[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:05]
UM, WELCOME TO THE REGULAR MEETING AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FOR DECEMBER 6TH, 2023 AT 6:00 PM AND WE ARE STARTING RIGHT ON THE DOT, UM, LOCATED AT THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER EVENT CENTER ROOM 1 4 0 5 AT 6 3 1 0 WILHELMINA DELCO DRIVE, AUSTIN, TEXAS 7 8 7 5 2.
UM, FIRST UP, UH, COMMISSIONER RESI HERE.
AND, UM, YOUR CAMERA IS NOT ON.
AND COMMISSIONER BEDFORD HERE.
UH, CHAIR, ARE YOU HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES? OKAY.
UM, OKAY, WELL, LET'S MOVE ON TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION STARTING OFF? KAYLA? OKAY.
AND ALSO THERE WAS A, UH, MENTION OF THE, UH, PARKING VALIDATION IS THAT MACHINE IS OUT RIGHT NOW.
KAYLA CHAMPLIN WATERSHED PROTECTION.
UH, SECURITY IS TRACKING IT DOWN RIGHT NOW, AND THEY'LL BRING IT OVER AND PLACE IT ON THE TABLE BY THE ENTRANCE AND EXIT.
WELL, WE CAN MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT ONCE IT ARRIVES
UM, BUT IF YOU DO NEED TO LEAVE EARLY AND WE DON'T HAVE IT YET, THERE IS A SECURITY DESK IN THE MAIN LOBBY WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR TICKET VALIDATED.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.HAS ALL, HAS EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THOSE MINUTES? I SO MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
MOTION MADE BY BRISTOL, SECONDED BY SULLIVAN.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES.
RESI KRUGER, BRISTOL SULLIVAN PRIMER.
I'M PRETTY SURE I REMEMBER SEEING
UM, CAN WE COME? KAYLA LIN WATERSHED PROTECTION? UH, YEAH.
UH, COMMISSIONER SHIRA IS HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY, DIFFICULTIES.
WE'RE WORKING ON GETTING HER TO JOIN THE MEETING.
IF YOU, IF I, I MISSED WHAT HAPPENED.
I THINK THE MOTION FAILED FOR, FAILED A COUPLE MINUTES.
SO, UM, IF YOU WANT TO BRING THAT BACK UP AT THE END OF THE MEETING, YOU CAN DO THAT.
LET'S, UH, LET'S BRING THAT BACK UP.
UM,
AUDIO ISSUES, BUT NOT FEELING WELL.
OKAY, SO THERE'S MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AGAIN.
NOW ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, IT PASSES FOR EVERYONE ON THE DAAS AND BEDFORD IS, UM, ABSTAINING.
SO NEXT UP WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC HEARING.
[2. Name: HCA Behavior Health Hospital, SP-2022-0516C]
UM, ITEM NUMBER TWO FOR THE BEHAVIOR HEALTH HOSPITAL, SP 2022 DASH FIVE 16 C.UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE A STAFF PRESENTATION CONVERSATION.
UH, I'M PAMELA ALEY FROM THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL CO PROGRAM COORDINATOR.
OH, NO WAIT, NO, DON'T GO TO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS IS, SORRY, I, WHERE'S MY HEAD? HCA BEHAVIOR HEALTH HOSPITAL AT 2 4 1 1 PARK BEND DRIVE.
UH, CASE NUMBERS SP 20 22 0 516 C IS THE VARIANCE BEFORE YOU RIGHT NOW.
[00:05:01]
PLEASE.SO THIS, UH, PROJECT IS LOCATED IN NORTH AUSTIN IN THE, UH, UH, FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION.
UM, IT'S BE KIND OF BETWEEN MOPAC AND METRIC ON THE WEST AND EAST, AND THEN, UM, UH, PALMER AND, UH, AND BREAKER ON THE NORTH AND SOUTH.
SO IT'S IN THE WALNUT CREEK WATERSHED, WHICH IS A SUBURBAN WATERSHED IN THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE.
AS I SAID BEFORE, IT'S IN THE FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION IN COUNCIL DISTRICT NUMBER SEVEN.
IT DOES HAVE THREE RIM ROCK CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES, WHICH ARE RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF, OR JUST OUTSIDE THE SITE.
BUT, UM, THE, THE, UH, BUFFERS ARE ON THE SITE AND THEN IT HAS A CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE.
SO THERE ARE SEVERAL CONSTRAINTS ON THIS SITE FOR DEVELOPMENT.
UH, ONE IS THAT THERE IS 33 FEET OF FALL FROM, UH, REALLY FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH IS PRETTY MUCH HOW IT GOES.
UM, SO THAT'S A, YEAH, SO A GOOD DEAL OF FALL TO BE DEALT WITH.
THERE IS, IT'S SURROUNDED BY CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE, REALLY ON THE, THE TWO SIDES THERE AND, AND ON THE BOTTOM AS WELL.
IT ALSO HAS AN LCRA EASEMENT BETWEEN THE, UH, THE, THE ACCESS ROAD TO THE TOP, WHICH IS PARK BEND DRIVE, AND, UH, AND THEN WHERE THE, THE REST OF THE SITE IS, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT KIND OF PUSHES THE SITE SOUTH, WHICH BEARS ON THE, ON THE REQUIRE OR THE NEED FOR THE, THE VARIANCE.
UM, AND THEN AS I MENTIONED, THE RIM ROCK BUFFERS THERE ON THE WEST SIDE.
SO THE DEVELOPMENT IS A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOSS OR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOSPITAL.
UH, IT ALSO HAS PARKING, UH, TO THE NORTH AND A, UH, AN ACCESS DRIVE THAT GOES, UH, ALL, ALL THE WAY A CIR CIRCULATION DRIVE THAT GOES AROUND.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S THE PATIENT HOUSING BUILDING THAT HAS, UH, FLAT, UH, AREAS, A BIG PATIO AREA, UM, WHICH IS WHAT NEEDS THE, THE VARIANCE.
AND IT NEEDS TO ALL BE ON ONE LEVEL BECAUSE, UH, IT NEEDS TO ALL BE A DA ACCESSIBLE.
I WILL SAY THAT CONSTRUCTION, ALL CONSTRUCTION IS OUTSIDE OF THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE AND, UH, THE CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL, ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURE BUFFERS.
AND IT'S ALL COMPLIANT WITH CODE AND WITH THE PRESERVATION OF THESE NATURAL FEATURES.
SO THE VARIANCE REQUESTS IS TO FILL UP TO 14 FEET IN THE AREAS THERE IN THE DARK GREEN.
UM, NEXT, OH, I WILL SAY, JUST FOR THE RECORD, IF YOU CAN GO BACK FOR, WELL, SO THE VARIANCE IS TO 25 8, 3 42, THE FILL REQUIREMENTS.
UM, SO IT'S FILL OVER FOUR FEET TO 14 FEET.
SO, UM, STAFF FINDS THAT THE, UH, THAT THE FINDINGS HAVE BEEN MET THERE, UH, HAVE BEEN OTHER INSTANCES OF, OF SIMILAR, UH, PROJECTS WITH SIMILAR CONSTRAINTS, SPECIFICALLY TOPOGRAPHIC CONSTRAINTS THAT, UH, THAT THEN NECESSITATE A DI, UH, THAT HAVE, ARE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW A DA REGULATIONS, WHICH HAVE THEN NECESSITATED, UM, GRADING VARI VARIANCES.
THIS VARIANCE, SO WE HAVE DECIDED IS, UH, NECESSITATED BY THE TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES AND NOT JUST THE DESIGN CHOICES.
THAT'S THE MINIMUM DEVIATION FROM CODE WE BELIEVE, AND, UH, IS UNLIKELY TO RESULT IN HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES EITHER DURING OR AFTER CONSTRUCTION.
WATER QUALITY WILL BE CODE COMPLIANT AND EQUAL TO THE WATER QUALITY WITHOUT THE VARIANCE.
SO, AS I SAID, STEPH DOES RECOMMEND THE VARIANCE, UM, WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS.
UH, AND I HAVE A, A, A MODIFICATION TO MAKE TO CONDITION NUMBER ONE.
IT SAYS CON THAT THE FILL WILL BE CONTAINED, UH, WILL BE COMPLIANT, UM, WITH A COMBINATION OF ENGINEERED, OH, NO, IT SAYS, SAY WALLS AND TERRACES.
NO, NO MODIFICATION TO BE MADE.
IT SAYS WALLS AND TERRACES HERE.
THAT, THAT'S THE, THE CONDITION THAT'S BEING ASKED FOR.
[00:10:01]
YES.UH, THE POINT, ONE NICE THING ABOUT TERRACES IS THAT IT DOES ALLOW MORE FLAT AREAS FOR WATER INFILTRATION.
UM, THE OTHER CONDITION WILL BE THAT SEED AND, UM, SEEDING AND PLANTING ON THE TERRACES.
TERRACES WILL BE WITH NATIVE TREES, UH, WHERE FEASIBLE BASED ON STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINTS.
UM, BUT OTHERWISE WITH NATIVE TREES.
UH, AND THEN, UH, PERENNIALS, GRASSES AND FORBES PER 6 0 9 S UH, COMPLETE WITH NO MO SIGNS TO, UH, LET THAT STUFF GROW AND, UM, BE MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY BENEFICIAL.
THAT'S IT FOR UNTIL YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.
UH, AND THEN THE APPLICANT ALSO HAS A PRESENTATION.
OH, NO PRESENTATION FROM APPLICANT.
YOU CAN GO UP AND SAY A FEW THINGS AND THEN I AND THE APPLICANT ARE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS AFTER 30.
MICHAEL LAN ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THOROUGH, THOROUGH REVIEW AS ALWAYS FROM, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL STAFF.
UH, JUST A QUICK RECALL, IT'S AUGUST 16TH.
WE CAME HERE WITH A PUD AND AS I MENTIONED, SOME OF YOU ALL, UH, WE JUST FAILED TO CATCH THIS ONE WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE A DA COMPLIANCE AND THE, UH, THERE'S AN LCRA EASEMENT, WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT.
WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING IN THAT EASEMENT.
AND SO THE GETTING DOWN TO THE, UM, HOSPITAL ITSELF WOULD'VE, UH, WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A DA COMPLIANT.
THE, THE GRADE WOULD'VE BEEN TOO GREAT, UH, AT THAT POINT, 10%, I THINK.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT IS CAUSING THE FILL IN THE AREA WHERE IT SAYS PATIO.
IT'S NOT LIKE A IMPERVIOUS PATIO THAT WE SHOULD HAVE LABELED THAT YARD.
IT'S A YARD, UH, FOR, UH, UH, PATIENTS TO, UH, UTILIZE DURING, UH, DURING THEIR STAY THERE.
SO I, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNEW THAT WAS A YARD, NOT A, NOT A PERVIOUS OR IMPERVIOUS, EXCUSE ME, UH, PATIO.
AND WE HAVE ENGINEERS HERE, BUT OBVIOUSLY ENVIRONMENTAL STAFFS THOROUGHLY REVIEWED IT AS WELL.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, LET'S OPEN THE QUESTIONS UP FOR COMMISSIONERS.
UH, SHERA, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS.
UM, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION FIRST OF ALL, PAMELA, I WANNA SAY AWESOME HAT.
YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UH, A LOT OF TIMES WE TALK ABOUT LIKE POLLINATOR GARDENS POSSIBLY BEING ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ADD, ALTHOUGH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT LIKE A, A BUNCH OF BEAST SWARMS AROUND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, UH, PATIENTS, YOU KNOW, UM, BUTTERFLIES, SWARMS SOUND A LOT, UH, A LOT MORE PLEASANT.
SO MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING WE ADD TOO.
BUT OTHERWISE, NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.
MAY I, MAY I RESPOND TO THAT? UH, PAM? YES.
I WILL SAY THAT 6 0 9 S UH, THE FORBES OR WILDFLOWERS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THAT WILL BE EXACTLY POLLINATOR PLANTS.
UH, I DO NOT PROFESS TO BE A BOTANICAL EXPERT, SO LEARNING AS I GO.
I'M CURIOUS TO HEAR FROM STAFF, LIKE WHAT CONCERNS, IF ANY YOU ALL HAD AND WERE ABLE TO TALK THROUGH WITH THE APPLICANT THAT YOU FEEL HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED AGAIN, PAMELA, UH, DSD.
SO, UM, REALLY THE MAIN CONCERNS AND, AND FILL OF THIS SORT IS STABILIZATION AF AFTER, UH, PERMANENT STABILIZATION.
SO, UM, SO THAT WILL BE PROVIDED WITH A WALL ON ONE SIDE, UH, WHERE IT'S ADJACENT ON, ON THE WEST SIDE, WHERE IT'S ADJACENT TO THE, UH, UH, CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE DIRECTLY ADJACENT.
AND THEN IN THE REST IT WILL HAVE THE TERRACES.
AND, UH, WE FEEL THAT THAT'S A MORE STABLE WAY THAN THE STANDARD.
UM, ALLOWABLE, UH, STABILIZATION IS THREE TO ONE SLOPE IS OFTEN WHAT'S DONE STANDARDLY, BUT, UH, THIS WILL INSTEAD BE WALLED, YOU KNOW, AND FLAT AND WALL AND FLAT.
SO WE FEEL IT'S AN IMPROVED, UH, YOU WON'T GET THE RITZ OF WATER RUNNING DOWN IT AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO YES, STABILIZATION IS REALLY OUR MAJOR CONCERN.
AND I'M, WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT THIS ONE.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING, I MEAN, I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SEE, UH, YOU KNOW, NATIVE PLANTING IN HERE.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR AND CONSIDERING.
BUT ONE THING THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP AS WELL IS LIKE THE UPKEEP, UM, AND THE SURVIVAL RATE OF SOME OF THOSE TREE PLANTING AND NATIVE PLANTINGS.
AND I BELIEVE IT WAS COMMISSIONER SHIRA WHO ATTENDED, UM, A WORKING GROUP OR PRESENTATION THAT SPOKE TO THAT SPECIFICALLY.
AND I DON'T RECALL THE EXACT SURVIVAL RATE, BUT THAT, THAT IS A CONCERN.
SO I'M CURIOUS WHAT ASSURANCES WE HAVE FROM THE APPLICANT AROUND, UM, CONTINUED SURVIVABILITY OF NATIVE TREES AND OTHER PLANTING.
[00:15:14]
I AM MICHAEL WHALEN ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT.WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO ALSO, WE, UM, SO MUCH OF, UH, WE HAVE SO MANY POLICIES AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH IS FABULOUS, INCLUDING, UH, WATER REDUCTION AND WATER REUSE.
AND SO WE'RE NOT IRRIGATING BACK THERE, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE USING THE NATIVE PLANTS.
AND, UM, THE GOOD THING, IF NOT, NOT FOR YOU TO RECALL, BUT BACK IN AUGUST, WE'RE SAVING A HUNDRED BECAUSE OF THE MODIFICATIONS TO THE POD THAT Y'ALL, UH, APPROVED.
WE'RE SAVING OVER A HUNDRED, I THINK 111 TREES, 20 OF WHICH ARE HERITAGE.
SO EXISTING TREES THAT ARE ALREADY WELL ESTABLISHED ARE GONNA BE IN THAT AREA, WHICH I THINK WILL BE A HUGE ADVANTAGE TO, UH, UH, FOR ALL OF US, FRANKLY.
BUT, UH, WE'RE RELYING ON THE NATIVE PLANTINGS TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE WITHOUT WATER BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO REDUCE THE WATER, UH, THAT WE'RE USING IS, YOU RECALL ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS A CONDITION? UH, OH, THERE'S LESLIE WAS, UH, THE CAPTURING, UM, WATER OFF THE ROOF FOR REUSE IN THE IRRIGATION.
SO I GUESS I'M JUST RELYING ON THE FACT THAT THEY'RE NATIVE AND, AND HOPING THAT THAT WILL BE, UM, WILL CARRY THE DAY AND THAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED TREES ALREADY THERE.
AND I IMAGINE YOU ALL HAVE CONTRACTED WITH A LANDSCAPING COMPANY OR SIMILAR TO, TO HELP WITH THE UPKEEP, OR ARE YOU JUST KIND OF LETTING IT, LETTING IT BE NO, ST.
DAVID'S DOESN'T LIKE TO JUST LET THINGS BE.
THEY'RE, THEY TRY TO BE ATTENTIVE TO THEIR CAMPUSES AND MM-HMM.
UM, I, I, I'M, I HAVEN'T BEEN ENGAGED TO CONTRACT WITH THE FOLKS THAT MAINTAIN THEIR FACILITIES.
UH, SO I, I CAN'T SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THAT, BUT IF YOU'VE BEEN ON ANY OF THEIR CAMPUSES, MM-HMM.
AND I, SO I'M HOPEFUL, AND I, I WOULD, I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE'LL BE SOME MAINTENANCE THERE.
LIZ JOHNSTON, UH, WATERSHED PROTECTION.
I CAN ALSO ADD, UM, A LITTLE BIT ONTO THIS.
SO, UH, THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF COVERAGE THAT IS REQUIRED, UM, BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTOR IN ORDER FOR A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY AND FOR THEM TO, UM, GIVE BACK THEIR EROSION CONTROL FISCAL MONEY, UM, WHICH IS ALWAYS, UH, SOMETHING THAT THEY WANT.
UM, AND SO IF IT'S NOT ESTABLISHED, THEN, THEN, YOU KNOW, THERE WILL BE REPEATED INSPECTIONS UNTIL THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF COVERAGE TO ASSURE STABILIZATION FOR ONGOING MAINTENANCE FOR NATURAL AREAS LIKE THAT.
THE 6 0 9 S STANDARD IS DESIGNED TO HAVE A BROAD ASSORTMENT OF GRASSES, FLOWERS, UM, AND SOMETIMES SHRUBS AND TREES DEPENDING ON THE PROJECT.
UM, AND SO WE DO EXPECT SOME TO DIE OVER TIME, BUT SOME WILL SURVIVE BECAUSE THEY'RE NATIVE AND ADAPTED TO THE CLIMATE.
SO IT'S KIND OF EXPECTED THAT NOT EVERYTHING'S GONNA SURVIVE, BUT SOMETHING WILL OVER TIME AND IT SHOULD BE NATIVE BECAUSE WE'VE GIVEN THAT AREA THE SEED STOCK, UM, THAT IS, UH, GOING TO, UH, IN THEORY SURVIVE INTO THE FUTURE.
UH, COMMISSIONER BRIER, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO POINT.
UM, IN THE AGENDA, IT MENTIONS ALLOW FILL TO 13 FEET, BUT YOUR PRESENTATION SAID 14 FEET, SO THE ACTUAL AMOUNT IS 13.1 FEET AND, UH, WAS WHAT IS IN THE ORIGINAL REPORT.
AND THEN IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING THIS UP, IT WAS ROUNDED UP.
UM, I HAD ORIGINALLY ROUNDED IT DOWN AND THEN IT WAS ROUNDED UP.
ANYWAY, THE REAL NUMBER IS 13.1.
COMMISSIONER BRIER? YEAH, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I, SO THIS WAS LEFT OUT OF THE AUGUST THING AS AN OVERSIGHT.
'CAUSE I PULLED UP THE AUGUST, UH, RECOMMENDATION.
UH, I VISIT THE FACILITY WITH AN ALARMING REGULARITY, UH, AND THE MAINTENANCE ON THE SHRUBBERY AND THE
[00:20:03]
WHATEVER IT IS, THE PLANTS THERE, UH, IS IFFY AT BEST.UM, YEAH, MICHAEL WHALEN ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT, I DON'T THINK IT WAS NECESSARILY MISSED.
IT WAS, UM, THE, THE GRADE, UH, WAS GREATER.
IT TURNED OUT THAN WE ANTICIPATED IN TERMS OF A DA COMPLIANCE.
AND, UH, WE WANTED TO ALSO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A YARD SECURED, UH, FOR, UH, THE PATIENTS, UH, WHO ARE THERE, UH, WHICH IS WHAT BROUGHT US BACK, UH, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE RADIATE COMPLIANT AND PROVIDE THAT, UH, YARD SPACE, UH, UH, FOR THE PATIENTS.
AND THIS TIME, WE'RE FINISHED.
PARDON? WE'RE FINISHED THIS TIME.
UH, MY HOPE IS THAT THIS IS, WE'RE DOWN TO THE LAST FEW COMMENTS.
UH, OUR, UH, I THINK WE HAVE A SITE PLAN EXPIRATION DATE OF FEBRUARY IN TERMS OF THE APPLICATION.
SO THIS, UH, THIS, UH, BETTER BE DONE BECAUSE, UH, HCA HAS, UH, UH, UH, FUNDED THIS PROJECT AND EXPECTS TO BE BREAKING GROUND IN FEBRUARY ON, UH, YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED, ONE OF THE FIRST, UH, UH, UH, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FACILITIES, HOSPITALS, UH, TO BE BUILT IN DECADES IN THIS TOWN.
UM, I DON'T REALLY NECESSARILY HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR, UM, PRESENTATIONS AND YOUR PRESENTATION BACK IN AUGUST.
UM, 14 FEET IS A, IT'S A LOT OF FILL ON WALNUT CREEK.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA EXPRESS THAT I DO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE HAVE SEEN SO MANY CUT AND FILL, UM, YOU KNOW, VARIANCES LATELY, ESPECIALLY ALONG OUR WATERSHEDS.
AND THIS IS JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, WE JUST KEEP PILING THEM UP AND IT DOESN'T REALLY FEEL GREAT.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB WITH, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO MEET, UM, AS MANY OF THOSE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AS POSSIBLE, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT AS THE WATER DOES LAND ON THAT PROPERTY, THAT IT SLOWS AND, AND INJURES THE CREEK, UH, INSTEAD OF A TORRENT, IT'LL, IT'LL COME DOWN THE TERRACES AND STUFF.
BUT, UM, SO I JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UM, AND, AND SAY AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PROJECT, AND NO QUESTIONS FROM ME.
SO, UH, I MOVE THAT WE, UM, CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS.
OH, WELL, ALL THOSE THAT REJECT PRIMER.
YOU DON'T WANNA CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
SO SOMETIMES I
UM, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? I DO.
DECEMBER 6TH, 2023, JUST IN CASE ANYBODY FORGOT.
UH, THIS IS HC BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOSPITAL, SP 2 0 2 2 DASH 0 5 1 16 C.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING A VARIANCE FROM LDC 25 DASH EIGHT DASH 3 42 TO ALLOW FILL UP TO 14 FEET, BUT EXACTLY 13.1 FEET.
UM, WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT THE SITE IS LOCATED IN THE WALNUT CREEK WATERSHED, SUBURBAN DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT THE STAFF RECOMMENDS THIS VARIANCE WITH STAFF CONDITIONS HAVING DETERMINED THAT THE FINDINGS OF FACT ENGINEERED WALLS AND TERRACES TO REDUCE GRADING AND INCREASE INFILTRATION.
AND THAT SHOULD ACTUALLY BE WATER INFILTRATION.
UM, SEED AND PLANT THE TERRACES WITH NATIVE TREES WHERE FEASIBLE, UH, BASED ON STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINTS, PERENNIALS, GRASSES, AND FORBES PER THE 6 0 9 S TO INCREASE INFILTRATION, PROVIDE HABITAT AND INCREASE PLANT DIVERSITY, PROVIDING A NO MOW SIGNAGE, UH, FOR THE TERRACE.
THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE VARIANCE REQUEST WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS.
I DID NOT HEAR ANY CONDITIONS, SO WE DIDN'T ADD ANY.
I'LL SECOND ANY OTHER DISCUSSION.
OH, COMMISSIONER, UH, UH, KAYLA LIN WATERSHED PROTECTION.
[00:25:01]
UH, JUST A QUICK NOTE, IF YOU, UM, AS IF THE COMMISSION IS PROPOSING TO ADOPT STAFF CONDITIONS, TO PUT THOSE AT THE BOTTOM UNDER YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, INSTEAD OF IN THE BODY OF THE RECOMMENDATION.I DREW AN ARROW TO SHOW THAT
UH, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO A VOTE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.
SHERA, KURESHI, KRUGER, BEDFORD, BRISTOL SULLIVAN ARE ALL IN FAVOR? ALL THOSE OPPOSED, BRIER OPPOSED.
UH, NEXT STEP WE HAVE ITEM, UH,
[3. Consider a site-specific amendment to City Code Chapter 25-8, Subchapter A, Article 13 (Save Our Springs Initiative), as minimally required to address development related to the proposed resubdivision and development at 1905 and 1908 Airole Way. This action concerns land located in the Barton Springs Zone. Presented by Leslie Lilly, Environmental Program Coordinator, Watershed Protection Department.]
