Travis County Commissioners Court
July 17, 2007
Item 28
28 is to receive presentation from leaders from ridge top and northfield neighborhood associations regarding urban change in central Austin.
>> I had an opportunity to attend the ridgeview, thank you, northfield neighborhood association meeting and at that meeting they did discuss a lot of things that they presented at that meeting. Of course, it was really something that we wanted the court to share with this particular presentation. However, before we start, I would like to say that, to let the community know at large, you that are watching this, this particular neighborhood association, these two particular neighborhood associations, are within the city limits of Austin, but of course their presentation is, I think, very significant as far as the things that we discussed. I wanted to make sure those particular neighborhood associations out in the county, to let them know and also those other neighborhood associations within precinct one, that this particular neighborhood association is within the full corporate limits of the city of Austin. Again, I'm happy and delighted to have these folks with us. Think they have some very interesting things to say on how they are trying to progress dealing with the city of Austin, but I think they would like to share this information with Travis County. So with that, I welcome everybody here. Thank you.
>> thank so you much, Commissioner Ron Davis. I'm martha cook ward from ridgetop northfield neighborhood planning area and I have with me today steve varny and kim bern son officers from the ridgetop neighborhood area and also involved with the planning team area. Just a delight to be able to come and bring to your attention what is going on that you're deeply involved in. Travis County and the two neighborhoods that we mentioned are at the heart of urban change. What you will see at the heart of urban change, if you come to visit my neighborhood, you will see urban blight waiting to become urban benefit. We have on the screen, I believe you will see this first map that will show you exactly where Travis County is and has been collecting offices, moving some of its most core locations right to core business areas right to our neighborhood. So now we have the clerk's office, we have the tax court, we have the sheriff's office. And we anticipate, we also have the counseling services and we will be having some adult probation programs. So this is a tremendous impact onto a community. And I wanted to introduce our community a little bit more thoroughly to you so that you can see that we are ready toer partners with you that we have done a tremendous amount of ground work, and that we see that there is an opportunity here for great mutual benefit for the county's offices, for its employees, its clients and for the community. So just going from that first slide, which shows you how Travis County is really nest the right between northfield and ridgetop neighborhoods, you see that our neighborhood is one of great activity. In our recent time, we have been known well for working by consensus. So what you see is that ridgetop neighborhood is a neighborhood that has been able to develop a land use and zoning plan along with the city of Austin, and this planning was completely approved unanimously, both by the city council and by the planning commission. This is one of the values. I have given you a sheet that has the information listed on it. We also wanted to go forward with planning towards redevelopment of this area. So we petition the city and got airport boulevard included as a core transit corridor. So what this brings into being is vertical mixed use as an option on that corridor area from 45th up to lamar. Again, this would be a great tool to use in conjunction with the account to bring this area from a fairly blighted area, if you have been there recently I think would you have to free, on up to one that provides tremendous urban benefit for the whole of the community. Going to the next slide, you will see that we share the corridor with you, the airport central corridor. Our consensus has brought forward some important aspects for the community. You will see the image that we have projected here, this is more of a sense of the kind of community area that we would like to see versus the big empty boxes that you see there now that are nonproductive. Turning to the next slide, you will see that we have an overview of the Travis County properties. So the property in the middle is where the county clerk's office is and the tax office is. Then to your left, that is now where the sheriff's offices are. Then it is proposed, I believe by the county, that they are looking at the chair king lot right there at 53rd and airport. This is an opportunity for the county to lead by example and to help us transform this area that we have laid a lot of ground, important ground work in, transform it into a place of great benefit. Not only for the immediate neighborhoods and the employees and all of the hundreds and hundreds of customers now coming there on a daily basis, but for that whole area. If you will look, if you remember from the first map, we are just across the highway from mueller development. This area is definitely ripe for some serious change. To go a little further, we have our community and county shared goals. Of if you have looked at what's been redeveloped in the city of Austin area down on sixth and second street and so on, you see we are looking for a community not