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BG Reads 12.12.2023

BG Reads 12.12.2023

🗞️ BG Reads | News - December 12, 2023

December 12, 2023

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December 12, 2023

In today's BG Reads:

✅ Travis County judge rules 2022 Austin land code changes did not give proper notice

✅ New Austin ISD superintendent may be announced as early as Dec. 14

✅ ERCOT CEO joins chorus of utilities warning of winter blackout risk in Texas

✅ The math for buying a home no longer works.

✅ 2024 Austin City Council race watch

More stories below. Read on!

[BG Podcast]

Welcome to BG Podcast Episode 226.

On this episode the Bingham Group CEO A.J. Bingham and Associate Hannah Garcia wrap up the week of December 4 in Austin politics.

TOPIC: ✅ The Austin Council's passage (9-2) of the Home Options for Middle-income Empowerment (HOME) Initiative.

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[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

Travis County judge rules 2022 Austin land code changes did not give proper notice to property owners (KVUE)

AUSTIN, Texas — Travis County District Judge Jessica Mangrum ruled the City of Austin violated a prior court order when the mayor and council members passed three ordinances without giving proper written notice.

The plaintiffs in the case sued the city in 2020 over its land development code rewrite. They won the lawsuit and the appeal.

In March 2023, the plaintiffs filed a motion to enforce permanent injunction to stop the new ordinances.

The plaintiffs also argued the city’s 2019 program “Affordability Unlocked” should also be stopped, but the judge ruled that ordinance is valid.

The court filing shows: “Ordinance Nos. 20220609-080 (Vertical Mixed Use II Ordinance); Ordinance No. 202221201-055 (Residential and Commercial Development Program); and Ordinance No. 20221201-056 (Compatibility Ordinance) are void ab initio for failure to give proper written notice to all property owners whose property is having any of its zoning regulations or boundaries changed, and the property owners within 200 feet of such property, at least ten days before the Planning Commission’s public hearing to change any zoning regulations or boundaries of their property or nearby properties, and for improper delegation of authority to Defendants’ staff to make final zoning changes, without further notice or City Council approval, and for failure to affirmatively inform property owners and surrounding property owners of their protest rights under Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code section 211.006(d).”

The ordinances were for certain developments designed for both residential and commercial use (Ordinance No. 20220609-080), residential units in commercial areas (Ordinance No. 202221201-055) and certain compatibility changes for developments along major transit corridors (Ordinance No. 20221201-056).

The court awarded attorney’s fees, costs and expenses to the plaintiffs.

“Plaintiffs expect to ask for attorneys’ fees of at least $150,000. These costs are a direct result of the city’s repeated refusal to abide by state law on zoning,” Doug Beker, attorney for the plaintiffs, wrote in a press release to KVUE News.

“We have received Judge Mangrum’s formal ruling. We are gratified that the judge did not issue sanctions, which were requested by the plaintiffs, as the city continues to make efforts to comply with all laws and judicial rulings related to the land development code changes. City management and city council will follow the judge’s ruling,” a City of Austin spokesperson wrote to KVUE.

The case may not be over.

Becker said they are now reviewing the recent passage of the HOME ordinance, writing it is “anti single-family.”

“Plaintiffs’ attorneys now are assessing the legality of the city’s rushed passage last Thursday of Council Member Pool’s anti-single-family zoning ordinance. Ms. Pool repeatedly proclaimed that her ordinance did not change the zoning on anyone’s property, which appears contrary to the court’s ruling. Nor did Ms. Pool and the council consider the 16,000 filed protests against her ordinance, as if protest rights and their constituents’ views were irrelevant,” Becker wrote in the press release. (LINK TO FULL STORY)

New Austin ISD superintendent may be announced as early as Dec. 14 (Comunity Impact)

The Austin ISD board of trustees reviewed applications for the district’s next permanent superintendent during an executive session on Dec. 7.

If the trustees made a decision, which remains unclear as discussions happened behind closed doors, the new superintendent may be announced at the next board meeting on Dec. 14. Otherwise, the decision will be pushed for another meeting of the board.

