May 31, 2022 Housing and Planning Committee

NEXT SPEAKER IS GREG ANDERSON.

CAN YOU SEND THAT, UH, POWERPOINT TO THE OFFICES? COUNCIL OFFICES.

CAN I HAVE A QUESTION? CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? OH, I DIDN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND.

SO THE, THE ANALYSIS THAT YOU DID, WHERE WERE YOU DOING THAT? BASED ON THE PROPOSAL AND ITEM 66.

AND DATA AND VISUAL AIDS AS POSSIBLE.

NEXT SPEAKER IS GREG ANDERSON ON STANDBY IS A

[00:05:01]

JP CONLEY EVERYBODY.

THANK YOU, MAYOR.

THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR BEING HERE TODAY.

I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS ITEM AND DEFINITELY EXCITED WHEN DEVELOPERS AND HOME BUILDERS ARE WILLING TO COME IN AND SPEAK ABOUT THIS.

I'VE BEEN REACHING OUT TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT HOME BUILDERS AROUND AUSTIN.

I'M LIKE, HEY, LIKE WHAT'S THE BIGGEST IMPEDIMENT.

THEY ALL SAY COMPATIBILITY.

A LOT OF THEM SAY PARKING REQUIREMENTS.

THEN THEY SAY COMPATIBILITY.

AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE A LOT OF THEM DON'T WANT TO COME DOWN HERE AND I TRY AND TALK TO THEM.

I'M LIKE, WHY DON'T YOU WANT TO COME DOWN AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS? LIKE YOU WANT TO BUILD THIS PRODUCT? WHY DON'T YOU COME DOWN AND SHARE WHAT CAN MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU TO BUILD THE THING WE NEED THE MOST IN AUSTIN, WHICH IS HOUSING AND GOOD, WELL LOCATED TRANSIT RICH AREAS.

AND THE ANSWER IS, WELL, IF THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOESN'T WANT TO ALLOW US TO BUILD THIS HERE, WE'LL BUILD OUT THERE.

THERE'S A REASON WHY GEORGETOWN IS THE FASTEST GROWING CITY IN AMERICA OF CITIES, OVER FIVE OR 50,000 PEOPLE.

THERE'S A REASON THERE'S 3000 HOUSING PERMITS IN LIBERTY HILL AND TENS OF THOUSANDS AND HAYES COUNTY.

AND UNLESS WE'RE JUST OKAY WITH CONTINUING TO PUSH EVERYBODY OUT AND, AND KEEPING THE, YOU KNOW, INCREDIBLE DEMAND FOR THE EXISTING HOUSING INVENTORY, THE WAY IT IS.

AND WE REALLY HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO ALLOW FOR A LOT MORE HOUSING TO BE BUILT AND WITH OUR RULES OF COMPATIBILITY AND WITH US TRYING TO SIMPLY AMEND IT AND STILL KEEP THE WORST, MOST STRINGENT COMPATIBILITY LIKE STANDARDS IN THE COUNTRY AND THE CITY.

THAT'S DESPERATE FOR HOUSING.

THAT'S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET US THERE.

AND SO I JUST WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT WHILE WE DON'T HAVE INCLUSIONARY ZONING, WE DO HAVE DENSITY BONUSES.

AND IF THOSE AREN'T WORKING, THAT'S 100% ON US, OUR DENSITY BONUSES WILL ONLY PRODUCE WHAT WE ALLOW THEM TO PRODUCE AND COMPATIBILITY KILLS HOW MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF UNITS OF WHICH, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THAT ARE AFFORDABLE.

AND LAST THING I'D LIKE TO SHARE IS I REALLY HOPE THAT WE CAN WORK WITH STAFF TO COME UP WITH THE RIGHT CALIBRATION OF EMU AND THE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS.

UM, I I'M, I'M HEARING CONVERSATIONS OF, WELL, LET'S JUST MAKE IT BIGGER BECAUSE YOU KNOW, COSTS ARE UP SO MUCH AND EVERYONE IS DOING SO WELL.

BUT THE FACT IS, UM, I'VE TALKED TO A LOT OF FOLKS WHO ARE FACING 33% COST INCREASES IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS.

AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT 1.5% COST INCREASES PER MONTH.

RIGHT NOW, MOVING FORWARD.

THEY'RE, THEY'RE PUTTING THINGS OUT FOR VALUE ENGINEERING THAT ARE COMING BACK 20% HIGHER THAN WHERE THEY WERE BEFORE THEY EVEN STARTED THAT PROCESS.

HAD THEY NOT DONE VALUE ENGINEERING TO BE 40% HIGHER? AND SO JUST THE THINGS WE CAN SAY, WELL, LET'S JUST TWEAK THAT AFFORDABILITY LEVEL UP BECAUSE IT FEELS GOOD.

IT SOUNDS GOOD.

THERE COULD BE BIG CONSEQUENCES TO THAT.

SO LET'S JUST REALLY TRY AND KEEP THAT DATA-DRIVEN IF WE CAN.

THANK YOU ALL.

GO AHEAD.

THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN MR. ANDERSON.

I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU.

I HAVE FOUND THAT IN HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SORT OF RELATIVELY OBSCURE SUBJECT MATTER, UM, FOR PEOPLE WHO, FOR WHOM THIS IS IN OUR AREA OF EXPERTISE, GRAPHICS ARE VERY HELPFUL.

UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN I'M TALKING TO CONSTITUENTS ABOUT HOUSING AND YOU START USING TERMINOLOGY LIKE FLORIDA AREA RATIO AND COMBAT ABILITY AND, UM, MINIMUM LOT SIZES AND IMPERVIOUS COVER, SOMETIMES FOLKS REALLY JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HECK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IN WHICH CASE I WONDER.

UM, SO WHEN YOU SAY, UH, I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY HOW YOU SAID IT VERBATIM, BUT YOU IMPLIED THAT OUR COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS, UM, ARE A BARRIER TO THE PRODUCTION OF HOUSING.

YOU SAID TENS OF THOUSANDS.

UM, IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE RHETORIC WHEN IT'S JUST WORDS, ARE THERE GRAPHICS TO DISPLAY THAT, UM, DATA, THANK YOU FOR ASKING, UH, WHEN THE CONSULTANTS WERE HERE LOOKING AT OUR NEW LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, WHICH IS NOW 37 YEARS OLD COUNCIL VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO REPLACE IT BACK IN 2012, ALMOST 10 YEARS AGO, IT, THEY CALLED OUT COMPATIBILITY BEING THE SINGLE BIGGEST INHIBITOR TO HOUSING IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

AND RECENTLY I BELIEVE CITY STAFF DID RELEASE A LOT OF COMPARISONS TO PEER CITIES.

THE ONE THING THEY DIDN'T RELEASE THOUGH, ARE THE CITIES THAT DON'T HAVE COMPATIBILITY IN WHICH CASE YOU'D HIT THAT PROPERTY LINE.

AND IT WOULD JUST GO 90 DEGREES UP.

IT'D BE REALLY GREAT TO SEE THOSE CITIES AS WELL, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT SUFFERING AS BADLY AS WE ARE HERE IN AUSTIN BECAUSE OF OUR OWN MISSTEPS OR INACTION, IF YOU WOULD.

UH, SO JUST TO CIRCLE BACK THAT THAT THOSE GRAPHICS DO EXIST, AND THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE COULD BE REVIEWING.

THAT'S CORRECT.

NOT QUITE FOR ALL THE PROPOSALS, JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE NEW AND I'M NOT AN ARCHITECT, BUT HOPEFULLY WE CAN TALK TO SOME ARCHITECTS TO GRAPH THESE.

THAT'D BE GREAT.

AND I'LL HOPE TO LOOK INTO THAT FOR YOU.

THAT'D BE GREAT.

I, I SUSPECT THAT MOVING FORWARD, WE'RE REALLY GOING TO BE DIALING INTO THIS CONVERSATION.

IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS I SAY LIKE THE WINTER STORM AFFECTED EVERYBODY.

EVERYBODY IS COLD.

EVERYBODY WAS SITTING IN THE DARK CORONAVIRUS AFFECTED EVERYBODY.

SO I THINK IN LARGE PART CONVERSATIONS AROUND AFFORDABILITY, ESPECIALLY IN HOUSING FOLKS WHO ARE HOUSED COMFORTABLY, DON'T TYPICALLY ENGAGE IN THESE CONVERSATIONS, BUT NOW THAT AFFORDABILITY, YOU KNOW, RESTRICTIONS ARE REALLY AFFECTING EVERYBODY.

I THINK THE CONVERSATION IS MORE, UM, BROAD.

AND SO I THINK AS WE MOVE INTO RECOGNIZING THAT MORE FOLKS ARE GOING TO BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION, I THINK IT'LL BE PRETTY CRITICAL TO HAVE AS MUCH, YOU KNOW, SORT OF BACKGROUND

[00:10:01]

LOVE IT, LOVE IT.

AND I ALSO LOVE TO REMEMBER THE FACT THAT COMPATIBILITY IS TRIGGERED BY OUR LEAST AFFORDABLE LEAST SUSTAINABLE FORM OF HOUSING.

AND SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO ALLOW THE CORRIDORS TO BE TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE CORRIDORS, THE BETTER THANK YOU AND NOT ATTACH.

UH, I BELIEVE THAT THE STAFF IS GOING TO MAKE A PRESENTATION WITH SOME GRAPHIC ALTO.

UH, THE NEXT SPEAKER IS, UH, JP CALMLY ABOUT BLAIR ON MY CAR.

YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.

UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR BEING HERE TODAY.

UH, I'M AN ARCHITECT WITH DAVEY MICKEY THROUGH AN ARCHITECTURE.

AND, UH, I WORKED WITH CHRIS AT VIDEO THIS BETTER.

ALRIGHT.

UH, AS I WAS SAYING, MY NAME IS BLAIR MCKAY.

I'M AN ARCHITECT WITH DAVEY MAKITA AND ARCHITECTURE.

WE WORK WITH HEARTWOOD AND I'M HERE TO PRESENT TO YOU A CASE STUDY FOR 600 CUMBERLAND, WHICH IS A PROJECT THAT WE SORT OF PUT TOGETHER A DIAGRAM FOR TO KIND OF GIVE YOU, UH, AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE OF WHAT THE GRV ZONING BY, RIGHT ON THE, THESE THREE LOTS, GIVE YOU AN YIELD OF UNITS AND PARKING VERSUS A VMU TWO WITH, YOU KNOW, RELAXED, AFFORDED, UH, RELAXED COMPATIBILITY.

WE CAN'T REALLY GO ABOVE TWO FEET FOR THAT, FOR THAT WHOLE THREE LOT AGGREGATED.

UM, SO THIS IS THE CURRENT CURRENT LOT THAT WE'RE DESIGNING A, UH, UH, PROJECT FOR.

THERE ARE LOTS THAT ARE GRV G R N G R V AGAIN.

SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE PUT TOGETHER IN COMBINATION AGGREGATED AND WE HAVE A NEIGHBORING SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOOD TO THE BACK OF US WHERE THE RED LINE STARTS.

SO THERE'S A 25 FOOT, NO STRUCTURE ZONE HERE.

AND THIS IS THE, UH, RESIDENT.

THIS IS THE STREET LEVEL, UH, RESIDENTIAL SIDE.

ACTUALLY, CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE? SORRY.

THIS IS THE STREET LEVEL THAT HAS THE PARKING COMING IN OFF OF FIRST STREET.

AND THEN WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PARK FOR THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL UNITS WE HAVE ON HERE, WHICH IS WE'RE ONLY TO GET 12 UNITS, UM, BASED ON THE, THE, THE COMPATIBILITY SETBACK.

AND SO WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO GO TWO STORIES UP ON, UH, FIRST STREET, WHICH IS A PART OF THE MEDIUM SIZE TRANSIT CORRIDOR.

AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO PARK UNDERGROUND, WHICH IS QUITE EXPENSIVE FOR A DEVELOPMENT OR A PROJECT LIKE THIS TO ONLY HAVE 12 UNITS.

I KNOW WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK ABOUT COST TO THE DEVELOPER, BUT IT'S, IF YOU HAVE TO GO UNDERGROUND, IT'S QUITE EXPENSIVE.

SO FOR 12 UNITS, UH, ON THE FIRST FLOOR, CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND SOME COMMERCIAL ALSO ON THE, ON THE, ON THE STREET LEVEL? UM, THAT'S SORT OF LIKE WHAT OUR YIELD IS.

SO WE ALSO HAVE POWER POLES OUT IN FRONT, OR THERE ARE OTHER UTILITIES THAT WE HAVE TO CONSIDER WHEN WE'RE BUILDING PROJECTS LIKE THIS.

LIKE, THERE IS A THREE-PHASE POWER POLE THAT HAS A 10 FOOT RADIUS AROUND IT CURRENTLY.

AND THEN WE HAVE TO HAVE OUR, YOU KNOW, SUB CHAPTER E UH, PLANTING ZONES IN SIDEWALKS ZONES.

AND THEN WE HAVE MINIMUMS OR SUB CHAPTER YVES, UH, COMMERCIAL SPACES AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

SO IT REALLY JUST GIVES YOU A SORT OF A SNAPSHOT OF LIKE WHAT DIAGRAMMATICALLY YOU CAN GET FROM A LOT, THAT'S A HALF OF AN ACRE OFF OF A MEDIUM SIZE TRANSIT, UM, CORRIDOR.

UM, SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS, UH, THE VIEW TO ALTERNATIVE ZONING, WHERE THERE IS RELAXED COMPATIBILITY, SO THAT WE CAN GO UP TO 90 FEET ON THE SPOT ON THESE THREE AGGREGATED LOTS.

UM, WE STILL HAVE RESIDENTIAL PARKING, BUT WE HAVE IT, UH, ABOVE, UH, THE, THE GROUND.

WE ALSO HAVE PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED COMMERCIAL ZONES, UH, LEASING OFFICE FOR THE, FOR THE 90 UNITS AND BACK OF HOUSE STUFF, UH, AND MORE COMMERCIAL TO OTHERS.

CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE? UM, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THE UNIT STRUCTURE WOULD LOOK LIKE.

THEY'RE FAIRLY, YOU KNOW, 400 TO 500 SQUARE FOOT UNITS.

UM, THEY GO UP FOR, COULD YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE? UM, THIS IS SORT OF THE SECTION BREAKDOWN OF WHAT THIS BUILDING COULD BE WITH.

IT'D BE A MEWTWO WITH RELAXED COMPATIBILITY.

CAN YOU GO TO THE VERY LAST SLIDE? AND THIS IS, THESE ARE THE TWO SIDE-BY-SIDE JUST TO GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY GET, YOU KNOW, YIELD WITH A NEW, UM, BONUS DISNEY BONUS PROGRAM.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

WHAT IS THE RELAXED DENSITY? WHAT IS THE RELAXED DENSITY THAT YOU WERE LIBERAL AX COMPATIBILITY? YOU WERE ASSUMING IN THAT SCHOOL? YES, SIR.

SO BECAUSE OF THAT BACK LOT LINE WITHIN 25 FEET, YOU CAN'T BUILD ANYTHING.

AND THEN THE NEXT 25 FEET IS ONLY TWO STORIES.

AND SO THAT WITH A VERY NARROW LOT, THAT'S ONLY 82 FEET.

[00:15:01]

BUT IF WE HAVE THE RELAXED COMPATIBILITY SETBACKS, AND THERE'S NO COMPATIBILITY, LET'S SAY, OR WITHIN THE FIRST HUNDRED FEET, THERE'S NO COMPATIBILITY SETBACK THAT WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT AND WE CAN GO UP TO 90 FEET.

THEN WE CAN HAVE A FIVE OVER TWO WITH COMMERCIAL DOWN BELOW.

SO THE RELAXED COMPATIBILITY YOU WERE ASSUMING IN THAT SCENARIO WAS THE ABILITY TO GO TO 90 FEET ANYWHERE ON THE TRACK.

AND THE QUESTION, GO AHEAD.

WELL, WHOEVER YOU WANT TO CALL ON PURSE IS FINE.

SO, SO, UM, I, I'M SORRY, I COULDN'T FOLLOW IT.

HOW DEEP IS THE LOT? IT'S ABOUT 85 FEET DEEP.

SO IT'S AN 85 FOOT DEEP BETWEEN THE QUARTER AND WHERE THE, THE BACK OF THE, THE FURTHEST DEPTH OF THE THREE LOTS PUT TOGETHER.

SO FROM THE STREET PROPERTY LINE TO THE BACK REAR, SO YOU SAID IT WAS 82, 82, ABOUT 85.

I'M BALLPARKING.

SO, SO EFFECTIVELY YOU'VE GOT 60 FEET THAT YOU CAN BUILD ON, RIGHT? IF YOU, IF YOU COUNT THAT 25, IF I TAKE OUT 25.

SO, SO 60 FEET, I COULD DO TWO STORIES BY, RIGHT.

THAT WAS MORE, BUT ANYWAY.

SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT.

CHEERS, SIR.

ONE MORE, COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS.

W WHAT'S THE ADDRESS FOR THIS PROPERTY? IT'S A 600 CUMBERLAND, UM, WHICH IS THE SIDE STREET THAT IS AT THE CORNER.

SO IT'S THE THREE LOTS THAT ARE OFF OF SOUTH FIRST STREET.

UM, BUT IT WOULD BE ADDRESSED.

IT WOULD PROBABLY BE ADDRESSED LIKE 2626, 12 AND 25TH, 10, 10, I THINK THAT'S CORRECT.

YES, SIR.

AND THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT THE BM U2, UH, RAISES THE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENT, UH, TO THE 15% OF THE UNITS WOULD HAVE TO BE AFFORDABLE.

UH, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? UH, I MEAN, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, BUILDING IN, IN, IN HOW PROJECTS PENCIL OUT, UH, HOW, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? YEAH, SO I MEAN, COMPARED TO 12 UNITS, RIGHT? WHICH WOULD BE MARKET RATE OR VERY EXPENSIVE VERSUS 90 TOTAL UNITS, THAT 15% OF THOSE WOULD BE AFFORDABLE OR, YOU KNOW, WE COULD PROBABLY PENCIL OUT SO THAT LIKE, WE'RE, WE'RE, THERE'S STILL SOME LEVEL OF, YOU KNOW, I GUESS, PROFIT TO THE BUILDER OR THE DEVELOPER.

UM, BUT IT'S, UH, IT'S STILL GONNA HAVE THE SAME AMENITIES AS A MARKET RATE UNIT.

AND IN OTHER WORDS, ASSUMING THE RELAXED, SOME KIND OF RELAXED COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS, YOU CAN DEAL WITH A 15% AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENT.

I MEAN, NOT TO PUT WORDS IN YOUR MOUTH, BUT YES, SIR.

YEAH, NO, THAT'S CORRECT.

UH, WHAT ABOUT LAST QUESTION? WHAT ABOUT PARKING IN TERMS OF, UH, THAT PROJECT AGAIN, BEING IGNORING THE, THE, THE, THE REQUIREMENTS STUFF RIGHT NOW, IF YOU'RE BUILDING LIKE A, NOT A UNIT PROJECT THERE ON SOUTH FIRST, I MEAN, WHAT KIND OF PARKING WOULD YOU WANT TO PUT IN AGAIN, IN A PERFECT WORLD? YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? JUST PURE MARKET KIND OF DEMAND SITUATION.

HOW, HOW MUCH WOULD YOU PARK THAT PROJECT? WELL, I MEAN, SO WE W THE WAY THAT WE LOOKED AT THIS WAS WITH THE REGULAR VMU ONE PARKING INCENTIVES.

AND SO WE HAD A REDUCTION IN PARKING, AND SO THERE'S 66 PARKING SPOTS THAT WE'VE CREATED.

IF WE HAD TO GO FULL, YOU KNOW, LOT PARK, I BELIEVE IT'S SOMEWHERE OVER A HUNDRED.

I DID ONE FOR BEDROOM, BASICALLY, UH, PAST LIKE TWO BEDROOMS. THEN IT'S LIKE A HALF, HALF A PARKING SPACE, BUT IT'S ON A TRANSIT CORRIDOR.

SO I FEEL LIKE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO LIVE THERE ARE GOING TO BE USING THE BUSES AND THE, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY THE RAILS OR WALKING TO WORK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THE BIKING.

SO, I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE WITH A 40% REDUCTION, IT'S VERY HELPFUL TO STILL BE ABLE TO PARK IF YOU'RE LIKE A ONE-CAR FAMILY THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU WANT TO LIVE DOWNTOWN.

MAYBE YOU HAVE A KID THAT YOU TAKE TO SCHOOL, SO YOU HAVE TO TAKE THEM TO SCHOOL AND THEN THE OTHER, AND THEN YOU CARPOOL TO WORK.

SO I THINK IF YOU WORK VERY, VERY EAGER TO SEE THIS TYPE OF PRODUCT OUT THERE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ALL RIGHT.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY.

IS THERE ANY SPEAKERS OUT THERE THAT I DIDN'T CALL? I WAS SIGNED UP A LITTLE TOO LATE? NO.

[1. Approve the minutes of the April 12, 2022 Housing and Planning Committee meeting. (Part 1 of 2)]

UH, WE MOVE ON.

WE'RE GOING, GONNA CALL, UH, ITEM ONE, APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE

[00:20:01]

APRIL 12TH, 2022.

DO I HAVE ON MOTION, COUNCILMEMBER MADISON SECOND BY THE MIRROR, ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.

OR RAISE YOUR HAND.

CAN YOU BOTH TAKE CARE OF THAT?

[2. Discussion and possible action regarding proposed changes and amendments to regulations applicable to the Vertical Mixed Use buildings. ]

UH, WE'RE GOING TO CALL ITEM TWO DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE REGARDING PROPOSED CHANGING AMENDMENTS TO THE REGULATION APPLICABLE TO THE VERTICAL MIXED USE BUILDING, UH, IS A STAFF READY AND, UM, UH, FOR PURPOSES OF GETTING US STARTED FOR DISCUSSION, I'D LIKE TO, UH, MAKE A MOTION.

SO WE'VE GOT A MOTION TO, TO CONSIDER THE VMU SUBSTITUTE THAT I PASSED OUT TO EVERYONE AND IN OUR BACKUP, UH, TO, UH, TO SEND ON TO THE FULL COUNCIL WITH RECOMMENDATION, I UNDERSTAND WE NEED TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATION.

SO I JUST WANT TO PUT A MOTION OUT THERE TO GET US STARTED.

AND I THINK THAT COUNCIL MEMBER BAYLOR MAY HAVE A, UH, AMENDMENT TO THAT, WHICH IS ACCEPTABLE TO ME IF HE WANTS TO DO THAT.

THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.

UH, I DO IT'S UH, AND, UH, DO Y'ALL DID Y'ALL GET A PAPER COPY OF THE, OF THE MOTION.

TO BE, DO YOU LET BMU TO HAPPEN BY RIGHT, WITH MORE LIMITED RELAXING OF COMPATIBILITY BECAUSE IT HAPPENS TO MY RIGHT, OR DO YOU MAKE IT, UM, A SEPARATE ZONING CLASSIFICATION, WHICH MEANS THAT POTENTIALLY THERE'S A, UH, A CHALLENGE TO ALL OF THEM THAT ANY THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS COULD STOP.

AND, UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE CLERK HAS IT TO THROW UP ON THE SCREEN TOO FOR THE PUBLIC, UH, BUT MY MOTION WOULD ESSENTIALLY, UH, LIMIT COMPATIBILITY TO, UH, A HUNDRED FEET, UH, ONLY ALONG THE LIGHT RAIL PORTERS, WHICH WOULD BE THE ORANGE AND BLUE LINE.

UH, AND THEN IT WOULD ALSO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL, UH, PARKING, UH, REDUCTIONS, UH, I BELIEVE TO 25% OF THE CURRENT REQUIRED PARKING IN COMPARISON TO THE CURRENT VMU REDUCTIONS, WHICH ARE 60%.

UM, AND AGAIN, THIS WOULD BE ONLY FOR PROPERTIES THAT TOUCH, UH, THE, UH, ORANGE AND BLUE LINES, UH, WITH THE IDEA THAT THESE ARE GOING TO HAVE VERY STRONG, UH, TRANSIT NETWORK, BACKING THEM UP.

UH, AND ALSO WITH THE IDEA THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE GOING TO THE FEDS AND ASKING FOR A BUNCH OF MONEY, UH, TO BUILD THOSE LIGHT RAIL LINES.

AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SEND THE MESSAGE TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS PLAN.

WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT HOUSING ALONG OUR LIGHT RAIL CORRIDORS.

AND HOPEFULLY THAT WILL, UH, YOU KNOW, GET OUR SCORES UP FOR THE PLAN, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE.

AND WE'LL, UH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO BRING IN SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE PROJECT AS IT MOVES FORWARD.

AND, AND SO I ACCEPT THAT AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT FOR THE REALLY, FOR THE SAME REASONS.

I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE, UM, INCREASING, UH, OUR DENSITY ALONG THOSE LIGHT RAIL QUARTERS AND, UH, RELAXING COMPATIBILITY IN THE WAY THAT COUNCIL MEMBER OF ALA HAS PROPOSED IS A GOOD WAY TO DO THAT.

UM, I ALSO THINK THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE MAXIMIZE, UH, AS MUCH AS WE CAN, THAT POTENTIAL MATCHING DOLLARS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ON THE LIGHT RAIL LINES AND TAKING IMMEDIATE ACTION NOW ON THE VMU ORDINANCE, UM, WOULD BE A WAY TO DO THAT.

AND SO I THANK YOU FOR THAT, UM, AMENDMENT, THANK YOU.

WELL, ONLY BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF DISCUSSION JUST TO FORESHADOW.

UM, IF COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN'S MOTION PASSES, WHICH SAYS YOU CAN ONLY GET VMU TWO BY MAKING IT A DIFFERENT ZONING CLASSIFICATION, UH, WHICH WOULD ALLOW FOR PETITION RIGHTS IN THE LIGHT.

UM, ONE THING TO CONSIDER IS WHETHER A SIGNIFICANT RELAXING OF COMPATIBILITY MAKES IT MORE OR LESS LIKELY THAT SOMEONE COULD EVER PREPARE PREVAIL PAST A PETITION.

UM, BUT I'M CERTAINLY WILLING TO CONSIDER IT IN THAT CONTEXT, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S NOT JUST NOT GOING TO HAPPEN VERY OFTEN, BUT BECAUSE I REAL STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE INCREASED DENSITY AND UNITS ALONG THE CORRIDORS TO HELP WITH TRANSIT, UH, PROBABLY NOT SUPPORTING THE, MAKING IT A DIFFERENT ZONING CLASSIFICATION, BUT MAKING IT SO IT'S BY, RIGHT.

BUT RECOGNIZING THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT BY, RIGHT, WE CAN'T DO AS SIGNIFICANT A CHANGE IN COMPATIBILITY AS WE MIGHT OTHERWISE LIKE TO DO WHERE WE'LL LOSE THE VOTES TO MAKE IT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS BY.

RIGHT.

SO IT SEEMS AS IF THE CHOICE ULTIMATELY IS GOING

[00:25:01]

UH, AND, AND I THINK WE'RE ALL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHICH IS THE ONE THAT'S GOING TO HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON NEW UNITS.

AND, AND, UM, THAT'S WHAT I'LL BE LISTENING AND TRYING TO HEAR, BECAUSE I WANT WHICHEVER ONE OF THOSE OPTIONS MAXIMIZES THE ADDITIONAL UNITS.

SO COULD I, OKAY.

AND I DO, UH, LET ME JUST ASK THE STAFF DO Y'ALL HAVE A BRIEFING THAT Y'ALL WANT TO MAKE BEFORE, AND I'M WONDERING IF WE COULD MAKE THAT DECISION AFTERWARDS.

BY WHICH NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING, CONTACT TEAMS WERE ABLE TO DECIDE WHERE THEY THOUGHT VMU PROPERTIES SHOULD BE ELIGIBLE IN THEIR AREAS.

ALL RIGHT.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

MY NAME IS SAM TEDFORD AND I'M WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT.

AND WE DO HAVE A BRIEFING FOR YOU ON A VARIETY OF SUBJECTS RELATED TO VERTICAL MIXED USE.

OH, SO WHAT WE HOPE TO COVER TODAY IS A BIT OF THE HOUSING STRATEGY AND HOW THIS DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM FITS INTO THE BIGGER PICTURE.

SOME OF THE BASICS OF WHAT THE VERTICAL MIXED USE PROGRAM IS TODAY AND, UH, COVERING THE VMU RELATED DIRECTION WE'VE RECEIVED TO DATE AND OUR STAFF RECOMMENDATION.

THERE'S ALSO A LONG LIST OF SLIDES AT THE END THAT I WON'T BE COVERING IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT THAT YOU CAN USE FOR REFERENCE WITH SOME ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND IMAGES OF VERTICAL MIXED USE BUILDINGS IN OUR COMMUNITY TODAY.

SO I START WITH THIS SLIDE TO SAY THAT, UM, THIS IS NOT A SOLUTION LOOKING FOR A PROBLEM.

UM, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE, UM, OUR AUSTIN STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT THAT DIRECTED US TO CREATE 135,000 NEW HOUSING UNITS BY 2025, TO KEEP UP WITH OUR CURRENT POPULATION GROWTH.

AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT THE MARKET IS NOT PROVIDING ADEQUATE HOUSING FOR LOW INCOME AND MODERATE INCOME PEOPLE.

WE ALSO KNOW AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS NOT EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

AND FINALLY, WE KNOW THAT THE COST TO CLOSE THAT GAP IN LOW-INCOME HOUSING IN AUSTIN, AT LEAST IN 2017 WAS ESTIMATED AT OVER $11 BILLION.

SO THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM THAT WE REALLY HAVE THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO FULLY SUBSIDIZE.

AND SO THAT'S WHAT LEADS US TO LOOK FOR OTHER TOOLS IN OUR TOOLKIT, WHICH IS SOMEWHAT LIMITED IN TEXAS, BUT THAT'S WHY WE RELY ON THIS KIND OF SECOND TIER OR THIS ADDITIONAL TIER OF INCENTIVIZING HOUSING, BOTH AFFORDABLE AND MARKET RATE THROUGH DENSITY BONUSES THROUGH FREEWAY GIVERS AND THROUGH OUR REGULATIONS.

UM, THIS IS HOW DENSITY BONUSES ARE HIGHLIGHTED.

THIS IS HOW THAT FITS INTO HOW WE PLAN TO ACHIEVE THOSE 135,000 UNITS IN 10 YEARS.

UM, WE USE THESE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS REALLY TO TRY AND TARGET 30% MFI HOUSEHOLDS UP TO 80% MFI HOUSEHOLDS AND USE OUR FEDERAL FUNDING AND LOCAL FUNDING TO TRY AND GET LOWER AND DEEPER AFFORDABILITY FOR THOSE LOWER INCOME HOUSEHOLDS AND UP TO, YOU KNOW, OVER A HUNDRED AND 120% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, GENERALLY THE MARKET IS PROVIDING THOSE UNITS.

AND SO I'M NOT GOING TO LINGER ON THIS SLIDE, BUT THIS IS PRESENT.

SO SORT OF THE OVERALL PICTURE OF WE HAVE A VARIETY OF DEVELOPER INCENTIVES THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

MANY OF THEM ARE GEOGRAPHICALLY SPECIFIC THOUGH.

SO YOU MIGHT KNOW THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, WHICH HAS, HAS VERY SPECIFIC BOUNDARIES THAT ONLY APPLY IN DOWNTOWN.

WE HAVE THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR REGULATING PLAN, NORTH BURNETT REGULATING PLAN, THE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS, ALL OF THESE HAVE DENSITY BONUSES, BUT THEY'RE LIMITED TO VERY SPECIFIC PARTS OF OUR CITY.

UH, VERTICAL MIXED USE ON THIS MAP IS SHOWN IN RED AND YOU'LL SEE HOW IT LINES UP AND DOWN.

MOST OF OUR, UM, MAJOR CORRIDORS IN THE CENTRAL CITY, THE ONLY, UM, PROGRAMS THAT ARE APPLICABLE CITY-WIDE AT THIS POINT ARE AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED AND SMART HOUSING, WHICH IS A FEE WAIVER PROGRAM.

AND DOESN'T ACTUALLY OFFER ADDITIONAL, UM, ENTITLEMENTS.

I GET NEXT SLIDE.

AND SO THIS IS A ZOOM IN ON WHAT THOSE AFFORDABLE HOUSING INCENTIVE PROGRAMS HAVE ACTUALLY PRODUCED WITHOUT ANY PUBLIC SUBSIDIES.

WE KNOW THAT THE MOST PROLIFIC, UM, PROGRAMS TO DATE ARE THE UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLAY AND THE VERTICAL MIXED USE PROGRAM, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING TODAY.

CAN I GET NEXT SLIDE? SO TO COVER SOME BASICS OF WHAT IS THIS PROGRAM TODAY? UM, WE KNOW THAT VMU IS A VOLUNTARY DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM DESIGNED TO GENERATE COMMUNITY BENEFITS THROUGH THE USE OF DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES.

THIS PROGRAM WAS ACTUALLY ADOPTED BACK IN 2012, HAD A FAIRLY UNIQUE ONE-TIME OPT IN OPT OUT PROCESS

[00:30:01]

THEY ALSO WERE ALLOWED TO WEIGH IN ON WHAT THE APPROPRIATE AFFORDABILITY LEVELS SHOULD BE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.

THESE, UH, THIS VMU ZONING WAS APPLICABLE ALONG CORE TRANSIT CORRIDORS, WHICH ACTUALLY WERE PUT INTO THE CODE BEFORE 2010.

I THINK IT WAS 2005, BUT THEY REFLECT THE CORE TRANSIT CORRIDORS FROM THAT TIME IN AUSTIN'S HISTORY.

UM, BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF THIS INHERENT CONNECTION, WE'RE CONNECTING HOUSING AND SERVICES TO TRANSIT THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, THE DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES OFFERED BY VERTICAL MIXED USE IS IMPROVED FLEXIBILITY FOR SITE DEVELOPMENT, WHICH WE'LL DIG INTO IN JUST A MOMENT.

AND SOME OF THOSE COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT WE GET ARE CREATING AN ENHANCED PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT, REGULATING AFFORDABILITY, AND TRYING TO SUPPORT A MORE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PATTERN.

COULD I GET NEXT SLIDE? UM, THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION, BUT THIS IS TRYING TO BREAK DOWN HOW VMU AS ACTUALLY APPLIED.

IT'S CONSIDERED A COMBINING DISTRICT, WHICH IS LAYERED ON TOP OF THE BASE ZONING ON A PIECE OF PROPERTY.

UM, AUSTIN HAS MANY DIFFERENT COMBINING DISTRICTS, SO IT'S POSSIBLE YOU CAN HAVE A ZONING STRING OR A ZONING TEXT THAT LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

C S M U THE CEO IN P IT'S A BIT OF AN ALPHABET SOUP THERE, BUT THIS IS WHERE VERTICAL MIXED USE WOULD FIT INTO A PROGRAM LIKE THAT.

SO THERE'S A TABLE ON THE RIGHT THAT SHOWS, UM, HOW MANY OF OUR VIEWS ON PROPERTIES ACTUALLY HAVE OTHER COMBINING DISTRICTS APPLICABLE AS WELL? NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND SO THOSE SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS THAT DO APPLY FOR BMU SITES, UM, THERE THERE'S SOMETIMES BEEN SOME CONFUSION, BUT THE VMU PROGRAM TODAY DOES NOT OFFER ADDITIONAL BUILDING HEIGHT.

SO THE HEIGHT IS ACTUALLY REGULATED BY THE BASE ZONING DISTRICT.

SO IF YOU'RE A CS OR COMMERCIAL SERVICES ZONE, THE BASE ZONING HEIGHT MAXIMUM IS 60 FEET.

HOWEVER, AS HAS BEEN A SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION, UM, COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS CAN SUPERSEDE, UH, THE HEIGHT OF ANY PROPERTY THAT HAS BEEN NEW ZONING AND THE BASE ZONING UNDERLYING IMPERVIOUS COVER.

IT IS ALSO NOT AT ALL, UM, IS NOT AT ALL CHANGED BY BMU STANDARDS.

THEY WILL BE THE SAME AS THE BASE ZONING IMPERVIOUS COVER.

UM, HOWEVER VMU DOES OFFER INCENTIVES IN TERMS OF REDUCED SETBACKS.

SO YOU CAN BUILD BUILDINGS CLOSER TOGETHER THAN YOU WOULD OTHERWISE, EXCEPT FOR AGAIN, COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS CAN SUPERSEDE HERE, UM, NO FLOOR TO AREA RATIO LIMIT.

UM, THIS IS A BONUS IN THE VMU PROGRAM.

HOWEVER, WE KNOW THAT HEIGHT AND IMPERVIOUS COVER STILL PROVIDE A SITE CONTROLS ON THESE SITES.

THERE IS A SLIGHT ERROR HERE ON THE, UM, REDUCED PARKING REQUIREMENT.

UM, THE REDUCTION IS UP TO 40% REDUCTION, SO YOU CAN GET 60% OF WHAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE REQUIRED.

UM, PARKING ON A BMU SITE THAT IS THE PARKING REQUIRED OR PARKING REDUCTION OFFERED BY THE PROGRAM.

VMU ALSO OFFERS A BROADER RANGE OF ALLOWABLE USES.

SO BMU IS MOST OFTEN APPLIED ON, UH, WHAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE SOLELY COMMERCIAL OR OFFICE ZONES WHERE YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BUILD HOUSING.

AND BECAUSE OF THE DASH OF A COMBINING DISTRICT, YOU'RE ABLE TO NOW BUILD RESIDENTIAL USES, UH, WITH PARTICIPATION IN THE BONUS PROGRAM, BUT IT ALSO STARTS TO ALLOW COMMERCIAL USES IN WHAT WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE BEEN OFFICE ONLY ZONE.

SO YOU COULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, A GROCERY STORE, WHEREAS BEFORE IT COULD HAVE ONLY BEEN OFFICES, UM, AND THE OTHER, UH, ELEMENT OF THE VMU SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, A HIGHLIGHT HERE IS THAT IT REQUIRES A MIX OF USES AS THE NAME SUGGESTS, THERE'S A REQUIREMENT FOR A FIRST FLOOR PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED COMMERCIAL SPACE, AND THERE'S A MINIMUM OF ONE FLOOR OF RESIDENTIAL USE REQUIRED.

CAN I GET NEXT SLIDE? SO THIS IS WHAT THE AFFORDABILITY POLICY AND BMU LOOKS LIKE TODAY.

IT IS A 10% SET ASIDE FOR BOTH RENTAL AND A FOR SALE DEVELOPMENTS.

UM, AND THAT SET ASIDE IS 10% OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HOUSING UNITS IN THE PROJECT HAVE TO BE SET ASIDE AN INCOME RESTRICTED FOR THOSE, UM, HOUSEHOLDS EARNING, NOT MORE THAN IN THE CASE OF RENTAL DEVELOPMENTS, 60% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME OR 80% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.

AND THAT VARIES BY NEIGHBORHOOD.

UM, DEPENDING ON THAT INITIAL OPT-IN OPT-OUT PROCESS AND FOR, FOR SALE DEVELOPMENTS, UM, IT IS A 5% AT EACH AFFORDABILITY LEVEL.

SO, UH, 5% OF THE TOTAL UNITS MUST BE SET ASIDE AS AFFORDABLE TO HOUSEHOLDS EARNING NO MORE THAN 80% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME AND TWO, 5% AT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.

AND I'VE PROVIDED SOME NUMBERS, UM, IN THE CHARTS ON THE SIDE.

SO YOU CAN START TO LOOK AT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, UM, BY NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD.

AND THEN JUST TO GET A SENSE, THESE ARE SOME AVERAGE NUMBERS OF WHAT THE AFFORDABLE RENTS WOULD

[00:35:01]

BE IN THESE PROJECTS.

UM, AND I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER IN FRONT OF ME, BUT, UM, I THINK THE AVERAGE MARKET RATE UNIT THAT WE PULLED THAT WOULD BE COMPARABLE WAS OVER 18 OR $1,900.

SO YOU START TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN THESE INCOME RESTRICTED UNITS.

KNOW THAT THIS IS HAPPENING IN THESE PROGRAMS, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO DIRECT THOSE FUNDS TOWARDS LONG-TERM AFFORDABLE OR HOME OWNERSHIP PROJECTS, SUCH AS COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, WHICH IS WHERE STAFF WOULD RECOMMEND, UM, DIRECTING THESE FEES.

AND WE INCLUDED THIS SLIDE SO THAT WE CAN BE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THE MEDIAN INCOME LOOKS LIKE WHEN WE DISAGGREGATE IT BY RACE.

UM, AUSTIN HAS HISTORICALLY AND CONTINUES TO HAVE A REALLY SUBSTANTIAL GAP BETWEEN, UM, INCOMES OF, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE WHITE AND ASIAN AND FOLKS WHO ARE BLACK, LATINO, OR HISPANIC.

AND SO THE MEDIAN MIGHT RUN SOMEWHERE ALONG THE MIDDLE, BUT WHITE HOUSEHOLDS ARE TYPICALLY MAKING OVER $15,000 MORE THAN THE MEDIAN AND BLACK AND LATINO HOUSEHOLDS ARE MAKING.

I MEAN, AS MUCH AS $20,000, LESS THAN THAT MEDIAN, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND SO THIS IS A, THIS IS OUR OVERALL SUMMARY OF WHAT THE VERTICAL MIXED USE PROGRAM CAN DO FOR US TODAY.

UM, SOME OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES LOOK LIKE OUR ABILITY TO CREATE INCOME RESTRICTED, AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITHOUT REQUIRING DIRECT PUBLIC SUBSIDY.

IT ALSO INCREASES THE HOUSING SUPPLY OF BONUS MARKET RATE HOUSING.

IT CAN IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION CHOICE BY LOCATING HOUSING AND OTHER SERVICES NEAR TRANSIT, AND IT CAN SUPPORT OUR CLIMATE EQUITY GOALS FOR LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION.

HOWEVER, GIVEN ITS, UM, VOLUNTARY NATURE AND IT HAS TO BE, UH, CREATED, OR IT WORKS THROUGH AN INCENTIVE BASED APPROACH.

AND SO IT REALLY ONLY WORKS IN AREAS WITH HIGH MARKET DEMAND.

UM, WE ALSO WENT, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT LATER IN THE PRESENTATION.

WE KNOW THERE ARE BARRIERS TO SECURING LONGTERM AFFORDABLE HOME OWNERSHIP, HOUSING UNITS THROUGH THIS PROGRAM.

WE KNOW THAT FEASIBILITY CAN BE REDUCED BY COMPETING REGULATIONS IN OUR CODE THAT CAN INHIBIT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.

AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT THIS PROGRAM WAS NOT NECESSARILY CREATED WITH RACIAL EQUITY AT THE FOREFRONT AT THE TIME.

SO WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY IS BECAUSE WE'VE RECEIVED DIRECTION FROM BOTH THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND FROM THIS COUNCIL, UM, RELATED TO THE VERTICAL MIXED USE PROGRAM, THE AMENDMENTS FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION WERE RELATED TO THE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS IN THE VMU PROGRAM TODAY.

AND SO THEY WERE, UM, HOPING TO STANDARDIZE THOSE KINDS OF VARIABLE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS THAT EXIST IN THE PROGRAM TODAY AND LOWER THEM TO 60% MFI FOR RENTAL UNITS AND 80% MFI FOR HOME-OWNERSHIP UNITS, THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECTION FROM NOVEMBER, 2021 DIRECTED AND EXPANSION OF THE BMU PROGRAM TO THE CREATION OF A NEW TIER WITH THE HEIGHT BONUS.

AND SO I WILL DISCUSS THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION RELATED TO THESE TWO, UM, PIECES OF DIRECTION.

SO THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR THE SET ASIDE PERCENTAGES AND AFFORDABILITY LEVELS ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE HERE.

SO THE, UM, AMENDMENTS TO THE CURRENT VMU PROGRAM ARE, WERE DIRECTED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION.

THEY SHOW THAT WE'RE, AS I MENTIONED, STANDARDIZING THE AFFORDABILITY LEVELS IN THE VMU LIKE TIER ONE, UM, TODAY TO BE JUST FOR HOUSEHOLD LEARNING NO MORE THAN 60%.

WHEREAS TODAY THERE'S VARIABILITY IN 60 AND 80% MFI DEPENDING ON NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, FOR, FOR SALE DEVELOPMENTS, UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED STANDARDIZING THOSE AFFORDABILITY LEVELS TO 80% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, THIS OR CLAUSE HERE THAT SAYS FEE EQUIVALENT TO 10% OF TOTAL UNITS IS THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.

AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN JUST A MOMENT.

AND AS FOR THE TOO, THIS IS THE, UM, THE NEW TIER WITH THE HEIGHT BONUS STAFF RECOMMENDS MAINTAINING A 10% SET ASIDE AND LOWERING THE DEPTH OF AFFORDABILITY TO 50% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME OR INCREASING THE SET ASIDE RATE TO 12% AND KEEPING THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, UH, CAP AT 60%, UM, FOR, FOR SALE DEVELOPMENTS, WE RECOMMEND GOING TO 12% SET ASIDE, UM, TO HOUSEHOLD LEARNING NO MORE THAN 80% MFI OR AGAIN, HAVING A FEE EQUIVALENT, WHICH I'LL DISCUSS NEXT STEP.

THE REASON WHY STAFF IS RECOMMENDING A FEE IN LIEU FOR CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENTS IS DUE TO WHAT WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN IN THESE PROGRAMS WHERE WE'RE PRODUCING, UM, INCOME RESTRICTED OR FOR RECREATING HOME OWNERSHIP UNITS FOR LOW-INCOME HOMEOWNERS IN PREDOMINANTLY MARKET RATE CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENTS.

WE KNOW THAT THESE HOMEOWNERS HAVE FACED SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS TO ACTUALLY SECURING THE KIND OF LONGTERM AFFORDABILITY AND STABILITY THAT THESE PROGRAMS ARE SUPPOSED TO CREATE FOR THEM.

UM, THROUGH RISING HOMEOWNERSHIP ASSOCIATION FEES, WHICH EXISTS BEYOND THE CITY OF AUSTIN ZONE OF CONTROL, WE CANNOT REGULATE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION FEES AND PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENTS HAVE BEEN REALLY INCONSISTENT AND SOMETIMES, UM, INCREASING AT A RATE THAT MAKES THESE, UH, HOME-OWNERSHIP UNITS UNAFFORDABLE TO THE LOW-INCOME FOLKS THAT WE'RE PUTTING INTO THOSE UNITS.

AND SO THESE ARE NOT ISSUES THAT ARE ONLY FACING FOLKS IN INCOME RESTRICTED HOUSING.

UM, BUT BECAUSE WE

[00:40:01]

UM, INSTEAD BECAUSE THAT'S A PROGRAM THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PLENTY OF COUNCIL DIRECTION AT THIS TIME ABOUT THE PREFERENCE POLICY THAT CAN BE APPLIED THROUGH THOSE, UH, UNITS, BUT ALSO THE CITY HAS A LOT MORE CONTROL OVER THOSE UNITS AND CAN, UM, BETTER GUARANTEE THE AFFORDABILITY AND STABILITY FOR THOSE HOMEOWNERS.

UM, I HAVE HERE JUST A TABLE THAT SHOWS AN EXAMPLE OF PROPOSED FEES.

THESE ARE NOT THE FEES THAT STAFF WOULD NECESSARILY RECOMMEND, BUT THESE WERE PULLED FROM, UM, WORK THAT HAD BEEN DONE DURING THE DRAFT LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REVISION.

AND SO YOU CAN GET A SENSE OF HOW WE WOULD, UM, LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS TYPE OF FEE.

IF COUNCIL WANTED TO GO IN THAT DIRECTION.

UM, STAFF IS ALSO RECOMMENDING A SERIES OF ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS THAT WOULD HELP TO AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHER FAIR HOUSING.

UM, STAFF DOES RECOMMEND THAT THESE REQUIREMENTS WOULD APPLY MUCH MORE UNIFORMLY IN ALL VOLUNTARY DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS WITHIN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, WHOEVER SENDS THE AMUSE ON THE TABLE AT THIS TIME, STAFF HAVE DRAFTED THESE AMENDMENTS SO THAT THEY WOULD APPLY TO THE VMU PROGRAM.

UM, AND WE THINK THAT THESE TYPES OF PROVISIONS CAN HELP AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHER FAIR HOUSING AND HELP TO CREATE MORE INCLUSIVE, EQUITABLE OUTCOMES FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

AND A COUPLE OF THOSE THAT I WOULD HIGHLIGHT HERE, SOURCE OF INCOME PROTECTIONS, WHICH WOULD ENSURE THAT, UM, THESE DEVELOPMENTS NEW VMU OR VMU TWO DEVELOPMENTS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DISCRIMINATE BASED ON A TENANT SOURCE OF INCOME.

UM, SPECIFICALLY THAT LOOKS LIKE HOUSING VOUCHER, UM, HOLDERS.

AND SO BY TEXAS STATE LAW, THEY ARE ABLE TO BE DENIED HOUSING.

UM, AT THIS POINT, IF YOU'RE A HOUSING VOUCHER HOLDER.

AND SO THIS WOULD, UM, PROVIDE SOME DEGREE OF PROTECTION FOR THOSE FOLKS.

AND THE OTHER ONE I WOULD HIGHLIGHT HERE IS REQUIRING A PROPORTIONAL BEDROOM MIX.

THIS DOES NOT EXIST IN THE PROGRAM TODAY.

AND SO WE HAVE, UM, CONSISTENTLY RECEIVED STUDIO IN ONE BEDROOM UNITS IN THESE DEVELOPMENTS.

AND SO HAVING A PROPORTIONAL BEDROOM MIX REQUIREMENT MIGHT GET US MORE MULTI BEDROOM UNITS IN THESE TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS.

UM, I BRING THIS UP HERE.

UM, THIS WOULD BE STAFF RECOMMENDS THAT WE GET SOME ADDITIONAL DIRECTION TO SET A NON-RESIDENTIAL BONUS AREA FEE.

SO THERE IS A PROVISION IN THE CODE TODAY THAT SAYS THERE WILL BE A BONUS AREA FEE FOR UPPER LEVEL NON-RESIDENTIAL SPACE WITHIN VMU BUILDINGS.

THIS, UH, FEE WAS HOWEVER, NEVER SET BY COUNCIL.

WE'VE GOTTEN A COUPLE OF INCREASE FROM DEVELOPERS AT THIS POINT ABOUT THIS FEE.

AND SO WE THINK, UM, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE POTENTIAL FOR THIS HEIGHT BONUS, THAT THIS COULD BECOME A MORE PRESSING ISSUE IN VMU DEVELOPMENTS, WHERE YOU COULD HAVE SUBSTANTIALLY MORE OFFICE SPACE ABOVE GROUND OR ABOVE THE FIRST FLOOR IN THESE TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS.

AND SO, UM, WE WANT TO PROBABLY HAVE THAT FEE SET IN PLACE, UH, SOON.

AND ADDITIONALLY, IT MIGHT BE WORTH THINKING ABOUT IF, UM, COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO GIVE ADDITIONAL DIRECTION RELATED TO THE AMOUNT OF RESIDENTIAL USE THAT MUST BE REQUIRED IN THESE BUILDINGS TODAY.

IT IS ONE FLOOR IS THE, UM, REQUIREMENT.

AND SO YOU COULD SEE PRO PROJECTS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, SIX FLOORS OF COMMERCIAL AND ONE FLOOR OF RESIDENTIAL.

AND IF THAT IS THE INTENT OF THE COUNCIL, THEN THAT MIGHT BE WHAT WE SEE.

UM, BUT CONSIDERING THERE COULD BE POTENTIAL FOR GREATER HEIGHT IN THESE PROGRAMS THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.

AND THIS LAST SECTION IS JUST GOING TO PROVIDE WHAT YOU WERE JUST ASKING ABOUT COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON, ABOUT SOME VISUALS RELATED TO COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS.

SO, UM, I'VE PULLED IN AN ASSORTMENT OF VISUALS, SOME OF WHICH ARE FROM PAST WORK AND SOME ARE, UM, MORE RECENT MOCK-UPS, BUT I HELPED TO WALK YOU THROUGH A LITTLE BIT OF OUR COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS TODAY AND THEN HOW THEY APPLY TO THE VERTICAL MIXED USE PROGRAM.

SO OVERALL, WE GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS ASKING WHY, WHY DO WE HAVE COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS? AND THE PURPOSE WAS TO PROVIDE A TRANSITION BETWEEN SINGLE FAMILY HOMES OR CERTAIN CIVIC USES AND MORE INTENSE LAND USES.

WE ALSO KNOW THAT AUSTIN'S COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS ARE SOME OF THE MOST RESTRICTIVE IN THE COUNTRY.

SO COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS TODAY CAN APPLY TO SITES THAT ARE WITHIN 540 FEET OF THE PROPERTY LINE OF AN SF FIVE ZONED OR MORE RESTRICTIVE ZONING DISTRICT OR ON PROPERTIES THAT ARE ADJACENT TO A LOT ON WHICH A USE THAT'S A LAND USE PERMITTED IN AN SF FIVE OR MORE RESTRICTIVE ZONING DISTRICT IS LOCATED AND COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS.

WE'LL DEFINITELY BE TOUCHING ON THE HEIGHT AND SETBACK LIMITATIONS AND VISUALIZING THOSE COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS ALSO REQUIRES SCALE AND CLUSTERING REQUIREMENTS, SCREENING REG REQUIREMENTS, AS WELL AS SOME OTHER DESIGN REGULATIONS.

AND WE HAVE SOME IMAGES HERE SHOWING WHAT A COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS LOOK LIKE IN OTHER CITIES IN AUSTIN.

THIS IS A CHART THAT YOU MAY HAVE SEEN BEFORE IN THIS PARTICULAR CHART ONLY EXTENDS TO 420 FEET FROM THE PROPERTY LINE OF A COMPATIBILITY TRIGGERING PROPERTY.

UM, AND THAT'S BECAUSE FOR THE

[00:45:01]

INTENTS AND PURPOSES OF THE VERTICAL MIXED USE TO PROPOSAL, THAT COULD ONLY GO UP TO 90 FEET IN HEIGHT.

SO REALLY THE APPLICABLE DISTANCE IS 420 FEET, UH, FROM THAT SINGLE FAMILY, A ZONED PROPERTY OR SINGER SINGLE FAMILY USE.

UM, SO YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S A 25 FOOT, UH, NO STRUCTURE ZONE.

IT CAN BE SMALLER FOR SITES THAT ARE ALSO SMALLER.

UM, AND IT STEPS BACK AFTER 50 FEET, A HUNDRED FEET, 200 FEET AT DIFFERENT RATES, BUT WE'RE GOING TO VISUALIZE THIS IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS.

UM, BUT BEFORE WE GET THERE, UM, YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY SEEN THIS RESEARCH THAT STAFF CONDUCTED.

UM, BUT WE KNOW THAT 41% OF VMU ZONE SITES COULD BUILD TO THEIR BASE HEIGHT.

THAT IS THEIR BASE HEIGHT, ENTITLEMENT AFTER COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS ARE APPLIED, UM, AND ONLY 34% OF EMU ZONE SITES WOULD BE ABLE TO BUILD TO THAT BONUS HEIGHT.

THAT'S WITH VMU TO HEIGHT BONUS UNDER THE NEW TIER OF THE BMU PROGRAM AFTER COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS ARE APPLIED SO LESS THAN HALF OF OUR VMU ZONE SITES CAN EVEN REACH THEIR BASE HEIGHT, ENTITLEMENT, UM, BECAUSE OF COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS.

SO THIS GRAPHIC, THE NUMBERS ARE NOT REALLY GOING TO BE APPLICABLE TO ANYTHING THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING HERE TODAY.

BUT, UM, THIS WAS TO SORT OF FRAME SORT OF THE DIFFERENCE IN THE APPROACH THAT, UM, UNDER CODE NEXT IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REVISION, THERE HAD BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT HAVING THESE TRANSITION AREAS.

AND SO THAT WOULD INCLUDE A MORE MEDIUM DENSITY OR MISSING MIDDLE TYPE OF HOUSING, UM, BETWEEN OUR SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE CORRIDOR.

AND SO YOU CAN SEE ON THE TOP, HOW YOU'RE KIND OF STEPPING UP ACROSS MULTIPLE PAR PARCELS OR ACROSS MULTIPLE PROPERTIES TO A HEIGHT, UM, LIKE THE ONE ON THE TOP LEFT ON OUR CORRIDORS.

UM, THE IMAGE ON THE BOTTOM IS, AGAIN, NOT PERTAINING TO ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR, THOSE NUMBERS AREN'T, UM, APPLICABLE HERE, BUT IT DOES SHOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE'RE PUTTING THE ENTIRE TRANSITION FROM OUR SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS DIRECTLY ONTO THAT CORRIDOR FACING PARCEL.

YOU START TO CUT INTO HOW MUCH HOUSING CAN BE BUILT ON THAT PARTICULAR SITE, BECAUSE NOW THE ENTIRE STEP BACK IS, UM, FULLY BORN ON THE CORRIDOR FACING PARCEL.

SO I HAVE ONE EXAMPLE, UH, TO SHOW TO YOU ALL TODAY.

UM, THERE'S A LINK AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION TO, UH, AN INTERACTIVE MAPPING TOOL THAT WE CREATED TO HELP VISUALIZE THE IMPACT OF COMPATIBILITY ON VERTICAL MIXED USE PROJECTS, UH, OR VERTICAL MAKES YOU ZONED SITES.

AND SO I HAVE AN EXAMPLE HERE TODAY, UM, OF SOME VMU ZONING THAT IS LOCATED AT CANUCK AND ALLENDALE AND, UM, BURNET ROAD.

SO THIS IS IN NORTH SORT OF CENTRAL WEST AUSTIN.

I BELIEVE IT'S DISTRICT FIVE.

AND, UM, THIS IS AN IMAGINE AUSTIN CORRIDOR.

IT'S SERVED BY THE 8 0 3 METRO RAPID AND HERE YOU'LL SEE THE BLACK OUTLINES ON THESE PARCELS INDICATES THAT THEY HAVE VMU ZONING.

UH, THERE BASED ZONING IS, UM, MOST ALL OF THESE ARE CS BASED ZONES.

UH, THE LA DEPTHS HERE RANGE FROM 180 FEET, THIS TOP RIGHT PARCEL, THAT'S KIND OF HIGHLIGHTED 180 FEET IS A CVS OR A WALGREENS TODAY.

UM, THIS BOTTOM ONE BOTTOM RIGHT IS 330 FEET DEEP.

IT'S KIND OF AN ANGLED PROPERTY.

AND THEN THIS LARGE SITE ON THE TOP LEFT IS 500 FEET DEEP.

AND THAT IS TODAY AN HEB, UM, SHOPPING CENTER.

SO I'M WALKING YOU THROUGH, UM, TURNING ON DIFFERENT LAYERS IN THAT MAP TOOL THAT IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.

AND JUST GOING TO WALK YOU THROUGH WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AS THESE COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS APPLY.

SO THESE BLACK AND BROWN, UM, PARCELS NOW, OR, OR COLORS ON THE SCREEN CORRESPOND TO WHERE THERE'S A PROPERTY THAT WOULD TRIGGER COMPATIBILITY.

AND SO THESE ARE ALL SINGLE FAMILIES, ZONED SITES OR SINGLE FAMILY USES AROUND THIS PARTICULAR CORRIDOR NEXT TO THAT, YOU WOULD HAVE THIS 25 FOOT, NO STRUCTURE ZONE.

AND SO YOU START TO SEE THAT'S THE RED, UM, WHERE YOU COULD NOT HAVE ANY STRUCTURES ON THOSE PARTICULAR SITES.

THIS PINK NOW IS SHOWING THAT AREA THAT IS UP TO 50 FEET AWAY FROM THE COMPATIBILITY TRIGGERING PROPERTIES.

AND SO IT'S HIGHLIGHTING IN PINK AND THAT THIS WHOLE AREA COULD NOW BUILD TO 30 FEET MAXIMUM HEIGHT BUILDING ON THAT.

