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Updated May 12 to correct title of Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan and link to draft plan.
The following information was provided by the Austin neighborhood Council (ANC) pertaining to the May 24 meeting at Austin City Hall in conjuction with the City Council hearing on the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan. The draft plan can be viewed at http://www.imagineaustin.net . NSCNA is a member of the ANC. Meeting information:
The Austin Neighborhoods Council (ANC) will hold its May, 2012 general meeting on a special date and location. This month we will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, 2012 at Austin City Hall (301 West 2nd Street). We will initially gather in the atrium (main lobby) at City Hall. We will then move to the Council Chamber. The purpose of this month’s special meeting is to rally in support of neighborhoods during the City Council’s public hearing on the Imagine Austin comprehensive plan. While ANC and our members have labored and intensely participated in the process over the past many months, there remains an urgent need to both protect the provisions and improvements we have achieved as well as advocate for changes we believe are still required.
The significance of Imagine Austin warrants this special meeting of the ANC membership at City Hall. As you may know, a straw poll of the membership on Imagine Austin was taken at our April meeting. There was an almost unanimous agreement that work remains on the comprehensive plan from the neighborhood perspective.
We do not expect all members to speak. However, we are asking all members to attend and bring along neighbors in a show of strength that we have legitimate concerns and expect our elected officials to take notice. As the public hearing approaches on May 24th, we will communicate further details and talking points. Also check out the ANC website for updates and information (www.ancweb.org).
The City Council has also tentatively scheduled a public hearing on another topic of importance to ANC for the same day – city regulation of commercial short-term rentals. We will keep you posted on details and whether we will also have an opportunity to testify on short-term rentals on the evening of May 24th.
See you at City Hall!
Please note that if you drive to City Hall, parking is available in the underground garage. Do not pay to park! Get a parking ticket and bring it with you. If you are attending the City Council meeting you can get your ticket validated and park for free.
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When: May 15, 2012, 6:30 to 8:00 PM
Where: Pillow Elementary School cafeteria, 3025 Crosscreek DriveA public planning meeting will be held May 15 to discuss and plan the North Shoal Creek Neighborhood July 4th Independence Day Parade and Neighborhood Celebration, including: selecting celebration activities and tasks, organizing the project group, assigning responsibilities for tasks in planning and preparation for the event and assigning responsibilities for carrying out the plans on July 4th.
Everyone is welcome to attend this preliminary meeting and contribute in planning for the July 4th activities, which have been a popular tradition for many years. A successful parade and celebration requires the efforts of many volunteers. Please come and lend a hand. If you are interested but unable to attend, please send your suggestions to president@nscna.org. They will be presented to the planning group.
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Twenty Four neighbors have signed up to have garage sales on Saturday, May 5, 2012 from 8 AM to 1 PM during the NSCNA hosted garage sales.
NSCNA representatives will drop by each garage sale early that morning to deliver a supply of flyers containing a map and address list of sales, to be passed out to visitors, and also to collect the $2.00 fee to help cover expenses.
Our thanks to all paricipants, and we hope you have a successful sale.
To view this map online, visit http://tinyurl.com/nscsale .
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What: APD Region II Commander’s Forum
When: Tuesday, May 1, 2012 7:00pm – 8:30 pm
Where: Parmer Woods: 12429 Scofield Farms Dr. (at Parmer Ln East of Metric)
Chief Art Acevedo will be attending this forum and will be the guest speaker.
The notice for this forum was received by NSCNA today.
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This posting is to provide members with information about action taken during the City Council meeting April 5, 2012 concerning rezoning of 8100 Burnet Road.
On March 6, the general membership present voted to adopt a resolution objecting to the rezoning. Following the vote, the Development Committee Chairman appeared before the ZAP Commission and stated the objection to the rezoning. However, the commission voted to approve the requested MF-6(CO) rezoning.
The public hearing before the City Council was scheduled for March 8.
On the morning of March 8, the president delivered a copy of the resolution to the Planning and Development Review Department. It was then sent to the City Council. Later this morning, the developer requested the City Council postpone the hearing until April 5. Late that afternoon, The Council approved the postponement.
The postponement request stated in part: “We are continuing to work with the interested neighborhood groups. Therefore, the applicant is requesting a postponement to the April 5, 2012, City Council meeting in order to have additional time to work with interested parties.” After that date, the developer did not work with NSCNA. A logical conclusion was that NSCNA was no longer considered to be an interested party.On April 3, the NSCNA Board of Directors authorized NSCNA President Kenneth Webb to negotiate as necessary, in consultation with the Board, Development Committee, or members as feasible, regarding the 8100 Burnet Road rezoning application for an agreement that would be within the purpose of the association, to promote and protect our neighborhood.
During the Council proceedings, there were six speakers in favor. Donna Eagar and I, a representative from Allendale, and another person registered to speak against the rezoning. Kevin Wier was unable to be there until later.
As the outcome of the Council vote appeared obvious, we decided to withdraw our objection to the project in hopes of preserving a viable negotiating relationship with the developer and their attorney
When they called me to speak, I stated that I had been authorized to withdraw the objection to the rezoning (which I had filed on March 8); then answered questions from some council members about the covenant agreements. I discussed the differences between the draft prepared by Kevin and the agreements Alliance signed.
During their deliberations, they asked the staff to investigate which of the agreements could be written into permanent covenants like the 60 feet height limitation before the second reading. They also expressed concern about restricting access to Ashdale Drive. This part of the covenant will likely need revisiting. A supportive Council member advised Kevin following the meeting that we had done the right thing in withdrawing our objection.
The council voted to approve the MF-6(CO) rezoning on first reading.
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