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April 15, 2009
City to cut down 30 trees at Barton Springs Pool
The City of Austin plans to cut down 30 trees at Barton Springs Pool after an assessment found the trees are not healthy and pose potential risks to pool-goers.
A memo from the Parks Departments says the city will replace the trees this fall with trees that are as “large and mature as feasible.”
Most of the trees considered to be dangerous are pecan trees, including the “iconic” one that leans over the pool on the north side and has a trunk filled with concrete, said Walter Passmore, the city’s urban forestry program manager. That tree has only 7 percent of solid wood inside of it, he said.
Thirteen of the trees being cut down are inside the pool grounds and the others are in other areas including the Hillside Theatre, the sunken garden and the bathhouse.
Many of the trees slated for removal have trouble with root systems that are deteriorating, meaning they are not able to get enough water and nutrients from the soil when stressed by the weather, Passmore said.
Passmore said the trees will be replaced with pecan trees, live oaks and other kinds of trees. The city will begin the removal as soon as possible, trying to do most of the work on Thursdays when the pool is closed, he said.
The city hired the firm Davey Resource Group last year to assess the health of 46 trees at the pool. The assessment plus the treatment of damaged trees and the replacement of trees cost the city $250,000, Passmore said.
Click on the map at right for larger version.
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February 17, 2009
East Austin gets nearly $11,000 for historic preservation
Council Member Mike Martinez and the Heritage Society of Austin presented the East Cesar Chavez neighborhood with $10,700 in grant funds this morning to be used toward creating a local historic district.
The heritage society contributed $5,000 and Martinez provided $5,700 from the city’s Holly Good Neighbor Program. The neighborhood — historically working-class with Texana-Victorian cottages and 19th Century warehouses — is bounded by Interstate 35, East Seventh Street, Chicon Street and Lady Bird Lake, according to a press release.
The neighborhood will use the money to complete the process of applying for local historic district zoning, which will ensure that new development is compatible with the character of the community, the press release said. Money also will be used to hire interns to survey the neighborhood, conduct research and translate informational materials into Spanish.
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January 29, 2009
Jury sides with city in Push-Up zoning trial
Ben Ogbodiegwu, the executive director of Push-Up Foundations Inc., was found guilty of operating a car wash without a site plan and certificate of occupancy at 1711 E. Cesar Chavez St., where his organization provides transitional housing and substance abuse treatment for people who have been released from prison.
A jury determined that Ogbodiegwu should pay $100 for each zoning violation, both Class C misdemeanors.
During the trial in Austin Municipal Court today, Ogbodiegwu’s lawyer, Willie Schmerler, argued that a car wash had been operating regularly on the site since before Push-Up began operating there in 1999.
But Assistant City Attorney Marshall Coover said that the site plan and certificate of occupancy requirements are rules that every business in Austin has to follow.
The car wash is a source of income for Push-Up as well as being part of its clients’ rehabilitation program.
Ogbodiegwu has said that the citations by the city are part of a broader effort by the city and neighborhood advocates to shut down the program.
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Budget Lodge in N. Austin wins appeal
The Budget Lodge hotel in North Austin, which has long been a lightning rod for neighborhood complaints about prostitution and drug-trafficking, won an appeal Wednesday night which effectively meant that the owner of the hotel’s license to operate the building has been reinstated.
David Brown, the chair of the city’s Buildings and Standards Commission said that the appeal was upheld “due to the information and the way the information was disseminated to the owner.”
The hotel has been under city scrutiny in recent years because of crime in the area — police say they have responded to more than 463 incidents in the area between January 1, 2007 and Oct. 1, 2008.
In June, former hotel manager Douglas Wayne Ward was arrested on charges related to sexual assault of a 10-year-old boy, among other charges. The city suspended the hotel’s permit to operate last October because the hotel had racked up nearly 20 code enforcement violations. City and Travis County officials filed a federal lawsuit against Larry M. Hall, the hotel’s owner and operator, in December. That lawsuit is still pending.
Hall said that the hotel has been unfairly targeted. Thursday morning, he and his lawyer, Bill Johnson said that Hall has been working to come into compliance with city codes and nuisance abatement laws.
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December 23, 2008
Homestead preservation district resisted by residents
The Travis County Commissioners decided Tuesday to delay a vote on a complicated plan intended to keep residents of Central East Austin in their homes.
The commissioners decided the City of Austin had not given them enough time to analyze the details of the proposed “homestead preservation district.” Several East Austin residents and activists told commissioners that they don’t trust city administrators and want more details on the district before it becomes a reality.
The district would take a portion of the sales and property taxes generated in Central East Austin and use them to fund a land bank serving the area. The land bank would, in turn, buy the land underneath the homes of willing residents. Those residents would then not have to pay property taxes on the land. The owner of the house would have restrictions on who they could sell to.
The land bank could also finance other housing projects intended for low-income residents.
The idea, which originated with state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez of East Austin, is intended to reduce the tax burden of lower-or-fixed income residents whose taxes are rising as property values skyrocket in that part of town. The Legislature authorized it in 2005. Both the City of Austin and Travis County would have to participate for the East Austin district to become a reality.
The City Council approved its end on Dec. 18. The city was pushing the county to make a decision today.
Former Austin City Manager Toby Futrell had resisted the proposal, saying that it could obligate the city to set aside money for an East Austin program that otherwise would have gone into the citywide coffers. The city would be obligated to the arrangement for years, regardless of the economic situation.
County Commissioner Ron Davis, who represents East Austin, cited those and other concerns.
“All of the citizens of Travis County would have to pick up the tab on the taxes being lost,” said Davis, who urged the commissioners not to participate.
“That’s the case with all government programs … we just have to be mindful of who we’re giving the benefit to, and who we’re shifting the burden to,” said Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt, who also wanted time for more analysis.
Longtime East Austin resident Scottie Ivory was among those who also urged the commissioners to slow down until the questions of the neighborhoods affected were answered. Some residents worried it could amount to the city
“I don’t trust the city, and I don’t trust the county,” said Ivory, citing long-standing East Austin grievances against the city dating back to the late 1920s, when the City Council passed a zoning ordinance that effectively consigned most blacks and Hispanics to living east of Interstate 35.
“The city will toss East Austin a bone,” Ivory said, “and then pull it back on a string.”
Margaret Shaw, the director of the city’s Neighborhood Housing and Community Development department, emphasized that the program is voluntary.
“I want to make clear that nobody’s home is being taken away,” she said at the commissioners meeting. Afterward, she said: “What the community wanted is more information, and my staff will be getting it for them.”
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December 2, 2008
A city loan plus some free publicity
Athenian Bar & Grill, which lost its lease on Colorado Street last year, will soon re-open on Congress Avenue, with some money and a little PR help from the city.
The city loaned owner Anil Simicia $250,000 to reopen a new 4,147-square-foot restaurant at 600 Congress Ave.
The restaurant will offer Greek cuisine and some new, more healthful dishes on its menu.
The city’s Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department, which runs the loan program, sent out emails this morning touting a grand opening event at 9 a.m. on Monday at the restaurant.
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September 25, 2008
Austin libraries set closure schedule
As promised in the recently approved budget, branch libraries will close one day a week starting Oct. 2. The money saved from the one day shut downs will be used to pay for security, building upkeep and maintenance of library materials, officials said.
“This budget will allow our libraries to be better maintained, cleaner and safer,” said Brenda Branch, director of libraries, in a statement.
The closures have been paired geographically in an effort to make sure no part of the city is without library service. Here’s the schedule:
The Austin History Center remains closed Thursdays and Fridays, and the Faulk Central Library will maintain its current hours of operation.
Closed Thursdays
Howson, 2500 Exposition
North Village, 2139 W. Anderson Ln.
Hampton Branch at Oak Hill 5125 Convict Hill Rd.
Oak Springs, 3101 Oak Springs Dr.
St. John, 7500 Blessing Ave.
Southeast, 5803 Nuckols Crossing Rd.
Spicewood, 8637 Spicewood Springs Rd.
Terrazas, 1105 E. Cesar Chavez St.
Twin Oaks, 2301 S. Congress Ave.
Windsor Park, 5833 Westminster Dr.
Closed Fridays
Old Quarry, 7051 Village Center Dr.
Yarborough, 2200 Hancock Dr.
Manchaca, 5500 Manchaca Rd.
Carver, 1161 Angelina
Little Walnut, 835 W. Rundberg
Pleasant Hill, 211 W. William Cannon
Milwood 12500 Amherst Dr.
Cepeda 651 N. Pleasant Valley Rd.
Ruiz, 1600 Grove Blvd.
University Hills, 4721 Loyola Ln.
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June 19, 2008
Meeting tonight about homeless RV park
A group of Northeast Austin residents will meet tonight to air their concerns about an RV park for homeless people that a nonprofit group is planning to create.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at True Light Baptist Church, 1300 Fort Branch Blvd.
The Austin City Council agreed to lease 10.6 acres of land to Mobile Loaves & Fishes in April to create Park Place Village, a community with 100 RVs, 50 small cottages, and centralized restroom and laundry facilities.
The nonprofit’s founder, Alan Graham, and Council Member Mike Martinez will attend tonight’s meeting to answer questions.
Some nearby residents fear the park will pose safety problems and hurt their property values. They’re also worried that the park will isolate homeless people on the outskirts of town, rather than placing them closer to jobs and social services where they can succeed. And they’re angry because they say the city approved the project without notifying them of it.
“The plan is incredibly flimsy, not only in terms of helping the homeless population but also protecting the kids who live our neighborhood,” said Karen Skloss, who lives on Delano Street, near Harold Court. “It’s just a crazy idea and we don’t want to be the guinea pigs for it.”
Graham said that applicants will have to submit to a background check, and that those with sexual offenses and drug offenses won’t automatically be ruled out.
The site will be safe, he said, because it will be gated and have security cameras throughout. He said he will also hire security guards, if necessary.
Two case workers will have an office on the site where they can meet with residents and link them with social services such as drug counseling or mental health services, Graham said.
The RV park won’t be set up until sometime next year, he said.
Martinez said the city would be able to back out of the lease if the RV park becomes problematic.
“I am 100 percent committed to making (Park Place Village) as safe as possible and if there are issues that come up and (the park) does not become a benefit to the community, we will shut it down,” he said.
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April 23, 2008
Controversial Hyde Park garage apartment for rent
The Hyde Park garage apartment that neighbors wanted dismantled is for rent.
The lot is too small for a garage apartment, but an application error led the city to grant a permit. To rectify the situation, the garage unit was designated an accessory apartment, which is allowed for smaller lots.
But accessory apartments are for people who are at least 60 years old or disabled, so the main house on Avenue G where 77-year-old Marilyn Wood lives was designated the accessory and the garage apartment the primary residence. And because the accessory structure cannot be a separate one, a mud room was built to connect the main house with the garage.
The designations of the main house and apartment were appealed by neighbors. Currently, the apartment is considered an accessory apartment.
Wood’s son, Vance Holmes, said that the garage apartment is meant for a caretaker so his mother doesn’t have to go into an assisted living facility. Wood said that she doesn’t need a caretaker now.
The ordeal has cost them more than $120,000, Wood said.
“I’m hoping we can work something out,” she said. “It’s a pretty unhappy situation.”
“We won’t rent it until we adhere to the city codes.” Holmes said. “Not at all.”
The apartment is listed for rent online for $1,000 a month.
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February 14, 2008
UT baseball fans back on the bus
A University of Texas baseball fan tradition of watching the games atop buses parked outside Disch-Falk field will continue this season now that the city has found a compromise that addresses the concerns of the neighbors and the spectators.
Responding to a request from the University of Texas Police Department, the city had placed “no parking” signs near the field, said Joe Ramos, acting director of the city’s Public Works Department.
The police department had been getting complaints about the buses from neighbors around Disch-Falk Field because some buses had been parked there for months, Ramos said.
