[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:02]
GET THROUGH THE REGULAR MEETING THE ENVIRON.
IT'S FEBRUARY 15TH, 6 0 5, NOT SIX O'CLOCK.
UM, WE'RE AT THE PERMING DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT 63 10 WILHELMINA DELCO DRIVE.
LET'S GO AROUND AND DO ROLL CALL REMOTE COMMISSIONER'S.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
LET'S KEEP GOING.UM, ELIZABETH DISTRIBUTED THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING.
DID ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR ITEMS TO DISCUSS FROM THE, I JUST HAD, I JUST HAD ONE COMMENT.
UM, FOR ITEM NUMBER FOUR, IT WAS ACTUALLY FOUR TO SIX INSTEAD OF FOUR TO FIVE.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE, ELIZABETH? ALL RIGHT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
CAN I GET A MOTION TO APPROVE MO MOTION BY SCOTT? SECOND.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
[2. Name: Velocity Channel Improvements, SP-2021-0153D (30 minutes)]
ON TO THE PUBLIC HEARINGS AND AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO, VELOCITY CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS, S P 2021 DASH 0 1 5 3 D.UM, I BELIEVE THIS, THE APPLICANT HAS REQUESTED A POSTPONEMENT FOR APPROXIMATELY 60 DAYS.
UM, SO I'M GONNA MOVE THAT WE POSTPONE THIS AGENDA ITEM, UH, FOR 60 DAYS, AND TRY TO GET IT ON THE AGENDA AS FAST AS WE CAN AFTER THAT TIME.
YOU NEED A SECOND
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF PROVO OF THE POSTPONEMENT? RAISE YOUR HAND.
I SEE EVERYBODY'S, IT'S POSTPONED.
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE HAMMERING THROUGH THE AGENDA HERE.
WE ARE MOVING AT A DECENT PACE, NOT OUT OF THE ORDINARY.
[3. Name: Kaalo Studio, SPC-2021-0195C (30 minutes)]
UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE, KLO STUDIOS SPC 20 2101 9 50 C.UM, THE LOCATION'S AT 79 0 1, 22 22, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78 7 30, DISTRICT 10, AND I BELIEVE WE'VE GOT A STAFF PRESENTATION TO START.
AND I, IS THERE A MIC UP THERE NOW YOU THANK YOU, ENRIQUE.
YOU WANT ME TO SEE OR STAND? OKAY.
SO, YEAH, I'M GONNA BE PRESENTING THIS VARIANCE FOR CALL STUDIO.
I WANT TO MAKE CLARIFICATION HERE THAT, UH, SHERRY, PA, SHERRY, PA AND BRIAN WELLS ARE WITH M WM, NOT CARLOS STUDIO, JUST, JUST, JUST FOR THE RECORD.
CARLOS STUDIO 69 0 1 7 9 0 1 RM 2222 S B C 20 21 0 1 9 5 6 C.
I'M WITH ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.
I'M AN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW SPECIALIZED SENIOR WITH THE DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
DEVELOPMENT SERVICE DEPARTMENT.
SO HERE YOU CAN SEE THE LOCATION OF COLOR STUDIO.
SO, FOR THE PROPERTY DATA, SO IT'S LOCATED IN THE WEST, WEST POOL CREEK WATER SUPPLY, SUBURBAN DESIRE DEVELOPMENT ZONE, AUSTIN, O T D, LOCATED OVER THE EL AQUIFER RICHER ZONE, NO CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL, FISHER IS IN CON COUNCIL DISTRICT.
HERE, UH, YOU CAN SEE THE ASSISTING CONDITION OF THE SIDE.
HERE, AND, AND AGAIN, THE ASSISTING CONDITION OF THE SIDE.
YOU CAN SEE THE TREES OVER THERE TOO.
UH, THE SLOPE MAP, THAT'S THE VARIANCE IS GONNA BE, I'M GONNA GO INTO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT.
SO FOR THE BACKGROUND PROJECT IS LOCATED ON F FMN FM 2022 IN THE HILL COUNTRY ROADWAY.
THE CYCLE CONSIST OF FIVE ACRES OF LAND, BUT ONLY ONE ACRES IS, IS IN A FLAT AREA WHERE THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENT IMPROVEMENT ARE GOING TO BE LOCATED.
[00:05:01]
OF THE FIVE ACRES OF LAND IS COVERED BY, WITH NATURAL VISITATION, AND MOST OF THE AREA ARE OUT OF THE FLAT PORTION WILL REMAIN UNDER DISTURBED.THE ENTIRE PORTION OF THE PROPERTY FRONTING THE PUBLIC RIGHT AWAY, CON CONTAINS SLOPES IN EXCESS OF 50 PER ONE 5%.
THEREFORE, THE ONLY AVAILABLE ACCESS INTO THE PROPERTY IS BY CLOSING THE SYSTEM SLOPES WITH A PRIVATE DRIVEWAY.
SO THE VARIANCE REQUEST IS FOR, UH, THE GRASS IS TO VARY FROM LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE 25,000 800 301 TO ALLOW TO ALLOW A DRIVEWAY ON A SLOPE OVER OF MORE THAN 15%.
FOR THE VARIANCE RECOMMENDATION, THE STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE VARIANTS WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITION, INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF PLANTING AROUND THE ADA WALKWAY WALKWAY FOR SCREENING, AND PROVIDE PLANTING ON THE SIDE OF THE DRIVEWAY THAT WILL PREVENT SOIL, SOIL EROSION, PROVIDE PRELIMINARY PLANTS, AND, UM, UH, AND THE, THERE'S, THERE'S, I WILL EXPLAIN THIS ONE IN A LITTLE BIT.
SO THIS ALSO HAVE A ADA, UM, SIDEWALK THAT IS GOING TO THE ENTRANCE.
AND HE, HE WAS REQUIRING A LITTLE BIT OF FILL, HE WAS GOING OVER FOUR FEET.
SO WE ARE PUTTING THIS AS A REQUIREMENT SO THAT WAY THEY CANNOT GET OUT OF THAT.
AND, AND WE CAN, WE CAN BE WITH, WITH THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UH, HERE'S THE CONDITION, LIKE THE SIDE CONDITIONS, THAT'S THE, THE, THE LOCATION OF THE DRIVEWAY.
I THINK THE APPLICANT IS HERE FOR ANY QUESTION.
I THINK HE ALSO HAVE A PRESENTATION, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT.
YOU WANT ME TO SIT THERE? YEAH, HOW YOU DOING? I'M BRIAN.
YEAH, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELF WHEN THE SLIDES COME UP, AND THEN, UH, THANK YOU.
AND THEN, YEAH, WE'LL GO THROUGH 'EM AT YOUR, AT YOUR ABILITY.
UM, I'M A CIVIL ENGINEER AND I REPRESENT, UM, CAL STUDIOS AND, UH, RAJIV A CURRY, WHO IS THE PROPERTY OWNER WHO'S HERE TONIGHT.
AND, UM, SO, UH, ENRIQUE DID A GREAT JOB OF COVERING, UH, ALL THE POINTS OF THE VARIANCE.
I ONLY HAVE TWO, UH, SHEETS FROM OUR PLAN SET THAT'S, UH, PART OF THE SITE PERMIT, UH, APPLICATION.
UM, TO FURTHER HIGHLIGHT SOME OF WHAT, UM, UH, ENRIQUE COVERED, UM, THE 2222.
I KNOW THESE DRAWINGS ARE KIND OF TECHNICAL AND MAYBE HARD TO READ, BUT 22, 22 IS RUNNING NORTH SOUTH HERE.
OF COURSE, YOU CAN SEE THE PROPERTY.
I'VE, UM, THIS IS THE SLOPE MAP THAT ENRIQUE SHOWED EARLIER, BUT IT'S COLORED THE, UM, THE BLUE IS, UM, AREAS THAT ARE, UH, LESS THAN 15%.
YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING ELSE ON THE PROPERTY, OR THE MAJORITY OF THE PROPERTY HAS SLOPES THAT ARE GREATER THAN THAT.
IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN, IS THERE ANY WAY TO POINT? I GUESS NOT REALLY.
I APOLOGIZE, BUT YEAH, THAT'S OKAY.
JUST, JUST IF YOU COULD WALK THROUGH IT BECAUSE THE, THE COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE ONLINE TOO WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SEE THE POINTER.
SO, UM, CAN YOU, CAN YOU ZOOM IN A LITTLE BIT? WOULD THAT BE POSSIBLE THAT YES.
JUST AND PAN UP JUST A LITTLE BIT? THAT'S PERFECT.
SO THE EDGE IS, IS, UM, KINDA CENTERED NOW? YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
THAT, THAT'S OKAY IF YOU, YOU CAN'T, IF YOU CAN'T ZOOM IN, THAT'S OKAY.
SO WHAT, WHAT I'M ATTEMPTING TO POINT OUT YEAH, IF YOU COULD KEEP GOING UP PLEASE, CUZ THE, THE, THE DEVELOPMENT IS A, NO, I'M SORRY.
I WANNA BE ABLE TO SEE THE PROPERTY ITSELF.
KEEP GOING THE WAY YOU'RE GOING.
