QUICK LINKS TO
NEIGHBORHOOD TOPICS:
Comments? Complaints? Input? Please
send us an email with any comments, complaints, or concerns about neighborhood
matters by clicking here.
Next
WANG Board Meeting: The next meeting of the WANG Board of
Directors will occur on the first Monday of the month (June 2, 2008), beginning at 7:00 pm at the Howson Branch of
the Austin Public Library, 2500 Exposition Boulevard. Anyone is welcome to
attend, and if you have an issue to discuss with the board, please contact our
President, Gwen Jewiss, at 970-7697 or via email by clicking here.
Next Neighborhood Planning Meeting: The next neighborhood
planning workshop is the “Land Use Education Workshop”
which will be Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 6:30pm to 9pm at the
Future
Meetings
Land Use Education Workshop II, Wednesday, May 21, 6:30pm to 9pm,
Land Use TBA, Saturday, June 7, 9:00am to 1:00pm,
LCRA Board Room.
Schedule
of upcoming meetings (tentative).
Workshop Location:
For complete information on the Neighborhood Planning
process, go to www.deepeddy.com/wang/NeighborhoodPlanningInfo.htm. Also, please check out the updated
Website, www.ci.austin.tx.us/zoning/central_west_austin.htm
for
more information.
Brackenridge
Tract Development Survey: WANG is conducting a survey to obtain
input from our West Austin neighbors concerning the possible development at
Brackenridge Tract and the
Please take
this survey which is available in PDF form or by
clicking here.
Thank you for participating in this
survey. Please return your
completed survey to the following address no later than May 31, 2008:
West Austin Neighborhood Group
Tarrytown Farmers' Market at the Talulah Bleu Backyard
(Next to
Update
re Exposition Development at
APD Suggestions for Crime Prevention:
VIN Etching - APD will provide free VIN etching services
to etch VIN numbers on each window of vehicle. The VIN etchings will be at the
following dates and locations:
3/12/08
10A-1P
Randall’s
715
S. Exposition
4/17/08
10A-1P
Hancock
1000 E. 41st
5/15/08
10A-1P
West Anderson Plaza
2438
APD 2008 Resource Manual – A copy of the APD Resource
Manual for 2008 is posted at Resource
Manual January 2008.pdf. The
manual includes information on when to make 911 and 311 calls, an alphabetical listing
of city services, and a listing of agencies providing housing and human
services.
Reporting VIN Etching - When folks don’t
report petty crimes or other little things they feel the Police can't solve,
things can escalate to where it is a real problem, which becomes frustrating
for folks. The police are not
bothered by hearing from citizens about petty crimes or “little
things,” and we should never
hesitate to call 9-1-1 or 3-1-1 to report an incident. The police are dispatched according to a
priority system. If an Officer is
available he/she will be sent; if not when one becomes available they will be
sent out. While the police do have
limited resources, there is a "Crime Analyst” whose job is to track
crime by frequency and types. This
information is used to deploy, patrol officers, special units, develop plans to
curve the crime. The police look
for "Hot Spots," and when the neighborhood starts reporting crime and
demanding action, then the police know there is a problem and focus their attention
on it.
So if
you have an aggressive solicitor, or one whose story does not seem right, or
one who tries your door handle before knocking.....Call 9-1-1. Let the police check them out. If they aren't breaking the law,
fine. It at least lets them know
that the police know they are in the area.
It also lets them know folks care enough to ask the police to check
things out in their neighborhood.
Sometimes, the police are lucky to find a person who has outstanding
warrants and they get picked up. If it is suspicious to you, then it is worth
calling in. This also lets the
patrol officer assigned to your area know what kind of things to look for and
he/she patrols with a better purpose.
As for yourselves
be aware of your surroundings. Don't leave property in plain view in either
your vehicles or your yards. These
become tempting crimes of opportunity.
Use motion sensor lighting.
Perhaps put radios or TVs on timers during the day when your gone to
work. Say one timer in a front room
for a couple of hours, then a second in another room for a later time. Crooks look around and try to listen to
see if someone is home. Close
blinds so they can't look in. The best thing of all is neighbors looking
out for neighbors.
BRACKENRIDGE tRACT uPDATE – The special task force charged with evaluating the uses of the land in
Austin known as the “Brackenridge Tract” submitted its report and
recommendations to The University of Texas System Board of Regents on Friday
(Oct. 12) at a special called meeting in Austin. You can view the task force's report at http://www.utsystem.edu/bor/files/bracktract/report.pdf.
