Urban is Core - Austin Super Forum: Bill Spelman

City Life

2. What is the city's role in creating jobs?

The city has an important but primarily indirect role in creating jobs. Primarily, cities support job growth by keeping their community a competitive and attractive place to live and do business by providing quality basic services and maintaining a clean and healthy environment. Cities can also support job growth by funding cultural programs and nurturing small businesses. Working with regional partners, cities can also help to diversify the region’s business portfolio to strengthen the overall economy and reduce growth volatility.

3. What should the city do to address conflicts between music lovers and neighborhood residents? Should the city implement any recommendations of the Live Music Task Force that have not already been implemented?

The community has taken positive steps with the work of the Live Music Task Force. Implementation of their recommendations will take time and Council support. It is important to recognize that the problems between music venues and their neighbors are a result of the way Austin is growing. Addressing the resulting issues will require a systematic approach that addresses the root causes.

Absolutely, the great majority of the recommendations remain to be implemented.

4. What role do you think public art plays in the creation of the built environment? Do you consider public art an important part of urban development? If so, what are some ways to include and finance art in development?

Public art can create a sense of place and benefit the economy; it can also improve individual’s sense of social well being, education, and even health.

Yes.

Art can be financed by the developer to enhance the project, by building residents to improve their area, by area residents to improve their neighborhood or district, by other local businesses or the city. Funding options include bonds, grants, fees, residents, or other city appropriations.

I have proposed creating a city-funded neighborhood-matching program to provide cash grants and services to neighborhoods and community organizations for small neighborhood-based improvement projects such as pocket parks, public art, community gardens, and other amenities. This approach has been successful for years in other cities and it’s a good way to leverage city support with community participation to improve neighborhoods in a down economy. The neighborhood’s share could be in cash, volunteer labor, or donated services or materials that would equal the city support.

5. Sixth Street is arguably Austin's best-known brand, a National Registered Historic District, and the gateway between the Waller Creek District and the heart of downtown. Sixth Street is also primarily a nightlife district - crowded most nights, but quiet during the day. Are those in conflict? How should Sixth Street change?

The best places provide lots of things to do for a wide variety of people. Increasing the variety of daytime activities along Sixth Street would improve the city’s bottom line and improve the quality (and profitability) of Sixth Street’s nightlife, too.

I don’t believe that the Sixth Street entertainment district and the surrounding areas are necessarily in conflict. It is an issue of management of problems and opportunities that result from the different uses across the area. I look to the Downtown Plan and the downtown community to help find solutions as the Waller Creek and other nearby areas develop.

Sixth Street should be cleaner, safer, and offer a greater variety of choices to increase usage and clientele during the day.

6. The Waller Creek revitalization project could dramatically improve a sizable portion of downtown. As it stands today, which aspects of the plan are you for and which are you against?

I am for building the tunnel that diverts floodwaters and reduces the floodplain. Pretty much everything else about the “plan” is currently up for grabs. As Chair of the Waller Creek Citizen Advisory Committee, I am pleased that the city has (finally) contracted with a planning firm to develop a plan for the district, and look forward to participating in the plan’s development.

Transportation

7. Access to downtown is difficult, and bound to become more difficult, due to congestion on our highways and arterial streets. What strategies would you support to make it easier for people to get downtown? How should those strategies be funded?

It’s clear that our transportation strategy needs to move in a different direction. Despite spending billions for new toll roads, unacceptable congestion continues to increase. It’s time to refocus a larger portion our transportation dollars on smaller, less expensive projects with a goal of improving safety, maintenance and immediate congestion relief. This could mean a number of solutions such as transit improvements, sidewalks, bike lanes, traffic calming, intersection improvements, using new technology and a host of other options. An alternative strategy is to reduce the number of people who must get downtown during rush hour, increasing the number of people who telecommute and work flexible hours.

I believe any stimulus dollars should be used on maintenance and improvements to existing roadways such as IH-35. We can also make additional dollars available by refocusing a larger portion of existing transportation dollars on smaller, less expensive projects with a goal of improving safety, maintenance and immediate congestion relief. A wide variety of incentives have been used in cities around the country to encourage bicycle and transit commuting, flexible work hours, and telecommuting.

