A petition drive aims to put the Dog's Head deal to voters. The charter change approved Nov. 3 would push any such election to an even-year November

A petition drive launched at City Hall on Monday aims to undo the Dog's Head development deal and put it to voters, KXAN reported. The campaign is led by the local Party for Socialism and Liberation with several community groups. It seeks to reverse the council-approved deal with developer Endeavor Real Estate Group through a ballot proposition.

The group said it must collect 25,000 signatures to qualify. A leader of the East Austin group PODER told KXAN that residents were left out of the process and that the deal did not account for environmental and neighborhood effects.

Endeavor said in a statement to KXAN that the project would turn a former sand and gravel mine into a mixed-use community with more than six miles of public trails along the Colorado River. Reimbursement for the infrastructure it builds is tied only to new tax revenue, the company said: "It isn't using today's tax dollars." The city told KXAN it would review any petition's signatures through its usual procedures.

What the charter requires

The signature count. Austin's charter ties the number for both initiative and referendum petitions to state law: 5% of the city's registered voters or 20,000, whichever is smaller, according to the City Clerk. For a city Austin's size, that is 20,000 valid signatures. The clerk can check a large petition by statistical sample.

Two kinds of petitions. A referendum petition asks voters to repeal an ordinance, and it must be filed "prior to the effective date" of that ordinance. An initiative proposes a new ordinance, but the charter bars initiatives that appropriate money or authorize the levy of taxes. The reports we reviewed do not say which route organizers plan, and the city has not said how either rule would apply to the Dog's Head agreements.

The timing changed last week. Voters approved Proposition G on Nov. 3 with 64% in unofficial results. It holds citizen-initiated elections only on November election dates in even-numbered years. When the council put it on the ballot, city lawyers said it covers both ordinance and charter petitions. The amendment becomes official when the council canvasses the election on Nov. 17. The next November election in an even-numbered year is in 2028.

What our records add

How the council voted. The 45-year development agreement and the annexation of about 2,614 acres passed 9-0 on May 21, with Council Members Natasha Harper-Madison and Vanessa Fuentes not voting. On July 23 the ordinance creating the tax zone, TIRZ No. 21, passed 7-3. Council Members José Velásquez, Mike Siegel and Zohaib "Zo" Qadri voted no, and Fuentes did not vote. The Travis County participation agreement and the preliminary financing plan each passed 8-2.

The latest vote. On Nov. 5 the council sent part of the city's tax revenue from the zone to the Housing Trust Fund and the Parks Enhancement Fund. That ordinance passed 8-2, with Velásquez and Council Member Marc Duchen voting no. Our story has the details.

A lawsuit is already pending. A suit filed in September seeks to void the development agreement and the financing plan, Austin Current reported. The council met in closed session on a lawsuit over the tax zone on Oct. 8.

More votes are coming. In July, Council Member Ryan Alter said there would be more process "between now and March", when the final project and financing plan for the zone is due.

The runoff. Dog's Head has been an issue in the District 3 race. Velásquez faces a Dec. 12 runoff; our District 3 story covers his record.

What's next

• Nov. 17: The council canvasses the charter election, which makes Prop G official.
• Spring 2027: The zone's final project and financing plan comes back to the council.
• Any petition: Once filed, the City Clerk checks it, then the council must either adopt the measure or send it to voters on the next allowed date.