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NEED A BREAK FROM THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON?
THEN PLEASE COME TO NSCNA’S ANNUAL LUMINARIA WALK, 6-8 P.M., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17th , AT PILLOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL’S TRACKThe track will be illuminated with hundreds of luminarias. Relax and reflect while strolling about the circle of light, then take it easy while enjoying cookies and hot chocolate with your neighbors.
The Social Committee needs volunteers to help fill the sacks with sand, add tea lights, and set the luminarias around the track. We’ll gather at 4:00 p.m. for set up under the Pavilion at the back of the school.
If you would like to help with set up or clean up, please contact Amelia Cobb at social@nscna.org or 512-364-5519
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Austin Oaks Charrette Neighborhood Update
Save the Date: During the week of January 24‐29, 2016, the owner of the Austin Oaks site and the neighborhood stakeholders surrounding the site will participate in a design charrette in a collaborative effort to create a consensus‐based design for the site. Both the owner and the neighborhood representatives working on the charrette planning see this as an opportunity to use innovative collaborative design as a means of moving forward.
Austin Oaks is a 31‐acre office park located at the southwest corner of Spicewood Springs Road and Mopac. The development, built between 1973 and 1985, currently includes 12 buildings and encompasses 445,322 square feet. It features many heritage trees, providing the neighborhoods with an office complex that blends in with the community.
The property was purchased in 2013 by Twelve Lakes LLC, an affiliate of Spire Realty Group. In 2014, Spire sought to rezone the property to redevelop the site as a Planned Unit Development (PUD) with approximately 1.6 million square feet of office and retail uses, and several hundred apartments. The proposal and its impacts sparked neighborhood opposition to the rezoning.
At the suggestion of neighborhood representatives, Spire agreed to engage in an alternative to conventional negotiations for the redevelopment of the property and try a design‐based approach: a Design Charrette. A charrette is a multi‐day design exercise that brings neighbors together with a multidisciplinary team of designers, engineers, and other specialists to produce a design for the property. During the charrette, the designers and charrette participants plan the site using a collaborative process. Throughout the process, participants provide input, ideas, and feedback to the design team. Various redevelopment scenarios are reviewed against agreed‐upon objectives and measures, refining and revising as appropriate.
Neighborhood representatives and the owner have hired Doug Farr, FAIA, http://farrside.com , from Chicago as the design facilitator for the charrette, and the Austin firm TBG Partnershp: http://tbg‐inc.com has been hired as the design team. Doug Farr and the professionals at TBG are among leading urban design architects and landscape architects in the United States.
The charrette is scheduled for January 24‐29, 2016 at the Austin Oaks site (3721 Executive Center Dr., Suite 264‐Meredith Building). Prior to the charrette week, there will be neighborhood meetings, including two workshops that gather neighborhood input on vision and values regarding the site. After the charrette, the owner and neighborhood representatives will use the output of the charrette to collaboratively develop the zoning ordinance to be proposed to the City for the redevelopment by February 26, 2016.
More information on the charrette process may be found on the NWACA website at
http://tinyurl.com/CharretteProcess and on the National Charrette Institute website at
http://www.charretteinstitute.org/charrette.htmlImportant Dates
Community Information Meetings: Please attend one of these meetings to learn about the process and how neighbors can contribute to the Vision and Values Workshops.
Neighborhood representatives will be there to provide information and answer questions.
♦ Tuesday, December 1st 6‐8 PM at St. Mathew’s Episcopal Church, Room B‐18, located at 8134 Mesa Drive
♦ Wednesday, December 2nd 11:30 AM‐1:30 PM at St. Mathew’s Episcopal Church, Room B‐18, located at 8134 Mesa Drive.
Neighborhood Vision and Values Workshops: Please participate in one of these meetings to provide input.
♦ Wednesday, December 16th 6‐9 PM at St. Mathew’s Episcopal Church, Huffman Hall, located at 8134 Mesa Drive
♦ Tuesday, January 12th 11:30 AM‐1:30 PM at Austin Board of Realtors, Auditorium A,
located at 4800 Spicewood Springs Road
Charrette Design Workshop: Additional information is forthcoming about how neighbors can participate, as the workshop schedule is finalized.
