oakhillgazette.com
May 28, 2015 Volume 20, No. 11 Southwest Austin’s Community Newspaper Since 1995
LifeAustin amphitheater is close to completion by Ann Fowler OAK HILL - With construction of a controversial 1,000 fixed-seat outdoor amphitheater at the LifeAustin church nearing completion, the final step is a permit to allow amplified sound for the performances—the long-held dream of Pastor Randy Phillips, founder of the popular contemporary Christian music trio Phillips, Craig and Dean. But one man’s dream can be anoth-
But disputes remain as OHAN resolution calls for City to deny sound permit for controversial venue er’s nightmare, and some nearby residents are fearful that the sound from the amphitheater will destroy the tranquility of their neighborhoods. To that end, the neighborhoods requested and received support from the Oak Hill Association of
Neighborhoods (OHAN) in a May 13 resolution to oppose the issuance of a sound permit for an outdoor music venue as well as to “revoke the site development permit as to the outdoor amphitheater.” Typical of such disputes, not all res-
idents are against the amphitheater. Some locals support it, while others are willing to give the church the benefit of the doubt. “A large number of neighbors are incredibly excited about this,” said Pastor Phillips. He added that 30 residents from
The LifeAustin 1,000 seat outdoor venue is almost finished.
local neighborhoods recently received a tour of the amphitheater. “Our sound team, our design team, the builders were there, and the residents asked a number of questions,” he said. “An amazing number came up to our team afterwards and said they had no idea the amount of work we went to to mitigate the sound neighborhoods might hear,” he added. LifeAustin’s Pastor John Capezzuti explained the mitigation work at the amphitheater, called the Outdoor Worship Center, to the Gazette: “The audio design that has been developed for the new Outdoor Worship Center at LifeAustin has been guided from the beginning with critical consideration for the surrounding neighborhoods and communities.” • “Best of the best” directional speakers • Site orientation of the venue on the property • Construction of approximately 280 linear feet of sound attenuation walls • Installation of sound absorbing theatrical acoustic wall board and lapidary ceiling panels at the stage and covered seating areas • A state-of the-art decibel moni-
See LIFEAUSTIN on p. 14
Oak Hill spared worst by Penny Levers
OAK HILL - While many Oak Hill area residents got to practice tornado safety drills during this past Memorial Day weekend, the area was largely spared the sort of destructive flooding that hit Oak Hill back in 2013—so far. Other Central Texas communities were not so lucky and now find themselves dealing with the loss of
life and property that resulted from the historic flooding. Relief efforts are underway in Hays County to help victims in Wimberley and San Marcos. For anyone interested in helping with relief efforts, there are many ways that this can be done. The City of Wimberley has posted that financial donations can be made to “Barnabas Connection Flood
See OAK HILL on p. 22
Williamson Creek roars over Joe Tanner Lane, but flooding does not appear as bad as October 2013.