West Austin Neighborhood Group

President’s Message April 2012

I just said farewell to my nephews and family who live in New York City.  It is always sad to see them off.  Of course, I work on “persuading” them to move back to Austin every chance I get!  As I have no children of my own, it is such a treat to be Uncle Hap.  I often think about their experience here and as all adults, compare it to my childhood.  We ran around the neighborhood, unfettered by many of the restrictions, complications and concerns faced by the community today.  Of course, my Dad used to wax nostalgic about picking berries along the railroad track and one of my uncles used to take his horse into the woods to go hunting in what is now Tarrytown.  We didn’t need cell phones and certainly didn’t have all the electronic gadgets that kids today obsess over.  We had our regular hang outs – Holiday House being at our near the top of the list.  Our good neighbor, Maudie’s, is probably the closest comparison for this generation but it is not exactly considered walkable unless you live south of Enfield.  In my neck of the woods, we had the 7-11 on Jefferson, Winn’s, Baskin Robbins and a few other regular spots – also now all gone. …(Read More)

WANG Annual Social Film Event

WANG Annual Social Film Event:  The WANG Annual Social was a great success this year.  Along with great burgers from P. Terry’s, we also filmed a documentary – “The Best Little Hamburger House in Texas”.  Click here for more info and pictures.

Who We Are

The West Austin Neighborhood Group (WANG) is a non-profit organization of residents with the shared goal of preserving West Austin and protecting it from deterioration. WANG is concerned with community development, ecology, safety, and any other matters that indirectly and directly affect the quality and character of the neighborhood and the City of Austin.

Next WANG Board Meeting:

The next meeting of the WANG Board of Directors will occur on Monday, June 4, 2012, beginning at 7:00 pm, at Howson Branch Library location (2500 Exposition Blvd.).  Anyone is welcome to attend, and if you have an issue to discuss with the board, please contact our President, August Harris, at 320-8808 or via email by clicking here.

Short Term Rentals

http://westaustinng.com/2011/07/12/short-term-rentals/

Texas in Epic Drought – Water Trees Now!

Most of Texas is at the highest level of drought intensity and this is weakening and killing many landscape trees.

We urge you to send a message/press release out to your customers, citizens, members and clients asking them to water their trees right now.

Click here for tips on watering trees in this exceptional drought.

Thank you for spreading this important message.

Dr. Todd Watson, President
Texas Chapter, International Society of Arboriculture

Tom Boggus, State Forester and Director
Texas Forest Service

Gary Woods, President
Texas Urban Forestry Council

Typhus Information

A few cases of Typhus have been reported in our neighborhood.  Please click the following link for more information.

http://westaustinng.com/2011/07/12/typhus-information/

Comments? Complaints? Input?

Please send us an email with any comments, complaints, or concerns about neighborhood matters by clicking here.

Neighborhood Planning Update:

City Council approved the Central West Austin Neighborhood Plan on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010.

While we are disappointed that Council did not agree to include the Brackenridge Tract in the Plan, we appreciate Councilmember Riley’s efforts to strengthen the language in the plan relating to the Brack Tract.  Details on the Brack Tract issue are posted here.

We are also pleased that Council agreed to change the land use designation for the Tarrytown Shopping Center to “Neighborhood Commercial.”  With this designation, the owner (Jeanne Daniels) will be prevented from converting the entire property to residential development without first obtaining an amendment to the plan.  Details on the Tarrytown Shopping Center issue are posted here.  Remember Holiday House!

A more detailed summary of the results from the Council’s first reading is available at our posting at http://westaustinng.com/2010/08/26/city-council-first-reading-results-for-central-west-austin-combined-neighborhood-plan.  At this posting, we explain that we are most concerned with Councils’ decision on Motion 2 (Austin State School land use language), Motion 3 (excluding the Brackenridge Tract from our plan), and Motion 8 (designating the Tarrytown Shopping Center as “Neighborhood Mixed Use”).  We also explain how the decisions on these motions can be fixed or changed.

Central West Austin Neighborhood Plan Details:  Details on the proposed plan are posted at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/planning/neighborhood/cw_austin.htm, including:

• Draft Future Land Use Maps (FLUMs) recommended by Staff for the Windsor Road Planning Area and the West Austin Neighborhood Group Planning Area; and

• Draft Chapters as Recommended by the Planning Commission from their June 22, 2010 Public Hearing, including the:

Vision Statement and Top Priorities as Voted by Participants at the Final Open House
Neighborhood in Context
Land Use
Transportation: Including the list of proposed bicycle and pedestrian improvements
Parks, Open Space & the Environment
Community Life