[00:00:01]
OKAY.[CALL TO ORDER]
OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FOR JUNE 5TH, 2024 AT THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER EVENT CENTER.WILHELMINA DELCO DRIVE, AUSTIN, TEXAS 7 8 7 5 2.
SO LET'S TAKE ROLL CALL COMMISSIONER, UH, KRUEGER HERE.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
COMMUNICATION? LET'S SEE.UH, IF YOU COULD PLEASE GO UP TO THE MICROPHONE AND, UH, ACTUALLY HE'S ON, HE'S ON.
OH, YOU'RE FOR ITEM THREE? SORRY.
UM, I WAS ATTEMPTING TO GET A SLIDESHOW TOGETHER FOR THIS, UH, TEXT I 35, UM, PRESENTATION.
UM, YEAH, I NOTICED THERE'S NOT A JUNE MEETING, UH, LATER IN JUNE.
UH, SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT TO BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA FOR A PRESENTATION FROM WATERSHED.
UM, A, A GOOD CON POINT OF CONTACT IS FROM, UM, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, A GENTLEMAN NAMED JAMES SNOW, WHO'S THE DIRECTOR.
UM, SHOULD HAVE QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION ON THE TEXT PROJECT AND FAIRLY INFORMATIVE.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE, UM, I GUESS LIKE SUBPOENA OR WHATEVER POWERS THIS BODY HAS WITH REGARDS TO GETTING, UM, CITY, CITY STAFF HERE.
UM, I GUESS I WANTED TO DO LIKE A LITTLE INTRODUCTION JUST IN KIND OF LIKE TANGENT.
UM, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THIS ORGANIZATION TOWN CALLED VEST BEACH.
WE HAVE BEEN NAMED, UH, AS A RECIPIENT OF, UH, A GRANT WRITER.
UM, WE ARE 0.8 ACRES, UM, RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF I 35.
UH, TDO HAS CONCEDED TO PLACE A NOISE WALL, UH, AND HAS GIVEN US A GRANT WRITER, WHICH IS PRETTY EXCITING.
UM, WE MEET WITH THEM QUARTERLY AND, UH, YEAH, I WOULD LIKE, I WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION, THIS PLACE AS A PLATFORM FOR, UH, ENGAGING WITH THE CITY TO IMAGINE, UH, HOW TO MITIGATE, UH, WHAT IS IN, IN THE BREACH, UM, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD.
UM, AGAIN, MY BIG CONCERNS ARE THE IMPACTS OF THE COLORADO RIVER ECOSYSTEM, BOTH DOWNSTREAM OF LONGHORN DAM, UM, AS WELL AS THE REPLACEMENT OF THE BRIDGE OVER TOP OF THE COLORADO RIVER.
UM, I'VE BEEN LIKE READING INTO JANE JACOBS LOT LATELY, AND, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, SHE DISCUSSED IS, IS, UH, ROBERT, ROBERT MOSES, I BELIEVE WAS HIS NAME.
AND THAT, UH, HE WOULD OFTEN LIKE, DISCUSS THESE IDEAS OF THIS HIGHWAY EXPANSION AND TOTALLY NEGLECT THE IDEA OF MENTIONING THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE A BRIDGE AT THE END OF THIS.
AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THIS CITY HAS REALLY MISSED, IS THERE'S BEEN A HUGE FOCUS ON THE CUT AND CAP.
AND ULTIMATELY THERE HAS BEEN VERY LITTLE INVESTIGATION ON WHAT THIS BRIDGE IS GONNA BE.
AND THEN OTHER THAN THAT, OF COURSE, THE 25 FOOT DIAMETER DRY TUNNEL THAT'S GOING BENEATH CAESAR CHAVEZ, UH, A PUMP, THAT'S, WHO KNOWS WHERE IT'S GOING, UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT IT'S PUTTING INTO THE COLORADO RIVER.
UM, BUT AGAIN, UH, FESTIVAL BEACH, FOOD FOREST, UH, I'D LIKE TO PARTNER WITH THIS ORGANIZATION OR THIS BODY IF POSSIBLE, AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO, UH, YEAH.
CREATE UNIMAGINATIVE SOLUTION.
UM, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, UH, IF YOU COULD REACH OUT TO ELIZABETH FUNK OR KAYLA, DEFINITELY.
HI, MY NAME IS KATHY MITCHELL.
I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF EQUITY ACTION, AND I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE A ENORMOUS COLLABORATION AMONG GRASSROOTS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, MANY OF WHICH YOU ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL SECTOR, UH, CAME TOGETHER TO PRODUCE THIS YEAR'S COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET.
[00:05:01]
AND I'M HOPING FOR Y'ALL'S ENDORSEMENT AT A NEAR FUTURE MEETING.UH, THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET COVERS ALL THE THINGS ACROSS A HOST OF ISSUES, BUT THIS YEAR IN PARTICULAR WAS CLIMATE YEAR FOR THE DISCUSSION AROUND THIS BUDGET AND WHAT ADDITIONAL THINGS NEED TO BE PAID FOR THROUGH GENERAL REVENUE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THE FOOD PLAN AND THE CLIMATE PLAN IN PARTICULAR.
AND THE FOLKS IN OUR COALITION WHO ARE MORE EXPERT THAN I IN, UH, ALL OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ON THE TABLE FOR AUSTIN RIGHT NOW, SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME IDENTIFYING A HANDFUL OF THINGS.
UH, THE CLIMATE EQUITY IMPLEMENTATION PROPOSAL THAT WE'RE PUTTING FORWARD IS 1.335 MILLION.
UH, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THAT IS LITERALLY JUST TO GET THE THING STARTED.
UH, SIMILARLY FOR THE FOOD PLAN, WE HAVE PROPOSED SOME VERY MODEST ADDITIONAL STAFFING TO, UH, MANAGE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF THE FOOD PLAN AND COORDINATED ITS IMPLEMENTATION.
THERE ARE OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL PIECES IN HERE AS WELL.
I'M SURE THAT YOU ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE LONG OVERDUE NEED TO START FIXING LEAKY PIPES SO THAT WE HAVE MORE WATER.
WE HAVE SUGGESTED A IMPLEMENTATION FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AS WELL, AND A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS.
TOO MUCH TO GO INTO HERE IN THIS MOMENT.
BUT I HAVE, UM, UNFORTUNATELY MY PRINTER CRAPPED OUT ON ME ON MY WAY HERE.
UH, SO I ONLY HAVE THREE COPIES, BUT I WAS PLANNING ON LEAVING THREE COPIES WITH Y'ALL.
UM, AND MY ASK IS THAT WE PUT ON, BE PUT ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING FOR AN ACTION ITEM TO ENDORSE ONCE Y'ALL HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT.
ANY QUESTIONS? I KNOW IT'S A DOCUMENT YOU HAVEN'T SEEN YET, SO
KATHY, IF YOU DON'T MIND, IF YOU CAN EMAIL THAT, UM, YOUR SUPPORTING DOCS TO, UH, ELIZABETH FUNK OR KAYLA AND THEY COULD DISTRIBUTE IT TO US.
CAN I GET AN EMAIL ADDRESS FROM SOMEONE? YEAH.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING.HAVE ALL THE COMMISSIONERS HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THOSE MINUTES? ARE THERE ANY JUST A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS.
UH, WE HAVE KRUGER NICHOLS, RESI, UH, EINHORN, BEDFORD SULLIVAN, AND BRIMER, ALL THOSE ABSTAINING, UH, COMMISSIONER BRISTOL MOTION PASSES.
[2. Discussion and recommendation of Austin Water Capital Improvement Projects located in the Drinking Water Protection Zone for approval to include in the 5-year Capital spending plan as required by Financial Policy #8 – Frida Guo, Financial Manager II, Austin Water]
WE HAVE DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. UM, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION OF AUSTIN WATER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS LOCATED AT THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE FOR APPROVAL TO INCLUDE THE FIVE YEAR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN AS REQUIRED BY FINANCIAL POLICY NUMBER EIGHT.AND DO WE HAVE A PRESENTATION FOR THIS OR, UM, ACTUALLY IT'S, UH, UM, PRESENT A FILE PAGE MEMO.
AND THEN WE SUBMITTED BEFORE, SO I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S SHOWING ON THE SCREEN OR, OR NO, IT'S JUST A MEMO.
AND I'M SORRY TO TO INTERJECT RIGHT NOW.
IT'S A LITTLE HARD FOR ME TO HEAR, UH, THE PERSON SPEAKING AT THE PODIUM.
IT WAS ALSO A BIT HARD TO HEAR DURING COMMENT AS WELL, SO I DUNNO IF OTHER ONLINE QUOTES ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE.
SO HE'S HAVING A SIMILAR ISSUE.
ARE WE ABLE TO, LIKE TECH CHECK THE MICROPHONE AT THE PODIUM? MS. SPEAKERS COULD PLEASE PROJECT INTO THE MICROPHONE.
UH, SO GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
I'M THE FINANCIAL MANAGER FOR CITY OF AUSTIN IN AUSTIN WATER DEPARTMENT.
AND TONIGHT WE ALSO HAVE, UH, TINA ROMERO IS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION MANAGER, AND ALSO, UM, LAUREN KING, UH, FROM THE INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT DIVISION, UH, SUPERVISOR HERE WITH ME TOGETHER.
SO ACTUALLY TODAY I WILL PRESENT A FILE PAGE MEMO, WHICH WE HAVE ALREADY SUBMITTED AS A BACKUP.
[00:10:01]
ON THE MEMO AND, UH, THE FIRST PAGE, IT WILL EXPLAIN, YOU KNOW, WHY WE ARE HERE.SO, UM, IN AUSTIN WATER, UH, FINANCIAL POLICY NUMBER EIGHT, AUSTIN WATER NEEDS TO PRESENT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, WHICH ALLOCATED IN DRINKING WATER PROTECT ZONE.
SO, PRO UH, PROJECTS INCLUDE THE NEW WATER AND WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT, UM, CAPITAL EXPANSION PROJECTS, AND ALSO ANY KIND OF THE GROWTH RELATED PROJECTS.
UM, AS PART OF THE ANNUAL, UM, BUDGET PROCESS, THERE ARE THREE BOARD AND COMMISSIONS WE NEED TO PRESENT EACH YEAR.
UM, THERE ARE ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD AND, UH, UH, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION AND WASTEWATER, UH, AND WATER, UH, COMMISSIONS.
AND I ALSO WANT TO EXPLAIN THAT AS PART OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN BOARD APPROVAL PROCESS, AUSTIN WATER SUBMITS A PLAN FOR THE CIP SPENDING FOR THE UPCOMING FIVE YEARS.
UM, THE FIVE YEARS FOR THIS YEAR IS THE PHYSICAL 2025 THROUGH 2029.
IN THE MEMO WE INCLUDED A SUBSIDE CIP PROJECT IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECT ZONE.
THIS PROJECTS REPRESENTS IMPROVEMENT REQUIRES TO AUSTIN WATER STANDARDS FOR O ABILITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE.
AND WE DID INCLUDE A TABLE OUTLINING EACH OF THESE PROJECTS.
SO THERE ARE TOTAL 10 PROJECTS LISTED ON THE, SO ON THE SECOND PAGE OF THE MEMO, UH, ACTUALLY LISTED FIVE WATER PROJECTS AND FIVE WASTEWATER PROJECTS THEY ARE ALL CARRYING OVER FROM LAST FIVE YEARS.
THE CIP PLAN PRESENTED TO YOU BEFORE, ACTUALLY THIS YEAR WE DON'T HAVE ANY NEW PROJECT, UH, INCLUDED.
SO THE TOTAL SPENDING PLAN FOR THIS 10 PROJECTS WILL BE $68 MILLION.
UM, THOUSAND NEXT, NEXT FOLLOWING FIVE YEARS.
AND ALSO ON THE LAST PAGE OF THIS MEMO.
AND WE ALSO LISTED THE LOCATION OF ALL THESE 10 PROJECTS, UH, IN COMPLIANCE WITH AUSTIN WATER FINANCIAL POLICY NUMBER EIGHT.
UH, WE, UH, YOU KNOW, INFORMING YOU OF THIS 10 PROJECTS.
AND ALSO WE'RE OPEN TO SEE IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE PROJECTS YOU MAY HAVE HERE.
UH, LET'S START UP WITH THE REMOTE COMMISSIONERS.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE, THE SOUND WAS STILL TOUGH.
IT LIKE, GETS REALLY LOUD AND THEN REALLY QUIET.
IT'S, UM, SO THIS, AT THIS TIME, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I'M JUST HOPING WE CAN FIGURE OUT THE MIC BEFORE THE NEXT SPEAKER.
UM, WE MAY BE ABLE TO USE THAT TABLE MIC JUST IN CASE FOR FUTURE STUFF.
I WAS ABLE TO HEAR A BIT BETTER, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THIS TIME.
HEY, Y'ALL APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
YOU KNOW, UM, FOR THE DAVIS MEDIUM SERVICE WATER TRANSMISSION MAIN, IT SEEMS LIKE, UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE SPENDING A BUNCH OF MONEY SORT OF AFTER THE 2030 FISCAL YEAR.
UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT AND GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT.
WHICH MIC SHOULD I USE? YEAH, THERE YOU GO.
UH, THE DAVIS MEDIATOR, OH, UH, COULD YOU PLEASE, UH, INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO YOU? OH, YES, SORRY.
I'M THE SUPERVISING ENGINEER OF THE CIP AND ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, WHICH IS PART OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT DIVISION IN AUSTIN WATER.
THE DAVIS MEDIUM SERVICE WATER TRANSMISSION MAIN PROJECT IS A LARGE PROJECT.
YOU SEE $170 MILLION IN THE 10 YEAR.
UM, THIS PROJECT, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE MAP, STARTS IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
THE DAVIS WATER TREATMENT PLANT, WHICH IS LOCATED ALONG LAKE AUSTIN, NEAR THE PENNYBACK BRIDGE AND GOES INTO FAR EAST AUSTIN.
THIS WILL INCREASE THE ABILITY FOR THE DAVIS WATER TREATMENT PLANT TO CONVEY WATER TO THE CENTRAL PRESSURE ZONE, WHICH THEN CAN THEN BE TRANSFERRED TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST PRESSURE ZONES.
RIGHT NOW, THE ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANT IS THE MAIN, UH, PROVIDER OF WATER FOR THOSE AREAS.
SO THIS WILL BOTH INCREASE THE CAPACITY AND THE KIND OF RESILIENCY OF OUR WHOLE SYSTEM, GIVING US THE OPTION TO MOVE WATER FROM MORE PLANTS TO MORE AREAS.
[00:15:01]
GROWTH IN THE EAST AUSTIN AREA, WHICH HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANT.COMM UH, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN COMMISSIONERS AT CALEB CHAMPLIN WATERSHED PROTECTION.
IT SOUNDS LIKE BEFORE WE CONTINUE, WE SHOULD PROBABLY ADDRESS THE MIC ISSUE IF APPARENTLY IT'S WORSE NOW ON THE, ON THE OTHER MIC, MIC
SO, UM, WE'VE NOTIFIED IT AND THEY'RE WORKING ON IT, I BELIEVE.
SO SHOULD WE TAKE A RECESS THEN? UM, MAYBE LIKE FIVE MINUTES.
LET ME SEE IF I CAN GET A THUMBS UP REAL QUICK.
SHOULD WE TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK? IT? SURE.
UH, COMMISSIONERS, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A FIVE MINUTE RECESS.
WELL, LET'S JUST COME BACK AT, UH, 6 22.
[00:25:22]
THUMBS[00:25:22]
UP.LET'S COME BACK FROM THIS RECESS.
I THINK WE HAVE ALL THE MIC ISSUES HANDLED.
UM, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, I BELIEVE YOU HAD A QUESTION.
ALRIGHT, SO, YOU KNOW THAT VERY RECENTLY THE CITY COUNCIL HAS APPROVED, UH, HOME TO REDUCE COMPATIBILITY AND ALSO THE EAD, UH, ORDINANCES THAT WILL, WE HOPE WILL INCREASE HOMES WITHIN THE CITY.
ONE OF THE CONCERNS WAS THAT UTILITIES WOULD SUFFER FROM THAT.
UM, SO IS YOUR CIP PLAN TAKING INTO ACCOUNT HIGHER, UH, MORE HOMES PER, UH, SQUARE MILE OR, UM, ARE WE GONNA BE WAIT, WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE OUTCOMES ARE FROM, UM, REDUCING COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS, UM, ALLOWING MORE UNITS PER LOT, ALLOWING SMALLER LOTS, ET CETERA? OKAY, HERE WE GO.
SO FOR, UH, DENSIFICATION, INFILL, UM, WE, WE DON'T CHASE GROWTH.
YOU KNOW, WE LET GROWTH HAPPEN AND THEN RESPOND TO IT.
WE HAVE, UH, STANDARDS WHERE WE TRY TO MAINTAIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CAPACITY IN OUR WASTEWATER SYSTEM.
FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S SOME INFLUENCE THAT GETS IN WHEN IT RAINS, AND SO WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE THE PIPES FULL CAPACITY ALL THE TIME.
AND WE'RE MONITORING THAT WITH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE STANDARD AREAS TO OVERFLOWS AND EXPANDING THE CAPACITY OF THOSE PIPES AS NEEDED.
UM, IMPACT FEES, OF COURSE, IF METER SIZES GO UP FOR DIFFERENT PIECES OF PROPERTY OR NEW PROPERTIES, IS A WAY THAT WE PAY FOR GROWTH SO THAT WE CAN FUND THOSE PROJECTS WHERE WE SEE THAT WE NEED THEM.
UM, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT.
IF YOU, UH, FOR AN EXAMPLE, THE SOUTH AREA LIFT STATION IMPROVEMENTS, UH, BARTON CREEK PLAZA PROJECT, THAT'S A PROJECT THAT IS MOSTLY RESPONDING TO INFILL OF SOUTH AUSTIN IN AN AREA THAT WAS ALREADY DEVELOPED.
AND SO WE SEE A LIFT STATION THAT'S REACHING ITS CAPACITY, AND WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND EXPAND THAT, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT ACROSS THE SYSTEM.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, FIRST, UH, ONE, IT HAS TO DO WITH THE SPICEWOOD SPRINGS ROAD, UH, IMPROVEMENTS.
I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WERE GONNA BE ANY IMPROVEMENTS TO THE, UH, WATER PIPES THERE.
ARE YOU JUST RELOCATING THEM AS A RESULT OF THE WIDENING OF THE ROAD? IT IS MOSTLY A RELOCATION PROJECT.
WE ARE ALSO GOING TO UPSIZE THOSE PIPES AS THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, AT CAPACITY AND WE SEE, UH, CONTINUED GROWTH IN THAT AREA.
AND SO WHILE WE'RE IN THE GROUND REPLACING THE PIPES, WE'RE GOING TO INCREASE THE SIZE OF THEM SOMEWHAT.
AND THEN FOLLOWING UP ON COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN'S, UH, QUESTION ABOUT IT.
ARE YOU REQUIRING, UH, OR PLANNING ON TO REQUIRE DEVELOPMENTS TO EVALUATE THEIR, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE, WATER WASTE WATER REQUIREMENTS, UH, AS THEY PLAN FOR NEW, NEW CONSTRUCTION? KEEPING IN MIND THE, UH, HOME ONE AND HOME TWO.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THEY'VE GOT, UH, EIGHT INCH PIPES ALREADY LAID FOR, FOR THIS STUFF.
UH, SO NOW OUR, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NEXT SIZE UP IS, BUT LET'S PRETEND IT'S 12 JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT.
UM, SO ARE, NOW, WHEN A NEW DEVELOPER COMES INTO A AREA, ARE YOU NOW REQUIRING THEM TO PUT IN SAY, 12 INCH PIPES TO ACCOMMODATE THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE ANTICIPATED DENSIFICATION? OR ARE YOU GONNA ALLOW THEM TO STAY WITH THE EIGHT INCH PIPES? THAT WOULD BE WHAT, WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NORMAL A MONTH AGO? YEAH, SO FOR, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENT, IF IT'S A, A LARGE DEVELOPMENT, MULTIPLE PROPERTIES BEING DEVELOPED, YOU KNOW, THAT ALL GOES THROUGH OUR SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST AND, UH, PROCESSES WHERE WE EVALUATE THE CURRENT SYSTEM AND ITS CAPACITY TO HANDLE THOSE FLOWS.
UM, IF THE CAPACITY IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO BRING THAT DEVELOPMENT ON BOARD AND THE DEVELOPER DOES NEED TO PAY FOR THAT GROWTH, PAYS FOR GROWTH, WE WILL SOMETIMES COST PARTICIPATE TO INCREASE THE SIZE BEYOND THAT IF WE THINK ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS GONNA HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, AND THEN RECOUP THAT COST WITH THE IMPACT FEES WHEN THAT DEVELOPMENT COMES ONLINE.
[00:30:01]
UH, I DON'T, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY DISCUSSION OF MOVING, YOU KNOW, AWAY FROM THE EIGHT INCH AS BEING REALLY OUR MINIMUM SIZE STANDARD.UM, BUT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL EVALUATE AS WE SEE HOW THIS DENSIFICATION PLAYS OUT.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE TRY NOT TO BEGIN THE BUSINESS OF PREDICTING HOW DEVELOPMENT IS GOING TO HAPPEN AND INSTEAD RESPOND TO THE DEVELOPMENT AS IT HAPPENS.
WELL, I GUESS MORE SPECIFICALLY, IF YOU HAVE A DEVELOPMENT THAT IS, AND I FORGET DAVE'S THE GURU ON THIS SORT OF STUFF, UH, BUT THERE'S CERTAIN LOT SIZES THAT CAN ALLOW ADDITIONAL OUTBUILDINGS TO BE BUILT.
AND THE, THE NUMBER OF THEM DEPENDS UPON THE SIZE OF THE LOT.
AND IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IF NORMALLY YOU PUT AN EIGHT INCH PIPE, AND IF THIS DEVELOPMENT IS SUCH THAT NOW YOU CAN ALL OF A SUDDEN PUT SAY, TWO OR THREE ACCESSORY DWELLINGS BACK THERE, THEN ONE WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT THAT EIGHT INCH PIPE MIGHT NOT BE SUFFICIENT GOING FORWARD SHOULD THE RESIDENTS OPT TO GO WITH, YOU KNOW, THE HOME PLANT AT SOME LATER DATE.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE IDEA OF NOT ANTICIPATING THIS, BUT IT WOULD SEEM TO ME THAT IF THE CITY HAS ESSENTIALLY REZONED, YOU KNOW, A NEW DEVELOPMENT TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO BUILD, UH, YOU KNOW, NEW DWELLING THAT INCREASE THE DEMAND ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT YOU MIGHT REQUIRE THEM TO AT THE TIME OF BUILDING WIND'S CHEAPEST, PUT IN A 12 INCH PIPE AS OPPOSED TO AN EIGHT INCH PIPE.
I, I, I THINK YOUR LOGIC IS SOUND.
I, WE HAVEN'T ENCOUNTERED THAT SITUATION YET.
I THINK THE DEVELOPER WOULD HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, CHOOSE TO UPSIZE THE METERS OR PUT IN MULTIPLE METERS PER LOT FOR, UH, TO TRIGGER OUR REQUIREMENTS TO LOOK AT THE PIPE SIZE IF THEY'RE PUTTING, YOU KNOW, SINGLE METERS ON SINGLE LOTS AND THAT, THAT MIGHT BE DEVELOPED IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE NOT GOING TO, YOU KNOW, CONJECTURE THAT THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
AND THEN THE DEVELOPER, OR, YOU KNOW, THE HOME OWNERS WOULD HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, DEAL WITH EITHER HAVING TO UPSIZE THAT PIPE OR NOT BEING ALLOWED TO, UM, UNTIL WE WERE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT ISSUE AND ACCOMMODATE A LARGER METER SIZE.
BUT AT THE TIME, THE DEVELOPER, YOU KNOW, PUTS OUT THE, THE LOT SIZE.
THE DEVELOPER HAS NO IDEA OF WHAT THE INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY OWNER'S GONNA DO WITH THEIR PROPERTY.
AND SO THEY BUY IT AND THEY HAVE A SINGLE FAMILY HOME ON IT, AND THEN AT SOME LATER DATE, THEY DECIDE TO BUILD ONE OR MORE, UH, ADUS AND MAYBE ANOTHER HOMEOWNER UP THE STREET AND MAYBE 50 OF THEM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF A SUDDEN DECIDE TO DO THIS OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.
AND NOW THE ORIGINAL EIGHT INCH PIPE IS OVERWHELMED WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THE DEMAND FOR WATER WASTEWATER, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND SO MY QUESTION IS, WOULDN'T IT BE PRUDENT TO HAVE THE MINIMUM PIPE SIZE BE UPPED, YOU KNOW, IN, IN DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE LOTS LARGER THAN WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE, THE HOME AMENDMENT, YOU KNOW, ALLOWS PEOPLE TO DO, PUT ADUS ON THEM, YOU KNOW, UPSIZE THAT, UH, PIPE SIZE TO ACCOMMODATE IT, AS OPPOSED TO GOING BACK IN, SAY, 10 YEARS FROM NOW AND RIPPING UP THE STREET AND LAYING NEW PIPE.
IT'D BE REALLY CHEAP JUST TO PUT IN 12 INCH PIPE TOMORROW AS OPPOSED TO RIPPING IT.
AND I KNOW YOU'RE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF PREDICTING, BUT I CAN REALLY TELL YOU IT'S GONNA BE A LOT CHEAPER PUTTING A 12 INCH PIPE IN TODAY THAN PUTTING A 12 INCH PIPE IN, YOU KNOW, 10 YEARS FROM NOW.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF THE DEVELOPER CHOSE TO UPSIZE THEIR PIPES IN MAKING THE DEVELOPMENT TO ACCOMMODATE THAT FUTURE GROWTH, WE WOULD CERTAINLY ALLOW THEM TO.
BUT, UM, FOR US TO KIND OF SPECULATE AND CHANGE THE REQUIREMENT, I DON'T THINK WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT AT THIS MOMENT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A NEW AMENDMENT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF, UH, GROUPS IN THE UTILITY THAT ARE ALWAYS LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS TO ACCOMMODATE, UH, AMENDMENT CHANGES.
SO I'M SURE THEY'LL BE THINKING ABOUT THAT.
BUT RIGHT NOW I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY DISCUSSIONS, UH, TO MAKE THAT CHANGE AS PART OF THIS AMENDMENT CHANGE.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTION? OH, WELL, COMMISSIONER, SECONDARY PERSON, UH, I DON'T HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS I HAVEN'T BEEN ASKED.
I'M JUST CHECKING BACK ON THE REMOTE COMMISSIONERS.
UM, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? OH, UH, JUST ONE OTHER POINT, UM, TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE THINGS THAT COMMISSIONER BRINER WAS MENTIONING.
PERHAPS IN A FUTURE MEETING WE COULD HAVE SOMEBODY FROM THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION COME AND TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT THEY
[00:35:01]
SEE.OKAY, WELL, LET'S TALK ABOUT IT LATER.
UNDER FUTURE ITEMS, WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT THAT? I'M CERTAINLY NOT OPPOSED TO IT.
I MEAN, OH, I'M NOT IMPORTANT.
I MEAN, CITY STAFF, I MEAN, THE POINT IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE HOME BUILDERS WOULD HAVE SOME IDEA ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PERMITS THAT ARE BEING DRAWN NOW AND WHAT THEY, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY ANTICIPATE.
I MEAN, MY OWN PERSONAL THOUGHT IS WE'RE GONNA SEE NEW SUBDIVISIONS COME IN AT 1800 SQUARE FOOT LOTS OR THREE UNITS PER LOT, UM, AS OPPOSED TO A VAST AMOUNT OF INFILL, UH, IN EXISTING NEIGHBORHOODS.
THERE WILL BE SOME, BUT IT'S NOT, I DON'T SEE US WIPING OUT A WHOLE SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOOD AND REPLACING IT WITH 800 SQUARE FOOT LOT, 1800 SQUARE FOOT LOTS.
BUT AGAIN, WE COULD ASK THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION WHAT THEY THINK AND IT'S JUST AN IDEA.
IS THAT, I MEAN, STEPPING BACK, YOU KNOW, FURTHER IS, IT'S REALLY BECOMES KIND OF A BUILDING CODE ISSUE, RIGHT? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S AN INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE THAT SAYS YOU DO THESE THINGS, BUT THERE'S LOCAL MODIFICATIONS BASED UPON WHATEVER'S GOING ON IN AUSTIN RELATIVE TO BOISE, IDAHO.
AND WE MAY FIND THAT IT'S IN THIS BEST INTEREST BASED UPON THESE ZONING OF AUSTIN THAT WE ALTERED THE BUILDING CODE TO ACCOMMODATE THE HOME INITIATIVE BY INCREASING, I DUNNO, ELECTRICAL WIRES OR I, WHATEVER IT IS, YOU KNOW? AND SO, YES, I WOULD SECOND IT YOUR THING.
SO JUST TO, UM, GOOD DISCUSSION, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE'RE KIND OF FALLING OUTTA THE BOUNDS OF THIS, SO, UM, LET'S SAVE THAT FOR ANOTHER TIME.
AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE A MOTION, CORRECT? WE DO.
CHAIR, BEFORE WE READ THE MOTION, I JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN WITH OUR REMOTE SPEAKERS.
HOW, HOW'S THE AUDIO SETTING NOW? BETTER COURT.
I, OKAY, SO MAYBE IT'S AN ISSUE WITH MY COMPUTER BECAUSE I DIDN'T HEAR COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN MOST OF WHAT HE SAID, AND THEN I HEARD HIM SAY, WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? AND I HADN'T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT HE SAID BEFORE.
SO IS THAT THE ONLY ONE WHO DIDN'T HEAR THAT? HE WAS, HE DID NOT HAVE HIS MIC ON.
SO THAT WAS A, AGAIN, UH, JUST, JUST VERY BRIEFLY THE IDEA.
THE QUESTION IS BRING IN SOME, UH, ORGANIZATION THAT BUILDS HOMES TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY PREDICT ABOUT, UH, HOW MUCH INFILL WE WILL EXPECT VERSUS, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST BUILDING, UH, DETACHED SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING ON 6,000 SQUARE FOOT LOTS.
HOW MANY OF THEM EXPECT TO SUBDIVIDE THE SUBDIVIDE THOSE LOTS OR BUILD THREE UNITS ON A 57 50 SQUARE FOOT, UH, SINGLE FAMILY LOT? ALL THAT I HEARD.
I'M GONNA READ THE MOTION THAT WE HAVE.
SO, UH, JUNE 5TH, 2024, SUBJECT DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION FOR AUSTIN WATER, WHICH WE, UH, WE'LL REFER TO AS A W CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS LOCATED IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE FOR APPROVAL TO INCLUDE IN THE A W'S FIVE YEAR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN, UH, AS REQUIRED BY A W FINANCIAL POLICY.
NUMBER EIGHT, WHEREAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN WATER WATER UTILITY PRESENTED AND UPDATED THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ON NEW GROWTH RELATED CAPITAL, IT SHOULD SAY NEW AND EXISTING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PRO PROGRAMS, UM, LOCATED IN THE DRINKING WATER PROJECTION ZONE.
AND WHEREAS AUSTIN WATER UTILITY PROVIDES ADEQUATE DRINKING WATER AND RELIABLE SYSTEMS FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE CUSTOMERS, THEREFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE REQUEST FOR THE INCLUSION OF THE CIP PROJECTS IN THE AUSTIN WATER UTILITY FIVE YEAR CAPITAL SPENDING BUDGET.
UM, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION WITH THAT? OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO A VOTE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.
WE HAVE NICHOLS, KRUEGER, RESI, EINHORN, BEDFORD, BRISTOL SULLIVAN, AND BRIMER.
[3. Presentation, discussion, and recommendation on bird-friendly design and building solutions from Travis Audubon – Heidi Trudell, requested by Commissioner Bristol]
PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION, AND RECOMMENDATION ON BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN AND BUILDING SOLUTIONS FROM TRAVIS AUDUBON.AND DO WE HAVE A PRESENTATION? SHE'S REMOTE.
HELLO, MEMBERS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
I'M HERE WITH THE TRAVIS AUDUBON SOCIETY AND A MEMBER OF THE ADVOCACY COMMITTEE.
[00:40:01]
I ATTEND THE ANN RICHARD SCHOOL FOR YOUNG WOMEN LEADERS, AND I'M IN THE 10TH GRADE.THE MISSION OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETY IS TO PROTECT AND CONSERVE BIRD LIFE.
AUSTIN IS A KEY AREA FOR BIRDS BECAUSE IT IS UNDERNEATH THE CENTRAL FLYWAY OF BIRD MIGRATION.
AND IT, OUR AREA PROVIDES A KEY PRIME STOP DURING THOSE LAW AND MIGRATORY JOURNEYS WITH ITS RIVER HABITAT.
THE TRAVIS AUDUBON SOCIETY WAS FORMED IN THE 1950S OVER FEARS OF DISAPPEARING HABITAT.
AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, EXCUSE ME, I HAVE TO, I HATE INTERRUPT, BUT INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
I'M A REPRESENTATIVE OF TRAVIS AUDUBON.
AS I WAS SAYING, THE TRIATHLON SOCIETY WAS FORMED IN THE 1950S OVER FEARS OF DISAPPEARING HABITAT.
AND AS Y'ALL CAN ALL SEE EVERY DAY, AUSTIN HAS NOT STOPPED GROWING AND THE SOCIETY HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE RATE OF DEVELOPMENT.
IN FACT, IN THE PAST FEW DECADES, BIRD POPULATIONS HAVE BEEN DEVASTATED, AND MORE THAN 3 BILLION BIRDS HAVE BEEN LOST.
AT PRESENT, BIRD POPULATIONS ARE VERY FRAGILE.
OUR OWN GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER, WHICH NESTS ONLY IN CENTRAL TEXAS, IS ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST.
BECAUSE WINDOW AND BUILDING COLLISIONS KILL MORE BIRDS THAN ANY OTHER THREAT, EXCEPT OUTDOOR CATS.
WE LOSE MILLIONS OF BIRDS EVERY YEAR WHO WOULD OTHERWISE SURVIVE SIMPLY BY BEING ABLE TO PERCEIVE GLASS AS A BARRIER THEY CANNOT FLY THROUGH.
SO THE TRAVIS OTTAWA SOCIETY HAS ASKED HEIDI TRUDELL AN EXPERT IN BIRD SAFE BUILDING DESIGN TO UPDATE THE CITY OF AUSTIN ON WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PROTECT BIRDS FROM OUR BUILDINGS.
SHE'S A NATIVE TEXAN WHO GREW UP SURROUNDED BY THE UNPARALLELED BIRD LIFE THAT TEXAS OFFERS.
HER BIRD COLLISION WORK BEGAN IN 2003.
IN OCTOBER OF 2023, HEIDI WAS IN CHICAGO TO PRESENT ABOUT BIRD COLLISIONS AT THE FACADES PLUS CONFERENCE.
THE PRESENTATION FELL ON THE DAY AFTER THE MOST CATASTROPHIC BIRD COLLISION INCIDENT.
IN RECENT HISTORY, OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL HOURS, MORE THAN 960 SONGBIRDS STRUCK THE GLASS AND DIED AT THE MCCORMICK PLACE CONVENTION CENTER.
WHILE THOUSANDS MORE WERE DOCUMENTED AS INJURED OR DEAD ACROSS THE CITY, WE DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN HERE.
AUSTIN HAS QUALIFIED AS A BIRD CITY, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT AS A BIRD SAFE CITY.
RECENTLY, GUARDIAN GLASS HAS HIRED MS. TRUDEL AS A TECHNICAL CONSULTANT, WHERE SHE HELPS THE COMPANY AND ITS CLIENTS NAVIGATE BIRD SAFE CODES AND DESIGN.
SHE CURRENTLY LIVES IN ANN ARB, MICHIGAN.
SO PLEASE, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, WELCOME MS. HEIDI TRUDA.
CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME OKAY? YES, WE CAN.
UH, I DON'T KNOW IF MARA IS PRESENT IN PERSON.
UM, I THINK SHE WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING.
UM, CAN I CONFIRM THAT ON SITE, HEIDI? HEIDI? WE DO NOT ANY IN PERSON SPEAKERS.
OH, UH, IS MARA, WE DO, WE, WE DO HAVE SOMEONE FOR ITEM THREE, BUT SHE CAN COME UP AFTER, BUT SHE CAN COME UP AFTER, UM, AFTER YOU PRESENT.
UM, AND LAST TIME Y'ALL HAVE THE PRESENTATION, UH, SHARED ON YOUR END OF THINGS.
UH, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PULL IT UP ON MY END OR DO YOU WANT TO, UH, PULL IT UP ON YOUR END? UH, DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE? WHAT, EITHER WAY.
UM, I SHOULD JUST SHARE MY SCREEN.
IT'S, IT'S THE BIRD PRESENTATION, THE AUDUBON.
I, I BELIEVE THAT, UH, WE, WE WERE INFORMED YOU THAT YOU'LL BE PRESENTING IT ON YOUR END.
ARE YOU ABLE TO SEE MY SCREEN YET? NO, NOT ON OUR SIDE.
IT IS POSTED, SO WE MAY BE ABLE
[00:45:01]
TO SHARE IT, UM, FROM, FROM WHAT HAS BEEN POSTED.THIS, UM, IT WAS PRESENTED IN A VERY SIMILAR FORMAT A FEW WEEKS AGO TO YOUR DESIGN COMMISSION.
UH, IT HAS BEEN SLIGHTLY MODIFIED FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
UM, TO JUMP IN REALLY QUICKLY, THE OVERVIEW OF THIS PRESENTATION IS GOING TO HIT LIGHTLY ON GEOGRAPHY, UH, THE GLASS IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION, UM, WHAT THAT MEANS FOR DESIGN IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS.
