Council approves transfer of Hemphill Park land for watershed flood work despite neighborhood objections

The Austin City Council voted Sept. 11 to authorize condemnation of approximately 3.5 acres of Hemphill Park for a stormwater mitigation project intended to reduce localized flooding in the Guadalupe neighborhood.

Watershed Protection staff told council the project will upsize storm system capacity and use a portion of parkland as a dual‑use detention basin that is dry in normal conditions and fills during heavy storms. Janae Spence, assistant director of Watershed Protection, said the basin will collect flows and drain within the required time period; staff also said the project includes over $2 million in park improvements and amenities outside the basin footprint.

Opposition and alternatives

Speakers from Save Our Springs Alliance and neighborhood representatives urged council to require private property owners and redevelopers to address on‑site drainage rather than shifting the burden to public parkland. "We're seeing a trend across the city where this approach is being used on each site," said Bobby Levinsky of Save Our Springs Alliance, urging the council to require on‑site mitigation instead.

Bill Bunch called the proposal a method of "dumping the cost of storm control onto the public" and said the backup materials lacked a cost‑benefit analysis and evidence that no feasible alternatives existed.

Staff response

Watershed Director Jorge Morales and assistant director Janae Spence responded that the neighborhood is older, with existing flooding problems that cannot be fully addressed by on‑site measures alone because many parcels will remain residential and are not redeveloping in a way that allows on‑site detention. Morales said Hemphill Park presents an "ideal" open space to mitigate flows and that staff had held multiple community meetings.

Council action

The motion to adopt the required finding that there is no feasible and prudent alternative and to proceed with the acquisition and mitigation plan was offered by Councilmember José Velásquez, seconded by Councilmember Mike Siegel, and approved by council.

What happens next

Staff will proceed with condemnation under the terms described in meeting backup materials, calculate required mitigation fees and deliver park improvements as part of the project. Critics asked the city to publish a clearer alternatives analysis and full cost accounting during implementation.

Speakers quoted or paraphrased in this article are drawn from the Sept. 11 transcript and are attributed to those who spoke on the record.