If you’ve been following along with the news lately, you know that the draft of our city’s new land development code (commonly referred to as CodeNEXT) was recently released.  Now that it has been in the public domain for several weeks, the question is – what do people think?

(And if you haven’t been following along… here’s a quick update. CodeNEXT is the city’s effort to rewrite its land development code, which is basically a rule book for the city, explaining what can be built where. CodeNEXT will determine how Austin looks 10, 15, and even 50 years from now. And it will affect everything from affordability, to transportation, to the environment. In other words, it’s a really big deal.)

So what are people saying about CodeNEXT?

The draft code is actually over 1,000 pages long, so it’s taking the general public a long time to look through it all. There will certainly be more position papers and op-eds published in the coming months, but in the meantime, we wanted to share what we’ve been hearing so far.

How could CodeNEXT impact the environment?

Local advocacy organization Environment Texas published a blog post earlier this month describing how CodeNEXT could be used to reduce flooding in Austin. The blog post (as well as a new report from Environment Texas) identifies flooding as a major problem in Austin, a problem which has been exacerbated by a 67 percent increase in heavy rains since 1950, as well as a huge spike in development. As more land in the city is covered with buildings, there is less available green space to soak up the rain. With nowhere else to go, the water then flows over roofs, parking lots, and streets, picking up pollutants before ending up in our lakes, rivers, and streams.

So what’s the solution?

Environment Texas sees a lot of opportunity in something called Green Stormwater Infrastructure (or GSI). Green Stormwater Infrastructure is the term for a toolkit of solutions (or design elements) to help naturally capture rain directly where it falls. This includes rainwater harvesting barrels, cisterns, green roofs, rain gardens, and permeable pavement (which allows water to soak through it).

Environment Texas is now calling on Austin’s City Council to incorporate more Green Stormwater Infrastructure requirements into the new land development code.

“We know that Austin will keep growing,” said Cyrus Rautman, a campaign organizer with Environment Texas, in a press release. “But if we can make sure that future development is green, we will have not only a larger city, but a better one too.”

So how do I get involved?

If you’re specifically interested in seeing more Green Stormwater Infrastructure requirements in CodeNEXT, you can reach out to Environment Texas at
bzabcik@environmenttexas.org. This is something they’re going to be working on for a while.

Another way to get involved is to attend one of the city’s upcoming CodeTEXT Open House events. At the open houses, you can learn about the new draft code, speak to code experts about changes in the code, and provide your feedback.

Upcoming CodeTEXT Open House events will be held on:

• Saturday, March 4th from 1:30pm to 3:30pm at Lyndon B Johnson High School
• Saturday, March 25th from noon to 2pm at Stephen F. Austin High School