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[CALL TO ORDER]
IT'S, UH, 6 0 1.UH, COMMISSIONER CAROL? PRESENT.
UH, COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY? HERE.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION SIGNED UP? CHAIR? THERE IS NO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION TODAY.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TAKING A MINUTE TO LOOK AT THE MINUTES.UM, AND DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING ON SEPT? SEPTEMBER 23RD, 2024.
ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
COMMISSIONER LUKINS, DID YOU VOTE ON THAT ONE? YES.
COMMISSIONER CAROL, DID YOU VOTE ON THAT ITEM? I WAS GONNA ABSTAIN UNLESS YOU NEED ME SINCE I WASN'T HERE.
UM, YOU ARE ABLE TO VOTE ON ANY MEETING MINUTES? SURE.
YOU CAN ABSTAIN IF YOU'D LIKE AS WELL.
SO WE ARE GOING TO, UH, SKIP AROUND
[4. Discussion and action to recommend the Equity-based Preservation Plan to City Council. Presented by Cara Bertron, Planning Department. ]
TO, UH, NUM ITEM NUMBER FOUR, UH, THE DISCUSSION AND ACTION TO RECOMMEND THE EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN TO CITY COUNCIL.UH, PRESENTED BY KARA BURTON, UH, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
KARA BERTRAN, PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
UM, THANK YOU FOR, UH, SHIFTING YOUR SCHEDULE A LITTLE BIT, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
I'M HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN FOLLOWING THE BRIEFING THAT I GAVE Y'ALL AT, UM, ONE OF YOUR SPRING MEETINGS AT THAT TIME, UH, I WANTED, I CAME AND, AND TALKED ABOUT THE PLAN AND, AND URGED YOU VERY POLITELY AND ENTHUSIASTICALLY TO PARTICIPATE IN GIVING FEEDBACK ON THE DRAFT PLAN DURING, UH, UM, THAT WINDOW.
NOW I'M BACK TO TALK ABOUT THE FINAL PLAN AND THE OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT THAT, UH, KIND OF THE RESULTS OF THAT OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.
UM, THIS IS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL.
UH, THE PLAN IS HEADED TO COUNCIL FOR REVIEW AND POSSIBLE ADOPTION NEXT MONTH.
LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO, AS A QUICK REFRESHER, THE EQUITY-BASED PRESERVATION PLAN WAS DEVELOPED AND REVISED BY A COMMUNITY WORKING GROUP APPOINTED BY THE LANDMARK COMMISSION OVER THE COURSE OF, UM, ABOUT THREE AND A HALF YEARS.
THE PLAN HAS, THAT'S BEEN THE LENGTH OF THE PLANNING PROCESS.
UM, THE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS CAME FROM ALL OVER AUSTIN.
THEY REFLECT THE CITY'S RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY.
THEY BRING A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXPERTISE FROM, UM, ARCHITECTURE PLANNING, PRESERVATION, ARCHEOLOGY, TO FOLKS WHO HAVE REALLY DEEP CONNECTIONS WITH THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS OR THE LONG FAMILY CONNECTIONS WITH THE CITY.
SO, A REALLY NEAT, A NEAT BODY TO DEVELOP THIS PLAN THEY HEARD FROM 275 OTHER PEOPLE.
IT'S KIND OF SUMMARIZED ON THE RIGHT SIDE THROUGH A COMMUNITY HERITAGE SURVEY, FOCUS GROUPS TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP WITH CITY STAFF, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE LANDMARK COMMISSION, UH, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL THAT WE DID IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, ULI AUSTIN.
UM, AND, UM, YEAH, THAT, UH, SO LOTS, LOTS OF PEOPLE, UH, LOTS OF VOICES WENT INTO THE THE DRAFT PLAN.
HERE'S THE VISION FOR THE PLAN.
OH MY GOSH, THAT GOT A LOT LOUDER ALL OF A SUDDEN.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN AUSTIN ACTIVELY ENGAGES COMMUNITIES IN PROTECTING AND SHARING IMPORTANT PLACES AND STORIES.
PRESERVATION USES THE PAST TO CREATE A SHARED SENSE OF BELONGING AND TO SHAPE AN EQUITABLE, INCLUSIVE, SUSTAINABLE, AND ECONOMICALLY VITAL FUTURE FOR ALL.
THIS IS A BIGGER VIEW OF WHAT HISTORIC PRESERVATION DOES, THEN IT HAS, UH, A BIGGER ROLE THAN IT HAS PLAYED IN AUSTIN IN THE PAST.
I THINK A REALLY EXCITING ONE, UM,
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GROUNDED IN, IN WHAT THE COMMUNITY, UH, THINKS IT SHOULD BE DOING IN, IN THE ROLE FOR COMMUNITY HERITAGE IN A CHANGING CITY.THE PLAN HAS 14 GOALS AND 107 RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE EASIEST AND MOST CONCISE WAY TO TALK ABOUT THESE IS IN THREE THEMES.
SO WHAT WE PRESERVE, WHICH INCLUDES THE FIRST FIVE GOALS, WHO PRESERVES, WHICH IS THE NEXT THREE GOALS, AND THEN HOW WE PRESERVE, WHICH IS ALL THE GOALS ON THE RIGHT SIDE IN THE RIGHT COLUMN.
IN THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'RE, THEY'RE GOING TO LOOK, UM, PRETTY FAMILIAR TO YOU POTENTIALLY FROM THE SPRING BECAUSE, UM, WHAT WE HEARD WHEN WE DID OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE DRAFT PLAN WAS THAT PEOPLE, PEOPLE THOUGHT WE BASICALLY GOT IT RIGHT, THAT THE DRAFT PLAN COVERED THE BIG THINGS IN THESE GOALS.
SO IF THEY LOOK FAMILIAR, THEY PROBABLY, THEY ARE.
SO THE FIRST THEME, WHAT WE PRESERVE THE IDEA IS REALLY TO THINK BROADLY ABOUT WHAT WE'RE PRESERVING, WHOSE HISTORY, UH, WE ARE PRESERVING, AND HOW PRESERVATION CONNECTS TO OTHER, UM, IMPORTANT ISSUES IN THE CITY.
SO, BETTER RECOGNIZING OUR RICH AND COMPLICATED HISTORY THROUGH MORE WORKING, WORKING MORE ACTIVELY WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND INTERPRETING THE RE RESOURCES WE HAVE.
UM, BETTER RECOGNIZING AND PROTECTING LEGACY, UH, LEGACY BUSINESSES AND MURALS.
SO OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES, AND USING PRESERVATION TOOLS AS ONE WAY TO SUPPORT OTHER COMMUNITY PRIORITIES LIKE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.
THE SECOND THEME, WHO PRESERVES IS REALLY ABOUT INVITING MORE PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN PRESERVATION AND SUPPORTING THEM, UM, IN THAT PARTICIPATION.
SO ENGAGING NEW PEOPLE, WHICH WE STARTED TO DO WITH OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE DRAFT PLAN AND ARE EXCITED TO CONTINUE, UM, MAKING SURE PEOPLE HAVE THE RESOURCES THEY NEED AND SUPPORTING PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THE HANDS-ON WORK IN, IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.
THE LAST THEME, HOW WE PRESERVE THIS IS REALLY KIND OF THE NUTS AND BOLTS RECOMMENDATION ABOUT HOW CAN WE BE MORE STRATEGIC AND MORE EFFECTIVE IN, UM, HOW WE REGULATE AND, AND REVIEW FOR HISTORIC RESOURCES.
SO UPDATING DESIGNATION CRITERIA, UH, CONTINUING EVEN, EVEN BETTER, SUPPORTING OUR HISTORIC PROPERTY STEWARDS, MOSTLY PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS IN WAYS THAT ARE MORE EQUITABLE AND EQUALLY EFFECTIVE TO BE STRATEGIC WITH THE REVIEWER DOING IMPROVE ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENT THE PLAN COLLABORATIVELY.
SO, A HANDFUL OF SELECTED RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, TO, I MENTIONED AN INTERPRETATION.
SO, UH, CERTAINLY TELLING THE STORIES OF, OF WHY PLACES ARE IMPORTANT IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO NOT DO RIGHT NOW TO SUPPORT LEGACY BUSINESSES.
UM, REALLY TRY TO, TO REDUCE DEMOLITION, NOT THROUGH REGULATING EVERYTHING, NOT THROUGH THROUGH DESIGNATING EVERYTHING, BUT THROUGH, UM, WORKING WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TO, TO INCENTIVIZE ALTERNATIVES, CREATING A PRESERVATION RESOURCE CENTER, UM, AND LOOKING AT A TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS PROGRAM TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN SUPPORT OUR HISTORIC PROPERTY OWNERS WITH REAL RESOURCES, UM, WHILE, AND NOT ASK THEM TO KIND OF MAKE A BIG FINANCIAL SACRIFICE.
UH, THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN, IN DOWNTOWN BUILDINGS AND COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE.
UM, I INCLUDED THE LIST OF, I, UM, WENT THROUGH SOME OF Y'ALL'S DOCUMENTS AND INCLUDED THE LIST OF SHARED VALUES FOR URBAN AREAS THAT REALLY OVERLAP WELL WITH THE PRESERVATION PLAN, UH, SUSTAINABILITY, DIVERSITY, ECONOMIC VITALITY, A SENSE OF TIME, UNIQUE CHARACTER AND AUTHENTICITY IS, SO IT WAS, I THOUGHT ABOUT INCLUDING MORE, AND I, I DID NOT WANT TO MAKE THAT MANY SLIDES FOR Y'ALL.
SO, TO SUMMARIZE THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT NEXT SLIDE, WE, UM, HAD A FOUR MONTH ENGAGEMENT WINDOW.
THAT'S WHEN I WAS LAST HERE THIS SPRING, THAT VERY CONSERVATIVELY WE ENGAGED MORE THAN 2,500 PEOPLE.
THAT'S JUST WHO WE WERE COUNTING AT EVENTS WHERE WE WERE COUNTING.
THERE WERE LOTS OF EVENTS WE DID NOT COUNT.
WE DID LOTS OF PRESENTATIONS TO CITY COMMISSIONS, TO COMMUNITY GROUPS AND PROFESSIONAL STAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATIONS.
WE INCLUDING, UM, A I A AUSTIN AND ULI, WE DID POPUPS AT COMMUNITY EVENTS AROUND THE CITY.
UM, WE DID LOT SMALLER CONVERSATIONS.
WE HOSTED FOR, UM, BIG CITY EVENTS, UH, VARYING TYPES.
UH, WE WORKED WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN A REALLY, UM, SUBSTANTIAL WAY THROUGH PAYING COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO TALK TO THEIR NETWORKS ABOUT THE PLAN.
SO AS COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS, AND WE ALSO AWARDED FIVE MINI GRANTS TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO REACH OUT TO THEIR NETWORKS.
AND THE GOAL BEHIND THOSE, UM, PAID KIND OF COMPENSATED SUBSTANTIAL PARTNERSHIPS WAS REALLY TO ADD RESOURCES TO REACH PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT PEOPLE IN COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE NOT HISTORICALLY PARTICIPATED IN CITY PLANNING PROCESSES AND WHO ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN OUR HISTORIC RESOURCES.
SO, MOST PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN THE PLANNING PROCESS THROUGH AN ONLINE SURVEY THAT TOOK FIVE TO SEVEN MINUTES TO, TO COMPLETE.
UM, WHEN WE COMPARE THE SHARE OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS TO AUSTIN AS A WHOLE, UH, FOR HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, WE HAD ROUGHLY
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THE SAME PROPORTION OF PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE FROM COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, A MUCH HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND PEOPLE WHO WERE PART OF THE LGBTQIA PLUS COMMUNITIES.UM, WHICH ALL THOSE ARE REALLY EXCITING.
WE HAD A LOWER PROPORTION OF, OF RENTERS THAN THE CITY AS A WHOLE.
UH, NEARLY 30% IS, IS STILL PRETTY GOOD FOR A CITY PROCESS, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL KEEP WORKING ON DURING IMPLEMENTATION IS THINKING ABOUT HOW TO, HOW TO WORK WITH RENTERS MORE EFFECTIVELY.
YOU CAN SEE ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT THAT RESPONDENTS CAME FROM ALL OVER AUSTIN, WHICH IS, IS REALLY GREAT.
UM, AND THAT, UH, MORE THAN HALF OF PARTICIPANTS HAVE SPENT, UH, HAVE BEEN IN AUSTIN FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, SO HAVE SEEN, SEEN SOME CHANGE AND ARE, UM, YEAH, BRING, BRING THAT NEAT PERSPECTIVE AS WELL AS NEWER RESIDENTS.
UM, THE SURVEY ONLINE INCLUDED THESE SEVEN COMMUNITY PRIORITIES, WHICH ARE AGGREGATED FROM THE 14 PLAN GOALS.
UM, I THINK THE QUICK TAKEAWAY FROM THIS SLIDE IS THAT ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT.
UH, SO THE LOWEST SCORE HERE IS, IS 73%.
UM, WHEN WE ASKED PEOPLE TO GET A SENSE OF THEIR PRIORITIES, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE SHOULD WE START FIRST, UH, PEOPLE SAID, FIRST ENSURE THAT PEOPLE IN BUSINESSES CAN STAY IN PLACE.
UM, THAT WAS WITH MORE THAN THAT WAS WITH 51% OF RESPONDENTS AND OTHER 20% SAID, HELP KEEP THE PLACES THAT ARE DISTINCTIVE TO AUSTIN FEELING LIKE AUSTIN.
I THINK THAT IS A VERY ACCURATE REFLECTION OF THE, OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE ARE FACING AS A CITY RIGHT NOW.
SO PEOPLE ALSO GAVE COMMENTS SPECIFICALLY ON THE DRAFT PLAN.
WE GOT JUST OVER 270 COMMENTS, UM, ON THE DRAFT PLAN.
SOME OF THOSE WERE, DID NOT REQUEST ACTION OR CHANGES.
UM, ABOUT 140 ACTIONABLE CHANGES WERE SUGGESTED, MEANING THEY REQUESTED ACTION.
IT'S WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THE PLAN AND IT'S ALLOW ALLOWABLE BY CITY CODE.
UM, HALF OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE DRAFT PLAN WERE REVISED BY THE WORKING GROUP, UM, MOSTLY FOR CLARIFICATION, UM, AND, AND COMPLETENESS AND EIGHT NEW RECOMMENDATIONS WERE ADDED.
AND THERE'S KINDA A LIST OF, OF THOSE THAT I WILL PAUSE TO AT LEAST SKIM THERE SOME REALLY, REALLY GOOD THINGS, UH, THAT WE, WE JUST HAD BEEN MISSED IN THE DRAFT PLAN.
SO IT WAS GREAT THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS PARTICIPATED AND, AND TOLD US WHAT WAS MISSING.
HERE'S AN OVERVIEW TIMELINE OF THE PRESERVATION PLANNING PROCESS.
SO IT STARTED IN 2021 IS WHEN THE WORKING GROUP STARTED MEETING.
THEY MET FOR A YEAR TO DEVELOP THE DRAFT PLAN IN FALL OF 2022.
