Judge sides with city of Austin in Statesman PUD case
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Travis County Civil Court judge sided with the city of Austin, potentially moving forward the Planned Unit Development (PUD) on the former Austin-American Statesman property.
According to an attorney for the Save Our Springs Alliance (SOS), the judge 'did not provide a reason' for the ruling against the organization.
The PUD was approved in 2022 for a development that would include a 275-room high-rise hotel, six towers of residential units and office space.
From 2022: Some concerned about required park space in Statesman PUD conversation
According to the city, PUD zoning is meant 'to preserve the natural environment, encourage high quality development and innovative design, and ensure adequate public facilities and services' and 'must be superior to the development that would occur under conventional zoning and subdivision regulations.'
However, PUD zoning also 'provides greater design flexibility by permitting modifications of site development regulations.'
The lawsuit that was rejected in court Tuesday claimed that Austin City Council violated the Texas Open meetings Act and the Austin City Charter when it approved the PUD for 18.86 acres along the south shore of lady Bird lake.
SOS claimed that the city did not provide adequate public notice regarding 'major changes to City standards.'
The attorney for SOS told KXAN they are 'considering options for appeal.'
KXAN has reached out to the city of Austin for its response to the ruling. We will update this article if a statement is received.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
JP Morgan maintains 2025 forecast for oil prices in low-to-mid $60s
(Reuters) - JP Morgan downplayed geopolitical concerns on Thursday and maintained its base case forecast for oil prices to stay in the low-to-mid $60s through 2025 and $60 in 2026, but said certain worst-case scenarios could send prices surging to double those levels. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States was moving personnel out of the Middle East because it "could be a dangerous place". He also said the U.S. would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Iran has said its nuclear activity is peaceful. Increased tension with Iran has raised the prospect of disruption to oil supplies, with both sides set to meet on Sunday. The geopolitical risk premium is already at least partially reflected in current oil prices, which are just under $70, trading about $4 higher than their estimated fair value of $66 for June, JP Morgan said in a Thursday note. However, the analysts drew attention to certain worst-case scenarios, where the impact on supply could potentially extend beyond a 2.1 million barrels per day reduction in Iranian oil exports. Attention is focused on the risk that a broader Middle East conflict could close the Strait of Hormuz, or provoke retaliatory responses from major oil producing countries in the region. "Under this severe outcome, we estimate oil prices could surge to the $120-130/bbl range," they said. Brent crude futures were trading near $68.76 per barrel on Thursday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $67.14 per barrel. [O/R] If nuclear negotiations fail and conflict arises with the United States, Iran will strike American bases in the region, Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Wednesday, days ahead of a planned sixth round of Iran-U.S. nuclear talks. The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board of governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations on Thursday and Tehran announced counter-measures, as tensions rose in the Middle East. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
San Francisco Chronicle
12 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Latest: California challenges Trump's use of military in Los Angeles
Opponents of President Donald Trump 's administration are set to rally in hundreds of cities on Saturday during the military parade in Washington for the Army's 250th anniversary — which coincides with Trump's birthday — as protests grow in response to his immigration policies. The 'No Kings' protests have been called, organizers say, to protect America's democracy as Trump vows to increase his deployment of military forces inside the United States. A federal court hearing is scheduled for Thursday challenging Trump's use of the National Guard and Marines to support immigration raids in Los Angeles. California leaders warn that the military intervention is the onset of a much broader effort by Trump to overturn norms at the heart of America's political system. Trump was booed and cheered at the Kennedy Center, where he and first lady Melania Trump attended the opening night of 'Les Misérables.' He's been remaking the Kennedy Center in his image as part of a campaign to rid American cultural institutions of what he describes as liberal ideology. Among the eight new vaccine policy advisers Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named to replace the CDC vaccine panel he abruptly dismissed this week are people who have spread misinformation and protested COVID-19 lockdowns. Here's the Latest: Attendees of the military parade in Washington this weekend will hear a familiar voice. Trump announced Thursday morning that Greenwood will be performing at the parade on Saturday, which marks the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and also happens to be the president's 79th birthday. Greenwood is the singer behind 'God Bless the USA,' which has been Trump's walk-on song at rallies for years. 'What a day it will be!!!' Trump wrote on his social media site. What to know about the 'No Kings' protests planned for Saturday The 'No Kings' protests are set to take place to counter what organizers say are Trump's plans to feed his ego this Saturday during a military parade on what is also Trump's 79th birthday. The 'No Kings' theme was orchestrated by the 50501 Movement, a national movement made up of everyday Americans who stand for democracy and against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration. The name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement. Protests earlier this year have denounced Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk, the now former leader of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, a government organization designed to slash federal spending. Protesters have called for Trump to be 'dethroned' as they compare his actions to that of a king and not a democratically elected president.
San Francisco Chronicle
12 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The number of Americans filing for jobless claims last week remains at the highest level in 8 months
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. filings for jobless benefits were unchanged last week, remaining at the higher end of recent ranges as uncertainty over the impact of trade wars lingers. New applications for jobless benefits numbered 248,000 for the week ending June 7, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts had forecast 244,000 new applications. A week ago, there were 248,000 jobless claim applications, which was the most since early October and a sign that layoffs could be trending higher. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and have mostly bounced around a historically healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 throttled the economy five years ago, wiping out millions of jobs. In reporting their latest earnings, many companies have either trimmed their sales and profit expectations for 2025 or not issued guidance at all, often citing President Donald Trump's dizzying rollout of tariff announcements. Though Trump has paused or dialed down many of his tariff threats, concerns remain that a tariff-induced global economic slowdown could sabotage what's been a robust U.S. labor market. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said the potential for both higher unemployment and inflation are elevated, an unusual combination that complicates the central bank's dual mandate of controlling prices and keeping unemployment low. Powell said that tariffs have dampened consumer and business sentiment. In early May, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark lending rate at 4.3% for the third straight meeting after cutting it three times at the end of last year. Last week, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers slowed their hiring in May, but still added a solid 139,000 jobs despite uncertainty over Trump's trade wars. In a separate report last week, Labor reported that U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in April, but other data suggested that Americans are less optimistic about the labor market. The report showed that the number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — fell, while layoffs ticked higher. In another sign the job market has cooled from the hiring boom of 2021-2023, the government reported one job for every unemployed person. As recently as December 2022, there were two vacancies for every jobless American. The government has estimated that the U.S. economy shrank at a 0.2% annual pace in the first quarter of 2025, a slight upgrade from its first estimate. Growth was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the U.S. tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump's massive tariffs went into effect. Trump is attempting to reshape the global economy by dramatically increasing import taxes to rejuvenate the U.S. manufacturing sector. The president has also tried to drastically downsize the federal government workforce, but many of those cuts are being challenged in the courts and Congress. On Wednesday, Google confirmed that it had offered buyouts to another swath of its workforce in a fresh round of cost-cutting ahead of a court decision that could order a breakup of its internet empire. Other companies that have announced job cuts this year include Procter & Gamble, Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft and Facebook parent company Meta. The government's report on Thursday also showed that the four-week average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the weekly ups and downs during more volatile stretches, rose by 5,000 to 240,250. The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of May 31 jumped by 54,000 to 1.96 million, the most since November of 2021.
