Muny and Dog's Head go before city commissions this week, ahead of council votes

Two of the biggest land deals in front of Austin City Hall this fall get their first hearings at advisory commissions on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Commission recommendations do not bind the council, but they are often the first place the public can weigh in on a formal item before the council votes.

Muny at the Environmental Commission

The Environmental Commission meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Permitting and Development Center. Its agenda includes a recommendation to the council on proposed amendments to the agreement between the city and the University of Texas covering land bounded generally by Lady Bird Lake, Enfield Road, Eighth Street, Veterans Drive and Hearn Street.

That is the deal for Lions Municipal Golf Course. The agenda says the amendments set the two sides' expectations on:

• the conveyance of the golf course to the city;
• development regulations on the surrounding land;
• the vacation of city rights-of-way;
• a regulating plan;
• a tax increment reinvestment zone.

The item is sponsored by Commission Chair Mariana Krueger and Commissioner Richard Brimer. The commission also plans to consider a working group on bird-friendly building design.

What's already known. UT has tentatively agreed to give the 141-acre course to the city in exchange for a gift from unnamed donors and changes to the 1989 Brackenridge Development Agreement, which governs about 190 acres of UT land next to the course, an Austin Current report republished by KUT said. The city's Oct. 14 announcement says the regulating plan and tax zone would be written after a council vote and come back to boards and the council in spring 2027. Our Oct. 26 story covers the details.

Dog's Head at the Public Health Commission

The Austin-Travis County Public Health Commission meets at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall. Its agenda opens with a presentation on "the potential public health impacts of the proposed Dogs Head Development." No action is listed on that item. The commission also hears a presentation on food access and equity.

Dog's Head is the 2,600-acre development in eastern Travis County where Amazon was revealed in July as the company behind a planned robotics plant, KUT reported.

What our records add

Dog's Head votes so far. The council created the Dog's Head tax zone, TIRZ No. 21, on July 23, 7-3. Council Members José Velásquez, Mike Siegel and Zo Qadri voted no; Vanessa Fuentes was absent. The development agreement passed in May, 9-0. On Oct. 8 the council met in closed session on a lawsuit challenging the tax zone.

Thursday's Dog's Head item. Item 2 on the council's Nov. 5 agenda would send part of the city's share of the zone's tax revenue to the Housing Trust Fund and the Parks Enhancement Fund and require an annual report. It is on the consent agenda. Our Oct. 26 story explains the split, which grew out of an amendment by Council Member Ryan Alter in July.

Muny's timing. The amended Brackenridge agreement is expected at the council on Nov. 19, according to the city. Our records show no council vote on it yet. Muny is in District 10, represented by Council Member Marc Duchen.

Another tax zone. Both deals involve tax increment zones, which redirect future property tax growth from an area to a set purpose. Separately, city housing staff are recommending a new housing tax zone in Southeast Austin; our story on that memo explains how such zones affect the general fund.

What's next

• Nov. 4, 2:30 p.m.: Public Health Commission, City Hall, Room 1101.
• Nov. 4, 6 p.m.: Environmental Commission, Permitting and Development Center, Room 1405, 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive. Remote speakers must register by noon Tuesday, according to the agenda.
• Nov. 5: Council takes up the Dog's Head revenue ordinance.
• Nov. 19: Expected council vote on the Muny agreement.
• Spring 2027: Muny regulating plan and tax zone; Dog's Head final project and financing plan.