The city of Austin is seeking to have a say in the future of some Austin ISD campuses—10 of which are slated to close this summer.

What happened: At a March 26 meeting, the Austin City Council approved a resolution to form a policy around the redevelopment of public land by AISD and other entities.

Additionally, council approved refining the city’s process for managing condemnations of city-owned parkland, including some AISD school playgrounds.

The overview: Fuentes’ resolution seeks to preserve publicly owned land for uses that are beneficial to the community. The city manager will develop a land policy around when to acquire or partner in the redevelopment of land owned by other public groups, such as local school districts, CapMetro, Central Health, Austin Community College and Travis County.

What else? Council member Ryan Alter said his resolution aims to raise transparency and protect the public’s interest in the condemnation of city parkland by other governmental entities. The city manager must now develop a process for managing these condemnations.

Austin Housing is moving to roll out increased protections for tenants in lower-income housing, including citywide eviction prevention measures.

The details: Many local affordable housing complexes are supported by city development assistance. At the request of City Council last year, Austin Housing is now moving to improve how those programs function and has launched projects to meet officials' goals related to improved oversight, avoiding eviction proceedings and implementing other renter supports.

Council's direction kicked off reviews of the city's RHDA oversight and "lease addendum" that sets several renter protection requirements for participating developments. Generally, those cover leasing and living conditions, as well as processes to prevent evictions and ensure fair proceedings if they take place. It also led to an evaluation of eviction prevention strategies presented to a council committee in April that could shape the Austin Housing projects, and future policy shifts.

As part of the company’s plans to expand westward, ALDI opened its Cedar Park location April 2. The storefront marks the grocer’s first location in the city.

"As more people look for better ways to stretch their dollar further, we’re excited to bring quality groceries at the lowest possible prices to Cedar Park,” Scott Huska, regional vice president for ALDI, said in a statement.

What they offer: The store offers a range of products, including organic meat, produce, seafood, cheese and wine. Around 90% of offerings at ALDI are exclusive brands, according to a news release.

Of note: The concept also features unique cart and bagging systems intended to help shoppers save money. When visitors go to grab a cart, they insert a quarter, which they can collect upon returning the cart. This cart format allows employees to focus on tasks inside the store, the release states. ALDI also relies solely on self-bagging, allowing the brand to reduce costs and return savings to customers.

• 850 N. Bell Blvd., Ste. 210, Cedar Park