Did you get another purple notice from the city of Austin? Here's what it means.

The city of Austin is once again looking to make changes to its land development code, which dictates what can be built where and how big it can be.

A hot-button issue in Austin, the proposed changes have sparked disagreement over their potential effectiveness and effect on housing affordability.

The city recently sent a second round of purple notices to residents informing them of several proposed changes the council is set to vote on in May.

The process of discussing and voting on the changes will be similar to that for Phase 1 of the Home Options for Middle-Income Empowerment, or HOME, initiative that the City Council approved in December. It started with a joint meeting Thursday between the council and the Planning Commission.

Dozens of Austinites came to Thursday’s meeting and expressed much of the same support and opposition to the proposed code changes as were voiced during HOME phase one public hearings — some saying it would create more housing options and promote affordability, while others voiced concerns about displacement of existing residents, specifically on the city's Eastern Crescent.

Here's a look at the proposed land development code changes:

HOME Phase 2

For context, HOME Phase 1, which was approved in December, changed the city's code to allow for up to three units on many lots.

Read More: Remember the HOME initiative? Here's how many applications Austin received after 1 month

Phase 2 of HOME seeks to reduce the minimum lot size required for construction of a single residential unit to 2,000 square feet from 5,750. The change would not require current or future homeowners to sell or subdivide their properties, according to the city's Planning Department.

During Thursday’s meeting, some speakers said they thought to would be advantageous to have the minimum lot size be reduced to 1,900 or 1,800 square feet rather than the proposed 2,000. They said this would allow a 5,750 square foot lot to be subdivided into three lots, rather than two.

Equitable Transit-Oriented Development overlay

An Equitable Transit-Oriented Development overlay is intended to promote density along high-traffic transit corridors.

The proposal being considered would affect certain properties within roughly a half-mile of Phase 1 of Project Connect, the planned light rail line, and its priority extensions, according to the city's Planning Department. Some of these areas include sections of North Lamar Boulevard and South Congress Avenue.

If approved, the overlay will prohibit or make conditional some land uses for new developments that make transit harder to access, according to the city's Planning Department. Among the prohibited uses would be car sales and rental locations and drop-off recycling collection facilities. Conditional land uses would include commercial off-street parking and car washes, according to the city.

The overlay also would create a density bonus program. Developers would be able to add up to 60 feet in height, to a maximum height of 120 feet, to multiunit residential buildings in exchange for promising to provide a certain number of affordable units.

The proposal would not affect single-family properties, according to the city's Planning Department. It also would not affect existing properties and businesses with uses that would be prohibited or conditional under the new ordinance.

However, it could affect expansions on existing properties that no longer would be allowed under the new land-use rules.

A full list of prohibited and conditional proposed uses under the ordinance can be found here. A separate notice about the proposed overlay, sent to affected properties, can be viewed here.

EV charging stations

The City Council also will consider reducing restrictions on the location of electric vehicle charging stations by making new commercial and roadway zones eligible for them.

The goal, according to the city’s Planning Department, is to ensure that the charging stations are not concentrated in residential neighborhoods, but are equally distributed throughout the city.

Citywide compatibility

Another proposed change slated to come before the City Council is a reduction in compatibility regulations around single-family homes.

The regulations limit the height of new developments based on their proximity to single-family lots.

Currently, there are limits on the height of developments within 540 feet of single-family homes. The proposed change seeks to reduce that to 75 feet.

The next public meeting discussing HOME Phase 2, the EV charging regulations and compatibility is a Planning Commission meeting scheduled for April 23. A separate Planning Commission meeting to discuss the transit development overlay is scheduled for April 30. The City Council meeting on all items is set for May 16.

Editor's note: This story was updated following the joint Planning Commission and City Council meeting on Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: City of Austin send purple notices. Here's what you need to know.