B-11 Public Comment.pdf — original pdf

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From: To: Subject: Date: Rhoades, Wendy 3101 W. William Cannon Drive Project CASE: C14-2021-0161 Sunday, December 5, 2021 10:42:17 AM *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Ms. Rhoades, Thank you for this opportunity. I strongly oppose the rezoning of this urban forest property contiguous with Stephenson Nature Preserve to high density unaffordable housing. The real estate developer proposes to destroy a rich urban forest and nature preserve negatively impacting a wildlife population that includes gray foxes, rabbits and deer. This property is the sole wildlife bridge and a posted wildlife crossing for an extended urban green belt and the only access to Stephenson Nature Preserve. The Ranch Road right-of-way is the only access to the hiking trails of Stephenson Nature Preserve for local citizens and will be eliminated. Tens of thousands of oxygen generating carbon dioxide absorbing trees and vegetation will be destroyed and replaced with with hundreds of automobiles and trucks degrading air quality and exacerbating already dense and often life threatening traffic along West William Cannon which is already effectively off-limits to bicycle traffic. This month alone one of our female gray foxes and a young deer were killed. Last week a speeding pickup truck drove across the sidewalk and into a home. This property owner has been a terrible neighbor allowing illegal dumping, trash, shopping cart accumulations and public sidewalks to become overgrown and impassable. Clean-up has been largely left to the local citizens. I have personally arranged four shopping cart returns to HEB and picked up many bags of garbage on this property. The property owner continues to demonstrate indifference and contempt for the neighborhood. This property was originally part of black owned land farmed as part of Kincheonville supplying food for Tillotson College. In 1928 The City of Austin denied these black and hispanic land owners access to water, electricity and education forcing them into East Austin “negrotown.” The property contains remnants of stone walls and a remarkably preserved well. Historic or archeologic survey should be required before any further zoning considerations. Please don’t rezone this forest for destruction and profit of a wealthy developer at the expense of the community. Such rezoning would result in worsening air quality, traffic safety, public access to the nature preserve and urban wildlife diversity & safety. Respectfully, Rick Davis 3014 West William Cannon Dr. 415-298-1967 CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. From: To: Subject: Date: Rhoades, Wendy Re: For ZAP 12-7-2021 C14-2021-0161 - West William Cannon Housing Monday, December 6, 2021 1:08:22 PM *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Hello Ms. Rhoades, My list of objections and concerns is below. Thank you very much for the opportunity to comment on this. Zoning and Platting Commission, Comments for Public Hearing Dec 7, 2021 Zoning Case C14-2021-0161 LO-CO to MF-4 My neighbors and I in the Persimmon Hollow duplexes don't want a new development that would access Stagecoach Trail, as this would then allow access to the private street that our HOA maintains. Our backyards face towards William Cannon; we have excessive vehicular traffic already. If this zoning change passes, we must have the explicit language of the previous zoning case (C14-95-0107) carried forward that prohibits vehicular access to Stage Coach Trail. My objections on the zoning change request are: a) These lots are too shallow to create a pleasant multifamily complex. The units would be situated fairly close to the street. They would have constant noise and air quality issues due to the heavy traffic on William Cannon. Factor in the inability to make a safe left turn in or out of the complex, and the residents would likely move out after their first or second lease is over. This constant churn of residents would destabilize our neighborhood, as few people would stay long enough to develop a sense of community in such a development. b) Apartments don't provide ownership opportunities, which is a cornerstone to a stable middle class. We need to restrict zoning change requests to only those developments that provide the 'missing middle' (condos, duplexes, quads, townhomes etc.). This requested zoning change doesn’t help our City’s housing situation in the long run. c) property is a real estate corporation, not future owners. d) The LO-CO zoning offers small business opportunities, is naturally suited to the shallow depth of these lots, and should stand as-is. If the rezoning to MF is granted, then the only entity that will make money on this My concerns on the development of the property, regardless of what is built, are: e) The wooded areas left on their property need maintenance by the owner for invasive species. They have chinaberry trees and ligustrum that will continue to spread into the Stephenson Nature Preserve if left unmanaged. f) Our Nature Preserve system needs funding from the developer for the Preserve master plan and future capital improvements. There's plenty of trail work, signage, and 'dodge gates' that need to be planned and then implemented to help improve the biodiversity and health of the Stephenson. g) I'd like to request that the future tenants are provided information on good neighbor practices/use & stewardship of the Preserve, i.e., write it into their rental agreements that they won't use the Preserve to walk their dogs, ride bicycles, play paintball or ride motorcycles in the Preserve. Unfortunately I’ve witnessed all these activities happening; very few folks are aware of the rules or reasons why a nature preserve doesn't allow the same recreation activities as a city park. h) The construction should allow no impact whatsoever to the historic rock walls that were part of the Stephenson ranch. These cultural artifacts need protection and monitoring during construction. i) Over the years, we've lost a number of trees in the William Cannon medians due to drunken driving/speeding crashes. While the fences and homes have been repaired, the trees have never been replaced. The applicant should contribute to replacing street trees in the area to help improve the canopy coverage. There's a road widening project in the works for William Cannon, so shade will be even more essential in the future. j) This development will possibly destroy a small group of redbud trees that have hung over the sidewalk for a number of years. When they’re in bloom, they provide us pedestrians a small relief from speeding traffic. I'd like to see the applicant include a few new redbuds to mitigate the loss of that delightful species. k) Future development of the site must keep trash dumpsters away from existing homes. It would be unkind to have existing residents to have to listen to commercial dumpsters being serviced early in the mornings, or deal with odors and varmints they tend to attract. l) Lastly, I’d like to request that the applicant be required to switch the existing overhead lines along the back of their lots to underground services so that the neighborhood can perhaps better withstand the next ice storm. I recognize that development is going to happen, but I don't want the applicant to get a new lucrative zoning designation without being required to go above and beyond for the greater good of the neighborhood that they're about to permanently impact. I want this neighborhood (and the City) to be just as desirable in 40 years as it is now. My sincerest thanks to City staffs and the Zoning and Platting Commission members for their work on this matter. Regards, Joelynn Barclay 3213A West William Cannon Austin TX 78745 All, On Fri, Dec 3, 2021 at 12:14 PM Rhoades, Wendy <Wendy.Rhoades@austintexas.gov> wrote: The finalized Zoning and Platting Commission agenda is provided in the link below and the Staff report with all correspondence received to date is attached. The West William Cannon Housing rezoning case (Item B-11) will be a discussion item. Please refer to page 8 for a link to register in advance of the meeting to address the Commission as well as parking validation information. Page 9 includes information about Speaker testimony time allocation. ZAP agenda: Font Size: 12 (austintexas.gov) Please note, all public hearings at this time are being conducted with in-person participation only (no remote/telephone option available). I look forward to meeting you next Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Sincerely, Wendy Rhoades -- Joelynn Barclay, PLA, LEED-AP 512-576-4734 CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov.