Austin Contrarian

Milk

From dairy to market.

h/t Coyote Blog.

An obstructionist's manifesto

Here's the text of a proposed Austin Neighborhoods Council resolution that was circulated today, a sort of obstructionist's manifesto.  ANC wants the city to capitulate to neighorhood groups who want out of VMU zoning until the city holds "open discussions" with them.  ANC's president openly endorsed the VMU standards last summer, of course, touting them as a "bargain" to channel dense development away from neighborhood interiors.  I guess ANC expected the stringent design standards to scare off more development than it has. 

I love the recitals.  My favorite:  ANC condemns the city for fostering sprawl on the city periphery while simultaneously complaining that the city's "pro-density posture . . . imposes a disproportionate impact on established neighborhoods."  ("Established neighorhood" is ANC code for the expensive neighborhoods where most of ANC's executive committe members live.)  These two statements can be reconciled only if you believe that it is the city's job to prop up those already-high central Austin home prices by limiting housing supply even further.

Thanks, ANC, for the steady source of material.

Proposed Resolution of the Austin Neighborhoods Council

Concerning the City of Austin Growth Policies

June 25, 2007

Whereas, the City has embarked on an unwritten policy concerning growth
which has not undergone public discussion or endorsement by its citizens;
and

Whereas, the City has failed to articulate or define long-term goals to be
addressed in its growth policies; and

Whereas, the City has not conducted social, economic and environmental
impact studies to afford a rational basis for such policies; and

Whereas, the City has failed to collaborate with other municipalities and
political entities to pursue legislation that would limit sprawl in
non-incorporated areas in Texas; and

Whereas, efforts to address sprawl by focusing solely on land-use within
incorporated areas will have little effect; and

Whereas, the City has failed to manage density within its own boundaries as
evidenced by allowing developments over the aquifer and allowing new
developments on the periphery with large lots and huge houses; and

Whereas, the city has failed to rationally weigh the impact of its growth
policies so as to assure an equitable balance of gains and losses for all
stakeholders; and

Whereas, the City has failed to utilize transportation modeling technology
that predicts and analyzes the impact of development on transportation
modes; and

Whereas, the city has failed to conduct long-term housing studies that
define the proper affordability mix and quantity of housing; and

Whereas, the lack of such a study undermines the City's policies for
providing housing for its citizenry; and

Whereas, the present, pro-density posture of the City imposes a
disproportionate impact on established neighborhoods; and

Whereas, the City has repeatedly favored dense developments that are
incompatible with the plans of neighborhood planning areas, and

Whereas, the City has repeatedly adopted new zoning tools without conducting
proper beta testing; and

Whereas, the present set of planning tools are inadequate in versatility and
scope to provide neighborhoods with means by which to rationally manage
density, transportation, economic development, housing and preserve and
enhance quality of life; and

Therefore, the Austin Neighborhoods Council urges the City Council and
Planning Commission to approve without exception the recommendations of
neighborhoods and neighborhood planning areas concerning implementation of
the Vertical Mixed-Use Ordinance and postpone all zoning cases entailing
increased density, unless supported by neighborhood plans, until such time
as the City has conducted valid studies and engaged its citizenry in open
discussions that lead to a written growth policy and corresponding planning
tools with which to implement such a policy.

Thanks for protecting us from crappy massages

Gov. Perry just signed a bill requiring new massage therapists to get 500 hours of training rather than 300.  Crappy massages, you see, are a direr threat than diesel fumes.  But I'm not being fair.  The need for more training was obvious.  Texas and that backwater Delaware were the only states to require less than 500 hundred hours of training (except for the 12 states that don't require any, that is.)  It was only a matter of time until we experienced a spate of bad massages.   

The massage therapists the Statesman interviewed thought this was a wonderful idea. Big surprise. Who doesn't appreciate a good income-maintenance program?

Everything you always wanted to know about farm subsidies

I dislike farm subsidies for a bunch of reasons.  But these guys really, really hate farm subsidies.

Who knew that central Austin was so chock full of farmers? 

Las Manitas and alley law

Thursday we learned, belatedly, that the Las Manitas loan was really about alley rights.  According to Brewster McCracken, the Perez sisters had an "absolute trump card to kill the hotel deal."  (You can listen to his interview with Jeff Ward on KLBJ here. Friday's Statesman had another article.)

Las Manitas blah blah blah

The Statesman gets it right.  Here's my post from December on this nonsense.

Let's just suppose that the city should be in the business of picking out local businesses to slather with money.  That still does not explain why the city is willing to forgive the Las Manitas loan after five years.  If the goal is merely iconopreservation, isn't the $750,000 loan enough to do the trick?  The parties apparently think so.  The city expects Las Manitas to make $45,000/year interest payments right off the bat, and Las Manitas apparently believes it can make those payments.  In other words, they both seem to believe that Las Manitas will survive even if it has to pay interest.  Then why forgive the loan after five years?  Either Las Manitas is still in business after five years -- in which case it has been successfully "retained," and needs no further subsidy -- or it's out of business, in which case the $750,000 was a bad investment which the city should try to recoup.