Going to City Council
This weekend was kind of a bust. Friday I think I spent shlepping around the house. Saturday I had the house to myself so I cleaned and danced around alot. Saturday night I went to a LAME-O party and cut out early (1-ish) to opt for Taco C nachos and Jawbreaker. Sunday, I tried to study for my Anatomy test but only got thru about half the material.
Monday was more packed. Seton, $320, and I went infront of city council. For more try...
Monday though. Got to run the desk at Pre-op again, but was semi-bored and got a teensy bit of studying done there. In post-op, nurses are still being bias and just as boring as last time, but the patients were nice. This one cancer patient said my bedside manner was really great, so that made me feel good. But then she asked if I had graduated, and after answering her that I had a bachelor's, realized she was referring to high school. She was so shocked she repeated it 5 minutes later when her driver showed up ("Guess what?! She's graduated from college!") So that was sort of downing b/c I'm getting a better picture of how I'm viewed by others, but still felt good about how I was doing things.
Afterwards, I studied in the dining hall for about an hour to kill time for a meeting. And I found a message on my phone from my doctor's office. I had complained about a bill, and turns out the insurance company fouled up and I get $320 back!
The meeting was actually a hearing at Town Hall/ City Council. A few of you may remember that across from my house is a curved bluff, with a great view. Recently it had been sold to a developer who's trying to put 9 houses on it (there's room for maybe 5). He keeps going to the council to ask for variances on city ordinances so he can negotiate houses onto the bluff side. The neighborhood has been fairly stirred up at this b/c he's building 3 story houses, really close to each other, so that eventually it will look like a small apartment complex.
So a few of the neighbors, including an ex-contractor who had tried to buy and build on the lot but decided against it, got together to go down and protest his application. You may have seen it on Austin's channel 6, looks completely boring and like they don't really know what's going on--and it's like that in person too. I sat and studied during the other cases. But when it was our turn, it was pretty interesting. It's bascially debate style, where first he makes his case for the variance, then we get up and say our defense, he gets a 2 minute rebuttal and then the council ask questions to clarify. Then they make a statement (like in the supreme court) and vote. Here's how it went down.
Blackstone (the developer, nice name!) says he needs this tiny variance b/c he has a topographical hardship--he can't build stable houses on the incline unless he moves them closer to the curb at the top of the incline so the bases are more level. (there's a city ordinance requiring houses be 25 feet from the curb)
In our turn, we said that although we like our view, we have accepted that someone would develop it at some point and that's not what we were there for. However, his plans do not fit into or flow with the neighborhood, decreases the value of adjacent properties, and creates further traffic and environmental problems for the neighborhood b/c his housings will sit on drainage area to the creak below --hence the drop off. Specific to this variance, his "hardship" is self-inflicted b/c everyone who's ever seen the land knows you can't build 9 houses on a 60 degree incline. Then my dad piped in that this is his 3rd trip, that we know of, to ask for variances, and that if this is granted he will back for another.
Blackstone rebutted that his land is it's own "Subdivision"--which he got a variance to do w/o informing the community-so he doesn't have to follow the flow of our neighborhood (meaning his houses don't have to look like the rest) b/c ours are old (25 years--shocking!) and "no one even makes houses like that anymore."
The council then proposed a compromise, allowing variances for two of the 5 houses that need to be up higher. Blackstone turned it down. Another councilman offered the point that by building the houses lower on the incline, the homes would be spread farther apart--offering more view and more desirable spacing between homes for a "subdivision." Blackstone responded that this was not his intent and that his "staggered" houses on the bluff actually leave a better view for the rest of us b/c we could see between the houses, but that if he has to change his plans he will turn the houses 90 degrees so they run along the incline thus blocking more view--and that his original plans were to benefit us. Right.
There was more discussion and a council woman read her statement, which was in favor of the variance. Then they voted. B/c opposition does not get a rebuttal we only need 2 dissents of the 8 councilpersons. We got three! It was pretty surprising b/c everyone on our side thought we'd already lost based on the reading. The contractor and his little girlfriend were miffed. haha. Part of me feels this is somewhat wrong and vengeful but the guy turned out to be as big a dick as he was in my mind. And if he's going to ruin my view anyway, why not make him work a little harder and spend a little more?
Then I came home and studied/watched the Yankees lose--which was torture b/c right after you'd think the score difference was too much, they'd score and cut the deficit, so they actually still had a chance. So I am much sad, in mourning in fact b/c supposedly the owner Steinbrenner says my own, most fans, and player favorite manager, Joe Torre would be fired if he didn't win. Maybe Joe should retire, but George has no class when it comes to these things--something that sets the Yankee dynasty apart from other franchises. Anywho, we'll see what happens next season.
Smaller news: I weighed my cats. Dot (girl) is coming up on 6lbs. Boy is clearing 9. They are six months. Sometimes I think he has a pituitary problem b/c he's gigantic and sleeps all the time but he may just be a large cat.
