Antone's Nightclub
Thoughts on Growth
RECEIVED Wed., Nov. 28, 2018
Dear Editor,
With greater density comes the need for increased utility infrastructure, i.e., more power and telecommunication lines, greater storm drainage capacity, larger water and sewerage supply lines, [and] more water and sewage treatment plants. If a single-family residence is bulldozed to provide four "affordable" housing units, the impact on existing utilities will be quadrupled. The cost of the required improvements on a large scale, along with the cost of years of street demolition and construction we will have to endure to install adequate new services, will be significant. We taxpayers will certainly also be asked to pay for new mass transit as we "grow up," since it will be argued that certain construction costs might possibly be shared.
Austin's City Council has, in the past, required notoriously little in municipal contributions from developers. We taxpayers end up footing the urban bill for their substantial corporate gains. Now that we have an opportunity to revisit a new zoning code, perhaps City Council should ensure that the essential engineering and environmental impact studies required to implement sustainable utility impact fees are conducted prior to Austin's becoming an even more UNaffordable place for Texans to live.
With greater density comes the need for increased utility infrastructure, i.e., more power and telecommunication lines, greater storm drainage capacity, larger water and sewerage supply lines, [and] more water and sewage treatment plants. If a single-family residence is bulldozed to provide four "affordable" housing units, the impact on existing utilities will be quadrupled. The cost of the required improvements on a large scale, along with the cost of years of street demolition and construction we will have to endure to install adequate new services, will be significant. We taxpayers will certainly also be asked to pay for new mass transit as we "grow up," since it will be argued that certain construction costs might possibly be shared.
Austin's City Council has, in the past, required notoriously little in municipal contributions from developers. We taxpayers end up footing the urban bill for their substantial corporate gains. Now that we have an opportunity to revisit a new zoning code, perhaps City Council should ensure that the essential engineering and environmental impact studies required to implement sustainable utility impact fees are conducted prior to Austin's becoming an even more UNaffordable place for Texans to live.
Deborah Ford Femat
