After a 12-hour debate and postponement April 25 on a vote for a set of policies on land use reform, Austin City Council has scheduled a special called meeting for May 2 to finish the discussion and vote.

Scheduled for 1 p.m. inside City Council chambers, the meeting will have the local lawmakers finalizing a policy framework on what has proven to be the most polarizing issues in the effort to rewrite the land development code. After producing foundational policies to which a majority of the 11-member dais consents, City Council will hand the direction off to the city staff tasked with producing a new land development code.

The community has been working to rewrite its outdated and confusing land development code since 2012. The effort came to a head last summer when, after several years and more than $8 million spent, a team of city staff and consultants produced a third draft of a new land use code for City Council consideration. However, after hearing from a heavily polarized community, City Council voted to kill the process and start anew.

In doing so, City Council tasked City Manager Spencer Cronk to build a new process and lead the city and City Council through the effort. In March, Cronk asked City Council to first guide him on how to answer what he considered the most contentious issues around the land code rewrite: the scope of the rewrite, levels of housing supply and typology, parking requirements and building compatibility standards.

During their April 25 meeting, the mayor and City Council members discussed, negotiated and amended positions on the five policy areas; however, they decided to adjourn just shy of midnight after a half-day of debate.

On May 2, City Council will aim to work through any final amendments to its land use policy framework and finally vote on its official guidance to city staff. If City Council can get to a vote May 2, it will be the most substantial vote it has taken on land use reform since its decision to kill the process last summer.