Austin rezoning hearings: the 60-day clock and the automatic postponement

Last verified August 13, 2026 against the Austin Land Development Code · Kimbrough Gray · KiliGray Homes

The Land Use Commission must hold a public hearing not later than the 60th day after the application is filed, and make a recommendation not later than the 14th day after it closes that hearing. Council must hold its hearing not later than the 40th day after the recommendation. At council, the first postponement request from each of staff, the applicant and one interested party in opposition is granted automatically.

Applies to: A zoning or rezoning application. Section 25-2-282 governs the Land Use Commission hearing and recommendation and Section 25-2-283 the council hearing and action. Section 25-2-281 restricts when the two hearings may be scheduled relative to each other.

Three deadlines, and none of them is on you

The statutory clock runs against the City, not the applicant:

The Land Use Commission must hold its public hearing within 60 days of the application being filed.
It must make its recommendation within 14 days of closing that hearing.
Council must hold its hearing within 40 days of the recommendation.

And §25-2-281 keeps the two apart: the director may not schedule both hearings in the same week — unless staff, the neighbourhood organisations and the Commission's zoning subcommittee have all put their support in writing. Unanimity buys speed; anything short of it buys you at least a week between hearings.

What happens when the Commission misses its own deadline

§25-2-282(E) is the provision most worth knowing, because it is a remedy an applicant has to ask for. If the Commission does not hold the hearing within 60 days, you may file a written request — and the consequences are unusually specific:

It goes on the first meeting for which notice can be given.
It is heard before other business at that meeting.
Several such requests are heard in the order the requests arrived.
The Commission must recommend at the same meeting it closes the hearing — it may only postpone by up to 14 days, and only with your consent.

Separately, if the Commission simply cannot agree, §25-2-282(D) sends the case up anyway: the director forwards it to council without a recommendation. A deadlocked Commission does not stop the case.

The first postponement is automatic

At council, a postponement is automatically granted on the first request from each of three parties — staff, the applicant, and one interested party in opposition — unless council votes to deny it.

Read that carefully. Three separate automatic postponements are available on any contested case, one of them to an opponent. The request must be in writing, in by the seventh day before the hearing, and must give reasons. An interested party gets one postponement of not more than 60 days.

Council may not require a site plan as a condition of zoning. §25-2-283(G), one sentence, easy to miss. Conditions are available — both the Commission and council may approve a classification subject to conditions — but a site plan is not among the things that may be demanded as the price of a rezoning.

What each body may actually decide

The Commission and council have the same four options, and the third is the one that surprises applicants:

Approve as requested.
Approve a more restrictive classification than the one requested.
Approve the requested or a more restrictive classification subject to conditions.
Deny.

"More restrictive" is the district hierarchy — LA at one end, LI at the other. So asking for GR does not put GR-or-nothing on the table: council may grant LR instead without you reapplying. Council may approve where it determines the rezoning is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the purposes of Title 25.

Mobile home parks have a 270-day hold. Where an application would rezone property in the MH district containing an existing mobile home park, the ordinance may not be scheduled for third reading until 270 days after every tenant entitled to notice has received it. Nine months, built into the timetable before the final vote can even be set.

Common questions

How long does a rezoning take in Austin?

The code sets three deadlines: the Land Use Commission hears the case within 60 days of filing, recommends within 14 days of closing the hearing, and council hears it within 40 days of that recommendation. Postponements extend it.

Can council approve different zoning than I asked for?

Yes. Both the Land Use Commission and council may approve a more restrictive classification than requested, or approve subject to conditions.

Can a rezoning hearing be postponed?

A postponement is automatic on the first request from each of staff, the applicant, and one interested party in opposition, unless council votes to deny it. Requests must be written and in by the seventh day before the hearing.

Can Austin require a site plan as a condition of rezoning?

No. Section 25-2-283(G) states the council may not require a site plan as a condition of zoning or rezoning.

What if the Land Use Commission does not hear my case in time?

You may file a written request. The hearing is then set for the first meeting for which notice can be given, is taken before other business, and the Commission must recommend at the same meeting it closes the hearing.

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We do this research ourselves on every project we take on — zoning, floodplain, watershed, trees, whether it is a legal lot. Send us an address and we will run it and tell you what we find. It works the same whether you own a vacant lot, a house you are thinking of adding a unit to, or a house you are thinking of replacing. No charge and no strings, and if it is a bad lot we will say so.

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We are homebuilders, not the City of Austin. This page explains how we read the code in practice — it is not legal advice and it is not an official determination. Always confirm with Austin Development Services before you rely on it for a project. The authoritative text is the Austin Land Development Code; permitting questions go to Austin Development Services Department.