[Determination of Quorom/Meeting Called to Order]
[00:00:07]
THE SEVEN, UH, BRINGING THIS MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO ORDER WE HAVE A QUORUM HERE.
UM, WE'LL START WITH A ROLL CALL AND, UH, ARE THOSE ON THE, DAYAS GOING TO, I'LL SAY YOUR NAME.
GO AHEAD AND SAY, PRESENT HERE.
UH, YOU HAVE COMMISSIONER SCHNEIDER HERE.
COMMISSIONER HUIZAR HERE, COMMISSIONER, UM, UH, VICE CHAIR OF HEMPEL SORRY.
UM, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER MOOSE, TODDLER PRESENT AND COMMISSIONER COX HERE AND, UM, KIND OF VIRTUALLY ON THE SCREEN.
WE HAVE, UM, GOING THROUGH THE LIST HERE.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER CONLEY, PRESENT COMMISSIONER PRAXIS, COMMISSIONER HOWARD, UH, COMMISSIONER FLORES HERE.
UH, AND I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER SHAY IS OUT, UM, EX OFFICIOS.
UH, WE HAVE, UM, COMMISSIONER COHEN.
AND I THINK THAT'S IT THAT I SEE.
DID I MISS ANYBODY COMMISSIONER SHOT? YOU SORRY, CHURCH SHOCK.
YOU SEE ME? IT'S COMMISSIONING.
I WAS SENDING YOU A TEXT MESSAGE AND IN A BLANKED OUT ON CALLING THE NAME.
UH WE'RE UM, SO JUST TO ON COMMISSIONERS, JUST KNOW WE HAVE SEVEN HERE TODAY.
WE WERE EXPECTING EIGHT BECAUSE WE, UH, COMMISSIONER MOOSE TODDLER HAS TO LEAVE.
UH, SO YOU MIGHT GET A TEXT, UM, TRYING TO SEE IF THERE'S A WAY WE CAN GET SOMEBODY TO COME IN BECAUSE WE HAVE A LONG NIGHT AND THEN WE ANTICIPATE GOING PAST 10, UH, BASED ON THE CASES WE HAVE.
SO, UM, JUST, UH, SHOT, SORRY.
I HAD ACTUALLY PLANNED TO COME IN IN PERSON, BUT I SAW THAT MY NAME WAS LISTED AS VIRTUAL.
SO I WANTED TO MAKE LIFE SIMPLER AND JUST STAYED HOME.
BUT IF NEEDED, I DON'T MIND COMING IN.
I WOULD, I COULD MISS THE FIRST PART OF THE MEETING AND MAKE MY WAY THERE, OR I COULD, UH, I DON'T KNOW.
UM, WE WOULD, WE WOULD LOVE YOU FOR THAT.
UH, IT'S GOING TO MAKE THINGS A LOT EASIER LATER, UH, BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CASE AND I'M SURE IT WOULD ALLOW US TO CONTINUE, SO THAT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND PASS, ROLL CALL.
UM, UH, JUST WANT TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT.
THIS IS YET ANOTHER HYBRID MEETING.
UH, SOME OF THESE CASES, WE MAY HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE.
UH, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, NEWS IS OUT THERE, UH, STILL KIND OF IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC.
UH, WE ASKED THAT PLEASE, UH, COME IN FOR YOUR CASE ONLY AND TRY TO KEEP DISTANCE, UH, THE BEST YOU CAN KEEP YOUR MASK ON.
UM, ON THE CASE THAT WE ARE HEARING, UH, WHEN THE CASE COMES UP, UH, AND WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING OUT OF ORDER HERE, SO THAT'LL MAKE IT EVEN A LITTLE MORE CONFUSING, UH, BUT WE'LL GET TO THAT.
UM, BUT WHEN YOUR TIME FOR YOUR CASE TO BE HEARD, UH, MR. RIVERA WILL SEND OUT AN EMAIL, IS THAT CORRECT? MR. OF LETTING ME ABOUT 15 MINUTES AHEAD.
AND WE'LL ALSO GO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT OUT IN THE ATRIUM.
UH, BUT, UH, HOLD ON JUST FOR A MOMENT, CAUSE WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA.
WE, UH, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE GOING TO SEE IF WE CAN SWITCH SOMETHING UP HERE.
UM, THE LAND USE COMMISSION LIAISON, MR. RIVERA HERE WILL, UM, HE'S ALSO GOING TO HELP ME THIS EVENING AND BEING KIND OF MC AND THAT'S IN SPEAKERS, UH, ON ONE OF THE CASES ON THE PLED CASE I'VE HELPED FROM VICE-CHAIR, HEMPEL KIND OF LOGGING IN THE AMENDMENTS AS WE GO THROUGH THEM.
AND THEN I BELIEVE, UH, COMMISSIONER FLORES IS GOING TO DO THE FIRST READ OF THE CONSENT AGENDA, UH, VIRTUALLY SEE HOW THAT GOES.
SO, UM, ANYWAY, BE A SAFE, UH, KEEP YOUR MASK ON.
I KNOW SOMETIMES WHEN YOU COME TO THE PODIUM, IT MAY BE A LITTLE HARD TO SPEAK AT THAT TIME.
UH, IF, IF YOU NEED TO, UH, WE DO HAVE PEOPLE THAT TAKE OUT THEIR MASK.
UM, SO REAL QUICK, UH, FOR THOSE ATTEND, UM, COMMISSIONERS IN THE VIRTUAL SPACE THERE, UH, HAVE YOUR GREEN, RED AND YELLOW CARDS AVAILABLE SO WE CAN COUNT YOUR VOTES.
AND, UM, I'LL KIND OF MOVE THROUGH THE, IN A FOUR AND THEN THE AGAINST, UH, VOTES AS WE MOVE THROUGH, UM, OUR DEBATE, UM,
[00:05:01]
FOR THOSE ONLINE, PLEASE REMAIN MUTED AND THERE'S A LOT GOING ON HERE.IF I DO NOT GET YOUR ATTENTION, GO AHEAD AND UNMUTE AND, AND SAY SOMETHING SO I CAN RECOGNIZE YOU AND I'LL HAVE SOME HELP HERE ON THE DIOCESE AS WELL.
UH, ANDREW, DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS COMMUNICATION TODAY? NO, WE DO NOT.
SO THE, UH, ITEM MAY ON THE AGENDA APPROVAL OF MINUTES, UM, THOSE WERE POSTED, UH, COMMISSION.
UH, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CHANGES TO THE NOVEMBER 17TH MINUTES? OKAY.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND APPROVE THOSE WHEN WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA.
[Reading of Agenda]
SO, UM, REAL QUICK HERE, WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH AND, UH, COMMISSIONER FLORES.IT'S GOING TO GIVE US A FIRST READ OF STAFF'S PROPOSED CONSENT, UH, THE AGENDA TODAY, INCLUDING THE CONSENT ITEMS. ALL RIGHT.
UM, WE HAVE BE PUBLIC PUBLIC HEARINGS.
NUMBER ONE, PLAN AMENDMENT NPA 20 19 0 0 2 2 DOT OH 2, 3 0 5 SOUTH CONGRESS, HUD DISTRICT NINE.
THAT ITEM IS UP FOR DISCUSSION B TWO REZONING C EIGHT 14 DASH 89 DASH 0 0 0 3 DOT OH 2, 3 0 5 SOUTH CONGRESS PUD DISTRICT NINE.
THAT ITEM IS UP FOR DISCUSSION B3 PLAN AMENDMENT NPA 20 21 0 0 2 ZERO.ZERO ONE SHELBY LANE.
THAT ITEM IS UP FOR DISCUSSION BEFORE REZONING C 14 20 21 0 0 1 5 SHELBY LANE RESIDENCES.
THAT ITEM IS UP FOR DISCUSSION B FIVE PLAN AMENDMENT NPA 2021, UH, 0 0 1 FIVE.ZERO ONE AUSTIN SPORTS FACILITY.
THAT ITEM IS A PLANNING COMMISSION COMMISSIONED POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 11TH, B SIX, REZONING C 14 20 21 0 1 2 5 AUSTIN SPORTS FACILITY.
THAT ITEM IS ALSO A PC POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 11TH, B SEVEN PLAN AMENDMENT NPA 20 21 0 0 1 6 DOT OH 3 35 35 EAST SEVENTH STREET.
THAT ITEM IS A NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 11TH.
UH, B EIGHT REZONING C 14 20 21 0 1 2 4 35 35 EAST SEVENTH STREET.
THAT IS A NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 11TH.
UH, B NINE PLAN AMENDMENT AND PA 20 18 0 0 0 5 DOT OH TWO S H MARY VICE ESTATES, PUD LOT 27 AMENDMENT NUMBER ONE.
UM, THAT ITEM IS A NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TO FEBRUARY 8TH, B 10, REZONING C 8 14 97 0 0 0 2 DOT OH ONE.
MARY VICES STATES PUD LOT 27 AMENDMENT NUMBER ONE, ALSO A NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TO FEBRUARY 8TH, B 11 P PLAN AMENDMENT NPA 20 21 0 20.
MPA 20 21 0 0 1 1 0 1 MOD 53 DOT 0.5.
UH, THAT ITEM IS A STAFF AND APPLICANT TO FEBRUARY 8TH.
UM, B12, A REZONING C 14 20 21 0 0 3 4 MOD 53.5 STAFF AND APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO FEBRUARY 8TH.
UH, B 13 PLAN AMENDMENT NPA 20 19 0 0 1 3 0.01 HOPLAND SOUTH.
UM, THAT IS A STAFF AND APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO FEBRUARY 8TH, B 14, REZONING C 8 14 20 21 0 0 9 9.
THAT IS A STAFF INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT B 15 RESTRICTIVE COVENANT AMENDMENT RCA C 14 R 81 0 3 3, RCA ROADIE OAKS RESTRICTIVE COVENANT AMENDMENT.
THAT IS ALSO STAFFED INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT B 16, REZONING C 14 20 21 0 0 8 3
[00:10:01]
3001 EAST CESAR CHAVEZ, STAFF AND APPLICANT INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT B 17, REZONING C 8 14 0 6 0 1 7 5 0.03 EAST AVENUE, PUD PARCEL A AMENDMENT.THIS IS A STAFF INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT C 18 REZONING C 14 20 21 0 1 6 0 84 40 BURNET.
B 19 REZONING C 14 H 20 21 0 1 8 1.
JOHN BREMAN COMPANY WAREHOUSE.
THIS ITEM IS A PLANNING COMMISSION POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 11TH, B 20 REZONING C 14 H 20 21 0 1 8 0 CASA MCAT.
THIS ITEM IS AN APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 25TH, B 21, REZONING C 14 20 21 0 1 6 6 SOUTH CONGRESS AVENUE RESIDENCES.
THIS IS A P PC POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 11TH, B 22 SITE PLAN SPC 20 12 0 1 0 4 D R FIVE.
B 23 SITE PLAN, CONDITIONAL USE SPC 20 19 0 2 2 4 C H E B AUSTIN.
PARTIAL A B 24 PARTIAL SUBDIVISION VACATION C 8 20 18 0 1 4 6, NOT ONE A BACK VAC, PORT DECILE SUBDIVISION, PARTIAL VACATION CONSENT.
UM, B 25 CODE AMENDMENT C 20 20 21 0 0 6 VERTICAL MIXED USE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS.
THIS ITEM IS A STAFF POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 25TH TO BE HEARD IN TANDEM WITH COUNCIL INITIATED AMENDMENTS AND B 26 CODE AMENDMENT INITIATION, FLOOD PLAIN REGULATIONS.
THIS ITEM IS CONSENT INITIATION ONLY.
[Consent Agenda]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.SO, UM, LET'S SEE, UH, FIRST ITEM.
DO ANY COMMISSIONERS NEED TO RECUSE THEMSELVES FROM ANY OF THE ITEMS? UM, WE'RE DISCUSSING THIS EVENING.
UM, AND, UH, I KNOW ON REAL QUICK AND, UH, D IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION I WOULD LIKE TO PULL, UH, CHANGE THE ORDER? UH, IF YOU RECALL, WE HAD HEARD ITEMS B3 AND BEFORE PREVIOUSLY, AND WE HAVE THAT ONE, WE HAVE TO DO THE FULL PUBLIC HEARING OVER BECAUSE OF THE TIME ELAPSED.
UH, IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION TO PULLING THAT AND HEARING THAT CASE FIRST? UM, WE HAVE, UH, THE APPLICANT FOR V1 AND V2 SAID THEY WERE, UH, IMMEDIATE A LITTLE BIT THAT, SO ANY OPPOSITION TO CHANGING THE ORDER.
SO WE'RE GOING TO TAKE ITEMS B THREE AND BEFORE TOGETHER, INITIALLY, AND THEN FOLLOWED, UH, RIGHT AFTER THAT, WE'LL TAKE UP ITEMS TO BE ONE AND B2 TOGETHER.
UM, WE HAVE A SPEAKER, I THINK, UH, FOR, UM, THAT WE'D LIKE TO GO IN HERE.
THEY WANTED TO SPEAK ON ITEM B 21.
UM, MR. CANTU, UM, IF YOU WANT TO GO AND COME ON UP, WE'LL HEAR FROM YOU NOW.
MY NAME IS MARIO KIN TO I'M WITH THE SOUTH CONGRESS CONTACT TEAM CHAIR.
UH, ON THIS PARTICULAR CASE, UH, REACHED OUT TO THE APPLICANT, UH, TWICE ALEX GLASGOW IN REGARDS TO HAVING A MEETING, UH, DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE BACK.
UH, AND THEN LAST WEEK ON THAT SUNDAY, WE RECEIVED A NOTICE THAT THIS ITEM WAS GOING TO BE ON CONSENT.
UH, WE HAVE NOT MET WITH ANY OF THE INDIVIDUALS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, WE NEED TO HAVE INFORMATION.
UH, SO I MEAN, THE STANDARD IS, IS, YOU KNOW, TO SEND FOR US, UH, SEND OUT A QUESTIONNAIRE, WHICH WE DID, WE RECEIVED IT, BUT THEN WE ALWAYS HAVE FOLLOW-UP WITH THE APPLICANT AND APPLICANT'S ALWAYS REACH OUT TO US FOR MEETINGS.
UH, SO, UH, THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING TIME FOR THIS TO JANUARY 24TH BECAUSE OF OUR WORK SCHEDULES WITH THE HOLIDAYS, UH, ADJUSTMENTS AND FAMILY, ET CETERA.
UM, LET'S SEE, UH, ANDREW, DID WE HAVE ANY OTHER
[00:15:01]
ITEMS COME UP SPEAKERS FOR, UH, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IN OPPOSITION, ANY OF THE ITEMS THAT WE'RE COVERING ON CONSENT OR IT'S GOOD AS PRESENTED IF YOU JUST WANT TO READ IT ONE MORE TIME.UM, I'M GONNA READ THROUGH THIS QUICKLY SO WE CAN GET STARTED.
UM, IF YOU SAID WE'RE GOING TO START WITH, UM, ITEMS, UH, DISCUSSION ON THIS B3 AND BEFORE, UH, THEN WE'LL TAKE UP DISCUSSION ITEMS, BE IT WE WANT TO BE TO, UH, TOGETHER.
UM, ITEM B FIVE IS PC POSTPONEMENT TILL JANUARY 11TH.
ITEM SIX IS PC POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 11TH.
UH, ITEM SEVEN, PLAN AMENDMENT NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT, JANUARY 11TH.
UH, B EIGHT IS A REZONING NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 11TH.
YOU HAVE ITEM NINE PLAN AMENDMENT NEIGHBORHOOD POST COMMENT, FEBRUARY 8TH.
WE HAVE ITEM B 10 IT'S REZONING NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TO FEBRUARY 8TH, ITEM B 11 PLAN AMENDMENT STAFF AND APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT, FEBRUARY 8TH.
B12 IS REZONING CASE STAFF AND APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT, FEBRUARY 8TH, B 12, UH, PLAN AMENDMENT STAFF IN APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TWO FEBRUARY 8TH, B 14, STAFF INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT B 15 RESTRICTIVE COVENANT AMENDMENT IS STAFF INDEFINITE, POSTPONEMENT B 16 REZONING STAFF AND APPLICANT INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT.
THESE 17 REZONING STAFF INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT B 18 REZONING.
WE HAVE ON CONSENT B 19 REZONING PLANNING COMMISSION POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 11TH, B 21 REZONING APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT, JANUARY 25TH, B 21 REZONING PC POSTPONEMENT UNTIL JANUARY 11TH, B 22 SITE PLAN IS ON CONSENT SITE PLAN.
CONDITIONAL USE IS ON CONSENT.
PARTIAL SUBDIVISION VACATION IS ON CONSENT.
UM, STAFF HAS TO JANUARY 25TH TO BE HEARD IN TANDEM WITH THE COUNCIL INITIATED AMENDMENTS AND WRAPPING UP WITH CODE AMENDMENT INITIATION.
UM, THIS IS CONSENT INITIATION ONLY, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THE AGENDA? I HAVE A QUESTION.
UH, LET'S START WITH COMMISSIONER PRAXIS AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER TUFTS.
UM, SO MY QUESTION IS REGARDING, UH, THE REQUEST BY MR AND THE CONTACT TEAM, UM, WOULD NOW BE AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO DISCUSS THE POSTPONEMENT DATE FOR ITEM B 21 OR WHEN WOULD BE THE RIGHT TIME TO DO THAT.
SO, UH, IN DISCUSSIONS WITH MR. RIVERA, UH, WHAT WE'VE DECIDED IS WE WILL, WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE IT ON JANUARY 11TH AND WE WILL THE NEIGHBORHOOD WE'LL LIKELY ASK FOR IT JANUARY 25TH, AND WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION POSTPONEMENT, UH, DISCUSSION ITEM AT THAT TIME.
IS THAT, UM, IS THAT GOOD? SO THE NEIGHBORHOOD WILL HAVE A CHANCE, UH, ON THE 11TH, UH, TO REQUEST A POSTPONEMENT TO JANUARY 25TH.
AND THEN WE'LL TAKE THAT UP AS A DISCUSSION POSTPONEMENT ITEM, IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO CHANGE THE DATE.
NOW, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD GIVE THE COMMUNITY A BIT MORE BREATHING ROOM.
AND I JUST REALLY DO UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS OF THE HOLIDAYS COMING UP AND EXPECTING, YOU KNOW, UNPAID VOLUNTEERS TO HAVE TO GATHER ALL THIS INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND MAKE SURE THE NEIGHBORS, YOU KNOW, HAVE THEIR SAY, OKAY, UH, I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERNS.
I GUESS THE, THE TACK THAT WE'RE TAKING HERE IS BECAUSE OF A LIKELY, VERY HEAVY AGENDA.
UH, WE WOULD GET INTO A DISCUSSION POSTPONEMENT CASE RIGHT NOW, I GUESS IF WE TAKE THIS UP AND WE WERE TRYING TO AVOID, UH, ADDING ANOTHER DISCUSSION CASE, I'LL BE SHORTER.
UH, IT WOULD STILL TAKE TIME AWAY FROM HER AGENDA, UM, THAT THAT'S WHY, UM, NO DISRESPECT TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE JUST HAVE A REALLY BUSY EVENING.
UM, SO IF YOU, IF I WOULD LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND, AND, UM, KEEP THIS ON JANUARY 11TH, AND WE'LL JUST PRETTY MUCH DO THIS THAT DAY AND, UH, TAKE THIS UP ON JANUARY 11TH IS A DISCUSSION POSTPONEMENT.
UM, I GUESS I WOULD JUST WOULD, I, I WOULD ALSO WANT TO POSSIBLY MAKE THIS A DISCUSSION POSTPONEMENT NOW.
I HOPE THAT IT WOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THAT LONG.
[00:20:01]
OKAY.UM, AND YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT TAKE A FEW EXTRA MINUTES FOR US ON A LONG NIGHT TONIGHT, BUT HAVING THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE TO COME DOWN HERE ON THE 11TH JUST TO BE TOLD, OH, ACTUALLY YOU CAN COME BACK ON THE 25TH.
I THINK THAT'S A BIGGER BURDEN THAN MAKING PEOPLE SIT THROUGH A FEW MINUTES OF DISCUSSION.
UM, BUT THAT, WASN'T WHAT I WAS GOING TO DISCUSS IF WE WANT TO DISCUSS THAT FIRST AND THEN I'LL OKAY.
SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD, OR DO THEY HAVE FOLKS HERE TO SPEAK IN, IN FAVOR OF THAT POSTPONEMENT? I JUST DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE THE RIGHT FOLKS HERE, UH, TO MAKE THE CASE.
AND, UM, I KNOW WE HAVE MR. CANTU HERE.
UM, DO WE, UH, MR. CANTU, UM, IS, LET ME JUST ASK YOU IF YOU DON'T MIND UM, DO YOU FEEL PREPARED IF WE TAKE THIS DISCUSSION POSTPONEMENT CASE UP NOW THAT YOU CAN SPEAK ON THE, UH, MAKE THE CASE? UM, CAUSE WE TYPICALLY ALLOW, I GUESS TWO PEOPLE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE ELSE HERE PREPARED FOR STATEMENTS OR IF IT WOULD JUST BE YOU AND IF YOU FEEL LIKE WE, IF YOU RECOMMEND WE SHOULD GO AND TAKE THIS UP NOW.
WELL, JUST, IT WOULD BE ME, BUT JUST TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION WHILE YOU DON'T SEE ANY OTHER PEOPLE FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS BECAUSE I'VE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH INDIVIDUALS FROM THAT AREA.
BUT I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GIVE THEM DEFINITIVE INFORMATION BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY MEETINGS.
THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE PENDING, FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY UNITS ARE GOING TO BE, IS THERE GOING TO BE A GARAGE PET AREA, ET CETERA.
AND, AND SO I DON'T HAVE ANY SUPPORT, I DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION, UH, TO GIVE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND I HAD MENTIONED TO HIM THAT ONCE I GET THE INFORMATION, WE CAN DO A ZOOM CALL, A MEETING, ET CETERA.
AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY, CAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE ASKING AND, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF THE DELAYS OF THE HOLIDAYS AND, AND IT'S, IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT SH YOU KNOW, SHE REACHED OUT AT THE VERY LAST SECOND, BUT IT'S NOT MY FAULT.
I JUST DON'T WANT TO CREATE ANY UNFAIRNESS HERE BY TAKING THIS UP NOW.
SO IF WE DO AND WE VOTE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, KEEP IT ON THE 11TH, THEN THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE DECISION THAT WILL, UH, OR WE COULD COME OUT WITH THE DECISION FOR THE 25TH.
I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, WHAT WILL BE THE WILL OF THE COMMISSIONED HERE.
UM, SO WITH THAT INFORMATION, UH, IS ANY, UH, I GUESS LOOKING AROUND, DO WE WANT TO TAKE A VOTE ON WHETHER TO POST THIS TO DISCUSSION POSTPONEMENT CHAIR? YES.
UM, I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD HERE.
SO IF WE KNOW A SET DATE JANUARY 11TH, THEY KNOW THAT THEY CAN COMMUNICATE WITH US VIA EMAIL, THEY CAN ATTEND IN PERSON.
UM, SO I THINK IT MIGHT BE AWKWARD TO TRY TO HAVE THAT DEBATE HERE NOW.
SO HEARING THAT I'M A COMMISSIONER AS THOMPSON COMMISSIONER PRACTICE, UM, I MEAN, DO YOU AGREE, PERHAPS WE SHOULD WAIT TIL THE 11TH.
JUST WE CAN VOTE ON IT IF YOU WANT.
I MEAN, I'M FINE TO WAIT UNTIL THE 11TH.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND KEEP THAT ON THE AGENDA FOR THE 11TH RIGHT NOW.
SO I GUESS MY OTHER COMMENT THEN WAS JUST A CLARIFICATION, THERE WERE SEVERAL ITEMS THAT SAID STAFF AND APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT, AND I GUESS I JUST GET A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THAT BECAUSE OUR, OUR STANDARD RULE IS THE APPLICANT GETS ONE POSTPONEMENT.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD GETS ONE POSTPONEMENT.
SO, YOU KNOW, TWO WEEKS FROM NOW, WHEN THE APPLICANT SAYS, I WANT A POSTPONEMENT, HAVE THEY BURNED THEIR CHANCE ON THIS ONE? OR, OR WHAT? UM, YEAH.
WHAT'S CAN WE JUST LIST IT AS A STAFF POSTPONEMENT AS OPPOSED TO A STAFF AND APPLICANT, OR DOES THIS COUNT AGAINST, UM, OKAY.
SO I GUESS I'LL JUST FOR THOSE, WE'LL JUST AMEND THE READING, UH, FOR THOSE THAT WERE STAFF AND, UH, APPLICANT, JUST MAKE THOSE STAFF POSTPONEMENT NOTED.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON.
WELL, I THINK, UH, WE NEED TO, UH, WITH ALL THAT, WE NEED A VOTE TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING, APPROVE THE MINUTES AND, UH, THE CONSENT AGENDA.
DO I HAVE EMOTION MOTION BY COMMISSIONER DESIRE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SCHNEIDER.
UH, LET'S SEE THOSE IN FAVOR ON THE DICE.
UH, THAT'S UNANIMOUS AND THOSE, UH, VIRTUALLY LET'S SEE, MR. HOWARD COMMISSIONER.
[00:25:02]
THINK.UH, I THINK COMMISSIONER HOWARD HAS STEPPED OUT FOR A SHORT TIME.
SO THAT IS, UH, OH, DID WE HAVE, I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER CONLEY.
DID WE GET YOUR VOTE? I DIDN'T.
SO THAT'S, UM, EIGHT AND THREE 11 TO ZERO.
[Items B3 & B4]
UH, TAKING UP AS I SAID, B3 AND BEFORE TOGETHER, AND WE'LL START WITH THE STAFF PRESENTATIONS.I'M MARK WALTERS WITH THE HOUSING PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
I'M HERE TO PRESENT ITEM B3, A MPA 20 21 0 0 20 DOT OH ONE SHELBY LANE RESIDENCE.
THE REQUEST IS TO AMEND THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP FOR THAT AD FOR THIS SITE FROM A COMMERCIAL TO MULTI-FAMILY IS RECOMMENDED BY STAFF.
AND THAT'S IN MY PRESENTATION.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME.
GOOD EVENING, MR. CHAIRMAN COMMISSION MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS WENDY RHODES WITH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
UH, THIS CASE IS THE ZONING CASES PROPOSING AND P FOR A TOTAL OF OUR UP TO 520 UNITS TO INCLUDE FOR SALE AND FOR RENT UNITS.
UH, THE CONDITIONAL OVERLAY WOULD LIMIT BUILDING HEIGHT TO 60 FEET, AND ALSO, UH, A REQUIRE CONTINUED TO REQUIRE THE 30 FOOT FIVE, THE 30 FOOT WIDE VEGETATIVE BUFFER ALONG THE WEST PROPERTY LINE.
THE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THIS CASE.
IT DOES INCREASE THE EFFORT, THE AVAILABILITY OF, UH, HOUSING IN THE AREA.
UH, THE 60 FOOT LIMIT DOES NOT EXCEED THAT ALLOWED BY ADJACENT COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES.
UH, THERE IS A RECENTLY APPROVED SITE PLAN FOR MULTIFAMILY AND COMMERCIAL SPACE AT THE INTERSECTION OF SHELBY LANE AND COLONIAL PARK AND TERRIO LANE.
AND, UH, THERE IS A TRANSPORTATION MEMO THAT CALLS FOR UPGRADING THE PROPERTY'S FRONTAGE ON SHELBY AND WHEAT AMAR TO AN URBAN STANDARD WITH CURB AND GUTTER, AS WELL AS RECONSTRUCTING, UH, INTERSECTIONS NEARBY, UH, AS AN UPDATE FROM LAST MONTH, I WANTED TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT THE, UH, APPLICANT HAS MET WITH, UH, THE RESIDENTS OF COLONIAL TRAILS NEIGHBORHOOD AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CONTACT TEAM THEY MET ON, UH, IN LATE NOVEMBER, AS WELL AS LAST THURSDAY.
UH, AND THAT MEETING INCLUDED WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT STAFF, AS IT RELATES TO LOCALIZED FLOODING ISSUES, UH, AS WELL AS WHAT HAPPENED, UH, GOING BACK TO LAST MONTH, THE, THERE ARE QUESTIONS THAT ANSWERS FROM AUSTIN ATD AND AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT ARE ATTACHED TO THIS REPORT.
AND, UH, WE DO HAVE BOTH AFD AND ATD IN ATTENDANCE TONIGHT, UH, REGARDING THE NATURAL GAS PIPELINE THAT IS ON THE PROPERTY.
THE APPLICANT HAS CONTINUED TO COORDINATE WITH TEXAS GAS SERVICE REGARDING RELOCATION OF THE, OF THE EASEMENT ALONG THE WEDA MART PROPERTY LINE.
THERE ARE EXHIBITS ATTACHED TO THE REPORT THAT SHOW THE EXISTING PIPELINE LOCATIONS, THE RELOCATION, AND ALSO A CONCEPTUAL SITE PLAN THAT SHOWS THE RELOCATED PIPELINE, UH, AFD HAS REVIEWED THE PROPOSED ZONING.
UH, THERE ARE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS OF, OF CONCERN IN THE V IN THE VICINITY.
THESE ARE LOCATED ON COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES, BUT AFD DOES NOT OBJECT TO THE STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
AGAIN, WE'RE RECOMMENDING MF SIX CEO WITH A 60 FOOT HEIGHT LIMIT, A 30 FOOT 30 FOOT WIDE VEGETATIVE BUFFER, AND, UH, A TRANSPORTATION MEMO FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING, UH, UPGRADING INTERSECTIONS AND NEARBY ROADS.
JUST WHAT THE, UH, UM, PUBLIC HEARING AS WELL.
AND SO MR. GLASGOW, BEFORE YOU PROCEED, UH, MR. SHEPHERD, ARE YOU PRESENT TO CHAIR? YES.
MR. , DO YOU HAVE THE DOCUMENTS THAT STAFF REFERENCE THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE BACKUP, SOMETHING ABOUT A SITE PLAN SHOWING THE GAS LINE LOCATION AND THEN RESPONSES FROM AFD? CAUSE I'M, MAYBE I'M MISSING IT, BUT, OR IF YOU HAVE A PAGE OF WHERE THAT IS IN THE BACKUP.
