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Barton Hills-Horseshoe Bend Neighborhood Association
Newsletter June, 2000 |
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Neighborhood
Association Meeting Agenda |
Neighborhood Association Meeting
Tuesday, June 27th, 2000 Social Hour and BBQ Dinner 6-7 p.m. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church 2128 Barton Hills Drive Agenda 6-7 PM: Social Hour 7 PM: Business Meeting 1) Call to order and approve minutes of April meeting 2) July 4th Committee Report 3) Presentation by City of Austin on Barton Creek Wastewater Improvements. 4) Committee Reports:
A) Transportation and Traffic Safety Committee B) Environment and Beautification Committee
C) Community Outreach Committee D) Austin Neighborhood Council E) Other Committee Reports F) Appoint Nominations Committee for Year 2001 Officers 5) Treasurer’s Report 6) Consider BHNA contributions toward: A) Austin Parks Foundation Grants 1) Sunken Garden Plan B) Lou Neff Point Improvements C) William Jones Memorial Fund 7. Other Business Adjourn. |
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Police Officer
Shot in Zilker Park |
As most of us have heard, Park Police Officer William Jones was shot to death on Memorial weekend in Zilker Park. The 100 Club of Central Texas is taking donations for his family. He is survived by his wife, and 2 small children. Because this tragedy occurred in our neighborhood, the Barton Hills Neighborhood Association would like to present the 100 Club with a donation for his family. If you would like to contribute money, you can bring a check (written to the neighborhood association) to the meeting on June 27th, or mail a check to the treasurer, John Bell, at 2315 Farnswood Circle. Make sure to note that your money is for the fund for the Jones’ family. If you would like to send an individual donation,you can send it to:
100 Club of Central Texas |
| City Staff Says BHNA will have No Say on Speed Humps and All-Way Stops on Robert E. Lee |
The City Public Works Department is planning to proceed with the installation of speed humps and all-way stop signs on Robert E. Lee in spite of BHNA’s plea for involvement. For months the Department has worked with the adjoining Zilker neighborhood to develop a traffic-calming plan for that neighborhood. Robert E. Lee, Rabb Road, and Rae Dell are boundary streets between BHNA and Zilker, and yet BHNA was not even notified about the proposed traffic devices.
The plan calls for two speed humps on R.E. Lee, four speed humps on Rabb/Rae Dell, and all-way stops at the intersections of R.E. Lee/Barton Hills Drive, R.E. Lee/Rabb Road, and Rea Dell/La Casa. While the entire Zilker neighborhood will be polled on whether or not to implement the plan, the City staff said that Barton Hills would not get an opportunity to vote. BHNA President Joe Gieselman has expressed his concern about possible traffic diversion of thru-traffic to Barton Hills Drive and the lack of notification or involvement to the residents of Barton Hills neighborhood. The BHNA Executive Committee voted to formally protest the City staff’s decision and encourages the neighborhood residents to write or e-mail the members of the Austin City Council to delay the traffic control devices until the City polls the Barton Hills neighborhood as well as the Zilker neighborhood. Please contact your council members at: City of Austin Mayor Kirk Watson Mayor Pro-Tem Jackie Goodman Council Member Beverly Griffith Council Member Daryl Slusher Council Member Raul Alvarez Council Member Will Wynn Council member Danny Thomas |
| BHNA to Consider Neighborhood Park Grants |
The Austin Park Foundation provides grants ranging in size from $300 to $2,500 to neighborhood-based groups to improve City parks. The grant applicant must provide 100% match, either in-kind (volunteer hours) or cash. Grant applications are due June 30.
At its June 27th meeting, BHNA will consider whether to contribute to two grant projects: 1) hike n’ bike trail along R.E. Lee Road, including a memorial to Park Ranger William Jones; and 2) professional services to develop a plan for the rehabilitation of Sunken Gardens. Both projects are within Zilker Park west of Barton Creek and within the BHNA boundary. |
| City to Begin Barton Creek Wastewater Improvements |
The City has initiated two projects to improve wastewater lines within the BHNA area. The Barton Creek Interceptor Downsizing/ Rehabilitation project will install a smaller pipe within the existing pipe (about 8,200 L.F.) to reduce the size and carrying capacity of the interceptor, to prevent infiltration of groundwater, to avoid deposit of sediments due to low flow, and to reduce corrosion. The existing pipe is beneath the trail along the west side of Barton Creek. The contractor will use a "push and pull" method to slip the new plastic pipe through two openings in the existing pipe and will minimize disruption to trail activities. The project begins in October.
The Barton Creek Lift Station Force Main and Robert E. Lee Interceptor Rehabilitation project is in the design phase, but will replace the existing force main between the lift station in the parking lot of Barton Springs Pool and Toomey Road. The route of the new force main will be either bore under Zilker Park, west of Barton Creek, or parallel to the existing main along Robert E. Lee Road. The existing 40-year old force main will be abandoned. This project is scheduled to begin in 2002. Both projects were listed in Bond Proposition 9, approved by the voters in the November, 1998 election. A City representative will attend the BHNA June 27th meeting to make a short presentation and answer questions. |
| The Steps at Lou Neff Point |
The Zilker Park Conservancy, an umbrella organization representing dozens of park users and improvement groups, is seeking BHNA support to replace the deteriorating steps that lead to Lou Neff Point in Zilker Park. The Point is on the south side of Town Lake where Barton Creek joins the river.
The Conservancy proposes replacing the existing railroad tie steps that lead to the Point with ones made from stone and to replace the railroad tie retaining wall along the hike and bike trail with a stone retaining wall. For additional information, contact Randy Storm, rstorm@compdata.com, 329-6161 x235. |
| Sunken Gardens Rehabilitation Committee |
The Sunken Gardens rehabilitation committee is setting up a project to return the Sunken Gardens area to its original (1938) state, available for use as a picnic or meditation site. The project will include work on the structural integrity of the facility, landscaping and surface work, and habitat restoration.
The group is coordinating its activities with the City of Austin, which will soon be installing plaques describing the historical and environmental value of the area. The City is also working to increase surface flow from the spring to the creek in support of habitat restoration. The entire Sunken Gardens Rehabilitation project is expected to be costly--several hundred thousand dollars--and the committee is currently focused on collecting photos, drawings, plans, and other information that can be combined in a project plan and used for fund-raising activities. To support development and publication of the project plan, which will cost approximately $1,000, the group is seeking donations as well as a matching grant from the Austin Parks Foundation. To date, the committee has received advice and offers of support from a number of local people and groups. However, much more help is needed. If you are willing to donate needed skills--for example, engineering, fundraising, landscaping--or know of someone who might have interest in providing volunteers, reduced-rate services, or influential support, please contact Sharon Slagle at (512) 432-8051 or at ramke@bga.com. In addition, please make financial donations for this project to John Bell, BHNA Treasurer. |
| Terrace Update | At our last meeting, the presentation Kelly Shannon made regarding the Terrace development (just across Barton Creek from our neighborhood) seemed to have more questions than answers surrounding the issue – despite an already extensive amount of research on the part of the BHNA Terrace Committee on the issue. However, since that meeting, a great deal more has been learned about this issue that is so important to many of BH’s residences. As many of us know, this development was initiated years ago, and though there had been little activity on it for years, the bustling economy in Austin has recently accelerated the activity on this 109 acre tract of land.
To give a little background, in March 1987 this project was initially approved by the City Planning Commission. The development began as a grandiose reflection of the kind of development prevalent in Austin during the 1980’s, with a large number of buildings and a significant amount of impervious cover, with a potential style that was designed to contrast rather than coexist with the surroundings. Through a series of six major revisions – each time being approved by the Development Review and Inspection Department without additional review necessary by the Planning Commission – the project has been scaled back. The size and number of buildings and amount of roadways have been reduced, the square footage was dropped by almost 100,000 square feet, impervious cover was reduced from the approved 32.55% to 27.93%, and a planned convention center was eliminated from the plans. Also, because of the wellspring of environmentalism in Austin, the owner/manager has voluntarily incorporated both passive and active mechanisms to further reduce the environmental impact of the development. At the request of the development, the US Fish and Wildlife Department reviewed the project and recommended further environmental protection measures that were incorporated into the plans – to the extent that USF&W Department now describes the development as "exemplary." Doing "more than is legally required" is not necessarily enough when it comes to the beautiful untainted land along Barton Creek, but the developers have consistently shown a willingness – regardless of the motive behind it – to make changes to reduce the environmental and visual impact. The bottom line? The plot of land could be developed exactly as the project was originally approved without any legal repercussions, mainly because this development was created as a PUD, which has no time limit on eventual development. Further, even if it had been created as a regular development, Texas House Bill 1704 (and later Senate Bill 1704) effectively eliminated the city’s ability to retroactively apply any more-stringent water-quality limitations no matter how much time had passed since initial approval, despite widespread local support for doing so. Fortunately, the owners of this property see benefits – perhaps financial or for public relations – for a ‘park-like’ setting and have chosen to retain a great deal of natural vegetation, utilize "native" materials for the buildings, and have shown particular interest in meeting with members of our association to discuss the plans and our concerns. Also, our meeting with the Development Review and Inspection Dept. (attended by DRID employees who either were directly involved with the Terrace PUD or who specialized in water-quality issues) gave us an opportunity to voice our concerns and we found that DRID was significantly more oriented towards neighborhood and environmental concerns than we had expected. Exterior lighting and detailed building plans (different from site plans and subject to approval and expiration) are areas where we are pursuing further information. Also, our issues with the project, in regards to visual impact, will be attended to as DRID continues to review the project. Our goals as a committee were 3-tiered: 1. Determine the current state of the development – what the legal status is, what is built, what is approved, what remains to be approved, which agency has approved what, and what the impact will be upon the Barton Hills/Horseshoe Bend neighborhoods. 