Apr 02, 2024 Urban Transportation

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MOVING RIGHT ALONG.

[2. Discussion on Green Streets Initiative ]

NO ACTION.

AND THAT IS A PRESENTATION ON THE GREEN STREETS INITIATIVE FROM KEVIN HOWARD.

SO, UH, WE'RE EXCITED TO HEAR FROM YOU.

DEGREES OF COOLING BESIDE THE SHADE.

IT SHOULD BE GREEN WHEN IT'S, WHEN IT'S READY FOR YOU.

HELLO EVERYONE.

I'M KEVIN HOWARD.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

UM, I, UM, I AM WORKING WITH THE GREEN STREETS INITIATIVE.

UM, MY DAY JOB IS WITH URBAN AND DESIGN LAB.

WE'RE A PLANNING AND, UH, URBAN DESIGN CONSULTANCY, UM, WORKING KIND OF ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON A, A NUMBER OF THINGS.

UM, BUT THE GREEN STREETS INITIATIVE KIND OF, UH, FORMED OUT OF AN EFFORT THAT, UM, THAT I STARTED AS, UH, IN PARALLEL WITH JANNA MCCANN AT MCCANN ADAMS STUDIO, WHERE WE WERE BOTH REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, I WAS, I WAS COMING FROM NATIONAL CONSULTANCY AND, UM, KIND OF SEEING, YOU KNOW, BEST PRACTICE, UM, NATIONALLY AROUND, UH, URBAN DESIGN AND, AND DEVELOPMENT, UH, ZONING CODE ESPECIALLY, UM, BUT DEVELOPMENT POLICY GENERALLY.

UM, AND SHE WAS COMING IN FROM A VERY LOCAL PERSPECTIVE ABOUT URBAN DESIGN AND URBAN DESIGN LEADERSHIP.

AND WE CAME TOGETHER REALLY AROUND THE SUBJECT, UM, OF STREET TREES, UM, AND HOW, YOU KNOW, IN SUCH A HOT CITY, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE THEM.

AND, AND WHY.

UM, AND SO I'M, I'LL GO THROUGH THESE SLIDES.

UM, THIS FIRST SLIDE IS REALLY JUST, UM, JUST TO KIND OF SHOW, THIS IS FROM THE NEW, UH, CITY OF NEW YORK.

UH, BUT THIS IS KIND OF JUST TO SHOW IN WITHIN THE PUBLIC REALM.

THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT AGENCIES WITH THAT ARE STAKEHOLDERS.

UM, AND SO THINGS ARE COMPLICATED.

UM, IN AUSTIN, IT'S, IT'S HOT HERE.

UM, YOU ALL HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT GETTING FIRST COUPLE HOT DAYS OF THE YEAR.

UM, IT'S GONNA GET HOTTER.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE GUYS AWARE OF THIS.

I'M SURE YOU ARE.

BUT BY 2050, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT THREE MONTHS WITH, UH, AT A HEAT INDEX OVER A HUNDRED DEGREES, UM, COMPARED TO ONE MONTH HISTORICALLY.

SO, UH, OUR FUTURE, UM, IS, IS ROUGH AND WE NEED TO PREPARE FOR IT.

UM, AND SO, UH, WE REALLY WANTED TO KIND OF TAKE A LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE BEEN DOING RESEARCH ON THIS SUBJECT FOR, UM, ABOUT, UH, JUST ABOUT TWO YEARS NOW.

UM, AND SO WE WERE REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE WERE IDENTIFYING A BUNCH OF OTHER RESEARCH, BUT, UM, THIS IS, THIS IS AN IMAGE FROM SOME RESEARCH THAT WAS DONE, UH, A WHILE BACK, UM, I THINK WITH, UM, TEXAS STATE.

UM, BUT IT KIND OF, IT SHOWS HOW OUR HEAT ISLANDS ARE REALLY FOCUSED ALONG OUR MAJOR CORRIDORS, WHICH ARE THE ENVIRONMENTS, UH, WE ENTER WHEN WE DECIDE WHETHER TO, UM, BIKE AND WALK AND, AND SO FORTH.

AND SO THE, YOU KNOW, OUR WORST, MOST EXTREME HEAT IS HAPPENING, UH, IN A PLACE WHERE IT REALLY AFFECTS OUR BEHAVIOR AND THE WAY WE GET AROUND AND EXPERIENCE THE CITY.

UM, THE THESE IMPACTS ARE REALLY, UM, NOT EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED.

UM, UH, LOW INCOME AND VULNER MORE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES OFTENTIMES ARE, ARE MORE IMPACTED.

UM, AND, AND THIS IS PARTIALLY BECAUSE THERE'S FEWER TREES ON THE EAST SIDE AND, AND PLACES WHERE THAT ARE HISTORICALLY, UM, UNDER INVESTED.

UM, AND, BUT, UH, BUT ALSO COMMUNITIES THAT, UM, MAY HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE LIVING IN OLDER HOMES AND HAVE LESS INSULATION, MAYBE RELYING ON HOME BUSINESSES AND EVERYTHING FOR, FOR ECONOMIC, UM, UH, STABILITY ARE, ARE KIND OF EXPERIENCING THIS IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN MAYBE PEOPLE THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, DRIVING THEIR TESLA TO THEIR OFFICE BUILDING AND NOT EVER GOING OUTSIDE.

UM, IT'S JUST A KIND OF A WAY TO CHARACTERIZE THIS.

UM, SO THE, THE HEAT ISLAND IS REALLY FOCUSED ON OUR STREET, BUT LUCKILY WE HAVE THIS AMAZING TOOL CALLED THE STREET TREE THAT ACT.

IT PROVIDES SHADE, IT PROTECTS US FROM VEHICLES.

IT ALSO ACTS AS A NATURAL SWAMP COOLER, UH, ON THE, ON THE SIDEWALK, UH, PRODUCING, YOU KNOW, UP TO 10

[00:05:01]

UM, THIS IS JUST KIND OF LIKE THROUGH EVAPOTRANSPIRATION.

SO, UM, IT'S THIS AMAZING TOOL THAT WE'RE KIND OF LEAVING ON THE TABLE, UM, IN SOME WAYS.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANTED TO ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ARE REALLY BIG ISSUES THAT WE'RE, WE'RE COMING UP TO IN AUSTIN, BUT WE'RE ALSO COMING INTO A FUTURE, UH, UH, THAT'S MORE DENSE, UH, ONE WHERE WE ARE GOING TO LIKELY BE TRADING BACKYARDS, UM, AND SOME OF OUR SHADY PRIVATE SPACES, UH, FOR A MORE URBAN FUTURE WHERE WE'RE ACCOMMODATING MORE PEOPLE ON A SINGLE LOT.

AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE AND REPLACE THOSE ECOLOGICAL SERVICES.

UM, RIGHT NOW, UM, LET'S SEE HERE.

RIGHT NOW WE ACTUALLY, UH, RELY, OUR URBAN CANOPY IS PREDOMINANTLY ON THE WEST SIDE.

UM, AND WE RELY ON, UM, ON PRIVATE YARDS.

UH, WE ALSO RELY ON CONSERVATION AREAS.

UM, BUT THIS IS, YOU KNOW, AS YARDS AND, UM, LIVING ON THE WEST SIDE BECOME LUXURY, YOU KNOW, FURTHER AND FURTHER BECOME LUXURY ITEMS. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ARE, ARE EQUALLY DIS DISTRIBUTED AND PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, THE VALUE THEY PROVIDE.

AND, AND THAT ESPECIALLY IS PERTINENT TO URBAN TRANSPORTATION.

UM, HOW, YOU KNOW, MAKING BIKING AND WALKING, UH, AND TRANS AND TRANSIT VIABLE.

UM, UH, EVEN THOUGH WE ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF STREET TREES, UH, A LEGACY OF STREET TREES, UM, IN AUSTIN, LIKE THEY DO IN SOME PLACES IN, LET'S SAY THE, YOU KNOW, THE, EVEN THE MIDWEST, UM, THE, THE EAST AND, AND A LOT OF WESTERN CITY, UM, UH, WEST COAST CITIES, UM, WE, WE STILL WITH PUBLIC PROJECTS SEE A LOT OF, UH, ONE OF THE NUMBER ONE DESIRED COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT THE PUBLIC IS CALLING FOR IS STREET TREES.

IT'S LIKE WE, WE KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR US, EVEN IF WE, WE AREN'T VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AFTER WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE REALLY KIND OF OUTLINED A LOT OF THE, THE BENEFITS AND KIND OF THIS, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFYING STREET TREES AS A, AS A REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, AN IMPORTANT, UH, PART OF THE SOLUTION.

UM, WE WANTED TO IDENTIFY WHY AREN'T, WHY AREN'T WE GETTING THIS? WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS? AND IT WAS, IT WAS INCREDIBLY DEEP.

THE, THERE ARE HUGE NUMBER OF BARRIERS, BUT I'VE KIND OF BOILED THEM DOWN TO THESE FOUR CATEGORIES.

UM, LEADERSHIP, UM, YOU KNOW, NOBODY IS REALLY, NOBODY IN CITY GOVERNMENT IS REALLY THE, THE REPRESENTATIVE OF STREET TREES.

UM, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ENGINEERS FOR UTILITIES.

WE HAVE ENGINEERS FOR TRANSPORTATION.

UH, WE HAVE EVEN ARBORISTS, BUT MOSTLY THEY'RE LOOKING AT TREE PROTECTIONS, TREE MITIGATION.

THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY LOOKING ABOUT, UH, LOOKING INTO, UH, MAKING SURE WE HAVE STREET TREES IN OUR STREETS, UM, UH, RULES AND REGULATIONS.

THIS ONE, THIS ONE I COULD GO ON FOREVER ABOUT.

UM, BUT, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, WELL, ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'LL GET INTO IT IN FURTHER SLIDES.

SO THE RULE, BOTH THE CRITERIA MANUALS, THE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND THE ZONING, THE REGULATIONS, DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ARE NOT REALLY, UM, THEY'RE NOT REALLY REQUIRING TREES.

AND OFTENTIMES THEY'RE GETTING IN THE WAY OF, OF TREES PRO, UH, PROVIDING EXTRA FRICTION TO PERMITTING TREES.

UM, AND THEN THE PERMITTING PROCESS IS ESPECIALLY DISRUPTIVE.

UM, THERE ARE DEVELOPMENT TEAMS THAT REALLY SEE VALUE IN STREET TREES.

UM, THERE ARE PUBLIC PROJECT, UM, TRANSPORTATION TEAMS THAT ARE GOING IN AND TRYING TO DO STREET DESIGNS WITH STREET TREES IN IT.

AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE RUNNING UP TO A LOT OF CHALLENGES, UM, BOTH IN THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR PRIVATE PROJECTS.

THEY'RE REQUIRED TO, UM, HAVE A LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR STREET TREES.

AND I'LL GO INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.

BUT THE PERMITTING PROCESS IS ESSENTIALLY WHEN DEVELOPMENT TEAMS UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PRO THE LICENSE AGREEMENT PROCESS IS, AND THE DEBT AND THE KIND OF, UM, THE, THE BARRIER THAT THAT IS, OFTENTIMES THEY WILL, THEY WILL STOP PURSUING STREET TREES AND, AND FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, FIND OTHER WAYS TO PUT TREES ON, ON THEIR SITE OR, OR PAY FEE.

UM, STREET TREES CAN BE EXPENSIVE.

UM, WE ARE DEALING WITH QUITE, UM, UH, COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS, CONSTRAINED ENVIRONMENTS WITH A LOT OF UTILITIES, A LOT OF, LIKE, WE SAW A LOT OF AGENCIES HAVE INTEREST IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.

WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF FUNCTIONS, A LOT OF USES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.

UM, AND SO MOVING UTILITIES CAN BE REALLY EXPENSIVE, BUT, UM, BUT ALSO PLANTING IN REALLY CONSTRAINED ENVIRONMENTS CAN BE EXPENSIVE WHERE THERE ISN'T A LOT OF SOIL AVAILABLE, UM, THAT ISN'T COMPACTED UNDER A SIDEWALK, UNDER A STREET, ET CETERA.

UM, SO REALLY THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BUILT OUTCOME IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE GO IN, IN OUR, OUR MOBILITY PROJECTS A LOT OF TIMES, AND WE'RE, WE HAVE A GREAT VISION.

WE'RE GONNA HAVE, YOU KNOW, TREES IN THE MEDIA, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, PROTECTED BIKE LANES.

WE'RE GONNA HAVE A SIDEWALK.

WE'RE GONNA HAVE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, TREES SHADING BOTH THE BIKE, THE BIKE LANE, AND THE SIDEWALK.

BUT IN THE END, WHEN WE GET THEM BUILT, OFTENTIMES THEY LOOK LIKE THIS, UM, UH, REALLY SAD PATCH OF WEEDS BETWEEN THE, THE TRAIL AND THE, AND THE STREET.

UM, AND THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS FOR THIS ONE, THIS ONE PARTICULAR WAS I THINK, A TEXT STOP ROADWAY.

UM, AND SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S EXTRA BARRIERS, ESPECIALLY RELATED TO CLEAR ZONES AND THINGS LIKE THAT WITH TXDOT.

UM, AND SO THIS ONE, YOU KNOW, IS A PARTICULAR CASE, BUT WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF THESE, ESPECIALLY EARLY ROLLOUT

[00:10:01]

OF THE MOBILITY BOND PROJECTS THAT ARE COMING IN VERY SIMILAR TO THIS BECAUSE OF THESE BARRIERS.

UM, AND KIND OF THE, THE, UM, EXCEPTION THAT, THAT, UH, WHAT, HOW'S THAT, THAT THAT PHRASE GO, THE EXCEPTION THAT PROVES THE RULE.

THERE WE GO.

UM, IS, YOU KNOW, OUR PUBLICLY, YOU KNOW, OUR PUBLIC PROJECTS WHERE WE'RE GETTING INTO, UM, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS LIKE MUELLER, WHERE THE, THE CITY HAS A HUGE STAKE IN WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE DOING THERE.

WE'RE ABLE TO, THROUGH A PUD PROCESS, GET SOME STREET TREES.

UM, IT'S, IT'S VERY RARE, AND IT WAS VERY COMPLICATED.

UM, MY COLLEAGUE JANA THAT'S WORKING ON THIS INITIATIVE, UH, WORKED ON MUELLER AND CAN ATTEST TO KIND OF THE, THE COMPLICATED NATURE OF GETTING STREET TREES APPROVED.

AND FOR A FEW MONTHS, UM, LAST SUMMER, I WAS, YOU KNOW, I WAS DOING A LOT OF INTERVIEWS AS PART OF THIS RESEARCH, AND I FINDING, UM, THAT THERE WERE PROJECTS IN MUELLER THAT WERE BEING DENIED STREET TREES BECAUSE THE CRITERIA MANUALS HAD ACTUALLY CHANGED, UM, UH, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ESTABLISHED, UH, IN THE POD THIS WAY.

SO IT'S, IT'S THIS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, HAVING A CONSISTENT STREET, UH, STREET, STREET CANOPY IS QUITE DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE BARRIERS THAT WE'VE PUT INTO PLACE AND, AND WE HAVE OVERCOME THEM IN TIMES, AND THEN WE KEEP GETTING IN OUR, IN OUR OWN WAY.

UM, IN, IN, UH, COLONY PARK, FOR EXAMPLE, THEIR STREET SECTIONS AND, AND THEIR UTILITY ALIGNMENTS, THEY ACTUALLY HAD TO TAKE IT.

I THINK THEY, THEY TOOK IT ALL THE WAY UP TO THE CITY MANAGER, UH, IN ORDER TO GET COMPROMISE, UM, AND BE ABLE TO FIND AN ALIGNMENT OF UTILITIES THAT, THAT COULD WORK AND HAVE STREET TREES AND NOT HAVE 20 FOOT SETBACKS.

UM, WHICH IS, WHICH IS KIND OF A, IT'S A STREET SECTION THAT REALLY KIND OF EPITOMIZES WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITHIN OUR URBAN STREETS IS MAKE THEM PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY, WALKABLE BIKE, YOU KNOW, BIKEABLE, UM, AND SHADED.

AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, NOT SUBURBAN SETBACKS.

WE'RE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO GET HOUSING AS WELL.

UM, SO I'M, I'M NOT GONNA SPEND, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL THESE BULLETS, BUT THE LACK OF LEADERSHIP, UM, REALLY THERE, THERE HASN'T HISTORICALLY BEEN SOMEONE IDENTIFIED THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR RESOLVING CONFLICT IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.

SO OFTENTIMES IT IS THE PROJECT, THE PROJECT MANAGER OF WHOEVER'S TRYING TO DESIGN AND APPROVE, UH, A PROJECT TO, UH, TO GET APPROVAL EVEN WHEN THEY'RE CONFLICTING, UH, FROM DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, ET CETERA.

AND SO, UM, I CAN, I CAN TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE ON THIS IN A LITTLE, IN A MOMENT.

BUT, UM, IN OTHER CITIES, UH, NEW YORK, BOSTON, UM, EVEN IN SOME, IN SOME FORM PORTLAND, UH, CINCINNATI, EVEN THERE HAVE BEEN POSITIONS OR EVEN OFFICES CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS REASON, BECAUSE, UH, THE RIGHT OF WAYS ARE COMPLEX AND THEY NEED SOMEONE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO, HOW TO NEGOTIATE EVERYTHING, HOW TO, HOW TO OPTIMIZE OUR RIGHT OF WAY FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT RATHER THAN, UH, LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR THINKING.

UM, UH, GENERALLY, STREET TREES, UM, IN THIS, IN THIS PROCESS IN AUSTIN, HAVE NOT BEEN TREATED AS CRITICAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, AND, UM, AND, AND GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS NOT EX, YOU KNOW, SPECIAL TO AUSTIN THAT WE HAVE DEPARTMENTAL SILOS.

THIS IS, YOU KNOW, I'VE WORKED ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UH, AND THIS IS, ESPECIALLY IN MEDIUM TO LARGE CITIES, DEPARTMENTAL SILOS ARE THE NORM.

UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO TOOLS TO GET OVER THOSE.

UH, SOME OF THEM ARE LEADERSHIP TOOLS AND SOME OF THEM ARE COLLABORATION TOOLS.

UM, BUT, UH, GENERALLY OUR DEPARTMENTAL SILOS ARE KIND OF DIGGING OUR, YOU KNOW, DIGGING US DEEPER INTO THIS.

OUR CRITERIA MANUALS ARE, ARE REPRESENTING THAT DEPARTMENTAL SILO, UM, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ADVERSE TO CHANGE BECAUSE THEY'RE ADVERSE TO RISK.

UM, A LOT OF, UH, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF RESEARCH THAT'S GOING INTO HOW RISKY STREET TREES ARE.

THERE'S JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE EXPERIENCED A STREET TREE, GOT INTO A PIPE ONE TIME.

UM, THERE'S NOT REALLY A QUANTITATIVE, UH, SORT OF ANALYTICAL UNDERSTANDING OF HOW RISKY IT IS.

IT, IS IT, DO WE EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT TYPE OF TREE CAUSES PROBLEMS? WHAT WAS THE CONDITION? IT'S REALLY JUST, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF GUT REACTION.

AND, AND THE ANSWER IS USUALLY NO.

UM, PARTIALLY BECAUSE OF THESE DEPARTMENTAL SILOS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN STREET TREES.

THEY'RE INTERESTED IN THEIR SPECIFIC, UH, UTILITY OR TRANSPORTATION, ET CETERA.

UM, SO ONE OF THE MOST BASIC BARRIERS TO STREET TREES IS WE DON'T REQUIRE THEM, FOR THE MOST PART.

UM, THERE'S ABOUT 3% OF THE STREETS WITHIN THE CITY, UH, WHERE THEY'RE REQUIRED.

UM, AND ABOUT ANOTHER 1% ISH WHERE THEY'RE INCENTIVIZED.

UM, EVEN DOWNTOWN, THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED.

IT'S PART OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

SO ONLY WHEN YOU OPT INTO THAT ARE YOU REQUIRED TO PUT IN STREET TREES.

AND EVEN THERE, I'M ON THE DESIGN COMMISSION NOW, WE SEE A LOT OF THESE DENSITY BONUS PROJECTS.

A LOT OF THEM ONLY HAVE STREET TREES ON 50% OF THEIR FRONTAGE BECAUSE OF UTILITY BARRIERS.

UM, SO EVEN WHERE IT IS REQUIRED, WE'RE NOT GETTING TRUE STREET TREE CANOPIES.

UM, ALSO ON, UM, CORE TRANSPORTATION, UH, CORRIDORS WHERE THEY ARE REQUIRED, UM, IT'S A WHOLE LOT EASIER TO GET RELIEF FROM THAT REQUIREMENT TO ACTUALLY COMPLY.

SO YOU CAN GO THROUGH ALTERNATIVE EQUIVALENT COMPLIANCE.

UH, AND GENERALLY THE, THE IDEA IS THAT IF YOU MEET, MEET THE INTENT OF THE RULE, THEN YOU KNOW, YOU'RE FINE.

AND WE, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO MEET THE LETTER OF THE LAW.

UH, THE THING IS THAT THERE IS NO INTENT

[00:15:01]

EXPLICIT ABOUT WHAT STREET TREES ARE SUPPOSED TO DO.

IT'S ABOUT THE ENTIRE KIND OF SITE DEVELOPMENT, UM, RULES ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCHAPTER E AND WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT MEANS IS PEOPLE ASSUME IT'S SHADE.

YOU CAN PROVIDE SHADE HOWEVER YOU WANT.

WE'RE GOOD.

WE DON'T NEED THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS.

WE, WE, UH, WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED THE EVAPOTRANSPIRATION, UM, TRANSPIRATION.

WE DON'T NEED THE PROTECTION FROM, UH, FROM CARS.

UM, SO, UH, SO THAT'S, THAT'S A CHALLENGE.

UM, ALSO THERE IS A REQUIREMENT.

UM, THIS ISN'T A REGULATION, THIS IS A RULE IN THE CRITER, THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL, UM, THAT, UH, ON LEVEL TWO AND, UH, HIGHER STREETS, THAT STREET TREES ARE REQUIRED.

THE THING IS, IT'S A CRITERIA MANUAL AND NOT A REGULATION.

SO APPLICABILITY AND ALL SORTS OF, AND, AND, AND WHEN STREET TREES NEED TO BE PROVIDED AND BY WHOM IS NOT ESTABLISHED, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE RULES, THEY'RE NOT REALLY WRITTEN LIKE THAT.

UM, AND SO, SO WE REALLY, WE HAVE SOME RULES ON THE BOOKS, BUT THEY'RE NOT VERY COMPREHENSIVE.

UM, OTHER PLACES LIKE PORTLAND, SEATTLE, THEY REQUIRE STREET TREES ON EVERY STREET FOR EVERY SINGLE PROJECT, UM, UH, INCLUDING INDUSTRIAL, SINGLE FAMILY DOESN'T MATTER.

UH, AND, UM, AND IN FACT, IN PORTLAND, THEY REQUIRE STREET TREES.

ONCE YOU'VE SPENT 20 THOU $20,000, SO YOU GO AND YOU FIX YOUR BATHROOM, PUT IN STREET TREES, , THEY, THEY ARE, UM, THEY ARE CHANGING THIS BECAUSE THEY, THEY REALIZE THAT INFLATION, UH, IT MAKES THIS A LITTLE RIDICULOUS.

UM, THAT'S NOT THE INTENT, BUT THERE'S CLEARLY A PROPER TRIGGER FOR THIS SORT OF THING, AND WE CAN DO IT.

UM, OTHER PLACES HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, THESE REGULATIONS APPLY TO PUBLIC PROJECTS THE SAME AS THEY DO PRIVATE.

BUT, UM, BUT THE REGULATIONS THAT WE DO HAVE GENERALLY ONLY APPLY TO PUB, UH, TO PRIVATE PROJECTS.

SO MOST OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO PUT IN STREET TREES, UM, PUBLIC PROJECTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE VERTICAL IN NATURE SCHOOLS AND SO FORTH, THEY'LL HAVE TO, THEY'LL HAVE TO COMPLY TO THE SAME SORT OF DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS.

BUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR, OUR MOBILITY PROJECTS AND, AND THAT SORT OF THING, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'RE NOT, THERE'S NOT AN, UH, REQUIREMENT, UH, UM, TO PUT IN STREET TREES.

THERE IS OFTEN AN EFFORT TO PUT IN STREET TREES AND, UM, TO VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS, UH, TO, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF CHALLENGES THAT'LL GO OVER IN A MOMENT AS WELL.

UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, OUR STANDARD FOR OUR SIDEWALK PROJECT, UM, OUR SIDE FOR OUR SIDEWALK PROJECTS IS TO PUT THE SIDEWALK ON THE CURB.

UM, THIS IS BECAUSE IT HAS THE FEWEST BARRIERS, FEWEST CONFLICTS.

UM, BUT IT ALSO, UM, IF ANYONE, IF YOU HAVE EVER WALKED ON ONE OF THESE SIDEWALKS, THEY'RE ALL OVER THE PLACE.

THEY'RE ALSO THE WORST SIDEWALK FOR WALKING.

UM, IT DOESN'T PROVIDE PRODUCTIONS.

OFTENTIMES, THEY'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, ML EAST, MLK, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS ONE OF THESE SIDEWALKS THAT'S ACTUALLY A LITTLE NARROWER, NARROWER THAN THIS, UM, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET WITH CARS FREQUENTLY GOING BY AT 45, 50 MILES AN HOUR, INCLUDING BUSES.

UM, AND SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT THIS SORT OF IS, THIS IS A, A, A MASSIVE ISSUE WHEN IT COMES TO PEOPLE PUSHING STROLLERS, PEOPLE, UH, EL ELDERLY PEOPLE, PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN IMP ANYONE WITH A DOG OR ANYONE, ANYTHING ELSE WITH IMPULSE CONTROL, LIKE THE, YOU'RE SIX INCHES AWAY FROM DEATH, UM, AND ACCIDENTS HAPPEN.

UM, SO IT'S, IT'S QUITE DANGEROUS.

UM, UH, AND, AND ONE THING TO POINT OUT IS, UM, OUR MOBILITY BOND FUNDED PROJECTS WERE ACTUALLY NOT ALLOWED TO INCLUDE FUNDING FOR STREET TREES IN THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT CONSIDERED MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, AND SO THAT, THAT'S A, THAT'S A STATE ISSUE.

UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO COME BACK AND, AND PLAN FOR THEM AND, UM, AND FUND THEM ELSEWHERE OTHERWISE.

IT'S ALREADY PRE-APPROVED.

SO, UH, THE, THE CRITERIA MANUALS, I, I'VE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THE, THE DEPARTMENTAL SILO, UM, SILOS, BUT GENERALLY THE CRITERIA MANUALS ARE A REPRESENTATION OF THOSE.

THE, THEY EACH, UH, UTILITY DEPARTMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING THEIR OWN, UH, CRITERIA MANUALS.

AND THE, THE IDEA IS THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO IMPLEMENT THE CODE.

THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.

UM, BUT, UH, GENERALLY THESE ARE, THESE ARE PROTECTING, UH, THE INTEREST OF THE DEPARTMENT RATHER THAN A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE ON OPTIMIZING THE RIGHT OF WAY AND, AND, AND OVERALL BENEFITS TO MOBILITY, TO LIVABILITY, ET CETERA.

IT'S REALLY ABOUT THE CONVENIENCE OF SERVICING THEIR, YOU KNOW, THE WATER ELECTRIC UTILITY, ET CETERA.

UM, AND SO THERE'S, THERE'S SOME CHALLENGES THERE.

UM, BUT THERE, THERE, HA, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS ARE AWARE OF THE TARP, UM, IT'S THE TECHNICAL TECHNICAL ADVISORY REVIEW PANEL IS NOW RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING NEW CRITERIA, MANUAL RULES FOR COMPATIBILITY WITH COUNCIL PRIORITIES AND, AND, UM, AND PLANNING POLICY, ET CETERA.

SO, UM, THERE IS, THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF A, UM, THERE'S ANOTHER STEP IN THE PROCESS TO HELP WITH THIS NOW, BUT NOW OUR CRITERIA MANUALS HAVEN'T BEEN DEVELOPED IN THIS WAY IN THE PAST, AND WE STILL ARE, ARE LEARNING HOW THE TARP IS GONNA FUNCTION.

UH, I'M ON THE TARP, UM, AND I'M, I'M STILL FIGURING IT OUT.

UM, SO YEAH, SO THE, THE REAL TRICK WITH THESE CRITERIA MANUAL RULES IS, IS THAT ONCE YOU ARE, THEY, THEY, THEIR RULES ARE NOT REGULATIONS.

SO YOU DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM TO THE LETTER.

IT'S MORE, UM, UP TO THE DEPARTMENTAL REVIEWER TO SAY WHETHER IT'S OKAY OR NOT.

UM, AND, AND THE DEPARTMENTAL REVIEWERS ARE VERY SILOED IN, IN, IN WHAT THEIR INTERESTS ARE.

UM, AND SO WE

[00:20:01]

OFTEN GET A NO.

UM, BUT THESE, OVER, OVER THE YEARS, THESE CRITERIA, MANUAL STANDARDS, ESPECIALLY SEPARATION OF STREET TREES FROM WATER LINES, SEWER LINES, ELECTRIC LINES, HAVE, HAVE INCREASED.

UH, SO IN THE NINETIES, AND AS IS COMMON IN, IN MOST OTHER, UH, CITIES THAT I'VE RESEARCHED, THE SEPARATION STANDARD IS ABOUT FIVE FEET.

MOST CITIES DON'T EVEN REQUIRE A ROOT BARRIER.

OURS IS NINE FEET AND INCLUDES A ROOT BARRIER BARRIER.

AND YOU CAN SEE THIS DIAGRAM, THIS WAS DONE BY DWG.

UM, WE ACTUALLY REQUIRE A ROOT BARRIER ALL THE WAY AROUND THE, THE TREES ROOTS THAT BOXES THEM IN AND ELIMINATES THEIR ABILITY TO, TO GET PROPER SOIL VOLUME.

SO IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY REDUCING THE HEALTH OF OUR TREES.

UM, UH, BUT IT'S, IT'S IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE, THE CONCRETE AND THE UTILITIES.

BUT, UM, THERE'S ACTUALLY A WHOLE LOT BETTER WAYS TO DO IT.

AND I HAVE A SLIDE A BIT LATER ABOUT THAT.

UM, UH, SO WHEN, WHEN THESE RULES HAVE BEEN INFLATED, THAT MEANS THAT MORE AND MORE TREES THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED ARE, ARE BEING LOOKED AT AND NEED WAIVERS IN ORDER TO BE APPROVED, ESSENTIALLY.

UM, AND SO THAT CASE BY CASE DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW REALLY IS A, IS A MASSIVE DISINCENTIVE.

USUALLY THE ANSWER IS NO.

UM, BUT IF YOU'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THAT, YOU ESSENTIALLY HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, SUBMIT CHANGES TO YOUR SITE PLAN IN ORDER TO GET A, GET IT APPROVED.

AND SO THE CASE BY CASE DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW IS REALLY A, A BARRIER TO, TO ANYONE WANTING TO INCLUDE ANY STREET TREES IN THEIR, IN THEIR, UM, SITE PLAN.

UM, ALSO THE CRITERIA MANUALS, UM, THEY ARE WRITTEN RELATIVELY VAGUE.

THEY REQUIRE QUITE A BIT OF DISCRETION, AND SO PREDICTABILITY IS QUITE BAD.

UM, AND THIS COMES UP IN THE PERMITTING PROCESS.

AND SO THE LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIREMENT IS, IS ACTUALLY, UM, THIS IS WHERE IT SHOWS UP KIND OF THE MOST, UH, BRUTALLY.

UM, SO THE LICENSE AGREEMENT PROCESS IS ACTUALLY DUPLICATIVE OF THE SITE PLAN PROCESS.

THEY HAVE THE SAME, UH, THERE'S ABOUT 40 DIFFERENT REVIEWS THAT A, A TREE UNDERGOES BY 20 DIFFERENT AGENCIES.

UM, AND THEN THAT HAPPENS AGAIN IN THE LICENSE AGREEMENT REVIEW PROCESS.

UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S SOME CHALLENGES AS FAR AS LIKE KIND OF DUPLICATION, BUT WHAT'S WORSE IS IF THE REVIEWER, UH, FOR YOUR LICENSE AGREEMENT TAKES A DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION THAN THE REVIEWER FOR THE SITE PLAN, UH, YOU ACTUALLY RISK YOUR SITE PLAN, UM, APPROVAL IN ORDER TO GET THE STREET TREE.

SO THIS IS JUST ANOTHER BARRIER.

UM, GENERALLY THESE THINGS, THEY'RE, THEY'RE RISKY.

THEY TAKE UP TO TWO YEARS.

UM, AND, AND IT'S, AND IT'S JUST, IT'S A, IT'S KIND OF THE ULTIMATE BARRIER TO, EVEN IF SOMEONE'S WELL FUNDED AND REALLY WANTS THESE THINGS, THEY'RE STILL NOT GONNA DO IT.

UM, THE PURPOSE OF THE LICENSE AGREEMENT, WHY WE HAVE IT, UM, THE WAY THAT I'VE EXPLAINED IT, AND, AND, AND I'M SURE LEGAL HAS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TAKE ON THIS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF LEGAL GYMNASTICS TO GET AROUND OUR STATUS QUO AS FAR AS WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR STREET TREES, UM, GENERALLY, UH, PUBLIC WORKS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUBLIC TREES.

THOSE ARE TREES THAT ARE IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.

UM, AND SO IN ORDER TO ASK FOR THE TREE, THE CITY, YOU KNOW, SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE WANT A TREE, UM, PROVIDE US A TREE.

IT'S STILL YOUR TREE.

UM, SO YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE MEETS AND BOUNDS OF WHERE ON OUR PUBLIC LAND, YOU'RE GOING TO PUT YOUR PRIVATE PROPERTY, AND THEN WE WANT, UM, COMMERCIAL LIABILITY INSURANCE IN CASE SOMEONE HITS THAT TREE WITH THEIR CAR OR A LIMB FALLS ON, ON A CAR, UM, OR SOMEONE TRIPS.

UM, THEY WANT, THEY WANT YOU TO COVER THAT.

UM, AND THEN, UH, GENERALLY THEY WANT, THEY WANT, UM, SOME, A LEGAL CONTRACT THAT MAKES THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNER RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE, UM, OF THE TREE AND IRRIGATION.

UM, THE WAY THAT OTHER CITIES DO THIS IS IN THEIR MUNICIPAL CODE.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE BUDDING PROPERTY OWNER TO MAINTAIN THIS.

AND SO IT'S THE, THE BASELINE REGULATION IS WHAT WE'RE GETTING TO THROUGH OUR, OUR LEGAL GYMNASTICS.

UM, AND SO, BUT THERE'S, THERE ARE, THERE ARE A FEW OTHER CITIES THAT I'VE, THAT I'VE FOUND WHERE THE CITY TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAINTENANCE AND LIABILITY OF THE, UH, FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE STREET TREE.

UM, AND THEY ACTUALLY HAVE ABUNDANT STREET TREES.

IT'S, IT'S USUALLY IF YOU HAVE STREET TREES, IT'S THE PRIVATE, THE PRIVATE PROPERTY'S RESPONSIBILITY.

UM, SO, UH, PART OF THIS ISSUE AND WHY WE HAVE LICENSE AGREEMENT IS THAT TREES ARE CONSIDERED NON-STANDARD ITEMS. THEY'RE UNIQUE ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT AS A SPECIAL THING EVERY SINGLE TIME THEY COME IN.

UH, WE DON'T HAVE IT STANDARDIZED, LIKE A DRIVEWAY, A DRIVEWAY.

WE HAVE A TYPE ONE, WE'VE GOT A TYPE TWO, UM, AND YOU, YOU'RE GONNA TELL ME YOU'RE GONNA, THIS IS A TYPE TWO DRIVEWAY.

WE'RE GONNA DESIGN IT AND INSTALL IT JUST LIKE THAT.

IT'S FINE.

WE DON'T NEED TO GO TALK TO, UH, ALL OF THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE RIGHT OF WAY IN ORDER TO GET APPROVAL ON THIS DRIVEWAY.

UM, YOU CAN DO THAT WITH STREET TREES.

UH, YOU, UH, YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH SOME COMPLEXITY.

OBVIOUSLY, HOW THEY INTERACT WITH UTILITIES IN CLOSE PROXIMITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT THING.

UM, BUT THIS IS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE AND HAS BEEN DONE, UH, AND IT CAN ELIMINATE THAT CASE BY CASE REVIEW AND REALLY STREAMLINE THE PROCESS IN GENERAL, MAKE IT AS EASY AS A DRIVEWAY, THEORETICALLY, UH, MAYBE A LITTLE HARDER.

BUT, UM, SO, UH, COST CAN BE A BARRIER.

UM, UH, GENERALLY THE COST IS ASSOCIATED WITH MOVING UTILITIES.

AND SO IF WE CAN MANAGE OUR UTILITIES, BUT THEM IN THE RIGHT PLACE, UH, TO PRESERVE THE PLANTING ZONE FOR TREES, THEN THIS BECOMES LESS OF

[00:25:01]

A PROBLEM IN THE FUTURE.

IN THE MEANTIME, WE HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF STREETS WHERE WE HAVE NOT CONSIDERED, UM, TREES, UH, IN OUR, OUT OUR LAYOUT OF OUR UTILITIES.

AND SO THERE'S GONNA CONTINUE TO BE THIS, BUT AS WE REBUILD OUR STREETS, WE SHOULD MAKE SURE WE BUILD THEM SO THAT THEY CAN, THEY CAN ACCOMMODATE STREET TREES.

UM, SO THE MOVING UTILITIES IS THE BIGGEST COST, BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF OUR MASSIVE PERMITTING KIND OF FRICTION, UH, YOU HAVE TO HIRE, UH, YOU HAVE TO HIRE A CIVIL ENGINEER TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS PROCESS.

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT AN, UM, ANYBODY CAN DO OFF THE STREET.

IT'S, IT TAKES SOME, UM, INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE, UH, TO GET THROUGH THE SYSTEM.

AND SO REMOVING THAT WOULD, WOULD ALSO HAVE BENEFITS TO COST.

UM, THE ACTUAL COST OF THE TREE, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A, A LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT OR A PUBLIC, UH, MOBILITY PROJECT IS, IS RELATIVELY SMALL.

IT'S, IT'S NEGLIGIBLE IN THE OVERALL COST.

UM, OBVIOUSLY IT STILL COSTS MONEY.

UM, AND SOME PROJECTS, UH, LIKE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, PERHAPS UTOD PROJECTS THAT ARE PRO, UH, PROVIDING SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC BENEFITS THAT COST A LOT OF MONEY, THESE ARE GONNA BE MORE SENSITIVE TO DEVELOPMENT COSTS, AND PERHAPS WE NEED TO FIND SOME FUNDS TO HELP PAY FOR THESE SORT OF IMPROVEMENTS ON THE PUBLIC REALM.

UM, THERE ARE A WHOLE LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FOR THAT.

I MEAN, DSD ACTUALLY HAS A TREE MITIGATION FUND THAT EVERY TIME SOMEBODY CHOPS DOWN A TREE AND CAN'T REPLACE IT, UH, THEY'RE PAYING INTO A A, A FUND.

AND, AND RIGHT NOW THERE, I DON'T THINK THERE'S PLANS FOR A LOT OF THAT MONEY.

UM, IT JUST, IT KEEPS BUILDING AND AS WE ARE DENSIFY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE FUNDS.

AND, UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S A REALLY GREAT SOURCE.

UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A NUMBER OF KINDA SMALLER OPTIONS, BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT A, UH, CLIMATE BOND, UM, WHICH SEEMS LIKE THE GREAT, A GREAT PAIRING FOR MOBILITY BONDS THAT COULDN'T AFFORD STREET TREES.

UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES.

I WON'T GO THROUGH EVERYTHING, UH, BUT, BUT GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, UH, WE SHOULD BE LOOKING INTO THESE, UM, FOR, FOR THOSE SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT, UM, CAN'T AFFORD THESE OR, OR AREAS WHERE IT'S A REALLY, REALLY HIGH PRIORITY AROUND TRANSIT AREAS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, SO THE GREEN STREETS INITIATIVE, GENERALLY OUR STRATEGY HAS BEEN TO BUILD A REALLY BIG COALITION OF INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, AND EQUITY, ENVIRONMENTAL AND MOBILITY ADVOCATES.

UM, AND WE'VE DONE THAT PRETTY SUCCESSFULLY.

UM, SO WE'VE GOT A, A, A BIG GROUP OF PEOPLE ON OUR LISTSERV, AND EVERYBODY'S REALLY THRILLED ABOUT THIS WORK.

UM, I AND MY TEAM AT URBAN BENDIN HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A, UM, TECHNICAL REPORT TO DOCUMENT THESE, BAR THESE BARRIERS AND, UH, HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO HELP STAFF AS THEY'RE ADDRESSING THEM.

UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN WORKING TO COLLABORATE WITH, UH, CITY COUNCIL.

UM, WE WORKED WITH LESLIE POOLE'S OFFICE, AND JUST TWO WEEKS AGO WE GOT A, UH, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE RESOLUTION, UH, UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED, UM, BY THE TIME IT, UH, THANK YOU.

UM, WE HAD SEVEN SPONSORS, UH, WITH TWO BEING ADDED ON THE, ON THE DAAS.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM THE DAAS, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT.

UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS REALLY THE FIRST STEP TO EXPLORING A LOT OF THIS.

UM, AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, NOW THAT THAT'S BEEN ADOPTED, THE, UM, CITY MANAGER'S BEEN ASKED TO ESSENTIALLY DRAFT A, UH, RIGHT OF WAY DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT PLAN, UM, THAT HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT EXPLORATIONS IN IT.

YOU, YOU CAN READ THE, UM, THE RESOLUTION LANGUAGE.

UM, THERE'S ALSO, UH, SOME NEWS COVERAGE, UH, THAT YOU CAN GET TO, UH, BOTH OF THEM BY MY, UM, BY THE URBAN AND WISE WEBSITE.

UM, UH, BUT ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT WE'RE, UH, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO IS I'M, I'M GONNA CONTINUE TO BE ENGAGED IN THIS THROUGH THE TARP.

UH, THEY'RE GONNA BE A, A SMALL KIND OF SUBSET OF THE, THE TARP TO WORK AS A WORKING GROUP, CROSS-DISCIPLINARY WITH, UM, CITY DEPARTMENTS AND, UM, AND, UM, PRACTITIONERS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET REALLY GOOD, SOLID TECHNICAL ANSWERS AND, UH, TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THE NEW ZONING CODE, UH, RULES, THE NEW ADMINISTRATIVE CRITERIA, MANUAL RULES, AND THE NEW PROCESSES THAT THAT STAFF PROPOSES ARE REALLY GONNA WORK AND, AND, AND HAVE THE OUTCOMES THAT WE WANT.

UM, AND SO SEPTEMBER 19TH IS WHEN, UH, UM, STAFF OR COUNCIL HAS ASKED THE SEA MANAGER TO COME BACK AND PRESENT A TIMELINE FOR, UM, FOR NEW CODE AMENDMENTS, UH, RULE, UM, CRITERIA, MANUAL, UH, CHANGES AND PROCESS CHANGES.

SO WE'LL BE ENGAGED IN IT ALONG THE WAY.

UM, I REALLY WANTED, UM, I, I THINK THAT'S ABOUT IT.

SO THIS IS KIND OF JUST A BULLET POINT OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, OUR GOALS THROUGH THIS PROCESS IS JUST TO ADDRESS ALL OF THOSE CHALLENGES.

WE, WE FIND THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THIS PUBLIC REALM OFFICER, A LEADER IN THE, IN THE, UM, URBAN DESIGN IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR RESOLVING CONFLICTS.

BUT PUBLIC WORKS COULD BE THAT, UM, IN FACT, A COUNCIL HAS ASKED IN THEIR RESOLUTION OR HAS CLARIFIED IN THEIR RESOLUTION LANGUAGE THAT PUBLIC WORKS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, CLAR TO, FOR RESOLVING CONFLICTS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.

AND SO I THINK THERE'S, UM, IT'S A REALLY GOOD FIRST STEP TO GETTING THIS LEADERSHIP THAT WE NEED AND, AND THEY'RE ALSO GONNA BE, UM, PROVIDING, UH, AN ANALYSIS OF WHAT ADDITIONAL, UM, RESOURCES THEY MIGHT NEED TO DO THAT JOB.

UM, AT THE LAST, UM, PROJECT CONNECT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING, WHICH I, UM, I ALSO SERVE ON, AND ACTUALLY RUBEN BROOKS, WHO'S WITH US ONLINE, IS ALSO ON THAT COMMITTEE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION.

I'M SURE WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.

I'M GONNA KICK US OFF.

I HAVE, UM, THREE, ONE IS MORE OF A COMMENT FOR YOU.

SO,

[00:30:01]

WE HAD A PRESENTATION FROM THE URBAN STREET DESIGN TEAM THAT'S WORKING ON THE, UM, STATION AND URBAN DESIGN RELATING TO THE RAIL LINES.

AND THEY SHARED, I MEAN, THIS IS A TEAM, THIS IS ALL THEY DO FOR DIFFERENT CITIES, IS STUDY URBAN DESIGN.

AND THEY SAID THAT ONE OF THE REALLY SURPRISING THINGS THAT THEY FOUND IN AUSTIN THAT WAS DIFFERENT THAN ANYWHERE ELSE THEY'VE WORKED WAS HOW MUCH PEOPLE RESPONDED ON SHADE, HOW MUCH PEOPLE WERE ASKING FOR SHADE WITH TRANSIT, UM, HOW MUCH PEOPLE WANTED TREES AND SHADE AROUND THE STATIONS AND THIS COOLING EFFECT.

AND THIS WAS LIKE ONE OF THE NUMBER ONE THINGS LIKE THIS IS DOESN'T, WE DON'T SEE THIS IN OTHER CITIES.

AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY NOTABLE.

IN FACT, I ALMOST GOT CHOKED UP IN THE MOMENT BECAUSE I FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF US HAVE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR SHADE, BETTER SHADE STRUCTURES AND TREES AROUND TRANSIT FOR A LONG TIME, AND LIKE, HAVE JUST FELT UNHEARD ON THAT.

AND SO I JUST THANK YOU ON YOUR ADVOCACY.

I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A WAY THAT YOU AND YOUR, UH, THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH COULD CONNECT WITH THE PROJECT CONNECT URBAN DESIGN TEAM, BUT THAT MIGHT BE A FRUITFUL, UH, MOMENT OF COLLABORATION FOR YOU.

SO JUST A SUGGESTION FOR YOU THERE.

SO, UM, I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING.

SO MY FIRST QUESTION THAT IS A QUESTION ACTUALLY RELATES TO THE MAINTENANCE AND ENFORCEMENT PROCESS.

SO I'M AWARE, UM, I'VE BEEN KIND OF INFORMALLY TRACKING, UM, INSTANCES WHERE DEVELOPMENTS WERE REQUIRED TO PUT IN SHADE TREES AND, UM, SOMETHING HAS GONE WRONG.

SO ONE, UM, I'M GONNA CALL PEOPLE OUT FROM THE DIOCESE AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS, BUT ONE OF THE GOOD EXAMPLES IS, UH, THE PROJECT CONNECT, UM, THE CRESTVIEW TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW AROUND THE RED LINE STATION HAD STREET TREES THAT WERE REQUIRED TO BE PUT ON ALONG LAMAR BOULEVARD.

AND THEY GREW FOR ABOUT FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS.

AND THEN THEY WERE, THEY WERE ACTUALLY CUT DOWN.

THEY WERE REMOVED, WE ASSUME BY THE PROPERTY MANAGER OR THE DEVELOPER, I GUESS, OF THE PLACE.

I HAVEN'T REALLY DONE ANYTHING WITH THIS.

I'VE BEEN STEWING ON WHAT TO DO WITH THIS FOR A COUPLE YEARS NOW, ME AND A COUPLE, A COUPLE FRIENDS.

BUT LIKE, THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE WOULD BE, AND THIS MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE VAGUE RESPONSIBILITY 'CAUSE IT'S NOT EXACTLY A DEVELOPMENT ALONG, UM, BY THE KRAMER REDLINE STATION.

THEY PUT IN SOME SIDEWALKS THAT RUN FROM ON THE, I GUESS THE NORTH SIDE OF KRAMER, BETWEEN THE REDLINE STATION AND BREAKER, AND THEY PUT IN STREET TREES THERE.

AND IT'S A LONG, I THINK IT'S AN AUSTIN ENERGY PROPERTY ACTUALLY THERE.

IT'S SORT OF NOT SPARSELY DEVELOPED.

IT'S LIKE A MAINTENANCE TYPE FACILITY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, MAYBE SOME OFFICES.

UM, AND THOSE TREES HAVE LARGELY DIED, SO THERE'S SOME OF THEM ARE LIKE, DIED AND THEY KIND OF REROUTED AND THEY'RE KIND OF SHRUBBERY.

SOME OF THEM ARE JUST DEAD.

AND SO, LIKE, WHO, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE THERE? SO I THINK LIKE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE HEARD FROM PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE BRINGING THESE THINGS TO ME IS HOW WHEN WE NOTICE THESE THINGS OF SOMEONE'S JUST CUT DOWN STREET RE TREES, THEY WERE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE, OR SOMEONE'S NOT MAINTAINING THE STREET TREES TO THE POINT THAT THIS, UH, INVESTMENT HAS NOW DIED.

LIKE HOW DOES THE, HOW DOES THE PUBLIC RESOLVE THAT? WHO DO WE REPORT THAT TO? YEAH, I MEAN, I ACTUALLY, I'M NOT SURE IN AUSTIN, I THINK IT'S GENERALLY A CODE ENFORCEMENT ISSUE.

UM, SO YOU COULD CALL CODE CODE ENFORCEMENT.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, FOR A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS THAT WERE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE STREET TREES, THEY WERE ON CORE TRANSIT CORRIDORS.

UM, THAT THIS IS A REQUIREMENT, UM, OF THEIR, YOU KNOW, UH, OF THEIR LICENSE AGREEMENT THAT THEY WILL HAVE SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME CONTRACT IN THE REAL ESTATE OFFICE THAT SAYS THAT IT'S THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN THEM, SO THEY'RE IN VIOLATION OF THAT CONTRACT IF THAT'S THE CASE.

UM, BUT I THINK GENERALLY I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE ISSUE IS THE, THE DETAILS, THE STANDARD DETAILS, HOW WE PLANT OUR TREES.

RIGHT NOW WE ARE VERY PROTECTIVE OF OUR UTILITIES AND WE'RE NOT PROVIDING ENOUGH SOIL VOLUME.

TREES DO NOT SURVIVE WHEN THEY'RE IN POTS, UM, GENERALLY.

AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE ESSENTIALLY PUTTING TREES IN POTS IN THE SIDEWALK AND THEY DIE.

UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN A SOLUTION FOR WHERE UNDERGROUND UTILITIES ARE A, A BIG CONFLICT AND YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T PUT THE ROOTS DOWN THERE.

UM, AND THERE'S ACTUALLY A M STATION, A A FOUNDATION, UM, COMMUNITIES PROJECT REALLY GREAT.

UM, THEY, THEIR TREES ARE IN POTS BECAUSE OF, THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD GET THEM APPROVED.

AND THEY'RE ON MLK, WHICH IS A CORE TRANSIT CORRIDOR, AND THEY DIE ALL THE TIME, BUT THEY CONSTANTLY REPLACE THEM.

UM, IT'S JUST THE WAY WE PLANT OUR TREES HAS A BIG, A BIG, UH, IMPACT ON HOW THEY SURVIVE.

UM, SO THAT, THAT'S ONE THING.

BUT ALSO WHEN THE, WHEN WE HAVE NORMALIZED THAT THAT DEVELOPMENT IS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE STREET TREES, THEN PEOPLE HAVE THAT EXPECTATION.

RIGHT NOW IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S LIKE A ONE-OFF THING.

LIKE, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A CODE VIOLATION, BECAUSE WE'D HAVE TO, WE'D, SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO KNOW WHAT THAT PRIVATE CONTRACT IS WITH THE CITY.

UH, IF IT'S, IF IT'S EVERYONE, EVERY NEW DEVELOPMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY PROVIDES STREET TREES, THEN WE KNOW THEY CUT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO PUT A PUT A STREET TREE IN AND THEY DIDN'T, OR THEY, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO PUT IT IN A STREET TREE AND THEY DIDN'T MAINTAIN IT.

NOW EVERYBODY HAS AN EXPECTATION.

IT'S NORMALIZED.

REGULATORY PLAN AND THE CONTRACT.

ME, ME AND MY FRIEND THAT HAVE BEEN WATCHING THE CRESTVIEW ONE IN PARTICULAR HAVE, UM, LIKE TRIED TO FIGURE, LIKE WE, WE, EVERY TIME WE IT COMES UP, WE'RE LIKE, OH, WE NEED TO DIG INTO LIKE THE

[00:35:01]

LIKE, IT GETS VERY FRUSTRATING.

SO MAYBE, MAYBE JUST CALLING CODE IS THE WAY TO GO.

UM, FINAL ONE FOR YOU.

SO, UM, AND THEN OTHER COMMISSIONERS MAY HAVE QUESTIONS.

I, I, IT'S MORE OF JUST, YOU MAY HAVE SOME THINGS YOU WANNA SHARE WITH US NOW, BUT IT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT AS IT DEVELOPS, YOU WANNA COME TO US, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME TIME HERE.

UM, I THINK THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE ALL RECOGNIZE HOW SHADE AND, UM, STREET TREES SUPPORT TRANSPORTATION, ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND TRANSIT USE IN OUR CITY, ESPECIALLY GOING FORWARD INTO OUR FUTURE.

UM, AND SO I THINK THAT THIS BODY WOULD VERY LIKELY WANNA, UM, YOU KNOW, DO SOMETHING OR MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, OFFER SOME SUGGESTIONS BEFORE THAT DECEMBER, SEPTEMBER 19TH DEADLINE.

IF THERE'S ANY SPECIFIC ASKS YOU HAVE FOR US NOW OR IN THE FUTURE, I WOULD JUST INVITE YOU TO ESPECIALLY CONTACT ME OR ANY OF OUR COMMISSIONERS AND WE CAN, I MEAN, I THINK WE WOULD BE VERY EXCITED, I'M GUESSING, TO, TO, TO MAKE, MAKE A MOTION ON THIS AT SOME POINT.

SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU WANNA SHARE NOW, THAT'S FINE, BUT JUST, UM, PLEASE KEEPING THOSE LINES OPEN BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD, I'M SURE LOVE TO DO MORE WITH AS WELL.

UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS THAT, UH, RIGHT OFF THE BAT, I MEAN, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE STILL KICKING OFF THIS PROCESS WITH THE TARP, UM, AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT STAFF IS GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE TO RESPOND TO THIS RESOLUTION.

SO A LOT IS TO BE DETERMINED.

UM, BUT THERE INEVITABLY WILL BE, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON WHATEVER STAFF BRINGS TO COUNCIL ON THE 19TH OF SEPTEMBER.

UM, I, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, DO AS MUCH ANALYSIS AS PART, AS PART OF THE TARP AS PART OF, UM, THE GREEN STREETS INITIATIVE TO BRING THIS INFORMATION AROUND AND HELP PEOPLE RESPOND TO THAT.

UM, SECOND, UM, IF YOU, IF YOU ALL WANT TO TAKE A LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL AT THE, THE GOALS OF THE GREEN STREETS INITIATIVE, UH, WE WOULD BE, UM, HONORED IF YOU GUYS WOULD SUPPORT THE GREEN STREETS INITIATIVE.

THIS IS, IT'S REALLY, IT'S NOT A GOVERNMENT, UH, INITIATIVE.

THIS IS, THIS IS PRIVATE.

IT'S JUST, IT'S A, ESSENTIALLY OUR CAMPAIGN THAT'S, WE WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, SAY, HEY, THE UTC SUPPORTS THE GREEN STREETS INITIATIVE AND, AND OUR GOALS.

UM, YOU MIGHT WANNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO KIND OF LOOK AT THOSE GOALS TO SEE IF, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THOSE.

BUT, UM, IF, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU COULD TAKE ACTION ON IN THE, IN THE, UM, SHORT TERM TO KIND OF PROVIDE SOME MORE, UM, SUPPORT FOR THESE SPECIFIC OUTCOMES.

IN GOVERNMENT, SOMETIMES WE HAVE CARROTS, BUT GENERALLY WE HAVE STICKS.

I'LL SEE IF ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS.

LOOKS LIKE SPENCER DOES.

THANKS, CHAIR .

UM, SO, UM, FIRST I'M GLAD TO HAVE SOMEONE HERE FROM THE DESIGN COMMISSION 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WE'RE KIND OF ON A LONELY ISLAND WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSPORTATION.

YOU KNOW, THERE AREN'T A LOT OF OTHER COMMISSIONS THAT WORK ON THESE ISSUES, BUT THE DESIGN COMMISSION VERY MUCH DOES, RIGHT? SO IT'S, IT'S GOOD TO START, UM, BUILDING THAT RELATIONSHIP.

UM, MY, MY QUESTION IS REALLY ABOUT THE TCM, I'M SURE YOU INVOLVED IN THE LAST TCM UPDATE.

UH, AND THAT WAS PROBABLY, I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST DISAGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND WHERE STAFF WAS, WAS ABOUT THE REQUIREMENTS, UM, FOR STREET TREES.

UM, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF COMMUNITY PUSHBACK.

STAFF DISAGREED WITH THAT.

AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANNA PUT WORDS IN FOLKS' MOUTH, BUT I REMEMBER THE, THE TWO MAIN POINTS OF DISAGREEMENT BEING ONE, JUST THE IMPLICATIONS OF, OF TREES IN THE CLEAR ZONE AND THEN TWO RIGHT AWAY CONSTRAINTS IN TERMS OF, ALRIGHT, IF WE'RE INCLUDING A NEW BIKE LANE THAT WASN'T THERE BEFORE, WE'RE EXPANDING THE SIDEWALK AND THERE MAY NOT BE ROOM FOR STREET TREES.

