Can someone who’s not just an armchair lawyer read between the lines and tell me if this is just Gina Hinojosa wordsmithing for clarity or if the bill she filed today would actually make it harder to re-zone land or seek a variance?
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=HB1175
Wow, good find. It looks like this would make unzoned land subject to “valid petition” for initial zonings. This means that, if the owners of 20% of the land within 200 feet of an unzoned property sign a petition opposing the initial zoning, the initial zoning would require a supermajority vote at City Council in order to be approved.
This issue came up during the Grove zoning. Since the Grove was unzoned, the adjacent property owners were unable to use a “valid petition” to force a supermajority at Council. This will also make it much more difficult for the state to zone and redevelop the Austin State Hospital, or any other land the state owns in Austin
Intoxicary sounds pretty good, and from what I know about her experience with education she could be very helpful there, but you’re gonna watch her bills as they relate to Austin Zoning, Affordability, and Fair Housing. See pictures of her press conference posse.
