Sep 06, 2023 Housing and Planning Committee

I UNDERSTAND.

WORK TO SERVE THE PEOPLE WHO NEED HOUSING DOWNTOWN, THEN DO IT.

AND, UH, MY POINT IS, IS THAT PEOPLE IN THIS CITY SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

THEY HAVE APPROVED AFFORDABLE HOUSING BONDS, AND IF IT TAKES CITY SUBSIDY IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS PROJECT

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THEN THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD ROLL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TESTIMONY.

YOU'RE, THANK YOU.

BYE-BYE.

WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT TODAY.

CLERK, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND CALLING UP THE NEXT SPEAKER, KAREN POP AND DAVID CARROLL.

MR. CARROLL, IF YOU'RE IN THE ROOM, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND MAKING YOUR WAY FORWARD.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

UM, I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON HEALTH SOUTH AND THE POINT THAT I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS I'VE LOOKED THROUGH THE BACKUP MATERIAL AND I LOOKED AT THE SPEAK UP, UM, FEATURE THAT THE CITY HAD FOR GETTING, UM, THE CITIZENS' THOUGHTS ABOUT HEALTH SOUTH.

AND THE THING THAT REALLY STRUCK ME WAS THAT THREE QUARTERS OF THE RESPONDENTS, AND I UNDERSTAND FROM STAFF, IT WAS A GOOD RATE OF RESPONSE THAT THREE QUARTERS OF THOSE RESPONDENTS PICKED A CATEGORY THAT SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF LOW PAID DOWNTOWN WORKERS, HOSPITALITY, HEALTHCARE, AND SERVICE INDUSTRIES.

THESE ARE JOBS THAT, THESE ARE AREAS OF WORK THAT, THAT HAVE A RANGE, BUT MANY PEOPLE IN THESE FIELDS ARE IN VERY LOW PAYING JOBS LIKE NURSING ASSISTANTS OR A LOT OF THE SERVICE INDUSTRY WORKERS, AND THEY'RE PEOPLE WHO ARE AT 30% OF MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.

SO IF WE LOOK AT THAT, THAT SOMEBODY WHO CAN AFFORD A RENT ABOVE ABOUT $790 A MONTH, IF WE THINK ABOUT MAKING HOUSING AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE AT 60% OF MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, THAT'S TWICE AS MUCH.

THAT'S DOUBLE THE COST OF RENT.

SO IF WE LEAVE IT TO THE, UH, RESPONDENTS TO AN R F P TO PICK THE MFIS, THEY'RE GOING TO GO TO THE HIGHEST M F I, THEY CAN LIKE 60% OR 80%, AND THAT'S WAY OFF THE MARK IN TERMS OF WHAT OUR LOW WAGE DOWNTOWN WORKFORCE CAN AFFORD.

SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO INCLUDE IN THE R F P LANGUAGE THAT EMPHASIZES GETTING A RESPONSE FOR HOUSING UNITS THAT ARE AFFORDABLE FOR PEOPLE IN THOSE REALLY LOW WAGE DOWNTOWN JOBS.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR TESTIMONY MR. CARROLL.

THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS DAVID CARROLL AND I'M HERE TODAY REPRESENTING A I A AUSTIN SPEAKING IN SUPPORT OF ITEM NUMBER THREE AS LICENSED ARCHITECTS.

WE ARE ENTRUSTED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS WITH PROTECTING THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELFARE OF ALL BUILDING OCCUPANTS.

THIS RESPONSIBILITY INCLUDES PROMOTING THE PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL WELLBEING OF BUILDING OCCUPANTS BY ENABLING EQUITABLE ACCESS TO ALL BUILDING FEATURES.

UNFORTUNATELY, AUSTIN'S BUILDING CODE, THE 2021 INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE ALLOWS FOR UNEQUITABLE DESIGN AND THAT IT ALLOWS FOR BEDROOMS TO BE BUILT WITHOUT WINDOWS.

AS RESEARCH HAS SHOWN, REDUCED ACCESS TO DAYLIGHT CAN CAUSE OCCUPANTS TO DEVELOP MANY PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ISSUES, INCLUDING DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, STRESS, AND SLEEP DISORDERS.

SEVERAL OTHER CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES HAS ALREADY IDENTIFIED THIS ISSUE AND AMENDED THE BUILDING CODE IN THEIR CITIES.

WE ARE ASKING THAT AUSTIN DO THE SAME.

A I A AUSTIN BELIEVES THE PROPOSED BUILDING CODE AMENDMENT ALIGNS WITH THE CITY'S ADOPTED HOUSING PRIORITIES, AND WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO SUPPORT THIS FOR HIGHER QUALITY HOUSING FOR ALL AUSTINITES.

CLERK, ARE THERE MORE SPEAKERS? YES, WE HAVE TWO MORE.

MICHAEL WHEELAN AND STACEY ROHN.

MS. ROHN, IF WE, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND MAKING YOUR WAY TO THE FRONT OF THE ROOM IF YOU'RE PRESENT.

NOT HERE YET.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES IN A COUNTER-CYCLICAL FINANCIAL MARKET.

MICHAEL WHALEN ON BEHALF OF TEXAS GLOBAL EQUITY PARTNERS AND TEXAS GROWTH FUND, I'M GONNA REFER TO THEM TOGETHER AS T G E.

UH, WITH ME TODAY IS ALSO ROB GRITZ, THE C E O AND JARED MEUS, THE MANAGING DIRECTOR.

UH, STACY RON, I HOPE WE'LL BE HERE IN A SECOND.

TG IS THE INVESTMENT FUND THAT HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH HEALTH SOUTH FOR MORE THAN THREE YEARS.

THEY ARE PROVEN EXPERTS AT LARGE SCALE DEVELOPMENT FINANCING.

TG IS A LOCAL COMPANY THAT HAS BEEN HERE FOR DECADES AND HAS BEEN INVOLVED AND COMMITTED TO THIS PROJECT SINCE INCEPTION.

AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, THERE ARE PLENTY OF NICE TO HAVES ON THE LIST OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS REDEVELOPMENT.

ONE PROJECT SIMPLY CANNOT SOLVE ALL THE CITY PROBLEMS THROUGH VARIOUS COMMUNITY BENEFITS.

IT JUST WEIGHS DOWN THE PROJECT UNTIL IT TIPS OVER AND ULTIMATELY DILUTES THE IMPACT OF THE PROJECT.

ULTIMATELY, AT ITS CORE, HEALTH SOUTH IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP ADDRESS THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CHALLENGES THAT FACE US WITHOUT WITHIN A MIXED USE ENVIRONMENT.

AND THE PROJECT IS A WAY TO INCLUDE NEARBY DOWNTOWN OFFSITE

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FINANCING ON THE TERMS THAT TG CAN OFFER IS UNIQUE AND VALUABLE TO ENSURE THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING.

T G T G E IS OFFERING A NEW APPROACH TO HEALTH SOUTH UNDER THE EXISTING PARADIGM ACHIEVING ONSITE AFFORDABLE UNITS, DEVELOPING OVER 200 UNITS WITHIN ONE MILE OF THE SITE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND CONTRIBUTING AT LEAST $10 MILLION OVER A SIX YEAR PERIOD TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND.

IN ADDITION, THE PROPERTY TAX BENEFITS OF A SUCCESSFUL LARGE SCALE MIXED USE PROJECT OF APPROXIMATELY $16 MILLION PER YEAR WITH 4 MILLION GOING DIRECTLY TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN EVERY YEAR, CAN BE OFFERED TO, TO CREATE HUNDREDS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DECADES.

THESE ARE THE PRIORITIES FOR TG AND FOR THE CITY COUNCIL.

THE VALUE OF TGS APPROACH IS MULTI-LAYERED.

IN ADDITION TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND, THE MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE GENERAL FUND, TO THE PROPERTY TAX IN CONTRAST TO A SITE WITH ONLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

IN ADDITION, MANY OF THE SITES WITHIN A MILE WOULD SERVE AS AFFORDABLE STUDENT HOUSING, WHICH IS SORELY NEEDED.

TG IS ALSO ACTIVELY WORKING TO FINANCE AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT IS ON IMPORTANT CORRIDORS JUST NORTH OF CAMPUS THAT COULD SUPPORT STUDENT HOUSING, WORKFORCE HOUSING, OR SENIOR HOUSING.

ALL OPTIONS AT THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP COULD REVIEW THESE ADDITIONAL OPTIONS ARE WITHIN TWO TO THREE MILE RADIUS OF THE SITE.

TG CAN ACCOMPLISH WHAT WILL BE PRESENTED LATER TODAY, MAXIMIZE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND INCLUDE COMMUNITY BENEFITS DESPITE THE DIFFICULTY OF DEVELOPMENT TODAY.

AND YOU'RE GONNA HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT FROM YOUR PRESENTERS.

CONDITIONS AT LARGE HAVE CHANGED AND YET G E CAN PROVIDE MORE FLEXIBILITY GIVEN THE FINANCING IT UTILIZES.

WE WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH A E D C ON MAXIMIZING COMMUNITY BENEFITS, GIVEN THE FINANCIAL CONDITIONS AND CONSTRUCTION COSTS.

A LOCAL PARTNER LIKE T G E CAN DO THIS QUICKLY.

WE REQUEST THAT IT BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO COLLABORATE WITH A E D C IN DELIVERING UPON THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS WITHIN A MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT DELAY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIR.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

MAD CHAIR.

UM, I THINK WE HAD MORE, UM, OH, DID YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS? I DO.

JUST, JUST WANTED TO PLEASE GO AHEAD.

VICE CHAIR.

I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD JUST HELP US UNDERSTAND, KIND OF LOOK BACK A LITTLE ON JUST HOW LONG IT HAS TAKEN US TO GET HERE.

I KNOW AS, AS WE TALK LATER TODAY ABOUT SOME OF OUR OPTIONS, YOU KNOW, IF WE DO GO START THE PROCESS OVER THROUGH AN R F P, UH, JUST HOW LONG FROM EVEN THE R F P TO TODAY ARE WE, UH, WITH YOUR CLIENT? WHAT, UM, THE, THE PROCESS I WAS LOOKING AT AN OLD, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER POSTING, UH, STARTED, THE PURCHASE OF THE PROPERTY WAS DECEMBER, 2016, AND I THINK THE FIRST I F C WAS 2018, UM, I BELIEVE.

AND THEN THE R F P CAME OUT IN, UH, 2020.

UM, MEANINGFUL DOLLARS, NOT JUST THROUGH THE FINANCING $10 MILLION OVER A SIX YEAR PERIOD FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT ALSO PROPERTY TAXES AS WELL.

SO IT'S BEEN ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF YEARS SINCE THE FIRST I F C, PROBABLY THREE AND A HALF YEARS, AND I'M SURE STAFF WILL BE ABLE TO BE MORE PRECISE, BUT IT'S BEEN OVER FOUR YEARS, CERTAINLY, UH, AND MORE THAN FIVE YEARS SINCE THE, UH, SEVEN YEARS, I GUESS SINCE THE PURCHASE OCCURRED.

AND JUST SO I UNDERSTAND, I, I THINK THIS IS WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, BUT I WANT TO CLARIFY.

YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT EITHER IT'S A NEW PROPOSAL OR ADJUSTING THE CURRENT PROPOSAL THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, IN RECOGNITION OF SOME OF THE CHANGES, JUST I CAUGHT A GLANCING BIT OF THAT.

I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I HEARD CORRECTLY WHAT, WHAT IT WAS THAT YOU WERE WELL, I, I THINK GIVEN WHERE THE MARKET IS, AND YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LOT MORE ABOUT THAT, I THINK C B R E HAS A PRESENTATION THAT WAS REFERENCED, UH, UH, A FEW MINUTES AGO.

THE, THE REALITY IS THERE ARE EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITIES WITH EXISTING PARTNERS LIKE STACY ROH AND OTHERS TO INVEST AND GET BUILT AT A MUCH FASTER RATE, UH, MEANINGFUL HOUSING, UM, QUICKLY, UH, WITHIN A MILE THE SITE OR WITHIN TWO TO THREE MILES, IF YOU WANT TO EVEN E E EXCEED YOUR, WHAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY DO ON ONSITE ALONG WITH SOME ONSITE, IT'S JUST A, A, A BALANCING ACT.

IF IT'S GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, UH, X NUMBER ON SITE, THEN IT MIGHT BE A BIGGER NUMBER OFFSITE AND VICE VERSA.

IF THE NUMBER ON SITE INCREASES, THE NUMBER OFFSITE MIGHT, UH, WOULD, WOULD OBVIOUSLY DECREASE.

BUT I, I THINK THE CONCERN IS IF YOU'RE GONNA DO A TAX CREDIT DEAL, UH, AND I SAW THE PROPOSAL WAS FOR A H F C TO LEAD, I THINK YOU'RE GONNA, YOU'RE GONNA FIND NO PROPERTY TAX BENEFIT.

YOU'RE GONNA BE VACUUMING UP TAX CREDITS THAT COULD BE USED ELSEWHERE IN THE CITY RATHER THAN, UH, AT THIS ONE SITE.

UH, AND, UM, AND, AND MISS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A MIXED USE TA PROPERTY TAXED SITE HERE THAT COULD GENERATE,

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SO I JUST THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES AND I THINK A E D C IS, UH, WELL EQUIPPED TO, WITH PROFESSIONAL HELP FROM OUTSIDE, WHICH EVERY ANYBODY WOULD WANT AND NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE GETTING THE RIGHT DEAL AS FIDUCIARIES OF THIS PROPERTY, UM, UH, WOULD BE ABLE TO EVALUATE AND ASSESS IN TERMS OF OPTIONS.

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.

YOU BET.

UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS? PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS YOU APPROACH THE PODIUM.

HI, I'M STACEY ROHN AND I'M WITH BIG AUSTIN AND BIG OP ZONE.

UH, I DO WANNA SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF TEXAS GROWTH FUND AS THEY MOVE FORWARD TO TRY TO, UH, PUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN AUSTIN.

BIG AUSTIN HAS BEEN A PART OF AUSTIN, UH, FOR ABOUT 27 YEARS.

WE STARTED IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS.

WE HAVE GROWN INTO AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAS SOUGHT TO DEVELOP, DEVELOP AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

WE PURCHASED 38 ACRES IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN.

I AM BORN AND RAISED IN THIS COMMUNITY, AND I'VE SEEN THE GROWTH IN THIS CITY AND THE LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

SO I UNDERSTAND YOUR INTEREST IN ENSURING THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS BUILT HERE.

AND AS A FOURTH GENERATION AUSTINITE AND STARTING THE EAST 11TH STREET PROJECT PARTICIPATING IN SEVEN YEARS FOR ROBERT MUELLER, I'VE SEEN HOW PROJECTS THAT ARE DEVELOPED TO ENSURE AFFORDABLE HOUSING DO NOT PROVIDE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR.

AND PEOPLE WHO, UH, HAVE GROWN UP IN THIS COMMUNITY FOR MANY YEARS, WE'VE BEEN FORCED OUT.

AND SO OUR EFFORTS AT BIG AUSTIN AND BIG OPS ZONE HAVE BEEN TO DEVELOP FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGHOUT NORTHEAST AUSTIN.

WE HAVE BEEN DISPERSED AND PUSHED AWAY.

TEXAS GROWTH FUND HAS BEEN ONE OF THE ONLY CAPITAL INVESTORS WHO'S BEEN WILLING TO PARTNER WITH BIG AUSTIN AND BIG OPS ZONE.

AND SO THEIR ABILITY TO DO PROJECTS AND TO DO AFFORDABLE HOUSING WILL EXPAND FAR BEYOND JUST THE AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, UM, WITHIN THIS PARTICULAR RECENT PLAN.

FURTHERMORE, WE HAVE HAD OUR VERY STRONG CHALLENGES WORKING WITH AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION.

AND SO I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT LIMITED ABILITIES FOR THE HEALTH SOUTH PROJECTS AND OTHER PROJECTS IF IT'S HELD WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THIS ENTITY.

AND SO I WANNA SAY THAT OUR ABILITY WORKING WITH TEXAS GROWTH FUND WILL BRING HUNDREDS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS AND WORKING WITH CHURCHES AND STUDENTS AND COLLEGES AND NONPROFITS TO UTILIZE THEIR PROPERTIES TO DEVELOP AFFORDABLE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS KEY TO WHAT WE WANT TO SEE IN THIS COMMUNITY.

AND WE PROBABLY COULD HAVE FILLED THIS ROOMS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD CHALLENGES ATTAINING AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HAVING THESE OPPORTUNITIES.

CAPITAL HAS BEEN A BIG ISSUE.

THIS GROUP HAS BROUGHT IT TO THE TABLE.

THEY ARE WORKING TO BRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING INTO THIS CITY WITH THE PEOPLE WHO SEEK IT THE MOST.

AND WITH OUR INABILITY TO GET THE CITY OF AUSTIN FUNDING AND SUPPORT FOR THIS.

I ASK THAT YOU SUPPORT THEM IN MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS PROJECT BECAUSE IT SUPPORTS US AND IT CAN, IT SUPPORTS AN ENTITY AND A NONPROFIT THAT'S BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME FIGHTING FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND OPPORTUNITY.

AND SO WITH THAT, I TURN THIS BACK OVER TO THE CITY.

ARE THERE OTHER SPEAKERS? OH, LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ONE.

DID YOU SIGN UP TO SPEAK MR. ANDERSON? UH, THEN YOU SHOULD CHECK WITH THE CLERK BEFORE YOU APPROACH THAT PODIUM, .

SHOULD I? YES, PLEASE.

WE WANNA MAKE IT FAIR AND EQUITABLE.

YOU GOOD TO GO? YES, MA'AM.

HIGH-RISE, IT JUST GETS DIFFICULT AND TO HAVE AFFORDABLE HIGH-RISE LIVING.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME.

THIS IS AN AMAZING SITE.

I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THIS FOR A REALLY LONG TIME, AND THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO PUT A TON OF HOUSING HERE WITH A LOT OF TAX BASE THAT COULD DO A WHOLE LOT FOR THE CITY.

AND I KNOW YOU'RE ALSO GONNA HEAR FROM FOLKS WHO MAYBE LOOK AT CITY FUNDING AS BEING INEXHAUSTIBLE, BUT IT'S NOT.

AND WE KNOW IT'S NOT.

AND SO IT'S A TOUGH CHOICE THAT YOU HAVE HERE.

BUT HOPEFULLY WE CAN JUST FIGURE OUT A WAY TO TREAT DOWNTOWN LAND LIKE DOWNTOWN AND SEE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF DEVELOPMENT HERE THAT THEN GOES AND MAYBE SUBSIDIZES A LOT OF HOUSING.

LIKE THE SPEAKER BEFORE ME WAS JUST SAYING HOUSING THAT COULD BE EVERYWHERE.

UM, IN OUR EXPERIENCE, UH, WORKING WITH HOME BASE AND HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, WHEN WE SEE CERTAIN TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION, THEY LEND THEIR, THEY'RE, THEY DON'T REALLY LEND THEMSELVES TO BE AFFORDABLE.

UM, AND SO WHEN YOU START TALKING

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AND SO IF WE'RE TALKING A FIVE STORY BUILDING HERE, IT'D BE A GREAT LOCATION FOR THE LUCKY FEW WHO GIVE TO LIVE HERE, GET TO LIVE HERE, BUT THAT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING FOR THE DEBT THAT'S ON THIS PROPERTY OR THE HOUSING NEEDS OF THE CITY IN GENERAL.

SO HOPEFULLY THERE COULD BE A, A LOT OF LOOKING AT THIS FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT ANGLES THAT REALLY GOES TO MAXIMIZING THIS SITE AND SEEING WHAT ALL YOU CAN DO.

SO EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YOU DO HERE.

HAVE ITEM NUMBER ONE IS TO APPROVE MEETING MINUTES, UH, OF OUR JUNE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING.

DOES THAT CONCLUDE OUR SPEAKERS? SO I'D LIKE TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR COMING OUT THIS AFTERNOON TO PRESENT FOR US, UM, AND CONTRIBUTING TO THESE CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS.

UM, WE

[1. Approve the minutes of the June 13, 2023 Housing and Planning Committee meeting.]

