In Austin’s Shoal Creek neighborhood, residents are divided over the prospect of a massive new mixed-use development. While some welcome the growth, others say the proposal hasn’t been properly vetted. But taking a walk around the Shoal Creek neighborhood, one can clearly see that, for or against, the residents are all concerned. Along a quiet […]
Leslie Pool
Austin City Council member for District 7
Posted inCity Council
Unresolved PUD changes spark Council fight
As has been widely reported by now, civility lost its way at last Thursday’s City Council meeting, culminating with a tweet from Council Member Leslie Pool. That tweet, since deleted, read, “So maybe this is the nail in Gallo’s coffin.” It was posted as tensions, and subtext, ran high during a heated discussion about proposed […]
Posted inCity Council
Pool looks back at past year, outlines future plans
City Council Member Leslie Pool made the environment, city services and transparency major issues in her 2014 campaign, and based on her look back at the freshman year of Austin’s first 10-1 Council, she remains concerned about those issues. The District 7 representative talked with the Austin Monitor on Dec. 15 about the new Council’s […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics Commission recommends controversial lobbying ordinance
To the delight of city ethics reformers and over the strong objections of developers and real estate professionals, the Ethics Review Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend to City Council a resolution aimed at overhauling city lobbying rules. The recommended language was the result of months of back-and-forth among Council Member Leslie Pool, the measure’s […]
Posted inRoads
Austinites sound off on MoPac South
Austin-area elected officials, advocates and community members gathered at Austin High School on Monday for a forum on the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s proposed MoPac South tolled expansion. The event revealed a general dissatisfaction and frustration with the available options. “The best of these proposals don’t provide a direct benefit to Austin High or […]
Posted inThe Code
Land-use pros respond to lobby proposal
If City Council eventually approves an ordinance based on Council Member Leslie Pool’s resolution to revise the city’s lobby registration laws, the result could be a Planning Commission with no architects, engineers or other land-use professionals, according to a group of those professionals representing 11 different organizations. A separate city ordinance prohibits any registered lobbyist […]
Posted inThe Code
Opposition to lobbying resolution organizes
Some of Austin’s most influential members of the development, engineering, architectural and contractor communities have banded together to address mounting concerns over proposed revisions to the city’s Lobbying Registration Ordinance. The list of organizations concerned about the language in the currently proposed ordinance is impressive. A letter sent out this week to City Council was […]
Posted inCity Hall
Pool proposes changes to rules for lobbyists
If City Council Member Leslie Pool and her cadre of ethics reformers have their way, any number of people who are currently working to persuade city officials to take action, or not, will have to register under a revised city lobby ordinance. And there may be a shakeup at city commissions as well. At a […]
Posted inPlanning
Crestview park could be on the way
Crestview Neighborhood activists may finally get the new park they’ve wanted for years. Austin Energy is currently in the process of finding a new storage site so that one of its current properties, at 6909 Ryan Drive, can be converted into parkland or a combination of parkland and housing. City Council Member Leslie Pool, who […]