From the Chair
This is my first and last newsletter article as OWANA Steering Committee chairperson. There is great need to fill this position with someone who can bring this elected body together to carry out the membership’s business in the interest of the neighborhood as a whole. The next group of leaders would be well served to study the history of Old West Austin and Castle Hill, Raymond Heights, and Clarksville within and to understand the history of the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association and its predecessors and partners in working to keep our neighborhood unique and vital.
Central to that history is the Old West Austin Neighborhood Plan, prepared by our neighbors with the assistance of City staff and adopted by the City Council in 2000. That plan includes action items to protect the character of the neighborhood through appropriate zoning, historic preservation, and compatibility standards. Part of that character is the diversity that we still have in spite of rising home prices because of our proximity to downtown.
The Victorians, the craftsman bungalows, and the shotgun houses all contribute to the historic fabric of the neighborhood. Even as these homes become affordable only to the few, the Clarksville Community Development Corporation (CCDC) continues to manage a number of residences for qualifying low-income families in Historic Clarksville. In this group of low-income houses, OWANA has the opportunity to make good on the action item in the neighborhood plan to support affordable housing and the entire neighborhood at the same time. Our annual fundraising should include such support in its goals.
OWANA needs leaders that understand our history and these issues and will build consensus around the public interest of the neighborhood and not just the private property interests of a few. We are only the current stewards of this community and must be conscientious about preserving it for the next generation.
Randy Hankamer
Chairperson
OWANA Steering Committee
Mathews Elementary News
Mathews celebrated its 91st birthday this year and we’re having a great Fall. Here are a few highlights:
The Mathews book fair will be Monday through Friday, Dec. 8-15, 7:30am-4:30pm in the library. Evening hours until 7:30pm on Wednesday, Dec. 10, and Thursday, Dec. 11. This is a great opportunity to shop for books, posters, computer games, art kits and seasonal items without the holiday crowds. And the Mathews library will receive 30% of the value of your purchases.
Mark your calendars for the Winter Concert on Thursday, December 11 at 6:15pm – 7:15pm, led by the 6th grade band, orchestra and choir.
Octoberama, our fundraising carnival on November 1st, was a big success. Thank you to all our sponsors and those who attended, donated funds, goods, or time. We certainly enjoyed visiting with the neighbors and the kids had a blast! In case you missed the event and still want to donate, see www.octoberama.org.
We continue to monitor the developing plans for the Brackenridge Tract, particularly with regard to the UT Married Student Housing. Relocation of the residents would dramatically impact our school, changing the international make-up of our student body, which is one of the things that makes Mathews Elementary such a special place.
We have launched www.mathews360.com as a dedicated school website, providing a way for Principal Amy Kincade and the PTA to stay in touch with the school and the community. You can also find out about volunteer opportunities at Mathews and investigate our passive fundraising programs, such as HEB cards, Randall’s Grocery Stores, Target, Soup Peddler and more.
Prospective families are always welcome to visit Mathews. Please contact Ruthann Rushing, Community Liaison, at 841-1516 to set up tours, appointments with Principal Amy Kinkade, as well as classroom visits.
Mathews Fund for Excellence
The Mathews Elementary Fund for Excellence is an endowment fund established by parents in 2005 to help Mathews be a “world-class elementary school for each of its students, teachers, administrators, parents, and alumni.” We are pleased to announce the following two initiatives:
- The annual $1000 Excellence Award. In its third year, the Excellence Award utilizes accumulated interest from donations to the endowment to fund a Mathews project. Previous awards have gone toward the construction of a permanent sign in front of the school and to provide scholarships for a before-school language exploration program. The award will be announced at the “State of Mathews” meeting on March 26, 2009. Applications may be submitted through March 1, 2009 by faculty, staff, parents, or community members.
- A $500 Scholarship Award to a graduating AISD senior who is a former Mathews student. Applications for the scholarship are due March 1, 2009.
For additional information on the initiatives and applications, or to learn how you can support the future of Mathews by making a contribution to the Mathews Elementary Fund for Excellence, contact Kim O’Brien at 480-9648 or email MathewsFE@aol.com
National Night Out
Our Old West Austin and Clarksville Neighborhoods joined with thousands of communities nationwide on October 7, 2008 to participate in the 25th Annual ‘National Night Out.’
APD officers, EMS, local firefighters and Austin Code Enforcement officials met neighbors at five different outdoor parties. The evening’s events were designed to promote crime prevention awareness and to strengthen our police - community partnership.
Local street and park parties were organized by Greg and Veryan Thompson, Laura Porcaro, Jim Kaighin, Lorri Michel, Susie Thorn, Tracen Gardner and Sara Kennedy.
