It sounds like EE-BO knows quite a lot about what is going on.
Let me add this information:
I have contacted Greg Guernsey at the city to ask his staff to re-evaluate the unintended consequences of the overlay zoning. See below:
"Dear Greg:
Hope you had a wonderful Spring Break.
I sent you a map and addresses of the primary properties affected and an Excel chart showing the amount of tax increase at 2701 Nueces. Did you get these?
Art Cory (Travis County Appraiser) explained that he looks at the restrictions to help determine the value. Unfortunately, the UNO granted rights which we do not need. And when evaluated in the context of the Sorority-Fraternity Houses and I believe conflict with some of the "Top Ten Priorities".
Some conflicts are Items:
2. Historical protection - Sigma Chi Fraternity (2701 Nueces) has been at UT since 1881 and would soon cease to exist due to the taxes
4. Force us further from the campus - doing away with our pedestrian oriented functions. Moving is not an option.
5. Conflict with the buffering of project size. MF-4 zoning is more in scale with single family and town houses.
8. New housing should be of similar scale and massing. However, 75' to 120' tall condos are much taller and more massive than the existing development on the subject tracts.
As I see it, we need some options:
1. Opt-out of the UNO, which would revert us to our underlying zoning.
2. Possibly, create a Restrictive Covenant on each tract.
3. Possibly use the MF-4, CO Club or Lodge classification.
4. Since, the not-for-profit House Corporations hold title to the land, align tax status with the IRS classification 501 (c) 2
Meanwhile we property owners are getting organized so we can improve our communications, etc."
We have also begun conversations at the legislative level with Kirk Watson's office and plan to involve other legislators if we can.
We must take the position that the Greek's property is an asset to campus life. Food services and housing located near enough to campus to actually walk. Selling the property will not make the situation better... The city has also passed a specific ban on Greeks moving to the north campus area. So we cannot move north, east is too remote, south is not pedestrian and west of Lamar is high priced residential.
So, if you sell you have no feasible location to move to.
Some have suggested developing a high rise with a chapter house on the ground floor--this is obviously incompatible with other functions.
A single high rise Greek tower is a possibilty, but who controls the street level. I suppose we could work that out.
Maybe we could develop a Greek Street somewhere, but where? We would need about an acre for each house.
It seems to me we must not sell unless we intend to dramatically shrink into not much more than a campus club that would meet in the Student Union.
This is like WWII, we did not pick this fight, but the anti-Greeks are on a mission to get us off campus. We must get off our butts and wage a smart war to survive.
If all else fails, we may need to take serious legal action. This overlay zoning is essentially a condemnation and the remedy is NOT simply MONEY.
FYI: I am an architect, planner, development consultant, project manager. I have acted as an expert witness on about 20 right of way cases.
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