How RezoneWatch works

1. Collecting City records

RezoneWatch reads two public City of Austin data layers: zoning review cases and site plan review cases. Each refresh downloads the full layers, checks them, and keeps a record of the run. If a refresh fails, the previous data stays in place and the failure is recorded rather than hidden.

2. Building case boundaries

Each case comes with one or more boundary shapes. RezoneWatch builds them into measurable outlines, keeps holes and multi-part shapes, and flags shapes with problems instead of silently repairing them.

3. Detecting changes

Every refresh is compared with the previous one. New cases, status changes, changed proposed zoning, new or removed data, and cases that leave or return to the City source are recorded as dated events. That record is the change history on each case page.

4. Answering for your location

For a search, RezoneWatch finds every boundary within your radius, measures the exact distance from your point to each boundary edge (zero when you are inside), and then places each case in one group: on this property, same project, area-wide, active nearby, or history. The links between cases come from the City records; links between a site plan and a zoning case are matched by location and timing and are marked as provisional.

5. Watching over time

A saved watch is re-checked whenever the data is refreshed. Changes to cases around it are recorded for the watch. E-mail delivery is in testing and is not switched on during early access.

Limits worth knowing

• The City record is the authority. RezoneWatch can only be as current as the latest refresh, whose date is shown on every search.
• Coverage is the City of Austin. Other cities and counties are not included.
• Address search uses addresses found in City case records, or an address matcher if enabled. For any other location, paste coordinates.