A Travis Heights lot zoned SF-3 can carry up to three homes under Austin's HOME rules. If that lot sits inside the Fairview Park Neighborhood Conservation Combining District, an ordinance on file from 2003 limits a second dwelling built next to an existing house to 850 square feet or 15 percent of the lot area, whichever is smaller. It also requires both homes to share one paved driveway at least 15 feet wide. Whether that clause still governs a HOME two-unit project is exactly what City Council has asked staff to answer. Until staff does, that clause and the NCCD boundary decide what a lot in this part of 78704 is worth to a builder.
The 850-square-foot clause
The clause is easiest to see in a dollar comparison. In a report released this spring, the Austin Board of Realtors counted 57 HOME units built and sold in 2025, at a median price of $750,000. The 115 non-HOME homes in the same comparison had a median of $1.58 million. In ABoR's numbers, HOME projects were roughly half the size and half the price of traditional single-family homes. That price gap is the margin a small builder is chasing when they buy an older house in central Austin, plan to keep it, and add a second home behind it.
On a 5,750-square-foot lot, the Fairview formula caps that second home at 850 square feet. On a 5,000-square-foot lot, 15 percent works out to 750 square feet. Homes that small are a different product from the ones in ABoR's sample, and they pencil out differently against a central Austin land price. The 2003 amendment also covers multifamily, condominium and townhouse projects of three or more units. Those need site plan review with notice to the registered neighborhood association, are held to 11, 15 or 22 units per acre depending on MF-2, MF-3 or MF-4 zoning, and face a 55 percent impervious cover limit.
The 2003 text refers to "a second dwelling unit" under the older two-family use. HOME created new categories called two-unit and three-unit residential, and the text on file does not show how the city applies the older wording to those uses today. Any buyer underwriting a project here should treat the 850-square-foot cap as a live risk to confirm with Development Services, not a settled answer.
Which rule wins, according to the city
Austin Development Services settled the general question on May 29, 2026, in a code interpretation on duplex, two-unit and three-unit site standards, numbered CI2026-0002. The key passage reads:
"If a project site is located within a combining district or other regulatory overlay, the combining district or overlay will supersede LDC Section 25-2-773 in the event of a conflict. If not in conflict, both regulations will apply."
Section 25-2-773 holds HOME's site development standards. The interpretation lists Neighborhood Conservation Combining Districts first among the overlays that can apply. So inside Fairview Park, HOME uses can still be allowed. Where the NCCD's rules say something different, though, the NCCD controls.
The same interpretation covers multifamily zoning. HOME Phase 1 redefined multifamily as four or more units. Three-unit uses are allowed in SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3 and are not permitted on lots zoned multifamily. Fairview Park includes MF-zoned parcels, as the density tiers in the 2003 amendment show. On those parcels, the familiar "three homes per lot" pitch does not apply as written.
Where the line runs
The City's NCCD chart describes the district, created in 1986, as bounded by Riverside Drive on the north, Sunset and Eastside Drive on the east, Monroe Street on the south, and Congress north to Academy, then Academy Lane, on the west. Exceptions are shown in the ordinance's Exhibit B. The boundary has moved since then. A 2003 amendment pulled in parcels that had been excluded, but Tracts 22, 23, 25 and 51 stayed out. A 2010 amendment then added 1307 Newning, which was Tract 25.
Zoning inside the boundary has shifted over time, too. The 2003 ordinance rezoned 1203 Hillside Avenue from MF-3-NCCD to SF-3-NCCD. One parcel's history shows why the general boundary description is only a starting point. The district covers much of Travis Heights but does not match it exactly. Two lots a few blocks apart can carry different rules on top of the same SF-3 base zoning, and for a buyer or builder, that difference shows up in what a lot is worth. The city posts the district map on its zoning resources page, and it is the first document to check on any parcel here.
What Council asked for, and what it left alone
On May 7, 2026, Council adopted Resolution 20260507-026, sponsored by Council Member Krista Laine, on a 9-1 vote. Council Member Marc Duchen voted no. Exhibit A lists the Fairview Park NCCD among the combining districts and overlays for staff to review for possible zoning amendments. The list also includes the 11th Street, 12th Street, Hyde Park, North Hyde Park and North University districts, the Lake Austin Overlay and the Waterfront Overlay. For these districts, the resolution directs staff to "research, analyze and present options." It does not extend HOME into them.
Other parts of the resolution matter to a Fairview Park pro forma:
- Two units on SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3 lots of 3,600 to just under 5,750 square feet, based on HOME Phase 2's ratio of roughly 1,800 square feet per unit
- Zero side yard setbacks regardless of when the lot was subdivided, with setbacks from existing development kept in place
- No building coverage limit for duplex, two-unit and three-unit uses, with impervious cover kept as the main site coverage control
- Two-unit and three-unit uses allowed in appropriate multifamily districts
That last item addresses the MF-lot gap described above. Outside Fairview Park, these changes would apply through the base zoning code. Inside it, each one could still run into the NCCD's own text, including its 55 percent impervious cover limit for larger projects. Exhibit A also leaves several overlays out of the review, among them the Barton Springs Zone Overlay and Historic Preservation Plans or Districts.
The debate on the dais showed why the outcome is open. Duchen described cases where HOME produced more expensive projects that replaced lower-cost existing homes. A North University resident testified that his NCCD already produced denser, smaller-scale housing and should be left alone. Council Member José Velásquez argued for applying HOME in neighborhoods he described as "insulated from opportunity."
The calendar between now and December 3
The resolution requires initial code amendments to reach Council no later than December 3, 2026. It also calls for four HOME reports to the Planning Commission, one every six months for two years. Little is public yet:
- June 15, 2026. Staff responded that updates would come through the city's active code amendment schedule, which is adjusted from time to time. The response announced no recommendation and no hearing date.
- September 15, 2026. South River City Citizens' general membership agenda included a Planning and Zoning committee report but no item on HOME or the NCCD.
- September 22, 2026. The Planning Commission's docket had no HOME or NCCD code amendment item.
- October 13 and October 27, 2026. The Commission's next regular meetings, with agendas posted ahead of each one.
- December 3, 2026. Council's deadline for initial amendments.
The market context gives buyers some room to wait. In August 2026, the City of Austin median sale price was $560,000, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier. Closed sales fell 10.3 percent to 844, and active listings were down 14.5 percent, according to the Unlock MLS report dated September 15. With fewer homes listed and fewer sales closing, a buyer this fall has more time for due diligence than in a faster market. A recent, ZIP-level breakdown for 78704 is not publicly available, so those citywide figures are the best current benchmark. Citywide, HOME has kept moving. The city's dashboard, updated September 8, 2026, shows 904 Phase 1 applications reviewed, 714 approved and 1,421 new units approved.
Questions to settle on a Fairview Park parcel
- Is the parcel inside the district? Check the NCCD map and the exhibit exceptions. Don't assume from the street address.
- What is the base zoning? SF-3-NCCD and MF-NCCD lead to different HOME outcomes today.
- Does the plan keep the existing house? If so, ask Development Services in writing how the 2003 second-dwelling language applies to a HOME two-unit use.
- Does the site work with one shared 15-foot driveway? The NCCD text requires it for two dwellings.
- Does the pro forma survive if the rules don't change in December? Council asked for options, and staff may not recommend changing the district.
FAQ
Does HOME apply in Travis Heights? Yes, on SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3 lots. Inside the Fairview Park NCCD, the city's May 29, 2026 interpretation says the NCCD's rules control wherever they conflict with HOME's standards.
Is Bouldin Creek or Zilker in the same review? No NCCD by either name appears on the resolution's Exhibit A or the City's NCCD chart. Other overlays or neighborhood plan rules can still apply to a given parcel.
Will December 3 change the rules? December 3 is the deadline for staff to bring initial amendments to Council. Council still has to vote, and for the listed NCCDs, the resolution asks staff for options, not a set outcome.
Before you write an offer on a lot inside the Fairview Park NCCD, check the parcel against the district map and the 2003 ordinance. The Davis Agency runs that check as part of a lot's feasibility and unit math, and keeps an eye on the Planning Commission and Council agendas through December. Get your home valuation & consultation.
