AUSTIN shutting down construction!!??

[JLivi1224]

Anyone head that Travis and another AUSTIN area county are shutting down ALL construction except city jobs and low income housing???


Buddy is a manager of a a large roofing supply house and I trust him. However I can’t seem to find it anywhere.

Anyone hear this locally?

[ramrod]

To our customers, stakeholders and community,

Thank you for your patience during the past week as we modify our operations to keep our customers and employees safe and healthy, while also keeping Austin working.

Many of you have heard the “Stay Home, Work Safe” order which was issued, that goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. tonight. The order seeks to reduce physical interactions by 90 percent from current levels. I wanted to update you on what that means for Development Services (DSD), and how that might affect your planned or ongoing construction activities.

Based on Order 20200324-007, commercial and residential construction activities are prohibited except in the very limited situations where the construction involves one of the specific types of essential and critical facilities listed in Exhibit B, Part 2.p. of the Order. For more information, please see the Guidance for the Construction Industry document regarding what projects may be undertaken under the terms of the Order.

With that in mind, DSD remains available to serve you, and we will look to our customers to determine the best approach for your specific business needs and projects.

DSD will discontinue activities that require staff to handle paper, or interact in-person with our customers, with the exception of inspections. We offer most of our services by phone, video conference, email, and the Austin Build + Connect portal. The following services will discontinue as of March 24, 2020, 11:59 p.m. until the order is lifted:

• In-person consultations (these services are being provided online and through teleconferencing).
• Acceptance of cash payments and in-person cashier services.
• Review of any paper plans or documents that require retrieval from off-site storage.
• Acceptance of any paper building permit applications, building plans, or site plan submittals.
• Existing paper plans that have been digitized will be reviewed, but we cannot guarantee that all paper plans will be digitized in time to comply with the order. If you have a digital file that can be submitted, please follow the submittal instructions at our DSD COVID-19 site.

We will continue to update you if other changes occur during the coming weeks. Meanwhile, you can find updates on our services at our DSD COVID-19 site. If you have any questions, please email dsdcommunications@austintexas.gov.

For information about other City of Austin updates related to COVID-19, please visit austintexas.gov/covid-19.

I wish you all the best as we continue to work together in extraordinary circumstances, to support our vibrant community through responsible development.

Sincerely,
Director Lucas

[PondPopper]

And all for what??? A doctor, that is deeply involved in this situation, said that 80% of the individuals who have tested positive show little no symptoms.. On FOX news last night.. Who knows what to believe anymore.. Is he lying???
Hell even I could have never dreamed up some BS like what we have going on in this country at the moment.. If, on the map, they overlaid all the red covid dots with blue dots representing flu deaths and green dots representing pneumonia deaths the red dots would be completely covered up.. And yet they are still turning the "infected" back into the streets unless they are dying.. Makes absolutely 0 sense!!!!!!!!!

[ramrod]

Not all construction is shut down. Most general contractors aren't shutting down until they are forced to. The city will start enforcing cracking next week for sites that don't meet the criteria.

[JLivi1224]

Man I don’t know what to believe. But I know this cure is **** sure worse than the disease at this point !

[JLivi1224]

Where can I find exhibit B, Part 2??



Based on Order 20200324-007, commercial and residential construction activities are prohibited except in the very limited situations where the construction involves one of the specific types of essential and critical facilities listed in Exhibit B, Part 2.p. of the Order.

[ramrod]

STAY HOME – WORK SAFE ORDER 20200324-007 Guidance for the Construction Industry

This document provides guidance for persons and business associated with the building and construction industries and trades on the meaning and application of Order 20200324-007 issued by the Mayor of the City of Austin on March 24, 2020 (the “Order”).

1. Critical Infrastructure. The Order requires that businesses cease activities at all locations within the City except at certain types of operations, including those defined as “Critical Infrastructure.” In the Order, “Critical Infrastructure” means “all public and private facilities. . . vital to the security, governance, public health, safety, and economic security of the City of Austin.” The fundamental test for determining whether any business or operation is Critical Infrastructure is whether it meets this definition.

2. Construction as Critical Infrastructure. The Order provides that some types of construction activities are Critical Infrastructure. In general, commercial and residential construction activities are prohibited under the Order except in the very limited situations where the construction involves one of the specific types of essential and critical facilities listed in Exhibit B, Part 2.p. of the Order. This list includes only:  Public works construction projects  Affordable housing projects  Construction of facilities for individuals experiencing homelessness  Construction of facilities that provide social services  Construction of facilities that are defined in the Order as Essential Businesses, Essential Government Functions, or Critical Infrastructure  Construction of facilities specifically required by the City in response to the current COVID-19 emergency

For purposes of clarification, if part of a construction project falls within one of the listed categories above, but the project also includes other construction activities at the same site that do not fall within one of these categories, all construction activities at the project will be deemed to meet the definition of Critical Infrastructure under the Order.


Page 2 of 2


3. Requirements for Construction Businesses and Activities. For construction activities that fall within one of the Critical Infrastructure categories listed above, all employers involved in the construction activity must follow the requirements in Exhibits A and B of the Order.

4. Transition Time. The Order becomes effective for all Austin businesses and activities as of 11:59 p.m. on March 24, 2020. However, recognizing that many construction sites and projects require a period of time to close down safely, the City will not cite a construction business or operator for a violation of the Order occurring prior to 11:59 p.m. on March 27 if the business or operator can demonstrate that all activities after the effective date of the Order were undertaken to close down the construction project or activity as safely and quickly as possible.


* * * *

[Hills of Texas]

I’d have a hard time shutting down my “ non essential business “ when liquor stores, “essential business “ are allowed to operate.

[JLivi1224]

I guess it’s how they seem to interpret it. Either way , you AUSTIN guys gotta vote this Adler jack wagon outta office

Guy I mentioned had some drivers pulled over today and issued warnings. (Roofing distributor)

[solocam_aggie]

Yep. We had a conference call yesterday evening about this. We are awaiting confirmation from our attorney, but all indications show that non critical jobs are shutting down. I'm in healthcare construction, so it sounds like Im still a full go.

[CEO]

So you can build for the homeless and low income but not general housing?

[TN_boy]

I've been questioning all the landscaping trucks and dry cleaners that have full parking lots.

[Killer]

Gee wiz this is so crazy over a manufactured panic

[Big Lee]

I’d have a hard time shutting down my “ non essential business “ when liquor stores, “essential business “ are allowed to operate.

Don't take the likka stoe away.

[bowhuntertex]

Been hearing those rumors for a few days now. We have some projects that will continue or so we are told. Good news is Williamson and Hays county included General commercial and residential construction in their wording as critical work. But I have a feeling Austin and Travis county are going to shut down a lot of our jobs. Good thing our manufacturing shop is in Hays county.