YOU GET TO A HUNDRED FEET AWAY FROM YOUR COMPATIBILITY TRIGGERING PROPERTY.

YOU COULD BUILD UP TO 40 FEET MAX HEIGHT ACROSS THIS ENTIRE AREA.

FINALLY, YOU HAVE, THERE'S A MUCH LARGER JUMP FROM THE A HUNDRED FEET TO 200 FEET FROM A COMPATIBILITY TRIGGERING PROPERTY.

AND SO NOW THE AREA IN BLUE HERE SHOWING WHERE YOU COULD REACH JUST 10 ADDITIONAL FEET ABOVE THAT, WHICH IS 50 FEET IN MAXIMUM HEIGHT.

BEAR IN MIND.

THIS IS NOT THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT PER CODE FOR THE BASE ZONING DISTRICT OF CFS.

THAT'S 60 FEET, BUT BLUE HERE SHOWING NOW WHERE YOU COULD REACH 50 FEET IN HEIGHT.

AND FINALLY, UM, THIS GREEN AREA IS SHOWING WHERE YOU COULD REACH THAT

[00:50:01]

BASE MAXIMUM HEIGHT, WHICH IS 60 FEET.

SO ONLY THE ATB PARKING LOT AREA WOULD ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO REACH 60 FEET BECAUSE IT IS UP TO 300, 400 APOLOGIES, 300 FEET FROM A COMPATIBILITY TRIGGERING PROPERTY.

AND SO AGAIN, THERE'S OUR LAW DEPTHS IN THIS PARTICULAR EXAMPLE.

UM, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE DIFFERENT HEIGHTS THAT THEY MIGHT BE ALLOWED TO BUILD WITH COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS TODAY.

AND THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS I'LL POINT OUT HERE.

SO YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE'RE KIND OF SEEING IT CAN BE CONFUSING.

THAT'S WHERE WE WANTED TO BREAK THIS DOWN, HOW YOU'RE SEEING HEIGHTS AS A PARTICULAR COLOR, BUT WE USUALLY THINK OF COMPATIBILITY AS A DISTANCE FROM OUR PROPERTY.

SO I'M TRYING TO SHOW SOME DIFFERENT DISTANCES FROM THOSE COMPATIBILITY TRIGGERING PROPERTIES AND SOMETHING THAT YOU'LL EVEN NOTICE HERE IS THE WAY THAT THERE'S, UM, COMPATIBILITY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF BURNET THAT'S ON THE EAST SIDE OF BURNET ROAD IS ACTUALLY TRIGGERING, UM, A HEIGHT STEP BACK ONTO THE ATB PROPERTY, WHICH IS ON THE WEST SIDE OF BURNET.

SO IT'S CROSSING OVER THE CORRIDOR AND THEN TRIGGERING COMPATIBILITY, UM, TO LIMIT THE HEIGHT FURTHER.

UM, IN THIS PARTICULAR EXAMPLE, THERE'S ONLY ONE PROJECT THAT HAS ACTUALLY REDEVELOPED SINCE 2010, WHEN THE VMU PROGRAM, UM, WAS ADOPTED.

AND IT DID NOT DEVELOP AS A VMU PROJECT, UH, DEVELOPED AS A LARGE STORAGE FACILITY, CONVENIENT STORAGE.

SO IT'S THIRD, IT'S THREE FEET IN HEIGHT, NOT THREE FEET, THREE STORIES IN HEIGHT.

UM, AND THIS IS THE ONLY PROPERTY IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA THAT HAS DEVELOPED, UM, IN THAT SINCE 2010.

SO, UM, I THINK WE ALREADY SHOWED THAT GRAPHIC, THE LINK HERE, UH, IS TO THAT INTERACTIVE MAP TOOL WHERE ANYONE, ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC CAN START TO LOOK AT THE IMPACTS OF COMPATIBILITY TODAY ON THE BMU PROGRAM AND WHERE THEY CAN LOOK AT WHERE VMU ZONE SITES ARE LOCATED, UM, WHICH PROJECTS HAVE DEVELOPED AS VMU PROJECTS OR OTHER IF THEY DEVELOPED, BUT THEY DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN VMU.

YOU CAN VIEW THAT ON THIS MAP AS WELL, AND I WILL LEAVE IT THERE.

THAT IS ALL FOR OUR PRESENTATION TODAY.

UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THIS IS VERY, VERY HELPFUL.

THAT SHOWED THE TWO PROGRAMS THAT WERE THE HIGHEST IN TERMS OF BEING USEFUL AND VMU WAS ONE OF THOSE.

UM, I HAVE, UH, MAYBE JUST ONE OR TWO QUESTIONS.

UM, DO YOU HAVE AVAILABLE, I, I WANT, I WANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE VMU PROGRAM HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS MAKING IT MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL.

AND I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SHOWING US AROUND COMPATIBILITY TO JUST SHOWS WHAT THE POSSIBILITIES ARE.

DO YOU HAVE THAT SLIDE AVAILABLE THAT SHOWS THE NUMBER OF, UM, UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT UNDER VMU? YEP.

IF WE COULD PUT THE PRESENTATION AGAIN, I THINK IT'S HELPFUL TO SEE, UM, TO SEE THAT.

AND I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE CAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE STILL IN YEAH.

THIS ONE.

SO I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT TO MY COLLEAGUES THAT, UM, THAT THE VMU PROGRAM CAN BE MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON NOW.

UH, BECAUSE IF WE, IF WE REDUCE, IF WE RELAXED COMPATIBILITY IN THE WAY THAT THAT COUNCIL MEMBER BAYLA IS SUGGESTING THAT'S ONE, ONE WAY, BUT RELAXING IT THAT WAY WILL GET US, GET US SOME MORE, AS WELL AS ALLOWING THE 90 FOOT HEIGHT WILL ALLOW MORE TO, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO SO FAR UNDER THE EXISTING PROGRAM, BECAUSE IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, TO IT'S, IT'S A PROGRAM THAT'S USED.

SO THE POSSIBLE COMBINED IMPACT OUT OF COURSE, IS THAT SOME OF THESE ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND IN PLANNING.

SO BEAR THAT IN MIND, BUT SO FAR, UM, WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, THE POTENTIAL FOR 73 PROJECTS, 15,700 UNITS OF, OF WHICH 1800 OR MORE THAN 1800 ARE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

SO THE REASON I WANTED TO POINT THIS OUT TO FOLKS IS WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT ENHANCING A PROGRAM THAT HASN'T WORKED.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TAKING A PROGRAM THAT'S BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND SHOWN, SHOWN US THAT IT CAN BE SUCCESSFUL AND MAKING IT THAT MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL.

I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IF IT WAS A PROGRAM THAT NO ONE WAS USING, THEN I WOULDN'T, YOU KNOW, WOULDN'T BE THE RIGHT VEHICLE TO BUILD ON, BUT BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL, I THINK IT'S A GOOD VEHICLE TO BUILD ON.

SO, UM, IT'S A MEMORY MAP OR ONE MORE DATA POINT THAT WE DIDN'T INCLUDE IN THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE, BUT IT'S ALSO THAT, UM, OF ALL THE DEVELOPMENT THAT HAS HAPPENED ON THE MUSE OWNED PARCEL SINCE 2010, WE'VE ESTIMATED THAT ABOUT 34% OF THAT DEVELOPMENT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN THROUGH THE VMU PROGRAM.

SO ABOUT A THIRD OF ALL DEVELOPMENT ON BMU ZONE SITES, SINCE 2010 HAS ACTUALLY PARTICIPATED IN THE VERTICAL MIXED USE PROGRAM.

I THINK THAT'S PRETTY GOOD, DON'T YOU? IT IS HIGHER THAN SOME OF OUR OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, REGULATING PLAN AREAS SPECIFICALLY.

UM, BUT IT IS PRETTY LOW COMPARED TO, FOR EXAMPLE, UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLAY OR DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PER WELL, I DO THINK YOU DID SHOW ANOTHER SLIDE

[00:55:01]

SO I THINK IT'S JUST IMPORTANT FOR US ALL TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE'RE BUILDING OFF OF OFF A USEFUL PROGRAM, A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM.

I DON'T THINK I DON'T DISAGREE.

I DON'T THINK ANYBODY DISAGREES THAT, THAT WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS TAKE THIS PROGRAM AND MAKE IT MORE USEFUL BY, YOU KNOW, BY RELAXING COMPATIBILITY AND BY, UM, AND BY ALLOWING MORE HIGH.

SO THE OTHER QUESTION THAT I HAD FOR YOU WAS, UM, W THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION, YOU KNOW, MY SUBSTITUTE DOES HAVE ONE DIFFERENCE, ONE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE FROM THIS STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION THAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, AND THAT IS A LEVEL OF AFFORDABILITY.

SO, UM, THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION WAS A 10% AT 50% MFI AND 12% AT 60% MFI.

AND I AM, I AM PROPOSING MORE.

UM, AND THE REASON I'M PROPOSING MORE IS BECAUSE I REALLY THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO GET AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

AND I'M THINKING THAT WHEN WE COMBINE, YOU KNOW, THE, THIS VMU DOCUMENT WAS NEVER INTENDED TO CHANGE COMPATIBILITY, THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN IN ANOTHER DOCUMENT.

YOU KNOW, THE OTHER DOCUMENT THAT'S ITEM 66 HAS BEING BROUGHT FORWARD, BUT I DO AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER VELAR MEMBER VAILA THAT IF WE MAKE AT LEAST SOME OF THE COMPATIBILITY CHANGES IN THIS ORDINANCE, WE CAN GET THEM GOING RIGHT AWAY.

IT'S NOT AN EITHER, OR WE'LL ALSO BE CONSIDERING ITEM 66, BUT THE POINT IS THAT MY THOUGHT IS THAT, THAT WE SHOULD PUSH THE ENVELOPE A BIT MORE IN TERMS OF GETTING, UM, AS MUCH AFFORDABILITY AS WE CAN.

UM, AND SO WHAT I'M SUGGESTING IS 15% AT 60% MFI, AS OPPOSED TO THE STAFF'S STAFF RECOMMENDATION OF 12 AT 60%, AND THEN I'M PROPOSING 12 AT 50% AS OPPOSED TO THE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION OF 10.

SO THE DIFFERENCE IS THE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING 10, I'M RECOMMENDING 12 STAFF IS RECOMMENDING 12, I'M RECOMMENDING 15, BUT I'M THINKING THAT ALSO AT THE TIME THAT YOU ALL WERE THINKING ABOUT WHAT TO RECOMMEND, WE WEREN'T TALKING ABOUT CHANGING COMPATIBILITY.

SO NOW THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CHANGING COMPATIBILITY, I'M HOPING THAT I'M HOPING THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE STAFF MIGHT CONSIDER AS A, AS A REASON FOR, UM, FOR PUSHING THE ENVELOPE A LITTLE BIT MORE.

I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER AVAILA JUST ASKED ONE OF OUR SPEAKERS, YOU KNOW, IF WE WERE TO REDUCE COMPATIBILITY, CAN, CAN YOU SEE PUSHING THE ENVELOPE A BIT MORE? AND SO I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THAT BECAUSE AFFORDABILITY IS SO IMPORTANT.

SO ANYWAY, I APPRECIATE THAT.

I KNOW THAT Y'ALL DID, Y'ALL REALLY THOUGHT HARD ABOUT THE RECOMMENDATION JOEL MADE IN TERMS OF AFFORDABILITY, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT THAT WAS NOT, NOT CONSIDERING COMPATIBILITY.

SO, SO THANK YOU HAND UP.

YEP.

SO THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAD.

STANDARDS TO HELP OFFSET THOSE.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MADISON, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I DO.

UM, SO LISTENING ALONG AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WATCHING THE PRESENTATION, IT MAKES SENSE TO ME THAT, UH, RELAXED COMPATIBILITY AND PARKING REQUIREMENTS, UM, ARE A GOOD TRADE FOR HIGHER AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS.

BUT I THINK WHAT I HEARD WAS, OR IS IT TRUE RATHER THAT, UM, THE PROPOSAL RAISES THE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENT FOR ALL VMU TWO PROJECTS, UM, BUT ONLY RELAXES COMPATIBILITY AND PARKING REQUIREMENTS, UH, REGULATIONS ALONG VIA ORANGE AND BLUE LINES.

AND IF THAT IS IN FACT, THE CASE, CAN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT THE RATIONALE FOR THAT? SO STAFF HAS NOT PRESENTED ANY COMPATIBILITY RECOMMENDATIONS AT THIS TIME, SO I'M NOT SURE WHICH PARTICULAR PROPOSAL YOU MIGHT BE REFERENCING.

THAT'S COUNCIL OVER BAYLESS PROPOSAL.

AND I, I AM ALSO CONCERNED WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HOPEFULLY IMMEDIATELY, UH, PUT SOME LIMITS ON COMPATIBILITY AND SOME ADDITIONAL PARKING, UH, REDUCTIONS ON THE ORANGE AND BLUE LINES UH, AND I THINK THAT WILL OFFSET, UH, THE INCREASED AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MAYBE FOR THOSE AREAS.

UH, BUT THERE IS, I THINK A GAP BETWEEN WHEN WE ASSUMING THAT, YOU KNOW, IT PASSES THE WAY IT IS AND 12% AND 15%, THEN THE REST OF THE CITY IS NOT GOING TO HAVE TODAY, UH, RELAXED COMPATIBILITY

[01:00:01]

I AM OPTIMISTIC AND HOPEFUL THAT THE WORKING GROUP PROPOSAL WILL COME THROUGH AND ALLEVIATE THAT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, MISMATCH WHERE WE'RE CRANKING UP THE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, GIVING THEM ANYTHING IN RETURN.

BUT I THINK WE ARE LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF A GAP AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CALIBRATION IS.

AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY ONLY KIND OF CONCERN IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF RETURN, I THINK, OFF OF THE 10% AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS IN, IN VMU.

I MEAN, WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THAT.

HOW DOES AN INCREASE WITHOUT THE COMPATIBILITY? I THINK THAT'S AN, THAT'S AN OPEN QUESTION RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, I, I THINK IF, IF, IF WE ROLL SOME COMPATIBILITY LIMITS IN THERE, I I'M, I'M LESS CONCERNED ABOUT IT.

UM, CHAIR, IF I MAY, UH, THAT MY CONTINUED QUESTIONNAIRE THEN WOULD BE, AND I BELIEVE THIS IS FOR YOU COUNCIL MEMBER VILLA.

UM, I WORRY THAT THIS COULD DIS-INCENTIVIZE, UM, THE USE OF, UH, THE VMU TO, TO DEVELOP OUTSIDE OF THE RAIL CORRIDORS.

UM, ESPECIALLY IF WE REQUIRE PROPERTIES TO GO THROUGH A REZONING TO HAVE TO RECEIVE THAT VIA MUTU DESIGNATION.

AND I WONDER IF WE'VE TALKED TO ANYBODY IN THE BUILDING COMMUNITY AND MAYBE SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE HERE TODAY TO GET A SENSE OF WHETHER THERE WOULD BE SUBSTANTIAL INTEREST AND, UH, AN OPTING FOR BMU TO OVER .

IF, YOU KNOW, IF A COMPLICATED REZONING CASE IS ON THE TABLE, NO MATTER WHAT THOSE ARE, THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN ALSO HAVING WITH FOLKS AND AS A STAFF.

AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.

I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

THERE ARE SUBSTANTIAL REASONS TO GO WITH VMU BEYOND, UH, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE SETBACK, UH, UH, THE, THE FAR LIMITS, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD STUFF IN VMU.

I THINK IF PEOPLE WERE KIND OF GIVEN THAT NEUTRAL, YOU KNOW, CHOICE BETWEEN BMU AND THE MF SIX, I THINK THEY GO WITH VMU, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST ABOUT EVERY TIME.

UH, BUT, UM, BUT THERE ARE, I THINK THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE, UH, UH, UH, LEGITIMATE CONCERNS AND TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, I'M NOT TOTALLY SURE THE MAP OF VMU PROPERTIES, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE, ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A LOT OF OPT IN, FOR EXAMPLE, IN DISTRICT FOUR, I THINK THE VAST MAJORITY OF, OF MY NEIGHBORHOODS OPTED IN, IN DISTRICT FOUR, BUT OUTSIDE OF THAT, I DON'T THINK THERE ARE, THERE ARE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, VMU ZONED PROPERTIES READY TO GO.

SO WHILE I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THAT, I FEEL LIKE THE VAST MAJORITY OF PROPERTIES ARE GOING TO HAVE TO ASK FOR THE VMU ZONING, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S SO FEW PROPERTIES ZONE VMU THAT I THINK THAT THEY'RE THERE, YOU KNOW, THAT, AND I DON'T KNOW THE DATA ON THIS, BUT MY SENSE IS THAT MIGHT BE MORE OF AN ACADEMIC DISCUSSION THAT, YOU KNOW, IN REALITY, I THINK MOST PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO COME BACK TO A COUNCIL AND ASK FOR THAT VMU ZONING.

COULD, COULD I SPEAK TO THAT? WAIT, I, I KNOW THAT CONSEQUENTLY ELLIS WHAT'S NEXT.

OKAY, GO AHEAD, ALICE.

I APPRECIATE THAT CHAIR.

I KNOW IT'S HARD TO SEE WHEN THERE'S PRESENTATIONS ON THE SCREEN THAT, THAT WE'RE HERE TOO.

AND I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER HAS ALSO, UM, JOINED US, BUT, UM, THE INITIAL CONVERSATION TODAY HA HAD BEGUN WAS IN REGARD TO, UM, WHETHER THE PROPERTIES THAT ALREADY HAVE THESE ZONING, UM, WOULD BE PARTICIPATING IN A BONUS PROGRAM VERSUS AN ENTIRE REZONING PROCESS.

AND SO GIVEN THAT THE COUNCIL DIRECTION THAT WAS APPROVED PREVIOUSLY DID ACTUALLY SPELL OUT THAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AN ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL AND ANY TRACK THAT DIDN'T HAVE A VA ZONING ALREADY WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE FULL REZONING.

AND SO I KNOW SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I JUST HAVE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL, I KNOW, I THINK THERE WAS A MOTION MADE.

UM, I'M NOT PREPARED TO SECOND THAT TODAY BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS A GOOD CONVERSATION FOR US TO HAVE AS AN ENTIRE DIOCESE.

AND I KNOW THAT WE'LL BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION SHORTLY AS AN ENTIRE DIOCESE.

UM, BUT I JUST PROBABLY WANT TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT IS THE ADDED COST AND TIMELINE BETWEEN THESE TWO DIFFERENT CHOICES, BECAUSE ONE CAN BE ADMINISTRATIVELY APPROVED.

THE OTHER IS AN ENTIRE REZONING.

DO WE HAVE ANY ESTIMATES ON WHAT IT COSTS TO DO A REZONING, TO, TO TRY TO ASK FOR A VM U2, IF THAT'S HOW THE COUNCIL DECIDES TO GO? IS ANYONE THERE AND CHAMBERS, SORRY.

GOOD MORNING.

I'M ROSIE TRULLO DIRECTOR OF HOUSING AND PLANNING.

WE DON'T HAVE AN ESTIMATE IN THAT WEEKEND.

WE CAN CERTAINLY SEE IF THAT'S A PIECE OF INFORMATION WE CAN COLLECT, BUT I DON'T HAVE A NUMBER TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY.

CAN HELP US TRACK DOWN THAT INFORMATION.

THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.

AND I KNOW YOU'VE GOT A GOOD TEAM MEMBERS THAT

[01:05:01]

UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK THROUGH OUR ZONING CASES, EVERY TWO WEEKS FOR THE COUNCIL DYES TO APPROVE, SOMETIMES IT'S JUST SURPRISING TO ME THAT MAYBE THESE CASES CAN TAKE MONTHS OR YEARS, EVEN AFTER A FIRST VOTE FOR SOMETHING TO ACTUALLY BE APPROVED.

AND I WANT TO BE MINDFUL THAT THE CLOCK IS TICKING, UM, FOR HOUSING AND THERE'S, THERE'S PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST SEEING THEIR RENTS GO UP, YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME THEY SEE THAT RENEWAL COME THROUGH AND IT'S REALLY GETTING TO A POINT OF PRICING PEOPLE OUT OF EVEN SMALL APARTMENTS.