In short, the task force recommended the redevelopment of 345 acres along Lake
Austin Boulevard and the Colorado River that includes 500 units of affordable
housing for married students (many with children), the municipal golf course,
a biological field lab, and the West Austin Youth Association, and recommended that a master plan be prepared
to guide the development of the entire tract by leasing (not selling) the
tracts (including the Golf Course and WAYA facility) to meet “pressing
financial needs of the University.”
The housing tracts are essentially eligible for redevelopment
now. Leases on the latter two
tracts run through 2019 and it has been recommended that those leases expire
without renewal. There are a host
of issues that surround each of these tracts and WANG will address these on an
ongoing basis. There are also many
with a vested interest in what happens here including every neighbor. Formally and informally, WANG has heard
from many groups and individuals on the Brackenridge Tract. And we will continue to do so throughout
this process and beyond.
WANG Presentation at
Board of Regents Hearing To Receive Public Comment On Brackenridge Task Force
Report: On
behalf of WANG, August Harris presented the following presentation at the
November 9 Board of Regents hearing regarding the Brackenridge Tract and the
Task Force Recommendations:
WANG has requested that the
Regents, in their request for proposal to planning firms competing for the land
use planning contract, include the following:
A. The planner will actively engage with
area stakeholders on an ongoing basis;
B. The planner will establish a contact team
representing all area stakeholders;
C. The planner will participate in the
City’s Neighborhood Planning Process for Central West Austin immediately
upon selection;
D. The planner will develop several
scenarios for final consideration, some of which must include:
i.
Lions
Municipal Golf Course
ii.
West
Austin Youth Association
iii.
Graduate
Student Housing
iv.
The
Biological Field Lab
WANG reminded the
Regents that we are actively engaged in the City’s neighborhood planning
process for Central West Austin.
WANG and the City have repeatedly asked and urged that the University
participate as it is a key stakeholder.
Any redevelopment will dramatically impact the quality of life and the
viability of Central West Austin that includes Tarrytown, Deep Eddy, Bryker
Woods, Pemberton and Old West Austin. Neighborhood planning is a holistic
process that looks at all aspects of the neighborhood and engages all
stakeholders to arrive at a land use map that not only is appropriate for the
area but desirous. WANG believes
that our developed land use map will provide a framework for the System’s
planner that is more likely to lead to an integrated and appropriate redevelopment.
While the Task
Force recommended that the Brackenridge Tract Agreement be allowed to expire,
WANG asked that the agreement be honored in any future development as it
represents a previous negotiated consensus of stakeholders. WANG also requested that the
Regents’ planning team be directed to utilize the City’s new
commercial development guidelines, particularly where vertical mixed use might
be contemplated. If mixed use were
to be planned and developed, WANG would encourage neighborhood retail with
local ownership in order to discourage additional congestion brought about by
destination retail while encouraging small business. If redevelopment occurs, WANG requests
that the Regent’s planning team look to the enhancement of neighborhood vitality
and livability.
Based on
discussions with City staff and commission members, WANG understands that the
City will actively seek affordable housing in West Austin. WANG has been told that student housing
could be considered as meeting affordable housing objectives. A combination of married, graduate
student and faculty housing perhaps with senior housing including a senior
subsidized commitment could address those needs, the needs of the community,
and provide vitality and stability to the area.
The
Regents were reminded that the ultimate redevelopment and its viability are
going to be limited by traffic issues.
First of all, the Brackenridge Tract is bounded by 2 east-west arteries
in Enfield and Lake Austin Boulevard and 1 north-south artery in Exposition
Boulevard. At times during
the day, those arteries already are impassable. WANG urges
that the planning team meet with TxDOT and DMJM Harris, TxDOT’s MoPac
consultant, regarding the potential impact on the MoPac corridor as much of the
traffic from the Brackenridge Tract will affect this corridor. WANG believes that significant changes
will need to be made at the Lake Austin Boulevard/MoPac intersection to avoid
complete failure. The cost of those
changes could likely be 10’s of millions of dollars. WANG also added in later written
testimony that the planning team
ensure adequate multi-modal mobility through the area (pedestrians,
bicycles, transit, cars), improve the efficiency of traffic flow on Lake Austin
Blvd. to accommodate the expected increase in local traffic, without
encouraging additional regional traffic through the area; create street
connectivity within the development to disperse traffic so all traffic doesn't
funnel onto one or two existing neighborhood streets; and minimize traffic
impacts to existing roadways in the neighborhood
WANG also
submitted a written request that any potential development will adversely
affect our watershed. All of the
land lies within either the Lake Austin watershed or the Town Lake watershed
and is designated as Suburban Water supply.