SO, UM, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO SEE SOME HEAVY PURPLE LINES, UM, NEAR THE FRONT OF THE PROPERTY.
THIS PROPERTY'S IN, UH, THE, UM, HILL COUNTRY, UH, UH, ROADWAY, UM, UH, CRITERIA, WHICH FALLS IN, WHICH IS IN THE ZONING, UH, SECTION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
AND, UM, AND IT RESTRICTS DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIRST A HUNDRED FEET OF THE PROPERTY.
SO A LOT OF THAT BLUE AREA IS NOT DEVELOPABLE ANYWAY.
THERE'S ALSO A CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE OFF TO THE FAR RIGHT.
YOU CAN'T SEE THE DRIVEWAY VERY WELL, BUT IT'S AS FAR TO THE TOP RIGHT OUTSIDE OF THAT CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE IS, UH, AS CLOSE AS WE COULD GET TO IT.
[00:10:01]
IT BRINGS ARI A CAR UP TO JUST BEYOND THE BUFFER LINE OF THE HILL COUNTRY ROADWAY, UH, BUFFER.THEN YOU CAN SEE THAT THE FLAT AREA THAT ENRIQUE TALKED ABOUT IS EVERYTHING BETWEEN THAT BUFFER AND THE RED, WHICH THE RED IS, IS MUCH STEEPER SLOPES.
SO THE ENTIRE DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS RIGHT IN THAT AREA.
UM, THE PROPERTY OWNER WANTS TO KEEP THAT UNDISTURBED AS ENRIQUE MENTIONED.
SO NOW IF YOU COULD PLEASE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THIS, THIS ONE IS EVEN MORE TECHNICAL.
IT'S JUST A PLANNING PROFILE OF THE DRIVEWAY, UM, TO SHOW HOW WE, UH, UM, WORKED WITH BOTH THE TEXT DOT, UM, DRIVEWAY SLOPES ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.
AND THEN ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS WHERE WE DID OUR BEST TO, UM, TO JUST FOLLOW WITH THE EXISTING SLOPES, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S A MINIMAL AMOUNT OF CUT AND FILL ON THE DRIVEWAY.
AND, UM, THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO PRESENT, SO I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
UM, AND OUR, UH, IS THIS THE QUESTION ANSWER TIME? SHOULD I STAY HERE OR HOW DOES THIS WORK? YEAH, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, JUST, JUST HANG OUT THERE AND, AND REKA VERY GOOD.
UM, AND WE'LL GO AROUND AND PEPPER YOU GUYS WITH SOME QUESTIONS PROBABLY.
REMOTE COMMISSIONERS ON COMMISSIONER SHIRA, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND TURNING YOUR, UH, CAMERA ON.
UH, SO WE CAN BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH ALL THE RULES THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH, UH, UM, UH, REMOTE COMMISSIONERS.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR STAFF OR THE APPLICANT? THIS IS NO QUESTIONS FOR ME.
YEAH, I HAVE, HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
I'M NOT QUITE FINISHED WRITING THEM ALL DOWN, SO I'LL KIND OF WING IT.
UM, WE CAN COME BACK TO YOU BRIER, IF YOU'D LIKE US TO.
YEAH, IF YOU WOULD, UH, CIRCLE BACK TO ME, I'D APPRECIATE IT.
UM, UH, KHI, SCOTT, ANY QUESTIONS? HI.
THANK YOU FOR BOTH Y'ALL FOR YOUR, UM, VERY THOROUGH, UH, LOOK INTO THIS.
UM, IS THERE A ROAD THAT GOES, AM I SEEING A ROAD THAT GOES TO THE BACK OF THE PROPERTY? IS THERE SOMETHING THAT, THAT GOES UP TO THE TOP OF THE PROPERTY THERE? YES, THERE IS AN UNPAVED ROAD THAT GOES UP TO THE TOP, THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, AND IS THERE, BUT YOU SAID THAT THERE'S NO, UM, PLANS TO DO ANYTHING WITH THE BACK OF THE PROPERTY RIGHT NOW, THERE'S NO, WOULD YOU, IS IT OKAY IF, IF THE PROPERTY OWNER SPEAKS OF TO OF COURSE.
SORRY, I QUESTION IF YOU'LL NEED, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND PHONE.
JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELF FOR THE RECORD AND THEN, AND THEN SPEAK INTO THE MIC WITH, UH, WITH A LITTLE GREEN LIGHTS ON.
BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO TAP THAT BUTTON.
SO, AND I'LL REPEAT THE QUESTION.
UM, I JUST, UM, YOU DON'T HAVE PLANS TO DO ANYTHING WITH THE BACK OF THE PROPERTY, IS THAT CORRECT? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
SO CURRENTLY THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF PURCHASING THE PROPERTY WAS TO KEEP THE, THE GREENERY OF THE 2222 CORRIDOR JUST AS IS.
SO WHEN WE PURCHASED IT, WE REALIZED THAT THAT WAS, UM, SORT OF THE SAFE HAVEN FOR THE KIND OF ANIMALS AND THE TREES THAT WERE THERE.
WE BROUGHT IN PRIOR TO PURCHASING THE PROPERTY, WE ACTUALLY BROUGHT IN AN ARBORIST TO ACTUALLY TELL US, UM, HOW THIS WOULD ACTUALLY WORK WITH OUR VISION.
OUR VISION WAS TO HAVE A COMPLETELY ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY, UM, PROPOSAL, WHICH THE CONCEPT WITH WHICH WE WENT TO THE CITY TO GIVE THEM AN OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE VISION.
AND, UH, THAT IS HOW WE GOT OUR, UH, ZONING IN THE FIRST PLACE IN 2018.
AND SO, UM, THAT'S THE WAY WE WANT TO KEEP IT.
WE FINALLY FOUND THAT THE ONLY WAY WE CAN ACTUALLY BUILD ON THIS PROPERTY WAS TO HAVE IT RIGHT AT THE BASE.
ORIGINALLY, WE HAD CONCEPTS OF TAKING THE PROPERTY ALL THE WAY UP, BUT BECAUSE OF THE, UM, IMPERVIOUS, UH, ALLOWANCES, UH, WE WEREN'T, WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH, UM, SQUARE FOOTAGE TO ACTUALLY HAVE TAKE THE ROAD ALL THE WAY UP.
SO WE SAID, OKAY, WE'LL JUST BR BUILD ON THE FRONT, UH, FACE.
I THINK THE ONLY THING REMAINING RIGHT NOW IS THAT LITTLE ROADWAY ALLOWING US TO DO SO.
YEAH, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THERE'D BE FURTHER RESTRICTIONS AND, AND DISTURBANCES AS WE, AS WE TRIED TO MOVE THE DEVELOPMENT UP THE HILL.
SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT HE'S REFERRING TO.
UM, AND THEN, UH, I GUESS FOLLOW UP TO THAT IS, YOU KNOW, UH, WOULD YOU BE WILLING, YOU KNOW, ANY IDEA THOUGHTS OF PUTTING IT LIKE UNDER CONSERVATION EASEMENT OR, YOU KNOW, PUTTING INTO SOME SORT OF, UM, CONSERVATION PLAN THERE? ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY.
AND WHATEVER IS RECOMMENDED AND MORE, I THINK, UM, FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, MY WIFE IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, DESIGN STUDENT, UM, GRADUATE FROM THE UT UH, SCHOOL OF DESIGN, AND WE ARE
[00:15:01]
BOTH, UH, EXTREMELY, UM, PRO UH, KEEPING THE ENVIRONMENT THE WAY IT IS AS BEST POSSIBLE.I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS EITHER.
UM, ALL RIGHT, MR. MR. B BRIMER, COMMISSIONER BRIMMER PENCIL'S DOWN.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERYONE.
APPRECIATE, UH, YOUR TIME, UH, ON THIS, UH, I GUESS, UH, THE, UH, THE, UH, OKAY, I'M GOING TO GO WITH THIS.
WHAT, WHAT TYPE OF ZONING DO WE HAVE ON THIS PROPERTY? WHAT, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
OH, YOU PROBABLY HAVE THAT IN YOUR PRESENTATION, RIGHT? I SHOULD HAVE MY LAPTOP.
UM, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER.
THIS IS LIZ JOHNSON, WATERSHED PROTECTION, AND I HAVE IT AS L O M U C O.
AND WHAT TYPE OF, I HAD IT UP ALREADY.
WHAT TYPE OF BUSINESS IS THIS THAT'S GOING IN? IT'S, IT'S A DESIGN, UM, STUDIO FOR, UM, BASICALLY WE PROVIDE DESIGN SERVICES FOR PLANTS LIKE DELL, HP, AND ALL WE'LL BE DOING IN THERE IS, UM, HAVING A BUNCH.
IT'S A SANDBOX FOR CREATIVE DESIGN WORK.
AND IS THIS A MULTI-STORY BUILDING OR A SINGLE STORY? IT'S TWO STORIES, I BELIEVE WITH AN, WITH, UH, HEIGHT CUTOFF OF 28 FEET.
UM, AND, UH, ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE, UH, ANY PARKING OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH THIS? YES, THE PARKING WILL BE BELOW THE FIRST FLOOR, SO IT'LL BE SUBSURFACE.
