Work has begun on building the Contact Team(s) outlined by the Crestview-Wooten Combined Neighborhood Plan that was adopted by the City of Austin in 2004. A Contact Team reviews proposed amendments to the land use outlined in the Neighborhood Plans and may also in some instances initiate change. The Teams are sanctioned by the City and are separate from any neighborhood association (though, along with a renter, a home owner, and a business owner, a resident from the neighborhood association is prescribed for the team).
A gathering of Crestview and Wooten residents and business owners was called by the City on October 8. City Planner Margaret Valenti led the discussion of the Neighborhood Plan and the goals of a plan Contact Team. By the end of the meeting, Crestview and Wooten neighbors decided that it would be best to devise separate but complementary teams, as combined plans could utilize a single team or a team for each neighborhood.
The first piece of business for each neighborhood was to have interested residents produce a set of bylaws for the teams based on a template provided by the City. A series of follow-up meetings was arranged for each neighborhood. Those interested in working on Wooten’s Contact Team bylaws met at the Village Christian Apartments’ Activity Center on October 14 and 28, and November 18. Completing the bylaws will require additional meetings. Once a draft has been written, the entire neighborhood will again be asked to gather under the auspices of City Planners to review and vote on accepting the bylaws. The actual composition of the Contact Team will be outlined in the document.
Wooten residents and business owners are invited to get involved in this process. The progress of the bylaws may be seen by logging into the webpage for the Crestview-Wooten Combined Neighborhood Planning Area. It is not necessary to have worked on the bylaws to become a member of the Contact Team.