South Lamar Neighborhood Association--November-December 2002 Scoop Archive

November-December 2002 SLNA Scoop Archive

12/12--Results of Lamar Storage Meeting
We (Bryan, Marci, Kevin, Camille, Lynn, Sylvia, Tom Davise, Jeff Jack from Zilker NA) met with Mike Hiets, George Zapalac and other COA employees this afternoon concerning the Lamar Storage building. We outlined the neighborhood's viewpoint of the four story storage building proposed at Kinney & Lamar. We spent about 45 minutes and enlightened them to many of our concerns. They have not decided whether to grant the "off-site" parking yet. They are taking our input under advisement and have concerns of their own regarding this project.

I think we made a pretty good showing and a good argument for the necessity of on site parking and why their proposed off site solution just won't work. We'll have to closely monitor this one and keep all posted of any further developments.

Bryan

P.S. SLNA December meeting/ PARTY is next week, December 19th at Unity Church. Please mark your calendar, join us and bring a neighbor!

12/3--Update on Safe Routes To School Grant Application
Just an update on our grant application--COA took in our SLNA application for sidewalk money back in November. After they looked it over, they made some recommendations:
1. The bike lane striping on Clawson would not meet TxDOT standards (which means TxDOT would not fund it...road wasn't wide enough to put lanes on both sides). We pulled that part.
2. Separate Phase 1 (Bluebonnet) from Phase 2 (Del Curto), and create two separate applications.

Patricia, Jennifer and I reworked the application as COA recommended and returned it to them this morning... split into two separate application binders..... maps, surveys, reports, pictures, diagrams and 8 x 10 glossies with a paragraph on the back.....(just like the song "Alice's Restaurant").

Now it is wait and see. TxDOT gets all of them on December 6 and should select and award the grants statewide pretty soon. Last I heard there were eight applications from Austin (nine if you count both of ours).

Keep those fingers crossed!

Bryan

11/25--Lamar Storage meeting
Hey all,
A meeting with the City of Austin and SLNA to discuss the Lamar Storage situation has been set with George Zapalac and Mike Heitz of COA. Here is the info:

Wednesday, December 11, 2002 3:00 pm Room 325 One Texas Center 505 Barton Springs Road Austin This meeting was set up with: George Zapalac 974-2725 You can call him with your comments. Thanks, Marci

11/16--Lamar Storage Saga Continues
Looks like there is movement on the Storage Building at Kinney & Lamar. The application for admin approval of a site plan can be found on the City Notices page.

To review:
They went to the city's Board Of Adjustments to reduce the required parking from 51 to 23. The BOA did not grant the variance. The unique shape of the lot, angle of the street, and ingress/egress was on Kinney (not Lamar since they actually have no Lamar frontage) were reasons that they needed to have all the parking to prevent traffic congestion and overflow in the hood.

Next, they tried to use parking down the street at the propane place to count as their parking, still planning only 23 on site. (AS if you would park down at the propane place and wag your stuff a block on Lamar and another block down Kinney. The Site Plan review staff almost fell for that... they didn't know about BOA decision and they had not come to look at the site... after they learned all of that... they rejected the "off site parking" idea and things went back on hold again.

Don't know what they are asking for this time. I hope to get a call back from COA on Monday

In case you wish to comment to the BOA, it is case # SP-02-0404C and the contact person at the city is Sue Welch, 974-3294

General info is available at www.ci.austin.tx.us/development

FYI
Bryan

11/15--S. Lamar Improvements Proposed at UTC Meeting
FYI--Bryan

The Urban Transportation Commission (UTC) will consider a proposal for pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements on S. Lamar Blvd. at its next meeting on Monday, November 18. Although many of the residents in the community are interested in seeing improvements on S. Lamar, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee did not get direct input from the city staff about this proposal, so it is difficult to predict what kind of staff support the proposal will have at the UTC meeting on Monday.

The UTC meeting will be on Monday, November 18, at 6:00 p.m. at One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Rd., in the 8th Floor Conference Room. This issue is the second item on the UTC agenda for Monday. The first item on the agenda is the E. 7th St. Corridor Plan, so it could be an hour or more before the proposal about S. Lamar Blvd. is considered. It would be VERY useful to have some representatives from the S. Austin neighborhoods in attendance. Please forward this message to anyone who may be interested in attending.