Now that baseball season is upon us, some fans have balked and were ready to make their displeasure known at today’s City Council meeting.
The solution: Parking will be allowed outside the field but with time restrictions so that the buses cannot stay there indefinitely.
It allows the fan tradition to continue but eliminates the neighborhood nuisance, Ramos said.
“I think that’s a decent compromise,” Ramos said.
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February 12, 2008
Bangladeshi Americans respond to story on lawsuit
Several blasting e-mails came in response to yesterday’s article on a lawsuit involving two Bangladeshi organizations.
In their messages, e-mailers defended the Bangladesh Association of Greater Austin, which the Austin Bangladesh Association is accusing of libel in a lawsuit filed Jan. 29 in District Court in Travis County.
The e-mailers said the story is without merit and criticized the Austin American-Statesman for not including comments of members of the the local Bangladeshi American community.
As explained to one e-mailer, the article states: “Bangladesh Association board Chairman Nasim Uddin declined to comment on the lawsuit. Association member Tahsin Asker … did not return calls seeking comment.” And later in the story: “Members of Austin Bangladesh and their lawyer declined to comment or did not return calls.”
The story was based on information available to the reporter — the lawsuit and a Feb. 3 message provided by the Austin Bangladesh Association. Before the story’s publication, repeated calls were made to members of both organizations listed on the associations’ Web sites over a period of at least two days.
In addition, the Bangladesh Association comprises 480 Bangladeshi Americans and the local Bangladesh community includes more than 600, community members wrote in e-mails. The 2000 U.S. Census shows there were about 150 Bangladeshis in Austin.
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January 10, 2008
First Thursday merchants get warning
The appearance of a city task force at First Thursday on South Congress Avenue had some neighbors worried that the monthly street festival was endangered.
Not so, say city officials. But merchants who sell their ware there should be prepared for an enforcement crack down beginning next month.
A city task force went to the November and December First Thursdays on South Congress Avenue, passing out information to vendors and business owners, informing them that there are regulations to follow.
The task force, Public Assembly Code Enforcement, which is made up of staff from city and other local departments and aims to promote safety and quality of life during large gatherings, went to the events in response to neighbors’ complaints to police about noise, parking and vendors set up on property where it’s not allowed, according to Paul Tomasovik, a member of PACE from city code enforcement.
Enforcement of violations, such as selling on a city right-of-way, will begin next month, Tomasovik said.
Some who posted on the Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association Yahoo! Group expressed concern that artists had been run off and First Thursday was no more.
But Jennifer Nowzaradan, who sells her artwork and works as the vendor coordinator for the empty Vespaio lot between Monroe and Annie streets on the west side of Congress Avenue, says she wasn’t at First Thursday last week because it was cold and the January event is usually slow.
While she used to make up to $500 at the event, Nowzaradan says she’s now lucky to make $200. The event is crucial to paying her bills, she said. “Regulating it is hurting our business.”
Brandon Hodge, a business owner and president of South Congress Merchants Association, says there’s no need to worry about First Thursday.
“First Thursday is a living breathing event,” he said. “What’s going on with First Thursday is First Thursday.”
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December 7, 2007
Hollywood Henderson sounds off on East Austin lot proposal
A handful of people, namely property owners, has called in response to Thursday’s story about a proposal to tighten development rules even more on Central East Austin lots that are less than 5,750 square feet. Among those opposing the proposal is former Dallas Cowboy and East Austin native and resident Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, who owns six properties in the Central East Austin neighborhood planning area, including three undeveloped, 3,500-square-foot lots.
The rules now say that on lots of all sizes, a property owner can build a residential structure that is 2,300 square feet or has a floor area that is 40 percent of the area of the lot, whichever is greater. But a proposal of the Organization of Central East Austin Neighborhoods calls for eliminating the 2,300 square feet allowance for lots less than 5,750 square feet in the Central East Austin area.
Rudolph Williams, president of the organization, says doing so would help protect the area’s character, culture, diversity and history. But some such as Henderson say the proposal goes too far and if approved, would damage the community.
