CodeNEXT 2.0, the second draft of the rewrite of Austin’s land development code, was released on Friday, and top city officials say although the new version is improved there is still work to be done. The code’s revised text can be found here, and the new zoning maps can be found here. Mayor Steve Adler at a press conference on Friday said staff has undoubtedly listened to the “unprecedented” amount of community input on the first draft. “[The new draft] better protects neighborhoods and better opens up housing throughout the city,” Adler said. “It is better, but the work is not done. It’s not at a place where I can support it.” Although he did not provide specifics as to why he could not support it, Adler said the process is working and expressed confidence that the map would see further improvements before it reaches council for a vote in 2018. During Friday’s press conference, Adler continually reminded the city of the need to avoid the “evils of the status quo,” to which he attributed the city’s affordability crisis, economic segregation, traffic and diminishing creative community. He pointed remarks to those in the community trying to kill the CodeNEXT process, saying they were only fanning the flames. “The evils of the status quo are robbing us of what is magical about this city,” Adler said. Adler and interim city manager Elaine Hart urged the community to stay engaged with the process, citing community input on the first draft as a major catalyst to the changes in draft 2.0. Hart said there will be a month and half for the public to provide feedback before November’s third draft release.

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During a CodeNEXT 2.0 preview last week, city staff and planning consultants said the new draft would boost the city’s housing capacity from 148,000 units to nearly 180,000. The consultants also predicted that more missing-middle housing—townhomes, duplexes, triplexes—will be available through standards in the new draft. The other major change the city can expect to see in the second draft is the new categorization of the zones. The much-criticized first draft had transect zones—zones that are strict on physical character and lenient on use—and nontransect zones, and some said they found it confusing. Residential zones will be cited as R zones; residential multifamily zones will be RM zones and mixed-use zones will be MU zones. The consultants said the use-tables would be cleaned up to create a more streamlined experience.