THEY PRESENTED THE DRAFT PLAN TO THE LANDMARK COMMISSION AND COUNCIL ALLOCATED, UH, FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH AT THAT TIME.
IT, IT TOOK US A LITTLE WHILE TO PUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE, UM, TO HIRE A DEDICATED STAFF POSITION, WHICH IS IS THE POSITION I'M IN, AND TO GET THE ENGAGEMENT CONTRACT IN PLACE.
AND IN THE MEANTIME, WE DID KIND OF A LOW BUDGET, LOW KEY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN TO TRY TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO PAY ATTENTION, LIKE MAYBE PRESERVATION IS SOMETHING YOU'RE INTERESTED IN.
THEN WE DID THAT ROBUST OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT THIS SPRING.
UH, WE FACILITATED A PROCESS TO REVISE THE PLAN THIS SUMMER, IT WAS, THAT WAS DONE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE, UM, PRESERVATION PLAN WORKING GROUP THAT DEVELOPED THE PLAN AND A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE LANDMARK COMMISSION.
SO WE'RE AT CITY BOARD AND COMMISSION BRIEFINGS.
UM, WE PLAN TO TAKE THE FINAL PLAN TO COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 21ST.
UM, AND THEN WE START, UH, THE LONG WORK OF OF PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, A KIND OF GENERAL ONE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO WE'LL START WITH DOING WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THE RESOURCES.
WE HAVE, UM, THE PRESERVATION PLAN WORKING GROUP AND LANDMARK COMMISSION HAVE IDENTIFIED A GROUP OF HIGH IMPACT, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO WE'LL SEE WHAT WE CAN START WITH WHAT WE HAVE AND START ALSO LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR RESOURCE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT REQUIRE ADDITIONAL STAFF AND FUNDING RESOURCES, WHICH WE HOPE TO START NEXT FALL.
WE'LL HAVE A PUBLIC DASHBOARD TO TRACK PROGRESS ON THE PLAN.
WE'LL KEEP WORKING WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND WHAT WE'RE DOING TO COORDINATE AND ALIGN OUR WORK.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIP BUILDING.
IT'S, WHICH I'VE REALLY BEEN AT THE HEART OF THIS PROCESS AND, UM, MAKE THOSE A BIG PART, UH, PART OF IMPLEMENTATION GOING FORWARD.
UM, HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS AND, UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE ACTION OR MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL, UM, I'M HERE IF YOU NEED ME AS A RESOURCE AND IF YOU WOULD, IF YOU WOULD DO NOT FEEL LIKE DOING THAT, THAT IS OKAY TOO.
UM, I THINK, YEAH, ON THIS ONE WE'LL JUST OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS, UH, IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER, VICE CHAIR, YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU HAVE A LIST OF HIGH IMPACT RECOMMENDATIONS.
DO YOU HAVE EXAMPLES OF THAT? THERE ARE.
WELL, I WILL SAY, SO IT WAS, IT WAS REVISION AND PRIORITIZATION BY COMMITTEE.
SO THE HIGH IMPACT, THE LIST OF HIGH IMPACT RECOMMENDATIONS IS 46 OF THE 107 RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH IS EXCITING, UM, AND
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A LOT.UM, I THINK ONE THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER IS THE TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS.
THAT'S, THAT WAS, I THINK, UM, AN IMPORTANT HIGH IMPACT RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAVE.
WE'VE DEVELOPED AN AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AT THE REQUEST OF THE CITY MANAGER, UM, AND THAT'S LISTED IN, UM, IN YEAR ONE, WHICH IS THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR THAT WE'RE IN.
UM, OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS FISCAL YEAR INCLUDE, UM, WORK THAT, UH, WELL WORK THAT WE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO DO, WHICH IS MORE OUTREACH TO PROPERTY OWNERS OF, OF POTENTIAL HISTORIC RESOURCES.
YOU KNOW, MORE, POTENTIALLY MORE DESIGNATION OF, OF RESOURCES THAT, UH, REPRESENT MORE DIVERSE HISTORIES, UM, LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR A CULTURAL MAPPING PROGRAM, WHICH WE WOULD NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
YEAH, I MEAN, I CAN'T, UH, THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR TAKING THE INITIATIVE TO, UH, TAKE THIS ON.
UM, I THINK AS A CITY, WE'RE WELL PAST THE POINT WHERE THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN, UH, INSTITUTED.
UM, I THINK FOR ME PERSONALLY, UM, SEEING THE AMOUNT OF RESPONSE FROM THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY, UM, MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
IT RESONATES WITH ME, UM, AFTER HAVING SEEN, UH, THE LANDMARK, UM, UH, ZONING, UH, CASE FOR, UH, THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT, UM, WHERE WE HAD A DEVELOPER, UM, WHO WAS LOOKING TO COMPLETELY DECIMATE, UH, AN AREA THAT HAS BEEN A COMMUNITY CENTER FOR A LOT OF THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY FOR YEARS, AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE TOOLS THAT THEY NEEDED IN ORDER TO SAVE THOSE SPACES.
UM, I'M SEEING NOW SOME EXAMPLES ON 12TH AND CONE, UH, WHERE THERE ARE SOME BUILDINGS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, IN THE CONTEXT OF, UM, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, VERY IMPORTANT BUILDINGS, UM, AND NOW SERVE AS A COMMUNITY CENTER FOR A VERY DIVERSE GROUP.
UM, I'M SEEING THAT THEY'RE BEING PUSHED OUT.
SO I THINK THERE'S JUST EXAMPLE AFTER EXAMPLE, AFTER EXAMPLE WHERE IT'S CLEAR THAT WE NEED, UH, THESE POLICIES, UH, AND UH, THIS APPROACH.
SO I THANK YOU FOR THAT AND I WOULD BE IN SUPPORT.
UM, ECHO THE, THE GRATITUDE, UM, MS. UND THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR THIS JUST HERCULEAN TASK.
UM, AND I THINK THIS TO, UM, TO FLAVOR MY, MY QUESTION A LITTLE BIT.
YOU KNOW, THIS, I THINK WE, THERE, THERE'S ALSO OFTEN KIND OF A LAZY INTERPRETATION OF, UH, PRESERVATION JUST BEING LIKE THE ONE LITTLE SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE AND, AND THAT'S A PART, BUT NOT A, BUT NOT NEARLY THE WHOLE OF, OF WHAT YOU ARE YOU AND YOUR GROUP ARE DOING.
WHAT THIS BODY IS USED TO SEEING IS DOWNTOWN PROJECTS.
AND I THINK, UM, COMMISSIONER, UH, MINORS ALREADY ALREADY ALLUDED TO THIS WITH THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT, CONGRESS AVENUE, SIXTH STREET, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT TO HAVE YOU SPECIFICALLY COMMENT ON ANY ONE PROPERTY OR, OR STREET, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HOW THIS PROCESS WOULD, WOULD TACKLE FACADE PRES PRESERVATION OR, OR, OR PRESERVATION OF THE DOWNTOWN, UM, AREAS WHERE, WHERE THERE IS THAT LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE AND PROPERTY VALUE? YES.
THANK YOU FOR THE, THE QUESTION COMMISSIONER.
UM, THE PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN AREAS, THE TRANSFER DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT TOOL.
IT'S A MARKET BASED TOOL THAT THE, THAT A, UH, USUALLY THE CITY OR A QUA, ANOTHER QUASI, A QUASI PUBLIC ENTITY FACILITATES AND IT'S ABLE TO BRING REAL RESOURCES SO THAT, UM, A PROPERTY OWNER FOR A A AND ACTUALLY, I'M GONNA TAKE A STEP BACK.
I FEEL LIKE I'M JUST GOING TO EXPLAIN WITH MY HANDS IN AN AWKWARD WAY WHAT TDRS ARE, BECAUSE I THINK PROBABLY, UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, AND IF, IF SOMEONE ELSE HAS A BETTER EXPLANATION, PLEASE JUMP IN.
SO BASICALLY TRANSFERS DEVELOPMENT OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS ALLOW PROPERTY OWNERS TO SELL THE AIR RIGHTS UP TO THE ZONING LIMIT, KIND OF, OR THE, THE ZONING CAPACITY.
AND THEY CAN BE SOLD TO ANOTHER PROPERTY.
IT CAN BE IN A DIFFERENT AREA OF THE CITY, LIKE, UH, HAVING A SENDING AREA AND A RECEIVING AREA.
UH, SOME CITIES LIKE NEW YORK, UH, REQUIRE THEM TO BE ON AN ADJACENT PROPERTY OR A KITTY CORNER PROPERTY.
UM, BUT BASICALLY IT, IT, IT PAYS BY THE SQUARE FOOT OF DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY AND ALLOWS ANOTHER PROPERTY OWNER TO GO ABOVE WHAT THEY ARE ZONED FOR BY, BY RIGHT.
UM, IT IS NOT PUBLIC FUNDS THAT ARE BEING USED.
SO IT IS, IT'S, I THINK IT CAN BE USED AT A SCALE THAT THEY CAN BE EMPLOYED AT A SCALE THAT, THAT WE COULDN'T DO FOR, UH, A PUBLICLY FUNDED INCENTIVE.
UM, WHEN I THINK, I DUNNO IF THAT'S THE ONLY TOOL, BUT I THINK IT IS POTENTIALLY THE MOST IMPACTFUL TOOL BY A LONG DISTANCE.
THE FIRST STEP WITH TDRS WOULD BE TO DO A MARKET ANALYSIS TO SEE HOW MANY SORT OF SENDING SITES, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUAL LANDMARKS WOULD QUALIFY.
UM, WHERE THAT, WHERE THOSE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS COULD GO.
IS THERE A MARKET FOR THOSE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS? HOW MUCH MONEY
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COULD BE CHARGED PER SQUARE FOOT? IS IT WORTH PEOPLE'S TIME OR WOULD IT BE WORTH, UM, IS IT WORTH THE, SAY A DEVELOPER'S, UH, MONEY TO BUY THOSE TO BUILD ABOVE WHAT'S ALLOWED BY WRIGHT? UM, SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT IS THE FIRST BIG STEP.AND THEN TO, AND TO RECOMMEND A STRUCTURE.
UM, THAT'S WHEN ACTUALLY WHEN WE SPOKE WITH THE LGBTQ PLUS QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION, THEY WERE REALLY INTERESTED IN TDRS BECAUSE THAT, THAT IS, IT'S A TOOL THAT CAN BE USED, UM, IN A DOWNTOWN CAPACITY, UM, AT A SCALE THAT THAT COULD POTENTIALLY REALLY WORK FOR, FOR THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS.
COMMISSIONER HOWARD, UM, I'M CURIOUS IF YOU, AS PART OF THIS PLAN HAVE TALKED ABOUT HOW TO INTEGRATE THIS SORT OF, THESE SORT OF STRATEGIES AND IMPLEMENTATION, UM, INTO DISTRICT PLANNING OR ANYTHING ON A MORE KIND OF LOCALIZED LEVEL.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE HASN'T BEEN A LOT OF THAT IN RECENT YEARS IN AUSTIN.
UM, BUT CLEARLY THERE'S A LOT OF THAT HAPPENING IN DOWNTOWN TODAY.
UM, AND I WOULD IMAGINE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S OTHER PLACES WHERE THAT SORT OF THINKING IS GONNA COME BACK IN.
UM, BUT LIKE THINKING ABOUT TRANSFER DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS, THINKING ABOUT THE EXISTING KIND OF REGULAR REGULATORY, UH, SYSTEM THAT'S IN PLACE IN DIFFERENT AREAS, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT ALL REALLY NEEDS TO BE THOUGHT OF TOGETHER.
UM, HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN TALKING TO OTHER FOLKS IN PLANNING ABOUT KIND OF DISTRICT PLANNING AND HOW THIS WOULD WORK ON A MORE NEIGHBORHOOD BY NEIGHBORHOOD BASIS? IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO WE HAVEN'T BEEN TALKING ABOUT IMPLEMENTING THIS DISTRICT BY DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A CITYWIDE PLAN.
I THINK THAT COULD, I THINK IT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED BY GEOGRAPHY, BUT A LOT OF THE RECOMMEND, A LOT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE KIND OF CITYWIDE POLICIES OR CODE CHANGES.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL HISTORIC RESOURCES, WHICH I THINK WOULD BE REALLY A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER WITH SMALLER SCALE PLANNING.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO WORK WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO, UM, BOTH TO EDUCATE THEM ON WHAT WE, WHAT TOOLS WE HAVE, AND TO EDUCATE OURSELVES ON WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY AND TO REALLY LISTEN TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS ABOUT WHAT, WHAT HISTORY THEY WANT TO PRESERVE AND HOW DOESN'T ALWAYS HAVE TO DO WITH A DESIGNATED LANDMARK OR DISTRICT.
AND I THINK THAT TYPE OF, THOSE TYPES OF RECOMMENDATIONS COULD CERTAINLY BE, BE IMPLEMENTED IN THOSE SMALLER AREAS.
IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UM, WITH THE PLANNING PROCESS WE DID, UM, RECENTLY RES UH, CREATED SOME PARTICULAR, SOME PUT TOGETHER SOME BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS TO RESPOND TO THE RESOLUTION AROUND PLANNING IN 7 8 7 0 2 BY COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, AND, UM, NOTED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME POTENTIAL PILOT PROJECTS AS WELL.
SO WE'LL SEE IF THAT MOVES FORWARD.
I MIGHT, I MIGHT JUST MENTION, SORRY, BEFORE GO AHEAD, WE GO ON.
I JUST WANNA MENTION, UM, THAT BRITO WALLACE OR COMMISSIONER WALLACE WAS A PART OF THE WORKING GROUP THAT DEVELOPED THE, UM, DRAFT EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN.
SO JUST, I FEEL LIKE I WOULD BE REMISS IN STANDING HERE AND NOT MENTIONING THAT.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR GOOD WORK ON THAT.
UM, YEAH, AND COMMISSIONER CARROLL PRE, UH, PARTICIPATED IN THE ULI TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL WAS ON THE, THE GROUP THAT, IN THE GROUP THAT MADE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, SO, OKAY.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM ANYONE? COMMISSIONER CARROLL? UM, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, IS I'VE HAD, UM, AMPLE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE INPUT IN, IN THIS, UH, PLAN.
AND TO ME THAT'S DUE TO THE, UH, ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE WITH THIS PLAN.
AND I JUST WANT TO COMMEND STAFF THAT THIS HAS BEEN MY OPINION, ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES I'VE SEEN, UH, AND BY CITY.
AND I JUST WANNA SAY THAT YEAH, I AGREE WITH THAT TOO.
IT'S SOMETHING, WHEN I SAW THAT NUMBER OF 2000 PLUS FOLKS THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO IT, YOU KNOW, IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE HARD WORK THAT WENT INTO, UH, CONNECTING TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, I THINK THIS IS EXTREMELY VALUABLE, UH, THING THAT YOU ALL ARE CREATING, UH, FOR AUSTIN AND JUST AS, AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW, UH, AND TO TRY TO GET A HANDLE ON, ON, ON, YEAH, THE IDENTITY OF THE CITY AND HISTORICALLY WHO'S REALLY BEEN INVOLVED WITH THAT AS WELL.
