Fun layout!

A ruling that was supposed to address one case has now become de facto policy for our entire city - without transparency, stakeholder input, or procedural guardrails.

It should be rescinded or formally reconsidered at Monday's BOA.

These are not abstract consequences

• Austin will see much more flat roofs
• Historic rooflines become FAR liabilities
• HVAC will have to live in fur-downs
and...
• MORE DEMOLITION OF EXISTING HOMES

Back to the case - By declaring attic voids to be floor area, the ruling effectively shrinks how much livable space a homeowner can build under FAR limits.

Not through Council, not through public process — but through a late-night reinterpretation of a word.

And more importantly, as an architect, the misuse of a stamp is egregious. A professional seal is legally tied to one person’s liability, insurance, and duty of care. When it is used without consent, that professional becomes responsible for work they never oversaw.

I want to be clear - we need to allow for greater density in our urban core, but the guidelines built in HOME I were carefully calibrated to encourage healthy, affordable urban growth.

This case was a clear bad actor.

The underlying case was not a typical example of infill development. It involved procedural discrepancies, manipulated drawings, aliases, and conflicting professional statements, all documented in testimony to the Board.

The project should have been caught at plan review.

I love me a sextuple decker!

You’ve completely misunderstood the issue.

Single stair buildings have superior fire safety. www.pew.org/en/research-...

You’ve completely misunderstood the issue.

You’ve completely misunderstood the issue.

IRC is still much better for builders in other ways though! More affordable and readily available workforce is probably the biggest gain here!

I don’t think that this precludes sprinklers - the TX occupations code prohibits municipalities from requiring sprinklers in one- and two-family dwellings only