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Updated Austin Land Development Code

1,610 Views | 8 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by rather be fishing
evan_aggie
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AG
http://www.austintexas.gov/department/land-development-code-drafts
https://app.box.com/s/nn0ijx2mt4t8gx6e5b5z3kyany4dd61d

Anyone following this closely? It's hard, as a home owner, to decipher exactly what they will and will not let me do going forward until I actually work with a permitting department.

My wife and I bought a 1000 sq ft 2/1 that we've been in for 18 months, and long term, the idea was to likely tear it down and rebuild a 1400-1800 ft single story. I know we're fine from an impervious cover, but there was a lot of fear-mongering that they would not allow people do go beyond adding a bedroom and bathroom vs tearing structures down.

However, the best I could find, is that outside of transition zones (which we are not part of), most of the standard FAR/cover limits should be the same for R2B zoning (SF3)


tamc93
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I am waiting for the food fight to start and will read the revisions then. My guess is these will take a several months to navigate the system.
FJB, FPA, and FAZ
rather be fishing
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While I sometimes work with code development, I have really no clue on residential issues. I do know that several years ago our church acquired a building and was able to save significant time and money by leaving one wall of the existing structure during the redevelopment.
Keeper of The Spirits
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The Hyde Park Neighborhood Association is up in arms because they think this will give people carte blanche to do whatever they please.

We are in the middle of making our 800 square foot 2/1 into a 1400 sq foot 3/2
evan_aggie
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If you don't mind me asking, who are you using to handle the expansion/renovation?

We had so many estimates, and everything that came in almost seemed cheaper to level original home and rebuild what we wanted (1500-1700 ft)
Keeper of The Spirits
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Nygard Construction.

It's much cheaper to level and build.

That being said I didn't buy a 1939 Craftsman with the the original floors, doors and architectural features to level it. I technically could have leveled since it's not a Contributing historical structure, although after this is done I could have it added and save sone tax money

Building in Austin is expensive right now and most builders aren't touching a project less that 200k. We interviewed 10 separate builders and going anywhere from 300 to 600 per square foot. The average sales price in the hood for below 1500 square feet is about 500 per square.
evan_aggie
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Not too many 2/1s left.

I'm near 38th and Jefferson. We had our own controversy and neighborhood infighting over the Grove.
Keeper of The Spirits
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Yeah looking forward to the 2nd bathroom most.
We are out of the house right now in a rental on Beverly so really close to you
PabloSerna
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Started to look into this on a recent project. Austin, like other cities, appears to be moving away from defined "uses". By defining zoning in terms of "scale" the City can give developers a more clear expectation of the kind of structure they are expecting. This also allows for multiple uses to happen over the life of the building.

Get involved if you can, ask questions, a lot of confusion can happen and proponents of less government, fewer rules, can sway the opinions. However many of these developers do not live where they build and are more interested in the bottom line.

What makes great neighborhoods is the contributing character of the buildings. The better the houses, street edge, walkability, - I think the better the long term results.

+Pablo
rather be fishing
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PabloSerna said:

many of these developers do not live where they build and are more interested in the bottom line.
Can't quote this enough.
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