Changing the Landscape

Under the city's current neighborhoods-first disposition, it's unlikely that anyone with a reputation to protect will argue. What probably will be argued is whether this power should reside solely on the Eastside. The Rust Belt is one of very few places in the city where industrial development is mixed with residential (the area around Airport and Lamar, also a rail corridor, is another), so a special strategy for the area is an easy sell. But every neighborhood in town has the zoning districts and uses that would now be covered by the overlay, and most would be delighted to force a public hearing and make developers jump the hurdle of a conditional-use permit, for at least some of the projects.

That includes other Eastside neighborhoods, which if this proposal is approved could see their own special strategies affected by the overlay. For example, the neighborhoods near Robert Mueller Municipal Airport -- at the apex of the overlay triangle -- have been looking for a tool to help guide the expected redevelopment onslaught of formerly airport-dependent properties. They would now have one, at least for part of the as-yet-undefined Mueller "impact area." And to the south lie the neighborhoods adjacent to East 11th and 12th Streets, covered by the Austin Revitalization Authority's Central East Austin Master Plan -- which could, with an expanded overlay, grow at least a few teeth. So neighbors all over the Eastside are looking at a whole new ballgame.

That is, if the opposing team shows up. The overlay will undoubtedly inspire at least some developers to take their projects elsewhere, at least as long as it is Eastside-specific. But both neighbors and Planning Commissioners took pains on May 3 to illustrate that the overlay is a hurdle but not a wall. "Remember that this wouldn't just give you the ability to say 'no,'" Planning Commissioner Dave Sullivan, one of the architects of the draft ordinance, told the El Concilio folks in attendance. "It also gives you the chance to work with developers and say 'yes' to the right projects."

The City Council is scheduled to hold its public hearing on the PC's draft today, Thursday, May 13, but no action is expected until the next meeting, May 20 -- the last council meeting before the moratorium expires June 1.