Champion tract backup still causing problems

The Champion tract at 6409 City Park Road is once again on Thursday’s City Council agenda, and it is still causing problems for staff. At its last meeting in December, Council directed staff to take the proposed amendment to the settlement agreement to the city’s Environmental Commission. It asked the commission to weigh in on the question of whether the new proposal was environmentally superior to the agreement the city reached with the Champion sisters in 1996. The commissioners said that they could not find it environmentally superior, even though staff has argued that it is better than the previous plan. Council Member Alison Alter seemed quite annoyed when she pointed out at Tuesday’s work session that staff had failed to add that recommendation to the backup for that agenda item, even though Council had specifically requested the commission’s opinion. Alter passed out the recommendation to her fellow Council members so they now have it. She also requested that the item not come up before 2 p.m. on Thursday, and Mayor Steve Adler assured her that it would not. However, the Austin Monitor has learned that the zoning case for another Champion tract, where the developer has proposed self-storage units, will be postponed.