Changes to Austin's design standards means you'll be seeing a lot more of construction like the Second Street Retail District.
"This ordinance will allow for vibrant mix of uses along those corridors that are currently not doing well, visually, they are
economically not doing well," urban planning consultant Alice Glasco said.
Streets like East Riverside would have sidewalks and a mix of retail, restaurants and housing like on this portion of 2nd street in
Downtown Austin.
Guadalupe 31 is being built with those standards in mind.
"There's an interactive quality between the residents and the shops," Capital City Partners developer Joe Lamy said, "It really is more of a personal building versus a one story retail and then you have two separate things and right now it brings it together and I think that is a good thing".
The biggest changes are for the Core Transit Corridors like East Riverside, South 1st, Anderson Lane and Airport Boulevard.
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Design Standards
Builders accomodate new design standards.
 
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They include 15-foot sidewalks that can accommodate outdoor seating and plazas. Trees every 30 feet. Parking is another change.
"An example is on 44th and Lamar, the Starbucks and Chipotle development has the parking next to it. So you'll have
the buildings up to the street but you'll have parking to the side or
behind," Austin councilmember Brewster McCracken said.
Big Box retail will see changes too.
"National retail chains they have to build with green building standards, build with brick or limestone, and they have to put windows in their stores," McCracken said.
Affordable housing is another component of the design
standards, not to mention some flexibility for neighborhoods.
"The standards include close safe guards and mechanisms that are going to allow the neighborhoods to customize the standards to ensure that any particular problems for their particular area can be addressed appropriately."Austin Neighborhoods Council president Laura Morrison.
But the design changes don't stop here. A sign and landscape ordinance is being drafted. It goes before the city council this fall.
As for the design ordinance, it will be implemented 135 days after it's approved.