Detective Kevin Covington, our APD DTAC District Representative, wrote after the event that “I have never seen five parties in OWANA for NNO. Please pass on my sincere thanks to all that got involved, and let’s continue to work towards getting more involved. I look forward to working with you on any problems that may come up in the future (Let’s hope there are NONE), but it they do, please know that I will always be there to help.”
OWANA encourages neighbors to come together again in 2009 to hold even more local parties, sending the message that we are all working together to prevent crime and keep our neighborhoods safe.
Kevin Covington can be reached at P.O. Box 689001, Austin, Texas 78768-9001, 512-974-9774, kevin.covington@ci.austin.tx.us.
Neighbors who want to help in the planning of 2009 National Night Out events should contact Sara Kennedy at clinton280@aol.com.
Zoning Report
809 Baylor Street
Zoning received a notice of public hearing for a variance for an existing third unit to be extensively remodeled on the SF3 zoned lot to accommodate a living space that is currently uninhabitable. Instead of fighting this out at the Board of Adjustment Public Hearing, the neighbors and the owner choose to meet with Zoning and come up with a satisfactory compromise. Zoning, seven nearby neighbors, and the owner met to review plans. It was unanimous by the neighbors to oppose the plans due to: inadequate street parking, blocked views, roots of registered tree were vulnerable, density of lot does not have adequate off-street parking, etc... The owner decided to CANCEL the variance request and instead would alter his plans to remodel within COA code and neighbors suggestions. This is a positive example of OWANA Zoning being involved in a neighborhood conflict situation and facilitating a resolution that everyone has found acceptable and potentially impacted neighbors are delighted with. New plans to be forwarded to Zoning and nearby neighbors will be contacted once submitted.
1408-1410 W. 9th Street (Saint Francis Church)
Previous owner, who donated the properties to the church, met with Zoning to discuss expanding the church and demolishing the non-contributing duplex to the East of the church to accommodate the addition. The previous owner also has under contract the property adjacent to the dog park. Many nearby neighbors met with Zoning to discuss opposition to the expansion due to street parking issues. A meeting will take place with the Priest, previous owner, and Zoning on November 20th to discuss options since opposition has been expressed.
Received notice that a realtor is marketing 4 homes and 1 church (3 are contributing) as “Rare Infill Multifamily/Town home site for 2.2 million. Many nearby neighbors are in opposition. Wrote to realtor to inform them of the contributing structures. This site is within the boundaries of the proposed local historic district of Terrace Park. Met with previous owner who donated the five homes to the church and she wants the church and surrounding homes saved. She showed us designs to enlarge the church, but the congregation has plans for another property with more land. Previous owner claims first right to counter any offers within 30 days. No response from realtors.
South Side of Railroad Tracks from Paul St. to Orchard St.
Zoning met with developers to walk the property and talk about preliminary ideas for residential use for the area. Ideas were discussed, but nothing concrete has been proposed to date.
The Pleiades Condominiums on Enfield
A new developer has the project under contract. Zoning met with the developer to gauge the group’s feelings about the project and told the association he plans to repair damage to it and complete it as rental units.
First State Bank, which provided the financing for Pleiades to its former developer, Bolter Corp., foreclosed on the property in the last few months and owns a portion of the property, says Boone Almanza, a lawyer who represented the project’s initial designer-builder, Qmet Building Co. LLC.
915 Lamar Blvd (Emerald City Press; east side of Lamar)
The BOA voted to postpone their decision until December to give the owner a chance to exhaust all of her options to rent off-site parking. She is now requesting a variance for 7 parking spaces. A BOA commissioner requested that the business owners cease the fight against this business owner and urged them to take a “let’s all get along” position. Next hearing is scheduled for December 8th.
The Board of Adjustment hearing was postponed by the owner of Emerald City and will be heard on November 10th. Zoning met with owner to see if we could facilitate a meeting between the parties, but no compromise was met .
The hearing was conducted on September 8th, but a decision was made to postpone ruling to a second hearing scheduled for October 13.. OWANA will be at the hearing to make sure all parties are honest with our “no position” stance since the coffee shop is outside of OWANA’s boundaries.
At the Steering Committee meeting WEAA and Emerald City each presented their side. Emerald City is trying to secure 20 additional parking spaces from Cheapo Discs across the street for a one-year lease. As of this date a compromise has not been reached. OWANA did not take a position and we encouraged WEAA and Emerald City to reach a compromise.
Received email notification from WEAA to gather OWANA support to OPPOSE the variance request to decrease the minimum off-street parking requirement from 40 spaces to 9 in order to change the use of the building to create a restaurant use with 1000 sq ft of outdoor seating. Also received email notification from owner of ECP to gain OWANA support IN FAVOR of the variance. Will hear presentations by WEAA and Emerald City at the August 4th Steering Committee meeting.
