ColdTowne Theater
No on Project Duration Ordinance
RECEIVED Wed., March 27, 2013
Dear Editor,
Contact the mayor and Council today and ask them to vote no on grandfathering or not complying with established city ordinances.
It was bad enough that the ridge over Barton Creek suffered the grandfathering that allowed the development of office space and parking garages there, as a result of a legislative overturning of Austin's historic Save Our Springs Ordinance.
It would be a crime to nullify in one vote the work that produced the Heritage Tree Ordinance, the McMansion Ordinance, new zoning classifications, Great Streets Program, the Imagine Austin comprehensive plan, the latest water quality protection measures, historic preservation measures, and Town Lake Corridor protections.
The 2012 decision by the majority of voters to enfranchise the remainder of the city, based on neighborhood representation, must direct this Council to leave the discussion of this Project Duration Ordinance to the 10-1 Austin City Council! No decisions of this magnitude should rest with a City Council on the verge of evolving into a new 10-1 system.
There are many citizen entrepreneurs, all people that see the healthy potential of Austin and recognize the need for new direction and priorities. The protection of forests, prairies, rivers, and creek ecosystems directly translates into the vitality of our local economy and ecology; healthy people, healthy planet, healthy economy.
No one on the City Council could deny the health of all citizens as being more important than using the city as a commodity. Respect must be given to protect the integrity of community planning by committee, which produced the local regulations currently in practice by neighborhoods citywide. The people of Austin have the right and responsibility to lead and not be led.
Contact the mayor and Council today and ask them to vote no on grandfathering or not complying with established city ordinances.
It was bad enough that the ridge over Barton Creek suffered the grandfathering that allowed the development of office space and parking garages there, as a result of a legislative overturning of Austin's historic Save Our Springs Ordinance.
It would be a crime to nullify in one vote the work that produced the Heritage Tree Ordinance, the McMansion Ordinance, new zoning classifications, Great Streets Program, the Imagine Austin comprehensive plan, the latest water quality protection measures, historic preservation measures, and Town Lake Corridor protections.
The 2012 decision by the majority of voters to enfranchise the remainder of the city, based on neighborhood representation, must direct this Council to leave the discussion of this Project Duration Ordinance to the 10-1 Austin City Council! No decisions of this magnitude should rest with a City Council on the verge of evolving into a new 10-1 system.
There are many citizen entrepreneurs, all people that see the healthy potential of Austin and recognize the need for new direction and priorities. The protection of forests, prairies, rivers, and creek ecosystems directly translates into the vitality of our local economy and ecology; healthy people, healthy planet, healthy economy.
No one on the City Council could deny the health of all citizens as being more important than using the city as a commodity. Respect must be given to protect the integrity of community planning by committee, which produced the local regulations currently in practice by neighborhoods citywide. The people of Austin have the right and responsibility to lead and not be led.
Respectfully,
William Stout
William Stout