IT'S, IT'S SUBSURFACE AND THERE'S NO, UH, THERE'S NO ISSUES WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKING IT SUBSURFACE.
I MEAN, THERE'S NO CAVE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT BELOW THE SURFACE THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A, A PROBLEM WITH.
UH, THERE, THERE, THERE'S, THERE WERE, UH, IN THE, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, ASSESSMENT THAT WAS PERFORMED, THERE WERE NO, UM, CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES DISCOVERED.
UM, AND I GUESS I HAD THE SAME, UH, QUESTION WITH REGARD TO, UH, MAINTAINING THE, THE BACK OF THE PROPERTY IN ITS UN UNALTERED STATE.
UH, SO I WOULD AGREE WITH TRYING WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, PUTTING SOME SORT OF A LIMITATION ON THE, UH, DEVELOPMENT ON THE BACK HALF OF THE PROPERTY.
UM, ARE YOU GONNA HAVE ANY EXTERIOR LIGHTING ON THE PROPERTY? YES.
UM, BUT IT ALL MEETS THE, UM, SUB, UH, REQUIREMENTS FOR CUTOFF LIGHTING, MEANING, SO IT WON'T, IT WON'T BE VISIBLE, UM, TO ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS.
I GUESS, UM, WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT IS, I GUESS WE WANNA MAKE THAT KIND OF, UH, DARK SKY COMPLIANT.
SO I, I'D LIKE TO PUT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, AS A, AS A REQUIREMENT, I MEAN, THAT SHOULDN'T BE TERRIBLY DIFFICULT TO, UH, TO DO ON THERE.
AND I APOLOGIZE, I CAN'T ANSWER IT MORE TECHNICALLY SINCE, UH, I'D NEED TO CONSULT WITH THE, UM, ELECTRICAL ENGINEER.
BUT, UH, YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S A, FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SIZE, I WOULDN'T THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS WOULD BE A, A, YOU KNOW, A BIG REACH FOR YOU TO, UH, YOU KNOW, DO TO THIS TYPE OF, UH, TYPE OF THING.
AND THERE'S NO, UH, YOU'RE NOT CONS.
YOU DON'T NEED TO CONSTRUCT ANY, UH, WATER DETENTION PONDS OR, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, SO FOR, UM, STORMWATER MANAGEMENT CONTROLS, THERE'S A UNDERGROUND, UM, DETENTION SYSTEM UNDERNEATH THE FRONT, NOT THE DRIVEWAY THAT'S COMING UP TO THE, TO THE DEVELOPMENT, BUT THE DRIVEWAY THAT, UM, IS IN FRONT OF IT TO LEAD INTO THE PARKING GARAGE.
SO THERE'S AN UNDERGROUND DETENTION SYSTEM THERE, AND THEN THERE ARE FIVE RAIN GARDENS, UM, SCATTERED AROUND THE SITE FOR WATER QUALITY TREATMENT.
AND, UH, THE, THE PLANTING THAT YOU CAN HAVE AROUND THE RAIN GARDENS, UH, ARE YOU GONNA HAVE THOSE, UH, BE UM, BE SUPPORTIVE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, BUTTERFLY HABITATS AND THAT TYPE OF THING? I MEAN, IS THAT
[00:20:01]
A CONSIDERATION THAT YOU'VE, UH, YES, ABSOLUTELY.THE PLANTS, THE PLANTS WERE SELECTED FOR THOSE TYPES OF REASONS, YES.
TO BE AS, UH, UM, UH, ALL THE PLANTS THAT WERE SELECTED ARE NATIVE PLANTS.
AND, UH, HOW MANY, UH, PARKING SPOTS ARE YOU GONNA HAVE IN YOUR UNDERGROUND GARAGE? AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE, I SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT MY LAPTOP UP THAT HAS THE COMPLETE SET OF PLANS.
I WANT TO SAY THAT IT'S 28 SPACES, BUT IF YOU'D LIKE, IF YOU'D LIKE THE EXACT COUNT, I CAN GRAB MY, UH, GRAB MY, UH, PULL MY PLANS UP, UH, THIS BEING A GOVERNMENT THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH FOR GOVERNMENT WORK.
UH, UH, I GUESS WHAT I WAS GONNA SUGGEST IS IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, 28, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, ADD A, A THING WHERE WE HAVE THREE OF THOSE BE, UH, BUILT OUT FOR, UH, EV CHARGING OF COURSE.
THAT'S 10% IS, IS IS THE NUMBER 10% ROUNDED OUT.
SO I WOULD REQUEST THAT WE, WE DO THAT AS WELL.
AND THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT, UNLESS SOMEONE ELSE HAS SOMETHING TO OKAY.
BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH, FOLKS.
UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER BREMMER.
ACTUALLY, IT GAVE ME SOME TIME TO, TO MAKE SOME NOTES, AND I HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR STAFF ABOUT THE STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, I'M JUST LOOKING AT THE VARIANCE PACKET, AND THERE'S FOUR ITEMS HERE.
INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF PLANTINGS AROUND THE ADA WALKWAY FOR SCREENING, PROVIDE PLANTINGS ON THE SIDE SIDE OF THE DRIVEWAYS TO PREVENT SOIL EROSION, PROVIDE POLLINATOR PLANTS, AND THE ADA ELEVATED WALKWAY YOU TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, AND I WAS WONDERING IF ANYWHERE IN THE PLAN SET OR IN THE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE APPLICANT, THOSE WERE KIND OF QUANTIFIED? LIKE THE, THE INCREASE OF THE PLANTINGS AROUND THE ADA WALKWAY, IS THAT, IS THERE A NUMBER OR DO WE HAVE A, A BENCHMARK THAT WE CAN INCLUDE? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UH, I DIDN'T PUT ANY NUMBER BECAUSE I WAS COMING HERE TO SEE, LIKE IF I KNOW, LIKE HERE WE CAN GET TO A NUMBER, BUT YEAH, I WAS THINKING LIKE A 10% OF LIKE EVERYTHING THAT THEY HAVE AT LEAST 10% TO INCREASE ON THE PLANTINGS, UH, FOR THE ADA AND, AND FOR THE DRIVEWAY TOO, LIKE 10% OF THE, WHAT THEY HAVE NOW, UM, 10% MORE OF WHAT THEY HAVE NOW.
THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY.
SO THE PLAN SET HAS, I GUESS, PLANTING, PLANTING DETAILS IN IT? YES, SIR.
DO YOU MIND IF I, DO YOU MIND, MATT? YEAH, NO, YEAH, PLEASE.
SO THE, UM, UH, FIRST THE HILL COUNTRY ROADWAY, UM, CRITERIA, UM, HAS AUGMENTED MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS IN THE BUFFER ZONE, WHICH WE WERE, OUR, OUR LAND, OUR, UH, LANDSCAPE PLANTING PLANS WERE ALREADY SATISFYING THE AUGMENTED MITIGATION PRIOR TO THE REQUEST FROM THE EV GROUP TO, UM, TO INCREASE.
SO WE'VE INCREASED BEYOND THE AUGMENTED MITIGATION.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, UH, THE PROPERTY OWNER HAS ELECTED TO NOT PAY ANY MITIGATION FEE, BUT RATHER TO PLANT ALL MITIGATION ON THE PROPERTY, INCLUDING SOME OF THE BACK AREAS.
SO THERE'S A, THERE'S A DESIRE TO, TO PLANT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ON THE SITE.
UM, AND, UM, THE, THERE IS SOME LIMITATION TO DISTURBANCE THOUGH ALSO WITHIN THE HILL COUNTRY ROADWAY BUFFER.
BUT WE'RE, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR USING THE TERM MITIGATION, TWO DIFFERENT WAYS WE'RE MITIGATING THAT DISTURBANCE ON THE PLAN SET BY CL UH, CLEARLY DEFINING THE LIMITS OF CONSTRUCTION THAT ARE ALLOWABLE FOR, UM, ANY TYPE OF HARDSCAPE WORK VERSUS, UM, LIMITS OF CONSTRUCTION THAT ARE ALLOWABLE FOR PLANTING ONLY.
SO THE, THE, SO THERE WILL BE SOME PLANTINGS THAT WILL OCCUR OUTS IN THAT BUFFER AREA THAT WE, THAT THE CONTRACTOR WOULD NOT OTHERWISE BE ALLOWED TO, TO, TO, UH, TO BE IN, IN INSIDE OF.
SO REALLY IN THAT AREA OF SOLELY FOR PLANTING PURPOSES, NOT THAT'S CORRECT.
FOR THAT'S CORRECT, THAT'S CORRECT.
SO THAT WAY WE'RE NOT IN AT RISK OF BEING IN VIOLATION OF THE OTHER CODE SECTION.
AND, AND THEN IN THAT, SO IN, I GUESS IN THE PLANTS THAT THERE, IT DOES HAVE A, A NUMBER OF PLANTS OR MM-HMM.
AND, UM, AND AS WELL AS A, AS WELL AS A DETAILED PLAN WITH SPECIES.
AND THAT, I GUESS, INCLUDES THE POLLINATOR PLANTS.
THAT'S PART OF THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
SO YEAH, LIKE, UH, HE WAS MENTIONED TOO, THAT HE HAD IN THE RAIN GARDENS TOO, SO THAT WILL COME FOR THAT.
AND THAT WE, FOR THE NEW PLANTING AND THE BUFFER AREA THAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT, WE CAN ADD SOME OF THE PLANTER PLANTS TOO.
SO FROM A STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE MM-HMM.
SO WE HAVE DISCUSSIONS BEFORE, BEFORE COMING, COMING HERE.
UH, WE STILL HAVE THE, THE NEED TO SEE THE FINAL PLAN, UH, JUST BECAUSE WE WERE WAITING TO HAVE THIS DONE AND THEN, YOU KNOW, MEET THE STANDARD.
BUT TO THAT, TO THIS POINT, WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS, BUT I DIDN'T SEE IT IN THE PLANS YET.
[00:25:01]
SO YEAH, WE WILL SEE IT AFTER THIS MEETING, BUT THERE'S A, HAS A PLAN SET BEEN SUBMITTED TO STAFF THAT HAS A, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF PLANTS IN IT.SO IF WE WERE TO SAY, HEY, WE WANT 10% MORE, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE WOULD HAVE A BENCHMARK TO BE ABLE TO COMPARE IT BACK.
AND, AND, AND WE ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH, WITH THAT APPROACH, I THINK THERE, THERE WERE SOME DETAILED DISCUSSIONS ABOUT EXACTLY WHERE THE PLANTS COULD AND COULDN'T GO, UH, RELATED TO WHAT I WAS DES DESCRIBING.
SO, SO FROM A WANTING, I MEAN, I THINK IT'S GREAT WANTING TO PUT MORE OF THE MITIGATION ONSITE AND DO THE PLANTINGS ONSITE.
IS THERE SPACE FOR ANY MORE PLANTS? SOMETIMES PROJECTS COME BEFORE US WHERE THE, THE TREES ARE PACKED IN SO TIGHT THAT THERE REALLY ISN'T AVAILABILITY.
THAT'S WHY ENRIQUE HASN'T SEEN THE UPDATED PLANTS SET YET.
WE'RE, WE'RE
AND AS, AS, AS Y'ALL PROBABLY ARE AWARE, UH, TREE, TREE SURVEYS TYPICALLY ONLY GO DOWN TO A CERTAIN, UH, DIAMETER EIGHT INCH.
AND, UM, AND SO THIS SITE HAS, UM, HAS QUITE A FEW, UH, UH, JUNIPERS ON IT, WHICH MANY OF 'EM DON'T, AREN'T PICKED UP IN THE, IN THE, UM, IN THE SURVEY.
SO IT'S, UH, IT'S NOT AN EASY EXERCISE TO LOCATE ALL THOSE ADDITIONAL PLANTS ON, ON THE SITE.
SO THAT, THAT'S SORT OF WHAT WE'RE FIGURING OUT IS THE BEST WAY TO DOCUMENT THAT.
SO FROM A STAFF PERSPECTIVE, Y'ALL ARE STILL WORKING THROUGH THE KIND OF NUMBER OF PLANTINGS, UM, PROVIDE PLANTINGS ALONG THE SIDE OF THE DRIVEWAY.
THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO INCREASE THAT AMOUNT FOR AT LEAST 10, 9%, LET'S SAY, ON THE DRIVEWAY.
AND IF, IF THERE'S NO SPACE, AT LEAST, AT LEAST 5% THEN, AND THEN THE, THE OTHER 5%, WE CAN HAVE SOME TREES ON THE BACK OF THE, OF THE LOT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN MOVE AROUND THE, THE PLANTING.
AND FROM AN APPLICANT STANDPOINT, Y'ALL WERE SAYING THAT THERE'S KIND OF A POTENTIAL CONFLICT BETWEEN THE HILL COUNTRY ORDINANCE AND PLANTINGS WITH A ADJACENT TO THE DRIVEWAY WHEN YOU'RE IN, WHEN YOU'RE IN THAT AREA.
THERE, THERE CAN BE, I THINK THAT THE INTENTS WORK OUT WELL, BUT THE, THE HILL COUNTRY ROADWAY CRITERIA TENDS TO FOCUS MORE ON AESTHETICS THAN, THAN ENVIRONMENTAL AND DISTURBANCE.
AND SO, UM, SO AS FAR AS PROVIDING A VISUAL BUFFER, IT'S TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH THAT, BUT IT, IT ALSO, THE WAY IT READS, IT'S TELLING US BASICALLY STAY OUT OF HERE AND, AND LEAVE THE, UM, EXISTING PLANTS BE.
AND SO IT, THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF A CONFLICT IN CODE, IN, IN, IN THAT SENSE.
IT, IT DOESN'T REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO INTO THAT BUFFER AREA AND DO A LOT OF PLANTINGS.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO, WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE DON'T GET HUNG UP GETTING APPROVAL HERE BECAUSE WE ARE, WE ARE GOING BEFORE, UM, PLANT AND ZONING, UH, FOR ONE VARIANCE REGARDING THE HILL COUNTRY ROADWAY.
AND SO WE DON'T WANNA DO SOMETHING HERE, AGREE TO SOMETHING HERE AND GET APPROVAL, AND THEN IT ACTUALLY IMPACTS US WHEN, WHEN WE'RE PRESENTED TO THEM.
UH, JUST IN CASE THEY'RE, THEY'RE SEEING IT MORE FROM THE, FROM ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, COMPLIANCE.
SO, WELL, KIND OF FROM, FROM, I THINK FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, OR FROM MY PERSPECTIVE HERE, I WOULD SAY MAYBE SEE IF WE CAN INCREASE THE PLANTINGS BY, BY 10% TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PRACTICABLE MM-HMM.
UM, AND KNOWING THAT KIND OF CHASING PLANTINGS UP INTO THAT KIND OF SETBACK AREA UP AT THE TOP OF THE HILL MAY NOT BE THE, YOU KNOW, THE HIGHEST AND BEST USE OF EVERYBODY'S TIME AND EFFORT.
UM, UH, BUT, BUT, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE MAY BE CONFLICTS WITHIN OTHER REQUIREMENTS, FOR INSTANCE, THE, THE WHOLE COUNTRY MM-HMM.
I THINK, I THINK WE'RE ALL AGREEABLE TO THAT TOO.
THAT, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS AND, AND I'M, I'M PLEASED WITH YOUR, UM, YOUR WILLINGNESS AND, AND, UH, INTEREST IN, IN BEING AS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR WATER AND SEWER? THIS IS OUT, CAN I, THE COUNTRY? HOW'S, HOW'S THAT BEING HANDLED? SURE.
IT'S WITHIN THE AUSTIN WATER SERVICE.
UM, AND, UM, HOW MANY TREES WILL BE REMOVED, UM, WHERE YOU PUT IN THE, UM, THE DRIVEWAY? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I AM GOING TO GRAB MY LAPTOP REAL QUICK.
SO I CAN ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
AND, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION, GO AHEAD WITH IT.
UM, I, I THINK IT WOULD, WHEN YOU, UH, WHEN YOU PUT IN THE, UM, UM, THE EV STATIONS, UM,
[00:30:02]
UH, FROM A COST BENEFIT POINT OF VIEW, UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO, UH, HAVE YOUR ELECTRICIAN WIRE THE ENTIRE, UM, PARKING AREA FOR FUTURE EVS AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE STANDARD AND THE WAY THAT THEY ARE WORK IS LIKELY TO CHANGE OVER TIME.SO IT IS NOT REALLY PRACTICAL TO PUT IN A WHOLE LOT OF 'EM, BUT I THINK THAT WE'RE GONNA BE SEEING MORE THAN 10% PEOPLE USING EVS, UH, IN WITHIN FIVE YEARS.
UM, I THINK WE COULD SEE, UH, A STEEP RISE AS THE, AS THE PRICE OF THEM COME DOWN.
SO, UM, I, UH, AND THEN ALSO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE SEEN THE, UH, UH, 2022 FEMA, UM, HAZARD RISK ASSESSMENT FOR TRAVIS COUNTY.
UH, BUT OUR HIGHEST RISK FOR TRAVIS COUNTY AREA, AND WHICH OBVIOUSLY INCLUDES AUSTIN AS WELL, IS TO MY SURPRISE, UH, FOR, TO TORNADOES.
AND, UM, VERY FORTUITOUSLY YOU HAVE, UM, AN UNDERGROUND, UM, PARKING LOT.
AND, UM, I WOULD BE VERY PLEASED IF, IF, UH, IN YOUR DESIGN YOU KEEP THAT IN MIND SO THAT IT WOULD QUALIFY TO BE A SAFE AREA IN CASE OF A TORNADO WARNING.
WE HAD ONE, UH, TORNADO WARNING IN MARCH OF LAST YEAR.
UM, AND DID, YOU MAY BE AWARE, MOST PEOPLE IN AUSTIN DON'T HAVE ANYWHERE UNDERGROUND TO GO.
SO IF WE WERE HIT BY AN E F FOUR, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE, UM, GONE.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, IF YOU HAVE AN UNDERGROUND PARKING SPACE MM-HMM.