NUMBER THREE.UH, CONSIDER A SITE SPECIFIC AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE CHAPTER TWO FIVE DASH EIGHT SUBCHAPTER A ARTICLE 13 FOR THE SAVE OUR SPRINGS, UH, INITIATIVE.
AND WE DO HAVE A STAFF PRESENTATION.
I'M LESLIE LILY, ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM COORDINATOR WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION, AND I WILL BE SPEAKING ON ITEM NUMBER THREE.
AND IT IS A SITE SPECIFIC SOS AMENDMENT AS IT RELATES TO THE RE SUBDIVISION AND DEVELOPMENT OF TWO RESIDENTIAL TRACKS AT 1905 AND 1908 ARROW LEEWAY.
SO, UH, THE SITE-SPECIFIC SOS AMENDMENT RELATES TO THE SAVE OUR SPRINGS ORDINANCE, WHICH WAS ADOPTED IN 1992 AS A PART OF A CITIZEN INITIATIVE.
AND WHAT MAKES THIS PARTICULAR ORDINANCE SPECIAL IS THERE ARE NOT VARIANCES ALLOWED TO THE SOS AMENDMENT, AND IT REQUIRES A ACTUAL CODE AMENDMENT.
AND THAT INCLUDES BOTH THIS PROCESS THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW, BUT ALSO AN INITIATION AT COUNCIL.
AND THEN FINALLY, AN APPROVAL WITH THE SUPER MAJORITY, UH, AT, AT ITS CONCLUSION AT COUNCIL.
SO WHEN IT WAS INITIATED ON SEPTEMBER 14TH, CITY COUNCIL DIRECTED STAFF TO WORK WITH THE APPLICANT TO BRING FORWARD AN ORDINANCE THAT MET FOR PRIMARY GOALS, WHICH WAS TO MINIMIZE IMPERVIOUS COVER, PROVIDE WATER QUALITY TREATMENT, UH, PROVIDE OTHER ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS, AND THEN ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE WAS IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE OTHER, UH, THE AREA SUBDIVISIONS AND OTHER CONSTRUCTION ADJACENT TO THE PROPERTY.
SO, 1905 AND 1908 ARROW WAY IS IN THE BARTON HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH IS IN THE BARTON SPRINGS ZONE.
IT'S IN THE FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION, AND IT'S IN THE EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE.
SOME SITE CONDITIONS ABOUT THE PROPERTY IS THE, THE PIECE, THE TRACKS THAT WE ARE, WE WILL BE CONSIDERING TONIGHT INCLUDE THESE THREE TRACKS.
THE TOP TWO, UH, THE NORTHERN TRACKS ARE TWO UNPLED TRACKS.
AND THEN THERE'S A SQUARE SHAPED TRACK THAT IS TRACK TWO.
AND THAT IS CURRENTLY UN PLATTERED.
ALL OF THE TRACKS ARE WITHIN THE BARTON CREEK WATERSHED IN THE BARTON SPRING ZONE, AND IN THE EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE.
NONE OF THEM ARE IN THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE OR IN A WATER QUALITY TRANSITION ZONE.
AND THERE ARE NO IDENTIFIED CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES ON SITE.
THE COMBINED AREA OF THESE THREE TRACKS IS A LITTLE OVER A HALF ACRE AT 0.1 0.55 ACRES.
AND WHAT YOU CAN SEE HERE SYMBOLIZED IN GREEN IS THE EXISTING, UH, HISTORIC HOME, WHICH IS, UH, COMPRISES TWO 2,675 SQUARE FEET OF IMPERVIOUS COVER, OR 0.0614 ACRES.
AS A PART OF THE PROPOSED RE SUBDIVISION AND DEVELOPMENT, THERE ARE, UH, A COUPLE OF AMENDMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, THE, THE PROVIDING DEVELOPMENT AS PROPOSED, SHOWN ON THIS MAP.
SO THERE IS A RE SUBDIVISION AND THERE'S ALSO A DEVELOPMENT.
AND THE RE SUBDIVISION INCLUDES THE REMOVAL OF THE LOT LINE SEPARATING TRACT TWO, THE UNPLED LOT, AND COMBINING IT WITH TRACK 18, AND THEN ALSO SHIFTING THE LOT LINE BETWEEN TRACK 18 AND TRACK 19 A LITTLE BIT TO THE EAST.
AND WHAT YOU CAN SEE SYMBOLIZED IN RED IS THE PROPOSED, UH, FOOTPRINT OF THE TWO HOMES.
WHAT CURRENTLY EXISTS, AS I MENTIONED,
[00:30:01]
IS JUST IN GREEN AND EVERYTHING ELSE IS UNDEVELOPED.SO THOSE RED SYMBOLIZED AREAS ARE WHAT WOULD BE NEW CONSTRUCTION, NEW IMPERVIOUS COVER AS REQUIRED BY THE SOS AMENDMENT.
IMPERVIOUS COVER, IMPERVIOUS COVER IS LIMITED TO 15% IN THE BARTON SPRING ZONE IN THE EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE.
THIS PROJECT, HOWEVER, PROPOSES AN IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMIT OF 34.7% GROSS SITE AREA CURRENTLY AS PROPOSED, UM, CURRENTLY WITHOUT THE AMENDMENT TRACKED, LOT 18 AND LOT 19 ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE 45% IMPERVIOUS COVER BECAUSE THEY WERE PLATTED BEFORE THE SOS AMENDMENT WAS ADOPTED.
THAT MEANS THEY HAVE LAND DETERMINATION THAT ALLOWS THEM TO BE, UH, SUBJECT TO JUST THE ZONING RESTRICTIONS ON IMPERVIOUS COVER, WHICH IS 45%.
HOWEVER, TRACK TWO BEING UN PLATTED IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING PLATTED SUBJECT TO CURRENT CODE.
AND THE 15%, SO THE 34.7% IS, UH, IS A BIT LESS THAN WHAT WOULD BE REQUIRED BY CURRENT, BY CURRENT CODE WITHOUT THE RE SUBDIVISION.
SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF IMPERVIOUS COVER THAT'S BEING REDUCED AS A PART OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT FROM WHAT IS CURRENTLY ALLOWABLE WITHOUT THE RE SUBDIVISION AND WITHOUT THE AMENDMENT.
THE OTHER ELEMENT OF THE SOS AMENDMENT IS THE COMPLIANCE WITH THE NONDEGRADATION WATER QUALITY TREATMENT.
AS IT RELATES TO THE SOS ORDINANCE, NONDEGRADATION WATER QUALITY TREATMENT REQUIRES THAT ALL IMPERVIOUS COVER IS TREATED TO NONDEGRADATION LEVELS, WHICH MEANS THAT ALL RUNOFF FROM THE SITE IS AT A QUALITY THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE PRE-DEVELOPED CONDITION, AS IF THERE'S NO DEVELOPMENT AT ALL ON THE SITE.
WITH SMALL LOTS LIKE THIS AND SMALL CONSTRAINED AREAS, IT IS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO PROVIDE THE AREA THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO MEET WATER QUALITY TREATMENT.
SO WE HAVE ASKED AND WORKED WITH THE APPLICANT TO DERIVE ONSITE WATER QUALITY CONTROLS THAT WOULD CAPTURE THE FIRST HALF INCH OF RUNOFF FROM 4,782 SQUARE FEET OF THE ROOF AREA, WHICH MOSTLY REPRESENTS THE NEW ROOF AREA FROM BOTH LOTS COMBINED.
AND THEN THERE WOULD BE A CONSTRUCTION TERRACING OF INFILTRATION AREAS THAT WOULD RECEIVE THE HARVESTED RAINWATER SO THAT IT WOULD INFILTRATE AND PROVIDE WATER QUALITY FOR THAT AREA.
WHAT YOU CAN SEE ON THE MAP HERE SYMBOLIZED IN ORANGE IS THAT INFILTRATION AREA, AND THAT INFILTRATION AREA WOULD ALSO BE, UM, PLANTED AND RESTORED WITH, UH, NATIVE PLANTS, SEEDING TREES.
UM, SO THE NATIVE PLANTS WOULD BE USED TO RESTORE AND ENHANCE THE, THE PROPERTY OR MAINTAINED ALL OF THE NATIVE TREES THAT ARE ON SITE.
STAFF RECOMMENDS THE APPROVAL OF THE SITE SPECIFIC SOS AMENDMENT WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS THAT THE IMPERVIOUS COVER IS LIMITED TO 34.7% GROSS SITE AREA THAT THE PROJECT REQUIRES WATER QUALITY TREATMENT OF 4,792 SQUARE FEET OF ROOF AREA FROM BOTH LOTS COMBINED WITH ONSITE CONTROLS, CAPTURING THE FIRST HALF INCH OF RUNOFF IRRIGATED WITHIN 120 HOURS TO AN INFILTRATION AREA OF 2,250 SQUARE FEET, AND DESIGNED AND MAINTAINED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA, MANUAL REQUIREMENTS, AND THEN UTILIZING AND NATIVE PLANTS UTILIZING NATIVE PLANTS AND TREES IN THE LANDSCAPING.
AND WITH THAT, THAT IS THE END OF MY PRESENTATION.
UH, THE APPLICANT AND THE APPLICANT TEAM IS HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, AND I AM ALSO AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, IS THERE A PRESENTATION FROM THE APPLICANT OR JUST FOR QUESTIONS, FIELD QUESTIONS AS NECESSARY.
UM, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND OPEN THE QUESTIONS FOR COMMISSIONERS SHERA.
CAN WE GET AN OVERVIEW OF THE, THE REASON BEHIND THE EXPANSION OF, OF THE HOME ONTO THE ADDITIONAL UN FLATTED LAND? THE REASONING BEHIND IT? IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID? I, I SEEK CLARIFICATION.
I THINK WHAT SHE'S ASKING IS, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROJECT? UH, THE PROJECT ITSELF? UH, THE, OH, IS THE MICROPHONE ON WHAT? THE MICROPHONE THERE IF YOU DON'T MIND.
OH, ERIC ERICKSON, 2002 ARTHUR LANE, AUSTIN, TEXAS 7 8 7 0 4.
THIS PROJECT IS IN MY BACKYARD AND WHICH IS WHY I ACQUIRED THE PROPERTY PRIVATELY TO PRESERVE THE STINGER PROPERTY.
'CAUSE THE, UM, STINGER SUBDIVISION IS THE FIRST ONE THAT 80 STINGER BUILT AND PLANTED IN
[00:35:01]
1950.AND DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME, HE SOLD A LOT, WELL, 1905, A 1908 AIRWAY, HE SOLD TO THE WARD FAMILY, AND AT THAT TIME, THEY ENTERED INTO CONTRACT AND BOUGHT THE TRACK BEHIND THEM FROM THE DUNAWAY FAMILY.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT DOES NOT MEET, UH, CURRENT, UH, LAND STATUS DETERMINATION, OTHERWISE WE WOULDN'T BE HERE.
UH, THE ADDITION WAS DESIGNED TO PREVENT FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THESE LOTS.
ONE TO PRESERVE THE EXISTING HOME IN THE FRONT.
AND THEN THE ADDITION IS DESIGNED WITH THE INTENTION OF TO PRESERVE VIEW CORRIDORS DRAINAGE, BLESSING FROM ALL NEIGHBORS, AND MINIMAL IMPACT TO THE ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING IT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR OVERVIEW AND I'LL, I'LL STEP HERE FOR ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS RATHER THAN SPEAKING OFF TO THE SIDE.
UH, COMMISSIONER RESI, UM, YEAH, UM, I, AND I'M SURE THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS AS WELL GOT SOME, UH, EMAILS FROM SOME NEIGHBORS WHO HAD SOME STRONG OPINIONS, BUT POLITELY, UH, ABOUT THIS.
UM, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, UM, I GUESS IT'S PERTINENT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, THE HOME INITIATIVE LATER.
SO FOR THE NEW CONSTRUCTION, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE PLANNING TO PUT ONE PROPERTY.
UM, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, IF THE HOME INITIATIVE PASSES, YOU KNOW, UM, WOULD YOU, BECAUSE I ASSUME YOU ARE DEVELOPING THIS OTHER PROPERTY AS WELL, OR ARE YOU SELLING IT OR? NO, PART OF THE AGREEMENT WITH PURCHASING THE HOUSE THAT I'M CURRENTLY DOING IS MM-HMM.
AND ALL MY NEIGHBORS ARE IN AGREEMENT.
THE PEOPLE THAT SENT YOU THE EMAIL ACTUALLY WERE UNINFORMED.
THAT'S WHY NOBODY IS HERE IN PROTEST.
BELIEVE ME, THIS HAS BEEN A THREE YEAR, FOUR YEAR PROCESS.
UM, YEAH, NO FURTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
I, I THINK I STILL DON'T HAVE A FULL GRASP ON WHAT THIS IS.
UM, SO YOU'RE BUILDING TWO NEW HOMES.
ARE THEY GOING TO BE RENTAL PROPERTIES OR NO, NO, NO, THESE ARE, NO, I'M PRESERVING AN EXISTING HOME UHHUH, WHICH WAS BUILT BY STANGER IN 1950.
THAT PARTICULAR HOUSE, IN FACT, ALL THE HOUSES IN THIS NIG NEIGHBORHOOD, JUST EVEN THE REDWOOD APPLIED, THAT CAME OUT OF THE DEFORESTATION OF THE SIA NATIONAL FOREST, WHICH WAS STOPPED IN 1954.
SO EVEN IF YOU WERE TO PULL UP ZILLOW MAPS OR PICTURES OF THIS PROPERTY, YOU WOULD'VE SEEN IT'S PAINTED IN GOLD SINCE THEN.
I OPENED UP A RENOVATION PERMIT AND WE WERE MOVED ALL THE PAINT FROM THE REDWOOD, AND THE INTENTION IS TO PRESERVE THE EXISTING EXTERIOR AS WELL AS THE BULK OF THE INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE, WHICH DROVE THE ADDITION ONTO THE BACK.
AND MY FATHER WAS AN ENGINEER AND AN ARCHITECT.
IN FACT, THE HOUSE THAT I BUILT OR LIVE IN NOW WAS BUILT IN 46.
AND THEN STAYING THERE, AFTER MEETING MY PARENTS CAME UP INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND BOUGHT A TRACK NEXT DOOR AND DEVELOPED HIS FIRST HOUSE IN 48, WHICH IS 1904 ARTHUR LANE.
I GOT A PHONE CALL FROM TEXAS PRESERVATION COMMISSION AS WELL AS THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
THERE WAS A BUYER, AN OWNER, TRYING TO SELL THAT HOUSE AND WANTED TO FIND SOMEBODY WHO WOULD BUY IT AND NOT TEAR IT DOWN.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE STREET VIEW OF 1904 ARTHUR LANE TODAY, YOU'LL SEE MY LAST PROJECT AND 1905 IS JUST BELOW 1904.
AND, UM, WE'RE JUST ALL CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO OCCUR IN THAT CUL-DE-SAC, THE EXISTING DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE IS THERE.
AND IN FACT, BEFORE WATERSHED EVEN GOT INVOLVED, EVERYTHING THAT THEY BROUGHT BEFORE YOU TODAY WAS ALREADY ON THE DESIGN BOOKS BACK IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR.
BECAUSE I TOOK INTO ACCOUNT MITIGATION DRAINAGE IMPACT ON MY NEIGHBOR'S, IMPACT ON ME, IMPACT ON JUST THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT.
EVERYTHING ALL THEY'RE DOING IS REINFORCING WHAT WAS ALREADY IN PLACE.
AND THEN WE'RE CREATING A DRAINAGE EASEMENT SO IT CAN'T BE DEVELOPED.
EVEN THOUGH THEY SAID, WELL, WHAT IF THE CITY WANTS TO PUT A, YOU KNOW, A UTILITY THROUGH THERE? I'M LIKE, NO WAY.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT THAT DONE TO PRESERVE THIS AREA, I'M ALL FOR IT.
I THINK IT'S ALSO A GOOD CAVEAT TO KEEP DEVELOPERS FROM COMING IN.
THAT'S WHY I HAD TO BUY THE PROPERTY NEXT DOOR TO ME BECAUSE DEVELOPERS GO, OH YEAH, LET'S PUT THREE HOUSES ON ON THE 16,000 SQUARE FOOT LOT.
AND IT'S LIKE, NO, IT'S GOT A HERITAGE, OAK OAK ON IT.
IT'S AN ESTABLISHED SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOOD.
WHY WOULD WE TAKE A SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE BARTON SPRINGS RECHARGE ZONE AND DEVELOP IT INTO MULTIPLE HOUSES? AND SO THE FIRST THING THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE PEOPLE SAW WHEN THEY SAW THIS ON THE APPLICATION WAS IT GOT, OH, THIS IS A DEVELOPER.
AND THEN EVERYBODY GOT CHATTED.
I WASN'T INVOLVED IN THAT, BUT I HEARD ABOUT IT AND THEY ALL OF A SUDDEN HAD THEIR AHA AND REALIZED, I'M NOT THE BAD GUY HERE.
I'M JUST TRYING TO PRESERVE MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND ONE WAY TO DO THAT IS SINGLE FAMILY HOME, AS WELL AS TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE CITY HAD RECOMMENDED LAST YEAR, WHY DON'T YOU JUST
[00:40:01]
BUILD IN THE FRONT? AND I GO, WELL, THAT'LL, YOU KNOW, DESTROY THE EXISTING HOUSE.IT WILL ACTUALLY CAUSE PROBLEMS WITH DRAINAGE BECAUSE OF THE NATURAL TOPOGRAPHY OF THE PROPERTIES RIGHT NOW DRAINS IN BETWEEN 1905 AND 1908 AS IT EXISTS TODAY.
AND THEN IT GOES INTO AN EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE WHICH DROPS DOWN INTO WEST RIDGE, WHICH EVENTUALLY DROPS DOWN INTO BARTON PARKWAY, AND THEN IS PICKED UP BY THE CREEK TRIBUTARY THAT RUNS ALONG BARTON HILLS ELEMENTARY AND DROPS INTO BARTON CREEK.
UH, MY POINT BEING IS, IS MY BIGGEST CONCERN, AND I TOLD THE CITY THIS WAS, IF, IF I DON'T GO AHEAD AND PLANT THIS LOT AND GET THIS LOT BROUGHT IN, AT SOME POINT, SOMETIMES SOMETHING'S GONNA CHANGE AND SOMEBODY'S GONNA PUT A BIG TWO STORY BOX BACK THERE AND NONE OF US ARE GONNA BE HAPPY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, BARN HILLS IS NOT THE PLACE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T MEAN TO GET OFF TRACK, BUT THAT'S NOT THE PLACE TO PUT 2,500 SQUARE FOOT LOTS.
AND I HOPE THE SOS AMENDMENT, I MEAN, NOT THE AMENDMENT, BUT THE SOS INITIATIVE AND EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS TODAY WILL KEEP THAT FROM HAPPENING.
I MEAN, MUELLER DEVELOPMENTS, PLACES LIKE THAT, BUT ANYTHING THAT CONTRIBUTES INTO OUR WATER QUALITY FOR THE CREEK AND, AND IT SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING.
BUT SO FAR WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT SAYS BARTON HILLS IS GONNA BE PROTECTED.
AND SO ALL I CAN DO IS AN INDIVIDUAL IS TO PRESERVE MY LITTLE AREA OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND DESIGN SOMETHING THAT WILL ALWAYS EXIST AS A SINGLE FAMILY HOME.
THAT HOUSE IS 74 YEAR YEARS OLD, IT SERVES TO HAVE ANOTHER 70 YEARS.
AND IN THE HOUSE THAT THE ADDITION THAT WE'VE DESIGNED FOR THE BACK IS SUSTAINABLE.
IT USES SUSTAINABLE BUILDING TECHNIQUES.
SO I'M SEEING IN GREEN AN EXISTING STRUCTURE, WHICH YOU'RE SAYING THAT YOU'VE WORKED HARD TO PRESERVE AND YOU, YOU KNOW, FEEL VERY CONNECTED TO THE HISTORY THERE.
AND THEN I SEE TWO EDIFICES IN RED, AND I'M CURIOUS IF THE FIRST IS AN EXTENSION OF AN EXISTING BUILDING AND THEN THE SECOND IS NEW.
DID Y'ALL HEAR ME OKAY? UM, WE, WE KIND OF NEED YOU AT THE MICROPHONE SO THAT THE REMOTE PEOPLE COULD HEAR YOU AS WELL.
THE PROBLEM IS, IS, IS IN ORDER FOR, WE CAN SIT AT ONE MINUTES AS WELL.
UM, SO IN REFERENCE TO RED AND GREEN, THE, YOU KNOW, THE GREEN IS THE EXISTING HOUSE.
SO YOUR QUESTION AGAIN, PLEASE.
SO YEAH, SO CONFIRMING THAT GREEN IS THE EXISTING STRUCTURE, UM, WHO HERITAGE YOU FEEL VERY CONNECTED TO THE RED STRUCTURE THAT'S EMANATING FROM IT.
IS THAT AN EXTENSION OR IS THAT A NEW BUILDING? THAT'S THE ADDITION.
THAT'S AN ADDITION AND A SINGLE STORY.
IN OTHER WORDS, TO PRESERVE VIEW CORRIDORS.
NO, I MEAN IF, UH, YOU KNOW, THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE STEVE SADOWSKI PASSED.
UHHUH
THINGS ARE BEING, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S NOT JUST ME.
SO THAT FIRST ONE IS AN ADDITION, AND THEN TO THE RIGHT IS A SECOND NEW STRUCTURE, 1905.
THAT IS A PROPOSED NEW STRUCTURE WITH A MINIMUM, A MINIMAL FOOTPRINT.
AND IT'S ACTUALLY, THAT IS TWO STORIES, BUT IT DOESN'T INTERFERE WITH THE VIEW LINE FROM THE NEIGHBOR.
1904, AND THEN THERE'S A SWIMMING POOL.
AND IT IS ACTUALLY EVERYTHING WAS DESIGNED TO WORK WITH THE FLAT GRADIENTS OF THE PROPERTY.
AND THEN THE ADDITION BEHIND 1908, IT WAS ALSO DESIGNED IN MINE FROM THE SLOPE OF THE ROOF.
AND THAT'S WHERE IT FALLS INTO BARTON CREEK.
AND SO, AND YOU WANT TO SHUTTLE OR SHUNT ALL THOSE WATERS INTO THAT CENTRAL AREA BETWEEN THE TWO LOTS, WHICH ALREADY HAS NATURAL SLOPES AS WELL AS NATURAL TERRANE GOING DOWN TO THE STREET.
AND THAT'S WHERE IT HITS THE EXISTING DRAINAGE IN INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO THE ADDITION ACTUALLY MITIGATES WATER FLOW AND IT COMES OFF THE ROOF, IT GETS DIRECTED INTO THE PLACE WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO.
PLUS IT TAKES WATER FROM THE UPPER LOT ON 2000 ARTHUR LANE AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, ALLOWS THAT TO CHANNEL ON DOWN THROUGH THAT NATURALLY.
AND SO ARE YOU PLANNING ON SELLING THIS SECOND STRUCTURE OR RENTING IT OUT, OR, OR THIS IS ALL FOR YOUR FAMILY? NO, THESE, THESE ARE PROPERTIES THAT I'M SELLING.
BUT THEY'VE ALSO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE ALREADY SPOKEN UP WANTING TO BUY THEM UHHUH
YOU, YOU, YOU BUILD SOMETHING LIKE THIS, NOBODY'S GONNA SCRAPE IT AND PUT ANYTHING ELSE UP.
BUT IF YOU THROW UP STUCCO AND TICKY-TACKY AND BLACK AND WHITE, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? MM-HMM.
[00:45:01]
ELSE IN TOWN, IT'S HORRIBLE.SO NOW I THINK I HAVE FULL, FULL UNDERSTANDING OF, OF THE PROJECT, WHAT'S BEING BUILT AND WHY.
UM, YOU KNOW, I WILL SAY IT'S, IT'S CHALLENGING FOR ME LOOKING AT A 4,200 SQUARE FOOT HOME BEING BUILT PLUS A POOL AND A SPA.
YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE MAYBE HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS ABOUT, UM, DENSITY AND THE KIND OF HOMES AND PEOPLE THAT, THAT COULD LIVE THERE.
UM, SO I KNOW DEVELOPMENT IS GOING TO HAPPEN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
UM, THINKING ABOUT HOW TO DO IT IN THE MOST ETHICAL WAY, I THINK IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD ALL BE CONSIDERING.
UM, AND IT'S JUST ADMITTEDLY HARD FOR ME TO SEE TWO NEW, VERY LARGE HOMES WITH POOLS BEING BUILT ON TOP OF WHAT WAS FORMALLY GREEN SPACE.