UH, AND THEN I'M HOPING THAT Y'ALL HAVE THE SUMMARY THAT WAS PRESENTED WITH THIS, UH, BOTH FOR THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
SO, AS LILLY MENTIONED, AUSTIN IS IN THE HEART OF A GINORMOUS MIGRATION CORRIDOR.
UH, IT IS THE MAJOR PRIMARY CORRIDOR FOR NORTH AMERICA.
HUNDREDS OF SPECIES USED THIS ROUTE DURING SPRING AND FALL MIGRATION.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, TEXAS IS HOME TO THREE OF THE TOP 10 DEADLIEST CITIES, FOUR BIRDS.
AND AUSTIN'S KIND OF IN THAT TRIANGLE THERE.
UM, IT'S REALLY ALMOST DIRECTLY CORRELATED TO THE AMOUNT OF GLASS PRESENT IN THE ENVIRONMENT.
SO, UM, IT'S NOT THAT ANY OF THE OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS ARE NECESSARILY SAFE FOR BIRDS.
THEY'RE JUST NOT QUITE AS GLASSY.
GLASS IS A VERY STRANGE MATERIAL.
THERE'S A LOT OF NUANCE IN THIS TOPIC.
AND REALLY, GLASS HASN'T EVEN BEEN PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS BIRDS UNTIL THE LAST A HUNDRED YEARS.
UM, ESSENTIALLY THE ORIGINS OF GLASS STARTED OUT VERY WAVY.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS IMAGE, HOPEFULLY, UH, IT WAS NOT EXACTLY, UM, THE GIANT PLATE GLASS INSPECTORS THAT WE SEE TODAY.
UM, THE, THE SMALL PANES AND, AND WAVY TEXTURES REALLY DIDN'T MAKE IT MUCH OF A COLLISION RISK FOR BIRDS AT ALL.
NOW, IN 1959, ALL OF THAT CHANGED BECAUSE FLOAT GLASS PRODUCTION MADE HIGH QUALITY GLASS BROADLY AVAILABLE AND MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE PRICES.
SO SUDDENLY THE TECHNOLOGY OUTPACED ANYTHING THAT, UM, IT SEEMED BEFORE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.
SO IN THE EIGHTIES, WE SAW ANOTHER SHIFT AS WELL, BECAUSE LOW E COATINGS, UH, MAKE BUILDINGS REMARKABLY EFFICIENT, BUT THEY INCREASE THE REFLECTIONS, UM, THAT WINDOWS HAVE.
SO ON THE LEFT, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S NOT REALLY ANY SIGN OF REFLECTION, UH, THAT'S COHERENT FOR PEOPLE OR FOR BIRDS TO SEE.
AND ON THE RIGHT, YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR TECHNOLOGY HAS GOTTEN SO GOOD THAT PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF THE GLASS.
NOW IF WE'RE TAKING IT OUT OF CONTEXT, WE'RE SEEING PARTS THAT ARE CLEAR.
WE'RE SEEING PARTS THAT ARE REFLECTIVE.
AND IF WE STRUGGLE TO MAKE SENSE OF THIS WITH OUR OWN EYES, BIRDS DON'T STAND A CHANCE.
AND HOPEFULLY THIS IS WORKING ON THE END AS WELL.
SO MOST PEOPLE THINK OF A BIRD WINDOW STRIKE AS ESSENTIALLY A, A LIGHT BUMP.
AND WHEN YOU SEE THIS, THIS FELLOW DOES LEAVE A NOSE PRINT ON THE GLASS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF BIRD STRIKES DON'T EVEN SO MUCH AS LEAVE A PRINT.
SO WHAT WE END UP BEING AWARE OF IS A TINY FRACTION OF WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS.
AND WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING, UNFORTUNATELY, IS MORE LIKE THIS.
IN ORDER FOR BIRDS TO STAY ALOFT IN THE AIR, THEY HAVE TO MOVE AT PRETTY HIGH, PRETTY HIGH SPEEDS.
AND BECAUSE THEY'RE USED TO FLYING THROUGH VERY DENSELY VEGETATED AREAS, THEY'RE VERY AGILE, BUT THEY'RE ALSO RELYING ON VISUAL CUES THAT ARE VERY DIFFERENT THAN THE ONES THAT WE USE.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, THE WORDS THAT FLY OUT OF SIGHT END UP DYING OUT OF SIGHT.
UM, SOME OF THOSE INJURIES FROM COLLISIONS MAY NOT KICK IN UNTIL 48 HOURS OR 72 HOURS LATER.
UM, A LOT OF THAT IS BRAIN HEMORRHAGING, INTERNAL BLEEDING.
UM, IT'S, IT'S REALLY PROBLEMATIC.
ESSENTIALLY, BIRDS ARE CONCUSSED AT BEST.
UM, WELL, BEST CASE SCENARIO IS THEY DIE QUICKLY ON SITE.
WORST CASE SCENARIO IS THAT CONCUSSION LATER LEADS TO THEIR DEATH.
PLUS THE FOOTBALL PLAYERS, YOU KNOW, AFTER A CONCUSSION, THEY HAVE MEDICAL
[00:50:01]
SUPERVISION.THEY'RE NOT TOLD TO WALK IT OFF OUT THERE WITH CATS AND DOGS AND CARS AND HAWS AND LIONS, AND TIGERS AND BEARS, UM, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY IS WHAT I WOULD EXPECT TO DO.
SO REAL QUICK TO ADDRESS LIGHTING, UH, WHILE IT IS NOT MY PRIMARY FOCUS OF THIS, UM, PRESENTATION, UM, OR NECESSARILY MY SPECIALTY, LIGHTING GETS SO MUCH ATTENTION IN THE WORLD BECAUSE IT, IT IS IMPLI IMPLICATED IN SOME OF THE LARGEST AND MOST CATASTROPHIC, UH, CONDITION INSTANCES.
BUT GLASS IS NOT THE ACTUAL CAUSE OF DEATH FOR BIRDS.
UH, IT'S BAD FOR A, A FULL SLEW OF REASONS.
MOTHS ARE MY SECOND LOVE AND FATS ARE KIND OF MY MY THIRD.
UM, AND SO LIGHT IS BAD FOR ALL OF THOSE THINGS YEAR ROUND.
UM, SO ADDRESSING LIGHT AT APPROPRIATE LEVELS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO IT'S BEST WHEN IT'S NEEDED, WHERE IT'S NEEDED, WHEN IT'S NO BRIGHTER THAN IT'S NEEDED WHEN YOU'RE ELIMINATING UPLIGHTING AND WHEN YOU'VE ELIMINATED AS MUCH IN BLUE SPECTRUM AS POSSIBLE.
SO THERE ARE SOME PRETTY EASY FIXES TO THAT.
SHIELDING DIMMERS TIMERS, MOTION SENSORS, UM, LIGHTING CURFEWS.
YOU SEE THE, THE, THE ALMIGHTY POWER SWITCH.
UM, IF YOU DON'T NEED IT, DON'T USE IT.
WE ARE REALLY GOOD AT OVERLIGHTING THINGS, BUT BECAUSE IT'S SO DISRUPTIVE, BOTH FOR WILDLIFE BEHAVIOR AND WITH HUMAN ENDOCRINE SYSTEM, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO KEEP AN EYE ON LIGHTING, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN KEEP HEALTHY LAKE SKIES.
PLUS IT SAVES MONEY, IT LOWERS YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.
BUT BACK TO GLASS, UNFORTUNATELY, THIS WAS ONE MONTH BREAK.
UM, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, I WALKED AROUND ONE BUILDING AND AFTER TAKING THIS PHOTO WALKING BACK TO THE CAR, I PICKED UP TWO MORE COMING BIRDS.
UM, THAT'S KIND OF TYPICAL FOR A BAD BUILDING IN
WE JUST DON'T SEE THIS BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR IT.
UM, WE'RE NOT, UNFORTUNATELY, SQUIRRELS END UP EATING A LOT OF BIRDS TOO.
SO, YOU KNOW, SQUIRRELS ARE OUT THERE MORE OFTEN THAN WE ARE.
UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO NOT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE.
AND THAT'S THE, THESE BIRDS ARE FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE, HEADING TO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
AND WE WERE JUST A STOP IN THE MIDDLE.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, WE WERE THEIR LAST STOP.
BUT, UM, IN THIS CASE, EVERYBODY EXCEPT THE HUMMINGBIRD AND THE ROBIN WOULD'VE BEEN HEADING TO CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, WHERE AS INSECT WARS, THEY WOULD BE EATING PESTS, SAY AT COFFEE FARMS. AND THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD RESEARCH THAT INDICATES, UM, THAT THE MORE BIRDS YOU HAVE ON COFFEE FARMS, THE LESS PESTICIDES YOU NEED.
SO EVERY TIME A BIRD HITS YOUR WINDOW, THERE'S A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO NEED MORE, MORE PESTICIDE FOR YOUR COFFEE YIELD.
UM, AND BACK TO THE LIGHTING SITUATION, LIGHTS AND TALL BUILDINGS REALLY GET ALL OF THE ATTENTION.
UNFORTUNATELY, IF WE'RE ONLY ADDRESSING THE TALLEST BUILDINGS, WE ARE IGNORING PRETTY MUCH 99% OF THE PROBLEM.
UM, HIGH RISES ARE REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR JUST A TINY FRACTION OF STRIKES, BUT THAT IS MOSTLY BECAUSE HIGH RISES ARE A TINY FRACTION OF BUILDINGS OVERALL.
AND THE MOST IMPORTANT PORTION OF ANY BUILDING IS THE FIRST 100 FEET, BASICALLY.
UM, SO WITH RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS AND LOW RISES, THEY KILL ROUGHLY THE SAME NUMBER OF BIRDS, ANYWHERE FROM 23 TO 28 BIRDS PER YEAR.
OBVIOUSLY, WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY AND THE GLASSIER CONSTRUCTION, THOSE NUMBERS JUST KEEP GOING UP.
AND WE REALLY HAVE THIS, RIGHTFULLY SO, THIS LOVE OF PLANTING WITH NATIVE PLANTS.
UM, WE LOVE ATTRACTING POLLINATORS TO OUR AREAS.
UNFORTUNATELY, BY PROVIDING GOOD HABITAT, WE ARE LUING IN BIRDS TO DANGEROUS AREAS.
UM, SO ESPECIALLY COLLEGE CAMPUSES, WE LOVE OUR POLLINATOR GARDENS.
THAT'S YOUR LOW RISES THAT ARE ACTIVELY LUING IN BIRDS TO DANGEROUS AREAS.
SO WHAT'S GOOD FOR BIRDS IS GOOD FOR PEOPLE THOUGH, AND I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW PHENOMENAL, UM, TEXAS IS FOR BIRDWATCHING.
I CERTAINLY DIDN'T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED WHEN I LIVED THERE, AND I MISS IT EVERY DAY.
BUT A, A GOOD EXAMPLE OF JUST HOW IMPORTANT BIRDWATCHING IS FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS.
UM, IF BIRDWATCHING IN TEXAS WAS
[00:55:01]
ITS OWN COUNTRY, GDP, IT WOULD BE NUMBER 172 OUT OF 187 COUNTRIES.THERE ARE MORE WILDLIFE WATCHERS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS THAN THE TOTAL POPULATIONS OF ALL BUT SEVEN STATES.
TEXAS IS FULL OF OUTDOORSY PEOPLE FOR A REASON.
IT WAS A REALLY, UH, AND I WOULD SAY IT'S SECOND TO NONE.
TECHNICALLY, CALIFORNIA HAS REPORTED MORE SPECIES THAN TEXAS
UH, THAT BEING SAID THOUGH, TRAVIS COUNTY HAS REPORTED 427 SPECIES OF BIRDS, WHICH IS MORE THAN 14 STATES HAVE REPORTED, WHICH IS REMARKABLY IMPRESSIVE AND REALLY SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE, WHICH Y'ALL HAVE DONE A BEAUTIFUL JOB OF OBTAINING A BIRD CITY STATUS.
UM, THAT, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, IS A KIND OF JOINT COOPERATION THING WITH TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE IN OTTOMAN, TEXAS.
IT'S NOT EASY TO GET CERTIFIED FOR IT.
UM, BUT IT DOES KIND OF PULL IN A FEW MORE QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF HOW IS THE CITY GOING TO ADDRESS THESE THINGS MOVING FORWARD? UM, BEING SAFE FOR BIRDS IS REALLY IMPORTANT IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE ATTRACTING BIRDS TO YOUR AREA.
SO BACK TO THE GLASS STOVE, BIRDS CAN'T SEE IT.
IT'S EITHER REFLECTIVE OR IT'S TRANSPARENT.
THEY CAN'T EVOLVE TO ADAPT TO SOMETHING THEY CAN'T SEE.
SO WINDOW COLLISIONS DO KILL JUST FROM NORTH AMERICA ALONE, BETWEEN 621 MILLION TO 2 BILLION BIRDS PER YEAR.
UM, AS OF FEBRUARY THIS YEAR, THAT NUMBER IS CURRENT.
THE PREVIOUS NUMBERS WERE GUESSTIMATED IN 2014.
THAT RANGE WAS 365 TO 990 MILLION.
BUT THE, THE MORE ACCURATE NUMBERS WE GET, THE THE BIGGER THEY ARE STAGGERING.
UM, BUT BIRD SAFE BUILDING STANDARDS DO ALIGN WITH AUSTIN'S VALUES OF BEING AN ECOLOGICALLY RESILIENT COMMUNITY.
BIODIVERSITY IS CRITICAL IN ANY SORT OF LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY PLAN.
AND EVERY BIRD, EVERY BUILDING THAT HAS MADE BIRDS SAFE, BE IT NEW CONSTRUCTION OR IS A RETROFIT, WILL LITERALLY TANGIBLY SAVE DOZENS, TECHNIC HUNDREDS OF BIRDS PER YEAR.
UM, KIND OF A SAFE DEFAULT IS JUST ASSUME THAT EVERY BUILDING IS GOING TO KILL A MINIMUM OF TWO DOZEN BIRDS PER YEAR.
THE MORE GLASS THERE IS, THE BETTER THE HABITAT IS, THE MORE THAT EMERGENCE KEEPS GETTING PUSHED UPWARD.
IT'S NOT THAT WE CAN SAY, OH, THIS BUILDING IS BIRDS SAFE UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE, THE DEFAULT IS IT'S DANGEROUS UNLESS IT IS INTENTIONALLY MADE TO NOT BE.
SO RIGHT NOW THERE ARE, I THINK, NINE STATES, UH, AND DC FOR THE US THAT HAVE BIRD SAFE BUILDING CODES, UM, OR MUNICIPALITIES WITHIN THEM THAT HAVE BIRD SAFE BUILDING CODES.
AND OFFICIALLY, TEXAS DOES NOT HAVE A MUNICIPALITY THAT HAS ADOPTED AT A BROAD SCALE A BIRD SAFE STANDARD.
UM, IF I HAD INCLUDED EVERY CITY IN, UM, CANADA, ASIDE FROM TORONTO, THIS LIST WOULD'VE BEEN TWICE AS HIGH AS IT CURRENTLY IS.
UH, THIS IS ALL US AND TORONTO, BECAUSE THEY WERE, THEY WERE FIRST.
BUT, UM, WE'RE SEEING TRACTION REALLY ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, THERE'S RUMOR IN ARKANSAS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT ADOPTING A CODE BEAR, OTHERWISE, PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING IS IN THE GREAT LAKES OUT WEST THE NORTHEAST.
UM, BUT WE'RE GETTING SLOW AND STEADY TRACTION AS MORE PLACES ADOPT ORDINANCES.
THAT BEING SAID, NOT EVERY ORDINANCE IS, UM, SAY, ADEQUATE.
WELL, THIS IS, UM, A, A GOOD INDICATION THAT BIRDS AND BUILDINGS CAN COEXIST.
UM, AND ORDINANCES ARE NOT A MAJOR FINANCIAL BURDEN.
UM, THE ADDITIONAL COST OF BIRD SAFE PRODUCTS BEING ADDED TO A PROJECT MIGHT BE A FRACTION OF A PERCENT.
UH, SO FAR THE HIGHEST NUMBER THAT I'VE SEEN ON A PROJECT WAS 0.38% OF THE TOTAL PROJECT COST.
UM, BUT THE EARLIER BIRD SAFE DESIGN HAS FACTORED INTO A A PLAN.
THE MORE THAT FEATURE CAN COMPLEMENT THE DESIGN.
SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE AN ADDITIONAL COST.
UM, BIRD SAFE DESIGN FEATURES CAN HELP
[01:00:01]
WITH THERMAL COMFORT, WITH VISUAL COMFORT.UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF WAYS THAT IT CAN IMPROVE THE ACTUAL BUILDING DESIGN, BUT THE LATER IN DEVELOPMENT THAT IT'S INCLUDED, UH, THE MORE CHALLENGING IT IS TO BOTH ADDRESS THE AESTHETICS AND THE FINANCES AND THE LOGISTICS OF, UH, INCLUSION.
THAT BEING SAID, WHEN PEOPLE DON'T USE BIRD SAFE DESIGN, FOLKS TAKE IT INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.
AND THIS BEAUTIFUL STUDY IN POLAND, UH, FOUND THAT GRAFFITI, SO ALL STRUCTURES ARE DANGEROUS.
IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, THEY WERE LOOKING AT BUS SHELTERS.
AND YES, BUS SHELTERS DO ACTUALLY KILL A FAIR NUMBER OF BIRDS.
UM, BUT THEY FOUND THAT BUS SHELTERS WITH GRAFFITI AND DUST WERE REMARKABLY BIRD SAFE.
AND ON SOME CAMPUSES WHERE CLEAR GLASS RAILING HAS BEEN INSTALLED, UM, WITHOUT ANY SORT OF BIRD SAFE VISUAL MARKERS, UM, FOLKS HAVE TAKEN IT INTO THEIR OWN HANDS TO JUST LIKE THE TAPE ALL OVER THE RAILING BECAUSE IT KEEPS BIRDS FROM HITTING IT.
SO INCLUSION IN DESIGN EARLY ON PREVENTS, UM, CREATIVE AFTERMATH AS IT WERE.
UM, BUT THAT BEING SAID, YOU CAN ENGAGE LOCAL COMMUNITY ARTISTS TO DO IT IN A MORE INTENTIONAL WAY, IF YOU LIKE.
SO COMPREHENSIVE CODES CAN INCLUDE AND SHOULD INCLUDE GROUND LEVEL TO AT LEAST ABOVE MATURE TREE CANOPY.
SO GLASS WALKWAYS, GLASS RAILINGS, CORNERS, UH, SHOULD BE ADDRESSED.
NEW AND RETROFIT, UM, CONSTRUCTION IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS ALL HABITATS WITH NO RESTRICTIONS.
AND HAVING DEFINED, ACCEPTABLE MEASURES OF COLLISION PREVENTION ARE CRITICAL FOR A GOOD CODE.
SO A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION IS NEW YORK CITY'S LOCAL LAW NUMBER 15.
UNFORTUNATELY, THEIR RETROFIT SECTION HAS SOME MAJOR LOOPHOLES.
UM, BUT AS A, AN INCENTIVE FOR VOLUNTARY CODES, UM, THERE ARE SOME CASES WHERE SAY IF THERE'S A, A CERTAIN LIMIT IN A PARTICULAR ZONE TO THE HEIGHT OF A BUILDING, YOU KNOW, IF YOU MEET THIS CODE, YOU CAN HAVE AN EXTRA FLOOR ON THE BUILDING.
THAT SORT OF THING CAN, CAN BOOST ADOPTION OF THE CODE.
UM, THERE'S AN ASK US DOWN HERE NEXT TO LEAD BECAUSE RIGHT NOW LEAD 4.1 HAS BEEN UPDATED FROM A PILOT CREDIT TO AN INNOVATION CREDIT.
THE INNOVATION CREDIT IS FANTASTIC.
IT'S IN THE MIDDLE OF BEING UPDATED TO LEAD 5.0 FROM 4.3.
THE WORDING LAST I SAW WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT.
UM, I'M NOT SURE I LIKED THE DIRECTION IT WAS GOING, BUT DEPENDING ON HOW IT IT LANDS, IT MAY END UP BEING A SOLID CODE.
BUT LEAD 4.3, I'M A FAN BROADLY SPEAKING, BUT MOST LOOPHOLES UNFORTUNATELY DO HAVE A LOT OF LOOPHOLES.
SO, AS I MENTIONED WITH NEW YORK CITY WHERE THEIR RETROFITS, IT ONLY HAS TO BE BIRD SAFE GLASS IF THEY'RE REPLACING 100% OF THE GLASS, WHICH MEANS YOU CAN REPLACE 90% OF THE GLASS AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BIRDS SAFE.
OR YOU CAN DO 50% THIS YEAR AND WAIT A YEAR OR TWO AND THEN DO ANOTHER 50%, WHICH IS REALLY FRUSTRATING BECAUSE THAT COMPLETELY IGNORES THE WHOLE POINT OF HAVING A GOOD SAFE CODE.
UM, SOME OTHER PITFALLS WE SEE, LIKE ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA BUILDINGS OVER IT'S 32 OR 36 FEET HIGH, WELL, SHORTER THAN 32 FEET DOESN'T MEAN IT'S BIRD SAFE AS WE SAW.
BUS SHELTERS CAN BE QUITE DANGEROUS.
UM, A SQUARE FOOTAGE REQUIREMENT OR IN SAN FRANCISCO GRANTED LIMITS, THIS CODE WAS WRITTEN.
IT WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST ONES IN THE NATION.
UM, AND THEY HAD ASSUMED THAT PROXIMITY TO A PARK OR RIPARIAN AREA WOULD INCREASE THE DANGER, WHICH IS NOT NECESSARILY HOW BIRDS USE THE ENVIRONMENT, UNFORTUNATELY.
SO MOST OF THESE LOOPHOLES, UM, RENDER THE CODES REALLY KIND OF TOOTHLESS.
AND YOU CAN MEET A CODE PRECISELY TO THE T AND STILL HAVE AN INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS BUILDING BECAUSE THE CODES DON'T ACTUALLY RESULT IN BIRD SAFE CONSTRUCTION.
SO ANOTHER THING WE SEE IS THAT THESE CODES ARE FOCUSED IN CITIES, ON CITIES AND USUALLY HIGH RISES.
UM, AND THAT'S NOT WHERE THE BULK OF THE PROBLEM IS, BUT THAT IS WHERE THE CODE ARE.
[01:05:01]
THERE, THERE ARE SOME CONCERNS THERE.AND OF COURSE, WE DO LOVE OUR HIGH RISK BUILDING FEATURES.
WE ADORE ATRIUMS CORRIDOR EFFECT IS WHERE WE SEE GLASS WALKWAYS.
WE SEE FROM ONE SIDE OF TWO PANES OF GLASS TO ANOTHER ALL THE WAY THROUGH, UM, STRUCTURAL TRAPS.
BUILDINGS REALLY LOVE U-SHAPED OUTSIDE COURTYARD TYPE SITUATIONS.
AND THEN LANDSCAPE REFLECTIONS.
WE REALLY ENJOY OUR SHINY, SHINY BUILDINGS.
YOU KNOW, THAT BEING SAID, LANDSCAPING IS A RISK FACTOR, BUT IT IS NOT A PREVENTION METHOD.
SO IF ALL OF THESE TREES WERE CUT DOWN, THE BUILDING WOULD NOT BE SAFE.
IT JUST WOULD NOT BE AS HIGH RISK, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
UH, THE FIRST TIME I DROVE PAST THIS BUILDING, I THOUGHT IT WAS SOCCER NET.
UM, AND A FEW OTHER THINGS THAT TRIP FOLKS UP, UH, UNDERSTANDABLY SO THIS IS NOT AN INTUITIVE, UM, REALM OF STUDY AT ALL.
SO ONE OF THE BIGGEST MYTHS IS THAT LOW REFLECTIVITY GLASS IS SAFE.
THE PROBLEM IS LOW REFLECTIVITY GLASS.
IT'S STILL ACTUALLY HIGHLY REFLECTIVE DEPENDING ON LIGHTING.
SO WHEN PEOPLE USE GLASS AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE SO THAT BIRDS WILL SEE THAT THERE'S NOTHING INSIDE THE BUILDING FOR THEM TO GO TO, UH, OR THEY USE MINIMAL GLASS ON ONE SIDE OF THE BUILDING BECAUSE THAT'S THE DIRECTION THAT INTEGRATION IS FROM.
IT REALLY ENDS UP BEING MORE OF A FACTOR OF IMMEDIATE ONSITE VEGETATION RATHER THAN, UM, AND LIGHTING CONDITIONS RATHER THAN THESE ASSUMPTIONS THAT SOUND LIKE A GOOD RULE OF THUMB, BUT ARE NOT ACCURATE.
SO IN THIS CASE, UH, THIS IS A NA AUDITORIUM HAS A GIANT POOL ON THE INSIDE, AND IT IS ALMOST ALL BRICK FROM THE OUTSIDE.
AGAIN, THE AVERAGE LOW-RISE BUILDING KILLS BETWEEN 23 AND TWO FIVE BIRDS PER YEAR.
THIS BUILDING, EVEN THOUGH IT IS ALMOST ENTIRELY BRICK, STILL HAS A FEW TINY WINDOWS.
AND THIS BUILDING KILLS THE SAME NUMBER AS THE AVERAGE LOW-RISE.
IT JUST CONCENTRATES THE BIRDS IN A MUCH SMALLER AREA.
SO THE MORE MASONRY A BUILDING HAS DOES NOT MAKE IT PROPORTIONALLY MORE BIRDS SAFE.
IT JUST FUNNELS BIRDS TO THESE ISOLATED PORTALS THAT THEY THINK IS A PORTAL.
AND AGAIN, IT BOILS DOWN TO LANDSCAPING BEING A RISK, BUT NOT A PREVENTION FACTOR.
UM, AS BIRDS END UP GETTING FUNNELED TO WHERE THEY THINK THEY CAN SEE TREES ON THE OTHER SIDE.
SO I KNOW THIS SOUNDS COMPLICATED.
THERE ARE REALLY WONDERFUL RESOURCES OUT THERE.
AND AS THERE'S MORE DEMAND, UM, WITH THE PASSING OF EVERY CODE, UM, COMPANIES ARE TAKING THIS MORE SERIOUSLY.
SO AS WE'VE SEEN WITH LIKE SOLAR PANELS, COSTS DO COME DOWN AS DEMAND INCREASES.
THERE'S MORE PRODUCT DIVERSITY NOW THAN EVER BEFORE.
UM, I BASICALLY HAVE TO UPDATE NEW RESOURCES FOR, FOR PRODUCT GUIDES LIKE EVERY FOUR TO SIX MONTHS BECAUSE THAT'S HOW MUCH CHANGE IS HAPPENING IN THIS FIELD CONSTANTLY.
SO BEST PRACTICES TEND TO BE UPDATED ABOUT EVERY TWO YEARS.
UM, BUT PRODUCTS ARE JUST CONSTANTLY CHANGING.
SO THERE ARE DIFFERENT COLLISION PREVENTION OPTIONS FOR EVERY AESTHETIC AND BUDGET, AND THE SKY'S THE LIMIT.
UM, I DO ADORE THE SHADE STRUCTURES 'CAUSE IN TEXAS SHADE IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE, UM, TEMPERATURES INSIDE BUILDINGS.
SO STRUCTURAL SHADES THAT'S NOT EVEN LESS.
AND YOU CAN GET CREATIVE WITH, UM, EVEN SHADE SCREENS.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY IS A PHENOMENAL RESOURCE FOR MOST OF THIS INFORMATION.
UM, THEY DO HAVE REALLY EXCELLENT RESOURCES FOR LEGISLATION, UM, PRODUCTS AND THREAT FACTORS.
THERE IS, UH, A BIT OF A COMPLICATED, UM, NUANCE TO THEIR THREAT FACTOR TESTING AND SCORING SYSTEMS. UM, NOT ALL PRODUCTS PERFORM THE SAME ON EVERY BUILDING, SO EVERY BUILDING SHOULD BE ASSESSED KIND OF INDIVIDUALLY ON ITS OWN DESIGN FEATURES.
UM, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU REALLY WOULD WANT TO PULL IN EXPERTS, UM, TO DISCUSS.
BUT THE, THE BASIC DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT THEY'VE GOT ARE FAIRLY SOLID AND UPDATED EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, AND THERE ARE FOLKS LIKE MYSELF WHO PRIOR TO MARCH OF THIS YEAR, UH, I WAS INDEPENDENTLY CONSULTING ON BIRD SAFE CONSTRUCTION.
NOW I DO WORK FOR GUARDIAN GLASS, UM, AS A TECHNICAL ADVISOR, SO I'M SLIGHTLY BIASED THERE NOW.
[01:10:01]
BUT THAT BEING SAID, TRAVIS OTTOMAN THAT AND BIRD CONSERVANCY NATIONAL OTTOMAN, UM, THERE ARE PLENTY OF RESOURCES OUT THERE AND MORE BECOMING AVAILABLE EVERY DAY AS THIS, UH, THIS FIELD DRAMATICALLY DIVERSIFIES.SO FOR TEXAS IN PARTICULAR, IT IS VERY OBVIOUS THAT PEOPLE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
THEY JUST DON'T KNOW THAT THAT OPTION EVEN EXISTS.
UM, TEXAN BY NATURE SAID THIS BEAUTIFULLY.
UM, WHEN THE QUESTION IS WHAT'S HINDERING COMPANIES WHO INVESTING IN CONSERVATION PROJECTS, IT'S LACK OF INFORMATION.
THEY DON'T KNOW THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THEIR ACTIONS.
AND WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO REALLY EMPHASIZE THIS SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, RESPONSIBILITY, CONSERVATION PROJECTS JUST AREN'T EVEN AN OPTION FOR CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY PORTFOLIOS FOLIOS.
SO IN CONCLUSION THAT WHAT'S GOOD FOR BIRDS IS GOOD FOR PEOPLE.
UM, PLEASE DO FEEL FREE TO CHECK THE, UH, REPORT THAT WAS SUBMITTED FOR THE DESIGN COMMISSION.
UM, I THINK IT SHOULD BE AVAILABLE ONLINE AS WELL.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS NOW AND OVER EMAIL.
I'M AN INCREDIBLY HOMESICK TECH WHO WANTS TO HELP ME IN ANY WAY I CAN.
UM, AND I'M HOPING AT SOME POINT TO, TO MAKE IT BACK TO AUSTIN AND, UM, MORE THAN JUST SEE GOLDEN SHE WARBLERS AGAIN.
UM, JUST BE MORE BOOTS IN THE GROUND HANDS ON WITH HELPING HOWEVER I CAN.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, I WILL OPEN TO, I'M OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE TIME FOR.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, LET'S START WITH THE REMOTE COMMISSIONERS.
UM, COMMISSIONER KRUEGER, YOUR PRESENTATION.
THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT COMES UP ALMOST EVERY MEETING FOR US, SO I'M GRATEFUL TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, MORE, UH, CONTEXT AND IDEAS FOR, UM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING TO DEVELOPERS ABOUT THEIR PROJECTS.
I'M WONDERING IF WE CAN GO TO, UM, SLIDE 15.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING THE GRAPH.
UM, THERE'S A RED LINE THAT SAYS TOTAL NUMBER OF BIRD ORDINANCES AND THEN BLUE BARS THAT SAY NUMBER OF BIRD ORDINANCES PASSED.
SO IS THE RED LINE THE NUMBER OF ORDINANCES THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED, BUT THEN ONLY THE BLUE LINE BLUE BARS, WHAT PASSED? SO THE, THE BLUE BARS ARE THE NUMBER OF CODES BEING PASSED ANNUALLY.
THE RED LINE IS THE CUMULATIVE COUNT THAT'S FILLING UP.
THERE HAVE, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL CODES.
UM, LIKE DETROIT LAST SPRING, UH, HAD PROPOSED A CODE, IT DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT TO A VOTE WITH CITY COUNCIL BECAUSE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT, UM, IT WAS CONTRARY TO THE STATE BUILDING CODE.
UM, SO IN 20, I THINK 21 MADISON, WISCONSIN WAS LEGALLY CHALLENGED BY ONE OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY LOBBYING GROUPS, UH, ON THE SAME GROUNDS.
SO I SUSPECT THAT IF DETROIT DID ACTUALLY PUT IT TO A VOTE, IT WOULD BE FINE.
UM, BUT I'M SURE THEY WANT TO, TO CHEW ON THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE BEFORE THEY OPEN THEMSELVES UP TO LEGAL RISK LIKE THAT.
SO THOSE ARE JUST ONES THAT HAVE PASSED, BUT THERE, THERE ARE OTHERS IN THE WORKS THAT HOPEFULLY WILL BE THEM LATER.
UM, YOU REFERENCED A, A NEW YORK CITY LOCAL LAW FOR NEW BUILDINGS THAT YOU SAID COULD BE GOOD FOR US TO LOOK AT AND OF, I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THAT YET, BUT I'M CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE DO GO AND LOOK AT LAWS LIKE THAT, ARE YOU AWARE OF ANYTHING IN LIKE THE TEXAS LEGAL LANDSCAPE THAT MIGHT, YOU KNOW, TRIGGER SOMETHING AT THE STATE LEVEL? BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE AT THE CITY ENCOUNTER A NUMBER OF TIMES WITH OUR STATE LEGISLATURE WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO PASS THINGS.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF, IF YOU HAVE A HANDLE ON YEAH.
STATE LAW THAT WE MIGHT ENCOUNTER.
UM, THE ONLY CHALLENGE IS, SO NEW YORK, ODDLY ENOUGH, UM, I THINK MADISON IS THE ONLY CODE THAT HAS BEEN, UH, LEGALLY CHALLENGED TWICE NOW.
UM, IT WAS UPHELD THE FIRST TIME, AND I THINK IT'S JUST SITTING AND STEWING THE SECOND TIME AROUND.
UM, NEW YORK'S CODE WAS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
[01:15:01]
I FEEL LIKE IF THERE WAS ANY PLACE WHERE THERE WAS GOING TO BE PUSHBACK FROM DEVELOPERS, NEW YORK CITY WOULD BE WHERE IT WOULD HAPPEN.UM, I CAN SEE HOW TEXAS WOULD SEE THAT AS POTENTIAL OVERREACH.
UM, LIKE THAT WAS THE PART THAT WAS CITED AS BEING OFFENSIVE TO PEOPLE.
BUT FOR TEXAS IN PARTICULAR, I HAVE NO IDEA.
AND DO YOU HAVE, OR ONE OF THE RESOURCES YOU LISTED IN THE PRESENTATION, DO YOU HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF THE NATURE OF THE ORDINANCES? BECAUSE THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, ORDINANCES RELATED TO LIGHT LIKE YOU'RE BRINGING UP AND GLASS, AND I'M JUST CURIOUS THINKING ABOUT WHAT APPROACH WOULD BE EFFECTIVE, YOU KNOW, IN AUSTIN DOING IT PIECEMEAL, OR IS THERE A PREPONDERANCE OF DATA THAT SHOWS OKAY, THIS ONE TYPE OF ORDINANCE IS ESPECIALLY LIKELY TO PASS? THAT'S A REALLY EXCELLENT QUESTION.
UM, LAST YEAR YALE DID A STUDY, I BELIEVE I CITED IN THE REPORT THAT I LINKED.
UM, THE YALE STUDY LOOKED AT A, A FAIR NUMBER OF THE CODES THAT HAVE PASSED AND BROKE DOWN WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE VOLUNTARY, MANDATORY, UH, WHETHER OR NOT THEY ADDRESSED LIGHT OR GLASS OR BOTH.
UM, BUT WHAT I FOUND REALLY INTERESTING IS SOME OF THE CODES CAME ABOUT IN REALLY WEIRD WAYS.
LIKE FOR NEW YORK, SOMEONE'S KID WAS ON THE SAME SOCCER TEAM AS SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS.
LIKE, IT, IT WAS REALLY ONE OF THOSE LIKE, OH, YOU CARE ABOUT BIRDS, I CARE ABOUT BIRDS.
THE KIDS ARE PLAYING SOCCER, LET'S DO BRUNCH.
AND SOMEHOW ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER AND NOW THEY HAVE A BIRD SAFE ORDINANCE.
UM, WHICH ISN'T SUPER HELPFUL FOR, FOR EVERYONE ELSE LOOKING AT A LEGAL LANDSCAPE.
UM, BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE WHERE LIKE SOMEBODY WENT TO THE SAME BIBLE STUDY AS, UM, A COUNCIL MEMBER WHO WAS LIKE, HEY, LET'S TALK BIRDS.
NEXT THING YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PASSING A COAT.
SO IT REALLY DOES END UP BEING A VERY INDIVIDUAL AND KIND OF UNPREDICTABLE MEANS OF, OF THINGS FINALLY GETTING THE BALL ROLLING.
UM, I THINK JUST KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE, I THINK AT LEAST WITH AUSTIN, EVERYONE LOVES BATS.
YOU'VE GOT A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE OF ADDRESSING THINGS ON THE LIGHTING SIDE.
UM, BUT THAT DOESN'T EXACTLY SOLVE THE GLASS SIDE OF THINGS.
I KNOW THAT PORTLAND OR HAS, UM, LOOKED AT DROPPING THEIR BIRD SAFE ORDINANCE IN THE NAME OF LIKE, WHAT IF THIS IS A BURDEN TO CONSTRUCTION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING? BUT IT TURNS OUT IT HAS NEVER COME UP AS AN ISSUE WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UH, AND I BELIEVE THERE WAS ALSO AN OPTION TO LIKE REQUEST, UH, AN EXEMPTION FROM THE BIRD SAFE CODE IF IT WAS GOING TO BE A BURDEN TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UH, SO THEY ENDED UP NOT DROPPING THE, THE BIRD SAFE ORDINANCE SIMPLY BECAUSE IT HAD ACTUALLY NOT BEEN A BARRIER TO THAT CONSTRUCTION.