SO I'M CURIOUS IN YOUR RESEARCH, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE WAYS TO GET AROUND THAT? WELL, UM, THERE'S, IT'S KIND OF THE WAY THAT I'VE BEEN ANALYZING IT HAS BEEN IN KIND OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.

UM, WELL, BUT FIRST OF ALL, THE, THE TCM DOES CALL FOR STREET TREES ON LEVEL TWO AND HIGHER.

SO IT'S, IT'S THERE, IT'S JUST KIND OF, DOESN'T REALLY HAVE TEETH AT THE MOMENT.

UM, WHEN IT COMES TO PRIVATE PROJECTS, THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT ARE COMING IN, UH, THE CITY'S ASKING FOR RIGHT OF WAY DEDICATION.

UM, SO THESE ARE NOT CONSTRAINED RIGHTS OF WAY WHEN PRIVATE PROJECTS ARE COMING IN.

UM, OFTENTIMES THEY'RE NOT GETTING, YOU KNOW, FULL BUILD OUT OF THEIR FUTURE, UM, STREET SECTION THAT THEY WOULD LIKE, BUT THEY ARE ASKING FOR, UM, THAT RIGHT OF WAY DEDICATION, OR THEY'RE GETTING IN AS A PUBLIC ACCESS EASEMENT SO THAT THE CITY COULD THEN USE IT AND REDESIGN IT, HOW, HOW THEY'D LIKE.

UM, SO THAT IT'S NOT REALLY A CONSTRAINED RIGHT AWAY SITUATION WHEN IT'S PRIVATE, WHEN IT'S PUBLIC.

THERE CERTAINLY IS, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, GETTING, UH, YOU KNOW, NEGOTIATING WITH EVERY SINGLE PROPERTY OWNER ALONG A CORRIDOR, UM, THAT CAN BE A PROJECT KILLER.

HONESTLY, IT CAN BE WAY TOO COSTLY.

IT CAN BE, UH, IT CAN REALLY DRAG ON THE TIMELINE.

SO PUBLIC PROJECTS DO DEAL WITH CONSTRAINED RIGHT AWAYS IN A, IN A WAY THAT PRIVATE PROJECTS DON'T DEAL WITH CONSTRAINED RIGHT OF AWAYS.

UM, AND SO REALLY THE, THE CHALLENGE WITH THAT IS I, YOU KNOW, INEVITABLY THERE ARE GOING TO BE STREETS WHERE IN ORDER TO GET A BIKE LANE, WE CAN'T FIT STREET TREES.

UM, BUT RIGHT NOW THERE IS NO MANDATE.

SO THE DEFAULT IS WE'RE NOT EVEN GONNA CONSIDER STREET TREES, RIGHT? SO RIGHT NOW THE DEFAULT IS NO STREET TREES, WE WANNA CHANGE IT.

SO THE DEFAULT IS STREET TREES AND YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON NOT TO.

UM, AND, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK MOST PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING AT THE CITY, AT THE STAFF LEVEL REALLY WANT THESE TOO, RIGHT? THEY'RE RUNNING INTO THE SAME CHALLENGES THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS RUNNING INTO.

UM, AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, SADLY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE STICKS, UH,

[00:40:01]

AND IF WE WANT STREET TREES, WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT NEED TO PROVIDE KIND OF DESIGN PARAMETERS FOR OUR RIGHT OF WAYS THAT PRIORITIZE CERTAIN THINGS OVER OTHERS.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IN A CONDITION WHERE WE HAVE A PARKING LANE, WE MAY NEED TO SAY, WELL, YEAH, THE PARKING LANE IS A HUGE AMENITY.

WE NEED STREET PARKING, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE GETTING RID OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR PRIVATE PARKING.

UM, BUT IS THAT MORE IMPORTANT THAN A STREET TREE? UM, WE CAN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SAY, WE CAN COMPROMISE ON THAT.

WE CAN, EVERY TWO PARKING SPACES YOU CAN PUT IN A STREET TREE.

UM, PORTLAND IS DOING THIS.

THEY'RE, THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE PARKING LANE AS A, AS A RESOURCE.

BUT WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF STREETS THAT ARE LANES ARE, ARE TOO WIDE.

THERE'S A LOT OF STREETS WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR FULL RIGHT OF WAY, UH, ON PUBLIC PROJECTS.

UH, THE SIDEWALK PROJECTS, THEY'RE LEAVING, UH, BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, 5, 10, 15 FEET OF RIGHT OF WAY JUST LEFT AS NOT PART OF THE, AS NOT PART OF THE MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE.

IN OUR CRITERIA MANUALS, WE HAVE A SPECIFICATION IN THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL.

WE HAVE A SPECIFICATION THAT THAT REQUIRES ONE FOOT TO TWO FEET SEPARATION BETWEEN THE PRIVATE PROPERTY LINE AND THE SIDEWALK.

IN A RESIDENTIAL STREET WHERE OUR STREET SCAPE IS 10 FEET, THAT TWO FEET COULD MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE STRIP BETWEEN THE SIDEWALK AND THE STREET IS TOTALLY UNUSABLE.

IT'S A WEED PATCH.

SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE ALREADY SEEDED CERTAIN, WE, THROUGH OUR CRITERIA MANUALS, WE HAVE MADE PRIORITIES.

AND IT'S THAT THE EASE OF CONSTRUCTING THE SIDEWALK IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER GETTING STREET TREES.

AND SO WE, WE JUST NEED TO LOOK AT THIS WITH A CRITICAL EYE AND SAY LIKE, MAYBE THREE, THREE INCHES IS FINE, , YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE CAN FIT OUR BOARD FORM OVER THERE AND IT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE CHALLENGING, BUT WE'RE IN A CONSTRAINT RIGHT AWAY, SO MAYBE WE GOTTA DO, WE GOTTA MAKE, DO, UM, A LOT OF PLACES THEY PUT SIDEWALKS RIGHT UP TO THE PROPERTY LINE, NO PROBLEM.

UM, IN FACT, THAT'S WHAT WE DO IN MUELLER, THAT'S WHAT WE DO IN A LOT OF PLACES WHERE WE EXPECT WALKABLE ENVIRONMENTS.

SO I DON'T KNOW IF I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION, BUT I TALKED A LOT.

HI, KEVIN , THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN.

I'VE BEEN REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS SINCE, UH, YOU FIRST STARTED TALKING TO EVERYBODY ABOUT THIS.

UM, THERE IS ONLY SORT OF AN OBLIQUE REFERENCE THAT'S IN THE RESOLUTION LANGUAGE TO GRANTING SOMEONE POWER OVER.

LIKE YOU WE'RE NOT GONNA GET THE, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC REALM OFFICER THROUGH THIS RESOLUTION.

UM, BUT YOU HAVE IN HERE PUBLIC WORKS PROVIDES LEADERSHIPS AND RESOLVE, REVOLVE, UH, RESOLVES CONFLICTS AROUND COMPETING PRIORITIES, UM, EXPANDING THEIR STAFFING AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO CONTINUE THAT WORK.

I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT I HOPE CITY STAFF CAN TAKE TO HEART.

MM-HMM, .

AND, UM, I, I DEFINITELY THINK THAT PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION SHOULD BE DRIVING THE BUS FOR RIGHTS OF WAYS, UH, LIKE RIGHT OF WAY PROJECTS AND NOT THE UTILITIES.

UM, THAT'S ONE OF MY, ONE OF MY MAJOR THINGS I THINK ABOUT.

BUT, UM, THIS IS GONNA INVOLVE LIKE A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN THE ADVOCATES AND, UM, CITY STAFF.

AND I THINK THAT THERE'S AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY WITH THE NEW CITY MANAGER COMING IN FOR MY SUGGESTION TO YOU IS, UH, TO SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH THE CITY MANAGER THAT WE HAVE COMING IN AND EXPRESS THIS WISH AND MAKE IT KNOWN THAT THIS IS A PRIORITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO GET A HIGH LEVEL STAFFING MEMBER OR ALLOWING PUBLIC WORKS TO BE REALLY IN CHARGE OF HOW OUR RIGHT OF WAY IS DESIGNED.

YEAH, NO, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S TERRIFIC.

UM, YOU GUYS, IF YOU CAN HELP ME OUT AND GET, UH, GET ME A MEETING, THAT'D BE GREAT.

UM, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT I WAS REALLY EXCITED TO WHERE, WITH WHERE WE GOT WITH THE RESOLUTION, IT WAS HUGE.

UM, AND THAT, THAT LANGUAGE WAS ACTUALLY REALLY REASSURING TO ME.

IT WASN'T, HEY, LET'S GET A PUBLIC REALM OFFICER, WHICH WOULD'VE BEEN TERRIFIC.

BUT WHAT IT DID THAT I THOUGHT WAS REALLY POWERFUL WAS IT, IT UM, IT FORMALIZED THAT RESPONSIBILITY THAT PUBLIC WORKS DOES HAVE THAT RESPONSIBILITY AND THAT AUTHORITY.

UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN HOW WE'VE BEEN OPERATING.

SO I THINK THAT'S A, IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT FIRST STEP COMMISSIONERS OTHERS, I SEE PEOPLE ONLINE.

I SAW, UH, EDWARD.

SO, UH, YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TO PRESENT THIS.

I, I LOVE THIS WHOLE IDEA.

I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THE PREVIOUS COMMISSIONER HAS STATED.

MINE IS MORE OF A QUESTION.

UM, YOU TOUCHED ON IT A LITTLE BIT BRIEFLY IN THE CHALLENGES PORTION.

UM, HOW DO YOU ENVISION, AS YOU TALKED ABOUT AT THE TOP OF THE MEETING, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BECOMING MORE DENSE AND WE'RE ONLY GETTING HOTTER AND IN THE ALREADY HOT PLACE, UH, AND ADDING MORE PEOPLE TO OUR POPULATION.

UH, WHAT IS THE POSSIBLE INFORMATION SLASH YOU KNOW, PROBLEMS YOU SEE COMING FROM WATERING THE TREES? 'CAUSE I THINK WE'VE ALL PROBABLY SEEN PLENTY OF EXAMPLES OF, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE GOING, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS TO GET TREES OUT THERE, AND THEN EITHER SOMETHING HAPPENS AND THE WATER GETS TURNED OFF, THE TREES DIE, OR,

[00:45:01]

YOU KNOW, EVEN IT COULD BE JUST SHRUBBERIES AND MEDIAN LANES.

IT'S A PRETTY BIG POP, UH, PROBLEM WHERE WE, WHERE WE LIVE, UM, AND THE TREE'S JUST DYING OUT.

AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE SEEING MORE AND MORE OF DROUGHT, UM, IN THIS AREA.

AND, UH, THIS, YOU KNOW, I'M CURIOUS AS TO ANY INFORMATION YOU HAVE ON WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT, UH, THE WATER USAGE TO BE, AND THEN ALSO PROBLEMS THAT WE WOULD MAYBE EXPECT WITH, YOU KNOW, SOME BREAKS IN LINES.

, UM, WE'VE PROBABLY ALL SADLY SEEN, YOU KNOW, RUPTURED IRRIGATION LINES BEFORE WHERE THERE'S WATER SPILLING IN THE STREET FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG.

SO I GUESS MY MAIN QUESTION IS MORE ABOUT HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU SEE THE IMPACT OF WATERING AND THE TAKING CARE OF THESE, UH, YOU KNOW, VERY PRECIOUS RESOURCES AND OPENNESS DEEP DOWN THE SHADE? YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT QUESTION.

UM, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE DOING SOME INTERESTING THINGS WITH WATER REUSE RIGHT NOW.

UM, BUT I ALSO, I ALSO THINK THAT AS WE'RE TRANSITIONING TO BE MORE DENSE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE, PEOPLE ARE NEEDING THE WATER TO THEIR TREES IN DROUGHT, UM, IN THEIR PRIVATE YARDS.

AND SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A REPLACEMENT FOR THAT.

UM, IT'S GONNA BE IN A WAY THAT IS GONNA BE MORE DIRECTLY ACCESSIBLE, UH, TO EVERYONE.

SO, UM, I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH A ROBUST, UH, STREET TREE NETWORK THAT WE'RE GONNA SEE A TON MORE WATER USAGE FOR TREES.

UM, IT MIGHT BE REPLACEMENT.

UM, BUT THAT BEING SAID, I DO THINK THAT, UM, THE TREE SPECIES SELECTION IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.

THIS ISN'T A LOT OF WHAT I HAVE BEEN GOING INTO.

I'M NOT A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT.

I'M NOT AN ARBORIST.

UM, AND, BUT AS PART OF THIS TECHNICAL, UM, AS, UH, THE TECHNICAL, UH, REVIEW BODY THAT, THAT THE TARP THAT'S GONNA BE HELPING WITH HELPING STAFF, I REALLY WANT THEM TO LOOK INTO THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT LIKE, WHAT ARE THE RIGHT SPECIES FOR CONSTRAINED ENVIRONMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE GONNA BE EXPERIENCING EXTREME URBAN HEAT IS INFECTS AND THAT AREN'T, YOU KNOW, ARE NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS, RIGHT? THIS, OUR SECOND STREET IS, IS NICE, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT THE BLACKLAND PRAIRIE OR THE EDWARDS AQUIFER SORT OF RECHARGE ZONE OUT THERE.

UM, OR THE PLATEAU, SORRY.

UM, AND SO HOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE RIGHT SPECIES FOR THAT AND, AND WHAT ARE THE RIGHT SPECIES FOR, UM, FOR WATER CONSERVATION? I THINK THESE ARE ALL REALLY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS, BUT I ALSO, I ALSO THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO LOOK AT HOW WE'RE USING OUR WATER GENERALLY.

UM, THIS ISN'T SOMETHING I'VE, I'VE PUT A TON OF RESEARCH INTO, BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE AMOUNT OF BENEFIT, UM, THAT WE'RE GONNA GET OUT OF THE STREET TREE IS PROBABLY WORTH THE INVESTMENT OF WATER.

BUT YEAH.

YOU, SORRY, JUST TO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

YEAH, YEAH.

DO YOU ENVISION, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT OTHER MAJOR CITIES HAVE A SPECIFIC OFFICE, YOU KNOW, UH, DEDICATED TO MANAGING THIS UNDER THEIR UMBRELLA.

IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU ENVISION BEING KIND OF HAND IN HAND WITH THIS? LIKE, WE MUST HAVE THIS IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE WE'RE BEING GOOD STEWARDS OF THIS? BECAUSE I, I SEE YOUR POINT ABOUT THE REPLACEMENT AND THE WATER MAYBE BEING THE FULLEST WATER THAT WOULD BE USED IN PRIVATE YARDS IS NOW GONNA BE USED IN PUBLIC DOMAINS.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE A TREE IN YOUR YARD, YOU KNOW, USUALLY PEOPLE ARE MORE ATTUNED TO WATERING THAT TREE, WHEREAS IF IT'S SOMETHING IN THE MEDIA THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY EXIST IN YOUR PERSONAL SPACE, UH, THERE'S USUALLY NOT AS MUCH, YOU KNOW, ON US ON, ON SOMEONE DRIVING BY AND SEEING A LEAK OR DRIVING BY AND SEEING A DEAD TREE.

MM-HMM, , UM, OR LIKE, HEY, THE TREES HAVEN'T BEEN WATERED FOREVER, EVERYTHING'S PRETTY DEAD.

SO, UM, I ENVISION THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, THAT THE ROLE OF THIS OFFICE THAT HAS YET TO BE CREATED OR HOPEFULLY IS, WOULD TAKE ON THIS ISSUE.

AND THE RESOLUTION DOES TALK ABOUT, UM, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE, UM, SORT OF, UM, FTES.

UM, SO I THINK THAT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS STILL TO BE DETERMINED, BUT I THINK THAT'S A, IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT THING THAT, UM, LESLIE POOL'S OFFICE, UH, WAS, WAS VERY, UM, WHAT FELT WAS VERY IMPORTANT.

AND I THINK THAT, THAT WE NEED TO KIND OF EXPLORE IT FURTHER.

BUT YEAH, I THINK, I THINK THAT IT, IT, WHEN IT BECOMES A REQUIREMENT, IT IS BOTH A CODE ENFORCEMENT ISSUE.

UM, BUT IT ALSO, EVEN THEN, EVEN IN PLACES WHERE IT IS THE PRIVATE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN STREET TREES, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THE PHYSICAL ABILITY TO MAINTAIN THEIR TREES, AND THE CITY SHOULD BE PROVIDING SUPPORT THERE.

UM, I THINK THAT OUR MAINTENANCE EFFORT CAN GO A WHOLE LOT FARTHER IF OUR BASELINE STANDARD IS PEOPLE WHO CAN TAKE CARE OF THEIR TREES, UM, AND PEOPLE WHO CAN'T, WE HELP 'EM.

AWESOME.

UM, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS IN A, IN A SIMILAR REALM AND HAVE BEEN REALLY INTERESTED IN SIMILAR THINGS.

I THINK I SAW ONE MORE QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER BROOKS.

UM, LET'S SEE, LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER, WOULD THAT BRING ABOUT ANY REACTION OR IF I WERE CHARGED WITH SELECTING A STREET, STREET SPECIES, WHICH I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT, THEY'D BE THE FIRST PEOPLE I'D CALL.

UM, YEAH.

YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY I HAVEN'T DONE ANY ENGAGEMENT WITH THEM.

UM, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY KNOW A WHOLE LOT ABOUT NATIVE SPECIES AND, AND ECOSYSTEMS AND, UM, I HAVE BEEN CHATTING WITH A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE,

[00:50:01]

BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, I I SHOULD DEFINITELY REACH OUT TO THEM.

IS THERE, IS THERE ANY, UH, ANYTHING FROM LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDLIFE CENTER THAT I SHOULD REALLY BE LOOKING INTO? WELL, THEY'VE GOT QUITE A, A NATIONAL REPUTATION YEAH.

IN TERMS OF WILD FLOWERS, NOT THE, NOT NECESSARILY IN TERMS OF STREET TREES.

, THEY MAY NOT BE THAT INTERESTED OR THEY MAY BE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE.

I DON'T KNOW.

I MEAN, I HAVE, I'VE BEEN TALKING TO A NUMBER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS THAT ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN THIS SUBJECT MATTER, AND ESPECIALLY IN THE CONSTRAINED ENVIRONMENT.

UM, AND THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, I, I'M SURE THAT ONE OF THEM, IF THEY COULD FIND THE RIGHT GRANT MONEY, WOULD OPEN A NONPROFIT TOMORROW, EITHER, EITHER AT LADY BIRD JOHNSON, OR SOME OTHER FACILITY TO, TO DO TESTING ON THIS SORT OF THING.

THERE'S A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM, A LOT OF INTEREST.

UM, I DON'T KNOW OF ANY FACILITY THAT'S DOING TRUE TESTING RIGHT NOW.

UM, BUT I THINK THAT WELL, JUST, I THINK THERE'S A CERTAIN CACHET WITH USING NATIVE TREES.

I DON'T KNOW WHETHER NATIVE TO THE WOODS AND HILLS OF AUSTIN AND NATIVE TO THE STREETS OF AUSTIN ARE THE SAME THING.

BUT IF YOU CAN MANAGE TO USE TEXAS NATIVE TREES, THERE'S A CERTAIN ADDITIONAL CACHET.

CERTAINLY CHAIR SUMMERS.

I JUST HAVE A, I GUESS, QUESTION REQUEST.

UM, IF WE COULD HAVE, UM, AN UPDATE IN ABOUT TWO TO THREE MONTHS.

YEAH, I THINK THAT'S GOOD.

I ASSUME THERE'S GONNA BE SOME KIND OF STAFF ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AS WELL THAT WE WANNA STAY PLUGGED IN ON.

LIKE STAFF WILL BE QUEUING UP STUFF AND GETTING PUBLIC INPUT AND MAKING, MAYBE MAKING THE ROUNDS, OR IF THEY'RE NOT, THEN WE CAN FORCE THEM TO, SO, UM, OKAY.

YEAH, BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE AN UPDATE ON TARP AS YOU GET THE WORKING GROUP GOING AND YOU MEET WITH DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.

UM, JUST, AND THEN OF COURSE, THE CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER, I WOULD REALLY JUST KIND OF LIKE AN UPDATE HALFWAY THROUGH.

UM, IN PREPARATION FOR SEPTEMBER SO THAT WE COULD KIND OF COME UP WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS BASED OFF OF UPDATED INFORMATION.

SO WE'RE WORKING AHEAD OF THE GAME.

UM, LET'S DEFINITELY BRING THAT UP AGAIN AT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. BUT YEAH, I, I DEFINITELY AGREE WITH THAT.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, ANY OTHERS? ALL RIGHT.

SEE NONE.

I'LL, I'LL THANK YOU FOR YOUR REALLY GREAT PRESENTATION AND TAKING QUESTIONS FROM US TODAY.

WE, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

PLEASE STAY IN TOUCH.

WILL DO.

ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS.

UM, OUR NEXT ITEM,

[3. Discussion and approval of a recommendation on South Central Waterfront regarding multimodal transportation and transit supportive density]

WE'RE MOVING INTO DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. UM, OUR FIRST ITEM, WE DO HAVE SOME PRESENTERS, UM, SO WE'LL TAKE THAT UP RIGHT NOW.

THAT'S GONNA BE APPROVAL OF AND COMMEND A DISCUSSION, APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATION ON THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT REGARDING MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION AND TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE DENSITY.

WE DO HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM STAFF, SO WE THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

WE ALSO HAVE A DRAFT RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS CIRCULATED.

WE'LL TAKE THAT UP AFTER WE RECEIVE THE PRESENTATION.

ADDITIONALLY, UH, SINCE 2016, PROJECT CONNECT WAS IDENTIFIED AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, THE ALIGNMENT WAS, UM, IDENTIFIED AND THE ALIGNMENT WITHIN THIS DISTRICT WAS ACTUALLY, UM, DETERMINED, UM, LAST YEAR.

HI, GOOD AFTERNOON.

GOOD EVENING.

I SUPPOSE AT THIS POINT, MY NAME'S APRIL JSO.

I'M, I'M WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.

IT'S GREAT TO BE WITH YOU TONIGHT.

WHILE THEY'RE PULLING UP MY SLIDES HERE.

UM, MY TEAM AND MANY COLLEAGUES ACROSS THE CITY FROM MANY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT COMBINING DISTRICT AND DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, UH, ACTIVELY WITH MANY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, UM, AND, UH, SPECIFICALLY AND PRIMARILY DEPARTMENTS, UH, INCLUDING THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, HOUSING WATERSHED DEPARTMENT, THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TO COME UP WITH, UM, WHAT I AM PRESENTING TO YOU ON TONIGHT.

UM, BUT JUST IN CASE YOU'RE NOT TOTALLY FAMILIAR WITH THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT, UM, HOW WE GOT TO THIS PLACE WHERE WE HAVE A DRAFT CODE THAT WE'RE PUTTING FORWARD IN 2016, COUNSEL PUT FORWARD, UM, A RECOMMENDATION AND APPROVAL OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT VISION FRAMEWORK PLAN.

UM, AND AS A PART OF THAT VISION, IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT A REGULATING PLAN FOR THE DISTRICT BE WRITTEN INTO THE CITY'S CODE TO FULFILL THE VISION PLAN.

THE, UM, CODE WAS INITIALLY STARTED WITH BOTH VERSIONS OF THE FULL LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE UPDATES, BOTH OF WHICH HAVE FAILED.

UM, BUT, UH, IN 2022, WE WERE THEN ASKED BY COUNSEL IN A RESOLUTION TO, UM, TAKE UP THE, UM, TOPIC AGAIN.

AND SO WE INITIATED THE DEVELOPMENT OF, UM, OF THE CODE, UH, RELATED TO THIS DISTRICT.

UM, IN ADDITION, UM, AND AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE, UM, OF THE VISION FRAMEWORK PLAN, SOMETHING THAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED WAS THE INTEGRATION OF THE STREET NETWORK THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU, WHICH WAS INCORPORATED INTO THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.

UM,

[00:55:01]

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN 2016 AND WHEN WE HEARD FROM COUNCIL IN 2022, UM, THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT WERE PUT INTO PLACE.

UM, AND SO CITY COUNCIL'S RESOLUTION THEN UNDERSCORED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS.

UM, IT CALLED FOR DEVELOPING A CODE THAT ACCOMPLISHED A LOT, UM, SOME OF WHICH, UH, IS SHOWN IN FRONT OF YOU HERE.

UM, I'LL CALL SOME OF IT OUT.

INCREASING DEVELOPMENT ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, CREATING A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM AKIN TO DOWNTOWN THAT SUPPORTS PROJECT CONNECT, ALLOWING ENTITLEMENTS FOR REQUIRED INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITY BENEFITS, ENSURING THAT ENTITLEMENTS MEET MARKET DEMAND.

AND IMPORTANTLY, COUNCIL ASKED FOR US TO CREATE A CONNECTED, PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED MIXED USE DISTRICT WHERE THOUSANDS MORE AUSTINITES COULD LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY.

SO IT WAS A BIG ASK, AND WE GOT TO WORK.

UM, AS WE GOT TO WORK ON THIS CODE, WE HAD TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON SOME UPDATES, UH, TO LEGAL FINDINGS, UM, FROM WHAT WAS ASKED OF US.

SO, UM, THE VISION FRAMEWORK AND COUNCIL RESOLUTION ASKED FOR THIS TO BE A REGULATING PLAN.

HOWEVER, THE STRUCTURE OF THE CODE IS DIFFERENT FROM A REGULATING PLAN, AND THIS IS FOR TWO IMPORTANT REASONS.

FIRST, A REGULATING PLAN IS WHAT MUST HAPPEN IN AN AREA, AND WE HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TO CREATE AN INCENTIVIZED PROGRAM.

SECOND, UH, RECENT LEGAL FINDINGS HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT WE CANNOT SIMPLY WRITE A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

IT MUST BE PAIRED WITH A COMBINING DISTRICT OVERLAY.

SO THE ZONING, UH, REGULATIONS IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT WILL THEREFORE BE IMPLEMENTED BY COUNCIL ADOPTION OF AN OPTIONAL SET OF REGULATIONS AND BONUS PROGRAM THROUGH THE CREATION OF A COMBINING DISTRICT AND DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

SO, IF PASSED WITH THIS RESOLUTION, UH, THEN CITY IN, UM, THIS WOULD BE CONSIDERED A PAPER DISTRICT, AND THIS IS THE SAME THAT WAS DONE IN NORTH BURNETT GATEWAY, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THAT, THEN A CITY INITIATED REZONING OF THE PROPERTIES AND THE DISTRICT WILL OCCUR WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS THAT I WANNA CALL OUT.

UH, IT'S STAFF'S INTENT TO REQUEST THAT COUNCIL REZONE ALL OF THE PARCELS IN THE DISTRICT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF EXISTING PUDS PDAS AND THE PLAN DEVELOPMENT AREA THAT'S SHOWN, UH, IN FRONT OF YOU ON THIS MAP.

THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH HOW THIS IS, UH, THIS TYPE OF THING IS DONE ELSEWHERE, INCLUDING ON THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR.

THESE PARCELS WOULD STILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO OPT IN TO ASK TO BE REZONED INTO THIS COMBINING DISTRICT WITH DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

BUT THAT WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH A TYPICAL REZONING PROCESS, UM, THROUGH COUNCIL, SEPARATELY AND INITIATED BY THE PROPERTY OWNERS AND DEVELOPERS.

ONE ADDITIONAL ADJUSTMENT WE'VE MADE IN THE COMBINING DISTRICT IS THE ADDITION OF SEVERAL PARCELS FROM WHAT WAS INITIALLY PROPOSED IN THE VISION FRAMEWORK, EXTENDING THE SOUTHERN AND WESTERN BOUNDARY OF THE AREA.

AND THOSE EXTENSIONS ARE SHOWN ON THE MAP ON THE SCREEN TO THE SOUTH.

UM, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THESE EXTRA PARCELS TO SUPPORT PROJECT CONNECT AND TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AND TO THE WEST.

UH, WE EXTENDED THOSE BASED ON PUBLIC FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT THROUGH THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

AND WE AS STAFF FEEL, UH, AS THOUGH THIS ALLOWS FOR A COHESIVE APPROACH, UM, FOR URBAN DESIGN ON SOUTH FIRST AND SOUTH CONGRESS.

SO ONTO THE CODE ITSELF, UM, WE'VE PROVIDED IT IN BACKUP, AND YOU CAN DIG IN, BUT THIS IS HOW IT'S ORGANIZED.

AGAIN, THERE ARE THE ELEMENTS OF THE DRAFT COMBINING DISTRICT, UH, ON THE LEFT, AND THEN THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM ELEMENTS ARE ON THE RIGHT, AND I'LL DIG INTO SOME OF THAT IN JUST A MOMENT.

WE'VE BROKEN THIS DISTRICT DOWN INTO FIVE SUBDISTRICTS.

