KXAN
by: Sam Stark
Posted:
Updated:
AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin City Council is meeting Thursday to go over 61 agenda items. Here are a few that KXAN is closely monitoring.
Contract for safety lighting
Austin’s Transportation and Public Works Department is asking for nearly $3.5 million to add safety lighting to Slaughter and Howard Lanes.
The Austin City Council voted earlier this year to create a funding agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the High Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) lighting projects, a federally funded program, per city documents.
The HSIP reported that safety lighting can decrease crashes by nearly 50%. Based on city crash data, both Slaughter and Howard lanes qualified for the safety lighting projects.
“Vision Zero has pursued state and federal grants in the past several years to fund street lighting improvements for locations with a high crash history and lack of lighting, and Howard and Slaughter were two of the highest priority locations that we identified through our safety analysis,” a spokesperson from Austin’s Transportation and Public Works Department said.
If approved, safety lights will be added along Slaughter Lane from Riddle Road to Brandt Road and on Howard Lane from Scofield Parkway to Dessau Road, according to city documents.
Purchasing former Salvation Army Downtown Center
The Austin City Council will consider purchasing the former Salvation Army Downtown Center to continue providing “critical” homeless services in the area.
The former shelter is located downtown at Red River St and will cost the city just over $15 million if they decide to acquire the retail space.
The Salvation Army Downtown Center opened in 1988 and was the only shelter downtown dedicated to serving single women experiencing homelessness. In Feb. 2023, the Salvation Army announced it would close the shelter, saying it could “no longer continue to offer the level and quality of care their brothers and sisters need at the facility,” according to a press release.
New state law requiring changes to city parkland dedication rules
This item was on the Nov. 2 city council agenda, but the Austin City Council decided to postpone the vote until Thursday.
City Council must vote to approve a resolution to implement changes to parkland dedication ordinances, which are needed in order to comply with a new state law that passed last session and will go into effect in January.
Citing “complex calculations” in the new map, District 4 Council Member Jose “Chito” Vela asked to postpone the vote to Thursday so that council members had more time to look over the changes before voting.
Previously, Austin’s ordinance required developers to provide nearly 10 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents or face a fee. The new state law requires local officials to reduce that amount to 3,000 square feet in Austin’s downtown and three acres in suburban neighborhoods.
Delaying water reuse requirements
The Austin City Council approved in 2018 a Water Forward plan to ensure the city can provide residents with safe and reliable water for the next 100 years.
One method proven to be effective at conserving water is onsite water reuse systems, which collect rainwater, air conditioning system condensation, foundation water and water from sinks, baths and laundry so it can later be reused, per city documents.
In September 2021, Council voted to require developers to implement a water reuse system in all new commercial, multi-family and mixed-use site plans that exceed 250,000 square feet starting Dec. 1, 2023.
City Council will vote Thursday on whether these requirements should be delayed so more code requirements can be considered and so Austin Water can establish exemptions to these requirements, such as in affordable housing developments.