SO MAYBE NOT THE MOST HELPFUL ANSWER, BUT I, I AM OPTIMISTIC THAT AUSTIN CAN GET STUFF DONE.
I FORGOT TO, UM, BRING UP THE CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
UM, FIRST UP WE HAVE CRAIG NASER.
HELLO, MY NAME IS CRAIG NASER.
I'M THE FORMER CHAIR OF THE AUSTIN ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION.
I'M THE CURRENT CONSERVATION CHAIR OF THE LONE STAR CHAPTER SIERRA CLUB.
UH, I AM A FORMER CHAIR, A PRESIDENT OF AN AUDUBON SOCIETY IN LOUISIANA.
I'M A LONGTIME DISTRICT SEVEN RESIDENT, A QUOTE FROM WRITER AND REGENERATIVE FARMER WENDELL BERRY.
WE HAVE LIVED OUR LIVES BY THE ASSUMPTION THAT WHAT WAS GOOD FOR US WOULD BE GOOD FOR THE WORLD.
[01:20:01]
SO THAT IT WILL BE POSSIBLE.BY THE CONTRARY ASSUMPTION THAT WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE WORLD WILL GOOD FOR US.
AND THAT REQUIRES WE MAKE THE EFFORT TO KNOW THE WORLD AND LEARN WHAT IS GOOD FOR IT.
IN OCTOBER OF 2022, THE AUSTIN ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN ESTABLISHED BIRD FRIENDLY BUILDING DESIGN INTO AUSTIN'S BUILDING CODE.
OUR RECOMMENDATION FELL ON DEAF EARS.
I'M HERE TO ASSURE YOU THAT THE SIERRA CLUB STRONGLY SUPPORTS THIS ACTION.
WE URGED THE NOW MIRED IN LAWSUITS, STATESMAN PUD TO ADOPT BIRD FRIENDLY CONSTRUCTION, BUT THEY WERE LESS THAN ENTHUSED.
WE NEED AN ORDINANCE OR, OR WE NEED A, A, A BUILDING CODE THAT SAYS THIS.
UM, SOMETHING VERY INTERESTING IS THE GOOGLE BUILDING DOWNTOWN BEAUTIFUL BUILDING.
AND THE REASON IT IS TOTALLY BIRD SAFE IS SOMEONE VERY HIGH UP IN GOOGLE LIKES BIRDS.
OKAY? THIS IS SOMETHING, AND, AND THE, THE, THE COST OF THIS IS REALLY VERY SMALL COMPARED TO THE OVERALL COST OF DEVELOPMENT.
UH, I THINK THIS IS TIME FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN BECAUSE ALL THESE BIG CITIES ARE GETTING INVOLVED IN THIS.
THE COST OF THE TYPES OF GLASS TO USE ARE JUST GOING DOWN.
I THINK THIS IS A VERY GOOD THING TO DO.
AND ONE OTHER THING TO SAY IS I HAVE BEEN BIRDWATCHING IN AUSTIN FOR WHAT, 40 YEARS AND THE NUMBER OF BIRDS IN AUSTIN AND THE SPECIES I SEE IS GOING DOWN.
IT IS GOING DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND I JUST DON'T SEE WHY THE CITY OF AUSTIN WOULDN'T WANT TO GET THIS STARTED AND DO IT.
SO I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO THIS AND VOTE FOR THIS.
AND NEXT UP WE HAVE, UH, MORA.
I'M WITH TRAVIS AUDUBON'S ADVOCACY COMMITTEE, AND WE ARE VERY PLEASED WE WERE ABLE TO ARRANGE FOR HEIDI TO GIVE THIS PRESENTATION THE EVENING.
UH, I'M NOT GOING TO TRY TO, UH, GIVE YOU ANY MORE INFORMATION ABOUT IT.
THE ONLY THING I WANTED TO SAY WAS THAT, UM, WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND TO THE CITY.
AS YOU CAN TELL FROM HEIDI'S PRESENTATION, IT'S NOT A SIMPLE MATTER OF JUST, UH, SAYING WHAT LEVEL OF REFLECTIVITY OF GLASS SHOULD BE USED IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
IT'S A VARIETY OF, UM, FACTORS THAT DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT A BUILDING IS BIRD SAFE.
SO A LOT OF, UH, AS SHE MENTIONED, A LOT OF MUNICIPALITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO GO DOWN THIS ROAD, AND WE'RE LEARNING HOW EFFECTIVE THEIR CODES ARE OR THEY'RE NOT.
AND SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST IS THAT, UM, THE CITY COMMISSIONS OR THE CITY ITSELF, UM, SET UP A STUDY GROUP OR A, A SUBCOMMITTEE SUBC TO LOOK AT WHAT THE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES ARE DOING, SEE HOW SUCCESSFUL IT IS, CONSIDER WHAT WOULD WORK FOR AUSTIN GIVEN OUR CULTURE, AND, UM, AND THEN BE ABLE TO SUGGEST A PACKAGE OF ORDINANCES TO THE CITY COUNCIL THAT WOULD MEET THE GOALS OF PRESERVING, UH, BIRDS FOR OUR CITY.
AND, UM, LET ME SEE, UH, COLIN, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE, UH, PARK STATION? I DON'T.
UM, I WAS WONDERING WHY THE OTHER BIG THREE TEXAS CITIES ARE IN SORT OF THE TOP 10 LIST FOR MOST DEADLY FOR BIRDS, BUT AUSTIN ISN'T.
IS IT JUST LIKE THEY'RE JUST BIGGER SQUARE MILEAGE WISE? UH, I WAS JUST WONDERING SORT OF WHAT GOES INTO THAT.
IT'S BASICALLY THE AMOUNT OF GLASS THAT THERE IS.
UM, ESPECIALLY WITH THE SPRAWL OF HOUSTON, UM, AND THE AMOUNT OF HABITAT, IT'S A BAD COMBINATION.
COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER HORNE, I DON'T HAVE QUESTIONS AS MUCH AS JUST SOME COMMENTS.
[01:25:01]
I'M, YOU KNOW, A BIRD SAFE CONSTRUCTION STANDARD.THIS MIGHT EVEN BE A WORKING GROUP.
I'M WILLING TO SERVE ON COMMISSIONER BRISTOL IF, IF, IF, IF SUCH A WORKING GROUP WOULD BE IN THE FORKS.
BUT I'M HAVING A HARD TIME WRAPPING MY HEAD.
THE PRESENTATION WAS GREAT, BUT IT REALLY TALKED A LOT ABOUT WHAT DOESN'T WORK.
AND SO I'M HAVING A HARD TIME UNDERSTANDING WHAT DOES WORK.
UM, AND IF WE'RE GONNA DO A WORKING GROUP, WE PROBABLY WANT TO HEAR FROM LIKE THE ARCHITECTURE COMMUNITY AND, AND, AND THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AS WELL.
THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY HAS SOME REALLY EXCELLENT RESOURCES AND DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT KIND OF ADDRESS.
UM, BROADLY SPEAKING, WHAT DOES WORK IN TERMS OF VISUAL CONTEXT SPACING? UM, THE BROAD CATEGORIES OF DETERRENT PRODUCTS, UH, ARE BROADLY ACID ETCH GLASS, UM, SO ETCH IN GENERAL, LASER ETCH ACID ETCH AND ABRASIVE ETCH, UM, ARE, ARE ONE CATEGORY.
UM, FRT IS THE OTHER SOLAR COMBINATION IF YOU'RE TRYING TO CONTROL THERMAL HEAT GAIN.
UM, AND THEN THERE ARE PRODUCTS THAT NOW USE UV.
THOSE ARE MUCH MORE COMPLICATED.
UH, AND AT THIS POINT, THEY'RE STILL FAIRLY EXPENSIVE COMPARED TO ETCH AND FRIT.
UM, BUT PASSIVE HOUSE DESIGN ENDS UP FREQUENTLY USING SHADE STRUCTURES AND SCREENS, UM, AND, AND OTHER NON GLASS MATERIALS TO REALLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF, OF VISIBLE GLASS, OR AT LEAST GET A PHYSICAL BARRIER BETWEEN BIRDS AND THE GLASS ITSELF.
SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A GLASS BASED SOLUTION, UH, WHICH IS WHY IT'S EASIER TO TALK ABOUT THE, THE KIND OF RED FLAGS FOR THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR, UM, AND ALLOW ARCHITECTS TO BE CREATIVE WITH THE, THE STRATEGIES THAT THEY USE TO BE BIRDS SAFE.
UM, BUT I WOULD HAND IT OVER TO, UH, BIRD SAFE GUIDELINES TO, TO OUTLINE THAT.
UH, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN? YEAH, I'D LIKE TO, I'D LIKE TO JUST SAY WHAT EINHORN SAID.
I DO THINK WE NEED A WORK GROUP.
WE COULD GET, UH, THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND A I A AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND MAYBE AUDUBON TO PUT, PUT TOGETHER A SMALL WORK GROUP TO CONSIDER THIS COMMISSIONER BRIER.
YEAH, THANK FOR THE, UH, PRESENTATION IS VERY INFORMATIVE, AND SO WERE THE, UH, MATERIALS THAT WERE EMAILED OUT PRIOR TO THE, UH, MEETING, SO I APPRECIATE IT, BUT I HAVE NO QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, FOR YOUR, UM, PRESENTATION AND THANK YOU FOR THE, UM, UH, COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC.
UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
UM, AND THIS I THINK GOES BACK TO THE TWO COMMISSIONERS.
WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A WORK GROUP OR WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A DESIGN STUDY, UM, FROM THE CITY ITSELF? LIKE WHAT FEELS BETTER TO YOU? WELL, I MEAN, I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME DESIGN PROFESSIONALS, LIKE A I A ALONG WITH THE CITY BOARD, LIKE THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND SOME OF US, UH, AND AUDUBON.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE NEED TO HIRE A PRIVATE CONSULTANT, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE, UM, ASKING
LIZ JOHNSTON, INTERIM ENVIRONMENT OFFICER.
UM, YOU KNOW, STAFF WOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO SUPPORT A WORKING GROUP, UM, TO THE BEST OF THE ABILITY.
WE WOULD, UM, DO WHAT WE COULD, BUT IT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT.
SO IT WOULD BE BASED ON STAFF AVAILABILITY.
SO WHO IN STAFF, I MEAN, THIS WOULDN'T BE A WATERSHED ISSUE, THIS WOULD BE A BUILDING ISSUE.
UM, SO, SO IS THERE A CITY OFFICE? I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHO WOULD BE THE MOST LOGICAL PERSON TO BE THERE.
IT WOULD PROBABLY BE SOMEBODY IN THE BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW GROUP.
UM, OF COURSE WATERSHED HAS BEEN INTERESTED IN THIS, SO WE COULD, UH, YOU KNOW, HELP A, A LITTLE BIT, BUT IT'S REALLY NOT A WATER QUALITY ISSUE, UM, PER SE.
UM, SO, UM, MY NEXT, UH, QUESTION AND, AND I ACTUALLY WANNA, UM, ANSWER A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UM, COMMISSIONER KORESH'S, UM, QUESTION ABOUT THE TOP THREE CITIES THAT ARE IN, UM, THE HIGHEST, UH, ZONE FOR COLLISIONS.
UM, HOUSTON AND CORPUS ARE ON THE COAST, UM, WHICH IS WHERE, UM, WHEN BIRDS COME ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THEIR FLIGHT, IF THERE'S HIGH WINDS, THEY'RE COLLIDING WITH THE, THE BUILDINGS THERE.
AND THEN THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH
[01:30:01]
AREA, YOU HAVE HIGH WINDS, UM, THAT ACCELERATE THINGS.CLIMATE IS A HUGE, UM, FACTOR IN THIS, UM, FOR, AS WE HAVE STRONGER STORMS, FASTER STORMS, MOVING THE BIRDS FASTER, UM, WHEN THEY COLLIDE WITH THE BIRDS, BIRDS TRAVEL AT NIGHT, A LOT OF TIMES THAT'S ALSO WHEN STORMS KICK UP.
SO THERE'S, UM, KIND OF A, A, A DEADLY RECIPE, UM, THERE AS WELL.
UM, HEIDI, I WANNA REALLY, UM, THANK YOU AND, UM, AND ALL OF THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS FOR, FOR BRINGING THIS, UM, TOGETHER.
UM, IT DOES SEEM LIKE, UH, A WORKING GROUP WOULD BE GOOD.
AND, UM, PETER AND DAVID, IF Y'ALL WILL SERVE ON THAT WITH ME, UM, BE HAPPY TO, HAPPY TO DO THAT, UM, TO LOOK AT THIS, UM, FURTHER FOR HOW WE CAN MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, TO THE CITY.
UM, I I'VE PREPARED A MOTION, BUT I'LL READ IT WHEN, WHEN WE'RE READY.
I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT WAS LIKE ONE OF THE ONES I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO.
UM, I WAS WONDERING IF THERE'S BEEN LIKE ANY SORT OF LIKE DATA MEASUREMENT ON HOW LIKE AUSTIN HAS PROGRESSED IN, UH, IN THE BIRD STRIKES, LIKE, UH, WITH THE COMMISSION FOCUSING ON SO MANY, UM, LIKE ENDORSING, UH, NEWER CONSTRUCTION TO, UH, CONSIDER BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS INITIATIVES.
I WAS KIND OF CURIOUS IF THERE'S BEEN ANY KIND OF MEASUREMENT IN LIKE, HOW THAT'S IMPROVED IN THE BIRD STRIKES SINCE, LIKE, IF IT COULD BE LIKE, OKAY, STARTING WITH 2000, LIKE 2022, LIKE HAS IT DECREASED COMPARED TO 2023 OR IF THERE'S ANY, ANY OF THAT DATA HAS BEEN KIND OF COLLECTED OR IF YOU'VE SEEN ANY INFORMATION ON THAT.
SO THE DOWNSIDE TO BIRD STRIKE MONITORING IS IT IS NOT EASY, AND IT IS BASICALLY A BUILDING TO BUILDING YEAR TO YEAR COMPARISON.
UM, IN TEXAS, IT'S NOT QUITE AS DRAMATIC AS IT IS SAY IN THE GREAT LAKES WHERE, UM, FROM YEAR TO YEAR, IF CHICAGO'S GETTING REALLY HIGH NUMBERS, CLEVELAND MIGHT BE GETTING SLIGHTLY LOWER NUMBERS JUST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WINDS ARE MOVING THINGS A LITTLE FURTHER WEST ONE YEAR, UH, COMPARED TO ANOTHER WHEN YOU'VE GOT A BUILDING THAT IS BEING MONITORED CONSISTENTLY.
UM, THERE, THERE'S SO MANY FACTORS IN THIS.
UM, IT'S, AGAIN, YOU WILL NOT SEE NUMBERS GOING UP OR DOWN UNLESS YOU'RE LOOKING AT AN INDIVIDUAL BUILDING OVER TIME.
AND THE PART THAT IS ABSOLUTELY GUTTING TO ME IS THAT STRIKES OVER TIME WILL NOT INCREASE AT BUILDINGS, INDIVIDUAL BUILDINGS BECAUSE WE ARE LITERALLY RUNNING OUT OF BIRDS.
SO OVER TIME, UM, YOUR, YOUR BIRD POPULATION IS THE DIRECT INFLUENCE OF HOW MANY STRIKES YOU GET.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS SPRING IS REALLY FREAKING ME OUT.
I HAVE CHECKED WITH MY FOLKS OUT WEST, I HAVE CHECKED WITH MY FOLKS IN CHICAGO.
I GET UPDATES FROM MY PEOPLE IN CLEVELAND AND PITTSBURGH AND DELAWARE HAD THE SLOWEST YEAR THAT THEY'VE HAD IN 27 YEARS.
USUALLY I CAN FREAK OUT AFTER HEARING ABOUT LOW NUMBERS IN CHICAGO.
AND CLEVELAND WILL SAY, WE ARE LIKE SO MUCH BUSIER THAN WE NORMALLY ARE, AND I WILL FEEL BETTER BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THE BIRDS HAVE JUST BEEN PUSHED, YOU KNOW, FURTHER EAST, UM, THIS YEAR EVERYONE'S NUMBERS ARE DOWN.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT IS BECAUSE ALL OF THESE, WELL, UM, THE MAJORITY OF THE BIRDS THAT WE ARE SEEING HIT OUR WINDOWS SEASONALLY ARE BREEDERS OF THE, THE BOREAL FOREST IN CANADA.
LAST YEAR, ALL OF THAT WAS ON FIRE.
SO BETWEEN AIR QUALITY, UM, IN 2018, WE HAD A LOT OF BIRDS FROM THE CALIFORNIA FIRES BEING DOCUMENTED JUST DEAD RANDOMLY, NOT NEAR WINDOWS, NOT NEAR CATS, NOT NEAR ANYTHING ELSE, UM, JUST EMACIATED.
AND THE THEORY THERE IS THAT THEY WERE FLYING AWAY FROM THE FIRES.
THEY MANAGED TO GET AWAY FROM THE FIRES, BUT EITHER THE DAMAGE FROM THE AIR QUALITY WAS DONE, OR THAT STRENUOUS FLIGHT CAUSED THEM TO END UP EMACIATED AND THEY JUST COULDN'T MAKE IT.
SO THIS YEAR IN MICHIGAN, WE HARDLY HAD ANY WINDOW STRIKES LIKE, COOL, THAT MEANS OUR WINDOWS ARE, IT'S NOT BECAUSE OUR WINDOWS ARE SAFE, IT'S JUST 'CAUSE WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF BIRDS.
UM, IF YOU'VE GOT A BUILDING THAT WAS BAD AND THEN FIX BARE WINDOWS, YOU CAN LOOK AT THE BEFORE AND AFTER DATA AND SAY, YES, THEY IMPROVED.
[01:35:01]
A LOT OF STRUCTURES THAT HAVE DONE THAT.UM, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE NEW CONSTRUCTION THAT WAS BUILT TO BE INTENTIONALLY BIRDS SAFE, YOU KIND OF HAVE TO CROSS YOUR FINGERS AND SAY, HEY, IF IT WAS DESIGNED, UH, NORMALLY WOULD THIS HAVE BEEN 50 BIRDS A YEAR? OR WOULD THIS HAVE BEEN 500 BIRDS A YEAR? AND HEY, THIS YEAR IT KILLED THREE THAT WE KNOW OF.
THAT'S, THAT'S RELATIVELY GOOD.
UM, NOTHING IS GOING TO BE A HUNDRED PERCENT, UH, NOT EVEN A BRICK WALL, UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE IF YOU GET A BIRD THAT'S STARTLED TO BUY A HAWK, NOW THEY WILL SCATTER ALL DIRECTIONS.
UM, BUT YOU CAN GET A, A VERY EFFECTIVE PRODUCT, UM, THAT BROADLY SPEAKING, WILL, WILL BE A GOOD STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UM, AND SO WHILE AGAIN, NOTHING IS A HUNDRED PERCENT SAFE, YOU CAN GET THAT AVERAGE BUILDING, UM, BODY COUNTDOWN.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE MORE GLASS YOU HAVE, THE BETTER THE HABITAT IS.
LIKE EVERY, EVERY BUILDING HAS ITS OWN PATHOLOGY.
AND I DO ACTUALLY WANT TO ADDRESS FOR A MOMENT, UM, THE NOCTURNAL MIGRATION SITUATION.
UM, IT WAS MENTIONED THAT CORPUS AND HOUSTON ARE ON THE COAST.
THEY'RE THE FIRST CITIES THAT GET HIT.
IT IS INCREDIBLY DEPRESSING TO HEAR ABOUT HOTELS THAT ARE RIGHT ON THE BEACH IN URUS, SENDING FOLKS OUT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING WITH A BUCKET AND SHOVEL TO JUST SCOOP UP THE BIRDS THAT HAVE HIT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING.
UM, I WOULD SAY THOUGH THAT DFW ISN'T NECESSARILY DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF THE HIGH WINDS.
UM, MOST COLLISIONS ARE NOT DUE TO WINDS AT ALL.
UM, WHILE BIRDS DO BASE THEIR MIGRATION MOVEMENTS LARGELY ON WEATHER MOVEMENTS.
UM, THE, THE WEIRD FACTORS, AND THIS IS WHERE THE, THE GLASS DISTRACTS AND, OR SORRY, LIGHT DISTRACTS AND GLASS KILLS THINGS COMES INTO PLAY WHEN YOU HAVE BIRDS MIGRATING, SPECIFICALLY SONGBIRDS MIGRATING AT NIGHT, THEY'RE DOING SO BECAUSE THE TEMPERATURES ARE COOLER, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO OVERHEAT.
UM, THEY'RE LESS LIKELY TO BE SEEN BY PREDATORS.
UM, SO NIGHT IS, IS WHEN THEY HAVE TO TO MOVE.
WHEN THE SUN RISES, THAT IS THEIR CUE THAT THEY WILL EITHER OVERHEAT OR BE SEEN BY A PREDATOR.
SO THEY HAVE TO DROP TO FIND FOOD THAT FIND SHELTER AND OTHERWISE SPEND THEIR DAY EATING CATERPILLARS AND SPIDERS BEFORE THEY HEAD ON THAT NIGHT WHEN THEY HAVE AN URBAN SKY GLOW BUBBLE THAT THEY ENCOUNTER, EVEN IF IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, THAT'S THEIR CUE TO DROP.
SO WHEREVER THEY DROP IS WHERE THEY DROP.
IT COULD BE A WALMART LOT, IT COULD BE THE MIDDLE OF DOWNTOWN, BUT THAT LIGHT GLOW IS A, A VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR IN HOW THEY'VE BEEN DISTRACTED AND POTENTIALLY LURED INTO A DANGEROUS AREA WHEN THEY DROP THE NEAREST GLASS TO THEIR PROXIMITY IS GOING TO BE THE PRIMARY FACTOR AND WHAT THEIR COLLISION RISK IS, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO, UM, THE SKY RISES AND THIS BLOWS MY MIND BECAUSE EVERY, THE, THE LONGER I'VE DONE THIS, THE MORE I REALIZE WE, WE HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO LEARN.
UM, AND THEN I KEEP WISHING WE WOULD JUST FIX IT SO WE DON'T HAVE TO KEEP COUNTING BODIES.
UM, SO CHICAGO, CLEVELAND, DOWNTOWN HOUSTON, PITTSBURGH, AUSTIN, UM, THE, THE BIG URBAN AREAS USUALLY NEED TO DO THEIR COLLISION MONITORING FIRST THING IN THE MORNING BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE BIRDS THINK THAT DAWN HAS SUDDENLY HAPPENED.
THAT'S BEFORE FOLKS CLEAN THE SIDEWALKS.
THAT'S BEFORE YOU GET GULLS, CROWS, UH, REC BOXES, CATS, COYOTES, DOGS AND EVERYTHING ELSE, UM, PATROLLING THE SIDEWALKS.
BUT WHEN YOU HAVE LOW-RISE BUILDINGS, USUALLY THOSE ARE, THERE'S A BUNCH OF AS THERE, UM, SO COLLEGE CAMPUSES, LIBRARIES, SO I'M GONNA WRITE THIS TIME UP.
UM, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT BETTER HABITAT AND, UM, SHINIER BUILDINGS, YOUR COLLISION FACTORS ARE MORE BASED ON, OKAY, THE BIRDS HAVE ALREADY DROPPED FOR SUNRISE, THEY'RE MOVING AROUND, FATTENING UP ON THEIR CATERPILLARS AND SPIDERS AND WHATEVER ELSE.
UM, AND SO THE COLLISIONS AT LOW RISE BUILDINGS WITH BETTER HABITAT TEND TO BE MORE MID-MORNING RATHER THAN EARLY MORNING.
SO FOR MY, MY SPECIALTY IS, IS PRETTY MUCH LOW RISES.
[01:40:01]
COLLEGE CAMPUSES ARE A WEALTH OF INFORMATION FOR COLLISIONS.UM, I TRY NOT TO GET MY VOLUNTEERS OUT AND AND CHECKING BUILDINGS BEFORE LIKE 10:00 AM AND WE'VE HAD FOLKS WHO'VE MONITORED THE SAME BUILDING AT SEVEN AND 8:00 AM AND THEN THE FOLKS WHO MONITOR AT 11 FIND WAY MORE STUFF THAN THE EARLY CROWD BECAUSE THE BIRDS WERE MOVING AROUND TO FEED HAVEN'T YET MADE THE, THE CIRCUIT THAT GETS THEM IN TOUCH, UNFORTUNATELY WITH A WINDOW.
UM, SO YOU CAN SAY MONITOR A COLLEGE CAMPUS SUPER EARLY IN THE MORNING, AND IF YOU STICK WITH THAT ROUTE, YOU MIGHT NOT FIND PARTLY ANYTHING BECAUSE IF YOU CHECK AT SEVEN OR EIGHT IN THE MORNING AND THE BIRDS ARE HITTING AT NINE, 10, YOU HAVE THE REST OF THE DAY AND THE ANTS, OH MY GOSH, ANTS CAN FINISH OFF A HUMMINGBIRD OR A WARBLER IN AN AFTERNOON.
SO THE ODDS OF YOU FINDING SOMETHING IS REALLY LOW, IF THAT PARK, THIS IS THERE FOR A FULL OVERNIGHT WITH THIS OVERNIGHT, YOU ALSO HAVE YOUR SCAVENGERS.
SO THE, THE DYNAMICS, THIS IS A VERY LONG ANSWER, I APOLOGIZE, BUT THE DYNAMICS OF FIGURING OUT ARE THINGS BAD, ARE THEY GETTING BETTER? IT'S COMPLICATED, BUT WE CAN LOOK AT BUILDINGS AND TELL YOU BROADLY, YES, THIS IS A FAIRLY GOOD OPTION, OR NO, THIS NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED.
BUT AT A COMMUNITY LEVEL, GETTING THAT DATA, IT'S AN UPHILL BATTLE AND IT IS MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE TO ASSESS IT BASED ON DOES IT HAVE THESE DANGEROUS FEATURES AND OR DOES IT HAVE THESE SAFE FEATURES.
AND ALSO, I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION,
LIKE, ONE THING THAT I'VE NOTICED, LIKE AT MY OFFICE BUILDING, THERE'S A LOT OF REFLECTIVE GLASS AND THERE'S THESE TWO BUILDINGS THAT KIND OF FACE EACH OTHER.
AND IF YOU WALK ON THAT SIDEWALK IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO BUILDINGS WITH ALL THE REFLECTIVE GLASS, IT'S ALMOST, I CALL IT LIKE A, LIKE A, A HEAT VORTEX FOR LACK OF BETTER TERMS BECAUSE IT'S LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, IT JUST REMINDS ME OF LIKE, UM, MAGDA FROM, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY WITH LIKE THE REFLECTIVE METAL THING,
AND I WAS WONDERING IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT'S, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON LIKE, OKAY, CERTAIN TYPES OF REFLECTIVE HEAT KIND OF OFFSETS LIKE BIRD HABITATS OR LIKE IF THERE'S TREES NEARBY WHERE THE BIRDS ARE NESTING, LIKE IS THAT HEAT AFFECTING THOSE BIRDS OR, UM, BECAUSE LIKE BIRDS ARE SENSITIVE TO TER CHANGES.
SO I WAS KIND OF, THAT WAS ONE THING THAT POPPED IN MY HEAD.
SO THAT SOUNDS LIKE A QUESTION FOR EITHER TIM BETLEY OR TRAVIS LONG PARK.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S MORE THE URBAN DESIGN, UM, OR, OR URBAN WILDLIFE POPULATION PEOPLE.
BUT, UM, BETWEEN THE HEAT AND THE, THE, ALSO THE SOUND IMPACT OF HAVING SO MANY HARD SURFACES, UM, I CAN TELL YOU IT'S NOT GOOD FOR BIRDS, BUT I PERSONALLY DO NOT HAVE, UH, THE INFORMATION ON THAT THAT WOULD BE RELEVANT TO YOUR QUESTION.
BUT YOU ARE DEFINITELY LOOKING AT THE HEAT ISLAND EFFECT.
AND I THINK IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, WE HAVE A MOTION.
AND, UM, I DO WANNA, UH, YOU KNOW, ECHO AS A, AS A, UM, A BIRDER AND SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY TAKES PEOPLE OUT, UH, PROFESSIONALLY AND GUIDES, UH, BIRD TRIPS, UM, UH, I AM SEEING LESS, UH, OF SPECIES.
UM, AND, AND IT'S, IT'S NOTICEABLE, UH, EVERY TIME WE GO OUT AND, UH, AND PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR MUCH LONGER THAN I LIKE CRAIG.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, IT'S SOBERING.
WHEREAS YOU MIGHT USED TO SEE HUNDREDS OF SOMETHING, MAYBE YOU SEE 10, UM, OR 12 IN A SEASON.
IT'S HAPPENING RIGHT BEFORE OUR VERY EYES AND WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
ALL RIGHT, SO JUNE 5TH, 2024, UH, SUBJECT BIRD SAFE DESIGN.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WAS GIVEN A PRESENTATION ABOUT BIRD SAFE, DE SAFE DESIGN BY HEIDI TRUDEL, UH, BIRD SAFE DESIGN SPECIALIST WITH SUPPORT FROM TRAVIS AUDUBON.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE CITY OF AUSTIN WAS NAMED A BIRD CITY IN FEBRUARY, 2023.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT OVER 400 SPECIES OF BIRDS RESIDE OR MIGRATE THROUGH TRAVIS COUNTY EVERY SPRING AND FALL, BOTH ENDANGERED SPECIES AND SPECIES OF CON CONCERN BOTH UTILIZE THE CENTRAL FLYWAY AND GEOLOGICAL WAYFINDERS OF
[01:45:01]
THE BALCONES ESCARPMENT AND COLORADO RIVER DURING THEIR MIGRATION.AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE HILLS OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY ARE HOME TO THE ENDANGERED GOLDEN CHIEF WARBLER AND THREATENED BLACK CAT VERIO.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE CITY OF AUSTIN BENEFITS FROM THE ANNUAL $1.8 BILLION GENERATED FROM BIRD TOURISM IN TEXAS.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES BIRDS COLLIDING WITH POORLY DESIGNED BUILDINGS RESULT IN UP TO 2 MILLION BIRDS DYING IN THE US EVERY YEAR.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT MORE THAN 30 CITIES HAVE ADOPTED BIRD SAFE DESIGN PRACTICES IN THEIR CODES AND OR PRACTICES, HOWEVER, NO CITY IN TEXAS HAS YET ADOPTED THESE DESIGN PRACTICES, WHICH MEANS AUSTIN COULD LEAD THE WAY.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT HABITAT LOSS FOR NESTING AND WINTERING BIRDS ALSO HAS A NEGATIVE IMPACT.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT THE LOSS OF INSECTS DUE TO USE OF PESTICIDES DIMINISHES FOOD SUPPLIES FOR BIRDS.
AND THEREFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES, RECOMMENDS THE CITY OF AUSTIN TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS.
NUMBER ONE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WILL FORM A WORKING GROUP TO STUDY BEST PRACTICES AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT THE CODE CHANGES THAT COULD BE POSSIBLE TO SUPPORT BIRD SAFE DESIGN.
THE CITY WILL, WILL STRIVE TO BE THE FIRST CITY IN TEXAS TO BE A BIRD SAFE DESIGN CITY.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN WILL CONTINUE TO REQUIRE ALL NEW, UH, CONSTRUCTION AND REMODELS OF BOTH LOW-RISE AND HIGH RISE BUILDINGS TO UTILIZE AT MINIMUM BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS AND DOWNCAST DARK SKY LIGHTING.
NUMBER FOUR, THE CITY OF AUSTIN WILL LIMIT THE USE OF PESTICIDES ON ALL CITY MANAGED PROPERTIES, ESPECIALLY DURING PEAK MIGRATION AND NESTING.
SEASON NUMBER FIVE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN WILL CONTINUE TO ACTIVELY ADD PARKLANDS AND PRESERVES ALONG CREEKS AND AND WETLANDS, UH, IN THE RAPIDLY DIS DISAPPEARING BLACKLAND PRAIRIE EQUAL REGION.
THE CITY WILL CONSIDER WINTERING BIRD HABITAT AND MI MIGRATORY CORRIDORS AND NESTING HABITATS WHEN SELECTING THESE SITES.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN WILL ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT TO LEAVE WILD SPACES WITH NATIVE TREES AND PLANTS, UH, PLANT COMMUNITIES THAT SUPPORT BIRDS, HEALTHY INSECT POPULATIONS AND OTHER WILDLIFE.
ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER, UH, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION GUYS? YEAH, I'VE GOT, SO I, I LIKE THE RESOLUTION AND I'M GONNA SUPPORT IT, BUT I WANT TO COME BACK TO COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN'S QUESTION ABOUT STAFF SUPPORT, BECAUSE IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE A WORKING GROUP, I, I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND WHY STAFF'S ANSWER IS WHAT IT IS.
THE WAY TO GET STAFF TO PARTICIPATE IS TO GET COUNSEL TO DIRECT STAFF TO PARTICIPATE.
AND SO WE MIGHT CONSIDER A RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT, THAT THE COUNCIL ADOPT THE RESOLUTION, FORMALIZING THIS PROCESS, DIRECTING STAFF TO, TO PARTICIPATE.
I AM SO GLAD Y'ALL CAN'T SEE HOW MANY TY I JUST MADE DURING THAT ENTIRE
UM, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING, DAVID? WELL, SHOULD WE, UM, I GONNA ASK IF THERE'S ANY OBJECTION TO ADDING THAT.
IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO ADDING THAT, UM, ADDITION FROM, UM, COMMISSIONER EINHORN? OKAY.
DO WE WANNA ADD ANY DETAILS ABOUT THE WORKING GROUP? I THINK WE CAN, I THINK WE CAN BUILD THAT ONCE WE'RE ARE IN IT.
MEANING LATE AFTER THIS MOTION HAS PASSED OR AT A FUTURE MEETING, I THINK THAT WE CAN, UM, SINCE WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO SAID THAT THEY WOULD CO-CHAIR IT WITH ME, THEN WE CAN BUILD IT, UM, FROM THAT.
AND ASSUMING YOU'LL BE ON THERE AS WELL.
I JUST WANT TO APOLOGIZE THAT I DIDN'T MENTION THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION
[01:50:01]
THAT IT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER IN THE LIST ALONG WITH THE A I A DESIGN COMMISSION, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, AND TRAVIS AUDUBON.I'M WONDERING TO COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN'S POINT IN THIS, UH, RECOMMENDATION RIGHT NOW, DO WE NEED TO OUTLINE THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF THE WORKING GROUP AND A TIME LIMIT FOR IT? I DON'T THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NORMALLY DO.
UM, BUT, UM, BUT WE WILL DEFINITELY FIGURE THAT OUT ONCE WE GET THE WORKING GROUP GOING.
ANY OTHER, UM, ADDITIONS? COMMISSIONERS? OKAY, WELL LET'S TAKE A VOTE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION AS STATED, RAISE YOUR HANDS.
WE HAVE COMMISSIONER KRUGER, RESI, EINHORN, BEDFORD, BRISTOL SULLIVAN, AND BRIMER.
ALL THOSE OPPOSED, ALL THOSE ABSTAINING WE HAVE, UH, NICHOLS ABSTAINING MOTION PASSES.
UM, NEXT UP WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC
[4. 290 Parmer Industrial – 2, SP-2023-0401C]
HEARINGS.SO, UM, ITEM FOUR, UH, TWO 90 PARER INDUSTRIAL DASH TWO SP DASH 2 0 2 3 DASH 0 4 0 1 C.
UH, RYAN TAYLOR AND KIMLEY HORN AND ASSOCIATES INCORPORATED.
AND DO WE HAVE A PRESENTATION? YES.
YES, WE DO HAVE A PRESENTATION.
MY NAME IS DAVID MICHAEL, I'M AN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW SPECIALIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, AND I'M THE ASSIGNED REVIEWER FOR TWO 90 PALMER INDUSTRIAL TWO.
UM, YEAH, THAT IS THE APPLICANT'S.
UH, IF WE COULD BRING UP STAFF.
SO, UH, IT'S SO, UH, PROPERTY THAT, UH, IT'S IN THE, THIS SITE IS IN THE GILLAND CREEK WATERSHED, SAID THE SUBURBAN WATERSHED CLASSIFICATION INCIDENT DESIRE, DESIRE DEVELOPMENT ZONE.
IT'S IN THE AUSTIN FULL PURPOSE.
IT'S NOT LOCATED OVER THE EDWARD PHOTOGRAPHER RECHARGE ZONE AND IT'S IN COUNCIL DISTRICT.
THE LOCATION IS AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE PICKLE PARKWAY AND TWO 90, UH, WITH THE BEER DISTRIBUTOR, ONE SIDE TO THE, TO THE WEST RAILROAD, DRS TO THE SOUTH, AND A VACANT LAND
[01:55:01]
TO THE EAST.AND, UH, TWO 90 ON THE NORTH SIDE.
IT'S WHERE THE RED SQUA IS ON THAT MAP.
UH, THERE YOU CAN SEE MORE, THANK YOU MORE CLOSELY.
THERE'S THE SITE RIGHT THERE OUTLINED IN RED.
UH, THIS IS THE SECOND PHASE OF A TWO PHASE PROJECT.
UM, THE FIRST PHASE WOULD BE TO THE, THE WEST SIDE, THE, THE, THE RIGHT SIDE OF THAT.
AND SOMETHING I SHOULD HAVE HAD UP THERE, I DIDN'T MENTION.
