The annual Community March, organized by the Austin Area Heritage Council, honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrates diversity in Austin. The march begins 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 20, at the MLK statue at the University of Texas campus, and continues to Huston-Tillotson University. Afterward, marchers and community members celebrate from 11:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at a festival featuring live music, food, kids’ activities, local artists and vendors from around the community. Individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations are all welcome to march. This year marchers are asked to help support the Central Texas Food Bank with a donation of canned or nonperishable food. Find the march route, vendor applications and information about the food drive and volunteer opportunities here.

In November, the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals issued a ruling on short-term rentals. Last week, the city’s Code Department offered a short clarification on what the ruling means for enforcement of existing rules in Austin. The department clarified that it will continue to issue Type 2, or non-owner-occupied, short-term rental commercial licenses, but is not required to issue Type 2 licenses in residential areas. In 2016, City Council approved a gradual ban on Type 2 STRs that will be fully implemented by 2022. As for existing license renewal: “Austin Code Department will continue to renew existing residential and commercially zoned STR Type 2 licenses as long as they are renewed on or before the expiration date. An STR residential Type 2 license will not be re-issued if it becomes expired. An application qualifies as a renewal if the application is submitted before the existing license expires.” The statement from the city confirmed that the Code Department will continue its enforcement of short-term rental properties, though it can no longer enforce occupancy limits that were imposed as part of the city’s short-term rental regulations, but can pursue enforcement of over-occupancy as defined by the Property Maintenance Code minimum square footage requirements.

Could there be a better way to start the new year than getting outdoors and into the wild? Austinites have the rare opportunity to experience the wild through the auspices of the Wildlands Conservation Division of Austin Water, which manages and protects 40,000 acres of pristine city-owned wildlands. These properties, which are some of the last truly wild places around Austin, are closed to the public except for guided hikes and special volunteer events. Take a full-day guided hike along rugged Onion Creek, where you’ll see meticulously restored native grasslands. Catch a glimpse of an endangered species like the golden-cheeked warbler at Bull Creek Nature Preserve or go on a nighttime hike in the Barton Springs watershed, by the light of the moon and the stars. Help biologists with forest preservation at Vireo Preserve or pull out invasive privet plants at Long Canyon, part of Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. See the full list of upcoming guided hikes and volunteer trainings here.

The Travis County Commissioners Court has a meeting scheduled for today, but nothing notable is on the agenda. The plan is for the court to adopt the entire agenda on consent. Commissioner Brigid Shea tells the Austin Monitor via text that she has informed her colleagues she won’t be available for the meeting because she and her husband will be out of town. Why did the court bother scheduling a meeting on New Year’s Eve? Shea replied: “Good Q!”

Austinites and visitors alike are invited to join Friends of Barton Springs Pool Polar Bear Club as they make their annual leap into the pool at 9:45 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Former city employee Clarke Hammond, who passed away two years ago, is credited with starting the leap 40 years ago, and his friends in the club named him “Grand Poobah.” Among those attending will be former Mayor Lee Leffingwell and his former aide, Matt Curtis. Curtis said in a news release, “This is an exciting opportunity to refresh your soul in the waters of Austin. This is what makes Austin Austin, and what makes the start of every new year magical.” Leffingwell noted that the weather may be cold, but it has not stopped Austinites in the past from leaping into their favorite local swimming hole. “This is about a shared adventure of being an Austinite, the wonder of celebrating a beginning with friends, a reminder that we have a unique ecological treasure in the heart of our city, and the positive renewal of spirit that we experience on the first day of every new year,” Leffingwell said.

As the city of Austin has informed us, it’s pretty easy to recycle your Christmas tree. Just set it out by the curb on your trash pickup/recycling day or take it to the polo fields at Zilker Metropolitan Park this weekend. But the Austin Monitor wondered what to do with that evergreen wreath that’s not quite as green as it was when it first came into the house. Don’t throw it in the trash can or recycling just yet. If you can pull the green parts off you can put those into the green compost bin. But if that is too difficult, Suzanne Harm at Austin Resource Recovery said the best thing to do is set the wreath outside for the next several weeks. The evergreen part will fall away and become part of your yard. Then you can recycle the wires that held the wreath together.

Over the holidays, the Austin Monitor will join our readers in taking a little time off to enjoy the season. During these last weeks of 2019 and the first week of 2020, join us in looking back on the past year and forward to the next year. We will return to our regular content on Monday, Jan. 6, rested and ready to tackle all that the coming year holds. Until then, Happy Holidays from all of us to all of you!

City offices and municipal facilities will be closed Tuesday, Dec. 24, and Wednesday, Dec. 25, in observance of Christmas Eve and Christmas, and Wednesday, Jan. 1, in observance of New Year’s Day. Trash, recycling, compost and yard trimmings collection will “slide” one day forward if the your collection day falls on a holiday. In addition, recreation, cultural arts, nature and senior centers and museums will be closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, with shorter hours on New Year’s Eve. All pools will close at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and will be closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, except for Barton Springs Pool, which will remain open without lifeguards during regular hours. Austin public libraries will close at 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and will be closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day except for the Central Library, which will be closed Dec. 24 and 25. For questions about city services or more specific information, call 311 or read this detailed list of holiday hours.

This whisper has been corrected, the Central Library will be open on December 26.

After your Christmas tree has given you the gift of filling your home with its piney scent, you can return the favor by ensuring that it stays out of the landfill and instead returns to the earth as mulch or compost. All you have to do is set your tree out on the curb on your regularly scheduled collection day, starting the day after Christmas. If you don’t have curbside service, you may drop your tree off at Zilker Metropolitan Park Polo Fields this weekend (Dec. 28-29) or next weekend (Jan. 4-5) between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. There are a few guidelines for recycling trees: If your tree is over 6 feet tall, it must be cut in half; trees sprayed with flocking, or artificial snow, will not be accepted; and all ornaments, decorations and lights must be removed, including the tree stand. Each year, the city provides curbside tree recycling for about 20,000 Christmas trees that are composted or turned into Dillo Dirt. If you’d like some of this Christmasy mulch, it will be available on a first-come, first-served basis on Thursday, Jan. 16. Find more information about Austin’s Christmas tree recycling program at AustinRecycles.com.

Earlier this year, the Cielo Property group donated and relocated the home of the first African American disc jockey, Albert Lavada Durst – also known as “Dr. Hepcat” – from 1608 E. Fourth St. to 1906 E. 21st St. This initiative not only gave housing to an East Austin resident who was left homeless after her own house burned down, it also rescued the house itself. According to Historic Preservation Officer Steve Sadowsky, the home was in dire shape and was being used as a drug house in its former location. On its new lot, the house is being restored to reflect its 1920s-era working-class bungalow architecture. Sadowsky told the Historic Landmark Commission at the Dec. 16 meeting that the home has “tremendous significance.” According to the staff report, “This house reflects a wealth of history in Austin and should be preserved at any cost.” Commissioner Ben Heimsath said that relocating the home was “not ideal,” but in this case, was a “good compromise” and that its association with Lavada Durst “makes this house worthy of preservation.” The commission voted unanimously to initiate the historic zoning process.

The Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department hosted a series of meetings on Dec. 3 for developers and community leaders to discuss expanding city programs and policies that would incentivize affordable housing construction in the city. Community members may view the entire presentation online. The meetings were following up on a community dialogue that began in December 2018, when NHCD invited developers and community leaders “to provide input on revamping and streamlining the Affordable Housing Development Assistance process.” The result was that NHCD has made “significant progress for affordable housing construction,” said James May, NHCD community development manager.

When D.R. Horton Homes discovered a 19th-century blockhouse at 1208 E. Howard Lane, the Historic Landmark Commission got excited. Homes of that vintage are rare in Central Texas, and this one was a serendipitous find. The structure, part of the Dessau community of German settlers, was covered by over a century of stucco and walls from homeowners who had built and modified a larger home around the original footprint. The commission commended the homebuilder’s willingness to preserve the structure and unanimously recommended a permit for partial demolition. Once the structure is uncovered, the builders will provide any necessary rehabilitation and then fence off the structure for protection. The blockhouse is located where the developer plans to put a pocket park for the subdivision. Commissioner Ben Heimsath recommended going beyond just preservation and instead activating the space. “It could be a small meeting room or a community space,” he said, warning that if the cultural resource were left vacant it could become a magnet for vandals and squatters.