UM, THE SUBDISTRICTS ARE DISTINGUISHED FROM ONE ANOTHER IN TERMS OF BOTH FLOOR AREA RATIO OR FAR AS WELL AS HEIGHT LIMITS.

AND THESE SUBDISTRICTS ARE DESIGNED TO REDUCE IN DENSITY FROM THE MOST DENSE SUBDISTRICTS CLOSEST TO DOWNTOWN AND ADJACENT TO PROJECT CONNECT, AND THEN REDUCING DOWN FROM THERE.

SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN ASKED ABOUT, UH, QUITE A BIT IS RELATED TO

[01:00:01]

THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONES AND OVERLAYS, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT NOW.

UM, THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONES, OR THE ZONES THAT REFLECT THE FLOOD PLAIN IN AUSTIN THAT ARE SHOWN HERE, ARE GOING TO REMAIN IN THE DISTRICT AND WILL BE UPDATED AS IS REGULARLY DONE WITH THE CITY.

THE WATERFRONT OVERLAY CONTAINING THE AUDITORIUM SHORES, SOUTH SHORE, AND TRAVIS HEIGHTS SUBDISTRICTS WILL REMAIN.

HOWEVER, VARIOUS ELEMENTS SUCH AS BUILDING HEIGHT AND IMPERVIOUS COVER ARE GOING TO BE SUPERSEDED BY THE REGULATIONS IN THIS, UH, CODE.

THE LAND USES THAT WE HAVE PROPOSED HERE, UM, UH, FOR APPROVED LAND USES SUPPORT, TRANSIT ORIENTED ACTIVITIES, PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED ACTIVITIES, A MIX OF USES FOR DAY AND NIGHTTIME ACTIVITY, CREATIVE ENTERPRISE AND RECREATION AND ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVITY.

AS FOR THE PARKS AND OPEN SPACE IN THIS AREA, THE TEAMS WORKED HARD TO ESTABLISH WHAT WE CAN IN TERMS OF A STRUCTURE TO REALIZE THE OPEN SPACE AS WHAT, UH, AS WAS IDENTIFIED IN THE VISION PLAN.

UM, IT'S BECOME HARDER BASED ON, UH, RECENT STATE, UH, UM, LAWS THAT ARE NOW IN, IN PLAY, UM, IN THIS PART OF THIS CITY.

UM, THE ITEMS ON THE SCREEN ARE SOME OF THE IMPORTANT ASPECTS ON HOW WE'RE HOPING TO ACHIEVE THIS.

SO, REQUIRING PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE OPEN SPACE, UM, AT 5% OF THE SITE, UH, PARKLAND DEDICATION MAY BE CREDITED TOWARDS THE PARKS FEE.

IN LIEU AMOUNT BUILD OUT OF PARKS AMENITIES IS A COMMUNITY BENEFIT.

AND THEN BOTH PARKLAND DEDICATION AND BUILD OUT MUST MEET PARD CRITERIA AND BE ACCEPTED BY THE PARD DIRECTOR.

AS FOR THOSE THAT WALK AROUND THE SPACE.

SO THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE, WE'VE DEVELOPED STANDARDS SUCH THAT INTERNAL WALKWAYS AND STREETS HAVE REQUIREMENTS.

UM, WE CONSIDER PEDESTRIAN WALKWAYS FOR AN IMPORTANT REASON RELATED TO THIS DISTRICT.

UM, WE HAVE A GOAL OF BREAKING UP THE BUILDING SITE TO BE MORE FRIENDLY AT THE HUMAN SCALE.

SO THE CONCEPT THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU, UH, CALLED DENSITY DISTRIBUTION AREAS, REQUIRES THAT A SITE MUST NOT HAVE MORE THAN 90,000 SQUARE FEET, WHICH IS ROUGHLY PROPORTIONAL TO A DOWNTOWN BLOCK ABOUT 300 FEET BY 300 FEET.

UM, THIS IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN AUSTIN.

UM, AND DDAS ARE PUT FORWARD IN THIS CODE IN AN EFFORT TO GET TO THE, IN INTENT OF THE VISION AND THE PEDESTRIAN AND TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT WE'RE SEEKING AS A COMMUNITY, DESPITE THE FACT THAT MANY OF THESE PARCELS ARE IRREGULARLY SIZED, UM, AND, UM, AND HAVE SOME CONSTRAINTS, UH, UM, TO THEM.

BEFORE I GO INTO THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM AND SOME AMOUNT OF DETAIL, I MENTIONED THAT WE HAD TWO DIFFERENT ECONOMIC, UH, CONSULTING FIRMS SUPPORT US IN ANALYZING AND STRESS TESTING THE PROGRAM EPS AND HYATT BROWN EPS SUPPORTED US IN CALIBRATING THE BONUS AREA OF THE VARIOUS COMMUNITY BENEFITS.

AND HYATT BROWN ANALYZED HOW WE MIGHT SUCCESSFULLY STRUCTURE THE PROGRAM SO WE COULD GET A MYRIAD OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS DESIRED BY COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY.

AND THAT'S, UM, STILL ROUGHLY PENCIL IN TODAY'S ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.

UM, SO I'LL JUMP INTO THE BONUS PROGRAM NOW, AS MENTIONED, PRE, UH, WELL, I'M NOT EVEN SURE IF I MENTIONED THIS PREVIOUSLY, BUT, UM, UH, THE, THE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO HAVE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS THAT WAS ON A SLIDE SHOWING THE ORGANIZATION.

UM, AND THOSE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS ARE THOSE THAT, UM, GAIN PARCEL, SOME AMOUNT OF DENSITY.

UM, AND THOSE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS INCLUDE EN ENHANCED ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS, STREET SCAPE AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT STANDARDS, AND 5% OF ONSITE AFFORDABLE, UM, ON 5% OF HOUSING ONSITE MUST BE AFFORDABLE WITHIN A THREE TO ONE FLOOR AREA RATIO.

AND THEN THERE ARE OPTIONS FOR HOUSING THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN IN TERMS OF LEVELS OF AFFORDABILITY THAT BASED ON IF IT'S RENTAL VERSUS OWNERSHIP, UH, AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.

WE DID SOME ROUGH CALCULATIONS ON THE NUMBER OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS WE'RE LOOKING AT IF FULL BAILOUT OCCURS.

UM, AND, UM, WHAT YOU'LL SEE ON THE SCREEN IS THAT, UM, THE VISION PLAN CALLED FOR A CERTAIN NUMBER, UM, DESIRED OF AFFORDABLE UNITS, BUT DIDN'T NECESSARILY PUT TOGETHER AN ECONOMIC MODEL TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PAY FOR THAT.

UM, AND WHAT WE ARE GLAD TO SAY IS THAT IN THIS DESIGN, IF ALL PARCELS WERE TO OPT IN, ROUGHLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS 481 ONSITE AFFORDABLE UNITS.

SO IT'S, IT'S PRETTY CLOSE, NOT THE SAME.

AND CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS ENVISIONED IN THE VISION PLAN WAS AT A MUCH SMALLER SCALE.

THIS IS A MUCH LARGER SCALE, BUT AGAIN, THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS WASN'T DONE TO DETERMINE

[01:05:01]

HOW WE WOULD ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH PAYING TO GET ALL OF THOSE AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS ON SITE IN THE VISION PLAN.

SO, TO EXPLAIN THE REMAINDER OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, WE'VE CREATED THIS IMAGE FOR HOW IT FITS TOGETHER.

TOGETHER.

UM, SO ONCE A PARCEL OPS INTO BUILDING WITHIN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT COMBINING DISTRICT, THERE'S A BASE FLOOR AREA RATIO TO WHICH THEY'RE PERMITTED TO BUILD.

AND THEN IN ORDER TO ENTER INTO THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD BEYOND THAT BASE TO A DENSITY SHOWN IN THE SUBDISTRICT MAP, A SITE MUST ADHERE TO THE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS WITHIN THE FIRST THREE TO ONE FAR.

AND I TALKED ABOUT THOSE GATEKEEPERS.

THEN, TO ACHIEVE THE MAXIMUM DENSITY AS DESCRIBED IN THE SUBDISTRICT MAP, A SITE MUST THEN CONTRIBUTE FEES IN LIEU AND OTHER ONSITE COMMUNITY BENEFITS.

AND THAT'S BROKEN UP IN THE FOLLOWING WAY.

70% OF THE FEES IN LIEU WOULD BE, UH, EXCUSE ME, 70% OF THE DENSITY BONUS AVAILABLE MAY BE ACHIEVED THROUGH FEES IN LIEU AND DEDICATIONS.

THOSE FEES IN LIEU WOULD BE BROKEN DOWN INTO FEES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, PARKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FEE WOULD BE SPENT WITHIN A BOUNDARY THAT THE CITY IS, UH, DESCRIBING AS SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN.

THE PARKS FEE WOULD BE SPENT WITHIN A DISTANCE FROM THE PROPERTY FROM WHICH IT'S OBTAINED.

THIS IS AS IT'S DONE TYPICALLY WITH PARKS FEES.

AND THEN THE INFRASTRUCTURE FEE WOULD BE SPENT TO SUPPORT, UH, THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DISTRICT ITSELF.

THE OTHER 30% OF THE BONUS AREA AVAILABLE IN DEVELOPMENT MAY BE ACHIEVED THROUGH ADDITIONAL ONSITE COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT ARE SHOWN ON THE SCREEN.

SO JUST TO CALL SOME OF THEM OUT.

AFFORDABLE, CREATIVE SPACE, TRANSIT, SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE, MUSIC VENUES, OPEN SPACE AND PARK BUILD OUT, OR JUST, UH, SOME, SO THE, UM, IMAGE THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN IS A, AN ARTIST RENDERING OF WHAT THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE, UM, IF ALL PARCELS WERE TO OPT IN AT, AT, AT FULL BUILD OUT.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE DENSITY IS, UM, IS, UH, LARGEST TOWARDS DOWNTOWN AND BY THE LIGHT RAIL, UM, THAT WE'VE, UM, PUT IN SORT OF, UH, ON THAT BRIDGE EXTENDING ACROSS, UM, UH, CLOSEST TO US, UM, UH, ON, ON THIS SIDE OF LADY BIRD LAKE.

UM, AND THEN THE DENSITY MOVES DOWN AS YOU GET FURTHER AWAY FROM THAT PORTION OF THE CITY.

AND THEN THIS, THERE'S, IT'S A LOT OF SMALL WORDS TO SEE, BUT WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS SHOW WHAT THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE BASED ON AN EXISTING DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT APPLICATION THAT HAS COME INTO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, UM, IN THIS DISTRICT.

SO WHAT YOU SEE IN TERMS OF OUTPUT IS THAT, UM, THE DEVELOPMENT IS ABLE TO ACHIEVE ROUGHLY SIX TO ONE FLOOR AREA RATIO, AND IN RETURN COMMUNITY WOULD RECEIVE 21 ONSITE AFFORDABLE UNITS, SEVEN, $7.1 MILLION IN FEES IN LIEU FOR HOUSING PARKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE.

THIS WOULD BE BROKEN INTO THREE DENSITY DISTRIBUTION AREAS BASED ON THE SIZE OF THE SITE.

AND ADDITIONAL DENSITY IS GAINED, UM, BY VARIOUS ONSITE COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED TO BE PROVIDED, INCLUDING SOME TYPES OF COMMERCIAL MUSIC, PUBLIC ART, AND OPEN SPACE.

SO THERE ARE A COUPLE OF, UM, RECOMMENDED CHANGES SINCE WE INITIALLY PUT THIS DRAFT CODE OUT BASED ON PUBLIC COMMENT AND FEEDBACK.

UM, WE HAVE MADE SOME KEY ADJUSTMENTS TO THE DRAFT CODE.

UM, AND JUST TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THEM, UH, WE'VE EXPANDED THE BOUNDARY TO THE WEST.

AS I MENTIONED, WE'VE ADDED HEIGHT LIMITS.

THOSE WERE NOT PROVIDED BEFORE, BUT BASED ON PUBLIC COMMENT, WE DID ADD SOME, UM, THERE'S NO, UH, LIMIT TO SUBDISTRICT FIVE, WHICH IS THE, THE, THE HIGHEST AND, AND MOST DENSE.

BUT, UM, OTHERWISE THERE ARE SOME HEIGHT LIMITS THAT SEEM EQUIVALENT TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE PROVIDING, UM, UH, PUT APPLICATIONS, UH, TO OUR OFFICE.

UM, WE'VE ADDED BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN.

THERE'S AN AFFORDABLE CREATIVE SPACE COMMUNITY BENEFIT THAT'S BEEN ADDED, UM, AND THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING INVESTMENT AREA WAS ADJUSTED IN A COUPLE OF WAYS THAT I AM, I'D BE HAPPY TO DESCRIBE IN MORE DETAIL.

ADDITIONALLY, UH, THERE ARE REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC ACCESS EASEMENTS FOR PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE OPEN SPACE, AND WE'VE TEMPORARILY ADJUSTED THE BONUS, UH, TO ZERO SQUARE FEET FOR SOME NON-RESIDENTIAL ONSITE COMMUNITY BENEFITS WHILE WE AS A CITY, UM, ESTABLISH A COMPLIANCE STRUCTURE.

AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHEN WE INTEND TO GET TO THAT NEXT STEP.

UM, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS LIKE THE, THE BONUS, UH, FOR SOME NON-RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY BENEFITS

[01:10:01]

THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO GET TO SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.

UM, AND SO WE AS STAFF ARE PROPOSING THAT IN SORT OF THE IMMEDIATE TERM, JUST AFTER THE PAPER DISTRICT IS, UM, ESTABLISHED, WE WOULD, UM, GET TO WORK ON A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS.

SO ONE THING IS NON-RESIDENTIAL ONSITE COMMUNITY BENEFIT COMPLIANCE, WE WOULD, WE WOULD SORT THAT OUT.

UM, AS A CITY, UH, WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO, UM, EXPLORE TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS AS AN OPTION HERE, UH, IN THE DISTRICT.

SO WE WOULD BE GETTING TO WORK ON THAT.

AND THEN, UM, EXPLORING THE CODE AMENDMENT OF CONSTRUCTION IN THIS AREA TO MIMIC THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, UM, TO ALLOW FOR, UM, UH, UM, SOME ADJUSTMENTS.

IT'S DIFFERENT IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT THAN ELSEWHERE.

AND SINCE THIS IS JUST PROXIMAL TO THAT AREA AND CREATING HIGH-RISE, UH, POTENTIAL HIGH RISE, UH, COMMUNITIES, UH, WE WANNA BE CONSIDERATE OF THAT POTENTIAL CODE CHANGE AS WELL.

IN TERMS OF THE TIMELINE, UM, HERE'S WHERE WE'VE BEEN WITH THE PUBLIC COMMENT ASPECT.

THERE WAS A ONE MONTH PUBLIC REVIEW OF THE FIRST DRAFT THAT WAS, UM, PUT OUT ON FEBRUARY 2ND.

WE HAD THREE PUBLIC MEETINGS, TWO VIRTUAL, ONE IN PER, ONE IN PERSON AT THE CENTRAL PUB, UH, PUBLIC LIBRARY.

WE'VE SPOKEN WITH A NUMBER OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS INCLUDING THIS ONE TONIGHT.

UM, AND WE'VE BEEN INTEGRATING FEEDBACK BASED ON ALL OF THE COMMENTS WE'VE BEEN GETTING FROM ANY NUMBER OF STAKEHOLDERS, UM, BOTH PUBLIC, INTERNAL STAFF, UM, COMMISSIONS AND, AND THE, LIKE.

WE'RE SCHEDULED TO GO TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION NEXT WEEK ON APRIL 9TH, AND THEN SPEAK WITH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE, UH, OF COUNCIL ON APRIL 23RD, AND FINALLY GO BEFORE COUNCIL ON MAY 2ND.

SO WITH THAT, I WILL STOP HERE AND, UM, SEE IF YOU ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US.

WE WANNA CLARIFY EVEN FURTHER IN AN IMMEDIATE NEXT STEP, UM, AS, UH, THE PROJECT CONNECT PROCESS MOVES FORWARD SO THAT WE CAN BE MORE SPECIFIC IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE IN TERMS OF PROJECT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE HERE.

THANK, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.

UM, I DO HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.

I THINK IT'S QUICK ANYWAY.

IT'S ON, UH, SLIDE 14 WHERE YOU SHOW THE, UM, THE GATEKEEPERS.

AND SO, UM, MY QUESTION RELATES TO THE 30% ON ONSITE COMMUNITY BENEFITS, UM, AND SPECIFICALLY LIKE WHAT, LIKE, SO TO GET THAT EXTRA 30% BUMP, UM, THEY NEED TO DO SOME OF THIS, BUT THE QUESTION IS WHAT MIX? LIKE WE DON'T WANT EVERYBODY BUILDING A GROCERY STORE, RIGHT? I ASSUME WE DON'T NEED LIKE SEVEN GROCERY STORES THERE.

UM, UM, SO I MEAN, YOU KNOW, LIKE I THINK THAT QUESTION I HAVE IS ABOUT HOW THAT MIX IS ADMINIS, IS THAT'S ADMINISTRATIVELY APPROVED.

LIKE WHAT DOES THAT PROCESS LOOK LIKE? AND YOU ALSO MENTIONED A PAUSE ON LIKE WHAT MAYBE AN, I KNOW THERE'S AN ASTERISK SIDE, AFFORDABLE CREATIVE SPACE, SO MAYBE THAT'S THE ONE YOU'RE KIND OF UNDERSTANDING COMPLIANCE THERE A LITTLE BIT MORE.

CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT ELEMENT? AND I THINK FOR THIS BODY, I MEAN, OUR RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT IS REALLY ABOUT, AND WE'RE FOCUSED HERE MOSTLY ON MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION AND TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE DENSITY.

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REALLY, WHAT WE'RE ABOUT.

SO I'M NOTICING THAT TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE IS THERE.

I THINK THAT'S VERY CRUCIAL.

IF SOMETHING IS BORDERING THE LIGHT RAIL LINE, LIKE THEY, WE SHOULD HAVE A WAY TO SAY, YOU HAVE TO DO THIS, YOU NEED TO DO THIS.

LIKE, YOU CAN'T CHOOSE GROCERY STORE.

MAYBE YOU COULD CHOOSE A GROCERY STORE AND TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT YOU NEED TO DO THIS IF YOU'RE BORDERING THE LIGHT RAIL LINE.

YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT? YEAH, I'LL START.

AND THEN I HAVE A COLLEAGUE ON THE LINE, TYLER TRIPP, IF WE COULD HELP HIM UNMUTE THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.

UM, WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO SPEAK IN MORE DETAIL, UH, JUST IN TERMS OF THE FEE SCHEDULE THAT WAS ESTABLISHED AND IS ON THE LAST PAGE OF THE DRAFT DOCUMENT.

BUT, UM, YEAH, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT I DON'T THINK I MENTIONED IN THIS PRESENTATION THAT WE'RE UNDER IS THAT EVERY SINGLE PARCEL HAS TO BE EXACTLY, UM, ABLE TO OPT INTO EVERY SINGLE ELEMENT OF THIS DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

AND SO WE NEED TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT IS, UM, DIVERSE IN TERMS OF, UM, SPACE AND, UH, AND, AND, UM, ONSITE COMMUNITY BENEFITS.

WE, THERE WAS A LOT IN THE VISION FRAMEWORK THAT WAS ESTABLISHED IN TERMS OF WHAT WE ARE HOPING TO SEE REALIZED IN THIS AREA, AND WE WANTED TO ADHERE TO THAT.

SO THE ONSITE COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT ARE DETERMINED HAD A LOT TO DO WITH COMMUNITY INPUT AS WELL AS FOR, UM, FROM THE VISION FRAMEWORK IN THE, IN THE FIRST PLACE IN TERMS OF A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT GROCERY STORES, THERE ARE SOME PARAMETERS IN TERMS OF THE SIZE OF GROCERY STORES, UM, THAT WOULD RECEIVE COM, UH, DENSITY BONUS AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.

BUT, UM, SOME OF THIS, THE MARKET WILL DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, A LARGE GROCERY STORE.

WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT BOUTIQUE HERE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LARGE GROCERY STORES.

UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THE, THE MARKET WILL DECIDE HOW MANY GROCERY STORES ARE GOING TO BE SORT OF PROXIMAL TO THIS.

AND SO IN MANY INSTANCES THAT MAY BE THE CASE.

UM, WE AGREE THAT, UM, TRANSPORT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE IS SOMETHING THAT IS, UM, VERY IMPORTANT TO US.

AND, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING WE,

[01:15:01]

AND THE CREATIVE AFFORDABLE SPACE WAS ACTUALLY ASKED JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE THAT WASN'T IN THE INITIAL VERSION OF THE CODE THAT WE DRAFTED, BUT BASED ON COMMISSION AND COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HEARD WAS IMPORTANT.

SO WE JUST WANTED TO FLAG THAT IT WAS NEW AS OF, UH, THE COMMUNITY INPUT PROCESS.

SO, SO IS, IS IT THE CASE, LEMME MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING.

SO IF A DEVELOPER COMES WITH A SITE PLAN PROPOSAL AND THEY, THEY SAY, WE'VE DECIDED TO DO CHILD, CHILD OR ADULT CARE, THAT'S OUR CHOICE.

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE.

AND SO YOU WOULD JUST SAY, CHECK YOU'VE DONE ONE OR DO YOU HAVE TO DO TWO? OR LIKE, HOW DOES THAT, HOW DOES THAT ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL WORK TO, TO EVALUATE THAT FOR THE DEVELOPER? YEAH, SO I, TYLER, DO YOU WANNA TAKE THIS ON? SURE.

UH, TYLER TRIP, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.

UH, SO IT, IT REALLY IS JUST A MENU OF OPTIONS.

UH, AS APRIL SAID, THE MARKET WILL, UH, YOU KNOW, CONTROL TO A CERTAIN EXTENT SOME VARIATION OF THAT.

BUT, UH, WE DID WANT TO PROVIDE A, A FAIR BIT OF OPTIONALITY.

'CAUSE NOT ALL SITES ARE THE SAME.

UM, AND, AND WE CAN'T REALLY ENFORCE, UH, CERTAIN BENEFITS ON CERTAIN SITES AND CERTAIN ON OTHER SITES.

SO, AND, AND THAT'S, THAT'S A LEGAL THING.

UM, SO WE, WE REALLY NEED TO PROVIDE THE SAME OPTIONS TO ALL SITES AND THE DISTRIBUTION, UH, OUR DIVERSITY OF DIFFERENT, UH, COMMUNITY BENEFITS WOULD BE ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE AS STAFF COULD NOT CONTROL THROUGH A TYPICAL ZONING OR DENSITY BONUS PROCESS.

SO, SO IS IT THE CASE THAT AS LONG AS SOMEONE SHOWS THAT THEY HAVE MET ONE OF THESE ITEMS AND THAT WOULD MEET THE STAND STANDARD? NO, THERE'S A DENSITY.

OH, LIKE A, THIS IS SORT OF THE MENU, THE SCHEDULE.

OH, THE SCHEDULE DETERMINES HOW MUCH BONUS SQUARE FOOTAGE YOU GET BASED ON THE TYPE OF COMMUNITY BENEFIT.

GOT IT.

I JUST NEEDED TO SEE THAT.

DO IS, IS GENERATE PROFORMAS OR PRICES PER SQUARE FOOT, UH, GENERALLY FOR EACH OF THESE OTHER TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE OR, UH, SPECIFICALLY LIKE FOR CHILDCARE, IT'S HOW MUCH RENT IS LOST OVER THE TERM OF THE AGREEMENT THAT WOULD THEY WOULD NORMALLY OTHERWISE BE ABLE TO RECEIVE.

NO PROBLEM.

, WE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

UH, I'LL GO, UH, COMMISSIONER KAMAN.

UM, I HAVE A, A SMALL CONCERN HERE WITH THIS BOLDNESS PROGRAM STRUCTURE.

AND, UH, IT'S SORT OF SIMILAR TO WHAT I HAD WITH THE, UH, EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT IS THAT IT'S SORT OF TAKING THIS, YOU KNOW, SURVEY GENERATED CORNUCOPIA SORT OF VIBE THAT I HAVE GOING ON HERE.

AND I FEEL LIKE THE, UM, THE STRUCTURE HERE IS THAT THEY'RE CLEARLY FROM THIS, UH, WE WANT TO GIVE A MENU OF COURSE, BUT US AS A BUDDY, I ALWAYS SAY THIS, WE'RE INTERESTED IN HAVING PEOPLE TAKE TRANSIT AND HAVING TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE DENSITY AND MULTI MULTIMODAL CONNECTIVITY AROUND HERE.

AND IF WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH TOO MANY GOALS, THEN WE LOSE SIGHT OF THAT.

AND I DO THINK THAT THE WEIGHTS OF THESE ARE NOT REFLECTING THE GOALS THAT LIKE WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, INCLUDING THAT, YOU KNOW, A PUBLIC ART, YOU GET THE SAME AMOUNT OF, UM, THE WEIGHTS.

I THINK THE WEIGHTS ARE STRANGE AND I HAVE A MOTION TO A RECOMMENDATION TO CHANGE THIS, BUT I THINK THAT THE TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE BUILD OUT DOES NEED TO HAVE A GREATER WEIGHT COMPARED TO SOME OF THESE OTHER USES.

AND I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO BE WAITING THAT REALLY MUCH HIGHER IN TERMS OF THE GATEKEEPER CURRENT, LIKE IN, IN INFRASTRUCTURE HERE.

AND SO CAN YOU SORT OF WALK ME THROUGH HOW YOU CAME UP WITH THESE WEIGHTS AND HOW YOUR TEAM CAME UP WITH THE WEIGHTS HERE AND WHAT SORT OF CREDIT THAT, I MEAN, A RETAIL SPACE FOR 30 TO 40 YEARS IS ONE THING, BUT LIKE IF YOU, IF IT'S NOT MATCHING MARKET CONDITIONS, THEN IT'S GONNA BE EMPTY AND THAT'S WASTED MONEY FOR THE PUBLIC, AND WHEREAS CONCRETE ON THE GROUND IS A DIFFERENT SORT OF INVESTMENT.

AND SO WALK ME THROUGH HOW YOU CAME UP WITH THIS STRUCTURE AND WHY THE WEIGHTS ARE THAT THE WAY THAT THEY ARE.

YEAH, I'LL START AND THEN PITCH IT BACK OVER TO TYLER.

BUT, UM, SO IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HAD OUR ECONOMIST, UM, GO THROUGH AND PROVIDE INFORMATION IN TERMS OF, UM, UH, COST OF, UM, THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITY.

UM, BUT TYLER, DO YOU WANNA TAKE IT FROM HERE? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

SO, UM, ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT, AND, AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT THIS HAS BEEN DONE TO THIS EXTENT IN A BONUS PROGRAM, IS WE WERE REALLY TRYING TO MAKE, UM, THE, UH, VALUE OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS EQUIVALENT IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF COST TO, UH, THE DEVELOPER OR THE APPLICANT.

UM, SO, UH, THE ONES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, PER DOLLAR ARE EASY.

UM, AND THEN WHAT WE HAD OUR CONSULTANT

[01:20:01]

UM, SO THAT'S HOW THOSE WERE CALIBRATED.

NOW, WHAT WE DID ACTUALLY INTENTIONALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, STAY SILENT ON, UM, BECAUSE IT'S MORE OF A POLICY DECISION IS THE WAITING OF, UH, VARIOUS COMMUNITY BENEFITS OVER OTHERS.

UM, WE ARE TRYING TO SUPPORT A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UM, PRIORITIES, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN ALL PRIORITIES NEED TO BE PRIORITIZED THE SAME.

SO, UM, A LOT OF WHAT GOING THROUGH THIS PUBLIC PROCESS AND GOING FORWARD TO PLANNING COMMISSION COUNCIL IS GOING TO, UH, BE HOW WE SHOULD BE WAITING THESE POTENTIALLY GRANTING, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE MORE SQUARE FOOT FOR A PARTICULAR, UH, USE OR BENEFIT, UM, THEN WOULD BE JUST BASED ON THE ECONOMIC CALIBRATION.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE POLICY DECISION THAT WE AS STAFF DID NOT MAKE AND NOW WE'RE TURNING TO, UH, THE PUBLIC PROCESS TO, TO HELP GUIDE THAT A LITTLE MORE.

I KNOW THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER HAD A QUESTION.

UH, THANK YOU.

UM, I'LL START WITH A COMMENT AND THEN A QUESTION ONE IS, UH, THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING HERE AND FOR WHAT HAS BEEN A REALLY AMAZING PUBLIC OUTREACH.

I MEAN, I'VE SEEN YOU GUYS ALL OVER THE PLACE AND I THINK THIS LAST DRAFT YOU GUYS DID IS REALLY GREAT AND I HAD TO DELETE A BUNCH OF STUFF FROM MY RECOMMENDATIONS.

I WAS LIKE, WELL, THEY ALREADY FIXED THAT.

UM, AND I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE, RIGHT, YOU GUYS HAVE TO DEAL WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES HERE.

YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING AT THIS AS, UM, SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, CAN REALLY ENHANCE PROJECT CONNECT.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, I WAS WATCHING YOU GUYS TALK TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.

THEY HAD A VERY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.

UM, OUR PERSPECTIVE IS RIGHT, BUT THAT'S OKAY.

UM, THE, THE MAIN THING I WANT TO ASK ABOUT IS, UM, FEE AND L RIGHT? I'M GENERALLY ALL FOR FEE AND L UM, RIGHT.

IF WE CAN BUILD MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ELSEWHERE, LET'S DO IT.

THE, THE WHERE I IF GET A LITTLE QUEASY ABOUT IT IS WHEN IT COMES AROUND OUR LIGHT RAIL CORRIDOR, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE CAN'T NECESSARILY BUILD, UM, AFFORDABLE TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING ELSEWHERE, RIGHT? WE'RE VERY LIMITED IN WHAT WE CAN DO, WHICH IS WHY I WAS REALLY EXCITED TO SEE YOU GUYS ADD THAT CLAUSE IN THERE THAT IT CAN, IT, YOU KNOW, UH, WITHIN A HALF MILE OF A CAT METRO RAIL STOP OR ONE FOURTH MILE OF A CAPITAL METRO BUS STOP, AS YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE OPTIONS THERE.

UM, I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS ON THAT.

ONE.

UH, IS THE TERM CAPITAL METRO RAIL STOP, UH, ONE, DOES THAT INCLUDE FUTURE RAIL? AND ALSO DOES THAT INCLUDE LIGHT RAIL? IT IT DOES, IT'S MEANT TO COVER BOTH CURRENT AND FUTURE.

UM, AND THEN THE, THE SECOND THING IS, UM, IS THERE A REASON WHY WE NEED TO KEEP IT WITHIN THE SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN AREA? 'CAUSE I DEFINITELY GET THAT FOR THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, CRITERIA MM-HMM.

UM, BUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SUPPLANTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THAT COULD HAVE BEEN ALONG THE TRANSIT CORRIDOR, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT WOULD BE JUST AS GOOD FOR THE CITY IF WE WERE ABLE TO BUILD THAT ALONG SOUTH CONGRESS.

UM, VERSUS IF WE WERE ABLE TO BUILD THAT ALONG RIVERSIDE OR MAYBE, YOU KNOW, OVER IN HERITAGE.

RIGHT? UM, AND YOU WOULD STILL HAVE ACCESS TO THESE AMENITIES VIA THE LIGHT RAIL.

SO IS THERE A REASON WHY WE NEED TO CONTAIN THAT TO WITHIN THE SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN DISTRICT THAT WAS KIND OF OUTLINED THERE? MM-HMM.

UM, SO WE'VE BEEN GIVEN A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF FEEDBACK FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT GROUPS.

AND THE VISION FRAMEWORK REALLY TRIED TO EMPHASIZE THE NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THIS DISTRICT SPECIFICALLY.

AND SO A CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE FACED WITH IS REALLY TRYING TO IDENTIFY AND ACCOMMODATE AND PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN, IN VARIOUS PLACES OF THE, OF THE CITY THAT HAVE NOT TRADITIONALLY HAD AFFORDABLE HOUSING THERE.

AND SO, UM, AND SO THE DISTRICT BEING ONE OF THEM, UH, AS AN IDENTIFIED AREA.

SO THAT IS WHY WE HAVE THE, UM, REQUIRED ONSITE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, CRITERIA ESTABLISHED THERE.

AND THEN, UH, THE SOUTH CENTRAL, UM, AUSTIN DISTRICT IS ANOTHER WAY TO SORT OF PUT SOME PARAMETERS ON, UM, THE GOAL TO HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEARBY TO THIS DESIRABLE AREA WHERE WE HOPE THE FOLKS THAT ARE ABLE TO LIVE IN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING GO AND VISIT AND, AND SHOP AT THE GROCERY STORE THERE AND, AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.

UM, UH, BUT PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN PLACES THAT DON'T TYPICALLY SEE IT LIKE CENTRAL AUSTIN.

UH, DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER ONE, COMMISSIONER KAMAN? IS IT YEAH, QUICK.

UPON JUST LIKE MY REGULAR READING AND NOT JUST LIKE A SUPER, SUPER CLOSE READING, UM, THE, I REALLY LIKE THESE, UH, THE WAY THAT YOU HAVE DESIGN THE RIGHTS OF WAY FOR THE INTERNAL CIRCULATION ROUTE.

UM, 'CAUSE I THINK SO, BUT I HAVE, UM,

[01:25:01]

I THINK THESE ARE REALLY HIGH QUALITY AND ARE GONNA BE GREAT.

UM, IS THERE A REQUIREMENT IN HERE THAT, UM, THAT ALL THESE INTERNAL CIRCULATION ROUTES ARE GONNA BE PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE? YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE RUNNING INTO GATES AND WALLS OR ANYTHING OF THAT VARIETY? YES.

CHAD, DO YOU WANNA SEE MORE , CHAD SHARD? UM, YES, THAT'S CORRECT.

PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE, PERMANENT, PERMANENT ACCESS EASEMENTS ALONG THOSE.

UM, AND THE INTERNAL CIRCULATION ROUTES, JUST TO CLARIFY, ARE ALONG THOSE DENSITY DISTRIBUTION AREAS.

AND SO IF YOU WERE TO GET ON A MORE MICRO SCALE AND DO, YOU KNOW, PERMEABLE THOROUGH AFFAIRS THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY THESE DDA BOUNDARIES, THOSE HAVE PAES AS WELL FOR THAT EQUITABLE ACCESS.

I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY UNIQUE ABOUT THIS PLAN.

LIKE, I LIVE REALLY NEAR THE DOMAIN AND LIKE, WHICH IS SORT OF A SIMILAR CONCEPT IN CERTAIN WAYS, BUT YOU'LL JUST BE WALKING ALONG A PATH AND SUDDENLY LIKE YOU RUN INTO A DUMPSTER, LIKE, LIKE .

I DON'T, I MEAN, WHAT WAS, WHAT'S UP WITH THAT GUYS? OKAY.

DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTERS? WE DO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION TO TAKE UP HERE IN JUST A MOMENT.

QUESTIONS.

UM, I, YOU WROTE THIS COMM COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER, SO I, I'M GONNA THINK YOU PROBABLY WANNA MAKE THE MOTION FOR THIS, SO SURE.

I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION.

I TALKED TO A LOT OF FOLKS FROM THE, NOT A LOT, A COUPLE FOLKS FROM THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD.

SO WE HAD A RECOMMENDATION PRECIATE IT, UH, VIA EMAIL.

IT'S ALSO, UH, IN THE BACKUP ONLINE, IT'S ALSO IN THE PAPER PACKET IF YOU'RE HERE.

SO WE HAD A MOTION FROM COMM, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER, UM, UH, COMMISSIONER COMAN WILL SECOND.

AND SO WE ARE ON TAP.

SO DO YOU WANNA, UH, UH, PRESENT THIS TO US A LITTLE BIT AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT? YEAH, I'LL EXPLAIN IT.

AND THEN I KNOW WE HAVE ONE AMENDMENT AND THEN I MAY HAVE ANOTHER AMENDMENT AS WELL.

I'LL ALSO SAY, UH, APOLOGIES FOR THE TIMING ON THIS 'CAUSE UM, I KEPT HEARING THAT THERE WAS GONNA BE, UH, A NEW DRAFT THAT WAS, UH, SUPER TRANS AND SUPPORTIVE AND IT WAS, UM, BUT THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T SEND IT OUT TO Y'ALL, UH, WAY EARLIER.

'CAUSE I, UH, UH, WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WEREN'T HAVING TO GO STRIKE PARTS THAT, UH, THEY ALREADY INCORPORATED, WHICH THEY DID.

AND THAT'S, UM, FANTASTIC.

SO, UH, REALLY THE WHERE AS IS KIND OF FOCUS ON TWO THINGS.

ONE, UM, FOR PROJECT CONNECT TO BE SUCCESSFUL, BOTH IN TERMS OF RIDERSHIP AND IN TERMS OF, UH, RECEIVING FEDERAL FUNDING.

UH, WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT WE BUILD DENSITY AROUND THE HALF MILE STATION AREA AND THAT WE BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

UH, AND THE SECOND IS ACKNOWLEDGING THAT A LOT OF THIS COMES FROM THE 2016 SOUTHCENTRAL, UH, WATERFRONT VISION PLAN.

AND IF YOU READ THAT PLAN, OBVIOUSLY IT WAS BEFORE PROJECT CONNECT, UM, BUT A LOT THE PLAN DOES TALK ABOUT TRANSIT, BUT IT'S VERY MUCH TALKING ABOUT IT, UM, ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE DISTRICT, SPECIFICALLY ON THE MAJOR ARTERIALS.

UH, AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED, RIGHT? WE HAVE A PROJECT CONNECT LIGHT RAIL STATION THAT IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.

UM, SO WITH THAT, MAYBE THERE ARE SOME CHANGES WE WANNA MAKE, UM, GOING FORWARD.

SO THERE ARE TWO SUGGESTED CHANGES IN THERE.

UM, FIRST IS RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO CONSIDER AND INITIATE AMENDMENTS TO THE A SMP STREET NETWORK TABLE FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DISTRICT.

UPON THE PUBLISHING OF THE PROJECT CONNECT NEPA, EIS RECORD OF DECISION.

UM, AND THIS IS ON SLIDE THREE IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT YOUR SLIDE.

UM, BUT IF YOU CAN SEE WE'VE GOT, UM, BARTON SPRINGS ROAD KIND OF HOOKING AROUND AND MAKING THIS L SHAPE.

UM, AND THAT L SHAPE IS GONNA COME RIGHT WITH THE LIGHT RAIL STATION.

UH, IT IS LISTED RIGHT NOW IN THE A SMP AS A LEVEL THREE STREET.

UM, THAT MEANS IT'LL HAVE TWO GENERAL TRAFFIC LANES SEPARATED BY A MEDIAN BIKE LANES AND THEN IT SHOULD HAVE A LARGER SIDEWALK AS WELL.

UM, THAT IS A LOT OF RIGHT OF WAY AND PARTICULARLY I THINK THAT IS A VERY AUTO ORIENTED RIGHT OF WAY.

UM, AND AGAIN, IT'S SOMETHING THAT CAME STRAIGHT FROM 2016.

UM, IF WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IS THE MOST TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE STREET AROUND, UH, A LIGHT RAIL STATION, I WOULD IMAGINE WE WOULDN'T THINK OF THAT.

UH, AND THERE'S THE OTHER ISSUE OF RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS GONNA BE ELEVATED.

WE DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GONNA BE ON STREET.

UM, AND LET'S JUST SAY IT'S ON STREET FOR A SECOND.

I WOULD LIKE YOU TO IMAGINE, UH, HOW DIFFICULT IT WOULD BE FOR PEOPLE TO TURN LEFT BACK ONTO RIVERSIDE WHEN THERE'S ALSO A TRAIN TURNING LEFT AND COMING BACK IN.

RIGHT? THAT WOULD CREATE A MESS.

UM, PART OF THE ISSUE IS THOUGH THAT THE A AS SMP IS, UH, SPEC NOT EASY TO CHANGE.

UH, IT REQUIRES A VERY LONG PROCESS, A LOT OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, UH, AND IT'S KIND OF BUILT IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO DO ONE-OFF CHANGES LIKE THIS.

UM, SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE KIND OF SUGGESTING PRETTY FAR IN ADVANCE THAT WE PUT THIS ON THE RADAR THAT WHEN PROJECT CONNECT FINALLY MAKES THE DECISIONS OF, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE BUILDING, THIS IS WHEN WE'RE BUILDING IT, WE REVISIT THIS STREET NETWORK, UH, TO LOOK AT, ALRIGHT, WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS WE CAN MAKE THIS, UH, DISTRICT TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE.

UM, I ALSO JUST ADD ONE THING IN THAT

[01:30:01]

UM, AND YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY ALSO HAD A CONCERN THAT, UM, RIGHT AWAY THIS BIG COULD INHIBIT SOME DEVELOPMENT.

UM, OR AT LEAST WE COULD HAVE MORE DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT IT.

UM, BUT IT WAS SO DIFFICULT TO AMEND THE ASS AND P THAT WASN'T EVEN SOMETHING THEY REALLY CONSIDERED.

UM, THE SECOND ONE, AND I I WOULD SAY IF YOU HAVE YOUR PRESENTATION OUT, GO TO UH, SLIDE EIGHT ON THIS.

UM, SO ONE OF THE FANTASTIC CHANGES THEY MADE IS THE THREE PARCELS CLOSEST TO THE LIGHT RAIL STATION WHERE THAT STAR IS USED TO BE SUBDISTRICT FOUR.

UH, THEY UP ZONE THAT TO, I GUESS UP ZONING ISN'T THE RIGHT WORD, BUT THEY, UH, RECLASSIFIED IT TO SUBDISTRICT FIVE, UH, WHICH MAKES THAT AREA MUCH MORE TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE.

I WOULD STILL SAY I HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT THOSE PARCELS DIRECTLY ON RIVERSIDE DRIVE, UH, THAT ARE ZONED SUBDISTRICT THREE AND EVEN SOME OF THOSE THAT ARE SUBDISTRICT FOUR IN THAT, THOSE ARE PARCELS THAT ARE GONNA HAVE VERY CLOSE ACCESS TO THE LIGHT RAIL STATION.

UM, AND I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE SHOULD BE MAKING THOSE AS TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE AS POSSIBLE.

UM, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHY THEY'RE NOT RIGHT AND THAT WE DO HAVE TO CONSIDER THE REST OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IF WE WANT TO CALL THAT COMPATIBILITY OR IF WE WANNA CALL THAT TAPERING OFF DENSITY.

UH, WE CAN CALL IT WHATEVER WE WANT.

AND THERE ARE DEFINITELY COMMISSIONS WHO WILL DISAGREE WITH US ON THIS.

UH, BUT I WOULD SAY, AND OUR PERSPECTIVE OF TRYING TO MAKE THIS AS TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE AS POSSIBLE, WE SHOULD SAY THAT ALL OF THE PARCELS ON RIVERSIDE DRIVE SHOULD BE SUBDISTRICT FOUR OR FIVE.

AND THAT BUILDING TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE IS MORE IMPORTANT, UH, THAN HAVING HEIGHTS THAT ARE MORE RELATIVE TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT THAT'S CURRENTLY AROUND THERE.

UM, SO I GUESS ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? AND THEN WE CAN GET INTO AMENDMENTS ALSO, IF YOU GUYS WANT TO CHIME IN ON ANYTHING, FEEL FREE THAT WOULD BE HAPPY TO REACT TO THE FIRST PORTION OF THINGS.

I WOULD JUST SUGGEST AS YOU DID THAT, WHATEVER YOU START, UM, INITIATING WITH THE A SMP, YOU KNOW, SHOULD PUT WAIT UNTIL THE PROJECT CONNECT, UM, DECISION HAS BEEN MADE BECAUSE I AM SURE THAT YOU ALL UNDERSTAND.

BUT JUST TO REITERATE, THERE ARE TWO OPTIONS THAT ARE BEING CONSIDERED THROUGH THE PUBLIC NEPA REVIEW PROCESS RIGHT NOW FOR THIS.

UM, THERE'S THE, I'M GONNA WORK REAL HARD TO GET THIS, UH, LANGUAGE CORRECT.

THERE'S THE AT GRADE AND THEN THERE'S THE EXTENDED BRIDGE OPTION THAT ARE BOTH ELEVATED BRIDGE OPTION, ELEVATED BRIDGE OPTION THAT ARE BEING CONSIDERED HERE.

UM, AND SO, UM, THAT WILL, AS YOU MENTIONED, IMPACT SORT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE, AT THE GROUND LEVEL.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND IF THE A SMP WAS VERY EASY TO AMEND, I WOULDN'T EVEN SUGGEST PUTTING IT IN RIGHT NOW, BUT BECAUSE I THINK IT IS SO DIFFICULT, I THINK IT IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD START THE CONVERSATION NOW ON.

I I THINK IT'S SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO FLAG.

I MEAN, I THINK THE PROJECT CONNECT ORDINANCE THAT PASSED A COUPLE, LIKE A YEAR OR SO AGO, LIKE HELPS US THERE WITH SOME OF THAT.

BUT LIKE, BECAUSE THIS IS JUST SORT OF MOVING ON THE GROUND, I THINK IT'S REALLY GOOD TO HAVE IT IN HERE AS A, JUST A REMINDER TO US AND UH, A WAY THAT WE CAN ALSO REACH OUT TO OFFICES AND, UM, AND, AND SET THOSE REMINDERS AS SOON AS AS THAT PROCESS UM, CONTINUES AND WE FIGURE OUT WHETHER WE'RE GOING ELEVATE IT, I MEAN, IF WE'RE GOING ELEVATE IT, YOU KNOW, I GUESS YOU DON'T EVEN TECHNICALLY HAVE TO BE IN THE STREET POSSIBLY.

LIKE IT'S, IT'S COMPLICATED.

YOU COULD BE GOING THROUGH A PLAZA OR SOMETHING.

SO WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

BUT YEAH, I, I, I DEFINITELY AGREE.

OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS ABOUT THE RECOMMENDATION? OKAY.

I AM AWARE THAT THERE MAY BE, UH, UH, SOME PROPOSED AMENDMENTS.

SO, UH, IF ANYONE HAS THOSE, PLEASE SPEAK UP.

COMMISSIONER GOMAN, UH, I MOVE TO AMEND.

AND WHAT IS YOUR AMENDMENT? ? UH, THE UTC, UH, TO ADD A BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, UH, THE UTC RECOMMENDS THAT THE BONUS PROGRAM STRUCTURE REFLECT A GREATER NEED FOR TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DISTRICT BY GIVING A GREATER WEIGHT TO THESE IMPROVEMENTS AS COMPARED TO THE OTHER ONSITE COMMUNITY BENEFITS.

AND THAT'S WHAT WE WERE DIGGING INTO ON JUST A SECOND AGO.

I'LL SECOND THAT.

UM, SO WE ARE NOW DISCUSSING THE MOTION.

SO ARE THE, THE AMENDMENTS.

SO IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THE AMENDMENT QUESTIONS? YOU DUG IN ON THAT PRETTY WELL? IF NOT, I'M GONNA CALL FOR A VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT.

UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE AMO AMENDMENT THAT, UH, DAN COMMISSIONER KAMAN JUST READ, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS.

INVITE DISCUSSION ON THIS 'CAUSE I, I, I THINK THERE IS SOME FAIR BACK AND FORTH HERE, BUT, UM, UH, I'LL, I'LL READ IT AND THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT A SECOND.

LOOKS LIKE WE ARE UNANIMOUS OF THOSE IN ATTENDANCE.

SO THAT DOES PASS.

AND SO WE HAVE NOW AMENDED THE, UH, THE, THE RECOMMENDATION.

ARE THERE ANY FURTHER, UH, DISCUSSION OR, UM, OR MOTIONS? SO I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND YES.

UM, AND I'D

[01:35:01]

UM, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE UTC RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ALTER THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT BINDING DISTRICT AND DENSITY BONUS REGULATIONS TO ALLOW FEES IN LIEU TO GO TOWARDS THE FINANCING AND PRODUCTION OF AFFORDABLE UNITS OUTSIDE OF SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN AS LONG AS THEY'RE LOCATED WITHIN A HALF MILE OF A CAPITAL METRO RAIL STOP OR ONE FOURTH MILE OF A CAPITAL METRO HIGH FREQUENCY BUS STOP.

SO THIS WOULD CHANGE TWO THINGS FROM, FROM THEIR EXISTING OR RECOMMEND TWO CHANGES.

ONE IS THAT WE ALLOW FEES IN LIEU OUTSIDE OF SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN IF THEY'RE WITHIN THAT AREA.

UM, AND TWO, IN SPECIFYING THAT IT NEEDS TO BE IN A QUARTER MILE OF A HIGH FREQUENCY BUS STOP.

'CAUSE I'M THINKING WHAT, WHAT IS A COMPARABLE SERVICE TO WHAT IS BEING OFFERED TO SOUTH CENTRAL? UM, AND TO ME THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE A HIGH FREQUENCY BUS.

IF YOU HAVE A BUS COMING EVERY 30 MINUTES, YOU'RE NOT NEARLY GETTING THE SAME BENEFIT THAT YOU WOULD BE, UH, IN TERMS OF GETTING A LIGHT RAIL.

UH, I THINK THAT'S FAIR.

ARE YOU PROVIDING A SECOND? YES.

ONE SECOND.

OKAY, SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER KAMAN.

SO NOW WE CAN DISCUSS, AND I, THIS ONE MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT, YEAH, LIKE YOU, YOU NOTICED THIS MIGHT MIGHT BE A LITTLE MORE CONTROVERSIAL.

I HAVE MIXED FEELINGS.

I'LL JUST SAY LIKE, I THINK, UM, ON THAT ONE, I DO THINK THERE'S SOME ISSUES WITH THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT, UM, IN TERMS OF LIKE, I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW MUCH AREA IN THERE IS ZONED FOR MULTIFAMILY NOW OR WILL BE IN THE FUTURE ZONE FOR MULTIFAMILY.

SOMEBODY HAS THOSE NUMBERS, THAT'S NOT ME.

I COULD GO FIND THEM, I'M SURE IF I LOOKED THINGS UP.

I ALSO KNOW THAT THIS IS AN AREA WHERE IT'S ACTUALLY, UM, MAYBE THE AREA THAT HAS TENDED TO OPPOSE A LOT OF DEVELOPMENTS MOST VIGOROUSLY IN THE CITY.

AND SO, UM, I, I HAVE SOME CONCERNS THAT IF WE'RE SAYING THE FEES IN LIEU HAVE TO BE USED WITHIN THIS ZONE AND WE'RE, UH, PUTTING THAT INTO SORT OF AN EMBATTLED PROCESS, UM, THAT THAT COULD BE A LITTLE BIT OF A CONCERN.

UM, I DO AGREE THAT I HAVE A HUGE BENEFIT IN SORT OF FAIR HOUSING.

SO LIKE PUTTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, NOT IN THE SAME, YOU KNOW, THREE, UH, CENSUS TRACKS THAT WE'VE ALWAYS PUT IT IN, BUT SPREADING IT OUT THROUGH THE CITY IN HIGH OPPORTUNITY AREAS LIKE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT.

SO I'M VERY ATTUNED TO THAT.

SO I DO LIKE KIND OF GET THAT ON SOME LEVEL, BUT THEN I HAVE SORT OF LIKE A MIXED, A MIXED FEELING BECAUSE LIKE I DO THINK THAT THESE BENEFITS CAN, CAN GO DIFFERENT PLACES AND THIS IS GONNA MAKE IT EASIER TO GET TO THESE PLACES.

SO I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MIXED FEELINGS ON THAT.

I, I'M CURIOUS WHAT OTHER COMMISSIONERS THINK.

SORRY, I'M OVER HERE.

LIKE RIGHT.

AND AMEN.

UM, I, I JUST FEEL THAT THE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO STAY WITHIN AND SO IF WE OPEN IT UP, WE'RE OPENING PANDORA'S BOX TO GO ANYWHERE.

AND I, I'M JUST NOT, THIS IS MY DISTRICT AND SO I'M KIND OF LIKE A LITTLE PROTECTIVE MOM RIGHT NOW OF LIKE, THIS IS MEANT TO BE, TO HELP THIS AREA AND NOT OTHERS.

AND SO I WOULD PROBABLY NOT KIND OF OBJECT TO THAT.

WELL, SO, SO JUST TO CLARIFY WHAT THE ZONE IS, RIGHT.

SO THE ZONE IN WHICH THE FEES IN LIEU CAN BE ALLOCATED, UH, OUTSIDE OF SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT RIGHT NOW IS, UM, DEFINED BY LADYBIRD LAKE TO THE NORTH EAST BEND WHITE TO THE SOUTH I 35 TO THE EAST AND MOPAC TO THE WEST.

SO I MEAN, IT GOES PRETTY FAR OUTSIDE OF SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT NOW, RIGHT.

WHAT I'M SAYING IS, YOU KNOW, RIGHT, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT IS PROVIDING THE MOST COMMENSURATE BENEFIT, I WOULD POSIT THAT A AND, AND I WOULD EVEN BE WILLING TO NARROW THIS DOWN TO JUST RIVERSIDE, BUT RIGHT.

BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE I'M THINKING THIS COULD BE REALLY USEFUL.

BUT AN AFFORDABLE UNIT THAT IS BUILT RIGHT NEXT TO, UM, A LIGHT RAIL STATION RIVERSIDE MAY BE MORE BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMUNITY.

I, I WOULD PAUSE IT IS MORE BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMUNITY THAN ONE THAT IS BUILT DEEP ON SOUTH FIRST STREET, RIGHT BY EAST BEND WHITE, RIGHT? WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE A, A CAR MOST LIKELY IN ORDER TO LIVE.

WHEREAS WE CAN PROVIDE MORE AFFORDABLE UNITS CLOSE TO A LIGHT RAIL STATION OR TO A HIGH FREQUENCY BUS STATION WHERE YOU MAYBE DON'T HAVE AS MANY TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES.

I, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GREAT BENEFIT.

UM, I THINK THAT LIKE, UM, THIS IS, I THINK IT, THIS IS JUST 7 8, 7 0 4 IS JUST THE, IS THE, HAS A SIMILAR BOUNDARY, BUT IN THERE THIS IS RESTRICTING THE MONEY AS IT CURRENTLY STANDS TO THREE CORRIDORS, WHICH IS SOUTH LAMAR, SOUTH FIRST AND SOUTH CONGRESS, WHICH IS THE 8 0 1, THE 10 OR THE 8 0 3, UM, OR THE 1 0 5 I THINK, WHICH IS NOT A GREAT BUS LINE, BUT I THINK IF WE MAKE IT A, UM, FREQUENT SERVICE, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I LIKE.

BUT, UM, WHEN YOU WANNA THINK ABOUT WHAT IS AS SIMILAR TO THIS EXPERIENCE THAT YOU CAN GET FOR THIS FEE AND LOAN MONEY GOING TOWARDS? WELL, I THINK IT'S LAKEFRONT PROPERTY, WHICH IS,

[01:40:01]

YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE YOUR, YOUR, IT WON'T BE USED THERE, BUT, UH, YOU'RE, I DON'T THINK YOU'RE GONNA GET THAT, BUT, UM, FREQUENT SERVICE IN SOUTH AUSTIN.

AND SO I THINK THAT THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATION SEEMS PRETTY GOOD, BUT ALSO I THINK PERSON LOOKING FOR A UNIT, IT LIKE HAVING THAT OPTION TO LIVE UP ON IN THE HYDE PARK AREA WHERE THEY'RE GONNA GET A, LIKE A, A LIGHT RAIL IN ANYWAY THAT'S, YOU KNOW, 15 MINUTES FROM DOWNTOWN THAT IS SIMILAR ENOUGH TO ME WHERE I, I AM COMFORTABLE WITH SPENCER'S AMENDMENT.

IS THAT, THAT LIKE, IS THAT LIKE, AND LIKE, OR SIMILAR ENOUGH TO ME THAT IT MAKES SENSE REGARDLESS OF WHICH SIDE OF THE RIVER YOU'RE ON? YEAH, I'M LOOKING, I'M TRYING ONLINE FOLKS.

IT'S A LITTLE HARD FOR ME.

COMMISSIONER BROOKS, DO YOU HAVE A, A COMMENT ON DIS DISCUSSING THIS AMENDMENT? YEAH.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GET TOO MUCH IN LIEU MONEY? DOES IT JUST SIT THERE FOR 10 YEARS AND THEN GET GIVEN BACK? UM, WELL, SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF SOME TALKING POINTS THAT I CONTINUE TO HEAR FROM OUR PARTNERS IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, THERE HAVE BEEN, UM, UH, CASES WHERE WE CONSTRAINED THE DISTRICT TOO MUCH AND THEY DID HAVE A HARD TIME FINDING PLACES TO SPEND.

BUT IN HEAVY CONSULTATION WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, WE FEEL LIKE THIS BOUNDARY AND THE CONSTRAINTS SURROUNDING, UM, UH, THE, UM, THE PROXIMITY TO LIGHT RAIL AND UM, AND BUS STOPS IS ENOUGH WHERE WE'RE NOT CONSTRAINING OURSELVES TOO MUCH AND WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH OPPORTUNITY TO FIND PARCELS TO SPEND THE MONEY THAT WE MIGHT, UH, THAT WE WOULD RECEIVE IN TERMS OF THESE FEES IN LIEU.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, ARE THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ON, REMEMBER WE'RE DISCUSSING THE AMENDMENT HERE? YEAH.

SO, UM, BE FURTHER RESOLVED, OH, UH, BE FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE UTC RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ALTER THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT COMBINING DISTRICT DENSITY BONUS REGULATIONS TO ALLOW FEES IN, EXCUSE ME, FEES IN LIEU TO GO TOWARDS THE FINANCING OR PRODUCTION OF AFFORDABLE UNITS OUTSIDE OF CENTRAL AUSTIN AS LONG AS THEY'RE LOCATED WITHIN A HALF MILE OF A CAT METRO RAIL STOP OR ONE FOURTH MILE OF A CAPITAL METRO HIGH FREQUENCY BUS STOP.

