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I'M GOING TO CALL TO ORDER THE COUNCIL WORK SESSION.
WE ARE MEETING IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM AT CITY HALL.
UH, THE MAYOR PRO TIM IS, IS, IS OFF THE DIAS.
I'LL, UH, ANNOUNCE FOR THE RECORD THAT SHE IS HERE.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, NATASHA HARPER.
AND, AND WHILE I'M THINKING ABOUT IT, I WANNA GO AHEAD AND SAY SHE, UH, HAD A, AN UNEXPECTED AND UNAVOIDABLE ISSUE THAT CAME UP FOR HER, AND SHE HAS ASKED THAT IF ANYBODY HAS QUESTIONS FOR HER ABOUT, UM, SPECIFICALLY ITEM NUMBER 16 IS WHAT SHE WAS REFERRING TO, THAT PLEASE PUT THOSE QUESTIONS ON THE MESSAGE BOARD AND SHE WILL, UM, ANSWER THOSE.
SHE WILL, SHE WILL BE HERE AS SOON AS SHE CAN BE, BUT, UM, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE EFFICIENT ENOUGH THAT, UM, UH, WELL, WE'LL SEE IF SHE CAN GET HERE.
BUT SHE, SHE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNEW IT WAS UNEXPECTED AND, AND, UH, UNAVOIDABLE.
AND PLEASE GO TO THE MESSAGE BOARD IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.
[A. Pre-Selected Agenda Items]
WE HAVE PRE-SELECT TWO, UH, PRE-SELECTED AGENDA ITEMS THAT WE'LL HAVE FOR DISCUSSION.THE WAY I INTEND TO DO THIS IS I'M GOING TO TAKE UP ITEM 16, WHICH IS THE E T O D ITEM FIRST AT, IS THAT THE, THE ANGELS
UH, ITEM NUMBER 16 IS THE E T O D ITEM.
WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THAT UP FIRST.
AND THE REASON WE'RE GONNA TAKE THAT UP FIRST IS WE HAVE, UH, A COUPLE OF OUR STAFF PEOPLE THAT WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE QUESTIONS FOR THAT, UH, HAVE, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, EXCUSE ME, AN AIRPLANE TO CATCH.
AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY, UM, UH, SINCE WE'VE, WE'VE CALLED ON THEM TO HELP US OUT, WE DON'T MAKE THEM MISS THAT.
AT THAT POINT, WE WILL TAKE UP THE, UH, BRIEFING ON THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UH, THE WORD BRIEF AND BRIEFING, UH, THE ROOT WORD IS BRIEF.
UM, I'M, I'M JUST, I'M JUST NOTICING THAT I, THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I I'VE EVER NOTICED THAT.
AND THEN WE WILL GO INTO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, AND I'LL APPROPRIATELY ANNOUNCE THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AT THE TIME.
SO I'LL TURN TO THE CITY MANAGER ON ITEM NUMBER 16.
YEAH, MAYOR, UH, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL CAN, CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME? UH, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS ITEM AND, UH, AND DESERVEDLY SO.
IT, UH, IT'S AN IMPORTANT, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR CITY AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE, THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT SURROUND THESE DISTRICTS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
BUT I WANT TO JUST, UH, TO, TO LAY THE PREDICATE OF, OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET ACCOMPLISHED TODAY.
ONE IS SIMPLY WE'RE KICKING OFF THE PROCESS BY WHICH WE THEN WILL BEGIN TO EVALUATE THE CHANGES THAT NEED TO MA BE MADE TO THE, UH, DEVELOPMENT CO THE CODE DEVELOPMENT, AND THEN THE CHANGES THAT WE NEED TO MAKE TO THE AUSTIN PLAN.
AND SO I WANT TO, AND THAT PROCESS IS GONNA INVOLVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY INPUT, A LOT OF, UH, UH, INVOLVEMENT BY JUST, NOT JUST NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THIS VERY IMPORTANT, UH, TOPIC AND ISSUE.
SO THERE'S GONNA BE PLENTY OF TIME FOR PUBLIC INPUT.
IT'LL BE, IT'LL COME BACK TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
THERE'LL BE PUBLIC HEARINGS, THERE'LL BE ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS.
THOSE WILL BE, UH, VOTED ON BY THE, THE COMMISSION.
COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL FOR REVIEW, AND THEY'LL, THE, MY LAST TOUR DUTY HERE, WE, THOSE WERE ADDITIONAL PUBLIC HEARINGS WE HAVE AT THIS, UH, FORUM, UH, SO THAT THE CITIZENS COULD BE PROPERLY HEARD.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO DO THAT AS A PREDICATE PRIOR, PRIOR TO THIS PRESENTATION, LAWYER.
WE ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE A FORMAL PRESENTATION, UM, PREPARED RIGHT NOW, BUT WE DO HAVE STAFF FROM BOTH THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE AND THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT THAT HAVE, UH, BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY ON THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT POLICY PLAN.
AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I THINK CITY MANAGER GARZA GAVE A GOOD OVERVIEW OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE ACTION ON THURSDAY.
ALL RIGHT, COUNSEL, I, I DO THINK THERE'S BEEN QUITE A BIT OF DIS, UH, OF INFORMATION SUPPLIED.
SO WHY DON'T WE JUST START THE DISCUSSION, UH, WITH THE COUNCIL, AND I'LL RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL FIRST.
THANKS, MAYOR, AND THANKS, UM, TO OUR CITY MANAGER.
AND THANK YOU, ROSIE, FOR SENDING, UH, THE EMAIL MEMO.
UH, I THINK IT WAS EARLY THIS MORNING OR LATE LAST NIGHT.
THAT GIVES A REALLY GOOD COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF, UH, THE PROCESS WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS, WHAT IS AND IS NOT AHEAD OF US, AND WHAT WE ARE AND ARE NOT DOING.
AND I HAD, UH, NUMEROUS EMAILS COME IN FROM NEIGHBORHOODS IN DISTRICT SEVEN EXPRESSING CONCERNS
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AND, UM, SOME, UH, CONFUSION OVER WHAT THEY WERE READING.AND WHAT I WANTED TO DO, JUST TO KICK THIS OFF, COULD YOU POSSIBLY REVIEW THE MEMO THAT YOU SENT TO US ALL? I WILL BE FORWARDING IT TO EVERYBODY WHO HAS WRITTEN IT TO, WRITTEN TO ME AND PUTTING IT OUT IN AN EMAIL BLAST.
BUT THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE LODGED IN THAT EMAIL IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND, AND PERHAPS THAT WOULD BE A GOOD WAY TO START TODAY, TO DO SOME LEVEL SETTING ON WHAT IS AND IS NOT HAPPENING, WHAT THE PROCESS IS, AND WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS.
AND, AND I KNOW MY TEAM WILL JUMP IN IF I START TO GO, UH, AWRY HERE.
UM, THE ACTION THAT WE'RE REQUESTING ON MARCH 9TH WOULD DO FOUR PRIMARY THINGS.
FIRST, IT WILL ACCEPT THE E T O D POLICY PLAN.
IT WILL INITIATE AMENDMENTS TO THE IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO INCORPORATE THE E T O D STATION AREAS AND THEIR IDENTIFIED TYPOLOGIES INTO THE GROWTH CONCEPT MAP.
AGAIN, INITIATING AS CITY MANAGER GARZA SAID, WE WILL, UM, THAT WILL ALL RUN THROUGH A, A PROCESS.
THERE WILL BE AMPLE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROBABLY MORE DISCUSSION THAN ALL OF US ARE READY TO, TO UNDERTAKE.
THIS JUST STARTS US, UH, ON THAT JOURNEY.
IT AUTHORIZES THE CITY MANAGER TO COORDINATE WITH CAP METRO TO INCORPORATE THE E T O D POLICY PLAN TOOLS FOR THE GREEN LINE AND METRO RAPID STATIONS WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE NORTHEAST AUSTIN DISTRICT PLANNING PROCESS.
AS YOU GUYS ALL KNOW, THIS WAS A PROCESS THAT WAS INITIATED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
AND, UH, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF CONSULTANT SELECTION RIGHT NOW, AND THIS IS A WAY TO ACHIEVE SOME EFFICIENCIES.
UH, WE HAVE A CONSULTANT THAT'S ALREADY WORKING ON AREAS, UM, THAT TOUCH AROUND TRANSIT.
IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE THEM, UM, INCORPORATE THIS POLICY PLAN AS PART OF THE TOOLKIT THAT THEY USE, UM, FOR THE MORE DETAILED PLANNING OF THE NORTHEAST AUSTIN DISTRICT AREA.
UM, THAT, THAT CHANGE DOESN'T REALLY, UM, AFFECT STAFF CAPACITY OR THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE FOR THAT PARTICULAR PLANNING EFFORT.
IT JUST INCORPORATES THE, THE POLICY COMPONENTS.
AND LASTLY, IT WILL INITIATE SEVERAL FOCUS SYSTEM-WIDE AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE TO IMPLEMENT THE E T O D POLICY PLAN.