I'M, I'M LOOKING AT IT NOW TRYING TO FIND IT FOLLOWS THE, UH, TRANSPORTATION MEMO AND THE INBAR AND THE EDUCATIONAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
SO THERE'S A, UH, EXHIBIT WITH THE PIPELINE WITH THE
[00:30:01]
CURRENT PIPELINES, UH, EASEMENT RUNNING THROUGH THE PROPERTY, AS WELL AS A, UH, CONCEPTUAL RELOCATION ALONG WITH TAMARA AND SHELBY.AND THEN ONE THAT SHOWS THE RELOCATION ALONG, UH, CONCEPTUAL RELOCATION ALONG WAY TO MARTIN SHELBY, AS WELL AS THE CONCEPTUAL PLAN OF THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT.
AND THEN I'VE INCLUDED RIGHT AFTER THAT, UH, ANSWERS, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM ATD AND THE, SO I SEE PAGE NUMBERS, UM, IN THE BACKUP.
SO WHAT, WHAT PAGE AT THE TOP SHARED SPEECH? 24 OF 88 AND ONWARDS 24, 24 SHOWS EXISTING BY PLANK 25 SHOWS WHERE IT WILL BE MOVED IN BLUE ON THE, ON THE BACKUP MATERIAL FOR I'M ON PAGE 56.
BEFORE, BEFORE THE ZONING CASE, NOT THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN.
IT WAS, IT WAS MIXED WITH SOME OF THE PREVIOUS BACKUPS.
THAT'S WHAT, IT'S HARD TO FIND.
THIS IS MR. CARL HERSHEY PRESENT.
YOU'LL HAVE A MAXIMUM 10 MINUTES.
GOOD EVENING PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS, ALICE GLASGOW, REPRESENTING THE APPLICANT TONIGHT.
WE'LL CONTINUE OUR DISCUSSION ABOUT SHELBY LANE RESIDENCES THAT WE DISCUSSED, UM, SEVERAL WEEKS AGO.
SO I'M GOING TO, OR ELSE IT'S NOT ADVANCING.
SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS YOU THE SURROUNDING ZONING, AND WE CAN START OFF WITH PROPERTY AT SOUTH CONGRESS AND SEND ELMO.
WE HAVE CSM ZONING THERE, AND ZONING.
I KNOW LAST TIME YOU ASKED ABOUT IS THERE WAS THERE SPOT ZONING ON OUR SIDE, BUT YOU HAVE UH, ON SOUTH CONGRESS AND ST.
ELMO, YOU HAVE LAPD TO THE NORTH.
THIS IS A TRACK THAT IS APPROXIMATELY EIGHT ACRES, THE SAME SIZE AS THIS SITE THAT HAS A 386 APARTMENTS, UH, THAT HAVE JUST BEEN COMPLETED.
ELMO PUBLIC MARKET AND LOFTS, AND TO THE NORTH, YOU HAVE PDA.
AND AS YOU KNOW, TDA, UH, COMBINED WITH ALLY ON THIS PROPERTIES ALLOWS RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.
UH, UM, OUR SITE IS ZONED C S C O, AND WE'RE REQUESTING A CHANGE TO .
OUR PROPOSED ZONING OF IS DOWN ZONING.
THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT THAT WE ARE PROPOSING IS 60 FEET.
ALTHOUGH ALLOWS 90 FEET OF HEIGHT, THE CURRENT ZONING OF CS ALLOWS A MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF 60 FEET.
SO THEREFORE WE ARE COMPARABLE THERE ON OUR PROPOSED PROJECT IS RESIDENTIAL.
IF WE WERE NOT TO BUILD A RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE CURRENT ZONING OF CSS, YOU COULD HAVE A HOTEL OF 800 TO 1000, UH, HOTEL UNITS, UH, FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ON THIS SITE, WE HAVE TWO TYPES OF PRODUCTS ON, UH, FOR THE, FOR SALE UNITS.
WE HAVE 150 UNITS THAT WILL BE CONDOMINIUMS FOR SALE.
WE HAVE, UM, A SECOND BUILDING THAT IS FOR APARTMENTS FOR RENT 370 UNITS.
THE FLOW TO AREA RATIO PROPOSED UNDER THE M OF SIX IS 1.5 FOR THE ONE BEFORE THE AREA RATIO UNDER C AS ZONING'S TWO TO ONE, OUR UNIT UNITS PER ACRE ARE 65.75.
AND THAT'S WHY THE ZONING IS BEING SOUGHT.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THE CS DOES NOT ALLOW RESIDENTIAL ZONING.
SO THERE IS NO AND EQUIVALENCE THERE.
THE, WE ARE VOLUNTEERING TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE, FOR SALE UNITS.
WE ARE OFFERING TO DO 5% AT 80% MFI AND ANOTHER 5% AT A HUNDRED PERCENT MFI FOR THE RENT UNITS WE'RE OFFERING TO PROVIDE 10% OF THE UNITS AT 60% MFI FOR 40 YEARS FOR THE, FOR SALE UNITS THAT WILL BE AFFORDABLE FOR 99 YEARS.
WE ARE FOLLOWING ONE OF THE CITY'S REGULATIONS REGARDING AFFORDABILITY UNDER THE MF SIX ZONING DISTRICT FOR GREENFIELD PROJECTS BE IMPERVIOUS COVER UNDER ZONING FOR MF SIX IS 80% MF, UH, IMPROV PERCENT, AND THE CSR NEEDS 95%.
HOWEVER, THE WATERSHED ORDINANCE TRUMPS IMPERVIOUS COVER ZONING, IF IT'S MORE RESTRICTIVE AND UNDER THE WATERSHED REGULATIONS MULTI-FAMILY OR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT HERE WOULD BE AT 60% IMPERVIOUS COVER.
WHEREAS FOR COMMERCIAL, IF THE SITE WERE DEVELOPED AS A HOTEL, THE IMPERVIOUS COVER WOULD BE 80, 80%.
[00:35:01]
THE SITE IS CURRENTLY UNDEVELOPED AND COMPRISES EIGHT ACRES.SO WE TALKED LAST TIME ABOUT THE CURRENT HEIGHTS OF BUILDINGS.
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UM, UH, THE FACT, OR THIS WAS PRESENTED THAT THERE WERE NO BUILDINGS OVER ONE STORY.
WELL, OUR TEAM ARCHITECTURAL TEAM CREATED THIS RENDERING, THAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE PROJECTS THAT CURRENTLY EXIST ON SITE IN THE AREA.
SO AT 44 SOUTH CONGRESS, IT'S A PROPERTY THAT'S ZONED CSM UV, AND IT HAS A 275 UNITS.
AND IT'S AT 60 FEET OF HEIGHT, THE PUBLIC LOFTS, 73 HEIGHT BUILDING HEIGHT, 217 APARTMENTS.
AND THAT IS THE PROPERTY THAT IS ZONED.
ELMO PUBLIC MARKET AND LOFTS THAT IS L I PDA.
AND THE PDA ALLOWS TO HAVE A MIX OF RESIDENTIAL USES INDUSTRIAL USES, AND ALSO A COMMERCIAL USES.
THE APARTMENTS THAT ARE, HAVE BEEN BUILT HERE ARE AT 60 FEET, AND THEY WILL BE READY FOR OCCUPANCY IN A FEW MONTHS, 386 UNITS ON THAT PROPERTY TO THE NORTH.
YOU CAN SEE SOME, UH, UH, GRAY PURPLE AND GREEN.
THE, UH, GREEN IS AT 125 FEET.
I CALL THAT THE FUTURE HEIGHT OF ST.
ELMO, THOSE HEIGHTS WERE APPROVED AS PART OF THE ZONING ENABLED PLAN THAT WAS ADOPTED, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
AND THE AREA THAT IS IN DARK PURPLE IS, UM, 95 FEET.
THE AUSTIN LOFTS IS LOCATED TO ALONG AGE 35 AND BEN WHITE BOULEVARD.
AND THAT PROPERTY IS ALSO ALLOWED TO GO UP TO 125 FEET.
SO OUR SITE IS, UM, PROPOSED TO HAVE RESIDENTIAL.
YOU CAN SEE THE OVERALL LAND USE PATTERN IN THE AREA.
SO ONCE ALL DEVELOPMENTS ARE BUILT HERE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE OVER A THOUSAND UNITS.
THAT INCLUDES A STATION OF ST.
THEY JUST BROKE AROUND TO DO 136 UNITS.
SO YOU HAVE AN AREA THAT'S EVOLVING.
YOU HAVE A MIX OF LAND USES, INCLUDING HEIGHTS, JUST TO SHOW YOU THE GREEN HEIGHT AT 125 FEET THAT IS TALLER THAN C DMU ZONING.
DME ZONING ALLOWS 120 FEET OF HEIGHT.
SO YOU HAVE A RANGE OF HEIGHTS THAT WERE PLANNED THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING PROCESS.
AND, UH, YOU RECENTLY, YOU, THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECENTLY APPROVED 85 FEET ON THE PURPLE TRACK AT INDUSTRIAL BOULEVARD.
SO TO JUST SHOW YOU WHAT COULD GO ON OUR SITE, IF WE BUILT UNDER THE SEA AS ZONING, THE PIPELINE WAS SO HAVE TO BE RELOCATED.
AND THE CEO'S OWNING A HOTEL BUILDING WOULD LOOK LIKE THIS.
SO IT WOULDN'T LOOK THAT MUCH DIFFERENT FROM TWO APARTMENT BUILDINGS, OTHER THAN THE MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT.
AND THE CONDO DEVELOPMENT WOULD BE SEPARATED BECAUSE THEY'RE TWO SEPARATE BUILDINGS.
SO YOU'D HAVE A DIVIDING LINE THAT SEPARATES THE TWO.
WHEREAS WITH A HOTEL, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ONE HOTEL ON EIGHT ACRES WITHOUT ANY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.
OBVIOUSLY THIS IS THE, UH, EXHIBIT THAT SHOWS THE PROPOSED PIPELINE THAT WE SUBMITTED TO THE, UH, TEXAS GAS COMPANY.
THE, UM, THE GREEN IN THE BACK SHOWS THAT 30 FOOT VEGETATIVE BUFFER THAT WILL REMAIN UNDISTURBED BECAUSE THAT SETBACK IS REQUIRED UNDER THE ORIGINAL ZONING.
AND WE ARE AGREEING TO MAINTAIN THAT CONDITIONER OVERLAY AS STAFF RECOMMENDED, THE FIRST BUILDING IS THEIR PROPOSED COUNTER PROJECT.
AND THEN THE, UH, THE BOTTOM IS THE MULTI-FAMILY FOR, FOR RENT, THE PURPLE AREA, DELINEATES, WHERE THE PIPELINE IS GOING TO GO.
THE ENTIRE PURPLE AREA IS 50 FEET WIDE.
AND THAT INCLUDES WHERE THE PIPELINE IS GOING TO BE RELOCATED TO.
AND, UH, THE REQUIRED, UH, ACCESS AREAS THAT THE GAS COMPANY NEEDS.
THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT THEY HAVE APPROVED.
AND I'M GOING TO READ THE EMAIL THAT, UH, THE CASE MANAGER, INCLUDING YOUR BACKUP, IT READS IS FROM, UH, RENE PENA.
AND IT READS IN PART, WE ARE OKAY, RELOCATING ACTIVE GAS LINE WITH A TWENTY-FIVE FOOT EASEMENT ADJACENT TO THE ROUTE OF OUR LINE THAT THEN REDUCES TO 20 FEET CLOSER TO WIDMER AND SHELBY LANE.
THAT'S WHERE YOU HAVE THE ELBOW AT WAYMO AND SHELBY LANE, UH, AS SHOWN ON YOUR EXHIBIT, THE GAS LINE WILL BE 15 TO 20 FEET FROM EDGE OF BUILDING, WHICH IS FINE FOR THE CURRENT PRESSURE ON THE PIPELINE.
WE WOULD JUST NEED TO LOOK AT SPECIFICS, SUCH AS EASEMENT BEING AS A GAS DEDICATED EASEMENT ENCROACHMENTS, ET CETERA, BUT CAN LOOK INTO MORE DETAILS WHEN YOU ARE ALREADY AND HAVE QUOTE.
SO AT THE TIME OF SIPHON, WHEN WE PROCEED TO THE SITE PLAN STAGE, WE WILL BE, UM, GETTING THE GUESTS COMPETENT TO, TO REFINE THEIR APPROVALS
[00:40:01]
AND AGREEMENTS THAT THEY ENTER INTO WITH DEVELOPERS WHEN THEY HAVE TO RELOCATE A GAS LINE.AND, UM, THAT IS, UM, THE LATEST WE HAVE FROM THE, UH, TEXAS GAS LINE COMPANY.
I AM NOT GOING TO MOVE INTO THE, UM, EXHIBITS OR SHOW YOU HOW THE EXISTING, NATURAL GAS LINE, HOW IT TRAVERSES FROM OUR SITE TO OTHER SITES IN THE AREA.
SO OUR SITE IS SHOWN HERE WITH A STAR, AND AS YOU LOOK NORTH ALL THE WAY TO SENATOR EDWARDS UNIVERSITY, THE SAME GAS LINE THAT IS GOING TO BE RELOCATED TO OUR PROPERTY, THEN EXTENDS NORTHWARD TO ALL THOSE PROPERTIES THAT YOU CAN SEE HERE.
AND I'M JUST GOING TO GO THROUGH THIS SIDE-BY-SIDE.
HE IS A PROJECT AND APARTMENT PROJECT CALLED TREMOR AT OAK BEND.
THERE IS, UM, THE SAME GAS LINE THAT EXTENDS ALL THE WAY SOUTH, ALL THE WAY NORTH AND THE SOURCE OF THIS INFORMATION IS FROM THE TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION.
THIS IN THE WEB, THE INFORMATION IS OBTAINED FROM THERE.
THE SAME HERE, STASSNEY WOODS APARTMENTS HERE.
YOU CAN SEE HERE, THERE'S THE SAME GAS LINE.
THE DOCK SHOWS YOU WHERE THE GAS LINE IS.
THE GREEN SHOWS YOU THE, UH, THE ACTUAL GAS LINE THAT EXTENDS FROM THE SOUTH A CLAIM AT SOUTH CONGRESS.
ANOTHER LOCATION OF THE SAME GAS LINE, NATURAL GAS LINE ST.
EDWARD'S UNIVERSITY APARTMENTS, ANOTHER LOCATION OF THE SAME GAS PIPELINE.
I WILL PAUSE HERE AND MOVE ON TO MOBILITY AND CONNECTIVITY, BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER AREA WE TALKED ABOUT.
UM, COMMISSION MEMBERS HAD A QUESTION ABOUT CONNECTIVITY, AND I'LL GO THROUGH THIS QUICKLY.
THE, UH, THIS EXHIBIT SHOWS YOU EXISTING SIDEWALKS.
THE BLUE LINES ARE THE EXISTING SIDEWALKS WITHIN THE COLONIAL PARK NEIGHBORHOOD FROM MARCH 35.
THE RED SHOWS THE SIDEWALK WITH THE, WE ARE GOING TO BE CONSTRUCTING ON OUR SIDE OF THE PROPERTY, ALONG WITH MR. LANE AND ALONG SHELBY LANE.
AND OF COURSE IN THE FUTURE, WHEN THE PROPERTIES TO THE EAST OF WHERE DEMAR AND SHELBY ARE DEVELOPED, THOSE SIDEWALKS ON THE EAST SIDE OF THOSE ROADS WOULD ALSO BE CONSTRUCTED BY THOSE TWO DEVELOPMENTS AS THEY OCCUR GOING NORTH ON, UH, TERRI, ELAINE AND, AND ST.
THAT IS, UH, CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION BY MY CLIENT LEGACY DCS.
THEY, ORANGE IS A SIDEWALK THEY'RE GOING TO BE CONSTRUCTING.
AND WHILE THEY WERE WORKING THROUGH THE SITE PLAN WITH ATD, THEY VOLUNTEERED TO CON EXTEND THE GREEN SITE, THE AREA, THE SIDEWALK SHOWN IN GREEN THAT GOES OFF FROM THEIR PROPERTY, WHERE THEY ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE SIDEWALK, CONNECTING ALL TO ALL THE WAY TO SEND ELMO VOLUNTARILY SO THAT THEY COULD PROVIDE CONTINUOUS CONNECTIVITY FOR THE SHELBY LANE RESIDENCES, THE NEIGHBORS FROM COLONIAL PARK, AND THEN THEIR RESIDENTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE AT THE STATION AT ST.
SO WHAT WE'LL DO, UH, COMMISSIONERS HAVE MORE, UM, QUESTIONS? UH, WHAT, WHAT TOPICS DID WE MISS? JUST SO WE KNOW IF WE HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS, JUST THE LAST ITEM WAS JUST TO REALLY JUST SHOW YOU THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS.
ONE OF THE MITIGATIONS THAT ARE GOING TO BE, IF ANYBODY HAS QUESTIONS, WE CAN BRING THIS SEGMENT UP IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS ON THESE IMPROVEMENTS.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU, CHAIR NOW, OR PROCEED TO MR. MARIO, COME TO MR. CONTI.
YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES MS. LONG.
BRINGING MY POWERPOINT, PLEASE.
COMMISSIONER MARIO CONTACT TEAM CHAIR, UH, ABOUT TO LOOK AT THIS, THIS IMAGE HERE.
THIS IS, THIS IS A DRONE RENDERING.
THIS IS WHAT, WHAT YOU WOULD SEE RIGHT NOW.
[00:45:01]
YOU DON'T SEE REALLY LARGE BUILDINGS AROUND NEXT, AS YOU CAN SEE, AND YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T THINK WE SAW THAT TOWARDS ALICE'S, UH, CLASS.CO'S LESS PART OF HER POWERPOINT PRESENTATION WITH ALL THE GAS LINES AND HERS.
YOU DON'T SEE ANY LINES IN THIS ONE.
THOSE RED LINES INDICATE WHERE THE GAS LINE IN THE MIDDLE CURRENTLY IS.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE LAST RED LINE AT THE VERY END OF THE TWO RED LINES, THAT'S CONCRETE.
SO MAJORITY OF THESE GAS LINES ARE GOING UNDER CONCRETE PARKING LOTS, OR THEY'RE GOING UNDER THE GRASS.
NOW, THE RENDERING THAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT ALSO TOWARDS THE END OF HER POWERPOINT, OFF TO THE LEFT THERE AS A PROPOSED LOCATION FOR MOVING THE GAS LINE.
SO IT'S GOING TO GO KIND OF ALMOST PARALLEL WITH THE STREET IS GOING TO BE A MAJOR MOVEMENT.
NEXT, THIS KIND OF SHOWS AGAIN, UH, WHERE THE GAS LINES RUN.
THEY RUN HONORARY STREETS, IRAN ON OUR PARKING LOTS.
THERE'S NO 60 FOOT CONDOS OR ANYTHING AROUND.
LOOK AT THE TALLEST BUILDING THAT YOU SEE UP TOWARDS THE VERY TOP OF THE PICTURE.
AND THAT'S FROM THE CINEMA THAT HAS A LITTLE STATUE AT THE TOP.
NEXT SAME THING, GAS LINES GOING UNDER CONCRETE.
THEY'RE NOT GOING UNDERNEATH CONDOS AND ALL THIS OTHER STUFF NEXT.
SO I HAVE THE EMPLOYEES, ENGINEERS THAT REVIEWS ZONING CHANGES IN SITE PLANS FOR STORAGE USE AND HANDLING OF HAZARDOUS MATERIAL IN THE VICINITY.
THE LICENSED ENGINEERS ARE NOT FIREFIGHTERS AND THEY PROTECT THE FIREFIGHTERS.
IF HE DOES NOT SUPPORT NO OBJECT TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS, YOU HEARD HIM JUST A WHILE AGO.
SHE MENTIONED THAT, UH, THAT'S ALL THEY DO.
THEY JUST GO THROUGH THAT INFORMATION.
THEY DON'T MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS.
THEY DON'T SAY YES, THEY DON'T SAY NO RAILROAD COMMISSION.
I TALKED TO THEM, UH, BASICALLY IN A NUTSHELL, UH, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY HANDS-ON UNLESS THERE'S AN ACCIDENT.
IF THERE'S AN ACCIDENT, THEY'LL GO AND AUDIT, UH, THESE INDIVIDUALS, THEY ONLY REGULATE.
AND THEN THE NEXT THING IS WHO WILL RE BE RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY AND ALL ACCIDENTS.
THE LAST MEETING THAT WE HAVE HAD, WE FOUND OUT THAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE A MONTH, WHICH WE'VE ALREADY KNOWN FOR ABOUT TWO MEETINGS, BUT THIS VERY LAST MEETING, WE FOUND OUT THAT THEY'RE ONLY GOING TO CLOSE ONE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THEY'RE GOING TO LEAVE THE OTHER SIDE OPEN.
I ASKED AGAIN AT THE SEVENTH MEETING, WHAT IS THE WORST CASE SCENARIO OR RUNNING INTO? WELL, AS YOU HEARD JUST WHILE AGO, MR. PENA WAS ABLE TO SEND AN EMAIL TO US, GLASGOW, THE APPLICANT, AND GIVE YOU INFORMATION HERE, WHICH WE HAVE CORRESPONDED WITH VIA EMAIL.
A COUPLE OF TIMES NEVER GOT ANY INFORMATION.
AND IN FACT, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT OUR LAST TWO MEETINGS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF Y'ALL WOULD LITERALLY LITTLE KID OR YOURSELF GO TO THE DOCTOR AND GET MAJOR SURGERY DONE WITHOUT ASKING OR KNOWING WHAT'S GOING ON AND WHAT COULD BE COMPROMISED.
BUT HERE FOR ALL THE SUDDEN, THE EXPERTS ARE NOT HERE.
AS YOU LOOK AT THE BASIS OF THE RECOMMENDATION ON PAGE THREE, PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES SHOULD BE ADEQUATE TO SERVE THE SETS.
THE SET OF USES ALLOW REZONING 0.7 MILES AWAY FROM, UH, WE TOMORROW YOU HAVE SOUTH CONGRESS, CITY BUS SERVICES AND BIKE LANES WITHIN SECONDS FROM THOSE BUILDINGS, THE REZONING SHOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH POLICIES AND PRINCIPLES ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OR PLANNING COMMISSION.
THIS WAS WHAT WAS INSIDE THE BASIS OF RECOMMENDATION, THE APARTMENTS AND CONDOS.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE MENTIONING ON SOUTH CONGRESS DO NOT, WE HAVEN'T REJECTED ANYTHING OVER THERE.
AND THEN NONE OF THE PROPERTIES REQUIRED RELOCATION OF AN EXISTING MAJOR NATURAL GAS LINE OF IN FACT, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FORDABLE HOUSING, IT'S KNOWN THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO WORK WITH DEVELOPMENTAL THEY'RE AT 50% MFI, AND THEN THE ST.
ELMO CLONING APART BOULEVARD THAT WAS MENTIONED IN THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION.
UH, IT DIDN'T REQUIRE A FILUM CHANGE.
IT DIDN'T REQUIRE ZONING CHANGE NOR WAS A GAS LINE NEEDS TO BE RELOCATED.
SO PRESERVE, ENHANCE A SINGLE STORY, SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS, AND RETAIN THE AFFORDABILITY OF THESE NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE DON'T WANT A FLOOD CHANGE AND WE WANT TO KEEP IT A COMMERCIAL MIX.
AND SO IT CALLS FOR UPGRADING.
UH, WE'D HAVE MARK LANE OVER, UH, AS IT WAS MENTIONED DOWN BY .
I DON'T CAN'T THINK OF MANY PEOPLE THAT WOULD WANT TO RIDE THEIR BIKE AND SKATEBOARD DOWN THE MOTOR MILE TO GO LOOK AT A BUNCH OF CARS EVERY DAY.
I MEAN, IT'S, I JUST DON'T KNOW THAT NEXT.
AND THEN HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD OR SEEN TWO MAJOR GET THE 12 INCH MAJOR GAS LINES RELOCATE IT? WHAT ARE THE TIMELINES FOR ROAD CLOSURES WHERE THE WORST CASE SCENARIOS FOR ROAD CLOSURES AND OR AN
[00:50:01]
EXPLOSION, AND WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE ACCIDENT DURING THE MOVEMENT, WORKING WITH THE GAS LINES, THE EXISTING COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES WITHIN THE WIEDEN MAR LANE HAVE NOT REQUESTED NOR RELOCATED THE NATURAL GAS LINE THAT EXISTS THERE.CAN YOU JUST GO ONE MORE? UM, WE'RE AT A TIME, DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER SLIDE? I JUST WANT TO SEE THE NEXT ONE.
WELL, I'LL HEAR FROM MS. STACY LONG.
THIS IS A LONG YOU'LL HAVE SIX MINUTES MS. LONG BEFORE YOU PROCEED.
UH, PETER, STEP A NICKNAME, PRESENT NOTED.
MY NAME IS DACEY LONG AND I'M A RESIDENT IN COLONIAL TRIALS NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, WE ASK THAT YOU VOTE NO ON THIS STONE CHANGE BECAUSE IT'S NOT CONSISTENT WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
IF YOU LOOK AT THESE PICTURES, YOU CAN SEE THE PROPERTIES ADJACENT TO THAT ARE EITHER WAREHOUSES, SMALL BUSINESSES OR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
UM, THE DEVELOPER HAS USED THE STATION AT ST.
LET ME SEE, HOW DO I GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? OKAY.
THE DEVELOPER HAS USED THE STATION AT ST.
ELMO TO SUPPORT THE MULTI-FAMILY ZONE AND SAYS IT'S SIMILAR TO SURROUNDING PROPERTIES.
UM, THE LAND USE FOR THE STATION DEVELOPMENT DID NOT REQUIRE ZONE CHANGE AS MR. CANTU SAID, AND IT'S ZONE MULTI-USE.
THE DEVELOPMENT WILL HAVE ONLY 132 UNITS AND TOWN HOMES WITH THE HEIGHT OF THREE TO FOUR STORIES.
THIS IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WHEN COMPARED TO A SIX STORY COMPLEX WITH 550 UNITS, IT WILL LOOK VERY ODD IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
ELMO IS NOT ADJACENT TO THIS PROPERTY.
THE PROPERTY IS NOT ALONG AGAIN.
THE 4,700 WHEATON MORE PROPERTY IS NOT ALONG THE SOUTH CONGRESS CORRIDOR LIKE THE OTHER MULTI-USE CONDOS THAT MRS. GLASGOW WAS REFERRING TO.
IN FACT, THE CONDO SHE WAS REFERRING TO ARE ALMOST A MILE AWAY FROM THIS PROPERTY, AND IT IS NOT ACCORDING.
IT IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH THE AUSTIN MOBILE BLOCK, 101.5 A MILE ROUND TRIP THROUGH PARKING LOTS AND DRAINAGE DITCHES TO THE ORANGE LINE ON SOUTH CONGRESS, UH, WITH EITHER 35.
SO CLOSE TO THE LOCATION, THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE OUT 35.
THE SIDEWALKS HAVE BEEN ARE SCHEDULED IF THIS IS, UH, APPROVED TO BE PUT ONTARIO LANE.
AND, UM, I BELIEVE SHELBY LANE, BUT THE MAJORITY OF THE WALK TO THE ORANGE LINE WILL BE THROUGH PARKING LOTS OF WAREHOUSES SLIDE OR NEXT.
CAN YOU GET TO THE NEXT ONE? SORRY.
SO I WANTED TO GO OVER A TIMELINE WITH YOU OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED.
WE ARE, THE RESIDENTS FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS, UH, ONLY AT MARCH 11TH, 2021.
WE HAD A MEETING WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE DEVELOPERS REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE DEVELOPERS SAID THEY DID HAVE APPROVAL FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE FOR THE REROUTE MARCH 17TH.
I SPOKE WITH LINDA DUKES AND OF TEXAS GAS SERVICE TOGETHER, TOGETHER, MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PIPELINE.
AND SHE TOLD ME THE DEVELOPER HAD NOT REACHED OUT TO THEM.
THERE'S NOTHING ON THE BOOKS FROM THEM.
SEPTEMBER 27TH, WE HAD ANOTHER MEETING WITH THE DEVELOPERS AND I ASKED THEM ABOUT THE MARCH MEETING AND NOT HAVING CONTACTED THE GAS COMPANY AND AN ENGINEER FROM THE DEVELOPERS VERIFIED THAT THEY HAD NOT CONTACTED THE GAS COMPANY, BUT THEY HAD NOT TALKED WITH THEM BEFORE A MEETING IN MARCH, BUT THEY SAID THEY HAD SPOKE WITH THEM OVER THE SUMMER.
AND THEY SINCE HAVE HAD PERMISSION TO MOVE THE LINE.
A FEW DAYS BEFORE NOVEMBER 9TH MEETING COLONIAL TRIALS FINALLY RECEIVED COPIES OF CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE ENGINEER TO TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
AND IT APPEARS THE FIRST TIME THE SHELBY LANE DEVELOPERS ASKED FOR PERMISSION TO REROUTE THE GAS LINE WAS SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2021, NOT OVER THE SUMMER, DECEMBER 13TH, 2021, THE COLONIAL CHARLES RESIDENTS RECEIVED ADDITIONAL CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE AND THE DEVELOPERS, THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE TILL THE DEVELOPERS, AS MS. GLASGOW HAD SAID THAT THE GAS LINE WOULD BE 15 TO 20 FEET FROM THE EDGE OF THE BUILDING, WHICH IS FINE FOR THE CURRENT PRESSURE ON THE PIPELINE.
AS YOU KNOW THAT MANY OF THEM MUNICIPAL RESEARCH AND SERVICES CENTERS RECOMMENDS A MINIMUM OF 25 FEET SETBACK FOR NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION LINE, AND MANY OTHER, UH, ORGANIZATION SIMILAR TO THIS LINDA DUKES AND THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE TOLD ME THAT THEY REQUIRE A 25 FOOT SETBACK FOR THIS PARTICULAR TRANSMISSION LINE.
SO WHY IS THERE A DECREASE IN A SETBACK FOR THIS LINE?
