No Place Like City Hall for the Holidays

Cramming all the municipal detritus into the year's last City Council meeting is as much of a holiday tradition as eggnog, mistletoe, and awkward, alcohol-powered passes at the office winter party – and today (Thursday, Dec. 17) council is determined not to disappoint.

Revisions to the city's texting-while-driving ban – passed, but not yet in effect – are in motion (Item 90), although among the careening proposals, there's potential for a three-way collision. First is the original ban, chiefly sponsored by Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez. Second is today's potential amendment from Laura Morrison and Chris Riley, which broadly prohibits the use of "other application software" on the road. Meanwhile, a third amendment, approved by both the Austin Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission and the Transportation Commission, rewires the ban, stating drivers "may not manually operate the keypad of a wireless communication device to create or send a text-based communication," be it text, IM, or e-mail. As mobile computing becomes more ubiquitous, so do questions: "For instance, the [original] ordinance generally permits you to listen to MP3 music while driving, which you'd expect. It would not, however, allow you to use a streaming Internet music service such as pandora.com," writes Chip Rosen­thal, Tech and Teleco chair, on his blog. "The discrepancy doesn't make sense, would be confusing to drivers, and is bad policy." Will his alternate proposal gain traction or crash and burn? Don't touch that iPhone!

Plans to relocate a South Lamar billboard only feet away from condo dwellers at Bridges on the Park are also sowing discord. Item 92 from Randi Shade, Riley, and Morrison would spend as much as $25,000 to relocate the signage, while Item 141 keeps similar eyesores 500 feet away from residential uses. Pointing to loopholes in a 2008 ordinance revision – passed before any of Item 92's sponsors were on the dais – that permitted the billboard next to the commercially zoned, mixed-use development, Shade says the city should rectify its mistake. "This should set no precedent," she says. "This is a special case involving one billboard relocation that was legal under a new ordinance that shouldn't have been," and one that Item 141 addresses. The cost, already fodder for talk-radio blowhards, also comes from billboard fees, not property taxes, and Shade says "negotiations are in progress" on the fee. But some on council aren't yet sold. Via Facebook, Martinez reiterated comments he made to the Statesman saying, "I didn't think I could support that item" due to the cost. (Shade says Martinez "doesn't really know very much about this yet, I don't think. ... We haven't visited yet on it.")

Also sparking discussion is the Grayco/South Shore Planned Unit Development (Item 126), returning for third and final reading following rebuffs that its affordable-housing contributions were insufficient. Now, the larger question facing council is whether the millions allocated for affordable housing will be centered on the Riverside area directly impacted by the PUD or should address housing needs across the city. Also anybody's guess is whether Morrison and Mayor Lee Leffingwell – who twice voted against the original proposal – will remain opposed.

We ain't done yet: Item 82 would extend the city's recycling contract with Greenstar North America while the city moves toward creating its own materials recovery facility. Staff recommends a 36-month contract extension with options to renew. According to city documents, the contract currently collects $7.7 million in revenues while costing $14.8 million – ergo the need for a revision. Once again, the city's lack of an MRF puts us between a recycled rock and a hard place. Item 43 would ratify the collective bargaining agreement, recently approved by the union, between the city and the Austin Firefighters Association – Bill Spelman told In Fact Daily he will oppose the contract as too costly and unfair to other city employees. And Item 72 would recommend local firm Steel Advertising & Interactive to initiate the long-delayed city website redesign. Another contract will be awarded in 2010 for the actual implementation. And if that's not enough, last week's welter of historic zoning requests returns, a matter detailed in this week's "City Hall Hustle."