AND WE CAN GO INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT THAT, UM, HERE IN A MOMENT.
UM, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS.
THIS IS A POLICY DOCUMENT, AND IT'S GONNA SERVE AS A FRAMEWORK FOR A HOST OF ACTIVITIES RELATED TO IMPLEMENTING THE E T O D DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTIN OVER THE YEARS AHEAD.
THE POLICY PLAN DESCRIBES ACTIVITIES THAT ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY, AS WELL AS THOSE THAT CAN BE TAKEN IN THE FUTURE.
AND THE DRAFT RESOLUTION INCLUDES INITIATION OF SEVERAL RECOMMENDED NEAR-TERM ACTIVITIES THAT I JUST WENT OVER.
THOSE ALL REQUIRE FORMAL COUNCIL DIRECTION, INCLUDING INITIATION OF THOSE CODE AMENDMENTS.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO, UM, BEGIN WORKING ON THE NEXT STEPS THAT DON'T REQUIRE FORMAL COUNSEL ACTION, WHICH INCLUDE ANALYZING OUR EXISTING DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS, CONSULTING WITH E T O D IMPLEMENTATION LEADS TO IDENTIFY FINANCING AND PROGRAMMATIC SUPPORT FOR MEETING THE E T O D GOALS, INCLUDING FUNDING AND RESOURCE GAPS.
UM, WE'RE GONNA BE DEVELOPING AN EQUITY SCORECARD TO EVALUATE PROPOSED E T O D DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
UH, THIS WILL BE DEVELOPED IN PARALLEL TO THE OVERLAY AND BROUGHT BACK TO COUNCIL AS A PACKAGE AND DEVELOPING AN AFFORDABLE OR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN ON PUBLICLY OWNED LAND GOAL TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE FOR PLANNING EFFORTS.
UH, WE'LL ALSO BE COLLABORATING WITH CAP METRO AND OTHER PUBLIC AGENCIES ON THE STRATEGIC REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS TOOL, ALL THINGS THAT ARE NEXT ON THE LIST, BUT DON'T REQUIRE US TO HAVE FORMAL COUNCIL INITIATION.
SO WE CAN GO THROUGH, UM, THE MORE DETAILED ASPECTS OF THE DRAFT RESOLUTION.
I'LL PROBABLY TURN THAT OVER TO STAFF TO DO, BUT I WANTED TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF, HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THIS DOES NOT DO.
UM, THIS DOES NOT DESIGNATE ALL BUS STOPS IN THE CITY AS E T O D LOCATIONS.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE HEARD.
THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING.
THE E T O T O D POLICY PLAN INCLUDES PROJECT CONNECT IN INITIAL INVESTMENT COMMUTER RAIL STATIONS, LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT STATIONS, AND METRO RAPID STATIONS.
IT DOES NOT INCLUDE REGULAR BUS STOPS.
UM, THERE'S A MAP WITHIN THE DRAFT E T O D POLICY PLAN FOR PROJECT CONNECT LIGHT RAIL AND BUS TRANSIT STATIONS.
AND ADDITIONALLY, IT IS LIKELY THAT PROPOSED REGULATIONS SURROUNDING COMMUTER RAIL OR LIGHT RAIL STATIONS WILL DIFFER FROM PROPOSED REGULATIONS AROUND METRO RAPID STATIONS.
SO THE LIGHT RAIL STATION POLICIES WILL BE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND FOR FOR BUS RAPID TRANSIT STATIONS.
THIS DOES NOT CHANGE ZONING REGULATIONS OR FUNDING.
ACCEPTANCE OF THE E T O D POLICY PLAN DOES NOT CHANGE ANY REGULATIONS, PROGRAMS, TOOLS, FUNDING, OR CITY INVESTMENTS.
SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE TOOLS WOULD NEED TO HAVE FUNDING OR RESOURCES IDENTIFIED BEFORE THEY COULD BE IMPLEMENTED.
OTHER TOOLS MAY EVENTUALLY RESULT IN CHANGES TO ZONING OR REGULATIONS NEAR SOME PROJECT CONNECT STOPS, BUT CANNOT BE IMPLEMENTED WITHOUT FIRST COUNCIL INITIATING CHANGES.
THEN STAFF WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY TO DEVELOP A PROPOSAL AND THEN FUTURE NOTICE IN PUBLIC
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HEARINGS.AND LASTLY, COUNCIL VOTING TO ADOPT THEM.
ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE MANY TOOLS LISTED IN THE E T O D POLICY PLAN THAT WILL NEED TO BE ASSESSED FOR WHERE THEY SHOULD BE APPLIED TO HELP MEET THE SIX E T O D POLICY GOALS.
UH, THE ASSESSMENT WILL TAKE PLACE AS PART OF FUTURE PHASES OF THE WORK.
THIS DOES NOT DO AWAY WITH SINGLE FAMILY ZONING.
THE CITY'S EXISTING CODE PROVISIONS, UH, FOR TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, UH, PROHIBIT NEW CONSTRUCTION OF SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING WITHIN GATEWAY OR MIDWAY ZONINGS OR ZONES INSIDE EXISTING TODS.
HOWEVER, STAFF DOES NOT ENVISION USING THE EXISTING T O D DESIGNATIONS IN THE CURRENT CODE AS PART OF THE UPDATED E T O D PLANNING PROCESS OR INTERIM REGULATIONS OR THE OVERLAY STAFF IS, IS SPEC IS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL DIRECT US TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY TO CREATE INTERIM REGULATIONS FOR E T O D AND AN E T O D OVERLAY AS DESCRIBED IN THE E T O D POLICY PLAN, THE EXISTING TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT CODE PROVISIONS WOULD NOT APPLY TO ANY NEW AREAS.
AND I DID WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE URGENCY OF THE WORK.
ACCEPTING THE PLAN ON MARCH 9TH ON THURSDAY ALLOWS US TO BEGIN THE STEPS OF IMPLEMENTING, AND ITS KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF THE E T O D AND THE WIDER PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS.
FIRST, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE MOVE FORWARD TO IMPLEMENT E T O D QUICKLY AHEAD OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM IN ORDER TO GUIDE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT.
THE E T O D POLICY PLAN SUPPORTS AND IMPROVES PROJECT CONNECTS GRANT COMPETITIVE COMPETITIVENESS FOR FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANTS, SMALL STARTS AND NEW STARTS FUNDING.
AND WE HAVE STAFF HERE THAT CAN HELP ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS OR THAT COME UP ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN LASTLY, TAKING ACTION RELATED TO E T O D ON MARCH 9TH WOULD ALIGN WITH THE TIMELINES OF VARIOUS RELATED PROJECT CONNECT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC DECISION MAKING PROCESSES THAT WILL BEGIN OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.
HAPPY TO GO INTO ANY DETAIL ABOUT THE CODE WORK, UM, BUT I WANNA JUST OPEN IT UP THERE FOR ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS.
UM, HIGH LEVEL, BUT VERY DETAILED OVERVIEW.
I'D ALSO EMPHASIZE THAT THE WORK THAT WE ARE ENGAGED IN HERE HAS SOME PRETTY DEEP ROOTS, UH, FROM YEARS BACK.
IT IS BUILT ON NUMEROUS ORDINANCES THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED AND AND ARE IN EFFECT.
UM, AND THEN SPECIFICALLY TWO ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT RESIDENTS WERE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT WAS THE, UM, ALL BUS STOPS BECOME EAD LOCATIONS.
WE KNOW THAT THAT IS, WE HAVE DISCUSSED THAT BEFORE, AND THAT IS NOT THE INTENTION HERE AT ALL, BECAUSE BUS STOPS CAN MOVE AND BE RELOCATED.
AND THAT'S ALSO WHY THE RAIL LINES ARE SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY ARE FIXED AND WE CAN RELY ON THEM.
THERE IS SOME PREDICTABILITY ABOUT THEM REMAINING THERE IN FAR INTO THE FUTURE.
AND THEN THE REALLY CONCERNING PIECE THAT CAME TO MY ATTENTION EARLIER THIS WEEK ABOUT, UH, DOING AWAY WITH SINGLE FAMILY ZONING THAT IS NOT IN A, IN, IN FACT, WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
AND I WOULD NOTE THAT ONE OF THE TODS THAT IS, UM, SUCCESSFULLY BEING PLANNED IS IN DISTRICT SEVEN.
IT'S ONE OF THE THREE THAT, UH, HAD BEEN GREEN LIT IN THE PAST, AND THERE'S HOUSING THERE AND THERE'S SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING IN THAT T O D AND THAT'S THERE DELIBERATELY AND WITH PURPOSE.
SO, UM, I, AGAIN, I I WILL CONTINUE TO AMPLIFY THIS INFORMATION AND ASSURE, UM, MY CONSTITUENTS AND HOPEFULLY THE REST OF THE CITY THAT WHAT WE ARE ENGAGED IN HERE IS NOT IN FACT UNDERMINING, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOODS OR, UM, OR THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE.
IN FACT, WE HOPE TO, UM, ENHANCE IT, UH, TREMENDOUSLY.
BEFORE I GO TO ANYBODY ELSE, UM, LET ME ASK IF ANYBODY ELSE WOULD LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MEMO.
UM, I THINK THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD WAY TO PROCEED.
I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION IF IS ON PAGE TWO UNDER THE ESTABLISHING INTERIM REGULATIONS THAT APPLY TO ETO ODS, THE LAST SENTENCE THERE, YOU SAY, STAFF IS REQUESTING THAT COUNCIL INITIATE CODE AMENDMENTS THAT WOULD ALLOW STAFF TO REVIEW THE EXISTING INITIAL REGULATIONS AND PROPOSED NEW OR REVISED INTERIM REGULATIONS.
IS THAT SEPARATE FROM WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE? DO Y'ALL NEED A A, A SEPARATE NO, THAT'S PART OF THE RESOLUTION.
THAT IS PREPARED FOR CONSIDERATION ON THURSDAY.
I JUST WANTED MAKE SURE YOU WEREN'T NEEDING, LET'S DO MORE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? UH, I, I DID.
IT'S, IT'S SOMEWHAT RELATED TO THE MEMO, BUT ARE THERE ANY, UH, FIRM GOALS IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE ENVISIONED TO LIVE WITHIN A T O D, LIKE KIND OF POPULATION GOALS FOR THE T O D SPECIFICALLY? STEVE, YOURE WARNER.
UH, WARNER COOK, PRINCIPAL PLANNER WITH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
SO THERE ARE NOT SPECIFIC GOALS PER STATION AREA.
ONE THING THAT WE DID LOOK AT WHEN CREATING THE
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TYPOLOGIES WAS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN STATION AREAS TODAY.AND SO WHAT, UH, WE DID WAS ACTUALLY TARGET USING FTA KIND OF CRITERIA, WHAT THOSE THRESHOLDS ARE THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, JUST SO YOU CAN GET AN IDEA OF IF IT'S, IF IT'S LISTED IN THE POLICY PLAN AS MORE PEOPLE TODAY, THEN THAT MEANS THAT IT'S KIND OF MEETING THE TARGET IN THE AREA FOR, UM, FOR RAIL STATIONS, A MEDIUM HIGH SCORE AND FOR BUS STATIONS, UH, UH, METRO RAPID STATIONS, UM, MEDIUM SCORE.
AND THEN IF IT SAYS FEWER PEOPLE TODAY, THEN THAT'S ONE THAT ISN'T QUITE PERFORMING.
BUT AS OTHER PEOPLE CAN SPEAK TO, IT'S NOT ABOUT EVERY SINGLE STATION MEETING THAT THRESHOLD.
IT'S REALLY ABOUT MORE OF THE CORRIDOR.
AND, AND THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT.
UH, IT'S, IT'S A WEIGHTED AVERAGE BASICALLY OF ALL OF THE STATIONS.
WE'RE NOT LOOKING, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT MORE POPULATION DENSITY IN THE WEST CAMPUS STATION THAN THERE IS, YOU KNOW, ON ANOTHER STATION, YOU KNOW, FARTHER KIND OF NORTH, OUTSIDE OF THE URBAN CORE.
BUT SO, SO IN TERMS OF THE POPULATION GOALS, SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ON PAGE, I'M SORRY, 65, I GUESS IT'S A NINE, UH, UH, 65 ON THE PDF, A NINE OF THE ATTACHMENT THAT THOSE NUMBERS WHERE THE, YOU KNOW, A HIGH, UH, AREA WOULD BE 15,000 AND ABOVE IN THE, I GUESS AT THE HALF MILE.
UH, UM, THE AREA AROUND THE, AND THEN THE MEDIUM WOULD BE 57 60 TO, TO 9,599.
MEDIUM WOULD BE 9,600 TO 1499 FOR THE RAIL.
AND ARE WE TARGETING THE, IN THE PLAN, THE MEDIUM, HIGH LEVEL FOR THE, THE STATIONS? GOOD MORNING.
STEVIE GREATHOUSE, DIVISION MANAGER, HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, UM, WE HAVE NOT SET SPECIFIC TARGETS IN THE PLAN.
SO REALLY WHAT THE PLAN IS DOING IS SETTING KIND OF A COURSE AND A DIRECTIONALITY, AND WE'LL BE, WE ARE SET UP WITH THE WAY THAT THE PLAN IS CURRENTLY DRAFTED TO DOCUMENT AND MONITOR AND MAKE SURE THAT THE STATIONS ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, WHICH WOULD BE MOVING TOWARDS THAT SORT OF WEIGHTED AVERAGE THAT WARNER'S TALKING ABOUT.
BUT THE PLAN ITSELF, AS IT'S CURRENTLY DRAFTED AND IS IN FRONT OF COUNCIL TODAY FOR CONSIDER FOR THIS WEEK FOR CONSIDERATION, DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY SPECIFIC TARGETS, UM, FOR HOUSING AND, AND WHY NOT? UM, FROM STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE, WE, WE HAVE THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN THAT DOES SET GOALS AND TARGETS THAT WE TRACK AND DO ON A SCORECARD.
UM, WE ARE PLANNING ON CONTINUING TO, TO, DID I SAY STRATEGIC STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT? THANK YOU WARNER.
UM, STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT THAT DOES SET GOALS AT A DISTRICT AND CORRIDOR LEVEL AROUND THE CITY.
AND WE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE A SET UP A PLAN WHERE WE'RE KIND OF SETTING OURSELVES UP ON TWO SEPARATE SETS OF TRACKING AND TWO SEPARATE SETS OF GOALS THAT ARE OVERLAPPING AND COMPLICATED.
UM, WHEN REALLY WHAT WE ARE, ARE TRYING TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT WITH THIS PLANNING EFFORTS WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND THAT WE CAN KIND OF TRACK THAT DIRECTIONALITY.
THAT'S CERTAINLY, UM, WE'VE HEARD, YOU KNOW, A DESIRE THAT SOME FOLKS HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SET THOSE TARGETS AT EITHER THE COURT OR THE STATION LEVEL.
UM, THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE COULD MONITOR AND TRACK IF FOLKS WANTED TO SET A TARGET, BUT WE HADN'T HAD THE ABILITY WITH THIS PLANNING PROCESS, UM, TO, TO GO INTO THE LEVEL OF DEPTH AND COMMUNITY DIALOGUE THAT IT WOULD TAKE TO APPROPRIATELY SET THOSE TARGETS.
SO WE ARE NOT COMING THIS WEEK, UM, WITH TARGETS TO RECOMMEND.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER, I, I THINK IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION, GIVE US SOME TIME TO WORK THROUGH THAT ISSUE TO COME BACK WITH A RECOMMENDATION ON THE, ON THE HOUSING TARGET SO THAT WE CAN TAKE CARE OF THAT SENSITIVITY THAT, UH, UHHUH WAS JUST MENTIONED.
I, I, I THINK IT IS A, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO TRY TO ADDRESS, BUT I DON'T THINK WE'RE READY TO SAY IT OUGHT TO BE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER UNTIL WE GET SOME MORE DETAIL.
HOW DO WE, WHAT DO WE NEED TO ZONE THIS IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN? YOU KNOW, AND, AND SO THAT, THAT LACK OF KIND OF AFFIRM GOAL FOR POPULATION DENSITIES AROUND THE STATION, UM, CONCERNS ME.
IF I COULD ADD, UH, CITY MANAGER, MAYOR, COUNSEL, ANIQUE BODAY, PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, THAT WORK, THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
AND THE CITY MANAGER IS CORRECT.
THAT WORK WILL COME AS WE SYNC UP WITH THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FOR THE INVESTMENT THAT IS ON OUR HORIZON, THAT WE WILL BE DECIDING THIS SUMMER.
WE HAVE A KICKOFF MARCH 21ST IN COORDINATION WITH OUR PARTNERS AT AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND CAPITAL METRO TO LOOK AT SCENARIOS FOR OUR INVESTMENT IN LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT.
ONCE WE HAVE THAT, UM, IN COORDINATION WITH ROSIE'S GROUP AT HOUSING AND
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PLANNING, WE CAN START LOOKING AT WHERE EXACTLY ALONG THOSE CORRIDORS, IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE THOSE TARGETS AND TO START TO HONE IN MORE SPECIFICALLY AS THE CITY MANAGER POINTED OUT.AND YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE'S ANOTHER PLAN THAT ALSO HAS POPULATION GOALS FOR THE CORRIDOR.
WH WHICH PLAN WAS THAT? I WAS MENTIONING THE STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT, UM, WHICH DID SET DISTRICT BASED GOALS AND IN SOME CASES CORRIDOR BASED GOALS FOR HOUSING ACCOMMODATION.
AND IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, UH, AND PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, WE'RE WAY UNDER THOSE GOALS AND MY DIRECTOR CAN ADDRESS THAT WITH THE, WITH HER NODDING HEAD
AND, AND AGAIN, MY CONCERN IS THAT IF WE'RE NOT EVEN SETTING GOALS, HARD NUMBER GOALS FOR INDIVIDUAL STATIONS, IDENTIFYING SAYING LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS STATION, LET'S SAY LIKE THE GOVERNMENT CENTER STATION AGAIN, TO PICK A DOWNTOWN ONE, UH, WHICH DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF POPULATION AROUND IT AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOTTA REALLY COMMIT AND SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE WANT.
CAUSE I KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE STATIONS THAT ARE FARTHER UP NORTH THAT ARE NOT GONNA HAVE, YOU KNOW, 9,000 PEOPLE IN THE HALF MILE RADIUS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA HAVE, THAT ARE MUCH MORE SURROUNDED BY NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE NOT GONNA DEVELOP IN THE SAME WAY THAT OTHER STATIONS ARE.
AND IF WE DON'T HAVE THOSE HARD GOALS, I'M, I'M, I'M CONCERNED THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA GET THE RIDERSHIP.
UH, AND, AND THE, THE, THE INCREASE IN IN HOUSING UNITS THAT, UH, THAT WERE, AND AGAIN, AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS GO ALONG WITH, I MEAN, THOSE, THOSE, YOU KNOW, 10% OF A HIGHER NUMBER IS A, IS A GOOD THING.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? 10% OF 2000 IS MORE THAN 10% OF 1000.
SO THAT'S JUST KIND OF MY, UH, SENSE OF THINGS.
SO I, I WOULD JUST WANNA REITERATE THAT, UM, THAT WE AGREE WITH YOU, UH, AND THAT'S WHAT COMES NEXT AS WE GET INTO INDIVIDUAL STATIONARIES.
THIS IS JUST THE HIGH LEVEL POLICY PLAN THAT SETS THE FRAMEWORK FOR HOW WE'RE GONNA DO THOSE EFFORTS.
COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, THANK YOU.
UM, AND, AND THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT, UH, DIRECTOR TRULA.
CAUSE I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT FOR OUR COLLEAGUES, OUR MOBILITY COMMITTEE MET, UH, THIS PAST WEEK AND OUR HOUSING COMMITTEE, WE HAD A JOINT COMMITTEE WHERE WE HAD A CONVERSATION.
AND FOR MY UNDERSTANDING, CUZ I ALSO RAISED SIMILAR CONCERNS ABOUT NOT HAVING CONCRETE GOALS AND KNOWING HOW WE ARE SO OFF TRACK ON OUR STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE, UM, BEST, UH, DEVELOP AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY.
AND FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, WHAT WAS SHARED DURING THE COMMITTEE MEETING WAS THAT STAFF WOULD COME BACK WITH MORE OF THOSE CONCRETE, CLEARLY DEFINED METRICS THAT I THINK INCLUDES THE PRODUCTION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT ALSO I WOULD LIKE IT TO INCLUDE THE PRESERVATION OF EXISTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING ALONG THOSE LINES AS WELL.
ANYBODY ELSE WANNA TALK ABOUT THE MEMO? SURE.
YOU MENTIONED DENSITY BONUS REVIEW.
IS THAT SPECIFIC OR ALL? YES, WE COOK AGAIN.
UM, SO WE, THROUGH OUR PROCESS WORKING ON E T O D IN THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO LOOK AT HOW EVERY DENSITY BONUS OVERLAYS.
AND SINCE WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS POSSIBLY ANOTHER E T O D OVERLAY, UH, STAFF RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO, MANY OF THESE EXISTING PROGRAMS ARE VERY SIMILAR TO EACH OTHER WITH KEY DETAILS, RIGHT.
AND IT CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT, UH, AS SOMEBODY LOOKING TO USE ONE OF THEM TO KEEP ALL THOSE DETAILS.
UH, IT'S ALSO A LOT OF STAFF TIME TO BE ABLE TO LIKE REALLY FOCUS IN ON EACH OF THOSE.
SO WE'RE INTERESTED IN REVIEWING THE EXISTING REQUIREMENTS IN LIGHT OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE GONNA DO WITH THE COMMUNITY TO POSSIBLY PROPOSE ANOTHER PROGRAM SO THAT IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES TO STREAMLINE OR, YOU KNOW, MAKE THINGS SIMILAR TO ONE ANOTHER SO THAT IT'S MORE EASY TO GET THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING STAFF IS IN VERY INTERESTED IN DOING.
I WOULD JUST, UH, ECHO SOMETHING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER VELO MENTIONED THE OTHER DAY IN OUR COMMITTEE HEARING PART OF THAT BE UNO AND, AND HOW THAT HAS FUNCTIONED AND, AND POTENTIALLY USING THAT AS A MODEL FOR SOME OF THESE STATIONS.
MAYOR PRO, LET ME, I'M GONNA RECOGNIZE THE MAYOR PRO TIM, BUT I, I FORGOT TO NOTE IT NOTE, WHEN THE MAYOR PRO TIM, UH, SHE'S BEEN HERE SINCE THE, WE STARTED THIS DISCUSSION.
SO FOR THE RECORD, I'M PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR.
UM, COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT AND, YOU KNOW, WHICH CORRIDORS ALIGN WITH PROJECT CONNECT AND WHICH ONES MAYBE DON'T? CAUSE I KNOW WHEN IT WAS BUILT, PROJECT CONNECT WAS STILL VERY MUCH A, A TWINKLE IN SOMEONE'S EYE.
I I, I'M NOT EVEN SURE I'M KEEPING IN MIND THE STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT WAS APPROVED IN, IN 2017, SO IT WAS WELL BEFORE.
UM, BUT FOLKS THAT HAVE MAPS IN FRONT OF THEM, MAYBE YEAH, WE ARE, OR JUST ROUGHLY IS IT, YOU KNOW, HALF AND HALF? IS IT 80 20? YOU KNOW, SO STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT REALLY FOLLOWED SOME OF THE, UM, GROWTH CORRIDORS SHOWN IN THE IMAGINE AUSTIN GROWTH CONCEPT.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT THOSE OVERLAP WITH PROJECT CONNECT CORRIDORS, THERE'S OVERLAP BETWEEN
[00:25:01]
THE TWO.UM, THERE ARE PROBABLY A FEW PROJECT CONNECT CORRIDORS THAT DON'T RUN DOWN, UM, GROWTH QUARTERS AND VICE VERSA.
THERE'S ACTUALLY SOME GROWTH QUARTERS AND GROWTH CONCEPT THAT DON'T, BUT IT IS A, THE VENN DIAGRAM IS, IF I HAD TO JUST, YOU KNOW, GUESS IT'S PROBABLY A 60, 70% MATCH.
UM, AND YES, I, I WILL FLAG IF, IF SOMEONE'S GOT EXTRA TIME BETWEEN HERE AND THURSDAY, WE HAD A PRETTY ROBUST DISCUSSION AT OUR LAST MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEETING, AND IT WAS ALL IN ALL WENT ABOUT TWO AND A HALF HOURS, UM, WITH MAYBE 30, 40 MINUTES FOR Q AND A.
UM, BUT THERE WERE A LOT OF DIFFERENT PRESENTATIONS BETWEEN CAPITAL METRO'S INVOLVEMENT AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, THE CITY PLANNING SIDE.
AND THEN WE EVEN HAD A KIND OF, UH, RAPID FIRE PANEL OF HOUSING ADVOCATES URBAN LAND INSTITUTE, YOU KNOW, UM, A PROFESSOR FROM UT OTHER FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS CONVERSATION FOR A LONG TIME.
SO IF YOU WANNA DIG INTO THOSE PRESENTATIONS, THEY SHOULD BE ARCHIVED IN THE BACKUP FROM, UH, LAST THURSDAY.
TIM, I WANNA ASK A COUPLE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MEMO.
BASED UPON QUESTIONS THAT I'M RECEIVING FROM PEOPLE, UM, AND, AND I ALSO, I ECHO WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER POOL SAID IS THIS IS A VERY HELPFUL DOCUMENT, BUT I WANT TO, I KNOW WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS I'M GOING TO GET BASED UPON THE DOCUMENT.
UM, AND, AND I WANNA START ON THE FIRST PAGE.
UH, BULLET NUMBER TWO, UNDER ACTION REQUESTED IT BEGINS INITIATES AMENDMENTS TO THE IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
AND THEN THE FOURTH BULLET ALSO SAYS, INITIATES SEVERAL FOCUSED SYSTEM-WIDE AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE FOR CLARITY PURPOSES.
WHILE THAT INITIATES THOSE AMENDMENTS IN BOTH OF THOSE INSTANCES, THAT'S NOT, NOT SETTING ANYTHING IN CONCRETE OR EVEN SETTING A PATH ON WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IN TERMS OF AMENDMENTS TO THE IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OR, UH, UH, THE SYSTEM-WIDE AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
IT WILL NOT, IT DOES NOT SET OUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN AND DOESN'T EVEN CREATE THE FIRST STEP IN A PATH TO WHAT WILL HAPPEN.