--Tommy Eden
Chair, Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee of UTC

11/15--Updates on Thornton Rd. and Taco Xpress
Updates: Thornton Road
Good turn out at BOA last night. As a result of our presentation, BOA Chairman Thung sent the developer back to the drawing board to "prove" he could build what he said he (threatened) could. It he can't there is no need for a variance.... other the flip side, if he can build the 25 units without a variance, then duh, why would he need a variance? The builder rep got pretty hot with me when I pointed out they were running under our radar by not contacting us first, and I admit I got hot right back with him. We'll see what is next. I offered for the neighborhood to meet with them again if they wish, BOA suggested he do that, but I doubt we'll hear from him. The applicant requested a postponement for time to see if he could "prove it". So no variance so far, and we'll have to go back in 30 days.

Update: Maria's Tacos
The variance was granted which basically leaves the business "as is". Maria had a petition with 700 sigs, SLNA, Zilker NA spoke in favor and only one person, who lives across Lamar, spoke in opposition. Maria did meet with this guy after and really tried to work with him, ZNA will help also. Maria expressed her deep appreciation for neighborhood support.

Thanks again to all of you that took time to support your neighbors! There is strength in unity and numbers.

Bryan

11/10--Large Land Tract For Sale on Del Curto
In case you haven't noticed.... a new for sale sign was just put up on the property at Del Curto and Bluebonnet, the Wong Property. This property wraps around the Gettinger (Rock house) like a horseshoe. It is Zoned MF-2 (multi family residential - 23 units per acre) and appears to be about 2.7 acres, which I guess says it could top out at 62 units. I fear it will connect to the other properties, and then the land has big box retail appeal as when added to the surrounding properties it hits 10.44 acres!

See a map of the property by clicking here.

This connects to the trailerpark/ Marias/Russels et al, and as you know, the trailer park has had a for sale sign for some time now.

FYI
Bryan

11/8--Parking Mess at Taco Xpress
Hi gang,
Just got a call from the Zilker NA who actually got a city notice, and Bill pointed out the Austin Amerian-Statesman's coverage on Maria's. (Metro B-2 today)

She is set for a BOA hearing the same night as the Thornton Road Property. I just found this out today! SLNA, for some reason, has not received any notification from the city on Maria's and we should have.

As I understand the issue, COA wants Maria to put in a bunch of asphalt! (and do all of the engineering studies, retention and/or detention ponds) to make a bigger parking lot. In other words put down paving where folks already park on the gravel. I know it would be engineered to prevent run off but we all know how some of those "engineered" ponds really don't work (witness Kinney Courts small pond). This could generate more flooding on Bluebonnet/DelCurto/Iva etc...could, I say, I am not a drainage engineer!.

Since nearly all code enforcement is complaint driven, it begs the question, who complained? One answer is: it might be developer driven? I don't know this, but it makes me think of the Trammel Crow deal and how badly they tried to get rid of Maria so they could do a huge development. Hmmm? If no parking lot is built she would have to cut her dining space in half! (translation, might just kill the business?)

I have looked at the GIS maps for Lamar in front of Maria's. If you remember back a year or so ago, we fought hard to get the city to keep Lamar as it is and not turn it into a six lane divided (freeway)! One of the reason for the fight was all of the businesses that would get plowed under. There were over 100 small mom and pop shops that would die. The state has the ROW (which is much wider than the roadway you see paved) and that ROW comes up to with in four feet of Maria's front door, same for Russell's. Who in their right mind would put in a $30,000 parking lot on property that is in question? COA agreed to drop Lamar back to four lanes but it is still in the CAMPO plan to be six lanes wide.

I still don't have any backup material on the case from COA yet. I have called and am waiting. Bottom line, the BOA variance request is to reduce the required paved parking from about 50 spaces down to 17. (In other words...asking to just leave it as it is!)

Many of us just walk to Maria's as it is... I think of Maria's as a neighborhood / pedestrian friendly business (as opposed to the indoor storage building that also wanted a parking reduction) and think SLNA might want to support her variance. The hearing is Thursday, so ring in on your opinion ASAP. Any and all that want to attend for Thornton Road or Maria's should come-- 505 Barton Springs Road, 3rd floor at 5:30. I talked to Maria this afternoon and she tells me she has a petition with 700+ signatures...I don't know what weight that will have with BOA.

FYI
Bryan