From the Austin Statesman Feb 10, 2006
“The Austin City Council has passed a temporary moratorium on residential building that would limit the size of infill construction.
Set to expire June 6, the moratorium will be in effect while the council considers residential design guidelines for new construction in older neighborhoods. Some residents have complained that large new homes detract from the quality of their neighborhoods, while others say the moratorium treads on property owners’ rights.
Specifically, the moratorium affects subdivisions that were platted before March 7, 1974. It limits new building of a single-family houses in those areas to 40 percent of the lot’s size, 2,500 square feet or 20 percent more square feet than an existing structure.
Some homeowners and neighborhood groups say builders have intruded in their subdivisions by building large “McMansions” that detract from an area’s character. They also say the new homes have caused problems in older neighborhoods where storm drain systems already operate at or beyond capacity.
But other residents and homebuilders’ groups have said the moratorium will negatively affect house and land values. They say the moratorium counters recent city efforts to create more dense urban living and revitalize run-down areas.”
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MY COMMENTS:
This is a very controversial issue in Austin. With the real estate marketing getting so hot, it's difficult to balance public with private interests. Many investors are crying foul over this new ruling. The city should take time to think about the impact of extremely rapid appreciation in East Austin and other areas. We should learn from the sharp rises and declines in real estate markets such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, and areas of California.
Although we do want a strong market, we do not want to increase the number of foreclosures and displacement of long-time residents. The Texas Real Estate Center wrote an exellent article on these so-called McMansions. See the article here.
I will be carefully watching as this issue unfolds. It will be interesting to see how the city decides to balance everyone's needs.
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