DRAFT HLC Letter - Historic Pecan Grove Threatened at Edward Rendon Sr — original pdf

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TO: Planning Commission, Mayor, and Council Members FROM: Historic Landmark Commission DATE: February 7th, 2024 SUBJECT: Historic Pecan Grove Threatened at Edward Rendon Sr. Park The Historic Landmark Commission has been made aware of a pecan grove, located in Edward Rendon Sr. Park at Festival Beach, that the Texas Department of Transportation’s I-35 Expansion Environmental Impact Statement proposes to remove as part of a construction easement outside the existing Right-of-Way. The grove is identified by a granite marker, dedicated to the City of Austin in 1964 as part of early efforts by City Council’s Town Lake Beautification Committee We believe this grove of pecans rises to the status of a local, character-defining, culturally significant, contributing resource of the City of Austin. The Land Development Code entrusts City staff with the health of the Urban Forest, including accurate tree data ground surveys of Heritage trees … according to City of Austin, Environmental Criteria Manual 3.3.2 — General Tree Survey Standards. We recommend direction be given to the City Arborist to identify individual specimens and assess the overall likely boundaries of the Pecan Grove, in order to facilitate our best efforts at perservering this irreplacable resource.