At their Dec. 6 meeting, members of the Parks and Recreation Board responded with compassion to Kimberly McNeeley, assistant director of the Parks and Recreation Department, when she delivered a presentation on the department’s recent Fiscal Year 2015-16 audit. The audit found that PARD’s current resource allocation strategy has proved ineffective, in large part due […]
Joseph Caterine
Posted inParks
Parks compliance with ADA to take 10 years
Nearly a year after the city’s established compliance deadline for the new American with Disabilities Act requirements, the Parks and Recreation Board heard a presentation on the city’s ADA transition plan during its Dec. 6 meeting. Jesus Lardizabal from Altura Solutions, the consulting firm working on the project, outlined a 10-year plan that would bring […]
Posted inParks
Parks board OKs Lamar Beach Master Plan
In advance of its appearance at the Dec. 8 City Council meeting, the Lamar Beach Master Plan was approved with recommendation by the Parks and Recreation Board when it met on Dec. 6. “This is a bad deal for the parks department in phase one,” said Mark Vane, the only board member who voted against […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Land use commissions scramble to prepare for CodeNEXT draft release
Apprehension was in the air as representatives of the CodeNEXT team, led by Planning and Zoning Department Director Greg Guernsey, addressed the joint meeting of the Planning and Zoning and Platting commissions on Nov. 29. “The fact that we’re here, and it’s almost December, and there’s so much we don’t know know, makes us the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Slow response to flood report frustrates some commissioners
The city does not have many options for supporting individuals who suffer loss or damages from flooding caused by a development upstream, based on an exchange at the Nov. 29 joint meeting of the Planning and the Zoning and Platting commissions. After a presentation on the Land Use Review Process by the Development Services Department […]
Posted inCity Hall
City attorney presence could be scaled down at land-use commission meetings
The city’s land-use commissions may lose their on-call legal counsel, according to Mitzi Cotton, assistant division chief at the Law Department, who presented at the Nov. 29 joint meeting of the Planning Commission and the Zoning and Platting Commission. After the city adopted its 10-1 City Council system, then-city attorney Karen Kennard decided that the […]
Posted inThe Code, Uncategorized
BoA postpones interpretation case, disappoints developer
During a special called meeting on Nov. 21, the Board of Adjustment voted to postpone an interpretation case to its next meeting on Dec. 12. Leah Bojo, a senior manager at Drenner Group representing PSW Real Estate, cried “No!” from the audience as Chair William Burkhardt announced that there was time left only to make […]
Posted inZoning
Musical infill: ZAP passes ‘spot zoning’ case
The Zoning and Platting Commission heard a rezoning case during its Nov. 15 meeting that drew criticism from neighborhood representatives who saw it as an example of “spot zoning.” The property is located in Northwest Austin at 7901 Ranch Road 2222. The request was to change the zoning from Limited Office with a Conditional Overlay […]
Posted inCity Hall
ZAP approves Robert’s Rules training
A resolution to provide city staff and assistant city attorneys with training on Robert’s Rules of Order – and to make that training available to all members of boards and commissions – met with animosity from Commissioner Susan Harris at Tuesday’s meeting of the Zoning and Platting Commission. The resolution, sponsored by Commissioner Betsy Greenberg […]
Posted inResources
New city contract: ‘death knell’ for private dumpster services?
Bob Gregory, CEO of Texas Disposal Systems, and his son Adam Gregory sounded the alarm at Monday’s Electric Utility Commission meeting concerning the pending authorization of a 36-month city contract with Republic Services, or another qualified bidder, to provide dumpster services for city facilities and special events. The contract came before the commission because Austin […]
Posted inElections
Flannigan takes District 6, ousts Zimmerman
Don Zimmerman, one of the city’s most controversial City Council members, conceded to challenger Jimmy Flannigan yesterday after the early voting results were released in the early evening, with 12,542 votes (57.65 percent) for Flannigan and 9,213 (42.35 percent) for Zimmerman. The final count was 56.45 percent for Flannigan and 43.55 percent for Zimmerman. The […]
Posted inWhispers
Environmental Commission updated on Burnet Road drainage concerns
Chuck Lesniak from the city’s Watershed Protection Department gave the Environmental Commission an update during its Nov. 4 meeting on flooding concerns around the Charles Maund Volkswagen dealership on Burnet Road. Allendale residents had recently filed complaints about excess flooding in the area around the dealership, suspecting that the drainage near the dealership was being […]