Old Town, Georgetown Texas

This Tuesday, January 14, city council will decide whether to abandon (destroy) a portion of Sixth Street to accommodate a parking garage that is being designed from the beginning in violation of the Downtown Master Plan. But if the council votes down the abandonment, this project will be stopped. On Tuesday there’s a workshop at […]

The UDC Advisory Committee that is tasked with advising city council on the future of HARC met on Wednesday as planned, and because 3 members of the 7-member board were absent decided to continue the hearing this Monday, March 18 at the same time and place: 3:30 pm, in the old library on the corner […]

This Tuesday, February 9, at 6 pm in Council Chambers at 7th & Main, city council will hear the second reading of the two requests for rezoning made by the Union on Eighth event center. The struggle so far has gone badly, with only Rachael Jonrowe fighting this cause on behalf of the neighborhood (and […]

Item U is the first item for consideration (skip down to the story below this one for the Special Use Permit item – Item V). It’s more nuanced, and more crucial in its damage if approved. These are the documents following: A summary of this request to remove current zoning restrictions. A backgrounder on the […]

Item V concerns the Special Use Permit (SUP) and its conditions. The applicant is asking to ease his burden from several of the conditions, while the neighboring residents have a long list of violations and city records that show he hasn’t complied very well with many of the existing conditions. Look for the following 6 […]

Here is the proposed change doc. Be sure to scroll to the last page, which contains the new definition for accessory dwelling units.:  

I guess everyone knows we’re coming to council this Tuesday for the McIntosh project to be heard. This is at Council Chambers on 7th & Main, at 6 pm, Tuesday November 24. We are the first 2 items on the agenda. Zoning goes first, followed by the HARC appeal afterwards. The zoning change is Item […]

City councilman Tommy Gonzalez wants to remove us from participation in the Lone Star Rail District, claiming that our latest resident survey (2012) shows opposition to raise taxes to “Build commuter rail system to Austin and San Antonio.” But the Rail District doesn’t take our taxes to build the rail system. So his agenda item […]

I believe the record shows that Tommy Gonzalez has been a disaster as a city council representative for Georgetown, Texas. His public council actions have been fiscally reckless for the city and he has acted with what appears to be genuine contempt for the democratic process. I affirm that those District 7 constituents who actively […]

Here are the arguments that can win the fight against the Hat Creek application for a special use permit. This comes before council for the second reading on Tuesday, June 26th. On Thursday, June 28th, the matter comes before HARC for the Certificate of Design Compliance. Most of the arguments that can be used at […]

Hat Creek will return to council on Tuesday June 26 for the second reading of its special use permit application. Two days later Hat Creek is scheduled to appear at HARC to ask for a special exception and the granting of its Certificate of Design Compliance. We will update this story later this week as […]

This is a letter to the Williamson County Sun published this weekend in the June 10 edition. It was a request for the Sun to ask some hard-hitting questions about several irregularities in the Hat Creek application. The Sun made a response immediately below the letter. Both letter and response are reproduced below (with minor […]

Hat Creek has formally requested to postpone the 2nd reading of its application for a special use permit to a later date. It will not happen at the June 12th council meeting. We learned this from staff earlier this afternoon. Hat Creek say that they want to address HARC questions before they move forward to […]

Council is tomorrow evening, and the Hat Creek Burger Company will either be issued its special use permit to destroy neighborhood safety and property values around 4th & 5th Streets, Main and Austin Avenue, or else denied same, depending how the struggle goes. Either way, we have to show up and lend support if we […]

On Tuesday, December 13th at 3:00 PM the Georgetown City Council will hold a workshop to examine progress made by the Lone Star Rail District. The District aims to connect San Antonio to Georgetown, with points in between and points beyond. Passenger rail seems to be on everybody’s wish-list in Georgetown, and it’s an obvious […]

Current city codes prohibit depositing grass clippings back onto our lawns, or adding any organic material. Mulching lawnmowers cutting the grass without a catcher, landscapers applying mulch, and gardeners applying compost are all breaking the law and could be subject to a $2,000 fine, EVERY DAY until the material is removed and taken to the […]

On Tuesday , January 25th, the City Council will review proposed changes to the UDC that currently control how people work out of their homes. There are two main schools of thought – regulate or don’t regulate. There are also two different geographic views: regard the Old Town Overlay District as a distinct area to […]

Also coming before Council on Tuesday, January 25th is an amendment designed to establish design guidelines and HARC involvement with regard to residential changes in the Old Town Overlay District. Old Town Overlay District Limitations on Residential Additions and Infill.

Coming for its first hearing with City Council on Tuesday, January 25th is a welcome amendment to the UDC that finally gives HARC the discretion to forbid the demolition of a historic property. Certificate of Design Compliance for Demolitions. Currently any historic structure may be moved or demolished 175 days after the Historic and Architectural […]

By Ross Hunter The Community Impact local newspaper has scooped everybody (after oldtowners.com of course) with the first media report of Tuesday’s council meeting. The story appears on their website here: http://impactnews.com/georgetown-hutto-taylor/257-recent-news/9081-georgetown-residents-call-for-greater-transparency-in-dealings-with-city-officials We make no secret that we eagerly await the Williamson County Sun’s take on all this on Saturday, but credit where credit is […]