[00:55:02]
I WENT OVER THIS TIMELINE BECAUSE I WANTED TO SHOW YOU, THE DEVELOPERS HAVE SHARED A LOT OF INFORMATION WITH US CONCERNING THE WATER DRAINAGE AND TRAFFIC ANALYSIS AND OTHER REPORTS AND MAPS.HOWEVER, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN AS TRANSPARENT AS TRANSPARENT WITH US WITH THE PIPELINE INFORMATION.
AND I'VE CALLED TEXAS GAS SERVICE SINCE THE MARCH, UH, PHONE CALL WITH BELINDA DICKSON AND THEY HAVE NOT RETURNED MY CALLS.
THEY HAVE NOT SHOWN UP TO ANY OF THE MEETINGS.
SO WE ARE KIND OF LEFT IN THE DARK ABOUT EVERYTHING.
UM, EVERY YEAR IN AUSTIN, THERE IS AT LEAST ONE NEIGHBORHOOD EVACUATION DUE TO NATURAL GAS LEAKS.
EVERY YEAR IN AUSTIN, THERE IS AT LEAST ONE NEIGHBORHOOD EVACUATION DUE TO NATURAL GAS LEAK.
UH, THE LAST ONE WAS IN NORTH AUSTIN ON NOVEMBER 29TH OF THIS YEAR, THE MAJORITY ARE CAUSED BY NEW CONSTRUCTION AND EXCAVATION, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE.
IF THIS IS REROUTED IN OCTOBER, 2018, A GAS LEAK IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN CALLS A ONE FATALITY AND ONE SERIOUS INJURY TO THE RESIDENTS OF A HOME OFF OF TRAIL.
AFTER AN INVESTIGATION BY THE TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION, THEY CONCLUDED THE CAUSE WAS FROM A THIRD PARTY DOING WORK ON A SERVICE LINE THREE YEARS PRIOR IN 2015.
WHAT IF A GAS LEAK WERE TO OCCUR IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE SEVEN BUSINESSES ADJACENT TO THE PROPERTY HOW'S FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS AND THE TRANSMISSION LINE HAS A SETBACK OF 15 TO 20 FEET.
WE ASK YOU TO TAKE, NOT TO TAKE ANY CHANCES WITH OUR LAWS IN POTENTIAL RESIDENTS OF THE APARTMENTS AND CONDOMINIUMS. IF YOU SEE THIS IS THE 2018 FENDERS TRAIL, THAT WHERE THERE WAS ONE FATALITY AND ONE SEVERELY INJURED, HERE'S A GAS EXPLOSION ON IN 2018 WILLIAM CANNON AND PLEASANT VALLEY.
I BELIEVE THIS IS ALL THE SAME PIPELINE THAT RUNS WHERE THIS OCCURRED.
THIS IS IN NORTHWEST AUSTIN, UM, FEBRUARY, 2020, ANOTHER EXPLOSION.
UM, IN CONCLUSION, THE COLONIAL TROVE RESIDENTS ARE ASKING YOU TO PLEASE VOTE NO FOR THE CHANGE.
WHAT IF A GAS LEAK WERE TO OCCUR IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE AGAIN, SEVEN BUSINESSES ADJACENT TO THE PROPERTY.
HOW'S THE FLAMMABLE CHEMICALS.
UH, WE DON'T WANT TO TAKE CHANCES.
YOU WILL NOT HEAR FROM MS. LYNN DAVIS, GEORGE KRAMER.
ARE YOU PRESENT NOTED? MS. DAVIS YOU'LL HAVE FOUR MINUTES.
I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO HAVE SIX MINUTES.
I'M GOING TO TAKE OFF MY MASK.
LYNN DAVIS, A RESIDENT, UM, AND, UM, OWNER, UH, AND THE COLONIAL TRAILS NEIGHBORHOOD.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
UM, I WANT US TO ALL TAKE A SECOND TO RE-IMAGINE AUSTIN AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, THIS LATEST, UM, PROGRAM IMAGINE AUSTIN, BUT LET'S, RE-IMAGINE IT FOR A SECOND.
ELMO, UM, COMPLEX THAT, UH, LIKE A C COMMUNITIES IS CURRENTLY BUILDING.
THEY JUST TORE DOWN THE TREES A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN OVER THE SUMMER.
IT GETS VERY, UH, IMPLEMATIC OF 2021 IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, WHERE WE HAD A TEMPORARY RESIDENT LIVING THERE.
UH, THIS IS NOW THAT AREA, THIS DEVELOPER HAS BEEN ENGAGING IN WHAT WE CALL SPOT ZONING ALL OVER AUSTIN, TAKING LITTLE CARVING OUT LITTLE PARCELS, LITTLE PIECES OF LAND HERE AND THERE TAKING DOWN GREEN SPACES AND DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES, UM, UH, SEEMINGLY AT WILL.
AND, UM, THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, A DISAPPOINTMENT TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT AS DACEY AND MARIO EXPLAINED, THIS WAS EXISTING ZONING.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE EXPECTED.
NEXT SLIDE, ANOTHER PICTURE OF, UH, WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY A BEAUTIFUL, UM, A NICE FORESTED AREA AND OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
NEXT SLIDE, THAT, THAT LOCATION, THE RESIDENCES, UM, AT A STATION AT ST.
ELMO, THIS WAS TAKEN FROM LEGACY'S COMMUNITY'S WEBSITE.
CLEARLY THEY'RE PROUD ABOUT THE FACT THAT THESE 132 CONDOS SOLD OUT IN FIVE HOURS.
IT WAS THE REC RECORD, BREAKING NO AMOUNT OF PERIOD FOR, UM, UH, COMPLEX SELLING OUT IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
I HAD FRIENDS REACH OUT TO ME FROM NEW YORK, AND I WAS ABLE TO TELL THEM THAT, YES, THAT DID HAPPEN IN AUSTIN.
IN FACT, THAT HAPPENED AT THE END OF OUR STREET.
AGAIN, THIS WAS ON THEIR WEBSITE.
UH, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY WERE TOUTING AND SOMETHING
[01:00:01]
THAT THEY'RE PROUD OF.THIS IS TAKEN FROM THEIR WEBSITE.
UH, TAKE A LOOK AT THE PICTURE.
AND THIS IS A DEVELOPER WHO IS TALKING ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, RIGHT? DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.
WHEN I LOOK AT THIS PICTURE, I DON'T SEE A DEVELOPER WHO'S REALLY FOCUSED ON DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.
AND I HAVE SOME OTHER SLIDES TO SHOW YOU IN A MINUTE, BUT I POINT THIS OUT BECAUSE I CALLED THIS DEVELOPER 16 TIMES, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS AN OWNER IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, I WAS CERTAINLY INTERESTED IN MAYBE INVESTING IN THIS PROPERTY.
I NEVER GOT A PHONE CALL BACK.
THIS WAS A DEVELOPMENT THAT WAS SOLD TO INVESTORS.
THIS IS A DEVELOPER WHO IS NOT INTERESTED IN RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN, POSSIBLY BEING ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE THEIR SORT OF DEMOGRAPHIC HERE.
WELL, YOU CAN SEE WHAT THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC IS.
THIS IS THE LEGACY COMMUNICATION, UH, LEGACY COMMUNITIES TEAM.
UM, I SHOW YOU THIS PICTURE BECAUSE I DON'T THINK IT NECESSARILY REPRESENTS THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN.
I DON'T THINK IT NECESSARILY REPRESENTS A DIVERSE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I, I HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THAT.
I HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT A DEVELOPER WHO REALLY DOESN'T HAVE THE VISION REALLY DOESN'T HAVE THE FOCUS, UM, TO REALLY TRULY REPRESENT AUSTIN AND REALLY HAVE AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPLEX IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
NEXT SLIDE, UH, ALSO TAKEN FROM LEGACY COMMUNITY'S WEBSITE.
THIS WAS ONE OF THE RESIDENTS THAT WAS, UM, INDICATED IN THE MOST RECENT REPORT THAT YOU ALL RECEIVED.
UM, AS A SIMILAR DEVELOPMENT THAT THEY'VE RECENTLY DEVELOPED, UM, FROM 300,000, WHICH IS FROM 399,000, ALSO SOLD OUT NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THE ADDIE AT WESTLAKE FROM $1.1 MILLION SOLD OUT NEXT SLIDE, WEST SIDELINE LANDING $1.1 MILLION SOLD OUT NEXT SLIDE, COOPER SQUARE FOR 400,000.
YOU CAN REALLY SAY THAT'S GOING TO BE ABOUT ALMOST 500,000 SOLD OUT NEXT SLIDE.
AND THIS IS THE LAST ONE THAT ISABELLA ON VALLEY VIEW ROAD, UH, ANOTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THEIRS, UM, FROM NEARLY $500,000 IN THAT ONE'S CLOSED OUT.
UM, THIS IS JUST REITERATING DAISY'S POINT ABOUT THE GAS LINE, NO GAS LINE OF THIS SIZE HAS EVER BEFORE BEEN MOVED IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UH, WE THINK THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROPOSITION, ESPECIALLY FOR A MULTI-FAMILY COMPLEX.
IT IS OF OUR AREA OF GREATEST CONCERN FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT.
WE ASK THAT YOU SERIOUSLY CONSIDER THIS WHEN YOU CONSIDER THIS PROPOSAL.
UM, AND THEN I HAD A SERIES OF SLIDES ABOUT THE 12 DIFFERENT TENANTS OF IMAGINE AUSTIN.
UH, IT IS MY FEELING THAT NONE OF THE TENANTS HAVE IMAGINED AUSTIN, UM, GOALS REACH, UM, MEET THE TENANTS OF WHAT THIS DEVELOPMENT IS GOING TO BE.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR DECISION THANK YOU, MS. LONG.
I WILL HEAR, UM, REBUTTAL FOR MS. FLASKA.
I HAVE MY PRESENTATION BACK UP, PLEASE.
START FROM THE BEGINNING PLEASE.
I CAN'T ADVANCE FROM THE CONTROL.
I HAVE COMMISSIONERS IN MY REBUTTAL.
I'M JUST GOING TO FOCUS ON WHAT I KNOW, UH, WHAT YOUR CHARGES ARE.
YOU ARE YOUR CHARGES TO LOOK AT LAND USE APPROPRIATENESS.
THE, UH, LAND USE CHANGE WE'RE SEEKING HERE IS A ZONING CHANGE, AND IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE LAND USE PATTERN IN THE AREA.
ALTHOUGH THE ZONING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE RESIDENTIAL, YOU HAVE CSM, YOU MF SIX ZONING.
YOU HAVE LIP DA, AND THE PDA FUNCTIONS THE SAME WAY AS M U ALLOWS RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.
AS I SAID EARLIER, THERE WILL BE OVER A THOUSAND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE VICINITY OF THIS SITE.
THE, UM, REGARDING THE GAS COMPANY,
[01:05:01]
THE GAS COMPANY IS A PRIVATE ENTITY, AND WE'VE ALSO HAD A HARD TIME REACHING THEM.THEY TAKE THE AUTOMOTIVE, UM, CARE AND SAFETY MEASURES IN RELOCATING A GAS LINE.
OBVIOUSLY THE GAS LINE RIGHT NOW IS LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR PROPERTY.
IT'S GOING TO BE RELOCATED INTO THE RIGHT OF WAY, WHERE THEY HAVE EASY ACCESS TO THE GAS LINE.
SO IT WOULD BE NO DIFFERENT FROM WHERE YOUR WATER AND WASTEWATER AND GAS LINES ARE THAT SERVE YOUR HOME.
SO YOU ALL LIVE IN A RESIDENCY, THE HOME ON APARTMENT, THOSE APARTMENTS OR HOMES, GET WATER WASTEWATER, OTHER UTILITIES THAT COME TO YOUR HOMES.
AND THOSE UTILITIES ARE LOCATED ALONG WITHIN THE RIGHT OF WAY.
AS YOU CAN SEE CONSTRUCTION OCCURS, THEY USUALLY COMMENT AND PAINT DIFFERENT PAINT COLORS TO SHOW WHERE THOSE UTILITIES ARE AT THE TIME OF CONSTRUCTION.
SO WE BELIEVE THAT RELOCATING THE GAS LINE IS APPROPRIATE, WHETHER IT'S FOR MULTI-FAMILY OF A HOTEL, FOR ANY USE, THE GAS COMPANY FEELS THAT THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE LOCATION TO HAVE IT IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, UH, AS MR KHAN TO SIT IT UNDER THE CONCRETE.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY IT'S GOING TO BE RELOCATED FROM THE MIDDLE OF A PIECE OF PROPERTY AND TO THE RIGHT WAY TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REST OF THE PATTERN OF WHERE THAT GAS LINES ARE LOCATED ALONG THE ROADWAYS.
SECONDLY, WE REACHED OUT TO THE GAS COMPANY STARTED IN OCTOBER OF 2020 WE'VE.
WE HAD, WE'VE HAD A CHANGE IN CIVIL ENGINEERS.
OUR INITIAL ENGINEER REACHED OUT TO THEM AND HE REACHED OUT TO MR. RENE PENA.
I THINK THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS BEEN EITHER CALLING AND TALKING TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
AND, UM, MORE RECENTLY MAY OF 2021, UH, OUR NEW CIVIL ENGINEER CLAYTON STERLY REACHED OUT TO MR. VALERO.
AND THOSE ARE THE FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATING.
THEY DO NOT RETURN CALLS OR RESPOND QUICKLY.
THEY ARE NOT, UH, LIKE CITY EMPLOYEES WHO RESPOND PROMPTLY AND WE CANNOT CONTROL THEM.
THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE TO THE TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION.
SO I BELIEVE WE HAVE ADDRESSED OUR QUESTIONS.
UM, MR. YOU CAN SEND THEM THE RIGHT THING.
THE BACK THEY'RE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE REGARDING THE, UM, WHATEVER QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE REGARDING THE SAFETY OR ANY ASPECTS RELATED TO THIS PIPELINE.
I WOULD LUXE TO ALSO TO POINT OUT TO COMMISSION MEMBERS THAT, UM, I RECENTLY BROUGHT THREE CASES TO YOU THAT ARE IN EAST AUSTIN.
JUST TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE SAFETY OF GAS LINES, THE FOUR CASES YOU APPROVED HAVE A ZONING AT THE MOST CROSSING MUD THAT HAVE THREE MAJOR HAZARDOUS PIPELINES DEVELOPMENT IS OCCURRING THEIR HOMES THERE.
SO THE POINT I RAISED HERE THAT IN THOSE, WITHIN FOR THOSE CASES, STAFF INDICATING THEIR REPORT THOUGH, HAZARDOUS PIPELINES, UH, THAT THERE WERE NO CONCERNS RAISED.
THE POINT IS THAT AT THE TIME OF SITE PLAN, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT REVIEWS TO ENSURE THAT ALL CITY REGULATIONS THAT ARE CALLED OUT FOR THOSE HAZARDOUS PIPELINES, ALTHOUGH OUR NATURAL GAS LINE HERE IS NOT CONSIDERED AS PART OF THE HAZARDOUS PIPELINE AS DEFINED BY THE CITY CODE AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CAN SPEAK TO THAT.
BUT IN THOSE CASES THAT YOU DID APPROVE THEM WITH OBVIOUSLY THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE CITY STAFF WOULD REVIEW THOSE APPROPRIATELY AND THAT WAS SAFE ENOUGH.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, UH, I GUESS WE'RE READY FOR Q AND A, UM, WHO WOULD LIKE TO GO FIRST? OH, THANK YOU.
IT'S PUBLIC HEARING A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER DESIRES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER COX.
UH, THOSE LET'S GO RAISE THE HANDS AND ON, ON VIRTUAL.
STARTED OUT, UH, COMMISSIONER COX.
UM, SO IT WAS A REPRESENTATIVE FROM AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT HERE.
IT'D BE GREAT IF THEY COULD COME UP.
UM, WHAT IS YOUR NAME? UM, MY NAME IS SCOTT STOKEY IRONMAN HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ENGINEER WITH THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT TO MY LEFT IS DIVISION CHIEF, TOM VOKEY, WHO IS THE FIRE MARSHALL.
I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL BEING HERE.
SO, UM, WHEN THIS CAME UP LAST TIME AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, UM, THERE WAS A CONCERN ABOUT THAT GAS LINE.
OBVIOUSLY YOU'VE HEARD THERE'S CONCERN.
I DID READ YOUR EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE AND I WAS JUST HOPING YOU COULD CLARIFY.
SO THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT DOESN'T ACTUALLY REGULATE
[01:10:01]
THE PROXIMITY OF THESE TYPES OF PIPELINES TO STRUCTURES.IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT, SIR.
WE HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO REGULATE WHERE THE LOCATION OF THAT PIPELINE IS IN RELATION TO, UH, ANY BUILDING DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL, UH, THAT'S ESTABLISHED IN OTHER REGULATIONS THAT ARE NOT WITHIN OUR AUTHORITY.
UM, YOU'VE HEARD THAT MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES TONIGHT.
IT'S REALLY A FUNCTION OF THE PRESSURE OF THE PIPELINE AND THE MATERIAL OF CONSTRUCTION, WHICH WE HAVE NO AUTHORITY OVER, BUT, AND THAT, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT AND THANK YOU FOR THAT RESPONSE.
UM, BUT ULTIMATELY, UNFORTUNATELY Y'ALL HAVE TO RESPOND TO ANY SORT OF PIPELINE LEAKS, UM, CAUSE THAT'S A THREAT TO, TO LIFE AND PROPERTY.
UM, WHAT, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE YOUR TOP CONCERNS AS, AS THE ENTITY THAT DOES THAT, UM, AS IT RELATES TO BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AROUND PIPELINES, RIGHT? YEAH.
MY CONCERN IS, I GUESS MY APPROACH TO THIS IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN I'LL JUST TELL YOU WHAT, LET ME PUT IT ALL TOGETHER.
CAUSE I IS THAT I AM NOT SO MUCH WORRIED ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PIPELINE BECAUSE OF THE FACT OF THE INTEGRITY THAT HAS TO HAPPEN WITH REGARDS TO THE MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
I DIDN'T, WASN'T ASKED TO STUDY THIS, BUT MY SPECULATION IS IN DOING THIS FOR OVER 20 YEARS IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM THAT YOU HAVE WITH PIPELINE LEAKS IS VIOLATION OF THE PUBLIC RUNAWAY.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE INTEGRITY OF THE PIPELINE IS COMPROMISED BECAUSE SOMEBODY GOES IN AND DOES WORK AND DOES NOT DO THE APPROPRIATE NOTIFICATIONS TO UTILITIES 8 1 1 IN THE STATE OF TEXAS TO GO IN AND HAVE THOSE PIPELINES IDENTIFIED, WHETHER IT'S A SERVICE LINE OR A TRANSMISSION LINE.
AND SO THAT'S REALLY WHERE WE SEE A LOT OF OUR PROBLEMS AT IS PEOPLE CROSS OVER INTO THAT DEDICATED SPACE.
THEY DO WORK, THEY DO DAMAGE TO THE PIPELINE.
AND THEN IT'S TIME ELAPSES AND THINGS CHANGE BECAUSE OF TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE.
THERE IS THEN A FAILURE OF A PIPELINE.
AND WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE, I GUESS THE GENERAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A PIPELINE FAILURE, LIKE A NATURAL GAS PIPELINE AND ITS PROXIMITY TO A BUILDING? IS IT LIKE EXPONENTIALLY MORE OF AN ISSUE OR, OR IS, IS PROXIMITY TO STRUCTURE? NOT REALLY MUCH OF AN ISSUE I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
SO, UH, A LEAK INVOLVING A PIPELINE IS THE SAME THING AS A DEBRIS FIRE NEXT TO A BUILDING.
OR I SPILL OF A FLAMMABLE LIQUID NEAR A BUILDING.
IT'S A FUNCTION OF HOW MUCH ENERGY IS BEING RELEASED AT ITS PROXIMITY TO THE BUILDING AND WHAT THE FUEL IS.
IF IT'S FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM THE BUILDING, NOTHING HAPPENS.
BUT I HAVE SEEN INCIDENTS MYSELF FOR SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENED RIGHT AT THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING AND THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING HAS BEEN IGNITED AND THEN SPREAD INTO THE ATTIC.
SO IT'S A FUNCTION OF WHERE THE HOLE IS IN RELATION TO THE COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL.
AND IF THERE'S ENOUGH MATERIAL COMING OUT OF THE HOLE THAT CAN BE IGNORED NO, IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, UH, BASED ON THE PRESSURE OF THIS 12 INCH LINE AND THE PROXIMITY OF THAT BUILDING, WHAT THAT KIND OF AREA OF, OF MAXIMUM DAMAGE, UH, WOULD BE WELL, UH, I CAN'T GIVE YOU AN ANSWER TO THAT BECAUSE THAT WOULD, BECAUSE AGAIN, THAT'S UNDER THE FEDERAL PIPELINE REGULATIONS AND THE FEDS ARE UNDER DLT RULES AND THAT AUTHORITY HAS BEEN GRANTED AUTHORIZED TO THE RAILROAD COMMISSION BY THE FEDERAL PIPELINE SAFETY ADMINISTRATION.
THE RULE REQUIREMENTS ARE BASICALLY DIVIDED INTO CLASSES OF HAZARD AND THE CLASS OF HAZARD IS BASED UPON THE NUMBER OF OCCUPIED BUILDINGS IN THE HEIGHT OF BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC ASSEMBLY AREAS IN RELATION TO THAT PIPELINE AND ITS OPERATING PRESSURE AND ITS MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION.
THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT THERE IS AN ANALYSIS THAT HAS TO OCCUR WITH THIS AFD.
WE DON'T LOOK AT ANY OF IT BECAUSE IT IS A REGULATED BY RAILROAD COMMISSION SOONER, THE AUTHORITY I'M ABOUT TO RUN OUT OF TIME, WHO DOES THAT ANALYSIS FOR STUFF LIKE THIS, THE PIPELINE OPERATOR DOES IT AND THEN SUBMITS IT TO THE STATE OF TEXAS FOR APPROVAL.
AND I'M GOING TO RUN OUT OF TIME, BUT, BUT I'D LOVE TO SEE SOME SORT OF CORRESPONDENCE FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE RELATED TO THIS SINCE THE ENTIRE PROJECT DEPENDS ON THAT RELOCATION.
AND I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT BACKUP, BUT MY TIME ZONE, JUST NO QUESTIONS.
UH, LET'S START WITH COMMISSIONER PRAXIS AND THEN, UH, VICE-CHAIR HEMPEL WILL BE NEXT.
UM, MY QUESTION, I SUPPOSE, WOULD BE FOR THE APPLICANT OR ARE WE JUST ASKING, UM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT QUESTIONS AT THIS
[01:15:01]
AT THE MOMENT? NO, I WOULD SAY, UM, UH, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT YET? UM, I MEAN, I'M NOT SURE IF THERE, I MEAN THE BEST RESOURCE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THEM WITH US.WELL, I WOULD ASK THAT A MEMBER OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DON'T GO TOO FAR.
UM, I KNOW I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS, SO STAY CLOSE BY, CAUSE WE'LL PROBABLY BE CALLING YOU UP FOR MORE QUESTIONS.
AND UH, WE'LL UH, COMMISSIONER PRACTICES.
SO I GUESS THIS WILL BE FOR THE APPLICANT THEN.
UM, IF THERE WAS A RELOCATION OF THIS GUS, UH, LINE, WHAT WOULD THE TIMELINE ACTUALLY BE, UM, FOR THE KIND OF DISRUPTION THAT THAT WOULD CAUSE TO, UM, TO THE STREET THERE? UM, HOW LONG WOULD THAT, YOU KNOW, RELOCATION CAUSE THE STREET TO BE SHUT DOWN FOR? WOULD IT BE ONE OR TWO LANES THAT ARE SHUT DOWN? UM, CAN YOU GIVE ME DETAILS ON THAT? AND THEN HAS THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE, UM, LAID OUT ANY, ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THE WORST CASE SCENARIO IN TERMS OF WHAT COULD GO WRONG IN THE PROCESS OF RELOCATING THE GAS LINE? CAN YOU SPEAK TO ALL OF THAT, PLEASE? COMMISSIONER I'LL RESPOND TO YOU ABOUT YOUR TIME AND OF, OF THE, UM, THE GAS LINE WHEN IT'S RELOCATED.
SHOULD WE GET THE MFC ZONING OR SHOULD THE GAS LINE BE RELOCATED, WHETHER IT'S A HOTEL OR MULTI-FAMILY EITHER WAY THAT IT'S GOING TO BE RELOCATED? THE, USUALLY IT TAKES ABOUT EIGHT TO 10 MONTHS TO GET A SITE PLAN APPROVED.
SO AT THAT, DURING THAT SIPHON STAGE, UH, 12 MONTHS FROM NOW OR SO THAT'S WHEN WE WILL HAVE TO REACH OUT TO THE GAS COMPANY, THEY REQUIRE AN AGREEMENT.
AND, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE ONCE THEY COMMENCE THE ACTUAL RELOCATION, IT TAKES, IT MAY TAKE THEM APPROXIMATELY APPROXIMATELY ONE MONTH, AS FAR AS ROADWAY CLOSURES GO TO CLOSE LANES.
THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, I BELIEVE PUBLIC WORKS USUALLY REQUIRED.
THE TIME OF SIDELINE THAT ROADWAY CLOSURES OR LANES HAVE TO BE COORDINATED THROUGH THOSE DEPARTMENTS.
WE CA WE AS, AS DEVELOPERS OR AS, UM, A GAS COMPANY, THEY JUST CAN'T CLOSE ROUTE AVOID STREET.
AND I BELIEVE, UH, MS. AMBER HUTCHINS IS HERE TO HELP ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING WHAT ATD DOES OR CLOSURES OF ROADWAYS TO, UM, TO IMPROVE, TO MAKE THAT IMPROVEMENT.
SO OUR TIMELINE, ONCE THEY COMMENCED THE RELOCATION, THEY TELL US APPROXIMATELY ONE MONTH THE ROADWAY CLOSURES WOULD BE OBVIOUSLY ALL COORDINATED WITH ATD SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE PROPER DIRECTIONS OF ROUTING.
SHOULD THAT OCCUR? JUST LIKE ANY CONSTRUCTIONS YOU SEE DOWNTOWN OR ELSEWHERE WHEN ALAIN IS CLOSED, THAT IS COORDINATED THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, EITHER PUBLIC WORKS OR ATD, SO THAT THERE'S A FEE PAID TO THE CLOSE ELAINE OR DO THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT, UM, THE PUBLIC SAFETY IS CONSIDERED AND A US CIVIL ENGINEER, CLAYTON STROLL IS HERE TO ANSWER ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, UH, REGARDING YOUR OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT SAFETY THAT YOU ASKED THAT HE'S, HE'S BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THE GAS COMPANY, PLEASE SPEAK TO THAT.
SO IN OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE GAS COMPANY, WE'VE PROVIDED THEM THE LOW CAD FILES WITH THE LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED BUILDINGS AND THE RELOCATION OF THE GAS LINE AND THROUGH CORRESPONDENCE WITH THEM.
UM, WE ESTABLISHED AN EASEMENT SIZE THAT WAS SUFFICIENT FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO RELOCATE AND MAINTAIN THEIR GAS LINE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CORRESPONDENCE THAT YOU GUYS HAVE HAVE APPROVED THAT, THAT RELOCATION, UM, IN THAT SPOT THEN THEREAFTER IN OTHER CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM, IT'S THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW A SPECIFIC GUIDELINES THAT ARE REQUIRED BY THE GAS COMPANIES, UM, WHICH IS THE RAILROAD COMMISSION.
AND THEN, UM, PHM GUIDELINES, WHICH I'M SORRY, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THAT ACT, WHAT THE ACRONYM IS, BUT, UM, IN THEIR ANALYSIS OF THE RELOCATION, THEY WERE FOLLOWING THOSE GUIDELINES AND WE'RE OKAY WITH THE ROUTE THAT WE HAD PROPOSED IN THE DISTANCE FROM THE STRUCTURES THAT WE PROVIDED TO THEM.
UM, WELL THEN SOMETHING ELSE I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU IS HAVE YOU DONE A JOB LIKE THIS BEFORE, UM, WITH TEXAS GAS SERVICE AND IF SO, WHERE WAS THAT IN AUSTIN AND HOW DID THAT GO? UM, I HAVE, I HAVE NOT DONE A RELOCATION WITH TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
UM, WE'VE, I'VE DONE A RELOCATION OF A, OF A HIGH PRESSURE, 21 INCH GAS LINE IN THE DFW AREA.
UM, AND IT WAS RELOCATED IN THREE MONTHS AND CURRENTLY RUNS THROUGH, UM, IN AN INDUSTRIAL PARK.
SO THAT THAT'S, THAT'S AN EXPERIENCE THAT WE'VE HAD.
AND DO YOU KNOW, UM, IF THERE'S ANY, UM,
[01:20:01]
YOU KNOW, IF THIS COMPANY HAS ANY DOCUMENTED ACCIDENTS OR HAZARDS OR ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE MAYBE A RED FLAG, UM, FOR, FOR NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, WE ASKED THEM FOR THAT INFORMATION, UM, AND NONE OF IT WAS PROVIDED, BUT, UM, THERE ARE TEXAS GAS IS A SUBDIVISION OF, OF ONE GAS AND THERE ARE, UM, ARTICLES THAT ONE GAS WAS, I THINK LAST YEAR WAS, UM, THE SAFEST GAS COMPANY IN THE UNITED STATES.UM, AND WE HAVE THAT IN INFORMATION JUST, I DON'T HAVE IT OBVIOUSLY ON ME RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE KNOW.
UM, BUT I, FOR EXAMPLE, I, UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
I THINK THE FIRST ONE WOULD BE FOR THE APPLICANT, UM, WHETHER THIS IS AN MF SIX DEVELOPMENT OR STAYS REMAINS COMMERCIAL, UM, WOULD THAT GAS LINE HAVE TO BE MOVED REGARDLESS OF THE DEVELOPMENT? YES.
THE GAS LINE IS GOING TO BE REMOVED REGARDLESS OF ZONING.
