 Park Plan NOT at Parks Board this Evening: Contrary to the previously announced schedule, the Parks Board will not consider the Zilker Park Vision Plan at its meeting tonight. The plan will be up for further consideration by the Parks Board at a subsequent meeting. We will let you know as soon as we know. In the meanwhile, please stay (or get) informed on the issues and plan to attend future meetings of the Parks Board and City Council when the plan is considered. The Rewild Zilker webpage has the best collection of information. You can still email the Parks Board on this issue. See the addresses on the Rewild Zilker webpage and on the SOS website here. Lawsuit Filed to Block $354 Million Taxpayer Giveaway to Lady Bird Lake Developers: Today Taxpayers Against Giveaways, Save Our Springs Alliance, former Texas State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, former Austin City Councilmember Ora Houston, and Allandale neighborhood homeowner Faye Holland filed suit against the Austin City Council to block the diversion of $354 million in future property tax collections away from the city's general fund into a special fund to subsidize an estimated $8 million of ultra-luxury high rise development slated for the south shore of Lady Bird Lake. “The South Central Waterfront TIRZ is an enormous waste of taxpayer money, a blatant case of insider developer welfare, and a gross abuse of the tax increment financing statute," said Laura Cantu Templeton, a board member of Taxpayers Against Giveaways. While a small portion of the $354 million would fund affordable housing, the city can best fund affordable housing and other city priorities through standard city budget processes. Don't be fooled by this smokescreen. The bulk of the money would pay for parking garages, streets, sidewalks and other facilities that every other developer must pay on their own as the standard cost of doing business. The funds would also help pay for a party boat dock, an elevated boardwalk over the lake, and private development on what should be green, protected lakefront public park land. The lame duck Adler City Council approved the South Central Waterfront Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone at one of its last meetings in December 2022. The current city council has no obligation to fund it. The lawsuit filed today seeks to make sure that it does not. READ THE LAWSUIT AND MORE ON THE CASE HERE AT THE AUSTIN BULLDOG. DONATE TO SOS Save Our Springs Alliance 4701 West Gate Blvd, Building D, Suite 401 | Austin, Texas 78745 (512) 477-2320 | sosinfo@sosalliance.org Follow Us Unsubscribe or Manage Your Preferences  The Parks Board meets April 24th at City Hall. Please join us there before 6 pm to speak or just show support. View the slideshow below for all the details you need!It is the last stop before we go to the City Council. The Zilker Vision Plan team will be looking to get a whole hearted approval for this terrible plan. We are hoping to make sure that doesn’t happen and the vision is changed to one that is more nature-based and less commercialized. Show up, wear light blue or green so when they look out in the audience they are constantly reminded of the blue water of the springs and the green grass on the great lawn that are at risk! Come, even if you don't speak so they can see you in the audience watching! If you email, please send it as early as you can so the Commissioners have time to take in your opinions.  Zilker Zoom Wednesday; Parks Board April 24thZoom training call April 19, 11am: SOS will host another zoom meeting led by Tanya Payne with Rewild Zilker! We will answer questions and help you formulate ideas for speaking. The link to attend the meeting is HERE. We have t-shirts available for sale, sizes M, L, XL & 2X for $20. Please email Garrett@SOSAlliance.org if you want to come pick one up at our office or at the pool on our tabling days. See all the details on the Zilker Vision Plan journey from our friends at Rewild Zilker below! Dear Rewilders, You are amazing and are having an impact!!! We are now in the part of the process that involves Boards and Commissions. And your showing up at the meetings and sending in email letters is making all the difference! They hear you and they are requesting changes to the plan! Next up: Parks Board April 24, 6pm City Hall This is the "BIG ONE" for us. It is the last stop before we go to the City Council. The Zilker Vision Plan team will be looking to get a whole hearted approval for this terrible plan. We are hoping to make sure that doesn’t happen and the vision is changed to one that is more nature-based and less commercialized. Show up, wear light blue or green so when they look out in the audience they are constantly reminded of the blue water of the springs and the green grass on the great lawn that are at risk! Come, even if you don't speak so they can see you in the audience watching! If you email, please send it as early as you can so the Commissioners have time to take in your opinions. Date: Monday April 24 Time: 6pm Location: City Hall Sign up to speak: Email Tim.Dombeck@austintexas.gov. They don't have a form up yet. Zoom training call April 19, 11am: Our own Rewilder Tanya will be leading a zoom call with SOS to help you formulate ideas for speaking and to answer questions. Join Zoom Meeting - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84898249679 Hope to see you there! Here are their emails: BC-Nina.Rinaldi@austintexas.gov bc-pedro.villalobos@austintexas.gov bc-nicole.merritt@austintexas.gov bc-kathryn.flowers@austintexas.gov BC-Lisa.Hugman@austintexas.gov BC-Nancy.Barnard@austintexas.gov BC-Kim.Taylor@austintexas.gov bc-holly.reed@austintexas.gov stephanie@stephaniebazon.com Jennifer Franklin (new member, assigned by CM Zo Qadri) no email yet While you are emailing, perhaps consider emailing the City Council here. You could copy and paste from your notes to the Parks Board. Our expectation is that they will review this plan, so the sooner they start hearing from you, the better. Here are some requests to consider asking them for. Please use your own words. We hear Commissioners get tired of getting the same emails. 