Austin has put five years and eight million dollars into CodeNEXT, the land development code (LDC) that is supposed to shape Austin’s future in a manageable way. All we have to show for it is 1566 pages of contradictions and loopholes that prove CodeNEXT fails to deliver.
Originally, I was hopeful that CodeNEXT would be the answer to our current housing problems. The project claims the new LDC will allow Austin to grow in a way that encourages affordable, diverse, and inclusive communities. But, the current proposal cannot deliver what we really need. As it stands today, the current draft of CodeNEXT lacks coherence and it could actually harm responsible development rather than help it.
We need an LDC that is clear-cut, effective, and easy to understand and implement — one that delivers what it promises. Sadly, CodeNEXT is an unfortunate waste of resources and in it’s current form is not the solution to Austin’s outdated LDC rewrite or our lack of affordable housing.
It’s not an easy read but I strongly recommend you review it.
You can view the current draft here: https://www.austintexas.gov/codenext