IS THERE A MOTION TO PASS THE MINUTES? LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER CADRY AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER AND CO-CHAIR ALTER.

UM, THAT SAID, UH, ALL IN FAVOR SAY, AYE.

LOOKS LIKE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ, WHO WAS NOT ABLE TO JOIN US TODAY, IT'S A UNANIMOUS VOTE.

UM, SECONDLY, UH, I WILL SAY THAT COLLEAGUES, I AM NOW GOING TO RECOMMEND THAT WE TAKE UP OUR REMAINING AGENDA ITEMS IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER.

AND FOR CLARITY, I'VE ASKED MY STAFF TO SHARE THESE SUGGESTED SCHEDULED, UM, OPPORTUNITIES ON THE SCREEN.

NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

OKAY, SO .

HEY MAN, SOMETIMES YOU'RE JUST DOING IT ON THE FLY.

WE'RE JUST DOING OUR BEST EVERYBODY.

UM, SO ITEM NUMBER

[10. Amend the 2023 Housing and Planning committee meeting calendar.]

10, WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO SCHEDULE AN OCTOBER MEETING DATE IS GONNA BE THE FIRST ONE WE TAKE UP.

AND THAT SAID, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S STAFF THAT'S GONNA SPEAK TO OUR OPPORTUNITIES AROUND SCHEDULING THIS MEETING, OR ARE WE MAKING A SUGGESTION? I CAN CONFIRM THAT WE HAVE A, WE HAVE CHAMBERS, UH, SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 25TH AT 1:00 PM.

UM, CAN YOU CONFIRM WHETHER OR NOT, AND THIS MIGHT NOT BE A QUESTION FOR YOU, BUT JUST FOR CLARITY AND TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT I'M BEING IN COMPLIANCE, DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON THAT ITEM? YES, WE'D LIKE TO VOTE.

IN WHICH CASE CAN YOU REPEAT THE DATE? AND THEN THAT WAY MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AND I, UM, COMMITTEE COLLEAGUES AND I CAN TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THAT VOTE? YES.

WE'D LIKE TO VOTE ON THE MEETING FOR OCTOBER 25TH AT 1:00 PM.

UM, WOULD ANYBODY, UH, LIKE TO MAKE THE MOTION FOR OCTOBER 25TH FOR OUR NEXT HOUSING AND PLANNING? SO IT LOOKS LIKE VICE CHAIR, UM, MAKES THE MOTION AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S SECONDED BY MAYOR PRO TIM AND BOARD MEMBER, UH, ELLIS, IN WHICH CASE, LET'S TAKE A VOTE.

ALL IN FAVOR AGAIN, IT LOOKS LIKE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF, UM, OUR COMMITTEE MEMBER VELAZQUEZ, UM, IT'S A UNANIMOUS VOTE, SO THANK YOU.

UM, THE NEXT

[3. Discuss regulations to applicable windowless apartments.]

ITEM THAT WE'LL DISCUSS IS ITEM NUMBER THREE, DISCUSSION ON REGULATIONS RELATED TO WINDOWLESS APARTMENTS, INCLUDING AN UPDATE FROM OUR COUNCIL COLLEAGUE, UM, AND, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBER CADRE, UH, ON A FUTURE COUNCIL ITEM.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

UM, WELL, YOU KNOW, JUST TO KIND OF KICK THIS OFF, I, I JUST WANNA THANK THE ADVOCATES FROM A I A AUSTIN AND MANY STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE ADVOCACY, UH, ON, ON, ON THE WINDOWLESS, UH, BEDROOMS, UH, ITEM.

UH, YOU KNOW, IT WAS REALLY INSIGHTFUL FOR THOSE FOLKS TO BRING UP THIS ISSUE TO THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE ALL THE WAY BACK IN JUNE.

UH, AFFORDABILITY IS A MAJOR CHALLENGE IN OUR CITY, AND WE SHOULD CONSIDER AS MANY OPTIONS, UH, THAT WE HAVE IN OUR TOOLBOX TO GET A HANDLE ON IT.

UH, HOWEVER, WE ALSO NEED TO STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN AFFORDABILITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE.

NATURAL LIFE SHOULD BE A NECE NECESSITY AND NOT A LUXURY.

UH, AND LIVING WITHOUT IT IMPACTS MENTAL HEALTH AND INDUCES FEELINGS OF ISOLATION.

UH, AND AS SOMEONE WHO REPRESENTS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE UT AREA AND WEST CAMPUS, UH, THE AMOUNT OF CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD WITH STUDENTS, INCLUDING MY OWN SISTER, UH, WHO LIVES IN WEST CAMPUS, UH, SCHOOL IS TOUGH.

UH, BEING IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT TOUGHER IS, IS NOT SOMETHING, UH, THAT WE SHOULD EVER STRIVE TO, TO BE AS A CITY.

UH, STUDENTS ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH ON THEIR PLATES, UH, AND ADDING ANOTHER THING FOR THEM TO DEAL WITH JUST ISN'T NECESSARY.

AND IT'S JUST NOT

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STUDENTS IN WEST CAMPUS WHERE WINDOWLESS BEDROOMS HAVE BEEN, UM, SHOWING UP.

UH, I UNDERSTAND THEY'RE ALSO POPPING UP IN DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS AUSTIN.

THANKS TO A LOOPHOLE IN OUR BUILDING CODE, OUR RESIDENTS DESERVE BETTER.

PEOPLE OF AUSTIN DESERVE BETTER.

UH, AND THAT'S WHY I'M BRINGING FORWARD A RESOLUTION ON SEPTEMBER 14TH, UH, THAT WILL KICK OFF THE PROCESS TO CLOSE THE WINDOWLESS BEDROOM LOOPHOLE.

MY HOPE IS A DRAFT CODE AMENDMENT THAT STAFF BRINGS BACK TO US WILL PROVIDE CREATIVE OPTIONS TO DEVELOPERS TO PROVIDE NATURAL LIGHT, UH, IN A WAY THAT MINIMIZES IMPACT TO AFFORDABILITY AS A I A AUSTIN HAS RECOMMENDED.

SO, I WANNA THANK OUR EXPERT CITY STAFF, UH, IN THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT FOR WORKING WITH A I AUSTIN AND OUR CO COUNCIL OFFICES ON THE, ON THIS ITEM.

UH, AND I WANNA THANK MY CO-SPONSORS, CHAIR HARPER MADISON, MAYOR PROAM ELLIS, UH, AND COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, UH, FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR WORKING ON THIS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LAYING THAT OUT FOR US.

I'D LIKE TO TAKE TWO OPPORTUNITIES.

NUMBER ONE, TO RECOGNIZE THAT OUR, UH, ESTEEMED COLLEAGUE HAS JOINED US AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON.

COUNCIL MEMBER RA, UM, AS I POINTED OUT, WE'RE BIRTHDAY TWINS, SO THERE'S THAT.

UM, ALSO STAFF, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO THE WINDOWLESS ITEM? PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AS YOU APPROACH THE PODIUM.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

I'M TODD WILCOX.

I'M THE CITY'S BUILDING OFFICIAL.

UM, IT, AS FAR AS THE, UH, RESOLUTION, UH, FROM WHAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN THAT RESOLUTION RESOLUTION IS PRESENTED, UH, THE, THE AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE WILL GO THROUGH THE NORMAL AMENDMENT PROCESS.

WE'LL HAVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, INCLUDING A I A, UH, BOARD ENGAGEMENT AND, AND THEN PRESENT A STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR ALL OF THE, UH, CHANGES.

CALI, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? VICE CHAIR, JUST ONE COMMENT.

I THINK THIS IS WONDERFUL.

I'D LOVE TO BE ADDED AS A SPONSOR WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT.

THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL.

AND WE'LL MAKE A NOTE OF THAT AND ADD YOU ON.

I THINK WE ALREADY DID, WE DID THAT ONE AND WE DID THAT AND WE DID THAT, AND THEN WE DID THAT.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.

SO, UM, I'LL SCOOT BACK UP IF, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER BA CADRE, UH, I'D LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR WORKING ON THIS ITEM, UM, AFTER IT WAS RAISED TO THE COMMITTEE, I LOOK FORWARD TO SUPPORTING IT AND ABSOLUTELY FULL SUPPORT, UM, AT COUNCIL THIS MONTH.

UH, I'M GONNA MOVE BACK UP BECAUSE WHAT I DID WAS I WAS REMISS IN SORT OF LAYING OUT THE ITEMS, HOW THEY WERE GONNA GO.

UM, SO ITEM NUMBER 10, WHICH LAID OUT OUR OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE AN OCTOBER MEETING DATE, AND THEN ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH WE JUST DISCUSSED.

UM, ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON OUR L D C AMENDMENTS AND OUR PRIORITIZATION CHART AND UPDATES FROM STAFF ON HOW THE AMENDMENTS WILL FIT INTO THE TIMELINE THAT WE APPROVED IN AT OUR COUNCIL MEETING IN JUNE.

THEN ITEM NUMBER FIVE WILL BE DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON CHANGE TO OUR SMART HOUSING FEE WAIVER, UM, AND THE PROGRAM THAT WAS INITIATED BY OUR COLLEAGUE, COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ.

ITEM NUMBER SIX IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON A REPORT FROM STAFF ON THE PROPOSED REFORMS TO OUR COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS.

ITEM NUMBER SEVEN WILL BE DISCUSSION.

I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL COULD TELL THIS IS A THICK ONE.

ITEM NUMBER SEVEN IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE HEALTH SOUTH PROPERTY AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CITY STAFF ON NEXT STEPS.

ITEMS NUMBER TWO AND NINE ARE RELATED AS THEY DEAL WITH OUR EXISTING DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. ITEM NUMBER TWO IS THE REQUESTED BRIEFING AND UPDATE ON REFORMS TO OUR DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS, WHICH I BELIEVE ARE BEING POSTPONED, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, UM, DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS.

AND THEN ITEM NUMBER NINE IS AN ITEM THAT VICE CHAIR ALTER BROUGHT FORWARD AND WOULD LIKE TO RAISE WITH THE COMMITTEE REGARDING ENHANCEMENTS TO OUR EXISTING RESIDENTIAL, UM, IN COMMERCIAL REDEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. THEN FINALLY, ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, THE FINAL AND MOST EXCITING PART OF OUR MEETING WHERE WE CAN DISCUSS FUTURE ITEMS AND OR INITIATIVES THAT THIS, I'M NOT BIASED AT ALL, BUT THIS FANTASTIC COMMITTEE, UM, CAN HAVE ALONGSIDE VISITING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND BIRTHDAY TWINS, UM, TO PROPOSE FOR FUTURE ADDENDS.

UM, SO WITH,

[00:30:01]

SO NEXT STEP WE HAVE ITEM NUMBER THREE TO DISCUSS REGULATION.

OH NO, WE DID THAT ONE ALREADY AS WELL.

MY APOLOGIES.

SO IT LOOKS LIKE NEXT UP,

[4. Discussion and possible action regarding the status and timeline of amendments to the Land Development Code]

UM, THE TOPIC THAT WE'RE LIKELY TO BE COVERING AT EACH OF OUR MEETINGS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR IS THE PRIORITIZATION OF PREVIOUS LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS AND ORGANIZING THEM AS NEEDED.

IS THERE STAFF THAT'S PREPARED TO SPEAK TO THAT? I SAW A WAVE.

GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE.

I'M STEVIE GREATHOUSE, I'M A DIVISION MANAGER, UM, IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.

AND ONE OF THE ROLES THAT I PLAY, UM, IS THE KEEPER OF THE GANTT CHART.

SO I'M HERE TODAY.

WOULD IT BE HELPFUL FOR ME TO LAY IT OUT FOR YOU ? SO ITEM NUMBER FOUR FOR US TO DISCUSS COUNCIL PRIORITIES FOR PREVIOUSLY INITIATED CODE AMENDMENTS RESOURCES THAT ARE NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH THE CODE AMENDMENTS AND WHETHER OR NOT COUNCIL EFFORTS TO PRIORITIZE CODE AMENDMENTS SHOULD BE ONGOING OR RECURRING.

SO I'M, I'M PREPARED TO SPEAK TO THAT.

SO IN YOUR BACKUP TODAY, YOU'LL FIND THE AUGUST UPDATE OF THE CODE AMENDMENT TIMELINE GANTT CHART, WHICH PROVIDES A SNAPSHOT OF ACTIVE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT CASES THAT ARE CURRENTLY MAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE CODE DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW PROCESS.

UM, I WANTED TO START TODAY'S PRESENTATION BY TAKING A MOMENT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HARD WORK OF ALL OF THE STAFF MEMBERS WHO ARE CURRENTLY INVOLVED IN DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY TO DEVELOP AND REVIEW CODE AMENDMENTS.

I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES THAT THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT RECEIVED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET THAT WILL ALLOW US TO KEEP THIS BODY OF WORK MOVING FORWARD AND TO DELIVER REAL SOLUTIONS TO AUSTINITES OVER THE NEXT YEAR.

IT IS GOING TO TAKE A VILLAGE TO DO THIS WORK WELL AND WITH THE URGENCY THAT IS REQUIRED, AND I THINK WE'RE WELL ON OUR WAY TOWARDS HAVING THAT VILLAGE, UM, IN PLACE AT THE STAFF LEVEL.

IN ADDITION, AS WE DESCRIBED, UM, BACK WHEN WE SPOKE TO YOU ALL LAST IN JUNE, THE CITY HAS CONVENED AN INTERDEPARTMENTAL CODE CABINET UNDER THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP OF ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER VERONICA ENO.

THAT INCLUDES REPRESENTATIVES FROM DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, PLANNING, HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND PUBLIC WORKS, AS WELL AS WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENTS.

THE CODE CABINET WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPPORTING CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION RELATED TO ALL LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS MOVING FORWARD, AND WILL ALSO INCLUDE PARTICIPATION FROM ADDITIONAL LEAD DEPARTMENTS AS WELL AS THE LAW DEPARTMENT TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS COORDINATION ACROSS AMENDMENTS AND ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.

AS A REMINDER, THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT SCANT CHART IS A LIVING DOCUMENT AND ADDITIONAL UPDATES WILL BE SHOWN ON THE VERSION OF THE TIMELINE THAT WE RELEASED LATER THIS MONTH.

MOVING FORWARD, COUNCIL MEMBERS, COMMISSIONERS AND THE PUBLIC WILL BE ABLE TO REVIEW THE LATEST SNAPSHOT OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS TIMELINE GANTT CHART ON A SPEAKUP PAGE, UM, AT SPEAKUP AUSTIN.ORG, UM, RELATED TO LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS.

THIS WILL ALSO BE THE PLACE TO GO TO REVIEW INFORMATION ABOUT SPECIFIC AMENDMENTS AS WELL AS TO SUBMIT, UM, COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS AS THE VARIOUS ITEMS MOVE FORWARD.

SINCE WE PRESENTED, PRESENTED TO YOU ALL IN JUNE, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED A FEW CODE AMENDMENTS RELATED OR A FEW CODE AMENDMENT RELATED ITEMS ON COUNCIL AGENDAS.

IT HAS BEEN A BUSY SEVERAL MONTHS SINCE JUNE OF 20 OR JUNE 13TH.

CITY COUNCIL HAS ADOPTED SIX AMENDMENTS OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, INCLUDING AN AMENDMENT STREAMLINING REVIEW OF PROJECTS WITH FEWER THAN FOUR UNITS AND AMENDMENT, ALLOWING ADDITIONAL HEIGHT AND APPLYING DESIGN GUIDELINES ALONG A PORTION OF EAST SIXTH STREET AND AMENDMENT, IMPROVING THE SAFETY OF FENCES, A SITE SPECIFIC S O S AMENDMENT RELATED TO THE LITTLE BEAR AQUIFER, AN AMENDMENT ENHANCING TENANT NOTIFICATION AND EMERGENCY AMENDMENTS TO TITLES 25 AND 30 RELATED TO RECENT CHANGES IN STATE LAW.

IN ADDITION, SINCE JUNE, 2013, CITY COUNCILOR PLANNING COMMISSION HAVE INITIATED FIVE AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, WHICH WILL BE ADDED TO THE GANT STAR, TO THE GANTT CHART AND SCHEDULED FOR DEVELOPMENT.

THESE FIVE NEWLY INITIATED AMENDMENTS INCLUDE A SITE SPECIFIC SS O S AMENDMENT RELATED TO THE BARTON SPRINGS BATHHOUSE, AN AMENDMENT TO NOTIFY OUR MODIF, MODIFY TO MODIFY OUR NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES AND AMENDMENT RELATED TO SINGLE FAMILY LOT AND USE MODIFICATIONS, ALSO KNOWN AS THE HOME AMENDMENTS AMENDMENTS TO OUR SMART HOUSING PROGRAM, UM, AS WELL AS OTHER AMENDMENTS AS SHOWN IN COUNCIL BACKUP AND ONSCREEN.

THERE ARE CURRENTLY JUST OVER 40 ACTIVE CODE AMENDMENT CASES AND PROCESS, INCLUDING AMENDMENTS THAT WILL BE ADDRESSED THROUGH A LARGER CONSOLIDATED CODE AMENDMENT.

FOUR AMENDMENTS ARE CURRENTLY SCHEDULED FOR CONSIDERATION BY COUNSEL ON SEPTEMBER 14TH

[00:35:01]

AND SEPTEMBER 21ST, AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT ANOTHER 10 AMENDMENTS WILL BE BROUGHT FORWARD TO COUNSEL FOR ADOPTION CONSIDERATION.

BY DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR, MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION HAVE REQUESTED THAT STAFF IDENTIFY WAYS TO MOVE FORWARD QUICKLY ON A RANGE OF URGENT PRIORITIES AND WE'LL BE DEPLOYING AVAILABLE RESOURCES TO MOVE WITH THIS URGENCY WHILE ALSO ENSURING EFFECTIVE SEQUENCING OF AMENDMENTS SO THAT THE AMENDMENTS ARE EFFECTIVE IN ADDRESSING CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION PRIORITIES.

WE'LL ALSO BE WORKING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE AMENDMENTS WORK TOGETHER AND WHETHER THERE ARE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

A FEW NOTES ON MAJOR PRIORITIES, PARKING REGULATIONS, UM, BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WAS RECEIVED FROM CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION ON THE URGENCY OF ELIMINATING MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS, THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT HAS RE-PRIORITIZED THEIR WORKLOAD TO DELIVER A PROPOSED SET OF AMENDMENTS BY THE END OF 2023.

STAFF BRIEFED PLANNING COMMISSION ON THIS AMENDMENT AT A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING ON AUGUST 29TH AND CURRENTLY EXPECT TO BRING FORWARD PROPOSED CODE AMENDMENTS TO PLANNING COMMISSION IN OCTOBER WITH CONSIDERATION AT A COUNCIL HEARING IN NOVEMBER RELATED TO THE LOT SIZES AND STANDARDS.

AS YOU ALL KNOW, COUNCIL RECENTLY ADOPTED A RESOLUTION INITIATING CODE AMENDMENTS TO REDUCE MINIMUM LOT SIZES AND ALLOW UP TO THREE UNITS PER LOT IN SINGLE FAMILY ZONES.

THE CODE CABINET WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AS LEAD DEPARTMENT IS CURRENTLY ASSESSING NEXT STEPS FOR DEVELOPING PROPOSED AMENDMENTS, RESPONDING TO THE RESOLUTION AMONG OTHER ISSUES, STAFF ARE ASSESSING POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON PREVIOUSLY INITIATED AMENDMENTS AS WELL AS APPROPRIATE MODELING TO CALIBRATE FLOOR AREA RATIO WITH LOT SIZE AND UNIT COUNTS.

WHILE THE WORK PLAN REMAINS UNDER REVIEW, STAFF ANTICIPATE BRINGING BACK A PHASED APPROACH TO BE PRESENTED IN MORE DETAIL LATER THIS YEAR.

COMPATIBILITY AS DIRECTED BY COUNCIL, THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, UM, STAFF HAVE ANALYZED CITY'S EXISTING COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS AND DRAFTED A STUDY THAT IS BEING PRESENTED TO THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE.

TODAY.

THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT WILL ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEVELOPING CODE AMENDMENTS, UM, BASED ON THE COUNCIL DIRECTION THAT WAS PROVIDED UNDER A PREVIOUS RESOLUTION AS WELL AS THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY.

THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT ANTICIPATES ENGAGING COMMUNITY AND BRINGING FORWARD PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS TO PLANNING COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL BY MARCH OF 2024.

STAFF IS PROPOSING ANALYZING EXISTING PROGRAMS AND IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES TO STREAMLINE AND INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE PROGRAMS THROUGH A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS.

WITH REGARD TO EQUITABLE TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, WE'LL BE ASKED TO AUTHORIZE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDING TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF AN E O OVERLAY AT THEIR SEPTEMBER 21ST MEETING.

AND STAFF ANTICIPATES KICKING OFF WORK TO DEVELOP THE EAU OVERLAY IN OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR.

THE CONSULTANT TEAM WILL CONDUCT MARKET ANALYSIS ACTIVITIES AND ENGAGE COMMUNITY THROUGH SEVERAL ROUNDS OF ITERATIVE ENGAGEMENT IN 2024.

IN ADDITION, UM, TO WORKING TO DEVELOP THAT OVERLAY BETWEEN NOW AND JUNE OF 2024.

PLANNING IS WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT CAPITAL METRO AND THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP TO CONDUCT OTHER ACTIVITIES, UM, RELATED TO SUPPORTING PROJECT CONNECT AND THE UPCOMING GRANT APPLICATION FOR PROJECT CONNECT.

AND OUR PARTNERS ARE QUITE EXCITED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF ALL OF THE CO CITYWIDE CODE AMENDMENTS CURRENTLY IN THE HOPPER TO ENABLE MORE TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE LAND USES ALONG THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM.

SO A FEW ITEMS, UM, TO NOTE OF THE, ON THE GANTT CHART THAT IS IN BACKUP, UM, WE ARE PUSHING BACK THE PROCESS RELATED TO ZONING APPLICATION PROCESSES AND DEADLINE SLIGHTLY TO ALLOW RE NOTIFY FOR AN AMENDMENT THAT WILL BE INCLUDED AS AN AMENDMENT TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT PROCESS WITH NEW MILESTONES BEING, UM, COMING FORWARD TO COUNCIL BY OCTOBER OF OCTOBER 19TH OF THIS YEAR.

UM, SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT REGULATING PLAN DISCUSSIONS ARE UNDERWAY REGARDING TIMING IN ORDER TO ALLOW FOR ADDITIONAL REVIEW AND FEEDBACK ON THE DRAFT SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT PLAN BASED ON THE PHASING APPROACH THAT WILL BE USED TO DELIVER CHANGES TO REGULATIONS FOR LOT SIZE AND NUMBER OF UNITS PER LOT.

WE'LL ALSO BE WORKING WITH D S D TO LOOK AT UPDATING TIMELINES RELATED TO A CONSTELLATION OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT LED CHANGES SHOWN ON THE GANTT CHART.

UM, AND IN ADDITION, SEVERAL ITEMS SHOWN ON THE GANTT CHART AS SCHEDULED T B D NOW HAVE SPECIFIC TIMELINES, WHICH WILL BE SHOWN IN THE SEPTEMBER UPDATE OF THE GANTT CHART, UM, INCLUDING THE TIMELINE FOR MODIFYING NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS WITH THE GOAL OF BRINGING THOSE BACK TO COUNCIL BY DECEMBER, UM, 14TH OF THIS YEAR.

AND A TIMELINE RELATED TO ELECTRICAL VEHICLE CHARGING USE, UM, WHICH WOULD RESULT IN BRINGING A RECOMMENDATION BACK TO COUNCIL BY NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR.

WE APPRECIATE THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE'S CONTINUED SUPPORT TO ENSURE THAT WE PROCESS THESE URGENT AMENDMENTS TO AUSTIN'S LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AS EFFECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE.

AND WITH THAT, WE ARE HAPPY TO TRY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE

[00:40:01]

YOUR PRESENTATION.

UM, I'D LIKE JUST TO, AS A REMINDER TO OUR PUBLIC AND TO THE COMMITTEE, UH, CITY COUNCIL VOTED IN JUNE TO DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER STAFF AND OUR COMMITTEE TO PROCEED WITH COLLABORATING ON THIS PRIORITIZATION AND TIMING OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS AND ORGANIZE CURRENT AND FUTURE POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS FOR THE GREATEST IMPACT.

UH, GIVEN THAT DIRECTION, WE AGREED TO REQUEST THAT STAFF KEEP THIS ITEM ON, UH, FOR FUTURE AGENDAS FOR 2023 THAT WILL ALLOW FOR CONTINUED DISCUSSION AND ACTION RELATED TO PRIORITIZATION, UM, AND ORGANIZING OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, UH, AMENDMENTS.

SO AT THIS TIME, COLLEAGUES, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE APPEARING.

THERE ARE NONE.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT.

UP NEXT IS A RELATED ITEM THAT

[5. Discussion and possible action regarding fee waivers under the S.M.A.R.T. Housing Program.]

WAS BROUGHT FORWARD BY OUR COUNCIL COLLEAGUE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, WHO AS YOU CAN TELL, WAS NOT ABLE TO JOIN US TODAY, UM, FOR THIS AFTERNOON'S MEETING.

SO I WILL INSTEAD AS STAFF TO LAY OUT ITEM NUMBER FIVE AND I WILL READ THE POSTING LANGUAGE.

ITEM NUMBER FIVE, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING FEE WAIVERS UNDER THE SMART, THAT'S AN ACRONYM, SS M A R T HOUSING PROGRAM.

UM, AND IT APPEARS AS THOUGH WE HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING A C M SENIO BEFORE US TODAY TO LAY THIS ITEM OUT.

THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER.

AND UNFORTUNATELY WE DON'T HAVE OUR LEAD STAFF PERSON PRESENT HERE TODAY.

UM, BUT I DID WANT TO REFERENCE THE MEMO THAT WE HAD SENT TO YOU THAT IS PART OF YOUR BACKUP THAT GAVE YOU AN UPDATE.

WE ARE WORKING ON THE CODE LANGUAGE CHANGES AND WE HOPE TO BRING SOMETHING, WE PLAN TO BRING SOMETHING BACK TO COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.

I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

I MIGHT NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS, SO IF I DON'T, WE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AFTER THIS MEETING.

UM, BUT REALLY JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL WERE AWARE OF OUR, OUR WORK ON THIS, BUT NOT ONLY WITH OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, BUT OUR PLAN, OUR HOUSING DEPARTMENT, AND OUR LAW DEPARTMENT AS WELL.

SO MOVING FORWARD, WHO WOULD BE THE LEAD PERSON BECAUSE WE WERE INTENDED TO TAKE A MOTION AND A VOTE TODAY AND BRING THIS ITEM BEFORE THE FULL COUNSEL.

IN WHICH CASE IF THAT PERSON'S NOT HERE, I WONDER IF THAT CHANGES, UH, THE ORDER.

UH, IN WHICH CASE I'D LIKE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH MY STAFF TO SEE HOW WE MOVE FORWARD.

I DON'T THINK THERE IS A NEED FOR CHANGE.

UH, THE LEAD PERSON IS KEITH MARS, HE'S AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT, UH, D S D.

I THINK THIS, UH, COMMITTEE COULD RECOMMEND THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE AMENDMENTS TO THE FULL COUNCIL.

UM, AND THAT WOULD, THAT WE WOULD APPRECIATE THAT THAT DIRECTION.

COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS? UM, IN WHICH CASE, I WOULD SAY IS THERE A MOTION TO RECOMMEND THAT THESE CODE CHANGES BE ADOPTED BY THE FULL COUNCIL AND THAT CITY STAFF INITIATE THE BROADER WORKING GROUP ON SMART HOUSING? UM, I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION AND THEN A SECOND MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER CADRY, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR RYAN ALTER.

UM, ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

IT LOOKS LIKE WITH THE ABSENCE OF COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ, UM, UH, WE'RE, WELL, NO, WE'RE UNANIMOUS.

WE'RE NOT MISSING ANYBODY ELSE.

YEAH, THANK YOU.

SO IT'S A UNANIMOUS VOTE.

OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL REFORMS THAT WE CAN MAKE TO OUR CITY'S HOUSING SHORTAGE IS COMPATIBILITY REFORM.

I APPRECIATE IT.

SO, ALL RIGHT, UP NEXT, ONE

[6. Discussion and possible action regarding the next steps for the Compatibility Study.]

AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING TO SPEAK TO IT, THEY JUMPED UP FAST.

THANK YOU, I APPRECIATE YOU.

WAIT, CAN STAFF PLEASE COME UP AND SHARE YOUR STUDY AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS WHILE I READ THE POSTING LANGUAGE? SO GIMME JUST A MOMENT.

SO THE POSTING LANGUAGE FOR ITEM NUMBER SIX SAYS, DISCUSSION POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE COMPATIBILITY STUDY.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

UH, I'M ERIC LEAK DEVELOPMENT OFFICER IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, AND JOINING ME IS RACHEL TEPPER, PRINCIPAL PLANNER IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.

UM, SO TODAY WE WILL PRESENT STAFF'S FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM A COUNCIL INITIATED STUDY ON COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS.

NEXT SLIDE.

UM, WE'LL BEGIN WITH THE BACKGROUND AND TIMELINE OF THE STUDY, AN OVERVIEW OF COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS, A SUMMARY OF THE METHODS USED, KEY FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND NEXT STEPS.

NEXT SLIDE.

UM,

[00:45:01]

AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS INCLUDE REGULATIONS RELATING TO HEIGHT, SETBACKS, IMPERVIOUS COVER, LAND USES, TREE PROTECTIONS, ET CETERA.

THE CITY'S COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS ARE YET ANOTHER LAYER OF REGULATIONS THAT CAN IMPACT THE LOCATION AND HEIGHT OF TALLER BUILDINGS THAT ARE WITHIN APPROXIMATELY TWO BLOCKS OF TRIGGERING PROPERTIES.

AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO RACHEL.

NEXT SLIDE.

ALL RIGHT, THANKS ERICA.

UM, AS ERICA SAID, MY NAME'S RACHEL TEPPER.

I'M A PRINCIPAL PLANNER IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.

AND I'M GONNA START OFF JUST GIVING A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THE HISTORY OF THIS ANALYSIS.

SO, UM, THIS ANALYSIS WAS INITIATED IN DECEMBER OF 2022.

UH, THE PREVIOUS COUN CITY COUNCIL, UH, ADOPTED ORDINANCE NUMBER 20 22 1 2 0 1 0 5 6, WHICH WAS A, AN ORDINANCE THAT RELAXED COMPATIBILITY AND PARKING ON CERTAIN CORRIDORS AND CALLED FOR A STAFF ANALYSIS OF CITYWIDE COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS AND THEIR IMPACTS TO THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT GOALS.

THE BLUEPRINT GOALS INCLUDE, UM, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, CREATING 60,000 NEW INCOME, LOW TO MODERATE INCOME RESTRICTED UNITS, AND THEN 75,000 NEW MODERATE TO HIGH INCOME UNITS WITHIN 10 YEARS, AND ENSURING THAT A QUARTER OF THOSE UNITS ARE IN HIGH OPPORTUNITY AREAS AND A QUARTER OF THOSE UNITS ARE WITHIN A HALF A QUARTER MILE OF TRANSIT STOPS ON MAY 5TH.

UH, STAFF RELEASED A JOINT MEMO MEMO FROM THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT SUMMARIZING OUR METHODOLOGY FOR THIS ANALYSIS.

AND THEN ON JUNE 8TH, UM, THE CURRENT CITY COUNCIL PASSED RESOLUTION NUMBER 20 23 0 6 0 8 0 4 5, UM, WHICH INITIATES CHANGES TO CITYWIDE COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS AND ALSO ASKS FOR ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, FROM THIS STUDY.

SO THIS PRESENTATION SUMMARIZES THE, UH, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS MEMO, UH, THAT WAS RELEASED TODAY, UH, THROUGH THE CITY'S OFFICIAL MEMO DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.

AS A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS, THEY GENERALLY APPLY TO SITES LOCATED WITHIN 500 FEET OF THE PROPERTY LINE OF URBAN FAMILY RESIDENTS SSF FIVE OR MORE RESTRICTIVE ZONING.

DISTRICT COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS ALSO COME INTO PLAY TODAY.

UH, WHEN A SITE, UM, UH, SORRY, UM, WHEN A SITE IS ADJACENT TO A LOT WHERE A USE IS PERMITTED, UH, WHERE USE IS PERMITTED IN AN SSF FIVE OR MORE RESTRICTIVE ZONING DISTRICT IS, IS PRESENT, FOR EXAMPLE, A LOT THAT HAS A SINGLE FAMILY USE OR A DUPLEX TRIGGERS COMPATIBILITY REGARDLESS OF THE ZONING DISTRICT.

ON THIS SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE A SECTION DIAGRAM AND A PLAN VIEW ILLUSTRATING THE ALLOWED HEIGHTS AT VARIOUS DISTANCES FROM THE COMPATIBILITY TRIGGERING PROPERTIES AND THE COMPATIBILITY TRIGGERING PROPERTIES ARE SHOWN IN YELLOW ON THAT PLAN DIAGRAM.

SO FROM ZERO TO 25 FEET SHOWN IN RED IN BOTH THE SECTION AND THE PLAN, NO STRUCTURE, NO DEVELOPMENT IS PERMITTED FROM 25 TO 50 FEET.

A HEIGHT OF 30 FEET, OR GENERALLY AROUND TWO STORIES IS PERMITTED FROM 50 TO A HUNDRED FEET SHOWN IN LIGHT IN KIND OF A LIGHTER PURPLE.

UH, A HEIGHT OF 40 FEET OR THREE STORIES IS PERMITTED FROM A HUNDRED TO 200, SHOWN IN THAT DARKER PURPLE.

AN AVERAGE HEIGHT OF 45 FEET, OR ABOUT THREE AND A HALF STORIES IS PERMITTED FROM 200 TO 300, SHOWN IN DARK BLUE, AN AVERAGE HEIGHT OF 55 FEET OR FIVE STORIES FROM 300 TO 400 FEET SHOWN IN BRIGHT BLUE, AN AVERAGE HEIGHT OF 75 FEET OR AROUND SIX STORIES, AND FROM 400 TO 540 FEET SHOWN IN LIGHT BLUE, AN AVERAGE HEIGHT OF 105 FEET OR EIGHT STORIES.

SO STAFF CONDUCTED A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS TO ESTIMATE THE TOTAL LAND AREA IMPACTED BY COMPATIBILITY AND THE POTENTIAL UNIT CAPACITY LOST DUE TO THESE COMPATIBILITY RESTRICTIONS.

SO TO ESTIMATE THAT IMPACT ON POTENTIAL HOUSING CAPACITY STAFF COMPARED THE HEIGHTS PERMITTED IN THE ZONING DISTRICT AGAINST THE HEIGHTS THAT ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMPATIBILITY BUFFER DISTANCES AND THEN ESTIMATED THE HOUSING CAPACITY THAT'S POTENTIALLY LOST.

UH, SO THE DIAGRAM ON THIS SLIDE IS INTENDED TO ILLUSTRATE THAT LOSS IN UNIT YIELD, UH, BETWEEN THE COMPATIBILITY HEIGHTS AND THE BASE ZONING.

SO THAT SALMON COLOR INDICATES THE UNITS THAT ARE UNABLE TO BE CONSTRUCTED

[00:50:02]

POTENTIALLY UNABLE TO BE CONSTRUCTED DUE TO COMPATIBILITY HEIGHTS.

A FEW CAVEATS.

SO FOR ONE, BROAD ASSUMPTIONS ARE NECESSARY DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY OF ZONING REGULATIONS.

SO ZONING REGULATIONS HAVE OVERLAYS, THEY HAVE SORT OF CUSTOM ZONING, AND IN THIS CASE WE HAD TO MAKE SOME ASSUMPTIONS.

SO WE DID, UM, ACCOUNT FOR WATERSHED IMPERVIOUS COVER, AND WE APPLIED A GENERAL LIMITATION FACTOR TO ACCOUNT FOR, UH, DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS SUCH AS FLOOR TO AREA RATIO, WHICH ALSO IS ANOTHER LIMITER ON THE SITE.

UM, THIS ANALYSIS IS USEFUL TO UNDERSTAND THE LEVEL OF MAGNITUDE OF IMPACTS, UM, BUT IT DOES NOT REFLECT MARKET CONDITIONS OR REDEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL.

UM, THE ANALYSIS ALSO, IT'S A MAX BUILD OUT ANALYSIS.

SO IT ASSUMES THAT EVERY PROPERTY, UM, EVERY HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY WOULD, COULD BUILD OR, YOU KNOW, WOULD BUILD TO THEIR MAXIMUM, UM, ALLOWED HEIGHT, UH, WHICH WE KNOW, UH, THE MARKET WOULD NOT NECESSARILY DELIVER ON.

UM, BUT IT'S USEFUL TO, UM, PROVIDE DECISION MAKERS WITH SOME UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ARE TO COMPATIBILITY.

UM, AND SPECIFICALLY AT THOSE DIFFERENT BUFFER DISTANCES.

WE ALSO DID A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS.

UH, WE CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF APPLICANTS IN THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS.

SO THE SURVEY AIMED TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTS OF COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS ON SOME OF THE SOFTER KIND OF COSTS OR ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT, SUCH AS PROJECT TIMELINES, RESIDENTIAL UNIT YIELD, DEVELOPMENT COSTS AND AFFORDABILITY.

THE SURVEY WAS SENT OUT TO APPLICANTS THAT HAVE SUBMITTED A DENSITY BONUS APPLICATION, MULTI-FAMILY SITE PLAN, OR MULTI-FAMILY BUILDING PERMIT TO THE CITY WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS, KINDA USING OUR, UH, AMANDA PERMITTING SOFTWARE.

UH, THE SURVEY FI THE SURVEY FINDINGS MEMO ARE SUM, THE SURVEY FINDINGS ARE SUMMARIZED IN THE FINDINGS MEMO, UH, WITH A LINK TO THE FULL SUMMARY, UM, WHICH IS AVAILABLE ON MICROSOFT FORMS. AND FINALLY, THIS, THIS QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY ON THE IMPACTS OF COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS ON HOUSING GOALS, BUT IT DIDN'T ASSESS THE MERITS OF COMPATIBILITY OR OTHER VALUES, UM, THAT MIGHT BE IMPORTANT TO STAKEHOLDERS.

IT WAS SPECIFICALLY SENT TO DEVELOPERS TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS REGULATION REALLY IMPACTS THEIR ABILITY TO BUILD THEIR PROJECTS.

SO I'D LIKE TO GO OVER A FEW OF THE KEY FINDINGS FROM OUR ANALYSIS.

FOR ONE, MOST OF THE ESTIMATED HOUSING CAPACITY LOST IS, OCCURS WITHIN A HUNDRED FEET.

SO TO MAKE AN IMPACT, IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE BEYOND A HUNDRED FEET OR, OR CLOSER IN THAN A HUNDRED FEET, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE MAJORITY OF THAT HOUSING CAPACITY IS POTENTIALLY LOST.

UH, COMPATIBILITY DOES LIMIT HOUSING CAPACITY UNEVENLY BY GEOGRAPHIC AREA.

SO FOR ONE EXAMPLE, WE DO KNOW THAT THERE IS, UM, MORE OF AN IMPACT.

UH, 58% OF THE HOUSING CAPACITY LOST DUE TO COMPATIBILITY IS LOCATED IN DISPLACEMENT RISK AREAS.

IT'S ALSO INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF HOUSING UNIT CAPACITY LOSS DUE TO COMPATIBILITY, 82% IS LOCATED WITHIN A QUARTER MILE OF EXISTING TRANSIT STOPS.

AND THEN FINALLY, UH, AN A KEY INSIGHT THAT WE, WE FOUND IS THAT THE FEEDBACK FROM THE DEVELOPER SURVEYS SHOW THAT NEARLY ALL RESPONDENTS 98% SAID THAT COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS HAVE CAUSED THEM TO ABANDON POTENTIAL HOUSING PRO DEVELOPMENTS.

