Agenda for the February 15, 2023 Special Meeting of the Hancock Neighborhood Association

I hope that everyone has recovered from the storm and that it reminded us all about the benefits of a close-knit neighborhood, especially when a neighbor might need a helping hand.

Since almost everyone who wrote in requested that we continue association meeting using Zoom, for the time being, that's what we'll do.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, February 15th at 7pm via Zoom.

Robyn Ross will outline her committee¹s draft response on behalf of the association to TXDOT's I-35 expansion plan (after meeting with other neighborhoods). We will discuss the impact of the proposed plan on our neighborhood and vote on our response. Although I've scheduled the meeting to possibly last for 1 hr 45 min, it probably won't. Here's how to join the meeting.

Topic: HNA - I-35 expansion

Time: Feb 15, 2023 07:00 PM Central Time

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81617731350?pwd=UnBJbDdFQVoxUENVZEFpSlhrWUw0UT09

Meeting ID: 816 1773 1350

Passcode: 222717

Here are the draft statements for Hancock¹s proposed response that Robyn previously posted.

• Opening statement thanking TxDOT for opportunities to engage and the ways they've adapted the project in response to public feedback thus far
• Sentence spelling out that we're working with nearby neighborhoods, communicating, supporting one another's goals

Section that lays out our support for redesigning I-35 for safety but grave concerns about the scale of the proposed project:

• Adding lanes is not predicted to measurably reduce congestion but will degrade QOL for nearby neighbors and contribute to climate change.
• TxDOT's traffic predictions have not come true in the past, and modeling is not sophisticated
• Reroute/redesignation of SH130 has not been adequately studied yet could take nearly a fifth of traffic off I-35

Section that offers support for redesigning I-35 for safety and livability and lays out our asks:

• Build so that a north-central deck can be placed
• Do not invest resources on stitches that won't be used as park spaces, invest those resources in a deck (great idea we were thinking but not articulating til we read your statement)
• We support Cherrywood's analysis of exits/ramps actually needed (we don't have the bandwidth to explore this, but we trust your analysis)
• Use COA design guidelines for bike/ped paths
• No tunnel under Airport (in the SPUI)

We will have a regularly scheduled association meeting on March 8, 2023, at 7pm via Zoom. So far, the agenda will include a presentation on the permit application for a mixed-use development (with 200 units and commercial space at ground level) at 38th and I-35, that will also front Harmon Ave. I hope that neighbors who will be directly affected by this project can attend the meeting so that they can ask the applicant questions

The agenda will also include a discussion about the future of how our association wants to function, expanding group discussions or relying
primarily on committee action. Do members want there to be discussions before committees meet and plan responses, and should our by-laws be changed to expand or limit the role of committees? Since most committees have been dormant and/or members have resigned, new members will need to be chosen if the current committee system continues.

In the spirit of transparency and to encourage everyone to be informed and involved, I intend to notify association members whenever I receive notices of any subject that affects the neighborhood, be it a city council agenda item or a permit application.

Barbara