quite so automobile dependent, that we are looking for a community highly walkable and safe. We are looking for very productive environments. Our land values in Austin have sky rocketed. So why would we not want to make the absolute best dollar use of every square inch available to us. It would also improve the whole scenario for Travis County and for the community at large d. We'd like to see specific contributions from Travis County. We want to work together and get your commitment to work together with the community on creating in this new space at 54rd and a half and airport specifically, and beyond if all possibility, an opportunity to design a civic community space. It would fully function in the way that you need it to in terms of the business of the county but in addition to that, it would have multiple functions in of accessibility to the community. We took some time and actually went forward and surveyed the employees there at Travis County to find out what they wanted. I'll get to that in just a little bit. But overall, what the community and county shared space, we'd like to see not only the very effective use of county services there, but we'd like some opportunities for some vivic use space. We don't have public space in this community. This is the opportunity to create it, along with new tax bases, properties and restaurants and public spaces. You may be aware that as a core transit corridor, airport boulevard is also a transportation oriented district. So the train is destined to come right down airport boulevard and we would like to see at maybe some future date that there would be a stop for the county, and that may also be shared as a stop for the state office buildings close by. To give you an example, how to achieve a desired services, both mutually beneficial to local government and to neighbors, this picture here is of civic use at the bottom. This is a community where the community wanted a library. So the local government put together the plan for the library to help offset the cost put public housing above that. We're not suggesting that that would be the example of specific use at 53rd and a half and airport, we do see that there can be a mix use environment that can serve both the county county very well and attractively as well as the community. These pictures may be familiar to some of you, drawings to reality. And we'd like to go from drawings to reality with the county for our neighborhood. This happens to be the development known as the domain here in Austin. But if you look at this you will get very much of a very interactive environment that provides sufficient office space for a government operation or office operations as well as retail a park area, and we have the capacity to work with you and the desire to work with you to create that. We have, as I mentioned earlier, we had surveyed the employees and found out that they had some interest. So if you've been up in that area recently you know we have quite a number of small shops that are empty. The community wants to work with the commercial realtors and representatives there to see if we can put images in the shops to reflect
>> [pwha] the county employees want and community wants as a way to attract those businesses into the area. This is again an example done in another community, and can you imagine, how wonderful it would be when employee and community visions can be if fulfilled. And so it islve going a little bit further we recognize that Travis County has shown great leadership in environmental areas, and we'd like to kind of take that further and challenge you and your leadership with that. We'd like to have you, invite you to join the kilo watt change that's been put forth by Austin energy. Some of us have already registered. Also as you go forward in the building to use green building standards. It's just the bottom line. Also to engage in other types of energy conservation that would be invaluable to the community. We want a vibrant, productive community just as you do. And we want a healthier community as well. We know that Travis County has leadership when it comes to workplace wellness, and we'd like to maybe form a team with you of a community planning wellness team with the county so we can utilize the resources of our area, extend a walking trail, with which is one of the things the employees had said they would like in the community, with utilizing the county space for classes, education and other opportunities would be of mutual benefit. So just to wrap this part before I read our resolution into the minutes, if I may, we see this as wonderfully unique opportunity for sharing services and spaces that will improve the quality of life and make shared solutions for both the county and for the community. Before I read our resolution steve, or kim, is there anything that you would like to mention? Relationship to this effort?
>> I'll be real brief. I've steve barny, one of the vice-presidents for the morningside sector of the neighborhood. I think martha has pretty much said it all. I would just like to emphasize that we really would like to be involved with the county in planning for whatever takes place on the airport boulevard sites. I'd like to emphasize that we welcome the county, we feel that the county has, in almost all cases, been a good neighbor, and we're interested in exploring solutions of mutual benefit that do not end up costing the county more. We think that good planning with mutually beneficial outcomes can be achieved without additional cost.