WANG realizes
that the Brackenridge Tract represents a significant opportunity, and not
solely from an economic perspective.
Again, WANG will address other issues related to the tract over time. WANG also realizes that the Regents are
under pressure from both the private sector and the legislature to otherwise
utilize this asset. WANG feels
strongly that this opportunity should be weighed against any adverse impact
that it might have on West Austin and its citizens as well as the students and
faculty of the University of Texas at Austin.
Govalle
5 (Wethersfield/Hartford) Wastewater Improvements Project: Project scope
is installation of approximately 9,700 linear feet of 8 and 12-inch wastewater
pipe, 48 manholes, 174 wastewater services, and 64 private lateral
relocations. The new wastewater
lines will be located within street right of way, and will replace existing
lines located in several areas of the Westfield neighborhood as follows: Windsor,
Hartford, Jarratt, Harris, Hardouin, Wooldridge, Polo, Lynn, and Eason. Construction will begin fall 2007 and
finish fall 2008. Lines to be
replaced are plagued by one or more of the following problems, and will be
abandoned after the new wastewater lines are installed: root intrusion, cracks, stormwater
infiltration, collapsed pipe, missing pipe, pipe sags/surcharge, holes, and
dropped joints, all of which increase the probability of sanitary sewer
overflows. Several lines to be
replaced are located at the rear of private properties, which gives the City
limited accessibility for maintenance purposes. One such line between Hartford and
Wethersfield has experienced repeat overflows.
What is
Vertical Mixed Use? The City’s new
zoning overlay tool, called “Vertical Mixed Use,” will be the
subject of ANC’s general membership meeting on Wednesday, October 25 (7
pm, Austin Energy Building, 721 Barton Springs Road). In addition to an overview from city
staff of the new zoning overlay and how the neighborhood options work, the
meeting will include a couple of examples to show the types of decisions that
have to be made by the neighborhoods, and to discuss the related issues that a
neighborhood might want to consider.
For those that might not be familiar with this, West
Austin has a “core transit corridor” (part of 38th
Street) and may eventually have “future core transit corridors,” in
which case our neighborhood will be asked to provide a recommendation to the
city council about whether certain development bonuses should be available and
other related items.
(This is part of the new Commercial Design
Standards. More information is available at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/development/commercial_design.htm.)
New Historic
Preservation Ordinance Allows Local Historic Districts To Be Established: On June 22, 2006,
the Austin City Council passed an ordinance allowing for the establishment of
local historic districts (“LHDs”) by providing rehabilitation
incentives for properties in such districts. The stated purpose of these LHDs is to
preserve the areas. The neighbors
in a LHD will devise a “preservation plan” and the city will grant
some tax abatements for preservation efforts. Austin will be joining other major Texas
cities that establish these districts to protect areas of historic
significance. The City has worked out the application process, and estimates that the
first district will take about 18 months to create.
To qualify for a
local historic district designation, the ordinance requires that:
1. a
petition be filed requesting local historic district designation by the owners
of at least 60% of the land within a proposed local historic district to
initiate rezoning of the property;
2. 51%
of the structures within a local historic district must be contributing at the
time the nomination is placed on the agenda of the Historic Landmark
Commission, but not at the time the case is heard by Council;
3. at
least 25% of the contributing buildings within a local historic district must
be documented with ownership and occupancy histories in no less than 5 year
intervals);
4. Section
25-2-355(A) clarifying the criteria for designation of a historic landmark and
a historic area combining district;
5. the
Historic Landmark Commission to review applications for remodel permits which
affect the exterior of a building within a National Register Historic District
The Historic Task Force Recommendations are available by clicking here,
the Task
Force Report is available by clicking here,
and the actual Ordinance
is available by clicking here.
On August 24, 2005, the Heritage Society sponsored a seminar
on the upcoming local historic districts.
You can download the presentation
by Steve Sadowsky, City of
According to the summary, “owner-occupied residential
properties would be eligible for a seven-year abatement on the added value of
the rehabilitation with the re-investment of 25% of the pre-improvement value
of the structure in qualified rehabilitation expenditures, including at least
5% of the pre-improvement value of the structure re-invested in exterior
restoration or rehabilitation.”
That’s a mouthful, but essentially, the City won’t tax the
increase in value from any improvement/rehabilitation for seven years if (1) at
least 25% of the pre-improvement value of the structure is used for “qualified
rehabilitation expenditures” and (2) at least 5% of the pre-improvement
value of the structure is used for “exterior restoration or
rehabilitation.” Different
rules apply for income producing properties.