AND I JUST DON'T WANT TO PUT US IN A POSITION LIKE THAT.

SURE.

SO, UH, SO A COUPLE OF THINGS, UM, I WANT TO, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF THAT'S WHAT MAKES THIS COMPLEX IS WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF DIFF DIFFERENT ISSUES AT ALL, INTERTWINE, YOU KNOW, UM, THERE'S A COMPATIBILITY, THERE'S A LEVEL OF FOUR OF AFFORDABILITY.

THOSE ARE DIFFERENT ISSUES THEN THE, UM, THE APPROVAL PROCESS.

SO I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE ASKING COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.

I THINK THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THOUGH, ALSO THAT IF A, IF A PROPERTY IS NOT ZONED V RIGHT NOW AT ALL, WHICH MOST OF THE CITY IS NOT, THEN IT'S A ZONING CASE.

SO WHETHER IT'S V1 OR V2 UNDER EXISTING LAW, UNDER THE EXISTING CODE, THAT'S GOING TO BE, UM, A ZONING CASE.

THERE ARE RELATIVELY FEW NUMBER OF PROPERTIES THAT WOULD GO FROM V ONE TO V TWO, THAT YOU'D BE TREATING.

UM, UH, YOU MIGHT POTENTIALLY BE TREATING AS A, AS IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

SO THAT'S ONE THING TO REMEMBER.

THERE'S, THERE'S NO BUY RIGHT FOR V AT ALL.

UM, AND, UM, SO GOING FROM V1 TO V2, THE ONLY THING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS EXISTING PROPERTIES, WHICH HAS COUNCIL MEMBER AVAILA POINTED OUT IS NOT THAT MANY OF THEM AND THEY'RE JUST IN THE CENTRAL CITY.

SO THERE'S THAT THE OTHER THING IS WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SOLVE FOR, BY JUST SAYING IT'S A ZONING ZONING CASE.

I'M, I'M HAPPY TO LISTEN TO OTHER SOLUTIONS IF FOLKS WANT TO PROPOSE OTHER SOLUTIONS.

BUT WHAT I'M TRYING TO SOLVE FOR IS WE HAVE A REQUIREMENT UNDER THE AKUNA CASE, UM, TO DO EITHER, UM, TO DO NOTIFICATION AND PROTEST RIGHTS AT SOME POINT IN THE PROCESS.

AND SO MY THOUGHT IS THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS WE'RE JUST MAKING TEXTUAL CHANGES.

SO WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW, BUT WE DO HAVE TO CONSIDER IT AT SOME POINT IN THE PROCESS.

SO IT SEEMED TO ME THAT THE SIMPLEST WAY TO DO THAT IS JUST TREAT VMU TWO THE SAME WAY WE TREAT, WE TREAT V.

NOW, IF YOU DON'T HAVE V BUT IF THERE'S ANOTHER WAY TO ADDRESS THAT, I'M CERTAINLY OPEN TO LISTENING TO WHAT THE, THAT APPROACH MIGHT BE.

IT'S JUST THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY CHOICE WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO ADDRESS IT.

AND AT SOME POINT IN THE PROCESS, AND IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME TO TRY TO ADDRESS IT.

NOW, IT MADE SENSE TO ME THAT LET'S JUST DO A TEXTUAL CHANGE.

AND SO, UM, AND JUST TREAT THE VMU TOO, JUST LIKE WE TREAT ANY PROPERTY NOW, THAT'S NOT ZONED FOR ME.

SO THAT'S JUST THE THINKING BEHIND IT.

I THINK YOU'RE ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS.

I'M OPEN TO LISTENING TO OTHER WAYS TO DO IT, BUT THE REASON I PUT IT IN THE SUBSTITUTE THAT WAY IS BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY SEEMED TO ME THE CLEANEST WAY.

BUT AGAIN, IF PEOPLE WANT TO SUGGEST SOMETHING ELSE I'M OPEN TO LISTENING.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SURE.

I HAD A, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE PRESENTATION.

I DON'T WANT TO DISTRACT US FROM THE PARTICULAR CONVERSATION GOING ON RIGHT NOW, BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION FOR OUR STAFF.

GO AHEAD AND REMEMBER THE TOTAL.

INCREASED EQUITY THAT A HOMEOWNER COULD, UM, COULD OBTAIN FROM THOSE, FROM THOSE UNITS.

ON THE PRESENT ON THE PART OF THE PRESENTATION, I THINK IT IS PAGE, UH, SLIDE 16, RECOMMENDING THE FEE IN LIEU FOR CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENTS.

LET ME PREFACE IT BY SAYING UP SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THIS, BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE ENCOURAGING AFFORDABLE HOME OWNERSHIP AS WELL.

I KNOW THAT'S CERTAINLY A GOAL OF THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, UH, THAT WE, THAT WE ALL SHARE, BUT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THESE OBSTACLES, THE PROPOSED, UM, THE IDENTIFIED BARRIERS.

AND I GUESS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE SECOND ONE FIRST.

SO WHEN THIS, WHEN THIS WAS, BECAME AN ISSUE OVER AT MILLER MUELLER OR THE AFFORDABLE UNITS, UM, MANY OF US WORKED AND LOBBIED AND ADVOCATED FOR A DIFFERENT SOLUTION FROM THE TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT.

AND, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO COME UP WITH ONE AND I CAN'T QUITE REMEMBER WHAT THAT SOLUTION WAS, BUT IT, IT ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THOSE AFFORDABLE UNITS THAT THERE WAS, UM, I THINK IT HAD TO DO WITH THE WAY IN WHICH THOSE OWNERSHIP UNIT AGREEMENTS WERE STRUCTURED AND THAT THERE WAS A, JUST A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF

[01:10:01]

SO I DON'T, I GUESS I, I, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHY IT WOULD BE LISTED AS A BARRIER, BUT WE'VE GOT A GREAT EXAMPLE HERE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON, WHERE THAT, WHERE THERE WAS A FIX THAT ALLOWED FOR PEOPLE TO PURCHASE THOSE UNITS OVER IN, IN MUELLER MILLER DEVELOPMENT, UM, THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, THAT HAS CREATED HOME OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND, AND SOME REASONABLE RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF EQUITY.

AND I WOULD THINK WE WOULD WANT TO ENCOURAGE THAT THROUGH OTHER DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. SO THERE'S THAT.

AND THEN HOW ABOUT OWNERSHIP ASSOCIATION? HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION FEES IS SOMETHING THAT I KNOW IS ANOTHER CONUNDRUM, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THERE WOULD BE WAYS TO NAVIGATE AROUND THAT.

AND I KNOW WHEN WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS BEFORE, I'VE SUGGESTED, LIKE, WHAT ABOUT, WHAT ABOUT COMING UP WITH WHAT WOULD BE REASONABLE ASSESSMENT FOR THOSE AFFORDABLE UNITS AND THEN DIVIDING UP THE ADDITIONAL COST AMONG THE OTHER, THE OTHER OWNERS IN THAT.

AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WOULD MEAN DIFFERENT OWNERS ARE PAYING DIFFERENT AMOUNTS, BUT IF WE WANT, YOU KNOW, THE BENEFIT IS IT'S THE BENEFIT OF HAVING ECONOMICALLY DIVERSE COMMUNITIES, ACCRUES TO EVERYBODY IN THERE OF THOSE WHO ARE ON THE AFFORDABLE UNITS, AS WELL AS THOSE WHO ARE IN THE NON AFFORDABLE UNITS.

AND SO I THINK THAT'S ONE, ONE ALTERNATIVE.

I DO KNOW THAT WHEN WE'VE REACHED OUT, WE HAVE SOME INTEREST FROM THE LAW SCHOOL HERE FROM A PARTICULAR PROFESSOR AT THE LAW SCHOOL TO LOOK AT THIS ISSUE MORE CLOSELY.

CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? I SEEM TO BE LIKE FROZEN, FROZEN, AND A VERY VIEW.

I JUST CAN'T SEE YOU.

AH, OKAY.

THAT'S PROBABLY BETTER BECAUSE ON MY SCREEN, I'M FROZEN IN THIS LIKE REALLY, REALLY COOKY LOOKING POSITION.

I'M BACK AGAIN, I THINK.

UM, BUT ANYWAY, I THINK THERE IS SOME INTEREST FROM, FROM, UH, UH, LAW PROFESSOR OVER AT UT LAW TO HELP US LOOK AT DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES.

BUT AGAIN, FOR HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION FEES, I WOULD THINK THERE WOULD ALSO, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME OTHER KINDS OF EFFORTS WE MIGHT CONSIDER, BUT I, I GUESS I DON'T WANT THOSE TO BE BARRIERS BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE ENCOURAGING THOSE.

SO I DON'T, I JUST OPEN THAT UP TO THE STAFF TO RESPOND TO, AND PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO WHETHER THEY LOOKED AT, AT OUR UNITS OVER AT MILLER AS A POSSIBLE PATH FORWARD TO NAVIGATE AROUND THIS PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT OBSTACLE AS NOTED GOOD AFTERNOON COUNCIL MEMBERS.

UM, SO I'M NOT CERTAIN THAT WE SPECIFICALLY LOOKED AT MILLER MUELLER, UM, BUT I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT, UM, ISSUES THERE.

AND I WOULD SAY THAT THAT IS THE LESSER OF OUR CONCERNS.

I THINK THE LARGER ONE IS THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION FEES AND OUR UNDERSTANDING AT PRESENT, UM, IS THAT THOSE FEES COULD NOT BE DIVIDED AMONGST THE OTHER PROPERTY OWNERS.

UM, UNLESS WE LEARN SOMETHING FURTHER.

SO, UH, OUR UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE, AS THE CITY, CAN'T REALLY CONTROL, UH, THE AMOUNT OF THOSE FEES OVER TIME AND CAN'T NECESSARILY HAVE THOSE FEES BE SPLIT UP AMONGST OTHER OWNERS.

AND WHEN YOU SAY, UM, WHEN YOU SAY WE CAN'T AND THEY CAN'T IS THIS BECAUSE IT'S A STATE BECAUSE THERE'S SOME STATE LAWS RELATED TO HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS THAT ARE, ARE REGULATING HERE, WE HAVE LOOKED, I, I CAN'T CITE ANYTHING.

UM, WE NEED TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THAT, BUT WE HAVE DISCUSSED IT WITH LEGAL.

YES.

SO WHEN, UM, WELL, I, I THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE WORTHY OF A CONVERSATION THAT WE ALL HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, MAYBE.

UM, YOU KNOW, I WONDER IF, I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE REGULATING IS THE OVERALL COST OF THOSE UNITS, RIGHT? IT HAS TO BE WITH, IT HAS TO MEET OUR, THE CITY'S REGULATIONS FOR WHAT IS CONSIDERED AFFORDABLE FOR THEM TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY PROGRAM THEY VOLUNTARILY PARTICIPATED IN.

AND SO I WOULD THINK THEN MAYBE WE JUST NEED TO RESTRUCTURE HOW WE DESCRIBE WHAT COSTS GO INTO THAT NUMBER.

UM, SO THAT, SO THAT HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION COSTS HAVE TO BE PART OF THAT OVERALL COSTS TO THE OWNER.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? I MEAN, IF I'M IN AN AFFORDABLE UNIT, BUT CITY IS ALREADY REGULATING HOW MUCH I CAN PAY FOR THAT UNIT PER MONTH FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT TO BE IN COMPLIANCE.

AND SO IF THAT NUMBER HAS TO INCLUDE MY HOMEOWNER FEES AS WELL, THEN THAT CONTROLS FOR THAT, THAT CONTROLS AND MAKE SURE THAT, THAT MY HOMEOWNER FEES IS NOT GOING TO BE AN ACCESS IS NOT GOING TO PUT ME ABOVE THAT NUMBER.

THAT'S AN AFFORDABLE NUMBER.

CONTROL IT IN THE LONGTERM.

COUNCIL MEMBER, WE DO AT THIS POINT, INCORPORATE AN ASSUMPTION OF THE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION FEES AT THE ONSET THAT IS BAKED INTO WHAT WILL BECOME THE, UM, AFFORDABLE SALES PRICE FOR THOSE UNITS.

HOWEVER, THAT IS AN ASSUMPTION AT THE ONSET, BUT WE CAN'T CONTROL WHAT THOSE FEES DO AT YEAR TWO OR YEAR FIVE OR YEAR 20 IN THIS LONG-TERM AFFORDABLE, UM, PROGRAM.

AND SO THAT'S THE POINT.

WE CAN BAKE IN AN ASSUMPTION ON THE FRONT END, BUT WE CAN'T

[01:15:01]

AND SO AS THOSE COSTS RISE, UM, AS THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, UM, AGREEMENTS CHANGE OVER TIME, THAT'S WHERE THE CITY LOSES OUR ABILITY TO ACTUALLY PROTECT AND PROVIDE THAT STABILITY FOR THE HOMEOWNERS THAT END UP IN THOSE UNITS, UM, BECAUSE THAT CAN CHANGE OVER TIME AND, AND WE NO LONGER HAVE THAT CONTROL.

WELL, I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER TOPICS, UM, BUT THAT THIS COMMITTEE IS UNDERTAKING TODAY.

LET ME JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT THIS IS AN AREA WHERE I THINK WE CAN BOTH LOOK TO OTHER CITIES AND POTENTIALLY LOOK BACK AGAIN TO MILLER MUELLER.

I DON'T, I, I AM OR UN FOR SOME POTENTIAL FIXES ON A COUPLE OF DAYS.

AND AGAIN, WE HAVE AN OFFER OF SOME POTENTIAL ASSISTANCE FROM, FROM A GREAT CLINIC HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND, AND, UM, I THINK I HOPE THAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT SOME SOLUTIONS HERE BECAUSE I'D HATE TO, I HATE TO JUST ON OUR BACKUP ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET SOME OWNERSHIP UNITS, BUT ANYWAY, I DON'T WANT TO DIVERT US ANY LONGER FROM THIS, THIS TOPIC HERE TODAY.

I KNOW THERE'S SOME OTHER STUFF ON THAT, ON THE COMMITTEE AGENDA.

THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.

I THINK, UH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, MANDY DEMAYO, DIDN'T WANT TO ADD SOMETHING ON THAT SUBJECT.

I HOPE THIS IS MANDY DE MAYO WITH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT COUNCIL MEMBER.

TOVA THANK YOU FOR BRINGING ALL OF THESE ISSUES UP.

UM, WE ARE VERY COMMITTED TO AFFORDABLE HOME OWNERSHIP.

IT IS MORE COMPLICATED THAN AFFORDABLE RENTAL.

WE DO HAVE THE MECHANISMS TO SECURE A LONG-TERM AFFORDABILITY THROUGH A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT, WHICH IS RECOGNIZED BY TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT.

WE WORKED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR FRIENDS OVER AT MILLER MUIR, UM, AS THEY ALIGNED THEIR RESTRICTIVE COVENANT, REALLY WITH OUR RESTRICTIVE COVENANT.

UM, THE MELLOWER SCENARIO IS A LITTLE BIT, I'M NOT GOING TO SAY EASIER, UM, BUT THEY HAVE A CONSOLIDATED WORK POLIO.

UM, AND SO THEY WERE ABLE TO SHEPHERD ALL OF THEIR HOMEOWNERS, UM, OR IN THE PROCESS OF CHECKING THEIR HOMEOWNERS, UM, THROUGH THAT THE, UM, TAX, UH, PROCESS ENSURING THE REDUCED, UH, PROPERTY TAX, UH, ASSESSMENT REFLECTED OF THE LONG-TERM AFFORDABILITY, UM, WITH SCATTERED SITE LONG-TERM AFFORDABILITY IN INCENTIVE PROGRAMS, WE HAVE LESS OF A ABILITY TO KIND OF HOLD THOSE, ALL OF THOSE HOMEOWNERS A LITTLE BIT MORE TIGHTLY, AND TO GUIDE THEM THROUGH THAT PROCESS.

BUT AS ERIC BLEAK AND SAM TEDFORD MENTIONED, THE LARGER QUESTION REALLY IS AROUND THE HOME OWNER ASSOCIATION, UM, NOT JUST THE HOA FEES, BUT REALLY WHAT WE SEE WITH CONDOMINIUM OWNERSHIP IN THE LONG-TERM ARE THOSE SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS AND THE SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS DOWN THE ROAD, UH, CREATE FRANKLY, AN UNDO, AN UNEVEN BURDEN FOR OUR LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOMEOWNERS.

AND WE'VE BEEN IN THOSE SITUATIONS, UM, MANY DIFFERENT TIMES, UH, WHERE THEY ARE UNABLE TO REALLY ABSORB THAT INCREASED COSTS.

UM, AS ERICA MENTIONED, THERE WERE ALSO SOME COMPLICATIONS, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'D BE HAPPY TO BRING LAW AND THAT COMPLICATIONS WITH HOW THE HOA FEES ARE SET, UM, PER STATE LAW, BUT ALSO, UH, WITH RESPECT TO WHEN THE CONDOMINIUM WAS INITIALLY FINANCED, ALL OF THAT IS SET LONG BEFORE WE GET, UM, TO, UH, TO SELLING THE HOMES OR DETERMINING, UM, HOW, UH, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE PICTURE.

SO, UM, IT IS COMPLICATED IS WORTHY OF TRYING TO UNRAVEL.

UM, BUT BECAUSE OF THE VMU PROGRAM, THERE'S SUCH A SMALL FOCUS ON IT.

OWNERSHIP.

I THINK IT'S ABOUT 5% OF THE UNITS RIGHT NOW, OR 5% OF THE PROJECTS ARE REALLY OWNERSHIP.

MOST OF THEM ARE RENTAL.

UM, WE JUST FELT LIKE WE COULD BETTER INVEST THE FEET IN LOO, UM, THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY LAND TRUST.

RIGHT.

THANK YOU FOR THAT EXTENDED, UM, INFORMATION.

THAT'S VERY, VERY VALUABLE.

THAT MAKES ME WONDER WHETHER WE WOULD BE BETTER OFF.

I MEAN, I GUESS, I GUESS THIS IS A QUESTION YOU'VE THOUGHT ABOUT WHETHER IT WOULD BE BETTER JUST HAVING ALL RENTAL IN VMU OR WHETHER WE GET ENOUGH FEE IN LIEU TO REALLY INVEST IT WISELY.

IN OTHER PLACES, I'D BE INTERESTED IN KIND OF THE COST BENEFIT THERE, BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANKS, MANDY.

THAT WAS REALLY USEFUL, GREG.

PERCENTAGE OF THOSE HAVE ACTUALLY REDEVELOPED SINCE 2010, UH, 34% OF THOSE THAT REDEVELOPED ACTUALLY PARTICIPATED IN BMU AND THE REMAINDER PART, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPED UNDER SOME, EITHER THEIR BASE ENTITLEMENTS.

STAFF, YOU SAID, I THINK ONE THIRD OF ALL VM USE ZONE TRACKS AND PARTICIPATING IN THE VMU PROGRAM IS SOMETHING THAT THERE WAS A STATISTIC LIKE THAT, SORRY, SAM TEDFORD.

UM, I THINK YOU MIGHT BE REFERRING TO A STATISTIC WHEN WE LOOKED AT ALL PROJECTS THAT HAD DEVELOPED LIKE REDEVELOPED, UM, SINCE THE AMU, UM, WAS ADOPTED IN 2010.

SO IF ALL THE SITES THAT HAVE THE MUSE OWNING, UM, A SMALL

[01:20:01]

I THINK THE NUMBER WAS ABOUT 6% ACTUALLY PARTICIPATED IN A DIFFERENT AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM.

SO AFFORDABILITY AND LOCKED COULD POTENTIALLY BE APPLICABLE ON THOSE SITES.

UM, AND THE REST PARTICIPATED, THEY JUST DEVELOPED UNDER THEIR BASE ZONING ENTITLEMENTS.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S HOW IT GOT TO A KIND OF A 34% PARTICIPATION RATE OF VMU TRACKS THAT HAVE DEVELOPED ABOUT A THIRD THAT ARE, HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO AFTER THE VMU BONUS HAVE OPTED NOT TO.

YES.

TWO THIRDS OPTED NOT TO TWO THIRDS UP AND NOT DO IT ONLY ONE THIRD.

I CAN GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.

GO AHEAD.

AND THAT'D BE GREAT LATER.

EITHER POSTPONE THE VOTE OR MAKE THE VOTE, BUT IT HAS BEEN SECOND.

UM, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND THAT BETTER.

UM, I, YOU KNOW, I JUST, I THINK WE'RE ALL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS AND, AND, AND I REALLY AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE, TO THE CONVERSATION ON, ON HOW TO, TO GET THAT.

AND I'M UNCLEAR NOW, UM, ON THE, UH, CONVERSATION WE WERE JUST HAVING ABOUT ONSITE, UH, AFFORDABILITY, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, YOU KNOW, CATHY RAISES, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO RAISES A GOOD POINT.

MAYBE WHAT WE DO IS TO CONSIDER MAKING IT ALL RENTAL, UH, CAUSE I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, PEOPLE NOT CHOOSING THE HOME OWNERSHIP BECAUSE IT IS SO HARD.

AND, AND CERTAINLY IF WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT COULD HELP US WORK THROUGH HOW TO MAKE THAT EASIER TO LAW SCHOOL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, I'D BE THE FIRST ONE TO THE ONE TO IMPLEMENT THAT.

BUT IN THE ABSENCE OF THAT, UH, IF WE'RE TRYING TO GET IT ONSITE, MAYBE IT'S BETTER TO HAVE IT ALL RENTAL.

UM, AND THEN IF WE ALSO SET THE RATE AT THE RIGHT AMOUNT, I'M NOT SURE.

I MEAN, I, I WOULDN'T OPPOSE, UH, THE FEE AND LIEU, UH, IF IT'S NOT, AS IT'S BEEN HISTORICALLY WHERE IT'S BECOME AN INEXPENSIVE WAY TO BUY OUT OF THE AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM, UH, DON'T WANT THAT.

SO WE SHOULDN'T BE INCENTIVIZING PEOPLE TO, TO NOT PUT IT ON SITE BECAUSE IT'S A CHEAPER OPTION.

SO IF THERE'S A WAY FOR US TO CALIBRATE IT WHERE THE DEVELOPER IS DIFFERENT, UH, AND MAYBE IT'S A CHOICE THAT THE STAFF MAKES AND PUTS TO THE STAFF TO DECIDE WHETHER IN THAT PARTICULAR LOCATION, IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE IT ONSITE OR WHETHER THAT PARTICULAR LOCATION OR THE NUMBER OF UNITS.

IF THERE, IF THERE'S ONLY WATER IT'S TOO FEW, IT WOULD BE BETTER TO GET THE, THE, THE FEE AND LOU AND THE FEE.

AND LOU WAS SAID THAT AT THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT, MAYBE IT OUGHT TO BE AN OPTION THAT, THAT, THAT THE CITY MAKES WHERE THE PROPERTY OWNER WOULD BE IN DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THE COST OF THE PROPERTY OWNER WOULD BE THE SAME, BUT IF IT'S UNWORKABLE TO DO IT, AND IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT IS RIGHT NOW, I HATE FOR US TO, TO, TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THAT UNTIL WE COULD, WE COULD, WE COULD FIGURE THAT OUT.

I'M A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN WE START CHOOSING 10 TO 12 OR 12 TO 15, CAUSE WE'RE NOT CALIBRATING ANY OF THOSE NUMBERS.

AND ONCE AGAIN, I WOULD SAY OUT LOUD, WE OUGHT TO BE HIRING SOMEBODY ON STAFF.

WHO'S DESIGNATED ON STAFF WITH A LONG BACKGROUND IN UNDERWRITING PROJECTS.

WHO'S THE PERSON THAT WE WOULD TRUST THAT THE COMMUNITY WOULD TRUST.

UM, RATHER THAN HIRING CONSULTANTS ON THE OUTSIDE, THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DIFFICULTY FOR US.

AND WE HAVE SO MANY THINGS THAT REQUIRE, UH, THAT WORKED NOW.

I WOULD URGE, UH, THE MANAGER TO PUT IN HIS BUDGET, THE DOLLARS TO ACTUALLY CREATE THAT POSITION FULL TIME TO HELP US WITH CALIBRATION ISSUES ON THE, UH, UH, UH, AMENDMENT, UH, ISSUE.

UM, THE, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M STILL WITH THE QUESTION AND, AND I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID, COUNSEL, MR. COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, WITH RESPECT TO WHETHER YOU ASK FOR A ZONING CASE.

I MEAN, WHEN WE ORIGINALLY DID THIS BACK AT THE FALL LAST YEAR, WE SAID WE WANTED VMU TO BE ABLE TO GET TO VMU TO BUY.

RIGHT, RIGHT.

JUST ADMINISTRATIVE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE WILLING TO GET MORE AFFORDABILITY, YOU CAN GET MORE, MORE, MORE HEIGHT TO THAT.

SO THE CONCEPT OF SAYING, WELL, LET'S MAKE IT INTO A ZONING CASE WHERE YOU NOW HAVE TO GO THROUGH A ZONING CASE WAS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE HAD ORIGINALLY TASKED STAFF TO DO LAST FALL.

UM, AND I'M, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT HAVING A ZONING IN CASE, CAUSE I THINK IT PROVIDES A BARRIER AND WILL INVOLVE GIVING PEOPLE WILL JUST BE

[01:25:01]

THERE.

THERE IT'S VIEW IS USED.

SO INFREQUENTLY NOW, ANYHOW, UH, ONLY A THIRD OF THE TIME TO EVEN AT THAT, IT'S OUR BEST ONE OF OUR BEST PROGRAMS, BUT IT'S STILL USED, UM, UH, MUCH LESS THAN FREQUENTLY THAN WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT BEING USED.

I THINK WE HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF MAKING IT USE OF IT'S STUFF THAT HAPPENS BY BY, RIGHT.

I UNDERSTAND THAT THE ISSUE WITH RESPECT TO, UM, THAT DOESN'T HELP US GET IT TO VW TRACKS THAT THAT DON'T HAVE THE AVENUE AND, AND MAYBE IT OUGHT TO BE THAT IF YOU HAVE, VMU ALREADY, YOU CAN GET VMU TO BUY, RIGHT.

UH, BUT WITH A MORE RELAXED COMPATIBILITY, OR IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN A POTENTIAL PETITION PROCESS, YOU CAN DO THAT.

WHETHER YOU HAVE V OR NOT, AND YOU HAVE THE OPTION AT THAT POINT OF GETTING INCREASED, RELAXED COMPATIBILITY.

UH, AND THAT WAY SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE THE WHO'S GETTING INTO ZONING CASE ANYHOW, IS ALREADY SUBJECT TO GETTING A NEW BOOK.

SO SONY CASE AND SOMEONE WHO ALREADY HAS THE, AND WOULD BE WILLING TO JUST DO IT AS A MATTER OF RIGHT, HAS THE OPTION OF WHETHER TO TURN IT INTO A ZONING CASE OR NOT MIGHT BE A WAY TO DEAL WITH THAT.

BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON, ON THE, YOU KNOW, THE BLUE AND THE, AND THE ORANGE LINE, YOU KNOW, UH, ESPECIALLY, UH, UH, INCREASED, UH, UM, UH, UNITS AND, UH, AND THE LIKE, SO I DON'T KNOW IF MAYBE THAT MIGHT BE A SWEET SPOT.

THAT'S KIND OF A COMBINATION OF BOTH WHAT WE HAD ASKED FOR NOVEMBER, UH, AND WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN'S ASKING FOR AND, AND YOUR, YOUR AMENDMENT MIGHT BE A PLACE THAT MIGHT WORK.

I DON'T KNOW.

UM, I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING THAT IT, UM, IT SOUNDED LIKE IT MIGHT HAVE SOME, SOME POSSIBILITY, BUT, BUT THE PROBLEM THAT I'M TRYING TO SOLVE IS SO POSSIBILITY IN THE SENSE THAT, UM, SO MAYOR, I THINK WHAT I HEARD YOU SAY WAS THAT, THAT PERHAPS VMU TWO IS AVAILABLE BY RIDE, EXCEPT THAT IF YOU WANT GREATER COMPATIBILITY, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO GO THROUGH A ZONING CASE.

THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING YOU COULD DO, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S EVEN NECESSARY, BUT IT DOESN'T SOLVE FOR THE PROBLEM THAT I WAS TRYING TO SOLVE FOR.

UM, I AGREE.

WE STARTED DOWN THIS ROAD OF SAYING JUST ADMINISTRATIVELY, YOU CAN GET THE V2 V2.

AND THE PROBLEM THAT I WAS TRYING TO SOLVE FOR WAS NOT WHAT THE DEVELOPER WANTS TO DO, BUT TO RESPOND TO WHAT WAS REQUIRED OF US IN THE AKUNA CASE.

SO IF YOU HAVE ANOTHER WAY TO SOLVE FOR THAT, I'M CERTAINLY INTERESTED IN HEARING IT, YOU KNOW, UM, I WAS JUST PUTTING THE, UM, THE ZONING CASE ON IT CAUSE THAT THAT WOULD SOLVE FOR IT.

BUT REMEMBER WE HAVE TO, AT SOME UNDER AKUNA, AT SOME POINT IN THE PROCESS, THERE HAS TO BE NOTIFICATION RIGHTS AND PROTEST RIGHTS.

AND IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT UPFRONT, WHICH I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD, I THINK WE SHOULD JUST MAKE TEXT CHANGES WITHOUT DOING THAT.

AND THEN JUST MAKE, JUST DO THAT WHEN WE'RE AFFECTING A PIECE OF PROPERTY.

THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING, BUT I'M NOT ARGUING THAT THAT'S THE ONLY WAY IF THERE'S ANOTHER WAY TO DO IT, I'M CERTAINLY OPEN TO LISTENING, BUT WE HAVE, WE HAVE NO CHOICE.

WE HAVE TO RESPOND TO THE AKOONU CASE.

SO THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO SOLVE FOR.

IT'S NOT, I'M, THAT'S THE ONLY THING I'M TRYING TO SOLVE FOR.

IT'S NOT, UM, IT'S NOT ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT.

AND I, AND I, UM, I, SO I I'M, I DON'T WANT TO GET THE ISSUE COMPATIBILITY CONFUSED WITH THE ISSUE OF WHETHER IT'S BY RIDE OR NOT, BECAUSE I THINK THE COMPATIBILITY THAT COUNCIL MEMBER FELLA IS PROPOSING IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO DO AND IT'S IMMEDIATE, AND I THINK WE SHOULD DO IT.

AND I DON'T THINK THAT THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS ADMINISTRATIVE OR, OR, UM, BY RIDE OR WHETHER IT REQUIRES ZONING.

I THINK I DON'T WANT TO CONFUSE THOSE TWO THINGS CAUSE THERE'S DIFFERENT THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE FOR.

UH, WE DO HAVE, UH, WE HAVE THIS ROOM TILL FIVE O'CLOCK 4 36, AND THERE'S STILL A COUPLE MORE BRIEFINGS.

SO, UH, I SUGGEST THAT IF Y'ALL WANT TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS ITEM HAD BEEN MADE AND SECOND, THEN WE CAN DO IT UNLESS SOMEONE REALLY HAS A QUESTION ON THE ISSUE ITSELF THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING.

I WOULD ASKED IF WE CAN GO AHEAD AND

[01:30:01]

THAT THANK YOU CHAIR.

WE CAN PROBABLY TALK ALL ALL DAY.

SO, UM, I, I JUST MADE A MOTION IN CASE THERE WAS CONSENSUS ON THE COMMITTEE.

SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MY COLLEAGUES FEEL ABOUT IT.

DO YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE TAKING A BOAT? I MEAN, I DO, UH, I UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS WITH THE BUY-RITE VERSUS, AND HONESTLY THE PARTICIPATION RATE THAT I WAS NOT AWARE OF, THAT, YOU KNOW, RAISES SOME CONCERNS, BUT I THINK THAT IT WILL BE GOING BEFORE, REGARDLESS IT WILL BE GOING BEFORE THE FULL COUNCIL AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT ALL THOSE ISSUES, BUT I, I THINK AS A, AS A, AS A OVERALL KIND OF APPROACH, I, I DO SUPPORT IT AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SEND IT TO, UH, TO THE FULL COUNCIL WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, HOPEFULLY, UH, UH, UNANIMOUS SUPPORT.

CAN YOU REMIND ME WHO SECONDED IT? I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT MY COMMENTS WEREN'T CONSTRUED AS SECONDING, VELA AND ACCEPTED THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENT NOW.

SO YEAH, I ACCEPTED, I CONTINUE TO HAVE CONCERNS, UM, MOST, ESPECIALLY AS IT PERTAINS TO ZONING IN PARTICULAR, IN WHICH CASE I, I WOULD PREFER THAT WE HOLD OFF ON TAKING ACTION AND DISCUSS IT FURTHER.

BUT I UNDERSTAND IF MY COLLEAGUES WOULD LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE VOTE.

OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND VOTE.

YOU CAN VOTE IT, OR, UH, LET'S TAKE THE VOTE, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE AMENDMENT TO, UM, RELATE IT TO THE VERTICAL MIX USE, WHICH WE CALL TO RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE APPROVED.

THAT'S THREE CONSTANT UMBRELLA, CONSTANTLY KITCHEN IN THE CHAIR, A DOZER AGAINST, OR, OR ONE OF THE STAIN ABSTAIN CHAIR.

WANT TO MAKE CORRECTION HERE.

AND WE HAVE TO GO STAY STANDING MEMBERS, COUNCIL, MY ELLIS AND CONSTANT MOTHER HELP HARPER MEDICINE.

SO IT MOVES ON FORWARD TO THE CONSOLE FULL CONSOLE NEXT WEEK, UH, BEFORE WE LEAVE, I MEAN, BEFORE WE GO INTO THEIR NEXT BRIEFING, UH, I

[1. Approve the minutes of the April 12, 2022 Housing and Planning Committee meeting. (Part 2 of 2) ]

WE ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION, UH, THE MINUTES WERE SECOND BY THE MIRROR, SO HE CAME SECOND THEM.

SO I'M BRINGING UP THE MINUTES AGAIN.

UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL COUNCILMAN VILLA AND THE SECOND COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.

RAISE YOUR HONOR.

IT'S UNANIMOUS ON THE, ON THE DICE.

ITEM ITEM THREE, A BRIEFING ON AN ETL D STUDY TIMELINE AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

AND NOW THE NEXT BRIEFING, WHICH IS ITEM FOUR OR NO

[3. Briefing on Equitable Transit Oriented Development study timeline and community engagement process. ]

IT'S BAD.

GOOD AFTERNOON AGAIN.

UH, MY NAME IS ERIC , I'M THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER WITH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT.

UM, AND I'M JOINED BY ANNA LAN FROM CAPITAL METRO.

UM, WE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS AN AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN PARTNERING WITH CAPITAL METRO ON EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, UM, PLANNING, UH, PARTIALLY FROM DIRECTION FROM CITY COUNCIL, ALSO IN RESPONSE TO A GRANT FROM THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION.

SO ANNA WILL BE PROVIDING THE PRESENTATION AND THEN I'LL BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, ERICA.

GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS ANNA LAN.

I'M A PRINCIPAL PLANNER AT CHEM METRO.

I'M REALLY HAPPY TO PRESENT OUR PROJECT HERE TODAY.

WE'LL BE GOING OVER A COUPLE ITEMS, UM, UH, UPDATE ABOUT THE PROJECT AS WELL AS THE MARKETING ENGAGEMENT.

AND OF COURSE, SHOWING YOU SOME OF THE EARLY DELIVERABLES OF THE PROJECT.

$5 MILLION, THIS COVERS 21 STATIONS ON THE ORANGE AND BLUE LIGHT RAIL LINE.

THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT RELEASE STARTED, UM, WHEN WE WON TWO BACK TO THAT GRANTS FROM THE FTA 2D PILOT GRANT WITH A TOTAL OF 1.6,

[01:35:01]

AND CAP METRO IS LEADING THIS PROJECT, BUT WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR PARTNERS, THE CITY AND ATP.

UM, RECENTLY WE EXPANDED OUR PROJECT SCOPE IN COORDINATION WITH THE CITY TEAM FOR OUR CONSISTENCY AND FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION.

SO ON TOP OF THE STATION AREA PLANS IN QUARTER PLAN UPDATE, WE ALSO WILL EXPAND SOME OF OUR ANALYSIS TO THE SYSTEM-WIDE LEVEL.

THIS PROJECT REALLY DOES NOT PROPOSE CHANGES TO ZONING OR DRANK THE ORANGE AND BLUE LINE DESIGN PROCESS.

THE SHIFT FROM TRADITIONAL TOD TO , UM, WAS THE DECISION MADE BY KENT MITCHELL INTERNALLY BECAUSE WE REALLY WANT TO DO MORE THAN JUST REDUCING OR PREVENTING DISPLACEMENT, WHICH IS SOME OF THE BY-PRODUCT OF TRADITIONAL TLDS.

SO TRUE.

EQUITABLE 2D IS REALLY ABOUT REVERSING THE TRADITIONAL INEQUALITIES AND CREATING THE NEW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESIDENTS ALONG THE TRANSIT CORRIDORS.

AND FOR US, THIS MEANS REALLY CREATING THE NEW HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES WHILE PRIORITIZING THE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.

THIS IS AN ELD DIAGRAM DONE BY OUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT, BUT IT REALLY KIND OF ENCAPSULATES OUR PROJECT VISION.

THIS IS AN AREA WE SEE AS DISTINCTLY AUSTIN.

IT'S MULTIMODAL.

YOU SEE ELECTRIC BUSES, YOU SEE THE LIBRARY WILL, UM, METRO BIKES AND HAS A MIX OF HOUSING TYPES FOR BOTH RENTERS AND PROSPECTIVE OR CURRENT HOMEOWNERS.

UM, THIS PICTURE DOESN'T REALLY SPELL IT OUT, BUT IT'S IMPLIED THAT THE APARTMENTS ARE AFFORDABLE TO RANGE OF INCOMES AND THAT THE PLACE FEELS REALLY WELCOMING TO THE EXISTING AND NEW RESIDENTS ALIKE.

SO YOU CAN ALSO SEE THAT WE HAVE SMALL COMMERCIAL SPACES USED BY LOCAL BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY SERVING USES SUCH AS LIBRARIES OR COMMUNITY CENTERS AND A VERY STRONG PUBLIC REALM WITH NOT TO AUSTIN'S MUSIC CULTURE.

AND THIS IS A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WE ENVISIONED THAT'S ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL ABILITIES.

FOR .

WE HAVE A TOTAL OF FIVE DELIVERABLES FROM TASK TWO THROUGH SEVEN TASK.

TWO IS LOOKING AT SOME OF THE PROJECTS WORK DONE BY OTHER CITIES IN THE COUNTRY FOR EACH OF THE TASK.

FOUR IS REALLY ON EXISTING CONDITIONS ANALYSIS FOR OUR STUDY CORRIDOR TASK FIVE IS POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS OR TOOLBOX OF EOD RECOMMENDATIONS, TASK SIX UPDATES, THE EXISTING CAP METRO PRIORITY TOOL, WHICH WAS STARTED PRIOR TO PROJECT CONNECT AND TASK SEVEN IS SEE STATION AREA, VISION PLANS FOR SELECTED STATIONS.

AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE TASK FIVE AND TESTS SIX FORM THE BULK OF THE COUNCIL DIRECTED EACH OF THE POLICY PLAN THAT WE'LL WE'LL HAND OVER TO THE CITY.

NEXT SLIDE.

THIS IS OUR PROJECT TIMELINE.

UM, A LOT OF GOING ON HERE.

SO I'LL WALK EVERYONE THROUGH THE PROJECT REALLY KICKED OFF LAST NOVEMBER, 2021, AND WE'LL CONTINUE UNTIL THE SPRING OF 2023.

THE DELIVERABLES ARE REALLY ALL COORDINATED WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TEAM, UM, AS WELL AS THE ORANGE OF BLIND NEPA PROCESS AND ALSO THE FTA CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRAND RATINGS PROCESS.

THERE ARE THREE MAJOR STAGES OF ENGAGEMENT.

WE JUST COMPLETED THE FIRST ENGAGEMENT, UM, IN APRIL.

AND THE FIRST STAGE ENGAGEMENT WAS REALLY LOOKING AT HIGH LEVEL FEEDBACK REGARDING PRIORITIES AND KEY CONCERNS.

SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE JUST AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND STAGE OF ENGAGEMENT, REALLY, WHICH CENTERS AROUND TASK FIVE, THE POLICY FRAMEWORK, AND, UM, IN THIS ENGAGEMENT SESSION, WE'LL BE TALKING TO GRASSROOTS GRASS, TOPS, SMALL BUSINESSES, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPERS TO LOOK AT SPECIFIC STRATEGIES HERE.

SO WE ARE HOPING TO COMPLETE THE POLICY FRAMEWORK AND PRIORITY TOOL BY AUGUST, SO THAT IT'S READY TO HAND OVER TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN TEAM IN SEPTEMBER.

AND WE'RE HOPING TO INTRODUCE THE TASK SEVEN STATION AREA PLANS, WHICH IS AIMED FOR APRIL OF 2023.

UM, SO THESE GOALS INCLUDE THE SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE MULTI-MODAL TRANSPORTATION.

THERE ARE SIX DEFINED GOALS FOR THE ETL D PROJECTS AND THESE GOALS CAME ABOUT FROM THREE DIFFERENT SOURCES.

SO FIRST IT'S COLLECTIVELY DEFINED FROM A COMBINATION OF THE 30 INDIVIDUAL GOALS IDENTIFIED BY THE COUNCIL AND THE ETL TEAM RESOLUTION FROM 2021.

IT'S ALSO FROM BEING NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US RACIAL EQUITY TOOL.

AND FINALLY, FROM THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE FIRST ROUND OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.

[01:40:01]

WE REALLY WANT TO HELP CLOSER RACIAL HEALTH AND WEALTH GAPS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND TO PRESERVE AND GROW AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

THE GOALS FURTHER GOES ON.

WE WANT TO EXPAND ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY JOBS, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE THE AMENITIES TO SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF THE RESIDENTS.

AND LASTLY, WE REALLY WANT TO SUSTAIN AND GROW OUR, OUR SMALL BUSINESSES ALONG THE TRANSIT CORRIDORS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE TASK FIVE.

THIS IS THE CURRENT TASK OF WORKING ON, AND THIS IS REALLY THE MEAT OF THE PROJECT.

I WOULD LIKE TO THINK.

UM, TASK FIVE WILL REALLY ALLOW CAP METRO AND CITY OF BOSTON TO BEST UTILIZE TOOLS ACCORDING TO NEEDS OF EACH STATION AREA.

UM, THE STRATEGIES ARE DIVIDED INTO THE FIVE CATEGORIES, LAND USE AND URBAN DESIGN, REAL ESTATE MOBILITY, HOUSING AFFORDABILITY, AND BUSINESS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

EACH OF THESE WILL CONTAIN A SPECTRUM OF POLICY TOOLS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT RANGE FROM EASY WINS TO SETTING UP A LONG-TERM POLICY FOUNDATION.

SO WHEN COMBINED WITH THE TOPOLOGIES AND THE TASK SIX PRIORITIZATION TOOL, THE HOPE IS THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ASSESS THE MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES BASED ON STATION SPECIFIC AND GEOGRAPHIC NEEDS ALONG THE CORRIDOR.

WE ARE VERY AWARE OF, UM, COORDINATING WITH THIS PROJECT WITH THE NEED FOR PROCESS.

SO AS TO NOT TO DISRUPT IT IN ANY WAY, UM, WE'RE VERY WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE ATP LINE TEAMS TO COORDINATE DELIVERY.

AND THE IMPORTANT NOTE IS SUCH AS INTRODUCING THE STATION AREA PLANS UNTIL AFTER THE FINALIZATION OF THE NEPA DOCUMENTS AND THE FDA RECORD OF DECISION, WHICH IS AROUND MARCH, 2023.

AND WE PLAN TO INTRODUCE THE STATION PLANS AFTER THAT IN APRIL, 2023.

THIS IS A SLIDE THAT I'M VERY EXCITED TO INTRODUCE TO THE COUNCIL.

WE HAVE SPENT A LOT OF EFFORTS FOR EACH CODY TO KIND OF GO ABOVE AND BEYOND IN OUR TRADITIONAL ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

WE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT, YOU KNOW, THE TRADITIONAL ENGAGEMENT METHODS REALLY LIMIT THE AUDIENCE.

AND WE OFTEN MISS OUT ON THE BLACK, LATIN X, OTHER MINORITY OR UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS SUCH AS THE ELDERLY ACCESS COMMUNITY AND THOSE FACING HOUSING INSECURITY.

SO WE REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT WAYS TO REACH DEEPER INTO DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.

AND WE TARGETED THE ENGAGEMENT METHODS TO REALLY BRING OUT THE VOICES, UM, IN A VARIETY OF WAYS, WE WORK WITH THE CAC ON A MONTHLY BASIS THROUGH WORKING GROUP.

UM, AND WE ALSO HOLD SMALLER, MORE TARGETED OUTREACH TO THE AT-RISK COMMUNITIES.

AND THOSE MOST IMPACTED THROUGH COMPENSATED FOCUS GROUPS AND COMPENSATED COMMUNITY CONNECTORS, WHICH IS LIKE AN AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, SIMILAR TO THE AWESOME WALK, BIKE ROLL PROGRAM.

UM, THESE COMPENSATED CONVERSATIONS REALLY HELP US GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEEDS AND CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY THROUGH A PEER TO PEER OUTREACH FORMAT AND HAS SO FAR BROUGHT A SPECTACULAR FEEDBACK.

SO I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE SOME OF THESE ENGAGEMENT METHODS.

UM, THE COMMUNITY CONNECTORS WAS REALLY THROUGH AN OPEN RECRUITMENT PROCESS.

UM, CITYWIDE, WE HAD OVER 150 APPLICANTS AND 12 WERE SELECTED FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS.

SO WE HAVE A COMBINATION OF NATIVE AUSTINITES.

WE HAVE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE CITY FOR ONLY A FEW YEARS.

WE HAVE A FEW RETIREES, WE HAVE STUDENTS AND ALL HAVE SOME SORT OF COMMUNITY ACTIVISM BACKGROUND.

SO THE COMMUNITY CONNECTORS ARE PAID $25 AN HOUR.

AND OUR GOALS FOR THEM TO REACH ABOUT 30 TO 50 PEOPLE PER CONNECTOR.

THEY ALSO HOST A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, UM, IN THE THREE MONTHS THAT THEY'VE BEEN ACTIVE, WE'VE LOCKED OVER 26 EVENTS WITH OVER 40 HOURS OF ENGAGEMENT AND ALSO WITH 104 FOLKS ENGAGED FROM THE CONNECTORS ALONE.

AND, UM, FOR THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP, WE HOLD MONTHLY WORKING GROUP MEETINGS.

THE GOAL IS TO REALLY NOT JUST TO PRESENT AND INFORM THE CDC, BUT REALLY HELP ASK THEM TO KIND OF WORK WITH US AND HELP SHAPE POLICY DECISIONS ALONG THE WAY.

UM, IN THE LAST MONTH ALONE, WE HAVE HELD THREE DIFFERENT WORKSHOPS WITH THE CAC GROUP.

TWO OF THE WORKSHOPS ARE COMBINATION OF THE CC AND THE COMMUNITY CONNECTORS.

SO FOR THE FOCUS GROUP, UM, OF WHICH IS ONGOING RIGHT NOW, WE ARE HOLDING SMALLER DISCUSSIONS WITH GROUPS ABOUT THREE TO FIVE, SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT MORE.

[01:45:03]

IF WE HAVE MORE CO-HOSTS IN THE ROOM WITH DIFFERENT GROUPS.

SO WE'RE SPEAKING WITH GRASSROOTS GRASS, TOPS, SMALL BUSINESSES AND DEVELOPERS, BUT WITH EMPHASIS ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPERS, UM, FOR THESE FOCUS GROUPS, IT'S ALSO A COMPENSATED CONVERSATION ABOUT AN HOUR DIVIDING TO THE FOUR CATEGORIES.

SO FAR, WE'VE COMPLETED 22 FOCUS GROUPS UP TO DATE, INCLUDING SEVERAL IN SPANISH ONLY SESSIONS WITH OVER 120 PARTICIPANTS SO FAR.

UM, THESE ENGAGEMENT GROUPS ARE HYBRID MIXED.

SOMETIMES THEY ARE VIRTUAL SOMETIMES A WEEK AGO, UM, IN PERSON AS PART OF THE EVENT, FOR EXAMPLE, LAST FRIDAY, WE WERE INVITED TO THE AUSTIN AREA, URBAN LEAGUE, WHERE WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE OVER 11 INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE EITHER FACING HOUSING SECURITIES OR WHO HAVE HAD IN THE PAST.

UM, JUST AS AN UP NUMBER UP TO DATE, WE HAVE COMPENSATED OVER $6,000 UP-TO-DATE FOR THESE FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS ALONE.

THE EOD PROJECT IS MOVING ON A VERY RAPID PACE AND TIMELINE.

SO IN ORDER TO KIND OF KEEP TRACK OF THE PROGRESS, WE CREATED A WEBSITE, UM, ON THAT'S NESTED WITHIN PROJECT CONNECT B PROJECT WEBSITE IS A PLACE THAT YOU CAN, IT'S A ONE-STOP SHOP WHERE YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE ENGAGEMENT INFORMATION, UH, LINKS TO TAKE SURVEYS.

YOU'RE ABLE TO ACCESS OUR, UM, DATA SET AND YOU'LL SEE THE CASE STUDY SUMMARY.

AND ALSO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET TO UNDERSTAND OR INTERACT WITH OUR COMMUNITY CONNECTORS, IT'S ALL ON ONE PAGE.

THIS IS MY CONCLUDING SLIDE.

AND I LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE COUNCIL, THE EXISTING CONDITIONS DASHBOARD THAT WE CREATED.

SO THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TASK FOUR, WHICH LOOKS AT THE EXISTING CONDITIONS ALONG OUR STUDY, FOUR DOORS.

USUALLY WHAT HAPPENS IN THESE PLANNING STUDIES IS YOU GET A STATIC PDF, UM, AND IT WILL BE SITTING ON THE SHELF WILL BE OUTDATED IN ABOUT THREE TO FIVE YEARS, BUT WE HAVE CREATED THIS TO BE AN ONLINE, PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE DASHBOARD, WHERE YOU'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT A VARIETY OF INFORMATION BASED ON EITHER THE CORRIDOR LEVEL OR STATION LEVEL.

SO YOU'LL HAVE FULL PUBLIC ACCESS TO POPULATION, DATA, DISPLACEMENT, DATA JOBS, URBAN FABRIC, REAL ESTATE, OR MOBILITY.

UM, THIS IS UP AND LIVE RUNNING AT THE LINK ABOVE.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THE MULTIFAMILY INVENTORY, UM, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO KIND OF LOOK AT THE INVENTORY AT STATION LEVEL.

YOU'LL BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE INVENTORY, THE NUMBER OF UNITS AVAILABLE, THE VACANCY LEVEL, UM, CURRENT AND FUTURE PREDICTED INVENTORY RENT FOR THESE STATIONS, AS WELL AS THE CHANGE IN RENT FROM 2011 TO 2021, THE STATION, UH, THE WEBSITE ALSO OFFERS STATION TOURS, AERIALS OF EACH OF THESE STATIONS.

SO THE IDEA IS THAT THIS TOOL NOT ONLY BE USEFUL FOR CAT METRO AND CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT FOR FUTURE COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS DISCUSSIONS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN JUST PULL UP, UM, RATHER THAN ACCESSING FIVE OR SIX DIFFERENT WEBSITES.

OUR TEAM HAVE PULLED IT OUT IN ONE INTERACTIVE WEBSITE, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'LL CONTINUOUSLY UPDATE.

THIS IS ONLY COVERING THE STATION AREA ALONE, ORANGE AND BLUE, BUT I STATED EARLIER WE ARE EXTENDING OUR, UM, ANALYSIS STATION, UH, TO SYSTEM-WIDE.

SO IN ABOUT A MONTH OR TWO'S TIME, PLEASE COME BACK TO THIS WEBSITE AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE ANALYSIS ON A MUCH MORE, UH, GREATER LEVEL COVERING 98 STATIONS.

SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, ERICA, AND I'LL BE VERY HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.

THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER MEDICINE.

UH, THANK YOU CHAIR.

AND RECOGNIZING, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY DID, RIGHT.

I'VE TRIED TO KEEP MY COMMENTS BRIEF, BUT I AM EXCITED.

I'M EXCITED TO SEE PROGRESS ON THIS AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS.

YOU KNOW, WHEN MY TEAM AND I BROUGHT FORWARD, UH, THE RESOLUTION DIRECTING STAFF TO DO THIS WORK, I SAW IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY AND OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY MAXIMIZE TAXPAYER APPROVED TRANSIT INVESTMENTS.

UM, AND WHILE ENSURING THAT PEOPLE WHO NEEDED THE BUS, WHO DEPEND ON BUSES AND TRAINS WILL STILL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO USE THEM.

UM, WE'VE HAD SOME OPPORTUNITIES AS COUNCIL MEMBERS TO VISIT OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS, UH, TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

[01:50:01]

WHAT THEY DID WRONG.

I REALLY THINK THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE TRENDSETTERS.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE PIONEERS IN THE WAY THAT WE ARE FOCUSING SO MUCH TIME AND ATTENTION, AND FRANKLY, OUR DOLLARS, UM, TOWARDS GETTING BEHIND, YOU KNOW, NOT ALLOWING FORWARD TYPICAL TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT TO DO WHAT IT DOES, WHICH HAS DISPLACED PEOPLE.

UM, AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT STANCE.

UM, I THINK HOUSING IN SHOPS ARE REALLY GREAT, BUT, UM, I'M VERY HAPPY TO SEE THAT WE'RE INTENTIONALLY TALKING TO OUR RESIDENTS ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE.

UH, I THINK THAT'S A CRITICAL COMPONENT AND I'M HAPPY TO SEE THAT WE'RE DOING THAT.

I THINK THAT'S HOW WE GET THOSE COMPLETE COMMUNITIES THAT WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ENVISIONED IN, UM, IMAGINE AUSTIN WHERE EVERYONE'S DAILY NEEDS ARE JUST A SHORT TRIP AWAY.

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ANYBODY ELSE, BUT THAT'S CERTAINLY MY GOAL.

UM, SO IT'S ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT WE MAKE SURE AS MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS AS POSSIBLE HAVE ACCESS TO THAT KIND OF CITY LIFE.

UM, AND I SEE THIS ETO D WORK AS A BIG STEP IN THAT DIRECTION.

AND SO, UM, I'M REALLY JUST HAPPY TO HAVE HAD THE PRESENTATION.

IT LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF THOUGHT AND EFFORT HAS GONE INTO BRINGING THE PRESENTATION FORWARD.

SO I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

AND I ONLY HAVE ONE QUESTION AND THAT IS, DO WE HAVE AN INVENTORY LIST OF CITY OWNED PROPERTIES IN PROXIMITY TO FUTURE PROJECT CONNECT, UM, TRANSIT LINES.

WE DO A THAT'S PART OF THE DASHBOARD.

I'M IF YOU GO TO, I THINK THERE IS A TAB UNDER, UM, REAL ESTATE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE LINK OF ALL CITY OWNED INVENTORY WITHIN A HALF MILE OF THE TRANSIT LINE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN KITCHEN.

YES.

I'M.

I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS TOO.

I WAS, I WAS PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO HELP, UM, COUNCILMEMBER IN, UH, HARPER, MADISON ON HER RESOLUTION.

AND, UM, I HAVE ONE QUESTION FOR YOU.

UM, THE, UH, IT SOUNDED TO ME LIKE, I THINK, I THINK YOU SAID AUGUST OR SO THAT Y'ALL WERE GOING TO, UH, COMPLETE THE WORK ON THE POLICY IF I HEARD YOU RIGHT.

POLICY, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THAT, THAT WOULD COME OVER TO THE CITY.

AND SO IF I HEARD THAT, RIGHT, MY QUESTION IS, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN GET A COPY OF WHEN, WHEN THAT, UH, WHEN THAT'S STAGE OF THE, OF THE, UH, PROJECT IS COMPLETED? THE REASON I'M ASKING IS WE HAD ORIGINALLY ENVISIONED IN, IN YOUR RESOLUTION THAT THERE WOULD BE AN INTERIM REPORT BACK TO THE, UH, COUNCIL THINKING THAT MAYBE THERE WERE SOME INTERIM, UH, POLICY CHANGES.

WE COULD GO AHEAD AND INITIATE.

SO I'M JUST REALLY ANXIOUS TO SEE WHAT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS MIGHT BE.

AND JUST HOPING THAT WE CAN GET SOME OF THOSE BEFORE SPRING OF 2023.

MAYOR AND COUNCIL, BRENT LLOYD DSD.

I THINK THAT'S A QUESTION, UM, THAT ERICA CAN ANSWER BETTER THAN ME.

SURE.

UM, SO AS ANNA MENTIONED, UH, PART OF THE POLICY PLAN IS ACTUALLY THE TOOL THAT SHE JUST DEMONSTRATED.

SO THAT'S PART OF IT, BUT THEN THE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THE OTHER PART.

UM, I THINK WE WILL HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS READY TO BE SHARED PUBLICLY.

UM, SO I DON'T SEE ANY PROBLEM WITH THAT.

AND I, I DID ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE AWARE THAT WE, WE JUST SENT AN UPDATE MEMO TODAY.

SO THERE'S INFORMATION IN THAT MEMO AS WELL.

THAT'S GREAT.

I'M JUST REALLY LOOKING TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT IT MAKES SENSE TO ACT ON SOONER RATHER THAN LATER, YOU KNOW, IT MAY BE THAT YOU HAVE TO FINISH EVERYTHING BEFORE THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE COULD ACT ON, BUT, UM, I KNOW A NUMBER OF US WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN ACTING ON SOME THINGS THIS FALL.

SO, AND I WANT TO THANK THE STAFF FOR THAT REPORT.

SO, AND THANK YOU.

UH, WE'RE GONNA, IF THERE'S NO MORE QUESTIONS WE'RE GOING TO GO INTO OUR LAST TIME ITEM ITEM FOR

[4. Briefing on pre-approved plans for Accessory Dwelling Units. ]

STAFF

[01:55:13]

UM, THANK YOU FOR HEARING THIS ITEM.

UM, WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE A BRIEF BACKGROUND ON KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT WITH COUNCIL'S PROPOSAL OF CONSIDERING THE USE OF PRE-APPROVED PLANS FOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS.

AND WE'LL KIND OF, I'LL TRY TO, I KNOW WE'RE GOING OVER TIME HERE, BUT I'LL TRY TO, SO I'LL TRY TO BREEZE THROUGH IT.

AND I THINK COUNCIL MEMBERS MAY HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT, THAT ARE PRESENTED BY TRYING TO USE PRE-APPROVED PLANT.

SO JUST BY WAY OF BACKGROUND, UM, I ALWAYS HAVE THIS BAR, HERE WE GO.

UM, SO SOME HISTORY, UM, WE'RE GONNA JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PRIOR DIRECTION THAT COUNCIL HAS PROVIDED ON THIS TOPIC.

UM, TOUCH ON THE ADU UNIVERSE PROGRAM THAT THE CITY OF SEATTLE USES, AND THEN WE'LL TOUCH ON AS WELL, THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION, WHICH WE PROVIDED YOU IN, UH, FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR.

SO, UH, THE INITIAL DIRECTION THAT COUNCIL PROVIDED WAS IN APRIL OF 2020, UH, AND IT WAS BASICALLY TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF USING PRE-APPROVED PLANS FOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS AND LOOK AT POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WAYS THAT WE COULD REALLY DEVELOP A MENU OF PRE-APPROVED MODELS, UH, THAT WOULD BE USED TO HELP STREAMLINE THE PERMITTING PROCESS AND MAKE IT EASIER FOR HOMEOWNERS TO BUILD 80 YEARS.