1. Keep the umbrella non-profit out of the plan. They voted to keep it out of the plan the last time it went before the Parks Board, do it again! We need accountability and transparency not further commercialization. Also, the environmental commission joined them in removing the umbrella non-profit and the design commission recommended the umbrella be audited! 2. Join the Design Commission and remove the Azie Morton garage - it is too close to Eliza Springs and requires a traffic study because it's at the intersection of two small roads. 3. Also join the Design Commission in removing the underground parking garage - it is located in the confluence of 3 major watersheds and digging that deep into them is sure to cause damage. 4. Remove any garages OUT OF THE PARK onto already paved areas. 5. Remove the Hillside Theater from the Great Lawn. 6. Require that 75% of the “ecological uplift” be switched to rewilding for better water protection, climate mitigation and shade. 7. Remove the Welcome Center (we already have one and don't need another!) 8. Support the internal and external shuttles as well as trails, bike/ ped and transit. 9. What you love to do in the park! For more background, here is a matrix of the Rewild Zilker Recommendations that you can attach or refer to. What's happened so far?! Parks Board #1 (March) Voted to pass the plan with the removal of the Umbrella Non Profit because it has the potential to increase privatization and commercialization in the Zilker Park. Here is the resolution. Note: The Collective - an assemblage of commercial operators in the Park (both profit and non-profit), shortly after went ahead and announced their umbrella non profit Zilker 351 anyway. Does this seem desperate and disrespectful to you?! Environmental Board (April) Voted to pass the plan with a list of 20 conditions, you can see them in the resolution here. At that Board meeting 3 former Board and Commission members spoke up to support our Rewild recommendations! And, a new folk hero emerged - Commissioner Rick Brimer - who did over 100 hours of his own research into the plan, led the meeting with dozens of questions, conducted a master class on interrogating the staff presentation and has been at every board and commission meeting since. Thank you Commissioner Brimer! Urban Design Commission (April) The “Designers", as we affectionately call them, took aim at the parking garages and the Hillside Theater, removing the underground garage (that is inexplicably located in the confluence of 3 major watersheds), the Azie Morton garage (dangerously close to the Springs) and protecting the Great Lawn by moving the Hillside Theater as well as recommending the Umbrella non-profit be audited. Their resolution has not been published yet, but we'll share it when we see it. So do you see a pattern? Each Board and Commission is “approving” the current plan but adding substantial conditions that make the plan much stronger and more ecologically balanced. They are doing this in large part because you are educating them, showing up, making your opinions known and that is essential to our work. We are making progress but have a ways to go. If you plan to attend Earth Day, we have Rewild Zilker stickers for you to hand out as you walk around - ping us and let us know if you'd like some! Thank you so much for your help. We appreciate all that you do for Zilker Park. Sincerely, Your Wild Rewilders www.rewildzilker.org  Environmental Commission Update from the Rewilding TeamSo many of you showed up to speak and your speeches were SO GOOD! They brought many of us to tears. We cannot overstate our gratitude to be in this fight with you. We simply couldn't do it without you. Thank you, thank you. We were also unexpectedly joined by four powerful women advocates including three legendary former City of Austin Commissioners and a recently named Rising Star (we can see why!)
The Environmental Commission listened closely to our concerns (staying past 12am!) and gave us a couple of big wins:
The Zilker Vision Plan still has to go to the Design Commission (still not scheduled) and then back to the Parks Board for final approval April 24. The Consultants say then it's off to the City Council in late Spring, early Summer. With Gratitude, Your Wild Rewilding Team _________________________________________________ Please mark your calendars for April 24th Parks Board Meeting. We will need a strong showing! We will have another community zoom meeting leading up to it. We will send details next week. The Environmental Commission staff is still working on the final recommendations and the complete video of the meeting. We will let you know when they are available but they will be posted in the next few days HERE. The meeting video is complete until 11:50 pm when the recording stopped but you can still watch the amazing speakers and most of the comments from the Commissioners. Very informational so please try to watch. |
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