Please give me 10 reasons why NOT to move to the Austin area. (Pecan Grove: place to live, zoning)

[jwb123]

the OP of this thread decided that there were at least 10 pretty good reasons not to move to Austin, and now lives in Seattle. Pretty funny I think.

Actually, the OP already lived in the Seattle area and was considering relocation. From the OP...

We live up in the Pacific NW and are seriously considering relocating to the Hill Country or southern 'burbs of Austin.

[artsyguy]

nooo do not blame dallas. I've met weirdos in dallas but made friends quicker there and have had overall much more fun in dallas...which makes up for the occasional weirdo..

I wouldn't say Austin is vulgar but it is boring, overrated, and pretty unfriendly and snobbish....I don't see the liberalism that everybody talks about either..

Originally Posted by nomore07

I have to agree here. Part of what's fueling this is a huge disproportionate influx of people from Dallas in the past couple of years.

[artsyguy]

a big boring overrated university at that...

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

Austin is an over hype city. Nothing really that special about it but it does have some interesting bohemian stores and a big university.

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by love roses

Nothings wrong with growth, as long as it's done right and responsibly. And Kudos to you because you aren't just blowing hot air. Actually, I have stood in front of the capital in protest before.

We've been protesting air-right condo development over the edwards aquifer for a year and a half now.......really sad about the ripping out of the sweet little trailer court next to shady, just to tear up some land for out-of-area folks to live the "austin" experience in million dollar condos...
again, the Austin Chronicle is the ONLY media source that addresses the growth issue spot-on.....yes, they started SXSW, but they do ameliorate that corporatizing of the Austin scene with their strong stand against mindless growth, particularly the stuff going on now DT and nearby....

Who wants me to upload my Chon letters on here?

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

What three things would you change first, and what would be the benefit of the change?
Steve

1.) Make Austin Ped and bike friendly, and, at the same time, add a solid rapid transit system throughout the entire metro, at the same time centralizing all future growth in the core areas, and deemphasizing it in the outlying areas. With gas reaching 5-6 a gallon in the next few years, no better time than now to do it. Rip out major swaths of public domain areas through the entire central city, like Indianapolis with its Monon trail, and establish a bike and jog trail throughout the entire city, from NW to SE.....and the current hike and bike can be an adjunct of the same, with the convenience of Barton Springs and Zilker as a jumping off point.
2.)Establish a moratorium on all growth of national franchises in the city proper, from Starbucks to Wal-mart to Kohls and Target and Chili's and Applebee's and so on.....Austin lives and trades on its unique vibe, and any further dumping and blanding of the same will quickly blandish and remove whatever is left of that old vibe, which just hangs on by a thread, quietly, gently, and stll hopeful that it will not be completely extinguished. Every huge new million dollar condo complex does the same, and we need to look at each one carefully before they are approved, and make sure they do not rip out or outprice local, long established venues. Cities can control that completely. Chicago has only just now allowed Wal-mart to open up ONE wal-mart, per its lousy wage scale and lack of unions. Austin can ban and control whatever growth of retail it wants.
3.) Get the current Austin growth plan blueprint in everyone's hands, and establish an immediate debate on how to modify the same, and ask why, with such a blueprint, has the local powers-that-be allowed developers to circumvent every point contained within the blueprint....and get the public on board to jettison the old plan on growth, and establish a new one, with reams of public debate. This could have been done during the recent local primary election, but its not too late. Read the following, from a 1990-ish growth plan:

"Austin and the surrounding Central Texas region is experiencing rapid growth in population, employment, and land area affected by development. The City of Austin has grown from a population of 465,000 in 1990 to over 650,000 people by 2000. By 2010 Austin's population is projected to reach 800,000 (an increase of almost 19,000 people annually!)."

Ho Boy! They knew it, and essentially did nothing about it, whatsoever.
Just gave developers total carte blanche.....no road prep or foresight, no environmental impact studies...no zoning debates....just gave them the keys to the metro.....

For laughs, edification, comparison, debate, what have you, I present you with the City of Austin's entire compendium of smart growth policies from 1979-2008.

ENJOY!

ftp://coageoid01.ci.austin.tx.us/GIS...07%20draft.pdf


Now, read this, and look at the city, and ask yourself what was lost in the translation of these documents to reality? What happened is that nothing here was enforcable, and all barriers to unsmart growth were bulled over by a toothless city council, and a populace that was at best ambivalent about the same.

So, can we get heavy on here and really address these issues? I strongly feel that city-data is not the place for hard hitting debate about such things. If this is not the proper venue, just let me know!


small addendum......also, it would be nice if local corporations could cough up more tax free dollars to support public venues. Austin is near the very bottom in corporate donations to the arts, and relies on much of its entertainment on poorly paid musicians, who have a very poor union, itself very unsupported.....I was so sad when the musicians union zilker park program was cancelled last spring......Do I really need to mention that those musicians are worth their weight in gold, in that they are a huge driver of relocatees, and provide some "street cred" to the "Live music Capitol" PR(trademarked, FYI).

[austin-steve]

really sad about the ripping out of the sweet little trailer court next to shady, just to tear up some land for out-of-area folks to live the "austin" experience in million dollar condos...

Do you mean to say that it's "really sad" that the government could not confiscate and/or dictate to the property owner that she was not allowed to sell her land to a developer?

What would you have her do with it? Did you make an offer to buy and preserve it? If not, why not?

