Thank you! City Council votes to protect the Blackland neighborhood & rejects East 22nd Stcommercial rezoning

Austin City Council votes FOR the Blackland neighborhood and AGAINST the re-zonings on East 22nd St
-- Voting for the neighborhood (and against the re-zoning): Councilmembers Fuentes (D2), Velasquez (D3), Siegel (D7) and Qadri (D9); and Mayor Watson.
-- Voting against the neighborhood (and for the re-zoning): Councilmembers Harper-Madison (D1), Alter (D5), Laine (D6), Ellis (D8) and Mayor Pro Tem Vela (D4)
-- Abstaining: Councilmember Duchen (D10)

https://youtu.be/iHtikUy4M5o

City Council Should Correct Their Re-zoning of 2108 & 2110 East 22nd St

City Council should reject the re-zoning of lots 2108 & 2110 on East 22nd Street because the re-zoning knowingly broke city commitments and because the re-zoning will destroy Austin’s historic Blackland neighborhood.
Council should direct their Planning and Zoning Commissions, and their staff, to start over, this time adhering to the city’s processes and public commitments. 

Council should require a new zoning solution which:
1.    first follows the approved Upper Boggy Creek Neighborhood Plan, which explicitly requires preservation of the residential character of Blackland,
2.    then addresses the property developer’s desires, and
3.    always follows city processes and commitments.
Staff and the Planning and Zoning Commissions are the experts. They know what can and cannot be done. Council should direct them to “think outside their boxes”. 

I also suggest to Council that the proposed re-zoning damages Austin’s reputation. Destroying the residential character of historic Blackland in 2026, for the short-term benefit of wealthy property owners, has too many similarities to Austin’s infamous 1928 Master Plan.  

Please reject the re-zoning. Please direct staff and the commissions to do it again - correctly. 

My detailed explanation of why the committees and staff broke city commitments is here https://www.oraatx.com/blog/2026/3/9/what-austin-did-wrong-re-zoning-blackland-properties
My comments to the Planning Commission on 27 Jan 2026 are here: https://youtu.be/yoSAHV7e2Nk

What Austin Did Wrong When Re-zoning Blackland Properties

The details behind my objection to re-zoning 2108 and 2110 East 22nd Street
1.    The Upper Boggy Creek Neighborhood Plan (UBCNP), which includes and highlights the Blackland neighborhood, states:
A.    “The existing, single family character of the Blackland Neighborhood … should be preserved to the greatest extent possible. – page 30
B.    “Commercial development in the established residential areas is discouraged and new commercial development and redevelopment should be focused [sic] on the planning area’s commercial corridors. Property currently zoned for single or multi-family development should not be changed to allow for commercial uses unless those locations are designated as mixed-use. – Page 33
C.   “The entertainment/restaurant district that is evolving along Manor Road …should be fostered. In addition, small-scale retail should be encouraged to locate along the corridor … - Page 50
D.   “A compromise [between the University of Texas and Blackland Community Development Corporation] was reached in 1994 that limited [the University‘s] expansion to Leona Street with the exception of a strip along Manor Road to Chicon Street. – Page 15
E.    “The neighborhoods also seek to limit commercial encroachment into residential areas, reduce the negative effects of traffic, enhance the physical and environmental beauty, and preserve and enhance the existing unique character of each distinct neighborhood. – Page 27
F.    The UBCNP is here: https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Housing_%26_Planning/Adopted Neighborhood Planning Areas/31_UpperBoggyCreek/upper-bcreek-np.pdf

 

2.    The “Upper Boggy Creek Neighborhood Plan Implementation Tracking Chart” includes:
A.    “The Group Residential use will become a prohibited one for MF-3 or less restrictive multi-family districts. This would restrict the development of fraternity and sorority houses and private dormitories in this part of the planning area. This action will help preserve the predominantly single-family character of the residential areas. – page 24
B.    No other changes to the original plan are recorded.
C.   The “Upper Boggy Creek Neighborhood Plan Implementation Tracking Chart” is here: https://policycommons.net/artifacts/4683042/upper-boggy-creek-neighborhood-plan-implementation-tracking-chart/5507533/

 

3.    Staff and the Planning and Zoning Commissions knew the UBCNP but broke it anyhow. Staff stated objectives of the plan include:
·       “The existing single family character of the Blackland Neighborhood should be preserved to the greatest extent possible.”
·       “Commercial development in the established residential areas is discouraged and new commercial development and redevelopment should be focussed [sic] on the planning area’s commercial corridors.”
·       “Property currently zoned for single or multi-family development should not be changed to allow for commercial uses unless those locations are designated as mixed use.”
·       “Commercial uses will remain along the existing commercial corridors.”
·       “[Such uses] … are welcome along the less intensive commercial corridors in the planning area – Manor Road …”
·       Extracts are from “NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET” identified as “08 NPA-2025-0012.01 – 2108 and 2110 E. 22nd Street, District 1”

 

4.    Staff and the Planning and Zoning Commissions performed as agents of the property developer and ignored the neighborhood
A.    The Commissions presumed commercial re-zoning would occur in the neighborhood before communicating with the neighborhood.
B.    Planning Commissioner Bedroisan on 27 Jan 2026 stated “This …is a project we want so badly to approve. Um, and I, and I say that not because I want to ram this down the neighbor's throats. Right. It's that right now the, the types of projects that we're getting placed into small neighborhoods like this are not nearly, uh, as sensitive to what the neighborhood structure is like, nor are they in kind scale with what the existing neighborhood is.”
C.   City staff did not contact the Blackland Neighborhood Association about the proposed re-zoning. Communication only started when the BNA approached city staff.
D.   The Upper Boggy Creek Neighborhood Association and the Blackland Neighborhood Association both oppose the re-zoning.
E.    City staff added “College and University Facilities” to the conditional overlay, despite the UBCNP explicitly stating Blackland was to be protected from “university expansion”. (“Zoning Change Sheet Review”)
F.    City staff admitted the UBCNP requires “Property currently zoned [emphasis added] for single or multi-family development should not be changed to allow for commercial uses … ” But staff still concludes it is okay to re-zone in this case because there “is no existing family home on the site”. (same source) The UBCNP is clear a re-zoning decision is independent of the development on the property.
G.   City Staff and the Planning and Zoning Commissions ignored the neighborhood’s objections to the disruptions of commercialization including the increase in:
·       Vehicular traffic
·       Pedestrian traffic
·       Noise increases
·       Loss of on-street parking
H.   City Staff acted to support the developer and owner:
·       Never proposed restrictions on the developer to address neighborhood issues
·       Harped on the mythical value of Este’s garden as a neighborhood amenity.
·       Offered $15K financial compensation for destruction of an entire neighborhood
·       Never considered having the owner use some of his land (a total of 4 lots) for parking instead of consuming ever more on-street parking

Why Austin Shouldn't Commercialize the Blackland Neighborhood

Below are my comments to Austin’s Planning Commission on 27 January 2026. (Here’s a video of my comments: https://youtu.be/rXXS09RZMZY )

Good evening council commissioners. My name is Ora Houston and I live at 2207 east 22nd street. I have lived there since in the 1950s when my parents built that house.

I am opposed to rezoning 2108 and 2110 east 22nd street in Blackland. Sometimes people confuse it with Cherry Wood, but they're two separate neighborhoods. This is in Blackland.

First of all, rezoning those properties from single family residential to commercial, makes this body guilty of breaking its own mission statement. Your mission is to follow the city's neighborhood plans, including in Blackland. The plan tells you to:
• ensure equitable development, which is protective of Austin's cultural and architectural heritage,
• ensure all land development code amendments align with equity goals,
• limit commercial encroachment into residential areas,
• preserve affordable housing,
• protect against UT expansion and
• maintain the areas of historic and diverse character.
Breaking your mission likely makes this rezoning illegal.

Number two, rezoning would publicly and loudly show that the City fights for Austin's money class, exemplified by the property owner, his developers, and the University of Texas. It will also show that the city fights against neighborhoods and voters.

