HYDE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN Adopted April 13, 2000
The Hyde Park Neighborhood Conservation Combining District (NCCD) is the culmination of 15 years work by residents of Hyde Park Neighborhood to create zoning which recognizes the unique conditions which make Hyde Park a special district to the City of Austin. This document is the encoding of some of the provisions called for in the Hyde Park Neighborhood Plan. Another useful document is the chart which compares the old building site regulations with those offered by the NCCD. Finally, there is an official form which can be printed out for comments to be forwarded to city officials.
Hyde Park was established in 1891. It is a recognized historic area and is notable for its diversity of people, structures and land uses. The Hyde Park community has been active in preserving the unique character of its neighborhood since the 1970s. The first neighborhood plan was adopted in 1985 by the neighborhood association. The current plan is inspired by the 1985 plan and documents created between 1991-1994 in preparation for a Neighborhood Combining Conservation District (NCCD). This plan also incorporates the comments and suggestions offered by participants in a number of workshops held in the community this year.
The following summary introduces the Hyde Park neighborhood and documents the process that produced this current neighborhood plan. Hyde Park is primarily a residential neighborhood located in close proximity to the University of Texas, the Texas Capitol, and downtown Austin. The thoroughfares of 38th Street, 51st Street, Guadalupe Street, Duval Street and Red River Street form distinctive neighborhood boundaries. These streets, along with Speedway Avenue, have been the sites of multi-family and commercial development due to the application of more intense zoning districts. Visitors and residents of Hyde Park admire its natural beauty. It has been described as an urban forest with many pecan trees and other varieties lining its streets. Hyde Park today is home to people of many different ages and backgrounds and its attraction as a neighborhood is illustrated in recent years by the increasing numbers of people, including University students, who choose to live in Hyde Park.
Hyde Park was selected in October 1998 to work with the City of Austin to complete a neighborhood plan. In addition, the neighborhood requested assistance with the Neighborhood Conservation Combining District (NCCD) and design guidelines. Both of these are implementation items contained in the plan. After the plan is adopted by the City Council work will begin on the implementation phase. The Hyde Park Neighborhood Planning Team, comprised of various stakeholders, began their work in January 1999, to consolidate and update previous work for the plan. In April, 1999, a neighborhood survey, the same survey used by the neighborhood in 1991, was sent to residents and non-resident property owners to determine how and if neighborhood opinions had changed. Generally the neighborhood indicated on both surveys that location, a sense of a true neighborhood, the architecture, trees, and old houses were the reasons they were drawn to this area. On May 15, 1999, the Neighborhood Planning Team held its first workshop to get input. The event was successful, with many new people attending the workshop eager to participate.
In 1999, during the yearly Hyde Park Homes Tour, the Neighborhood Planning Team had a booth where people could review the draft documents and talk to a Neighborhood Planning Team member. On July 24, 1999 a second workshop was held to discuss multifamily dwellings and commercial properties. Several non-resident property owners and prospective Hyde Park investors participated in the workshop. In September 1999, the draft executive summary of the neighborhood plan was mailed to all non-resident property owners and delivered to all residents with a ballot in the neighborhood newsletter, The Pecan Press. The plan was supported by 92% of all respondents. Results from all of these events, surveys, and ballots were incorporated into this neighborhood plan.
During the last year, in addition to working on the plan, a subcommittee of the Neighborhood Planning Team met regularly and completed a draft for the NCCD language. The NCCD is a key action item of the neighborhood plan and is a zoning overlay to the portion of the planning area bounded by 45th, 38th, Guadalupe and Duval.
Additional research and work to integrate the existing Hyde Park Civic NCCD for the Hyde Park Baptist Church properties will be required. The purpose of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Plan is to provide a framework for preserving the historic character of Hyde Park and to foster the continued development of a community of neighbors living and working in a safe and beautiful neighborhood of central Austin. The Neighborhood Plan is divided into eight primary goals:
These goals are broken down into particular objectives, which in turn, are supported by discreet, specific, measurable and achievable action items. The neighborhood has also identified "planning principles" that are guides for new development or redevelopment projects and City projects. Many of these principles are in support of current City Codes but are included to emphasize the neighborhood's support for the enforcement and application of these principles and current regulations.
The action items for the neighborhood plan were ranked to identify the Top Ten Priorities for the plan. The tracking chart at the back of the plan also further illustrates the ranking of the rest of the action items. By adopting the plan, the City Council demonstrates the City's commitment to the implementation of the plan. However, every action item listed in this plan will require separate and specific implementation. Adoption of the plan does not begin the implementation of any item. Approval of the plan does not legally obligate the City to implement any particular action item. The implementation will require specific actions by the neighborhood, the City and by other agencies. The Neighborhood Plan will be supported and implemented by: