[00:00:02]
AH, I'LL CALL TO ORDER THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL FOR THIS WORK SESSION.
IT'S NINE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING.
WE ARE MEETING IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, LOCATED IN CITY HALL AT 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET IN AUSTIN, AND WE HAVE A QUORUM OF THE COUNCIL PRESENT, UH, MEMBERS IN PUBLIC.
THE WAY WE'RE GONNA PROCEED IS, UH, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND START WITH THE WORK SESSION, UH, WHEN A QUORUM IS PRESENT.
UH, FOR THE, UH, AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, UH, WE WILL RECESS THE WORK SESSION AND HAVE THE WATER OVERSIGHT.
UH, HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE, WHO'S CHAIR OF THAT COMMITTEE CALL TO ORDER, UH, THAT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
THEY WILL HOLD A VERY BRIEF, UH, MEETING AND THEN WE WILL COME BACK, UM, UH, TO THE WORK SESSION.
SO JUST BE PREPARED FOR, FOR US TO STOP WHEN WE GET TO THAT.
WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO FIRST IS WE WILL TAKE UP TWO BRIEFINGS.
UH, ONE BRIEFING IS RELATED TO THE HOME INITIATIVE.
UH, THE SECOND BRIEFING IS RELATED TO WINTER PREPAREDNESS, AND THEN THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN PULLED, AND WE WILL TAKE THOSE UP.
THE WAY THIS MORNING WILL ALSO PROBABLY OPERATE IS THAT BECAUSE, UH, OF A COMMITMENT THAT I HAVE, I WILL TURN THE GAVEL OVER THE VIRTUAL GAVEL OVER TO, UM, THE MAYOR PRO TIM.
ACTUALLY, UH, I SEE THAT SHE'S JOINING VIRTUALLY.
SO I WILL TURN THE GAVEL OVER TO COUNCIL MEMBER POOL TO, UM, TO PRESIDE OVER THE MEETING WHEN IT, WHEN I HAVE TO, TO LEAVE.
SO WITH THAT, UH, I'LL TURN TO STAFF.
[A. Pre-Selected Agenda Items]
YES, COUNCIL MEMBER FU.CAN YOU REMIND ME WHICH ITEMS HAVE BEEN PULLED? CHE ITEMS ITEM 21 AND ITEM 84 HAVE BEEN PULLED.
IS ONE OF THOSE RELATED TO THE URBAN TRAILS? YES.
ALRIGHT, UH, WHOEVER IS GOING TO
[B1. Amendments to the City’s Land Development Code that would allow up to three housing units, including tiny homes, on single family (SF) zoned property; revise regulations that apply to two housing units, and remove restrictions on the number of unrelated adults living in a housing unit.]
START THE, UH, STAFF PRESENTATION ON THE HOME INITIATIVE, I'LL, UH, RECOGNIZE YOU.UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, VERONICA, VICE SENIOR.
GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
VERONICA SENIO, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
HAPPY TO BE HERE WITH YOU TODAY.
TODAY'S STAFF WILL BE PRESENTING TO YOU AN UPDATE ON THE HOME INITIATIVE.
AS YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
IT IS, UH, FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH A COUNCIL POLICY AND PRIORITIES.
WE NOW ARE HERE BEFORE YOU WITH PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS AS WELL.
WE'VE HEARD NUMEROUS POINTS OF VIEW AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
ALL OF THEM LEGITIMATE AND STAFF HAS WORKED TIRELESSLY, TIRELESSLY TO BRING THIS FORWARD TO YOU.
SO I WOULD LIKE, AS A PERSONAL POINT OF PRIVILEGE, TAKE A OPPORTUNITY TO THANK OUR STAFF FOR MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS.
YES, UH, YOU'LL SEE A HANDFUL OF THEM HERE TODAY, BUT JUST KNOW THEY STAND BEFORE MANY.
SO, UH, THANK YOU TO OUR STAFF FOR YOUR, YOUR EFFORTS.
WE'LL GIVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION.
WE WANT TO UPDATE YOU ON WHERE WE ARE NOW FROM THE LAST TIME WE WERE BEFORE YOU ABOUT A MONTH AGO, FOLLOWED BY OUR STAFF PRESENTATION.
WE WILL HEAR FROM THE A FROM A I A, THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS WHO WILL PRESENT MODELING ON WHAT POTENTIAL SCENARIOS COULD LOOK LIKE WITH THESE AMENDMENTS.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEAR FROM YOU ANY POTENTIAL COUNCIL AMENDMENTS THAT YOU'LL BE BRINGING FORWARD.
THIS WILL ALLOW US THE TIME BEFORE WE GET TO OUR MEETING NEXT WEEK, TO TAKE THOSE AMENDMENTS AND DRAFT SOME LANGUAGE THAT YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER ON THE SEVENTH ON DECEMBER 7TH.
WE ALSO ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO USE THE QUESTION AND ANSWER PORTAL.
HOPEFULLY THIS HAS BEEN, BEEN, BEEN BENEFICIAL TO YOU.
WE'VE HAD ABOUT A HUNDRED QUESTIONS SO FAR, UM, AND AGAIN, STAFF IS WORKING HARD TO PROVIDE YOU THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THESE IMPORTANT DECISIONS.
SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER PLANNING ANDREA BATES AND SHE WILL WALK US THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
UM, WHAT WE MIGHT DO IS WE NOW HAVE A QUORUM OF THE WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
SO JUST BEFORE YOU START, AND, UH, WE MIGHT TAKE CARE OF THAT AND GET THAT OUT OF THE WAY.
AND WITHOUT OBJECTION, I'LL RECESS THE WORK SESSION OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE.
YOU CAN GET THAT AND THEN I'LL CALL BACK TO ORDER THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL FOR THE WORK SESSION.
IT IS, UH, 9:11 AM AND WE WILL GO BACK TO WHERE WE WERE, UH, WITH STAFF MAKING A PRESENTATION.
GOOD MORNING, MAYOR, MAYOR, PRO TEM AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I'M ANDREA BATES, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
I'LL BE GIVING AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO RESIDENTIAL USES AND STANDARDS IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, INCLUDING THE CODE AMENDMENTS RELATED TO THE HOME INITIATIVE COUNCIL RECEIVED A FULL OVERVIEW OF THIS PROPOSAL DURING THE JOINT MEETING WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON OCTOBER 26TH.
SO I'LL BE FOCUSING ON SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED.
WHEN THEY REVIEWED THE PROPOSAL ON NOVEMBER 14TH.
THE PROPOSED CODE AMENDMENTS RESPOND TO THE DIRECTION SET BY THREE RECENT
[00:05:01]
COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS.AS A REFRESHER, THIS PROPOSAL WOULD DO THE FOLLOWING.
IT WILL ALLOW UP TO THREE HOMES ON PROPERTY ZONED SINGLE FAMILY OR SSF ONE, SF TWO, AND SSF THREE.
IT WOULD SIMPLIFY SOME OF THE EXISTING REGULATIONS FOR BUILDING TWO HOMES.
IT WOULD REMOVE SOME ACCESSORY USES THAT ARE NO LONGER NEEDED IN THE CODE.
WITH THE OTHER CHANGES, IT WOULD LIMIT THE APPLICABILITY OF THE STANDARDS IN SUB CHAPTER F, WHICH ARE OFTEN CALLED THE MCMANSION STANDARDS TO LOTS WITH ONLY ONE HOME.
IT WOULD ALLOW TINY HOMES THAT MEET CERTAIN STANDARDS TO BE CONSIDERED A DWELLING UNIT, AND IT WOULD REMOVE THE LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF UNRELATED ADULTS ALLOWED TO LIVE TOGETHER.
SOME OF THE PRIMARY GOALS FOR THESE CODE AMENDMENTS ARE TO CREATE MORE HOUSING OPTIONS THAT ARE AFFORDABLE TO MIDDLE INCOME EARNERS, TO GIVE HOMEOWNERS OPTIONS TO HOUSE A FAMILY MEMBER OR TO EARN PASSIVE INCOME ON THEIR PROPERTY, TO INCREASE HOUSING SUPPLY AND TO PROMOTE SMALLER, MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT HOMES.
SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT APPLY TO SSF ONE, SF TWO AND SSF THREE PROPERTIES TODAY WOULD CONTINUE TO APPLY UNDER THE PROPOSAL.
FOR EXAMPLE, A PROPERTY MIGHT HAVE SITE SPECIFIC CONSTRAINTS LIKE PROTECTED TREES OR OTHER LIMITATIONS LIKE DEED RESTRICTIONS OR HOA RESTRICTIONS THAT MAY LIMIT THE NUMBER OF UNITS THAT CAN BE BUILT ON THAT SITE.
ALL THREE ZONES WOULD STILL HAVE THE 35 FOOT HEIGHT LIMIT FOR THE ZONE AND BUILDING COVER AND IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMITS WOULD CONTINUE TO APPLY.
THIS IS AN OVERVIEW OF THE CODE AMENDMENT PROCESS.
AS YOU KNOW, THERE'LL BE THREE PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THESE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS.
THE FIRST WAS THE JOINT MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION IN CITY COUNCIL ON OCTOBER 26TH.
ON NOVEMBER 6TH, STAFF HELD AN OPEN HOUSE FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROPOSAL.
ON NOVEMBER 14TH, THE SECOND PUBLIC HEARING WAS HELD AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING.
THE PLANNING COMMISSION VOTED TO RECOMMEND THAT COUNCIL APPROVE THE PROPOSAL WITH A VARIETY OF AMENDMENTS.
AND FINALLY, THE COUNCIL WILL HOLD A PUBLIC MEETING AT A, A PUBLIC HEARING AT A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING ON DECEMBER 7TH.
THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED 22 AMENDMENTS TO THE PROPOSAL WHEN THEY REVIEWED IT ON NOVEMBER 14TH.
I WILL HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THEIR PROPOSED AMENDMENTS IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT THE FULL LIST IS AVAILABLE ONLINE.
IT IS POSTED AS BACKUP, BOTH FOR THE NOVEMBER 14TH PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AND FOR THE DECEMBER 7TH COUNCIL MEETING.
THE FIRST PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION IS TO SET A FLOOR TO AREA RATIO MAXIMUM FOR TWO AND THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE MCMANSION AREA.
A FLOOR TO AREA RATIO, OR FAR MAXIMUM IS A WAY TO REGULATE THE MASS OR THE VOLUME OF A BUILDING ON A SITE.
IT IS CALCULATED BY DIVIDING THE TOTAL FLOOR AREA OF THE BUILDING OR BUILDINGS BY THE AREA OF THE SITE ITSELF.
AS A VERY SIMPLE EXAMPLE, A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING ON A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT SITE HAS AN FAR OF ONE, A 5,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING ON A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT HEIGHT SITE, EXCUSE ME, HAS AN FAR OF 0.5.
A 2,500 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING ON A 5,000 SQUARE FOOT HEIGHT ALSO HAS AN FAR OF 0.5.
SO IF YOU HAVE AN FAR MAXIMUM A SET RATIO, THE SIZE OF THE BUILDING THAT YOU CAN BUILD DEPENDS ON THE SIZE OF THE SITE.
YOU TAKE THE SITE SIZE TIMES THE RATIO, AND THAT'S THE SIZE OF THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE BUILDING ALLOWED UNDER THE FAR MAXIMUM.
SO THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED FAR MAXIMUMS FOR TWO AND THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MCMANSION AREA, WHICH IS THE AREA SHOWN IN BROWN.
IN THE MAP ON THE SLIDE, THEY RECOMMENDED A LAYERED APPROACH, AN FAR MAXIMUM FOR ALL OF THE BUILDINGS ON A SITE, AS WELL AS FAR MAXIMUMS THAT APPLY TO THE LARGEST INDIVIDUAL UNIT THAT REGULATE THE SIZE OF THE LARGEST UNIT ON THE SITE.
AND FOR THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENT AND FAR MAXIMUM THAT LIMITS THE SIZE OF THE LARGEST TWO BUILDINGS.
THIS DISTRIBUTES THE SQUARE FOOTAGE AMONG THE BUILDINGS ON THE SITE.
THE REASON BEHIND THIS LAYERED APPROACH OR SETTING A MAXIMUM FAR FOR THE LARGEST UNIT IS TO CLOSE A POTENTIAL LOOPHOLE
[00:10:01]
AND ENSURE THAT YOU CAN'T DEVELOP ONE HUGE UNIT AND TWO TINY UNITS LIKE A GIANT HOUSE AND TWO TINY POOL HOUSES THAT AREN'T REALLY INTENDED FOR OCCUPANCY.SO THE GOALS OF HAVING AN FAR MAXIMUM ARE TO DE LIMIT THE SIZE OF THE INDIVIDUAL UNITS WHILE STILL ENCOURAGING THE DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIPLE UNITS ON ONE SITE BY GIVING ADDITIONAL FAR FOR PROPERTIES WITH ADDITIONAL UNITS.
BOTH OF THESE GOALS SUPPORT THE DIRECTION IN THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION.
THIS TABLE DOES SOME OF THE MATH FOR US.
IT CALCULATES THE TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE OF DEVELOPMENT THAT CAN BE BUILT UNDER THREE DIFFERENT FAR LIMITS FOR THREE DIFFERENT LOT SIZES.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO CONVERT THE FAR LIMIT, WHICH IS ABSTRACT TO THE POTENTIAL SIZE OF A BUILDING IN SQUARE FEET, WHICH MANY PEOPLE HAVE A BETTER SENSE FOR.
SO LET'S BREAK THAT DOWN AND START WITH THE THREE FAR LIMITS.
YOU SEE IN TODAY'S CODE, RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MCMANSION AREA HAS AN FAR LIMIT OF 0.4.
THAT 0.4 MAXIMUM WOULD CONTINUE TO APPLY TO SINGLE UNIT DEVELOPMENT IN THE MCMANSION AREA, BUT IT WOULD NOT APPLY TO TWO OR THREE UNITS.
THE PROPOSAL THAT YOU SAW ON OCTOBER 26TH DID NOT HAVE AN FAR MAXIMUM FOR TWO OR THREE UNITS.
THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED A 0.55 FAR MAXIMUM FOR TWO UNITS AND A 0.65 FAR MAXIMUM FOR THREE UNITS PER SITE.
THAT WOULD BE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL THREE UNITS OR TWO UNITS ON THE SITE.
THIS TABLE INCLUDES THREE DIFFERENT LOT SIZES TO SHOW YOU WHAT THOSE FAR MAXIMUMS WOULD TRANSLATE TO FOR DIFFERENT LOTS IN TOWN.
THE 5,750 SQUARE FOOT LOT IS THE MINIMUM LOT SIZE FOR SSF TWO AND SSF THREE ZONES.
8,000 SQUARE FEET IS THE AVERAGE LOT SIZE, AND 10,000 SQUARE FEET IS THE MINIMUM LOT SIZE FOR SSF ONE.
BUT THE POINT OF THE TABLE IS TO CALCULATE THE TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE ALLOWED UNDER THE DIFFERENT FAR MAXIMUMS. SO I'M GONNA FOCUS ON AN 8,000 SQUARE FOOT LOT BECAUSE IT'S THE AVERAGE LOT SIZE.
SO UNDER THE CURRENT MCMANSION STANDARDS, A SINGLE UNIT ON AN 8,000 SQUARE FOOT LOT COULD BE TWO 3,200 SQUARE FEET IN SIZE OF GROSS FLOOR AREA.
UNDER THE PLANNING COMMISSION PROPOSAL, A TWO UNIT DEVELOPMENT COULD HAVE 4,400 SQUARE FEET OF FLOOR AREA, AND A THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENT COULD HAVE 5,200 SQUARE FEET OF FLOOR AREA.
THE PLANNING COMMISSION ALSO RECOMMENDED SOME DESIGN STANDARDS BE ADDED TO THE PROPOSAL.
THE RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE STANDARDS FOR ENTRYWAYS, DRIVEWAYS AND GARAGE PLACEMENT.
THAT WOULD APPLY SOME EXISTING CODE PROVISIONS TO TWO AND THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENTS.
STAFF RECOMMENDS THAT WE START WITH THESE, BUT THEN REASSESS DESIGN STANDARDS AFTER A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS AND ADDITIONAL MODELING DURING PHASE TWO.
THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE ENTRYWAY OF AT LEAST ONE UNIT ON A MULTI-UNIT SITE MUST FACE THE STREET.
THIS IS TO HELP ACTIVATE THE STREET FRONT BY ENSURING THAT AT LEAST ONE FRONT DOOR FACES THE STREET.
THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION IS TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF PAVEMENT THAT CAN BE IN THE FRONT YARD AREA.
THE AREA BETWEEN THE FRONT LOT LINE AND THE BUILDING LINE CAN HAVE NO MORE THAN 40% IMPERVIOUS COVER THAT MINIMIZES THE IMPACT OF DRIVEWAY OR DRIVEWAYS AND HELPS CREATE A MORE PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD.
THE THIRD RECOMMENDED DESIGN STANDARD RELATES TO WHERE A GARAGE OR CARPORT IS LOCATED IN RELATION TO THE HOUSE.
A GARAGE CANNOT BE LOCATED CLOSER TO THE STREET THAN THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE.
IT CAN'T BE IN FRONT OF THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE, AND THE WIDTH OF THE GARAGE IS LIMITED IF IT IS NOT AT LEAST 20 FEET BEHIND THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE.
THIS MINIMIZES THE VISUAL IMPACT OF GARAGES AND AGAIN, HELPS CREATE A MORE PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD.
[00:15:05]
NEXT, THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED ADDING SOMETHING CALLED A PRESERVATION BONUS TO THE PROPOSAL.THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESERVATION BONUS IS TO HELP MAINTAIN OLDER, POTENTIALLY MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING STOCK TO HELP PRESERVE THE LOOK OF EXISTING NEIGHBORHOODS FROM THE STREET AND TO REDUCE DEMOLITIONS AND KEEP HOUSING MATERIALS OUT OF THE LANDFILL.
A DEVELOPMENT COULD USE THE PRESERVATION BONUS IF IT PRESERVES A STRUCTURE BUILT IN 1960 OR EARLIER.
PRESERVATION IN THIS CASE MEANS PRESERVATION OF 100% OF THE FACADE OR THE FRONT OF THE STRUCTURE AND PRESERVATION OF AT LEAST 50% OF THE EXISTING STRUCTURE.
SO ALL OF THE FACADE AND AT LEAST 50% OF THE STRUCTURE AS A WHOLE, IF THOSE REQUIREMENTS ARE MET.
THE PRESERVED SQUARE FOOTAGE DOES NOT COUNT TOWARDS THE FAR LIMIT OF THE SITE.
STAFF HAS SOME IMPLEMENTATION CONCERNS REGARDING THE PRESERVATION BONUS.
IF IT IS USED ON A WIDE SCALE, IT COULD IMPACT THE REVIEW PROCESSES IN THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
WE ARE LOOKING AT IT CURRENTLY AND WORKING ON AN APPROACH, BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL CHALLENGES THAT WE ARE STILL WORKING THROUGH AT THIS TIME.
THE PLANNING COMMISSION ALSO RECOMMENDED A COMPANION SUSTAINABILITY BONUS.
THE GOALS ARE VERY SIMILAR TO MAINTAIN EXISTING POTENTIALLY MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING STOCK TO REDUCE THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS CAUSED BY NEW CONSTRUCTION, BY REUSING EXISTING HOUSING STOCK AND REDUCING DEMOLITIONS AND KEEPING HOUSING MATERIALS OUT OF THE LANDFILL.
THE SUSTAINABILITY BONUS APPLIES TO MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENT THAN THE PRESERVATION BONUS.
A DEVELOPMENT QUALIFIES IF IT PRESERVES A STRUCTURE THAT IS AT LEAST 20 YEARS OLD, BUT BUILT AFTER 1960, WHICH IS THAT THRESHOLD FOR THE PRESERVATION BONUS.
AND THE PRESERVATION STANDARDS ARE A LITTLE SIMPLER.
IT SIMPLY REQUIRES PRESERVING AT LEAST 50% OF THE EXISTING STRUCTURE.
THERE'S NOT THAT EMPHASIS ON THE FRONT FACADE, IT'S JUST 50, 80, 50% OF THE EXISTING STRUCTURE.
AND IF THAT REQUIREMENT IS MET, THE INCENTIVE IS THAT THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE PRESERVED AREA DOES NOT COUNT TOWARDS THE FAR LIMIT ON THE SITE.
I WILL QUICKLY MENTION A FEW OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS, THEY RECOMMEND THAT SOME GARAGE SPACE BE EXEMPT FROM THE FAR MAXIMUMS, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO HOW THE CALCULATION IS CURRENTLY PERFORMED UNDER THE MCMANSION STANDARDS.
THEY RECOMMEND THAT THE PREVIOUSLY INCLUDED 1,100 SQUARE FOOT SIZE LIMIT FOR THE SECOND UNIT IN A DETACHED TWO UNIT DEVELOPMENT BE REMOVED.
THIS WOULD BE REPLACED BY THE SUGGESTED FAR LIMITS FOR THE TWO AND THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENTS.
THEY RECOMMEND SOME CHANGES TO FRONT, REAR, AND STREET SIDE YARD SETBACKS TO ALLOW ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITY.
THE FRONT SETBACK COULD BE AVERAGED BASED ON NEARBY EXISTING BUILDING SETBACKS.
SO IF YOUR NEIGHBOR'S HOUSES ARE CLOSER TO THE FRONT OF THE STREET, YOUR HOUSE COULD POTENTIALLY BE CLOSER TO THE FRONT OF THE STREET.
THE REAR SETBACK COULD BE REDUCED IN CERTAIN CONDITIONS, LIKE IF THE PROPERTY IS ADJACENT TO AN ALLEY OR A NON-RESIDENTIAL USE.
AND THEN THEY RECOMMENDED THAT THE STREET SIDE YARD SETBACK BE REDUCED TO 10 FEET ON CORNER LOTS FOR THESE PROPERTIES WITH MULTIPLE UNITS.
ALL OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WOULD APPLY ONLY TO LOTS WITH TWO OR THREE UNITS.
THEY WOULD NOT APPLY TO LOTS WITH ONE UNIT.
AND FINALLY, THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED THAT THESE CHANGES BECOME EFFECTIVE 60 DAYS AFTER FINAL ADOPTION TO ALLOW TIME TO PREPARE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
WE CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE THE COMMUNITY TO VISIT THE PROJECT WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROPOSAL AND TO STAY UP TO DATE AS IT CONTINUES THROUGH THE REVIEW PROCESS.
THE WEBSITE INCLUDES A SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSAL AND THE DRAFT CODE LANGUAGE.
IT INCLUDES A VIDEO OF STAFF'S PRESENTATION FROM OCTOBER 26TH, WHICH WENT INTO MORE DETAIL ON THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TODAY'S CODE AND THE CHANGES.
THE WEBSITE INCLUDES ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND PROVIDES INFORMATION ON HOW TO PROVIDE INPUT AND HOW TO PROTEST THE CHANGES.
COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO STAFF VIA THE WEBSITE OR VIA THE EMAIL OR PHONE NUMBER THAT ARE ON THE SCREEN.
WE ARE RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS AND ANY COMMENTS SUBMITTED WERE PROVIDED TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND WILL BE PROVIDED TO COUNSEL FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
[00:20:03]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
AND MAYOR, I JUST MANAGER? YEAH.
AND ANDREA WAS BEING, UH, PERHAPS A, A, A MORE SUBTLE THAN I WOULD LIKE.
THERE ARE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE MADE BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION THAT, UH, WHEN WE DO THE ANALYSIS BETWEEN NOW AND THE 7TH OF DECEMBER, YOU MAY FIND US SAYING THAT WE DON'T THINK THOSE ARE CONSISTENT OR COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR, THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES SET OUT BY COUNSEL.
WE DON'T HAVE THAT LIST DONE TODAY.
I THINK WE AGREE WITH MOST OF THEM, BUT THERE'S SOME THAT ARE PROBLEMATIC AND WE'LL EXPLAIN WHY THEY'RE PROBLEMATIC, UH, PRIOR TO YOU, BECAUSE YOU'LL TAKE THAT ORDINANCE WITH ALL ITS AMENDMENTS AND WE'LL BE ASKING YOU TO, TO THINK THROUGH WHETHER YOU'D WANT TO AMEND THE, OR ACCEPT THOSE AMENDMENTS GIVEN THOSE CONSTRAINTS THAT WE MAY BE, BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN.
WHAT, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS, IS ALLOW FOR SOME QUESTIONS, UM, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM A I A AS I UNDERSTAND IT.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL ALLOW FOR QUESTIONS.
THEN YOU MAY WANT TO HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS UNTIL AFTER THE A I A PRESENTATION, BUT THAT'S UP TO YOU.
I, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO, WHATEVER THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WANT TO DO, AND THEN I WILL ASK THAT WE DO, UH, IF YOU HAVE AMENDMENTS THAT YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO PRESENT NEXT WEEK AS PART OF THIS, UH, WE HAD DISCUSSED THAT WE WOULD TRY TO LAY THOSE OUT AT THIS MEETING AND SO THAT PEOPLE WOULD AT LEAST KNOW WHAT EVERYBODY WAS KIND OF THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THOSE THINGS.
I'LL HOLD MOST OF MY QUESTIONS TILL AFTER THE I I A OKAY.
BUT I DID WANNA GET FURTHER CLARIFICATION FROM THE CITY MANAGER ON THE TIMING OF WHEN WE WOULD BE, UM, SEEING THE STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS.
I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE WORKING THROUGH, WE'RE WAITING FOR THE DISCUSSION FOR TODAY, AND THEN WE'RE DOING THE ANALYSIS NOW.
THERE'S SOME THAT, THAT ARE, UH, WE'RE IN ANALYZING NOW IN TERMS OF WHERE WE WOULD LAND.
WE DON'T HAVE THAT DONE YET, BUT YOU'LL SEE IT IN THE PROPER STANDARD IN TERMS WHEN IT, WE'LL GET IT TO YOU WHEN IT IS.
WE'RE SET THE AGENDA FOR THE SEVENTH WITH PLENTY OF TIME FOR YOU TO REVIEW WHAT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE.
WELL, THE, THE AGENDA'S ALREADY OUT FOR THE SEVENTH AND IT'S NINE DAYS AWAY.
AND THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHEN WE CAN EXPECT THIS.
THESE ARE A VERY, YOU KNOW, IMPORTANT.
I THANK YOU MAYOR COUNCIL TRISH LINK WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT.
UM, THE, I'VE DONE A MUNI CODE VERSION, SO OUR INFORMAL VERSION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE AGENDA OFFICE.
SO IT CAN BE POSTED AS SOON AS THE AGENDA OFFICE IS READY TO DO THAT.
AND THEN THE FORMAL ORDINANCE WE WILL HAVE TO THE AGENDA OFFICE, UM, BY THURSDAY MORNING AT THE VERY LATEST.
UH, WHY DON'T WE HAVE THE PRESENTATION, UH, FROM A I A GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY.
MY NAME IS LUCY BEGG AND I'M AN ARCHITECT HERE ON BEHALF OF A I A AUSTIN'S HOUSING ADVOCACY COMMITTEE.
WE'RE A GROUP OF PRACTICING ARCHITECTS WORKING ON HOUSING AT ALL SCALES AND INCOME LEVELS IN THE CITY WITH A LOT OF EXPERIENCE OF HOW AUSTIN ZONING CODES IMPACT WHAT TYPES AND SIZES OF HOMES WE BUILD.
WE'VE SPENT MANY HOURS MODELING THE POTENTIAL OUTCOMES OF THE HOME PHASE ONE DRAFT AND ARE HERE THIS MORNING TO SHARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE EMERGED FROM THOSE EFFORTS.
WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA PRESENT THE SAME MATERIAL AS WE DID AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING, BUT ALSO INCLUDE SOME COMMENTARY AS IT RELATES TO THE AMENDMENTS THAT WERE PROPOSED BY PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND IF IT'S BEEN TOUCHED ON BY STAFF, I'LL KIND OF SKIP OVER THAT.
OUR GROUP IS MOTIVATED BY OUR SHARED FRUSTRATIONS WITH THE LIMITS THAT CURRENT RESIDENTIAL ZONING IMPOSES ON HOUSING CHOICES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT COMES TO SMALLER HOMES.
WE APPLAUD THE INTENT OF THE HOME INITIATIVE TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES AND ARE EAGER TO MAKE SURE THE DETAILS OF THE POLICY WORK IN SUPPORT OF ITS GOALS.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT HOME SIZES.
PRIOR TO THE ADOPTION OF OUR CURRENT ZONING STANDARDS, IN 1984, HOMES IN AUSTIN AVERAGED AROUND 1500 SQUARE FEET IN SIZE, AND ALMOST ONE IN FIVE OF THOSE WERE PART OF A DUPLEX, TRIPLEX, OR FOURPLEX.
AFTER OUR CURRENT ZONING WAS PUT IN PLACE, RESTRICTING LARGE AREAS OF THE CITY TO SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ON BIG LOTS, THOSE UNIT SIZES BEGAN TO INCREASE.
THIS CHART SHOWS HOW THE AVERAGE HOME BUILT SINCE 1990 IS ALMOST 50% LARGER THAN THE AVERAGE BUILT PRIOR.
AND HOW JUST A FRACTION OF THOSE LESS THAN 3% HAVE BEEN WITHIN TWO, THREE OR FOUR UNIT BUILDINGS.
[00:25:01]
NUMBER AND SIZES OF HOUSES PERMITTED IN THE LAST DECADE.IN AUSTIN, OVER 75% OF THE NEW HOMES BUILT IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS IN THAT TIME EXCEEDED 2000 SQUARE FEET IN SIZE, UH, ALMOST DIRECTLY IN OPPOSITION TO THE RATIO.
PRIOR TO 1990, WE ARE ACTUALLY ADDING HOMES GREATER THAN 5,000 SQUARE FEET TO OUR HOUSING STOCK AT A FASTER RATE THAN HOMES UNDER 1000 SQUARE FEET.
THIS PHENOMENON IS BEING DRIVEN BY THE COLLISION OF OUR 1980S ZONING STANDARDS WITH TODAY'S HIGH LAND COSTS.
WHILE OUR MINIMUM RESIDENTIAL LOT SIZE IS 5,750 SQUARE FEET, AS STAFF POINTED OUT, OUR MEDIAN LOT SIZE IS MUCH LARGER AT ALMOST 8,000 SQUARE FEET.
OLDER NEIGHBORHOODS TEND TO HAVE AVERAGES BELOW THAT, WHILE NEIGHBORHOODS BUILT OUT AFTER 1950 TEND TO HAVE LOTS LARGER THAN AVERAGE WITH ENTITLEMENTS LIMITED TO TWO DWELLING UNITS ON MOST RESIDENTIAL LOTS, AND WITH MANY RESTRICTIONS ON THE SIZE AND CONFIGURATION OF THE SECOND UNIT.
THE MOST COMMON DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME TODAY IS A SINGLE HOUSE THAT'S AS LARGE AS POSSIBLE, UP TO 40% OF THE LOT SIZE TO MAKE THE ECONOMICS WORK.
PUT SIMPLY OUR CURRENT RESIDENTIAL ZONING HAS A BIG HOUSE BIAS PRODUCING UNITS THAT ON AVERAGE ARE 2,800 SQUARE FEET TODAY.
AT THE SAME TIME, WHAT HOUSING OPTIONS HAVE WE BEEN EDITING OUT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS? OUR UNIT RESTRICTIONS AND SETBACKS MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO BUILD DEVELOPMENTS LIKE THIS ONE THAT WAS CONSTRUCTED IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD OF EAST CESAR CHAVEZ IN 1926 AND RENOVATED A FEW YEARS AGO.
THESE THREE LIVABLE SMALL HOUSES ON A 9,600 SQUARE FOOT LOT EACH HAVE A FRONT PORCH, A SMALL PRIVATE BACKYARD, AND AN OFF STREET PARKING SPACE.
THEY'RE OWNED BY A YOUNG COUPLE, A SINGLE DAD AND AN ELDERLY RETIREE WHO ALL ENJOY THE BENEFITS OF OUR HIGH QUALITY NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE IN AREA.
THEY TOTAL THE SAME SQUARE FOOTAGE THAT TODAY YOU WOULD ONLY BE ALLOWED TO BUILD AS ONE OR MAXIMUM TWO HOUSES TO MEET THE HOME INITIATIVE'S GOAL OF GIVING SMALLER HOMES LIKE THESE A BIGGER CHANCE.
IN AUSTIN, WE BELIEVE THE DETAILS ARE CRITICAL AND THE FOLLOWING ARE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT HOW THE HOME ORDINANCE SHOULD BE FINE TUNED TO BETTER MEET ITS GOALS.
AND THIS IS WHERE I'LL INCLUDE OUR COMMENTARY ON THE PC AMENDMENTS.
SO OUR FIRST RECOMMENDATION WAS TO FURTHER INCREASE THE FLEXIBILITY WITHIN THE TWO UNIT USE.
AND THIS WAS, UH, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THAT ALREADY IN THE TEXT WITH THE REDUCTION OF LOT SIZES FOR DUPLEXES, REMOVAL OF A COMMON WALL MANDATE, LOOSENING OF A DU LOCATION REQUIREMENTS.
WE FURTHER RECOMMENDED THAT THE 1100 SQUARE FOOT CAP THAT APPLIES TO DETACH SECOND UNITS BE REMOVED.
AND, UH, PLANNING COMMISSION CAPTURED THAT IN THEIR AMENDMENTS ALSO.
OUR SECOND RECOMMENDATION WAS TO CREATE A NEW FLOOR AREA RATIO TOOL FOR TWO AND THREE UNITS.
AND THIS HAD SEVERAL COMPONENTS TO IT.
THE FIRST WAS TO CREATE AN FAR CAP FOR EACH USE.
AND AGAIN, STAFF TALKED YOU THROUGH THE PLANNING COMMISSION AMENDMENT THAT CAPTURE THAT.
UM, THE SECOND WAS TO INVENT INCENTIVIZE CONSTRUCTION OF TWO AND THREE UNITS BY MODESTLY INCREASING THE TOTAL ALLOWABLE FAR FOR MORE UNITS.
AND AGAIN, PLANNING COMMISSION CAPTURED THAT IN THEIR AMENDMENTS OF GRADUATING FROM 0.55 FOR TWO UNITS TO 0.65 FOR THREE UNITS.
AND THAT FOLLOWED OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO SET A MAXIMUM SIZE LIMIT FOR A SINGLE UNIT.
AGAIN, THAT WAS CAPTURED IN PLANNING COMMISSION AMENDMENTS.
WE DO HAVE ONE VERY SMALL DETAIL TO COMMENT ON THERE.
UH, PLANNING COMMISSION HAVE RECOMMENDED THAT WITHIN THREE UNIT USES THE TWO UNIT MAX BE LIMITED TO 0.5 RATHER THAN 0.55.
WE THINK THAT'S AN UNNECESSARY COMPLEXITY AND THAT IT SHOULD JUST BE KEPT AT 0.55.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, WE PREPARE, WE RECOMMENDED INCLUDING GARAGES AND CARPORTS IN THE FLOOR AREA DEFINITION.
AND THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT ODDS WITH, UM, WHAT PLANNING COMMISSION HAS RECOMMENDED IN THEIR AMENDMENTS.
AND IT'S, UH, IT'S A LITTLE BIT TRICKY, SO BEAR WITH ME AS I TRY AND EXPLAIN OUR POSITION.
UM, SO CURRENTLY SUBCHAPTER F INCLUDES PARKING STRUCTURES, GARAGES, AND CARPORTS IN THEIR DEFINITION OF FLOOR AREA, BUT THEY PROVIDE SOME EXEMPTIONS.
AND THOSE EXEMPTIONS ARE 450 SQUARE FEET FOR A DETACHED GARAGE IN THE REAR OF THE PROPERTY OR 200 SQUARE FEET FOR AN ATTACHED GARAGE.
HOWEVER, WHEN WE TAKE TWO AND THREE UNIT USES OUTTA SUBCHAPTER F
[00:30:01]
WE USE THE CITY'S, UH, GENERAL FLOOR AREA DEFINITION, AND THAT EXCLUDES PARKING STRUCTURES ALTOGETHER.SO IF WE JUST USE THE CITY'S FLOOR AREA DEFINITION, THEN GARAGES AND CARPORTS WOULD BE EXEMPT FROM THE FAR LIMIT.
UM, WE THINK THAT WOULD INCREASE THE SITE, THE AMOUNT OF BUILT AREA ON THE SITE AND INCENTIVIZE AUTOCENTRIC DEVELOPMENT.
WHAT WHAT PLANNING COMMISSION DID IS THEY TOOK THE SUBCHAPTER F EXEMPTIONS 450 SQUARE FEET FOR DETACHED GARAGES, 200 FOR ATTACHED, BUT THEY'VE APPLIED IT ON A PER UNIT BASIS RATHER THAN A PER SITE BASIS.
SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT THEY'RE GRANTING, THEY'RE PROPOSING TO GRANT IS GREATER PARKING STRUCTURE EXEMPTIONS THAN SUBCHAPTER F CURRENTLY ALLOWS.
WE'RE WE'RE OPPOSED TO THAT FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.
WE THINK THAT WORKS AGAINST THE GOALS OF THE HOME ORDINANCE TO PRODUCE SMALLER STRUCTURES.
AND WE ACTUALLY ALREADY CAPTURED THOSE PARKING EXEMPTIONS IN OUR PROPOSED GRADIENT OF 0.55 0.65.
THOSE WERE MEANT TO FACTOR IN THOSE AREAS OF GARAGES.
UM, A COUPLE OF OTHER THING REASONS WE'RE OPPOSED TO THAT IS, UH, WE THINK IT WORKS AGAINST THE GOAL OF SIMPLIFYING PERMITTING PROCESSES.
WE KNOW THAT GETTING RID OF THE SUBCHAPTER F HELPS REALLY, UM, FREE UP REVIEW TIME FOR EXEMPTIONS.
THIS CREATES ADDITIONAL EXEMPTIONS THAT HAVE TO BE DOCUMENTED AND REVIEWED.
UM, LIKE I SAID, IT REINFORCES THE BIAS TOWARDS AUTOCENTRIC DESIGN.
IT INCENTIVIZES DEVELOPERS WHO BUILD GARAGES BUT GIVES NO EQUIVALENT ENTITLEMENTS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO BE INCENTIVIZING CAR-FREE OR CAR LIGHT LIFESTYLES.
AND FINALLY, I'LL GET TO THIS IN A SECOND.
WE THINK IT REMOVES SOME OF THE TEETH OF THE PRESERVATION INCENTIVE BY GIVING INCREASED FLOOR AREA ENTITLEMENTS THAT MAKE IT HARDER TO GET ABOVE THAT WITH THE PRESERVATION INCENTIVE.
I KNOW THAT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION, SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO KIND OF FOLLOW UP.
UM, UH, UH, WITH, WITH QUESTIONS.
UM, WE, UH, SUPPORT RELAXING FRONT YARD AND STREET SIDE YARD SETBACKS, AND THAT'S TO JUST GIVE MORE AREA TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THE CONFIGURATION OF MULTIPLE UNITS.
WHAT PLANNING COMMISSION HAS SUGGESTED IS ALLOWING FOR FRONT YARD AVERAGING, WHICH IS WHAT SUBCHAPTER F DOES, WE WOULD PREFER TO JUST HAVE A SINGLE REDUCED FRONT YARD SETBACK OF 15 FEET.
FRONT YARD AVERAGING IS A VERY TRICKY, EXPENSIVE PROCESS THAT INVOLVES SURVEYING AND, UM, ADDITIONAL COSTS AND DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR FOUR NEIGHBORS HAPPEN TO BE.
UM, WE THINK IT WOULD BE SIMPLER JUST TO REDUCE THE FRONT YARD TO 15 FEET.
THE STREETSIDE YARD RIGHT NOW IS 15 FEET.
UM, PLANNING COMMISSION PROPOSED, REDUCING THAT TO 10.
WE THINK THAT COULD GO TO FIVE FEET WITHOUT ANY NEG NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON NEIGHBORHOOD DESIGN.
AND FINALLY, OUR FOURTH RECOMMENDATION WAS TO ADOPT PRESERVATION INCENTIVE PLANNING COMMISSION AMENDMENTS HAVE DONE THAT.
THAT WAS, UH, MOSTLY DESIGNED BY PRESERVATION AUSTIN.
WE WILL CAUTION THAT, UM, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT INCREASED ENTITLEMENTS FOR THREE UNITS OF 0.65, IT IS GONNA BE CHALLENGING TO GET ADDITIONAL FLOOR AREA WHILE KEEPING EXISTING STRUCTURES WITHOUT INCREASING IMPERVIOUS COVER.
AND AGAIN, UNFORTUNATELY WE DON'T HAVE ANY GRAPHICS OF THAT.
BUT I THINK THE BEST THING THAT YOU COULD DO TO GIVE THE PRESERVATION INCENTIVE MORE TEETH WOULD BE TO ALLOW A BIT MORE IMPERVIOUS COVER.
UM, IT, AND ONE THING WE'D ALSO LOVE STAFF TO CLARIFY IS WHETHER, UH, AS WE UNDERSTAND IT, THE PRESERVATION INCENTIVE WOULD ALLOW AN ADDITIONAL UNIT FOR UNITS.
I DIDN'T SEE THEM MENTION THAT IN THEIR PRESENTATION, SO THAT WOULD BE GREAT TO CLARIFY.
UM, I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE CHRIS GANNON, JUST TO GET INTO, UM, SOME OF OUR DETAILS A LITTLE MORE.
UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME THIS MORNING.
I'M THE INCOMING CO-CHAIR OF AIAS HOUSING GROUP.
UM, I'M GONNA JUMP RIGHT IN TO BRIEFLY LOOK AT SOME CHANGES THAT PORTLAND HAS TAKEN.
UH, THIS IS PORTLAND'S RESIDENTIAL INFILL PROJECT AND SOME GRAPHS THAT WE GOT FROM THEIR, UH, ONE YEAR REPORT.
UM, THEIR RESIDENTIAL INFILL PROJECT IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE, UH, HOME INITIATIVE.
[00:35:01]
UM, A NEW MISSING MIDDLE HOUSING TYPOLOGY.UH, AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN IN DECLINE, UH, THAT LUCY LOOKED AT SINCE THE NINETIES.
UM, THEY'RE ALLOWING ADUS ALL THE WAY UP TO SIX PLEXES.
SO, UM, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE INTENSIVE THAN WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, THE YEAR FOLLOWING THE ADAPTATION OF THIS POLICY SAW A DRAMATIC UPTICK IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS MI, THIS MIDDLE HOUSING WITH NEARLY THREE QUARTERS OF THE UNITS IN FOURPLEXES.
THAT'S WHAT THIS GRAPH HERE IS SHOWING.
UM, SO PORTLAND ADDED AN FAR CAP TO THEIR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AS WELL.
WELL, AND THEY STEPPED THAT FAR UH, 0.1 PER UNIT, WHICH IS, UM, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AS WELL.
UH, WE LOOKED MOST CLOSELY AT THERE, R SEVEN LOTS AS THEY'RE MOST ALIGNED WITH AUSTIN'S LOT SIZE.
SO UNDER THIS PROGRAM, THEY FOUND THAT BY INCREASING THE FAR 0.10 PER ADDED UNIT, THEY WERE ABLE TO BOTH ENCOURAGE MORE UNITS.
AND THOSE UNITS ON AVERAGE WERE SMALLER.
UM, IN THEIR REPORT, THEY HAVE, UH, SOME INTERESTING NUMBERS.
I, I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO LOOK AT THIS REPORT THAT THE, THE LOT SIZE OR THE UNIT SIZES UNDER THIS ONE, UH, UH, THEIR PROGRAM VERSUS THE UNITS BEING SOLD OUTSIDE OF IT, WERE ON AVERAGE ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS LESS.
WE DIDN'T DO ANY FINANCIAL MODELING IN OUR STUFF 'CAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE ARCHITECTS AND WE'RE LOOKING MORE AT FORM.
UM, BUT THAT'S AN INTERESTING AND, AND HELPFUL METRIC TO LOOK AT.
UM, SO OUR MODELING, WHICH WAS INDEPENDENT OF PORTLAND'S REPORT, FOUND THAT THE SAME THING, AN FAR CAP WITH A GRADIENT WOULD INCENTIVIZE MORE UNITS AND ON AVERAGE THESE UNITS WOULD BE SMALLER.
I WANNA NOTE THAT PORTLAND DOES INCLUDE GARAGES IN THEIR FAR.
UM, SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER.
OKAY, SO WE LOOKED AT SEVERAL GRADIENT INCREASES, AND WE BELIEVE THAT THE 0.10 WORKS FOR AUSTIN.
UM, OURS STARTS AT 0.55 FOR TWO UNITS AND GOES TO 0.65 FOR THREE.
UH, THIS IS CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, UNDER SUB CHAPTER F ARE, ARE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ARE CAPPED AT 0.4, BUT WHAT'S ACTUALLY BEING BUILT IS ON AVERAGE 0.45.
AND THAT'S TO ACCOMMODATE THE, UH, ALL THE EXEMPTIONS THAT ARE BUILT INTO THE MCMANSION ORDINANCE.
THAT'S AN ATTIC EXEMPTION, THAT'S A GR UH, THE GARAGE EXEMPTIONS AND THE BASEMENT EXEMPTION AS WELL.
UM, SO LOOKING AT THE DATA, THE AVERAGE SINGLE FAMILY HOME IS BEING BUILT AROUND 0.45.
WE STEPPED IT UP 0.1 FROM THAT.
SO THE 0.55 AND THE 0.65 INCLUDES THE EXEMPTIONS PREVIOUSLY GRANTED UNDER SUBCHAPTER F.
UM, SO WE MODELED WHAT THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
THE FIRST, THE FIRST MODEL RIGHT THERE IS A SINGLE FAMILY HOME, AND THAT'S THE 0.4 PLUS THE EXEMPTIONS THAT ARE GRANTED ON OUR SUB-CHAPTER F.
UH, THE, UH, THE NEXT TWO MODELS ARE THE 0.1 STEP UP FROM THAT.
UM, IF WE WERE TO INCLUDE THE SUBCHAPTER F GARAGE EXEMPTION INTO, UH, TWO AND THREE UNITS, WE WOULD NOT BE GETTING 0.55 AND 0.65 ANYMORE.
UM, ON AN AVERAGE LOT SIZE, WE WOULD BE GETTING CLOSER TO 0.60 FOR TWO UNITS AND 0.73 FOR TRIPLEXES.
THAT'S WITH THE 200 SQUARE FOOT OF ADDITIONAL, UM, GARAGE SPACE THAT'S BUILT INTO THAT.
SO WE, UH, LIKE LUCY SAID, WE SUPPORT, UH, CAPPING THE FAR OF A SINGLE UNIT IN A MULTI-UNIT DEVELOPMENT.
UH, AS WITHOUT, WITHOUT THIS GUARD RAIL, WE MIGHT SEE STEALTH MCMANSIONS.
THAT'S KINDA WHAT THIS MODEL IS SHOWING.
UH, THAT'S, THAT IT'S LIKE A TINY POOL CABANA WITH ONE GIANT HOUSE.
UM, WE COULD SEE THAT BEING HELPFUL IF SOMEONE WAS TO DESIGN A THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENT AND THEN, UH, DECIDE TO ONLY BUILD TWO.
BUT WE THINK THAT THAT CAP FOR THREE UNITS SHOULD BE 0.55, UH, JUST TO ALIGN WITH THE CAP ON THE POINT ON ON THE TWO UNIT.
AND WE SUPPORT THE PRESERVATION AUSTIN'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE PRESERVATION INCENTIVE.
UM, IT'S A DELICATE INCENTIVE, UM, UH, AND, AND
[00:40:01]
REALLY DIALING IN THE, THE CAP ON THE TWO AND THREE UNITS WILL HELP BOLSTER WHAT PRESERVATION IS DOING, WHICH I THINK IS AN IMPORTANT AND MEANINGFUL UM, UH, ISSUE HERE.WE DO SUPPORT REDUCING THE SETBACKS AND ENCOURAGE THIS, UH, RESOLUTION GO FURTHER THAN THE FRONT YARD AVERAGING.
UM, IT, IT CAN BE EXPENSIVE AND TIME CONSUMING LIKE WHAT LUCY WAS UH, DESCRIBING, AND IT RELIES ON LUCK.
IF YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE BUILT CLOSE TO THE YARD, THEN YOU GET IT.
IF YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE NOT, THEN YOU DON'T GET IT.
UH, HISTORICALLY HOUSES WERE CLOSER TO THE LOT LINE, UM, AND ALSO THE UTILITIES ARE TYPICALLY CLOSER TO THE STREET AS WELL.
SO WE'D BE REDUCING THE, UH, THE DISTANCE, THE SEWER LINES.
UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE FRONT YARD REDUCED TO 15 FEET AND STREET SIDE YARDS REDUCED TO FIVE TO ALLOW FOR GREATER FLEXIBILITY IN PLACING THE ADDITIONAL UNITS.
UM, AND WE'D LIKE TO SEE ALL PROPERTIES GET THIS BENEFIT, NOT JUST THE ONES IN, IN OLDER NEIGHBORHOODS.
UH, THIS WILL BE SIMPLER TO IMPLEMENT.
IT'LL SPREAD THE BENEFIT MORE EQUITABLY AND IT'LL ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS TO REFLECT THE TRADITIONAL CENTRAL AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOODS.
FINALLY, WE DO NEED TO SEE THAT PARKING STRUCTURES ARE INCLUDED IN THE DEFINITION OF FAR.
THE 0.05 BUMP FROM 0.4 FOR THE SINGLE FAMILY HOME, UM, IS REFLECTIVE OF ACTUAL CURRENT CONDITIONS THAT INCLUDE CONSTRUCTION OF GARAGES.
UH, WE ARE NOT REMOVING THIS FAR, BUT WE'RE ASKING FOR MORE FREEDOM OF ITS USE.
UH, THIS SLIDE KIND OF ILLUSTRATES THAT.
THE FIRST IMAGE IN THE TOP LEFT CORNER IS WHAT'S CURRENTLY BEING BUILT UNDER SUB CHAPTER F UH, THE BLUE IS THE 0.4 FAR AND THE YELLOW IS THE EXEMPTIONS.
IF YOU ADD ALL THAT UP, IT AVERAGES AT 0.45.
WE'VE TAKEN A POINT, ONE STEP FROM THAT NUMBER, UH, TO GET THE 0.55 OF TWO UNITS AND THE 0.65 OF THREE UNITS.
IF WE ADD MORE EXEMPTIONS TO IT, WE ARE AGAIN EXCEEDING AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOUBLE DIPPING INTO THE FAR.
THAT'S THE END OF MY, UH, PRESENTATION.
COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, I'LL RECOGNIZE YOU FOR QUESTIONS.
IF YOU COULD STAY, SIR, MY QUESTIONS ARE REGARDING YOUR PRESENTATION, SIR, I DIDN'T CATCH YOUR NAME.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE MODELING.
I THINK HAVING THOSE VISUALS IS, IS SUPER HELPFUL AND, YOU KNOW, SEEING WHAT THE EXEMPTIONS ARE AND WHAT THE POTENTIAL COULD BE WITH THE HOME INITIATIVE.
ONE THING I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, FROM YOUR PRESENTATION IS, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY REGARDING, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT, UH, MULTIPLE HOMES WOULD BE BUILT ON THIS, ON THIS LOT.
UH, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PORTLAND EXAMPLE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY CHANGED THEIR, THEIR, UM, ZONING CAPABILITIES AND DID CHANGE IT TO THEIR, THE FLORIDA AREA RATIO REQUIREMENTS.
AND BASED ON WHAT YOU PRESENTED TODAY, WE SAW MULTIPLE SMALLER HOMES BEING BUILT WITH AN AVERAGE, UH, PRICE OF AT LEAST A HUNDRED THOUSAND LESS.
UH, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO DIG INTO THE REPORT.
UH, IT'S THEIR ONE YEAR REPORT FROM IMPLEMENTATION OF THEIR, UH, RESIDENTIAL INFILL PROJECT.
IT SHOWS WHAT HAD BEEN BUILT PREVIOUSLY AND THEN WHAT WAS BUILT UNDER THE RIP, THE RESIDENTIAL INFILL PROGRAM.
UM, UH, THEY HAVE MORE METRICS THAN WHAT I INCLUDED IN MY PRESENTATION, INCLUDING PRICING DATA, WHICH I DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO TOUCH ON.
UM, BUT THEY'RE SHOWING THAT THE UNITS THAT ARE BUILT OUTSIDE OF THEIR, UH, THEIR FAR CAP PREVIOUS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION WERE ON AVERAGE A HUNDRED.
IT WAS LIKE $117,000 MORE THAN THE ONES BUILT UNDER THE RESIDENTIAL INFILL PROJECT.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE THEY ALLOWED MORE UNITS.
UH, BUT THEY CAPPED THE DEVELOPMENTAL, THE DEVELOPABLE AREA WITH THEIR FAR CAP.
SO IT PRODUCED MORE SMALLER UNITS.
AND IT SHOWED THAT THE MOST POPULAR, UH, TYPOLOGY WAS A FOURPLEX ACTUALLY.
UM, WHICH IS INTERESTING, AT THREE QUARTERS OF THE, OF THE NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT WAS GOING ON IN PORTLAND AFTER THIS THING PASSED WAS THIS MISSING MIDDLE, UH, TYPOLOGY.
AND OF THAT THREE QUARTERS WAS A FOURPLEX.
AND THEN, UH, MY ONE REQUEST IS IF WE COULD HAVE BOTH OF THE A I A IN YOUR PRESENTATION EMAILED TO US, UH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
COUNCILOR VALEN AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON AND ALTER AND GOING ON THE PORTLAND, I DID LOOK AT THAT REPORT THAT, UH, THEY HAD.
AND HONESTLY, I THINK PORTLAND'S A A FROM A A, A HOUSING POINT OF VIEW, A
[00:45:01]
SMALL LOT KIND OF MIDDLE MISSING HOUSING POINT OF VIEW IS A, IS A GREAT EXAMPLE.BUT MY UNDERSTANDING, UH, IS THAT PORTLAND BUILT ABOUT, I THINK THERE WERE ABOUT 700 UNITS OR SO CREATED UNDER THE NEWLY INSTITUTED, UH, RULES.
CAN YOU, CAN, DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THAT ACTUAL NUMBER, CAN YOU CONFIRM WHAT THE TOTAL NUMBER WAS? I CAN'T, I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
UH, THERE WAS ONE ON YOUR SLIDE 'CAUSE YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT LIKE, I THINK 300 OR SO WAS YEAH.
UH, AGAIN, JUST TO POINT OUT THAT, I MEAN, PORTLAND IS ABOUT A MILLION PEOPLE, UH, RELATIVELY, I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 700 UNITS IN A CITY OF A MILLION PEOPLE.
UH, WHICH AGAIN, I I IS AN IMPORTANT BUT RELATIVELY MODEST, UH, IMPACT.
UH, AGAIN, I JUST KNOW THAT THERE'S THESE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, FEARS OUT THERE ABOUT WHOLESALE KIND OF, UH, CHANGES.
AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE TAKEN THESE KINDS OF STEPS HAVE SEEN MODEST CHANGES.
UH, AND AGAIN, I WOULD GO BACK TO OUR A DU UH, UH, EXAMPLE WHERE IN I BELIEVE 2015, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL LEGALIZED ADUS AND WE'VE SEEN THEM IN A TINY FRACTION OF, UH, LOTS WHERE THEY'RE ELIGIBLE.
SO ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO TO TO, YOU KNOW, POINT THAT OUT ABOUT, UH, UH, ABOUT THE IMPORTANT BUT RELATIVELY MODEST IMPACT THAT THE, UH, PORTLAND ZONING CHANGES, UH, HAD, UM, IN A, A SEMI-RELATED QUESTION.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE FAR IS IN, UH, MUELLER? I DO NOT KNOW.
I DON'T, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN IN, IN DISCUSSIONS AROUND THIS.
YOU KNOW, THAT IS KIND OF OUR TEMPLATE THAT, THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, MISSING MIDDLE, THE, THE GROUPED HOUSES, THE KIND OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT, THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS LAID OUT.
UH, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING TO KIND OF EXPORT SOME OF THAT, UH, HOUSING TYPOLOGIES INTO SOME OF OUR OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS.
UH, AND MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT THE MUELLER FAR, AND AGAIN, I I I WISH WAS AROUND THAT KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, 0.7 OR, YOU KNOW, 0.65 AREA.
I DUNNO IF EITHER OF Y'ALL CAN SPEAK TO THAT.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT MUELLER DOESN'T HAVE FAR RESTRICTIONS.
UM, HOWEVER, THEY HAVE 40 PAGES OF DESIGN STANDARDS THAT HEAVILY REGULATE WHAT GETS BUILT THERE AND MUCH SMALLER MINIMUM LOT SIZES, UH, DOWN TO 1500 SQUARE FEET.
SO THAT, I THINK THAT IT PRODUCES ON AVERAGE AROUND 0.7 FAR.
BUT AGAIN, IF YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, THOSE ARE ON MUCH SMALLER LOTS.
SO YOU TEND TO GET SMALLER SIZES.
UM, THEY HAVE A LOT OF REGULATIONS.
THEY HAVE MUCH SMALLER SETBACKS, SOMETIMES AS LITTLE AS FIVE FOOT FRONT YARD SETBACKS.
THEY MANDATE GARAGES IN THE REAR, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF ALLEY ACCESS.
UM, THEY HAVE HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS.
SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT GOVERN HOW HOUSES ARE BUILT IN MUELLER, BUT INTERESTINGLY, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE ARE FAR CAPS JUST 'CAUSE OF HOW, UM, THE OTHER REGULATIONS WORK TOGETHER.
AND WITH REGARD TO THE, THE, THE SETBACKS, UH, WHAT IS THE, THE, THE JUSTIFICATION FOR, YOU KNOW, THE, THE 25 FOOT SETBACK, A 15 FOOT ON THE SIDE SETBACK? UH, AGAIN, I MEAN, I KNOW A LOT OF FOLKS REALLY LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF A LARGE EXPANSE OF, OF GREEN, GREEN GRASS, UH, YOU KNOW, IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE ON THE SIDE OF THEIR HOUSE.
BUT I MEAN, WHAT, WHY DID WE CHOOSE SUCH, UH, SUCH LARGE, UH, UH, SETBACKS? DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY IDEAS ON THAT? I HAVE, I HAVE IDEAS
UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE GO BACK TO, UM, THE ORIGINS OF ZONING, IF WE TAKE IT ALL BACK TO EUCLID, UM, LOT SIZES HAVE PREDOMINANTLY BEEN USED AS A FORM OF EXCLUSION.
SO WHERE DO WE GET OUR, WHY IS OUR LOT SIZE 8,000 SQUARE FEET? THERE'S BEEN STUDIES THAT SHOW, UM, UH, 8,000 WAS THE TIPPING POINT ON WHAT, UH, SORT OF THE AFFLUENT COULD BUY.
SO HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY 8,000 SQUARE FEET? YOU HAVE TO SAY YOU CAN'T BUILD IN ON HALF OF IT.
UM, AND WHEN DID WE, UH, IMPLEMENT OUR 8,000 SQUARE FOOT LOT SIZES? IT WAS IN 1948.
AND WHAT ELSE HAPPENED IN 1948? IT WAS THE, UH, WHEN WE NO LONGER ALLOWED RACIALLY EXCLUSIVE, UM, UH, DEED RESTRICTIONS.
YEAH, DEED RESTRICTIONS IN 1948, OUR LOT SIZE USED TO BE 3000 SQUARE FEET, AND THEN WE OUTLAWED A RACIALLY EXCLUSIONARY, UH, DEEDED RESTRICTIONS AND WE UP TO 8,000 SQUARE FEET.
SO IF YOU'RE ASKING ME MM-HMM.
I THINK THAT THE FRONT YARD SETBACK IS NOT, UM,
[00:50:01]
IT WASN'T PUT THERE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF EVERYBODY.UH, WELL, I, I APPRECIATE THAT.
AND I WILL SAY FROM AN AESTHETIC POINT OF VIEW, I REALLY LIKE NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THE HOMES AND THE PORCHES ARE A LITTLE BIT CLOSER.
I MEAN, I THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HONESTLY, PARTS OF OLDER AUSTIN WHERE, YOU KNOW, UH, I MEAN, I THINK ABOUT EVEN LIKE A HYDE PARK WHERE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE HOMES ARE REALLY KIND OF RIGHT UP, YOU KNOW, 10 FEET OFF THE CURB, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UH, I THINK ABOUT A, LIKE A NEW ORLEANS OR, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? A LOT OF GALVESTON, EVEN LIKE A LOT OF THE CITIES THAT, UH, I FIND, AND I, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR EVERYBODY OBVIOUSLY, BUT THAT MANY PEOPLE FIND, YOU KNOW, THAT TO BE THE MOST ATTRACTIVE AND THE MOST WALKABLE HAVE RELATIVELY SMALL, UH, SETBACKS.
AND THIS ISN'T A MANDATE TO GET RID OF FRONT YARDS.
IF YOU WANT A FRONT YARD, IT'S ABSOLUTELY YOUR YARD TO HAVE
AND THAT'S A GOOD POINT BECAUSE IF YOU WANT A 25 FOOT SETBACK, YOU CAN HAVE A 25.
NO ONE'S PREVENTING YOU FROM, YOU KNOW, SETTING YOUR HOUSE LIKE ALL THE WAY TO THE BACK, KIND OF HIDDEN IN THE BACK.
UH, THAT, THAT'S A, THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT.
BUT I WOULD, I WOULD ALSO ADD THAT HAVING THE 25 FOOT SETBACK FRONT YARD FOOT SETBACK SORT OF FORCES YOU TO SPLIT YOUR LOT IN TWO.
SO YOU HAVE A BACKYARD AND A FRONT YARD, BUT IF YOU RELAX THAT, THEN YOU'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE ONE BIG BACKYARD OR ONE BIG FRONT YARD, YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO MORE WITH THE SPACE THAT YOU HAVE.
UM, I THINK I HAVE, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR STAFF, BUT LET ME START WITH ONE FOR YOU ALL.
FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR MODELING AND I APPRECIATE, UM, YOUR GOAL OF, OF HELPING US TO, TO STRUCTURE THIS TO HAVE SMALLER HOUSES, UM, THAN WHERE THIS ORIGINALLY STARTED.
UM, I WANTED TO ASK HOW YOU THINK THIS PROPOSAL WILL GET RID OF THE STEALTH MCMANSIONS? UM, I'M VERY CONCERNED THAT WE'RE ADDING ALL THIS ADDITIONAL FAR AND IN MY DISTRICT, UM, WE'RE JUST GONNA GET BIGGER HOUSES THAN YOU CAN DO NOW BECAUSE THE MCMANSION RULES WON'T APPLY AND PEOPLE CAN HAVE A POOL HOUSE AND THEY CAN HAVE A GUEST HOUSE, AND YOU'RE JUST GONNA WITH BIGGER HOUSES WITH NOBODY ELSE LIVING IN THERE.
SO HOW DOES WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING PREVENT THAT? WELL, I BELIEVE THAT THE, THAT THE CAP ON ONE UNIT SET AT 0.4 WILL, UH, IT MEANS THAT ANY ONE UNIT OF A TWO AND THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENT IS GONNA BE SMALLER THAN THE HOMES THAT YOU SEE BEING BUILT RIGHT NOW.
CURRENTLY THE AVERAGE HOME IS BEING BUILT AT 0.45.
SO IF WE SET A CAP AT ANY ONE UNIT, THEN THAT FIRST UNIT THAT YOU BUILD IS CAPPED AT 0.4.
UM, SO EVEN YOUR VERY LARGEST HOUSE IN A TWO AND THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENT WILL BE SMALLER THAN THE AVERAGE HOUSE THAT'S BEING BUILT RIGHT NOW.
SO, SO THE DEFINITION OF UNIT THOUGH IS JUST LIKE SOME LIVING SPACE AND A BATHROOM AND A SINK EFFECTIVELY OUTSIDE IT, AS BEST I CAN TELL.
SO IF I WANTED TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, A MOTHER-IN-LAW SUITE, YOU KNOW, ATTACHED TO MY MAIN HOUSE, UM, OR IF I WANTED, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE A POOL HOUSE AS LONG AS IT HAS A BATHROOM AND HAS A SINK FOR THE BAR COUNTS AS A UNIT, IS THERE THERE ANYTHING THAT PREVENTS ME? I MEAN, THERE'S NOTHING THAT PREVENTS ME FROM HAVING A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE UNITS.
THERE'S NOTHING, I MEAN, I SEE IT NOW THAT PEOPLE DO THIS IN MY DISTRICT WHERE THEY CAN HAVE THE SECOND UNIT AND SSF THREE.
AND, UM, SO I JUST, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANYTHING IN THIS THAT PREVENTS SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO BUILD SOMETHING BIGGER AT THE 0.65? THEY CAN CALL IT THREE UNITS AS LONG AS THEY HAVE ENOUGH BATHROOMS AND SINKS.
IS THERE ANYTHING TO, TO, TO PREVENT THAT, TO MAKE SURE THERE'S MULTIPLE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE FAMILIES LIVING IN THESE SPACES? UH, THERE ISN'T ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, AND I THINK THAT'S A VALID POINT.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE A INTERESTING, UM, PIECE FOR COUNCIL TO DEBATE AND THINK THROUGH.
UM, I WOULD HATE TO SEE THAT BECOME THE REASON TO NOT MOVE FORWARD WITH THREE UNITS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE POSSIBILITY OF, LET'S CALL THEM BAD ACTORS UNDER THAT TAKING AWAY THE POSSIBILITY OF, YOU KNOW, GREATER GOOD BEING POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, I, I, I UNDERSTAND, I UNDERSTAND THAT CONCERN.
UM, BUT WE'VE ALSO SEEN WHAT DOES GET BUILT CURRENTLY UNDER THE CURRENT RULES AND HAVE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE CENSUS DATA THAT WE'VE SEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NUMBER OF, I, I DON'T HAVE THE TOTAL NUMBER, BUT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE MOVING INTO OUR COMMUNITY THAT ARE MAKING OVER $200,000
[00:55:01]
A YEAR, UM, YOU KNOW, IS ENORMOUS.THERE'S, YOU KNOW, IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, IT'S SOMETHING LIKE OVER 30,000 PEOPLE.
AND SO THE DEMAND FOR THE LARGER HOMES IS THERE AND THE ABILITY TO PAY FOR THEM IS THERE AND IS A WHOLE LOT EASIER TO MAKE MONEY ON THEM.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT ANYBODY HAS TO NECESSARILY, UM, BE NEFARIOUS, BUT THE WAY THAT THE, YOU KNOW, THE RULES CAN BE USED TO MAKE THE MOST PROFIT AND IF IT IS MORE PROFITABLE FOR SOMEBODY TO BUILD THE BIGGER HOUSE, IF THEY HAVE THE BUYER TO DO THAT.
UM, SO, SO I WOULD SAY, UM, IT TO, TO THIS, UH, CONCERN, IF WE LOOK AT THE MARKET DATA RIGHT NOW, UM, FOR AB UNITS, THE B UNIT SELLS MUCH QUICKER THAN THE A UNIT.
SO I'M SAYING THE A DU, THE 1100 SQUARE FOOT SECONDARY UNIT IS THE HOT COMMODITY.
THE FRONT UNIT IS, UH, THE LEAST, UH, DESIRABLE.
UM, SO IF WE WERE JUST LOOKING AT WHAT THE MARKET DATA IS LOOKING FOR, PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR SMALLER UNITS.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GENERALLY MORE AFFORDABLE THERE.
SO IF WE GIVE THE OPTION, YOU COULD BUILD ONE GIGANTIC HOUSE, OR YOU COULD BUILD THREE SMALLER HOUSES.
UM, EVEN IF THAT WAS ON THE TABLE, UH, THE, WHAT THE MARKET IS LOOKING FOR IS THE THREE SMALLER HOUSES.
SO IF YOU'RE RESPONDING TO THE MARKET, IT'S GONNA BE THE THREE SMALLER HOUSES THAT ARE GETTING BUILT.
IF, IF THERE IS A, A BAD ACTOR WHO COMES IN AND SAYS, YOU KNOW, I HAVE ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD AND I WANT TO BUILD ONE GIANT HOUSE, AND THERE'S, AND I'M GONNA PUT DOORS BETWEEN MY THREE UNITS, UM, THEY WOULD, YOU KNOW, THEY'D BE IN VIOLATION FOR ADDING UNPERMITTED DOORS.
UM, WELL, WELL, THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING IS THERE'S NOTHING IN HERE THAT SAYS YOU CAN'T HAVE THE DOORS, THOUGH.
I MEAN, WELL, IF IT'S, THAT'S I'M ASKING IS IF IT'S ONE UNIT, IF IT'S, IF IT'S ONE UNIT, A UNIT DOESN'T HAVE ANY DEFINITION THAT SAYS YOU CAN'T HAVE CONNECTING DOORS ACROSS THE UNITS.
IT JUST SAYS THAT YOU WOULD CAN CALL ANYTHING A UNIT THAT HAS A LIVING SPACE, A BATHROOM, AND A SINK THE OTHER.
SO I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE A GOOD, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD DISCUSSION.
UM, I WOULD ALSO SAY, IS THERE ANY REASON, UH, IF THERE WAS A, AN ELDERLY PARENT WHO YOU WANTED A HOUSE IN YOUR HOUSE AND YOU WANTED THEM TO HAVE THEIR OWN UNIT, BUT FOR SAFETY'S SAKE YOU WANTED TO BE ABLE TO GET INTO THEIR UNIT, WOULD WE MAKE EXCEPTIONS FOR THAT OR HOW I, IT'S NOT ALL BAD ACTORS, BUT I, I, AGAIN, I'M NOT SAYING IT'S ALL BAD ACTORS, BUT WE, WE DO KNOW THAT I KNOW UNDER THE CURRENT RULES THAT WE HAVE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE REASONS THAT MAKES IT COMPLICATED IS THAT THERE ARE SO MANY EXEMPTIONS AND MM-HMM,
AND WE SEE THAT HAPPENING NOW.
SO I CAN THINK WE CAN CONTINUE THAT.
UM, I'M NOT SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, I STILL THINK THAT THERE'S PLENTY OF DEMAND FOR THE LARGER HOUSES.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING, UM, IN MY DISTRICT, UM, IN AND PLENTY OF THAT EVEN WHERE THERE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THE TWO UNITS.
SO, SO I DON'T KNOW THAT I AGREE WITH THAT, BUT I APPRECIATE YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS FOR STAFF, UNLESS YOU WANT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS FIRST, PLEASE.
LET'S, LET'S, LET'S GO AHEAD AND COMPLETE THOSE.
SO I HAVE QUESTIONS FOR STAFF.
DOES ANYBODY THANK YOU ANYBODY.
I DON'T HAVE ANYBODY ELSE WRITTEN DOWN AS HAVING QUESTIONS, SO IF YOU'LL, I THINK NATASHA HAS QUESTIONS TOO.
DO YOU WANT FIRST, UM, VERY MUCH LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, OFFICER, I HAVE QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTARY THAT, UH, PARTICULARLY GOOD DEAL.
I'LL CALL ON YOU AFTER SHE COMPLETES OUR QUESTIONS.
SO FOR STAFF, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE WE HAD A JOINT PUBLIC HEARING.
UM, AT THAT TIME THE STAFF PROPOSAL WAS FOR A DUPLEX AND TWO UNIT TYPOLOGY.
NOW WE'RE JUST GONNA HAVE A TWO UNIT AND A THREE UNIT.
UM, AND AT THAT TIME THERE WAS NO MCMANSION AND NO FAR LIMIT FOR MOST OF THE POSSIBLE PERMUTATIONS.
BUT NOW WE SEE THAT PLANNING COMMISSION HAS RECOMMENDED SOME FAR LIMITS.
MY QUESTION IS, WHAT IS THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR FAR LIMITS AFFORDABILITY INCOME IMPACT STATEMENT FOR THE PREVIOUS PROPOSAL STATED WITHOUT UNIT SIZE RESTRICTIONS, EITHER BY SUB CHAPTER FIE, THE MCMANSION STANDARDS OR ANOTHER FLOOR AREA RATIO LIMITATION, THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS MAY RESULT IN UNITS WITH SIMILAR SIZE AND PRICE TO CURRENT SINGLE FAMILY UNITS, WHICH WOULD NOT ACHIEVE THE RESOLUTION'S GOAL OF FACILITATING THE AVAILABILITY OF SMALLER, MORE DIVERSE HOUSING TYPES FOR MIDDLE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS.
SO I'M GLAD THAT WE CAN NOW ALL AGREE THAT SIZE SETTING SIZE LIMITS HAS A ROLE IN OUR PREFERRED POLICY OUTCOME OUTCOMES.
BUT, UM, DO OUR PROFESSIONAL STAFF BELIEVE THAT THE FAR RECOMMENDATION FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS THE BEST WAY FOR US TO ACHIEVE OUR DESIRED OUTCOMES? SO WE, UH, ERICA LEAK PLANNING DEPARTMENT, UM, WE ARE STILL ASSESSING THAT QUESTION.
WE HAVE, WE KNOW WE'VE RECEIVED IT, UM, THROUGH COUNCIL Q AND A AND, AND WE WILL GET A RESPONSE BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS WE CAN.
AND CAN STAFF PLEASE CLARIFY, IT APPEARS THAT THOUGH THE PLANNING COMMISSION ONLY RECOMMENDED THAT THESE FIRE LIMITS APPLY TO UNITS CONSTRUCTED WITHIN OUR CURRENT MCMANSION BOUNDARIES.
[01:00:01]
THAT'S HOW I READ ITEM SEVEN ON PAGE FOUR OF SEVEN IN THE PROPOSED ZONING CHANGES FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETING.DECEMBER 7TH DOCUMENT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE WOULD BE NO FIRE LIMITS OUTSIDE OF OUR CURRENT MCMANSION BOUNDARIES FOR THESE MULTIPLE UNITS.
THAT IS WHAT IS PROPOSED AT PRESENT, CORRECT.
DO STAFF BELIEVE THIS WILL HELP US ACHIEVE OUR GOALS FOR MORE SMALLER UNITS? THE, AS YOU'VE HEARD THROUGH BOTH PRESENTATIONS, FAR LIMITATIONS, UM, DO HELP CONTROL SIZE.
SO WITHOUT THE FAR LIMITATION YOU'D BE ABLE TO BUILD, UM, WHAT WOULD BE ALLOWABLE PER BUILDING COVER, IMPERVIOUS COVER SETBACKS, ET CETERA.
SO AS YOU DO THE MODELING THAT YOU GIVE US, CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SEEING, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE OUTSIDE OF THE MCMANSION AREA LIMITS? UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME FAIRLY INTERESTING CONSEQUENCES TO THIS.
UM, FOR SOME OF THE NEIGHBORS HOODS THAT MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES REPRESENT, PARTS OF MY, UM, DISTRICT AS WELL, WHERE THE MCMANSION, UM, RESTRICTIONS DON'T APPLY, UM, THEN YOU HAVE NO FAR LIMITS.
UM, AND AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, YOU WOULD HAVE NO NOTHING THAT WOULD BE INCENTIVIZING SMALLER HOUSES IN THOSE AREAS.
WE CAN CERTAINLY SEE WHAT, WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION WE CAN PULL TOGETHER.
AND I WILL JUST POINT OUT THAT THAT MAKES IT EXTREMELY COMPLICATED AS YOU MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE YOU'RE NOW GOING INTO AREAS THAT DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE FAR LIMITATIONS, AND THEN YOU'RE GONNA TELL THEM YOU'RE GONNA HAVE FAR LIMITATIONS.
AND SO IT BECOMES VERY COMPLICATED TO PROCEED.
I DON'T HAVE A SOLUTION TO IT, BUT I THINK IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO ANTICIPATE.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION FOR PRESERVATION BONUS AND THE SUSTAINABILITY BONUS.
UM, WHAT DO OUR PROFESSIONAL STAFF RECOMMEND ON THOSE TWO PROPOSALS? SO AS THE MANAGER MENTIONED, WE WILL PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION, UM, TO COUNCIL BEFORE THE END OF THE WEEK ON, ON OUR THOUGHTS ON THOSE.
UM, AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION RENDERS OBSOLETE.
UM, SO WHEN CAN WE EXPECT MODELING, UM, TO BE COMPLETED BASED ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CHANGES TO FAR AND OR THE PROPOSED BONUSES.
I KNOW THERE ARE SOME MODELS IN YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY, BUT IT'S NOT CLEAR TO ME WHETHER THOSE MAXIMIZE ENTITLEMENTS AND REALLY DO THE FULL BUILD OUT.
UH, SO THE, THE MODELS THAT ARE IN TODAY'S PRESENTATION DO MAX OUT, UM, THE, THE FAR AND IMPERVIOUS COVER.
UM, WE DON'T YET HAVE ANY MODELING, UM, THAT INCLUDES THE PRESERVATION TYPE OF BONUS.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN GET THAT DONE THIS WEEK.
SO YOU SAID THAT IT MAXIMIZES THE ENTITLEMENTS, IF I HAD A FLAT ROOF, COULD I PUT A BALCONY ON THE TOP OF MY ROOF, ESSENTIALLY HAVING A FOURTH LEVEL UNDER THE RULES? OH, A BALCONY ON TOP.
IT'S NOT REALLY A BALCONY, IT'S A TERRACE.
BUT, UM, CAN YOU, I MEAN, WHAT I'M BEING TOLD IS YOU CAN ADD A WHOLE NOTHER THE RULES, WHAT YOU KNOW, THEN YOU HAVE, UM, A FOURTH STORY OF OVERLOOKING YOUR HOME NEXT TO YOU, NOT JUST THE THREE STORY.
I DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
SO WE WILL, WE'LL ADD THAT TO THE LIST AND WE HAVE, WE HAVE FOLKS WHO ARE, WHO ARE CAPTURING ALL OF THE QUESTIONS TODAY TO MAKE SURE WE CAN, AS YOU DO THE MODELING, IF YOU ALSO CAN BE CLEAR ON WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET RID OF THE TENT, UM, TO WHAT THE HOUSES LOOK LIKE.
UM, I THINK WE'RE STILL SEEING, AND, AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT MODELS, SO I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONES ARE WHICH AND WHICH ONES ARE MAXIMIZED.
UM, BUT A LOT OF THEM HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, SLANTED ROOFS AND OTHER THINGS THAT MAY NOT BE WHAT WE WILL GET, UM, ONCE WE HAVE A HEIGHT OF 35.
SO IF YOU HAVE A, A HEIGHT OF 35 AND YOU HAVE NO TENT, YOU GET VERY DIFFERENT HOUSING SHAPES THAN YOU GET WHEN YOU HAVE THE HEIGHT OF 35 AND YOU HAVE THE MCMANSION TENT.
AND THEN THAT HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR WHAT GOES NEXT DOOR TO YOU.
UM, SO I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT IN THE MODELS AND THAT IF YOU'RE ABLE TO DO THE TERRACE IS ON TOP, THAT WE'RE SEEING WHAT THAT HEIGHT LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT THAT MEANS, YOU KNOW, RELATIVE TO THE SMALLER HOUSES THAT EXIST ON THE OTHER SIDES OF THAT.
WE'LL, WE'LL SEE WHAT WE CAN GET DONE.
UM, IT SEEMS LIKE THE OTHER CITIES WHO'VE TAKEN SIMILAR STEPS HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH TIME TO FULLY EVALUATE THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
UM, AS I ALLUDED TO IN MY CONVERSATION WITH A I A EARLIER, ONE OF MY CONCERNS FOR UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IS THAT WE WILL SEE AREAS, PARTICULARLY WITHIN MY DISTRICT, WHERE THE INCREASE IN FAR WILL BE USED TO BUILD A LARGER HOME WITHOUT NECESSARILY HOUSING ADDITIONAL PEOPLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY WILL USE THESE SPACES TO HAVE HOUSE GUESTS OR CREATE A POOL HOUSE OR THINGS LIKE THAT, AND WE WON'T ACTUALLY GET ANY ADDITIONAL PEOPLE
[01:05:01]
LIVING IN THESE SPACES, BUT WE WILL HAVE BIGGER HOUSES, WHICH THEN IMPACTS, UM, THE COST, ET CETERA.DO STAFF HAVE ANY PERSPECTIVE ON HOW WE CAN MITIGATE FOR THAT POTENTIAL? UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE CHECKING TO SEE IF THERE ARE, IF THERE ARE GOOD IDEAS, UM, OF, OF HOW TO DO THAT.
UM, AND THEN FOR MY COLLEAGUES, UM, I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR THAT WHAT WE DO NOW FOR THIS PHASE, IF WE ARE MOVING INTO A SECOND PHASE FOR HOME, DOES HAVE BIG IMPLICATIONS FOR THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE DOCUMENT RIGHT NOW SAYS THAT THERE'S A MINIMUM SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR THE LOT, UM, BUT THEN IT GUARANTEES 2300 SQUARE FEET HOMES.
AND I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR THAT EVEN IF YOU HAD ONE HOME ON THE 2,500 SQUARE FOOT LOT, UM, WITH THE SUBDIVISION, AT SOME POINT, IF YOU ALLOWED 2300 SQUARE FEET ON A 2,500 SQUARE FOOT HOME, NOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A 0.92 FAR.
UM, AND SO THERE ARE SOME IMPLICATIONS HERE, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE THINKING MOVING FORWARD SINCE HAS BEEN INDICATED THAT WE WANNA DO A PHASE TWO, THAT THERE, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT HOW WHAT WE DO NOW IMPACTS, UM, WHAT WE WILL, WILL DO LATER.
UM, MAYOR, I HAVE SOME OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WEI CODE, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF COUNCIL MEMBER HUBBER MADISON WANTS TO GO OR OTHER PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS THAT ARE MORE, WHY DON'T YOU COMPLETE YOUR QUESTIONS AND WE'LL GO TO THE OTHER FOLKS.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THE FIRE MARSHAL IS HERE.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW THE BEST WAY TO, TO DO THIS, BUT, UM, UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE FIRE MARSHAL OR QUESTIONS, IF ANY OF ANY QUESTION IN THE Q AND A, WE'LL GET IT TO THE RIGHT DEPARTMENT TO MAKE SURE WE PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION AS TIMELY AS WE ARE ABLE TO DO IT SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE ADEQUATE TIME TO INSPECT AND THEN ASK ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVEN'T QUITE GOT.
I MEAN, SOME OF THESE I WOULD PREFER THAT THEY HAVE TO ANSWER, YOU KNOW.
WELL, YOU KNOW, I'M, I I MEAN, WELL, IF YOU DIDN'T LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT YOU WERE GONNA ASK QUESTIONS OF THE FIRE MARSHALS, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY WERE, THEY WERE PRESENT FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION, SO I ASSUMED THAT THEY WOULD BE PRESENT TODAY.
WELL, WE, WE, WE HAVE A MEETING THAT, THAT, UM, I GUESS I'LL BE THERE AT THAT TIME OF OUR MEETING.
THIS IS A WORK SESSION AND, AND, AND SO WE HAD SPECIFIC THINGS THAT WERE GONNA BE PROVIDED AS PART OF THE WORK SESSION.
SO, UM, WHY DON'T WE GO TO OTHER PEOPLE AND I'LL COME BACK, WRITE MY QUESTIONS.
ALRIGHT, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.
I, UH, LIKE I SAID, I, I PRIMARILY HAVE COMMENTS.
UM, UM, NOT SO MANY, UH, QUESTIONS, ACTUALLY, UH, LITERALLY JUST ONE QUESTION.
I, UH, I BASICALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO, TO SAY THANK YOU TO STAFF, UH, YOU TOO.
UM,
UM, AS WE'VE HEARD, IT'S A CRITICAL AND IMPORTANT EFFORT.
ALSO WANTED TO GIVE A NOD FOR A LITTLE, UM, SIDE EYE ACTION, UH, UH,
UH, YOU SAID YOU HAVE IDEAS, BUT I DON'T THINK WHAT YOU PRESENTED BY THE WAY, THE INFORMATION THAT YOU PRESENTED ARE IN FACT IDEAS, THEY'RE FACTS.
UM, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN NEVER FALL SHORT OF, IS RECOGNIZING THAT A LOT OF THE WAYS THAT WE'VE ARRIVED AT THIS PLACE IS THE FACT THAT OUR CITY, UM, IS UNIQUE IN VERY MANY WAYS, BUT EXCLUSIONARY ZONING, WHERE PEOPLE PLAYED A GAME OF HIDE THE BALL AND MAKE THE CITY FOR A CERTAIN GROUP AND OR CLASS, AND MORE OFTEN THAN NOT BOTH PEOPLE, IS HOW WE GOT HERE.
UM, AND SO TO YOUR POINT, I, MY HOPE IS THAT WE DON'T FALL SHORT OF WHAT WE COULD DO BECAUSE THERE COULD POTENTIALLY BE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THERE TO BE SOME, UM, SOME FOLKS WHO DON'T OPERATE WITH THE DESIRE TO MOVE FORWARD AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
HOUSING SHORTAGES ARE NOT EXCLUSIVE TO OUR FAIR CAPITAL UNIQUE CITY.
THEY'RE UNIVERSAL, GLOBAL SINGAPORE HAS HOUSING SHORTAGES, TOKYO HAS HOUSING SHORTAGES, NEW YORK, SEATTLE, SHEBOYGAN.
I MEAN, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU GO.
THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE UNIVERSAL.
WE ARE IN A LOT OF WAYS THE KIND OF CITY THAT IS SO COMMITTED TO BEING, YOU KNOW, AT THE FOREFRONT OF COMING UP WITH UNIQUE SOLUTIONS, UM, TO WHAT WE HAVE DESCRIBED OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
UM, THIS ISN'T, YOU KNOW, CLICHE, IT IS A CRISIS, AND I APPRECIATE THAT WE HAVE ARRIVED AT THIS PLACE WHERE WE ARE COMING UP WITH REAL PRACTICAL POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS.
UM, SO THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO'S CONTRIBUTED TO THE DIALOGUE THUS FAR.
UM, I RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS NOT AN EASY TASK THAT WE ARE UNDERTAKING AS A COUNCIL, AS A BODY, AS A CITY, THE CONVERSATIONS WILL BE DIFFICULT AND
[01:10:01]
ANYTHING THAT'S GOOD OR WORTH HAVING, UM, CERTAIN, THERE'S SOME PARENTS IN THE ROOM.UM, I HAVE A 13-YEAR-OLD WHO IS NOT ESPECIALLY EASY RIGHT NOW, BUT WHEN SHE'S 25, THE FACT THAT SHE MADE IT HARD ON ME TO PARENT HER TODAY WILL MEAN THAT PEOPLE WON'T TALK HER INTO DOING DUMB THINGS.
SO IT'S WORTH DOING THE HARD WORK TO KNOW THAT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF IT, SHE'S GONNA BE A STRONG PERSON WHO ADVOCATES FOR HERSELF AND WHAT'S RIGHT.
UM, THAT SAID, AFTER SERVING ON THIS BODY FOR, UM, OVER FIVE YEARS NOW, AND AS A NATIVE AUSTINITE, I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS CONVERSATION, BOTH AS A POLICYMAKER AND AS A PERSON, UM, JUST TRYING TO LIVE IN THIS CITY.
AND I ALREADY PICKED OUT MY GRANDMAMMA NAME.
I THINK A LOT OF Y'ALL KNOW THAT I'M GONNA BE BIG MAMA.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT SIZE I WILL BE WHEN I'M BIG MAMA, BUT I WILL BE BIG MAMA TO SOMEBODY.
AND I WANT MY, MY GRAND BABIES AND THEIR BABIES TO BE ABLE TO LIVE IN THIS CITY THAT I CALL HOME.
UM, THEY WILL BE FIFTH GENERATION AUSTINITES AND I WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO LIVE HERE.
I AM FAMILIAR WITH THESE CONVERSATIONS.
I'M FAMILIAR WITH THE LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY THAT THESE CONVERSATIONS HAVE TAKEN ON, AND I ENCOURAGE HARD CONVERSATIONS.
UM, OUR CHIEF OF STAFF, SHARON MAYS FAMOUSLY SAYS THAT THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING GOOD THAT COMES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A HARD CONVERSATION.
THAT MEANS EVERYBODY'S BEING CANDID AND EVERYBODY'S SHARING INFORMATION.
IT'S CRITICAL TO HAVE THE INFORMATION TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES.
UM, I THINK WE HAVE TRIED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS AND IN MANY, MANY WAYS TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO HOUSING.
I'M HOPEFUL THAT THIS AND OTHER INITIATIVES THAT WE PURSUE, UM, WILL BE ONE OF OUR MANY SUCCESSES, UM, TO BE CLEAR, COLLEAGUES, STAFF, AND TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
UM, MANY AUSTINITES, MYSELF INCLUDED, BELIEVE THAT THESE PARTICULAR CODE CHANGES WILL HELP TO EXPAND THE AMOUNT OF ATTAINABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES, UM, IN OUR CITY.
AND THAT'S FOR A MORE DIVERSE GROUP OF PEOPLE BASED ON, UH, A NUMBER OF, OF FACTORS TO CONSIDER.
UM, HERE ARE SOME STARTLING STATISTICS THAT I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU AND THINGS THAT I'M CONSIDERING AS WE SORT OF MOVE THROUGH THIS DIALOGUE.
OVER HALF OF FOUR PERSON HOUSEHOLDS IN THIS CITY, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, HAVE A MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME OF $93,450 OR LESS.
AND YET ONLY 4% OF HOMES SOLD IN THIS CITY IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2023 WERE CONSIDERED AFFORDABLE TO THEM.
I RECOGNIZE WORDS LIKE AFFORDABLE ARE RELATIVE, BUT GIVEN THE PARAMETERS THAT WE USE TO MAKE THAT ASSESSMENT, ONLY 4% OF HOMES SOLD IN OUR CITY WERE CONSIDERED AFFORDABLE TO THOSE FOLKS.
IN DISTRICT ONE ALONE, THERE IS A 55.2% SHORTAGE OF HOMES THAT ARE CONSIDERED AFFORDABLE TO THE FOUR PERSON HOUSEHOLD AT INCOME LEVELS OF $93,450 OR LESS.
WE MUST USE EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY TOOL TO ADDRESS THE CRISIS AS A NATION GLOBALLY, HOUSING SHORTAGES ARE ABSOLUTELY UNIVERSAL BECAUSE THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET, THERE'S NO SILVER BULLET POLICY, THERE'S NO SILVER BULLET BODY, THERE'S NO SILVER BULLET CITY.
THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET TO ADDRESS CRISES.
UM, AND FRANKLY, DEMAND THE HOME INITIATIVE IS, BUT ONE OF MANY SOLUTIONS THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE A CHANCE OF ENACTING.
AND I, FOR ONE, FIND THAT ENCOURAGING.
UM, IT PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS FOR OUR WORKFORCE TO BE ABLE TO LIVE IN THE CITY THAT THEY SERVE IN.
I SO FREQUENTLY, YOU KNOW, I'M AN EARLY RISER AND I WATCH FOLKS WITH THEIR VEST AND HARDHATS WALKING DOWN MY BLOCK.
WHEN THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY TO WORK IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, THEY PARK ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AND WALK ACROSS THE HIGHWAY TO WORK IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN TO SERVE US, TO BUILD OUR CITY, TO MAKE OUR DOWNTOWN CORE WHAT IT IS AND CONTINUES TO BECOME.
THEY HAVE TO TAKE GREAT STRIDES IN ORDER TO DO THAT.
THOSE PEOPLE THAT MAKE THOSE BEDS FRESH AND CRISP AND RUN THOSE LINENS THROUGH THOSE BIG MACHINES AND MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOUR CREPES ARE HOT AND FRESH IN THE MORNING AT THE VARIOUS HOTELS AROUND TOWN.
THAT HOT CUP OF JOE YOU GET AT THE JW MARRIOTT, THEY HAVE TO LIVE SOMEWHERE.
IF THEY'RE GONNA SERVE OUR CITY, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE IN IT.
ALSO, I, UH, I'D LIKE TO QUOTE, UH, A FRIEND OF MINE, UH, SHE'S GOT A, AN INITIATIVE THAT SHE'S WORKING ON CALLED, YOU KNOW, AUSTINITES WILL LOVE THIS CONSIDERING HOW MUCH WE LOVE YOGA.
AND THAT'S IN REFERENCE TO HER LIKE ME AND MANY OTHER AUSTINITES RECOGNIZING THAT EMPOWERING MULTI-GENERATIONAL HOUSING, MULTI-GENERATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN
[01:15:01]
THIS CITY TO MAINTAIN ASSETS LIKE LAND.NAH, I'M GONNA STAY, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO STAY WITH ASSETS LIKE LAND.
UM, I THINK THAT ESPECIALLY RESONATES WITH OUR EAST AUSTIN NEIGHBORS WHO FRANKLY HAVE ALWAYS AND CONTINUE TO FEEL THREATENED BY DISPLACEMENT.
UM, THAT WORD OPPORTUNITY THAT I KEEP USING, IT'S SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS AND CONSTITUENTS FEEL A DISTINCT LACK OF OPPORTUNITY IN AUSTIN TODAY.
AND ALWAYS, FRANKLY, I FOR ONE, BELIEVE WE CAN DO BETTER AS THEY PLAN FOR THEIR FUTURES.
I'D LIKE TO SAY FOR GREAT GRATITUDE, UM, TO OUR COLLEAGUES IN DISTRICTS TWO AND THREE AND FOUR FOR WORKING WITH, UH, TEAM D ONE ON ADDRESSING THREE CRITICAL ADDITIONS TO THE HOME INITIATIVE THAT I PERSONALLY BELIEVE MUST BE INCORPORATED ALONGSIDE THOSE OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, HOUSING PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THIS EFFORT.
