EMLK Contact Team Meeting for June 20th at 7.pm at St. James Episcopal Church at Webberville Road

Hello Everybody,

We will EMLK Planning Contact Team meeting on June 20th at the St. James Episcopal Church at Webberville road at 7.00pm

topics

1. A presentation from public works department on La loma Trail Design - (30 min)
We are requesting Kevin Sweat from Public Works Department (we will request Kevin listen to #2 and #3 so that we can get some good suggestion from him)

Please bring your questions about sidewalks and other public works topics.

2. Status of Redbluff nature reserve - what's next step? - Pete Rivera (10 min)

3. Status of Little Walnut Creek - How we can help moving forward? Andrea Beleno/Tyson (10 min)

4. Update on trail through Morris Williams Golf course - Tyson Brown (10 min)

5. Patrick Russell on how to gather data for EMLK region for various projects (10 min)

6.EMLK strategies and requests to city council (pinaki will provide a list and we will have a discussion)

7. planning for CIPs (let's give it another try - last year inputs from 150 people were rejected because we were few days late.) - Pinaki Ghosh

Last time we had 4 people in the meeting - the city employees come to our meetings and it's a privilege for us. I will request more people to join the meetings. We can't complain if we don't participate.

thanks
Pinaki

Code next EMLK View

Like many of your I have tried to go through the Code-next document - here are some of my views based on my experience. I am posting it here in the blog - please feel free to add comments. I will also post it in next-door.

There is a presentation from Linda Bailey here 

in general you can find everything about code next here

Some city employees (and they are fellow Austin residents, like Greg, Jorge) are working very hard on this over and above their existing work duties so we will try to respect their ideas and views  and be cognizant of their hard work.

Goal: At the End of August we from EMLK Planning Contact team would like to provide city development a succinct advisory document from EMLK region providing our concerns in a factual basis to help them with developing a new code for the city of Austin, which it needs. So this write up is focused towards EMLK area and you can find the map here.

• A lot of the city will be up-zoned and they are up in arms about that (and rightly) but in east side we have been exposed to much worse condition through something called cottage lots and allows 65 to 70% impervious coverage without any  consideration for run-offs. (isn't that funny) 

• In 2011, 950 acres of land in EMLK area was converted to high-density property without any consideration to infrastructure (compare that with the infrastructure developed for Mueller) - this was done because anything goes in east Austin.

• EMLK also receives the run-off from Mueller free of charge.

• So the EMLK area has already been heavily affected by high density development which is code next will be dealing with in the next few years.

Separation of Concerns

There are 3 separate items which we are often combining as one.  My next set of statements will be based on these 3 separate concerns.

1. Rewriting the code to help planners and citizens navigate and make the development code usable
2. Rezoning various parts of the city with new zones/codes but under existing density model
3. Up zoning of various parts of the city

One of the primary challenge is that city management is trying to solve all the concerns together. This makes the job much more difficult

Concern #1 Rewriting code

Facts

1. This is "form" land development code (land under cities jurisdiction and not ETJ)
2. In-fact city is working on 3 different code structures to align to different parts of the city based on density and form.
3. This is mostly rearranging or all the building codes (under Chapter 25 now) to pervasively include all the ordinances passed by city in the last 20 years.
4. This also indexes the code in a way that uses (planners and citizens) do not  have to be a rocket scientist to read city code.
5. Removes a lot of  the conflicts that remains through various ordinances which creates thousands of overlays (density vs. neighborhood character preservation etc.)
6. We need this because the current code is so complicated and has so many loop-holes that you can virtually destroy your neighbor's house or flood your neighbor's house with immunity
7. We need to provide tools to city planners which is usable

Counter facts (which is different from "alternate facts")

1. With today's computing power the entire ordnance, zoning overlays can be brought to the fingertips of the planner by 10 ways. (in-fact most of it can become computer generated so human opinion becomes secondary and for review purposes only)
2. A form based code requires much more planning and development sophistication at approval level because you need to compare various 3D models - think about a code inspector going through form based code and making a judgement call on it - God have mercy on us)
3. A city which does not accept electronic submissions in most cases attaining such sophistication takes quite a bit of time
4. As old conflicts go away about a million new conflicts will arise on form based coding (like …)
5. Deed Restrictions are still valid and can be challenged in court - dragging the publication of the code for years.

