they do it because they know most of this crap would never pass on its own.KT 90 said:
I hate that they roll all of this crap together into one big bond package. Break it up so that the voters can vote for the parts that they actually approve of.
The 2018 bond task force recommendation calls for the following amounts in these areas:
Affordable housing: $161 million
Parkland and open space: $117 million
New facilities and maintenance: $281 million
Stormwater: $112 million
Transportation: $180 million
And the affordable housing part may increase to $300 million??
Of course. There should laws to prevent this. Maybe have several different categories of public bonds, and only projects within those categories can be combined.Furlock Bones said:they do it because they know most of this crap would never pass on its own.KT 90 said:
I hate that they roll all of this crap together into one big bond package. Break it up so that the voters can vote for the parts that they actually approve of.
The 2018 bond task force recommendation calls for the following amounts in these areas:
Affordable housing: $161 million
Parkland and open space: $117 million
New facilities and maintenance: $281 million
Stormwater: $112 million
Transportation: $180 million
And the affordable housing part may increase to $300 million??
CodeNext will save us...oldarmy76 said:
For those not in the game it's hard to fathom what a complete joke Affordable (big A) housing is. It has no relation to affordable (little a) housing. Affordable housing is a government racket that costs more to deliver to market, wastes incredible amounts of tax payer money, and is incredibly easy to game. It is a tool for the likes of Caesar and co to excerpt power and influence and it creates a bigger gap between the lottery winning Affordable housing recipients and the even higher prices everyone else pays.
To bring true affordability to Austin, some of the following must be done:
1. Improve the disaster that is the permitting process. I can bring a project from conception to ground breaking in some jurisdictions around austin in 6 months. That same process in Austin takes 18plus months. Delays equals addition risk, cost, uncertainty , and income pushed further out homes/lots must be priced higher to account for this.
2. Lower taxes. The revenue the city collects is sky rocketing yet they find new creative ways to blow it
3 quit using the utilities to combat global warming
4. Relax some building requirements and lot size minimums to allow qualified builders/developers to deliver cheaper product.
And if the govt feels they need to do something for the sake of ego, cut a deal with Horton, kb, centex, or someone to deliver homes on a certain tract of land with some negotiated benefits (just waiving inspection fees, review fees, impact fees, etc) would be a great start. If the city tries to stay involved, it turns into a disaster (see colony park).
I normally don't mind austin residents doing dumb things cause I don't live in the city or pay taxes, but the city's stupid stuff spreads like an infectious disease. Please vote no on any bonds that includes an Affordable housing component!
cess
BenFiasco14 said:
I predict this bond passes at....
78% for, 22% against.
Yay Austin.
Furlock Bones said:they do it because they know most of this crap would never pass on its own.KT 90 said:
I hate that they roll all of this crap together into one big bond package. Break it up so that the voters can vote for the parts that they actually approve of.
The 2018 bond task force recommendation calls for the following amounts in these areas:
Affordable housing: $161 million
Parkland and open space: $117 million
New facilities and maintenance: $281 million
Stormwater: $112 million
Transportation: $180 million
And the affordable housing part may increase to $300 million??
evan_aggie said:
Yeah, pretty sure the voters didn't approve that one a few years back for $1B that was massively targeting light rail improvements. I was pretty sure part of that package included $200M-$250M for a single bridge too...
I think that was shortly after they made it a requirement to have bond elections in November. Previously they would try to slide things into the May election for the low turn out.rather be fishing said:evan_aggie said:
Yeah, pretty sure the voters didn't approve that one a few years back for $1B that was massively targeting light rail improvements. I was pretty sure part of that package included $200M-$250M for a single bridge too...
Correct. That one got voted down. There was a maybe opposition campaign against it. It's unfortunate that so many bleeding hearts vote Yes on anything the city puts out.
evan_aggie said:
To where? I work in high tech. Everything is here. Houston is a hot mess and humid as F. SA is nice but no major industry. Dallas is ok but mostly software for tech and full of yuppies.
Charpie,Charpie said:
While I agree with the premise, if people in the more conservative parts of town got out and voted, this wouldn't be an issue. 78704 always has the highest turn out, and thus, causes this kind of crap to happen. If West and Northwest Austin got off their butts and actually voted, things wouldn't be so wonky with the city of Austin.
And trust me, those of us who live in Austin and have kids who go to RRISD schools voted down their bond election. Yes, the Austin voters killed the bond.
And it isn't as easy as moving to a burb. I can't imagine traveling from Leander or Georgetown to Austin for work. Heck I live 15 minutes from my office and some days my commute is 45 minutes.
lolevan_aggie said:
Houston isn't just a hell hole because of the humidity. As much as people like to complain about Austin, their city planning even before codeNext looks like a masterpiece compared to Houston.
The footprint of that town probably reaches 100m from west to East. It is a giant flat piece of nothing with pavement covering half of the town. The east side smells of petroleum processing for 50 miles. The highways are 8-10 lanes and are still packed during rush hour. There is no centralized place to be or hot spot.
I've never driven through Houston and thought, "oh this is a nice area/place to be".
That doesn't mean we still can't discuss and ***** about upcoming bonds. You don't have to click on the thread...
have you looked around Austin lately? it's going the exact same way.evan_aggie said:
Houston isn't just a hell hole because of the humidity. As much as people like to complain about Austin, their city planning even before codeNext looks like a masterpiece compared to Houston.
The footprint of that town probably reaches 100m from west to East. It is a giant flat piece of nothing with pavement covering half of the town. The east side smells of petroleum processing for 50 miles. The highways are 8-10 lanes and are still packed during rush hour. There is no centralized place to be or hot spot.
I've never driven through Houston and thought, "oh this is a nice area/place to be".
That doesn't mean we still can't discuss and ***** about upcoming bonds. You don't have to click on the thread...
evan_aggie said:
When you say, "The city is pushing", do you mean residents or the actual council members and other officials?
I think people want affordable housing close to everything that is going on: the bike trails, the water, the restaurants, downtown, the shopping, etc. I don't see that changing in 20 years.
You will always have master planned suburbs and communities popping up that people live in and enjoy, but they will be ~10+ miles away from downtown.
I can see the potential for more investments in north central Austin, south of 183 and north of campus. Burnet/Lamar continues to grow south of the triangle...but is it just normal growth or does it become a new small epicenter? Who knows...