Welcome!

The ETOD Overlay Phase 2 effort is still underway, but will now be incorporated into a larger update to update the City’s density bonus programs to ensure they work together to deliver affordable housing and other community benefits effectively. This project is expected to go before Council in 2026.

On June 5, City Council passed Resolution No. 20250605-080, which directed staff to coordinate the work on the ETOD Overlay Phase 2 with new and updated density bonus programs. These could include:

  • Updates to Vertical Mixed Use (VMU) and Density Bonus 90 (DB90) programs, and well as creating new density bonus programs that allow for additional heights above and below 30 extra feet
  • Considering replacement of certain affordable units in new development projects
  • Ensuring that the ground floor of new developments include a minimum amount of retail and civic spaces, and considering additional types of community benefits, and
  • Setting affordability requirements that are more likely to work based on current market conditions.

Please visit the Land Development Code Amendments page for an updated timeline under "Schedule of Active Code Amendments," and to sign up to receive updates about this effort. You can also read the Comprehensive Analysis of Density Bonus Programs report, published earlier in 2025, which provides recommendations for staff to improve consistency and effectiveness of existing density bonus programs.

If you participated in the ETOD Overlay Phase 2 effort in 2024, we thank you for your contributions! We’ll continue to incorporate the feedback we received into this updated approach to density bonus programs. 

If you didn’t get a chance to participate, but want to catch up on what we heard, you can watch the recordings from the ETOD Overlay Phase 2 virtual workshops below. You can also visit the View Survey Responses tab to see what your fellow Austinites had to say!

Watch the recordings from the virtual workshops:

ETOD Timeline

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complete
Fall 2020

Project Connect is approved by Austin voters.

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complete
2021-2022

CapMetro conducts the ETOD Study, which included community engagement and analysis leading to the ETOD Policy Plan (Spanish version).

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complete
Spring 2023

City Council accepts the ETOD Policy Plan (Spanish version), and directs staff to begin work on the ETOD Overlay.

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complete
Spring 2024

City Council adopts the ETOD Overlay Phase 1.

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complete
Fall 2024

ETOD Overlay Phase 2 (refining Phase 1 and expanding to new neighborhoods) tradeoffs discussion with the community to inform the draft proposal. 

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complete
Winter 2025

Comprehensive Analysis of Density Bonus Programs report is published, recommending streamlining of City's density bonus programs. 

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complete
Summer 2025

City Council passes Resolution No. 20250605-080, directing staff to coordinate the ETOD Overlay Phase 2 with the creation of new density bonus programs.

planned
planned
Spring 2026

Anticipated City Council action on Citywide Density Bonuses (including ETOD Overlay Phase 2)