Third rezoning will also show the city is starting a new 2026 Master Plan, resurrecting Austin's horrific 1928 Master Plan. Our neighborhood is called Blackland. It was created in 1928 by powerful, segregationist, white Austinites. Your mission statement proves that later generations of Austinites tried to protect Blackland and the African American Cultural Heritage District.

All Austinites should be terrified, because, if you think you can destroy a protected space like Blackland, then you can destroy all Austin residential neighborhoods.

Fourth, rezoning 2108 and 2110 East 22nd Street will show that you have no shame - no shame because this is not something that a neighborhood is supposed to look like. With a commercial entity that directly fronts a residential neighborhood. Where we have children and elderly people going to the playground.
…
You just don't understand how crowded that street is already with the Estes [Restaurant].

So, I ask you to please think about saying “no” to this additional proposal.

Thank you so much for your service.

Protect Blackland Neighborhood from Este Restaurant Expansion

Blackland Neighborhood is being threatened by commercial development intruding in the residential area. Blackland Neighborhood is part of the Historic African American Cultural Heritage District.  

The owner of Este Restaurant and his property development group are trying to re-zone 2108 East 22nd Street from single family residential to commercial. They will build a restaurant facing East 22nd Street. The lot, and all of East 22nd Street, is currently zoned residential. 

Neighbors will be protesting the change before City of Austin Commissions, Zoning and Platting, and Planning. We need your help. 

Please help protect the Blackland Neighborhood from unjust commercialization because once one lot is rezoned “commercial”, dominos will fall and this part of the Historic African American Cultural Heritage District will disappear.

 

Please contact the City and ask them to stop destroying neighborhoods:
·       Contact all of City Council: https://www.austintexas.gov/email/all-council-members
·       Contact Zoning and Platting Commission: mailto:bc-scott.boone@austintexas.gov
·       Contact Housing and Planning: mailto:danielle.love@austintexas.gov

                                                         

You can copy and paste the text below into the city’s form as “your“ message 

The City of Austin should reject re-zoning 2108 East 22nd Street, in the Blackland Neighborhood from “residential” to “commercial”. Re-zoning will place a restaurant deep in a residential neighborhood, increasing noise, vehicle traffic, and pedestrian traffic from early morning to late night. The proposed restaurant has very limited onsite parking, so patrons and employees will consume on-street parking from morning to night. This will have a “domino” effect. The city must stop helping developers commercialize historic areas and reject any re-zoning not supported by residents.
No neighborhood should be treated this way. The Blackland Neighborhood deserves extra consideration because it was carved out by the infamous “1928 Master Plan”.  

My farewell to City Council

Thank you, Mayor Adler and colleagues for the opportunity to offer some final comments.

Good morning everyone in the Chamber, those watching on your electronic devices or those listening on KAZI 88.7 FM.

Ephesians 4:1-16 reminds us to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called. With all humility and gentleness, with patience. I have tried to live my life by this conviction and with bold intention,

This Council began over 175 years ago with the intention of serving citizens. In the past, our city was under the “gentlemen’s agreement” which had the goal of artificially reserving 2 seats to represent the diversity in our city. With the new 10-1 form of governance, we must continue to be even more deliberate in our actions, as we are losing much of the historic diversity in our community.

I hope the City will continue to be deliberate with regards to equal representation, not only in the makeup of the Dais but - perhaps even more importantly – equity in our actions.

The district #1 office operated with intention and conviction. Intention to truly demonstrate equality; to demonstrate deliberate diversity and inclusion; to put partisan issues aside and intentionally listen to different perspectives. I have tenaciously held to my convictions, even when it may not have been the politically expedient thing to do.

My intention has always been in the best interest of the “blended family” who call District 1 home, especially those who have been marginalized, neglected, ignored and left behind.

The blended family contains many wonderful ethic and cultural groups, a myriad of religious traditions, different political ideologies, a variety of languages and different abilities.

The family also includes some stark contrasts – in the areas of educational attainment, income levels, employment opportunities and health inequalities. I have represented the individuals in the district to the very best of my ability.

