Mueller is Proof that Hyde Park Could Take on More Housing Without Sacrificing its Character
A Look Into How Mueller’s Relaxed Zoning Rules Could Improve Central Austin
When the question of increased density is brought up, a lot of Hyde Park residents tend to wonder whether those kinds of changes would make the neighborhood less livable. To answer that question, let’s take the Mueller neighborhood as a case study. The planned unit development allows for missing middle housing the likes of which is not seen in Hyde Park. But pretty much everyone who lives or visits Mueller is taken with the diversity of uses found there.
Take a short walk around the Mueller neighborhood, which was once home to the city’s airport. The area is now so transformed that someone new to Austin could be forgiven for not knowing that bit of trivia. But it turns out that’s not such a bad thing.
In addition to single-family homes, Mueller's zoning rules – which took a Herculean effort to get passed at City Hall – allow for townhomes, duplexes, four- and six-plexes, vertical mixed use buildings that include rental and condos, as well as narrow lot urban homes and shop homes. The result is a walkable community with restaurants, retail uses, parks, and event space in close range. Would it truly be so destructive to Hyde Park to allow even a fraction of that housing diversity?
To try and find an answer, let’s take Hyde Park’s NCCD as an example. Previously, we estimated the housing capacity lost as a result of the policy. What if you were to remove the NCCD rules and apply the townhouse zoning that helps increase housing supply and diversity in Mueller?
Let’s break down the numbers:
Pre-2003, Hyde Park used to have a capacity of 15 units per acre. As a result of the NCCD, the same area now has a capacity of just under 10 units per acre. For comparison, a typical row house block in Mueller is 20-40 units per acre, depending on the unit. That factors in the ADUs that some builders have started to add onto certain row homes if the lots are large enough. Of course, that's been a sticking point here in Hyde Park.
It’s just further proof that the knee-jerk oppositional stance toward development from some in this neighborhood is misguided. Missing middle housing – like duplex, fourplexes, and townhomes – aren’t some abstract threat to Hyde Park and its way of life. That housing is instead the basis of a truly inclusive community where there are simply enough places – and types of places – for all the people who would like to live there to do so.
Also worth noting in discussions like this is Hyde Park’s legacy of racism and segregation as it was first marketed as “exclusively for white people.” That legacy of exclusion and segregation can’t be erased without significant work across generations from both inside and outside of Hyde Park’s borders. With that in mind, we should reject the idea of prioritizing property values and “neighborhood character” above creating housing in which people can live.
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