions issue was swift. Council directed, considered, and passed an interim moratorium on the overstuffed houses at its Feb. 16 meeting. That interim ordinance is expected to hold until early May, when an appointed stakeholders task force is expected to come up with a permanent solution to the problem.
If City Council has held fast to any credo over the last decade, it's the belief that inner-city density is good and suburban sprawl is bad, a principle reinforced at regular intervals by the Planning Commission, Save Our Springs Alliance, and the Sierra Club. That ideal utopia of Austin as a highly dense, highly walkable city has been easy for City Council to embrace because it has rarely been in direct conflict with Council's second tenet, which is to back neighborhoods' input on zoning issues whenever possible, a philosophy articulated by the rise of the neighborhood-planning process in Austin."
FULL STORY: The Rise of McMansions
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.