In Bombshell Announcement, #Austin Mayor Pulls Plug On #CodeNext, Controversial, Multi-Year Rewrite Of Land Development Code [#TXPolitics 24/7]

Austin Mayor Steve Adler has called for the city to "cease" the CodeNext process, the controversial overhaul of the city's land development code that began in early 2017.

In a letter posted Wednesday afternoon to the City Council message board, Adler cited the growing divisiveness and a "poisoned process" to rewrite Austin's land-use development code.

The code, which was championed by Adler, has seen numerous delays, and much pushback from the community. The rewrite is over budget and has cost taxpayers at least $8.5 million in fees to contracted consultants, mostly to California-based Opticos Design Inc., reports the Austin Business Journal.

Divisions and rancorous debate raged over CodeNext's plans to envision many neighborhoods as more dense, which opponents argued would destroy their character.