A letter from Springdale-Airport, Hogpen, and East MLK communities in response to proposals to develop the Red Bluff tracts of land in East Austin and turn portions of them into housing developments.

"Please support Item #11 on the March 28 City Council agenda and dedicate the entire Red Bluff tract as a nature preserve or parkland.

Red Bluff is a crown jewel of East Austin's undeveloped habitat and green space.

Local residents have been enjoying this scenic overlook for more than a century. On Google maps it shows up as a flush of green wedged between Springdale, 183, and the railroad just north of the South Walnut Creek Trail. we the residents of the surrounding Springdale-Airport, Hog Pen, and MLK neighborhoods are urging the city to protect this area for future generations of hikers and mountain bikers as a nature preserve.

In 2018 Austin Parks & Recreation (PARD) indicated that these 56.9 acres would be christened as protected parkland in October 2018. That never happened. Now with November's housing bond dollars on the table and with development pushing farther east, the City of Austin is seriously considering developing portions of the Red Bluff tracts of land for housing development.

We are calling on leaders and concerned citizens across the city to oppose ANY development on the 56.9 acres that comprise Red Bluff. We are calling for the protection of this diverse habitat and recreational area for generations to come.

To be clear, we the residents also support affordable housing. We support a future that is healthy and sustainable for all residents. We support sensible, accessible, affordable housing development that preserves the richness of the public green spaces in our neighborhoods. We call on our District 1 and 3 leaders to shepherd the City Council toward more suitable sites ready for development.

By contrast, the area in question is a wooded bluff, surrounded by watershed on three sides, and accessible only by an isolated, dead-end street that spurs off of the 183 tollway construction. It lacks access to roads, schools, public transportation, and food resources. Red Bluff is not suitable for housing, affordable or otherwise. The wooded 5-acre tract in the southwest corner of Red Bluff, which *may* be remotely suitable for housing development, borders on the railroad and a flood zone and serves as a buffer for wildlife in the area. This area also suffers issues of isolation, lack of sidewalks, and resource scarcity for the transit-dependent.

We urge the City Council to seek alternative sites within Districts 1 and 3, as well as consider sites in city districts outside of East Austin. In the same breath, we encourage the City Council and residents across the city of Austin to explore the stunning beauty and appreciate the precious vulnerability of the Red Bluff green space.

We are unified to save Red Bluff and will not allow City politics to pit housing against parkland and divide us. They are separate issues and we will treat them as such. "