Last night I voted against the proposed Land Development Code on second reading along with Council Members Kitchen, Pool, and Tovo.

This process began with the promise of an “Austin Bargain”, where we would concentrate development on our designated corridors and growth centers instead of the interior neighborhoods. 

When I look at the code as drafted, I think we have lost our path.

The changes adopted last night are far reaching and touch every residential lot in the city. The draft code gives away entitlement after entitlement, and, in my view, asks us to compromise affordability and quality of life in Austin for years to come. 

Pushing through 1300 pages in less than two weeks hasn’t given the community time to understand the magnitude of these changes or to offer substantive feedback. If we continue to railroad the code rewrite through without restoring public trust, we’re doing an enormous disservice to our community. You can watch a video of some of my comments about the process in the video below or by clicking this link.