Public commenters urge inclusion of farmland preservation, school‑site reuse and nature‑based solutions in 2026 bond

Public commenters at the Bond Election Advisory Task Force meeting urged the Task Force to include farmland preservation, reuse of closed Austin Independent School District sites and nature‑based solutions in the 2026 bond proposal.

Andy Smith, a member of the Austin‑Travis County Food Policy Board, said productive, affordable farmland is the “foundation of any healthy functional food system” and urged the Task Force to include farmland‑preservation projects or conservation easements in the bond package so the city could leverage USDA, NRCS, county and philanthropic funds. Smith cited data in his comments that the Austin region lost over 64,000 acres of farmland between 2007 and 2022 — nearly 25% of the farmland in 2007 — and is losing about 6,000 acres a year to development. "Without that protected farmland, our…