IS THAT CORRECT? IT, IT OPENS THE DOOR TO ALLOW US TO START HAVING CONVERSATIONS AS STAFF.
WE CANNOT INITIATE CODE AMENDMENTS, UM, THAT HAS TO BE DONE EITHER BY THE CITY COUNCIL OR BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT THESE ARE SOME CRITICAL THINGS THAT, THAT WE NEED TO START TO ADDRESS IN SOME SHAPE, FORM, OR FASHION.
AND THIS ALLOWS US THAT OPPORTUNITY.
SO WHAT IT DOES IS IT, IT LEGALLY ALLOWS FOR THE DISCUSSION ABOUT THOSE AMENDMENTS, BUT IT DOES NOT IN ANY WAY PREORDAINED OUTCOMES AND THE PROCESS, UH, THAT PROCESS IS YET TO BE CARRIED OUT.
UM, I, ON ON PAGE TWO, I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO DESCRIBE, IF THE FIRST BULLET SAYS IT DOES NOT DESIGNATE ALL BUS STOPS IN THE CITY AS E T O D LOCATIONS, BUT YET IT SETS OUT, IT SETS OUT THAT THERE WILL BE MAT METRO RAPID STATIONS THAT WILL THAT, AND, AND I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU IF YOU, THAT WILL BE DESIGNATED AS E T O D LOCATIONS, WE HAVE HEARD AS, AS COUNCIL MEMBER POOL INDICATED, AND YOU ALL KNOW WE'VE HEARD OTHERWISE YOU WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THIS BULLET IN HERE
UM, WE, UH, KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF CONCERN AND QUESTION ABOUT THE BUS STATION ASPECTS.
I WOULD LIKE FOR THERE TO BE A, IF YOU DON'T MIND, A GREATER DESCRIPTION OF HOW THERE'S A DIFFERENCE, UH, BETWEEN METRO RAPID BUS STATIONS AND EVERYDAY BUS STATIONS.
THE GREATHOUSE, I WILL ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THAT ONE.
UM, SO UNDER THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM, AND ACTUALLY UNDER TODAY'S SYSTEM, WE HAVE METRO RAPID LINES THAT PROVIDE SERVICE THAT'S A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO RAIL SERVICE THAT HAS, UM, DEDICATED LANES IN SOME LOCATIONS.
THE STOP SPACING IS SEPARATED, THE STOPS THEMSELVES TYPICALLY HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFRASTRUCTURE INVOLVED IN CONSTRUCTION OF THE STOP THEMSELVES.
UM, AND THEY FUNCTION MORE SORT OF CLOSER TO THE WAY A RAIL WILL FUNCTION IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE ALL OF THE SORT OF DAILY, UM, BUSES RUNNING AROUND AUSTIN LOCAL BUS SERVICE THAT HAVE CLOSE STOPS.
THE STOPS CAN MOVE AROUND AS THEY FREQUENTLY, UM, DO AND SOME EVERY TIME CAPITAL METRO DOES A SERVICE CHANGE, UM, THAT ARE REALLY PROVIDING KIND OF LOWER INTENSITY SERVICE WITH BUS STATIONS THAT FUNCTION A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, THAT FUNCTION LIKE BUS STATIONS AND NOT LIKE RAIL STATIONS.
SO THE, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE EQUITABLE T O D POLICY PLAN AND THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE HAD WITH COMMUNITY TO DEVELOP THAT PLAN, UM, AND THE DIRECTION THAT WE RECEIVED FROM COUNCIL THAT INITIATED THE WORK TO DEVELOP THAT PLAN INDICATED THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE INCLUDING BOTH THE FUTURE METRO RAPID LINES, WHICH ARE THOSE KIND OF HIGHER CAPACITY TRANSIT
[00:30:01]
LINES, WHICH THAT FUNCTION A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE RAIL IN THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING TO LOOK AT BOTH METRO RAIL AND LIGHT RAIL, UM, LINES AS WELL.AND SO THE POLICY PLAN THAT IS BEFORE, UM, COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION THIS WEEK LOOKS AT ALL 98 STATION PAIRS ON BOTH THE RAPID BUS SYSTEM, THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, AS WELL AS THE METRO RAIL SYSTEM.
UM, AND THE RESOLUTION THAT IS IN FRONT OF COUNCIL THIS WEEK WOULD PROPOSE TO MAKE, TO INITIATE, AS WE JUST DISCUSSED, CHANGES TO THE CODE THAT WOULD PROVIDE NEW REGULATIONS AT STOPS FOR BOTH LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, OR I KEEP SAYING BOTH, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY THREE.
THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, THE METRO RAIL SYSTEM, AND THE FUTURE, UM, RAPID BUS SYSTEM.
THE PART OF THE REASON BEHIND THAT, IN ADDITION TO THE COMMUNICATION FROM COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY THAT WE HAD SORT OF LEADING UP TO THE PLAN OF LOOKING AT OUR FULL SYSTEM, INCLUDING THOSE BUS LINES THAT FUNCTION, THAT ARE THE RAPID BUS LINES THAT FUNCTION A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE RAIL, IS THAT THE SYSTEM AS WE BUILD IT OUT OVER TIME WILL BE, COULD BE TRANSITIONING IN SOME CASES WE WILL HAVE LINES LIKE WE DO TODAY THAT ARE RAPID BUS THAT WILL BE TRANSITIONING TO BECOME RAIL LINES.
UM, IN OTHER CASES, LIKE THE GOLD LINE ON THE PROJECT CONNECT VISION PLAN, WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THE VISION PLAN AS A FUTURE LIGHT RAIL LINE THAT WILL BE STARTING OUT, UM, BEFORE IT BECOMES A FUTURE LIGHT RAIL LINE.
WE'LL PROBABLY SPEND SOME PERIOD OF TIME AS A RAPID BUS LINE.
SO IT, FROM STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE AND THE REASON THE RECOMMENDATION IS, IS WRITTEN THE WAY IT IS, UM, WE WOULD BE DIFFERENTIATING THE REGULATIONS, THERE WOULD DEFINITELY BE A NEED.
AND AS, AS ROSIE MENTIONED IN THE SUMMARY OF THE, THE MEMO THERE, THE REGULATORY NEEDS ARE DIFFERENT AT RAPID BUS AND RAIL.
SO THERE'S NO INTENTION TO TREAT THE TWO SYSTEMS THE SAME, BUT AT LEAST THE PROPOSAL THAT IS CURRENTLY ON THE TABLE WOULD DIRECT STAFF TO INITIATE CHANGES THAT WOULD POTENTIALLY MAKE CHANGES TO REGULATIONS ALONG BOTH THE RAPID BUS SYSTEM, UM, AND THE LIGHT RAIL AND METRO RAIL SYSTEMS. GREAT, THANK YOU, UH, FOR THAT.
ON, ON THE URGENCY OF THE WORK, COULD YOU TELL, COULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT THE TIMELINE IS NEEDED FOR, FOR US TO MEET THE FDA GUIDELINES? WHEN YOU, YOU FIRST WERE LAYING THIS OUT, YOU TALKED ABOUT THAT, AND THAT'S A KEY REASON WE'RE MOVING NOW.
UH, AND AND I, I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO KIND OF OUTLINE THAT IN MORE DETAIL ABOUT, AND, AND, AND LET ME ADD WHAT WAS GONNA BE MY SECOND QUESTION.
UH, MY SECOND QUESTION TO THAT WOULD BE IS WHY DO WE MOVE ON THIS NOW WHEN AS, UH, WE KNOW IT HASN'T REALLY BEEN DECIDED? AND ON THE, AS YOU POINTED OUT ON THE 21ST THAT THERE WILL BEGIN THAT PROCESS OF LAYING OUT WHAT WE MIGHT ACTUALLY SEE IN TERMS OF, UH, THE, THE LINES INCLUDING METRO RAPID AND ALL THAT.
UH, SO WHY NOW WHEN WE'RE NOT SURE WHAT ATP MIGHT ACTUALLY END UP DOING.
UM, AN BODE WITH THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, AND I'D LIKE TO INVITE UP JENNIFER PINE, WHO'S WITH THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
TO ALSO, UH, TO HELP ME ADDRESS THIS QUESTION.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THE TAX REVENUE, UM, ELECTION THAT HAPPENED IN 2020, UM, CITY REVENUE IS COLLECTED AND, UM, TRANSFER TO AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP TO FOCUS ON THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF LIGHT RAIL.
UM, JENNIFER IS THE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR AT ATP OVER PLANNING AND CONTROLS.
WE WORK VERY CLOSELY TOGETHER, UM, ON MONITORING WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE E T O D PLAN AS IT SYNCS UP WITH THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE OF THE NEW STARZ GRANT PROJECT, UH, GRANT PROCESS, WHICH WE ARE CURRENTLY IN.
I HAVE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS BEFORE I, I TURN IT OVER TO JEN TO TALK ABOUT, UM, TIMING AND WHY NOW.