SO, UM, SO YEAH, THIS IS A, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE THIS MOVE FORWARD.
UM, COMMISSIONER WIRA CHAIR, IN LIGHT OF THAT, AND I, THIS, THIS FALLS SOME, SOMETIMES IN SOME WAYS A LITTLE OUT OF THE PURVIEW OF WHAT WE USUALLY TALK ABOUT IN THIS COMMISSION.
UH, BUT GIVEN THE, THE ROBUSTNESS OF THE PUBLIC
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ENGAGEMENT AND THE, THE DRILL CLARITY OF, OF, UH, OF THE STRENGTH OF THE PROCESS, UH, AS WELL AS OUR INTEREST IN HAVING A RICHNESS OF LAYERING AS PART OF A GOOD URBAN DESIGN STRATEGY, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT THIS BODY, UH, LEND ITS SUPPORT TO, UH, THE EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN.WELL, WE'LL GET THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, UP AND POSTED.
[2. Staff briefing regarding an update on the Corridor Program. Presented by Eric Bailey, Capital Delivery Services Department.]
AT THE, UH, BEGINNING HERE, UH, STAFF BRIEFING ON THE CORRIDOR, UH, AN UPDATE FOR THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM, UH, PRESENTED BY ERIC BAILEY, UH, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES DEPARTMENT.UM, ERIC BAILEY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, UH, GREAT TO BE WITH YOU, UH, WANT TORY, A QUICK UPDATE ON WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM, UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE REAL HEAVY CONSTRUCTION PHASE HERE IN THE COMING, UH, MONTHS.
SO, UM, I WANNA START OFF WITH A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
UM, CORRIDOR PROGRAM OFFICE IS, UH, ACTUALLY AS PART OF THE REORGANIZATION WITHIN THE CITY, THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM OFFICE NO LONGER EXISTS.
IT'S A PART OF, UH, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
NOW, CAPITAL CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES IS A RELATIVELY NEW DEPARTMENT THAT CAME TO BE, UH, IN THE SPRING OF 2023 AS PART OF THE REORGANIZATION, UH, FROM INTERIM, UH, A CM JESUS GARZA.
AND WHAT HAPPENED THERE IS THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT CAME TOGETHER.
CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES WAS, UH, SPUN OFF FROM THAT.
WHAT WE DO IS, UM, WE'RE A COLLECTION OF, UH, ENGINEERS, UH, PROJECT MANAGERS AND INSPECTORS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING AND INSPECTING, UH, CITY CIP PROJECTS, PARTICULARLY PROJECTS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, SUCH AS THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS, AS WE INHERITED THE PROGRAM IN THE SPRING OF 2023, THE PRIMARY THING WE, UM, REALIZED AS WE DOVE INTO SOME OF THE BACKGROUND HERE IS THAT THE DEMONSTRATED NEED OF, OF THE PROGRAM WAS ABOUT $900 MILLION.
UM, AND THOSE OF YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE 2016 BOND, THE TOTAL AMOUNT AVAILABLE FOR THE CORRIDOR WAS $460 MILLION.
SO THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A VERY LARGE GAP BETWEEN THE DEMONSTRATED NEED AND, UH, THE FUNDING THAT WAS AVAILABLE.
SO WE WORKED WITH OUR PARTNERS IN TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS TO PRIORITIZE IMPROVEMENTS, PRIORITIZE WORK ACROSS THE CITY SO THAT ALL OF THE CORRIDORS, UM, WERE ABLE TO, UM, RECEIVE LEVEL OF IMPROVEMENT, PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON SAFETY, BUT THEN ALSO KEPT IN MIND THAT WE DIDN'T WANNA DO ANYTHING AS A PART OF THIS WORK, THAT PRECLUDED ANY FUTURE WORK WHEN FUTURE FUNDING BECAME AVAILABLE TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THE, THE FULL NEED ALONG THOSE CORRIDORS.
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE FROM THE PROGRAM TIMELINE, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM AND, AND ONGOING, UM, ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE ALSO CAME ACROSS WAS THAT THERE WASN'T A WHOLE LOT OF PRELIMINARY PLANNING DONE BESIDES IDENTIFYING THE CORRIDORS.
SO WE SPENT SEVERAL YEARS IN THE BEGINNING, UM, REALLY PLANNING OUT THE PROJECTS, UH, DOING SOME DESIGN WORK THERE, AND IDENTIFYING WHAT, UM, WAS REALLY NEEDED IN THOSE AREAS.
THIS IS ONE OF THE HISTORIC, UM, AREAS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO IMPROVE IN FUTURE BOND PROGRAMS, IS HAVE MORE DEFINED PROJECT SCOPE, SCHEDULE, AND BUDGET BEFORE THOSE ITEMS GO TO THE VOTERS.
SO THAT WAY, UM, WE CAN DELIVER BOTH ON, UM, YOU KNOW, COST AS WELL AS SCHEDULE WHEN WE PUT FUTURE BOND PROPOSITIONS FORWARD.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE'RE WE'RE SHIFTING INTO A REAL HEAVY CONSTRUCTION, UH, PHASE.
WE'VE GOT, UH, SEVERAL PROJECTS THAT ARE COMPLETED, SEVERAL THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN CONSTRUCTION, AND THEN SOME OF OUR REAL MAJOR, UH, PROJECTS ARE COMING, UH, INTO THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE FOR BID AND AWARD HERE IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS OR SO.
SO, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS, UH, AN ONGOING, UM, EFFORT FOR THE PROGRAM.
STARTED OUT, UM, WITH THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM OFFICE, AND THEN WORKED TOGETHER WITH, UM, GOVERNOR DELIVERY SERVICES, UM, CORRIDOR OFFICE, UH, TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS, AS WELL AS, UH, OUR CONSULTANT LIFELINE TO WORK ON ENGAGEMENT, NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF WHAT THE DESIGN SHOULD BE, WHAT THE IMPROVEMENT SHOULD BE, BUT THEN ALSO TALKING ABOUT FOLKS THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS, ANY KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, ACCESS IMPACTS, CHANGES THAT WERE COMING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE FOLKS THAT ARE, WERE GONNA BE AFFECTED, UM, ALONG THE CORRIDORS.
THIS IS ONE OF OUR PROJECTS THAT WAS RECENTLY COMPLETED.
[00:30:01]
FROM NORTH LAMAR TO 55TH, YOU CAN SEE A PHOTO HERE SHOWS THE, THE RED SHARED USE PATHS AND SIDEWALKS.UM, WE'VE ALSO DONE SOME INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS AT OAK SPRINGS AND GUNTER STREET, UH, CURRENTLY IN CONSTRUCTION.
UM, WE HAVE FROM 55TH TO 45TH ON THE WEST SIDE DOING SHARED USE PATHS THERE WHERE THERE WAS NO, UH, EITHER NO PEDESTRIAN ACCESS OR VERY LIMITED AND CONFLICTED ACCESS WITH DRIVEWAYS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
ONE OF THE METHODS THAT WE'VE, UH, SHIFTED TO AS A PART OF THE BUDGET, UM, REALITY IS A-I-D-I-Q OR IN INDEFINITE, UH, DURATION, INDEFINITE QUANTITY DELIVERY, WHICH IS ALLOWS US TO DO IMPROVEMENTS SUCH AS SHARED USE PADS AND THINGS LIKE THAT ON A QUICKER TURNAROUND BASIS, WHILE ALLOWING THE, UM, FUTURE, UH, EXPANSION OF THE PROJECT OR FUTURE ADDITIONS, UM, IMPROVEMENTS TO THAT AREA TO REMAIN VIABLE AS THE FUNDING BECOMES AVAILABLE.
UM, ONE THING TO NOTE HERE, THE, THE, THE AIRPORT BOULEVARD CORRIDOR GOES ALL THE WAY FROM NORTH LAMAR DOWN TO, UM, 180 3.
SO THERE'S SEVERAL SECTIONS ON THERE.
WE ARE PARTNERING WITH, UM, TXDOT FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE, THE, UM, MOAN TRAIL BRIDGE THAT PROJECT DOES IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE DELIVERED BY TECH STOP USING THE CITY DESIGN.
AND THEN WE'RE PLANNING, UM, SHARED USE PATH IMPROVEMENTS AND INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS, UH, ALL THE WAY DOWN THE CORRIDOR.
FOR BURNETT ROAD, UM, YOU CAN SEE A PHOTO HERE OF THE INTERSECTION AT, UM, UH, COING LANE AND WHITEHORSE TRAIL, UM, RIGHT BY LAMAR MIDDLE SCHOOL, UH, WHERE WE TOOK A LITTLE PORK CHOP OUT OF THERE, REDUCED THE TRAFFIC SPEED IN THAT AREA, AS WELL AS THE TURNING MOVEMENTS AT THE INTERSECTION.
WE ALSO DID IMPROVEMENTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF BREAKER LANE.
CURRENTLY IN CONSTRUCTION, WE HAVE A, THE PROJECT CALLED THE AE KRAMER DRAINAGE SITE.
UM, AS THE PART OF, AS PART OF THE PERMITTING FOR THE BURNETT ROAD CORRIDOR, WE REALIZED THAT WE HAD A, A PRETTY MASSIVE, UM, WATERSHED PROTECTION PROJECT THAT WE HAD TO DO, WHERE WE HAD TO MITIGATE A LOT OF THE, UH, INCREASE FLOWS, DO THE IN INCREASED IMPERVIOUS COVER IN THE AREA.
SO THIS IS AN ENABLING PROJECT SO THAT WE CAN GO OUT AND BID THE, UM, BRIGHT VERDE WAY TO LOOP ONE AND THEN 180 3 TO BRIGHT VERDE SECTIONS OF, UH, BURNETT ROAD.
THE SECTION FROM, UM, WHITEHORSE TRAIL TO, TO 180 3 IS GONNA BE DELIVERED VIA IDIQ.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S GONNA BE PRIMARILY SHARED USE PATH IMPROVEMENTS ON, UH, BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET.
FOR THE EAST RIVERSIDE, UH, CORRIDOR, UM, WE'VE DONE SOME SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS HERE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE BIG CHANGES THAT HAPPENED AFTER THE, THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM PASSED IS PROJECT CONNECT.
UM, SO WE SHIFTED FUNDING AWAY FROM RIVERSIDE BECAUSE OF THE IMPACTS OF PROJECT CONNECT.
BASICALLY, THEY WERE GONNA BE RUNNING ALONG THE SAME ROUTE, THE SAME CORRIDOR THAT ANY OF WORK HERE WOULD'VE BEEN DONE.
SO THAT WORK WAS REALLY, UM, PRIMARILY DEFERRED OTHER THAN SOME SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE SAW SOME IMMEDIATE NEED FOR.
SO THOSE ARE THE SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS YOU SEE HERE, AS WELL AS THE ONES THAT ARE IN, IN CONSTRUCTION.
FOR GUADALUPE STREET, UM, WE INSTALLED A CONTRAFLOW TRANSIT LANE, SO BUSES CAN GET THROUGH THE CAMPUS AREA ON A MORE REGULAR SCHEDULE.
UH, WE WORKED ALSO ON OASIS FROM 24TH TO GUADALUPE, AND THEN ON 24TH FROM GUAD TO NORTH LAMAR.
AND, UM, WHAT THAT DOES, AGAIN, THERE'S A LARGE, UH, IMPACT FROM PROJECT CONNECT COMING DOWN GUADALUPE.
SO THAT CHANGED THE, UH, THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT ALONG GUADALUPE, AND A LOT OF THAT WORK WAS ACTUALLY DEFERRED FOR WHEN, UM, THE PROJECT CONNECT COMES THROUGH WITH THE RAIL LINE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
NORTH LAMAR BOULEVARD, NORTH LAMAR IS ONE OF OUR MORE CHALLENGING, UM, UH, CORRIDORS ALONG THE ENTIRE, UM, ALONG THE ENTIRE PROGRAM.
UH, WE'VE COMPLETED SIGNAL WORK AT GRADY, COOPER, FAIRFIELD, AND POWELL.
UM, WE HAVE UPCOMING CONSTRUCTION, UM, ON THE NORTHERN END OF, UM, NORTH LAMAR.
ONE OF THE MAIN ISSUES HERE IS THAT ALL OF THE, WELL, A LARGE PORTION OF THE DRAINAGE IN THIS AREA IS OPEN CHANNEL DRAINAGE, UM, WHICH TAKES UP A LARGE PORTION OF THE RIGHT OF WAY.
AND ANYTIME YOU'RE TAKING OPEN CHANNEL DRAINAGE AND PUTTING IT INTO, UM, YOU KNOW, CLOSED CONDUIT, IT'S OBVIOUSLY A VERY, VERY LARGE EXPENSE, UM, IN ORDER TO CREATE THE, UM, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE ACCESS THAT, THAT'S NEEDED TO MAKE A LOT OF THE IMPROVEMENTS OUT HERE.
SO THESE PROJECTS HAVE BEEN A, A LONG TIME COMING, AND WE'RE WORKING ACTUALLY WITH SOME OF THE DESIGNS THAT WILL BE, UM, HELD FOR FUTURE FUNDING AVAILABILITY.
WE ARE, UM, ABSOLUTELY WORKING ON CLOSING ANY KIND OF SIDEWALK GAPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, JUST MAKING SURE THERE'S A CONTINUOUS, UH, PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE ACCESS UP AND DOWN THE CORRIDOR.
BUT, UM, MANY OF THE FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS NEED A, A WIDER COORDINATION EFFORT AND ADDITIONAL FUNDING ALONG THE, UM, PORTION PORTIONS OF NORTH LAMAR.
WILLIAM CANNON CORRIDOR YOU SEE HERE.
[00:35:01]
DRIVE TO MCKINNEY FALLS PARKWAY SECTION, UM, BRIDGE RECONSTRUCTION.UH, WE'VE DONE A LONG LIST OF SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS HERE.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL PROJECTS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED FOR DELIVERY THROUGH THE, UM, IDIQ, UH, FUNDING BUCKET FOR IMPROVED, UH, PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE SAFETY AS THEY MOVE THROUGH.
SO THIS IS ONE OF OUR MAIN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS WE HAVE GOING ON.
UM, AND IF YOU'VE BEEN DOWN IN THAT AREA, YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT GOING ON DOWN IN THAT AREA AS WELL.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKING THOSE ADDITIONAL TRIPS THAT ARE COMING FROM THIS AREA SAFER FOR FOLKS BOTH IN CARS AND ON FOOT AND RIDING, UM, BICYCLES.
UM, WE'VE COMPLETED, UH, FM 1826 TO BARSTOW, AS WELL AS BRODY LANE TO MAN CHECK AND MAN CHECK TO CONGRESS.
WE HAVE SOME SIGNAL WORK, UM, THAT'S GONNA BE UPCOMING AT BRIAR RIDGE, BILL BROOK, AND NARROW GLEN.
YOU CAN SEE A PHOTO HERE OF, UM, SOME IMPROVED SHARED USE PATH, UM, ALONG BOTH THE NORTH AND UM, SOUTH SIDE OF THE STREETS.
