Issue: There has been an effort to stack and gag the CAG by expanding the it to place an ANC and SOS representative on the Code Advisory Group. This effort also would have directed the City Manager to silence the advisory group until those appointments were made.
Action Taken: Evolve Austin worked hard to ensure that any expansion of the CAG include people who "actively support the revision of the Land Development Code". We urged that any expansion of the CAG include people from various disciplines, expertise and practical experience and a true diversity of voices from neighborhoods, not simply those of the already well represented ANC. See our letter below.
Results: On the Neighborhoods and Planning Committee, there was an agreement to expand the CAG in the districts that currently lack representation (Districts 2, 3, 4 and 7) and permit the Mayor an appointment "with an eye towards filling the gaps in expertise and background, which are environmental/green building/landscape architecture, renters and renters' advocates, the small business community, those with ability to do outreach to large sectors of the community, the Austin Neighborhoods Council's officers, those with an eye towards the economic impacts of a code rewrite, especially with regard to gentrification and economic segregation and integration in our communities."
Get Involved: Write, call or email the Mayor and Council Members in Districts 2, 3, 4 and 7 and urge them to appoint representatives who actively support the revision of the Land Development Code and who will adhere to the purpose of Priority Program 8 to revise "Austin's development regulations and processes to promote a compact and connected city."