AND, UH, I'D LIKE TO SEE IT JUST BECAUSE I, I FEEL LIKE IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SHOULD BE, UM, TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT AND RECOMMENDING AND, UM, UM, TRYING TO GET THAT, UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CITY IS AWARE OF SO THAT IT'S NOT LIKE WHAT WE JUST EXPERIENCED TWO YEARS AGO WITH THE WINTER STORM AND, AND A FEW WEEKS AGO WITH THE, UH, ICE STORM.
NONE OF THESE THINGS WERE HUGE SURPRISES, BUT WE WEREN'T PREPARED FOR 'EM.
SO LET'S BE PREPARED FOR OUR TORNADO IF, IF, IF ONE HAPPENS, BECAUSE WE DID, WE HAVE HAD 66 TORNADOES IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND, UM, THE FEMA REPORT IS BASED ON LOCAL NOAH WEATHER REPORTS.
UM, SO WE'RE ACTUALLY AT TWICE AS HIGH RISK FOR TORNADOES AS WE ARE FOR DAMAGE AND LOSS OF LIVES FROM, UH, UH, FLOODING.
SO I, IT TOOK ME BY SURPRISE, AND I'M JUST PASSING THE WORD ALONG AND, AND I THINK IT'S, THAT'S OUR JOB.
UM, AND WHAT DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THE TREE TREE SITUATION? UH, WHILE HE'S PULLING THAT UP, MAY I, A ADD A FEW COMMENTS? OKAY.
SO, UM, BACK IN 2014 WHEN I BOUGHT MY FIRST TESLA, I WAS POKED FUN BY MY NEIGHBORS SAYING, I'VE GOT A BEAUTIFUL, UM, UH, GOLF CART.
UM, THE IDEA WAS THAT MY, THE REASON FOR SAYING THAT IS WE'VE BEEN A PROPONENT FOR, UH, GREEN DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, SORT OF, UM, PHILOSOPHIES AND BEING A STEWARD IN THERE FROM OUR DESIGN SCHOOL DAYS.
AND, UM, WE INTEND TO DO WATER HARVESTING WE ALREADY HAVE IN THE DESIGN.
I WISH WE COULD ACTUALLY SEND THAT TO YOU.
AND BRIAN, IF YOU DON'T MIND, MAYBE WE SHOULD AT SOME POINT.
UM, THE AESTHETICS OF IT IS WE'VE GOT SOLAR PANELS ALL OVER THE BUILDING.
WE INTENDED TO, ORIGINALLY WHEN WE MADE THE PRESENTATION TO THE CITY IN 2018, TO GET THE ZONING THAT WE WANTED TO BE COMPLETELY CARBON FOOTPRINT FREE, WHICH IS ZERO CARBON.
AND TO DO THAT, WE HAD IDEAS OF IRRIGATING IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY.
WE WANTED TO HAVE ROADS THAT DID NOT PERMEATE, AND WE WANTED TO DO WATER HARVESTING.
AND BECAUSE WE ARE INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS, WE WERE ABLE TO COME UP WITH CONCEPTS.
WE ALSO HAD CONCEPTS OF TREES WITH, UM, SOLAR FLOWERS ABOVE THE TREE LINE SO THAT WE DON'T TOUCH THE TREES.
BUT IT'S ACTUALLY ABOVE ALL THOSE GOT SHOT DOWN BY MANY, UH, REGULATORY BODIES BECAUSE THERE WERE CONSTRAINTS AROUND THE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH WE COMPLETELY AGREE WITH.
BUT FROM AN INNOVATION STANDPOINT, WE WERE WILLING TO GO ALL THE WAY TO MAKE THIS A SPECTACLE FOR AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UH, WE FEEL, WHEN WE MADE THE PITCH, IT WAS ABOUT MAKING THIS AN EXAMPLE OF ZERO CARBON FOOTPRINT, DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE, BUILD AND LIVING, UM, FROM CONCEPT TO FRUITION.
[00:35:01]
OF TREES IN THE PERCENTAGE OF TREES, IF WE GOT A CHANCE, WE'D, IF THERE'S NO WATER THERE, OTHERWISE THERE WOULD'VE BEEN MORE TREES PLANTED WITHOUT PERMISSION BEFORE, UH, WE CAME TO THIS COMMISSION BOARD THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO WATER.WE COULDN'T ACTUALLY PLANT TREES.
UM, UM, BUT FROM, UM, A DESIGN STANDPOINT, MA'AM, I, I THINK YOU'LL LIKE IT WHEN WE SEND YOU THAT.
AND FROM A TORNADO, UM, PERSPECTIVE, HAVING THAT SPACE FOR TORNADO IS A GREAT IDEA.
WE WOULD DEFINITELY WANT TO INTRODUCE THAT FROM AN EV PERSPECTIVE.
BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY MENTIONED IT TO US, WE INTENT, WE INTENDED TO HAVE THE ENTIRE PARKING LOT.
UM, IF YOU'RE READY, IF IT'S NOT ALREADY, THAT'S GREAT.
AND, UM, NOBODY'S MENTIONED, UH, UH, WINDOWS, UH, REFLECTIVITY IS OF COURSE, IMPORTANT TO KEEP THE BIRDS FROM, UM, FLYING INTO THEM.
AND PERHAPS YOU'VE ALREADY DESIGNED AND PLANNED THAT, BUT I'D LIKE TO HEAR THAT IN FRONT YOU.
SO, SO THE WAY WE ACTUALLY HAVE, INSTEAD OF HAVING GLASS, OUR ARCHITECT IS FROM, UH, NEW YORK.
UM, THERE'S ACTUALLY, THEY'RE ONLINE AS WELL AS WE SPEAK.
UM, THEY'VE ACTUALLY GOT A LOUVER KIND OF A DESIGN IN A WAY THAT THERE'S AIR PASSING THROUGH SO THAT THE SUNLIGHT COMING IN, UM, WILL NOT GO DIRECTLY INTO THE SPACE.
AND IF YOU SEE THE INSIDES, WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT TREES INSIDE, SO THERE'S SORT OF A FOYER WITH THE TREES.
THE ORIGINAL INTENT WAS TO KEEP THE CURRENT TREES THE WAY IT IS AND BUILD AROUND IT.
IT JUST CAME DOWN TO WHAT IT IS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF ALL THE THOUSAND CONSTRAINTS THAT WE'VE HAD.
AND IT'S BEEN A FOUR YEAR LONG JOURNEY, BY THE WAY, TO COME HERE SO FAR.
UM, AND I DO HAVE YOUR ANSWER.
UM, THERE, WE'RE REMOVING FOR THE, FOR THE PIECE OF DRIVEWAY THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING TONIGHT, WE'RE REMOVING TWO TREES, UH, A SIX INCH LIVE OAK AND A 12 INCH CEDAR.
AND YOU'RE ARE, ARE YOU TRANSPLANTING THEM OR WE'RE, WE'RE MITIGATE, WE'RE MITIGATING FOR THOSE.
HOW OLD IS A SIX INCH LIVE OAK? I'M NOT THE BEST TO ANSWER, BUT MY GUESS WOULD BE ABOUT FIVE YEARS.
I, I THINK YOU'VE ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS.
IT SOUNDS LIKE A, A REAL NICE PROJECT.
CAN, UH, DO YOU HAVE AN ADDRESS? CAUSE THIS ISN'T, THIS ISN'T AN ACTUAL ADDRESS.
I'D LIKE TO JUST BE ABLE TO CALL IT UP ON GOOGLE EARTH.
SO IF, IF YOU HAVE A COORDINATE OR A 79 79 0 1, ARE YOU NOT ABLE TO? I'M NOT.
I THINK IT, I THINK IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU TYPE IN THE ROAD.
UM, BECAUSE IT WILL PULL UP, UH, I THINK YOU HAVE TO TYPE IT IN AS, UH, IT, IT PULLS UP AS 79 0 1 RANCH TO MARKET.
THE MORE Y'ALL TALK ABOUT THIS PROJECT, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M SEEING THE VISION AND, AND THANK YOU.
UM, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION, AND THIS IS, UM, FOR ENRIQUE, FOR THE, UM, UH, VARIANCE RECOMMENDATIONS, IT SAYS ADA ELEVATED WALKWAY.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE? OKAY.
SO, SO WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS PROJECT, LIKE THEY'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE A SIDEWALK GOING UP TO THE, UM, TO THE BUILDING.
OF COURSE THERE'S SLOPES, UM, AND OUR AREA THAT WAS CONNECTING TO THE, LIKE TO THE BUILDING, IT WAS GOING FILL OVER FOUR FEET.
SO WE, THEY ACTUALLY CHANGED THE DESIGN TO, TO LIKE A BRIDGE.
SO WE HAD ORIGINALLY MADE TWO VARIANCE REQUESTS, AND ONE OF THEM WAS TO, WE HAD, WE HAD THE SMALL AREA THAT ENRIQUE IS DESCRIBING WHERE WE WOULD HAVE MORE THAN FOUR FEET OF FILL.
