Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 1 p.m. (Austin time), Austin City Hall
Committee: Housing and Planning Committee
0:02 Uh, I'm Mike Siegel, vice chair of the housing planning committee.
0:06 Uh, joined here by chair, uh, councilman Harper Madison online, as well as Mayor pro tela and council
0:12 member Ellis. And, um, I'm here to call the meeting to order.
0:16 Uh, we are at City Hall council chambers in Austin, texas.
0:19 It is 1:02 pm on Tuesday, April 14th.
0:23 And this is the meeting of the housing and planning committee, um, staff.
0:28 Do we have any speakers to join us today?
0:31 Yes, sir. There's two.
0:33 Jacob reach and maria campos.
0:54 Good afternoon. Uh, council members in our Austin housing and planning staff.
0:59 My name is jacob reach and I'm the chief operations officer at communities and schools of central texas.
1:05 So, cis is all about relationships, and that's why I'm excited to share the community building work that
1:11 we're doing in Austin that's aligned with this committee's work, uh, communities and schools is directly working with
1:16 students in Austin, isd and dell valley isd, ensuring that there's a strong connection to their school and
1:23 community through our relationship focused work model.
1:27 I'm grateful to have such a strong partner in the city of Austin and one of our strongest
1:31 partners overall. The housing authority of, uh, excuse me, the housing authority of the city of Austin.
1:38 Uh, thanks to your partnership, cis is able to provide mental health supports directly to austin's children at
1:45 a scale and efficiency that May not be possible through other venues in alignment to this committee's work.
1:51 We also provide direct service to students at hawke sites in east Austin.
1:55 This is ensuring that they have a safe and reliable program that includes case management after school and
2:01 summer care and meals and activities at those hawke sites.
2:06 Cis is also supporting our students' families through direct assistance and family assistance.
2:12 This is typically one-time support that May include rental assistance, bill assistance, help finding permanent housing, or even
2:20 temporary housing for families.
2:22 This allows our students and families to move past these unexpected events and focus instead on their education,
2:29 along with their mental and physical needs.
2:32 I'm also excited to talk about a groundbreaking study from opportunity insights through the ed redesign lab at
2:38 the harvard graduate school of education.
2:41 Uh, this study found that communities and schools empirically improve standardized test scores, graduation rates, and increases earnings
2:49 in adulthood. The research when resources meet relationships demonstrates that ci s's relationship driven approach drives outcomes that
2:59 shape students' future lives.
3:01 As I mentioned, this includes improved test scores, higher graduation rates, increased economic mobility.
3:07 Uh, it also demonstrates that cis leads to meaningful employment, higher rates of meaningful employment, decreased rates of
3:15 reliance on public assistance, and increased impact of other public investments when they are also paired with their
3:23 relationship building approach like cis.
3:25 So I want to thank this committee again for our continued partnership and our commitment to build strong
3:30 relationships for all of our students in Austin.
3:33 Thank you. Thank you, maria campos.
3:49 Good afternoon, chairwoman Harper Madison, vice Siegel, members of the committee.
3:53 My name is maria campos and I'm here representing communities and schools of central texas in support of your
3:59 continued partnership with the city of Austin.
4:01 Cis is a direct response to two urgent challenges.
4:04 The city has prioritized the student attendance crisis and youth mental health.
4:10 We provide relationship based trauma informed supports on campus to students directly so they can get help early
4:17 before challenges escalate into crisis care, emergency response, or more costly public systems.
4:24 We now have rigorous texas-based evidence showing this approach works and pays off a new harvard cornell study
4:32 with opportunity insights using education records, census data and federal tax data analyzed outcomes for more than 16 million
4:40 texas students and found that sustained access to cis and middle school increases high school graduation and strengthens
4:48 long-term economic mobility. Here's why it matters in terms of return on investment for the city of Austin.
4:57 The study finds that cis changes adult outcomes by reducing the likelihood that a student ends up in
5:02 the bottom income quartile defined as under 15,000 a year or 80% are not working.
5:09 Instead, cis increases the likelihood students move into the next quartile, meaning more young adults attached to employment
5:16 and stable earnings, and the fiscal impact is real.
5:21 Three years of cis at an estimated cost of $3,000 per student is projected to generate approximately $7,100
5:30 in additional lifetime federal tax revenue per student in present value.
5:34 In other words, cis more than pays for itself through increased earnings and tax contribution.
5:40 That is why cis is not only a student support strategy, it is smart and good fiscal public
5:46 policy. Investing in cis helps prevent long-term costs tied to non-employment and economic instability, and it strengthens Austin
5:55 workforce and tax base.
5:57 Thank you so much for your time and for your continued commitment to Austin students and families.
6:03 Thank you ms. Campos, for your important work.
6:06 Um, all right, y'all well, so for this meeting, we're gonna take up our items in order.
6:09 The first item is item one on the agenda approval of the minutes.
6:14 Uh, is there a motion to approve the minutes?
6:16 Uh, moved by Mayor pro tamela, seconded by Council Member Ellis.
6:21 Without objection, the minutes are approved.
6:24 Our next item number two is a briefing on the status and timeline of amendments to the land
6:29 development code. This presentation will be provided by stevie greathouse with Austin planning.
6:36 The floor is yours.
6:40 Good afternoon chair, vice chair committee members, um, stevie greathouse, the city of Austin or Austin planning.
