[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER]
WE ARE THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ON JANUARY 19TH, 2022.IT IS SIX THAT'S THE TIME USED TO COME UP ON HERE.
AND WE'RE CALLING THIS MEETING TO ORDER AT THE AUSTIN CITY HALL CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS ROOM 1 0 1 ON 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET, AUSTIN, TEXAS 77 0 1 COMMISSIONER.
CASHY ARE YOU HERE TODAY? HERE? COMMISSIONER SCOTT, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON HERE.
UH, COMMISSIONER BRIMER MADAM CHAIR.
AND COMMISSIONER BEDFORD HERE.
WE'VE CALLED THE MEETING TO ORDER, UH, ANY CITIZEN
[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
COMMUNICATION THAT IS NOT RELATED, NOT RELATED TO OUR AGENDA ITEMS WE DO FROM, UH, ROBERT CLEVELAND.UM, YOU'RE ON THAT APPLE ALBUM.
UH, I'M HERE WITH AN UNUSUAL REQUEST BECAUSE THIS IS AN OUTLIER SORT OF PROJECT.
UH, WE'VE BEEN IN PROCESS MAYBE UP TO THREE YEARS ON TRYING TO GET, UH, THROUGH TO Y'ALL TO HAVE CONSIDER A VARIANCE FOR FLOODPLAIN MODIFICATION.
IT'S THREE QUARTERS OF AN ACRE.
THAT'S A SOUTH LAMAR TO THE LEFT.
IT'S MARRIED TO THE SOUTH AND EVERGREEN TO THE RIGHT.
UH, IT'S NEVER BEEN DEVELOPED.
UH, I SUSPECT THAT MANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THIS AREA.
THIS IS JUST A CLOSER UP VIEW OF THE PROPERTY.
THERE'S A PIZZA RESTAURANT TO THE SOUTH THERE.
UH, JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A SENSE THAT THIS IS A VERY SMALL PIECE OF PROPERTY.
SO WHAT WE'RE CONFRONTING IS A PIECE OF PROPERTY THAN OUR CURRENT REGULATIONS IS EITHER IN THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE OR A CF SETBACK, AND THERE'S NO DEVELOPABLE LAND ON IT.
UH, WHAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO IS GET, UH, COME TO YOU WITH A VARIANCE REQUEST TO MODIFY THE FLOODPLAIN, TO CONTAIN IT.
SO THAT ABOUT 20 1008 SQUARE FEET MIGHT BE AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT.
THERE ARE SOME BIG TREES ON THERE.
HERE'S THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE? SO THE TROUBLE WE'RE HAVING IS WE'RE KIND OF LOGGERHEADS WITH STAFF ON TO THE FA UH, FINDINGS ON VARIANCES.
REASONABLE USE IN MINIMUM DEPARTURE STAFF IS ASKING MY CLIENT TO PREPARE A CONSOLIDATED SITE PLAN, WHICH IS NOT CHEAP TO SUBMIT IT.
SO STAFF HAS SOMETHING TO CONSIDER, WHETHER IT'S A MINIMUM DEPARTURE ARE REASONABLE USE.
IF THIS WAS A HUNDRED ACRES, THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO ME, IT'S THREE QUARTERS OF AN ACRE.
UH, THE PART OF THE CHANNEL ON THERE IS, UH, A TRIBUTARY OF, UH, UH, BOLT WEST BOLDEN CREEK.
IT'S LITERALLY THE ONLY OPEN CHANNEL ON THIS TIRE, A TRIBUTARY IN THE GO THROUGH AND SPEND TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO SUBMIT IT, CONSOLIDATE IT SITE PLAN JUST TO GET IN FRONT OF YOU WITH A RECOMMENDATION FROM STAFF SEEMS BURDENSOME.
AND SO MY REQUEST IS, IS THERE A WAY WE CAN HAVE A DIALOGUE WITH YOU OR SOME OTHER PROCESS, BECAUSE IF WE COME IN HERE WITHOUT A STAFF RECOMMENDATION ON THOSE TWO FINDINGS, WE'RE KIND OF TOLD WE DON'T HAVE A CHANCE.
AND SO WE DON'T THINK THAT'S REALLY FAIR.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR A WAY TO, I'M SORRY.
I MAY HAVE A LITTLE BREATHING PROBLEM WITH MASK.
UH, UH, TWO IS IF THERE'S DIFF A DIFFERENT APPROACH WE CAN TAKE, UH, BECAUSE OF THE UNIQUE NATURE OF THE PROPERTY.
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE RARE CASES WHERE WITHOUT THE VARIANCE PROPERTY CANNOT BE BUILT DEVELOPED AT ALL.
[00:05:01]
ATTENTION TO, YEAH.THANK YOU FOR COMING THIS EVENING, SIR.
[1a. Approval of the December 1, 2021 Environmental Commission Regular Meeting Minutes]
LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM ONE, A APPROVAL OF THE DECEMBER 1ST, 2021 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER, YOUR MEETING MINUTES.I WOULD LIKE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
ANY OTHER ADDITIONS CHANGES ANY ISSUES BEFORE WE TAKE A VOTE? ALL RIGHT.
[2a. Recognize Katie Coyne for her service on the Environmental Commission and her appointment as Watershed Protection Department's Environmental Officer and Assistant Director of the Watershed Protection Department over Planning, Monitoring, and Compliance branch of divisions—Jorge Morales, Director, Watershed Protection Department]
RECOGNIZE KATY COIN FOR HER SERVICE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND HER APPOINTMENT TO THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER, AND THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT OVER PLANNING OR TRAIN AND COMPLIANCE BRANCH OF DIVISIONS.WE HAVE JORGE HERE TO SPEAK TO THIS DIRECTOR.
I'M HAVING TO USE MY PHONE TODAY, BUT I THINK WE FIGURED IT OUT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON.
UH, WE'RE HERE TO RECOGNIZE, UH, COMMISSIONER KATIE CONE FOR HER SERVICE AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
WE DO HAVE A, UH, SERVICE AWARD.
IT READS IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR SERVICE PROTECTING AUSTIN'S ENVIRONMENTS FROM 2018 TO 2021.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND TO THE COMMUNITY.
HAVE A FEW OTHER POINTS I WANTED TO SHARE BEFORE WE JUMP OFF.
SO AS WE, WE KNOW, UM, I'VE MADE A QUICK INTRODUCTION.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE HAD THE LAST MEETING.
UH, SO I AM VERY PLEASED AND EXCITED TO HAVE KATIE.
UH, NOW BE PART OF THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT AS THE ENVIRONMENT OFFICER AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, BUT HER ROLE IN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMISSION IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANTED TO RECOGNIZE TONIGHT.
UH SO-SO SHE SERVED FOR ALMOST FOUR YEARS FROM JANUARY OF 2018 TO NOVEMBER OF 2021.
DURING THAT TIME, KATIE SERVED AS A VICE CHAIR OF BOTH ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
AND ALSO DURING THAT, HER TIME AS A COMMISSIONER, KATIE HAS WORKED WITH THE CITY COUNCIL TO PASS A RESOLUTION, DIRECTING STAFF, TO WORK TOWARD CREATING A HOLISTIC RESILIENCE PLAN FOR THE CITY RESILIENT AUSTIN, AND THROUGH HER WORK ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
AND AS OUR ROLE AS A CO-CHAIR OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, KATIE HELPED CREATE ONE OF THE MOST EQUITY DRIVEN CLIMATE PLANS IN THE COUNTRY, WHICH WAS ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL IN SEPTEMBER OF 2021.
THANK YOU, KATIE, FOR YOUR TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ENERGY AND DEDICATION, YOU HAVE BROUGHT TO PROTECTING AUSTIN'S ENVIRONMENT AND SERVING OUR COMMUNITY ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
I'M VERY EXCITED TO HAVE YOU ON OUR TEAM TO CONTINUE THAT THAT DRIVE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY COMMISSIONER COIN AND, YOU KNOW, I COMMISSIONED ANYMORE, BUT, UH, SUCH A HARD WORKER, ALWAYS OUT THERE TRYING TO DO THE BEST POSSIBLE JOB FOR THE ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU COULD ALWAYS WILLING TO GO THE EXTRA MILE, UM, WILLING TO, YOU KNOW, I CAN REMEMBER BACK WHEN WE HAD DIFFICULT CASES, YOU'D BEEN ABLE TO REALLY TRY TO LOOK AT THE BOTH SIDES.
MANY TIMES WE HAD TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT CONSENSUS.
AND YOU WERE PART OF THAT, GETTING THIS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO PULL TOGETHER, TO GET A CONSENSUS ON SOME OF THOSE MORE DIFFICULT, UM, ITEMS THAT CAME FORWARD.
AND, UH, PERSONALLY, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR ALL YOUR WORK.
CAUSE I KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS AT SOME POINTS AS YOU WERE PUSHING FORWARD WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ACTION PLANS AND, UM, VERY MUCH A PRETTY SHADED.
YOU'RE GOING TO JUST KIND OF MORPH INTO A NEW ROLE AND YOU'RE, YOU'RE SO WELL INFORMED ABOUT WHAT WE'VE HAD THESE PAST FOUR YEARS COMING BEFORE US.
SO I'M VERY PLEASED AND CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU.
UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING AND OH GOOD.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR WORK.
[3a. Presentation on Equitable Transit-Oriented Development strategies for Project Connect—Anna Lan, Principal Planner, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Warner Cook, Senior Planner, Housing and Planning Department]
A BEFORE[00:10:01]
US THIS EVENING PRESENTATION ON EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES FOR PROJECT CONNECT AND WE HAVE A 30 MINUTE PRESENTATION HERE.IS THIS THE PERSON THAT WAS HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING ON? ARE THEY HERE? MADAM CHAIR? I BELIEVE THE PRESENTER ANNA LYNN IS HERE.
THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION TO PRESENT HERE.
UM, I'M HERE WITH GREG DUTTON, CITY OF AUSTIN, AND TOGETHER HAVE METRO IN CITY OF BOSTON.
WE'RE WORKING ON A PROJECT CALLED THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.
UM, I'M A PRINCIPAL PLANNER WITH CAPITOL NATURAL AND I'VE BEEN TRANSIT RIDER AND MYSELF SINCE 2007.
SO THIS PROJECT IS REALLY NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART.
AND IT'S A PROJECT THAT I HOPE THAT PLAN COMPLETION.
MY CHILDREN CAN KEEP USING IT.
A LITTLE INTRODUCTION ABOUT HOW WE STARTED THIS PROJECT.
UM, THIS CAME ABOUT FROM A GRANT THAT CAPITOL MAXVILLE ONE AT THE END OF 2020 FROM THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, WE WANT $900,000 TO DO THIS STUDY ALONG THE NORTH OMAR, UM, WATERLOO RIVERS, RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR THAT HAS 13 STATIONS PLUS ONE ADDITIONAL STATION FOR SOUTH CONGRESS TRANSIT CENTER.
AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND ATP ON THIS PROJECT.
AND THIS PROJECT IS ACTUALLY IN PARALLEL WITH EACH OF THE EFFORTS FROM CITY OF AUSTIN, FROM THE 2000 AND 2021 JULY RESOLUTION FOR THE ISSUE OF THE POLICY CLAIM.
UM, AS YOU GUYS CAN SEE, WE PLACE THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS OUR FOURTH PARTNER.
SO IT'S REALLY VITAL FOR US THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF THIS PROJECT.
WE WANT TO CONSTANTLY ENGAGE IN GAIN FEEDBACK FROM OUR COMMUNITY, AND THERE ARE A VARIETY OF READY OF WAYS WE DO THAT, WHICH I WILL TOUCH UPON IN A LITTLE BIT.
THERE ARE A FEW OBJECTIVES FROM CAP METRO.
UM, WE WANT TO BE AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE WANT TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO THE JOB SERVICES AND DESTINATIONS AND GIVE THEM A VARIETY OF MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS.
OF COURSE, WE ALSO WANT TO SUPPORT RIDERSHIP ALONG THE TRANSIT CORRIDORS, AND WE WANT TO DO THIS BY EXPANDING OPTIONS, EVERYBODY FROM DIFFERENT INCOME LEVELS.
AND OF COURSE, AS THE TRANSIT AGENCY, WE WANT TO BE AS COMPETITIVE AS POSSIBLE ON THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION'S NEW STARTS CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANTS.
HOW WE SCORE ON THESE GRANTS DETERMINES HOW MUCH MONEY WE CAN GET AS A TRANSIT AGENCY.
A LOT OF OUR TRANSIT AGENCY OBJECTIVES COINCIDED REALLY WELL WITH THE EFFORTS FROM CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND THESE ARE THE 30 GOALS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE 2021 JULY RESOLUTION.
YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF PARALLELS AND FOCUS ON TENZIN PRESERVATION AND CREATION OF NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND FOCUS ON ANTI-DISPLACEMENT AND COMPACT THEM COMMIT CONNECTED COMMUNITIES.
IT'S TAKEN NO ONE BY SURPRISE, MAYBE AS A NEWCOMER THAT, UM, IT DOUBLES SO QUICKLY FROM 2 MILLION, 2019 TO 20, UH, TWO, 4 MILLION BY 2040, AND REALLY HOW WE ARRIVED AT THE STEP FOR CAP METRO AND EACH JODI IT'S.
UM, IT'S ALONG A SERIES OF EFFORTS THAT THE CITY HAS MADE IN TRANSIT INVESTMENT.
AND IT REALLY HAS BEEN KICKED OFF BY THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN IN 2019, WHICH REDUCED THE TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE DRIVING ON THE ROAD BY A QUARTER BY, UM, THE YEAR, I THINK 2039.
AND OF COURSE IN 2020 PROJECT NET CAME LIVE AND THIS LAW NATURALLY KIND OF LEADS US TO EACH CITY IN 2021.
THIS IS AN ARTICLE AMONGST MANY ARTICLES THAT ARE WRITTEN ABOUT AUSTIN.
AND AGAIN, WE DO KNOW THAT AUSTIN IS MOVING VERY QUICKLY TOWARDS BECOMING REALLY UNAFFORDABLE FOR A LOT OF FOLKS.
WE HAVE 180 PEOPLE MOVING HERE EVERY DAY, AND THERE'S A LOT OF RAPID DEMOLITION OF OLDER HOUSING AND CREATING IN SOME AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOODS.
THIS IS A MAP FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS UPWARD A PROJECT,
[00:15:01]
AND WE KIND OF OVERLAID OUR PROJECT CORRIDOR AGAINST THE MAP ITSELF.AND YOU CAN SEE THAT ALMOST EVERY STATION ACTUALLY NOT ALMOST EVERY STATION IS EITHER IN AREA OF HISTORIC EXCLUSION OR UNDERGOING ACTIVE OR CHRONIC DISPLACEMENT.
SO WE HAVE A NEW URGENCY TO KIND OF EMERGE TO GET AHEAD OF WHAT'S ALREADY A VERY HIGHLY VULNERABLE COMMUNITY FOR RISK OF DISPLACEMENT.
AND THAT IS WHY IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER THAT TRANSIT AND LAND USE PLANNING ARE CLOSELY COORDINATED NEXT WEEK.
TOD AS A CONCEPT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE A WHILE.
UM, IT'S A CONCEPT STARTED FROM WORLD WAR II AND YOU'LL SEE THIS IN EVERY MAJOR METROPOLITAN CITY WITH TRANSIT AROUND THE WORLD.
BUT, UM, THE BASIC CONCEPT IS THAT IT IS NOT, IT'S A BUILDING A PATTERN OF DEVELOPMENT AND IT CONSISTS OF PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED, COMPACT, MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE CENTERED AROUND QUALITY PUBLIC TRANSIT.
OH, EXCUSE ME, MY OTHER OTHER THINGS.
AND, UM, IDEALLY WITHIN A 10 TO 15 MINUTE WALK, YOU HAVE ACCESS TO ALL THESE HOUSING AND TRANSIT AGENCY SERVICES, UM, IN A VERY DENSE, MIXED USE NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO ONE OF THE MAJOR CRITICAL, UM, CRITICISMS OF TOD IS THAT IT CAN BE A VICTIM OF ITS OWN SUCCESS.
AND THAT MEANS IT ATTRACTS A LOT OF PRIVATE INVESTMENT, BUT THEN IT DOES.
SO BY ACCELERATING RENT GROWTH AND EXISTING PROPERTIES.
SO IN MANY PLACES, MARKET GROWTH AROUND THE TRANSIT HAS RESULTED IN THE DISPLACEMENT OF VERY VULNERABLE RESIDENTS AND LOCAL BUSINESSES ALONG STATIONS.
AND THESE BUSINESSES FACE THE CHALLENGE OF OF COURSE, RISING RENTS AND CHANGING CUSTOMER BASIS.
AND THESE RISKS ALSO EXTENDS TO NON PROFIT AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES.
AND THESE IMPACTED COMMUNITIES ARE ALSO LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WITHOUT ACCESS TO A VEHICLE AND ARE OFTEN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR WHO ARE THE EXACT POPULATIONS THAT WOULD IRONICALLY BENEFIT THE MOST FROM TRANSIT.
SO THIS IS WHY WE ARE NEXT SLIDE.
PLEASE ACTIVELY MOVING AS A TRANSIT AGENCY FROM TRADITIONAL TOD TO ADDING THE E IN FRONT OF THE TD TO EQUITABLE OUTCOME.
AND WE DO THIS BY NOT JUST ONLY REDUCING OR PREVENTING DISPLACEMENT, BUT ALSO REVERSING TRADITIONAL INEQUALITIES AND CREATING NEW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALONG THESE CORRIDORS.
AND WE REALLY NEED TO DO THAT BY FIRST AND FOREMOST, CREATE ENOUGH HOUSING FOR ALL INCOME LEVELS WHILE PRIORITIZING THE UNDERSERVED MEANS NEXT, PLEASE.
SO WHAT MAKES THIS EQUITABLE? UM, THE FIRST IT'S ABOUT PROVIDING THE SERVICES AND RESOURCES TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE HISTORICALLY NOT BEEN INVESTED IN, AND OF COURSE, PROVIDING HOUSING AT DIVERSE PRICE POINTS, BUT ALSO CREATING JOBS AND SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES AND IMPROVING THE PUBLIC SPACES.
THERE ARE SIX DIFFERENT ELEMENTS THAT WE WANT TO FOCUS ON, UM, FOR EACH O D N C.
THE FIRST ONE HIGHLIGHTED IS WHAT WE FEEL IS THE MOST INCLUSIVE, MOST CRUCIAL ONE.
AND THE FIRST STEP IS TO IDENTIFY THE COMMUNITIES IN THE STUDY AREA THAT ARE AT THE HIGHEST RISK OF DISPLACEMENT.
AND THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS, WE'LL BE MEETING WITH THESE FOLKS IN THE AREA, IF YOU'RE WILLING, ENGAGE IN DISCUSSIONS AROUND BENEFITS AND TRADE-OFFS, AND WE WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES AND CONCERNS, AND WE'LL TAKE THESE FEEDBACK THAT WILL REALLY HELP INFORM POLICY SOLUTIONS GOING FORWARD.
THE OTHER FIVE ELEMENTS WE WANT TO DO OUR CASE STUDIES, KIND OF LOOKING AT WHAT OTHER CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE DOING FOR ETO D.
WE WANT TO REALLY ANALYZE EXISTING CONDITIONS AROUND OUR STUDY SITE, AROUND THE CORRIDOR AND USING THESE CONDITIONS, UNDERSTANDING THE CONDITIONS WE WANT TO MAKE A SERIES OF POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO STATION AREA OF VISION PLANS FOR SIX OUT OF THE 14 STATIONS.
AND ULTIMATELY WE WILL UPDATE THE TWO PRIORITY TOOL THAT KEPT METRO HAS STARTED IN 2017.
THIS IS THE CURRENT PROJECT SCHEDULE.
UM, IT'S ROUGHLY THE LENGTH OF A YEAR.
WE STARTED IN THE FALL OF 2021, AND WE HOPE TO COMPLETE THE FIRST SEGMENT OF THIS BY 20 END OF 2022, CARRYING ON TO SPRING 2023.
[00:20:01]
THE FIVE ELEMENTS DELIVERABLES ON THE BOTTOM AND THEY KIND OF FEED INTO EACH OTHER.UM, ONCE THAT INFORMS THE NEXT SERIES OF DECISION-MAKING WE'RE IN OUR FIRST ROUND OF ENGAGEMENT, THERE ARE THREE ROUNDS ON TOP, THE FIRST ROUND OF ENGAGEMENT IT'S REALLY OPEN TO BROADER PUBLIC, AND WE REALLY WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE PUBLIC'S GOALS AND PRIORITIES AND KEY CONCERNS AROUND THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD AND USING THOSE KEY CONCERNS.
WE WANT TO MATCH KIND OF FIND WAYS TO DEFINE THE SIX FOCUS STATION AREAS, ULTIMATELY GOING FORWARD.
WE WILL BE PASSING THE BATON TO CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, BY PROVIDING THE KEY STATION AREA VISION PLANS AND PRIOR TOOLS PENNY INTO THE CITY SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE IT TO THE NEXT STEP TOWARDS A REGULATORY IMPLEMENTATION.
WE HAVE A VARIETY OF ENGAGEMENT, UM, THAT ARE GOING ON ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
SO WE HAVE THE CDC BRIEFINGS WITH THE CDC WORKING GROUP THAT WAS ESTABLISHED IN JANUARY.
WE MEET WITH THEM MONTHLY TO INFORM OF THEM OF KEY PROGRESS ALONG THE WAY, BUT ALSO TO KIND OF CO-CREATE, UH, WORK WITH THEM ON FINDING SOLUTIONS TOGETHER.
WE ALSO HAVE ONE-ON-ONES WITH COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES, KEY SMALL KEY BUSINESS LEADERS, UM, REPRESENTATIVES OF DISPLACED COMMUNITIES.
THAT'S AN ONGOING DISCUSSION AND COMMUNITY, AND ALSO STAKEHOLDER PRESENTATIONS RIGHT NOW THIS WEEK, WE'RE WORKING ON FOCUS GROUPS WHERE WE'RE INVITING GRASS, TOP ORGANIZATIONS TO HAVE SMALL DISCUSSIONS WITH CAP METRO STAFF, UM, IN A VERY SMALLER SETTING TO UNDERSTAND GOALS AND PRIORITIES.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HOPE TO CONDUCT ALL THE ENTIRE FACE OF THE ENGAGEMENT FOR THE YEAR.
AND IT MAY VERY WELL LAST BEYOND THE DURATION OF THE PROJECT ITSELF.
OUR ENGAGEMENT TO THE PUBLIC KICKOFF, RIGHT BEFORE THANKSGIVING LAST YEAR, WE HELPED TWO DATES, NOVEMBER 16TH AND 17TH, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
AND THIS WAS BROADCASTED THROUGH A VARIETY OF SOCIAL MEDIA PUSHES.
AND ALSO WE ASKED VARIOUS COMMITTEES AND LISTS TO JOIN AN INVITE US.
THIS IS NOT THE BEST PHOTO WE HAVE, BUT I PROMISE EVERYONE LOOKED TO BE MUCH HAPPIER TO BE HERE.
UM, THIS WAS A PHOTO LOOK, I GUESS PEOPLE LOOKED A LITTLE GRIM AWAY YOU'RE TESTING AUDIO, BUT WE HAD A PRETTY GOOD TURNOUT OF 158 TOTAL PARTICIPANTS OVER THE SPAN OF TWO DAYS.
AND WE HELPED SMALL BREAKOUT SESSIONS, EVERY MEETING TO KIND OF GET A BETTER SENSE OF EACH ATTENDEES.
I ALREADY SAID CONCERNS NEXT SIDE, PLEASE.
SO HERE ARE SOME OF THE PRELIMINARY DATA, UM, UH, UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE FOLKS WHO ATTENDED A LOT OF THE FOLKS ARE TRANSIT RIDERS.
ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE SAID THEY'VE NEVER WRITTEN TRANSIT.
AND A LOT OF THESE FOLKS HAVE PARTICIPATED IN PROJECT CONNECT MEETINGS BEFORE AND OUT OF THE PARTICIPANTS.
UM, WE ASKED THEM TO IDENTIFY LIKE STATIONS OF INTERESTS THAT THEY WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE MORE FOCUSED ON.
AND WE HAVE HYDE PARK, WATERFRONT AND LAKE SHORE.
NOPE, ALL THE GROUPS, RESPONDENT, WE ARE STILL TRYING TO WORK REALLY HARD TO INCREASE OUR MINORITY BIPAP PARTICIPATION RATE.
SO WE HAVE A TARGET RATE THAT'S TRYING TO EXCEED THE POPULATION RATIO OF CITY OF AUSTIN NEXT FOR THIS PROJECT.
FOR EVERY STAGE OF THE ENGAGEMENT WE HAVE ALSO RIGHTY ADVERTISING AND SOCIAL MEDIA PUSHES.
UM, WE WILL BE PRINTING BUS PLACARDS, AND I WANT TO SAY ALL THE MAIN BUSES GOING THROUGH THE CORRIDOR, WE'LL BE PRINTING FLYERS AND POSTCARDS AND PAID ADVERTISEMENT PUSHES AS WELL AS, UM, UH, AS WELL AS ADVERTISEMENT AND AGENT OR ADVERTISEMENT WITHIN LOCAL NEWS AGENCIES AND AFFILIATE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE FOR THE FOCUS GROUP THAT IS GOING ON THIS WEEK AND IT'S STILL ONGOING AND WE HAVE THREE SPOTS OPEN.
UM, WE LIKE TO ASK IF YOU HAVE ANYBODY WHO IS REPRESENTATIVE OF AN ORGANIZATION AND THIS, UM, TO ME COUNTS AS WELL.
WE REALLY LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO PARTICIPATE.
THIS IS AN HOUR AND A HALF SESSION THAT'S FULLY COMPENSATED, AND WE WILL ALSO HAVE A SESSION DEDICATED TO STANDISH AND ACCESS ACCESS FOLKS.
SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, PLEASE GIVE US AN EMAIL AT DOT ORG WITH YOUR PREFERENCE.
[00:25:01]
WE'RE DEFINITELY STILL OPEN, VERY HAPPY TO HAVE SOMEONE FROM THIS COMMITTEE.THIS IS ANOTHER WAY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY.
IT'S CALLED COMMUNITY CONNECTORS.
I HAVE TO SAY, I MEAN THE CAP METRO, WE HAVE A VERY, VERY ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM.
WE HAVE A VERY LARGE TEAM AND THEY DO TREMENDOUS OUTREACH WHEN WE WENT ON THE SITE OURSELVES AND WE WROTE THE BUSES UP AND DOWN THE CORRIDORS, AND WE SPOKE TO THE WRITERS IN THE BUSES AND THOSE WAITING AROUND STOPS.
WE'VE FOUND THAT THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DISCONNECT.
UM, A LOT OF RESIDENTS OR WRITERS DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT OR THE FACT THAT LIGHT RAIL IS COMING IN THE VERY SAME CORRIDOR.
SO THAT TELLS US HOW WE NEED TO GO EVEN DEEPER INTO THE COMMUNITY, UM, TO FOLKS WHO DON'T REALLY RESPOND TO TRADITIONAL METHODS OF OUTREACH.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE RECRUITING COMMUNITY CONNECTORS, 10 FOLKS WHO KIND OF REPRESENT ARE ACTIVE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, UM, THAT WE WILL PROVIDE THEM WITH ALL THEIR TRAINING AND SUPPORT.
AND THERE'LL BE MOBILIZED TO GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITIES TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT, UM, TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC AND ALSO GAVE IMPORTANT FEEDBACK.
AND THIS IS OF COURSE A FULLY COMPENSATED MESSAGE, BUT WE'RE HOPING THAT THEY CAN GO MUCH DEEPER AND BE ABLE TO REACH THEIR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS AND COWORKERS THAT SOMEONE LIKE MYSELF USING CABINET-LEVEL EMAIL MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO.
AND THESE ARE THE FOLKS THAT WILL REALLY CARE ABOUT HEARING BACK BECAUSE THEY ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THIS PROJECT.
AND THIS PROJECT IS ONGOING AND WE REALLY WELCOME ANY FEEDBACK OR QUESTIONS.
AND THERE'S A VARIETY OF WAYS THAT YOU CAN KIND OF KEEP TRACK OF THIS PROJECT.
UM, WE ALWAYS RESPOND VERY QUICKLY TO THE EMAIL, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A PROJECT WEBSITE THAT'S SET UP ON PROJECT CONNECT IN THE FUTURE AFTER EVERY IMPORTANT PUBLIC OUTREACH EVENTS, UM, WE'LL HAVE A TRANSPARENT DISPLAY OF SURVEY RESULTS OR KEY FEEDBACK.
AND THE PROJECT SITE ITSELF WILL HAVE KEY INFORMATION ABOUT THE STATION INFORMATION, ANY FACTUAL INFORMATION.
SO WE WANT TO BE AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC IN THIS PROCESS.
SO THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'D BE VERY HAPPY TO ANSWER WITH, UM, GREG, SORRY ABOUT THE SOUND AUDIO.
THERE'S ANOTHER MEETING THAT'S HAPPENING.
I COULDN'T TURN OFF THE OTHER TEAM'S LINK.
I'LL START DOWN HERE WITH COMMISSIONER BEDFORD.
UM, UH, BUT IF THERE WERE ANY LIKE, UM, PROPOSED EXAMPLES OF HOW Y'ALL WOULD, UM, OFFSET THE X EXACERBATED THIS PLACEMENT, UM, THAT WAS MENTIONED FOR SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES, UH, CAN YOU ELABORATE A LITTLE MORE, WHAT KIND OF EXAMPLE? UM, LIKE I GUESS I'M TRYING TO THINK OF LIKE EXAMPLES OF LIKE, HOW Y'ALL LIKE, CAUSE IT WAS MENTIONED THAT SOME COMMUNITIES WOULD BE, UM, AFFECTED MORE BY EXACERBATION THE EXACERBATED THIS PLACEMENT, UH, WITH, UH, PROJECT CONNECT COMING ON BOARD.
AND SO I WAS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE WAS ANY PROACTIVE, UM, IDEAS TO OFFSET THE DISPLACEMENT OR IF THERE'S BEEN ANY PROPOSED THINGS TO KIND OF LIKE, WHAT CAN WE DO TO LIKE, NOT PRICE PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR HOMES OR LIKE THE AREAS OR IF THERE WAS ANY LIKE THINGS THAT CAME UP ABOUT THAT.
UH, GREG DIED IN THE HOUSING PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
I WAS GONNA SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY RIGHT NOW, UM, OR, OR PROACTIVE, BUT, UM, WHEN WE GET TO THE PLANNING STAGE, THE MORE SPECIFIC PLANNING STAGE, ONE OF THE WAYS THAT ETO D IS GOING TO BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE WAY THAT WE'VE DONE TLDS IN THE PAST IS THAT IT WILL HAVE A, UH, WE THINK A DIFFERENTIAL APPROACH TO HOW WE DO, UH, DEPENDING ON THAT ONE SIZE FITS ALL KIND OF APPROACH TO, TO THE PLANNING EFFORT.
WE MAY HAVE, UM, LIKE SOME PLACES MAYBE, UM, NEED PROGRAMMATIC ASSISTANCE OF SOME KIND OR OTHER PLACES MAY NEED CHANGES TO SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS THAT INCLUDE
[00:30:01]
ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENTS.UM, BUT THAT WON'T BE THE SAME EVERY OR SO, SO ONE OF THE WAYS THAT, UM, IT'S DIFFERENT FROM PAST EFFORTS IS THAT WE'LL DO A LOT OF CONTEXTUALIZING USING EXISTING CONDITIONS AND THEN KIND OF USE THAT TO HELP US GUIDE HOW THE, HOW THE PLANNING EFFORTS TO GO.
AND, UM, I KNOW IN THE PRESENTATION AND MENTIONED SIX STATIONS WERE BEING PROPOSED OR LIKE THAT THE IDEA WAS TO DEVELOP SIX STATIONS AND THREE WERE LISTED, BUT I WAS CURIOUS IF THEY WERE ANY, UM, SUGGESTED LOCATIONS FOR THE OTHER THREE, FOR WHAT PARTS OF TOWN THEY WOULD BE LOCATED.
AND THESE STATIONS ARE KIND OF LIKE, UM, THEY'RE A WORK IN PROGRESS.
SO THE, WE HAVE SOME STATIONS BASED ON SOME PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS THAT WE FEEL ARE GOOD CANDIDATES, AND THOSE ARE NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER, SOUTH CONGRESS TRANSIT CENTER, PRESS VIEW AND HYDE PARK.
AND WE HAVE SOME IDEAS ABOUT, INSTEAD OF JUST DOING ONE OR TWO STATIONS, NO RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR.
THIS WILL BE A FREE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THE ENTIRE CORRIDOR PLAN AS WELL.
I THINK THAT'S IT FOR QUESTIONS FOR RIGHT NOW.
HI, UH, THANK YOU, LESLIE, FOR THAT, UH, PRESENTATION.
UH, COULD YOU PROVIDE THE COMMISSION WITH A, UM, WITH, UH, THE, UH, THE OVERALL PLAN THAT YOU HAVE, UH, IN A WAY THAT, UM, IT CAN BE OVERLAID OVER THE CITY SO THAT, UH, I, I, I CAN'T REALLY VISUALIZE EXACTLY WHICH, WHICH STREETS, UH, OR, OR HIGHWAYS OR, UH, CORRIDORS THAT YOU'RE USING.
I CAN SEE, AND I CAN SEE IN GENERAL TERMS, UH, WHERE THINGS ARE, BUT IT'S, UH, IT'S HARD TO, UM, UH, VISUALIZE WHERE THEY, WHERE THEY ACTUALLY, WELL, UH, WILL BE LOCATED WITH, WITH REGARD TO EXISTING, UH, UH, UH, STREETS IN, IN, UH, IN HIGHWAYS.
UM, COULD YOU, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD DO FOR US? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
UM, YOU HIT THAT RIGHT ON THE NAIL.
THAT IS OUR NEXT STEP IN IMPLEMENTATION.
WE ARE CURRENTLY THE EXISTING CONDITIONS ANALYSIS FOR ALL THE STATIONS IN THE CORRIDOR, AND WE'RE RELEASING THIS INFORMATION VIA AN ONLINE INTERACTIVE MAP.
SO YOU'LL BE ABLE, AND THIS IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ZOOM IN TO THE SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE, HOW THE GEOGRAPHICALLY GOOD, CORRECT OVERLAY ANGLE B TO C LOOK AT INFORMATION THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE STUDY PROJECT.
SO WE HOPE THAT THIS WOULD GO ONLINE PROBABLY IN A MONTH OR TWO.
AND, UH, NEXT, UH, I WAS JUST AT, UH, ON FRIDAY, I, I TOURED, UH, COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE, UH, FOR THE FIRST TIME AND IT, WHICH IS, UH, LOCATED, UM, UH, KIND OF, UH, TO THE EAST SIDE OF TOWN.
AND, UM, CURRENTLY, UM, ACCORDING TO, UM, UH, ED WHO, UH, WAS, UH, WAS SHOWING US AROUND, UM, WHEN SOMEBODY FROM COMMUNITY FIRST, UH, TAKES THE BUS, UH, INTO TOWN IT'S, UH, IT'S, IT'S, UH, AT LEAST, UH, A TWO HOUR ROUND TRIP, UH, UH, TO, UH, TO DO SO.
AND, UH, UM, I'M WONDERING, UH, IF WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO HAVE, UM, MORE FREQUENT, UM, UH, MOVEMENT, UH, ON A, ON AN ONGOING BASIS SO THAT, UM, UH, PEOPLE ARE, ARE ABLE TO, UH, TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND, UM, RELY ON IT IN A WAY THAT, UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOT MORE INCONVENIENT THAN, THAN DRIVING.
IT WOULD BE NICE IF IT WAS ACTUALLY MORE, IT WAS ACTUALLY EASIER THAN DRIVING, UH, AND SO THAT WE CAN, UH, GET PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR, UH, PERSONAL VEHICLES AND ALSO ALLOW PEOPLE WHO, UM, FOR THE MOST PART, DON'T HAVE A PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION, UH, BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE, THE CITY, UM, IN A MORE EQUITABLE WAY.
[00:35:03]
WAS THAT A, DID THAT SOUND LIKE A QUESTION AND INTENDED A D ONE? UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY GREAT STATEMENT AS WELL.AND THE ANSWER TO THAT IS THAT'S ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING THAT WE ARE CONSIDERING.
UM, CAP METRO IS DOING A VARIETY OF ROUTES THAT YOU SPRINT OUT TO SEE HOW WE CAN INCREASE THESE VARIOUS BUS AND MULTIMODAL CONNECTIONS AROUND THESE STATIONS.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING ON.
AND W WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT, UM, DISPLACEMENT OF, UH, PEOPLE, UM, FROM, FROM HOUSING, UH, I, I LISTENED CAREFULLY AND I, I, I HAVEN'T GET HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT LOCATING OR BUILDING OR OTHERWISE, UM, UH, SEEING THOSE PEOPLE, UM, IN NEW HOUSING, UM, WHICH WOULD SEEM TO ME TO BE, UM, SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE A HIGH ON THE LIST OF PRIORITIES, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REAL PEOPLE WITH REAL LIVES.
UM, NOT SOMETHING THAT COULD BE DONE IN A CERTAIN PHASE OF A PROJECT WHEN, WHEN, UM, THE PLACE THEY'RE LIVING, UH, IS GONE.
THEY, THEY NEED SOME PLACE ELSE TO BE RIGHT THEN, UH, IF NOT BEFORE.
AND, UH, I I'M, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT WHERE THAT IS IN YOUR, IN, IN YOUR, UH, PROCESS AND WHAT THOUGHTS YOU HAVE ABOUT HOW THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, BECAUSE, UH, I KNOW HOW TIGHT THE HOUSING MARKET IS AND HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS TO GET INTO, UH, ANY KIND OF HOUSING, UH, WHETHER IT'S, UH, BUYING OR RENTING, UH, IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW.
UM, THERE ARE A VARIETY OF WAYS.
I THINK GOD CAN DEFINITELY SUPPLEMENT THAT WE WILL BE WORKING WITH THE CITY, LOOKING AT EVERY STATION AND WASTE INCREASE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES, WHETHER THAT'D BE CONVERTING PRIVATELY OWNED LAND, OR FINDING WAYS TO FIND DEVELOPERS, TO CONVERT THE PRIVATELY OWNED LAND WITH GREAT INCENTIVES INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING ANOTHER WAY.
AND THIS IS WHY WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN NORTH OF MY TRANSIT CENTER AND SOUTH CONGRESS TRANSIT CENTER.
THESE ARE LARGE, LOTS OWNED BY CAP METRO, UM, FOR 2D DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES.
SO THIS IS LAND THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY TRY TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON TOP.
AND THIS IS THE LAND THAT WE HAVE CONTROL OVER THE STATE OF WHAT TO DO.
SO THIS IS, UM, THIS IS ONE OF OUR EFFORTS AS AN AGENCY TO TRY TO GO FORTH, BUT IN TERMS OF CREATING NEW HOUSING, WE ARE LOOKING AT WAYS TO INCREASE FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES AND, UM, INCENTIVE POLICIES WITH THE CITY TO KIND OF ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENTS.
AND I HAVE, UH, ONE, ONE MORE QUESTION.
UM, UH, WHAT, WHEN I LOOK AT THE OVERALL PICTURE THAT YOU GAVE US, UM, UH, IT REMINDED ME OF OTHER PLANS THAT I'VE, I'VE SEEN.
IT'S NOT UNIQUE TO AUSTIN, BUT IT SEEMS AS THOUGH, UM, THERE'S A, UH, UH, A CONCENTRATION ON BRINGING, UH, PEOPLE FROM, UH, THE, UH, OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY TO THE, UH, INTERIOR OF THE CITY.
BUT, UM, WHEN I TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, SOUTH AUSTIN, UH, WHICH IS WHERE I LIVE AND ALSO, UH, UH, UH, IN, UH, DISTRICT TWO, UH, ALSO WHERE, UH, PEOPLE HAVE THE, THE, UH, UH, TO THE SOUTH AND TO THE EAST WHERE PEOPLE HAVE, UH, TRADITIONALLY, UH, BY DESIGN, UH, IN, IN THAT, IN THAT, UH, THEY WERE ACTUALLY EXCLUDED FROM LIVING ELSEWHERE IF THEY WERE BLACK.
AND, UH, AND THERE WAS THE SAME KIND OF RED LINING THAT WENT ON AS HISPANICS MOVED IN.
SO THEY, THEY LIVE IN THESE PLEAT PLACES, NOT NECESSARILY, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THEY CHOSE TO LIVE, BUT BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THEY WERE, UM, THE ONLY PLACE THEY WERE ALLOWED TO LIVE.