“The McMansion ordinance is enough,” Henderson said. “I am a protector of the neighborhood, but this goes too far. … This goes way, way, way too far.”
He said the measure would set a bad precedent and infringes on the rights of developers, home and property owners who might want to build or expand their homes.
“We’re trying to attract families to East Austin,” Henderson said. “How does a family of 5 or 6 live comfortably in 1,400 square feet?”
When the properties of East Austin became attractive, it was both a blessing and a curse, Henderson said, identifying increased property taxes as a curse.
If the proposal is approved by the city, Henderson said he will consider filing a lawsuit.
The proposal is scheduled to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission on Dec. 11.
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November 30, 2007
Tarrytown development proposal attracts crowds to City Hall
About 100 people signed up to speak in Council Chambers yesterday about a proposal for townhomes and condominiums on Exposition Boulevard. Many spoke against the plan, amid worries about increasing density in the neighborhood.
On a first reading, the City Council voted 7-0 to approve zoning for townhomes and condominiums at 3215 Exposition Blvd., a 2.2-acre site formerly part of the Austin State School grounds. The council requested that the development be limited to 20 units and that an architectural and site analysis be conducted.
Tarrytown residents have mobilized against the development proposal this fall, collecting petition signatures opposing multifamily zoning for the property. They said the proposal for 27 townhomes and condominiums on Exposition is too dense and multifamily zoning would set a bad precedent if other parts of the school are sold.
The developer, Steve Beuerlein of Burlington Ventures Inc., said the complex would offer a variety of housing options and called concerns about setting precedent premature.
The council previously postponed the matter, suggesting that a facilitator meet with neighbors and the developer.
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November 28, 2007
Hyde Park garage apartment switcharoo OK, board rules
A controversial garage apartment in Hyde Park cleared another hurdle today, after the city’s board of adjustment was unable to produce enough votes to reverse a compromise reached by city staff.
As a result, the apartment over the garage can be listed as the primary residence and the main house on the Avenue G property can stay as an accessory structure.
But the vote was very close. Technically, a majority of the board tried to reverse the staff recommendation that would have allowed the change, but to do so, six of the seven board members had to approve. The final vote was 5-2.
Three neighbors — Nancy Daley, her husband, Floyd Crawford, and Norman Johns, who lives next door — appealed the city’s decision to allow the change of use. Ideally, they want the garage apartment, meant for a caretaker for the elderly home owner, dismantled.
The lot is too small for a garage apartment, but an error on the application that said the lot size was 2,509 square feet larger than it is led the city to grant a permit for its construction.
To rectify the situation after the error was discovered when construction was nearly complete, the unit above the garage was designated an accessory apartment, which is allowed on a lot of less than 7,000 square feet, unlike a garage apartment. But an accessory apartment is for a person at least 60 years old or physically disabled, so the main house where 77-year-old Marilyn Wood lives was designated the accessory and the garage apartment, the primary residence. And because the accessory structure cannot be a separate one, a mud room was built to connect the main house with the garage.
Had the board overturned staff’s decision, there would have been two options: Either Wood, who suffers from arthritis and has trouble walking up two steps, would have had to move into the garage apartment, which is accessible only by an outdoor staircase, or a caretaker who lived there would have to be over 60.
An appeal of the board’s decision can be submitted within seven days.
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November 21, 2007
Transitional housing no more
An East Austin house that has been used as transitional housing for recovering substance abusers since the end of August is now empty, according to neighborhood residents.
The last resident moved out of the house at 2114 Holly St. on Monday night, Gavino Fernandez Jr. said.
Members of the community spoke out against the house last week, saying they were concerned about the safety of children who walk past the house to and from nearby Metz Elementary School and playing fields.
The owner of the house, Lisa Sitze, said last week when seven men lived there that she hoped to close it down by Thanksgiving. She had until Dec. 2 to come into compliance after receiving a citation from city code enforcement for using the house as transitional housing though it is zoned for single-family residences.
