The Allandale Reporter

are you ready for the 2008 allandale 4th of july parade?

Allandale's biggest event, the 4th of July Parade, is coming up. Are you prepared? If you are new to the neighborhood you might know that we give out awards for best decorated whatever. The categories include: Most Patriotic Costume, Grand Marshall Award, Most Unusual, and an award for each of the following: best stroller, bicycle, scooter, wagon, car/truck, float, and pet. I may not have listed all of the awards but you get the idea. (I think parade organizers make a few up as they go along.) The point is you could be a winner. A little creativity and effort and you could convert your pick up truck into an award-winning float or your bike into a two-wheel red, white and blue head-turner. If you're bringing your dog, why not dress him/her up. Think big and loud. Let's make this a colorful parade.

Statesman Article Regarding Wal-Mart's Plans

Here is the Statesman's coverage of Wal-Mart's decision to scale back the planned store at Northcross, "Wal-Mart plans smaller Northcross store," by Shonda Novak. The comments attached to the story  about Wal-Mart's decision - and there are many, make for an interesting read.

REASON PREVAILS - A WAL-MART FIT FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD

by Tom Linehan

WAL-MART IS SCALING BACK IT'S STORE TO HALF THE ORIGINAL SIZE! Instead of a 200,000 plus sq ft SuperCenter, they will be building a 99,000 sq ft Wal-Mart.

That's fine with Allandale. We've never opposed a Wal-Mart going into Northcross, we've opposed a SuperCenter going in there. It has been a long, hard and costly effort trying to keep a SuperCenter out. Allandale can't handle the traffic and it's a threat to existing businesses. The majority of our residents have made it clear to us they don't want to be a SuperCenter neighborhood.

Yesterday our attorney, Bruce Bigelow called to say Lincoln and Wal-Mart were making a public announcement saying they were "reducing the NorthCross addition such that Wal-Mart would be 100,000 rather than 219,000 or 192,000 plus 5,500 garden center."  He further noted that Lincoln requested we not move forward with the appeal. Lincoln offered to withdraw any claim against ANA for attorneys fees. The new Wal-Mart would be less square footage, 99,000 sq feet, to trigger the Big Box Ordinance requiring a public hearing.

We have been involved in this fight for almost two years. We got an inkling of it back in June, 2006 when the Austin American-Statesman ran an article suggesting a Wal-Mart was being considered for Northcross. Below is a timeline made up of the headlines from the stories on this web site as the events unfolded. You can go back and read them here.

Many thanks to all of the people in the neighborhood who supported us and who put the time and effort and money into this cause. There has been SO MUCH work that has gone into this. Thanks to RG4N for all of their work as well. They raised it to the level of concern it required and organized surrounding neighborhoods to get involved. It is extremely disappointing/frustrating/disturbing that we both saw the need to pursue a lawsuit to stop the development.

A special thanks to ANA's Northcross Committee whose members include Katie Hansen, Michael Bomba, myself and Allan McMurtry who headed it up. And thanks to our lawyers, Bruce Bigelow and Maura Phelan with Blazier, Christensen, Bigelow & Virr, PC for steering us through the process and for their willingness to pursue the appeal. It's satisfying knowing that Allandale will not be known as the only Austin central city neighborhood with a SuperCenter.

Responses to Detention Pond Site Plan - deadline July 3

Neighbors in the vicinity of the Far West Detention pond should be receiving notices from the city regarding the proposed modernization of the dam. (Great Northern Dam Modernization site 267)

The COA Watershed department has been very involved with the neighborhood, processing feedback and making changes to specific requests and concerns.  - continue

Latest Newsletter on Your Doorstep

The June Issue of the Allandale Neighbor should have arrived at your doorstep. However, if you want to see the pictures in color, you can do so in the electronic version that is available right here.

Either way, here are some highlights. Crime is an ongoing concern of the neighborhood and the Allandale Neighborhood Association has made strong progress in assembling a Neighborhood Watch program. That's the cover article. Following that is a piece about a neighbor's past experience with a previous Allandale's Neighborhood Watch program in "The Value of the Telephone Tree."

