To clarify for everyone what the NWACA Board and the Ad Hoc PUD Committee have been and are doing with respect to the Austin Oaks PUD, the Committee has put together the key points below. At the Annual Meeting tomorrow night, we won’t have time for a serious discussion of the matter, but we will give a status update at the start of the meeting. We are reaching out to all stakeholders, and we are asking Council Member Gallo to create a forum for deep communication on the topic, where all neighbors can hear and ask questions about redevelopment of Austin Oaks.
Let me reiterate that contrary to what’s been said and implied on Facebook, no NWACA entity – Board or Committee or Board Member – has been in negotiations with the developer. We have been playing a communication role between our community, the developer, and other parties, in line with the points below.
- The Northwest Austin Civic Association (NWACA) Board is an elected volunteer board made up of your neighbors who live throughout the community. Board members work on behalf of all of our neighbors in many areas, including the 4th of July Parade, Murchison Pool Project, wildfire prevention, oak wilt prevention, and transportation Issues, to name a few.
- The Ad Hoc Committee is made up of a diverse group of existing and prior NWACA board members who are willing to meet more frequently than the full Board. The Ad Hoc Committee has already put in hundreds of hours on this issue, in addition to their other NWACA related services for our community. The Ad Hoc Committee reports to and takes express direction from the full NWACA Board.
- The mission of NWACA is to preserve, promote, and enhance the exceptional and unique character of our neighborhood. Thus NWACA will continue to oppose any redevelopment efforts that fail to meet these requirements.
- Based on the NWACA neighborhood survey in September 2014, the NWACA Board voted unanimously to oppose the Austin Oaks PUD (AO PUD) application in a NWACA Board Resolution.
- Since June 2014, NWACA has
- surveyed the community three times (at the August 2014 community meeting, in September 2014, and in March 2015)
- communicated the Board Resolution and survey results to Council Member Gallo, the other council members, the developer, the City staff and the Zoning and Platting Commission (ZAP)
- met with City staff and maintained contact, to monitor the status of the PUD application and to register NWACA’s opposition.
- met with two ZAP Commissioners individually to communicate the community’s opposition to the PUD application.
- has spoken at one of the ZAP Commission meetings to publicly state our community’s opposition to the PUD application.
- has offered to meet with each of the ZAP Commissioners to answer any questions that they might have.
- was successful in having ZAP impose status update deadlines on the staff and the developer.
- has attended most of the ZAP meetings in which AO PUD was on the agenda in order to monitor the status.
- At their requests, NWACA and other neighborhood associations have met with Council Member Gallo, City staff, Zoning Commissioner McDaniel, and the developer. NWACA has also met with Zoning Commissioner Goodman. NWACA has reiterated the survey results and the community’s opposition to the PUD at every meeting it has been invited to, and will continue to do so.
- Council Member Sheri Gallo has clearly communicated her desire that NWACA meet with the developer and seek resolution, and to work to educate the community on PUDS. NWACA respectfully requests that Council Member Gallo establish a community dialog and bring the City experts to get our community’s many questions answered regarding redevelopment of the AO property.
- NWACA urges the developer to follow the collaborative and inclusive model of community engagement and input used successfully by other developers of properties in other parts of Austin.