City of Austin Council Message Board

Thank you for your suggestion, Council Member Ellis! I support your proposed clarification, as my intent was to set reducing and removing billboards as a goal of examining our sign regulations and not predetermine or restrict what approaches can be considered.

Chito

Colleagues, Tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to approve a transformational new policy governing how we as a city use surveillance technology. This policy emphasizes transparency and disclosure as powerful tools to enable the community and city officials to make informed decisions about how we ...

Colleagues, At this Thursday's City Council meeting, we will again be taking up an agenda item regarding the relocation of billboards. This item has previously been postponed twice as we gathered more information, spoke with stakeholders, and considered the original intent of our December 2024 resol...

Mayor, I agree that the co-location of ATP and CapMetro at is a good idea. In 2023, CapMetro bought the large office building immediately next to their current headquarters and bus yard. This office building was remodeled from a warehouse into an office building shortly before the pandemic. It sat m...

Mayor, I support your request for a no new revenue budget forecast and think it will help the budget process. Ultimately, I will support taking the full 3.5% increase in property tax revenues allowed by state law. However, to inform and educate ourselves and the general public, we should look at all...

Just a quick update: after speaking with our Law Department, I will be moving to postpone to the April 23 Council meeting to give staff sufficient time to work with Council offices and answer questions.

Chito

Colleagues, In December 2024, I sponsored a resolution to examine our city’s regulations concerning off-premise signage with the goals of improving transit usability, facilitating transportation improvements, communicating information to the public more effectively, and removing obstacles to redevel...

CM Duchen, I have no objection to dividing the question. I know we have a busy day tomorrow and a lot to discuss. In the interest of simplifying things and saving time, I suggest we divide the question and first vote on the right of way and bus stop portions of the ordinance. Then, I would like to a...

Colleagues, Below is an amendment to the billboard portion of the sign ordinance (Item 83) we are set to discuss on Thursday. The goal of my amendment is twofold: (1) to allow the relocation of a billboard that is being moved because of transportation improvements, such as Project Connect; and (2) t...

Thank you, Council Member Duchen, for your thoughtful comments and sharing your concerns. My staff began work on this resolution with our subquorum back in early fall 2025. Some items concerning surveillance technology were coming before Council for consideration at that time. Those items ended up w...

Mayor, Thank you for the proposed decision tree. I'm largely in agreement with the purpose, goals and language. I do have a few suggestions. A version with my suggested edits is posted below. https://drive.google.com/file/d/13WflZ5PNQ_NeYhCupEskz5i7n0lRVKeX/view I'm concerned with looking at only wh...

Mayor, Thank you for getting the ball rolling on the budget process, as the challenges we have to address in a short time will require focus and efficiency. I would also like to cosponsor this very important initiative to examine the spending practices of those of us entrusted with the leadership of...

Colleagues,

Just a reminder that we will be having the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee meeting this morning. See you soon.

Chito

Good afternoon, colleagues.

Even though the Tuesday Work Session has been canceled, the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee meeting will still take place at 9:00 a.m.

Thank you,
Chito

Colleagues,

Here is my draft amendment for the item.

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 174258.pdf

Chito

Colleagues, I wanted to post briefly about item 41, CM Duchen’s resolution about Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing. I appreciate CM Duchen for bringing the resolution. I pulled the item for Work Session so we can have a discussion on a few points ahead of the council meeting on Thursday. CM Duc...

Mayor,

I agree. Budget staff is still looking at final numbers and getting clarifications from department staff. Once we have those numbers, the proposal - as clarified by staff - would become the base motion for debate on the dais if a majority of council members agree.

Chito

Colleagues, This budget has been one of the most challenging in Austin’s recent memory. Throughout this process, we have been grappling with tough decisions, trying to strike a balance that is morally responsible and fiscally sustainable. To successfully navigate these rough waters, we must stand to...

Thank you for this item, CM Qadri. Please add me as a cosponsor.

Chito

Colleagues, For most of my constituents, the most important question is not how tall the buildings are, but what benefits does the new development bring to the community. I’ve had a number of DB90 cases in District 4 and worked closely with my constituents on these cases. Almost all the DB90 rezonin...

Colleagues, I appreciate the suggestion but the decision we have to make on Thursday is different than the one you describe. We have to decide which of the roadway elements we will fund on Thursday. TxDOT is about to ask for bids on the first phase of construction for the highway. TxDOT needs to kno...

Thank you for the post, Mayor. If we are going to go to the voters and ask for a tax increase, we need to show them we have been thoughtful and deliberate about the need for additional revenues. A committee recommendation that follows a set process with established guidelines will help us show just ...

Colleagues, Here is the exact language for my amendment tomorrow. This amendment matches the language I linked to earlier this week which staff offered in response to the resolution council passed last year asking staff to bring us a single stair option when we consider the building code. http://ass...

Colleagues, Staff will be briefing us on the highway caps at our next work session. We are facing an extremely important decision: whether to fund the foundational roadway elements that would make highway caps on I-35 possible in the future or eliminate this opportunity for the next 50 years or more...

Colleagues, I am very excited to see that we will have the opportunity today to approve a new five-year strategic plan for the Animal Services Office. The priority areas and goals identified in the plan directly address the most critical issues that have been consistently identified by stakeholders ...