>> if I may, I've put together just a brief statement here, Travis County resolution for civic community collaboration, that I'd like for your consideration. It says, whereas Travis County has and continues to relocate many of its corporations to airport boulevard between 53rd and a half and catig, bringing hundreds of citizens to the it offices and impacting ringtop and northfield neighborhood planning area, the following recommendations are profode for adoption and act by the Travis County leadership, the Travis County judge and the four Travis County Commissioners. First of all, Travis County leadership commits to working collaboratively with ridgetop and northfield neighborhoods and its stakeholders concerning county property development on airport prior to establishing site plans, building designs or making land use designations. In addition, Travis County commits to jointly plan with the community a developer funded Travis County land leased civic community development, including vertical mixed use at 53rd and a half and airport. The desired results would include Travis County's demonstration of the leadership toy to collaborate with the community, and also a safe walkable retail and service options as desired by the Travis County employees, its customers, and the add adjacent neighborhoods of ridgetop and northfield. Very importantly, Travis County would receive a new continuing income stream along with an increased tax base before both the the city and the county. Travis County leadership commits to collaborating with the city of Austin to develop and implement a community environmental demonstration project on the current and future county airport boulevard properties. This might include rain watt collection--rainwater collection and its use, installation of parking lot biofiltration, recycling the air conditioning condensation for a water feature, and other applicable environmental options. Also Travis County leadership commits to collaborating with Austin energy on implementing a demonstration project using so lar panels or other applicable technology on it airport boulevard properties. The resulting savings would improve Travis County's bottom line, and the surplus energy could be donated to offset the energy cost of the five nonprofits serving in the ridgetop neighborhood. Finally, Travis County leadership commits to the ridgetop neighborhood to support development of a Travis County community wellness program and county community wellness planning team. With this we would move forward with a measured walking trail for employee and community use and county space for shared access of wellness education, training classes and other mutual beneficial goals. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.
>> roger has been, rodge year o curry, who what is been instrumental in working with the community, in fact he was at a meeting and in fact has been continue to go meet with you. Of course I would like for that relationship to continue with roger o curry on this, especially looking at the facility where Travis County has housed many of its services to the community in this area. A lot of good points I think that's been brought up today and I think we need to take them under strong consideration. I'd like to have maybe a copy of that resolution so I can share that with the Commissioners court so they will have an opportunity to digest what has been mentioned here today. I differently would like to make sure that the door continues to remain open, working through facilities staff, persons such as roger o curry and this particular neighborhood association, both of you in fact, to be sure we are able to do what we possibly can to assure that we meet as many goals in the particular resolution that you brought for us today. Again, I'd like to have maybe a copy of that resolution where we could share that with different Commissioners court members and have them review it.
>> we already have it.
>> well, I didn't receive mine.
>> sorry, I think it might have been put on the side.
>> it's on the other side.
>> okay. I don't have a copy for some reason.
>> it may be on the other side of that sheet you have there. To the left.
>> two separate sheets. I apologize for not making that more apparent.
>> okay. Okay. Thank you.
>> thank you.
>> we really appreciate this opportunity. We see the opportunity as knocking at the door of the county and the community. We'd like to open it together and work together.
>> also you're creating opportunity, of course. The neighborhood organization is of course the initial civic organization. We are an offshoot of you all. We are coequal levels of god. Just--of government. Just that you don't get paid. You are the real heros. They pay us for what we do.
>> happy to do that.
>> you request that we consider adopting the resolution.
>> yes, I'd like to have to.
>> we have to post it separately. By law we have to have an action item that indicates our consideration and possible action on it.
>> okay.
>> we'll do that real soon though.
>> thank you very much. Love learning the new processes as we go along.
>> appreciate you coming down and again making a fine presentation as you made before when we visited with you a little while back. So again, thank you very, very much.
>> right.
>> we will get this posted when appropriate, judge, I guess as far as the court has an opportunity to digest this.
>> right.
>> I don't know how this got buried over here, but it did this resolution.
>> okay.
>> but anyway, thank you so very, very much.
>> very grateful to you all.
>> we welcome the opportunity to work with you.
>> thank you.
>> we have your contact information?
>> yes, absolutely.
>> thank you. Thank you for your patience too.
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Last Modified:
Wednesday, July 18, 2007, 18:30 AM