THERE IS A PUD THAT, UH, GOES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE SITE.
THERE'S NOTHING IN THE PUD UH, THAT'S CONCERNS THAT, UH, WHAT I'M REVIEWING FOR ON THIS SITE, I JUST THOUGHT I SHOULD MENTION THERE'S A PUD THERE THAT AFFECTS THE ZONING.
UH, NEXT, SO, YOU KNOW, MADE A SIDE VISIT, HAD A LOOK AT THINGS.
UH, IT LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF SITES OUT IN THAT AREA RIGHT NOW.
UH, YOU SEE THE VIEW, YOU SEE THE BEARD DISTRIBUTOR AND THE NEW CONSTRUCTION TO THE WEST.
AND YOU SEE THE HIGHWAY THERE ON THE NORTH SIDE.
THERE'S NOT MUCH, IT'S NOT MUCH TREE COVER OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, AND A LOT OF, LOT OF DISTURBED LAND.
SO THESE LOCATIONS, THE ELEVATION CONTOUR LINES, WHICH ARE RELEVANT 'CAUSE WE ARE LOOKING AT CUT AND FILL TODAY.
UM, AND THEN ON THE LEFT SIDE AND ON THE RIGHT SIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONES THAT ARE OUTSIDE THIS SIDE, BUT NEARBY.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT TWO VARIANCE REQUESTS TODAY.
THE FIRST IS A REQUEST TO VARY, UH, LDC 25 8 3 41 TO ALLOW CUT UP TO 15 FEET.
AND THE SECOND VARIANCE REQUEST IS TO, UH, FOR LDC 25 8 3 42 TO ALLOW FILL UP TO 16 FEET.
AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, THE IMAGE TO THE RIGHT, THE, UM, RED, THE RED COLORS ARE SHOWING YOU WHERE THE CUT IS PROPOSED AND THE BLUE IS SHOWING WHERE THE, THE FILL IS PROPOSED.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE THE, UH, ELEVATION TABLE THERE TO THE SIDE.
AND IT'LL ALSO MENTION THERE TO THE SOUTH SIDE THERE'S, UH, UH, SOME PONDS THERE, UH, FOR WATER QUALITY CONTROL THAT ARE EXISTING.
AND SO THE, THE SITE SLOPES FROM THE WEST TO THE EAST MORE OR LESS NEXT.
IN SUMMARY, UH, THE VARIANCES FOR GRADING HAVE BEEN GRANTED FOR VARIANCES FOR GRADING HAVE BEEN GRANTED FOR SIMILAR PROJECTS, I THINK LAST WEEK.
YA LAGUNA PROJECT, UH, ALMOST NEXT DOOR TO THE WEST.
UH, ALSO WITH CUT FOR CUT AND FILL.
THE GRADING IS A DESIGN DECISION, BUT THE PROJECT PROVIDES GREATER ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION WITH INCREASED LANDSCAPING.
THE PROJECT IS NOT CREATE A SIGNIFICANT PROBABILITY OF HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES.
AND THE VARIANCE WILL RESULT IN WATER QUALITY THAT IS AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE WATER QUALITY ACHIEVABLE WITHOUT THE VARIANCE.
STAFF DETERMINATION AND CONDITIONS.
THE REQUIRED LANDSCAPE PLAN WILL BE SUPPLEMENTED WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MANAGED NATIVE WILDFLOWER MEADOWS ON THE GRADED SLOPES.
AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF TREE CANOPY AND OTHER VEGETATIVE COVER AND LARGER TREE SIZES PLANTED.
MORE SPECIFICALLY, OVER 14,000 SQUARE FEET OF WILDFLOWER SEEDING AND MANAGEMENT AREA WILL BE ON THOSE, UH, STABILIZED SLOPES.
UH, AFTER THE PROJECT, 50 ADDITIONAL SHADE TREES, UH, OVER 250 ADDITIONAL SHADE TREE INCHES, MEANING LARGER SIZED TREES WILL BE PLANTED IN OVER 150 ADDITIONAL SMALL TREE INCHES.
AGAIN, LARGER SIZE SMALL TREES PLANTED NEXT.
AND, UH, NEXT WILL BE THE APPLICANT, UH, PRESENT THEIR PRESENTATION.
IF THE APPLICANT CAN STAFF UP, UH, PODIUM.
I'M THE APPLICANT AND CIVIL ENGINEERING RECORD FOR THE PROPERTY.
UH, CAN WE PULL UP THE PRESENTATION PLEASE? OH, YEAH.
SO THIS IS THE TWO 90 PALMER INDUSTRIAL PROJECT.
THIS IS A SECOND PHASE OF A PROJECT THAT WE HAD PERMITTED, UH, LAST YEAR AND IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE SITE FEATURES THAT ARE THERE CURRENTLY.
SO RIGHT NOW THE SITES OF VACANT FIELD, THERE ARE ONLY THREE EXISTING TREES ON THE TOP LEFT OF THE, UH, CORNER OF THE PROPERTY.
THE SITE WAS EXIST, USED TO BE OLD MAINOR HIGHWAY THAT WENT THROUGH THE PROPERTY.
SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE WHERE SOME OF THE, THERE ARE SOME SLOPES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PROPERTY.
THAT WAS THE OLD EMBANKMENT FROM THE OLD ROAD THAT WAS GRADED IN.
SO A LOT OF THE FILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PROPERTY WAS FROM THE EXISTING ROADWAY PROJECTS.
[02:00:01]
AND THEN THAT ASPHALT GOT TORN UP, BUT THE EXISTING FILL REMAINED.SO THE DARK RED IS THE AREA THAT IS GONNA BE OVER EIGHT FEET THAT WE'RE REQUESTING THE VARIANCE.
AND THE DARK BLUE IS THE FILL THAT WE'RE REQUESTING OVER EIGHT FEET.
THE PURPLE AREA IS A CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE OUTSIDE OF THE PROPERTY LIMITS.
UM, SO WE'RE OUTSIDE OF THAT, WE'RE PROVIDING 10% ADDITIONAL WATER QUALITY VOLUME, THEN WHAT'S REQUIRED BY CODE, AS WELL AS THREE TIMES THE LIMIT OF OUR STREET, STREET YARD LANDSCAPE TREES TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL LANDSCAPE ENHANCEMENTS.
UM, SO I DON'T REALLY HAVE TOO MUCH ELSE TO SAY ABOUT THE PROPERTY.
UM, I JUST REALLY WANT TO OFFER MYSELF TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, LET'S OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS.
IF YOU COULD COME BACK TO ME LATER.
YEAH, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT, UM, SORT OF YOUR PLANS FOR THE BUILDING.
YOU KNOW, WE JUST HAD, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS PRESENTATION ON SORT OF BIRD FRIENDLY CONSTRUCTION.
SO I'M WONDERING, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS LIKE GLASS, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE ALSO PUSH FOR, YOU KNOW, SORT OF, UH, DARK SKY ORDINANCES AND STUFF LIKE THAT TOO IN REGARDS TO LIGHTING.
UM, AND THEN ALSO IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SORT OF POTENTIAL, UH, PLANS FOR, UH, LIKE SORT OF ELECTRIC CAR, UH, FACILITIES THERE TOO FOR, FOR EMPLOYEES OR WHATNOT.
OTHERWISE, UH, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
UH, I'M NOT POSITIVE ABOUT THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING.
I DO KNOW WE HAVE SOME CONSULTANTS I ON OUR ENGINEERING TEAM THAT ARE GONNA BE DISCUSSING WITH THE CLIENT DURING CONSTRUCTION AND POTENTIALLY, UH, LEAVING SOME CONDOS IN PLACE, UM, FOR FUTURE ELECTRIC VEHICLE PROPERTIES.
ON THE CURRENT SITE PLAN, THERE ARE NO VEHICLE, ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING.
THERE IS, UM, PART OF OUR VARIANCE REQUEST AND THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL STAFF.
WE ARE GONNA BE COATING ALL THE GLASS WITH THE BIRD STRIKE.
I'M HONESTLY NOT SURE WHAT TO REALLY CALL IT.
SO THE PRESENTATION BEFORE IS REALLY HELPFUL AND VERY INFORMATIVE.
SO, BUT WE ARE, UM, ADDING THAT COATING TO THE GLASS ON ALL OF THE BUILDINGS.
COMMISSIONER PRIMER? YEAH, A FEW QUESTION.
UH, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, WHAT WAS THIS? I MEAN, HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN A VACANT FIELD? I BELIEVE IT HAS BEEN VACANT FOR OVER, SO THE CAPITAL BEVERAGE DISTRIBUTING SITE, THAT'S THE BEARD DISTRIBUTOR THAT WAS, UH, TO THE LEFT OF THE SCREEN THAT WAS BUILT.
AND I BELIEVE 2018 IS WHEN IT FINISHED CONSTRUCTION.
AND IT'S BEEN, THIS, THE FIELD THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HAS BEEN VACANT THE ENTIRE TIME.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THE SITE HAS EVER BEEN DEVELOPED MAINLY 'CAUSE THE, IT HOUSED OLD MANOR ROAD THAT CAME THROUGH BEFORE THEY BUILT THE, THE TOLL ROAD.
IT WAS JUST OLD MANNAR ROAD THAT CAME THROUGH THERE.
SO I BELIEVE IT WAS JUST A PUBLIC ROADWAY THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE PROPERTY.
SO I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S EVER DEVELOPED.
SO HISTORICALLY THOUGH, WHAT, WHAT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, THE ECOLOGY ON THE, ON THE PROPERTY IN THAT AREA, IT'S JUST, IT'S GRASSLAND.
SO THERE HAVE, THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY TREE COVER, UM, ANYTHING LIKE THAT ON THE PROPERTY.
SO, SO, SO THE NATIVE THE NATIVE ECOLOGY OUT THERE IS BASICALLY GRASSLAND AND IT'S NOT TREES? CORRECT.
THERE'S ONLY THREE EXISTING TREES, UH, ON THE PROPERTY RIGHT NOW.
AND SO, UH, IT WOULD SEEM TO ME THAT IF THERE ARE NO TREES OUT THERE, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THERE'S A REASON WHY THERE AREN'T TREES OUT THERE, RIGHT? BECAUSE MAYBE THEY DON'T GROW.
UH, I BELIEVE IT IS BECAUSE OF THE OLD, THE OLD HIGHWAY PROJECT THAT WAS THERE.
THERE COULD HAVE BEEN TREES MAYBE 50 ODD YEARS AGO.
I'M NOT POSITIVE ABOUT THE HISTORICAL, UH, PROPERTIES OF THE SITE, BUT THERE ARE NO TREES RIGHT THERE BECAUSE IT USED TO BE A, A ROADWAY.
UH, THE, UH, STAFF PRESENTATION INDICATED THAT, UH, THERE HAD BEEN, UH, PREVIOUS VARIANCES GRANTED THAT ARE SIMILAR TO THIS.
UH, BUT THERE'S NO EXAMPLES OF THAT.
SO THERE WAS A VARIANCE, I BELIEVE IT WAS ON THE EXACT OPPOSITE SIDE OF ONE 30, UH, THAT, UH, ANOTHER SIMILAR PROJECT WAS GRANTED CUT AND FILL.
[02:05:01]
I CAN LET STAFF MAYBE PRESENT MORE COLOR TO THAT EXAMPLE.YEAH, BUT I MEAN, IS IT, UH, MY QUESTION IS MORE TO HOW COMMON IS THE VARIANCE FOR THIS? GRANTED, IN A BROAD SENSE, THIS IS A PRETTY BIG GRADING TYPE OF THING, AND WE'RE 15 FEET OF, UH, OF, UH, YOU KNOW, A CUT 16 FILL.
SO THIS IS NOT LIKE, YOU KNOW, ANKLE DEEP TYPE STUFF.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A PRETTY SERIOUS VARIANCE HERE.
SO THIS ISN'T A, A TRIVIAL THING THAT, THAT'S BEING REQUESTED.
SO WHEN YOU SAY THAT VARIANCES WHEN IT IS, I'M NOT SAYING YOU PERSONALLY MM-HMM.
BUT WHEN IT IS STATED THAT THE VARIANCES FOR GRADING CAN BE GROUNDED FOR SIMILAR PROJECTS, UH, FIRST OF ALL, VARIANCES ARE, ARE EXCEPTIONS.
SO THERE'S NO OBLIGATION TO GRANT A VARIANCE BECAUSE THERE'S A RULE THAT SAYS THAT YOU DON'T DO THIS.
AND A VARIANCE IS REQUEST TO MAKE AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE.
AND THIS PARTICULAR EXCEPTION THAT YOU'RE REQUESTING IS PRETTY, YOU KNOW, IS LARGE.
SO IF YOUR JUSTIFICATION IS THAT THIS HAS BEEN DONE FOR SIMILAR PROJECTS AND YOUR EXAMPLE IS ONE, THEN THERE'S NOT A REALLY A, THERE'S NOT EVEN A PRECEDENT IF YOU WANT TO USE THAT AS JUSTIFICATION.
THERE'S NOT A PRECEDENT SET FOR GRANTING THIS VARIANCE BY SAYING, WE'VE ALREADY DONE 50 OF THEM, YOU KNOW, SOMEPLACE, AND NOW WE WANT TO DO THE 51ST ONE.
WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING IS, WELL, THEY DIDN'T WANT TO CROSS THE STREET.
AND SO NOW WE'RE ASKING FOR A SEPARATE VARIANCE.
SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT IS WHERE ARE THE OTHER VARIANCES? WHEN HAVE THEY BEEN GRANTED? AND WHAT ARE THE OTHER CONDITIONS THAT ARE INVOLVED? I'M LOOKING FOR SOME JUSTIFICATION WHY THIS VARIANCE SHOULD BE GRANTED BECAUSE OF ITS LARGE IMPACT ON THE CONTOUR OF THE LAND.
THAT QUESTION FOR STAFF, THAT'S QUESTION FOR STAFF.
MIKE MCDOUGLE, ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
UH, SO S SP 20 23 0 2 9 4 C, UH, VARIANCE WAS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
UM, LET'S SEE, THAT WAS MAY 15TH, 2024 FOR CUT TO 12 FEET, FILLED TO 15, UH, QUICKTRIP SP 2 2 2 0 4 0 7 D ON OCTOBER 18TH, 2023, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDED APPROVAL FOR CUT TO 13 FEET AND FILL TO EIGHT FEET.
FEBRUARY 15TH, 2020, 23 SPC 20 21 0 1 9 5 C, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ON RECOMMENDED, UH, VARIANCE.
AND THIS IS WATER SUPPLY SUBURBAN.
THESE OTHER TWO WERE SUBURBAN.
LET'S SEE, FOR DRIVEWAY AND SLOPES OVER 15%.
I INCLUDED THAT BECAUSE OFTEN DRIVEWAY AND SLOPES ACCOMPANY GRADING VARIANCES OCTOBER 19TH, 2022, OIL IN JUNCTION APARTMENTS SP 20 21 0 2 4 2 C FILLED 17 FEET SUBURBAN WATERSHED RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, PART TWO 90 LOGISTICS SP 2 2 1 0 0 9 9 5 C.
DON'T HAVE THE DATE ON THIS SCREEN IMAGE, BUT, UM, IT WAS A 2021 PROJECT, UH, FILL THE 28 FEET CUT TO 22, UH, RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, BKO PALMER, SEPTEMBER 7TH, 2022.
SP 2 21 0 0 3 4 D RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL BY THE EB COMMISSION, SUBURBAN WATERSHED FIELD 12 FEET, CROSSROADS LOGISTICS, SP 20 21 0 1 16 9 D, MAY 18TH, 2022, GILLAND CREEK SUBURBAN WATERSHED FILLED WITH 17 FEET, RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL BY THE EV COMMISSION, DOLPHIN INDUSTRIAL, APRIL 20TH, 2022 SP 20, 20 0 4 7 7.
MR. IS THAT PLENTY FOR YOU? YEAH, I GUESS AND, AND IS LISTENING THROUGH THEM, I DIDN'T TAKE COPIOUS NOTES ON IT, UH, BUT YOU LISTED A LOT.
YOU LISTED SEVERAL OF THEM AND THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD.
UH, AND I'M GONNA SAY YOU, YOU GAVE OFF 12, JUST YES.
I, I HAVE A FEW MORE EX EXAMPLE.
AND, UH, OF THOSE 12, I'M GONNA SAY FOUR, WERE LARGER THAN THIS OR OF THIS SIDE.
A LARGE, MOST OF 'EM WERE SMALL.
UM, AND I, I'D HAVE TO, IF THAT'S A ROUGH GUESS.
I WAS READING, NOT THINKING ABOUT WHAT NUMBER WAS MENTIONED.
AND BECAUSE WE WEREN'T KEEPING SCORE.
UH, SO I GUESS MY POINT IS THAT THIS SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE BIT OUTSIDE THE BELL CURVE ON, ON, UH, ON VARIANCES.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I'M ASKING, IS THAT THIS IS NOT, YOU KNOW, A THIS ISN'T WITHIN THE NORMAL RANGE, I GUESS IS WHAT I'M INQUIRING
[02:10:01]
ABOUT.THE BACKUP INDICATES CUT TO 15 AND FILL TO 16.
UM, AND SO THE THREE MEN MOVERS WAS CUT TO 12, FILL TO 15.
SO LET'S JUST SAY 15 FEET OF CUT AND FILL.
SO WE'RE NOT JUGGLING MULTIPLE NUMBERS.
SO, SO THREE MEN MOVERS WAS 12 AND 15.
THIS ONE WAS 15 AND 15, UM, QUICKTRIP WAS 13 AND EIGHT.
UH, PREVIOUS WOMAN WAS FILLED AT 17.
UH, I THINK HE HAD ONE THAT WAS 22, SOMEWHERE PART TWO NINE, LOGISTIC CUT OF 22.
I THINK THAT IS THE, UH, IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, THAT IS THE MAXIMUM REQUESTS.
UM, SO THIS ONE, THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR IS NOT PUSHING THE LIMIT, UH, JUST NUMERICALLY.
UM, SO IT IS LOWER THAN THE MAXIMUM IN THE RE IN RECENT.
BUT IF WE WERE TO RUN THE NUMBERS, I WOULD SAY THIS REPRESENTS MAYBE AN AVERAGE IF I HAD TO JUST BALLPARK AN AVERAGE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
CHAIR, WHAT, WHAT I HEARD COMMISSIONER, UH, BRIER ASKING THOUGH IS THE SIZE OF THE, THE LOT, I MEAN, IS IT A 10 ACRE TRACT? IS IT A 50 ACRE TRACT? HOW MUCH AREA IS BEING, UH, MOVED? THIS, UH, THIS PHASE TWO IS ABOUT 27 AND A HALF ACRES.
SO IN THE OTHER CASES THAT YOU MENTIONED, IS IT, IS IT SIMILAR, UM, AREA? I CAN SHARE WITH YOU THE THREE EXAMPLES I PROVIDED IN THE, UM, IN THE, UH, FINDINGS.
UH, THERE WAS APPLIED MATERIAL LOGISTICS SERVICE CENTER AT 96 14, US TWO 90, UH, WHICH WAS ALLOWED CUT TO 12 FEET FOR A 16 ACRE WAREHOUSE.
AND THERE'S CROSSROADS LOGISTICS CENTER ON 84, UH, HUNDRED EAST PALMER LANE.
AND IT WAS ALLOWED, UH, 14.3 FEET AND UH, AND FILL TO 16.5 FEET ON 11 ACRES.
AND THEN I, UH, THIS EXAMPLE, 4,800 DISTRIBUTION DRIVE, WHICH WAS ALLOWED FILL TO 17 FEET ON A, ON TWO FOUR ACRE FOR, UH, FOUR ACRE SITE, IT LOOKS LIKE.
AND THE OTHER POINT TOO I'D MAKE IS SOMETHING THAT MITIGATES THIS IN MY MIND IS THE FACT THAT A LOT OF THAT, UM, FILL THAT WILL BE REMOVED WAS THERE BECAUSE OF THE ROAD THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY BUILT.
GOD DIDN'T PUT IT THERE, MAN, PUT IT THERE.
I HATE TO MAKE A RELIGIOUS REFERENCE THERE, BUT
I'M GONNA CHECK BACK IN AT COMMISSIONER KRUEGER.
UM, YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I'M CURIOUS, SO IS THERE NO OTHER WAY TO ACHIEVE THIS PROJECT WITHOUT CUT AND FILL, INCLUDING LIKE REDUCING THE NUMBER OF BUILDINGS OR SCALING BACK THE OVERUSE OF OVERALL USE OF THE PROPERTY IN SOME WAY OR REORIENTING? YEAH, THANKS FOR THE QUESTION.
SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO PROPOSED BUILDINGS ON THIS SITE RIGHT NOW.
AND IF YOU COULD ACTUALLY SHARE THE, THE SCREEN AGAIN, THAT SHOWS THE BUILDINGS.
SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE BUILDINGS, THE TWO BUILDINGS ORIENTED, UH, IN THE BEST MANNER THAT SUPPORTS THIS EXACT CUT AND FILL VARIANCE THAT WE'RE REQUESTING.
SO THE CONTOUR IS ON THERE, IF YOU CAN SEE THEM ARE GOING VERTICALLY UP AND DOWN, WHICH IS IN LINE PARALLEL WITH THE EXISTING CONTOURS.
IF WE WERE TO ALIGN THE BUILDING SIDEWAYS, THIS VARIANCE REQUEST WOULD BE SOMEWHERE AROUND 30 TO 40 FEET OF ASK IF WE WERE AT, IF WE REORIENTED THEM.
SO THAT THE WAY THAT WE HAVE ORIENTED THE WHOLE PROPERTY IS TO MINIMIZE ITS CUT AND FILL AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, UH, TO KEEP THE NATURE OF THE SLOPE, UH, AS BEST WE CAN.
SO WE HAVE DEFINITELY RUN A LOT OF DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, UH, TO TRY AND BE ABLE TO DO THIS.
THERE IS ALSO A, THERE'S ABOUT A HUNDRED FOOT WIDE GAS LINE THAT IS IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO BUILDINGS.
UM, IF YOU CAN KIND OF SEE, THERE'S A LARGE GRASS STRIP.
IT USED TO BE ORIENTED AT A SIDEWAYS ANGLE AT A 45 DEGREE ANGLE THROUGH THE PROPERTY.
AND IF WE WERE TO TRY AND WE MOVE THAT GAS LINE OVER TO BE VERTICALLY UP AND DOWN SO THAT THESE BUILDINGS CAN BE PARALLEL WITH THE CONTOURS TO MINIMIZE, UH, THE CUT AND FILL THAT WE'RE DOING.
SO WE'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH PRETTY EXTRAORDINARY STEPS TO TRY AND GET THESE BUILDINGS TO FIT ON THE EXISTING SLOPES AS BEST POSSIBLE, UH, TO MINIMIZE THIS CUT AND FILL.
IN TERMS OF THE ORIENTATION OF THE BUILDINGS, WHAT ABOUT THE SURFACE AREA OF THE BUILDINGS THEMSELVES? MM-HMM.
SO THE, THE MAIN, UH, SO AS THE CONTOURS ARE MOVING, UH, EAST, WEST TO EAST DOWNWARDS, SO
[02:15:01]
THE BUILDINGS ARE, THIS IS A INDUSTRIAL ZONE PROPERTY, SO THE LENGTH OF THEM NECESSARILY IS NOT NECESSARILY CREATING THE CUT AND FILL REQUIREMENTS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.SO THE BUILDINGS ARE MUCH LONGER THAN THEY ARE WIDE TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT, UH, A BETTER CUT AND FILL, UH, REQUESTS FROM THIS COMMISSION.
IF IT WAS MORE OF A RECTANGULAR SHAPE, THE CUT AND FILL WOULD BE A LOT GREATER.
SO THE BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN NARROWED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE THAN INCREASED IN, IN LENGTH.
'CAUSE THE LENGTH FACTOR HERE GOING NORTH AND SOUTH IS REALLY NOT WHAT'S CREATING, UH, MUCH CUT AND FILL.
IT'S REALLY THE WIDTH THAT'S GOING EAST TO WEST.
SO THE BUILDINGS ARE PRETTY NARROW RELATIVELY TO THEIR LENGTH FOR THAT EXACT REASON TO BE ABLE TO MINIMIZE THE CUT AND FILL.
YEAH, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT FOR DIMENSIONS, BUT I THINK THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN OVERALL SURFACE AREA.
SO IF YOU WERE TO JUST SCALE BACK THE, THE PROJECT MM-HMM.
THIS PROJECT RIGHT NOW IS AT A TOTAL, INCLUDING THE WHOLE PROPERTY IS AT 55% IMPERVIOUS COVER, UH, WHICH IS BELOW 80% IS THE ALLOWABLE IMPERVIOUS COVER ON THE WHOLE PROPERTY.
SO THE SCALE HAS ALREADY BEEN REDUCED, UH, SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT COMPARED TO WHAT THE MAX BUILD OUT CONDITION WOULD ALLOW.
UM, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S HARD WHEN WE'RE WORKING FROM KIND OF A STANDARD BACKWARD, WELL, WE COULD BE DOING AS MUCH AS 80%, BUT NOW WE'RE DOING 55 RATHER THAN LOOKING AT IT AS, YOU KNOW, 0% AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO 55.
BUT I, I UNDERSTAND YOUR ARGUMENT.
UM, WHAT WAS THE EXTENT OF THE FILL THAT HAPPENED PREVIOUSLY? I KNOW, UM, THE APPLICANT, WHICH, WHICH MIGHT BE YOU, I'M SORRY, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO SEE, BUT MENTION THAT IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT I DON'T THINK I HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE SLIDES.
YEAH, SO THE, OF THE PROPERTY, IT WAS MA THE PROPERTY APPEARS TO BE MASQUERADED, UH, IN ITS PRIOR CONDITION.
YOU CAN SEE WHERE OLD MANOR ROAD IS.
UH, MAYBE IF YOU CAN GO BACK TO THE MAYBE SLIDE TWO, WHICH SHOWS, UH, THE EXISTING CONDITIONS OF THE PROPERTY.
SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THAT'S WHERE THE YELLOW, UH, LINES ARE.
AND YOU CAN SEE IN HISTORICAL IMAGES THAT IT MATCHES UP PERFECTLY WITH, UH, WHERE THAT ARROW IS POINTING AT.
UH, THOSE ARE THREE TO ONE EMBANKMENTS THAT GO UP TO THE OLD PROPERTY.
SO THAT'S ABOUT, IN THAT SPECIFIC LOCATION, IT, IT IS ABOUT THREE FEET, UM, OF FILL IN THAT AREA THAT WAS, UH, MANMADE AND CREATED.
AND THEN ALONG WITH SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS NORTH, ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE PROPERTY, UH, IT'S ALL THREE TO ONE SLOPES FROM THE CHANNEL THAT WAS MANMADE FROM TXDOT WHEN THEY WERE BUILDING, UH, TWO 90.
SO THAT FURTHER INCREASES THE CUT SPECIFICALLY THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IN THIS VARIANCE IS DIRECTLY ON THE FILL THAT WAS THERE.
SO IT EXACERBATES OUR CUT VARIANCE OF E EXACERBATES IT A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.
SO KIND OF WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING EARLIER, THIS MIGHT BE, UM, CLOSER TOWARDS THE AVERAGE OF REQUESTS.
IT WOULD PROBABLY BE A LOT CLOSER TO THE, A FOOT MARK IF THAT EXISTING FILL WAS NOT THERE.
UM, AND THEN I JUST, I GUESS JUST WANNA MAKE A COMMENT THAT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD AND, AND SOME CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS OVER EMAIL, WHICH I THINK IS A GOOD POINT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF FRUSTRATING THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION IS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADD IN THINGS LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, NATIVE WILDFLOWER PLANTING AND TREE MITIGATION AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
BUT IT COMES AT THE COST OF THIS VARIANCE.
AND I WISH THOSE THINGS WERE JUST BEING CONSIDERED INITIALLY IN THE PROJECT WITHOUT IT HAVING TO BE KIND OF A GIVE AND TAKE.
SO I APPRECIATE THE STAFF HAVE ADDED, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE CONDITIONS SUGGESTED THOSE CONDITIONS.
UM, I KNOW COMMISSIONER RESI ASKED ABOUT EV CHARGING STATIONS AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO ADD THOSE IN, BUT IT'S A SHAME THAT PROJECTS AREN'T REALLY CONSIDERING THAT FROM THE GET GO AND THAT IT'S BEEN A CONDITION OF US ALLOWING THIS VARIANCE.
UM, THAT'S ALL I, THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
YEAH, I'VE GOT A QUESTION FOR STAFF.
IN THE PRESENTATION, IT SAID THAT THIS WAS IN THE GILLAND CREEK WATERSHED.
THE, THE CLOSEST ACTUAL CREEK BED IS, IS IT HARRIS BRANCH THAT IT'S CLOSE TO THAT FEEDS INTO GILLAND CREEK? IT'S NOT, I MEAN, GILLAND CREEK IS PRETTY FAR EAST OF THIS, ISN'T IT? IT'S IN THE WATER.
YEAH, BUT IT'S NOT, WHAT IS, ITS PROXIMITY TO GILLAND CREEK ITSELF.
IT'S NOT, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE.
MY ONLY REAL, UH, COMMENT ON THIS IS TO SAY THAT EACH TIME THE CITY APPROVES THE GRADING AND CUT AND FILL, WE'RE CHANGING THE WAY WATER MOVES IN AN ENTIRE SYSTEM, NOT
[02:20:01]
JUST ON THE PROPERTY.SO IT DOESN'T REALLY, THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTY ITSELF DOESN'T MATTER TO ME.
I, I AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN THAT IN THIS EXAMPLE, HOW THE, HOW THE GRADING GOT THERE.
UH, I'M GONNA WRITE THAT DOWN.
UH, GOD NOT MAN, MAN, NOT GOD.
I'M WRITING THAT DOWN, BUT I THINK THAT MITIGATES THE, MY CONCERNS IN THIS INSTANCE.
BUT, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S A WATERSHED.
IT'S AN ENTIRE SYSTEM OF WATER AND HOW WATER MOVES.
AND WHEN YOU CHANGE SOMETHING ON ONE PROPERTY, YOU'RE CHANGING HOW IT FLOWS ON OTHER PROPERTIES.
SO, THANK YOU SECRETARY BRISTOL.
I MEAN, MY THANK YOU FOR, FOR BRINGING UP THAT POINT, COMMISSIONER EINHORN AND COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, AND THAT WAS KIND OF MY IMPETUS IN ASKING THE QUESTION HOW MUCH PHIL WAS THERE BEFORE.
AND I'M HEARING THAT IT WAS THREE FEET IN WHAT LOOKED LIKE PRETTY SMALL AREAS COMPARED TO WHAT WE'RE NOW CONSIDERING 15 FEET CUT AND FILL FOR.
SO I ALSO, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE SITE HAS ALREADY BEEN ADJUSTED BY MAN, BUT IT SEEMS THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT ARE ABOUT TO HAPPEN ARE MUCH, MUCH LARGER THAN THE THREE FEET THAT HAPPENED PREVIOUSLY IN SMALL AREAS.
SO I WOULD ADD THAT MORE INFORMATION TO THAT.
SO THE, THE THREE FEET OF FILL THAT I DISCUSSED EARLIER IS, IS JUST FOR THE EMBANKMENT OF THE ROAD.
SO, UH, IN ROAD PROJECTS YOU'LL SEE A ROAD AND IT'S USUALLY AROUND THREE FEET, AT LEAST FOR THE ROADSIDE DITCH THAT'S GONNA BE NEXT TO IT.
SO THAT'S, THE THREE FEET IS ONLY REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE EMBANKMENT THAT THE EXISTING ROAD WAS ON.
IT IS NOT NECESSARILY SAYING THAT WAS THE ONLY FILL, UH, THE, THE PLACE ON THE PROPERTY.
SO IN BETWEEN WHERE IT CONNECTED TO TWO 90 AND, UM, MAINOR ROAD, RIGHT, UH, WHERE EAST PALMER LANE IS, THE SITE HAS BEEN FILLED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE PROPERTY.
AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, THAT'S WHERE THEY PUT THE THREE FOOT OF EMBANKMENT ON TO PUT THE ROAD ON TOP OF THAT.
DO WE HAVE ANY HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE CUMULATIVE EXTENT? NOT, NOT PREVIOUSLY, UH, NOT ACTUAL LIKE QUANT QUANTITATIVE DATA.
THERE IS SOME, LIKE VERY OLD GOOGLE EARTH, YOU KNOW, BLACK AND WHITE, UH, PHOTOS THAT I'VE SEEN WHEN I'VE BEEN SETTING THE PROPERTY.
BUT NO, QUANTITATIVE DATA SECRETARY, BRISTOL CHAIR, I, I, I HAVE GOOGLE EARTH HERE, AND IT'S ABOUT ONE KILOMETER FROM HERE TO GIL GILLIGAN CREEK.
UM, I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS, SO, UM, AND I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO MIKE MCDOUGALL FOR LOOKING AT HOW MANY, UH, CUT AND VARIANCES THAT WE HAVE APPROVED IN THIS AREA.
AND, UM, WHILE THAT MIGHT SEEM LIKE WE HAVE SET PRECEDENT, IT ALSO TELLS US THAT WE NEED TO STEP BACK AND REALLY LOOK AT AND EVALUATE HOW MUCH CUT AND FILL WE ARE DOING IN GENERAL, BUT ESPECIALLY WITHIN THIS AREA.
I, GILLAND CREEK IS, IS A CREEK THAT FLOODS CONSTANTLY, UM, ESPECIALLY AROUND THE ROADWAYS, UH, MANOR, YOU KNOW, DEALS WITH THAT.
UM, UH, THEY'RE DOWNSTREAM AND THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT, UM, YOU KNOW, CONSTANTLY WITH THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I I ALSO JUST WANNA SAY TO THE COMMISSIONERS, JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS A PRECEDENT, IT DOES NOT ENSURE THAT EVERYBODY AFTER THAT GETS TO DO THE SAME THING.
IT DOES NOT MAKE IT, UM, A AN AN ACTION THAT, OKAY, EVERYBODY GETS TO DO THAT.
UM, THE PRECEDENT WAS SET THAT, UM, THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD COULD DISPOSE OF, SPENT DIESEL FUEL IN THE SKYKOMISH RIVER.
IT'S NOT GUARANTEED THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN DO.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE EVALUATING, THAT WE'RE LEARNING, AND THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT EACH ONE OF THESE PROPERTIES IN A WAY THAT IS THE HOLISTIC VIEW.
THAT HOLISTIC VIEW BECOMES DIFFICULT WHEN WE'RE PRESENTED THINGS IN PHASES AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NEXT PHASE IS, OR THAT THIS ONE IS EVEN ATTACHED TO A PHASE, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH, UH, WITH A BUILDING THAT'S COMING.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WHEN STAFF IS PRESENTING TO US IN PARTICULAR, THAT THEY'RE INFORMING US, UM, THAT THIS IS PART OF A, A BIGGER PICTURE, THAT THERE'S MULTIPLE PHASES TO SOMETHING SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THAT EVALUATION.
UM, AS WE'RE CONSIDERING THESE THINGS, UM, IN THE DRAWINGS, IT'S NOT CLEAR TO ME, AND THIS IS FOR THE APPLICANT
[02:25:01]
OR, UM, UH, STAFF THAT THE WATER, UM, CAN, UH, RETENTION PONDS, ARE THOSE BEING USED BY THE FIRST PHASE? ARE THEY USING THE SAME PONDS OR IS THAT SOMETHING NEW FOR THIS PHASE? YEAH, SO THERE'S AN EXISTING WATER QUALITY POND AND DETENTION POND, UH, THAT'S THERE CURRENTLY TODAY.THE, THE CAP, THE BEER DISTRIBUTOR USES THE WATER QUALITY AND DETENTION POND THAT'S, THAT'S THERE RIGHT NOW.
THE FIRST PHASE USES THE EXISTING WATER QUALITY AND DETENTION POND.
UH, THE SECOND PHASE IS GONNA BE A COMBINATION OF THE EXISTING WATER QUALITY AND DETENTION POND, AS WELL AS A NEW WATER QUALITY POND THAT'S BEING BUILT.
UM, UH, JUST SOUTH OF THE PROPERTY.
IT'S LIKE PART OF THE DETENTION POND.
AND THE REASON THAT WE'RE ABLE TO USE PART OF THAT DETENTION POND IS BECAUSE WE'RE, THE IMPERVIOUS COVER THAT'S PROPOSED ON THE PROPERTY IS A LOT LESS THAN WHAT WAS ALLOWED IS ORIGINALLY PROPOSED FOR 80% OF PREVIOUS COVER.
BUT THE FULL BUILD OUT CONDITION OF THIS WHOLE PROPERTY IS GONNA BE A MAXIMUM OF 55.
SPEAKING TO SOME OF YOUR, UH, POINTS EARLIER ABOUT FLOODING IN GILLIAN CREEK RIGHT NOW, IN OUR A HUNDRED YEAR STORM EVENTS, THE ALLOWABLE FLOWS PER CODE, IT WAS AROUND 1400 CFS OF FLOWS, AND WE'RE ONLY PROPOSING 1100.
SO WE'RE ABOUT 20% LESS FLOW COMING OUT IN THE 100 YEAR CON, 100 YEAR CONDITION OUT OF OUR DETENTION POND THEN, UH, THAN THAT OF THE EXISTING CONDITION.
SO, UH, OUR DETENTION POND IS VERY OVERSIZED IN THE WAY THAT WE WE'RE REDESIGNING OUR OUTLET STRUCTURE TO BE MORE EFFICIENT AND LET OUT EVEN LESS FLOW COMING OUT OF THE DETENTION POND, USE UP AS MUCH VOLUME AND STORAGE THAT WE HAVE ON THE PROPERTY BEFORE IT GETS RELEASED INTO THE CREEK AND THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE THAT'S NEIGHBORING IT.