SO AT MAXIMUM BUILD OUT, BUILD OUT.

SO LOOKING AT THAT SALMON COLORED ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE THAT I HAD, UM, THE STANDARDS COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS REDUCE THE CITY'S HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL HOUSING CAPACITY BY ABOUT 72,000 UNITS.

WHEN THAT AREA OF ANALYSIS IS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES THAT CAN NOW TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, POTENTIAL CAPACITY IS REDUCED BY APPROXIMATELY 135,000 UNITS CITYWIDE.

WHILE IT'S VERY UNLIKELY THAT A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES WOULD DE REDEVELOP AS MULTIFAMILY, UM, INCLUDING THESE PROPERTIES IN THE ANALYSIS IS HELPFUL FOR US TO DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS AND THE POTENTIAL EFFICACY OF THE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROGRAM.

BUT THE NUMBERS WILL WOULD LIKELY BE A LOT SMALLER THAN UM, WHAT OUR ANALYSIS YIELDED.

ONE OF THE MOST USEFUL WAYS TO REVIEW THE RESULTS OF THIS QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS IS TO SEE THE POTENTIAL UNITS GAINED

[00:55:01]

BACK, QUOTE UNQUOTE, BY ENDING COMPATIBILITY AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES FROM TRIGGERING PROPERTIES.

THIS CHART LOOKS AT THE CUMULATIVE GAINS IN UNIT CAPACITY IF COMPATIBILITY ENDED AT VARIOUS TRIGGERING DISTANCES.

AND FROM THIS STAFF RECOMMENDS ENDING COMPATIBILITY AT 75 FEET TO ALIGN WITH PURE CITIES AND TO INCREASE HOUSING CAPACITY NEAR TRANSIT, GOODS AND SERVICES.

ENDING COMPATIBILITY AT 75 FEET COULD INCREASE THE ESTIMATED UNIT CAPACITY.

SORRY.

ALRIGHT, I'LL KEEP GOING.

UM, SO IT COULD, ENDING COMPATIBILITY AT 75 FEET COULD IN INCREASE THE ESTIMATED UNIT CAPACITY BY AROUND 71,000 POTENTIAL UNITS, OR 53% OF THE TOTAL ESTIMATED CAPACITY LOSS DUE TO COMPATIBILITY.

THIS STILL WOULD LEAVE AROUND 47% OF CAPACITY TO BE UNLOCKED THROUGH A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

AND THE ANALYSIS FROM PEER CITIES FURTHER SUPPORTS REDUCING COMPATIBILITY TO 75 FEET FROM A TRIGGERING PROPERTY.

THE RESULTS OF OUR PEER CITY RESEARCH INDICATES THE AVERAGE DISTANCE FROM A TRIGGERING PROPERTY TO REACH 60 FEET AND HEIGHT IS APPROXIMATELY 49 FEET.

AND THE AVERAGE DISTANCE TO REACH A HEIGHT OF 90 FEET IS APPROXIMATELY 74 FEET.

AND IN THIS ANALYSIS WE DID EXCLUDE AUSTIN, UM, AND AUSTIN'S CURRENT COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN THE PEER GROUP STUDIES.

AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS, UH, CHART, ON THE SLIDE, UM, STAFF ALSO RECOGNIZES THE NEED TO ESTABLISH A SIMPLER UNIFIED STANDARD AND RECOMMENDS THAT THE COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS COMPLETELY SUPERSEDE THE COMPATIBILITY ON CORRIDOR'S OVERLAY.

UM, BUT IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE WE HAVE TO END COMPATIBILITY AT A DISTANCE WHERE THE, UM, WHERE THE STANDARDS WOULDN'T CROSS THE ROADWAY.

AND SO ENDING A COMPATIBILITY AT 75 FEET WOULD ENSURE THAT THE COMPATIBILITY REG REGULATIONS DO NOT CROSS MAJOR CORRIDORS, UM, BECAUSE CORRIDOR RIGHT-OF-WAYS ARE LARGER THAN 75 FEET.

STAFF ALSO HAS A FEW ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONSIDER.

UH, ONE IS TO CONSIDER REMOVING COMPATIBILITY FROM SSF SIX, MF ONE, MF TWO, AND MF THREE.

REMOVING THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO MIX DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESIDENTIAL HOUSING, UH, WITH SIMILAR HEIGHTS, MASSING AND SCALE.

THIS CHANGE WOULD SUPPORT THE BLUEPRINTS GOALS OF ENCOURAGING MORE MIDDLE INCOME AND MIDDLE SCALE HOUSING.

AND WE ALSO STAFF ALSO RECOMMENDS IN THE CODE, UM, DEVELOPMENT PORTION OF THIS WORK.

SO IN THE NEXT STEPS TO FURTHER REFINE THE COMPAT, UH, THE HEIGHTS ALLOWED IN THE COMPATIBILITY BUFFER.

SO LOOKING AT PEER CITIES, WE SAW THAT AT 60 FEET, UM, YOU COULD GET TO A HEIGHT OF 60 FEET.

SO RATHER THAN STAYING WITH OUR CURRENT COMPATIBILITY SLOPE, ADJUSTING THAT COMPATIBILITY SLOPE IN LINE WITH OUR PEER CITIES, UH, TO REACH VARYING HEIGHTS WITHIN THE FIRST, WITHIN THAT 75 FEET OF COMPATIBILITY, HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS.

UM, AND THEN FINALLY, STAFF DOES RECOMMEND ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, UH, ALONG, UH, IN LINE WITH THE CODE AMENDMENT PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT ADDITIONAL INPUT ON OTHER POLICY OBJECTIVES, UM, OR AND ITEMS IMPORTANT TO STAKEHOLDERS ARE CONSIDERED.

BECAUSE WE WERE THIS STUDY NARROWLY FOCUSED ON THE IMPACTS, UH, TO OUR HOUSING GOALS, BUT DIDN'T ASSESS BROADER STAKEHOLDER, UM, KIND OF INPUT AROUND, UH, THIS ISSUE.

WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS, THERE ARE UNDERLYING DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS IN OUR DISPLACEMENT RISK AREAS, AND WE WANNA MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO EMBED THIS IN THE POLICIES GOING FORWARD.

SO THE FIRST ONE IS WE NEED TO ANALYZE THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS AND PRESERVATION STRATEGY FOR THOSE EXISTING MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING.

UM, THAT WE'LL SEE INCREASED PRESSURE BECAUSE OF THE RELAXED COMPATIBILITY.

UM, SO IDENTIFYING WHICH OF THOSE PROPERTIES ARE GOING TO SEE THAT, UM, THAT ADDITIONAL REDEVELOPMENT PRESSURE, UH, AND DEVELOPING STRATEGIES TO TRY TO PRESERVE THOSE UNITS, UM, IN DISPLACEMENT RISK AREAS IS ONE OF

[01:00:01]

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.

WE ALSO THINK THAT WE SHOULD EXPLORE PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS THAT BRING BACK, UH, DISPLACED COMMUNITIES BECAUSE THIS, WHAT WE'VE FOUND FROM THIS ANALYSIS IS THAT WE WOULD BE INCREASING CAPACITY IN THESE AREAS, BUT HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE THAT THAT CAPACITY ACTUALLY BRINGS BACK DISPLACED COMMUNITIES? AND THEN FINALLY, TO CONTINUE PRIORITIZING INVESTMENTS SUCH AS RENTAL ASSISTANCE, LEGAL SERVICES, EDUCATION ON FAIR HOUSING AND TENANT RIGHTS TO STABILIZE THE EXISTING RESIDENTS WHO MAY BE VULNERABLE TO DISPLACEMENT.

AND FINALLY, UH, WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS OF COMPATIBILITY ARE DUE TO UNDERLYING DIS DISPARITIES ABOUT THE LOCATION OF MULTIFAMILY HOUSING.

SO THIS DIAGRAM OR THIS MAP SHOWS THAT 66% OF ALL PROPERTIES ZONED HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL ARE FOUND IN DISPLACEMENT RISK AREAS.

UM, SO THAT UNDERLYING DISPARITY IS REALLY WHAT IS LEADING TO KIND OF A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT, UM, IN WITH COMPATIBILITY, UM, IN, IN THESE DISPLACEMENT RISK AREAS.

SO WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO BALANCE THE IMPACTS OF, UM, WITH OTHER, OF OTHER EXISTING REGULATIONS ON HOUSING CAPACITY AND ENGAGE IN HOLISTIC DISCUSSIONS ON THE ZONING, URBAN DESIGN, LANDSCAPING, AND OTHER WAYS TO ESTABLISH TRANSITIONS BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT INTENSITIES.

AND WITH THAT, I'M GONNA HAND IT BACK TO ERICA TO KIND OF GO OVER SOME NEXT STEPS.

UH, SO STEVIE JUST WENT OVER THE, UH, GANTT CHART TIMELINE OF LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, UH, AMENDMENTS.

AND SO, UH, THE CITYWIDE COMPATIBILITY CHANGES ARE INCLUDED IN THAT SCHEDULE.

UM, AND THAT WRAPS UP OUR PRESENTATION ABOUT ANALYSIS OF COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS.

WE'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION COLLEAGUES.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? LOOKS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALTER, LET'S JUST GO DOWN THE LINE.

, KEEP IT, KEEP IT SIMPLE.

THAT SOUNDS GREAT.

WELL, THIS IS VERY DETAILED, UH, WORK.

Y'ALL CLEARLY, UH, WENT THROUGH EVERYTHING, SO I AM VERY IMPRESSED.

UM, I WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN THE BUFFER ZONE.

ARE YOU RECOMMENDING CHANGING THE 25 FOOT NO BUILD, OR ARE YOU JUST SAYING AFTER 25 FEET INCREASE THE ANGLE? WHAT, WHAT IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION IN THAT BUFFER? SO, YEAH, THAT, THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION AND WE ACTUALLY DIDN'T GO THAT FAR WITH THE STUDY AND THAT'S WHY WE RECOMMEND IT AS A NEXT STEP TO, WE KNOW WE HAVE THE DATA, WE KNOW HOW MUCH YIELD WE'LL GET BACK AND WE, AND WE CAN TEST IT AT DIFFERENT HEIGHTS, UM, TO SEE IF WE, IF WE ALLOW 60 FEET AT, UM, LIKE OUR, OUR, UM, COMPS AT OUR, OUR PEER CITIES ALLOW 60 FEET, GENERALLY AT 50 FEET OF DISTANCE.

AND SO WE CAN SEE HOW MUCH WE WOULD GAIN BACK IF WE DID THAT, AS WELL AS LOOKING AT THAT ZERO TO 25 FEET.

UM, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RECOMMEND AND WHAT'S REC WHAT'S RECOMMENDED TO EXPLORE IS A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

SO I THINK WE NEED MORE FURTHER TESTING TO FIGURE OUT IF WE RELAX IT TOO MUCH.

IS THERE REALLY A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM WORTH CONSIDERING? YEAH.

UM, AND SO THAT'S, THAT IS T B D.

UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T HAVE A RECOMMENDATION TODAY.

SURE.

AND I'M NOT NECESSARILY THINKING ABOUT BUILDING STRUCTURES IN THE 25 FEET, BUT DETENTION PONDS OR PARKING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TYPES OF STUFF THAT IS VERY SURFACE LEVEL THAT RIGHT NOW IS PROHIBITED.

AND EVEN IF WE WERE TO CHANGE THE SEVEN, YOU KNOW, CHANGE THE LINE TO 75 FEET, IF YOU CAN'T PUT THE POND IN THAT 25 FEET, THAT POND NOW HAS TO GO WHERE THE BUILDING IS GOING.

AND SO EVERYTHING ABOVE IT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE LOSING THAT ENTIRE BUILDING BECAUSE OF THE POND THAT HAS TO BE AT GROUND LEVEL.

AND SO I FEEL LIKE AT THIS STAGE IT WOULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL FOR US TO AT LEAST LOOK AT NOT THE STRUCTURES WITHIN THAT 25 FEET, BUT JUST WHAT IS ALLOWED TO BE BUILT THERE.

KIND OF, YOU KNOW, MAYBE UP TO FIVE FEET OR SOMETHING VERY SURFACE LEVEL WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PONDS, THE PARKING THINGS THAT JUST TAKE UP SPACE THAT YOU CAN'T, THAT ARE, WE'RE GONNA TAKE UP BUILDING SPACE OTHERWISE.

SO, AND IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, I BELIEVE THAT THE RESOLUTION ALREADY DIRECTS THAT.

UM, AND THIS WAS REALLY JUST LOOKING AT HOUSING

[01:05:01]

CAPACITY.

SURE.

SO I MEAN, I THINK WE WOULD, WE WOULD DEFINITELY, UM, BUILD OFF THE RESOLUTION LANGUAGE.

GREAT.

WELL REALLY DO APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS AND THANKS A LOT TO DIGEST.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH MAYOR PROTO.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

I DO APPRECIATE THIS ASSESSMENT 'CAUSE I THINK IT'S REALLY INFORMATIVE.

CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE COMPATIBILITY ACROSS CORRIDORS? I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT IN THE PAST, AND YOU HAD SAID THAT TYPICALLY THE CORRIDORS ARE ABOUT 75 FEET ANYWAY.

BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN THEY'RE NOT? CAN YOU TALK A BIT ABOUT WHY THAT CORRIDOR THRESHOLD WAS SELECTED OR NOT? YEAH, IT GETS A LITTLE TECHNICAL , BUT UM, BUT SO THE COMPATIBILITY ON CORRIDORS, UH, ORDINANCE, UM, BASICALLY REQUIRES THAT COMPATIBILITY ONLY BE TRIGGERED ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE, OF THE STREET.

AND THAT'S A VERY COMPLEX REGULATION TO IMPLEMENT IT.

IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO SORT OF, IT'S EASY TO MAKE A BUFFER OFFSET OF 75 FEET.

UM, BUT THEN TO DO, TO KIND OF, UM, ERASE THE PORTION THAT CROSSES THE STREET IS ACTUALLY QUITE DIFFICULT.

UM, SO, SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT AND THAT'S WHY WE DID STAFF, YOU KNOW, DIDN'T SUPPORT IT THE FIRST TIME.

IT'S NOT IN THE CITYWIDE COMPATIBILITY RE UM, RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, TO NOT, UH, TO, UM, NOT TRIGGER COMPATIBILITY ACROSS THE STREET.

UM, BUT WE THINK THAT THE CLEANEST WAY TO DO THIS IS JUST TO REDUCE COMPATIBILITY TO WHERE THERE'S NOT A SITUATION WHERE COMPATIBILITY CROSSES MAJOR CORRIDORS.

AND THIS ONLY APPLIES TO CORRIDORS.

UM, SO IN CASES WITH SMALLER STREETS LIKE RESIDENTIAL STREETS THAT ARE LESS THAN 60 FEET, IT WOULD STILL TRIGGER ACROSS THE STREET, UM, BECAUSE THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RIGHT OF WIDTH, THE RIGHT OF WAY WIDTH IS LESS THAN THAN 75 FEET.

BUT IT WOULD COMPLETELY SUBSUME THE COMPATIBILITY ON CORRIDORS ORDINANCE BECAUSE THOSE CORRIDORS ARE LARGER THAN 75 FEET.

AND CAN YOU TELL ME IF THERE'S BEEN ANY ASSESSMENT OF THE GENERAL HEIGHT, LIKE THE FLOOR HEIGHT OF SOME OF THOSE BUILDINGS? AND THE REASON I'M ASKING THE QUESTION THIS WAY IS BECAUSE WE HAD A PRESENTATION PROBABLY ABOUT A YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF AGO THAT THERE WAS A P ON SOUTH LAMAR THAT WAS POTENTIALLY IN THE WORKS.

SO THERE WASN'T A LOT OF INFORMATION.

UM, BUT THERE IS A CONDO DEVELOPMENT OR, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT ZONING, BUT IT IS ON A CLIFF.

AND SO WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE COMPATIBILITY STANDARD WHERE YOU HAVE PEOPLE LIVING ESSENTIALLY IN SINGLE FAMILY HOMES OR DUPLEX STYLES HOMES, BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY MUCH HIGHER THAN THE ACTUAL HEIGHT THAT WAS POTENTIALLY BEING PROPOSED IN THIS PUT.

AND SO I'M CURIOUS IF THAT IS AT ALL SOMETHING YOU CAN ANALYZE OR IF IT'S BEEN CONSIDERED SO FAR.

SO THIS, THIS ANALYSIS DOES, DID NOT LOOK AT THE KIND OF THE STARTING PLACE, THE TOPOGRAPHIC STARTING PLACE OF, OF A BUILDING.

AND I DON'T THINK THE COMPATIBILITY REG REGULATIONS DO E EITHER.

SO THAT'S WHY THAT HAPPENS.

IT'S KIND OF A PLAN VIEW.

IT TRIGGERS, BECAUSE IN SOME CASES IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE DIFFERENT LEVELS, UM, BETWEEN THE TRIGGERING PROPERTY AND THE, THE PROPERTY THAT'S BEING IMPACTED, UM, BECAUSE OF TOPOGRAPHY.

AND THAT'S NOT REALLY CONSIDERED IN THE COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS.

AND, AND WE DIDN'T CONSIDER IT FOR THIS STUDY EITHER.

DO YOU KNOW IF STAFF WOULD HAVE THE TOOL TO CONSIDER THAT IF WE ASKED FOR THE ASSESSMENT? I DON'T THINK SO.

THAT SOUNDS VERY SITE SPECIFIC.

AND, UH, BASED ON THE NUMBER OF CODE AMENDMENTS THAT ARE IN FRONT OF US, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD HAVE A POTENTIAL LARGE IMPACT ON, ON TIMEFRAMES.

I'LL KEEP THAT IN MY POCKET FOR LATER 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT THAT FOR A WHILE.

BUT IT SEEMS ODD TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, A SINGLE FAMILY HOME DUPLEX MUCH, MUCH HIGHER IN ELEVATION, EVEN THOUGH IT'S ONE OR TWO STORIES.

AND THEN YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING ASKING FOR 60 OR 90 FEET FURTHER AWAY AND THEY CAN'T BUILD HIGHER BECAUSE OF THIS HOUSE THAT'S LOOMING DOWN ON THEM.

SO I'M, I'VE JUST BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT THAT ALONG, ALONG THE LINE OF THIS CONVERSATION.

THE PROPERTY'S GONNA BE SHORTER THAN THE THE OTHER.

MAY HAVE PRETEND I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THOSE ITEMS THAT WE CAN ADD TO FUTURE ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION.

'CAUSE NOW YOU PIQUED MY INTEREST.

UM, SO THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.

COUNCIL MEMBER VEDA, I, UH, GOING OFF OF THE MAYOR PRO TEMS POINT, I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE WAIVER, UH, COMPATIBILITY WAIVER COMES IN.

UH, I KNOW THAT THAT WAS THAT DISCUSSION WITH REGARD TO THAT PROPERTY RIGHT ACROSS ON THE CORNER OF LAMAR AND BARTON SPRINGS, WHERE ESSENTIALLY LIKE THE CLIFFS ON THE OTHER SIDE, UH, ARE, YOU KNOW, SQUEEZING DOWN THE, THE HEIGHT OF THE PROPERTY, EVEN THOUGH ULTIMATELY

[01:10:01]

SO I, I, I THINK THAT'S WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHEN I, I DON'T WANT Y'ALL TO, YOU KNOW, REINVENT THE, THE WHEEL TO TRY AND, YOU KNOW, DEAL WITH VERY LIMITED NUMBER OF, UH, EXCEPTIONS.

BUT I THINK THE, THE VALID POINT IS THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF EXCEPTIONS WHERE COMPATIBILITY DOESN'T MAKE SENSE FOR WHATEVER, UH, REASONS.

AND THAT'S WHERE I THINK A WAIVER, WHETHER PLANNING COMMISSION GRANTED OR WE GRANT IT.

AGAIN, I I, I'LL LEAVE THAT TO Y'ALL'S, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, ANALYSIS AND, AND RECOMMENDATION.

UH, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE, UH, A VERY HELPFUL, UM, FIRST OF ALL, I, THIS IS GREAT.

UH, I, I READ IT THIS MORNING, UH, AND IT'S, UH, REALLY GOOD WORK, UH, UH, GREATLY, UH, APPRECIATED.

UH, I THINK THAT THAT 75 FOOT, UH, DISTANCE IS A GOOD DISTANCE.

I WAS SURPRISED BY HOW MUCH IS UNDER 75 FEET THOUGH, IN TERMS OF THE CAPACITY, UH, THAT WE'RE LEAVING ON THE TABLE.

BUT AS YOU POINT OUT IN THE REPORT, I THINK THAT'S WHERE OUR DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS, UH, COULD REALLY COME IN AND, UH, PROVIDE THAT.

AGAIN, THAT'S NOT E E EXPLICITLY, YOUR HONOR.

THEY'RE NOT MAKING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.

BUT I KNOW AS PART OF THE, THE, THE, THE, MY COMPATIBILITY, UH, UH, UH, ORDINANCE THAT THAT'LL COME BACK WHERE, YOU KNOW, DO WE WAIVE COMPATIBILITY FOR DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT, UH, UH, THOSE, THOSE UNITS THAT ARE BEING LEFT ON THE TABLE AT THOSE, YOU KNOW, LOWER, UH, DISTANCES.

UM, THAT WAS, UH, THAT WAS REALLY GREAT TO SEE.

AND, AND THE OTHER, HONESTLY, THE, THE OTHER NUMBER THAT REALLY JUMPS OUT AT ME IS THE NUMBER OF THESE UNITS THAT ARE ON THE TRANSIT CORRIDORS, UH, THAT WE'RE ESSENTIALLY TALKING ABOUT HOUSING ON THE TRANSIT CORRIDORS THAT ARE BEING AFFECTED BY COMPATIBILITY AND GIVEN OUR GOALS WITH REGARD TO TRANSIT, GIVEN OUR GOALS WITH REGARD TO CLIMATE CHANGE, UH, IT, IT JUST SEEMS TO MAKE A WORLD OF SENSE TO, UH, BOOST HOUSING ALONG THOSE CORRIDORS WHERE THEY WILL HAVE ACCESS TO, YOU KNOW, BIKE LANES, YOU KNOW, HIGH QUALITY TRANSIT, UH, AND JUST A, A GOOD MIX OF, YOU KNOW, COMMERCIAL RETAIL AND OTHER SERVICES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, A SHORT WALK AWAY, HOPEFULLY JUST DOWN, UH, STAIRS.

UM, SO JUST, UH, IN, IN GENERAL, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT, UH, STARTING POINT FOR, UM, THE DISCUSSIONS AND, UM, JUST REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ITEM COMING BACK IN FEBRUARY, IS THAT RIGHT? FEBRUARY SLASH MARCH .

ALL RIGHT.

UM, WELL, AGAIN, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

IT'S A GREAT REPORT.

UH, APPRECIATE THE, UM, THE ANALYSIS.

I ALSO APPRECIATE THAT Y'ALL HAVE WORKED IN, OR AT LEAST ATTEMPTED TO WORK IN SOME OF THE OTHER LIMITATIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THOSE ALSO, UH, UH, AFFECT, UH, UNIT COUNTS.

AND JUST QUICK QUESTION, DOES PARKING, DID, DID, DID THE PARKING, UH, UH, ROLL INTO THIS AT ALL? BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER HUGE LIMITATION ON, UH, THE TOTAL UNITS, UH, UH, BUILT AND, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT WE CAN DO? SO PARKING SPECIFICALLY DIDN'T, UM, PARKING IS OFTEN OVERLAPPED WITH FLOOR AREA RATIO BECAUSE OUR FLOOR AREA RATIOS ARE KIND OF, ARE, ARE PRETTY LIMITING.

UM, WE, WE KIND OF, THAT, THAT GENERAL LIMITATION FACTOR INCLUDES BOTH FLOOR AREA RATIO AND PARKING AS, AS A KIND OF AN AVERAGE.

UM, BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT THESE REGULA, UH, THESE LIMITS STACK ON TOP OF EACH OTHER, AND A LOT OF TIMES WHAT DEVELOPERS DO IS THEY HAVE TO, THEY HAVE TO KIND OF MAXIMIZE THEIR SPACE, SO THEY ADDRESS F A R AND PARKING TOGETHER.

UM, AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY WE DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY CALL OUT PARKING AS A LIMITER BECAUSE IT'S IT'S ACT, IT'S OFTEN, UM, YOU KNOW, PAIRED WITH OTHER LIMITERS LIKE FLUOR AREA RATIO.

MM-HMM.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, AGAIN, JUST THE SUGGESTIONS AND I THINK THE SUGGESTIONS WITH REGARD TO THE MISSING MIDDLE TYPE, THE SSF SIX, A SMALLER KIND OF MULTIFAMILY, UH, IS, IS REALLY GREAT.

AND, AND THEN LAST THING I WOULD JUST MENTION THAT IN ADDITION TO, YOU KNOW, BOOSTING HOUSING IN EXACTLY THE PLACES THAT WE WANT HOUSING, I MEAN, THAT BOOSTS CITY PROPERTY TAX REVENUES AS WELL, YOU KNOW, SO I, HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET INTO A BIT OF A, OF A VIRTUOUS CYCLE WHERE NOT ONLY ARE WE ADDING UNITS, BUT WE'RE ALSO, UH, BOOSTING, UH, OUR, OUR, UH, THE TAXABLE VALUE OUR, OUR TAX BASE AS WELL.

SO AGAIN, THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH.

GREAT WORK.

THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER BER THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INITIATE THE BROADER WORKING GROUP ON SMART HOUSING? IS THERE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR? MOVED BY VICE CHAIR ALTER, SECONDED BY, UM, MAYOR PER TEM ELLIS? UM, ALL IN FAVOR SAY, AYE.

UM, SO I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY NOW TO RECOGNIZE COLLEAGUES.

IS THERE A MOTION TO RECOMMEND THAT THESE CODE CHANGES BE ADOPTED BY THE FULL COUNCIL AND CITY STAFF

[01:15:01]

AYE.

UM, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, WHO'S OFF THE DAY IS TODAY, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S A UNANIMOUS VOTE.

UM, SO ALL UP NEXT, ONE OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL REFORMS THAT WE CAN MAKE TO OUR CITY'S HOUSING SHORTAGE AROUND COMPATIBILITY REFORM.

UM, STAFF HAS OFFERED US SOME OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, COME UP AND SHARE THEIR STUDY AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS, UM, WHILE I READ POSTING LANGUAGE ITEM NUMBER SIX, APOLOGIES I WENT BACKWARDS AND NOT FORWARDS.

[7. Discussion and possible action regarding the HealthSouth redevelopment.]

ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, UM, WE ARE GONNA TAKE UP DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE HEALTH SOUTH REDEVELOPMENT.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER BO CADRE, I THOUGHT, GIVE ME JUST A MOMENT.

SEEING AS THIS DEVELOPMENT NOW RESIDES IN DISTRICT NINE AND NO LONGER IN DISTRICT ONE LIKE IT ONCE DID, UM, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH THE COMMITTEE AND PROVIDE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS OR SUGGESTED ACTIONS FOR THE COMMITTEE TO TAKE TODAY? YEAH, I, I HAVE A FEW COMMENTS.

I DON'T KNOW IF WE WANT TO DO THE PRESENTATION FIRST CHAIR, OR IF I SHOULD MAKE MY COMMENTS FIRST.

UM, I WOULD SAY THAT IT'S YOUR PREFERENCE, BUT I THINK IT MIGHT BE IMPORTANT TO LIKE, LEAD THE CONVERSATION BY WAY OF RECOGNIZING WHY, LIKE WHAT THE IMPORTANCE IS FOR YOU.

YEAH.

UH, I APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, AND, AND, AND I WANT, I DO WANNA CENTER IT AROUND, YOU KNOW, IF IT WASN'T FOR REDISTRICTING, THIS WOULD STILL BE IN YOUR DISTRICT.

AND I, AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORK THAT YOU AND YOUR STAFF, UH, HAS DONE ON HEALTH SOUTH AND, AND, AND TALK ABOUT THE VALUES THAT WERE KIND OF MENTIONED ABOUT HOW IMPACTFUL AND IMPORTANT, UH, HEALTH SOUTH IS.

AND I KIND OF WANNA CENTER MY LITTLE SPIEL AROUND, AROUND VALUES AND THEN KIND OF WHAT WE SEE AS NEXT STEPS AS AN OFFICE.

UH, YOU KNOW, WE SEE HEALTH SOUTH AS A PLACE WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF WORKING CLASS JOBS, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE WHO HAS THOSE JOBS HAS ACCESS TO HOUSING.

THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT IS ACCESSIBLE TO THOSE JOBS.

I THINK, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO ALSO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE, THE LAND STAYING WITHIN THE CITY, UH, AND ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE MAXIMIZE OPPORTUNITY, UH, WITH THAT LAND AND WE MAXIMIZE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE WHO LIVES, UH, IN DOWNTOWN, AND THAT WE COULD STILL MAKE THE MAX ENTITLEMENTS ON THE SOUTHERN ON, ON THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF HEALTH SOUTH.

UH, SO I THINK WHAT, WHAT NEXT STEPS HOPEFULLY WILL BE, UH, WILL BE TO WORK WITH OUR SUB QUORUM TO BRING STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION IN THE NEXT, UH, NEXT FEW WEEKS.

I JUST, AND, AND I JUST WANNA, JUST WANNA REITERATE, I WANNA BE VERY, UH, THIS IS JUST EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND I, I DON'T, I DON'T EVER WANNA RUSH ANYTHING, AND I WANNA BE VERY INTENTIONAL AND I WANT TO TAKE OUR TIME, UH, TO DO THIS RIGHT.

UH, AND I DON'T WANT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHEN I GOT INTO OFFICE, YOU KNOW, HEALTH SOUTH HAD UNFORTUNATELY BECOME, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, KIND OF A MESS.

AND WE'VE SEEN OTHER THINGS BECOME MESS MESSES, AND, AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANNA DO WITH THIS.

WE WANNA BE VERY CAREFUL AND DO THIS.

READY.

I APPRECIATE THAT CONTRIBUTION TO THE CONVERSATION.

WE'RE VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR PRESENTATION.

NO PRESSURE.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, I'M GONNA KICKSTART THE PRESENTATION.

I AM MANDY DE MAYO, I'M DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, AND I AM HERE JOINED BY SOME ESTEEMED COLLEAGUES WHO I WILL LET INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND WE EACH HAVE A PIECE OF THE PRESENTATION.

GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNSEL.

UH, MY NAME IS DARREN SMITH.

I'M A MANAGING PRINCIPAL WITH THE CONSULTING FIRM OF ECONOMIC AND PLANNING SYSTEMS. GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.

PARDON ME.

UH, MY NAME'S JEFF CODDINGTON.

I'M A MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL MARKETS WITH JONES LANG LASALLE, OR J L L J L L IS A GLOBAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FIRM THAT SPECIALIZES IN REAL ESTATE.

UH, GOOD AFTERNOON.

I'M STEVE GARVIN.

I'M THE SENIOR REGIONAL DIRECTOR WITH J L L.

WITHIN J L L, WE HAVE A PUBLIC INSTITUTION GROUP THAT SPECIALIZES EXCLUSIVELY WITH THE PUBLIC SECTOR, AND I'M HERE REPRESENTING THEM.

GOOD TO BE HERE

[01:20:01]

AGAIN.

UM, AND THAT'S REALLY SERVING FOLKS AT OR BELOW 50% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, UP TO 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME WITH A TARGET ON DOWNTOWN WORKERS.

AND THANK YOU FOR THE LEAD IN TO BOTH COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, AND COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE FOR SETTING THE STAGE FOR THIS CONVERSATION.

UH, TODAY WE WANNA GIVE YOU A STATUS UPDATE, UH, WHERE WE ARE ON THE PROJECT, SOME HIGHLIGHTS AROUND OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

UM, AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO, UM, MARKET OVERVIEW BY E P S, DARREN SMITH, UM, CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW BY J L L, AND THEN WE'LL LEAD RIGHT INTO STAFF, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS AND HOPEFULLY HAVE A DISCUSSION, UM, AS A REMINDER LOOKING BOTH FORWARD AND BACKWARD.

UH, NEXT WEEK AT THE SEPTEMBER 14TH, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEETING, YOU WILL HAVE AN ITEM ON YOUR AGENDA RELATED TO HEALTH SOUTH.

AND THAT IS ESSENTIALLY AUTHORIZING A CONTRACT FOR DEMOLITION OF THE EXISTING HEALTH SOUTH REHAB HOSPITAL.

UM, AND, UH, WE ARE EAGER TO EXECUTE, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT CONTRACT.

WE ANTICIPATE THAT DEMO PROVIDED THAT THE CONTRACT IS APPROVED.

DEMOLITION WOULD COM COMMENCE IN JANUARY OF 2024, AND EFFECTIVELY ACCOMPLISH TWO THINGS, ELIMINATE THE ANNUAL MAINTENANCE COSTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT FACILITY, WHICH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, IS UNUSABLE, UM, AS WELL AS SET THE STAGE FOR A CLEAN NEW SOLICITATION.

AS A REMINDER, AS COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE REFERENCED, THERE WAS A RESOLUTION, UM, PASSED BY CITY COUNCIL AT THE, THE JULY 20TH MEETING, UM, WHICH BASICALLY AFFIRMED, UH, A A LOT OF THINGS, COUNCIL, UH, GENERAL, UM, UH, AFFIRMATION OF A VARIETY OF THINGS, INCLUDING THE GOAL OF THE CITY TO RETAIN OWNERSHIP, UM, OF THE HEALTH SOUTH PROPERTY, THE TWO DIFFERENT PARCELS.

UH, AN AFFIRMATION OF THE GOAL TO REDEVELOP THE SITE AS MIXED USE AND MIXED INCOME WITH A REAL FOCUS ON SERVING RESIDENTS AND HOUSEHOLDS AT OR BELOW 60% M F I.

UM, A GOAL OF PROVIDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, WITHIN THE PALM DISTRICT PLAN, EITHER ON SITE OR WITHIN THE PALM DISTRICT, UH, BOUNDARIES.

AND ALSO ASKING FOR AN EXPLORATION OF BOTH A H F C, AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION, AS WELL AS A E D C, THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AS POTENTIAL NEGOTIATORS ON THE SITE.

UM, AND THEN ALSO DIRECTED STAFF BEFORE SEPTEMBER, THIS MEETING, UH, COMING BACK WITH A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT ON THE MARKET, FEASIBILITY OF SITE REDEVELOPMENT AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS.

AND OF COURSE, WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT NEXT.

UM, WITH RESPECT TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WE'VE HAD A VERY BUSY, IT'S BEEN ABOUT SIX WEEKS AT THIS POINT.

UM, WE DID A DEEP DIVE INTO THE PALM DISTRICT PLAN, UM, STAKEHOLDER REPORTS, UM, AND WE REVIEWED ALL OF THE ENGAGEMENT AND THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ABOUT A MONTH.

WE HAD A SPEAK UP AUSTIN SURVEY, UH, THAT WAS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

WE ACTUALLY HAD, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PUBLIC RESPONSE, BUT WE HAD A PRETTY REMARKABLE RESPONSE.

MORE THAN 400, UM, INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS, UM, PARTICIPATED IN THE SURVEY, AND WE RECEIVED ALMOST 500 UNIQUE COMMENTS ON AUGUST 9TH.

WE HAD PARTICIPATED, DID A PRESENTATION AND A FEEDBACK SESSION WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, WHICH WAS VERY ILLUMINATING.

AND THEN ON AUGUST 22ND, WE HAD WHAT WE CALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD ROUND TABLE.

IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE SITE, YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE SURROUNDED BY SOME VERY IMPORTANT, UM, ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS, UH, AND OTHER REALLY IMPORTANT NEIGHBORS, UH, WHO WILL HAVE SOME INFLUENCE AND CERTAINLY HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THE SITE AND THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE.

SO WE WERE JOINED BY THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, A E D C, AS WELL AS CENTRAL HEALTH THAT, OF COURSE, OWNS THE VACANT, UM, SITE NORTH OF US DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, THE INNOVATION DISTRICT STEERING COMMITTEE, RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT THAT IS KEENLY INTERESTED IN THE, THE SITE AND THE DEVELOPMENT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, OF COURSE, TO OUR NORTH TRAVIS COUNTY SOBERING CENTER, IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE EAST, THE WALLER CREEK LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION, OF COURSE, WALLER CREEK CONSERVANCY AND WATERLOO GREENWAY, UM, BOUND THE SITE TO THE WEST.

SO SPEAK UP.

AUSTIN, AS I MENTIONED, REALLY REMARKABLE, UM, RESPONSE.

WE HAD MORE THAN 400 INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANTS, VERY DIVERSE RESPONDENTS, AND WE'LL BE PROVIDING A COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT FOR YOUR, UM, REVIEW, ALMOST 500, UM, COMMENTS.

AND WHAT WE HEARD OVERWHELMINGLY REALLY WAS A REFLECTION OF WHAT THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION FROM JULY, UM, RECOMMENDED, WHICH WAS A FOCUS ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, WHO THE RESPONDENTS REALLY WANTED TO SERVE WAS, UH, THE LOCAL WORKFORCE IN TERMS OF WHO IS WORKING DOWNTOWN, A REAL FOCUS ON HOSPITALITY, UM, HEALTHCARE AND SERVICE INDUSTRY WORKERS.

ALMOST 75% OF FOLKS SAID THAT WAS WHO THEY, UH, ENVISIONED SERVING.

UM, THE HIGHLIGHTS, UH, THAT WE SAW THAT WE GLEANED FROM OUR VARIOUS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHETHER IT WAS SPEAK UP AUSTIN OR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSATIONS OR BROADER ROUND TABLES, WAS AN INTEREST IN SERVING, UH, WHAT WE WOULD CALL WORKFORCE HOUSING.

[01:25:01]

AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, ENORMOUS, UH, AMOUNT OF HOSPITALITY WORKERS, HEALTHCARE, AND AS WE ALL KNOW, A GROWING HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY IN THAT CORRIDOR JUST NORTH, THERE WAS OF COURSE, ANNOUNCEMENT THAT UT WAS GOING TO BE BRINGING IN MD ANDERSON, SO ADDITIONAL HEALTHCARE WORKERS TO THE NORTH OF THE SITE, SERVICE INDUSTRIES, HOSPITALITY, AS WELL AS EDUCATION.

UM, WHAT WE HEARD FROM FOLKS WAS REALLY A FOCUS ON ONE AND TWO BEDROOM APARTMENTS, RENTAL UNITS, NOT CONDOMINIUMS. AND WE HEARD MIXED THINGS ON SERVING FAMILIES, WHETHER THE FOCUS REALLY SHOULD BE IN INDIVIDUALS OR FAMILIES.

OTHER PRIORITIES.

WE HEARD LOUDOUN CLEAR WAS LOCAL SERVING RETAIL AND OR RESTAURANTS, UM, CULTURAL SPACES, COMMUNITY ROOMS, OPEN SPACES THAT COMPLIMENT WATERLOO PARK, WHICH OF COURSE IS RIGHT ADJACENT TO THE SITE.

AND THEN WE ALSO HEARD A NEED FOR PUBLIC PARKING TO SERVE RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO WATERLOO GREENWAY, AS WELL AS, UM, RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT EVENTS.

I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO DARREN NOW TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MARKET CONDITIONS.

3000 OR SO UNITS BEING BROUGHT ONLINE, UH, RIGHT NOW, UH, UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

UM, AGAIN, DARREN SMITH WITH ECONOMIC AND PLANNING SYSTEMS, AND WE WERE ASKED AS, UH, YOU ALREADY STATED, UH, TO COME BACK WITH SOME MARKET INFORMATION AS WELL AS FEASIBILITY INFORMATION.

SO I'M GONNA START WITH FEASIBILITY.

UM, IN 2019, WHEN THIS SOLICITATION WAS BEING PREPARED AND, AND RESPONDED TO IN 2020, WE WERE IN A VERY DIFFERENT, UH, ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCE.

IT WAS PRE PANDEMIC.

