CodeNEXT: From Land Use Upgrade to Political Football

In late 2013, the city of Austin introduced CodeNEXT, an initiative to revise Austin’s 30-year-old land use and development code. Close to five years and $8.5 million later, CodeNEXT seems to be morphing from a necessary plan to a hotly-contested political issue.

The most recent news on this plan is that the Austin City Council voted to keep off the November ballot the question of whether citizens should have voting power over a land development code rewrite. The council’s majority believed state law prohibited placing the question on the ballot.

Community groups are vowing to sue, and it’s possible that a judge could make a final decision on the issue. The city council has been preparing to vote on CodeNEXT this summer. However, the courts could decide whether the council or public gets a final say on the code rewrite.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Texas Commercial Real Estate News Editor Amy Sorter