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MAYOR,
BRUCE FAIRCHILD – LONG-TIME RESIDENT OF HANCOCK NEIGHBORHOOD;
HNA TREASURER; HNA REPRESENTATIVE ON CANPAC, WHICH AS YOU
KNOW IS THE CENTRAL AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING ADVISORY
COMMITTEE
BEGIN BY DESCRIBING THE HANCOCK NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH IS
RELATIVELY SMALL:
45TH ON NORTH, 32ND ON SOUTH, I-35 ON EAST, AND DUVAL STREET ON
WEST, WITH WALLER CREEK RUNNING DOWN THE MIDDLE
A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD SURROUNDED BY COMMERCIAL:
900 HOMES (APPROXIMATELY 50% ARE OWNER OCCUPIED AND
REMAINDER ARE RENTAL UNITS)
200 DUPLEXES AND GARAGE APARTMENTS
19 APARTMENT COMPLEXES (16 < 32 UNITS AND OTHERS UP TO ALMOST 300
UNITS). A 600 UNIT COMPLEX IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT THE
CONCORDIA SITE
HANCOCK SHOPPING CENTER ON THE EAST. THE CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY
DEVELOPMENT ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER, MEDICAL OFFICES ON 32 ND
ON SOUTH; A STRIP CENTER AND OFFICES ON SOUTH RED RIVER; DUVAL
CENTER ON THE WEST; A CONVENIENCE STORE AND GAS STATION ON
NORTHWEST CORNER. AND MOST RECENTLY, ACROSS FROM HANCOCK
SHOPPING CENTER, THE PERRY MANSION ESTATE IS BEING DEVELOPED
INTO AN EVENTS CENTER WITH A HOTEL AND RESTAURANT
NEIGHBORHOOD IS ECONOMICALLY DIVERSE:

THERE SOME VERY NICE HOMES, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY ARE MODEST
AND OLDER, HAVING BEEN BUILT BETWEEN WWI AND WWII (SOME OLDER,
SOME NEWER)
HOMES ARE OCCUPIED BY LONG-TIME RESIDENTS, UNVERISTY AND
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, ARTISTS, AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
NEW FAMILIES THAT HAVE MOVED IN, AND MANY OF THE RENTALS ARE
OCCUPIED BY STUDENTS
AFFORDABILITY AND DENSITY
BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF THE HOMES, DUPLEXES, AND APARTMENTS
ARE OLDER, THEY RENT AT RELATIVELY AFFORDABLE RATES. ALSO,
BECAUSE OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF DUPLEXES AND APARTMENTS,
HANCOCK IS ONE OF, IF NOT THE, MOST DENSELY POPULATED
NEIGHBORHOOD IN AUSTIN.
HOW HAS DEVELOPMENT OCCURED IN HANCOCK?
HANCOCK IS PART OF THE CENTRAL AUSTIN COMBINED NEIGHBORHOOD
PLAN
THIS PLAN WAS DEVELOPED THROUGH TWO YEARS OF WORK BY
STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY AND WAS ADOPTED BY THE CITY
COUNCIL IN 2004. THIS PLAN HAS SIX PRIMARY GOALS:
1. PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY AND CHARACTER OF SINGLE-FAMILY
NEIGHBORHOODS
2. PRESERVE THE HISTORIC CHARACTER AND RESOURCES OF THE
NEIGHBORHOODS

3. ALLOW MIXED USE ALONG EXISTING COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS
THAT IS PEDISTRIANORIENTED, NEIGHBORHOOD FRIENDLY, SCALED,
AND MEETS NEIGHBORHOOD NEEDS
4. WEST CAMPUS SHOULD BECOME A DENSE, VIBRANT, MIXED USE
PEDISTRIAN FRIENDLY COMMUNITY
5. PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL MODES OF TRANSPORT
6. ENHANCE AND PRESERVE EXISTING OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND THE
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
THE PURPOSE OF THIS BACKGROUND IS TO EXPLAIN WHERE THE
HANCOCK NEIGHBORHOOD IS AND HOW IT GOT HERE. NOW LET’S TURN
TO WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED UNDER THE CURRENT REZONING PLAN.
TRANSIT CORRIDORS:
THERE WOULD BE 3 TRANSIT CORRIDORS IN HANCOCK (PLUS I-35 ON THE
EAST). DUVAL STREET WOULD BE ON THE WEST, WITH 38TH STREET AND
RED RIVER RUNNING THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT THESE WERE SELECTED SIMPLY BASED ON
CAPITAL METRO ROUTES, NOT ANY MEANINGFUL ANALYSIS. INDEED, IT IS
HARD TO UNDERSTAND HOW DUVAL CAN BE CONSIDERED A TRANSIT
CORRIDOR, WHEN IT IS SIMPLY A 2-LANE RESIDENTIAL STREET, AND 38TH
STREET IS ALSO 2 LANE WHERE IT RUNS THROUGH THE HANCOCK
NEIGHBORHOOD.
ALSO, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN DUVAL AND RED RIVER IS 4 BLOCKS, AND
BETWEEN RED RIVER AND I-35 IS LESS THAN FOUR BLOCKS. WITH
COMMERCIAL AND HIGH DENSITY APARTMENTS ALLOWED ON EACH SIDE
OF THESE TRANSIT CORRIDORS, THERE WOULD BE LITTLE ROOM LEFT FOR
TRADITIONAL RESIDENTIAL DWELLINGS, NOT TO MENTION THAT THOSE

