It was a big day for planners and planning in Austin earlier this week, when the city released the 1,100-page first draft of the city's new zoning code—the first major revision of the city's zoning doe since the mid-1980s.
"After nearly three years of work as part of a process dubbed CodeNEXT, city officials on Monday morning released the first draft of Austin’s new land development code," reports Christopher Neely.
"The code aims to balance what Adler referred to as the 'Austin bargain,'" explains Neely, "an attempt at protecting the character of the city’s existing neighborhoods while allowing density along the city’s main corridors."
At this point in the CodeNext approval process, consultant Opticos is handing off the drafting process to the city's Code Advisoy Group, which will manage public outreach.
In a separate article focusing more on substance, rather than process, Neely interviews "four of the code’s architects Monday afternoon to discuss some of the biggest takeaways from the city’s first official draft of the land development code." A transcript of an interview with officials from the city of Austin's Planning and Zoning Department, as well the leader of the project from the Opticos team, makes up the bulk of this follow-up article.
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