[00:00:04]
UM, SO HAVING A QUORUM PRESENT
[Determination of Quorum / Meeting Called to Order]
WITHIN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS AND VIRTUALLY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL THIS MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO ORDER AT 6:10 PM IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, UM, AT CITY HALL.AND THE DATE TODAY IS THE 12TH OF MARCH, 2024.
UM, WE'LL START OFF WITH THE ROLL CALL, AND I'LL JUST ESSENTIALLY GO FROM RIGHT, LEFT, AND, UM, CONTINUE DOWN.
SO WHEN I SAY YOUR NAME, UM, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, HI.
THEN WE'LL GO ONLINE TO COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE.
COMMISSIONER BARR RAMIREZ HERE.
AND I BELIEVE THAT IS ALL THE FOLKS ONLINE, BUT I'LL GO THROUGH THE REST OF THE FOLKS AS WELL, JUST SO THAT WE HAVE IT ON, UM, RECORD.
UM, ACTUALLY, COMMISSIONER COX, HE, WE DO SEE HIM ONLINE, SO WHEN WE RETURN BACK TO HIM IN A SECOND HERE, UM, CHAIR HEMPEL, HE'S NOT PRESENT HERE TODAY.
COMMISSIONER AL, WE'LL CIRCLE BACK TO SEE COMMISSIONER COX.
UM, I WOULD ALSO, UM, I DO NOT SEE ANY FOR EX-OFFICIAL MEMBERS HERE.
UM, SO IF I'M MISSING SOMEONE, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
UM, AND IF FOLKS JOIN US, WE'LL OF COURSE, UH, GO AHEAD AND RECOGNIZE THEM.
I DO WANNA SAY THE CITY COUNCIL HAS APPROVED HYBRID MEETINGS AND LONG FOR VIRTUAL QUORUM AS LONG AS THE COMMISSIONER SERVING AS CHAIRS, PRESIDENT CHAMBERS.
AS SUCH, WE HAVE COMMISSIONERS HERE IN CHAMBERS AND IN ATTENDANCE, VIRTUALLY, SIMILARLY, SPEAKERS CAN PRESENT FROM THE CHAMBERS OR PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY.
IF YOU WISH TO WAIT IN THE ATRIUM.
THE LAND USE COMMISSION LIAISON, MR. ANDREW RIVERA, WILL MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT IN THE ATRIUM A FEW MINUTES BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION BEGINS, UH, UH, EACH PUBLIC HEARING.
FURTHERMORE, IF YOU'RE ASSIGNED UP TO SPEAK, YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL ABOUT 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE COMMISSION TAKING UP YOUR ITEM.
I WILL HAVE, UM, ASSISTANCE FROM MR. RIVERA ANNOUNCING THE SPEAKERS DURING PUBLIC HEARINGS.
AND I AM, UM, I DO WANNA REMIND THE COMMISSIONERS FOR THOSE JOINING VIRTUALLY, PLEASE HAVE YOUR GREEN, RED, AND YELLOW ITEMS FOR VOTING AND THOSE ONLINE.
PLEASE REMAIN MUTED WHEN YOU'RE NOT SPEAKING, AND RAISE YOUR HAND TO BE RECOGNIZED.
UM, AND I WILL BE HELPED BY COMMISSIONER WOODS HERE TODAY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT MISSING ANYONE.
AND IF WE DO MISS YOU, PLEASE TRY AGAIN AND VERBALLY LET US KNOW IF NEEDED.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION]
HAVE SOMEONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION TODAY.YES, WE HAVE MR. SANTIAGO PRESENT TO SPEAK DURING, UH, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
YOU SHOULD HAVE MR. SANIA, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
UH, FIRST OFF, I APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF COMPLEXITY TO THE, THE WORK YOU'RE DOING HERE.
I'M, UH, FEELING A LITTLE NERVOUS.
I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE HOW TO APPEAL OR ADVOCATE, UM, BUT I'LL SORT OF START BACK.
UH, LAST SUMMER I STARTED DIGGING INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT BY, UM, TXDOT AND, UM, ABOUT 16,000 PAGES OR SO.
UH, AND I FEEL REALLY CONCERNED, UM, ABOUT SORT OF THE STATUS OF WHAT'S BEEN MOVED THROUGH.
UM, TWO MAJOR TALKING POINTS THAT I, I WANNA SHARE TODAY.
UM, UH, WITH REGARDS TO, UH, THE BRIDGE DEMOLITION ACROSS THE COLORADO RIVER AND A OUTFALL INTO THE COLORADO RIVER, UM, BELOW LONGHORN DAM, UM, THERE'S, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, UH, OVERSIGHT, UM, AVOIDANCE WITH REGARDS TO US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS INVOLVEMENT.
UH, CITY OF AUSTIN DOESN'T REALLY SEEM TO HAVE A LOT OF GOOD TECHNICAL DATA ON WHAT'S BEING PUSHED FORWARD.
UM, THE OUTFALL STATION WAS MOVED, UH, LITERALLY A MONTH BEFORE THE EIS WAS FINALIZED, AND THE RECORD OF DECISION, UH, WAS RELEASED.
UM, WITH REGARD TO THE, AND I'LL BE SPEAKING TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UM, NEXT WEEK, UH, WITH A LITTLE MORE DETAILS ON, ON THE OUTFALL.
BUT, UH, WITH REGARD TO THE BRIDGE, UM, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THIS ORGANIZATION CALLED FESTIVAL BEACH, FOOD FOREST HERE IN AUSTIN.
I'VE GOT HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF VOLUNTEER AND KIND DONATION WORK WITH THEM.
UM, AND THEY'RE ADJACENT TO THE BRIDGE.
UM, AND THEY'RE SLATED TO BEGIN DEMOLISHING VERY, VERY SOON, INCLUDING AVOIDING, UH, A NATIONWIDE PERMIT THAT,
[00:05:01]
UM, THEY'RE, WHAT I CAN READ IS THEY'RE GOING TO BE DISTURBING AT LEAST A 10TH OF AN ACRE OF, UM, WETLAND WATER AND DREDGING AND FILLING, UH, WHICH IS NATIONWIDE, NATIONWIDE PERMIT SEVEN.ANOTHER BIG CONCERN IS SOMETHING CALLED THE SECTION SIX, UH, CONVERSION.
UM, AND THERE HAS NOT BEEN A SITE, UH, RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC.
THE PUBLIC HAS NOT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE ON THAT LAND, UM, UH, CONDEMNATION.
UM, AND ACCORDING TO PARTS THAT HAS ALSO NOT BEEN RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, SO I'M REALLY CON CONFUSED ON HOW THAT IS BEING MOVED FORWARD.
AND, UH, I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT, WHAT MECHANISMS THIS COMMISSION HAS.
UM, THE HISTORIC COMMISSION HAS WRITTEN A LETTER REGARDING A, UH, HISTORIC, UH, LANDMARK THAT'S, UH, AN ATTEMPT TO SAVE A PECAN GROVE ON THE EAST SIDE OF AUSTIN, EAST SIDE.
UM, AND YEAH, I, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT LEVEL OF INFORMED THIS DAIS HAS, UH, AND, UM, WOULD LIKE TO SEE MAYBE, UH, AN INVITATION FOR SOME MORE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND JUST, UH, BEFORE THINGS REALLY START TO UNFOLD.
MR. RED, WE DO NOT HAVE ANYBODY ELSE COMMUNICATION.
SO THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR CONSENT
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY 13TH, 2024 MEETING.UM, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY CONCERN THAT BEING ON THE CONSENT AGENDA OR WOULD SOMEBODY LIKE TO NOTE ANY REVISIONS, NOT HEARING
[Consent Items]
ANY, WE CAN MOVE ON TO OUR PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS. SO OUR FIRST ACTIVITY TODAY IS TO VOTE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA OF PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS THAT ARE CONSENT, POSTPONEMENTS OR NON-DISCUSSION ITEMS. COMMISSIONER WOODS WILL READ THE PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA, IDENT, IDENTIFY THOSE THAT ARE CONSENT POSTPONEMENT, NON-DISCUSSION AFTER FIRST READING.UM, HE AND MR. RIVERA WILL FOLLOW TO NOTIFY US IF WE HAVE SPEAKER SIGNED UP TO SPEAK FOR ANY OF THE CONSENT ITEMS REQUESTING ITEMS TO BE PULLED FOR DISCUSSION.
COMMISSIONERS WILL ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REQUEST CONSENT ITEMS WE PULLED FOR DISCUSSION.
UM, AND WE'LL GO INTO OUR FIRST READING.
ITEM NUMBER TWO IS A PLAN AMENDMENT NPA DASH 2022 DASH 0 0 2, 0 0.01 INDUSTRIAL BOULEVARD, ONTARIO LANE, DISTRICT THREE.
THIS IS UP FOR STAFF POSTPONEMENT UNTIL MARCH 26TH.
ITEM NUMBER THREE IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2022 DASH 0 0 6 2 INDUSTRIAL BOULEVARD, ONTARIO LANE, DISTRICT THREE.
THIS IS UP FOR STAFF POSTPONEMENT UNTIL MARCH 26TH.
ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2023 DASH 0 1 0 9 43 23 SOUTH CONGRESS AVENUE DISTRICT THREE.
THIS ITEM IS UP FOR STAFF POSTPONEMENT UNTIL MARCH 26TH.
ITEM FIVE IS A PLAN AMENDMENT NPA DASH 2023 DASH 0 0 1, 0 0.02 EAST SECOND STREET, 2300 BLOCK DISTRICT THREE.
THIS ITEM IS UP FOR STAFF POSTPONEMENT UNTIL APRIL 9TH.
ITEM NUMBER SIX IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2023 DASH ZERO HUNDRED 10 12 30 EAST 38 AND TWO STREET DISTRICT NINE.
THIS ITEM IS UP FOR APPLICANT INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT.
ITEM SEVEN IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2023 DASH 0 1 29 PINNACLE PLAZA, DISTRICT ONE.
THIS ITEM IS UP FOR CONSENT AS AMENDED PER EXHIBIT E APPLICANT AND NEIGHBORHOOD AGREEMENT UPON CONDITIONS WHICH ADD THE FOLLOWING PROHIBITED USES.
NUMBER ONE, BUILDING MAINTENANCE SERVICES.
NUMBER TWO, BUSINESS SUPPORT SERVICES.
NUMBER THREE, INDOOR SPORTS AND RECREATION.
AND NUMBER FOUR, OUTDOOR ENTERTAINMENT.
ITEM EIGHT IS A PUT AMENDMENT C 8 4 804 DASH 2014 DASH 0 8 3 0 1.
THIS ITEM IS UP FOR STAFF POSTPONEMENT UNTIL APRIL 9TH.
ITEM NINE IS A HISTORIC ZONING, C 14 H 2023 DASH 0 1 3 6 GREEN AND WHITE GROCERY.
ITEM 10 IS A SITE PLAN SP DASH 2022 DASH 5 3 6 C KRAMER CONDOS.
THIS ITEM IS UP FOR DISCUSSION.
ITEM 11 IS A SITE PLAN SP DASH 2022 DASH 5 9 1 C.
THIS ITEM IS UP FOR APPLICANT FOR NEIGHBORHOOD, EXCUSE ME, NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT UNTIL MARCH 26TH.
ITEM 12 IS DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS SP DASH 2023 DASH 0 4 3 7 C 5 0 6 WEST.
THIS ITEM IS UP FOR DISCUSSION.
ITEM 13 IS A RIGHT OF WAY VACATION 2020 DASH 1 9 5 4 8 LM RIGHT OF WAY, VACATION MIDDLE FISKVILLE ROAD, DISTRICT FOUR.
VACATION 2023 DASH 1 3 1 5 4 1 LM RIGHT OF WAY ALLEY VACATION 64 AND A HALF RAINY STREET DISTRICT NINE.
ITEM 15 IS A CONSENT AGREEMENT.
AMENDMENT C 12 M DASH 2023 DASH 15 SEVEN MOORE'S CROSSING CONSENT
[00:10:01]
AGREEMENT AMENDMENT DISTRICT TWO LIMITED PURPOSE.ITEM 16 IS A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT EQUITABLE TRANSIT, TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT OR EAD TYPOLOGIES.
THIS ITEM IS UP FOR DISCUSSION.
AND ITEM 17 IS AN LDC AMENDMENT C 20 DASH 2024 DASH 0 0 1 ONSITE WATER REUSE AND NO ACTION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS ITEM.
UM, DO ANY COMMISSIONERS NEED TO RECUSE THEMSELVES FROM ITEMS ON THE AGENDA? AND AS YOU PROCEED, I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER COX IS PRESENT ON THE VIRTUAL DICE AS WELL.
I RECUSE MYSELF FROM ITEM EIGHT.
I WORK AT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AND WE ARE BUILDING SOME AFFORDABLE HOMES ON THAT.
COMMISSIONER ANDERSON, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER RECUSALS, MR. RIVERA? DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK FOR ANY OF THE CONSENT ITEMS? CHAIR, COMMISSIONER, WE DO NOT.
YOU'RE WELCOME TO PROCEED WITH THE DISPOSING OF THE CONSENT AGENDA.
UH, DO ANY COMMISSIONERS WANT TO PULL ANY OF THE CONSENT ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION OR OTHERWISE HAVE QUESTIONS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA IN THAT CASE, CAN I GET A MOTION AND A SECOND TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA, INCLUDING OUR MINUTES? UH, FROM OUR LAST MEETING, I HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER WOODS, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND MOVE OUR CONSENT AGENDA, INCLUDING OUR MINUTES, UH, FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING CHAIR, COMMISSIONER LAZEN.
THAT'S ACTUALLY FROM FEBRUARY 13TH.
I'M SORRY, MR. CAN YOU REPEAT THAT? FEBRUARY 13TH.
SO THIS IS THERE MINUTES FOR OUR FEBRUARY 13TH MEETING.
CAN WE GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS? OKAY.
I DO NOT SEE ANYONE, UM, HAVING ANY CONCERNS.
THIS IS, UM, CLOSING OF THE PUBLIC HEARING, APPROVING OF THE CONSENT AND AGENDA AND APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 13TH MEETING MINUTES, UM, AS WELL AS THE 27TH AS WELL.
THIS TAKES CHAIR COMMISSIONER LEE.
UH, WAS THERE A FIRST AND SECOND TO, UM, YES.
THE FIRST WAS BY COMMISSIONER WOODS, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL AND PASSED, UH, UNANIMOUSLY.
[10. Site Plan: SP-2022-0536C - Kramer Condos]
OUR DISCUSSION, UH, POSTPONEMENT CASES.SO OUR FIRST DISCUSSION, POSTPONEMENT CASE OF THE NIGHT, UM, IS ITEM NUMBER 10, SB 2022, UH, 0 5 3 6 KRAMER CONDOS.
MR. RIVERA, CAN YOU HELP US, UM, UH, TO ESSENTIALLY WALK THROUGH THE PUBLIC HEARING CHAIR COMMISSIONER LEE AND ROSA? YES.
THIS IS ACTUALLY JUST A DISCUSSION CASE WE'LL HEAR, FIRST HEAR FROM STAFF, FOLLOWED BY THE APPLICANT, FOLLOWED BY, UM, SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION ISH THAT.
AND WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR FOLKS TO COME UP, I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT WE HAVE CHAIR COHEN, UM, OUR EX OFFICIAL PRESENT VIRTUALLY AS WELL.
VICE, VICE CHAIR AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONER.
UH, STEP STEFAN, UM, CASE MANAGER AND SITE PLAN REVIEWER FOR THIS PROJECT.
COMMISSIONER, UH, IF WE COULD, UH, UH, WAIT JUST A MINUTE.
UH, MR. RDA, IF YOU COULD, UM, UH, TURN ON YOUR CAMERA PLEASE.
UH, WE NEED, UH, TO SEE YOU WHEN YOU'RE, UH, SPEAKING ONLINE.
UH, THE CASE NUMBER IS SP 2022 DASH 0 5 3 6 C PROJECT NAMED KRAMER CONDOS.
UH, THE APPLICANT, JOSEPH MINA HOOD, UH, REPRESENTED BY UDE.
UH, THE APPLICANT IS PROPOSING TO REMOVE TWO EXISTING SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCES AND CONSTRUCT 55 MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL UNITS ON A 3.88 ACRE SITE IN THE G-O-M-U-C-O-N-P AND SF SIX MP ZONES.
UH, THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT INCLUDES A POOL.
UH, THE, THE SOUTHERLY PARCEL OF THE, OF THE TWO IS, OF THE TWO PARCELS INVOLVED, IS RELATIVELY NARROW.
AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IS PROPOSED ON THAT PORTION OF THE SITE, UH, WHICH IS SOMEWHAT RESTRICTED BY THE SF SIX NP ZONING.
THE APPLICANT PROPOSES TO USE THAT PORTION OF THE SITE FOR ACCESS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF 14 OF THE MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL CONDOMINIUM UNITS AND AN OPEN SPACE AREA WITH A POOL, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 33 FEET BY 12 FEET.
THE POOL IS WITHIN 50 FEET OF THE REAR YARD, FENCES OF TWO EXISTING SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCES TO THE EAST.
AND FENCE IS SHOWN ALONG THAT SHARED PROPERTY LINE.
THE SUBJECT SITE IS BORDERED BY SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL USES TO THE EAST AND TO THE WEST, BOTH OF WHICH TRIGGER CONSIDERATION OF COMPATIBILITY UNDER ARTICLE
[00:15:01]
10 OF THE LDC.ALL HARDSCAPE AND VERTICAL IMPROVEMENTS ARE LOCATED AT LEAST 25 FEET FROM THE EAST AND WEST PROPERTY LINES IN COMPLIANCE WITH ARTICLE 10.
HOWEVER, THE PROPOSED POOL IS LOCATED 25 FEET FROM THE EASTERLY PROPERTY LINE, BUT IS WITHIN THE 50 FOOT SETBACK FOR AN INTENSIVE RECREATIONAL USE.
AND POOLS ARE LISTED SPECIFICALLY AS AN INTENSIVE RECREATIONAL USE THAT THAT SHOULD BE, UH, 50 FEET FROM THE PROPERTY LINE.
AND LET'S WAIT BY THE COMMISSION.
UM, THE SURROUNDING USES ARE PRIMARILY SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL USES.
WE ARE, WE ARE THE PRO PROPERTY RUNS BETWEEN MCM ROAD AND KRAMER.
AND WITH THAT, STEPH HAS REVIEWED THIS AND IS RECOMMENDING APPROVAL TONIGHT.
AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THE COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS MIGHT HAVE.
CHAIR ONE, HEAR FROM THE APPLICANT, MS. GABRIELA ARCHER.
MS. ARCHER, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
I'M SPEAKING IN REPRESENTATION OF THE PROPERTY OWNER, UM, AND FOR CIVIL UDE ENGINEERING FIRM.
AND WE'RE PROPOSING TO DEVELOP THESE TWO LARGE SINGLE FAMILY LOTS INTO A MULTI-FAMILY CONDO COMMUNITY, PROVIDING HOMES FOR OVER 50 FAMILIES.
IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT EVERY COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN HAS ACCESS TO OPEN SPACES AND OUTDOOR AMENITIES AS IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF URBAN PLANNING AND CONTRIBUTES DIRECTLY TO ONE'S QUALITY OF LIFE.
THE CLOSEST PARKS NOW OUTDOOR SPACES IN THIS AREA OF AUSTIN ARE NOT EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO THESE RESIDENTS WITHOUT HAVING TO DRIVE.
UM, THESE ARE THE EXISTING CONDITIONS OF THE SITE.
WE BELIEVE A GREAT COMMUNITY SHOULD NOT HAVE TO SACRIFICE OPEN SPACE FOR MORE UNITS.
AND WE ALSO BELIEVE THIS REQUEST IS CONSISTENT WITH THE COUNCIL DIRECTED CHANGES TO COMPATIBILITY THAT IT'S GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTED CITYWIDE.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO MENTION THAT WE MET WITH SEVERAL NEIGHBORS ON SITE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROJECT AS A WHOLE.
AND THE MAJORITY OF THE NEIGHBORS WERE IN SUPPORT OF THIS DEVELOPMENT.
UM, IF THIS COMPATIBILITY WAIVER IS NOT APPROVED, THIS OUTDOOR SPACE WITHOUT A POOL WILL STILL BE PROVIDED FOR THE RESIDENTS OF THIS COMMUNITY.
WE WILL NOW HEAR FROM THE OPPOSITION.
COMMISSIONERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO HEAR US TODAY.
THIS IS MY FIVE-YEAR-OLD SON SEBASTIAN.
WE LIVE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE.
I'VE BEEN A HOMEOWNER AND RESIDENT THERE SINCE 2007.
I LIVE THERE WITH MY HUSBAND, MY SON, AND ALSO MY 3-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER.
UH, MY HUSBAND WORKS FROM HOME FULL-TIME THERE.
AND I HOMESCHOOL MY SON AND SORT OF MY DAUGHTER 'CAUSE SHE'S THREE THERE.
IT IS NOT A FACT THAT MOST OF THE, UH, HOMEOWNERS, UM, APPROVED OF THAT, THAT THAT'S NOT A FACT.
THEY DID TAKE THE TIME, UM, TO MEET WITH US.
SO, UM, I AM HERE TO REQUEST THAT THIS 25 FOOT SETBACK BE OPPOSED.
UM, THEIR OUTDOOR SPACE WOULD HAVE A KITCHEN LOUNGING AREA SPACE FOR OUTDOOR GAMES IN A POOL.
AND THEIR MAIN CLAIM FOR THIS IS THAT THE DEVELOPMENT IS OVER A MILE FROM ANY PUBLIC TRAIL PARK.
AND IN FACT, MY SON IS HERE TO TELL YOU, WHERE DO WE GO TODAY, HONEY? SO, UH, WE WENT TO A PARK ACTUALLY KIND OF, IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY A CHURCH BY THIS LABATE AND IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO GET THROUGH IT, BUT, AND IT TO THE LABYRINTH, NOT TO THE LABYRINTHS.
AND WHAT DID WE SEE THERE TODAY? SO THERE'S ALSO A GARDEN, AND WE USED TO HAVE FAMILY SHIFTS THERE.
SO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS ST.
JOHN'S PAP BAPTIST CHURCH, WHICH IS LOCATED AT 1 1 2 0 1 PARKFIELD DRIVE.
IT IS 0.4 MILES WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE, LA LESS THAN HALF A MILE.
IT ALSO HAS A VERY HUGE GREEN SPACE, UM, ABOUT THE SIZE OF A SOCCER FIELD.
UM, ALSO THEY'RE SAYING THAT THIS POOL IS ESSENTIAL.
IT IS, UM, THERE IS A POOL AT THE YMCA THAT YM C DO YOU WANNA TELL HIM? DO YOU LIKE THE POOL AT THE YMCA? AND, AND SO, SO, SO I LIKE IT BECAUSE BASICALLY IT, IT'S LIKE, LIKE KIND OF, IT CAN BE LIKE FOR SWIMMING EACH TIME YOU CAN, CAN LIKE SWIM IN IT.
IT, THERE'S A LAP POOL, THERE'S A HEATED POOL.
MY FAVORITE IS THE LAP POOL, ACTUALLY.
UH, WE GO THERE OFTEN, AS YOU CAN TELL.
[00:20:01]
IS AVAILABLE.PLUS, YOU KNOW, ANYONE WHO'S GONE TO THE Y KNOWS THEY HAVE PLENTY OF OTHER STUFF.
THERE'S ALSO JUST A COUPLE MILES AWAY IN THE CONCEPT PHASE, JAMESTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK.
UM, I DID GO TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION MEETING WHERE THEY HELD, UM, IN COMMUNITY CONCEPT MEETING.
AND THAT FIRST ONE'S STILL AVAILABLE FOR FEEDBACK FOR THESE NEW MEMBERS OF THE SONORA COMMUNITY OR KRAMER CONDOS AS THEY'RE CALLING IT HERE, UM, WHERE THEY'RE TAKING A SURVEY AND FEEDBACK.
AND THERE WILL BE TWO MORE MEETINGS ABOUT THAT ONE.
AND, UM, AS YOU KNOW, AUSTIN HAS A LOT OF OUTDOOR SPACES, A TOTAL OF 356 PARKS.
UM, FOR THE SAKE OF TIME, I WON'T LIST ALL OF THE ONES NEAR US, BUT WITHIN JUST A FEW MILES, THERE'S WOOD, NEIGHBORHOOD PARK, QUA CRE, QUA, QUAIL CREEK, PARK ISLAND, NEIGHBORHOOD PARK, GEORGETOWN ACRES PARK, RON RIGSBY PARK, WALNUT CREEK PARK, BRENTWOOD PARK, AND BALCON PARK.
UM, HE'S A FUTURE COMMISSIONER, I THINK
UM, UH, THE DEVELOPER'S ARGUMENT FOR THE SETBACK REDUCTION REVOLVES AROUND THE UNIQUE LOCK CONFIGURATION.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO PROPOSING TO PUT, UH, DENSE VEGETATION, UM, IN THE SPOT IN BETWEEN.
SO THERE'S ALREADY A WOODEN FENCE.
THIS POOL IS GOING TO HAVE A PROPANE OUTDOOR KITCHEN.
UM, I HAVE A VERY SERIOUS CONCERN ABOUT FIRE.
MY MOTHER WAS A POLICE DISPATCHER, SO I GREW UP HEARING ALL OF THE FI OF THE STORIES OF FIRE.
MY CHILDREN ARE VERY MUCH TRAINED WHAT TO DO IN A FIRE.
AND WITH 55 HOMES AND THAT CLOSE OF A SPACE AND THAT MANY COMMUNITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST AT SOME POINT SOMEBODY'S GONNA BE DRINKING, SOMEBODY'S GONNA BE SMOKING AT SOME POINT HERE.
I MEAN, EVEN IF YOU HAVE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER.
OKAY, SO LET ME WRAP IT UP HERE.
UM, THE NOISE AND VISUAL IMPACT OF THE COMMUNITY POOL, INCLUDING ACTIVITIES, GATHERINGS, AND POTENTIAL NOISE POLLUTION CANNOT BE ENTIRELY MITIGATED BY VEGETATION, ESPECIALLY WHEN JUST 25 FEET AWAY FROM OUR HOMES.
IN CONCLUSION, I URGE THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO PRIORITIZE SAFETY, WELLBEING AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY OVER THE DESIRES OF THE DEVELOPER.
I DON'T, WHAT DO THEY HAVE? 150 MILLION GOING INTO THIS, UM,
UM, I REQUEST THE DEPARTMENT TO CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE POTENTIAL RISKS OF IMPLICATIONS OF ALLOWING A 25 FOOT SETBACK FOR A COMMUNITY POOL, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUNG CHILDREN ARE INVOLVED.
LET US NOT COMPROMISE THE SAFETY AND TRANQUILITY OF OUR HOMES FOR THE SAKE OF DEVELOPMENT.
AND I'LL HEAR FROM THE APPLICANT FOR OUR THREE MINUTE REBUTTAL.
HELLO? SORRY, I DON'T HAVE MUCH MORE TO SAY.
UM, BUT AGAIN, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE OPEN SPACE TO EVERY RESIDENT WITHIN A WALKING DISTANCE.
UM, AND THIS DEVELOPMENT IS GONNA PROVIDE SEVERAL HOMES TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.
THAT, UM, COMMISSIONERS, THAT'S THE END OF OUR PUBLIC HEARING.
DO I HAVE A VOTE TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING? AND A SECOND? I HAVE A MOTION BY, UM, COMMISSIONER WOODS, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL TO CLOSE THE, UH, PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS ITEM.
IF THERE'S NO OPPOSITION, CAN WE MOVE AHEAD WITH CONSENT, CLOSE OF THE PUBLIC HEARING BEING NODS.
WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
THANK YOU ALL THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY MOTION BY COMMISSIONER WOODS.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
UM, THIS TAKES US TO OUR RON ROBIN QUESTIONS.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, AGAIN, WE HAVE EIGHT COMMISSIONERS WHO CAN ASK QUESTIONS FOR UP TO FIVE MINUTES.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN IT UP TO ANYONE WHO WISHES TO ASK QUESTIONS.
UM, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
SINCE I ASKED FOR THE, UH, ARTICLE TO BE PULLED.
UH, MR. RUDA, UM, HAS THE, AS I GET YOU BACK ON CAMERA, I'LL TALK VERY SLOWLY.
HAS THE APPLICANT PRESENTED YOU WITH ANY ALTER THERE? YOU'RE, HAS THE APPLICANT PRESENTED YOU WITH ANY ALTERNATIVE, UM, CONFIGURATION OR ASK YOU ABOUT ANY ALTERNATIVE CONFIGURATION OF THIS SITE? UH, NO.
WE HAVE NOT RE REVIEWED ANY ALTERNATIVE TO THE, TO THE PROPOSED DESIGN.
MS. ARCHER, CAN I HAVE YOU, UH, FOR A COUPLE QUESTIONS AND AS YOU'RE WALKING UP, I JUST IN TRANSPARENCY AND MAKE SURE EVERYBODY, UH, KNOWS, UH, YOU AND I HAD A DISCUSSION YESTERDAY ON THE PHONE, AND SO, UH, JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY, UH, KNEW THAT, UM, YOU'RE HERE TONIGHT TO ASK US PRIMARILY FOR A WAIVER
[00:25:01]
OF THE 50 WA SETBACK FOR THE POOL.AS I, AS I REVIEW, I, I'M NOT AN AR CERTAINLY NOT AN ARCHITECT.
UH, CERTAINLY NOT A, CERTAINLY NOT A DESIGNER.
BUT I NOTE, UH, ON YOUR SCHEMATIC THAT YOU HAVE A GREEN SPACE IN BETWEEN, UM, EIGHT OF THE UNITS, UH, IN THE PRIMARY, I I'M GONNA CALL IT THE PRIMARY SECTION, UH, WHICH IS OUTSIDE OF THE 50 FOOT ZONE.
HAVE YOU CONSIDERED PUTTING YOUR POOL THERE? UM, THAT GREEN SPACE THAT IS ALLOTTED IS SURROUNDING TWO HERITAGE TREES THAT WE ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO PRESERVE.
UM, SO NO SIR, THE POOL CANNOT GO THERE.
THE POOL CAN'T GO IN BETWEEN UNITS 20, 19, 15, AND 16.
OUTSIDE OF THE SHADE, CANOPY OF THOSE TREES? ON THE KRAMER SIDE? NO, IN, IN THAT, IN THAT MIDDLE SPACE.
YEAH, THE POOL COULD LIKELY BE IN OTHER PLACES.
SO THERE IS A WAY FOR YOU TO DESIGN THIS PROJECT WITHOUT COMING TO US ASKING FOR A WAIVER? YES, SIR.
BUT WE WOULD NEED TO GET RID OF UNITS AND WE'RE TRYING TO MAINTAIN, UM, AS MUCH HOUSING AS POSSIBLE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU SAID IN YOUR PRESENTATION WAS YOU, YOU BELIEVE, AND, AND I AGREE WITH YOU, I BELIEVE THAT RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN NEED OUTDOOR SPACES.
UM, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I ASKED YOU YESTERDAY, UH, TO CONSIDER IS, UH, SINCE RESIDENTS NEED OUTDOOR SPACES, WOULD YOU CONSIDER ALLOWING THE RESIDENTS IN THE AREA TO USE YOUR POOL? UM, THAT IS NOT MY DECISION.
HAVE YOU ASKED YOUR CLIENT THAT INFORMATION? NO, SIR.
AFTER WE TALK, HAVE YOU HAD A COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR CLIENT AFTER WE TALKED? NO, SIR.
I, AS, AS DID I I WAS TRYING TO GET READY.
I, WE TALKED IT LATE IN THE DAY.
UM, IT WAS THE END OF THE DAY.
UM, AND SO IN THE AREA WHERE THERE'S, UH, THE ROCK GUARD OR THE RAIN GARDEN AND ALL THAT, YOU'RE GONNA KIND OF RESERVE FOR DOG WALKING AND DOG RELIEF AND THINGS, WOULD YOU CONSIDER ALLOWING OTHER, UH, IN THAT OPEN SPACE THAT BACKS UP THE UNITS ON THE PRIMARY LOT, WOULD YOU CONSIDER TO ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE TO ACCESS THAT SPACE? UM, COME ON, TELL US WHO YOU ARE.
UM, THAT AREA IS ACTUALLY, THE RAIN GARDENS ARE A DRAINAGE FACILITY, SO THEY'RE NOT MEANT FOR OKAY.
AND THERE'S OTHER AREAS WHERE WE HAVE RAIN GARDENS.
THE RAIN GARDENS ARE VERY CAREFULLY DESIGNED TOO, SO THAT THEY'RE BURNED WITHIN THE 25 FOOT SETBACK AND THEN THE WALL IS OUTSIDE.
SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY FOR A DOG? NO.