I, MY QUESTIONS INITIALLY GO TO STAFF.
I GUESS I NEED TO UNDERSTAND BETTER KIND OF SOME OF THE TECHNICAL DETAILS OF THIS.
THE TRACK TWO, UH, WAS NOT PLATTED, SO IT IS, UH, IT HAS TO OBEY THE CURRENT 15% DEAL.
UH, LESLIE LILY WATERSHED PROTECTION.
UM, CURRENTLY WITHOUT ANY RE SUBDIVISION, WITHOUT ANY CHANGES, UM, IN AMENDING THE SOS TRACK TWO IS SUBJECT TO CURRENT CODE.
SO SOS AMENDMENT, WHILE THE OTHER TWO, LOTS 18 AND 19 HAVE A LAND DIS LAND STATUS DETERMINATION THAT VESTS THEM TO, UH, PREVIOUS CODE, MAKING THEM NOT REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH SOS WITHOUT ANY CHANGES IN THE ACT OF SUBDIVIDING.
UM, THAT LAND STATUS DETERMINATION, UH, DISAPPEARS AND IT MAKES ALL OF THE TRACKS SUBJECT TO SOS.
SO CRACKED 18 AND 19 NOW, AS WELL AS CRACKED TWO NOW BECOME SUBJECT TO THE SOS ORDINANCE BECAUSE THEY'RE THAT'S CORRECT.
THEY'RE BEING RE PLATTED OR WHATEVER THE CORRECT TERM IS.
CAN I ASK SOMETHING RE SUBDIVIDED TO THAT? IS THIS FINE? UH, DUE TO THE WAY THE LAND STATUS DETERMINATION CODE IS CURRENTLY CRAFTED, UM, YOU CAN'T DO AN AMENDING PLATT.
IT IS DRIVEN BY A SUBDIVISION.
AND WHEN YOU APPLY FOR A SUBDIVISION, ALL THIS STUFF GETS TRIGGERED.
THERE IS WORK BEING DONE THERE, CHANGE THAT CODE OVER TIME, BECAUSE I'M NOT THE ONLY PERSON THAT GOES THROUGH THIS.
ANYBODY WHO'S BOUGHT A HOME IN SOCO, UH, RIVERSIDE AREA, YOU BUY A PIECE OF LAND, YOU'VE GOT, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU WANNA PUT A TWO CAR GARAGE ON IT AND YOU FIND OUT THE 15 FEET ISN'T LEGALLY PLANTED.
NOW YOU'VE GOTTA SPEND 30, 40, 50, $60,000 TO GO THROUGH THE SUBDIVISION PROCESS.
SO I KNOW THEY'RE WORKING TO CORRECT THIS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, HERE I AM CAUGHT IN THIS, YOU KNOW, SQUARE HOLE, ROUND PEG AND, UH, HERE WE ARE.
I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH HERE TODAY.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH IS THEORETICALLY BY THE TIME YOU REDRAW ALL THE LINES AND REMOVE LINES, THEORETICALLY, THAT WHOLE TRACK, UH, 18, 19 AND TRACK TWO SHOULD THE TIME ALL THE LINES ARE ADJUSTED, THE WAY THEY SHOW ON WHAT LOOKS LIKE TO ME, SLIDE FIVE AT LEAST THE WAY I'VE GOT IT.
BUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS DO IT TO 34.7%, BUT IF WE DID NOTHING TRACKED, 1819 WOULD BE ALLOWED TO HAVE 45% UNDER THE OLD CODE.
'CAUSE BACK IN THE OLDEN DAYS, THE ZONING ALLOWED FOR THAT MUCH IMPERVIOUS COVER.
SO TRACKED 18 AND 19, AS OF TODAY, HAVE A 45% IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMIT.
[00:50:01]
MAPS, UH, THE, THE SATELLITE VIEW THERE WAS, IT WAS ALL FORESTED, YOU KNOW, TREE COVERED OR, SO MY QUESTION IS, YOU, IS THAT, ARE THERE ANY HERITAGE TREES GONNA BE CUT DOWN AS PART OF THIS? WHAT'S ON THE SITE TODAY IS WHAT REMAINS EVEN THE ADDITION THAT WAS DONE WAS DONE IN MIND WITH PRESERVING TREES AND WORKING AROUND THE TREES.AND THERE'S ONE HERITAGE TREE, AND YOU'LL NOTICE WHERE THE LOT LINE IS SHIFTED AND THEN TURNED TO THE RIGHT.
THAT'S THE HERITAGE TREE AND IT'S WAY UP IN AWAY FROM ANY TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT.
SO CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN TO THE TREES AND EXCE, ET CETERA.
UH, WE DID GO THROUGH THE FREEZE IN 2020.
THERE WAS A LOT OF LIMBS AND A LOT OF TREES THAT DID COME DOWN AT 1905.
THAT LOT HAD BEEN COVERED WITH 12 TO 15 FOOT HIGH BAMBOO.
YOU COULD NOT GET INTO THAT LOT.
AND WE HAD TO GET IN THERE AND CLEAR, CLEAR THE BAMBOO OUT.
UH, I BROUGHT CURRENT PICTURES TODAY THAT SHOW THAT THE NATIVE GRASSES HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO COME BACK AND STUFF, WHICH HASN'T OCCURRED ON THAT TRACK IN OVER 40 YEARS SINCE THE, UH, THE MOCK FAMILY MOVED.
AND, AND NOBODY WAS MAINTAINING THAT LOT ANYMORE.
AND IN FACT, UH, 9 19 88 WAS THE SAME WAY.
IT HAD BEEN OVERRUN WITH, WITH BAMBOO.
YOU COULDN'T EVEN SEE THE, THE HOUSE ON THE LEFT SIDE ALL THE WAY UP INTO THE BACK.
PRIOR TO THE MEETING, YOU INDICATED THAT YOU'RE GONNA PUT A, UH, GREEN ROOF ON THE TOP OF THAT ADDITION ON TRACKED, UH, 18TH, UH, YEAH, BEHIND 1908 BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE THE THERMAL DOME, THE HEAT DOME THAT'S BEING CREATED BY ALL THIS MASS DENSIFICATION.
IT'S JUST REALLY DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF THIS CITY.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS I CAN DO IS PUT A GREEN ROOF.
SO I HAD MY ENGINEER ACTUALLY ENGINEER THE ROOF SYSTEM SO I COULD DO A GREEN ROOF.
AND, UH, EVEN MY NEIGHBOR AT 1900 AIRWAY, WHICH WAS THE SECOND HOUSE AT STANGER BUILT FOR JOHN HENRY FALL, SHE EVEN PUT A GREEN ROOF ON A PORTION OF HER HOME.
SO I'M, I'M A BIG PROPONENT OF THIS TYPE OF STUFF, BUT I'M JUST DOING IT.
WATERSHED SAID, WELL, THERE'S NO WAY WE, WE CAN QUANTIFY IT, WE CAN'T MEASURE IT, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT IT, IT'S GREAT.
JUST, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH IS CAPTURING A RUNOFF AND WATER, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
THE, UH, SO YOU'RE KEEPING THE EXISTING BUILDING ON LOT 18 AND ON THE LOT 19, BUT YOU'RE EXPANDING, IS THAT CORRECT? THE EXISTING BUILDINGS ON LOT 18 AND 19, UH, 1908 HAS AN EXISTING BUILDING ON IT.
IT'S 1908, THAT'S GETTING THE ADDITION IN THE BACK.
1905 HAS NEVER BEEN DEVELOPED.
SO WHAT ROOFING MATERIALS ARE YOU GONNA PUT ON THE, THE, THE NEW BUILDING ON LOT 19? UH, A FLAT ROOF TPO AND THEN, AND, AND THEN IT'S GOT A MEMBRANE AND THEN THERE'S A, A, A TYPE OF TRELLIS SYSTEM, AND THEN THE GREEN ROOF GOES ON TOP OF THAT.
AND THAT'S GOING ON BOTH HOMES.
SO ONE, BOTH, BOTH HOMES ARE GONNA HAVE GREEN ROOFS AS WELL? WELL, YEAH, BECAUSE IT'D BE REALLY COOL JUST, JUST JUST TO WALK UP AND SIT ON TOP OF YOUR HOUSE AND WATCH THE SUNSET
THE EXISTING BUILDING, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO FOR THE ROOFING MATERIAL? UH, IT'S GONNA STAY WITH STANDING METAL SEAM AND A TPO BUILDUP.
ITS STRUCTURE WAS NOT ENGINEERED FOR A GREEN ROOF, BUT THE NEW ADDITION IS ENGINEERED IN AND DESIGNED FOR A GREEN ROOF SYSTEM.
SO THE, THE EXISTING STRUCTURES ON METAL ROOF, IS THAT CORRECT? UH, IT'S A BUILT UP ON A SLIGHT SLOPE THAT GOES TO THE WEST, AND THEN IT'S A FLAT ROOF WITH THE ONE ONE AT 1908 AIRWAY.
SO, SO IT'S GOT A SLOPE AND, AND, AND, AND A FLAT.
AND SO THAT SLOPE, I'M GONNA PUT STANDING SEAM ON THE ONE SLOPE, WHICH WILL PRESERVE LONG TERM THE ROOF WITHOUT HAVING TO GO BACK THROUGH AND REROOF OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
THE TTPO, IT GETS AN INSULATION THAT GOES UNDERNEATH IT, AND THEN THAT INSULATION IS TAPERED TO DIRECT FLOW AGAIN, EASTERLY BACK INTO THE DRAINAGE EASEMENT AND DOWN, DOWN, DOWN TO THE STREET.
NOW, AS FAR AS THE DRAINAGE FROM THE NEW CONSTRUCTION THAT YOU'RE DOING ON BOTH HOMES, HAVE YOU LOOKED AT, UH, CATCHMENT WATER SYSTEMS AS A WAY OF, UH, CAPTURING THE WATER AND REUSING IT? UH, YES.
I'M DOING A RAINWATER COLLECTION ON BOTH PROPERTIES.
BUT, UH, YOU'RE ONLY USING, UH, HALF AN INCH PER 120, UH, YOU KNOW, 120 HOURS IF, IF I SEE THIS CORRECTLY.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT'S BASED ON STORM WATER RUNOFF AND, AND CATASTROPHIC, YOU KNOW, RAINWATER EVENTS.
[00:55:01]
UH, EVERYTHING PERKS.WELL, I LIKE THE FACT THAT THE SITE IS, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY MUCH THE WAY I REMEMBER IT AS A, UH, CHILD.
YOU KNOW, UH, THE BACK AREA HAS HAD SHEDS AND BUILDINGS ON IT BEFORE, BEHIND 19 0 0 0 8, AND THOSE HAVE SINCE BEEN REMOVED.
THERE WAS UTILITIES GOING BACK THERE TO STRUCTURES AND THINGS, BUT THOSE HAVE BEEN REMOVED, BUT NONE OF THAT QUALIFIED FOR GRANDFATHERING TO GET THE LOT LEGALLY PLATTED.
BUT AS FAR AS ADDITIONAL, THE SITE JUST HAS TOO MANY, BOTH SITES HAVE TOO MANY CONSTRAINTS TO, UH, TO, UM, UM, APPLY ANY ADDITIONAL WATER CAPTURE UNLESS YOU WANT TO GO IN AND DO A SUBSTANTIAL DISTURBANCE TO THE SITE.
AND SO THE ADDITION, EVEN THOUGH IT LOOKS MASSIVE IN THE BACK, IT'S ACTUALLY AN INVERTED PYRAMID THAT SPANS OUT THIS WAY.
SO YOU'VE GOT A PRETTY GOOD ROOF SYSTEM, BUT THE FOOTPRINT IS MINIMAL, BUT THE FOOTPRINT IS MINIMAL.
AND THEN THE SAME THING WITH THE ADDITION OUT THE BACK.
IT'S, IT'S, IT HAS LONG LOPING OVERHANGS TO, YOU KNOW, MID, YOU KNOW, SUN IN INFILTRATION, SUMMER COOLING STUFF, STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND I REALLY DON'T LIKE DIGGING HOLES IN THE GROUND.
IN FACT, THESE SWIMMING POOLS, UH, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE SEMI ABOVE GROUND.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T LIKE JUST DIGGING A BIG HOLE FOR A POOL AND, AND I DON'T LIKE THE FACT THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN JUST KEEPS ASKING PEOPLE TO PUT IN POOLS OR THEY DO IT SO THAT THEY CAN BUILD MOREHOUSE ON A SITE.
IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WE'RE NOT EVEN USING THE POOLS AS PART OF THE, UM, AS AS, AS PART OF THE COVERAGE CALCULATIONS AT THIS POINT.
IS THE GREEN ROOF CONSIDERED PART OF THE IMPERVIOUS COVER? YES.
THE, THE GREEN ROOF AND ALL OF THE ROOF, UH, FOOTPRINT IS CONSIDERED IMPERVIOUS COVER? YES.
BUT THEY, THEY DIDN'T KNOW THERE WASN'T SOMETHING WRITTEN CURRENTLY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT OR, UH, NEED ENFORCEMENT.
I GUESS IT'S JUST SOMETHING WE ALREADY SHOWED ON THE PLANS THAT THIS IS WHAT I'M DOING AND NO, I'M, I'M JUST ASKING THE QUESTION.
TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S GOING ON BECAUSE I, UNLESS I ASK QUESTIONS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO THERE'S, UH, YOU'RE NOT USING CA UH, UH, YOU'RE NOT USING, UH, RAINWATER CATCHMENT FOR REY WATER OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT ON THE, UH, NEW, NEW FACILITY? NOT AT THIS POINT, BUT IT'S ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY.
YOU KNOW, IT'S EASY, IT'S EASY ENOUGH TO, UH, BECAUSE OF WHERE THE, UM, UH, WHERE THE MECHANICAL SYSTEMS ARE IS BEHIND THE PYRAMID, MID SITE ON THE PROPERTY BEFORE IT, AS IT TRAVERSES, UH, SOUTHWARD, THERE'S IS AN OPPORTUNITY THERE, YOU KNOW, TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT IT GETS A LITTLE TRICKY AS TO HOW TO INFILTRATE RAINWATER COLLECTION INTO A DRINKING WATER SYSTEM AS WELL AS GRAY WATER SYSTEMS AND STUFF LIKE THIS.
WE'VE, WE'VE APPROACHED THIS MANY TIMES AT THE CITY OF WESTLAKE HILLS, YOU KNOW, WHERE APPLICANTS WANTED TO HAVE GREG GRAY WATER SYSTEMS AND THINGS LIKE THIS.
AND IT'S, CAN I, IT'S A TOUGH ONE TO ASK.
CAN I ASK POINT CLARITY REALLY QUICK FROM STAFF? UM, SO ON THE RAIN CATCHMENT, AS FAR AS DRINKING WATER GOES, I THOUGHT IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, UM, ESPECIALLY WITHIN THE SOS UM, FOOTPRINT, THAT WATER IS SUPPOSED TO BE RELEASED WITHIN X AMOUNT OF TIME BACK INTO, IF IT'S CAPTURED, IT HAS TO GO BACK WITH INTO, UM, THE WATERSHED.
IS THAT CORRECT? UM, IT, THAT IS CORRECT, YES.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING SO ON, ON THIS SITE.
UH, MY IN ENGINEER, UH, JEFF FLOYD WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH LESLIE LILLY AND LIZ, AS WELL AS WE'VE WORKED WITH THE, UH, REGIONAL STORMWATER AUTHORITIES, CITY OF AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT.
WE'VE HAD MANY MEMBERS SITTING IN FROM ALL HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS ON THIS PARTICULAR SITE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT, IT WORKS AND WE MAKE IT WORK AS BEST THAT WE CAN AND, UM, AND TO MITIGATE THE IMPACT.
FIRST OFF, UM, THANK YOU FOR TAKING ON THIS PROJECT AND THANK YOU FOR RESTORING, UH, ONE OF AUSTIN'S, UM, UH, HISTORIC, UH, HOMES IN A HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, THAT, UH, ADDS TO THE UNIQUE CHARACTER OF THIS GREAT CITY.
UM, I KNOW THAT THIS IS, UH, UM, A LOT FOR YOU, UH, TO TAKE ON.
UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS WITH THAT SAID.
SO, UM, AND YOU'VE, Y'ALL DONE A GREAT JOB, I THINK WITH, WITH ADDRESSING, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, UM, THE WATER ISSUES, UM, HERITAGE TREES, SHIFTING THE LOT LINES SO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, EACH, EACH LOT CAN REALLY, UH, HAVE
[01:00:01]
PLENTY OF ENOUGH SPACE AROUND IT.UM, I GUESS MY, MY QUESTION IS, IT, IT SEEMED, IT, IT, BOTH PROJECTS DO SEEM LIKE THEY TAKE UP A LOT OF IMPERVIOUS COVER.
THERE'S A LOT GOING ON HERE, UM, IN AN AREA AND TO KIND OF, UM, ECHO WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER KRUEGER SAID, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S GOING FROM AN AREA THAT DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING ON IT TO NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A FAIRLY LARGE STRUCTURE ON IT.
I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY WAY TO REDUCE THAT FOOTPRINT BY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN LIKE 500 SQUARE FEET, 700 SQUARE FEET, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT JUST BRINGS THAT PREVIOUS COVER DOWN JUST SLIGHTLY, UM, FOR THE OVERALL PROJECT.
AND WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? AND LILY, MAYBE YOU COULD KIND OF ADDRESS THAT AND THEN, UM, THE APPLICANT CAN ADDRESS IT AS WELL.
UM, SO IN TERMS OF IMPERVIOUS COVER, I'LL JUST REITERATE THAT THE PROPOSED IMPERVIOUS COVER FOR THE TWO LOTS IS 8,333 SQUARE FEET FOR THE, THE RE SUBDIVIDED LOTS.
UM, SO, UH, I'LL, I'LL LET ERIC AND, AND JEFF RESPOND TO IF YOU KNOW THE POSSIBILITY OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT THAT IS THE KIND OF NUMBER THAT IS PROPOSED RIGHT NOW.
UH, AS FAR AS IMPERVIOUS COVER, MOST, A LOT OF THAT IS LIKE DECKING AROUND THE POOL AT 1905.
UH, 1905 IS ACTUALLY A, LIKE A 2200 SQUARE FOOT HOME.
UH, 1908 IS REALLY 3,938, BUT BECAUSE OF THE SHAPE OF THE PYRAMID EXUDING OUTWARD AND THEN IT'S GOT AN OBSERVATION AREA WITHIN THE INTERIOR OF THE PYRAMID ITSELF.
IT SKEWS THOSE NUMBERS TO MAKE THEM LOOK LARGER THAN THEY ARE.
AND THEN THE ROOF COVER IS BECAUSE WE WANTED LONG LOPING, LOW LINING ROOFS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY, SUN SHADING, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND THE OTHER REASON IS TO MAKE SURE NONE OF THAT AERIAL WILL BE DEVELOPED.
I MEAN, EVERYTHING THAT I PUT BACK THERE WAS WITH THE SOLE INTENT TO KEEP ANY DEVELOP FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OUT, ESPECIALLY MULTI-FAMILY, ADUS, DRIVEWAYS, ANYTHING THAT'S GONNA IMPACT OUR NIG NEIGHBORHOOD AND DE DIGRESS THE QUALITY OF LIFE.
WHEN YOU WALK A DOG DOWN THE STREET AND YOU HAVE NO YARD EXCEPT SOMEBODY ELSE'S TO GO AND THERE'S 50 DOGS AND 50 PEOPLE AND 50 CARS AND NOWHERE TO GO.
UM, YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
UM, I, I JUST, I STILL LIKE YOU TOLD ME WHY YOU'RE, WHAT YOUR PROJECT IS, BUT I THINK WHAT I'M ASKING IS CAN IT BE REDUCED? LIKE WE'VE ALREADY, ARE THERE AREAS THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN PINCH OFF THERE JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE? MAKE ME HAPPY.
WE'VE ALREADY PINCHED I THINK 5, 6, 700 FEET OUT OF THERE READY.
UH, AND, AND MAYBE LIKE, LIKE I SAID, MAYBE THAT'S WHERE I SHOULD HAVE LEFT IT LARGER AND THEN GIVEN SMALLER, BUT INSTEAD I TRY TO GO IN AND JUST DO EVERYTHING I CAN.
I'M MORE OF THE NUMBERS GUYS, SO I'M WELCOME.
I CAN PROBABLY HELP MORE DESCRIBING THE SQUARE FOOTAGES AND HOW WE CAME UP.
ONE, WE'VE GOT THIS HISTORIC HOUSE THAT WE WANT TO SAVE.
SO CURRENTLY WE COULD KNOCK IT DOWN AND BUILD A BIGGER HOUSE THAN WE'RE PROPOSING WITH MORE IMPERVIOUS COVER THAN WE'RE PROPOSING.
WE DON'T WANNA KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE, WE DON'T WANNA BLOCK THE OTHER PEOPLE'S USE.
WE'RE GOING OUT THE BACK IN THE FLAT AREA.
SO ON THE IMPERVIOUS COVER TO MAINTAIN THE NUMBER OF BEDROOMS, THE POOL HAS VERY LITTLE DECK, VERY MINIMAL DECK AROUND IT.
WE ARE REMOVING A CONCRETE PATIO AND REPLACING IT WITH, UM, BED WITH, UH, SOIL.
UM, WE'RE, WE'VE ALREADY LOOKED AT MAKING THE NEXT HOUSE VERSUS LIKE 2200 SQUARE FOOT, JUST LIKE THE BARE MINIMUM TO GET A THREE BEDROOM IN THERE.
UM, JUST THE NATURE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE COST OF THE LOTS REALLY REQUIRES THE POOLS.
YOU CAN'T REALLY TAKE A MILLION DOLLAR LOT AND PUT A, YOU KNOW, SELL IT FOR 800,000.
UM, AND JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT THE OTHER OPTION IS TO SELL IT TO A DIFFERENT DEVELOPER THAT'S GOING TO KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE AND IT'S GONNA BUILD TWO HOUSES THAT USE THE 45%.
SO THINK OF THIS AS AN OPTION OF WHERE WE'VE REALLY DONE A LOT OF WORK TO MINIMIZE THE IMPERIOUS COVER.
I, I UNDERSTAND NOT EVERYBODY HAS TO HAVE A POOL, BUT THE POOL REALLY ONLY COUNTS THE 12 INCHES OF THAT, IT'S WIDTH AROUND THE PERIMETER.
'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A, A DECK ALL THE WAY AROUND IT.
SO I MEAN, UM, THERE ISN'T MUCH TO SQUEEZE OUT UNLESS YOU START TAKING BEDROOMS OUT OR TAKING OTHER THINGS OUT.
AND I, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE ALREADY PROVIDED,
[01:05:01]
UH, A PERCENTAGE REDUCTION.AND IN TERMS OF THE SIZE OF THE LOTS, THERE'S JUST NOT VERY MUCH ACREAGE.
THERE'S A HALF ACRE, IF YOU, IF YOU MULTIPLY TIMES, UM, THE 15%, YOU, YOU COULDN'T EVEN HAVE A SHED ON ANY OF THE LOTS.
SO I THINK WE'RE COMING FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF WE CAN'T GET THE 15%, BUT WE WANNA DO SOMETHING.
AND THE, THAT'S WHERE THE 34.5% CAME FROM, OR 34.7% CAME FROM.
UM, I DIDN'T REALLY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I WAS HOPING THAT THERE WAS A WAY TO REDUCE SOME OF THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE PROPERTIES.
UM, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE MAXED OUT WITH WHAT YOU COULD.
WE'VE REALLY TRIED, UM, A LOT OF IT ALONG WITH THE BUDGETING OF IT.
SO LET ME, A LOT OF IT IS THE PYRAMID ITSELF.
AND, YOU KNOW, MY DAD WAS BIG INTO PYRAMIDS AND STEEL CONSTR, STEEL CONSTRUCTION AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
I LIVE IN A 19 50 46 STEEL CONSTRUCTED HOME CLAD IN THE VERY SAME REDWOOD THAT THESE HOMES ARE CLAD IN.
MY, MY CEILINGS ARE CONCRETE WEB, YOU KNOW, STEEL WEB TRUSSES, STAINED GREEN CONCRETE FLOORS, 1946.
THESE HOUSES ARE JUST LIKE THAT EVENTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THE NEIGHBORS AND I, WE WOULD LOVE TO PUSH HISTORIC FOR THE NIG NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT PART OF THAT IS PRESERVING THE CHARACTER.
UH, ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS? OKAY, I MOVE THAT WE CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
UM, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? MM-HMM.
UH, AERIAL WAY SITE SPECIFIC SOS AMENDMENT C 20 DASH 2023 DASH 0 3 0, WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE APPLICANT IN RESPONSE TO COUNCIL RESOLUTION 2 0 2 3 0 9 1 4 0 7 9.
CONSIDER A SITE SPECIFIC AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE CHAPTER 25 DASH EIGHT SUB CHAPTER A ARTICLE 13, SAVE OUR SPRINGS INITIATIVE AS MINIMALLY REQUIRED TO ALLOW FOR THE RE SUBDIVISION AND PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF LOTS LOCATED AT 1905 AND 1908 AERIAL WAY, WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE SITE IS LOCATED IN THE BARTON CREEK WATERSHED IN BARTON SPRINGS ZONE.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES ITS STAFF, UM, HAVING DETERMINED THE FINDINGS OF FACTS HAVE BEEN MET WITH CONDITIONS, THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE VARIANCE REQUESTS WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS.
SEE HOW THAT WORKED? KAYLA
1908 RLA SHALL COMPLY WITH 25 DASH EIGHT SUB CHAPTER A ARTICLE 13, SAVE OUR SPRINGS INITIATIVE AT THE TIME OF PERMIT APPLICANT APPLICATION EXCEPT AS MODIFIED BELOW NUMBER ONE SECTION A OF 25 DASH EIGHT DASH FIVE 14.
POLLUTION PREVENTION REQUIRED SHALL BE MODIFIED TO ALLOW A MAXIMUM PREVIOUS COVER FOR THE SITE OF 34.7 UM PERCENT GROVE SITE AREA, SECTION A OF 25 DASH EIGHT DASH 514.
POLLUTION PREVENTION REQUIRED SHALL BE MODIFIED TO ALLOW WATER QUALITY CONTROL REQUIREMENTS TO BE SATISFIED WITH NO WITH ONSITE CONTROLS CAPTURING ROOF RUNOFF.
WATER QUALITY CONTROLS SHALL BE, UM, SIZE TO CAPTURE THE FIRST HALF INCH OF RUNOFF FROM 4,792 SQUARE FEET OF ROOF AREA FROM BOTH LOTS COMBINED.
THE WATER QUALITY CONTROL SHALL BE DESIGNED AND MAINTAIN PER ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL TO DISCHARGE THE WATER QUALITY VOLUME WITHIN 120 HOURS THROUGH AN IRRIGATION OR INFILTRATION SYSTEM.
ADDITIONAL REDEVELOPMENT PROPOSED FOR 1905 AND 1908 AERIAL WAY SHALL COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS, DIRECT SITE RUNOFF, UH, TO THE FLATTER PORTION OF THE SITE AND AWAY FROM THE STEEP HILLSIDE TO REDUCE EROSION AND SEDIMENT IN THE WATERWAYS TO UTILIZE NATIVE PLANTS AND TREES TO REDUCE WATER DEMAND AND FERTILIZER USAGE, WHICH WILL LIMIT, UH, RUNOFF AND POLLUTION.
[01:10:01]
CURRENT ALLOWABLE PER IMPERVIOUS COVER, UM, TO 87 SQUARE FEET.UM, AND WE, I DIDN'T HEAR ANY OTHER, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION CONDITIONS.
IS THAT CORRECT? OR DID YOU WANNA PUT THE OTHER, UM, I WANTED TO ADD, UM, THE FIRE FIND UHHUH
AND THEN THE MOTION AFTER THAT SECOND.
SO THE, UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION IS REDUCED IMPERVIOUS COVER BY 500 SQUARE FEET.
THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO ADD.
AND DO YOU HAVE A SECOND ON THAT? I'LL SECOND IT.
AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE TO DO A VOTE FOR THAT ONE.
RIGHT, KAYLA? AS LONG AS EVERYONE IS AMENABLE TO THAT CHANGE.
ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE ADDING THE 500 SQUARE FEET REDUCTION? NO.
AND COMMISSIONER BRISTOL, I, I BELIEVE YOU MAY HAVE SAID VARIANCE INSTEAD OF SITE-SPECIFIC SOS AMENDMENT.
SO I WOULD JUST TRADE OUT THOSE VARIANCES FOR, UH, SOS AMENDMENT.
IT SAYS, UM, IT SAYS, CONSIDER A SITE SPECIFIC AMENDMENT, NOT A VARIANCE.
UH, LET'S TAKE A VOTE ON THE MOTION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR RAISE YOUR HAND.
SHERA RESI, KRUEGER BEDFORD, BRISTOL SULLIVAN, ALL THOSE OPPOSED, ALL THOSE ABSTAINING, ABSTAINING BRIMER.
THE MOTION PASSES IS, THANK YOU GUYS.
UM, NEXT UP WE HAVE ITEM FOUR.
UM, CONSIDER AMENDMENT TO TITLE.
[4. Consider amendments to Title 25 related to environmental protections at the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail. Presented by Leslie Lilly, Environmental Program Coordinator, Watershed Protection Department.]
UH, NUMBER FOUR.UH, CONSIDER AMENDMENT TO TITLE 25 RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS AT THE ANNA ROY BUTLER HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL.
AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE A STAFF, UH, PRESENTATION.
ANOTHER PRESENTATION FROM ME,
I'M LESLIE LILY, ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM COORDINATOR WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION, AND I WILL BE SPEAKING ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR AS IT RELATES TO A CODE AMENDMENT THAT AFFECTS THE ANN AND ROY BUTLER HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL SYSTEM.
SO, SOME BACKGROUND ON THIS PARTICULAR TRAIL SYSTEM.
IT BEGAN CONSTRUCTION IN 1971 AND THROUGH ITS CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLETION, ALL OF THE ELEMENTS OF THE TRAIL WERE CODE COMPLIANT AT THE TIME OF CONSTRUCTION.
HOWEVER, IN 1917, IN 9 20 17,
THERE WAS AN UPDATE TO, UH, THAT SECTION OF CODE THAT PUT RESTRICTIONS ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF TRAILS WITHIN THE 50 FOOT SETBACK OF THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE FOR LADY BIRD LAKE, WHERE THE TRAIL CURRENTLY, UH, GOES AROUND.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS ABOUT ITS WIDTH, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE PICTURE HERE.
UM, THE TRAIL IN MANY AREAS IS WIDE AND ACCOMMODATES APPROXIMATELY 5 MILLION USERS ANNUALLY, WHICH MAKES IT ONE OF THE MOST HEAVILY USED RECREATIONAL TRAILS, UH, NOT ONLY IN AUSTIN, BUT REGIONALLY.
SO THE WIDTH HAS, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY ACCOMMODATES QUITE A LOT OF PEOPLE.
SO THE CODE AMENDMENT PROPOSED THIS EVENING WAS INITIATED AT CITY COUNCIL ON MAY 18TH OF THIS YEAR.
AND IT DIRECTED CITY STAFF TO EXAMINE HOW THE CODE INTERACTS WITH THE PROPOSED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE TRAIL SYSTEM AS RECOMMENDED IN THREE VERY IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS, WHICH INCLUDE THE BUTLER TRAIL, URBAN FORESTRY AND NATURAL AREAS MANAGEMENT PLAN, THE BUTLER TRAIL
[01:15:01]
PARKLAND OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT, AND THEN ALSO THE BUTLER TRAIL SAFETY AND MOBILITY STUDY.THOSE ARE THREE DOCUMENTS THAT WERE DEVELOPED IN COORDINATION WITH THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY, THE NONPROFIT PARTNER OF THE CITY THAT SERVES AS THE PRIMARY STEWARD TO THE TRAIL AND DEVELOPED THESE DOCUMENTS AND THESE RECOMMENDATIONS IN COLLABORATION WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS AND STAFF.
SO STAFF DEVELOPED, UH, AN ANALYSIS AND A RECOMMENDATION OF THE CONDITIONS OF THE TRAIL AND THESE, AND THIS MAP REPRESENTS A LOT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS THAT THE TRAIL IS SUBJECT TO.
SO YOU CAN SEE, UH, SEVERAL, UH, CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES, UH, SYMBOLIZED ON THE MAP, INCLUDING SPRINGS, RIM, ROCKS, AND A VERY ROBUST WETLAND FRINGE AROUND ALMOST THE ENTIRE LAKE.
UM, THERE IS ALSO A CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE THAT FOR LADY BIRD LAKE IS A HUNDRED FEET FROM THE SHORELINE.
AND THEN WHAT YOU CAN SEE SYMBOLIZED IN PURPLE IS THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOODPLAIN.
APPROXIMATELY 85% OF THE TRAIL AS IT EXISTS IN ITS CURRENT ALIGNMENT IS IN THE, UH, INNER CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE.
SO IN THAT 50 FOOT, UH, SETBACK FROM LADY BIRD LAKE, THE CONSIDERATION FOR CHANGING THE ALIGNMENTS IN SOME AREAS IS ALSO MADE A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT WITH WHAT I CAN'T SHOW ON HERE IS THE MANY, MANY THOUSANDS OF TREES THAT ALSO ARE AROUND LADY BIRD LAKE.
MANY OF THEM BEING HERITAGE SIZED TREES SINCE THEY, SINCE THEY REPRESENT A REALLY ROBUST NATURAL AREA, UM, ALONG THE FRONT OF THE LAKE.
UM, SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO WHAT THESE DOCUMENTS, UH, INCLUDE THAT ARE PART OF CITY COUNCIL'S INITIATION OF THIS CODE AMENDMENT.
UH, THE THREE DOCUMENTS THAT I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY ARE THE URBAN FORESTRY AND NATURAL AREAS MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES.
WHAT THAT PARTICULAR DOCUMENT REPRESENTS IS AN EXAMINATION OF THE TRAIL, UH, MAKING CONSIDERATIONS FOR ALL THE KIND OF IMPACTS THAT THE TRAIL IS SUBJECT TO, INCLUDING USER IMPACTS, EROSION FROM EROSIVE, STORM CONVEYANCE, UH, INVASIVE SPECIES, ET CETERA.
AND THEN ALSO THOSE GUIDELINES PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW TO IMPROVE, UH, THE NATURAL AREAS, PROVIDE PLANTINGS, UM, AND PROVIDE MITIGATION FOR THOSE IMPACTS.
THE SAFETY AND MOBILITY STUDY IS A RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION WITH, UH, THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS AND THE TRAIL CONS, THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY THAT PROVIDED RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO IMPROVE THE SAFETY AND MOBILITY ACCESS OF THE TRAIL, INCLUDING WIDENING CERTAIN AREAS THAT WERE VERY NARROW, IMPROVING SLOPES, PROVIDING DUAL TRACKING, UM, AND IMPROVING LIGHTING AND OTHER SUCH THINGS THAT REPRESENT THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT, UH, KIND OF COME IN CONFLICT WITH THIS SECTION OF CODE THAT WE'RE DESCRIBING OR THAT THAT THAT IS BEING CONSIDERED THIS EVENING.
AND THEN LASTLY, THE PARK PARKLAND OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT ALSO ABBREVIATED TO A POMA IS THE AGREEMENT AND THE CONTA CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT ALLOWS THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY TO, UH, MAINTAIN AND OPERATE THIS TRAIL SYSTEM AND THE SURROUNDING PARKLAND.
SO ALL OF THESE THREE DOCUMENTS WERE CONSIDERED AND REVIEWED AND, UM, WERE INTEGRATED INTO THE RECOMMENDATION AND ANALYSIS AND SUBSEQUENT, UH, PROPOSED CODE AMENDMENTS THAT, UM, WE'LL TALK ABOUT SHORTLY.
SO THERE ARE THREE, UH, PARTICULAR SECTIONS OF THE EXISTING LANGUAGE THAT WE ARE PROPOSING TO AMEND, AND THEY ALL COME OUT OF 25 8 2 61 AS IT RELATES TO DEVELOPMENT IN THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE.
AND THE FIRST SECTION COMES FROM B UH, OPEN SPACE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE DEVELOPMENT.
AND THAT'S THREE THE, UH, CONSTRUCTION OF HARD SURFACE TRAILS AND ALSO, UH, EARTHEN SURFACE TRAILS LIKE THE BUTLER TRAIL.
AND THAT SECTION C SAYS LIMITED TO 12 FEET IN WIDTH.
UH, WE ARE PROPOSING TO, UH, REMOVE THAT RESTRICTION FOR THE BUTLER TRAIL AND TO ALLOW THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BUTLER TRAIL IN ITS CURRENT ALIGNMENT.
AND THEN F OF THAT SECTION, UH, REQUIRES THAT TRAILS ARE NOT TO BE LOCATED WITHIN THE 50 FOOT SETBACK.
AND OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE TRAIL IS ALLOWED TO BE LOCATED WITHIN THAT 50 FEET WITH THE CONDITION THAT IT PROVIDES TWO TO ONE MITIGATION, WHICH I'LL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE WHEN WE TALK MORE SPECIFICS ABOUT THE PROPOSED LANGUAGE.
[01:20:01]
AND THEN THE LAST ELEMENT OF, UH, CODE THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO AMEND HAS TO DO WITH MITIGATION OR PLANTINGS REQUIRED FOR SHORELINE MODIFICATION LIKE, UH, DOCKS OR BULKHEADS AND THAT PARTICULAR RESTORATION REQUIREMENT FOR DISTURBANCE OF THE SHORELINE.UM, OKAY, SO LET'S GO TO HOW WE ARE PROPOSING TO CHANGE THE CODE.
SO THE ELEMENTS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PROPOSE OR THE ELEMENTS OF THE AMENDMENT, UH, INCLUDE THESE THREE SECTIONS, AS I MENTIONED, AND AS IT EXISTS IN CURRENT CODE.
AND THAT IS TO 25 8 2 61 B THREE C TO ALLOW THE BUTLER TRAIL TO EXCEED 12 FOOT WIDTH AND THEN 25 8 2 61 B THREE, AND THAT'S F THROUGH G TO ALLOW THE BUTLER TRAIL TO BE LOCATED WITHIN 50 FEET OF THE SHORELINE OF LADYBIRD LAKE WITH TWO TO ONE MITIGATION FOR IMPACT OR ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE AS APPROVED BY THE DIRECTOR OF WATERSHED.
SO I WANNA CLARIFY A LITTLE BIT MORE WHAT MITIGATION MEANS.
IT MEANS THAT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT FOR ANY ONE SQUARE FOOT OF IMPACT, THERE WOULD BE TWO SQUARE FEET OF PLANTINGS THAT'S FUNCTIONALLY WHAT THE MITIGATION LOOKS LIKE.
WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT PARD, UM, AND AT OTHER, UH, DEPARTMENTS AT PUBLIC WORKS AND WITH THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY TO BETTER DEVELOP THE GUIDELINES FOR WHAT THAT MITIGATION LOOKS LIKE.
SO IT BEST SERVES THE NEEDS OF BOTH THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY AND WATERSHED'S GOAL OF PROTECTING, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES AND PARTS PURPOSES OF MAINTAINING, UH, RECREATIONAL AMENITIES FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL THE TRAIL USERS, UH, SO THAT THOSE GUIDELINES ARE BEING DEVELOPED.
AND THAT PROCESS, UM, WILL HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE LOTS OF DRAFT LANGUAGE TO TALK ABOUT HOW TO PLANT PLANTS, WHICH IS MY FAVORITE THING TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST SECTION THAT WE ARE PROPOSING TO AMEND IS 25 8 2 61 C TWO TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT FOR ADDITIONAL RESTORATION TO SHORELINE DISTURBANCE SINCE WE ARE ASKING TO HAVE THIS TWO TO ONE MITIGATION REQUIREMENT, AND THAT IS THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT.
THESE AMENDMENTS ARE, UH, RECOMMENDED BY STAFF WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT STAFF, UH, RECOGNIZES THE NECESSARY IMPROVEMENTS AND UPDATES TO THE TRAIL COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY AS THOSE THAT ARE RELATED TO THE SAFETY AND MOBILITY OF THE TRAIL.
AND THAT THE CODE AMENDMENTS PROVIDED BALANCE THOSE, UH, PROVISIONS WITH, UH, WITH THE NEEDS OF WATER QUALITY PROTECTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION.
AND STAFF RECOMMENDS A RECOMMENDATION OF APPROVAL, UH, FOR THE CODE AMENDMENT AS PROPOSED.
AND I AM AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS AND THERE IS ALSO PART STAFF AVAILABLE, UM, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
IS THERE A PRESENTATION FROM PART STAFF OR? NO.
UM, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY CITIZENS COMMUNICATION FOR THIS ITEM.
UM, I GUESS I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS.
HEY, LESLIE, APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M SOMEONE THAT USES THE TRAIL, UH, PRETTY FREQUENTLY, SO, YOU KNOW, I'M A BIG FAN.
I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF, UH, OUR CITY, ESPECIALLY DURING COVID.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO I'M NOT, UH, I'M VERY MUCH A LAY PERSON, SO I'LL DEFER TO THE EXPERTS AS TO, YOU KNOW, HOW TO BEST, YOU KNOW, SORT OF PROTECT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY PRESERVE, BUT ALSO IMPROVE THIS, UH, THIS RESOURCE FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.
UM, I WOULD JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GOING TO BE DEVELOPING, YOU KNOW, 50 FEET OR LESS FROM, UH, FROM SORT OF THE SHORELINE THAT, YOU KNOW, GIVEN SORT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, RECENT DEVELOP, WELL SOMEWHAT RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AROUND, UH, RAINY STREET INVOLVING, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE INGESTING GOD KNOWS WHAT INTO THEIR BODY ALCOHOL AT BEST.
RIGHT? UM, YOU KNOW, AND, YOU KNOW, DROWNING OR WHATEVER THAT, YOU KNOW, WE TRIED TO, TO TAKE THE SAFETY OF PEOPLE AND THE CONCERN, ESPECIALLY AROUND AREAS WHERE THERE ARE GONNA BE A BUNCH OF BARS AND A BUNCH OF PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE DRINKING AND DOING OTHER STUFF.
UM, OTHER THAN THAT, YEAH, NO, UH, NO REAL QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
COMMISSIONER KRUEGER? NO, UH, COMMISSIONER BRIMER? YEAH.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
YOU WANT TO EXCEED THAT BY HOW MUCH? SO CURRENTLY, UM, THERE IS A RECOMMENDATION WITHIN THE SAFETY AND MOBILITY STUDY, UH, THAT PROVIDES GUIDANCE THAT AT A MINIMUM IT WOULD BE
[01:25:01]
14 FEET WIDE.UM, THE MOST RECENT URBAN, UH, URBAN TRAIL PLAN UPDATE ACTUALLY RECOMMENDS FOR THESE HIGH CAPACITY TRAILS TO EXCEED 16 OR TO GO UP TO 16 FEET WIDE.
UM, HOWEVER, THERE IS SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE TRAIL THAT ARE LIKELY TO EXCEED IN ITS CURRENT POSI, LIKE IN ITS CURRENT ALIGNMENT TO BE EVEN MORE THAN THAT.
UM, WE ARE NOT RECOMMENDING THAT THE TRAIL GET WIDER FOR THOSE WIDE SECTIONS, BUT RECOGNIZE THAT IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF AREAS FOR THE PURPOSE OF SAFETY MOBILITY, BECAUSE THIS REALLY IS TARGETING THOSE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT THE GUIDANCE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, MADE IN THE SAFETY MOBILITY STUDY AND THEN ALSO PROVIDED IN THE URBAN TRAIL MASTER PLAN UPDATE THAT THAT WOULD BE THE, THE WIDTH THAT THE TRAIL WOULD BE DESIGNED TO IF IT WAS TO BE RECONSTRUCTED ALONG THOSE GUIDELINES.
SO IF 16 FEET IS WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT SOME PEOPLE WANT TO BE BIGGER, ARE WE TALKING 18 OR 20? I THINK THAT REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT WOULD BE PROPOSED BECAUSE THERE'S ALSO THIS LIMITING FACTOR OF THE REQUIRED MITIGATION.
SO FOR EVERY SQUARE FOOT OF IMPROVEMENT, THERE WOULD THEN ALSO HAVE TO BE TWICE AS MUCH MITIGATION PROVIDED, AND THAT STARTS TO IMPACT THE SIZE AND THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT.
IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LONG SECTIONS OF TRAIL, WE ARE IN THE APPROVAL OF ANY SITE PLANS GOING TO LOOK AT THE IMPROVEMENTS TO WATER QUALITY, THE IMPROVEMENTS TO OTHERWISE UNPROTECTED NATURAL AREAS, THE IMPROVEMENTS TO EROSION AND THE EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES.
AND THAT FACTORS INTO THE APPROVAL AND THE LANGUAGE THAT WE'RE USING TO DEVELOP THE GUIDELINES FOR THE MITIGATION THAT'S MENTIONED IN, UM, THAT TWO TO ONE MITIGATION.
I GUESS THE WAY YOU'VE, UH, WORDED IT HAS, HAS ME CONCERNED IS THAT YOU'RE GONNA ALLOW IT TO EXCEED 12 FEET, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE A, A STATED LIMIT ON THERE.
IT COULD BE ANY WIDTH THAT SOMEONE AT THE FUTURE CHOOSES TO SAY, AND BY NOT STATING A WIDTH, WE'VE ESSENTIALLY WRITTEN A BLANK CHECK FOR IT.
UH, I WOULD, YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY FEEL BETTER TO SAY 16 FEET AND LET 'EM COME BACK AND SAY, WE NEED A SECTION THAT NEEDS TO BE 18, RATHER THAN JUST SAYING, WE CAN MAKE IT AS WIDE AS WE WANT.
AND I UNDERSTAND THE MITIGATIONAL LIMITATIONS THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, BUT STILL, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GIVING A BLANK CHECK THERE.
UH, HOW MUCH OF THE, THE TRAILS WITHIN 50 FEET OF THE SHORELINE NOW? UM, APPROXIMATELY 85%.
AND THERE'S NO THOUGHT TO RELOCATING THAT TO NONE OR TO MINIMIZE THAT? SO THAT IS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE, UM, AND MY COLLEAGUE APAR HAVE WALKED THE TRAIL VERY MANY TIMES TO CONSIDER THE ALIGNMENT OF THE TRAIL.
THERE ARE SO MANY HERITAGE TREES AND, UM, OTHER GRADE, UH, RELATED ISSUES THAT WOULD TRIGGER LAND USE COMMISSION VARIANCES THAT ARE LIKELY UNSUPPORTABLE BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT THAT IT WOULD DO TO THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES THAT THERE, IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO REALIGN THE TRAIL IN A LOT OF THE AREAS THAT ARE WITHIN THE A HUNDRED, WITHIN THE 50 FOOT SETBACK.
AND THERE'S JUST SO MANY HERITAGE TREES ON THE TRAIL.
SO THAT, THAT, THAT BECOMES ONE OF THE MAJOR CONSTRAINTS BECAUSE IT'S HARD TO JUST PUT ONE SECTION AND IF YOU'RE RECONSTRUCTING LARGE SECTIONS OF THE TRAIL, IT TENDS TO BE, YOU KNOW, PRETTY PRETTY LENGTH, LIKE PRETTY LONG.
AND THERE'S JUST NOT CORRIDORS THAT, UH, FEASIBLY EXIST, UM, IN A LOT OF THOSE AREAS THAT DON'T HA THAT AREN'T CONSTRAINED BY OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS.
BUT THERE'S NOT BEEN A, YOU'VE WALKED THE, THE, THE PATH, BUT THERE'S NOT BEEN A STUDY DONE TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF RELOCATING PARTS OF IT OUTSIDE OF THE 50 FOOT THING.
THE SAFETY AND MOBILITY STUDY ACTUALLY PROVIDES A LOT OF RECOMMENDATIONS ON ANY OPPORTUNITIES TO REALIGN THE TRAIL.
AND THE, UM, URBAN FORESTRY AND NATURAL AREA MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES HAS A COMPLETE SURVEY OF ALL PROTECTED SIZE TREES.
AND THE CONSULTANTS THAT WORKED ON THE SAFETY MOBILITY STUDY, THEY DID USE THE DATA FROM, UM, THE, UH, NATURAL AREAS OF MANAGEMENT
[01:30:01]
GUIDELINE TREE SURVEY TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROPOSED ALIGNMENTS, BUT THEY DIDN'T FIND, UH, A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO JUST MOVE THE TRAIL OUTSIDE OF THE 50 FOOT SETBACK.IN THE MITIGATION, WHERE WOULD THE MITIGATION BE DONE? SO THE, SORRY, WHEN OR WHERE, WHERE, WHERE? SO THE WAY THAT WE'VE CRAFTED THE LANGUAGE RIGHT NOW IN ITS DRAFT FORM IS THAT WHEN FEASIBLE IT WOULD BE CONTAINED WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE LIMITS OF CONSTRUCTION FOR THE PLAN.
UM, SOME OF THE SECTIONS OF TRAIL THAT NEED THE MOST IMPROVEMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF SAFETY AND MOBILITY ARE QUITE CONSTRAINED BY AREAS THAT CAN BE IMPROVED.
UM, SO IT'S WHERE FEASIBLE THE, THE MITIGATION WOULD HAPPEN WITHIN THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE WITHIN THE LIMITS OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROJECT.
THE REASON WE HAVE THAT CAVEAT IS BECAUSE THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY, WHO WOULD BE PROBABLY THE PRIMARY, UH, UH, CONSULTANT AND CONTRACTOR TO BUILD THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS HAS THIS PARKLAND AND OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT THAT HAS WITHIN IT A LOT OF MITIGATION AND RESTORATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE WORK THAT THEY REGULARLY DO.
AND IT'S A CITY CONTRACT THAT REQUIRES THEM TO DO THESE THINGS.
AND SO THAT PROVIDES AN AVENUE FOR DOING MITIGATION AND RESTORATION ON OTHER PARTS OF THE LAKE THAT WOULD PROVIDE, UH, THEIR MITIGATION CREDIT FOR, UH, ANY IMPACT THEY'RE DOING RELATED TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS OF THE TRAIL.
SO I GET SO, GEEZ, I WAS THAT, UH, I GUESS I WAS EXPECTING A MORE DEFINITIVE ANSWER TO THAT.
SO IF YOU'RE MOVING A PIECE OF TRAIL OR IF, IF YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING TO A PIECE OF TRAIL RIGHT HERE MM-HMM
THE TRAIL IS, YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING TO YES, THAT, THAT LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY IS ACTUALLY A PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION.
UM, BASED ON THE CONSTRAINTS OF, UH, TARGET AREAS THAT COULD BE MITIGATED, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAYBE IMPROVE LAND ADJACENT TO THE LIMITS OF CONSTRUCTION.
AND IF THAT AREA IS, YOU KNOW, MORE BETTER TARGET FOR RESTORATION THAN SAY THE, THE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT NATURAL AREA, THEN HAVING THAT FLEXIBILITY CAN BENEFIT THE, THE NATURAL AREAS AND THE RESTORATION OF IT.
ONE CORRECTION, I HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU SAID 5 MILLION RECREATIONAL USERS.
I'M A TRANSPORTATION USER AND BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE I SEE ON BICYCLES WITH PANS, I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE.
SO THE, THE POINT IS THAT THE BUTLER TRAIL IS ALSO A VERY IMPORTANT USE FOR PEOPLE GOING TO AND FROM WORK TO AND FROM SCHOOL, ET CETERA.
THANK YOU FOR TO AND FROM RECREATION AREAS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT CORRECTION.
LET IT BE STRICKEN FROM THE RECORD, RECREATION AND TRANSPORTATION USERS.
I JUST HAD, UH, ONE QUESTION I WAS KIND OF CURIOUS ABOUT.
UM, YOU, DID YOU MENTION THAT UH, TRAIL LIGHTING WAS KIND OF PART OF THIS PROJECT AS WELL, OR, UM, UH, ONE OF THE STUDY, THE SAFETY AND MOBILITY STUDY THAT WAS, UH, DEVELOPED AND MENTIONED, UH, IN THE, UH, INITIATION AND STAFF WERE DIRECTED TO LOOK AT THAT HAVE TO DO WITH TRAIL AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE LIGHTING THAT WAS PROPOSED, RIGHT? SO YES.
ALL SORTS OF INTERESTING, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY, UH, UH, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY LIGHTING PLAN.
HAVE THEY, UM, MENTIONED LIKE WHAT TYPE, LIKE WOULD IT BE LIKE GROUND LEVEL LIGHTING OR WOULD IT BE LIKE, LIKE A LIGHT POST OR THERE THERE'S SEVERAL DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, THERE IS GROUND LIGHTING THAT INCLUDE EVERYTHING FROM LIKE GLOWING, LIKE A GLOWING STONE OR SOMETHING, GLOWING STONES THAT CAN, UH, ILLUMINATE THE PATHWAY.
UM, SHIELDED LIGHTING, WARM LIGHTING TEMPERATURES, UM, AND APPROPRIATE SPECIFIC, UH, LIGHTING POSITIONS.
I, I HAD JUST THOUGHT ABOUT THAT 'CAUSE I HAD GONE WALKING LAST WEEK
[01:35:01]
AND I GOT TO THE TRAIL LATER THAN, THAN I WANTED TO ANDAND, AND I JUST THOUGHT ABOUT HOW SOME PARTS OF IT ARE KIND OF UNEVEN OR CREVICES AND STUFF, SO YEAH.
AND THE RAINY STREET DROWNINGS TOO CHAIR.
ONE, ONE THING I'LL TELL THE COMMISSION ABOUT IS THE FACT THAT THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY RIGHT NOW IS DOING A SURVEY ONLINE, UM, ASKING PEOPLE TO GIVE THEIR INPUT ABOUT SIGNAGE MM-HMM.
SO THINGS LIKE, WHERE'S THE NEAREST RESTROOM OR, UM, IS THERE DANGER OF FLOODING UP OR WHATEVER ELSE THERE MIGHT BE SIGN NEED FOR SIGNAGE FOR DISTANCE BETWEEN THE NEXT, UH, ACCESS TO THE STREETS, ET CETERA.
AND CAN I WANT TO ASK ONE MORE QUESTION TOO? UM, YOU KNOW, TDOT IS GONNA BE DROPPING A BOMB ON IH 35, UH, AT THE LAKE.
UM, ARE WE GONNA BE GETTING MONEY FROM THEM WHEN WE, THEY HAVE TO CLOSE THE TRAIL AND IT'LL BE DESTROYED AND, UM, TO RESTORE IT? SO THE, UH, I CAN ONLY SPEAK FROM A VERY HIGH LEVEL, THE, THE, THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN, UM, TXDOT AND THE ACQUISITION OF THE LAND FOR, AND ALSO THIS IS NOT A POSTED ITEM, SO JUST BE AWARE.
WELL, NEVERTHELESS, I MEAN, THE POINT IS IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT THE CITY'S CONCERNS ARE ABOUT BUTLER TRAIL AND THERE'S GONNA BE A BIG CHANGE IN IT.
YEAH, I, I I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THAT IT IS AN AGREEMENT THAT'S MADE BETWEEN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT SINCE THEY'RE THE OPERATING CITY DEPARTMENT THAT, UM, MANAGES, UH, THAT PARK LAND.
SO IT'S AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THAT DEPARTMENT BUT NOT WATERSHED.
OH, UH, AND WE HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
I MEAN, I WAS ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE I 35 EXPANSION ON, ON THESE DISCUSSIONS.
UM, I'M CURIOUS IN THE EXPANSION OF THE TRAIL RIGHT NOW, I BELIEVE THE TRAIL'S A MIXTURE OF LIKE DIRT IN SOME PLACES, GRAVEL AND PAVEMENT IN OTHERS.
DO YOU ALL HAVE SPECIFIC PLANS IN TERMS OF LIKE THE, THE NATURE OF THE EXPANSION AND ANY MATERIALS THAT WILL BE USED? UM, I THINK THAT THERE IS A LARGE COMMUNITY DESIRE TO KEEP THE EARTH AND SURFACE TRAIL.
UM, BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF AREAS THAT CAN BE IMPROVED IN TERMS OF EROSION ISSUES AND JUST THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT SURFACES THAT, UM, IT'S REALLY SITE SPECIFIC.
UH, SO THERE'S A LARGE COMMUNITY DESIRE TO KEEP THE EARTH IN SURFACE WHEN POSSIBLE.
UH, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS TO HAVING HARD SURFACE TRAILS WHERE, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVING A, A REINFORCED HARD SURFACE TRAIL FOR EROSION AREAS AND, AND AREAS THAT COULD BE IMPROVED IN TERMS OF GRADE AND, AND A DA ACCESSIBILITY.
AND WHOSE DISCRETION WILL THAT BE TO DETERMINE THAT IS REALLY AT THE DISCRETION OF THE, THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY BRINGING FORWARD, UM, PROJECTS, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, AND THEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE COMPLIANT WITH CURRENT CODE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? OH, COMMISSIONER PRIMER.
UH, HAS THE PARKS BOARD REVIEWED THIS? THE PARKS BOARD HAS NOT REVIEWED THIS.
ARE THEY GOING TO REVIEW IT? UM, WE DO NOT HAVE, WE'RE NOT PLANNING TO GO TO PARKS BOARD ACTUALLY.
THIS BEING IN A PARK, IT'S SURE IT IS IN A PARK.
SHOULD PROBABLY DISCUSS THAT WITH THE STAFF FROM PARKS AND SEE IF THEY WOULD LIKE US TO GO.
YES, I, BECAUSE WE CERTAINLY CAN.
WE JUST DON'T HAVE IT ALL ON THE SCHEDULE RIGHT NOW.
THERE IS A JOINT COMMITTEE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION IN PARKS AND REC BOARD.
WELL, AS SINCE YOU'RE DOING IT PART AS YES, YOU'RE CORRECT.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT UP,
UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY.
UH, MOTION TO CLOSE A PUBLIC HEARING, ALL THOSE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
IS THAT ABSTAINING SHERA OR, UH, MAYBE A DELAY? THERE IS DEFINITELY A DELAY RIGHT NOW.
[01:40:01]
OKAY.UH, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? WE DO.
CODE AMENDMENT RELATED TO THE ANN BUTLER, ANN AND ROY BUTLER, UH, HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, PROTECTION.
IT, WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING THREE SPECIFIC AMENDMENTS TO 25 DASH EIGHT DASH 2 61.
THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE DEVELOPMENT AND, UM, ARE PROPOSED AND THEY ARE PROPOSED AS, UM, 25 DASH EIGHT DASH 2 61 B THREE C TO ALLOW THE BUTLER TRAIL TO EXCEED 12 FEET, 12 FEET IN WIDTH, 25 DASH EIGHT DASH 2 61 B THREE F THROUGH G TO ALLOW THE BUTLER TRAIL TO BE LOCATED WITHIN 50 FEET OF THE SHORELINE OF LADY BIRD LAKE WITH MITIGATION FOR IMPACT WITH A TWO TO ONE OR ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE AS APPROVED BY THE DIRECTOR OF WATERSHED 25 DASH EIGHT DASH 2 61 C TWO TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ADDITIONAL RESTORATION FOR SHORELINE, UM, DISTURBANCE ASSOCIATED WITH SHORELINE ACCESS FOR THE BUTLER TRAIL.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE SITE IS LOCATED IN LADY BIRD LAKE WATERSHED AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT STAFF RECOMMENDS THIS AMENDMENT, THEREFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UH, RECOMMENDS THE VARIANCE REQUEST WITH THE FOLLOWING STAFF, STAFF AND OR ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION CONDITIONS.
NUMBER ONE, CITY STAFF RECOGNIZES THE NEED TO ACCOMMODATE NECESSARY IMPROVEMENTS AND UPDATE THE BUTLER TRAIL FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY THOSE RELATED TO SAFETY AND MOBILITY.
THE PROPOSED, UM, CODE AMENDMENT PROVIDES A PATHWAY FORWARD TO ALLOW APPROVAL FOR THE FUTURE BUTLER TRAIL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, WHILE BALANCING THE NEEDS OF THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION.
SECOND, I, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A COUPLE OF CHANGES TO THAT IF I COULD, OR RECOMMENDATIONS.
DID YOU TURN ON YOUR PHONE? MICROPHONE, MICROPHONE.
COMMISSIONER, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A COUPLE OF SMALL ALTERATIONS TO THAT.
UH, AS FAR AS THE 12 FEET, I'D LIKE TO LIMIT THAT TO A MAXIMUM OF 16 IF THERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS TO ANYONE BY ANYONE.
SO I THINK YOU, IF YOU WANNA GIVE A SECOND.
SO IT WOULD BE, UM, SO, UH, LIMIT, UM, TRAIL WIDTH TO A MAXIMUM OF 16 FEET, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? YES, MA'AM.
AND DO YOU HAVE A SECOND? I DUNNO, DO I, UM, LIKE WHAT'S THE, LIKE HOW FEASIBLE IS THAT TO LIMIT, LIMIT A PUT A, A, A FOOT LIMIT ON THAT? UH, YES.
HOW FEASIBLE IS THAT? UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SEVERAL AREAS ON THE TRAIL THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY RECOMMENDED FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
UM, I, I THINK THAT IT IS CERTAINLY FEASIBLE JUST IN OUR, UM, IN OUR PERSONAL, UH, DEVELOPMENT OF THESE, OF THE CODE AND, AND TALKING WITH THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY AND TALKING WITH OUR OTHER, UH, DEPARTMENTS.
WE FELT THAT WE COULD, UM, BALANCE THAT WIDTH THROUGH KIND OF OTHER PROXIES, UH, THE MITIGATION AND THE EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS THAT WOULD PUT THAT LIMIT ON, UH, THE TRAIL WIDTH THAT'S ALREADY NATURALLY THERE.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S FEASIBLE IF YOU WANNA PUT IT ON THERE.
SO DO WE HAVE A SECOND FOR THAT THOUGH? IF WE DON'T HAVE A SECOND, THEN I DON'T PUT IT ON.
SORRY VIC, DID YOU HAVE ANOTHER ONE? LEMME JUST OFFER THAT, UH, PART OF THE PROBLEM WITH THE, WITH STATING ANY MAXIMUM IS THAT YOU DO HAVE PLACES, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE ONE TRAIL COMES IN AND THEN YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER TRAIL HERE AND
[01:45:01]
SO YOU HAVE WIDER TURNS.WELL, WHERE DO YOU CUT THAT OFF? AND THEN ANOTHER POINT TOO IS PLACES WHERE YOU HAVE PARK BENCHES, UM, ALONG THE SIDES.
AND SO YOU MIGHT HAVE A 16 FOOT TRAIL WITH TRAIL, BUT THEN YOU'VE GOT THE PARK BENCHES ALSO THAT ARE LIKE IN THE EASEMENT FOR IT.
SO I, I THINK THE MITIGATION REQUIREMENT PUTS A, GIVES AN INCENTIVE TO NOT WIDEN IT MORE THAN NEED TO.
AND KATIE COIN ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER.
I THINK I ALSO JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE Y'ALL THAT, THAT TTC WANTS TO BE A GOOD PARTNER IN THIS.
THEY'VE HIRED AND HAVE CONTINUED TO RAMP UP STAFF TO ACTUALLY DIRECTLY FOCUS ON STEWARDSHIP AND ECOLOGICAL FUNCTION OF THIS SYSTEM.
AND BALANCING THOSE GOALS IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT.
AND SO NOT WANTING TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL UNDUE BURDEN WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR BALANCING ALL THOSE GOALS IN A REALLY COMPLICATED SYSTEM IS SOMETHING THAT I, I WOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT.
EVEN THOUGH I THINK ON ITS FACE, IT SEEMS LIKE IT MAKES RATIONAL SENSE, IT'S PROBABLY FEASIBLE.
BUT TO YOUR POINT, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, I, I DO GET CONCERNED A LITTLE BIT WITH HOW YOU FINESSE THAT LIMIT IN PRACTICE.
IT'S THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY, NOT THE TRAIL DIRT DIG SEA.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, I DO HAVE SOME LEVEL OF TRUST THAT THEY WILL TRY TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF, UH, OF THE PROPERTY.
I'M GONNA REFOCUS THIS BACK ON THE, UM, MOTION AND, UM, RICK, YOU SAID YOU HAD A COUPLE, THAT WAS ONE.
SO DID YOU HAVE OTHERS? NO, I'LL LET IT GO AT THAT.
AND DO WE HAVE A SECOND ON THE FIRST ONE? I'LL SECOND.
UH, SULLIVAN, UH, SECONDED ON A MOTION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR RAISE YOUR HAND.
WE HAVE QURESHI, KRUEGER, BEDFORD, SHERA, BRISTOL, BRIMER, AND SULLIVAN.
THE MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
RIGHT NOW IT'S 7 47 AND I WANTED TO, UH, SUGGEST THAT WE TAKE A QUICK, UH, RESTROOM BREAK.
UM, LET'S SEE, I GUESS MAYBE FIVE MINUTES, SEVEN MINUTES.
SO NEXT UP UNDER DISCUSSION ACTION ITEMS, WE
[5. Consider a recommendation regarding the “HOME” Land Development Code Amendments. Presented by Dave Sullivan, Environmental Commission member.]
HAVE ITEM NUMBER FIVE TO CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION REGARDING THE THE HOME LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS.AND WE HAVE A, UH, A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN.
I THINK ACTUALLY WE NEED TO TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT.
WELL, SHOULD I READ THE RESOLUTION FIRST THOUGH, SO WE KNOW WHAT WE, WHAT'S UP? I DON'T, UM, I DON'T THINK SO.
WE DO PUBLIC COMMENT FIRST AND THEN WE DO THE RESOLUTION OF THE MOTION.
LIZ? UH, YEAH, I MADE THE, UH, THE RESOLUTION IS PASSED, POSTED AND THEN DRAFT BACK UP.
SO YEAH, TAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN IF YOU HAVE CHANGES TO THE RESOLUTION, THEN YOU CAN MAKE THEM THEN
UH, FIRST OFF WE HAVE MARK MAY AND A REMINDER YOU HAVE, UH, THREE MINUTES.
HI, I'M, I'M MARK MAY, UM, AND I WANTED TO HAVE SOME, UH, COMMENTS ABOUT HOME.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANT TO SAY FROM A BIG, UH, VIEW, I DO, UH, SUPPORT CHANGE IN LAND.
I DEVELOP A CODE SO PEOPLE LIKE FIREFIGHTERS, UH, THE POLICE, UH, AND ALL THAT CAN HAVE A CHANCE TO LIVE IN AUSTIN.
ALTHOUGH I DON'T SEE ANY DATA IN THE PLAN THAT THEY'VE PUT FORWARD CALLED HOME THAT SHOWS THAT WE ACTUALLY ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS.
UM, I ALSO THINK IT'S, UH, UH, TROUBLING THAT HOME DOESN'T CONTAIN MANY, MANY OBVIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, SAFEGUARDS.
AND I THINK LOOKING AT YOUR STATED, UH, MISSION ONLINE TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT, LOOK AT OTHER POLICIES THAT RELATE TO LIKE THE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, QUALITY BY THE CITY, AND THEN ALSO ACT IN LIKE AN ADVISORY, UH, CAPACITY.
UM, FOR THINGS, THINGS THAT ARE GONNA IMPACT THE QUALITY OF LIFE.
I THINK YOU GUYS DEFINITELY NEED TO, YOU KNOW, COMMENT, ANALYZE, AND WEIGH IN.
SO I THINK THE WAY THAT HOME IS KIND OF GOING AT, UH,
[01:50:01]
UH, CITY COUNCIL IS THAT THEY REALLY WANT TO WANT TO PASS IT.IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE GONNA BE THIS CRAZY NATIONAL TEST TEST CASE, BUT, UH, HERE, HERE WE ARE, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A HIGH, UH, DENSITY AT ALL COST PLAN.
AND I HOPE YOU GUYS CAN ADD SOME BALANCE, LIKE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, POINT OF VIEW.
'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT MATTER, UH, GENTRIFICATION ENVIRONMENT AND ALL, ALL THAT.
AND SO I THINK, UH, STRATEGY WISE, IT MAKES SENSE FOR YOU GUYS TO PASS, UH, SOMETHING AS OPPOSED TO SAY NOTHING.
'CAUSE THIS IS MAYBE THE BEST WAY TO GET OUR VOICE HEARD.
SO I THINK SOME OF LIKE THE POSSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, MITIGATIONS THAT YOU MIGHT THINK OF, THE ONE TO ME THAT I HAVEN'T HEARD TALKED ABOUT YET IS TO LIMIT THE SIZE OF, OF THE UNITS THEY BUILD.
THERE'S NO REASON FOR A MIDDLE INCOME HOME FAMILY OF FOUR THAT YOU NEED TO BUILD SOMETHING ABOVE.
LET'S SOMEWHERE IN THE RANGE OF A THOUSAND TO S HUNDRED SQUARE, SQUARE FEET, THAT'S JUST AS GONNA RAISE THE COST, RAISE THE IMPERVIOUS COVER, THE CO2, ALL THAT.
THERE'S NO REASON IN MY MIND NOT TO HAVE A REASONABLE LIMIT.
UM, I THINK WE SHOULD ADD SOME GREEN BUILDING REQUIREMENTS, UM, WA WATER CATCHMENT PLANTS, SOLAR INSULATION, ALL ALL THAT WE NEED TO IMPROVE THE, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, TREE, TREE ORDINANCE AND THE, UH, PROTECTION.
AND WE NEED TO ALSO ENFORCE IT.
UM, WE OBVIOUSLY SHOULDN'T IN INCREASE THE IMPERVIOUS COVER IN, IN HOMES.
I MEAN, UH, FLOODING IS REAL IN A TX AND WE'VE LOST REAL, REAL FOLKS IN FLOODS.
I ALSO DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE DOING ANYTHING TO INCREASE, UM, THE NUMBER OF STRS OR INVESTMENT, UH, PROPERTIES IN AUSTIN.
WE'RE DOING THIS FOR THE FIRST RESPONDERS, THE TEACHERS AND, AND THE NURSES.
UM, UM, SOME OTHER OPTIONS I THINK YOU CAN, UH, CONSIDER, UM, YOU KNOW, GO, GO, GOING BACK AGAIN THAT I THINK IT'S WITHIN YOUR CHARTER.
'CAUSE THESE THINGS ARE GONNA LIMIT THE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, CONSEQUENCES OF HOME.
COULD YOU PLEASE WRAP UP YOUR THOUGHTS? YES.
AND SO YOU CAN, YOU CAN SEE THE THINGS HERE I'VE, THAT I'VE, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU SHOULD DO.
UH, NEXT STEP WE HAVE TANYA PAYNE.
MY NAME IS TANYA PAYNE AND, UM, I LIVE IN DISTRICT FIVE AND THE VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR ZILKER NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION.
AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, VERY FEW STUDIES AND IF ANY HAVE BEEN DONE EVALUATING THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF HOME INITIATIVE.
AND AS A RESULT, I REQUEST THAT YOU SUGGEST CITY COUNCIL PAUSE THEIR CONSIDERATION IN THIS VOTE UNTIL THEY HAVE SOME OF THE STUDIES COMPLETED, RATHER THAN USING AUSTIN AS ONE BIG TEST BED FOR PLANNING THEORIES.
BUT IF YOU'RE UNABLE TO DO THAT, PLEASE CONSIDER RE RECOMMENDING THAT COUNCIL ADDS A FEW SAFETY RAILS TO THE HOME INITIATIVE TO PREVENT, UH, TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT.
FIRST IS CONSIDER TESTING IT BEFORE YOU PASS IT.
PICK A PAR AN AREA OF AUSTIN TO IMPLEMENT THIS DES DENSITY AND THEN MONITOR THE HEAT ISLAND EFFECT, THE TREE CANOPY AND VEGETATION BIPOC RESIDENCY, IMPERVIOUS CO CO COVER, COST OF HOUSING, PROPERTY TAXES, UTILITIES, COSTS AND AVAILABILITY, FLOODING, STORM WATER AND DRAINAGE.
THE SECOND IS MAKING EXCEPTIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
DON'T APPLY UP ZONING AND FLOOD ZONES AS DEFINED BY THE UPDATED ATLAS 14 OR RECHARGE AND CONTRIBUTING ZONES.
AND THEN LASTLY, HELP LOCAL RESIDENTS, HOMEOWNERS COMPETE WITH THE DEVELOPERS.
DO SOMETHING AROUND PERHAPS CREATE A NONPROFIT IN COMBINATION WITH LOCAL UNIVERSITIES WITH THE GOAL OF HELPING HOMEOWNERS AND TIGHTEN AND ENFORCE SORT SHORT TERM RENTAL OR STR RULES SO FOREIGN INVESTORS DON'T REAP THE BENEFITS OVER LOCAL HOMEOWNERS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATIONS.
GOOD EVENING, VICE CHAIR PERRY AND COMMISSIONERS.
I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOODS COUNCIL AND THE IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR OF THE SOUTHEAST KABA NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN CONTACT TEAM, WHICH COVERS THE DEAF SPRINGS NEIGHBORHOOD.
THE A MC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO OPPOSE A HOME RESOLUTION AS IT CURRENTLY WRITTEN.
THE CONTACT TEAM, BECAUSE OF THE CATASTROPHIC FLOODING AND DEADLY FLOODS WE HAVE EXPERIENCED IN 2013 AND 2015 HAS MAJORS PUBLIC SAFETY CONCERNS REGARDING CREEK AND LOCALIZED FLOODING.
[01:55:01]
FIRST, I WANT TO THANK THE COMMISSION FOR CREATING THE HOME RESOLUTION WORK GROUP AND THANK COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN FOR HIS LEADERSHIP AND THE COMMISSIONERS THAT MET WITH US AT THE LAST COMMISSION MEETING.I WAS CONCERNED REGARDING THE HOME RESOLUTION BY STATING THAT IT DID NOT, IT WAS NOT ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING AS IT DID NOT HAVE ANY PROVISIONS REQUIRING AFFORDABLE AFFORDABILITY AND WILL GENTRIFY THE EASTERN CRESCENT.
THESE SAME CONCERNS REMAIN AND WE SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION'S RESOLUTION WHILE WORKING WITH THE WORK GROUP, I FOCUSED ON BRINGING FORWARD ONLY THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENTAL RELATED RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE A NC AND THE CONTACT TEAM HAVE THAT FALL UNDER THE PURVIEW OF THIS COMMISSION.
THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, AS PREVIOUSLY EMAILED TO THE COMMISSION ON NOVEMBER 14TH, WERE PRESENTED TO THE WORK GROUP AND WE ASK THAT THE SAME PUBLIC SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION GUARDRAILS BE INCLUDED IN ANY RECOMMENDATIONS THIS COMMISSION MAKES TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
ALL OUR CONCERNS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING, IN THE INTEREST OF TRANSPARENCY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE, THE COUNCIL NEEDS TO FUND AN INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF THESE ZONING CHANGES.
THERE SHOULD BE A SIGNED IN SEALED REPORT FROM PROFESSIONAL REGISTERED ENGINEERS ON THE WATER, SEWER, ELECTRICAL GRID, STORM WATER, AND TRAFFIC INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO SUPPORT THIS INCREASED DENSITY.
THE COUNCIL SHOULD FUND A REPORT FROM A CPA ON THE COST OF THIS INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRS OR UPGRADES ONLY AFTER THESE REPORTS HAVE BEEN RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC SHOULD THESE PROPOSALS BE CONSIDERED IN THE INTEREST OF PUBLIC SAFETY, PROHIBIT ANY NEW DENSITY IN AREAS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CREEK FLOODING, LOCALIZED FLOODING, STEAM, BANK EROSION, OR DESIGNATE TO BE WITHIN THE ATLAS 14 FLOOD PLAIN.
THERE SHOULD BE NO INCREASE IN PURPOSE COVER ALLOWANCES OVER THE CURRENTLY ASSIGNED LIMITS AND SITE PLAN AREA, EVALUATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE IN CASES OF EXPANSION TO MEET THOSE LIMITS, MODIFIED FOR INCREASED DENSITY, PROHIBIT FEE AND LOOSE STORM WATER CONTROL OPTIONS TO NEW DENSITY DEVELOPMENT OR REDEVELOPMENT UPSTREAM OF AREAS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CREEK LOCALIZED FLOODING, OR DESIGNATED TO BE WITHIN THE ATLAS 14 FLOODPLAIN COMPLY WITH THE FEMA REGULATIONS SO AS NOT TO COMPROMISE ANY PROPERTY OWNER'S ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FEDERAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM AND ENSURE PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES ARE PROVIDED WHEN HOUSING DENSITY IS INTRODUCED.
FOR EXAMPLE, UTILITIES INFRA INFRASTRUCTURE, MORE IMPORTANTLY, WATER QUALITY, OF COURSE, ALSO ELECTRICITY AND GAS.
ALSO PUBLIC SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE, POLICE, EMS, FIRE, PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE, AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
YOUR CONSIDERATION FOR THESE PUBLIC SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GUARDRAILS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, NEXT UP WE HAVE, UH, CRAIG NAZER.
HELLO, MY NAME IS CRAIG NASER AND I'M HERE REPRESENTING AUSTIN ENVIRONMENTAL DEMOCRATS.
NOW, I SENT YOU ALL, UH, A COPY OF THE RESOLUTION THAT WE VOTED ON.
WE DID NOT HAVE, UH, MR. SULLIVAN'S, UM, PROPOSAL, SO IT DOESN'T ADDRESS IT DIRECTLY, BUT IF YOU'LL NOTICE A A LOT OF IT IS SIMILAR AND SUPPORTS WHAT HE'S SAYING.
SO I CAN'T COME OUT AND SAY THAT THE ORGANIZATION SUPPORTS IT, BUT I CAN SAY WE SUPPORT A LOT OF IT.
OKAY, A FEW LITTLE THINGS HERE IS, UH, IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU SAID SPECIFICALLY 45% IMPERVIOUS COVER AND PRESERVING TREES IN PHASE TWO.
THEY'VE DIVIDED THIS UP INTO TWO PHASES, WHICH MAKES IT A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT TO SUPPORT ANY OF IT TILL YOU KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
UM, I DO THINK THAT THE ARGUMENTS ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AND THE ARGUMENTS ABOUT PREVENTING SPRAWL, I'VE NOT SEEN EVIDENCE THAT, THAT THOSE ARGUMENTS ARE, ARE, ARE TRUE.
HOWEVER, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF GOOD THINGS IN HOME THAT WE NEED TO DO, EVEN IF THEY AREN'T EXACTLY TRUE.
AND IF IT'S NOT GONNA MAKE AUSTIN MORE AFFORDABLE, WHICH I DON'T THINK IT IS, IT'S GONNA HAVE AN EQUITY EFFECT ON AUSTIN.
IT'S GONNA RUN PEOPLE OUT, UH, PARTICULARLY THE POORER FOLK.
UM, I ALSO, LET'S SEE, OKAY, UH, BASICALLY IT, IT DOESN'T, NOTHING YET SAYS ADDRESSES.
LOCAL FLOODING IS BECOMING A BIGGER PROBLEM IN AUSTIN.
I KNOW IT JUST IN MY BACKYARD WHEN THEY DEVELOPED UPHILL AND LOCALIZED FLOODING.
THERE IS, UH, WATERSHED HAS SAID THERE IS A DEFICIT IN MONEY THAT THEY'VE HAD TO START ADDRESSING LOCALIZED FLOODING.
AND WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, THOSE STORMS ARE GETTING BIGGER.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER BIG CONCERN.
IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING TO LIMIT WHAT WE KNOW A HOME WILL DO, WHAT'S
[02:00:01]
GONNA HAPPEN TO LOCALIZED FLOODING.AND ONE OTHER THING IS NEARBY PARKLAND, IF YOU DENSIFY THE CITY AND YOU HAVE PARKS NEARBY, THE PARKS WILL GET USED MORE OR YOU MAY NEED MORE SPACE IN THOSE PARKS AND NOTHING IN HOME.
AND NOTHING UNFORTUNATELY IN THIS RESOLUTION SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT MORE NEARBY PARKS.
SOME WAY TO GET THEM THE LEGISLATURE IS MAKING THAT HARDER AND HARDER.
BUT STILL, FOR THIS TO WORK WE NEED LOCAL PARKS MORE PROBABLY FOR THE DENSITY.
I WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR EVEN PUTTING THIS PROPOSAL FORWARD AND I HOPE YOU PASS IT.
UH, NEXT UP WE HAVE TED EUBANKS.
UM, I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN FOR 35 YEARS.
I'M A CERTIFIED INTERPRETED PLANNER.
I'VE DONE THESE SORTS OF PROJECTS FOR MY WHOLE LIFE, ALTHOUGH RARELY IN AUSTIN, SINCE WE TEND TO BE ABOUT 15 TO 20 YEARS BEHIND MANY OTHER CITIES.
I HAVE A VERY NARROW RECOMMENDATION TONIGHT.
NARROW AND LIMITED TO THE ENVIRONMENT, NOT DEALING WITH ANY OTHER OF THE ISSUES RELATED TO HOME.
ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ISSUES WE FACE.
AND WE KNOW THAT THIS FROM 78 DAYS, OVER 100 DEGREES THIS PAST SUMMER, THAT WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT URBAN HEAT ISLAND PROBLEM.
AND WE CAN'T DEAL WITH THAT GLOBALLY.
THAT HEAT ISLAND EFFECT CAN BE AMELIORATED.
WE CAN STOP ITS EXPANSION AND WE CAN STOP ITS RISE.
WE HAVE GRAY HABITATS, BUILDINGS, PARKING GARAGES AND PARKS AND WE HAVE GREEN.
SO I'M GONNA MAKE A SIMPLE RECOMMENDATION AS OF JANUARY 1ST, 2024.
HAVE THE CITY SHOW US AT THE GRANULAR LEVEL, A BASELINE FOR GRAY VERSUS GREEN IN THE CITY.
AND THEN LIMIT ANY IMPACTS OF HOME TO AN EQU EQUILIBRIUM.
A STASIS BETWEEN GRAY AND GREEN.
NOT ONE TWIG, NOT ONE LEAF, NOT ONE SQUARE FOOT.
IF YOU BUILD ON YOUR LOT, THEN THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING TO COUNTERBALANCE THAT WE HAVE GOT TO AT LEAST STAY IN PLACE WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO EVOLVE AND DEVELOP THE SOLUTIONS FOR THE FUTURE.
WE CAN'T BE CONSTANTLY LOSING GROUND AND INCREASING IN DEGREES.
YES, THIS IS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE.
AND THE FACT IS, IF IT'S 174,000 LOTS, WHICH IS THE NUMBER I'VE SEEN OVER TWO PHASES AND YOU KNOW WHAT THE HUMAN IMPACTS ARE ON HEALTH BY EACH DEGREE, THAT I'M VERY COMFORTABLE SAYING HOME WILL KILL AND WHO THE POOR, THE DISPOSSESSED GOES ON THE STREET, THE ELDERLY, THE L AND INFIRM, THEY'LL BE THE VICTIMS. THANK YOU.
UM, NEXT UP, UM, THE, THE MOTION COMMISSIONER S SULLIVAN.
AND I, I'M GONNA MAKE THE STATEMENT REALLY QUICK HERE.
UM, SO, UM, JUST TO KIND OF, UM, PUT US IN PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE ALL DISCUSSED THIS MANY, MANY TIMES AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING THE FORMAT OF THIS IS THE MOTION.
WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH IT, WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS THE DIFFERENT ITEMS AND IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE WANNA ADD THAT WE CAN.
SO I JUST WANNA SAY THAT THAT, UM, LAST TIME WE WANDERED AROUND A LITTLE BIT.
SO I WANNA KEEP US REAL FOCUSED ON THIS.
SO GABE, CAN I SAY ONE THING? UH, KAYLA IS HANDING SOME STUFF.
RICK, CAN YOU TURN ON YOUR MICROPHONE, COMMISSIONER BRIMER? SURE.
UH, KAYLA IS HANDING OUT SOMETHING THAT, UH, MAYOR WATSON HAD POSTED ON A, A, UH, CITY WEBSITE THAT CIRCULATED AMONG COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AND THE REASON I'M HAVING PASSED OUT IS THAT, UH, IF YOU GO THROUGH IT, YOU'LL SEE SEVERAL OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE IN, UH, THE THING THAT THE WORKING GROUP DRAFTED ARE IN THERE.
SO BY SOME WORK OF MAGIC, UH, OUR WORK
[02:05:01]
HAS, PART OF OUR WORK HAS MIGRATED INTO THAT AND I WANTED TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THAT BEFORE.YOU KNOW, DAVE GETS ON WITH HIS THING.
SO THAT'S KIND OF A PRELIMINARY THING.
SO, UH, WHEREAS AS PRESENTED TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ON OCTOBER 4TH, 2023, THAT TO HELP REACH NET ZERO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, AUSTIN NEEDS TO INCREASE POPULATION DEMON DENSITY AS DEMONSTRATED BY MODELING CONDUCTED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY.
UH, HTTPS SLASH SLASH COOL CLIMATE.BERKELEY.EDU/MAPS.
UM, AND THEN I'VE GOT A GRAPH IN HERE THAT ILLUSTRATES THIS.
AND WHEREAS THESE POPULATION DENSITY INCREASES LEAD TO MORE SHARED WALLS THAT CONSERVE HEAT AND COOLING, THUS REQUIRING LESS ENERGY CONSUMPTION, HIGHER POPULATION DENSITY ATTRACTS CLOSER BUSINESS AND SERVICES, THUS REDUCING TRAVEL DISTANCES AND ALLOWING MORE TRIPS TO BE MADE BY FOOT OR BIKE OR OTHER MICRO MOBILITY MEANS.
AND HIGHER POPULATION DENSITY SLOWS URBAN SPRAWL, WHICH PROTECTS FARMLAND AND WILDERNESS AREAS.
AND WHEREAS EFFORTS TO INCREASE POPULATION DENSITY WILL NEED TO BE DEMONSTRATED IN THE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL MONEY TO FINANCE PROJECT CONNECTS LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM AND EXPANDED METRO RAPID BUSES.
THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SUPPORTS THE PROPOSED LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE HOME AMENDMENTS TO ALLOW MORE HOUSEHOLD UNITS PER LOT AND OTHER MEASURES TO INCREASE AUSTIN'S HOUSING STOCK AND RESULTING POPULATION DENSITY.
FURTHERMORE, THIS SUPPORT IS CONDITIONAL ON MAINTAINING CURRENT PROTECTION FOR TREES AND CURRENT IMPERVIOUS COVER REQUIREMENTS.
AND THE ELEMENTS LISTED BELOW THE HOME INITIATIVE SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AUSTIN'S CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN TO ENSURE RACIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN HOW IMP AUSTIN IMPLEMENTS THE HOME INITIATIVE ON COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND UNDERSERVED AUSTIN COMMUNITIES.
SPECIAL ATTENTION SHOULD BE EXPENDED TO PREVENT INVOLUNTARY DISPLACEMENT OF PERSONS OR FAMILIES OF LOW INCOME.
THE CITY SHOULD PROACTIVELY, AND THERE'S A TYPO IN THIS, WITHIN 90 DAYS I FIXED THE TYPO.
SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT FLOOD INSURANCE AND INFORMATION FROM FLOOD SMART.GOV VIA A CERTIFIED MALE WITH RESIDENTS WHO LIVE IN AREAS DESIGNATED AS BEING AT FLOOD RISK, INCLUDING AREAS DESIGNATED IN THE IN THE ATLAS 14 STUDY.
CITY COUNCIL SHALL SHALL REQUIRE ALL RELEVANT DEPARTMENTS TO ASSESS THE IMPACTS OF ADDITIONAL UNITS AND SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE RELATED NEEDED INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, SCHOOLS, PARKS, MASS TRANSIT, WATER WASTEWATER, ELECTRIC UTILITIES, INTERNET, WILDLIFE, URBAN INTERFACE, FIRST RESPONDER RESPONSE TIMES IN THE INTEREST OF PR, TRANSPARENCY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE, THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD FUND AN INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF HOME ONE CHANGES.
THERE SHOULD BE A SIGNED AND SEALED REPORT FROM A PROFESSIONAL REGISTERED ENGINEERS ON THE WATER, SEWER, ELECTRICAL, ELECTRICAL GRID, STORMWATER, AND TRAFFIC INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE THE PROJECTED INCREASE IN URBAN DENSITY.
THE COUNCIL SHOULD FUND A REPORT FROM A CPA ON THE COST OF THESE INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRS OR UPGRADES.
RECOMMEND THAT CITY COUNCIL ADOPT THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION ON EFFORTS TO PRESERVE OLDER HOUSING STOCK BY GRANTING MODEST BONUSES IN FLORIDA AREA RATIO WHEN AN EXISTING STRUCTURE IS PRESERVED SO AS TO REDUCE THE WASTE FROM HOME.
DEMOLITION REQUIRE ALL CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENTS ADHERE TO THE AUSTIN GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM.
ALL NEW CONSTRUCTION MEET ANY AND ALL ENVIRONMENTAL CODE REQUIREMENTS REQUIRE NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER HOME AMENDMENTS.
MEET THE OBJECTIVES OF THE WATERSHED PROTECTION.
UH, MA MASTER PLAN REQUIRE NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENTS.
BE PRE-WIRED FOR SOLAR POWER AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AUS ENERGY'S SOLAR POWER INCENTIVES FOR SINGLE OR MULTI-FAMILY DWELLINGS FUNDED BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
PROHIBIT NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENTS FROM BEING USED AS BED AND BREAKFAST OR SHORT-TERM RENTALS AS CURRENTLY ALLOWED UNDER SSF AND MF DESIGNATION.
SINGLE FAMILY AND MULTIFAMILY DESIGNATIONS SIGNIFICANTLY OH SPECIFICALLY PROHIBIT THE USE OF RECREATION VEHICLES AND OTHER MOBILE VEHICLES FROM BEING USED AS RESIDENCES UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENT.
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COUNCIL AMEND THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE TO ALLOW GREATER HEIGHT FOR MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ALONG TRANSIT CORRIDORS.RECOMMEND AUSTIN ENERGY SELL ITS SHARE IN THE FAY FAYETTE POWER PLANT BY 2027 AS PART OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S 2020 CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN AND THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AND FINALLY, YOU THOUGHT I WAS GONNA KEEP GOING ON AND ON, REQUIRE THAT A QUARTERLY REPORT BE PRESENTED TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WITH INFORMATION ON PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION REGARDING EFFECTS ON WATER QUALITY FLOODING AND TREE CANOPY THE END.
I'LL SECOND ANY OTHER DISCUSSION COMMISSIONERS? I HAVE A COUPLE OF, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AND UM, I HAVE TWO AMENDMENTS, TWO ADDITIONS THAT ARE BASED ON SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE RECEIVED TONIGHT AS WELL AS FROM EMAILS.
AND THEN I'D LIKE TO, UM, STRIKE, UM, THREE OF THE DIFFERENT, UM, THREE OF THE DIFFERENT ACTIONS.
SO I'VE LABELED THEM, UM, ONE THROUGH 12, UM, STARTING WITH, UM, RIGHT AFTER THEREFORE.
SO IF YOU GO DOWN TO NUMBER SEVEN, WHICH IS REQUIRE NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENT TO BE PRE-WIRED FOR SOLAR AND TAKE ADVANTAGE.
UM, I'D LIKE TO STRIKE NUMBER EIGHT.
PROHIBIT CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENT FROM BEING USED AS BED BREAKFAST AND SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
YEAH, DO YOU WANNA TAKE THEM ONE AT A TIME JUST TO SEE IF EVERYONE'S SUPPORTIVE OF CHANGE? WE CERTAINLY CAN CHANGE.
OR DO YOU WANNA VOTE ON EVERYTHING ALTOGETHER? JUST SINCE THERE ARE QUITE A FEW THERE.
CAN WE VOTE ON THIS? I WILL GO WHATEVER PLEASES THE COURT INDIVIDUAL ONE AT A TIME.
SO NUMBER ONE IS, UM, STRIKING REQUIRED NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENTS TO BE PRE-WIRED FOR SOLAR.
WELL, CAN I ASK A QUESTION THOUGH? UM, IS STAFF IN A POSITION TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OF WHAT IS CONTAINED IN AUSTIN'S GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS? UH, NO.
I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE THE, THAT LEVEL OF EXPERTISE HERE THIS EVENING.
I MEAN, THAT WAS WHAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEMOCRATS SUPPORTED AND THAT MIGHT ALREADY ENCOMPASS SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS.
SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT WAS, UM, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEMOCRATS MADE? NO, THERE WAS ABOUT JUST THE GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS.
NOT ABOUT PRE-WIRING, NOT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER ELEMENTS.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD WORK FOR YOU OR, AGAIN, I'M TRYING TO GET SIX VOTES HERE 'CAUSE WE NEED SIX VOTES TO PASS THIS.
UH, I'D LIKE TO ASK, UH, COMMISSIONER BRISTOL A QUESTION.
UH, I'D LIKE TO HEAR ALL OF YOUR CHANGES AND THEN DISCUSS THEM ONE BY ONE.
AND THE REASON I'D LIKE TO DO THAT IS THIS, WELL, WE'VE ALREADY DECIDED THAT WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS THEM ONE BY ONE, SO WE'RE GOING WITH THIS ONE FIRST.
UH, THE WORKING GROUP MET TOGETHER AND PUT TOGETHER KIND OF A PACKAGE OF THINGS THAT WE BELIEVE WOULD BE A SOLID RECOMMENDATION FOR THE COMMISSION TO VOTE ON.
AND, UH, I THINK IT'S A GOOD PACKAGE.
AND AT THE LAST MEETING, AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, I HAD SOME SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS ABOUT THE WHOLE THING AT THIS POINT, BASED UPON MY WORKING WITH DAVE AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP, THIS IS THE TYPE OF THING THAT I CAN CONFIDENTLY VOTE TO SUPPORT.
IF IT'S CHANGED IN A SIGNIFICANT MANNER THAT IT BECOMES LESS, I HAVE LESS OF ABILITY TO SUPPORT IT BECAUSE SOME OF THESE THINGS I THINK ARE WORTH CONSIDERING.
SO, UH, WHILE I UNDERSTAND THE DISCUSSION ON INDIVIDUAL ITEMS, I'M CURIOUS AS TO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF THINGS YOU'RE, YOU'RE CONSIDERING THERE.
SO AS FAR AS, UM, THE PRE-WIRING FOR SOLAR PANEL, UM, AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE AUSTIN, UM, ENERGY SOLAR PANEL.
SO I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH, UM,
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REQUIRING NEW CONSTRUCTION TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE AUSTIN.SO I WOULD REWRITE THIS, RIGHT.
REQUIRE NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY, SOLAR POWER INCENTIVES FOR SINGLE FAMILY AND MULTI-DWELLING, UM, UH, FUNDED BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO IT'S QUITE AN ASK TO ASK A, UM, UH, MIDDLE, MIDDLE INCOME, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, FAMILY TO PRE-WIRE THEIR SOLAR FOR SOLAR POWER, RIGHT? I MEAN, NOT EVERYBODY WANTS TO DO THAT.
I MEAN, YES, IT'S A GOOD IDEA.
UM, AND I CERTAINLY WOULD LOVE TO DO IT, BUT, UM, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO REQUIRE THAT THEY DO IT.
I THINK WE CAN, UM, RECOMMEND REQUIRE THAT THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE INCENTIVES THAT ARE THERE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO REQUIRE THAT THEY HAVE TO PRE-WIRE THEIR HOME FOR THAT.
BUT IF IT'S FUNDED BY AUSTIN ENERGY, THEN THE POWER COMPANY'S PAYING FOR IT, NOT THE, NOT THE HOMEOWNER IT IS NOW.
BUT IS, WILL IT ALWAYS BE, I DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, I CAN'T PREDICT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN 50 YEARS FROM NOW.
SO I'M NOT GONNA SAY IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE, WOULD YOU BE SATISFIED WITH SAYING, REQUIRE NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENTS, UM, TO JUST STRIKE OUT, TO BE, UM, TO BE PRE-WIRE FOR SOLAR POWER AND JUST SAY, AND TAKE, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE AUSTIN SOLAR POWER INCENTIVES.
JUST TAKE OUT THE REQUIREMENT TO SAY PRE-WIRING FOR SOLAR POWER.
I'M SORRY, I, I, I, I MISSED, I MISSED THE DIS DIFFERENTIATION THERE.
RIGHT? HER POINT, HER POINT IS, UH, COMMISSIONER THAT IT WOULD SAY, REQUIRE NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S SOLAR POWER INCENTIVES.
SO, SO LONG AS THEY'RE OFFERING INCENTIVES, THEN YOU WOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM.
IF THEY WERE NOT OFFERING INCENTIVES, THEN YOU WOULDN'T, WE COULD ALSO RECOMMEND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY INCREASE THE INCENTIVES.
ARE WE ALLOWED TO DO THAT? THAT WAY YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRING SOMEBODY TO DO SOMETHING, BUT WE COULD AT LEAST, I'M, I'M WILLING TO, TO GO WITH WHAT JENNIFER SAID.
SO THE POINT IS THAT THIS, UM, THAT PARAGRAPH WOULD SAY, REQUIRE NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENTS.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S SOLAR POWERED INCENTIVES FOR SINGLE AND MULTI FIRED MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGS FUNDED BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
WHAT ABOUT NEW CONSTRUCTION INITIATED BY DEVELOPERS AS OPPOSED TO INDIVIDUAL FAMILIES? WELL, IT SAYS NEW CONSTRUCTION, SO THAT'S DEVELOPERS OR WHOEVER.
I, I GUESS, OKAY, LET ME BACK UP A LITTLE BIT HERE.
SO, SO REALLY QUICK, THE OVERARCHING GOAL.
UM, SO JUST ON THE PROCESS REALLY QUICK, RIGHT? SO, UM, SO, SO IT'S BEEN REREAD, UM, AND I THINK WE UNDERSTAND THE OVERARCHING GOAL.
SO I THINK WE NEED, IF WE GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON, ON IT AS FAR AS THE REREADING OF IT AND HOW IT'S REWRITTEN.
AND THIS IS, I BELIEVE SO, AND THIS IS ADDED TO SULLIVAN'S, RIGHT? SO THIS IS AN AMENDMENT OKAY.
AND WE COULD SAY, IF NO ONE OBJECTS, THEN UH, THAT WORDING IS CHANGED.
DOES ANYONE OBJECT TO THE WORDING THAT, UH, SECRETARY BRISTOL PROVIDED FOR THAT, UH, ITEM? WOULD YOU MIND READING IT ONE MORE TIME? YEAH, SURE.
REQUIRE NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENTS.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S SOLAR POWER INCENTIVES FOR SINGLE OR MULTI-FAMILY DWELLINGS FUNDED BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
IS EVERYONE OKAY WITH THAT? OKAY.
UM, OKAY, SO THIS NEXT ONE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU HAD IT ON THERE LAST TIME AND, AND YOU HAVE IT ON HERE THIS TIME.
I STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF, UM, I HAVE A, A LITTLE BIT OF A HARD TIME PLACING IT WITHIN AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT.
UM, SO NEW PROHIBIT NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE HOME AMENDMENTS FROM BEING USED AS BED AND BREAKFASTS OR SHORT-TERM RENTAL RENTALS AS CURRENTLY ALLOWED UNDER SSF AND MF DESIGNATIONS.
TO ME, THAT'S MORE OF A, UM, ZONING.
LIKE, I JUST, I DON'T FEEL LIKE THIS QUITE FALLS INTO OUR, I GET IT.
I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT OF IT.
I'M JUST NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE IT FALLS UNDER OUR PURVIEW.
[02:20:01]
AT WITH THAT ONE.YEAH, I THINK THAT UNDER ONE OF THE TOP, WHEREAS IS, IS TO PREVENT URBAN SPRAWL.
THAT IS THE REASONING BEHIND THIS ONE.
IF YOU'RE GONNA USE IT AS A BED AND BREAKFAST, THAT'S NOT MEETING THE OBJECTIVE OF PREVENTING URBAN SPRAWL.
UM, I DO SUPPORT BANNING STR AND AIRBNBS, OR BEING WHATEVER WE WANNA CALL THEM, YOU KNOW, IT'S 2023.
UM, HOWEVER, UM, I DO THINK IT'S PRETTY MUCH BEEN SHOWN TO BE UNENFORCEABLE BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO, AGAIN, WHILE I DO SUPPORT IT, UM, I JUST THINK THERE'S, IT'S GONNA BE IMPOSSIBLE TO BE ENFORCED UNLESS WE TAKE PITCHFORKS AND TORCHES TO THE CAPITOL, WHICH I'M TOTALLY IN FAVOR OF.
WELL, HERE'S MY, MY THOUGHT ON THIS IS THAT IF WE'RE PREVENTING URBAN SPRAWL, AND THE GOAL IS TO HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CONSTRUCTING STUFF, AND THEN HAVING SHORT-TERM RENTALS IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE, THOSE ARE CONTRADICTORY GOALS.
SO WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THESE ADDED UNITS ARE AVAILABLE FOR LONG-TERM RENTALS TO PEOPLE ON AN AFFORDABLE BASIS.
STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT WHEN YOU HAVE SHORT-TERM RENTALS IN A ZIP CODE, RENTAL RATES AS WELL AS PURCHASE PRICE OF HOUSING GOES UP.
SHOW ME HOW, HOW, SHOW ME HOW IT FALLS IN THE ENVIRONMENT.
BECAUSE WE'RE PREVENTING URBAN SPRAWL NOW.
THIS IS, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, PART, PART OF THE DEAL.
IF WE'RE PREVENTING URBAN SPRAWL, WE'RE DOING, YOU KNOW, AND WE'RE PROVIDING, YOU KNOW, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THIS IS PART OF THE WHOLE THING.
AND TO, UH, COMMISSIONER KORESH'S POINT, YES, I UNDERSTAND IT'S DIFFICULT TO ENFORCE, BUT IT'S NOT OUR JOB TO ENFORCE THE RULES.
IT'S OUR JOB TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL TO DO IT.
AND IT'S THEIR JOB TO ENFOR, YOU KNOW, TO DISPATCH CITY STAFF OR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OR WHOEVER'S IN CHARGE OF DOING THIS, UH, TO ENFORCE IT.
IT'S NOT OUR JOB TO, YOU KNOW, TO, TO ENFORCE IT.
UM, I'M JUST LIKE, HEY, IF WE'RE BANNING, UH, AIRBNBS AND STRS, CAN WE BAN LIKE THE LITTLE, UH, PARTY PACK BIKE PEOPLE THAT GO DOWN TOO? 'CAUSE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE NECESSARILY CONTRIBUTING TO URBAN SPRAWL, BUT I HAVE A EQUALLY, UH, INTENSE HATRED FOR THEM TOO.
YEAH, I, UM, I HEAR ALL Y'ALL, AND, AND, AND I, I TOTALLY WANNA SAY THAT I A HUNDRED PERCENT SUPPORT THE, THE WORK OF THE WORKING GROUP.
AND I KNOW Y'ALL PUT A LOT OF, A LOT OF TIME IN THIS ONE, THAT, THIS ONE, LIKE I SAID, I HAD A LITTLE BIT OF HARD TIME WITH IT LAST TIME.
I'VE STILL GOT A LITTLE BIT OF HARD TIME BECAUSE AGAIN, WE'RE DICTATING WHAT A HOMEOWNER CAN AND CAN'T DO WITH THEIR PROPERTY.
UM, AND I, AND I WANNA GO BACK TO THE STATEMENT, UM, THAT'S BEEN MADE A COUPLE TIMES, WHICH IS THE GOAL OF HOME IS NOT TO INCREASE AFFORDABILITY FOR LOWER INCOME.
IT HAS BEEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN, SAID THIS IS TO SUPPORT MIDDLE INCOME FAMILIES, TO KEEP THE MIDDLE INCOME FAMILIES IN THEIR HOMES AND ALLOW THEM FLEXIBILITY WITH WHAT THEY DO WITH THEIR HOME AND THEIR PROPERTY.
SO IF THAT IS THE GOAL RIGHT, OF HOME, THEN ONE OF THOSE ABILITIES, AND AGAIN, I'M, I'M NOT ADVOCATING FOR THESE THINGS.
I'M JUST FOLLOWING THE LOGIC OUT OF, UM, OF HOW DO MIDDLE CLASS MONETIZE? CAN THEY MONETIZE THAT, UM, PROPERTY IN A WAY THAT HELPS 'EM STAY ON THAT PROPERTY? SO THAT'S THAT LOGIC FOLLOWING OUT.
UM, BUT THEN THE, THE BIGGER QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THIS REALLY AND TRULY IMPACT THE ENVIRONMENT? I'M WILLING TO KEEP IT IN THERE.
I JUST, IT JUST DOESN'T QUITE SIT WELL WITH ME, UM, ON DICTATING EXACTLY WHAT, WHAT THE HOMEOWNERS CAN DO WITH THEIR PROPERTIES ONCE THEY'VE MADE THIS INVESTMENT.
SO ARE YOU GONNA KEEP IT IN THERE, SECRETARY BRISTOL? OR YOU WANT US TO VOTE ON TAKING IT OUT? I'D LIKE TO TAKE IT OUT, BUT, UM, IF Y'ALL, IF Y'ALL DON'T, I'M NOT GONNA DIE ON THE HILL.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND FOR REMOVING IT?
[02:25:04]
GREAT.WE'LL MOVE, WE'LL LEAVE IT, WE'LL MOVE ON.
BECAUSE THIS OTHER ONE, I AM WILLING TO DIE ON THE HILL ON
YEAH, IT, IT'S PART OF THE 2020 CLIMATE PROJECTION PLAN.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS FALLS INTO THE HOME REQUIREMENT.
LIKE, I JUST DON'T SEE, LIKE, THAT ONE JUST KIND OF STANDS OUT AT ME AS LIKE, WELL, LET'S JUST THROW THIS ONE IN ON THE END HERE.
LIKE, YES, I WOULD LOVE TO, BUT I DON'T SEE, I DON'T SEE IT HAVING A PLACE HERE, YOU KNOW, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, AND I A HUNDRED PERCENT UNDERSTAND THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU THINK, I THINK YOU TOOK IT OUT IN THE LAST VERSION YOU SENT ME, AND NO, I DIDN'T.
UH, YOU JUST DIDN'T READ TO THE BOTTOM.
AND THE REASON I LEFT THAT IN THERE IS I WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN PUT IT IN THERE IF I HADN'T READ TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LINK THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN PUT IN THERE, UH, AT, AT THE TOP.
AND THE LINK THAT HE PUT INTO THAT, UH, UC, BERKELEY STUDY, SHOWED ALONG WITH OTHER THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO TO DO CLIMATE MITIGATION, INCLUDING INFILL 'CAUSE THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THIS IS.
IT LISTED THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IT LISTED THAT GOT REAL PAYBACK WAS INFILL.
AND THAT WAS KIND OF THE ARGUMENT THERE.
BUT IT LISTED A LARGE NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS THAT PROVIDED AS MUCH, IF NOT MORE IMPACT ON THAT.
OKAY? SO IF YOU CONVERT FROM, FROM SOME OTHER FORM OF ENERGY TO SOLAR POWER, YOU GOT AS MUCH PAYBACK FROM THAT AS YOU DID FROM INFILL.
SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS AS A TOTAL THING OF, AND, AND ONE OF THE ARGUMENTS COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN MADE WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE SAVING ENERGY THROUGH INSTALLATION AND ALL THAT, AND THAT'S GOOD.
SO IF WE'RE GONNA BE GOOD, LET'S BE BETTER.
SO LET'S BE BETTER BY PUTTING ON SOLAR POWER.
ANOTHER THING IS, IS SET, LET'S GET RID OF COAL PLANTS.
OKAY? SO IF WE'RE GONNA BE REALLY GOOD, AND BY THE WAY, THIS AUSTIN ENERGY SAID BY 2022, WE'RE GONNA GET RID OF THE FAYETTE POWER PLANT IN ORDER TO MEET THEIR CLIMATE GOALS.
OKAY? NOW LET'S JUST KIND OF KICK 'EM IN THE PANTS AND GET 'EM GOING IN THAT DIRECTION.
SO WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING THAT THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY COMMITTED THEMSELVES TO DOING IN WRITING IN THE PAST, THAT COUNCIL HASN'T DONE IN WRITING IN THE PAST.
SO WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING DIFFERENT THAN THE CITY HASN'T ALREADY SUPPORTED IN THE PAST.
AND OH, BY THE WAY, IT SUPPORTS THE HOME AMENDMENT BECAUSE IT SAVES ENERGY, IT MAKES THE ENVIRONMENT BETTER AND ALL THAT.
SO WE'RE NOT MAKING THIS UP OUT OF WHOLE CLOTH.
IT'S CITY POLICY, IT'S AUSTIN ENERGY POLICY.
THERE ARE DOCUMENTS YOU CAN FIND ON THE INTERNET THAT SUPPORT ALL THIS FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS.
I DIDN'T MAKE THIS UP, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S, IT'S REINFORCING EXISTING CITY POLICY.
SO, UM, ONE, ONE IDEA WOULD BE JUST TO HAVE A SEPARATE, UM, AGENDA ITEM IN JANUARY THAT HAS THIS ON IT.
UM, OR IF I CAN CHIME IN FOR A SECOND.
FIRST OF ALL, I LOVE KICKING CITY PEOPLE IN THE PANTS.
WHENEVER I GET A CHANCE, PRESIDENT COMPANY EXCLUDED, OF COURSE.
UM, ONE THING THAT WE CAN POSSIBLY DO IS SORT OF COMBINE THE STATEMENT ABOUT THE FATE POWER PLANT WITH LIKE THE, THE STATEMENT RECOMMENDING THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, WE USE SOLAR POWER FOR THESE ADUS OR ADDITIONAL UNITS.
UM, BECAUSE THAT WAY I THINK MAYBE YOU CAN TIE IT A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO BE LIKE, IF WE DO THIS RIGHT AND HAVE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION, YOU KNOW, UH, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF AUSTIN ENERGY INCENTIVES THAT WILL HELP THE CITY BE ABLE TO DIVEST FROM THE AUSTIN FAY OR THE FAYETTE COAL POWER PLANT BY WHATEVER THE NUMBERS SAY.
UM, SO THAT'S A, A RECOMMENDATION OR IT'S JUST A THOUGHT THAT MAYBE WE CAN DO IT AND POSSIBLY
[02:30:01]
SATISFY BOTH VIEWPOINTS ON THIS.BUT I'M JUST A CRAZY GUY YELLING INTO A MIC.
AND ONE MORE POINT I'D LIKE TO MAKE, BEFORE COMMISSIONER BRISTOL SAID THE CITY HAD AN OFFER TO HAVE THE COAL PLANT BOUGHT IN 2014.
SO IT WASN'T LIKE WE COULDN'T HAVE ALREADY GOTTEN RID OF THIS.
WHOEVER THE MAYOR AT THE TIME DECIDED THAT WASN'T A GOOD IDEA.
UM, I, I ACTUALLY REALLY LIKE COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN'S IDEA OF THAT WE, THAT WE TAKE, IF WE TAKE THIS OUT OF HERE AND WE PACKAGE THIS BACK UP IN A, IN A DIFFERENT STATEMENT OF HERE IS SPECIFICALLY HOW THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SUPPORTS AND, UM, THE CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN, AND HERE'S SOME OF OUR TOP FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE HAVE DONE, OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
LIKE, TO ME, THAT'S A BETTER FIT FOR THIS.
UM, EVERYTHING YOU'VE SAID IS TRUE.
EVERYTHING YOU'VE SAID IS TRUE.
AND I BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD GET RID OF COAL.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, I'M HARDCORE BELIEVER IN THAT IT JUST FOR SOME REASON DOES NOT SEEM LIKE IT FITS IN HERE.
BUT THAT'S JUST, THAT'S JUST ME.
UM, SO I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS WE NEED TO HAVE A SECOND, OR ELSE WE DROP IT.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND DROPPING? I'M, I'M SORRY, WHAT? DID HE JUST ASK FOR A SECOND ON THE SECOND WAS TO REMOVE IT.
TO REMOVE IT, AND THERE'S NO SECOND.
SO THEN IT STAYS, SEE HOW FAST I GO? I HAVE ONE MORE, WAS KIND OF VAGUE.
I, I WASN'T, IT WASN'T CLEAR TO ME WHAT WAS GOING ON.
SO, UM, THERE WAS, THERE WAS, UM, TWO, UM, ADDITIONS, AND I THINK THIS FALLS IN LINE WITH WHAT, UM, WAS ONE OF THE THI TWO OF THE THINGS THAT WERE SAID HERE TONIGHT, UM, REQUIRE THE CITY TO INCREASE AND IMPROVE PARKLAND AND SAFE MULTIPLE USE MOBILITY TRAILS FROM NEIGHBORHOODS TO PARKS.
WHERE WAS THIS? THIS WAS AN ADDITION.
THAT'S WHAT YOU HAD, THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING.
BECAUSE OF INCREASED POPULATION DENSITY.
RIGHT? BUT NOW THROUGH BRACKETING, WHICH IS ONE METHOD OF, UH, SCREWING CITIES.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO RELY ON GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS OR SOME OTHER MEANS FOR PARKS.
SO DO WE HAVE A SECOND ON THAT? SECOND, WOULD YOU, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? WOULD YOU MIND REREADING THAT FOR THE RECORD, JUST BRIEFLY? YOU BET.
REQUIRE THE CITY TO INCREASE AND IMPROVE PARKLAND AND SAFE MULTI-USE MOBILITY TRAILS, UM, FROM NEIGHBORHOODS TO PARKS.
SO WE DID, UM, SAY EARLIER IN THE RESOLUTION COUNCIL SHALL REQUIRE ALL RELEVANT DEPARTMENTS TO ASSESS THE IMPACTS OF ADDITIONAL UNITS IN SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS AND RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO SCHOOLS, PARKS, MASS TRANSIT, ET CETERA.
SO THIS WOULD BE SPECIFICALLY TO INCREASE, INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF PARKS.
I DO LIKE HAVING TRAILS IN THERE TOO, SO I'M SUPPORTIVE.
ARE YOU SAYING ADD THAT? YES, I'M ADDING THIS.
I WAS TRYING TO FIND IT IN HERE.
SO I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU WERE.
ANY OBJECTIONS TO ADDING THAT? UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
SHEERA RESI, KRUGER BEDFORD, BRISTOL SULLIVAN, BRIMER.
ALL RIGHT, LAST ONE I PROMISE.
REQUIRE THE CITY TO BALANCE TREE CANOPY AND, AND GREEN, UM, SPACES SO THAT HOME DOES NOT FURTHER REDUCE TREE CANOPY.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION COMMISSIONERS? YEAH, I'LL JUST MENTION THAT PART OF, PART OF MY WISH IS THAT IF WE GET MORE HOUSING WITHIN THE CITY, WE WILL SAVE TREE CANOPY AROUND THE CITY.
AROUND THE, I I LOVE WHERE YOUR HEAD'S AT AROUND THE CITY DOESN'T HELP THE HEAT ISLAND IMPACT WITHIN THE CITY.
SO, WELL, AGAIN, THE HEAT THAT WE SAW THIS PAST SUMMER WAS BECAUSE OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE.
I FULLY AGREE, BUT I ALSO AGREE WITH MR. EUBANKS COMMENTS.
SO THAT IS OUR GLOBAL CONCERN, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE TO CONTINUE TO ACT LOCALLY.
AND I'LL REMIND YOU TOO, THAT PART OF THIS
[02:35:01]
RESOLUTION I DID INCLUDE A DATA ANALYSIS OF THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS PER ZIP CODE.JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY, DOES IT SAY WHAT THE MOST, UH, WHAT THE, THE WORST OFFEND, OFFENDING ZIP CODES ARE? UM, YEAH, I, NOT IN THE GRAPH, BUT I COULD SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
SUPER CURIOUS IF YOU COULD FOLLOW UP WITH THAT.
THAT WAY WE CAN JUST SHAME WHOEVER THESE PEOPLE ARE.
AND ONE, ONE ZIP CODE IS LEFT OFF OF THIS GRAPH BECAUSE IT'S THE BEST BY FAR WEST CAMPUS.
THE WEST CAMPUS IS THE DENSEST ZIP CODE AND THE LOWEST GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS PER HOUSEHOLD.
THAT'S BECAUSE THEY OWN VENTURE OUTSIDE UT FOR GOOD REASON.
WELL, I'D LIKE, I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT, UH, WEST CAMPUS, UH, HAS A LOWER CO2 EMISSION RATE THAN, UH, UC, BERKELEY DOES.
WELL, I JUST THOUGHT I, I LOOKED IT UP JUST BECAUSE I DID JUST A QUICK POINT OF ORDER.
UH, THERE'S A MOTION THAT HAS BEEN SECONDED.
SO IF THERE'S ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, Y'ALL SHOULD PROBABLY GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON THAT ONE.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON IT.
WHAT ARE WE VOTING ON? ADDING HER, ADDING THE LAST, UH, ELEMENT? YES.
CAN YOU READ IT? CAN YOU READ IT ONE MORE TIME? YOU BET.
REQUIRE THE CITY TO BALANCE TREE CANOPY AND GREEN, UH, GREEN SPACE SO THAT HOME DOES NOT, FOR, DOES NOT FURTHER REDUCE TREE CANOPY.
I GUESS THERE'S ALREADY BEEN A SECOND.
I'M WONDERING, I'M WONDERING IF WE SHOULD SAY WITHIN, I DON'T KNOW, THE CITY LIMITS OR THE ETJ OR, OR SOMETHING TO COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN'S POINT ABOUT? NO, IT'S, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD OR ZIP CODE, TREE CANOPY OVERALL, LEAVING IT VAGUE.
AGAIN, WE'RE SE WE'RE SENDING A, A SIGNAL.
THE DETAILS ARE MUCH, THERE ARE MANY MORE DETAILS THAT WILL HAVE TO BE FLESHED OUT AFTER THIS.
WELL, I GUESS LIKE IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION BY THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, WE GET ADDED TO IT.
YEAH, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE, ARE YOU OBJECTING TO IT? NO, I'M SAYING IT'S FINE.
SO IF ARE THE, IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO ADDING, UM, COMMISSIONER KRUGER'S LANGUAGE? WELL, I DON'T KNOW.
OH, I'M NOT PUTTING FORWARD SPECIFIC LANGUAGE.
I'M MORE PUTTING FORWARD THE QUESTION.
DO WE WANT TO DEFINE IT MORE SPECIFICALLY? AND AT LEAST I'M HEARING FROM COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN THAT HE DOESN'T THINK WE NEED TO AND I'M JUST OFFERING IT UP NO.
SO WE'RE JUST GONNA LEAVE IT VAGUE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS.
SHERA, RESI, KRUEGER BEDFORD, BRISTOL SULLIVAN, BRIMER.
SO WE'RE BACK TO THE MAIN MOTION WITH ONE AMENDMENT WITHIN, UM, THE ITEM ABOUT THE, UM, UH, US AND ENERGY, UH, PREWIRING.
AND THEN TWO, TWO ADDITIONS TO, UM, THE LIST OF, UH, THEREFORE'S ELEMENTS.
THERE, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I RECEIVED EMAILS ABOUT THAT I'D LIKE TO GET IN FRONT OF EVERYONE AND FOR CONSIDERATION.
UH, ARE THESE, UM, YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA MAKE ADDITIONAL MOTIONS? YES, MA'AM.
UH, ONE OF 'EM IS, UH, THAT, UH, IF I CAN, FIRST I'VE GOTTA READ MY WRITING, WHICH MAY BE LIMIT MY ABILITY TO CHANGE THINGS.
UH, ALLOW THAT, UH, ALLOW COUNSEL TO, OR, UH, RECOMMEND THAT COUNSEL BE ALLOWED TO OR RECOMMENDED COUNSEL CHANGE ZONING IN COMMERCIAL AREAS TO ALLOW MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING TO BE CONSTRUCTED.
CAN YOU REPEAT THAT ONE MORE TIME? YEAH.
AND, AND IT MAY TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF WORDS OF EXPLANATION HERE IN ORDER TO MAKE IT CLEAR SO YOU CAN WRITE SOMETHING MEANINGFUL DOWN.
LET ME, I GUESS, LET ME EXPLAIN IT.
THE IDEA IS IF YOU HAVE, SAY A STRIP SHOPPING CENTER OR SOME SORT OF UNDERUTILIZED
[02:40:02]
COMMERCIAL AREA, THAT THAT AREA BE ALLOWED TO BE REZONED IN A MANNER THAT ALLOWS MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING TO BE CONSTRUCTED.CAN I ASK A QUESTION? CLARIFICATION? YEAH.
UM, I FEEL LIKE IT'S PRETTY SIMILAR TO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AT, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, NOWADAYS IT'S ALL JUST LIKE A BOG IN MY BRAIN.
UM, I FEEL LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR AND NOW IT'S LIKE BEING PLAYED OUT IN THE COURTS BECAUSE SOMEBODY SUED TO STOP IT.
I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS TO HEAR OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINIONS OF THIS.
IT IS SIMILAR TO SOMETHING WE DISCUSSED MAYBE 9, 10, 12 MONTHS AGO.
AND YES, THIS GOT SHOT DOWN, BUT I THINK THIS IS, WELL TECHNICALLY IT DIDN'T GET SHOT DOWN.
IT'S JUST PLAYING OUT IN COURTS 'CAUSE PEOPLE ARE ANGRY.
WELL, BUT SEMANTIC SEMANTICS, I THINK THIS IS MORE OF A THING WHERE THERE'S A FUNDAMENTAL PROCESS RATHER THAN MAKING A BLANKET THING IS THAT WE RECOMMEND COUNSEL ENCOURAGE REZONING ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS IF, IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE DISTINCTION.
THE OTHER THING WAS MORE OF A, A BLANKET JUST DO IT TYPE OF THING.
WHEREAS THIS IS A THING WHERE, AND I THINK THAT WAS ALSO FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION I THINK, WHEREAS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE REDEVELOPMENT SORT OF.
SO THE IDEA IS WE OPEN UP AREAS THAT WEREN'T AVAILABLE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING IN THE PAST, BUT NOW WE MAKE IT MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING AND IT'S ALONG A COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR RIGHT NOW.
SAY LAMAR JUST TO PULL SOMETHING.
YEAH, I WILL SAY AFTER TALKING ABOUT THIS, UM, I LIVE IN WINDSOR PARK AND UH, IT WAS, UH, SOMEWHAT CONTROVERSIAL BECAUSE SORT OF THE CENTRAL, UM, SORT OF SHOPPING BUSINESS AREA.
IT WAS CALLED WINDSOR VILLAGE AND, UH, TRANSWESTERN, I HATE Y'ALL TRANSWESTERN.
UM, THEY BASICALLY, WE, WHAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD WANTED WAS LIKE GROUND RETAIL WITH LIKE, YOU KNOW, MIXED USE, YOU KNOW, MULTI-FAMILY, MULTI-STORY.
UM, WHAT WE ACTUALLY GOT WAS, UM, SORT OF SIX WORK LIVE UNITS.
UH, THEY KNOCKED THE WHOLE SHOPPING CENTER DOWN.
IT'S BEING REDEVELOPED INTO AN APARTMENT COMPLEX.
THEY SPLIT THE LOTS UP SO THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT, UH, VARIOUS STUFF I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO RIGHT NOW.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO THERE IS SORT OF SOME DANGER NOW THAT I'M SORT OF THINKING ABOUT THIS IN WHEN YOU SORT OF GIVE THESE BLANKET REDEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT NEIGHBORHOODS WILL LOSE, UH, COMMERCIAL SPACE TO BE SOLELY REPLACED BY, UH, RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.
WHICH CERTAINLY I'M NOT OPPOSED TO, BUT I THINK IF WE'RE GONNA DO THAT, UM, HAVING SORT OF GUARDRAILS TO, UH, MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY, INSURE MIGHT NOT BE THE RIGHT WORD, BUT TO AT LEAST ENCOURAGE THAT THERE IS SORT OF RETAIL AND COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES TO PEOPLE IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS SO THAT THEY DON'T NECESSARILY GET PRICED OUT BY SORT OF JUST APARTMENTS.
YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? RIGHT.
AND I'M OKAY WITH THAT AND I'LL DEFER TO OUR, UH, EXCELLENT.
IT'S JUST THIS CASE IS NOW ARY TO PHRASE THAT IN A, IN AN APPROPRIATE MANNER.
BUT I DO, UH, SUPPORT YOU FOR SURE.
IT'S JUST THIS CASE IS BURNED TO MY BRAIN 'CAUSE IT'S IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT I FEEL LIKE IS RELEVANT.
ASSUMING THIS MEETS WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, I'LL DEFER TO COMMISSIONER BRISTOL TO DRAFT SOMETHING SUITABLY I GUESS POETIC.
I GUESS I'M KIND OF LIKE A, A LITTLE BIT HESITANT WITH IT BASED OFF SOME POINTS THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER QURESHI HAD MENTIONED ABOUT IT, LIKE REMOVING ACCESS TO, WELL, 'CAUSE I THINK OF LIKE, IF IT'S A OLD, UM, LIKE STRIP MALL, LIKE IT COULD BE REPURPOSED TO HAVE LIKE STORES OR COMMERCIAL USAGE THAT LIKE THE COMMUNITY MAY NEED LIKE MAYBE A NEW GROCERY STORE OR SOMETHING.
AND LIKE IF YOU LIKE, REPLACE THAT WITH HOUSING, GREAT.
YOU HAVE NEW, NEW NEIGHBORS, BUT THEN THEY LIKE, YOU HAVE TO DRIVE LIKE X AMOUNT MILES AWAY TO GET SOME FOOD.
SO I'M KIND OF LIKE, LET ME ASK COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN THIS, BECAUSE THIS IS AN AREA OF EXPERTISE THAT HE HAS.
DON'T LOOK LIKE THAT
RIGHT? SO FOR EXAMPLE, YOU'RE RIGHT, RIGHT? YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
SAY YOU COULD SAY ALLOW, REQUIRE OR RECOMMEND CITY COUNCIL CHANGE ZONING TO MIXED USE ON COMMERCIAL AREAS SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE FIRST FLOOR RETAIL AND APARTMENTS UPSTAIRS AGAIN.
RIGHT NOW THAT'S AN APPLICATION WHERE YOU HAVE TO GET AN MU ADDITION TO THE ZONING.
AND WHO MADE THAT MORE COMMON THAN IN OUR PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD? I BELIEVE, I MIGHT BE WRONG 'CAUSE I'M JUST GOING OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I THINK IT WAS ZONED VMU AND THE WAY THAT
[02:45:01]
THEY GOT AROUND IT WAS BY HAVING WORK LIVE UNITS.WHICH THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS YOU CAN REALLY JUST HAVE LIKE HOME OFFICES IN THERE OR WHAT ESSENTIALLY ARE HOME OFFICES.
RIGHT? SO AGAIN, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THIS IS JUST, YOU KNOW, HAVING SORT OF SEEN CASES WHERE THERE ARE SORT OF LOOPHOLES THAT CAN BE USED TO JUST TURN COMMERCIAL CENTERS INTO APARTMENTS, WHICH ARE GOOD, WHICH IS GOOD FOR HOUSING.
HOWEVER, THE NEIGHBORHOOD DOES LOSE OUT ON SORT OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AND, UH, RESOURCES THAT ACTUALLY ARE POSITIVE FROM COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES.
AND SO TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BALANCE THOSE TWO I THINK IS IMPORTANT.
BUT AGAIN, IF IT'S, IF IT'S, IF YOU ZONE IT GR RMU OR CSMU THAT ALLOWS COMMERCIAL ON THE FIRST FLOOR AND APARTMENTS UPSTAIRS, SEE THEY SHOULD HAVE TALKED TO MIKE, GUY DAVE.
MAN, IT DOESN'T ALLOW, IT DOES NOT ALLOW ONLY APARTMENTS.
I GUESS I'M, I'M KIND OF CURIOUS.
CAN PEOPLE LIVE ON TOP OF GROCERY STORES? YES.
SO IS THAT OKAY TO SAY, UM, RECOMMEND CITY COUNCIL CHANGE ZONING TO MIXED USE TO ALLOW MORE HOUSING ALONG CORRIDORS? YES.
AND ON, I I THINK YOU WERE SAYING ON CORRIDORS ON COMMERCIAL THAT ARE CURRENTLY COMMERCIAL YES.
UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF VOTING ON IT OR IF THERE'S ANY MORE DISCUSSION ON IT FIRST? OH YEAH.
DO WE HAVE ANY OBJECT OBJECTIONS? OKAY.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS.
SHIRA, QURESHI, KRUEGER, BEDFORD, BRISTOL, SULLIVAN, AND BRIER.
MY LAST ONE, UH, IS THAT I WOULD LIKE US, UH, INSERT AN ITEM SAYING THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SUPPORTS THE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION.
WELL, THE, THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS THAT THEIR PRINCIPAL RECOMMENDATION WAS TO POSTPONE HOME.
I, LIKE I SAID, I RECEIVED SOME EMAILS THAT RIGHT.
REQUESTED THAT I BRING THIS UP BEFORE THE COMMISSION AND SO I AM OKAY.
AND I WOULD NOT OBJECT ON A PERSONAL BASIS THAT THIS WERE IN INCLUDED, BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT HAS SOME VALID POINTS IN IT AND I'M BRINGING IT FORTH TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE COMMISSION AS A WHOLE.
IS THERE A SECOND? BUT I, BUT I WILL MENTION THAT SOME OF THE ELEMENTS FROM THE, UH, 'CAUSE I DID WATCH THE MEETING, UM, THE REPLAY OF THE MEETING FROM THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION AND SOME OF THE ELEMENTS THAT THEY TALKED ABOUT ARE IN HERE, SO RIGHT.
I JUST, I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE I OKAY.
YOU KNOW, ADDRESS ALL THE FEEDBACK THAT I'VE RECEIVED IN THE EMAIL OVER THE PAST RIGHT WEEK OR SO.
WELL, THERE'S NO SECOND ON THAT ONE.
SO THAT ONE DOESN'T GET ADDED.
SO WE HAVE THE ORIGINAL MOTION WITH ONE EDIT ABOUT THE PRE-WIRING.
WE HAVE THE INCREASED PARKLAND MOTION, WE HAVE THE, UH, BALANCED, UH, TREE CANOPY MOTION.
WE HAVE THE, UM, CITY COUNCIL, UH, CONSIDERED CHANGING, UH, COMMERCIAL ZONING TO MIXED USE.
AM I MISSING ANYTHING? NO, BUT I ALSO WANTED TO HAVE, I WAS, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT ONE OF THE ITEMS, UM, I WANTED TO GET MORE CLARITY ABOUT THE, UH, THE PROHIBIT THE USE OF RECREATIONAL VEHICLES.
THEY'VE ALREADY TAKEN THAT OUT ACTUALLY.
BUT NEVERTHELESS, PARDON ME NOW, THE CO THE COUNCIL TOOK THE RECREATIONAL VEHICLES OUT OF HOME ONE, SO IT'S KIND OF A MOOT POINT.
'CAUSE WHAT CITY STAFF SAID WAS I, UNDER CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES, IT COULDN'T BE DONE FOR A BUNCH OF ADMINISTRATIVE REASONS, WHICH WAS OKAY.
BUT I WANTED TO INCLUDE IT AS A SPECIFIC ITEM TO MAKE IT SPECIFIC, NOT SOMETHING THAT COULD BE ALL.
WELL, WE FIXED THE ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUE.
I GUESS I HONESTLY, I THINK THAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUE, AND I'M JUST TO, AND STAFF MIGHT KNOW THIS BETTER, BUT, UM, THERE ARE SOME STATE REGULATIONS AROUND THAT THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO CHANGE THAT WITHIN THE CITY.
[02:50:05]
UM, I DON'T BELIEVE WE ARE, UM, ABLE TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.SO ANYWAY, UM, AGAIN, IT IT'S KIND OF A MOOT, I, I CONSIDER IT A MOOT POINT, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO, ESPECIALLY WE LIKE REMOVE IT.
I'M NOT GONNA OBJECT TO WHAT MY COLLEAGUES WANT TO HAVE IN.
I GUESS I'M KIND OF WONDERING 'CAUSE WHAT'S THE DEFINITION OF OF A REC RECREATIONAL VEHICLE? ARE YOU SAYING LIKE A MOBILE HOME, LIKE A RV? YEAH.
AND I'M THINKING OF LIKE SOME, SOME, UM, LACK OF BETTER WORD, IT'S A TRAILER PARK.
LIKE THEY HAVE RVS AND THEY'RE LIKE PERMANENT KIND OF STATION RVS.
SO IS IT KIND OF LIKE SAYING REMOVING ANOTHER POINT OF ACCESS FOR A PERMANENT RESIDENT BY PROHIBITING LIKE AN RV FROM BEING ON A PROPERTY? SO REALLY QUICK, AND THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, UM, IS YES, RV PARKS HAVE VERY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS INCLUDING HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE WASTE WASTE.
AND SO HAVING AN RV PARKED AT YOUR HOUSE, AND YES, YOU CAN PLUG IT INTO THE WATER, YOU CAN PLUG IT INTO THE ELECTRICITY, YOU CANNOT PLUG IT INTO THE WASTEWATER.
AND THAT'S THE BIGGEST PROBLEM.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK IT IS MOOT, BUT AGAIN, I HAVE NO OBJECTION TO KEEPING IT IN THERE.
IF MAKE YOUR MOTION AND, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU'D LIKE, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S WELL AFTER THAT FEEDBACK FROM BRIS
IT HAS TO GO SOMEWHERE, RIGHT? YEAH.
UM, I HAD SOMETHING THAT I WANTED TO BRING UP.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME DISCUSSIONS AND, YOU KNOW, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY HAVE POINTED OUT SORT OF, UM, THE RISK OF INCREASING RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN ATLAS 14 FLOOD ZONES.
UM, ME PERSONALLY, YOU KNOW, I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S COOL TO, TO PUT, YOU KNOW, LIKE COMMERCIAL STUFF IN FLOOD ZONES.
BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE POTENTIAL, UH, LOSS OF LIFE, YOU KNOW, IS IT REALLY RESPONSIBLE TO HEAVILY DEVELOP RESIDENTIAL, ESPECIALLY GROUND FLOOR RESIDENTIAL IN, UH, IN FLOOD ZONES? YOU KNOW, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE APPETITE FOR WHAT WE WANNA SAY ABOUT THAT, I'LL LEAVE UP TO OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
HOWEVER, AFTER READING, UH, THE, UH, THE CDC UM, RECOMMENDATIONS, I DO LIKE THE ONE RECOMMENDATION THAT THEY HAVE OR BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT FALLS INTO, BUT THEY SAY, UH, THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION ADVISES THAT CRITERIA FOR THE HOME INITIATIVE BE DEVELOPED THAT REQUIRES AFFORDABILITY, PREVENTION OF DEMOLITIONS AND LOCALIZED FLOODING MITIGATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT WE TALK ABOUT SORT OF THE DEMOLITION STUFF, UH, WITH LIKE A, I THINK IT WAS LIKE A BONUS.
UM, BUT I DO LIKE THAT WE ASK THAT THEY CREATE A CRITERIA THAT REQUIRES AFFORDABILITY, PREVENTION, DEMOLITIONS AND LOCALIZED FLOODING MITIGATION.
SO, AND ALL THE OTHER CDC STUFF IS JUST LIKE, HEY, PLEASE HOLD OFF ON THIS.
SO I UNDERSTAND NOT WANTING TO ADD THAT IN THERE, BUT I DO THINK THAT THIS PARAGRAPH IS GOOD.
AND THEN WE SHOULD TRY ADD THAT IN THERE.
WOULD YOU READ IT OUT LOUD? YES.
DO YOU, AND REAL QUICK, UM, DO YOU THINK THAT IT'S, DO YOU THINK THAT'S DIFFERENT? YEAH, BECAUSE WE DON'T ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT FLOODING MITIGATION.
WE JUST TALK ABOUT ADVISING PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE LSS 14 FLOOD ZONE, THAT THEY DO IN FACT LIVE IN THE AREA THAT IS PRONE TO FLOODING.
BUT WE DON'T ACTUALLY TALK THIS, UM, RESOLUTION OR RECOMMENDATION OR WHATEVER THE RIGHT R WORD IS.
UM, I JUST KNOW THERE ARE WRONG R WORDS.
UM, YOU KNOW, UM, IT DOESN'T ACTUALLY MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT PREVENTION PREVENTING FLOOD MITIGATION.
AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY LIKE A REALLY IMPORTANT PIECE OF, FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT WE CAN DO HERE.
SO READ IT, READ IT OUT LOUD AGAIN.
UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UH, WE CAN EITHER CHOOSE TO SUPPORT THE CDC OR WE JUST SAY SCREW THEM.
UH, DON'T TAKE THAT PERSONALLY.
UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SUPPORTS THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IN ADVISING THE CRITERIA FOR THE HOME INITIATIVE BE DEVELOPED THAT REQUIRES AFFORDABILITY, PREVENTION OF DEMOLITIONS AND LOCALIZED FLOODING MITIGATION.
AND FEEL FREE TO PLAY AROUND WITH THE WORDING IF YOU FEEL THAT, UH, IT REQUIRES THAT AFFORDABILITY, PREVENTION OF DEMOLITIONS, DEMOLITION, AND LOCALIZED FLOODING MITIGATION.
ANY OBJECTIONS? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF VOTING.
UH, TO ADD THAT, RAISE YOUR HAND.
WE HAVE SHERA, RESI, KRUEGER, BEDFORD, BRISTOL SULLIVAN, AND BRIMER.
[02:55:02]
OKAY.SO WE'VE ADDED FOUR POINTS AND EDITED ONE THAT WAS WITHIN THE DOCUMENT.
BECAUSE YOU'RE DOING IT TOO, AND I'M DOING IT SO WE CAN CHECK.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE, COMMISSIONERS, OR ARE WE READY TO VOTE ON THE FINAL, UM, MOTION? I WANTED TO MAKE JUST A GENERAL COMMENT.
UM, FIRST I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO ALL FOR, UM, BACKING ME IN, IN THE SUGGESTION OF CREATING A WORKING GROUP AND FOR COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN FOR LEADING IT.
I THINK WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE CAN DO ON A LARGER LEVEL AS A CITY WHERE WE TOOK COMMISSIONERS AND AUDIENCE MEMBERS WHO WERE IN OPPOSITION, WHO THEN CAME TOGETHER AND CREATED SOMETHING THAT IT SEEMS LIKE WE CAN ALL GET BEHIND.
AND I THINK PART OF THE ISSUE, UM, THAT'S HAPPENING ON A CITYWIDE LEVEL IS A LACK OF EDUCATION, A LACK OF INFORMATION, A LACK OF OPPORTUNITY FOR COLLABORATION.
UM, AND I'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, WORKING HARD TO REACH OUT TO FOLKS FROM DIFFERENT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, COMMISSIONERS, COUNCIL MEMBERS, THEIR STAFF, MY NEIGHBORS, YOU KNOW, I PERSONALLY AM A RENTER WITH TWO ROOMMATES AND, YOU KNOW, NO HOPE OF OWNING MY OWN HOME ANYTIME SOON.
SO I UNDERSTAND, UH, THE AFFORDABILITY CONCERNS HERE.
HOWEVER, I THINK, UM, THIS INITIATIVE WILL HOPEFULLY ADDRESS THAT.
BUT THERE IS AN EDUCATION TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT.
SO PERSONALLY, I WOULD ADVOCATE FOR A POSTPONEMENT OF THE VOTE OF THE CITY COUNCIL VOTE IN ORDER TO DO MORE EFFECTIVE FLYERING, UM, INTERNET OUTREACH, COMMUNITY OUTREACH IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES ACCESSIBLE TO MULTIPLE PEOPLE.
UM, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, I HAD TO WORK SO HARD AS AN INDIVIDUAL, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERING THIS JUST TO GET INFORMATION.
AND SO A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE UNDERSTANDABLY, I THINK, CONCERNED ABOUT THIS BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T HAD ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION.
SO I AM GRATEFUL AND IN SUPPORT OF THIS RECOMMENDATION TONIGHT AND PERSONALLY WOULD, UM, SUPPORT A POSTPONEMENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL VOTE IN ORDER FOR THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE MORE TIME TO DEVELOP A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THIS.
WELL, IT, IT IS THE CASE, UM, COMMISSIONER THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AN ORDINANCE IS GONNA HAVE TO BE CRAFTED AROUND THIS AND THEN IT WILL COME BACK AGAIN TO THE CITY COUNCIL BEFORE IT BECOMES LAW.
TOMORROW'S VOTE BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS NOT THE END OF THIS.
AND THAT'S PART OF THE EDUCATION THAT I THINK NEEDS TO HAPPEN TOO.
I JUST WANNA CLARIFY, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IS TRUE.
THERE IS AN ORDINANCE ALREADY POSTED, UM, FOR DISCUSSION TOMORROW.
BUT THE ACTUAL, THAT'S AN ORDINANCE, BUT THEN THE ACTUAL LAND LANGUAGE IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE WON'T BE IMPLEMENTED UNTIL LATER.
THERE IS AN ORDINANCE WITH LANGUAGE THAT WOULD AMEND THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
AND IT'S FURTHER CASE IN POINT
A LOT OF PEOPLE ALSO THINK THAT THIS IS A POPULAR VOTE, WHICH THIS IS NOT, THIS IS A VOTE BY CITY COUNCIL.
SO DEFINITELY A LOT OF EDUCATION NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR SURE.
UM, I MOVE THAT WE VOTE ON THIS MOTION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? I'M VOTING ON THE VOTE.
YEAH, WE JUST VOTE ON THE MOTION.
YEAH, WE JUST, I WAS JUST JOKING.
OKAY, SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION THAT HAS BEEN AMENDED AND, UM, THAT COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN HAS PROVIDED, UH, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
SO WE HAVE COMMISSIONER SHERA, QURESHI, KRUEGER, BEDFORD, BRISTOL SULLIVAN, BRIMER.
[WORKING GROUP/COMMITTEE UPDATES ]
HAVE WORKING GROUP AND COMMITTEE UPDATES.SO ARE THERE ANY UPDATES GUYS? COMMISSIONER BRINER, URBAN FORESTRY DIDN'T MEET YESTERDAY BECAUSE OF, UH, THE, UH, CITY STAFF WAS ILL.
[03:00:01]
I DON'T THINK I CAN SAYWELL HIPAA, THE PERSONNEL BETTER.
RUMOR, RUMOR HAS IT
SO WE'RE GONNA DEFER THE NEXT MEETING UNTIL THE NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING, WHICH IS, I DUNNO, FEBRUARY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WHATEVER THE CALENDAR SAYS.
ANY OTHER, UH, UPDATES? YEAH, WE HAVE A, OH, UH, COMMISSIONER SHERA.
UM, I HAVE AN UPDATE, I GUESS WE'RE WANT TO MAKE AN UPDATE ABOUT THE NATIVE LANDSCAPING WORKING GROUP.
UM, IN THE LAST MEETING I JUST PROVIDED A, A SUMMARY OF THE FUNCTIONAL GREEN, UM, WORKING SESSION AND I DID SEND THAT SUMMARY TO COMMISSIONER FER.
I WILL SEND THAT TO EVERYONE AS WELL.
UM, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER, UM, ACTION ITEMS RIGHT NOW FOR THIS WORKING GROUP.
SO I WANT TO MAKE A MOTION TO GO AHEAD AND CLOSE IT FOR NOW.
I'LL OPEN IT BACK UP IF, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT I WANNA DO WITH THE WORKING GROUP, BUT I THINK I WANNA GO AHEAD AND CLOSE IT AT THIS TIME.
UM, IS THAT, IS THAT A MOTION OR REQUIRED OR, UH, KAYLA, I'LL LEAVE IT UP TO THE VICE CHAIR'S DISCRETION.
UM, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT THAT FORMALLY.
IF EVERYONE WHO IS ALL IN THE WORKING GROUP AGREES TO DISBAND IT, THEN IT'S FINE.
YOU CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND DISSOLVE THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, IF YOU WANNA DO IT FORMALLY AS AS A VOTE, YOU ALSO CAN DO THAT.
UM, WHAT ARE THE THOUGHTS FROM THE OTHER WORKING GROUP MEMBERS? I'D SAY JUST, UM, JUST DISBAND IT LIKE, UM, NOT FORMALLY.
SINCE CO'S MISSING TO YOU, RIGHT? NO, IT'S ACTUALLY, UM, YOU, RICK, UH, RICK AND SULLIVAN.
UH, RICK, WELL, UH, SORRY, I WAS ABOUT TO SAY RICK SULLIVAN
UH, ANY OTHER UPDATES? YEAH, WE HAVE A ONE ON THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING TOMORROW, SO I'LL REPORT BACK IN JANUARY.
WELL, IF THAT'S NO OTHER I, ANYTHING TO DISCUSS ANY FUTURE AGENDA
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ITEMS? OH, I JUST, REAL QUICK, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE THE DATE RIGHT BECAUSE I, I'VE FLOPPED IT IN MY HEAD MANY TIMES.SO TODAY IS OUR LAST MEETING FOR DECEMBER AND FOR 2023.
UM, AND BUT WHEN IS OUR FIRST MEETING IN JANUARY? THE FIRST MEETING IN JANUARY IS JANUARY 17TH.
YOU'LL HAVE A LITTLE BREAK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
AND SO I, I MAY HAVE A ITEM FOR THAT.
UM, AT OUR, OUR LAST MEETING, UM, WHERE WE HAD A VARIANCE REQUEST FOR A PROJECT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SMART HOUSING THAT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE SO IT DIDN'T HAVE TRANSIT.
I WAS ASKED TO GET SOMEBODY FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT TO TALK TO US ABOUT HOW THEY DO THAT.
AND I DID APPROACH THEM AND THEY HAVEN'T GOT BACK TO ME YET, BUT THEY PROMISED THAT THEY WOULD.
SO I'M HOPEFUL THAT IN JANUARY, UH, WE'LL EITHER HAVE A MEMO FROM THEM EXPLAINING IT OR SOMEBODY WILL APPEAR BY ZOOM OR ATTEND ONE OF OUR MEETINGS TO TALK TO US ABOUT THAT.
BECAUSE WE'RE ALL CONCERNED ABOUT THE FACT THAT IF YOU, YOU SHOULD HAVE TRANSIT, IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE LOW INCOME HOUSING SOMEPLACE SO PEOPLE CAN GET AROUND.
COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, I, I HAVE A REQUEST.
UH, CAN YOU ALSO ROPE THE JSE IN ON THAT? ABSOLUTELY.
BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE PERTINENT TO THEM AS WELL.
ANY OTHER, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? YOU DID GREAT.
WELL, THERE'S, UH, NOTHING ELSE.