Barton Hills Neighborhood Association

_________

TO: The Honorable Gus Garcia, Mayor
Honorable Members of the Austin City Council

FROM: Robin McKeever, President
Barton Hills Neighborhood Association

DATE: March 20, 2002

SUBJECT: Statement on Proposed Sale or Swap of H. E. Brodie Tract

The Barton Hills Neighborhood Association joins the Barton View Neighborhood Association and other eminent organizations regarding any proposed sale or swap of the H. E. Brodie Tract. The Brodie Tract is the 83-acre triangular property bounded on the west by the Barton Creek Greenbelt, on the south and east by the Barton View Neighborhood, and on the north by Loop 360, which is adjacent to the Barton Hills area.

We seek a resolution to protect our directly affected neighborhoods, the purity of Barton Creek and the Edwards Aquifer, the environmental integrity of the Greenbelt, and the safety of Austin citizens. The site is ecologically unique and historical; access is difficult and dense residential areas are nearby. Therefore, we respectfully and urgently request that the City work with neighborhood representatives, the environmental community, and other interested parties to preserve the site, or as much of the site as possible.

We believe preservation should be achieved by resisting any effort to sell or develop the H. E. Brodie Tract. If this cannot be achieved, we would propose transferring the pervious area to the portion developed within SOS guidelines without losing title to the undeveloped portion of the property. Any development should be limited to the area that would be least damaging to the aquifer recharge zone: the vicinity closest to the intersection of highways 290 and 360.

The City’s ownership of this land is a public trust. It presents an important opportunity to protect the recharge zone while extending the urban park system and assisting public access to the Greenbelt. Preserving this property would help to counterbalance very significant losses of other properties along the Creek to intense development. Specifically, the Barton Hills Neighborhood Association is beginning to experience serious negative impacts from The Terrace, a vast development project approved in the 1980s but just now coming to dominate the landscape at Hwy. 360 and MoPac.

Thank you for considering our request.