AND PART OF HIS GROUP'S, UM, REQUEST TO US WAS, CAN YOU GET RID OF THAT BY PUTTING IN THE SMALL PIECE OF ELEVATED WALKWAY? AND THE ARCHITECT AND THE PROPERTY OWNER WERE FULLY ON BOARD WITH THAT.
SO, SO THAT VARIANCE REQUEST WENT AWAY AND, UM, THAT CONDITION WAS ADDED TO THIS VARIANCE REQUEST.
WE JUST WANTED, I JUST WANTED TO PUT IT HERE, JUST, JUST TO HAVE IT IN LIKE, IN WRITING THAT THE, IT IS REQUIRED AND IT IS NOW IN THE PLAN SET.
I JUST WANNA KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
IT'LL ACTUALLY BE PRETTY COOL CUZ YOU, UM, HE'LL HAVE THE ONLY PIECE OF SIDEWALK ALONG 2222, SO YOU CAN WALK BACK AND FORTH AND THEN YOU CAN WALK UP TO FRONT ONLY PIECE DOOR.
AND RIGHT BEFORE YOU GET UP TO THE FRONT DOOR, IT WILL BE THIS, I THINK IT'S ABOUT 30 OR 40 FEET.
IT'LL BE ELEVATED ABOUT THREE OR FOUR FEET OFF THE GROUND.
SO IT'LL BE, IT'LL BE REALLY NICE.
[00:40:01]
LOOK FORWARD TO, TO, TO WALKING THAT SIDEWALK.COMMISSIONERS, LAST, LAST CHANCE.
ANY LAST QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF CLOSING THE PUBLIC HEARING.
UM, IS THERE ANOTHER MOTION PER CHANCE? THERE IS FEBRUARY 15TH, 2023.
KLO STUDIO, S P C 2 21 DASH 1 9 5 C AND THE LOCATION IS AT 7,901 FM 2222, UH, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78,007 THREE.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZED THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING A VARIANCE FROM LDC 25 DASH EIGHT DASH 3 0 1 TO ALLOW DRIVEWAY ON SLOPES OVER 15%.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT THIS SITE IS LOCATED IN THE, UM, THE SITE IS LOCATED WITHIN THE WEST BULL CREEK WATER SUPPLY, UM, SUBURBAN DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES, UM, THAT THE STAFF RECOMMENDS THE VARIANCE WITH THE FOLLOWING STAFF CONDITIONS INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF PLANTING AROUND THE ADA WALKWAY FOR SCREENING, PROVIDE PLANTING ON THE SIDE OF DRIVEWAY THAT WILL PREVENT SOIL EROSION, PROVIDE POLLINATOR PLANTS AND ADA ELEVATED WALKWAY.
THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, REI RECOMMENDS THE VARIANCE REQUEST WITH THE FOLLOWING ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION CONDITIONS, UTILIZE DARK SKY LIGHTING THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT, UTILIZE NATIVE PLANTS THAT SUPPORT POLLINATORS AND WILDLIFE.
INSTALL THREE OR MORE EV CHARGING STATIONS, INCREASED PLANTING OF NATIVE PLANTS ACROSS THE DISTURBED AREA BY 10%, OR WHAT IS PRACTICAL AND LEAVE MATURE.
ASK JUNIPER AND LIVE OAKS TO SUPPORT GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLERS AND BLACK CAT BURS.
I SECOND, UH, COMMISSIONER RANDBERG.
UH, I DO HAVE ONE, ONE COMMENT THERE ON, UH, GO FOR IT, COMMISSIONER.
WE HAD DISCUSSED, UH, PRESERVING THE BACK OF THE LOT AND I DIDN'T HEAR THAT AS PART OF THE, UH, MOTION SHE HAD INTRODUCED.
SO WE HAVE A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT, UM, TO ADD, UM,
I WOULD SAY JUST A RE RESTRICTIVE COVENANT, UM, FOR THE AREAS WEST OF THE PROPOSED LIMITS OF CONSTRUCTION.
DOES THAT SOUND REASONABLE? SOUNDS GREAT.
CAUSE THAT'S KIND OF, THAT SOUNDS FINE WITH ME.
I THINK WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
IS THAT RIGHT? OR WE HAVE TO ALL BE IN AGREEMENT OF IT.
IS THAT CORRECT? WE HAVE TO ASK ELIZABETH.
KAYLA, CHAMPION WATERSHED PROTECTION.
SO TRADITIONALLY, UH, WHEN, ONCE YOU'VE MADE A SECOND ON THE MOTION THAT IT BELONGS TO THE BODY OF MOTION, UM, I'M SORRY, TO THE BODY OF THE COMMISSION.
SO TRADITIONALLY HOW WE HANDLE THIS IS WE DON'T DO FRIENDLY AMENDMENTS.
THEY'RE JUST SUBSTITUTE MOTIONS.
UM, BUT TYPICALLY Y'ALL DON'T REALLY FORMALIZE THAT PROCESS IF, IF THE COMMISSION IS ALL IN AGREEMENT WITH ADDING IN ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS.
OTHERWISE, IT COULD TAKE QUITE A BIT OF TIME TO VOTE ON EVERY CONDITION, UM, THAT WE DO FOR THESE MOTIONS.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SO IN, IN GENERAL, IF IF THERE'S NO ONE WHO IS OPPOSED TO THE ADDITION OF THIS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION CONDITION, THEN IT MOVES FORWARD WITH THAT ADDITIONAL CONDITION? THAT'S CORRECT.
THE ONLY TIME WE WOULD WANNA DO A SUBSTITUTE MOTION OR A A SEPARATE MOTION IS IF IT'S SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT, IF THE AMENDMENT IS SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT THAN THE BODY OF THE, OF THE, OF THE FULL MOTION KIND OF IN FRONT OF US, RIGHT? CORRECT.
SO FOLLOWING THAT PROCESS, DO ANY COMMISSIONERS OBJECT TO THE ADDITION OF THIS ADDITIONAL CONDITION TO THE MOTION? THANK YOU.
UM, OBVIOUSLY MIKE MCDOUGAL, ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, UH, THERE'S BEEN, UH, SOME COMMUNICATION FROM PAMELA AB TALLY AND ALSO WITH, WITH LIZ, UH, AS WELL.
[00:45:01]
THERE IS SOME CONCERN ABOUT THE IDEA OF, UH, CONSERVATION EASEMENT.THE IMPLEMENTATION IS NOT, UH, CER IS NOT CLEAR AT THIS POINT BECAUSE, UM, PAMELA HAS ADVISED THAT, UH, IT'S HER BELIEF THAT A CONSERVATION EASEMENT HAS TO BE DEDICATED TO SOMEBODY.
AND IN THE ABSENCE OF SOMEBODY TO RECEIVE THE DEDICATION, UM, WE COULD BE PAINTING OURSELVES INTO A CORNER WITH THAT VARIANCE CONDITION.
AND ENRIQUE IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWER.
IF NOBODY WOULD ACCEPT THAT CONSERVATION EASEMENT, ENRIQUE COULD NOT APPROVE THE PLANS UNTIL THE VARIANCE CONDITIONS ARE MET.
AND SO I WOULD SUPPORT MAYBE FI I, I DO SUPPORT THE CONSERVATION EASEMENT EASEMENT CONCEPT, BUT IN THE ABSENCE OF ENOUGH EXPERTISE TO KNOW HOW TO IMPLEMENT THAT, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT MAYBE WE COULD FIND ANOTHER WAY TO, TO, TO DO THAT.
AND THAT, THAT WAS KIND OF MY INTENT WITH THE RESTRICTIVE COVENANT.
UM, IT MAY NOT, NOT NECESSARILY NEED TO BE A CONSERVATION EASEMENT.
IT COULD BE A, A DEED RESTRICTION THAT THE LANDOWNER RECORDS ON THAT PART OF THE PROPERTY FOR THEMSELVES.
I THINK THAT, I THINK THAT COULD WORK.
AND, AND I WOULD MAYBE JUST SAY FOR THE BODY THAT, YOU KNOW, THE STAFF WORK WITH THE LANDOWNER TO FIND A, UH, A, UM, RESTRICTIVE COVENANT TO, TO CONSERVE THE AREAS WEST OF THE CURRENT LIMITS OF CONSTRUCTION, ONCE AGAIN TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PRACTICABLE OR, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THEIR LEGAL CON UH, ABILITIES.
I, I THINK THAT COULD CERTAINLY WORK AND, AND THAT WOULDN'T, UM, POTENTIALLY PUT US IN A SITUATION WHERE WE CAN'T IMPLEMENT THE, THE VARIANCE CONDITION.
HAVING, WELL, I ACTUALLY, DOES ANYONE, UH, UH, OBJECT TO THE ADDITION OF THAT WANDERING ADDITION? ALL RIGHT.
HAVING SEEN NONE, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION AND THE CONDITIONS IN FRONT OF US, UH, RAISE YOUR HAND.
I SEE A UNANIMOUS, UH, PASSES.
REALLY MUCH APPRECIATE THE STAFF AND THE APPLICANT FOR EXPLAINING THAT TO US AND THE, AND THE FOUR YEARS OF WORK TO GET HERE.
