The first full week of December was a busy one at Austin City Hall. Missed what happened? Here's a summary:

Austin Police Department says six months until rape kit backlog is cleared

The police department announced two interlocal agreements Dec. 5 that officials claim will help clear the department’s massive backlog of sexual assault test kits in six months.

According to APD Assistant Chief Troy Gay, the Dallas County-based Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science will handle 100 cases every two weeks, and Austin-based Signature Science LLC will take on 20 cases every 45 days. The Texas State Department of Public Safety agreed to handle 20 cases each month that are deemed critical and warrant expedited results.

The ADP temporarily closed its crime lab in June after the Texas Forensic Science Commission raised concerns regarding the adequacy of the lab’s staff and its procedure. The lab had a backlog of over 3,000 untested sexual assault kits.

Music Commission pushes for extension of outdoor music curfews in the Red River Culture District, discusses legalization of busking

On Monday, the Music Commission recommended that Austin City Council review the outdoor music curfews for venues within the Red River Culture District. According to commissioners and local club owners, the current curfews—10:30 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday; 11 p.m. Thursday; midnight Friday and Saturday—put a restriction on revenues. The Economic Opportunity Council Committee will take up the proposal during its 2 p.m. Monday meeting. 

The commission also took on the issue of busking–or street performing for voluntary donations. While Austin is considered the “Live Music Capital of the World,” street performers are a rarity because, according to commissioners, such an act is legally treated as panhandling and could result in a fine. The commission is putting together research to present to council in 2017 that supports a forthcoming recommendation to legalize street performance.

Neighborhood group and developer come to agreement on The Grove

After nearly two months of mediation and two years of sometimes contentious debate, neighborhood group the Bull Creek Road Coalition and developer ARG Bull Creek Ltd. announced an agreement for The Grove at Shoal Creek project, a planned unit development proposed in Central Austin.

The two sides announced their agreement on Sunday and then presented the details to Austin City Council during a work session meeting Tuesday. The council said they would carefully review the agreement but could not promise that an ordinance would be written by the council’s final meeting of the year Dec. 15.

Although there was an agreement, there was no shortage of public comment as more than 28 people signed up to talk to council about the project.

Environmental Commission says PUDs need to do more to make the city special

A large planned unit development proposed for the site of the Hooters at 425 W. Riverside Drive was briefly presented to the Environmental Commission on Wednesday. In Austin, for a PUD to exist, the special zoning criteria must first receive approval based on qualifications. For example, the project as proposed needs to prove superior to that which would occur using conventional zoning regulations. To determine this, the city uses benchmarks such as environmental preservation, high quality design, innovation and adequate public facilities.

Environmental Commission members said they were not impressed by what the project had to offer environmentally, especially because the PUD wants to exceed existing height restrictions by 11 stories. One commissioner expressed her disappointment with many of the PUDs that have recently been proposed throughout the city.

“I’m tired of these PUDs that want a whole lot of space, but do very little to give our city something special,” Neely said. “These aren’t special. I’m tired of PUDs coming up that don’t make Austin a better place.”

City takes major step toward lowering speed limits in city neighborhoods

Since 2014, the city has placed an increased focus on eliminating traffic deaths. With that in mind, the Austin City Council Mobility Committee passed a resolution Wednesday that pushes four recommendations for traffic hazard mitigation to the full council.

The recommendations called for legislative lobbying for lower neighborhood speed limits, street design strategies that influence slower speeds, an examination of existing arterial speed limits to ensure appropriateness and the implementation of a neighborhood slow zone pilot program. The recommendation will go in front of council Dec. 15.

Austin City Council has a busy Thursday

Austin City Council flew through the major agenda items during its morning session Thursday. Council members killed the spay-neuter on first impoundment ordinance and temporarily closed the search for city manager. They also approved an additional $5.5 million for the New Central Library project and said yes to a $2.88 million bid for 10 parcels of surplus Austin ISD land, which the city hopes they can use for affordable housing projects.

During the afternoon session, council also unanimously approved the Lamar Beach Master Plan, which looks to implement significant changes to the 65-acre park. Among the green space enhancements, the project will also relocation Cesar Chavez Street from its current position, which bisects the southern half of the park, to the park’s northern tip.