UM, A LOT OF THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THEN, BUT FUNDAMENTALLY WHAT FEASIBILITY MEANS IS THAT THE COST TO CONSTRUCT A BUILDING IS LESS THAN THAT BUILDING IS WORTH, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THE VALUE IS GREATER THAN THE, UM, THAN THE COST.

THAT DELTA THERE IS WHAT YOU CAN GET FOR LAND VALUE FOR A PUBLICLY OWNED PARCEL OR, UH, SOME KIND OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS.

AND WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS IS THAT THE COSTS HAVE ESCALATED MUCH MORE RAPIDLY THAN THE VALUES.

SO THE DELTA BETWEEN COST AND VALUE HAS SHRUNK.

UM, ON THIS SLIDE, WE SEE THAT BY SEVERAL INDICES, UH, COSTS HAVE GONE UP BY AS MUCH AS 33% IN JUST FOUR YEARS FOR CONSTRUCTION, THE COST OF FINANCING, UH, WITH THE FEDERAL INTEREST RATES AND ASSOCIATED INCREASES IN LENDING RATES HAS GONE UP BY, UH, A MINIMUM OF 65%, UH, IN THAT SAME PERIOD OF TIME.

MEANWHILE, RENTS IN DOWNTOWN HAVE GONE UP BY ABOUT 10% ON APARTMENTS AND ABOUT 4% ON OFFICE.

SO THIS IS JUST AN INDICATOR OF THAT KIND OF SHRINKING DELTA BETWEEN THE COST AND THE VALUE OF THE, UH, PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT THAT AFFECTS THE LAND VALUE AND THE ABILITY TO ABSORB THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH COMMUNITY BENEFITS, WITH RESPECT TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE MARKET.

UM, THIS SLIDE INDICATES THE, UH, CHANGES IN RENTS FOR DOWNTOWN APARTMENTS IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, AS WELL AS THE, UH, VACANCY RATES, UM, BOTH IN DOWNTOWN AND THE REST OF THE CITY.

RENTS HAVE BEEN GOING UP, UM, BUT NOT AS QUICKLY AS THE REST OF THE CITY.

AND WE SEE THAT, UH, VACANCIES IN DOWNTOWN, SORT OF THE, THE BLUE, UH, VERTICAL BARS SPIKED IN 2022.

NOW, VACANCY CAN BE A REFLECTION OF, UM, SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS.

ONE IS THAT PEOPLE ARE MOVING OUT, BUT IN THIS CASE, IT HAS MORE TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT MORE UNITS WERE BEING DELIVERED, UH, AND IT TAKES A WHILE TO ABSORB THOSE IN THE MARKETPLACE.

SO THAT IS A, UH, A DYNAMIC THAT WE'VE SEEN BOTH IN RESIDENTIAL AND IN OFFICE, AS I'LL SPEAK TO MOMENTARILY.

UM, WHAT THIS SLIDE SHOWS IS THAT GOING ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2015, THERE WERE ABOUT 3000, 3,200 OR SO, UM, APARTMENT UNITS IN DOWNTOWN.

AND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE C OVID 19 ERA, THERE WERE ABOUT 5,000 HOUSING UNITS DOWNTOWN.

SO RAPID ESCALATION, RAPID INCREASE IN THE OVERALL SUPPLY OF HOUSING.

BUT EVEN IN THOSE LAST THREE YEARS, UH, ANOTHER 1700 OR SO UNITS WERE BROUGHT ON, UH, ONLINE WITH ANOTHER 3000 CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN DOWNTOWN.

UH, YOU SEE THE CRANES EVERYWHERE EVERY TIME YOU COME DOWNTOWN.

UM, SO A LOT OF GROWTH HAPPENING IN THE, THE DOWNTOWN APARTMENT MARKET.

THAT HAD A BIT OF A SPIKE, UM, IN 20 21, 20 22 IN PARTICULAR.

BUT MOSTLY THAT WAS BECAUSE OF THE NEW UNITS BEING BROUGHT ONLINE.

OVERALL VACANCY IS RELATIVELY STABLE IN DOWNTOWN FOR, UH, APARTMENTS, BUT AGAIN, THERE'S ANOTHER, UM,

[01:30:02]

AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, ANOTHER 6,000 UNITS ARE CURRENTLY IN PLANNING OR PROPOSED STAGES ACCORDING TO THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, UH, INVENTORY OF EMERGING PROJECTS.

SO A LOT OF NEW, NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY.

AND COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE, WE'VE COMPARED WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN AUSTIN TO 11 OTHER CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.

ON THIS SLIDE, WE SEE THAT, UH, THE, THE SOLID THICKEST BLUE BAR IS AUSTIN.

THIS IS THE RATE OF GROWTH OF OCCUPIED UNITS IN DOWNTOWN SINCE 2019.

UM, AND AGAIN, IT'S BEEN A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE.

1500 ADDITIONAL UNITS HAVE BEEN BUILT IN OCCUPIED IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN IN THOSE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, PUTTING IT WELL ABOVE MANY OF THE PEER CITIES.

UH, NASHVILLE AND PHOENIX SEEM TO BE REALLY CRANKING IT OUT RIGHT NOW.

UM, SO THEY'RE WELL ABOVE WHAT AUSTIN'S BEEN DOING.

BUT OVERALL, SOLID GROWTH IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN MARKET.

UM, THIS IS THE SAME KIND OF DATA, BUT FOR OFFICE SPACE.

AND ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS THAT WE'VE SEEN HERE IS THAT, UH, OFFICE VACANCIES ARE SIGNIFICANTLY UP IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.

UM, BUT REALLY AGAIN, THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN SUPPLY RATHER THAN PEOPLE LEAVING TOWN.

UM, UNLIKE PLACES LIKE SAN FRANCISCO WHERE THERE'S BEEN, UH, OVER 6 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE SPACE THAT HAD BEEN OCCUPIED PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC AND IS NOW SITTING EMPTY.

UM, SO AGAIN, UH, THE AUSTIN OFFICE MARKET IS HOLDING STEADY, UM, BUT JUST NOT KEEPING UP WITH THE RATE OF NEW ADDITIONS TO THE MARKET.

AND THIS GRAPH ILLUSTRATES THAT SAME DYNAMIC AGAIN.

UM, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SPACE OCCUPIED IS ABOUT THE SAME AS IT WAS PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, 18.3 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF OCCUPIED OFFICE SPACE DOWNTOWN.

IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT WE'VE ADDED, UH, 3 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE SPACE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.

AND SO THAT IS THE REASON FOR THE SIGNIFICANT CLIMB IN VACANCY, WHICH IS NOW UP TO 20%.

AND AGAIN, THERE'S ANOTHER 3 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE SPACE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION, UH, AND ABOUT 7 MILLION MORE SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE SPACE, UM, BEING PLANNED OR PROPOSED RIGHT NOW WITH RESPECT TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

THIS MAP SHOWS WHERE AFFORDABLE UNITS EXIST.

UM, THE RED INDICATOR IS THE HEALTH SOUTH SITE.

WE'VE ALSO PUT THE HOBBY BUILDING SITE ON THIS MAP AS WELL, BECAUSE THAT'S JUST A FEW BLOCKS FROM WHERE WE SIT RIGHT NOW.

UM, THAT WAS ANNOUNCED JUST IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AS A SITE THAT THE, UH, CITY AND STATE ARE INTENDING TO COLLABORATE ON TO GET A MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT THAT FEATURES A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

MOST OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT YOU SEE CERTAINLY, UH, IN WHAT WE WOULD CALL THE DOWNTOWN AREA WEST OF 35, THOSE UNITS ARE IN MIXED INCOME PROJECTS, PRIMARILY THROUGH DENSITY BONUS PRO PROGRAM, GETTING, UH, UH, SMALL PERCENTAGE OF UNITS IN OTHERWISE MARKET RATE HOUSING, UH, TO BE BUILT, UH, IN EXCHANGE FOR ADDED DENSITY.

SO THERE'S GREAT DEMAND FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND, AND CERTAINLY DOWNTOWN, AS WE'VE HEARD FROM, UH, THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH.

AND, UH, THE HEALTH SOUTH SITE PROVIDES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY, UH, ADDRESS THAT ISSUE.

FINALLY, RETAIL.

UM, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT, UH, DECLINE IN RETAIL OCCUPANCY AND, UM, AND RENTS WHEN THE PANDEMIC STARTED.

UM, BUT IT HAS SINCE RECOVERED AND RETAIL RENTS IN DOWNTOWN ARE STRONGER THAN THE REST OF THE, THE MARKET, UH, SO MUCH SO, UM, THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT, UH, NEED FOR MORE RETAIL.

AGAIN, THAT WAS SPOKEN TO IN THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH.

UM, BUT VACANCY RATE IS ONLY ABOUT 2% NOW FOR DOWNTOWN RETAIL, AND NOT THAT MUCH MORE RETAIL IS, UH, IN THE OFFERING WITH RESPECT TO NEW PROJECTS.

UM, SO AGAIN, THIS COMPARISON AMONG OTHER CITIES SHOWS THAT AUSTIN HAS, UH, DONE BETTER THAN MOST WITH RESPECT TO MAINTAINING RETAIL OCCUPANCY DOWNTOWN.

AND THIS PRETTY MUCH SAYS THE SAME THING.

UM, SO IN SUMMARY, WHAT WE FIND IS THAT, UH, IN THE MID AND LONG TERM, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN IS A VERY STRONG MARKET, VERY ATTRACTIVE MARKET FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT.

THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES IN THE NEAR TERM, BOTH IN TERMS OF, UH, COST INFLATION RELATIVE TO RENTS, AND ALSO A SIGNIFICANT HEADWINDS WITH RESPECT TO COMPETITION FROM RECENTLY, UH, CONSTRUCTED OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, AS WELL AS THAT IN THE PLANNING STAGE, AND THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS IN VERY HIGH DEMAND REGIONALLY AND PARTICULARLY SCARCE DOWN DOWNTOWN WHERE MANY LOW INCOME EMPLOYEES WORK.

AND, UH, WITH THAT, I BELIEVE

[01:35:01]

I'LL BE TURNING IT OVER TO OUR FRIENDS FROM J L L.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DARREN.

OUR DISCUSSION TODAY, OR I SHOULD SAY MINE AND STEVE'S DISCUSSION TODAY WILL FOCUS MORE ON NATIONAL, UH, TRENDS AND HOW THOSE AFFECT THE DEVELOPMENT AND CAPITAL MARKETS ENVIRONMENTS, BOTH NATIONALLY AND HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND I WANT TO START BY SAYING, UM, AS A 39 YEAR PLAYER IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY, I HAVE NEVER SEEN A MORE COMPLEX DISRUPTION OF THE CAPITAL MARKETS IN DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTS, UH, THAT WE SEE TODAY THAN IN MY ENTIRE CAREER.

LEMME REPEAT THAT.

THE MOST DISRUPTED CAPITAL MARKETS AND DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT IN MY 39 YEAR CAREER, A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH WHAT DARREN TALKED ABOUT.

UH, RECESSIONARY FEARS, INCREASED CONSTRUCTION COSTS, INTEREST RATE INCREASES THAT WILL GO INTO IN A LITTLE BIT, SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LENDING BEHAVIOR, BOTH ON, UM, THE WHOLE ASSET SIDE AND ON THE CONSTRUCTION DEBT SIDE AND INCREASED RETURN REQUIREMENTS.

INVESTORS ARE PRICING, UH, THE INCREASED RISK THAT I HAVE ALLUDED TO AND WHAT THEY NEED IN TERMS OF AN AS, UH, AN APPROPRIATE RETURN FOR ANY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.

JAR ALSO MENTIONED SOME FORCES THAT WERE UNIQUE TO THE OFFICE SPACE REALM IN TERMS OF RETURNING TO THE OFFICE THAT COMPLICATES, UH, MATTERS WITHIN THAT SECTOR, BUT TRULY A, A VERY DISRUPTED ENVIRONMENT TO BE SURE.

UH, I WANNA JUST FOCUS QUICKLY ON TWO OF THE BULLET POINTS ON THIS SLIDE.

I WON'T, UM, DO YOU GUYS THE DISSERVICE OF READING THROUGH THESE, BUT I THINK THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, AS DISRUPTED AS THINGS ARE RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE TWO PIECES OF GOOD NEWS THAT WE'RE SEEING CURRENTLY IN THE LATTER PART OF 2023, UH, THAT IS, THAT SIGNS HAVE OF INFLATION, UH, THAT INFLATION HAS PEAKED.

UM, WE'RE NOT SEEING INCREASES INFLATION, IN FACT, WE'RE SEEING THE OPPOSITE.

SO THAT IS ASSUAGING SOME OF THE CONCERNS WITHIN THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND NOT ALL OF THEM TO BE CERTAIN.

AND, UM, THE FINAL BULLET POINT THAT, UM, IT, IT IS LOOKING LESS LIKELY THAT WE COULD BE REFACING A, A NATIONAL OR GLOBAL RECESSION.

IN FACT, THERE WAS SOME DATA THAT WAS RELEASED YESTERDAY THAT 17 PER, UH, AND THIS IS DOWN 50% OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS AT ONLY 17% OF C-SUITE EXECUTIVES, UH, FORECAST A RECESSION WITHIN THE COMING SIX MONTHS.

SO WE TAKE SOLACE IN THOSE TWO, UH, GREEN SHOOTS OF GOOD NEWS, UM, KIND OF ON THE NATIONAL AND GLOBAL STAGE.

UH, I THINK THIS PRESENTATION HAS BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO ALL OF YOU BEFORE, SO I WON'T BOTHER READING, UH, ALL SIX OF THESE BULLET POINTS AS THEY RELATE TO THE CURRENT STATE OF CAPITAL MARKETS.

BUT THERE'S A COUPLE OF, UH, THINGS THAT ARE BOTH GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS, UH, WITHIN THIS SUMMARY.

AND, AND JUST PARDON OUR, AN ABBREVIATION HERE, BUT USTS THAT, UH, REFERS TO THE UNITED STATES TREASURY BOND RATE, BUT I, I, I DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO NUMBER TWO, UM, WHERE THERE WAS A COMMENT MADE THAT LOCAL AND REGIONAL BANKS ARE ONE SPOT OF RELATIVE WEAKNESS WITHIN THE BANKING INDUSTRY.

THIS IS SIGNIFICANT TO NOTE BECAUSE THE VAST MAJORITY OF CONSTRUCTION FINANCING COMES FROM LOCAL AND REGIONAL BANKS.

SO, UH, THEY ARE APPROACHING NEW PROJECT DEVELOPMENT WITH EXTREME CAUTION RIGHT NOW, AND, UH, RETOOLING, UM, UH, A NUMBER OF THE TERMS THAT THEY OFFER DEVELOPERS.

SO THIS BECOMES PROBLEMATIC CERTAINLY FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT.

NUMBER ONE, UH, WITH RESPECT TO BULLET POINT NUMBER THREE, UM, MORE INVESTORS ARE BANKING ON HIGHER, A HIGHER INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.

UH, THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITIES AND INVESTMENT COMMUNITIES CANDIDLY, HAVE BEEN SPOILED OVER THE LAST CYCLE BY ARTIFICIALLY LOW INTEREST RATES.

WE'RE SEEING INTEREST RATES MODERATE TO WHAT I WOULD CALL MORE OF A TYPICAL RANGE, AND I THINK THOSE, UM, THOSE FACTORS ARE BEING PRICED INTO INVESTMENT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS GOING FORWARD.

SO THAT'S A VERY REALISTIC APPROACH THAT WILL CAUSE PEOPLE TO BE MUCH MORE CAUTIOUS AS THEY, UM, UNDERWRITE NEW DEALS GOING FORWARD.

NUMBER FOUR IS THE NOTION OF DISTRESS.

UH, PEOPLE FIND THEMSELVES UPSIDE DOWN ON LOANS OR OCCUPANCIES AREN'T, UH, KEEPING UP WITH EXPENSES.

UH, THIS IS A CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE FACING ON A NATIONAL LE BASIS.

I THINK PROBABLY LESS SO IN AUSTIN BECAUSE WE'RE THE BENEFICIARY OF AN ECONOMY THAT CONTINUES TO OUTPACE THE NATION AND POPULATION GROWTH, WHICH STILL PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY ACROSS THE REAL ESTATE SPECTRUM, BUT, BUT DISTRESS CERTAINLY IS CAUSING SOME RED ENCE ON THE, UH, PART OF INVESTORS AND DEVELOPERS GOING FORWARD.

AND THEN FINALLY, WITH RESPECT TO BULLET POINT NUMBER SIX, WE REFER TO, TO DRY POWDER.

AND THAT IS THE AMOUNT OF CAPITAL THAT'S SITTING ON THE SIDELINES WAITING TO PULL THE TRIGGER ON DEVELOPMENT OR INVESTMENT PROJECTS.

AND IT CURRENTLY IS AT RECORD LEVELS.

THERE'S A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO DO THAT.

BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS, IS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF LIQUIDITY IN OUR MARKET AS IT CURRENTLY STANDS.

UH, THIS SLIDE TAKES A LOOK HISTORICALLY AT TRANSACTION VOLUME, UH, NATIONALLY ACROSS ALL PRODUCT TYPES.

THERE IS NO TERRIFIC NEWS TO REPORT HERE.

THERE'S OBVIOUSLY

[01:40:01]

A VERY STEEP DECLINE IN OVERALL TRANSACTION VOLUME FROM 2022 TO 2023, UH, REFLECTING KIND OF THE TOTALITY OF THE UNCERTAINTY THAT I REFERRED TO A LITTLE EARLIER.

TRANSACTION VOLUME RIGHT NOW IS DOWN 60% YEAR OVER YEAR.

UH, WE'RE HOPEFUL, UH, FOR IMPROVEMENT AS WE ENTER QUARTER FOUR, BUT WE'RE REMAINING GUARDEDLY OPTIMISTIC.

UH, THIS EXPANDS ON SOME OF THE COMMENTARY THAT DARREN MADE ABOUT THE COST OF COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DEBT GOING FORWARD.

AND WHAT THIS GRAPH LOOKS AT IS, UH, TREASURIES IN THE ORANGE VERSUS LENDING RATES OF VARIOUS LENDER TYPES.

THIS GRAPH SHOWS US WITH PRETTY DRAMATIC EFFECT, THE RISE IN INTEREST RATES THAT DARREN ALLUDED TO FROM A HOST OF LENDERS, STARTING PARTICULARLY IN QUARTER TWO OF 2022 TO THE PRESENT, UH, DEPENDING ON THE LENDER TYPE COSTS HAVE ESCALATED BETWEEN ONE AND A HALF X AND TWO AND A HALF X SINCE THE PANDEMIC.

I THINK DARREN, YOU WERE QUOTING 30 YEAR MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES.

THAT ALONE HAVE ESCALATED 65%, BUT WITHIN THE COMMERCIAL REALM, THE EFFECT IS, IS CANDIDLY QUITE A BIT MORE ACUTE.

WHAT THIS GRAPH DOESN'T CONSIDER IS THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION FINANCING, WHICH I ALLUDED TO EARLIER, COMES PRIMARILY FROM COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL BANKS.

UH, THE COSTS FOR CONSTRUCTION FINANCING IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER NOW, AND IT'S MUCH MORE, UM, DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN IN TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT.

UH, WHETHER IT'S DIMINISHED PROCEEDS, UH, WHETHER IT'S RECOURSE, WHETHER IT'S OTHER LOAN TERMS THAT LENDERS ARE INSISTING UPON IN A RISKIER ENVIRONMENT.

UM, AND, AND WHETHER IT'S STRICTLY THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION FINANCING, IT HAS BECOME, UH, ENTIRELY MORE CHALLENGING NOW THAN IT HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY.

THIS IS ANOTHER GRAPH THAT LOOKS AT, UH, OVERALL INTEREST RATES, UM, BOTH ON A A BA INDEX LEVEL AND ON A SPREAD, OR IN OTHER WORDS, THE PROFIT THAT A LENDER RECEIVES ON ON ANY LOAN THAT THEY MAKE.

AND YOU CAN SEE WITHOUT GOING INTO THE FIGURES HERE, THAT THEY HAVE ESCALATED DRAMATICALLY SINCE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, BUT CERTAINLY, UH, SINCE THE MIDDLE PART OF LAST YEAR, UH, WHAT THIS GRAPH LOOKS LIKE IS CAPITALIZATION SPREADS TO, TO, TO PUT THAT INTO ENGLISH FOR YOU.

