City Council

Thursday, April 23, 2026, 10 a.m. (Austin time), Austin City Hall

Video of the meeting

On the agenda

Roll-call votes

Documents

Summary

The Austin City Council held its regular meeting on April 23, 2026, covering a consent agenda, several major non-consent items, public hearings, and zoning matters. Key items included the Safe to Call resolution (item 37) establishing a stakeholder process on emergency access for vulnerable populations, a hotel development partnership with Rita Development at Circuit of the Americas (item 6), the Trust Act surveillance oversight ordinance (item 29), a resolution on the MoPac South expansion (item 64), and a Dell Valley food co-op rezoning (item 38). The Council also held an executive session on legal matters related to SB 4 and a right-of-way acquisition, conducted an Austin Housing Finance Corporation board meeting, and heard extensive public comment on immigration enforcement, surveillance technology, environmental issues, and economic development.

Transcript

0:07 You are watching a meeting of the Austin City Council with Mayor Kirk Watson, Mayor pro, tim cheadle,

0:16 Vela council members Natasha Harper Madison, Vanessa Fuentes, José velazquez, Ryan Alter, crystal lane, Mike Siegel, Paige Ellis, zoe

0:40 cadry, mark uchin, city attorney deborah thomas, city clerk erica brady and city manager tc broad.

0:59 Good morning everybody. It's 10 o'clock in the morning on April 23rd, 2026, and I will call to order this

1:05 regular meeting of the Austin City Council.

1:08 Uh, we are, we have a quorum of the City Council present and we're meeting in the city

1:11 council chambers, which are located in City Hall at 3 0 1 west second street in Austin, texas.

1:18 Uh, members the order of the day will be that in just a second, I'll read some changes

1:21 and corrections into the record.

1:23 We will then go to our consent items.

1:26 Uh, there are two items that have been pulled from the consent agenda.

1:29 Item number six and item number 29 have been pulled from the consent agenda.

1:38 I will also, by the way, read late back, uh, uh, read make for the, for the record

1:43 that you have late backup, but I'll do that in just a second.

1:46 Once we finish the consent speakers, uh, we will then go to, uh, I'll call for a motion

1:52 and a second on the consent agenda.

1:54 We will have discussion from the council.

1:56 We will then either go to the a hs Austin housing finance corporation board of directors meeting, where

2:02 we'll recess the Austin City Council, and I'll call that board of directors meeting to order, or we

2:07 will just go to the pooled items.

2:08 We'll just see how the morning goes.

2:10 We have a number of non-consent items.

2:12 Uh, items 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 are, uh, non-consent items.

2:20 Also items 48 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, and 54 at noon.

2:27 We will pretty much stop wherever we are and we will take up a time certain, which is

2:33 our public communications, uh, at, at at noon.

2:37 We will also recess at around 1230 to 1235 for live music, and I anticipate that recess will

2:44 go until about one 10 at some point during the course of the day.

2:48 And with that, without objection, uh, I'll just try to manage when the best time for us to

2:53 do that. We will go into an executive session and at two o'clock, of course, we have a

2:57 time certain we will get to that as close to two o'clock as we can, which is our

3:01 zoning and, and neighborhood planning items.

3:03 Members, for the record, let me state that you have late backup.

3:08 You have late backup in, uh, that has been posted, and you have it on the agenda.

3:14 It relates to board and commissions, nominations and waivers.

3:19 I wanna call that out for the record.

3:21 In addition, for the record, uh, let me read some changes and corrections.

3:25 Item number six, uh, you should, should not say district one.

3:29 It should say district two, item number 41.

3:33 It should add Council Member Krista lane as one of the sponsors.

3:38 Item number 61 is withdrawn.

3:41 Item number 62 is withdrawn.

3:43 And members, as I've already noted, items six and 29 have been pulled from the consent agenda.

3:50 Unless there's questions or objection, we will now go to speakers that have signed up on the consent

3:57 agenda. And, and I don't see any, so any, uh, questions or, uh, or objections.

4:03 So, um, I do see some speakers, and so we'll go to those speakers.

4:08 Thank you, Mayor. We'll begin with in-person speakers on item one, jen robo.

4:32 Good morning, counsel. I'm jen robo, a longtime Austin resident.

