Where District 9 City Council Candidates Stand on Downtown’s Future
As Austin continues to navigate rapid growth, urban development, and changing infrastructure needs, the future of Downtown Austin hinges on the leadership of District 9. With elections for Austin City Council taking place this fall, DANA surveyed the District 9 candidates on how they plan to tackle public safety, housing abundance, and transportation, and their vision for downtown. We received responses from candidates Rich Heyman, Katie Kam, and Zo Qadri. We did not hear back from Dave Thadani or Kai Huang.
Below, we’ve synthesized their responses into a quick comparison chart covering their proposals for Public Safety, Housing Abundance, Mobility & Transit, and Downtown Vision. You may find the full survey questions and candidate responses here.
DANA Vision Statement
The top of the questionnaire we invited the candidates to answer included the following statement:
“The Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA) envisions downtown Austin as the most welcoming neighborhood in the city, where residents, workers, and visitors of all socio-economic backgrounds co-exist safely and harmoniously and can fulfill all their daily needs. The following questions focus on how you, as a city council member representing district 9, would help make that vision a reality.”
Summary of Candidate Responses
1. Public Safety
How will you improve public safety and public order in the downtown area so people feel comfortable living, working, and playing downtown?
RICH HEYMAN
Convene stakeholder group (APD, DAA, DA, residents, businesses) for community-led solutions.
KATIE KAM
Unarmed ambassadors/APD patrols; target top 100 repeat offenders; county mental health diversion center; dedicated homeless transit; monthly public meetings.
ZO QADRI
Integrate police with street lighting, design & code enforcement; service connection for unhoused; continue 6th & Rainey St safety programs.
2. Housing Abundance
By limiting building heights and making it expensive for developers to exceed the limits, the Downtown Density Bonus Program (DDBP) makes homes less affordable and limits the number of families who can live downtown. Will you support an alternative to the DDBP that eliminates the height limits and fees and instead uses a portion of the resulting extra property tax revenue to fund affordable housing?
RICH HEYMAN
Opposes replacing Density Bonus Program with tax diversion; property tax needed for city services.
KATIE KAM
Opposes unlimited height (favors human scale); dedicated tax revenue fund; cancel Convention Center expansion for housing; Mueller-style tax programs.
ZO QADRI
Supports greater height & density with value-capture models directing funds to affordable housing & small businesses.
3. Mobility & Transit
The Austin Strategic Mobility Plan (ASMP) aims for 50% of all commuter trips to be made by non-drive-alone modes by the year 2039. What policies will you pursue to maximize the downtown neighborhood’s contribution to this goal?
RICH HEYMAN
Downtown is already walkable/transit-served; focus non-drive goals on outer car-dependent areas.
KATIE KAM
Dedicated NEV/golf cart lanes; 2-way streets with roundabouts; opposes Project Connect LRT; proposes monorail.
ZO QADRI
CapMetro board member; implement Austin Core Transportation Plan; bike/ped infrastructure & housing near transit.
4. Downtown Vision
What other policies will you champion to enable DANA to realize its vision for downtown?
RICH HEYMAN
Open to future conversations; notes no public DANA vision document on record.
KATIE KAM
Repurpose Convention Center to cultural hub; reallocate $150M HOT tax for arts grants & artist ambassadors.
ZO QADRI
Inclusive community hub; Red River Cultural District funding; artist & small business grants; direct DANA collaboration.