We have photos from the 2nd Annual Tyke and Bike event, an article about the Austin Memorial Park, news about two new businesses opening up on Burnet Road, reports on recent neighborhood events, and this: "Hey Neighbor, Let's Get Wild! Take the Challenge." There's more plus offers and information from area advertisers. As always, this newsletter is home grown - written and produced by your neighbors in Allandale.

Progress - Outcome of City Council Hearing on Allandale's VMU Application

by Tom Linehan

The city council yesterday voted 7-0 to support Allandale's recommendations for VMU along Burnet Rd and Anderson Lane on the 1st reading. As a result many of the commercial properties along Burnet Road that back up to single-family residences will keep their current zoning. This is only a partial victory for Allandale because part of the recommendation was to defer a decision on tracts that include the 6400 Burnet Rd property (Burnet Road Storage Center) and tracts 14 and 15 (the south side of of the intersection at Shoal Creek and Anderson Ln).  We requested more time to explore options on these tracts so that when and if these properties are redeveloped the neighborhood association has a say in the developments. We have 30 days to get back to the Council on those recommendations.

Thanks to our zoning chair, Paulette Kern who has taken the lead on keeping us on track and getting us through the process and to the VMU Task Force - Anne Young, Steven Zettner, Katie Hansen, and Donna Beth McCormick for their efforts to date on this complex project. Council member McCracken made special note of the work Steven Zettner has done with regard to VMU and the Design Standards Ordinance and acknowledged Anne's and Paulette's participation in that process as well. Equally important in influencing last night's vote was the show of support of the neighbors that attended the hearing each wearing a yellow tag with Allandale on it. There were 75 people signed up to speak on  Allandale VMU Application. Fortunately it didn't take 75 speakers to make the point. The key points were made early on and the Council was able to vote on it less than 30 minutes into the hearing. Our VMU application process is not over but we are making progress.

Picnic in the Park

Austin Farmers' Market presents "Picnic in the Park" all summer season every Wednesday from 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm.

Each Wednesday throughout the summer Austin Farmers' Market hosts "Picnic in the Park" - Triangle Park, that is - at 4600 Guadalupe at Lamar & 46th St.  Enjoy live music, water play, fun on the lawn, loads of summer produce and ready-to-eat snacks from market vendors.

Austin Farmers' Market at The Triangle is a great way to spend an afternoon or evening with your family and introduce kids to the farmers who grow their food!

Two in a Row - Local Wins Danskin

Fifteen year old Avery Visser won the Danskin triathlon for the second year in a row. Avery lives in Allandale and attends McCallum. She came out of the water with a 4-minute lead and held on to win it through the bike and run. You can read more about Avery and the event in Monday's Austin American-Statesman, "Teen tops triathlon for second straight year," by Brom Hoban. Congratulations Avery!

URGENT NOTICE

The Austin/Travis County HHSD is seeking to identify three boys who were regular riders of the #3 bus during the school year.  These boys were seen playing with a bat at the Northcross bus stop on Tuesday, June 3rd at about 4:15 PM.  The bat was later tested and found to be
POSITIVE for RABIES.

It is necessary to interview the boys in order to determine whether they may have been exposed to rabies.  They are described as 1 white boy, 1 thin African American boy, and 1 heavier African American boy.  Their names and ages are unknown.  They regularly rode the #3 bus between Lamar Middle School at Burnet Road/Koenig Lane and the Northcross area bus stop.  If you know anything at all about these boys – even just a first name or nickname – please call one of the numbers below.

Austin/Travis County HHSD Surveillance Unit    512-972-5555
Austin/Travis County HHSD Animal Services    3-1-1
Town Lake Animal Center Rabies Clerk    512-972-6007
DSHS Zoonosis Control    1-254-778-6744

Parking of Motorized Vehicles in Yard Prohibited

Allandale along with several other neighborhoods were recently added tot he City's Restricted Parking Area Map which "prohibits the parking of motorized vehicles in the front and side yard of single-family residences, except in a driveway or paved parking space." The fine for violating this ordinance is $40 for the first offense, $50 for the second. The ordinance is complaint-driven. You can read the notice here.