4:36 I'm addressing the homeless strategic plan from the council's meeting on March 26th.

4:40 First, I thank the homeless strategies and operations for their planned cleanups.

4:46 Taxpayers have asked for this, and it shows that the city is working to maintain public spaces.

4:51 While I appreciate the city gathering data to assess our strategies, effectiveness, significant gaps remain in data collection

4:59 and housing options. To truly understand homelessness in Austin, we need better information about where our homeless neighbors

5:05 are coming from, such as did they move here by choice or were they sent by another municipality

5:12 when they arrived? Did they come for a job or were they already homeless?

5:15 Have they ever held a job in Austin or had their own housing?

5:18 Here, the data matters to taxpayers who support helping local Austin neighbors, but oppose using public resources for

5:26 homeless migrants, knowing if our policies attract homelessness is essential for public trust and effective solutions.

5:34 We also face gaps in housing options.

5:37 Many homeless neighbors refuse shelter, yet our strategy relies almost exclusively on traditional models and fails to offer

5:44 legal non-traditional alternatives that respect the rights of both the unhoused and housed.

5:50 Our city code makes it a crime to camp in public areas that are not designated as a

5:57 camping area by the parks and recreation department.

6:00 This indicates that park parks and rec has the authority to designate such areas, and Austin has nearly

6:07 300 acres of undeveloped parkland.

6:11 Taxpayers do not want encampments in our neighborhoods on streets, along trails, creeks, or swimming holes.

6:16 However, creating public camping areas outside these zones with clear environmental and public safety guidelines could provide viable

6:24 options for those who decline shelter.

6:26 These gaps come from addressing the issue too narrowly and excluding taxpayers as stakeholders.

6:31 Thank you for your time.

6:35 We will move next to item three, bill bunch.

6:38 Katie cam, if your name's been called, please come forward if you wish to speak.

6:47 Mr. Bunch is passing on item number three, katie cam, I don't see katie cam on.

6:56 Perfect. We'll move to hang, hang before we go to item number five.

7:00 Item number four, members.

7:02 Uh, item number four is a legal matter with a proposal for a settlement.

7:08 So I'm going to ask, uh, our law department to come forward and make a brief presentation with

7:12 regard to item number four.

7:18 Good morning, mr. Mayor.

7:19 Thank you, uh, Mayor Pro Tem, members of the council.

7:23 I am assistant city attorney jeremy thompson.

7:26 I'm here today to recommend, uh, that you approve a settlement payment and a personal injury lawsuit that

7:31 appears on your agenda is item number four.

7:34 Item number four, our mijo versus city of Austin.

7:37 We recommend that you prove a payment of $120,000 to settle the lawsuit titled gustavo, our mijo v,

7:44 city of Austin, dba Austin energy.

7:48 This lawsuit relates to a January, 2018 car accident involving an Austin energy vehicle where plaintiff seeks payment for

7:56 injuries allegedly sustained in the accident.

7:58 In exchange for the payment, plaintiff will release any and all claims against the city from the accident

8:03 and will also dismiss his lawsuit filed in the district court of travis county.

8:08 The Austin city attorney's office recommends that you approve payment based upon these terms.

8:12 I'm available to answer any questions you May have.

8:14 Thank you members. Does anybody have questions of our legal staff?

8:18 Thank you very much for the presentation.

8:20 Uh, I'll turn back to the city clerk to go to item number five on item number five,

8:25 bill bunch.

8:30 Mr. Bunch is passing on item number five.

8:35 Item number seven, david levesque, hayden bagot.

8:40 Item signed up on six.

8:42 Item number six is I indicated earlier, has been pulled from the consent agenda, mr.

8:46 Bunch. Okay, thank you.

8:48 Thank you. Please state your name and begin speaking.

8:52 Mayor and counsel, thank you for the opportunity to speak.

8:54 Speak today. My name is hayden bagget and I'm here on behalf of the coalition for clean, affordable,

9:00 reliable energy or ccare to support the utility scale solar and distributed battery storage contracts, as well as

9:06 the resolution to expand residential solar and battery access today.

9:11 Collectively, these items help the utility fulfill its resource generation plan and maintain its renewable energy production as

9:18 a percentage of load, while also offering financial benefits to customers.