UM, THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN SOME IMPROVED BIKE LANES IN THIS AREA IN TERMS OF SEPARATING THE BIKE LANE FROM, UH, TRAFFIC ALONG SLAUGHTER AS WELL.
THIS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR PROJECTS THAT'S UPCOMING.
WE'RE CURRENTLY IN THE FINAL, UM, PERMITTING STAGES HERE.
UH, THIS PROJECT WILL INSTALL, UM, BIKE LANES, UM, AND ON THE, SEE THE BIKE LANES ARE GOING ON THE EAST SIDE AS LONG AS WELL AS AN IMPROVED SIDEWALK, AND THERE'LL BE A SHARED USE PATH ON THE WEST SIDE.
UH, UP AND DOWN YOU CAN SEE A SECTION OF THE ROADWAY THERE.
ON THE LOWER LEFT, OBVIOUSLY THE, UM, THE KEY THERE IS TO IMPROVE, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIAN BICYCLE CIRCULATION AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, SAFETY OF FOLKS THAT ARE USING THAT CORRIDOR, UM, TO MOVE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THIS PROJECT IS GOING TO BE A VERY, VERY LONG DURATION PROJECT BASED ON THE NUMBER OF, UM, TRAFFIC CONTROL SETUPS AND THINGS THAT ARE NEEDED TO KEEP TRAFFIC ADEQUATELY CIRCULATING UP AND DOWN SOUTH OF MAR BOULEVARD.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, DELIVERY METHODS AND WAYS OF EXPEDITING THAT PROJECT AS WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THE DESIGN PROCESS AND PERMITTING PROCESS.
ONE THAT I DID ACTUALLY, UH, WAS LEFT OUT OF HERE IS THE MARTIN LUTHER KING CORRIDOR, WHICH IS FROM, UM, 180 3 TO DECKER LANE.
THAT'S GONNA BE A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ALONG THAT AREA.
THAT'S A PROJECT THAT IS ACTUALLY DELIVERED BY TDOT AS WELL.
THE CITY'S PROVIDING THE DESIGN AND A PORTION OF THE FUNDING.
UM, AGAIN, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, SHARED USE PATHS ON, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE, THE STREET THAT ARE GONNA ALLOW BETTER ACCESS TO THE WALNUT CREEK TRAIL, AS WELL AS CIRCULATION, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND A TIE IN TO THE, UH, UPCOMING CONSTRUCTION PROJECT ON JOHNNY MORRIS ROAD AS WELL.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.
I APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER GILIS? YEAH.
UM, YOU MENTIONED SORT OF OPENING, UH, AN INDEFINITE TIMELINE SCENARIO TO ALLOW FOR FUTURE FUNDING ALONG SOME OF THESE CORRIDORS.
I'M CURIOUS, UM, WHAT IS THE CURRENT PLAN OR RELATIONSHIP TO GREENING AND STREET TREES TO THESE PROJECTS? IS THERE A SEPARATE CONVERSATION GOING ON TO COME BACK AND ADD PLANTING ALONG SOME OF THESE CORRIDOR? UM, WHAT'S THE TIMELINE? MM-HMM.
SO RIGHT NOW THE FUNDING IS REALLY FOCUSED ON PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT IS REALLY THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY OF TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DUE TO THE LIMITED AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT WE HAVE THAT'S AVAILABLE.
UM, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF PLANNING FOR FUTURE, UM, BOND ELECTIONS AND TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS IS WORKING ON THEIR PRIORITIZATION.
KEEPING IN MIND OBVIOUSLY THAT, THAT THERE IS DEMONSTRATED NEED ALONG THESE CORRIDORS, UM, THAT WOULD NEED TO BE FUNDED THROUGH FUTURE BOND ELECTIONS.
SO TIMING, AND THAT'S A VERY VAGUE ANSWER, AND I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT.
UM, BUT THERE ARE, UM, THERE ARE TREE PLANTING FUNDING THAT IS AVAILABLE THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH TPW ON, UM, YOU KNOW, MAINTAINING AND WHERE THEY WANT THOSE TREES TO GO AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT THE IMPORTANT CAVEAT, I THINK IS THAT, UM, AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE FUNDING RESTRICTIONS, WE, WE'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO THE FULL BUILD OUT THAT WAS ORIGINALLY ENVISIONED.
UM, AND THAT ADDITIONAL FUNDING WILL NEED TO BE IDENTIFIED THROUGH A, A FUTURE, SOME FUTURE FUNDING MECHANISM.
AND JUST TO FOLLOW UP, I APPRECIATE THAT IT'S PRIMARILY A SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY OF USE PROJECT.
I JUST, I DO WANT TO ADD THAT, UM, THE ABILITY TO USE THOSE SPACES, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE TEXAS HEAT DOES REQUIRE SHADE, AND I'M HOPING THAT THERE'S, UM, A PARTNERSHIP WITH CAP METRO THAT'S HAPPENING.
I KNOW THAT A LOT OF, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BUSES IS GOING ALONG THOSE ROUTE AND OFTEN, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU DON'T REALLY SEE ANY SHELTER OR BENCHES,
[00:40:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, ALONG THERE.AND SO I, I DO APPRECIATE THE FUNDING IS IS SHORT.
YOU'VE GOTTA SORT OF START AT THE BASE AND, AND WORK UP FROM THERE.
BUT FOR THE, UM, FOR, FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WHAT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED, WHICH I HAVE TO SAY IN A LOT OF THESE CORRIDORS HAS BEEN A DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT.
I DO THINK, UM, COMING IN QUICKLY WITH SHADE STRUCTURE, UH, FOR THE TEXAS SUMMER IS, IS VERY, VERY ESSENTIAL.
THE CAP METRO RAPID BUS STOPS THAT ARE PART OF PROJECT CONNECT, THEY ARE BUILDING SHADE STRUCTURES, UM, ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE STOPS AND IT'S SHADE STRUCTURE ON A BENCH USUALLY THAT GOES WITH IT.
UM, THAT'S BEING NOT DELIVERED THROUGH US, BUT THROUGH THE AWESOME TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN SOME OF THE INSPECTION AND THINGS LIKE THAT OF THOSE, THOSE FACILITIES.
SO I KNOW THERE IS, UM, A LARGE NUMBER OF THOSE THAT ARE GOING IN THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND THEN WE'VE ALSO EXECUTED A, A BASICALLY A TREE GROWTH CONTRACT WITH ONE OF OUR LOCAL SUPPLIERS HERE, WHERE I'D GET BACK TO YOU ON THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT I WANT TO SAY IT'S SOMETHING ON THE ORDER OF A THOUSAND TREES THAT THEY ARE GROWING FOR US.
SO THAT WAY WHEN WE PLANT THEM, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST LITTLE STICKS THAT STICK UP THIS SIDE OF THE GROUND, IT'S GONNA ACTUALLY PROVIDE SOME BENEFIT WHEN THOSE TREES DO GET PLANTED.
SO THAT'S IN THE BACKGROUND IN TERMS OF FUTURE PLANTINGS AND AVAILABILITY FOR THAT.
YEAH, I, UH, PARTIALLY WANT TO ECHO WHAT COMMISSIONER GALLES IS SUGGESTING, UM, BUT ALSO JUST, UH, SHARE MY OWN EXPERIENCE.
UM, I LIVE HERE IN THE HIGHLAND NEIGHBORHOOD AND I ACTUALLY TAKE THE TRAIL THAT WAS CREATED TO COME TO THESE MEETINGS.
JOHN'S, UM, AND THAT IS ABOUT A 20 TO 30 MINUTE WALK.
UM, AND SO I WILL SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ALSO SERVING AS THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR THE HIGHLAND NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, ONE OF THE COMMON COMPLAINTS THAT WE GET IS, UH, THE LACK OF SHADE, THE LACK OF TREES.
UM, I THINK THE CONCERN IS THAT, UM, IT'S GREAT TO HEAR THAT YOU ALL HAVE A PLAN TO DO THAT, BUT IN SOME CASES IT ALMOST SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE IMPLAUSIBLE TO DO THAT RETROACTIVELY BECAUSE OF WHERE THE TRAILS HAVE BEEN PLACED IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.
UM, THERE ARE THE CONSIDERATIONS OBVIOUSLY WITH THE, UM, AUSTIN UTILITY, UH, POLES AND INFRASTRUCTURE MM-HMM,
UM, BUT I THINK WHERE IT REALLY STANDS OUT TO ME THAT THERE WAS OPPORTUNITY IS IN AREAS WHERE THERE'S A MIXED USE OR SHARED USE PATH THAT'S NEXT TO AN EXISTING SIDEWALK.
NOW WHY THE MIXED USE PATH WASN'T PLACED, WHERE THE EXISTING SIDEWALK IS, YOU KNOW, AND THEN, UM, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF, UH, EVEN CREATING FUTURE PLANTING AREAS, UH, WHERE THE EXISTING MISUSE PATH NOW STANDS, UM, FOR TREES THAT WOULD'VE BEEN, UH, BENEFICIAL TO THE UTILIZATION.
SO NOW I THINK WE DO HAVE, UM, SOME AMAZING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE, AND I APPLAUD YOU ALL FOR THAT, BUT JUST AS SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY USES THAT, I CAN SAY THAT, UM, TO THE POINT OF WALKING IN THE HEAT, UM, THE USABILITY IS GREATLY COMPROMISED AND, UM, I THINK THAT WE WOULD APPRECIATE, UH, SOME CONSIDERATION, UM, SO THAT, UH, RETROACTIVELY YOU DON'T HAVE TO TRY TO SOLVE A PUZZLE THAT TRY TO SOLVE A PUZZLE THAT SEEMS UNSOLVABLE.
AND, AND I WOULD AGREE WITH, WITH THOSE COMMENTS, FOR ME PERSONALLY, A SIDEWALK WITHOUT TREES IS NOT A SIDEWALK AT ALL.
UH, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
AND YOU HOLD AN EVENT WHERE THEY CAN PROVIDE INPUT YES.
UH, THE NEXT QUESTION IS, UH, I GUESS AS AN EXAMPLE, THE SOUTH LAMAR, UH, ROADWAY SECTION THAT YOU'RE SHOWING, IS THAT ALL EXISTING RIGHT OF WAY, OR DO YOU HAVE TO OBTAIN MORE RIGHT OF WAY FOR, FOR THIS TO BE BUILT OUT? IT'S, I, I WON'T SAY IT'S ALL EXISTING RIGHT AWAY.
IT'S MOSTLY EXISTING RIGHT AWAY.
THERE ARE, UM, CERTAIN AREAS WHERE WE HAVE TO TAKE LITTLE SLIVERS OUT OF, OUT OF ADJACENT PROPERTY IN ORDER TO MAKE THE, UM, THE PADS NOT, YOU KNOW, GO IN AND OUT AND IN AND OUT IN TERMS OF THE DESIGN OF 'EM.
BUT WE'RE NOT ACQUIRING, YOU KNOW, LARGE, IT'S NOT LIKE TDO ON 35.
WE'RE, WE'RE ACQUIRING LARGE SWATHS OF PROPERTY UP AND DOWN, UH, SOUTH LAMAR, BUT THERE ARE SMALL SLICES THAT WE ARE ACQUIRING FROM SOME OF THE PROPERTIES ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
YOU SH YOU'VE SHOWN A LOT OF CORRIDORS HERE, BUT OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT THAT ARE MISSING.
DO YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE PLANS FOR OTHER CORRIDORS IN AUSTIN? YOU MEAN JUST IN GENERAL? CORRIDORS UP IN, DOWN THE, I MEAN, THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM, RIGHT? IS ALL THE CORRIDORS THAT ARE IN HERE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MLK, LIKE I SAID, UM, IN TERMS OF OTHER CORRIDORS IN THE CITY, LIKE A SIMILAR PROGRAM, ARE
[00:45:01]
YOU TALKING ABOUT TO, DO WE HAVE LIKE A, IS THERE GONNA BE ANOTHER CORRIDOR PROGRAM PHASE TWO OR SOMETHING LIKE YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S OTHER, I MEAN, YOU MENTIONED MLK, BUT A SMALL PIECE OF IT.AND A LOT OF IT NEEDS A LOT OF WORK.
IS THERE ANY PLAN FOR THAT, FOR INSTANCE? YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY A QUESTION FOR TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS.
THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE INVOLVED IN, IN PLANNING FUTURE, UM, YOU KNOW, ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS AND FUTURE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER WIRA? UH, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UH, I WANT TO ECHO THE, THE, THE COMMENTS THAT MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS HAVE ALREADY MADE.
UM, IT FEELS LIKE WE'VE REALLY, WE'VE FOCUSED ON SAFETY OVER HEALTH.
UM, AND THOSE THINGS HAVE A LOT OF OVERLAP, BUT AREN'T ALWAYS THE SAME.
AND, UH, COMMISSIONER CARROLL SAYS, A SIDEWALK WITHOUT A, WITHOUT A TREE IS, IS NOT A SIDEWALK.
UM, KIND OF THINKING, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE BEEN FALLING DOWN A TRAP OF THINKING LIKE TXDOT WHERE WE'RE MAKING THESE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS, BUT WE'RE NOT MAKING THE CHARACTER IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE PROMISED AS PART OF THE BOND INITIATIVE.
UM, AND I THINK I, I STRESS THAT BECAUSE THOSE CHARACTER IMPROVEMENTS ARE REALLY WHAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO MODE SHARE, WHICH WAS SUCH A CENTRAL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT.
UM, I'M NOT BLIND TO THE SIGNIFICANT ENGINEERING AND LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE OF THIS.
IT'S, IT'S A, IT WAS A AMBITIOUS, UM, PROJECT FROM THE GET GO.
IT'S BEEN MADE FAR MORE AMBITIOUS BY, UM, THE RISE OF COSTS, UH, THE REORGANIZATION OF CPO AT KIND OF A CRITICAL MOMENT.
SO THAT THERE'S A LOT GOING AGAINST THAT.
AND I, I'M SYMPATHETIC TO THE, THE STRUGGLES OF THAT, BUT I THINK I'D BE REMISS IN NOT, IN NOT ALSO ECHOING THAT, YOU KNOW, AND, YOU KNOW, THE UTILITIES DISTANCE FROM STREET TREES AND ALL THESE OTHER OBSTACLES THAT YOU'VE ENCOUNTERED THAT ARE JUST, YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S, THEY'RE RIDICULOUS.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR Y'ALL.
I DO WANNA PIVOT AND SAY, WHAT HAS FRUSTRATED ME ABOUT THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM IS THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.
THIS HAS BEEN AS OPAQUE AS CITY OF AUSTIN PROJECT AS I'VE EVER SEEN.
UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY FRUSTRATING.
UM, I WANTED TO BRING INFORMATION.
I LIVE OFF OF AIRPORT BOULEVARD.
I WANTED TO BRING INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLANS TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION.
UM, I'M SIGNED UP ON THE EMAIL LIST.
ALL I GET IS, UH, WE'RE GONNA START CONSTRUCTION IN SEPTEMBER.
IT'LL BE THIS WHOLE AREA WE'RE DOING THE WEST SIDE, IT'LL BE DONE IN SIX MONTHS.
UM, THAT'S JUST NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC.