UM, WITH THAT, I WAS LOOKING AT THE SITE PLAN THAT YOU SHOWED AND I THINK IS IN OUR BACKUP AND IT SHOWS AS THE MF SIX, THE RELOCATION OF THE GAS LINE, PART OF THAT RIGHT OF WAY, BEING WITHIN THE ROADWAY.
UM, BUT THAT'S A REALLY LONG STRETCH AGAINST WHITE IMR. I THINK I ADDED IT UP IT'S OVER 500 FEET OF, OF, NO, WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO PLANT TREES THERE BECAUSE OF THE EASEMENT AND THEN THE PROTECTION OF THE EASEMENT WHERE YOU HAVE TO MOVE THE TREES BACK.
AND, UM, IT WOULD BE DURING SITE PLAN DEVELOPMENT, BUT I'M WONDERING, I THINK STREET TREES ALONG THAT AREA WOULD BE IMPORTANT FOR URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT FOR THE SHADE OF THAT.
WHAT WE'LL BE FACING A LOT OF SUN.
AND IF, I DON'T KNOW IF MF SIX WOULD BE ABLE TO BE ACHIEVED, IF YOU WERE TO TAKE THAT DESIGN, MOVE INTO CONSIDERATION FOR REQUIRING TREES ALONG THAT WIDER LANE SET, BUT WOULD, WOULD YOU, AND THIS WOULD BE A QUESTION FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO BE AMENABLE TO SOMETHING LESS THAN MF SIX, TO REDUCE THAT DENSITY IN ORDER TO GET SOME LEVEL OF TREE PLANTING, VEGETATIVE, UM, BUFFER ALONG THAT WHITE, UM, OR LANE AREA.
SO THE, UH, THE EASEMENT IS 2,500 ON EITHER SIDE.
SO THERE SHOULD BE ROOM FOR SOME LANDSCAPING ON, IN INSIDE THE PROPERTY LINE, UH, FOR A LONG WAIT IN MY LANE.
CAUSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SIDEWALKS OBVIOUSLY AS REQUIRED BY THE, UH, TIA AND THE IMPROVEMENTS OF ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS.
WE HAVE URBAN GUTTER AND BRING TO A ROW AN URBAN STANDARD.
SO WE'LL PROVIDE LANDSCAPING AS APPROPRIATE OR WHERE APPROPRIATE WEIGHTS.
UH, IT DOES NOT ENCROACH INTO THAT EASEMENT.
THE SITE PLAN JUST SHOWED THE BUILDING ALL THE WAY UP.
THAT'S JUST A SIMPLE, THAT'S A SIMPLE RENDERING TO SHOW THE BUILDING WAS, BUT THERE YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SIDEWALKS ALSO ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS THEY'RE GOING TO BE REQUIRED TO GO ON.
WITH SOME OF THE OFFSETS THAT I'M AWARE OF, YOU MIGHT LOSE UP TO NINE FEET TO GET THAT LANDSCAPING AREA.
SO I'M WONDERING IF THAT AFFECTS YOUR DENSITY AND IF IT WAS WE'RE GOING TO COMPLY WITH THE ZONING SETBACKS REQUIREMENTS AND THE SETBACKS ARE GOING TO BE THE SAME, WHETHER YOU HAVE A HOTEL OR YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THE SAME EFFECT, THE SAME MASSING, WHETHER WE DO A HOTEL OR MULTIFAMILY.
SO YOU WILL COMPLY WITH ALL APPLICABLE REGULATIONS WITH YOUR SETBACKS AND YOUR LANDSCAPING, UH, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE WITHOUT, UM, UH, CREATING ANY CONFLICTING MOVEMENTS AS RELATES TO THE, UH, TO THE GAS LINE EASEMENT.
UM, I GUESS I'M A CREATIVE, I'M SORRY.
YES, MR. A CIVIL ENGINEER WHO SURE.
SO WHEN, WHEN WE LAID OUT THE BUILDING AND I KNOW YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT ON A, ON A SMALL SCALE, UM, BUT THERE'S THE ONE STRETCH WHERE IT GOES DOWN TO 20, BUT ALL THE OTHER STRETCHES WHERE IT'S 25 FEET, WE'VE TRIED TO SAVE ABOUT 10 FEET BETWEEN THE BUILDING AND THE GAS LINE.
IT PROBABLY DOESN'T REPRESENT WITH THAT SCALE AND ALL THE COLORING THAT WE TRIED TO DO TO SHOW WHERE EVERYTHING WAS.
BUT WE TRIED TO LEAVE AREA FOR THAT TO BE ABLE TO PUT LANDSCAPING BETWEEN THE BUILDING AND IN THE ROADS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT.
UM, AND THEN A QUESTION FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
I STILL HAVE A MINUTE AND 15 SECONDS.
IS, WOULD THE NEIGHBORHOOD, I KNOW IT WAS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY ABOUT ONLY COMMERCIAL ZONING, BUT WOULD THE NEIGHBORHOOD BE A TO S TO MF SOMETHING LESS THAN, MM SIX.
[01:25:01]
LINE WOULD HAVE TO BE RELOCATED REGARDLESS OF THE ZONING? WELL, WE WOULD LIKE FOR IT TO REMAIN COMMERCIAL, WE WOULD LIKE FOR IT TO STAY AS IT IS.AND I MEAN, IF IT, I, I'M NOT AN ENGINEER, BUT IT MIGHT NOT HAVE TO BE REROUTED.
AND IF IT, WHAT, I MEAN, WHAT I'M THINKING IS THERE'S ALL THESE COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES AROUND IT AND THEY HAVE PARKING LOTS, SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO REROUTE THE GAS LINE.
DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? I'M SORRY.
I DON'T KNOW IF I UNDERSTOOD IT CORRECTLY.
YEAH, WE WOULD PREFER, WE WANT IT TO STAY COMMERCIAL.
AND ALSO THE REASON IS THERE ARE SMALL BUSINESSES ALL ALONG THIS ROAD AROUND SHELBY LANE AND TERRIO LANE, AND THIS WOULD KILL THEIR BUSINESSES BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL, YOU'RE GOING TO CUT OFF THE ROAD AND ACCESS TO THEM.
AND WITH ALL THAT TRAFFIC, I MEAN, IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT AND I'VE SPOKEN WITH SOME OF THE BUSINESS, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND THEY DON'T WANT THIS DEVELOPMENT EITHER, SO, OKAY.
I DIDN'T, CAN'T TELL HER WAS WITH FIRST, LET'S GO COMMISSIONER YONIS, PALITO, AND THEN COMMISSIONER CONLEY.
I JUST WANTED TO SEE THE LAST SLIDE OF THE, UH, OF MR. PRESENTATION.
IF WE COULD, WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD RECOMMENDATIONS, DID WE ACTUALLY MISS SOMETHING OR WAS IT JUST THE CLOSING PHOTO? IT WAS THE ONE RIGHT BEFORE THE, SORRY, THE, MAYBE THIRD TO LAST SLIDE HAD NEIGHBORHOOD RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE ACTUALLY GOT TO HEAR THOSE.
I THOUGHT WE DID, BUT WE CAN LOOK AT THEM AGAIN.
CAN WE SEE THIS? IT WAS THE SUMMARY.
I THINK WE PROBABLY WENT THROUGH MOST OF THOSE POINTS.
IF WE CAN HOLD IT UP THERE FOR A MOMENT.
DO YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER YANIS, PALITO? UM, I DON'T UM, UNLESS MR. TO ELABORATE ANYTHING ON THAT LAST SLIDE, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I SAW THE SUMMARY.
UH, WELL, I WILL, IF YOU THINK OF ANYTHING AT THE END, I'LL, I'LL ALLOW YOU TO ASK QUESTIONS SINCE IT WAS YOUR TIME WITH BRIEF.
UM, LET'S SEE, WE'VE GOT, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER CONLEY AND THEN COMMISSIONER MUSHA TODDLER.
SO MY FIRST QUESTION IS FOR THE APPLICANT, UM, AND IT SHOULD BE VERY BRIEF, SORT OF SIMILAR TO, UM, THE QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER HUMBLE, UM, RIGHT NOW BY RIGHT.
YOU CAN, RIGHT NOW UNDER ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE DEVELOPED, YOU EXPECT THAT THE GAS LINE WILL BE MOVED.
IS THAT CORRECT? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
SO THERE'S NOT A SCENARIO WHERE IF THIS REMAINED COMMERCIAL OR BECAME A HOTEL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT WOULD BE A PARKING LOT OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE.
IS THAT CORRECT? AM I CORRECT? IT'S GOT TO BE REDEVELOPED.
IT'S GOING TO BE AT THE HIGHEST.
AND BY RIGHT, YOU CAN GO UP TO 60 FEET RIGHT NOW BY RIGHT.
WE CAN BE UP TO 60 FEET, TWO TO ONE FAR UNDER THE CURRENT, UH, PERCENT IMPERVIOUS COVER UNDER THE CURRENT ZONING ALLOWANCE.
LET'S SUPPOSE THAT THIS COMMISSION WERE NOT TO GRANT A ZONING CHANGE.
WHAT WOULD BE THE MOST LIKELY SORT OF BUILDING TO BE DEVELOPED ON THAT SITE? IS IT A HOTEL? IN FACT, THAT WAS WHAT YOU SHOWED US, I THINK WAS A HOTEL TYPE, CORRECT.
THAT'S WHAT YOU EXPECT IS LIKELY TO BE DEVELOPED.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION TO SOMEONE FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD, ANYONE REALLY, WHO WOULD LIKE TO ANSWER A QUESTION? UM, HI.
SO MY QUESTION IS, UH, W WHAT SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE NATURE OF HAVING A HOTEL ON THAT SITE OR SOME COMMERCIAL BUILDING OF SOME SORT WILL BE PREFERABLE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING RESIDENTIAL, OR IS IT JUST THE HOPE THAT THE GAS LINE WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE MOVED? I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, OR IS THERE SOMETHING SPECIFIC ABOUT THE NATURE OF COMMERCIAL THAT MAKES IT MORE PREFERABLE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD? YEAH.
ALL OF THE SURROUNDING PROPERTIES ARE COMMERCIAL, OUR SINGLE FAMILY HOME.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF TOWARD THE BACK OF US.
WE DON'T WANT, WE WANT IT TO SAY, STAY COMMERCIAL FOR THE SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND WE HOPE, SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT YOU OFF, PLEASE FINISH YOUR SENTENCE.
AND, UM, LIKE I SAID, WE WERE HOPING THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT DOESN'T HAVE TO GET REROUTED,
[01:30:01]
BUT WE WANT IT TO REMAIN COMMERCIAL AND WE'RE, I MEAN, WHATEVER THEY DECIDE TO DO WE'RE FOR IT, BECAUSE IT WILL STAY COMMERCIAL.WHAT ARE THE KINDS OF SMALL BUSINESSES IN THAT AREA? OH, THERE'S AN AUTO BODY SHOP MECHANIC.
THERE'S A PLACE WHERE YOU WORK OUT LIKE A BOXING.
UM, THERE IS A ELECTRICAL BUSINESS.
THERE IS I THINK, A CAR RENTAL SPOT.
UM, DOESN'T, IT SEEM LIKE THESE ARE PRECISELY THE KINDS OF SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BENEFIT FROM HAVING MORE RESIDENTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, FOR INSTANCE, A GYM OR A CAR SHOP OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
HAVING MORE RESIDENTS WOULD ACTUALLY MEAN MORE CLIENTS FOR THOSE BUSINESSES, AS OPPOSED TO ANOTHER BUSINESS, WHICH WOULD PROBABLY MEAN SOME KIND OF COMPETITION OR NOT CLIENTS NECESSARILY.
THE ACTUAL, THE BIGGER BUSINESSES LIKE THE CAR DEALERSHIPS.
THEY I'M SURE WOULD BE FOR IT.
UM, THE SMALLER ONES WILL SAY PEOPLE DON'T JUST BUY CARS.
UM, THIS MAHLER ONES THOUGH, DO NOT WANT ALL OF THE TRAFFIC BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE'RE HAVING HUGE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS WITH THE SURROUNDING DEVELOPMENT.
AND OUR CURRENT ROADS ARE SUBSTANDARD.
I MEAN, WE HAVE A TWO LANE NARROW, UM, ROADS WITH POTHOLES AND WELL, LET'S SAY THAT THE APPLICANT DID NOT GET THE ZONING CHANGE GRANTED AND BUILT A HOTEL ON THAT SITE.
THERE WOULD BE TRAFFIC FOR A HOTEL.
AND LET'S SAY THEY HAD A COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOME SORT WITH STORES, THE BREWERY.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD BE.
UM, ALL OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS WOULD ATTRACT TRAFFIC, RIGHT.
I MEAN, AND POSSIBLY EVEN MORE TRAFFIC IN THE SENSE THAT YOU HAVE CARS COMING AND GOING, AS OPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, SINGLE TRIPS COMMUTE TO, AND FROM WORK OR CARS THAT ARE STATIONARY DURING THE DAY YOU HAVE THAT CONSTANT MOVEMENT.
I MEAN, IS IT, IS IT REALLY, HOW DO WE KNOW THAT A COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT ON THAT SITE SUCH AS A 60 FOOT, UH, HOTEL, UM, WOULD NECESSARILY BRING LESS TRAFFIC? WELL, WE DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, YOU HAVE NO IDEA, BUT, UM, SO THE LOCAL BUSINESSES, THEIR CONCERN AROUND TRAFFIC WOULD POTENTIALLY STILL NOT BE MEANINGFULLY ADDRESSED IF WE WERE TO DENY A ZONING CHANGE.
THE ROAD IS GOING TO BE CLOSED DURING THIS TIME, WHICH THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN HURTING BECAUSE OF COVID.
SO I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE CONCERNS AS WELL, THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU BLOCK ACCESS TO THEIR BUSINESS THREE OR FOUR MONTHS BECAUSE OF, BECAUSE OF CONSTRUCTION AND BECAUSE OF POTENTIAL, BUT THAT SEEMS LIKELY TO HAPPEN, EVEN IF WE WERE TO DENY A ZONING CHANGE, RIGHT.
BASED ON WHAT THE APPLICANT ALREADY HAS THE RIGHT TO DO ON THE SITE.
I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE WHAT WE HAVE THE POWER TO DO HERE IS GRANT OR DENY ZONING WELL IN THE PLUM, WE WANT IT TO REMAIN COMMERCIAL.
IF YOU NOTICE IN THE ORIGINAL ONE FROM 2005, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS, UH, THAT WAS LISTED IS TO KEEP THE INDUSTRIAL AREA OF ST.
ELMO, BECAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES AROUND THAT ARE SO CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN.
AND IT'S, I MEAN, THAT'S WHY THAT AREA IS KNOWN FOR, IN FACT, THE REASON THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS ARE TAKING THAT INTO ACCOUNT, AND THEY'RE DOING A WAREHOUSE TYPE LOOK WITH ALL OF THE BUILDINGS AND THEY CALL IT THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT.
WE HAVE A LONG EVENING AHEAD OF US.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO, I HAD, UH, I RECOGNIZED COMMISSIONER MOOSE TALLER, BUT THEN I MISS COMMISSIONER ZARA.
SO COMMISSIONER IS OUR, YOU'LL BE AFTER COMMISSIONER MR. TODDLER.
AFTER OUR, WE INITIALLY HEARD THE CASE, I REACHED OUT TO THE, UM, RAILROAD COMMISSION AND I RECEIVED A RESPONSE FROM NICHOLAS , WHO IS THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR PIPELINE SAFETY.
AND WHAT HE COMMUNICATED WAS THAT, UM, THAT THE RSC HAS REGULATORY OVERSIGHT OVER THE INTERSTATE NATURAL GAS PIPELINES.
AND THAT CURRENTLY THERE ARE NO RESTRICTION ON NATURAL GAS PIPELINE, INSTALLATION, DISTANCE FROM BUILDINGS IN THE FEDERAL REGULATIONS OR THE STATE RULINGS.
HOWEVER, SOME CITIES OR MUNICIPALITIES MAY HAVE RULES ON PIPELINE INSTALLATION AROUND BUILDINGS, AND THAT WOULD FALL TO OUR LOCAL JURISDICTION.
UM, SO MY QUESTION IS TO OUR AFD, DO WE HAVE ANY, UM, DO WE HAVE ANY REGULATIONS AROUND THAT AT THIS TIME, SCOTT STUCKEY, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT? NO, WE DO NOT.
AND I, MY UNDERSTANDING, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS HAVE MORE INFORMATION THAT THE PIPELINE THAT'S GETTING REROUTED AS IS A MAIN VERSUS A, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY CALL THEM WHEN THEY BRANCH OFF TO SERVICE AREAS, BUT THAT THIS IS A BIGGER, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING.
AND THIS IS JUST BASED UPON THE ENGINEER'S DRAWING WITH THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT I'M GOING BY.
I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH REGARDS TO THE OPERATING PRESSURE OR ANYTHING.
[01:35:01]
THAN LIKELY A TRANSMISSION MAIN.AND THEN WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS THE TRANSMISSION MAIN WILL FEED THE SERVICE LINES TO THE BUILDINGS, OR THIS COULD BE A BIG SERVICE LINE THAT FEEDS SMALLER SERVICE LINES TO THE BUILDINGS.
SO AROUND THE CITY AREA, LIKE HOW MANY OF THOSE KINDS OF LINES DO WE HAVE A COMMON, ARE THOSE, IS THAT LIKE IN EVERY STRETCH OF THE DISTRICTS OR THESE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION.
SO, UM, A MAIN SERVICE LINE LIKE THIS THAT HAS DISTRIBUTION OFF OF IT, IS THIS, ARE THERE LOTS OF THOSE THAT RUN THROUGH ALL PARTS OF THE CITY? OR ARE THERE SEVERAL, I WASN'T PREPARED TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT THERE IS A LOT OF NATURAL GAS SERVICE IN AUSTIN.
SOME OF IT IS WHAT WE TERM HIGH PRESSURE, MORE OF IT THAN NOT IS LOW PRESSURE, BUT, UH, AS DO WE KNOW WHAT THIS ONE IS? DO WE KNOW THE PRESSURE'S ON? I THINK THE APPLICANT HAS INFORMATION.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE OPERATING PRESSURES ARE.
THE ONLY THING I CAN TELL YOU IS WHAT HAPPENS DOWNSTREAM OF THE CUSTOMER'S METER.
THAT'S THE ONLY THING JUST AS A, UH, AS A MEASURE OF POINT AND NOTE FOR OUR STAFF, IF A VFD WERE TO SUGGEST TO THE CITY AND THE MUNICIPALITY TO ACTUALLY FORMULATE A RULE AND REGULATION, WOULD YOU GUYS HAVE SUGGESTIONS AS TO WHAT YOU THINK WOULD CREATE THE SAFEST RADIUS FOR RESIDENCES VERSUS COMMERCIALS? SINCE WE HAVE NOTHING RIGHT NOW, IF YOU GIVE US ENOUGH TIME AND MONEY AND RESOURCES, WE CAN DO A LOT OF THINGS, WHICH YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THIS ISSUE SPECIFICALLY, THAT IS A POLICY DECISION.
UM, AND I'LL HEAR FROM THE APPLICANT ON THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THIS PARTICULAR PIPELINE, UH, I WILL TELL YOU IS WE, WE ASKED THE QUESTION TO THE GAS COMPANY AND THEIR RESPONSE TO US WAS IN, IN THEIR REGARD, IT IS NOT A HIGH PRESSURE GAS LINE TO THEM.
SO THIS IS A LOW PRESSURE LINE, BUT WE HAVE NO POL NO LOCAL POLICY ON IT.
AND IT'S KIND OF THE POINT I WAS MAKING TO OUR STAFF THAT WE MIGHT WANT A POLICY ON THIS STUFF IN THE FUTURE.
UM, THIS IS A QUESTION FOR STAFF AND I'M NOT SURE WHO WOULD BE THE MOST APPROPRIATE, BUT IT'S FTE OR NOT.
HOW COMMON WOULD SOMEBODY ABLE TO TELL ME HOW COMMON IS IT? DO YOU HAVE STRUCTURES THAT HAVE HOUSING? DO I NEED TO TWENTY-FIVE FEET FROM A MEAN ELSEWHERE IN OUR CITY? LIKE, IS THIS TRULY SOMETHING THAT'S NEVER HAPPENED DOES NOT EXIST ANYWHERE ELSE IN OUR CITY UNHEARD OFF? OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT DOES EXIST ELSEWHERE? CAN WE, SHOULD I KNOW YOU SAID STAFF, DID YOU, ANYONE WHO COULD ANSWER THAT QUESTION? I THINK MAYBE YOU GO BACK TO MY SLIDES THAT SHOW YOU WHERE THE OTHER GAS LINES THAT EXIST RIGHT NOW.
YOU CAN PULL UP MY SLIDE, PLEASE.
ARE YOU ADVANCING THEM ON MY ADVANCING THEM? BYE CLICKER IS NOT WORKING.
OKAY, THIS WE GO BACK RIGHT THERE.
THIS IS FROM THE RAILROAD COMMISSION'S WEBSITE.
AND THAT'S WHY, I GUESS, AFTER THEY CAN RESPOND, BECAUSE THE SOURCE OF THIS IS THE RAILROAD COMMISSION.
THAT'S WHERE YOU FIND THIS INFORMATION.
SO, AND SO IF I'M UNDERSTANDING THIS CORRECTLY, WE HAVE OTHER UNITS THAT HAVE EXISTED PREVIOUSLY IN SIMILAR RADIUS TO THE PIPELINE ITSELF.
THERE SEEMS TO BE THE PROXIMITY YOU SEE HERE, AND I'LL JUST GO, THIS ONE GIVES YOU A CLOSER LOOK, GO TO THE NEXT ONE.
THIS IS HELPFUL, MS. KLASKO CAN YOU ALSO TELL ME WHAT, OKAY.
TWO QUESTIONS, I GUESS I'LL START WITH THE FIRST ONE.
WHAT IS THE RIGHT OF WAY? DEDICATION THAT WILL BE AROUND THIS PIPELINE.
ONCE IT IS MOVED TOWARDS THE RIGHT OF WAY, WHAT IS THE EASEMENT AROUND THE EASEMENT WORLD? MR. STRALA WANTS TO RESPOND TO THAT? SO I'M GOING TO LET HIM, I APPRECIATE THAT.
SO THE, THE EASEMENT THAT WILL BE DEDICATED ONSITE IS, IS 25 FEET FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE LINE WITH A BUMP DOWN OF 20 FEET.
UM, WITH THE INTENTION OF THE WHAT'S GOING IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.
[01:40:01]
OF THE PIPELINE ON THE EAST SIDE WILL BE, UM, JUST SIDEWALK AND IN GRASS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.SO THERE'LL BE THE OPEN SPACE THERE.
AND IF I'M TO UNDERSTAND THIS CORRECTLY, FROM THE RESPONSE THAT WE HAVE IN OUR BACKUP, THAT THE GAS COMPANY IS OKAY WITH WHAT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED, INCLUDING THOSE DISTANCES.
AND THEY'VE SENT US THE, THE RELOCATION AGREEMENTS AND OUR, OUR GROUP IS WORKING ON, ON THAT WITH THEM.
AND SO THEY HAVE ESSENTIALLY SPECIFIED THAT WITH THIS GAUGE, THE DISTANCE WORKS THAT WE SHOULD NOT HAVE A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE THAT AT LEAST OUR GAS COMPANY WHO DOES REGULATE THIS, SEES THAT WE'RE MEETING ALL THE REQUIREMENTS THAT THEY WOULD NEED.
AND THEY HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THEIR LEAD ENGINEER AND THAT'S WHO WE GOT THE, THE RESPONSE FROM.
I APPRECIATE THAT MS. GLASGOW HAD A QUESTION FOR YOU.
IF WE WERE TO GO FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN , WHICH OF COURSE IMPACTS THE INDICTMENTS, WOULD THAT HAVE ANY IMPACT ON THE OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS FROM THIS DEVELOPMENT SUCH AS THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING? SO IF YOU WERE TO GO LESS THAN MF SIX, WOULD IT MEAN THAT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPETENT WOULD GET DROPPED OFF? LIKE WHAT ARE WE SEEING IN TERMS OF THE OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS? WELL, TH THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BENEFIT WILL GO AWAY BECAUSE WE W WE, WE BASED IT ON VOLUNTARILY BASED ON THE GREENFIELD ORDINANCE, THAT'S PRECISELY, WE'VE GOT THAT LANGUAGE FROM.
SO IF WE WERE NOT ABLE TO GET ADDITIONAL DENSITY, UM, UNDER STATE LAW, TYPICALLY YOU WITH STATE LOSS, AS IF YOU, YOU GIVE SOMETHING, YOU GIVE SOMETHING BACK, WE'RE NOT GETTING ANY ADDITIONAL DENSITY, WHICH YOU REALLY ACTUALLY ARE NOT.
WHEN YOU LOOK COMPARED TO THE EXISTING ZONING, THE ENTITLEMENTS THAT WE HAVE TODAY, AND THE , WE ARE NOT GETTING ADDITIONAL DENSITY.
SO A VOLUNTEER VOLUNTEER OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS PURELY VOLUNTARY.
SO IF WE GIVE US LESS STONING THAN, UH, I DON'T SEE THAT REALLY, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GETTING FEWER UNITS THAN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OFFER.
AND THEN I KNOW I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
COULD WE GO TO THE LAST SLIDE OF MS. GLASGOW'S PRESENTATION? COULD YOU SPEAK TO THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING HERE? SO, SO THIS, THE TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS HAS SEVERAL MITIGATION RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT OUR TRAFFIC ENGINEER FOR TOGETHER OFFERED TO, UH, THE TRANSPORTATION STAFF IS TO CLEAN UP THIS INTERSECTION.
THIS IS THE, YOU CAN SEE AT THE TOP EXISTING, UH, CIRCULAR DRIVE AT, UM, TERRIO LANE.
THE BOTTOM ONE CLEANS IT UP, AND THIS THE WAY IT LOOKS LIKE RIGHT NOW, WHERE YOU HAVE, YOU COULD, YOU HAVE CONFUSING TURNING MOVEMENTS AND TO AVOID THOSE CONFLICTS, WE OFFERING THE BOTTOM PART, SHOWS THE PROPOSED ALIGNMENT THAT WOULD MAKE IT EASIER AND LESS CONFUSING AND CONFLICTING, UM, COMMISSIONER JADA'S PLEAD.
UH, DID YOU HIT, UM, WE HAVE ONE MORE SPOT.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION THEN CIRCLE BACK.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION YET? COMMISSIONER, YOU HONESTLY, IT'S A SIMPLE QUESTION, I THINK, AND MAYBE WE CAN DO IT.
UM, AS I UNDERSTAND THAT THE, THE GREENFIELD ORDINANCE ALLOWS YOU TO BUILD UNDER MF SIX SITE ENTITLEMENTS.
EVEN IF YOU HAVE ZONING, IF IT'S AN INMATE, IF IT'S GREENFIELD ORDINANCE, IS THAT CORRECT? YOU ARE CORRECT MR. THOMPSON, THAT YOU'D HAVE TO BE CERTIFIED AS SMART HOUSING.
AND, UM, SO THE, THAT CERTIFICATION WOULD, UM, THEN ALLOW YOU TO HAVE, UM, TO, TO, TO BUILD UNDER , AS LONG AS YOU PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND THEN YOU'RE CERTIFIED AS SMART HOUSE, YOU'RE CLOSE ENOUGH TO TRANSIT.
THE TRANSIT NEEDS TO BE A HALF A MILE.
ONE WAY WE ARE 0.3, 2 35, THE FUTURE RAPID.
SO YOU COULD ALSO, YOU WOULDN'T BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE GREENFIELD.
WE, WE, WE, THAT WAS A POSSIBILITY THAT YOU COULD GET A WAIVER FROM THE, UM, FROM THE SMART HOUSING FOR THE, UH, FOR THE DISTANCE SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE IS GOING TO BE UNDER PROJECT CONNECT.
THERE'S GOING TO BE, UM, A RAPID BUS STOP.
UH, THAT IS 0.3, SEVEN MILES ON ICE 35 THAT IS MEETS THE CRITERIA.
JUST HAVE TO GET OUT OF A VARIANCE FROM A WAIVER FROM THE DIRECTOR.
HOWEVER, WE PREFER TO VOLUNTEER JUST AS REGULAR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AS OPPOSED TO BEING CERTIFIED UNDER SMART HOUSING.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE VOLUNTEERING IT THAT WAY.
UM, COMMISSIONING ON HIS PLATO, GIVE YOU A FEW MINUTES HERE.
IF YOU HAD A THANK YOU SO MUCH CHAIR, A QUICK CONFIRMATION WITH MS. GLASGOW, JUST TO MAKE SURE THE PREMISE OF MY QUESTION IS CORRECT.
UM, UH, AM I CORRECT THAT YOU,
[01:45:01]
YOU SAID THAT THE PLAN, IF THIS STAYS COMMERCIAL WOULD BE TO, UM, DEVELOP AS A HOTEL HOTEL ON EIGHT ACRES, SEEMS TO HAVE, UM, HIGHEST AND BEST USE.SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD CONTEMPLATE IF THAT IF MS. SIX IS NOT GRANTED.
SO THAT WOULD BE COMPLEX CONTEMPLATED, BUT IT ISN'T A FINANCED PIPELINE AT THIS PARTICULAR MOMENT.
IS THAT CORRECT? IT'S AN OPTION IF THE, IF THE CS REMAINS.
AND THEN QUICK QUESTION FOR MR. CANTU.
UH, WE HEARD A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH JUST AS HE'S COMING UP.
I'LL JUST SAY WE HEARD A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH ABOUT, UM, THE IMPACT SORT OF WEIGHING THIS AGAINST THE DEFINITE OPTION OF DEALING WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HOTEL, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT AT THIS POINT IS A HYPOTHETICAL, UM, OPTION.
AND I JUST, I KNOW THAT COMES UP A LOT IN THE ZONING CASES THAT WE SEE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND OTHERS.
UM, I WONDERED IF YOU HAD A PARTICULAR TAKE ON THAT IMPACT.
UH, I THINK THIS IS WHAT, UH, WELL THANK, I KNOW, CAUSE WHAT'S WHAT I'M HEARING, I'VE HEARD FROM THE APPLICANT.
I DON'T KNOW, 50 TIMES MAYBE THE WORD THERE WILL BE A THOUSAND UNIT HOTEL THERE.
YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S GOING TO BE A HOTEL WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE A LONG TIME AGO WITH ALL THE OTHER HOTELS, OPRAH ON THE MOTOR MILE THAT SHE SHOWED PICTURES ON.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF EARLIER, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT AN ENGINEER, MY ANCESTORS WERE ENGINEERS AND THERE WERE GREAT ENGINEERS, BUT I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW THAT I'VE SEEN MANY HOTELS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, THAT YOU CAN FIT IN THERE WITHOUT MOVING THAT GAS LINE.
AND WHAT'S GOING TO GO OVER THAT GAS LINE IS JUST GOING TO BE CONCRETE FOR, FOR JUST A LITTLE PARKING AREA, JUST LIKE YOU SEE ON THE OTHER TWO COMMERCIAL, UH, PROPERTIES THAT ARE ADJACENT TO THESE TWO PROPERTIES AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, COMMERCIAL, I MEAN, TESLA, TESLA COULD BUY THAT TOMORROW AND DO THE SAME THING THAT THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS DONE.
UH, SO TO SAY THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A THOUSAND UNIT, IT'S GOING TO BE A HOTEL.
LOOK, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BUILD A HOTEL.
THAT THAT'S MY, MY, MY, MY FEELING, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BUILD A HOTEL AND WE DON'T KNOW A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THIS GAS LINE.
I MEAN, ALL OF Y'ALL HAVE KIND OF MENTIONED, WHICH IS GREAT THAT, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT THINGS ARE GOING ON AND FINDING BITS AND PIECES OF INFORMATION ABOUT THIS GAS LINE.
AND IT'S A REVOLVING, SPINNING WHEEL THAT WE FIND INFORMATION ABOUT THIS GAS LINE, BUT I DON'T SEE A HOTEL COMING THERE.
THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE.
UM, LET'S UH, DO WE HAVE ANY MOTIONS OR IN MIND, UH, COMMISSIONERS WERE TAKING ITEMS THREE AND FOUR TOGETHER.
SO PLEASE MAKE THAT PART OF ANY EMOTIONS.
UM, COMMISSIONER COX, I SEE YOUR HAND UP, I'LL TAKE A STAB AT EMOTION.
WE ACCEPT STAFF RECOMMENDATION WITH A C O THAT MODIFIES THE MINIMUM BUILDING SETBACK TO 25 FEET, WHICH FOR MF SIX IS 15 FEET.
SO WE'D BE MODIFYING THAT TO A MINIMUM OF 25 FEET AND STAFF RECOMMENDATION ON THE NPA, UH, POINT OF CLARIFICATION THAT BUILDING SETBACK IS WHERE IS THAT LOCATED IN YOUR, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT ALONG THE STREET FRONT OR, UM, YEAH, I MEAN, WE CAN SPECIFY IT TO A FRONT AND SIDE YARD SETBACK, MINIMUM 25 FEET INTERIOR AND REAR CAN STAY PER CODE.
I THINK THE REASONING IS OBVIOUS, BUT I CAN TALK ABOUT IF I GET A SECOND.
SO JUST TO RE UH, RESTATE, IT'S PRETTY MUCH STAFF RECOMMENDATION WITH, UM, WITH THEIR, LET ME PULL THIS UP.
THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS OUTLINED, UM, IN THE BACKUP PLUS YOU'RE ADDING A MINIMUM BUILDING SETBACK OF 25 FEET IN THE FRONT AND SIDE FOR THE FRONT AND SIDE SETBACKS.
UM, AND THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION ON THE NPA ANY SECOND ON THIS MOTION, THAT'S BY SURE.
I'VE GONE TO SPEAK TO YOUR MOTION, MR. CUFFS.
UM, I, I JUST WANT TO SAY TO THE FOLKS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT CAME OUT AND SPOKE, I
[01:50:01]
ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND ALL OF YOUR CONCERNS.I'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS MULTIPLE TIMES MYSELF.
UM, I DO THINK THAT OBVIOUSLY THIS, THIS PROPERTY HAS SOMEONE WHO OWNS IT OR SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO OWN IT THAT WANTS TO DEVELOP IT.
UM, I DO EXPECT THAT GAS LINE TO GET MOVED NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, WHETHER IT'S FOR A COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT OR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, I UNDERSTAND THE DESIRE TO KEEP THE COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES NEAR YOUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I JUST THINK THAT, THAT THE WAY THAT THIS PARTICULAR AREA IS DEVELOPING, THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF PRESSURE TO, UH, A LOT OF PRESSURE THAT THE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT YOU SEE NOW, UM, THERE'S GOING TO BE FINANCIAL PR PRESSURE FOR THEM TO MOVE AND LARGER THINGS TO POP UP.
AND I THINK AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AND FROM EVERYTHING THAT I'VE LOOKED AT THAT HAVING RESIDENTS HERE, UM, MIGHT BE PREFERABLE TO, TO A MASSIVE HOTEL DEVELOPMENT OR WHATEVER ELSE MS GLASGOW'S, UH, CLIENT CAN THINK UP ONCE THAT GAS LINE IS, IS RELOCATED AND EVERYTHING THAT I'VE READ.
AND I'VE READ, UH, THE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD PAPER ON THIS ABOUT NATURAL GAS PIPELINES, NOT JUST HAZARDOUS GUYS, GAS LINES, BUT NATURAL GAS PIPELINES IS THAT 25 FEET TENDS TO BE KIND OF THE GENERAL STANDARD FOR BUILDING SETBACKS AS IT RELATES TO THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY, THE DAMAGE THAT A RUPTURE GASOLINE CAN CAUSE.
AND I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY THE SITE PLAN WE RECEIVED, UM, COMPRESSES THAT SETBACK IN A PARTICULAR LOCATION.
AND SO THE MODIFICATION TO THE BUILDING SETBACK IS SIMPLY TO ENSURE THAT WE GET THE MAXIMUM REASONABLE SETBACK BETWEEN THE RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE AND THE NASH, UH, NATURAL GAS PIPELINE.
I DO WANT TO SAY THAT, UM, RELOCATION OF THESE LINES IS NEVER FUN OR EASY, BUT OFTENTIMES LINES ARE IN POOR SHAPE IF THEY'VE BEEN THERE FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.
SO MY HOPE IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH HIGHER QUALITY MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS THAT RELOCATE A GAS LINE, AS LONG AS IT'S LEFT ALONE, UM, WILL DO JUST FINE.
UH, BUT WE HAVE THAT EXTRA ASSURANCE WITH IT.
SO THAT'S ESSENTIALLY THE BASIS FOR MY RECOMMENDATION.
UH, LET ME START US AGAINST THIS MOTION, I GUESS IT'S JUST, CAN I ASK A QUESTION TO STAFF? UH, WELL, NO, WE'RE KIND OF BEYOND THE QUESTION AND I'M JUST, IF THEY, IT, MAYBE IT'S A NEUTRAL AS I HAVE TO THINK THROUGH THIS, BUT IT'S A A, JUST BECAUSE WE GIVE A 25 FOOT SETBACK, WE HAVEN'T, WE HAVEN'T CREATED ANY, ANY STANDARDS OF HOW FAR THE PIPE ACTUALLY HAS TO BE FROM THE BUILDING AND WHERE THEY MOVE THAT PIPE TO DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE GOING TO PUT IT AT 25 FEET FROM THE BUILDING.
UM, IF IT'S GOING TO BE IN A, IN A RIGHT OF WAY, OR YOU WANT ME TO RESPOND TO THAT? W WELL, I GUESS I DON'T WANT TO, FOR, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT SPOT ZONING A LOT.
I DON'T WANT TO DO SPOT SAFETY STANDARDS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SAFETY STANDARDS FOR HOW FAR OUR BUILDING HAS TO BE FROM A PIPELINE ON THIS ONE BUILDING.
AND THIS ONE, CAN I RESPOND TO THAT? I COMPLETELY AGREE.
AND THAT'S WHY I WAS A LITTLE BIT HESITANT TO DOING THIS, BUT, BUT ULTIMATELY WE DON'T HAVE A REGULATORY BODY HERE AND WE DON'T, UH, KIND OF GOING OUT OF ORDER HERE.
I THINK A COMMISSIONER THOMPSON MADE HIS POINT, UH, ON VOTING AGAINST THIS ITEM FOR THE REASONS, UH, DO WE HAVE ANOTHER MEMBER FOR VICE CHAIR? DO YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO IT AT ALL AS A SECOND? UM, SURE.
I THINK THAT, UM, APPRECIATE THE NEIGHBORHOOD COMING OUT TWO TIMES NOW AND, AND ALL THE MEETINGS.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK AHEAD, UH, AS IT HEADS TOWARDS COUNCIL.
UM, BUT THE, THE IDEA OF AFFORDABLE FOR RENT AND, UM, OWNER, UH, HOUSING ON THIS SITE TO ME IS, IS VERY ENTICING AS WE HEAR MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY ABOUT THE NEED FOR MORE HOUSING IN THE CITY.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S WHY I'M SUPPORTING THIS.
UH, COMMISSIONER, JUST VOTING AGAINST THE MOTION.
WELL, LET'S GO WITH THOSE COMMISSIONER.
CONLEY WANTS SPEAK AGAINST A NEUTRAL IF POSSIBLE.
UM, ANYONE WANT TO SPEAK AGAINST, AND THEN WE'LL PICK
[01:55:01]
UP NEUTRALS, SORRY, JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE, UH, UH, THIS PLAYED, UH, UH, MICHIGAN WAS PLAYING.UM, I APPRECIATE THIS EMOTION AND THE SENSE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO INTRODUCE A LITTLE BIT OF, OF REGULATION AROUND THE 25 FEET, THE SETBACK AND THE SAFETY ISSUES, UM, AS THE MUNICIPAL BODY.
SO, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE THE THOUGHTFULNESS THERE.
UM, BUT I WILL SAY WHEN I HEAR, YOU KNOW, THESE SMALL BUSINESSES IN THIS AREA ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO FACE THIS DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE.
AND WE'RE THE ONES WITH OUR HANDS ON THE BELT.
UM, WE ARE GATEKEEPERS IN THIS POSITION AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE REMEMBER THAT WITH EVERY MOVE OF THE SOVEREIGN SOVEREIGN BOARD, WE ARE PART OF DETERMINING, UH, WHAT KIND OF PRESSURE THESE SMALL BUSINESSES AND THESE NEIGHBORHOODS FACE AS WELL AS OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND OUR SAFETY.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, I TAKE THAT VERY SERIOUSLY AND, AND I KNOW, I KNOW THIS COMMISSION, OTHER COMMISSIONERS ALSO TAKE THAT VERY SERIOUSLY.
UH, I JUST HOPE THAT WE'RE ALL AWARE THAT WE ARE, THE ONES ACTUALLY ENCOUNTERING THIS PRESSURE RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S APPLIED WITH THE HYPOTHETICAL ABOUT WHAT IS DEFINITELY GOING TO HAPPEN IF WE DON'T GRANT THE MAXIMUM ENTITLEMENTS THAT ARE ASKED FROM US.
UM, AND I MAYBE IT'S JUST THAT THOSE, SOME OF US WHO HAVE BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK ENOUGH TIMES WITH THIS, UM, KNOW THAT THAT IS OFTEN A TALKING POINT THAT ISN'T ACTUALLY BACKED BY ANY PLANS.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER.
AND WHILE, YOU KNOW, I AGREE THERE IS A NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THIS AIN'T, IT, WE'RE NOT GETTING THE 50% MFI THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD WANTS, AND WE'RE NOT GETTING THE KIND OF PERCENTAGE THAT, UM, OFFSETS THE ACTUAL POTENTIAL HARM THAT THIS CAN DO IN ACCELERATING GENTRIFICATION IN ONE OF THE MOST RAPIDLY DEVELOPING AND AFFORDABLE PARTS OF AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UH, REMEMBER SPEAKING FOR, UH, OKAY.
COMMISSIONER CONLON, I'LL SPEAK FOR, UM, I'LL, I'LL SPEAK FOR, BUT I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I DO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT THE SETBACK, UM, HOW THE SETBACK, UM, AFFECTS THE POSSIBILITY FOR AFFORDABLE, AFFORDABLE UNITS ON THE SITE AND, AND HOW IT'LL AFFECT THE TOTAL UNIT COUNT AS WELL AS THE REST OF THE SITE PLAN.
SO I DO HAVE CONCERNS AND ISSUES, BUT I AM BROADLY IN FAVOR OF IT.
IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER IF THE HYPOTHETICAL IS A HOTEL, OR IF IT'S SOME GIANT NEW ART GALLERY WAREHOUSE BREWERY CLOSED BOUTIQUE BUSINESS OF SOME KIND THAT WILL ATTRACT A LOT OF TRAFFIC AND THROUGH TRAFFIC AND NEW VISITORS THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY FOLKS WHO LIVE AND RESIDE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND A LOT OF THOSE SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES LIKE GYMS AND CAR SHOPS WOULD ACTUALLY BENEFIT FROM HAVING RESIDENTS IN THAT, IN THOSE AREAS WHO CAN USE AND BENEFIT FROM THOSE SERVICES.
I JUST DON'T BUY THE IDEA THAT ALL THE RESIDENTIAL IN THE CITY HAS TO BE BLOCKED OFF IN STRICTLY RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
ALL THE COMMERCIAL HAS TO BE IN COMMERCIAL AREAS.
IN FACT, COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL GO REALLY WELL TOGETHER.
THEY RESIDENTS SUPPORT LOCAL COMMERCIAL AND COMMERCIAL SUPPORTS LOCAL RESIDENTS.
SO, UM, I JUST THINK WE NEED TO MOVE AWAY FROM THIS.
AND I ALSO JUST WANT TO RESIST THE IDEA THAT SOMEHOW CREATING A GIANT PARKING LOT, UM, IS, IS A TRIUMPH.
AND YOU KNOW, THAT REPLACING HOUSING WITH THE PARKING LOT IS SOMEHOW A WIN FOR US AS A CITY OR AS A COMMUNITY OR AS A NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND I KNOW THAT IN EXPRESSING THESE VIEWS, I MAY BE SEEMING SOMEWHAT CONFRONTATIONAL AT TIMES TOWARDS WHAT IS OFTEN THE STATUS QUO AND HOW WE THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS, BUT SOMEONE HAS TO BE, UM, AND I FEEL LIKE THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, THE FOLKS WHO ARE NOT IN THIS ROOM, UM, FEEL THAT WAY AS WELL.
SO I I'M BROADLY IN SUPPORT OF THIS.
UH, ONE MORE THOUGHT FIRST, ANY COMMISSIONERS THEY WANT TO SPEAK AGAINST? OKAY, LET'S GO.
UH, DO YOU WANT TO SPEAK AGAINST, GO AHEAD.
UM, I, UH, I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE AS THIS PROCESS CONTINUES TO UNFOLD, THOUGHTFUL TRANSITIONS, WHAT I'M LEARNING ON PLANNING COMMISSION IS SOME FEEDBACK TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
IS THAT A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT HAPPEN IN OTHER AREAS? SO OUR JURISDICTION TO LOOK AT ZONING LIMITS US A BIT, AND WE DON'T, WE DON'T GET TO A LOT OF THE GOOD STUFF ON STREETS AND SCHOOLS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND THAT, THAT HAPPENS A LITTLE BIT LATER ON IN THE PROCESS.
AND IF WE DON'T LIKE HOW THE PROCESS WORKS AND WE HAVE TO CHANGE THOSE PROCESSES, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ADD A NOTE TO, HOWEVER, THIS
[02:00:01]
ENDS UP AFTER THE VOTE.I WANT TO ADD A NOTE TO COUNCIL THAT I THINK THIS CASE HAS BROUGHT OUT A LARGER POINT, WHICH IS AS OUR CITY GROWS, WE NEED TO DO IT THOUGHTFULLY AND SAFELY.
AND WE DON'T HAVE A MUNICIPAL PLAN ABOUT HOW WE HANDLE STANDARDS ON THESE LINES.
AND I THINK WE NEED ONE, AND I APPRECIATE OUR, OUR EXPERTISE HERE, BUT WE NEED TO UTILIZE THEM IN A WAY THAT'S MEANINGFUL.
SO THAT AS DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS, IT HAPPENS SAFELY.
MY ONLY THOUGHT ON THE 25 FOOT SETBACK IS THAT'S TO THE APARTMENT BUILDING AND THE , BUT WHAT'S THE DISTANCE TO THE HOMES.
ON THE OTHER SIDE, I THOUGHT I HAD READ DEPENDING ON WHETHER IT WAS A HIGH PRESSURE OR LOW PRESSURE LINE, WE NEEDED FURTHER DISTANCES THAN THAT, BUT WE NEVER EVEN ESTABLISHED CLEARLY WHAT KIND OF LINE WE HAVE THERE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
I THINK, I THINK THIS NEEDS TO GO UP TO COUNCIL AND THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT WE'RE GOING TO HIT THESE ISSUES MORE.
LET'S GO AND TAKE A VOTE ON THIS.
LET ME, UH, FORESEE THOSE IN FAVOR ON THE, UH, LET ME REPEAT THE MOTION.
THERE'S A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER COPPS, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER.
HEMPEL IT STAFF RECOMMENDATION, EVERYBODY CLEAR ON WHAT THAT IS FROM THE BACKUP.
YEAH, FOR BOTH THE NPA AND STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR THE MPA AND THE ZONING.
AND WITH THE ADDITION OF, UM, A ADDITION OF A FRONT AND SIDE SETBACK, MINIMUM OF 25.
FRONT AND SIDE BUILDING SETBACK, MINIMUM OF 25 FEET ON THE FRONT AND SIDE.
AND, UH, THAT'S ON THE DYESS AND FAVOR.
SO WE HAVE THAT'S, UH, I CAN'T COUNT SEVEN.
AND THOSE, UH, ON THE VIRTUAL IN FAVOR.
SO THAT'S NINE TOTAL OF THOSE AGAINST, ON THE DICE, ANYBODY AGAINST, UH, THOSE AGAINST W TWO, THEN THOSE THAT ARE ABSTAINING ON THE DIAS, THOSE ABSTAINING.
I GET, WE HAVE ANY EXTENSIONS, UH, ON THE SCREEN NOW.
SO THAT'S, AM I COUNTING RIGHT? YES.
UM, UM, CHAIR, CAN I QUICKLY JUST TANK OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFF.
IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL FOR THEM TO BE HERE.
FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR BEING HERE.
LET'S GIVE A FEW MINUTES, UH, TO EXCHANGE.
AND LET'S GO TO RECESS FOR FIVE MINUTES AND WE'LL BE BACK HERE AT, UM, IT'S EIGHT, 10, SO EIGHT 15.
[Items B1 & B2]
BE TO SUSPEND THE RULE.IT'S JUST FOR THESE SUN TO BE ONE AND TWO, WHICH WERE TAKEN TOGETHER, UH, TO ALLOW MORE QUESTIONS.
UM, THE FIRST ROUND OF QUESTIONS, UH, EACH COMMISSION, A MEMBER WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO ASK THE QUESTIONS, UH, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES AND THEN THAT INCLUDES EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.
UM, UM, SO THE OPPORTUNITY AS WELL, UH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK QUESTIONS, BUT IT WILL, WE CAN EXCEED OUR NORMAL EIGHT, THE SECOND ROUND.
I KNOW THAT OFTEN WHEN FOLKS HEAR QUESTIONS BEING ASKED BY COMMISSIONERS, WE OFTEN IT TRIGGERS OTHER QUESTIONS WE HAVE.
SO THIS KIND OF ALLOWS FOR, UH, SIX MEMBERS AT THREE MINUTES, EACH WOULD BE OUR SECOND ROUND.
UH, THAT WAY WE CAN KIND OF MANAGE OUR TIME, BUT ALLOW FOR THAT.
FOLLOW-UP UH, SO, AND WHAT I DID, I WAS GOING TO GIVE STAFF MORE TIME, UH, MR. RIVERA, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THAT, BUT I'M BEING TOLD BY MR. THAT THEY CAN, THE FIVE MINUTES THAT THEY GET FOR EACH, FOR THE NPA AND THE ZONING IS, IS ADEQUATE.
SO, UH, SO MY, UM, MOTION HERE IS ONLY CONCERNING OUR Q AND A, UH, DO I HAVE A SECOND ON THAT MOTION AS COMMISSIONER CZAR, THAT'S GOING TO SEE A VOTE FOR THE SUSPENSION OF OUR RULES.
UM, AND, UH, THAT'S, WE'VE GOT AN 11 COMMISSIONER, UM, PRACTICE IS STILL OUT.
UM, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND HEAR FROM STAFF.
COMMISSIONERS I'M JERRY RESTAURANT WITH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT HERE TO DO ITEMS NUMBER B ONE, WHICH IS, UM, CASE NPA 2922.02, UH, RELATED ZONING CASES.
I DIDN'T BE TOO, JUST IN CASE C 8 14 89 0 0 3 0.02.
[02:05:02]
UM, THIS CASE IS KNOWN AS THE, UH, 3 0 5 SOUTH CONGRESS.PUD IS ITS FORMAL NAME, MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE STATESMAN PUD.
UM, AS YOU CAN TELL FROM THE CASE NUMBER, THE CASE IS ACTUALLY AN AMENDMENT OF AN EXISTING PUD.
THERE'S ALREADY A PLANNING UNIT DEVELOPMENT ON THIS PROPERTY, UM, THAT THEY'D BACK DATES BACK TO 1989.
AND THIS IS THE, UM, SECOND AMENDMENT TO THAT POD.
UM, THEREFORE THE ZONING IS FROM PUD NEIGHBOR PLAN TO PUTIN NEIGHBOR PLAN A IS 18.86 ACRES.
I'M SURE EVERYBODY KNOWS WHERE IT'S AT.
IT'S LOCATED AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF, UM, CONGRESS AVENUE IN LADY BIRD LAKE.
THE APPLICANT IS ARMBRUST AND BROWN.
THE STAFF DOES RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE PUD.
UH, WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS BRIEFLY COVER THE, UM, BOARD AND COMMISSION ACTION UP TO THIS POINT AND THEN GO OVER THE REASONS FOR THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION AS WELL AS SOME BASIC ROUND NUMBERS FOR THE CASE.
UM, AND THEN IF YOU'D LIKE, YOU CAN ASK ME QUESTIONS OR WE HAVE PLENTY OF STAFF HERE FROM A VARIETY OF CITY DEPARTMENTS, OR IF YOU'D LIKE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM THE APPLICANT WHO HAS, UM, A LOT OF PRETTY PICTURES.
AND I BELIEVE A VIDEO TO SHOW YOU, AND THEN WE COULD HANDLE THE QUESTIONS AFTERWARDS, WHATEVER, WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE.
UH, THE PARKS BOARD DID TAKE ACTION ON THIS CASE.
UM, THEIR RECOMMENDATION WAS TO NOT RECOMMEND THE PUD AS SUPERIOR.
UM, THEY DIRECTED THE STAFF TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE APPLICANT ON A LIST THAT WAS PRESENTED TO THEM OF UNRESOLVED ISSUES.
SINCE THE PARK BOARD TOOK THAT VOTE.
THOSE UNRESOLVED ISSUES HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT WITH THE PARK STAFF.
AND THERE'S A MEMO IN YOUR BACKUP FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO MYSELF, INDICATING THAT THOSE ISSUES HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT.
UH, THE ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD VOTE WAS SIMILAR.
UM, THEY DID NOT RECOMMEND THE PUD, UM, BUT THEY DID RECOMMEND THAT THE STAFF AND APPLICANT CONTINUE TO WORK ON A LIST OF OUTSTANDING ISSUES, UH, THAT THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT HAD PUT TOGETHER.
AND ALTHOUGH WE HAVE NOT CLEARED THAT LIST, LIKE WE HAVE CLEARED THE, THE LIST WITH THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE'RE GETTING A LITTLE BIT CLOSER, UM, AS THE APPLICANT AND THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT CONTINUE TO TALK.
THE CASE IS ALSO, UM, GONE TO THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD, ALSO KNOWN AS THE SCHWAB, THE SCHWAB RECOMMENDED TO, UH, THAT THE PUG GENERALLY CONFORMS WITH THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT VISION PLAN, BUT THEY ASKED THAT WE CONTINUE WORKING, UM, WITH BOTH DEPARTMENTS, WATERSHED AND PARKS, AS THE PREVIOUS COMMISSIONS MENTIONED.
UM, LAST WEEK WE WENT TO THE SMALL AREA PLAN JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION.
UM, THEIR VOTE WAS TO SUPPORT THE VOTES OF THE PARD ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD AND THE SCHWAB, AND TO ASK STAFF TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT LIST OF THINGS THAT, UM, I MENTIONED TWICE BEFORE, AND THEY WERE ESPECIALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE, UM, ONE OF THE OUTSTANDING ISSUES WITH THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, WHICH HAS ATTRACTED SOME ATTENTION LATELY, NOT JUST FOR THIS PROJECT, BUT CITYWIDE AND EVEN NATIONWIDE HAS TO DO WITH BIRD STRIKES AND THE REFLECTIVITY OF THE WINDOWS.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE, UH, WATERSHED DEPARTMENT OF THE APPLICANT ARE CONTINUING TO WORK ON.
THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD ALLOW UP TO 1,378, RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS, 275 ROOM HOTEL, A MILLION AND A HALF SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE DEVELOPMENT, 150,000 SQUARE FEET OF COMMERCIAL AND RESTAURANT DEVELOPMENT.
THE HEIGHTS ON THE PROPERTY WOULD GO FROM A HIGH OF 525 FEET UP AGAINST CONGRESS AVENUE DOWN TO 200 FEET.
THE FURTHER EAST YOU GOT ALONG THE TRACK, I BELIEVE THE FAR, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, IT WAS ABOUT A 4.2 TO ONE AT THIS POINT.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THIS IS INSIDE THE 2016 SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT, UM, VISION PLAN.
UM, WE DO NOT HAVE WHAT WE CALL A REGULATING PLAN THAT GOES WITH THAT PLAN.
NORMALLY WE WOULD APPROVE THE VISION PLAN.
WE'D WE BE IN THE CITY, THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD APPROVE THE VISION PLAN, AND THEN YOU'D FOLLOW IT UP WITH A SET OF, UM, REGULATIONS KNOWN AS A REGULATORY PLAN, THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE, AND I'M REALLY COMPRESSING A MUCH BIGGER DOCUMENT.
THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE, THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN IS TO ALLOW EXPANDED ENTITLEMENTS FOR DEVELOPERS IN EXCHANGE FOR COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
THE DIFFERENT THING ABOUT THAT PLAN IS THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS WERE IDENTIFIED AS A PART OF THE VISION PLAN AND THEY'RE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA, WHICH ROUGHLY GOES FROM ONE TEXAS CENTER.
SOUTH FIRST STRIKE IS BOWLING CREEK, SOUTH FIRST STREET, UM, ALL THE WAY OVER TO, UM, TO THE EAST OVER BY JOE'S CRAB SHACK.
SO THE IDEA WAS THAT A DEVELOPER ON ONE TRACK, LET'S SAY THE SNOOPY TRACK, WHICH YOU ALL REMEMBERED CENTER CONSTRUCTION, JUST OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW, JUST ABOUT DONE.
NOW DID NOT HAVE A LOT OF SPACE THERE ON THAT TRIANGULAR SITE TO DO COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
SO THE IDEA WAS THAT THERE WERE, AND, UH, AND FRANKLY THE PROJECT WAS AN OFFICE PROJECT.
SO THERE WOULD NOT BE A HEAVY LIFT THERE AS FAR AS TRYING TO GET ONSITE IMPROVEMENTS THERE, BUT THE DEVELOPER WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR IMPROVEMENTS THAT MAY BE MADE SOMEWHERE OFFSITE, BUT STILL WITHIN THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLANT, POSSIBLY ON THE STATESMAN PROPERTY.
SO THE IDEA WAS YOU KIND OF LOOK AT THE
[02:10:01]
SOUTH CENTRAL AREA AS A WHOLE, BOTH IN TERMS OF ENTITLEMENTS, AS WELL AS BENEFIT AND NOT KIND OF GO ON A SITE BY SITE BASIS, WHICH IS KIND OF HOW WE NORMALLY DO THINGS.UM, THAT REGULATORY PLAN WAS PROPOSED AS PART OF THE, UM, WELL CODE NEXT CODE, REWRITE, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT.
AND WE ALL KNOW WHERE THAT IS.
SO, UM, UM, WE WERE PROBABLY STILL LOOKING AT DOING A REGULATORY PLAN, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WE'VE HAD TO USE THE PUD TOOL BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY TOOL THE CITY HAS THAT YOU CAN GET GREATER ENTITLEMENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY THERE.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE DO WITH THE SNOOPY TRACK.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING WITH THE STATESMAN CASE.
ALTHOUGH KEEP IN MIND IN THE STATESMAN CASES IS ACTUALLY AMENDING THE EXISTING, BUT NOT A BRAND NEW ONE.
UM, AS A PRESUME, Y'ALL KNOW, I'M A PUD, A GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF A POD IS THAT A APPLICANT CAN GET, UM, GREATER ENTITLEMENTS, BASICALLY MAKE AMENDMENTS TO THE CODE WITHOUT HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE VARIANCE PROCESS.
UM, AND IN EXCHANGE FOR THAT THE CITY GETS COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT ARE OUTLINED IN THE, UH, THE 2007 UPDATE TO THE, UH, TO THE PORT ORDINANCE.
SO IN THIS CASE, THE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THAT THIS PROJECT IS SUPERIOR TO WHAT WOULD BE ALLOWED UNDER STANDARD CODE.
UM, I WILL BE HONEST WITH YOU.
SOMETIMES THE LIST OF THINGS THAT ARE UNDER ARE SUPERIOR IN A PUD, WE MAY HAVE A VERY LONG LIST OF SMALL THINGS.
AND SOMETIMES AS IN THIS CASE, WE HAVE A SHORTER LIST OF SUPERIOR ITEMS, BUT I THINK THAT THEY ARE LARGE IN TERMS OF IMPORTANCE AND LARGE IN TERMS OF, UM, DOLLAR VALUE.
