The time has come?

Last week, the Austin Neighborhoods Council general membership approved a resolution that urges the city to establish a “Department of Neighborhoods” and, more generally, “increase the number of neighborhood advisors, based on the City’s current population, to help neighborhoods access and utilize neighborhood services.” The text of the resolution, which was officially adopted on August 24, explains that increasing population, pending new zoning via CodeNEXT, and a lack of neighborhood plans in the city are all good reasons to follow the lead of places like “Seattle, Portland, Fort Worth, Houston, and Phoenix” in creating such a department.