Austin Updates Small-Lot Amnesty Program

Michael Theis reports: the "Austin City Council gave final approval to a measure amending the city’s small-lot amnesty program, which, in areas with a neighborhood plan that permits it, had allowed development on property smaller than the city’s minimum lot size requirement of 5,750 square feet."

"The new rules now prohibit the demolition of homes that straddle lot lines in order to build new houses on the subdivided lots," adds Theis.

Cindy Widner follows on Theis's coverage in a story that isn't hidden behind a paywall. According to Widner, the council approved the issue after due to a "lack of regulation on existing small, or substandard lots (5,750 square feet or less) that neighborhoods were allowed to give amnesty to with the goal of preserving affordability."

In separate but related land use news for the city, Elizabeth Pagano this week notes that the Austin Planning Commission approved changes to the city's garage rules in a situation similar to the small-lot amnesty situation: land use rules being applied differently than they were intended when crafted.