The superintendent search resumed in November after an eight-month-long pause that began after interim Superintendent Matias Segura’s contract was extended for another year. The position was posted to the district’s website on Nov. 17 and closed at 5 p.m. Dec. 7.

The board of trustees chose not to take the route of a national search, and instead posted the position immediately, with Segura eligible to apply.“Although we have a strong internal candidate, we are committed to considering every application that is received,” board President Arati Singh said Nov. 16… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Austin ISD struggles to make ends meet despite property wealth (KUT)

According to the latest estimates, Austin ISD paid more than $900 million in recapture last year — nearly 60% of all the property tax it collected. That left the district with about $10,500 per student last year — $2,000 less than the average Texas school district.

Just more than half of Austin ISD’s 73,000 students are economically disadvantaged. But in some schools, like Webb Middle School on Austin’s North East Side, almost every student comes from low-income families. Nearly 90% are Latino... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Williamson County is booming, but is it growing too fast? (Austin Business Journal)

The county’s draws — and drawbacks — for businesses were a central point of discussion at the recent Williamson County Growth Summit, as representatives from companies ranging from local consumer packaged goods producers to global tech giant Samsung mused on why they set up shop in the rural county and what the county could look like in the coming years.

Panelists included Firefly Aerospace CEO Dan Fermon, Afia co-founder and President Farrah Moussallati Sibai, Red Oak Development Group CEO Tom Staub and Samsung Austin Semiconductor Corporate Vice President Jon Taylor.

Williamson County has seen explosive population growth in the past few years from 422,679 in 2010 to an estimated 671,418 in July 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

One thing all panelists agreed was a major magnet to the area was the partnership opportunities available in the county just north of Austin.

“The partnership thing is really critical when you’re looking at the investment we’re doing, and in future investments,” Taylor of Samsung said. For reference, Samsung’s investment in Williamson County consists of a $17 billion semiconductor plant in rural Taylor, a site where Samsung recently reported that it created more than 4,600 direct and indirect construction jobs last year. That resulted in $4.2 billion pumped into the local economy and roughly $102 million in salaries. The plant is expected to be operational next year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

Texas Supreme Court blocks order allowing abortion; woman who sought it leaves state (Texas Tribune)

The Texas Supreme Court has overturned a court order that would have allowed a Dallas woman to get an abortion. The ruling came down hours after Kate Cox’s lawyers announced she was leaving the state to terminate her non-viable pregnancy.

Last Tuesday, Cox, 31, filed a historic lawsuit, asking the courts to allow her to terminate her pregnancy after she learned her fetus had full trisomy 18, a lethal fetal anomaly. The lawsuit, brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights, said continuing the pregnancy posed a threat to Cox’s health and future fertility, but her doctors refused to perform an abortion due to the state’s near-total ban on the procedure.

Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled Thursday that neither Cox, nor her husband or OB/GYN, should be criminally or civilly penalized for terminating her pregnancy. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an emergency petition, asking the state Supreme Court to overturn that ruling. On Friday night, the high court put Guerra Gamble’s order on hold while they considered the merits of the case.

Meanwhile, though, Cox’s condition was deteriorating, and she was in and out of the emergency room, according to her lawyers.

“No one disputes that Ms. Cox’s pregnancy has been extremely complicated. Any parents would be devastated to learn of their unborn child’s trisomy 18 diagnosis,” the justices wrote. “Some difficulties in pregnancy, however, even serious ones, do not pose the heightened risks to the mother the exception encompasses.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Sheila Jackson Lee files for reelection for U.S. House seat after losing in mayoral race (Texas Tribune)

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, has filed for reelection after losing the Houston mayoral runoff Saturday.

Jackson Lee had declined to say throughout the mayoral race whether she would seek reelection if she lost. State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, defeated Jackson Lee in a landslide Saturday.

Her decision means she will face a primary challenge from Amanda Edwards, a former Houston City Council member.

