The Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods, or OHAN, hosted two guest speakers at its monthly meeting tonight to talk about the issue oak tree wilt in Texas and the need for more police protection in the city. The board also discussed updates to the Lantana IV project, the Oak Hill Parkway transportation project and a Travis Country resolution. Here are three takeaways from the OHAN meeting:
  • The Lantana IV multi-purpose development zoning changes were approved by Austin City Council in late April with the conditions requested by OHAN. Per one of the conditions, Developer Doug Ivey of JDI Holdings LLC agreed to contribute $164,500 toward a traffic light at the corner of Terravista Drive and Southwest Parkway to address the expected increase of traffic in the area. Constructing the traffic light will take one year and is estimated to cost $225,000.
  • The Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT, and Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority partnered to improve the long-term mobility of Hwy. 290 and SH 71, also known as Oak Hill Parkway. A community input meeting with TxDOT and the Mobility Authority is scheduled for May 23 at the Oak Hill United Methodist Church. OHAN President Darryl Pruett said the association will refine the resolution it adopted two years ago to help prioritize the goals of the project before presenting the resolution at the meeting. Pruett also said he invited TxDOT to speak to OHAN about the project at its next meeting.
  • A 12.45-acre tract of Austin ISD-owned land in the Travis Country neighborhood in Southwest Austin is one of 10 properties for which the district will be seeking proposals.OHAN board members adopted a resolution Wednesday evening that was passed unanimously by Travis Country’s board of directors on April 20 that will preserve 12.5 acres of land in the Travis Country neighborhood, located near Southwest Parkway and MoPac, as a permanent nature preserve and open space, with perpetual conservation of native vegetation and habitat. Austin ISD, owners of the land, will retain all development rights and impervious cover, or human-made surfaces not penetrable by rainfall, credits to be used on other district properties. Board member Leigh Zeigler said the intent of the resolution is to transfer these rights to Bowie High School, which will give the district the opportunity to expand the campus and address the overcrowding issue.