[A. Pre-Selected Agenda Items]
[00:00:02]
9:00 AM ON OCTOBER 31ST, 2023.
WE ARE MEETING IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, WHICH ARE LOCATED IN CITY HALL, WHICH IS AT 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UH, MEMBERS, THIS IS A WORK SESSION, AND MY INTENTION IS THE CHAIR WOULD BE TO FIRST GO TO ITEMS THAT, UH, COUNCIL HAS PRESELECTED AND PULLED, UH, SO THAT WE CAN DISCUSS THEM AT THE, UM, BEFORE THE COUNCIL MEETING.
AND THEN WE WILL GO INTO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND, UM, AND AT THE END OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION, I'LL COME BACK IN AND ANNOUNCE, UH, WHEN WE ARE RECESSED, WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT.
SO I WILL FIRST GO TO THE PRE-SELECTED AGENDA ITEMS THAT ARE PULLED, AND THAT'S ITEM NUMBER 29.
AND, UH, I'LL RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER VELA.
I, UH, WITH LOOKING AT THE ITEM AND, UM, PULLED IT JUST TO GET SOME, UH, BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING THE, UH, NEW, UH, LEGISLATIVELY MANDATED APPROACH THAT WE'RE GONNA BE TAKING WITH REGARD TO, UH, PARKLAND DEDICATION.
UH, I, I SPOKE TO, UH, THE PARK STAFF, UH, UH, YESTERDAY, AND I BELIEVE THEY HAVE JUST A, A SHORT, UH, YES.
UH, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME INFORMATION TO JUST KIND OF TELL US WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE GOING.
GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR KIMBERLY MCNEELY SERVING AS THE PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR.
EVERYTHING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER VELA JUST SAID IS TRUE.
WE, WE WANTED TO CHECK THAT FIRST
UM, I HAVE OUR STAFF HERE FROM THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, THE PLANNING DIVISION, AND OUR PARKLAND DEDICATION TEAM WHO WILL HAVE A, UH, A MAP TO SHOW YOU AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME BASIC INFORMATION AND THEN ANSWER QUESTIONS.
SO, UH, RANDY SCOTT, TOM ROLLINSON, I GUESS IT'S TOM ROLLINSON
WE'LL BE HERE JUST TO, TO PROVIDE YOU THAT MAP AND ANSWER QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.
TOM ROLLINSON WITH THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
SO, YES, UH, THE ITEM THAT'S BEFORE YOU OR THE, OR THE MAP FOR YOU IS TO COMPLY WITH THE HOUSE BILL 1526.
SO THIS IS THE STAFF PROPOSED MAP.
UH, THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW ITEMS WITHIN THE HOUSE BILL THAT GIVES THE CITY DISCRETION IN MAKING CHOICES ABOUT HOW THE STATE BILL WILL BE IMPLEMENTED FOR PARKLAND DEDICATION AT THE CITY LEVEL.
SO, UH, THERE'S THREE DESIGNATIONS, THE CBD, URBAN AND SUBURBAN, AND EACH ONE, UH, HAS AN ASSOCIATED, UH, DENSITY FACTOR, WHICH IS KIND OF A DISCOUNT RATE ASSOCIATED WITH THE REQUIREMENT AND THEN ALSO AN AVERAGE LAND VALUE THAT THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS PROVIDE.
SO, UH, WHAT STAFF IS PROPOSING IS REALLY TO USE BOUNDARIES FOR THOSE THREE AREAS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH WHAT'S IN THE IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UH, SO THE CBD IS THE BOUNDARIES, UH, REPRESENTED BY THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN FROM 2011.
THE URBAN AREA REPRESENTS THE, UH, CURRENT URBAN CORE THAT'S USED IN THE 2016 PARKLAND DEDICATION ORDINANCE AND WAS PART OF THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION FOR THE URBAN PARKS INITIATIVE BACK IN 2009.
AND THE REMAINING AREA IS THE, UM, SUBURBAN, WHICH INCLUDES, UH, EVERYTHING OUTSIDE OF THOSE TWO FIRST AREAS, UH, WITHIN THE FULL AND LIMITED PURPOSES.
