Stories by Sean Saldaña
Ambitious vision plan for Zilker Park seeks community input
Hosting more than 1.3 million visitors a year, Zilker Park is perhaps the most iconic and beloved public space in Austin. Founded in 1917 with a land donation from Andrew Jackson Zilker, Zilker is the city’s oldest metropolitan park. Eighty years…
Parks • By Sean Saldaña • May 21, 2021
Zero Waste Advisory Commission talks through logistics of Prop B
With the passage of Proposition B earlier this month, Austin residents voted to reinstate local laws establishing prohibitions against sitting, resting and camping in public in certain parts of the city. Opponents of the proposition argued that in addition to having…
Austin • By Sean Saldaña • May 18, 2021
PARD publishes update on Montopolis Negro School preservation effort
For nearly three decades in the 20th century, the Montopolis Negro School gave Black children an education in an era when they were not welcome in Austin schools. The schoolhouse at 500 Montopolis Drive was not just a place of education,…
Preservation • By Sean Saldaña • May 13, 2021
Breaking down the Reimagining Public Safety task force’s recommendations
Last month, the city’s newly formed joint city-community Reimagining Public Safety task force released its 2021 mid-year recommendations report. At over 70 pages long, the report’s proposals range from popular police reform policy changes to ideas that would fundamentally reshape the way the…
Public Safety • By Sean Saldaña • May 10, 2021
PARD requests budget increase for security, staffing and program expansion
Last week, the Parks and Recreation Board unanimously voted to approve recommendations for budget increases for the 2021-22 fiscal year. According to the recommendation, Austin’s parks system has experienced an increase in off-leash dog violations, illegal parking, notifications of homeless…
Budget • By Sean Saldaña • May 6, 2021
Austin Resource Recovery reworking Zero Waste Master Plan
When City Council unanimously adopted the Austin Resource Recovery Master Plan in 2011, it was a bold step toward making Austin “the most livable city in the country.” At more than 300 pages, the plan laid out a number of environmental…
Resources • By Sean Saldaña • Apr 22, 2021
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City Council exploring ways to shrink APD scope of work
This Thursday, City Council will meet to work through more of the logistics of the city’s biggest policy priority over the last year: reimagining public safety. In a memo sent to Council on April 9, Rey Arellano, assistant city manager…
Public Safety • By Sean Saldaña • Apr 19, 2021
Park rangers continue reworking operations ahead of summer season
In a memo sent to City Council last week, Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly McNeeley provided an update about PARD’s upcoming summer operations, detailing “Covid-19 modified protocols, winter storm recovery challenges and general operational details for the season.” The update…
Parks • By Sean Saldaña • Apr 14, 2021
Landmark commission postpones demolition in West Line Historic District
The Historic Landmark Commission heard a proposal last month to demolish an old building and construct a new one on a property located in the West Line Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in…
Preservation • By Sean Saldaña • Apr 9, 2021
Landmark Commission votes against front-yard pool proposal
At last month’s meeting on March 22, the Historic Landmark Commission discussed a certificate of appropriateness application to modify the landscape, construct a terrace and build a swimming pool at the historic Jackson-Novy-Kelly-Hoey House at 2406 Harris Blvd. First recommended…
Preservation • By Sean Saldaña • Apr 8, 2021
Landmark commission approves changes to historic Mary Street home
Last week, the Historic Landmark Commission gave the go-ahead for some repairs and upgrades to a home at 508 E. Mary St., a property in the Mary Street Historic District. Originally established in 1928, “the 500 block of E. Mary…
Preservation • By Sean Saldaña • Apr 5, 2021
Landmark Commission postpones decision to deliberate on historic designation
At last week’s meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission, commissioners reviewed a rehabilitation case at 1601 Brackenridge St. The home, which was built in 1915, was first inhabited by William and Lettie Webster Davis, two teachers at the Texas School…
