Update:  Construction work is currently permitted in the City of Austin and throughout Texas.  As set forth below, in late March 2020, the Mayor of the City of Austin issued a Stay Home Order that prohibited commercial and residential construction activities except in the very limited situations involving specific types of essential and critical facilities (e.g., public works, affordable housing, and COVID-19 emergency response facilities).  A few days later, the Governor of Texas issued an Executive Order clarifying that housing and commercial construction related activities are deemed essential in Texas, consistent with the guidance issued by the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and that any local orders to the contrary are invalid.  In accordance with the Governor’s Executive Order, the Mayor then revised his Stay Home Order to state that “[a]ll construction work permitted in the Governor’s March 31, 2020 Executive Order (No. GA-14) is permitted. City will no longer prohibit commercial or residential construction projects.”

• Mayor’s Revised Stay Home Order

(Updated March 31, 2020)

The Mayor of the City of Austin previously issued a Stay Home Order that prohibits commercial and residential construction activities except in the very limited situations involving specific types of essential and critical facilities (e.g., public works, affordable housing, and COVID-19 emergency response facilities). The Order contains an exception for any construction that involves only a single worker who is the sole employee on a job site.
 
The City has now created an administrative process, managed by the City’s Development Services Department (DSD), by which project owners can request permission to continue a construction project or be allowed an extended wind-down period under the City’s Stay Home Order.  We recommend that you work with the project owner to submit a request to DSD to explain why the project in question provides essential and critical services.  Further information regarding the process can be found here:
Approve/Deny a Construction Project as Essential Activity, Critical Infrastructure, Essential Business, or Affordable Housing Project