UH, ONE THING TO NOTE ABOUT THE, UH, THREE DIFFERENT AREAS IS THAT, UM, THE URBAN AND SUBURBAN AREA, OR THE, I'M SORRY, THE CBD AND URBAN AREAS DO HAVE A QUOTE UNQUOTE LOWER LEVEL OF SERVICE BECAUSE THE, UH, DENSITY FACTORS ARE HIGHER.
THAT DISCOUNT RATE I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING WILL BE HIGHER IN THOSE AREAS.
SO IT WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE CITY TO ACQUIRE PARKLAND OR TO HAVE PARKLAND DEDICATED ON SITE DUE TO THE, UM, DISCOUNT RATES ASSOCIATED IN THOSE TWO AREAS.
SO THERE'S A DISCOUNT FACTOR OF FOUR, SO THE REQUIREMENTS ARE REALLY DIVIDED BY FOUR WITHIN THE URBAN AREA AND THEN DIVIDED BY 40 WITHIN THE CBD.
COUNCIL MEMBER VELO THE DISCOUNT FACTOR, COULD YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, WALK US THROUGH THAT, WHAT EXACTLY THAT THAT MEANS? Y YES.
SO, UM, AND IN THE BILL IT'S CALLED A DENSITY FACTOR.
SO I JUST WANNA CLARIFY THE, THE NOMENCLATURE, BUT ESSENTIALLY, UH, THE, YOU, YOU APPLY THE FORMULA THAT'S MENTIONED IN THE STATE BILL, WHICH IS YOU MULTIPLY 0.005 ACRES OF PARKLAND PER DWELLING UNIT.
SO WHETHER IT'S URBAN, SUBURBAN, OR CBD, AND THEN YOU DIVIDE THAT BY THE DENSITY FACTOR FOR THAT REGION.
SO IF IT'S IN AN URBAN AREA, YOU TAKE THE FORMULA, 0.005 ACRES PER, UH, AVERAGE LAND VALUE PER UNIT AND THEN DIVIDE IT BY FOUR MM-HMM.
[00:05:01]
WOULD GIVEN THE, AND JUST TO CLARIFY, THESE VALUES ARE MUCH LOWER THAN THE PARKLAND DEDICATION REQUIREMENTS THAT THE CITY HAD IN PLACE PRIOR TO THE, THE LEGISLATURE.WELL, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WILL NEED TO CONFIRM BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THESE AREAS HAVEN'T BEEN ESTABLISHED AND IT'S THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS THAT PROVIDE THE AVERAGE LAND VALUE.
SO IT'S TRUE THAT IN THE CBD AND THE URBAN AREAS, THE AVERAGE LANE VALUES MAY BE HIGHER, BUT WE ANTICIPATE THAT THEY'LL, BECAUSE THOSE DENSITY FACTORS ARE APPLIED, IT'LL LOWER THE, THE VALUES, BUT WHETHER THEY'LL NECESSARILY HIGHER OR LOWER THAN THE FEES IN EFFECT FOR PARKLAND DEDICATION TODAY, UM, WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT FOR URBAN AND SUBURBAN, THEY, THEY MAY GO DOWN, BUT, UH, UNTIL WE'VE FINALIZED THAT WITH THE, UH, APPRAISAL DISTRICTS, IT'S HARD TO CONFIRM.
AND I THINK MR. SCOTT, COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER, THE, UH, LAND REQUIREMENT IS MUCH LOWER THAN WHAT IS EXISTING TODAY CURRENTLY REQUIRE 9.4 ACRES PER THOUSAND, UH, IN THE CBD, IT WILL BE LESS THAN 10TH OF AN ACRE PER THOUSAND POPULATION.
IN THE URBAN CORE, IT WILL BE 0.75 ACRES PER THOUSAND.
AND IN THE SUBURBAN AREA IT'LL BE JUST UNDER THREE ACRES PER THOUSAND MM-HMM,
AND GIVEN THAT CALCULATION THEN, WOULD YOU EXPECT, UH, BECAUSE, AND AGAIN, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M, UH, UH, MISUNDERSTANDING ANYTHING, BUT THEY CAN EITHER GIVE LAND OR THEY CAN GIVE MONEY IN, UH, LIEU OF THE LAND.