AND I DON'T SEE, UM, IN THE, UH, IN THE DESIGN THAT SHOULD, THAT YOU'RE SHOWING US HERE AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, FOR CROSS TRANSPORTATION, UM, FROM, UH, EAST TO WEST, UH, IF YOU ARE IN THE SOUTH, YOU KNOW, I HAD, IT'S NOT LOGICALLY EASY TO GO, UH, TO CITY HALL IN ORDER TO GET, UM, UH, FROM THE SOUTH IN ORDER TO GET, UM, TO ANOTHER PLACE IN THE SOUTH.
UH, SO, UM, I WONDER IF YOU'RE, UM, LOOKING INTO SOME, UH, SOME, UH, SECONDARY,
[00:40:02]
UH, ROUTES, WHICH WILL, UM, AUGMENT THE, UH, THE MAIN SYSTEM TO, UH, UH, MAKE IT, UM, UH, POSSIBLE TO GET AGAIN, TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR VEHICLES AND TO GET THEM, UH, UM, PREFERRING TO TAKE A MASS TRANSPORTATION.SO THE TERMS OF THIS STUDY, WE'RE ONLY LOOKING AT A VERY SPECIFIC CORRIDOR.
UM, IT IS JUST THE BLUE CORRIDOR AND HALF OF THE ORANGE CORRIDOR ABOVE THE RIVER.
SO UNDER THE TERMS AND GUIDANCE OF THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, THIS IS THE ONLY CORRIDOR THAT WE CAN LOOK AT AT THIS DURATION.
SO WE TALKING ABOUT THE SOUTH PORTER THAT IS NOT IN THIS PRINT BASE OF THE WORK, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN HOPEFULLY INCORPORATE IN THE NEXT ROUND.
UM, WELL, THIS IS A, IS A COMMENT, UH, I'M, I'M DISTRESSED, UM, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW THAT, UM, THE, THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BE BEST SERVED BY THIS ARE ALREADY THE PEOPLE WHO, UM, ARE BETTER OFF AND HAVE BETTER RESOURCES, AND THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE LEAST RESOURCES AND HAVE THE GREATEST NEED ARE, UM, ON THE BACK BURNER.
UM, AND, UH, I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT'S YOUR FAULT.
I'M JUST, IT'S JUST A COMMENT THAT I'D LIKE TO, UM, FOR THE RECORD.
I, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME KIND OF, UH, PROGRAM DEVELOPED AT THAT, UH, UM, REALLY FOCUSES ON THE, ON THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE THAT, THAT LIVE IN, UH, AND THE EAST AND THE SOUTH SIDES OF TOWN, SO THAT, UM, UH, AND THEY'RE THE ONES WHO MOST NEED PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND ARE THE, THE LEAST LIKELY TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD, UH, OTHER, UH, UH, PRIVATE CAR OR TO, TO AFFORD, UH, GAS PRICES AS THEY RISE AND SO FORTH.
I'M JUST GONNA THE TALK, I'M GOING TO LOOK UP AND SEE IF COMMISSIONER THOMPSON HAD ANYTHING BEFORE I START GOING DOWN HERE.
UM, I'M JUST HOPING THAT THE VOUCHER THING WILL COME THROUGH FOR THE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT, AND THAT YOU WILL FOLLOW THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA FOR BUILDING AND THAT WE STILL CAN HAVE SOME, UM, EQUITABLE HOUSING ON THE CAP COCK SITES THAT YOU MENTIONED, AND THAT, UH, THEY WILL BE, UM, ABLE TO BUILD IN A MANNER THAT WILL THE CITY CAN, UH, FACILITATE TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY.
WE HAD SOMEONE COME DURING CITIZENS COMMUNICATION TALKING ABOUT THE COST OF THE PROCESS.
SO I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN KEEP LOW INCOME HOUSING THERE, AND WE CAN FACILITATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF IT, UM, THROUGH A VARIETY OF, UM, COMMISSIONS.
AND I'M CERTAINLY HOPEFUL THAT YOU WILL COME BACK AND THAT WE CAN HELP IN THAT WAY.
I KNOW THAT THE, THE 180 3 AND SEVENTH STREET IS VERY NEAR THE RIVER, AND, UM, THAT ONE IS VERY WELL DONE.
IT'S NEAR MONTOPOLIS BRIDGE IF, UM, PEOPLE COULD ORIENT IT BETTER THAT WAY.
SO IF YOU WANTED TO GO AND SEE WHAT IS PERHAPS PROPOSED FOR THESE OTHER AREAS, UM, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THAT SITE WOULD BE A GOOD ONE TO VIEW.
AND, UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS TO, UH, BE INCLUSIVE OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO OFTEN PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO VOLUNTEER.
SO I'M THANKFUL THAT THERE WILL BE SOME PAID, UM, INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, I JUST, ONCE AGAIN SAY, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, I'M SURE YOU HAVE, CAUSE YOU GUYS SEEM TO BE VERY THOROUGH AND I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF YOUR EFFORTS.
UM, GO TO THE COMMUNITY CENTERS.
WE IN NON TOPLESS HAVE A BRAND NEW ONE.
SO IF YOU DO OUTREACH THERE THAT I THINK YOU'LL MEET A LOT OF COMMUNITY LEADERS.
IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY GOTTEN SOMEONE FROM MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO IF YOU COULD KEEP US POSTED AND LET US KNOW WHO IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS THE OUTREACH PERSON, AND, UM, THEN WE CAN ASK THEM TO COME AND SPEAK TO, UH, THE GROUPS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE.
SO, AND THEN I'M ALSO WONDERING,
[00:45:01]
UM, ABOUT, UH, I KNOW THIS IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WE'RE SUPPOSED TO STICK TO THAT, THAT THE DURING COVID, I KNOW IT'S BEEN QUITE TESTY WITH THE HEALTH ASPECTS AND IT'S COST A LOT TO KEEP THE BUSES CLEAN AND GOING AND SO FORTH.SO I APPRECIATE, UM, ALL OF THAT EFFORT AND HOPEFULLY SOME OF THOSE COSTS, UM, WILL BE NOT SO GREAT GOING FORWARD AND WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO BETTER SERVICE.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK ON THIS.
SO ONE OF THE, UM, UH, STUDIES THAT I PARTICIPATED IN WHEN I WORKED, UH, FOR TEXAS CHILDREN, NATURE, WAS LOOKING AT WHAT FAMILIES WANTED, UM, OUT OF, UH, UH, OUT OF A CITY.
AND, UM, AND HOW DO THEY CONNECT WITH PARKLAND? AND BECAUSE THEY REALLY SAW THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PARKLANDS AND THE HEALTH OF THEIR CHILDREN.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS IN THE SURVEY WAS THAT THEY WANTED TO SEE MORE BUS STOPS AT PARKS.
SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE I WANT TO PLANT THAT SEED OUT THERE.
THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND THE WAY I THINK OF IT IS, ESPECIALLY WITH LOW-INCOME FAMILIES, WE'RE ASKING THEM TO LIVE IN STACKED HOUSING, CLUSTER HOUSING.
AND SO NOW WE NEED TO PROTECT AND PROVIDE THE TRANSPORTATION TO GET TO THEIR YARD.
SO THERE'S, UH, YOU KNOW, THESE PUBLIC USES.
UM, I THINK THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF PROVIDING, UM, YOU KNOW, EQUITY, UM, AND HEALTH, UH, FOR, UM, OUR CITIZENS AND THE TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS PROVIDE THOSE LINKS AS WONDERFUL LINKS, ESPECIALLY TO OUR GREEN SPACES.
SO I HOPE THAT THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND, UH, ESPECIALLY AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UH, I'D ALWAYS LIKE TO SEE MORE PEOPLE OUT IN OUR PARKS, DULY NOTED, AND I FULLY AGREE.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER BRISTOL.
DID YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING? THANK YOU FOR THE, FOR YOUR WORK.
OKAY, MR. HEY, Y'ALL UM, APPRECIATE Y'ALL TAKING THE TIME TO, UH, MEET US, ALTHOUGH I'M PRETTY SURE IT'S PART OF YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION.
SO YOU'RE PROBABLY GETTING PAID TO BE HERE.
UM, YEAH, SO, YOU KNOW, I REPRESENT, UM, DISTRICT ONE, I ALSO LIVE IN A PART OF TOWN, UH, OFF ROGGIE AND MAYNARD.
THAT IS BASICALLY GOING TO BE PART OF DISTRICT FOUR.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'M DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN, UH, THESE TRANSIT LINES AND SORT OF, YOU KNOW, LIKE Y'ALL HAVE ALLUDED TO, UM, IT'S NO SECRET THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE RED LINE, RIGHT, BASICALLY EVERY STAFF HAS BECOME SORT OF LIKE LUXURY APARTMENTS, RIGHT.
WITH JUST THE BARE MINIMUM AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDED TO GET LIKE CREDITS FROM THE GOVERNMENT OR WHATEVER.
UM, AND EVEN WHEN WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING THAT IN YOUR SLIDE, YOU SAID THAT YOU WANTED TO LOOK AT LIKE DIVERSITY FOR BUSINESSES THAT WILL BE IN THESE AREAS.
UM, DEFINITELY I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT NORTH LAMAR, RIGHT, DEFINITELY ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE PARTS OF TOWN, UM, IT'S ARGUABLE, WHETHER THE TRAIN LINE, EVEN THOUGH I'M A FAN OF THE TRAIN LINE, I THINK IT'S ARGUABLE WHETHER THE TRAIN LINE WILL ACTUALLY HELP DIVERSITY IN THAT AREA.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T NECESSARILY TAKE STEPS TO TRY TO SAFEGUARD THAT, UH, THAT DEMOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY, RIGHT.
UM, I THINK, UM, ONE THING THAT WE CAN PROBABLY DO A BETTER JOB OF IN THE FUTURE IS LIKE, IF YOU LOOK AT, SAY, LET'S SAY THE PLAZA LTO STOP, FOR EXAMPLE, OR THE MLK JR.
HOW MANY OF THOSE BUSINESSES THAT ARE THERE ARE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, WHO ARE FROM THOSE AREAS? PROBABLY VERY FEW.
UM, I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE AN INTERESTING THING TO LOOK AT.
UM, NOT ONLY FOR THE CURRENT RED LINE, RIGHT, FOR LIKE CURRENT STATISTICS, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, MODELING FOR THE BLUE LINE AND THE ORANGE LINE.
I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT RIVERSIDE, ESPECIALLY EASTERN RIVERSIDE NEAR THE AIRPORT, UM, THE CURRENT DEMOGRAPHICS WILL PROBABLY NOT BE THE DEBT WITH ALL THE DEL VALLEY DEVELOPMENT AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BLUE LINE COMING IN, UH, MAKING IT VERY EASY TO GET TO THE AIRPORT OR GET TO DOWNTOWN.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND I ALSO THINK THAT, UH, AS FAR AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON THE TRANSIT LINES, UM, I THINK IT WILL BE DEFINITELY VERY INTERESTING TO SEE WHERE THE MAJORITY OF THIS AFFORDABLE HOUSING ENDS UP, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE BLUE LINE OR THE VERY NORTH OF THE ORANGE LINE, UM, OR ON THE VERY EAST OF THE GREEN LINE.
[00:50:01]
SO, UH, YEAH, LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING, UH, WHAT Y'ALL'S, UH, STUDY SPRING FORTH.BRIDGETTE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND CAN I JUST ADD, UM, FOR THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THE LAST THING WE WANT TO DO IS TO CENTRALIZE THE CONCENTRATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING ALONG SPECIFIC CORRIDOR PLANNING AND TRANSIT SHOULD BE A DEMOCRATIC, UH, DEMOCRATIC PROCESS FOLKS HAVE THE RIGHT TO ENJOY ACCESS TO NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO IT SHOULDN'T JUST BE THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS LOCATED ALONG, SAY FOR EXAMPLE, RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR OR THE STUDY, THE WAY WE CHOSE OUR FOCUS STATION AREAS, AS WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT MORE TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOODS AS WELL, TO FIND WAYS TO KIND OF INTRODUCE THE TOPIC OF OPENING UP SERVICES AND HOUSING FOR PEOPLE FROM DIVERSE INFANTS.
ALSO, I'D BE CURIOUS TO SEE HOW MUCH OF THE, UH, HOUSING THAT'S BUILT IN THESE AREAS AROUND THESE, UH, TRANSIT STOPS ARE ACTUALLY LIKE AFFORDABLE.
I WOULD BE AT THE VERY LEAST LIKE A USEFUL BASELINE TO LOOK AT WHEN YOU'RE DETERMINING, OKAY, WELL, WHAT ARE, YOU KNOW, WHAT PROGRAMS ARE WE GOING TO USE? WHAT'S RENT GOING TO BE? UM, SO I THINK ALL OF THIS STUFF IS SUPER FASCINATING.
I LIKE URBAN TRANSPORTATION JUST AS MUCH AS I LIKE TREES AND I REALLY LIKE TREES, YOU KNOW? SO, UM, AND MY ONLY COMMENTS ARE THAT, UM, IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT THE LINE THAT YOU PRESENT THAT SEEMS TO HAVE THE MOST STOPS CATERS TO, UH, THE WEALTHIER NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE PREDOMINANTLY WHITE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT SKEWS SOME OF THIS EQUITABLE STUFF RIGHT THERE, AND EQUITY MEANS TO ME EAST, I, I AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER SCOTT.
I'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT STREETS IN EAST AUSTIN HAVE THOSE ACCESSES.
I'M REALLY PLEASED TO HEAR Y'ALL GOT ON THE BUS AND ACTUALLY WENT AND TO SEE IF PEOPLE WERE MAKING THAT CONNECTION AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT WAS COMING.
IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPRESSIVE THAT Y'ALL DID THAT.
AND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT, UM, CONTINUING TO SEE HOW MANY STATIONS ARE EAST THAT CAN COME IN AND CONNECT WITH THE BIGGER, UM, LINES THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT ARE GOING TO REALLY CATER TO THE STUDENTS AND TO, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, SOME OF THE SECOND STATIONS WERE ALL IN THE ELITE AREAS OF THIS TOWN.
AND SO THAT'S DISHEARTENING TO SOME EXTENT, BUT I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE UNDER SPECIFIC GUIDELINES WITH THIS FUNDING AND THAT PRETTY MUCH DROVE WHERE Y'ALL HAD TO GO WITH THIS LINE, BUT DEFINITELY, UH, YOU KNOW, W WE HOPEFULLY WILL BE ABLE TO, TO SEGUE INTO THE EAST WEST CONNECTIVITY.
AND I APPRECIATE THE OUTREACH THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING.
UH, I REALLY THINK Y'ALL HAVE DONE QUITE WELL WITH THAT.
SO THANK YOU FOR PRESENTING TONIGHT.
[4a. Name: Rainey Tower SPC-2021-0129C]
FOR A RAINY TOWER S PC DASH 2021 DASH OH 1 2 9.SEE, APPLICANT IS LINCOLN VENTURES, LLC.
LOCATION IS 78 DASH 84 RAINY STREET, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78, 7 0 1 DISTRICT NINE.
UM, WE HAVE THE CITY ARBORIST HERE.
IS THERE SOMEONE FROM, WITH THE APPLICANT THAT IS GOING TO BE PRESENTED ON? THANK YOU.
SO LET'S FIRST HEAR FROM OUR CITY OF AUSTIN DEPARTMENT, UH, WITH A PRESENTATION, NAOMI, THERE'S NAOMI, PLEASE SAY YOUR NAME AND WE'LL START THE PRESENTATION.
MY NAME IS NAOMI WROTE FROM AUSTIN, TEXAS.
COULD YOU REPEAT THAT? MY NAME IS NAOMI ROTOR.
MEL, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW BETTER? IT'S A LITTLE SHAKY STILL TO TURN IT UP.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
THE CITY ARBORIST FOR THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
THE CITY ARBORIST IS A POSITION UNDER THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AND THE TREE PRESERVATION ORDINANCE.
[00:55:01]
UP AGAIN NOW.UM, THIS IS, AS YOU STATED, CHAIR, IT'S THE RAINY TOWER SPC 2020 1 0 1 2 9 C.
UM, AS CHAIR MENTIONED, LINKEDIN LINK, THE APPLICANT IS LINKEDIN VENTURES.
UM, THE ADDRESS IS 80 RAINEY STREET, DISTRICT NINE.
HERE'S MY CONTACT INFORMATION.
YOU ORDINANCE IS A HERITAGE TREE ORDINANCE LDC.
THAT'S THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE 25 8 6 4 1.
THE APPLICANT IS SEEKING TO REMOVE A HERITAGE TREE WITH A SINGLE STEM OVER 30 INCHES IN DIAMETER.
AND THE STAFF FINDS THAT THE REQUEST MEETS A CITY ARBORIST APPROVAL CRITERIA SET FORTH IN LDC 25 8 6 2 4 8 2.
THAT'S THE VERY INSTANCE RECOMMENDED.
MY PRESENTATION, WE'LL TALK ABOUT HERITAGE TI HERITAGE TREE CODE CRITERIA.
I WILL TALK ABOUT THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION, THE ZONING SITE CONSTRAINTS, THREE EVALUATION AND STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
THE VARIOUS REQUESTS IS TO ALLOW THE REMOVAL OF A HERITAGE TREE WITH A STEM GREATER THAN 30 INCHES.
IT'S LOUD UNDER LDC 25 8 6 4 3 AND 25 8 6 4 2 8 2 LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE STATES THAT THE LAND USE COMMISSION, THEY GRANT A VARIANCE FROM SECTION 25, 8 6, 401 REMOVAL PROHIBITED TO ALLOW REMOVAL OF A HERITAGE TREE THAT IS LEAST ONE STEM, 30 INCHES OR LARGER IN DIAMETER MEASURED AT FOUR AND A HALF FEET ABOVE NATURAL GATE.
ONLY AFTER DETERMINING BASED ON THE CITY.
ARBORIST'S RECOMMENDATION THAT THE HERITAGE TREE MAKES THE CRITERIA IN 25, 8 64, AND THAT IS THE APPLICANT HAS APPLIED FOR AND DENIED A VARIANCE WAIVER EXEMPTION MODIFICATION OR ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE FROM ANOTHER CITY CODE PROVISION, WHICH WOULD ELIMINATE THE NEED TO REMOVE THE HERITAGE TREE AS REQUIRED IN 25, 8 6 4 6 VARIANTS PREREQUISITES LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE APPROVAL CRITERIA IS THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW DEPARTMENT MAY APPROVE AN APPLICATION TO REMOVE A PROTECTED TREE ONLY AFTER DETERMINING THAT THE TREE IS PREVENTS A REASONABLE USE OF THE PROPERTY.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION IS ON RAINY STREET.
THE SUBJECT IS, UH, THE LIGHTS THE LOT SIZE, EXCUSE ME, IT'S 0.6614 ACRES.
THE ZONING IS CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT.
THE PROPERTY IS ALSO LOCATED ON THE WALLER CREEK AND LADYBIRD WATERSHEDS.
THEY'RE BOTH CLASSIFIED AS URBAN WATERSHEDS BESIDE IS CURRENTLY BEING OPERATED AS A COCKTAIL LOUNGE OFFICE WITH CURRENT IMPERVIOUS COVER OF 84%.
THE PROPOSED USE IS FOR A 587 RESIDENTIAL TOWER WITH RETAIL ONSITE PARKING COCKTAIL LAND WITH IMPERVIOUS COVER OF 92%.
THE APPLICANT REQUESTED A PRE-DEVELOPMENT CONSULTATION WITH MYSELF.
THERE ARE TWO, CURRENTLY TWO PROTECTED TREES AND THREE HERITAGE TREES ON THE SITE.
ONE PROTECTED TREE, AND ONE HERITAGE TREE ARE PROPOSED TO BE REMOVED EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS.
THE APPLICANT DID SEEK WORKING TO WORK WITH STAFF ON THIS PROJECT AT 32.5 INCH HERITAGE TREE PECAN IS REQUESTED FOR REMOVAL FOR THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, AND WE REQUIRE A LAND USE COMMISSION.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE VISIT ZONING IS ZONE CENTRAL VISTA, THE BUSINESS DISTRICT, LIKE I MENTIONED WITH THE WATERFRONT OVERLAY AND THE COMBINING DISTRICT THAT THE PROJECT IS PARTICIPATING IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.
AND THE APPLICANT MAY GO INTO FURTHER ON THAT.
UM, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ON THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, IT'S COMPLIANT WITH THE RAINY STREET SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS AND PROVIDING ADDITIONAL AFFORDABILITY.
PART OF THE RAINY STREETS OF DISTRICT REGULATIONS ARE MIXED, ARE AFFORDABLE INCOME AND, UM, PRESERVING TREES ON SITE GREEN BUILDING AND IS MANDATORY IN THIS AREA.