UM, TO ADD ON TO WHAT MS. GREATHOUSE SAID, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF OF METRO RAPID ARE MORE SIMILAR TO A FIXED, UH, A FIXED LIGHT RAIL LINE THAN THEY ARE TO A LOCAL BUS STOP.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY CAN'T, BUT THEY'RE LESS LIKELY.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE STOPS ARE MUCH MORE INTENSE.
AND, UM, IF, IF YOU WANNA GO OUT TO THE PLEASANT VALLEY LINE OR TO THE EXPO LINE, THEY'RE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
SO WE ARE, WE'VE BEEN MAKING GREAT PROGRESS ON THE FIRST TWO LINES OF THE FOUR THAT WERE APPROVED BY VOTERS IN 2020.
UM, SO THAT'S A, AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION.
UM, THEY'RE MORE FIXED THAN A LOCAL BUS STOP, UM, AS WE PREPARE FOR OUR GRANT APPLICATION.
AND, AND JEN, WE'LL, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO THAT APPLICATION.
[00:35:01]
MOVING FORWARD WITH THE E T O D PLAN IS THE FIRST STEP.THE CITY HAS CONTROL OF LAND USE REGULATIONS, NOT ATP, NOT CAP METRO.
THAT IS, UM, OUR, AND IT IS, AND LAND USE FUTURE AND EXISTING IS A PART OF THE FDA CRITERIA.
AND WE HAVE SOME SLIDES TO SHOW YOU HOW, UH, THE E T O T E T O D WORK ACTUALLY FITS INTO THAT F T A CRITERIA.
SO, UM, I KNOW THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT OUR FIRST, UH, SCORING, UH, SCORING EVENT, UM, WITH THE F IN, UM, SUMMER OF NEXT YEAR, 2024, WHICH IS NOT THAT FAR AWAY, AND THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE THAT.
SO I'M GONNA HAND IT, HAND IT OVER TO JEN TO EX TO EXPLAIN THAT TIMELINE.
I'M WITH AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
UH, SO THE TIMELINE, UM, FOR THE FEDERAL PROCESS, UH, AS, AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING TO ENGAGE IN A COMMUNITY DIALOGUE STARTING LATER THIS MONTH.
AND ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, AFFIRM THIS SUMMER, UM, WHAT THE DEFINITION OF THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO ADVANCE.
UH, SO AS PART OF THE PURSUIT OF FEDERAL FUNDING THAT TAKES YEARS, AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT GATES, UM, AND WHAT ANIQUE WAS REFERRING TO AS FAR AS A PRELIMINARY RATING, UH, OF THE PROJECT, UH, WHICH IS CRITICAL OBVIOUSLY TO BEING COMPETITIVE AND, AND OBTAINING THOSE FEDERAL FUNDS.
WE WOULD, UM, BE PUTTING TOGETHER THAT PACKAGE FOR SUBMITTAL NEXT SPRING.
UM, SO ANY WORK DONE IN THE NEXT YEAR, UM, YOU'D BE ABLE TO TAKE CREDIT FOR, AS IT WERE.
UM, AND SO THE SLIDE THAT'S UP ON THE SCREEN IS, UH, JUST TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE FTA CONSIDERS.
UH, AND I KNOW THIS LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF A COMPLICATED GRAPHIC, BUT I CAN BREAK IT DOWN SIMPLY THAT ABOUT HALF OF IT HAS TO DO WITH THE FINANCIAL COMMITMENT, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMITMENT OF FUNDS.
UM, AND WE'RE ACTUALLY IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE THAT WAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, A ATP, UM, IS PREPARED TO FINANCE, UM, USING PROP A AND THE FEDERAL FUNDS, UM, FOR NOT ONLY THE CAPITAL COSTS, BUT ALSO THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COSTS.
SO WE'RE ACTUALLY IN GREAT SHAPE THERE.
SO ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE EQUATION IS THE PROJECT JUSTIFICATION, WHICH IS THE MERITS OF THE PROJECT.
UH, WE'RE COMPETING WITH OTHER PROJECTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND SO THIS IS THEIR WAY OF KIND OF NORMALIZING THAT EVALUATION TO, UM, AWARD PROJECTS FUNDS.
SO PROBABLY THE ITEMS THAT ARE MOST DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE TOPICS WE'RE, WE'RE CONCERNED WITH HERE THIS MORNING ARE LAND USE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO THAT IS LOOKING QUITE SPECIFICALLY AT WHAT IS THE POPULATION DENSITY WITHIN A HALF MILE OF EACH STATION AREA AND HOW MANY JOBS ARE LOCATED THERE THAT WOULD THEN BE ACCESSIBLE BY THIS LIGHT RAIL PROJECT.
UM, IN ADDITION, THEY ALSO LOOK AT PARKING AND PRESENCE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SIDE, THAT'S YOUR MORE QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT.
THEY'RE REALLY LOOKING AT PLANS AND POLICIES THAT HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE TO PROMOTE TRANSIT, SUPPORTIVE LAND USE.
UH, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, THIS IS A GENERATIONAL TYPE OF PROJECT, AND THE LONG TERM VIEW IN SOME WAYS IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE CURRENT CONDITIONS.
UM, AND SO THAT INTENTIONALITY TO SUPPORT, UM, TRANSIT, SUPPORTIVE LAND USE, A MIX OF USES, UH, A SUFFICIENT DENSITY, UH, IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE IN ASSESSING THE MERITS OF THE PROJECT.
UM, AND THEN MY LAST, I I THINK THAT COVERS, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE.
WE HAD A RECORD OF OF, OF WHAT THE TIME SITUATION IS, AND I MEANT TO ASK A QUESTION A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THAT, UM, ON, ON METRO, ON METRO BUS AND ON SIMPLE, WHAT WE CALL REGULAR BUS STATIONS, WHEN I THINK OF REGULAR BUS STATION, I THINK MOST PEOPLE THINK OF, UH, MAYBE A PLACE TO SIT, A SIGN THAT SAYS, THIS IS A BUS STOP, MAYBE MAYBE A, A PLACE TO GET OUT OF THE RAIN, BUT THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN THE STATIONS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT ARE CURRENTLY BEING BUILT.
IS THERE A WAY TO IDENTIFY THOSE AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A DEFINITION OF THEM IN THIS RESOLUTION SO THAT PEOPLE WILL KNOW WHAT ARE THE ACTUAL PLACES THAT WILL BE IMPACTED AS OPPOSED TO ROUTINE BUS STOPS? I'M, I WOULD SAY YES.
I WAS SAYING YES, ALSO, LUCKILY, UM,
AND, AND BECAUSE THAT MAY BE THE RIGHT ANSWER.
THERE, THERE ARE MAPS ACTUALLY THROUGHOUT THE, IN THE EAD POLICY PLAN DRAFT ITSELF, THERE IS A MAP THAT SHOWS THE LOCATION OF THE FUTURE, UM, METRO RAIL, METRO LIGHT RAIL, AND THE METRO RAPID STATIONS.
AND WE COULD ABSOLUTELY REFERENCE THAT IN THE RESOLUTION.
UH, COUNCIL RYAN, I WANTED TO SAY THAT.
AM I ON THAT? SHE, SHE SENT THAT, UH, MEMO
[00:40:01]
AT 10 O'CLOCK LAST NIGHT, SO THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT.BUT, UH, I HOPE YOU DIDN'T COME IN BEFORE EIGHT O'CLOCK THIS MORNING.
WELL, YOU KNOW, I DID, BUT IT WAS ONLY CUZ I HAD TO DROP OFF THE KIDS, UM, AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL.
BUT I, I WANNA RECOGNIZE, UM, WARNER AND STEVIE AND, UM, ERICA LEAK AND ANDREW BATES WHO WERE WORKING WITH ME UNTIL 10 O'CLOCK LAST NIGHT,
I'M GONNA GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTAR AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, AND THEN I'LL GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON AL ALTER.
I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON ONE THING YOU MENTIONED, AND THAT WAS ABOUT DENSITY WITHIN THE HALF MILE AS THEY'RE ANALYZING IT.
IS THAT CURRENT, OR IF WE WERE TO CHANGE THE ZONING, HOW WOULD THAT INTERPLAY WITH THEIR SCORING SAYING, WELL, IT'S NOT VERY DENSE RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY'VE JUST CHANGED IT BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE, UH, A RAIL LINE.
HOW DOES THAT WORK? UH, SO THEY DO LOOK AT CURRENT AND FUTURE CONDITIONS.
SO WE WOULD BE PROVIDING INFORMATION ON WHAT'S THERE NOW USING, UM, THE EXISTING CENSUS, UM, DATA AND CAMPO FORECAST, UM, AND ALSO LOOKING AT PLANS AND POLICIES, WHAT'S BEING PROMOTED, WHAT'S ANTICIPATED IN THAT AREA.
I WOULD ADD TO THAT TOO, IN TALKING WITH JEN, UM, THAT ONCE WE SUBMIT IN THE SUMMER OF 2024, FOR MOST LIKELY FOR INITIAL SCORING, UM, TOWARDS THE END OF THE PROCESS THEY'LL RE-LOOK AT OUR NUMBERS AND THAT WOULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW WHAT THEY CALL, UM, DEMONSTRATED PROGRESS ON PLANS AND POLICIES.