The Board of Adjustment postponed the hearing, based on the applicants wishes, to be heard on November 10th.
801 Highland Ave (Blondie Pharr Home)
Nearby neighbors and the owner worked out a compromise that included off-street garages for the three structures, prior to the City Council Hearing. Council ruled for Historic Zoning on this first pass. City Council will hear the case on November 20th for a final decision.
Neighbors and Zoning met with the owner at the COA Preservation Department to hear the new plans for the lot. Nothing was changed and he is still going to fight for the variances (see below). City Council hears the Historic Zoning case on November 6th.
Met with the new owner (previously was the “proposed buyer”) several times and he is offering to support H Zoning for the home if we do not oppose 5 variance requests (4 additional variances) in return. He is seeking non-opposition to these variances:
- Exceed square footage requirements by 3500sq ft
- Exceed height limit by 3 feet on all three structures
- Allow for third story on all three structures
- Decrease from 10 feet to 8.5 feet in between each home
- Decrease front yard setback by 6 feet.
We will be meeting the week of October 6th to see if we can find a compromise prior to City Council meeting on October 16th.
The owner postponed the case twice in September because the nearby neighbors did not agree with his variance requests. Still negotiating with the owner, but City Council will hear the case on October 16.
38 nearby neighbors are now in support of Historic Zoning as well as supporting the LHD of Terrace Park (formerly Highland Terrace). The City neglected to mail out the public hearing notices, so the hearings are postponed until August 12th and 14th. The proposed buyer is closing on the property and now wants to negotiate with the neighbors for a variance to request 8.5 feet in between three homes instead of the required 10 feet. In return he will not demo the Pharr Home, rehab it, and place two prefabricated homes next to it for a total of four units.
19 nearby neighbors showed up in support of Historic Zoning, but the HLC did not have a super majority on 6/23, so a vote could not be taken. The HLC called a special June 30th meeting to hear the case again and voted unanimously for Historic Zoning. The case will be heard at the July 22nd Planning Commission and July 24th City Council.
Historic Landmark Commission voted to initiate historic zoning. This home’s location is central to the proposed Local Historic District, Highland Terrace, which the neighborhood is working on to submit an application to the City. The HLC will do their due diligence and vote on the June 23rd meeting.
Developer and proposed buyer applied for a demolition permit for this contributing historic single family home to be heard at the Historic Landmark Commission Public Hearing on May 19, 2008. The property is zoned MF4 and buyer wants to place a condo regime with two pre-fabricated homes with an extra unit on the bottom floor for a total of three units on the lot in lieu of a single family home. Nearby neighbors are opposing the demo permit and are supporting Historic Zoning.
1307 W. 10th St.
Board of Adjustment meeting will be on November 10th for the garage apartment variances. The owner made some minor changes to the plans to fit with the McMansion ordinance, but it is still within the footprint of the current carport. The only addition is adding the external stairs. They will be removing a stone patio and a concrete slab to actually decrease the overall impervious coverage from start to finish. Nearby neighbors still give support and we will not oppose his variance requests.
Owner currently working with City on final plans. Members of the OWANA Zoning Committee met with Bob Atkins, one of the owners, about the possibility of an accessory apartment where the carport is currently located. The proposal would require 3 variances regarding setbacks and lot size. The owner has already presented his plans to the neighbors who have all given their approval to the project. The proposal was presented to the OWANA Steering Committee in February, who voted not to oppose the variances as presented on the condition the final drawings were to be presented to the OWANA Zoning Committee for approval and that there were no major changes to the size and height of the structure.
1206 Lorrain Street
In July, 2007, the current owners of the property applied for a demolition permit. Because this structure is listed as a contributing 1940 domestic Art Moderne in the West Line National Register of Historic Designation, both the OWANA Zoning and Land Use Committee and nearby neighbors felt that it was extremely important to work towards the preservation of this duplex.
The Historic Landmark Commission heard the case in November, 2007, and voted 6-0 for historic designation. The Planning Commission hearing was in January, 2008, and they, too, voted for historic designation.
Through this process we have met with the owner’s agent, Dennis Ku, on several occasions to discuss the preservation of the home and potential projects for this site should the historic landmark designation be denied. At our last meeting, Mr. Ku presented plans indicating that the historic structure will not be demolished and will be converted from a duplex to a single-family residence.
However, the owners would like to demolish the existing garage (due to its deteriorated condition) and remove the wooden rear addition to the duplex. It is our understanding that the demolition of the garage and the add-on will not affect the historic value of the structure. OWANA did not oppose the limited demolition request. OWANA will continue to follow the process on this project.
