The City of Austin's Authoritarian Impulse II

I wrote about the City of Austin's authoritarian impulse in the past. Doubt I'll have any less to write about in the future.

City council proposes design standards for new businesses

City leaders want future retail buildings to be more aesthetically pleasing.

I want future city leaders to be more respectful of private property.

Austin City Council passed a resolution Thursday afternoon that would allow city planners to come up with guidelines on how new commercial buildings in Austin should look.

What if they passed a resolution that would allow city planners to come up with guidelines on how Austinites should tie their shoes? Or answer their phones? Shower in the morning? They would all operate on the same principle this commercial building design resolution does: you don't actually own the property in your name...you're just getting permission from us to do certain things.

"A national retailer can come in and build their bottom-of-the-barrel design, which is usually a blue, drab concrete wall design," council member Brewster McCracken said.

I hereby proclaim that Brewster McCracken has poor fashion taste and from this point on must be required to wear a tie when engaged in any official duty, appearance, or capacity.

Council members want to work toward establishing design standards on how the façade of retail buildings should look. A standard could require structures to include better landscaping, more windows or construction materials of a higher quality.

Thereby driving the cost of doing business in the city higher and thus proving that the City Council doesn't favor helping create an economic recovery when it could be sprucing up the image of the city. Feel free to ignore any pleas to the contrary, because they are meaningless when the whole city council - Mayor Will Wynn, Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Goodman, Council Member Raul Alvarez, Council Member Betty Dunkerley, Council Member Brewster McCracken, Council Member Daryl Slusher, and Council Member Danny Thomas - failed to outright reject this idea.

"Austin has the lowest standards of any city in the region. We're just trying to get out of last place," McCracken said.

Copyright ©2004TWEAN News Channel of Austin, L.P. d.b.a. News 8 Austin

Here are the rest of Mr. McCracken's remarks. Search for "standards" and you'll get to his presentation. Worth noting is a Mr. Ross who spoke up at the end of the discussion (early apologies for the all-caps):

MOST OF WHAT I WAS GOING TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT WAS COVERED AS FAR AS SPECIFIC ELEMENTS OF DESIGN WERE COVERED IN THE POWERPOINT. SO I'D LIKE TO LOOK AHEAD JUST A LITTLE BIT TO WHEN YOU ACTUALLY GET DOWN TO WRITING THE RULES. MY HUNCH IS WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO FIND IS THAT PEOPLE WHO BUILD DEVELOPMENTS AROUND THE CITY ARE GOING TO GIVE RATHER EASILY ON AESTHETIC ELEMENTS SUCH AS SHIELDING AND LANDSCAPING AND FACADES AND WHATNOT AND REALLY PUT UP A FIGHT OVER MAJOR STRUCTURAL DESIGN REQUIREMENTS SUCH AS THE ONE THEY SHOWED, THE TARGET THAT IS TWO STORIES TALL AND USES A HIDDEN PARKING GARAGE INSTEAD OF SURFACE PARKING. SO WHAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU IS THAT'S WHERE THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD. THAT'S ALSO WHERE THE MAIN COST FOR THESE PEOPLE COMES IN. AND THAT'S WHERE THEY ARE GOING TO REALLY SQUAWK WHEN YOU START TO WRITE THE RULES. SO WHAT I WOULD ASK YOU IS PLEASE STICK TO YOUR GUNS. THESE FOLKS ARE USED TO DEALING WITH THESE KINDS OF REQUIREMENTS AROUND THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, AND THERE'S NO REASON WHY THEY CAN'T LIVE WITH THEM HERE. THANK YOU.

This would make a good protest poster. I could see myself holding it for these jerks to see.

Posted by Drizzten at February 27, 2004 01:47 PM