UM, IF WE ARE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL OF AUSTIN, IF WE'RE GONNA MAKE THE PROMISE OF HOME OF THE HOME INITIATIVE AVAILABLE TO ALL AUSTINITES, THEN WE MUST ALSO ALL HELP TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR EXISTING PROPERTY OWNERS TO MAINTAIN OWNERSHIP OR REDEVELOP THEIR LAND.
MAY MULTI-GENERATIONAL FAMILIES IN D ONE OR MANY RATHER ARE ALREADY TAPPED OUT FINANCIALLY SELLING OUT FEELS LIKE THEIR ONLY OPPORTUNITY.
COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, I KNOW YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
UM, AND I'M THANKFUL FOR YOUR OFFICE WORKING SO HARD TOWARDS TAKING THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AND THAT RECOGNITION.
UM, AS WE WORK ON NEW PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES WHO ARE ALREADY HOME OR LANDOWNERS, UM, AND THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO USE THAT ASSET AS JUST THAT AN ASSET, UM, AND EQUITABLE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING THAT ADDRESSES BOTH HISTORIC INEQUITIES LIKE THOSE THAT STARTED PRIOR TO, FRANKLY, BUT CONTINUED TO OCCUR IN THOSE DEEDED RESTRICTION INCIDENCES LIKE IN 1948, HISTORIC INEQUITIES WITH ANY NEW DEMAND AS NEW HOUSING EXPANDS.
THIS IS PROBABLY THE LARGEST CONCERN THAT I HEAR FROM, UM, MOST OF OUR CONSTITUENTS IN DISTRICT ONE AND INCORPORATING CHANGES INTO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING THAT TAKES THAT EQUITY LENS AND IDENTIFIES ANY NEW REMEDIES FOR NEIGHBORHOODS.
I'M TALKING RETHINKING NARROW STREETS FOR EMERGENCY ACCESS.
I'M TALKING ABOUT LESSENING THE COST BURDEN.
I'M WORKING FAMILIES WHO FRANKLY MAY NOT HAVE THE MEANS OTHERWISE TO USE OUR CITY SERVICES.
AND LASTLY, FOR NOW, UM, I APPRECIATE THAT PLANS LIKE THESE, THEY'RE LIVING AND BREATHING.
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GONNA BE STATIC.
AND I, I I THINK IT'S, IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT PLANS LIKE THESE ARE GONNA HAVE TO BE NIMBLE AND ARE GONNA HAVE TO GROW.
I MEAN, THE ONE THING THAT WE CAN COUNT ON IN THIS CITY IS THAT WE WILL ALWAYS CONTINUE TO GROW, CHANGE AND EVOLVE.
THAT'S THE ONE THING WE CAN GUARANTEE EVERYBODY IN THE CONVERSATION.
UM, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH TO EXISTING PROPERTY OWNERS AT RISK OF DISPLACEMENT ON WHAT THE TRUE VALUE OF THEIR PROPERTY IS AND HOW THEY CAN ACCESS THE RESOURCES THAT WE HOPE TO BRING FORWARD TO NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE THEIRS.
THERE'S A TON OF GREAT EXAMPLES FOR PROGRAMS LIKE THIS.
I'M EXCITED TO SUPPORT, UM, EAST AUSTIN AND OUR EAST AUSTIN COUNCIL MEMBERS AND OFFERING IDEAS AND DIRECT, UM, SOLUTIONS AND, UM, POTENTIAL OPTIONS, UH, TO CITY STAFF TO ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS WITH REAL SOLUTIONS.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN, COUNCIL MEMBERS, POOL AND CITY STAFF.
UH, I THINK WE ALL RECOGNIZE THIS WON'T BE AN EASY LIFT AND NOTHING WORTH HAVING IS SO WE HAVE TO GET IT RIGHT, UM, AT THE START AND MOVE FORWARD WITH REALLY SOLID FOUNDATION.
SO, UM, THAT'S IT FOR THE COMMENTARY.
THE ONE QUESTION I DID HAVE, AND I THINK, UH, WE MIGHT OPPOSED THIS TO STAFF ALREADY.
UM, AND IT'S AROUND A IS CONSIDERATIONS AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A DIRECTOR TRUE LOVE QUESTION.
SO OUR OFFICE HAS RECEIVED, UM, MULTIPLE EMAILS, PHONE CALLS AND, YOU KNOW, AND OUR ATTENDANCE OF NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS, UM, REPEATED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CITY'S AFFORDABILITY IMPACT, UM, STATEMENT.
SO SPECIFICALLY I CITED THAT SEVERAL ISSUES WITH THE HOME CODE CHANGES THAT COULD HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON AFFORDABILITY.
I'M HOPING THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE INITIAL CONCERNS AND HELP US
[01:20:01]
TO CONFIRM, UM, MOST ESPECIALLY FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS AND, YOU KNOW, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PLANNING PROCESS, WHETHER THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S AMENDMENTS HAVE ADDRESSED THOSE TO DATE.AND IF THAT IS NOT IN FACT THE CASE, WHAT CONSIDERATIONS SHOULD WE AS A BODY BE TAKEN MOVING FORWARD? SURE.
ROSIE TRULA, THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
UM, SO OVERALL THE AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT RELEASED BY THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT WAS POSITIVE FOR, UH, FOR THE, THIS PARTICULAR SUITE OF AMENDMENTS.
UM, BUT THERE WERE SOME POLICY CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE OUTLINED AND SOME CONCERNS THAT WE OUTLINED.
UM, SUBSTANTIVELY, UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, CHANGES HAVE HELPED TO ADDRESS THOSE.
AND WE HAVE ANSWERED THAT QUESTION IN QUESTION, THE Q AND A PROCESS, UH, FOR THIS BODY.
BUT WE WILL EXTRACT THAT INFORMATION AND POLISH IT UP, UH, AND GIVE TO YOU AS A MEMO BY THE END OF THE WEEK, UH, SO THAT YOU HAVE THAT TO MORE READILY SHARE WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND JUST TO, JUST FOR, UM, SO WE CAN MAKE CERTAIN TO TAKE THE PROPER CHANNELS FOR FOLLOWING UP, IS THERE ANYBODY IN PARTICULAR THAT, UM, JOHN IN OUR OFFICE SHOULD FOLLOW UP WITH BY THE END OF THE WEEK? UH, IT WILL, IT WILL COME OUT FROM ME THROUGH AS A BODY TO EVERYONE, SO IT CAN BE USED BY EVERYONE.
AND THEN YOU BET, YOU KNOW, SO I BELIEVE, UM, THAT WHEN THE PUBLIC DOES RECEIVE THAT UPDATE THAT IT'LL HELP BOTH WITH, YOU KNOW, HONEST MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND I, I THINK WE CAN NEVER OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT SOMETIMES THE MISINFORMATION, THOUGH UNFORTUNATE IS INTENTIONAL.
UM, AND SO I I I THINK IT WILL HELP ON, UM, IN MULTIPLE WAYS.
COUNCIL MEMBER MEMBER COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, FUENTES THEN COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, AND THEN I'LL COME BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.
UH, AND THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, IT'S, IT'S WONDERFUL TO HAVE YOU BACK.
YOUR VOICE HAS BEEN MISSED AND I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE WITH US TODAY AND FOR YOUR COMMENTARY.
UH, THANK YOU, UM, COLLEAGUES, THERE ARE A COUPLE ITEMS I DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT, UM, ONE ON BEHALF OF COUNCIL MEMBER, MEMBER CADRE AND MYSELF.
UM, BUT JUST WANTED TO LEND MY, UM, SUPPORT FOR AN ISSUE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON AL ALTER RAISED REGARDING WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD EXTEND THE FLORIDA AREA RATIO REQUIREMENT TO THE ENTIRE CITY.
YOU KNOW, MY DISTRICT, DISTRICT TWO IS NOT WITHIN THE MCMANSION AREA, SO I WOULD BE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTS OF NOT HAVING, UH, FAR REQUIREMENTS IN, IN THE OUTER PARTS OF OUR, OF OUR CITY.
UH, AND THEN ALSO I KNOW THAT, UH, I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN THE OTHER PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION OF REMOVING THE 1100 SQUARE FOOT SIZE LIMIT FOR THE SECOND UNIT THAT THE A I A ALSO SUPPORTS.
I'M NOT SURE IF OUR LEGAL TEAM IS WORKING ON INCORPORATING THAT INTO, UH, INTO AN AMENDMENT.
AND SO, UH, AND THEN ALSO WANNA THANK COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON BRINGING FORWARD AN IFC RELATED TO A DU FINANCING.
BOTH YOU AND I HAVE HAD, UH, SEVERAL COMMUNITY MEETINGS THIS WEEK REGARDING, UH, THE, THE CONCERN OF NOT HAVING FINANCING AVAILABLE FOR OUR, UM, OUR HOMEOWNERS AND OUR EAST SIDE COMMUNITIES PARTICULARLY.
AND SO IT'S BEEN, UH, REALLY WONDERFUL AND WELCOMING TO WORK WITH YOU AND COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON AND COUNCILOR RIVERA'S OFFICE, UM, ON THAT PROPOSAL.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING THAT FOR THE FULL COUNCIL CONSIDERATION.
UH, COLLEAGUES ON BEHALF OF COUNCILMAN CADRE AND MYSELF, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT, UH, TWO CHANGES TO ENSURE PRESERVATION ORIGINAL HOMES AS PART OF THE HOME INITIATIVE THAT WERE RECOMMENDED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THAT WE JUST RECEIVED A BRIEFING ON, UM, FROM CITY STAFF.
WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR PRESERVATION AUSTIN AND THE AUSTIN INFILL COALITION AND THEIR WORK WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION WORK GROUP AND OUR COUNCIL OFFICES TO GET THIS SIMPLE YET EFFECTIVE HISTORIC PRESERVATION INCENTIVES, BOTH THE HISTORIC AND SUSTAINABILITY BONUSES PROVIDED AN INCENTIVE TO PROPERTY OWNERS TO KEEP THE ORIGINAL HOME ON THE LOT IF THEY CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE HOME INITIATIVE.
AND SO WE, AS PART OF THE HOME INITIATIVE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S AN INCENTIVE FOR PEOPLE TO KEEP THEIR EXISTING HOME, TO MAINTAIN THE FABRIC OF THE COMMUNITY, AND TO ALSO NOT CONTRIBUTE TO LANDFILL BY KNOCKING THEM DOWN.
BOTH OF THESE BONUS PROGRAMS ARE A WONDERFUL ADDITION TO COUNCIL MEMBER POOL'S HOME INITIATIVE, HELPING US PRESERVE COMMUNITY CHARACTER HISTORY AND UTILIZING OUR EXISTING HOUSING STOCK TO ITS FULLEST.
UH, WE ARE HAPPY THAT CITY STAFF IS ENSURING THAT THE ORDINANCE LANGUAGE INCORPORATES THE PRESERVATION BEST PRACTICES AND MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WILL BE COMING FORWARD TO US IN THE COMING WEEK.
UH, COUNCILLOR BURRY WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT ENSURES THAT THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE COORDINATES WITH THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES STAFF ON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRESERVATION BONUS TO ENSURE ITS MAXIMUM POTENTIAL.
UH, LIKEWISE, MY TEAM AND I ARE WORKING WITH CITY STAFF REGARDING THE SUSTAINABILITY BONUS.
UM, AND THANK YOU STAFF FOR THE Q AND A.
I APPRECIATED THE RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS THAT I ASKED.
COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER, I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I ASKED QUESTIONS, UM, ABOUT THE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE THAT YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN
[01:25:01]
SINCE YOU HAD SOME EARLIER, BUT I DO ALSO HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.I'M WONDERING IF STAFF COULD SPEAK TO ANY TYPES OF RESTRICTIONS ON ADDITIONAL SHORT-TERM RENTALS THAT MIGHT BE INCLUDED IN THIS PROPOSAL SO THAT THERE'S CLARITY IN THE COMMUNITY? IT'S ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT KEEPS COMING UP WHEN I'M OUT AT COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
TRISH LINK WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT, UM, THE PLANNING COMMISSION GAVE SOME ADDITIONAL DIRECTION RELATED TO, UH, WANTING CITY STAFF AND THE COUNCIL TO TAKE UP THE ISSUE OF SHORT TERM RENTALS, UH, SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
UM, SO THE PROPOSAL THAT WE WERE, THAT WE ARE, SORRY, THE ORDINANCE THAT WE'RE DRAFTING WOULD NOT HAVE ANY OF THE, UH, SHORT-TERM RENTAL RESTRICTIONS THAT IS CURRENT AND CURRENT CODE, EXCEPT FOR THE STANDARD SHORT-TERM RENTAL REGULATIONS THAT APPLY TO ALL OF OUR PROPERTIES.
UM, OUR REC THE LAW DEPARTMENT'S RECOMMENDATION IS TO TAKE UP THE ISSUE OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS IN A HOLISTIC WAY AND DO ALL OF IT AT ONE TIME INSTEAD OF, UM, UH, A LITTLE BIT HERE AND THERE, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE, UH, THAT IS A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE LAW DEPARTMENT TO TAKE IT OUT OF THE CURRENT CODE.
SO THAT'S MORE OF A LONG-TERM GOAL TO TRY AND FIX THE SHORT-TERM RENTAL SITUATION.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES ACTION FROM COUNSEL OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT IS GOING TO BE WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CODE DEPARTMENT ON? UM, WE WILL WORK WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND DSD ON, UM, WHAT PROPOSALS, UH, WE WOULD, WE COULD RECOMMEND TO THE COUNCIL MOVING FORWARD, AND THEN MAYBE THAT WOULD HELP US AND MOVE THIS CONVERSATION FORWARD.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
I DO HAVE A FEW MORE QUESTIONS, SO YOU MAY WANNA STICK AROUND.
UM, I'VE HEARD QUESTIONS ABOUT OCCUPANCY LIMITS AND IF THEY VIOLATE THE FAIR HOUSING ACT OR IF THEY DO NOT.
SO DO AUSTIN'S CURRENT OCCUPANCY LIMITS VIOLATE THE FAIR HOUSING ACT? SO THE CITY HAS TWO OCCUPANCY LIMITS, AND I ONLY JUST SAY THIS FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT.
WE HAVE OUR, WHAT I CALL OUR ZONING OCCUPANCY LIMIT, WHICH IS WHAT YOU WOULD BE REMOVING IF THE ORDINANCE PASSES AS PROPOSED ON DECEMBER 7TH.
AND THAT IS, THAT REGULATES THE NUMBER OF UNRELATED INDIVIDUALS THAT CAN RESIDE IN A HOME.
WE STILL HAVE SQUARE FOOTAGE MINIMUMS FOR BEDROOMS, WHICH HELPS ENSURE HEALTH AND SAFETY.
THIS ACTION DOESN'T TOUCH THAT.
CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE WHAT I CALL THE ZONING OCCUPANCY LIMIT THE NUMBER OF UNRELATED INDIVIDUALS THAT RESIDE IN A HOME.
TRADITIONALLY, WHEN CITIES GET INTO TROUBLE, IT IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE REFUSED TO GRANT A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION UNDER THE FAIR HOUSING ACT, WHICH HAS TO DO WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO NEED, UH, AN INCREASE IN OCCUPANCY TO, UM, ENJOY THE, TO LIVE IN THE HOUSING OF THEIR CHOICE.
UM, SO IF SOMEONE MIGHT SAY, IS A SOBER LIVING HOME, IF IT NEEDS TO HAVE MORE THAN SIX UNRELATED, WE DO GRANT REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS.
WE HAVE A PROCESS IN OUR CODE, SO WE ARE COMPLIANT IN THAT RESPECT.
UM, ANOTHER PLACE CITIES COULD GET INTO TROUBLE IS FROM THE, UM, WHAT WE CALL AS A DISPARATE IMPACT, MEANING THE EFFECT OF THE REGULATION HAS DIS IS DISCRIMINATORY.
WE DON'T HAVE THAT SITUATION HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, THERE'S BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT FAMILIAL STATUS AND OUR CODE DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF FAMILIAL STATUS.
FAMILIAL STATUS IS A HOUSEHOLD THAT HAS A CHILD RESIDING WITH IT.
OUR ORDINANCE DOES NOT, UM, PROHIBIT THAT.
IN FACT, ACTUALLY OUR FOCUS IS HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN, UM, ON FAMILIES AS OPPOSED TO, UM, A NUMBER OF UNRELATED INDIVIDUALS.
SO YOU SORT OF WALKED RIGHT INTO MY NEXT QUESTION, WHICH IS, DOES REMOVING OCCUPANCY LIMITS AFFECT THE REGISTRATION AND INSPECTIONS DONE FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS SUCH AS THOSE THAT ARE DISABLED IN GROUP HOMES OR THE ELDERLY OR HALFWAY HOUSES OR EVEN JUVENILE CONGREGATE, UM, LIVING SPACES? ARE THOSE OCCUPANCY LIMITS THE REMOVAL OF THAT? WILL IT AFFECT REGULAR INSPECTIONS BEING DONE? MY CONCERN IS THAT THOSE POPULATIONS THAT I LISTED ARE VERY VULNERABLE AND THEY'RE SUSCEPTIBLE TO ABUSE, EXPLOITATION, AND NEGLECT.
AND WITHOUT REGULAR INSPECTIONS BEING DONE BECAUSE OF THE REMOVAL OF OCCUPANCY LIMITS, I WOULD BE CONCERNED THAT BAD THINGS COULD HAPPEN.
SO THE WAY OUR PROGRAM HERE IN AUSTIN WORKS IS WE HAVE A GENERAL ROOMING AND BOARDING HOME LICENSING PROCESS, AND IF YOU HIT THE THRESHOLD OF, UH, MORE THAN SIX UNRELATED INDIVIDUALS IN A HOUSEHOLD, AND YOU ARE SUBJECT TO THE LICENSING REQUIREMENT, UM, THAT IS KIND OF TYPICALLY WHAT WE USE.
WE WOULD KIND OF, UH, FROM A USE, A TRUE USE STANDPOINT WOULD BE GROUP RESIDENTIAL.
WE HAVE PROVISIONS IN THE CITY CODE FOR FAMILY HOME AND GROUP HOME.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME LEGAL CONCERNS WITH THOSE USES, UM, AND WHICH I WOULD NOT WANT TO GET INTO IT HERE, BUT THERE ARE
[01:30:01]
SOME LEGAL ISSUES WITH THAT.SO THAT'S WHY WE FOCUS ON GROUP RESIDENTIAL.
IF GROUP RESIDENTIAL REMAINS AT SIX UNRELATED INDIVIDUALS OR MORE THAN SIX UNRELATED, THEN WE WILL HAVE A DEFACTO OCCUPANCY LIMIT BECAUSE GROUP RESIDENTIAL IS NOT ALLOWED IN OUR SINGLE MOST SINGLE FAMILY ZONES GOING FORWARD.
IF THE COUNCIL APPROVES THE CHANGE, THE CHANGE TO GROUP RESIDENTIAL TO 16 UNRELATED INDIVIDUALS, PLUS YOU HAVE A FOOD SERVICE FROM A THIRD PARTY, THAT WOULD MEAN THAT ANY HOMES THAT HAVE LESS THAN THAT NUMBER WOULD NOT BE LICENSED.
SO WE DO HAVE SOME, UM, SOBER HOMES THAT MAY FALL UNDER THAT, THAT MAY MAYBE LESS THAN 16.
UM, AND SO THEY WOULD NO LONGER BE LICENSED IF THEY ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A LICENSE TODAY.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY BRING AN AMENDMENT FORWARD? BECAUSE I THINK THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES THAT, THAT WE DEFINITELY WANT TO PROTECT THOSE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
AND I MIGHT LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU FURTHER ABOUT THAT OUTSIDE OF THIS SPACE CURRENTLY, IF IF WE COULD TALK ONLINE, OFFLINE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, AND THEN HAVE THERE EVER BEEN ANY, I I SAY EVER, HAVE THERE BEEN ANY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDIES DONE RELATED TO THE HOME INITIATIVE PASSING CURRENTLY THAT WE'RE AWARE OF? HAVE THE, HAS THE CITY STARTED TO LOOK INTO THAT OR HAS ANY PROGRESS BEEN DONE ON IT? WE HAVE NOT COMPLETED ANY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.
SO I DID SEE A, A NEWS REPORT RECENTLY WHERE THE AUTHOR'S OFFICE HAD SPOKEN TO THE FACT OF LOOKING INTO THAT.
DO, DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE ABOUT THAT? OKAY.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS THIS IS ANOTHER QUESTION FOR TRISTAN.
UM, THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN FLOODING OUR OFFICE WITH QUESTIONS.
I KNOW THAT THE CITY DOES NOT GET INVOLVED WITH DEEDED RESTRICTIONS OR HOAS, BUT COULD YOU EXPLAIN HISTORICALLY WHY THAT IS AND WHY OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY MAYBE DO THAT? WHERE WE DON'T AS A CITY OR WHAT THE, I GUESS THE REASONING FOR THAT IS, SO DEED RESTRICTIONS AND HOAS ARE PRIVATE AGREEMENTS, THEIR PRIVATE, UM, THEIR INDIVIDUALS WHO MOVE TO A PROPERTY WHO AGREE TO BE BOUND BY PRIVATE, UH, RESTRICTIONS.
SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN MANDATES.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN REQUIRES OR REGULATES.
IT IS BETWEEN THOSE TWO PARTIES.
SO IF SOMEONE DOESN'T COMPLY WITH THEIR DEEDED RESTRICTIONS OR THEIR A-O-H-O-A REQUIREMENTS, THEY ARE, THEY'RE NOT IN TROUBLE WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THEY WOULD BE IN TROUBLE WITH THEIR HOA OR THEIR NEIGHBORS.
AND SO BECAUSE THOSE ARE PRIVATE AGREEMENTS, THEY AREN'T CITY REGULATIONS.
WE ARE NOT IN THE CONVERSATION.
THERE IS, UM, THERE IS A PROVISION IN STATE LAW THAT ALLOWS A CITY SUCH AS HOUSTON, THAT DOES NOT HAVE ZONING TO ENFORCE PRIVATE DEEDED RESTRICTIONS.
WE ARE NOT A CITY SUCH AS HOUSTON.
WE WANT, WE DON'T MEET THE THRESHOLD OF THE NUMBER OF OCCU UH, RESIDENTS, BUT TWO, WE HAVE ZONING REGULATIONS.
SO IN ORDER TO FOLLOW THAT PATH, WE WOULD ACTUALLY NEED TO STOP REGULATING ZONING.
UH, I WANTED TO THANK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES AND COUNCIL MEMBER NATASHA HARPER MADISON FOR THEIR KIND WORDS.
ALSO, UM, TO, UH, ALSO SAY THAT IT'S SO GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK.
UH, MS. HARPER MAD, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.
UM, THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT AUSTIN'S HOUSING STOCK NEEDS DIVERSIFICATION.
WE NEED A RATING OF SOLUTIONS TO THIS PROBLEM.
THERE IS NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL.
I BELIEVE HOME REPRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS OUR MISSILE MISSING MIDDLE HOUSING.
AND IT'S UNDENIABLE THAT OUR LOWER AND MIDDLE INCOME FAMILIES ARE BEING SQUEEZED OUT OF NEIGHBORHOODS THEY HAVE LIVED IN FOR GENERATIONS.
UH, WITH THAT IN MIND AND WITH THE SUPPORT OF MY COLLEAGUES, I WILL BE BRINGING FORWARD AN ITEM THAT WILL HELP PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT HAVE CASH ON HAND TO BUILD THESE ADDITIONAL UNITS ON THEIR LOT.
UM, THIS ITEM WILL ASK THE CITY MANAGER TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM THAT ENABLES ACCESS TO DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE TO HELP THOSE ON LOWER OR MODERATE INCOMES, UH, BUILD OR RENOVATE THEIR HOMES TO INCLUDE ADUS.
NOW THAT HUD HAS MADE FH FHA LOANS AVAILABLE FOR ADUS, UM, WE'LL ALSO BE ASKING THE COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING MATERIALS BE MADE AVAILABLE AND TARGETED TO THESE COMMUNITIES SO THAT PEOPLE
[01:35:01]
WHO WOULD BENEFIT, UH, MOST HAVE GREATER ACCESS TO THEM.IMPORTANTLY, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT UNITS BUILT USING THIS PROGRAM ARE LONG-TERM AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR AUSTINITES.
SO IF SOMEONE USES THE PROGRAM, THEY WOULD BE INELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR SHORT FOR A SHORT, SHORT TERM RENTAL LICENSE.
UM, I WANNA TOUCH ON SOMETHING THAT, UH, MY COLLEAGUE, UH, SAID EARLIER, AND THIS IS, WHILE WE ARE GROWING OPPORTUNITY, WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE GROWING OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL.
AND I, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORDS TO THAT EXTENT.
MEMBER ALLISON ALTER, UH, THANK YOU.
UM, COUNCILOR VELASQUEZ, I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR, UM, RESOLUTION.
I, YOU PROBABLY ARE AWARE OF THIS, BUT SEVERAL OF US HAVE, UM, BEEN INVOLVED WITH RESOLUTIONS RELATED TO ADUS OVER THE MANY YEARS TO ADDRESS THE CAPITAL ISSUE.
AND, UM, THE MEMOS THAT HAVE COME OUT ABOUT THAT AND THE OTHER PIECES ARE SOMETHING THAT CAN BE BUILT UPON, UM, FOR THAT WORK IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY AWARE OF THOSE.
UM, UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE
UM, BUT FOR NOW I'D LIKE TO ASK STAFF HOW THE FIRE MARSHAL HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN EVALUATING THE PROPOSAL.
SINCE THE PLANNING COMMISSION CHANGES.
STAFF HAS BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE, UM, DISCUSSING, UM, THE VARIOUS PROPOSALS, INCLUDING TINY HOMES, ET CETERA.
UM, AND, AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF RESPONSES TO COUNCIL QUESTIONS IN THE COUNCIL Q AND A, UH, RELATING TO THIS.
SO, SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION THERE.
IS THERE A WRITTEN, I I DO, DO YOU GET WRITTEN FEEDBACK FROM THE FIRE MARSHAL? LIKE HOW ARE THEY CONSULTED? YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE BOTH HAD MEETINGS AND, AND THEY'VE HELPED PROVIDE RESPONSES TO COUNCIL Q AND A.
I'LL TAKE A LOOK AGAIN AT THE, THE, THE Q AND A.
I DO HAVE CONCERNS ON FIRE RISKS, UM, BASED ON SOME OF WHAT WE HEARD AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH RESPECT TO THE OCCUPANCY LIMIT CHANGES AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE STRUCTURES AND HOW THINGS CHANGE ACROSS STRUCTURES, WHETHER IT'S THE BUILDING CODE OR THE, I THINK THERE'S A CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF UNITS OF WHETHER YOU HAVE TO DO FIRE SUPPRESSION PROPOSALS, ET CETERA.
AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOME CLARITY ON THAT.
UM, SO I'LL PROBABLY ASK SOME MORE QUESTIONS ON THAT.
UM, AND WITH RESPECT TO THE UI CODE, UM, MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE UI CODE IN AREAS THAT ARE IN THE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE REQUIRES PROPER SPACING AMONG THE UNITS BECAUSE THE WHOLE POINT IS TO AVOID IGNITION FROM ONE STRUCTURE TO ANOTHER.
UM, SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT PLAYS OUT.
IF, IF SOMEONE CAN SPEAK MORE TO THAT, UM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS, IN AREAS THAT HAVE, UM, YEAH, GOOD MORNING.
JOSE ROIC, DIRECTOR FOR DSD, THE TECHNICAL CODE ISSUES ARE STILL IN PLACE.
THE, THESE CHANGES WILL NOT CHANGE ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE PLAN REVIEW SITE, WE APPLY ALL THE TECHNICAL CODES THAT HAVE TO BE APPLIED TO, THAT INCLUDES BUILDING CODE, RESIDENTIAL CODE THAT INCLUDES SEPARATION BETWEEN UNITS, FIREWALLS, IF THEY ARE REQUIRED.
SO THOSE LIFE SAFETY ISSUES WILL STILL HAVE TO BE IN PLACE REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY UNITS YOU PUT IN PLACE.
BUT THE, IN TERMS OF THE SECONDARY EXIT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ALLOWED IN AREAS THAT ONLY HAVE ONE EXIT IN AND OUT INTO THE AREA, WHICH ARE A WHOLE NUMBER OF PLACES AROUND THE CITY BECAUSE WE DIDN'T USE TO REQUIRE A SECOND ACCESS FOR DEVELOPMENTS.
SO THIS WOULD BE ALLOWED IN THOSE AREAS AS LONG AS THEY WERE SSF ONE OR SSF TWO? IT IS, YES.
AS LONG AS I COMPLY WITH ALL THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TECHNICAL SIDE, YES, THEY WILL BE ALLOWED.
TIM, THANK YOU FOR THE RECOGNITION, MAYOR.
UM, AND I APPRECIATE THE QUESTIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY ASKED ABOUT DEEDED RESTRICTIONS.
I KNOW WE GET THOSE QUESTIONS A LOT IN DISTRICT EIGHT.
UM, COULD SOMEONE SPEAK TO ANY SORTS OF OTHER SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS AND IF THOSE ARE ALSO PRIVATE, UM, YOU KNOW, LEGAL, LEGAL DISCUSSIONS THAT HAVE COURT CASE SETTLEMENTS, ARE THOSE AFFECTED BY THIS? WOULD THOSE STILL BE MAINTAINED, FOR INSTANCE, CIRCLE C AND THE BRADLEY SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT SPECIFICALLY? SO WE HAVE, WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT EVERY PARTICULAR, UM, TIME THAT IT COMES UP.
[01:40:01]
REREGULATE, IF THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND THE CITY IS A PARTY TO IT, SO THAT, MY ASSUMPTION AND YOUR QUESTION IS THAT WE ARE A PARTY TO IT.IF IT DOES REGULATE USE OR ADDRESS USE OR THE NUMBER OF UNITS, UM, WE WILL HAVE TO LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT THOSE HAVE TO BE AMENDED, BUT IT, IT WOULD REALLY BE ON A PER SETTLEMENT BASIS.
I'M HOPING NOT MANY TO BE QUITE FRANK, BUT, UM, I, THE, THAT IS ONE.
AND THEN WHEN I KNOW THERE'S A, UH, PROBABLY A COUPLE OTHERS.
I KNOW THAT'S A SPECIAL CASE SCENARIO, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING SO FAR IS THAT IF THERE ARE COURT CASE DECISIONS THAT THAT PARTIES HAVE SIGNED ON TO AND ARE BOUND BY, THAT THIS CHANGE IN CODE WOULD NOT DISSOLVE THAT COURT CASE AGREEMENT IN ANY WAY.
SO IF YOU COULD JUST LET ME KNOW IF THAT'S NOT CORRECT, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.
UM, AND I ANTICIPATE MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT BEING THE UNDERSTANDING OF, OF THOSE PARTICULAR COURT SETTLEMENTS.
IF I MIGHT INTERRUPT I MM-HMM,
UM, IF THE CITY ENTERED INTO A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT OR ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT, IT IS AN AGREEMENT AND, UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO THEN COME IN AND SOMEHOW SAY MANY YEARS LATER THAT THE AGREEMENT'S NOT IN PLACE.
SO I HOPE THAT THE ANSWER THAT WE JUST GIVEN DOESN'T CREATE THE FEAR THAT IT CREATED, AT LEAST IN THIS CHAIR.
UM, SO WE NEED TO GET AN ANSWER, A CLEAR ANSWER.