RESIDENTS STILL THERE WOULD BE SURROUNDED BY HIGH DENSITY
BUILDINGS.
COMMERCIAL/HIGH DENSITY ZONING:
MY BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROPOSED REZONING OF HANCOCK IS
THAT IT IS INTENDED TO ENCOURAGE INCREASED COMMERCIAL AND
RESIDENTIAL DENSITY; IN OTHER WORDS, DEMOLISH THE EXISTING
HOUSING STOCK AND REPLACE IT WITH NEW, HIGH DENSITY HOUSING.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PLAN?
1. IT IS AT DIRECT ODDS WITH THE CANP, WHICH WAS A “GRASS
ROOTS” PLAN DEVELOPED THROUGH A CONSENSUS OF CITIZENS,
NOT BY OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS LOOKING AT A MAP AND WHOLLY
UNFAMILIAR WITH WHAT WAS ACTUALLY ON THE GROUND IN THE
NEIGHBORHOODS THEY WERE PROPOSED TO REZONING
2. IT WILL DECREASE, NOT INCREASE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
DEMOLISHING OLDER STRUCTURES AND REPLACING THEM WITH
NEW, HIGH DENSITY RESIDENCES IN A CONVENIENT
NEIGHBORHOOD DOES NOT RESULT ON LOWER RENTS (WE NEED TO
LOOK NO FURTHER THAN DOWNTOWN TO SEE THAT)
3. IT WILL PUSH LONG-TIME RESIDENTS (MANY OF WHICH ARE
ELDERLY AND ON FIXED INCOMES), FAMILIES, AND LOW INCOME
RENTERS OUT OF HANCOCK, LEAVING IT MOSTLY OCCUPIED BY
TRANSIENT STUDENTS AND THE AFFLUENT
4. WE TALK A LOT ABOUT THE SO-CALLED “QUALITY OF LIFE” IN
AUSTIN. BUT THE PROPOSED REZONING, WHERE REAL HOMES WITH
FAMILIES, OLD AND YOUND, TREES AND YARDS, AND NEIGHBORS
KNOWING NEIGHBORS WILL BE GONE. INSTEAD, IT WILL BE
REPLACED BY IMPERSONAL HIGH-DENSITY APARTMENTS AND
COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS. THIS IS NOT MY, OR MOST HANCOCK
NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS’, IDEA OF A QUALITY LIFE

MAYOR, WHAT THE PROPOSED ZONING IS DOING IS TAKING AN URBAN
PLANNER’S THEORY OF HOW A NEGHBORHOOD SHOULD BE STRUCTURED
AND FORCIBLY IMPOSING IT ON HANCOCK. IF THE DESIGNERS OF THIS
REZONING PLAN HAD LOOKED AT THE HANCOCK NEIGHBORHOOD, THEY
WOULD HAVE SEEN THAT IT ALREADY EMBODIES THE TRAITS THAT MOST
PEOPLE THINK MAKE A GOOD, LIVABLE, NEIGHBORHOOD. PUT ANOTHER
WAY, HANCOCK ALREADY IS A MIXED USE, DENSE, AND AFFORDABLE
NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH ACCOMPLISHES WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING
THEY ARE TRYING TO DO. REZONING HANCOCK AS PROPOSED WILL DO
NOTHING TO IMPROVE IT; RATHER, IT WILL ONLY DESTROY WHAT
ALREADY EXISTS.
THANK YOU.