1701 Enfield Road
We met with the owners in 2007 to discuss their plans for demolition and replacing a contributing historic four-plex with a new four-plex, but the designs were not favored by nearby neighbors. In September of 2008, after hiring a new architect and three iterations later, the owners have come up with a design that is timeless and is more in keeping with the architecture of that area of the neighborhood and no longer has opposition from the near neighbors. The new design clearly reflects many of the elements we strive for in our neighborhood plan. Because the owners considered and incorporated many of our suggested design guidelines, there was no opposition to the demolition permit.
1610 14th Street
Received a Notice of Public Hearing in September for a demolition permit and building permit. Met with the new owner, looked at his plans to demo a non-contributing house that has been sitting vacant on the market for 2 years. Plans for a single-family home represented the architectural style of the neighborhood and were approved by the city’s Historic Preservation department. There was no opposition from neighbors, therefore OWANA did not oppose the demolition permit.
1300 Block of Woodlawn, Adjacent to 1631 Palma Plaza
Members of the Zoning Committee, CCDC, and adjacent neighbors met with the owners in September to discuss the current proposal for the property located on the corner of Waterston, Woodlawn and Palma Plaza. The new plans indicate that the project has been reduced to 4 duplex units, including the existing structure on Palma Plaza. The new plans indicate that the owners are complying with the Restrictive Covenant. Should the pre-sale of the units be successful, the owners hope to begin building in early 2009. Redesign of plans is currently taking place.
The Castle Project
Met with architects to view plans for the town homes and hear variance requests. Each town home will be 1500-2100 sq ft and the 24 units may decrease to 22 units. They are asking for variances for: pool, yard fence, stone patios, and awnings on patio. We advised they seek nearby neighbor approval. Received copies of proposed building design and materials to be used. The restoration of the Castle is near completion and it looks beautiful!
1107 W. 10th Street
The BOA approved the setback variance. OWANA did not take a position, so this case will CLOSE.
Received letter from nearby neighbors in support of his waiver. RDCC voted to give him his FARR waiver on July 7th. Received new notice for a variance to decrease the minimum front street setback from 25 feet to 21 feet in order to erect the second story addition. BOA on August 11th will hear case. No neighbors oppose and we will not oppose.
Owner called ZC to set meeting because he needed a FARR waiver. It was brought to his attention that his second story would pull his home out of contributing status and could he add on to the back half instead of the front half? He did not want to revise his plans and we did not oppose him on his FARR.
Received notice for building permit and phoned the owner to meet three times. No return call. May 19th HLC viewed plans for second story addition that did not meet the setback criteria from the NRHD design standards, but HLC granted the permit anyway. No nearby neighbors opposed and we did not oppose.
700 Oakland Ave
Property is still sitting vacant and boarded up with no activity.
Nearby Oakland neighbors gathered after the June 3rd GM to oppose the variance due to traffic and safety issues. We met with the owner and asked if he’d consider off-street parking since there is none and he is doubling the number of bedrooms in his duplex from 2 to 4. We asked for off-street parking required if they granted the variance. BOA voted to approve the variance and acknowledged parking issues on Oakland and hoped the owner might consider purchasing the vacant street for parking, but no conditions were met. Owner agreed to look into off-street parking days after the hearing.
Received notice of variance request to decrease side setback from 15 to 12.7 feet.
1115 Enfield
No contact from proposed buyer and no activity on the property.
Planning commission on June 29th voted to release partial demo permit with conditions to: restore the original terrace and go back 15 feet to keep structure on east and west side of house.
Met with the proposed developer/buyer and he agreed to a partial demo permit and will add on to the back of the home with three units in condo regime style. This contributing single-family use home is zoned MF4.
Received notice for demolition permit on April 18, 2008. We contacted the owner and applicant, but never got a call back to discuss. As a result, we attempted to postpone the demo permit only to be told (in writing) “the City has 60 days in which to act upon a demo permit request, so it is doubtful the case will be postponed unless the applicant agrees to such postponement.” The HLC Chair wrote back “the code regulations under which the HLC operates states we must take action on demolition permit applications within a set number of days, or the permit is defacto granted”. We did not oppose the permit, but it has been “initiated” for Historic Zoning from the HLC on April 28 and will be heard at the public hearing on for the Planning Commission on May 19.
1509 Enfield
Not active. No contact from proposed developers.
Contributing historic house on market for one year with no activity. Owner wants to sell to developers who want to build 11 properties where four now stand. They already obtained three demo permits from the City on the adjacent properties last year. We met with the developers and they proposed Pemberton type properties of nine SF and one Duplex with entrance off of Palma Plaza. They applied for a demo permit on April 18, 2008. We did not oppose it. They received their demo permit, however they want to meet with us again to discuss plans further.