Concern# 2 Rezoning of the city

Facts

1. When city creates the new set of zone then it needs to be applied to the city
2. This deployment of new zones has nothing to do with the up-zoning (now that you can build 4 houses instead of 2 houses)
3. We are moving to a form based code which takes into account the 3 dimensional forms of a house which calls for a complete new set of design concerns  - this will call for complete new set of building inspection and home inspection process.

Counter facts (which is different from "alternate facts")

1. With today's computing power the entire ordnance, zoning overlays can be brought to the fingertips of the planner by 10 ways. (in-fact most of it can become computer generated so human opinion becomes secondary and for review purposes only)

Concern# 3 Up-zoning of the city

Facts

1. This is completely up to city council to decide
2. The EMLK region has been up zoned without any input from the residents since 2011 when 950 acres of land was changed to high density development without any concern for infrastructure.
3. In 2002 most planning regions of east side was forced to opt into cottage lots which allows about 65% impervious coverage and has been one of the most

Counter-Facts

1. I have provided a set of questions which you may want to read but this is for district 1 in general. (link)
2. The phrase risk mitigation does not exist any where - which should be of concern

Missing

What is missing is "innovation" to empower the citizen and young entrepreneurs, like small builders. 

1. The word "Risk " does not exist in codenext - the great advantage is that is there is no risk there will be certainly no risk mitigation.
2. Infrastructure design has also been put off
3. Drainage and run-off plan - think about the development effort it took in Mueller to mitigate some of the drainage issues - now extrapolate it to the entire city. There will be flooding which will primarily destroy the existing pier and beam houses and older houses.
4. Use of software to create a more readable -code. In today's world with large computing power instead of rewriting the code we can cross-reference things and index codes properly to make it use friendly. We call this guided procedure in computer world and is almost used universally
5. This code puts the entry point in the market to a much cost - which means small builders with smaller capital will have less option. - There should be options like tiny houses, neighborhood RV parks so that people in the lower end of the financial spectrum can also join the game.

EMLK hike and bike trail - May 21, 2017

here are few more updates which I thought you may be interested

1. A shout-out goes to my own council member, Ora Houston, for passing the city resolution where by PARD can rezone all the parcels to "P". (Thanks to her office staff too)

You can see the details of the resolution here 

2. We will be working with PARD to get some short term help for both Red Bluff and Little Walnut Creek Nature Reserve (like signs)

3. We, the neighbors, have to identify how we can bring some grant money to both the Nature reserve, we cannot ask PARD to take all responsibilities. 

4. Andrea Beleno is putting together multiple application for various organization to solicit help like Asakura Robinson, National Park Services (thanks Justin Bates and Chris Riley again). If she requests for any letters of support please help her. She is putting in a tremendous effort and we are thankful about that

5. Tyson Brown presented in the Golf Advisory Board for the Trail through the Morris Williams Golf course.

The primary concerns were around

• Cost
• Safety
• Routes impact on golfers

We have to respect everybody's ideas and get into a discussion regarding how to solve this. We may need a strong letter of support from Mueller Community to make this happen.

6. I presented to the city council about EMLK Hike and Bike trail during the above mentioned resolution hearing. The mayor has shown interest to look into it.

pinaki ghosh

EMLK hike and bike trail for Imagine Austin

The East MLK Combined Neighborhood Plan encompasses one of the largest neighborhood planning areas in Austin by combining the MLK, MLK-183, and Pecan Springs/Springdale planning areas.  Though rich in amenities such as creeks and green belts, the area lacks interconnectivity and much of it is considered a food desert. To bridge this gap, the East MLK Combined Neighborhood Planning Contact Team alongside several community organizations are working to develop a hike and bike trail that will connect a wide array of important community spaces including four schools, three swimming pools, and four green spaces and community centers. The trail will connect to the Southern Walnut Creek Trail to both the north and south and weave through the green spaces of Little Walnut Creek Park, the Morris Williams Golf Course trail, and the newly dedicated Red Bluff Nature Preserve, as well as link two of the largest mixed-use developments in the city (Mueller and Think-East). Connectivity to the Mueller development will be particularly valuable to the surrounding communities because it employs many people in the service industry and is also home to the largest grocery store in the area. This trail will be especially significant in this area because it will create a safe north-south route option in an area where many alternative transportation routes run east-west.

