Dear Mayor and Council, I write to encourage you
to approve the five priority recommendations of the Waterfront Overlay Task Force that restore important protections from
the 1986 Ordinance. During your deliberations, I especially urge you to deeply consider the ramifications of leaving loopholes
in the current ordinance to allow developments to by-pass height and setback restrictions for lakeside development projects.
I
believe that if we, as public officials/servants, allow other design criteria to supersede the Waterfront Overlay Ordinance
that holds projects to specific, well-defined requirements, we fail to implement the will and community vision of Austin’s
citizens. Please do not exempt PUDs and PDAs from the Waterfront Overlay (WO), or set forth a wide provision of variances.
The
Planning Commission public hearing on this issue last night was both thoughtful and alarming. As always, our discussion was
earnest and thorough. But it was also alarming because many of the Commissioners saw our hearing as an opportunity to support
the recommendations, but also to add provisions that inadvertently by-pass those same requirements. You have the ultimate privilege
of deciding how or whether Austin protects and preserves the sub-districts of Lady Bird Lake. For generations to come, both
the north and south shores will be valuable and attractive to an array of developer, land-owner, and citizen interests. When
the U.S. economy stabilizes, Planning Commissions and City Councils of the future will be repeatedly faced with a startling line of ad hoc projects, many of
which will seek variances or exemptions to WO standards so they can follow their own wills and visions. Even though
many of these projects will be presented as examples of modern sensitivity and exemplary works of architecture and commerce,
at times they will surely represent overly intense developments that exclusively benefit elite residential and retail users
instead of the general public. In my value system, individual projects and interests should not supersede the still widely
held community vision of a moderately developed, accessible lake. As you know, our community vision became the basis of the
policy and goals of the 1986 Town Lake Corridor Study and ordinance. And as such, it deserves to be restored and re-enforced
for generations to come. Please vote to preserve the lake to the greatest extent possible as an environmentally healthy, natural
resource with beautiful vistas, and public access. Lady Bird Lake, like NYC Central Park, or any
other city’s gem, deserves to be a protected legacy, unique in character, and treasured in its sweetness of place. If
we must "Keep Austin Weird," this is the place to draw the line. Respectfully, Saundra Kirk, Planning Commissioner
So if you love our Lady Bird Lake, want to preserve
our scenic vistas and open space, please join these Planning Commissioners and voice you support for fully implementing the
recommendations of the Waterfront Overlay Task Force. Tell our City Council to put back our safeguards for protecting
our shoreline for generations to come. And
please forward this message to everyone you know who cares about keeping Austin's unique character, especially along our
Lady Bird Lake! Thanks SaveTownLake.org
To email
all Austin City Council members please use this link or you can go to the City's Webb
site main page and click on City Council, go to the bottom of the page and click on "e-mail all City Council Members." | 