SO PASSING A PLAN AND POLICY IS ONE THING, SHOWING DEMONSTRATED OUTCOMES OF THOSE PLANS AND POLICIES IS ALSO, UH, WOULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART.
AND SO TOWARDS THE END OF THE PROCESS, WE'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE OUTCOMES OF SOME OF OUR POLICIES, WHETHER THEY BE LAND USE, WHETHER THEY BE PARKING, UM, WHETHER, WHETHER THEY BE RELATED TO CONNECTIVITY, CONNECTIVITY AND LOCAL MOBILITY FIRST LAST MILE TYPE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, WHICH WAS ALSO ON THAT CHART.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT GO INTO THAT.
UM, NON-FUNDING 50% THAT WE, THAT WE'RE DOING WELL.
BUT AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW THE DEMONSTRATED OUTCOMES OF THE ACTIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER POOL AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALISON AL ALTER, I WANTED TO ADD TO THE CONVERSATION ABOUT DENSITY TO REMIND, UM, THE DIOCESE AND ALL OF US WHO ARE, UM, WORKING THROUGH ALL OF THE VARIOUS THREADS AND THE IMPORTANT PIECES THAT THE, UM, DISPLACEMENT DOLLARS STILL NEED TO BE BROUGHT INTO THIS EQUATION.
AND WE NEED TO BE COGNIZANT OF OUR TIMING IF WE ARE LOOKING AT CHANGING WHAT THE ZONING IS ON A PIECE OF LAND THAT COULD VERY WELL AND LIKELY WILL INCREASE THE COSTS.
BUT WE NEED TO FIRST, I THINK, AND THAT SAYS WHAT WE HAVE ON A POLICY LEVEL BEEN PROMISING, TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING IN THOSE AREAS NOW AND WHO MAY BE DISPLACED SO THAT THEY DON'T LOSE THEIR HOMES.
SO I WOULD ASK THAT WE, WE KIND OF REMEMBER THAT AND FOCUS ON THAT, UM, AND, AND DO IT IN SEQUENCE SO THAT WE CAN GET THAT TAKEN CARE OF BEFORE WE MAY MOVE INTO, UH, TAKING SOME ACTIONS THAT WOULD IN TEND TO INCREASE THE VALUE OF, OF THE SOIL THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON.
IF THAT MAKES SENSE TO EVERYBODY.
COUNCILOR MORALE AND AL ALTER.
UM, I WANNA JUST REFLECT THAT FROM WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT TODS AND ETO TODS, JUST BECAUSE YOU DESIGNATE SOMETHING A T OD OR AN ETO O D DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU SOLVE THE MOBILITY ISSUES AND CREATE A SPACE WHERE MORE PEOPLE ARE USING TRANSIT AND GIVING UP THEIR CARS.
SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE, UM, BE INTENTIONAL HERE AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT UM, THERE'S NO GUARANTEE IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH AN ETO D THAT IT'S ACTUALLY GONNA DO WHAT WE HOPE IT DOES.
THERE ARE VERY FEW OF THESE PROJECTS THAT ACTUALLY FUNCTION, UM, VERY OFTEN YOU END UP CREATING, UH, A LOT OF MARKET RATE HOUSING AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THERE ARE STILL USING THEIR CARS.
UM, SO JUST AS WE, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PROCESS, I THINK WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT VERY MUCH IN MIND.
UM, WITH RESPECT TO, UM, THE MEMO, I WANTED TO JUST CLARIFY WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE EXISTING TODS.
SO WE HAVE NINE DESIGNATED TODS, UM, THREE OF WHICH THAT WERE CITED IN THERE.
AND IT DOESN'T SOUND WE'RE DOING VERY WELL ON THOSE MEASURES, WHICH IS THE IMPETUS FOR TRYING TO DO IT IN AN EQUITABLE WAY.
UM, BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SIX TODS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN PLANNED, THAT WE HAVE BEEN LONG SAYING WE WANTED TO BE TODS? DO THEY BECOME ETO ODS NOW AND WHAT HAPPENS TO THE EXISTING THREE THAT HAVE GONE FURTHER IN THE PROCESS? YES, I'LL TACKLE THAT QUESTION.
UM, SO PART OF WHAT IS BEING RECOMMENDED AND THE RESOLUTION AS A CODE AMENDMENT WOULD BE TO GO AND LOOK AT THE EXISTING REGULATIONS THAT ARE CALLED THE INITIAL REGULATIONS THAT APPLY TO THAT SET OF NINE.
AND ACTUALLY IT'S SLIGHTLY LESS THAN NINE BECAUSE A FEW OF THEM JUST HAD POINTS ON A MAP AND DIDN'T EVER GET BOUNDARIES
[00:45:01]
THAT THE REGULATIONS APPLIED WITHIN.BUT STAFF IS PROPOSING AS PART OF THAT, A CODE AMENDMENT TO REALLY GO LOOK AT THOSE CODE PROVISIONS, UM, SEE IF THEY STILL MAKE SENSE, IF IT WILL STILL MAKE SENSE TO HAVE SORT OF A SEPARATE KIND OF SET OF TODS THAT HAVE ONE SET OF REGULATIONS AND ETOS THAT HAVE ANOTHER, OR IF IT MAKES SENSE TO REVISE THE REGULATIONS AND CONSOLIDATE THEM IN A WAY TO COVER THE ENTIRE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM.
SO THAT'S A PART OF WHAT'S BEING INITIATED WITH THE CODE AMENDMENT.
WITH RESPECT TO THE, THE THREE STATIONS THAT HAVE EXISTING AREA PLANS AND REGULATING PLANS IN PLACE, THOSE STATION AREA PLANS AND REGULATING PLANS WOULD ABSOLUTELY STAY ON THE GROUND UNTIL WE ARE AT A PLACE THAT WE'RE READY TO PROPOSE, UM, EITHER COURT OR BASED, UM, OR STATION BASED PLANNING SERVICES TO EITHER MODIFY THOSE PLANS THAT REPLACE THEM.
SO THAT'S A SLIGHTLY, THOSE ARE TWO SLIGHTLY SEPARATE, UM, DISCUSSIONS BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT THOSE, THOSE STATIONARY PLANS AND REGULATING PLANS HAD QUITE A BIT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, INTEREST DESIRE AROUND THOSE PLANS.
UM, SO THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE KIND OF FUTURE STAGES AS WE MOVE TOWARDS DOING FOCUSED STATIONARY VISION PLANNING IN A PARTICULAR LOCATION, UM, TO LOOK AT HOW WE'D NEED TO MODIFY THOSE PLANS.
BUT FOR THE REG, THE, THE BASE INITIAL REGULATIONS THEMSELVES, UM, IN THE CODE TODAY, WE ARE PROPOSING WITH THIS RESOLUTION TO TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE IN CONCERT WITH THE PROPOSAL THAT WE HAVE TO DISCUSS INTERIM REGULATIONS THAT WOULD APPLY TO A LARGER SET OF STATIONS.
UM, AND FOR THE F FDA FUNDING PROCESS, OBVIOUSLY THE RAIL COSTS MORE THAN THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT.
SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT CHART, IS THAT LARGELY FOR RAIL OR HOW DO WE THINK ABOUT THAT? YOU KNOW, CUZ ONE OF, ONE OF THE CHOICES WE HAVE IS WHERE WE PUT OUR RESOURCES AND OUR PRIORITIZATION, EVEN IF WE HAVE A PLAN THAT SAYS YOU WANNA EVENTUALLY DO IT FOR EAD, THERE IS AN ARGUMENT I THINK TO BE MADE THAT YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON THE RAIL FIRST.
UM, BUT I, I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FDA PROCESS, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH OF THAT IS BASED ON WHAT WE DO WITH RAIL OR IS IT BOTH OR, OR HOW IS THAT WORKING? GO AHEAD.
UH, SO THE, THE SLIDE I HAD UP THERE IN THE PROCESS I WAS REFERRING TO WAS FOR THE NEW STARTS GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH IS FOR LIGHT RAIL.
THOSE ARE FOR THE LARGER, UH, TRANSIT INVESTMENTS.
UH, SOME OF THE METRO RAPID PROJECTS ACTUALLY RECENTLY RECEIVED SMALL STARTS GRANTS ALREADY.
AND THE PROCESS IS NOT, NOT DISSIMILAR, BUT MAYBE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
SO, UH, THAT SLIDE WAS PRIMARILY REFERRING TO LIGHT RAIL.
SO THE, THE BUS ONES HAVE ALREADY GOTTEN THE, THE SMART START.
IT IS SMALLER, A SMALLER, UH, COST.
UM, THE EXPO CENTER AND PLEASANT VALLEY METRO, A RAPID PROJECTS HAVE RECEIVED THEIR FEDERAL FUNDING.