THE CITY CAN'T JUST ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT AND THEN UNILATERALLY SAY UNILATERALLY COME BACK AND SAY, EH, WE'RE NOT GONNA ENFORCE IT ANYMORE BECAUSE OF SOME OTHER CHANGE.
I, I RECOGNIZE THAT, I THINK THE PART OF MY ANSWER HAS TO DO WITH NOT ALL OF OUR SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS ADDRESS THE SAME ISSUES IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
AND SO I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT A PARTICULAR AGREEMENT TO SEE DOES IT EVEN GET INTO THIS ISSUE? BUT IF WE HAVE A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND THAT IS THE RULES AND OF THE GAME THAT EVERYONE HAS BEEN PLAYING BY, WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THAT.
THE QUESTION IS THOUGH, THAT DOES COME NEXT IS IF THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS WANT TO CHANGE SOMETHING, AND WE HAVE SEEN THAT FROM TIME TO TIME OVER THE YEARS.
SO THAT'S ALSO ANOTHER COMPONENT OF OF MY RESPONSE.
LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE OFFLINE, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS HOW THE MAYOR LAID IT OUT, WHICH IS THAT IF WE ARE ONE OF THE PARTIES IN A COURT SETTLEMENT THAT WE CAN'T UNILATERALLY SAY WE'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
AND I'LL, I'LL DRAW FOLKS ATTENTION TO, UM, AND WHEN PEOPLE SUBMIT AN APPLICATION ABOUT THE TYPE OF, UM, ZONING CHANGE OR THE TYPE OF SITE PLAN THAT THEY WANT TO PUT IN, UM, YOU KNOW, IN ON A PLOT OF LAND THAT THEY OWN, THAT THERE IS NOW A LINE ON THERE THAT SAYS PEOPLE HAVE TO CHECK WITH THEIR DEEDED RESTRICTIONS AND THEIR HOAS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THOSE AGREEMENTS.
THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT I BROUGHT IN 20 19, 20 20 WHEN WE WERE HAVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT LDC REWRITE, AND WE HAD GOTTEN THE QUESTION FROM HOAS THAT HAVE SPECIFIC RESTRICTIONS AND, YOU KNOW, APPROACH THAT QUESTION MANY TIMES FROM FOLKS.
AND IT IS, THE CITY ZONING IS, IS A PUBLIC DECISION.
AND THE PRIVATE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN PROPERTY OWNERS AND THEIR HOAS IS THEIR OWN PRIVATE COVENANTS, ESSENTIALLY.
AND SO WE HAVE ASKED PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY TO SAY, CAN YOU MAKE SURE THAT WHEN PEOPLE COME AND THEY WANNA CHANGE HOW THEY'RE USING THE LAND THAT THEY OWN, THAT THEY ARE DOING THEIR OWN HOMEWORK AND THEIR OWN RESEARCH TO LOOK AT HOA RESTRICTIONS AND DEEDED RESTRICTIONS IN THEIR, YOU KNOW, IN THE PAPERWORK THEY SIGN WHEN THEY BUY THEIR HOME.
AND SO, ALTHOUGH THE CITY DOES NOT MAINTAIN THOSE AND DOES NOT ENFORCE THOSE, WE HAVE MADE OUR EFFORTS ON THIS END TO ENSURE THAT FOLKS ARE DOING THEIR DUE DILIGENCE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE WHEN THEY BUY A HOUSE AND THEY BUY A PROPERTY IN A PLACE THAT HAS AN HOA WITH DEED RESTRICTIONS.
SO I REALLY, UM, APPRECIATE THAT CONVERSATION COMING UP.
UM, AND I'LL JUST GENERALLY SAY, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE GETTING MORE INFORMATION ON HOW PORTLAND HAS TRIED TO TACKLE SOME OF THEIR LAND USE ISSUES.
UM, I WAS ABLE TO VISIT THERE IN 2019 AND HAD HAD DONE A LITTLE RESEARCH ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE A SET GEOGRAPHIC FOOTPRINT THAT COUNCIL DECIDES THAT SAYS, WE WILL NOT EXTEND BEYOND THESE BOUNDARIES WITHOUT IT COMING BACK TO COUNCIL AND SAYING THAT WE ARE MOVING INTO AREAS THAT ARE VEGETATED AND FORESTED.
UM, AND SO IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE THAT NOW THAT OUR FOOTPRINT AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS CONTAINED, UM, WITHOUT PEOPLE VOLUNTARILY DECIDING TO ANNEX INTO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE ARE FACING SIMILAR LIMITATIONS.
SO WE'VE GOTTA GET SMARTER ABOUT HOW WE USE OUR LAND, ABOUT WHERE WE ALLOW GENTLE DENSITY AND HOW WE INCENTIVIZE FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO, TO DO GENTLE INFILL TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS.
UM, NONE OF THESE REGULATIONS ARE GONNA STOP RICH PEOPLE FROM DOING RICH PEOPLE THINGS.
UM, BUT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THE AVERAGE PERSON HAS THE ABILITY TO BUILD A LIFE AND MAINTAIN A LIFE HERE IN AUSTIN, AND TO BE CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE THAT THEY KNOW AND LOVE.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE FOCUS OF
[01:45:01]
THE HOME INITIATIVE, IS TO TRY TO MAKE MORE FLEXIBILITY POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE, BECAUSE THERE ARE FOLKS IN TOWN THAT WANT TO BUILD SMALL UNITS.THEY WANT TO BUILD TRIPLEXES, THEY WANT TO BE A PART OF THE CHANGE THAT KEEPS PEOPLE HERE IN AUSTIN THAT HELPED BUILD THIS TOWN.
UM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THERE ARE SOME FOLKS THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE MORE MEANS, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THIS CITY IS NOT JUST FOR WEALTHY PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO BUY LAND HERE AND TO BE ABLE TO BUY HOMES.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO ALLOW FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY, UM, AND MORE ABILITY FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE SMALLER FOOTPRINTS WHERE THEY WANT THEM.
SO THIS ISN'T ABOUT MANDATING THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO BUILD SOMETHING.
UM, IF PEOPLE WANT TO BUILD THOSE LARGE HOUSES WITH LARGE SETBACKS, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO IT, UH, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT.
BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO WANT SMALLER UNITS.
THEY WANT WALKABLE, BIKEABLE CONNECTED COMMUNITIES.
THEY WANT PORCHES WHERE YOU CAN WALK YOUR DOG AND SAY HI TO YOUR NEIGHBOR.
UM, SO WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALLOWING THAT TYPE OF FLEXIBILITY IN OUR CODE, UM, AS THIS CITY CONTINUES TO PRICE PEOPLE OUT, UM, I THINK THIS COUNCIL IS VERY SET ON MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE HERE, THEY CAN STAY HERE AND BUILD A LIFE.
AND I HOPE THAT WE KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SPECIFIC REGULATIONS.
UM, BEFORE I CALL ON COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE TO CLOSE, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, IF ANYBODY HAS SOMETHING, WE'RE, WE'RE GAINING NEW INFORMATION.
THIS HAS BEEN A PRODUCTIVE WORK SESSION WHERE WE GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION HAS JUST MADE ITS DECISIONS.
THERE MAY BE, UM, AMENDMENTS THAT WILL BE COMING FORWARD THAT PEOPLE AREN'T PREPARED TO LAY OUT TODAY, WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE.
UH, WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS THAT AS YOU HAVE THOSE THOUGH, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND PUT THEM ON THE MESSAGE BOARD, UH, EVEN IF THEY'RE A ROUGH DRAFT, SO THAT PEOPLE WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THAT AND, AND ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT IT IN ANTICIPATION OF WHAT I THINK WILL BE, UH, A MEETING WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE QUITE A BIT OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, WOULD BE MY GUESS.
AND THEN OUR DISCUSSION WILL, WILL WORK A LITTLE MORE SMOOTHLY.
COUNCIL MEMBER VALA, JUST A COUPLE OF, UH, FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS IF, UH, SURE.
AND THIS QUESTION IS FOR, FOR STAFF.
UH, GOING OFF OF THE FAR DISCUSSION, UH, DISTRICT FOUR IS, UH, IS HALF, UH, IN THE MCMANSION TENT AREA AND HALF NOT IN THE MCMANSION AREA.
SO I KIND OF HAVE A, I THINK A LITTLE BIT OF A, OF A UNIQUE VIEW OF THE SITUATION.
UH, AND JUST ANECDOTALLY, THERE ARE MORE MCMANSIONS IN NORTH LOOP, LET'S SAY, THAN THERE ARE IN GEORGIAN ACRES.
YOU KNOW, AGAIN, PEOPLE HAVE THE ABILITY TO BUILD WITHOUT ANY FAR LIMITS WHATSOEVER IN GEORGIAN ACRES.
UH, BUT MY SENSE WOULD BE THAT THE MAJORITY OF, YOU KNOW, 3000 SQUARE FOOT, 4,000 SQUARE FOOT HOMES ARE HAPPENING ACTUALLY WITHIN THE, UH, THE COVERED MCMANSION AREA.
ANY, ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT FROM A A STAFF PERSPECTIVE? I MEAN, ARE WE SEEING THESE KIND OF REALLY LARGE HOMES OUT IN THE KIND OF PERIPHERY OUTSIDE OF THE MCMANSION AREA? I'M NOT JUST ANECDOTALLY, I I'M NOT, BUT DISTRICT 10, I WOULD DEFER TO OBVIOUSLY COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTRA ON THAT.
I'M TRYING TO, I KNOW WE'VE, UH, GATHERED DATA ON A NUMBER OF THINGS.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE DATA IN THAT PARTICULAR WAY, OR AT LEAST NOT THAT COMES TO MIND IMMEDIATELY.
UM, SO, SO I DON'T KNOW OFFHAND.
I, I WAS JUST WONDERING IN TERMS OF, AS WE ADDRESS THE PROBLEM, I GUESS I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF, IF THERE IS A PROBLEM TO BE ADDRESSED BEFORE WE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, DIVE IN, UH, AND, AND, AND TRY TO, UH, REGULATE IN THE AREA.
UH, AND THEN I THINK THESE TWO MIGHT BE MORE FOR, UH, UH, FOR, FOR LAW FOR, UH, UH, TRISH, BUT THE STR UM, MY SENSE ON THE STR IS, AND AGAIN, THIS IS BASED ON THE, THE FEDERAL COURT RULINGS THAT HAVE COME DOWN, UH, THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, INVALIDATED, UH, UH, VARIOUS KIND OF, UH, UH, UH, PORTIONS OF THAT IS THAT, AND PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, THIS IS NOT AN AREA THAT WE'VE DUG INTO A, A, A BUNCH YET, UH, WITH MY STAFF.
BUT THE, THE MORE WE KIND OF MICRO REGULATE, WE SEEM TO GET IN TROUBLE WITH OUR KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WE, IN OTHER WORDS, THE COURT SEEMS TO BE WANTING US TO ADOPT A BROADER, UH, STR REGULATION THAT TREATS EVERYBODY THE SAME WAY, AS OPPOSED TO THE WAY WE HAVE BEEN DOING IT, WHERE WE KIND OF CREATE TIERS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S OWNER OCCUPIED OR THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
I IS, IS THAT, I MEAN, IS THAT A FAIR ASSESSMENT? WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED FROM COURT DECISIONS IS THAT OUR DISTINCTION BETWEEN OWNER OCCUPIED AND NON-OWNER OCCUPIED ARE PROBLEMATIC.
AND THE COURT, UH, SO FOR THAT REASON, STAFF HAS ACTUALLY BEEN APPLYING THE STR REGULATIONS CONSISTENT
[01:50:01]
BETWEEN, UM, NON-OWNER OCCUPIED AND, AND OWNER OCCUPIED.AND IN TERMS OF STR REGULATIONS, ANY POTENTIAL ONES THAT, YOU KNOW, COULD, WOULD BE ATTACHED TO, LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, UH, ORDINANCE.
CAN WE DISTINGUISH THEN KIND OF IF, IF, IF WE'RE GETTING INTO KIND OF THE, THE, YOU KNOW, BY ZONING TYPES AND BY KIND OF DIFFERENT KIND OF, LIKE I SAID, MICRO CATEGORIES AS WE CUT THE, THE LINES, YOU KNOW, FINE, WE'RE TREATING SIMILARLY SITUATED PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY BASED ON KIND OF NOT, YOU KNOW, NOT REALLY KIND OF OBVIOUS IN APPARENT DISTINCTIONS.
ARE THERE CONCERNS WITH THAT? IF COUNSEL WANTS TO ADDRESS, UH, UH, SHORT-TERM RENTAL REGULATIONS AS APPLIES TO TWO UNIT AND THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENTS? UM, WE WOULD NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, WE HAVE A, A TYPE, WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT TYPES TODAY.
WE HAVE THE NON-OWNER OCCUPIED, OCCU OWNER OCCUPIED, AND, UH, MULTIFAMILY.
AND THIS WOULD NOT BE MULTIFAMILY, SO IT WOULD BE WHETHER OR NOT, UH, WE WOULD SAY TYPE ONE OR TYPE TWO.
UM, ANYTHING THAT WE REC, UH, ANYTHING THAT THE COUNSEL ADOPTS, WE WOULD HAVE A RECOMMENDATION, UM, THAT WOULD BE IN LINE WITH WHAT THE COURTS ARE TELLING US WE CAN DO.
AND AGAIN, I KNOW THAT THE ENTIRE AREA IS, IS A REAL, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A MESS OF, OF DECISIONS AND, AND, AND RULES AND WHATNOT RIGHT NOW.
UH, AND, AND I, I GUESS I HESITATE TO GO INTO IT ON A PIECEMEAL BASIS LIKE THAT.
MY SENSE WOULD BE I'D MUCH RATHER ADDRESS IT COMPREHENSIVELY IN A THOUGHTFUL AND TIMELY MANNER AS OPPOSED TO LIKE, THROW SOMETHING ONTO THIS FOR THURSDAY.
YOU KNOW, UH, AGAIN, THOSE ARE JUST MY KIND OF MY, MY, UH, INSTINCTS ON IT.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, UH, THE DEEDED RESTRICTIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME DEED RESTRICTIONS THAT ARE REASONABLE.
I'D SAY THE VAST MAJORITY OF 'EM ARE VERY STRANGE, UH, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW BIG THE HOUSE CAN BE AND, AND, AND HOW THE FRONT FACING THIS AND THAT.
LIKE, THERE, THERE ARE KIND OF MICRO DESIGN RULES, UH, UH, IN, IN A LOT OF THE, UH, THE, ACTUALLY AT LEAST THE DEEDS THAT I'M, UH, UH, FAMILIAR WITH.
UM, BUT I DO UNDERSTAND THAT AT SOME POINT A DEEDED RESTRICTIONS WILL EXPIRE IF THEY ARE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, IN OTHER WORDS, IF A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF HOMES IN AN AREA ARE VIOLATING DEEDED RESTRICTIONS FROM 70 YEARS AGO THAT ARE NOT REALLY RELEVANT TODAY, THEN AT SOME POINT THE COURTS WILL START, UH, BASICALLY KIND OF IGNORING THOSE DEEDED RESTRICTIONS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF, OF, OF WHEN THAT IS OR WHAT THE LAW IS AROUND THAT AREA? LIKE WHEN DEEDED RESTRICTIONS ESSENTIALLY BECOME DIE? THERE IS, IN THE CASE LAW, THERE IS A THRESHOLD GENERALLY WHERE THE COURTS WILL SAY, THIS HAS BEEN DISREGARDED LONG ENOUGH THAT IT'S NO LONGER, NO ONE'S FOLLOWING IT.
SO IT, IT REALLY DOESN'T APPLY.
AND THE COURTS WILL SAY THAT, THAT THE PROPERTY OWNER'S NOT GONNA BE SUBJECT TO THAT MM-HMM,
UM, I THINK IT REALLY WOULD PROBABLY DEPEND ON WHAT THE THING IS.
UM, AND SO, YEAH, THERE'S NOT A GOOD ANSWER I COULD GIVE YOU THAT'S DEFINITIVE, BUT YES, WE HAVE SEEN IN THE CASES THAT THE COURTS AT SOME POINT, UM, SAY YOU'VE, YOU'VE, YOU HAVEN'T ENFORCED YOUR RESTRICTION.
YOU NO LONGER GET TO ENFORCE YOUR RESTRICTION.
IT'S MORE LIKE AN ESTOPPEL, NOT QUITE AN EQUITABLE SITUATION, BUT MORE LIKE AN ESTOPPEL SITUATION.
UH, AND UH, WITH REGARD TO THE DEEDED RESTRICTIONS THEN, OTHER THAN, THAN, YOU KNOW, THE COURT KIND OF SAYING, NO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA CHOOSE TO IGNORE THEM.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO END, UH, DEEDED RESTRICTIONS? AND AGAIN, I'M THINKING BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF, I'M, I'M THINKING ABOUT WINDSOR PARK, WHICH HAS SOME VERY STRANGE, UH, DEEDED RESTRICTIONS THAT HAVE TO DO REALLY MORE, THEY'RE ALMOST HOME DESIGN, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU CAN ONLY HAVE IT WITHIN HERE AND, AND THE HOUSES ON THIS STREET CAN HAVE TO BE A MINIMUM OF, YOU KNOW, 700 SQUARE FEET.
AND THE NEXT STREET, AGAIN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT REALLY DEEDED RESTRICTIONS AS THEY'RE KIND OF COMMONLY KNOWN.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALMOST LIKE DESIGN REGULATIONS THAT ARE WRITTEN IN AS A, UM, UH, UH, DEEDED RESTRICTIONS.
BUT IS THERE ANY WAY TO LIFT, UH, THOSE, UH, UH, IS THERE ANY WAY TO END DEEDED RESTRICTIONS OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, A COURT DECIDING THAT THEY'VE EXPIRED OR THEY'RE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, ESTOPPEL OUT? THE PROPERTY OWNERS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO THOSE RESTRICTIONS CAN AGREE TO CHANGE THOSE RESTRICTIONS? THE CITY OF AUSTIN WOULD NOT HAVE A ROLE THOUGH.
COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE, YOU RECOGNIZE TO CLOSE.
AND I JUST WANTED TO DO A ROUND OF APPRECIATION AND THANK YOUS, UM,
[01:55:01]
MY THANKS TO ALL OF THE CITY STAFF WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE HOME EFFORT IN PARTICULAR, PLANNING STAFF AND LEADERSHIP FOR THEIR TREMENDOUS WORK IN GETTING US TO THIS POINT.MY DEEP APPRECIATION TO TWO VALUABLE COMMUNITY PARTNERS, A I A WHO HAVE GENEROUSLY DEVOTED THEIR TALENTS TO EXTENSIVE ANALYSIS AND MODELING AND TO PRESERVATION AUSTIN FOR HELPING MAINTAIN THE FABRIC OF OUR COMMUNITIES AND ADVOCATING FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH.
THESE TWO GROUPS ARE WORKING TIRELESSLY WITH MY TEAM AND ME TO WORK ON AMENDMENTS TO HOME WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION WORKING GROUP THAT WILL MAKE THE PROGRAM MORE SUCCESSFUL.
I AM DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOUR INSPIRED EFFORTS.
FINALLY, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EXTRAORDINARY WORK OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION WORKING GROUP ON THOSE KEY AMENDMENTS THAT REFLECT COMMUNITY INPUT AND THAT HELP MEET THE GOALS OF THE HOME INITIATIVE TO PROMOTE SMALLER SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND PROVIDE OPTIONS FOR HOMEOWNERS.
THESE AMENDMENTS REFLECT TWO OF MY KEY PRIORITIES AND SHARING SMALLER STRUCTURES AND PRESERVING EXISTING HOMES.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION, MAYOR, THAT WE'VE HAD TODAY.
PARTICULARLY THE PORTIONS REVEALING THE 30 YEAR TREND TOWARD LARGER SINGLE HOMES, A TREND THAT IS INCENTIVIZED BY OUR CURRENT CODE, CONSIDERING WHERE WE ARE IN OUR HOUSING EMERGENCY AND THE LACK OF STARTER HOMES AND OPTIONS FOR HOMEOWNERS.
I AM VERY GRATEFUL THAT WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO CHANGE THAT AND TO DRAW A FINE POINT ON THAT, WE ARE NOT STARTING FROM ZERO HERE.
THIS WORK TO ENCOURAGE MORE HOMES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS IS HAMPERED BY THE CURRENT CO CODE, NAMELY THE IRONICALLY NAMED MCMANSION ORDINANCE, WHICH PROMOTES THE BIG HOUSE TREND.
I, FOR ONE, AM INTERESTED IN UNDERTAKING THE WORK ON SUB CHAPTER F SO THAT WE CAN PREVENT MCMANSIONS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEM.
AND I HAVE BEEN SPEAKING TO THIS POINT, UH, PRETTY ENERGETICALLY, UH, FOR THE GREATER PART OF THIS YEAR AND LAST, SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO DECEMBER SEVEN AND TO CONSIDERING THE GOOD AMENDMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN LAID OUT BY STAFF AND OUR PARTNERS SO THAT HOME PHASE ONE MEETS OUR GOALS TO GET SMALLER, MORE ATTAINABLE HOMES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF US, BUT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO DECEMBER SEVEN FOR THE SPECIFICS THAT ARE CONTAINED IN PHASE ONE.
AND THANK YOU TO ALL THE COUNCIL.
'CAUSE WE KNOW THAT, UH, YOU'VE BEEN WORKING HARD AND ARE GOING TO BE WORKING HARD, UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR THE ROLE THAT YOU'RE PLAYING AND, AND ALSO THE PARTNERS THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED, UM, AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR THE TIME IT'S TAKEN SO FAR.
UH, WITH THAT, WE WILL, UH, GO TO THE NEXT
[B2. Winter Weather Readiness.]
ITEM ON THE AGENDA, AND THAT IS OUR BRIEFING ON WINTER PREPAREDNESS.UM, I WILL TURN THE GAVEL OVER TO THE MAYOR PRO TIM, AND, UM, DON'T TAKE IT PERSONAL.
YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING? I WOULD LIKE TO TEE UP THE CONVERSATION IF POSSIBLE BEFORE DIRECTOR SNIPE STARTS TO SPEAK.
UM, UH, WE'RE GONNA TURN IT OVER HERE SHORTLY TO KEN SNIPES, OUR DIRECTOR OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
AS EVERYONE KNOWS, OUR PREPAREDNESS AS A CITY IS A CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL ENDEAVOR.
WE'VE LEARNED A GREAT DEAL SINCE EXPOSE EXPERIENCING COVID, WINTER STORM MURRY, AND WINTER STORM MARA AND COMMUNICATIONS IS A FUNDAMENTAL RECURRING THEME ACROSS ALL EVENTS.
ITS RELEVANCE AND HOW IT'S DELIVERED TO ALL OF YOU AND OUR COMMUNITY IS IMPORTANT.
WHILE KEN WILL SHARE, WELL, KEN WILL SHARE DURING THIS PRESENTATION THE PROCESSES THAT ARE NOW IN PLACE TO ENSURE CONSISTENT, TIMELY MESSAGING.
WE DO WANT ALL OF YOU TO KNOW THAT WE PLAN TO MEET, MEET WITH EACH OF YOUR OFFICES INDIVIDUALLY, TO TALK THROUGH ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ON WHAT WE'RE PLANNING ON INSTITUTING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW WE CAN FURTHER IMPROVE OUR PROCESSES.
MAYOR PRO TIM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER COUNCIL.
MY NAME IS KEN SNIPES, DIRECTOR OF, UM, HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND I'M HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON WINTER WEATHER READINESS.
THE WORK TO PREPARE FOR WINTER WEATHER IS MULTI-LAYERED AND COMPLEX, UH, AND ACROSS CITY DEPARTMENTS WE HAVE MADE CHANGES THAT WILL SUPPORT A MORE ROBUST RESPONSE RESPONSE EFFORT.
[02:00:02]
UM, I WANNA START WITH, UH, JUST SHARING A BIT OF INFORMATION THAT, UM, SPEAKS TO SOME OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF A RESPONSE HERE IN AUSTIN.UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I'VE RECEIVED, UH, QUITE A FEW TIMES SINCE MOVING, UH, EVEN PRIOR TO, BUT SINCE MOVING OVER TO HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CENTERS AROUND WHY, UM, WE HAVE, UH, SEEMINGLY, UM, A A DIFFICULT TIME RESPONDING TO, UH, WIDE SCALE AND WIDESPREAD, UM, UH, ISSUES, WEATHER EVENTS ACROSS THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND THE QUESTION SPECIFICALLY ASKED WAS, UH, WHY DOES, UH, AUSTIN NOT RESPOND AS FAST AS CITIES LIKE, UH, UH, MIAMI? AND AS I DOVE INTO THAT QUESTION, UM, I STARTED TO, UH, FIRST THINK THAT IT WAS BECAUSE THEY, UH, INCUR AND DEAL WITH, UH, UH, STORM EVENTS MORE OFTEN THAN WE DO.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I LEARNED AS I STARTED TO REALLY LOOK DEEPER WAS THAT, UH, CITIES LIKE MIAMI, BOSTON, AND UH, SAN FRANCISCO ARE, ARE, ARE SIX TIMES SMALLER THAN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, AUSTIN IS FOUR TIMES LARGER THAN SEATTLE.
IT'S TWICE THE SIZE OF PHILADELPHIA.
UH, IT'S LARGER THAN CHICAGO AND PORTLAND AND ANY OTHER NUMBER OF CITIES THAT, UH, YOU NAME YOU COULD NAME THAT PEOPLE TEND TO THINK OF.
AND THIS IS ANOTHER COMPLICATING FACTOR THAT OUR WORK CREWS MUST, UH, OVERCOME AS THEY START TO RESPOND TO ISSUES ACROSS THE CITY.
OUR AGENDA FOR THIS MORNING WILL INCLUDE A, UH, WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK, UM, A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF OUR ONE AUSTIN RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK, UM, AND ALSO, UM, AN OVERVIEW OF OUR, UM, WORK AT HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
UM, AN UPDATE ON THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER AND FUNCTIONS, ITS FUNCTIONS AND CHANGES.
UM, WE'RE GONNA TOUCH BASE ON THE CITYWIDE, UH, CITY WORKFORCE, UH, AND SUPPORT SERVICES.
WE'LL ALSO, UM, TALK ABOUT OUR OPERATIONAL READINESS AND COVER SOME OF THE WORK THAT SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS HAVE DONE AND ARE CONTINUING TO DO.
AND THEN WE WILL FINISH UP THE PRESENTATION WITH NEXT STEPS.
SO RECENTLY WE RECEIVED A LONG RANGE WINTER WEATHER PROJECTION FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
THERE WERE TWO NOTABLE POINTS, UH, THAT ARE UPDATED AS PART OF THAT, UH, THAT BRIEFING.
WARNINGS WILL CONTINUE AS THEY HAVE IN THE PAST.
FREEZE WARNINGS ARE ISSUED WHEN CONDITIONS ARE PROJECTED.
WARNINGS ARE, ARE ISSUED WHEN CONDITIONS ARE, UM, AT OR BELOW 32 DEGREES FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.
AND A HARD FREEZE WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN, UM, CONDITIONS ARE AT OR BELOW 28 DEGREES FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, BUT NEW FOR THE UPCOMING WINTER SEASON.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS ADDING, UH, AN ICE STORM WARNING FOR CENTRAL TEXAS.
THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT SIGNALS A NEED TO CHANGE OUR EXPECTATIONS AND OUR THINKING AROUND HOW WE PREPARE FOR WINTER WEATHER.
STARTING WITH OUR ONE AUSTIN RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK.
UM, EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER PRESENTED AN OVERARCHING FRAMEWORK FOR RESILIENCE.
THIS FRAMEWORK IS BASED ON THREE OVERARCH OVERARCHING PILLARS THAT DESCRIBE THE CITY'S RESILIENCE WORK.
AND THOSE PILLARS ARE ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE, INCREASING AFFORDABILITY, AND ADVANCING RACIAL EQUITY.
UH, BUILDING RESILIENCE REQUIRES, UM, US TO TAKE A LOOK AT BOTH SHOCKS AND STRESSES IN AN INTEGRATED WAY.
THESE SHOCKS ARE NATURAL AND MANMADE DISASTERS OR MAJOR DISRUPTIONS.
WHILE STRESSORS ARE THE UNDERLYING VULNERABILITIES THAT AFFECT OUR COMMUNITY'S DAY-TO-DAY, UH, AND IMPACT OUR ABILITY TO PREPARE, RESPOND, AND THRIVE TODAY.
THROUGH THAT LENS, WE WILL DISCUSS, UM, HOW WE, AS CITY DEPARTMENTS ARE PREPARING FOR ONE OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL SHOCKS TO OUR SYSTEMS, AND THAT IS WINTER STORMS. IN AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE HAVE INTEGRATED RESILIENCE AT ALL LEVELS, WE'LL TOUCH BASE ON MULTIPLE, UM, DEPARTMENTAL CHANGES.
UH, AS IT RELATES TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE FACE OF DISASTERS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING LEADERSHIP GUIDANCE, COORDINATION ACROSS A BROAD SPECTRUM OF ACTIVITIES AND ACTIONS.
PLANNING, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY ARE THE PILLARS OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
THE BENEFITS OF EARLY PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS INCLUDE A SPEEDY RESPONSE AND BETTER COORDINATED RECOVERY EFFORTS.
AND WHILE WE CAN'T AVOID EXTREME WEATHER, WHAT WE CAN DO IS PREPARE.
MANY OF THE TENANTS OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND RESILIENCE ARE OVERLAPPING AND INTERCONNECTED.
RESILIENCE PROVIDES AN OVERARCHING FRAMEWORK FOR LONG-TERM VISION AND PREPARING, AND
[02:05:01]
HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOCUSES ON EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS, INCLUDING PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS ACTIVITIES.AND AS WE START TO DIVE DEEPER INTO OUR EMERGENCY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS, UM, I WANT THE, UH, THE COUNCIL TO FOCUS ON OUR KEY TAKEAWAYS, WHICH IS OUR ONE AUSTIN APPROACH.
OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE COORDINATING AND COMMUNICATING AND WORKING TOGETHER, CONDUCTING ANNUAL WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS REVIEWS ACROSS THE CITY, UM, AND ALSO CONDUCTING TABLETOP EXERCISES WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS AND OUR EXTERNAL, UH, PARTNERS AS WELL.
WE'RE COORDINATING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND TRAINING PROTOCOLS FOR COMMUNICATING INTERNALLY ACROSS DEPARTMENTS WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND ALSO WITH THE PUBLIC OPERATIONAL READINESS.
OUR OPERATIONAL READINESS ASSETS HAVE BEEN PRE-POSITIONED ACROSS THE CITY FOR EASE OF ACCESS, UH, IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY.
UH, WE CALL THESE ASSETS MISSION READY PACKAGES.
UH, WE HAVE EIGHT OF THEM DEPLOYED CURRENTLY, AND WE HAVE MORE, UH, STATIONED IN OUR WAREHOUSE.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING TO SCHEDULE STAFF, UM, AND HAVE PREDETERMINED, UH, WHO'S GONNA STEP UP AND, AND STEP INTO ROLES LIKE, UM, SUPPORTING SHELTERS.
THIS ENSURES THAT STAFF HAVE TIME TO PREPARE, UM, THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES SO THAT THEY CAN ALSO RESPOND.
OFTENTIMES, OUR STAFF MEMBERS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, SUPPORTING THE CITY DURING A RESPONSE ARE ALSO IMPACTED BY THE EVENTS IN THEIR HOMES.
SO MANY TIMES THEY'RE DEALING WITH POWER OUTAGES OR WATER OUTAGE OUTAGES OR GENERAL IMPACTS AS WELL.
OUR COUNCIL ENGAGEMENT COUNCIL LIAISONS ARE STAFF MEMBERS FROM THE CITY OFFICE, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
SO WE ARE SWITCHING, UH, HOW WE'VE DONE THAT.
AND THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT YOU ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH AND THAT YOU WORK WITH ON A REGULAR BASIS.
UM, AND OUR COMMUNITY PREP PREPAREDNESS.
SO A HUGE FOCUS AND PIVOT FOR US IS THE CITY HAS BEEN HEAVILY FOCUSED ON HELPING RESIDENTS INCREASE THEIR OWN PERSONAL READINESS.
WE'VE CONDUCTED AND PARTICIPATED IN NUMEROUS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS EVENTS WHERE WE'VE HANDED OUT FREE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS KITS.
THERE'S A CLEAR CONSIDER EFFORT AMONG STAFF TO COM COMMUNICATE MORE FREQUENTLY, QUICKLY, AND EFFECTIVELY WITH THE PUBLIC.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO LETTING PEOPLE KNOW WHEN TO EXPECT COMMUNICATIONS AND BEING OPEN AND CLEAR ABOUT INFORMATION THAT IS OR IS NOT AVAILABLE.
SOME OF OUR CHALLENGES IN THE PAST HAVE INCLUDED LANGUAGE ACCESS, COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH, COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS, EMERGENCY FATIGUE, AND STAFFING.
AND HERE ARE SOME OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN FOR HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY.
UM, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAS BEEN UPDATED AND WAS RECENTLY RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY BY THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACCREDITATION PROGRAM AS A BEST PRACTICE FOR HAVING MESSAGING TRANSLATED INTO 14 LANGUAGES.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS A MAJOR AREA OF FOCUS.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD PREPAREDNESS GUIDE WAS COMPLETED AND IS AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH WITH PLANS TO TRANSLATE INTO, UH, ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES, UH, GOING FORWARD.
WE ALSO LAUNCHED A READY TOGETHER PREPAREDNESS TRAINING PROGRAM, UH, ON SEPTEMBER 28TH.
IT WAS SUCCESSFUL, AND WE PLAN TO, UM, HOST THAT TRAINING QUARTERLY THROUGHOUT TWO, UH, 2024.
HIRING WAS ANOTHER ISSUE, UH, OVER THE PAST FEW, UH, YEARS.
UH, ALSO IMPACTED AS, UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
SENIO MENTIONED COVID AND THE GENERAL PACE OF EMERGENCIES LED TO STAFF FATIGUE.
SOME MEMBERS OF THE STAFF HAVE BEEN ON CALL OR ON STANDBY EVERY THREE WEEKS FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, SOME OF THEM HAVE ALSO, A COUPLE OF THEM HAVE BEEN ON STANDBY FOR, FOR, UH, EVEN MORE TIME THAN THAT.
I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT ALL NEW POSITIONS ARE FILLED, NOW, POSTED, OR ACTIVELY IN THE HIRING PROCESS, AND THIS SHOULD HELP US IMPROVE OUR WORKLOAD BALANCE.
RECENTLY WE WENT THROUGH, UH, RE-ACCREDITATION WITH THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACCREDITATION PROGRAM.
UM, I WANNA SAY THAT WAS A BRUTAL PROCESS.
UH, IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT, BUT I THINK IT WAS WELL WORTH IT IN TERMS OF THE FACT NOW THAT WE HAVE UPDATED OVER 40 OF OUR CONTINUITY OPERATIONS PLANS, UH, AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE HAD THAT MANY OF OUR PLANS UPDATED AT THE SAME TIME FOR QUITE A NUMBER OF YEARS.
WE ALSO MANAGED TO UPDATE, UH, OVER 35 OF OUR EMERGENCY, UH, POLICIES ASSOCIATED WITH EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
UM, WE DEVELOPED A CITYWIDE TRAINING PLAN FOR ALL PUBLIC INFORMATION STAFF WHO SERVE OR COULD SERVE IN THE EOC, AND ALSO DEVELOPED A CITYWIDE TRAINING PLAN FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND SENIOR STAFF TO ORGANIZE OUR WORKFLOWS.
SEVERAL TOOLS HAVE BEEN, UH, BEEN CREATED.
[02:10:01]
MOST PEOPLE ARE COM UH, FAMILIAR WITH THAT IS THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCY IMPROVEMENT STATUS PORTAL.UH, WE ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE THAT TOOL TO MAKE IT EASIER TO UNDERSTAND AND USE.
UH, AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT OTHER OPTIONS, UH, AS WELL.
UM, WE'VE CREATED A PROJECT TRACKER AND A SPECIAL EVENT MANAGEMENT TOOL.
UM, AND AS AN EXAMPLE OF WHY THIS WAS IMPORTANT, UH, I TALKED A BIT ABOUT THE TEAM'S WORKLOAD.
SO FOR 2000 AND, UH, 20, UH, TWO, THE TEAM SUPPORTED OVER 256 SPECIAL EVENTS.
UH, AND SO IT'S A HUGE WORKLOAD.
SO, UM, THIS IS A, I THINK, A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO BETTER ORGANIZE AND STRUCTURE OUR WORK AS IT RELATES TO OUR FOOD, WATER, FOOD, AND WATER APPENDIX.
UM, THE FOOD AND WATER APPENDIX IS DESIGNED TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO PROVIDING FOOD AND WATER DISTRIBUTION TOGETHER.
IT WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO THE NEWLY CREATED MASS CARE BRANCH.
WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF FINALIZING OUR MASS CARE BRANCH PLANS AND HIRING A MASS CARE, UH, BRANCH MANAGER.
UPON COMPLETION, WE WILL HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW BEST TO INTEGRATE OUR PLANS AND MEET OUR WATER AND FOOD NEEDS, UH, AND ALIGN THOSE WITH THOSE OF OUR EXTERNAL PARTNERS AND ORGANIZATIONS.
WE'RE GOING TO ALSO, UH, AS PART OF OUR NEXT STEPS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO, UM, ALIGN OUR STAFFING NEEDS AND CAPACITY.
WE WANT TO EXPAND TRAINING AND DRILLS TO IMPROVE OUR RESPONSE AND RECOVERY ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE.
WE PLAN TO CONDUCT WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS REVIEWS WITH DEPARTMENTS.
WE ALSO, UH, WILL BE ADDING ADDITIONAL EXERCISES WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS AND OUR EXTERNAL PARTNERS TO IMPROVE OUR AFTER ACTION REPORT PROCESS.
WE'RE TAKING A PROGRAMMATIC APPROACH.
THIS WILL STANDARDIZE THE PROCESS AND CREATE CONSISTENCY ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE, MAKING IT EASIER TO ACQUIRE AND SYNTHESIZE OUR DATA, CONTINUE.
ALSO, CONTINUING TO EXPAND AND HELP BUILD OUR COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCE, UH, AS WELL AS THE, THOSE OF OUR STAFF AND OUR TEAMS. AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE OUR PERFORMANCE BY EMBEDDING WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED DURING PREVIOUS DISASTER EVENTS INTO OUR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANS AND DEPENDENCIES.
SO, MOVING ON TO OUR COMMUNICATIONS ONCE THE EOC, AND THIS IS AN OVERVIEW OF HOW THE JOINT INFORMATION SYSTEM, UH, CENTER, UH, WORKS.
ONCE THE EOC IS ACTIVATED, THE CITY'S COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR ACTIVATES THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER, WHICH SERVES AS THE OPERATIONAL ARM FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS AND MESSAGING.
DURING THE ACTIVATION COMMUNICATIONS, EXECUTIVES SERVE AS POLICY COMMUNICATIONS LEADS TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION TO THE LEAD PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER.
THE LEAD PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER DIRECTS THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER, WHICH IS STAFFED ON ROTATION BY COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS FROM ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION.
THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COORDINATING AND QUICKLY DELIVERING UNITED EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND MESSAGING TO THE PUBLIC.
ALL DEPARTMENTS ARE REQUIRED TO GO THROUGH THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER, UM, PRIOR TO ISSUING COMMUNICATIONS RELATED TO THE EMERGENCY ACTIVATION.
THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER ALSO SERVES AS A CENTRAL POINT, UH, OR CENTRAL POINT OF CONTACT FOR THE MEDIA COMMUNICATION STAFF FROM THE COUNTY ALSO COORDINATE WITH AND THROUGH THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER TO PREPARE FOR THE UPCOMING WINTER SEASON.
WE ARE IMPLEMENTING NEW CITYWIDE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOLS THAT WERE ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER THIS PAST JUNE.
WE HAVE ALREADY TRAINED OVER 100 COMMUNICATIONS STAFF ON THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER PROCEDURES.
WE HAVE PRE-IDENTIFIED AND STARTED TO SCHEDULE STAFF TO PREPARE TO SERVE IN THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER WHEN ACTIVATED, AND WE'RE COORDINATING WITH THE CITY'S LANGUAGE ACCESS V UH, VENDORS, UH, TO ASSIST WITH TRANSLATION NEEDS.
AND WE ASK TO PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT CITY STAFF, WHEN CITY STAFF ARE USED TO TRANSLATE.
SOMETIMES THAT COMES WITH ITS OWN CHALLENGES THAT INCLUDE, UH, OFTENTIMES SOME OF THESE MEMBERS HAVE TO RESPOND IN DIFFERENT CAPACITIES TO THE EVENTS THEMSELVES, UH, AND SOMETIMES THEY MAY NOT BE TRAINED FOR TRANSLATION.
THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER COORDINATES VERY CLOSELY WITH COUN, WITH THE COUNCIL LIAISON OFFICER WHO SERVES AS THE COUNCIL'S BEST CONNECTION FOR INFORMATION DURING AN ACTIVATION, THE COUNCIL LIAISON OFFICER SERVES AS A DIRECT LINE FROM THE EOC EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER TO THE ELECTED OFFICIALS.
THEY RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM THE ELECTED OFFICIALS AND SHARE IT WITH THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER.
THEY COORDINATE WITH OPERATIONS DEPARTMENTS, UH, OPERATIONAL DEPARTMENT LIAISONS, AND THEY REVIEW NEWS FLASHES AND POLICY COMMUNICATION LE WITH LEADS, UH, TO ENSURE
[02:15:01]
THAT, UH, THINGS ARE GOOD TO GO.PRIOR TO ISSUANCE NEWS, FLASHES ARE A KEY WAY TO SHARE UPDATES WITH COUNCIL.
THEY ARE ISSUED BY COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION.
THEY SERVE AS THE FIRST AND FASTEST METHOD FOR, UH, COUNCIL WIDE UPDATES AND EMERGENCY, UH, SITUATIONS.
AS EMERGENCY SITUATIONS EVOLVE, THEY INCLUDE MESSAGING THAT WE NEED YOU TO SHARE WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS.
THEY ARE ALSO USED TO NOTIFY YOU WHEN PRESS RELEASES ARE ISSUED, OR TO CONNECT YOU WITH INFORMATION.
THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IF MEDIA REACHES OUT TO YOU BECAUSE NEWS FLASHES LIKELY PROVIDE THE INFORMATION.
YOU'LL NEED TO RESPOND TO MEDIA INQUIRIES DURING AN ACTIVATION.
AND DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION, YOU CAN GENERALLY EXPECT AN UPDATE TWICE A DAY, ONCE IN THE MORNING, AND AGAIN AT THE END OF THE OF THE DAY.
BUT DO NOT BE SURPRISED IF YOU RECEIVE MORE FREQUENT UPDATES AS WELL.
MOVING ON TO OUR CITY WORKFORCE.
UM, THESE 12 FOCUS AREAS ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO SUPPORTING CITY STAFF WHO ARE INTEGRAL TO RESPONSE EFFORTS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LEARNED DURING THE PAST, UH, FEW WINTER STORMS IS THAT SOMETIMES OUR STAFF DIDN'T HAVE THE ADEQUATE, UH, SUPPORT CLOTHING, FOR EXAMPLE, TO RESPOND, UM, DURING EXTREMELY COLD WEATHER.
UM, THESE, UM, FOCUS AREAS AGAIN, ENSURE EMPLOYEE SAFETY BY MONITORING WEATHER CONDITIONS, UH, THROUGH A CITYWIDE SYSTEM THAT SENDS OUT ALERTS TO ALL EMPLOYEES, THEY ENSURE ADHERENCE TO EXTREME WEATHER GUIDELINES DEVELOPED BY, UH, OSHA AND THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
THEY UTILIZE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY TOOL, ENSURE THAT WE UTILIZE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY TOOL, UM, AND ALLOW CALCULATION OF THE WEATHER INDEX FOR OUR WORK SITES.
UM, SUPERVISORS WILL MONITOR WORKERS' PHYSICAL CONDITIONS AND ENSURE THAT ADDITIONAL BREAKS ARE TAKEN AS NEEDED.
THEY ALSO, UM, SU UH, SUPERVISORS WILL ALSO ADJUST START TIMES OR END TIMES AS NEEDED TO SUPPORT EITHER EARLIER STARTS OR LATER STARTS, UH, TO PROTECT OUR STAFF AND TO ADJUST TO WHATEVER THE, UM, ISSUES MIGHT BE AT A GIVEN TIME.
DEPARTMENTS PROVIDE APPROPRIATE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AS APPLICABLE TO THE WEATHER EVENTS SUCH AS COATS OR OTHER WARM CLOTHING, ACCESS TO FACILITIES WITH HEAT OR SUPPLIES REQUIRED TO HELP THEM DRIVE SAFELY ON ICE.
THEY ALSO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING, UH, SAFETY TRAINING ON EXTREME WEATHER RELATED ILLNESS.
UM, THEY PROVIDE TRAINING ON VEHICLE SAFETY AND EQUIPMENT FOR DRIVING.
THEY, THEY PROVIDE DAILY COMMUNICATIONS FOR BOTH MEDIA AND PERSONNEL, AND ALSO PROVIDE SITUATIONAL REPORTS.
THEY PROVIDE EDUCATION AND, AND TRAINING ON HOW TO MANAGE AND UNDERSTAND COLD WEATHER IMPACTS AND HOW TO RESPOND TO SPECIFIC ISSUES.
THEY HELP STAFF UNDERSTAND HOW TO PROTECT OUR FACILITIES, AND IN PREPARATION FOR 24 HOUR OPERATIONS.
UM, THEY PRO PROVIDE, UM, INFORMATION REGARDING CHALLENGES TO CREATE, UH, TO HELP CREATE IT BY, FOR PERSONNEL OR TO HELP PERSONNEL, EXCUSE ME, UH, AS THEY, UM, WORK WITH THEIR FAMILIES TO MAKE SURE THEIR FAMILIES ARE SAFE DURING, UH, THESE EVENTS.
THEY UTILIZE EMPLOYEES TO SUPPORT OTHER CITY OPERATIONS BY HAVING STAFF SERVE AND REASSIGN CAPACITIES TO ASSIST WITH OUR SHELTERS, ENSURING CONTRACTS FOR FOOD AND HOTELS ARE AVAILABLE IF EMPLOYEES CANNOT SAFELY TRAVEL HOME.
AND WE ARE WORKING TO DEVELOP AN ESSENTIAL WORKER POLICY AND TO STANDARDIZE ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, UH, WHAT WE PURCHASE AND BUY AS CLOTHING RESOURCES.
MOVING ON TO OUR UTILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE, THE DEPARTMENTS THAT, UH, ARE LISTED HERE, THESE ARE, ARE GROUPINGS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, OUR RESPONSE EFFORTS AND NOT HOW THEY'RE TYPICALLY GROUPED IN THEIR DAY-TO-DAY WORK.
UM, BUT THE GROUPS IN THIS, UH, GROUPING ARE AUSTIN ENERGY, AUSTIN WATER AVIATION, AND OUR TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND THE MAIN ISSUES FOR THESE, UH, THESE TEAMS ARE HARDENING FACILITIES, UM, TRAINING EMPLOYEES TO HELP MITIGATE TASK AND DEALING WITH SOME OF OUR ONGOING ISSUES.
AND WHAT WE'VE DONE NOW IN, IN PREPARATIONS OUR OPERATIONAL READINESS TO, TO HELP, UM, PIVOT AND PUT FORTH A MORE ROBUST RESPONSE HERE IS GENERATORS ARE NOW IN PLACE AT CRITICAL FACILITIES, AND WE HAVE BACKUP CONTRACTS, UH, FOR, UH, AREAS WHERE WE DO NOT HAVE GENERATORS.
UM, WE ARE STAGING EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, AND PEOPLE AHEAD OF INCOMING WEATHER, PURCHASING ADDITIONAL DEVICES TO APPLY, UH, OR EQUIPMENT TO APPLY DEICING MATERIALS.
UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE GENERATORS, UH, AT OUR, UM, INTERSECTIONS AND 75,
[02:20:01]
UM, STOP SIGNS SET UPS FOR OUR, FOR OUR, UH, SIGNALIZE LOCATIONS.SO THINK IN TERMS HERE OF OUR, UM, DARK SIGNAL LOCATIONS DURING EXTENDED POWER OUTAGES.
THEY'VE ALSO SECURED ADDITIONAL PPE AND ARE UPDATING, UH, PRIORITIZED ROADWAYS FOR OUR CRITICAL FACILITIES TO HELP SUPPORT, UM, AND MAKE IT EASIER FOR STAFF TO GET TO THOSE LOCATIONS FOR WORK.
MOVING ON TO LOGISTICS REPORT, UH, SUPPORT.
UM, THESE GROUPS ENSURE THAT THE CITY MAINTAINS AND QUICKLY REESTABLISHES DEBRIS AND CURBSIDE COLLECTION PERFORMS DEBRIS REMOVAL AND PROCESSING FROM CULVERTS AND DRAINAGE SYSTEMS TO HELP PREVENT FLOODING.
THEY ENSURE CITY BUILDINGS ARE OPERATIONAL AND SAFE.
THEY SUPPORT WATER DISTRIBUTION, MAINTAIN AND, AND OPERATIONALLY, UH, AND OPERATIONALLY READY FLEET.
THEY PROVIDE VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT FROM, UH, VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT ALONG WITH TECHNICAL AND LOGISTICAL SUPPORT FOR THE RECEIPT AND DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES.
MAINTAIN THE CITY'S INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUPPLY CHAIN AND RAPIDLY DEPLOY AND SET UP AND PROVIDE TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR COMPUTERS, PRINTERS, OUR AUDIO VISUAL EQUIPMENT, UH, IN OUR EMERGENCY SHELTERS AND COMMAND CENTERS.
MOVING ON TO OUR COMMUNITY CAPACITY AND SUPPORT.
I, THE PRIMARY FO FOCUS OF, OF THESE TEAMS DURING AN EMERGENCY IS ON VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
THIS INCLUDES THE UNHOUSED OLDER ADULTS, MEDICALLY VULNERABLE, UH, AND MEDICALLY VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
THESE POPULATIONS TYPICALLY NEED THE MOST RESOURCES EARLY ON DURING AN EVENT, UM, IN TERMS OF SHELTERING, WARMING CENTERS AND ASSISTANCE WITH THE PRIMARY NEEDS BEING FOOD AND SOMETIMES MEDICAL ASSISTANCE.
ONCE IN RECOVERY MODE, THE CITY HOSTS MULTI-AGENCY RESOURCE CENTERS TO COMMUNICATE AVAILABLE ASSISTANCE TO THE PUBLIC.
AND IN ADDITION, UH, TO THESE SERVICES, THEY ALSO SHARE SERVICES FROM THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR MEMBERS OF OUR, UM, PARTNER GROUPS AND, UH, NON-GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES.
I THINK I'VE COVERED THIS SLIDE.
MOVING ON TO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY TEAMS. THE OVERARCHING BROAD IMPACT FOR THE PUBLIC SAFETY TEAM WERE THE ABILITY TO SCALE STAFF TO SUPPORT THE EVENTS TRAINING FOR RARELY USED EQUIPMENT AND BETTER COORDINATION FOR SHELTER SECURITY AND REDUNDANT POWER.
UM, ONE OF THE OPERATIONAL READINESS PROCEDURES THAT WE'VE PUT IN PLACE NOW ARE BACKUP GENERATORS AND DESIGNATED POLICE STATIONS AND PORTABLE GENERATORS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND ARE AVAILABLE FOR FIRE AND EMS STATIONS THAT LOSE ELECTRICITY.
THEY'VE ALSO, UH, PROVIDED NOW FOOD AND WATER, UM, AND ALSO, UH, OTHER F SUPPORT, UH, FACIL SUPPORT ITEMS FOR THEIR, UH, CREWS.
ALL FIRE EMS APPARATUS HAVE BEEN INVENTORIED AND ARE NOW, UM, SET UP WITH, UM, UH, TIRE CHAINS TO HELP SUPPORT MOVEMENT ON ICY ROADWAYS.
AND THEY'RE ALSO ISSUING BOOT TRACTION DEVICES FOR STAFF TO HELP PREVENT SLIPS AND FALLS.
UH, AS PART OF OUR NEXT STEPS, THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WILL HELP CROSS TRAIN WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN, UH, PROVIDE SUPPORT DURING FUTURE EVENTS.
THEY'RE WORKING TO PRIORITIZE ROADWAY CLEARING AND ACCESS TO WARMING CENTERS AND COLD WEATHER SHELTERS AND SUPPORT.
EASIER TO SUPPORT EASIER ACCESS FOR THOSE IN NEED.
THEY WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS.
ALSO, WE WILL WORK TO CREATE AND IMPROVE PROCESS AND MECHANISM FOR OUR AFTER ACTION REPORTS.
THIS WAS A HUGE ISSUE, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, BEING ABLE TO GET OUR INFORMATION OUT OF OUR ACTIVE AFTER ACTION REPORTS AND USE IT AS, UH, KNOWLEDGE GOING FORWARD IS A CRITICAL PIECE, UH, THAT WE, WE WILL BE FOCUSED ON.
AND ALSO WORKING TO EMBED LESSONS LEARNED FROM PREVIOUS EVENTS INTO OUR CURRENT EMERGENCY PLANS AND DEPENDENCIES.
AGAIN, AS WE, UM, START TO WRAP UP, UM, OUR KEY TAKEAWAYS IS, AGAIN, OUR ONE AUSTIN APPROACH, OUR OPERATIONAL READINESS, OUR COUNCIL ENGAGEMENT, AND OUR COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS.
HOW CAN YOU HELP? PLEASE SHARE OUR PREPAREDNESS
[02:25:01]
MATERIALS AND OUR PREPAREDNESS GUIDE AND ENCOURAGE OUR PERSONAL, ENCOURAGE PERSONAL PREPAREDNESS THROUGHOUT YOUR COMMUNITY.ATTEND OUR HES AND TRAININGS THAT WILL BE COMING TO YOU.
AND DURING EMERGENCY ACTIVATIONS, WORK WITH YOUR COUNCIL LIAISON OFFICER TO ASSIST, UH, THE COMMUNITY AND TO COMMUNICATE YOUR CONSTITUENT NEEDS TO THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
LET'S START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I DO APPRECIATE, UH, THE DISASTER MESSAGING ALIGNMENT THROUGH THE JIC.
IS THERE GOING TO BE ONE, UH, CLARION SOURCE OF INFO? I MEAN, LIKE COMING DIRECTLY JUST FROM THE CITY SO THAT IT'S NOT COMING FROM WATER AND ELECTRICITY AND CITY CO, UH, COMMUNICATION OUTLETS SO THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT THERE'S ONE PLACE TO GO TO GET THE INFORMATION.
I BELIEVE THAT IS TO GO, UM, WHEN I HAVE, UM, DIRECTLY DIRECTOR KING COME UP.
JESSICA KING, UM, WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE.
SO THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S MAIN ACCOUNT, UM, AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV, AS WELL AS ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS SERVE AS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF INFORMATION, BUT WE HAVE A LONG LIST OF FOLLOWERS, AS DO MANY OTHER CITY ACCOUNTS.
SO WE DO TRY TO USE THAT AS A MULTIPLIER EFFECT, MEANING THAT WE ENCOURAGE AUSTIN ENERGY IF IT'S AN AUSTIN ENERGY RELATED POST, TO SUBMIT THEIR POSTS THROUGH THEIR ACCOUNTS.
AND THEN WE SHARE THROUGH OUR ASSOCIATED ACCOUNTS.
SO, COA PRIMARILY YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THROUGH THE COURSE OF AN ACTIVATION, LIKELY SHARING HESSAM ACCOUNTS, UM, HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AS WELL AS AUSTIN ENERGY ACCOUNTS, AUSTIN WATER.
BUT COA IS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF INFORMATION.
SO IT WOULD HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION FROM THE OTHER SITES AS WELL? YES.
AND KEEPING IN MIND TOO, THAT BECAUSE SOCIAL IS LIMITED IN MANY WAYS, WE WILL REDIRECT TO OUR ALERT ACCOUNT, WHICH IS GOING TO HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION AND TRANSLATE IT IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
UM, UH, CAN Y'ALL TOUCH A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE, UH, THE NEW ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEE POLICY? THE, ONE MORE TIME COUNCIL MEMBER, I'M SORRY.
THE, UH, ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEE POLICY THAT WAS IN, IN THE, UM, IN THE PRESENTATION? YES.
SO THE GOAL WITH THE ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEE POLICY IS TO MOVE EMPLOYEES DURING AN EMERGENCY TO AN AREA OF NEED.
UH, AND SO WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THAT.
UM, UH, HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR IS NOT HERE, BUT SHE WAS HERE EARLIER.
UH, AND THAT'S A PROJECT THAT'S UNDER HER, UM, UNDER HER AREA.
UM, BUT THAT IS THE PLAN IS TO BE ABLE TO MOVE EMPLOYEES TO THE AREA OF NEED, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY MAY DO DAY TO DAY DURING AN EMERGENCY.
WE WANT TO REASSIGN PEOPLE TO, UH, SUPPORT, UH, WHATEVER THE CITY NEEDS AT THAT TIME.
UM, AND YOU'D MENTIONED THAT, UH, OR IN THE PRESENTATION THERE WERE, UH, SIX RECREATION CENTERS THAT HAD REDUNDANT POWER.
DO WE HAVE THAT LIST OF, OF THE RECREATION CENTERS THAT HAVE THAT WE CAN GET THAT TO YOU? THANK YOU, SIR.
OUR HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR HAS APPEARED.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF SHE WANTED TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT RESPONSE.
YOU END UP COMING TO THE MICROPHONE.
HI, REBECCA KENNEDY, INTERIM HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR.
WE ARE WORKING ON THAT WITH CMO TO FORMALIZE THAT, AND WE SHOULD HAVE SOME, A DRAFT WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
AND I'M GONNA CALL ON COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY NEXT, BUT VERY BRIEFLY, UM, I WILL NEED TO STEP AWAY AT 1140 AND FUTURE MAYOR PRO TEM LESLIE POOLE WILL BE TAKING THE REINS AT THAT POINT.
SO I APPRECIATE YOU BEING WILLING TO STEP IN.
I HAVE TO SPEAK ON A PANEL ABOUT VISION ZERO.
UM, ALSO, I JUST WANTED TO FLAG, SINCE I AM STEPPING AWAY, UM, WE HAD ASKED STAFF A WHILE BACK, I THINK IT WAS BACK AS FAR AS AUGUST, ABOUT SUMMER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS AS WELL.
SO WE'LL KEEP THAT DIALOGUE OPEN.
'CAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE, UM, THIS IS VERY TIMELY FOR NOW AND THE WINTER WEATHER THAT'S APPROACHING.
AND I ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IN A COUPLE MONTHS, WE HAVE A SIMILAR RUNDOWN FOR, UM, PREPAREDNESS FOR THE, THE HEAT AND WHAT OUR EMPLOYEES GO THROUGH DURING, DURING HEAT RELATED ISSUES.
AND ON THAT, I WILL CALL ON COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR SNIPES FOR YOUR WORK IN THIS IMPORTANT AREA.
I VERY MUCH APPRECIATED GETTING TO WORK WITH YOU TO HELP PREPARE THE RESIDENTS OF MY DISTRICT FOR EMERGENCIES.
I ALSO WANNA BRIEFLY THANK PEC AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER FOR COMING OUT TO MY DISTRICT LAST MONTH TO TALK ABOUT WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS AT OUR MONTHLY PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNITY CONVERSATION.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER COMMUNITY CONVERSATION ON PUBLIC SAFETY ON DECEMBER 6TH ABOUT OPIOID OVERDOSE AND PREPAREDNESS.
AND SO I WANNA THANK EMS FOR COMING OUT TO THAT.
UM, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED EARLY ON THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE MORE QUICKLY WITH THE COMMUNITY DURING A DISASTER, BUT I ALSO REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE TO BALANCE THAT WITH GETTING OUT ACCURATE INFORMATION IN A TIMELY MANNER.
SO I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW, PLEASE DON'T BE SO FAST THAT IT'S NOT RIGHT.
UM, BUT I KNOW THAT YOU, YOU'LL FOLLOW THAT.
AND THEN CONGRATULATIONS ON IMPROVING YOUR STAFFING.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE COUNTLESS HOURS OF WORK THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE DONE
[02:30:01]
TO, TO UPDATE OUR PLANS.I'VE REVIEWED THOSE PLANS, AND I REALLY FEEL LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS IN A GREAT PLACE RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP.
OH BOY, I'M NOW THE CHAIR AT THIS MEETING.
UH, AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR SNIPES, FOR THIS VERY COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
I MEAN, YOU COVERED ALL OF THE AREAS THAT I KNOW I WAS CERTAINLY GONNA WANT MORE INFORMATION ON.
SO I WANNA APPRECIATE AND JUST EXTEND MY GRATITUDE FOR, UM, THIS INCREDIBLE PRESENTATION.
I THINK IT'S A WONDERFUL MODEL, AND I'M JUST SO APPRECIATIVE OF YOUR LEADERSHIP.
YOU'VE GIVEN ME A LOT OF CONFIDENCE THAT OUR CITY HAS IMPROVED IN HOW WE PREPARE FOR EMERGENCIES, AND THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS AND OPERATIONS AND, UH, RESILIENCY, ALL OF IT COMBINED.
AND SO, JUST WANNA APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP.
BEFORE I DIVE INTO MY QUESTIONS, UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE IN COLLEAGUES, I'VE, UM, PASSED AN AMENDMENT, AND I KNOW I'VE WORKED ON A NUMBER OF RESOLUTIONS.
I THINK COUNCILOR KELLY, YOU ALSO WORKED ON A, A COLD SHELTER, EMERGENCY SHELTER RESOLUTION AT ONE POINT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'M TRYING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IS THAT WHEN A DISASTER STRIKES, HOW DOES HSO AND OUR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER ACTIVATE TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTY? YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT WE OF COURSE, ARE FOCUSED AT THE CITY LEVEL, BUT FOR MY DISTRICT WHERE I HAVE THE DELL VALLEY AREA, WHICH IS HALF WITHIN THE CITY, HALF WITHIN THE COUNTY, UM, LITERALLY THE BLOCK OVER IS A COUNTY LINE FROM RESIDENTS WHO RESIDE IN THE CITY.
WHEN I THINK ABOUT PREPARING OUR COMMUNITY, TO ME, DELL VALLEY IS AN AREA OF INTEREST GIVEN THE VULNERABILITY LEVEL, UH, VULNERABILITY INDEX LEVEL THAT WE HAVE.
UM, THE LAST UPDATE THAT I GOT TO THE RESOLUTION THAT I PASSED, SPECIFICALLY ASKING FOR THE COORDINATION BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE COUNTY FOR AN EMERGENCY SHELTER IN THE DOLL VALLEY AREA.
STAFF IS RECOMMENDING, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT DOING IT BECAUSE OF FUNDING, BECAUSE OF NOT SUITABLE LOCATIONS TO ME.
I WANNA PUSH BACK ON THAT BECAUSE OUR DELL VALLEY ISD SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS ALREADY IDENTIFIED THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE WITH, UH, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TO PROVIDE AN AREA A SHELTER FOR DELL VALLEY RESIDENTS.
SO, I, THE FIRST QUESTION I WANNA ASK YOU IS, WHEN A DISASTERS DECLARED, HOW DOES HES, IM OPERATE WITH OUR COUNTY.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, WHEN A DISASTER IS DECLARED, UM, THE HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP, UH, PARTNERS WITH, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY OEM, SO WE'RE, WE OPERATE AS A JOINT FACILITY, SO ANYTHING THAT WOULD COME TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN WOULD ALSO COME TO THE COUNTY.
AND IF IT'S A COUNTY SPECIFIC ISSUE, THEY'RE RIGHT THERE WITH US AS OUR PARTNERS.
UH, AND THEY WOULD TAKE ON THOSE ISSUES TO INCLUDE DALE VALLEY.
SO WHAT MIGHT, COULD WE DO KNOWING THAT WHEN AN EMERGENCY IS HAPPENING, A DISASTER IS DECLARED, UH, OR EVEN IF A DISASTER HASN'T BEEN DECLARED, BUT WE'RE IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY, WHAT CAN WE DO TO ENSURE THERE'S NO GAPS IN SERVICES FOR OUR DELL VALLEY AREA RESIDENTS? IF THAT INFORMATION IS FED INTO THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER, WE'LL HAVE IT AND WE'LL RACK TO IT JUST AS IF IT WERE IN THE CITY, BECAUSE AGAIN, OUR, OUR COUNTY PARTNERS ARE RIGHT THERE WITH US.
UH, IN FACT, UH, THEIR, UH, THEIR DIRECTOR'S OFFICE IS RIGHT BESIDE MY OFFICE, UH, AT CTEC.
AND SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO TAKE IN ANY INFORMATION REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT'S, UH, IN DELL VALLEY OR IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND RESPOND TO ALL THOSE, UH, ALL THOSE ITEMS, UM, AND, AND DO SO QUICKLY.
YEAH, WE JUST ASK THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO HAVE A PROACTIVE APPROACH, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE PARTNERS AT THE COUNTY, THAT WE HAVE PARTNERS AT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WHO ARE WILLING AND ABLE, UH, TO, TO WORK WITH US ON ENSURING SERVICES, UM, THAT WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS NOW, BECAUSE I WOULD HATE FOR US TO HAVE ANOTHER EMERGENCY EVENT, AND WE'RE RIGHT BACK TO WHERE WE'RE LAST YEAR AND TRY TO COORDINATE A MAKESHIFT SHELTER OPERATION.
UH, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS, UM, CAN, AND THIS, I THINK IF OUR RESILIENCY OFFICER IS HERE, THIS IS REGARDING A STATUS UPDATE ON THE RESILIENCY HUBS, IF WE CAN HAVE AN UPDATE.
UM, SO I'LL START WITH, UM, GIVING JUST A VERY BASIC AND JUST BROAD OVERVIEW OF THE RESILIENCE HUBS UPDATE TO, UM, FOR, TO DATE.
UH, I DO WANNA PREFACE THAT WE DO HAVE A JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE PRESENTATION SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 8TH, IN WHICH, UM, UH, THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE WILL BE RECEIVING A COMPREHENSIVE BRIEFING ON THE RESILIENCE HUBS, UH, PROGRAM AND THEIR STATUS.
SO BRIEFLY, I DO WANNA SAY THAT WE NOW HAVE EXPANDED TO 14 CITY OWNED RESILIENCE HUBS, AND THEY'RE
[02:35:01]
ALL ACROSS THE EASTERN CRESCENT, INCLUDING EAST DOWNTOWN.AND AS A REMINDER, UH, HUBS ARE NOT SEPARATE FACILITIES FROM THE FACILITIES THAT ARE ALREADY IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
THEY'RE EXISTING FACILITIES THAT PROVIDE HEATING AND COOLING SPACES, FOOD AND WATER DISTRIBUTION, AND SOME ARE EVEN ABLE AND CAPABLE OF BEING SHELTERS FOR THIS WINTER SEASON.
ALL RECREATIONAL CENTERS AND SOME LIBRARIES WILL BE READY TO SERVE AS WARMING CENTERS.
THE HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT HAS DEVELOPED A COOLING CENTER MAP OF THESE LOCATIONS.
UM, THIS WAS DEVELOPED FOR THE SUMMER, AND SO IT IS THE INTENTION TO CREATE A SIMILAR MAP FOR WARMING CENTERS BEFORE EXTREME WEATHER HITS.
SOME RECREATIONAL CENTERS HAVE ALSO BEEN DESIGNATED AS COLD WEATHER SHELTERS TO SERVE SPECIFICALLY THE UNHOUSED POPULATION, WHILE SOME OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CENTERS, UM, ARE DESIGNATED AS POINTS OF DISTRIBUTION.
AND SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE CAN UTILIZE THE DIFFERENT FACILITIES WITHIN A NETWORK TO BUILD COMMUNITY RESILIENCE.
SPECIFICALLY IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES, SIX FACILITIES ARE BEING UPDATED.
UH, ALL THEIR ELECTRICAL, UH, SYSTEMS ARE BEING UPDATED TO BE ABLE TO, UM, PLUG IN BACKUP POWER GENERATORS.
AND THESE ARE SLATED TO BE COMPLETED, UH, BY THE END OF DECEMBER.
THESE FACILITIES ARE THE GEORGE MORALES RECREATION CENTER, GUS GARCIA RECREATION CENTER, MONIS NORTHWEST RECREATION CENTER, PARK SARAZA, AND TURNER ROBERTS.
UM, WE'VE ALSO, IN ADDITION TO WITHIN THE RESILIENCE, UH, HUB PROGRAM, RELEASED A COMMUNITY RESILIENCE HUB TOOLKIT FOR PRIVATE PARTNERS AND FACE FAITH ORGANIZATIONS TO SET UP THEIR OWN HUBS.
UM, THIS TOOLKIT PROVIDES INFORMATION ON FACILITIES THAT CAN SERVE AS INFORMATION CENTERS, FOOD AND WATER DISTRIBUTION CENTERS, COOLING AND WARMING CENTERS, AND EVEN BEING ABLE TO DETERMINE WHETHER SOME OF THEIR FACILITIES CAN SERVE AS POTENTIAL SHELTERS.
PREPAREDNESS GUIDES HAVE ALSO BEEN DISTRIBUTED AT ALL THE RESILIENCE HUBS, UM, AND SOME ADDITIONAL FACILITIES.
AND, UH, THIS YEAR, THE RESILIENCE OFFICE PARTNERED WITH HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICE TO HOST THE READY TOGETHER TRAINING IN METROPOLIS.
THERE WILL BE TRAINING SCHEDULED FOR NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
THAT WILL TAKE PLACE AT RESILIENCE HUBS AS WELL.
AND SO THE NEXT STEPS FOR RESILIENCE HUBS, UH, INCLUDE ONBOARD THE RESILIENCE HUB PROGRAM MANAGER TO EXPAND THIS PROGRAM.
UM, AS DIRECTOR SNIP SAID, UH, THESE POSITIONS ARE BEING FILLED, AND SO WE WILL BE ONBOARDING.
THERE IS ONLY SUB MANAGER, UM, THAT'S STARTING IN EARLY 2024.
UM, AND WE'LL WORK WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE TO CREATE THE ONLINE RESILIENCE HUB PLATFORM.
THIS WILL INCLUDE A SERIES OF INTEGRATED MAPS THAT WILL HAVE ALL OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FACILITIES SERVICES THAT ARE PROVIDED AT EACH FACILITY, AND INFORMATION SUCH AS OPERATING HOURS AND WHAT TO FIND AT EACH FACILITY.
UM, IN ADDITION TO, I DO WANNA SAY THAT, UH, ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES HAVE BEEN PURCHASED AND, UM, THE 14 RESILIENCE HUBS HAVE BEEN EQUIPPED WITH THESE ITEMS. AND SO THESE INCLUDE ITEMS THAT COMMUNITY HAS ASKED FOR, AS WELL AS, UM, WE'VE RECEIVED INFORMATION FROM SPECIFICALLY THE FACILITIES IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY NEED.
AND THEY INCLUDE DIAPERS, BABY FORMULA, BLANKETS, SOCKS, SNACKS, AND OTHERS TO BE PLACED AT THEIR RESILIENCE HUBS, SPECIFICALLY AT THE, UH, HEALTH CENTERS.
UM, SO AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A VERY BRIEF UPDATE.
WE, WE'LL GET INTO THE DETAILS ON THE DECEMBER 8TH JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO MAKE THAT, UH, COMPREHENSIVE REPORT AVAILABLE TO ALL OF COUNCIL ONCE IT IS RELEASED.
UM, I, CAN I FOLLOW UP WITH THE QUESTION REAL QUICK? UM, SO JUST TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND, THERE ARE 14 RESILIENCE HUBS THAT WILL BE ACTIVATED DURING EXTREME WEATHER, WHICH IS SEPARATE FROM THE SIX PILOT RESILIENCE HUBS.
THE SIX, UH, PILOT HUBS ARE INCLUDED WITHIN THE 14.
AND LIKE I MENTIONED, UH, THEY ALL CAN SERVE A SPECIFIC TYPE OF SERVICE.
SO THE MAJORITY OF THEM WILL BE ABLE TO SERVE AS WARMING CENTERS, WHILE SOME OTHERS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE LIST WILL BE ABLE TO SERVE AS FOOD AND WATER DISTRIBUTION CENTERS OR DISTRIBUTION CENTERS FOR SUPPLIES.
SO DEPENDING ON THE CAPACITY OF THE ACTUAL FACILITY, UM, AS A NETWORK, THEY WILL BE COMPLIMENTING EACH OTHER TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND THE LIST OF THE OTHER AREAS THAT I'VE BEEN IDENTIFIED, I THINK YOU MENTIONED LIBRARIES WERE INCLUDED, THAT'LL BE SHARED OUT VIA, UH, A MAP, AN ONLINE MAP IN ADVANCE.
[02:40:01]
OTHER, UM, WELL, I'M VERY PLEASED TO HEAR THAT BECAUSE I KNOW LAST TIME, LAST WINTER WE HAD, UM, AN INCIDENT WHERE ONE OF, UH, I THINK THE REC CENTER WAS SET UP AS AN EMERGENCY OVERNIGHT SHELTER, BUT WE HAD, UM, NEARBY RESIDENTS WHO WERE TURNED AWAY.AND SO REALLY, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO HAVE BOTH OPTIONS IN THE AREA IS, IS GOOD FOR US.
UH, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS REGARDING THE EMERGENCY SHELTERING.
UM, FOR EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS OVERNIGHT, WILL OUR UNHOUSED COMMUNITY BE REQUIRED TO GO TO ONE CENTRALIZED LOCATION TO, TO THEN BE BUSED TO DIFFERENT OPTIONS? OR HOW WILL THE INTAKE PROCESS REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR OVERNIGHT SHELTERING WORK? SURE.
UM, DO YOU WANNA TAKE THAT OR WE DEFER TO A PH? I CAN START ON THAT ONE.
MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, DAVID GRAY, INTERIM HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FRANCE.
THE PLAN AS IT EXISTS TODAY IS FOR US TO HAVE OUR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS COME TO A CENTRALIZED EMBARKATION CENTER WHERE WE WILL HAVE SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS THERE TO RECEIVE THEM, TO WELCOME THEM, TO ASSESS THEIR CONDITION, AND THEN WE'LL WORK WITH CAP METRO TO MOVE PEOPLE FROM THE EMBARKATION CENTER TO A SHELTER FACILITY.
WE ARE WORKING WITH A THIRD PARTY PROVIDER TO EXPLORE, UH, PROVIDING A, A SHUTTLE SERVICE THAT WILL VISIT ENCAMPMENTS IN THE PERIPHERY OF THE CITY AND IN SOME OF OUR HOTSPOT AREAS TO HELP PEOPLE MOVE FROM THE ENCAMPMENT TO THE EMBARKATION LOCATION.
UH, WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH CAP METRO.
IN THE PAST, THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO HELP US MOVE PEOPLE, UH, TO THE EMBARKATION CENTER BY OFFERING NO COST, UH, TRANSPORTATION TO, TO SHELTER.
SO WE ARE EXPLORING DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO GET PEOPLE TO THE EMBARKATION LOCATION.
UH, BUT THE REASON WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT IS IT, IT IT ALLOWS US TO LOGISTICALLY MANAGE THE SHELTER BED SPACE.
SO IF WE'RE SENDING PEOPLE TO A SHELTER FOR COLD WEATHER OVERNIGHT, THERE'S A GUARANTEE OF A BED THERE, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING PEOPLE JUST SHOW UP AT ANY SHELTER, UH, AND THEN RUNNING THE RISK OF US RUNNING OUTTA BEDS AND THEN HAVING TO TURN PEOPLE AWAY, AS IN THE EXAMPLE YOU YOU REFERENCED EARLIER.
YEAH, I, I'D BE INTERESTED TO HEAR, UM, HOW THAT WORKS OUT.
UM, AND CERTAINLY, AND, AND I APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS TO PROVIDE A SHUTTLE SERVICES TO THE EMBARKATION.
UM, AND, AND CERTAINLY WOULD WANNA KNOW LIKE HOW, HOW OFTEN WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO REACHING SHELTER CAPACITY AT THESE EMERGENCY LOCATIONS.
UH, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD, AND FINAL QUESTION ON MY END IS, UH, I WAS VERY PLEASED TO SEE US ROLL OUT THE EMERGENCY TEXT MESSAGE SERVICE, UH, FOR OUR UNHOUSED COMMUNITY DURING THE LAST, UM, EXTREME WEATHER.
I THINK IT WAS EXTREME HEAT THAT WE WERE EXPERIENCING AT THE TIME.
UH, WHAT, WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM OUR UNHOUSED COMMUNITIES THAT MANY OF THE PHONE NUMBERS THAT THE CITY HAS ACCESS TO ARE NO LONGER IN SERVICE OR THEY'VE CHANGED NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE SOME ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES THAT YOUR TEAM IS EXPLORING REGARDING OUTREACH TO OUR IN-HOUSE COMMUNITY? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT CORRECT.
THIS YEAR WE ROLLED OUT OUR EMERGENCY TEXT ALERT SYSTEM.
IT'S SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERED TEXT MESSAGES.
IT'S ABOUT 3,500 MEMBERS OF OUR UNHOUSED COMMUNITY.
UH, AND WE DID IT TWICE, ONCE FOR EXTREME RAIN THAT WAS FORECASTED, AND THEN THE SECOND FOR THE FIRST EXTREME WEATHER DIP, IT WAS LIKE A SUNDAY TO A, TO A MONDAY, AND IT WAS SUCCESSFUL.
UH, THE NEXT PHASE OF THAT WORK IS FIGURING OUT HOW WE MAINTAIN AN ADEQUATE LIST OF PHONE NUMBERS.
AS YOU POINTED OUT, UH, PEOPLE'S PHONE NUMBERS CHANGE ALL THE TIMES FOR A, A NUMBER OF REASONS.
EITHER THEY, UH, MISS A PAYMENT OR THE SERVICE PROVIDER CHANGES OR THEY LOSE THEIR PHONE OR THEIR PHONE GETS TAKEN.
UH, AND SO IT'S A CONSTANT WORK IN PROGRESS.
SOME OF THE STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE USING INCLUDES MAKING SURE THAT AS WE WELCOME PEOPLE INTO OUR SHELTERS AS PART OF THE INTAKE, UH, WE ARE COLLECTING THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT WE RECEIVE THEIR PERMISSION TO ADD THEM TO THE LIST.
UH, AND ALSO ENCOURAGING OUR SHELTER CLIENTS THAT AS THEY GO BACK OUT INTO COMMUNITY, UH, AND THEY ENGAGE WITH OTHERS WHO ARE UNHOUSED, THAT THEY HELP US, UH, NOTIFY PEOPLE ABOUT THIS SYSTEM AND MAKE SURE THAT THEIR INFORMATION IS BEING SHARED WITH THE CITY.
UH, I WILL SHARE IT, IT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, AND WE'RE ONE OF THE FIRST CITIES EMBARKING ON THIS VENTURE.
WE'VE HAD A FEW OTHER CITIES REACH OUT TO US ACTUALLY AND ASK US ABOUT THE TEXT ALERT SYSTEM AND HOW WE GOT THAT SET UP.
UH, AND SO THIS IS AN AREA WHERE WE'RE COMMITTED TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THAT EARLY WARNING OUT TO OUR IN-HOUSE POPULATION AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE A PLACE TO BE IN THE EVENT OF A WEATHER RELATED EMERGENCY.
I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION AND ALL THE WORK, UM, AND THE NEW ENERGY THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT TO THIS ROLE.
HAVING BEEN THROUGH SEVERAL OF THESE, UM, DISASTERS OF LATE, UM, FIRST, UM, WE ADDED STAFF IN, I THINK IT WAS JUNE OF 2022 FOR HESS O THROUGH A MID-YEAR BUDGET AMENDMENT.
UM, AND THEN I THINK WE ADDED MORE STAFF PERHAPS IN THAT BUDGET.
[02:45:01]
YET BY JANUARY OF 23, THAT STAFF WAS NOT IN PLACE.UM, AFTER MARA, WHEN WE ASKED QUESTIONS IN THE SPRING, THOUGH, THAT STAFF WAS NOT IN PLACE YET, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF HES SOME STAFFING AT THIS POINT? SO RIGHT NOW, ALL OF OUR POSITIONS ARE EITHER HIRED OR IN PROCESS, OR WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF ONBOARDING, UH, STAFF.
SO, UM, WE'VE, WE'VE CLOSED THE GAP ON ALL OF THOSE.
UM, SOME OF THE REASONS THAT, UH, SOME OF THEM HAVE TAKEN A BIT LONGER THAN OTHERS INCLUDE, UH, SOMETIMES PEOPLE NOT, UM, UH, CLEARING THE, UH, BACKGROUND CHECK.
UH, WE, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS, THE ENTIRE HIRING PROCESS, AND THEN THE TOP CANDIDATE EITHER DOESN'T MAKE IT SECOND CANDIDATE FALLS OFF, UH, AND WE'VE HAD TO RESTART THE PROCESS.
UH, AND SOMETIMES THERE ARE LONG LEAD TIMES BEFORE OUR NEW CANDIDATES ARE AVAILABLE TO START WORK.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE MAY HAVE PEOPLE THAT BECAUSE OF THE TYPE OF WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING, THERE'S A PRETTY LONG TAIL BEFORE THEY CAN TRANSITION OUT FROM THEIR CURRENT WORK EMPLOYER AND OVER TO US.
BUT RIGHT NOW, UH, WE HAVE ALL OF OUR POSITIONS EITHER FILLED, UH, OR IN PROCESS OF HIRING, HOW MANY OF THEM ARE IN PROCESS RATHER THAN FILLED? UH, I CAN GET THAT NUMBER TO YOU.
I, I WANNA SAY MAYBE ABOUT FOUR IF I HAD TO GUESS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
IF YOU COULD GET THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, AND IN THE STORM MARA, AFTER ACTION REPORT, IT INDICATED THERE WAS SOMETHING LIKE $45 MILLION IN ESTIMATES FOR FEMA REIMBURSEMENTS.
NOW, WAS THAT JUST FOR THE CITY, FOR THE STORM WATER FOR STORM MARA MARA, UM, IN THE REPORT THAT YOU RECENTLY RELEASED, IT SAID THERE WERE $45 MILLION IN FEMA ESTIMATES, AND I THINK 39 MILLION OF THAT WAS VERIFIED, OR, OR MAYBE IT WAS 51 AND 45 WAS VERIFIED.
SO WHAT IS THE STATUS? I DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER ON THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I DO REMEMBER FROM THE WINTER STORM MAR WORK THAT THAT 45 TO 48 MILLION IS WHAT I THINK WE, UM, UH, WERE INITIALLY APPROVED FOR.
BUT I CAN FOLLOW UP ON THAT QUESTION AS WELL.
AND AND MORE BROADLY, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE TRACKING THE FEMA REIMBURSEMENTS BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE YURI REIMBURSEMENTS THAT ARE NOT BACK YET.
WE HAVE INCLUDED REIMBURSEMENTS THAT ARE NOT BACK YET, AND IT IS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY AT THIS POINT.
AND, AND EVEN BEFORE THAT, WE HAVE, UM, UH, WORKING WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AS YOU KNOW, CAN SOMETIMES BE A LENGTHY PROCESS, BUT WE HAVE, UM, UH, REIMBURSEMENTS ON THE BOOKS THAT DATE BACK TO 2013.
UH, AND THIS IS JUST SOMETIMES, UH, THE LONG TAIL THAT IS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS FOR SOME OF THOSE, UH, EVENTS.
SO I THINK YOU'RE COMING TO YOUR AUDIT AND FINANCE TO DO A LOOK BACK AT THE STORM URI AFTER ACTION REPORT AT OUR NEXT MEETING.
THE AUDIT THAT WAS DONE, I THINK IT WAS AFTER STORM URI.
UM, IF AS PART OF THAT PRESENTATION YOU COULD ALSO INCLUDE A SLIDE ABOUT OUR OUTSTANDING FEMA REIMBURSEMENTS BY DISASTER, AND WHEN WE WOULD BE EXPECTING THOSE TO COME IN TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT'S FEASIBLE.
AND IF IT'S NOT FEASIBLE FOR THE NEXT MEETING, WE CAN DO THAT SURE.
UM, DO WE NEED ANY MID-YEAR BUDGET UPDATES FOR HESS O IN TERMS OF STAFFING OR FUNDING IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THE VISION THAT WAS LAID OUT TODAY? NOT AT THIS TIME.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF REVIEWING AND, AND WORKING TO ALIGN OUR STAFFING NEEDS AND OUR OTHER NEEDS AS WELL ACROSS THE, UH, ACROSS THE OFFICE.
SO, NOT AT THIS TIME, BUT WE ARE TAKING A LOOK AT THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE AREAS YOU DID NOT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, READING THROUGH THE STORM MAI REPORT, MA REPORT, THERE WAS A LOT OF DEJAVU FROM PRIOR, UM, UM, SITUATIONS AND, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE REASON YOU WERE TASKED.
UM, WITH RE-LOOKING AT THE LEARNINGS AND TRYING TO MOVE US IN A, IN A STRONGER DIRECTION, WE, WE HAD POOR COMMUNICATIONS WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS.
WE HAD, UM, COMMUNICATIONS THAT WERE NOT HANDLED WELL WHEN WE DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO ALL OF THE CHANNELS.
WE HAD SLOW TRANSLATION, WE HAD PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T KNOW THEIR ROLES.
WE HAD FRUSTRATION WITH PUBLIC FACING MAPS, POOR COORDINATION ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.
YOU, YOU TOUCHED ON ONE AREA THAT YOU DIDN'T TOUCH ON, I DON'T THINK, WAS THE INTERFACE WITH THE ELDERLY.
UM, SO CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING TO REALLY CONNECT WITH THOSE ARE MOST VULNERABLE? UM, AND WITH OUR ELDERLY IN PARTICULAR, YEAH.
WE'RE DOING WORK TO UNDERSTAND WHO AND WHERE THEY ARE.
WE'VE TALKED QUITE A BIT RECENTLY ABOUT, UM, HOW WE MIGHT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THE LISTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN OUR COMMUNITIES OR AVAIL AVAILABLE IN OUR CITY SYSTEM.
UH, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS A, UH, A LIST FOR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE.
AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY HAS A, A LIST FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE, UH, HOME BOUND AND CAN'T GET THEIR CARTS TO THE CURB.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT USE SOME OF THOSE LISTS TO UNDERSTAND WHERE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE MIGHT BE.
UM, AND, UH, ALSO DOING WORK, UH, WITH SOME OF OUR OTHER, UM, OTHER CITIES ACROSS
[02:50:01]
THE NATION TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY'RE TACKLING THIS, UH, UH, THIS ISSUE AS WELL.UM, I RECENTLY TALKED WITH FOLKS FROM LOS ANGELES, UM, RELATED TO, UH, FIRE EVACUATIONS ON SPECIFICALLY HOW THEY REACH OUT TO AND CONNECT WITH ELDERLY MEMBERS OR PEOPLE WHO HAVE, UH, MOBILITY ISSUES AND ARE UNABLE TO EVACU EVACUATE ON THEIR OWN.
AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO THERE IS TAKE SOME OF THOSE LESSONS LEARNED AND INCORPORATE 'EM INTO OUR PLANS GOING FORWARD.
AND, AND I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR THAT WITH THE ELDERLY, THERE'S, THERE'S MULTIPLE ASPECTS.
THERE'S THE ELDERLY WHO ARE LIVING AT HOME, BUT THEN WE HAVE OUR ASSISTED LIVING CENTERS AS WELL, WHERE DURING VARIOUS ONES OF THESE DISASTERS, THERE WERE NEVER ANY CLEAR LISTS OF THOSE CENTERS.
THERE WERE NOT NECESSARILY, UM, CLEAR CONNECTIONS BETWEEN HSO AND THOSE CENTERS FOR THEM TO KNOW HOW THEY COULD PLUG IN AND GET ASSISTANCE OR HELP IF THEY NEEDED BACKUP GENERATORS, ET CETERA.
UM, SOME OF THAT DID SHIFT A LITTLE BIT WITH MARA, BUT I WOULD WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A SYSTEM FOR ADJUSTING THOSE FACILITIES AT A NUMBER OF THOSE FACILITIES IN MY DISTRICT AND WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOME CLEAR PLANS FOR WORKING WITH THOSE CENTERS.
SO, UM, LIKE TO SEE THAT BE PART OF IT.
UM, WITH THE STORM MA REPORT, THERE WERE 78 RECOMMENDATIONS JUST FOR SSO PLUS THERE WERE AUSTIN ENERGY WRECKS, PLUS THERE WERE A RR WRECKS.
UM, WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND HOW IS THAT BEING CHECKED BACK WITH, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID YOU WERE GONNA HAVE A BETTER SYSTEM FOR TRACKING THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AND WE HAD THE PROBLEMS WE HAD BECAUSE WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY MAKE SURE WE WERE GETTING, UM, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS FOLLOWED UP ON.
SO WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTING THAT, AND HAVE WE MAPPED HOW THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS MAPPED BACK TO PRIOR REPORTS AT ALL? NOT YET.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF STILL CONTINUING TO GATHER THAT INFORMATION.
UM, WHEN I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WE'RE TAKING A PROGRAMMATIC APPROACH TO HOW WE MANAGE AFTER ACTION REPORTS, WHAT I MEANT BY THAT IS WHAT WE'RE STARTING TO DO IS, UH, BUILD A BODY OF WORK THAT WE WOULD ASSIGN TO A PERSON, AND THIS WOULD BE THIS PERSON'S SOLE RESPONSIBILITY IS TO TRACK THOSE.
WHAT WE'VE NOTICED IN THE PAST IS THAT FROM STORM TO STORM OR EVENT TO EVENT, UM, ITEMS GET LOST.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS PUT TOGETHER, UH, A PROGRAM, UH, AND A PLAN IN PLACE TO MAKE THAT, UM, SOMETHING THAT STAYS IN THE FOREFRONT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, SOMETHING THAT GETS CONSIDERED IN OUR BUDGETS GOING FORWARD, AND SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T GET LOST BECAUSE WE GET CONSUMED WITH NEW EMERGENCIES OR OTHER THINGS OR OTHER PRIORITIES THAT ARE GOING ON.
SO, UM, RIGHT NOW, THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT, I BELIEVE, IS TO CREATE A PROGRAMMATIC APPROACH, UH, AND NOT JUST HAVE THOSE, UH, AFTER ACTION REPORTS, KIND OF SIT ON A WEBSITE SOMEWHERE AND NOT BE ACTIVELY MANAGED.
AND, AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'RE DOING A LOOK BACK AT ONE OF THE AUDITS THAT WAS DONE, WHICH IS BEING DONE THROUGH THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, BUT IT MAY BE THAT WE NEED A REGULAR ATTENTION IN THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, OR IT COULD BE AUDIT AND FINANCE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REALLY, UM, HAVING SOME EYES ON THIS AND TRANSPARENCY ON, ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
'CAUSE WE DON'T WANNA REPEAT OF WHAT HAPPENED RIGHT.
UM, THE STORM MA REVIEW DIDN'T REALLY MENTION A WHOLE LOT ABOUT AUSTIN WATER, UM, DIDN'T MENTION MUCH ABOUT PART OR, OR A PH.
UM, SO ARE THERE OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE, THAT DOING AFTER ACTION REPORTS WITH RESPECT TOMORROW OR THESE EVENTS WHERE THIS IS BEING TRACKED AS WELL? UM, IT JUST, WE HAVE, WE HAVE THINGS THAT ARE HESO RIGHT, RELATED THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE TRACKING, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE A LOT OF ISSUES THAT HAPPENED WITH PAR AND THE EXTENT OF THE TREE DAMAGE IN THE PARKS.
UM, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE, HOW ARE WE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS IN THOSE AREAS OR, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE OTHER THINGS WITH A PH THAT I'M NOT AWARE OF.
I CAN, UH, I CAN TALK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT THE NATURE OF MARA IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF ITS IMPACT, UM, MOSTLY BEING AROUND TREE DAMAGE AND THE TREE CANOPY ISSUES AND, AND, AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO IT WASN'T AS COMPREHENSIVE IN TERMS OF IMPACTING, UH, ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY IN THE WAY THAT YURI DID.
SO, UH, I THINK BECAUSE IT WAS A DIFFERENT STORM, THE PROS, THE THE LESSONS LEARNED WERE DIFFERENT AND NOT AS IMPACTFUL FOR SOME DEPARTMENTS.
AND THEREFORE, UH, WHEN THE, UM, REVIEW WAS DONE, IT JUST DIDN'T PULL AS MANY ISSUES, UH, IN FROM SOME OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS.
SUSIE, MS. MCNEELY IS HERE IF SHE WANTS TO ADD SOMETHING.
SO KIMBERLY MCNEELY SERVING AS THE PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTORS TO ASK, ANSWER YOUR QUESTION SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
[02:55:01]
OWN AFTER ACTION REPORT, AND AS A RESULT OF THAT ON DECEMBER 11TH, THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT IS HOSTING ITS OWN INTERNAL TRAINING AND TABLETOP EXERCISE TO GO THROUGH.UM, SO WE SIM ARE SIMULATING WHAT HSO HAS DOES FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
WE'RE SIMULATING IT SPECIFICALLY FOR THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, SO WE CAN TAKE THOSE LESSONS LEARNED AND THEN PRACTICE IT WITH OUR DEPARTMENT THROUGH TABLETOP.
SO, UH, I'M SURE MY, UH, EXPERIENCE IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN OTHER DEPART DEPARTMENTS, ALTHOUGH I CAN'T SPEAK TO THEIR EXACT ACTIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER, I THINK I CAN CONFIRM THAT EACH DEPARTMENT WILL BE DOING THEIR OWN AFTER OUR, DOES OUR OWN ACTION AF, UH, AFTER ACTION REPORTS, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO SO AND WE'LL COORDINATE THOSE THROUGH, UM, HESSON.
AND SO HOW WILL WE KNOW THAT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED AND THOSE CHANGES ARE BEING MADE AND THAT THE RESOURCES ARE BEING PROVIDED IN THE BUDGET TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS? SO COUNCIL MEMBER, AS I SAID, WHAT WE'RE WORKING TO DO IS BUILD A PROGRAMMATIC APPROACH WHERE WE TAKE ALL OF THOSE, ALL OF THOSE, UH, AFTER ACTION REPORT ITEMS IN, AND THEY'RE MANAGED, THEY'RE MANAGED BY A, A, A PERSON WHOSE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY IT IS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE THINGS DON'T FALL OFF.
WHAT I ENVISION GOING FORWARD IS AS ISSUES ARE RESOLVED, AND, AND GOING BACK TO YOUR QUESTION EARLIER ABOUT MARA, UM, WHEN WILL WE START? A LOT OF THOSE ITEMS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ADDRESSED.
UH, STAFF HAVE BEEN KIND OF GOING AT SOME OF THOSE THINGS ALREADY.
UM, BUT WHAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO IS CREATE THAT APPROACH WHERE AS ITEMS COME OFF OF THE LIST, OTHER ITEMS WILL ENTER THE LIST, RIGHT? AND WE WANT TO HAVE A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR MANAGING OUR AFTER ACTION REPORTS GOING FORWARD.
UH, AGAIN, UH, AS A, AS A PROGRAMMATIC, UM, UH, APPROACH.
AND WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT AS WE REPORT TO COUNCIL.
OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE A MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH COUNCIL, WHETHER IT'S AN AUDIT, FINANCE, WHETHER IT'S BEFORE THE ENTIRE BODY.
AND THEN AS I INITIALLY HAD SAID, WE'LL BE MEETING WITH YOUR OFFICES AS WELL, ONE-ON-ONE.
SO HAPPY TO INCORPORATE THAT, UH, IN OUR, IN OUR UPDATES TO YOU.
AND THEN I JUST HAVE TWO OTHER QUICK ONES FOR, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY.
THERE WAS EMPHASIS PLACED ON THE NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL FOLKS WHO WERE ADDED FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
UM, THERE WAS NO MENTION FOR AUSTIN WATER, SO MAYBE THIS IS ACTUALLY FOR AUSTIN WATER, NOT AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY PERSONNEL DOES AUSTIN WATER HAVE DEVOTED TO EMERGENCY RESPONSE? AND THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT QUESTION, IT'S JUST THEY WERE VERY MUCH TOUTING AUSTIN ENERGY HAVING SPECIFIC NUMBERS OF ADDITIONAL FOLKS.
I WAS WONDERING HOW THAT WORKED FOR AUSTIN WATER.
GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, SHAY ROLSON, AUSTIN WATER DIRECTOR.
WE HAVE A FULLY STAFFED ROSTER FOR OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT IS ABOUT 180 STAFF MEMBERS WHO HAVE IDENTIFIED ROLES WITHIN OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM.
SHOULD, UH, UH, WE ACTIVATE OUR DEPARTMENT OP DEPARTMENTAL OPERATIONS CENTER.
UM, THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE OUR VARIOUS OPERATIONAL FIELD CREWS THAT ARE ON CALL ALL THE TIME.
UH, AND SO WE WOULD DEPLOY THOSE STAFF, UH, THOSE CREWS AS NEEDED AS WELL DURING EMERGENCY OPERATIONS.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST PART HAD TO DO WITH THE PREPAREDNESS PACKETS.
UM, SO PRIOR TO YOU COMING ON, WE WERE WORKING, UM, WITH DIRECTOR OFT ABOUT IDENTIFYING PLACES IN WEST AUSTIN FOR THOSE PACKETS.
OBVIOUSLY, AS WE HEARD BEFORE, ALL OF THE RESILIENCE HUBS ARE IN THE EAST, ARE INSIDE OF, OF THE CITY AT THIS POINT IN, IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THOSE.
UM, AND WE HAVE NOT HAD THE LOOP CLOSED ON WHETHER THAT SPACE WAS SECURED IN DISTRICT 10.
BUT THEN MORE BROADLY, CAN YOU TELL US WHICH OF THESE PACKETS ARE PLACED WEST OF MOPAC? UM, NOT YET.
WE HAVEN'T SECURED A PLACE IN DISTRICT 10.
OUR APPROACH RIGHT NOW IS MORE REGIONAL, SO NORTHWEST, NORTHEAST, SOUTHWEST, SOUTHEAST.
UM, AND I THINK, UM, WHAT WE PLAN TO DO GOING FORWARD IS WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR, UH, LOCATIONS THAT ARE IDEAL FOR DEPLOYING OR REDEPLOYING THESE ASSETS OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, THE MISSION READY PACKAGES.
SO, UM, WE HAVEN'T, UM, FOUND A LOCATION YET.
WE'VE BEEN A LITTLE BUSY WITH TRYING TO GET OURSELVES READY FOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW, BUT IT CERTAINLY HASN'T LEFT MY MIND AND OFF THE LIST.
MAYBE WE CAN CLOSE THE LOOP ON THAT BECAUSE I THINK WE HAD A PLACE THAT WANTED TO DO IT AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WASN'T DROPPED.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I ALSO LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IS THERE WEST MOPAC, WHICH YOU REACH DIDN'T ANSWER REACH, SO THANK YOU.
AND JUST GENERALLY AS, UM, I'LL, I'LL CLOSE THIS BRIEFING, UM, THIS MORNING ON, ACTUALLY I, I'VE, DID SOMEBODY ELSE HAVE SOMETHING? OH, YES, PLEASE.
UM, WELL THIS WILL BE MY FIRST TIME ASKING YOU THESE QUESTIONS, BUT, UM, JUST SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY DURING THE VARIOUS, UM, INCIDENTS THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED, ONE OF THEM I'M CONFLICTED ABOUT.
[03:00:01]
ASK, ARE WE OFFERING, SO SOMETHING THAT CAME UP FOR US DURING THE COURSE OF WINTER STORM URI FOR EXAMPLE, WAS, YOU KNOW, FOLKS DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO CHARGERS, SO THEY DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR DEVICES.UM, BUT HAVING HAD ACCESS TO THINGS LIKE, UM, REFRIGERATOR MAGNETS OR SOMETHING THAT WOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO OFFER, UM, INFORMATION THAT WASN'T DIGITAL IS SOMETHING THAT COMES TO MIND FOR ME AS, UM, I WONDER IF WE, IF WE HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE TOOLS, UM, IF WE HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE MATERIALS, BUT THEN THE ME BEING CONFLICTED COMES IN WHERE, YOU KNOW, I ATTENDED THE TREE LIGHTING ALONGSIDE SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES OVER THE COURSE OF THE WEEKEND.
AND, UH, LIKE SO MANY OTHER EVENTS AT THE CITY HOST, I ALWAYS NOTICED THAT WE HAVE OUR SWAG BAGS.
NOW, WHILE I CAN APPRECIATE THAT AT THE TIME, MY KIDS LOVE AND, YOU KNOW, THEY LOVE GETTING THOSE BAGS, BUT I'M THE ONE WHO'S PUTTING 'EM IN THE GOOD WOVE BIN
SO AS YOU'RE ACCUMULATING ALL THIS STUFF, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT I'M ON THIS SIDE OF THE CURTAIN, I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER IN TERMS OF THE APPLICATION OF OUR RESOURCES, HOW MANY OF OUR RESOURCES ARE BEING APPLIED TO BUY IN MORE STUFF THAT DOESN'T ACTUALLY HELP PEOPLE.
SO I'M BOTH PRESENTING, YOU KNOW, THAT CHALLENGE.
WE DO NEED TO GET THE INFORMATION OUT AND I DO WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE SOMETHING HANDHELD IF POSSIBLE.
AND I WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE THINGS THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO USE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BEST ACCESS OUR RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
BUT SIMULTANEOUSLY, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE PRODUCTION OF MORE STUFF, YOU KNOW, JUST OVER CONSUMPTION.
UM, THAT WASN'T A QUESTION SO MUCH AS EXPRESSING CONCERNS, UM, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ACCESS, BUT ALSO CONCERNS ABOUT STUFF CREATION.
UM, SOMETHING ELSE THAT CAME UP FOR US THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE VARIOUS, UM, SITUATIONS.
WELL, SO I GUESS STORMS, FIRES, AND, UM, YOU'LL PROBABLY RECALL, UM, THAT MOUNT CARMEL WAS WITHOUT NATURAL GAS FOR MONTHS.
AND SO FOOD BECAME AN ISSUE IN ALL OF THOSE SITUATIONS IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, I, UM, I WANNA HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS.
I HOPE RATHER THAT WE HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS AROUND, UM, THE ISSUE OF FOOD DISTRIBUTION.
UM, AND SO BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN, BLESS YOU, UH, HAS BEEN A SERIOUS PROBLEM WHEN IT COMES TO THE CITY'S EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND WHEN WE LOSE POWER, UM, AND THEN THE GROCERIES GO BAD, UM, WHEN FOR HOURS AND HOURS ESPECIALLY, UM, FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NO OTHER FOOD SOURCE TO HEAT OR FREEZE FOOD THAT IS DEPENDENT ON ELECTRICITY.
UM, I HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING THAT ISSUE.
SO, UM, WHAT ARE CITY STAFF'S CURRENT EVALUATIONS IN TERMS OF OPTING TO ADDRESS FOOD INSECURITY DURING WINTER EMERGENCY SITUATIONS? WELL, ONE OF, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE IS TALK QUITE A BIT ABOUT AND SHARE WITH PEOPLE THAT WE'VE MET WITH, UM, WAYS THAT THEY CAN PREPARE FOR WINTER WEATHER.
AND WE'VE STARTED TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS AROUND, UM, HOW THEY CAN, THE, THE TERM THAT HAS BEEN USED IS STOCK THEIR PANTRIES.
AND, AND AS WE KNOW THAT, UM, SOMETIMES EVERYONE CAN'T DO THAT.
AND SO WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS AROUND HOW, HOW WE DO THAT OR WHAT TYPES OF FOODS, UM, ARE AFFORDABLE THAT PEOPLE COULD USE, UH, IN, IN AN EVENT.
SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, BAGS OF RICE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, BEANS AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT STAPLES OF DRY GOODS THAT LAST, THAT, UH, ARE NON-PERISHABLE ITEMS, UM, CANNED GOODS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS IN OUR COMMUNITIES ABOUT WHAT TYPES OF THINGS PEOPLE CAN DO, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT DURING AN EMERGENCY, UM, WHILE YOU MAY NOT HAVE YOUR NORMAL, YOU KNOW, THREE, FOUR COURSE MEAL, UH, YOU'RE ABLE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT THAT TIES YOU OVER UNTIL THE POWER COMES BACK ON OR UNTIL THE ICY, UH, WEATHER SUBSIDES AND YOU'RE ABLE TO GET BACK OUT AND BACK, UH, BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE ARE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS AS WE GO OUT AND AS WE ENGAGE AT OUR, UH, AT OUR MONTHLY POPUP MEETINGS THAT WE'RE DOING ACROSS THE CITY, UM, AS WE, UH, GO TO VARIOUS EVENTS IN SUPPORT OF OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, WE'RE ALSO IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, ENGAGING WITH FOLKS AND PASSING OUT OUR, OUR INFORMATION AS WELL.
AND ALSO SHARING EMERGENCY, UH, KITS WITH, WITH, UH, WITH PEOPLE THAT WE ENGAGE WITH AS WELL.
AND I DO WANNA SAY THOUGH, TO YOUR POINT, AND I THINK IT'S A A A GREAT POINT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE TEAM DID PRIOR TO, UM, BUILDING THE KITS WAS ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE TO SEE WHAT THEY WOULD WANT IN A KIT.
WHAT TYPES OF THINGS ARE MOST IMPACTFUL? WHAT TYPES OF THINGS WOULD YOU WANT OR WOULD YOU NEED DURING AN EMERGENCY? UM, AND SO WHILE WE CAN'T PROVIDE A KIT FOR EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE ENTIRE CITY, I THINK THE KITS SERVE AS A BASE MODEL FOR HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY MIGHT WANT TO HAVE IN THEIR OWN KITS AS THEY BUILD THOSE OUT, UH, IN THEIR HOMES.
I APPRECIATE THAT AND I APPRECIATE THE CONSIDERATION.
I JUST WONDER IF, UM, I DON'T WONDER, I FEAR RATHER THAT THERE ISN'T ENOUGH.
I MEAN, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE BASIC PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS, RIGHT? SHELTER, FOOD, WATER, I THINK FOOD ISN'T HIGH ENOUGH ON THE LIST
[03:05:01]
OF CONSIDERATIONS WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DISASTER PREPARATION AND PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCE.I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT WAY HIGHER UP.
THERE'RE BOTH ANECDOTALLY HAVING WATCHED SOME OF THE FOOD ISSUES THAT HAPPENED, SO MUCH WASTE, SO MUCH WASTE.
I MEAN, COOLERS ACROSS THE CITY, GIANT WALK-IN COOLERS WERE THROWING FOOD AWAY.
WE DIDN'T HAVE MECHANISMS IN PLACE TO REPURPOSE THAT FOOD RESTAURANTS THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY ALREADY RECOGNIZED THAT THEY WERE OPERATING AT A LOSS.
YOU KNOW, THEY WERE LIKE, I DON'T CARE IF I GIVE THE FOOD AWAY.
BUT AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, THEY HAD, THEY WERE BEHOLDEN TO THEIR OBLIGATIONS AROUND FOOD SAFETY AND SECURITY.
THEY KNEW AFTER, YOU KNOW, A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME IT WASN'T SAFE TO GIFT THE FOOD, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING IN PLACE FOR THESE GIANT WALK-IN COOLERS FOR PEOPLE TO JUST SAY, TAKE IT ALL AND DO SOMETHING WITH IT.
AND SO I REALLY DO WISH THAT WE HAD TAKEN THE OPPORTUNITY AND RECOGNIZING THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THOSE VARIOUS EMERGENCIES THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE A SYSTEM ALREADY IN PLACE BEFORE WINTER 23.
BUT MOVING FORWARD, MY HOPE IS, I KNOW THE, WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, GETTING AN UPDATE AROUND THE RESILIENCE HUBS AND, UM, PROTOCOL AND PROCEDURE WITH RESILIENCE, BUT I HOPE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GIVEN A LOT OF THOUGHT TO, INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, I HATE TO BE A, WHAT I CALL A WHAT IFER OR, BUT WHAT, WHAT ABOUT, BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE ELECTRICITY AND YOUR STOVE IS ELECTRIC, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU HAVE NINE POUNDS OF RICE, YOU CAN'T COOK IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE TAKING ALL THE THINGS INTO CONSIDERATION, UM, UH, AROUND FOOD.
SO I ALSO LIKE TO KNOW, I I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR BROUGHT UP BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS.
TWO THINGS COME, TWO THINGS COME TO MIND THERE.
THERE'VE BEEN SOME, SOME OVERLAP AROUND, UM, STAFFING.
SO INCENTIVES FOR STAFFING, UM, FOR ADDRESSING SOME OF THESE INCLEMENT WEATHER, UM, THINGS.
IS THAT SOMETHING WE NEED TO CONSIDER DURING OUR BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS? NOT JUST THE STAFFING, BUT INCENTIVES THAT COST MONEY.
UM, SO THINKING ABOUT THAT AND THEN WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO BE DOING FROM A BUDGET, FROM A BUDGETARY PERSPECTIVE AROUND, UM, THE FOOD STUFF SPECIFICALLY.
AND, AND DO WE HAVE A BUDGET FOR PURCHASING FOOD FOR DISTRIBUTION TO WARMING CENTERS? ANOTHER ANECDOTAL EXAMPLE I'LL GIVE YOU THERE IS I WAS GOING AROUND MY NEIGHBORHOOD TAKING PICTURES OF, Y'ALL PROBABLY REMEMBER THERE WERE THOSE PLASTIC BINS, THE BOTTOM PART'S BLACK, THE TOP PART IS CLEAR PLASTIC.
AND WE WERE, YOU KNOW, DISTRIBUTING FOOD PRE-PREPARED PRE-PACKAGED MEALS THAT WE WERE GETTING THROUGH THE VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS WHO DO 'EM FOR US.
I WAS TAKING PICTURES OF THEM, JUST TALK DISCARDED IN THE STREET, IN THE PARK.
YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY WOULD TAKE ONE BITE, DECIDE THEY DIDN'T LIKE IT, THROW IT INTO THE STREET, I'D SEE, YOU KNOW, PLACES THAT ONLY HAD 12 PEOPLE CHECK IN FOR THE WHOLE DAY.
BUT THEY GOT DELIVERED 300 PRE-PREPARED MEALS THAT SAT ON A TABLE WITH NOBODY MONITORING HOW WARM OR HOW COLD OR, AND THERE WAS JUST, IT WAS, I'D BE OFFERING US, UM, COMPLIMENTS WE DON'T DESERVE BY CALLING IT SLOPPY.
UM, SO THE FOOD WAS BEING WASTED.
AND THEN IN OUR EFFORTS AROUND AID, WE WERE WASTING EVEN MORE AND THEN WASTED SOME MORE.
AND SO I HAVE A LOT OF CONCERNS AROUND OUR CONSIDERATIONS AROUND FOOD DURING THE COURSE OF THESE EMERGENCIES.
UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO KNOW, AND THESE AREN'T QUESTIONS YOU HAVE TO ANSWER NOW, BUT JUST THINGS I'D LIKE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO MOVING FORWARD.
UM, ARE THERE CONTRACTS IN PLACE THAT ALLOW OUR, OUR CITY TO QUICKLY ACQUIRE FOOD FOR DISTRIBUTION? UM, THAT'S A QUESTION.
AND AGAIN, OF COURSE I HAVE, UM, AN EXAMPLE ANECDOTALLY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE DOING WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE TO RUN AROUND AND SCRAMBLE AND GET IT DONE.
AND THEN HESSAM, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS THEY TRIED, THEY WERE SAYING, JUST GET IT DONE, WE'LL PAY YOU LATER.
AND THEN FOR LITERALLY ALMOST A YEAR AFTERWARDS, PEOPLE WERE STILL TRYING TO GET REIMBURSED BY THE CITY.
'CAUSE THEY HADN'T BEEN APPROVED AS, YOU KNOW, BY OUR PROCUREMENT PROCESSES.
SO THEY WERE COMING OUT OF POCKET AND THEIR DESIRE TO HELP US AND YOU KNOW, THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THEY OPERATED AT A LOSS BECAUSE OF US.
'CAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE SYSTEMS IN PLACE, BUT WHEN WE NEEDED HELP, WE WERE BEGGING THEM TO HELP US.
I WANNA MAKE SURE WE NEVER FIND OURSELVES IN THAT POSITION EVER AGAIN.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY AROUND FOOD.
UM, THE PROTOCOLS THAT ENSURE THAT THE FOOD BEING DISTRIBUTED IS HELD AT SAFE TEMPERATURES, UM, AND THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING ALL THE REQUIRED FOOD HANDLING PROTOCOLS THAT ARE REQUIRED BY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE TACTICS IN PLACE THAT ENSURE THAT THE FOOD THAT WE DISTRIBUTE, UM, IS APPROPRIATE FOR A VARIETY OF DIETARY.
AND WHAT I HADN'T CONSIDERED, I MEAN, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED.
YOU ASSUME IF YOU'RE HUNGRY, YOU'LL EAT WHAT YOU GOT, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS AROUND FOOD.
AND SO FOLKS WOULD BE PROVIDED FOOD THAT THEY COULDN'T EAT.
UM, SO JUST ALL THOSE THINGS AROUND FOOD ARE OF DEEP CONCERN FOR ME.
[03:10:01]
THEN I'LL, I'LL SORT OF LEAVE THAT, UM, WITH THIS.UM, SO I, I THINK FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, WE, UM, WE ARE FORTUNATE IN THAT SO MANY, AND THIS MAY NOT EVEN BE FOR YOU, I THINK THIS MIGHT BE MORE OF A RESILIENCE QUESTION.
UM, SO FROM A RESILIENCE PERSPECTIVE, WE HAD ALL THESE MUTUAL AID ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY LED ORGANIZATIONS AND OPERATIONS TRYING THEIR BEST TO HELP US OUT, TRYING THEIR BEST TO BE PRODUCTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, IT WAS REDUNDANT.
AND I MEAN, WE ULTIMATELY WASTED A LOT OF TIME, UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE'S TIME, A LOT OF PEOPLE'S RESOURCES WITH THEM TRYING TO HELP.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE, THE EFFORTS WERE DUPLICATIVE AND, YOU KNOW, WE ALREADY HAD SYSTEMS IN PLACE, BUT BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T SEE IT IN ACTION, THEY ASSUMED THEY NEEDED TO RECREATE AND WERE RECREATING THINGS.
AND I JUST, MY HOPE IS THAT WE DO HAVE A MUCH BETTER PATH FORWARD.
AND AGAIN, I DON'T THINK THIS IS FOR YOU.
I THINK THIS IS FOR OUR FOLKS WHO WORK IN AROUND RESILIENCE.
HOW ARE WE GONNA WORK WITH OUR COMMUNITY LED ORGANIZATIONS OPERATIONS INITIATIVES AND MUTUAL AID ORGANIZATIONS MOVING FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THAT, I MEAN, WE REALLY MAXIMIZE THE BENEFIT OF THEIR TIME, THEIR EFFORT, THEIR RESOURCES, AND HOW THEY OPERATE IN CONJUNCTION WITH OURS AND NOT, YOU KNOW, SORT OF STEP ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF US ALL.
JUST TRYING TO ADDRESS THE SAME NEED.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COUNCIL MEMBER.
THANK YOU HARBOR MADISON, AND THAT, THAT PRETTY MUCH ENCAPSULATES THE WORK THAT DIRECTOR SNIPES AND OUR RESILIENCE OFFICE AND OUR ENTIRE STAFF HAVE BEEN FUNNELING TOWARD THESE ISSUES FOR THE BETTER PART OF THIS YEAR, CERTAINLY.
AND, UH, BUILDING ON OUR EXPERIENCES, SOME OF THEM PRETTY DIFFICULT, UH, AND MOVING FORWARD TO TRY TO BE COMPREHENSIVE IN OUR RESPONSES.
AND I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE STAFF'S WORK TODAY TO PROVIDE THIS BRIEFING TO US ON OUR WINTER, UH, WEATHER READINESS.
UH, THERE BEING NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON THIS BRIEFING.
[C. Council Items of Interest]
I'D LIKE TO MOVE US TOWARD OUR POLLED ITEMS IF I MAY.WE HAVE TWO POLLED ITEMS. ITEM 21 WAS PULLED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.
ITEM 84 WAS PULLED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER ASKED 84 TO BE PULLED FOR DISCUSSION BASED ON CONCERNS FROM CONSTITUENTS RELATED TO THE SLAUGHTER CREEK TRAIL, WHICH IS SEGMENTS 27, 28 AND 29.
AS YOU NOTICED, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER CAN'T BE HERE TODAY, BUT I UNDERSTAND, AND HE'S ASKED ME TO MENTION THIS FOR EVERYBODY, UH, TO KNOW HE IS WORKING ON AN AMENDMENT TO ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS.
AND THAT STAFF, SPECIFICALLY DIRECTOR MENDOZA IS AWARE OF AND SUPPORTIVE.
UM, AND SUPPORTIVE OF THE AMENDMENT.
SO WE WILL HOPEFULLY SEE COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER ON THURSDAY AND HE WILL BE BRINGING HIS AMENDMENT.
UH, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT PARTICULAR ITEM? IF NOT, WE'LL MOVE RIGHT OVER TO ITEM 21.
UH, PULLED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.
UM, SO ITEM 21 IS THE, UM, CENTRAL MAINTENANCE FACILITY, UM, SWAP WITH ORACLE FOR THE
UM, I HAD PULLED THIS BECAUSE ONE OF MY CONCERNS HAS TO DO WITH THE INSURANCES THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE ACTUALLY GET THE KIND AND THE QUALITY OF CENTRAL MAINTENANCE YARD FACILITIES THAT WE NEED IN THE NEW LOCATION.
UM, THE INFORMATION WE HAVE TO DATE DOESN'T HAVE THAT.
UM, SO I, I GUESS I'LL ASK MS. OLIVARES OR WHOEVER'S APPROPRIATE PERSON TO SPEAK TO HOW IN THIS PROCESS WE ARE GOING TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE GETTING, UM, THE QUALITY OF THE MAINTENANCE YARD THAT WE NEED.
I NOTICED THAT WE JUST GOT SENT EXHIBIT A WHERE, WHERE, UM, MUCH OF THAT IS DETAILED AND SINCE WE'VE BEEN ON THE DIOCESE, I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO REVIEW THAT.
SO I THINK MAYBE I'LL ASK YOU TO SPEAK BRIEFLY TO THAT, UM, TODAY.
AND I MAY PULL IT IF I HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS ON, ON THURSDAY.
UH, SO I'LL ALSO ASK IF, IF ERICA LOPEZ FROM LAW CAN JOIN ME UP HERE TO SPEAK TO SOME OF THIS.
SO AS PART OF THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH ORACLE ON THIS LAND SWAP, UM, THERE'S BEEN EXTENSIVE NEGOTIATIONS
[03:15:01]
WITH REGARD TO WHAT THE REPLACEMENT CMC FACILITY WOULD, UM, CONTAIN IN, UH, IN TERMS OF SQUARE FOOTAGE, UH, VARIOUS FEATURES AND THE SORT, UM, THE, THE, THERE'S AN EXHIBIT, UH, AND AN ORDINANCE ATTACHED TO THE, THE ITEM THAT, UM, I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE THE EXHIBIT HAS, HAS EXHIBIT BEEN POSTED YET? THE EXHIBIT HAS NOT YET BEEN POSTED.UM, THAT WILL PROVIDE MORE DETAIL ABOUT CERTAIN SPECIFICATIONS ON FACILITY.
UM, BUT THE, IT WE'RE ALSO REQUIRING OR HAVE REQUIREMENTS FOR ORACLE TO FOLLOW ALL APPLICABLE, UM, REGULATIONS, POLICIES, AND THE SORT, UM, FOR THE FACILITY.
UM, SO IT'S, THEY, THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW A VERY SPECIFIC PROCESS WITH US.
UM, ARE YOU TALKING, EXCUSE ME? ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT EXHIBIT A FOR THIS LETTER? YES, IT, WE DO HAVE THAT.
AND SO Y'ALL MAY BE ABLE TO FIND THAT.
WELL, UM, MS. OLIVAR IS, IS DISCUSSING THIS, UM, AND THE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS WILL, THERE WILL BE CITY STAFF THAT ARE, UM, VERY DILIGENTLY MONITORING THE, THE DESIGN AND THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE REPLACEMENT FACILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT IT CONFORMS TO THE SPECIFICATIONS THAT WILL BE AGREED UPON BETWEEN US AND ORACLE.
UM, BUT ALSO JUST TO DO OUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE TO ENSURE, UM, THE QUALITY OF THE REPLACEMENT FACILITY, UH, TO BE PROVIDED.
AND WAS THAT ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU HAD? I'M SORRY? UM, YEAH, I'LL NEED TO REVIEW THAT.
I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS AS WELL.
SO, UM, ANOTHER AREA OF CONCERN OF MINE IS THE DEFINITION OF WATERFRONT LAND.
UM, SO IN THE Q AND A, I ASKED FOR A MAP OF THE PROPERTY WE WERE BEING OFFERED, SHOWING WHERE IT IS PROVIDING US WATERFRONT ACCESS, AND I ASKED HOW MANY LINEAR FEET OF WATERFRONT LAND THE PROPOSAL WOULD ADD TO OUR PORTFOLIO.
UM, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT LINEAR FEET CALCULATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.
UM, SO I I'M JUST, I'M NOT ABLE TO RESPOND TO THAT QUESTION.
SO I WOULD LIKE, I WOULD LIKE THE ANSWER TO THAT.
UM, WHEN I LOOK AT THE MAP THAT WAS PROVIDED, APPEARS TO ME THAT THIS LAND THAT WE'RE BEING OFFERED WOULD ADD EXACTLY ZERO LINEAR FEET OF WATERFRONT LAND BECAUSE NONE OF THIS LAND IS WATERFRONT, IT IS ALL SEPARATED FROM THE WATER BY LAND ALREADY OWNED BY THE CITY.
IS THAT ACCURATE? I THINK WE HAVE A LEGAL MEMO AND I SEE THAT OUR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY, MS. LOPEZ IS HERE AND SHE DID WRITE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE ADJACENCY, UM, STAFF.
COULD YOU, MS. LOPEZ, COULD YOU RESPOND TO THIS QUESTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON AL ALTER, UH, HI ERICA LOPEZ, ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY.
THERE IS A FINDING IN THE ORDINANCE THAT SAYS IN PART ONE SUBSECTION SEVEN THAT SAYS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DETERMINES THE LAND IS WATERFRONT BECAUSE IT FRONTS A, UM, ADJOINING LAKE AND A PERENNIAL STREAM, WHICH WAS, UH, THE NORTH, THE, THE WALNUT CREEK STREAM.
UM, SO I UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN DECLARE THIS WHATEVER WE WANT, THAT, UM, I JUST, YOU KNOW, I I CONTINUE TO, TO FEEL LIKE THIS IS MISLEADING TO THE PUBLIC WHO WE PROMISED THAT WE WERE GETTING 40 SOME PLUS ACRES OF WATERFRONT LAND THAT WAS ADJACENT TO PARKLAND, AND THIS IS WATERFRONT BECAUSE IT'S ON, ON A POND.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO DO THAT.
UM, I DO HAVE SEVERAL OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK IT'D BE MORE USEFUL FOR ME TO REVIEW, UM, THE MATERIAL IN EXHIBIT A AND COME BACK TO THIS, UM, ON THURSDAY OR TO TRY TO CONNECT EARLIER IF, IF THAT SEEMS, UM, MORE APPROPRIATE.
UM, BUT I DO HAVE SEVERAL OTHER, OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK, UM, IT PROBABLY IS BETTER IF I WAIT ON THAT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I WILL COMMEND THE LEGAL MEMO TO EVERYONE TO READ, UM, WHAT OUR STAFF HAS PREPARED FOR US.
IT'S REALLY HELPFUL IN EXPLAINING THE ADJACENCY AND, UH, THE, UH, I GUESS THE LEGAL CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THAT.
UM, THERE BEING NO OTHER ISSUES IN FRONT OF US.
UM, CITY ATTORNEY, ARE WE DONE FOR THE DAY? ALRIGHT, WELL THEN I WILL CALL OUR MEETING, UH, MAYOR P TIM, PLEASE.
AND IT, AND IT'S NOT ABOUT THE AGENDA, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REMIND EVERYBODY IT IS GIVING TUESDAY.
UM, AND I HOPE WE ALL DIG DEEP AND, AND REMEMBER THAT AS WE'RE CLOSING OUT THE YEAR AND THAT AS WE ARE APPROACHING INCLEMENT WEATHER CONDITIONS, THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK REAL HARD.
ARE YOU LONG AND ARE LOOKING FOR OUR SUPPORT? THANK YOU.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY.