Austin Christian Fellowship hosted a town hall meeting on March 6 to discuss the River Place rezoning applications and the development of the Autism Trust center. Some 30 residents came to the event and several spoke of their concerns. (L-R) Will Davis Jr., founding pastor of ACF, Ed Frazier, executive pastor, and real estate attorney hired by ACF, John Joseph.
By CASSIE MCKEE
Four Points News
Following a recommendation by the Austin Zoning and Platting Commission to deny a developer’s zoning request that would allow the construction of 82 homes in River Place, the leaders of Austin Christian Fellowship hosted a town hall meeting on March 6 to seek public input on the issue, which has drawn widespread opposition in the community.
The zoning case, which was scheduled to go before Austin City Council on March 23, was postponed to the May 4 council meeting at the request of the developer, MileStone Community Builders.
Will Davis Jr., founding pastor of ACF, opened the town hall meeting by giving some history as to the church’s involvement. ACF property is adjacent to the 82 acres of land that was owned by longtime land owner Berta Bradley. Bradley is under contract to sell 42 of the acres to MileStone for the proposed housing development and she donated the remaining 40-acre tract to the Autism Trust in order to build a center for autism.
Bradley has a grown son with autism.
Davis said that as he and other church leaders got to know Bradley and her son more than a decade ago, they began thinking of ways they could help them and other families like them. A few years ago, they met the founders of the Autism Trust, who had come to Austin to start an autism center, and introduced them to Bradley.
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