City leaders in Austin, Texas are backing an innovative policy to increase the amount of affordable housing.
The plan relaxes zoning restrictions and provides incentives for higher density construction in affordable and mixed-income developments. To qualify, 50% of the housing in a development must be affordable—priced for families earning 60% or less of median family income (MFI) for the area.
For-sale properties must be affordable at 80% of MFI or below. If projects meet baseline criteria, developers could increase density and total rentable or sellable space. That includes the go-ahead to build higher than a zoning district’s limits.
Other loosened restrictions include a reduction of setbacks and minimum lot sizes, waiving height/setback compatibility standards, and bringing accessible-parking requirements up to code. The program is applicable in commercial and residential zoning districts, except in industrial zones or near sites that present certain health hazards, and in most special-use zoning and overlay districts.
Related Stories
| Oct 11, 2012
OSHA launches pilot program for alternative dispute resolution on whistleblower complaints
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is launching an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) pilot program for complaints filed with OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program.
| Oct 11, 2012
Bill promotes investment in commercial, multifamily retrofits
The Commercial Building Modernization Act recently introduced in the Senate would extend and streamline a current tax deduction to encourage commercial and multifamily residential building owners to perform comprehensive energy-efficient retrofits.
| Oct 11, 2012
Morristown, N.Y., settles code violation dispute with Amish
The town of Morristown, N.Y., has dropped charges of building code violations against local Amish communities to settle a First Amendment complaint.
| Oct 11, 2012
Mesquite, Nev., rebels against state-mandated energy code
The city council of Mesquite, Nev., voted against adopting a new energy efficiency code adopted by the state.
| Oct 11, 2012
Bloomingdale, N.J., restricts ground solar and wind energy installations
The borough of Bloomingdale, N.J., recently adopted regulations for solar-energy and wind energy systems.
| Oct 3, 2012
Bill introduced to extend home energy efficiency tax credit
A bill to extend the expired residential energy efficiency tax credit for installing qualified furnaces, boilers, central air conditioners, and heat pumps was recently filed in the U.S. House of Representatives.
| Oct 3, 2012
OSHA publishes more detailed information on variances
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enhanced its variances Web page to improve public understanding of the variance approval process and increase access to the agency's decisions regarding variance requests.
| Oct 3, 2012
Online program computes energy savings from green roofs; compares savings with other options
A free online tool can calculate the amount of energy savings from installation of a green roof. Portland State University‘s (PSU’s) online Green Roof Energy Calculator can be used for new or old structures.