As the effort to rewrite Austin's land development code continues—a process dubbed CodeNEXT—the approach agreed upon by City Council on Nov. 20 seeks to reach middle ground by giving the existing code a "deep clean."

CodeNEXT, a process led by city staff and private consultant Opticos, seeks to fix issues in a code that is often considered contradictory and confusing by developers. The code in its current form causes building permits to take longer to clear the approval process because city staff and project developers must spend extra time interpreting the language, according to Opticos.

Rather than make minor edits to the existing code or start from scratch, City Council chose the "deep-clean" approach that will remove any conflicting or unnecessary language from the existing code. Some specifications approved Nov. 20 by council take the approach one step further to help better guide Opticos and the incoming City Council in the rewriting efforts.

Multiple concerns have been expressed by residents as to whether the new code will protect the character of existing neighborhoods. Council members have reassured residents that neighborhoods will not be adversely affected by the code changes, which will occur in the next two years.