oakhillgazette.com
September 5, 2013 Volume 18, No. 17 Southwest Austin’s Community Newspaper Since 1995
Austin, Bowie, Crockett — football is back!
Residents sound off on possible Oak Hill district by Bobbie Jean Sawyer OAK HILL - The official boundaries of Oak Hill—there never were any, until recent years when the city held hearings and created the Oak Hill Neighborhood Plan—has been a long-debated subject in the southwest area and a major focus of the Aug. 21 Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) public hearing. At the meeting, held at the Precinct 3 offices, residents urged commission members not to split communities along district lines. The ICRC is a fourteen-member group working to draw a map of ten single-member City Council districts as ordered by the passage of Proposition 3, a City Charter amendment calling for more evenly
distributed City Council geographical representation. The public hearing was the first in a series of public hearings dedicated to determining potential districts in Precinct 3. Stefan Haag, a member of the ICRC who lives near Circle C, said the request to keep communities together has been a common thread throughout the process. “I think what we’ve learned at each of them is how important their neighborhoods are and how they want to keep them together,” Haag said. Haag said the commission’s ultimate goal will be completed when all communities in Austin are served by representatives who are able to understand the challenges within See RESIDENTS on page 22
TxDOT working on new 290 option
Based on input from Fix290 group by Bobbie Jean Sawyer
Gazette: Sarah Weeks
Tyler Cole (#69) catches the ball for his Austin High Maroons against Westwood. Sports on page 12.
OAK HILL - TxDOT is developing a new alternative concept for the Oak Hill Parkway project. The concept is being constructed through meetings with core members of Fix 290, a grassroots community coalition proposing an environmentally responsible alternative with a minimal concrete footprint. In a recent press release, Central
Texas Regional Mobility Authority (Mobility Authority) community outreach manager Melissa Hurst said the finalized concept will be presented along with the other alternatives during an open house in the fall. Fix 290 member Carol Cespedes said the meetings were a collaborative effort between Fix 290 and See TXDOT on page 17