As he often does, Jeff Jack spoke at the last Austin Neighborhoods Council (ANC) meeting, this time about accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The membership of Friends of Austin Neighborhoods (FAN) has voiced its support for removing regulations that make it difficult for neighbors to build ADUs (see the FAN Votes page).
Just so you know what other voices are saying about ADUs, Jeff Jack’s recommendations to ANC membership were:
Jeff portrayed the issue of ADUs as a political test case of how the CodeNEXT process would unfold.
I like how ADU changes, which have had about a year and a half of discussion at city council, are said to be “rushed,” but short term rental restrictions can’t get through fast enough and have only been discussed for a few months.
This is a great test case for how our elected officials will step up to making a sincere effort to help with household affordability in Austin.
I have a grandfathered ADU on a <7000k lot. It’s old and not very fancy so it rents for cheap. The previous owner used it to help out her family member. We’ve used it to help pay our mortgage. It represents what affordable housing could be in Austin. We all know people who have had to move out of our neighborhoods due to either high rents or escalating property taxes. I’m shocked and saddened to see people placing their own fears of change above their neighbors’ needs. The only appropriate action is to expand this option equitably across all areas of town.
I would love to hear Jeff Jack’s suggestions for making Austin more affordable. We don’t have an unlimited number of opportunities to cut corporate tax incentives and raise homestead exemptions.
This document was distributed at the SRCC NA meeting this week as part of the ANC representative’s report. This report also incorrectly stated that the Resolution would overrule existing impervious requirements and setbacks, neither of which is true (Impervious cover for SF would remain at 45% and the only setback affected is the minimum distance between the primary dwelling and ADU–a change that Jack’s document actually supports).
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