AND SO IT ALSO WOULDN'T, RIGHT, LIKE YOU, YOU, YOU, I THINK YOU WOULD SEE A LOT OF THE DEVELOPMENT STILL IN, IN SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN.

UH, BUT YEAH, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THE IMAGE IS OPPORTUNITY THAT GIVES THEM A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBILITY, RIGHT? THAT'S A FLEX FLEXIBILITY.

IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? I THINK WE SHOULD TAKE A VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT.

I ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT'LL HAPPEN.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, UH, SAY PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY AYE.

AYE.

I THINK THAT'S ALL BUT TWO.

IS THAT RIGHT COMMISSIONER? UH UH YES.

ALL BUT I CAN'T SEE DI YEAH, DIANA WHEELER.

UH, THAT'S EVERYBODY BUT, UH, COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ.

SO ALL THOSE OPPOSED.

THAT'S OKAY.

UM, UM, SO THAT DOES PASS AS AN AS AMENDED, SO THAT TAKES US BACK TO OUR BASE, UM, AS AMEND IT NOW TWICE.

UM, SO, UM, IS THERE, ARE THERE ANY FURTHER MOTIONS, UM, FOR AMENDMENTS OR FURTHER DISCUSSION? YES, I DO HAVE A QUICK CLARIFICATION, UM, BASED ON SOME INFORMATION.

UM, SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME WE WERE A BIT MISTAKEN WHEN WE SAID THAT THERE IS, UM, UM, ES RELATED TO THE INTERNAL CIRCULATION WAYS THAT'S NOT CURRENTLY IN THE DRAFT.

THE PUBLIC ACCESS E EASEMENTS, YOU MEAN PUBLIC ACCESS EASEMENTS? THAT'S A GOAL TO GET THERE.

PUBLIC ACCESS EASEMENTS ARE A PART OF THE OPEN SPACE, BUT NOT THE INTERNAL CIRCULATION ROOTS.

GOT IT.

'CAUSE I THINK THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN SOME OF THESE ELEMENTS.

LEMME WRITE UP AN AMENDMENT REALLY QUICK BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME.

SO I, WHILE HE'S WRITING AND PREPARING, DOES ANY, DOES, ARE THERE ANY OTHER, UM, DISCUSSION OF THE, WE'RE BACK TO THE BASE NOW SO WE CAN DISCUSS THE ENTIRE THING IF THERE'S ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.

I HAVE ONE QUESTION.

THIS IS A QUESTION FOR NATALIE.

SO O OBVIOUSLY LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO AMEND THE DRAFT 'CAUSE THEY'RE ABOUT TO GO TO PLANNING COMMISSION.

DO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO SEND OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION?

[01:45:01]

YEAH, THAT'S IN THE CITY CHARTER.

WE, WE DO, YEAH.

SORRY TO .

AND WE DO HAVE TIME TO AMEND SOME ASPECTS OF THE DRAFT BEFORE IT GOES INTO BACKUP TOMORROW.

OH, THAT'S VERY COOL.

WELL, I'M NOT, I DON'T WANT TO PUT THAT EXPECTATION ONTO YOU ALL.

THAT'S, WE ARE SIGNING YOU SOME WORK TONIGHT.

YEAH, .

UM, I MOVE TO AMEND, UH, WITH BE IT TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL, BE IT FOR THE RESOLVE CLAUSE.

THE UTC RECOMMENDS THAT THE INTERNAL CIRCULATIONS ROUTES WITHIN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DISTRICT ALL HAVE PUBLIC ACCESS EASEMENTS TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO MOVE FREELY, UH, THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT.

I, I'M HAPPY TO SECOND THAT OR YOU WANNA TAKE IT? I'LL LET SECOND COMMISSIONER ALRE TAKE THIS ONE.

AWESOME.

UM, ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT ITEM? LET'S JUST MOVE TO A VOTE.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE, THAT LOOKS LIKE IT IS UNANIMOUS OF THOSE IN ATTENDANCE.

ALL RIGHT, SO WE ARE NOW BACK TO THE BASE AS AMENDED THREE TIMES.

UM, AND, UH, I THINK WE'RE YOU, I'M COUNTING ON MY AMENDS TO HELP ME TRACK THIS.

SO WE'LL GET THIS ALL, UH, QUEUED UP AND SENT OUT.

UM, I THINK WE CAN, I'M GONNA CALL FOR A VOTE.

SO, UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE'VE DONE, WE'VE DONE THE AMENDMENTS FOR, UH, OF WHERE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CAN BE, UH, FOR FEES IN LIEU.

UM, WE'VE DONE THE AMENDMENT FOR PUBLIC ACCESS EASEMENTS AND WE DID AN AMENDMENT FOR, I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT THE FIRST ONE WAS.

WHAT WAS THE FIRST ONE? HOW WE WEIGHT THE, UH, HOW WE WEIGHT THE, UH, THE TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE, UH, GRID FOR, UM, UH, APPROVING EXTRA DENSITY.

SO THOSE ARE OUR THREE AMENDMENTS.

SO I'M GONNA CALL FOR THE VOTE ON THIS.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THIS RECOMMENDATION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE.

COMMISSIONER BROOKS, CAN I SEE YOU? IS HE, YOU ARE ALSO RAISING YOUR HAND.

OKAY, GREAT.

SO THAT IS UNANIMOUS OF THOSE IN ATTENDANCE.

WE'LL GET THAT PREPARED AND SENT OUT TO CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION.

THANK YOU SO MUCH STAFF FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

YOU CAME ON SHORT NOTICE AND WE ESPECIALLY APPRECIATE THAT WE KNOW HOW BUSY YOU ARE, SO WE REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

SO I WAS ACTUALLY GONNA SAY THAT WE HAVE A, A PUBLIC SPEAKER ON OUR NEXT ITEM, BUT DID HE, DID HE JUST STEP OUT BRIEFLY OR DID HE HAVE TO GO SO HE HAD SOMEWHERE ELSE TO BE? HE DID GIVE ME A LITTLE SNIPPET.

I DON'T KNOW.

HE BASICALLY IN FAVOR OF ITEM FIVE.

I CAN SEND AN EMAIL OUT.

SO I THINK I WAS GONNA SUGGEST THAT WE TAKE HIM NEXT TO GET THROUGH THE ITEM, UH, SO THAT HE COULD PARTICIPATE, BUT I THINK IF HE'S JUST HAD TO LEAVE THEN WE'LL JUST GO IN ORDER OF THE AGENDA.

YEAH, HE JUST HAD TIME CONSTRAINTS.

THE NEXT ITEM, ITEM FOUR ON OUR AGENDA.

SO, UM,

[4. Discussion and approval of a recommendation on Equitable Transit-Oriented Development]

UM, AND JUST, I JUST GONNA LET US KNOW, WE ARE AT ABOUT 6 52 RIGHT NOW, SO I JUST WANT US TO BE ATTENTIVE TO TIME.

UM, I THINK THE NEXT FEW ITEMS WE'RE SORT OF, WE ARE THE PRESENTERS, SO I THINK THAT THEY WILL BE, UM, HOPEFULLY A BIT FASTER.

UM, BUT WE DO HAVE, UM, THREE MORE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS PLUS OUR OFFICER ELECTIONS, PLUS OUR COMMITTEE UPDATES.

SO SOMETHING WE JUST DO NEED TO BE ATTENTIVE TO OUR OWN TIME.

UM, SO WE HAVE A, UH, RECOMMENDATION ON, UM, THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.

UM, COMMISSIONER BROOKS PREPARED THIS RECOMMENDATION AND HE ALSO PREPARED SOME SLIDES TO SHARE WITH US TO COMMUNICATE THAT TO US.

WE HAVE SEEN A SERIES OF UPDATES ON THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT HERE AT THIS BODY.

SO, UM, ANYWAY, I WILL SHUT UP AND LET HIM PRESENT THAT.

I GUESS.

UM, HE, HE SHOULD MAKE A MOTION FIRST.

, OH, I MOVE ADOPTION OF THE POSE, ORDINANCE, UH, RECOMMENDATION.

OR I WISH WE COULD PASS ORDINANCES, .

THAT WOULD BE THE BEST.

UM, SO YEAH, PLEASE, PLEASE TAKE US THROUGH IT.

DO WE HAVE A WAY TO PRES PRESENT MY SLIDES OR DO I, SHOULD I DO IT FROM HERE? I THINK IT LOOKS LIKE, UM, CITY STAFF IS QUEUING THAT UP AND SO YOU CAN JUST TELL THEM WHEN YOU'RE READY TO, UH, GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

SO TO HAVE FOUR TIMES AS MANY PEOPLE USING TRANSIT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE FOUR TIMES AS MANY PEOPLE LIVING OR WORKING WITHIN 10 MINUTES OF A TRANSIT STOP.

JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT BACKGROUND, UM, WE NEED MORE HOUSING NEAR TRANSIT.

THE A SMP CALLS FOR FOUR TIMES AS MANY PEOPLE USING TRANSIT AS DO TODAY.

SO THAT MEANS EFFECTIVELY THE ONLY WAY PEOPLE CAN GET TO TRANSIT IS THEY GOTTA WALK OR TAKE A BICYCLE THERE.

ALRIGHT?

[01:50:01]

UM, THE TWO COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS CITED REQUEST THAT CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF PROS, BONUS PROGRAMS AND OTHER MECHANISMS FOR INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF HOUSING WITHIN A HALF A MILE OF THE PHASE ONE LIGHT RAIL AND PRIORITY EXTENSIONS.

SO THAT'S ABOUT A 10 MINUTE WALK AWAY.

AND THEY ACTUALLY ARE PROPOSING TWO SEPARATE OVERLAYS.

THAT'S AN OBVIOUS FROM FIRST READING, BUT THE ETOD OVERLAY COMBINING DISTRICT WILL PROHIBIT OR MAKE CONDITIONAL THOSE LAND USES THAT ARE NOT TRANSIT SUPPORTED.

SO NINE YEARS FROM NOW WHEN THE LIGHT RAIL IS RUNNING, WE WON'T FIND THAT THE AREA HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY CAR DEALERSHIPS.

THE SECOND, UH, COMBINING DISTRICT PROVIDES THE BONUS PROGRAM.

OKAY? AND IT IS A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS RESIDENTIAL USES EVEN WHEN THE BASE ZONING DOES NOT.

SO IF YOU HAD, UM, BASE, UH, LOCAL OFFICE ZONING, YOU COULD STILL PUT RESIDENCES IN AND IT MODIFIES THE DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS TO INCREASE MAXIMUM HEIGHT BY 60 FEET FROM WHATEVER THE BASE IS.

AND IT MODIFIES VARIOUS OTHER, UM, DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS LIKE SETBACKS AND IT HAS ITS OWN COMPATIBILITY, UH, CHANGES, BUT BOTH OVERLAYS ARE GONNA BE APPLIED AT THE SAME TIME TO THE SAME AREA.

UM, IT'S INTENDED TO BE SIMILAR TO THE DB 90 VM U2 COMPLACENT.

IT'S ANOTHER PAPER ORDINANCE.

PROPERTY OWNER IS MUCH REQUEST A REZONING TO ADD IT, AND THAT REQUIRES A PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION AND IT REQUIRES A COUNCIL ACTION.

IT'S BASICALLY THE SAME AS A ZONING CHANGE.

WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER PEOPLE CAN PETITION AGAINST IT, BUT IT THAT WE'D HAVE TO FIND OUT, BUT IT'S STILL, IT AMOUNTS TO A ZONING CHANGE FOR THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE OVERHEAD.

THERE ARE TWO CONSTRAINTS.

IF YOU GO SHOW A MAP, WHICH I WILL UN MINUTE OF A HALF MILE CIRCLE AROUND EACH TRANSIT STOP.

UM, FIRST OF ALL, THE AREAS AROUND TRAIN STOPS HAVE A VARIETY OF CURRENT ZONING, MANY OF WHICH AREN'T THE BASE ZONING THAT YOU'D EXPECT, BUT ARE RICH OVERLAYS IN TERMS OF FEATURES.

AND THEN COUNCIL ALSO SPECIFICALLY LIMITED THE NEW OVERLAY TO NON SINGLE FAMILY ZONE PROPERTY.

SO HERE ARE JUST SOME OF THE OTHER REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS THAT INCREASE THE INCREASE, WHAT YOU CAN BUILD AROUND ONE OF THESE ZONES NEAR A TRANSIT STATION.

THERE ARE A LOT OF THEM AND YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL THAT ANY NEW RESOLUTION THAT YOU DON'T, THAT YOU PROPOSE IS COMPATIBLE WITH OR WORKS TOGETHER WITH THESE OTHER RESOLUTIONS.

NEXT ONE.

WELL, WHAT CAME OUT WAS SOMETHING LIKE THIS PICTURE HERE AND THE LINES, THE GRAY LINES ON THE OUTSIDE.

UM, MARK OUT THE HALF MILE CIRCLES AROUND TRANSIT, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE TRANSIT SLOTS IN THE MIDDLE.

NOTICE THAT NOTHING ON WHAT WAS FORMERLY CALLED THE BLUE LINE, BUT THE SOUTHEAST WEST FAN LINE, THE ONE THAT RUNS ALONG RIVERSIDE, THE OVERLAY WOULD NOT THE DBE, THE, UM, DENSITY, DENSITY BONUS OVERLAY WOULDN'T APPLY TO ANY PART OF THAT.

UM, IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE THE AREAS ARE ALL OVER ALREADY COVERED BY OTHER CODE AMENDMENTS.

I'M PRETTY SURE THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR AND REGULATING PLAN COVERS ALL OF THAT AREA, BUT IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE OF THE LIMITATION TO SINGLE THE NON SINGLE FAMILY ZONING.

THE ARE COVERED BY THE OVERLAY.

AND WHAT I, UH, THE RESOLUTION CALLS FOR IS TO ASK CITY COUNCIL TO DROP THEIR CONSTRAINT, LIMITING THE BONUS PLAN TO NON SINGLE FAMILY ZONES, GIVE THE STAFF FAMILY, GIVE THE STAFF THE FLEXIBILITY TO ADJUST MODIFICATIONS TO THE DBE TODD OVERLAY TO ACCOMMODATE SINGLE FAMILY ZONES AND IF NECESSARY TO, UH, MODIFY WHICH AREAS IT GOES.

[01:55:01]

UM, WHY WOULD WE EVEN WANNA CONSIDER JOBS, HOUSING AND JOBS NEAR SINGLE FAMILY NEAR TRANSIT, WHICH IS ALSO NEAR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES? WELL, AS MENTIONED EARLIER, THE FOUR TIMES WE WANT SEEKING FOUR TIMES AS MANY, UH, PEOPLE LIVING NEAR TRANSIT.

AND IF WE START PUTTING AREAS OFF LIMITS FOR ONE, ONE REASON OR ANOTHER, JUST THE, THE CONSEQUENCES THAT AREAS WILL HAVE TO BE OTHER AREAS WILL HAVE TO BE MADE DENSER AND PROBABLY WILL, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE AS MUCH DENSITY AND AS MUCH RIDERSHIP AS WE COULD OTHERWISE.

AND THEN AREAS, EVEN SINGLE FAMILY AREAS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF TRANSIT ARE GONNA BE AN EXCEPTION, ARE GONNA BE AN EXCEPTION TO WHAT WE NORMALLY EXPECT FROM A SINGLE FAMILY HOME.

THEY'RE PROBABLY GOING TO BE VERY AND VERY HIGH DEMAND, UH, RENTAL INVESTORS WILL SCOOP THEM UP.

AND SO WE'LL HAVE A DISTRICT OF SINGLE FAMILY RENTAL HOMES, WHICH IS PROBABLY WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T VISUALIZE WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT A SINGLE FAMILY HOME DISTRICT.

AND THE HOME ORDINANCES ALONE WILL PROBABLY BE NOT ENOUGH TO INCREASE SUPPLY SUFFICIENTLY.

THEY ONLY DO, IF YOU'RE LUCKY, THEY ALLOW THREE UNITS ON A LOT WHERE ONE WAS ALLOWED BEFORE.

MOST LOTS WON'T EVEN GET THAT.

SO THESE, UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN THESE AREAS, THEY WON'T BECOME DENSE ENOUGH TO REALLY SUPPORT WHAT WE NEED FOR TRANSIT.

END OF SLIDE.

SO THE RESOLUTION I'M PROPOSING IS THAT WE ASKED CITY COUNCIL TO ASK THE, UH, CITY MANAGER TO CONSTRUCT THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.

ARE THERE ANYBODY ELSE I LEFT OUTTA THE CHAIN? I THINK THAT'S AT LEAST THREE, THREE FEET.

UM, TO GO BACK TO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND TELL 'EM NOT TO CONSIDER THE RESTRICTION ON NON SINGLE FAMILY AREAS, BUT TO COME UP WITH WHATEVER THINGS THEY THINK ARE REASONABLE OR WILL PRODUCE THE MOST DENSITY.

WHERE THE GOAL IS TO GET ABOUT 50% OF THE LAND AREA COVERED WITH SOME KIND OF DENSITY IMPROVEMENT, NOT JUST WHAT'S SHOWN IN THE BLUE AREAS THAT ARE THERE CURRENTLY.

ANY QUESTIONS? I WISH WE HAD THE PLANNING STAFF HERE, BUT I, SO I HOPE SOMEONE KNOWS THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.

UH, IS THE EAD THE EQUITABLE, THE ETOD, COMBINING DISTRICT AND DENSITY BONUS ETOD, WHEN WE SEE THESE BLUE THINGS, ARE ALL OF THESE CURRENTLY GOING TO HAVE THEIR ZONING CHANGED OR IS THIS GOING TO BE, UM, PARCELS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE EITHER BY A REZONING OR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL TO BECOME ETOD ZONED? IT'S, IT'S THE LATTER.

JUST LIKE THE STAFF WERE DESCRIBING THAT THIS WILL BE A, LIKE A PAPER DISTRICT, SO THAT IF A DEVELOPER WANTS TO TAKE ONE OF THE AREAS IN THE BLUE, UM, AND THEY WANT TO BUILD A DEVELOPMENT AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS DENSITY BONUS TO GO UP TO 120 FEET, THEN UM, THEY WOULD HAVE TO FOLLOW, THEY COULD, UH, REQUEST THAT REZONING AND THEN OPT INTO THE ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN, INCLUDING THE DENSITY BONUS AND THE OTHER.

UM, THERE'S OTHER ELEMENTS IN THERE THAT THERE WOULD BE REQUIREMENTS, JUST LIKE WE SAW FROM SOUTH CENTRAL.

OUR RECOMMENDATION, OR REUBEN'S RECOMMENDATION, I SHOULD SAY, ISN'T, ISN'T CON GETTING INTO ALL OF THOSE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT REALLY TRANSIT RELATED, BUT, UM, THERE'S OTHER STUFF IN THERE AS WELL THAT THEY'RE GONNA REQUIRE.

SO IT'S THE SAME THING.

THEY'LL HAVE TO BE, THEY'LL HAVE TO REQUEST A REZONING TO OPT IN THE OTHER PART, WHICH IS THE PART THAT IS, UM, UH, PROHIBITING TRANSIT, UH, UNFRIENDLY USES.

SO THINGS LIKE A DRIVE THROUGH BUSINESS OR, UM, A METAL WELDING SHOP OR A CAR DEALERSHIP.

I, I FEEL BAD CALLING OUT DIFFERENT BUSINESSES, BUT LIKE THAT, THAT WILL BE, UH, PASSED AND WILL BE JUST PRESENT.

SO THAT, BUT THAT WON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT'LL BE OPTIONAL.

THAT'LL BE LIKE AN OVERLAY THAT'S, UM, PROHIBITING THOSE NON-TRANS SUPPORTIVE USES.

BUT THEN THE OTHER PART WILL BE JUST LIKE THESE OTHER, UM, ELEMENTS, THEY'LL HAVE TO OPT IN FOR THE REZONING AND TO OPT IN, THEY HAVE TO MEET LIKE THE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS.

SAME THING.

IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT, A DIFFERENT CALIBRATION THAN WHAT WE WERE JUST SEEING AT SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT.

SO AND IS THAT ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS OR IS THAT A COUNCIL REZONING PROCESS? COUNCIL REZONING PROCESS REQUIRES

[02:00:01]

A RESOLUTION BY COUNCIL.

SO ALL OF THESE BLUE ONES ARE GONNA HAVE TO GO TO COUNCIL TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE, WELL, THEY'RE FIRST GONNA HAVE TO GO TO PLANNING COMMISSION, THEN THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO TO COUNCIL.

AND SO I FEEL COMFORTABLE ALLOWING THE PEOPLE IN THEIR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES THE OPTION TO GO THROUGH THAT.

LIKE, AS WELL.

AND THAT'S REALLY, I GUESS WHAT THIS WILL DO.

I THINK THAT'S A, A GREAT WAY OF, UM, ENCAPSULATING THAT BECAUSE IT'S NOT, UM, WE'RE NOT SAYING THAT YOUR HOME IS REZONED, WE'RE SAYING THAT YOU COULD REQUEST IT OR, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD BUY FIVE LOTS NEXT TO YOU AND REQUEST IT OR SOMEONE, YOU KNOW, LIKE COULD, UH, ASSEMBLE LOTS AND DO IT.

LIKE, I THINK THAT THAT'S A KEY PIECE IS THAT WE'RE NOT LIKE UPZONING YOUR HOME IMMEDIATELY SO YOU'RE, IT'S CHANGING YOUR PROPERTY VALUES OR SOMETHING.

AND THIS IS LIKE SOMETHING THAT YOU JUST HAVE AN OPTION FOR.

UM, I DO THINK THAT IT'S, UM, I WILL SAY THAT, LIKE, LOOKING AT THIS MAP, I, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER COMMISSIONER BOOKS DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB.

LIKE THERE'S ALREADY THINGS THAT ARE TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE, UH, TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT LIKE CRESTVIEW OR SOMETHING IN HERE, CREST, UM, THAT, UH, AREN'T IN BLUE BECAUSE THEY DECIDED NOT TO TOUCH ANY OF THOSE.

LIKE KIND OF LIKE PUDS AND EXISTING TODS AND EXISTING, UH, SPECIAL, UH, RULES AND PLANS.

UM, SO SOME OF THOSE ARE IN THERE, BUT IT IS NOT AS MUCH WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S, UM, REALLY TRYING TO JUICE THIS AMAZING TRANSIT INVESTMENT THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON.

I THINK IT STILL SEEMS A LITTLE LIKE NOT A LOT OF AREAS THAT WOULD BE MAPPED FOR THIS FOR ME.

SO I'M, I'M DEFINITELY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS RECOMMENDATION.

UM, IS THERE OTHER DISCUSSION FROM COMMISSIONERS? YEAH.

COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER.

UH, YEAH, I, I REALLY LIKE HOW, UH, RUBEN KEPT THIS SIMPLISTIC TO ONE ASK THAT I THINK IS, IS VERY DIFFICULT TO DISAGREE WITH RIGHT? IN TERMS OF WE ARE JUST SIMPLY NOT GONNA HIT OUR GOALS UNLESS WE DO IT.

UM, I, I DO THINK IT'S WORTH SAYING, AT LEAST FOR THE RECORD, UM, THERE ARE ALSO GONNA BE A LOT OF ISSUES WITH COMPATIBILITY.

UM, BASICALLY ALL OF HERITAGE IS GONNA BE, UH, WITH GONNA HAVE COMPATIBILITY RESTRICTIONS EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE REALLY NARROWED IT DOWN.

UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE ALSO ISSUES DOWNTOWN IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PUTTING PEOPLE TO 120 FOOT LIMIT, UH, THAT ARE ZONE CBD IF THEY WANNA TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS.

SO OF COURSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST GONNA TAKE THE CBD.

YEAH, YEAH.

YEAH, OF COURSE THEY WON'T.

SO, UM, UH, BUT I THINK THAT, UH, REIN'S RECOMMENDATION GETS US IN THE RIGHT POSITION OF IF WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE AT LEAST 50% OF THESE STATION AREAS, UM, ARE, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE OVERLAY, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO START.

YOU KNOW, I THINK THROUGH THAT PROCESS WE'LL ALSO, UH, YIELD MORE CONSIDERATION ABOUT, UM, WHAT TYPES OF PROPERTIES WE CURRENTLY HAVE, WHAT KIND OF HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS THERE ARE, AND WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH COMPATIBILITY.

SO I LOVE IT.

THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? I, I'M JUST WONDERING, AND I GUESS I KIND OF WISH THE STAFF STAYED A LITTLE BIT, UM, IF THIS WAS COMING UP, THIS, THESE WOULD'VE BEEN DIFFERENT STAFF.

IT'S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT TEAM FROM THE PLANNING AND WE COULDN'T, WE COULDN'T GET THIS TEAM OUT THERE.

I THINK A LOT OF US FEEL LIKE I'M ON THE EAD, UH, RUBEN AND I ARE BOTH ON THE EAD WORKING GROUP AND WORKED WITH THE STAFF A LOT, UM, UM, FROM PROJECT CONNECT, COMMUNITY ADVISORY.

I KNOW THAT DOESN'T HELP EVERYBODY ELSE, BUT, UM, SO LIKE, WE'RE PRETTY LOOPED IN, BUT WE COULDN'T, UM, WE COULDN'T GET THIS.

I DON'T THINK WE COULD HAVE, I THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY 'CAUSE WE SORT OF ASKED RIGHT, RUBEN, THEY SAID THEY JUST DIDN'T HAVE ANY MORE CAPACITY TO COME OUT.

SO, AND IT WAS KIND OF A PERSONAL, THIS PERSON WE KNOW ASKING.

SO WHEN SHE SAYS NO, IT'S NOT JUST A CATEGORICAL THOUGH.

SO I, I AGREE.

UM, DO YOU, BUT MAYBE WE CAN TRY TO HELP YOU WITH SOME QUESTIONS.

WELL, NO, I GUESS I'M JUST UNDER LIKE, I GUESS ON, I DON'T KNOW WHAT PAGE THIS IS, BUT YOU KNOW, LIKE THE MIGHT BE BECAUSE, MIGHT BE BECAUSE IT'S KINDA LIKE, I WANNA KNOW THE THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND DECISIONS, RIGHT? UM, VERSUS ASSUMPTIONS OF HOW DID THEY GET TO THAT DECISION VERSUS, AND SO I THINK THAT'S WHY I'M NOT AT A, A GOOD PLACE TO GO ONE WAY OR THE OTHER RIGHT NOW.

THERE'S, I WOULD PROBABLY ABSTAIN IN MY VOTING AS OF THIS POINT SINCE I DON'T HAVE THE FULL INFORMATION.

IF THERE'S ANY SPECIFICS, YOU'RE WELCOME TO ASK US, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU MAY KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.

SO, UM, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY.

I'M GONNA CALL FOR A VOTE ON THIS ITEM.

UM, I WILL TAKE UP ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'VE RECEIVED.

PLEASE, UM, UH, RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE.

WE'VE GOT 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

SO THAT DOES PASS ALL THOSE OPPOSED, ONE.

OPPOSED ANY, UM, ABSTENTIONS.

[02:05:02]

SO I THINK THAT DOES PASS SQUEAK BY, SQUEAK BY.

YEAH, WE DID.

THERE WERE THREE ONLINE AND THREE HERE.

SO THIS IS SORT OF AIMED TO SUPPORT AND ELABORATE ON SOME OF THOSE THINGS WE SAW IN THE LIVING STREETS, UH, THING LAST TIME.

UM, I'M GONNA FACILITATE THE NEXT ITEM THAT TAKES US TO ITEM

[5. Discussion and approval of a recommendation on Living Streets/Pedestrian Vibrancy ]

FIVE.

DISCUSSION, APPROVAL OF A RECOMMENDATION ON A LIVING STREETS AND PEDESTRIAN VIBRANCY, UH, AND PEDESTRIAN VIBRANCY.

SO THIS WAS A, UM, A RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS, AGAIN, PRE CIRCULATED AND IS IN THE PACKET.

UM, AND IT'S IN REGARDS TO, UM, IT'S ACTUALLY BUILDING ON THE LIVING STREETS PRESENTATION THAT WE HEARD LAST WEEK.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS, AND ACTUALLY IT WAS IN PART, UM, TALKING TO ADAM GREENFIELD WHO WAS HERE WITH US AND UNFORTUNATELY HAD TO LEAVE.

UM, AND MAYBE WE CAN CIRCULATE HIS COMMENTS, BUT, UM, OR EVEN MAYBE I COULD READ THEM, I DON'T KNOW.

BUT, UM, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WAS, UM, THE SORT OF ADMINISTRATIVE BARRIERS, UM, AND CODE BARRIERS RELATED BARRIERS TO, UM, VIBRANT STREETS IN OUR CITY.

SO, UM, HE, UH, HAD EXPERIENCED, HE PUT UP A COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD AND HE WAS TOLD HE HAD TO TAKE IT DOWN 'CAUSE IT WAS TOO CLOSE TO AN INTERSECTION.

IT WAS ON HIS PROPERTY.

UM, BUT THERE WAS CONCERN ABOUT, UM, UH, IT WAS LIKE THERE'S CERTAIN REGULATIONS ABOUT SIGNS AND POSTINGS TOO CLOSE TO INTERSECTIONS.

UM, AND SO, UM, THIS IS REALLY, UM, AIMED AT WHAT WE MIGHT CALL STREET FURNITURE OR COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT BUILDS COMMUNITY AND A SENSE OF BELONGING WITHIN CITIES.

SO IT SAYS, UM, COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARDS, BENCHES, FLOWER BEDS, PUBLIC ART, BIKE REPAIR STATIONS, LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES.

UM, AND IT TALKS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY THESE ARE IMPORTANT.

IT HELPS INCREASE SAFETY, IT HELPS INCREASE BELONGING SENSE OF COMMUNITY.

UM, IT SUPPORTS OUR LIVING STREETS AND HEALTHY STREETS PROGRAMS. IT MAY HELP THEM EVEN GO APPLY FOR GRANTS.

UM, IT ALSO, UM, I'M RECLAIMING CIVIC USES FOR THE STREET AND, UH, SUPPORTS OUR VISION GOAL AND SAFETY PLANS, UM, AND THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.

IT ALSO, UM, HELPS ADDRESS THE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC.

SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR, THERE'S A 2023 US SURGEON GENERAL REPORT ON THE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC IN THE US AND ONE OF THE BIG PILLARS OF RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO BUILD COMMUNITY RE SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT CREATES A SENSE OF BELONGING, UH, PHYSICAL BELONGING WITHIN STREETS.

SO THIS IS, UH, ANOTHER ELEMENT OF THAT I THINK THAT THE LIVING STREETS CAN REALLY SUPPORT.

SO, UM, IF YOU CHECK OUT THE BE IT RESOLVED, IT SAYS THAT WE DIRECT STAFF, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL THAT THEY, WE RECOMMEND THAT THEY DIRECT STAFF TO INVESTIGATE WHAT BARRIERS EXIST TO THE INSTALLATION OF THIS INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE PUBLIC REALM, INCLUDING ALONG LOT LINES AND NEAR INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, SO WHAT BARRIERS EXIST IN OUR CODE? UM, AND THIS COULD BE, AND I WANNA SAY TOO, WE ARE ENVISIONING IT THAT THIS COULD BE, UM, WE URGE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TO PROPOSE AND PASS CODE AMENDMENTS TO REMOVE THE BARRIERS, UM, AND ALLOW RESIDENTS TO FREELY INSTALL IT.

SO IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO PUT UP A LITTLE FREE LIBRARY OR, UM, SOME KIND OF COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE, THEY'RE ABLE TO DO THAT.

UM, AND THAT WE ALSO CONSIDER PROGRAMS THAT WOULD ENCOURAGE IT, INCLUDING THE CITY POTENTIALLY, AND DESIGNING THESE INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO LIKE IF YOU LOOK AT SAN FRANCISCO, THEY HAVE A PROGRAM WHERE THEY ACTUALLY INSTALL COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARDS TO CREATE THAT SENSE OF COMMUNITY WITHIN NEIGHBORHOODS.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY ARE ALREADY DOING.

UM, AND THIS COULD BE ALSO A GRANT OPPORTUNITY, POSSIBLY.

UM, WE ALSO RECOMMEND THAT, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS CONTINUE THEIR EFFORTS TO COORDINATE SUCCESSFUL AND POPULAR LIVING STREET PROJECTS.

UM, SO THAT THEY ARE DEF EVENTUALLY TRANSITIONED TO SHARED STREETS.

SO WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT THE LAST MEETING WHERE WE HAD THE LIVING STREETS, UM, RECOMMENDATION.

AND FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN HERE WITH THAT, THE LIVING STREETS AS A PROGRAM BY WHICH WE BUILD, UM, WITH SORT OF SOFT, UH, BARRIERS LIKE MAYBE CONES OR BARRELS OR, UH, FENCES, UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF PLASTIC FENCES.

WE, UH, TAKE A STREET DOWN TO A LIVING STREET WHERE PEOPLE CAN MORE U ACTIVELY USE THE ENTIRE STREET FOR RECREATION, UH, WALKING, EXERCISE, DIFFERENT THINGS.

UM, AND SO, BUT THE NEXT LEVEL OF THAT IS A SHARED STREET WHERE THEY BEGIN TO PUT MORE PERMANENT INFRASTRUCTURE, MAYBE A SHEROS OR SOME KIND OF PERMANENT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NARROWS THE STREET OR RECLAIMS THE STREET PART OF THE STREET IN A NEIGHBORHOOD FOR, UM, FOR THE COMMUNITY AND FOR RECREATION PURPOSES.

AND WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW CAN WE TRIGGER ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL LIVING STREETS TO EVENTUALLY TRANSITION TO SHARED STREETS.

SO THAT'S ASKING FOR THEM TO CONTINUE TO COORDINATE THAT.

AND THEN ALSO, UM, TO REMOVE SOME OF THE, UM, BARRIERS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK PARTIES.

WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS AT THE LAST MEETING.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK PARTIES PRE-EXIST AT THE LIVING STREETS PROGRAM.

AND SO THEY ACTUALLY HAVE WEIRDLY, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE LIKE MUCH MORE EPHEMERAL, THEY POP UP FOR ONE NIGHT AND YOU HAVE YOUR BLOCK PARTY AND THEN IT GOES AWAY.

THEY HAVE LIKE MORE, UM, REGULATORY, UH, UH, BARRIERS THAN THE LIVING STREETS DO AT THIS POINT, ACTUALLY.

UM, SO, UM, WE ARE PROPOSING THAT THAT BE, UH, THOSE, THOSE REGULATIONS BE EASED.

SO THOSE ARE THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS.

[02:10:01]

THIS IS MY RECOMMENDATION.

I WROTE IT, SO I WILL MOVE TO APPROVE IT.

I'LL MOVE TO A SECOND.

TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.

THANKS.

ANY DISCUSSION? THIS IS CUTE.

I LIKE IT.

I MEAN, IT'S, UH, WE SHOULD BE IN LIKE, NEIGHBORHOODS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED AND NOT HAVE REGULATORY BARRIERS TO BE DOING THIS SORT OF FUN STUFF IN THE STREET.

I AGREE.

UM, ADAM CAME TO ME AFTER LAST WEEK'S, UH, AFTER LAST MONTH.

I'LL HAVE TIME MOVES FASTER ALL THE TIME.

AFTER LAST MONTH'S UTC, HE CAME TO ME AND SAID, CAN WE, CAN WE WORK ON SOMETHING HERE? AND UM, HE AND I KIND OF ACTUALLY COLLABORATED ON THIS A BIT.

SO THANK YOU TO ADAM FOR THAT.

SO, UM, YEAH, I THINK IT'S A LOT OF FUN.

AND I THINK, UM, UM, I THINK THE LIVING STREET STAFF, WE DID SPEAK TO THEM A BIT AND THEY SAID THEY WERE REALLY, UM, INTERESTED TO HEAR WHAT CONCEPTS WE HAD THAT COULD SUPPORT THEIR WORK.

AND, UM, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE ALSO, UH, VERY KEENLY INTERESTED IN AS YOU, AS YOU HEARD LAST MONTH IF YOU WERE HERE.

SO JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY YEAH.

WHICH CITY STAFF WOULD DO THE INVESTIGATION OF THE BARRIERS? I PROBABLY WOULD THAT BE PROBABLY THE LIVING STREET STAFF, BUT LET'S HEAR WHAT JIM HAS TO SAY.

, YES.

TAKE THE LEAD ON THAT.

YEAH, THANK YOU.

THE LIVING STREETS.

AND IS THIS SOMETHING THAT THEY ALREADY DO? IS THIS AN ADDITI THIS WOULD BE AN ADDITIONAL DUTY.

THIS WOULD BE, THIS WOULD BE PART OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES.

JUST LIKE, UM, WHEN WE CAME WITH A PREVIOUS CODE RECOMMENDATION, UM, TO REDUCE SOME OF THE BARRIERS THAT WERE IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK PARTY, UM, REGULATION.

ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT.

SHALL WE TAKE A VOTE? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THIS RECOMMENDATION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE, LOOKS LIKE WE'RE UNANIMOUS OF THOSE IN ATTENDANCE, SO THANK YOU GUYS.

THAT'S AWESOME.

ITEM SIX, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL OF A RECOMMENDATION ON AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, A BIA STREET SAFETY.

WE ARE JUST A RECOMMENDATION MACHINE TODAY.

WE NOW ARE COMING TO

[6. Discussion and approval of a recommendation on Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) street safety]

I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO DANIEL KAMAN, WHO'S WRITTEN THIS.

I THINK HE HAS A MOTION FOR US.

AND THEN HE'LL WALK US THROUGH WHAT IT IS I MOVE TO ADOPT THIS RECOMMENDATION AROUND THE, UH, AIRPORT TRAFFIC SAFETY.

I WILL SECOND.

ALRIGHT.

SO THIS IS REALLY SIMPLE.

UM, I HOPE THIS CAN BE AN EASY WAY FOR US TO MOVE FORWARD.

UH, THERE WAS JUST SOME, UM, THIS WAS A REQUEST FROM THE AIRPORT COMMISSION, UH, THE AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION THAT WE, UM, HELPED SUPPORT THEM ON THIS AND THAT THEY HAD SOME CONCERNS AROUND TRAFFIC SAFETY AROUND THE AIRPORT.

UM, AND IF YOU READ THE WAREHOUSES, THERE'S BEEN SOME FATAL, UM, HIGHWAY, UH, CRASHES AND SOME LANE CLOSURES AND EVERYTHING.

AND THEY ARE JUST RECOMMENDING THAT THE, UM, THERE'S UM, FURTHER AND BETTER COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION AMONG THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, FIRE, EMS, TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS, AND, UH, THE VISION ZERO DEPARTMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS A SPECIAL ATTENTION PAID TO THE AIRPORT AREA, UH, FOR TRAFFIC SAFETY, UM, INCLUDING BEING ABLE TO, UM, KEEP SOME TRAVEL LANES CLEAR FOR TRAVEL, UH, IN THE EVENT OF AN INCIDENT.

AND, UM, YEAH, I HOPE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL SUPPORT THEM ON BECAUSE WE ALL AGREE WITH, UH, TRAVEL SAFETY AND ESPECIALLY AROUND A VERY CRITICAL PIECE OF TRAVEL INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH IS OUR AIRPORT.

I, I WOULD JUST SAY I, I SUPPORT THIS.

UM, I I THINK THAT, UM, IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK IN MY VIEW.

THERE WAS A, A LOT OF WORK DONE IN THIS AREA RECENTLY, AND IT'S NOT CLEAR TO ME HOW MUCH THAT'S INCREASED THE SAFETY OF THE HIGHWAYS AND THE ACCESS ROADS.

AND LIKE, I JUST ALWAYS FEEL LIKE EVERY TIME I'M, I'M GO DRIVING TO THE AIRPORT, WHICH I, I TRY NOT TO DRIVE TO THE AIRPORT IF I CAN.

I TRY TO TAKE THE AIRPORT BUS IF I CAN INSTEAD, EVEN IF THAT MEANS A COUPLE TRANSFERS OR STANDING AT A BUS STOP AT 5:00 AM DOWNTOWN, I'LL TAKE THE BUS.

'CAUSE I DON'T LIKE TO DRIVE TO THE AIRPORT.

'CAUSE I THINK IT'S DANGEROUS.

BUT LIKE, I JUST, IT STRIKES ME THAT I'M ALWAYS LIKE, I, LIKE I'M CROSSING, I NEED TO DO ONE MOVE AND THEN I HAVE TO CROSS FIVE LANES OF TRAFFIC AND THEN I NEED TO DO ANOTHER MOVE AND I NEED TO CROSS FIVE LANES OF TRAFFIC.

AND SO I THINK THAT RETHINKING THAT ENTIRE AREA, I KNOW WE JUST REBUILT A LOT OF STUFF DOWN THERE, BUT IT'S JUST A, I THINK IT'S A DIFFICULT AREA.

SO I THINK WHATEVER CAN BE DONE FOR THESE GROUPS TO COORDINATE AND COMMUNICATE WOULD BE GREAT.

SO I'M, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SUPPORT IT.

I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE HAS DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS, JUST HAVE MORE OF A CLARIFYING.

SO IS THE ASK THAT IT'S JUST A MATTER OF DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION STAFF PUTTING TOGETHER A COORDINATING PLAN WITH THESE ENTITIES OF HOW TO KEEP THESE OPEN AND DIRECTION

[02:15:01]

AND THE SAFETY? IS THAT THE ASK? YEAH.

YOU SOUND VERY CONFIDENT IN THAT.

I DO.

UM, I THINK IT'S, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YEAH, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IF WE'RE DIRECTING THEM TO COORDINATE WHO'S GONNA BE, WHO'S GONNA COORDINATE, HOW IS THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU BRING ALL THE PARTIES TOGETHER? LIKE WHAT IS THE ASK? I JUST MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THE, AS I GUESS THE, THERE'S SOME CER.

I MEAN, WE'RE GETTING A TON, A TON OF MONEY THERE.

UM, BUT YOU HAVE A LOT OF PARTIES INVOLVED, WHICH IS TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, DESIGNING THE CITY RIGHTS OF WAY.

AND THEN YOU HAVE, UH, THE TEXAS, UH, THE STATE OWNED RIGHTS OF WAY, WHICH ARE, UH, A SPAGHETTI MESS AROUND THERE.

AND THEN, UM, THE SIGNAGE AT THE AIRPORT AND, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS DIRECTING THE TRAFFIC AROUND SOME OF THESE AREAS.

AND THEN YOU ALSO HAVE FIRE AND EMS, WHICH ARE RESPONDING TO THE INCIDENTS THERE.

AND SO I GUESS IT'S JUST FOR THEM TO HAVE A, A BETTER, LIKE JUST WORKING TOGETHER AS THEY ALL ALL DO THEIR CONSTITUENT, UH, PARTS OF THEIR JOBS IN THIS AREA.

AND THIS WAS ALSO AN ASK THAT THE, UM, I BELIEVE THE AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION ASKED IF WE COULD TAKE A LOOK.

THIS IS, UH, JUST A SORT OF SLIGHTLY ALTERED, WE JUST FORMATTED IT WITH EZ IS THEY DIDN'T DO IT THAT WAY, BUT IT'S BASICALLY A VERSION OF WHAT THEY HAD PASSED AND ASKED FOR.

SO, YES.

UH, YOU HAVE A QUESTION? UH, OKAY.

UM, I THINK I'M GONNA MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND, ACTUALLY.

UH, AND THE MOTION IS JUST GOING TO BE TO STRIKE THE HASHTAG AND THE STREAK PROGRAM, UH, AND KEEP EVERYTHING ELSE I CAN EXPLAIN IF THAT'S NEEDED.

IF THERE'S A SECOND.

WE HAVE A SECOND ON THAT.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN? ALL RIGHT.

UH, OBVIOUSLY IT MAKES SENSE TO COORDINATE WITH TXDOT HERE, RIGHT? OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF TDOT RIGHT AWAY.

UM, AND OBVIOUSLY NOT EVERYTHING IN THE INDUSTRY PROGRAM IS BAD.

UH, BUT A LOT OF IT, I THINK IS, I THINK THEY DO A LOT OF WORK TO CONTINUE THE MYTH THAT, UH, PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES ARE A RESULT OF NON-COMPLIANCE BY PEDESTRIANS.

UM, I THINK ANYONE WHO'S SEEN A LOT OF THEIR ADVERTISEMENTS WOULD WOULD AGREE WITH THAT.

AND SO I WOULD WORRY PASSING SOMETHING AS THE UTC THAT SAYS, COORDINATE WITH THEM AS, THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE AN ENDORSEMENT OF THE PROGRAM, WHICH I THINK IS VERY MUCH ANTITHETICAL TO THE GOALS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S, UH, WORK WITH VISION ZERO.

SO YOU'RE SAYING COORDINATE WITH THEM, BUT NOT ENDORSING THE SPECIFIC HASHTAG PROGRAM? EXACTLY.

I GOT IT.

UM, YOU KNOW, AND LIKE, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE IT'S LIKE, SOMETIMES WE JUST DO TEXT CHANGES SORT OF BY , YOU KNOW, LIKE, WHATEVER.

BUT WE HAVE AN AMENDMENT NOW, SO LET'S, LET'S GO WITH IT.

SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? I DOUBT IT.

I SHOULDN'T SAY THAT.

I WAS JUST GONNA ASK THE, SO IT'S JUST THE INDUSTRY, BUT YOU'RE OKAY WITH LEAVING THE VISION ZERO PROGRAM, SO YOU'RE OKAY WITH HAVING ONE BUT NOT THE OTHER, EVEN THOUGH THE GOAL FOR BOTH IS TO ESSENTIALLY KIND OF, AND THE FATALITIES? YES.

'CAUSE I THINK THE WAY THE CITY OF AUSTIN, I, I MEAN OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, OP WELL, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TXDOT APPROACHES VISION ZERO IN MORE WAYS THAN THE END OF STREAK.

I THINK THE END OF THE STREAK IS, IS MORE THE PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN.

UH, AND THAT'S THE PROGRAM I AT LEAST I HAVE THE ISSUE WITH.

I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE AN, I MEAN, I HAVE OTHER ISSUES WITH TDOT, RIGHT? BUT I, I, I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE AN ISSUE WITH WORKING WITH TEXTILE OR WORKING WITH TEXTILE TOWARDS VISION ZERO GOALS.

I DO HAVE AN ISSUE WITH WORKING WITH THEM TOWARDS WHAT THEY SEE AS THE GOALS OF INDUSTRY.

AND TEXTILE ALSO HAS A VISION ZERO FRAMEWORK ALREADY.

THAT TEXTILE DOES HAVE A VISION ZERO PROGRAM THAT IS, UH, SEPARATE THEN THE, AND THE STREAK MAR, WHICH IS MORE OF A MARKETING CAMPAIGN.

SO MAYBE, MAYBE THAT WOULD HELP JUST, UM, CLARIFY THAT INSTEAD OF WORKING WITH THEIR MARKETING CAMPAIGN, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDERS.

SO TXDOT DOES HAVE A, A VISION ZERO PROGRAM.

CONCEPT IS FRAMEWORK.

SO, SO LET, LET ME OFFER A SUBSTITUTE MOTION THAT WE SUBSTITUTE HASHTAG AND THE STREAK WITH, IN THE STREAK PROGRAM, VISION ZERO FRAMEWORK.

SO IT WOULD STILL KEEP, SO, SO IT WOULD SAY, AND THE TEXT, SO I'M SAYING I'M, I'M TRYING TO SUBSTITUTE WHAT YOU'VE YEAH.

DONE INSTEAD OF, INSTEAD OF JUST DELETING IT TO SAY THE T.VISION ZERO FRAMEWORK AND RE SO WE'RE STRIKING IN THE STREAK PROGRAM AND REPLACING THAT WITH THE TDOT VISION ZERO FRAMEWORK.

SO WE'VE SUBSTITUTED YOUR MOTION.

ROBERT'S RULES Y'ALL.

SO, UM, ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? OKAY.

AND WE'VE ALREADY CALLED OUT THE CITY'S DEPARTMENT DIVISION ZERO MM-HMM.

PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE.

LET'S TAKE A VOTE ON THAT.

UH, THAT TEXT CHANGE AMENDMENT.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF REMOVING IN THE STREAK PROGRAM AND REPLACING WITH VISION ZERO FRAMEWORK FOR TDOT.

[02:20:01]

EVERYONE'S IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED ABSTAINING? YES.

UM, SO ALL BUT, UH, ALL BUT ONE, WE HAVE ONE ABSTENTION ON THE BOARD.

COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ.

THAT TAKES US BACK TO OUR BASE.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT.

I'M GONNA CALL FOR A VOTE ON THIS RECOMMENDATION.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

AND RAISE YOUR HAND.

UM, ALL AND THEN ALL THOSE OPPOSED? YEAH.

WE GOT YOU .

ALL RIGHT GUYS.

WE'RE THROUGH THE TOUGH STUFF, I THINK.

YAY.

UM, WAY FASTER THAN I THOUGHT, SO.

YEAH, YOU GOTTA KEEP IT MOVING.

SO, UM, ACTUALLY, AND I WANTED TO SAY, I MEANT TO SAY THIS.

I TOLD YOU, IN FACT, I WAS GONNA SAY THIS AT THE VERY BEGINNING, AND THEN I JUST GOT SO EXCITED ABOUT OUR MASSIVE AGENDA THAT I JUST KIND OF JUMPED INTO IT.

BUT NOW THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OFFICER ELECTIONS, THIS ACTUALLY MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME FOR YOU.

UH, WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER AND SO WE'RE SO EXCITED TO HAVE YOU AND WELCOME YOU.

DO YOU WANNA JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO US JUST FOR A MINUTE HERE? ALRIGHT.

I'M DESHAUN BROWN.

I WAS APPOINTED BY MAYOR WATSON.

I HAVE 22 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY.

UM, I'M A DIRECTOR OF SAFETY.

I CURRENTLY WORK FOR SPUR FREIGHT, WHICH IS A TRANSPORTATION DIVISION OF A IT WORLDWIDE LOGISTICS.

AND I'M OVER THE SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE PROGRAM.

AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EVERYONE ON THIS COMMISSION.

WE'RE DELIGHTED TO HAVE YOU HERE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE WITH THIS.

UM, AND I'M SORRY THAT I DIDN'T TAKE THIS UP FIRST.

LIKE I SAID, I WAS GONNA DO .

I JUST, I LITERALLY JUST LIKE, WAS LIKE DIVING IN OUR VERY EXCITING AGENDA.

UM, ALL

[7. Discussion and approval of the Officer Elections ]

SO WE HAVE OFFICER ELECTIONS.

WE DO HAVE TO DO OFFICER ELECTIONS EVERY YEAR.

UM, UH, OUR BYLAWS STATE THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE A CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, AND, UH, ACTUALLY PARLIAMENTARIAN, WHICH WE ACTUALLY MIGHT BE VACANT RIGHT NOW.

UM, UH, OR MAYBE YOU'RE THE PARLIAMENTARIAN COMMISSIONER SMA.

ARE YOU THE PARLIAMENTARY? YOU'RE NOT, WE DON'T HAVE A PARLIAMENTARY.

THAT WOULD BE NEWS TO ME.

I, WE, NATALIE WAS GREAT AND SHE WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT OUR BYLAWS AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A, A PARLIAMENTARIAN, WE WEREN'T QUITE SURE WE ARE.

SO, UM, WE, WE, WE HAVE TYPICALLY DONE THIS AWAY WHERE USUALLY WE'RE NOT FIGHTING WITH ONE ANOTHER.

USUALLY THERE'S NOT A LOT OF COMPETITION TO, FOR THESE OFFICES, LET'S SAY.

I MEAN, I'M TOTALLY OPEN TO THE IDEA THAT THERE MIGHT NEED TO BE, SO WE HAVE A BALLOT PREPARED.

UM, WE ALSO CAN JUST DO THIS BY A QUICK THREE QUICK VOTES TO FIND THESE FOLKS.

UM, IF, UM, AND SOMETIMES WE'VE DISCUSSED AND KIND OF LOOKED AROUND, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE NEED TO APPOINT A VICE CHAIR.

I KNOW WHEN I FIRST BECAME VICE CHAIR, IT WAS KIND OF LIKE, AND SOMEBODY WAS LIKE, I THINK SUSAN SHOULD DO IT.

AND I WAS LIKE, OKAY.

SURE.

SO, UM, THAT'S MORE OFTEN HOW IT'S BEEN.

UM, BUT WE DO HAVE TO HAVE A CHAIR, VICE CHAIR AND PARLIAMENTARIAN.

I WILL JUST, UH, BE UPFRONT AND SAY, I'M DEFINITELY WILLING TO, AND HAPPY AND EXCITED TO CONTINUE SERVING AS CHAIR IF YOU WILL HAVE ME.

SO, UM, IF THERE'S ANY DISCUSSION OF THIS OR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE ROLES, I'LL JUST TAKE A MOMENT AND WE CAN JUST DISCUSS A SECOND AND ABOUT HOW WE WANNA GO ABOUT THIS, AND THEN WE CAN MOVE FORWARD PRETTY QUICKLY.

ANY DISCUSSION, THOUGHTS? I THINK YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT CHAIR.

UH, I ALSO THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT, LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, NORMALLY THE CHAIR OF A COMMISSION IS MAINLY JUST RUNNING THE MEETINGS.

I, WHICH YOU DO A GREAT JOB OF, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE THE ADDED RESPONSIBILITY OF CONVEYING OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO MOBILITY COUNCIL.

AND I THINK YOU'VE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB THERE AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU CONTINUE.

UM, SO YEAH, SO THE DUTIES OF THE CHAIR, I'LL, THAT'S A GREAT POINT FOR ME TO KIND OF EXPLICATE THE DUTIES TO EVERYBODY.

THE DUTIES OF THE CHAIR ARE TO, UM, RUN THE MEETINGS.

UM, AND THAT DOES MEAN THAT YOU NEED TO BE PHYSICALLY PRESENT.

THE PERSON RUNNING THE MEETINGS MUST BE, UH, PHYSICALLY IN THE BUILDING WHERE THE MEETING IS HAPPENING.

I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE.

UM, AND SO WE RUN THE MEETINGS ACCORDING TO ROBERT'S RULE, KEEP THINGS MOVING.

THE CHAIR ALSO HAS, UH, SOME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE AGENDA.

SO, UH, MORE THAN OTHER PEOPLE NEEDS TO CONNECT WITH OUR STAFF LIAISON THROUGHOUT THE MONTH TO GET THE AGENDA STRAIGHT.

OFTENTIMES THE CHAIR ENDS UP WRITING SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.

'CAUSE THAT'S KIND OF JUST HOW IT WORKS.

EXIST , I WOULD SAY, AND HELP US WITH ROBERT'S RULES IF WE NEED SOME HELP, WHICH SOMETIMES WE DO NEED SOME HELP.

, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY PART OF IT.

UM, AND THEN THE ONCE A MONTH I DO GO PRESENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL MOBILITY COMMITTEE, UM, WHICH, AND I SHARE WITH THEM THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAD IN THE LAST MONTH.

AND THEN I ALSO DO SOME THINGS LIKE, OKAY, LET'S MAKE SURE THE PLANNING COMMISSION GETS SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE JUST PASS.

'CAUSE IT'S RELEVANT TO THEM.

'CAUSE PER THE CITY CHARTER, WE CAN MAKE RE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AS WELL.

SO THINGS OF THAT NATURE AND KIND OF A LITTLE BIT KEEPING YOUR, YOUR, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR THUMB ON WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND THE CITY SO THAT YOU CAN KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GONNA BE ON THE AGENDA.

SO THAT'S THE ROLE OF THE CHAIR.

THE VICE CHAIR, UM, IS MAINLY RESPONSIBLE FOR RUNNING THE MEETINGS.

SHOULD THE CHAIR BE, UM, NOT AVAILABLE, UM, HAVE A CONFLICT OR, UM, NOT ABLE TO ATTEND IN PERSON.

THE CHAIR COULD ATTEND BUT CAN'T RUN THE MEETING IF THEY'RE NOT IN PERSON IN THE MEETING ROOM.

AND SO THEN THE VICE CHAIR WOULD DO IT.

THE PARLIAMENTARIAN'S ROLE IS TO

[02:25:01]

'CAUSE WE'RE NOT REALLY ROBERT'S RULES PROFESSIONALS HERE.

SO THOSE ARE OUR THREE ROLES.

UM, UM, I THINK UNLESS I HEAR OBJECTIONS, I DON'T REALLY WANNA DO A BALLOT.

I THINK I JUST WANNA, UM, JUST TAKE THREE MOTIONS AND VOTE ON 'EM REAL QUICK.

I THINK THAT'LL BE FASTER TO GET THIS DONE.

UM, IF THAT'S OKAY WITH EVERYBODY.

YOU NOMINATE YOURSELF.

YOU WANT SOMETHING? UH, I DON'T CARE.

REALLY.

I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO NOMINATE COMMISSIONER SUSAN SUMMERS FOR ANOTHER TERM AS CHAIR.

WE'LL TAKE A VOTE ON THAT.

LESS IF ANYONE ELSE IS INTERESTED.

LIKE, SERIOUSLY, LIKE, UM, I DON'T, AND I, I DON'T KNOW IF I'LL DO IT MORE THAN ONE MORE YEAR.

I JUST DON'T KNOW.

WE'LL SEE.

BUT, UM, DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO ANOTHER YEAR IF YOU'LL HAVE ME.

OH, COMMISSIONER WHEELER.

WE'LL TAKE A VOTE ON THAT.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? YES.

I WILL VOTE FOR MYSELF.

I'M NOT AFRAID OF THAT.

THAT IS UNANIMOUS.

OKAY, GREAT.