The chair of the Harris County Democratic Party, Mike Doyle, said Monday morning that Jackson Lee had filed for reelection ahead of the 6 p.m. deadline... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

ERCOT CEO joins chorus of utilities warning of winter blackout risk in Texas, nation (Houston Chronicle)

The U.S. power grid is becoming increasingly prone to blackout amid rising electricity demand and power plant closures, a group of power officials and executives, including Electric Reliability Council of Texas President Pablo Vegas, warned Monday.

At an event hosted by the U.S. Energy Association, a trade group, Vegas said there simply wasn’t enough investment being put into developing the transmission lines, natural gas pipelines and other infrastructure upon which the power grid relies.

“The reality is risk is increasing. We’re all seeing it,” he said. “If we do smart things with investments in resources, we can bring that bring that risk down. But we need to make smart decisions.” The warning comes almost two years after Winter Storm Uri knocked out power to millions of Texans, in the aftermath of which federal officials found the power sector had not done enough to keep up with a shift in power generation toward renewables along with a rise in extreme weather events… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

Israel and the US face growing isolation over Gaza as offensive grinds on with no end in sight (Associated Press)

Israel and the United States were increasingly isolated as they faced global calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, including a non-binding vote expected to pass at the United Nations later on Tuesday. Israel has pressed ahead with an offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers that it says could go on for weeks or months.

The war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel has already brought unprecedented death and destruction to the impoverished coastal enclave, with more than 18,000 Palestinians killed, mostly women and minors, and over 80% of the population of 2.3 million having fled their homes.

Much of northern Gaza has been obliterated, and hundreds of thousands have fled to ever-shrinking so-called safe zones in the south. The health care system and humanitarian aid operations have collapsed in large parts of Gaza, and aid workers have warned of starvation and the spread of disease among displaced people in overcrowded shelters and tent camps… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Zelenskyy is making a last-ditch push to get more U.S. weapons and aid for Ukraine (NPR)

President Biden will welcome Ukraine's president to the White House on Tuesday — part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's last-ditch push to try to get more U.S. weapons and aid for his country in order to push back against Russia's invasion.

The visit comes at a critical moment. Biden has asked Congress for more than $60 billion in aid for Ukraine but has so far been rebuffed. Zelenskyy is also expected to visit Capitol Hill to meet with senators on Tuesday and will also meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to plead his case.

Biden has long insisted that the U.S. will stick by Ukraine in its fight against Russia for as long as it takes, but Republican support has waned as the war has dragged on… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

The math for buying a home no longer works. (Wall Street Journal)

Homeownership has become a pipe dream for more Americans, even those who could afford to buy just a few years ago.

Many would-be buyers were already feeling stretched thin by home prices that shot quickly higher in the pandemic, but at least mortgage rates were low. Now that they are high, many people are just giving up.

It is now less affordable than any time in recent history to buy a home, and the math isn’t changing any time soon. Home prices aren’t expected to go back to prepandemic levels. The Federal Reserve, which started raising rates aggressively early last year to curb inflation, hasn’t shown much interest in cutting them. Mortgage rates slipped to about 7% last week, the lowest in several months, but they are still more than double what they were two years ago.

Typically, high mortgage rates slow down home sales, and home prices should soften as a result. Not this time. Home sales are certainly falling, but prices are still rising—there just aren’t enough homes to go around. The national median existing-home price rose to about $392,000 in October, the highest ever for that month in data that goes back to 1999.

In mortgages, higher rates add up fast. An increase of just a few percentage points can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars more in interest over the life of a standard 30-year loan.

Total cost of a mortgage for a $400,000 home at different interest ratesSource: Bankrate.comNote: Based on a standard 30-year fixed mortgage, with a 20% down payment.

First-time and young buyers are still stuck on the sidelines. About one-third of buyers this year were first-time home buyers, below the historical average of 38%, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median first-time buyer was 35 years old.

That was the second-highest on record, behind only 2022’s peak of 36 years old…(LINK TO FULL STORY)

[2024 Austin City Council Race Watch]

Next fall will see elections for the following Council positions, District 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, and Mayor. Candidates can’t file for a place on the ballot until July 22, 2024.

Declared candidates so far are:

District 2