[00:00:03]
UH, LET'S, WE'RE GONNA GO AND BRING THIS, UH, MEETING
[Determination of Quorum / Meeting Called to Order]
OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO ORDER.UH, IT IS TUESDAY, AUGUST 29TH, 2023, AND THIS IS A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING.
UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE STAFF UPDATES.
UM, THAT IS THE INTENT HERE WITH SOME Q AND A, UH, BUT NO ACTIONS SPECIFICALLY ON THESE ITEMS. UH, WE'LL START OFF WITH A ROLL CALL AND I'M JUST GONNA MOVE THROUGH, MOVE THROUGH THE DICE, AND THEN I'LL MOVE THROUGH THOSE THAT ARE PARTICIPATING ONLINE.
UH, SO STARTING ON MY LEFT, UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER WOODS HERE.
TO MY RIGHT, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER ZA HERE.
UH, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER ANDERSON HERE AND, UH, RECOGNIZING, UH, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, UH, HAS HIS HAND UP.
AND THEN COMMISSIONER CONNOLLY HERE.
AND THEN, UH, ON THE SCREEN, I HAVE C VICE CHAIR HEMPEL HERE.
AND, UH, NEXT WE HAVE COMMISSIONER HOWARD HERE.
UH, WELL, I'LL MENTION THE NEXT OFFICIOS IN A SECOND.
BUT MOVING TO COMMISSIONER COX HERE, AND COMMISSIONER MUTO HERE.
AND THEN JUST RECOGNIZING OUR EX OFFICIOS.
WE HAVE THE CHAIR OF BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS, UH, CHAIR COHEN.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, WITH US AGAIN TWICE IN A ROW.
WE HAVE, UH, CANDACE HUNTER, THE A I S D BOARD OF TRUSTEE.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, WE DON'T HAVE ANY, UH, WE'RE NOT TAKING ANY VOTES THIS EVENING, BUT TO BE RECOGNIZED, UH, IT MAY HELP IF YOU HAVE YOUR COLOR CARDS, BUT I SHOULD BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE YOU IF YOU RAISE YOUR HAND.
I DO HAVE HELP FROM, UH, MY PARLIAMENTARIAN HERE, UM, COMMISSIONER ZA.
SO, UH, YEAH, WE SHOULD BE GOOD THERE.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND, UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
SO THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA ARE THE BRIEFINGS.
UH, GOING AHEAD AND I'LL JUST GO AND REVIEW THIS QUICKLY.
[1. (A) City of Austin Proposed Telework Policy]
IS CITY OF AUSTIN PROPOSED TELEWORK POLICY.WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THIS EVENING PREPARED FOR THAT ITEM.
UH, THE STAFF, UM, ARE PRETTY MUCH THE EFFORT IS COMING OUTTA THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP CITYWIDE STANDARDS THAT WOULD APPLY TO, UM, THE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, BUT ONCE WE DO HAVE SOMETHING FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, WE WILL GET THAT HERE TO, UH, LOOK AT IT AND REVIEW.
UM, BUT THEN ONE B, WE'LL HAVE THE TRAVIS COUNTY TELEWORK PROGRAM.
WE HAVE THE HONORABLE CHE FROM, UH, THE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSION PRECINCT TWO.
AND, UH, THAT'LL BE THE FIRST ITEM THIS EVENING.
WE'LL THEN MOVE ON TO NORTH BERNETT GATEWAY REGULATING PLAN AMENDMENTS BRIEFING.
AFTER THAT, UM, WE'LL HAVE THE PLAN AMENDMENTS TO ELIMINATE MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND THEN FOLLOWED, UH, BY THE EXPANSION OF ACCESSOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL COVER OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, SHOULD WE HAVE ANY THAT WE WANNA DISCUSS.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, ANY QUESTIONS ON THE AGENDA BEFORE WE GET STARTED? COMMISSIONER AZAR, UM, CHAIR, JUST TO UNDERSTAND, SO THE, THE TELEWORK POLICY ONE A ARE, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST GONNA, ARE WE TABLING THAT ITEM FOR NOW AND TURNING BACK TO IT? YES.
SO, WE'LL, UH, WHEN WE HAVE SOMETHING FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, WE CAN BRING IT BACK.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
SO, TO GET US STARTED HERE, UH, I'M GONNA GO AND ASK, UM, UH, COMMISSIONER BRIDGET SHEA, UH, TO COME TO THE
[1. (B) Travis County Telework Program]
PODIUM AND KIND OF GIVE US A BRIEFING ON WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH TRAVIS COUNTY RELATED TO THEIR TELEWORK PROGRAM.THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE THIS EVENING.
DO I NEED TO PUN? NO, IT'S ON
UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME.
THIS IS SORT OF, UM, SIBLING GOVERNMENT VISITING DAY COMM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON WAS IN COMMISSIONER'S COURT TODAY TALKING ABOUT A PROJECT THAT SHE'S WORKING ON, UH, JOINTLY WITH THE COUNTY AND COMMISSIONER PAVILION.
UM, I'LL TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE, UH, COMMENCED OUR POLICY, UM, AND THE EXPERIENCES THAT WE'VE HAD WITH IT, UM, AND THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT, UM, AND THE, THE STAFF THAT ARE WORKING UNDER THE COUNTY AND THE OUTSIDE CONSULTANT, WHICH IS DELOITTE.
WE'RE NOT ABLE TO BE HERE TONIGHT.
BUT, UM, DELOITTE SAID IF THERE WERE ANY PARTICULAR QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAD, UM, THAT I SHOULD MAKE NOTE OF THEM AND THEY'D BE HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
UM, SO IT STARTED, UM, I THINK IN THE WAY THAT VIRTUALLY EVERY ENTITY EXPERIENCED THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, WHICH WAS
'CAUSE NOBODY REALLY EXACTLY KNEW WHAT IT WAS OR
[00:05:01]
HOW IT WAS BEING TRANSMITTED, EXCEPT THEY KNEW IT WAS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS AND THAT PEOPLE NEEDED TO NOT BE CONGREGATING.AND SO EVERYONE WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO BE AT WORK TO DO THEIR JOB.
UH, SO BASICALLY EVERYONE WHO WASN'T CONSIDERED ESSENTIALLY AN ESSENTIAL WORKER, BASICALLY TOOK THEIR LAPTOP AND WENT HOME.
AND, UH, AND THEN WE, WE DID A LOT OF WORK WITH OUR IT DEPARTMENT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, OKAY, WHO NEEDS A LAPTOP? UM, DO WE HAVE EXTRA LAPTOPS WE CAN LOAN PEOPLE, UH, WHO NEEDS A CORD TO HOOK UP THEIR, UH, MONITOR? SO THERE WAS A LOT OF THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF JUST JUGGLING AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT SO THAT PEOPLE COULD FUNCTION FROM HOME.
AND, AND THEN WHEN WE GOT KIND OF SETTLED IN, UM, I THINK IT WAS A REVELATION FOR ALL OF US.
UM, THE THING THAT I WAS REALLY MOST ASTONISHED ABOUT WAS, WAS HOW QUICKLY WE SOLVED ALL OF OUR TRAFFIC CONGESTION PROBLEMS. IT WAS LIKE THE MAGIC WAND.
AND I, I REMEMBER I HAD TO DRIVE DOWN I 35 FOR SOME REASON, AND IT WAS AT FIVE O'CLOCK, AND I COULD DO THE SPEED LIMIT.
AND I LITERALLY SET MY VIDEO, UH, CAMERA UP ON MY DASH TO RECORD IT, AND JUST SAID, THIS IS ASTONISHING.
I'M DRIVING THE SPEED LIMIT ON 65 THROUGH DOWNTOWN AUSTIN AT RUSH HOUR, AND, YOU KNOW, WHO SAYS WE CAN'T SOLVE OUR CONGESTION PROBLEMS WITH TELECOMMUTING.
SO THAT WAS A BIG REVELATION, AND I THINK PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES OF IT.
WE HEARD STORIES OF PEOPLE IN INDIA WHO FOR THE FIRST TIME COULD SEE THE NIGHT SKY 'CAUSE THEIR, THEIR CITIES WEREN'T CHOKED WITH THE POLLUTION FROM ALL THE VEHICLES.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND IN ITALY THEY COULD SEE FISH IN THE CANALS.
AND SO MANY PEOPLE HAD THIS EXPERIENCE OF SORT OF THE WONDER OF BEING ABLE TO SEE THE HORIZON IN THEIR CITIES BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T CHOKED WITH FUMES FROM ALL THE VEHICLES, UH, POLLUTING THE AIR.
SO THAT WAS BIG REVELATION NUMBER ONE.
AND THEN THERE WAS SOME INTERESTING DATA FROM THE CITY THAT, UH, THAT JUST PROVIDED SOME ADDITIONAL STATISTICAL REINFORCEMENT.
AND I THINK IT WAS FROM YOUR, WELL, I'M NOT GONNA GET THE NAME RIGHT, BUT YOUR TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, WHERE THEY HAD DOCUMENTED, UM, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN WAIT TIMES AT EXCEPTIONALLY CONGESTED INTERSECTIONS.
SO WE, WE WERE STARTING TO ASSEMBLE DATA, UH, THAT ALSO REINFORCED WHAT EVERYONE WAS EXPERIENCING, WHICH WAS THAT WE'D ELIMINATED OUR CONGESTION PROBLEM OVERNIGHT.
AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A, IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN REPLICATE EVERY DAY.
WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC EVERY DAY, HOPEFULLY.
AND WE WON'T HAVE A SITUATION WHERE MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE WORKING FROM HOME OUT OF A PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN.
UM, BUT WE DID SEE HOW EFFECTIVE REMOTE WORK COULD BE TO ADDRESSING TRAFFIC CONGESTION.
UM, THE OTHER WAS, AND THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT OUR AUDITOR'S DEPARTMENT HAD ACTUALLY BEEN WORKING ON FOR A WHILE.
THEY, THEY BASICALLY LOOK AT ALL THE NUMBERS.
AND SO A LOT OF THEIR PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO WORK FROM HOME PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC.
AND THEY HAD BEEN TRACKING PRODUCTIVITY AMONG THEIR EMPLOYEES AND HAD ACTUALLY DOCUMENTED AN INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY AMONG THEIR EMPLOYEES WHO WERE WORKING FROM HOME.
AND I MEAN, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT MAKES SENSE.
YOUR COMMUTE WHEN YOU'RE WORKING REMOTELY IS BASICALLY FROM YOUR BEDROOM TO YOUR KITCHEN OR YOUR DINING ROOM, OR WHEREVER YOU HAVE YOUR OFFICE SET UP.
SO YOU AREN'T STUCK IN TRAFFIC FOR HOURS TRYING TO DRIVE TO WORK AND THEN DRIVE BACK FROM WORK AT THE END OF THE DAY.
SO, SO THAT WAS SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE HAD SOME STATISTICAL DATA ON.
UH, AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT WE TRACKED BOTH, UM, ANECDOTALLY AND IN EMPLOYEE COMMENTS DURING OUR BUDGET PROCESS, 'CAUSE WE HAVE BUDGET HEARINGS WITH OUR EMPLOYEES, WHICH IS A GREAT THING, BY THE WAY.
I IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T DO IT AT THE CITY, I, I WOULD RECOMMEND IT.
AND WE HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN FROM EMPLOYEES, WE LOVE REMOTE WORK.
WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
AND, UM, I THINK WHAT'S TRUE IN A LOT OF LARGE ORGANIZATIONS, THE TWO BIG HOLY GRAILS FOR BIG COMPANIES IS HOW DO YOU INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY AND HOW DO YOU IMPROVE WORKER MORALE? WELL, GUESS WHAT? REMOTE WORK IS, IS ONE BIG THING THAT CAN BE VERY HELPFUL.
AND IT'S NOT THE SOLUTION TO EVERYTHING, AND IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, GONNA IMPROVE EVERYONE'S PRODUCTIVITY AND, AND MORALE.
BUT, UM, WE WERE FINDING, UM, WHAT WE CONSIDER STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN IMPROVEMENTS IN THESE, IN THESE TWO MEANINGFUL AREAS IN THE WORKPLACE.
UM, AND THE OTHER THING FOR ME IS, UM,
[00:10:01]
UH, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.I DON'T THINK I NEED TO TELL ANYBODY AFTER THIS BRUTAL HEAT THAT WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING THAT WE ARE LIVING, UH, IN A HISTORIC TIME OF PROFOUND CLIMATE CHANGE.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN VERY FOCUSED ON AT THE COUNTY IS WHAT CAN WE DO TO REDUCE OUR CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE? WHAT CAN WE DO TO REDUCE OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS? AND WE HAD CONDUCTED A, A, IT'S CALLED A GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY.
BASICALLY ESTABLISH A BASELINE AND LOOK AT YOUR OWN OPERATIONS TO FIGURE OUT WHERE ARE YOU GENERATING GREENHOUSE GASES AND THE TWO LARGEST SOURCES, WHICH IS GONNA BE TRUE FOR MOST ORGANIZATIONS, UNLESS YOU OPERATE A POWER PLANT OR A BIG MANUFACTURING FACILITY WHERE YOU GENERATE POWER.
UM, THE TWO LARGEST SOURCES ARE THE ENERGY THAT YOU USE TO HEAT AND COOL AND LIGHT YOUR BUILDINGS AND THE ENERGY THAT'S USED, UH, IN YOUR EMPLOYEE COMMUTE AND YOUR FLEET VEHICLE COMMUTES.
AND SO WE WERE HAVING A PRETTY PROFOUND IMPACT ON REDUCING OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IN THOSE TWO TOP CATEGORIES.
OUR EMPLOYEES WEREN'T WORKING IN THE BUILDINGS, SO WE WERE ABLE TO DIAL DOWN OR, OR CUT BACK ON OUR HEATING AND COOLING, UM, AND LIGHTING.
AND THEY WEREN'T COMMUTING TO WORK.
SO, UM, WE JUST FELT LIKE THERE WERE A LOT OF REALLY GOOD REASONS TO EXPLORE CONTINUING, UH, THIS REMOTE WORK EXPERIMENT.
AND, UM, FORMER COMMISSIONER GERALD DOUGHERTY AND I PARTNERED ON THIS AND WE ADOPTED A POLICY AND WE WORKED WITH THE STAFF AND STAFF WAS IN AGREEMENT THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF BENEFITS HERE AND WE SHOULD EXPLORE IT.
SO WE ADOPTED A POLICY IN MAY OF 2020, AND MOST PEOPLE WENT HOME FROM WORK IN MARCH OF 2020.
SO IT WAS EARLY IN THIS PROCESS, UM, WHERE WE SET A GOAL OF SEEKING TO ACHIEVE HAVING 75% OF OUR ELIGIBLE WORKERS.
AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT DEFINITION OF OUR ELIGIBLE WORKERS WORK REMOTELY ON A PERMANENT BASIS.
AND WE DEFINED ELIGIBLE AS PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO PHYSICALLY BE AT WORK TO DO THEIR JOBS.
AND WE GAVE OUR, OUR STAFF, OUR MANAGERIAL STAFF, A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY.
WE DIDN'T DICTATE WHO MET THE DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE.
WE SAID TO THE SUPERVISORS AND THE MANAGERS, YOU DECIDE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED, UH, IN YOUR OFFICE AND WITHIN YOUR WORK TEAM.
SO YOU DECIDE WHO FITS THAT CRITERIA OF, OF ELIGIBLE, AND THEN YOU DECIDE IF YOU STILL NEED PEOPLE TO COME IN ONCE A WEEK, TWICE A WEEK, ONCE A MONTH, YOU DECIDE THAT AS THE MANAGER AND THE SUPERVISOR.
SO FROM THE BEGINNING, WE GAVE A LOT OF, UM, FLEXIBILITY AND, UM, UM, AGENCY TO THE MANAGERS AND THE SUPERVISORS.
UM, SO WE DIDN'T SET AN EXPECTATION THAT IT WAS ALL OR NOTHING, THAT IT WAS ALL REMOTE WORK, YOU KNOW, OR ALL BACK PHYSICALLY, UH, IN THE WORKPLACE.
AND I THINK THAT THAT ALLOWED A SORT OF ORGANIC, UM, DEVELOPMENT OF A WORKING SYSTEM THAT WORKED FOR THE MANAGERS AND FOR THE EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND WE ALSO DECIDED THAT WE WOULD NEED ADDITIONAL HELP TO FIGURE OUT WHAT POLICIES TO PUT IN PLACE AND HOW TO CREATE WHAT I'VE CALLED AN EXOSKELETON TO SUPPORT OUR ABILITY TO DO THAT ON A PERMANENT BASIS.
AND SO WE BROUGHT IN DELOITTE, DELOITTE CONSULTING TO WORK WITH US ON THAT.
AND ONE OF THE CHARGES THAT WE GAVE THEM WAS, UM, TO ALSO LOOK AT WHERE THERE WERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO REPURPOSE SOME OF OUR REAL ESTATE.
BECAUSE IF WE WERE GONNA PURSUE THIS GOAL, WHICH WE'D, WHICH WE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO DO, OF HAVING 75% OF ELIGIBLE WORKERS, WHICH WORKED OUT TO ABOUT HALF THE WORKFORCE, UM, REMOTE WORK, UH, ON A, ON A PERMANENT BASIS, WE WERE GONNA HAVE SOME EMPTY BUILDINGS.
AND SO THAT WAS PART OF THEIR CHARGE AS WELL AS TO LOOK AT OPPORTUNITIES TO REPURPOSE SOME OF THAT SPACE, BUT ALSO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS SUFFICIENT SPACE FOR WHEN PEOPLE CAME BACK, IF IT WAS ON A, YOU KNOW, ONCE A WEEK, TWICE A MONTH, WHATEVER THAT, WHATEVER THAT FLEXIBLE BASIS WAS.
UM, AND THEY, UM, SO THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON THOSE POLICIES.
THEY HAVEN'T COMPLETED IT YET.
UM, BUT THEY'RE ALSO IN THE MIDST OF A, A PILOT PROJECT.
'CAUSE THEY, THEY TOOK ONE DEPARTMENT AND SAID, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA JUST STUDY THIS DEPARTMENT AND SEE HOW THIS IS WORKING AND SEE WHAT KINDS OF ISSUES ARE COMING UP THAT WILL NEED TO GRAPPLE WITH.
AND SO THEY TOOK ON THE TRANSPORTATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AT THE COUNTY, AND THAT'S, I SHOULD KNOW THIS NUMBER, BUT IT'S 300 SOME I THINK EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND IT INCLUDES A RANGE OF, UH, EMPLOYEES ALL THE WAY FROM, UH, ENGINEERS AND, UM, DOWN TO PEOPLE THAT RUN OUR ROAD AND BRIDGE DEPARTMENT AND FILL POTHOLES AND, YOU KNOW, CLEAR THE DEBRIS WHEN THERE'S
[00:15:01]
STORMS AND THAT KIND OF THING.AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RECOGNIZED WAS HAPPENING IN THIS CATEGORY OF ESSENTIAL WORKERS IS THAT, UM, THERE WERE EQUITY ISSUES.
AND SO THAT'S PART OF DELOITTE'S CHARGE AS WELL, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK IN OUR ROAD AND BRIDGE DEPARTMENT ARE ON THE LOWER PAID END OF THE PAY SCALE.
UM, MANY OF THEM ARE EMPLOYEES OF COLOR, AND WE KNEW FROM THE BEGINNING THERE'S GONNA BE SOME FAIRNESS ISSUES ABOUT WHO GETS TO WORK FROM HOME AND WHO'S GOTTA DRIVE IN EVERY DAY TO DO THEIR JOB.
AND SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT DELOITTE IS, IS LOOKING AT, IS WHAT ARE THE MECHANISMS THAT WE CAN PUT IN PLACE TO ADDRESS THE EQUITY ISSUES, UH, WITH THIS POLICY.
UM, SO MY SENSE ABOUT IT IS THAT WE'VE GOT A WIN WIN WIN WIN BECAUSE WE'VE INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY, WE'VE IMPROVED EMPLOYEE MORALE.
OH, WE'VE SAVED $1.3 MILLION IN THE FIRST YEAR ON OUR UTILITIES.
PART OF THAT WAS CONVERTING TO THE CITY'S PURPLE PIPE FOR OUR NON POTABLE WATER USES, WHICH IS LARGELY THE AIR CONDITIONING USE IN LARGE BUILDINGS.
THAT'S THE MAJOR USE OF WATER IN MOST LARGE BUILDINGS.
AND IT'S EVAPORATIVE COOLING, NOBODY'S DRINKING IT.
SO THEY DIDN'T NOTICE IF WE SWITCHED OVER TO PURPLE PIPE.
SO WE SAVED A LOT OF MONEY THERE, BUT WE ALSO SAVED MONEY ON OUR HEATING AND COOLING AND LIGHTING.
SO OUR, WE SAVED MONEY ON OUR UTILITY BILLS.
UM, WE REDUCED OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND WE OPENED UP OPPORTUNITIES FOR REUSE OF SOME OF OUR, UM, OUR OFFICE SPACE THAT COULD ALSO POTENTIALLY GENERATE REVENUE.
SO MULTIPLE WINS ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, AND WE'VE RECENTLY WON AN AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES FOR OUR REMOTE WORK POLICY.
SO, UM, AND I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE KIND OF CHALLENGED DELOITTE AND OTHERS TO FIND ANY OTHER EXAMPLES.
WE BELIEVE WE HAVE THE MOST AMBITIOUS REMOTE WORK POLICY FOR ANY LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN THE COUNTRY.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS LIKE TO BRAGGING RIGHTS IN TEXAS, SO WE'RE, WE'RE BRAGGING ABOUT THAT ONE.
UM, BUT IT'S, I THINK IT'S BEEN A VERY SUCCESSFUL POLICY.
THE EMPLOYEES ARE VERY HAPPY WITH IT.
UM, BY AND LARGE THE MANAGERS ARE THAT WE'RE NOT HAVING THE KINDS OF STRUGGLES THAT YOU READ ABOUT AND SEE IN THE NEWS ON A REGULAR BASIS WHERE EMPLOYERS ARE LIKE, HOW ARE WE GONNA GET PEOPLE BACK TO WORK? WE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TACO TUESDAYS AND, YOU KNOW, FREAKY FRIDAYS OR WHATEVER TO TRY AND ENTICE PEOPLE BACK TO WORK, AND THEN IT'S NOT WORKING.
SO THEN THEY START THREATENING EMPLOYEES AND THEN LAYING PEOPLE OFF.
SO WE'VE NOT HAD THOSE KINDS OF STRUGGLES.
AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE WE GOT A FLEXIBLE PROGRAM FROM THE BEGINNING, UM, GAVE AGENCY TO THE SUPERVISORS AND MANAGERS AND MADE CLEAR TO THE EMPLOYEES, YOU'RE, YOU, YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, ACCOUNTABLE TO YOUR MANAGERS.
UH, AND HERE'S THE GENERAL POLICY.
UM, BUT THE REALLY EXCITING THING FOR ME IS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DOCUMENT A REDUCTION IN OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT EVERY LOCAL GOVERNMENT CAN DO.
AND LORD KNOWS WE ALL NEED TO, I'M JUST GONNA SAY AT A, AT A VERY GLOBAL LEVEL, WE CAN'T LEAVE THIS PROBLEM TO THE NATIONS TO SOLVE AND THINK THAT EVERYTHING'S TAKEN CARE OF BECAUSE THEY CAN'T DO IT BY THEMSELVES.
SO WE NEED EVERY LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WE NEED EVERY LARGE EMPLOYER, WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CAN REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
IT IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY, SAVES YOU MONEY ON UTILITIES, REDUCES YOUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
SO IT'S KINDA LIKE, WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT THIS POLICY.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU, THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
AND I, AND I HOPE THAT THE CITY CAN, UM, UH, PURSUE THIS IN THE, IN THE SAME AGGRESSIVE WAY THAT WE HAVE AT THE COUNTY AND MAYBE EVEN BEAT US AT IT, YOU KNOW, GET THE BIGGER BRAGGING RIGHTS.
AND WE, UH, WILL MOVE ON TO KIND OF THE Q AND A AND I SEE A HAND GO UP AND SO, UM, WE CAN EXTEND IT.
WE USUALLY DO EIGHT, BUT, UH, THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING TOPIC.
I KNOW I ALREADY HAVE THREE QUESTIONS, SO WE'LL DO OUR EIGHT AT FIVE AND WE CAN ADD A FEW MORE IF WE NEED TO.
SO, UH, COMMISSIONER AL, I SAW YOUR HAND UP FIRST.
UH, IF YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND KICK US OFF.
AND, UH, SO IF YOU WANNA, WE'RE GONNA DIRECT QUESTIONS TO YOU.
I THINK YOU ARE THE SPEAKER, SO
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SCHAEFFER.
GOOD YOU FOR SHARING, UM, THE COUNTY SUCCESS ON THIS PROGRAM.
AS YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT THIS, WHAT OBSTACLES ARE YOU ENCOUNTERING IN TERMS OF OUR STATE GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS? UM, 'CAUSE I KNOW ON OUR COMMISSION HEARINGS AND THINGS LIKE THIS, WE, WE CERTAINLY HAVEN'T ENCOUNTERED SOME OBSTACLES IN TRYING TO BE ABLE TO CONDUCT THINGS REMOTELY.
WELL, UM, FOR OUR, UM, GOVERNING BODY
[00:20:01]
WORK.UH, I THINK WE HAVE TO MEET A REQUIREMENT OF HAVING A, A QUORUM ON SITE.
UH, WE CAN STILL HAVE, UM, SOME MEMBERS, UH, REMOTE PARTICIPATING, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE A QUORUM ON SITE.
UM, I THINK OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS PROBABLY OPERATE THAT WAY AS WELL, BUT IT HASN'T REALLY HAD MUCH OF AN IMPACT ON OUR EMPLOYEES.
WE, UM, WE'LL ROUTINELY HAVE A COMMISSIONER'S COURT MEETING, WHICH WE DO EVERY TUESDAY.
UM, AND, UH, A NUMBER OF OUR STAFF WILL BRIEF US REMOTELY.
UM, IS SOME OF THIS BEING SHARED WITH THE STATE LEVEL TO SEE ABOUT INCENTIVES TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM?
UM, THEY GENERALLY DON'T SEEM TO LIKE OUR GREAT IDEAS HERE AND SEEK TO OVERTURN THEM AT THE LEGISLATURE.
SO WE'VE TRIED TO KEEP IT QUIET WITH THE STATE 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT REALLY DOING A GOOD JOB WITH THAT HERE.
BUT YEAH, THERE REALLY ISN'T, AND THERE ISN'T ANY STATE ENTITY TO SHARE IT WITH.
THEY'VE HAD OPPORTUNITIES TO ADOPT SIMILAR POLICIES AT THE STATE.
UM, I THINK I KNOW REPRESENTATIVE, UH, FORMER REPRESENTATIVE ISRAEL HAS INTRODUCED LEGISLATION IN THE PAST AND IT WAS, UH, I THINK IT EVEN PASSED AND THE GOVERNOR VETOED IT, SO IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THERE'S SOME PLACE AT THE STATE TO SHARE IT WITH.
BUT THERE MAY BE SOME OPPORTUNITY WITH OTHER COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES, WHICH COULD BE EXCITING.
THERE WAS A RECENT, UM, NATIONAL, UM, RELEASE ON, UH, NITROGEN GASES BEING SEEN FROM NASA SATELLITE.
I SAW THAT IN, YEAH, THE US METROPLEXES THAT CAME UP HIGHEST ON THE LIST, BOTH, UH, DALLAS AND HOUSTON CLAIMED SOME OF THOSE HONORS.
SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN SHARE SOME OF THIS WITH THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS IN THOSE REGIONS.
AND, UH, AND I THINK, UH, THE, THE NATIONAL AWARD GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE IT AS WELL.
BUT, UM, AND I'VE BEEN ON A NUMBER OF PANELS TALKING ABOUT IT, CONGRATULATIONS.
'CAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE'S ALREADY DONE.
I MEAN, YOU, YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SAY, WELL, GEE, WE JUST DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL WORK.
'CAUSE WE'VE ALL DONE IT, WE ALL HAD TO DO TO THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYBODY TO SHARE IT AND ENCOURAGE YOUR, YOUR WORKPLACE AND YOUR, YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO SERIOUSLY LOOK INTO IT.
GIVEN THAT CONNECTIVITY IS A REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, TOOL THAT, UH, EVERYBODY NEEDS ACCESS TO, TO BE ABLE TO WORK REMOTELY AS THE COUNTY EN ENCOUNTERED ANY CHALLENGES OR WORKING ON ANY INITIATIVES TO EXPAND BROADBAND ACCESS FOR EMPLOYEES THAT MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO WORK FROM HOME.
WE HAD SOME INITIAL, UH, ISSUES, BUT IT WAS MOSTLY AROUND EQUIPMENT.
I DON'T KNOW OF ANY SITUATION WHERE AN EMPLOYEE HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO OPERATE REMOTELY BECAUSE OF BROADBAND ISSUES.
UM, AND I, AND IT MAY BE THAT WE'VE ALSO HELPED, UH, PAY FOR THE COST OF, UM, HOOKING UP TO BROADBAND SERVICES.
UM, THAT MAY BE PART OF HOW WE'VE, UM, ADDRESSED THOSE ISSUES EARLY ON.
IN FACT, I SEEM TO REMEMBER THAT WAS PART OF THE DISCUSSION AND THAT'S ALLOWED UNDER OUR POLICY.
UM, IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR ASK OR SOMETHING YOU WERE HOPING WOULD GET PICKED UP AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION TONIGHT IN THIS PRESENTATION? WELL, I'M, I'M, UH, ENCOURAGED THAT Y'ALL HAVE, UM, BASICALLY ASKED THE, THE CITY, UH, TO PURSUE THIS.
UM, UH, JESUS WAS CITY MANAGER WHEN I WAS ON THE CITY COUNCIL IN THE EARLY NINETIES, SO I'VE, I'VE KNOWN HIM FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, AND, UM, I'M HAPPY TO BE A RESOURCE AND TO, YOU KNOW, SHARE WHATEVER, UM, RESULTS THAT WE'RE FINDING, UH, WITH THE, THE CITY MANAGER AND TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO BE AVAILABLE FOR ANY INFORMATION OR, OR QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER.
UM, RECOGNIZING COMMISSIONER WOODS.
HEY, I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TELLING US ABOUT THIS REALLY PROGRESSIVE POLICY AND REALLY CONGRATULATIONS TO Y'ALL.
I THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IN A COUNTY WHERE INCOMES ARE NOT COMING CLOSE TO, UH, KEEPING UP WITH HOUSING COSTS.
I CAN IMAGINE THAT A LOT OF YOUR EMPLOYEES AND POTENTIALLY NEW HIRES ARE, WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO WORK FOR THE COUNTY, BUT FOR THIS POLICY, IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, HAS THAT BEEN THE CASE? WE HAVE ACTUALLY SEEN, UM, A REALLY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN QUALIFIED JOB APPLICANTS FOR JOB OPENINGS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN A LOT OF INQUIRIES FROM CITY
UM, BUT I, I, I KNOW VERY SPECIFICALLY THAT, UM, THIS IS APPEALING FOR, UM, UH, EMPLOYEES WHO LIVE
[00:25:01]
FAR OUT AND HAVE HAD TO MOVE FARTHER AND FARTHER OUT IN ORDER TO FIND MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.UM, AND I KNOW FOR SOME EMPLOYEES THEY'VE SAID, THIS IS A CONDITION OF MY TAKING A JOB WITH THE COUNTY.
I NEED TO BE ABLE TO WORK REMOTELY.
SO IT'S BEEN A, IT'S BEEN A REAL BONUS FOR US, UH, IN HIRING.
AND I THINK IT'S BEEN A REAL BENEFIT FOR, UM, EMPLOYEES WHO ARE STRUGGLING TO AFFORD HOUSING CLOSE IN.
AND YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT YOU'RE REUSING SOME OF THAT OFFICE SPACE.
WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE AT THE MOMENT? HOW ARE YOU REUSING THAT SPACE? WELL, WE HAVE, UM, UH, WE HAVE A LARGE, UH, OFFICE BUILDING AT 700 LA VACA.
AND, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO LEASE SPACE TO CAPITAL METRO.
UM, UH, I THINK OUR, I THINK THE CONDITIONS OF OUR, UM, CERTIFICATE OF OBLIGATIONS THAT WE PURCHASED THE BUILDING WITH, UM, MEAN WE CAN'T COMPETE WITH THE, UH, PRIVATE REAL ESTATE MARKET, BUT THERE ARE OTHER NON-GOVERNMENTAL, UM, ENTITIES THAT ARE LOOKING FOR OFFICE SPACE.
UM, AND SO WE'RE, UM, WE'RE IN CONVERSATIONS WITH A VARIETY OF THEM.
YEAH, THAT SEEMS LIKE SUCH AN EFFICIENT SYSTEM AND USE OF THAT SPACE.
UM, IT'S ALSO SOUNDS LIKE YOU GAVE A LOT OF AGENCY TO MANAGERS AND MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEIR EMPLOYEES NEEDED TO RETURN TO WORK.
CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU CAME TO THAT DECISION AS OPPOSED TO MORE OF A TOP-DOWN POLICY OR HAVING YOUR OWN CRITERIA ABOUT WHO NEEDED TO BE IN PERSON? YEAH, I THINK A LOT OF IT CAME FROM THE COUNTY MANAGERS.
WE HAVE A, A SYSTEM WHERE WE HAVE COUNTY EXECUTIVES, UM, WHO HEAD UP DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AT THE, AT THE COUNTY.
AND WHEN WE BEGAN THE DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM ABOUT THIS POLICY, UM, I THINK THEY EXPRESSED A CONCERN THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO DETERMINE WHO THE EMPLOYEES, UH, WOULD BE, WHO WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS.
AND BOTH COMMISSIONER DOUGHERTY AND I SAID, YES, YOU ARE, YOU ARE THE ONES WHO WORK DIRECTLY WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES.
YOU, YOU KNOW, BEST WHO YOU WOULD NEED IN THE OFFICE, WHO WOULD BE IN THAT CATEGORY OF ESSENTIAL WORKER.
SO, UM, I THINK IT JUST GREW OUT OF THE VERY EARLY CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAD, UM, WITH THE MANAGERS KNOWING THAT WE WANTED TO, UM, ESTABLISH A GOAL OF HAVING 75% OF ELIGIBLE WORKERS TELECOMMUTING.
SO THEY KNEW WE SET THE BAR HIGH, AND HONESTLY, WE WERE EXCEEDING THAT IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC.
I THINK WE CALCULATED, WE HAD OVER, UM, I WANNA SAY 80% OF OUR ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES WHO WERE WORKING REMOTELY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
I MEAN, REALLY EVERYBODY WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO BE AT WORK WENT HOME AND WORK FROM HOME.
THEY WERE HAVING THE EXPERIENCE OF EMPLOYEES DOING IT.
I THINK IF WE'D STARTED FROM ZERO AND WE WEREN'T IN THE PANDEMIC AND WE WEREN'T, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCING THIS REAL TIME, I THINK IT WOULD'VE BEEN A VERY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION, UH, WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVES.
BUT, UM, I'D SAY IT WAS A PRETTY, UH, COLLEGIAL CONVERSATION WITH THEM.
UM, AND I THINK ALSO THEY WERE ENJOYING THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK FROM HOME.
UM, SO IT WASN'T LIKE THIS WAS A FOREIGN EXPERIENCE THAT THEY, THEY DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, HAVE FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE OF, BUT WE, BUT WE ENGAGED THEM IN THE VERY BEGINNING AND SAID, THIS IS WHAT WE WANNA DO.
UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WOULD THIS WORK FOR YOU? SO THEY WERE PART OF IT.
THEY WERE PART OF THE DESIGN FROM THE BEGINNING.
AND THEN IF I HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR JUST KIND OF ANECDOTALLY FROM YOU, IF YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF WHAT THIS HAS MEANT FOR EMPLOYEES.
AND I'M THINKING ABOUT LIKE THEIR CHILDCARE COSTS SAVINGS AS PART OF THIS.
LIKE WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR PEOPLE TO SPEND, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY AN HOUR PLUS LESS IN THEIR CAR COMMUTING TO AND FROM WORK EVERY DAY? WELL, WE'VE HEARD DIRECTLY DURING THESE EMPLOYEE BUDGET HEARINGS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, THERE WAS ONE, UH, WOMAN WHO HAD TO START OUT AT SIX IN THE MORNING.
'CAUSE SHE HAD TO CATCH A BUS AND THEN TRANSFER TO ANOTHER BUS.
AND SO SHE COMMUTED TWO HOURS EACH WAY EVERY DAY TO GET TO WORK.
SO SHE GOT BACK FOUR HOURS OF HER PRODUCTIVE WORK TIME JUST BY NOT HAVING TO GET ON A BUS AND TRANSFER TO ANOTHER BUS AND DO THAT TWICE A DAY.
UM, AND THAT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST, THE MOST EXTREME, UH, DESCRIPTION I HEARD.
ALTHOUGH MANY PEOPLE ARE STUCK IN TRAFFIC FOR VERY LONG PERIODS OF TIME, COMMUTING TO AND FROM IN THEIR OWN CARS.
UM, AND, AND ACTUALLY THERE WAS A DEFACTO SAVINGS.
SO THIS WAS ANOTHER PART OF THAT EQUITY ISSUE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO HAD TO COME TO WORK WHO WERE ESSENTIAL WORKERS.
BUT WHEN GAS GOT OVER $5 A GALLON, PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO DRIVE TO AND FROM WORK EVERY
[00:30:01]
DAY WERE SAVING REAL MONEY.UM, SO THAT WAS ANOTHER BON BONUS AS WELL.
BUT, UM, I THINK THE STORIES WE'VE HEARD
ANYWAY, WE HEARD A LOT OF STORIES FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE REALLY GRATEFUL THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO COMMUTE AND WHO WERE CLEAR THAT THAT GAVE THEM TIME TO GET TO WORK QUICKER AND GET THEIR WORK DONE QUICKER.
YOU THANK WELCOME YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
LET'S, UH, LET'S START WITH EX OFFICIO, THE BOARD, UH, CHAIR COHEN.
AND THEN WE'LL GO TO, UH, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
COMMISSIONER SHA, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF MISINFORMATION, UH, UP THE TEXAS LEDGE AND RIGHT CARROT CITY HALL ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY BEING ADVERSELY IMPACTED BY TELEWORKING.
WITHOUT GOING INTO LIKE TOO MUCH DETAIL, NO DEEP DIVE, COULD YOU ELABORATE A LITTLE MORE ON HOW, UH, THE COUNTY MEASURED PRODUCTIVITY BY ITS EMPLOYEES? SO WE, WE REALLY STARTED WITH THAT AUDITOR DEPARTMENT DATA.
AND, AND THEY MAY BE, UH, THEY, IT MAY NOT BE A UNIVERSAL APPLICATION BECAUSE THEY HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE ON THEIR STAFF WHOSE MAIN JOB IS REALLY ANALYZING NUMBERS.
AND, UM, I CAN TELL YOU FROM ONE OF THE BUDGET HEARINGS, UM, ONE OF THE ANALYSTS SAID, I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW GRATEFUL I AM THAT I'M NOT CONSTANTLY INTERRUPTED BY PEOPLE POPPING INTO MY OFFICE TO ASK ME QUESTIONS,
SO THEY MAY BE, THEIR, THEIR FINDINGS ARE LIKELY NOT UNIVERSAL, BUT I, I FOUND THEM INSTRUCTIVE IN THAT.
AND THAT WAS THE DATA THAT WE HAD WHEN WE STARTED IT.
UM, I WILL TELL YOU, I'VE NOT HEARD, I MEAN, THERE ARE THE OCCASIONAL COMPLAINTS, BUT I'VE NOT HEARD MORE THAN ONE OR TWO, LIKE I SAID, OCCASIONAL COMPLAINTS OF PEOPLE NOT GETTING THEIR WORK DONE OR, YOU KNOW, NOT MAYBE BEING AS PRODUCTIVE AS THEY COULD.
AND ONE OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING IS IF THE WORK JUST NEEDS TO GET DONE IN A DAY, BUT UM, YOU HAVE A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT IN THE MORNING, YOU CAN STILL GET THAT WORK DONE.
IT JUST HAPPENS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE AT SIX O'CLOCK INSTEAD OF FIVE O'CLOCK.
SO I, I THINK THAT KIND OF FLEXIBILITY HAS BEEN, UM, HAS BEEN VERY WELCOME, UH, BY THE EMPLOYEES, BUT I THINK THERE'S STILL A PRETTY CLEAR EXPECTATION THAT YOU GET YOUR WORK DONE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE NEED IT BY THE END OF THE DAY.
AND THE DEFINITION OF THE END OF THE DAY MAY, YOU KNOW, SLIP BEYOND 5:00 PM AM YOU, YOU HAD ALSO MENTIONED THAT YOU SERVED WITH INTERIM CITY COUNCIL MANAGER GARZA WHILE YOU WERE ON COUNCIL.
UM, HAS THERE BEEN ANY EFFORT BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO REACH OUT TO TRAVIS COUNTY TO TRY TO EXCHANGE IDEAS OR MAYBE IMPLEMENT SOME OF THESE POLICIES? UM, I'VE HAD A COUPLE OF CONVERSATIONS, UM, WITH THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S REACHED OUT TO ANY OF THE OTHER, UM, COUNTY, UH, LEADERSHIP, UH, ABOUT IT.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT HIS, HIS FORMAL COMMUNICATIONS HAVE BEEN, BUT, UM, UM, I'VE OFFERED TO MAKE THE DELOITTE DATA AVAILABLE AS WELL IN ANY OF OUR OTHER DATA.
UH, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL AND THE FOLLOWED BY COMMISSIONER ZA.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SCHAFER JOINING US AND YOU'RE WELCOME.
UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
AND I'M CURIOUS, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ARE JUSTIFIABLY PROUD OF THIS WHOLE PROGRAM.
WHAT DOES LONG-TERM SUCCESS LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS AND SORT OF THREE, FOUR, EVEN 10 YEARS FROM NOW? UM, WHAT WOULD YOU EXPECT THE TELEWORK POLICY TO LOOK LIKE AND HOW MIGHT IT LOOK DIFFERENT, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF WHAT THE DELOITTE FINDINGS MIGHT BRING OUT? YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'VE EXACTLY IDENTIFIED THAT DELOITTE HAS, UH, DOES HAVE SOME SORT OF, I WON'T CALL 'EM BENCHMARKS, BUT THEY DO HAVE THE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, FIVE, 10 YEAR THING.
THEIR WORK IS NOT COMPLETED YET.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S STILL WORK THROUGH THEIR OWN ANALYSIS.
BUT I, I WILL TELL YOU PART OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO ME IS OUR ABILITY TO KEEP GOOD EMPLOYEES OVER TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU ALWAYS FACE A SITUATION WHERE, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY MIGHT GET PAID A LITTLE MORE MONEY AND THEY LEAVE YOU AND THEN ALL THEIR EXPERIENCE WALKS OUT THE DOOR.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALL HAD A LOT OF, AND SEEN A LOT OF THAT WITH THE, THE GREAT RESIGNATION,
[00:35:01]
UM, UH, DURING COVID WHERE I THINK PEOPLE REALLY STARTED EXAMINING, WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE? OR WHY AM I IN THIS JOB? I HATE IT, OR WHATEVER.SO I THINK, UM, PART OF WHAT I BELIEVE WILL BE A MEASURE OF SUCCESS FOR THIS EFFORT IS, UM, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO RETAIN EMPLOYEES, UM, LONG TERM BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GOOD WORK ENVIRONMENT AND THEY'RE, UH, THEY HAVE GREAT, GREAT MORALE AROUND THEIR, THEIR WORK ENVIRONMENT.
UM, I, I HOPE WE CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT OUR REDUCTION IN GREENHOUSE GAS, UM, EMISSIONS.
AND I, UH, PART OF WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE TO ME IS, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO SPREAD THIS, UH, GOOD CONTAGION AND REALLY ENCOURAGE OTHER ENTITIES TO LOOK AT THIS AS, AS A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO, TO DO WHAT WE ALL NEED TO DO, WHICH IS WORK TO REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGE, UM, BUT ALSO TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES WELL AND, AND RECOGNIZE THE THINGS THAT MATTER TO THEM AND, UM, AND WORK WITH THEM ON THAT.
OH, THAT'S A GREAT SEGUE TO MY NEXT QUESTION, WHICH IS, IF YOU HAD ONE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE, GIVEN YOUR ALL'S SUCCESS WITH, YOU KNOW, BOTH OUR CITY GOVERNMENT AND MAYBE THE STATE OFFICIALS WHO MIGHT BE LISTENING, UM, IF THEY ARE, WHAT WOULD YOU SORT OF SUGGEST AS THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT YOU WOULD REALLY SAY IS THE CORE THING THAT HELPED YOU ALL FEEL LIKE YOU GOT TO A SUCCESSFUL PLACE? WELL, I'D SAY THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE IS WE ENGAGED THE, THE, THE, THE MANAGERS IN THE VERY BEGINNING SO THAT THEY ALSO FELT LIKE THEY WERE PART OF THIS.
IT WASN'T FORCED ON THEM, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T SOMETHING WHERE THEY, YOU KNOW, PULLING THEIR HAIR OUT AND SAYING, I, I, I CAN'T EVEN TELL WHAT MY EMPLOYEES ARE DOING.
I MEAN, EVERYBODY WAS IN THAT SAME BOAT.
SO WE HAD A UNIQUE SITUATION THERE, BUT I THINK THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM.
AND THEN I THINK, UM, REALLY LISTENING TO THE EMPLOYEES, BECAUSE WE HAVE THESE ANNUAL, THEY'RE CALLED BUDGET HEARINGS, BUT EMPLOYEES ARE INVITED TO COME AND TALK TO US ABOUT THE BUDGET, ABOUT THEIR NEEDS, THEIR CONCERNS, THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE STRUGGLING WITH, UM, AND WHAT WE HEARD.
UM, AND SO WE DID THE BUDGET HEARINGS REMOTELY, YOU KNOW, DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UM, WE HEARD SO MANY PEOPLE TALK ABOUT HOW GRATEFUL THEY WERE THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO WORK FROM HOME BECAUSE IT ALLOWED THEM TO GET THEIR WORK DONE, UM, AND GET HOME SOONER TO THEIR KIDS OR THEIR FAMILY.
UM, AND IT JUST MADE LIFE A LITTLE EASIER.
ALRIGHT, UH, COMMISSIONER AZAR.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SHA CONGRATULATIONS ON THE AWARD.
I, I THINK ONE THING I'VE HEARD KIND OF CLEARLY IS THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE Y'ALL WERE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT SOME MASSIVE TECHNOLOGY OR SOFTWARE CHANGE APART FROM, I GUESS LOOKING AT LAPTOPS OR SOME, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE WAS NOT A BIG EXPENSE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CHANGE.
AM I UNDERSTANDING THAT CORRECTLY? YOU KNOW, THERE WAS, UM, ALTHOUGH MOST PEOPLE HAD LAPTOPS, NOT EVERYONE DID.
SO THERE WAS EXPENSE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
'CAUSE IT'S HARDER TO JUST PICK UP YOUR BIG C P U UNIT AND YOUR MONITORS AND ALL THAT.
SO IT WAS MUCH EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO USE, UM, LAPTOPS.
UM, AND WE, UH, CALCULATED WITH OUR I T S DEPARTMENT THAT THE, UM, THE COST FOR THE TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES, 'CAUSE THEY HAD TO BUY SOME LAPTOPS.
UH, THEY HAD TO GET SOME EQUIPMENT, UM, I THINK IN SOME CASES THEY HAD TO PAY FOR, UM, BROADBAND.
AND I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT PIECE OF IT, BUT IN GENERAL, THEY CALCULATED THAT OVER THE IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD OF ABOUT A YEAR TO GET EVERYBODY FULLY SITUATED.
UM, THEY SPENT ABOUT $3 MILLION ON THE TECHNOLOGY, UM, UPGRADES, IF YOU WILL, THAT PEOPLE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO WORK FROM HOME.
SO I THINK THAT'S THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH THE LAPTOPS AND WITH ALL THE PERIPHERALS AND THE ADDITIONAL, UH, COMPONENTS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
AND THEY, THEY MAY HAVE HAD TO HIRE ADDITIONAL IT STAFF, I'M NOT REMEMBERING, BUT THEY, THEY CALCULATED THAT IT WAS ABOUT A $3 MILLION COST.
I APPRECIATE THAT, BUT IT WAS ONE TIME.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE AN ONGOING $3 MILLION.
AND, AND TO YOUR POINT, THERE IS ACTUAL ONGOING SAVINGS COMING FROM UTILITIES AND OTHER THINGS, SO THAT'S REALLY EXCITING.
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION SORT OF ACTUALLY LINKS BACK TO SOMETHING COMMISSIONER WOODS HAD ASKED.
I, I THINK I FIND THAT VERY INTERESTING, THE FACT THAT Y'ALL, FOR DEFINING THAT ELIGIBILITY, Y'ALL REALLY WORK WITH THE SUPERVISORS TO HAVE THEM DECIDE HOW TO FIGURE OUT ELIGIBILITY AND THEN WORK WITHIN THAT GOAL.
[00:40:01]
WAS A LOT OF SORT OF THOUGHT BEHIND DOING IT THAT WAY RATHER THAN HAVING A ONE SIZE FITS ALL POLICY.DO YOU WANNA SHARE, I KNOW YOU ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THIS PIECE, BUT DO YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT PROVIDING THAT FLEXIBILITY, IT SOUNDS LIKE, FOR TEAMS TO DEFINE THEIR OWN ABILITY TO WORK AND ABILITY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS BEST FOR THEM? YEAH, AND THAT, AND THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE WE, EACH DEPARTMENT OBVIOUSLY HAD A DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION.
SO THE AUDITOR'S DEPARTMENT HAD ALREADY BEEN DOING IT.
THE MAJORITY OF THEIR STAFF WORKED REMOTELY BEFORE THE PANDEMIC BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO COME INTO THE OFFICE TO DO THEIR WORK.
AND MANY OF THEM WERE ABLE TO CONCENTRATE AND GET THEIR WORK DONE MORE EFFICIENTLY WORKING REMOTELY.
SO THEY WERE A, A PARTICULAR FLAVOR, IF YOU WILL.
I MEAN, NOT EVERYBODY'S LIKE YOUR, UH, YOUR AUDITOR'S DEPARTMENT.
UM, THE IT DEPARTMENT HAD, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, OF SIMILARITIES, UM, TRANSPORTATION NATURAL RESOURCES, WHICH I THINK IS WHY IT WAS PICKED AS THE PILOT KIND OF HAD THE SPECTRUM.
AND, UM, THERE WERE VERY CLEAR EQUITY ISSUES THAT WERE PRETTY OBVIOUS FROM THE BEGINNING, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY LOVED WORKING REMOTELY AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, JUST A GREAT QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENT FOR THEM, YOU KNOW, AND THEN THERE WERE ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT HAD TO COME INTO WORK EVERY DAY AND THEY WERE KINDA LIKE, WELL, WHAT ABOUT ME? SO, UM, BE, I THINK BECAUSE WE DID GIVE OUR MANAGERS THAT FLEXIBILITY AND SAID, YOU DECIDE, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW BEST, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR STAFF BEST.
WE HAD, UM, WE HAD JUST A MORE SUCCESSFUL START TO IT.
SO WE DIDN'T HAVE RESISTANCE FROM THE MANAGEMENT LEVEL.
UM, I THINK THE EMPLOYEES MOSTLY FELT LIKE, I HAVEN'T HEARD MANY COMPLAINTS FROM EMPLOYEES LIKE, WELL, WHY DIDN'T I GET PICKED TO WORK REMOTELY? I THINK FOR MOST PEOPLE IT WAS CLEAR WHY THEY HAD TO COME IN, UH, TO DO THEIR WORK.
UM, BUT THAT'S ALSO WHY THE, THE EQUITY QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE PUT TO DELOITTE I THINK ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.
SORT OF HOW DO WE BALANCE THAT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T GET TO, UH, PARTAKE IN THE, UH, IN THE REMOTE WORK.
BUT I THINK PART OF THE KEY WAS STARTING WITH THE MANAGERS AND SAYING, YOU, YOU, YOU DECIDE, UM, WHO'S ELIGIBLE AND THEN HOW YOU WANT TO HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP.
IF YOU FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, HALF YOUR STAFF IS ELIGIBLE, BUT YOU NEED 'EM TO COME IN TWICE A MONTH, THAT'S YOUR CALL.
'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA BE MOST EFFECTIVE FOR YOUR OPERATIONS.
AND SO I THINK THAT THAT ALLOWED IT TO UNFOLD IN AN ORGANIC WAY WHERE IT WASN'T ONE SIZE FIT ALL, UM, AND PEOPLE HAD FLEXIBILITY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
I, AGAIN, I THINK THAT TRULY SOUNDS LIKE ONE OF THE KEY THINGS IS PROVIDING THAT FLEXIBILITY BECAUSE TO YOUR POINT, THERE MIGHT BE FOLKS WHO NEED TO COME IN ONE DAY OR TWO DAY OR THREE, THERE'S SO MANY PERMUTATIONS IN COMBINATIONS.
IT'S HARD TO SORT OF DEFINE IN A POLICY.
AND I THINK BECAUSE WE STARTED IT EARLY ON, WE ADOPTED THIS POLICY IN MAY OF 2020.
WE'D ONLY BEEN IN THE PANDEMIC FOR, YOU KNOW, TWO MONTHS, TWO AND A HALF MONTHS.
AND SO PEOPLE HADN'T, UH, ESTABLISHED AN EXPECTATION THAT IT WOULD ALWAYS BE THIS WAY.
AND IT WAS A VERY PUBLIC DISCUSSION.
WE HAD, WE HAD BRIEFINGS IN, IN COURT AND VERY, UH, YOU KNOW, PUBLICLY ADOPTED THE POLICY.
SO, UM, PEOPLE WOULD'VE HEARD ABOUT IT AND, UM, KNEW THAT WE WERE SETTING THIS POLICY.
AND MY LAST SORT OF 30 SECONDS, I GUESS, IS DELOITTE ALSO GOING TO BE LOOKING AT, UM, SEEING THE, THE IMPACT THAT THIS HAS ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT? IT SOUNDS LIKE RECRUITMENT, THERE MIGHT BE AN IMPACT ALREADY, BUT IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD BE LOOKING INTO? YOU KNOW, I CAN'T REMEMBER IF WE SPECIFICALLY CHARGED THEM TO LOOK AT THAT, BUT WE'VE, WE'VE GOT DATA THAT OUR OWN, UH, HR DEPARTMENT IS COLLECTING FROM, UM, JOB POSTINGS.
SO THEY HAVE RESPONSE TO JOB POSTINGS PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC AND THEN RESPONSE TO JOB POSTINGS.
UM, SINCE WE'VE ADOPTED THIS, UM, REMOTE WORK POLICY AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO INDICATE THAT THEY ARE INTERESTED IN THE POSITION BECAUSE OF OUR REMOTE WORK POLICY.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE ABLE TO GATHER THAT DATA INTERNALLY AND HAVE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN TRACKING IT.
I HAVE COMMISSIONER CONLEY AND THEN COMMISSIONER ANDERSON, THEN COMMISSIONER COX.
SO WE WILL, I'LL LOOK FOR IF THERE'S ANY OBJECTIONS TO, UM, ALLOWING FOR MORE Q AND A FROM, I'D HEARD THAT COMMISSIONER HAYNES WAS GONNA HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS FOR ME.
UH, 'CAUSE WE'LL RUN OUT OF T NO.
WE'LL, UH, ANY OBJECTIONS TO EXTENDING OUR NUMBER OF QUESTIONS? OKAY, SO THE ORDER AGAIN, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER CONLEY, ANDERSON, AND COX, AND THEN I'M SURE WE'LL KEEP
[00:45:01]
ADDING ON AFTER THAT.COMMISSIONER HAYNES, DO YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS? I'M IN 10 SECONDS.
WE'LL PUT YOU, I'M GONNA PUT YOU IN LINE AFTER COMMISSIONER ANDERSON AND THERE MAY BE OTHERS.
SO LET'S, UH, COMMISSIONER CONWAY.
UM, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION AND THIS, UM, EXPLANATION OF WHAT THE COUNTY IS DOING.
AND OF COURSE, UH, I HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS HERE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO ASK OUR OWN, UM, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
AND I HOPE THAT SOMEONE FROM OUR OWN CITY MANAGER CAN SO SOON, UM, BE HERE TO ANSWER SOME OF OUR QUESTIONS AS WELL.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE OF THE KEY QUESTIONS THAT I'M LOOKING AT IS I'M REALLY LOOKING AT AUSTIN'S STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
AND YOU KNOW, WE HAVE IT HERE OUTLINED AS ONE OF OUR PRIMARY TRANSPORTATION GOALS IS TO REACH 50% OF ALL TRIPS MADE THROUGH NONS SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES BY 2040.
AND CENSUS DATA SHOWS US THAT THERE'S BEEN, DUE TO WORK FROM HOME INCREASE DURING THE PANDEMIC, A S UH, A VERY MEANINGFUL SURGE IN NONS SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE TRIPS IN AUSTIN.
IN OTHER WORDS, UM, THAT SURGE HAS BROUGHT US CLOSER TO MEETING OUR STRATEGIC MOBILITY GOALS AS A CITY.
UM, HOWEVER, I'M WORRIED, YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS ONE OF THE LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN THE REGION AND I THINK THERE'S ABOUT 17,000 PEOPLE EMPLOYED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO I'M THINKING VERY MUCH ABOUT HOW WE WOULD EVER MEET THAT GOAL IF WE DON'T, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF WE DON'T ALLOW FOR SOME KIND OF CONTINUATION OF TELEWORK AND WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND I WAS CURIOUS, DO YOU GUYS TRACK OR DID YOU TRACK THE, UH, SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE TRIPS? AND I KNOW YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE THIS DATA ON HAND RIGHT NOW FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES BEFORE, UM, UH, BEFORE THE PANDEMIC OR BEFORE THE TELEWORK STARTED? I DON'T THINK WE HAD GRANULAR LEVEL DATA.
I THINK WE PROBABLY HAD, YOU KNOW, THE SORT OF CENSUS TRACK DATA OR TRIP COUNT DATA, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAD IT PER EMPLOYEE.
UM, BUT I'M REALLY GLAD THAT YOU ALL ARE TRACKING IT AND, AND, UM, GLAD TO HEAR HOW MUCH THE REMOTE WORK, UM, PRACTICE AT THE CITY HAS CONTRIBUTED TO YOU HELPING, HELPING YOU MEET YOUR, YOUR MOBILITY GOAL.
BUT I DON'T, I DON'T THINK WE, IT'S POSSIBLE WE HAVE THE DATA AND I JUST DON'T KNOW IT.
AND, AND I ALSO, AND THIS IS NOT A QUIZ, BUT
SO IT'S A VERY MEANINGFUL, I THINK, POLICY TOWARDS REACHING OUR OWN CITY GOALS.
AND THEN OF COURSE, I THINK I LOOK AT THE SCALE OF THE AMOUNT THE CITY EMPLOYS, AND I'M VERY WORRIED ABOUT THOSE GOALS.
AND I KNOW THAT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, OUR RATE OF, UH, TRIPS, UH, FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES WAS VERY HIGH, UM, FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.
SO I'M DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IF WE TELL 17,000 PEOPLE IN AUSTIN THAT THEY HAVE TO GET BACK IN THEIR CARS EVERY DAY, UM, AND DRIVE HERE.
