Displacement destroys community, our rich diversity, and Austin’s livability for those not rich. It is a human tragedy and grave wrong.

We, the undersigned, petition Austin’s Mayor and Council to prevent further displacement of people of color and other communities BEFORE enacting CodeNEXT or the granting of any additional land entitlements. We specifically call for these action steps, based on the March 31, 2017 recommendations of the Mayor’s Institutional Racism Task Force’s Real Estate and Housing Committee:

Pass NOW a temporary moratorium on rezoning and demolition permits of single and multi-family residences in the East Austin Homestead Preservation District, Black Cultural Heritage District, and other areas of potentially high displacement.

Obtain a full third-party, independent equity and economic study from anti-displacement experts of CodeNEXT’s impact on current Austin residents, especially of the poor and of color.

Enact the strongest laws available based on anti-displacement best practices, with staffing and resources to effectively implement these laws, BEFORE CodeNEXT is enacted and before any land entitlements are granted.

The City of Austin has a long, shameful history of using zoning and other development policies to undermine its poor and minority communities, resulting in the nation’s worst economic and racial segregation as well as extreme inequality. CodeNext should not be another tool to displace and afflict the poor, minorities, and non-rich Austinites.

It is long-past time in Austin for action and real displacement solutions.