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Muny has been a vital part of Austin’s park system for more than 98 years. The City of Austin, who leases the course from the University of Texas, is currently on a short term lease arrangement, which puts the course in severe danger. The time to Save Muny is now.

While our non-profit status does not allow us to endorse a particular candidate, here is a related segment from the ATX Decides program on Senator Watson's and Rep. Israel's position on Muny so that you can consider it among the other issues when voting for our next mayor. Please exercise your right to vote!

https://youtu.be/EuaKbsosXWE

Go to 51:15 to watch both candidates discusses their plans for Muny

Early voting ends Friday, December 9th and election day is Tuesday, December 13th.

Thank you,

The Muny Conservancy

Our apologies for not getting this information out earlier but we wanted to share even if it is after the event....

We will share the progress as it is developed....

Organized by Juliette Madere

In August, 2022, WANG heard a presentation by neighbor Juliette Madere, senior at Anderson HS, requesting support for natural landscaping / re-wilding of the median at Forest Trail and Woodmont Ave. She will be working through the CIty’s Adopt a Median program. WANG voted unanimously to support her request to the City. WANG will share Juliette’s guide to natural landscaping (Austin Homegrown Parks - see attached) on our website and through the newsletter. Holly Reed has sent a letter of our support to Juliette to share with the COA.

Photos of Volunteers.....THANK YOU!

A note from Juliette

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who were able to help out during Thanksgiving week (and Sunday Dec 11th!), we've finished planting all of the small trees and shrubs on the median! However, there is still a lot to be done. Next, we will be digging out the path, continuing to remove bermuda grass from the median, and finally sowing native wildflower and grass seeds over unplanted areas of the median. Thanks so much to everyone who has been able to lend a hand so far, and I hope you are as excited as I am to be moving forwards with the project.

We will be having another work day on December 11th from 1-4pm. Please fill out the linked google form if you are planning on helping out!

Form: https://forms.gle/TzvcKSSLgHdDzmjK7

The event will take place at the median in front of 2401 Woodmont Ave.

from 1-4pm on Sunday, December 11th.

PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN:

• Water
• Work/gardening gloves
• Close-toed shoes
• Weather-appropriate clothing (it may rain)

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by Mayor Pro-Tem Alison Alter

KEY POINTS:

• Late last week, the Austin City Council rushed approved major zoning changes in a rushed vote, allowing large, corridor-style buildings closer to existing homes
• The full contents of the approved ordinance still haven’t been released to the public
• Concerned residents should contact council members and demand a copy of the approved ordinance, along with an explanation of its impact

Last Friday, the Austin City Council rushed through major zoning changes reducing the distance between existing homes and large buildings on corridors. In some locations, they reduced compatibility by as much as 80%, even though city staffers told them at the work session that “[w]e just don’t know how well it’s gonna work.”

Nonetheless, they passed it on all three readings in a short session. Even a week later, it is unknowable what they passed because there were so many last-minute changes.

The council relied on written handouts on the dais, making it impossible for the public to tell which of the 30-plus backup documents they were referring to. Because of last-minute amendments, changes without explanations, and a chaotic discussion, some members of the council didn’t seem to follow what was happening—but that didn’t prevent them from voting to forever impact your neighborhoods.

Only Kathy Tovo abstained from approving this anti-democratic, sham of a process (Vanessa Fuentes was on an airplane). The ordinance with final details will likely not be available for weeks. We will conduct a legal review of the council’s actions, because we believe it is likely they violated a number of state laws.

But this much is clear: This ordinance has little to do with “affordability” and nothing to do with “equity.” The burden is placed on the many current residents who live near their arbitrarily selected ”corridors.” We await the final list of streets and their characterization, but the level of incompatibility residents will experience appears to have been inconsistently applied. The communities most impacted, particularly low- and middle-income, were not consulted by the council in a thoughtful, democratic process.

To see where we think compatibility reductions apply, Community Not Commodity has used City of Austin data to create this preliminary map. We will update it as new information is made available.

If you filed an official rezoning protest before the plan was approved or own property that appears to be affected on this map, we urge you to contact Mayor Steve Adler and your representative on the Austin City Council and demand that they release the approved ordinance, along with an explanation on how you are impacted. Check this map if you aren’t sure which council member represents you.

Click on "Austin Affordability" button above to find out.....

Fredrick Reza
Project Manager
Meredith Street Flood Risk Reduction Project
Watershed Protection Department
City of Austin

Dear Project Manager Reza:

The Board of Directors (BoD) of West Austin Neighborhood Group (WANG) has voted electronically to request that a missing sidewalk section on the north side of the 3600 block of Cherry Lane be included into the Meredith Street Flood Risk Reduction Project. The addition of this stretch of sidewalk connects the current sidewalk at the intersection of Rockmoor Avenue and Cherry Lane to another continuing sidewalk that goes down south along Scenic Drive to the Wash Landing recreation area.

We understand that this infill sidewalk is not specifically called out in your project, but our hope is that funds can be found to do this important pedestrian safety work.

Our thanks to you and your team for making this very necessary flood risk reduction project as unobtrusive as possible.

Our regards to you,

Holly Reed, President

West Austin Neighborhood Group

Dear City of Austin Watershed Protection Office,

As a close-by neighbor to the Meredith Street FRR project, and as a member of West Austin Neighborhood Group (WANG), I want to express my appreciation for the outstanding work recently completed in my neighborhood. Not truly being impacted by flooding from the Meredith Street area, my appreciation is focused on the pedestrian safety improvements that were incorporated into the program.

I frequently use the area of Rockmoor Avenue from Cherry Lane to Kennelwood Road to walk my hounds in the mornings, and there was a stretch along there where pedestrians had to walk in the street to continue going north. Adding a sidewalk along this stretch had some challenges due to the impact on critical root zones of adjacent trees, but the solution your team came up with is very commendable. I have attached photographs below.

I wanted you to know your efforts were appreciated.

My regards to you,

Blake Tollett

West Austin Neighborhood Group Member

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Shout out to Steve & Ricardo who were enjoying Mozart's on this overcast day!

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Littlefield’s Tacos & Coffee

Neighbors out enjoying the weekend…..