All Forum Posts by: Trey Farmer

@Alex Cardenas, we work in the ETJ regularly but I have no experience with STRs in it. Typically it means you are dealing with the HOA as your "permitting" body, since the only real permits you need are for you septic. My understanding around STRs in Austin is that they are only limited/regulated if they are type-2 ADUs, which means that you cant rent out an ADU as an AirBNB if you don't also live on the property. You can still rent the main house as an STR or a room in the main house, or a unit in a multiplex even if you don't live on the property. ADUs are specific things with their own regulation within the city. The ETJ typically has far less rules, and I am not sure about ADUs or STRs. That said, many HOAs prohibit subletting or short term rentals or multiple units.

Long story short, the limits within the city are very narrow so if you have any issues they will likely be due to the HOA. But keep digging for someone who knows for sure ;)

No, if you can make a pool work in the space, with you HOA agreement and financially then go for it :) Also keep an eye on your impervious cover. Pools do not contribute to impervious cover but uncovered decks and stairs that have room for drainage through them (a typical wood deck, for example) count 1/2 the sf. The coping and any paving around the pool count fully as would a pad for the pool equipment.

You won't be legally allowed to add any sf (which includes converting the garage) since the ADU is already at 1100 sf (which is the max allowed). You could wait a few months and see how the new code shakes out, there's a chance your entitlements may increase.

 Can you add a bedroom within the existing floor plan easily?  If you bought it new, you paid for all the new, so doing work on it likely won’t get you much more value.  Maybe upgrading the appliance package or adding some curb appeal or create an outdoor entertaining space?

I think the units that have more of a front porch or even a generous stoop are great, enough room for a chair or two, it encourages people to hang out by their door and chat.  We have really loved living here.  Our living space is on the ground floor, which means it is really small (since the garage is also on ground floor).  The units on either side have living and master on the second floor and I like the layout a lot better - a lot of those people also rent out a bedroom since there are guest suites on the ground floor, which would be a pretty different experience in our unit with all the bedrooms upstairs.


Good luck!

@John Morgan  Texas' state court just ruled that Austin's limitations on STRs are unconstitutional.  Not exactly settled yet, but might affect things in Arlington as well...https://www.kvue.com/article/m...

I live in a courtyard set up in Mueller and I would say it depends on the size and spacing.   Come by with a laser measure and see, there are some that are tighter and others that are bigger (or use google earth, but I think it’s worth visiting to see how they feel at different widths).  We live in an 18 unit (3 triplexes on each side) but the one that I would model if were to develop it is over on Moreno between Nitchke and Vaughan.  It has 12 stand along houses and a much wider courtyard that is always full of kids and toys, all the units have big front porches or screen porches that face it.   It really is a special place, McLinney York were the architects I believe.  
it’s tough to compare though, it’s in the middle of Mueller and a ten minute walk to Alamo draft house and the Thinkery and a block from a park with a pool.  Also the grid is naturally with alley access here, and making a ring road on a stand alone courtyard development is hard, we’ve tried and not been able to make it work on a couple projects.

Good luck! 

@Travis Lucy I'd put one of those up. 

I love the "Zoned Out" video going around NextDoor and Facebook that shows interviews with a handful of homeowners (before the draft was even released) telling how the new code is forcing them to leave the city.  If you are reading this, get out there and talk to your neighbors, go to some of the open houses, and help combat the fear mongering machine.

It seems like the general take away is that it is much better than any of the CodeNEXT versions (they had three iterations of the new code last year before scrapping it).  

There is still lots of room for improvement but big improvements include: lots of added missing middle options (tri and four plexes are virtually illegal under current code but would be allowed throughout the city), lots of potential for up zoning where it is needed along corridors, lessened parking requirements, no more compatibility setbacks (mostly), and a much better path for multi unit development (current code treats anything with more than two units the same, so I am doing a duplex on a lot with an existing home and a 130 unit SRO and they both have the same site plan process and duration, which is insane) to name a few.  It was supposed to simplify things and at nearly 1500 pages that doesn’t seem to be the case but still lots of much needed change.

I am not holding my breathe either but the noise from council and the committees is that they are going to get it done and fast.  We shall see...

@Adam Allen We use Austin Express Permits and CleanTag LLC for expediting.

It might be easier to add an ADU to the lot, rather than go over the garage. It is a stand alone structure that you can build up to the smaller of .15 FAR or 1100 sf - with 550 sf max on the second story. Your .4 FAR for the lot still controls overall though.

If you do this you could later condo the lot and sell one of the units and keep the other as a rental, or sell both separately.

Some other things to consider: Once you go over a certain bath count (3.5, I believe) there is some scrutiny on the water lines from the city so keep an eye on that.  If you go over 3600 sf you will need to do a fire flow test and depending on the results may need put in sprinklers , although it doesn't sound like you will be getting that big.

You need to park both units (duplex or main house+ADU), each unit needs 2 off street parking spaces for a duplex; main house needs 2 but an ADU only needs one and it doesn't need any if it is within 1/4 mile of an Imagine Austin Corridor (Burnet or W Anderson both are I believe).

Also a duplex needs to have a shared wall that is at least half the length of the depth of the building (the wall can jog and zigzag, but the total length has to be >.5 of the overall depth front to back of the building).  It's an annoying rule and the city planners don't like it so there are some ways around it, like putting part of unit A over part of unit B.  In your case the garage could be for unit A with unit B over it (this is just for permitting, you don't have to use it this way).  But keep in mind that any common wall or floors need to be fire rated assemblies, not hard but something to budget for.