Steve

[Trainwreck20]

Establish a moratorium on all growth of national franchises in the city proper

This just sounds silly.... I suppose, then, we would also have to prohibit any Austin businesses from establishing any business outside the city limits? They might be come national chains and then we would have to kick them out. I would think the consumer should make this choice. I have issues with some of the box stores, and make my shopping decisions accordingly. I suppose I am not bright enough to do this correctly, though, and need the government decide for me...

really sad about the ripping out of the sweet little trailer court next to shady, just to tear up some land for out-of-area folks to live the "austin" experience

Firstly, I will miss the Pecan Grove RV Park, it is a really nice de facto 'park' area. But, again, I like the thought of someone investing in land and then deciding to sell it for a profit. I dislike people being FORCED to sell their land, but that does not appear to be the case here. As I recall, most of the people who originally live in the RV park were (gasp!) out of area. 30 years from now, the condos will be lived in by a bunch of locals, too.

[ricerony123132]

1.) Make Austin Ped and bike friendly, and, at the same time, add a solid rapid transit system throughout the entire metro, at the same time centralizing all future growth in the core areas, and deemphasizing it in the outlying areas. With gas reaching 5-6 a gallon in the next few years, no better time than now to do it. Rip out major swaths of public domain areas through the entire central city, like Indianapolis with its Monon trail, and establish a bike and jog trail throughout the entire city, from NW to SE.....and the current hike and bike can be an adjunct of the same, with the convenience of Barton Springs and Zilker as a jumping off point.

Bike trails and sidewalks are nice, but Austin's infrastructure needs serious expansion. Austin is now paying the price for the moronic no-growth policies of the past. I-35 needs widening by 3 lanes on each side. Along with many other important roadways, these expansions are necessary for the free flow of people and business to provide the foundation for sustainable economic growth moving forward. If you are not growing, you are dying...would you rather be a Flint, Michigan?

2.)Establish a moratorium on all growth of national franchises in the city proper, from Starbucks to Wal-mart to Kohls and Target and Chili's and Applebee's and so on.....Austin lives and trades on its unique vibe, and any further dumping and blanding of the same will quickly blandish and remove whatever is left of that old vibe, which just hangs on by a thread, quietly, gently, and stll hopeful that it will not be completely extinguished. Every huge new million dollar condo complex does the same, and we need to look at each one carefully before they are approved, and make sure they do not rip out or outprice local, long established venues. Cities can control that completely. Chicago has only just now allowed Wal-mart to open up ONE wal-mart, per its lousy wage scale and lack of unions. Austin can ban and control whatever growth of retail it wants.

Vibe is nice for college kids, but those big businesses pay taxes and provide jobs. Making Austin an attractive place to do business will keep jobs coming and will, in the end, mean prosperity for the city. You may hate Wal-Mart, but it provides the lower and middle classes with goods to which they would otherwise never have access. Poor people in the U.S. have plasma TVs, jobs, and air conditioners thanks to Wal-Mart.

How about making the economic climate in Austin friendly to small businesses and corporations both? Set the stage so both can survive and prosper. In the end, its in the consumer's best interest; if a local coffee shop really serves the best coffee than they have nothing to worry about when starbucks moves in across the street. Let the free market decide what businesses should survive. The government only needs to provide the infrastructure and incentive for the businesses to come.

3.) Get the current Austin growth plan blueprint in everyone's hands, and establish an immediate debate on how to modify the same, and ask why, with such a blueprint, has the local powers-that-be allowed developers to circumvent every point contained within the blueprint....and get the public on board to jettison the old plan on growth, and establish a new one, with reams of public debate. This could have been done during the recent local primary election, but its not too late. Read the following, from a 1990-ish growth plan

Central planning is out of fashion. Went out about the same time as the Berlin wall fell. Didn't you get the memo? You may like Pyongyang or Havana though!

[austin-steve]

Establish a moratorium on all growth of national franchises in the city proper

Would that include Alamo Draft House? They are a national chain now. So, no new ADH locations in Austin?

Would that mean that, for example, a laid off Dell employee in his mid-40's who has a comfortable nest-egg and wants to start his own business would be restricted from considering any franchise business opportunities but would instead be ordered by the city of Austin to either a) start your own business from scratch, that's all we allow; or b) open shop in Pflugerville, Round Rock, Leander, etc. instead?

I find it interesting that the Austin "vibe" and character you seek to retain and protect, which grew largely from a culture of liberal, free thinking, creativity by bold, colorful and adventurous artists, musicians and business people would be "saved" by inflicting draconian government restraints and edicts upon it.

All of your solutions involve the government restricting the rights of individuals and property rights, and the government restricting free market forces. It would simply drive business and people outside the city and we'd get more of the same.

Steve

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Do you mean to say that it's "really sad" that the government could not confiscate and/or dictate to the property owner that she was not allowed to sell her land to a developer?

What would you have her do with it? Did you make an offer to buy and preserve it? If not, why not?

Steve

Steve, the government dictates to property owners what they can and cannot do with their property all the time in the form of zoning, etc. I agree to some extent with scongress that Austin is killing the goose that laid the golden egg by not preserving the uniqueness that is Austin. All you have to do is drive down mopac and look East to see the office buildings that have sprung up over greenbelt to see that. With the price of gas and our cost of living going up, the standard of living going down and a general economic slowdown, I think scongress will get his wish and Austin growth will slow...