Austin's Comprehensive Plan

The City of Austin is putting together a "Comprehensive Plan" and seeking community participation on it. This 2-year process of putting together a new comprehensive plan has kicked off recently with public forums this week.

How to get involved?

First, anyone can take the Issues and Aspirations survey, at any Austin library or online at http://www.imagineaustin.net/survey.htm.

Second, Austinites can host their own planning party--ask for a "Meeting in a box," and invite a few people over to participate. The Imagine Austin Meeting-in-a-Box has everything you need to host your own meeting.

This process is a 'set up' in that while public input is solicited, the powers-that-be at City Hall have pre-ordained the ideological orientation of the outcome. Specifically, 'Sustainability' is the name of the game:

Sustainability and climate change are overarching issues to be addressed in the Comprehensive Plan.

This blog has previously pointed out that 'climate change' is code for hyperbolic CO2-phobia, that we are not in fact warming in recent years (not for last 10 years) , that CO2's impact is overrated, and that anything Austin does or doesn't do relative to CO2 has miniscule impact on temperatures. There is nothing Austin needs to in the next 20 years specific to 'climate change' except possibly replace our coal plant with nuclear (but that would be more for general pollution concerns).

Nevertheless, I took a crack at their survey. Here goes:

1. Please tell us what you think Austin’s strengths are:

Educated citizenry and UT at heart of city, part of a good state (Texas), technology-based economy, music scene and culture, capital city, Barton Springs.

2. The second step in crafting a Vision is identifying the ways in which Austin can be improved—what issues and problems do we need to address to become a better city?

Please tell us what you think Austin’s weaknesses are:

Too much nanny-statism in city hall, too many liberals running the city, traffic problems, crime, excessive panhandling, high property taxes.

3. You’ve told us what you think is great about Austin, and where you think we can improve. Now we would like to know what needs to be done.

What ideas do you have for improving Austin in the future?

Embrace nuclear power, use monorails (instead of the flawed light rail system), widen the Mopac bridge and Mopac from 1st to 45th, loosen density building zoning regs, turn some preserve areas into parks, keep taxes low, end nanny-statism such as phony 'green' audits on houses and smoking bans.

What do you think?