Year of the Advocate

Civic Architects here at AIA Austin tirelessly volunteer to influence and shape the policies and legislation that impact our designed environment.  I have yet to find another City where architects are so passionately, constructively active in a broad range of local policy.  

 

As our City Hall debates disclosure rules for lobbying, I want to take a moment to celebrate some new and growing relationships that have helped us get heard this past season:

 

  1.  Quick-Turn Around permits- Our Commercial Advocacy Roundtable hosted guests from City staff (thanks Lalo Sanchez!) for QT Q&A.  These one-day plan reviews frequently and powerfully impact construction schedules; we encourage staff to continue to expand eligible projects.  This resulted in a voluntary template for small projects.  Organization of key life safety information is critical to allowing both City staff and architects do their best work.  Thanks Michael, Jeff, David, Andrew, and Tim; I’ll leave it to them to unveil it as soon as final comments come back from City staff.

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  1.  Affordability- A change in Austin Water Utility’s policy increased tap fees by as much as $15,000 for accessory dwelling units, stalling permits and small projects throughout Austin.  Thanks Girard and Stuart;  Our volunteers were able to encourage a memo whereby Austin Water Utility removed this barrier to affordability. 

 

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  1. Summer Conference—AIA members including Planning Commissioner Stephen Oliver, AIA and Design Commissioner David Carroll, AIA arranged a Friday afternoon with J. Rodney Gonzales, Jorge Rousselin, and other key City staff.  We were honored to find so many high-ranking City plan review and development staff educating our members on new leadership, policy changes, and engagement opportunities.

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Next steps:

 

Walk the Talk- Design Voice Committee and Imagine Austin highlight ADU’s, duplexes, and small-lot dwellings in neighborhoods that have characteristics of a compact and connected Austin.  Discover homes in the Blackland and Cherrywood neighborhoods in East Austin on Saturday, October 17th from 1:30 to 3:30pm, kicking off with a panel discussion at Salvage Vanguard Theatre

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Missing Middle –Urban Design Committee equips AIA Austin Homes tour volunteers at selected homes to educate the public about alternative housing types.  (Oct 24-25)

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CodeNEXT Roundtable – November 2nd at Noon at AIA Design Center—Celebrate and share how you are getting involved in policy, workshops, and tours, and collaborate on next steps to amplify your efforts.

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Blog title from AIA National's advocacy page