Where is HOME going?
What has allowing three homes per lot done to Austin?
Last month the Development Services Department offered some insight on the effects of HOME, the land use reform approved by City Council in 2023 that allows up to three units on any single-family lot.
As expected, HOME's effect has been modest overall. In the first six months following its implementation, there were 159 applications for developments through the program, 99 of which have been approved.
The great majority have been for two-unit projects, either detached or duplexes.
In his end-of-year newsletter, Mayor Kirk Watson suggested that HOME had led to a decrease in demolitions, "a welcome indication the policies are used as an alternative to scraping a lot."
Eh...that's not quite right.