UM, AND SORRY, I'M, I DON'T MEAN TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS ABOUT, THAT'S QUITE THE CITY'S PLANS.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, I JUST KIND OF REALLY THINKING ABOUT THAT AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THE SCALE OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY LOCALLY.
AND ALSO THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN HAS THIS OTHER ITEM THAT I HIGHLIGHTED THAT SAYS, STRENGTHEN CITY OF AUSTIN POLICY TO SUPPORT TELEWORKING AND PROVIDE EMPLOYEES WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE SHARED WORK SITES CLOSE TO WHERE EMPLOYEES LIVE, UM, PROVIDE EMPLOYEES WITH TECHNOLOGY TO WORK REMOTELY.
AND THIS SEEMS TO ALSO BE VERBATIM IN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLANS THAT THE CITY HAS ADOPTED.
DID THE COUNTY HAVE PLANS OF THAT SORT OF ITS OWN BEFORE OR WERE YOU GUYS SORT OF FORCED INTO THIS BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC? WE, WE HAVE, UM, A MOBILITY PLAN.
I DON'T THINK IT'S AS DETAILED AS AS THE CITIES.
UM, AND UM, I CAN'T RECALL MUCH DETAIL FROM IT.
UM, BUT UM, THIS WAS CERTAINLY IN KEEPING WITH SORT OF LARGER, UM, I'D SAY A LARGER ETHOS AT THE COUNTY.
UM, THERE'S A VERY DEFINITE, UM, COMMITMENT AT THE COUNTY TO WORKING TO REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGE.
SO THIS OBVIOUSLY FIT IN WITH THAT.
UM, I'D SAY THE COUNTY HAS A VERY, UM, EMPLOYEE FRIENDLY, UM, GENERAL OPERATING PROCEDURE MM-HMM.
UM, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE GIVE OUR MANAGERS A LOT OF AGENCY AND SO THIS WORKED WELL WITH THAT MM-HMM.
UM, BUT I DON'T THINK WE HAVE THE LEVEL OF, UM, SPECIFICITY IN A, IN A MOBILITY PLAN LIKE THE CITY DOES.
THE CITY REALLY IS IS IS AHEAD OF US ON A LOT OF ISSUES ON THE PLAN MAKING AT LEAST
UM, AND, UH, SO SIMILARLY, THERE WEREN'T NECESSARILY ENVIRONMENTAL OR, OR CLIMATE GOALS ESTABLISHED ON THE COUNTY SIDE, OR WE HAD, UM, COMPLETED
[00:50:01]
OUR GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY IN 2019 AND THAT WAS WHEN WE IDENTIFIED, UM, AGAIN, THAT'S SORT OF GENERICALLY TRUE.IT'S YOUR LARGE BUILDINGS THAT ARE THE GREATEST, UH, SOURCE OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BECAUSE OF THE ENERGY IT TAKES TO HEAT AND COOL AND LIGHT THEM.
SO THAT WAS OUR TOP, UH, SOURCE.
THE NEXT WAS, UH, EMPLOYEE COMMUTE AND THAT WAS TIED WITH OUR, UM, FLEET EMISSIONS.
UM, SO WE HAD A GENERAL GOAL OF FIRST IDENTIFYING OUR SOURCES AND THEN WORKING TO REDUCE THEM.
AND WE'VE ADOPTED A GOAL OF, I THINK THIS IS EMBARRASSING, I SHOULD REMEMBER THIS OF ALL PEOPLE, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING LIKE 50% REDUCTION BY 2030 OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT, UM, HEADWAY PROGRESS ON THAT.
SO IN ADDITION TO THE, UH, GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION WITH THE EMPLOYEE COMMUTE, WE'RE ALSO TRANSITIONING TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN OUR FLEET.
UM, SO THAT COMBINED WITH THE, UH, ENERGY REDUCTION, THE BUILDINGS, SO COMMUTE WASN'T THERE.
UH, IF THE EMPLOYEE COMMUTE CHANGES WEREN'T THERE, THEN LIKELY THAT PROGRESS TOWARDS THOSE GOALS WOULD NOT BE ABSOLUTELY.
AND SAME WITH AN INCREASE IN THE BUILDING ENERGY USE.
WHILE I, OH, TWO MINUTES, BUT I WAS GONNA SAY ACTUALLY OUR CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN OF THIS CITY ALSO SAYS THAT TELEWORKING IS TO BE ENCOURAGED TO ENSURE THAT WE MEET OUR CLIMATE EQUITY GOALS.
SO THE ORDER WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER COX WILL BE NEXT, UH, FOLLOWED BY, UH, COMMISSIONERS ANDERSON AND HAYNES.
AND THEN, UH, VICE CHAIR, DO YOU WANT NEED TO OKAY.
AND THEN, UH, VICE CHAIR HEMPEL.
I'LL TRY TO KEEP THIS SHORT BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE
I'M A HUGE FAN OF FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE POLICIES.
I TAKE VERY MUCH ADVANTAGE OF MY OWN EMPLOYER'S, UH, FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE AND POL POLICY.
BUT I WANNA ASK SOMETHING THAT HASN'T BEEN MENTIONED YET THAT I HAVEN'T HEARD A LOT ABOUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THESE POLICIES ARE LARGELY FOCUSED ON THE EMPLOYEES, UH, THE HAPPINESS OF EMPLOYEES, THE PRODUCT PRODUCTIVITY OF EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND GOVERNMENTS ARE UNIQUELY PI POSITIONED IN THAT THEY PROVIDE SERVICES TO THEIR CITIZENS AND OFTENTIMES THEY'RE THE SOLE SERVICE PROVIDER OF THOSE SERVICES.
AND SO I'M CURIOUS, UM, THIS IS KIND OF A TWOFOLD QUESTION.
I'M CURIOUS TO UNDERSTAND, UM, IF YOU'RE ALSO TRACKING AND TRYING TO, UM, UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THE COUNTY SERVICES AS IT RELATES TO THE PUBLIC AND THE QUALITY, WHETHER IT'S INCREASING OR DECREASING OF THOSE SERVICES, UM, WITH THE PUBLIC.
BUT THEN ALSO THE SECOND PART OF THAT QUESTION IS, I, I FEEL LIKE, AND I'M HAPPY THAT I, THAT, THAT THE PANDEMIC SEEMS TO HAVE FORCED A LOT OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO KIND OF, UH, ACCELERATE SOME OF THE SERVICES THEY PROVIDE TO THE DIGITAL ERA AND PROVIDE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY, THEY DID, UH, ONLY IN PERSON ONLINE AND MAYBE 24 HOURS AND THAT SORT OF STUFF.
AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THOSE TWO THINGS AS IT RELATES TO THE COUNTY'S TRACKING OF THIS, UM, AND, AND YOUR FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE POLICY.
UM, WE, UM, WE HAVE AN EQUITY OFFICER AND PART OF THEIR, UM, JOB INVOLVES SURVEYING, UM, THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE QUALITY OF, OF, UH, GOVERNMENT SERVICES AT THE COUNTY.
WE DON'T LIKE HAVE THE FULL, UM, I GUESS RESULTS BACK, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALL CONSCIOUS OF.
UM, AND I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT, IT HAS HASTENED THE TRANSITION TO THE DIGITAL WORLD.
AND I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU JUST ONE EXAMPLE.
UM, WE HAVE THE, THE TRAVIS COUNTY TAX OFFICE AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHERE THE GREATEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE WOULD HAVE, UH, SORT OF THE LEAST HAPPY EXPERIENCE WITH COUNTY GOVERNMENT
'CAUSE THEY HAVE TO COME IN TO PAY THEIR TAXES OR COME IN TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR CAR TITLE OR SOME FUNCTION LIKE THAT.
UM, AND FOR YEARS, OUR TAX ASSESSOR AND COLLECTOR BRUCE ELFANT HAS BEEN BEGGING PEOPLE TO PAY THEIR TAXES ONLINE TO TAKE, TO DO THEIR TRANSACTIONS ONLINE BECAUSE IT'S JUST NOT A HAPPY EXPERIENCE TO DRIVE DOWN TO THE TAX OFFICE AND IN A WAIT IN LINE WITH LOTS OF OTHER PEOPLE TO, UH, PAY YOUR TAXES OR DO WHATEVER.
AND SO THEY, I THINK WE'VE NOW PRETTY DRAMATICALLY INCREASED THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PAYING THEIR TAXES ONLINE AND ARE, WHO ARE USING ONLINE SERVICES FOR, UM, THAT OFFICE.
'CAUSE THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE BUSIEST
[00:55:01]
AREAS WHERE THE GENERAL PUBLIC COMES IN CONTACT WITH, UM, COUNTY GOVERNMENT.AND THAT ONE WAS A DIFFICULT ONE FOR US.
IT WAS, UM, IT WAS A REAL EXPERIMENT.
I THINK WE WERE THE FIRST PLACE IN THE COUNTRY THAT CONDUCTED A JURY TRIAL ONLINE.
AND, UM, THANKFULLY, UH, NOBODY HAD THE CAT FILTER ON THEIR PHONE,
SO NOBODY, NOBODY APPEARED ON SCREEN AS A TALKING CAT.
BUT, UH, BUT THERE WERE DEFINITE HICCUPS.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE'S, UH, KIDS COME IN THE ROOM OR THEIR DOGS OR CATS COME IN THE ROOM, WHATEVER.
SO THERE WERE, THERE WERE DEFINITE ISSUES THERE, ALTHOUGH I THINK BY AND LARGE IT WAS CONSIDERED, UM, SUCCESSFUL ENOUGH TO BE WORKABLE.
AND SO WE TRIED TO DO, WE TRIED TO DO AS MANY OF THOSE COURT FUNCTIONS AS WE COULD, BUT IT WAS DIFFICULT WITH JURY TRIALS.
AND SO A LOT OF THEM GOT, GOT BACKLOGGED.
UM, THAT'S A HARD ONE TO DO ALL VIRTUALLY.
UM, THE JAIL IS ANOTHER UNHAPPY PLACE WHERE PEOPLE HAVE CONTACT WITH THE COUNTY AND OBVIOUSLY THAT CAN'T BE VIRTUAL
AND SO, UM, UH, AND THEN WE, WE, WE HAVE, UH, COMMUNITY CENTERS WHERE WE PROVIDE A LOT OF, UM, BASIC NEEDS SERVICES.
WE, WE ESSENTIALLY OPERATE FOOD PANTRIES OUT OF ALL OF OUR COUNTY COMMUNITY CENTERS.
UH, WE PROVIDE, UM, RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UM, VOUCHERS, THAT KIND OF THING.
AND THAT REQUIRED PERSONAL CONTACT, ALTHOUGH THEY TRIED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT SAFELY WITH, YOU KNOW, SHOPPING CARTS, PUSHED OUT WITH THE GROCERIES AND THEM AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, BUT THE ESSENTIAL WORKERS WERE THE ONES WHO WERE REQUIRED FOR PROVIDING THOSE KINDS OF SERVICES, UH, TO THE PUBLIC THAT COULDN'T BE DONE VIRTUALLY.
AND THOSE CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC.
WE HAD TO MAKE MODIFICATIONS WITH THEM.
BUT, UM, I THINK A LOT OF THE OTHER SERVICES HAVE SHIFTED TO ONLINE AND HAVE MOSTLY BEEN SATISFACTORY, I GUESS, BECAUSE PEOPLE, A LOT OF THE CONTACT PEOPLE HAD DURING THAT PERIOD WAS VIRTUAL.
UH, SO AGAIN, IT WASN'T LIKE IT WAS SOMETHING COMPLETELY UNIQUE OR DIFFERENT.
IT WAS PART OF THE EXPERIENCE THAT MOST PEOPLE WERE HAVING, UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC.
AND WE'VE EXPLAINED TO PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE, UH, AN AWARD-WINNING REMOTE WORK POLICY AND AS A RESULT WE'RE CONDUCTING A LOT OF OUR, UM, NON-ESSENTIAL, UM, NON NEEDED TO BE FACE-TO-FACE WORK WE'RE CONDUCTING VIRTUALLY.
AND I THINK MOST PEOPLE HAVE BEEN OKAY WITH IT.
MAYBE NOT ALL THRILLED ABOUT IT, BUT I THINK OKAY WITH IT AND UNDERSTANDING IT AND ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HEAR WHY AND THE BENEFITS OF IT.
ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONER ANDERSON.
HEY COMMISSIONER, THANK YOU FOR SPENDING THE EVENING WITH US.
YEAH, AS YOU KNOW, I WAS JUST WITH YOU AND I JUST WALKED HOME AND I'M ABLE TO LIVE WITH NO CAR AND LOW UTILITY BILLS, UM, IN HOUSING THAT IS ILLEGAL TO BUILD IN MOST OF AUSTIN.
AND YOU MENTIONED THE TWO DRIVERS OF EMISSIONS BEING HEAT LIGHTING, BUILDINGS, WEIGHT COMMUTES, AND THE BERKELEY COOL CLIMATE CALCULATOR CLEARLY BACKS YOU UP, SHOWING ME THE CLOSER ONE LIVES TO THE CITY CENTER, THE LOWER THEIR CARBON FOOTPRINT.
BUT SADLY, AUSTIN'S 1984 LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE DOESN'T ALLOW FOR THE MOST SUSTAINABLE AND AFFORDABLE TYPES OF HOUSING OR OFFICE DEVELOPMENT TO BE BUILT OVER THE VAST MAJORITY OF AUSTIN, DESPITE COUNCIL'S BEST INTENTIONS TO UPDATE IT WITH LAWSUITS, STOPPING THEM SEEMINGLY EVERY TURN.
SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, WHEN DOES THE COUNTY GET UPSET WITH THE CITY FOR NOT MAKING BETTER PROGRESS ON LEGALIZING RESPONSIBLE LAND USE? WELL, UH, AS YOU KNOW, THE COUNTY HAS, UH, ZERO ZONING AUTHORITY.
AND I CAN JUST TELL YOU I'M PERSONALLY GRATEFUL ABOUT THAT.
'CAUSE IT'S LIKE THE TALMUD, UH, TIMES 10.
YOU JUST, THERE'S SO MANY EXCEPTIONS AND EXTRA PROVISIONS AND, UH, UNKNOWN CHAPTERS.
SO, UM, UH, BUT BECAUSE COUNTIES DON'T HAVE ANY LAND USE AUTHORITY, UM, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A PROBLEM OF A DIFFERENT SORT WHICH IS COMPLETELY UNREGULATED DEVELOPMENT HAPPENING IN THE COUNTY.
UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE CALLING UP AND COMPLAINING ABOUT THEIR NEIGHBOR HAVING A DIE NEXT TO THEM OR WHATEVER.
UM, AND SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE PROBABLY EXPERIENCED THE EX THE, THE EXACT OPPOSITE, WHICH IS VERY FEW REGULATIONS AND ZERO ABILITY TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IT'S APPROPRIATE TO HAVE AN ADULT, YOU KNOW, NIGHTCLUB NEXT TO A DAYCARE OR WHATEVER.
SO, UM, I I, I DON'T THINK THAT THE COUNTY IS UNHAPPY THAT THE CITY HASN'T, UM, OUTLAWED SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING AND ITS THRIVING URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, BUT, UM, LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE, WE HAVE OTHER ISSUES TO DEAL WITH, UH, IN THE COUNTY BECAUSE OF OUR, OUR LACK OF ABILITY,
[01:00:01]
UM, TO REGULATE THINGS.BUT, UM, I WILL SAY THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF LAND, UM, IN THAT, UH, AREA THAT RINGS THE CITY.
UM, MUCH OF IT'S STILL INSIDE THE, THE CITY LIMITS, UM, THAT IS AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF LAND IN THE COUNTY, UM, THAT'S STILL OPEN AND AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT THAT'S NOT, UM, AN HOUR.
I GUESS THE GOAL OF, YOU KNOW, AS THE GOAL IS TO INCREASE EMISSIONS, WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK TO BUILD OUT THERE.
I THINK THE GOAL WOULD BE MORE TO DECREASE EMISSIONS.
AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, I KNOW YOU JUST MENTIONED SOME OF THE CENTRAL CITY NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE NOW OUT OF THE PRICE RANGE OF THE VAST MAJORITY OF COUNTY AND CITY WORKERS.
AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, LIKE WHAT, WHAT CONVERSATIONS MIGHT THERE BE BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND THE CITY ABOUT HOW TO LEGALIZE MORE FORMS OF HOUSING THAT ARE AFFORDABLE TO COUNTY WORKERS AND NOT CONTINUING TO PUSH THEM OUT? UM, AGAIN, BECAUSE THE COUNTY DOESN'T HAVE ANY LAND USE POWERS, WE CAN TALK ALL WE WANT ABOUT IT, BUT THERE'S NOT MUCH WE CAN DO ABOUT IT WITH REGARD TO LAND USE.
UM, WE ARE ACTUALLY, UH, PARTNERING WITH DEVELOPERS TO BUILD OVER 12,000 UNITS OF, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, 70% OF IT AT 60%, UH, A M I AND BELOW.
SO WE ARE, WE'RE BEING VERY AGGRESSIVE ABOUT OUR, UH, OUR EFFORTS TO TRY AND PRODUCE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
BUT I, I WILL SAY THE BIGGEST COST IS THE LAND.
AND, UM, THE FURTHER OUT YOU GO, THE CHEAPER THE LAND GETS.
SO, I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S A HUGE FUNCTION OF THE DRIVERS OF EXPENSIVE HOUSING IS, IS THE LAND COST.
SO, UM, I MEAN IT'S, I I, I DON'T KNOW HOW, HOW WE FIX THIS, ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY WE'VE MADE AN EFFORT TO LIMIT THE ABILITY OF INVESTORS IN, UH, PARTICULARLY WHERE WE HAVE, UH, PIS, UM, WHICH ARE A FINANCING FUNCTION MOSTLY FOR, UH, SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND WE'VE MADE A VERY CONCERTED EFFORT TO LIMIT THE ABILITY OF INVESTORS TO COME IN AND BUY THOSE HOUSES AND PERMANENTLY REMOVE THEM FROM HOME OWNERSHIP AND CREATE, UH, PERMANENT RENTALS OUT OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
UM, AND THAT'S, TO ME, THAT'S ANOTHER PROBLEM.
I MEAN, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION DID A BIG STUDY ON THIS AND FOUND THAT OVER 50% OF ALL NEW SINGLE FAMILY HOMES WERE BEING PERMANENTLY REMOVED FROM HOME OWNERSHIP BY INVESTMENT GROUPS, BUYING THEM UP AND TURNING THEM INTO PERMANENT RENTALS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF MARKET FORCES AT WORK, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S JUST A ZONING ISSUE, BUT I, I KNOW YOU AND I PROBABLY DISAGREE ON SOME OF THAT.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
AND, AND I HAVE HEARD ALSO THAT A LOT OF THOSE GROUPS THAT ARE BUYING THOSE HOMES CITE THE OVERREGULATION OF CITY AND THE FACT THAT THEY DON'T ALLOW THE HOUSING TO BE BUILT, BUT THEIR WORKFORCE NEEDS.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THOSE HOMES ARE MORE ATTRACTED TO THEM.
BUT HOPEFULLY WE GET THERE AND EVENTUALLY HAVE A CODE THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE AND NOT JUST THE FEW.
UH, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, YOU'RE NEXT.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO MY COMMISSIONER
WE LIVE IN ONE OF THOSE THRIVING URBAN, WE LIVE IN NEIGHBORHOODS, WHICH I HAVE TO SAY IS THE ENVY OF MANY LARGE CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.
WE STILL HAVE HEALTHY, THRIVING, MIDDLE CLASS URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS, AND I DON'T KNOW WHY WE'D WANNA DESTROY THEM.
THANK YOU AS ALWAYS TO MY COMMISSIONER FOR BRINGING UP THOSE.
BUT I DID WANNA SAY, UM, AS I WAS TOLD TO SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED
THAT WAS THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES THAT YOU GOT THE AWARD FROM.
BUT, UH, BUT I KNOW YOU HAD A LONG DAY TODAY, AND I, I REALLY JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU.
UH, AND I WANNA SAY THANK YOU, UH, TO, TO YOUR I G R STAFF.
YOU'VE GOT GREAT STAFF AT THE COUNTY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I'M, THIS IS, I'VE GOT A VERY BRIEF QUESTION, UM, IN THINKING ABOUT WORKING FROM HOME, I'M IN THE DESIGN INDUSTRY, SO, UM, FOR US IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT I'M, I'M CURIOUS, THERE'S MENTORSHIP NEEDS, THERE'S TRAINING NEEDS.
HAS THE COUNTY HAD TO BE INNOVATIVE IN, UM, IN BRIDGING THAT GAP BETWEEN WORKING FROM HOME AND
[01:05:01]
TRAINING UP NEW EMPLOYEES AND INTERNS AND YOUNGER STAFF? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.AND THAT, AND THAT DEFINITELY IS AN ISSUE.
UM, IN SOME DEPARTMENTS, THAT'S WHERE THEY WILL JUST SAY, LOOK, WE, WE NEED PEOPLE TO COME IN ONCE A WEEK, UM, OR IF YOU ARE ONBOARDING A NEW EMPLOYEE, UM, WE WANNA PAIR YOU WITH ANOTHER PERSON THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'D BE WORKING WITH IN THE DEPARTMENT, UH, IN A KIND OF A MENTORING RELATIONSHIP.
SO AGAIN, WE'VE GIVEN THEM A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY TO DETERMINE HOW THEY WILL STRUCTURE THESE KINDS OF THINGS.
BUT ONBOARDING PEOPLE IS, IS A, IS A DEFINITE ISSUE.
UM, AND WE, UH, MAKE A LOT OF USE OF SS A P, WHICH I THINK IS A VERY LARGE SOFTWARE, UH, ENTITY, AND THEY HAVE A TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF TRAINING MODULES.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN UTILIZING A LOT OF, OF THOSE, UH, KINDS OF THINGS TO TRY AND GET PEOPLE TRAINED UP.
I MEAN, AND I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL EXPERIENCING THIS, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF REQUIREMENT FOR CYBERSECURITY TRAINING, UM, SO THAT PEOPLE DON'T ACCIDENTALLY TELL, YOU KNOW, CLICK ON SOME THING IN THEIR EMAIL AND, AND THEN, UH, CAUSE A HUGE PROBLEM.
BUT THERE'S A, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FOR ONLINE TRAINING AS WELL.
BUT, UH, YOU'RE RIGHT WITH ONBOARDING PEOPLE AND, UH, INTERNS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, WE DO TRY AND STRUCTURE IT SO THAT, UM, THE MANAGERS CAN DETERMINE WHAT THEY NEED TO MAKE THAT SITUATION WORK.
UM, I HAVE, UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE THIS MOMENT TO ASK MY QUESTION.
A LOT OF THEM HAVE BEEN ANSWERED JUST BY, UH, THE QUESTIONS MY, UH, FELLOW COMMISSIONER SAID.
BUT, UM, I'VE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WORKING FOR THE CITY AND THEN, UH, WITH UT AUSTIN RIGHT NOW, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, THE, WHAT I FOUND IS THERE WERE A LOT OF STRUCTURAL TYPE REQUIREMENTS ON YOUR TELEWORK SPACE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE COMPUTER YOU HAD, AND I FOUND THAT KIND OF LOOSENED UP.
IS DELOITTE KIND OF, DO YOU, WHAT ARE THE POLICIES ABOUT THE EMPLOYEE'S WORKSPACE? ARE YOU GUYS STILL HAVE SOME RIGID REQUIREMENTS ABOUT THEIR WORKSPACE AT THEIR HOME? OR HAS THAT KIND OF BEEN PULLED BACK LIKE I'VE SEEN IN SOME OF THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS? NO, I THINK THEY'VE BEEN VERY FLEXIBLE.
UM, AGAIN, I THINK BECAUSE SO MUCH OF THIS DEVELOPED ORGANICALLY, UM, PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WIGGLED AROUND, I GUESS AT THE BEGINNING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WOULD ACTUALLY WORK.
YOU KNOW, IN SOME CASES PEOPLE DISCOVERED, I HAVE REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE CHAIRS AND I JUST CAN'T SIT IN THEM ALL DAY, SO CAN I GET AN A, A CHAIR FROM THE OFFICE? OR CAN I BUY ONE? AND, AND THEN YOU COVER THE COST OF IT.
AND SO THAT WAS PART OF THAT 3 MILLION AS WELL.
THERE, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF CASES, I THINK, WHERE PEOPLE JUST HAD UNWORKABLE UNCOMFORTABLE OFFICE CHAIRS AT HOME.
SO, UM, BUT WE HAVEN'T, I DON'T THINK WE'VE DICTATED ANYTHING EXCEPT THAT, UM, WE'VE BEEN CLEAR YOU CAN'T, YOU KNOW, BE DOING ACTIVE CHILDCARE, DOING DURING YOUR WORK HOURS WHEN YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING.
UM, AND YOU, YOU CAN'T BE DOING OTHER THINGS THAT CLEARLY REQUIRE YOUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM YOUR JOB.
UM, BUT BEYOND THAT, WE REALLY HAVEN'T HAD, YOU KNOW, PRESCRIPTIVE IDEAS OF WHAT YOUR OFFICE SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
I MEAN, I THINK IN SOME CASES, IF, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY HAD LIKE A REALLY MESSY CLOSET
BUT I CAN'T THINK OF ANY EXAMPLES WHERE THERE'S BEEN ANY REQUIREMENTS FOR IT.
AND THEN I WAS, UH, HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF, UH, HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH A NEW EMPLOYEE AT, UH, UT AND WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT WHERE WE GREW UP.
AND, UH, SHE SAILED AT EL PASO, AND I WAS LIKE, OH, THAT'S WHERE I GREW UP.
AND STARTED SHARING STORIES ABOUT STREETS.
WE KNEW, AND THEN I, SO WHERE ARE YOU LIVING HERE IN AUSTIN NOW? SHE GOES, I'M NOT, I STILL LIVE IN EL PASO.
SO, UM, WHAT REALLY WAS A PARADIGM SHIFT FOR ME IS THERE'S CERTAIN POSITIONS THAT YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE TO COME IN AND YOU CAN WORK FROM ANYWHERE.
AND A BIG PART WAS SHE COULD NOT AFFORD THE HOUSING COST HERE IN AUSTIN FOR THAT MOVE.
AND I THINK WE'RE SEEING MORE OF THAT AT THE UNIVERSITY, UH, BUT ABSOLUTELY.
ARE THERE ANY LIMITATIONS TO KIND OF WHERE YOU NEED, DO YOU NEED TO BE IN TEXAS OR HAVE YOU GUYS, WE HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT A LEGAL WAY FOR EMPLOYEES TO WORK OUT OF STATE.
BUT BEYOND THAT, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF PEOPLE WHO MAY WORK IN OTHER CITIES.
I MEAN, WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO WORK IN SUBURBAN CITIES IN ALL, ALL AROUND CENTRAL TEXAS.
[01:10:01]
AND THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH THAT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ON CALL.UM, THEY HAVE TO WORK THAT OUT LOGISTICALLY SO THAT THEY CAN GET IN WITHIN THE, UH, REQUIRED TIME FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND, TO BE ON CALL.
AND THEY, THEY WORK THAT IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
BUT WE'VE, I THINK, I THINK THE KEY TO A LOT OF THE SUCCESS HAS BEEN, WE'VE GIVEN PEOPLE A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY.
UH, I AM LOOKING AROUND TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY MORE HANDS UP.
I THINK WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE, I THINK, EXHAUSTED THIS
WE'VE KEPT YOU UP HERE FOR HOURS.
WE'VE ASKED REALLY GOOD SS YOU, YOU'RE STANDING THERE FOR A LONG TIME.
NORMALLY WE'RE DONE A LITTLE EARLIER, BUT WE FINISHED RIGHT BEFORE THIS.
I WAS IT TO JUST COME RIGHT OVER.
WELL, I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AND, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD, I GUESS, UM, WHEN WE CAN HEAR, KIND OF COMPARE, UH, WHAT THE CITY COMES UP WITH.
AND I TOOK SOME GOOD NOTES, AND I'M SURE A LOT OF COMMISSIONERS DID TO KIND OF, UH, COMPARE WHAT THE CITY'S POLICY, HOW IT COMPARES TO THE AWARD-WINNING COUNTY POLICY,
WELL, AND I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU ALL.
DO YOU, AS THE PLANNING COMMISSION, 'CAUSE THIS IS A NEW STRUCTURE FROM WHEN I WAS ON, ON THE CITY COUNCIL, DO YOU ADVISE OR MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY ON, UNLESS CLEAR WHAT THE ROLE IS OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON THIS? IS IT RELATED TO SPACE AND, UH, FACILITIES? I'LL TAKE A STAB AT THAT.
AND THEN WE HAVE MEMBERS THAT ARE ON THE SUSTAINABILITY TEAM AND I, SO FROM A PLANNING STANDPOINT, WE DO ADVISE ON SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS.
AND SO I THINK THAT, UH, I THINK, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, UH, BROUGHT THIS UP, BUT WE HAVE, COMMISSIONER WOODS IS ACTUALLY ON THE SUSTAINABILITY, UM, WORKING, WHAT'S THE OFFICIAL, IT'S A BOARD WORKING, WORKING GROUP ANYWAY, JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION THANK YOU.
JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
SO I THINK WE DO HAVE A ROLE IN ADVISING AS IT RELATES TO PLANNING AND, UH, FOR SUSTAINABILITY.
WELL, AND ALSO THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY.
I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT YES, THE OTHER, OH, DEFINITELY.
IT'S, IT'S A REALLY, UM, IT'S A THING THAT, THAT CAN AND I THINK SHOULD BE INTEGRATED, UM, THROUGHOUT LARGER ORGANIZATIONS AND HAS, UH, CLEARLY HAS A LOT OF, A LOT OF BENEFITS AND CREATES OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL.
I, I WAS ALSO GONNA MENTION, COMMISSIONER, TO YOUR POINT, THE PLANS ARE IMPORTANT, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'RE THE CARETAKERS OF OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, OUR, OUR STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AND CERTAINLY WE CAN SUGGEST AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON CHANGES TO THOSE PLANS, INCLUDING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO I KNOW OUR WORK IS VERY MUCH TIED AS WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS TELEWORK POLICY AND HOW DO WE ALIGN ALL OF THE PLANS OF OUR CITIES AND OUR COMMUNITY'S GOALS AROUND THIS WORK.
SO CERTAINLY THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE KEEPING AN EYE ON.
SORRY, A QUESTION OF THE FOLKS ON THE SUSTAINABILITY, UM, WORK GROUP.
IS THE IDEA TO PUT TOGETHER SOME KIND OF A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S BEING WORKED ON? SO WE PUT TOGETHER A RECOMMENDATION FROM J S C THAT WE'VE ALREADY SENT TO THE CITY.
UM, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR US TO PUT TOGETHER A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION AS WELL.
I THINK THAT HAVING INFORMATION FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE BEFORE THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
HOW LONG WOULD WE WAIT FOR THAT INFORMATION? I KNOW THAT WE'VE SUBMITTED A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS, BUT THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION THAT I WOULD DEFER TO SOME OF MY OTHER COMMISSIONERS ON WHO'VE BEEN HERE LONGER THAN ME.
'CAUSE I DO WANT TO AT SOME POINT BE ABLE TO MOVE THAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION IF WE CAN COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT WE ALL AGREE ON.
UM, SO ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO ASK ABOUT MAYBE THAT'S A, MAYBE THAT'S A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM TO CREATE A WORKING GROUP TO CREATE A RECOMMENDATION.
IT WAS, IT WAS GREAT TO BE HERE AND SEE YOU ALL AND YOU ASKED REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS.
I LOVE TALKING TO ABOUT THIS, SO I'M, I'M HAPPY TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY.
BOTTLE TRAVIS GUYS, NATIONALLY RECORD.
JUST KEEP SAYING, UM, THANK YOU.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO NORTH PERMIT GATEWAY
[2. North Burnet Gateway Regulating Plan Amendments]
REGULATING PLAN AMENDMENTS.UM, AND WE HAVE THE PRESENTER FOR THIS ONE IS, UH, JORGE RILING, UH, FROM, UH, URBAN DESIGN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION.
UM, AND YOU'RE, I YOU ARE THE ONLY SPEAKER ON THIS ONE, CORRECT.
GOOD EVENING CHAIR COMMISSIONERS.
I DO HAVE MY COLLEAGUE ZACH LOFTON, HE'LL BE ASSISTING ME WITH PORTIONS OF THE PRESENTATION.
BUT I GOTTA SAY, BOY, THAT'S A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW,
I WISH I HAD SOME MORE EXCITING MATERIAL TO BRING TO YOU.
BUT I DO HAVE THE NEXT BEST THING, WHICH IS THE NORTH BURNETT GATEWAY REGULATING PLAN.
SO WE'RE GONNA JUMP RIGHT INTO THAT, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
CHAIR JORGE LAN WITH URBAN DESIGN PLANNING DEPARTMENT, AND I AM JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUE, MR. ZACH LOFTON.
YOU, YOU ARE WELL AWARE OF THE CONTEXT AND
[01:15:01]
LOCATION OF THE NORTH BURNETT GATEWAY AREA, COMPRISED OF MULTIPLE SUB-DISTRICTS THAT ARE PARTICULAR TO THIS AREA OF AUSTIN.QUITE A BIT HAS CHANGED IN THE LAST, UH, EVEN FIVE OR EVEN 10 YEARS FROM, UH, FROM NOW THAT, UH, IN TERMS OF NEW DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL AROUND THE NEW STADIUM AND THE TWO TRAIN STOPS THAT ARE IN THE WORKS AND ALREADY IN PLACE.
GIVEN THAT THE COUNCIL HAS DESIGNATED ESSENTIALLY THE NORTH BERN GATEWAY AREA AS THE SECOND DOWNTOWN FOR AUSTIN, THERE'S BEEN QUITE AMOUNT OF INTEREST TO REVITALIZE AND REDEVELOP QUITE OF, UH, AN EXTENSIVE AMOUNT OF AREA THAT USED TO BE THE OLDER INDUSTRIAL OFFICE AND WAREHOUSE AREAS OF AUSTIN.
RECENTLY, THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THE COUNCIL INITIATED CODE AMENDMENTS THAT HAD MADE SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES TO SOME OF THE MORE INTENSE ZONING SUBDISTRICTS THAT YOU HAVE IN THE NORTH BRUNET GATEWAY REGULATING PLAN, SPECIFICALLY THE C M U AND THE T O D DISTRICTS THAT INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHT AND FLORIDA AREA RATIO FOR THOSE PARTICULAR DISTRICTS.
THE COUNCIL IN THEIR RESOLUTION THAT THEY ENACTED ON MAY 4TH OF THIS YEAR HAS NINE SPECIFIC ASKS.
THOSE ARE IN YOUR BACKUP AND IN THE PRESENTATION, AND ASK THAT THE STAFF COME BACK WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN OCTOBER.
WHAT WE'RE HERE TO WALK THROUGH WITH YOU IS THE FIRST SET OF ELEMENTS, ELEMENTS TWO THROUGH SEVEN, WHICH ARE ON TRACK TO COME TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON SEPTEMBER 12TH.
UH, WE DO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT, UH, COMMITTEE THAT WE RECENTLY VISITED, AND THAT WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION ELEMENTS.
ONE, EIGHT AND NINE WOULD COME BACK TO THE CODES AND ORDINANCES, JOINT COMMITTEE AND THE COMMISSION EARLY PART OF NEXT YEAR.
AND WE WILL WALK THROUGH SOME OF THOSE ELEMENTS THAT ARE, UH, CENTERED AROUND DEVELOPMENT, BONUSES, DENSITY, BONUS PROGRAM, AND PARKING RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO JUST TO CLARIFY, WHAT'S MOVING FORWARD TO PLANNING COMMISSION ON SEPTEMBER 12TH WOULD BE ELEMENTS TWO THROUGH SEVEN FROM THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION.
SO IF YOU ALLOW US TO KIND OF WALK YOU THROUGH HOLISTICALLY, ITEMS ONE AND NINE FROM THE RESOLUTION ARE RELATED IN ASKING TO INCREASE THE F A R AND, AND BUILDING HEIGHT THROUGHOUT ALL SUBDISTRICTS THROUGH A DEVELOPMENT BONUS.
THAT'S ITEM ONE ON THE RESOLUTION.
ITEM NINE IS TO CREATE A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, QUITE SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU HAVE IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THAT.
HAVING AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS AS WELL AS A LEGISLATIVE PROCESS.
AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION WHAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY IN THE REGULATING PLAN, WHERE WE HAVE A SECTION UNDER ARTICLE SIX OF THE REGULATING PLAN THAT ALLOWS FOR DEVELOPMENT BONUSES AND USING A DIFFERENT TIERED APPROACH, STARTING WITH THE BASE HEIGHT AND ENTITLEMENTS, AND CREATING A PROCESS BY WHICH WOULD BE AN ADMINISTRATIVE USING THE TIER ONE BONUS PROVISIONS.
WHAT YOU HAVE IN ARTICLE SIX TODAY, MAKING VERY LITTLE CHANGES TO THE STRUCTURAL CONSTRUCT OF THOSE ELEMENTS IN ARTICLE SIX, BUT PERHAPS EXPANDING THE LIST OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN ARTICLE SIX.
AND THEN INTRODUCING A NEW SECTION THAT WOULD ALLOW APPLICANTS OR PROJECTS TO PETITION THE CITY COUNCIL FOR ADDITIONAL FLOOR TO AREA RATIO AND PERHAPS ADDITIONAL BUILDING HEIGHT IN EXCHANGE FOR A HIGHER QUALITY OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT MAY BE, UH, THE ONES LISTED IN ARTICLE SIX OR PERHAPS ADDING ADDITIONAL ONES.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE RECAP OF ITEM NUMBER NINE.
UH, ITEM NUMBER TWO, ASK THE, UH, CITY MANAGER AND THE STAFF TO EVALUATE EXPANDING ADDITIONAL SUBDISTRICTS WEST OF MOPAC.
AND THE AREA THAT YOU SEE HIGHLIGHTED THERE.
STAFF WILL BE RECOMMENDING TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THE COUNCIL, THE CREATION OF A NEW SUBDISTRICT COMMERCIAL MIXED USE DASH M FOR MIDWAY, A MIDWAY SUBDISTRICT IN THE AREA THAT IS HIGHLIGHTED WITH A DASH RED LINE, AS WELL AS A BLUE, A DARKER BLUE AREA THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR, UH, UP TO A 350 FOOT MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHT AND A 10 TO ONE MAXIMUM F A R WHEN USING A DEVELOPMENT BONUS.
SO THIS IS NOT JUST GRANTING OUTRIGHT ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENTS, AND THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO USE THAT THROUGH THE PROPOSAL OF A DEVELOPMENT, UM, DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM THAT WOULD BE COMING NEXT YEAR TO YOU.
I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE, ZACH.
SO, UM, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THIS AREA, THIS AREA ACTUALLY HAS A LOT OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY, BUT WE ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT IT HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACCOMMODATE A LOT MORE MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO I'LL KIND OF WALK THROUGH THIS A LITTLE BIT.
UM, WE STARTED THIS ANALYSIS BY LOOKING AT AREAS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY ACCOMMODATE SOME MORE THAT
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INCREASED DEVELOPMENT.AND SO UNDER THE TIER ONE DEVELOPMENT BONUS IS WHAT YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN, THAT'S ROUGHLY WHAT BUILDING MASSING WOULD LOOK LIKE IF, IF PROJECTS WERE TO PARTICIPATE TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE THROUGH THE TIER ONE DEVELOPMENT BONUS PROGRAM.
AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, WE INCLUDED ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE THAT C M U MIDWAY, AS JORGE JUST OUTLINED FOR US, UM, WE, WE'D EXPECT SIGNIFICANT INCREMENT IN THE WAY, IN THE, UM, THE CONSIDERATION OF ACTUALLY BUILDING MASSING.
AND SO THROUGH THIS ANALYSIS, WE ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DIDN'T JUST STACK A BUNCH OF NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE AREA WITHOUT CONSIDERING INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN ENCOURAGE PROJECTS TO PROVIDE INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE COLLECTOR STREETS, UM, SO THAT FOLKS, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE LIVING IN THIS AREA HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO WORK AND GET TO PLACES THAT THEY NEED TO DO.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING THAT THROUGH A COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
SO I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO JORGE.
THANK YOU ZACH AND COMMISSIONERS.
THE NEXT ITEMS, FEW ITEMS ARE ESSENTIALLY KIND OF HIGH HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS AND ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN.
NUMBER THREE RELATED AROUND ALIGNING SIGN REGULATIONS WITH CITY CODE.
THERE ARE NO PARTICULAR SIGN REGULATIONS THAT ARE PURSUANT TO THE ACTUAL NORTHBOROUGH GATEWAY DISTRICT.
AND SO WE ARE LOOKING TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ALIGN WITH THE CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE ISSUED JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO THAT WOULD PROVIDE A PATHWAY FOR SPECIFIC SIGNAGE REGULATIONS FOR THE NORTH BENET GATEWAY DISTRICT.
ELEMENT NUMBER FOUR HAS TO DO AROUND ADJUSTING SPECIFIC LAND USE STANDARDS THAT ARE CONTAINED IN THE PLAN, SPECIFICALLY AROUND GENERAL RETAIL SALES, CONVENIENCE IN GENERAL, AND ALSO FOOD SALES AS ADDED BY THE CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE TO REMOVE THOSE SQUARE FOOTAGE LIMITATIONS TO INCREASE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ADDITIONAL TYPE OF THESE TYPE OF USES IN THE AREA ITSELF.
ELEMENT NUMBER FIVE HAS TO DO WITH THE AMENDMENT AND REMOVAL OF A 30 FOOT STEP BACK ABOVE THE SIXTH FLOOR OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH BURN GATEWAY REGULATING AREA.
IN OUR ANALYSIS, WE SAW THAT THERE WAS REALLY NO PHYSICAL IMPACT WHEN REMOVING THAT, AND IT WAS ACTUALLY CAUSING PROGRAMMATIC ISSUES WITH DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL.
SO I'LL LET MY COLLEAGUE KIND OF EXPAND ON A POTENTIAL FOR A COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
SO AS WE STARTED ANALYZING, UM, THIS DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL TO GET RID OF THIS 30 FOOT STEP BACK, WHAT WE'VE FOUND ACTUALLY IS THAT IF YOU DESIGN THE STREETSCAPE WELL AND EXECUTE IT WELL, THEN IT'S NOT SO CONSEQUENTIAL WHAT HAPPENS ABOVE THAT FIFTH STORY.
UM, RECOGNIZING THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU CAN MIMIC, UM, A HUMAN SCALE AT THE STREET LEVEL.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING WITH THIS, UH, THIS SUITE OF RECOMMENDATIONS IS STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS, THINGS LIKE STREET TREES, STREETLIGHTS, SEATING, AND A VARIETY OF OTHER ELEMENTS TO BE INCLUDED AS ANOTHER, UH, NEW COMMUNITY BENEFIT AS WELL.
UH, ELEMENT NUMBER SIX OF THE RESOLUTION COMMISSIONERS HAS TO DO AROUND AMENDING A 120 FOOT HEIGHT LIMIT, S EXCUSE ME, UH, MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHT FOR CERTAIN DISTRICTS THAT ABUT NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTIAL, AND THAT ALIGNS WITH THE COUNCIL DIRECTION UNDER ELEMENT NUMBER SEVEN TO SIGNIFICANTLY MODIFIED COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS.
I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE, ZACH, TO EXPLAIN THIS ITEM.
SO, CURRENTLY COMMISSIONERS, UM, ARTICLE 10 COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS ONLY APPLY TO TWO OF THE SUBDISTRICTS IN THE NORTH BURN GATEWAY AREA.
AND THE AMOUNT OF AREA THAT'S ACTUALLY REGULATED AMOUNTS TO 2% OF THE ENTIRE N B G AREA.
AND SO WITH THIS, WITH THIS, UH, RESOLUTION IN THIS DIRECTION, IT'S GONNA COMPLETELY REMOVE, UM, COMPLETELY REMOVE THE REGULATION IN THE NORTH BURN GATEWAY, SO IT WON'T APPLY TO ANY OF THE SUBDISTRICTS.
AND SO, ALTHOUGH IT'S ONLY 2%, LIKE I MENTIONED, UH, THIS CHANGE IS CONSISTENT WITH COUNCIL'S DIRECTION TO ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH BURN GATEWAY AREA.
ELEMENT NUMBER EIGHT HAS TO DO WITH ALIGNING PARKING REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS.
THIS IS ONE ELEMENT THAT WE'RE GONNA PUT ON HOLD UNTIL WE'RE ABLE TO COORDINATE WITH THE LEAD DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE WORKING ON THE OVERALL STRUCTURE OF PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CITY.
UH, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S ALREADY PROVISIONS IN THE REGULATING PLAN THAT SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCE THE PARKING IMPACT, BUT MORE THAN LIKELY THAT WILL CHANGE OVER TIME AS WE LOOK AT THE POLICY.
SO THIS WILL BE COMING BACK TO YOU, AND AGAIN, TO RECAP THE ELEMENTS THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON SEPTEMBER THE 12TH WILL BE ELEMENTS TWO THROUGH SEVEN WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT ELEMENTS ONE, EIGHT AND NINE,
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WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION THROUGH A RECOMMENDATION AS THE CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE IN EARLY, UH, 2024.PLEASE DON'T HOLD US TO THOSE SPECIFIC MONTHS BECAUSE WE'RE STILL TRYING TO WORK OUT SOME OF THE ANALYSIS FOR, ESPECIALLY FOR THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.
I'M TRYING TO, I CAN'T GET THIS THING TO WORK.
UH, I WAS VERY THOROUGH AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR UPDATING ON EACH OF THOSE ITEMS 'CAUSE, UH, DEFINITELY HELPED ME TREMENDOUSLY.
UH, COMMISSIONERS, WHO WANTS TO KICK US OFF WITH THE Q AND A I, IF I'M GONNA SEE A HAND HERE QUICK, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE FIRST ONE.
SO, UH, I'VE, I GO TO THE DOMAIN A LOT AND, UM, I THINK IT DOES, UH, ENCOURAGE BY, IT SEEMS LIKE THE RIGHT PLACE TO GET MORE HOUSING.
UH, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING WITH OUTTA THIS.
BUT I HAVE TO SAY, UH, THE STREET STANDARDS, I KNOW WE'RE TRYING TO ENCOURAGE MORE BIKE PED, BUT RIGHT NOW YOU GET STUCK IN THAT THE DOMAIN AND YOU, IT TOOK ME AN HOUR AND A HALF TO GET OUT OF THAT PLACE.
THERE WAS, IT WAS, I WAS TRAPPED, UH, JUST TO GO RETURN A PAIR OF SHOES.
SO MISTAKE NUMBER ONE, I SHOULD HAVE PLANNED BETTER ON WHEN TO RETURN THE PAIR OF SHOES.
BUT THOSE CITIES, ARE THEY, THE CRITERIA THAT WERE USED TO DEVELOP, AND BY THE WAY, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE BIKE RIDERS HERE, THE BIKE RIDING THE BIKE LANES, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE VERY WELL DEVELOPED THERE WITHIN THE DOMAIN.
ARE WE, ARE WE GONNA TRY TO DO SOME DIFFERENT THINGS WITH REGARDS TO REQUIRING THE DEVELOPMENT TO FOLLOW OUR, OUR STREET, YOU KNOW, CRITERIA? THANK YOU, CHAIR.
AND JUST WANNA MAKE A, JUST A QUICK DISTINCTION THAT THE AREA YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, THE DOMAIN, IT'S ACTUALLY OUTSIDE THE BALANCE OF ANY OF THE SUB-DISTRICTS THAT YOU HAVE IN THE NORTH BURN GATEWAY REGULATING PLAN.
THAT'S ACTUALLY AN M I P D A DEVELOPMENT, WHICH OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT A PERFECT, IT'S, I I THINK THEY MEANT WELL.
UH, HOWEVER, THERE IS MUCH TO IMPROVE IN THE AREA AROUND THE DOMAIN.
AND SO THE AREA THAT WE'RE TRYING TO TARGET IS SEEKING TO EXPAND THE PHYSICAL CONSTRUCT OF THE CONNECTIVITY, AS MY COLLEAGUE WAS EXPLAINING THAT USING A METHOD TO BE ABLE TO INCENTIVIZE ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL IF WE'RE ABLE TO INCENTIVIZE ADDITIONAL BONUS AREA IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE, IN THE PLAN ITSELF, THERE ARE SOME REQUIREMENTS ALREADY IN THE REGULATING PLAN THAT REQUIRE CONNECTIVITY AND ARTERIALS TO BE PLACED.
HOWEVER, I THINK WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE A BETTER QUALITY BUILT REALM OF THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IN EXCHANGE FOR THAT BONUS AREA.
SO WE, WE SINCERELY AGREE WITH THE ASSESSMENT AND, AND TRULY REALIZE THAT THE DOMAIN HAS SOME GROWING PAINS TO GO THROUGH AS WELL.
AND WE ARE USING THAT AS A LEARNING EXERCISE FOR WHAT SOME OF THOSE STREETS ARE PRIVATE, OBVIOUSLY AS MM-HMM.
THERE'S A CERTAIN COMPLEXITY WHEN YOU HAVE PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF THESE, BECAUSE THE CITY REALLY DOES NOT HAVE JURISDICTION TO MAINTAIN THOSE, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LOOKING TO, TO INCENTIVIZE PRIVATE STREET DEVELOPMENT.
UH, WE, WE SEE MORE OF A BENEFIT OF A PUBLIC AMENITY TO BE OFFERED IN THE TERMS OF STREET SCAPE, STREET UH, ELEMENTS, BUS STOPS, FOR EXAMPLE, BIKE LANES, ALL OF THE ELEMENTS THAT YOU MENTIONED.
SO THAT'S ALL THE ONLY QUESTION I HAD.
COMMISSIONER, I'LL GO AFTER I I'M CHEATING.
COMMISSIONER CONLEY, AND THEN DID YOU WANT TO GO NEXT IN THE END BECAUSE I DID C OJC? YEAH, I HAVE.
COMMISSIONER, UH, CONLEY, GO NEXT.
I HAVE ONLY, I THINK ONE QUESTION, HOPEFULLY NOT A VERY COMPLICATED ONE, BUT IT'S ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT.
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY GONNA BE A TRANSIT RICH PART OF THE CITY AND IT WILL BE CONNECTED TO THE REST OF OUR LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM.
AND SO HOW MUCH THOUGHT IN THE PLAN IS GOING INTO SORT OF THE TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE USES OF THE SURROUNDING AREA.
AND I KNOW THAT IF WE DEVELOP, BUT WE DEVELOP, YOU KNOW, ONLY ON THE HIGHER END OR OFFICE SPACE, WE MIGHT NOT REALLY HAVE FOLKS THAT REALLY ROBUSTLY USE TRANSIT.
AND ALSO JUST THINKING ABOUT FOLKS COMING ON AND OFF THE TRAINS AND THE AREA AROUND THOSE TRAINS, MAKING IT AS PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY.
I KNOW THAT THERE'S WORK ON THE STREET SCAPES, BUT MM-HMM.
AND I'M WONDERING WHAT KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS Y'ALL HAVE HAD IN THIS PLAN WORK AROUND THAT.
I, I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION AND THE COMMENT, CERTAINLY THAT'S ONE OF THE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS THAT WE ARE EXPLORING AS PART OF AN INCENTIVE BASED
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PROGRAM THROUGH A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE WE CAN INCENTIVIZE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE, THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE BE BEHIND, OR THAT CAN, UH, REALLY ALLOW THESE TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS TO BE CONNECTED THROUGH TRAILS, THROUGH SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS, THROUGH BIKE CONNECTIVITY, THROUGH PARKING REDUCTIONS AS WELL THAT WOULD INCENTIVIZE THE TRANSIT RICH ENVIRONMENT THAT WE WISH TO SEE.WE KNOW IT'S NOT QUITE THERE YET.
THERE'S ALSO A STRUGGLE BETWEEN HOW, HOW TO MAINTAIN SOME OF THE ECLECTIC LAND USES THAT YOU HAVE THERE OF, UH, WORKING CLASS BUSINESSES THAT THAT'S WHERE I TAKE MY CAR TO GET MY WINDSHIELD CHANGED, FOR EXAMPLE.
RIGHT? SOME OF THESE WAREHOUSE USES THAT ARE STILL VERY VALUABLE WITHOUT DISPLACING SOME OF THOSE IMPORTANT BUSINESSES.
SO THERE'S KIND OF HAS TO BE A, A, A STRIKING OF A BALANCE BETWEEN WHAT WE WANT TO INCENTIVIZE THROUGH A DEVELOPMENT BONUS PROGRAM WHERE AREAS AROUND AND CLOSE TO THE STATIONS COULD BE PUSHED WITH ADDITIONAL DENSITY AND MORE AFFORDABLE OPTIONS.
AND AS YOU TAPER OUT FROM THOSE AREAS, BE ABLE TO HAVE THE SUPPORTIVE USES THAT COULD SUSTAIN OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, THOSE, UH, TRANSIT RICH OPPORTUNITIES.
SO THERE, THERE, THERE'S A STRUGGLE TO KIND OF STRIKE THAT BALANCE.
AND WILL THERE BE RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND, UM, TRAFFIC CALMING AND DEPRIORITIZING SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES IN THE AREAS IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE TRAIN? I KNOW YOU'RE A TRANSIT RIDER, YOU GET OFF THE TRAIN SOMETIMES WITH A STROLLER OR KIDS OR, AND THEN THERE'S JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU IMMEDIATELY HAVE TO FACE A CROSSWALK AND YOU HAVE CARS FLYING DOWN THE STREET AT HIGH, YOU KNOW, 50 MILES PER HOUR OR WHATEVER.
AND, AND SO IS, IS THERE PLANNING AROUND REALLY, YOU KNOW, CALMING THE TRAFFIC IN THE AREA, REDUCING THOSE SPEEDS AND MAKING THAT AREA AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE FOR FOLKS GETTING OFF THE TRAINS? NOT, NOT NECESSARILY THE, THE TRAFFIC CALMING ASPECT? I, I, I DO IN THE INTEREST OF FULL DISCLOSURE, I, I DO NEED TO BE CANDID ABOUT THAT.
HOWEVER, WE DO WANNA COLLABORATE WITH OUR SISTER DEPARTMENTS LIKE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS TO INCENTIVIZE THE PARKING REDUCTIONS FOR MORE TRANSIT RIDERSHIP IN THE AREA BEYOND WHAT THE REGULATING PLAN HAS TODAY.
AND ALIGNING THAT WITH THE OVERALL PARKING REDUCTION POLICY THAT THE COUNCIL IS EVALUATING AS WELL AS THE, THE PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THESE SPACES THROUGH THE CONNECTIVITY OF THE ARTERIALS THAT WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT, TO INCENTIVIZE MORE BIKE RIDERSHIP THAT'S GOING TO TAKE COLLABORATION WITHIN CITY DEPARTMENTS TO POTENTIALLY MINIMIZE THE NUMBER OF VEHICLE TRAVEL LANES.
AND THAT'S A TALL ORDER SOMETIMES FROM WITHIN THE FAMILY, BUT HOW DO WE INCENTIVIZE PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BIKE CONNECTIVITY AND TO INCENTIVIZE PROPERTY OWNERS TO HAVE THINGS LIKE LOCKERS, FOR EXAMPLE, AND SHOWERS THAT WOULD HELP TO INCENTIVIZE THOSE DIFFERENT MODES OF TRANSPORTATIONS.
THAT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING NECESSARILY THAT'S COMING THROUGH THE PIPELINE THROUGH THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, BUT COULD BE PART OF AN OVERALL STRUCTURAL UPDATE TO THE REGULATING PLAN, NOT ONLY FOR NORTH BURNETT, BUT THE OTHER T O D AREAS AS WELL.
UH, THIS, I'VE GOT, NOPE, COMMISSIONER MTO, UH, AND THEN I THINK COMMISSIONER MAXWELL AND THEN, UM, WE'LL, AND THEN COMMISSIONER AZAR.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE ALL HAVE QUESTIONS, SO WE'LL JUST KEEP GOING DOWN THE LINE.
I WAS TRYING TO UNMUTE, UM, I, TERRIFIC PRESENTATION.
I'M, I REALLY KUDOS TO THE FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS.
THIS IS REALLY VERY EXCITING STUFF THAT Y'ALL ARE, Y'ALL ARE LOOKING AT IN VERY THOROUGH.
SO, UH, BECAUSE CHANGE ALWAYS FRIGHTENS PEOPLE.
I WANNA DIG IN ON A COUPLE OF THINGS.
UM, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS WHEN YOU GOT BEGAN TO ADDRESS A LITTLE BIT INFRASTRUCTURE, CAN WE CIRCLE BACK AND TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE KEY INFRASTRUCTURE THINGS LIKE, UM, UH, SEWAGE WATER RUNOFF? I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT WATER RUNOFF AND WATER DRAINAGE IN OUR CITY AREAS, HOW THAT WOULD LOOK.
AND THEN, UM, INTEGRATING OUR, UM, FIRE E M SS SERVICES AS WE IN, YOU KNOW, LOOK TO OPTIMIZE THE LAND USE OF THESE AREAS WITH HEIGHT.
I HAVE A LONG LIST OF QUESTIONS, SO I'M JUST GONNA ASK FOR YOUR SHORT BRIEF ANSWERS AND SEE IF I CAN GET THROUGH SOME OF THESE TOPICS.
THANK, THANK YOU FOR THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER.
AND TO BE HONEST, WE, WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN DOWN THAT FAR IN TERMS OF DISCUSSING THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL CHANGES TO ELEMENTS SUCH AS WATER WASTEWATER, BUT THE INTERFACE OF SOME OF THE, UH, VEHICULAR AXIS, ESPECIALLY AROUND FIRST RESPONDERS, FIRE, E M S, ET CETERA, AS THESE BUILDINGS GET TALLER AND THEY
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NEED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES SUCH AS POWER, FOR EXAMPLE, AND WATER, WE'RE OFTEN FINDING THAT IN THE CONTEXT LIKE DOWNTOWN, THERE'S OFTEN A STRUGGLE OF CONFLICTS WITH UTILITIES WHERE YOU PLACE THE VAULTS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE YOU PLACE THE WATER ACCESS.I THINK THOSE ARE GONNA BE SOME OF THE GROWING PAINS THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO EVALUATE.
BUT I, I CAN'T TELL YOU WITH FULL CONFIDENCE THAT WE HAVE THAT FIGURED OUT.
SO I DON'T HAVE A A A COMPLETE RESPONSE FOR YOU THIS EVENING.
I JUST WANNA AT LEAST HIGHLIGHT IT 'CAUSE I KNOW THERE WILL BE MORE QUESTIONS AS THIS MOVES THROUGH PUBLIC STUFF.
UM, YOU GUYS ALSO TALKED ABOUT A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF AREA THAT COULD BE AFFECTED BY THE ZONING CHANGE.
CAN WE TAKE A LITTLE BIT CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT THOSE AREAS ARE AND WHAT YOU MIGHT FORESEE FOR THE EFFECTS OF THOSE AREAS? I KNOW THERE, WE HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT NEIGHBORHOODS KIND OF BEING CONCERNED, SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WERE NEIGHBORHOODS IN THIS AREA THAT MAY BE AFFECTED.
WERE YOU PART, WERE YOU PARTICULARLY ASKING ABOUT THE COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS OR, YEAH.
I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE TO TALK ABOUT THAT, THAT COMMISSIONER.