AND I, I, YOU KNOW, WE USED TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT SCHEMATICS ON THE WEBSITE, UM, AND I'M NOT SURE WHY THOSE WERE TAKEN DOWN, BUT AT SOME POINT, THOSE, THOSE HAVE BEEN REMOVED.
SO THE PUBLIC HAS NO WINDOW THROUGH WHICH TO VIEW THIS PROJECT.
THE IDIQ IS GREAT, BUT IT ALSO OBSCURES THE PROJECT PLANS FROM ANY SORT OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT THAT THE PUBLIC MIGHT BE ALSO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT.
SO WE REALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON.
UM, AND, AND THE LACK OF AVAILABLE SCHEMATICS HAS BEEN A FRUSTRATION OF MINE.
UM, THE, THE LACK OF ABILITY FOR NEIGHBORHOODS AND AFFECTED ORGANIZATIONS TO READILY GET INFORMATION, UH, HAS BEEN A FRUSTRATION OF MINE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND I, I, I COMPARE THIS TO ANOTHER MOBILITY BOND PROGRAM THAT I THINK I, YOU KNOW, I, I HOPE IN THE SPIRIT OF BEING CONSTRUCTIVE WITH MY CRITICISM THAT I HOPE WE CAN LEARN FROM THE, THE BIKEWAYS PROGRAM FUNDED BY THE SAME 2016 MOBILITY BOND HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB OF PUTTING OUT ILLUSTRATIVE, UH, CON CONCEPTUAL, UH, IMAGES OF THE PROJECTS THEY'RE DOING, HOW THOSE ARE PHASED OUT.
AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE SMALLER, BUT IT'S THE SAME IDEA THAT THEY'RE BREAKING THIS OUT INTO THE KIND OF CONSTRUCTION PACKAGES LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, THE C ONE, C TWO, C3, AND SO FORTH.
UM, AND THEY'RE ALSO, THEY'VE PROVIDED, UM, ILLUSTRATIVE SCHEMATICS ON THEIR WEBSITE OF ALL THE PROGRAMS, OR AT LEAST ALL THE ONES THAT HAVE, THAT I HAVE SEEN.
SO TO ME, THERE'S A STRIKING DISPARITY IN THE TRANSPARENCY BETWEEN THAT PROGRAM AND THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM OFFICE.
AND GIVEN THE, THE REACH AND IMPORTANCE OF THIS, I, I JUST, IT FEELS LIKE A MONUMENTAL MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON.
UM, SO I URGE YOU GUYS TO, I MEAN, WE'VE, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF, THERE'S A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION LEFT TO DO.
UM, I MEAN, MO AS YOU, AS YOU WENT THROUGH THE PRESENTATION, MOST OF THESE CORRIDORS REALLY HAVEN'T STARTED SUBSTANTIAL CONSTRUCTION, UH, IN A LOT OF WAYS.
SO I THINK THERE'S STILL TIME TO RECALIBRATE AND CORRECT THAT.
UM, AND I, UM, HOPE TO SEND YOU AWAY BOTH, UH, WITH MY APPRECIATION FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THAT'S GOING ON, BUT ALSO MY FRUSTRATION THAT, UM, I'M HAVING SUCH A HARD TIME SEEING IT.
AND, AND TO THAT POINT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, UM, WE'VE, WE'VE HEARD THAT IN THE PAST IN TERMS OF THE SCHEMATICS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND I INVITE YOU TO COME BACK AND LOOK AT THE, THE WEBSITES THAT HAVE RECENTLY BEEN REVAMPED THAT DO INCLUDE SCHEMATIC DESIGNS AND THINGS LIKE THAT ON THOSE WEBPAGES.
UM, AND IF THEY'RE NOT THERE, PLEASE REACH OUT AND LET ME KNOW.
UM, THAT'S BEEN ONE THING THAT OUR PIO TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE LAST, YOU KNOW, MONTH OR TWO TO GET THOSE S SCHEMATICS BACK UP AND RUNNING.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY, PART OF THAT WAS A PART OF THE SHIFT IN THE CITY ORGANIZATIONAL
[00:50:01]
STRUCTURE AND SOME TECHNICAL THINGS BEHIND THE SCENES IN TERMS OF CONSOLIDATING ANYTHING.AT ONE TIME, WE HAD SOMETHING ON THE ORDER OF 27 OR 28 WEBPAGES THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM.
WE'RE TRYING TO WHITTLE THAT DOWN TO ONE WEBPAGE PER COURT, OR THAT HAS THOSE SCHEMATIC DESIGNS AND THAT INFORMATION ON THERE.
SO, UM, I'M NOT SURE IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT DONE, BUT I KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT OUR PIO TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING ON RECENTLY.
SO, AND I APPRECIATE THIS, AND I KNOW, KNOW, YOU'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT MEANING TO LAY THIS AT YOUR FEET.
UM, I'VE BEEN ASKED MUCH MORE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS.
WELL,
UM, THAT, THAT IS DEFINITELY AN ISSUE.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, AS IN MY ROLE AS A COMMISSIONER, I'D LIKE TO SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE TO THE DECISION MAKERS ON THIS REORGANIZATION TO SAY, THIS MADE A HUGE MESS, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC.
AND NOW YOU, ERIC, UNFORTUNATELY, ARE HAVING TO CLEAN THAT UP.
UM, SO I, I WANNA USE THIS PLATFORM TO, TO MAKE THAT STATEMENT MORE BROADLY.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE, THE, THE CHANGES YOU GUYS ARE TRYING TO MAKE ON THAT.
AND, AND, UH, HOPE THEY CONTINUE.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER HOWARD.
UM, I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO CARRY THE STREET TREE TORCH, BUT IT SEEMS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF TORCHES OUT HERE FOR TREES, UM, NOT IN THE WAY YOU, YOU'D THINK.
UM, UH, I, I WANT TO REITERATE ALL THAT.
YOU KNOW, UM, WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK AT OUR SUMMERS RIGHT NOW AND SAY THEY'RE INTOLERABLE, INTOLERABLE.
BUT BY 2050, WE'RE PROJECTED TO HAVE THREE MONTHS ON AVERAGE OF, UH, HEAT INDEX OVER A HUNDRED DEGREES VERSUS ONE MONTH.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT HORRIBLE SUMMERS TODAY, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT HORRIBLE HALF YEAR TOMORROW.
UM, AND THIS HAS BEEN SUCH A HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO RE-ENVISION HOW OUR STREETS WORK.
UH, THE BUDGET WAS, IT SEEMED HUGE AT THE TIME,
AND, AND I, WE HAVE HUGE APPRECIATION FOR THAT.
UM, BUT I DO WORRY THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION ISN'T QUITE AS VISIONARY, UM, AS IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE TO GET US TO WHERE WE NEED TO GO.
UM, I THINK I, I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN HEARING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW YOU GUYS ARE TAKING STEPS TO PLAN IN THIS PHASE ONE FOR FUTURE PHASES AS FAR AS LIKE PRESERVING AREAS FOR STREET TREES, UH, CONSIDERING HOW UTILITIES WILL BE RELOCATED, UM, IN THE FUTURE.
YOU KNOW, RESEARCH HAS BEEN FAR MORE ADVANCED THAN WHATEVER THEY'RE DOING AT A AND M THESE DAYS.
UM, YOU KNOW, STREET TREES DELIVER A LOT OF SAFETY.
UH, RIGHT NOW, OUR SIDEWALKS AND OUR TURF, UH, THAT IS SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY THING WE CAN GET WITHOUT A LICENSE AGREEMENT.
UM, UH, OUR BIKE LANES ARE JUST MORE CLEAR SPACE FOR DRUNK DRIVERS TO RUN OFF THE ROAD.
UM, REALLY, WE, WE NEED TO NARROW THE STREETS AND WE NEED TO MAKE THEM FEEL LIKE PLACES WHERE YOU SHOULD GO SLOW.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE MORE PAVEMENT, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, ONE THING IS STORM WATER, BUT THE OTHER IS WE REALLY DO EXPERIENCE THE SPACE DIFFERENT.
WE BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY IN THE SPACE RIGHT NOW.
UH, OUR CORRIDORS FEEL LIKE HIGHWAYS BECAUSE THEY'RE BUILT LIKE HIGHWAYS OTHER THAN A LITTLE CURB, UM, IN SOME CASES, WHICH IS A HUGE IMPROVEMENT, UH, TO WHAT WE HAD BEFORE, WHICH WAS NO CURB IN MOST CASES.
UM, AND, BUT I, I DO THINK THAT WE NEED TO BROADEN OUR PERSPECTIVE ON SAFETY.
STREET TREES MATTER A TON, UH, BOTH TO EXTREME HEAT, UM, AND, AND FOLKS THAT REALLY DON'T HAVE OTHER OPTIONS, BUT TO BE ON OUR STREETS, UM, UH, AND, AND, UH, HIGH HEAT TIMES.
BUT, UM, ALSO I THINK, UM, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE DECISION MAKING AND, UH, AROUND CONSTRAINED RIGHTS OF WASTE AND HOW, HOW ARE YOU GUYS, UH, WEIGHING THE TRADE OFFS BETWEEN LANE WIDTH AND, UH, AND LET'S SAY PLANTING ZONE OR A WIDER, UH, SIDEWALK OR MIXED USE PATH VERSUS, OR, SORRY, MULTI-USE PATH VERSUS, UH, SIDEWALK AND BIKE LANE.
UM, BUT ALSO I'M INTERESTED IN HEARING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT INTERSECTION TREATMENTS.
UH, IF, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS, I WAS REALLY SURPRISED AT HOW MANY SLIP LANES ARE, ARE GETTING RECONSTRUCTED, UH, IN OUR VISIONARY TRANSPORTATION, UM, SORT OF, UH, CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE COMING IN WITH SOME TABLED INTER, UH, TABLED CROSSINGS, WHICH I THINK ARE MUCH BETTER THAN OUR PREVIOUS, UH, GENERATION OF SLIP LANES, BUT THEY'RE SLIP LANES.
UM, AND INEVITABLY WE KNOW, WE KNOW WHERE PEOPLE ARE LOOKING WHEN THEY'RE GOING INTO A SLIP LANE.
THEY'RE NOT LOOKING AT THE PE, THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING, THE CROSSING THE STREET.
THEY'RE LOOKING DOWN THE STREET THE OTHER WAY TO SEE IF THEY CAN GUN IT.
UM, AND SO THERE, IT'S JUST A BAD DESIGN.
IT DOESN'T WORK FOR PEDESTRIANS, IT DOESN'T WORK FOR BICYCLISTS, IT ONLY WORKS FOR MOVING CARS.
UH, AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO SEE THAT GET, UH, YOU KNOW, REINVESTED IN AND, UH, AS A, AS OUR VISION FOR OUR FUTURE.
UM, ALSO, I'M, I'M REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT, UH, INTERSECTION DESIGN
[00:55:01]
AS FAR AS I, I KNOW THESE INTERSECTIONS ARE OFTENTIMES INCREDIBLY CONSTRAINED.UH, BUT OFTENTIMES I'M SEEING TREATMENTS WHERE BIKE LANES ARE BEING MERGED INTO SIDEWALKS.
UM, THIS, YOU KNOW, IN THE SITUATION THAT WE ARE TODAY WHERE THERE ISN'T A WHOLE LOT OF PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY AND THERE ISN'T A WHOLE LOT OF BIKE ACTIVITY, PERHAPS THIS IS SAFE, BUT IN 30 YEARS, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT A VERY DIFFERENT AUSTIN, WE'RE HOPEFULLY LOOKING AT AN AUSTIN WHERE THESE INVESTMENTS PAY OFF AND PEOPLE ARE RIDING THE BIKE OR RIDING THEIR BIKES, WALKING, THEY'RE RIGHT, WALKING TO THE BUS, RIDING THEIR BIKE TO THE BUS.
AND SO THESE BIKE LANES AND THESE SIDEWALKS ARE GONNA HAVE A WHOLE LOT MORE PEOPLE ON IT.
UM, AND, AND THOSE DESIGNS ARE PUTTING ALL OF, UH, EVERYBODY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PUT ON THE ROAD IN CONFLICT WITH ONE ANOTHER.
UM, AND I'M WONDERING HOW YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WEIGHING KIND OF, UH, OBVIOUSLY AGAIN, HUGE CONSTRAINTS, UM, NOT, NOT RIGHT WAYS THAT WERE DESIGNED FOR THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
UM, SO CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, RIGHT? WE ARE THE, THE CITY DEPARTMENT THAT DELIVERS ON THE VISION OF THE ASSET OWNER.
SO IN THIS CASE, TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS.
WE DON'T GET INVOLVED IN THE DESIGN AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, WE ARE REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR DELIVERING THE PROJECT ON THEIR BEHALF.
SO I WOULD INVITE Y'ALL TO INVITE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, TO COME AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT THEIR, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIES, THEIR, THEIR DESIGNS AND WHAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING IN TERMS OF THEIR THEORY ABOUT THE RIGHT OF WAY AND WHAT, WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO, TO BALANCE THE MODE SHARE AMONGST, YOU KNOW, CARS, BICYCLES, AND, AND PEDESTRIANS.
SO, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU BECAUSE THAT'S, LIKE I SAID, THAT'S TRANSPORTATION.
PUBLIC WORKS IS REALLY THE DEPARTMENT THAT DEALS WITH THE, THAT TRANSPORTATION DESIGN, WHAT INTERSECTIONS LOOK LIKE, SLIP LANES, BIKE LANES, MERGING THOSE TOGETHER, ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
SO THEY WOULD BE THE ONES THAT BE BETTER PREPARED TO COME AND, AND TALK TO Y'ALL ABOUT THAT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, ANYONE ELSE? POINT OF ORDER.
IT'S A NON IRRIGATED TURF GRASS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER WITCHER.
ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
[3. Staff briefing regarding the Red River Cultural District. Presented by Donald Jackson, Economic Development Department. ]
NEXT ITEM IS A STAFF BRIEFING ON THE RED RIVER.CULTURAL DISTRICT, UH, PRESENTED BY DONALD JACKSON FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
I'M A BUSINESS PROCESS CONSULTANT IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
I'LL BE PRESENTING TONIGHT ON BEHALF OF, UH, MY MANAGER, MATTHEW SCHMIDT, WHO'S NOT AVAILABLE TONIGHT.
BUT, UH, WE'LL ACTUALLY BE PRESENTING, UH, BROADLY ON OUR ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DISTRICT PROGRAM SERVICES, UH, THAT INCLUDE OUR, OUR WORK WITH RED RIVER.
UM, AND THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
SO, THERE'S THREE COMPONENTS TO THIS.
UH, PARDON, DONALD? PARDON? PARDON.
COULD YOU JUST SPEAK UP? PARDON? JUST A LITTLE BIT, PLEASE.
UH, SO THERE'S THREE MAJOR COMPONENTS TO THIS, AND FIRST, I'LL TALK ABOUT OUR ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DISTRICT FRAMEWORK POLICY.
UH, THIS IS A POLICY THAT WAS APPROVED IN SEPTEMBER.