9:22 Thank you. Thank you.

9:26 Moving on to item eight.

9:28 Paul robbins is bobby lavinsky.

9:31 Here, you'll have time donated.

9:35 It'll be four minutes.

9:40 Counsel, uh, a few days ago you received a letter from me and four other commissioners from the

9:50 resource management commission asking you to delay item eight on your agenda.

9:56 This is a contract for electric storage batteries located at individual buildings in the Austin area.

10:05 We have an engaged commission, and I feel sure that we could have gotten at least eight out

10:11 of our 10 members to sign on to this letter, but I limited it to five members out

10:18 of concern for quorum rules.

10:22 I began my involvement in austin's affairs in 1977, opposing the south texas nuclear project.

10:31 In a five year period, uh, the nuke experienced a 460% overrun.

10:39 This early experience greatly influenced my skepticism of utility proposals that do not offer enough information to understand

10:49 them. In 2008, Austin energy proposed a biomass powered generator with very little time to evaluate it.

11:02 Despite warnings about its cost from environmentalists council, approve the contract, and today it is the utility's most

11:12 expensive source of electricity.

11:16 The cost was so high that Mayor steve adler ran against it in his first campaign.

11:23 Uh, we, the commission are generally enthusiastic about storage batteries and their potential to be coordinated as virtual

11:34 power plants. And I have heard good things about this specific company.

11:40 The problem arises because there's no information in the backup material about the contract's cost effectiveness to Austin

11:50 energy's rate payers or participating customers.

11:54 This is a $41 million contract.

11:59 Uh, where is the cost benefit analysis after the failure of prop q?

12:06 Every single line item in your budget is under a microscope.

12:10 There is no time to, this is no time to abandon fiscal caution.

12:16 The utility has publicly stated its intent to raise rates 5% a year for the next four years.

12:27 I've worked around energy policy for almost 50 years.

12:31 I have personally attempted to analyze the sparse amount of data in the backup material, but little information

12:38 there seems to point to a cost of about 19 cents kilowatt hour contrasted to retail Austin energy power

12:48 of about 11 cents per kilowatt hour in 2025.

12:53 The contract might still be cost justified.

12:57 There May be savings from reduced air cot fees or savings from lower peak demand costs, but the

13:04 utility needs to be transparent and explain what these benefits are.

13:10 I would not expect more than a month's delay to get more clarity on the numbers.

13:16 Again, this is a $41 million contract and the first of what might be a growing trend.

13:24 The public needs to know the benefits.

13:27 I would think you would want to boast about them.

13:31 Uh, take the time to do this right.

13:34 Again, please get rate payers a cost benefit number.

13:39 Thank you. Continuing on item eight, david lavesque and hayden bagot.

13:48 If your name's been called, please come forward.

13:54 I don't, I don't see any movement.

13:59 We'll move to item 10, jennifer robo and bill bunch.

14:23 Good morning counsel. I'm jen robo longtime Austin resident.

14:27 I'm speaking on item 10, the proposed issuance of bonds for the walnut creek wastewater treatment plant.

14:33 I support necessary investments in our wastewater infrastructure, however, approving this bond without addressing known upstream contamination in

14:41 the walnut creek watershed raises serious concerns about fiscal responsibility and long-term risk to taxpayers.

14:49 My first concern is financial stewardship.

14:51 The walnut creek plant processes water from a wa watershed contaminated for over 50 years by leachate from

14:58 the closed travis county landfill.

15:00 On highway two 90, independent testing has shown elevated levels of lead barium and arsenic well above epa

15:07 acceptable limits flowing directly toward the plant.

15:11 Unaddressed upstream pollution could dramatically increase future operating costs.

15:15 Maintenance and treatment challenges all passed on to Austin taxpayers.

15:21 My next concern is regulatory oversight.

15:24 When residents raised water quality issues, watershed protection staff said they would ask travis county if they wanted

15:30 the city involved in the stakeholder group.

15:33 This inverts the relationship.

15:35 The city of Austin is the regulator.

15:37 Travis county is a defendant in a state environmental enforcement action over the landfill, regulators should not need

15:44 a polluter's permission to investigate their own watershed.

15:48 My last concern is accountability.