AIA Austin Advocacy Update – 5/19/26
The monthly Advocacy Update summarizes the advocacy efforts of AIA Austin, led by the Advocacy Commission and its three Tactical Committees.
The Advocacy Commission coordinates systematic efforts to promote our expertise and identify audiences, venues, and mediums to advance the values of our organization. To get involved, please join the committee email list(s) using the links below.
2026 Public Role & Advocacy Commissioner: Jason John Paul Haskins, AIA
ADVOCACY TACTICAL COMMITTEES AT-A-GLANCE
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COMMITTEE INITIATIVES
Housing Advocacy
Focuses on zoning reforms and legislative fixes to improve housing stock and preservation.
Recent Wins
- Data from the the roll-out of the HOME Initiative shows that the major goals are being realized. The median sales price of new homes using the HOME Initiative are less than half the price of new traditional single-family units! And the projects are not concentrated in vulnerable neighborhoods, but spread throughout the city. Read the full report by ABOR for more information.
- HOME Improvements passed! These tweaks to the HOME Initiative ordinances incorporate items AIA Austin advocated for originally and addressed a few detrimental interpretations our members noticed in working on these projects.
- The AIA Austin Housing Advocacy Committee continues to be regularly invited to contribute to housing policy and land use efforts undertaken by City Council Members and their staff.
Active Priority Issues
- Integrating 4 units into the IRC (International Residential Code)
- Advancing Missing Middle and Mixed Use Zoning
- Downtown Density Bonus
- HOME improvements
- City Wide Density Bonus Calibration
Tracking Issues
- Next legislative session
- “10-minute walkability” to third places
- 2026 Housing Bond Election
- Austin Housing Dept / AHFC Monitoring and Compliance
- STR Regulations
- SMART Housing Updates
- Affordability Unlocked Updates
- Affordability Impact Statements
- Green Social Housing
- Elevator Reform
Resiliency & Climate Response
Addresses environmental impact, resource management, and climate-conscious design standards.
Wins
- Roundtable Water Conversations #1: Re-Source went well. DEC panel session may follow this content for greater audience. In case you missed this discussion, download the Net Zero Water Toolkit to learn about non-potable onsite water reuse.
Active Priority Issues
- Water resiliency & integrative water management
- Bird Friendly Design recommendations & COA adoption
- FAR definition
Tracking Issues
- AEGB Updates
- Deconstruction ordinance strategies and policy
- Resilience stations / hubs / demos
Mobility Advocacy
Focuses on transportation infrastructure, pedestrian-friendly streets, and major urban corridor planning.
Wins
- Members of the Mobility Advocacy Committee continue to provide public testimony and input on our active priority issues.
Active Priority Issues
- I-35 Cap & Stitch
- Citywide and Downtown Density Bonus Updates
- Great Streets Update
Tracking Issues
- I-35 CapEx Frontage Road Improvements & Street Trees
- Barton Springs Road Bridge
- Project Connect
- Austin 2026 Bond Package
- Central City District Plan
AIA NATIONAL NEWS
Dept. of Education’s Definition of Professional Degree On May 1st, AIA responded to the department of education’s final rule which excludes the M.Arch and D.Arch degree from the definition of professional degree. See that message here: www.aia.org/about-aia/press/…
We are shifting focus to a legislative fix, including working with several members of congress to pass legislation reversing the caps and changing the degree designation. We have endorsed three bills efforts aimed at improving access to federal student loans for advanced degree students. H.R. 6574, the Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals Act (Rep. Timothy Kennedy, D-NY), would eliminate the current distinction between graduate and professional students by establishing uniform borrowing limits for all advanced degree programs. H.R. 6718, the Professional Student Degree Act (Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY), clarifies federal statute by explicitly recognizing architecture and other licensure-based fields as professional degree programs. Finally, H.R. 6677, the Professional Degree Access Restoration Act (Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-NY), would fully restore the previous cost-of-attendance loan framework for graduate and professional students, reversing recently imposed federal caps.
Brittany Meyer
Senior Director, AIA Government Affairs & Public Policy
GET INVOLVED
There are many ways to get involved in advocacy with AIA Austin, from listening in on committee meetings or just reporting issues to working on tactical committee issues or giving public testimony. We encourage anyone to explore advocacy, regardless of experience or time available. To get started, consider joining a Tactical Committee, attending an event, or engaging with one of these current opportunities:
- Austin Energy Green Building (AEGB) is in the process of updating the Single Family and Multi-family Rating Systems. Public Comment is open until June 1st. In addition to encouraging individual input, the AIA Austin Advocacy Commission will host two working sessions to discuss the changes and brainstorm recommendations. Register for the session below. Visit these SpeakUp Austin pages to review to proposed changes and provide your feedback:
2026 Single Family Rating Updates
2026 Multifamily Rating Updates - SUBMIT AN ISSUE: AIA Austin Advocacy Intake Form – Please tell us what you are concerned about in local government and the built environment.
- SIGN UP AS AN AIA AUSTIN SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT. Are you interested in assisting with advocacy and outreach but don’t have time to join a committee? Looking for a way to share your expertise and experience with other members and the general public? Sign up as a Subject Matter Expert to let us know your interests and areas of expertise, and we will contact you when requests for experts on your topics when they come up.
- CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. AIA Government Affairs and Public Policy has an online Action Center to make it easier to reach out to your congressional representatives on specific items important to the profession from deprofessionalizaton to design freedom and housing policy to tax credits for energy efficient designs.
- TACKLE URGENT ISSUES WITH AIA NATIONAL: Your voice matters! AIA speaks directly with lawmakers, manages coalition partners, makes statements, gives testimony, and organizes official public comments, but we also need the voice of constituents speaking to their lawmakers, explaining why these policies matter at home. That’s where you come in. Visit the AIA Action Center to find ways to push forward the policies important to you.
UPCOMING ADVOCACY EVENTS
APR 9
Austin Energy Contractors, Builders, and Developers Open House
Austin Energy values your feedback and is thrilled to invite you to an enhanced, interactive meeting tailored for you. This meeting will unite teams from Austin Energy, Austin Development Services and Austin Technology Services in one convenient location.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER >>
MAY 20
Advocacy Working Session 2: AEGB Updates: Team, Health, Materials, and Equity
Noon at AIA Austin
Free. Bring your lunch and join us.
REGISTER HERE
SEPT 14
Save the Date: Candidate Forum
Presented by AIA Advocacy and Austin Housing Coalition. Candidates for the open City Council seats will share their positions on various issues related to housing affordability, planning, and development.
5:00-8:00pm at Assembly Hall
Free