IN FACT, THE, UM, THE FEDERAL FDA ADMINISTRATOR WILL BE HERE, UM, THIS WEEKEND ON FRIDAY TO DO A CEREMONY FOR THAT SIGNING OF THAT GRANT AGREEMENT FOR VENTURE RAPID AND EXPO, WHICH IS VERY EXCITING.
WELL CONGRATULATIONS FOR THOSE WHO'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT.
UM, THAT LEADS ME TO MY NEXT QUESTION, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WITH TIMING AND STAFFING, AND I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S THIS MEMO OR NOT, UM, I AM CONCERNED ABOUT WHETHER TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING WE DO NOTHING.
UM, WE'VE DONE THAT FOR MANY YEARS HERE.
UM, AND I THINK WE ALL AGREE AROUND THE RAIL STATIONS THAT, THAT WE SHOULD BE PUTTING THE, THE DENSITY IN THOSE AREAS.
HOW DOES THIS PLAN ALLOW FOR THAT FLEXIBILITY AND THAT PRIORITIZATION? SO WE HAVE A PLAN THAT HAS PRIORITIZATION WITHIN RAIL AND HAS A PRIORITIZATION WITHIN BUS, BUT HOW DOES IT HELP US PRIORITIZE ACROSS RAIL AND BUS IN HOW YOU'RE GONNA BE SPENDING YOUR TIME? WE KNOW THAT THE HOUSING PLANNING DEPARTMENT HAS LIMITED RESOURCES.
REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS IS THE CONTEXT SENSITIVE NATURE OF THE PLANNING.
UM, BECAUSE THESE STATIONS ALL LOOK DIFFERENT.
I KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE FEW STATIONS THAT I HAVE IN MY DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A, YOU'RE THEY'RE LITERALLY IN A FLOODPLAIN AND IT'S GONNA LOOK REALLY DIFFERENT THAN PLACES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, BIG TRANSIT CENTERS IN TERMS OF THE PLANNING.
SO HOW ARE WE, HOW DO WE PRIORITIZE ACROSS RAIL AND BUS? AND THEN WE HAVE THE FACTOR THAT YOU BROUGHT UP EARLIER ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA BE MAKING SOME INVESTMENTS AND CHANGING SOME THINGS AND SOME THINGS MAYBE BUS RAPID UNTIL THEY BECOME RAIL.
HOW, HOW ARE WE THINKING ABOUT THAT PRIORITIZATION? BECAUSE YOU CANNOT DO A HUNDRED AND 180 STATIONS AT ONCE AND DO THEM IN THE CONTACT SENSITIVE WAY THAT THEY DESERVE AND THAT YOU'RE SAYING THEY SHOULD BE DONE.
I'LL START AND THEN I, AND THEN I'M GONNA PASS IT TO STEVIE WITH A, WITH A COUPLE OF, UM, SUGGESTIONS, UM, ON WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, AS WE WERE DISCUSSING THIS, UH, ALL WEEK, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, UM, THE LIGHT RAIL STATIONS ARE DEFINITELY A PRIORITY GIVEN WHERE WE ARE IN THE C I G CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROCESS FOR NEW STARTS.
THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY A PRIORITY.
[00:50:01]
UM, WE CAN FOCUS EVEN MORE ON PRIORITIZATION OF THE STATIONS ONCE WE GO THROUGH OUR PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS AND PUBLIC COMMENT PROCESS ON THE SCENARIOS THAT STARTS MARCH 21ST, UM, THAT PROCESS.AND SO I WOULD, UM, PASS IT TO STEVIE TO TALK ABOUT THERE'S ONGOING, UH, PLANNING WORK AROUND TRANSIT THAT WOULD CONTINUE.
BUT I WOULD HOPE, UH, THAT THE COORDINATION THAT HAPPENS AND THE SYNCING UP OF FUTURE PLANNING WORK WITH THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE WOULD BE FOCUSED TO THE LIGHT RAIL STATIONS THAT ARE PART OF THE SCENARIOS THAT THE COMMUNITY, UM, HAS TOLD US ARE A PRIORITY.
YEAH, AND I'LL JUST ADD TO THAT, I THINK WHAT IS IN THE PROPOSAL THAT IS ON COUNCIL'S DI THIS WEEK REALLY CONSIDERS THE WORKLOAD IMPACTS OF THE WORK BY MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF DEVELOPING THE EAD OVERLAY, WHICH WOULD NOT BE THE BE ALL AND END ALL LIKE THAT.
I WANT TO BE REALLY CLEAR, THE EAD OVERLAY IS A TOOL TO GET OUR SYSTEM PART OF THE WAY THERE.
IT IS NOT A BLANKET, YOU KNOW, REZONING OR REREGULATING OF THE ENTIRE SYSTEM CUZ WE KNOW WE CAN'T DO THAT.
BUT THAT TOOL AT LEAST ALLOWS US TO SHORE THINGS UP ON A SYSTEM-WIDE LEVEL SO THAT AS WE PUT FOCUSED RESOURCES INTO THOSE ACTUAL DETAILED STATIONARY OR COURT ORDER BASED PLANNING ACTIVITIES ALONG THE LINE, UM, WE AREN'T WAITING ACROSS THE ENTIRE SYSTEM FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN THAT THE EAD OVERLAY WOULD BE THE TOOL THAT KIND OF SHORES THINGS UP TEMPORARILY, UM, WITH THE PARTICULAR SET OF REGULATIONS.
AND THEN WE WOULD BE FOCUSING PLANNING RESOURCES.
OUR YEAR ONE WORK PROGRAM AT THIS POINT IS REALLY, UM, FOCUSED AROUND STATION AREAS THAT WE'VE ALREADY INITIATED.
SO NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER AND PARTNERSHIP WITH CAPITAL METRO, SOUTH CONGRESS TRANSIT CENTER AND PARTNERSHIP WITH CUP METRO.
WE'VE ALREADY ACTUALLY BEEN OUT WORKING IN COMMUNITY, UM, WITH, WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF CAPITAL METRO OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS ON STATION AREA PLANNING IN THOSE TWO LOCATIONS AS DIRECTED BY COUNSEL IN NOVEMBER.
AND THEN THE NORTHEAST AUSTIN DISTRICT PLAN, WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN INITIATED AND HAS A LOT OF STATION AREAS WITHIN THAT PLANNING AREA, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE LEVERAGING THOSE RESOURCES.
BUT IN TERMS OF FUTURE YEARS OF PLANNING, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, IN THE EAD POLICY PLAN FOR HOW TO PRIORITIZE STATIONS.
UM, THE WAY THAT WE WANNA PRIORITIZE STATIONS MAY, UM, DIFFER ONCE WE WORK WITH COMMUNITY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE INITIAL INVESTMENT IS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, THERE'S DEFINITELY THE OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNCIL TO PROVIDE DIRECTION ON WHAT THAT SORT OF YEAR TWO AND BEYOND WORK PROGRAM LOOK LIKE, UM, OR TO ADD ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO TRY TO SHIFT IT AHEAD TO, TO BE A YEAR ONE WORK PROGRAM.
BUT I DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, HEAR THE, THE, THE CONCERNS ABOUT RESOURCES.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE PLAN AND THE REASON WHY THERE IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO PUT IN PLACE THE UNARMED REGULATIONS AND TO PUT IN PLACE THE EAD OVERLAY AT A SYSTEM-WIDE LEVEL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING IN PLACE WHILE WE WORK.
WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS ALLOCATING PLANNING RESOURCES TO DO THE MORE SPECIFIC FOCUS PLANNING IN THE COURT ORDERS THAT NEED IT.
I'D LOVE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE YOU UTAH OVERLAY, BUT, BUT I WANNA PAUSE HERE AND JUST, UM, SPEAK TO THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER HERE.
I DON'T THINK THIS PLAN TELLS US, US THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING RAIL OVER BUS.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND, I DON'T, I'M NOT SURE I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GONNA BE IN THAT
I MEAN IT'S THE, HOW WE WORD THAT OR HOW WE PUT INTO THIS RESOLUTION COMMENTS OR, OR, UH, SENTENCE OR TWO OR WHEREAS I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL SO THAT WE HAVE THAT CLEAR DIRECTION FROM THE COUNCIL THAT, THAT THAT'S NOT JUST FROM THE DISCUSSION TODAY, BUT THAT'S KIND OF FROM THE HISTORY.
THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO GET DONE OR GET IT ACHIEVED.
YEAH, I MEAN, AND THAT'S PROB I JUST WANNA, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA COME OUT ON THE, ON MARCH 21ST, SO THAT WOULD BROADLY RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE SOME STATIONS THAT ARE TRANSITIONING FROM V R T TO RAIL AND THOSE MIGHT BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY, BUT I JUST, I THINK THAT THE WORRY IS THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA SPEND TIME, YOU KNOW, ON TRANSIT STATIONS ON LAMAR THAT ARE IN A FLOOD PLANE VERSUS DOING THEM ON THE RAIL, YOU KNOW, IN THE RAIL, UM, CENTERS, ET CETERA.