The Austin City Council adopted an interim change to downtown rules (item 63) on Oct. 23, setting a temporary height limit and directing staff to develop a revised downtown density‑bonus program that preserves affordable‑housing and Great Streets revenue while enabling tall buildings in core areas.

Roger Coffin of the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association and other downtown stakeholders testified during the public hearing. Several speakers and written memos to the council warned that the staff‑proposed 350‑foot administrative cap is a policy tradeoff: it preserves some development capacity while reducing the number of projects that can receive administrative approval and thereby reducing fee‑in‑lieu flows to the affordable housing trust fund unless the density‑bonus program is revised.

Downtown advocates asked for more analysis and a pause; other advocates urged quick action to restore regulatory certainty after a state law change that restricts the city’s use of floor‑area ratio (FAR) as a development control.

What the council did

Council Member Vela proposed an amendment to make the regulation time‑limited and to require the city manager and planning staff to return with a revised downtown density‑bonus policy after stakeholder engagement and financial analysis. The council adopted item 63 as amended; the meeting record shows the clerk noted no objections after discussion. The mayor pro tem was absent for the vote.

Why the change was proposed

Speakers and staff pointed to Texas legislation enacted earlier in the year — discussed in the meeting as “SB 8 40” — that limits local use of FAR for housing and disrupts the city’s existing downtown density‑bonus framework. Under the existing administrative rules the downtown density‑bonus program could support high FARs for projects in exchange for affordable housing payments and public‑realm improvements (the Great Streets program). The staff‑proposed interim measure aims to preserve the fee flows that finance affordable housing while the city rewrites the density‑bonus program.

What proponents and opponents said

- The Downtown Austin Alliance and property owners warned that sharply reducing by‑right development capacity would depress property values and property‑tax revenue unless the revised program is calibrated carefully. The Alliance asked for a 120‑day delay to run financial models and engage stakeholders.

- Neighborhood advocates and some housing advocates cautioned that the downtown density bonus has redistributed significant fee‑in‑lieu revenue for affordable housing and that any interim approach must not reduce those funds.

- Betsy Greenberg (public commenter) and others urged the council to make the temporary cap equivalent to the former 8:1 FAR (roughly 210 feet) rather than the staff‑recommended 350 feet, arguing every extra foot granted without a density‑bonus trade reduces funds for affordable housing.

Clarifying details and next steps

- Staff said the interim measure is intended to be time‑limited; the council directed staff to return with a revised downtown density‑bonus policy informed by financial analysis and public engagement.

- The amendment was seconded and then adopted; council members indicated they supported moving deliberately to preserve affordable‑housing revenues while restoring regulatory certainty for downtown property owners.

Why it matters

Downtown density policy affects the city’s ability to generate dedicated fee‑in‑lieu money for affordable housing, the appearance and form of the central business district, and predictable administrative approvals for large projects. The council’s direction to craft a revised density‑bonus scheme is likely to trigger detailed financial modeling and stakeholder negotiations in the coming months.