8. Part of the Envision Central Texas "Vision"; is more transportation choices, including transit options such as commuter rail, light rail, and rapid bus. Will you support planning for and implementing transportation choices, both as connectors of towns and activity centers and as a tool to guide future land-use? Do you support the streetcar system proposed as part of the Downtown Plan?

Yes. I believe that rail service for the downtown area is necessary. However, important issues regarding the financing, route, and phasing are still unresolved and need to be decided. It is also important if we want to build long-term support for rail that we must prioritize minimizing business disruption and the resulting congestion during the rail-building phase.

9. Bicycles are a cheap, effective way to meet many of our transportation, environmental and fitness goals. What are three things the City should do to encourage biking? Are you a cyclist? If so, how do you use your bike?

Increased right-of-way - bike lanes, sharrows, bike boulevards - should be strategically located to provide safe routes for most long trips. End of trip facilities such as showers and lockers would make bicycle commuting more comfortable, particularly if showers and lockers were located at transit stops and other logical points. Portland’s bicycle master plan provides a good model for Austin to consider.

Although cycling was my primary form of transportation during my first four years in town, I now walk to work and am only a weekend cyclist.

Recreation.

10. Most Austin residents pay about $5 a month for a transportation user fee on their utility bill to support transportation projects, but automobile projects get far more funding than bicycle projects. Would you support allowing bicyclists to opt for their user fee to go toward bike projects?

It is not clear how much funding could be generated by such an option or what the cost would be to implement the program. I would prefer to refocus existing transportation funding to support bicycle programs. It may be a good idea to survey ratepayers, perhaps through their utility bill, to see how they would prefer their fees to be used.

11. The Great Streets program has shown promise on many streets downtown, but other streets have not seen any improvements years after implementation of the program. How should we speed up progress improving the walkability of Austin's streets?

We could also make additional dollars available for Great Streets by refocusing a larger portion of existing transportation dollars on smaller, less expensive projects with a goal of improving safety, maintenance and immediate congestion relief. Streets selected for additional improvements should be those for which walkable uses are consistent with the city’s Downtown Plan.

Parks

12. What are the elements of great urban parks? How should the City, or the City and private-sector partners, create and maintain quality parks and open space downtown and around transit centers?

A great urban park is a place of many different uses, that’s memorable and easy to get to and get around. It’s a place many different people use and care for, that’s fun and safe.

Bonds, grants, developer contributions, Capitol Metro funding, general fund dollars and a city-funded neighborhood matching program could provide the resources to create and maintain small neighborhood-based improvement projects such as pocket parks, public art, community gardens, and other amenities.

13. In light of tight budgets, how can the City conserve, restore, and improve our parks and fulfill long-standing objectives like the Boardwalk Trail at Lady Bird Lake?

One major step toward integrating planning with the city budget could be accomplished by designating the bulk of the next bond package for implementation of the Comprehensive Plan. The neighborhood matching program would leverage resources from neighbors and their private sector partners.

Crime

14. Do you think Art Acevedo has done a good job so far as Police Chief? What changes do you think should be made to the ways Austin deals with crime?

Chief Acevedo has made several needed improvements to the department.

Before I began teaching public policy at the LBJ School, I spent seven years with a national association of big-city police chiefs, developing nationally recognized community policing programs. As director of the Texas Institute for Public Problem Solving, I was responsible for training 14,000 police officers throughout Texas in the practice of community policing. Not surprisingly, I think the APD needs to take community policing more seriously, systematically identifying recurring crime and disorder problems, analyzing their characteristics to understand why problems persist, working with the public, the business community, and other public and nonprofit agencies to address these causes, and following up to be sure problems have in fact been solved. This focus on recurring problems has worked well in cities throughout the country. APD should adopt it as a critical part of its operations.

15. Many downtown businesses and visitors complain about panhandling. Should steps be taken to curb panhandling? Would you support adjusting current panhandling ordinances?