From the work on a resolution addressing the lack of protections for individuals residing in boarding homes; to the passage of the preservation & rehabilitation plan for Rosewood Courts, which includes additional living units in an area that continues to change.

I was intentional about collaborating with business and tech companies to encourage and connect them to the historic black universities in the State. To develop a pipeline that allows the city, business and companies to recruit interns and employees at the two state institutions that were built intentionally for Americans of African ancestry and my alma- matter Huston-Tillotson University, the oldest institution of higher learning in Austin and the heartbeat of District 1.   

I was intentional about assisting constituents living far from healthcare alternatives by partnering with Central Health to begin the process to provide medical care and behavioral healthcare east of Hwy 183 south.

I have been intentional about engagement and inclusion; over the years, my staff and I attended countless community and neighborhood association meetings to connect with the people of the district.

We were intentional about engagement – making it the hallmark of my service to this community.  We hosted quarterly town halls, and coffee chats throughout the District’s 46 square miles.

I worshipped at over a hundred different communities of faith, in variety of languages from Arabic to Vietnamese to make certain that they were aware that this Council represents them.  

Those of you know me, know that I have been intentional in bringing everyone to the conversation. Something as small as asking staff and colleagues not to use acronyms. This deliberate action removes the distance between experts and ‘we the people’ by eliminating a mysterious language that only a few speak. Because the business that goes on in this building is the people’s business and we should be intentional about speaking in a way that allows and encourages the people to participate. (O.mit R.idiculous A.cronyms!)

I have been intentional in my mission to rebuild trust in government; looking deliberately at everything we touch from budgets, to contract, to programs, to purchasing, to identify and create opportunities for diversity. To involve, engaged and encourage constituents to be part of the solutions. Always asking the question, “who are we missing”? My intention was always to bring my experience and the life experiences of individuals often-overlooked and marginalized to conversations around public policies in this City.

I want to thank my colleagues for their dedication and their service. I want to thank my amazing and selfless staff: Genoveva Rodriguez and Chris Hutchinson were on the campaign trail with me. Beverly Wilson, returned to City Hall to be the wind beneath my wings; Andre Ewing, a Veteran, and the voice of the District on the phone; Sophia Williams came on board to help with the 2017 budget process; Alex Uhlmann joined us in August to help get us across the finish line at the conclusion of the land development process.

To the wonderfully diverse community volunteers who served on the various Boards and Commissions, thank you for your service.

My heartfelt thanks to the dedicated, unseen staff who work tirelessly day in and day out, behind the scenes for those of us who have ability to live in this city…building services, public works, resource recovery…next time you see a crew out and about, say thank you.

To my daughter – Gina Houston, my rock, confidant, encourager and technology guru – I love you a bushel and a peak~

Congratulations and best wishes to Ms. Harper-Madison. It is my desire that you will delight in your public service to the District. As I have shared, the job is 8 days a week/24 hours a day.

And finally, to the residents of the District and all Austinites – thank you for trusting me, for working with me, for arguing with me, for laughing with me, for crying with me and for being my strength and constant reminder for me to work with intention.

I close with a quote from one of the most intentional leaders of my lifetime, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “Don’t worry about being safe, political or popular nor make decisions out of cowardice, expediency or vanity; but simply take actions your conscience tells you are right.“

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve.

 

The “gentlemen’s agreement” - A Relic of Austin’s Racist Past: Or, why did we need to change the system, anyway?

Until the passage of 10-1, Austin, Texas used an at-large ‘places’ system to elect city council members.  “At-large” means every voter votes for every council member – and that means none of us had a council member that represented our neighborhood. We were the largest city in the country without geographic representation.   (The ‘places’ don’t refer to geography or location at all -- just when a council member is up for re-election.) In a city the size of Austin, that means that each council member represented all 800,000 citizens.  

At-large elections are a system where communities of color or of lower-income levels have the cards stacked against them.  Citywide elections are expensive to run and in Austin, all elections were city wide before 10-1. Regular folks didn’t have the money to compete. But, we’re Austin. There’s no way that we would intentionally set-up a system that oppresses members of our community? We’re progressive, right?

Maybe not so much.  