SO, UM, THE AREA THAT IS CURRENTLY BEING REGULATED BY COMPATIBILITY, THE ARTICLE 10 COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS, THOSE ARE TWO SUBDISTRICTS, THAT'S NEIGHBORHOOD MIXED USE AND NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTIAL.
UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY COMPATIBILITY IS TRIGGERED BY SINGLE FAMILY USES OR SINGLE FAMILY ZONES, SO OF THE AREA THAT ARE ABLE TO BE REGULATED BY AND ALSO TRIGGERED BY SINGLE FAMILY ZONES.
THAT'S THAT 2% THAT I HAD MENTIONED IN, IN MY TALKING POINTS.
THAT PARTICULAR AREA IS MADE UP.
IT'S, IT'S SORT OF A SPLIT BETWEEN, UM, MULTIFAMILY USES AND COMMERCIAL USES.
UM, Y'ALL ALSO HIGHLIGHTED SOMETHING THAT I WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN SEEING US REALLY WORK ON.
UM, IT WAS PREVIOUSLY COMING IN UNDER THE CONCEPT OF GREAT STREETS, AND SO YOU BEGAN TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ADVANTAGES OF WHERE YOU PLACE THE HEIGHT SETBACKS AND HOW IF WE BALANCE THAT WITH A GREAT STREET, WE CAN INCREASE OUR, I I, I GUESS WE'RE GONNA GET INTO F A R DISCUSSIONS, THAT KIND OF THING BY, UH, LESSENING THOSE HEIGHT SETBACKS, BUT IMPROVING THE STREET FRONTAGE SO THAT THOSE ARE MUCH MORE USABLE.
SO I WANTED TO AT LEAST GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND ON THAT.
'CAUSE THAT'S SOMETHING I, I, I'VE SUBSCRIBED TO THAT PHILOSOPHY.
WHOA, I'M SO SORRY THAT THAT SCARY ME FOR A SECOND.
YEAH, PLEASE AND YOU CAN CONTINUE.
JUST, JUST A QUICK CAVEAT THAT GRAY STREETS IS A TRADEMARK OF URBAN DESIGN.
IT'S A TYPOLOGY THAT WE USE FOR DOWNTOWN ONLY.
IT'S EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO APPLY THAT TYPOLOGY OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE A CONSISTENT FRONTAGE ALONG BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET.
THAT GRAY STREETS WORKS REALLY WELL IN AN 80 FOOT CROSS CROSS SECTION, SOMETHING YOU DON'T HAVE CONSISTENTLY IN THE NORTH BURNETT GATEWAY AREA, THE, THE RIGHT OF WAY UNDULATES AND EXPANDS AND CONTRACTS.
SO YOU WON'T BE SEEING A GRAY STREET TYPOLOGY.
YOU MAY BE SEEING GRAY STREET ELEMENTS SUCH AS STREET TREES, SHADE TREES, FOR EXAMPLE, BENCHES, BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE, PAVERS, ALL OF THE DESIGN ELEMENTS, WITHOUT CALLING IT GRAY STREETS, WE CAN'T CALL IT GRAY STREETS BECAUSE THAT'S PARTICULAR TO DOWNTOWN.
HOWEVER, SO MY THOUGHT WOULD BE LIKE, AS YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT BONUS PROGRAMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, ONE WAY, AND I, I DON'T KNOW THE LEGALITIES, WE'LL HAVE TO DEFER TO CITY ON THAT.
BUT IF WE CAN INCORPORATE THOSE TRADES WHERE THEY'RE GONNA LOSE A LITTLE BIT OF PROPERTY LINE, BUT GAIN IT IN HEIGHT TO CREATE THAT BECAUSE THEY OWN THAT OR THEY'RE THOSE, UH, IT'S THEIR PROPERTY, THAT KIND OF THING, THAT MAY BE HELPFUL TO EXPAND THAT IDEA INTO THAT AREA.
THE NORTH, I GUESS WEST EX, UH, PIECE THAT YOU GUYS IDENTIFIED BETWEEN MOPAC AND 180 3, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT ICE.
IT'S GREAT OPPORTUNITY AND GREAT THINKING TO INCORPORATE, BUT BECAUSE OF THE HIGHWAY AND THE FREEWAY SETUP, IT'S A LITTLE BIT ISOLATED.
SO HOW WOULD WE, HOW WOULD WE LOOK TO EXPAND THE, UM, NON-CAR MOBILITY FOR PEOPLE TO TRANSIT IN AND AROUND THAT AREA? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.
THAT'S A EXCELLENT OBSERVATION THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE CITY STAFF'S, UH, CONCERNS WHEN LOOKING AT INCREASING ENTITLEMENTS, ESPECIALLY THROUGH A ZONING CHANGE WHERE WE ARE SEEING THAT THERE'S THE LACK OF PHYSICAL CONNECTIVITY IN THE AREA.
SO IT'S SOMETHING WE WISH TO PARTNER WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS THESE NEW DEVELOPMENTS COME
[01:40:01]
OVER TIME TO BE ABLE TO INCENTIVIZE BEYOND WHAT THE CODE REQUIRES IN THE REGULATING PLAN TO PROVIDE THE CONNECTIVITY.IT WOULDN'T BE APPROPRIATE JUST TO, IF YOU ALLOW THE EXPRESSION, DROP A WHOLE BUNCH OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS IN AN AREA THAT IS NOT TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE OR DOES NOT HAVE THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE TO BRING FOLKS TO THE MASS TRANSIT OPTIONS, INCLUDING BUS STOPS.
SO, SO THERE'S STILL QUITE A BIT OF WORK TO DO TO, TO GET THAT RIGHT.
WE CAN'T CLAIM AT THIS TIME THAT WE HAVE IT FIGURED OUT COMMISSIONERS, BUT WE ARE CERTAINLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND PRIVATE DEVELOPMENTS AS THEY SEEK TO REDEVELOP THIS AREA.
PROBABLY OVER MY TIME, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UH, THE BUZZER DID GO OFF, WE, UH, ALLOWED A LITTLE EXTRA, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND JUST THOSE THAT WEREN'T ON THE C O J C UH, CODES, ORDINANCES, JOINT COMMITTEE TO GO AND GET YOUR QUESTIONS IN.
AND THEN IF THEY HAVE SOME THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ASKED, UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND LET THEM.
SO WE'RE GONNA, UH, SO THOSE AREN'T ON THAT JOINT COMMITTEE, PLEASE.
UH, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, RAISE YOUR HAND.
WE'LL, LET LET YOUR QUESTIONS GET ANSWERED.
UH, COMMISSIONER HAYNES AND YEAH, THANK Y'ALL FOR COMING TONIGHT.
UH, AND, AND LIKE THE CHAIRMAN THIS'S KIND OF MY HOOD.
SO, UM, UH, AND, AND COMMISSIONER AL ASK GREAT QUESTIONS THERE.
UH, I'M FOCUSED IN THE SAME AREA AND IN THE, UH, WEST OF MO, NORTH OF 180 3 WEST OF MOPAC, YOU KNOW, EXCEPT FOR DAVE AND BUSTERS AND WORLD MARKET, NOTHING SUCCEEDS THERE.
AND SO, UM, MY, MY QUESTION IS WHY WOULD WE LIMIT THE, THE POTENTIAL BONUS? I, I UNDERSTAND THE CONNECTIVITY, WE CAN FIGURE THAT OUT, BUT MM-HMM.
THERE ARE, YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET ANY NIMBYS, YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET ANY BANANAS.
TO ME, THAT IS THE FIVE ACRES TO BUILD.
I MEAN, THAT ARE THE 10 ACRES TO BUILD.
UH, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WOULD START FROM A LIMITED STANDPOINT.
SO, SO IF, IF I MAY CLARIFY COMMISSIONER.
IT, IT WOULDN'T BE A, A LIMIT ON DEVELOPMENT WHEN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT HOW THE CONSTRUCT THAT WILL BE COMING BACK TO YOU, THE DEVELOPMENT BONUS PROVISIONS, THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM FOR NORTH BURNETT, IT WOULD ALLOW FOR A TWO TIERED SYSTEM AND ADMINISTRATIVE PORTION THAT COUNCIL'S ASKING FOR THAT WOULD TAKE IT UP TO A CERTAIN LIMIT.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN THAT AREA, THE NEWLY CREATED ZONE OF C M U MIDWAY WOULD BE UP TO A MAXIMUM OF 350 FEET OF BUILDING HEIGHT AND A 10 TO ONE F A R WHEN USING A DEVELOPMENT BONUS.
HOWEVER, IF THE PROGRAM SUCCEEDS THROUGH A RECOMMENDATION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE COULD BE AN ADDITIONAL TIER WHERE AN APPLICANT CAN PETITION THE COUNCIL FOR ADDITIONAL BONUS AREA AND HEIGHT THAT IS UNLIMITED BASED ON THE MARKET CONDITIONS THAT THE PROJECT IS SEEKING.
SO THERE WOULDN'T BE A LIMIT, THERE WOULD BE AN ADMINISTRATIVE LIMIT AS THE COUNCIL HAS REQUESTED, BUT YOU COULD COME BACK WITH AN APPLICATION FOR A FIVE 40 AND A 12 TO ONE? THAT'S CORRECT.
THAT WOULD, THE WAY THAT WE ARE STARTING TO BUILD THE PROGRAM, IT WOULD REQUIRE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
OBVIOUSLY WE WOULDN'T BE JUST A, A FREE FOR ALL, BUT IT WOULD CREATE A PATHWAY BY WHICH A PROJECT COULD SEEK ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENTS ON THEIR PROPERTY.
UH, I MEAN, I, AS, AS, AGAIN, MY HOOD AND IT'S, THAT IS THE PERFECT AREA.
IT IS 10 ACRES, 15 ACRES OF LAND THAT WOULD BE PERFECT FOR BUILDING IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THOSE THAT DON'T SERVE ON THE CODES NOR THE JOINT COMMITTEE? AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE, UH, JOINT COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL AND THEN COMMISSIONER ZA.
UH, THIS IS ACTUALLY A GREAT SEGUE BECAUSE MY QUESTIONS WERE FOCUSED ON THE MIDWAY AREA AS WELL, UM, SINCE THAT'S OBVIOUSLY AN UPDATE SINCE WE SAW.
AND SO THANK YOU, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR THE WORK ON THIS POST THE, UM, BRIEFING THAT WE HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED.
AND SPECIFICALLY IN THE MIDWAY AREA.
I'M CURIOUS BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME MAJOR RETAIL LANDHOLDERS, SO WE WOULD EXPECT RATHER THAN MAYBE JUST THE BUILDING FORMS THAT YOU SHOWED US, THAT YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY SEE A FULL REDEVELOPMENT OF THOSE SITES ALL AT ONCE RATHER THAN JUST MAYBE JUST ADDING ONE BUILDING AT SAY, IN THE PARKING LOT.
IS THAT SORT OF THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO TRY AND GET THOSE PROPERTY DEVELOPERS TO REALLY CONSIDER A COMPLETE REBUILD OF THOSE LOCATIONS? OOH, THAT'S A TOUGH QUESTION.
I, I WISH I HAD AN ANSWER TO THAT.
UH, IF WE KNEW WE'D PROBABLY BE IN VEGAS.
WHAT ABOUT NOW
[01:45:01]
THAT, BUT, BUT SERIOUSLY, UH, SERIOUSLY FOLKS, UH, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO PREDICT THAT KIND OF REDEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL.WE JUST WANNA SET IN PLACE THE TOOLS THAT THE COUNCIL'S ASKING FOR, FOR A POTENTIAL REDEVELOPMENT AND ALLOW THE MARKET TO COME IN AND INCENTIVIZE GREATER DENSITY WHERE WE KNOW WE CAN ACCOMMODATE FOR THAT.
STILL UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE'S INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS LACKING FOR THAT CONNECTIVITY TO OCCUR.
HOWEVER, IT'S NOT JUST THE PARKING LOTS.
THERE COULD BE THE POTENTIAL THAT A PROPERTY OWNER SAYS NOW IT'S WORTH US CONSIDERING A REDEVELOPMENT OF THAT GREATER AREA, BUT, BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY WITH THE GOAL TO INCENTIVIZE OR TO CHANGE OVER THAT LAND.
AND THEN JUST AS A SORT OF FOLLOW ON TO THAT, OBVIOUSLY IF WE DID START TO SEE SOME SIGNIFICANT REDEVELOPMENT IN THAT MIDWAY AREA, UM, WOULD THERE BE THE POTENTIAL FOR SORT OF EXPANDING IT SLIGHTLY OR EVEN REMAPPING SORT OF THAT AREA? BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THERE'S PART OF THAT MAYBE GOING INTO THE ARBORETUM OR EVEN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER NORTH.
AND I KNOW THAT'S AGAIN, OUTSIDE OF THE BOUNDS OF WHAT WE'RE NECESSARILY TALKING ABOUT TODAY, BUT IF IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM, MIGHT THAT BE AN OPTION? SOMETHING WE COULD LOOK AT IN THE FUTURE? CERTAINLY WITH DIRECTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSIONER OF THE COUNCIL, WE CAN CERTAINLY CONSIDER THAT.
AND THEN ONE LAST QUESTION BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THAT WE TOUCHED ON IT BEFORE, MOST OF THE DEVELOPMENT IN TERMS OF TRANSIT AND PROJECT CONNECT WE'RE GONNA BE SEEING ON THE BURNETT SIDE, UM, CORRECT.
AND I, AND I THINK WE TOUCHED ON THIS IN TERMS OF TRYING TO INCREASE THE ANZA, UH, THE ACCESS TO NON TO ADDITIONAL MOBILITY OPTIONS IN THAT AREA.
UM, IS THAT SOMETHING WE CAN ACTUALLY THINK ABOUT TALKING TO SAY TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS OF? LIKE WHAT ARE PROGRAMS WE CAN INCENTIVE MAYBE MORE METRO BUSES, THINGS LIKE THAT? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S BEING CONSIDERED AS WELL? YES, IT IS COMMISSIONER AND WE LOOK TO INCENTIVIZE ADDITIONAL BUS STOP, UH, CREATION AS THESE REDEVELOPMENTS HAPPEN OVER TIME, UNDERSTANDING THAT WE CAN'T GET FOLKS TO THE TRANSIT LIKE THE LIGHT RAIL, FOR EXAMPLE, WITHOUT HAVING THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO CARRY THOSE FOLKS SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A CAR, FOR EXAMPLE, AND BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE MASS TRANSIT OPTIONS.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL THESE UPDATES.
ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONER HAZAR, THANK YOU CHAIR AND, AND THANK YOU STAFF FOR THIS GREAT PRESENTATION.
UM, SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL HAD IN THE PRESENTATION, JUST SO I UNDERSTAND IT CORRECTLY.
WERE Y ALL SAYING THAT AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE REMOVAL OF SORT OF THE STEP BACK AT 30 FEET.
THE, THE QUESTION IS Y'ALL ARE LOOKING INTO TYING SOME STREET ELEMENTS AS PART OF A BONUS PROGRAM.
IS THAT, DID I HEAR THAT, UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY? THAT IS CORRECT.
THERE ARE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS ALREADY IN THE REGULATING PLAN TODAY THAT ADDRESS STREET SCAPE STANDARDS.
WE'RE SEEING IF YOU GO BEYOND THOSE STANDARDS, SOME OF THOSE IMPROVEMENTS COULD BE TIED TO DEVELOPMENT INCREASES, DEVELOPMENT BONUS INCREASES.
WELL, I CAN'T GIVE YOU A A AN ESTIMATE OF WHAT THAT SQUARE FOOTAGE COULD BE, BUT WE COULD TIE IT TO SAY, IF YOU IMPROVE THE SHADE TREE SPECIES, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT ENTITLES YOU TO AN ADDITIONAL 10 SQUARE FEET.
I'M JUST MAKING NUMBERS UP SURE.
SO WE THINK, AND WE PERHAPS SEEN THE SUCCESS OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM SEEING A TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE WHEN YOU INCENTIVIZE THAT BECAUSE IN REALITY, THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS THAT WOULD, COULD POTENTIALLY SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS REDEVELOPING, THEY'RE MORE THAN LIKELY GOING TO BE DOING THAT ANYWAY.
SO WHY NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IMPROVING THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE AT THE GROUND FLOOR RATHER THAN REQUIRING A STEP BACK THAT'S REALLY NOT GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AT THE SIXTH FLOOR AND ABOVE.
I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE THOUGHT BEHIND THAT.
I, I GUESS I'LL SORT OF MAKE TWO SORT OF BROAD SUGGESTIONS.
I THINK ONE IS, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE CALIBRATE IT WELL.
SO I THINK ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE BOTH IN DOWNTOWN BONUS AND THEIR EASTER RESIDE CORRIDOR REGULATING PLAN AS WELL.
WE HAVE THESE MENU OPTIONS, BUT THEN SURE.
THE WAY THEY'RE CALIBRATED, NO ONE TAKES THE MENU OPTIONS.
WE'VE MADE IT SO SORT OF, SO I THINK CALIBRATING IT AGAINST THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENT WOULD BE SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I'M, I KNOW Y'ALL ARE WORKING ON THE CALIBRATION, SO I'M SURE THAT'S IN THE RADAR.
THE OTHER ONE IS, AND THIS IS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WE WOULD NEED TO FIGURE OUT WITH A T D AND IT'S SOMETHING WORTH CONSIDERING, SHOULD WE BE LOOKING AT DEDICATED SCOOTER PARKING IN SOME OF THESE AREAS? WE HAVE BIKE PARKING STATIONS, SCOOTERS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD A BIG CHALLENGE IN THE CITY OF COURSE.
AND THEY OBSTRUCT THE PATH THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE.
IT DOES NOT HELP US WITH AADA A COMPLIANCE.
IS THERE A WAY FOR US TO START IN THAT INCENTIVE PROGRAM IN A CREATIVE WAY, STARTING FIGURING OUT IF THERE SHOULD BE DEDICATED SCOOTER STATIONS AS WELL? SIMILAR, I KNOW IT'S A MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THING AND WOULD HAVE TO WORK WITH THE PRIVATE VENDORS WHO DO THIS.
BUT ALL THAT TO SAY SOMETHING WORTH CONSIDERING IF WE'RE SORT OF ASKING SOMEONE, ALLOWING SOMEONE TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND IF THEY WOULD WISH TO CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE.
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS, I LOOKED AT THE SLIDES AND I KNOW AGAIN THE BONUSES IN THE WORKS AND IT'S NOT IN FRONT OF US, BUT IS MY UNDERSTANDING CORRECT THAT Y'ALL ARE CONSIDERING SIMILAR TO THE DOWNTOWN BONUS AND HAVING A TIER ONE THAT IS ADMINISTRATIVE BONUS AND THEN A TIER TWO THAT IT SEEMS LIKE WILL BE WHAT Y'ALL CALL LEGISLATIVE
[01:50:01]
BONUS.UM, AGAIN, Y'ALL WILL BE WORKING ON THIS.
I, I THINK IN SOME WAYS IT WOULD BE NICER IF WE COULD HAVE AN OVERALL ADMINISTRATIVE BONUS.
I THINK WE CAN BREAK IT UP INTO TIERS IF YOU HAVE AN ADMINISTRATIVE BONUS THAT IS SORT OF THE REGULAR BONUS AND THAT ADMINISTRATIVE BONUS THAT ALLOWS YOU TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND AGAIN.
BUT I THINK WE'VE SEEN SOME CHALLENGES WITH THE DOWNTOWN BONUSES IN THE PRETTY RAINY STREET AREA.
IT, THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, AS IMPORTANT AS IT MAY BE, SOMETIMES ADDS SORT OF MORE COMPLEXITY TO IT.
AND THEN WE'RE ASKING FOR THINGS THAT WE TECHNICALLY CANNOT ASK.
THEY'RE NOT PART OF THE ORDINANCE BECAUSE, NOT LIKE A, BUT IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE MAKE YOUR OWN DENSITY BONUS.
IT IS STILL GUIDELINES THAT WE AS A COMMISSION AND COUNCIL HAVE TO FOLLOW.
SO I WONDER IF IT MAKES SENSE IF WE'RE GONNA DO A MENU OPTION TO JUST HAVE AN ADMINISTRATIVE BONUS THAT PERHAPS HAS, YOU KNOW, A SECOND TIER OF REQUIREMENTS, BUT WE SORT OF BUILD NOTHING BUT AN ADMINISTRATIVE BONUS.
AGAIN, SOMETHING WORTH CONSIDERING BECAUSE I KNOW WE, EVEN FOR THE DOWNTOWN BONUS IN THE PAST, I'VE CONSIDERED MOVING TO AN ALL ADMINISTRATIVE BONUS.
WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK INTO THAT.
ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, UH, LOOKING AROUND THE ROOM HERE.
UH, REALLY, UH, YOUR PRESENTATION IS GREAT AND I APPRECIATE YOU COMING HERE TODAY TO HELP US, UM, AND LOOK FORWARD TO GOOD WORK ON THE, UH, THE CONTINUED, UH, ITEMS THERE.
AND I GREW UP IN EL PASO AS WELL, SO, SO IT'S, IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE.
ARE YOU KIDDING? I, I'M CLASS OF 92 URBAN ROCKETS.
YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING SOMEBODY'S.
THANK YOU CHAIR FOR ALL RIGHT.
OKAY, UH, WELL LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON.
[3. Eliminate Minimum Parking Requirements]
OH YES, THE ELIMINATE MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS ITEM.UH, WE HAVE A PRESENTERS, UH, DAN HENNESSY CONSULTING ENGINEER.
UM, AND AL AND CORRECT ME IF I GET THIS WRONG, I'M GONNA SAY, IS IT BA BARUA? IT'S AL BARUA AND HE'S NOT HERE TONIGHT.
SO YOU'RE THE ONLY PRESENTER THIS EVENING? YES.
THAT'S, WE, UH, WE'LL GIVE YOU, UH, TIME TO PRESENT AND THEN YOU'LL GET PLENTY OF QUESTIONS, I'M SURE ON THIS ONE.
AND HOPEFULLY THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE FAIRLY QUICK.
UH, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS, UH, HOW WE'RE RESPONDING TO THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION TO REMOVE MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS FROM THE CODE.
UM, A REMINDER OF THE RESOLUTION FIRST, UH, JUST WAS VERY CLEAR IN ITS BE IT RESOLVES, UH, REMOVE PARK MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND, UM, MAINTAIN ACCESSIBLE PARKING REQUIREMENTS, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE THAT WOULD REQUIRE OR PROVIDE NO PARKING AT ALL.
AND I'LL SHARE A LITTLE BIT AT THE END ABOUT, UH, WHY THAT SPECIFIC CLAUSE IS IMPORTANT AS IT RELATES TO THE PROVISION OF ACCESSIBLE PARKING SPACES.
UH, WE'LL ALSO TALK ABOUT THE SCHEDULE.
THE CITY MANAGER, UH, DIRECTED US TO HAVE THIS DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, AND I THINK WE WILL OR ARE IN LINE TO MEET THAT GOAL.
UH, SO TONIGHT, UH, WE'RE HERE FOR THIS BRIEFING.
AND THAT'S THE NEXT, UH, CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE DATE.
THAT SEPTEMBER THIR 13TH DATE IS MY DEADLINE TO HAVE ALL THE PAPERWORK IN, IN TIME.
THE ACTUAL MEETING IS THE FOLLOWING WEEK ON THE 20TH.
UH, WE'LL BE PRESENTING TO THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AT THEIR OCTOBER MEETING.
UH, WE'LL BE BACK IN FRONT OF YOU, UH, AS SCHEDULED IN, UH, EARLY OCTOBER.
UH, AND THEN THAT PUTS US AT CITY COUNCIL FOR THEIR ADOPTION IF ALL GOES WELL ON NOVEMBER 2ND.
UM, ALL THOSE MEETINGS AFTER TODAY, A FULL SET OF RED LINES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETINGS, UM, TO UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE CHANGES THAT ARE REQUIRED TO MEET, UH, THE RE COUNCIL RESOLUTION, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT NEXT.
UM, THROUGH, UH, TITLE 25, UH, WE WENT THROUGH ALL 13 CHAPTERS AND LOOKED AT ANY POTENTIAL MENTION OF MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT, UH, CHAPTER ONE AND CHAPTER SEVEN THROUGH 13 HAD NO MENTION OF MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS, SO WE WERE ABLE TO SKIP THOSE ENTIRELY.
UH, CHAPTERS TWO THROUGH SIX, UH, ALL DID, AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE REFERENCES ARE IN CHAPTER 25, 2 ZONING AND 25 6 TRANSPORTATION.
UH, BUT I WILL LAY OUT THE SECTIONS THAT ARE AFFECTED, UM, THROUGH THE REST OF THIS PRESENTATION.
UH, AGAIN, JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A, UH, AN EXPANSE OF, UH, ALL, ALL THESE REFERENCES, UH, IN CHAPTER 25 2, A LOT OF THESE ARE JUST REFERENCES TO MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS OR CLAUSES REFERRING TO ANOTHER REQUIREMENT WHERE WE'VE CAUGHT IT AND RE PROPOSING TO REMOVE IT AS IT NO LONGER WILL EXIST FROM THE CODE.
I DON'T KNOW THAT A NUMBER OF THESE, UH, ARE REALLY IMPORTANT,
[01:55:01]
BUT THAT, UH, JUST FOR CLARITY AND CLEANLINESS, UM, WE'RE PROPOSING TO, UH, DELETE THESE, THESE, THESE ARE MOSTLY, UH, WITH THE EXCEPTION REALLY, OF CHAPTER 25 6.UH, THE OTHER CHANGES ARE, ARE PRESENTED AS, UH, DELETIONS.
MOSTLY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT CHANGING LANGUAGES, THEY'RE JUST REFERENCES TO MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS THAT, UH, NEED TO BE REMOVED FROM THE CODE TO MATCH THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION.
SO A NUMBER OF, UH, REFERENCES THROUGHOUT, UM, SUB SUB CHAPTERS A AND C.
UH, AGAIN, UH, THERE ARE SOME REQUIREMENTS SPECIFICALLY IN SUB CHAPTER C THAT, UM, ARE, HAVE BEEN CAUGHT AND ARE PROPOSED FOR REMOVAL FOR CONSISTENCY WITH THAT.
SOME OF THESE ARE VERY SPECIFIC, UM, REQUIREMENTS.
SOME OF THESE JUST DELEGATE THE, UH, MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENT ESTABLISHMENT TO, UH, TYPICALLY THE DIRECTOR OF THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, UM, OR TO OTHER AUTHORITIES.
UM, BUT THEY'VE ALL BEEN CAUGHT AND REMOVED, AT LEAST FLAGGED FOR DISCUSSIONS SO THAT, UH, AGAIN, WE'RE PROPOSING THEM AS RED LINES TO DELETE THEM, BUT IF THERE'S SOME REASON TO MAINTAIN SOME OF THIS OR IF, UH, ANY PLANNING COMMISSION OR CITY COUNCIL WANTS TO HOLD SOME SPECIFIC ELEMENT OF THIS, UM, THEY'LL BE HIGHLIGHTED AS PART OF THOSE RED LINE CHANGES FOR EVERYBODY TO REVIEW.
UH, SIMILAR CHANGES IN SUB CHAPTERS D AND F UH, RELATED, UH, TO, UH, SPECIAL USES AND, UM, DEFINITIONS IN SUBCHAPTER F I'VE ALSO HIGHLIGHTED SUBCHAPTER E SPECIFICALLY.
UM, THERE'S REALLY ONE MENTION OF SPECIFIC PARKING REQUIREMENTS, AND THEN THAT REQUIREMENT IS REFERENCED ABOUT A DOZEN TIMES THROUGHOUT SUBCHAPTER E.
SO ALL THESE DIFFERENT SECTIONS ARE THERE TO SHOW WHERE ALL THE RED LINES WILL BE, BUT REALLY THAT 4.3 0.3 POINT E, UM, IS REALLY WHERE THE PARKING REQUIREMENT IS IN THAT SUB-CHAPTER.
UM, AND THAT'S BEEN PROPOSED TO BE REMOVED, UM, IN THOSE, UH, MIDDLE CHAPTERS.
UM, A COUPLE OF CATCHES, UH, IN SUBCHAPTER, OR SORRY, IN CHAPTER 25, 3 AND CHAPTER 25, 5 AND 25 4, THEY'RE MENTIONED IN THE PLATING REQUIREMENTS SECTION.
WE DID NOTE THAT THOSE REQUIREMENTS ARE MIRRORED IN TITLE 30 FOR, UM, UH, DEVELOPMENTS IN THE E T J.
AND SO WE'RE PROPOSING TO MAKE THE CHANGES THERE TOO.
EVEN THOUGH WE WEREN'T DIRECTED TO BY, UH, COUNCIL SPECIFICALLY AS PART OF THE RESOLUTION, WE THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE PRETTY CONFUSING TO NOT, UH, MAKE THOSE SAME CHANGES AND THEY'RE IN THE SAME SPIRIT.
UH, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE OPEN TO FEEDBACK AND, AND DIRECTION ON THOSE.
IF, UH, THOSE ARE SPECIFICALLY, AGAIN, FOR SMALL LOT SUBDIVISIONS HAVE THEIR OWN, UM, PARKING REQUIREMENT AS PART OF THE PLATING REQUIREMENTS, AS DO SINGLE FAMILY ATTACHED RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISIONS.
AND LASTLY, IN CHAPTER 25 6, UH, THE VAST MAJORITY OF 25 6 WILL BE LEFT ALONE.
UH, THE PARKING REQUIREMENTS ARE ALL IN ARTICLE SEVEN, UH, AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THAT, AND THE DEFINITIONS ARE IN 25 6 4 7.
ONE OFF STREET PARKING FACILITY REQUIRED.
THE TITLE OF THAT SECTION IS NOW PROPOSED TO BE CHANGED TO OFF STREET PARKING.
AND THE FIRST SENTENCE OF IT IS NO OFF STREET PARKING, UH, FACILITY IS REQUIRED.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER CHANGES.