SO THE FIRST ITEM WOULD BE THE DEDICATION OF 6.5, SIX ACRES OF DEDICATED PARKLAND, AS WELL AS AN ADDITIONAL 1.59 ACRES OF PARKLAND EASEMENT.
AGAIN, THE PROPERTY IS 18, I BELIEVE 18.56 ACRES.
SO THAT IS A FULL, JUST ABOUT THIRD OF THE PROPERTY WATERFRONT DOWNTOWN PROPERTY, WHICH IS A RARITY, YOU KNOW, MUCH OF THE WATERFRONT IS ALREADY OWNED BY THE CITY.
UM, SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOWNTOWN WATER FROM PROPERTY AND THEY'RE DEDICATING ABOUT A THIRD OF THE TRACK TO, UM, TO PARKLAND.
UM, THAT WAS WHAT IS CALLED FOR IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN AND IT IS WHAT THEY WERE PROPOSING IN THE PUTT.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO DIFFERENT FROM THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN, WHICH CONTEMPLATED THE EXTENSION OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD TO THE EAST OF CONGRESS.
UM, THAT ROAD WOULD IN THE PLAN BE SPLIT BETWEEN WE CALL THE CROCKETT PROPERTY TO THE SOUTH OF HERE, AS WELL AS THIS PROPERTY.
AND THEN THAT ROAD WOULD HAVE, UM, TAKEN AN ANGLE AND HEADED ENTIRELY UNDER THE CROCKER PROPERTY.
THE CROCKETT FAMILY IS NOT READY TO REDEVELOP THEIR PROPERTY AT THIS TIME OR SEEK ENTITLEMENTS.
AND SO THEREFORE OUR ONLY OPTION IS TO CONTEMPLATE THE EXTENSION OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD ENTIRELY ON THE, UM, WE'RE KNOWN AS THE COX OR THE STATESMAN SITE.
SO THEY ARE PROPOSING TO DEDICATE 3.6, NINE ACRES TOWARDS STREETS OF THAT.
AND ABOUT TWO ACRES, 1.92 ACRES WOULD BE THE EXTENSION OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD, WHICH WOULD FALL ENTIRELY ON THEM RATHER THAN, UM, ONLY A SMALL PORTION OF IT AS ORIGINALLY ENVISIONED IN 2016, THE APPLICANT ALSO WOULD BE DEDICATING PROPERTY TO A PROPOSED PROJECT CONNECT TRANSIT STOP AT THIS LOCATION, THAT EXACT LOCATION, THAT TRANSIT STOP IS STILL UP IN THE AIR, AS YOU KNOW, THAT THEY STILL WORKING ON THE DESIGN DOCUMENTS FOR THAT.
UM, WE DO ANTICIPATE A PORTION OF THIS SITE WILL BE NEEDED, WHETHER THE STATIONS UNDERGROUND, UM, ON THE PROPERTY, WHETHER IT'S JUST, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE BRIDGE, THAT'S CONTEMPLATED TO GO ACROSS THE LAKE.
UM, THERE WOULD BE A NEED FOR SOME PROPERTY OFF OF THIS SITE FOR PROJECT CONNECT.
WE JUST DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH AT THIS TIME.
UM, I WOULD NOTE THAT THAT PROPERTY IS THE SAME PROPERTY PORTION OF IT.
THAT WOULD BE THE DEDICATED PARKLAND.
UM, AND SO WHAT THE ACRONYM HAS PROPOSED IS THAT IF ANY PORTION OF THE DEDICATED PARKLAND IS USED FOR PROJECT CONNECT, THEY WILL PAY THE PARKLAND DEDICATION FEE EQUIVALENT TO THE AMOUNT OF AREA OF PARK THAT HAS GIVEN UP FOR THE TRAIN STATION.
IT MAY BE THAT THAT IS UNDERGROUND AND THE MATERIAL AFFECT THE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND IS, IS SMALL, BUT, UM, THEY WOULD STILL AGREE TO, TO MAKE UP FOR THAT PARKLAND.
IF IT, IN FACT, IT'S USED FOR PROJECT CONNECTING STAT, UM, THEY ALSO AGREE THAT 95% OF THE PARKING WOULD BE UNDERGROUND.
WE THINK THAT FROM AN URBAN PLANNING STANDPOINT, FROM URBAN DESIGN STANDPOINT, THAT IS A VERY HUGE GET FOR US.
UM, WE'VE ALL SEEN RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AROUND HERE, DOWNTOWN, UM, WHERE YOU HAVE WHAT WE CALL THE PODIUM STYLE DEVELOPMENT, WHERE HALF OF THE BUILDING IS A PARKING GARAGE.
AND THEN THE ACTUAL OCCUPIED BUILDING IS ABOVE THAT.
UM, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ESPECIALLY WOULD HATE TO SEE ON THE LAKE.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WALKING DOWN THE HIKE BIKE TRAIL, NO ONE WANTS TO HAVE THE LAKE ON ONE SIDE OF THEM AND THE WALL OF A PARKING GARAGE ON THE OTHER.
SO BY PUTTING 95% OF THE SPACE IS UNDERGROUND, WHICH IS VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE, ESPECIALLY GIVEN US, UH, PROXIMITY TO WATER.
UM, AS YOU CAN TELL FROM THE GARAGE BELOW HERE AND THE REPAIRS THAT ARE BEING MADE
[02:15:01]
RIGHT NOW, UM, BUT, UM, THAT'S A BIG GET FOR WHERE THE CITY, IN OUR OPINION, UM, WE DID AGREE TO ALLOW THE 5% TO BE, UM, NOT UNDERGROUND.THE REASON FOR THAT BEING FOR DROP-OFFS UBER, THAT TYPE OF THING, UM, AS REQUIRED IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN, THE APPLICANT IS WILLING TO DEDICATE 4% OF THE HOUSING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IF IT'S RENTAL OR PAY A FEE IN LIEU OF IF IT'S OWNER OCCUPIED, UM, THAT IS THE NUMBER CALLED FOR IN THE 2016 SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN.
THE REASON THAT NUMBER MAY SEEM LOW TO YOU IS, AGAIN, THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN WAS LOOKING AT MOST OF THE THINGS, AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON A DISTRICT LEVEL, AS OPPOSED TO AN INDIVIDUAL SITE LEVEL.
SO IT WAS CONTEMPLATED AT THE TIME THAT THIS SITE WOULD BE GIVING UP A LOT IN TERMS OF PARKLAND AND IN TERMS OF RIGHT AWAY.
AND SO THE BURDEN FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON THIS TRACK WAS LESSENED TO MAKE UP FOR THOSE THINGS.
OTHER TRACKS HAVE HIGHER, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENTS.
UH, THE APPLICANT IS PROPOSING TO RECONSTRUCT 1700 FEET OF THE HEIGHT BY TRAIL, WHICH RUNS TO THE PROPERTY RIGHT NOW IT'S CONTAINED WITHIN AN EASEMENT.
UM, THEY WOULD BE, UM, REDEVELOPING THAT OR RECONSTRUCTING THAT, UM, AND, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TRAIL FOUNDATION TO MAKE SURE IT COMES UP TO BEST PRACTICE, AS OPPOSED TO WHAT'S BUILT THERE TODAY.
UM, THERE WOULD BE AN ENHANCEMENT OF THE BAD VIEWING AREA THAT'S CURRENTLY DOWN THERE RIGHT NOW, BUT IT WAS FRANKLY ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.
AND, UM, IT IS THERE BECAUSE THE STATESMAN ALLOWS IT TO BE THERE.
UM, THEY WOULD BE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS, UH, BUILDING BEEN CALLED A GREAT STEPS, WHICH WOULD LEAD TO THE GREAT LAWN, WHICH I GUESS WOULD LET PEOPLE SEE THE GREAT BATS.
UM, SO, UM, SO, UM, ANYWAY, THERE WOULD BE A MUCH NICER ENVIRONMENT RIGHT NOW, INCLUDING A PARTNERSHIP.
I THINK THAT THEY'VE ENTERED INTO WITH BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL TO, UM, EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT OUR UNIQUE URBAN POPULATION.
UM, THEY'VE ALSO AGREED TO DO GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR STORM WATER MANAGEMENT, UM, INCLUDING IN THE BAD AREA THAT I JUST SPOKE ABOUT.
UM, PUTTING UPON THEY'VE AGREED TO PUT A POND UNDERGROUND.
IT WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO BE ON THE SURFACE, UM, THAT WILL EXPAND THE USABLE AREA FOR PEOPLE TO GO AND WATCH THE BASS BECAUSE THEY WON'T HAVE TO, UH, STAND OUTSIDE OF A FENCED IN POND.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO SAVING A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE HERITAGE TREES ON THE SITE AND 75% OF THE OVERALL TREES.
UM, I WOULD NOTE THAT THEY, UM, THE PAYMENT FOR THE, UM, ALTHOUGH THEY'RE DEDICATED TO LAND FOR BOTH RIGHT AWAY FOR, UM, BARTON SPRINGS ROAD AND FOR THE, UH, THE PARK, THE IMPROVEMENTS, THE ACTUAL IMPROVEMENTS, THE COST OF THOSE IMPROVEMENTS IS NOT A PART OF THE PUD, UM, THAT IS BEING CONSIDERED THROUGH ALTERNATIVE MECHANISMS, INCLUDING THE, UM, UM, THE TIFFEN DETERS THAT ARE BEING SPOKEN ABOUT IT THROUGH COUNCIL RIGHT NOW, AS WE SPEAK, UM, AS WELL AS OTHER, UM, FINANCING POSSIBILITIES.
SO, UM, THEY'VE AGREED TO GIVE UP THE LANDS AND VERY EXPENSIVE LAND FOR BOTH OF THOSE THINGS.
UM, BUT THEY, THEY HAVE NOT AT THIS TIME AGREED TO, TO TAKE ON THE COST OF BOTH OF THOSE THINGS BECAUSE COMBINED THEY'RE VERY, IT'S AN AWFUL LOT OF MONEY.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, THAT'S THE STAFF PRESENTATION.
AND I HAVE STAFF HERE FROM A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS CASE.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THE, UH, APPLICANT'S PRESENTATION FIRST, AND THEN WE ALL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, BUT WE'RE AVAILABLE IF YOU NEED US.
IF THIS COMES OFF ALL I'M UP HERE, CHAIR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF HE COULD WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE, PLEASE.
IF YOU COULD WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE, UH, VERIFY YOUR SPEAKERS, UH, YOUR DONORS APOLOGIZE, UM, IS MS. MAURO PRESENT? THANK YOU.
IS KATHY SMITH PRESENT? THANK YOU.
MS. SOTO, YOU'LL HAVE A TOTAL OF 10 MINUTES CHAIR MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
BEFORE I START, CAN WE HAVE A SHORT VIDEO? THAT'LL JUST KIND OF GIVE AN OVERVIEW AND THEN I, I I'M DO A PRESENTATION.
THAT'S BASICALLY SETTING THE TABLE AND GIVING A HISTORY AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR, OUR ARCHITECTS AND OUR PROFESSIONALS.
AND THERE'LL BE AT YOUR DISPOSAL.
IS THERE A CHANCE I COULD RUN THE VIDEO NOW AND THEN START MY PRESENTATION? IT'S IT'S THREE MINUTES.
I THINK THAT WE WERE DOING THIS TO SPARE.
HOWEVER YOU WANT TO GET WE'LL LET LET'S LET'S DO THE VIDEO FIRST.
[02:20:01]
WE ARE PRESENTING A NEW VISION TO AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TO CREATE A DYNAMIC AND INCLUSIVE DESTINATION THAT BUILDS UPON THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT PLAN.THIS NEW DISTRICT WILL ENHANCE OUR EXISTING ROADS, BIKES, AND TRAIL SYSTEM, FURTHER CONNECTING AND ACTIVATING THE LADY BIRD LAKE WATERFRONT.
THIS SITE CONSISTS OF THE EXISTING 15 FOOT WIDE TRAIL OF PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE LAKEFRONT.
IF APPROVED OVER SEVEN AND A HALF ACRES OF PRIVATE LAND WILL BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE WITH NEW PARK AND OPEN SPACE ALONG THE LAKE, ALL ACCESSIBLE VIA CONGRESS, RIVERSIDE, AND AN EXTENSION OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD.
THIS PROJECT WOULD EXPAND EXISTING BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN PASS, INCREASING CONNECTION POINTS TO AN ENHANCING.
THE BUTLER HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL.
ALL OF AUSTIN WILL HAVE ACCESS VIA ROAD, BUS, BIKE PORTRAYAL, AS WELL AS TRANSIT VIA PROJECT CONNECTS NEW BLUE LINE STATION.
ESTABLISHING THIS SITE AS A NEW MULTI-MODAL HUB.
WE'RE CREATING A NEW ENVIRONMENT FOR PEOPLE TO WALK STROLL AND HANGING OUT VIBRANT, DIVERSE, AND WELCOMING A PUBLIC SPACE THAT EMBRACES OUR CITY'S CULTURE AND HONORS THE SPIRIT OF AUSTIN.
WE ARE IMPROVING ON THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT VISION PLAN BY PUTTING NEARLY ALL PARKING BELOW GRADE AND OUT OF SIGHT, CREATING A BETTER VISUAL EXPERIENCE FOR PEDESTRIANS, BIKES AND CARS THAT BRINGS PEOPLE TO THE WATERFRONT FROM THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS.
IF APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, THIS WILL BECOME A NEW DESTINATION FOR OUR ENTIRE CITY, OFFERING PLACES TO LIVE, RELAX, AND STAY AND PLACES TO WORK, SHOP AND DINE A NEW DESTINATION FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
LIKE I SAID, I'M RICHARD SUBTLER.
I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF ENDEAVOR REAL ESTATE AND THE COX FAMILY, THE OWNERS OF THE PROPERTY.
THIS IS A COMPLEX AND IMPORTANT CASE.
AND I'LL EXPLAIN WHY LATER ON, BUT IT'S AN EASY CASE BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MUCH TO WORK WITH.
THERE ARE SO MANY COMMUNITY BENEFITS AND PUBLIC BENEFITS THAT WE CAN GET OUT OF THIS CASE THAT I THINK YOU'LL FIND IT EASY.
AND I WANT TO, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS IS A NO PRESSURE HEARING.
WE'RE WE, WE WANT THIS TO BE INTERACTIVE BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A CORNER ON ALL THE INFORMATION AND WE WELCOME YOUR INPUT AND YOUR SUGGESTIONS.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR A DISCRETIONARY APPROVAL AND WE'RE ASKING FOR YOUR POSITIVE RECOMMENDATION.
WE HOPE WE CAN EARN IT IN THE END.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS REASONABLE MINDS CAN DIFFER ON CERTAIN THINGS, ROAD, WIDTHS, AMOUNT OF PARKLAND, AMOUNT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
IF WE DISAGREE ON IT, OR IF WE DON'T HAVE, WE DIDN'T HIT THE MARK, PLEASE LET US KNOW THAT.
AND SOME OF YOU ALREADY HAVE, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL TRY TO INCORPORATE ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE CAN IN WHILE KEEPING IN MIND THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE A VIABLE PROJECT THERE'S LOTS TO WORK WITH.
AND WE'RE CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN EARN YOUR, YOUR RECOMMENDATION.
I'M GOING TO SET THE TABLE WITH A LITTLE HISTORY ON THIS SITE IN 1910, THIS WAS A SPINACH FARM, AND THERE WERE COWS WALKING AROUND ON IT.
THE RIVER WAS NOT DAMMED UP AND THERE WASN'T A LAKE IN 1960 LONGHORN DAM OPENED UP AND THE CITY AND IN THE LANDOWNERS ALL ALONG ACTUALLY ENTERED INTO A BOUNDARY LINE AGREEMENT TO SETTING THE BOUNDARIES.
ONE OF WHICH WAS ON THIS PROPERTY, PART OF OUR PROPERTY ACTUALLY GOES OUT UNDER THE WATER WHERE, WHERE THE LAND HAS ERODED AWAY.
AND WE'VE GOT THE LEGAL RIDE ALREADY APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL BACK THEN TO FILL THAT IN AND BULKHEAD IT, WE'VE CHOSEN NOT TO DO THAT.
AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE WHEN DOUG EXPLAINS IT IS WHERE THE BOARDWALK IS PROPOSED.
THAT'S UNDERWATER LAND THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO RECLAIM TODAY, BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO CAUSE THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOLKS THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS PROBABLY NOT A GOOD IDEA.
IN 1978, UH, THERE WAS A ZONING CASE THAT WENT FROM EL TO SEE BACK IN THE OLD DAYS, THOSE WERE THE ZONING CATEGORIES.
UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHEN THE COX ENTERPRISES BOUGHT THIS.
AND THERE WAS A THAT'S WHEN THE 15 FOOT TRAIL WAS DEDICATED OR AT LEAST AN AGREEMENT TO DEDICATE THE TRAILS THAT WAS DONE.
AND THERE WAS, UH, THAT WAS WHEN COX ENTERPRISES GOT THE PROPERTY.
HE FAST FORWARD TO 1984 AND THE HYATT WAS BUILT AND THE HYATT WAS BUILT RIGHT ON THE WATER AND JUST A WALL.
[02:25:01]
OF PEOPLE IN TOWN.AND THAT'S THAT'S THEN IN 85, THE TOWN LAKE CORRIDOR STUDY STARTED.
AND THAT'S WHEN WE STARTED THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE TREAT OUR WATERFRONT DOWNTOWN IN 86, THE WATERFRONT OVERLAY WAS PASSED AND IT, IT SETS SETBACKS AND HEIGHT LIMITATIONS IN 1989, THE COX FAMILY BROUGHT THE CASE BACK IN AND IT WAS ACTUALLY ZONED PUD TO, TO ALLOW WHAT YOU SEE TODAY IS, IS BASICALLY THE INDUSTRIAL USE OF A NEWSPAPER PLANT.
AND THEN IN 2013, AND I'M ROLLING THROUGH THESE THERE'S A LOT THAT HAPPENED IN BETWEEN, BUT I'M JUST GIVING YOU THE HIGHLIGHTS.
IN 2013, THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT OVERLAY PLAN WAS INITIATED BY COUNCIL.
AND IT WAS IN RESPONSE TO KNOWING THAT AS WE GREW AS A CITY, THERE WERE GOING TO BE MORE AND MORE DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES ON THIS AND WE NEEDED TO GET IT RIGHT.
AND THE COUNCIL INITIATED THAT, THAT IN 2015, I WAS PRIVILEGED TO GET INVOLVED.
IN THIS CASE, THE COX FAMILY APPROACHED ME TO ASK THEM TO S HOW TO SHEPHERD THIS THROUGH THE TRANSITION OF THE NEWSPAPER BUSINESS AND INTO THE FAMILY BUSINESS.
AND THEN HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE WORK WITH THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT OVERLAY AND GET THROUGH IT? AND IN DECEMBER OF 15, IT WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE FAMILY.
THE FAMILY IMMEDIATELY STARTED AN RFP PROCESS TO FIND A DEVELOPMENT PARTNER AND THE RFP PROCESS, THE INVITATIONS WENT OUT BOTH NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY TO BIG TIME DEVELOPERS TO SEE WHAT THEIR VIEW OF THE WORLD WAS.
AND IN THE END, UH, WHAT HAPPENED IS, IS THAT ENDEAVOR REAL ESTATE, OUR LOCAL REAL ESTATE PARTNER WON THE RFP BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTOOD AUSTIN.
THEY WERE CAPABLE, HAD THE FINANCIAL WHEREWITHAL AND THE SPIRIT.
AND AT THAT POINT, UM, THEY, THEY WERE PARTNERED WITH THE COX FAMILY IN 2016.
UH, THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT VISION PLAN WAS ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE STARTED WORKING TOWARDS 2017 ENDEAVOR HAVE FORMALIZED THEIR RESPONSE TO THE RFP AND WERE, AND WERE PICKED TO PARTNER WITH THEM FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, FROM 2017 TO 2019, WE WORKED ON A PLAN THAT, THAT TOOK INTO ACCOUNT THE EXISTING PUD AND THE NEW SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN, AND TRIED TO MELD THEM TOGETHER.
AND IN SOME INSTANCES THEY'RE NOT CONSISTENT, BUT WE DID THE BEST WE CAN BECAUSE PUDS ZONING WAS THE ONLY ZONING CATEGORY THAT WE COULD DO TO IMPLEMENT THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN.
AND FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WE WORKED WITH STAFF GOING BACK AND FORTH, RESPONDING TO COMMENTS AND, AND WORKING ON GETTING THE PUD DONE JUST RIGHT, SO THAT WE COULD BRING IT TO YOU IN THE INTERIM.
SOMETHING THAT SURPRISED US IN TWO, IN 2020 PROJECT CONNECT, UH, WAS VOTED ON AND PASSED, WHICH TURNED THIS INTO ESSENTIALLY MORE THAN JUST A SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN, BUT ALSO A DOD THAT, THAT ALSO CHANGED OUR IDEAS ON DENSITIES AND STUFF.
BUT WE STUCK WITH THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN, UH, VISION, UM, IN 2020, A WORKING DRAFT OF THE REGULATING PLAN AND A REDO OF THE FINANCIALS WAS DONE BY THE S WAS ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OR, OR BY THE CITY STAFF.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WE, AS WE GOT INTO THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN, WE FOUND THAT THERE WERE SOME FLAWS IS TOO STRONG, A WORD, BUT THAT'S WHAT IT WAS.
THERE WERE SOME, SOME BOUNDARY LINES THAT DIDN'T MATCH UP SOME FINANCIAL ASSUMPTIONS THAT DIDN'T MATCH UP.
AND SO WE WERE TWEAKING THOSE, AND THAT'S HOW WE ENDED UP WITH A LITTLE DIFFERENT PUD PLAN.
THEN IT'S IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN, BUT WE CAN GO THROUGH THAT WITH YOU AS, AS WE HAVE THE CONVERSATION HERE.
UM, SOME OF YOU HAVE ASKED ME ABOUT THIS LETTER THAT I WROTE SAYING, WE WANT TO HEARING, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE CALL IT, A TWO EIGHTY TWO MEETING OR A LETTER, BUT THE BASICALLY THAT'S, THAT'S AN APPLICANT'S OPTION UNDER THE CODE TO SAY, WE'RE DONE TALKING, GOING BACK AND FORTH WITH COMMENTS.
WE WANT TO HAVE A HEARING AND PUT IT IN THE HANDS OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO GIVE US YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND THEN HERE WE ARE IN DECEMBER OF 2021.
SO AS YOU CAN TELL, IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN A MULTI-YEAR PROCESS JUST TO GET TO YOU.
UM, LET ME SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE.
I'LL JUST TELL YOU A COUPLE MORE LITTLE THINGS.
THIS IS AN AMENDMENT TO A PUD THAT PREDATES THE NEW PET ORDINANCE, TIER ONE, TIER TWO AND SUPERIORITY.
WE CHOSE NOT TO HAVE THAT FIGHT.
WE CHOSE TO APPLY AS IF WE WERE SUBJECT TO THE NEW PUD.
AND LIKE I SAID, THE PET IS THE ONLY WAY WE COULD DO IT RIGHT NOW.
THERE'S NO PARKLAND OUT THERE.
AND WHAT THIS PLAN PROPOSES IS PARKS, ROADS, TRANSIT, OPEN SPACE, HOUSING AND TRAILS.
AND I HOPE THAT Y'ALL WILL ASK US LOTS OF QUESTIONS.
WE HAVE OUR ENGINEERS, OUR ARCHITECTS, OUR TRAFFIC ENGINEERS.
WE ACTUALLY OPENED OUR FINANCIAL RECORDS TO THE CITY TO SHOW THEM WHY WE NEEDED
[02:30:01]
TO DENSITY, WHY THE TIFF IS NEEDED.AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S EVER HAPPENED BEFORE WHERE THE OPEN BOOK ON THE FINANCIALS HAS HAPPENED.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE OPENING OUR, OUR CONSULTANTS UP TO YOU TONIGHT FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
NOW, MR. VOIGHT, UM, IS JENNIFER SKULL ON TO HERE IS JOSH ANDY PASTOR NOTED.
MATTHEW EAGER, KIRK RUDY, CHRIS RANDAZZO, BRYCE MILLER NOTED.
MR. PORT YOU'LL HAVE 10 MINUTES.
I'M A DESIGN PARTNER AT THE ARCHITECTURE FIRMS, SKIDMORE, OWINGS, AND MERRILL IN CHICAGO.
AND WE ARE THE ARCHITECT AND PLANNERS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS PROJECT.
FIRST, I'D LIKE TO SAY, IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK IN AUSTIN.
YOU HAVE AN AMAZING CITY, AND IT'S AN HONOR TO BE HERE BEFORE YOU TODAY TO TALK ABOUT THIS EXCITING PROJECT AND THE PLANS TO REALIZE THIS INCREDIBLE VISION FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT.
I SHOULD MENTION THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS PLAN FOR TWO TO THREE YEARS, WORKING CLOSELY, NOT ONLY WITH THE TEAM OF ENGINEERS, CONSULTANTS AND OTHER ADVISORS, BUT ALSO TAKING FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AND NOT ONLY TESTING IDEAS, BUT EXPLORING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO ENHANCE THE PLAN, TO HELP DELIVER THIS VISION AND IN DOING SO, THE PRIORITIES TO DELIVER A DYNAMIC AND INCLUSIVE AND A WELCOMING WATERFRONT DISTRICT.
AND I SHOULD POINT OUT THAT SOME OF OUR TEAM WERE ACTUALLY PART OF THE INITIAL EFFORTS IN SCRIPTING THE PRINCIPLES FOR THE LARGER SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT PLAN.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THIS IS OUR POINT OF DEPARTURE.
OUR BEGINNING IS BUILDING ON THESE PRINCIPLES AND JUST FOR ALL OF YOU THAT PERHAPS ARE LESS FAMILIAR, WE'VE LIVED AND BREATHED THESE OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS.
THE FIRST PRINCIPLE IS TO ESTABLISH A LIVELY, ATTRACTIVE PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT.
THAT'S HOW WE LOOK AT THE DESIGN OF THE PUBLIC REALM, NOT JUST THE PARK, BUT THE COHESIVENESS WITH THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY.
THE SECOND PRINCIPLE TO EXPAND OPEN SPACE, CREATE GREAT PUBLIC SPACE.
THAT IS ALSO ABOUT HOW WE LOOK AT THE DESIGN AND SCALE OF PLACES, THE PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES WILL THAT SERVE NOT ONLY THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, BUT THE BASIC NEIGHBORHOOD FUNCTIONS OF THOSE COMMUNITIES, ADJACENT TO THE SITE, ENHANCE CONNECTIONS TO, AND ALONG THE WATERFRONT, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIAGRAMS TODAY TO SHARE EXACTLY HOW WE DO THAT.
AND THE LAST PRINCIPLE IS PROVIDE NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS.
SO ON THIS PLAN, YOU CAN SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SITE, ITS LOCATION, ADJACENT TO THE CONGRESS AVENUE BRIDGE.
AND AT APPROXIMATELY 18 ACRES, THAT DEVELOPMENT IS PLANS TO PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC BENEFIT, INCLUDING 62% WELL OVER HALF OF THE OPEN SPACE PLAN FOR THE ENTIRE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DISTRICT.
BUT IN ADDITION, THERE'S A ENTIRELY NEW NETWORK OF STREETS THAT LINK THESE BLOCKS AND COMMUNITIES TOGETHER, AS WELL AS OTHER IMPORTANT COMMITMENTS TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT ARE CRITICAL TO BUILDING A GREAT WATERFRONT.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE LOCATED AT THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF LADY BIRD LAKE ADJACENT TO THE CONGRESS AVENUE BRIDGE.
IT'S CLEAR WHY THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT SITE YET TODAY.
AND FOR MANY YEARS IT HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED FROM THE COMMUNITY AND MOST OF THE SITE, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE IS SURFACE PARKING WITHOUT ANY PUBLIC AMENITY BEYOND THE TRAIL.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY, OVER SEVEN ACRES OF THE SITE TODAY IS PAVED, DEDICATED TO SERVE AT SURFACE PARKING.
THERE IS LIMITED ACCESS TODAY TO THE TRAIL, BOTH AT THE EAST AND WEST END SHOWN HERE WITH CIRCLES WHERE BOTH OF THESE CONNECTION POINTS ARE MADE ACROSS PRIVATE LAND WITHOUT ANY PUBLIC EASEMENT.
[02:35:02]
AND ADDITIONALLY, THE EXISTING BUILDING FOOTPRINT EXTENDS WELL INTO MANY OF THE LAKEFRONT SETBACKS, INCLUDING THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE.SO AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS DIAGRAM, THE DASH LINES THAT REPRESENT PRIMARY, SECONDARY SETBACKS, AS WELL AS THE WATER QUALITY ZONE.
AND SO THIS ILLUSTRATION BEGINS TO CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF THIS PLAN.
AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH MANY MEMBERS OF THE CITY AND THE COMMUNITY IN REFINING EVERY ASPECT OF THIS PLAN.
AND WE'RE EXCITED TO SHARE THOSE REFINEMENTS TODAY, SUCH AS CONNECTING AND ENHANCING THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT THROUGH NOT ONLY RESPECT, BUT ENHANCEMENT OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THESE IMPORTANT LAKEFRONT SETBACKS ZONES.
THE INTEGRATION, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, MULTIPLE STREETS THAT EXTEND SOUTH FROM THE COMMUNITY NORTH INTO THE SITE AND DIRECTLY TO THE PARK AT THE PARK IS DIVERSE.
IT PROVIDES MANY OPPORTUNITIES, PLACES THAT CAN HOST MANY PEOPLE, BUT ALSO BE INTIMATE FOR THE FEW.
AND IT CONTINUES TO ENHANCE AND STRENGTHEN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BUTLER HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL.
THERE WERE A COUPLE OF REFERENCES MADE EARLIER THAT THIS PLAN IS DIFFERENT THAN THAT.
THAT WAS PROPOSED IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT PLAN SHOWN HERE ON THE LEFT, ON THE RIGHT.
YOU CAN SEE THE REFINEMENTS AND THE PROPOSED PLAN BEFORE YOU TONIGHT.
AND THIS WAS DONE AS A REFLECTION OF SEVERAL REALITIES RELATED TO MULTIPLE LAND OWNERSHIP AND HOW TO ADAPT THE PLAN, HOW TO SHIFT THIS GRID.
SO WE CAN NOT ONLY GET GREAT OPEN PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE WATERFRONT, BUT THAT WE CAN ALSO EXTEND THOSE IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS LIKE BARTON SPRINGS, AS PART OF THIS PROJECT, THIS HAS DONE WHILE ALSO MAINTAINING THE OVERALL GOALS FOR THE DISTRICT AND THIS EMPHASIS ON CREATING A GREAT PUBLIC REALM.
I SHOULD MENTION GREAT CITIES ARE DEFINED BY THE QUALITY OF THEIR PUBLIC SPACE.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE COMPARISON OF THESE TWO PLANS, THE PUBLIC REALM IS NOT ONLY THE PARKS, BUT AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE STREETS, THE PLAZAS, THE SPACES IN BETWEEN BUILDINGS THAT ALL CONTRIBUTE TO CIVIC LIFE AND THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY WITHIN THIS SITE, THE ALIGNMENT OF BARTON SPRINGS DID NOT RESPECT THE PROPERTY LINES AND WE'VE ADJUSTED NOT ONLY THE LOCATION AND ORIENTATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT BLOCKS TO BETTER FIT WITHIN THE PROPERTY, BUT ALSO TO ENABLE THAT CONNECTION OF BARTON SPRINGS.
ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THIS IS THAT THIS SECTION OF THE WATERFRONT WAS PLANNED FOR OVER 20 ACRES, LITTLE OVER AN ACRE AND A HALF LARGER THAN THE PROPERTY TODAY WHILE REQUIRING MULTIPLE LANDOWNERS TO COORDINATE AND ASSIST IN COMPLETING BARTON SPRINGS.
ONE OF THE PRIMARY GOALS IS TO ESTABLISH AN ENHANCED NEW CONNECTIONS TO THE WATERFRONT.
AND ON THIS RENDERING, YOU CAN SEE THE IMPORTANCE, THE CONCEPT SHOWING HOW STREETS ARE PART OF THE PUBLIC REALM.
THESE SHARED SPACES THAT ARE DESIGNED PRIMARILY FOR PEOPLE FRAMED WITH ACTIVE EDGES THAT ARE CRITICAL TO A LIVELY AND DIVERSE PUBLIC REALM.
SO THAT VIEW WAS TAKEN RIGHT THERE ON LANEWAY B RIGHT HERE IN THE MIDDLE.
EACH ONE OF THESE NEW STREETS THAT'S DEVELOPED ON THE SITE WILL PROVIDE PUBLIC ACCESS TO NOT ONLY THE LAKEFRONT, BUT TO THE DEVELOPMENT BLOCKS IN WHICH THEY MOVE THROUGH.
IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, THIS IS THE EXISTING NETWORK OF STREETS TODAY.
AGAIN, NO ACCESS TO THE WATERFRONT OTHER THAN THROUGH THE PARKING LOT, THAT'S THERE.
AND IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN BEGIN TO SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF EXTENDING BARTON SPRINGS, BARTON SPRINGS NOT ONLY PROVIDES ACCESS TO THIS SITE.
IT SETS UP FUTURE INVESTMENTS SOUTH.
IT WAS MENTIONED ON THE CROCKET PROPERTY.
IT PROVIDES IMPORTANT PUBLIC REALM CONNECTIONS TO THE EVENTUAL SIGHTING OF THE BLUE LINE STATION OVER HERE ON THE EAST SIDE, ON THE RIGHT OF BARTON SPRINGS, YET
[02:40:01]
TO BE DETERMINED, BUT THAT NOW IS ACCESSIBLE THROUGH A COMPLETE AND COHESIVE PUBLIC REALM.THE DESIGN OF BARTON SPRINGS, AND WE'VE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS ON HOW TO DESIGN THIS, NOT ONLY FOR DAY ONE, BUT TO ANTICIPATE FUTURE INVESTMENT ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF BARTON SPRINGS, THAT WOULD FURTHER CONTRIBUTE TO THE MULTIMODAL AND PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY ALONG THIS IMPORTANT STREET.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE TODAY, THE PLAN IS TO ACCOMMODATE BIKE LANES, PROTECTED BIKE LANES ON THE NORTH SIDE, ADJACENT TO A COMPLETELY LANDSCAPED AND ENHANCED STREETSCAPE AND INEXPENSIVE SIDEWALK.
OUR HOPE IS THAT THESE IDEAS WOULD BE CONTINUED ON THE SOUTH SIDE WITH FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THOSE PROPERTIES.
AND AS I MENTIONED, THIS INVESTMENT IN THE PUBLIC REALM WILL CREATE NEW CONNECTIONS THAT WILL UNLOCK THE FULL POTENTIAL IN PROJECT CONNECT AND THE PLANS FOR A STATION ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE LAKEFRONT.
MAX, IF I CAN JUST HAVE A COUPLE MORE MINUTES.
LET'S I THINK THERE'S AN IMPORTANT TOO.
ARE YOU GUYS OKAY WITH CONTINUING K TWO MINUTES? GREAT, THANKS.
UM, AND AS HERE YOU CAN SEE THE, THE IDEA OF A PLAN BRIDGE AND HOW THE TRAIN, UH, WOULD INTEGRATE QUITE WELL INTO THESE IDEAS FOR THE PUBLIC REALM AND THE NEW PARK NEXT.
SO THE IDEA OF EXPANDING OPEN SPACE AND POSITIONING THE LAKEFRONT PARK TO CREATE A SERIES OF PUBLIC SPACES, NOT ONLY LAWNS, BUT TERRACES AND A DIVERSITY OF ACTIVITIES AS WAS MENTIONED, AND IN THE LOWER RIGHT HERE, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE WATER QUALITY POND IS NOW BURIED, BUT LOAD THIS NEW LAWN, CREATING MORE USABLE PARKLAND WHILE PROVIDING IMPORTANT ECOLOGICAL FUNCTION OF THE SITE.
THESE IMPROVEMENTS ALL WORKED WITH NOT ONLY THE EXISTING SHORELINE, BUT THE PRESERVATION OF A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE HERITAGE TREES ONSITE.
NEXT SLIDE, THERE IS EXPANDED PROGRAMMING THROUGH A VARIETY OF THESE SPACES.
AND IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I BELIEVE WE SHOW THIS IN MORE DETAIL.
AND AS I MENTIONED, ACTIVITIES THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE FROM THE TRAIL, THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO SERVE THE WIDE RANGE OF NOT ONLY RESIDENTS, VISITORS, EMPLOYEES, AND OTHERS THAT VISIT THE SITE.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IMPROVEMENT IN ACCESS IS QUITE INTENSE GOING FROM NO ACCESS TODAY.
WE'RE ADDING FIVE NEW CONNECTIONS TO THE TRAIL, AS WELL AS AUSTIN'S NEWEST LAKEFRONT PARK.
AND ALL OF THESE ARE DESIGNED WITH EQUITABLE AND ADY NEXT SLIDE.
WE'RE ALSO CONNECTING TO AUSTEN'S BIKE NETWORK SAFELY LOCATING ACCESS TO THE EAST AND THE FUTURE BRIDGE, UH, AND THAT THIS IS A WAY FROM MAJOR PEDESTRIAN ZONES.
SO AGAIN, TAKING PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE SAFETY AS A PRIORITY WITHIN THIS PLAN, THIS PLAN, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AND SORT OF FINALLY, THIS IS A MIXED USE PROJECT.
THIS WILL SUPPORT A RANGE OF ACTIVITIES, NOT ONLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY, BUT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR NEXT SLIDE.
AND IT REALLY BECOMES AN OPPORTUNITY TO THINK ABOUT PLACEMAKING NEXT SLIDE, THESE INCREDIBLE CIVIC ROOMS THAT OPEN AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE VIEWS NOT ONLY TO DOWNTOWN, BUT THE SCALE OF SPACES THAT WE WANT TO BE IN.
THIS POINT OF BURYING PARK AND BELOW GRADE IS CRITICAL BECAUSE IT NOT ONLY REMOVES THE CAR FROM THE PUBLIC REALM.
IT GIVES US INCREASED FLEXIBILITY IN HOW WE SHAPE THE EDGES OF THOSE STREETS AND PUBLIC SPACES TO BE MORE INVITING, MORE GEARED TOWARDS PEOPLE AND LESS ABOUT THE CAR.
AND AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, THERE IS AN UPLIFT IN THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, AS WELL AS AN INCREASE IN HEIGHT, BUT THAT THIS HAS DONE KEEPING WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT PLAN, STEPPING UP TOWARDS CONGRESS AND BARTON SPRINGS AND HAVING DIVERSITY ACROSS THE SITE.
WE'VE TAKEN IT ONE STEP FURTHER AND UNDERSTANDING HOW WE CAN SHAPE THE URBAN FORM TO CREATE MORE LIGHT AND AIR BETWEEN THESE BUILDINGS YET ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF THE PUBLIC REALM YEAR ROUND.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND WRAP IT UP.
AND THIS IS THE LAST SLIDE AT LOT OF THE PUBLIC BENEFITS THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING, UH, THIS EVENING.
WE'LL NOW HEAR FROM MS. PAULA KAUFMANN, MS. KAUFMAN, YOU WILL HAVE SEVEN MINUTES.
[02:45:17]
HI, I'M PAULA .I QUOTE THE SOUTH RIVER CITY CITIZENS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION REPRESENTING ABOUT 5,000 HOUSEHOLDS HEAVILY IMPACTED BY THE PROPOSED PROJECT AT 3 0 5 SOUTH CONGRESS.
WE AGREE THAT AUSTIN NEEDS MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ESPECIALLY CLOSE TO LARGE EMPLOYERS TO HELP OUR TRAFFIC CONGESTION PEOPLE EARNING 50 TO 60% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME FLEE OUR CITY BECAUSE OF A LACK OF AFFORDABILITY.
AS RCC HAS NUMEROUS AFFORDABLE UNITS IN OLDER HOMES, 80 YEARS AND MULTIFAMILY HOMES TODAY.
HOWEVER, WE DISAGREE WITH FEE IN LIEU ALTERNATIVE FOR DEVELOPERS WHO RECEIVE GREATER ENTITLEMENTS IN EXCHANGE FOR COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
20% OF THE UNITS SHOULD BE ON SITE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND OTHER DEVELOPMENTS SUCH AS BOARDWALKS AND CLIMBING WALLS SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AN ALTERNATIVE TO BUILDING ONSITE AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNQUOTE SUBSEQUENT STATEMENTS OR MY OWN THE CITY CLAIMS TO ALLOW MORE DENSITY TO GET MORE TAXED, BUT TAXING IS AUTHORITIES SHOULD BE COLLECTING MUCH MORE TAX ON THIS PROPERTY.
NOW IT'S GROSSLY UNDERVALUED AT $4 MILLION AN ACRE.
I SINCERELY DOUBT THAT THE OWNER WOULD ACCEPT MY OFFER OF A MILLION DOLLARS FOR A QUARTER ACRE ON LADY BIRD LAKE.
THE IMPROVEMENTS REMAIN APPRAISE AT A MEAGER $888 FOR MORE THAN A 30,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING.
WHILE WE RESIDENTS SAW OUR IMPROVEMENTS APPRAISED VALUES MORE THAN DOUBLE LAST YEAR.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE A CHUMP? I SURE DO.
SO THAT EXTRA TAX YOU THINK IS GOING TO BE PAID IN IS NOT LIKELY TO HAPPEN.
ACCORDING TO THE RECORD, IF COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES ARE APPRAISED FAIRLY COMPARED TO RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES, THE CITY COULD LOWER THE TAX RATES FOR RESIDENTS.
THIS EGREGIOUS AND EQUITY LEADS TO HOMELESSNESS BECAUSE OF THE UNAFFORDABLE TAX BURDEN FOR RESIDENTS COMMISSIONERS IN YOUR HEART.
YOU WANT MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT THIS PROJECT IS NOT LIKELY TO GET MUCH UNLESS YOU DO SOME SERIOUS NEGOTIATING BEFORE CHANGING THE ZONING.
THE APPLICANT ASKED FOR AN EXTRA 1.37 MILLION SQUARE FEET ABOVE THE VISION PLAN EQUAL TO ABOUT A THOUSAND EXTRA RESIDENCES BY SQUARE FOOTAGE.
IF APPROVED THE 4% AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROPOSED BY THE VISION PLAN SHOULD BE RAISED COMMENSURATELY.
IF THE APPLICANT CONTRIBUTES $2 MILLION FAMILY IN EXCHANGE FOR BUILDING AN EXTRA THOUSAND UNITS AND MAKING AN EXTRA $500 MILLION IN PROFIT THAT DOES NOT CITE SOUND REASONABLE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING LIKELY WILL NOT GET BUILT.
WHAT THE APPLICANT BUILD AFFORDABLE UNIT ON SITE WITH ZERO MONEY FROM TAXPAYERS.
THAT'S WHAT DEVELOPERS DO BUILT.
IF THEY DON'T WANT TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON SITE, THEY CAN BUILD AT THE CURRENT LEGAL DENSITY FOR THE ZONE.
IT HAS THE PROFIT THAT LOSE FROM THE ONSITE AFFORDABLE UNITS IS MORE THAN OFFSET BY THE EXTRA PROFIT THEY MAKE ON THE EXTRA UNITS THEY WILL SELL.
INSTEAD OF A HOTEL, I WOULD PROPOSE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE LOW INCOME EMPLOYEES WORKING ON THE SITE THAT WILL ALLEVIATE A LOT OF TRAFFIC, WHICH WOULD MAKE THE PROFIT, THE PROJECT MUCH MORE PALATABLE TO MANY OF US WHO WOULD BE IMPACTED BY THE EXTRA DENSITY.
THE COX FAMILY OWNERS ARE RENOWNED PHILANTHROPISTS.
THE STATESMEN TRACK COULD BE A HIGHLY VISIBLE PROJECT THAT HELPS AUSTIN MEET OUR HOUSING CRISIS.
I'M EXCITED BY MATCH OF THIS PROJECT, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THE BENEFITS OFFERED ARE COMMEASURED WARNING.
IF THE CITY DOES NOT NEGOTIATE WELL ON THIS TRAPPED,
[02:50:02]
ALL THE OTHER TRACKS IN THIS DISTRICT WILL DEMAND SIMILAR EXTRA CAPACITY.THANKS FOR YOUR TIME, MS. RACHEL MELENDEZ, MS. MELENDEZ, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
I'M WITH UNITE HERE, THE HOSPITALITY WORKER'S UNION, AND I'M HERE TO TONIGHT AS THAT HOTEL USE, CONTINUE TO BE PROHIBITED IN THE AREA COVERED BY THE PUD.
AS YOU ARE AWARE, THE SOUTH RIVER CITY NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AREA DESIGNATES THE SITE AS INDUSTRIAL ON THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP.
AND WHILE THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT VISION FRAMEWORK ENCOURAGES MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE PROPERTY THAT VISION CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH MIXED RETAIL OFFICE HOUSING AND INCLUDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ADDITIONAL HOTEL USE IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE WHILE ALLOWING FOR OFFICE RESIDENTIAL AND RETAIL USE WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMUNITY.
HOTEL USE IS THAT OFFICES CREATE GOOD HIGH-QUALITY JOBS THAT WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE THAT WORK THERE TO LIVE NEARBY.
RESIDENTIAL USE WOULD INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF HOUSING IN THE CITY THAT IS SO DESPERATELY NEEDED.
AND RETAIL USE OFFERS AMENITIES FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY HOTELS DO NOT PRODUCE HIGH QUALITY JOBS THAT WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE THAT WORK THERE TO LIVE NEARBY.
THEY DON'T HELP WITH HOUSING AND THEY DON'T PROVIDE SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY.
ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE ALREADY 28 HOTEL PROJECTS WITH 3,577 HOTEL ROOMS IN THE PIPELINE.
THEREFORE HOTEL, YOU SHOULD NOT BE PERMITTED IN THIS DEVELOPMENT.
AND WE ASK THAT YOU AMEND THE PUD TO REMOVE HOTEL USE.
I HEAR FROM THE APPLICANT FOR A THREE MINUTE REBUTTAL.
DID I MENTION WE DON'T HAVE A GAS LINE I'M GOING TO IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, UH, TONIGHT, I THINK I'LL JUST START THE CONVERSATION WITH YOU GUYS AND NOT REBUT ANYTHING.
WE'RE WHAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU IS OUR BEST EFFORT AT WORKING WITH STAFF AND TRYING TO MAKE THE APPLICATION COMMENSURATE WITH THE BENEFITS THAT BOTH SIDES ARE GETTING THROUGH THE PLAN.
AND, UM, WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS START THE CONVERSATION WITH YOU NOW.
UM, WE, I WILL HAVE A VOTE ON THAT AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND RESTATE IT.
SO, UH, WE HAVE TWO ROUNDS OF QUESTIONS.
WE'RE GOING TO START EACH, UM, COMMISSIONED MEMBER, INCLUDING EX OFFICIOS, WE'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL DO A SECOND ROUND OF SIX COMMISSIONERS WITH THREE MINUTES.
UM, AND I WOULD, UH, UH, LET'S SEE WHAT WOULD LIKE, SO WHEN WE GET TO KIND OF THE DEBATE, JUST, UM, I WANT TO, UH, THERE'S A LOT IN THE BACKUP WITH THE VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT STAFF, UH, INFORMED US ABOUT.
SO I WOULD JUST ADVISE, WE SHOULD LET THAT INFORM SOME OF OUR AMENDMENTS AND DECISION-MAKING HERE TONIGHT.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK PUT IN BY THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, ADVISORY, UH, COMMISSIONS.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, UH, DO YOU WANT TO START US OFF I'LL THANK YOU.
UH, DO WE HAVE A SECOND COMMISSIONER, MR. TODDLER GO AHEAD AND CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING AND EVERYBODY ON THE DIOCESE LET'S SEE THOSE VIRTUALLY.
UH, WHO WANTS TO START US OFF? I GUESS LET'S MOVE.
UM, JUST SO I CAN KEEP STRAIGHT LET'S MOVE FROM COMMISSIONER SCHNEIDER THIS WAY, AND THEN I'LL GO, UH, AFTER THAT WITH THE FOLKS ON THE, IN THE VIRTUAL, UH, SPACE THERE.
UH, SO COMMISSIONER SCHNEIDER, DO YOU WANT TO START US? OH, THANKS.
I HAVE, UH, SOME, UH, INITIAL QUESTIONS FOR, UH, MR. UH, REST OVEN, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
SO, UM, I, I HEARD YOUR EXPLANATION ABOUT HOW THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AS A WHOLE HANDLES THESE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF COMMUNITY BENEFIT, WHETHER IT BE PARKLAND, DEDICATION OR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT, UM, I SORT OF, I W I W WANTED TO GET SOME MORE DETAIL ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK I QUITE HAVE A FULL UNDERSTANDING.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE, WHAT WE CALL THE SNOOPY SITE THAT IS BASICALLY BUILT, UM, HOW IS WHATEVER THEIR
[02:55:01]
PROPORTION OF THESE BENEFITS GOING TO BE GIVEN WHERE WE'VE ALREADY, THAT'S ALREADY COMPLETED, WE'RE ABOUT TO, OR WE MAY MOVE FORWARD ON THE STATESMAN SIDE, THEN WE'VE DEDICATED SOME PORTION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT RELATIVELY MODEST AMOUNT COMPARED TO THE ENTIRE WATERFRONT SITE.SO HOW DO FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS COME IN? ARE THEY GOING TO BE, I DON'T KNOW, OVERBURDENED WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENTS THAT THIS POD BEFORE US ISN'T HAVING TO FULFILL.
CAN YOU JUST TALK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT SURE, SURE.
UM, I CAN'T ADDRESS SPECIFIC NUMBERS IS I DON'T HAVE IN MY HEAD, BUT, UM, YEAH, SO SNOOPY PUD, YOU KNOW, THE MAIN, UM, ON-SITE GET FOR THE CITY WAS, UM, THE NEW CAP METRO BUS RAPID SITE THAT WILL BE LOCATED ON THAT PROPERTY.
UM, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, IT'S AN OFFICE PROJECT DIDN'T HAVE ANY RESIDENTIAL.
UM, SO THEY PAID MONEY INTO A FUND THAT WOULD BE USED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, AND OTHER PLACES IF I RECALL CORRECTLY.
UM, AND YES, OTHER SITES WOULD BE BURDENED, UH, TO USE THAT TERM WITH A GREATER AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENT THAN THIS SITE IS BECAUSE THIS SITE IS GIVING UP SO MUCH OF THE OTHER THINGS WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE ROAD THOUGH, THE PARK, ET CETERA.
SO OTHER SITES MAY HAVE A LARGER SHARE.
I, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, THE OVERALL NUMBER THAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR WAS 20% OF THE RESIDENTIAL UNITS IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN WOULD BE AFFORDABLE.
UM, AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THIS SITE, IT WAS DETERMINED IN 2016 THAT THEIR SHARE WOULD BE 4% OF THE UNITS ON THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY.
BUT I THINK IN OTHER, ON OTHER SITES WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE THE BURDEN OF THE, OF EXTENDING AN ARTERIAL AND, UM, DEDICATING A THIRD OF THE PROPERTY TO PARKLAND, THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY, THEY WILL HAVE A HIGHER AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENT THAN THE 4% THAT'S ON THIS SIDE.
SO IS THERE A WAY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO CONTROL THAT, UH, A DEVELOPER WOULD COME IN WITH WHATEVER THE DEVELOPER WANTS TO GET APPROVED, AND THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY INCLUDE RESIDENTIAL HOUSING.
IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY INCLUDE RESIDENTIAL HOUSING WHERE SAY 50% OF THE HOUSING WOULD NEED TO BE DEDICATED IN ORDER TO GET US TO THE 20% WATERFRONT WIDE OR WHATEVER THE NUMBER IS.
IDEALLY THE REGULATING PLAN WOULD BE THE MECHANISM TO DO THAT WOULD LAY OUT THE ROUTE, YOU KNOW, THE ENTITLEMENTS FOR EACH TRACK, I THINK IS WHAT I'M GETTING TO.
IT IS, UH, IT IS, UM, ORIGINALLY IT WAS PLANNED TO BE A PART OF THE, UM, IT'S ESSENTIALLY A STANDALONE ORDINANCES, THE ZONING CODE WITHIN THE ZONING CODE, KIND OF LIKE THE TODD'S KINDA LIKE NORTH BURNER GATEWAY, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE LIKE ITS OWN MINI CODE IN THE LINE OF ALMAC.
UM, BECAUSE WE WERE SO CLOSE TO DOING A NEW LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, OR, YOU KNOW, WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING A NEW LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
IT WAS DECIDED, WELL, INSTEAD OF AMENDING THE EXISTING CODE WITH THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN, WHICH THIS STITCHES INTO, YOU KNOW, THE PROPOSED CODE REWRITE, THE CODE REWRITE OF COURSE, GOT BOGGED DOWN WITH, UM, NUMEROUS THINGS, INCLUDING, UM, UM, A LAWSUIT.
AND SO, UM, UM, THAT PROCESS STALLED.
SO, UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE CONTEMPLATING DOING THE REGULATING PLAN BY ITSELF.
AGAIN, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE JUST TAKING IT OUT AND NOT WAITING FOR THE CODE REWRITE.
UM, IT'S ALSO IN A SPECIFICALLY CAME UP, UM, AT THE LAST WEEK AT THE, A SMALL AREA PLAN JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE OF ZAPPING PC.
UM, THE, PERHAPS LET'S JUST SAY THAT WE GO DOWN THE PATH OF NOT WAITING FOR A CODE REWRITE AND DO A STANDALONE, UM, UM, SOUTH CENTRAL REGULATING PLAN.
UM, THERE ARE SOME FACTORS AS WE'VE DISCOVERED, AS WE WORKED THROUGH THIS CASE THAT WERE NOT THERE IN 2016, WHICH IS REALLY NOT THAT LONG AGO.
UM, BUT IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA, THERE'S A LOT THAT'S CHANGED.
AND SO, UM, PROJECT, NECK BEING NUMBER ONE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, PROJECT NEC IS NOT CONTEMPLATED IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ANOTHER THOUGHT THAT WAS DISCUSSED, I THINK IT WAS LAST WEDNESDAY.
YOU REMEMBER WHAT DAY WAS NOW, UM, WAS IF WE DO GO DOWN THE PATH OF DOING A REGULATING PLAN BY ITSELF, OUTSIDE OF THE CODE REWRITE, PERHAPS WE SHOULD LOOK AT UPDATING THE PLAN AS WELL TO ACCOUNT FOR SOME OF THESE CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS.
LET'S UH, AND, AND, OH, LET ME BE CLEAR.
I DIDN'T, IF YOU CAN PASS AND WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU, IF YOU'RE NOT QUITE READY, THAT'S FINE.
JUST, UH, TAKE A PASS AND WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU LATER.
[03:00:01]
UH, THE COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY, YOUR FIRST OPPORTUNITY, UH, IS THERE ANYBODY FROM ATD? YEAH.DID YOU SAY ATD ATD? YES, WE HAVE A NICELY, I THINK IS ON THE CALL.
I THINK CURTIS, UM, WAS HERE AS WELL.
AND, UH, BRIAN'S HERE AS WELL.
UM, I GUESS I JUST HAVE A QUESTION.
I KNOW IN THE VISION PLAN, THE VISION FOR BARTON SPRINGS WAS TWO LANES WITH A, A BIKE LANE ON EACH SIDE.
AND I SEE NOW THAT WE HAVE FOUR LANES AND I GET THAT IT'S A BIGGER DIDN'T SERVE PROJECT, BUT, BUT I THOUGHT PART OF THE BIGGER DENSER PROJECT FROM THE VISION WAS THAT WE NOW HAVE, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY TWO, TWO TRAIN STOPS AND, YOU KNOW, AN ORANGE LINE AND A BLUE LINE WITHIN A QUICK WALK, UH, FROM, FROM THE PROJECT.
UM, SO I GUESS I'M SAD TO SEE THAT WE'RE ADDING ADDITIONAL ROADWAY FROM THE VISION.
UM, AND SO MAYBE THEY COULD RESPOND TO THAT.
AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS, DO YOU RIDE A BIKE? DO YOU RIDE A BIKE WITH KIDS? I MEAN, CAUSE THAT WE'VE GOT A DUAL, A DUAL, NO LANE BIKE WAY ON ONE SIDE OF A FOUR LANE ROAD.
AND THEN IF WE NEED THE FOUR LANES BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT MUCH EXTRA CAR TRAFFIC, IS THAT REALLY AN ALL AGES AND ABILITY BIKE LANE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE UP A SIX YEAR OLD ON A, ON A BIKE RIDE WITH, BECAUSE THIS IS THE BIKE LANE THAT LEADS TO HOPEFULLY A PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE BRIDGE, UM, NEW, NEW PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE BRIDGE ACROSS THE CITY.
SO IT'S GOING TO BE THAT REAL CONNECTION.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHO FROM ATD COULD RESPOND TO THOSE TWO.
UH, BEFORE THEY ADDRESS REAL QUICK COMMISSIONER, UM, I KNOW A PART OF OUR DISCUSSIONS ON THAT MATTER.
UM, AND I WAS INVOLVED ON THE STAFF SIDE, UM, HAD TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, THE ADDITION OF THE PROJECT CONNECT RAIL STOP.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? THAT ALTHOUGH WE'LL TAKE TRIPS OFF, IT'S PROBABLY ALSO GOING TO ADD SOME TRIPS, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLY BUS TRAFFIC FOR INSTANCE.
AND SO THERE WAS A CONCERN ON THE, UM, APPLICANT'S PART, UM, THAT THE, IF WE WENT DOWN TO TWO LANES AND YOU HAD A BUS THAT MAYBE THAT'S SERVING THAT STATION, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, TO GO TAKE, YOU KNOW, RIDERS, OTHER PLACES THAT BUS HAS STOPPED, IF YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, ONLY ONE LANE EACH DIRECTION NOW THE ENTIRE, YOU KNOW, THAT DIRECTION IS STOPPED.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT PLUS UBER PICKUPS AND UBER EATS AND THE WHOLE, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS, UH, THERE WAS A CONCERN BY THE APPLICANT.
THERE WAS, UH, DISCUSS WITH THE STAFF ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, ONLY HAVING ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION COULD LEAD TO, UM, UM, CONGESTION.
BUT THEN WE ALSO ON THE, UM, UH, THE BIKE LANES AND I'LL LET THEM GO INTO MORE DETAIL, BUT I KNOW THE PREFERENCE IS TO HAVE A LANE GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS TRAVEL.
UM, IT WAS COMPLICATED IN THIS CASE, BY THE, WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED THE MOVEMENT OF THOSE STREET OFF OF THE ORIGINAL PLAN FROM 2016 AND ENTIRELY UNDER THE, THE STATESMAN PROPERTIES.
SO WE HAD A LIMITED AMOUNT OF SPACE TO WORK WITH, UM, IN DISCUSSING IT WITH, UH, DIRECTOR SPILLER.
UM, WE AGREED UPON THE, UH, THE SOLUTION THAT YOU SEE RIGHT NOW IN THE BACKUP.
UM, BUT WE ALSO CONTEMPLATED THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE POSSIBILITY STILL EXISTS BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY THE BORDER OF THE STREETS THAT SOUTHERN BORDER, THE STREET WOULD BE THE, THE PROPERTY LINE FOR THE CROCKETT PROPERTY THAT IF WE NEEDED TO, YOU KNOW, RE-ENGINEERED THIS ROAD IN THE FUTURE, WHEN THE CROCKETTS COME IN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE MAY, WE MAY END UP DOING THAT, BUT I'LL LET, UH, ATD ADDRESS IT MORE DETAIL.
I AM WITH ATD WHEN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT, THE PLAN DOES SHOW FEWER LANES IN ITS PLAN.
UH, THIS DEVELOPMENT AS PRESENTED TO US AND WITHIN THE TIA IS GENERATING APPROXIMATELY 30,000 DAILY TRIPS.
AND THAT IS BEFORE REDUCTIONS WITH TDM MEASURES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
EVEN WITH THAT, WE'RE STILL OPERATING WITH ABOUT 18,000 DAILY TRIPS.
UM, PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY ACCESS OUR DEVELOPMENT IS THROUGH THE BARTON SPRINGS EXTENSION.
AND SO IF WE LOOK AT TRYING TO DO SOMETHING WITH A TWO LANE ROADWAY, THAT BECOMES VERY IMPRACTICAL AS YOU GO THERE AS TURNING MOVEMENTS IN TO THE PROPERTY.
NOW, THE PROPERTY THAT WOULD CAUSE SOME DELAY ON A TWO LANE ROADWAY.
UH, SO THE, WHAT WAS LOOKED AT THROUGH THE TIA AND WHAT ATD WAS INITIALLY RECOMMENDING WAS A THREE LANE ROAD SECTION ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION, UH, DUAL LEFT TURN LANES OR A TWO-WAY LEFT TURN LANES.
AND THEN WHEN A BIKE FACILITY, TRADITIONALLY ON EITHER SIDE OF THE ROADWAY, UM, THROUGH FURTHER DISCUSSIONS WITH THE APPLICANT, THEY MUCH PREFERRED I FULL FOUR-LANE CROSS SECTION AND ACCOMMODATING THE CYCLE'S BICYCLES,
[03:05:01]
UH, THROUGH A CYCLE TRACK THAT IS A SINGLE FACILITY WITH BICYCLES MOVING IN BOTH DIRECTIONS.AND THAT WAS AGREED TO, UM, WITH THIS DEVELOPMENT AS MS. GERRY COMMENTED WHEN THE SOUTHERN PROPERTY, THE KRAKOW PROPERTY COMES ON, AND THAT WILL ALLOW US TO DO MORE WITH THE OVERALL CROSS SECTION AND SPLITTING THE BURDEN BETWEEN BOTH DEVELOPMENTS AND NOT PUTTING 100% OF THE BURDEN ON THIS SINGLE PROPERTY.
UM, COMMISSIONER, IS, ARE YOU PREPARED NOW OR DO YOU WANT, OKAY, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UM, THE F I HAD A FEW QUESTIONS AND THESE WERE PARTICULARLY PERTAINING TO THE APPLICANT.
THE FOREST ONE WAS, UM, LOOKING AT THE, IF THERE WERE ANY OTHER CONSIDERATIONS AS PART OF AFFORDABILITY THAT WERE GIVEN.
SO ESSENTIALLY THINGS AROUND TENANT PROTECTIONS, THINGS AREN'T SOURCE OF INCOME PROTECTIONS, OR OTHER KINDS OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH AFFORDABILITY AS PART OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENT.
SO NOT SPECIFICALLY WITH THE NUMBER OF UNITS, BUT OTHER, UM, ITEMS. UH, I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION BECAUSE I'M NOT VERSED THAT DEEP INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
CAN YOU HELP ME OUT A LITTLE BIT? SURE.
SO, UM, THERE'S BEEN A BIG SORT OF CONVERSATION.
WE'VE CONSIDERED THAT IN OTHER CASES, FOR SURE, WHERE A PART OF THE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS IS THAT FOR THE TENANTS THAT WOULD LIVE IN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROTECTIONS OR THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS, WE WOULD HAVE CERTAIN TENANT PROTECTIONS THAT THEY WOULD BE GIVEN, UM, SUCH AS ALLOWING THEM TO ORGANIZE AND OTHER THINGS THERE ARE OTHER PROTECTIONS AROUND SOURCE OF INCOME.
SO WE WOULD NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANYONE PROPORTIONAL BEDROOM, CONDO REQUIREMENTS.
SO ESSENTIALLY THINGS THAT DO NOT IMPACT THE NUMBER OF UNITS OR INCREASE OR DECREASE THEM, BUT THEY'RE SORT OF ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, BETTERING THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE FOLKS WHO MIGHT BE LIVING THERE, COMMISSIONER, WE DID NOT, BUT WE WELCOME THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF.
UM, ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THE AFFORDABILITY ISSUE THOUGH, IS THAT, UM, I THINK THE ORIGINAL 4% FOR US, UH, MAXED OUT AT ABOUT 40 UNITS.
AND I THINK NOW WE'RE UP TO 55 UNITS BASED ON THE NEW NUMBERS AND, AND WHAT CAME OUT OF ECO NORTHWEST.
AND, AND THERE'S SO AFFORDABILITY AND THE RAW NUMBERS HAS INCREASED, BUT WE HAVE NOT CONSIDERED THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THOSE AS POSSIBLY PART OF A RECOMMENDATION.
I APPRECIATE YOUR OPENNESS TO CONSIDER THOSE.
UM, AND I GUESS I HAD HAD A QUESTION TO STAFF AND STAFF ESSENTIALLY SAID THAT THERE HAD BEEN SOME CONVERSATION AROUND, UM, SHUTTLE.
THIS MIGHT BE FOR YOU AS WELL.
UM, SOME CONVERSATION AROUND ESSENTIALLY LOOKING AT A 60% AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENT FOR THE RENTAL UNITS.
I KNOW THE PLAN ALLOWS FOR BOTH 60 OR 80, THERE'S A RANGE WITHIN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT PLAN.
AND I'M WONDERING IF THERE WAS, IF YOU CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT TO WHY THE CONSIDERATION WAS GOING TO DO 80% MFI FOR RENTAL, AS OPPOSED TO 60.
THE, THE 80% WAS PART OF THE PLAN.
WE'VE ALSO, UM, AS, AS PART OF THIS PLAN, THERE WILL BE A TERS OR A TIF FINANCE PLAN.
IT IS, IT IS QUITE SIMPLY JUST A NUMBERS GAME.
IF THE CITY DETERMINES THAT THE AFFORDABILITY IS, IS, IS AN ISSUE, THEN MORE OF THE TIFF OR TERMS THAT WILL BE CREATED COULD BE USED TO BUYING DOWN THE AFFORDABILITY RANGE FROM AN 80 TO A 60.
BUT IT, AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE MAYBE LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE OR A SEESAW.
YOU CAN ONLY LOAD IT UP SO MUCH AND IT STARTS TIPPING OVER.
SO I THINK WITH THE, WE COULD DO AN ENHANCED AFFORDABILITY IF THE CITY'S HOUSING DEPARTMENT OR THE TIP OF THE TOURIST STEPPED UP AND HELPED.
WHAT'S GOING TO BE MY QUESTION, BECAUSE I KNOW THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD SUGGESTED THAT WOULD Y'ALL CONSIDER WORKING ON DIFFERENT AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS, PROVIDED THAT SOME SUBSIDY OR FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FROM ANOTHER SOURCE.
AND THERE'S STILL A COMMITMENT.
I AM A LITTLE SHORT OF TIME, BUT I'LL STILL ASK THIS QUESTION.
CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH WHAT, WHICH ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BOTH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND OUR PARKS BOARD WERE CONSIDERED AFTER THE MEETING? SO I KNOW WE HAVE THE FINAL WORD FOR THEM, BUT I KNOW A LOT OF WORK HAS BEEN DONE SINCE.
CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE SINCE THOSE TWO BODIES LOOKED AT THIS WORK? WELL, THAT IT ON THE PARKSIDE, I BELIEVE THERE WERE 15, 15 ITEMS, 12, 12, THAT WE GOT THAT WE NAILED ALL OF THOSE ON THE PARKSIDE AND THE PARK STAFF IS HERE.
AND THEN ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL SIDE, I THINK OF THE 15 WHERE WE'VE SOLVED ALL, BUT I THINK TWO OR THREE, AND OF THE THREE, ONLY TWO
[03:10:01]
OF THE, TWO OF THEM ARE ZONING.THEY'RE NOT EVEN OUT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL, IF YOU'D LIKE WE CAN STAND UP OR, OR I'LL LET STAFF DO IT.
I DO WANT TO SAY, I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL MAKING THAT WORK.
MR. GRANTHAM, UH, GOOD, GOOD EVENING.
COMMISSIONERS SCOTT, GRANT THEM FROM PARKS AND RECREATION.
UM, I'M PREPARED TO GO THROUGH THOSE ITEMS, COMMISSIONERS.
UH, I'M GOING TO TAKE A PAUSE HERE.
THIS IS, I WAS HOPING TO GET THIS UPFRONT KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT WITH ADDRESSING THE VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
I FELT LIKE THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KIND OF KNOW WHERE WE ARE, AND I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET THIS IN THE FIVE MINUTES.
UH, I AM, I WANT TO, UH, I THINK THIS MIGHT BE A SUSPENSION OF OUR RULES TO ALLOW US THE TIME THAT I WAS GOING TO GRANT STAFF TO GRANT THAT NOW TO GO THROUGH BOTH THE PARKS, UM, DEPARTMENTS RE UH, THE ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN RESOLVED VERSUS WHAT WE'RE SEEING, AND ALSO THE ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD AT SOME POINT.
SO DO I, CAN WE HAVE A VOTE TO KIND OF NOW PROVIDE STAFF THAT OPPORTUNITY? SO WE'RE KIND OF GOING BACK TO THE STAFF PRESENTATION AND ASKING FOR THAT INFORMATION TO HELP INFORM OUR QUESTIONS.
I'M GOING TO SAY, CAN WE, I'M GOING TO MAKE A MOTION TO SUSPEND OUR RULES SO THAT STAFF CAN ADDRESS THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE.
AND I'M NOT GOING TO PUT A TIME LIMIT ON IT EXCEPT MAYBE 10 MINUTES, OR WE COULD JUST LEAVE TIME OFF IN 10 MINUTES.
I THINK THEN WE'LL, LET'S JUST LEAVE, DIME OFF AND SAY, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM STAFF ON THIS, I'M MAKING A MOTION THAT WE SUSPEND OUR RULES TO ALLOW STAFF TO TALK US THROUGH WHAT CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE.
SO, UM, SO WE HAVE THIS COMMISSIONER CONLEY.
UH, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE FOR THAT TO GIVE STAFF THE OPPORTUNITY TO UPDATE US ON WHERE WE'RE AT.
WE HAVE UNANIMOUS ON THE DAYAS, UM, AND EVERYONE THAT I'M LOOKING AT ON THE SCREEN.
SO LET'S TRY TO BE QUICK, BUT LET'S HEAR ABOUT WHAT ISSUES THERE WERE, AND WHAT'S BEEN RESOLVED.
WE CAN GET THROUGH THOSE QUICKLY.
THAT'D BE GREAT, UH, REAL QUICK, UH, WHO FROM THE, UM, TO ADDRESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, I WOULD DIRECT YOU TO PAGE 50, ONE OF YOUR BACKUP.
UM, ACTUALLY THE, THE MEMO BEGINS ON PAGE 49, BUT THE ITEMS THAT ARE ITEMIZED BEGAN ON PAGE 51.
SO BASICALLY IT GOES ITEM BY ITEM.
UM, SO LAND DEDICATION, UM, THE, THE ORIGINAL NUMB, THERE WERE SOME, SOME CONFUSION ABOUT THE NUMBERS.
THE ORIGINAL NUMBERS WERE 6.78 ACRES.
IT WAS CORRECTED TO 6.5, THREE ACRES.
THE ORIGINAL NUMBER INCLUDED A IN A BOARDWALK, UM, THE 1.6 ACRES OF UNENCUMBERED LAND.
UH, SO BASICALLY THERE'S A, THERE'S A BREAKDOWN OF THE ACCREDITATION.
UM, I, I ACTUALLY, UM, I MIGHT CALL FOR MY PRESENTATION TO BE OPENED UP AS WELL.
AND SO SOME OF THESE, THESE SLIDES MIGHT BE HELPFUL.
UM, IF WE COULD GO TO SLIDE NUMBER, UM, LET'S GET A VISUAL FIRST.
LET'S GO TO SLIDE NUMBER EIGHT.
UM, IF YOU CAN SEE THE COLORS A LITTLE BIT, UM, I TRIED TO REALLY ENHANCE THESE.
YOU'VE GOT BLUE IS THE INUNDATED LAND.
SO IT'S ACTUALLY UNDERWATER RED IS THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE.
UM, GREEN IS THE UNENCUMBERED LAND.
SO IT IS THAT THERE'S NO EASEMENTS OR, UM, ANY CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ON IT.
AND PURPLE ARE THE, WOULD BE THE PARKLAND EASEMENTS.
SO WE'VE HAD SOME TALK ABOUT WHAT IS FULLY DEDICATED PARKLAND AND WHAT IS PARKLAND EASEMENT.
SO THE PURPLE IS KIND OF IS THE, THE CLOSER INTO THE SHORE.
IT ALSO INCLUDES THE, THE GREAT STEPS THAT, THAT THEY COME DOWN TO CONGRESS COLORS MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT TO SEE, BUT, UM, THIS WAS ALSO EMAILED TO, TO EVERYONE.
UM, PLEASE FLASH NOW TO SLIDE NUMBER NINE.
SO I WANTED TO SHOW A BREAKDOWN OF THESE THINGS AS WELL.
UM, AND, UM, AGAIN, THIS, THIS WAS EMAILED TO YOU ALL, UM, UNENCUMBERED LAND, 1.6 ACRES.
AND SO WE W WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS, IS A CREDIT BREAKDOWN THAT SHOWS HOW, HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS.
UM, W NOT ALL LAND IS, IS CONSIDERED EQUAL.
UM, REALLY, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE YOU HAVE THE INUNDATED LAND, WHICH IS ACTUALLY UNDERWATER.
THE ENCUMBERED LAND INCLUDES THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE.
AND THEN YOU ALSO HAVE THE, UH, THE EASEMENTS ARE GETTING HALF CREDIT.
SO ALL TOLD, YOU'RE LOOKING AT 6.5, THREE ACRES OF FULLY
[03:15:01]
DEDICATED PARKLAND, UM, WHICH IS RECEIVING 3.6, 3, 5 8 CREDITS.AND THEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT 1.59 ACRES OF, OF EASEMENTS, WHICH IS GETTING 0.8 CREDITS.
SO THAT'S A TOTAL OF 4.4, THREE CREDITED ACRES, AND 8.1, TWO RAW ACRES.
IT'S A LOT OF NUMBERS, BUT, UM, LET'S, UH, I'LL JUST LEAVE THAT SLIDE UP.
AND WE'LL SAY THAT, UM, BASICALLY THEY, THESE BASED ON ALL OF THIS LAND, UM, WE JUST WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR.
AND THE PARKS DEPARTMENT HAS THIS MEMO, UM, TO BE SURE THAT THESE ITEMS ARE CARRIED FORWARD, BECAUSE WE WE'VE DONE SOME WORK ON THE, APPLICANT'S DONE SOME WORK ON THIS, AND WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE ITEMS ACTUALLY MAKE IT INTO THE FINAL PUD, UM, BECAUSE WE THEY'RE IMPORTANT TO US.
UM, SO THIS, THIS PLAN PROVIDES CREDIT FOR 250 UNITS.
IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE A SMALL NUMBER, BUT, UM, REALLY YOU'RE LOOKING THERE AT A 4.4, THREE CREDITED ACRES OF PARKLAND.
AND SO OVER AND ABOVE THAT FROM THE 251ST UNIT ONWARDS, THEY WOULD BE PAYING FEE AND LOO, UM, FOR, FOR ALL THEIR PARKLAND.
SO, UM, THAT'S AGREED TO BY THE APPLICANT.
SO WE, WE HASHED THAT OUT, REMOVE, UH, ANOTHER ITEM REMOVE AND HOPEFULLY YOU'RE FOLLOWING ALONG ON PAGE 51, UH, REMOVE FROM DEED, ANY CONDITIONS REGARDING PARK PROGRAMMING.
UM, THEY'VE, THEY'VE AGREED TO DO THAT, BUT THE IDEA IS THAT IF THERE'S, IF THERE'S ANYTHING AND THE, THE SOURCE OF THIS IS REALLY, UM, THAT, THAT THE APPLICANT HAS WANTED TO BE TREATED LIKE, LIKE OTHER, OTHER, UH, PROPERTY OWNERS THAT, THAT, THAT HAVE PROPERTY NEARBY TO PARKS, THAT THEY WANT A SEAT AT THE TABLE.
IF IT COMES TO LIKE ORGANIZING BIG FESTIVALS OR EDUCATIONAL EVENTS OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
SO THEY'RE FINE WITH NOT HAVING ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN THE DEED, AS LONG AS IT CAN BE IN A SEPARATE AGREEMENT, SUCH AS A PARKLAND IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT.
UM, C IS A DEDICATE BY PARK EASEMENT, THE 4.59 ACRES.
UM, SO THAT'S COVERED HERE IN THIS, UM, THIS, THESE ANCHORAGE'S, UM, PARKED DEVELOPMENT INCLUDE AN INVESTMENT OF AT LEAST A HUNDRED DOLLARS PER UNIT BEYOND CURRENT CODE.
SO THIS IS WHAT, UM, THIS IS WHAT PART HAS REQUESTED.
UM, AND BASICALLY THIS IS A FLOATING NUMBER.
SO CURRENTLY THE, UM, THE INVESTMENT REQUIRED FOR DEVELOPMENT IS $526 PER UNIT FOR A HIGH DENSITY DEVELOPMENT.
THIS IS SAYING IT'S A HUNDRED DOLLARS BEYOND THAT IN THE FUTURE, IT MIGHT BE $600, $700, BUT IT'S GOING TO FLOAT SO THAT IT IT'S ALWAYS A HUNDRED DOLLARS MORE THAN THAT NOW.
UM, IS THAT A HIGH NUMBER, A LOW NUMBER? UM, IT IT'S, IT'S AGREED TO BY THE PARKS DEPARTMENT IS WHAT I CAN TELL YOU TODAY.
AND, UM, YOU CAN, YOU CAN LOOK AT THE, THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENT THAT IS DESCRIBED AND IS IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT PLAN IS INCREDIBLY HIGH.
ALL OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT THEY SHOWED, EVERYTHING YOU SAW, THE, THE COST IS VERY HIGH, SO THAT IS NOT GOING TO COME ANYWHERE CLOSE TO COVERING THAT.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE CLEAR ABOUT THAT.
SO, UM, INCLUDE IN THE, IN THE PUD, A PARK PLAN THAT COMMITS TO SPECIFIC IMPROVEMENTS.
SO PLEASE FLASH TO SLIDE NUMBER 11.
SO IT'S, UH, JUST WANTED TO BE CLEAR.
THIS IS THE CLOSEST THAT WE'VE COME TO A, AN A PARK PLAN AND THESE ITEMS ARE COMMIT.
THESE ITEMS ARE PERMITTED WITH THE PUD, BUT NOT COMMITTED TO, AS PART OF THE PUD.
SO WHEN I MAKE THAT CLEAR, IS THAT THE IDEA IS THAT THEY WOULD BE PERMITTED TO BUILD THESE, BUT IT DOES NOT NECESSARILY GO ALONG WITH THE DEVELOPMENT.
AS RICHARD SAID, THE, THE DEVELOPER HERE IS COUNTING ON A, SOME KIND OF FINANCE MECHANISM, BE IT A TIF OR A TERS OR SOMETHING.
AND THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD REALLY PAY FOR THE GREAT MAJORITY OF WHAT YOU SEE HERE.
UM, WHAT I WANT TO WALK YOU THROUGH, WHAT THEY HAVE COMMITTED TO.
THEY HAVE COMMITTED TO GRADING THE AREA THAT IS, WOULD BE PARKLAND, THEY'VE COMMITTED TO
[03:20:01]
THE ADDITIONAL CONNECTIONS.SO THOSE WOULD BE THE ONES THAT THEY SHOWED ALONG THE STREETS, AND ALSO ALONG THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL, AND THEY HAVE COMMITTED TO, AND VERY IMPORTANTLY, THAT THEY, THAT THOSE BE ADA ACCESSIBLE.
UM, THEY'VE COMMITTED TO DOING, UH, PONDS WITHIN THIS AREA THAT ARE DESIGNED AS RAIN GARDENS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE THAT WOULD BE SUBMERGED AS A, AS A CISTERN, ROUGHLY IN THE AREA OF THE BAT VIEWING AREA TODAY.
UM, AND THEY'VE ALSO COMMITTED TO BUILD THE GREAT STEPS WHICH HAS SHOWN THERE.
UM, IT'S NOT CIRCLED, BUT I THINK YOU CAN SEE WHERE IT IS.
IT'S LEADING FROM CONGRESS AVENUE.
TRIGGERING, WHEN WOULD THE PARKLAND BE DEDICATED? THIS IS SOMETHING WE HAD TO WORK OUT.
UM, SO PLEASE TURN TO PAGE OR PLEASE, UH, FLASH TO SLIDE NUMBER 16.
I SINCERELY IN THE, IN THE GLITZY AGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING, THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE DRAWINGS.
I THINK RICHARD MIGHT HAVE DONE THIS ONE, BUT IT'S, I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT SHOWS YOU WHAT WHAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, IT, IT, THERE ARE THREE PHASES.
AND, UM, THE IDEA IS THAT YOU'VE GOT, UM, FOR YOUR, YOUR, THEY WOULD DEDICATE EACH OF THESE, THE PARK PORTIONS OF THE PHASE WHEN THE NORTHERN MOST BUILDING IS OKAY, SO ESSENTIALLY, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY, YOU CAN, YOU CAN QUERY THEM ON THIS, BUT THE REASONING BEHIND THAT IS THAT WHEN YOU GET THE EDGE, UM, THAT YOU WOULD NOT INTERFERE WITH THE, WITH THE, THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING AND YOU WOULD NOT, YOU WOULD NOT ESSENTIALLY BE TRAMPLING ALL OVER THE PARK, AS YOU WERE CONSTRUCTING YOUR BUILDING, UM, WENT IN DOING THE, AND THEN THAT, THAT PARKLAND WOULD BE DEDICATED UPON THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY FOR THAT NORTHERN MOST BUILDING PHASE.
AND SO THEY WOULD BE DONE IN THAT ORDER.
UM, NEXT ITEM CIRCULATION, UH, PROVIDE PEDESTRIAN ACCESS FROM SOUTH CONGRESS.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DIDN'T, WHAT WE DID REACH IS THE IDEA.
LET ME SEE IF I HAVE A GOOD SLIDE ON THIS.
SO I GUESS, UH, WHILE YOU'RE SEARCHING, JUST TO KIND OF PRIORITIZE, UM, MR. GRANTHAM, I GUESS I KNOW WE'RE GOING IN ORDER, BUT WHEN I'M REALIZING BETWEEN YOU AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL LIST, IT'S QUITE LONG, MAYBE WE, UH, IF YOU COULD DO YOUR BEST TO MAYBE PRIORITIZE THE THINGS THAT YOU THINK ARE MOST NOTABLE.
I MEAN, IF THERE'S AGREEMENT OR GOOD, UH, BUT IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU WANT TO POINT OUT, BUT MAYBE, UH, LET'S RENT, YOU KNOW, PICK THE ONES THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT.
DO YOU THINK FOR US TO HERE? YES, SIR.
CAN YOU ADVANCE IT ONE PLEASE? UH, AGAIN, AND THE THIRD TIME'S A CHARM.
SO, UM, THIS IS ONE THING THAT, THAT WE WERE, WE WERE ASKING FOR THESE, THESE PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIONS AND WE'VE WE REALIZED ALL OF THEM, EXCEPT FOR THAT, THAT ONE THAT WAS ALONG CONGRESS.
AND SO THAT ONE DOES NOT EXIST TODAY, BUT, UM, WE, AS THE PARKS DEPARTMENT HAVE SAID, STILL, THIS IS ACCEPTABLE TO HAVE ALL OF THESE PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIONS AND THAT THEY BE ADA ACCESSIBLE, AND THERE'D BE ADA ACCESS ALONG THE GREAT STEPS.
UM, I TALKED ABOUT THE PONDS ALREADY THAT THOSE PONDS WOULD BE DESIGNED AS RAIN GARDENS WANTED TO FURTHER READ THIS INTO THE RECORD THAT, UM, THESE WOULD BE, THESE RAIN GARDENS WOULD INCLUDE 30 PLUS SPECIES OF NATIVE POLLINATOR PLANTS AND BE MANAGED TO HAVE LESS THAN 5% INVASIVE SPECIES AND APPLICANT COMMITS TO ADDING EDUCATIONAL SIGNAGE, TO DESCRIBE THE ECOSYSTEM BENEFITS AND BENCHES ON THE PERIMETER OF THE GARDENS.
SO THESE WOULD BE AMENITIZED, PAWNS.
UM, REALLY, UM, THOSE ARE ALL THE MAJOR ITEMS. OKAY.
UM, I THINK THAT, THAT, AS A, AS I SAID, THE, THE ONE THAT WE DIDN'T GET TO WAS THE, THE CONNECTION ALONG CONGRESS, BUT PARKS HAS, UM, HAS, UH, HAS AGREED THAT THIS IS
[03:25:01]
SUPERIOR IN TERMS OF PARKLAND.UM, JUST ON THE BOARD'S RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, I GUESS NOTING SEVERAL OF THOSE HAVE BEEN AGREED TO, BUT THERE WERE A FEW OUTLIERS.
UM, ANYTHING NOTING THERE WITH THE GARDENS OF THE PARKS BOARD, WHERE DID, THERE MIGHT BE SOME THINGS WE MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER? UM, THIS WAS ONE COMING FROM THE PARKS BOARD AND IT'S, I GUESS I ALREADY COVERED IT.
THE GRAND STAIRCASE MUST REMAIN LOCATED NEXT TO ANN RICHARDS CONGRESS AVENUE BRIDGE.
SO THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO.
UM, AND THE LOCATION OF THE LENGTH AND LOCATION OF THE PIER IS ONE THING THAT, THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED.
AND, UM, FROM, FROM REALLY THE PARKS DEPARTMENT STANDPOINT, UM, WE FEEL LIKE THAT'S OUTSIDE OF OUR PURVIEW.
ONCE YOU GET INTO THE LAKE, YOU'RE REALLY LOOKING AT THE WATERSHED PROTECTION, UH, DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE, WE DO CARE ABOUT THE LOCATION OF, UM, IN PROXIMITY TO THE BATS.
WE DON'T WANT TO BE TOO CLOSE TO THE BATS.
UM, BUT THE, UH, THE, THE BOARD MEMBER SAID THE PROPOSED 70 FOOT LANDING MUST BE MOVED AWAY FROM THE SENSITIVE AREA BELOW THE BATS AND SHORTENED TO 30 FEET.
SO THAT WAS AN AGREEMENT THAT, THAT HAS NOT BEEN MADE UNTIL NOW.
UM, CHAIR SHOULDN'T WE LET COMMISSIONER MUCH TELLER GO WITH QUESTIONS BEFORE SHE ASKED TO GO, AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL GET, GO TO YOU.
LET'S DO THAT CHAIR, CHAIR, CHAIR.
WILL WE BE ABLE TO DO THIS SAME PROCESS WITH ATD AS WELL? WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO GIVE US THEIR UPDATE? LET'S SEE HOW WE'RE DOING ON TIME AND, UM, UH, LET'S LET'S CHECK.
SO, UH, JUST TO TRY TO, UH, I REALIZED THERE'S A LOT OF ITEMS, SO LET'S, I GUESS, TRY TO PRIORITIZE MAYBE BY THE TOP THINGS THAT WERE, UH, IF THERE'S ANYTHING IT'S BEEN GAPS THAT HAVE BEEN FILLED IN BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN, I GUESS, WHAT, WHAT WE SEE IN PAPER AND THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN NEGOTIATED AND THEN ANY UNRESOLVED ITEMS MIGHT BE GOOD TO HEAR ABOUT, OKAY.
THE COMMISSIONERS, LIZ JOHNSTON WITH THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, I'M THE DEPUTY ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER.
AND, UM, WE HAVE HAD CONTINUOUS CONVERSATIONS SINCE THE COMMISSION MEETING AND HAVE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS.
AND SO I WILL JUST GIVE A HIGH LEVEL WHAT WE'VE AGREED TO KIND OF THE BIG TICKET ITEMS, AND THEN SOME OF THE, THE AREAS OF CONTENTION THAT ARE WE'RE STILL DISCUSSING.
UM, AND SO A LOT OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WERE SIMILAR TO PARKS, UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
AND SO I'M NOT GONNA GO BACK ON THOSE.
THEY, IF THEY, IF IT'S OKAY WITH THEM, WE'RE HAPPY AS WELL.
SO I'LL FOCUS ON, UM, SPECIFIC TO ENVIRONMENTAL.
UM, SO THE, THE LOCATION OF THE PIER WAS ONE ITEM OF DISCUSSION BECAUSE, UH, IT WAS, UH, PROPOSED TWO TREES WERE TO PROPOSE TO BE REMOVED.
SO WE WERE ASKING THEM TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THE PIER.
THEY ARE NOT GOING TO CHANGE THE LOCATION OF THE PIER.
HOWEVER, THEY'VE AGREED TO CHANGE, UM, HOW THE, UH, PEER IS ACCESSED IN ORDER TO PRESERVE A PECAN.
UM, SO ONE OF THE TREES WILL BE REMOVED A CEDAR ELM, AND I THINK THAT'S UNAVOIDABLE IN THAT AREA.
IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND A LOCATION ALONG THE SHORELINE.
THAT'S NOT TOO CLOSE TO THE, THE BATS.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT THIS IS A SOLUTION THAT IS AGREEABLE TO US.
THEY'VE MOVED AS DISCUSSED THE BIOFILTRATION POND UNDERGROUND, WHICH ALLOWS MORE OPEN SPACE TO BE ACCESSIBLE, WHICH WOULD RELIEVE THE PRESSURE ON, UM, CLOSER TO THE SHORELINE WHERE, UH, THE, IN THE CRITICAL, CLOSER TO THE SHORELINE NEAR THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE.
UM, ONE AREA THAT WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS ON FOR MANY YEARS ACTUALLY, UM, UH, WAS THE LOCATION OF THE TRAIL.
SO THE SIZE OF THE TRAIL IS LARGER AND CLOSER TO THE SHORELINE.
THEN CURRENT CODE ALLOWS IN SOME AREAS, SOME AREAS IT'S CODE COMPLIANT, UM, TO BE CODE COMPLIANT, WE WOULD ASK THAT IT BE MOVED 25 FEET FROM THE SHORELINE, UM, WHERE POSSIBLE, SO WHERE THEY, UM, ARE ABLE TO MOVE THEIR SHO