♦ January 24‐29th at Austin Oaks Meredith Building (Building #11), Suite 264, located at 3721 Executive Center Drive
Mission Statement for the Austin Oaks Charrette: Create a redevelopment plan for the Austin Oaks site that satisfies the values of the neighborhood stakeholders and is economically feasible.
For more information, please contact us at aocharretteinfo@gmail.com
ver. 11/19/15
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The following information is copied from a communication received from the City CodeNEXT team:
CodeUPDATE set for Sept. 29, 7 pm to 8 pm at the Dougherty Arts Center.
————————————————————From Nov. 16-21, the CodeNEXT workshop will kick the tires on possible alterations of the land development code.
Want a sneak peek? Plan to attend the Sept. 29 CodeUPDATE, taking place from 7 pm to 8 pm at the Dougherty Arts Center (http://www.austintexas.gov/dac) (1110 Barton Springs Rd. (https://goo.gl/Trm5qD) ). The CodeUPDATE will explore the workshop’s purpose and desired outcomes.
During the November workshop, members of the CodeNEXT team will test and refine draft development standards using focus areas that represent place types across Austin. Lunchtime presentations, daily open studio sessions and “pin-ups” are just some of the “Open to the public” activities planned.
The data gained will be used to complete the Administrative Draft Code (scheduled for Winter 2015) and the subsequent Public Draft Code (scheduled for Fall 2016).
————————————————————** October’s Coffee & CodeNEXT
————————————————————Each month, members of the CodeNEXT team will set up shop at locations across the city.
Why? We want to hear from you. Take this opportunity to share personal experiences with the current land development code as well as offer opinions about how the new code should be shaped.
October’s “Coffee & CodeNEXT,” taking place from 9 am to 10 am on Oct. 8, will be hosted by Stouthaus Coffee Pub (http://www.stouthauscoffee.com/) , located on 4715 S Lamar Blvd., #102.
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District 7 Town Hall meeting:
Saturday, September 19, 2015 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Northwest Recreation Center, 2913 Northland DriveCouncil Member Leslie Pool is hosting a Town Hall to discuss important issues in the North Austin community, including the recently passed budget. In attendance will be representatives from the University of Texas Dell Medical School and the UT Office of Sustainability, Bike Austin, Cap Metro, Austin Fire Department, and other City departments. Council Member Pool will spend a portion of the Town Hall responding to questions from attendees.
We hope you can participate! Check out the Facebook event here.
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The following information was obtained from the City of Austin Police Department website, www.austintexas.gov/nno
National Night Out is a great opportunity for citizens and law enforcement to partner up against crime. We invite you to attend the event, meet your neighbors and commit to helping law enforcement reduce crime in your community.
- This year, National Night Out is Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015, from 7 to 9 p.m. Neighborhoods must register before Sept. 12.
National Night Out is designed to:
1. Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness
2. Generate support and participation in crime efforts
3. Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police community relations
4. Let criminals know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back
During the event, residents in neighborhoods throughout Austin and across the nation are asked to turn on their porch lights, lock their doors and spend the evening outside with their neighbors, police officers, firefighters and EMS paramedics. Events such as cookouts, block parties and neighborhood walks will all occur simultaneously throughout the city and nationwide.- National Night Out Kick-Off Event
This year’s National Night Out Kick-Off Event will take place lakeside at the Mueller Airport Development on Saturday, October 3, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- For more information about National Night Out visit www.nnoaustin.org.
For a National Night Out Brochure select English or Spanish
- You can join the National Night Out event by:
1. Getting all of your neighbors to turn on their porch lights
2. Organizing a block party or some type of neighborhood event
3. Filling out and returning the National Night Out application to the address below: - How to join the National Night Out event:
• Austin Police Department Office of Community Liaison Attn: Rosie Salinas P. O. Box 689001 Austin, Texas 78768-9001
• You may also Register Online OR fax your application to (512) 974-6222
Once you complete an application, you will be notified via mail or email about where to pick up your National Night Out bag. The bag will contain crime prevention information, posters, party invitations and items for use at your party.