THIS IS REALLY THE SECTION WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF TEXT CHANGES TO KIND OF DESCRIBE, UH, HOW, UM, PROVISION OF ACCESSIBLE PARKING WILL BE, UM, CALCULATED, UH, HOW IT NEEDS TO BE ACTUALLY PROVIDED AND SHOWN ON SITE PLANS OR THROUGH, UH, OTHER AGREEMENTS.
UH, BUT ALL OF THESE SECTIONS HAVE, UM, HAVE SECTIONS, UH, RELATED TO MINIMAL PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
THE FINAL SECTION SHOWN THERE IS THIS, THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE CITY THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY DEFINED FOR AN AUTOMATIC, UH, REDUCTION OF THE MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS TO LESS THAN WHAT'S SHOWN IN APPENDIX A.
AS THAT'S NO LONGER NEEDED, IT'S PROPOSED TO BE REMOVED ALSO, UH, WE COULDN'T FIND ANY OTHER REFERENCES TO THAT SECTION THROUGHOUT THE CODE.
SO, UH, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THAT'S USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE.
UM, THERE'S A SECTION ON OFFSITE PARKING, UM, RELATED TO PARKING AGREEMENTS TO MEET MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS THAT NO LONGER IS NECESSARY AS A RESULT OF THE REDUCTION, OR, OH, SORRY, ELIMINATION OF MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
THERE ARE ALSO SPECIFIC SECTIONS RELATED TO, UM, UH, DOWNTOWN PROPERTIES AND TODS THAT, UH, AGAIN, REFLECT, UH, RATIOS OF THE, UH, APPENDIX A MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS THAT NO LONGER NEED TO BE INCLUDED.
UH, AS A RESULT OF THIS, UH, THESE CHANGES, APPENDIX A THOUGH WILL NOT BE DELETED, GIVEN HOW MANY DIFFERENT REFERENCES THERE ARE TO IT, WE'RE PROPOSING TO MAINTAIN IT, UH, AND CHANGE THE TITLE TO SAY THAT IT, THIS IS A REMNANT OF PREVIOUS CODE SHOWING THAT USED TO BE FOR MINIMUM OFF STREET PARKING REQUIREMENT, BUT IT'S MAINTAINED FOR A NUMBER OF OTHER CALCULATIONS THAT WILL REMAIN IN THE CODE.
UH, WE THOUGHT THIS WAS THE SIMPLEST WAY TO DO IT WITHOUT, UM, DRASTICALLY AMENDING
[02:00:01]
MULTIPLE SECTIONS OF THE CODE OR ADDING NEW TABLES OR CHANGING ANYTHING ELSE.UM, AGAIN, OPEN TO FEEDBACK ON THIS, BUT THIS WAS THE WAY TO MOST DIRECTLY RESPOND TO COUNCIL'S RESOLUTION WITHOUT DOING A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT, UH, MUDDY THAT PROCESS.
UM, LASTLY, I WANTED TO TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE ACCESSIBLE PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
RIGHT NOW, UH, THE ACCESSIBLE PARKING REQUIREMENTS ARE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF SPACES ACTUALLY PROVIDED, UM, NOT TO THOSE REQUIRED IN THE CODE.
UH, WE HAD A NUMBER OF, UM, UH, DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCACY GROUPS REACH OUT AND BE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THIS CHANGE MIGHT MEAN FOR THE PROVISION OF ACCESSIBLE SPACES, UH, AND TO DO TO, UH, TO KIND OF COUNTERACT THAT CONCERN ABOUT THE REDUCTION OF PARKING.
UM, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS MIRROR THE AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED, UM, PROVISION OF ACCESSIBLE PARKING SPACE REQUIREMENTS.
SO THIS IS, UH, NO MATTER WHAT, UH, IS PROVIDED ON SITE ONE, UH, ACCESSIBLE PARKING SPACE IS REQUIRED.
UM, IF YOU'RE PROVIDING A PARKING UH, FACILITY, THEN WE'RE GONNA CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF REQUIRED ACCESSIBLE PARKING SPACES BASED ON WHAT PREVIOUSLY WOULD'VE BEEN REQUIRED AS YOUR MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENT WITHOUT ANY REDUCTION.
UM, AT FIRST THAT, UH, WE WERE CONCERNED THAT THAT MIGHT BE OVERDOING IT, AND THEN WE KIND OF LOOKED AT THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM BASED ON THE, UH, BUILDING CODE.
AND EVEN THE FORMERLY, UM, PROVIDED REDUCTIONS TO THE MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENT, GETTING YOU FROM A HUNDRED PERCENT OF PARKING TO 60%, OR, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER REDUCTIONS THAT WOULD, UH, ALLOW, UH, FOR A REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF ACCESSIBLE SPACES.
WE'RE TYPICALLY TALKING ABOUT ONE TO THREE ACCESSIBLE SPACES DIFFERENCE.
UM, SO WHAT, WHAT THIS CODE WOULD ESSENTIALLY DO, WHAT THIS CODE CHANGE WOULD ESSENTIALLY DO IS MAINTAIN, UH, AT MINIMUM MAINTAIN THE NUMBER OF ACCESSIBLE PARKING SPACES THAT WOULD BE PROVIDED, UH, IF NOT POTENTIALLY STRENGTHEN IT BY, AGAIN, LIKELY ONE TO TWO SPOTS IN MOST CASES.
UH, REALLY WHERE IT GETS, UH, INTO A TRICKIER SITUATION IS THE PROVISION OF ZERO PARKING SPACES.
UH, AGAIN, OUR PROPOSAL IS THAT ONE IS REQUIRED, UH, ON SITE, UH, REALLY OFFSITE IS ALLOWABLE.
UH, THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH THE EXISTING PROVISIONS FOR DOWNTOWN.
UM, IF IT'S, UH, IN ANOTHER OFF STREET, UH, SORRY, UH, OFFSITE USE ADJACENT TO THE PROPERTY OR WITHIN A 250 FEET OF THE USE, OR IF IT CAN BE PROVIDED ON STREET, UH, THROUGH AN AGREEMENT WITH THE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TO DESIGNATE, UH, AN ACCESSIBLE SPACE ON THE STREET.
UM, AGAIN, THE CHANGES THAT ARE PROPOSED WERE MADE IN WITH THE HOPES OF CLARITY AND CLEANLINESS MORE SO THAN, UM, TRYING TO GUESS ABOUT EVERY EDGE CASE THAT MIGHT COME UP, OR, UM, MOSTLY RESPONDING TO COUNCIL DIRECTION.
UM, WITH RESPECT TO PROG THE PROCESS, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS TOOK THE FIRST STAB AT CODE AMENDMENTS.
THEY'RE BEING CIRCULATED WITH THE CODE CABINET RIGHT NOW FOR REVIEW AND FEEDBACK.
THAT'S WHY YOU'RE NOT SEEING RED LINES TONIGHT, IS THAT I DON'T WANNA PUT ANYTHING OUT THAT, UH, FELLOW STAFF MEMBERS HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO READ, UH, AND RESPOND TO AND COMMENT ON.
BUT THE PLAN IS THAT, UH, THAT INTERNAL WORK IS DONE, UH, BEFORE THE CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE, UH, HEARING IN A COUPLE WEEKS.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
GO GET THE, UH, VIRTUAL MEMBERS BACK UP HERE SO I CAN SEE THEIR HANDS.
WELL I SEE THE FIRST HAND UP IS, UH, CHAIR.
AND THEN WE'LL MOVE TO, UH, COMMISSIONER HOWARD, AND I'M SURE WE'LL HAVE OTHERS.
YEAH, SHOULD'VE KNOWN THAT WAS COMING.
SO WAS THERE ANY EXPIRATION TO COMPLETELY REMOVING ALL ORDINANCES REGARDING PARKING AND THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT FROM CITY CODE? 'CAUSE I WOULD RATHER HAVE THIS BE AN ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION AT THIS POINT, IF THERE'S ANY PARKING LEFT AT ALL, REALLY.
IS THERE ANYTHING WE WOULD EVEN REALLY HEAR AFTER THIS? UM, WELL, THE, UM, THERE'S STILL A PROVISION IN THE CODE THAT WOULD ALLOW APPLICANTS TO USE THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT FOR THE PURPOSES OF, UM, WAIVERS OR CHALLENGING THE ACCESSIBLE PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
UM, THAT'S, YEAH, THAT, THAT SECTION HAS ALL I SAW BEEN MODIFIED TO REFLECT THAT BASICALLY THERE'S NOT A LOT TO PROTEST ANYMORE, BUT IT STILL REMAINS AS AN AVENUE FOR, UH, I DON'T KNOW, QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROVISION OF ACCESSIBLE PARKING SPACES.
IS THAT SOMETHING I COULD PROPOSE AS A NEW AGENDA ITEM TO HAVE THE COMMISSION EXPLORE TO CODE AMENDMENT? JUST LET THAT BE AN ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION.
[02:05:01]
IT'S JUST KIND OF A WASTE.SO, WELL, I, I SHOULD SAY THAT THERE IS ALSO A PROVISION IN THE CODE THAT ALLOWS THAT TO BE AN ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION UP TO THE DIRECTOR LEVEL.
SO, ALRIGHT, SO I, I SUPPOSE THAT THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT IS THE APPEAL PROCESS WORKS FOR ME.
UM, COMMISSIONER HOWARD? YES, SO MY QUESTION IS ABOUT SENIORS WITH NO DESIGNATED DISABILITY.
SO I'M LIKING THIS TO, UH, AN ACCESSIBLE UNIT.
UM, THERE'S A UNIT, UM, IN SAY THE TAX CREDIT WORLD THAT THEY CONSIDER TO BE VISITABLE WHERE IT'S NOT NECESSARILY ACCESSIBLE AS IT ADAPTED FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, BUT IT COULD BE SUCH IF THE NEED ARISES.
SO I KNOW THAT THERE ARE, SO I'M WONDERING IF THERE WOULD BE SOME CONSIDERATION AS IT RELATES TO THE NEED FOR PARKING SPACES FOR FOLKS THAT ARE MAYBE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IN A DESIGNATED SENIOR FACILITY WHERE THE FOLKS MAY NOT HAVE NECESSARILY A DISABILITY, UM, BUT THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE MAYBE MOBILITY ISSUES AND MAY REQUIRE SOME SORT OF, YOU KNOW, PARKING.
UH, I THINK THAT OUR RESPONSE TO LIKE THAT QUESTION AND A LOT OF QUESTIONS LIKE THAT IS THAT WE EXPECT THE PRIVATE MARKET TO TAKE CARE OF THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE ELIMINATION OF MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS DOES NOT MEAN PARKING WILL NOT BE PROVIDED IN THE VAST, VAST MAJORITY OF CASES.
PARKING IS STILL GONNA BE REQUIRED.
WE'RE JUST NOT REQUIRING A MINIMUM AMOUNT ANYMORE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR A ZERO PARKED SENIOR LIVING FACILITY, I EXPECT THOSE TO BE PROBABLY FEW AND FAR BETWEEN OR IN VERY SPECIFIC CASES, UH, YOU KNOW, IN SUPPORTIVE AREAS THAT MIGHT, UH, WARRANT THAT.
BUT, UM, NO, UH, TO, TO BE, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY, NO, WE'RE NOT, UH, REQUIRING ANYTHING DIFFERENT FOR THOSE FACILITIES THAN WE WOULD FOR ANYTHING ELSE.
AND TO BE HONEST, I WAS THINKING ABOUT MORE ABOUT THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS WHERE THERE IS MAYBE A MOBILITY ISSUE, BUT I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
UH, COMMISSIONER CONLEY? SURE.
I ACTUALLY WANTED TO FOLLOW IN THAT VEIN, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT YOU SAID.
AS A A POINT THAT'S BEEN MADE MANY TIMES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MINIMUMS REQUIRED, NOT ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF ACTUAL PARKING THAT WILL BE CREATED.
UM, BUT I DO WANNA JUST BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MATH AROUND THE ACCESSIBLE SPACES.
SO LET'S SAY A DEVELOPMENT IS BUILDING 25 UNITS AND THEY DECIDE BASED ON THEIR MARKET MODELS, THEY'RE GONNA GONNA BUILD 25 PARKING SPACES AND SELL ONE PARKING SPACE PER UNIT.
UM, ARE THEY STILL ONLY REQUIRED TO BUILD, SO THE AMOUNT OF ACCESSIBLE SPACES THEY BUILD IS STILL A PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL UNITS, UH, OF THE TOTAL SPACES THEY BUILD? OR IS IT THAT THEY'RE ONLY REQUIRED TO BUILD ONE ACCESSIBLE PARKING SPACE? NO.
SO ACTUALLY NEITHER OF THOSE, OH, UH, THE PROPOSAL IS THAT THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO BUILD THE NUMBER OF ACCESSIBLE SPACES BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF PARKING THEY FORMERLY WOULD'VE BEEN REQUIRED TO BUILD.
SO BASICALLY THE BIGGEST NUMBER OF THE THREE.
SO IT'S NO LONGER ONE, IT'S NOT THE ACTUAL NUMBER THEY PROVIDE, IT'S THE NUMBER THAT THEY WERE FORMERLY REQUIRED FOR PERCENT OF AFFORDABLE SPACES.
SO IF THEY GO LESS THAN THAT, UM, THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE MORE ACCESSIBLE PARKING THAN IS ACTUALLY PROVIDED.
IF THEY GO MORE THAN THAT, THE UNIFORM BUILDING CODE SAYS YOU BUILD THAT MANY SPACES.
SO THERE'S NO, WHAT WE'VE TRIED TO DO IS, IS, UH, KIND OF MAKE A FAIL SAFE THAT NO FEWER ACCESSIBLE SPACES WOULD BE BUILT WITH THIS CODE REVISION THAN WOULD BE REQUIRED TO BE BILLED TODAY.
UH, WHO'S NEXT? COMMISSIONER WOODS.
AND THEN COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
AND I JUST REALLY WANTED MR. COX.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFICIENT WORK ON THIS AND KIND OF TAKING, TAKING THIS HOLISTICALLY AND SIMPLY AND, UM, REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
MY ONLY QUESTION IS, AND I'M, I APOLOGIZE IF YOU WENT OVER THIS AND I MISSED IT.
IS THERE AN UPDATE TO THE NUMBER OF BICYCLE SPACES REQUIRED BASED? NO, THERE'S IS AS IT IS TODAY.
UH, THAT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY THAT TABLE AT THE END REMAINS IT'S REFERENCE.
IT'S USED AS A REFERENCE TO MAKE THAT CALCULATION, BUT, UM, THERE ARE SOME CLARIFICATIONS ABOUT WHAT APPLIES TO MOTOR VEHICLES AND WHAT APPLIES TO BICYCLES THROUGHOUT.
BUT THE BICYCLE PARKING HAS ITS OWN SECTION IN THE CODE AND WOULD REMAIN AS IS UNDERSTOOD.
UH, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL THEN FOLLOWED BY COMMISSIONER COX.
UM, FIRST THANKS SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THIS TO US TONIGHT.
WE'RE OBVIOUSLY, THOSE OF US WHO'VE BEEN EXCITED ABOUT PARKING, BUT REQUIREMENT CHANGES ARE REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THIS FIRST DRAFT.
AND, UM, SO A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS THAT THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO.
SO FOR EXAMPLES, PUDS, PDAS, WHATNOT, CAN YOU TALK TO US ABOUT HOW YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE THESE TYPES OF REQUIREMENTS AND INCORPORATE INTO THOSE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT PLANS SINCE THAT'S OBVIOUSLY AN, AN ADDITIONAL ITEM WE NEED TO THINK THROUGH.
[02:10:01]
THAT, I MEAN, THIS DOESN'T MODIFY ANY EXISTING AGREEMENTS THAT, UH, HAVE BEEN MADE IN THE FUTURE.THIS WOULD BE THE BASE THAT WE START OFF ON ANY FUTURE NEGOTIATIONS OF REQUIRING NO PARKING.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT STEP TO GO ANY FARTHER THAN THIS IS TO PUT PARKING MAXIMUMS ON THINGS WHICH EXIST IN ONLY LIMITED PORTIONS OF THE CITY.
AND THAT'S, UH, WHILE HAS DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SUPPORT FROM STAFF AND ELECTED OFFICIALS WAS NOT PART OF THE COUNCIL DIRECTION.
AND SO WE DIDN'T GO THAT FAR WITH THIS CHANGE.
SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, WHEN WE PUT THROUGH THESE PARTICULAR CODE AMENDMENTS, THEY WOULD NOT NECESSARILY APPLY TO CERTAIN DEVELOPMENT AREAS AND THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO THEN BE SORT OF REINTRODUCED AS AN UPDATE TO SAY A PUD OR A PD.
I, I MEAN, IF THEY HAD SPECIFIC EXEMPTIONS TO, UM, PARKING REQUIREMENTS, THEN THAT WOULD PROBABLY NEED TO BE INTERPRETED BY SITE PLAN REVIEWERS AND PROBABLY THE LAW DEPARTMENT AS THOSE THINGS GO THROUGH.
UM, YEAH, I, I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE HOW THAT WOULD WORK OTHER THAN TO SAY I DON'T KNOW THAT ANY OF THOSE AGREEMENTS INCREASE THE MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS THAT, UH, WE ALREADY HAD.
THEY'VE PROBABLY ONLY FURTHER DECREASED THEM.
WE'RE NOW DECREASING THEM EVEN FURTHER.
AND THEN REGARDING THE BIKE PARKING, JUST AS A FOLLOWING QUESTION, UM, I'LL BE HONEST, I THINK THAT A LOT OF FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO SEE, AND PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN AND WHATNOT IN OUR 50 50 MODE SHARE, YOU KNOW, SOME INCREASED ENTITLEMENTS RELATED TO BIKE PARKING, IS THERE A POSSIBILITY TO ACTUALLY USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO STRENGTHEN SOME OF THOSE? UM, JUST, I KNOW THIS, AGAIN, THIS WASN'T IN THE SPECIFIC COUNCIL DIRECTION, BUT GIVEN THAT WE ARE REEXAMINING SOME OF THIS, KEEPING THE SORT OF STATUS QUO SEEMS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT UNAMBITIOUS AND SOMETHING WE COULD BE THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF WHAT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE, YEAH, IF WE HAD THAT DIRECTION, I THINK WE WOULD BE OPEN TO MAKING THOSE CHANGES AND CONSIDERING THEM, UM, AGAIN, WE'RE NOT THE POLICY MAKERS, WE'RE RESPONDING TO DIRECTION.
SO, UH, WE'D BE HAPPY TO INCORPORATE SOMETHING LIKE THAT THOUGH.
AND THEN LAST QUESTION, YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS IS ALL TIED TO AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED AND SORT OF JUST CURIOUS HOW WE'VE SEEN OR SOME OF THE TABLE IS, HOW HAVE WE SEEN PARKING BEING HANDLED IN THOSE DEVELOPMENTS AND HAS IT MOSTLY BEEN POSITIVE FOR THOSE FOLKS THAT NEEDED THOSE SPACES? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
THAT MIGHT BE BETTER HANDLED BY HOUSING OR PLANNING STAFF, OR MAYBE WE HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
UM, I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH DATA OR EVEN ANECDOTES TO SHARE WITH YOU, BUT, UM, IF, IF YOU'LL REMIND ME IN THE, UH, AS A FOLLOW UP, WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
YEAH, I, I GUESS I WAS JUST WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BASIS OF THE RECOMMENDATION WAS, YOU KNOW, IDEALLY ON A PROGRAM THAT'S SUCCESSFUL, THAT'S ONE THAT'S CAUSED A LOT OF CHA CHALLENGES
YEAH, I, I THINK THE, THE LANGUAGE AROUND USING THE REDUCED PARKING REQUIREMENTS, BUT ALSO REFLECTING THE NEED FOR ACCESSIBLE SPACES, THAT'S WHAT'S TAKEN FROM AFFORDABILITY UNLOCK NOT ANY CHANGE TO THE SPECIFIC PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
SO AGAIN, UM, THAT WAS MORE BORROWING LANGUAGE THAN THAT ALREADY EXISTS IN THE CITY CODE RATHER THAN, UM, TRYING TO MIRROR SPECIFICALLY THAT PROGRAM OR ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR SPECIFIC PARKING SITUATION.
YEAH, I, I I KINDA AM OF THE VIEW THAT, UM, THIS PROBABLY WON'T HAVE A HUGE PRACTICAL IMPACT IN, IN MANY DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAPPEN.
UM, BUT I AM TRYING TO THINK OF, YOU KNOW, IF OUR, IF OUR FUTURE IS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF PARKING POSSIBLE, WHICH I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL SUPPORT THAT, UM, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES? AND YOU BROUGHT ONE OF THEM UP THAT I KIND OF WAS CRUNCHING IN MY BRAIN WAS THE LOADING, UH, ISSUE.
AND WITH THE ADOPTION OF RIDESHARE THE SOON TO BE ADOPTION OF DRIVERLESS TAXIS, UM, AND THE FACT THAT WE PRETTY MUCH GET EVERYTHING DELIVERED NOW INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY GOING TO STORES, A LOT OF THAT ACTIVITY HAPPENS IN PARKING LOTS.
AND SO I'M CURIOUS IF STAFF IS THINKING THROUGH MAYBE THE NEED TO STRENGTHEN LOADING AND UNLOADING REQUIREMENTS IN OUR SITE DEVELOPMENT, UH, REGULATIONS OR, OR HOW THAT COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT THOSE ACTIVITIES? YEAH, GOOD QUESTION AND DEFINITELY A CONSIDERATION WITH THE EVOLVING TECHNOLOGIES, UH, AVAILABLE IN THE MOBILITY SPHERE.
UM, I THINK WE'RE THINKING OF IT LESS AS A SITE PLAN ISSUE AND MORE ABOUT A RIGHT OF WAY ISSUE AND HOW WE MANAGE THE CURB TO HANDLE THOSE KINDS OF ISSUES.
UM, WE LAST YEAR DEVELOPED, UH, OUR FIRST, UH, CURBSIDE MOBILITY, UH, MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES THAT HELP US MAKE DECISIONS AND, UH, AROUND DIFFERENT NEEDS AND DEMANDS.
REALLY WHAT HAS COME OUT OF A NUMBER OF THINGS OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS IS THAT THE CURB CAN NO LONGER BE STATIONARY.
IT CAN'T DO THE SAME THING 24 7.
IT HAS TO RESPOND TO DIFFERENT NEEDS, UH, ENTIRE BLOCK FACES,
[02:15:01]
CAN'T ALL BE PARKING, CAN'T ALL BE LOADING.UH, THERE NEEDS TO BE FLEXIBILITY AMONG THAT TO SERVE ALL THOSE NEEDS, UM, AND POTENTIALLY VARY IN HOW MUCH SPACE IS PROVIDED FOR ALL OF THOSE NEEDS BY DIFFERENT TIMES OF DAY.
UM, SO YEAH, WE WE'RE READY TO BE MORE RESPONSIVE NOW, UM, BUT WE'VE BEEN VIEWING THAT FROM THE PRO PROSPECT OF HOW DO WE MANAGE THE RIGHT OF WAY AND THE SPACE THAT WE OWN TO DO THAT.
UM, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THESE CODE CHANGES, THE OFF THE CURRENT OFF STREET LOADING STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS WOULD REMAIN, UH, UNCHANGED FROM WHAT THEY ARE TODAY.
DO YOU THINK THAT THOSE CURRENT STANDARDS WITH A FUTURE OF MINIMAL PARKING ARE LIKELY SUFFICIENT? WELL, IT DEPENDS ON THE CONTEXT.
I MEAN, I THINK WE'VE SEEN, FOR INSTANCE, DOWNTOWN WHERE, UH, YOU NOT ONLY HAVE SIGNIFICANT COMMERCIAL LOADING, BUT ALSO LOTS OF PASSENGER PICKUP AND DROP OFF.
UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR, UM, FOOD DELIVERY SERVICES THAT ARE, UM, STATIONARY MANAGEMENT OF THE CURB IS INSUFFICIENT AND THAT WE NEED TO BE MORE RESPONSIVE AND PROVIDE MORE SPACE FOR THOSE TYPES OF USES.
UH, I THINK IN MOST NEIGHBORHOODS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS, THERE'S PLENTY OF SPACE IN THE STREET FOR SOMEBODY TO FIND A, A SPOT TO PARK.
AND, UM, IF NOT, THEN WE CAN RESPOND, UH, INDIVIDUALLY TO THOSE.
BUT AGAIN, UM, AUSTIN'S A BIG CITY WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT PROFILES, A LOT OF DIFFERENT RIGHT OF WAY PROFILES AND WE'LL HAVE TO RESPOND TO THOSE AS THOSE ISSUES ARISE IN THOSE SPECIFIC CONTEXT.
YEAH, AND I'M, I'M HOPE, I'M HOPING WE CAN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THINK ABOUT THE TYPE OF USES THAT HAVE THE MOST INTENSIVE OR ANTICIPATED MOST INTENSIVE LOADING UNLOADING REQUIREMENTS AND, AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO TRY TO AVOID ISSUES RATHER THAN LETTING THOSE ISSUES PERMEATE THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND THEN TAKING A YEAR AND A HALF TO CHANGE THE DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS.
IT'S, UH, KIND OF A FOLLOW ON TO COMMISSIONER, WHAT COMMISSIONER HOWARD WAS ASKING ABOUT IF THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE ANY PARKING MINIMUMS, UM, WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE THE CITY'S PROPERTIES FOLLOWING IN TERMS OF DETERMINING HOW MANY PARKING SPACES THEY NEED? UH, WE'LL FOLLOW THE ELIMINATION OF MINIMAL PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
I, I ASSUME THAT, I MEAN MOST, UH, CITY PROPERTIES, I THINK THERE IS SOME LEVEL OF COORDINATION WITH A DEVELOPER OR PROPERTY MANAGER WHO HAS DATA REGARDING, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW TO CONSTRUCT DEVELOPMENTS OR HOW TO MANAGE PROPERTIES AND THEY WOULD PROVIDE THAT, I KNOW WE, WE HAVE OUR OWN OFFICE OF REAL ESTATE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOKS AT TRENDS AND, AND NEEDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO WE'LL BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME STANDARDS AND AND MARKET AS EVERYBODY ELSE AND NEED TO RESPOND TO THAT IN KIND, UM, AS WE DEVELOP AND GROW OUR OWN PROPERTIES.
BUT, BUT YOU'RE NOT SAYING THAT BECAUSE THE MINIMUM HAS BEEN REMOVED, THE CITY'S JUST NOT GOING TO BUILD PARKING SPACES FOR THEIR OWN FACILITIES, ARE YOU? NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.
WE'LL, WE'LL RESPOND TO THE SAME MARKET CONDITIONS THAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS AND MAKE SURE THAT THE PROPERTIES ARE AS SUCCESSFUL AS THEY CAN BE.
ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONER ANDERSON.
UM, IT'S EXCITING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON THIS ON A DAY WHEN THERE ARE TWO HURRICANES.
UM, I AM CURIOUS AND, AND I THINK IT'S KIND OF FOR WHAT COMMISSIONER MAX WAS ASKING, MAYBE YOU ANSWERED IT IF YOU DID.
IT SEEMS IT MIGHT BE IMPORTANT TO HAVE SOME LANGUAGE IN THERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S IN 2 5 2, SOMETHING THAT STATES, CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME OKAY? I'M GETTING FEEDBACK.
YEAH, WE'RE WE'RE HAVING IT, IT'S GOING IN AND OUT.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GET A LITTLE CLOSE TO YOUR MIC OR, BUT WE WERE, PARDON ME.
IS IT, HOPEFULLY THIS IS BETTER IF IT'S NOT, JUST SPEAK UP, LET ME KNOW.
UM, SO IT JUST SEEMS THAT THERE MIGHT BE GOOD TO HAVE LANGUAGE, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS SHOULD BE IN 25 2 OR WHERE, BUT JUST SOMETHING THAT STATES THAT PARKING MINIMUMS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED IN SITE SPECIFIC ZONING.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S PDAS, PUDS, TODS, CCDS, ET CETERA, ARE NO LONGER IN EFFECT.
I WOULD JUST HATE TO HAVE TO HAVE A CONSTANT, YOU KNOW, BATCH OF CLEANUP CASES COMING OUR WAY AND HAVE TO MESS WITH SITE BY SITE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE INTENTION OF COUNCIL SEEMS TO BE CLEAR.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF IF THERE'S JUST KIND OF WORDING WE CAN HAVE THAT JUST KIND OF SUPERSEDES EVERYTHING ELSE, OR IF WE HAD TO DO ALL THESE ONE-OFFS YEAH.
WE LANDED ON WHAT TO DO THERE.
THE, UM, LAW DEPARTMENT IS PART OF THE CODE CABINET REVIEWING THESE CHANGES.
I WILL MAKE SURE TO HIGHLIGHT FOR THEM 'CAUSE I'M CERTAINLY NO EXPERT AS TO HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT WE LEGALLY, UM, MAKE THOSE CHANGES.
BUT I, I DO AGREE WITH THE SPIRIT OF, UH, THE STATEMENT THAT BOTH YOU AND COMMISSIONER MAXWELL MADE.
I JUST HAVE A KIND OF THINK OF THIS IN TERMS OF, UH, SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE, I THINK THE INTENT IS TO REMOVE THOSE MINIMUMS FOR, YOU KNOW, SSF TWO, SF THREE NEIGHBORHOODS.
[02:20:01]
UM, BUT I'M THE 250 DISTANCE, UH, 250 FOOT.HOW DID THAT, 'CAUSE I'M THINKING OF MY OWN FAMILY MEMBERS THAT HAVE MOBILITY ISSUES, THAT'S KIND OF A LONG WAY.
