Hello Neighbors!
If you don't already have it, you will soon receive a copy of the Neighborhood Planning Survey. This document was put together by the Neighborhood Planning Team with the assistance of City of Austin staff. Results from the survey will be used to help put together the Neighborhood Plan. This will be the primary document used to guide development and growth in Bouldin. I have visited with the BCNA Executive Committee and we have agreed that of all the questions in the survey, there is one that has the capacity to bring significant harm to this neighborhood, as we see it. This is Question #2.
Question #2 is one that is required to be in the survey by the city of Austin. It relates directly to the area of the City's "Smart Growth" policy that supports "densification" in existing neighborhoods. The question asks you to choose how small a standard SF-3 lot should be (all of the residential lots in Bouldin are zoned SF-3). The choices are 4,500 sqft, 3,500 sqft, 2,500 sqft, or don't change the definition (presently at 5,750 sq ft). I am requesting that you mark "strongly disagree" on the size options and "strongly agree" on the option of not changing the 5,750 minimum lot size for SF-3.
What's wrong with decreasing the SF-3 lot size? The change would be applied to all existing lots. Keep in mind, this isn't about adding a garage apartment or granny flat behind an existing house - changing the definition of SF-3 would allow the subdivision of existing lots so that full-sized houses could be built on tiny lots. The magic numbers for the City's "Smart Growth" policies are the 3,500 and 2,500 sq ft options. About 30% of the lots in Bouldin are greater than 7,000 sq ft in size. Almost all of the rest are greater than 5,000 sq ft. Right now, you can put 100 houses on 100 lots. With a 3,500 sq ft minimum, you could put 130 houses in the same 100 lots. Decrease the size to 2,500 sq ft and you could put 230 houses in 100 lots. This is a density greater than some of the City's apartment zoning. It would basically rezone all of Bouldin as if it were one gigantic apartment complex.
So why is density so bad? In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with density, as long as that is the deal that everybody signs on for. You buy a condo, you know what you're getting. The problem with changing the rules after the fact are the unintended consequences of the act. Increasing density in Bouldin will (not "may", folks, "will") increase traffic without a commitment from the City to improve streets and make them safe; significantly increase impervious cover and both destroy East and West Bouldin Creeks by channelization from excessive runoff and put the neighborhood over the limit for the FEMA "Urban Flood Plain" designation; and it will increase the taxes on every residential property in Bouldin.
Wait a minute - why would taxes increase if you allow houses to be built on smaller lots? The simple answer is that your taxes are based on the potential value of the land and its improvements (your house), not what you paid for it. As soon as one person subdivides and builds 3 houses on one 7,500 sq ft lot, the Travis County Appraisal District will have a "comparable" that it can use to reevaluate the value of all the land in Bouldin. And because of Texas State Law, land and improvements must be based on the maximum potential value of the property. So the taxes on your land would double or triple (depending on the size of your lot), even if you have no intention of ever subdividing your lot.
I'm a renter - why does it matter to me? Because taxes affect you, too! Increased property taxes are passed on to the renter through rents. They may not be visible, but believe me, they are definitely there.
What about the rest of the survey? Isn't it important? Sure it is. There are other very important issues in the survey to which you should express your opinion. Should granny flats/garage apartments be allowed on lots less than 7,000 sq ft? Where do you want to see new sidewalks? Where do you want to see new commercial development and what kind would you like it to be? How safe do you feel in Bouldin? What would you change if you could?
And so forth. The rest of the survey requests information about issues that will be discussed and settled in group discussions in the coming months. It is only Question #2 on which I am requesting that the neighborhood express a united postion. We've all seen the changes that have come from the 'hoods popularity. Some have been good, some not so good. Allowing the subdivision of existing lots could easily destroy the neighborhood and I am not exaggerating.
So that's it folks. Fill out the survey, then send it back in that handy, pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelope. If you have the time, please contact Planning Team members and give some help to an area of particular concern to you (Land use? Transportation? Urban design?). There is a lot of work still to be done, and it really is all about you.
Thanks!
Sean Kelly