25 Ideas to Make Austin a World-Class City

Building a World-Class City: Austin’s Strategic Direction

 

What Does it Take to Build a World-Class City?

Affordability

Build Housing More Quickly to Bring Down Prices

Affordability

Goal: Reduce permitting delays / average time to build a new house in Austin from 18 months to 6 months within one year.

  • Limit development fees to 5% ($1/3/5M and below) of the value of a development - with limited exceptions. Require Parkland fees to be used for a specific purpose.

  • Create a unified Development Review Process under a single leader to streamline deconfliction.

  • Enforcing the 30-day shot clock for city responses to permitting, with no response automatically ruled in favor of the applicant. Every day after 30 days leads to a pro-rated reduction of fees. For important added teeth, this will require that any city taxpayer can bring a cause of action to enforce the charter standard.

  • Enable 3rd party development review for 18 months to reduce backlog (these are non-judgment decisions).

  • Implement a city tax freeze.

Public Safety

Make Austinites Feel Safe Citywide

Public Safety

Goals: Reduce violent crime, reduce wait times for 911 and 311, improve critical response times for APD, AFD, and EMS, and restore public safety services commensurate with population growth. Austinites shouldn’t be filled with anxiety about rising crime - we can fix this.

  • Create a minimum staffing standard for Police, Fire, and EMS with triggers

  • Restore proactive policing (Sex Crimes Unit, Anti-Gang Task Force, Organized Crime Task Force, Motorcycle Traffic Enforcement, Lake Patrol)

Homelessness

Deliver effective city services to the homeless, end the magnet policy drawing more homeless here, identify safe regulated encampment areas as a bridge to addiction & mental health treatment.

Homelessness

Goal: Adopt best practices to enforce camping bans, create safe and sanctioned camping areas, and emphasize addiction/mental health treatment and independence with allocated funds.

  • Fully enforce Proposition B, which bans homeless camping in unregulated areas which create unsafe, unsanitary, and inhumane conditions for everyone.

  • Establish transitional ‘Stepping Stone’ locations with only the following requirements:

    —> Self-enclosed, secure, no drugs/alcohol, electricity, toilets, showers and lockers for personal belongings.

  • Create a Haven for Hope for Austin (mirroring San Antonio facility which houses 1,700 people daily, has mandatory DETOX and residency requirements, and has all city services on site)

    • Require the city to identify at least five potential sites within six months

    • Allow the city to participate in any site that is within the ETJ

Transportation

Address Congestion, Improve Commutes, Plan for Future Growth

Transportation

GOAL: Reduce Austin congestion, plan for explosive population growth, improve efficiency of existing transportation systems

  • Use every available policy tool to move the rail line East and expand MoPac.

  • Expand the airport immediately:

    • Create a Public-Private partnership to stimulate investment

    • Negotiate a purchase of the South Terminal

    • Add another runway

    • Require acquisition of backup generators

    • Attract increased international nonstops

    • Require that Project Connect not use additional fees or tax increases to pay for the project beyond the amount approved by voters.

    • Mandate that Guadalupe and Congress Ave remain at least four lanes for vehicles.

    • Complete comprehensive review of existing potholes in city limits and repair within 6 months,

    • Double budget for road maintenance after repairs are complete,

    • Restore historical seven-day deadline to repair any reported pothole.

Accountable & Transparent Government

Track effectiveness of government spending

Accountable & Transparent Government

GOAL: Restore taxpayer confidence in city government spending, root out waste, fraud and abuse, and educate taxpayers on how their money is spent.

  • Conduct a publicly available, complete, thorough, and independent audit within 180 days of:

    • Homeless spending since 2019

    • Capital Metro

    • Project Connect / Austin Transit Partnership

    • Austin Energy

    • Austin Water

    • Capital Budget Program

    • Implement customer service performance metric (KPIs) for every city department, with data made publicly available.

    • Expand voting centers by requiring city buildings to be made available as voting centers

  • Amend charter as it relates to ordinance allowing a reduction of the tax rate (limit timeframe for tax increases passed by voters)

  • Ban/Limit Out of State Contributions in the City of Austin

  • Strengthen city ethics rules: Mandatory disclosure of city contracts over $5M

 

Join the Movement to Save Austin Now and for the Future