UM, SO WHEN, AND THIS GOES BACK TO, UM, UH, COMMISSIONER EINHORN'S QUESTION, UM, AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SOLOMAN FOR ASKING THAT.
UM, IT IS WITHIN, UM, LESS THAN A MILE OR SO OF GILLEN CREEK AND IT SLOPES EVERY, ALL THE SLOPES THAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT SLOPES TO THE CREEK.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, AS IT FLUSHES THINGS OUT, WHETHER IT'S ALL CAUGHT IN THE DETENTION POND, MAYBE
AND THAT'S JUST HOW IT GOES WITH WATER.
UM, SO YOU KIND OF ANSWERED THIS EARLIER, BUT IS THE, ARE YOU USING THE FILL THAT'S ALREADY ON SITE OR IS THAT GETTING REMOVED AND OTHER FILL BROUGHT, BEING BROUGHT IN? TELL ME HOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
YEAH, SO AS PART OF THE SITE, SOME OF THE AREA THAT, UH, THAT WE'RE REQUESTING THE CUT INVOLVED FROM, THEY WILL BE USING AS MUCH OF THE SITE ON AS MUCH OF THE CUT AND FILL ON, ON THE SITE AS POSSIBLE TO MOVE THE DIRT AROUND RATHER THAN BRINGING IT IN FROM A DIFFERENT PROPERTY.
UM, THE MAIN REASON IS FOR A LET'S A, IT'S A HUGE COST TO BE ABLE TO BRING SOIL IN FROM OTHER SITES ONTO THE PROPERTY.
SO THE, THE CUT THAT'S THERE ON THE PROPERTY TYPICALLY IS USED TO, FOR THE FILL THAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PROPERTY AS WELL.
I CAN'T SPEAK TOO MUCH FOR THE CONSTRUCTION MEANS OF METH, IS THAT THE CONTRACTOR WILL USE, BUT THAT'S TYPICALLY THE STANDARD.
AND, AND, UM, WHILE I SUPER WELCOME, UM, YOU KNOW, THE FILL BEING USED ON SITE, UM, I THINK THE POTENTIAL IS THERE, UH, GREATLY TO IMPACT AND DAMAGE MORE THAN 55% OF THE LAND.
AND SO I'M SURE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME RESTORATION METHODS ON THE REST OF THAT LAND THAT HAS NOT BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT GONNA BE BUILT ON.
DOES THAT SOUND ABOUT RIGHT? MM-HMM.
COULD YOU REPEAT THAT QUESTION PLEASE? YEAH.
SO WHEN THEY'RE GETTING THE FILL RIGHT, UM, AND, AND PUTTING IT IN PLACE AND MOVING IT ALL AROUND, I WOULD, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT A GREATER AMOUNT THAN 55% OF THE PROPERTY IS GOING TO BE DAMAGED BY, UM, THE GRADING AND BRINGING IN HEAVY EQUIPMENT AND DOING THE CONSTRUCTION.
SO, UM, BUT I DIDN'T SEE IN HERE THAT THERE'S ANY KIND OF RESTORATION, UM, THAT WILL NEED TO, UH, TAKE PLACE FOR THAT.
UH, THAT THESE REQUIREMENTS THAT THEY STABILIZE AND REVEGETATE THAT'S BUILT INTO IT ALREADY.
AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE MEETING, UH, STANDARD LANDSCAPE REQUIREMENTS AND EVERYTHING AT THESE, THIS VARIANCE IS IN ADDITION TO, UH, STANDARD LANDSCAPE REQUIREMENTS.
SO THEY'RE DOING STANDARD LANDSCAPE REQUIREMENTS AND THEN ALSO THESE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE RELATED TO THIS, UH, VARIANCE REQUEST.
BUT IT, BUT YEAH, THEY STAB, THAT'S A REQUIREMENT FOR ALL PROJECTS.
THERE'S VEGETATIVE STABILIZATION.
UM, AND THEN, LET'S SEE, I WROTE DOWN ANOTHER QUESTION ON ANOTHER
[02:30:01]
PART OF THE PACKET.UM, NO, THAT WAS FOR THE WATER QUALITY.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS.
UM, UH, I GUESS I'M GONNA GO FOR THIS OTHER ONE HERE.
UM, IF YOU DID CUT DOWN THE SIZE OF THE, AND THIS IS GOING BACK TO COMMISSIONER KRUEGER'S.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THESE ARE, THESE ARE PRETTY HIGH FILL, UM, AND, AND CUT.
CAN THEY RE BE REDUCED BY 20%? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? MM-HMM.
SO THE, THE MA MAINLY THE SCALE OF THE BUILDINGS, UM, HAS BEEN REDUCED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO ONE JUST FIT, UH, IN BETWEEN THE EXISTING GAS EASEMENT THAT'S ALREADY THERE.
SO INSTEAD OF NECESSARILY REDUCING JUST THE TOTAL FOOTPRINT, EVEN IF WE WERE TO REDUCE THE LENGTH OF THE BUILDING PER SE, IT WOULDN'T REALLY MINIMIZE OUR CUT AND FILL AND SAY LIKE, WHERE WE REALLY GET OUR CUT AND FILL, UH, VARIANCE REQUESTS THAT IT'S COMING FROM, IS THE BUILDING WIDTH THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENING THERE.
AND IF, SAY, IF WE DID REDUCE IT BY 20 FEET, I COULD SEE 20%, I COULD SEE MAYBE ONLY A FOOT COMING OFF THE CUT AND FILL VARIANCE REQUEST BECAUSE OF THE, THE NEIGHBORING PARKING THAT'S THERE.
AND THEN ANOTHER BIG REQUIREMENT THAT WE HAVE IS TO PROVIDE A DA ACCESS BETWEEN THE TWO PROPERTIES.
UM, THE EXISTING SLOPES, UH, THAT ARE THERE ARE AROUND LIKE SEVEN OR 8%.
THE MAXIMUM A DA SLOPE IS FIVE.
SO JUST CONNECTING A DA ACCESSIBILITY BETWEEN THE TWO PROPERTIES.
IF WE'RE GOING AT 5%, AN EXISTING GRADE IS GOING AT SIX, WE'RE GONNA BE FILLING AND FILLING AND FILLING.
SO REGARDLESS OF OF THE BUILDING SIZE, THERE ARE OTHER FACTORS AT PLAY THAT ARE MAKING US FILL IN THE OTHER, ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE AND CUT ON THE NORTHERN SIDE, UH, SUCH AS THE FIRE ACCESS REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE CAPPED AT 12%.
AND THE ADA A IS ANOTHER BIG ONE THAT'S CAPTIVE FIVE, SO.
UM, YEAH, I'VE SAID IT BEFORE THAT THE ADA A THING DOESN'T REALLY FLY WITH ME.
UM, I WAS WONDERING, I, YOU SAID THERE'S THREE EXISTING TREES ON THE PROPERTY, AND I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF TREES AND ABOUT WHAT SIZE TREES THOSE ARE? YEAH, I BELIEVE TWO OF 'EM ARE, UH, CEDAR ELMS THAT ARE AROUND 17 INCHES.
AND I AM NOT SURE, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THE THIRD ONE IS, BUT I, I LOOKED AT IT YESTERDAY.
SO I DO KNOW THOSE, THOSE TWO CEDAR ELMS. BUT AS FAR AS OUR TREE MITIGATION EFFORTS, PART OF THE STUFF THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON WITH THE STAFF IS WE, THE NUMBER OF TREES THAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS TRIPLE THE RE REQUIREMENT OF, OF THAT'S WHAT'S CURRENTLY THERE.
AND, UM, ONE THING THAT KIND OF POPPED IN MY HEAD FROM SECRETARY BRISTOL'S, UM, QUESTIONS WERE, UM, LIKE YOU HAD STATED THAT Y Y'ALL ARE INTENDING ON USING AS MUCH OF THE CUT AND FIELD THAT'S ON THE, ON THE, ON THE SITE.
AND I WAS KIND OF CURIOUS IF THERE WAS ANY REASON TO, LIKE, WHY THAT WOULD NOT WORK? LIKE IF IT, LIKE, ONCE YOU STARTED A PROCESS OF LIKE TRYING TO LIKE, OKAY, YOU'RE, YOU'RE DIGGING FROM THIS PART OF THE PROPERTY AND PUTTING IT ON THE OTHER PROPERTY.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S TYPICALLY THE STANDARD IN, IN EVERY SINGLE CONSTRUCTION SITE.
THE ONLY OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU WOULD HAVE WHERE THAT WOULD NOT BE ALLOWABLE WOULD BE IF THE EXISTING SOILS WOULD BE, UH, NOT SUPPORTIVE OF THE KIND OF BUILDING THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO BUILD ON TOP.
SO, UM, LIKE SPECIFICALLY UNDERNEATH THE BUILDING PADS HAS TO BE A, A WHAT THEY CALL SELECT FILL, WHICH IS, WHICH WILL NOT EXPAND AND CONTRACT AS MUCH WHEN IT GETS WET.
SO THEY DO BRING IN REALLY HIGH QUALITY SOILS THAT ARE GO UNDERNEATH THE BUILDINGS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT SPECIFIC AREA OF THE PROPERTY, UH, SO, SO THE BUILDING DOESN'T SHIFT AND COLLAPSE.
UM, SO, BUT FOR EVERY, EVERYWHERE ELSE, THEY WANT TO USE THE EXISTING SOILS AS LONG AS THEY'RE GOOD.
AND A LOT OF TIMES, UM, THE SOIL THAT'S THERE CAN BE SUPPORTIVE AND PUT UNDERNEATH THE BUILDINGS, SO MM-HMM.
SO, AND OUTTA CURIOSITY, HAS THE LAND BEEN, HAS THE LAND BEEN SURVEYED TO BE LIKE, OKAY, WELL,
[02:35:01]
WE CAN EXPECT THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO USE MOST OF THIS SOIL, OR THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO OUTSOURCE THE SOIL? YEAH, SO THERE IS, UM, WE'VE ALREADY DONE A GEOTECH REPORT.THERE'S, THEY TAKE, UH, BORE SAMPLES, UH, MULTIPLE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AROUND THE PROPERTY, INCLUDING UNDER THE BUILDINGS.
SO THE SOILS THERE RIGHT NOW, UM, ARE NOT, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE BUILDING.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA BE CONSTRUCTING PIERS THAT GO PRETTY DEEP DOWN INTO THE GROUND TO SUPPORT THE BUILDING ABOVE.
SO, KIND OF WHAT I WAS SAYING EARLIER ABOUT BRINGING REALLY HIGH QUALITY SOILS IN TO GO UNDERNEATH THE SLAB, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE TOO MUCH IN THIS, IN THIS SCENARIO.
THERE STILL DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE SOME SELECT FILL THAT IS BROUGHT INTO THE PROPERTY, BUT INSTEAD OF BRINGING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF FILL FROM OFFSITE TO SUPPORT THE BUILDING, THEY'RE GONNA BE DRILLING CONCRETE PIERS INTO THE GROUND TO SUPPORT THE BUILDING, UH, MORE ON THE CONCRETE RATHER THAN ON THE SOILS THAT ARE ALREADY THERE.
SO THAT KIND OF MITIGATES, I THINK, WHAT YOUR CONCERN IS OF BRINGING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF, UH, FILL OFFSITE FROM THE PROPERTY.
UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMISSIONERS? OKAY.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING? SO MOVE SECOND, SECOND.
MOTION BY EINHORN SECOND AND BY SULLIVAN.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HANDS.
UM, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION? JUNE 5TH, UH, 2024, SUBJECT TWO 90 PALMER INDUSTRIAL, TWO SP DASH 2 0 2 3 DASH 4 0 1 C.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING TWO VARIANCES.
ONE, REQUEST TO VARY FROM LDC, UH, TWO FIVE DASH EIGHT DASH 34 TO ALLOW CUT UP TO 15 FEET AND REQUESTS, UM, TO VARY FROM LDC 25 DASH EIGHT DASH 3 42 TO ALLOW FILL UP TO 16 FEET.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT THE SITE IS LOCATED IN THE GILLIAN CREEK WATERSHED SUBURBAN CLASSIFICATION.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THAT THE STAFF RE RECOMMENDS THIS, THE VARIANCE WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS.
AND THOSE ARE, UM, THE REQUIRED LANDSCAPE PLAN WILL BE SUPPLEMENTED WITH AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF TREE CANOPY AND OTHER VEGETATION.
CO VEGETATIVE COVER LARGE TREE SIZE PLANTED AN ESTABLISHMENT OF MANAGED NATIVE WILDFLOWER MEADOWS ON THE, UM, GRADED SLOPES.
50 ADDITIONAL SHADE TREES, 250 ADDITIONAL SHADE TREE INCHES.
UM, THOSE ARE THE LARGER SIZES, 150 ADDITIONAL SMALL TREE TREE INCHES, UM, AND, UH, 14,000 SQUARE FEET WILDFLOWER SEEDING AND MANAGEMENT AREA.
THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZE RECOMMENDS THE VARIANCE REQUEST WITH THE FOLLOWING ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UM, CONDITIONS.
AND I DID NOT HEAR ANY, SO I DID NOT ADD ANY, IS THAT CORRECT? I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HEARD YOU CORRECTLY.
THE FIRST VARIANCE YOU SAID LDC 25 DASH EIGHT DASH 3 4 1.
'CAUSE I, I ASSERT THREE FOUR.
DO YOU HAVE A, DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.
WE HAVE NICHOLS, QURESHI, EINHORN, AND SULLIVAN.
WE HAVE BEDFORD AND ALL THOSE AGAINST.
WE HAVE BRIMER, BRISTOL, AND, UH, KRUEGER.
[5. Stassney Park, SPC-2023-0110C]
PARK, S PC DASH 2 0 23 DASH 0 1 1 0 C.UH, NICK BROWN AND KIMLEY HORN.
[02:40:27]
GOOD EVENING.MY NAME IS MIKE MCDOUGLE, ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
THE PROJECT NAME IS STANE PARK.
THE ADDRESS IS 6,200 EAST STANE, SPC 20 23 0 1 1 0 C.
SO THIS PROJECT IS JUST SOUTH OF 71, ABOUT HALFWAY BETWEEN THE AIRPORT AND I 35.
THE PROPERTY IS IN THE WILLIAMSON CREEK WATERSHED.
IT'S A SUBURBAN WATERSHED CLASSIFICATION, DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE, AUSTIN, FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION.
IT'S NOT OVER THE RECHARGE ZONE, AND IT'S IN COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO.
SO THESE ARE THE EXISTING CONDITIONS, UM, AND BASED ON THE QUESTIONS ASKED FOR THE PREVIOUS VARIANCE, DID A LITTLE RESEARCH THERE, UH, JUST A MINUTE AGO.
UM, AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS INDICATE THE PROPERTY HAS NOT BEEN DEVELOPED AS FAR BACK AS ZERO PHOTOGRAPHS GO TO THE, ABOUT THE, UH, LATE FIFTIES, UM, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THAT BAND MISSING TREES NEAR THE SOUTHERN PROPERTY BOUNDARY.
IT'S NOT CLEAR WHAT THAT BAND IS.
IF I HAD TO GUESS, I'D SAY IT'S, UH, MAYBE SOME SORT OF A PIPELINE OR, OR, OR OLD UTILITY EASEMENT OF SOME SORT.
BUT, BUT AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS SHOW, UM, NO DEVELOPMENT ON THAT PROPERTY AS FAR BACK AS THEY GO.
UH, THIS IS AN IMAGE FROM THE, UH, RIGHT OF WAY ALONG STANE LOOKING INTO THE PROPERTY.
AND THIS IS AN IMAGE INSIDE THE PROPERTY.
IT IS, UH, THE PROPERTY I WOULD CHARACTERIZE AS THICK WITH, UH, JUNIPER ASH, JUNIPER, CEDAR TREE GROWTH.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT, UM, UNLESS AN ASH JUNIPER HAS AT LEAST ONE STEM OF AT LEAST EIGHT INCHES, IT IS NOT SURVEYED.
THAT IS, SOMEBODY COULD HAVE, THERE COULD BE AN ASH JUNIPER WITH, UM, 10 STEMS OF THREE INCHES EACH, THAT WOULD NOT BE SURVEYED AND WOULD NOT APPEAR IN A TREE SURVEY.
SO A LOT OF THIS, WHICH WOULD BE CHARACTERIZED AS PROBABLY JUST UNDERGROWTH, WOULD NOT NECESSARILY SEW UP ON A TREE SURVEY.
UM, AN ASH JUNIPER BY THE ECM MUST HAVE ONE EIGHT INCH STEM BEFORE IT IS SURVEYED.
THEN ALL THE OTHER STEMS ARE ADDED IN, UH, FOR THE TREE SIZE.
BUT ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T HAVE AT LEAST A SINGLE EIGHT INCH STEM DOES NOT APPEAR, BUT IT IS THICK WITH AS JUNIPER.
UH, THIS IS AN IMAGE FROM GIS, UH, AGAIN, THE PROPERTY AND THERE STANE A LITTLE BIT TO THE EAST OF THE PROPERTY.
THE PROPERTY DOES FRONT STANE.
THE ORANGE IS SLOPES OVER 15%.
AND THEN THE, UM, CROSSHATCHING THERE IS THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE, A CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE.
IT EXISTS IF THERE IS A CREEK WITH 64 ACRES OF DRAINAGE AT LEAST.
UM, SO THE NORTH SOUTH, UM, CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE IS A MINOR WATERWAY.
AND THEN THE, UM, WA THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE GOING ALONG THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARY OF THE PROPERTY IS A MAJOR WATERWAY.
UM, AND THAT JUST SPEAKS TO HOW MUCH WATER FLOWS THROUGH THE CREEK.
CRITICALS ARE CHARACTERIZED AS MINOR, INTERMEDIATE, OR MAJOR.
UM, AND I ALSO LOOKED UP A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION BASED ON PRIOR QUESTIONS.
UM, THE TRIBUTARY ALONG THE SOUTH IS A TRIBUTARY OF WILLIAMSON CREEK.
IT IS 2,800 FEET FROM WILLIAMSON CREEK.
THE, THE, THE FLOW IS SOUTHEASTERLY, SO THE FLOW GOES OFF THE PROPERTY TO THE EAST ACROSS STANE LANE, BUT ABOUT 2,800 FEET FROM THE PROPERTY LINE IS WILLIAMSON CREEK ITSELF.
SO THIS IS BASICALLY A TRIBUTARY WILLIAMSON CREEK.
AND SO, THE, UH, THERE ARE THREE VARIANCES BEING REQUESTED.
UM, THIS IS ALSO A, A, A WAREHOUSE PROJECT.
UH, THE FIRST VARIANCE IS A REQUEST TO VARY TO LDC 25 8 3 41 TO ALLOW CUT UP TO 24 FEET.
THE SECOND, UH, VARIANCES TO REQUEST TO VARY TO 25 8 3 42 TO ALLOW FILL UP TO 23 FEET.
AND THE THIRD VARIANCE IS TO ALLOW, IT'S TO LDC 25 8 3 0 1 TO ALLOW A DRIVEWAY CONSTRUCTION ON A GRADIENT IN EXCESS OF 15%.
THAT IS, UM, UNDER LIMITED, UH, CIRCUMSTANCES, A DRIVEWAY CAN BE ON SLIPS OVER 15%.
THIS PROPERTY DOESN'T MEET THOSE CONDITIONS, AND SO THE DRIVEWAY ON STEEP SLOPES WOULD REQUIRE VARIANCE AS WELL.
AND TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILED INFORMATION, SO THE APPLICANT IS ASKING FOR CUT UP TO 23.97 FEET.
UM, AND THE TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE OF CUT FROM EIGHT FEET TO THE 24 FEET IS ABOUT 15,000 SQUARE YARDS.
THE FOOTPRINT THE APPLICANT IS ASKING FOR FILL UP TO 22.58 FEET, 23 FEET.
AND THE, UH, FOOTPRINT OF THAT IS ABOUT 24,000 SQUARE YARDS.
[02:45:01]
AND THAT'S THE INFORMATION IN THAT SMALL TABLE TO THE LOWER LEFT.UM, IT LOOKED PERFECTLY LEGIBLE ON MY COMPUTER SCREEN AT MY DESK.
UM, THIS IS, UM, I'M SORRY, I SHOULD, I SHOULD MENTION THAT THAT PRIOR SLIDE IS JUST THE CUT FILL SLIDE.
THIS SLIDE IS THE SLOPE SLIDE.
UM, THE, THE, UH, ANYTHING THAT'S WHITE IS SLOPES OF 15% OR LESS.
AND THEN THE SLOPE, THE, UM, THE SLOPES ARE BROKEN UP INTO SLOPES OF 15 TO 25%, 25 TO 35, AND OVER 35.
WE'RE INTERESTED IN WHAT'S BLUISH AND WHAT'S NOT.
AND SO THE BLUISH BANDS, WHETHER THEY'RE TURQUOISE, DARK BLUE, OR LIGHT BLUE, ALL REPRESENT SLOPES OVER 15%.
AND SO THE ACCESS FROM STANE, UM, GOING TO THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE PROPERTY, YOU CAN SEE THE DRIVEWAY IS, IS CROSSING, UH, STEEP SLOPES AND THAT IT REQUIRES A VARIANCE.
AND THAT IS HIS THIRD VARIANCE REQUEST TO, UH, TO 25 8 3 0 1 TO ALLOW DRIVEWAY CONSTRUCTION ON A GRADIENT IN EXCESS OF 15%.
AND SO, IN SUMMARY, THE FINDINGS OF FACT PER 25 8 3 4, UH, 25 8 41, UM, VARIANCES HAVE BEEN VARIANCES FOR GRADING HAVE BEEN GRANTED FOR SIMILAR PROJECTS.
GRADING IS A DESIGN DECISION, BUT THE PROJECT PROVIDES GREATER ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION WITH INCREASED LANDSCAPING, INCREASED CREEK RESTORATION, AND INCREASED CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE RESTORATION.
THE PROJECT DOES NOT CREATE A SIGNIFICANT PROBABILITY OF HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES.
AND THE VARIANCE WILL RESULT IN WATER QUALITY IS AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE WATER QUALITY ACHIEVABLE WITHOUT THE VARIANCE.
AND SO, UM, THIS IS, UH, THE VARIANCE FOR THE SLOPES.
VARIANCES FOR DRIVEWAY CONSTRUCTION AND SLOPES HAVE BEEN GRANTED FOR SITES WITH SIMILAR CONSTRAINTS.
THAT IS, IF A, IF A DRIVEWAY NEEDS ACROSS STEEP SLOPES, VARIANCES HAVE BEEN GRANTED FOR THAT DRIVEWAY, CONSTRUCTION ON SLOPES IS NECESSARY TO ALLOW FOR REASONABLE USE OF THE PROPERTY AND IS NOT A DESIGN DECISION.
THAT IS, UH, IT'S NOT POSSIBLE TO ACCESS A LARGE PORTION OF THE PROPERTY WITHOUT CROSSING STEEP SLOPES.
THE PROJECT DOES NOT CREATE A SIGNIFICANT PROBABILITY OF HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES, AND THE VARIANCE WILL RESULT IN WATER QUALITY THAT IS AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE WATER QUALITY ACHIEVABLE WITHOUT THE VARIANCE.
AND SO, UM, THERE ARE SEVEN CONDITIONS, UH, EXCUSE ME, SEVEN VARIANCES, HOWEVER, I'LL TRY A THIRD TIME.
SECOND TIME STAFF DETERMINATION AND VARIANCE CONDITIONS.
THERE ARE SEVEN CONDITIONS FOR THE VARIANCES BEING REQUESTED.
STAFF RECOMMENDS THE REQUESTED VARIANCES HAVING DETERMINED THE FINDINGS OF FACT TO HAVE BEEN MET WITH THE FALLING CONDITIONS.
NUMBER ONE, PARKING LOT TREES SHALL HAVE A MINIMUM DIAMETER OF TWO INCHES.
TYPICALLY, PARKING LOT TREES MUST BE AN INCH AND A HALF MINIMUM DIAMETER.
SO WE'RE ASKING FOR AN UPSIZE OF HALF AN INCH ON ALL THE PARKING LOT TREES PROVIDED 25 ADDITIONAL STREET GUARD TREES WITH A DIAMETER OF AT LEAST THREE INCHES EACH INCREASE WETLAND PLANTINGS BY 10% BASED ON THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF MITIGATION REQUIRED USING PLANTS APPROVED BY THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
ALL CUT AND FILL OVER EIGHT FEET WILL BE CONTAINED WITH ROCK RETAINING WALLS WITH A NATURAL STONE SURFACE.
THE INTENT OF THAT IS TO PRESERVE THE NATURAL CHARACTER BY CREATING, UH, OR BY USING CONSTRUCTION METHODS AND, AND MATERIALS THAT DO LOOK NATURAL.
UH, SO PART OF THE CUT FIELD REGULATIONS EXISTS TO PRESERVE NATURAL CHARACTER.
SO THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO HELP PRESERVE SOME OF THE NATURAL CHARACTER FROM THE GRADING, UH, RESTORATION PLANTINGS WITHIN THE CREEK BEFORE AND AFTER THE BYPASS.
CULVERT, UH, UH, EXCUSE ME, RESTORATION PLANTINGS WILL BE REQUIRED WITHIN THE CREEK, UH, BEFORE AND AFTER THE BYPASS CULVERT AS APPROVED BY THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
SO WE'RE ASKING AGAIN FOR SPECIFIC ADDITIONAL MITIGATION PLANTINGS BEFORE AND AFTER A BI BYPASS CULVERT ON THE PROPERTY.
UH, WE'RE ASKING FOR INCREASED PLANTINGS IN THE DISTURBED CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE AREAS BY 50% AS MINIMALLY REQUIRED BY 6 0 9 NESTS IN THE VICINITY OF THEIR BRIDGE ABUTMENTS AS INDICATED IN THE PLAN SET, UH, THERE'S A BRIDGE CROSSING THE, UH, THE CREEK, UM, DRIVEWAY BRIDGE.
WE'RE ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL MITIGATION, UM, IN THE CREEK.
AND THE, UH, THE 50% REQUIREMENT CAN BE ADDRESSED BY PROVIDING A LARGER MITIGATION AREA OR BY PROVIDING MORE DENSE PLANTING.
SO WE'RE BUILDING IN A LITTLE BIT OF FLEXIBILITY SO THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, UM, IF THERE'S NOT, SAY, SUFFICIENT ROOM OR, OR IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO PLANT MORE A LARGER AREA OF PLANTING, WE WOULD GO WITH A MORE DENSE PLANTING.
BUT THE IDEA IS 50% MORE EITHER IN FOOTPRINT OR IN PLANTING QUANTITY, AND THEN A TREE SHADED OUTDOOR SEATING AREA WILL BE PROVIDED TO ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEES TO TAKE BREAKS ONSITE RATHER THAN DRIVING TO OTHER LOCATIONS.
AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO THE APPLICANT.
I'M THE CIVIL ENGINEER OF RECORD FOR THE PROJECT.
UH, ONCE WE GET THAT PRESENTATION UP, I WILL GET GOING.
[02:50:10]
SO HERE'S AN OVERALL ZONING MAP.UH, THE INTENT OF THIS IS TO IDENTIFY THAT WE ARE WITHIN A, AN INDUSTRIAL ZONING AREA.
ALL THE PURPLE AREAS ARE, ARE INDUSTRIAL IN NATURE.
WE'RE LOCATED KIND OF RIGHT BETWEEN I 35 AND AUSTIN BERGMAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, SOUTH OF BEN WHITE ON STANE LANE.
UH, HERE'S SOME EXISTING CONDITIONS ON THE PROPERTY.
TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT OF, OF THE SITE CONSTRAINTS THAT WE HAVE.
WE HAVE A LARGE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE THAT'S RUNNING ALONG THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF, OF THE PROPERTY, WHICH IS THE ST.
ELMO TRIBUTARY, AND THEN RUNS NORTH, SOUTH THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE PROPERTY.
UH, WE HAVE A SMALL WETLAND IN THE SOUTHEAST PORTION OF THE PROPERTY.
WHAT MIKE REFERRED TO ALSO WITH THAT PIPELINE IS A WASTEWATER EASEMENT THAT'S RUNNING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN PORTION.
THERE'S ALSO A WASTEWATER EASEMENT ON THE EASTERN PORTION ALONG STANE LANE.
AND WE HAVE, UH, ROUGHLY 60 FEET.
IF I LOOK AT KIND OF THE EAST AND THE WEST SIDES OF THE PROPERTY, ROUGHLY 60 FEET OF FALL FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH OVER THERE, AND ROUGHLY 68 FEET ON THE WEST SIDE FROM THE, FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH AS WELL.
UH, WE'VE GONE THROUGH A NUMBER OF SITE ITERATIONS, UH, TO GET TO THE POINT THAT WE'RE AT TODAY.
THIS WAS ONE OF THE EARLY ITERATIONS.
WE HAD TWO DRIVEWAYS LOCATED ALONG STANE LANE.
THE BUILDING ALONG THE FRONTAGE WAS SEPARATED FROM THE REMAINING FOUR, UH, AND THE ORIENTATION OF THE BUILDING I WOULD IDENTIFY MOSTLY IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER, WAS ORIENTED IN THE NORTH SOUTH DIRECTION, WHICH WAS NOT AS ADVANTAGEOUS TO CUT, FILL, UH, AS IT COULD BE.
RUNNING MORE EAST WEST WAS SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, RUNNING PARALLEL WITH THE CONTOURS.
UH, GRADING THAT WAS INITIALLY PROPOSED WAS DID NOT HAVE RETAINING WALLS.
WE DID NOT HAVE A BRIDGE CROSSING THAT CENTER CREEK.
UH, SO EVERYTHING WAS JUST EARTH SLOPES, UH, WHICH IN WHICH REQUIRES ADDITIONAL IMPACT TO THE, TO THE DEVELOPMENT IN THE PROPERTY.
UH, ONE OF THE INTERIM ITERATIONS THAT WE HAD, WE HAD REORIENTED THE BUILDING IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, IN LINE WITH THE EXISTING CONTOURS.
UH, WE COMBINED, UH, THE BUILDING THAT'S ALONG EASTERN OR ALONG STANE LANE SO THAT IT'S MORE PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT, UH, REDUCED THE DRIVEWAYS FROM TWO DRIVEWAYS TO ONE.
UH, AND THIS GOT US SOMEWHERE JUST SHY OF 26 FEET OF CUT AND RIGHT AROUND 23 FEET OF FILL.
UM, WE DID ADD RETAINING WALLS TO THE PROPERTY TO REDUCE THE IMPACTS TO, TO EARTH GRADING AROUND THE SITE, AND WE DECIDED TO INVEST IN A BRIDGE CROSSING AT THAT CREEK.
THIS IS WHERE WE ENDED UP TODAY.
UH, WE'VE GOT, AS YOU'VE SEEN, 20 JUST SHY OF 24 FEET OF, OF CUT AND A LITTLE LESS THAN, UH, 23 FEET OF, OF FILL.
UM, WE'RE TRYING TO POINT OUT THAT THE MAX CUT IS ON THAT EASTERN SIDE.
IT'S NEAR THE TOP OF THE HILL AT 23 FEET.
AND AS YOU KIND OF RADIATE OUT WITHIN THAT ORANGE AREA, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE IT'S, WHERE IT STARTS TO REDUCE DOWN TO THE, THE 16 FEET, WHICH IS WHERE THE ORANGE AND YELLOW, UH, MATCH UP.
UH, SIMILAR IN NATURE WITH THE, THE FILL, THE FILL IS LIMITED, UH, OVER THE 16 FEET WITHIN THAT CREEK ALONG THE EASTERN SIDE, UM, AS WE'VE KIND OF MITIGATED FOR ANY FILL ACROSS THE, THE CENTER CREEK, UH, WITH THAT BRIDGE AND THE INVESTMENT THAT WE'VE PROVIDED THERE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE REDUCED THE BUILDING SQUARE FOOTAGE FROM THE 354, WHICH I DIDN'T MENTION ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, BUT IT WAS NOTED ON THERE FROM 354 TO 313,000 SQUARE FEET.
SO ESSENTIALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, ALMOST REDUCED THE BUILDING OVERALL, CONSIDERING THE FIRST BUILDING THAT'S OVER ON THE EAST SIDE IS 30,000 SQUARE FEET.
UH, LOOKING AT THE SLOPES, UH, THE BOX IN THE CENTER IS MORE TO IDENTIFY THAT WE PROVIDED THE BRIDGE CROSSING AND THE INVESTMENT THERE TO MINIMIZE ANY IMPACTS TO THE CREEK IN THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONES.
FOR THE AREA OF CONCERN, INITIALLY, WE HAD, UH, MULTIPLE DRIVEWAYS CROSSING THAT, UH, THAT, THAT EXISTING CREEK RIGHT THERE, UH, WORKING WITH STAFF, THEY IDENTIFIED THIS WAS, WAS NOT, NOT ACCEPTABLE.
UH, AND WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WE MADE MODIFICATIONS TO THE SITE PLAN TO ADDRESS THAT.
UH, WE MADE THE MODIFICATION TO THE AREA OF CONCERN SO THAT WE ONLY HAD ONE CROSSING WITH THERE STILL INVESTING IN THE BRIDGE CROSSING OVER THE CREEK, UH, TO REDUCE WHAT, UH, TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF
[02:55:01]
IMPACT TO THE EXISTING CREEK AND ALSO, UH, THE CREEK CROSSING THAT'S DURING, IN THE CENTER OF THE PROPERTY.UH, SO SIMPLE, SIMPLE SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT WE HAD.
WE REDUCED OUR CUT FILL, UH, FROM 38,000, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT WAS CLOSER TO THE 27TH FEET DOWN TO 19,000, UH, REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL TRUCK TRAFFIC THAT WOULD BE COMING INTO THE PROPERTY.
REDUCE THE OVERALL BUILDING AREA BY 40,000 SQUARE FEET, UH, TO, TO TRY TO REDUCE THAT CUT FILL AS WELL.
UM, AND TRY TO MAKE, YOU KNOW, TRY TO MAKE THIS A BETTER DEVELOPMENT.
AND THEN I WILL TURN IT OVER TO THE DEVELOPER FOR SOME BUILDING INFORMATION.
I'M JASON BENGER WITH BROOKFIELD PROPERTIES.
UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT ON BROOKFIELD.
WE ARE A GLOBAL ORGANIZATION WITH OVER $900 BILLION IN ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT.
CURRENTLY, PART OF OUR TOP PRIORITIES IN BROOKFIELD IS, UH, ESG SUSTAINABILITY GREEN INITIATIVES.
UM, WE'RE STRIVING TO REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT, AND I FEEL LIKE WE'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB ON STA SNY, UM, IN TERMS OF REDUCING OUR OVERALL CARBON FOOTPRINT AND OUR IMPACT TO THE ENVIRONMENT.
AS YOU'LL SEE IN THE LEFT SORT OF COLUMN, UM, BROOKFIELD BILLING STANDARDS.
SO THESE ARE IN ADDITION TO JUST BUILDING CODE.
SO THIS IS A BROOKFIELD BILL, BILL, EXCUSE ME, BUILDING STANDARD.
AND THEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE, WE HAVE, IN ADDITION TO WHAT THE BROOKFIELD STANDARD IS, THE STANE PARK, UH, ENHANCEMENT.
SO, UH, BROOKFIELD BILLING STANDARDS INCLUDES LEAD CERTIFICATION, WHITE TPO ROOFING TO REDUCE HEAT ISLAND EFFECT LYTICS CONCRETE SLABS, WHICH IS, UH, A NEW CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY THAT REDUCES CARBON BY BOTH 30% SOLAR READY ROOFS, EMPLOYEE AMENITY SPACES, LOCAL MATERIAL SOURCING FOR FACADE ELEMENTS, AND TARGET ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY TENANTS, AS WELL AS NATIVE AND DROUGHT TOLERANT LANDSCAPING.
SO AGAIN, IN ADDITION TO THESE STANDARDS FOR STA STANY, WE'RE, WE'RE TARGETING LEAD SILVER.
WE HAVE EV CHARGING STATIONS IN ALL FIVE BUILDINGS, WHICH IS A TOTAL OF 20.
WE HAVE, AGAIN, TO NICK'S POINT BRIDGE, UH, FOR ACCESS.
SO WE'RE NOT, UH, IMPACTING THE WATER QUALITY ZONE.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY STUDYING A WOOD STRUCTURE FOR BUILDING ONE AND FIVE RIGHT NOW, UM, TO, UH, FURTHER REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT FROM STEEL, UH, NATURE TRAILS AND ENHANCE EMPLOYEE AMENITIES, PRESERVING THE HERITAGE TREES THAT ARE ON SITE USE OF NATURAL STONE RETAINING WALLS.
THIS IS ALL YOUR LOCAL AUSTIN STONE, WHICH AGAIN, PROTECTION OF, UH, OR SORRY, MINIMIZES THE CUT FILL SLOPES AND EROSION CONTROL AND SOURCING LOCAL MATERIALS FOR, UH, FACADE ELEMENTS.
AGAIN, USING, UH, TRYING TO UTILIZE THE AUSTIN STONE IN, IN ADDITION TO, UM, NICK'S PRESENTATION AND, AND SOME OF THESE NOTES, UH, I DID WANNA POINT OUT THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR ARCHITECT ON, UH, LOOKING AT SOME FRED OPTIONS FOR OUR GLASS TO YOUR COMMENT EARLIER, UM, I ALSO WANTED TO POINT OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH STAFF OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES, MADE SIGNIFICANT, UH, CONCESSIONS TO THIS DEVELOPMENT.