UH, GIVEN THE KIND OF CURRENT CALCULATIONS, HOW DO YOU SEE THAT PLAYING OUT IN TERMS OF WOULD WE BE GETTING LAND OR WOULD WE, WE GETTING, YOU KNOW, MONEY, UH, FOR FUTURE PARK LAND UNDER THE BILL, UH, THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT WILL BE INCREASINGLY TAKING FEE IN LIEU OF AND REQUIRING LAND, ESPECIALLY IN THE URBAN CORE.
AND THE CBD, YOU MAY, IF THE MICROPHONE'S ON, IT'S STILL DIFFICULT TO HEAR YOU.
WE HEARD YOU WERE SOFT SPOKEN, BUT I AM SORRY.
BETTER I BELIEVE NOW I CAN HEAR MYSELF, UH, IN THE CBD AND IN THE URBAN CORE, UH, THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT WILL BE REQUIRING LAND, I MEAN FEE IN LIEU OF THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME.
MM-HMM,
AND THE, THE, UM, IF WE WERE TO REQUIRE LAND, ESPECIALLY IN CBD AND URBAN CORE, MAJORITY OF THE TIME, PART WOULD BE PAYING FOR THAT LAND WITH, WITH OTHER FEES, EITHER BOND FUNDING OR OTHER FEE IN LIEU OF, ALRIGHT.
AND THEN I GUESS MY LAST KIND OF QUESTION REALLY WOULD BE JUST, I GUESS TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LIMITS ARE, UH, IN TERMS OF DEFINING LAND, BUT JUST BASED ON THE CALCULATIONS TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, THE SUBURBAN LAND IS GONNA BE GETTING THE MOST LIKE LAND PER ACRE.
IS THERE ANY KIND OF INCENTIVE TO, YOU KNOW, TO TRY TO, TO, YOU KNOW, DESIGNATE MORE LAND SUBURBAN THAN URBAN TO, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW, HOW DO Y'ALL SEE THAT? SO YEAH, THE PARK LEVEL OF SERVICE IN THE, I'M SORRY, I DON'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT YOU, BUT IF YOU JUST STATE YOUR NAME.
I'M A PRINCIPAL PLANNER WITH THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
UM, SO IN THE SUBURBAN AREA YOU'LL HAVE A LEVEL OF SERVICE OF THREE ACRES PER THOUSAND, UM, WHICH IS AGAIN, WELL BELOW OUR CURRENT 9.4 ACRES PER THOUSAND URBAN AREA.
YOU'RE GONNA GO DOWN TO JUST THE, UM, THAT 10TH OF AN ACRE OR 0.75 OF AN ACRE.
SO YES, YOU'LL BE, YOUR PARK LEVEL OF SERVICE WILL GO DOWN QUITE SIGNIFICANTLY IN THIS URBAN AND, AND CBD AREAS.
AND THAT IS BASED ON THE, UH, THE AUTHOR OF THE BILL SORT OF STATED THE INTENT OF, UM, IT REFLECTS THE DIMINISHING EXPECTATION OF PARK AREAS AS YOUR URBAN DENSITY INCREASES.
SO THAT'S JUST BASED ON THE, THIS IDEA THAT THE BILL AUTHOR PRESENTED THAT PEOPLE EXPECT LESS PARKLAND AS AN AREA GETS MORE DENSE, WHICH IS NOT HOW AUSTIN HAS OPERATED UNTIL NOW.
SO THIS, THE, THESE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, THE SUBURBAN AREA EXPANDING, IT WOULD INCREASE THE LEVEL OF SERVICE UP TO THE LIMIT OF THE BILL, UM, MM-HMM.
