CodeGREEN

Dear Editor, 


    The signs that fill my neighbor’s yards reading “CodeNEXT is BACK, SAVE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD” would make you think that the black plague has returned in full force. After becoming involved with Students for Transit, a UT-Austin student group that recognizes the benefits of public land transportation, and reading about the environmental impact of this Land Development Code in your article "Austin’s Land Use Debate Returns to the Spotlight," [News, Oct. 11, 2019], I can’t help but disagree with my neighbors.
    The new Land Development Code paired with Cap Metro’s Project Connect, a plan to expand transit capacity across Austin, is exactly what our city needs to become more environmentally conscious. Hundreds of people move to Austin every week with their cars emitting carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. Austinites need to step up to support campaigns and projects that will help to reduce our environmental footprint. While my neighbors argue that the new Land Development Code will destroy our neighborhoods, I believe it will help grow our communities in ways that can support the high-capacity transit that Project Connect envisions.