Ok, the Police-Fire Pension Tax election was in November, followed swiftly by Thanksgiving, multiple religious and cultural holidays, New Year’s Day, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Now, from a Council standpoint, it feels like the dam has broken and a flood of issues are coming our way.  Many issues were being held back, pending the results of the pension election. Now, several significant issues have been scheduled for committee meetings over the next month and, today, the Council will begin discussions on the concept of “connectivity” among neighborhoods.

Committee meeting topics already scheduled include the sign ordinance and the container ordinance as well as the issue of coal-tar sealants.  And those are just for the committees that I’m assigned to. There are two other committees that are probably equally busy.

This concept of “connectivity” between neighborhoods arose after an interested citizen emailed Council regarding a seemingly inconsistent position we were moving toward while dealing with a neighborhood near Sunset and Campbell.  The other neighborhoods were those surrounding the proposed 60/65 commercial development.  In the 60/65 case, residents were told that a connecting road would be needed into and out of thedevelopment.   Council membersstruggled with the idea of forcing the neighborhood near Sunset and Campbell to connect to a newly zoned commercial district.

In my opinion, although there appeared to be an inconsistency, the SW neighborhood already had a through street to Sunset less than a block away.  I saw no need to force a second through- street seven houses down the street.  One of my colleagues moved to table the issue prior to the vote; hence, the meeting today on the general concept of “connectivity.”

The container ordinance is a “left-over” from a previous Council and deals with industrial, commercial, and residential storage containers.  This ordinance, passed early last year, has been on hold because of an administrative delay for the past year.  I believe it had been delayed two or three times previously, but this Council wishes to settle the issue.  There may be simpler alternatives that can accomplish many of the same issues.

The sign ordinance is a proposal to deal with the changing technology in signage.  With the development of LEDs and computerized content, signs have moved from a static paper-and-paste billboard to an active and eye-catching visual cornucopia.  Some say that the signs might be a driving hazard because they can distract.

And then the coal-tar issue will come up again.  We recently had a committee meeting in which a speaker from Austin, TX made a presentation regarding Austin’s decision to ban coal-tar sealants within city.  Another meeting will be scheduled where the paving industry will have a chance to present their perspectives.

All in all, it looks like a busy three months.  Then, the budget cycle will begin again for the upcoming year.  That should be fun!