AND THIS AREA IS, UM, THERE ARE ANY STREET IS PART OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC DISTRICTS.
OTHERS ZONING CODE COMPLIANCE.
LIKE I MENTIONED IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM UNDER 25, 2 7 3 9 C4 AND C5.
THE PROJECT IS COMPLIANCE WITH THE RAINY STREET SUB-DISTRICT REGULATIONS AND PROVIDING AN ADDITIONAL AFFORDABILITY.
[01:00:01]
AND THE PROJECT IS ALSO PARTICIPATING IN THE GREAT STREETS MASTER PLAN.THERE'S A LITTLE PICTURE ON THE SIDE OF THE GREAT STREETS MASTER PLAN, SO YOU CAN GET A FEELING OF THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
PSYCH CONSTRAINTS ARE SUCH, UM, THE DENSITY BONUS PLAN TRIGGERS A GREAT STREETS MASTER PLAN, WHICH REQUIRES EIGHT FOOT OF SET BACK ALONG RAINY STREET.
THIS LIMITS THE DEVELOPABLE, THE PRINT OF THE, OF THE PROJECT.
THERE'S ALSO FOR BEET ALLEY SETBACK FOR A DRIVE AISLE, AND THERE'S THREE FOOT SETBACKS, BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH SIDES OF THE PROPERTY FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
THE TREE IN QUESTION IS TREE NUMBER ONE, IT'S 2 1 4, 5, AND ESSENTIALLY CENTRALLY LOCATED ON THE PROPERTY IN THE MIDDLE.
IT'S LOCATED RIGHT THERE AND YOU CAN SEE THE PRESERVE BUNGALOWS AND THE DIAGRAM RIGHT THERE, AND THE SETBACKS AND WHERE THIS TREE IS LOCATED.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, TREE NUMBER 2, 1 4, 5, BUT THE CON IMPACTS AROUND 11% OF THE SITE.
IT PREVENTS STRUCTURED PARKING AND 14% REDUCTION AND BUILDABLE AREA, AND IT PREVENTS WORK PREVENTS WORKABLE BUILDING FOR FLOOR PLATES.
HERE'S A LITTLE RENDITION OF, UH, OF, UM, UH, BUILDINGS THAT WE, THEY WERE TRYING TO WORK AROUND THE TREE.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE MITIGATION FOR THIS TREE.
THE ENVIRONMENT IS IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL MANUAL.
THE STANDARD IS 300% MITIGATION FOR A HERITAGE TREE MITIGATION FOR THE SITE WILL BE ADDRESSED BY FURTHER ENHANCING THE STREETSCAPE PLANTING CONDITIONS.
GREAT STREETS ARE INSTALLED AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE.
AND AS THE BASELINE REQUIREMENT, THE APPLICANT HAS PROPOSED A MENU OF OPTIONS THAT SUPPORT GREATER TREE HEALTH AND SOIL AND LONGEVITY SUCH AS STRUCTURAL SOIL CELLS OR MOVABLE PAVING, CONTINUOUS PLANTING BEDS, AND A FIVE-YEAR TREE CARE MAINTENANCE PLAN ON THE TREES ON SITE.
THE COST OF TRANSPLANTING TREE NUMBER 2, 1, 4, 5 WILL BE USED TO ON-SITE SKREET STREET SCAPE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, AND WE CAN GET INTO TRANSPLANT.
AND THE FEASIBILITY LATER ON, I DO HAVE SOME FURTHER INFORMATION ON THESE.
THESE OPTIONS ARE SUPPORTING GREATER HEALTH TREE HEALTH, SUCH AS, UM, SOIL VOLUME AND A LINK TO AN EPA PUBLISHED STUDY AND GO ON STORMWATER TO STREET TREES AND MORE INFORMATION ON CASE STUDIES ON THE GROWTH OF TREES WITH THESE ENHANCED TECHNIQUES IN THE JOURNAL OF ARBORICULTURE AND URBAN FORESTRY.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UM, ONE OF THE LAST THINGS I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT, UM, ALTHOUGH THIS PRESENTATION IS REGARDING REASONABLE USE IS THE CONDITION OF THE TREE.
I WAS ASSESSED BY FOUR QUALIFIED CITY ARBORIST STAFF, INCLUDING A BOARD CERTIFIED MASTER ARBORIST AND MYSELF OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL YEARS.
STAFF DID NOT FIND THAT IT MET CODE CRITERIA, IT'S DEAD DISEASE AND EMINENT HAZARD UNDER 25, 8 6 4 2.
AT THE TIME OF PREVIOUS APPLICATIONS, THE MEASUREMENTS, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, 32.5 INCHES, THERE WERE SOME ISSUES WITH THE CANOPY.
IT WAS SEVERELY IMBALANCED, AND IT WAS THIN WE HAVE SEVERAL BREAKS IN THE CANOPY.
LARGE BREAKS WAS HEAVILY PRUNED LIKELY TO DUE TO PREVIOUS FAILURES.
UH, THE TRUNK WAS CO-DOMINANT MEANING NOT THE PERFECT STRUCTURE.
SO PREVIOUS TENANTS, LIMB FAILURE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE TRUNK, ANOTHER EIGHT INCH SLIM FAILURE ON THE NORTH SIDE, RESOLVING INTO THE DAMAGE ON THE ROOF, BUT THE HOUSE AND THE ADJACENT BUILDING.
AND THERE WAS A LONG LAUNDRY TO TUNA, A CRACK IN THE MAIN TRUNK AND SEVEN FOOT FROM GRADE, UM, TAMALE TOMOGRAPHY, WHICH IS AN ORACLE TO PRACTICE THAT TRIES TO MEASURE SOUND WOULD, WAS DONE AT THE SPORTING UNION AND THE CANOPY AND THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT IT MAY, MAY BE STRUCTURALLY COMPROMISED.
UH, PART OF THE ROOT SYSTEM, WE HAD A VARIED ROUP PLAYER WITH COMPACTED BILL AND DAMAGE TO THE BUTTRESS ROUTE, SEVERAL INJURIES ON THE SUPPORTING ANCHOR ROOTS OVERALL THOUGH IT WAS IN FAIR CONDITION, BUT POOR STRUCTURE.
AND IT DID HAVE A HISTORY OF LARGE PREVIOUS FAILURES.
AND YOU CAN SEE IN SOME OF THESE DIAGRAMS, PART OF THE LIMB THAT RIPPED OFF AND DAMAGED THE ROOF OF THIS BUILDING AND IN THE REST OF THE PICTURES, UM, MANY AREAS OVER THE YEARS OF PREVIOUS FAILURES.
UH, THIS WAS THE HORIZONTAL CRACK
[01:05:01]
THAT I DID SEE D AT AN ONSITE.UM, THERE IS CAUSE FOR CONCERN, MAYBE NOT IMMEDIATE, UM, BASED ON THAT AND BASED ON HOW IT PECANS REACT TO TENSION TORSIONS THAT IS SOMETHING OF CONCERN AND SHOULD BE MONITORED IF IT WAS TO BE PRESERVED IN PLACE.
UM, THE GROUND WAS VERY UNBALANCED.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, I WON'T GO INTO IT, BUT IT'S SONIC TOMOGRAPHY REPORT WAS DONE ON THE TREE, INDICATING SOME BREACH OF STROUT STRONG SOUND WOULD NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UH, STAFF RECOMMENDS THAT THE REMOVAL OF THIS TREE DUE TO THE APPLICANT, DEMONSTRATING THAT THE TREE PRESENTS REASONABLE USE OF THIS SITE.
THERE ARE MANY, MANY HEALTHIER INSTRUCTIONALLY SOUND TREES PRESERVED THAT OVERALL IMPACT 18.5% OF THE SITE.
UM, THE 78 RAINY STREET HISTORIC BUM BUNGALOW WILL BE PRESERVED IN THE 84TH STREET.
BUNGALOW WILL BE REAL RELOCATED, BUT HE'S PART OF THE OVERALL CHARACTER OF THE AREA BASED ON THE TREE LOCATION, THE ZONING, THE SITE CHARACTERISTICS, AND THE PROPOSED SITE, STEPH BELIEVES THAT THE APPLICANT HAS PROVIDED SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE THAT MEETS LDC 25, 8 64 FURTHER THERE DO NOT APPEAR TO BE ANY WAIVERS, VARIANCE, OR MODIFICATIONS OF CODE THAT WOULD ALLOW DEVELOPMENT CONCURRENT WITH THE PRESERVATION OF THE TREE.
THE APPLICANT DESIGN TEAM HAS WORKED WITH THE CITY OF ARBRA OR THE CITY OF AUSTIN CITY ARBORIST AND THE CITY'S URBAN DESIGN TEAM TO DEVELOP A MENU OF SUPERIOR STREET, SCAPE IMPROVEMENTS, NEXT SLIDE.
AND THAT IS IT FOR MY PRESENTATION.
UM, WE HAD THE APPLICANT HERE TO PRESENT TO, IS IT ALRIGHT IF WE GO AHEAD AND HAVE THE APPLICANT AND THEN WE CAN ASK QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? IS THAT ALL RIGHT? OKAY, PLEASE COME FORWARD AND STATE YOUR NAME, SIR.
I'M HERE REPRESENTING THE APPLICANT.
I USUALLY HAVE A CLICKER, BUT ARE WE DOING JUST VERBAL? OKAY.
UH, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF THE SAME SLIDES, UH, GENERAL GENERAL, BECAUSE I, I THINK, UH, WE WORKED VERY LONG AND VERY HARD WITH STAFF IN DEVELOPING A PROGRAM, A MITIGATION PROGRAM, UH, THAT REALLY BALANCED THE NEEDS ON THIS SITE.
UH, THIS IS THE SIDE, IT'S FOUR LOTS IT'S 0.66 ACRES PLUS, OR MINUS NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS PUTS THE SITE IN CONTEXT, UH, WITH SURROUNDING, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE SURROUNDING, UM, TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE, NATURAL PARKLAND, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES, ET CETERA.
UM, I'M SURE YOU ALL ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS.
THIS IS JUST NORTH OF THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER.
UH, BASICALLY VERY CLOSE TO, UH, PARKLAND ON WHICH THE LADY BIRD, UH, LIKE, OR THE BUTLER HIKING BIKE TRAIL, UH, HAPPENS.
AND JUST TO THE WEST OF I 35, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UM, AGAIN, A LOT OF THIS HAS BEEN TOUCHED ON FROM STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE, A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANTED TO POINT OUT TO YOU.
THERE'S A LETTER THAT SAYS 5 47.
UM, AND, UH, SO JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT.
THERE ARE STILL THINGS BEING TWEAKED.
UM, HERE'S A LITTLE SNIPPET OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
WE'RE NOT HERE TO TALK ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT, BUT, UM, THE BASE REQUIREMENT IN THIS DISTRICT IS EQUATES TO 9,900 SQUARE FEET.
UH, THE PROJECT IS OFFERING 16,000 SQUARE FEET AND AN ADDITIONAL JUST OVER A MILLION DOLLARS INTO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND.
UH, THIS IS, UM, THE, UH, TREE 2145 TO 32 INCH PECAN.
IN QUESTION, YOU'LL SEE, TO PROTECT THE TREES, UH, TO THE LE THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SLIDE, AND THEN THE LARGE 37.5 INCH PECAN THAT STRADDLES THE RIGHT OF WAY.
AND PART OF THE CANOPY, IT GOES OVER TO THE SITE THERE.
A CITY ARBORIST WENT THROUGH THIS IN
[01:10:01]
DETAIL.I'LL TRY TO TALK ABOUT IT VERY QUICKLY, BUT MAYBE IN SOME DIFFERENT WORDS, THIS TREE AND THE TREES ON THIS SIDE HAVE BEEN LOOKED AT, UM, IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, GOING BACK TO 2018.
SO THE SONIC TOMOGRAPH WAS DONE IN 18.
UH, NAOMI AND HER STAFF WERE OUT THERE IN APRIL OF 21.
UH, ANOTHER ARBORIST WAS OUT THERE IN MAY OF 21, MR. MBZ, UH, FORMER CITY ARBORIST WHO'S WITH NOW WITH BARTLETT TREE SERVICES WAS OUT THERE IN JULY OF 21.
AND THEN THE CITY ARBORIST STAFF WENT OUT AGAIN THIS MONTH.
SO WE HAVE SPARED, NO EXPENSE AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING, UM, THE LONG-TERM VIABILITY OF THE TREE BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT.
UM, I'M GONNA, UH, JUST, YOU GUYS CAN READ THIS JUST AS EASILY AS I CAN, BUT A SUMMARY OF THE SONIC SONIC TOMOGRAPHY, UH, 8.5 POCKETS OF SOME UNSENT POSSIBLY UNSOUND WOULD AT 2025 FEET ABOVE THE GRADE IS, IS THE IMAGE THAT NAOMI SHOWED EARLIER WHERE YOU DO HAVE SOME, UH, POTENTIALLY UNSOUND WOULD THE CENTER OF THE TREE STRUCTURALLY COMPROMISED.
UH, AND SO, UH, THE, THE, UH, ENTITY THAT DID THE REPORT LIKE QUOTA DEV SAYING FAILURE AT THIS PORTION OF THE TREE WOULD RESULT IN THE LOSS OF A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE TREE CANOPY.
UH, THESE ARE JUST EXCERPTS, UH, FROM DIFFERENT ARBORISTS REVIEW.
UH, YOU CAN READ THEM FOR YOURSELF.
AND, UH, THIS CAME FROM THE CITY ARBORIST, UH, NAOMI, WHO YOU HEARD EARLIER, HER REPORT, AND THIS IS, THIS IS ALL HIS STUFF BACK UP.
I JUST TRIED TO SUMMARIZE IT HERE.
MY POINT IS WE DON'T TAKE THIS REQUEST LIGHTLY WE'VE REALLY TRIED TO STUDY IT AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON FROM THE HEALTH OF THE TREE PERSPECTIVE.
NEXT SLIDE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS.
UH, RAINY STREET IS THE DISTRICT IS DOWNTOWN.
UM, I'M A BELIEVER THAT, UH, DOWNTOWN IS THE PLACE FOR DENSITY, NOT AT THE COST OF THE ENVIRONMENT, NOT AT THE COST OF TREES, BUT IT IS THE PLACE FOR DENSITY BECAUSE IT GIVES OUR, OUR, UM, IT GIVES CURBS SPRAWL, UH, AND SO FIGURING OUT HOW TO BALANCE ALL THE COMPETING NEEDS ON THIS SITE IS REALLY WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.
YOU'LL SEE THE BULLETED LIST OF ALL THE SETBACKS REQUIREMENTS AND ALL THIS AND ALL THAT.
IT'S A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LITTLE SITE, BUT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE IS SEVERAL THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO PRESERVE.
THE, THE TREES THAT ARE OUTSTANDING SPECIMENS.
WE'RE TRYING TO PRESERVE THE BUNGALOWS THAT ARE THERE ALREADY.
WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, TO PROVIDE SAFER PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE.
IF YOU ALL HAVE BEEN DOWN TO RAINEY, YOU SEE LOTS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN THE STREET, THIS WITH A GREAT STREETS, MASTER PLAN GETS THOSE FOLKS OFF THE STREET AND ONTO A SIDEWALK, AT LEAST IN THIS AREA.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE ALL OF THESE THINGS.
THIS IS NOT A SMALL UNDERTAKING TO REALLY LOOK AT THIS.
THIS COULD LOOK LIKE A SKETCH, BUT FLOOR PLATES, THE DESIGN OF FLOOR PLATES WERE EVALUATED.
WE TRIED TO FIGURE OUT, ARE THERE ANY OTHER REALISTIC OPTIONS? AND THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE THAT CAN TALK ABOUT, TALK ABOUT THAT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, BUT THE PROJECT IS NOT VIABLE IN EITHER OF THOSE CASES.
AND FRANKLY, THE TREE IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO SURVIVE IN EITHER OF THOSE CASES, GIVEN SUNLIGHT, SHADOW, SHADOWS, ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO BATTLE AND PRESERVE THE GREAT SPECIMENS ON THE SITE AND USE THE REST OF THE SITE.
REASONABLY NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE LIKE SLIDE MITIGATION.
UH, AGAIN, UH, THE CITY ARBORIST TALKED ABOUT THIS 300% MITIGATION.
IT CAN BE, UH, UM, SATISFIED VIA A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT COMPONENTS.
WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO IS A MINIMUM 49 INCHES ONSITE AND MITIGATION INCHES.
AND THEN WE WOULD ADDITIONALLY PAY THE EQUIVALENT OF TREE LOCATION COSTS VIA A MENU OF MITIGATION OPTIONS.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THE COMMISSION HAS BEEN WORKING FOR A LONG TIME AND TRYING TO DETERMINE, OR TRYING TO SET A NEW PRECEDENT FOR HOW TO DO MITIGATION A LONG
[01:15:01]
TIME AGO.WHEN I SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN AND AROUND THE ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD AT THE TIME, THE STANDARD WAS TWO OR THREE INCH CALIPER, ALL THE SAME SPECIES.
YOU KNOW, AS A BIT AS A MITIGATION WHAT'S BEING OFFERED HERE IS REALLY A UNIQUE APPROACH.
IT IS A MENU THAT STAFF CAN UTILIZE.
IT IS DIFFERENT SIZE TREES AND IT IS, UH, CONNECTED BEDS UNDERNEATH.
AND THEN A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT STUFF THAT I WOULD BE REMISS IF I TRIED TO EXPLAIN TO YOU, BUT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS DO A MITIGATION PROGRAM THAT IS MEANINGFUL, THAT MOVES THE BALL FORWARD.
AND WE'RE PUTTING A LOT OF MONEY TOWARDS IT.
IF WE JUST PAID MITIGATION TRADITIONALLY, AND THE TRADITIONAL, UH, CODE WAY WE WOULD PAY, WE WOULD DO 49 INCHES OF MITIGATION TREES ONSITE.
WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS WE WERE GETTING, WE'RE COMMITTING TO PAYING UP TO THE COST OF THE RELOCATION ON THAT TREE BECAUSE THE TREE CAN'T BE RELOCATED.
IT'S NOT IN GOOD ENOUGH SHAPE FROM A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE TO BE RELOCATED.
SO THAT'S 10 X TOWARDS MITIGATION, EXCUSE ME, 10 TIMES, UH, TOWARDS MITIGATION BECAUSE WE THINK IT'S THAT IMPORTANT.
THIS GETS INTO A WHOLE BUNCH OF DETAIL THAT, UH, CHRIS JACKSON, THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT KID COULD GET INTO.
IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE MENU LOOKS LIKE AGAIN, I'M JUST A, I'M JUST AN ENGINEER AND IT WOULD NOT DO THIS WONDERFUL WORK, WORK CREDIT IF I TRIED TO DESCRIBE IT.
SO WE'LL JUST GO PASS THESE, UH, IF THAT'S OKAY WITH COMMISSIONERS.
AND I'LL, I'LL FINISH ON THIS, UH, RECOMMENDED BY THE CITY STAFF WHO WE'VE WORKED WITH FOR YEARS ON.
I'M SURE I'LL BE VERY QUICK, UH, EXTENSIVE STUDY OF TREE HEALTH.
IT'S IN FAIR CONDITION, BUT IT'S GOT A POOR STRUCTURE TO HISTORY OF LARGE PREVIOUS FAILURES, WHICH MEANS IT'S PROBABLY NOT A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR RELOCATION.
WE'RE FOCUSED ON PRESERVING THE BETTER QUALITY HERITAGE TO PROTECT THE TREES ON THE SITE.
WE'RE OFFERING A ROBUST AND KIND OF GAME-CHANGING TREE MITIGATION MENU OF OPTIONS.
WE'RE USING THE TREES ON, ALONG WITH THE PRESERVATION OF THE TWO BUNGALOWS, UH, TO SHADE AN EAST-WEST PASEO FROM THE MAC TO THE RAINY STREET AREA, AND THEN ON DOWN, UH, WE'RE REMOVING THREE CURB CUTS ON RAINY STREET.
SO NOT ONLY ARE YOU GOING, UH, FROM A GREAT STREETS PERSPECTIVE, YOU'RE ON A SIDEWALK WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE A SIDEWALK.
NOW WE'RE REMOVING VEHICULAR PEDESTRIAN COMPLEX BY REMOVING THE CURB CUTS, WHICH ALSO IS IMPROVING THE ROOTS, UH, THE ROOT ZONE FOR THE TREES THAT WE'RE PLANNING.
AND I'LL LET YOU READ THE REST.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE COMMISSIONERS.
SO DO Y'ALL WANT TO START WITH CITY STAFF QUESTIONS FOR CITY STAFF APPLICANT? SO YOU STAFF LET'S START WITH CINDY STAFF.
UM, IS IT TRUE THAT THE ARBORIST IS WORKING IN THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT INSTEAD OF WATERSHED YES.
THAT IS, UH, UH, ORGANIZATION STRUCTURAL.
WELL, I WAS REALLY CONFUSED BY ALL OF THIS BECAUSE THEY GAVE THE SCIENTIFIC, UM, STATUS OF THE TREE AND YOU, UH, PRESENTED THE, THE BUILDING LAYOUTS, WHICH, I MEAN, I'M SURE THAT THAT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH WHETHER THE TREE WOULD SURVIVE, BUT I JUST, I FEEL LIKE THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, I MEAN, I JUST, AS I WOULD LIKE TO REVISIT THE PROCESS OF HOW THINGS ARE SUBMITTED AND WHO CONSIDERS THEM.
AND WHEN WE, WHEN WE SEE SOMETHING HISTORICALLY IT HAS BEEN, UH, PRESENTED TO US BY WATERSHED STAFF, NOT THE DEVELOPMENT.
SO I JUST, I REALLY GOT TO TELL YOU, I FEEL LIKE, UM, I'M GETTING LOBBIED BY THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY BY CITY STAFF.
AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE OUR ALLIES AND WHEREAS I VALUE YOUR SCIENTIFIC, UM, EXPERTISE.
I'D RATHER HEAR IT FROM YOU THAN DAY.
SO, UM, ANYWAY, THERE'S THAT, SO, UH, I GUESS I'M JUST KIND OF STUCK
[01:20:01]
ON PROCESS HERE.I DID HAVE ONE QUESTION COMMISSIONER, KATIE COHEN OFFICER.
I JUST, I JUST DID WANT TO CLARIFY THAT WHEN WE HAVE THESE ISSUES WITH HERITAGE TREE REMOVAL, PROTECTED TREE REMOVAL, COME TO THE COMMISSION THAT IS ALWAYS COMING FROM OUR CITY ARBORISTS AND KEITH MARS TEAM IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
AND THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE PROCESS.
COULD YOU, UM, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU WOULD, IF, IF YOU WOULD ASK DAVE THIS OR IF YOU WOULD KNOW, UM, IF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BASEMENT WOULD BE BELOW THE TREES THAT ARE, UH, UNDERGROUND PARKING IS PROPOSED, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH, UM, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THAT AT THIS POINT, BUT I'M WONDERING IF THE TREES THAT ARE PROPOSED THERE ON THE STREET THAT ARE GOING TO BE PUT IN AND WE SHOWED YOU, SHOWED THE DIAGRAM OF WHERE THEY WOULD BE AND HOW THEY WOULD BE, UM, INSTALLED.
CAN YOU TELL ME IF THERE WILL BE, UM, AND IF THERE'LL BE LIKE BUILDING BELOW THOSE TREES, IF THEY WILL BE ABLE TO, UM, HAVE A TAPROOT THAT GOES BELOW THE YES, MA'AM, UH, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, DAVE ANDERSON, UH, I'VE CHECKED WITH, UM, THE TECHNICAL STAFF AND NEITHER THE PRESERVED HERITAGE TREES AND PROTECTED TREES ON THE LEFT OF THE IMAGE WOULD BE THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE PROPERTY WHERE THE BUNGALOWS ARE GOING TO BE PRESERVED NOR THE NEW TREES ALONG RAINY STREETS, NEITHER OF THOSE WILL HAVE STRUCTURES UNDERNEATH.
YES, MA'AM COMMISSIONER THOMPSON.
I, IF I COULD ANSWER ANOTHER QUESTION PART OF THE SOIL CELLS AND PART OF THE MENU OF OPTIONS THAT ARE PROPOSED ARE TO GIVE THAT STRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THE SIDEWALK AND THE PEDESTRIAN AREAS, BUT ALLOW FOR TAP FOR THE ROOTS TO GROW UNDERNEATH.
UM, SO A TRADITIONAL TREE WILL, WOULD BE ABOUT 600 SQUARE FEET OF, OR LESS THAN THAT, ABOUT 300 SQUARE FEET OF SOIL VOLUME AT BLIP.
THEY ARE PROPOSING TO USE A THOUSAND SQUARE FEET OF SOIL VOLUME.
AND IN ONE OF THE LINKS I HAD IN THE JOURNAL OF ARBORICULTURE, UH, IN URBAN FORESTRY SHOWS, UM, SITES THAT WHEN YOU PLANT THEM IN THIS AND YOU GIVE THEM ENOUGH SOIL, EVEN IN LIKE URBAN ENVIRONMENT, THE TREES GO REALLY FAST AND IT PROMOTES HEALTHY BY ABILITY ON THAT.
AND THEY ARE PROPOSING A, UM, UH, EXTENSIVE CARE PLAN FOR ALL THE TREES, INCLUDING MAINTENANCE AND WORKING UP THE LICENSING AGREEMENTS WITH PUBLIC WORKS.
THE ONE THING ON THIS SITE IS THEY SHIFTED THEIR BUILDING NORTH ON THE PROPERTY TO ACCOMMODATE THE HEALTHIER VIBRANT TREES THAT WE KNOW WILL LAST THAT ARE ACTUALLY THERE, THAT WILL LAST LONGER.
UM, THERE WERE SOME OUTSTANDING, UM, ESPECIALLY THE LARGE RIGHT AWAY TREE.
AND ACCORDING TO SPECIMEN, IT'S, UM, VERY PRIZED.
SO THERE ARE VERY MUCH HEALTHIER TREES THAT, UM, COULD WITHSTAND IN TERMS OF TRANSPLANTING PROCESS.
PART OF THE PROCESS INVOLVES, I WAS RECENTLY AT SEVERAL DIFFERENT TRANSPLANTS REGARDS IT.
ONE OF THE THINGS IS YOU'VE GOT TO MOVE AND TOUR THE TREE.
UM, WE DO NOT FEEL THAT THAT'S A VIABLE OPTION, UM, AMONG SEVERAL OF MY STAFF ARBORISTS AND, UM, UM, OTHER ARBORISTS, INCLUDING THE FORMER CITY.
I'M GONNA START HERE, COMMISSIONER SCOTT.
UH, BOTH FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS, UM, COULD, UH, I'M NOT SURE I RE REMEMBER, UH, EXACTLY.
UH, COULD YOU, COULD YOU REPEAT FOR ME PLEASE, UH, HOW, HOW MUCH IMPERVIOUS COVER THERE WILL BE? UM, UM, AFTER THE, UH, UH, CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE AND OUT AND, AND HOW MUCH IMPERVIOUS COVER IS THERE? UH, CURRENTLY I BELIEVE IT WAS 84% CURRENTLY AND 92%, ONCE IT'S COMPLETED.
[01:25:04]
THANK YOU.AGAIN, I THINK IN THE BACKUP, IT SAID 94 THINGS ARE WE'RE TRANSPARENT.
WE'RE NOT HIDING ANYTHING THINGS CONTINUE TO EVOLVE THAT COULD GO DOWN GOING FORWARD.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S LITERALLY, UH, THE, THE NUMBERS AS OF TODAY.
AND W WHAT, UM, BY WHAT, WHAT WILL THAT IMPERVIOUS COVER CONSIST OF? WILL THAT BE, UH, UH, CEMENT OR WHAT WHAT'S YOUR, UH, OF COURSE THE BUILDING WILL BE THERE.
UM, BUT IN THE, WHERE YOU HAVE WALKWAYS AND SO FORTH, UM, WHAT WHAT'S, WHAT IS, WHAT'S THE ACTUAL MATERIAL GOING TO BE? COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER SCOTT.
I'M GOING TO LET THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT ANSWER THAT IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, SO TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, THERE'S A SERIES OF DIFFERENT CONDITIONS.
UM, MAINLY BEING A PAVER SYSTEM IN THE STREETSCAPE, UH, WE HAVE A SUSPENDED DECK SYSTEM OVER THE ROUTES ZONES OF THE, UH, PROTECTED TREES AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF THE SITE.
SO THAT IS, UM, ALL YOUR CITY PROPER DETAILS, BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THESE SPACES.
SO THAT'LL ACTUALLY FLOW OVER THE ROUTES ENDS.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER IS, IS, UH, ANOTHER FORM OF PAVERS, WHICH IS A BRICK PAVER.
THE REST OF THE SPACES WILL BE, UH, SOFTSCAPE AND, UM, OR IMPERVIOUS COVER BY WAY OF THE BUILDINGS.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY, DID YOU SAY SOUTH SCAPE SHOP SEE SOFTSCAPE AND WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT CONSIST OF? THAT'S UH, THE VEGETATION, SO PERENNIAL BEDS, UM, ALL THE DIFFERENT JUST VEGETATION, THAT'LL BE A PART OF THE SITE AND FOR RECORD I'M CHRIS JACKSON, A TBG LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, UM, AND W FROM TV, J ARCHITECTS, TBG, LIKE KIND OF LIKE TOMBOY GIRL, CHRIS JACKSON.
AND, UM, SO, SO, UH, WHERE PEOPLE WILL BE WALKING, THAT WOULD BE, THOSE AREAS WOULD BE, UM, BE MADE OF, UH, UH, BASICALLY BRICK OR CONCRETE.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE PLANNING? YEAH, THAT'LL BE MADE UP OF, UM, CONCRETE, UH, CONCRETE PAVERS.
UM, SOME WILL BE BRICK PAVERS TO BRING IN A LITTLE BIT OF WARMTH, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A DECK ZONE, WHICH WILL BE 50% IMPERVIOUS COVER OVER THE ROOT ZONES OF, SORRY, UM, OVER THE ROOT SOUNDS OF THE TREES IN THE SOUTHWEST CORNER, KIND OF IN THE BACK BEHIND THE TWO PRESERVED BUNGALOWS, I THINK ONE OTHER IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE BY DOING THE CONTINUOUS PLANTER BEDS AND THE SOIL CELLS, WHICH ALLOWS FOR A LOT MORE SOIL VOLUME AND THE PROTECTION OF SOIL COMPACTION.
UM, WE'RE ALSO DOING AN ADJACENT LOW PLANTING, UH, BARRIER, WHICH IS BASICALLY LIKE A LITTLE FENCE FOR THE PERENNIAL PLANTS BELOW, SO THAT PEOPLE THAT ARE JAYWALKING ACROSS THE STREET, THEY HAVE LANDINGS THAT ARE PART OF THE PAVING SYSTEM, AND THEN THERE'S PROTECTIVE BARRIER SO THAT PEOPLE AREN'T TRAMPLING OVER THE, THE, UM, PERENNIALS, WHICH ARE ALSO AT THE BASE OF THESE NEWLY TRANSPLANTED OR TRANS SORRY, PLANTED TREES.
UM, WELL, LIKE, I THINK WE'RE ALL CONCERNED ABOUT IMPERVIOUS COVER.
UM, NOT JUST BECAUSE WE'RE MEAN OR TRYING TO BE DIFFICULT, UH, AND CLEARLY, UM, UM, THE CITY IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO, UH, TO GROW AND TO DEVELOP AND, UM, AND IT'S OUR, NOT OUR JOB TO PREVENT THAT, BUT JUST TO TRY TO SEE THIS DONE, DONE WELL, AND IT LOOKS LIKE, LIKE YOU'VE PUT A LOT OF, UH, PLANNING AND EFFORT INTO THIS AND, AND, UM, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, IT, IT DOES, IT DOESN'T LOOK TO ME LIKE THAT THAT ONE, UH, PECAN TREE, UH, WOULD, UM, WOULD BE, UH, UH, VIABLE IN THE LONG LONG-TERM, UH, EVEN IF LEFT ALONE.
UM, SO I'M NOT, I'M NOT PERSONALLY PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT, ALTHOUGH IT IS THE STATE TREE.
UH, BUT, BUT YOU HAVE ANOTHER NICE EXAMPLE, WHICH IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE PRESERVING.
AND IN MY CORRECT, SAY THAT THERE WERE ORIGINALLY FIVE TREES AND ONE TREE WILL GO AND THE OTHER FOUR WILL BE, WILL REMAIN.
IS THAT CORRECT? SO THERE'S THERE FOR LARGER EXISTING TREES.
THERE ARE A HANDFUL OF SMALLER TREES.
I DON'T KNOW, SPECIFICALLY THE SIZE ON THOSE, UM,
[01:30:01]
THEY'RE IN THE STREETSCAPE ZONE, BUT BASED ON THEIR LOCATIONS, THEY DID NOT ALIGN TO THE, THE GREAT STREETS STANDARDS OF THE 22 FEET RHYTHM ON CENTER.SO THUS, WE ENDED UP WITH THIS COMBINATION OF PRESERVING THE THREE OF THE FOUR LARGE TREES, UM, THAT WE WERE ABLE, ALSO ABLE TO WIGGLE IN THE HISTORIC, UH, BUNGALOWS INTO THE AREAS WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE CRITIC, THE HALF CRITICAL ROUTES ZONES OF THE THREE, UM, TO BE PRESERVED, UH, PECANS.
UM, I THINK IT, I THINK YOU'VE GOT, UM, YOU'VE DONE THAT.
YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK IN, IN, UH, IN THE SHOWS AND, UH, AND I THINK A LOT OF IS GOING INTO THIS.
I'M NOT, UM, ENTIRELY SURE THAT I, I KNOW ALL OF WHAT I MEAN.
I MEAN, YOU, YOU DID STATE WHAT THE, WHAT THE PLAN IS FOR THE VARIOUS THINGS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO, UH, IN, IN MITIGATION.
BUT, UM, I CAN'T REMEMBER THEM THEM ALL BECAUSE IT KINDA KINDA WENT BY KIND OF FAST.
UM, I JUST, UM, THOUGHT I WOULD BRING UP, UM, FYI, UM, THAT, UM, OF COURSE WE'VE ALL SEEN THINGS LIKE, LIKE THE, UH, UH, UH, THE ALARMING, UH, UH, UH, CATASTROPHE THAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN IT, WHEN A CITY IS FLOODED AND YOU HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY WITH, UH, BECOMING, UH, A WATERFALL FEATURE, WHICH WAS NOT, I DON'T THINK IN ANYBODY'S PLAN.
UM, IT, UH, THE VOLCANIC ROCK, UH, IS SOMETHING I'VE BEEN LOOKING INTO LATELY.
AND, UM, ONE THING IS INTERESTING ABOUT IT IS THAT, UM, IT CAN BE, UM, IT'S POOREST AND, AND, UH, AND I'M INTRIGUED BY THE IDEA THAT, UM, WE COULD USE MORE OF IT, UM, IN PLACES WHERE WE'RE NOW, UH, PUTTING IN, UH, CONCRETE AND BRICK AND, UM, EVEN, UH, IT CAN EVEN BE USED, UH, FOR, UM, UH, PLANTING SUCCULENTS AND, UM, KEEPS WATER AWAY FROM THE ROOT OF THE SECULAR, ALLOWING IT TO, UH, UM, AVOID, UH, BEING DROWNED BY THE, BY THE WATER THAT'S, THAT'S AROUND IT.
AND, AND I, I CAN SEE, UM, MATERIALS SUCH AS THAT, UH, BEING USED MORE EXTENSIVELY IN THE FUTURE SO THAT WHEN WE DO HAVE A REAL HIGH DENSITY AREA AND IT'S NECESSARY TO PUT DOWN SOMETHING WHICH WILL, UH, STAND UP TO A HIGH VOLUME TRAFFIC THAT, UH, WE COULD, WE COULD POTENTIALLY GET THE MOST, THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.
AND, UH, UM, I JUST, I JUST THROW THAT OUT, UH, AS, AS A POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE, UM, CAUSE I HATE TO SEE, UH, I HATE TO SEE A LOSS OF IMPERVIOUS COVER, BUT I, I, UH, I, I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, IT'S INEVITABLE THAT THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AS THE CITY GROWS.
OTHER QUESTIONS, OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UH, WHAT WAS THE HEALTH OF THE OTHER TREES THAT Y'ALL ARE SAVING? ARE THEY FAIR? ARE THEY IN EXCELLENT SHAPE? MADAM CHAIR, I'M GOING TO HAVE, UH, MR. MBZ COME DOWN AND TALK ABOUT THE HEALTH OF THE EXISTING TREES WILL BE TO THE POINT, MADAM CHAIR, COMMISSIONERS, GET ANY MICHAEL AND BZ WITH BONDED TREE EXPERTS.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON A TREE PRESERVATION PLAN FOR THE OTHER TREES, UM, OVER THE LAST YEAR AND THE OTHER TREES ARE IN MUCH BETTER HEALTH.
UH, THEY'RE A MUCH BETTER STRUCTURE AND, UH, THEY'RE GOING TO POTENTIALLY RECEIVE A LOT BETTER CARE NOW THAT THERE'LL BE INCORPORATED IN THE DESIGN.
AND ARE THOSE OTHER TREES THAT ARE IN MUCH BETTER HEALTH OR THEY RATED BEYOND FAIR? WE LOOKED AT, UM, THE TREE IN QUESTION, UH, THE ONE WE, WHEN WE'RE HAVING A VARIANCE FOR, UM, MUCH WITH MUCH MORE SCRUTINY, UM, BECAUSE OF CODE REQUIREMENTS, TO BE HONEST, UH, THE OTHER TREES, WE BASICALLY GAVE A LEVEL ONE ASSESSMENT.
WE DIDN'T HAVE TO EVEN GO ANY FURTHER.
WE CAN JUST ASSESS FROM THE GROUND, UH, ABOUT THEIR STRUCTURE AND THEIR HEALTH.
AND SO IS THE TREE CARE GOING TO GO TOWARDS THOSE EXISTING TREES? W PART OF OUR PLAN, OUR TREE PRESERVATION PLAN IS TO CARE FOR THE EXISTING TREES THAT, THAT ARE THERE, BUT
[01:35:01]
WE'RE ALSO INCORPORATING A FIVE-YEAR TREE CARE PLAN FOR THE TREES THAT WE'RE PLANTING.SO THIS IS, UH, IS QUITE UNIQUE, ESPECIALLY FOR, FOR THE RAINEY STREET DISTRICT.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO INCLUDE THE EXISTING TREES WITH THE NEW TREES.
THEY'LL ALL BE UNDER THAT UMBRELLA OF THE CARE PLAN.
IF I MAY ADD, UH, FOR COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, UH, THE TREES, THE EXISTING TREES AND THE NEW TREES WILL BE MAINTAINED BY THE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY.
AND THAT COST IS ALREADY INCLUDED IN THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE BUILDING, THE TREES, INCLUDING THE RIGHT OF WAY TREE.
AND WE CAN NEGOTIATE THAT WITH THE CITY, BUT WE'RE WILLING TO TAKE CARE OF THAT BECAUSE THEY'RE IMPORTANT TO US.
THE TREES ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE DESIGN OF THE, UH, THE, THE PLAZA PASEO, WHICH IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND SERVES AS AN AREA FOR OUTDOOR SEATING AROUND THE BUNGALOWS AND THE FIRST FLOOR RETAIL RESTAURANT SPACE.
UM, SO THE APPLICANT IS COMMITTED TO PAYING FOR AND CARING FOR THOSE TREES.
THEY'VE ALREADY BUDGETED FOR IT EVEN AFTER THE FIVE-YEAR TREE PRESERVATION PROGRAM HAS DONE.
UM, AND ONE THING THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE FROM NOW ON MOVING FORWARD, IT'S WHEN WE ARE SHOWING A HERITAGE TREE THAT NEEDS TO COME DOWN, THAT YOU HAVE IT WHEN IT'S FULLY GREEN AND NOT WHEN IT'S ALREADY LOOKING DEAD, CAUSE ALL THE LASER GONE, IT KIND OF IRRITATES ME THAT I'LL DO THAT CONSISTENTLY BRING A TREE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DEAD OF WINTER THAT COULD JUST LOOK LIKE A REALLY BAD EXAMPLE.
SO LET'S, LET'S GET THESE TREES WHEN THEY'RE FULLY ALIVE AND THEY'RE VIBRANT AND THAT THEIR PEAKS THAT'S REALLY, REALLY UNCOOL.
MADAM CHAIR MANAGER, KATIE COHEN, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER, UH, NOT COMMISSIONER ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER.
UH, I, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A CHANCE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REORIENTING DISCUSSION TO GROUND IT IN WHAT THE CODE SAYS.
I THINK THAT'S ALWAYS A GOOD REMINDER FOR ME.
IT WAS WHEN I WAS ON COMMISSION.
SO I'LL HAND IT TO KEITH MARS.
I JUST WANTED TO GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GROUNDING DISCUSSION AND WHAT THE CODE SAYS WE CAN REGULATE.
KEITH MARS, CITY OF AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, UH, I WILL TRY AND BE BRIEF.
I DO THINK THERE'S TWO POINTS TO COVER THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO ORIENT THIS COMMISSION.
I THINK A NUMBER OF YOU, THIS IS THE FIRST HERE TO TREAT VARIANTS THAT YOU'VE HEARD.
SO I'LL GIVE A QUICK, QUICK OVERVIEW TO HELP, HELP YOU FOCUS ON WHAT CODE SAYS THIS COMMISSION IS HERE FOR TONIGHT.
SO, AND THE HERITAGE TREE ORDINANCE WAS ADOPTED IN 2010.
UH, THERE'VE BEEN NO CHANGES TO IT SINCE THEN.
THE, THE GREATEST ASPECT OF THAT ORDINANCE SAYS FOR TREES, 30 INCHES OR GREATER, UH, ONE DAYS AGO THROUGH THE LAND USE COMMISSION TO REQUEST A VARIANCE, UNLESS THE TREE IS DEAD DISEASE OR IMMINENT HAZARD, I'LL COME BACK TO THAT IN JUST A MINUTE.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION IS THE RECOMMENDATION BODY.
YOU, THIS COMMISSION PROVIDES THE RECOMMENDATION.
IN THIS CASE TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION PLANNING COMMISSION IS THE TERMINAL BODY.
NOW, SPECIFICALLY GETTING TO WHY YOU ARE HEARING ABOUT DEVELOPMENT FROM THE CITY ARBORIST, THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE LAYS OUT FIVE CRITERIA OF WHEN A HERITAGE TREE OR A PROTECTED TREE.
LET'S FOCUS ON HERITAGE CAN BE REMOVED IF THE TREE IS DEAD, IF THE TREE IS AN IMMINENT HAZARD TO LIFE OR PROPERTY, OR IF IT'S AN, OR IF IT IS DISEASED BEYOND REHABILITATION, THINK OF LIVE OAK OR OKLAHOMA, FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE ARE PURELY A BORE CULTURAL DECISIONS AND THE CODE DEFERS TO THE CITY ARBORIST TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
THE OTHER PART OF THE, THAT THE CRITERIA THAT BOTH THE CITY ARBORIST AND THE COMMISSION APPLIES IS SOLELY FOCUSED ON DEVELOPMENT.
AND THOSE TWO ARE, DOES THE TREE PREVENT A REASONABLE USE OF THE PROPERTY OR DOES IT PREVENT A REASONABLE ACCESS TO THE PROPERTY REASONABLY USE? ISN'T INHERENTLY ABOUT DEVELOPMENT? WHAT ARE THE RESTRICTIONS? WHAT ARE THE WHAT'S THE BASE ZONING? UM, WHAT ARE THINGS THAT THE COMMISSION NEEDS TO HEAR AND UNDERSTAND SO THAT THE CITY ARBORIST, THE COMMISSION, WHOEVER IS MAKING THE DECISION IS AN INFORMED INDIVIDUAL OR AN INFORMED BODY ABOUT WHAT ARE, WHAT CAN AND CANNOT BE DONE ON A PROPERTY.
SO TO JUST TO REITERATE, THAT IS WHY YOU ARE HEARING.
AND HAVE YOU HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT DEVELOPMENT AND NOT SO
[01:40:01]
MUCH ABOUT THE TREE IS BECAUSE WHAT IS BEFORE YOU TONIGHT IS ABOUT, DOES THIS TREE PREVENT A REASONABLE USE OF THE PROPERTY? I HOPE THAT HELPS.AND ONLY THEN ONCE THE COMMISSION MAKES THAT DETERMINATION, THAT'S WHEN, IF IT, IF THE COMMISSION SAYS THE TREE DOES NOT PREVENT A REASONABLE USE OF THE PROPERTY AND THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION HAS PASSED ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION, ALTERNATIVELY IT'S THE COMMISSION SAYS, YES, THE TREE DOES PREVENT A REASONABLE USE OF THE PROPERTY.
THEN THE COMMISSION PROVIDES THE RECOMMENDATION TO THE COMMISSIONER, TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON THEM.
WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE MITIGATIVE SOLUTIONS TO, TO MITIGATE THE LOSS OF THIS TREE, UH, UH, HOPE THAT PROVIDES SOME GROUNDING AND CODE THAT PROVIDES SOME CLARITY ON WHY YOU'RE HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT DEVELOPMENT FROM THE CITY ARBORIST AND HAPPY TO ELABORATE MORE IF NEEDED.
THANKS FOR LETTING ME SIT DOWN.
UM, CITY ARBORIST, ONE QUESTION I HAD ABOUT THIS PROPOSED MENU, WHAT ARE Y'ALL GOING TO DO? ARE YOU GOING TO CAPTURE WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED BY THE DEVELOPER? THEY SAID THEY COULD GO ABOVE AND BEYOND, AND THEY LISTED AN AMOUNT WHERE WERE Y'ALL AT WITH THIS MITIGATION? UH, WE SUPPORT THE MITIGATION PROPOSAL, UM, AS ALWAYS, WE WOULD LIKE TREES PLANTED BACK ON SITE.
UM, THE, EH, WE WERE VERY SUPPORTIVE BECAUSE IT PROMOTES A GREATER TREE HEALTH, UH, FOR THE PEDESTRIANS AND FOR THE STREETSCAPES AND FOR THE PROPERTY AND FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
UM, IN TERMS OF STORMWATER MITIGATION, THE LARGER THE TREE, THE MORE STORMWATER IT INTERCEPTS, UH, IF WE CAN GET THESE TREES IN THERE AS PART OF THE MITIGATION, UH, WE SUPPORT THIS.
SO SPECIFICALLY THE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT WAS PUT OUT THERE ON ONE OF THE SLIDES, WHAT ARE YOU PROPOSED TO ACCEPT THAT AMOUNT? YES.
SO LET'S JUST BE REAL CLEAR ABOUT THAT.
ANY OTHER FURTHER DISCUSSION? YES.
I WANT TO SAY THAT, UM, THAT WAS NOT IN, THAT WAS NOT IN THE PRESENTATION THAT THEY WOULD, THAT THEY WERE ACCEPTING THAT.
SO SHOULD I INCLUDE THAT IN HERE OR NOT? OKAY.
SO WE'RE GOING TO INCLUDE THAT AMOUNT SHOULD WANT, ONCE WE GET A MOTION GOING, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
SO I JUST WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THAT AMOUNT, VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THE CITY IS ACCEPTING WITH THIS MITIGATION PROPOSAL.
THEN IF THERE'S, IS THERE, THERE'S NO ONE HERE TO SPEAK TO THIS ITEM, RIGHT? THERE'S NO ONE THAT HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THESE TREES, CORRECT? IF IS THERE, WELL, WE HAVE DAVE, WE HAVE, OKAY.
WE HAVE YOU SIGNED UP, DO YOU? OH, THAT WAS, I JUST THOUGHT I HAD TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK, EVEN THOUGH I'M REPRESENTING THE APPLICANT.
SO I'M DISCOVERING ALL MY BUSINESS, GET YOUR, YOU GET YOUR MINUTES NO MATTER WHAT, UH, DREW, UM, YOU DONATED TIME.
SO THEN IS THERE A MOTION AT THIS POINT TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING? DID YOU GET IT? OKAY, WE'LL USE SECOND AT THEN.
ALL IN FAVOR OF CLOSING THE PUBLIC HEARING, SAY, AYE.
NOW, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? AND WE HAVE READY TO BE HEARD.
SPC DASH 2 0 2 1 DASH 0 1 2 9 C.
UM, AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE APPLICANT IS SEEKING THE REMOVAL OF A HERITAGE TREE WITH A STEM GREATER THAN 30 INCHES AS ALLOWED UNDER LDC 25, 8 6 4 3 AND 2 5 8 6 2 4 8 2.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE TREE REQUEST TO BE REMOVED IS THREE IS 32.5 INCHES.
UH, AND AS A HERITAGE PECAN TREE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE CITY ARBORIST RATES TO PECAN IS FAIR CONDITION, POOR STRUCTURE, HISTORY OF LARGE PREVIOUS FAILURES AND DAMAGED, UH, TO PRESENT BUILDINGS.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL STANDARD IS 300% MITIGATION AND MITIGATION FOR THE SITE SHALL BE ADDRESSED BY FURTHER ENHANCING.
THE STREETSCAPE PLANTING CONDITIONS REQUIRED UNDER THE UNO GREAT STREET PROGRAM.
AND THE APPLICANT HAS PROPOSED A MENU OF OPTIONS THAT SUPPORT
[01:45:01]
GREATER TREE HEALTH AND LONGEVITY, SUCH AS STRUCTURAL SOIL CELLS, PERMEABLE PAVING AS KIND OF HARD TO SAY, AND EXPANDED CONTINUOUS PLANTING BEDS.WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE APPLICATION IS PROPOSING A FIVE-YEAR TREE CARE PLAN TO PROVIDE ONGOING MAINTENANCE FOR ALL NEW TREES AND ONE TIME IMPROVEMENTS TO ADDITIONAL STREETSCAPE TREES AND TREE GRATES AS NEEDED AND IDENTIFIED.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT THEIR REQUEST MEETS THE CITY ARBORIST APPROVAL CRITERIA SET FORTH IN LDC 2, 5, 8.
I READ THAT EARLIER, UH, AND THIS, THE VARIANCE IS RECOMMENDED BY STAFF.
THEREFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE REQUEST VARIANCE, UH, WITH THE FOLLOWING.
AND IF THERE'S OTHER CONDITIONS WE CAN ADD THEM.
WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT AMOUNT.
CAN WE PULL THAT AMOUNT UP? HOW MUCH WAS THAT AMOUNT THAT Y'ALL WERE PROPOSING TO US? MADAM CHAIR, UH, UP TO W W $191,500.
AND THEN YOU HAD SAID, SIR, THAT Y'ALL WERE CONSIDERING MORE THAN FIVE YEARS FOR THE TREE MAINTENANCE IS, COULD WE, I WOULD LIKE TO PUT IN THERE THAT THAT Y'ALL WILL, UM, PAY FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS OF THE TREE MAINTENANCE PLAN, BUT NOT LESS THAN EIGHT YEARS, OR CAN I, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU'D BE WILLING TO, BECAUSE YOU SAID WE'RE GOING TO DO MORE, BUT THAT'S JUST, THAT'S LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO, UH, WHAT I WAS TRYING TO CONVEY WAS SO TREE CARE MAINTENANCE PLANS ARE, AND MICHAEL CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT TREE CARE MAINTENANCE PLANS ARE DESIGNED TO ENSURE THE BEST HEALTH OF A TREE DURING HIS DREAM CONSTRUCTION.
AND JUST AFTER CONSTRUCTION, RIGHT? ALL THIS STUFF HAPPENS.
LET'S MAKE SURE THE ROOT BALL IS TAKEN CARE OF.
LET'S MAKE SURE THE TREE IS TAKEN CARE OF.
AND THEN LET'S GO FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AFTERWARDS WHERE WE'RE LIKE, OKAY, OKAY.
ALL I WAS TRYING TO COMMUNICATE IS THAT AFTER THAT HAPPENS, IT'S STILL IN MY CLIENT'S BEST INTEREST TO KEEP THOSE TREES SPOT ON.
SO ALL I'M SAYING IS, UM, WE, WE W WE'VE ALREADY BUDGETED FOR, FOR, FOR, UH, FIVE YEARS PERPETUAL PERPETUAL, AS LONG AS WE'RE THERE.
LET'S JUST PUT THAT IN THAT PERPETUAL CARE.
I MEAN, YEAH, THERE'LL BE ACTUAL CARE FOR THE TREES.
WHEN WE COME UP WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS, WHAT, UH, WHAT'S IN PLACE, UH, AS FAR AS, UM, DOWN THE LINE, UM, ENSURING THAT THE AMOUNT, UM, OF, OF, UM, MITIGATION IS ACTUALLY, UH, ACCOMPLISHED, UH, HOW DOES THAT WORK? I'M SORRY.
AND THE CITY ARBORIST CAN, CAN TELL US HOW THEY HAVE IT PLANNED OUT.
THEY TAKE CARE OF ALL OF THAT, UH, THAT THAT STAFF HAS, UM, WOULD, Y'ALL LIKE TO DESCRIBE HOW Y'ALL ENSURE THAT THE MONEY IS SPENT AND WE GET ALL OF THE MONEY.
I WILL DEFER THIS TO KEITH MARS IN, UM, HOW WE ENSURE, UH, FISCAL AND HOW WE ENSURE THIS MONEY.
GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS AGAIN, KEITH MARS, CITY, YOU AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
SO WHATEVER CONDITION IS MADE, UH, OR SHOULD THAT BE MADE TONIGHT THAT GETS PASSED ON TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, SHOULD THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, USE THOSE FINDINGS OR HAVE OTHER FINDINGS I'M SORRY.
UH, CONDITIONS, UH, THAT PLANNING COMMISSION MOTION BECOMES A PART OF THE SITE PLAN.
THE SITE PLAN IS A LEGAL DOCUMENT.
THE, ALL OF THAT, ALL OF THESE CONDITIONS MUST BE SHOWN ON WHAT WE CALL THE PLAN SETS.
THOSE ARE LEGALLY BINDING, UH, OBLIGATIONS OF THIS DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
TO THE EXTENT FISCAL IS REQUIRED.
FISCAL MEANING THAT WE HOLD THE MONEY, THE CITY HOLDS THE MONEY,
[01:50:01]
UH, TO ENSURE THE WORK IS DONE.UM, OR THE TREE PLANTING, ANY ASPECT OF THE PLAN.
UH, A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY IS NOT GRANTED TO THE PLANT OR TO THE DEVELOPMENT UNTIL ALL OF THOSE CONDITIONS ARE SATISFIED AT THE, BY THE END OF THE PROJECT.
ARE WE READY TO VOTE COMMISSIONERS? OH, YES.
DO YOU WANT ME TO READ WHAT I PUT IN HERE? OKAY.
UM, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE THESE IN HERE.
UM, SO I'M TAKING THIS FROM Y'ALL'S PRESENTATION SO THAT THE NUMBERS ARE CORRECT.
UM, IT SAYS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE REQUESTS OF VARIANTS, UM, WITH THE FOLLOWING IMPLEMENT A THOROUGH FIVE YEAR, UH, TREE CARE AND MAINTENANCE PLAN AT THE COST OF APPROXIMATELY 13,600 TO INCREASE TREE VIABILITY OVER TIME FOR THE EIGHT PLANTED TREES, UH, MONITOR WATER AND FERTILIZED PRUNE IMPLEMENT A FIVE-YEAR TREE CARE PLAN FOR THE THREE PRESERVED PROTECTED COSTS OF APPROXIMATELY $12,900 TO INCREASE TREE VIABILITY THROUGH CONSTRUCTION.
AND POST-CONSTRUCTION A TREE NUMBER 2, 1 4, 5, AND MAINTAINING FOR FIVE YEARS, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY BETWEEN 150,000, 170,000.
UM, UH, THIS COST IS IN ADDITION TO THE TREE REMOVAL MITIGATION COSTS AND THE CODE, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY $21,000, UH, WHICH, UH, WE PROPOSE TO BE USED IN ONSITE STREET SPACE IMPROVEMENTS.
THEREFORE WE ARE PROPOSING TO PROVIDE AN APPROXIMATELY TOTAL OF 1,171,000, UH, TO 191,000 OF IMPROVEMENTS IN LIEU OF PRESERVING TREE NUMBER 2, 1, 4, 5, AND THEN ENSURE PERPETUAL CARE OF THE REMAINING TREES ON THE PROPERTY.
WE HAVE A SECOND MR. BED FOR ALL RIGHT.
SO LET'S HAVE OUR VOTE CALL COMMISSIONER KASHI, COMMISSIONER THOMPSON, COMMISSIONER SCOTT.
MOTION CARRIES MOTION CARRIES SEVEN.
OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT.
[4b. Name: HEB Austin No. 33, SP-2020-0400D]
ITEM B FOUR B UH, HEB, AUSTIN, NUMBER 3, 3 33 S P DASH 2020 DEATHS, 0 4 0 0 D APPLICANT, JOE YORK AND JONES AND QUARTER, OR THE APPLICANTS HERE TODAY.AND THEN WE HAVE IT AT 12 1, 1 5, US 92 90 AUSTIN, TEXAS 7, 8, 7, 3 7.
LOCATED IN THE EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION WE HAVE STAFFED AT PRESENT.
THIS IS PAMELA AB TOLLI WITH THE, UH, UH, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
I'M THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM COORDINATOR FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.
AND THIS IS, UH, FOR VARIANCES FOR HEB AUSTIN, NUMBER 33, UH, LOCATED 12 1 1 5 US HIGHWAY TWO 90 SITE GLAND NUMBER OR CASE NUMBER SITE PLAN.
I THINK YOU'RE SEEING WHAT, I'M, WHAT, I'M, WHAT I'M SEEING.
SO THIS, UH, SITE IS ON THE SOUTHWEST EDGE OF THE CITY'S EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OUT ON TWO 90 IN BEAR CREEK WATERSHED, WHICH IS IN THE BARTON SPRINGS ZONE, WHICH IS IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
AS SOON AS, AS I SAID, IN THE EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION, IT'S IN HAYES COUNTY, THERE ARE NO CREEK CREEKS OR CREEK BUFFERS, BUT THERE ARE TWO WETLAND CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES.
UM, THE COUNCIL DISTRICT IS, UH, THERE IS NO COUNCIL DISTRICT AS IT'S AN EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.
[01:55:01]
WE HAVE, AS I SAID, FOR VARIANCE REQUESTS, NUMBER ONE IS TO VARY THE CUT REQUIREMENTS TO ALLOW CUT OVER FOUR FEET TO 12 FEET.NUMBER TWO IS TO VARY THE FILL REQUIREMENTS TO ALLOW FILL OVER FOUR FEET TO 21 FEET.
NUMBER THREE IS TO VARY THE CONSTRUCTION ON SLOPES, UH, REQUIREMENT TO ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF A PARKING AREA ON A SLOPE WITH A GRADIENT OF MORE THAN 15%.
AND NUMBER FOUR IS TO VARY THE CONSTRUCTION ON SLOPES REQUIREMENTS TO ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF A DRIVEWAY ON A SLOPE WITH A GRADIENT OF MORE THAN 15%.
SO A LITTLE BACKGROUND, THE SITE, THE SENSOR IN THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY AT AN ELEVATION OF 1195 FEET TO THE SOUTH EASTERN CORNER WITH AN ELEVATION OF APPROXIMATELY 10 89 FEET OR 1,089 FEET.
THE VERY FENCES ARE NECESSITATED BY THE NATURALLY DESCENDING AND BROADLY TERRORIST HILL COUNTRY SLOPES CHARACTERISTIC OF THE AREA.
THIS SHOWS YOU ALL THE WORKS OF A 15%, UH, AND THE TWO FOOT CONTOURS, UH, ELEVATION CONTOURS OF A SITE FOR OVER A DECADE.
THE SITE HAS HAD UNPERMITTED BILL MATERIAL, WHICH CHANGED BOTH THE TYPOGRAPHY AND THE HYDROLOGY OF THE AREA.
HAVING ALL FLOW TO A WETLANDS, CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURE.
ADDITIONALLY, THE NUTTY BROWN CAFE AND AMPHITHEATER AT ILLEGALLY EXPANDED AND INCREASED ITS IMPERVIOUS COVER BEYOND THE ALLOWABLE LIMIT.
AS PART OF THIS PROJECT, AGB WE'LL REMOVE THE UNPERMITTED DEVELOPMENT AND THE ILLEGAL FILM AREAS OUTSIDE OF THE FOOTPRINT OF THE ATB PROJECT WILL BE RETURNED TO ORIGINAL GRADE AND RESTORED WITH NATIVE VEGETATION DRAINAGE TO THE TWO WETLAND CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES WILL BE STORED.
AND ALSO THE IMPERVIOUS COVER ON THE NUTTY BROWN WILL BE REMOVED.
SO VARIANCE REQUESTS, NUMBER ONE, AND NUMBER TWO ARE THE CUT AND FILL CUT TO 12 FEET.
THE CUT IS SHOWN IN THE RED AND PINK.
THE FILL IN THE LIGHT BLUE AND DARK BLUE GRADING.
THE PURPOSE OF ALL THIS GRADING IS TO LEVEL THE PARKING AND BUILDING I ON THE SAME LEVEL VARIANCE REQUESTS THREE IS TO ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF A PARKING AREA ON A SLOPE WITH A GRADIENT OF MORE THAN 15%.
THE OFFENDING AREAS OF GRADE ARE IN THE RED CIRCLES.
SO THE PARKING LOT IS LOCATED AND SHAPED TO MINIMALLY IMPACT STEEP SLOPES BECAUSE OF THE WIDELY SPACED NATURE OF THE HILL COUNTRY SLOPES.
IT'S ACTUALLY DIFFICULT TO DESIGN A LARGE PARKING LOT THAT AVOIDS ALL SLOPES OVER 15% GRADE.
THE PARKING LOT IS PULLED BACK FROM SLOPES AT ITS PERIPHERY.
ONLY SLOPES OVER 15% ARE IN OR NEAR THE CENTER OF A WATT VARIANCE REQUEST FOR IS TO ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF A DRIVEWAY ON A SLOPE WITH A GRADIENT OF MORE THAN 15%.
AND AS CAN SEE HERE, WE HAVE, UH, FOUR DRY, UH, THREE DRIVELINES, FIVE WAYS.
PRIMARY CUSTOMER ACCESS FROM THE TWO MAJOR ROADWAYS.
AND THEY ARE THERE FOR CODE COMPLIANT AND NOT PART OF THIS VARIANCE.
NUMBER THREE IS TRUCK ACCESS FOR THE LOADING DOCK.
THE LOADING DOCK IS NOT STRICTLY SPEAKING NECESSARY TO PROVIDE PRIMARY ACCESS.
HOWEVER, IT DOES SATISFY THE TRANSPORT, THIS A THIRD ACCESS TO SATISFY THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL GUIDELINE THAT FREIGHT LOADING FACILITIES SHOULD BE DESIGNED AND LOCATED TO MINIMIZE INTERMIXING OF TRUCK TRAFFIC WITH OTHER VEHICULAR AND PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC ON THE SITE.
THEREFORE STAFF RECOMMENDS THESE VARIANCES, HAVING DETERMINED THAT THEY DO MEET THE FINDINGS OF FACT, STEPH RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING VARIOUS CONDITIONS.
THE APPLICANT WILL RESTORE, FULFILL THAT CURRENTLY EXIST ON THE SITE TO ORIGINAL GRADE.
THE APPLICANT WILL USE NATIVE PLANTS APPROPRIATE FOR HILL COUNTRY,
[02:00:01]
UH, FOR THE HILL COUNTRY LOCATION FOR REVEGETATION AND THE APPLICANT WILL PROVIDE MITIGATION IN THE FORM OF PAYMENT OR ON-SITE PLANTINGS FOR REMOVED TREES WITH A DIAMETER OF 19, WHICH IS A GREATER AT A RATE OF 100%.UM, THIS IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IN ETJ TREE PRESERVATION IS NOT REQUIRED, BUT THEY WILL DO IT ANYWAY.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? THE APPLICANT FIRST APPLICANT? OH YES.
WHAT IS THE PERCENT GRADE? IT, YOU SAID IT, IT IS OF THE VARIANT IT'S OVER 15%.
DO YOU HAVE THE NUMBER? UH, YES.
SO THE VARIANCE IS TO ALLOW A, IN ONE, IN NUMBER THREE TO ALLOW THE, UH, PARKING LOT AND THE NUMBER FOUR TO ALLOW A DRIVEWAY ON SLOPES GREATER THAN 15%.
IS THAT, DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES.
I WAS WONDERING WHAT THE, WELL, S SOMEWHAT WHAT THE SLOPE IS GREATER THAN 15%, BUT DO YOU HAVE THE MEASUREMENT? UM, LET, UH, I BELIEVE IT IS BETWEEN 15 AND 25%, BUT, UM, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, I DON'T THINK THERE ARE ANY SLOPES OVER TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT.
ANY OF THESE ARE ON, THEY WERE GREEN IN THE PICTURE, AND THAT WAS THE 15 TO 25% WAS, UH, THAT'S WHAT, UM, I, I WOULD LIKE TO, I THINK THE APPLICANT CAN ANSWER THIS QUESTION AS WELL, BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALL THE SAME INFO, SO, UH, AND THEY HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A HEADSTART.
SO IF IT'S OKAY, I'LL DEFER THAT TO THEM.
STEP FORWARD AND TELL US YOUR NAME.
UH, JOSEPH YORK WITH JONES AND CARTER, THE CIVIL ENGINEER ON THE PROJECT.
IF YOU PULL UP THE PRESENTATION.
SO I'LL BRIEFLY, UH, PAMELA DID A GREAT JOB, BUT I'LL BRIEFLY KIND OF REITERATE AND INTRODUCE THE PROJECT, TALK ABOUT THE VARIANCES AND THEN THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS THAT WE'RE PROVIDING AS PART OF THE PROJECT.
SO, UH, THIS IS HEB AUSTIN, 33, UH, VARIANCE REQUEST FOR EXCESSIVE SLOPES AND CUT AND FIT.
UM, SO THE PROJECT, UH, IS A, AN HEB GROCERY STORE, UH, WITH AN ASSOCIATED FUEL STATION.
UM, THIS IS IN THE FIVE MILE ATJ, AS PAMELA MENTIONED, UH, ALSO HAYES COUNTY NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF US TWO 90 AND NUTTY BROWN ROAD.
UM, AS PART OF THE PROJECT, UH, WE ARE DEMOLISHING THE OLD NUTTY BROWN AMPHITHEATER, INCLUDING THE UNPERMITTED IMPROVEMENTS, AS WELL AS REMOVAL OF THE UNPERMITTED FILL, UM, THAT HAS IMPACTED THOSE, UH, THOSE CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES ON THE SITE.
SO THIS IS THE, UM, EXCESSIVE SLOPES MAPS.
SO YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE IT COLOR CODED HERE.
EVERYTHING IN GREEN IS 15 TO 25% SLOPES.
A YELLOW IS 25 TO 35, AND THEN RED IS ANYTHING OVER 35.
SO REALLY WE STARTED WITH THIS MAP AND TRY TO LOCATE THE AREAS OF ON, UH, ON THE SIDE OF LEAST IMPACT, UM, IN ORDER TO LAY OUT THE SITE PLAN.
SO YOU CAN SEE WE'VE GOT ACCESSIVE SLOPES ON BOTH THE LEFT AND RIGHT-HAND SIDES IN THE FRONT AND AT THE REAR.
SO REALLY THE, THE, UH, INTERIOR PART OF THE SITE WAS THE ONLY PLACE WE COULD REASONABLY, UM, PLACE THE SITE PLAN AND HAVE MINIMAL IMPACT.
UH, SO AS PAMELA MENTIONED, WE WERE ABLE TO AVOID, UH, MANY OF THE MOST OF THESE EXCESSIVE SLOPES BY STRATEGICALLY PLACING THE SITE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WE HAVE, UM, CONTOURED THE PARKING FACILITIES AROUND THE EXCESSIVE SLOPES, ESPECIALLY THE ONES AT THE FRONT AND LEFT-HAND SIDE, UH, THAT WERE THE MOST SUCCESS.
IF YOU CAN SEE THOSE AT, AT OVER 35%, UM, THE ONLY AREAS OF IMPACT WE'RE BASICALLY IN THE PARKING FIELD, AND THEY WERE VERY MINIMAL COMPARED TO THE REMAINDER OF, OF WHAT WAS ON SITE, UM, SECONDARILY THE, THE DRIVEWAY OR THE OTHER EXCESSIVE SLOPE VARIANCE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FIRST TWO CONSIDERED PRIMARY DRIVES ARE NOT PART OF THE VARIANCE THEY'RE ALLOWED BY CODE THE REAR DRIVE AGAIN FOR THE TRUCK FACILITIES.
[02:05:01]
FOR US TO SEPARATE THE, UM, THE VENDORS AND THE, THE LARGE TRUCKS FROM THE PEDESTRIANS AND, AND THE SHOPPERS, UH, JUST AS A SAFETY ISSUE, AND ALSO NOT TO INTERMIX THAT TRAFFIC.UH, BUT YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE EXCESSIVE SLOPE IS REALLY JUST A DRAINAGE EASEMENT THAT'S BEING CROSSED.
IT'S, IT'S NOT, IT'S FAIRLY TYPICAL THAT YOU WOULD UTILIZE A COVERT OR OTHER STORM, UM, STORM DRAINAGE FACILITIES TO CROSS SOMETHING LIKE THIS FOR ANOTHER DRIVEWAY, NOT REALLY TOO FAR OUT OF THE NORM AND FAIRLY MINIMAL AGAIN, COMPARED TO THE REMAINDER OF THE EXCESSIVE SLOPES ON THE SITE.
UH, SO MOVING INTO THE, UH, CUT AND FILL VARIANCES, UM, AS PAMELA MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE PURSUING, UM, BASICALLY THE CUT AT THE FRONT OF THE SITE, THE FILL AT THE REAR, AND THIS IS AGAIN, JUST BASED ON A HEAVILY SLOPE SIDE, UH, OVER A HUNDRED FEET OF FALL ACROSS IT GENERALLY SLOPES, UH, OF 10% OR GREATER.
UM, SO THE STRATEGY AND WHAT WE DID HERE TO TRY TO MINIMIZE THESE AS BEST WE COULD.
UH, WE STARTED WITH KIND OF AN EIGHT FOOT CUT AT THE VERY FRONT OF THE SITE WITH THE PARKING LOT, AND THEN GRADED DOWN TOWARDS THE BUILDING, UH, AT THE MAXIMUM WE, WE COULD, UM, PER CODE AND PER, UH, OUR CLIENTS, UM, DESIGN CRITERIA.
UH, OBVIOUSLY WE HELD THE BUILDING FLAT FOR A CONSISTENT FINISHED FLOOR, AND THEN WE ACTUALLY DEPRESSED THE ENTIRE LOADING AREA BEHIND THE BUILDING FOUR FEET BELOW THE FINISHED FLOOR, UH, IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE THAT FILL.
UM, AND THEN WE'VE ALSO INCORPORATED SOME FAIRLY STEEP SLOPES INTO THE, THE PAVING AT THE REAR AS WELL TO HELP MAKE UP THAT GRADE, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
SO NOW WE'LL GET INTO SOME OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE WERE PROPOSING AS PART OF THE PROJECT.
SO AGAIN, THERE ARE TWO AREAS OF UNPERMITTED FILL ON THIS SITE THAT WERE DONE PRIOR TO HEBS ACQUISITION OF THE PROPERTY, UM, YOU KNOW, BEING GOOD STEWARD OF LAND AND WANTING TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY.
THEY'VE COMMITTED TO REMOVING THESE IN GENERALLY RESTORING THESE BACK TO THEIR PREVIOUS CONDITION.
UM, ALTOGETHER THIS IS ABOUT 125,000 CUBIC YARDS OF UNPERMITTED FILL.
UM, THE FIRST ONE BEING THE MOST SUCCESSIVE OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND YARDS CUBIC YARDS ITSELF, UM, NOT ONLY DOES IT DISTURB THE NATURAL DRAINAGE, UM, FLOW TO THE CEF, IT ACTUALLY BERRIES THE CF ENTIRELY.
UM, SO AGAIN, WE WILL BE RESTORING THAT CEF AND, AND THE, UM, THE AREA TO ITS NATIONAL GRADE AND TO, UH, PLANTINGS APPROPRIATE FOR THE AREA, UH, FILL AREA NUMBER TWO, UH, SIMILAR, UM, CUTS OFF THE DRAINAGE TO THAT CEF.
AND YOU'LL SEE AS FURTHER IN THE PRESENTATION, THE MEASURES WE'RE TAKING HERE TO RESTORE THAT NATURAL DRAINAGE PATTERN.
UH, THIS ONE IS NOT SO MUCH AN IMPROVEMENT, BUT A HARDSHIP THAT I DID WANT TO NOTE, UH, HAVING TO DO WITH OUR IMPERVIOUS COVER.
SO, AS PAMELA MENTIONED, THIS IS IN THE, UH, BARTON SPRINGS ZONE BEAR CREEK WATERSHED.
SO WE ARE RESTRICTED TO 25% IMPERVIOUS COVER OVER THE ENTIRE SITE, UM, BEING IN THE ETJ AND THE COUNTY LIMITED ACCESS TO UTILITIES, UH, WEST TRAVIS COUNTY PUBLIC UTILITY AG AGENCY IS PROVIDING US WATER SERVICE, BUT THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY WASTEWATER SERVICE IN THE AREA.
SO WE'RE BUILDING AN ONSITE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT.
AND AS PART OF THAT, WE HAVE A DRIP FIELD FOR THE DISCHARGE THAT'S OVER THREE AND A HALF ACRES AND PER CITY CODE.
UH, EVEN THOUGH THAT IS NOT IMPERVIOUS COVERED AT THREE AND A HALF A ACRE AREA DOES GET DEDUCTED FROM OUR ALLOWABLE IMPERVIOUS COVER.
UM, SO WE'RE ACTUALLY JUST BY BUILDING THESE TREATMENT FACILITIES ONSITE, WE ARE REDUCING, UH, WHAT WE COULD HAVE OTHERWISE HAD, UH, AS FAR AS IMPERVIOUS COVER, IF WASTEWATER SERVICE WAS AVAILABLE THROUGH ONE OF THE LOCAL UTILITY PROVIDERS NEXT LINE.
UH, THIS IS BACK TO THE, UM, UNPERMITTED FILL AREA.
UM, SO WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE, UH, YOU CAN SEE THE ORIGINAL ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE LIDAR DATA OF WHAT THE FLOW PATH WAS BEFORE THE UNPERMITTED FIL.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE UNPERMITTED FILL AREA THAT BLOCKS THAT DRAINAGE, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE AREA ON THE RIGHT WHERE WE'RE IMPLEMENTING A BOX CULVERT TO RE-ESTABLISH THAT DRAINAGE PATH AND FEEDING INTO THAT CF BUFFER.
UM, YOU'LL NOTICE HERE AND I'LL GET INTO IT IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, WE DID OPT TO GO FOR A LONGER RUN CULVERT UNDERNEATH THE TWO DRIVEWAYS, RATHER THAN THE SHORT RUN CULVERTS UNDER EACH DRIVEWAY AND A V CHANNEL BETWEEN THEM.
UM, THERE'S A COUPLE OF REASONS WE DID THIS, BUT I'LL
[02:10:01]
HELP HIGHLIGHT THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE.SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THE, ON THE PROFILE OF THE SLOPE IS, IS FAIRLY, UM, STEVE, I MEAN, I THINK YOU SAW THOSE SLIPS WERE KIND OF IN THE 10 TO 15% RANGE.
UM, AND WHAT WE DID HERE WAS WE IMPLEMENTED A BOX CULVERT, UM, WITH A FAIRLY FLAT SLOPE.
I THINK WE WERE BETWEEN HALF A PERCENT AND 1% TO HELP SLOW THE WATER DOWN.
WE'VE ALSO INCORPORATED DROP STRUCTURE, UH, AGAIN, TO JUST HELP WITH THAT GREAT CHANGE AND SLOWING DOWN, UM, THE WATER, WHICH HELPS PREVENT EROSION AND JUST PROVIDES AN OVERALL BETTER EXPERIENCE.
UM, ADDITIONALLY WITH THE V CHANNELS, THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE FROM A THREE TO ONE OR FOUR TO ONE SLOPE, WHICH IS 25 TO 33%, UM, AGAIN, SLIPS OF THAT KIND OF EXCESSIVE AMOUNT, JUST MAKE WATER RUN OFF A LOT FASTER.
SO WHAT WE DID IS WE FLATTENED EVERYTHING OUT ON TOP OF THE BOXES AND KEPT THEM IN MORE OF THE THREE TO 5% RANGE.
UH, WHAT THIS DOES IS ALLOW BETTER ABSORPTION INTO THE, THE PLANTINGS FOR THAT WATER, RATHER THAN CREATING ADDITIONAL RUNOFF AND THEREFORE ADDITIONAL EROSION.
SO WE THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE THE BEST ROUTE TO GO, UH, TO REALLY SERVE THIS AREA, PREVENT EROSION AND ADD TO, UM, WHAT WAS HERE.
UM, BRIEFLY MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, BUT AGAIN, AT THE REAR OF THE STORE, WE ARE, UM, RE UH, PUSHING THE, THE TRUCK, UH, DELIVERY AREA DOWN FOUR FEET BELOW THE FINISHED FLOOR.
AGAIN, TO HELP REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF FILL YOU CAN ALSO SEE BY THE CONTOURING.
UH, WE'RE PRETTY EXCESSIVELY SLOPING AWAY FROM THE BUILDING TO THE CURB LINE.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GAINING, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY DROPPING ANOTHER FIVE TO SEVEN FEET DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION.
AGAIN, TRYING TO MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF FILL WE HAVE AT THE REAR OF THE STORE.
UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT ALL THE DRAINAGE FROM THIS AREA IS PICKED UP VIA CURB AND GUTTER AND INLETS.
I BE TAKING THROUGH THE STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEM.
IT IS NOT RUNNING DOWN THE BACK OF THE SITE AND IS THEREFORE BEING PREVENTED FROM BEING ANY KIND OF EROSION PROBLEM, LONGTERM, NEXT SLIDE.
UM, HERE, YOU CAN SEE THE REAR OF THE STORE WHERE WE'RE TAPERING BACK DOWN TO NATURAL GRADE.
UM, GENERALLY SLOPES OF, OF A THREE TO ONE OR 33% ARE ACCEPTABLE PER CITY CODE IN THIS AREA.
WE'VE OPTED TO GO WITH A FLATTER SLOPE IN THE 25% RANGE AGAIN, TO HELP, UM, REDUCE THE, THE RUNOFF IN POTENTIAL EROSION.
UM, THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS WHERE WE, UM, THERE'S CERTAIN AREAS WHERE WE, WE DID USE SLIGHTLY STEEPER SLOPES, BUT THAT WAS TO, UM, ENSURE NOT TO IMPACT THE CEF BUFFER AND OTHER SENSITIVE AREAS.
UM, AS PART OF THESE, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING, UM, THE BIONET SYSTEM, WHICH IS A REINFORCEMENT MATTING.
UH, IT IS 100% BIODEGRADABLE MADE FROM A STRAW FIBERS.
UM, AND BASICALLY WE'LL PROVIDE A WAY TO IMMEDIATELY STABILIZE THE SLOPES, UM, WHILE THE VEGETATION IS BEING ESTABLISHED.
UM, NEXT SLIDE, IT DOES PROVIDE FOR BETTER ROOTED HAGEN, AND WE'VE WORKED WITH, UH, THE ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGIST, UH, ERIC BROWN ON THIS TO SELECT THE, THE APPROPRIATE SPECIES, BUT YOU CAN SEE WHERE UTILIZING A WESTERN, UH, RANCHLAND GRASS MIX, WHICH IS NATIVE TO THE AREA.
UH, VERY DROUGHT RESISTANT, VERY, UM, VERY CERTAIN ROOT SYSTEMS THAT WOULD PREVENT BOTH WIND AND WATER EROSION.
UH, AND THESE ARE MEDIUM TALL GRASSES THAT ARE GENERALLY ONE TO THREE FEET IN HEIGHT, WHICH DO AGAIN, HELP PREVENT EROSION HELP WITH ABSORPTION OF WATER, AND JUST GENERALLY PROVIDE A BETTER OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT AND ARE VERY COMPATIBLE AS A NATIVE SPECIES FOR THE AREA.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE FROM THE COLOR MAP, ALL THE AREAS, ESPECIALLY THE, THE UNPERMITTED FILL AREAS WERE RESTORING WITH EASE, UH, PLANTINGS, NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THE FINAL THING WE'RE DOING HERE WOULD BE TREE PRESERVATION AND MITIGATION.
UM, AT THE REAR OF THE SITE, WE HAVE ABOUT A 20 ACRE GROVE OF TREES.
THIS IS THE, BY FAR, THE MOST, UH, TREES THAT ARE ACTUALLY ON THE SITE.
UH, WE ARE PRESERVING THOSE IN THEIR ENTIRETY.
UH, THERE ARE ALSO TREES ALONG THE FRONTAGE OF THE SITE AND SOME IN THE PARKING FIELD THAT WE ARE TAKING MEASURES TO PRESERVE, UH, NEXT LINE.
UH, WE DID A LIMITED SCOPE TREE SURVEY OF JUST THE FRONT OF THE SITE AND THIS DEPICTS, UM, BASICALLY TREES, 18 INCHES OR LARGER, UM, GREEN FOR THE GREATER THAN 18 INCHES RED FOR GREATER THAN 24.
UH, THESE WOULD BE WHAT ARE TYPICALLY CONSIDERED PROTECTED OUR HERITAGE IN THE CITY.
WE'RE NOT REQUIRED TO PROTECT OR MITIGATE OR PRESERVE ANY OF THE TREES, BUT WE ARE VOLUNTARILY, UM,
[02:15:01]
PROTECTING, UH, SORRY, PRESERVING OR MITIGATING FOR ALL A HAIR, UM, PROTECTED, INHERITED SIZE TREES.SO WE'VE, WE'VE GOT ABOUT 26, I THINK, AT THE FRONT HERE THAT WE'RE PRESERVING AND WE'LL MAINTAIN, UM, THERE ARE ANOTHER 20 OR SO THAT ARE WITHIN THE PARKING FIELD THAT WE'VE NOT ABLE TO SAVE, BUT WE WILL BE MITIGATING FOR THOSE AT A ONE-TO-ONE RATIO, EITHER VIA PLANTINGS OR, UH, MITIGATION FEES OR SOME COMBINATION THEREOF.
AND THEN THESE ARE JUST A COUPLE OF PICTURES OF THE OAKS RIGHT THERE AT THE FRONT OF THE SITE NEAR THE EXISTING AMPHITHEATER THAT WILL BE SAVED.
AND THEN AS A FINAL SLIDE, THIS DOES HARKEN BACK TO THE DRAINAGE AROUND THE CEF.
UM, AGAIN, WORKING WITH ERIC BROWN, THE ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGIST, WE'RE INCORPORATING ADDITIONAL PLANTINGS AROUND THIS CF BUFFER, UH, INCLUDING TREE SHRUBS AND GRASSES THAT WOULD COMPLIMENT, UM, THE WETLANDS FEATURE.
AND AGAIN, HELP WITH ABSORPTION OF THE WATER TREATMENT OF THE WATER AND SLOWING THAT WATER DOWN AGAIN TO PROVIDE BETTER EROSION, UH, EXCUSE ME, BETTER EROSION PROTECTION AND A BETTER TREATMENT OF THE WATER.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
YOU HAVE QUESTIONS FOR THE APPLICANT? YES.
UM, I GUESS, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, MA'AM I, I AM WONDERING ABOUT THE WATER QUALITY, UM, ON THE LAST THOUGHT, THE LAST THING THAT YOU, UM, YOUR UNDERGROUND, I MEAN, WE WILL NOT GET THE, UH, THE WA I MEAN, TELL ME ABOUT THE WATER QUALITY THAT YOU'RE DOING.
YOU'RE TRYING TO PROTECT THE WATER QUALITY.
I'M NOT AN, I DON'T KNOW IF I AGREE WITH YOUR TUNNEL THING.
UM, SO THE, THE POINT OF THAT ONE, UH, WAS THAT THE, THE EXISTING SLOPES ON SITE ARE FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT THERE, AGAIN, KIND OF IN THE 10 TO 15% RANGE.
UM, AND THE WATER CERTS MOVED FAIRLY QUICKLY AT THAT.
SO WHAT WE DID WAS UTILIZE THOSE UNDERGROUND, UM, STORM PIPES, UH, WITH A MUCH FLATTER SLOPE, AGAIN, IN THE HALF PERCENT TO 1% RANGE.
SO WITH THAT FLATTER SLOPE, WE'RE SLOWING THE WATER DOWN.
UM, WE'VE ALSO INTEGRATED MORE, UM, ENERGY DISSIPATION FEATURES.
UM, I THINK THERE WERE ON THE SLIDES.
I PROBABLY DIDN'T MENTION IT, BUT THEY'RE CONCRETE BLOCKS THAT BASICALLY TAKE THE ENERGY OUT OF THE WATER, SLOW IT DOWN.
AND THEN THE LAST PART OF THAT WORD, THE PLANTINGS BOTH, OR I'M SORRY, TREES, SHRUBS, AND GRASSES IN THAT AREA, THAT AGAIN HELPS SLOW THE WATER DOWN, ABSORB IT, TREAT IT.
AND THAT WAS THE INTENT THERE, RIGHT? BY REDUCING THE SLOPES, YOU'RE GOING TO SLOW THE WATER DOWN.
AND WE THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A BETTER BENEFIT, UM, TO PREVENT EROSION RATHER THAN KEEPING THOSE MORE EXCESSIVE SLOPES.
SO THE WATER IS GOING UNDERGROUND AND YOU'RE PLANTING FOR A LOT OF THE WATER IS GOING UNDER IN THE TUNNEL, AND THEN YOU'RE ALSO TREATING IT.
WHERE ARE THE PLANTINGS GOING ABOVE WATER GO ABOVE AS WELL? ARE THERE THEY'RE DOWNSTREAM? UM, SO THEY'RE BASICALLY RIGHT WHERE THE EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL, SORRY, THE CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURE WAS, BUT WE'RE MAKING THAT FEATURE MORE ROBUST WITH THE ADDITIONAL PLANTINGS FOR AGAIN, BETTER TREATMENT, BETTER, UH, EROSION CONTROL.
AND WHERE IS THIS WATER COMING FROM? THIS IS GENERALLY WATER, UM, UPSTREAM OR OFFSITE, UH, NOT GENERATED BY THE DEVELOPMENT ITSELF, BUT STUFF COMING FROM OTHER PROPERTIES.
AND AGAIN, THIS WAS ALWAYS A NATURAL DRAINAGE PATTERN THAT THE, THE UNPERMITTED FILL THEN BLOCKED.
SO AGAIN, OUR GOAL HERE WAS TO RESTORE THAT NATURAL DRAINAGE PATTERN AND GIVE THE WATER COMING FROM OTHER, OTHER PROPERTIES, OFFSITE, A PLACE TO GO.
HISTORICALLY, UM, HOW DO YOU INTEND TO KEEP IT CLEAR? I MEAN, FROM CLOGGING UP THE, THE BOXES ARE, ARE FAIRLY LARGE.
UM, WE'RE, I BELIEVE THEY'RE A THREE FOOT BOX, SO THEY'RE GENERALLY NOT GOING TO BE OBSTRUCTED BY ANYTHING, UNLESS IT'S JUST VERY LARGE.
UM, HEB DOES DO VERY GOOD MAINTENANCE OF THEIR PROPERTIES, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE REGULARLY CHECKED, UM, IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO BLOCKAGES, BUT IT HAS BEEN SIZED APPROPRIATELY SO THAT IT SHOULD NOT CLOG.
THESE ARE NOT SMALL DIAMETER PIPES THAT WOULD, WOULD CLOG UP WITH SODA CANS OR SOME, YOU KNOW, BOTTLES, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
MA'AM ANY OTHER QUESTIONS MR. SCOTT? HI, UH, YOUR, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
[02:20:01]
PICTURES AND, UH, AND, UH, DRAWINGS AND SO FORTH THERE, UH, TYPICAL WHAT I'VE SEEN SO FAR.UM, AND, UM, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THEM, BUT, UM, I'M, I'M LOOKING AT A MAP, UH, OF TWO 90 AND, UH, IT INTERSECTS WITH 1 63.
I SEE THAT THE DADDY BROWN EMPATHY AMPHITHEATER, BUT, UM, IT, I FIND IT FRUSTRATING THAT I CAN'T VISUALIZE WHERE ALL OF THE DRAWINGS THAT YOU HAVE, UM, FIT INTO THAT AREA, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT SUPER IMPOSED OR INCLUDED IN THE, UH, DRAWINGS AND SO FORTH THAT YOU HAVE, UM, WHERE, UH, IN RELATION TO TWO 90 AND 1 63, UH, WILL THE, UH, THE AREA BE WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO RESTORE THE WETLANDS.
UM, SO THE, THE SITE IS GENERALLY LOCATED AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THAT INTERSECTION.
UM, AND THE, THE, THE TWO FEATURES ARE ALONG BOTH PROPERTY LINES, RIGHT? THERE'S TWO FEATURES.
SO ONE IS ON THE WESTERN PROPERTY LINE.
THE OTHER IS ON THE EASTERN PROPERTY LINE.
UM, BUT THEY'RE PROBABLY FIVE TO 700 FEET INTO THE SITES OF SOUTH OF TWO 90.
UM, AND I, I APOLOGIZE NOT HAVING THAT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT I BELIEVE THE ONE ON THE WESTERN SIDE, UM, YOU SHOULD SEE A FAIRLY CLEAR AREA AND THEN BASICALLY WHERE THE TREE LINE STARTS, THAT'S WHERE THAT ENVIRONMENTAL, TH THE CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURE.
AND THERE'S THAT TREE LINE, UH, SOUTH OF, UH, WHERE THE, THE, UH, HEB, UH, THAT'S CORRECT.
YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT, UM, IMPACTING THOSE TREES TO THE SOUTH THAT IS OUTSIDE THE DEVELOPMENT AREA.
SO BASICALLY EVERYTHING YOU SEE SOUTH OF THAT IS PRESERVED TREES, AGAIN, AS PART OF ONE OF THE FEATURES WE COVERED, EITHER TRYING TO PRESERVE OR MITIGATE FOR EXISTING TREES ON SITE.
UM, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE TOTAL, UH, ACREAGE OF THE, UM, THE PROPERTY THAT THE TOTAL ACREAGE OF THE PROPERTY IS 60 ACRES, 60 ACRES.
AND, UM, YOU'RE NOT DIRECTLY, UM, ON A, UH, A WATERSHED, BUT YOU'RE NOT THAT FAR FROM BEAR CREEK.
UM, UH, UH, LOOKING AT ON THE MAP, IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, BEAR CREEK RUNS, UH, ALONG, UH, UH, TO THE, UM, WEST OF, UH, 1 63.
SO, UM, WHERE DOES, WHERE DOES YOUR, UM, UM, UH, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? THE, UH, UH, YOU, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A SU UH, UH, UH, SEWAGE FACILITY TREATMENT AREA SOMEWHERE ON THE SITE.
AND WHERE IS THAT GOING TO BE? THAT IS, IS ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE SITE, ABOUT MIDWAY INTO THE SITE.
SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE FROM WHERE, UM, WHERE BEAR CREEK IS IN OTHER WORDS, AND IT'S THE FURTHEST AWAY FROM, FROM 90 BROWN ROAD? YES, MA'AM.
AND WHAT DIRECTION WOULD THE WATER FLOW FROM THERE? IT'S, IT'S A DRIP FIELD, SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE ACTUALLY UNDERGROUND LEECH FACILITIES.
UH, THERE'S NO DIRECT DISCHARGE IT'S ABSORBED INTO THE SOIL.
SO THERE THERE'S NOTHING DISCHARGING FROM THE TREATMENT PLANT INTO THE CREEK.
WOULD IT, UH, UH, FROM THE GEOGRAPHICAL NATURE OF THE LAND, WOULD IT, WOULD IT, UH, UM, WOULD IT TEND TO DISPERSE IN, UH, IN A GENERALLY WESTERN, I MEAN, GENERALLY SOUTHERLY THAT'S CORRECT.
THE SITE GENERALLY FALLS TO THE SOUTH.
AND, UM, HOW FAR AWAY, UH, WOULD YOU SAY THAT IS? UM, FROM, UH, BEAR CREEK.
I DON'T ON MY MAP, WHICH I'VE PULLED UP.
DOESN'T GIVE ME A, THAT INFORMATION.
I KNOW IT'S A SIGNIFICANT DISTANCE AND IT'S DEFINITELY OFF, UM, OFF OF OUR PROPERTY.
IT'S UM, IN FACT THERE ARE, UM, WELL, WILL YOUR PROPERTY, UH, B UH, ADJOINING 1 63? YES.
SO A PORTION OF IT DOES ON OUR WESTERN PROPERTY LINE DOES IT, BUT 1 63 OR 90 POUNDS.
AND IT DOES NOT ALSO, UM, UH, JOIN A KIT CARSON DRIVE.
UM, A PORTION OF THE PROPERTY DOES TOUCH KIT CARSON.
THAT IS KIND OF THE REAR 20 ACRES.
[02:25:01]
HAD MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WE'RE PRESERVING ALL THE TREES AND NOT REALLY DEVELOPING OR TOUCHING.UM, SO THAT, THAT AREA SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY IMPACTS RIMROCK TRAIL, UH, TO THE, UM, TO THE NORTHEAST.
IS THAT, UH, D DOES YOUR PROPERTY GO THAT FAR? I DON'T BELIEVE SO.
WELL, THAT GIVES ME A BETTER IDEA OF, OF WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, IN, IN GENERAL, JUST TO STAFF, IF, IF WE CAN HAVE, UM, IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN VISUALIZE THIS SO THAT WE CAN PUT IT IN, IN, UH, REAL, UM, YOU KNOW, IN PERSPECTIVE, IN PERSPECTIVE WITH, WITH, UH, WITH THE, UH, UM, EXISTING, UH, UH, UH, STREETS AND HIGHWAYS, I WOULD FIND IT A LOT MORE USEFUL.
I, I DUNNO IF OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH THAT OR HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT IT, BUT, UH, OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU'VE, YOU'VE DONE A, A GOOD PRESENTATION.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? JUST COMMISSIONER.
I THINK YOU, UM, I WAS WONDERING IF THERE ARE PLANS FOR ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE PROPERTY, IN ADDITION TO THE GROCERY STORE, THE FUEL STATION AND THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT.
NO, BE BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE BARTON, UH, BARTON CREEK ZONE, BEAR BEAR CREEK WATERSHED, UM, WE'RE LIMITED TO 25% COVERAGE ON THE SITE.
SO WHAT WE'RE SHOWING IS, IS ABOUT WHAT CAN BE DEVELOPED PER CODE.
AND THEN ONE ADDITIONAL QUESTION IS, UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE INFORMATION ON THE MITIGATION PLAN FOR THE TREES THAT YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO SAVE? WELL, YOU'RE SPECIFICALLY, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE TREES AT THE FRONT OF THE PROPERTY THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO SAVE A PLAN TO MITIGATE FOR, IS THAT, UM, WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THAT WITH OUR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT.
UM, WE'RE LIKELY GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING A COMBINATION OF PLANTINGS AND MITIGATION FEE.
UM, AGAIN, WE, WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE ABOUT 25 OR 26, VERY SUBSTANTIAL OAK TREES AT THE FRONTAGE, AND THEN ANY OF THE, THE 20 OR SO THAT WE'RE REMOVING, UH, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH A MITIGATION PLAN FOR, BUT WE HAVE COMMITTED TO MITIGATE IT, THAT ONE-TO-ONE RATIO, UH, FOR ALL THOSE PLANT, UH, EXISTING TREES OVER 18 INCHES.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, I ACTUALLY GREW UP IN THE AREA.
UH, MY FOLKS ARE STILL HAVE A HOUSE OFF OF, UH BELTERRA AND SAW A RANCH.
THEY'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS ACP.
UM, SO MY QUESTION WAS, SO YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, THE PROPERTY THAT'S AROUND THE AREA IN THE BACK THAT Y'ALL ARE KEEPING MOSTLY TREES, UH, Y'ALL ARE BASICALLY RIGHT RESTRICTED BY THE 25% RULE.
MY QUESTION IS WHAT IF THE OWNER OF THIS PROPERTY DECIDES TO SELL THAT 20 ACRES IN THE BACK, WOULD THAT NOT BE ALLOWED? LIKE, BECAUSE THEN THEY REACHED OVER 25%, THE EXISTING AREA, AND THEN WOULD SOMEBODY BE ABLE TO DEVELOP THE 25% OF THAT AREA? I HAVE NO IDEA ON JUST CURIOUS, TH THIS MAY BE A QUESTION BETTER SUITED FOR STAFF, BUT I BELIEVE BECAUSE THIS PROPERTY, UM, UNDER THIS SITE PLAN HAS BEEN ACCOUNTED FOR COMPLETELY, AS YOU KNOW, THE OVERALL 60 ACRES WE'VE BEEN ALLOWED TO DEVELOP ON 25% OF THAT, IF IT WAS EVER SUBDIVIDED, I THINK THAT WOULD STILL REMAIN.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY WAY YOU COULD DEVELOP FURTHER BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY REACHED THE LIMIT OF IMPERVIOUS COVER, BUT AGAIN, I'LL DEFER TO STAFF.
THEY PROBABLY HAVE A MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF, OF THE CODE AND COMPLIANCE THAN I DO.
ANY TELE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SELL THAT OFF.
UH, EVEN IF YOU SOLD OFF THAT SECTION, THE IMPERVIOUS COVER WOULD STILL BE ACCOUNTED FOR TOGETHER WITH THE REST OF THE SITE.
AND, UH, WE WOULD NOT ALLOW PART OF THAT SITE TO BE SUBDIVIDED AND CREATE MADE INTO A NEW TRACT BECAUSE THE, THE IMPERVIOUS COVER IS ALREADY MAXED OUT FOR THAT SITE.
ALSO AS A SIDE NOTE, IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME THAT NUTTY BROWN WAS A JENKY ABOUT PHIL AGAIN, COMING FROM SOMEONE FROM HAYES COUNTY.
SO, ALRIGHT, THANK YOU FOR THAT NOW FOR THE QUESTIONS LET'S THEN, UH, CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING? OKAY.
[02:30:01]
SECONDS.ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE, OR RAISE YOUR HANDS.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ARE WE READY FOR A MOTION AT THIS TIME? SOUNDS LIKE EMOTION.
UM, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION EMOTION SP 2 0 2 DASH 0 4 0 0 D.
UM, THIS IS HEB AUSTIN, NUMBER 33.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION REC RECOGNIZES THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING THE COMMISSION, UH, TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING VARIANCE REQUESTS.
THE VARIANCE REQUEST IS TO ALLOW CUT OVER FOUR FEET TO 12 FEET, UH, TO ALLOW FILL OVER FOUR FEET TO 21 FEET.
THE VARIOUS REQUEST, UM, IS TO ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF A PARKING AREA ON A SLOPE WITH A GRADIENT OF MORE THAN 15%.
THE VARIANT PARENT'S REQUEST IS TO ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF A DRIVEWAY ON A SLOPE WITH A GRADIENT OF MORE THAN 15%.
WHEREAS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE ACTIONS, CONCERNS, UM, LAND IN THE BEAR CREEK AND BARTON CREEK, UH, BARTON SPRINGS ZONES.
AND WHEREAS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE VARIANCE REQUEST WITH CONDITIONS.
THEREFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE REQUEST WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS.
THE APPLICANT WERE RESTORE ILLEGAL.
FILL THAT CURRENTLY EXIST ON THE SITE.
THE ORIGINAL GRADE APPLICANT WILL USE NATIVE PLANTS APPROVED FOR THE HILL COUNTRY LOCATION FOR RE REVEGETATION.
THE APPLICANT WILL PROVIDE MITIGATION IN THE FORM OF PAYMENT OR ONSITE PLANTING FOR REMOVED TREES WITH A DIAMETER OF 19 INCHES OR GREATER AT A RATE OF A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE ON THERE.
DO YOU HAVE A SECOND, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER BEDFORD? ALRIGHT.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO AHEAD.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TREES WHEN Y'ALL DIDN'T HAVE TO REALLY APPRECIATE THAT ONE.
[5. COMMITTEE REPORTS]
OKAY.LET'S GO TO COMMITTEE REPORTS.
UH, A URBAN FORESTRY COMMITTEE.
WE WILL BE HAVING A MEETING ON FRIDAY AT AROUND 10:00 AM.
IS IT SO WE'RE MEETING AT THAT TIME? HAVE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY HAVE Y'ALL MET AT ALL.
WE HAVE MET AND, UM, THEY'RE NOT WORKING ON THE IMPLEMENTATION, MIKE.
THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE DID MEET AND, UM, A WORKING GROUP IS BEING DEVELOPED NOW TO FOCUS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AND I HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT WORKING GROUP.
UH, JOINT COMMITTEE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION PARKS BOARD.
WE DID GET A NOTICE ABOUT, UH, TREES.
ANYTIME A TREE IS GOING TO BE PRUNED, OUR CUT.
THEY SEND SOMETHING OUT TO US.
AND SO WE DID GET SOMETHING I THINK ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
I CAN'T RECALL JUST, JUST NOTIFYING THIS OF, OF TREE TREE IMPROVEMENTS.
AND SO THEN, UH, COMMISSIONER SCOTT, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO REPORT? NO, I DON'T.
ALL RIGHT, GUYS, THIS WRAPS UP ANOTHER EVENING ON JANUARY THE 19TH, AND I DO NEED THE TIME SO WE CAN ADJOURN 8 43, 8 43.
WE ARE JOURNEYING AT 8 43 THIS EVENING.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP.