AUSTIN — The Austin City Council held a marathon meeting Thursday. The 17-hour long meeting didn't end until 3 a.m. Friday.
"Mayor I just want you to know that as soon as I get home I'm going to file a complaint, an elder abuse complaint," Council Member Ora Houston (District 1) joked at one point.
"I've been up almost 24 hours now," she said in a more serious tone. "This is too long."
Long-time Austin residents can recall a time when the council members were candidates, criticizing previous leaders for having such late meetings.
Thursday's agenda had 90 items, including more resources for the homeless, renaming two streets named after Confederate leaders, and extending the time music can be played in the Red River District. But the items that kept the council in chambers for so late were dockless scooters and Code Next.
Dockless scooters have been popping up around town and the city doesn't have scooter-specific regulations. Many are concerned the scooters are ending up on sidewalks, and in other places, where they become a nuisance and safety hazard.
The council voted to amend the existing ordinance on traffic and sidewalk obstructions and also approved an emergency order to put new rules in place, along with establishing a permitting process -- the details of which are not clear yet.
"We'll watch the tapes tomorrow to figure out what we accomplished here today," Transportation Director Robert Spillar joked with the council.
"We would send a letter to the companies that are currently operating informing them of the requirement and allow them 24-hours to correct that -- come into compliance," he added.
The new rules go into effect Friday, and Spillar said city staff should be able to draft a permit in about a week. The public will be able to give comment after it's already in place.
California-based dockless scooter company Bird released the following statement to KVUE after learning the council's decision:
"We applaud the Mayor and Council Members for their tireless efforts to devise a solution that puts in place a new permitting process and preserves this new transportation option for the people of Austin. With their swift and thoughtful action, they have shown how serious Austin is about helping people move around the city and reaching Austin's ambitious net-zero greenhouse gas goals. The Mayor and Council are making Austin the model for the nation. We are eager to continue working with the Transportation Department on the permitting process and with the city on our shared goals of curbing traffic and carbon emissions in the weeks and months to come." -- Bird Spokesperson Kenneth Baer
The debate on scooters lasted from 12:16 a.m. until 2:05 a.m. and things got a little tense.
"Any other amendments to this," Mayor Steve Adler asked just before the vote.
"No," replied Houston, "because I want to go home. And we've got some other things to do. It's horrible to do this on the dais at this time of night."
"It is," agreed Mayor Pro-Tem Kathie Tovo.
But the council continued it's meeting after the vote, discussing the Code Next petition.
In March, a group of citizens turned in signatures from more than 31,000 Austinites supporting a new ordinance that states in order for the city to adopt a full re-write of any future land development code, voters would have to approve it.
The land development code is the city's rules on what and where things can be built. Austin is currently in the middle the re-write: called Code Next.
Earlier this month, the City Clerk found the petition is valid, which means the council can either adopt it or let voters decide if the ordinance should be put in place.
The item on Thursday's agenda was for the council to either adopt it or not.
"I do know the facts," said Council Member Alison Alter (District 10). "We have over 30,000 people who signed this petition who want to be able to vote on Code Next, and that we've had hundreds of people engage in trying to understand the details. I think we should allow them to vote."
Council Members Alison Alter (District 10), Ora Houston (District 1), Leslie Pool (District 7) and Mayor Pro-Tem Kathie Tovo (District 9) voted in favor of adopting the ordinance but the measure failed to pass.
In the coming weeks, the council will have to talk about the petition again and that's when they'll vote to put the petition ordinance on the ballot. Tovo said she's willing to sponsor that resolution.
The Council also set two public hearings on Code Next.
They are scheduled for May 29 and June 2 at 10 a.m. at City Hall.