Cid Galindo

1. The Austin Music Commission is considering reducing the decibel limit under the city noise ordinance. Do you think that the noise ordinance should be changed?

In general, the more dense the environment, the more sound is tolerable. We need to have an ordinance that reflects this reality that not all areas of the city are the same, and encourages outdoor live music venues in our more urban areas, but not in our exclusively residential neighborhoods. Furthermore, sound measurements should be made from the point of the complaint, not the source of the sound because of the unpredictable ways that sound travels.

2. Has the McMansion ordinance been successful? What do you think of City Council's recent decision to reject OCEAN's request to further restrict home sizes on small lots in East Austin?

Integrity and character are what make our neighborhoods worth preserving. That is fundamental, and that is why I am calling for “areas of stability” in my suggestions for improving the neighborhood planning process. The McMansion ordinance has stopped many of the most flagrant violations of neighborhood integrity.

If we care about affordable housing, however, we have to modify the ordinance. It’s practical result currently is anti-affordability and elitist, in that its prime beneficiaries are homeowners with existing large, well-built homes in the most desirable locations. This occurs because under McMansion, homes like those can no longer be built, so the existing ones appreciate in value much faster than they would otherwise. I believe the city council made the right call on OCEAN’s request.

3. Some neighborhood groups have attempted to opt-out of the vertical-mixed-use program for most or all eligible properties in their neighborhood. Would you vote to approve or reject those decisions?

The intention of VMU is to give neighborhoods a tool to direct growth along corridors while meeting other neighborhood objectives like affordable housing and more services within walking distance. I believe all neighborhoods should be, and are, willing to absorb a fair and reasonable amount of growth over time in exchange for community benefits. I will work hard to understand the specific concerns of each neighborhood and make my judgments on a case by case basis.

4. What should the city government do to promote or discourage suburban development? What about condo/apartment development downtown? What about condo/apartment development in other parts of the city?

Suburban development per se is not bad, but low-density single family sprawl is. Sprawl is the primary cause of our traffic congestion issues, and a major contributor to the degradation of our water quality. We must develop policies that will move us away from sprawl-based patterns of growth to more compact, mixed-use urban forms that reduce our dependence on our cars. We have a model example of this form of development in the Mueller airport redevelopment.

5. Homes near downtown are generally more expensive than homes in the suburbs. Should the city do anything to change that? What?

The price difference between homes near downtown versus the suburbs is a function of supply and demand. However, the result of dispersing younger and lower income families to the perimeter of the city is not a sustainable model for building a great city for the 21st century. The city must step forward to change this pattern of development by using it’s existing land holdings, powers of taxation, land entitlement, and low cost municipal bond financing to partner with major employers and mixed-use town center developers to create more projects like Mueller, that offers 25% of its housing stock at levels affordable to families between 60% to 80% of median income, in the heart of the city. I am committed to making this change happen, because in the long run, it creates neighborhoods that are loved, and are net property tax generators, not net tax consumers.

6. Austinites love cars (80% of us drive to work by ourselves), but hate traffic. What would you do to get Austinites to commute differently and/or reduce traffic? How often do you get to work by some method other than driving? What is your alternative method?

I don’t love my car, but I recognize that in Austin, I could not function as productively without it. We have to create a new comprehensive plan that encourages more transit choices, but more importantly, changes the patterns of development that create the demand for more road infrastructure. I think we would be a lot happier if we could spend less time in our cars and still be as productive. I have made work and housing decisions that allow me to ride my bike or take the bus to work most days, without losing productivity. I understand that not everyone can do that in today’s environment, but my goal is that everyone in Austin eventually have that choice.

As a Planning Commissioner for the past four years, I have led in the development of the Sustainable City Initiative. This effort lays the groundwork for growth patterns based on a series of seven major town centers along the eastern perimeter of the city, away from our most environmentally sensitive areas, and connected by a robust menu of transportation options. I invite you to learn more about my proposed plan at www.cidgalindo.com.

7. Austin has the potential to be a great biking city and a lot of people bike recreationally, but it is difficult for most people to bike to work. What should the city do to improve the opportunity to bike-commute? Do you own a bike? How often do you ride it to work?

I own a bike and ride it to work at least once a week. We should allocate more multi-modal transportation dollars to bike trails in the suburbs, bike lanes closer in, and single-use bike routes in densest areas that have the highest potential for bicycle commuting. I will support any reasonable measure by City Hall to make biking safer and easier.

8. Are you happy with the apparent resolution of the Las Manitas/Marriott controversy? If not, how do you think it should have been handled differently?

I am still not certain what exactly the final resolution was, but the city should not be in the business of giving “forgivable loans” to any commercial business, large or small. Incentives or economic development are an appropriate city function, but not without clear accountability, defined benchmarks over time, and a measurable return on investment.

9. Do you think Austin is better now than it was 10 years ago? Do you think it will be better 10 years from now than it is now?

Austin continues to be a unique city, but the reviews on whether it is better today than it was 10 years ago are mixed. I think the important question is whether it will be better 10 years from now than it is today — and I think the answer lies in our willingness to move past the old politics and find common ground behind a new comprehensive plan that moves us away from low-density “sprawl” to more compact, environmentally friendly forms form of development like the Mueller Airport redevelopment that allow us to be less dependent on our cars.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts.

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