Ignorance and Influence: Austin, Texas in the ‘50s

Austin’s recent at-large council system was founded in racism. In 1951, after WW2, Arthur B. DeWitty, an African-American, ran for Austin City Council. DeWitty was the President of the NAACP and a leader in the growing civil rights movement. DeWitty almost won under the system then in place, infuriating the white majority. The next year, city council changed the way Austin held its elections by creating at-large council seats, making it impossible to elect a person of color to council. The new at-large ‘places’ system required that all Austinites approve all councilmembers. That meant that the 1950’s white majority controlled who won council elections.

The racist at-large system created in the 50’s was the same system we had in Austin until 10-1, with the addition of the 1970’s “gentlemen’s agreement” to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

So … What’s the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’?

In the early 70’s, after City Council’s racist history with DeWitty, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) forced Austin to allow minority representation. However, the white power elite found a way to maintain control. Rather than abolish the racist at-large system, Austin’s moneyed interests committed to only support an African-American for Place 6 and an Hispanic for Place 7.

The ‘agreement’ went something like this: To make sure that people of color were elected to council, rich, Anglo business leaders in town vowed to hold 2 seats on the council for people of color: 1 for an African-American and 1 for an Hispanic.

How could they be sure that Austin would consistently elect a minority to those seats? Easy. The power elite promised not to give money to anyone who was Anglo and ran in those spots. That commitment satisfied the VRA, but kept all the power in the hands of the moneyed interests and out of the minority communities.

How did the power elite remain in control? Simple. All council seats were at-large, which meant that all elections remained expensive to run. This also meant that the Anglo majority had to approve all council members – even those two reserved “minority” seats.

Since that time, 15 out of the last 17 mayors and a full 50% of council have come from 4 ZIP codes in downtown and West Austin. The Anglo majority still controls city council, and even controls which minority candidate “represents” the minority communities.

Shockingly, this is how the Austin City Council had maintained minority representation until now. There is history in the making in the 2014 City Council elections. Each corner of the city will have a designated council member, of their choice, on the city council, which means better representation and a better chance of being heard.

Be a part of making history by electing your first Austin City Council District Representative.  Vote early … and don’t forget to vote local at the end of the ballot!

 

A Brave and Startling Truth, By: Maya Angelou

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet 
Traveling through casual space 
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns 
To a destination where all signs tell us 
It is possible and imperative that we learn 
A brave and startling truth 

And when we come to it 
To the day of peacemaking 
When we release our fingers 
From fists of hostility 
And allow the pure air to cool our palms 

When we come to it 
When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate 
And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean 
When battlefields and coliseum 
No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters 
Up with the bruised and bloody grass 
To lie in identical plots in foreign soil 

When the rapacious storming of the churches 
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased 
When the pennants are waving gaily 
When the banners of the world tremble 
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze 

When we come to it 
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders 
And children dress their dolls in flags of truce 
When land mines of death have been removed 
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace 
When religious ritual is not perfumed 
By the incense of burning flesh 
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake 
By nightmares of abuse 

When we come to it 
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids 
With their stones set in mysterious perfection 
Nor the Gardens of Babylon 
Hanging as eternal beauty 
In our collective memory 
Not the Grand Canyon 
Kindled into delicious color 
By Western sunsets 

Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe 
Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji 
Stretching to the Rising Sun 
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor, 
Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores 
These are not the only wonders of the world 

When we come to it 
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe 
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger 
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace 
We, this people on this mote of matter 
In whose mouths abide cankerous words 
Which challenge our very existence 
Yet out of those same mouths 
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness 
That the heart falters in its labor 
And the body is quieted into awe 

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet 
Whose hands can strike with such abandon 
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living 
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness 
That the haughty neck is happy to bow 
And the proud back is glad to bend 
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction 
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines 

When we come to it 
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body 
Created on this earth, of this earth 
Have the power to fashion for this earth 
A climate where every man and every woman 
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety 
Without crippling fear 

When we come to it 
We must confess that we are the possible 
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world 
That is when, and only when 
We come to it. 

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