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Austin s homeless strategy officer said an extensive community-engagement process is needed before the city moves ahead with sanctioned encampments.
After three months of planning, an effort to set up two temporary homeless encampments on city land could be off the table.
At an Austin City Council work session Tuesday, city staff said the projects would be costly and might be prohibited if they re not in place before a state law banning encampments goes into effect Sept. 1. The new law requires the city to get permission from the state to set up encampments on city-owned land.
The plan was also met with skepticism from Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison and Council Member Paige Ellis. The proposed encampments are in their districts, District 1 and District 8, respectively. Council members began looking into the plan in May, shortly after Austin voters reinstated a ban on encampments.
Scary and awful housing data in Austin draws affordability, land use concerns from officials bizjournals.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bizjournals.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Former Austin City Council Member Ellen Troxclair speaks at a press conference at Mabel Davis District Park on November 26, 2018. Troxclair announced she is running for Texas Senate District 24.
Former Austin City Council Member Ellen Troxclair is running for the Texas Senate.
Troxclair, who was the lone conservative on the dais when she left office in 2018, announced Wednesday her candidacy for Texas Senate District 24. It encompasses western Travis County and a large portion of the Hill Country.
“With the Biden Administration doing everything it can to force its radical leftist agenda through executive orders and acts of Congress, Texas needs proven, conservative fighters to hold the line at the state level,” said Troxclair in a news release Wednesday.
Austin Water officials saw warning signs ahead of water crisis statesman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from statesman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
But right now. it s the source of a very big fuss.
The largely ceremonial title confers no authority to the titleholder beyond running council meetings when the mayor is away. It does not come with a salary bump or a bigger office.
But it could carry weight with voters in the 2022 race to replace Steve Adler as Austin s mayor or could enhance a candidate s résumé in a race for some other office.
For the past two years, District 2 representative Delia Garza has been Austin s mayor pro tem. Her departure to be Travis County Attorney opened up the spot, which the colleagues Garza left behind thought they d be able to work privately to fill.