6:48 I'm here to provide an update on, um, our process for updating the land development code.
6:55 So in the backup for this item, you will find a memo that includes the April, 2026 edition of
7:02 the land development code amendments timeline, gantt chart.
7:04 Since materials were last shared with the housing and planning committee in February, staff have made adjustments to
7:09 the timeline to reflect the adoption of recent code amendments and other considerations.
7:15 In this presentation, I'll briefly cover the items that have been adopted or completed since February, upcoming items
7:21 and the updated version of the land development code amendments timeline.
7:24 Gant chart two actions have occurred since February related to the land development code in early February.
7:31 A study was distributed by a official distribution that included staff analysis and recommendations related to development of
7:38 new zoning districts that would better support mixed use and missing middle residential development.
7:44 Council took action on March 26th to initiate code changes related to these recommendations and staff anticipates bringing back
7:51 the first phase of that work.
7:53 Um, later this spring on March 26th, counsel also adopted changes to the land development code related to the
8:01 posting of zoning notification signs.
8:04 I did also wanna acknowledge that counsel has also recently taken action to initiate several additional code amendments
8:09 or studies that are not yet shown on the land development code amendments timeline, but that will be
8:14 incorporated into the timeline in the future, including direction related to regulation of front yard businesses.
8:21 As indicated in the memo, several amendments that were anticipated to be presented during a potential joint meeting
8:28 in February continue to be shown under timelines to be determined on the gantt chart pending identification of
8:34 an appropriate review pathway for those amendments, and staff anticipates updating the timeline to reflect review of these
8:40 items later this year.
8:43 Oops, getting ahead of myself.
8:45 Several significant code amendments will be coming to City Council for consideration this spring, including a proposal for
8:51 a new citywide density bonus program that will come to City Council for a hearing and possible adoption
8:57 consideration on May 21st, we anticipate briefing the council on this item at a work session on May 5th.
9:04 Also, on May 21st, council will consider an in or an ordinance amendment related to regulation of transit system
9:10 projects that is being led by staff in the project connect office.
9:14 On May 28th, staff will be bringing forward the first phase of a proposal to update the downtown density
9:19 bonus program for hearing and possible adoption consideration.
9:24 Community engagement is underway related to both of the density bonus program proposals, and folks can find out
9:30 more about those proposals and how to get involved@speakupaustin.org slash ldc updates.
9:37 Looking ahead, we anticipate a number of code amendment related activities.
9:41 Austin watershed protection is leading work on a code amendment related to protection of steep slopes that will
9:47 likely come before City Council in late July.
9:50 We have wrapped up the first round of our public engagement process for an update of the east
9:54 riverside court order plan and regulating plan, and anticipate bringing back an initial draft proposal for an update
10:01 of the vision plan in late 2026.
10:03 And finally, we anticipate bringing forward code amendments to create new mixed use zoning districts in late 2026
10:10 and new missing middle or miss middle residential zoning districts in early 2027.
10:16 On screen, you'll see the detailed schedule that is attached to the memo included in your backup.
10:21 As you review the timeline, you will also notice a number of amendments for which timelines are yet
10:25 to be determined as specific timelines are developed for these items.
10:29 The overall schedule will be adjusted to reflect those timelines.
10:32 The schedule continues to reflect an ambitious work program, and as processes move forward, staff will make adjustments
10:38 while working to identify specific review and adoption dates.
10:41 For the proposed timelines on the chart.
10:44 For more information or to provide feedback, folks can visit speakup austin.org/ldc updates.
10:50 And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions.
10:53 Thank you very much.
10:54 Uh, colleagues, do you have any questions?
10:57 And I I can't see, uh, chair Harper Madison.
10:59 Okay, well, I have one.
11:01 Um, uh, ms. Greathouse, can you provide a little bit more information on the Austin project connect item,
11:08 uh, amendments to transit system projects?
11:10 Sure. So there is an existing ordinance that council approved that relates to how we regulate, um, the
11:17 phase one light rail project as kind of a linear project that's different than site focused development that
11:24 May happen. Um, definitely different than than the kind of infrastructure that's happening on a site by site
11:28 basis. That ordinance already exists and as they have, are moving forward, getting ready to actually do the
11:35 design and construction of the phase one light rail.
11:38 Um, they'll be coming forward with amendments to that existing ordinance that speaks to regulating, um, the light
11:44 rail project. Great, thank you.
11:47 And just one other question, um, could you share a little bit more about the, the respective roles
11:51 of planning and watershed in regards to the slope protection for steep slopes item?
11:57 Um, sure. So watershed is lead on that item.
12:00 It was previously directed by a council resolution directing that, that, um, work be done.
12:05 Uh, they are engaging planning support in terms of, um, making sure that it appears on the gantt
12:11 chart and helping them with coordinating around planning commission and council dockets and kind of scheduling for the
12:17 item. Um, and I believe we are involved in some kind of technical advice as well, but it
12:21 is primarily from a, a, the content of that item is watershed led.
12:27 Thank you very much.
12:29 Uh, well without further discussion or questions, appreciate your report and we'll move on to the next item.
12:33 Thank you. Um, item three is a briefing on eviction prevention strategies, and this presentation will be provided
12:40 by ve azar with housing works Austin, and I'll turn it over to vez at this time.