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October 25, 2007
Support for regulating solicitation
Plans to revise the city’s solicitation laws have neighborhood support.
“While this is a divisive issue for neighborhood groups (no group wants to be perceived to be NIMBY or haters of poor people), there are many individuals who want to support expansion and revisions to the current solicitation ordinances,” wrote Lori Cervenak-Renteria in a message that went out today on neighborhood listservs.
The revised ordinance would expand limits on activities such as panhandling.
In her message, Cervenak-Renteria, of the East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Planning Team, included a resolution approved by the planning team that supports expanding the ordinance and a petition that she says can be used to show the City Council that there’s support for revisions.
The City Council is expected to take up the issue again on Nov. 29.
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October 1, 2007
Holly 'officially retired'
In the shadow of the four units that produced decades of power and protests, Austin Energy General Manager Juan Garza proudly announced this morning that the “Holly plant is officially retired.”
“Wow,” Mayor Will Wynn responded.
The closure had been a decade in the making, which Council Member Mike Martinez credited to the dogged work of neighbors, community activists and members of the City Council, including Gus Garcia and Raul Alvarez.
With the closure, the neighborhood will get the “peace and tranquility” that residents have long wanted, Martinez said.
Both Martinez and Wynn took pains at the morning news conference to dispel the rumors that the site, adjacent to Lady Bird Lake, could be redeveloped into condos.
“There is a strong consensus that this (land) should be and will be dedicated park land,” Wynn said.
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Something new at the Holly plant - silence
Late last night, neighbors of the Holly Power Plant heard a strange sound.
Quiet.
At 11:16 p.m., the last steam turbine generator was taken offline. The plant had been operating for 47 years.
Soon afterward, only crickets could be heard — and cheers from about two dozen residents who had gathered to mark the event with an outdoor candlelight vigil near the Holly Street entrance.
Members of the community who had fought for the plant’s closure but who had died before the plant went silent, such as Robert Donley, former chair of the plant closure committee, were recognized. The event also included remarks from neighborhood residents, Hail Mary prayers and a countdown.
Marcos de Leon called the powering down of the plant “destiny” and “bittersweet.” De Leon is president of East Town Lake Citizens Neighborhood Association, which organized the event, and a member of El Concilio, a coalition of about five Mexican American neighborhood groups in East Austin,
“It has not been a very easy fight,” he said.
Bertha Delgado grew up on Haskell Street about three blocks from the plant. Now 28, Delgado remembers protesting with her mother as a little girl. Last night, she said, “We feel happiness.”
“It provided a great service, but it was time to move on,” said Oscar Backus, Austin Energy’s acting director of environmental care and protection, who attended the event.
“It came to its end.”
Residents will gather again at 6 tonight for a dinner at the plant.
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September 28, 2007
Bidding farewell to Holly
The Holly Power Plant is slated to be silenced this weekend, ending a decades-long battle by East Austin residents.
The last two towers will be shut down on Sunday. By the time the plant is dismantled, the city will have spent almost a half billion dollars to close the plant and ensure the city has the electricity it needs. And without the noise and safety concerns wrought by the plant, the neighborhood seems destined for change.
The neighbors unsuccessfully fought the plant when construction started in 1960, and kept fighting even as the droning of the generators became a constant presence.
From an energy-producing standpoint, the plant’s location on Lady Bird Lake made sense because the lake’s water was used for the plant’s boilers. The plant has produced relatively cheap natural gas-generated power for more than four decades.
Its placement of the industrial plant in a residential neighborhood was allowed under the city’s original zoning plan, adopted in 1931. That plan placed projects like Holly in areas designated for the city’s black and Hispanic residents. Groups like PODER maintain that the plant constitutes a health risk, linking the proximity of the plant to complaints of difficulty sleeping, nosebleeds and other ailments.
The city has since rolled back much of that original zoning. But what was done is not easily undone. The city council passed a resolution 1995 to shut down the plant by 2005. That date was pushed back as the city’s energy needs continued to grow.
The city has planned events for workers and residents on Monday.
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