UH, UH, THE POLICY IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE FOR COMMUNITY AND POLICY MAKERS IN THE IDENTIFICATION, ORGANIZING, AND RESOURCING OF ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DISTRICTS.
UH, OUR DEPARTMENT WORKS WITH THESE TYPES OF DISTRICTS, UH, NOT ZONING DISTRICTS, JUST TO BE CLEAR, MORE SPECIAL DISTRICTS LIKE CULTURAL DISTRICTS THAT ARE DESIGNATED BY CITY COUNCIL.
WE ALSO WORK WITH, UH, ECONOMIC DISTRICTS THAT ARE SORT OF CONTINUOUS CLUSTERS OF PRIMARILY SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, WITH, WITH HIGH LEVELS OF AMENITIES.
SO, UH, THIS, THIS POLICY, UH, WAS ADOPTED TO HELP GUIDE OUR WORK IN THE FUTURE AND, UH, AND, AND GUIDE OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DISTRICTS, AS WELL AS THE DELIVERY OF DIFFERENT SERVICES TO THEM.
UH, THE VI THE VALUES AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES ARE LISTED HERE, COMMUNITY AMPLIFICATION AND STEWARDSHIP, PRESERVATION AND PROMOTION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY, EQUITABLE ACCESS TO RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES, UH, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AND ECONOMIC CLUSTERING.
AS, AS I NOTED, THESE ARE AREAS WHERE THERE'S, UH, CLUSTERS OF EITHER ECONOMIC ASSETS OR CULTURAL ASSETS, OR BOTH, UH, OR CREATIVE ASSETS.
UH, THE POLICY INCLUDES A FOCUS ON ENHANCED SUPPORT AND RESOURCES FOR THESE TYPES OF DISTRICTS.
SOME OF OUR SPECIALIZED SERVICES THAT, UH, ARE PROVIDED TO THESE, UH, THESE TYPES OF DISTRICTS ARE INCREASED, UH, ACCESS TO ORGANIZATIONAL TRAININGS, UH, STRATEGIC PLANNING AND LEGAL RESOURCES.
WE ALSO, UH, DO, UH, ENHANCED COORDINATION AND INTEGRATION FOR THE DISTRICTS, UH, INCLUDING WORK FOR ENHANCING DISTRICT BRANDING OR BRAND DEVELOPMENT,
[01:00:01]
UH, OR UTILIZING SPECIALIZED PLACEMAKING PROJECTS TO HELP, UH, CREATE A, A UNIFIED, UH, DISTRICT, UH, SENSE AND VISION.UH, WE ALSO PROVIDE, UH, WE ALSO ADMINISTER, UH, FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL ASSISTANCE IN VARIOUS WAYS APPROPRIATE TO THE DISTRICT AND THE DISTRICT MODEL.
UH, ALL OF THOSE ARE SORT OF OUTLINED IN MORE DETAIL IN OUR DISTRICT POLICY THAT WAS PASSED, UH, THAT WAS PASSED WITH THAT COUNCIL ITEM.
BUT THAT INCLUDES, UH, SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS, UH, OCCASIONALLY TAX, UH, TAX INCREMENT FINANCING, UH, OR OTHER TYPES OF EQUITABLE, UH, FUNDING MODELS, UH, CHALLENGES FOR IMPLEMENTATION, AND FOR OUR FRAMEWORK POLICY, UH, REALLY JUST FOCUS ON EVALUATING, UH, HOW THOSE RESOURCES ARE ALLOCATED AMONG EXISTING DISTRICTS.
ONE OF THE MAJOR MOTIVATIONS OF THIS POLICY IS TO HELP HAVE, UH, TO HELP, UH, INITIATE DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE ON, UH, HOW TO, HOW TO ALLOCATE FUNDING FOR THOSE, FOR, FOR DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, FOR DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION AND DISTRICT SERVICES.
UH, ANOTHER INITIATIVE THAT WE HAVE PASSED RECENTLY, UH, THAT HAS PASSED, BEEN PA THAT WE'VE TAKEN TO CITY COUNCIL AND, AND HAS PASSED RECENTLY, UH, ALSO AT THE SAME TIME, IS OUR PLACE BASED ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM.
UH, THIS IS A NEW PROGRAM TO ENFOR, ENCOURAGE AFFORDABLE COMMERCIAL SPACE FOR THE CREATIVE SECTOR, FOR SMALL LOCAL COMMUNITY SERVING PROJECTS, FOR NEEDED INFRASTRUCTURE IN UNDERSERVED AREAS AND FOR, UH, LOCAL LEGACY BUSINESSES.
SO, UH, THE INCENTIVE, IT, IT'S A, IT'S THE CONTEXT OF OUR, UH, UH, CHAPTER THREE 80, UH, TAX REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM, UH, OR, OR GENERAL, UH, GENERAL POLICY.
AND THE INCENTIVE IS BASED ON NEW INVESTMENT IN REAL ESTATE AND PRIORITIES AND PRIORITY AREAS FOR THE CITY, UH, THAT PROVIDE MAJOR COMMUNITY BENEFITS, UH, OR ON THE PRESERVATION OF EXISTING VENUES, CREATIVE SPACES, AND LEGACY BUSINESSES THAT ARE THREATENED BY HIGH REAL ESTATE COSTS, UH, INCLUDING RENT, TAXES OR BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, THE MAIN, BEN, THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS PROGRAM, UH, IT, IT'S, IT'S, FOLKS MAY BE A LITTLE MORE FAMILIAR WITH OUR KIND OF MORE EXIST, OUR EXISTING TYPES OF CHAPTER THREE 80 TAX INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. THOSE ARE OFTEN TIED TO, UH, UH, INCENTIVIZING OR ENCOURAGING, UH, UH, LARGER COMPANIES TO MOVE THAT PROVIDE A LOT OF, UH, LIVING WAGE JOBS.
THIS IS, THIS IS DIFFERENT WHERE THIS IS, THIS PROGRAM'S REALLY FOCUSED ON, UH, INCENTIVIZING, UH, AFFORDABLE SPACE FOR THESE HIGH NEEDS, UH, IMPORTANT, UM, MEMBERS OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY, INCLUDING MUSIC VENUES AND CREATIVE SPACES, UH, SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES, NONPROFITS AND CO-OPS AND, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, WHICH WOULD BE SPECIFIC HIGH IMPACT PROJECTS THAT BENEFIT AN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY OR FILL AN ECOSYSTEM GAP, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT COULD BE A GROCERY STORE IN A FOOD DESERT OR, UH, CHILDCARE FACILITIES, THAT, THAT KIND OF THING.
THE PLACE-BASED ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM HAS FOUR MAJOR CATEGORIES TO IT.
THE FIRST ONE IS, UH, CALLED THE AFFORDABLE SPACE CATEGORY.
UH, THAT'S ONE WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, WHERE, UH, IF THERE IS NEW CONSTRUCTION OF, UM, UH, COMMERCIAL OR MIXED USE, UH, PROPERTY, WE CAN, UH, WE CAN PROPOSE OR, OR WORK WITH A DEVELOPER TO, UH, TO CREATE AN INCENTIVE THAT, UH, ENCOURAGES THEM OR INCENTIVIZES THEM TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE LEASES TO, UH, ONE OF THESE TYPES OF TENANTS, UH, ARTS AND MUSIC SPACES, LOCAL BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, UM, THAT, UH, THE SECOND CATEGORY IS A COMMUNITY IMPACT CATEGORY THAT, UH, WHEREAS THE FIRST CATEGORY IS REALLY FOCUSED ON NEW CONSTRUCTION, UH, THAT, UH, OF PROPERTY THAT INCLUDES LEASES, UH, TO, UH, TENANTS THAT ARE AFFORDABLE.
THE SECOND CATEGORY IS MORE FOR OWNER OPERATORS OR EVEN POTENTIALLY JUST TENANT IMPROVEMENTS FOR PROJECTS.
AND IT'S JUST A, IT'S, IT'S MORE OF A GAP FINANCING PROGRAM, UH, IN A CLASSICAL SENSE, JUST, UH, USING TAX INCENTIVES TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF, UH, UH, AGAIN, HIGH IMPACT COMMUNITY, UH, DEVELOPMENT, UH, PROJECTS, UH, INCLUDING, UH, ARTS AND CULTURAL SPACES.
UH, AND THAT CAN ALSO BE USED TOWARDS, AGAIN, TENANT IMPROVEMENTS OR FINISH OUT THE, UH, THE FIRST TWO CATEGORIES WILL BE BASED PRIMARILY ON, ON NEW CONSTRUCTION.
AND THE TAX INCENTIVE WILL BE BASED ON SORT OF THE INCREMENTS OF NEW, THE, THE NEW INCREMENT OF VALUE, UH, FROM THAT CONSTRUCTION.
UH, THE THIRD CATEGORY IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
UH, WE'RE CALLING IT CULTURAL PRESERVATION CATEGORY.
UH, IT IS, UH, THESE ARE TAX REIMBURSEMENTS, UH, POTENTIALLY OTHER PROGRAMS THAT CAN BE USED TO SUPPORT THE RETENTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF EXISTING MUSIC VENUES, CREATIVE SPACES AND LEGACY OF THE BUSINESSES, NONPROFITS AND CO-OPS LEGACY THERE BEING FAIRLY STRICTLY DEFINED.
UH, THIS IS THE ONLY PROGRAM THAT IS NOT, DOESN'T REQUIRE SORT OF NEW CONSTRUCTION OR NEW INCREMENT TO BE, UH, PULLING INCENTIVE FROM.
SO THAT'S GENERAL FUND, UH, FUNDED.
SO, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE THE, THAT'S THE AVAILABILITY
[01:05:01]
FOR THAT WILL DEPEND ON, ON ANNUAL BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS.UH, THE FOURTH CATEGORY IS CALLED TRANSFORMATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
THIS IS AN EXTREMELY FLEXIBLE CATEGORY IN CERTAIN RESPECTS, IN TERMS OF WHAT SORT OF INCENTIVES OR WHAT SORT OF FEATURES OF DEVELOPMENTS CAN BE INCENTIVIZED IN IT.
UH, IT IS, BUT HOWEVER, IT'S LIMITED TO PROJECTS THAT HAVE A, UH, THAT, THAT ARE ESSENTIALLY CITY LED OR CITY DIRECTED, UH, THAT ARE TIED TO THE TRANSFORMATIONAL DELIVERY OF A CITY LED REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT, UH, TIED TO SOME SORT OF COUNCIL ADOPTED PLAN.
THERE'S A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY IN THIS CATEGORY, BUT IT'S REALLY ONLY GOING TO BE FOR THOSE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT HAVE A HIGH LEVEL OF OVERSIGHT FROM CITY AND COMMISSIONS, UH, ENSURING THAT THEY ARE, UH, GENUINELY TRANSFORMATIONAL PROJECTS WITH VERY HIGH LEVELS OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
THE FINAL, UH, UPDATE WE'RE GIVING, UH, IS ON OUR NEW, UH, THE NEW, UM, COMBINING DISTRICT THAT WAS CREATED, UH, A FEW WEEKS AGO, UH, THROUGH COUNCIL ADOPTION.
THIS IS A, THIS IS A DENSITY BONUS, UH, PROGRAM.
THIS IS A, THIS IS A COMBINING DISTRICT WITH A DENSITY BONUS FOCUSED ON, UH, PRESERVING AND CREATING, UH, CREATIVE SPACES AND PERFORMANCE VENUES.
UH, THIS WAS INTRODUCED BY, UH, CITY COUNCIL INITIATIVE, UH, IN 2022, SEVERAL INITIATIVES, UH, IN 2022 WITH REITERATION AND, AND, AND RESOLUTIONS, UH, IN 2023 AND, UH, EARLIER THIS YEAR.
UM, BUT ESSENTIALLY, IT, IT'S PART OF OUR CONTINUING DIRECTION TO TRY AND SUPPORT OUR CREATIVE SPACES AND MUSIC VENUES WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO INCENTIVIZE, UH, AFFORDABLE SPACE AND LONG-TERM SPACE.
SO IN THIS CASE, THE, THE, THIS, UH, WOULD BE A DISTRICT COMBINING DISTRICT OR A CREATIVE DISTRICT COMBINING DISTRICT, UM, WITH SOME, UH, GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS, INCLUDING, UH, ONLY BEING LOCATED IN AREAS THAT ARE PRIMARILY COMMERCIALLY ZONED, UH, MINIMUM SIZE REQUIREMENTS.
UH, A MINIMUM PERCENTAGE OF SITES CONTRIBUTING, SORT OF SIMILAR TO HISTORIC DISTRICTS.
THERE'S GONNA HAVE TO, THERE HAS TO BE A MINIMUM NUMBER OF SITES EITHER EXISTING OR PLANNED, UH, THAT WOULD BE CONTRIBUTING TO THE CREATIVE DISTRICT, UH, DESIGNATION AS CREATIVE SPACE USES.
THAT WOULD INCLUDE MUSIC VENUES, ART GALLERIES, THEATERS, PERFORMANCE VENUES, ET CETERA.
THOSE ARE ALL LISTED IN THE, UH, ORDINANCE.
UM, THERE'LL NEED TO BE A LOT OF PRIOR COORDINATION.
UH, WE REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE WAY THIS IS DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED, UH, ENCOURAGES, UH, UH, A TOOL THAT CAN BE USED BY, UH, CREATIVE SPACE, UH, PROVIDERS AND, AND DEVELOPERS AND PROPERTY OWNERS TRYING TO CREATE THAT, THAT KIND OF DISTRICT.
AND WE DON'T JUST HAVE SOME SORT OF, UH, TOP DOWN IN POSITION OF THAT ZONING, UH, FROM THE CITY.
WE WANTED TO REALLY BE A BOTTOM UP PROCESS.
AND, UM, WHAT WAS ESTABLISHED WAS JUST A, WAS A PAPER DISTRICT THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO, UH, THROUGH REZONINGS, UH, WITH SOME ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS, INCLUDING SUPPORT FROM, UH, OF COURSE, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, BUT ALSO MY DEPARTMENT, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, AND THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
WE'LL, ALL, WE'LL ALL SORT OF WORK ON THAT TO MAKE SURE ANY APPLICATION FOR A NEW, UH, CREATIVE DISTRICT IS IN LINE WITH, UH, OTHER CITY POLICIES AND PRIORITIES.
THIS IS REITERATE SOME OF THE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS, UM, TO BE, TO UTILIZE THE DENSITY BONUS THAT IS PART OF THE CREATIVE DISTRICT.
UH, ANY BUILDING USING IT IS GONNA HAVE SOME MINIMUM GROUND FLOOR REQUIREMENTS AND FRONTAGE REQUIREMENTS OF WHAT MUST BE, WHAT SHOULD BE A CREATIVE, UH, SPACE OR FALL IN THAT CREATIVE SPACE CATEGORY.
ALSO, IF THERE'S A REDEVELOPMENT OF PROPERTY IN THE DISTRICT, UH, THAT HAS AN EXISTING CREATIVE SPACE, UH, THERE ARE SOME STRONG PRESERVATION AND RELOCATION BENEFIT REQUIREMENTS IN LINE WITH, UH, THE NEWLY ADOPTED, UH, EXISTING NON RESIDENTIAL SPACE PROVISIONS OF, UH, SECTION 4 18 31 IN THE CODE, UM, INCLUDING RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL TO A, UH, A SPACE, UH, AT AN AFFORDABLE LEASE IN A NEW DEVELOPMENT OF COMPARABLE SIZE TO, TO THAT WHICH IS LOST.
