Dear Neighbor,
This year, the City of Austin will plan and rezone land along Burnet Rd and Anderson Ln. As a neighborhood activist involved in planning and transportation issues along these two corridors over the last ten years, I will be writing a blog this year covering the plan.
Also, my organization, Sustainable Neighborhoods of North Central Austin (SN), will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, January 27th, 7 PM at North Village Library, to discuss preconditions for a successful Burnet Rd plan.
SN has worked since 2007 to communicate and start to execute a positive vision for the Burnet and Anderson corridors. Our vision acknowledges the fiscal and environmental drivers behind urban growth. It anticipated by several years the key comprehensive plan “compact and connected” goal. It accomplishes ‘compact and connected’ without sacrificing the most important existing features that make our part of town so delightful, in particular its diversity and strong sense of community.
The intent of this blog will be to explain the details of the SN vision, and point out key gaps in City of Austin policies that put that vision (and possibly the corridor plan itself) at risk. I sincerely want to end the year on the road to a successful plan, as judged by most area residents.
I
do this with malice towards none. It
has always been an SN practice to be respectful to all stakeholders, City of
Austin staff especially. There are many
legitimate challenges facing Austin. My observation is that City of Austin
staff personally try to do their best, given the many competing goals and
priorities they face. That doesn’t
always result in decisions favoring neighborhoods. But with a clear, detailed, and positive vision that we have
carried forward for nearly a decade, I hope that SN can help in getting the
best plan that is possible for our North Central Austin community. Steven Zettner President, Sustainable Neighborhoods of North Central Austin (SN) |
Burnet Corridor Plan >