Public Notice: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Mobility plans on the move; land use boards stay put
By Nick Barbaro, Fri., Feb. 11, 2022
As the Project Connect transit plan picks up steam, expect more and more public input opportunities and info sessions.
The Project Connect Community Design Workshop series continues this week and next with the North Guadalupe Working Group holding a 29th Street Intersection deep dive this evening, Thu., Feb. 10, at 5:30pm to present the latest design updates for the area around the Hemphill Park. Then comes the St. Edward's to Stassney Working Group, presenting the St. Edward's University Station, South Congress Transit Center, and Stassney Station at 5:30pm next Tuesday, Feb. 15, and the Drag Community Design Workshop at 5:30pm Thu., Feb. 24. Meetings are open to the public, but you must register at capmetro.org/get-involved. And you can see past presentations at publicinput.com/library.
Meanwhile, Austin Transit Partnership, a collaborative program between Project Connect, CapMetro, and the city of Austin to further the transit project and mobility in general, is holding virtual town hall meetings, looking for help from the public in trying to develop "a list of questions ATP can ask other transit agencies across the U.S. and internationally about their approach to governance." Register at atptx.org/town-hall, and tune in on Zoom at 11am Sat., Feb. 12.
It's kind of old news by now, but in a Jan. 14 letter to City Council and the chairs of the Zoning and Platting Commission, Planning Commission, and Board of Adjustment, Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales quietly scuttled his plan to move the land use boards' public meetings from City Hall to the new Permitting and Development Center at Highland. The proposal was seen by many as a deliberate move to reduce public participation in the often contentious zoning cases and was unanimously opposed by the three entities themselves. Yet staff stuck to their guns for several months, for no clearly articulated reason ("Public Notice," Oct. 22 & Dec. 2, 2021), and the somewhat curt tone of Gonzales' letter doesn't do much to smooth things over.
After three paragraphs explaining that staff really wanted to move the meetings from City Hall to the PDC, and that they had bent over backward to answer the commissioners' concerns, and that "there is every confidence that the facility can successfully accommodate all meetings," the missive finally gets to the point on the second page: "At this time, staff will not be pursuing moving the meeting locations for BOA, ZAP, and PC. There will not be any significant impact in operations from this decision."
A Vision for Zilker Park
The city Parks and Recreation Department is hosting Virtual Community Meeting No. 4 for the Zilker Park Vision Plan next week. As reported here previously ("Public Notice: Rewilding Zilker Park," Oct. 15, 2021), as PARD moves ahead with "the first comprehensive planning effort in the park's history," there are sharply contrasting visions of what the park's future should look like. As I reported back in September, the Save Our Springs Alliance and the Zilker Neighborhood Association have produced an alternative, much greener plan, titled "Rewilding Zilker Park," which they presented at the previous Vision Plan meeting. And in January, a group of organizations that use and support the park sent a letter to Clare Hempel of Design Workshop, which prepared the Vision Plan, reiterating their interest in keeping current activities and use – and the parking to support them: "With the Zilker Park organizations supporting this letter, parking access is a top priority that must be balanced with the objectives of prioritizing the natural environment at Zilker Park." That's pretty much the opposite priority from that expressed by the "Rewilding" folks, so a balancing act is indeed called for. Tune in at 6pm Tue., Feb 15, on Zoom or Facebook Live for live polling, Q&A, and discussion. See more at austintexas.gov/zilkervision.
The 15th Annual Austin Humane Society Puppy Bowl is this Saturday, Feb. 12: 11am-2pm at AHS; 2-4pm at Yard Bar. See more at austinhumanesociety.org.
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