Have you given the new code a look? If not, there is still plenty of time to provide your feedback on the draft code!
To learn more about the basics of the new Code, check out this Imagine Austin blog or visit the official CodeNEXT website. There you'll find plenty of documents, videos, and infographics to help you to better understand the content of the new Code. Then, once you've read up on the draft, we want to hear what you think!
There are two ways to provide your feedback right now:
Civic Comment: download, read, and add comments to the code directly
Online Survey: share your opinions about whether the draft code alleviates the 10 major issues identified in the LDC Diagnosis
If you would like to hear more about the draft Code in person and talk with the people who wrote the code, check out these upcoming Open House style CodeTEXT public events:
Date: March 25, 2017
Location: Stephen F Austin High School
Time: Noon to 2 p.m.
Date: April 1, 2017
Location: Westwood High School
Time: Noon to 2pm
Date: April 8, 2017
Location: Anderson High School
Time: 2pm to 4pm
Each meeting will be given the same presentation, so chose the location and date that are right for you.
Introduction to CodeNEXT (English)
Introducción a CodeNEXT (Español) CodeNEXT es una iniciativa de la ciudad de Austin para reescribir nuestro complejo y anticuado código de desarrollo urbano. Este video es una breve introducción al proyecto. Para obtener más información sobre CodeNEXT, visite austintexas.gov/codenext.
And check out this opinion piece about CodeNEXT and Imagine Austin.
The City of Austin Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department (NHCD) has worked with the community to develop Austin’s first Strategic Housing Plan to target and better align resources with community driven goals. The Plan's objective is to ensure a unified strategic direction designed at the community level, and help facilitate community partnerships to achieve a shared vision. The proposed plan, developed after months of intensive community engagement and incorporation of stakeholder feedback, is scheduled for review by the Planning Commission and the Austin City Council for potential adoption in the coming weeks.
A briefing on this plan is scheduled for the Austin City Council meeting on Thursday, March 23, 2017, followed by public hearings at:
Planning Commission on Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Austin City Council on Thursday, April 6, 2017
These public hearings precede the potential adoption of the Austin Strategic Housing Plan. The community is encouraged to attend either public hearing to provide input on the proposed Plan.
Find the details about the public hearings and review the proposed Austin Strategic Housing Plan at www.austintexas.gov/HousingPlan.
Get the scoop on your soil—FREE—at this year’s Soil Kitchen! Experts from Austin Brownfields Revitalization Office will be on hand to take your samples which will be tested for nutrients and screened for heavy metals. Knowing what’s in your soil will help you safely and effectively grow food crops for your family.
The soil testing is confidential. Gardeners simply label their samples with their initials and the cross streets closest to the garden, bring them to the kitchen then look up the anonymous results online in mid-May 2017. It’s that easy!
Capital Metro’s Board of Directors approved the agency’s Connections 2025 transit plan in a meeting on Monday, Feb. 27. In a press release, Capital Metro stated that the plan will "allow the agency to move forward with a bold, new vision for its transit system" that involves creating a "more frequent, reliable and connected network of services."
The new plan is "designed to improve the rider experience — creating a 24/7 transit system that will see expanded MetroExpress and MetroRapid service, and more east-west options." New network features will include:
2 fare types (Local and Commuter)
4 MetroRapid routes (running every 7-15 minutes)
13 Frequent Local routes (running every 15 minutes)
23 Local routes (running every 30 minutes)
4 downtown circulator routes
6 UT Shuttles
8 Express routes
Capital Metro is also seeking feedback on proposed June 2017 service changes to improve user experience and summer school schedules. Click here for details about public hearings, webinars, and more.
Click the image above for a video overview of the Connections 2025 Transit Plan.
Austin Public Health, with the help of several key community health partners, has launched the 2nd Community Health Assessment (CHA) in Travis County. The CHA engages community members and local public health system partners to collect and analyze health-related data from a variety of sources. Three critical tasks are accomplished through the Community Health Assessment process:
Inform community decision-making
Prioritize community health problems
Assist in the development and implementation of a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)
In addition to existing engagement strategies, the 2017 CHA will employ an epidemiologic technique designed to quickly provide low-cost, household-based information about our community called a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response, or CASPER. CASPER will involve field teams from Austin Public Health interviewing people through door-to-door surveys in sampled households throughout Travis County about their public health needs. This survey will provide critical insights about community perceptions of health needs, themes, and strengths. The CASPER process will be completed over two days: Friday, April 7th and Saturday, April 8th.
For Austin to be a thriving, equitable, and ecologically resilient community, it must have a healthy and just local food system. Growing, selling, eating, and recovering food locally creates jobs, strengthens the economy, improves public health, and reduces transportation impacts. A sustainable food system benefits everyone. Learn more about the City of Austin's efforts in Local & Sustainable Food at their website: austintexas.gov/food
Learn more below about several programs aimed at improving access to healthy food:
For more information, subscribe to the Food Notes newsletter here.
Later this month, the Imagine Austin Speaker Series, in collaboration with Development Services Department's Community Trees Division, will welcome Tim Beatley, founder and director of the Biophilic Cities Network.
In this talk, the speaker will discuss the new planning and design agenda of biophilic urbanism and the need for cities to shift towards a more nature integrative approach. Drawing from his research findings and the Biophilic Cities Project, Beatley will survey globally emerging practices of biophilic urbanism and present some of the tools, techniques, and strategies available to advance the vision of nature in cities.
Date: Wednesday, March 29th
Time: 7pm - 8:30pm (sign in at 6:30pm)
Location: Austin City Hall, Council Chambers
Imagine Austin is excited to share their new Active Plans Portal. This site functions as a repository for all City plans that are currently active or in progress. The goal of this project is to make it easier to find plans and policies across a variety of fields that are shaping Austin today by centrally locating them.
To find a plan in the portal, use the searchbar on the top left of the site or use the categories and tags filters in the left sidebar to browse through over 90 plans. You can search by keywords or the name of a neighborhood or geography too. The database is constantly being updated and added to, so keep an eye out for new additions.
Take a journey through the past, present, and future of the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan by exploring our new timeline. Reminisce or learn about the original Community Forums that were crucial in devising the Comprehensive Plan we use today. Also learn more about our progress since the plan's adoption as you scroll through Annual Reports from years past. Take a walk down memory lane or learn something new with the "History of Imagine Austin" timeline.