UM, I'M PUTTING, PUTTING UP, YOU KNOW, A BIG INVESTMENT DOLLARS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY DRIVE DOWN OUR CUT FILL REQUEST OR SLOPES, UH, SLOPE, UH, VARIANCE AS WELL.
UM, AND AS OF RIGHT NOW, OUR, OUR OVERALL SITE COVERAGE IS ONLY AT 13%.
SO, UH, PRETTY SMALL RATIO OF OF BUILDING IMPACT TO THE OVERALL SITE.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I REQUEST CONSIDERATION FOR APPROVAL TONIGHT.
CAN WE GET THE REMOTE COMMISSIONERS BACK UP? UH, DO WE HAVE ANY, UM, QUESTIONS FROM THE, UH, SORRY, KIND OF SPACED OUT FOR A SECOND
DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, QUESTIONS FROM THE REMOTE COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER KRUEGER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THOSE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, I'M CURIOUS, TWO THINGS I GUESS.
FIRST IS, COULD YOU REMIND ME OF THE NATURE OF THE BUSINESS THAT'S BEING BUILT HERE? THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE INDUSTRIAL, SMALL INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS.
DO WE KNOW ANY DETAILS BEYOND THAT? UH, THIS, THIS DEVELOP? YEAH, IT'S ON SPEC.
WE, WE DON'T HAVE ANY TENANTS LINED UP AT, AT THE CURRENT MOMENT.
UM, AND WHY, WHY DID YOU ALL CHOOSE THIS SITE FOR DEVELOPMENT OVER ANOTHER SITE THAT PERHAPS WOULD NOT HAVE REQUIRED AS MUCH CUT AND FILL OR, OR BEEN IN PROXIMITY
[03:00:01]
TO CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES? SURE, SURE.UH, IT'S, IT'S, THAT ENTIRE AREA IS ZONE INDUSTRIAL.
UM, SO BY WRIGHT, IT, IT WAS, UH, AN EASY SELECTION AND IT'S IN A GREAT POCKET FOR, UM, LOGISTICALLY SPEAKING, TRUCKING.
UM, IT SERVES, YOU KNOW, EASY ACCESS TO 35.
SO IT'S, IT IS VERY WELL LOCATED.
SO YOU CHOSE IT BECAUSE OF THE ZONING AND 'CAUSE OF PROXIMITY TO 35.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR RIGHT NOW.
COMMISSIONER? YEAH, COMMISSIONER KRUGER ACTUALLY TOUCHED ON THE ONE THING I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT, WHICH WAS THE, UH, THE PROXIMITY.
HEY, Y'ALL APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
NO QUESTIONS FROM ME AT THIS TIME.
COMMISSIONER EINHORN, I'M STILL ORGANIZING MY THOUGHTS.
CAN I HAVE FIVE MORE MINUTES? MM-HMM,
COMMISSIONER ALVIN? NO, NO QUESTIONS.
I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, I GUESS HOW MANY HERITAGE TREES THIS IS DIRECTED STACK, HOW MANY HERITAGE TREES DO WE HAVE ON THE, UH, PROPERTY? WE HAVE FOUR HERITAGE TREES ON THE PROPERTY.
THREE THREE OF WHICH WE'RE SAVING, AND THEN ONE OF WHICH WE, WE DID HAVE A VARIANCE FOR REMOVAL, UM, FOR OUR WATER QUALITY POND CONSTRUCTION.
UH, YOUR SOLAR READY, BUT YOU'RE NOT PUTTING PANELS ON THE ROOFS.
SO, SO ACTUALLY BROOKFIELD HAS A RENEWABLES GROUP, AND IN THAT GROUP THERE'S A SOLAR FIRM, UM, THAT REPORTS IN THAT WAY.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE CURRENTLY STUDYING WHICH BUILDINGS THAT MAKE SENSE, UM, OFF THE HOP, BUT RIGHT NOW THE BUILDINGS WILL BE READY AND THEN WE HAVE TO EVALUATE THE STUDY IN TERMS OF THE LEASE ON, ON THE ACTUAL PANELS.
BUT AS, AS WE'RE LOOKING TO APPROVE THIS, RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE NOT PLANNING ON PUTTING SOLAR PANELS, NOT DAY ONE.
UH, THIS QUESTION IS REALLY DIRECTED AT, AT, AT STAT.
UM, IN THE PREVIOUS ITEM WE TALKED ABOUT A LIST OF, OF SIMILAR PROJECTS THAT HAD THIS, YOU KNOW, COTTON FILL AND YOU READ OFF A, A, A LARGE LIST.
I THINK ONE OF THEM HAD 22 FEET OF COTTON FILL, OR 22 FEET WAS A, A NUMBER THAT I READ.
THIS ONE IS, UH, MORE AND SO I GUESS, YEAH, THIS IS 24 AND 23 FEET, UH, 24 CUT, 23 FILL.
UH, SO THIS IS LARGER THAN THE PREVIOUS ONE THAT WE LOOKED AT.
AND THEN IT'S STILL LARGER THAN THE ONE THAT YOU HAD MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WAS 22 FEET.
AND I FORGET IF THAT WAS CUT OR PHIL, BUT REGARDLESS, MY QUESTION IS THIS, AND IT, IT DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING DIRECTLY TO DO WITH THIS DEVELOPMENT, BUT PHILOSOPHICALLY, WHERE DO WE STOP WITH CUT AND FILL? I MEAN, WE HAVE, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE RULES TO SAY, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA ALLOW.
AND THEN IF WE ASK FOR SOMETHING LARGER THAN THAT, WE'RE GONNA REQUEST A VARIANCE 24 FEET AND 23 FEET.
AND, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A SIZE AT WHICH THE, THE, YOU KNOW, WE JUST SAY, NOPE, MIKE MCDOWELL AND ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW, THE CODE DOES NOT GIVE ME AUTHORITY TO SAY THIS IS THE LIMIT.
SO, UM, UNFORTUNATELY MY ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS THERE IS, THERE IS NOT A CODE I CAN POINT TO THAT SAYS YOU MAY NOT APPLICANT ASK FOR A CUT FILL LIMIT BEYOND X FEET.
UM, I CAN UNDERSTAND THE BASIS OF THE QUESTION, AND I CAN CERTAINLY APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WAREHOUSE PROJECTS THAT DO COME IN, UM, AS THE CITY'S GROWING.
BUT I DON'T, DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO SAY THIS IS TOO MUCH.
NOW, WHAT STAFF DOES DO WITH EVERY VARIANCE PROJECT THAT COMES IN, THE APPLICANT WILL WILL COME IN AND SAY, WE NEED 32 FEET.
AND DO YOU WANNA BE IN THE FOREFRONT OF THIS? NOBODY'S ASKED FOR THAT MUCH.
CAN YOU MAKE THE PROJECT SMALLER? CAN YOU DO SOME BETTER GRADING? CAN YOU DO SOMETHING? SO, SO MONTHS, YEARS BEFORE THE PROJECT, THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL SEE THESE PROJECTS MIGHT HAVE A DATE OF, OR A CASE NUMBER OF S SP 2020, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT IN 2023 BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN MONTHS TO YEARS OF NEGOTIATING WITH THE APPLICANT TO REDUCE THE MAGNITUDE AND THE FOOTPRINT OF WHAT THEY'RE ASKING.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO COMPEL SOMEBODY TO REDUCE THE MAGNITUDE OF WHAT THEY ASK FOR.
WE ENCOURAGE THEM TO, AND ALMOST EVERY TIME THE APPLICANT DOES WORK WITH US TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY AUTHORITY TO SAY WE REFUSE TO TAKE THAT TO THE COMMISSION.
WELL, I, I UNDERSTAND THE WAY THE RULES ARE WRITTEN, THAT
[03:05:01]
YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT WHATEVER IS BROUGHT TO YOU AND EVALUATE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF CITY CODE AND ALL THAT KIND OF GOOD THING.SO THEORETICALLY, IF SOMEONE BRINGS IN 50 FEET OF CUT AND FILL, YOU CAN WORK WITH THEM.
BUT IT COULD WIND UP SITTING HERE, SAY 50 FEET.
AN APPLICANT COULD INSIST I, OR SAY I DECLINE TO REDESIGN, I WANT TO ASK FOR ADVANTAGE FOR 50 FEET.
I WOULD, UM, HONESTLY BITE MY TONGUE AND SAY, THAT'S A BAD IDEA, BUT OKAY.
AND TO CLARIFY, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
UM, THE, UH, I, I COMPILED THESE NUMBERS JUST BEFORE THIS MEETING.
UM, THE FILL, UH, UNDER TWO 90 LOGISTIC WAS 28 FEET.
THE FILL FOR THIS ONE IS 23, SO WE'RE A LITTLE LESS.
THE CUT FOR TWO 90 LEG PART TWO 90, LOGISTIC WAS 22.
THE CUT FOR THIS ONE IS ABOUT 24.
SO THIS, THE CUT IS ABOUT TWO FEET MORE ON THIS ONE.
SO I THINK I MIGHT HAVE MISCHARACTERIZED THAT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, IF I HAD TO CHOOSE, WHICH IS WORSE ENVIRONMENTALLY BETWEEN THE TWO, I WOULD PROBABLY SAY THAT PHIL IS PROBABLY WORSE.
IT HAS LARGER, IT HAS LARGER POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACTS.
SO, UM, THE FILL ON THE, ON THIS ON THE OLDER PROJECT IS FIVE FEET MORE THAN ON THE CURRENT PROJECT.
THE CUT ON THIS ONE IS TWO FEET MORE THAN ON THE OLDER PROJECT.
BUT I, I THINK IN GENERAL, THIS ONE I WOULD CHARACTERIZE AS BEING A, SOME, A SMALLER ASK TO, TO PUT IT IN, IN BASIC TERMS. IT'S A SMALLER ASK THAN THAT, THAN THAT PRIOR PROJECT.
BUT THEY ARE, THEY ARE NEAR, CLEARLY NUMERICALLY NEAR THE LIMIT.
AND JUST IN, IN TERMS OF CUT A LITTLE BIT BEYOND WHAT WAS REQUESTED IN THE PAST.
NOW, UH,
AND SO WE ARE TRYING IN, IN A, IN AN ODD SORT OF WAY, WE'RE RESTORING THE, THE TOPOGRAPHY TO ITS ORIGINAL FORMAT OR WHATEVER, WHATEVER IT IS.
IS THAT, IS THAT THE CASE HERE WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE REMOVING STUFF OR IS THIS THE, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK GENERATION'S, TOPOGRAPHY? I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT WE'RE UNDOING ANY, ANY FILL THAT WAS LEFT BY ANY PRIOR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES.
UH, MY REVIEW OF THE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, JUST, UH, LOOKING AT THE, AT THE CANOPY COVERAGE AND THE VEGETATION, THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN EXTENSIVE GRADING ON THE SITE EXCEPT FOR THAT BAND THAT SWATH THAT, THAT I'VE JUST LEARNED AS A WASTEWATER, UH, EASEMENT.
SO WHAT, UH, WHAT WAS BROUGHT TO EEB COMMISSION BY RYAN CTER A COUPLE WEEKS BACK WAS THE, UM, THE THREE MEN MOVERS, AND THAT WAS THE OLD SPOILS PILE.
UM, AND THAT ONE WAS, UM, CUT AND FILL 12 TO 15, 12 AND 15 FEET.
THE PARK TWO NINE LOGISTIC IS THE ONE THAT HAS SET THE RECENT BAR FOR THE, THE, UM, THE DEPTH OF CUT AND FILL.
UM, AND THAT'S A DIFFERENT PROJECT.
I CAN DO SOME RESEARCH IF YOU GIVE, IF I WANNA GIVE YOU A FEW MINUTES AND FIND OUT, LOOK UP, I CAN LOOK UP THE OLD VARIANCE PACKET.
I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY THAT PART TWO 90 LOGISTIC THAT HAD THE 28 FEET OF FILL WAS BASED ON OLD ACTIVITIES, OLD CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES.
THREE MEN MOVERS WAS, THAT'S THE ONE WE JUST HEARD A FEW WEEKS AGO.
YEAH, I RE I REMEMBER THAT ONE AND THAT WAS, UH, YEAH, I REMEMBER THAT.
BUT I, IF YOU WANT TO, I CAN CHECK THE, UH, IT'LL TAKE ME A MINUTE IF YOU WANT TO.
WELL, I'M SURE YOU'LL HAVE SOME TIME WHILE WE'RE ABSOLUTELY
ALRIGHT, NOW THIS IS, UH, ADJACENT TO A FLOODPLAIN, I BELIEVE.
I BELIEVE IT IS, UH, BASED ON THE PRESENCE OF THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE, I WOULD EXPECT THERE TO BE A FLOODPLAIN ON THE PROPERTY.
WE STUDIED THE ATLA 14 FLOODPLAIN, AND WE'RE DEDICATING EASEMENTS, UH, FOR THAT WITHIN THE TRIBUTARY, AND IT KIND OF EXTENDS UP A LITTLE BIT, UM, BUT IS NOT IMPACTED BY ANY OF THE DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE ON THE PROPERTY.
AND SO THE, I ASSUME, AND I'M, FORGIVE ME, YOU MAY HAVE SAID THIS AND I MAY HAVE MISSED IT.
I ASSUME THAT YOU'RE BUILDING, UH, DETENTION PONDS TO HOLD BACK THE WATER FROM, UH, CONTRIBUTING TO ANY FLOODING ISSUES DOWNSTREAM? YES, WE HAVE, WE HAVE TWO PONDS, ONE ON THE EAST SIDE AND ONE ON THE WEST SIDE DUE TO THE SPLIT OF THE TRIBUTARY THROUGH THE PROPERTY.
IT IS A BIOFILTRATION POND FOR WATER QUALITY WITH STACKED DETENTION ON TOP OF IT.
SO IT'S ONE, ONE LARGE POND, UM, WATER QUALITY KIND OF HAPPENS ON THE BOTTOM, AND THEN THE DETENTION VOLUME HAPPENS ABOVE THAT.
OUR OUTLET STRUCTURE IS DESIGNED TO REDUCE DISCHARGES TO EXISTING CONDITIONS ARE BETTER, WHICH WE'VE, WHICH WE'VE ACHIEVED.
WHAT'S THE, UH, VOLUME THAT THOSE DETENTION PONDS? I, I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS OFF OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD RIGHT NOW.
UM, I MEAN, IF, IF THAT'S THE NUMBER THAT WE NEED TO PROVIDE, WE
[03:10:01]
CAN LOOK AT, I KNOW IT'S ON THE CONSTRUCTION PLANS.THE, THE REASON I'M ASKING IS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A, A REALLY HEAVY RAIN, YOU KNOW IT, YOU HAVE A DETENTION POND TO HANDLE, YOU KNOW, A STANDARD AMOUNT OF WATER THAT'S COMING OFF THE WATERSHED AND THAT WOULDN'T BE ABSORBED BY, YOU KNOW, YOUR DEVELOPMENT.
BUT IF IT GETS TO BE TOO HEAVY, THEN YOUR DETENTION PONDS ARE GONNA BE TOPPED OVER AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO THE DETENTION PONDS ALSO BY REQUIREMENT, WE HAVE TO DETAIN UP TO THE A HUNDRED YEAR STORM.
UH, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE TO, UH, MAKE SURE WE HAVE PROVISIONS FOR THE PEAK MAXIMUM FLOOD, UH, WHICH IS A STORM THAT'S EVEN GREATER.
IT'S SOMEWHERE CLOSE TO PROBABLY YOUR 500 YEAR STORM.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU DO HAVE OR HAVE A, A STORM EVENT GREATER THAN YOUR A HUNDRED, THAT IT IS THE, THE PMF STORM, WHAT THEY CALL IT, IS, IS CONTROLLED AND IS STILL DIRECTED IN THE DOWNSTREAM, UH, LOCATION TO THE EXISTING CREEK AND IS NOT GONNA IMPACT EITHER, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE OR ADJACENT DEVELOPMENTS AROUND US.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, YOUR PRESENTATION AND, UM, UM, I'VE GOT A LOT OF QUESTIONS HERE ON, ON THIS.
UM, SO WHEN I WORKED AT TEXAS PARK AND WILDLIFE, I TRAVELED DOWN STANE ROAD ALL THE TIME.
AND, UH, IT IS BUILT ON SOME OF THE WORST CLAY SOIL, UH, IN, UH, THE WHOLE CITY.
UH, AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE COULDN'T CARRY MORE THAN FOUR PEOPLE IN ONE CAR BECAUSE HER CAR WOULD SCRAPE ALONG THE BOTTOM OF ALL THE BUCKLING ON THE ROAD.
AND SO DAVID EARMUFFS FOR YOU ON THAT, WE HAD TO TAKE SEPARATE CARS A COUPLE TIMES,
AND SO WHEN I THINK ABOUT A GIANT RETAINING WALL STANDING THE TEST OF TIME IN THIS AREA, I HAVE A HARD TIME VISUALIZING THAT AND SEEING THAT STANDING THERE, UH, AND NOT GIVING WAY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CONSTANT ROLLING, UM, CLAY SOILS THAT ARE THERE.
SO, UM, TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
Y YOU, SO WE'RE ACTUALLY CURRENTLY DRILLING ADDITIONAL BORE HOLES NOW, TO YOUR POINT, UNDER THE RETAINING WALL AREAS TO ENSURE THAT OUR DATA IN THOSE AREAS IS ACCURATE.
AND, AND SO ONCE WE HAVE THAT, THE COMPLETE SLOPE STABILITY ANALYSIS CAN BE CONDUCTED AND OUR STRUCTURAL ENGINEERABLE DESIGN WITH, YOU KNOW, SAFETY FACTORS ON TOP OF THAT TO ENSURE THERE, THERE WILL NEVER BE A COLLAPSE.
UM, AND SO, UH, MY NEXT QUESTION IS, I'M, I'M A LITTLE UNCLEAR, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I HEARD THIS RIGHT, THAT YOU'RE CROSSING THE TRIBUTARY WITH THE DRIVEWAY, OR IS IT JUST CROSSING THE RAVINE? SO THE, THE EASTERN TRIBUTARY, WE'RE CROSSING THAT WE'RE, WE'RE FILLING THAT AREA IN THE ONE THAT'S RUNNING THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE CREEK.
THAT'S THE ONE THAT WE HAVE A BRIDGE OVER, UH, PARTLY BECAUSE THERE'S CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONES ASSOCIATED WITH IT, EROSION HAZARD ZONES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE STAYING OUT OF THAT BY, BY PROVIDING THE BRIDGE AND THE INVESTMENT THERE.
AND SO TO THOSE OTHER TWO BACK BUILDINGS THAT THAT BRIDGE WILL GO TO, IS THAT THE ONE WAY AND ONE WAY OUT? YES.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IN OTHER PROPERTIES THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT, UM, WITH THE ONE WAY AND ONE WAY OUT, UH, I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE TWO WAYS IN TWO WAYS OUT WITH FIRE.
IS THAT RIGHT, MIKE? I KNOW YOU'RE LOOKING AT THINGS, BUT I APOLOGIZE.
YES, I'M LOOKING AT THE, THE OTHER, UH, PACKET.
UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL SOMETIMES REQUIRE, UH, MORE THAN ONE POINT OF ACCESS.
UM, IF THEY DO, THEN, THEN THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW WILL CONSIDER TWO DRIVEWAYS, UH, PRIMARY ACCESS.
A LOT OF TIMES THE CODE WILL ALLOW PRIMARY ACCESS.
UM, AND SO, UM, IN THIS CASE, ENRIQUE, ENRIQUE MARE WAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW BEFORE I TOOK THIS PROJECT.
HE, HE MOVED TO A DIFFERENT POSITION.
UM, HE NEGOTIATED WITH THE APPLICANT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF DRIVEWAYS CROSSED THE CRITICAL TO THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM REQUIRED.
SO I I'M GOING TO, I'M, I WOULD SPECULATE THEN IF THAT IF ONE DRIVEWAY IS SHOWN, THAT'S WHAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WOULD'VE ACCEPTED.
UH, THEY, THEY, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE SAID THEY WOULD, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WOULD NOT HAVE APPROVED SOMETHING WITH TOO FEW DRIVEWAYS.
AND IF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SAID TWO DRIVERS WOULD NECESSARILY CROSS THE CRITICAL, WE WOULD'VE CONSIDERED THAT PRIMARY ACCESS.
[03:15:01]
NECESSARILY ALWAYS MEAN ONE ACCESS.SO DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? I DON'T FEEL LIKE I DID A GREAT JOB ON THAT, BUT DOES THAT OKAY.
I CAN, I CAN ADD TO THAT A LITTLE BIT.
THE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS REVIEWED AND APPROVED THE PLANS.
TYPICALLY, THE, THE DUAL ACCESS IS SOMETHING THAT COMES INTO PLAY WITH THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL UNITS OR THE POPULATION THAT'S OUT THERE.
AND SO THIS ONE DIDN'T, DIDN'T WARRANT THAT, THAT SECONDARY ACCESS FOR THEM.
SO AGAIN, THEY'VE, THEY'VE REVIEWED IT, THEY'VE LOOKED AT IT FROM A FIRE COVERAGE PERSPECTIVE, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE COMFORTABLE WITH, WITH THE SINGLE ACCESS TO THE PROPERTY.
UM, AND THANKS FOR BRINGING UP, UH, RESIDENTIAL.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH THIS AREA IS, UM, IS ZONED, AND WE'LL GET TO THAT IN A SECOND, UH, WAREHOUSE, YOU ARE GETTING REALLY CLOSE TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, THAT ARE THERE.
AND, UM, I LOVE IT THAT THE PEOPLE ON VIEWPOINT DRIVE WILL NO LONGER HAVE A VIEW.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M TAKING THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, NOT THEIR VIEW, BUT OBVIOUSLY THE PEOPLE, UH, LIVING THERE.
UM, AND, AND HOW DOES THE FLOW OF WATER IMPACT THEM? THIS IS AN AREA OF, UM, AUSTIN THAT, YOU KNOW, HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN NEGLECTED, UM, FOR, UM, STANDARDS THAT, UM, HELP PEOPLE, UH, SOME OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE CITIZENS ENSURE THAT THEY ARE NOT WITHIN THOSE FLOODPLAINS, UM, AND NOT WITHIN AREAS THAT, THAT ARE FLOOD PRONE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKING THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, I ALSO WANNA TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT YES, THIS IS IN THE WILLIAMSON CREEK WATERSHED, BUT IS ALSO JUST VERY, VERY CLOSE TO WHERE, UM, IT, IT, UH, IS AT THE CONFLUENCE WITH ONION CREEK.
AND ONION CREEK, OF COURSE, IS ONE OF OUR, YOU KNOW, MOST HEAVILY FLOODED, UM, CREEKS, UM, IN THE, IN THE AREA AS EVERYTHING SORT OF RUSHES OUT OF THIS NOW HUGE WAREHOUSE ZONE THAT WE HAVE HERE.
I'M NOT SURE HOW WE GOT THERE, BUT WE DID.
UM, AND AS WELL AS THESE NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO, UM, THIS IS ANOTHER QUESTION FOR, UM, MR. MCDOUGALL.
UM, THE ZONING ON THE PROPERTY, SO I'M, I'M SURPRISED I CAN UNDERSTAND HOW THE PROPERTIES ABOVE THIS ONE, UM, HAVE ZONING FOR WAREHOUSE.
IT'S FAIRLY, FAIRLY FLAT IN A LOT OF THESE AREAS.
THE TRIBUTARIES ARE, UM, NOT QUITE, THEY DON'T INFILTRATE DEEPER, UH, INTO SOME OF THESE AREAS, BUT THIS PROPERTY IN PARTICULAR, AND THE ONE SORT OF SURROUNDING, UH, AS IT COMES CLOSER INTO WILLIAMSON CREEK AND ONION CREEK, THIS ONE HAS A LOT OF SLOPES.
AND I WOULD BE SURPRISED THAT THIS IS ZONED WAREHOUSE, IS THAT WHAT IT IS? UH, MIKE MCDOUGAL, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW, I'D HAVE TO DO SOME RESEARCH IN THE DATABASE TO CHECK THE ZONING, BUT, UM, TYPICALLY FOR THE ZONING PROCESS, UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW IS VERY MINIMAL BECAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT TO DO AN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW ON SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T HAVE A PROJECT ASSOCIATED WITH IT YET.
SO THE ZONING PROCESS, UH, BASICALLY FOR THE, THE, OR THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW COMPONENT TO A, TO REZONING A PROPERTY IS JUST A SYNOPSIS OF WHAT GIS SHOWS.
UH, IT SAID WE, WE SPECIFY WHETHER IT'S OVER THE RECHARGE ZONE, THE WATER SHOULD NAME AND CLASSIFICATION IF THERE'S POSSIBLY A CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE OR FLOODPLAIN ON THE PROPERTY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, SOMETIMES A, A SYNOPSIS OF WHAT AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS SHOW WITH REGARD TO THE VEGETATION.
BUT WE DON'T GO INTO THE DETAIL ON THE SLOPES.
AND THE REASON IS THAT, UM, GIS IS A GOOD GUIDE.
OUR, OUR CITY, GIS, IS A GOOD GUIDE OF WHAT SLOPES EXIST ON THE PROPERTY, BUT IT'S, IT'S BASED ON LIDAR AND IT'S NEVER AS ACCURATE AS AN ON THE GROUND SURVEY.
AND THAT'S WHY IN MY PRESENTATION, AND I GIVE YOU THE OVERVIEW, JUST SHOWING THE ORANGE SLOPES, JUST TO GIVE YOU A FLAVOR OF THE SLOPES, BUT THEN WHEN YOU SAW THE BLUE SLOPES, THEY WERE MUCH MORE EXTENSIVE.
THE ORANGE, ORANGE WAS THE SLOPES THAT GIS SHOWS.
AND AS A REVIEWER, I SEE THAT AND SAY, I SEE THERE'S SOME SLOPES IN THE PROPERTY, AND IF THE ACCIDENT TELLS ME THERE'S NO SLOPES, WELL SOMETHING'S AMISS.
NOW THEY'VE SHOWN ME THAT THERE'S MORE SLOPES THAN WHAT GIS SHOWS.
UH, AND ON THE GROUND SURVEY'S MUCH MORE ACCURATE THAN A LIDAR SURVEY TYPICALLY.
BUT MY POINT IN ALL THAT IS, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE RELIABLE SLOPE INFORMATION AT THE TIME OF THE ZONING CASE.
THE, THE SLOPES INFORMATION IS NOT PROVIDED UNTIL THIS PROCESS BEGINS WHERE SOMEBODY SUBMITS A SITE PLAN PERMIT APPLICATION, SO SOMEBODY COULD REZONE A PROPERTY THAT'S COMPLETELY SLOPEY.
UM, AND WE WOULDN'T, WE WOULDN'T REALLY GET INTO THAT DETAIL UNTIL THE PROJECT'S PROPOSED.
ANOTHER REASON FOR THAT IS THAT, UM, THE CONSTRUCTION SLOPES ARE LIMITED BY WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, YOU CAN'T PUT A DRIVEWAY AND SLOPES OVER 15% EXCEPT WHEN YOU CAN, AND WHEN CAN YOU, WHEN YOU'RE ACCESSING AT LEAST FIVE RESIDENTIAL UNITS OR AT LEAST TWO CONTIGUOUS FLAT ACRES, THIS PROPERTY IS NOT.
AND THAT'S WHY THAT'S ONE OF THE VARIANCES.
SO IF SOMEBODY SAID, THIS PROPERTY HAS SLOPES, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS FOR THE PURPOSES OF ZONING? MY RESPONSE WOULD BE, WELL, IT DEPENDS WHAT THEY WANT TO BUILD.
UM, THE DRIVEWAYS MIGHT BE OKAY.
UM, A BUILDING CAN'T BE ON SLOPES OVER 15%, EXCEPT THAT FROM 15 TO 25%, 10% OF THAT CATEGORY CAN
[03:20:01]
HAVE A BUILDING ON IT.PARKING CAN'T BE ON STEEP SLOPES.
SO IT GETS VERY COMPLICATED, AND THE NATURE OF THE PROJECT INTERACTS TREMENDOUSLY WITH THE SLOPES ON SITE.
SO IT'S, IT'S VERY CHALLENGING TO, TO LOOK AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS AT THE TIME OF ZONING BECAUSE WHAT SOMEBODY'S BUILDING AFFECTS HOW THE RULES ARE APPLIED.
WAS THAT A SUFFICIENTLY BRIEF
HOWEVER, UM, ZONING WAREHOUSE MM-HMM.
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA GET.
AND, AND THEY HAVE REAL SPECIFIC YES.
YOU KNOW, SO IT'S NOT LIKE, WELL, WE MIGHT GET A, YOU KNOW, SOME SHOPS OR MAYBE WE GET SOME HOUSES LIKE THIS IS OWN WAREHOUSE.
AND I FEEL LIKE THIS IS ONE OF THOSE PIECE OF PROPERTIES THAT LIKE, IT'S LIKE, WHOA.
IF I MAY INTERJECT, IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, THE ZONING IS L-O-C-O-N-P, SO LIMITED OFFICE, IS THAT CORRECT? IT, IT'S WLO AND THEN THERE'S A SMALL CORNER IN THE VERY NORTHWEST WHERE THE ZONING LINE CHANGES TO LI.
BUT YES, THE, THE CONP IS IS ALSO PART OF THE WLO.
SO IT'S IT'S WAREHOUSE AND LOCAL OFFICE.
SO EITHER ONE OF THOSE WOULD BE BIG FLAT SPACES.
THEY COULD BE, UH, WAREHOUSE WOULD, UM, WAREHOUSE PROJECTS BY THEIR NATURE OF THE, THE FLAT, THE, THE, THE SINGLE FINISH FLOOR ELEVATION HAVE MUCH MORE GRADING THAN SAY AN, AN OFFICE MIGHT.
BUT, BUT BOTH OF THOSE COULD EASILY REQUIRE GRADING OVER FOUR FEET ON THE SLOPEY PIECE OF PROPERTY FOR CERTAIN.
THE, UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS THOUGH ARE NOT SOMETHING THAT THAT'S CONSIDERED EXTENSIVELY DURING THE REZONING.
IT'S, UM, IT'S, LIKE I SAY, IT'S, IT'S MOVED TO THIS PART OF THE PROJECT.
SO, SO IT'S, THE ORDER OF PROCESS IS TYPICALLY, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING IS, IS PLATTED, THEN IT'S ZONED, AND THEN A SITE PLAN PERMIT APPLICATION COMES IN AND THEN A BUILDING PERMIT.
SO, UM, BY THE TIME WE ARE AT THIS STAGE, THE ZONING'S ALREADY DONE.
TYPICALLY THE ZONING, THE ZONING IS MORE ABOUT, UM, WELL, IT GOES TO THE ZONING AND PLATING FOR, FOR CONSIDERATION, BUT IT'S MORE ABOUT, UM, HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE NEIGHBORHOOD? AND THEN THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS COME IN AFTERWARDS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE MAYBE IN GENERAL WE NEED, WE NEED A, A MORE CIRCULAR PROCESS.
BUT THEN, THEN I SUPPOSE THERE'S, THERE'S THE MATTER OF EFFICIENCY VERSUS, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH WORK DO WE DO UP FRONT FOR OUR PROJECT? WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA BE YET.
UM, SO OF THE 53 ACRES, THAT'S CORRECT.
UH, REMIND ME AGAIN, HOW MUCH IN ACREAGE WILL BE DEVELOPED AND HOW MUCH, WHAT DOES THAT BREAK DOWN TO IMPERVIOUS COVER? UH, THE, THE IMPERVIOUS COVER PROPOSES ABOUT 37%.
UH, THE SITE IS ABOUT 53 ACRES.
UM, I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF ME.
LOOKS LIKE THE APPLICANT IS PROPOSING, UH, 20.7 ACRES OF IMPERVIOUS COVER.
UM, LIKE I SAID, ABOUT 38% IMPERVIOUS COVER AS A FULL PURPOSE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY.
THE WATERSHED IMPROVES COVER OF LIMIT WOULD BE 80%.
SO THEY'RE MUCH BELOW WHAT WOULD BE ALLOWED BY THE WATERSHED IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMIT.
IT'S TYPICAL FOR THE LIMITED CONSTRUCTION TO BE MUCH LARGER THAN THE PROJECT.
OBVIOUSLY THERE'S GOTTA BE ROOM TO DO THE GRADING, STORE, THE EQUIPMENT MOVE, MOVE THE VEHICLES AROUND.
SO, SO THE, THE AREA IMPACTED AT LEAST TEMPORARILY DURING CONSTRUCTION WOULD BE LARGER THAN THE IMPERIOUS COVER.
THE APPLICANT IS REQUIRED TO REVEGETATE THE SITE BEFORE THEY'RE, THEY'RE DONE.
UM, SO, UM, I DON'T HAVE THE, THE LIMITED CONSTRUCTION, THE, THE DISTURBED AREA NUMBER READILY AVAILABLE.
THAT'S NOT, WE, WE TRY TO MAKE THE LIMITED CONSTRUCTION AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE FOR THE SITE, BUT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE SPECIFICALLY MEASURE.
UM, IF WE TELL AN APPLICANT TO MAKE THE LLC, THE LIMITED CONSTRUCTION SMALLER, WE DO RUN THE RISK OF MAKING IT SO SMALL.
I'VE SEEN THIS HAPPEN THAT THE EQUIPMENT CAN'T OPERATE, AND THAT'S HAPPENED TO ME PERSONALLY.
I TOLD 'EM TO SQUEEZE DOWN THE LIMITED CONSTRUCTION REALLY SMALL, AND THEY CAME BACK AND SAID WE CAN'T FIT THE TRACTOR THROUGH THERE.
SO, UM, BUT THE APPLICANT MIGHT HAVE AN ANSWER ON THE LIMITED CONSTRUCTION SIZE, NOT SPECIFICALLY ON THE LIMITS OF CONSTRUCTION, BUT OUR, OUR BUILDING COVERAGE IS, IS DOWN TO, I THINK, 13%, UH, FOR THE ENTIRE PROPERTY AT, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR FAR REQUIREMENTS, WE'RE LIMITED TO 0.25 PER ONE, AND WE'RE ABOUT 0.13.
SO A LOT OF OUR, AS MIKE SAID, 38% ON IMPERVIOUS COVER WITH A, AN ALLOWANCE UP TO 80%.
UM, SO A, A LOT OF THE DEVELOPMENT HAS REDUCED, UH, BY ABOUT HALF OR CLOSE TO HALF, UH, FROM WHAT'S TECHNICALLY ALLOWED ON THE PROPERTY.
UM, YEAH, I THINK I'LL JUST KIND OF GO BACK TO, YOU KNOW, WHERE MY HEAD HAS BEEN AT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW WITH, YOU KNOW, UM, WE'RE IN THIS PHASE OF, YOU KNOW, WE, WE JUST SEE ONE BIG CUT AND FILL, YOU KNOW, PROJECT AFTER THE NEXT, AND, AND WE'RE JUST BASICALLY SAYING LIKE, HEY, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT TYPE OF PROPERTY YOU BUY, YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, JUST CUT AND FILL IT.
JUST ASK FOR SOME VARIANCES ON THAT.
[03:25:01]
THAT IS AGAIN, WHAT I SAID EARLIER TO THE OTHER APPLICANT, WHICH WAS, WHEN A FEW OF THESE THINGS COME FORWARD, YOU THINK, NO BIG DEAL.BUT IT'S OUR JOB TO STEP BACK AND REFLECT AND LOOK AT, OKAY, NOW WHERE ARE WE NOW? AND HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS CAN WE REALLY SUSTAIN? AND WHAT IS THE LONG TERM IMPACT OF ALL OF THIS? CUT AND FILL, CUT AND FILL, CUT AND FILL.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T HEAR, UM, STAFF, YOU KNOW, REALLY SATISFYING MY, MY DESIRE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW THIS IS IMPACTING OUR CREEKS AND OUR WATERSHED, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T REALLY HAD THE RAIN EVENT.
A LOT OF THESE SINKS HAVE BEEN BUILT WITHIN THE PAST TWO OR THREE YEARS.
WE HAVEN'T HAD THE RAIN EVENT TO REALLY LOOK AT THOSE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE LIVED IN DALLAS OR IN COLLEGE STATION RIGHT NOW, WE'D BE REALLY UNDERSTANDING HOW ALL THESE WORK.
BUT, UH, ANYWAY, SO, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M, I'M REALLY HESITANT.
I'M JUST MORE AND MORE HESITANT ON, ON, ON THESE, UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN, WHEN I SEE NUMBERS LIKE 23 FEET AND 24 FEET, UM, THAT IS WHAT, 20 MIKE, WHAT IS THE STANDARD FOR CODE? I'M, I'M SPACING OUT ON, UH, GRADING IS LIMITED TO FOUR FEET IN MOST PORTIONS OF THE CITY.
UH, THERE ARE A HANDFUL OF EXCEPTIONS IN THE SUBURBAN WATERSHED.
UNDER SOME CONDITIONS, STAFF CAN GRANTED ADMINISTRATIVE VARIS TO GO UP TO EIGHT FEET.
POND GRADING IS GENERALLY NOT LIMITED.
IT'S LIMITED TO THE DEPTH NECESSARY FOR THE POND TO FUNCTION APPROPRIATELY.
UH, GRADING WITHIN A BUILDING FOOTPRINT IS SPECIFICALLY NOT LIMITED.
UH, GRADING FOR A SWIMMING POOL IS NOT LIMITED, AND GRADING WITHIN A RIGHT OF WAY IS NOT LIMITED.
BUT THE SHORT ANSWER, AFTER ALL THAT, FOUR FEET.
SO, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE 20 FEET ABOVE.
YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WOULD BE NORMAL? UM, I THINK I'LL LEAVE MY QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS THERE AND, AND SEE IF ACTUALLY COMMISSIONER EINHORN HAS RALLIED HIS THOUGHTS.
COMMISSIONER EINHORN, I HAVE RALLIED MY THOUGHTS.
THAT WAS THAT, THAT, THAT CAUSED A BRAINSTORM.
MY KIDS USED TO REFER TO THAT PORTION OF STASSNEY AS THE ROLLERCOASTER.
THEY LOVED DRIVING ON THAT ROAD.
THEY WOULD ASK ME TO SPEED UP
UH, WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME OUT THERE, UH, OVER THE YEARS 'CAUSE MY KIDS LOVED MCKINNEY FALLS STATE PARK.
SO I GOT SOME QUESTIONS FOR STAFF.
ON PAGE SIX OF THE STAFF REPORT, IT TALKS ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND THERE'S A FINDING OF NO, UM, NO HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.
AND THERE'S ALSO SOME FINDINGS ABOUT WATER QUALITY AND THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT, YEAH.
Y'ALL TALK ABOUT IT BEING AT LEAST EQUAL TO WITHOUT THE VARIANCE.
I'M HAVING TROUBLE SQUARING THAT IN MY HEAD.
CAN YOU GIVE ME A PERCENT PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT A DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT THE VARIANCE COULD LOOK LIKE? 'CAUSE I'M HAVING A HARD TIME SORT OF SQUARING THAT UP IN MY HEAD.
SO, SO THAT QUESTION IS GENERALLY TAKEN TO MEAN.
UM, HOW WILL THE WATER QUALITY BE IMPACTED WITH THIS PROJECT? IF, IF IT HAS, IF THERE'S A VARIANCE AND IF THERE'S NOT? UM, ALL PROJECTS ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE WATER QUALITY DETEN DETENTION PONDS.
AND SO IN THE CONTEXT OF HAVING TO HAVE WATER QUALITY TO CAPTURE ALL THE SURFACE WATER RUN UP AFTER THE PROJECT'S BUILT, ALL IMPERVIOUS COVER IS A SOURCE OF, OF POLLUTANTS.
SO WHEN IT RAINS ON ANYTHING THAT'S IMPERVIOUS, THE WATER RUNS OFF, THERE'S A POLLUTANT LOAD, ALL PROJECTS MUST HAVE A WATER QUALITY DETENTION POND TO, TO ADDRESS THAT POLLUTANT LOAD.
SO WHETHER THERE BE A VARIANCE OR NOT, THERE WILL BE PONDS.
AND SO THAT SOUND STAFF IS ABLE TO SAY THAT THE WATER QUALITY WILL BE THE SAME WITH OR WITHOUT THE VARIANCE.
WHERE I WOULD SAY THE WATER QUALITY WOULD BE DIMINISHED WITH THE VARIANCE WOULD BE IF THE APPLICANT WERE TO ASK FOR, UH, VARIANCE TO INCREASE THE IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMIT.
'CAUSE NO POND IS 100% EFFECTIVE.
AND SO MORE IMPERVIOUS COVER MEANS MORE POLLUTION RUNOFF.
IF THE, AND, AND IF SOMEBODY WERE TO ASK FOR A VARIANCE FOR MORE IMPERVIOUS COVER, MORE POLLUTION RUNOFF PONDS AREN'T 100% EFFECTIVE.
AND SO THEN I WOULD SAY, NO, THAT DOES NOT MEET THAT FINDINGS OF FACT.
AND IN FACT, THERE WAS A PROJECT WHERE IT WAS A TRAVIS COUNTY FIRE STATION, THEY DID NEED TO EXCEED THE IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMIT.
THAT WAS ONE OF THEIR VARIANCES.
AND I COULD NOT SUPPORT THEIR REQUEST TO HAVE IMPERVIOUS COVER BEYOND THE LIMIT.
SO IT WAS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ANIMAL.
BUT I WOULD, THE ANSWER WAS NO, THAT'S MORE IMPERVIOUS COVER THAT WILL HAVE AN ADVERSE IMPACT ON WATER QUALITY WITH THE VARIANCE.
SO, AND I THINK IT WAS STATED EARLIER, HOW, WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE IMPERVIOUS COVER ON THIS PROJECT? UH, ABOUT 38% AND THEY'RE ALLOWED 80.
AND I WILL SAY OUR WATER QUALITY PONDS ARE, ARE SIZE TO TREAT MORE THAN JUST THE 38% THAT'S ON SITE.
WE'VE GOT ABOUT 10% ADDITIONAL CAPACITY.
WITH, WITH THE PREVIOUS PROJECT ON TWO 90, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A PROJECT THAT WAS A KILOMETER FROM GILLAND CREEK.
THIS IS ACROSS THE STREET FROM WILLIAMSON CREEK, AND IT'S ACROSS THE STREET FROM WILLIAMSON CREEK RIGHT BEFORE IT FLOWS INTO MCKINNEY FALLS STATE PARK.
I KNOW THAT PROPERTY OWNERS WANT, EVERY PROPERTY OWNER WANTS THEIR PROPERTY TO BE DEVELOPABLE.
AND I'M THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THIS COMMISSION, BUT I HAVE NOT YET SEEN A PROPERTY THAT I THINK IS
[03:30:01]
LESS SUITABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT.SO I'M GONNA LEAVE IT AT THAT FOR NOW.
IF I COULD INTERRUPT, IF THAT'S NOT A, A VIOLATION OF ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER.
I, I HAVE THE ANSWER FOR COMMISSIONER ER'S QUESTION, SO I JUST WANT TO THROW THAT OUT THERE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE WE MIGHT BE GETTING CLOSE TO, TO WINDING DOWN.
SO I WANTED TO ANSWER THE QUESTION BEFORE WE WIND DOWN.
UM, SO I LOOKED UP, LOOKED UP THE VARIANCE PACKETS ON PARK TWO 90, LOGISTIC THE APPLICANT IN ONE PART OF THEIR FINDINGS OF FACT RESPONSE DID SAY, BASED UPON HISTORICAL TOPOGRAPHY, IT APPEARS THE CURRENT SITE'S TOPOGRAPHY AND CUT AND FILL MAY HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF US TWO 90.
AND THAT PROJECT, PART TWO 90 WAS AT DECKER LANE IN TWO 90.
I LOOKED IN GIS LOOKED AT AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS GOING BACK TO THE MID 20TH CENTURY.
I DIDN'T SEE ANY INDICATION OF THAT.
BUT NOW WE'RE TALKING AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND SOME OF 'EM GO BACK TO GRAINY BLACK AND WHITE.
I DIDN'T SEE INDICATION THAT THE TOPOGRAPHY ON THAT SITE WAS THE RESULT OF PRIOR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES.
THE HISTORIC TOPOS IN GIS ONLY GO BACK TO THE LATE NINETIES.
SO THAT ALSO WOULDN'T HAVE ANY TWO 90 CONSTRUCTION WOULDN'T SHOW UP ON THE OLD TOPOS.
SO THE APPLICANT'S SAYING MAYBE, UH, THERE WAS TOPOGRAPHY FROM PRIOR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES, THEY'RE NOT SAYING DEFINITELY.
AND MY TAKE IS, I FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF THAT.
I FOUND NO EVIDENCE TO COUNTER THAT, BUT I, I FOUND NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THAT CLAIM.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE WITH THIS PROJECT, THAT PART TWO 90 PROJECT, UH, STAFF JUST TREATED THE EXISTING TOPOGRAPHY AS IF IT WERE NATURALLY OCCURRING AND SAID, OKAY, THIS IS THE TOPOGRAPHY OR WHATEVER GRADING YOU'RE GONNA DO.
WE'RE COUNTING THAT GRADING, YOU KNOW, EVERY FOOT OF GRADING IS A FOOT OF GRADING.
AND WE'RE GONNA COUNT THAT TOWARDS THE VARIANCE, SIR.
SIR, SIR, APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME TO DO THAT.
I DO THAT AND I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION, UM, THAT HASN'T BEEN ASKED YET.
I WAS CURIOUS IF IT'S BEEN, UM, LIKE IF YOU HAVE LOOKED AT LIKE THE DIFFERENT ANIMAL LIFE THAT'S IN THAT AREA, OR IF THERE'S ANY SENSITIVE, UH, SPECIES THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF.
I AM NOT AWARE OF ANY, UH, UH, ANY SENSITIVE SPECIES IN THAT AREA.
UM, SO LOOKING AT THE ACTUAL, UH, AND, AND THAT IS A, AN VERY IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION.
THAT IS NOT A CONSIDERATION THAT THE CODE GIVES ME THE AUTHORITY TO, TO CONSIDER, UNFORTUNATELY.
SO I DID NOT LOOK INTO THE, THE, UH, ANIMALS IN, IN THAT AREA.
UM, WITH REGARD TO ENDANGERED SPECIES, THE ONLY AUTHORITY THAT, THAT THE CODE GIVES CITY STAFF IS TO REQUIRE THE APPLICANT.
IF THEY'RE, IF THEY'RE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES SURVEY AREA, THEY MUST NOTIFY THE APPROPRIATE, UM, AUTHORITY, WHETHER IT'S GOVERNMENT OR BCP, UM, OR, SORRY, EXCUSE ME, WHETHER IT'S COUNTY OR FEDERAL OR BCP.
SO, SO IN THE EVENT THAT THERE'S ENDANGERED SPECIES, WE TELL, WE TELL THE APPLICANT, HEY, NOTIFY THE REGULATING AUTHORITY, WHICH IS NOT THE CITY IN THIS CASE THAT YOU'RE DOING THIS WORK, UH, COPY US ON THAT EMAIL AND WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN YOU AND THAT AUTHORITY IS BETWEEN YOU THAT AUTHORITY AND WE HAVE NO MORE INPUT INTO IT.
SO, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANY ENDANGERED SPECIES ON THIS PROPERTY.
UM, SO THAT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED ON THIS PROPERTY.
AND THEN, UM, AND THEN AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL ANIMAL LIFE, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO, TO, UM, REGULATE FOR.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN WE DO MAKE OUR COMMENTS ON THE REVIEWS, WE HAVE TO GIVE THE CODE CITATION AS WELL.
AND IF WE DON'T, THE APPLICANT WILL BE CALLING US ASKING US WHAT, WHERE WE COME UP WITH THAT.
J JUST REALLY QUICK TO ADD TO THAT, WE DID DO THAT STUDY AND NOTHING CAME BACK POSITIVE.
UM, I, I JUST WANNA MAKE ONE POINT TOO, THAT, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS THE ZONING GOES, IT HAS THE NP EXTENSION, WHICH MEANS THAT THIS AREA HAS BEEN THROUGH A NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN.
SO THE ZONING, I ASSUME, WENT THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ALSO.
SO IT'S AN ACCEPTABLE ZONING WITH REGARD TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN.
AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN MAY, UH, APPENDAGE MAY MEAN THAT THERE WERE ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS ADDED TO THE PROPERTY.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN.
UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC? OH, WAS THAT THETE QUESTION? I, I DO.
YEAH, I, I WROTE IT DOWN, BUT I DIDN'T ASK IT.
UM, ARE Y'ALL PLANNING ON USING, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY, UH, DESIGN AND GLASS ON THIS PROJECT? YEAH, WE HAVE THE ARCHITECT LOOKING AT IT, FRE OPTIONS ON THAT GLASS RIGHT NOW.
WE, WE DO HAVE LIMITED GLASS IN THE BUILDINGS TO BEGIN WITH, SO IT'S NOT A BIG AREA, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT THE FRI OPTION.
UH, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING MOTION BY PRIMER? SECOND.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS.
AND DO WE HAVE A MOTION? WE DO.
STANE PARK, SPC DASH 2 0 2 3 DASH 0 1 1 0 C.
UH, WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UH, RECOGNIZES THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING ONE TO FILL, UM,
[03:35:01]
UP TO 23 FEET.UM, LDC 25 DASH EIGHT DASH 3 4 2.
MAKE SURE I GET THAT TWO ON THERE.
UM,
AND THAT IS LDC UH, TWO FIVE DASH EIGHT DASH THREE.
WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES THE SITE IS LOCATED IN THE WILLIAMSON CREEK SUBURBAN DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE.
AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOGNIZES ITS STAFF RECOMMENDS THE VARIANCE WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS, NUMBER ONE, PARKING LOT TREES SHALL HAVE A MINIMUM DIAMETER OF TWO INCHES TO PROVIDE 25 ADDITIONAL STREET YARD TREES, UH, WITH A DIAMETER OF AT LEAST THREE INCHES EACH THREE INCREASE WETLAND PLANTINGS BY 10% BASED ON THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF, UH, MITIGATION REQUIRED USING PLANTS APPROVED BY THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
FOUR, ALL CUT AND FILL OVER EIGHT FEET WILL BE CONTAINED, UM, WITH ROCK RETAINING WALLS WITH A NATURAL STONE SURFACE.
FIVE RESTORATION PLANTINGS WITHIN THE CREEK BEFORE AND AFTER THE BYPASS.
WATERSHED PROTECTION APPROVED WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, UM, SIX INCREASED PLANTINGS IN DISTURBED CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE AREAS BY 50% AS MINIMALLY REQUIRED BY 6 0 9 S IN THE VICINITY OF THE BRIDGE ABUTMENT.
AS INDICATED IN THE SITE PLAN, THE 50% REQUIREMENT CAN BE ADDRESSED BY PROVIDING A LARGER MITIGATION AREA OR BY PROVIDING MORE DENSE PLANTINGS.
AND SEVEN, A TREE SHADED OUTDOOR SEATING AREA WILL BE PROVIDED TO ENCOURAGE, UH, EMPLOYEES TO TAKE THEIR BREAKS ON SITE RATHER THAN DRIVING TO OTHER LOCATIONS.
THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE VARIANCE REQUESTS WITH THE FOLLOWING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS.
AND I DID NOT HEAR ANY CONDITIONS, BUT I WILL ADD THEM IF YOU WOULD LIKE FOR ME TO ADD THEM NOW.
OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE ALL THOSE WELL, OH, OH YEAH.
WELL, NO, WEREN'T YOU GONNA ADD CONDITIONS? NO, I WAS ASKING IF THERE WERE ANY.
UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS.
WE HAVE NICHOLS AND WE HAVE SULLIVAN.
ALL THOSE AGAINST THE MOTION WE HAVE BRIMER, BRISTOL, BEDFORD, UH, EINHORN, QURESHI AND KRUEGER MOTION, UH, FAILS.
OKAY, WE'RE ALMOST THERE GUYS.
[6. Staff briefing on Environmental Inspection Practices – Elaine Garrett, Assistant Director, and Brian Eagan, Division Manager, Development Services Department]
BRIEFING, UM, ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTION PRACTICES.ELAINE GARRETT, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND, UM, BRIAN EGAN, DIVISION, UH, MANAGER.
DO YOU HAVE A STAFF PRESENTATION? UM, READY WHILE WE'RE WAITING, I WANNA SAY THANKS FOR WAITING SO LONG.
YOU HAVE OUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION.
YOU HAVE OUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION.
WAIT, WE DON'T HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT.
[03:40:14]
ARE WE BRINGING UP THE PRESENTATION? JUST WANNA SAY HAPPY GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL DAY TO EVERYBODY.ARE WE WAITING? I KNOW, THAT'S WHY I GET THE NOTES.
ARE ARE, DID Y'ALL SAY THAT WE WERE WAITING FOR SOME MORE MEMBERS TO COME BACK IN? OH NO.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE A QUORUM, SO YOU COULD PROCEED.
UH, WELL, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.
I'M AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
UH, WE ARE, PART OF MY OVERSIGHT IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP, UH, THAT THE TEAM THAT WORKS OVER ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTIONS TONIGHT.
UM, HOPE WE'LL BE PRESENTING TO YOU AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE TEAM DOES.
UM, WITH ME IS BRIAN EGAN, THE MANAGER OVER THAT PROGRAM.
UM, STARTING OFF, YOU KNOW, THIS DIVISION HANDLES, UH, FIVE DIFFERENT UNITS AND THOSE UNITS, UM, WITH THE ADDITION OF THE NEWEST ONE IS BOAT DOCKS, BUT IT COVERS RESIDENTIAL TREE AND EN ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTIONS, COMMERCIAL TREE AND ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTIONS WITH GENERAL PERMIT REQUIREMENTS.
UH, IT ALSO INCLUDES THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT GROUP AND UNDERGROUND STORAGE, UH, TANK, UH, GROUP, UH, TEAM THAT, THAT GOES INSPECTIONS.
AND AS I SAID, UH, WE RECENTLY INHERITED THE BOAT DOCKS AND BOAT DOCK REGISTRATIONS INTO THIS PROGRAM.
AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, IT'S, UH, YOU SEE THERE'S TERRITORIES DIVIDED, UM, COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL.
YOU'LL SEE THERE'S 10 TERRITORIES FOR THE COMMERCIAL.
IT PRETTY MUCH MATCHES THE NUMBER OF INSPECTORS FOR THE COMMERCIAL AREA AS WELL AS THE RESIDENTIAL HAS EIGHT, EIGHT SECTIONS.
SO THIS, THIS TEAM, THIS DIVISION, A REALLY BUSY TEAM, UH, THEY DO A LOT OF SERVICES AND PART OF THAT IS TO EVALUATE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION CONTROLS AND TREAT PRESERVATION.
AND WE'RE TALKING CITYWIDE, OBVIOUSLY, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE, UH, ET UH, YEAH, ETJ.
UH, THEY ALSO ACCESS COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN ORDINANCES AND REVIEW DRAINAGE FACILITIES AND OTHER SITE IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, SOME OF THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE, UM, AS I SAID, THEY IDENTIFY LOCATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVE RESOURCES, UH, WHICH IS A MAJOR, UH, ROLE OF WHAT THEY DO, PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EDUCATION TO, TO THE COMMUNITY.
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, DEVELOPERS, UH, ON ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING CODE REQUIREMENTS, ORDINANCES AND REGULATIONS, UH, WITH THE ENFORCEMENT TEAM.
THIS ALSO INCLUDES WHEN THEY TAKE ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.
UH, THOSE ACTIONS ARE INCLUDED OF PROVIDING TESTIMONY IN COURT WHEN THEY GO FOR ENFORCEMENT CASES, AND THEY ISSUE DIRECTIVES AND INITIATIVE, UH, ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS FOR NON-COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL AND DRAINAGE REGULATIONS.
OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE LOOKING FOR COMPLIANCE AND THAT'S WHAT WE TRY TO OBTAIN.
BUT AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER, SOMETIMES IT HAS TO ESCALATE TO THE ENFORCEMENT TO PROVIDE YOU MORE DETAIL IN WHAT THEY DO.
AND HOW THEY DO IT IS, UH, BRIAN EAGAN.
UH, THIS IS MY FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO COME BEFORE THE COMMISSION, SINCE I ASSUME THIS ROLE IN MARCH OF 23.
I WANNA TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU FOR INVITING US THIS EVENING, UM, TO PROVIDE YOU THIS OVERVIEW OF WHAT OUR DIVISION DOES AND THE SERVICES THAT WE ACTUALLY PROVIDE TO BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO ON THIS SLIDE YOU'LL SEE, UM, THE HEADING TEMPORARY EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION CONTROLS.
SO WHAT IS THIS? SO THE EFCS THAT WE REFER TO AS, UM, IS THE PRACTICE OF PREVENTING OR REDUCING THE MOVEMENT OF SEDIMENT FROM A SITE DURING CONSTRUCTION.
[03:45:02]
NOW, HOW DOES THIS WORK? WE USE IMPLE IMPLEMENTATION OF MANMADE OR HUMAN MADE STRUCTURES, UH, LAND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES OR NATURAL PROCESSES.WHERE IS THIS INSTALLED? SO THE ESCS OR THE SEDIMENTATION CONTROLS ARE ACTUALLY INSTALLED AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE CONSTRUCTION SITE.
SO THIS SLIDE'S GONNA GO INTO THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ESCS OR EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION CONTROLS THAT WE USE OR THAT ARE ALLOWED TO BE USED AUTHORIZED HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO THE FIRST ONE YOU SEE ON THE TOP RIGHT IS A SILT FENCE, AND THAT'S ACTUALLY A FABRIC, UM, FILTER SUPPORT, WHICH IS SUPPORTED BY WELDED WIRE AND IT'S ANCHORED BY T POSTS INTO THE GROUND.
AND THAT SILT FENCE WILL ACTUALLY COLLECT WATER THAT'S TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM THAT SITE WITH SEDIMENT.
AND IT'S DESIGNED TO ACTUALLY HOLD BACK THAT WATER AND SLOWLY FILTER OUT THAT WATER OFF THE SITE WHILE IT HOLDS BACK THE SEDIMENT.
THE NEXT ITEM WE HAVE IN THE MIDDLE? NO, CAN YOU GO? YES.
SO ON THE MIDDLE RIGHT YOU'LL SEE WHAT WE REFER TO AS, AS A MULCH SOCK, AND THAT'S AN ACTUAL MESH TUBE, WHICH IS FILLED WITH A NATURAL WOOD OR MULCH.
THAT MULCH SOCK CAN ACTUALLY BE USED AND IS OFTEN USED ON SMALLER, UH, RESIDENTIAL SITES TO PREVENT SEDIMENT FROM LEAVING MAYBE FROM THE FRONT OF THAT PROPERTY OVER THE CURB OR, OR INTO THE STREET.
THE THIRD ITEM YOU SEE THERE ON THE RIGHT IS A TRIANGULAR FILTER D**E.
THAT'S A PREFABRICATED TRI D**E.
UH, THAT'S ANOTHER STRUCTURE THAT WE ALLOW, AND THAT YOU'LL SEE AS YOU DRIVE THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT'S USED AS A SEDIMENTATION CONTROL.
SO ANOTHER CONTROL THAT WE USE IS WHAT'S REFERRED TO AS A STABILIZED CONSTRUCTION ENTRANCE.
THE PURPOSE OF THE STABILIZED CONSTRUCTION INTEREST IS TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THE TRACKING OR DEPOSITION OF SEDIMENT ONTO THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY ON THE STREET ALLEY SIDEWALK OR PARKING AREAS.
SO THAT STABILIZED CONSTRUCTION ENTRANCES.
AGAIN, IF, IF YOU'RE AROUND THE CITY AND YOU SEE ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION SITES, YOU'LL SEE WHAT WE REFER TO AS THE BULL ROCK AT THAT ENTRANCE.
AND IT'S THE LARGE THREE THREE INCH ROCK THAT'S PLACED FROM THE CURB INWARDS INTO THAT SITE.
AND WHAT THAT DOES IS WHEN LARGE VEHICLE, LARGE TRUCKS OR CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT LEAVE THAT SITE, IT, UM, REMOVES THE SEDIMENT FROM THE TIRES SO YOU DON'T GET THAT TRACKING OF SEDIMENT OUT ONTO THE STREET.
SO ALL TREES BRUSH STUMPS, OBSTRUCTIONS AND, AND OTHER OBJECTIONABLE MATERIALS SHALL BE REMOVED AND DISPOSED OF IN A MANNER THAT WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH THE EXCAVATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE ENTRANCE AS INDICATED ON THE DRAWINGS OR AS PRESENTED IN STANDARD DETAILS.
SO THIS GOES INTO FURTHER DETAIL, UM, REGARDING THE STABILIZED CONSTRUCTION ENTRANCES THAT WE AUTHORIZE HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THIS LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON THE SILT FENCE AND BASICALLY THE SILT FENCE THAT YOU SEE, THE BLACK FABRIC IS A NON-WOVEN FABRIC FILTER MATERIAL, WHICH AS I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, IT'S SUPPORTED, WHICH YOU SEE ON THE FAR RIGHT OF THAT DIAGRAM BY A WELDED WIRE FABRIC.
AND IT'S ANCHORED, UM, INTO THE GROUND AND SUPPORTED, LIKE I SAID, PREVIOUSLY BY T POST STEEL T POSTS.
THE SILT FENCE MUST BE AT LEAST 24 INCHES HIGH WITH FABRIC FACING TOWARDS THE ANTICIPATED FLOW.
THE POSTS ARE EMBEDDED AT LEAST 12 INCHES IN THE GROUND AND NO MORE THAN EIGHT FEET APART WHEN INSTALLED ON IMPERVIOUS COVERAGE.
THE BOTTOM FLAP SHOULD BE EXTENDED UPSTREAM.
SO THAT FLAP, WE REQUIRE THAT IT'S ACTUALLY TRENCHED IN AND EXTENDED UPSTREAM SO THAT IT DOES NOT ALLOW THE WATER TO ESCAPE UNDERNEATH THAT FENCE.
IT'S ABLE TO TRAP THAT WATER, SLOWLY FILTER IT AND FILTER OUT THE SEDIMENT ON THAT SITE.
THE VERTICAL JOINTS ARE OVERLAP.
SO WHEN YOU HAVE AND AND END IN THE BEGINNING OF A NEW SILT FENCE, THAT'S THE VERTICAL JOINT.
AND WE REQUIRE A 12 INCH OVERLAP ON THAT ON THE SITE.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR INSPECTION STAFF IS LOOKING AT EVERY DAY ON THESE, ON THESE SITES, THE END OF THE SILT FENCE TURNS BACK INTO A HOOK LIKE YOU SEE ON THE FAR LEFT THERE.
LONG SECTIONS INCORPORATE J HOOKS
[03:50:01]
AS NEEDED TO CAPTURE SEDIMENT UPHILL, ESPECIALLY ON THE SLOPES.THE NEXT SLIDE THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT ARE THE MULCH SOCKS.
AND AS I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, YOU'LL SEE THESE OFTEN ON A SMALLER, UH, RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION SITE, A LOT OF TIMES RIGHT ALONG THE EDGE OF A DRIVEWAY WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO PREVENT ANY SEDIMENT FROM ROLLING OVER THE CURB AND INTO THE CURB OR GUTTER.
SO THE MULCH SAW CONSISTS OF MATERIAL ENCASED IN A 12 INCH OR 18 INCH DIAMETER TUBE OF MESH AND PROVIDES ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE ALTERNATIVES TO THE SILT FENCING.
SO BASICALLY THIS IS ANOTHER FORM THAT WE AUTHORIZED TO USE, UM, BASED ON THE CONDITIONS ON THAT SITE.
SOMETIMES THE CONDITIONS CALL OUT FOR A SILT FENCE.
SOMETIMES THEY MIGHT CALL OUT AND IT MIGHT BE MORE FEASIBLE TO ACTUALLY USE, UM, A MULCH SOCK.
SO THE MULCH MATERIAL, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, CONSISTS OF A SHREDDED BARK, AND THAT'S IT ACTUALLY ENCASED WITHIN THAT, UM, MATERIAL.
THE SOCK, IT STUMP GRINDINGS OR COMPOSED BARK.
IT'S PRODUCED FROM THREE INCH MINUS SCREENING PROCESS.
AND AGAIN, WE DO NOT ALLOW HAY OR STRAW.
THE ENDS OF THE ADJACENT SOCKS OVERLAP A MINIMUM OF 12 INCHES AS WELL TO PREVENT WATER OR, UM, ANY LIQUID CARRYING SEDIMENT FROM LEAVING THAT ACTUAL SITE.
IT'S INSTALLED USING STEEL OR WOOD POST AT A MINIMUM OF 48 INCHES IN HEIGHT.
AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY, WE REQUIRE THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY DRIVEN 24 INCHES INTO THE GROUND SO THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WITH A HEAVY RAIN FLOW OR A TWO YEAR EVENT OR MORE, THAT THAT MULCH SOCK WILL ACTUALLY STAY IN PLACE, UM, THAT THOSE POSTS WILL ACTUALLY SUPPORT THAT.
MULCH SOCKS ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO BE USED ON SLOPES GREATER THAN A TWO TO ONE, UM, OR IN CONCENTRATED FLOW AREAS.
AND THAT'S, THAT REQUIREMENT IS SET FORTH BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES THE HEAVY VOLUME OF WATER THAT'S FLOWING, UM, THE MULCH SOCK WILL ACTUALLY FAIL AND NOT PREVENT THAT SEDIMENT FROM LEAVING THAT SITE.
THE TRIANGULAR SEDIMENT FILTER D**E I MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS IS TYPICALLY EASIER AND FASTER TO INSTALL THAN THE OTHER ESCS THAT YOU'LL SEE ON SITES.
THE, UM, TRIANGULAR FILTER D***S ARE PREFABRICATED FROM A WELDED STEEL IN MESH WITH A NON-WOVEN FABRIC.
YOU DON'T SEE THESE AS OFTEN BECAUSE GRANTED, THEY ARE EASIER TO INSTALL ON THE SITE.
IT IS A COSTLIER, UM, PRODUCT FOR THE BUILDERS TO USE.
AND WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
NEXT THING WE HAVE IS WATER QUALITY CONTROLS.
AND THIS IS WHERE WE HAVE, UM, STORM WATER HAS SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON THE WATER QUALITY OF AUSTIN'S CREEKS AND THE COLORADO RIVER.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED FOR THE LAST COUPLE HOURS HERE, UM, WITH THE COMMISSION.
SO YOU'RE VERY AWARE OF THIS, THE GOALS.
SO BASICALLY THE GOALS, UM, WE OPERATE UNDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL.
AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO FOR WATER QUALITY IS MINIMIZE THE NON-POINT SURFACE POLLUTANTS IN THE STORM WATER.
WE'RE TRYING TO HELP ENHANCE THE WATER QUALITY HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND EVERYTHING DOWNSTREAM OF AUSTIN BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DO HERE, AS IT ENDS UP IN, IN THE WATERWAYS, IT'S NOT JUST AFFECTING AUSTIN, IT'S AFFECTING EVERYTHING DOWNSTREAM.
SO THE DESIGN FOR LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE, THE CONTROLS ARE DESIGNED TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY BY REMOVING SUSPENDED PARTICULATE MATTER AND CONSTITUENTS SUCH AS BACTERIA, NUTRIENTS, AND METALS.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP AS MUCH SEDIMENT OUT AS WE CAN.
LET ME JUST INTERRUPT REAL QUICK.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A MOTION TO EXTEND THE TIME TO, UM, 10 15 SECOND.
OKAY, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS.
OKAY, MOTION PASSES, CONTINUE.
UM, THE NEXT SLIDE YOU SEE HERE IS TREE PROTECTION.
AND I, I WANT TO GO BACK REAL QUICK.
I DIDN'T MENTION EARLIER ON THE THREE TYPES THAT I SHOWED YOU ON THE ESCS.
IT, IT SHOWS THE SILT FENCE, THE MULCH SOCK, AND THE TRI, THE TRI D***S.
THAT'S AN ACTUAL, WHAT WE CALL A POSTCARD.
SO IT'S, IT'S PRINTED UP IN COLOR ON STOCK ON AN EIGHT AND A HALF BY FIVE AND A HALF THAT OUR STAFF WILL ACTUALLY PROVIDE TO THE
[03:55:01]
PROPERTY OWNER OR THE BUILDER DEVELOPER, WHOEVER WE'RE ACTUALLY CONDUCTING A PRE-CONSTRUCTION MEETING WITH.WE ACTUALLY PROVIDE THAT LITERATURE ALONG WITH THIS.
NEXT SLIDE IS A, UM, CARD STOCK THAT WAS ACTUALLY DESIGNED BY THE TREE PRESERVATION GROUP, CITY ARBOR GROUP.
UM, SO WE COLLABORATE WITH THEM.
THIS IS ALSO ON CARD STOCK, PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THING.
IT'S A EIGHT AND A HALF BY FIVE AND A HALF, HALF PAGE, WHAT WE CALL POSTCARD.
AND WE PROVIDE THIS, UM, ON SITE DURING THE PRE-CONSTRUCTION MEETING.
AND TO ANYONE ELSE THAT HAS QUESTIONS, IF EVEN IF IT'S NOT A PRECON MEETING, IF, IF WE SEE A, A TREE COMPANY OUT THERE DOING TREE WORK AND WE HAVE TO INTERVENE, UM, THIS TREE PROTECTION CARD THAT YOU SEE HERE, IT BASICALLY LAYS OUT THE CRZ OR THE CRITICAL ROOT ZONE FOR PROTECTED TREES HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND WHAT WE DID HERE IS YOU SEE THE SPLIT SCREEN ON THAT ONE SIDE OF THE CARD IS IN ENGLISH AND ONE SIDE IS IN SPANISH.
AND LIKE I SAID, THAT'S PROVIDED TO DEVELOPERS, BUILDERS, WORKERS, ANYONE ON THAT SITE THAT WE HAPPEN TO COME INTO CONTACT WITH.
SO THIS POSTCARD BASICALLY LABELS OUT EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CRZ OR THE CRITICAL ROOT ZONE OF, OF A PROTECTED OR HERITAGE TREE HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO THIS SLIDE IS GONNA SHOW YOU NUMBERS, AND THESE ARE METRICS FROM FY FISCAL YEAR 23 THAT, THAT OUR DIVISION, UM, CONDUCTED.
SO ON ROUTINE INSPECTIONS, THE, FOR THE RESIDENTIAL TEAM ON A MONTHLY BASIS, WE CONDUCTED AN AVERAGE OF 1,390 ROUTINE INSPECTIONS.
NOW, KEEP IN MIND THAT'S BEING DONE.
WE HAVE EIGHT INSPECTORS ON THE RESIDENTIAL TEAM BROKEN UP INTO EIGHT JURISDICTIONAL AREAS OR TERRITORIES IN, IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, THE AVERAGE MONTHLY WAS 1,486 INSPECTIONS, AND THAT'S BEING CONDUCTED CURRENTLY WITH 10 INSPECTORS CALLED INSPECTIONS.
JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE MORE DETAIL HERE, A CALLED INSPECTION COULD BE A BUILDER OR A PROPERTY OWNER CALLING FOR PRE-CONSTRUCTION MEETING, OR THEY'RE CALLING FOR AN INTERIM, UM, TREE INSPECTION OR A PREPO WHERE THEY'RE HAVING TO DO A CANTILEVER FOUNDATION BECAUSE OF A, AN ALTERNATE MEANS OF, UM, COMPLIANCE AS FAR AS THE DESIGN FOR A FOUNDATION WHERE THEY'RE BEING REQUIRED TO DO A CANTILEVERED FOUNDATION OVER THE CRZ BECAUSE WE WANNA SAVE THE TREES.
SO WE'RE USING ALTERNATIVE MEANS, UM, THROUGH TREE REVIEW TO ACTUALLY APPROVE THEIR DEVELOPMENT WITH THE CONDITION THAT THEY DO A CANTILEVERED FOUNDATION SO THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY LEAVING AN AIR GAP OR SPACE SO THAT THE FOUNDATION IS BUILT AND DESIGNED ABOVE GROUND OVER THAT CRITICAL ROOT ZONE OF THAT TREE.
SO IT'S NOT IMPACTING THE CRZ.
UM, SO FOR THE CALLS RESIDENTIAL TEAM ON A MONTHLY BASIS AVERAGED ABOUT 878 CALLED INSPECTIONS WITH THE COMMERCIAL SIDE AVERAGING ABOUT 272.
NOW MOVING OVER TO, TO OUR ENFORCEMENT, WE CURRENTLY HAVE FOUR ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FOR THE ENTIRE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND THOSE ARE BROKEN UP ALSO INTO FORD TERRITORIAL JURISDICTIONS.
UM, THE 3 1 1 COMPLAINTS, OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM BASICALLY RESPONDS TO 3 1 1 COMPLAINTS, UM, OR CUSTOMER SERVICE REQUESTS THAT COME IN THROUGH THE 3 1 1 PLATFORM.
AND WE HAD A TOTAL OF 2020 CUSTOMER SERVICE REQUESTS THAT CAME IN FOR FY 23.
THOSE CAN COME IN FOR ANYWHERE FROM A TREE REMOVAL IMPACTS TO A TREE, DAMAGE TO A TREE, UM, ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION SITES THAT DON'T HAVE EROSION SEDIMENTATION CONTROLS, UM, OR A LACK THEREOF OR AN ACTIVE DISCHARGE.
THERE'S A, A COMPLETE WIDE SPECTRUM OF WHAT OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM RESPONDS TO, INCLUDING, UM, DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT A SITE PLAN.
SO HERE I HAVE BROKEN DOWN FOR YOU SOME NUMBERS OF ENFORCEMENT OF NON-COMPLIANCE A ACROSS THE CITY.
THIS IS WITHIN, UM, FULL JURISDICTION OF THE CITY, BUT THIS ALSO INCLUDES AREAS OF THE ETJ
[04:00:01]
WHERE WE ENFORCE.SO PER MUNI CODE 25 1,441 CITY INSPECTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS AND CAN TAKE ENFORCEMENT ACTION FOR NON-COMPLIANCE WITH EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION REQUIREMENTS OR TREE PROTECTIONS, OR I SHOULD SAY LACK OF TREE PROTECTIONS ON A PROJECT SITE.
SO FOR WHAT I DID HERE, WE HAVE A BREAKDOWN, A COMPARISON FROM FY 22 TO FY 23 TO SHOW YOU THE INCREASE IN, IN THE VOLUME OF WORK OF WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO TYPE OF ENFORCEMENT, WE HAVE WHAT'S, WHAT'S CALLED A VERBAL WARNING, UM, FY 22.
WE WERE AT 1738 FOR OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM IN 23 THAT INCREASED TO 2038.
VERBAL WARNINGS WERE ISSUED WRITTEN WARNINGS, WHICH ACTUALLY COME WITH A FEE.
UM, WE'RE AT 7 12 712 TOTAL WRITTEN WARNINGS FOR FY 22 THAT INCREASED TO 950 IN FY 23 STOP WORK ORDERS ACTUALLY INCREASED FROM 154 IN FY 22 TO 200 IN FY 23.
