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Austin City Clerk validates petition to reinstate camping ban, leaving its fate up to voters

Austin City Clerk Jannette Goodall verified a petition to reinstate a ban on public camping, moving it one step closer to the May 1 ballot.
The local nonprofit Save Austin Now submitted more than 27,000 signatures to the city clerk's office on Jan. 19. The city requires 20,000 valid signatures for a petition to be included on the local ballot and verified more than 26,000 of those submitted on Wednesday, according to Goodall's ruling.
"Today's news is a welcome development for Austinites who only want to live in a safe and clean city," Save Austin Now co-founder and Travis County GOP Chairperson Matt Mackowiak said in a statement. "Now Austinites can choose to fix this mess created by Greg Casar and Steve Adler."
Next up, Austin City Council has until Feb. 12 to decide whether to adopt the ordinance changes as written in the petition or call an election for May 1.
In the meantime, Save Austin Now will create a political action committee "to conduct its activities for the election phase," according to a press release.
Austin City Council repealed the camping ban in 2019, after advocates said it criminalized homelessness. Austin Mayor Steve Adler told the Austin American-Statesman last month that the approach "is not working," but added that going back to the previous ban wouldn't address the city's homelessness issues.
Council members will discuss a proposal to partially reinstate the camping ban in four areas around the city on Thursday.
This is not the first time the nonprofit has rallied its supporters. Save Austin Now announced in July that it had collected 24,598 signatures in support of the same petition. Had it been verified, the petition would have been included on the Nov. 3 ballot.
In reviewing the first batch of signatures, however, Austin City Clerk Jannette Gooddall discovered a number of issues, including duplicates and requests from some signers to have their names removed, and ruled it invalid.
Criminal justice reform advocates have criticized Save Austin Now for misleading signers, echoing concerns that were raised during their first attempt. Some University of Texas at Austin students said they felt misled into signing the petition, according to a recent report by The Daily Texan.
Now verified, the fate of the camping ban will be up to Austin voters. In addition to this petition, the city clerk validated two others last month. One proposes four amendments to the city charter, including a shift to a strong-mayor form of government, and the other would add a binding arbitration clause regarding the city's contract with the local firefighters union, similar to the one that exists for police contracts.
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Popular
(Project Connect)
Designs for stations along Project Connect’s Blue Line were presented this week, giving a detailed look at what part of the rail system extending from downtown to the airport could look like.
The planned stations that have gotten the latest focus include Waterfront, Travis Heights and Lakeshore stations past Lady Bird Lake.
At the Waterfront station, the preliminary design aims to prevent visual obstructions and save on costs. This is accomplished by a transit guideway that will lower from the bridge to a level station.
Heading onto East Riverside Drive, the light rail faces a curve requiring a slow down to about 10 miles per hour.
The Travis Heights station could involve relocating a pedestrian crosswalk zone at Alameda Drive to Blunn Creek. Since light rails can't effectively operate on a steep grade, this allows the transit guideway to avoid that.
From there, the rail will extend to the Norwood Park area, and though it will reach along the right-of-way zone, the park will be able to remain open.
A view of the Blue Line by Lady Bird Lake. (Project Connect)
The line involves some coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation. That's because the department is working on an intersection that will have to be built before the phasing of the section of the Blue Line involving an I-35 crossing.
When it comes to the safety of cyclists and walkers, design ideas include a pedestrian hybrid beacon by East Bouldin Creek that would provide a protected signal to cross. And for the intersection TxDOT is carrying out, Project Connect is working with them on pedestrian access across the intersection. It could involve shared use paths along the street and crossings beneath it.
This summer, the public can expect 30% of design and cost estimates to be released. Though the project was $7.1 billion when voters approved it in November 2020, the latest estimates factoring in inflation and supply chain constraints show it could ultimately be upwards of $10 billion.
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(Amazon/Facebook)
Plans for an Amazon warehouse in Round Rock—a $250 million project slated to be a large distribution center—are on hold.
This comes just after the tech giant had its worst financial quarter in seven years.
The details:
- Late last year, it announced an expansion at the Domain adding 2,000 more corporate and tech jobs.
- Amazon still owns the site in Round Rock. Plans for it are unclear.
- Early this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon is aiming to scrap warehouse space as it faces a slowdown in its e-commerce operations.
Part of that effort involves exploring the possibility of ending or renegotiating leases with outside warehouse owners. Another aspect is a plan to sublease warehouse space.
“It allows us to relieve the financial obligations associated with an existing building that no longer meets our needs,” an Amazon spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal. “Subleasing is something many established corporations do to help manage their real estate portfolio.”
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