HELP CRESTVIEW “STOP THE SWAP”

The City Council will vote this Thursday, September 27, on a “land swap” which could amount to a $1.3 million corporate giveaway that undermines the Crestview/Wooten neighborhood plan and is opposed by the neighborhood association. Crestview Neighborhood Association asks neighbors throughout the Northcross area to call City Council members today and Wednesday to oppose the land swap.

WHAT IS THE LAND SWAP?
The proposal before Council would give Stratus, owner of the land where the Crestview Station development will be built, and Trammel Crow, the Crestview Station developer, 5.5 acres on Ryan Street next to the location of the planned commuter rail station. In exchange, the City would receive 2 acres near the southwest corner of Lamar and Morrow.

Austin Energy (AE) wants the swap in order to build an electric substation at Lamar/Morrow. The City Council wants the swap to achieve even more dense development occurs next to the station. Stratus/Trammel Crow want the swap because they will make money developing the additional property.

WHAT IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD’S POSITION?
Crestview Neighborhood Association (CNA) passed a resolution to have the City retain ownership of the 5.5 acres and convert some or all to parkland, consistent with the approved neighborhood plan. CNA and neighbors have spoken to Council members and staff and testified before the Planning Commission against this land swap. We have basically been told “it’s a done deal” and our input and neighborhood plan have been completely dismissed. CNA is not against putting the proposed substation at the Lamar site. We want the City and AE to buy the Lamar land outright and retain public ownership of the 5.5 acre parcel until a plan for its use can be developed that is consistent with our approved neighborhood plan objectives.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
AE never did due diligence to look for other possible electric substation sites. In addition, the land could be purchased rather than swapped for publicly-owned land but no real work has been done to explore that option. Trammel Crow is willing to sell the land to the City if the swap is not approved. To justify the swap, the City got an appraiser to say the two parcels are roughly the same value, but TCAD shows the publicly-owned parcel at about $1.74 million and the Stratus/Trammel Crow parcel at about $400,000. And once again, the City is ignoring public input and the neighborhood planning process.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
The City Council has the power to stop the swap and make AE and Stratus/Trammel Crow work with the neighborhood toward a mutually-agreed solution rather than steamroll us. We ask our neighbors throughout this area to help us by calling Council today and Wednesday and expressing opposition to the Crestview Station land swap.

Council phone numbers can be found at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/contacts.htm or an email can be sent to all Council members at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/groupemail.htm.

For more information contact Eddie Gary, 917-7557 or gratefuled@sbcglobal.net