AND WOULD THERE BE ANY RESTRICTIONS ON, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, COULD WE JUST DESIGNATE CBD AGAIN, I'M JUST THINKING OUT LOUD HERE, YOU KNOW, BUT YOU KNOW, COULD WE DESIGNATE A LARGER AREA AS SUBURBAN EVEN THOUGH THAT
[00:10:01]
CONCEPTUALLY WE DON'T REALLY THINK OF IT AS SUBURBAN, LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE AREA THERE, UH, HIGHLIGHTED IN PINK, BUT JUST IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO GET, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL PARKLAND, ARE THERE ANY KIND OF GUIDELINES OR RESTRICTIONS IN THE BILL THAT, THAT WOULD PREVENT US FROM LIKE DESIGNATING LARGER AREAS AS SUBURBAN AS, AS FAR AS WE INTERPRET THE BILL? UM, THERE, THERE IS NO RESTRICTION ON HOW THE CITY CHOOSES, HOW THE MUNICIPALITY CHOOSES TO DESIGNATE THESE AREAS.UM, I, I WOULD SAY, IF I MIGHT, I WOULD SAY THOUGH THAT THIS BILL WAS IN PART BASED UPON AUSTIN AND THERE WILL BE SCRUTINY ABOUT HOW AUSTIN REACTS TO THIS BILL IN THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
SO, UH, WHILE THERE, THERE MAY NOT BE WRITTEN RESTRICTIONS, I THINK WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO DEFEND WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE DO.
UM, WELL, WELL THANK YOU AND, AND THANKS TO PART STAFF.
I JUST WANTED TO, TO KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THAT FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR, THAT'S GOOD.
THE COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.
FIRST OF ALL, HAPPY HALLOWEEN.
UM, AND IT'S INTERESTING THAT WE'RE STARTING WITH A TRULY SCARY ITEM,
UM, I, I THINK WE HAVE TO BE VERY, VERY CLEAR HERE.
PARKLAND DEDICATION GETS INTO THE WEEDS SUPER, SUPER QUICKLY.
LET'S MAKE NO, NO MISTAKE THAT WHAT THE LEGISLATORS DID AT THE CAPITOL IS GUT OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO PARKLAND IN OUR CITY.
OUR PARKLAND DEDICATION FEE PROCESS HAS WORKED SINCE 1985.
IT, WITH THE CHANGES THAT WE MADE, WE WERE ACTUALLY MAKING A DENT AND PROVIDING ACCESS.
THIS BILL GUTS IT AND IT GUTS IT BECAUSE TWO DEVELOPERS WENT TO PEOPLE IN S EAST TEXAS AND SAID THEY DIDN'T LIKE IT.
AND PEOPLE WHO DON'T REPRESENT AUSTIN CHANGED THE RULES AND MADE IT HARD FOR US TO DO THIS.
UM, SO LET'S MAKE NO MISTAKE, THIS IS NOT JUST A MINOR CHANGE, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY GUTTING IT AND CITY MANAGER, I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY WERE ASKED TO PROVIDE A PRESENTATION ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, WHICH IS SIMPLY SETTING, UM, THE BOUNDARIES.
AND THEY HAVE CHOSEN TO DO THAT BASED ON THE BOUNDARIES THAT WE ALREADY HAD BECAUSE WE ALREADY HAD THESE CATEGORIES.
UM, BUT WE NEED A PRESENTATION NEXT WEEK THAT REALLY FULLY DEMONSTRATES THE FULL IMPACT OF THIS.
I'VE HEARD NUMBERS LIKE IN, AND I MAY GET THE YEARS WRONG, UM, YOU KNOW, FISCAL YEAR, UM, 22, WE HAD SOMETHING LIKE 20 PLUS MILLION DOLLARS THAT WE WERE GETTING FROM PARKLAND DEDICATION AND PARKLAND FEES.
IN UM, 23 WE WERE GETTING SOMETHING LIKE 17 MILLION AND, AND MAYBE IT'S 23 AND 24 WE WERE GETTING 17 MILLION AND NEXT YEAR WE'RE GOING DOWN TO 1 MILLION.
AND THAT IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
AND THAT'S JUST ON THE FEES AND REALLY PARKLAND DEDICATION, THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF IT IS THE LAND.
UM, AND THE SITUATION THAT WE HAVE HERE IS THEY HAVE SET UP A SITUATION WHERE WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REQUIRE LAND IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS BUSINESS DISTRICT OR IN THE URBAN AREA BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE TO PAY THE DEVELOPERS FOR THE LAND.
LIKE LET'S JUST REFLECT FOR A MOMENT HOW TWISTED THAT IS.
THIS WHOLE PROCESS IS ABOUT PROVIDING ACCESS TO PARKLAND, TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED PARKLAND, WHO ARE MOVING INTO THE AREAS WHERE WE'RE DEVELOPING.
AND NOW WE'RE SAYING THAT THEY GET TO BUILD THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND IF WE WANNA HAVE PARKLAND, WE HAVE TO PAY THEM FOR THAT.
THEY HAVE SET UP A SITUATION WHERE THEY HAVE SO SEVERED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE COST OF LAND AND THE FEES THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO REQUIRE LAND.
AND IT IS THAT LAND THAT WAS PROVIDING THE POCKET PARKS, IT WAS THAT LAND THAT WHEN YOU HAD A PUD LIKE THE GROVE THAT YOU EVEN GOT THE LITTLE BIT OF PARKLAND THAT YOU GOT OR WITH BRODY OAKS.
WITHOUT THAT, OUR PUD REQUIREMENTS FOR PARKLAND, OUR BUNK, I MEAN IT IS, I MEAN IT, THIS IS GOING TO DEVASTATE OUR PARKS AND WE DON'T HAVE 20 SOME MILLION DOLLARS JUST LYING AROUND JUST FOR THE FEE PART, LET ALONE THE LAND PARK.
UM, THERE WERE NUMBERS THAT IF WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE UP THE LAND FROM UM, I THINK FIFTH FISCAL YEAR, 21, 22, UM, WHERE WE HAD SOMETHING LIKE 55 ACRES, WE WOULD BE PAYING $65 MILLION TO GET THE SAME AMOUNT OF LAND.
SO THIS IS DEVASTATING AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU ASK, YOU KNOW, WHY WE'RE SKEPTICAL SOME OF US OF THE DEVELOPERS AND WHAT THEY WANT, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, EXHIBIT A OF THAT.
OUR COMMUNITY LOVES THEIR PARKS, OUR COMMUNITY WANTS ACCESS TO PARKS.
WE HAVE A COMMITMENT AND A STRATEGY TO DO THIS, AND THIS JUST DEVASTATES IT.
SO CITY MANAGER, WE NEED TO HAVE A VERY, VERY CLEAR PRESENTATION, UM, BEFORE WE VOTE ON THE OTHER PIECES OF THIS THAT GOES THROUGH WHAT WE EXPECT,
[00:15:02]
UM, IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO OUR FEES AND WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO OUR ABILITY TO ACQUIRE LAND AND COMPARING IT BACK THERE BECAUSE OUR COMMUNITY HAS TO KNOW THAT THE STATE LEGISLATURE AND FOLKS FROM EAST TEXAS DECIDED THAT THEY COULD DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY WITH RESPECT TO PARKLAND.WE HAVE 9.4 ACRES PER THOUSAND IS THE GOAL, WHICH IS ALREADY TAKING OUT HUGE SLASH OF PARKLAND AND NOW WE'RE GOING DOWN TO 0.075 ACRES PER THOUSAND RESIDENTS FOR OUR LEVEL OF SERVICE.
BE HAPPY TO DO THAT AND WE'LL DO, BE HAPPY TO DO IT BEFORE AND AFTER.
COUNCILMAN RYAN ALTER ONE QUESTION.
FIRST, PIGGYBACKING ON WHAT COUNCILOR VELO IS TALKING ABOUT IN THE, THE INCENTIVE OR DISINCENTIVE OF HOW YOU DRAW YOUR BOUNDARIES.
I AM, I'M WONDERING, GIVEN THAT PART OF THE, THE FEE CALCULATION IS BASED ON THE AVERAGE LAND VALUE WITHIN THAT GEOGRAPHY, IF THERE ISN'T THE COUNTER INCENTIVE AS IT WERE TO NOT MAKE A, ESSENTIALLY MAKE THE WHOLE CITY SUBURBAN, BECAUSE NOW THAT CHANGES THAT AVERAGE LAND VALUE IN THE CALCULATION, RIGHT? SO THE CBD HAS A VERY LARGE DIVISORS, RIGHT? WE DIVIDE BY 40, BUT THE TOP NUMBER IS MUCH LARGER BECAUSE IT'S A, YOUR AVERAGE LAND VALUE DOWNTOWN IS MUCH HIGHER THAN YOUR AVERAGE LAND VALUE, LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, IN ONION CREEK.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING, IS THERE THAT, AM I THINKING ABOUT THAT PROPERLY IN TERMS OF HOW Y'ALL ARE DRAWING THE LINES AND WHERE, WHERE THE INCENTIVES ARE OF, OF AS IT RELATES TO THE FEE? I'M SORRY IF I DIDN'T ASK THAT VERY CLEARLY, BUT, UM, LIKE, LIKE COUNCILMAN ZER SAID, IT'S VERY COMPLICATED VERY QUICKLY,
THE CBD WAS IDENTIFIED IN THE, IN AN EXISTING PLAN.
UH, THE URBAN AREA WAS, UH, IDENTIFIED BY COUNCIL AND APPROVED BY COUNCIL AND THE SUBURBAN AREA IS EXISTING.
SO TWO OF THE THREE WERE ALREADY EXISTING.
THE THIRD ALLS WE DID WAS ADD THE CBD.
WE, UH, WE DID NOT TAKE PROPERTY VALUES OR, OR ANY OF THAT INTO ACCOUNT IN TRYING TO DETERMINE THE BOUNDARIES.
UH, WE HAVE HEARD FROM PARK ADVOCATES AND, AND I IMAGINE THEY WANT THE SUBURBAN AREA, UH, INCREASED IN SIZE AND THE URBAN AND THE CBD SHRUNK AND I WOULD IMAGINE THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY WOULD WANT THE, UH, CBD IN THE URBAN AREA EXPANDED.
COUNCIL MEMBER PUENTES, DID YOU WISH TO BE RECOGNIZED? OH, I, I THINK, I THINK, OH, I'M SORRY.
JUST ONE MORE COMMENT ON, I'LL, I'LL COME BACK.
YEAH, JUST TO EXPAND ON THAT, UM, I THINK THERE'S ALSO AN ISSUE WITH HOW LAND IS REQUIRED BECAUSE THE WAY THAT THE CALCULATION IS WHERE ESSENTIALLY ANY LAND THAT'S DEDICATED IS VALUED ACCORDING TO THE AVERAGE LAND VALUE IN THE AREA, BUT THAT DISCOUNT FACTOR IS NOT APPLIED TO THE LAND VALUE.
SO THAT GETS INTO THE SITUATION THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER HAD MENTIONED WHERE THE CITY COULD POSSIBLY BE PAYING THE DEVELOPER FOR THE VALUE OF PARKLAND THAT EXCEEDS THE FEES THAT'S BEING DISCOUNTED SO HEAVILY IN THE CBD AND URBAN AREA.
SO I THINK THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH EXPANDING, SAY THE CBD FURTHER, MAYBE THE AVERAGE VALUE OF THE LAND GOES UP IN THAT REGION, BUT IT WOULD ALSO MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT TO POTENTIALLY REQUIRE PARKLAND 'CAUSE WE'D BE COMPETING AGAINST THAT DISCOUNT FACTOR ESSENTIALLY WITH ANY ONSITE DEDICATION.
SORRY, SORRY, JUST ONE MORE THOUGHT.
WE WORK AS A GROUP HIGH FRAME, BUT UM, SO ANOTHER WAY TO CONSIDER IT IS THAT THE LAND VALUES ARE NOT LIKELY TO BE 40 TIMES HIGHER IN THE CBD THAN IN THE SUBURBAN.
SO THOSE DIS THOSE DENSITY FACTORS ARE NOT GONNA NECESSARILY ALIGN WITH THE ACTUAL LAND VALUE.
SO IT'S LIKELY NOT GONNA BE FOUR TIMES AS EXPENSIVE IN THE URBAN AREA THAN THE SUBURBAN, ET CETERA.
AND SPEAKING OF THE LAND VALUES UNDER THE BILL, WE SET THOSE LAND VALUES AND THEN UPDATE IT EVERY 10 YEARS.
DO WE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO PICK OUR STARTING YEAR AND, AND IF SO, CAN WE DO IT FOR THE APPRAISALS THAT WERE JANUARY ONE OF 23? BECAUSE I IMAGINE THE APPRAISALS OF JANUARY 1 24 ARE GONNA BE NOT AS FAVORABLE.
WE'RE REQUIRED TO REQUEST THE, THE CURRENT APPRAISAL VALUE WITHIN 10 DAYS OF THESE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS BEING ADOPTED.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER EZ WILL COME BEFORE WE GO INTO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UM, BECAUSE THIS GETS IN THE WEEDS VERY QUICKLY.
JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT, I DID AN INTERVIEW WITH AUSTIN COMMON A FEW WEEKS AGO
[00:20:01]
AND WENT THROUGH A LOT OF THESE DIFFERENT THINGS.SO, UM, IF FOLKS WANT ANOTHER EXPLANATION OF IT TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND IT, UM, WE HAD A LENGTHY CONVERSATION AND, AND WENT INTO A LOT OF THE DETAIL AND FOLKS MIGHT FIND THAT HELPFUL.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS ITEM? COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES THE CHAIR WILL RECOGNIZE YOU.
UH, I THANK YOU STAFF FOR THE PRESENTATION.
MY QUESTION IS FOR THE CITY MANAGER, UH, AND APOLOGIES WE HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT BEFOREHAND, BUT I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT CITY STAFF WE'RE GOING TO DO A PRESENTATION DURING WORK SESSION ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
CERTAINLY I'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, CITY STAFF AND UH, COLLEAGUES.
I FEEL A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN HOW WE'VE IMPROVED AS A CITY AND AM REALLY THRILLED WITH THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE IN OUR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
AND SO I THINK THAT THOSE TOPICS ARE RELEVANT TO THE ENTIRE COUNCIL.
SO I JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN ON WHEN CAN WE EXPECT THAT PRESENTATION? THEY'RE COMING UP.
THEY ARE COMING UP AND I DON'T REMEMBER THE DATE OFFHAND, BUT IT'LL BE PRETTY QUICK.
I MEAN, WE, IT WAS, WE HAD THE INITIAL PASS WAS NOT AS COMPREHENSIVE AS WE'D LIKE IT TO BE AND SO WE'VE ASKED TO MAKE IT MORE COMPREHENSIVE TO MAKE SURE THAT ENERGY AS WELL AS ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE IN THERE.
SO I THINK, UH, WE'LL BE BRINGING BACK THAT TO COUNSEL OVER THERE.
YOU CAN CRY IT OUT FROM THE MICROPHONE.
UH, VERONICA SINO, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, THE BRIEFING IS SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 28TH.
ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION? THANK YOU.
[E. Executive Session]
NOW GO INTO A CLOSED SESSION TO TAKE UP ONE ITEM PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 5 1 0 7, 1 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE.THE CITY COUNCIL WILL DISCUSS LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO ITEM E ONE, THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF POLICE OFFICER PERSONNEL FILES.
UH, ITEM E TWO HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN.
IS THERE ANY OBJECTION ABOUT GOING INTO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION? HEARING NONE.
THE CITY COUNCIL WILL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND AS I INDICATED, UH, WHEN I CALLED THE MEETING TO ORDER, WHEN THE EXECUTIVE SESSION IS COMPLETE, THERE WILL BE NO OTHER ITEMS FOR THE COUNCILS TO TAKE UP AT THIS, UH, REGULARLY CALLED WORK SESSION, BUT I WILL COME OUT AND ANNOUNCE THAT WE ARE OUT OF THE CLOSED SESSION AND ADJOURN THE MEETING.
WE'RE OUT OF THE CLOSED SESSION.
IN CLOSED SESSION, WE DISCUSSED LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO ITEM E ONE, THE CONFIDENTIALLY CONFIDENTIALITY OF POLICE OFFICER PERSONNEL FILES.
UH, WE ARE OUTTA THAT CLOSED SESSION AS I INDICATED THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AT THIS SCHEDULED WORK SESSION.
WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE CITY COUNCIL IS ADJOURNED AT 10:18 AM ON OCTOBER 31ST, 2023.
EVERYONE HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN.