Austin Zoning Laws
Like many other cities and towns in the country, the City of Austin has enacted a variety of zoning laws in an effort to encourage individuals to build reasonably and in a not cheap fashion. The laws have created zoning districts.Zoning districts have been established in an effort to promote reasonably compatible patterns of land use within various parts of the city limits. For example, most people do not want to live next to an industrial waste dump. Because there are health effects of living next to an industrial waste dump, the city has zoned specific areas where dumping industrial waste is acceptable and others for living. They are typically not right next to each other. In addition, zoning districts establish site development regulations as well as performance standards that are tailored to the purposes that are allowed in each district.
Before any zoning districts are identified, the appropriate land uses for an area or district are identified. Factors that influence how a piece of land will be zoned include the density, height of a proposed project, the surrounding land uses, traffic impact, access to the site, environmental concerns, intensity, and the overall compatibility with the surrounding area.
With time, it may be necessary to change the zoning of a district. An example of a district that has been rezoned recently is the West Campus area adjacent to the University of Texas' main campus. Currently, Austin has 16 residential districts and 13 commercial districts. There are also 4 industrial districts and 5 special purpose base districts.