THIS IS BIG NEWS BECAUSE THE ORDINANCE MAY BE AN EXTREMELY USEFUL TOOL FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
Taming The Teardown Trend: Across the
nation and throughout our neighborhood, there are growing concerns that
teardown trends are irreparably changing historic neighborhoods as fine
historic homes are demolished to make way for much larger, new houses. Too often, these oversized structures
disrupt the architectural and historic character of the existing neighborhood,
diminishing livability and destroying the amenities that originally made the
neighborhood an attractive place to live.
For this reason, the National Trust for Historic
Preservation has released “Protecting America’s
Historic Neighborhoods: Taming the
Teardown Trend,” a comprehensive report on strategies and best
practice solutions being used in communities today to control teardowns. This booklet, which is available by
clicking here,
empowers property owners, once defenseless against the changes sweeping through
their neighborhoods, with necessary preventative tools to combat
teardowns. The report also offers
viable alternatives for preservationists and local governments seeking to limit
the teardown trend.
Deed Restriction Tool for Protecting Neighborhood: At our May
board meeting, Nikelle
Meade, a partner with the Brown McCarroll law firm, presented information
on how deed restrictions can be used as an effective tool for like-minded
neighbors to protect their local neighborhood from over development. WANG will work toward setting up a
program to help small groups of neighbors (perhaps a group of neighbors on a
one or two street area) enact an agreed set of deed restrictions that would
preserve the general “look and feel” of the street, or at least
prevent the most offensive development outcomes.
Are The City’s Land Use and Zoning
Requirements Not Being Enforced? Are there new construction projects on your street where the City is not
enforcing its land use and zoning requirements relating to impervious cover,
setback requirements, tree protection?
If so, please send us an email to let us know by clicking here. This
information will be forwarded to the Austin Neighborhood Council (ANC) which is
compiling a database of code enforcement “failures” across the city
which will be presented to the City in an effort to obtain better
enforcement. Alternatively, you can
contact the City code enforcement directly at Zoning.Enforcement@ci.austin.tx.us
or 974-6576.
Trash Day Slide Schedule: The City of
Construction Awareness Information System: The City of Austin Construction Awareness
Information System is available to provide information about on-going
construction projects that may affect your travel through the City. At the City’s web site (www.cityofaustin.org/ca), click on
the map to get project information and the latest news and meeting dates. You can obtain construction information
about Central Austin Projects by clicking here.
Crime Alert: Recent crime concerns in our
neighborhood – see the Crime
Information page.
In addition, a recent search of the Austin Police Department
Registered Sex Offenders Database identified six registered sex offenders
living in the 78703 zip code, including individuals living at 2618 Jefferson,
1600 West Lynn, 1100B Winsted, 1111B Kingsbury, 3604 Enfield and 1115 West 9th
Street.
For specific information and pictures of the registrants and
to get up to date listings, go the APD database search site at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/police/sex_offender_intro.htm
and enter the required information.
Zoning and Variance Alerts: Click Boards and
Commissions Agendas to see the agendas for the
Board of Adjustments and the Zoning and Platting Commission. For a listing of prior variance request
decisions, click here.
News 8 Austin Article Regarding Tarrytown Shopping Center: Click here
to see an article entitled “Strict rules drive businesses out of shopping
center,” describing recent developments about the Tarrytown Shopping Center.
Police Reports for
At the attached page, a map is
provided showing the Police Reporting Areas (PRAs) for our neighborhood. Below the map is a listing of crime
reports that are organized by PRA, so that you can see what types of crimes
were reported for each PRA. I was
frankly surprised to see how many crime reports were filed for our neighborhood
during this reporting period. I
guess we are getting our money’s worth from APD!
Neighborhood Restaurants: Be sure to support our local restaurants
and eateries. Additional information
and menus are available by clicking on the underlined links below.
Holiday
House 2425 Exposition (478-2652) (RIP)
Lucy’s Boatyard,
Maudie’s Cafe, 2608 W. 7th (473-3740) (menu)
Mangia’s Pizza, 2401 Lake Austin Blvd. (478-6600) (menu)
Magnolia Cafe,
Zoot Restaurant, 509 Hearn (477-6535) (menu)
Original David’s Brick Oven, 1608 W. 35th (453-4330) (Lunch Menu and Dinner Menu)
Food!Food!, 2727 Exposition Blvd. (474-8515)
Mozart’s,
Hula Hut,
Téo Espresso,
Gelato & Bella Vita (formerly Babbo’s), 26 Doors Shopping Center
(451-9555)
ThunderCloud
Subs,
FAX: 479-0440 ORDER
ON-LINE!) (menu)
Seattle’s Best,
Starbucks,