A Warning to Citizens

Dear editors,
   Citizens need to be warned. Don't be duped by the city Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department. Participating in a neighborhood plan is a waste of time. If I knew in 1997 what I know now, I never would have gotten involved in the neighborhood-planning process. Once the neighborhoods go through the tedious process of developing a plan, the city will completely disregard the adopted plan. Neither city staff nor the Planning Commission pay heed to whether a neighborhood plan has been adopted as part of the Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan.
   Creating and maintaining a neighborhood plan keeps the volunteers busy and gives them the misperception that they have a say. But it is still business as usual at City Hall. It doesn't matter which neighborhood has a plan or doesn't. An adopted plan means nothing to the city bureaucracy. He who has the best lobbyist will get his way, even if it is contrary to a democratic neighborhood vote set up within the adopted neighborhood plans. There will still be inevitability to the goals of moneyed interests that back land speculation. This is particularly true if your neighborhood can’t afford a lawyer.