A CAP RATE IS, IS ESSENTIALLY DEFINED AS THE REQUIRED RATE OF RETURN THAT INVESTOR IS GOING TO DEMAND ON HIS INVESTMENT IN A PIECE OF PROPERTY.

AND AS CAP RATES, CAPITALIZATION RATES GO UP, A VALUE OF A PROPERTY GOES DOWN.

SO THERE IS AN INVERSE RELATIONSHIP TO THE TWO.

DARREN ALLUDED A LITTLE BIT TO THIS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, INVESTORS ARE RI UNDERWRITING HIGHER TERMINAL CAPITALIZATION RATES, WHICH IS CAUSING PROJECT VALUES TO GO DOWN.

SO A AGAIN, UH, ANOTHER BIT OF CHALLENGING NEWS IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL MARKETS BACKDROP, WE'RE GONNA FOCUS A LITTLE BIT MORE ACUTELY ON, UH, THE US MULTI-HOUSING SECTOR AS OPPOSED TO MARKETS MORE GENERALLY.

UM, AND I WOULD SAY THAT TRANSACTION VOLUME, UH, JUST LIKE ON AN OVERALL BASIS IS DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY DOWN THIRDS YEAR OVER YEAR THAT HAS AN EFFECT BOTH NATIONALLY AND HERE IN AUSTIN AS WELL.

STEVE, I'M GONNA TURN THE MIC OVER TO YOU SO YOU CAN ADDRESS, UH, MATTERS AS THEY REFA, AS THEY RELATE TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

SO I JUST WANNA GIVE A BROAD OVERVIEW OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING MARKET RIGHT NOW.

AS YOU'LL SEE IN THIS GRAPH OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, THERE HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS INCREASE IN DEMAND ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

AND COUPLED WITH THAT IS INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS HAVE COME IN AS WELL.

SO ON THIS GRAPH, WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS JUST THE TRANSACTION VOLUME WITHIN THE LAST 10 YEARS HAS GONE UP 10 X IN THAT PERIOD.

AND ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND, AND ONE THING TO NOTICE ON THIS GRAPH IS ALSO THE COST PER UNIT OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS HAS DOUBLED, AND THAT HAS REALLY IMPACTED THE MARKET ON THE, NOT ONLY THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THE CAPITAL A AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHICH IS THE LITECH SECTION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT ALSO ON THE WORKPLACE HOUSING AS WELL.

AND THIS HAS BEEN ACROSS THE NATION WHERE YOU SEE FROM ATLANTA ALL THE WAY DOWN TO BALTIMORE AND AUSTIN IS IN THE TOP 10 THERE.

THIS IS THE SAME BASIC GRAPH AND BASICALLY SAYS THE SAME MESSAGE IN THE WORKFORCE HOUSING.

IT'S STILL A HUGE DEMAND THERE.

IT IS NOT SLOWING DOWN, AND WE SEE AN INCREASE THERE IN THE FORTHCOMING FUTURE.

ONE THING THAT HAS HAPPENED WITH THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS, LIKE I SAID, THAT IN INVEST INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR.

SO OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, THE LIQUIDITY HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS IN THAT THE CAP RATES HAVE COME DOWN AND THE AFFORDABLE AND WORKFORCE HOUSING HAS OFFERED A LESS EXPENSIVE ENTRY POINT INTO THOSE, UM, INVESTORS.

SO YOU'RE SEEING INTEREST IS THERE, IT'S ON THE SIDELINES RIGHT NOW, BUT YOU ARE SEEING INTEREST ON ACROSS THE BOARD, UH, ON AFFORDABLE AND WORKFORCE HOUSING.

[01:45:01]

THIS WE JUST WANTED TO INDICATE SOME OF THE STRONG INSTITUTIONAL AND PRIVATE CAPITALIZATION CAPITAL REPRESENTED ACROSS THE AFFORDABLE AND WORKFORCE HOUSING.

THERE IS SEVERAL PLAYERS, NATIONAL, GLOBALLY AND LOCALLY THAT TOUCH THIS SPACE.

UM, SO NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE HIGH DEMAND, BUT YOU HAVE INTEREST ON THE INVESTMENT SIDE THAT'S WAITING ON THE SIDELINES.

AND HERE, I'LL KICK IT JUST BACK TO JEFF ON JUST THE IMPACTS ON TEXAS AND AUSTIN.

YEAH.

UH, TO EXPAND ON A COMMENT THAT DARREN MADE WITH RESPECT TO, UH, STASIS IN THE OFFICE MARKET IN AUSTIN IN TERMS OF OCCUPANCY, CERTAINLY GOOD NEWS THERE.

UM, WE KIND OF DISCERN OCCUPANCY FROM PHYSICAL OCCUPANCY.

IN OTHER WORDS, HOW MUCH SPACE IS LEASED VERSUS HOW MANY BODIES ARE ACTUALLY WITHIN THAT LEASE SPACE.

AND CERTAINLY THE PANDEMIC, UM, UH, PUT A BIG DENT IN HOW MANY BODIES ARE WITHIN, UH, ANY PARTICULAR OFFICE, UM, UH, SUITE IN AUSTIN OR ELSEWHERE.

I THINK WHERE THE DATA IS FAVORABLE TO AUSTIN IS THAT WE ENJOY, ALONG WITH OTHER TEXAS MARKETS, THE HIGHEST PHYSICAL OFFICE OCCUPANCY RATE AMONGST MARKETS WITHIN, UH, THE UNITED STATES.

WE EXPECT THIS TO IMPROVE DRAMATICALLY, UH, OVER THE COMING TWO QUARTERS AS BIG TECH MAKES A MEANINGFUL RETURN TO OFFICE, BOTH, UH, IN THE BALANCE OF 23 AND INTO 24.

I, I REALLY FIND THIS SLIDE INTERESTING BECAUSE IT LOOKS AT CAPITAL INFLOWS IN THE TOP.

WELL, THE GRAPH TO THE, TO THE LEFT INDICATES THAT CAPITAL INFLOWS TO THE TOP 10 MARKETS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, AND I'M REALLY PLEASED TO SEE, UH, THAT AUSTIN NOW IS PUNCHING ABOVE ITS WEIGHT IN TERMS OF CAPITAL INFLOWS.

UM, AND, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, WHO ROUNDS OUT THAT TOP 10, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GATEWAY MARKETS LIKE NEW YORK, CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, DALLAS, WE'RE ALSO JOINED BY NON GATEWAY MARKETS LIKE PHOENIX AND ATLANTA.

UM, SO IT REALLY IS GRATIFYING TO SEE, UH, BOTH THE NATIONAL AND THE GLOBAL FOCUS ON AUSTIN ACROSS ALL PRODUCT TYPES, BE IT AFFORDABLE, WORKHOUSE, UH, WORKFORCE, PARDON ME OR OTHERS.

UH, DON'T WANNA SPEND A WHOLE LOT OF TIME IN THIS SLIDE, BUT THIS SHOWS IN FAIRLY DRAMATIC DETAIL, JUST AGAIN, THE DECLINE IN, UH, TRANSACTION ACTIVITY THAT WE'VE SEEN BOTH IN INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY SALES AND PORTFOLIOS WITHIN.

IF I INTERRUPT BRIEFLY, PARDON? PARDON, PARDON.

I APPRECIATE, PARDON, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU SAID YOU DON'T WANNA SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON THIS SLIDE.

I'M DOING A TIME CHECK.

IT'S 3 49.

SO WHY DON'T SKIP THIS SLIDE THEN AND THE NEXT LET'S JUST GO ON YEAH.

AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT P THREES.

YEAH, I JUST WANT, JUST WANT, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SLIDE AND WE WANT TO GO OVER THIS BECAUSE THIS IS THE IMPACT NATIONALLY ON PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.

AND WE HAVE SEEN ACROSS THE BOARD, AND THIS IS PUBLIC ENTITIES AND HIGHER EDUCATION GROUPS THAT ARE HAVING A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO P THREES RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE OF THE TOUGH IRON, UH, UNDERWRITING RESULTING IN LESS LENDING, THERE'S FEWER PROJECTS AND THERE'S INCREASED RETURN THRESHOLDS.

I MEAN, NOT ONLY FOR, NOT ONLY IS THE COST FOR DEBT RISING, BUT THE COST OF EQUITY IS TOO.

SO SOCIAL AND POLICY-BASED OBJECTIVES ARE STRUGGLING TO PENCIL IN THIS ENVIRONMENT.

P THREES ARE HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME RIGHT NOW, PENCILING AND GOING TO MARKET.

SO PUBLIC ENTITIES HAVE TO CONSIDER DIFFERENT APPROACHES AND TO DELIVER THESE COMMUNITY BENEFITS.

AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE TO CONSIDER IS BASICALLY TO WAIT OUT THE ECONOMY WITH LOW HOLD COSTS.

PUBLIC ENTITIES HAVE DECIDED TO PAUSE ON THEIR PROJECTS UNTIL LENDING AND CONSTRUCTION CLIMATES IMPROVE DURING THIS TIME.

IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON STRATEGY, PLANNING AND DESIGN.

THIS IS THE ACTUAL, THE TIME TO DO IT.

IF YOU TAKE THIS APPROACH, YOU CAN IMPROVE THE LAND VALUE THROUGH DEMOLITION OF EXISTING IMPROVEMENTS OR INVESTING IN HORIZONTAL INFRASTRUCTURE, MITIGATE PROJECT RISK.

THERE'S OCCUPANCY GUARANTEES, MASTER LEASING, TAX INCENTIVES, TAX INCENTIVES.

AND THEN FINALLY, THERE'S ALSO THE TRIED AND TRUE CAPITAL INFUSION WHERE YOU CAN'T MEET THESE NEEDS AND THEY CANNOT WAIT.

THE PUBLIC ENTITIES ARE PULLING FROM THEIR OWN COFFERS TO MAKE INFEASIBLE PROJECTS FEASIBLE OR BY BECOMING EQUITY PARTNERS OR SELF-DEVELOPING.

I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD THIS SLIDE IN HERE TO MOVE FORWARD.

YEAH, AND I THINK IN CONSIDERATION OF OF OUR TIME, THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD SPOT AT WHICH, UH, WE CAN WRAP UP.

YEP.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, I THINK THIS IS GOOD INFORMATION.

THIS PRESENTATION IS GOOD INFORMATION JUST GENERALLY, BUT IT WOULD BE GREAT INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH THE ENTIRE BODY.

UM, SO IF ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL, INCLUDING THE MAYOR AND THE CITY MANAGER COULD GET THIS INFORMATION, I THINK IT'D BE VERY HELPFUL.

WE WOULD THANK YOU ALL TODAY FOR

[01:50:01]

YOUR PRESENTATION.

WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO DO THAT IF I CAN HAVE THE CLICKER .

SURE, OF COURSE.

THAT'S WHAT I'M POINTING TO.

UM, SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THAT INCREDIBLY DETAILED USEFUL INFORMATION, UM, WHICH REALLY HELPS US IN TERMS OF OUR MAJOR TAKEAWAYS AS WELL AS OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MOVING FORWARD.

UM, MAJOR TAKEAWAYS FROM OUR DEEP DIVE, UM, INTO BOTH THE MARKET AS WELL AS OUR STAKEHOLDER CONVERSATIONS AND OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH.

UM, WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO HEALTH SOUTH AND UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS REALLY A PRIME OPPORTUNITY WITHIN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN FOR THE CREATION OF TRULY AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

UM, IT IS UNPRECEDENTED, ONE OF THE FEW PUBLICLY OWNED, UH, PARCELS THAT REMAINS IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.

AND, AND WE REMAIN EXCITED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR THIS SITE.

UH, WE, BASED ON ALL OF THE FEEDBACK AND THE PRIORITIZATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, WE BELIEVE THAT THE BEST PATH FORWARD IS REDEVELOPMENT LED BY AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION, WITH A ROLE FOR THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, DEPENDING ON THE VARIOUS SCENARIOS THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT.

UM, WE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS, UM, NEAR TERM MARKET CONDITIONS, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE COMMUNITY PRIORITIES THAT HAVE BEEN ARTICULATED BY BOTH THIS BODY AS WELL AS THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS WE'VE COMMUNICATED WITH, THEY SUPPORT BOTH AFFORDABLE HOUSING, SO INCOME RESTRICTED HOUSING FOR THAT, WHAT I WOULD CALL WORKFORCE, BUT REALLY LOWER INCOME WORKERS, UM, AS WELL AS GROUND FLOOR REAL RETAIL.

THERE IS A REAL APPETITE FOR GROUND FLOOR RETAIL IN THAT SECTION OF TOWN.

SO THUS, BASED ON ALL OF THIS, UH, INFORMATION, WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS TO PRESENT TO THIS BODY.

UM, THE FIRST SCENARIO, AND THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A RANGE OF OPTIONS.

UM, THE FIRST SCENARIO WOULD BE THAT A H F C WOULD ISSUE A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS, NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, BUT AN R F Q REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS IN EARLY 2024 FOR BOTH PARCELS.

BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE KNOW, UM, WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH REPACKAGING, UH, AND, AND REIMAGINING AN R F Q, WE WOULD WANT CLEAR DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL ON WHAT THOSE PRIORITIES WOULD BE FOR THAT SITE, UM, SO THAT WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH A CLEAR, CONCISE AND QUICK R F Q.

CERTAINLY AN OPTION.

UM, OPTION NUMBER TWO, WHICH STEVE ALLUDED TO AND A LOT OF PUBLIC BODIES ARE, ARE, UM, PURSUING THIS RIGHT NOW IS REALLY A SLIGHT PAUSE.

SO A H F C COULD WAIT OUT IN THE SHORT TERM, SOME MARKET CONDITIONS THAT ARE, OF COURSE, THERE'S A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY IN THE MARKET RIGHT NOW, WHICH WE, WE HEARD FROM OUR ECONOMIC CONSULTANTS.

UM, SO WE COULD PAUSE, ASSESS THE MARKET CONDITIONS BOTH NATIONALLY, LOCALLY, AS WELL AS REALLY HYPER LOCALLY.

YOU'LL RECALL THAT THERE IS CENTRAL HEALTH HAS A PARCEL, UM, TO THE NORTH OF US THAT HAS NOT, UH, WE HAVE NOT DETERMINED YET, NOR HAS CENTRAL HEALTH DETERMINED WHAT THE PATH FORWARD FOR, UM, THAT, UH, UH, POTENTIAL SOLICITATION WOULD BE.

SO THERE'S CERTAINLY SOME NEAR TERM, UM, AND NEARBY UNCERTAINTY, AND WE COULD LOOK AT, UM, A SOLICITATION, MAYBE THE END OF 2024 FOR BOTH PARCELS.

THE THIRD OPTION REALLY IS A PHASED APPROACH, RECOGNIZING THAT CITY COUNCIL HAS, UH, UH, DEMONSTRATED AND ARTICULATED A SENSE OF URGENCY, WANTS TO SEE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, WANTS TO SEE DEVELOPMENT ON THE SITE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD A, UH, CONTRACT AT THE SEPTEMBER 14TH COUNCIL MEETING, UH, FOR THE DEMOLITION OF THE SITE, UM, WHICH SHOULD OCCUR BY JANUARY OF 2024.

THIS PHASED APPROACH WOULD INCLUDE A H F C ISSUING A SOLICITATION FOR STRICTLY INCOME RESTRICTED HOUSING.

SO IT WOULD MOST LIKELY BE A LITECH LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT DEVELOPMENT.

THIS WOULD BE AN EARLY 2024 FOR ONE OF THE PARCELS.

THERE'S TWO PARCELS YOU'LL RECALL.

ONE PARCEL IS ENCUMBERED BY THE CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDOR.

UM, SO THERE CERTAINLY ARE SOME DEVELOPMENT CONSTRAINTS THAT MAKE IT, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT AND, AND TIE THE, UH, TYPOLOGY AND MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE AFFORDABLE AND MORE LI MORE LIKELY FOR AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.

SO IN THIS PHASED APPROACH, A H F C WOULD ISSUE A SOLICITATION IN EARLY 2024, AND THEN PHASE TWO WOULD REALLY BE, UH, ISSUING A SOLICITATION AS MARKET CONDITIONS IMPROVE, AS THERE'S MORE CERTAINTY, UH, REGARDING KIND OF THE HYPER-LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD, WHAT IS GOING ON IN THAT IMMEDIATE ADJACENT AREA, AS WELL AS WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE MARKETS, BOTH DEBT AND EQUITY, UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE MARKETS AND, AND HOW COULD WE MAXIMIZE BOTH FINANCIAL RETURN AND COMMUNITY BENEFITS.

ON THAT SECOND PARCEL, UH, WE

[01:55:01]

ARE OPEN FOR Q AND A.

HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

UM, I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE, UH, TEAM THAT HAS WORKED ON HEALTH SOUTH OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, WHICH INCLUDES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SUSANNA CARAL, AND MARGARET SHAW, OF COURSE, OUR LAW DEPARTMENT, RON ETT, FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE ZA CHECK.

AND THEN OF COURSE I'VE REPRESENTED HOUSING.

SO IT'S BEEN A GREAT TEAM AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE PARCEL PARCELS COLLEAGUES, I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP YOUR QUESTIONS BRIEF, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY, PLEASE ASK THEM NOW.

UH, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR.

I, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SURVEY, WHO WAS THAT DISTRIBUTED TO, OR HOW DO WE PUT THAT UP? THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN SURVEY? YES.

UH, IT WAS MADE PUBLIC.

WE DID MULTIPLE DIFFERENT AVENUES.

UH, UH, OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAMS DID MULTIPLE DIFFERENT AVENUES.

VERY LIMITED AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES.

I I THINK IT'S INTERESTING, I NO SHOCK THAT 75% OF PEOPLE WANT AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

I THINK IF YOU WENT ANYWHERE IN AUSTIN AND SAID, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR PRIORITIES, AFFORDABLE HOUSING? THE TROUBLE I HAVE IS THE NEXT LAYER, RIGHT? IF WE SAID TO SOMEBODY, DO YOU WANT A HUNDRED UNITS HERE OR DO YOU WANT 300 UNITS A HALF MILE AWAY? THAT'S A VERY DIFFERENT QUESTION, RIGHT? AND SO WE DON'T HAVE THAT SECOND LAYER.

AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT THIS SURVEY SHOULD HAVE ASKED THAT, BUT I JUST AS WE TALK ABOUT WHAT OUR GOALS ARE AS A COMMUNITY, I THINK IT'S, UM, IT CAN SOMETIMES NOT CAPTURE THE FULL PICTURE OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO BY JUST SAYING, WELL, PEOPLE WANNA AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

WELL, OF COURSE THEY DO, BUT HOW WE DO IT IS, IS DIFFERENT.

SO I I I SAY THAT BECAUSE I, I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AS WE MOVE FORWARD WEIGHING OUR OPTIONS THAT WE DON'T JUST SAY, WELL, EVERYBODY WANTS AFFORDABLE HOUSING HERE.

I, SO I HEAR THAT.

AND WE ARE GONNA PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT THAT'LL DO THE MULTIPLE LAYERS OF THE SURVEY SO YOU CAN SLICE AND DICE IT.

IN TERMS OF DEMOGRAPHICS, WHO WE REACHED, IT WAS A REALLY BROAD AUDIENCE.

WE WERE VERY PROUD OF THE RESPONSE RATE.

I WILL SAY THAT THE QUESTION WAS SPECIFIC ABOUT THE HEALTH SOUTH SITE, LIKE WHAT BELONGS ON THAT SITE, AND IT WAS FURTHER CORROBORATED BY OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS.

SO IT WAS FROM OUR ROUND TABLE CONVERSATION WITH OUR NEIGHBORS.

SO A LOT OF THOSE INSTITUTIONAL FOLKS, UM, WHAT WAS CLEAR WAS THAT THE NEED WAS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON SITE, AND THE NEED WAS FOR THE DOWNTOWN WORKERS.

THEY WERE VERY SPECIFIC, NOT LIKE THE BROAD, WE ALL WANT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT WE WANT HOUSING THAT IS AFFORDABLE TO THE CERTIFIED NURSES' ASSISTANTS.

SURE.

WE WANT HOUSING THAT'S AFFORDABLE TO, I MEAN, THE SOBERING CENTER HAS A NUMBER OF EMTS.

WE WANT HOUSING.

AND SO WE DID DO A DEEP DIVE.

WHAT ARE THOSE SALARIES? WHERE DO THEY FIT IN THE M F I CHART? WOULD IT COMPORT WITH A LITECH DEVELOPMENT? AND THE, THE GOOD NEWS IS, UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE INCOME RANGES OF THE SALARIES OF THE FOLKS THAT EVERYBODY IDENTIFIED THEY WANTED TO SERVE, IT REALLY MATCHED UP NICELY WITH A, WHAT I WOULD CALL A MIXED INCOME DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS A LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT DEVELOPMENT.

ABSOLUTELY.

I THINK, I THINK THAT'S THE EXACT POINT THAT I'M TRYING TO MAKE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S NURSES AT THE HOSPITAL OR HOSPITALITY WORKERS AT THE FAIRMONT OR, OR PICK YOUR HOTEL, RIGHT? IF WE ASK THEM IN ISOLATION, DO, WHAT DO YOU WANT ON THIS PARCEL NEXT DOOR TO YOU? THEY'RE GONNA SAY, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

BUT IF YOU SAY, WHAT DO WE WANT? WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A HUNDRED UNITS NEXT DOOR OR 300 UNITS WITHIN A BUS TRIP OR A WALK, YOU KNOW, A HALF MILE? I THINK THAT ANSWER MIGHT JUST BE A LITTLE MORE NUANCED AND THAT, THAT'S THE ONLY POINT I'M, I'M TRYING TO MAKE.

UM, WHEN YOU LOOKED AT YOUR, THE CONCLUSION THAT YOU MADE OF, UM, SHOOT, I'VE LOST THE PAGE, BUT THAT, THAT THIS IS THE BEST AFFORDABLE HOUSING SITE WITHIN THE PALM DISTRICT, DID YOU CONSIDER ANY OTHER SITES A P D HEADQUARTERS CONVENTION CENTER? HOW DID YOU CONCLUDE CONCLUSION? THIS IS THE SITE? SO RIGHT NOW, WE DID LOOK AT THE PALM DISTRICT, UH, PLAN, THE VISION PLAN, UM, AND LOOKED AT ALL OF THE SITES WITHIN THE PALM DISTRICT.

YOU ALL MAY KNOW, AND DARREN HAD ONE SLIDE THAT TALKED ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT IT REALLY HIGHLIGHTS OUR DENSITY BONUS.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S A SMATTERING OF UNITS IN RAINY STREET AND A SMATTERING MORE THAN A SMATTERING IN UNO.

UM, BUT IN DOWNTOWN PROPER AND RAINY STREET, WE REALLY ONLY HAVE TWO PARCELS THAT ARE TRULY, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

THAT WOULD BE CAPITAL STUDIOS DEVELOPED BY FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES AND OF COURSE LAKESIDE, UM, WHICH IS 164 UNITS FOR SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES THAT'S OWNED AND MANAGED BY HAKA, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

IN TERMS OF PUBLICLY OWNED LAND, WE DID LOOK AT PUBLICLY OWNED LAND, OF COURSE, POLICE HEADQUARTERS.

UM, WHILE THERE MAY BE PLANS IN THE FUTURE, THERE ARE NOT PLANS, UM, ANYTIME

[02:00:01]

SOON IN THE NEAR TERM.

UM, AND CONVENTION CENTER, THERE ARE PLANS AFOOT, UH, NOT NECESSARILY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

THE FOCUS, OF COURSE, IS ON THE CONVENTION CENTER, ALTHOUGH WE'VE HAD PLENTY OF, UH, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT P THREES WITH OUR CONVENTION CENTER FRIENDS.

UM, BUT WE HEARD FROM COUNCIL AN URGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THIS SITE AND ANY OTHER PUBLICLY OWNED PARCEL.

UM, SHOULD THERE BE ANY REDEVELOPMENT IS YEARS AND YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.

IN ADDITION, WE CONTEMPLATED, THERE'S OFTEN CONVERSATION ABOUT, WELL, JUST EAST OF I 35, UM, THERE ARE OPTIONS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

UM, THIS IS POTENTIALLY FACTUAL, NOT IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY, BUT WE WERE ALSO COGNIZANT OF TWO, UM, IMPORTANT THINGS.

ONE IS PHYSICAL AND, AND ONE IS, UH, UH, REALLY LEGAL CONSIDERATION, UM, WITH RESPECT TO THE LEGAL CONSIDERATION, OUR COMMITMENT TO AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHER FAIR HOUSING AND ENSURE THAT WE DO HAVE, UH, HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES ALL OVER THE CITY OF AUSTIN, INCLUDING IN HIGH INCOME AND DIFFICULT TO DEVELOP AREAS, UM, LIKE DOWNTOWN 7 8, 7 0 1.

SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE BOTH JOBS AND HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOW INCOME PEOPLE, UM, IN AREAS WHERE THERE ARE LOW INCOME JOBS.

UH, SO THAT'S ONE CONSIDERATION.

THE OTHER IS THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT I 35, WHILE WE CAN SAY, WELL, IT'S JUST A HOP, SKIP AND JUMP OVER I 35.

IF WE WERE TO DEVELOP, UM, ON THE EAST SIDE, THERE'S ALSO AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT I 35 IS GONNA BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION FOR PROBABLY WHENEVER IT KICKSTARTS AT LEAST A DECADE.

AND SO ACCESS EAST WEST WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE, UM, AS SIMPLE AS WE WOULD LIKE TO IMAGINE IT TO BE.

UM, WHEN H F C DOES A DEAL, THERE'S A TAX EXEMPTION 'CAUSE THEY'RE INVOLVED.

IS THAT CORRECT? NOT ALWAYS.

UM, SO IF A H F C IS INVOLVED IN A PARTNERSHIP AND WE'RE THE GENERAL PARTNER, THEN UH, WE WOULD CONFER AS THE GENERAL PARTNER, UH, WE WOULD CONFER OUR PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT.

WE CURRENTLY HAVE 13 PARTNERSHIPS, UM, IN VARIOUS FORMS, EITHER OPERATIONAL OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION, OR A COUPLE IN PLANNING.

UM, MOST OF A H F C UH, PROGRAMS, WE PROVIDE GAP FINANCING FOR NON-PROFIT AND FOR-PROFIT DEVELOPERS, UM, INCLUDING PRIMARILY LITECH DEVELOPERS FOR OUR RENTAL, UH, HOUSING ASSISTANCE.

AND NO, WE DO NOT CONFER A PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION IN THOSE CASES.

NOW, DEPENDING ON THE FINANCING PROGRAM UNDER WHICH THEY'RE DEVELOPING, THERE MAY BE TAX ABATEMENT.

UM, BUT NO, WE DO NOT CONFER OUR PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION.

AND FOR Y'ALL'S DEALS, WE'RE TALKING TYPICALLY SOME FORM OF PUBLIC SUBSIDY IS INVOLVED, WHETHER IT'S TAX CREDITS, RHODA, WE MONEY IS PUT IN FROM THE PUBLIC SIDE.

THAT IS CORRECT.

UM, OUR DEALS INVOLVE, UH, SUBSIDY AND I WAS INTERESTED IN THE J L L SLIDES, UH, BECAUSE WE KIND OF TRACK ALONG A LOT OF THOSE PER UNIT WHAT IT, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HISTORICALLY, UM, FOR PER UNIT DEVELOPMENT COSTS.

UM, AND YES, WE DO PROVIDE A SLICE OF THAT IN EXCHANGE FOR THE AFFORDABILITY.

ALL OF OUR FUNDING GOES TO, UM, ALL OF OUR RENTAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FUNDING GOES TO UNITS AT OR BELOW 50% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.

SO WE TYPICALLY GET INVOLVED, WE PROVIDE GAP FINANCING FOR A MIXED INCOME DEAL, LIKE A LITECH DEAL, WHICH MAY CERTAINLY HAVE SOME 60% UNITS, 80% UNITS.

THEY MAY HAVE SOME MARKET RATE UNITS.

WE'RE SUBSIDIZING THE LOWER END TO BRING THOSE RENTS DOWN.

SO THE 30% IN THE 50% UNITS.

UM, SO SHORT ANSWER, YES, WE, UH, THAT'S ONE OF OUR MAIN PROGRAMS IS PROVIDING SUBSIDY, WHICH IS HOW WE GET INCOME RESTRICTED HOUSING.

THE TAX CREDITS ALONE IN THIS KIND OF MARKET WILL NOT, UH, RESULT IN INCOME RESTRICTED HOUSING, CERTAINLY IN THE URBAN CORE.

YEAH.

WELL, I THINK AS WE LOOK FORWARD AND, AND LOOKING AT YOUR PROPOSALS, I'LL, I'LL BE, UM, COMPLETELY CANDID.

I I THINK WE KIND OF HAVE TWO VERY STARK OPTIONS BEFORE US.

ONE IS AN H F C STYLE DEAL THAT DOES INVOLVE THAT PUBLIC INVESTMENT THAT IS TYPICALLY SMALLER IN SCALE, RIGHT? FOUR STORIES OR, OR SUCH, UM, VERSUS A MUCH MORE ROBUST DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, LIKE KIND OF WHAT WE HAD SEEN, UH, AS A PREVIOUS PROPOSAL THAT ULTIMATELY YIELDS TAX BASE AND UH, IT'S A DIFFERENT PRODUCT, RIGHT? IT'S OFFERING, UH,

[02:05:01]

NOT AS MUCH AFFORDABLE UNITS, IT'S OFFERING OTHER THINGS.

UM, BUT I I, I WORRY, I HAVE CONCERNS PERSONALLY THAT WE ARE NOT MAXIMIZING THE SITE IF WE JUST GO TOWARDS A LIMITED DEVELOPMENT WITH A H F C.

AND SO IT ONE COUNCIL MEMBER'S OPINION THAT I THINK THAT A E D C, THAT STYLE OF, OF, OF SEEING WHAT, WHAT POTENTIAL WE HAVE BEYOND THE TYPICAL H F C TYPE PROJECT IS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US EXPLORE.

AND, AND AS I LOOK AT KIND OF THE TIMELINES HERE, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE PROPOSING POTENTIALLY NOT DOING ANY ACTION UNTIL 2024.

I THINK IT'S INTERESTING THAT, UH, THE, THE PREVIOUS DEVELOPER FOR THIS SITE HAS THROUGH THEIR REPRESENTATIVE, UH, COME TO US AND SAID THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE A, A NEW PROPOSAL THAT, YOU KNOW, IF NOTHING'S GONNA HAPPEN BY 2024, MIGHT IT BEHOOVE US TO EVEN JUST SEE WHAT NEW PROPOSAL THEY HAVE BY DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR.

YOU KNOW, THAT IF, IF NOTHING'S GONNA HAPPEN ANYWAYS, WHY DON'T WE AT LEAST SEE IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH BEFORE WE MAYBE TAKE OUR NEXT STEP OF SAYING, WELL, NO IT'S NOT.

SO WE DO WANNA DO AN R F P, WE DO WANNA DO AN R F Q.

UH, I JUST THINK THERE ARE, IT TAKES A LONG TIME.

RFPS TAKE A LONG TIME, RQS TAKE A LONG TIME.

WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ADDRESS THE IMMEDIACY, WHICH YOU TALKED ABOUT IN THE STAKEHOLDER PROCESS.

PEOPLE ARE, ARE LOOKING FOR, UH, SOME IMMEDIATE IMPACT AND, AND WHY NOT AT LEAST TURN OVER THAT LEAF AND, AND HAVE THAT PIECE OF INFORMATION.

SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY ALL I I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS.

I KNOW YOUR PRIORITIES HERE AND, AND YOU'RE DOING EXACTLY WHAT, UM, HAS, HAS BEEN GUIDED YOU.

I JUST, I, I WANT US TO BROADEN THE CONVERSATION A LITTLE BIT.

THANK YOU VICE CHAIR.

I REALLY APPRECIATE THOSE CONTRIBUTIONS.

I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE US TO, AGAIN, TAKE A LOOK AT THE TIME, UM, US ASKING THESE FOLKS TO DRIVE HOME AT 5:00 PM IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, I DON'T THINK IS THE MOST CONSIDERATE WE COULD BE.

UM, IN WHICH CASE I'LL HOLD MY QUESTIONS AND I'LL POST THEM TO THE MESSAGE BOARD.

UM, I THINK SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF YOUR PRESENTATION, I'LL INCLUDE IN OUR ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION MOVING FORWARD, BUT I AM IN THE INTEREST OF TIME AGAIN, GONNA MOVE THE MEETING FORWARD AND ENCOURAGE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS TO BE POSTED TO THE MESSAGE BOARD.

UM, SO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

TWO AND NINE, I'LL READ THE POSTING LANGUAGE AND I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT OUR VICE CHAIR VERY BRIEFLY LAY OUT, UM, UH, THE CHANGES THAT HE IS PROPOSING TO RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL, UM, CONSIDERATIONS.

UM, SO ITEMS

[Items 2 & 9]

ABSOLUTELY.

SO, I'M SORRY, SAY AGAIN.

OH, I WAS GONNA SAY ABSOLUTELY.

I'M, I'M, I'M READY WHEN YOU ARE.

SO ITEM NUMBER TWO, BRIEFING ON DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. AND THEN ITEM NUMBER NINE, DISCUSS EXPANSION OF RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL VOLUNTARY INCENTIVE PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS RESIDENTIAL USES IN COMMERCIAL ZONING DISTRICTS.

SO THANK YOU VICE CHAIR FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS ISSUE AND THAT I HOPE, AND IT CAN, IT CAN BE PROPERLY MERGED INTO THE WORK THAT STAFF IS INITIATING AROUND ALL OF OUR DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. SO IF YOU COULD VERY BRIEFLY LAY OUT WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING, ABSOLUTELY.

I'LL BE, I'LL BE VERY BRIEF AND I THINK THAT'S A, YOU YOU LAID IT OUT EXACTLY CORRECTLY.

WE, WE HAVE SO MANY DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS AND, AND WHAT PART OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO, UH, DO WITH THIS IS TO RECOGNIZE SOME OF THE STANDARDS BEHIND V M U AND SEE IF WE CAN MAKE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL, UH, MORE SUCCESSFUL BY LOOKING TO SOME OF THOSE STANDARDS THAT, UM, HAVE ALLOWED V M U TO BE SUCCESSFUL.

SO THAT IS A, A KEY ASPECT OF WHAT THIS WILL DO AND IT WILL ESSENTIALLY ALLOW FOR THAT EXTRA BONUS THAT 60 FEET TO 90 FEET IF YOU'RE GONNA GIVE THAT ADDITIONAL AFFORDABILITY, UH, THAT WE SEE IN V M U RIGHT NOW.

THE WAY, UH, THE RESOLUTION WAS INITIALLY DRAFTED THAT WE WERE GONNA ADD SOME, UH, COMMERCIAL ZONES INTO IT AFTER HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS, UH, AND THINKING ABOUT IT FURTHER, WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA TAKE THAT OUT.

I'M WORRIED THAT WE MIGHT ACCIDENTALLY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ALL WANT TO CREATE, UH, COMPLETE COMMUNITIES AND I DON'T WANT TO INADVERTENTLY TAKE A SPOT THAT MIGHT BE A LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD COFFEE SHOP AND CREATE THE INCENTIVE FOR SOMEONE TO GO BUILD A TWO OR $3 MILLION HOME AND PREVENT THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY.

SO WE'RE GONNA REMOVE THAT OUT OF THERE BECAUSE I THINK IT BETTER SERVES

[02:10:01]

OUR COMMUNITIES.

AND SO WITH THAT, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING A BROADER DISCUSSION, UM, AT THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING.

NUMBER EIGHT WHERE WE GET TO DISCUSS FUTURE ITEMS. SO THIS IS WHERE WE GET TO HIGHLIGHT ANY FUTURE ITEMS WE'D LIKE FOR THE COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS.

I APPRECIATE YOU LAYING THAT OUT FOR US.

UM, I WOULD SAY ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WE SHOULD DEFINITELY POST TO THE MESSAGE BOARD, UM, BOTH FOR THE PUBLIC'S ABILITY TO HAVE THE ACCESS TO THAT DIRECT TOOL.

UM, AND ALSO BECAUSE I AM NOT TRYING TO HAVE Y'ALL DRIVING IN FIVE O'CLOCK TRAFFIC IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.

UM, BUT THAT'S A QUESTION FOR FUTURE DISCUSSIONS AT THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE.

UM, LASTLY OUR LAST ITEM IS UM,

[8. Identify items to discuss at a future meeting.]

MOVING FORWARD.

FOR MYSELF, I'D LIKE TO CONTINUE TO RECOMMEND THAT WE TAKE THE COMPREHENSIVE DEEP DIVE INTO THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS AND FEE WAIVERS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, INCLUDING SMART HOUSING DENSITY BONUS UNO, AND THE SEVERAL REALLY AWESOME IFCS THAT ARE RELATED TO DENSITY BONUS CHANGES INITIATED OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS.

UM, I'D LIKE VERY MUCH FOR STAFF FOR THIS BODY WHICH WORKS, YOU KNOW, SO BRILLIANTLY TOGETHER 'CAUSE I THINK WE'RE ALL COMMITTED IN THE SAME WAYS IN TERMS OF OUR POLICY PRIORITIES, UM, FOR THIS BODY TO WORK TOGETHER WITH STAFF, UM, AND HAVE THAT DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN OCTOBER.

THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

UM, COLLEAGUES, I WILL, UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, I WOULD START WITH WHAT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE ARE, BUT I'M ALSO VERY FORGETFUL, SO I WANNA SAY IT BEFORE I FORGET ONE, I THINK GIVEN THE GRAVITY OF THE HEALTH SOUTH CONVERSATION, I THINK IT WOULD BE PRUDENT FOR US TO BRING IT UP AGAIN.

UM, I THINK GIVEN SOME OF THE DISCUSSION THAT WAS HAD AROUND, I'VE HEARD ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS AS OF LATE HOW CONSTRUCTION COSTS ARE LITERALLY EITHER HOLDING UP OR COMPLETELY HALTING PROJECTS.

I THINK IT WOULD BE PRUDENT FOR US TO HAVE A CONVERSATION AROUND ALTERNATIVE BUILDING MATERIALS OR SOMETHING LIKE WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO HELP REDUCE CONSTRUCTION COSTS.

UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT CONVERSATION TO HAVE AND I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHO WE NEED TO INVITE.

AND MY HOPE IS THAT, UM, VICE CHAIR ALTER AND I GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A CONVERSATION MOVING FORWARD ABOUT HOW WE CAN, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION LOOK LIKE IF PROJECTS ARE BEING DELAYED OR COMPLETELY ABANDONED BY WAY OF CONSTRUCTION COST.

UM, AND THEN IF THERE ARE ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE IDEAS AND OR ITEMS YOU'D LIKE TO INCLUDE, UM, FUTURE AGENDAS, PLEASE LIST THEM AT THIS TIME.

AND WE'LL START AT THE FRONT WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CADRY AND THEN MOVE TO VICE CHAIR ALTER.

UH, I MEAN, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR LEADING A VERY EFFICIENT MEETING.

UM, I THINK HEALTH SOUTH, I MEAN THAT'S SO TOP OF MIND ON SO MANY PEOPLE, SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO BRINGING THAT, UH, BACK UP AGAIN NEXT MEETING.

AND I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AT THIS MOMENT.

I THINK YOU, YOU GOT IT ALL.

WELL MOVING FORWARD THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT WE CAN ACTIVELY PRESENT FOR THE PUBLIC.

WE CAN POST ON THE MESSAGE BOARD ITEMS THAT WE INTEND TO BRING FOR FUTURE COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT YOU KNOW, US AS A BODY ARE ABLE TO TAKE UP.

UM, SAFE TRAVELS EVERYBODY.

I THINK AT THIS TIME, IF THERE IS NO OBJECTION, UM, WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 4:15 PM THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES AND THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY IN ATTENDANCE.

THANK YOU TO STAFF, THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPEAKERS.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.