AND THAT STOP WORK ORDER WILL ACTUALLY STOP WORK ON A SITE, UM, STOP ANY DEVELOPMENT THAT'S OCCURRING BASED ON A VIOLATION ON THAT SITE.
THE CITATIONS AND AFFIDAVITS ARE ISSUED BY OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM AND OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM ONLY.
UM, CITATIONS ARE ISSUED ON SITE FOR PRIORITY VIOLATIONS, ACTIVE DISCHARGES, TREE REMOVALS IMPACTS TO A TREE WITHOUT A PERMIT.
WE'LL ISSUE ON THOSE PRIORITY VIOLATIONS.
WE FILE AFFIDAVITS WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN MUNICIPAL COURT AND WE FOLLOW THAT CASE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE MUNICIPAL CA UH, MUNICIPAL COURT SYSTEM.
SO ANOTHER JOB THAT WE DO HERE WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENTAL DIVISION IS WE CONDUCT MONTHLY LUNCH AND LEARNS, AND WE WILL CONDUCT THEM HERE IN THIS EVENT CENTER AND SOME OF THE EVENT CENTERS BEHIND US.
UM, WHAT WE DO IS WE INVITE ALL STAKEHOLDERS.
WE INVITE PRIVATE CITIZENS, WE INVITE BUILDERS, DEVELOPERS, CONTRACTORS, AND WE CONDUCT THESE LUNCH AND LEARNS ON ENFORCEMENT ON ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTION PROCESS.
WE HAVE IT TAILORED DOWN TO RESIDENTIAL INSPECTIONS, COMMERCIAL INSPECTIONS, AND NOW MOST CURRENTLY ON BOAT DOCK INSPECTIONS.
AS ELAINE, MY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR MENTIONED EARLIER, THE BOAT DOCK REGISTRATION PROGRAM, WHICH WAS CURRENTLY WITH AUSTIN CODE, TRANSITIONED OVER, UM, TO THE EN ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT DIVISION BACK IN OCTOBER OF 23.
SO WE'VE TAKEN OVER THAT PROGRAM AS WELL.
WHAT WE DO IS WE PROVIDE BOTH DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL LITERATURE TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS.
UM, ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS SOME, AN INITIATIVE THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON NOW, UM, FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS, IS I'M WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM HERE AT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, AND I'M HAVING THAT TEAM PUT TOGETHER A LIST OF ALL OF OUR HOAS WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND I, WE'RE GONNA SEND OUT A MASS EMAIL AND MAILING TO THOSE HOAS TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THEM TO ACTUALLY OFFER THEM THE ABILITY TO INVITE US TO COME OUT TO ONE OF THEIR MEETINGS SO THAT WE COULD PROVIDE IN THE EVENING ONE OF THESE, UM, EDUCATIONAL, UM, SESSIONS THAT WE OFFER DURING THE DAY, GENERALLY 1130, UH, HERE AT THE PDC.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SETTING UP NOW AND, AND ORGANIZING SO THAT WE CAN COLLAB, COLLABORATE WITH THE HOA AND ACTUALLY GO OUT THERE ON SITE WITH THEM TO PROVIDE, TO PROVIDE THIS SERVICE AND EDUCATION TO THEM.
SO WHAT THIS SHOWS YOU IS A BREAKDOWN OF OUR STAFFING LEVELS.
I'VE KIND OF GONE OVER THIS THROUGH THE SLIDES PREVIOUSLY, BUT JUST TO REITERATE, WE CURRENTLY HAVE FOUR SUPERVISORS ON IN OUR DIVISION THAT, THAT MANAGE THE FOUR TEAMS. UM, THE WAY THAT'S BROKEN DOWN, WE HAVE ONE INSPECTOR WHICH HANDLES, UM, ALL THE BOAT DOCKS HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
WE HAVE FOUR ENFORCEMENT CURRENTLY, LIKE I MENTIONED, THEY RESPOND TO ALL THE 3 1 1 SERVICE REQUESTS.
AND THEN THE USTS, WHICH IS THE UNDERGROUND STORAGE
[04:05:01]
TANKS.IF FOR ANY OF YOU THAT DON'T KNOW, THE UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK IS UNDERGROUND TANKS, GENERALLY YOU'LL FIND THEM AT A GAS STATION.
UH, THEY CONTAIN AND HOLD THE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, THE GASOLINE OR THE DIESEL FUEL ON THAT SITE AT THE GAS STATION.
SO WE HAVE TWO INSPECTORS THAT RUN THAT PROGRAM AND MONITOR COMPLIANCE WITH, WITH THE PERMITS THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR THAT FACILITY.
FOR THE TANK RESIDENTIAL INSPECTORS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE EIGHT CITYWIDE FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL TEAM.
WE HAVE 10 INSPECTORS FOR THE COMMERCIAL TEAM, AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE ONE PERMANENT FULL-TIME ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST IN THE DIVISION.
OKAY, WHAT THIS GRAPH SHOWS YOU HERE QUICKLY, THE ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTIONS DIVISION IS, IS ONE OF THREE.
DSD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IS ONE OF THREE DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY THAT OPERATES UNDER A-T-C-A-Q PERMIT.
UM, ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTIONS DIVISION IS THAT DIVISION THAT OPERATES UNDER THIS PERMIT.
AND WE HAVE QUANTIFIABLE TARGETS THAT WE HAVE TO MEET TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THAT PERMIT.
ONE OF THOSE COM UM, QUANTIFIABLE TARGETS IS, IS OUR RESPONSE TIMES AND HOW WE ADDRESS THOSE INSPECTIONS AND WHAT THOSE TIMEFRAMES AND TIMELINES ARE.
SO WHAT THIS SHOWS YOU HERE, UM, I HAVE A BREAKDOWN AND WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT OVERALL, DSD ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATED 82% OF 3 1 1 SERVICE REQUESTS WITHIN A 24 HOUR PERIOD.
NOW, I HAVE A LITTLE BREAKDOWN HERE.
SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU IS, I MENTIONED EARLIER, I ASSUME THIS ROLE IN MARCH OF 23.
UM, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I DID WAS WITH THE APPROVAL AND AUTHORIZATION FROM EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT IS WE WORKED WITH 3 1 1 AND I WORKED TO MAKE PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS BECAUSE OUR NUMBERS WERE NOT WHERE I THOUGHT OUR NUMBERS SHOULD BE IN THIS DIVISION.
NOW GRANTED, WE'RE ON LIMITED STAFF WHEN I TELL YOU WE HAVE FOUR OFFICERS THAT'S, WE HAVE FOUR FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
SO I WANT TO TRY AND MAKE IT AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE IN THE PROCESSES THAT WE DO SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
SO THE BREAKDOWN, I SHOW YOU 3 1 1 ENHANCEMENTS WERE IMPLEMENTED ON MAY 5TH, 2023.
SO IT TOOK ME ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF TO MAKE THIS IMPROVEMENT WITH AUSTIN 3 1 1 WITH THE CSR SYSTEM.
ONE OF PART OF THAT IMPROVEMENT THAT WAS MADE WAS HOW OUR ENFORCEMENT STAFF AND OUR DIVISION ACTUALLY RECEIVES THAT 3 1 1 COMPLAINT.
WHAT WAS OCCURRING PREVIOUSLY IS THAT COMPLAINT OR THAT SERVICE REQUEST WAS GOING INTO A RESOURCE INBOX.
IT'S BASICALLY AN EMAIL BO INBOX.
WE HAD TO HAVE SOMEONE LOOK AT THAT EMAIL, FIGURE OUT WHO IT NEEDED TO GO TO PRIORITIZE IT AND SEND IT OUT TO WHAT ENFORCEMENT OFFICER NEEDED TO ENFORCE OR INVESTIGATE.
SO THE IMPROVEMENT WE MADE WAS WE GOT, WE GOT EACH OF THE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SET UP WITH CSR WHERE THEY WORKED DIRECTLY OUT OF THE CSR SYSTEM.
AND AS SOON AS THIS 3 1 1 COMPLAINT IS INITIATED BY A CITIZEN, SAY FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S A TREE BEING REMOVED WITHOUT A PERMIT, AS SOON AS THAT 3 1 1 COMPLAINT IS INITIATED, OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM GETS THAT EMAIL IN REAL TIME SO THEY CAN RESPOND TO THAT EMAIL RIGHT NOW.
SO THEY CAN GO OUT TO THAT SITE, CONDUCT AN INVESTIGATION, SO WE CAN CATCH THE TREE COMPANY IN THE MIDDLE OF REMOVING THAT TREE ILLEGALLY WITHOUT A PERMIT.
SO THIS WILL SHOW YOU FROM SEPTEMBER 30TH TO MAY 4TH.
WE WERE ONLY HITTING 72% OF OUR THREE ONE ONES IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD.
ONCE WE MADE THIS IMPROVEMENT WITH 3 1 1 FROM MAY 5TH TO SEPTEMBER 30TH TO 23, 90 9% OF THOSE 3 1 1 REQUESTS WERE BEING MET WITHIN 24 HOURS.
SO THAT WAS A GREAT IMPROVEMENT CITYWIDE LAST PAGE, WE'LL SHOW YOU THE REFERENCES AND RESOURCES TO EVERYTHING THAT WE REFERRED TO IN THE SITE, UM, REGARDING CODE AND WHAT WE ENFORCE AND WHY WE ENFORCE IT.
EVERYTHING THAT'S ENFORCED, UM, IS ENFORCED BASED ON CITY ORDINANCE OR CODE.
[04:10:02]
SO THAT'LL COMPLETE MY PART OF THE SLIDE PRESENTATION.DO YOU ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I'M GONNA MAKE A MOTION TO EXTEND TIME TO, UM, 10 25.
COMMISSIONER KRUEGER, DO YOU HAVE NO QUESTIONS? NONE FOR ME.
HEY, Y'ALL APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
DEFINITELY APPRECIATE Y'ALL STICKING AROUND FOR THIS.
HOPEFULLY THE CITY PAYS YOU MORE.
UM, UM, YEAH, SO, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY GREAT TO SEE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL HAVE REACHED SORT OF THIS NINE, 9%, UH, WITHIN 24 HOUR, UM, SORT OF INVESTIGATION RATE.
I WAS WONDERING, IT, IT MAY BE NICE TO SEE, I SAW THAT Y'ALL HAD LIKE A BREAKDOWN OF LIKE, HEY, THIS IS HOW MANY COMPLAINTS, RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, WHATEVER THIS IS, HOW MANY, YOU KNOW, UH, WERE RES WHAT PROCESS, WHAT STEP IN THE PROCESS THEY WERE RESOLVED IN.
AND THAT'S ALL GOOD INFORMATION.
I'M ALSO KIND OF CURIOUS, LIKE A BREAKDOWN OF THE COMPLAINTS.
LIKE WERE THERE ANY SORT OF LIKE COMMON THEMES, UH, YOU KNOW, OF THE COMPLAINTS? I THINK THAT MIGHT BE GOOD FOR, YOU KNOW, CITIZENS TO JUST, YOU KNOW, KNOW, LIKE, HEY, IF I'M SEEING THIS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S A COMMON 3 0 1 COMPLAINT, I SHOULD REPORT IT.
UM, SO THAT MIGHT BE NICE TO SEE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I ALSO THINK THEY WOULD BE GREAT IF Y'ALL COULD, YOU KNOW, SEND US INFORMATION ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING.
UH, SO THAT WAY WE CAN, YOU KNOW, KEEP UPDATED, UH, YOU KNOW, SORT OF ON WHAT Y'ALL ARE DOING AND CIRCULATE THAT WITHIN SORT OF OUR OWN NETWORKS, UH, AS WELL.
AND THEN MY LAST COMMENT, UH, OR A QUESTION RATHER, WOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE YOU PUT UP THE NUMBER OF, OF, UH, YOU KNOW, STAFF LEVEL THAT YOU'LL HAVE.
OBVIOUSLY THERE'S ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU COULD IMPROVE STAFFING ACROSS THE BOARD AND IT WOULD HELP.
BUT WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE MOST ACUTE NEEDS ARE, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT WE'RE IN SORT OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, BUDGET PREPARATION SEASON? UH, THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS.
UM, WELL, OBVIOUSLY MOST, MOST DEPARTMENTS ARE ALWAYS GONNA TELL YOU THEY NEED MORE STAFF, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE KNOW THAT THE CITY'S GROWING.
WE KNOW THAT, THAT WE'VE, WE'VE INHERITED MORE AND MORE SUBDIVISIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RECENTLY HAVE SEEN THOUGH, UH, OBVIOUSLY THROUGH THE LAST ELECTIONS WERE THAT, UH, I THINK THERE WAS THREE COMMUNITIES THAT VOTED OUT OF THE, THE DE ANNEXED, RIGHT? SO EVEN THOUGH THAT IMPACTS, IT STILL DOESN'T BALANCE WELL.
UH, SO AS I SAID, FOR THE MOST PART, MOST PEOPLE WOULD ALWAYS TELL YOU, YOU KNOW, BUDGET IS ALWAYS THE BIG THING AND ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW, UH, ECONOMICALLY.
BUT, UH, STAFFING IS ALWAYS, UM, SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR.
AND WHAT I'LL ADD TO THAT I CAN ABSOLUTELY PROVIDE, UM, MAYBE THROUGH LIZ AND KAYLA, THEY CAN HELP ASSIST.
ONCE WE GET THIS INFORMATION, UM, FINALIZED, THAT'S GONNA GO OUT TO THE HOAS, WE CAN PROVIDE THAT TO THE COMMISSION AS WELL.
UM, IN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, AS ELAINE SAID, YES, YOU'RE ALWAYS GOING TO HEAR WE NEED MORE STAFF, BUT WE NEED MORE STAFF.
IT IT, YOU SEE ON OUR ENFORCEMENT SIDE, WE'RE TALKING THE ENTIRE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT, IT'S, WHAT'S DIFFICULT IS I'VE SPENT THE LAST 15 MONTHS MAKING PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVER PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TO TRY TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THAT SERVICE TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS THAT THEY DESERVE.
AND I, I DON'T WANNA LEAVE A COMPLAINT SITTING IN THE QUEUE FOR TWO HOURS.
IF, IF WE GET A SERVICE REQUEST FOR A TREE REMOVAL, MY STAFF KNOWS WE NEED TO GET, THAT'S A PRIORITY.
AN ACTIVE DISCHARGE OR A TREE REMOVAL IS A PRIORITY.
DROP WHAT YOU'RE DOING, THAT'S WHERE YOU GO.
ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT THAT WAS MADE WAS TO THE ACTUAL 3 1 1 APP, WHICH JUST WENT LIVE ABOUT SIX WEEKS AGO.
AND WHAT WE DID WERE, MY ATTEMPT WAS TO TRY AND MAKE THIS APP MORE INTUITIVE FOR THE PUBLIC.
AND WE RENAMED THAT APP TO TREE AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLAINT.
WHAT I LEARNED IN WORKING WITH 3 1 1 WITH THIS TO, TO MAKE IT MORE INTUITIVE WAS HOW DIFFICULT IT IS BASED ON THE ACTUAL 3 1 1 APP AND THEIR SEARCH BAR OR SEARCH ENGINE THAT THEY USE WITHIN THAT APP.
WHAT I LEARNED WAS THIS APP IS ACTUALLY WHAT THEY REFER TO AS A LEARNING APP.
[04:15:01]
TYPES INTO THAT SEARCH BAR, TREE OR RESIDENTIAL TREE, THE MORE THAT SEARCH ENGINE IS GOING TO RECOGNIZE THAT AND DIRECT THEM STRAIGHT TO THAT SERVICE REQUEST INSTEAD OF HAVING TO GO DOWN THAT LIST.BECAUSE FOR ME, I SAID, LOOK, I'M TYPING IN TREE AND IT'S TAKEN ME TO RIGHT AWAY, OR IT'S TAKEN ME TO PARKS, I NEED A RESIDENTIAL SITE.
NOW I, I'M TRYING TO SEARCH THIS LIST.
AND THAT WAS WHAT WE FOUND FROM THE DEVELOPERS, THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS WITH 3 1 1 IS THAT IT IS A LEARNING APP AND THAT IT'S GONNA TAKE TIME AS CITIZENS CONTINUE TO USE THIS APP FOR THAT TO EVOLVE TO GET TO WHERE WE ACTUALLY NEED IT TO BE.
BUT SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS WE MADE THERE, WE PROVIDED ADDITIONAL VERBIAGE.
WE'VE ACTUALLY PROVIDED, UM, QUESTIONS IN THAT APP.
NOW, AN ACTIVE DISCHARGE OR A TREE REMOVAL, IS THIS OCCURRING NOW? OR, OR ARE YOU REPORTING SOMETHING THAT, THAT OCCURRED YESTERDAY AFTERNOON? BECAUSE WE NEED TO KNOW IF IT'S NOW IT'S A PRIORITY, I NEED TO GET OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM OUT THERE.
SO THOSE ARE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WERE MADE THAT, THAT WILL HELP IN THAT.
BUT AN ANSWER, LONG ANSWER, OUR ENFORCEMENT, OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM NEEDS HELP.
YOU CAN IMAGINE THE ENTIRE CITY OF AUSTIN WITH, WITH FOREIGN ENFORCEMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL, WE HAVE A BIG CITY TO COVER.
THERE'S DEVELOPMENT EVERYWHERE YOU GO.
COMMISSIONER IHORN, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN.
UM, WELL, I, I, MY, UM, EARS PERKED UP WHEN YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU WERE ONLY GONNA BE DEALING WITH HOAS HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATIONS.
WHAT ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS? I LIVE IN AN OLD NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO THEY, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
AND, AND I MAY, AND ALSO, I DON'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT, BUT ALSO THAT'S ONLY HOMEOWNERS.
WHAT ABOUT RENTERS? THAT'S, SO WHEN I MENTIONED I'M WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM, THAT'S SOMETHING THEY, THIS IS OUTSIDE OF MY WHEELHOUSE.
I NEEDED TO GO TO THEM, THAT THEY'RE THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS ON THIS.
I SAID, THIS IS WHAT I ULTIMATELY WANT OUR DIVISION TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY WORKING ON NOW.
SO LET ME ADD A LITTLE BIT TO THAT.
WE RECENTLY MERGED WITH THE CODE DEPARTMENT AS WELL.
AND SO, UH, WE WORKED DILIGENTLY WITH COMMUNITIES, NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOAS AS WELL, UH, EVEN WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES.
SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS ASSOCIATE IT AS WELL WITH THIS, SINCE I HAVE OVERSIGHT OF ALL OF THOSE GROUPS SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL ARE ENGAGING IN THE SAME WAY.
SO, UH, GENERALLY IT MAY HAVE SAID HOA, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT A LARGER SCOPE, RIGHT? I MEAN, I, I ENCOURAGE YOU LIKE, YOU KNOW, DEAL WITH THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD KNOW HOW MUCH, HOW MANY RENTERS THEY HAVE VERSUS HOMEOWNERS AND THE RENTERS NEED A LOT OF HELP WITH, WITH THESE THINGS TOO.
UM, SO I I I, I WISH THAT WE HAD PLANNED TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS SO THAT WE COULD, UM, MAKE A MOTION, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR Y'ALL TO HAVE MORE STAFF, UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF THE STAFF PRESENTATION, WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T DO THAT.
BUT, UH, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE, WE SUPPORT THAT AND WE HEAR YOU AND, UM, THANK YOU.
I MEAN, YOUR NUMBERS DEFINITELY SHOW IT.
AND SO HOPEFULLY COUNCIL SEES THAT TOO, UM, THAT YOU ARE SHOWING GREAT IMPROVEMENT, UM, AND, AND THAT WE HAVE A GREAT NEED.
UM, I CERTAINLY KNOW I SEE IT.
I AM, I'M PROBABLY, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, WELL, WHAT I WANNA CALL MYSELF A, UH, REPEAT, UH, CALLER ON, UH, ON SOME OF THESE THINGS.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR NUMBERS WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, ON THE VERBAL, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SIX PER DAY WRITTEN.
UH, THE STOP WORK ORDERS, THAT'S 0.5 PER DAY.
UM, THE CITATIONS AFFIDAVIT, THAT'S 0.5 PER DAY.
I MEAN, THAT'S A LOT IN ADDITION TO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SHEER NUMBERS, BUT THAT'S A LOT OF PAPERWORK EVERY DAY.
THAT'S A LOT OF VISITATIONS EVERY DAY.
SO I REALLY WANT YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE, UM, OUR SUPPORT IN THAT.
AND, AND I MEAN, YOU ARE THE, YOU'RE BASICALLY THE CONSUMER PROTECTION AGENCY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS THE HUMANS.
UM, I ALSO HAD THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION QUESTION ON THERE AND, UM, I WANNA PUT A CHALLENGE TO THE COMMISSIONERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL ARE MAKING CALLS ON THINGS, BUT, YOU
[04:20:01]
KNOW, UM, GET OUT THERE.DON'T BE AFRAID TO, TO CALL AND, AND AND, AND REPORT SOMETHING.
UM, AND WITH THE, I WAS JUST LOOKING AT THE THREE ONE APP APP, IT'S, IT'S EASIER THAN EVER.
UM, IT'S REALLY, REALLY GOOD TO USE.
AND I THINK WE NEED A SPECIALIST, UH, WHO IS RETAINING WALL INSPECTOR
ANYWAY, THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH FOR STAYING.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO EXTEND THE
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HANDS.
HEY, WE'VE HAD SOME LONG PRESENTATIONS.
LET ME GO AHEAD AND ASK MY QUESTION SO WE CAN HURRY UP.
ONE THING I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT, WELL, I WAS GONNA SUGGEST LIKE ALSO MAYBE REACH OUT TO CHURCHES.
'CAUSE LIKE A LOT OF TIMES COMMUNITY CHURCHES HAVE BEEN LIKE ESTABLISHED AND PEOPLE KNOW WHERE TO GO AND GET THEIR INFORMATION.
SO THAT COULD BE A GOODEXCELLENT RESOURCE AS WELL.
ALSO, UM, LIKE LONG-TERM RADIO STATIONS, LIKE I GREW UP LISTENING TO KAZI AND SO THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN LIKE A STAPLE IN LIKE, GETTING INFORMATION, ESPECIALLY TO LIKE THE BLACK COMMUNITY PEOPLE OF COLOR, RIGHT? SO THAT, UM, SO I MEAN, THAT'S WHY I ASKED FOR THAT.
AND WE CAN, WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION TO YOU ALL.
AND, UM, AH, THAT'S ALL I HAD FOR MY QUESTIONS, SO THANK IF, THANK YOU.
I THOUGHT YOU'RE LIKE RAISING YOUR HAND.
LEMME ASK ONE MORE QUESTION BECAUSE SOMETHING PIQUED MY INTEREST.
THE, THE EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION CONTROLS.
AND THIS MAY BE A QUESTION, UH, HOW, HOW FREQUENTLY DO WE REVIEW THOSE STANDARDS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SORT OF TRACKING AS CLIMATE CHANGE AND EXTREME WEATHER BECOMES MORE PREVALENT? UH, COMMISSIONER BRISTOL WILL REMEMBER THAT, UH, HAMILTON POOL WAS FOULED BY A FAILED SILT LINER IN THAT OCCURRED UP UP THE CREEK OF HAMILTON CREEK AND ALMOST DESTROYED ONE OF THE TREASURES OF TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THE PARKS DIRECTOR FOR TRAVIS COUNTY, HAVING BEEN IN THE HELICOPTER FLYING IN THE AIR AND SEEING AND BEING ABLE TO TRACK IT WHERE THE CHOCOLATE MILK STARTED, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHO HAD DONE THAT.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING HOW FREQUENTLY ARE THOSE STANDARDS UPDATED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE RESILIENT AND ARE THEY SET IN CODE? DOES TCQA STATUTE SET A FLOOR OR, YEAH.
SO THE EROSION SEDIMENTATION CONTROL, UH, SPECIFICATIONS ARE, UM, WITHIN OUR CRITERIA MANUALS.
UM, AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY GOOD INFORMATION ABOUT EACH TYPE OF CONTROL WHEN THEY ARE APPROPRIATE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF SLOPE IS REQUIRED, LIKE HOW, WHAT THE SPACING NEEDS TO BE, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE SLOPE IS AND, YOU KNOW, AND SO, YOU KNOW, OUR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWERS ON MIKE'S TEAM WILL, WILL LOOK AT THAT.
UM, AND WE HAVE ENGINEERS WHO ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, DO PROJECTS THEMSELVES, UM, AND SO HAVE IN THE FIELD EXPERIENCE ON THESE TYPE OF SPECIFICATIONS.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY ROUTINELY LOOK BACK AT THESE, BUT IT'S, IT IS A, UH, CONTINUOUS PROCESS TO UPDATE CRITERIA MANUALS WITH BEST, UH, AVAILABLE INFORMATION THAT WE, THAT WE HAVE.
SO, UM, YEAH, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GOOD, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UM, I, I MIGHT ADD TO THAT BRIEFLY.
I KNOW WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
UH, WE COLLABORATE EXTENSIVELY WITH THE CITY ARBORIST WITH TREE PRESERVATION GROUP, UM, IN REGARDS TO MAKING, UM, UPDATES TO THE ECM.
YOU LOOK AT OUR ORG CHART WHERE I MENTIONED WE HAVE, UM, FOUR SUPERVISORS.
SO I HAVE A SUPERVISOR OVER IN ENFORCEMENT, ONE OVER COMMERCIAL, ONE OVER RESIDENTIAL, THE FOUR SUPERVISORS OVER WHAT WE CALL SPECIAL PROJECTS.
AND SHE HANDLES OUR LUNCH AND LEARNS ALL OF OUR EDU INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EDUCATION.
BUT SHE'S ALSO, AS YOU KNOW, WITH ALL THE EXPANSIVE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, WE HAVE TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTS THAT ARE RAPIDLY CHANGING.
AND WHAT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE KEEPING ABREAST AND A BASICALLY, UM, I WANT TO KEEP AHEAD OF THE GAME.
THE, THE BUILDERS, THE DEVELOPERS, WE HAVE A LOT COMING FROM OUT OF STATE, BUT NO MATTER WHERE THEY'RE FROM, THEY'RE THROWING MONEY AT THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY AND THESE NEW PRODUCTS ON THESE SITES.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T, AS A CITY FALL BEHIND IN WHAT WE'RE ALLOWING, AUTHORIZING OR BASICALLY PERMITTING TO BE USED ON THAT JOB SITE.
SO PART OF THE RESPONSIBILITY AND JOB DUTIES OF, OF THIS SUPERVISOR IS KEEPING ABREAST AND ADEPT OF WHAT NEW PRODUCTS ARE OUT THERE AS FAR AS EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION CONTROLS.
WE'RE FINDING A LOT OF NEW PRODUCTS THAT ARE COMING ON THE MARKET
[04:25:01]
FOR, UM, PONDS, AND THERE'S A LOT OF SUPPLIERS SELLING PRODUCTS THAT WE DO NOT ALLOW THAT, THAT ARE NOT GOOD PRODUCTS TO BE USED IN THAT POND IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT POND.SO WE TRY TO DEVOTE THAT TIME AND ATTENTION TO STUDYING THOSE NEW PRODUCTS AND EVALUATING WHAT WE SEE ON THE MARKET.
AND SOMETIMES WHAT A BUILDER OR DEVELOPER COMES TO US AND SAYS, LOOK, THIS IS A NEW PRODUCT, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY WOULD CONSIDER? SO WE EVALUATE THAT AND THEN IF WE FIND THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BE DOABLE, WE WILL WORK WITH WATERSHED, WE'LL WORK WITH THE TREE PRESERVATION GROUP, UM, AND, AND TRY TO COME TO A DECISION AS HOW WE CAN MODIFY THE ECM OR AMEND IT.
THANKS FOR LIKE STAYING AS LATE
COMMISSIONERS
LIKE I SAID, THIS IS MY FIRST OPPORTUNITY AND MY ADSD TO COME BEFORE THE COMMISSION, SO THANK YOU,
UM, NEXT UP WE HAVE COMMITTEE UPDATES.
CHAIR, UH, DO YOU WANT
I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE EXTEND TO 10 35
THAT'S A HARD 10 35, MR. CHAIRMAN.
I'M SECONDING IN VOTING FOR IT ALL.
ALL US IN FAVOR? MOTION PASSES.
[7. Update from the South Central Waterfront Advisory Board (SCWAB) on on City Council action on the South Central Waterfront Combining District and Density Bonus Plan– David Sullivan]
UH, SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT.UM, THAT ITEM WAS POSTPONED BY THE CITY COUNCIL LAST THURSDAY TO JULY 18TH.
[8. Update from the Urban Forestry Committee on the upcoming meeting on June 20th and ask for agenda items – Richard Brimer]
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A MEETING ON, I THINK JUNE 20TH, AND WE'LL BE DISCUSSING A ITEM THAT, UH, WE WILL HOPEFULLY VOTE ON AND THEN BRING TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION REVIEW, AND HOPEFULLY WE WILL ALL AS A COMMISSION VOTE ON IT TO MAKE MORE TREES.[9. Update from the Joint Sustainability Committee on the committee’s recommendations on the Environmental Investment Plan – Haris Qureshi ]
YEAH, I WISH I HAD MORE TIME FOR THIS, BUT, UH, I DO VALUE EVERYBODY'S SANITY, INCLUDING MY OWN, UH, SO I'LL KEEP THIS BRIEF.SO, YOU KNOW, AS Y'ALL KNOW, THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN, UH, WAS PROPOSED BY, I BELIEVE CONSULT COUNCIL PERSON, ALTER RYAN ALTER, AND, UH, YEAH, THE ALTER, THE ALTAR CLAN IS, IS RUNNING THINGS APPARENTLY, BUT, UH, I DIGRESS.
UM, YEAH, SO, YOU KNOW, UM, SO BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENED THERE WAS THERE ARE TWO SETS OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
THEY WERE THE JSCS RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH WE CAME OUT WITH FIRST, AND THEN AT THE LAST JSC MEETING, THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY RELEASED, UH, THEIR REPORT, UH, WITH, YOU KNOW, PROJECTS THAT, UH, THEM AND CITY STAFF SORT OF COMPILED TOGETHER.
UH, THEY THEN, THEY THEN SORT OF LIKE CROSS-REFERENCED, LIKE, OH, OKAY.
THESE PARTICULAR PROJECTS WERE RECOMMENDED BY BOTH THE JSC UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS AS WELL AS BY THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
AND THEY RELEASED THAT IN ONE BIG HONKING DOCUMENT THAT YOU CAN CHECK OUT A LOT OF COOL STUFF IN THERE.
UH, SO I DEFINITELY SUGGEST THAT ANYBODY WHO'S INTERESTED IN THIS KIND OF STUFF, CHECK IT OUT.
CAN YOU SEND THAT? CAN YOU SEND A LINK TO STAFF THAT THEY CAN SHARE WITH US? YEAH.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? YES, WE HAD ONE, UH, THAT CAME UP EARLY TODAY ABOUT, UM, HERE HAVING THE EQUITY ACTION, COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET ON OUR FUTURE AGENDA THAT KATHY MITCHELL PRESENTED.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SHOULD WE SECOND? OKAY, SECOND.
UM, I HAD EMAILED ELIZABETH ABOUT, UM, THE FACT THAT, AND THIS WAS MENTIONED HERE IN THE LAST PRESENTATION ABOUT THE, UH, AREAS IN THE ETJ THAT WITHDREW FROM AUSTIN'S ETJ MM-HMM.
BARTON SPRINGS WILL NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW AUSTIN'S RULE AND IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA IF WE HAD WATER, WATER QUALITY MONITORING DOWNSTREAM FROM LOST CREEK.
UM, JUST AS A POINT OF CLARIFICATION AND, UM, WE CAN CONFIRM WITH LOSS.
SO THEY LOST CREEK IN PARTICULAR WAS PART OF, IS, WAS IN FULL PURPOSE.
AND SO IT'S NOT THAT THEY'RE BEING REMOVED FROM THE ETJ.
THEY, UM, I BELIEVE WHAT I HEARD MOST RECENTLY IS THAT THEY WOULD BE REMOVED FROM OUR FULL PURPOSE INTO OUR ETJ.
OF COURSE WITH THE, THE OTHER BILL, UM, THAT WAS PASSED LAST YEAR, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO, YOU
[04:30:01]
KNOW, INDIVIDUAL LOTS COULD PETITION OR ASKED TO BE REMOVED, UM, THEMSELVES.UM, OF COURSE THAT IS ALSO IN LITIGATION RIGHT NOW.
SO WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FINAL OUTCOME OF THAT WILL BE, BUT, UM, I BELIEVE THAT IT WILL BE GOING INTO ETJ, SO OUR REGULATIONS WOULD STILL APPLY THERE.
UM, AT LEAST WATER QUALITY, SO THANKS.
SO THEN I'M PREMATURE ON THAT THEN.
I, BUT THEN I WITHDRAW THAT, THAT POINT.
WELL, WHEN YOU WANT TO BRING THAT, I WILL SECOND IT.
BECAUSE WATER QUALITY MONITORING FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANNA BE PART OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO ESTABLISH LIABILITY, LIKE WAS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED ABOUT HAMILTON POOL, KNOWING WHERE STUFF IS COMING FROM IS IMPORTANT.
IF THEY WANT OUT, THEY CAN GET OUT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT MAY COST THEM STUFF IN THE LONG RUN.
I'M GONNA WEIGH IN ON THAT BECAUSE, UM, I WAS STRUCK TODAY BY THINKING ABOUT GILLIAN CREEK, UH, WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT HAPPENING ALONG THERE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN MORE AND MORE AND MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS TO THESE CREEKS, ESPECIALLY ON THE EASTERN QUADRANT WHERE WE'RE SEEING MORE OF THE DEVELOPMENT, BUT WE HAVEN'T NECESSARILY BEEN PAYING QUITE AS MUCH ATTENTION, SO, WELL, LET'S, WOULD THAT FALL INTO IT? RIGHT.
SO LET'S PUT ON THE AGENDA INFORMATION ABOUT WATER QUALITY MEASUREMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE AROUND THE CITY.
UM, SO, UH, THERE IS A WATER QUALITY, UH, MONITORING PROGRAM THAT WATERSHED DOES CONDUCT.
UM, IT'S CALLED OUR EII ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY INDEX.
UM, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY PUT A, UH, AGENDA TOPIC TO DESCRIBE WHAT THAT THAT PROGRAM IS.
ONE MORE ITEM THAT WE DISCUSSED WAS SOMETHING ABOUT HAVING BUILDERS COME AND TELL, OH, IT'S GONNA BE REALLY GREAT WHEN WE HAVE 25 HOUSES ON ONE LOT.
THAT WAS, MAY HAVE BEEN PARAPHRASING INCORRECTLY, BUT THAT WAS THE GIST OF IT.
SO, UM, I COULD, IN, I COULD INVITE SOMEBODY FROM THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION TO, UH, COME AND SPEAK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY EXPECT THE DEMAND TO BE FOR, UH, HOME ONE AND HOME TWO.
UM, REAL QUICK, BEFORE WE GET OUTTA HERE, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO, UM, POSSIBLY FLOAT THE AGENDA ITEM OF RECOMMENDING, UH, AND GIVING SUPPORT TO THE, UH, OFFICE SUSTAINABILITY AND JSCS, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, INVESTMENT PLAN SUGGESTIONS.
ARE WE GONNA DO THE WAVE, UH,
COMMISSIONER EINHORN? I DIDN'T GET TO MY BUTTON FAST ENOUGH.
WAS THERE A SECOND ON COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN'S REQUEST FOR THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION? YES, I OKAY, GOT IT.
UM, THERE'S THIS ONE THING THAT I WAS THINKING OF IS, UM, IT'S BEEN MENTIONED LIKE THE MUSCLES IN, UM, IN TOWN LAKE ARE MUSS, WELL NOT THE ZEBRA MUSSELS, BUT LIKE THE NATIVE MUSSEL SPECIES ARE LIKE DWINDLING THAT ACTUALLY FILTER OUT THE WATER.
AND SO I WAS KIND OF WONDERING IF THERE WOULD BE AN UPDATE OR IF WE COULD GET AN UPDATE ON LIKE ALL THAT.
AND ALSO SINCE THEY'RE TREATING THE UM, BLUE-GREEN ALGAE.
SO I HEARD TWO THINGS SAY THE TREATMENT OF THE BLUEGREEN ALGAE.
SO, UM, BRENT BELLINGER DOES HAVE KIND OF AN ANNUAL BRIEFING THAT HE BRINGS.
UM, I'M NOT SURE WHEN IT IS SCHEDULED THIS YEAR, BUT IT SHOULD BE COMING UP.
AND SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT, UM, THAT AT THAT POINT WE'LL, UM, CHECK WITH, UH, ELIZABETH TO MAKE SURE THAT IT DOES GET SCHEDULED, UM, FOR THE, THE MUSSEL.
SO, UM, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THAT THEY, UM, FISH AND WILDLIFE DID, UH, GO AHEAD AND AGREE OR DECIDE TO LIST THEM.
SO I THINK WITHIN 30 DAYS OF A COUPLE WEEKS OR A COUPLE DAYS AGO, UM, THEY, THERE WILL BE NEW ENDANGERED SPECIES IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
UM, SO, UH, THERE ARE STAFF, UH, THAT DO HAVE SOME FAMILIARITY WITH MUSCLES.
UM, SO WE'LL WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHAT KIND OF PRESENTATION WE CAN GIVE, UH, TO KIND BRING YOU UP TO SPEED ON, ON THAT TOPIC.
I OPPOSE EXTENDING THE MEETING.
IF YOU LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN, LIKE.