Full Agenda at Zimmerman's D6 Swear-In

Don Zimmerman (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Presiding over Council Member Don Zim­merman's swearing-in ceremony Saturday, Jan. 31, Texas Supreme Court Justice John Devine couldn't resist a reference to a lawsuit he faced as a district judge over displaying the Ten Commandments in his Hous­ton courtroom a decade ago. "As a small token to Don, to remind him of God and his responsibility not just to you but a higher power, a higher order, I wanted to give him a copy of the Ten Commandments that many years ago I had posted in my courtroom and I got sued." Devine paused to great effect, letting the laughter echo through the Hill Country Bible Church auditorium. "I know that Don will have these in his chambers, and it will remind him of who he serves."

John Devine

Mayor Steve Adler gave his remarks next: half dubiously emphatic endorsement of Zimmerman and his tactics in the opening weeks, and half Council progress report, assuring District 6 residents and Boy Scout Troop 234 that "we're getting so much done." Midway through the mayor's speech it became clear what exactly was meant by this line on the program: "Pet of the Month: Shelby – Available for Adoption." Heads in the last few rows swiveled as a rotund pit bull, breathing heavily, dragged its handler across the church lobby, the dog blinded by a white cone on its collar. (Zimmerman's wife, Jennifer, was hoping to find a home for the shelter dog.)

After the swearing-in, Zimmerman transitioned to the next order of business: a scheduled town hall regarding concerns about the proposed Cardinal Point housing development, which is one of several affordable-housing projects run by local nonprofit Foundation Communities. While the Coun­cil member confined his remarks to possible traffic ramifications, River Place resident John Harris took the opportunity to share concerns that the project will increase the incidence of violent crime in the neighborhood. "The head of Foundation Communities, who makes $162,000 a year and lives over in West Lake, in which there are none of his own developments within five miles of his own home, is choosing to put this development in our backyard – 30 seconds' drive from the front of our community," Harris fumed. "I just find it interesting, as caring as he is, he doesn't want this in his own backyard.

Steve Adler (Photo by Jana Birchum)

"There is land available," he added, to guffaws. "I've already found it for him, and it's actually less expensive than the one he's trying to buy right now."

Foundation Communities Executive Director Walter Moreau, when asked for comment, said that there are 290 low-wage jobs in retail and food service within walking distance of the Cardinal Point site, but a lack of affordable housing. "We've always believed Austin is better if we can build affordable housing in all parts of town, and it's not segregated to one area," he said. "Each year, when we try to find land, it's a struggle to find the right property at the right price at the right time. I've looked for land in my neighborhood, and have not been able to put it under contract.

"In most cases our properties are well-maintained and beautiful, and very low-crime," Moreau added. "I don't know how you compare crime in an entire zip code and then make that the responsibility of our apartment community."

Zimmerman told the Chronicle Tuesday evening that frustration building over subsidized housing projects stems from the additional traffic a high-density development would create in an already gridlocked District 6. "So the constituents are like, 'Look, we've got a traffic quagmire here already. We were demanding traffic congestion relief and instead the city staff packs on the agenda more dense subsidized housing projects, which is only going to make traffic worse,'" he said, adding he will be pulling $6 million worth of subsidized projects in the upcoming work session Feb. 10. "We're trying to figure out how the whole subsidized housing process works. It turns out to be a very complex process, and I can tell from asking questions around here that not everybody understands how it works. So it's back to the thing that we're being asked to vote on a process that we don't understand. Follow the money."