Austin will soon allow more small-scale business operations out of residents' homes under a new commerce plan advanced by City Council this spring.

What residents should know: Labeled the “Strong Local Commerce” initiative, the proposal from council member Natasha Harper-Madison opens the door to what her office called “micro-scale” neighborhood storefronts. The city's move comes months after state legislation loosened some regulations on home-based business and food operations. It also follows council action last year to encourage cafe operations in communities.

Going forward: Small home-based businesses would still be subject to some adjusted city development standards. To start, Austin will run a one-year evaluation to monitor how the commercial program impacts certain neighborhoods before it potentially widens to more locations. A city task force will also be formed to support streamlined business permitting and track program outcomes.

Southside Community Center is getting a $100,000 boost to support housing security in Hays County, following approval from Hays County Commissioners Court on March 24.

The one-time stipend is financed by the Tobacco Settlement Fund, distributed annually by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The fund will support Southside Community Center’s home stabilization program.

The overview: Southside Community Center fights housing insecurity through programs, according to the organization’s website, including:

• Transitional Shelter Program
• Emergency Assistance
• Eviction Prevention
• Sunrise Village

The Texas power grid is undergoing “generational” growth, experts said during the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ annual summit March 31 in Round Rock. Much of that growth is due to data centers—an industry under scrutiny from state lawmakers as some Texas communities push back against proposed developments.

The big picture: Over 2,000 projects totaling 453,000 megawatts are currently looking to connect to the state grid, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said April 1. About 357,000 megawatts of those connection requests are potential data centers, ERCOT documents show.

Looking ahead: Communities should take the lead on discussions about individual data center projects, Vegas told reporters. He said that when “communities that are ready to support those investments,” ERCOT is prepared to help data centers connect to the grid.

During a March 31 discussion on data centers, panelists noted that the projects have an “increasingly high” negative reputation in communities across the state. Austin consultant Eric Goff said developers often need to make commitments to local residents to earn their support for data center proposals.