UH, IF THAT IS UTILIZED, THEN THE BONUSES ARE MORE OR LESS MODELED ON OUR DB 90, UM, CITY BONUS PROGRAM.
THERE'S, UH, WAIVING MINIMUM SOME MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS AROUND SITE AREAS AND FAR AND SOME ADDITIONAL HEIGHT ALLOWANCES.
UH, OUR AFFORDABILITY CRITERIA FOR THIS ARE, ARE, UH, FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL.
UH, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF, IF, IF THIS IS UTILIZED, THAT WE ARE GIVING, UH, OUR ARTS AND MUSIC VENUES, UH, EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED.
SO, UH, OUR AFFORDABILITY CRITERIA IS, UH, 50% OF THE, UM, COMMERCIAL RATE, UH, OR, UH, STABILIZE LEASE TO REVENUE RATIO BASED ON AN INDUSTRY AVERAGE.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S VERY COMMON IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT KIND OF, KIND OF COMMERCIAL LEASES.
UH, NOT PARTICULARLY COMMON FOR ARTS AND MUSIC SPACES, BUT
[01:10:01]
AS PART OF THIS INCENTIVE, THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANNA MAKE AVAILABLE WITH A STANDARD, UH, ANNUAL RENT ESCALATION CAP.UH, 5% IS PRETTY COMMON IN THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR, BUT, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR CREATIVE, UM, USERS, UH, THAT IS SOMETHING WE WANNA MAKE SURE IS SORT OF CLEAR AND SPELLED OUT FOR THEM.
THE MINIMUM CRITERIA, OR THE MINIMUM AFFORDABILITY PERIOD FOR THIS, UH, IS GONNA BE 10 YEARS, HAS TO BE CONSISTENT WITH OTHER SORTS OF DENSITY BONUS, UH, COMPLIANCE TERMS THAT, THAT ARE, THAT ARE FOR FEATURES THAT ARE NON-RESIDENTIAL IN NATURE.
AND, AND FINALLY FOR THAT, THERE'D BE A FEE AND LOOP OPTION.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU'RE WORKING IN A, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE DOING SORT OF A MUSIC VENUE ORIENTED CREATIVE DISTRICT, UM, AND RATHER THAN PUTTING NEW MUSIC VENUE INTO, UH, A NEW BUILDING, UH, YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO, UH, PUT A BUILDING NEAR, UH, IN THE DISTRICT, UH, AND PRE HELP PRESERVE AN EXISTING MUSIC VENUE.
THERE'S, THERE'LL BE A FEEL NEW OPTION THAT CAN HELP ACCOMMODATE THAT.
UH, SIMILAR TO OUR, UM, UH, CIRCLE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE, MY DEPARTMENT MANAGES CURRENTLY, INCLUDING CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND OUR, OUR, THE CULTURAL TRUST PROGRAM WE WORK ON WITH, UM, THE, UH, RALEIGH AUSTIN AND, AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
AND FINALLY, HERE'S, HERE'S KIND OF THE RED RIVER THING.
THESE WERE ALL PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, THAT WERE PASSED IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, AND THE RELATIONSHIP TO RED RIVER, UM, WHICH IS, WHICH IS SOMETHING I BELIEVE THAT, UH, FOLKS ARE VERY INTERESTED IN, UH, IN TERMS OF THE ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DISTRICT FRAMEWORK.
UM, PART OF WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THIS FRAMEWORK IS GET, UH, REGULARIZATION AND STANDARDIZATION OF THIS SORT OF EXPANDED ACCESS TO TOOLS AND SUPPORT PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE.
AND ALSO, IT HELPS SORT OF ESTABLISH, UH, HOW WE WILL BE, UH, ADMINISTERING OVERSIGHT, WHICH, WHICH OUR DEPARTMENT WILL DO, UH, FOR THE RED RIVER SPECIAL, UH, REVENUE FUND, UH, AS PART OF GUIDANCE AROUND OUR, OUR CULTURAL DISTRICT SERVICE AGREEMENTS.
UM, AND THAT FUND IS BEING, THAT FUND HAS ALREADY BEEN, UH, APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL, AND WE'RE WORKING TO IMPLEMENT THAT.
I BELIEVE IT'S, UM, THE IMPLEMENTATION WILL BE ON THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL AGENDA.
UM, THE PLACE-BASED ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM, UH, AS A TAX INCENTIVE PROGRAM, IT PROVIDES ADDITIONAL INCENTIVES FOR DEVELOPERS TO INTEGRATE NEWER EXISTING CREATIVE SPACE AND DEVELOPMENTS, INCLUDING IN THE RED AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT.
UH, THERE'LL BE ADDITIONAL, UH, SORT OF BONUS POINTS OR PRIORITIZATION FOR THESE PROJECTS IN DESIGNATED CULTURAL DISTRICTS, LIKE THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT, UH, CAN ALSO, IN THAT CATEGORY THREE, UM, IT COULD ALSO PROVIDE, UH, DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, UH, TO HELP SUPPORT PRESERVATION OR, UH, IMPROVE OR, OR RESILIENCE, UH, ORIENTED EN ENHANCEMENTS FOR VENUES IN THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT.
UH, AND JUST THOUGH, JUST TO BE CLEAR, I WANNA, UH, WITH THE PLACE-BASED ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM IS A CHAPTER THREE.
THESE WE'RE TALKING MORE ABOUT SORT OF ELIGIBILITY AND, AND, AND, AND PRIORITIZATION.
ANY SORT OF TAX INCENTIVE, UH, PROGRAM, UH, THAT IS ANY SORT OF TAX INCENTIVE, UH, APPLICATION ULTIMATELY HAS TO BE APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL.
THAT'S JUST KIND OF, THAT'S HOW THEY, THAT'S HOW THEY WORK.
UM, AND FINALLY, FOR THE CREATIVE DISTRICT COMBINING DISTRICT, THAT WAS ACTUALLY INITIATED IN LARGE PART, UH, AROUND THE ISSUES WITH RED RIVER.
UH, THE DIFFICULTY HERE IS THAT IT IS, WE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE DIRECTED TO DEVELOP A, UM, A COMBINING DISTRICT OR A, OR A, A DENSITY BONUS ORIENTED DISTRICT THAT CAN SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE, UM, UH, MUSIC AND ARTS DISTRICTS, ESSENTIALLY.
AND THE EXISTING AREA, LIKE RED RIVER IS IN THE DOWNTOWN AND, AND FALLS UNDER THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS.
SO, UH, OUR ACTUAL, UH, RECOMMENDATION WAS TO, UH, BASICALLY INITIATE A SUB-DISTRICT OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS TO APPLY TO THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT THAT UTILIZE SIMILAR ELEMENTS TO THE CREATIVE DISTRICT COMBINING DISTRICT THAT WE'VE, THAT WE'VE, UH, ESTABLISHED HERE.
AND THAT, UM, THAT INITIATION HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.
CITY COUNCIL PASSED AN ITEM IN JULY TO INITIATE THAT PROCESS AS PART OF THE REVIEW OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS.
UH, I WILL ALSO SAY THERE IS SOME DIFFICULTIES WITH THAT, UH, THAT APPROACH GENERALLY BECAUSE, UH, MOST OF RED RIVER, MOST OF THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT FALLS UNDER CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDORS, UM, WHICH LIMITS, UH, HOW, HOW EFFECTIVE A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM GENERALLY CAN BE.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE STILL SORT OF WORKING ON AND LOOKING AT AND THINK EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES OR OPTIONS FOR THAT.
CERTAINLY, UH, IF, IF ANY OF THOSE CAPITAL REVIEW QUARTERS ARE MODIFIED, IT'LL BE, IT'LL BE REALLY IMPORTANT, HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT, UH, IF NEW DEV, IF NEW, LARGER DEVELOPMENT IS, BECOMES POSSIBLE IN THAT PORTION OF THE EASTERN DOWNTOWN, THAT, UH, THERE'S PRIORITIZATION OF PRESERVATION, UH, AND, AND, UH, EXPANSION OF OUR, OF OUR
[01:15:01]
LIVE MUSIC ECOSYSTEM IN THE RED RIVER AREA.UH, I BELIEVE THAT MIGHT BE THE LAST SLIDE.
COULD YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE? AND I THINK THAT'S IT.
I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS OR ANY PARTS OF THESE, UH, OF THIS PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, WE'RE GONNA OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
ANYONE HAVE A QUESTION OR A COMMENT? COMMISSIONER CARROLL.
FIRST QUESTION IS, HOW MANY STAFF MEMBERS DO YOU HAVE IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IN THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT OR WORKING IN THESE PROGRAMS, WORKING ON THESE PROGRAMS? OH, UH, THREE.
UH, ACTUALLY NO, TWO, UH, AND PART-TIME.
AND WHERE DOES THE FUNDING FOR THIS, THESE PROGRAMS COME FROM? SO, IN TERMS OF THE, SO THERE'S, SO WE TALKED ABOUT THREE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS FOR THE CULTURAL DIS, THE CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DISTRICTS PROGRAM.
WE HAVE A PLACE-BASED ENHANCEMENT, OR EXCUSE ME, WE HAVE A, UM, PLACE-BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
IT, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S SOME, I'M GETTING SOME FEEDBACK.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO, HOW TO ADDRESS THAT.
BUT, UH, WE, UH, OUR, OUR FUNDING IS PRIMARILY THROUGH OUR, OUR FUNDING IS THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND.
WE HAVE AN ANNUAL GENERAL FUND ALLOCATION TO SUPPORT OUR ECONOMIC, OUR, UM, OUR PLACE-BASED, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
UM, WE, THERE THE SPECIFIC, UH, CULTURAL DIS, SOME OF THE SPECIFIC CULTURAL DISTRICTS HAVE DEDICATED FUNDING THAT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED BY CITY COUNCIL, UH, INCLUDING THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT, WHICH JUST, UH, WAS, UH, RECEIVED A DEDICATED, UH, TRANSPORTATION FEE BASED, I BELIEVE, UH, SPECIAL ASSESSMENT THAT WILL HELP FUND ITS ACTIVITIES.
UH, AND THAT WAS A COUNCIL DESIGNATION, UH, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE DISTRICT, WHICH IS ANOTHER DISTRICT THAT WE, UH, SUPPORT THE, THE CONTRACT WORK FOR THAT IS, UH, THAT ALSO HAS A, A STANDARDIZED, UM, ALLOCATION, UH, DIRECTED BY CITY COUNCIL.
SO THAT'S WHERE THAT FUNDING COMES FROM.
THE, UH, PLACE-BASED ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM.
THESE ARE, THAT IS A TAX INCENTIVE PROGRAM, SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF FUNDING FOR THAT CATEGORY THREE THAT CAN SUPPORT EXISTING MUSIC VENUES AND ART SPACES.
UM, JUST, THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, GENERAL FUND BASED, UH, CURRENTLY.
UM, THE, BUT IN TERMS OF THE, THE ONES BASED ON NEW CONSTRUCTION, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE KIND OF A MORE TRADITIONAL THREE 80 TYPE OF FUND OR CHAPTER THREE 80 TAX INCENTIVE TYPE OF FUNDING.
SO THAT'S BASED ON, UH, UH, TAX ASSESSMENTS ON NEW INCREMENTS FROM DEVELOPMENT.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THERE IS, SO ONCE THERE IS NEW DEVELOP, ONCE THERE IS DEVELOPMENT, UM, UH, THAT CAN BE USED TOWARDS PAYING, UH, TOWARDS THE INCENTIVE, UH, FOR THAT PROGRAM, FOR, FOR THAT PROGRAM ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
UH, AND IN TURN, LET'S SEE, AND FOR THE CREATIVE DISTRICT PROGRAM, UH, THERE'S, THERE'S NOT ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THAT.
THAT'S A ZONING PROGRAM THAT WILL BE, UH, SUPPORTING, UM, JUST AS, AS PART OF OUR, UM, PLAY-BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND, AND, UH, COLLABORATION WITH OUR, UH, COLLEAGUES IN THE PLANNING AND HOUSING DEPARTMENTS.
I'M CURIOUS, HOW DOES, LET'S SAY, CATEGORY ONE AFFORDABLE SPACE, HOW DOES THAT WORK FOR CITY PROPERTIES? THAT WOULDN'T WORK FOR A CITY PROPERTY? IT, THIS IS, IT'S A, IT'S A TAX INCENTIVE PROPERTY, SO, OR IT'S A TAX INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
SO, UH, PUBLIC PROPERTIES THAT DON'T PAY, UH, THAT DON'T PAY TAXES WOULD NOT BE, NOT REALLY BE APPLICABLE.
SO THE CITY DOESN'T WANT TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
IT HAS, WELL, THAT'S NOT, I WOULDN'T SAY THAT WE ACTUALLY, THE CITY DOES A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UH, PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT, UH, AFFORDABLE SPACE AND AFFORDABLE ACCESS TO SPACE FOR OUR ARTS AND CULTURAL, UH, VENUES AND OUR MUSIC VENUES.
UH, IT JUST DOES IT THROUGH DIFFERENT MECHANISMS. WE HAVE A CULTURAL TRUST THAT WAS FUNDED BY A BOND THAT, UH, ARE, THAT OUR STAFF WORK WITH, UH, RALLY AUSTIN, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO ADMINISTER.
SOME OF THAT INVOLVES, UH, ESTABLISHING THINGS SORT OF LIKE LAND TRUSTS, UH, OR LAND TRUST OF PROPERTY THAT, THAT FOLKS CAN BE IN.
SOME OF THAT ALSO INVOLVES JUST, YOU KNOW, WORKING IN DEVELOPING LIKE SANDWICH LEASES OR OTHER TYPES OF PROGRAMS TO HELP GET LONG-TERM AFFORDABILITY FOR OUR MUSIC AND ARTS VENUES.
UM, THIS IS A, AGAIN, CHAPTER THREE 80 IS, IT'S, IT'S JUST THE WAY THE FRAMEWORK IS.
IT'S BASED ON TAX REIMBURSEMENTS AND, AND, AND, AND, AND SORT OF ABATEMENT TYPE PROGRAMS. SO IF YOU'RE USING PROPERTY THAT ISN'T TAXED, THERE'S NOTHING TO, TO BASE IT ON.
WE WOULD JUST USE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS TO DO THAT KIND OF THING.
UH, AND WE WORK ACTUALLY PRETTY OFTEN WITH OUR, WITH, UH, PARTNER,
[01:20:01]
UH, WITH OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES, UH, DEPARTMENT THAT WORK ON THE REPOSITIONING OF CITY ON PROPERTY, WHICH INCLUDES TRYING TO, UH, D YOU KNOW, AND, AND A LOT OF THE PROJECTS THEY DO, UH, THOUGH THERE IS A LOT OF COUNCIL TION IN THAT, BUT A LOT OF THOSE PROJECTS LOOK TO PUT, UM, PUT SPACE FOR, UH, ARTS AND MUSIC ORGANIZATIONS IN THOSE AS WELL.SO IT'S JUST A DIFF DIFFERENT THERE.
