Since this is a request for an early VMU determination, the developers have offered to cede some land along Del Curto to Austin Parks and Recreation (PARD) for a pocket park. The question is how much. The disposition of Unity's Youth Education Building (YEB) on the south end is uncertain. Presently Cypress is willing to sell that part to PARD or someone else.

Along with offering some amount of park land, Cypress has additionally conceded that there will be no access to either project (townhomes or VMU) from Del Curto. They do have a plan to provide trails for pedestrian/bicycle access. They have removed several townhomes that they had planned for the SF-3 property. However, those have largely been replaced by a water quality pond and green space which they intend to rertain but are offering to deed as accessible land for the neighborhood but not include as part of the PARD pocket park.

There has been a movement on the part of supporter's of Habibi's Hutch Pre-school (which would be displaced by the VMU project) to present themselves as a buyer or tenant of the YEB, reducing the possible land available for the park. The SLNA Zoning Committee feels the best use of this particular land for the neighborhood is as a park; there is no other public park within the bounds of our neighborhood, and no other likely site. We are asking the developer for a 3 acre park. To get a mere three acres they would have to put their water quality pond elsewhere and they would have to remove the YEB.

We are sympathetic to Habibi's and their supporters but they are in a pretty good position as far as pressuring the developers to deal with them due to a two-year-plus lease that must be honored or otherwise accommodated. (In a similar situation several years ago Maria's Taco Xpress negotiated a building of their own from Walgreen's). In any case there are other possible and better locations for Habibi's Hutch and there is NO OTHER location for a park which would benefit the whole neighborhood.

Also we have concerns about:

1. the traffic situation just below "Deadman's curve" on Del Curto really is more dangerous than what is experienced presently by Habibi's parents on Manchaca,
2. the suitability of location for a day-care in the middle of a park sounds idyllic but the reality is that strangers can loiter in a park, just over the fence,
3. the space on the downstairs floor is inadequate for the number of children, and the YEB cannot be expanded due to its location in the flood plain,
4. is it wise or even legal to put a daycare in a flood plain?
5. we expect it would take a special permit to locate a daycare in the SF-3 zoning. We are always cautious about granting conditional use permits and special zoning for a specific business: the reality is that those grants generally apply to the specific real estate ("the dirt"), not the business. Once granted they persist even if the original business closes or moves on or changes owners.
6. PARD is very interested in the park at that location but if they lose the land taken up by the YEB to Habibi's it may make the project too small to be worth it to them, particularly if the water quality pond remains on the north end of the property.

Presently Cypress is trying to work out a Public restrictive covenant with the city. In addition they may or may not work out a Private Restrictive covenant with SLNA, hopefully with a performance bond. The whole situation is complicated by the fact that the only zoning case that is underway is the VMU opt-in, not the other zoning issues.

The VMU opt-in was approved by the Planning Commission on May 15th and by City Council on first reading on May 24th. Three readings are required for final approval. We don't know when the second and third readings will be scheduled. We believe that the full tract's zoning requests must be dealt with together for this to move forward to even a second reading -- but we have no assurance that the Council and City of Austin will see it that way.