Hello SMI Realty Property Management and Forest Creek Apartment management,

The webpage on my resident portal says to reach out if there's anything you can do to make my home more comfortable. There is something you can do: stop our community garden at Forest Creek Apartments in Austin, TX from being torn down on Friday, February 14th, 2020. A long time resident who has lived here for 11 years and others in the Forest Creek community has worked hard over the years to create an eco-friendly green space for all of us to enjoy. The garden is one of the reasons I moved here. It is one of the reasons this place feels uniquely Austin. Green spaces like this are becoming increasingly rare as this city develops, and other property owners spend thousands attempting to recreate what these others have grown out of love for the community.

An email was sent out by Forest Creek management yesterday, Feb. 10th, 2020, notifying residents that our "community garden" would begin removal on Feb. 14th, 2020 citing lease agreement: "Per the Lease Contract common areas are not to be used for personal use." With four days notice placed on regular working weekdays, residents must attempt to remove the large garden that has existed without issue for years. To use the words "personal" and "community" in the same email is something I see as a major contradiction. Residents have put in work landscaping and beautifying our Apartments, free of charge. Please consider keeping this beautiful communal space in Forest Creek because it does make my home, and the home of many others, much more comfortable.