Where have all the NIMBYs Gone?

I guess it should come as no shock to me any longer that people in Kyle don’t care about what’s going on in their town, yet I have to admit I was surprised that the NIMBYs (the "Not in My Back Yard" folks, for those who may not be familiar with this acronym) did not show up to last night’s City Council meeting. The subject was low-cost affordable multi-family housing and wherever I have roamed across this great country of ours that subject has drawn the NIMBYs like vultures to a carcass whenever the subject comes up in a public forum. Not that they object to low-cost affordable apartment complexes, they will tell you, but, "look we have our property values to protect." To be honest, I have absolutely no sympathy for these bigots. Never have. Never will. But I know they are out there, especially here in Texas, whose citizens elected. as the last couple of days have proved, a governor who is one of the major bigoted NIMBYs on the planet.

So, last Friday evening, when I spotted an item on last night’s agenda involving plans for such an apartment complex in Plum Creek, I was expecting the NIMBYs out in full force. But they didn’t show. Not a one of them. I’m a big enough cynic (sorry, it’s part of the job description) to believe the absence of the NIMBYs last night was noy a sign of tolerance on the part of Kyle citizens in general and the homeowners on Plum Creek in particular, but of the general malaise on the part of the local populace when it comes to the subject of city government and the actions of city leaders here. After all, in a city where only 4 percent of the registered voters go to all the trouble to vote once a year in a City Council election, should I really expect angry hordes to storm Kyle’s government center over something as trivial as an apartment complex on Kohlers Crossing? Yet, when this subject came up during a conversation with JJ Velasquez, a writer/reporter for Community Impact, he said such an item had citizens foaming at the mouth during at least one Buda City Council meeting.

But last night? Nada. Not a peep. No NIMBYs. Perhaps they were smart enough to realize that last night’s agenda item had nothing whatsoever to do with whether this apartment complex will actually be constructed between the clubhouse for the Plum Creek Golf Course and Kohler’s Crossing and everything to do with the desires of the developers, an outfit called Pedcor out of Carmel, Ind., to secure state tax credits from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. However, Pedcor is not seeking the highly competitive 9 percent housing tax credits, but the non-competitive 4 percent credits, which, according to the TDHCA, is "one of the primary means of directing private capital toward the development and preservation of affordable rental housing for low-income households." This means the odds the apartments will become a reality is about 100 times greater than they would be if Pedcor wanted the 9 percent credits. In fact, Pedcor Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Phillip J. Stoffregen told me last night he witnessed with great interest a presentation during the City Council session in which Wells Fargo contributed $1,000 to the Kyle Police Officers Association and said he planned to meet with officials from that bank as soon as possible to explore their interest in the tax exempt bonds that would fund the construction. Finally, although Pedcor is a relatively new entrant into the low-cost housing market in Texas, they already own and operate this complex in south Austin.

One of the nice things to have in your back pocket when you come to the TDHCA seeking the credits is a note from the town where you plan to build them that they, at the least, don’t object to the plans and, at best, actually endorse them. What Pedcor received last night was the latter, an unanimous vote of confidence and support from the council. Mayor Pro Tem David Wilson even went so far as to thank Pedcor for planning to construct units that, on paper at least, look real pretty.

And, if I read the city’s most current zoning map correctly, the spot where Pedcor plans to build the apartments is already zoned for apartments so it’s doubtful Pedcor will even have to go before the Planning & Zoning Commission until much later in the site process, if it all. Which eliminates another opportunity for the NIMBYs. But, if they are really out there (and I suspect they are, lurking somewhere quietly in the shadows, ready to pounce), they can’t say they didn’t have a chance to make their "me-first-and-only" voices heard.

In other action last night, the City Council:

• Completely ignored the pleas from Madonna Hays, who lives at the senior apartments on Cromwell Drive, relies on public transportation and claimed she would no longer afford that transportation if Kyle severed its relationship with Cap Metro and, instead, granted a franchise to Buda Taxi, owned by Ivan Castellon, a good buddy of most of those on the council. "Unfortunately, most of the people that use the (Cap Metro) service can not afford Buda Taxi," Hays said. "They charge $10 just to get into the vehicle. I personally can not afford to use the taxi company and I don’t think anyone else would. I’m very, very disappointed that the City of Kyle said there was nothing they could do, that they could not come up with another transportation source for us. The City of Buda can have a senior transportation service three days a week, so I think the City of Kyle should be able to come up with something." Hays said she knew of one woman who depends on the Cap Metro service three times a week for her kidney dialysis "and I don’t know what that woman is going to do. It’s sad that we’re going to be losing a transportation service we’ve had for years. I just want to encourage the council to come up with some kind of transportation service for us. We need it. I, personally, cannot walk to the grocery store. I’m disabled and I’m a senior." Of course, what Hays, I suppose, failed to realize, is that she was pleading to a group of people who do not have to rely on public transportation — probably never have and never will — and have absolutely no empathy for those that do. All they are interested in is rewarding their buddies — not lifting a hand for those in need — which is why the council voted unanimously to award the franchise to their dear friend Castellon.
• Decided the oral health of Kyle residents was not worth the cost, the hassle and the possible risks that could be involved in correcting the action that the climate-change-denying, tea-partying, right-wingnuts in San Marcos took when they ignored the recommendations of the American Medical Association, the American Dental Association and every other health advocate by voting to discontinue fluoridating the water supply that also serves Kyle. Of course, on the other side of the argument, a lot of dentists will get richer by this act of neglect.
• Put their stamp of approval of the agreement between the city and the Dahlstrom Family that some involved in the process still have hopes will eventually lead to the annexation of a comparatively upscale planned subdivision northwest of Mountain City.
• Unanimously approved the manufactured housing and the Goforth Road warehouse zoning requests recommended for approval last week by the Planning & Zoning Commission.
• Was told the city doesn’t have the proper telephone equipment or the number of personnel needed to institute a system in which water customers could have their water bill due dates spread out. Currently, all water bill payments are due into the city on the same day each month.