Commission keeps UNO update on schedule; neighborhood postponement set for May 13 after mixed public testimony

The Austin Planning Commission on April 8 left the University Neighborhood Overlay (UNO) update items on the agenda but recorded neighborhood postponement to May 13 as shown on the commission's consent agenda. Dozens of speakers addressed the UNO package during public testimony and the consent-agenda speaker call-up, expressing both support for changes that enable more housing near campus and concern that the schedule and proposed rules will accelerate displacement or fail to protect students and residents.

Why it matters: UNO governs land use and development rules in the area immediately surrounding the University of Texas at Austin and West Campus. Reforms to UNO affect housing unit type, maximum heights, affordability incentives and tenant protections — all of which shape where students, lower‑income residents and service workers can live and where groceries and retail serve a largely pedestrian area.

Public testimony highlights: Speakers included student organizations, cooperative housing providers and affordable housing advocates who largely supported the direction of the UNO update but urged stronger tenant protections and changes to promote year-round retail and deeper affordability. - Joseph L. Haber, a long-term neighborhood resident, said staff proposals to increase height could help add housing capacity but advocated expanding the boundary to include parts of North Campus. - Justin Lanier, policy director for the University Tenants Union, urged three tenant-protection measures: guaranteed compensation and lease remedies for delayed move-ins; limits on preleasing timelines (recommended six months for renewals, five months for new leases); and a prohibition on borrowed-light bedrooms. - Representatives of College Houses and other cooperative housing providers said expanded boundaries and bonuses could help deliver ownership units and grocery/retail amenities that stay viable year-round.

Opposition and safety concerns: SafeHorns and other neighborhood speakers urged that crime-prevention through environmental design (CPTED) be included in code to improve physical security, and some neighbors contended that the update should better protect existing affordable housing and mobile-home communities from displacement. Several speakers asked that outreach be deeper with tenants at risk of displacement.

Commission action and procedure: The UNO items (including the LDC amendment C20-2024-010 and related NPA and rezoning items shown on the April 8 agenda) were listed for neighborhood postponement to May 13 in the staff briefings read into the record. The consent agenda including those postponements was moved and approved by the commission; the items will return for public hearings on the May 13 Planning Commission agenda per the staff notice.

Next steps: Staff and applicants will continue outreach and technical work over the next month. Several speakers asked the commission to consider additional policy tools before final council action, including tenant protections and an equity/anti-displacement overlay. City staff and community groups indicated they will continue meetings and provide written comments before the May 13 hearings.

Ending: The commission's consent approval carried scheduled postponements for UNO update items to May 13 while leaving open extensive public input and potential amendments ahead of city council consideration.