This project exemplifies the values of Imagine Austin by demonstrating how a group of community members coming together can further our community vision by advancing mobility and interconnectivity, access to green spaces and nature in the city, and social equity. To learn more about the details of the plan and how to get involved, check out this presentation or contact Pinaki Ghosh (pinaki@utexas.edu).

update on EMLK hike and Bike Trail - reporting some success

Hello Everybody,

I want to provide you all an update on the hike and bike trail - please forward it to other members of your community because everybody should be aware of what are trying to achieve.

You can see the details for the trail here (https://doc.co/e9tzu9) 

Goal: To make the EMLK Hike and Bike Trail a reality

Summary: We are in the process to open up 300 acres of land as park land for hiking in east side (this is real equity)

Success:

1. A big shout-out goes to CM Pio Renteria and his staff for helping with the 90 acre land in Red Bluff. You can see his newsletter 

Even better is that transportation bond money can be used to build some of the trails. Without this the EMLK hike and Bike trail would not have moved forward

2. CM Houston's office is working on a resolution to rezone the entire Little Walnut Creek Park to park zoning. (Some of it was zoned as multi-family). We hope in a future resolution we can use some bond money to improve the trail in 200 acres park.

3. Andrea Beleno from PSSNA and her group has put in a tremendous effort to clean up the park. You can see her efforts here(thanks Andrea). She is working with couple of Architectural Companies to get a landscape design done mostly pro-bono. Still about $10K to 20K will be required to move forward and I will come to everybody for some donation.  (A lot of advice/suggestions also came from ex CM Chris Riley)

4. We were able to meet Parks and Recreation Commission and Urban Transportation Commission to explain the concept. We will create a resolution for the Urban Transportation Council in the next 1 month. 

5. Tyson Brown of PSSNA will be speaking in the Golf Advisory Body Meeting on May 17th to explain about the path through the golf course. (We are requesting our council member Mrs. Houston to help us in this effort - Mueller community can also help)

6. We had an appointment with the mayor's office (to meet Jean Michael Cortez) to explain the concept. Six community members went to the meeting taking time off from our work but Mr. Cortez delegated us to a junior aid instead of meeting us.

Watershed and run-off issues

In the recent days as we have more and more impervious coverage in EMLK area we are having flooding issues which has been expressed at our council members meeting. 

We thank the people of Austin watershed to help us and advise us in some of the issues

In December 2016 we had a brilliant presentation from Matt Hollon (link)

​In April 2017 we also had a fantastic presentation by Jose Guerrero (link)​

​Here is also the section of city code dealing with run-offs. (link)​

​You have find all the 3 links here ​

Based on the current requirements there are 2 projects we can focus on - if you have other areas please bring it to our focus

1. The area around 51st and Pecan Springs - there is a series of large development without any improvement to the ​Creek (Fort Branch Watershed). This is causing huge erosions and needs to be looked into urgently. 

2. There is a older water retention area in the Morris Williams Golf course which is giving up. It creates flooding downstream on the southern side of MLK. This is also a barrier for the EMLK hike and bike trail. So we think we can find a common solution here with a retention and biking trail. 

The next work will be focus on the clean-up and adoption of the creeks. 

EMLK Hike and Bike Trail Update - April 6, 2017

We started with a piece of paper in HEB about 3 months ago to create a hike and bike trail in East side which creates equity through connectivity. We have come a long way thanks to everybody for their help. We have couple of good news

1. Thanks to all efforts from Pete and other people from SANA, Hogpen - the Redbluff land resolution will be in the city council so that the 3 parcels can be consolidated under PARD. (the goal is that this land should be a nature reserve). (we also thank the environment commission). I wish I knew more about the rail route plan because it fits in perfectly with our plan. (link)

2. The Little Walnut Creek Park trail is under discussion in PARD. If we push it hard then that trail can be opened by summer (its a 190 acre park). 

3. We are having a hearing at the Urban TRansportation Commission on April 11 for their support on a comprehensive plan. I need neighborhood people to show up. Its at 6pm at city hall. The route through Morris Williams Golf Course will depend partly on them.

Here is the presentation for UTC meeting that I have put up in the web (https://doc.co/e9tzu9 )(microsoft docs) - you can share these because they are published

You can just see the hike and bike trail here in the web - its published and I will keep on publishing latest versions (https://doc.co/MAG5UA)