SO, UM, HOW IS THAT BEING TAKEN? HOW DID THAT NUMBER COME? HOW DID THAT, HOW DID WE GET ARRIVE AT THAT NUMBER THAT EXISTS IN THE CODE CURRENTLY FOR THE PROVISION OF ACCESSIBLE SPACES IN THE DOWNTOWN V M U AND UNO DISTRICTS? AND I COPIED IT SO THERE'S NO MAGIC BULLET OTHER THAN TO NOT CHANGE SOMETHING THAT ALREADY EXISTS IN THE CODE.
UM, OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THAT NUMBER SHOULD BE, BUT I, I TOOK WHAT WAS THERE AND DIDN'T CHANGE IT.
'CAUSE I COULD SEE WHERE IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE HARD TO ANTICIPATE WHERE YOU MIGHT NEED, YOU KNOW, AN ACCESSIBLE UNIT IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, OR JUST THAT'S CLOSER THAN 250 FEET.
BUT WE HAVE, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE, UH, GETTING UP THERE IN YEARS AND, UH, BUT THEY VERY, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE WALKING AROUND AND USING THEIR CAR AND HAVE TO GET BETWEEN THEIR HOUSE AND THEIR VEHICLES.
IT'S JUST SOMETHING I THINK WE MIGHT WANNA THINK ABOUT IF THAT'S THE RIGHT NUMBER.
I GUESS, UH, THAT REALLY WOULD ONLY COME INTO PLAY FOR A RESIDENTIAL UNIT THAT WAS PROVIDED NO PARKING.
AND SO, UM, YEAH, THE, THE, THAT CERTAINLY WILL BE THE CASE IN CERTAIN INSTANCES.
IT'S NOT WIDESPREAD NOW, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'D LOVE FOR THAT TO BE THE PROBLEM THAT WE'RE SOLVING FOR INSTEAD OF YEAH.
PROVIDING PILES OF CONCRETE AND ASPHALT, BUT GO UNUSED.
I THINK WE'LL LOOK AT, UH, IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE OTHER, UH, PROPOSALS AD IS COMING UP AND SOME OF THE FUTURE, UH, PROPOSED COUNCIL MODIFICATIONS AND HOW IT RELATES TO PARKING.
WE'LL HAVE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
AND ACTUALLY, UH, THAT'S A, A REMINDER TO FOLLOW ON JORGE'S PRESENTATION.
UM, THE REGULATING PLANS, UM, T O D REGULATIONS, THEY ALL REFER BACK TO THIS CHAPTER.
SO THIS SHOULD BROADLY TAKE CARE OF THOSE CHANGES AS WELL.
THOUGH WE WILL WORK AND FIGURE OUT EXACTLY HOW THE LANGUAGE OF THOSE OTHER REGULATING PLANS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS NEED TO CHANGE TO JUST CLEAN EVERYTHING UP AND CODIFY.
SO SORRY TO ADD THAT ONTO, NOPE.
THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAD.
ANYONE, OTHERS? WE HAVE COMMISSIONER AZAR AND THEN
UM, AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE INFORMATION.
THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL AS WE LOOK TO WORK ON THESE ISSUES GOING FORWARD.
UM, I KIND OF WANTED TO TAG ON COMMISSIONER COX, UH, LINE OF QUESTIONING REGARDING, UM, LOADING AND UNLOADING.
'CAUSE IT, IN MY MIND I WAS THINKING ALSO AGAIN ABOUT EMERGENCY VEHICLES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN I GOT TO THINKING ABOUT RESIDENTIAL AND HOW THE PARKING LOTS OFTEN BECOME STAGING AREAS FOR MOVING AND ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
UM, AND, AND EVEN IF WE'RE, I APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION AND HOPEFULLY THAT WILL BE HELPFUL, THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY GOING TO PROTECT, UM, PARKING ACCESSIBILITY FOR, UM, FOR CERTAIN FOLKS.
BUT WHAT ABOUT PICKUP AND DROP OFF? BECAUSE AGAIN, AS WE LOOK AT RIDE SHARES AND MODE TRANSPORTATION, THINGS LIKE THAT, SOME KIND OF STAGING AREA.
I KNOW YOU STARTED TO TALK ABOUT IT, BUT I I JUST WANTED TO BRING IT UP AGAIN BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE STILL WORKING ON THE FRAMEWORK AND THAT MIGHT BE AN IMPORTANT PIECE TO MAKE SURE WE INCORPORATE IN SO THAT THIS TRADE OFF ENDS UP WORKING FAVORABLY.
I'M CURIOUS TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS.
YEAH, THANKS FOR THE QUESTION.
UH, I WILL SAY THAT SPECIFICALLY TO THE CHANGES IN THE SECTIONS THAT I HIGHLIGHTED THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION, THOSE ARE ALL ABOUT MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
UH, IF YOU SEARCH THROUGH THE CODE JUST FOR THE WORD PARKING, YOU'LL FIND HUNDREDS OF OTHER REFERENCES TO THE DESIGN OF PARKING LOTS AND HOW DRY VIALS WORK AND LOADING AND UNLOADING AREAS AND DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT.
ALL OF THAT REMAINS AS IS IN THE CODE RIGHT NOW.
SO THE, UM, ESSENTIALLY THE PARKING LOTS CAN BE SMALLER IN THE FUTURE, BUT OTHERWISE WILL BE DESIGNED SIMILARLY TO WHAT'S REQUIRED TODAY.
OUR RESPONSE IS TO BE MORE WILLING TO NIMBLY MANAGE THE RIGHT OF WAY AND THE CURB SPACE TO RESPOND TO THOSE CONDITIONS.
UM, WE'RE NOT, UH, RIGHT NOW AWARE ENOUGH OF ONSITE ISSUES, UM, TO BE ABLE TO DEFINITIVELY SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, A SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT WOULD SOLVE ALL ISSUES WITHOUT CREATING NEW ONES OR KINDA GETTING BACK TO THE SAME CONDITION THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW, WHERE WE CREATE MORE OFF STREET LOADING THAT GOES UNUSED FOR LARGE PARTS OF THE DAY.
UM, SO I THINK WE'RE WILLING TO KIND OF CONTINUE TO OBSERVE AND CONSIDER THOSE CHANGES, BUT WE THINK THAT WITH OUR
[02:25:01]
TOOLS WITHIN THE RIGHT OF WAY, WE CAN KIND OF MANAGE THAT SITUATION APPROPRIATELY.AND, UH, AND TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY VETTED THROUGH OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO SEE FEEDBACK FROM THEM REGARDING SOME OF THAT? LIKE, DO WE THINK THESE AREAS OF CONCERN ARE WELL COVERED BY OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS SITE PLANNING, STUFF LIKE THAT? UM, AND, AND HOW ARE WE GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THEM ON THIS? OR HAS THAT HAPPENED OR IS THAT GOING TO HAPPEN OR NOT HAPPEN? WELL, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS, BUT TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DOES TAKE PART IN THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS.
AND OUR REVIEWERS DO REVIEW, ESPECIALLY FOR CONDITIONS THAT WOULD CREATE SIGNIFICANT LOADING AND UNLOADING, UH, CONDITIONS FOR PROPER, UH, AURS TO HANDLE ALL OF THAT.
THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M THINKING SPECIFICALLY OF, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CONDITIONS FOR SAY, DRIVE-THROUGH RESTAURANTS THAT REQUIRE SPECIFIC QUEUING SPACES.
UM, DIFFERENT, UM, HIGH INTENSITY LOADING SCENARIOS HAVE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS IN THE, IN THE CODE, IN, IN APPENDIX A OF, UH, CHAPTER 25 6 AS IS.
SO IT DOESN'T GO WITHOUT, UM, OBSERVATION AND REVIEW BY US, THOUGH.
THERE IS NO FORMAL REQUIREMENT IN THE CODE FOR ANYTHING ABOVE AND BEYOND OR, OR NO PROPOSAL FOR ANYTHING FORMAL ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT'S IN THERE TODAY.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE HAVE IN THERE, ONCE WE, AND AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND THIS IS ALL ABOUT JUST REMOVING MINIMUMS. IT'S NOT ABOUT SETTING MAXIMUMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND ALLOWING MARKET DRIVERS AND DEVELOPERS TO FOLLOW WHAT MAKES THE BEST USE OF THE SPACE.
JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE MINIMUM PROTECTIONS NEEDED TO MAKE THE SPACES WORK.
OR AT LEAST CAPACITY TO DO THAT, THAT WE HAVEN'T GIVEN ALL THAT AWAY WITH, WITH, UM, WITH LETTING THIS GO.
I THINK IT'S MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
YOU ALREADY KIND OF MENTIONED THIS.
SO Y'ALL WILL BE LOOKING TO THE DIFFERENT REGULATING PLANS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE REFERENCES SEEM CORRECT.
LIKE I'M THINKING YOU ALSO, THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR.
WE HAVE A BUNCH OF THEM REALLY AT THIS POINT.
SO JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THE REFERENCES YEAH.
EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE FOUND TO DATE REFERS BACK TO THE CHANGES THAT WE ARE MAKING RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE'LL FIGURE OUT HOW TO CODIFY AND CLARIFY EVERYTHING APPROPRIATELY.
UH, AND I I SHOULD SAY TOO, LIKE WE ARE ALMOST CERTAINLY GOING TO MISS SOMETHING AND WE'LL TRY TO FIX IT, BUT, UM, AGAIN, TRYING TO DO THIS CLEAN EASY, AS FAST AS WE CAN.
SO, UM, APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE WITH US AS WE FIGURE IT OUT.
AND THE OTHER THING IS, HONESTLY MORE OF A COMMENT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN WORKING A LOT ON MANAGING OUR A D A SPACES.
A LOT OF THE TROUBLE THAT THE CITY'S HAD IS NOT NECESSARILY A LACK OF ACCESSIBLE SPACES, BUT THE FACT THAT PEOPLE WHO SHOULD NOT BE PARKING IN THEM ARE PARKING IN THEM ILLEGALLY OR THEY'RE TAKING OVER THE RAMP OR SOMETHING ELSE THAT ESSENTIALLY MAKES THOSE SPOTS INACCESSIBLE.
AND SO I GUESS HOPEFULLY IT'S MORE OF A COMMENT.
I SUPPOSE I WAS SAYING THAT THE CITY SHOULD CONTINUE WORKING ON THAT MANAGEMENT.
WE'VE ACTUALLY MADE SOME GREAT, YOU KNOW, HEADWINDS IN THAT SCENARIO, INCLUDING WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND FOLKS WHO MIGHT THEMSELVES BE ABLE TO, UM, POINT OUT WHERE SUCH VIOLATIONS ARE EXISTING.
BUT I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE'RE WORKING ON THIS, WE CONTINUE WORKING ON THE MANAGEMENT OF THOSE SPACES TO ENSURE THAT THOSE WHO ARE MAKING ILLEGAL PARKING, I GUESS USE SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, I, I'LL MENTION RELATED TO THAT, THAT, UM, THE ONLY PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WE DID AS PART OF THIS WAS TO REACH OUT TO, UM, ADAPT OF TEXAS, UH, DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCACY GROUP, UM, TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK ON CONCERNS, PROPOSED CHANGES.
UM, WE SPENT A HALF HOUR TALKING AND 29 OF THOSE MINUTES WERE ABOUT DESIGN ISSUES AND OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT.
IT REALLY WASN'T ABOUT THE PROVISION OF PARKING.
UH, I'LL ALSO NOTE THAT WE SENT THEM THE PROPOSED RED LINES AND, UH, EXPECTING COMMENTS BACK AND THEY SAID PROCEED.
SO, UM, GOT PRETTY CONFIDENT ABOUT THIS, BUT DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST THE PROVISION OF SPACES, BUT THE ACTUAL AVAILABILITY OF THEM AND THE PROPER USE OF THEM TOO.
SO I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK ON THAT AND I BRING THAT UP BECAUSE IN PAST WHEN WE WORKED ON FORD BOOKEY AND LOCKED, I HAD WORKED WITH ADAPT AND OTHER FOLKS AND IT HAD BEEN A SIMILAR CONVERSATION BACK THEN.
AND I KNOW SINCE THEN, AGAIN, THE CITY HAS ACTUALLY HAD MADE A NUMBER OF IMPROVEMENTS FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT OF THOSE SPACES.
BUT I'M EXCITED TO HEAR Y'ALL ARE CONTINUING THAT WORK.
ANY OTHER FOLKS QUESTIONS? I I'M GONNA TAKE A QUICK, I DID HAVE ONE MORE.
AND, UH, AND PLEASE, UM, THOSE THAT, UH, MAY HAVE, UH, USED BICYCLES AS THEIR PREDOMINANT MODE OF TRANSPORTATION.
JUST WHAT ARE, UM, ARE THERE MINIMUM STANDARDS ABOUT BIKE RACKS AND, UM, AND PROXIMITY, MAYBE THE PROXIMITY OF, UH, THE BICYCLE RACKS ON THE PROPERTY FOR EASY ACCESS? ARE THERE RULES AROUND THAT? BECAUSE I'VE SEEN SOME VARIABILITY AT
[02:30:01]
DIFFERENT SITES.UM, YOU KNOW, WITH REGARDS TO THE BIKE RACK FACILITY.
THE, SO THE BIKE PARKING, UH, NUMBER OF SPACES IS IN THE, UH, LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
THE DESIGN OF THOSE RACKS IS IN THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL.
WHICH, UH, WAS RECENTLY ADOPTED IN THE END OF 2021, A NEW VERSION.
UM, SO SITE PLANS THAT WERE IN PROCESS BEFORE THAT, UH, WERE RESPONDING TO THE OLD ONE.
I'LL ALSO NOTE THAT THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL IS UNDERGOING A UPDATE PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
AND INCLUDED IN THAT ARE A NUMBER OF LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT BICYCLE PARKING DESIGN UP TO INCLUDING THE LOCATION, BUT ALSO THE TYPES OF RACKS THAT ARE ALLOWABLE AND ARE, UH, ACTUALLY AS USABLE FOR THE NUMBER OF SPACES THAT THEY CLAIM TO PROVIDE.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY THAT WE'LL GET TO EVERY, UM, POINT OF CONCERN YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THAT, BUT IT IS UNDER REVIEW RIGHT NOW THROUGH A SEPARATE PROCESS.
LET'S YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE.
I, SORRY, ONE OTHER QUESTION, AND THIS IS MORE NOT BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT RELATED, BUT WILL THERE, OR HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE RESIDENTIAL PERMIT PARKING PROGRAM? WILL, LIKE SAY A DEVELOPER BUILDS A WHOLE NEW COMMUNITY WITH NO OFF STREET PARKING WHATSOEVER, BUT SOME OF THE FOLKS STILL HAVE CARS AND SAY THEY WANNA USE THE R P P AND WAS WAS THERE ANY DISCUSSION OVER THAT OR? YEAH, WE DID.
AND UH, THAT'S KIND OF ONE OF THOSE EDGE CASES THAT WE THOUGHT WE, WHEN WE INITIALLY TRIED TO MAKE THIS REALLY COMPLICATED, WE THOUGHT WE MIGHT TRY TO SOLVE FOR NOW.
UH, BUT WE'D BE GUESSING AS TO WHAT THE ACT ACTUAL IMPACTS ARE FOR NOW.
THE R P P REMAINS A TOOL THAT WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL TO HELP MANAGE PARKING IN NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, WE'LL USE IT AS APPROPRIATE UNTIL DIRECTED OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONAL TOOLS THAT CAN HELP US, UM, MANAGE DEMAND FOR PARKING THAT POTENTIALLY ISN'T SERVED BY THE PRIVATE MARKETS.
YOU KNOW, WE CAN USE PERMITTING PROGRAMS, WE CAN PRICE PARKING.
UM, WE CAN CHANGE THE USE OF THE CURB TO EITHER ALLOW OR, UH, PROHIBIT PARKING.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL TO RESPOND TO CHANGING CONDITIONS, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA TRY TO GUESS AT WHAT THEY'LL BE, UM, WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, SITE PLANS IN HAND THAT MIGHT REFLECT THE NEED TO DO SO.
SO THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT R P P AND I THOUGHT I MIGHT GET AWAY TONIGHT WITHOUT ANSWERING A QUESTION ABOUT IT.
I'LL LET IT GO WITH THAT THEN.
ANY OTHERS LOOKING AROUND? I DON'T SEE ANY, SO I'M GONNA THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THAT WAS A VERY GOOD PRESENTATION.
UM, AND THAT'LL BE COMING YES.
UH, TO JOINT COMMITTEE, UH,
[4. Expansion of Accessory Dwelling Units]
LAST ITEM, UH, FOR EXPANSION OF ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS, UH, WE'VE GOT BRENT LLOYD FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER HERE THIS EVENING.CHAIR SHAW AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
THANK YOU FOR, UM, HEARING US TONIGHT.
UH, BRENT LLOYD D S D DEVELOPMENT OFFICER ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE CODE CABINET.
AND I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU A VERY BRIEF AND HIGH LEVEL UPDATE ON KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THE A D U EXPANSION EFFORT.
UM, AT THE TIME THAT THE RECENT RESOLUTION WAS PASSED IN JULY OF THIS YEAR RELATED TO THREE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL USE AND REDUCTION OF LOT SIZES.
UM, OUR A D U PROPOSAL WAS AT THAT TIME UNDER REVIEW.
UM, AND IN LIGHT OF THIS RESOLUTION, UH, THERE'S A NEED TO REALLY REVISIT THE SUBSTANCE OF THAT PROPOSAL FOR ADUS.
THE RESOLUTION ITSELF CALLS SPECIFICALLY FOR PULLING BACK ON A PRESERVATION INCENTIVE.
UM, BUT I THINK MORE BROADLY, UM, THE TOPIC OF JUST THREE UNITS ON A LOT AND KIND OF THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF THIS RESOLUTION REALLY DOES NECESSITATE US REVISITING SOME OF THE ELEMENTS OF OUR ORIGINAL A D U PROPOSALS.
SO, UM, AS MUCH AS I KNOW THERE'S A STRONG INTEREST IN GETTING THIS ITEM MOVING FORWARD, UH, AND THERE HAS BEEN A GREAT DEAL OF STAFF EFFORT TOWARDS THAT END, UM, WE NEED, WE'RE WORKING WITH WITHIN THE CODE AND THE CABINET WITH OUR COLLEAGUES IN PLANNING TO REALLY FORMULATE A FORWARD THINKING, UH, DIRECTION ON THE THREE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL USE RESOLUTION.
UM, AND A LOT OF EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TOWARDS THAT END.
[02:35:01]
AND IT'S OUR HOPE SOON THAT WE WILL BE BRINGING FORWARD A PROPOSAL, UM, A WORK PLAN RATHER FOR THAT STAFF INTENDS TO FOLLOW, TO EFFECTUATE THE THREE FAMILY RESOLUTION.UM, AND THE CORRESPONDING ELEMENTS OF THAT, INCLUDING THE REDUCTION IN LOT SIZE.
AND THAT MAY BE A PHASED APPROACH.
IN FACT, I THINK IT WILL BE A PHASED APPROACH.
UM, BUT THAT IS THE DIRECTION THAT WE'RE PURSUING RIGHT NOW.
IT WOULD NOT BE CONSISTENT WITH THE DIRECTION IN THIS RESOLUTION FOR US TO BRING FORWARD OUR, THE A D U PROPOSAL THAT WE HAD WORKED ON.
AND AGAIN, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A REAL DESIRE ON, ON COMMISSION'S, PART COUNCIL'S PART, AND ON STAFF'S PART AS WELL TO MOVE THE NEEDLE ON HOUSING CHOICE ON HOUSING CAPACITY.
UM, BUT I THINK THIS LATEST RESOLUTION NECESSITATES TAKING A STEP BACK UNTIL WE CAN FORMULATE A WORK PLAN TO MOVE THAT FORWARD.
AND WE'RE COMMITTED TO DOING THAT AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
UM, MIGHT HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS ON THAT.
UH, I JUST, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START WITH, SO A LOT OF THE KIND OF A D U, YOU KNOW, UM, RULES, SURELY WE WERE LOOKING AT KIND OF PLACEMENT OF THE ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT ON A LOT AND A LOT OF MECHANICS OF, UH, BUILDING CODE AROUND ADUS.
HOW FAR THEY, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN BE FROM THE PRIMARY STRUCTURE.
CAN IT BE INTERNAL, EXTERNAL? I MEAN ALL THOSE THINGS SEEM, UH, THE HARD WORK YOU'VE DONE WOULD SURELY APPLY OR A LOT OF THAT CAN BE CARRIED OVER TO THE THREE UNIT.
UH, I MEAN, IS THAT KIND OF APPLICABLE? I MEAN, 'CAUSE WE NEED THOSE TOOLS AS WELL, RIGHT? I THINK IT, IT POTENTIALLY IS.
I THINK THERE'S A, UM, THERE ARE SOME ELEMENTS OF THE A D'S PROPOSAL, INCLUDING LIKE THE USE OF A PRESERVATION INCENTIVE TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF UNITS AND TO PROVIDE OTHER DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES THAT I THINK ARE SUPERSEDED BY THIS RESOLUTION.
BUT THERE ARE CERTAINLY TO THE EXTENT THAT STAFF'S PROPOSAL IS TO RETAIN AN A D STYLE TYPOLOGY, THEN CERTAINLY REMOVING THOSE BARRIERS, UH, ARE IS ABSOLUTELY FRONT AND CENTER OF THAT.
BUT I THINK THERE'S ALSO, IN LOOKING AT RESPONDING TO THIS RESOLUTION, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT IS JUST WHETHER THE ACCESSORY PRIMARY RELATIONSHIP CONTINUES TO MAKE SENSE.
THIS RESOLUTION IS REALLY POINTING TOWARDS THREE UNITS ON A LOT AND THERE MAY BE A PLACE WITHIN THAT FOR A CONTINUED USE OF AN ACCESSORY UNIT STYLE OF REGULATION, BUT WE'RE REVISITING THAT AS WELL IN LIGHT OF THE DIRECTION OF THIS RESOLUTION.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY, UH, CHAIR SHAW, YOU DEFINITELY TOUCH ON SOME OF THE OBSTACLES, UH, THE LOW HANGING FRUIT, IF YOU WILL, FOR OUR CURRENT A D U REGULATIONS, WHICH INCLUDE THE, THE EXTRA, THE 10 FOOT SEPARATION.
WE COULD JUST RELY ON THE FIRE CODE, THE, UM, PLACEMENT OF ORIENTATION OF THE REQUIRED ORIENTATION OF THE A D U TO THE PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, WE DON'T NEED THE LIMITATION ON SECOND STORY, UH, SIZE OF, OF UNITS THAT ARE PORTIONS OF UNITS THAT ARE ON A SECOND STORY.
AND WE'RE ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE LOOKED AT THINGS LIKE, UM, PROVIDING GREATER FLEXIBILITY FOR DESIGNATING, UH, NEW STRUCTURES AS IT, UM, FOR DESIGNATING EXISTING STRUCTURES AS THE ACCESSORY IN BUILDING A NEW PRIMARY SO THAT WE INCENTIVIZE THE RETENTION OF SMALLER EXISTING STRUCTURES.
SO I THINK THERE'S A HOST OF LOW HANGING FRUIT ITEMS RELATED TO ADUS THAT WE'RE VERY AWARE OF.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE COMMITTED TO BRINGING THOSE FORWARD AS AS APPROPRIATE AS PART OF A, A LARGER EFFORT FOCUSED ON THE THREE FAMILY.
UH, COMMISSIONER WOODS AND THEN COMMISSIONER COX.
UH, REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS AND STAFF'S WORK ON THIS.
I'M JUST LOOKING BACK AT THE BRIEFING, UM, THAT WE RECEIVED IN JUNE THAT KIND OF LAID OUT THE SCHEDULE FOR SOME OF THESE CODE AMENDMENTS.
AND IN THAT BRIEFING IT SHOWS FIVE MONTHS OF, UM, DEVELOPMENT ENGAGEMENT FOR A D U EXPANSION.
IS, DOES THAT STILL SEEM LIKE AN ACCURATE ESTIMATE TO YOU? I THINK THAT IN LIGHT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE, OUR PROPOSAL WAS FAIRLY WELL DEVELOPED AND HAD BEEN, UH, IT OBVIOUSLY HADN'T BEEN GONE PUBLIC TO, UM, FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS YET, BUT THAT WAS REALLY OUR NEXT STEP WAS TO START PRESENTING THE IDEAS IN THE PROPOSAL PUBLICLY.
IT, AS I MENTIONED, IT WAS UNDER REVIEW THE, UM, AT THE TIME THAT, UH, THE THREE FAMILY RESOLUTION WAS PASSED.
AND SO I THINK AT THIS POINT, THAT'S REALLY ALL I CAN SAY.
UM, WE'RE REFOCUSING OUR EFFORTS ON THE THREE FAMILY AND I, AND I THINK SOME OF THE IDEAS FROM OUR A D U PROPOSAL
[02:40:01]
IN SOME FORM OR FASHION WILL COME FORWARD AS PART OF A RESPONSE TO THAT RESOLUTION.I, I GUESS WHAT I'M HEARING, COMMISSIONER WOODS, IF YOU DON'T MIND ME INTERJECTING, IS THIS, IT'S KIND OF AD IS THAT SCHEDULE NO LONGER APPLIES.
I THINK AND THAT'S, THAT'S HELPFUL.
SO DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF HOW MANY MONTHS OF DEVELOPMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WE'LL NEED TO GO INTO THIS, INTO THE THREE FAMILY FAMILY PROGRAM, UM, INTO THE RESOLUTION ON THREE FAMILY, CORRECT? NO, WE DO NOT.
BUT THAT IS FRONT AND CENTER OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP.
WE'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP A WORK PLAN TO BRING FORWARD THAT ORDINANCES IN RESPONSE TO THAT RESOLUTION AND PROBABLY IN PHASES.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE KNOW THERE'S A STRONG DESIRE ON THE PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND COUNCIL AND COMMISSION TO SEE THAT HAPPEN.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT MAKES SENSE TO BRING FORWARD FIRST, WHAT MAKES SENSE TO DEFER AND WE REALLY WANNA BRING FORWARD A PROPOSAL THAT'S GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND IS GONNA PRODUCE TRUE MISSING MIDDLE HOUSING.
WE DON'T THINK ANYBODY WANTS TO SEE LARGER SINGLE FAMILY, LARGER TWO FAMILY STRUCTURES.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT A GRADUATED APPROACH TO FLORIDA AREA RATIO THAT INCENTIVIZES THE CONSTRUCTION OF SMALLER, INHERENTLY SLIGHTLY MORE AFFORDABLE UNITS.
UM, HOPEFULLY MORE THAN SLIGHTLY BUT MORE AFFORDABLE UNITS.
AND SO THAT TAKES CALIBRATION.
THAT TAKES WORK, UM, AND WE'RE FACTORING THAT INTO OUR WORK PLAN AS WELL.
AND AGAIN, IT WILL LIKELY BE IN PHASES.
AND THAT IS, DEVELOPING THAT WORK PLAN IS REALLY THE FOCUS OF OUR EFFORTS AT THIS POINT.
AND WILL THERE BE CONSIDERATION GIVEN TO LOOKING BACK AT SOME OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND ENGAGEMENT THAT WAS DONE AROUND THIS ISSUE THROUGH THE PROCESS OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REWRITE THAT DIDN'T MOVE FORWARD? ABSOLUTELY.
WE THINK THERE ARE, UM, THIS RESOLUTION IS IN SOME RESPECTS BOLDER THAN, THAN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REWRITE, UM, IN TERMS OF THE, UH, SIZE OF LOT REDUCTIONS AND THE NUMBER OF UNITS ALLOWED JUST BY RIGHT.
UM, BUT WE THINK A LOT OF THE CALIBRATION WORK THAT WE DID IS INSTRUCTIVE.
UM, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, AT UH, LIKELY, UH, RETAINING SOME SUPPORT FOR FURTHER CALIBRATION AND MODELING WORK.
UM, SO, BUT DEFINITELY WE'RE VERY AWARE, WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN DRAW UPON PRIOR WORK THAT WAS DONE IN THE, IN THE REWRITE.
AND CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO WHAT THE FUTURE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WILL LOOK LIKE OR IS THAT STILL SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE KIND OF WORKING THROUGH AS THAT'S STILL SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH AND WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINITELY DISCUSSING THAT WITH OUR, OUR COLLEAGUES ON THE CODE CABINET AND THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
UM, THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT DIMENSION OF IT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT WILL BE PART OF OUR WORK PLAN.
AND, YOU KNOW, EVERY DAY THAT WE CAN'T MOVE THIS FORWARD IS PEOPLE ARE REALLY HURTING BECAUSE OF HOUSING PRICES IN AUSTIN, AND I KNOW THAT WE ALL KNOW THAT, BUT I, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR WORK ON THIS AND LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING AN UPDATE.
UM, MR. YEAH, UM, YOU JUST KIND OF BRIEFLY TOUCHED ON THIS, BUT HOPEFULLY WE CAN EXPAND ON IT.
SO IN MY OFTENTIMES SIMPLE MIND, I I KIND OF VIEWED TWO PRIMARY BENEFITS TO ADUS.
ONE WAS THAT THEY TEND TO BE SMALLER UNITS, UM, AND, AND THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, IS INHERENTLY LESS EXPENSIVE TO RENT OR OWN, UH, THAN A LARGER STRUCTURE.
AND TWO, I SOLVED THE EXPANSION OF ADUS AS POTENTIALLY OPENING UP A MECHANISM FOR US TO HAVE KIND OF A PRE-APPROVED EXPEDITED PERMITTING PROCESS FOR, UH, MAYBE CERTAIN PRE-MANUFACTURED STRUCTURES.
MAYBE THE CITY WOULD PARTNER WITH CERTAIN BUILDERS OF THESE ADUS.
UM, AND THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BOTH ACCELERATE THE CONSTRUCTION OF ADUS, BUT ALSO, UH, BRING DOWN THE COST OF ACTUALLY BUILDING THEM BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT WAS A PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY'RE SMALLER STRUCTURES AND THEY RENT OR SELL FOR LESS.
SO IS, IS ALL OF THAT JUST KIND OF BLOWN OUT BY KIND OF THIS RESET WITH THE THREE UNIT THING OR DO YOU THINK WE'LL BE ABLE TO CAPTURE SOME OF THOSE TWO BENEFITS THAT I VIEWED, UH, RELATED TO THE EXPANSION OF ADUS? THOSE ARE GREAT QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER.
I'LL DO MY BEST TO ADDRESS THEM.
FIRST OF ALL, LET ME JUST BE VERY CLEAR THAT IF THE PROPOSAL THAT COMES FORWARD ON THREE FAMILY IS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN A STANDARD SORT OF ACCESSORY PRIMARY RELATIONSHIP, IT'S NOT GONNA BE BIGGER UNITS.
THE GOAL, OUR GOAL IN, IN PROVIDING FOR A THREE FAMILY USE IS GONNA BE
[02:45:01]
TO ENSURE THAT THE UNITS ARE SCALED APPROPRIATELY TO PRODUCE A MISSING MIDDLE PRODUCT.UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS POTENTIALLY HARNESSING SOME OF THE ACCESSORY REGULATIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON THE TABLE AND USING THAT AS SORT OF A GATEWAY INTO THIS TOPIC.
SO WE ARE VERY MUCH EXPLORING THE TYPE OF POSSIBILITIES THAT YOU'VE, YOU'VE MENTIONED, UH, COMMISSIONER COX.
BUT IF, IF A PROPOSAL, AGAIN, IF, IF WE DO BRING FORWARD A PROPOSAL THAT IS MORE OF JUST A THREE FAMILY USE, A NEW PRINCIPLE USE, GETTING AWAY FROM SORT OF DEFINING WHAT'S PRINCIPLE, WHAT'S ACCESSORY, IT WILL BE ONE THAT HAS A GRADUATED FLORIDA AREA RATIO THAT IS INTENDED TO ENSURE THAT IF YOU'RE DOING MULTIPLE UNITS, THEY'RE GONNA BE SCALED APPROPRIATELY.
WE'RE VERY MINDFUL OF, UM, NOT UNLEASHING SIMPLY LARGER, BIGGER, LARGER, UM, MORE EXPANSIVE UNITS.
WE ARE ALSO MINDFUL OF THE FACT THAT WE LOWER LOT SIZES TO 2,500.
UM, DEVELOPERS MAY JUST NOT GO ALL THAT.
THEY MAY GO DOWN TO 4,000 AND FIND A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN JUST BUILD BIGGER SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ON SMALLER LOTS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL FOR, UM, DIFFERENT HOUSING PRODUCTS THAT THE COMMUNITY MAY NOT, MAY NOT BE WHAT THE COMMUNITY HAS IN MIND.
AND SO AS WE WORK ON THESE REGULATIONS, LOOK AT THE A D U PROPOSAL, LOOK AT A THREE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL USE, WE'RE VERY MINDFUL OF ALL THOSE ISSUES.
AND FINALLY, COMMISSIONER COX, TO YOUR POINT ON ADUS AND SORT OF I THINK THE IDEA OF SORT OF PRE-APPROVED PLANS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, WE ISSUED A MEMO I THINK, UM, WAS EITHER EARLIER THIS YEAR OR LATE LAST YEAR, UH, WHERE WE REALLY HAVE DETERMINED THAT THERE ARE REAL LIMITATIONS TO OUR ABILITY TO MAKE THAT WORK.
IT SOUNDS REALLY GOOD, IT'S SOMETHING WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME LOOKING AT AND WORKING ON, BUT AS SOON AS YOU'RE HAVING TO DEAL WITH REGULATIONS THAT REQUIRE SOME CONTEXT SENSITIVITY, BUT LOOKING AT THE SITE, LOOKING AT DIFFERENT RESTRAINTS, IT BECOMES REALLY HARD TO JUST SORT OF GIVE PEOPLE A OFF THE SHELF SET OF PLANS AND A AND A ANY SORT OF GUARANTEE THAT THAT'S GONNA BE BUILDABLE.
UM, SO I THINK SOME OF THE POTENTIAL THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, COMMISSIONER COX FOR ADU WAS ULTIMATELY DETERMINED JUST NOT TO BE FEASIBLE.
THAT SAID, WE ARE CERTAINLY ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO, UH, IMPROVE HOUSING PRODUCTION AND LOOKING AT WAYS TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO GET PROJECTS PERMITTED.
I THINK THE RECENT SITE PLAN LIGHT INITIATIVE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.
AND THERE WILL BE SITE PLAN LIGHT PART TWO COMING AS WELL.
UH, WHO ELSE? COMMISSIONER HENDERSON.
UM, THANKS FOR BEING HERE, MR. LLOYD.
UM, WE AT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY FINISHED OUR SITTING POINT NEIGHBORHOOD THIS PAST WEEKEND AND THOSE ARE ON 3,600 SQUARE FOOT LOTS, SF FOUR A AND WE, THERE'S A LOT OF COMMENTS ABOUT HOW HUGE THOSE LOTS ARE AND SO IT'S GONNA BE GREAT THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY DO MORE WITH PRECIOUS LAND IN AUSTIN WHEN THERE'S SO LITTLE OF IT LEFT.
UM, SO I I I'M CURIOUS AND, AND THANK YOU ALSO FOR SHARING THAT, UM, WHAT YOU ALL ARE WORKING ON DOES LOOK TO BE BETTER THAN WHAT WE WERE ORIGINALLY LOOKING AT.
I KNOW THE ORIGINAL DIRECTION WAS KIND OF OVERLY COMPLICATED AND THE HOME INITIATIVE DOES SEEM TO BE MORE RELEVANT TO WHAT'S NEEDED.
SO WHEN I'M HEARING FROM FOLKS WHO ARE BUILDING THIS PRODUCT TYPE, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BIG THINGS THAT THEY NEED ARE THE ABILITY TO, UM, HAVE PLACEMENT RULES TO WHERE THE EXISTING CAN BE SMALLER AND, AND WE CAN MOVE THESE HOMES AND MAYBE THE PRIMARY, MAYBE THE EXISTING MAIN HOME OF, OF WHAT'S ON THE LOT TODAY WILL BECOME THE A D U AND THE PRIMARY WILL BE THE NEW HOME.
AND THEN THEY'RE SAYING THAT THE, THE 0.15 F A R, UM, JUST KIND OF DOES WEIRD THINGS AND IT'D BE BETTER IF WE CAN JUST HAVE BLANKET, LIKE IT CAN BE UP TO 1100 SQUARE FEET 'CAUSE THAT WAY WE CAN HAVE KIND OF OFF THE SHELF PLANS, WHICH MAKES THESE A LOT EASIER TO BUILD AND A LOT MORE AFFORDABLE.
AND THEN THEY HAD A COUPLE OTHER THINGS, BUT I'D, I'D LOVE TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON KIND OF THOSE JUST TO GET STARTED AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THIS IS ALL IN THE WORKS.
I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, I'LL NEVER FORGET PETER PARKS SAYING YOU CAN ALLOW ADUS OR YOU CAN PROMOTE ADUS AND IN AUSTIN WE KIND OF BARELY ALLOW 'EM A LITTLE BIT, BUT IT'D BE GREAT TO GET TO WHERE WE CAN PROMOTE THEM.
AND I JUST WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHERE, WHERE STAFF IS ON GETTING US THERE.
I THINK THOSE ARE GREAT POINTS AND WE'RE DEFINITELY, WE'RE IN TOUCH WITH MR. PARK.
UM, HE'S STILL IN THE MIX, UM, AND DEFINITELY APPRECIATE HIS INSIGHTS.
UM, I THINK THAT YOUR POINT REGARDING THE 0.15 F A R IS WELL TAKEN.
UH, THERE IS ALWAYS UNDER OUR CURRENT REGULATIONS THE 0.4 0.4 0.4 MCMANSION F A R,
[02:50:01]
WHICH APPLIES TO THE OVERALL SITE AND SORT OF DEFINING THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THAT F A R TOTAL GETS RELAXED IS A PART OF THE, IS A PART OF OUR MISSION AS WELL.UM, WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL IN, IN MODIFYING F A R BECAUSE AGAIN, UM, WE WANT THIS TO PRODUCE THE TYPE OF HOUSING THAT IT'S VERY CLEAR FROM THE RECITALS OF THE RESOLUTION AND FROM COUNCIL'S OTHER POLICY DIRECTION THAT, THAT THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO JUST BE A LUXURY PRODUCT, UM, OF LARGER STRUCTURES.
AND AGAIN, WE HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF DEVELOPERS, YOU KNOW, LOWERING LOT SIZE TO 4,000 PRODUCING, UM, 1600 SQUARE FOOT UNITS THAT THEN WHEN YOU ADD IN ALL THE DIFFERENT HABITABLE ATTIC EXEMPTIONS GET A LOT BIGGER THAN THAT.
AND SO WE WANNA REALLY PRODUCE A SET OF REGULATIONS THAT ARE GONNA INCENTIVIZE, I THINK WHAT EVERYBODY WANTS TO SEE.
AND THAT IS THE EFFORT THAT WE'RE GONNA BE, UM, BRINGING TO BEAR ON A WORK PLAN FOR THE THREE FAMILY, UH, RESOLUTION.
UM, ALSO, UH, I, I KNOW I HAVE A COUPLE MORE NOTES JUST THAT I TOOK AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING TO ALLOW ADUS ALLOWED ON ANY PLOTTED LAND PIECE OF LAND, UM, REMOVING THE REQUIREMENT OF THE MAXIMUM 550 SQUARE FEET ON THE SECOND FLOOR, ALLOWING FOR ATTACHED ADUS, ALLOWING FOR MORE THAN ONE A D U ON SOME SITES AND ALLOWING, UM, GETTING RID OF MINIMUM LOSS SIZE FOR A D U.
ANYONE ELSE? COMMISSIONER AZAR.
THANK YOU MR. LLOYD FOR BEING HERE.
UM, AND YOU'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TIMELINE.
I THINK IT, IT'S BECOMING SORT OF ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT I THINK THE WHOLE INITIATIVE IS A GREAT WAY TO MOVE FORWARD AND IT DEFINITELY MEANS THAT WE NEED TO TACKLE SOME OF THOSE ELEMENTS AND IT, IT'S ALSO BECOMING CLEAR THAT THERE'S CERTAIN ELEMENTS THAT WILL NOT BE CAPTURED THERE.
I'M THINKING INTERNAL ADUS FOR EXAMPLE, RULES AROUND INTERNAL ADUS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND I GUESS WE'RE GONNA WORK, AND I KNOW IT'S A LOT OF WORK TO DO, BUT WOULD THOSE CHANGES BE COMING SEMI CONCURRENTLY OR SOON AFTER? AS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE HOME INITIATIVE WORK AS WELL, WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT WHETHER OR NOT IT'S POSSIBLE TO BRING FORWARD SOME LOW HANGING FRUIT CHANGES THAT MAYBE WOULD BE ONES THAT POTENTIALLY COULD BE SUPERSEDED LATER ON WHEN WE HAVE A FULLY FUNCTIONAL THREE FAMILY USE.
BUT SOME CHANGES THAT ARE JUST WOULD BE SIMPLE, INCLUDING FROM A NOTIFICATION STANDPOINT IF THAT'S POSSIBLE TO LIKE GET THESE ADOPTED.
UM, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO WORK ON, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR LAW DEPARTMENT, WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CODE CABINET.
SO WE DEFINITELY WANT TO TRY TO, IF POSSIBLE, DELIVER SOME IMMEDIATE VALUE.
UM, BUT I THINK THE, UM, THREE FAMILY RESOLUTION REALLY DOES REQUIRE THAT WE REVISIT SOME OF THE ORIGINAL DIRECTION ON ADUS, WHICH THERE, THERE WAS A LOT OF MERIT TO THAT, THOSE PRIOR RESOLUTIONS, BUT THEY DEFINITELY WERE COMPLEX, YOU KNOW, IT CALLED FOR A TWO-TIER PRESERVATION INCENTIVE.
UM, AND A LOT OF THE A D U RELAXED A D U STANDARDS HINGE ON THE USE OF A PRESERVATION INCENTIVE.
AND SO I THINK THIS IS A, IS A SIMPLER, MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD APPROACH, BUT IT REQUIRES REVISITING SOME OF THE PRIOR A D U PROPOSALS.
I, I APPRECIATE THAT AND FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION PERSPECTIVE AS I GUESS MY PERSPECTIVE AS A PLANNING COMMISSIONER, THE SIMPLIFIED VERSION IS OF COURSE MUCH MORE SEAMLESS.
IT IS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT WHEN WE HAVE A LOT OF COMPLICATED THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK THROUGH.
CERTAINLY PROVIDING THAT SORT OF, UM, BROAD FLEXIBILITY IS HELPFUL.
I ALSO WANNA SAY, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I, I APPRECIATE A LOT OF THE COMMENTS AND I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA SEE THIS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER, BUT I ALSO UNDERSTAND THIS IS GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT'S COMPLEX AND IT'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT MOVING PARTS.
SO I, I SUPPOSE, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL SPEAK TO MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.
I DON'T SEE THAT THERE IS, I DO NOT SPEAK FOR STAFF, SO YOU ALL HAVE YOUR OWN, BUT I DON'T SEE HOW WE CAN WORK ON THIS IN THIS YEAR, PARTICULARLY FROM A PLANNING COMMISSION PERSPECTIVE.
AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT OF ITEMS IN OUR AGENDA THROUGH DECEMBER THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT, PARTICULARLY FROM A CODE CODES, A ORDINANCES PERSPECTIVE.
AND I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL DEFINITELY NEED OUR NEED, OUR ATTENTION AND TIME.
SO IN SOME WAYS IT MAKES SENSE FOR THIS TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE TACKLE EARLY ON IN THE NEXT YEAR BECAUSE AGAIN, WE'LL BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON THIS IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
WELL JUST A FOLLOW UP TO THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER AZAR, I MEAN, UH, MR. LLOYD, HAVE YOU HEARD ANY TARGET SCHEDULED FROM COUNCIL, UH, ABOUT WHEN THEY MIGHT WANT THIS DONE? ANY, ANYTHING FROM OTHER THAN COUNCIL MEMBERS? I MEAN, UH, UH, THE COUNCIL AS A BODY HAS SPOKEN, UM, THROUGH THE RESOLUTION AND YOU KNOW, THERE DEFINITELY HAVE BEEN CONVERSATIONS.
UM, BUT I THINK THE RESOLUTION,
[02:55:01]
YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO DEVELOP A WORK PLAN THAT WE THINK IS ACHIEVABLE.UM, AND WE'RE, AND AND, AND THAT IN ITSELF TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT 'CAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT LIKE WHAT CAN WE DO IN PHASES AND WHAT MAKES SENSE TO DO IN PHASE ONE SO THAT WE HAVE A MEANINGFUL PHASE ONE, BUT, BUT, AND DEFER SOME OF THE OTHER ITEMS TILL LATER.
BUT YOU CAN'T DEFER EVERYTHING.
YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS AND ADDRESS THE CHALLENGING ISSUES OR YOU'RE GONNA END UP WITH A SET OF REGULATIONS THAT EITHER DELIVER NOTHING OR DELIVER A TYPE OF PRODUCT THAT IS NOT WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO SEE.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP A PHASED APPROACH WHERE PHASE ONE WILL BE DO DOABLE IN AS QUICK, QUICK A TIMELINE AS POSSIBLE, BUT IS ALSO GONNA DELIVER VALUE AND BE SOMETHING THAT THE COMMUNITY AND COUNCIL AND, AND YOU ALL WANT TO SEE.
AND SO OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THAT WORK PLAN DEVELOPED AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN AND MADE AVAILABLE.
UM, AND NOT SURE WE'LL BE PRESENTING IT, ASKING FOR PERMISSION PER SE, BUT WE'LL BE BASICALLY, I THINK PRESENTING SOMETHING WHERE THIS IS OUR WORK PLAN, UM, UNLESS DIRECTED OTHERWISE.
AND SO YOU CAN LOOK FOR THAT IN THE NEAR TERM AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE DEFINITELY AVAILABLE AT THAT TIME TO PROVIDE, UH, A MORE OF A BRIEFING ON SOME OF THE ISSUES.
IF I CAN JUST MAKE A QUICK COMMENT.
I DO, I DO WANNA SAY, MR. LLOYD, I REALLY APPRECIATE STAFF'S APPROACH OF REALLY BRINGING FORTH SOMETHING MEANING MEANINGFUL.
I AGREE THAT WE WANT, WE DO NOT WANNA SPEED UP WORK IN A WAY THAT WE START PASSING THINGS THAT MAY SOUND GOOD, BUT DON'T ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS THAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH.
SO I DO APPRECIATE THAT AND I APPRECIATE THE THOUGHTFULNESS BEHIND THAT.
UH, YEAH, I JUST HAD TWO QUICK FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE TIMELINE IS IN FLUXX, BUT UM, I AM JUST THINKING OF THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ALMOST HAD ADUS PASSED BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE IN MAY OF THIS YEAR.
AND OBVIOUSLY TOP DOWN DIRECTION IS NOT SOMETHING WE NECESSARILY ARE LOOKING FOR HERE IN THE CITY, BUT RE THE REALITY IS, IS THAT THAT LEGISLATION IS 1000% GOING TO GET RE REINTRODUCED IN THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY THINKING PROACTIVELY, BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT, THERE'S LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT GOING TO WANT A THREE UNITS ON EACH OF THEIR SITE.
THEY SIMPLY WANT TO BUILD AN A D U.
AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND WE STILL DON'T HAVE CLEAR A D U RULES, UH, THAT I THINK PEOPLE FEEL ARE ACCEPTABLE TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO WHILE I APPRECIATE THAT WE ARE MOVING IN A DIRECTION THAT I THINK EVERYONE AGREES IS BETTER OVERALL FOR THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, THERE ARE IS ALSO A NEED TO HAVE CLEAR A D U EXPECTATIONS FOR THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE WILLING TO DEVELOP.
SO BRINGING FORTH THAT FIRST PHASE IN A REALLY EXPEDITED MANNER FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE LOOKING TO BUILD ADUS EVEN TODAY, I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL.
I'M NOT SEEING ANY MORE HANDS.
UM, MR. LLOYD, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR, UH, BEING HERE TODAY IS VERY INFORMATIVE.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR INTEREST AND WE'LL BE REPORTING BACK AS SOON AS WE CAN.
ALRIGHT, UH, COMMISSIONERS, NOW WE'RE ON
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, DO WE HAVE ANYTHING FROM COMMISSIONERS WE WANNA PUT ON OUR FUTURE? I THINK THE FORMATION OF A WORKING GROUP TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO THE CITY'S TELEWORK POLICY.UM, AND I, I THOUGHT, AND MAYBE I'M MISTAKEN THAT WE WERE WRAPPING THAT INTO THE BUDGET GROUP.
NO, WE, WE CAN, UM, WE CAN NOT, I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S A REAL, UM, YEAH, I WAS ACTUALLY GONNA MENTION THAT BECAUSE THAT GOT, UH, PART OF THE TELEWORK WAS PART OF THE BUDGET ORIGINALLY AND IT GOT PUSHED BACK INTO, I BELIEVE THE CURRENT PLAN IS TO IMPLEMENT TELEWORK STARTING IN BEGINNING OF NEXT YEAR.
THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS MAY KNOW.
SO IN WHICH CASE WE COULD RE SINCE WE HAVE ADDITIONAL TIME, WE COULD REUSE THE BUDGET WORK GROUP OR FORMULA ONE.
WELL, I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO STOP THE BUDGET WORK GROUP AND PER YOUR RECOMMENDATION START SOMETHING, ANOTHER WORK GROUP SINCE, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE THE, THAT ONE SHOULD MAYBE PUT PUT TO REST SINCE THE BUDGET IS UM, DONE.
THERE WILL BE SOME SORT OF A MID-YEAR BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT IS, THAT WAS DISCUSSED BY COUNCIL.
SO THE BUDGET PROCESS IS NOT OVER.
UM, A NUMBER OF ITEMS HAVE BEEN SORT OF PUNTED INTO AN AMENDMENT, SO IT COULD BE THAT KEEPING A BUDGET GROUP STILL FITS WITHIN THAT.
BUT, UM, IF WE WANNA RETIRE IT, I'M TOTALLY FINE WITH THAT AS WELL.
YEAH, I I THINK GIVEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE ANOTHER COMMISSIONER COMING ON MAY WANNA LOOK AT WHO WAS ON THE LAST GROUP, WHO WANTS TO STAY ON, I MEAN, IT'S JUST AS EASY TO START ANOTHER ONE.
SO I, LET'S GET IT ON THE AGENDA.
UH, YOU GUYS CAN TALK ABOUT SCOPE, YOU WANNA COME IN, YOU KNOW, WRAP IN AND LOOK AT WHAT'S BEING IN THE FUTURE BUDGET.
UH, OR WE CAN JUST TARGET IT JUST FOR THE TELEWORK POLICY.
[03:00:01]
UH, I THINK IT, THERE'S A LOT OF AREAS WHERE IT, GO AHEAD MR. RIVERA, DID YOU HAVE A CHAIR? COMMISSIONER LEELAND, ANDREW RIVERA.SO IN REGARDS TO THE BUDGET, UH, WORKING GROUP THAT HAS, UM, BASICALLY DISSOLVED SINCE, OKAY, IT WAS A FISCAL YEAR, 23, 24 SURE.
UH, BUDGET WORKING GROUP, UM, WE CAN RECON CONSTITUTE THAT, UM, ONCE WE HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHEN THAT, UH, SCHEDULE OF A MIDYEAR BUDGET OR IF WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT, UM, FISCAL YEAR BUDGET, UM, RE UM, CONSTITUTING A, A BUDGET, UH, UH, WORKING GROUP AS FAR AS THE TELEWORKING WORKING GROUP.
IF I COULD JUST HAVE A SHOW OF HANDS OF SUPPORTERS, UH, FOR AGENDA PURPOSES NOTED.
SO THAT'LL BE ON THE NEXT AGENDA.
UH, WHETHER ITEMS COMMISSIONER MTO, I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM TO DISCUSS INITIATING FOR A SMALL AREA PLAN FOR THE NORTHWEST CORRIDOR.
SAY THAT, FOR WHICH CORRIDOR? NORTHWEST CORRIDOR.
MAYBE I'M THE, WHAT WHAT ARE WE, WHAT ARE WE, WHAT IS THE NORTHWEST CORRIDOR THAT YOU'RE REFERENCING? SO, UH, THE AREA ALONG SIX 20 BETWEEN 22, 22 AND 180 3.
CHAIR COMMISSIONER LADIES ON ANDREW.
UH, THAT'S NOT WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THE COMMISSION.
DID YOU HEAR COMMISSIONER RIVERA'S RESPONSE? CAN I UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT'S NOT IN THE PURVIEW OF THE COMMISSION? THE COMMISSION CAN INITIATE CODE AMENDMENTS.
THAT'S AN NOT A CODE AMENDMENT.
I MAY NOT BE PHRASING THIS CORRECTLY.
IF, IF YOU CALLED IT, IF YOU CALLED IT LIKE A REGULATING PLAN, WOULD IT FALL WITHIN THE COMMISSION'S PURVIEW? CHAIR, COMMISSIONER LAY VERY IN BETWEEN, UH, NOW AND YOUR SEPTEMBER 12TH MEETING? I CAN CONFER WITH LEGAL.
UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND WE'LL PUT A PLACEHOLDER, BUT WE'LL HAVE, UH, AND IF YOU CAN COMMISSIONER MOOSE TOLER, KINDA WRITE UP, UH, SOMETHING AND SEND IT TO, UH, MR. RIVERA ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE SCOPING OUT, WHAT YOU'RE THINKING OF TO GIVE LEGAL SOMETHING TO GO BY.
UM, I THINK DESCRIBING WHAT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONER CZAR CHAIR BEFORE I SORT OF SUGGEST THE ITEM, I, IT'S, I'M JUST LOOKING AT MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.
DO FOLKS FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO HAVE A WORKING GROUP TO LOOK AT THE PARKING ITEM? I THINK WE GOT A PRETTY CLEAR INDICATION OF WHERE IT IS GOING.
THE ONLY REASON I BRING IT UP IS BECAUSE LOOKING AT THE TIMELINE THAT STAFF PROPOSED, IF WE WISH TO WORK THROUGH A WORKING GROUP, IT WOULD BE BETTER TO CREATE ONE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
FORGET THE DATE THAT IT'S GOING TO C O J C, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE WANNA SAY SEPTEMBER 13TH, WE MIGHT HAVE BACKUP AVAILABLE IF A WORKING GROUP WANTS TO WORK THROUGH THAT, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE'S A NEED FOR THAT AT THIS TIME.
DID COMMISSIONERS, I THOUGHT THE PRESENTATION, UM, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS KIND OF BOXING IN WHERE THE CODE WAS IMPACTED AND THE FACT THAT THIS IS ALL ENCOMPASSING, I THOUGHT IT KINDA LEFT VERY LITTLE.
UH, I MEAN, I HAVE NOTES HERE THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS.
I'M NOT SURE IF THIS'S, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE COULDN'T GET WHAT WE NEED AS AMENDMENTS OUTTA THE, UM, C O J C AND JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT.
WE CAN PUT IT ON THE ATTENDANT.
THE ONLY REASON I BROUGHT IT UP IS JUST FOR THE TIMING PURPOSE, BUT I AGREE, I DON'T THINK IT NECESSITATES THE CREATION OF A WORKING GROUP AS IT GOES TO C O J C AND THEN THROUGH, UM, PLANNING COMMISSION, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO RESOLVE ALL THINGS.
EVERYBODY OKAY WITH THAT? OKAY.
ANYTHING ELSE? UH, COMMISSIONER COX, I HOPE, UM, TODAY'S SPECIAL CALL MEETING, WHICH IS BRIEFINGS, WAS USEFUL TO EVERYONE.
IT CERTAINLY WAS USEFUL TO ME.
I HOPE IT WAS ALSO USEFUL TO STAFF WORKING ON THESE ITEMS. UM, I TEND TO ENJOY BEING ABLE TO HAVE THESE SEMI CONVERSATIONS WITH STAFF AND COMMISSIONERS WITHOUT THE PRESSURE OF HAVING TO ACTUALLY VOTE ON THE ITEM RIGHT AFTER WE HAVE THESE, THESE BRIEFINGS AND, AND QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS.
SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, AND THIS MAY BE MORE OF A PROCESS SLASH POSTING QUESTION, BUT DO WE NEED TO HAVE, UH, AND AND WOULD THERE BE SUPPORT FOR HAVING LIKE AN ONGOING ITEM POSTED ON OUR AGENDAS TO DISCUSS IF WE WANT TO PLAN FUTURE SPECIAL CALLED MEETINGS FOR
[03:05:01]
FUTURE BRIEFINGS? OR ARE WE ABLE TO JUST POP THOSE OUT OF THIN AIR WHEN, WHEN WE'VE GOT ENOUGH ITEMS TO JUSTIFY, UH, AN AGENDA? SO I AM GOING TO, I, I LIKE YOUR IDEA AND I THINK IT'S A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM.UH, FUTURE MEETINGS TO HAVE THESE KIND OF, UH, PRESENTATIONS, BUT ALSO FUTURE MEETINGS TO TAKE UP, UH, THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, THE SCHEDULE FOR A CODE AMENDMENT.
SO I THINK TRYING TO LOOK AT BOTH THOSE THINGS, UH, MS. RIVERA, I KNOW WE HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT BEING ABLE TO KIND OF HANDLE, UH, KIND OF THE WORKLOAD FOR THE CODE AMENDMENTS, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I HEAR FROM SOME OF THE COUNCIL AIDES THAT THEY HAVE BIG IDEAS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE NEXT LAST QUARTER.
AND I THINK THERE MAY BE SOMEWHAT OF A DISCONNECT BETWEEN, UH, WHAT WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT WE SEE ON THAT GANTT CHART VERSUS WHAT, UH, THEY THINK THEY'RE GONNA TRY TO GET DONE THIS LAST QUARTER.
SO I THINK YES, OPENING UP AN ITEM FOR, TO TALK ABOUT EXTRA MEETINGS, TO HAVE PRESENTATIONS OR TO ACTUALLY ADDRESS KIND OF A LARGE WORKLOAD OF CODE AMENDMENTS OVER THE NEXT, UH, THREE TO FOUR MONTHS.
SO I THINK THAT'S, IF YOU DON'T MIND, UH, YES.
I THINK IF I COULD BUILD UPON YOUR SUGGESTION TO LOOK AT BOTH THOSE THINGS.
UM, BUT NO, I WANTED TO THANK YOU AND I'VE ACKNOWLEDGED, UH, PREVIOUSLY THAT THIS WAS YOUR IDEA AND I THINK IT WAS A GOOD ONE.
UH, WE COULD ASK A LOT MORE QUESTIONS.
WE WANT WEREN'T UNDER THE GUN WITH A LOT OF OTHER ZONING, UH, HIGH PRIORITY ZONING, UH, CASES THAT WERE KIND OF PRESSURING US.
AND SO IT WAS GOOD TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME AND REALLY PROBE AND BE ABLE TO GO BACK AND FORTH AND DO FOLLOW UP.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO ADD A REALLY, A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE STAFF MEMBERS WHO CAME TONIGHT.
I REALLY FELT LIKE ALL THE PRESENTATIONS WERE REALLY EXCELLENT AND YOU, YOU ALL ANSWERED OUR MANY QUESTIONS, INCLUDING COMMISSIONER SHEA
UM, SO WE APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT WENT INTO THIS AND, AND VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE TIME.
IT WAS AN EXCELLENT, UM, EXERCISE AND I HOPE WE CAN REPEAT IT.
UH, ANY OTHER COMMENTS BEFORE WE ADJOURN? OKAY.
SO GONNA GO AHEAD AND ADJOURN THIS, UH, SPECIAL MEETING AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION AT NINE 15.
SOMETIMES WE DO MIGHT FIND THE PEARL.
SOMETIMES WE DO, SOMETIMES WE DO.