WE OUTLINED SEVERAL STEPS AND SEVERAL CONSIDERATIONS, UH, IN A MEMO THAT WAS PROVIDED, I BELIEVE, UM, LAST YEAR AND SPECIFICALLY, UH, THE NEED TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY, UM, WITH EMPHASIS ON LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOMEOWNERS AND RENTERS, AS WELL AS DESIGN PROFESSIONALS TO DEVELOP KIND OF WHAT THE CRITERIA WOULD BE FOR SELECTING, UH, WHAT PLANS ARE GOING TO BE PRE-APPROVED, UM, ISSUE A CALL FOR A PUBLIC CALL FOR ADU PLANS FROM LOCAL DESIGN PROFESSIONALS OR ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, GET A, GET A SET OF PROPOSED PLANS AND THEN REVIEW THEM UNDER THE CRITERIA THAT THE PUBLICLY DEVELOPED CRITERIA, UM, POTENTIALLY ALSO PARTNER WITH SELECT DESIGN PROFESSIONALS OR ORGANIZATIONS TO ESTABLISH PRE-APPROVED ADU GUIDELINES, UM, FOR USE AND PROCESSES TO COMPLETE DESIGN MODIFICATIONS, AND PERMITTING, UH, AND USE AFFIRMATIVE MARKETING MARKETING TO INFORM ELIGIBLE HOMEOWNERS FACING DISPLACEMENT PRESSURES ABOUT THE OPTIONS FOR USING PRE-APPROVED PLANS, UH, DIRECTION.

NUMBER TWO, UH, CAME IN LAST YEAR AND IN DECEMBER.

AND THAT WAS BASICALLY TO ESTIMATE THE AMOUNT OF STAFF TIME AND THE RESOURCES THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO REALLY IMPLEMENT THE STEPS THAT I JUST OUTLINED.

THE STEPS THAT WE'VE DETERMINED BASED ON LOOKING AT OTHER CITIES AND LOOKING AT OUR OWN PROCEDURES WOULD BE NECESSARY TO MAKE A PRE-APPROVED PLANS VIABLE.

AND SO IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, WE, Y WE PROVIDED ANOTHER MEMO THAT REALLY WENT THROUGH, UM, THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED AND THE STEPS TO REALLY MAKE PRE-APPROVED PLANS.

AND SPECIFICALLY, BASED ON LOOKING AT SEATTLE AND OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE TRIED TO ADOPT THIS KIND OF A PROGRAM, WE DETERMINED THAT IT WOULD REQUIRE A AGAIN, CREATING CRITERIA FOR ADU PLANS BASED ON TECHNICAL CODE REQUIREMENTS AND PUBLIC FEEDBACK.

AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IF, IF, IF ADU PLANS ARE GOING TO BE PRE-APPROVED, UM, AND THAT IS THEN GOING TO BE A PREDOMINANT MODEL OF ADU CONSTRUCTION IN A COMMUNITY, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO WANT INPUT ON THAT.

PEOPLE ARE GOING TO WANT TO KNOW KIND OF WHAT ARE THESE GOING TO LOOK LIKE? WHAT IS THE, THE CHARACTER OF THE STRUCTURE GOING TO BE? AND THERE'S ALWAYS A LOT OF INTEREST IN THAT.

AND SO WE DETERMINED AND LOOKING AT OTHER CITIES THAT THAT WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROCESS.

UM, AGAIN, RELEASING AN OPEN CALL FOR PLANS TO BE SUBMITTED, CREATING A SELECTION COMMITTEE FOR A REVIEW OF POTENTIALLY UP TO 160 SUBMISSIONS AND SELECTING 10 PLANS, UH, TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO HOMEOWNERS FOR A FLAT FEE, UM, DEVELOPING A STREAMLINED PERMITTING PROCESS AS WELL FOR PROJECTS TO USE THE PRE-APPROVED PLANS.

AND WE PROVIDED IN OUR MEMO, I BELIEVE IT WAS FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, UM, ISSUED BY DSD AND HPD, UH, A BREAKDOWN OF THE TIME AND THE RESOURCES THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED FOR THAT.

UM,

[02:00:02]

SO WE ALSO LOOKED AT PER COUNCIL'S DIRECTION, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE 80 UNIVERSE PROGRAM, WHICH IS C THE CITY OF SEATTLE'S PROGRAM FOR THE USE OF PRE-APPROVED PLANS.

AND APPROXIMATELY, UM, SINCE 20 2580 USE HAD BEEN BUILT IN SEATTLE AND ROUGHLY HALF OF SEATTLE'S ADU PRODUCTION CONSISTS OF ATTACHED 80 TO USE, WHICH ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THEIR PRE-APPROVED, UH, PROGRAM.

UH, 36 PRE-APPROVED 80 USE WERE BUILT USING THE 80 UNIVERSE PROGRAM BETWEEN 20 AND 2020 AND 2021.

SO JUST VERY BRIEFLY A BREAKDOWN OF KIND OF THE WORK THAT WOULD BE INVOLVED, UM, SOLICIT COMMUNITY FEEDBACK FOR THE CREATION OF DESIGN CRITERIA.

WE ESTIMATE THAT THAT WOULD TAKE THREE TO SIX MONTHS AND ROUGHLY 650 HOURS, UM, SUBMISSION OF PLANS, ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS AND 3,315 HOURS, UM, REVIEW PLAN SUBMISSIONS, UH, SIX TO 10 MONTHS, 320 HOURS IMPLEMENTATION AND LAUNCH ANOTHER SEVEN TO NINE MONTHS AND ROUGHLY 678 HOURS, AND THEN ONGOING MAINTENANCE YEARLY AFTER IT OPTION WOULD BE 50 HOURS.

AND I KNOW THOSE NUMBERS SEEM HIGH, UM, BUT WE, YOU KNOW, THE STAFF THAT HAVE WORKED ON PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCEDURES AND THESE TYPES OF INITIATIVES, WE THINK THESE NUMBERS ARE ACTUALLY FAIRLY CONSERVATIVE AND CONSISTENT WITH KIND OF THE, UM, EFFORTS THAT OTHER CITIES HAVE HAD TO, UH, PUT INTO THEIR PRE-APPROVED PROGRAMS AS WELL.

SO I WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOME CHALLENGES TO ADU PRE-APPROVED PLANS.

SO PRE-APPROVED PLANS CAN BE USED TO SORT OF AT THE FRONT END, DETERMINE THAT A STRUCTURE IS GOING TO MEET CERTAIN TECHNICAL CODE REQUIREMENTS, CERTAIN BASIC CONSTRUCTION CODE REQUIREMENTS THAT WILL ENSURE THAT IF YOU SUBMIT A PRE-APPROVED PLANS, WE CAN, WE CAN PRESUME THAT IT'S GOING TO MEET CERTAIN TECHNICAL CODES, BUT THERE ARE REQUIREMENTS THAT SIMPLY CANNOT BE EVALUATED WITHOUT A LEVEL OF SITE-SPECIFIC REVIEW THAT ARE GOING TO VARY PER LOT.

AND SPECIFICALLY, UM, I THINK SOME OF THE MAIN, THE MAIN EXAMPLES ARE GOING TO BE SUBCHAPTER F SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS THE MCMANSION ORDINANCE.

UM, THAT IS AN ORDINANCE THAT REQUIRES, YOU KNOW, DETERMINING WHETHER A STRUCTURE FITS WITHIN A TENT.

THAT'S BASED ON THE GEOMETRY OF THE SITE.

IT'S NOT A SIMPLE HEIGHT, UH, CALCULATION.

IT ALSO INVOLVES FLORIDA AREA RATIO, UM, WHICH IS, UH, IS NOT SIMPLY JUST ADDING UP THE GROSS FLOOR AREA OF STRUCTURES.

IT REQUIRES REALLY GETTING INTO HOW THE STRUCTURES ARE DESIGNED AND WHAT THE MASSING IS ON THE, ON THE SITE.

AND THAT IS, UH, THAT IS, UH, CAN BE A COMPLEX LEVEL OF REVIEW.

UM, IN ADDITIONALLY THERE ARE, THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE A LEVEL OF FOUNDATION REVIEW REQUIRED, AND THAT'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE BASED ON THE SOIL FEATURES AND TOPOGRAPHY OF THE SITE.

AND THAT IS SOMETHING WHERE THE CITY WOULD LOOK TO REQUIRE ENGINEERED PLANS TO BE SUBMITTED, UM, UH, AND, AND SEALED BY THE, BY THE APPLICANT'S ENGINEER.

UM, BUT I GUESS THE POINT I WANT TO MAKE IS THAT, UM, EVEN IF ADU PLANS OR ARE DESIGNATED QUOTE UNQUOTE PRE-APPROVED AND LESS COUNCIL WOULD BE PREPARED TO POTENTIALLY WAIVE OR MODIFY SOME OF THE SITE SPECIFIC REGULATIONS WITH REGARD TO MCMANSION, IT WOULD BE QUITE LIKELY THAT IN, IN, IN SEVERAL, IN MANY CASES, AN APPLICANT WOULD COME FORWARD WITH PRE-APPROVED PLANS AND THEY ULTIMATELY COULDN'T ACTUALLY BE APPROVED BECAUSE WHEN YOU ADD UP ALL THE FLORIDA AREA RATIO AND ALL THAT STUFF, ALL THOSE REQUIREMENTS, IT MAY BE THAT IT'S SIMPLY NOT GOING TO COMPLY, BECAUSE THAT IS, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, OUR RESIDENTIAL REVIEW STAFF IN WORKING AND APPLYING SUBCHAPTER F FREQUENTLY HAVE TO REQUIRE REVISIONS.

THEY FREQUENTLY HAVE TO REQUIRE CHANGES.

AND, AND WITH FLORIDA AREA RATIO, IT'S GOING TO DEPEND ON HOW LARGE, HOW MUCH FLOOR AREA IS ALREADY CONSUMED BY THE PRINCIPLE STRUCTURE IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH IS LEFT OVER FOR YOUR ATU.

SO WE DO HAVE CONCERNS THAT, UM, THERE WOULD BE SOME SIGNIFICANT LIMITATIONS TO HOW USEFUL PRE-APPROVED PLANS WOULD BE WITHOUT MODIFICATION, SOME OF THE, TO SOME OF THOSE REGULATIONS.

UM, SO THAT'S OUR BRIEFING AND, UM, I'M AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND WE ALSO HAVE THE CITIES, UH, DSG IS CHEAP PLANS, EXAMINER, UH, SUSAN BARR HERE AS WELL.

[02:05:01]

SO IF COUNCIL HAS ANY QUESTIONS WE'RE AVAILABLE, ONE OTHER ISSUE THAT COMES TO MIND, UM, IS THE NEW, UH, 15 FOOT SETBACK REQUIREMENT THAT AUSTIN ENERGY JUST, UH, UH, UH, ADDED.

UM, I MEAN, I GUESS I UNDERSTAND WHERE STAFF IS COMING FROM, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A VERY SMALL WINDOW WITHIN WHICH TO KIND OF MANEUVER AND IT'S GOING TO BE VERY DIFFICULT TO HAVE SOME KIND OF PRE-APPROVED PLANS THAT CAN JUST KIND OF SAIL THROUGH, UH, THE PROCESS.

UM, I GUESS IT'S THIS THE REALITY OF OUR CURRENT CODE.

IT'S JUST AN EXTREMELY COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE SITUATION.

AND I GUESS, LET ME ASK ON THIS ITEM IS, IS, IS THE JUICE WORTH THE SQUEEZE IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, THE AMOUNT OF STAFF TIME AND THE AMOUNT OF KIND OF, YOU KNOW, EFFORT THAT'S GOING TO BE PUT IN? BECAUSE I MEAN, I, I CONCEPTUALLY I LOVE THE IDEA, UH, IN REALITY, I'M NOT SURE I WANT STAFF PUTTING A THOUSAND HOURS IN SO THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE IN SEATTLE OF THE 530, 6 OR 30, SOME ODD, YOU KNOW, USE THE PROCESS.

LIKE, I'M NOT SURE IT'S WORTH THAT MUCH STAFF TIME TO, YOU KNOW, FACILITATE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE LIKE A DOZEN OR A COUPLE OF DOZEN, UH, ADU APPLICATIONS.

WELL, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, WE APPRECIATE YOUR QUESTION AND WE'VE CERTAINLY GIVEN THIS TOPIC A LOT OF THOUGHT AND INTERNAL REVIEW AND DISCUSSION, AND I THINK ULTIMATELY WHETHER, WHETHER IT IS WORTH IT OR NOT IS REALLY A POLICY QUESTION FOR YOU ALL.

BUT WE, WE DO WANT TO BE AS CANDID AS WE CAN BE ABOUT WHAT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES ARE.

AND I DO WANT TO MAKE ONE, ONE ADDITIONAL POINT.

UM, THERE ARE MANY ZONING REGULATIONS, MANY OF THE SIMPLE ZONING REGULATIONS THAT ARE JUST PART OF THE BASE DISTRICTS LIKE SETBACK, HEIGHT, UM, BUILDING COVERAGE THAT ARE REALLY EASY TO REVIEW FOR.

SO IF AN APPLICANT WAS CONSIDERING SUBMITTING A PRE-APPROVED PLAN THAT COULD BE DETERMINED FAIRLY QUICKLY, IT REALLY IS THE MORE CONTEXT SENSITIVE REGULATIONS LIKE SUBCHAPTER F THAT WOULD WE FEAR PRESENT SITUATIONS WHERE AN APPLICANT WOULD HAVE EVERY HOPE AND EXPECTATION THAT THEY WOULD GET AN APPROVAL ONLY TO HAVE THOSE HOPES DASHED.

WHEN WE STARTED TO APPLY SUBCHAPTER F AND I WOULD ALSO SAY JUST FROM THINKING AS A, AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, I DON'T WANT TO OFFER A PROCESS TO MY CONSTITUENTS AND THEN HAVE THEM REJECTED, YOU KNOW, OFFER A PRE-APPROVED PATH AND THEN HAVE THEM REJECT IT AND THEN HAVE THEM KIND OF COME BACK AND BE LIKE, WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

UH, SO, UH, DEFINITELY DON'T WANT TO OVER PROMISE UNDER DELIVER WITH REGARD TO, YOU KNOW, THE RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN ON THIS ONE.

SO, OKAY.

CAN YOU JUST GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF THE SUBCHAPTER F UM, REGULATIONS YOU'RE REFERRING TO? WELL, IN PARTICULAR IN SUSAN MAY WANT TO, MAY BE AVAILABLE TO ELABORATE, BUT YOU HAVE TO DETERMINE WITH SUBCHAPTER F WHETHER, UM, THE MASSING, THE STRUCTURES ON THE SITE ARE WITHIN POINT FOR FLORIDA AREA RATIO, AND THAT REQUIRES DOING FAIRLY INVOLVED CALCULATIONS OF THE GROSS FLOOR AREA OF THE PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE, AS WELL AS THE ADU.

AND IT'S NOT SIMPLY LOOKING AT THE BASIC FLOOR SPACE, YOU HAVE ALL THESE EXEMPTIONS BASED ON, UM, ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AND HOW THE STRUCTURES ARE DESIGNED.

UM, SO THERE'S A FAIRLY, UM, DETAILED LEVEL OF REVIEW ALSO FOR ADU USE.

THEY WOULD HAVE TO MEET THE POINT FOR OVERALL SITE FAR AS WELL AS A 0.15 FAR THAT'S SPECIFIC TO 80 USE, SO THAT AS SOON AS WE START HAVING TO APPLY THOSE REGULATIONS, UM, IT BECOMES SOMETHING THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE AT THE FRONT END, WITHOUT A FAIRLY INVOLVED REVIEW PROCESS.

AGAIN, I DO WANT TO EMPHASIZE THOUGH THAT THINGS LIKE SETBACKS, IMPERVIOUS COVER THOSE REGULATIONS ARE FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND COULD BE DETERMINED IN AN EXPEDITED WAY AT THE FRONT END.

SO I THINK THOSE WOULD NOT BE AN OBSTACLE TO MAKING PRE-APPROVED PLANS, SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE USEFUL, BUT SOME OF OUR OTHER REGULATIONS WOULD BE, AND SUSAN, DO YOU WANT TO ADD, UH, SUSAN BARR ACTING CHIEF PLANS, EXAMINER, UM, ALSO IN REGARDS TO SUB CHAPTER OFF THERE'S THE TENT THAT IS VERY SITE-SPECIFIC WITH THE TOPOGRAPHY.

AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING WHERE THE ADU HAS TO FIT WITHIN THAT TENT.

THERE'S ALSO TREES THAT THE DESIGNERS HAVE TO BE COGNIZANT OF ALSO.

[02:10:03]

COUNCIL MEMBER TOV.

I SAW YOU HAD YOUR HAND UP.

DO YOU WANT TO, YOU HAVE A QUESTION? SURE.

JUST SUPER QUICKLY.

I WENT TO SAY, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, BILL, I THINK YOU ASKED AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.

SO I DID THIS RESOLUTION AND WHEN I SAW THE RESPONSE BACK AND HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIT WITH MR. LLOYD, I, I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT PROBABLY THIS WAS NOT, UH, NECESSARILY GOING TO BE OUR MOST IMPACTFUL CHANGE THAT WE CAN MAKE TO THE ADU PROGRAM AND THAT IT MAY NOT BE WORTH WORTH IT JUST BASED ON THE EXPERIENCES THAT OUR STAFF CITED FROM OTHER AREAS.

I KNOW THAT MR. LLOYD IS WORKING ON MR. LLOYD AND OTHERS ARE WORKING ON SOME OF THE CODE AMENDMENTS THAT WERE PROMPTED BY THAT SAME RESOLUTION.

AND I THINK THOSE WILL PROBABLY PROVE TO BE MORE, MORE USEFUL.

I THINK THOSE ARE COMING BACK IN THE FALL, AS I UNDERSTAND IT.

AND, AND SO WE CAN HAVE MORE OF A CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS NEXT WEEK, CAUSE I'M, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY'S RESOLUTION FITS INTO THAT.

BUT THE CODE AMENDMENTS THAT WE, THAT WE, UM, INITIATED WITH REGARD TO THAT VIEW, I THINK ARE PROBABLY GOING TO BE MORE IMPACTFUL THAN THIS PLAN AND THE PRE-MADE PLANS.

UNFORTUNATELY, I THINK IT WAS, YOU KNOW, AN INTERESTING IDEA THERE'S THAT BROUGHT UP, BUT I KIND OF CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT'S, IT WAS NOT AT THIS MOMENT, DIDN'T SEEM LIKE IT WAS GOING TO BE A GOOD EXPENDITURE OF TIME AND STAFF TIME AND RESOURCES AND, AND THAT OF THE COMMUNITY.

AND, UM, MY QUESTION IS, UM, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY, UH, A LOT OF THE COSTS IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH SAY A UTILITY CONNECTION, THE REQUIREMENTS OF PARKING.

DID YOU ALL LOOK INTO THAT ISSUE? ALSO? I THINK THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, REGULATIONS THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE APPLIED, UM, IN TERMS OF JUST LOOKING AT WHETHER PRE-APPROVED PLANS WOULD ADD VALUE TO THE APPLICANT.

I THINK THOSE, THOSE PARTICULAR REGULATIONS WOULD NOT BE THE STUMBLING BLOCKS BECAUSE YOU CAN KIND OF DETERMINE THOSE REGULATIONS AT THE FRONT END.

UM, SO CONCEIVABLY, IF THAT WAS ALL YOU HAD TO WORRY ABOUT, LIKE YOU COULD USE PRE-APPROVED PLANS AND IT WOULD REALLY HELP THE PROCESS, BUT IT REALLY IS MCMANSION.

AND SOME OF THE OTHER REGULATIONS THAT ARE GOING TO BE VERY TIED TO UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SITE THAT WOULD MAKE IT REALLY HARD TO BE ENSURED THAT YOUR PRE-APPROVED PLANS ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO GET APPROVED.

SO, UM, BUT WE ARE DEFINITELY A COUNCIL MEMBER RENTERIA AS PART OF THE LARGER SET OF ADU REFORM REGULATIONS THAT COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO MENTIONED.

WE ARE DEFINITELY CONSISTENT WITH COUNCIL'S PRIOR DIRECTION, LOOKING AT ALL THOSE REGULATIONS.

AND, AND WE'RE, IT'S OUR HOPE THAT WE WILL BE BRINGING FORWARD A SET OF CHANGES OF PROPOSED CODE CHANGES THAT HOLISTICALLY LOOK AT ALL THE OBSTACLES, INCLUDING ONES THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT UP IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR OWN SITUATION AND WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS AS WELL.