And I am OBSESSED with Ben's Brother song Stuttering. It's just a demo/half song for their next album that got used for a Dentyne ice commercial but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Seriously, it's on repeat and it's only 90 seconds long. Check it out at their myspace under Ben's Brother.
Alright, now I go to class.
Monday was more packed. Seton, $320, and I went infront of city council. For more try...
Monday though. Got to run the desk at Pre-op again, but was semi-bored and got a teensy bit of studying done there. In post-op, nurses are still being bias and just as boring as last time, but the patients were nice. This one cancer patient said my bedside manner was really great, so that made me feel good. But then she asked if I had graduated, and after answering her that I had a bachelor's, realized she was referring to high school. She was so shocked she repeated it 5 minutes later when her driver showed up ("Guess what?! She's graduated from college!") So that was sort of downing b/c I'm getting a better picture of how I'm viewed by others, but still felt good about how I was doing things.
Afterwards, I studied in the dining hall for about an hour to kill time for a meeting. And I found a message on my phone from my doctor's office. I had complained about a bill, and turns out the insurance company fouled up and I get $320 back!
The meeting was actually a hearing at Town Hall/ City Council. A few of you may remember that across from my house is a curved bluff, with a great view. Recently it had been sold to a developer who's trying to put 9 houses on it (there's room for maybe 5). He keeps going to the council to ask for variances on city ordinances so he can negotiate houses onto the bluff side. The neighborhood has been fairly stirred up at this b/c he's building 3 story houses, really close to each other, so that eventually it will look like a small apartment complex.
So a few of the neighbors, including an ex-contractor who had tried to buy and build on the lot but decided against it, got together to go down and protest his application. You may have seen it on Austin's channel 6, looks completely boring and like they don't really know what's going on--and it's like that in person too. I sat and studied during the other cases. But when it was our turn, it was pretty interesting. It's bascially debate style, where first he makes his case for the variance, then we get up and say our defense, he gets a 2 minute rebuttal and then the council ask questions to clarify. Then they make a statement (like in the supreme court) and vote. Here's how it went down.
Blackstone (the developer, nice name!) says he needs this tiny variance b/c he has a topographical hardship--he can't build stable houses on the incline unless he moves them closer to the curb at the top of the incline so the bases are more level. (there's a city ordinance requiring houses be 25 feet from the curb)
In our turn, we said that although we like our view, we have accepted that someone would develop it at some point and that's not what we were there for. However, his plans do not fit into or flow with the neighborhood, decreases the value of adjacent properties, and creates further traffic and environmental problems for the neighborhood b/c his housings will sit on drainage area to the creak below --hence the drop off. Specific to this variance, his "hardship" is self-inflicted b/c everyone who's ever seen the land knows you can't build 9 houses on a 60 degree incline. Then my dad piped in that this is his 3rd trip, that we know of, to ask for variances, and that if this is granted he will back for another.
Blackstone rebutted that his land is it's own "Subdivision"--which he got a variance to do w/o informing the community-so he doesn't have to follow the flow of our neighborhood (meaning his houses don't have to look like the rest) b/c ours are old (25 years--shocking!) and "no one even makes houses like that anymore."
The council then proposed a compromise, allowing variances for two of the 5 houses that need to be up higher. Blackstone turned it down. Another councilman offered the point that by building the houses lower on the incline, the homes would be spread farther apart--offering more view and more desirable spacing between homes for a "subdivision." Blackstone responded that this was not his intent and that his "staggered" houses on the bluff actually leave a better view for the rest of us b/c we could see between the houses, but that if he has to change his plans he will turn the houses 90 degrees so they run along the incline thus blocking more view--and that his original plans were to benefit us. Right.
There was more discussion and a council woman read her statement, which was in favor of the variance. Then they voted. B/c opposition does not get a rebuttal we only need 2 dissents of the 8 councilpersons. We got three! It was pretty surprising b/c everyone on our side thought we'd already lost based on the reading. The contractor and his little girlfriend were miffed. haha. Part of me feels this is somewhat wrong and vengeful but the guy turned out to be as big a dick as he was in my mind. And if he's going to ruin my view anyway, why not make him work a little harder and spend a little more?
Then I came home and studied/watched the Yankees lose--which was torture b/c right after you'd think the score difference was too much, they'd score and cut the deficit, so they actually still had a chance. So I am much sad, in mourning in fact b/c supposedly the owner Steinbrenner says my own, most fans, and player favorite manager, Joe Torre would be fired if he didn't win. Maybe Joe should retire, but George has no class when it comes to these things--something that sets the Yankee dynasty apart from other franchises. Anywho, we'll see what happens next season.
Smaller news: I weighed my cats. Dot (girl) is coming up on 6lbs. Boy is clearing 9. They are six months. Sometimes I think he has a pituitary problem b/c he's gigantic and sleeps all the time but he may just be a large cat.
And I am OBSESSED with Ben's Brother song Stuttering. It's just a demo/half song for their next album that got used for a Dentyne ice commercial but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Seriously, it's on repeat and it's only 90 seconds long. Check it out at their myspace under Ben's Brother.
Alright, now I go to class.