2. Determine what influence, if any, BHNA may be able to bring to bear on the issue including what our legal standing and issues would be in any potential suit against the Terrace PUD and/or Austin DRID. Obviously any violations of the original restrictive covenant or any points where DRID had overstepped their authority to authorize changes would be key issues. 3. We would work to assure that our opinions and concerns have been heard and to the extent possible, addressed by both the City of Austin and Terrace PUD. Furthermore, we will produce a summary report for the BHNA on what we have discovered, in greater detail than this article, and report back to BHNA on continuing issues. We will work to effectively monitor the development on an on-going basis and alert the developers and DRID of any deviation, accidental or intentional, from the approved plans that negatively impact any of our concerns, environmental, aesthetic, visibility, lighting, etc. We will need additional volunteers for this large endeavor in order to maintain consistency, so please help if you can. Also, shortly we will be meeting with Rod Arend – partner and developer of the project – to share our concerns regarding environmental, visual/aesthetic, and exterior lighting aspects. Obviously, residents of Barton Hills/Horseshoe Bend would rather that this development never happen at all, but based on our research, short of actually buying the land ourselves, it is inevitable and we could have ended-up with a considerably worse neighbor. However, there is every to think that Mr. Arend will be motivated to incorporate reasonable changes into the project to address our concerns. We may also find solace in these facts 1. The City of Austin is considering a partnership with the project as a means to further develop greater environmental-impact buffers. 2. Our concerns have greater visibility through the Development Review and Inspection Department than before. 3. This project can be viewed as one of the most environmentally friendly projects in Austin approved in the 1980s. However, it is being built 13 years later when the rules are more stringent and will feature 8% more impervious cover than would be allowed today. If you wish to voice your concerns, please feel free to contact the Committee Chairman, Kelly Shannon at 445.4521 or by email: mailto:kelly_shannon@dell.com. Also, you can contact the City of Austin Planning Commission, Development Review Department – office of Katherine Loayza at 499.2665 or by email: mailto:katherine.loayza@ci.austin.tx.us |
| Unclaimed Stolen Items Found |
A car stolen in west Austin was recovered the first week of June. The inside of the car was loaded with unclaimed stolen items. If your car, garage, or home was burglarized between May 22 and June 1st, and you did not make a police report, call Dan Toney at the Austin Police Department at 974-5308 and give a description of the items stolen. There have been items recovered from Barton Hills, Westlake, and Rollingwood neighborhoods. |
| National Night Out |
The Austin Police Department is sponsoring the annual National Night Out campaign again this year. The date is August 1, 2000. We are all encouraged to turn on our porch lights and go outside. It is a great time to meet the neighbors you do not know, and visit with the ones you do. Last year there were several "block parties". Officers from the police department drove around and stopped to visit. The kids got badges too!
If you would like to organize a block party or group party, call Art Stone at 444-5757 or Kay Killen at 447-4287. It is a fun time for neighbors, and a good time for remembering that we are all here watch out for each other and to help each other out. If you can’t participate in a gathering, please turn on your porch light. |
| If you are not a neighborhood association member, sign up today! The cost is a mere $5.00 per year, and the benefits are well worth it.
Return the membership form below with $5.00 check, payable to Barton Hills Neighborhood Association, to: John Bell, Treasurer 2000 Barton Hills - Horseshoe Bend Neighborhood Association Membership Form Name(s) (include full names of all 18+ household members) (1) ______________ (2) _________________ (3) _______________ Address: _____________________ Phone: (H) ________ (W) _________ E-mail: ____________________ I/we wish to receive the newsletter: ___ in paper form ___ by e-mail ___ both |
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INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE |
JOIN US FOR OUR 7TH ANNUAL FOURTH OF JULY PARADE! Tuesday, July 4th, 2000 |
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We need volunteers to help set up tables before the parade at the playground.
We need donations of cookies and watermelon! Please drop them off at the park before the parade, or if you’d like to contribute before the 4th call Yates Barreda at 448-1276 to arrange another time for drop off. There will be a kazoo band in the parade. Kazoos will be provided, so get ready to join in the fun! If you’d like to help the parade committee with the details, or for more information, call the committee chair-person, |
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SPIRIT! |
Decorate your stroller, wagon, bike,
Skates, hat, or whatever and join in the parade! You just may win an award… |
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