[4. Name: Country Club Creek Trail Elmont Dr. to E. Oltorf St., SP-2022-0197D (30 minutes)]
PUBLIC HEARINGS AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR, COUNTRY CLUB CREEK TRAIL ELMONT DRIVE TO EAST OLTORF STREET S P 2020 2 1 97 D.UM, IT'S LOCATED AT 25 11 AND A HALF EAST OLTORF STREET, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78 7 41 DISTRICT THREE.
AND I BELIEVE WE'RE GONNA HAVE A STAFF PRESENTATION FOR MR. JACKSON.
IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, ONCE AGAIN, STATE YOUR NAME AND, UM, AND WHEN THE PRESENTATION GETS UP, YOU'VE GOT THE FLOOR.
I AM BRAD JACKSON, ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE SPECIALIST SENIOR.
SO THIS WILL BE MY FIRST PRESENTATION TO Y'ALL.
SO I'VE JUST STARTED BACK AT THE CITY ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO.
I THINK THIS IS THE APPLICANT'S PRESENTATION THEY'VE ACTUALLY PUT UP.
SO TONIGHT WE HAVE COUNTRY CLUB CREEK TRAIL ELMONT DRIVE TO EAST OLD TOF STREET, AND IT'S S P 20 22 0 1 970.
SO THIS IS THE PROPERTY, UH, WHERE THE TRAIL'S GONNA BE CONSTRUCTED.
UH, IT'S GONNA BE WITHIN AN EASEMENT ALONG THAT AREA THERE, UH, COLORED IN A KIND OF A PURPLEISH BLUE AND IT'S IN THE COUNTRY CLUB, WEST WATERSHED AND SUBURBAN WATERSHED CLASSIFICATION, WHICH IS IN THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE.
AND IT'S NOT LOCATED OVER THE EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE.
SO THIS PROJECT IS, UH, IT'LL APPROXIMATELY 5,150 LINEAR FEET URBAN TRAIL, THAT'LL BE 12 FEET WIDE AND WIDTH.
AND IT'S GONNA BE, UH, WITHIN A PUBLIC EASEMENT ON TWO LOTS.
AS YOU CAN SEE ON THAT PICTURE ON THE LEFT THERE, UH, BOTH OF THOSE LOTS ARE CURRENTLY CONSTRUCTED WITH SOME, UH, APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND A CREEK RUNS BETWEEN 'EM AND THE TRAIL WILL FOLLOW APPROXIMATELY ALONG THE COUNTRY CLUB WEST CREEK.
IT ALSO INCLUDES A STREAM BANK RESTORATION FOR COUNTRY CLUB CREEK WEST THAT RUNS PARALLEL TO THE TRAIL BETWEEN EAST OLD TORCH STREET AND EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE.
SO THE VARIANCE REQUEST WE HAVE TONIGHT IS TO ALLOW CUT OVER FOUR FEET ON SLOPES, OVER 15% WITHIN THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE.
THE MAX CUT PROPOSED IS APPROXIMATELY 10 FEET IN DEPTH.
[00:50:01]
SO THESE ARE SOME IMAGES OF WHERE THE, UH, SITE CONSTRUCTION FOR THE TRAIL, WHERE THE CUT IS NEEDED, UH, WHERE THE TRAIL'S GONNA BE CROSSING UNDERNEATH RIVERSIDE OR EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE.AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE PHOTO, UH, THE EMBANKMENT THERE, UH, ALONG WHERE THE SPAM BRIDGE FOR RIVERSIDE GOES OVER THE CREEK IS WHERE THE TRAIL WILL FOLLOW ALONG UNDER THERE.
AND THEN IT HAS TO COME BACK UP TO MEET WICKER SHAM IN THE EXISTING SIDEWALK.
AND, UH, THAT'S THE AREA WHERE THE SLOPES OVER 15% AND THE CUT OVER FOUR FEET IS GOING TO OCCUR.
SO HERE'S THE GRADING EXHIBIT SHOWING THE AREAS OF CUT OVER FOUR FEET TO EIGHT FEET AND YELLOW THERE.
AND THEN THE ORANGE IS THE EIGHT FEET AND ABOVE, UH, APPROXIMATELY 9.5 FEET, UH, AS SHOWN IN THEIR PLANT SET.
AND THE ORANGE IS PRETTY MUCH ONLY LOCATED THERE RIGHT ALONG THE AREA WHERE THE SIDEWALK IS CLIMBING BACK UP TO MEET WICKER SHAM.
UM, SO ALL THE REST OF THE CUT IS, IS JUST BETWEEN FOUR AND EIGHT FEET AS HIGHLIGHTED AND YELLOW THERE FOR THE SIDEWALK CONSTRUCTION.
YOU COULD SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE THERE, UH, THAT WOULD BE THE SOUTH SIDE OF RIVERSIDE.
THERE'S A, SOME CUT UP TO EIGHT FEET FOR WHERE THE TRAIL RIGHT BEFORE IT CROSSES UNDERNEATH THE RIVERSIDE DRIVE.
AND THE OTHER PORTION OF THIS VARIANCE IS FOR THE STREAM BANK RESTORATION.
AND, UM, IT'S GONNA BE FOR RESTORATION THAT INVOLVES CONSTRUCTION OF EIGHT EROSION CONTROL CROSS VEINS TO SLOW THE VELOCITY OF WATER WITHIN THE CHANNEL AND REDUCE EROSION OF THE BANKS.
AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE PICTURE, THE BANKS ARE ERODING PRETTY QUICKLY.
UH, THE CROSS MAIN IMAGE IS A LITTLE SMALL, BUT IT'S A KIND OF A, I GUESS A TRIANGULAR SHAPED, UH, FORM OF, OF BOULDERS AND STONES THAT CREATE KIND OF AN AREA WHERE THE WATER DROPS DOWN.
IT'S DESCRIBED KIND OF AS A LIMESTONE BOULDER DROP STRUCTURE FOR GRADE CONTROL AND ROCK RIP WRAP FOR CHANNEL BED SCOUR PROTECTION.
THAT'S GONNA BE THE, UH, CUT OVER FOUR FEET ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THE AREAS THAT ARE WITH BETWEEN FOUR AND EIGHT FEET THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW ALONG THOSE CROSS VEINS.
AND THIS IS ALSO LOCATED ON SOME SLOPES OVER 15% AND WITHIN A HUNDRED FEET OF THE CLASSIFIED WATERWAY.
SO NORMALLY THESE VARIANCES COULD HAVE BEEN DONE ADMINISTRATIVELY, BUT BECAUSE OF THE LOCATION TO THE CREEK AND THE SLOPES, OVER 15% REQUIRES THE FORMAL VARIANCE.
SO STAFF RECOMMENDS THE VARIANCE, HAVING DETERMINED THAT THE REQUIRED FINDINGS EFFECTIVE BEEN MET.
STAFF ALSO RECOMMENDS THE SUPPORTS THE FOLLOWING CONDITION PROVIDES STRUCTURAL CONTAINMENT OF CUT WITH RETAINING WALLS, AND, UH, THEY WILL BE PROVIDING RETAINING WALLS ALONG THE TRAIL AS IT CROSSES UNDERNEATH RIVERSIDE WITH RETAINING WALLS.
AND THIS IS JUST SOME OF THE, UH, IMAGES FOR THE LANDSCAPE, UH, RESTORATION FOR THE STREAM AND THE TRAIL SHOWING THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE PLANTING BACK.
UM, IT'S APPROXIMATELY 110 TREES THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT TO RESTORE THE RIPARIAN AREA ALONG THAT PRETTY DEGRADED CREEK.
AND THAT'S THE, UH, ADDITIONAL LANDSCAPING HEADING TOWARD RIVERSIDE.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
IF YOU'LL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME, UM, IF NOT, THEN WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE APPLICANT'S PRESENTATION.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND HEAR FROM THE APPLICANT AS WELL.
AND, UH, THEN WE'LL GROUP THE QUESTIONS TOGETHER.
UH, MY NAME IS DYLAN JOHNSTONE.
I'M A PROJECT COORDINATOR WITH THE URBAN TRAILS PROGRAM IN THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
UH, URBAN TRAILS IS THE SPONSOR FOR THIS PROJECT WHO ACTUALLY WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, WE'RE THE SPONSORS FOR THIS PROJECT AND WE'RE WORKING IN, IN A CLOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT AND A GREAT TEAM OF CONSULTANTS.
I'VE GOT ACTUALLY, UM, SEVERAL MEMBERS OF OUR PROJECT TEAM THAT ARE JOINING US TODAY THAT'LL BE ABLE TO HELP WITH, UM, QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THIS, INCLUDING,
[00:55:01]
UM, IVER, UM, OUR CIVIL ENGINEER, CHRIS EVANS, UH, AND THEN OURCLAYTON, WE AS WELL JOINING US, UM, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO WE'LL START WITH A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY IN HIGH LEVEL PLANNING FOR COUNTRY CALLED CREEK TRAIL.
UM, THIS TRAIL IS FIRST NAMED IN THE URBAN TRAILS PLAN THAT WAS A COUNCIL ADOPTED IN 2014 AS A TIER ONE OR A HIGH PRIORITY TRAIL.