UH, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO TALK QUICKLY.
YOU'VE GOTTA COME UP AND TALK IN THE MIC BECAUSE I'M GONNA RUN OUTTA MY FIVE MINUTES.
I'M GONNA SAY IN MACOR COTTAGES, WHAT WE DID IS OUR DRAINAGE SPACE IS ALSO OUR COMMUNITY SPACE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT FLOODING ALL THE TIME.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE PLAY WITH OUR DOGS.
THAT'S, WE HAVE A PICNIC TABLE THERE AND WE RUN AND PLAY THERE.
UM, AND SO IT WORKS GREAT AS A DUAL USE SPACE.
AND BEFORE THE BUZZARD CATCHES ME, I DON'T SEE MY TIMER, BUT BEFORE THE BUZZARD CATCHES ME, UM, I'LL JUST, IT, IT APPEARS TO ME FROM MY RE I THAT THERE IS A WAY TO REDESIGN THIS.
YOU MIGHT, IT MIGHT COST A UNIT.
THERE MIGHT BE 54 UNITS, BUT THERE IS A WAY TO REDESIGN THIS, NOT ASK FOR A WAIVER BECAUSE IN ESSENCE, A WAIVER IS, UH, INFRINGING ON THE PROPERTY.
WE HAVE SETBACKS IN THIS CITY TO, TO MAKE SURE WE PROTECT PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS OF, OF THOSE THAT ARE COMING AND THOSE THAT ARE, THAT ARE ALREADY HERE.
AND THEY'RE DESIGNED TO PROTECT THE PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS OF THE EXISTING NEIGHBORS.
AND WE ARE BEING ASKED TO WAIVE THAT.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
PARDON ME? JUST PICKING UP WHERE COMMISSIONER HAYNES LEFT OFF.
SO WE ARE BEING ASKED TO WAIVE A PROPERTY, RIGHT? CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO DO IF WE PROVIDE THAT BENEFIT? WHAT, WHAT COMMUNITY BENEFIT WOULD YOU PROVIDE TO SOME OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOLKS WHO ARE HERE TODAY? I'LL SPEAK FROM A CIVIL STANDPOINT.
THE OWNER'S HERE AS WELL FOR QUESTIONS.
UM, THESE AMENITY IS FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT WILL
[00:30:01]
BE HERE.UM, THE OPEN SPACE IS OUR REQUIREMENT ANYWAYS BY THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
MY QUESTION WAS THAT YOU'RE ASKING US FOR A FAVOR? MM-HMM.
'CAUSE YOU'RE ASKING US FOR A WAIVER.
SO MY QUESTION IS, IN EXCHANGE FOR THAT, WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO PROVIDE? I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING FOR YOUR COMMUNITY THAT'S GOING TO MOVE THERE, BUT BACK TO THE COMMUNITY THAT THIS WOMAN AND HER YOUNG 5-YEAR-OLD SON LIVES IN.
I WILL DEFER THAT TO THE, I CAN DEFER THAT TO THE OWNER.
UM, AS FAR AS MAKING THE AMENITY A PUBLIC AMENITY, I DON'T THINK THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY, THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS AND I'M JUST ASKING FOR ANY THAT YOU GUYS MIGHT PROVIDE TO WORK WITH THE NEIGHBORS BECAUSE THEY WILL BE LOSING SOMETHING AND WE ARE CERTAINLY GRANTING YOU A FAVOR.
I MEAN, JUST BY DOING THE DEVELOPMENT, UM, WE WILL BE IMPROVING THE SIDEWALKS.
WE WILL BE SHADING THE SIDEWALKS, UM, ALONG THE FRONTAGE OF THIS PROPERTY.
UM, THE SIDE IS ALSO RIGHT NEXT TO FLOODPLAIN AND EROSION HAZARD ZONE.
SO WE'LL BE PROPOSING RAIN GARDENS, UM, AND WATER QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE.
THAT WILL TREAT THIS DEVELOPMENT.
SO THAT'S NOT QUITE WHAT I'M ASKING, BUT, UH, I SEE THAT SHE HAS HER HAND UP.
CAN YOU COME TO THE POINT OF ORDER? I I DON'T BELIEVE WE CAN NEGOTIATE COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
I ASKED THE QUESTION, I ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT WHAT COMMUNITY BENEFIT WOULD, WOULD THEY CONSIDER IN EXCHANGE.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING WITHIN THE SCOPE OF, OF WHAT'S BEING DISCUSSED.
AND WE, WE ARE WITHIN THE SCOPE.
THEY, THEY ARE ASKING US FOR A WAIVER AND I'M ASKING THEM WHAT AN EXCHANGE FOR THE WAIVER ARE THEY WILLING TO DO.
SO I AM NOT SAYING THAT THEY HAVE TO DO IT.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT WE, WE DID MEET WITH THEM, IF YOU'LL NOTICE THIS MEETING WAS POSTPONED.
UM, AND I DID MEET WITH THEM AND ASKED TO WORK THAT OUT AND NO ONE EVER GOT BACK TO ME.
SO I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE ABOUT THAT.
ADDITIONALLY, UM, THESE ARE THE BUILDERS AND AS ANYBODY KNOWS, AFTER THE BUILDERS LEAVES, WHAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH IS THE NEW HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION AND THEY COULD DECIDE TO CHANGE ANYTHING.
SO ANY PERMANENT PHYSICAL STRUCTURE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE NEW HOA COULD JUST DECIDE THAT THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T WANT THAT.
AND, AND THEY, I BELIEVE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THAT.
AND I'M JUST TRYING TO SAY, WE'RE TRYING TO LEARN THE SCOPE OF THE PRO OF THE, THE PROJECT, AND WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT CONVERSATIONS HAVE BEEN HAD SINCE THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE TABLE.
SO, UM, NOT TALKING ABOUT NEGOTIATING FROM THE DEAS, JUST FOR CLARITY.
AND OUTTA CURIOSITY, IF I STILL HAVE SOME TIME LEFT, UH, WHAT DO YOU TO THE APPLICANT, WHAT DO YOU ENVISION THE CONDOS WILL SELL FOR? OKAY.
AND JUST SO THE FOLKS ONLINE CAN HEAR IT, WE HEARD FROM THE APPLICANT SAYING, UH, OUTSIDE THE SCOPES.
MR. PHILLIPS, DO YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS? NO.
UM, DO WE HAVE OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER COX, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE FOR MY IGNORANCE OF THIS PARTICULAR SECTION OF CODE, BUT, UM, IT SAYS THAT THERE'S A SETBACK REQUIREMENT OF 50 FEET.
HOPEFULLY STAFF IS STILL WITH US, UM, FOR INTENSIVE RECREATION POOL.
AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE, WHAT IS THE GENERAL DEFINITION OF INTENSIVE RECREATION? IF WE HAVE ANY MEMBERS OF STAFF THAT CAN HELP US WITH THAT, OR IF THE APPLICANT HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THIS SECTION OF CODE SINCE THEY APPLIED FOR THE, UH, WAIVER.
COMMISSIONER COX, I BELIEVE WE HAVE THE APPLICANT.
UH, COULD YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION FOR ME PLEASE? YEAH, WHAT, WHAT ARE, WHAT IS OUR GENERAL DEFINITION, DEFINITION OF INTENSIVE RECREATION THAT'S INCLUDED IN THAT 50 FOOT SETBACK REQUIREMENT? UH, I'D HAVE TO, TO LOOK AT IT.
IT DOESN'T HAVE A SPECIFIC DEFINITION.
WHAT IT HAS IS A LIST OF EXAMPLES.
UH, ONE OF THE EXAMPLES IS POOL.
UM, I THINK BALL COURTS ARE ANOTHER ONE.
I'D HAVE TO, I I, IT WOULD TAKE ME ABOUT A MINUTE TO FIND THE ACTUAL CODE SECTION, BUT THAT'S THE WAY IT WORKS, IS THAT IT DESCRIBES A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF WHAT WOULD BE AN INTENSIVE RECREATIONAL USE THIS POOLED BALL COURTS.
AND I'D HAVE TO LOOK UP TO GET THE OTHERS.
YEAH, I WAS JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE I DON'T, I MEAN, THIS WOULD BE
[00:35:01]
A PRIVATE POOL, UM, FOR A RELATIVELY LIMITED NUMBER OF UNITS.I MEAN, IT'S, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S A GATED DEVELOPMENT TO ME.
UM, SO I JUST DON'T TYPICALLY CONSIDER SOMEONE SOMEONE'S PRIVATE POOL AS BEING INTENSIVE RECREATION
BUT, UH, I WAS JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND COMPARABLES.
UM, I, I GUESS MY, MY CONCERN ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR APPLICATION IS JUST APPLYING THESE RULES EQUALLY, UM, ACROSS THE CITY.
AND SO DO, DO YOU HAVE A RECOLLECTION OR KNOWLEDGE OF MANY VARIANCES BEING GRANTED FOR PRIVATE POOLS TO, TO BE WITHIN THIS 50 FOOT SETBACK? UM, I'VE BROUGHT AT LEAST ONE OTHER, UH, REQUEST MAYBE TWO, UH, TO EITHER THIS COMMISSION OR TO OR TO THE, THE ZAP, UH, FOR RELATIVELY SIMILAR REQUESTS.
UH, BOTH, BOTH APPROVED TO MY RECOLLECTION.
AND, AND, AND SO A COMPATIBILITY VARIANCE, I KNOW, I KNOW LIKE ENVIRONMENTAL VARIANCES, THERE'S ALL THESE CRITERIA AND STUFF WHERE YOU CAN'T BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE VARIANCE THAT YOU'RE REQUESTING.
OBVIOUSLY A POOL IS NOT, UH, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
SO IS THERE, IS THERE A PARTICULAR CRITERIA, AND I'M SURE YOU, YOU HAD IT IN THE, THE SUMMARIZING THE BACKUP, BUT CAN YOU HELP US UNDERSTAND JUST THE, THE CRITERIA WHERE SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD NOT GET STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION VERSUS WHEN IT DOES GET STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION? THAT'S A LITTLE TRICK, A LITTLE TRICK HERE.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE, THE CODE ESSENTIALLY GIVES SOME PRETTY BROAD AUTHORITY, UH, TO CONSIDER ANYTHING THAT THE COMMISSION WANTS TO BY SAYING THAT IT SHOULD BE APPROVED IF IT IS APPROPRIATE AND WILL NOT HARM THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
IT'S A STAFF USES A SIMILAR METRIC ON, BUT IT'S ESSENTIALLY OUR OPINION, IT WOULD TAKE SOMETHING PRETTY, I THINK, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT TO SHOW AN, A CLEAR HARM TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO NOT GET STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION AT THIS POINT.
BUT OF COURSE, WE, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS IS TO DEFER TO THE COMMISSION FOR WHAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE APPROPRIATE AND, AND WHICH POTENTIAL HARMS TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD WOULD CROSS OVER THAT, THAT LINE AND SAY, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR, FOR APPROVAL.
COMMISSIONER COX, DO YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? THANK YOU.
UH, I'M HEARING SOME THINGS, UH, SUCH AS APPLYING RULES EQUALLY AND PARITY AND WAIVER INFRINGING.
AND I'M, I'M CURIOUS, UM, STAFF, I GUESS THIS IS A QUESTION FOR YOU.
IS IT, UH, ALLOWED FOR SOMEBODY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS FENCE OR THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS COMMUNITY THAT IS IN SF THREE ZONING OR SOMETHING SIMILAR TO BE ABLE TO BUILD A POOL IN THIS SAME AREA THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ALLOWING THIS POOL TO BE BUILT? UH, SURE.
UM, THE ARTICLE 10 COMPATIBILITY DOES NOT APPLY, UH, TO ANY DEVELOPMENT ON AN SF THREE PROPERTY.
IT ONLY APPLIES TO DEVELOPMENT ON AN SF FIVE OR MORE INTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT.
SO ESSENTIALLY THE REVERSE THAT WOULD PROPOSE A POOL ON AN SF THREE LOT WOULD BE APPROVABLE WITHOUT, WITHOUT REVIEWING, WITHOUT ARTICLE 10 COMPATIBILITY.
AND POSSIBLY FOR THE APPLICANT, I, I'M HEARING CONCERNS ABOUT FIRE AND AND PROPANE LOCATED IN THIS AREA.
COULD, COULD SOMEBODY SPEAK TO SPEAK TO THAT CONCERN COMMISSIONER? UM, THE OPEN SPACE WILL HAVE A KITCHEN.
I AM NOT, THE GAS CONNECTION IS NOT REALLY PART OF THE SIDE PLAN, OR IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE.
SO I'M NOT REALLY SURE IF THERE'S LIKE A GAS CONNECTION PROPOSED.
UM, I DO KNOW THAT THERE WANTS TO BE A GRILL OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE, BUT THAT WOULD BE THERE WITH OR WITHOUT THE POOL.
AND ALSO MAYBE FOR YOU AND MAYBE FOR THE, THE OWNER OR WHOEVER, BUT, UM, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT CHANGES WITHIN YOUR INSURANCE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE ALLOWED, I, I HEARD THE QUESTION, DO WE ALLOW FOR MAYBE OUTSIDE FOLKS TO USE THIS POOL, UM, THAT AREN'T GUESTS PER SE? SO IS THERE SOMETHING I, I DON'T KNOW HOW THE INSURANCE MIGHT CHANGE FOR THE HOA? HAVE YOU NOW LOOKED INTO THAT? I DEFER THAT TO THE CLIENT.
I'M THE OWNER AND, UH, THE DEVELOPER OF THE PROPERTY, UM, THE INSURANCE.
CAN YOU PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME? CAN YOU PLEASE STATE MY NAME'S? NA THANK, SORRY.
SO ONE THING ABOUT CONDOS IS WARRANT ABILITY.
UM, WHEN YOU HAVE AN ELEMENT THAT'S A, UH, LIMITED COMMON USE OR A A POOL TYPE OF ELEMENT IN A CONDO DEVELOPMENT, UM, WHEN YOU'RE SELLING THE HOMES AND YOUR, YOUR BANKS WANT TO SELL THE LOANS THAT ARE ISSUED ON THESE HOMES, YOU HAVE A LONG CONDO FORM THAT GETS FILLED OUT IN THAT FORM.
IT ASKS, ARE THESE COMMON ELEMENTS ONLY FOR THE RESIDENTS? UM, THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH HAVING NON-RESIDENTS USE THE POOL BECAUSE OF WARRANT ABILITY.
[00:40:01]
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT MUCH HIGHER RATES OF INTEREST WHEN, UH, THE LOANS AREN'T WARRANTABLE.AND I HEARD MANY OF YOUR ENGINEERS SHARE THAT IF YOU ALL WERE TO MOVE THE POOL INTO THE COMMUNITY, YOU WOULD LOSE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF HOMES.
HAVE YOU PUT MATH PEN TO PAPER? DO WE KNOW HOW MANY HOMES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? YEAH.
THE SPACE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW, UM, IT, IT, WE'VE GOT ABOUT SIX AND A HALF FEET BETWEEN MOST OF THE HOMES.
UM, LIKE THEY MENTIONED, WE'RE PRESERVING TWO VERY LARGE HERITAGE TREES.
THAT'S KIND OF THE MAIN, UH, LIMITING FACTOR OF THE SITE.
AND THEY'RE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE.
SO THE WAY WE'VE DESIGNED IT, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE SITE PLAN, GOSH, I WANNA SAY ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF NOW.
UM, AND THE POOL WHERE IT IS, IS REALLY THE ONLY SPOT IT CAN BE.
UH, THE DRAINAGE, UH, ON THE SITE'S DIFFICULT BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF OFFSITE FLOWS FROM THE NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR.
SO WE'RE RETAINING THOSE FLOWS ON A POND THAT'S LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE ON OUR KRAMER LOT.
SO THAT'S THE ONE POND THAT'S THERE TO DETAIN ALL THE FLOWS COMING FROM AN UNDEVELOPED SITE ALREADY IMPACTING OUR SITE.
THEN WE'RE CATCHING ALL OF OUR KRAMER FLOWS ON THE BIGGER RAIN GARDEN JUST SOUTH OF US.
AND SO WE'RE LIFTING OUR SITE TO PUSH THE FLOWS DOWN TOWARDS THE MCMURRAY SIDE WHERE THE DRAINAGE NATURALLY FLOWS INTO THE, UH, INTO THAT, UH, CREEK BUFFER OR ZONE ON THE RIGHT SIDE.
AND THEN THE THREE PONDS THAT WE HAVE ON THE KRAMER SIDE, WE REALLY HAD TWO OPTION, OR THE MCM SIDE, I SHOULD SAY.
UM, WE ALREADY HAD THE 25 FOOT SETBACK FROM OUR NEIGHBOR TO THE WEST ON THE MCMURRAY SIDE.
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE WE HAD AN SF SIX DEVELOPMENT, UH, WHICH IS THE MCMURRAY COTTAGES, UH, WHERE MS. DANIELLE LOCK LIVES.
AND WE HAD A COUPLE OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES THAT ARE SF THREE.
SO ON THAT SIDE OF THE LOT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ABLE TO GET A FEW UNITS THAT PUSHED ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL WE HIT THE SF THREE.
AND IN THAT ZONE, YOU KNOW, COMPATIBILITY SORT OF A RADIUS.
SO IT'S NOT REALLY AN EXACT SQUARE.
WE CAN'T FIT ANOTHER UNIT AND WE MAXED OUT OUR SITE AS MUCH AS WE COULD ON MCM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE POOL DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THERE.
IT IS AN ADDED EXPENSE TO US, BUT I BELIEVE IN BUILDING, YOU KNOW, BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITIES AND I'D LIKE TO HAVE AN AMENITY FOR OUR RESIDENTS, UM, IF IT'S AN OPEN SPACE, YOU KNOW, SO BE IT.
BUT I'D LOVE FOR IT TO BE A POOL.
IT DOESN'T REALLY GAIN ME MUCH ON MY SALES.
UM, WE'VE GOT 40 LOIS OUT OF THE 55 UNITS ON THE SITE ALREADY, AND WE'VE TOLD EVERYONE THAT THE POOL MAY OR MAY NOT BE THERE.
IT'S MORE OF THE LOCATION RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, THE AMENITY THAT'S DRAWING TO THE SITE, UH, AND HELPING WITH SALES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I I THINK WITHOUT IT, YEAH, IT IS AN IMPACT.
AND, AND I HEARD A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT FIRE AND, AND THE, SORRY, UH, THE, UH, GRILL, BUT THAT, THAT'S ALLOWED TO BE THERE WITHOUT THAT.
AND LIKE YOU MENTIONED, A POOL COULD BE WRAP UP RIGHT ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF OUR FENCE.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS YOUR HANDS? I BELIEVE, UH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
UH, IF, IF YOU COULD COME BACK, UH, UM, I, I ASKED, I ASKED EARLIER IF, IF YOU'RE, I, I SPOKE WITH MS. ARCHER YESTERDAY AND, AND I GUESS Y'ALL DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO, UH, COMMUNICATE.
YOU'RE THE, THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY.
UM, AND, UH, YOU HEARD SOME OF COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS'S, UH, CONVERSATION IS IN ESSENCE YOU'RE ASKING US FOR A, FOR A WAIVER FOR A DISPENSATION.
I DO WANNA EXPLORE A LITTLE BIT.
SO YOU DON'T THINK THE POOL ADDS A, ADDS AN AMENITY VALUE THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO INCREASE THE SALES PRICE OF THESE UNITS? THERE'S SOME, THERE'S SOME FACTOR TO IT, BUT IT'S NOT SIGNIFICANT, LIKE VERY SIGNIFICANT AS YOU WOULD THINK IT IS.
UM, THE OUTDOOR SPACE WILL STILL BE THERE.
IT JUST HOLE IN THE GROUND WITH WATER.
UM, IT'S STILL GOT THE OUTDOOR KITCHEN.
WE'LL HAVE YARD GAMES, A FEW MORE AMENITIES WHERE WE CAN, SO IF WE DENY THE WAIVER, THEN WE'RE NOT IMPACTING THE, THE, YOUR FINANCIAL GAME, YOUR FINANCIAL ABILITY TO BRING THIS PROJECT TO BEAR.
THAT DENYING THE WAIVER DOESN'T IMPACT OUR FINANCIAL ABILITY TO BRING THE PROJECT.
BUT I MEAN, IT DOES HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY OVERALL.
UM, AND WHEN WE'RE DISCUSSING GRILLS AND WHATNOT, I MEAN, WHAT'S STOPPING ONE OF THE RESIDENTS THERE FROM PULLING OUT A GRILL ON THEIR DECK OR RIGHT NEXT TO THEIR HOME TO GRILL? I'M NOT, I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE GRILL.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE SPECIFICALLY ASKING US FOR A SPECIAL DISPENSATION FOR THE POOL.
UM, AND, AND THE QUESTION IS, IF YOU'RE ASKING US FOR A SPECIAL DISPENSATION, ARE YOU WILLING TO PROVIDE COMMUNITY BENEFITS? AND THE ANSWER TO THAT SEEMS TO BE NO.
UNLESS YOU'RE GONNA TELL ME OTHERWISE.
WELL, WE DISCUSSED WITH THE RESIDENTS THAT MET US OUT THERE, UM, WHEN WE WERE ON SITE WAS, THERE'S A SHARED FENCE THAT RUNS ALONG THE MCMURRAY PROPERTY.
SO IF WE WERE GONNA DO ANYTHING TO THAT FENCE OR HAVE OUR FENCES TIE INTO IT, WE OFFERED TO MAINTAIN OUR HALF OF IT.
[00:45:01]
THAT WAS KIND OF ONE POINT THEY BROUGHT UP WAS A POINT OF CONCERN FOR THEM.UM, AND THEN BESIDES THAT, IT WAS REALLY JUST HOW OUR TWO HOAS WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, GOES WELL.
UM, THEY HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT DRAINAGE BECAUSE MCM DOESN'T HAVE GOOD DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE.
MCM DOESN'T HAVE GOOD DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE'RE IMPROVING THE STREET THERE.
ANOTHER QUESTION WAS, WE DON'T HAVE A SIDEWALK ON OUR SIDE, THE ENTIRE FRONTAGE OF MURA, WE'RE ADDING A SIDEWALK.
WELL, YOU'RE BEING REQUIRED TO ADD THE SIDEWALK.
BUT IT IS A BENEFIT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T EXIST THERE CURRENTLY.
COMMISSIONER HAYNES, DO WE HAVE OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, GO AHEAD.
I, I NOTICED THAT MS. LOT HAD HER HAND UP.
DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD TO THE CONVERSATION FOR ALL CONSIDERATION VERY QUICKLY? UM, THEY'RE AVOIDING NUMBERS HERE.
THEY'VE SOLD BETWEEN 33 AND 40 UNITS ALREADY, SO THEY COULD READILY BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU SOME NUMBERS ON WHAT THEIR PROFITS ARE.
I DO APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION.
UM, THE DRAINAGE FOR MC MARA, AGAIN, I'VE LIVED THERE SINCE IT WAS BUILT IN 2007.
UM, WHAT THEY'RE BASICALLY AVOIDING IS THAT THEY COULD PUT IN LESS HOMES TO MAKE THIS SPACE.
COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? I, IF THERE'S NOT, I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, I'M NOT SURE WHO FROM THE APPLICANT TEAM CAN HELP ANSWER THIS.
UM, SO WE HAVE THE 3D RENDERS AND BOTH IN THE BACKUP AND IT WAS IN THE PRESENTATION AS WELL.
I APPRECIATE THAT, OF LOOKING AT THE WAY THE POOL'S GONNA BE CREATED.
WAS THERE ANY CONSIDERATION OF HAVING SOME KIND OF VEGETATION OR VEGETATIVE BUFFER IN THAT SORT OF BOUNDARY WALL IN BETWEEN THE POOL DECK? I DUNNO HOW ELSE TO DESCRIBE IT.
YES, THAT WAS A CONSIDERATION.
WE'VE WORKED, UM, VERY EXTENSIVELY WITH THE LANDSCAPE TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS AMENITY AREA IS AS BEAUTIFUL AND GREEN AS POSSIBLE.
AND JUST AS A FOLLOW UP, SO THERE WILL BE SOME SCREENING AGAINST YES SIR.
THERE WILL BE VEGETATIVE SCREENING AND AN ACTUAL FENCE.
DO WE HAVE ANY COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE? YEAH, JUST A QUICK QUESTION.
I'M LOOKING AT THE SITE PLAN, I GUESS IT MAY BE TO THE APPLICANT.
JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M INTERPRETING IT CORRECTLY.
IT LOOKS LIKE THE PROPOSED FENCE OR WALL IS NOT ON THE PROPERTY LINE, BUT SET BACK ONTO THE DEVELOPERS OR THE APPLICANT'S PROPERTY.
COULD YOU DESCRIBE THAT CONFIGURATION TO ME A LITTLE BIT? UH, BETTER COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, WE HAVE THE APPLICANT WALKING UP.
UM, THE PROPERTY LINE OF MACOR ROAD THAT'S SHARED WITH MACOR COTTAGES HAS SEVERAL TREES ON IT.
AND THE PROPERTY FENCE IN THIS AREA IS KIND OF HAS TO MEANDER TO AVOID THE CRITICAL ROOT ZONES.
SO THEN, SO THAT FENCE IS, HAS BEEN SET BACK ESSENTIALLY ONTO YOUR PROPERTY.
THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE ALLOTTED TO OURSELVES.
UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION ON THIS ITEM? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON? I'LL MOVE THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
THIS IS A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
UM, THIS TAKES US TO OUR DEBATE.
WE AS ALWAYS, WE HAVE THREE FOLKS IN FAVOR AND THREE AGAINST THOSE FOUR.
UH, COMMISSIONER JOHNSON, I'LL LET YOU SPEAK IN FAVOR FOR SINCE YOU MADE THE MOTION.
UM, LOOK, I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A, AN APPLICATION FOR A WAIVER AND NOT SIMPLY AN APPROVAL UNDER BASE CODE.
UH, BUT I THINK IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT THIS IS A WAIVER FROM A RULE THAT IS FRANKLY, PRETTY SILLY AND PROBABLY NEEDS TO BE UPDATED AS IT HASN'T REALLY IN AS DECADES.
UM, THE NOTION THAT A SWIMMING POOL CLOSER THAN 50 FEET FROM A PROPERTY LINE WILL SOMEHOW CAUSE HARM TO ANYONE IS, IS JUST AR IN MY MIND.
AND THAT A SWIMMING POOL 25 FEET AWAY FROM A FENCE THAT'S AT LEAST 10 FEET AWAY, IF NOT FURTHER FROM THE NEAREST PROPERTY, IT, IT JUST KIND OF BLOWS MY MIND THAT WE'RE REALLY HAVING A, A 45 MINUTE DEBATE ABOUT WHETHER A CONDO COMPLEX SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE A POOL, YOU KNOW, 40 FEET AWAY FROM THEIR NEIGHBOR WITH DOZENS OF TREES AND A FENCE IN BETWEEN.
LIKE, LET'S KIND OF GET SERIOUS
[00:50:01]
HERE, LET 'EM HAVE A POOL.I WANT PEOPLE TO LIVE IN NICE PLACES AND, AND HAVE NICE THINGS AND THEY'RE GOING TO BUILD THIS NO MATTER WHAT POOL OR NOT.
UH, WHY NOT LET THESE 55 HOUSEHOLDS HAVE ACCESS TO A SWIMMING POOL THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR AT THE YMCA OR DRIVE MILES TO GET TO, UH, AT ONE OF THE PUBLIC POOLS THAT ARE SEVERAL MILES AWAY FROM THIS PROPERTY.
SO, UM, I'M IN FAVOR OF THIS FOR, FOR THOSE REASONS.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER JOHNSON.
COMMISSIONER SPEAKING AGAINST THIS ITEM OR THIS MOTION.
COMMISSIONER HAYNES, I'LL SPEAK AGAINST, UM, COMMISSIONER JOHNSON.
I, I, I ACTUALLY AGREE WITH YOU.
I LIKE, I LIKE NICE THINGS AND I WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE NICE, NICE PLACES.
AND, UM, UH, THE FACT THAT THEY'VE ALREADY SOLD 33 OF THESE UNITS AND, AND THE OWNER HAS INDICATED THAT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE UNITS ARE GONNA SELL FOR, IT'S A LITTLE BIT SUSS AS THE, AS THE KIDS SAY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, THE, THE FACT THAT THE, THEY'VE ALREADY SOLD 33 UNITS AND THEY'VE SAID THE POOL MAY OR MAY NOT BE THERE, MEANS THAT THE POOL'S NOT THAT BIG A DEAL.
AND THE OWNER IN FACT TESTIFIED THAT THE POOL IS NOT THAT BIG OF AN AMENITY AND IT'S NOT GOING TO DETERMINE THE FINANCIAL WELLBEING OR THE, UM, THE FINANCIAL SUCCESS OF, OF THIS, UH, OF, OF THIS ENTITY, OF THIS H THAT'S ULTIMATELY GONNA BE AN HOA, THIS, UM, ENCLAVE, IF YOU WILL, THAT WALLED COMMUNITY IN THE, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND SO, UM, IF THE APPLICANT IS COMING TO US FOR A WAIVER, EVEN IF IT IS FARCICAL, EVEN IF IT IS ANTIQUATED, EVEN IF IT IS, UM, OUTDATED, IT IS THE LAW AND WE ARE TASKED WITH UPHOLDING THE LAW.
AND UM, OBVIOUSLY WE, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO GRANT A WAIVER.
BUT, UM, UH, THE KIND OF THE LINE OF QUESTIONING IS, IS THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO GRANT A WAIVER, THEN IF WE'RE GOING TO GIVE SPECIAL DISPENSATION, IS THERE AN OFFSET? THE APPLICANT HAS SAID NO, THERE'S NOT GONNA BE AN OFFSET.
AND TO ME THAT'S JUST A, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT NEIGHBORLY.
IT'S NOT BEING, UM, UH, STARTING OFF TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR.
I MEAN, WE ARE HERE FOR A COMMUNITY AND WE ARE HERE TO BETTER THE COMMUNITY.
IF THEY'RE GONNA COME IN AND INFRINGE ON FOLKS', PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS, THERE SHOULD BE AN OFFSET.
AND SO FOR THAT, I'M, I'M, I AM NOT FOR THE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION.
COMMISSIONER SPEAKING FOR COMMISSIONER.
UH, I WANTED TO ECHO EXACTLY WHAT COMMISSIONER JOHNSON AND ACTUALLY AN EARLIER POINT BY COMMISSIONER ANDERSON.
I THINK THAT THESE SET OF RULES, UM, HAVE PROVEN TO THEMSELVES TO BE FOR SOME AND NOT FOR ALL.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT QUALITY, WE TALK ABOUT HOW CERTAIN SINGLE FAMILY AND OTHER TYPES OF RESIDENTS ARE EXEMPTED FROM THESE RULES AND OTHER FOLKS HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS WAIVER PROCESS.
AS A PERSON WHO LIVES IN AN HOA COMMUNITY SIMILAR TO THIS, NOT QUITE AS LARGE, I WOULD JUST PERSONALLY SAY WE'D KILL FOR A POOL
AND IN FACT, WE ACTUALLY TRIED TO GET ONE OF OUR HOUSES CURRENT USE TURNED INTO A POOL, WHICH WAS UNFEASIBLE IN OUR CURRENT CODE.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M GLAD WE KEPT THE HOUSE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE ACTUALLY NEED IN AUSTIN IS MORE HOUSING.
AND THIS IS TWO HOMES TURNING INTO SEVERAL HOMES.
SO CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DEVELOPER FOR MAKING THIS ALL WORK.
I'M PARTICULARLY PLEASED THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO OFFER AMENITIES LIKE A POOL TO A COMMUNITY LIKE THIS SO THAT WE REALLY CAN ENCOURAGE FAMILIES TO HAVE STARTER HOMES THAT LOOK LIKE THIS AND FEEL LIKE A COMMUNITY.
UM, I THINK THIS IS AN EXCELLENT, UH, DEVELOPMENT AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE IT MOVE FORWARD.
AND I DO THINK THAT THIS RULE IS OUTDATED AND SHOULD BE CHANGED.
AND OBVIOUSLY I'LL BE IN SUPPORT OF STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION.
COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, COMMISSIONER SPEAKING AGAINST COMMISSIONER SPEAKING FOR THE ITEM.
COMMISSIONER ANDERSON, I'LL BE BRIEF.
SO, UH, I, I WANNA BE CLEAR, I DON'T THINK THERE HAVE BEEN ANY CLOSINGS HERE.
THEY MIGHT HAVE CONTRACTS, BUT THERE'S A VERY BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CONTRACT AND AN ACTUAL CLOSING.
SO WHAT THOSE HOMES END UP CLOSING AT, WE NEVER REALLY KNOW WHAT THE MARKET'S GONNA DO BETWEEN HERE AND THERE.
SO I WANNA BE CAREFUL WITH THINKING THAT THOSE THINGS ARE THE SAME.
'CAUSE THEY'RE DEFINITELY NOT.
BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, JUST LOVE WHAT WAS JUST SAID THAT ABOUT THE SILLY OUTDATED RULE AND ALLOWING, YOU KNOW, I HAD A STUDENT ONE TIME THAT WROTE A PAPER RECENTLY CALLED CONDOS ARE THE NEW STARTER HOMES, RIGHT? THE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN AUSTIN ARE SO OUT OF WHACK AND EXPENSIVE THAT CONDOS ARE THE NEW STARTER HOMES.
AND TO NOT HAVE THE KIDDOS WHO ARE GONNA LIVE IN THIS COMMUNITY, THE ABILITY TO JUMP IN A POOL IS SOMETHING I CAN'T SUPPORT.
[00:55:01]
SUPPORT THIS MOTION.COMMISSIONER SPEAKING AGAINST COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS.
SO I WANNA SAY I AM NOT AGAINST ANYONE HAVING A POOL.
I'M NOT AGAINST MORE CONDOS BEING BUILT, BUT I I I AM FOR TRANSPARENCY.
AND IF THESE CONDOS HAVE BEEN ON THE MARKET AND SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN SOLD REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE CLOSING PRICE IS, THAT WAS THE QUESTION.
PEOPLE, PEOPLE CAN, CAN, UH, COMMIT OMISSION AND THAT THEY GET AWAY WITH THAT.
IT REALLY IS NOT A NICE THING.
WHEN THAT QUESTION IS ASKED, IT SHOULD BE ANSWERED TRUTHFULLY, TRUTHFULLY, WITH TRANSPARENCY AND THE FACT THAT, THAT IT'S NOT, AND THEN WE'RE TRYING TO DO SOME KINDS OF GYMNASTICS TO FIND A WAY OUT OF PROVIDING THAT TRUTH RIGHT HERE IS DISAPPOINTING.
SO I WOULD SAY THAT THAT, UM, FOR THAT REASON, I'M, I'M NOT GONNA VOTE FOR THIS.
AND ALSO BECAUSE I DO BELIEVE THAT IT IS THE LAW WE CAN WAIVE, UH, AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO, BUT ALSO SOMETHING THAT THE OWNERS AND DEVELOPERS COULD DO WAS TO WORK MORE CLOSELY WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET OFF TO THE RIGHT START.
WE TALK ABOUT AUSTIN VALUES, YOU TALKED ABOUT AUSTIN VALUES, WE TALK ABOUT AUSTIN VALUES GETTING OFF TO THE RIGHT START WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS AND I'M SURE THAT SOMETHING COULD HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT ON BOTH SIDES AND THAT'S WHY I'LL BE VOTING AGAINST IT.
COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS NOT SEEING ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I'M GONNA GO AHEAD, MR. CHAIRMAN.
YES, I'D LIKE TO OFFER A SUBSTITUTE MEASURE.
I'D LIKE TO, UH, OFFER A SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO POSTPONE THIS MATTER UNTIL MARCH THE, THE, OUR MEETING ON MARCH THE 26TH TO ALLOW THE NEIGHBORS AND THE DEVELOPER MORE TIME TO, UH, NEGOTIATE, UH, UH, COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
COMMISSIONER HAYNES, DO WE HAVE A SECOND ON THAT? I HAVE A COMM, UH, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS.
UM, SO THIS IS, UM, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, WOULD YOU LIKE TO, OKAY, YOU'VE SPOKEN TO YOUR MOTION.
DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SPEAKING AGAINST THIS MOTION? MR. HANDS? UH, SORRY, COMMISSIONER.
DO YOU WANNA SPEAK AGAINST YOUR MOTION?
YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO, TO VOTE THIS OUT TONIGHT, SO I'LL NOT BE SUPPORTING THIS.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER SPEAKING AGAINST OR FOR THIS MOTION? OKAY, I'LL, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE ON THIS.
SO THIS IS A SUBSTITUTE MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAYNES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS TO POSTPONE TO THE MARCH 26TH MEETING.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE, OR RAISE YOUR HANDS.
ALL THOSE AGAINST THAT MOTION FAILS, UH, WITH THREE, FOUR.
THAT'S COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, HAYNES, AND COX WITH THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS AGAINST.
SO EIGHT AGAINST THAT TAKES US BACK TO OUR BASE MOTION.
THIS WAS A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON, SECOND COMMISSIONER MAXWELL TO MOVE AHEAD WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
WE DID WRAP UP THE, UM, DEBATE ON THIS.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE OR RAISE YOUR HANDS.
COMMISSIONER COX, I'M NOT SURE I CAPTURED YOUR VOTE ON THIS ITEM.
UM, I'M, MAKE MAKE SURE TWO, THANK YOU.
ACTUALLY THIS IS EIGHT THREE BECAUSE I'M AGAINST THIS MOTION AS WELL.
UM, SO THE, THE AGAINST ARE HAYNES, PHILLIPS, AZAR AND THE OTHER EIGHT ARE IN FAVOR.
AND I DO WANNA SAY ALWAYS HAPPY TO HAVE A FUTURE COMMISSIONER OR A FUTURE PARTICIPANT IN OUR DEMOCRACY HERE.
[12. Downtown Density Bonus: SP-2023-0437C - 506 West]
NEXT DISCUSSION ITEM.THIS IS ITEM NUMBER 12 5 0 6 WEST.
THANK YOU CHAIR COMMISSIONERS.
GOOD EVENING, JORGE WITH URBAN DESIGN PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
ITEM NUMBER 12 ON YOUR AGENDA IS CASE NUMBER SP 2 2 3 0 4 3 70 C, LOCATED AT 5 0 6, 5 0 8, AND 5 0 8 AND ONE HALF WEST AVENUE.
[01:00:01]
THE REQUEST IS BEING MADE BY 5 0 6 WEST AVENUE LP REPRESENTED BY MR. RICHARD SUTTLE WITH ARM BRUCETON BROWN.THE PROPERTY IS ABOUT 24,700 SQUARE FEET FRONTING ONTO WEST AVENUE AND IT IS CURRENTLY ZONED C-B-D-C-O, UH, GRANTING UNLIMITED HEIGHT IN AN FAR UP TO EIGHT TO ONE UNDER BASE ENTITLEMENTS THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, A MAXIMUM FAR OF 20 TO ONE FOR A BUILDING THAT HAS AN APPROXIMATE HEIGHT OF 564 FEET.
IN ACCORDANCE WITH LDC 25 2 5 86, THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM AND APPLICANT MAY REQUEST IN PETITION TO THE COUNCIL FOR ADDITIONAL BONUS AREA BEYOND THE ADMINISTRATIVE LIMITS OF THE PROGRAM.
THE PROJECT HAS MET THE ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM.
IT MAY ACHIEVE A BONUS AREA UP TO 15, ONE AS THEY HAVE MET THE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS OF THE CODE AND THEREFORE ARE PROCEEDING BEFORE THIS BODY AND EVENTUALLY TO COUNSEL FOR A REQUEST UP TO 20 TO ONE.
STAFF HAS REVIEWED THIS REQUEST AND HAS FOUND IT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM AND RECOMMENDS APPROVAL PENDING YOUR QUESTIONS.
UH, MR. RIVERA, DO WE HAVE COMMENTS FROM OUR APPLICANT? THANK YOU, CHAIR.
WELL, AND I'LL HEAR FROM MR. SU AND MR. SU WE'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
THANK YOU MR. MY NAME'S RICHARD SU.
I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT.
TONIGHT WE'RE ASKING FOR MORE DENSITY FOR A RESIDENTIAL PROJECT AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING REAL HARD WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY AND WE'VE GOT SUPPORT AND WOULD ASK THAT YOU ALSO SUPPORT US IN THIS AND BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I'LL HEAR FROM THE OPPOSITION MS. UH, TEMPLE.
UM, SHE'LL HAVE A TOTAL OF EIGHT MINUTES.
I AM A BOARD MEMBER FOR THE AUSTIN CITY LOFTS OWNERS ASSOCIATION.
I AM SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND THE ASSOCIATION.
APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE, UM, FOR READING FROM MY NOTES.
I AM NOT AN ELOQUENT PUBLIC SPEAKER AND GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ISSUE, I DON'T WANT TO INADVERTENTLY OMIT ANY OF OUR CONCERNS.
WHILE, WHILE DENSITY AND HIDE ARE NATURALLY ENCOURAGED IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, THIS PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT SITS ON THE BANK OF SHOAL CREEK AND IS WHOLLY WITHIN AUSTIN'S 25 YEAR FLOODPLAIN.
THESE PROPERTIES ARE LOCATED MIDLOCK, PROVIDING THE PROPOSED TOWER WITH ACCESS ONLY TO WEST AVENUE, A TWO-LANE.
TWO-WAY STREET NEIGHBORS ARE UNDERSTANDABLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR DIVERSION OF FLOODWATERS, A WAY FOR THE STEMS DEVELOPMENT TOWARD NEIGHBORING BUILDINGS.
THE PHOTO YOU SEE IS THE VIEW OF OUR BLOCK ON WEST AVENUE.
TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, THERE IS NO TOWER AS DENSE AND AS TALL AS THE ONE BEING PROPOSED FOR THIS LOCATION.
LOCATED MIDBLOCK ON A SHORT BLOCK OF 275 FEET WITH STOPLIGHTS ON EITHER END AT WEST FIFTH AND WEST SIXTH STREETS ANYWHERE DOWNTOWN, MUCH LESS WITHIN A 25 YEAR FLOODPLAIN.
DURING THE PLANNING COMMISSION ZONING HEARING FOR THIS PROPERTY, THERE WAS A COMPARISON MADE TO THIS LOCATION TO ONE ON EAST AVENUE, NOTING THAT IT WAS A MIDBLOCK LOCATION.
RESPECTFULLY, THIS IS NOT AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON.
EAST AVENUE IS EFFECTIVELY A FEEDER ROAD FROM I 35 THAT RUNS SOUTH AND UNDER I 35 TO THE EAST.
THERE ARE NO STOPLIGHTS IN SIGHT OF THIS DEVELOPMENT.
THERE WAS ANOTHER BI MIDBLOCK TOWER ON UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON RAINY STREET, WHICH IS ALSO NOT COMPARABLE TO THIS WEST AVENUE LOCATION, WHICH HAS BECOME A POPULAR ALTERNATE ROUTE FOR TRAFFIC FROM THAT RUNS FROM UH, CAESAR CHAVEZ TO 19TH STREET.
TO BE CLEAR, WE ARE NOT OPPOSED TO DEVELOPMENT ON THESE PROPERTIES IN A MANNER THAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR THIS LOCATION.
HOWEVER, THIS FAR INCREASE FROM 15 ONE TO 21 TO 20 TO ONE DRAMATICALLY INCREASES THE PERMISSIBLE MASS HEIGHT AND BULK FOR ANY PROJECT CONSTRUCTED ON THESE PROPERTIES.
HOW DRAMATICALLY WE CANNOT KNOW AS THE CASE MANAGER.
SO HEALTHFULLY EXPLAINED THE REQUEST IS FOR A 20 TO ONE BUILDING, NOT A 15 TO ONE BUILDING.
THAT SAID, LOGIC ASSERTS THAT IT'S A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE.
AS A REMINDER, THE PROPERTIES HAVE A FAR CAP AND I BELIEVE THAT THE CASE MANAGER DID TOUCH ON THIS ALREADY OF EIGHT TO ONE.
BUT HAVING MET THE GATEWAY REQUIREMENTS, SO THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY PROGRAM, THE FAR CAP COULD BE RAISED TO 15 TO ONE BY ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL.
THE CURRENT SITE PLAN CALLS FOR A BUILDING HEIGHT OF 564 FEET AND 50 STORIES, 430 PARKING SPACES, AND AN 11 STORY ABOVE GROUND PARKING
[01:05:01]
GARAGE.TODAY, TRAFFIC ROUTINELY BACKS UP ON WEST AVENUE BETWEEN FIFTH AND SIXTH STREETS.
THERE ARE TWO PARKING GARAGES CURRENTLY FROM THE EXISTING BUILDINGS, RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS THAT EMPTY OUT ONTO FIFTH STREET.
AND SO VERY OFTEN IT IS DIFFICULT TO DANGEROUS TRYING TO GET IN OR OUT OF THE PARKING GARAGE BECAUSE OF THAT, THAT STACKED UP TRAFFIC.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO IMAGINE WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE WHEN THERE'S ANOTHER 430 CARS COMPETING ON THAT SAME BLOCK.
IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE PARKING GARAGE IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE CALCULATION OF PHARR.
AT A TIME WHEN CITY COUNCIL WAS FOCUSED ON REDUCING DOWNTOWN PARKING AND LARGE ABOVE GROUND PARKING STRUCTURES, THIS FAR INCREASED REQUEST WOULD SEEM TO BE INCOMPATIBLE.
COUNCIL MEMBER QUAD'S APPROVED AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE TITLE 25 CALLS FOR MODIFICATIONS TO DOWNTOWN PARKING REQUIREMENTS LIKE CONSIDERATION OF THE ABOVE GROUND STRUCTURED PARKING TO BE INCLUDED AS PART OF THE DEVELOPER'S PARK CALCULATION, IMPLEMENTING PARKING SOFT CAPS AND REQUIRING A FEE FOR PARKING BUILT ABOVE THE SOFT CAPS, REDUCING THE MAXIMUM MOTOR VEHICLE PARKING ALLOWED FOR DEVELOPMENT DOWNTOWN FROM THE EXISTING MAXIMUMS. CAN WE SEE THE SECOND PHOTO? THANK YOU, ANDREW.
THIS IS A 25 YEAR FLOODPLAIN THAT IN THE DARK PURPLE AND THE PROPERTIES THAT ARE SHOWN IN YELLOW.
DURING THAT SAME ZONING HEARING, ANOTHER COMMISSIONER COMMENTED THAT THEY WERE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT DEVELOPMENT IN THE FLOODPLAIN.
THIS IS IN STARK CONTRAST TO COMMENTS BY COMMISSIONERS DURING A PREVIOUS PRESENTATION BY THE WATERSHED DEPARTMENT COMMISSIONER.
ONE, WE'RE ACTUALLY ENCOURAGING THE REDEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUED USE OF PROPERTIES WITHIN THE FLOODPLAIN WHERE WE WOULD PREFER PROPERTIES NOT EXIST.
COMMISSIONER TWO, THE PRACTICE OF CONTINUING TO BUILD IN THE FLOODPLAIN AGENCIES, CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ACROSS THE WORLD ARE REMOVING STRUCTURES.
SO WE SHOULD BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE FLOODPLAIN AS FAR AS DEVELOPMENT.
AND COMMISSIONER THREE CONCERNED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF ENTICING DEVELOPMENT AND BUSINESS IN THESE AREAS WHERE IT POTENTIALLY DOESN'T BELONG WITHOUT HAVING THE FEMA MAPS AND CURRENT STUDIES IN PLACE.
IS THAT MY EIGHT MINUTES? WOW.
SO, UM, JUST WRAPPING IT UP, THERE IS A, A NATIONAL STUDY CHAIR COMMISSIONER LISA ANDREW, UM, MS. TEMPLE HAS THREE MORE MINUTES.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS A QUICK EIGHT MINUTES.
UM, SO COMMISSIONER THREE WAS ACTUALLY REFERRING TO A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAINFALL STUDY FOR TEXAS.
THIS STUDY SHOWS THAT CENTRAL TEXAS IS EXPERIENCING HEAVIER RAINFALL AND THAT SEVERE FLOODING IS MORE LIKELY THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT.
AUSTIN'S WATERSHED DEPARTMENT IS IN THE PROCESS OF GATHERING DATA FOR A FIVE YEAR $15 MILLION PROJECT TO UPDATE THE FLOODPLAIN MAPS IN THE AUSTIN REGION BASED ON THE ATLAS 14 STUDY.
IF WE GO BACK TO 4 0 1, PHOTO ONE AGAIN.
SO, MR. SU SAID DURING THE ZONING HEARING THAT HE DOESN'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH BUILDING TALL BUILDINGS NEXT TO TALL BUILDINGS.
HOWEVER, THESE PROPERTIES ARE LOCATED BETWEEN OUR 14 STORY BUILDING AND TWO ONE STORY RESTAURANTS FACE ON SIXTH STREET.
SURELY A FAR CAP OF 15 TO ONE IS A REASONABLE COMPROMISE FOR THE DEVELOPER AND THE NEIGHBORS WHO WOULD MOST IMPACTED BY THE POTENTIAL INCREASE IN MASS HEIGHT AND BULK FOR THESE PROPERTIES.
IF THE FAR CAP IS RAISED ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND MY NEIGHBORS, WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT YOU DENY THE DEVELOPER'S APPLICATION FOR THIS FAR INCREASE.
WE'LL NOW HEAR FROM THE APPLICANT FOR A THREE MINUTE REBUTTAL.
COMMERS RICHARD, SETTLE ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT.
I I WANTED TO NOTE THAT TED S WITH THE, UH, CONSERVANCY IS HERE.
ALSO CAN SPEAK TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD SUPPORT FOR THIS PROJECT IN CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED.
WE, UM, WE DIDN'T LITIGATE, BUT WE, WE TALKED ABOUT ALL THESE SAME ISSUES THAT THE ZONING CASE AND WE AGREED WITH THE BUILDING THAT YOU JUST HEARD FROM TO SET BACK.
WE REVERSED THE, THE, THE DESIGN OF THE DRIVEWAY.
UM, I'M A LITTLE BIT SURPRISED THAT THEY'RE HERE TONIGHT AGAIN IN OPPOSITION 'CAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE A TALL BUILDING NEXT TO THEM REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS HERE.
WHAT I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S WRONG WITH A TALL BUILDING NEXT TO A TALL BUILDING.
AND I'LL DOUBLE DOWN ON THAT AND SAY A TALL BUILDING NEXT TO A TALL BUILDING THAT GOT THE SAME FLOODPLAIN VARIANCE THAT, THAT THEY'RE, UH, ASKING YOU TO CONSIDER TONIGHT.
SO WE'RE ASKING FOR THE INCREASE IN FAR TONIGHT WITH THE APPROPRIATE COMMUNITY BENEFITS, SUPPORT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND
[01:10:01]
THE SUPPORT OF THE CONSERVANCY.AND WE HOPE THAT YOU'LL DO THE SAME.
I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.
UM, BEFORE WE CONTINUE, DO WE, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING? A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON, UH, TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS ITEM? UNLESS I HEAR ANY OPPOSITION, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THIS.
I'LL BE HEARING, I'M NOT SEEING ANY OPPOSITION, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE AHEAD AND WITH THE UNANIMOUS SUPPORT, UM, AGAIN, WE ARE GONNA GO INTO ROUND ROBIN QUESTIONS.
MR. ANDERSON, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? OKAY, GO AHEAD.
UM, I THINK YOU, I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY THAT THERE WOULD BE FEWER HOMES IF THIS DIDN'T SUCCEED TONIGHT.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE DIFFERENCE IN NUMBER OF HOUSING UNITS WE MIGHT BE TALKING ABOUT HERE? OH, YOU'RE GONNA ASK ME TO DO MATH BALLPARKS ARE FINE.
WHILE YOU'RE DOING THAT MATH, ACTUALLY WHY DON'T I, I'M GONNA BRING CALL MR. I'M CALL ON MR. TEDS WHILE YOU DO THAT MATH.
MR. SIF, DO YOU HAVE A MOMENT? MR. SIF, I KNOW YOU ALSO REPRESENT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD AND YOU'RE ALSO PART OF PUTTING TOGETHER THE SOUL CREEK CONSERVANCY.
CAN YOU CHAT ABOUT WHAT THE, THE DEAL IS AS YOU UNDERSTAND IT? UH, THE PROPOSED DEAL RECOMMENDED BY STAFF IS FOR THE DENSITY BONUS FEES INVOLVED IN THIS CASE TO BE SPLIT HALF TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, HALF TO IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SEA HOME DISTRICT, WHICH IS TWO BLOCKS AWAY THAT HAVE BEEN ADVOCATED FOR BY CREEK CONSERVANCY AND THE OLD AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE LAST NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS.
AND THE CONSERVANCY SINCE SYSTEMS STARTING IN 2013 FOR MANY YEARS, I'VE WATCHED WHAT HAS TO BE ONE OF THE COOLEST FEATURES IN ALL OF AUSTIN.
THE, THE OLD RAILROAD TRESTLE.
IT JUST LANGUISHES AND IT NEEDS SO MUCH LOVE.
IS THIS GONNA POTENTIALLY HELP THAT IN ANY WAY? IN ITS WISDOM, THE COUNCIL, UH, ALLOCATED $12.5 MILLION FOR IN PART THESE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE IN THE C HOME DISTRICT THAT WILL NOT BE ENOUGH SO FAR TO PAY FOR THE TRESTLE.
SO THIS DENSITY BONUS FEE ALLOCATION WOULD GO A LONG WAY TO COVER THE GAP.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA SHARE WHILE YOU'RE THERE? UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
SEE MR. SETTLE COMING UP WITH, WITH A PERFECT ANSWER.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
UH, QUESTION FOR, UH, RICHARD SOTO, PLEASE.
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS IT SAYS HERE, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I'M CLEAR ON THIS, THAT THE, THE, UM, DENSITY BONUS, THE BONUS WILL BE $742,920 FEE IN LIEU FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UH, AND THEN THE OTHER HALF YOU SAID IS GONNA GO TO, UM, THE SEA HOME IMPROVEMENTS.
IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID? THE CONSERVANCY PROJECT.
AND WHY IS IT GOING TO FEE IN LIEU AS OPPOSED TO ACTUALLY CREATING HOUSING WITHIN THAT PROJECT ITSELF? IT'S AN OPTION IN THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM TO GO FROM EIGHT TO 15, YOU CAN DO THE FEE IN LIEU AND THEN FOR 15 TO 20.
AND IT'S, IT'S MORE EFFICIENT IN HIGH-RISE CONSTRUCTION TO DO FEE IN LIEU BECAUSE YOU CAN GET MORE UNITS THAT WAY THAN TRYING TO DO IT IN HIGH-RISE CONSTRUCTION.
SO MY CONCERN OVER THAT, AND THIS HAS BEEN A LONG TIME CONCERN, AS YOU WELL KNOW, IS THAT WHEN YOU DO FEE IN LIEU, YOU ARE REALLY CREATING A CITY THAT BECOMES MORE WIDER AND MORE WEALTHY IN THE CORE AREAS OF THE CITY BECAUSE, UM, IT GOES TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THE, IT GOES TO A FEE IN LIEU.
AND THAT HOUSING IS TYPICALLY BUILT IN OTHER AREAS THAT ARE MORE DIVERSE BECAUSE OF THE AFFORDABILITY QUOTIENT.
SO IN DOING THIS, WE ARE TAKING THE STEPS TO PROBABLY CONTINUE ON THAT TREND.
IS THAT CORRECT? I DO NOT AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT.
SO HOW DO YOU DISAGREE GIVEN HOW DOWNTOWN AUSTIN LOOKS NOW, WHERE MANY OF THESE PROGRAMS WORKED BECAUSE OF FEE IN LIEU AS OPPOSED TO CREATING HOUSING RIGHT THERE IN THE UPSCALE DEVELOPMENT? THAT WAS CRE THAT WAS DONE.
I'VE SEEN THE MATH AND IT JUST TO ME MAKES
[01:15:01]
MORE SENSE TO BE ABLE TO GET MORE AFFORDABLE UNITS WITHIN AND, AND YOU PICK THE AREA.IT DOESN'T AND, AND, AND BY THE WAY, I I I, I ALSO DON'T ADOPT THE ASSUMPTION THAT IT IS, UH, THAT, THAT IT MAKES A COLOR-BASED DECISION ON THAT.
THAT IS A DECI THAT'S A DISCUSSION THAT YOU COULD, YOU AND I COULD PROBABLY HAVE OFFLINE, BUT THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY THE CITY AND IT'S AN OPTION.
AND THAT'S THE PROGRAM THAT WE'VE GONE TO.
AND MY PERSONAL OPINION IS, ESPECIALLY IN HIGH RISE CONSTRUCTION, YOU CAN DO BETTER.
EVEN IF IT'S WITHIN A MILE OR TWO OF THIS, IT'S BETTER TO DO THE FEE AND LIE.
AND I THINK THE CITY AGREES WITH ME.
AND I, I, I GET YOUR POINT, BUT I'M, I DON'T, I'M NOT IN AGREEMENT WITH IT BECAUSE IT HAS CREATED A DOWNTOWN AND CORE AREA THAT IS VERY WHITE AND VERY WEALTHY BECAUSE THESE, UM, HOUSING, THE HOUSING IS NOT BEING THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR PEOPLE WHO WOULD FALL IN THE 50 TO 80 MFI INCOME LEVELS ARE NOT, UM, CANNOT AFFORD TO LIVE IN THE PLACES THE VERY PLACES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND THOSE TREND LINES HAVE BEEN THERE FOR SOME TIME.
SO IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU DEFINE WHICH IS BETTER TO HAVE A CITY DOWNTOWN AREA THAT LOOKS LIKE IT LOOKS OR TO HAVE SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
THAT WAS MY QUESTION ABOUT THE FEE AND LIE VERSUS CREATING THE HOUSING RIGHT.
IN THE, UH, DEVELOPMENT THAT, THAT IS BEING BUILT.
COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, DO WE HAVE OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER COX, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
UM, I I WHAT WHAT HAPPENS TO THIS $1.8 MILLION THAT IS INTENDED TO GO TO THE SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY TO BE ALLOCATED TOWARDS THE THIRD STREET BIKE, PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE AND TRESTLE IMPROVEMENT? WHAT'S THE PROCESS FOR THAT? DOES, DOES THE DEVELOPER JUST CUT A CHECK TO SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY AND THEN THAT'S IT.
UH, THE, THE CITY DOES NOT ACTUALLY TAKE POSITION OF THOSE CONTRIBUTIONS.
THOSE ARE, UH, GIVEN TO THE CONSERVANCY.
THE CONSERVANCY WILL COLLABORATE WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO MAKE PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE AREA THAT ARE OF PUBLIC BENEFIT.
THAT THEY COULD INCLUDE PROJECTS SUCH AS THE TRESTLE, AS WAS MENTIONED THIS EVENING, OR ACTUAL IMPROVEMENTS ON SHOAL CREEK, WHICH OTHER SURROUNDING PROJECTS HAVE DONE IN THE PAST TO SATISFY THE PROVISIONS OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.
UH, WE'RE NOT MOVING TO THOSE DE SO, SO THE SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY CAN ESSENTIALLY DO WHATEVER THEY WISH WITH THESE FUNDS? NO, NOT WHATEVER THEY WISH, I DON'T BELIEVE I SAID THAT.
MY APOLOGIES IF I INSINUATED THAT COMMISSIONER.
BUT IT'S IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY FOR SPECIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE AREA THAT BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
SO IT CAN COUNT US TOWARDS A COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
AND, AND IF THOSE FUNDS DID NOT GO TO SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY, THEY OTHERWISE WOULD GO INTO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND? WELL, NOT NECESSARILY.
THE APPLICANT GETS TO CHOOSE THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT IN THIS CASE AND IN A COMPARABLE PROJECT, MOST OTHER PROJECTS EITHER CHOOSE TO DO ALL FEE AND LIE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR PARTIAL ONSITE AND, AND A FEE AND LIE OR ANY OF THE OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS LISTED IN 25 2 5 8 6 E AS AN ECHO ONE THROUGH 11.
AND THE FIRST LI THE FIRST ITEM, WHICH I THINK WAS INTENTIONAL OF THOSE COMMUNITY BENEFITS, IS THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPONENT OF THIS.
SO, JUST SO I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, IF, IF, IF THE APPLICANT DID NOT GIVE THE $1.8 MILLION TO SHO CREEK CONSERVANCY AND THEY USE THAT MONEY INSTEAD AND DIRECTED IT TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND, THEN THAT WOULD SATISFY THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT REQUIREMENT, EE EITHER ONE, BECAUSE THEY GET TO CHOOSE THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
SO THE WAY THE COUNCIL SET UP THE, IN THE CODE IN 25 2 5 8 6 50% OF THE FIRST BONUS AREA REQUESTED HAS TO GO TOWARDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BENEFITS.
THAT COULD BE A FEE IN LIEU CONTRIBUTION OR ONSITE UNITS FOR SQUARE FOOTAGE.
THE OTHER 50% COULD BE ANY OF THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS, INCLUDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING FEE IN LIEU OR ONSITE OR ANY OF THE OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS IN THIS CASE.
SO, SO WHAT I HEARD, WHAT I HEARD HERE, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR TALKING OVER TO YOU, I'M JUST TRYING TO, TO NOT RUN OUTTA TIME, UM, IS THAT THIS MONEY THAT'S DEDICATED TO SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY DOES NOT ACTUALLY PAY FOR THE IMPROVEMENT THAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT YET.
THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY YET.
SO WHAT IF THEY NEVER HAVE THE MONEY TO REBUILD SOME OLD TRESTLE BRIDGE? WHAT HAPPENS
[01:20:01]
TO THAT MONEY? I, I, I COULDN'T SPEAK TO THE REMAINDER OF THE BALANCE OF THE PROJECT, BUT THIS WOULD BE A CONTRIBUTION THAT ALLOWS THE APPLICANT TO GAIN BONUS AREA BASED ON THE CALCULATIONS FOR THE REMAINING 50% OF THE BONUS AREA REQUIREMENT.SO IT'S NOT INTENDED TO FULFILL THE, THE BALANCE OF WHAT'S NEEDED FOR A PROJECT, BUT IT'S COMPARABLE TO THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE GIVEN, SAY FOR
BUT, BUT WHAT, SO WHAT I'M STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND HERE IS THAT IF, IF THE MONEY IS GOING TO THE AUSTIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND, THAT THAT'S A, THAT'S ACCOUNTABLE TO BASICALLY THE CITY, IT'S ACCOUNTABLE TO THE VOTERS AND THE TAXPAYERS OF THE CITY.
IF WE'RE GIVING DEVELOPMENT BONUS FEE AND LIE MONEY TO A NONPROFIT THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE OVERSIGHT AND AUDIT OF THE CITY AND IS NOT ACCOUNTABLE TO THE VOTERS OF AUSTIN, HOW ARE YOU, HOW ARE YOU TRACKING THE USE OF THAT MONEY? SO DOES IT GO INTO LIKE A, AN ESCROW OR SOMETHING? SO, SO THERE IS A CERTIFICATION LETTER THAT IS ISSUED BY OUR HOUSING DEPARTMENT THAT ALSO ACCOUNTS FOR THE FEE LIE CONTRIBUTIONS AS WELL AS THE OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT'S TIED TO A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY BY WHICH AT THAT POINT WHEN THE CO IS ISSUED, THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS ARE VERIFIED.
SO THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PARTNERING ENTITIES, SUCH AS SHOAL CREEK WOULD BE VERIFIED AND THEN THE CO COULD BE RELEASED.
BUT THAT'S JUST, THAT'S JUST CUTTING A CHECK TO SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY UTILIZING THE FUNDS FOR A COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
THE CITY WOULD TAKE POSITION OF THOSE FUNDS TO USE FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THAT PROJECT.
I, I CAN'T TELL YOU WHICH DATE THAT WOULD BE.
THAT WOULD BE UP TO THE ACTUAL PROJECT, UH, PROCESS TO, TO USE THOSE FUNDS TO COLLABORATE FOR ANY IMPROVEMENTS IN THE AREA.
I'M STILL A LITTLE CONFUSED, BUT I'M PROBABLY RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
COMMISSIONER HAYNES, I KNOW YOU'RE NEXT IN LINE.
DO YOU MIND IF I GO AHEAD AND ASK, GO AHEAD OF YOU TO ASK THE SAME QUESTION OF MRS. CALL RANK ON ME? OF COURSE, I'LL LET THE CHAIRMAN GO.
I, I, I WAS, I'M NOT REAL SMART, BUT I'M SMARTER THAN THAT.
I I WONDER IF YOU HAVE A COMMENTS ON, SO YOU CAN EXPLAIN THE PROCESS.
'CAUSE I THINK THIS IS A DECENT QUESTION FOR US TO UNDERSTAND.
I DON'T WANNA PUT MYSELF IN THE PLACE OF STAFF, BUT, UH, I DO WANT TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, THESE COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
SHO CREEK CONSERVANCY HAS SPENT SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, UH, DEVELOPING WITH DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE OF SUPPORT AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD SUPPORT A PROGRAM CALLED THE CYPRESS AND SHOAL CREEK PUBLIC SPACE STRATEGY.
IT, IT PROPOSES A SET OF IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE ESSENTIALLY, UH, IN LINE WITH THE C HOME TIFF PROGRAM PLAN, BUT NOT AT THIS POINT FUNDABLE, BECAUSE THAT C HOME TIFF WAS TERMINATED BY COUNCIL IN DECEMBER, UH, $12.5 MILLION FROM THE TIF F WAS PROVIDED TO GO THAT FAR INTO PAYING FOR THESE IMPROVEMENTS THAT DO INCLUDE A NEW HIKE AND BIKE BRIDGE, A RESTORATION AND REPURPOSING OF THE 99-YEAR-OLD RAILROAD TRESTLE, BOTH AT THIRD AND SHOAL CREEK.
UM, SEVERAL SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS, ULTIMATELY PROVIDING AN ALTERNATE ROUTE THAT WAS TO BE ACHIEVED BY A THING CALLED THE BOWIE STREET UNDERPASS, WHICH WOULD'VE PROVIDED SAFE AND CONNECT A, A SAFE PASSAGE FOR BICYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIANS FROM THE PFLUGER BRIDGE INTO DOWNTOWN.
WITHOUT GETTING TOO MUCH MORE INTO THE WEEDS, ANY AND ALL OF THAT COULD BE PAID FOR BY THIS COMMUNITY BENEFIT, AT LEAST TO THE EXTENT OF $1.783 MILLION.
IF IT WASN'T AS, UM, STAFF JUST DESCRIBED AS I UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS THAT MONEY WOULD BE TURNED OVER, UH, TO THE CITY AT THE, AT THE POINT AT WHICH THIS CERTIFICATE WAS ISSUED.
I, I APPRECIATE THAT, MR. STIFF.
THIS WOULD BE A QUESTION FOR, SINCE I'M, I STILL HAVE SOME TIME EITHER FOR APPLICANT OR THE STAFF, JUST SO I UNDERSTAND THIS WOULD BE PART OF THE OFFSITE OPEN SPACE DEVELOPMENT BONUS FEE COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
MR. ROSLYN, I SEE YOU WALKING UP NO CHAIR.
THAT IS ACTUALLY A DIFFERENT COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
THIS PARTICULAR BENEFIT WOULD FALL UNDER 25 2 5 8 6 E AS IN ECHO 12, WHICH IS OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
AND THE APPLICANT HAS PROVEN DOCUMENTATION THAT IT INDEED WOULD BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY AS WHOLE.
AND I, AND I THINK THIS IS JUST
[01:25:01]
A GOOD REMINDER FOR US, THAT THE WAY THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS WORKS IS IT HAS A SORT OF A MENU OPTION FOR GOING BEYOND THE AFFORDABILITY GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENT.AND THIS IS, UM, AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.
MR. EF, I'M SO SORRY, I'M GONNA HAVE TO ASK YOU TO COME BACK FOR A SECOND.
CAN IN OUR BACKUP, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU ALREADY COVERED IT TO QUITE A DECENT DEGREE, BUT CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE THIRD STREET, UH, YOU KNOW, BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS AND THE TRESTLE? WHAT ARE WE, WHAT, WHAT PROJECT IS SORT OF BEING CONSIDERED FOR OUR COMMUNITY? WELL, THEY'RE LISTED IN A MEMO DECEMBER 8TH MEMO FROM ROBERT GOODE, AND, UH, RICHARD MARTINEZ TO RICHARD, UH, THE DIRECTOR OF MENDOZA TRANSPORTATION MEN MENDOZA MENZA.
UM, AND THEY INVOLVE, UM, IN SUMMARY, THE PROJECTS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THE HIKE AND BIKE BRIDGE, THE TRESTLE, UH, A NEW SIDEWALK, UH, THAT GOES FROM THE PGA BRIDGE TO SHOAL CREEK TRAIL AND, UH, OTHER SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS AND CONNECTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE SEA HOME DISTRICT.
AND I DO WANNA SAY, I THINK IT WOULD BE EXCITING TO SEE THE TRESTLE COME TO LIFE.
I KNOW A LOT OF, A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE CITY HAVE LOOKED AT OVER THE YEARS AND HAVE BEEN EXCITED TO SEE THE STRUCTURE AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN PRESERVE IT AND USE IT FOR BENEFIT.
UM, COMMISSIONER HAYNES AND THEN COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
COMMISSIONER HAYNES, PLEASE GO AHEAD, MR. RIVERA, LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT I GLADLY GAVE THE CHAIR MY TIME.
UH, AND JUST FOR TRANSPARENCY SAKE, YOU AND I HAD A CONVERSATION TODAY ABOUT, ABOUT THIS ITEM WE HAVE.
UM, JUST WANT TO, UH, UM, WERE YOU HERE FOR THE LAST ITEM FOR THE LAST DISCUSSION? WERE YOU IN THE AUDIENCE? ALRIGHT.
I WAS, UH, I JUST WANT TO, I JUST WANT TO KIND OF TALKING TO THE ETHERNET, TALKING TO THE, I KNOW THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE WATCHING THIS ON CHANNEL SIX.
UM, THAT THE WAY YOU DO, UH, THE WAY YOU BUILD IN AUSTIN AND THE WAY YOU DO COMMUNITY BENEFITS AND THE WAY YOU ARE A GOOD NEIGHBOR IS YOU WORK WITH THE NEIGHBORS AND YOU DO BENEFITS THAT BENEFIT THE NEIGHBORS AND YOU DO BENEFITS THAT BENEFIT THE CITY.
AND THAT'S THE WAY YOU GET, UH, A GOOD REPUTATION IN THIS TOWN.
SO I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I NOTE HERE IN THE BACK, UH, GOING FROM EIGHT TO ONE TO 15 TO ONE FAR, YOU COULD HAVE DONE THAT ADMINISTRATIVELY, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.
AND SO BASED ON, ON THAT MOVE, EIGHT TO ONE TO 15 TO ONE, WHICH YOU COULD HAVE DONE ADMINISTRATIVELY, UH, YOU'VE WORKED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY AND, AND COME UP WITH A, A FEE IN LIEU FOR NOT ONLY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT FOR THE BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN.
AND THAT WAS BASED ON THE 50 50 SPLIT.
THERE WAS BASED ON NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN, BETWEEN YOURSELF AND THEM OR, OR YOUR, YOUR, YOUR, UH, YOUR CLIENTS AND AND THEM.
IT, IT IS, BUT WITH ONE CLARIFICATION, IT WAS, WE'VE ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT THE 20 TO ONE.
AND, AND SO ALL ALONG, WE'VE GOT THREE PARTIES INVOLVED IN THIS.
WE HAVE US, WE HAVE OUR NEIGHBORS, AUSTIN CITY LOSS, WHICH WE REDESIGNED THE BUILDING FOR THEM DURING THE ZONING CASE.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP AND WE HAVE THE CONSERVATIVE SERVICE FOUR ACTUALLY.
AND THE ONLY FOLKS THAT WE WERE UNABLE TO, I GUESS COME AROUND FOR THE 15 TO 20 TO ONE WAS OUR NEIGHBORS, THE AUSTIN CITY LOFTS.
BUT WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE TONIGHT IS THE INCREASE FROM 15 TO ONE TO 20 TO ONE, BECAUSE THAT'S AN ACTION THAT, THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS TO TAKE TO, TO GRANT.
IS THAT CORRECT? THIS COMMISSION MAKES A RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
SEE, I'M, I'M STILL THE NEW GUY HERE.
AND SO, UM, SO BASED ON THAT, BASED ON, ON THAT, THEN, UM, JUST TO TELEGRAPH WHERE I AM WITH, WITH MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS AND WHERE OTHERS ARE, UM, FOR THE, THE, THE FEE IN LIEU, THE, BASICALLY THE, THE 2.08 MILLION, THE, THE 2 MILLION IN CHANGE, UM, GOING TO EIGHT TO ONE, TO 15 TO ONE, THAT'S A NEGOTIATION BETWEEN PRIVATE PARTIES.
I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO THAT, BUT, AND THEN WHEN YOU'RE COMING BACK AND GOING FROM 15 TO 20 AND YOU'VE GOT THE, BASICALLY THE 1.4 MILLION THAT'S DIVIDED 7 42 AND 7 42 IN CHANGE, UH, THAT'S AN AREA WHERE I BELIEVE THIS COMMISSION, UM, HAS A SAY AND, AND SHOULD MAKE A SAY.
I'LL HAVE AN AMENDMENT ON THAT, UH, OR AT LEAST A PROPOSAL ON THAT, UH, GOING FORWARD.
AND, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT
[01:30:01]
AS WE GET INTO THE PROPOSALS.BUT I JUST WANTED YOU TO COME UP HERE AND, UH, I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR WORKING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND THANK YOU FOR WORKING WITH THE FOLKS AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO BEING ABLE TO SUPPORT THIS PROJECT GOING FORWARD.
COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, I'M GOING TO ASK MR. SUBTLE TO COME RIGHT BACK UP HERE.
UM, THERE, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT YOU ALL WILL BE COMING BACK TO US AGAIN TO DISCUSS THE FLOOD, UH, PLANE VARIATION.
IS THAT CORRECT? AND CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE DETAIL ABOUT THAT PART PLEASE? SO, AND I'M SORRY, I, I COULDN'T HEAR 'CAUSE THERE WAS SOME TALKING BEHIND IT.
YEAH, BASICALLY, UH, JUST ESSENTIALLY WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE WHEN YOU COME BACK FOR THE FLOOD PLANE VARIANCE THAT WILL BE REQUIRED TO THE SITE.
SO WE, WE WORK WITH THE STAFF AND THEN WE WORK WITH THE ENGINEERS AND WE'VE GOT VARIOUS THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO SOLVE FOR TO GET THE SAME VARIANCE THAT ALL THE OTHER BUILDINGS ALONG THERE HAVE GOTTEN.
AND, AND THOSE INCLUDE NO ADVERSE IMPACT TO OTHER PEOPLE DOWNSTREAM, SAFE ACCESS, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
AND THAT WILL BE COMING BACK TO THE CITY FOR, UH, ULTIMATE APPROVAL.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY, AT THAT POINT WE'LL HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF WHAT THE BUILDING WILL LOOK LIKE AND SORT OF WHAT IT, HOW IT'LL SIT.
AND YOU'LL HAVE ADDITIONAL UPDATES REGARDING SORT OF THE MORE, UH, FURTHER ALONG IN THE PROJECT.
IS THAT CORRECT? WE WILL, WE'LL HAVE MORE TECHNICAL DATA FOR YOU AT THAT POINT.
SO WE'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO REVIEW THIS ONE MORE ADDITIONAL TIME BEFORE
THIS IS ONE THAT YOU GET LOTS OF BITES AT THE APPLE
WELL, WE APPRECIATE SEEING YOU HERE IN CHAMBERS.
COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, DO WE HAVE OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
UH, THANK YOU, UM, MR. SUBTLE, THIS IS A YET ANOTHER QUESTION FOR YOU.
CAN I, CAN I, CAN I CLARIFY? I UNDERSTAND THAT.
CAN I CLARIFY ONE THING BECAUSE I JUST WENT BACK AND GOT, GOT SPANKED.
THE, THE FLOODPLAIN VARIANCE DOES NOT COME TO YOU.
I APPRECIATE THAT CLARIFICATION.
I DIDN'T WANNA MISREPRESENT THAT STAFF.
SO CAN WE PLEASE RESTART? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON STEIN? OKAY.
UM, SO AM I CORRECT IN UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PROJECT CONTAINS ABOUT 360 RESIDENTIAL UNITS, CORRECT? LIKE 3 59 WAS THE NUMBER 3 59, UH, AND YOU'RE PROPOSING ABOUT 420 PARKING SPACES IN THE GARAGE? YES.
CURRENTLY, UH, WHY IS MY QUESTION, WHY ARE YOU PROPOSING A 420 CAR PARKING SPACE FOR 360 RESIDENTIAL UNITS SURROUNDED BY MASS TRANSIT, TAKING BIKE TRAILS, STORES, SHOPS, JOBS, EVERYTHING YOU NEED WITHOUT A CAR? SO I ALWAYS HATE THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, BUT I GET, WE GET ASKED A LOT.
IF YOU SAY BANKS, I'M, I'M NOT GONNA BE HAPPY
IN TODAY'S WORLD EQUITY FOLKS AND LENDERS STILL WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S ENOUGH CAR PARKING FOR THE BUILDING USE TO, TO DATE.
IT IS STILL VERY DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, TO GET THE EQUITY AND THE LOAN TO BUILD A PROJECT IF YOU DON'T PROVIDE THE PARKING.
NOW, THE GOAL IS TO GET AWAY FROM IT.
AND THE ORDINANCES ARE CHANGING AND THE DESIGNS OF THE GARAGES ARE CHANGING SO THAT YOU CAN RETROFIT.
BUT IN TODAY'S WORLD TO GET THIS PROJECT BUILT, THAT'S THE PARKING NEEDS TO BE BUILT.
NOW, THE COROLLARY TO THAT IS ALSO DEVELOPERS HATE BUILDING PARKING BECAUSE IT'S EXPENSIVE AND THEY DON'T GET TO RENT IT.
THEY DON'T BUILD IT 'CAUSE THEY THINK IT'S FUN.
THEY BUILD IT BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN GET THE PROJECT DONE.
AND I HATE THAT AND I HATE THAT ANSWER, BUT THAT'S THE YEAH, THAT'S THE TRUTH.
I, I ALSO HATE THAT ANSWER AND I APPRECIATE THAT
UM, BUT I APPRECIATE YOU GIVING IT.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.
ACTUALLY, ONE, ONE OTHER QUESTION.
UH, YOU MENTIONED THAT GARAGES CAN BE DESIGNED TO BE CONVERTIBLE TO OTHER USES, RESIDENCES, OFFICES, PROBABLY OFFICES.
UH, IS THIS GARAGE BEING DESIGNED WITH LIKE LEVEL, LEVEL DECKS FOR FUTURE CONVERSION? WE'RE STILL IN THE DESIGN PHASE.
BECAUSE THE SITE IS SO NARROW AND THE GARAGE IS NOT VERY EFFICIENT, IT POSES SOME CHALLENGES BECAUSE TO DO A FLAT GARAGE FLOORS, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE RAMPS ON THE ENDS.
SO WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THAT.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS, NOT SEEING ANY QUESTIONS.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION MOVE STAFF RECOMMENDATION? I HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER ANDERSON, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL TO MOVE WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
[01:35:01]
UM, WE'LL GO INTO OUR DEBATE.COMMISSIONER ANDERSON, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK FOR YOUR MOTION, MR. CHAIRMAN? IS THERE APPROPRIATE TIME TO DO A SUBSTITUTE? THAT IS, SO WE, YES.
I GOT, I GOT BAD LOOKS LAST TIME WHEN I WAITED THIS
UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, I, I MOVE, UH, A, A SUBSTITUTE TO COMMISSIONER ANDERSON'S MOTION AND MY SUBSTITUTE IN, SOMEBODY WILL HAVE TO CHECK MY MATH.
UH, BUT, UM, UH, THE SPLIT FOR THE FEE IN LIEU FROM THE, UH, THE BONUS AREA FROM 15 TO ONE TO 21 TO 22, 1 IS APPROXIMATELY $1.485 MILLION.
AND, UH, RATHER THAN SPLITTING THAT 50 50 AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THE, UH, HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL OR THE THIRD STREET, UH, BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE, I WOULD PROPOSE THAT WE PUT THAT $1.48 MILLION INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND LEAVE THE OTHER, UH, 1,000,040 THOU 1,040,000 AND CHANGE 1,040,000 SPLIT 50 50 FOR THOSE TWO.
UM, UH, FOR THE, FOR ONE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ONE FOR THE THIRD STREET BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE.
COMMISSIONER, UH, BEFORE WE SORT OF GO ON, DO WE HAVE A SECOND FOR THE MOTION? ACTUALLY, BEFORE WE GO TO THE SECOND, IS IT POSSIBLE, MR. HAYNES, JUST FOR CLARITY, AND I STAFF I LOOK AT YOU, COULD WE POTENTIALLY BREAK UP BY PERCENTAGE AS OPPOSED TO THE DOLLARS JUST IN CASE WE DON'T GET SOMETHING WRONG? 'CAUSE THE, YOUR DETERMINATION CAN ALSO CHANGE BASED ON MR. ROSLIN, UH, CHAIR, I MAY, THE, THE SPLIT IS ACTUALLY THE CHOICE OF THE APPLICANT.
HOWEVER, YOU CAN MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL, BUT THE APPLICANT IS THE ONE THAT CHOOSES THE ALLOCATION OF THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
STAFF CANNOT COMPEL, I REALIZE WE'RE, WE'RE NOT SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION, BUT STAFF CANNOT COMPEL AN APPLICANT HOW TO ALLOCATE THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
YOU MAY MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO MOVE THAT DIRECTION, YOU HAVE TO BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR HOW YOU ARE RECOMMENDING TO THE COUNCIL THAT THE SPLIT HAPPENED.
THIS WOULD BE A FIRST, UH, FOR US, AND IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO CONFIRM WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT TO BE ABLE TO DETERMINE IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT COULD BE, UH, RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL.
DO WE HAVE STAFF PRESENT WHO CAN HELP GUIDE US THROUGH THIS ALSO, IN TERMS OF PROCESS? WOULD THAT MEAN WE WOULD REMOVE, WE WOULD, I GUESS I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, WOULD WE MOVE FORWARD WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATION AND THEN SEND FORWARD A ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL? DO WE HAVE STAFF BE ABLE TO HELP ANSWER THAT QUESTION AND WE CAN GIVE YOU TIME TO RESOLVE THAT? AND, AND MR. CHAIRMAN, I, I, RATHER THAN DOING THE DOLLARS, IF YOU, UH, I JUST SAY A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE NOT, NOT OF THE, NOT OF THE TOTAL, THE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE, THE, THE EXTRA BONUS, 15 TO 20 TO ONE.
THAT IS A CLEANER MOTION AND MAKES IT VERY CLEAR TO COUNSEL WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE.
CHAIR, WHILE STAFF HUDDLES WITH THAT.
COULD, COULD I ASK THE MOTION MAKER TO REPEAT HIS MOTION WITH THE PERCENTAGES? I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND THIS, PLEASE.
SO LEAVE THAT 50 50 SPLIT FOR, UH, 50% GOING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, 50% GOING TO THE THIRD STREET BIKE, THE THIRD STREET BIKE, PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE AND TRESTLE IMPROVEMENT.
AND THEN THE, UH, 100% OF THE FEE IN LIEU OF THE, UH, BONUS AREA GOING FROM 15 TO 20 TO ONE, WHICH WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY SOME FIGURE, I'M NOT GONNA PUT THAT FIGURE OUT, BUT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THOSE FUNDS WOULD ALL GO TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
IF, IF I MIGHT, AND PLEASE CORRECT ME, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, IF I'M WRONG ON THIS.
UM, JUST IN TERMS OF STATING, WHAT I'M HEARING FROM YOU IS WE WOULD HAVE STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR THE BASE BONUS AND GOING FROM 15 TO ONE TO 20 TO ONE, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THAT WOULD GO TOWARDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
WOULD THAT CAPTURE? THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, STAFF, DO WE HAVE ANY GUIDANCE? CHAIR COMMISSION LAYS ON ERROR.
SO AS ALWAYS, I LAW WILL EVALUATE THE RECOMMENDATION, ENSURE IT'S, UM, COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY CODE.
SO YOU'RE WELCOME TO MOVE THE RECOMMENDATION, BUT THEN WE'LL, UM, CONFER WITH, UM, LEGALIZE IT PROCEEDS TO COUNSEL.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION, DO WE HAVE A SECOND ON THAT MOTION?
[01:40:01]
I WILL SECOND IT, BUT I WANNA BE CLEAR, ARE WE ACTUALLY VOTING ON THE MOTION OR ARE WE VOTING ON A RECOMMENDATION CHAIR? COMMISSIONER LAYS ON ANDREWS ONE AND THE SAME.SO THEN WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAYNES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS FOR, UH, LET ME JUST STATE THIS AND THEN I'LL, UH, COMMISSIONER COXAL OR WE ALREADY HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS.
I WANTED TO MAKE AMENDMENT TO THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION.
LET ME STATE THE SUBSTITUTE FIRST AND THEN WE CAN GO TO THE AMENDMENT.
SO THIS WOULD BE, UM, STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR THE BONUS UP TO 15 TO ONE FAR, AND THEN FROM 15 TO 1, 2 20 TO ONE, UH, IT WOULD BE A HUNDRED PERCENT TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, COX, YEAH, I'LL SIMPLIFY THIS EVEN MORE.
UM, MY, MY, MY AMENDMENT IS TO APPROVE STAFF RECOMMENDATION CONTINGENT ON A HUNDRED PERCENT OF ALL FEE LIE GOING TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND, SO THAT IT'S BOTH THE BONUS AREA FROM EIGHT TO ONE OR EIGHT, EIGHT TO ONE TO 15 TO ONE, AND THE 15 TO ONE TO 20, A HUNDRED PERCENT TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND.
UH, I HONESTLY LOOK TO OUR PARLIAMENTARIAN ON THIS.
COMMISSIONER COX, I FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE A SUBSTITUTE BECAUSE THAT'S SUCH A SUBSTAN.
YEAH, I'M SEEING A NOD FROM OUR STAFF AS WELL.
I DON'T KNOW, PARLIAMENTARIAN, IF YOU WANTED TO WEIGH ON THAT.
THE WAY TO DO THAT WOULD BE COMMISSIONER COX, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONVINCE THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS TO EITHER WITHDRAW THE SUBSTITUTE OR FOR EVERYONE TO AGREE TO DISPOSE OFF THE SUBSTITUTE, AND THEN YOU CAN MAKE A ALTERNATIVE SUBSTITUTE.
I'M, I'M NOT SEEING AN INTEREST IN WITHDRAWING THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION.
AND THEN COMMISSIONER COX, IF THIS SUBSTITUTE FAILS, THEN WE'LL WE'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO FOR ANOTHER SUBSTITUTE AS WELL.
UM, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO YOUR MOTION? SURE.
MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UM, AND, AND I APOLOGIZE TO MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.
I, I DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO READ THE STATESMAN TODAY OR, OR YESTERDAY, BUT I, I MISSED THE, THE HEADLINE ABOUT THE, UH, HACK AND BACK, UH, CRISIS THAT WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW.
UM, IF WE'RE HAVING A HIKE AND BACK CRISIS, PLEASE CORRECT ME AND WE COULD PUT SOME MORE MONEY TOWARD HIKE AND BACK FACILITIES.
BUT I HAVEN'T MISSED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MEETINGS ABOUT THE HOUSING CRISIS THAT WE'RE HAVING.
AND MY MOTION IS TO ADDRESS THE HOUSING CRISIS THAT WE'RE HAVING.
YES, I AGREE THAT WE NEED OUTDOOR FACILITIES, AND I AGREE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A UNIFORM, UM, CONSISTENT APPROACH.
AND MATTER OF FACT, AS THE OWNER OF AN SF THREE THAT'S IN THE 25 YEAR FLOODPLAIN, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A WAIVER, BUT I DON'T GET THAT.
AND, UM, BUT IT, IF, IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE A FEE IN LIEU, THEN THAT FEE IN LIEU SHOULD GO TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND, UH, I MADE A COMMITMENT TO THE APPLICANT, UH, NOT TO MONKEY WITH MESS WITH WHATEVER.
AND THAT'S WHY I COULDN'T SUPPORT COMMISSIONER COX'S IDEA.
UH, THEY WORKED IN GOOD FAITH WITH FOUR PARTIES.
I THOUGHT IT WAS TWO, BUT THEY WORKED IN GOOD FAITH WITH FOUR PARTIES.
AND SO I'M NOT GONNA TOUCH THE ORIGINAL, UM, UM, SPLIT THE 50 50 SPLIT.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE, THE, THE REASON THAT THEY'RE HERE TO GET OUR APPROVAL TO GO 15 TO 20, UH, THAT IS FAIR GAME IN MY OPINION.
AND THAT SHOULD BE THE RECOMMENDATION.
AND THAT EXTRA MONEY CAN GO A LONG WAY TOWARD ADDRESSING, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS IN THIS CITY, WHICH IS WHAT WE ALL THINK, OR AT LEAST I THINK WE ALL THINK NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
UH, COMMISSIONER SPEAKING AGAINST THIS MOTION.
UH, COMMISSIONER COX, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT LIKE BOGGLES MY MIND.
UH, AND I, AND I FEEL LIKE WE'RE HEADED DOWN A DIRECTION THAT MAKES US COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY HYPOCRITICAL IN WHAT WE, UH, RECOMMEND ON THIS COMMISSION.
UH, MY UNDERSTANDING, AND I MAY BE WRONG, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE'RE WE'RE SPLITTING MONEY THAT COULD GO TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND SENDING HALF OF THAT MONEY TO, TO A NONPROFIT THAT NEGOTIATED SOME SORT OF AGREEMENT WITH THE DEVELOPER.
AND THE DEVELOPER IS USING THE FEE AND LIE OPPORTUNITY PROVIDED IN A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM TO DI DIVERT FUNDS AWAY FROM AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO THIS NONPROFIT THAT THEY NEGOTIATED SOME SEPARATE AGREEMENT WITH TO FURTHER ENHANCE,
[01:45:02]
UH, HIKE AND BIKE FACILITIES IN ONE OF THE NICEST WEALTHIEST AREAS IN THE ENTIRE CITY.I MEAN, THAT'S LIKE BLOW UP HEAD EMOJI TYPE TYPE STUFF.
WHY, WHY ARE WE EVEN ENTERTAINING THIS? ALL OF THIS MONEY SHOULD BE GOING TO OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST TRUST FUND BECAUSE IT'S A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.
AND THAT IS THE FIRST ITEM THAT IS, THAT IS ALLOWED FOR THOSE FUNDS, UH, TO, TO, TO PICK SOMETHING DOWN THE LIST THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY EVEN THERE.
IT'S JUST IN THE POOL OF OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
UM, JUST, IT JUST, IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME.
WE, WE SHOULD BE PRIORITIZING AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND IF WE DON'T, THEN WE'RE BEING COMPLETELY HYPOCRITICAL, UH, IN, IN, IN MUCH OF WHAT WE SAY ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
COMMISSIONER SPEAKING FOR COMMISSIONER, SPEAKING AGAINST CHAIR, UH, COMMISSIONER ANDERSON.
I, I, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE THE SENTIMENT CHAIR HERE TONIGHT.
UM, IT WAS ABOUT 10, MAYBE 12 YEARS AGO THAT THE TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION BUILDING WANTED TO BUILD A BIGGER AND TALLER BUILDING WHAT THEY WERE ALLOWED TO BUILD.
AND SO THEY WENT TO CITY COUNCIL TO ALLOW FOR WHAT IT IS WE'RE NOW TRYING TO DEBATE.
AND THE, THE WAY WE PASSED IT, THIS BODY, THE CITY COUNCIL PASSED IT 10 YEARS AGO, 11 YEARS AGO MAYBE, WAS THAT THEY WOULD WORK DIRECTLY WITH NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT WORKED WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WAS MOST AFFECTED BY THE INCREASE IN FAR AND DENSITY.
AND THAT'S WHAT COUNCIL PASSED AND THAT'S WHAT THE APPLICANT HAS DONE HERE WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH SHUL CREEK CONSERVANCY.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T WANT TO BE HYPOCRITICAL.
AND SO TO STEP BACK FROM THE AGREEMENT THAT ORIGINALLY CREATED THIS DENSITY BONUS MECHANISM IN THE FIRST PLACE, I THINK WOULD BE WRONG FOR US AS A BODY.
SO I APPRECIATE WHAT COUNCIL DID MANY YEARS AGO AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE THIS THROUGH.
AND WITH THE EXTRA TAX BASE FROM THIS LARGE DEVELOPMENT, IF THE CITY OF COURSE, WANTS TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT, THEY HAVE MORE BANDWIDTH TO DO THINGS WITH THAT AMAZING AMOUNT OF TAX BASE AND THEY COULD OTHERWISE.
SO DEFINITELY HAPPY TO SUPPORT THE ORIGINAL, UH, STAFF RECOMMENDATION AND SO WILL BE VOTING AGAINST THIS AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT LOOKS TO TAKE AWAY THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT, WHICH ALLOWED FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO BE A PART OF WHAT HAPPENS WITH DENSITY BONUS DOLLARS.
COMMISSIONER SPEAKING FOR THE MOTION.
COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ, I'M SORRY, POINT OF PRIVILEGE.
CAN YOU RESTATE THE MOTION? I GOT A LITTLE MIXED UP WITH THE PERCENTAGES AND SURE.
AND COMMISSIONER HAYS, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.
SO WE WOULD BE SAYING THAT WE'RE MOVING AHEAD WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATION FROM EIGHT TO ONE FAR TO 15 TO ONE FAR, WHICH IS A SPLIT BETWEEN, UM, THE SORT OF OFFSITE COMMUNITY BENEFIT AND THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND THEN FOR 15 TO ONE TO 20 TO ONE, ALL OF THAT BENEFIT, ALL OF THAT FEE LEAVE WOULD BE GOING TOWARDS THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMUNITY BENEFIT COMMISSIONER HANS.
DID I GET THAT CORRECT? PERFECT.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER, UH, FOLKS SPEAKING FOR AGAINST THIS MOTION, MR. PHILLIPS? SO I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY THAT AUSTIN IS ONE OF THE MOST SEGREGATED CITIES IN THE COUNTRY.
AND WHEN THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM WAS THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM WAS FIRST ESTABLISHED IN 2014, FROM 2014 TO 2019, NOT A SINGLE ONSITE AFFORDABLE UNIT WAS BUILT FOR ALL OF THESE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENTS UNDER THIS PROGRAM.
NOT A SINGLE ONE FROM 2014 TO 2019.
SO WHAT THAT HAS DONE IN THE CITY IS MAKE IT MORE SEGREGATED AND ECONOMICALLY AS WELL AS RACIALLY AND ETHNICALLY.
AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY, UH, I, I GUESS THERE ARE REASONS, UH, THAT WE ALLOW FEE AND LOSE INSTEAD OF ONSITE HOUSING TO BE BUILT SO THAT WE CAN MOVE PEOPLE OF VARIOUS, WE CAN BE MORE INCLUSIVE AS A CITY.
WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT OUR AUSTIN VALUES, BUT WE DON'T PRACTICE THEM WHEN IT COMES TO THESE THINGS.
AND SO WE BUILD EXCLUSIVELY AND THE CITY GETS WIDER, THE CITY GETS MORE WEALTHY, AND THEN WE SCRATCH OUR HEADS AND WE SAY, OH MY GOODNESS, WELL, WE'RE SO PROGRESSIVE.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? WELL, IT'S HAPPENING BECAUSE WE, BECAUSE WE ALLOW IT AND WE VOTE FOR IT.
SO WE DON'T HAVE MANY TOOLS HERE.
AND IF AT LEAST WE'RE GOING TO DO THE FEE IN LIEU, IT SHOULD BE DIRECTED MOSTLY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING SINCE THAT'S WHERE THE CRISIS IS.
AND SO WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO, UH, DIVERSIFY DOWNTOWN IN EXCLUSIVE WEALTHY AREAS.
WE CAN AT LEAST TRY TO USE THE FEE IN LIEU
[01:50:01]
TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN GET HOUSING FOR PEOPLE WHO FALL BELOW OR THE MEDIAN INCOME LEVEL FOR, FOR AUSTIN.AND SO FOR THAT REASON, EVEN THOUGH I AM NOT A FAN OF FEE AND LIE, I WILL BE SUPPORTING COMMISSIONER COX COMM, COMMISSIONER HAYNES'S MOTION.
COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS SPEAKING FOR OR AGAINST, UH, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL? UH, I KNOW THAT MY FELLOW COMMISSIONER WAS MAKING A JOKE ABOUT THE STATES MEN'S HEADLINES REGARDING OUR CRISIS ON THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL, BUT I'D ACTUALLY LIKE TO PUSH BACK A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WE HAD SOMEONE DIE LAST NIGHT BECAUSE OF SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST TRAFFIC ON RED RIVER.
AND WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HOW WE FUND THINGS IN THIS CITY BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY, NON-CAR MOBILITY, SAFETY IS CRITICAL.
AND WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOME REALLY GREAT WORK IN AN AREA THAT IS ACTUALLY WIDELY USED BY CROSS SECTION OF EVERYBODY IN THIS TOWN.
WE HAVE A LONGSTANDING EXCELLENT PARTNER IN THE SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY THAT IT WORKS CONSISTENTLY FROM ONE PART OF THE CITY TO ALL THE WAY TO NORTH AUSTIN ON A VERY IMPORTANT MIC, BIKE AND MOBILITY TRANSIT CORRIDOR THAT IS USED BY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EVERY YEAR.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE WANT TO HAVE MORE HOUSING, OF COURSE, BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT COMMUNITY BENEFITS ARE A MENU AND THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED TO BE A MENU BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE FUNDING A COMPLETE COMMUNITY HERE.
SO MAYBE WE DON'T HAVE A HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL, YOU KNOW, CRISIS.
BUT WE CERTAINLY HAVE A CRISIS OF MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN BIKE AND WALK SAFELY IN THIS CITY.
AND WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO FUND THAT FULLY IN A WAY THAT IS EX EX EXPEDITES PROGRAMS THAT WE NEED IN THIS CITY, IN AN AREA THAT IS WIDELY USED BY MANY PEOPLE AND WILL ENSURE A FUTURE SAFETY.
SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY INCIDENTS LIKE LAST NIGHT.
I WILL NOT BE SUPPORTING THIS MOTION.
UM, COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ, WE HAVE ONE, UH, SPOT LEFT FOR FOUR.
UM, YEAH, SO I'M REALLY STRUGGLING HERE, BUT I DIDN'T, AND I DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THIS LAST TIME WE TALKED ABOUT TRAILS, BUT I AM A BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN TRANSPORTATION EXPERT.
I RAN THE URBAN TRAILS PROGRAM FOR THREE YEARS, AND BEFORE THAT I WORKED FOR SIX YEARS FOR THE PEDESTRIAN BICYCLE PROGRAM IN CITY OF BOSTON.
AND SO I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS AREA.
I WAS RECENTLY WALKING AROUND THE SHOAL CREEK TRAIL AND NOTICED THE SIGNAGE AND ALL THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, AND I LOVED SIF AND, BUT WHAT I'M STRUGGLING WITH HERE IS THAT IT IS A VERY WALKABLE AND BIKEABLE AREA TODAY.
UM, WALKING ACROSS SECOND STREET, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO, I MEAN, THERE'S SIDEWALK AND VERY SLOW, UM, TRAFFIC WALKING ON FOURTH STREET ACROSS, THERE'S LOTS OF CONNECTIONS THERE.
SO I'M STRUGGLING WITH SPENDING FOR THIS TRESTLE VERSUS AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND, UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE MY HEAD IS RIGHT NOW.
I'M THINKING THAT THERE'S LOTS OF CONNECTIONS THERE THAT ARE OKAY TODAY AND THAT ARE ACTUALLY VERY GOOD AND VERY COMFORTABLE AND, UM, I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS A HIGH NEED IN COMPARISON TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THAT'S ALL OF OUR DEBATE SPOTS.
SO WE CAN GO AHEAD AND TAKE A, UM, VOTE ON THIS.
SO THIS IS A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAYNES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS.
UM, WHICH WOULD ESSENTIALLY SAY THAT FOR THE EIGHT TO ONE TO 15 TO ONE FAR, THE BONUS WOULD BE SPLIT PER STAFF RECOMMENDATION IN APPLICANT REQUEST.
UM, AND THEN FOR THE 15 TO ONE TO 20 TO ONE, IT WOULD BE GOING, UH, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE FEE YOU WOULD BE GOING TOWARDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR RAISE YOUR HANDS OR SAY, AYE, THOSE AGAINST THOSE ABSTAINING, THAT MOTION FAILS.
UM, WOULD FOUR FOUR, THAT'S, UM, COMMISSIONER BAR RAMIREZ, COMMISSIONER COX, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, AND COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, DO ABSTENTIONS, COMMISSIONER WOODS AND MYSELF, COMMISSIONER HAR.
AND THEN THE REST OF THE, UH, FOLKS, UH, SORRY AGAINST IT.
FIVE AGAINST DO ABSTAINING CHAIR? YES.
CAN I MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION? YES, YOU CAN.
UH, MY SUBSTITUTE MOTION IS APPROVED STAFF RECOMMENDATION CONTINGENT ON ALL FEE AND LIE GOING TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND ON THAT MOTION? COMMISSIONER BARRY RAMIR.
UM, SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER COX, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BE RAMIREZ, UM, TO HAVE THE ENTIRE FEE AMOUNT GO TOWARDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
COMMISSIONER COX, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR MOTION JUST TO QUICKLY CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION? I UNDERSTAND I AM A HUGE PROPONENT OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS, BUT AS WE'VE HEARD, THIS PARTICULAR AREA PROBABLY IS ONE OF THE COMPLETEST COMMUNITIES
[01:55:01]
IN AUSTIN.AND IF WE ARE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT BENEFITING THIS COMMUNITY, THEN WE SHOULD BE REQUIRING ONSITE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UH, AND, AND HOPEFULLY MAYBE SOME OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND MIGHT BE USED TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN OUR CENTRAL DISTRICTS.
EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THAT IT'S MOST EXPENSIVE, I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS COMMISSION COULD AGREE TO DIVERTING FUNDS AWAY FROM AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO HIKE AND BIKE IMPROVEMENTS WHERE YES, THEY WOULD BE VERY NICE, BUT THEY, THIS IS NOT AN AREA THAT HAS AN EXTREME IDENTIFIED NEED FOR THAT.
BUT THIS IS AN AREA AND THIS IS A CITY THAT HAS AN EXTREME IDENTIFIED NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO IT JUST, IT JUST MAKES NO SENSE TO ME WHY WE WOULD DIVERT FUNDS IN A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM AWAY FROM THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND.
COMMISSIONER SPEAKING AGAINST THIS MOTION.
UM, WHEN MAYOR PRO TEM CHERYL COLE BROUGHT THIS ITEM, THE IDEA WAS TO ALLOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO PLAY A ROLE IN HOW THESE DOLLARS ARE SPENT.
AND THIS IS WHAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS LANDED ON AND THIS IS WHAT'S IN CODE AND THIS IS WHAT MAKES A, THIS IS KIND OF WHERE WE ARE.
AND SO FOR US TO SUDDENLY SAY, SORRY, NEIGHBORHOOD, WE, WE APPROVE THIS DENSITY BONUS MECHANISM, YOU KNOW, TELLING YOU WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH YOU THIS WAY, BUT YOU KNOW, NOW THAT IT'S TIME TO ACTUALLY DO IT, WE'RE GONNA JUST CHANGE EVERYTHING AND WE'RE GONNA KINDA DO WHAT WE WANT.
I CAN'T BE SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
SO I'M HAPPY TO SUPPORT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS NOT THIS.
UH, COMMISSIONER SPEAKING FOR THIS MOTION.
COMMISSIONER SPEAKING AGAINST THE MOTION.
GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE.
YEAH, I'LL KEEP MY COMMENTS BRIEF BECAUSE, UH, I AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER ANDERSON.
I, YOU KNOW, THE PROGRAM IS, UH, AS WRITTEN AND, UH, THE APPLICANT AND, UH, HAS WORKED WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WORKED WITH STAFF TO, YOU KNOW, TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM.
IT JUST FEELS WRONG TO ME FOR US FROM THE DAAS TO ESSENTIALLY CHANGE THE, CHANGE THE RULES AT THIS POINT.
IT FEELS LIKE THEY'VE WORKED IN GOOD FAITH WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WE SHOULD HONOR THAT ALL STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE.
ANYONE ELSE SPEAKING FOR OR AGAINST NOT SEEING ANYTHING? SO WE HAVE A, A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER COX, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BARR RAMIREZ.
THIS IS TO HAVE THE ENTIRE FEE YOU FROM EIGHT TO ONE TO 22 1, GO TOWARDS THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS OR SAY, AYE, ALL THOSE AGAINST THOSE ABSTAINING.
OKAY, FOLKS, HELP ME OUT HERE.
I FEEL LIKE MY MATH HAS GONE A LITTLE WRONG.
UM, COMMISSIONER HOWARD, WHAT WAS YOUR VOTE ON THIS ITEM? THAT'S AGREED.
UM, SO THIS MOTION FAILS WITH FIVE COMMISSIONERS, FOUR, FOUR COMMISSIONERS AGAINST AND TWO COMMISSIONERS ABSTAINING.
THE COMMISSIONERS IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION ARE COMMISSIONER BARR RAMIREZ, COMMISSIONER COX, COMMISSIONER HOWARD, COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, AND ABSTAINING ARE COMMISSIONER WOODS AND MYSELF, COMMISSIONER HAR AND THE REST OF THE FOUR AGAINST.
THIS TAKES US BACK TO OUR ORIGINAL MOTION, WHICH I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I GOT THIS RIGHT.
THAT WAS A, A GUESS A COMM, UH, MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ANDERSON, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL ON STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
AND WE HAVE NOT DONE ANY DEBATE ON THIS.
SO, UM, COMMISSIONER ANDERSON, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON THE MOTION? SURE.
AS I UNDERSTAND, THIS IS THE ONLY ITEM WE'RE ACTUALLY POSTED TO DISCUSS, SO I'M GLAD WE'RE BACK TO THIS ITEM.
UM, I, I LIKE THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, MONEY GOING TO HOUSING, MONEY GOING TO PARKS.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE MOST PART IS IN SUPPORT AND YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S, THERE'S OTHER I ISSUES THAT HAVE COME UP TO HERE TODAY THAT MAYBE WE DO WANNA DISCUSS MORE AS A BODY SUCH AS REQUIRING ONSITE CONDOS IN LUXURY HIGH RISES.
UM, TYPICALLY THOSE UNITS ARE SOLD THROUGH HOME BASE, WHICH IS OWNED BY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.
AND WE ARE ALSO ENCOURAGING THE CITY TO NOT DO THIS ANY LONGER JUST BECAUSE, UM, WE JUST HAD A CLIENT GET HIT WITH A $1.2 MILLION TAX BILL.
AND EVEN THOUGH WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THINGS OUT WITH TCAD RIGHT NOW, IT'S JUST THINGS DON'T NECESSARILY GO AS NICE AS WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AFFORDABLE INCOME RESTRICTED UNITS AND LUXURY HIGH RISES.
THAT BEING SAID, ALSO, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT $5 MILLION OF SUBSIDY TO BUILD 12 TO 13 UNITS, I BELIEVE THAT WAS SAID EARLIER, THAT THAT SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY CAN BUILD FIVE TO 10 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF HOUSING ALSO NEARBY,
[02:00:01]
BUT NOT IN THAT COMMUNITY.UM, BUT THAT'S A BIG CONVERSATION THAT I, I REALLY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE HAVE AS A BODY ONE DAY.
BUT, UM, APPRECIATE THE NEIGHBORHOOD BEING BEHIND THIS.
IT'S GONNA DO A LOT OF THINGS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH THIS MONEY GOING TO FEE AND L AND THE PARK IMPROVEMENTS AND TRAIL IMPROVEMENTS HERE.
AND BELIEVE COMMISSIONER MAXWELL PUT IT WELL, LIKE WE HAVE TO HAVE OTHER WAYS TO HAVE, UH, TO CHOOSE TO BURN CALORIES INSTEAD OF OIL.
SO I HOPE WE CAN GET TO SUPPORT THIS TONIGHT AND ALL WE'RE DOING IS ALLOWING 89 MORE HOMES TO BE BUILT DOWNTOWN.
COMMISSIONER SPEAKING AGAINST THE MOTION, COMMISSIONER COX KEEP SAYING THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S IN SUPPORT OF IT, BUT I THINK WE HAVE HEARD AND WE SEE THEM IN THE, OUR BACKUP, A MAJOR STAKEHOLDER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THE TOWER NEXT DOOR THAT'S NOT IN SUPPORT OF IT.
UH, SO IT'S, I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT.
UM, I, I, I JUST, I, I'LL JUST SAY IT AGAIN, THIS MAKES ZERO SENSE.
WE, WE ARE DIVERTING FUNDS AWAY FROM THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND.
WE ARE MAKING A DECISION TO DO THAT AS A PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND, AND I REALLY, REALLY HOPE THAT, THAT EVERYONE REMEMBERS THAT AND FUTURE CONVERSATIONS WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OTHER COMMUNITY BENE BENEFITS THAT ARE COMPETING WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHETHER THAT'S ONSITE OR FEE IN LIE, BECAUSE I'VE HAD MANY OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS IN THAT ROOM OUTSIDE OF THAT ROOM AND, AND THEY HAVE ALWAYS PRIORITIZED AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVER OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS, EVEN WHEN THOSE COMMUNITY BENEFITS ARE, ARE IDENTIFIED AS A SIGNIFICANT NEED IN THAT PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH HIKE AND BIKE TRAILS ARE NOT, BUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS.
SO IN THIS CURRENT FORUM, I JUST, I REALLY JUST CANNOT SUPPORT THIS.
HAYNES OTHER COMMISSIONER SPEAKING FOR, I'LL GO AHEAD AND SPEAK IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION JUST TO SAY, WHILE I FEEL LIKE I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS AND THEIR CONVERSATION AROUND EXPANDING MORE COMMUNITY BENEFIT, GOING TOWARDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND FOLKS KNOW THAT I CARE ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT VERY DEEPLY, THE CHALLENGE HERE IS THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT'S WITHIN OUR CODE.
I HAVE LONG ADVOCATED THAT WE NEED TO ACTUALLY ADDRESS WHAT IS IN OUR DENSITY BONUS.
THE MENU OPTION HAS NOT WORKED IN THE PAST AND WE KNOW THIS YET HERE IT IS.
SAME GOES FOR THE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS AROUND THINGS SUCH AS GREAT STREETS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
THIS WAS SOMETHING WE WERE TRYING TO ADDRESS AS PART OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE DIVISIONS, AND WE COULD NOT, AND THAT'S, THAT IS WHAT IT IS.
BUT I THINK THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY SOON TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT.
THE ACTION BEFORE US TODAY IS WE SIMPLY HAVE SOMEONE FOLLOWING WHAT IS ALLOWED IN THE CODE.
AND I GUESS I NEED TO HAVE A VERY GOOD REASON TO SAY WHY THEY WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED WHAT IS VERY MUCH WITHIN OUR CODE DENSITY BONUS REQUIREMENT.
AND SO IT'S VERY HARD FOR ME TO OPPOSE THAT AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIN CODE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND WITH THE CAVEAT THAT REGARDLESS, I'M EXCITED AND HAPPY THAT THERE IS INDEED A COMMUNITY BENEFIT THAT FOLKS WOULD BE GETTING FROM THIS.
UM, EVEN IF IT IS DIFFERENT KINDS OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
OTHER FOLKS SPEAKING FOR OR AGAINST COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS.
I'M GONNA SPEAK AGAINST THE MOTION BECAUSE, UM, I REALLY FEEL AS A AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN ON THIS, UM, PLANNING COMMISSION THAT WE TALK ABOUT VALUES ALL THE TIME.
UH, WE, AND WE IN TERMS OF DIVERSITY, IN TERMS OF INCLUSION, THOSE KINDS OF VALUES.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE, AND EVEN WHEN OUR EX-OFFICIO COMMISSIONER, CANDACE HUNTER HAS BEEN HERE IN THE ROOM AND TALKED ABOUT WHAT THE POLICIES THAT WE ARE, UH, PASSING HERE ON THE DAAS IS DOING TO THE CITY IN TERMS OF PUSHING OUT IN PARTICULAR BLACK AND LATINO PEOPLE POLICIES SUCH AS THIS.
AND I, I I, IN TERMS OF MAKING AUSTIN MORE SEGREGATED, DOUBLE SEGREGATED BY ECONOMICS AND BY RACE.
AND I WILL SAY SPEAKING TO MY COLLEAGUE FROM HABITAT HUMANITY, WHICH I THINK IS A WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION, WONDERFUL.
UM, THEY DO WONDERFUL WORK AND I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT IT, BUT I WILL SAY THAT THEY DON'T SPEAK FOR EVERY LOW INCOME PERSON, NOT EVERY PERSON OF COLOR IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND I HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE.
SO EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS THAT ONE FAILURE, THERE IS A LARGER CONVERSATION TO BE HAD ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU BUILD THINGS ON SITE SO THAT OTHER FOLKS, A DIVERSE, WE CAN HAVE A DIVERSE COMMUNITY ACROSS AUSTIN, NOT, NOT A, A WHOLE WHITE WEALTHY, UH, DOWNTOWN WHERE WHEN I WALK DOWNTOWN IT, I CAN'T SEE PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME, UM, AND, AND PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF ARE, ARE NOT, WE DON'T FEEL WELCOMED IN THIS COMMUNITY UP DOWNTOWN.
SO WE WORK IN THIS COMMUNITY AND THEN WE GET OUT AS FAST AS WE CAN.
AND IT'S NOT GONNA CHANGE IF WE CONTINUE TO DO BUSINESS AS USUAL.
[02:05:01]
AND WE DON'T LOOK FOR WAYS TO DIVERSIFY, UM, UH, THESE KIND OF DEVELOPMENTS DOWN DOWNTOWN.SO WE HAVE TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO DO IT.
AND, AND THAT'S AN AUSTIN VALUE AS WELL.
AND IT'S COMING FROM AN AUSTINITE.
OTHER FOLKS SPEAKING FOR OR AGAINST NOT SEEING ANY COMMENTS THAT THIS IS A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ANDERSON, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL TO MOVE AHEAD WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
OR RAISE YOUR HANDS, THOSE AGAINST THE MOTION AND THOSE ABSTAINING.
SO THIS MOTION PASSES WITH EIGHT FOUR, COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS AND COMMISSIONER COX AGAINST AND COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ ABSTAINING.
UM, THAT WRAPS UP OUR PUBLIC HEARING CASES FOR THE DAY, BUT IT DOES MOVE US TO, UM, ARE THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC HEARING.
MR. UH, DO WE HAVE, WE HAVE A REQUEST FOR A BREAK? DO ARE FOLKS FINE WITH THE FIVE MINUTE BREAK AT THIS TIME? OKAY.
SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND RECESS AND COME BACK AT, I'M LOSING MATH HERE.
WE HAVE ENOUGH FOLKS ON THE DAAS IF THE ONLINE CAN JOIN US.
WE HAVE A QUORUM, BUT LET'S GIVE A MINUTE OR TWO FOR FOLKS TO COME.
I THINK WE CAN GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
[16. Comprehensive Plan Amendment: Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) Typologies]
IS ITEM NUMBER 16, THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.WE'RE GONNA START WITH A STAFF PRESENTATION ON THIS ITEM,
UM, SO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION, BUT IN THE ORDER, THE BRIEFING FOR THE EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN IS AFTERWARDS.
AND WE DO HAVE STAFF WHO ARE WAITING ON THAT.
WOULD FOLKS HAVE AN ISSUE WITH US SWITCHING THOSE ITEMS? SO WE DO THE ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION AFTER THE BRIEFING.
WE WOULD TAKE THE BRIEFING ON THE EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN BEFORE THE ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION.
SO WE CAN, WE HAVE A COMMUNITY MEMBER.
WE HAVE THE CHAIR OF THE HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION AND OTHER FOLKS HERE.
AND IT WOULD BE NICE IF WE COULD DISPOSE OF THAT ITEM BEFORE.
SO IT WOULD BE AFTER THIS ITEM, BUT IT WOULD BE BEFORE FOR THE ITEMS FROM OUR COMMISSION.
SO IF THERE WAS NO OPPOSITION TO IT, WE WOULD TAKE ITEM NUMBER 23 BEFORE 18.
WE'LL GET TO THAT WHEN WE GET THERE.
WE WILL JUST TO LET OUR STAFF ONLINE KNOW AS WELL.
I KNOW MS. BERTRAN, YOU'RE WAITING ONLINE.
SO WE'LL GO THROUGH THIS ITEM AND THEN WE'LL MOVE TO THE, UM, EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN.
I'M A SENIOR PLANNER WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND I'M HERE TO PRESENT ON THE PROPOSED ETOD AMENDMENT TO IMAGINE AUSTIN.
UM, FIRST I'LL JUST GIVE SOME BACKGROUND ON EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT OR ETOD.
UM, THEN THE HOW AND THE WHY WE'RE PLANNING
[02:10:01]
TO INCORPORATE ETOD INTO IMAGINE AUSTIN.AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME NEXT STEPS.
WE CAN, THIS IS A DIFFERENT VERSION OF THE PRESENTATION, BUT THAT'S FINE.
YOU CAN JUST GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO RE REVISIT ANY OF THAT IF NEEDED IN THE Q AND A.
UM, BUT I'LL START WITH WITH THE ETOD POLICY PLAN.
SO THAT WAS ACCEPTED BY COUNCIL IN MARCH OF 2023.
UM, WE CALL IT A PLAN FOR HOW TO PLAN.
IT PROVIDES A POLICY FRAMEWORK TO ENSURE THAT FUTURE DEVELOPMENT IN THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM SUPPORTS RESIDENTS OF ALL INCOMES AND BACKGROUNDS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO'VE BEEN DISPROPORTIONATELY BURDENED BY PAST TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE DECISIONS.
UM, SO THE ETOD POLICY PLAN HAS SEVERAL MAJOR DELIVERABLES, UM, BUT THE ONE WE'RE DISCUSSING TODAY IS THE ETOD TYPOLOGIES.
UM, THIS IS WHAT STAFF IS PROPOSING BE ATTACHED TO.
YOU CAN THINK OF THEM AS CATEGORIES THAT GROUP STATION AREAS IN THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM TOGETHER BASED ON A STATION AREA'S NEEDS.
UM, THE TYPOLOGIES IN THEIR DEFINITIONS ARE IN THE COLORED BOXES IN THE MIDDLE THERE.
UM, THE MAP, UH, IS ON THE LEFT, UH, THAT SHOWS THE LOCATION OF THE TYPOLOGIES IN THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM, AND THEN WE DIVIDE IT INTO RAIL AND BUS.
AND THEN ON THE RIGHT IS THE TABLE THAT SHOWS THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT WENT INTO DETERMINING THE TYPOLOGIES.
THOSE ARE RELATIVE POPULATION DISPLACEMENT, RISK LEVEL, AND RATE OF CHANGE.
UM, ALTOGETHER THESE PROVIDE A LOOK AT THE CURRENT CONDITIONS OF EACH STATION AREA AND ALSO SPEAK TO THE TYPES OF GROWTH AND GROWTH PRESSURE THE STATION AREA MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING.
UH, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THESE NEXT TWO SLIDES, UM, SHOW THE LONGER DEFINITIONS OF THE TYPOLOGIES.
UM, THIS IS ALSO ON PAGE 26 AND 27 OR NINE AND 10 OF THE BACKUP IF YOU WANNA FOLLOW ALONG.
'CAUSE I WON'T HAVE A CHANCE TO READ THESE ALOUD.
UM, BUT EACH DEFINITION INCLUDES A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT CONDITIONS, OR SORRY, OF THE CURRENT CHARACTERISTICS OF A STATION AREA, AND THEN PROVIDES A HIGH LEVEL POLICY RECOMMENDATION BASED ON THOSE CHARACTERISTICS.
THE FOUR ON THE SLIDE HERE ARE ALL TYPOLOGIES FOR STATION AREAS THAT ARE HISTORICALLY EXCLUSIONARY OR LESS VULNERABLE TO DISPLACEMENT.
A DARKER COLOR INDICATES A FASTER RATE OF CHANGE, AND THEN THE TWO DIFFERENT COLORS ENTIRELY FROM PURPLE TO BLUE IN THIS CASE, UH, REPRESENTS MORE VERSUS FEWER RESIDENTS THERE TODAY.
SO THE FOUR ON THIS SLIDE ARE ALL FOUR STATION AREAS THAT ARE VULNERABLE TO OR EXPERIENCING DISPLACEMENT.
SAME THING HERE WITH A DARKER COLOR INDICATING A FASTER RATE OF CHANGE AND THE DIFFERENT COLORS ENTIRELY REPRESENTING MORE VERSUS FEWER RESIDENTS.
OR YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO WHY ARE WE INCORPORATING ETOD INTO IMAGINE AUSTIN AND WHY ARE THE TYPOLOGIES THE BEST PIECE OF THE POLICY PLAN TO DO THIS? UM, WELL FOR ONE, WHEN CITY COUNCIL ACCEPTED THE ETOD POLICY PLAN, THEY ALSO DIRECTED STAFF TO INITIATE AMENDMENTS TO THE IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO REFLECT TYPOLOGIES.
UM, BUT BEYOND THIS COUNCIL ACTION, THE ETOD TYPOLOGIES ARE THE BEST PIECE OF THE POLICY PLAN TO INCORPORATE INTO IMAGINE AUSTIN BECAUSE THEY ARE A QUICK BUT COMPREHENSIVE WAY TO TELL A STORY ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN A STATION AREA.
THEY CONSIDER EXISTING POPULATION, RECENT GROWTH AND ECONOMIC TRENDS AND DISPLACEMENT RISK.
THEY ALSO AGRE ADDRESS THE TYPE OF GROWTH MOST NEEDED FOR EQUITABLE OUTCOMES IN A STATION AREA.
UM, INCORPORATING THE TYPOLOGIES INTO IMAGINE AUSTIN THEREFORE ALLOWS FOR FORMAL CONSIDERATION OF ETOD AND ITS TYPOLOGIES IN ZONING AND NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW CASES.
UM, AND IMPORTANTLY, IT ALSO DEMONSTRATES TO THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION THAT IMAGINE AUSTIN IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE POLICIES THAT CAN HELP OUR COMPETITIVENESS WITH THE GRANT.
THAT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE FUNDING OF THE PHASE ONE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL.
UM, THE DEADLINE FOR THE SCORING COMES BEFORE STAFF WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO THE FULL IMAGINE AUSTIN UPDATE.
UM, IT'S MISSING FROM THIS PRESENTATION VERSION, BUT I'LL JUST MENTION VERBALLY HERE THAT ON FEBRUARY 29TH, UH, COMMISSIONERS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN JOINT COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THAT THE ETOD TYPOLOGIES AND MAP BE FORWARDED TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO BE ATTACHED TO IMAGINE AUSTIN WITH AMENDMENTS.
UM, THOSE BEING AN INCLUSION OF A PROCESS FOR STAFF, UH, TO INCORPORATE THE LATEST AVAILABLE DATA AND, UM, THE INCLUSION OF A FOOTNOTE TO INDICATE THE AGE OF THE DATA.
UM, SO THIS SLIDE HERE IS JUST
[02:15:01]
TO DEMONSTRATE, UM, THE ACTUAL CONTENT OF THE ATTACHMENT TO IMAGINE AUSTIN.UM, WHICH THAT WILL ALSO INCLUDE THOSE, UM, AMENDMENTS I JUST MENTIONED.
BUT ADDITIONALLY, IT WILL INCLUDE THE METHODOLOGY THROUGH WHICH STAFF DEVELOPED THE TYPOLOGIES, THE TYPOLOGIES IN THEIR DESCRIPTIONS AND THE MAP.
UM, AND THE PREFACE IS WHAT WILL INCLUDE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN JOIN COMMITTEE.
NEXT PAGE OR NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UM, SO WHAT DOES THIS PROCESS LOOK LIKE? UM, THIS WAS ALREADY UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDED BY CPJC WITH AMENDMENTS.
SO WE ARE ASKING TODAY, YOU MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, UM, WITH REGARDS TO AMENDING IMAGINE AUSTIN TO ATTACH THE ETOD TYPOLOGIES, UM, AND COUNSEL SET THE PUBLIC HEARING ALREADY FOR THIS ITEM, UM, ON MAY 30TH.
AND THAT IS ALL WE HAVE FOR Y'ALL TONIGHT.
WE HAVE, UM, SOME SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.
UH, WE WHILE HERE, FIRST FROM MR. UM, BILL MCCALLEY IN FAVOR.
THANK YOU MR. CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL.
I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TRANSIT FORWARD.
WE ARE AN AUSTIN 5 0 1 C3 WITH A MISSION OF EDUCATING AND ENGAGING OUR FELLOW AUSTINITES ABOUT BEEFING UP TRANSIT HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
AND OUR, OUR REAL FOCUS IS PROJECT CONNECT.
WE'VE BEEN FINDING OURSELVES DOING A LOT OF WORK ON HOUSING REFORM BECAUSE IT IS SO CRITICAL THAT WE HAVE MORE DENSITY AND MORE AFFORDABILITY, MORE RETAIL OPERATIONS NEAR TRANSIT CORRIDORS IN ORDER FOR OUR TRANSIT STRATEGY TO SUCCEED.
AND AS THE STAFF ARE SO ELOQUENTLY TALKED ABOUT, THIS IS NOT ONLY IMPORTANT IN GENERAL, BUT IT'S REALLY, REALLY CRITICAL THAT WE DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO GIVE THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP THE BEST POSSIBLE GRANT APPLICATION TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UM, THEY'RE GONNA BE STARTING THEIR EVALUATION PROCESS IN JUNE.
WE NEED TWO AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS WITH A B IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM.
THAT IS ONE OF THE CRITICAL PIECES OF PROJECT CONNECT.
AND IN ORDER TO GET THE BEST POSSIBLE GRADE, WE DO NEED TO CHANGE OUR LAND USE POLICIES HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, WE DO KNOW THAT THEY LOVE OUR LINE, THEY LOVE OUR FUNDING MECHANISM.
THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION ACTUALLY TOLD ME PERSONALLY IN DECEMBER HOW IMPRESSED THEY WERE WITH THE OUTREACH EFFORTS THAT CAT METRO, THE CITY, AND THE TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP HAS MADE IN THESE DISCUSSIONS.
BUT THEY SAID, WE NEED MORE HOUSING AND WE NEED MORE AFFORDABILITY ALONG THESE TRANSIT CORRIDORS THAT, THAT THEY WAS SPECIFICALLY BROUGHT UP WITHOUT PROMPTING.
AND SO WE DO STAND IN SUPPORT OF LOOKING AT THESE TRANSIT ORIENTED TO DEVELOPMENT PLAN CHANGES IN ORDER TO GIVE THOSE GUYS THE BEST POSSIBLE ARGUMENT POSSIBLE GOING INTO THAT GRANT APPLICATION.
I, I WOULD SAY JUST A COUPLE MORE THINGS AND I, I PROMISE I WON'T TAKE ALL MY FIVE MINUTES.
IT'S GETTING A LITTLE LATE ALREADY.
UM, NUMBER ONE, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE AS THIS DISCUSSION CONTINUES WITH THIS TOPIC, HOW DO WE PUT TEETH INTO SOMETHING? A PLAN IS A PLAN, AND A PLAN IS GREAT, BUT A PLAN AS WORDS ON PAPER DON'T REALLY HAVE AN EFFECT UNLESS THEY ARE GIVEN IN EFFECT.
AND SO, AS THESE DISCUSSIONS TAKE PLACE, WHERE'S THE TEETH THAT WILL ALLOW FOR MORE REAL AFFORDABILITY AND DENSITY ALONG THESE TRANSIT CORRIDORS? THE OTHER THING I WOULD SAY IS HOW DO WE TALK ABOUT THIS IN A WAY THAT REGULAR PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND? UM, RATHER THAN SAYING ETOD, WHICH I KNOW IS THE, THE JARGON OF CHOICE FOR THIS DISCUSSION, HOW DO WE TALK ABOUT SOME WAY WE WANT MORE HOUSING, MORE CONDOS, MORE TOWN HOUSES, MORE APARTMENTS THAT ARE AFFORDABLE ALONG WITH RETAIL IN THESE SPACES NEAR BUS AND TRAIN STATIONS? AND I WOULD JUST ASK, UH, THAT, THAT OUR ORGANIZATION BE ALLOWED TO WORK WITH WHOEVER MAKES THIS DECISION TO REALLY FIGURE THAT OUT.
'CAUSE WHEN I'M TALKING TO PEOPLE, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO USE LANGUAGE THAT WE CAN ALL KIND OF FIGURE OUT AND UNDERSTAND.
RIGHT? AND THE LAST THING I'LL SAY, AND, AND I WILL BE HONEST WITH THIS BECAUSE I KNOW I AM NOT THE BEST VEHICLE FOR THIS DISCUSSION, BUT, UM, TRANSIT FORWARD HAS A MISSION AND EQUITY IS A VERY CORE PIECE OF WHAT WE DO.
JUST RECENTLY, I WAS GIVEN A STUDY IN THAT THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER DID DOWN IN HOUSTON IN 2000, CAME OUT, UH, FALL OF 2023, SHOWING THAT AL REED FROM 2000 TO 2021, HOUSTON'S BLACK AND HISPANIC POPULATIONS GREW BY 4% AND 40% RESPECTIVELY.
IN CONTRAST, OTHER MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES EXPERIENCED DECLINES IN THEIR BLACK POPULATIONS AND MORE MODEST INCREASES IN THEIR HISPANIC POPULATIONS DURING THE SAME PERIOD.
AND THIS PERIOD OF TIME, YOU SAW A LOT MORE HOUSING CONSTRUCTION THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND SO I'D SAY, I DON'T WANNA LIVE IN A TOWN THAT IS JUST WHITE PEOPLE.
I DON'T THINK THAT PROVIDES THE ENERGY AND DIVERSITY AND CHANGE OF IDEAS AND CHANGE OF CULTURES THAT MAKE
[02:20:01]
CITIES THRIVE.IN ORDER TO GET MORE EQUITY, WE GOTTA HAVE MORE AFFORDABILITY IN ORDER TO HAVE THAT, WE NEED MORE TRANSIT AND WE NEED MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEAR THOSE TRANSIT LINES.
AND WE ARE SURE IN FAVOR OF ANY PROCEDURE THAT IS GONNA FURTHER THAT GOAL.
MS. CHAIR MEMBERS, THE MISSION, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO.
THANK YOU FOR THE TIME YOU PUT INTO THESE MEETINGS.
UH, THE PATIENCE THAT YOU ALL EXHIBIT IS EXEMPLARY AND I'M GLAD YOU'RE HERE AND NOT ME.
ALSO, I AM A CYCLIST AND I'M NOW GONNA TAKE AUSTIN'S GREAT BIKE TRAILS BACK HOME TO MY HOUSE.
I HOPE Y'ALL HAVE A NICE EVENING.
WHEN I HEAR FROM MS. GREENBERG, MS. GREENBERG, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
I'M A MEMBER OF THE ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION, BUT I'M NOT REPRESENTING THE COMMISSION THIS EVENING.
RATHER, I AM GIVING MY OWN OPINION.
THE TRADITIONAL TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT CAUSES GENTRIFICATION AND DISPLACEMENT.
WHEN TRANSIT DEPENDENT RIDERS ARE REPLACED WITH MORE AFFLUENT RESIDENTS WITH CARS, TRANSIT RIDERSHIP CAN EVEN DECREASE.
EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT IS INTENDED TO AVOID THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, GENTRIFICATION AND DISPLACEMENT THAT ARE KNOWN TO OCCUR WITH TRADITIONAL TOD.
THE PRESENTATION FOR THE IMAGINE AUSTIN AMENDMENT INCLUDES NICE WORDS.
MY FAVORITES, WHICH WEREN'T PRESENTED TONIGHT WERE, ARE, DO NO HARM AND REDUCED DISPLACEMENT AND NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF NEW DEVELOPMENT CONSISTENT WITH THIS GOAL.
HOWEVER, CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION PASSED ON FEBRUARY 1ST IS INCONSISTENT WITH THIS INTENT.
WHILE THE DRAFT RESOLUTION INITIATING THE CODE AMENDMENTS TO CREATE THE EO OVERLAY HAD SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS TO AVOID INCREASED DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE ON EXISTING INCOME RESTRICTED AND MARKET RATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THE AMENDED RESOLUTION THAT WAS PASSED BY THE COUNCIL REPLACED THE UNDERLYING WORDS WITH CREATE MORE NEW AFFORDABLE UNITS AT THE, THE SAME OR GREATER LEVEL OF AFFORDABILITY THAN EXISTING INCOME RESTRICTED AND MARKET RATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
IN OTHER WORDS, DISPLACEMENT IS FINE.
THE RESOLUTION TO IN, TO INCENTIVIZE REDEVELOPMENT, THE RESOLUTION DIRECT STAFF TO ALLOW 60 FEET OR POSSIBLY MORE, UM, OF ADDITIONAL HEIGHT AND INCREASED FAR WITHIN ONE HALF MILE OF THE PLANNED RAIL LINE.
THIS MAKES IT VERY CLEAR THAT DISPLACEMENT OF INDIVIDUALS, EVEN THOSE WITH AFFORDABLE IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IS NOT ONLY ACCEPTABLE, BUT ENCOURAGED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
IF DISPLACEMENT IS OKAY FOR INDIVIDUALS IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING, DO WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT ANYONE WILL BE PROTECTED? THE PLAN AMENDMENT INCLUDES LANGUAGE ABOUT PROTECTING LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, BUT THIS IS LIP SERVICE THAT'S ANTITHETICAL TO THE APPROVED COUNCIL RESOLUTION.
SO I DON'T BELIEVE ANYONE WILL BE PROTECTED.
I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TYPOLOGIES.
FIRST, WHAT DOES HISTORICALLY EXCLUSIONARY MEAN? AND MORE TO THE POINT, HOW WILL IT BE USED ONCE IT'S INCLUDED IN OUR PLANNING DOCUMENT? IMAGINE AUSTIN.
SECOND, I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW AN AREA CAN HAVE BOTH LOW DISPLACEMENT AND RAPID CHANGE.
IF THERE'S RAPID CHANGE, THERE'S DISPLACEMENT.
FINALLY, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE ACCURACY OF THE MAP, PARTICULARLY WHEN I SEE THAT SO MANY STATIONS EAST OF I 35 ARE BLUE OR PURPLE, WHICH MEANS HISTORICALLY EXCLUSIONARY OR LOW DISPLACEMENT RISK.
I ASK THAT THE COMMISSION DO NOT RUBBER STAMP THIS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT TO REMOVE THE WORDS HISTORICALLY EXCLUSIONARY, OR AT LEAST MAKE CLEAR WHAT IT MEANS IN TERMS OF PLANNING TO MAKE SURE THE TYPOLOGIES MAKE SENSE AND ARE ACCURATELY MAPPED.
AND MOST OF ALL, PLEASE ENSURE THAT THE E IN E TODD REALLY MEANS SOMETHING SINCE I HAVEN'T GOTTEN DINGED YET.
UM, I WANT TO ALSO POINT OUT THAT THE RESOLUTION SPECIFICALLY SAID THE CITY MANAGERS NOT REQUIRED TO BRING THESE PROPOSED CODE AMENDMENTS,
[02:25:01]
UM, AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENTS TO THE JOINT COMMITTEES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND ZAP.AND MANY OF US ARE ON THOSE COMMITTEES, AND WE KNOW THAT THESE COMMITTEES HAVE SHORTER AGENDAS THAT MAKE DISCUSSIONS AND DECISIONS WELL BEFORE 10 AT NIGHT.
UM, AND CAN LOOK AT THE ITEMS CAREFULLY AS LONG AS THE BACKUP IS PROVIDED IN A TIMELY MANNER.
UM, WE'RE OFTEN ASKED ON THOSE COMMITTEES TO, AND WE AGREED TO SPECIALLY CALLED MEETINGS.
SO I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY THOSE JOINT COMMITTEES ARE SORT OF BEING WRITTEN OUT OF THE PROCESS.
AND I JUST THINK THIS IS FOR THE COMMISSION TO JUST CONSIDER, IS TO ASK COUNSEL TO CLARIFY THE PURPOSE OF THOSE JOINT COMMITTEES.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS WHAT I'M ASKING YOU TO DO.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GREENBERG.
THAT CONCLUDES THE I, THE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.
UM, MR. VER REMIND ME, DO WE, WE DO NOT NEED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS CHAIR.
IT IS A PUBLIC HEARING, SO IF YOU COULD CLOSE THE ITEM, PLEASE.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS ITEM? MOTION BY, UH, COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WOODS.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY OPPOSITION TO CLOSING THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS ITEM? NOT SEEING OTHERWISE.
WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND SAY THAT THAT WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
UM, THANK YOU ALL THAT TAKES US TO OUR RUN ROBIN QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM.
UM, SO AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE EIGHT COMMISSIONERS WITH FIVE MINUTES AT LEAST.
SO, UH, FOLKS WITH, OH, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, I SEE YOU ALREADY READY.
AS A MEMBER OF THE JOINT PLAN, WHATEVER THAT ONE IS.
UM, I, COMMENTS ARE VERY SHORT.
MR. MR. CHAIRMAN, UM, UH, Y'ALL KNOW, I ALWAYS, UH, WANT TO HIGHLIGHT AND POINT OUT, UM, UH, MS. HALL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, YOUR, YOUR ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND YOUR EFFORTS TO EDUCATE ME.
AND YOU DID IT VERY PROFESSIONALLY AND VERY COURTEOUSLY AND TIMELY, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS AND APPRECIATE ALL YOUR EFFORTS YOU DID.
I, IF FOLKS OKAY, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND SEE.
DO OTHER FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER YOUR GO.
UH, A AS, AS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE CPJC
UM, BUT I DID WANT TO CLARIFY OR AT LEAST GET CLARIFICATION FROM STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT MY UNDERSTANDING THEN IS CORRECT.
NOW, UM, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE, WE WERE VERY FOCUSED ON THE RECENCY OF THE DATA AND UPDATING THE DATA THAT INFORMS THESE TYPOLOGIES WAS BECAUSE WE, WE GENERALLY KNOW THAT A LOT OF THE DATA WE'RE USING IS A FEW YEARS OLD, AND THEN IT TAKES A FEW YEARS TO UPDATE THE DOCUMENTS AND THEN YADA YADA YADA BY THE, BY THE TIME, BY THE TIME WE'RE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT THIS, THE DATA COULD BE 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 PLUS YEARS OLD.
AND, AND IN AUSTIN TIMELINE, THAT'S, THAT'S LIKE 15 NEW GENERATIONS OF AUSTINITES.
UM, SO IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING CORRECT THAT, THAT THE MAP, UM, AND THE TYPOLOGY APPLIED TO EACH STATION, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS FLEXIBLE, THAT WILL BE UPDATED FREQUENTLY BY STAFF BASED ON THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND, AND OTHER DATA THAT YOU USE, UH, TO INFORM THIS TOPIC QUESTION.
IT WILL BE UPDATED, UM, TO CORRESPOND WITH THE A CS FIVE YEAR ESTIMATES AND THE, AND THE DATA THAT INFORMS THOSE TYPOLOGIES WILL COME FROM THAT.
SO, SO YOU'RE ANTICIPATING THAT THE TYPOLOGIES ASSIGNED TO EACH OF THESE STATIONS WILL BE ON A FIVE YEAR UPDATE CYCLE? YES.
SO GENERALLY THE WAY THAT A CS, UM, DATA WORKS IS, UM, THEIR ESTIMATES AND ONE YEAR DATA CAN OFTEN HAVE A MARGIN OF ERROR THAT'S A LITTLE BIT, UM, TO SIGNIFICANT.
UM, AND SO WE TEND TO RELY ON FIVE-YEAR ESTIMATES BECAUSE THE DATA IS MORE ACCURATE TO WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE GROUND.
AND WE GOT, UH, SOME FEEDBACK, UM, THAT, THAT THERE MAY BE DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN HOW WE ARE ASSIGNING THESE TYPOLOGIES AND,
[02:30:01]
AND WHERE THE 2018 DISPLACEMENT STUDY BY UT KIND OF IDENTIFIES THE MOST VULNERABLE AREAS FOR DISPLACEMENT.YOU'RE PROBABLY MUCH MORE FLUENT ON THAT UT STUDY THAN I AM, BUT ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY MAJOR DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN WHERE WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THE HIGHEST DISPLACEMENT AND HOW WE'RE ASSIGNING THESE TYPOLOGIES? UM, I CAN'T SAY OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD OF, OF BEING AWARE OF ANY PARTICULAR, ANYTHING THAT CONFLICTS WITH, UM, UPROOTED.
ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY THAT WE USE THE METHODOLOGY FROM UPROOTED.
UM, THE DATA THAT UPROOTED IS USING MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT OLDER, WHICH COULD, UM, BE A REASON WHY, UH, THE RESULTS MIGHT NOT BE THE SAME.
BUT THE METHODOLOGY WAS THE SAME AS THE UPROOTED REPORT AND HI WARNER COOK PRINCIPAL PLANNER WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
I'LL JUST ADD THAT BECAUSE UPROOTED LOOKS AT THE CENSUS TRACK LEVEL AND STATIONARY BOUNDARIES CROSS MULTIPLE CENSUS TRACKS.
WE DID HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION ABOUT HOW WE WOULD HANDLE WHERE, YOU KNOW, A STATIONARY THAT HAD ONE AREA THAT WASN'T DISPLACEMENT RISK, OTHERS THAT WERE, SO THE THRESHOLD WE HAVE IS A 45% OR MORE OF THE STATIONARY POPULATION FALLS INTO ONE OF THOSE ACTIVE DISPLACEMENT TRACKS.
THEN IT GOT THE CATEGORY OF, UH, VULNERABLE TO OR EXPERIENCING DISPLACEMENT.
AND, AND THE STATION AREA GENERALLY, LIKE ON AVERAGE IS, IS WHAT, WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE STATION AREA? UH, THAT'S THE HALF MILE RADIUS AROUND THE TRANSIT STOP.
AND THEN, I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE ANY OTHER TIME, BUT, BUT THE CONCERNS WE HEARD ABOUT THE USE OF LIKE HISTORIC, UH, HISTORIC DISPLACEMENT OR THE TERM HISTORIC, DO YOU HAVE ANY FEEDBACK OR RESPONSE TO THAT? THAT'S TERMINOLOGY THAT'S PART OF THE ACCEPTED CITY COUNCIL, UH, POLICY PLAN FOR EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.
AND IT'S ALSO TERMINOLOGY THAT WE HAD, UM, WORKED ON WITH THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT CONNECT, AND FOLKS FELT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO CALL OUT, UM, WHAT THE HISTORIC REASON WAS THAT THERE WAS LESS DISPLACEMENT IN SOME AREAS OF TOWN THAN OTHERS.
AND, AND I JUST WANNA SAY I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS.
I WISH WE WOULD GO THROUGH SOMETHING THAT EXTENSIVE ON MANY OF THE THINGS WE DO HERE AT THE CITY.
SO I, I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT, THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING A GOOD JOB WITH THE PUBLIC INFO PROCESS.
OTHER FOLKS WITH QUESTIONS? I'LL GO AHEAD.
I, I GUESS I'LL HAVE, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
UH, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
UM, SO, UH, CAN I JUST GET SOME CLARIFICATION FROM STAFF ABOUT NEXT STEPS, WHOEVER WANTS TO COME FORWARD,
AND I THINK THOSE WERE REFERENCED BY ONE OF OUR SPEAKERS.
SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THIS PLAN AND WHAT WE WILL BE DOING AT COUNCIL IN THE NEXT AND HERE AT PLANNING COMMISSION IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS? YEAH, SURE.
I, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE SOME CLARIFICATION THERE.
SO, UM, WHAT WAS SPOKEN ABOUT EARLIER ARE AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, UM, WHEREAS THIS ITEM IN PARTICULAR, UM, IS JUST FOCUSING ON AN, AN AMENDMENT TO IMAGINE AUSTIN, WHICH IS THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UM, AND SO THE, THAT AMENDMENT IS, IS A SEPARATE, UM, ENTITY ENTIRELY FROM THE, UM, CODE AMENDMENT.
UM, AND SO AS I SPOKE ABOUT IN THE PRESENTATION THAT, UM, THE AMENDMENT TO IMAGINE AUSTIN WILL ESSENTIALLY JUST ALLOW FOR, UM, FORMAL CONSIDERATION OF ETOD AND THE TYPOLOGIES, UM, IN ZONING REVIEW CASES AS WELL AS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW CASES.
UM, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THE PROCESS IS, UM, SORT OF A, A LITTLE BIT INFORMAL.
UM, AND WE WANNA ENSURE THAT THE CONSIDERATION OF ETOD IS, UM, A LITTLE BIT MORE STRUCTURED.
UM, AND ADDITIONALLY IT WILL, UH, PROVIDE OR DEMONSTRATE TO THE FTA THE, UH, TRANSIT SUPPORTIVENESS IN OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, UM, BEFORE THE FULL UPDATE TO IMAGINE AUSTIN.
UM, AND AS FAR AS, UH, OTHER NEXT STEPS, THIS PARTICULAR, UM, ITEM WILL BE AT COUNCIL ON MAY 30TH.
AND RELATED TO THIS, WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE HAVE SOME TOD PLANS THAT ALREADY EXIST.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, EAST RIVERSIDE, AND THEN ONE THAT I'M WORKING ON EXTENSIVELY RIGHT NOW IS SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT.
SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW THE TYPOLOGY WOULD WORK WITH THOSE REGULATING PLANS OR EXISTING PLANS AS AS GOOD OR SORT OF SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE OR WHAT WOULD BE THAT INTERACTION? YEAH, SURE.
[02:35:01]
THE WAY THAT THE TYPOLOGIES WOULD INTERACT WITH UPDATES TO THE VARIOUS REGULATING PLANS, UM, THAT IS A BIT IN, IN PROCESS, BUT GENERALLY, UM, THE TYPOLOGIES CAN, UM, INFORM WHAT IS HAPPENING IN A PARTICULAR AREA, WHICH COULD, UM, THEN INDICATE WHAT ANO ANOTHER PIECE OF THE POLICY PLAN WAS THE, UH, ETOD, UM, POLICY TOOLKIT.UM, AND THE POLICY TOOLKIT, UH, OFFERS SORT OF A MENU OF DIFFERENT, UH, POLICY APPROACHES TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF A STATIONARY.
UM, AND THE TYPOLOGIES CAN BE INDICATORS OF THAT.
UM, AND IN UPDATES TO THE VARIOUS REGULATING PLANS, THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE CONSIDER.
UM, BUT AS FAR AS, UH, INCORPORATING THE TYPOLOGIES INTO THOSE REGULATING PLANS, THAT'S SORT OF STILL IN, UH, PROCESS.
THIS RIGHT NOW IS JUST, UM, TO INCORPORATE INTO IMAGINE AUSTIN.
AND JUST RELATED TO THIS, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE GONNA DO SOME ADDITIONAL WORK AND COME BACK LATER AS YOU GUYS SORT OF FULLY FLESH OUT ALL OF THIS.
SO WE MIGHT SEE THESE TYPOLOGIES COME BACK IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT OR IN A MORE SORT OF USABLE WAY.
I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I'M CURIOUS.
WHAT'S THE NEXT PHASE OF THIS AFTER SORT OF THE MAY CONSIDERATION BY A COUNCIL
AND SO I KNOW THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN JOINT COMMITTEE HAS ALREADY STARTED HEARING ABOUT THE, THE 10 YEAR UPDATE TO IMAGINE AUSTIN THAT WILL BE LAUNCHING SOON.
AND SO, SO THAT'S REALLY THE ONLY NEXT STEP FOR THIS TYPOLOGY MAP OTHER THAN THE RECOMMENDATION TO CONTINUE UPDATING THE DATA THAT WAS MADE BY CPJC AND HAVING THAT KIND OF REFRESHED EVERY FIVE YEARS.
AND IN TERMS OF SORT OF TANGIBLE OUTCOMES OF THIS, MIGHT WE SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN OUR BACKUP A FUTURE LIKE CHECKLIST THAT SHOWS THAT MAP MAP MODELS, THESE TYPOLOGIES WITH SORT OF A ZONING CASE? IS THAT SORT OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO DO WITH THIS TOLL? THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD HOPE TO WORK WITH OUR ZONING CASE MANAGERS AND OUR PLAN AMENDMENT CASE MANAGERS AND THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO INCORPORATE THIS INTO THEIR STAFF REPORTS.
UM, INFORMALLY WE'VE GOTTEN QUESTION FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION BEFORE ABOUT CERTAIN CASES MM-HMM
SO THIS WOULD HELP US, UH, WORK WITH OUR OTHER STAFF TO CREATE THAT KIND OF CRITERIA AND PROCESS.
AND I THINK I HAVE ONE MORE SECOND.
SO I'LL JUST ASK, UM, THE TYPOLOGY, I JUST, SORRY, TO CLARIFY ONE MORE TIME.
SO CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHERE THIS ALL CAME FROM AND SORT OF HOW THIS PROCESS IS, AND ALSO NOT, NOT TO BE A CONSPIRACY, BUT THERE ARE PAGES MISSING BECAUSE THIS IS PART OF A MUCH BIGGER REPORT.
SORRY, IF YOU'LL ALLOW ME TO SAY YES, THERE IS A MUCH LARGER REPORT.
UM, BECAUSE OF THIS TIGHT TIMELINE WITH THE FDA, WE REALLY WANTED TO FOCUS IN ON WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO GET ON IMAGINE AUSTIN TO MEET OUR NEEDS.
SO THAT'S WHY IT'S JUST THOSE PAGES.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS.
SO I GUESS I'LL GO AHEAD AND ASK MY QUESTIONS.
I GUESS JUST TO UNDERSTAND IN TERMS OF THE, WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE, IS THIS AN AMENDMENT TO OUR GROWTH CONCEPT MAP? IT'S AN AMENDMENT LIKE MANY AMENDMENTS, WHICH IS TO ATTACH PAGES OF ANOTHER DOCUMENT ONTO IMAGINE AUSTIN.
SO IT DOESN'T EXPLICITLY SAY WHERE THEY GO IN THE PDF OF IMAGINE AUSTIN THAT YOU MIGHT PICTURE IN YOUR MIND.
SO I GUESS MY, MY QUESTION THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER POLICY MAP GUIDING THINGS ALONGSIDE THE GROWTH CONCEPT MAP, WHICH IS ITSELF MADE UP OF ACTUALLY FIVE OR SIX MAPS.
WHY WOULD WE NOT A, UM, I ALWAYS THOUGHT WHEN THIS WAS INITIATED BY COUNCIL, I THOUGHT THE UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT THIS WOULD BE AN AMENDMENT TO THE GROWTH CONCEPT MAP.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? UM, I THINK IT'S STAFF'S INTENTION THAT THE GROWTH CONCEPT MAP MAY BE PART OF THAT 10 YEAR UPDATE, BUT THAT WE DID NOT FEEL LIKE WE HAD TIME TO KIND OF OPEN UP AND AMEND AND CONSIDER ALL OF THE ISSUES INVOLVED IN THE GROWTH CONCEPT MAPPED AT THIS TIME.
SO THE, THE GOAL WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT E 2D IS PART OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN BEFORE THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION SCORING DEADLINE.
UM, BUT NOT NECESSARILY FIGURE OUT IN EVERY WAY THAT WHOLE GROWTH CONCEPT MAP THAT THAT HAS UPDATES BEYOND JUST ETOD THAT I THINK STAFF ARE LOOKING AT.
SO I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE THE GROWTH CONCEPT MAP WAS ALWAYS BLOBS, THIS IS A WORD THAT OUR STAFF USED DURING THE LDC THAT WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAP BLOBS, NOW WE'RE INTRODUCING ANOTHER MAP WITH MORE BLOBS.
IF THE BLOBS CONFLICT, HOW WILL WE MOVE FORWARD IN MAKING A DECISION? SO THAT'S PROCESS THAT WE'LL WORK WITH ON THE STAFF IN THE STAFF REPORT TO KIND OF MAKE THAT CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS IN THE CASE OF OVERLAPPING BLOBS AS YOU PUT IT.
SO I GUESS MY, WAIT, UM, UM, WHEN WOULD THAT DOCUMENT BE PROVIDED TO US? I DUNNO THE TIMELINE FOR WORKING WITH OUR ZONING STAFF ON THAT
[02:40:01]
AFTER MAY AFTER COUNCIL WOULD ADOPT THIS, SO, OKAY.SO THAT, SO THAT WOULD REALLY BE, SO ONCE WE ADOPT THIS, THEN WE UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WILL BE IMPLEMENTED.
UM, MY OTHER QUESTION WAS PART OF THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION WHEN THIS WAS APPROVED.
PAUSE, AND I'LL READ IT SO I DON'T MISS IT.
THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECTS THE CITY MANAGER TO PRESENT AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO CLEARLY IDENTIFY NEXT STEPS AND IDENTIFY FINANCING AND PROGRAMMATIC SUPPORT FOR MEETING A O GOALS THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POLICY TOOLKIT.
CAN YOU TELL ME THE TIMELINE ON THAT, UM, IMPLEMENTATION PLAN? YEAH, SURE.
STAFF, UH, IN THE SECOND HALF OF LAST YEAR BEGAN DRAFTING THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WITH OUR PARTNERS.
AND THROUGH THAT COORDINATION IS WHERE WE ACTUALLY HIGHLIGHTED THE NEED FOR SOME OF THESE EARLY OUT ITEMS. SO WE'VE PAUSED WRITING THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO ACTUALLY DO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE EARLY OUT ITEMS AHEAD OF THE FEDERAL GRANT.
SO WE, WE WERE PLANNING TO COME BACK TO THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THIS SUMMER AND FALL AND BEYOND.
AND, AND I HONESTLY, I KNOW I'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATIONS TO Y'ALL IN BEFORE AND IN OTHER SORT OF ARENAS AND DIFFERENT SORT OF BODIES THAT I SERVE ON.
MY CHALLENGE HERE IS, AGAIN, AND THIS WAS RAISED BY ONE OF OUR SPEAKERS, THIS ALL SOUNDS AMAZING AND WE KNOW, BUT LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, SO ALL EIGHT TYPOLOGIES CALL FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
I GUESS MY QUESTION TO YOU WOULD BE HOW ARE WE GONNA FUND THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING? THERE'S MULTIPLE TOOLS IN THE POLICY TOOLKIT THAT OFFER DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, EITHER THROUGH PUBLIC SUBSIDY, THROUGH VOLUNTARY BONUS PROGRAMS, ET CETERA.
BUT WE DO NOT HAVE FUNDING AVAILABLE TIED TO THE EO POLICY PLAN BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
I GUESS I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THIS ALL SOUNDS GREAT.
HOW WILL WE ACTUALIZE THIS? BECAUSE THIS IS AT THE END OF THE COMMITMENT THAT WE'RE MAKING TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO ONE WAY WE ACTUALIZE IT IS IN THE CASES THAT YOU ALL SEE AND THE DECISIONS THAT YOU MAKE AND RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL FOR ZONING AND PLAN AMENDMENTS.
SO THAT IS KIND OF THE TEETH I GUESS THAT IS TIED TO THIS PLAN AMENDMENT TO IMAGINE AUSTIN.
UM, OTHER IMPLEMENTATION THINGS SUCH AS CODE, UH, AMENDMENTS, WHICH ONE OF THE SPEAKERS MENTIONED THAT ARE A SEPARATE ITEM, THOSE ARE MOVING FORWARD AT THE SAME TIME.
THAT'S ANOTHER IMPLEMENTATION THAT WE SEE THAT THAT'S ACTUALLY CREATING ETOD ON THE GROUND.
UM, AND THERE ARE ADDITIONAL BOND FUNDING THROUGH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, THROUGH OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS THAT HELP IMPLEMENT ASPECTS OF ETOD AS WELL.
YOU'RE CORRECT THAT THERE'S NOT LIKE A BUDGET ITEM THAT I CONTROL THAT SAYS THIS MONEY IS FOR ETOD AND, AND MY TEAM DECIDES HOW TO SPEND IT, BUT WE COORDINATE WITH PEOPLE THAT DO HAVE FINANCING AND AND BUDGET AUTHORITY.
MS. LEE, DID YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING TO THAT ERIC LIK PLANNING DEPARTMENT? UM, I, WARNER I THINK ACTUALLY ANSWERED IT VERY WELL.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, UM, THERE'S THE PROJECT CONNECT ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDING THAT'S FOCUSED ON THE PROJECT CONNECT AREA AS WELL AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND FUNDING.
AND WE AS A CITY CONTINUE TO SEEK OUT POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCES, UM, TO SUPPORT THE ETOD POLICY PLAN.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
JUST FOLLOWING UP ON THE QUESTION, UH, COMMISSIONER AZAR THAT YOU RAISED.
SO IS THERE, LIKE, I I REALLY, UH, THANK YOU FOR, UH, PRESENTING AND THANK YOU FOR TELLING US ABOUT THE DIFFERENT THINGS SUCH AS THE DISPLACEMENT FUND AND THE HOUSING BONDS.
THERE, LIKE ONE PLACE WHERE ALL OF THAT IS ARCHIVED OR CATALOGED THAT WE MIGHT SEE THAT KIND OF WOULD BE ATTACHED TO THE DOCUMENT SO THAT WE WOULD HAVE THAT BECAUSE IT'S, THAT'S WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE DOING HERE AND IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE THAT.
SO THE CITY IS WORKING RIGHT NOW TO HAVE A LIVE DASHBOARD THAT, UM, THAT, THAT BASICALLY SHOWS HOW THE PROJECT CONNECT ANTI DISPLACEMENT SPENDING AND OTHER FUNDING SOURCES ARE, ARE BEING USED TO HELP SUPPORT, UM, THE CREATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS AROUND THE PROJECT CONNECT LINE.
I SHOULD KNOW WHETHER THAT IS LIVE.
YES, I DOUBLE CHECK THAT SPENDING DASHBOARD IS LIVE.
SO IF YOU GO TO AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV/PAGE/ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDING WITH ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDING, UH, SCROLL DOWN.
THERE IS A DASHBOARD THERE AND IT, IT INCLUDES LIKE THE NUMBER OF AFFORDABLE UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESERVED SO FAR THROUGH THAT FUNDING SOURCE.
[02:45:01]
EXPENDED, IT HAS INFORMATION ON THE, UM, UH, COMMUNITY INITIATED SOLUTIONS ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'VE PARTNERED WITH TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO VARIOUS HOUSEHOLDS.SO THAT'S ONE PLACE, BUT THAT'S JUST FOR THE $300, $300 MILLION IN FUNDING.
COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS THAT, AS I SAID, THERE'S OTHER FUNDING SOURCES THAT ALSO KIND OF HELP IMPLEMENT ETOD THAT ARE LESS PACKAGED UP IN A DASHBOARD FOR ME TO SHOW YOU.
I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE DASHBOARD.
IS THERE A WAY TO PER PERHAPS PROVIDE TO COMMISSIONERS THAT INFORMATION, UM, SO THAT WE COULD ACCESS THAT? 'CAUSE I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO, TO GET THESE UPDATES BECAUSE I TOTALLY AGREE THAT YOU HAVE TO BUILD MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ALONG TRANSIT CORRIDORS AND, AND I THINK THAT CAPITAL METRO HAS REALLY DONE A GOOD JOB IN TERMS OF FOCUSING ON THE EQUITY OF, OF THE, THE WHOLE ISSUE.
SO I I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
AND IF WE COULD JUST GET THAT LINK YES.
ALONG WITH SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS, I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
I AT LEAST IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO ME.
DEFINITELY I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THE STAFF LIAISON WITH THAT LINK.
COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THIS ITEM?
SINCE I VOTED FORWARD ON THE CPJC, I'LL GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION THAT WE, UH, THAT WE APPROVE.
UM, I GUESS THIS WOULD BE APPROVE STAFF RECOMMENDATION OR, OR GO FORWARD WITH, UH, THE STAFF PRESENTED TYPOLOGIES WITH THE CPJC, UH, AMENDMENTS INCLUDED.
UM, DO WE HAVE A SECOND TO THAT MOTION? DANIELLE? I'LL SECOND.
UH, UM, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER COX, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE.
AGAIN, I THINK JUST TO RESPECT PEOPLE'S TIME, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION THAT WE POSTPONE THIS ITEM TO, LET'S START THERE AND THINK ABOUT IT.
SO I'M GONNA SAY MAY 14TH SECOND.
UH, IT WAS SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER COX.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND SPEAK TO THE MOTION.
I THINK THE BIGGEST ONE IS THIS IS A SUBSTANTIAL, AN IMPORTANT ITEM AND I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GIVE IT THE ATTENTION THAT IT DESERVES WITH THE CAVEAT THAT I FEEL LIKE BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY OF THE CODE AMENDMENT ITEMS GOING THROUGH IN APRIL, IT DOES MAKE IT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT FOR US TO PAY ATTENTION TO THIS.
I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK IN MAY AND BE ABLE TO GIVE IT THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES.
I WOULD ALSO SAY, I'LL BE HONEST, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE THIS CAME TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, THE EO POLICY TOOLKIT CAME TO US.
WE DID NOT HAVE CAPACITY, WE DID NOT LOOK AT IT.
IT WENT TO COUNCIL, IT WAS POSTPONED COUNCIL, IT MOVED FORWARD.
THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAD RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCERNS THAT, I'LL BE HONEST, WE'RE NOT ADDRESSED MEANINGFULLY.
WE, AGAIN, HAVE A PLAN THAT SOUNDS AMAZING ON PAPER.
WE HAVE NO UNDERSTANDING HOW WE'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT IT.
WE DID THIS WITH SOUTH CENTER WATERFRONT WHERE WE IN OUR VISION PLAN SAID WE WERE GONNA HAVE 20% AFFORDABILITY.
LO AND BEHOLD, ONCE IT COMES TIME TO IMPLEMENT THAT, WE SAY WE DON'T HAVE THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO DO THAT.
WE'RE SAYING WE'LL BE ABLE TO FIGURE THIS OUT THROUGH ZONING, AND YET WE'RE TOLD EVERY TIME AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION THAT THERE ARE NO ZONING TOOLS THAT CAN HELP US ACCOMPLISH THOSE AFFORDABILITY GOALS.
SO I'LL BE HONEST, I THINK IT'S HARD FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND HOW DO WE SUPPORT THIS WITHOUT HAVING THE ABILITY TO KNOW WHAT ARE THOSE TOOLS THAT WE'RE GOING TO UTILIZE TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS? ARE WE REALLY ALIGNING OUR ANTI DISPLACEMENT UM, DOLLARS WITH THE LIGHT RAIL PLAN? ARE WE GOING AHEAD AND USING OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING BONDS? I FEEL LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ANSWERED BEFORE I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE THIS ITEM FORWARD.
FOLKS SPEAKING AGAINST THE MOTION FOLKS SPEAKING FOR THE MOTION.
GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER COX? YEAH, I JUST, I JUST KIND OF WANNA EXPLAIN WHY IT SEEMS LIKE I MAY HAVE DONE A CONTRADICTORY THING THERE.
SO WHEN, WHEN I, I WAS VERY FOCUSED AT CPJC ON TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THIS TRANSLATE INTO ACTUAL PRACTICAL
[02:50:01]
THINGS AND, AND I KEPT HAVING TO GET REMINDED THAT THIS WAS MORE OF A HIGH LEVEL PLANNING TOOL AND THAT, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ACTUAL PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WOULD FILTER DOWN.UM, AND, AND I'M VERY MUCH TRYING TO ALWAYS LINK THE PRACTICAL EFFECT OF THINGS TO THESE PLANNING TOOLS AND I STRUGGLE WITH THAT OFTEN.
UH, BUT IF IT'S THE WILL OF THIS COMMISSION TO TRY TO ZERO IN ON THIS A BIT MORE AND, AND, AND GAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL OUT OF IT OF WHAT THE PRACTICAL EFFECTS ARE OR COULD BE RELATED TO ZONING CASES THAT COME BEFORE US AND OTHER POLICY DECISIONS THAT COME BEFORE US, I'M ALL FOR IT.
SO THAT'S WHY, UM, THAT'S WHY I, I SUPPORT THIS.
COMMISSIONER CO UH, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, I'LL SPEAK AGAINST JUST TO, UH, ASK STAFF.
SINCE, 'CAUSE WE, BECAUSE WE AS A COMMISSION VALUE STAFF AND UM, STAFF, UM, EITHER ONE, UH, WHAT WILL THIS DO TO YOU IF WE DELAY TILL MAY, WHAT WILL THIS DO TO YOUR TIMELINE? AND SO YEAH, PART OF THE REASON OF BRINGING THIS TO YOU BEFORE THE END OF MARCH WAS ACTUALLY TO HELP THE PUBLIC AND YOU ALL KEEP IT SEPARATE FROM THE UPCOMING CODE AMENDMENTS THAT ARE COMING YOUR WAY BECAUSE IT IS A SEPARATE ITEM FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
AND WE DIDN'T WANT FOLKS TO GET CONFUSED.
AND EVEN EARLIER TODAY, WE HAD A SPEAKER THAT WAS MENTIONING PARTS OF THE CODE AMENDMENT AND PARTS OF THE TYPOLOGY.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS TO KIND OF HAVE THIS BEFORE YOU AND HAVE A RECOMMENDATION BEFORE THE END OF MARCH.
UM, AND WHILE YOU ALL MAY BE FINISHED WITH YOUR BUSINESS ON THE CODE AMENDMENTS IN APRIL, STAFF WILL BE AT COUNCIL IN MAY.
SO MAY 14TH IS JUST, I'M, I'M CONCERNED THAT THE AMOUNT THAT YOU WOULD WANNA DIG IN IN THIS TIME, IT SEEMS LIKE A LONG AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT STAFF AND YOU ALL WILL NOT HAVE MUCH ACTUAL CAPACITY IN THAT LIKE SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS.
SO I, I WOULD BE FINE WITH MAYBE A TWO WEEK POSTPONEMENT AND, AND, AND WE COULD JUST SEE IF WE COULD ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS QUICKLY ENOUGH AND THEN MAYBE WE COULD CONSIDER ANOTHER POSTPONEMENT.
BUT I DO THINK THAT IT'S POSSIBLE THAT YOU ALL, IF YOU GIVE IT EVEN JUST MORE THAN A, A FEW DAYS, IF YOU GIVE IT JUST TWO WEEKS TO YOUR NEXT MEETING, THAT WOULD BE MORE PREFERENTIAL TO STAFF.
AND ARE WE BUMPING UP AGAINST THE, I KNOW YOU KNOW, IT, IT AMAZES ME NOW THAT WE'RE SAYING THE QUIET PARTS OUT LOUD IN TERMS OF THE REASON THAT WE'RE DOING DENSITY, THE REASON THAT WE'RE DOING UTAH, THE REASON IS WE NEED A BILLION DOLLARS FROM THE FEDS.
AND I KNOW WE'RE SAYING THE QUIET PARTS OUT LOUD NOW.
SO LET'S SAY THE QUIET PARTS OUT LOUD.
UH, DOES THIS, DOES THIS BUMP US UP OR BACK US UP IN TERMS OF OUR SUBMITTAL TO THE FEDS FOR OUR BILLION DOLLARS? UM, WE ARE PLANNING BY THE END OF THE SUMMER TO SUBMIT A, UH, A TP WILL SUBMIT FOR THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT THAT YOU'RE REFERENCING.
SO WHILE IN THIS, SO YOU ALL WILL CONTINUE HAVING, IS AUGUST 22? YES.
I MEAN, BUT THE, BUT THE, SO THE TIMING ISSUE IS, WELL, YOU ALL CONTINUE TO MEET THROUGH THE SUMMER COUNCIL TAKES A BREAK AND THEN THEY FOCUS ON BUDGET.
SO REALLY IF THIS ITEM DOESN'T GET TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL BY THE END OF MAY, THEN IT PROBABLY WON'T HAVE TIME TO MAKE IT INTO THE RATING SUBMISSION PACKAGE FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
I WILL SAY SINCE THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SECONDED, IT BELONGS TO THE BODY, I'M HAPPY TO WITHDRAW THE MOTION AS LONG AS THERE IS NO OPPOSITION TO THAT.
UM, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS.
IN WHICH CASE WE CAN, WE WOULD, WE WOULD GO THROUGH THE FOREIGN AGAINST AND THEN, UM, UM, DISPOSE OFF IT REGULARLY EVEN THOUGH IT, YEAH, EVEN THOUGH IT BELONGS TO THE BODY.
WE IF, UH, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION.
COMMISSIONER HAYNES, THAT DELAYS IT UNTIL OUR APRIL THE NINTH MEETING.
UM, SINCE THIS HAS NOT BEEN SECONDED, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, WOULD YOU BE OPEN TO POSTPONING IT TO THE 26TH OF MARCH? AND I WOULD SAY HONESTLY AT THAT POINT, IF WE DON'T HAVE THE QUESTIONS ANSWERED, I WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF POSTPONING IT AGAIN.
WE HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER WOODS.
SO WE HAVE A SUBSTITUTE TO POSTPONE TO MARCH 26TH FROM COMMISSIONER HAYNES.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WOODS.
UM, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR SUBSTITUTE MOTION? NO.
IS THERE ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK AGAINST THE MOTION? ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK FOR THE MOTION? I'LL SPEAK FOR THE MOTION.
[02:55:01]
SAY, MAKE A COMMENT THAT I THINK I, I HEAR STAFF'S CONCERN, BUT I REALLY HOPE THAT AS THIS COMES BACK AT THE NEXT MEETING, WE HAVE SOME UNDERSTANDING OF IMPLEMENTATION.I, I, I HATE TO SAY IT, I THINK OUR COMMUNITY HAS REALLY STRUGGLED WITH SOMETHING.
WE ARE, I WOULDN'T SAY WE'RE GOOD AT PLANNING AND WE'RE GOOD AT HIGHLIGHTING VISIONS IN PLANNING AND ARE NOT ABLE TO THEN ARTICULATE THAT INTO ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION IN ACTION.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S NOT, LIKE WE CAN GET IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX BY NEXT MEETING.
THAT WOULD NOT BE THE IDEA, BUT SOME UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THOSE THINGS WILL BE CONSIDERED AS THIS MOVES FORWARD SO THAT WE KNOW THAT WHAT WE ARE SUPPORTING AND VOTING ON AS AN AMENDMENT TO IMAGINE AUSTIN, IT IS SOMETHING, UM, THAT IS CONSIDERED AS SOMETHING THAT WILL BE IMPLEMENTABLE WITH THE UNDERSTANDING OF, DOES IT AT SOME POINT MAKE MORE SENSE TO HAVE THIS AS PART OF THE GROWTH CONCEPT MAP INSTEAD OF JUST ANOTHER TEXT AMENDMENT THAT GOES IN? BECAUSE WE HAVE DONE MAP AMENDMENTS SUCH AS WITH A SMP AS OUR, YOU KNOW, ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE MAP THAT IS NOW PART OF IMAGINE AUSTIN AS WELL.
SO I AM CURIOUS TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE WOULD JUST HAVE A TEXT AMENDMENT WITH A MAP THAT THEN JUST GETS AMENDED.
SO I'M HAPPY TO SUPPORT THIS WITH HOPEFULLY SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY THE NEXT MEETING.
AND IF IT FEELS LIKE WE'RE NOT READY, THEN I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPORT POSTPONING THIS ITEM FURTHER.
ANY OTHER FOLKS SPEAKING FOR OR AGAINST? IF NOT, CAN WE GO AHEAD AND, UH, TAKE A VOTE? THIS WOULD A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER HAYNES SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WOODS TO POSTPONE THIS ITEM TOWARD THE MARCH 26TH MEETING.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? THANK YOU.
[23. Equity-Based Preservation Plan]
SO UNLESS I GUESS AT THIS POINT FOLKS HAVE AN OPPOSITION, CAN WE MOVE AHEAD WITH THE, UM, EQUITY PRESERVATION PLAN BRIEFING, NOT SEEING ANY OPPOSITION.LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO THAT AND THEN WE CAN CIRCLE BACK WITH ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION.
AND, UH, LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF.
I'M BEN HEIM, I'M AN ARCHITECT HERE IN TOWN.
I ALSO AM THE CHAIR OF THE HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION.
AND FIRST, LET ME THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR VOLUNTEER SERVICE.
UH, I WAS IN YOUR POSITION A LONG TIME AGO AND I'M VERY GLAD THAT
UH, LET ME ALSO THANK YOU FOR YOUR ACTION THIS EVENING ON PASSING FORWARD ON THE GREEN AND WHITE GROCERY.
UH, I DON'T THINK THERE'S A BETTER ILLUSTRATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN THAN THE ACTIONS YOU JUST TOOK THIS EVENING.
AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE AS I WAS IN THE CORRIDOR AND SPEAKING WITH THE OWNER, I SAID, YOU KNOW, THE FUNNY THING IS, IT'S, IT'S WHY HAS IT TAKEN SO LONG FOR THIS PROJECT TO BE RECOGNIZED? IT'S SUCH A LANDMARK.
AND HE TURNED TO ME AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW, NOBODY EVER ASKED ME.
AND I THINK THAT SAYS IT IN A NUTSHELL, WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS IS NOW READY IN DRAFT FORM FOR YOUR REVIEW.
AND WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TO JUST REMIND YOU THAT WE ARE UPDATING A PLAN THAT HASN'T BEEN CHANGED SINCE THE 1980S.
AND THIS HAS BEEN DEVELOPED FROM A GROUNDSWELL OF MANY, MANY COMMUNITY MEMBERS, VOLUNTEERS, AND THE HARD WORK OF A TERRIFIC GROUP THAT WILL INTRODUCE SHORTLY THE, UH, PRESERVATION WORKING GROUP.
UH, AND ALSO WITH ME TONIGHT WILL BE, UH, OUR VERY TALENTED AND CAPABLE, UH, STAFF MEMBER KARA, KARA BERTRAN, WHO'S BEEN GUIDING THIS EFFORT.
UH, LET ME READ FOR YOU THIS NEXT SLIDE.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE VERY, VERY, UH, HAPPY WITH THAT CAME FROM SO MUCH COMMUNITY INPUT, UH, REALLY STATES WHY HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN AUSTIN WILL ACTIVELY ENGAGE COMMUNITIES IN PROTECTING AND SHARING IMPORTANT PLACES AND STORIES.
PRESERVATION USES THE PAST TO CREATE A SHARED SENSE OF BELONGING AND TO SHAPE AN EQUITABLE, INCLUSIVE, SUSTAINABLE, AND ECONOMICALLY VI VITAL FUTURE FOR ALL.
THIS STATEMENT IS MORE THAN JUST ASPIRATIONAL, AND I'M VERY PROUD TO SAY THAT THIS ALLOWS US WITH THE WORK THAT'S, UH, IN FRONT OF YOU TO REALLY SEE A CELEBRATION OF ALL THE SPECIAL PLACES IN AUSTIN, NOT JUST SOME OF US WHO CAN CELEBRATE THEM, BUT LITERALLY ALL OF US.
UH, THE DRAFT PLAN WAS PRODUCED BY, AS I MENTIONED, THE PRESERVATION PLAN WORKING GROUP THAT WAS APPOINTED THROUGH HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION.
UH, THIS IS MADE UP OF, UH, LITERALLY, UM,
[03:00:02]
CITIZENS FROM ALL OVER.WE'LL GO INTO THAT IN JUST A SECOND.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE PROCESS, WE SPENT HUNDREDS OF HOURS WITH VARIOUS COMMUNITY INPUTS, UH, THE WORKING GROUP HOURS, UH, NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PLACES WHERE WE'VE, UH, REACHED OUT AND HAD ACTIVE PARTICIPATION FROM, UH, UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
UH, AND THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UH, THE PRESERVATION WORKING GROUP, UH, IS NOW STARTING THEIR THIRD YEAR.
UH, THE COMPOSITION OF THIS GROUP, IT COMES FROM OVER 19 ZIP CODES.
ONE THIRD OF THE MEMBERS ARE RENTERS.
AND, UH, IN PARTICULAR, THE, UH, ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE HAVING HAVE ALLOWED US TO EXPAND SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE ARE NOW GOING TO BE BRINGING FORWARD TO YOU AND ALLOWING US TO HAVE THE TOOLS THAT WE'LL NEED IN THE FUTURE TO, UH, CONTINUE TO DO WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN ENACTED, WHICH IS TO REALLY SEE PRESERVATION AS A CHANCE TO SERVE, UH, ALL OF AUSTIN, INCLUDING A NUMBER OF UNDERREPRESENTED AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
AND WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO, UH, KARA BERTRAN, WHO HAS, UH, CAN WALK YOU THROUGH THE SPECIFICS OF THE PLAN.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING, I KNOW SHE'S BEEN ON HOLD THIS TIME, SO I'M SURE SHE'S GOING TO TAKE OVER HERE.
MS. BERTRAN, WE YES, YOU SHOULD BE.
FEEL FREE TO CONTINUE WHENEVER YOU WOULD LIKE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
I STARTED TO TALK AND GOT NOT, NOT THAT FAR.
KARA BERTAN WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING US TONIGHT.
THANK YOU BEN FOR THAT GOOD INTRODUCTION.
SO YEAH, I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DRAFT PLAN AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORK AROUND IT.
OKAY, SO HERE ARE THE 14 GOALS OF THE DRAFT PLAN.
THESE GOALS INCLUDE 108 DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THEY'RE VERY BROAD.
I'M NOT GOING TO BE SPEAKING ABOUT ALL 108 DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS ARE EVEN ALL 14 GOALS, BUT I DO WANT TO TALK ABOUT THREE THEMES THAT WE'VE ORGANIZED THE GOALS INTO WHAT WE PRESERVE, WHO PRESERVES AND HOW WE PRESERVE.
SO THE FIRST THEME, WHAT WE PRESERVE THE IDEA BEHIND IT IS REALLY TO THINK BROADLY, TO RECOGNIZE THE FULL COMPLICATED HISTORY OF AUSTIN, UM, THROUGH BETTER LISTENING TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS ABOUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT.
AND THEN SHARING BACK THROUGH INTERPRETATION IS ALSO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND SOMETHING WE, THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE REALLY TO DATE, TO BETTER RECOGNIZE AND PROTECT CULTURAL HERITAGE, LIKE LEGACY BUSINESSES AND MURALS, AND TO PUT MORE RESOURCES TOWARDS, UM, ASSESSING ARCHITECT, UH, WHERE ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES ARE.
AND FINALLY, TO USE PRESERVATION TOOLS TO SUPPORT OTHER COMMUNITY PRIORITIES LIKE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.
THIS IS A BREAK, A BREAKNECK TOUR THROUGH THE PLAN, WHICH I HOPE YOU WILL READ.
UM, THE SECOND THEME IS WHO PRESERVES.
AND I THINK THAT THE GIST HERE IS REALLY TO INVITE AND SUPPORT NEW PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE BOTH IN, UM, DOING PRESERVATION PROJECTS AND PARTICIPATING IN, UM, CITY PROCESSES LIKE AND, AND BOARDS LIKE THE HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION.
THIS ALSO INCLUDES RECOMMENDATIONS TO STREAMLINE AND BETTER EXPLAIN OUR HISTORIC PROCESSES, SUPPORT FOLKS WHO ARE DOING THE HANDS-ON WORK LIKE CRAFTSPEOPLE AND COMMISSIONERS AND STAFF.
AND FINALLY, TO ENGAGE NEW PARTNERS AND AUDIENCES, RECOGNIZING THAT, UM, TO BE EFFECTIVE WITH PRESERVATION NEEDS TO BE DONE BY, BY A, A LARGER GROUP OF PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND ALSO, UH, THAT THE CITY HAS A LONG WAY TO GO IN REBUILDING TRUST.
SO WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO DO THAT.
THE THIRD THEME IS HOW WE PRESERVE, AND THIS IS REALLY SORT OF THE, THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF, OF, UH, A LOT OF OUR DEALING WITH OUR CURRENT REVIEW, UM, AND DESIGNATION PROCESSES.
THE IDEA BEHIND IT IS BE MORE STRATEGIC AND EFFECTIVE WITH LIMITED STAFF TIME AND RESOURCES TO UPDATE OUR DESIGNATION CRITERIA, UM, TO SUPPORT THE STEWARDS OF OUR HISTORIC PROPERTIES, LARGELY PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, THROUGH AN EXPANDED SUITE OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES, MORE INFORMATION AND LOWER FEES TO BE STRATEGIC WITH REVIEW TO IMPROVE OUR ENFORCEMENT PROCESSES, ALONG WITH PROVIDING PEOPLE WITH MORE INFORMATION AND TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN COLLABORATIVELY.
SO HERE'S A, A SHORT LIST OF ESPECIALLY RELEVANT RECOMMENDATIONS.
THIS IS NOT THE ONLY RELEVANT RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, BUT WE WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL A SENSE OF
[03:05:01]
WHAT SOME OF, OF THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, THAT RELATE TO Y'ALL'S WORK, UM, TO, UH, I MENTIONED PUTTING MORE RESOURCES TOWARDS, UM, ARCHEOLOGICAL REVIEW, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT IS A, UM, CRITERIA FOR HISTORIC LANDMARK DESIGNATION RIGHT NOW.BUT WE DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY RESOURCES TO, TO ASSESS ARCHEOLOGICAL ARCHEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE.
UM, THIS WOULD APPLY TO MOSTLY THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN WHERE THAT, WHERE THERE, UM, IS A KNOWN OR HIGH PROBABILITY FOR ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES TO IDENTIFY WAYS THAT FLEXIBLE ZONING COULD SUPPORT HISTORIC PRESERVATION, UM, AND OTHER COMMUNITY GOALS LIKE THE PRESERVATION BONUS FROM THE HOME INITIATIVE, UH, FOR HISTORIC DESIGNATION.
UH, EXPAND THE NUMBER OF CRITERIA, RECONSIDER THE NUMBER OF CRITERIA THAT A PROPERTY MUST MEET, AND REFRAME INTEGRITY, INTEGRITY REQUIREMENTS, PARTICULARLY FOR PROPERTIES WITH COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE.
UM, WE ARE NOT AIMING TO DESIGNATE THE ENTIRE CITY, BUT RATHER TO HAVE HISTORIC PROPERTIES THAT REFLECT THE CITY'S FULL HISTORY.
UM, I THINK IT IS HELPFUL CONTEXT FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION THAT, UH, 0.7% OF AUSTIN PROPERTIES ARE DESIGNATED AS HISTORIC RIGHT NOW.
SO IT'S A VERY SMALL NUMBER AND WE WOULD LIKE TO INCREASE IT A LITTLE BIT TO, UM, REFLECT THE, THE, UH, STORIES OF HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES LIKE THE GREEN WHITE GROCERY TO ALLOW NON-CONTIGUOUS HISTORIC DISTRICTS AND MULTIPLE PROPERTY DESIGNATIONS.
UM, NOT JUST THE GEOGRAPHICALLY CONTIGUOUS HISTORIC DISTRICTS THAT ARE CODE AS NOW AND TO EXPLORE A TDR PROGRAM, THE TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS TO, UH, SHIFT SOME DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE OFF OF SMALLER SCALE HISTORIC BUILDINGS, UM, TO AREAS TARGETED FOR, FOR HIGHER DENSITY.
WE TALKED ALSO TO JUST COLLEAGUES IN THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION DIVISION OF THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT ABOUT A TDR PROGRAM THAT MIGHT INCLUDE BOTH HISTORIC PROPERTIES AND MARKET AFFORDABLE, UH, PROPERTIES THAT, THAT COULD BE POTENTIALLY PART OF THE, OF THE FINAL PLAN.
I, ALRIGHT, SO, UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, BEN TALKED ABOUT, OR COMMISSIONER SOFF TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THAT.
UM, WE ARE COMING UP TO, WE JUST PASSED, I GUESS A MONTH INTO A FOUR MONTH ENGAGEMENT WINDOW AROUND THE DRAFT PLAN.
WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR COMMUNITY INPUT ON THE PLAN THROUGH MAY.
WE'RE DOING MONTHLY EVENTS HOSTED BY THE CITY.
WE ARE DOING BOARD AND COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS, UM, PRESENTING TO COMMUNITY GROUPS, DOING SOME DEEP DIVE, UH, PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS WITH STAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATIONS.
AND ALSO WE'LL BE WORKING WITH AD'S, PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALISTS TO GET THE WORD OUT TO FAMILIES, UM, IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND WE ARE DOING POPUP OUTREACH AT COMMUNITY EVENTS, UH, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THREE AND SIX, UH, PER MONTH WITH A FOCUS ON, ON EVENTS, UH, TO REACH HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE THE RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ON THIS ENGAGEMENT WORK.
SO WE ARE WORKING WITH 10 PAID COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS WHO ARE REACHING OUT TO THEIR NETWORKS ABOUT THE PLAN AND WITH FIVE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE RECEIVED MANY GRANTS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THOSE, THE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS ON THE RIGHT.
UM, AND THEY ARE DOING, AGAIN, DOING OUTREACH TO THEIR NETWORKS, HOSTING EVENTS, AND, UH, DOING SOME TABLING AS WELL.
AND BOTH THIS, BOTH OF THESE GROUPS, THE, THE GOAL IS TO, UH, ADD RESOURCES TOWARDS OUTREACH TO HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, UM, LOW INCOME FOLKS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, UH, THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY.
SO PEOPLE CAN GIVE INPUT ON THE PLAN IN A NUMBER OF WAYS.
THEY CAN REVIEW THE DRAFT PLAN IN ON IF THEY WANT TO DO, UH, NEWSPAPER.
THEY CAN GO TO ANY BRANCH LIBRARY.
AND WE HAVE THE PLAN AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, UM, AT ALL THE BRANCHES.
IT'S ALSO OF COURSE AVAILABLE ONLINE AS A PDF AND, UM, AND A WEBSITE FORMAT THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO JUMP TO GOALS THAT ARE OF INTEREST TO THEM AND PROVIDE INPUT ON SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS WITH A FUN SLIDER KIND OF MODEL.
UM, PEOPLE CAN ALSO TAKE A QUICK FIVE MINUTE COMMUNITY SURVEY VERY FAST THAT ASKS THEM ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES.
UM, AND YOU CAN, THERE'S A SCREENSHOT FROM THAT JUST TO THE RIGHT OF THE ICONS.
UH, THEY CAN ALSO COME TO EVENTS THAT WE HOST OR THAT OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS HOST.
SO IN TERMS OF WHAT COMES NEXT, WE'RE, AS I SAID, DOING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGH MAY.
WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THE PRESERVATION PLAN WORKING GROUP AND THE HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION TO REVISE THE PLAN THIS SUMMER.
WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO YOU AND OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THIS FALL FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL, UM, ABOUT THE, ABOUT THE FINAL PLAN.
AND THEN WE HOPE TO BRING IT TO COUNCIL FOR REVIEW BY THE END OF THE YEAR AND HOPEFULLY ADOPTION.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT IS ALL THAT WE HAVE.
[03:10:01]
ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.ALTHOUGH BEFORE I STOP TALKING, I WANT TO REALLY, UM, EXHORT YOU IN A VERY FRIENDLY AND ENCOURAGING WAY TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE WEBSITE, READ THE DRAFT PLAN, OR, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY A SUPER EASY TO JUMP TO, TO TAKE THE COMMUNITY SURVEY OR, OR LOOK AT THE DRAFT PLAN AND JUMP TO GOALS THAT THAT INTEREST YOU AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
UH, WE REALLY WILL BE LOOKING AT THIS IN PEOPLE'S FEEDBACK AND REVISING THE DRAFT PLAN AND, UM, AND WE'LL HAVE A BROAD VIEW OF HOW HISTORIC PRESERVATION COULD FIT INTO THE CITY AS A WHOLE.
AND HOPE YOU'LL BRING THAT PERSPECTIVE.
NOW, NOW I'M READY FOR QUESTIONS.
UH, SO AGAIN, WE HAVE, WE'RE GONNA GO INTO OUR ROUND ROBIN, WHICH IS EIGHT COMMISSIONERS, UM, FOR FIVE MINUTES OF QUESTIONS, AND WE CAN EXPAND THAT IF NECESSARY.
WHO WANTS TO GET US STARTED HERE? GO AHEAD.
COMMISSIONER COX, THIS IS A QUICK QUESTION.
ARE, ARE, UM, ARE Y'ALL FAMILIAR WITH, UH, WHAT I THINK IS SOMETIMES CALLED KAVANAUGH CREDITS OR THE IMPERVIOUS COVER CREDITS THAT THE CITY DID AGES AGO ON THE WEST SIDE? I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH THOSE.
SO WAIT, WHEN YOU MENTIONED, UH, LIKE A TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS, UH, AS, AS A POSSIBLE TOOL FOR EQUITABLE PRESERVATION, UM, I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF THAT, UH, THE KAVANAUGH CREDITS OR THE, THE, THE IMPERVIOUS COVER TRANSFER CREDITS THAT WAS AWARDED TO MR. KAVANAUGH, UH, FOR BASICALLY VOLUNTARILY CLEANING UP HIS, HIS AUTO SALVAGE SITE AGAINST A SENSITIVE CREEK AREA, UM, SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY DOING THAT AND, AND THE CITY BASICALLY PAID FOR IT BY GIVING HIM IMPERVIOUS COVER CREDITS THAT HE OTHERWISE COULD HAVE USED TO BUILD IN THAT SENSITIVE AREA PER CODE, UH, BUT WAS ABLE TO SELL THEM.
AND SO, UM, IT KIND OF BLEW MY MIND WHEN I LEARNED ABOUT THAT, UH, A COUPLE, A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO.
UM, BUT IT IS KIND OF A INGENIOUS WAY TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO DO SOME THINGS WITHOUT ACTUALLY SPENDING CITY FUNDS, UM, AND, AND, AND STILL TRYING TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL.
SO I DON'T REALLY HAVE A QUESTION, BUT THAT'S JUST KIND OF WHAT CAME TO MIND.
AND YOU MAY WANNA LOOK INTO THAT AS, AS A POTENTIAL.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A GOOD MODEL OR NOT, UM, BUT THAT'S A POTENTIAL WAY TO DO THAT.
AND I JUST WANNA SAY, MR. BERTMAN, BEFORE YOU SPEAK ALSO TO LET YOU KNOW, UM, WE DO HAVE MR. EMAD AVAILABLE IN THE ROOM AS WELL, AND HE MIGHT HAVE SOME COMMENTS AS WELL.
MS. BERTRAN, GO AHEAD AND THEN WE CAN HAVE HIM.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU.
THAT'S, I WILL LOOK INTO THAT.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR EXACTLY THOSE TYPES OF TOOLS.
WE'RE PARTICULARLY CONCERNED WITH SOME OF THE HOME ORDINANCE, UH, ITEMS, WHICH WE SUPPORT GREATLY.
BUT, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THE BALANCE RIGHT SO THAT, UH, MANY OF THESE EXISTING BUILDINGS, EXISTING NEIGHBORHOODS, YOU KNOW, THE MOST AFFORDABLE OF THEM ARE THE ONES THAT ARE ALREADY OCCUPIED.
AND IF WE CAN KEEP THE SCALE TIPPED CORRECTLY, THAT MAY BE A VERY EFFECTIVE TOOL.
SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OH, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS.
SO FIRST OF ALL, I REALLY WANNA THANK YOU BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE THIS HAS REALLY JUST BEEN OVERHAULED OR EVEN LOOKED AT.
UH, AND THERE WERE A LOT OF FLAWS IN THE ONE THAT EXISTED BEFORE THIS.
AND THIS GOES A LONG WAY IN ADDRESSING A LOT OF THE FLAWS THAT EXISTED IN THE PREVIOUS WAY THAT WE DID PRESERVATION IN THE CITY, AS YOU WELL KNOW.
AND SO I WANNA GIVE KUDOS, UH, TO THE GROUP FOR, FOR THE WAY THAT YOU DID IT, THE PUBLIC INPUT.
UM, I HAD REALLY RESEARCHED THIS AT ONE POINT, AND I'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW IF THERE'S ANY, UM, RECENT INFORMATION, BUT WHEN I HAD INITIALLY RESEARCHED SOME OF THIS, AND IT WAS IN THE, UH, MID, LIKE 20 15, 20 16, THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAD 600 PROPERTIES THAT WERE LANDMARKED, UM, AS HISTORICAL.
AND OF THOSE 600, THERE WERE JUST 50 THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE, AND BARELY TWO DOZEN FOR LATINO, UM, CULTURE AND HISTORY.
DO WE KNOW NOW, UH, HOW THOSE NUMBERS HAVE CHANGED OR STAYED THE SAME? AND, AND I I SEE THIS PLAN VERY OPTIMISTICALLY AS A WAY OF GETTING AT THAT DEEP INEQUITY.
YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
I DON'T HAVE THE DATA, UH, COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, BUT IT, IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE'RE VERY WELL AWARE OF.
[03:15:01]
UNFORTUNATELY, UM, THE TOOLS FROM THE EIGHTIES ARE STILL THE SAME TOOLS.WE ARE STARTING TO APPLY THEM NOW ALREADY.
WE'RE NOT WAITING FOR THIS PLAN, AS YOU'VE INDICATED.
AND I'M VERY PROUD THAT, UH, THE MOST RECENT HISTORIC DISTRICT, THE ROGERS, WASHINGTON HOLY CROSS, RECOGNIZES THE AMAZING WORK OF A NUMBER OF, UH, AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILIES AND, UH, CELEBRATES THEIR HOME AND THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, WE HAVE DEFINITELY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE OF CASES THAT WE'VE SENT TO YOU, CERTAINLY IN MY TENURE NOW, UH, MORE RECENTLY ON THE LANDMARKS COMMISSION AND EVEN MY IMMEDIATE PREDECESSORS, A HIGH PERCENTAGE ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF EAST AUSTIN IN PARTICULAR, BUT MORE GENERALLY UNDERSERVED OR UNDER-RECOGNIZED COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING THE L-G-B-T-Q COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UM, IT'S ONGOING, BUT THE POINT OF THE PLAN IS NOW TO GIVE US A CHANCE TO HAVE BETTER WAYS TO EVALUATE THE BREADTH OF AND THE VALUES THAT ARE MORE THAN JUST THE LIMITED ARCHITECTURAL BASED AND SPECIFIC HISTORIC BASED, UH, CRITERIA THAT WE'RE FORCED TO USE.
UM, WE COULD GO ON, BUT YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY HITTING THE NAIL ON THE HEAD, AND WE COULD, BECAUSE THAT'S KIND OF A NATIONAL TREND NOW, USING SOME OF THESE OTHER KINDS OF WAYS TO, TO, TO USE AS PRESERVATION TOOLS, UM, KIND OF RECOGNIZING THE DEFICITS THAT HAVE EXISTED IN A STRUCTURALLY AND SYSTEMICALLY GETTING BACK TO RACE RACIST SYSTEMS. SO, UH, I CONGRATULATE YOU FOR THAT AND THANK YOU FOR THAT WORK.
UH, THIS IS AN URGENT MATTER, UM, BECAUSE SO MUCH HAS BEEN BULLDOZED IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, SO THIS IS AN URGENT MATTER.
THANK YOU ALL FOR I'M HAPPY TO COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS, I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE A, A FIGURE FOR YOU AS REQUESTED IF YOU WOULD LIKE.
SO THERE, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
SO THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS ABOUT 650 LANDMARKS NOW, AND WE HAVE EIGHT LOCALLY DESIGNATED HISTORIC DISTRICTS.
SO OF THOSE PROPERTIES TOGETHER, WE, UM, ABOUT 16% OF THE, OF ALL OUR HISTORIC LANDMARKS AND HISTORIC DISTRICT PROPERTIES REPRESENT THE, THE, UH, HERITAGE OF HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
HOWEVER, AS COMMISSIONER SAFF MENTIONED IN RECENT YEARS THAT HAS, THAT PERCENTAGE HAS, UM, THE COMMISSIONER IS WORKING ON IT.
SO IN RECENT YEARS, ABOUT 40% OF DESIGNATED PROPERTIES, UM, HAVE REPRESENTED THOSE UNDER THOSE BEGUN TO MAKE UP THE GROUND WITH THOSE UNDERREPRESENTED HERITAGES.
DO WE HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS? I'LL GO AHEAD AND, UM, TAKE A SLOT AND I'LL START BY SAYING, UM, CONGRATULATIONS MR. EMAD.
CONGRATULATIONS MS. BERTRAN, UH, MS. CONTRERAS AND THE ENTIRE TEAM.
AND I JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, MR. STEVE SADOWSKI, I KNOW WHOSE IMPRINT IS THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE PLAN AND WAS VERY MUCH SOMETHING THAT HE GUIDED.
AND OF COURSE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A LOT OF GREAT CONVERSATIONS ON THIS TASK WITH HIM AND HIS, MY DEARLY, BUT HIS WORK LIVES ON AND WHAT AN EXCITING THING TO DO TO BRING THIS PLAN FORWARD.
UM, I'LL, AND I WANNA SAY I HAVEN'T DUG INTO AS LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT I WANT TO, BUT I THINK ONE QUESTION I WANTED TO ASK WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THIS SORT OF SECTION THAT'S LOOKING AT BE STRATEGIC AND HOW WE DO THE REVIEW, I GUESS A QUESTION I'VE HAD, AND WE'VE STRUGGLED ON THIS COMMISSION WITH THIS QUESTION, THAT'S WHY IT'S SORT OF TOP OF MIND FOR ME, IS WE DO HAVE STRUCTURES THAT OCCASIONALLY COME TO US THAT MIGHT HAVE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN DIFFERENT WAYS OR ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE, BUT MIGHT HAVE PAST CONNECTIONS TO SEGREGATION.
OR IS THERE SOME WAY FOR US TO, TO THINK OF THAT? IS THERE A WAY FOR US TO COMMUNICATE TO THE COMMUNITY THAT YES, THERE'S SOME DEGREE OF WORTHINESS OF PRESERVATION, THE STRUCTURE, BUT THERE'S CHALLENGES IN OUR HISTORY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO RESOLVE? I DON'T KNOW, JUST ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT BECAUSE I KNOW THAT SOMETHING COME UP TO US.
I'M CAROL LET ME, YOU, YOU ASKED ME TO RIFF ON THAT.
I, I THINK TWO THINGS FIRST, YES, WE'RE VERY CONSCIOUS OF THAT AND WE'RE ALSO VERY CONSCIOUS THAT AS WE PASS ON OUR HISTORY, AS KARA SAID, YOU KNOW, WARTS AND ALL, I MEAN, BUT IT'S ALSO UP TO THIS GENERATION TO PASS ON WHAT IS THE MEANING AND THE VALUE OF THIS PAST STORY.
SO WE CAN ACKNOWLEDGE OUR FAULTS, WE CAN RECOGNIZE THE RIFTS AND THE DIVISIONS AND THE PAIN THAT HAS PREVAILED IN PAST GENERATIONS, AND WE CAN PASS THE STORIES ON WITH HEALING AND WITH CELEBRATION AND WITH CONNECTIONS.
[03:20:01]
WE DON'T HAVE TO PASS ON THE HATE, THE SEPARATION AND THE ISOLATION THAT CAME TO US, BUT WE CAN ACTUALLY TAKE THESE STORIES AND WE CAN MAKE THEM MEANINGFUL BASED ON THE WORK WE'RE DOING NOW TO SERVE, I THINK, THE BEST INTERESTS OF FUTURE AUSTINITES AND GENERATIONS TO COME.BOY, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME GET ON MY SOAPBOX.
NO, I, I APPRECIATE THAT RESPONSE VERY MUCH.
MS. BERTRAN, I DUNNO IF YOU WANTED TO ADD SOMETHING TO THAT, I'LL JUST SAY THAT THE PLAN DOESN'T SPECIFICALLY RECOMMEND, LIKE, IT DOESN'T HAVE A SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION ABOUT PROBLEMATIC HISTORIES.
UM, BUT I THINK IT IS WORTH, UH, I'VE MADE A NOTE TO, TO BRING IT UP TO THE WORKING GROUP AND SEE IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO, TO INCLUDE IN THE FINAL PLAN.
I, I APPRECIATE THAT AND ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT THE PLAN IS SOME WAY A LAUNCHPAD FOR A LOT OF WORK THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING IN THE COMING YEARS.
BUT AGAIN, AS I, AS I SAID, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS STRUGGLED WITH AND, AND I, UM, AS A PART OF THE UT CAMPUS COMMUNITY, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS AND WHAT TO DO WITH IT, THERE WAS A LOT OF PAIN AND ANGUISH AROUND THAT QUESTION.
AND I THINK I, I AGREE WITH YOU, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER SETH, AND HOW DO WE SORT OF DO THAT IN A WAY WHERE WE CAN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT PAST AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT LEGACY WHILE PRESERVING IT IN A WAY THAT ACTUALLY EDUCATES US ABOUT WHERE WE ARE IN OUR COMMUNITY VALUES TODAY.
SO I, I APPRECIATE THAT A LOT.
UM, AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT, I KNOW NOT TIED TO THE PLAN ITSELF, BUT I KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE EAST AUSTIN HISTORIC SURVEY IN INVENTORY FROM 2016, WE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE I GUESS IT, DO YOU, AND AGAIN, I HAVEN'T DUG INTO THE PLAN, WOULD THIS PLAN ALLOW US TO BE ABLE TO PULL MORE OF THAT WORK INTO THE FUTURE THAT WE'RE DOING? WOULD THERE BE SOME WAY OF LOOKING AT THAT OR REASSESSING THAT? I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT AS WELL.
I THINK IT'S BAKED INTO THE PLAN, ABSOLUTELY.
THAT'S GOING TO BE, UH, THAT, AND WE NEED MORE OF THOSE TYPES OF RESOURCES, BUT I THINK IT ALLOWS US TO BRING THOSE FORWARD MORE FORCEFULLY AND TO UNDERSTAND A, A JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING WAS SURVEYED AT ONE POINT AND WAS SAID, THIS IS NOW SOMETHING TO NOTICE.
UH, WE'RE FINDING THAT OUR TOOLS ARE SO, UH, LIMITED THAT, UH, IN SOUTH AUSTIN IN PARTICULAR RIGHT NOW, THAT'S NOT MAKING MUCH DIFFERENCE.
UH, THERE'S A SECTION ON THE AGENDA RIGHT NOW THAT I REFER TO AS THE CARNAGE SECTION BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH IT MAY HAVE RECOGNITION IN A HISTORIC DISTRICT, WE DON'T HAVE THE TEETH, WE DON'T HAVE THE ENFORCEMENT.
UH, WE ARE OBVIOUSLY IN MOST CASES WANT TO HAVE THE GOOD GRACES OF OWNERS.
THAT'S WHY THIS PROGRAM WORKS.
BUT, UM, THERE ARE MANY TIMES WHERE FAR TOO OFTEN AN OWNER COMES FORWARD AND SAYS, I HAD NO IDEA.
AND SO IF YOU'LL NOTICE, COMMUNICATIONS IS THE BEDROCK OF HOW WE GOT THE PLAN, BUT THAT IS ABSOLUTELY BAKED INTO A CONTINUATION.
IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY, I BELIEVE, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE USE THESE WONDERFUL TOOLS, EXPAND ON THEM, BUT ALSO MAKE THEM MORE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, NOT SEEING ANYTHING.
JUST TO CONFIRM, THIS IS NOT AN ACTION ITEM, SO THIS IS JUST A BRIEFING AND WE CAN MOVE ON.
AGAIN, I JUST CONGRATULATE YOU ALL ON THE WORK AND I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK AHEAD AND I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL GIVING US THIS PRESENTATION IN TIME.
AND, AND WE'LL BE BACK IN THE FALL WITH SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO WE'RE ALREADY ASKING YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT THEN.
[18. Discussion pertaining to upcoming Land Development Code amendments meetings. (Sponsors Vice Chair Azhar and Commissioner Woods)]
TAKES US BACK TO OUR AGENDA.UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO THE ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION.
THE FIRST ONE IS THE DISCUSSION PERTAINING TO UPCOMING LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT MEETINGS.
I KNOW A NUMBER OF COMMISSIONERS HAD QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS THAT THEY WANTED TO, UM, SORT OF BRING UP.
WE DO HAVE, I REALLY APPRECIATE MS. LEE, UM, BEING PRESENT HERE IF FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THAT WE WANT TO RESOLVE.
SO THIS IS RELATED TO THE HOME AMENDMENTS, EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, UM, ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING, DOWNTOWN, PARKING IN AND, UM, UH, COMPATIBILITY.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS ON THE PROCESS OR OTHER THINGS.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM FOLKS, I'LL GO AHEAD AND JUST ASK A QUESTION.
MS. UM, MSIKA, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR SHARING OUT THE TIMELINE THAT WE HAVE AND THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, THE DOWN HALLS? I THINK THERE'S STAFF DOWN HALLS THAT ARE STRUCTURED TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK.
CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF IDEA ON THE THOUGHT BEHIND THOSE? ABSOLUTELY.
UH, ERIC LEAK PLANNING DEPARTMENT, UM, SO WE WILL BE HAVING TWO TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
SO MY TEXT IS TOO SMALL FOR ME TO READ.
UM, ONE IS IN PERSON AND THAT ONE IS ON APRIL 17TH.
[03:25:03]
IT WILL BE AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY FROM SIX TO 8:00 PM AND THEN THE OTHER ONE WILL BE VIRTUAL ON APRIL 20TH, UH, WHICH IS A SATURDAY FROM 10 TO NOON.SO WE HAVE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT PEOPLE CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CODE AMENDMENTS, UM, THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD THIS SPRING.
UM, ASK FOLLOW UP, WHICH I KNOW I THINK THE TIMING, AND OF COURSE WE'RE IN SORT OF A, A DIFFICULT TIMELINE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK HERE, SO WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO FULLY INCORPORATE FEEDBACK FROM THAT.
BUT I THINK WHAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL IS IF STAFF CAN PROVIDE US WITH REALLY SORT OF TOP LINE THINGS IMMEDIATELY.
SO AS THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS CONSIDERING THAT WE CAN GET SOME OF THAT FEEDBACK THAT Y'ALL ARE RECEIVING, THAT SHOULD BE DOABLE.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE I, YES, ACTUALLY FOR BOTH OF THEM WE'LL HAVE PROBABLY OUR WORKING GROUP WILL HAVE WRAPPED UP ITS WORK AND THAT'S OKAY, BUT AT LEAST THE COMMISSION CAN SEE SOME OF THOSE THINGS AS WE'RE SITTING ON THE DICE.
MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, YES, GO AHEAD.
QUESTION MR. WILL, UM, AT THOSE, UH, TOWN HALLS, WILL THE, WILL Y'ALL HAVE THE FINAL LANGUAGE OR AT LEAST THE FINAL DRAFT LANGUAGE, UH, MADE AVAILABLE AND DISTRIBUTE THAT OR MAKE THAT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR REVIEW? YES, ACTUALLY WE PLAN TO HAVE THE DRAFT ORDINANCES, UH, AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW, UM, ON MARCH 29TH.
UM, SO PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO START REVIEWING ALL OF THE PROPOSALS IMMEDIATELY.
COMMISSIONER HAYNES, DO WE HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU MS. LEE.
I APPRECIATE, UM, YOU BEING HERE AND ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.
I THINK AS THINGS COME UP, HOPEFULLY FOLKS CAN REACH OUT TO YOU.
I KNOW WE HAVE A PROCESS WORKING GROUP THAT HAS BEEN LOOKING AT SOME OF THOSE THINGS AS WELL, AND PERHAPS THEY MIGHT WANNA HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOU OR YOUR TEAM.
[19. Discussion and possible action appointing additional members to working group tasked with providing recommendations regarding South Central Waterfront Overlay. (Sponsors: Chair Hempel and ViceChair Azhar)]
THIS TAKES US TO ITEM NUMBER 19, WHICH IS DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE ACTION OF APPOINTING ADDITIONAL MEMBERS TO THE WORKING GROUP TASK WITH PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE SOUTH CENTER WATERFRONT OVERLAY.UM, THIS WAS SORT OF A STOCK ITEM JUST TO MAKE SURE, IF THERE WERE FOLKS WHO WERE ABSENT LAST TIME AND WOULD LIKE TO SERVE ON THIS, ARE THERE FOLKS WHO WOULD LIKE TO SERVE? UM, I SEE COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, YOU WOULD LIKE TO SERVE ON THIS.
AND I THINK WE HAVE ONE MORE SPOT, MR. RIVERA, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.
MS. SKIDMORE, OH, JUST, JUST TO CLARIFY, I THINK I EXPRESSED MY INTEREST AT OUR LAST MEETING.
SO, AND GIVE ME A SECOND HERE.
UM, WHAT IS ON MY LIST? UM, BY MY UNDERSTANDING, I THINK WHAT WE HAD ON HERE WAS, I'M SORRY, I'M TRYING TO FIND, I THOUGHT I, SOMEBODY WILL HAVE TO HELP ME HERE.
I BELIEVE IT WAS COMMISSIONER.
COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, DO YOU KNOW IT? GO AHEAD.
YES, I THINK IT WAS SHARED WITH ME.
IT WAS COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE AND, UH, COMMISSIONER HEMPEL, UM, COMMISSIONER HOWARD AND COMMISSIONER AL.
THAT'S RIGHT, THOSE, THOSE FOUR.
UM, SO WE HAVE SPACE FOR TWO MORE PEOPLE AND THAT WILL BE COMMISSIONER MAXWELL AS ONE, AND CHAIR COHEN IS ON THERE AS WELL, BUT SHE DOESN'T TAKE UP THE QUORUM.
SO WE HAVE SPACE FOR ONE MORE PERSON IF THERE'S AN INTEREST NOT SEEING ANYTHING.
I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND, UM, UH, MAKE A MOTION TO APPOINT COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, UM, TO THIS WORKING GROUP LOOKING AT THE SOUTH CENTER WATERFRONT.
OVERLY TO HAVE A SECOND, UH, UH, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WOODS.
IF THERE'S NO OPPOSITION, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PLACE.
UM, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL LAUNDER.
[20. Discussion and possible action appointing additional members to the Outreach and Procedure Working Group. (Sponsors Commissioners Phillips and Mushtaler)]
TO ITEM NUMBER 20.UM, HOPEFULLY FOLKS, WE CAN MAKE IT THROUGH THE ENTIRE, UH, AGENDA DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION UPON ADDITIONAL MEMBERS TO THE OUTREACH AND PROCEDURE WORKING GROUP.
AGAIN, THIS IS A STANDING ITEM.
IS THERE ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE APPOINTED TO THAT BODY RIGHT NOW? NOT SEEING ANYTHING.
[21. Discussion and possible action appointing additional members to the City of Austin Buildings Working Group. (Sponsors: Chair Hempel and Vice-Chair Azhar)]
I'M GONNA MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER 21, WHICH IS DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE ACTION OF APPOINTING ADDITIONAL MEMBERS TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN BUILDINGS WORKING GROUP AS WELL.ANY INTEREST IN THIS WORKING GROUP? OKAY.
[22. Discussion and possible action establishing a working group tasked with providing Budget Fiscal Year 24 – 25 recommendations. (Sponsors: Vice-Chair Azhar and Commissioner Maxwell)]
ANYTHING ONTO ITEM NUMBER 22.THIS IS A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION FOR ESTABLISHING A WORKING GROUP TASK WITH PROVIDING BUDGET FISCAL YEAR 24 TO 25 RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MAXWELL FOR, UH, BRINGING THIS TO THE, UM, BODY.
THIS IS JUST SOMETHING WE WANTED TO CREATE.
IF WE WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND CREATE A WORKING GROUP TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE
[03:30:01]
BUDGET ITEMS, THIS WOULD BE THE TIME TO DO IT, TO BE ABLE TO BE, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO OUR STAFF AND OUR CITY MANAGER IN A TIMELY MANNER.AND THAT IS WHY THIS IS ON THERE.
THIS IS NOT A REQUIREMENT BY ANY MEANS, BUT IT IS AN OPTION IF THERE ARE COMMISSIONERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO, UH, WORK ON SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE TIMELINE OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS? SOMEBODY WAS GONNA PROBABLY HAVE TO CORRECT ME ON THIS.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS, SO GENERALLY WE KIND OF HAVE A MONTH, HONESTLY, SO IT'S GONNA BE TIGHT, I THINK.
ARE WE STILL, MR. BEAR, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, ARE WE STILL REQUIRING, UM, THE COMMISSIONS TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE BUDGET BY END OF MARCH? OR ARE WE ALLOWED TO GO INTO APRIL? CHAIR COMMISSION, LADIES, ANDRO.
SO, UM, THE, UM, PART OF THAT RECOMMENDATION PROCESS IS THAT IT WOULD GO TO THE BUDGET OFFICE TO EVALUATE, OTHERWISE YOU CAN SUBMIT YOUR BUDGET HAS YOU DESIRE UP UNTIL, UH, WHEN COMMISSION, WHEN COUNCIL TAKES ACTION.
SO DOES THAT HELP CLARIFY, COMMISSIONER BUTZ, WHEN WILL COUNCIL TAKE ACTION? OH, COUNCIL WILL BE IN END OF AUGUST.
SO THERE IS SOME TIME, UH, FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
IT'S BETTER EARLIER THAN LATER.
YEAH, AND I THINK, I'M NOT SURE IF ALL THE FOLKS OR SOME OF OUR NEW MEMBERS MAY NOT BE AWARE THAT WE ACTUALLY DID TAKE THIS UP LAST SUMMER AFTER, UH, SORT OF MORE, ONCE OUR LIGHT LOAD LIGHTENED SOMEWHAT AFTER COUNCIL HAD RECESSED FOR THEIR SUMMER BREAK.
UM, AND IT GAVE US A CHANCE TO REVIEW SOME ITEMS PRIOR TO COUNCIL ACTION WHEN THEY CAME BACK IN, IN THE END OF JULY AND BEGINNING OF AUGUST.
AM I HEARING AN INTEREST TO FORM THE WORKING GROUP COMMISSIONER MAXWELL? UH, YES.
SO WE'LL MAKE A MOTION TO CREATE THE WORKING GROUP.
WELL, ACTUALLY BEFORE THAT, FOLKS WHO WOULD LIKE TO SERVE ON THE WORKING GROUP, LOOKING AT THE BUDGET ITEMS WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE THIS UP OR WE LIKELY WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE THIS UP AFTER, UM, UM, ALL THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ON THE CODE.
UM, I HAVE TWO FOLKS THAT MAKES THE WORKING GROUP ARE OTHER FOLKS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN SERVING ON THIS WORKING GROUP.
AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE GO AHEAD AND PLACE THIS ON THE AGENDA AGAIN IF FOLKS ARE INTERESTED.
SO, UM, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION TO CREATE A WORKING GROUP LOOKING AT THE BUDGET FOR THE 20 24, 20 25 FISCAL YEAR AND APPOINT COMMISSIONER MAXWELL AND COMMISSIONER WOODS TO THIS WORKING GROUP.
DO I HAVE A SECOND FOR THAT? MOTION? SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS.
UM, IF I DO NOT HAVE OPPOSITION, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND SAY THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE THIS FORWARD VIA CONSENT.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH ON THAT.
[24. Nominate a member to serve on the Small Area Planning Joint Committee.]
THIS TAKES US TO NOMINATIONS ITEM NUMBER 24, AND WE HAVE AN ITEM TO NOMINATE A MEMBER TO SERVE ON THE SMALL AREA PLANNING JOINT COMMITTEE.I KNOW THIS WAS SOMETHING WE HAD BROUGHT UP TO YOU.
COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, DID YOU WANNA, ARE YOU I'M READY FOR IT.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND, UM, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO NOMINATE AND APPOINT COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE TO THE SMALLER YEAR PLANNING JOINT COMMITTEE.
DO I HAVE A SECOND ON THIS? BY COMMISSIONER WOODS? IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION TO THIS MOTION? NOT SEEING ANY.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD UNANIMOUSLY.
CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE FOR SERVING ON IT.
I'M SURE YOU'LL CONNECT WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE ON NEXT STEPS.
[BOARDS, COMMITTEES & WORKING GROUPS UPDATES]
COMMITTEES AND, AND WORKING GROUP UPDATES, UM, CODES AND ORDINANCES, JOINT COMMITTEE, THE CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE HAS NOT HAD A MEETING SINCE OUR LAST PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, SO WE HAVE NO UPDATE AT THIS TIME.COMPREHENSIVE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN JOINT COMMITTEE.
DO WE HAVE AN UPDATE? YEAH, WE, WE HAD A MEETING THAT, UH, WE GOT THE PRESENTATION THAT Y'ALL GOT ON THE TYPOLOGIES FOR E TODD.
AND THEN WE ALSO GOT A REALLY GOOD PRESENTATION ON THE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLAN FOR, UH, UPDATING THE, THE, THE, UH, IMAGINE AUSTIN PLAN.
SO, UM, IT WAS A GOOD MEETING.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER COX FOR THAT.
THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE GIVE YOU AN UPDATE.
COMMISSIONER WOODS OR COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS? YES.
SO, UM, I WENT TO THE MEETING AND, AND AS THE ALTERNATE, AND THEY DID A, A NUMBER OF THINGS AT THE MEETING THAT WENT PAST 10:00 PM THANK YOU SO MUCH,
BUT, UH, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THE NIGHT BEFORE WE WERE HERE TILL ALMOST MIDNIGHT, BUT, UM, AND I DIDN'T REALIZE I COULD VOTE UNTIL LIKE THE END OF THE MEETING, SO I'M REFLECTED IN ALL THE VOTES THEN.
BUT, YOU KNOW, FINALLY WHEN I WAS ASKED, WELL, WHY AREN'T YOU VOTING? SO, BUT THEY, UM, THEY VOTED TO, UH, TO SEEK A CLIENT, A CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, PROJECT MANAGER, UM, AND ALSO TO ENGAGE IN OUTREACH AND
[03:35:01]
ENGAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABILITY INCENTIVES SO THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF SUSTAINABILITY INCENTIVE PROGRAMS ALIGNED WITH THE GOALS OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.SO, BUT MANY OF THE PROGRAMS ARE UNDERUTILIZED, SO THEY WANNA MAKE THEM ESPECIALLY WELL BETTER KNOWN TO UNDERSERVED AND LOWER INCOME PEOPLE.
SO THEY'RE GONNA DO THAT THROUGH A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALISTS THAT THEY WANNA HIRE AS A FULL-TIME PERSON.
AND MAYBE, I THINK THERE'S TWO THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE SAYING THAT THEY'RE GONNA, THEY WANT TO HIRE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALISTS.
SO THE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY DID WAS THEY TALKED ABOUT ALLOCATING, UM, MORE MONEY AND MORE TIME TO MORE PUBLIC EN ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATION AROUND THE THINGS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAN DO AND AROUND THE, UH, CLIMATE, UM, EQUITY PLAN.
AND, UM, THEY ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE, THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE IS RECOMMENDING THAT $200,000 BE AL ALLOCATED TO THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY FOR A PRO CLIMATE FOOD EDUCATION AND INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
AND THOSE FUNDS WOULD BE SPENT ON MULTILINGUAL PUBLIC EDUCATION AND MARKETING CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE PROLI PROHEALTH, PLANT BASED MEAT, DAIRY, AND EGG, AND, UM, ALTERNATIVES.
I DON'T HAVE TO GO OVER IT REAL WELL.
AND SO, UM, THEY, THEY TALKED ABOUT LOW CARBON CONCRETE USING LOW CARBON CONCRETE.
AND SO, AND THEN I THINK, UH, THAT'S ABOUT THE GIST OF MOST OF THE THINGS THAT THEY DID.
I'M LOOKING DOWN THE NOTES THAT WE HAVE FROM THAT MEETING.
THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES NEEDS ASSESSMENT, THE EQUITY OFFICE SHOULD CONDUCT AN ELECTRIC VEHICLES NEEDS ASSESSMENT IN COLLABORATION WITH THE HIRED CONSULTANT, CAPITAL METRO, AUSTIN ENERGY, AND CITY OF AUSTIN, DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, PUBLIC HEALTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
SO THAT'S, UM, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE GIST OF ALL THAT THEY DID.
UH, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME GO, UM, THROWING IT BACK TO YOU
I WILL MOTION TO EXTEND THE MEETING UNTIL 10 0 5.
WE'LL HAVE A MOTION TO EXTEND THE MEETING TO 10 0 5.
I HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
DO WE HAVE ANY OPPOSITION TO THAT MOTION? NOT SEEING ANYONE, UM, THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS FOR THAT UPDATE.
UM, DO WE HAVE AN UPDATE FROM THE SMALLER YEAR PLANNING JOINT COMMITTEE? SO WE HAVEN'T MET, UH, SINCE FOR A WHILE, BUT WE DO HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING NEXT WEEK, UM, THE 21ST.
SO COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, YOU CAN JOIN US
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONER HOWARD.
UM, DO WE HAVE AN UPDATE FROM OUR SOUTH WATER 20 FRONT ADVISORY BOARD? UH, YES, THINGS ARE REALLY MOVING AT A RAPID PACE.
UM, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT WE HAVE OUR SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING ON MONDAY.
WE ALSO HAVE A PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT HAPPENING AROUND THE PLAN.
UM, THE PLAN IS MOVING FORWARD IN CONCERT WITH SOME OF THE OTHER WORK WE'RE DOING THIS SPRING.
SO IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, UM, 6:00 PM THAT WILL BE ACTUALLY REVIEWING THE DETAILS OF THE PLAN.
THERE'LL BE STAFF ON HAND TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
UM, WE DO EXPECT THAT THERE ARE GOING TO BE A SPECIAL CALL MEETING RELATED TO THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT, UH, PLAN AS IT MOVES FORWARD ON APRIL 1ST.
AND THAT THEN WE SHOULD SEE IT AT PLANNING COMMISSION SHORTLY THEREAFTER.
UM, SO THIS IS MOVING PRETTY QUICKLY.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE INTENT IS TO HAVE IT FINISHED AS WELL, UH, FOR THE END OF MAY SO THAT IT CAN ALSO BE CONSIDERED AS PART OF THE FT A SUBMISSION.
SO, UM, IT'LL BE COMING TO US VERY QUICKLY.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
THAT TAKES US TO OUR, UM, BUILDING FACILITIES WORKING GROUP.
THAT, UH, WORKING GROUP HAS SORT OF, UH, PAUSED SOME OF ITS WORK AS WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE OTHER CODE ITEMS AND WE'LL BE RETURNING BACK TO THAT IN A TIMELY MANNER.
UM, DO WE HAVE AN UPDATE FROM OUR OUTREACH AND PROCEDURES WORKING GROUP? WELL, WE APPRECIATE Y'ALL PROVIDING THE UPDATE TO US LAST TIME.
UM, AND THIS TAKES US TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS WORKING GROUP UPDATE.
SO ITEM NUMBER 32 AND, UH, THIS GROUP HAS NOT MET YET.
I THINK WE'RE GONNA START WORKING ON IT AND HEARING TONIGHT WITH A BIG THANKS TO OUR STAFF THAT WE WOULD GET, UM, SOME ABILITY TO LOOK AT THINGS BY THE END OF THE MONTH.
I'LL PROBABLY GO AHEAD AND START CIRCULATING, UM, AN EMAIL TO START SCHEDULING MEETINGS FOR THAT WORKING GROUP, WHICH TAKES US TO THE I NUMBER 33, WHICH IS SOUTH CENTER WATERFRONT AMENDMENTS WORKING GROUP.
DO WE HAVE AN UPDATE FROM THAT WORKING GROUP? I'M GONNA ASSUME THAT THAT WORKING GROUP IS ALSO GOING TO BE SORT OF TAKING INTO GEAR AND MIGHT NOT HAVE, UM, GOT THINGS ACCOMPLISHED YET.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
TAKES US TO THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. DO WE HAVE ANY COMMISSIONERS WITH RECOMMENDATIONS[03:40:01]
FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS? YES.I WAS JUST WANTING TO CHECK ON THE BRIEFING FROM THE CITY DEMOGRAPHER CHAIR COMMISSIONER ON ANDREW.
UH, THAT IS ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT, UH, WE WILL BE, UH, BRINGING, UH, TO THE COMMISSIONER.
DON'T HAVE A DATE YET, BUT, UM, IT IS ON THE LIST.
MR. RIVERA, DO WE HAVE OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? UM, I HAVE AN ITEM THAT I WOULD LIKE TO, SO THIS IS, AND I CAN SPEAK TO IT IN A SECOND, IF I CAN GET A SECOND ON THIS.
THIS WOULD BE INITIATING A REZONING FOR THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, ON EAST ANDERSON LANE.
UM, THERE WAS AN NP ASSOCIATED WITH THIS AT OUR LAST MEETING, NPA 20 23 0 0 2, 9 0.02.
UM, AND I CAN SPEAK TO THAT IN A SECOND.
THE IDEA ESSENTIALLY IS THE HUMANE SOCIETY IS, UM, HAVING TO DO SOME WORK WITH A CITY AND THEY HAVE TO GET ESSENTIALLY A ZONING CHANGE TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT.
IF IT IS A CITY INITIATED, UH, ZONING CHANGE, THEN THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING, UM, THAT THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY THE FEES.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVE REQUESTED.
AND AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND, OUR ZONING STAFF AND WATERSHED STAFF DO NOT HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH THIS.
WE WOULD STILL, OF COURSE, GO THROUGH A REGULAR ZONING PROCESS AND GO THROUGH THE FULL CASE.
WE'RE NOT MAKING THAT DECISION TODAY.
WE WOULD JUST BE INITIATING THIS CHANGE AT THIS, AT THE NEXT MEETING.
SO I HAVE A SECOND FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER WOODS.
DO FOLKS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS BEFORE? OH, ACTUALLY YOU JUST NEED TWO PEOPLE TO PUT IT ON THE, SO IT WILL GO ON OUR NEXT GEN, UH, ITEM AND WE WILL BE TAKING A VOTE WHETHER IT MAKES SENSE FOR US TO TAKE THE INITIATION OR NOT.
AND NOT HEARING OTHERWISE, CHAIR? YES, GO AHEAD MR. COMMISSIONER COX.
I'LL JUST STATE THAT I, I, I, UH, CO-SPONSORED A REQUEST FROM COMMISSIONER MUTAL TO HAVE A BRIEFING FROM THE LAW DEPARTMENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT WITH A FOCUS ON DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO WIN A DOCUMENT AS PUBLIC INFORMATION AND THAT THIS BRIEFING SHOULD INCLUDE INFORMATION AND DIRECTION REGARDING DRAFT DOCUMENTS, CONFIDENTIALITY, AND WORK PRODUCT.
UH, COMMISSIONER MUS MUTAL HAS REQUESTED THAT BRIEFING ON APRIL 9TH, AND, AND I UNDERSTAND, UH, MR. RIVERA CONVEYED THAT TO THE APPROPRIATE STAFF.
UM, AND I WANNA SAY THAT I'M ALSO A CO-SPONSOR ON THAT.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER COX AND COMMISSIONER PHILLIPS FOR THAT UPDATE.
AND, UH, MR. RIVERA, WE CAN PLACE THAT ON THE AGENDA.
ANY OTHER FUTURE, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? OKAY, NOT HEARING OTHERWISE, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND ADJOURN THIS MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION AT 10 1:00 PM THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.