UM, VICE CHAIR, CURRENT VICE CHAIR IS COMMISSIONER BROOKS.

UM, ARE YOU WILLING TO CONTINUE OR DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE? I THINK YOU'RE MUTED.

OH, YOU'RE MUTED.

I PROMISE.

ONE OF MY ELECTION PROMISES TO LEARN TO USE THE MUTE AND UNMUTE BUTTON .

BUT I'M HAPPY TO SERVE ANOTHER, AT LEAST ANOTHER YEAR AFTER THAT IS, MAY NOT BE UNDER MY CONTROL.

UM, I MEAN, I'LL, I'LL, YOU KNOW, I'LL GO AHEAD AND SAY I WILL MOVE TO, UM, NOMINATE COMMISSIONER BROOKS FOR VICE CHAIR FOR ANOTHER TERM.

I WAS SECOND THAT NOMINATION.

I'LL SECOND.

OH.

I'M GONNA LET YOU TAKE THAT ONE.

THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING UP.

YES, THANK YOU.

UM, WE'LL TAKE A VOTE ON THAT.

I'LL, THOSE IN FAVOR.

NOW GUYS, I HAVE A PLUM POSITION FOR YOU.

THE PARLIAMENTARIAN.

YOUR ROLE IS TO EXIST.

UM, PER THE BYLAWS, WE'RE GONNA BE COMPLIANT, WHICH WE NEVER HAVE BEFORE.

'CAUSE I'M NOT SURE WE EVER HAD A PARLIAMENTARIAN BEFORE.

IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN THIS ROLE? I, I, I MEAN, YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN ROLE IF YOU WANNA REMIND US OF ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER.

IT WOULD ACTUALLY, IT WOULD FOR SURE BE BENEFICIAL TO US.

WE, WE CAN'T SAY NO TO THAT.

IF, IF YOU COULD HELP US WITH THAT.

SO IF THIS IS A ROLE ANYBODY WOULD LIKE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO SORT OF SPEAK UP.

I'LL SAY I DO KNOW TOMA VERY WELL, JUST BECAUSE OF MY JOB WITH THE STATE.

AND SO I CAN KEEP US TOMA COMPLIANT.

I NEED TO LEARN ROBERT'S RULES A LITTLE BETTER.

BUT NO, I KNEW, I I THINK YOU WILL STUDY THIS AND YOU WILL BRING THIS TO US.

I, I HAVE LONG HAD THE GOAL OF READING ALL OF ROBERT'S RULES, SO I MEAN, WHY NOT? THIS IS YOUR MOMENT.

THIS IS, THIS IS OKAY.

I'M GONNA SEIZE YOUR POSITION.

TAKE IT.

I'M GONNA SEIZE THE MOMENT AND I WILL NOMINATE A COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER FOR OUR PARLIAMENTARIAN.

I WILL SECOND.

COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ.

I'LL WE'LL TAKE A VOTE ON THAT ONE.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER FOR PAUL ARIAN.

UPDATES PRETTY QUICKLY IF WE CAN.

THAT IS UNANIMOUS, UNANIMOUS OF THOSE IN ATTENDANCE.

ALL RIGHT, .

THANKS GUYS.

WE'VE WORKED THROUGH A HEAVY, HEAVY LOAD PRETTY DARN QUICKLY.

LET'S GET THROUGH THESE, UM, COMMITTEE

[8. Update from Commissioner Schumacher from the Downtown Commission regarding actions taken at the March 20, 2024 meeting ]

SO THE FIRST ONE IS FROM COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETING REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THEIR MARCH 20TH, 2024 MEETING.

AND I THOUGHT THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL WAS FIRST.

THAT'S ON ME.

LET ME HOLD THIS UP.

UH, WE CAN SWITCH IT UP.

NO, NO, NO, IT'S TOTALLY FINE.

THEY MADE THAT RECOMMENDATION.

SO, UM, THE ONLY THING THAT'S REALLY RELEVANT IS IN OUR, UM, BUDGET RECOMMENDATION.

WE INCLUDED THE, UH, PURCHASE OF 65 MERIDIAN BARRIERS PER A FUTURE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION.

SO OUR RECOMMENDATION MAKES SENSE.

UH, SO THAT'S REALLY THE ONLY, UH, RELEVANT UPDATE TO, UH, TRANSPORTATION.

COMMISSIONER WHEELER FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THEIR MARCH 27TH, 2024 MEETING.

UM, WE HAVE A UPDATE FROM

[9. Update from Commissioner Wheeler from the Joint Sustainability Commission regarding actions taken at the March 27, 2024 meeting ]

SCHUMACHER BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE MARCH 19TH, 2024 MEETING.

AND OUR MEETING WAS REALLY JUST THE PUBLIC, UM, A PUBLIC INPUT, UH, FOR THE, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN THAT WE ARE WORKING ON DEVELOPING WITH, WITH, UH, CITY STAFF FOR TO BE ABLE TO HAND OVER TO COUNCIL, REALLY TO HAND IT BACK TO CITY STAFF SO THAT THEY CAN HAND IT TO COUNCIL.

SO THAT'S WHAT WE DID LAST MEETING LOT.

A LOT OF PEOPLE TALKING.

IT WAS GOOD INFORMATION.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

UM, NOW WE HAVE COMMISSIONER

[10. Update from Commissioner Schumacher from the Bicycle Advisory Council regarding actions taken at the March 19, 2024 meeting ]

AND I'M READY.

UH, WE SPENT MOST OF OUR TIME ON THE SHOAL CREEK CONNECTIVITY GAPS.

UM, I THINK, UH, WE HAD PUBLIC SPEAKERS LAST TIME TALKING ABOUT, UM, THE CITY'S DECISION TO REMOVE A FORMER SHARED USE PATH AND INSTEAD PUT IN A PERMANENT SIDEWALK, I SHOULD SAY, A PILOT SHARED USE PATH AND, UH, STILL PUT IN A SIDEWALK AND THEN A NEIGHBORHOOD BIKEWAY TYPE CONFIGURATION.

UM, OUR RECOMMENDATION, I'LL, I'LL JUST GO THROUGH IT VERY QUICKLY, SAID, UH, THAT WE DO

[02:30:01]

NOT CONSIDER WHAT CITY STAFF PRESENTED TO BE AN ALL AGES AND ABILITIES STANDARD, UH, NOR REACH THE STANDARD PRESCRIBED IN THE URBAN TRAILS DESIGN GUIDE.

UH, AND THEN WE GAVE A BUNCH OF WAYS THAT IT COULD BE, UM, A, A NEIGHBORHOOD BIKEWAY NEEDS TO HAVE BETWEEN 501,000 VEHICLES A DAY TO BE IN STANDARD.

UH, AND THAT VERY CLEARLY WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.

SO, UM, I, I DON'T THINK I'M GONNA TAKE THE TIME TO LIST EACH ONE, BUT IF YOU WANT TO GO OVER THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL'S RECOMMENDATION, I THINK WE GAVE A LOT OF, UH, ACTIONABLE STEPS AS TO HOW WE COULD GET THAT FACILITY TO ALL AGES AND ABILITY.

ME ON THE CITY, UM, ON THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, MOBILITY COMMITTEE REGARDING THEIR MARCH 28TH, 2024 MEETING.

UM, NOW AN UPDATE FROM

[11. Update from Chair Somers on the City Council Mobility Committee regarding the March 28, 2024 meeting]

UM, I WENT TO THAT MEETING.

I WANNA SAY, UM, I, UH, PRESENTED ON OUR, WE HAD MULTIPLE RECOMMENDATIONS IN MARCH, AND THEN WE'LL, WE'RE AGAIN GONNA HAVE, UH, MULTIPLE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, IN, IN THIS COMING MONTH TO PRESENT TO THEM.

SO I DID DO THAT.

UH, I PRESENTED OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM MARCH TO THEM.

UM, AND LET'S SEE, I AM, I'M ALSO, 'CAUSE I WAS PREPARING THIS JUST LIKE YOU, I WAS PREPARING THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE FIRST.

UM, SO HERE WE GO.

LET ME PULL THAT UP.

UH, WE'VE GOT HERE, UM, THEY HEARD FROM, UM, SO BESIDES MY PRESENTATION, THEY HEARD, UM, UH, A PRESENTATION ON, UM, UH, VISION ZERO UPDATES.

THAT WAS QUITE INTERESTING ABOUT JUST WHERE WE ARE WITH TRAFFIC DEATHS, VISION ZERO SAFETY ON OUR STREETS.

THAT WAS VERY GOOD.

I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU GO CHECK THAT OUT.

THERE WAS, UH, INFORMATION ON A BIKE LANE PARKING BRIEFING.

I THINK THIS IS GREAT BECAUSE THIS IS AN AREA WHERE I THINK THIS BODY HAS ACTUALLY INFLUENCED POLICY.

UM, WE'VE HAD A SERIES, UH, WE HAD SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON BIKE LANE PARKING AND ENFORCING HOW TO ENFORCE THAT YOU DON'T PARK IN BIKE LANE WHEN YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO PARK IN THE BIKE LANE.

AND SO, UM, I THINK WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS THERE.

SO THEY HEARD A PRESENTATION AND I THINK, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS IS, UM, QUEUING UP SOME, UH, STUFF THERE.

SO THAT'S EXCITING.

THERE WAS AN UPDATE ON SCOOTER REGULATIONS.

UM, WE MAY TALK ABOUT THIS STEERING FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS A LITTLE BIT SURPRISING, SOME VERY, VERY RAPID AND, UM, UH, UH, POTENTIAL PROPOSALS FOR SCOOTERS AND MICRO MOBILITY THAT WE'RE GONNA JUST GONNA BE PUSHED THROUGH VERY, VERY FAST, LIKE LITERALLY THIS WEEK.

AM I WRONG IN SAYING THAT THIS, I I'M PRETTY SURE THEY'RE ALREADY IN EFFECT, RIGHT? YEAH.

SO, MM-HMM.

, YEAH.

SO THAT WAS, UH, VERY SURPRISING TO MANY FOLKS 'CAUSE THAT WASN'T REALLY MESSAGED.

AND SO I THINK THAT THAT MAY BE SOMETHING WE WANNA TALK ABOUT IN THE FUTURE.

WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. AND THEN, UM, LET'S SEE.

UH, YES, SO I THINK THAT THOSE ARE THE MAJOR THINGS.

THE MOBILITY OUTCOME REPORT.

I ACTUALLY, I THINK I MISSED THAT ONE.

I DON'T, DOES ANYONE ELSE, DOES ANYONE REMEMBER WHAT THAT INCLUDED? I THINK 'CAUSE THEY WERE RUNNING OUT OF TIME.

THEY JUST LET THE REPORT STAND ON ITS OWN AND DIDN'T BRING IT UP.

OKAY, COOL.

BUT THAT WAS MY RECORD, SO WE CAN JUST READ THE REPORT IF WE'RE INTERESTED.

SO, VERY GOOD.

UM, SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S LIKE, IT'S A UPDATE ON SOME GRANTS MAYBE AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

AND DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT REPORTS ON LIKE, THERE'S A REPORT ON LIKE, STUFF ON THE AIRPORT AND STUFF.

JUST UPDATES FROM, UM, UH, TPW PERHAPS SO ANYWAY, AND DIFFERENT UNITS THAT RELATE TO TRANSPORTATION.

UM, SO THAT'S THAT ONE.

UM, NOW AN UPDATE FROM THE,

[12. Update from Chair Somers from the Community Advisory Committee for Austin Transit Partnership Board regarding actions taken at the March 7, 2024 meeting ]

FROM ME AGAIN ON THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE MARCH 7TH, 2024 MEETING.

SO OUR TWO MAJOR ITEMS THAT WE HEARD WERE, UM, WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON PUBLIC SAFETY.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW, CAP METRO IS FORMING A POLICE FORCE THAT IS, UM, UM, SUPER COMPLEX AND SORT OF, I DON'T KNOW, VERY HEART ISSUE, UM, ABOUT POLI.

WE KNOW WE'VE BEEN HAVING A NATIONWIDE CONVERSATION ON POLICING AND NOW WE'RE CREATING THIS NEW POLICE FORCE FOR CAP METRO.

SO WE, UM, REALLY DUG IN ON THAT.

THERE'S A PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS THAT'S ONGOING FOR THE FORMATION OF THE POLICIES FOR THE CAP METRO, UM, UH, POLICE FORCE.

SO IF YOU GO TO THEIR PUBLIC INPUT SITE, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON EACH OF THE POLICIES.

AND LIKE EACH, EVERY COUPLE WEEKS THEY'RE ROLLING OUT A NEW SET OF POLICIES LIKE THEIR EQUITY POLICY OR DIFFERENT POLICIES THAT YOU CAN COMMENT ON.

SO I HIGHLY, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THIS, I WOULD HIGHLY ADVISE THAT YOU WATCH, UM, THAT SITE FOR PUBLIC INPUT, THAT YOU MAKE COMMENTS THAT YOU SHARE THAT WITH YOUR COMMUNITIES AND NETWORKS TO MAKE COMMENTS.

THERE IS A PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UM, FOR CAP METRO.

SO THIS IS A BODY JUST LIKE OURS, IT'S ADVISING CAP METRO ON THIS AND THAT THEY DO HAVE OPEN MEETINGS AND THEY'RE TAKING INPUT.

SO, UM, YOU CAN ALSO ATTEND THOSE MEETINGS OR WATCH THEIR MEETINGS, READ THEIR AGENDAS TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT AS WELL.

SO HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU WOULD ENGAGE ON THAT.

AND WE REALLY DUG IN ON THAT QUITE A BIT.

WE ALSO HEARD THE TITLE SIX PRESENTATIONS.

SO IF YOU DON'T KNOW TITLE SIX REGULATES, UM, SORT OF, UM, ACCESS AND EQUITY AND, UH, DISCRIMINATION WITHIN, UM, PROGRAMS THAT RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING,

[02:35:01]

WHICH OF COURSE CAP METRO IS ONE OF THOSE.

AND EVERY, UH, COUPLE YEARS, THEY HAVE TO ANALYZE HOW THE SERVICES THAT THEY'RE PROVIDING AND THE SERVICES THAT THEY'RE CHANGING MAY AFFECT, UM, THOSE FROM, UM, THE PROTECTED CLASSES IN THE FEDERAL LAW.

AND SO THEY ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, DEVISED A NEW FRAMEWORK THAT THEY ARE, UH, LOOKING TO AND ANALYZE THIS WITH.

THEY BELIEVE THAT IT'S GOING TO BE, UM, UH, USING DATA IN A MUCH MORE INTELLIGENT WAY TO GET AT THE, UM, SO BASICALLY THEY HAVE TO SHOW THAT, UM, THIS GROUP, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE CHANGING THE SERVICE TO A PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD OR REMOVING A TRANSIT STOP THAT THAT'S NOT AFFECTING A PROTECTED CLASS DISPROPORTIONATELY.

AND HOW YOU GET AT THAT IS, IS COMPLEX.

IT RELATES TO CENSUS DATA TRACKS RIDERSHIP INFORMATION.

SO THEY'RE LOOKING, UM, BASICALLY THEIR PROPOSAL IS TO LOOK AT A MUCH MORE ROBUST SET OF INFORMATION THAN THEY PREVIOUSLY HAVE TO TRY TO DETERMINE THAT MORE ACCURATELY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT, UM, AFFECT IMPACTING, UM, THE, UH, ACCESS TO TRANSIT OF THE AFFECTED, UH, PROTECTED CLASSES.

SO I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU LOOK AT THAT.

IT WAS A VERY, VERY INTERESTING PRESENTATION.

I THOUGHT WAS I, I FELT VERY GOOD.

LIKE I FELT LIKE, YES, THIS IS, THEY'RE LOOKING AT MORE DATA AND THIS IS GONNA ACTUALLY PROVIDE THEM A MORE NUANCED VIEW AND IT MAY CATCH SOME THINGS THAT WE WEREN'T CATCHING PREVIOUSLY.

SO THAT WAS VERY, UH, VERY GOOD.

I THOUGHT THE THIRD ITEM THAT WE HAD WAS THE, UM, FROM AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.

AND IT WAS THE USER EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT PRESENTATION.

AND SO THIS IS WHAT I REFERENCED EARLIER, IF YOU REMEMBER, THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THE PUBLIC INPUT THAT THEY'VE GATHERED OF HOW PEOPLE WANNA SEE THE PUBLIC REALM AND THE BUILD OUT OF THE TRANSIT STOP.

SO, YOU KNOW, THE SAFETY, THE SHADE THAT I MENTIONED IS ONE OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, UM, THE IDEA LIKE DO YOU WANT A CAFE BY YOUR TRANSIT STOP? THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO THEY WERE, UM, TALKING A LOT ABOUT WHAT THEY HAD FOUND THROUGH THEIR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

AND THEY HAD A LOT OF SORT OF REALLY COOL VISUALS.

AND THEY, THEY SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THINGS THEY FOUND IN AUSTIN ARE THINGS THAT THEY FIND EVERYWHERE.

LIKE EVERYBODY WANTS SAFETY AND EVERYBODY WANTS, YOU KNOW, UM, CULTURAL EXPERIENCES.

BUT THEY SAID THAT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE KEY TO AUSTIN WERE DEFINITELY SHADE AND ALSO, UM, DEFINITELY TO A GREAT VERY BIG EXTENT CULTURAL EXPERIENCES THAT WERE RELEVANT TO PEOPLE.

SO, UM, ANYWAY, CHECK THAT OUT.

IT WAS, WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION.

UM, I, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, SO CHECK THAT OUT AS WELL.

SO ANYWAY, THOSE WERE OUR MAIN THREE THERE FROM THAT MEETING.

AND I NOTICED WE DIDN'T HAVE PEDESTRIAN.

DID PEDESTRIAN COUNCIL MEET? NO.

NOT CANCELED, THAT'S WHY.

OKAY, PERFECT.

HAVE, UM, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. LET ME, NATALIE, AND YOU MAY WANNA HELP ME HERE.

SO THAT TAKES US THROUGH OUR COMMITTEE UPDATES.

SO WE

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

UM, I KNOW WE HAVE, UM, I 35 CAP AND STITCH.

I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THAT.

I REALLY WANNA HAVE THAT SOON.

I REALLY, REALLY WANNA HAVE IT IN MAY, HONESTLY.

UM, I'M GONNA TRY TO GET A LITTLE PUSHY IF I CAN'T GET IT IN MAY.

SO THAT'S ONE THAT I DEFINITELY HAVE.

HELP ME REMEMBER.

I'M PROBABLY FORGETTING SOME MORE UP RIGHT NOW.

OH, GREAT.

SORRY, I DIDN'T PUT THAT.

NO, NO, NO, IT'S GREAT.

UM, SO I 35 IS REALLY KEY ON MY MIND.

UM, .

SO I ALSO AM DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN, WE HAVE THESE SETS OF ITEMS WITH THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.

WE SAW AN EXAMPLE TODAY OF LIKE THE IMAGERY OF HOW IT WAS IN THE PLAN VERSUS THAT IT WAS BUILT WITHOUT STREET TREES.

SO LIKE, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ENCAPSULATE THAT.

WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT KIND OF LIKE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, BUT LIKE IT'S A LITTLE MORE COMPLEX THAN JUST THAT.

BUT, UM, I DEFINITELY HAVE LIKE THAT THE CORRIDOR PLAN SLASH CAPITAL DELIVERY, RESERVICES ENGAGEMENT IN COMMUNICATION, ENGAGEMENT IN COMMS. I DUNNO HOW TO CALCULATE THAT PERFECTLY, BUT LIKE, TELL US WHAT'S NEW.

WE'RE LIKE, THEY SAID SOMETHING, DON'T YOU REMEMBER THE QUARTERLY UP? DO YOU REMEMBER THE QUARTERLY UPDATES THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING TO SOMEONE? I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD BE DUE FOR THAT, RIGHT? WE'RE DUE FOR AN UPDATE OF SOME VARIETY.

DIRECTOR SNOW, I BELIEVE COMMITTED IN DECEMBER THAT HE WOULD COME BACK TO US.

DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TIMELINE IS FOR THAT, BUT, UM, I HAVE A COUPLE IDEAS ROAMING AROUND WHENEVER I REALLY DO WANT A, I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO GET THOSE, BUT I REALLY WANT THE URBAN TRAILS DISCUSSION.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S DEFINITELY UP.

UM, FOR, UH, ONE THING, WE'VE ALSO GOT PARKING ENTERPRISE.

I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S URGENT FOR MAY.

TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA.

MANUAL E TODD, WE, WE HANDLED THAT LIVING STREETS PEDESTRIAN, WE DID THAT.

URBAN TRAILS.

I THINK THAT PEOPLE ARE EXCITED TO WORK ON THAT AND HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT, HOW TO, IS IT FAIR TO SAY HOW TO, UM, ACCELERATE OUR AND UH, IMPROVE OUR URBAN TRAIL DELIVERY.

AND I, I WOULD ALSO BE INTERESTED IF, IF WE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN MAYBE DOING A COMPREHENSIVE A TX WALK BY ROLL RECOMMENDATION.

'CAUSE THERE ARE ALSO SOME THINGS I'D LIKE TO, UM, LOOK AT IN THE BICYCLE PLAN.

UM, AND I THINK ALSO THE, UH, SIDEWALK SHARED STREETS AND CROSSING PLAN.

UM, SO I, I

[02:40:01]

I THINK THE URBAN TRAILS HAS RISEN TO THE TOP FOR A LOT OF US IS THE AREA WHERE WE NEED THE MOST WORK IN TERMS OF OUR BUILD OUT OF ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO I THINK I WOULD BE COMFORTABLE QUEUING THAT UP FIRST AND THEN THEN, BUT NOT NEGLECTING ANY OTHER THINGS THAT ARE NEEDED AS WELL.

YEAH, I'M GOOD IN THE FUTURE.

UM, AND THEN TXDOT STATE RIGHT OF WAY, AGAIN, I'M NOT TOTALLY CERTAIN THAT'S URGENT, BUT I MEAN, MAYBE IT IS.

ANYWAY, UM, IF I CAN JUMP IN.

I WASN'T SURE IF THERE WAS GONNA BE ANOTHER, UM, LIVING STREETS, PEDESTRIAN VIBRANCY, BUT THAT ONE'S OFF, LIKE AFTER TODAY.

WE'RE GOOD.

THAT ONE WAS THE ONE THAT WE DID TODAY.

THAT'S DONE.

SO WE'RE GOOD.

YEAH, WE'RE DONE HERE.

I KNOW IT HAD SAID A SERIES OF RECOMMENDATIONS, SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS GONNA BE OH YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

UM, MORE COMING.

UM, I DON'T THINK IMMINENTLY, NOT THIS MONTH.

SO I CAN PULL IT OFF.

AND THEN, UM, UNLESS SOMEBODY ELSE WANTS, HAS MORE, YOU KNOW.

NO, THE E TODD WAS MORE OF AN UPDATE POST GOING TO COUNCIL.

SO I KNOW WE DID OR YOU DID WHAT YOU DID TODAY, BUT I, I DID THINK THERE WAS A WANT FOR THEM TO COME BACK AND TALK TO YOU ONCE THE, ONCE THEY GOT THROUGH COUNCIL, ONCE THEY FINISHED THEIR WORK.

AND THAT MIGHT NOT BE, NEED TO BE, THAT MAY NEED TO BE IN JUNE, LIKE ONCE THEY'VE LIKE GOTTEN THROUGH ALL THEIR WORK.

BUT, UM, I THINK MAY OR JUNE COULD BE GOOD FOR THAT.

UM, AND I WANNA SAY THAT THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH TEXTILE STATE RIGHT OF WAY THING, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, THE PERSON THAT DOES URBAN BOULEVARDS, UH, IS HOW THEY CLASSIFY IT, UH, TO COME IN AND TALK ABOUT HOW THEY CAN COME AND WORK WITH US ON LIKE OUR STREET DESIGN FOR, YOU KNOW, NORTH LAMAR, NORTH OF 180 3 OR SOUTH LAMAR OR SOUTH CONGRESS.

SO, SO CAN YOU CLARIFY, SO THE URBAN BOULEVARDS PERSON WOULD BE WITH WHICH ITEM? UH, IT WAS AT TDOT, LIKE PARTNERSHIP WITH TXDOT STATE'S, UH, STATE RIGHTS OF WAY.

LIKE AT SOME POINT THIS YEAR, IT'D BE COOL TO GET THE PERSON WHO DOES URBAN BOULEVARDS IN AUSTIN OR MAYBE EVEN TUCKER IF HE WANTS TO COME IN.

HE WON'T.

BUT YEAH.

GET URBAN BOULEVARDS AND TEX N TEXDOT HERE AT THE SAME TIME.

THAT'S WELL IT'S WHAT THEY, UH, THAT'S THE TDOT TERM FOR THEIR, UH, YEAH.

GOT IT.

UM, AND I ACTUALLY THINK THE FIRST AND THE LAST ONE ON HERE ARE, THIS IS FOR NATALIE ARE KIND OF THE SAME ONE.

THEY'RE KIND OF THE SAME.

THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT I THINK WE COULD KIND OF TRY TO ADDRESS THEM ALL AT ONCE.

UM, SO I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT NATALIE AND I WILL QUEUE UP, EXCEPT THAT I REALLY FEEL CLEAR THAT I WANT, I WANT, TO ME, I WANT URBAN TRAILS AND I 35 ON HERE, ON HERE PRETTY SOON.

AND THE CORRIDOR, THOSE ARE KIND OF MY TOP THREE TO TAKE UP SOON-ISH.

BUT WE ALWAYS HAVE TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR AGENDA.

AND LIKE, SOMETIMES THERE'S THINGS WE CAN'T DO.

LIKE WE, WE CAN'T AVOID, LIKE WE NEED TO DO TAXIS OR WE NEED TO DO A RIDE AWAY VACATION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

SO THAT'S GONNA ALSO TAKE UP OUR TIME.

SO THOSE ARE MY TOP THREE.

UH, BUT BEYOND THIS LIST DOES, DO PEOPLE HAVE MORE THINGS THAT HAVE BUBBLED UP? YES.

I LOVE IT.

YOU, YOU SAID IT BEFORE, BUT I, I THINK WE ABSOLUTELY NEED TO DO, DO BOTH.

I THINK WE SHOULD REQUEST A, A PRESENTATION FROM, I MEAN, IT IT SOUNDS LIKE DIRECTOR MENDOZA WAS THE ONE LEADING THIS, BUT SOMEONE ON THE SCOOTER PARKING REGULATIONS.

AND THEN I CERTAINLY WANT TO GO FORWARD WITH A RECOMMENDATION BOTH ON HOW, WHAT THOSE REGULATIONS SHOULD LOOK LIKE AND WHAT THE PROCESS SHOULD LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE.

AND WE COULD CALL THAT SCOOTERS AND MICRO MOBILITY, MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

AND DOCKLESS VEHICLES, I THINK ARE THE, IS THE TERM THAT'S USED.

SORRY, GO AHEAD, RUBEN.

THERE'S ALSO A WHOLE ISSUE OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.

THIS IS THE SECOND.

CDS HAS NOT, WHICH IS IN MENDOZA'S DEPARTMENT, HAS NOT EXACTLY DONE A GOOD JOB ON PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.

AND NOW WE HAVE MENDOZA HIMSELF DOING NOT DOING A GOOD JOB.

WE, WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL THAT WE'RE NOT TAKING UP AN ITEM RIGHT NOW.

SO I THINK THAT WE'RE ALL REALLY CLEAR THAT WE DO NEED TO HEAR IT.

SO, UM, SO WE NEED, WE CAN'T TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW.

WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT FUTURE ITEMS. UM, AND DID YOU, YOU HAD ONE COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ? YEAH, I WOULD IN FOR JULY.

UM, I'D LIKE TO HAVE A UPDATE ON THE GREEN STREETS INITIATIVE, UM, WITH SOME UPDATES.

'CAUSE I THINK BY THEN IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPENS IN JULY, WE STILL HAVE AUGUST.

UM, AND THEN COULD KIND OF HOPEFULLY PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION BY SEPTEMBER.

AND BY THAT POINT, HOPEFULLY THERE'S CITY STAFF THAT HAVE SOMETHING LOOKED UP FOR US AT THAT POINT.

I WOULD JUST LIKE FROM, FROM BOTH ENDS.

SURE.

UM, WE NEED TO SEE CAPTAIN STITCH NEXT MONTH.

I KNOW YOU ALREADY SAID THAT, BUT THAT'S LIKE, WE NEED TO GET PUSHY ON THAT.

'CAUSE WE'VE BEEN ASKING FOR SIX MONTHS.

I, I PROMISE YOU I HAVE A PLAN, SO, OKAY.

WE, WE WILL, UM, WE WILL GET THAT ON OUR AGENDA.

OR IF WE DON'T, THEY'RE ACT NEXT TIME .

IF, IF, IF WE DON'T, THEN I'M GONNA, BECAUSE WE KNOW THEY GET, THEY DON'T LIKE

[02:45:01]

TO, WE GET IGNORE.

YES, YES, YES, YES.

I UNDERSTAND.

WE, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL WORK ON THAT.

CAN I, OKAY.

OH, SORRY.