Photo courtesy City of Austin

The 2013–14 Austin City Council: Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole, Councilman Bill Spelman, Councilwoman Laura Morrison, Mayor Lee Leffingwell, Councilwoman Kathie Tovo, Councilman Chris Riley and Councilman Mike Martinez

This week, Austin City Council members will take up 70 items for consideration, 37 of which from the consent agenda.

Top agenda items this week include:

• Pass on final reading a measure that would legalize ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft.


• Enable the construction of more apartment units less than 400 square feet, known as micro units, by lessening the parking space requirement per unit in certain zones.

Items currently on the consent agenda, meaning they must pass unanimously, include:

• Purchase 75.19 acres of land located at Bull Creek Road and 45th Street from the Texas Department of Transportation for $28.9 million with an extra $3 million allocated for repairs.


• Purchase 27.11 acres of land at 4507 Brandt St. for no more than $900,000.


• Approve a partial road closure on East Fourth Street for the Easter Seal's Dia de los Muertos celebration.


• Direct the city manager to devise a plan for creating affordable, family friendly housing, especially in the city's urban core, based on recommendations by stakeholder committee groups


• Create a goal and plan to preserve 20,000 affordable housing units in Austin


• Stakeholders are directed to deliver recommendations for a living wage policy by March 1