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- BG Reads Week in Review (for week of May 13, 2024)
BG Reads Week in Review (for week of May 13, 2024)
BG Reads Week in Review (of May 13, 2024)
BG Reads Week in Review
Presented by:
(Austin Council Members, staff, and supporters Friday afternoon following the passage of several contentious Land Development Code amendments)
Top Clicks for the Week of May 13, 2024:
[WEEKEND NEWS]
Austin will now allow homes on smaller lots in bid to fight housing affordability crisis (Texas Tribune)
Austin will now allow single-family homes to be built on smaller lots, capping off a slate of sweeping land-use reforms intended to help ease the city’s housing affordability crisis.
The Austin City Council voted Friday to dramatically reduce the amount of land the city requires single-family homes to sit on. The vote came after a two-day hearing that included passionate and often rowdy testimony from advocates pushing for greater housing density and opponents who believe the policy will accelerate gentrification and displacement.
The council also voted to allow apartment buildings to be built closer to single-family homes and denser development along a planned light-rail line.
"Austin has an affordability crisis, and City government has been too slow and inefficient addressing it," Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said on the social media site X after the vote. "We needed to act on Austin’s needs and with real results. Today, we did that."… (FULL STORY HERE)
Austin launches search for permanent police chief (Community Impact)
The Austin Police Department's next chief will be selected through a national search process that kicked off May 15.
Austin has been without a permanent police chief since Joseph Chacon stepped down from the post last September. Robin Henderson, Chacon's former chief of staff, has led the APD as its interim chief since then.The selection of a new chief was named as an early priority by new City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who started his work in Austin on May 6."Public safety is of paramount importance, not just to me and the mayor and City Council, but to Austin as a whole. My commitment to this community is to find the absolute best candidate for this critical role,” Broadnax said in a statement. “I want to ensure that I bring forward someone who will build trust and foster a culture of transparency and accountability.”
Recruitment firm Mosaic Public Partners is leading the search. Mosaic most recently handled the city manager selection process that led to Broadnax's appointment.Before the application period closes June 10, Mosaic will also be opening a public survey about the APD position to inform a final selection. Interviews with residents, public safety staff and city leaders as well as a public meet and greet will be scheduled in the future… (FULL STORY HERE)
Taylor Sheridan's '1923' to be filmed in Austin (Austin Business Journal)
Taylor Sheridan's "Yellowstone" prequel "1923" is headed to Austin.
A spokesperson for California-based production company 101 Studios on May 16 confirmed that the show, which stars Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Brandon Sklenar and others, will be shooting at ATX Film Studios. The Golden Globe-nominated series was renewed by Paramount Plus for a second season in February 2023.
The spokesperson could not share additional details, and it's unclear if the entirety of the series will be shot at the South Austin studio. The first season of "1923" was filmed in Montana, Malta, South Africa and Kenya, according to IMDB. The owner of ATX Studios said he could not comment.
It nonetheless represents a notable win for both the studio and film industry at a critical time for Texas. Back in 2021, ATX Film Studios was vacated by AMC Networks' "Fear the Walking Dead," which left Austin for Georgia after using ATX Studios as its filming locale for several years. The move was largely blamed on the lack of film incentives compared to other shooting spaces… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
The first and second memos are reviews of Mr. Broadnax's time as city manager of Dallas and Tacoma, respectively. The information was pulled from news articles from the time. We've provided links where appropriate.
The last is a review of the seven city of Dallas budget's Mr. Broadnax spearheaded. This was compiled through review of publicly available budget documents.
BG Memo Link - Contact me for general questions or comments. If there are specific business/policy concerns, we’re happy to schedule time to consult -> [email protected].
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