I believe that better enforcement of the laws on the book would help reduce panhandling, as well as additional support and treatment for the mentally ill and drug dependent and supportive housing such as single-room occupancy and other alternatives for the homeless.

I need to review the ordinance and examine the performance of current enforcement efforts before making a definitive statement.

Urban Development

16. Will Wynn estimated that 80% of the taxes generated by downtown are used to subsidize city services and maintenance in other parts of the city. Should more of the property taxes generated downtown be used to help downtown? How would you improve city services and maintenance services downtown?

Taxes are not the only measure of the City’s financial commitment to downtown. In this difficult economy, we should look at leveraging current city and community programs and opportunities to expand services.

Downtown and throughout Austin, the City should keep track of complaints to identify recurring problems. The highest priority for service improvement should be to address and solve these problems. Each such effort eliminates a persistent problem, may reduce the incidence of related problems, and increases the public’s belief in the competence and efficiency of city government.

17. If you agree that sprawl is not a desirable development pattern and that a strong core is necessary for a strong city, what are some ways you would discourage sprawl, but encourage urban density and good urban design?

I support developing neighborhood plans and a comprehensive plan, coordinating the land use and transportation sections of these plans, creating county land use authority, expanding the public transit system, dramatically increasing the efficiency of the land development process, and funding the infrastructure that supports the community vision.

18. There have been problems implementing some neighborhood plans. What will you do to ensure consistent and fair implementation of the comprehensive plan? How would you engage the public in the development of a comprehensive plan?

I support naming a Citizens Advisory Committee to oversee every phase of the Comprehensive Plan Process. Plan implementation must be seen as the responsibility of every department of the City and the community. I support writing and passing a series of ordinances to implement the specific elements of the plan and backing up the plan with funding to support implementation. The next bond election should focus on the capital improvements needed to implement the plan.

The options for public engagement in a comprehensive planning process are almost unlimited. It is important that whatever public participation techniques are used for outreach are ongoing, transparent, interactive, and accessible regardless of a person’s geographic, cultural, and economic situation.

19. Most social services in Austin are concentrated downtown. How are the social service providers, their clients, downtown businesses, our community and visitors affected by the location of these services downtown? Would you change the existing conditions?

It is important to remember that, while several large agencies are located downtown, social services are spread throughout the city. Centrally locating nonprofit and government service agencies allows for better coordination and cooperation among agencies, and makes it easier for clients to access the services they need. On the other hand, these facilities must be properly managed to avoid creating problems for nearby businesses and visitors.

I would support additional treatment for the mentally ill and drug dependent and supportive housing such as single-room occupancy and other alternatives for the homeless. Special attention must be given to the area around the ARCH and Salvation Army. Police activity should focus on persons repeatedly engaging in violent acts. One successful approach is to improve reporting among the homeless by making it safer and easier for them to identify the repeat violent offenders. Better enforcement of the laws on the books would also help.

20. Are you committed to the concept of nodal (also referred to as activity centers) growth, as an alternative to sprawl development, as found in the Envision Central Texas "Vision"; and the CAMPO 2035 Draft Growth Concept?

Yes, I am. Nevertheless, the lack of coordinated land use and transportation planning and county land use authority has made it unlikely that we will be able to shift from the current form of development in the near term.

21. Do you think tearing down an existing 100-unit apartment complex and replacing it with a 200-unit complex increases or decreases overall housing costs? What other relevant effects does this type of redevelopment have?

It is not possible to answer based on the information provided. An extra 100 units increases the supply of housing (theoretically reducing the price per unit), but new units tend to rent or sell for more than old units.

It depends on the location, design, price points, financing, mobility options, and a host of other factors.

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

Like most Austinites I’m an optimist and I recognize we have made many improvements over the last decade. Austinites as a group are wealthier, downtown is livelier, and the city is on the road to economic and environmental sustainability. Still, many Austinites would say that continuing increases in traffic congestion and the cost of living, and decreases in air and water quality, have moved our community in the wrong direction.

I certainly hope so and I plan to dedicate the next several years of my life make it a reality.