Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 1 p.m. (Austin time), Austin City Hall
Committee: Housing and Planning Committee
The Housing and Planning Committee, chaired by Vice Chair Mike Siegel (with Chair Harper-Madison online), approved minutes and heard four briefings. Staff from Austin Planning presented the updated Land Development Code amendments timeline, including a citywide density bonus program coming to Council May 21 and new mixed-use and missing-middle zoning districts expected in late 2026 and early 2027. Housing Works Austin presented research on eviction prevention plans, emphasizing best practices such as treating eviction as a last resort. Austin Housing briefed the committee on RHDA compliance monitoring and tenant protection lease addendum updates, with engagement sessions beginning this month and an implementation plan due August 1. Finally, staff and consultant Hyatt Brown briefed the committee on homestead preservation districts and reinvestment zones, including a feasibility study due in June 2026. Two members of the public spoke in support of Communities in Schools of Central Texas.
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.