Pursue reasonable fire safety and wildfire prevention measures
to protect the community we all love
I will continue to pursue reasonable fire safety and wildfire prevention measures to protect the community we all love.
During the past two years, the council has undertaken significant measures to improve fire safety and reduce wildfire risk and I played a key role in getting those initiatives passed.
- continue to Invest In The Future
- return to Priorities
During the past two years, the council has undertaken significant measures to improve fire safety and reduce wildfire risk and I played a key role in getting those initiatives passed.
- We greatly increased residents' ability to manage vegetation within the 30-foot fire safety buffer zone around their homes. Residents may now remove ANY vegetation up to 12 inches in diameter without replacement. Past iterations of the tree ordinance limited removal to only cedars. We increased the height to which trees may be trimmed (limbed up) within the buffer zone from nine to 12 feet. And, we allowed removal of any non-native invasive species (as so certified by our city arborist) anywhere on the property without replacement.
- We allocated $250,000 for a city-wide brush collection which I organized. I will push to expand this popular and important project and lobby for its funding on an annual basis.
- We have applied for a grant to create a shaded fuel break along a portion of Wild Basin's perimeter and I will seek to extend the scope of that project. I will also seek intergovernmental agreements with Austin, Travis County and the LCRA to reduce the amount of dead wood and brush on property they control which surrounds our city.
- I will seek stricter enforcement of existing laws requiring residents to remove dead brush from their property.
- I support Water District 10’s bond issue. Nothing is more important to our community than a reliable water supply. Engineering studies and hydrant flow tests over the past few years have shown that the system is outdated and inadequate, thereby posing a serious threat to our residents' safety.
I also support parity for those areas of our city - Ridgewood and Dellana Hills - where residents have invested their own money to improve water infrastructure in their neighborhoods after being annexed by Water District 10. These residents should be exempted from further expenses related to the bond.
- continue to Invest In The Future
- return to Priorities