UH, IT'S 3.5 MILES LONG STRETCHING FROM ROY G GUERRERA METRO PARK TO MABEL DAVIS DISTRICT PARK IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN.
UH, IT CONNECTS TO THE ANN AND ROY BUTLER HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL AT LADYBIRD LAKE ON THE NORTHERN END AND TO PARK TRAILS IN MABEL DAVIS DISTRICT PARK ON THE SOUTH.
UH, IT WAS ALSO COUNCIL ADOPTED INTO THE ALL AGES AND ABILITIES BICYCLE NETWORK IN 2014 AS WELL.
UH, THIS TRAIL HAS A LONG HISTORY OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT.
IT WAS FIRST IMAGINED IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS AS AN EXTENSION OF A MULTI-USE TRAIL RUNNING THROUGH THE COUNTRY CALLED CREEK GREEN BELT.
AND THAT'S A LITTLE SOUTH OF HERE, UM, BETWEEN SOUTH PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD AND BURLESON ROAD.
UM, KIND OF FOLLOWING THAT IN THE EAST RIVERSIDE OLD TURF COMBINED NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, IT WAS NOTED THAT THE TRAIL WAS IMPORTANT FOR PROVIDING NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTIVITY.
UM, THE PLAN TALKS ABOUT HOW THE PHYSICAL LAYOUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO TRAVEL TO A PARK WITHOUT WALKING OR BIKING ALONG A MAJOR ROADWAY.
AND THEN IN 2005, UM, THE SOUTH, THE SOUTHEAST AUSTIN TRAILS AND GREENWAYS ALLIANCE, WHICH IS A COMMUNITY GROUP, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION AND ABOUT 200 VOLUNTEERS BUILT, UH, THE CRUSH GRAVEL TRAIL THAT, UM, CURRENTLY EXISTS IN ROY GE GUERRO PARK, UM, AND CONNECTS OVER TO, UH, ELMONT DRIVE.
SO THIRD COMMUNITY'S EXCITED FOR THIS, WE'RE EXCITED FOR THIS AS WELL.
THE PROJECT WE'RE DISCUSSING TONIGHT IS LOCATED MOSTLY BETWEEN EAST RIVERSIDE AND OLTORF.
IT'S A LITTLE MORE THAN A HALF MILE LENGTH AND IT RUNS BETWEEN THE CREEK AND TWO APARTMENT COMPLEXES, UM, ENTIRELY WITHIN CITY OWNED EASEMENTS OR STREET RIGHT OF WAY, AS BRAD MENTIONED.
UM, AND IS ONE OF THE LAST PROJECTS TO MAKE A CONTINUOUS, UH, TRAIL ROUTE FROM LADY BIRD LAKE DOWN TO MAPLE DAVIS PARK.
IN TERMS OF WHERE WE ARE NOW, UM, THE DESIGN IS COMPLETE AND THE PROJECT ISN'T PERMITTING.
WE'RE EXPECTING KIND OF A FEW FINAL MODIFICATIONS TO BE MADE TO THE DESIGN BASED ON COMMENTS RECEIVED DURING PERMIT REVIEW.
WE'RE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING VARIANCE APPROVALS, UM, AND BRIEFING COMMISSIONS, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE HERE TONIGHT.
UM, AND CONSTRUCTION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN AT THE END OF THIS YEAR OR EARLY NEXT YEAR.
SO THIS PROJECT IS BUILDING A OFF-STREET CONCRETE TRAIL THAT'LL BE 12 FEET WIDE WITH GRASS SHOULDERS.
UH, WE'RE PLANNING TO INSTALL LANDSCAPING ALONG THE TRAIL AND ARE ALONG THE CREEK, INCLUDING NATIVE GRASSES, SCRUBS, AND ABOUT, UM, I THINK BRAD'S HAD 110 TREES.
I THINK OUR COUNT IS 120, SO SOMEONE WE'LL NEED TO CHECK ON THAT
UM, THE TRAIL WILL BE BUILT TO BE ADA ACCESSIBLE, SUITABLE FOR, UM, ALL AGES, PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND ABILITIES TO USE.
AND WE WILL INSTALL SOLAR LIGHTING SO THAT TRAVELING IN THE EARLY MORNING, UM, AND AT NIGHT IS MORE COMFORTABLE.
THE, UH, LIGHTING IS DARK SKY FRIENDLY, WHICH IS REQUIRED PER THE URBAN TRAILS PLAN.
THE PROJECT ALSO WILL INSTALL WAYFINDING SIGNS TO PROVIDE DIRECTIONS TO USERS.
UM, AND THEN TWO SHORT SECTIONS OF THE TRAIL ARE GONNA BE RAISED BOARDWALK, UM, IN ORDER TO ADDRESS DRAINAGE IN LOW LYING AREAS.
AND THEN I THINK ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS PROJECT IS, UM, JUST BEING ABLE TO BUILD A TRAIL UNDERPASS AT EAST RIVERSIDE, UM, WHICH IS GONNA ALLOW TRAIL USERS TO GO UNDERNEATH AND SAFELY BYPASS A VERY BUSY ARTERIAL ROADWAY.
I'M GONNA GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE,
SO THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH WATERSHED, UM, THIS PROJECT IS LOOKING TO TACKLE SOME OF THE CURRENT ISSUES ALONG COUNTRY CLUB CREEK WEST THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ONGOING EROSION AND THE ECOLOGICAL HEALTH OF THE CREEK.
UM, THE RESTORATION WORK AND THE STREAM STABILIZATION WORK IS PRIMARILY FOCUSED BETWEEN EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE AND SHAHAM, WHICH IS KIND OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS PROJECT.
UM, AND I'LL SHOW YOU GUYS IMAGES IN A COUPLE OF SLIDES HERE.
WE'LL DO KIND OF A VIRTUAL TOUR OF WHAT THOSE, UM, THOSE ISSUES LOOK LIKE.
UM, SO I THINK WE THINK THERE'S GOOD REASON HERE TO PARTNER WITH WATERSHED BECAUSE THERE'S KIND OF LIMITED SPACE BETWEEN THE APARTMENTS AND THE CREEK.
UM, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE EROSION COULD END UP IMPACTING THE APARTMENT COMPLEXES IN THE FUTURE IF LEFT UNADDRESSED.
AND FOR URBAN TRAILS TO BE ABLE TO ADD A TRAIL HERE.
UM, THERE IS CONCERN THAT IF THE EROSION ISSUES REMAIN UNADDRESSED, THAT THE CREEK COULD END UP UNDERCUTTING THE TRAIL IN THE FUTURE, WHICH WE WOULDN'T WANT.
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SO THIS PROJECT'S PROPOSING, UM, IMPROVEMENTS TO BOTH HELP THE STREAM BANK STABILIZATION AS WELL AS RESTORING IMPROVING THE RIPARIAN HABITAT ALONG THE CREEK.UM, AND ALL OF THIS WORK IS BEING BASED OFF OF A FUNCTIONAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT FOR THE FLOODPLAIN THAT WAS PERFORMED BY WATERSHED STAFF.
UM, AND THE IMPROVEMENTS ARE PROVIDING A SIGNIFICANT, UM, DEMONSTRABLE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT.
SORRY, THAT'S A LITTLE CLUNKY FOR ME TO SAY.
UM, SO WE'RE KIND OF GOING BEYOND JUST EROSION PROTECTION HERE AND WE'RE REALLY HELPING TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF THE CREEK AS WELL AS THE FLOODPLAIN.
SO I THINK BRAD MENTIONED THIS, BUT THE WORK INCLUDES PROTECTED, UH, WORKS IN THE STREAM BED, INCLUDING LIMESTONE, BOULDER DROP STRUCTURES FOR GREAT CONTROL, AND THE ROCK RIP WRAP FOR CHANNEL BED SCOUR PROTECTION, UM, AS WELL AS FLOOD PAIN BENCHES.
UM, WE'LL BE DOING NATIVE PLANTINGS IN THE UPPER AND LOWER RIPARIAN AREAS, AND THEN ESTABLISHING A WILDFLOWER MEADOW THAT'LL BE BORDERED BY SPLIT RAIL FENCE AND, UM, LIMESTONE BOULDERS THAT COULD BE USED FOR AS, UH, SEATING AS A TRAIL AMENITY.
UM, BUT REALLY THE PURPOSE OF THEM IS THAT CURRENTLY THE BANKS ARE ROUTINELY BEING MOWED BY THE APARTMENTS, UH, MAINTENANCE CREWS.
UM, SO OUR TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT AND THEY'VE AGREED AND THEY'RE ON BOARD WITH WATERSHED MAINTAINING THESE AREAS AS A WILDFLOWER MEADOW IN THE FUTURE.
AND THAT SPLIT RAIL FENCE IS GONNA HELP BE A PHYSICAL BORDER, SORT OF DELINEATING THOSE AREAS.
UM, AND THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL GO THROUGH THIS QUICK, UH, VIRTUAL TOUR OF SOME OF THE ISSUES.
UM, SO JUST TO ORIENT Y'ALL, WE'RE GONNA START BY LOOKING AT THE AERIAL PHOTO ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN.