Land Use Community Health Alliance (LUCHA)
LUCHA was initiated to preserve, protect, and enhance working-class communities of color by addressing the environmental, economic, health, and cultural impacts of zoning and land use planning. Zoning and land use planning have been described by some scholars not only as a root cause of disproportionate burdens and environmental injustice, but also as one of the most powerful uses of legal weapons deployed in racism. The history of land use planning and zoning in Austin helps paint a picture of how the unequal distribution of economic and environmental burdens has occurred and why these historical patterns have been the source of many injustices confronting lower-income communities of color in East Austin.
Protect Single-Family Housing for working class families!
On March 12, 2026, the City Council stood with Montopolis and denied a zoning change from single-family to commercial mixed use where the developer planned to build a nine-story mixed use development. The 1.9 acres, known as the Montopolis-Fairway Zoning case, includes properties at 6202, 6204 Caddie Street; 6205, 6211, 6215 Fairway Street; 1600, 1604, 1606, 1608, 1612, and 1614 Montopolis. While the community celebrated the victory, the land remains vulnerable to a new development that would continue to put the adjoining neighborhood at risk. At the City Council meeting on May 7, 2026, Mayor Watson instructed the city manager to draft amendments to zoning ordinances as a part of HOME that will override neighborhood plans, so we must act fast. Urge City Council to purchase the property at Montopolis-Fairway.
For a brief history of environmental racism through land use and zoning in East Austin, visit: