East Austin residents protest boat rental company building permanent facility
AUSTIN, Texas - East Austin residents are calling on the city to stop a boat rental company from permanently moving into a neighborhood park.
Residents gathered at Festival Beach to demand that the Expedition School be removed from the Fiesta Gardens lagoon and that their proposed project to build a permanent location be blocked by the city.
The Expedition School currently uses the Festival Beach boat ramp on Lady Bird Lake. The school rents boats, canoes, kayaks and paddleboards, as well as offers lessons, classes and guided paddle sessions.
The East Town Lake Citizen Neighborhood Association in a release says the proposal "would take a large amount of piece of land away as well as create a tourist attraction to a park that once was our neighborhood park." The association also said that the residents who use the park have never been part of the discussion.
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The Association and residents are asking the city and the Austin Parks & Recreation Department to propose a different permanent location for the School and stop the project.
In June, there was a progress update presentation to PARD which outlined the background of the project:
- Dec. 2019 - Council Ordinance 20191205-070 passed which authorized a boating concession to be built and tasked PARD with determining its permanent location
- Oct. 2020 - PARD and Expedition School partnership agreement finalized with a temporary location at Lady Bird Lake, partnership to last through April 2022
- Sept. 2020 - Site Plan Exemption received from Development Services Department
- Jan. 2022 - partnership and temporary location extension through April 2024
- Dec. 2023 - partnership and temporary location extension through April 2026
The proposed permanent location of the School would include a gang plank, a floating dock with storage and shade structures, and two ADA boarding kits. The total area of the proposed location is 9.267 square feet.
According to the presentation, a Parkland Improvement Development Agreement is required and was in final review at the time of the meeting in mid-June. The presentation says a site plan permit is anticipated to be issued three months after those final review comments have been cleared.
A concession agreement will then be developed to govern operations including maintenance.
Fiesta Gardens is listed on the National Historic Register and is a popular spot for community festivals. It is currently operated by PARD.