THE PROBLEM IS REALLY GREAT FOR ARTS AND MUSIC PROVIDERS AS WELL AS OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO WE'RE REALLY JUST TRYING TO BUILD OUT THE TOOL SET AND HAVE A ROBUST SET OF TOOLS THAT ALLOW US TO RESPOND TO DIFFERENT SITUATIONS, UH, IN A FLEXIBLE WAY AND PROVIDE AS MUCH OPPORTUNITIES AS WE CAN.
I, I WOULD JUST SAY AS AN EXAMPLE, THE BUILDING THAT WE'RE SITTING IN THAT WAS BUILT, WHAT, THREE AND A HALF YEARS AGO, HAS EMPTY RETAIL SPACE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN USED.
SO JUST, JUST POINTING THAT OUT.
UM, AS FOR THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, I THINK IT'S VERY PROBLEMATIC, AND I WOULD BE SHOCKED IF ANYBODY EVER USES IT.
UM, BECAUSE DEVELOPMENT TAKES THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE, AND THERE IS A LOT OF REQUIREMENTS ON HERE.
AND THEN THERE'S THE GET OUTTA JAIL FREE CARD, A FEE IN LIEU OPTION.
AND I CAN TELL YOU FROM SITTING ON THIS COMMISSION FOR 10 YEARS, THAT 99.9% OF ALL THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE COME THROUGH HERE FOR THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PRO PROGRAM HAVE PAID THE FEE IN LIEU INSTEAD OF PROVIDING ONSITE COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
AND THEY'RE GONNA DO THE SAME WITH THIS.
SO I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO NOT HAVE A FEE IN LIEU OPTION IF YOU TRULY WANT THIS PROGRAM TO WORK.
SECONDLY, UM, I, I, WHERE DO THESE FEES GO? THERE'S, THIS IS GONNA COLLECT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND FEES.
IS THIS GONNA GO INTO ONE OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION? POTENTIALLY IT COULD, AS I SAID, OUR DEPARTMENT MANAGES MULTIPLE FUNDS THAT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE, UH, FOR RECEIVING THOSE.
UH, WE HAVE A PROGRAM CALLED THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UH, THAT COULD BE DEPLOYED IN, IN THAT WAY.
IT, IT, IT EXISTS TO SUPPORT, UH, RETENTION OF, OF CREATIVE SPACES AND SUPPORT, UH, THAT RETENTION THROUGH, UH, INVESTMENT AND SITE IMPROVEMENTS OR THROUGH, UH, SUPPORT IN, IN RENT PAYMENT.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE, WE ALSO WORK WITH, UM, VIA SOME OF OUR COLLEAGUES WORKING WITH, UH, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
UH, THEY WORK IN THE CULTURAL TRUST, WHICH DOES SIMILAR THINGS AT A LARGER SCALE.
WE ALSO, IT COULD ALSO BE UTILIZED THROUGH OUR THREE 80 VEHICLE.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL JUST, WE'LL, WE'LL BE DETERMINING AS WE SORT OF LOOK INTO IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, THEY ALL KIND OF HAVE VALIDITY FOR THAT.
IT'S REALLY JUST MORE KIND OF WHAT WOULD BE THE MOST ADMINISTRATIVELY APPROPRIATE TOOL FOR THAT.
AND IN TERMS OF THAT FEE, AGAIN, THESE ARE RESTRICTED TO BEING APPLIED IN THE SAME DISTRICT TOWARDS PRESERVATION OF EXISTING CREATIVE SPACES OR EXISTING MUSIC VENUES.
UH, THE IDEA BEING, YOU KNOW, THE, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY, IT DOESN'T ALWAYS NECESSARILY MAKE SENSE TO PUT, UH, SAY, A MUSIC VENUE INSIDE OF A LARGE MIXED USE BUILDING OR A LARGE VERTICAL BUILDING.
BUT IF IT'S ADJACENT TO ONE OR IN THE SAME DISTRICT AS ONE, UH, THAT COULD, THAT COULD BE A REASONABLE SORT OF, UH, TRANSFER, UH, SITE.
YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT.
I MEAN, THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF NEW PROJECTS WITH MUSIC VENUES, AND GIVEN THAT, UH, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, STUBBS IS THE ONLY MUSIC VENUE ON RED RIVER THAT ACTUALLY OWNS THEIR PROPERTY, LIKELIHOOD IS THOSE PROPERTIES ARE GONNA GET REDEVELOPED.
AND WITHOUT A TRUE INCENTIVE TO PUT ANOTHER VENUE BACK INTO THOSE REDEVELOPMENTS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE AT RISK OF, OF LOSING ALL OF THESE VENUES.
AND, AND JUST SO I'M CLEAR ON YOUR STATEMENT, SO CITY COUNCIL HAS GIVEN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, THE, THE FULL, UH, AUTHORITY TO DECIDE WHERE THESE FUNDS ARE USED.
IS THAT CORRECT? I WOULDN'T, UM, I WOULDN'T PHRASE IT THAT WAY, EXACTLY.
I MEAN, THE, THE WAY IT WAS, IT WAS PASSED, WE'LL BE WORK, WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT AND DETERMINING WHAT WOULD BE THE MOST APPROPRIATE WAY TO, TO, TO MANAGE IT.
BUT, UM, IN TERMS OF THE FUNDS FOR, IN TERMS OF THE FUNDS THAT WOULD BE USED FOR, UH, PRESERVATION OR DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVE SPACES IN DISTRICTS, WE WOULD, WE WOULD WORK ON THAT.
I MEAN, THE PROCESS WILL BE DEVELOPED, WELL, WELL, THE PROCESS WILL BE ADMINISTERED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
SO I WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T PHRASE IT AS WE'LL, HAVE FULL AUTHORITY TO DO, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING.
[01:25:01]
WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, AND, AND, AND OUR SISTER DEPARTMENTS TO DETERMINE THE MOST APPROPRIATE UTILIZATION.ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, COMMISSIONER LUKINS? WELL, MY CONCERN ABOUT THE DB 30 ISN'T THAT IT WON'T BE USED, THAT IT WILL BE USED AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU GET 30 EXTRA FEET.
YOU DON'T GET TO, UH, DO VERY MUCH.
AND, UH, I KNOW THAT IN MY, AND THAT WAS IN, IN D 10, THERE ARE ANY NUMBER OF PLACES THAT WOULD NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR, UH, FOR BASICALLY A BAR, A BAR WITH, UH, AN ADDITIONAL 30 FEET ABOVE THE, WHATEVER THE BASE ZONING WAS.
AND SO, UH, I'M JUST VERY CONCERNED ABOUT, ABOUT THE CITYWIDE APPLICABILITY OF DB 30 SLASH BAR.
COMMISSIONER, COULD YOU TURN YOUR MIC ON PLEASE? SORRY TO DISRUPT YOU WE'RE NOT GETTING YOU THROUGH THE FEED.
COMMISSIONER LUKINS, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE CLOSER TO YOUR MIC, PLEASE? SURE.
WHAT I SAID WAS THAT I'M NOT, I'M NOT CONCERNED THAT DB 30, YOU KNOW, UH, DASH BAR, UH, WON'T GET USED.
I'M CONCERNED THAT IT WILL GET USED AND I COULD THINK OF ANY NUMBER OF PLACES WHERE IT WOULDN'T BE APPROPRIATE.
AND, UH, ANY NUMBER OF PLACES WHERE, UH, SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE DEVELOPMENT MIGHT COME IN AND SAY HE IS GONNA GO AHEAD AND PUT IN SOME SORT OF CREATIVE SPACE, UH, GET HIMSELF THE EXTRA 30 FEET.
AND, UH, AND BASICALLY WE END UP WITH, UH, A BAR THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE MUSIC.
AND, UH, I, I GUESS ONE OTHER THING ABOUT THIS MATTER IS THAT, UM, UH, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE DONE A LOT OF CLUBBING, BUT I WASN'T REALLY AWARE THAT THERE WAS A SHORTAGE OF PLACES TO DRINK IN THIS TOWN.
SO, UH, I GUESS ALL I HAVE TO SAY IN THAT MATTER.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? UH, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT I, YOU KNOW, THIS SOUNDED REALLY EXCITING UNTIL WE GOT TO THE FEE IN LIEU, UH, BECAUSE JUST, UH, REITERATING WHAT COMMISSIONER CARROLL HAD SAID, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE THE, THE OPTION THAT GETS CHOSEN.
AND SO YOU COULD PUT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN FRONT OF THAT, AND THEN YOU LOSE IT THERE.
UM, AND SO IT, THE, THE CONFUSING PART IS HOW DO WE CREATE THESE CULTURAL DISTRICTS THAT PROMOTE, UH, THESE ACTIVITIES WHEN EVERYTHING BECOMES FEE IN LIEU, UM, WE DON'T, AND THEN, AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE IT.
AND, AND WE LOSE THAT PART OF WHAT MAKES US, UH, UNIQUE.
SO YEAH, THAT'S MY, THAT'S MY ONLY COMMENT THERE ON THAT FEE IN LIEU OF, YEAH, SO JUST TO RESPOND TO THAT AS, AS, AS I NOTED, THIS ISN'T REALLY, THIS ISN'T LIKE, UH, SOME OF THE OTHER ZONING CASES LIKE DB NINE OR ZONING, UH, PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED RECENTLY, LIKE DB 90 OR, UH, DB TWO OD THAT ARE SORT OF ADMINISTERED.
UM, AND, AND, AND, AND IN ONE STROKE, THIS IS THIS, ALL THIS IS DONE IS CREATE A PAPER DISTRICT.
SO ANY APPLICATION OF THIS IS GONNA HAVE TO GO THROUGH A FULL REZONING, AND IT'LL, THERE WILL ACTUALLY BE A MUCH MORE SUBSTANTIAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS THAN, UH, THAN IS TYPICAL, UH, IN, IN THOSE CASES BECAUSE, UH, PARTLY BECAUSE OF ALL THESE ISSUES, THE INTENT OF THIS AS WE WRITE IT FOR COUNCIL AND, AND OUR DEPARTMENT'S INTENT, IS NOT TO JUST HAVE THIS DEPLOYED EVERYWHERE.
UH, THE, I THE INTENT IS TO, UH, GENERALLY FOCUSED IN, IN SITUATIONS WHERE IT'S HELPING CREATE OR, UH, PRESERVE, UH, AN EXISTING, UH, UH, CLUSTER OR CONSTELLATION OF ART AND MUSIC USES.
AND THE, AND ANY SORT OF, ANY APPLICATION FOR THAT IS GOING TO HAVE TO ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATE THAT THAT IS, THAT IS THE CASE WITH EXTENSIVE REVIEW BY BOTH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND OUR DEPARTMENT.
SO THAT'S, AND, AND FRANKLY, IF, IF ANYONE IS, IF ANYONE, IF THERE'S AN APPLICATION THAT ISN'T GOING TO TRY AND THAT ISN'T GOING TO CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE GOAL AND THE GUIDANCE, AND IT'S REFLECTING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM, UH, ADMINISTRATIVELY, I, I SEE IT VERY CHALLENGING FOR THAT TO MOVE FORWARD.
COMMISSIONER WIRA, UH, THANK YOU, MR. JACKSON.
UH, IT'S ACTUALLY THE, THE MAY, AND FORGIVE ME IF THIS IS A DUMB QUESTION, BUT IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY THE REZONING PROCESS
[01:30:01]
THAT WORRIES ME THE MOST.UH, I NOTICED THAT WE'VE, WE'VE, IF I'M READING THE, THE RESOLUTION CORRECTLY, WE HAVEN'T MAPPED RED RIVER OR ANY PORTION OF IT TO, UH, THE CREATIVE SPACES, UH, DENSITY BONUS ORDINANCE, UM, THAT WOULD BE A FUTURE REZONING.
UM, GIVEN, DO WE, DO WE ANTICIPATE THAT BEING A CHALLENGE FOR THE CULTURAL DISTRICT IN, IN GETTING THAT REZONING? OR IS, IS THAT ALREADY MOVING? THAT'S ALREADY MOVING, AS I SAID, THAT WOULD BE, THAT'LL ACTUALLY BE, UH, MANAGED THROUGH THE CREATION OF A SUBDISTRICT OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, UH, SPECIFIC TO THE, THE RED RIVER AREA.
AND, AND THAT HAS BEEN INITIATED BY COUNCIL IN JULY.
THAT PROCESS IS ONGOING, UH, AS, AS PART OF A GENERAL REVIEW OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS THAT INCLUDES CREATION OF, THERE'S DIRECTION FOR CREATING A SUBDISTRICT FOR THE RED RIVER DISTRICT.
THERE'S ALSO DIRECTION, I BELIEVE, FOR, UM, THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE DISTRICT, WHICH IS ANOTHER DISTRICT WE WORK WITH.
UH, SO, UM, SO, SO THAT IS UNDERWAY AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, MY, MY DEPARTMENT WILL BE SUPPORTING THAT.
UH, IT'S BEING LED BY THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, BUT MY DEPARTMENT WILL BE SUPPORTING THAT AS LIAISONS TO THAT DISTRICT.
AND, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGING THAT WITH, WITH RECOMMENDATION THAT IT HAS SIMILAR PROVISIONS TO THOSE WE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HERE, REALLY FOCUSED ON, UH, PRESERVING EXISTING, UH, MUSIC VENUES AND, AND INCENTIVIZING THAT PRESERVATION, UH, AND POTENTIALLY EVEN INCENTIVIZING CREATION OF NEW MUSIC VENUES OR, UH, OR, OR COMPLIMENTARY ART SPACES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENT, VICE CHAIR.
I'M JUST GONNA END MY VOICE TO THE, UH, CONCERN ABOUT FEE AND LIE.
I, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT IS AN EFFECTIVE DEVICE.
IT HAS NOT PROVEN TO BE EFFECTIVE.
I THINK, UM, IN THE CASE OF RAINY STREET, YOU HAVE A PRECEDENT WHERE WE DID REQUIRE AFFORDABLE, UM, VERSUS, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE REST OF DOWNTOWN WITH THE, UH, YOU KNOW, POSSIBILITY OF A FEE AND LIE.
UM, SO THAT'S THE ONLY AREA WHERE WE'VE SEEN ANY ADOPTION AT ALL WITH, UM, ADDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TRIED TO DO ON THIS COMMISSION TO COMPENSATE FOR THE FACT THAT, UM, THE CITY REALLY HASN'T HAD ANYTHING IN PLACE TO PRESERVE THESE, UH, VENUES, IS TO ASK, UM, THOSE WHO ARE APPLYING FOR THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, EVEN, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OF THE RED RIVER DISTRICT TO INCORPORATE SOME SORT OF MUSIC VENUE IN, IN THEIR, UH, PROPOSAL.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT THAT, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN, UH, SOME DEVELOPMENT THAT'S ALREADY GONE INTO, UH, THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT WITHIN THE PAST 10 YEARS.
UM, THERE'S A HOTEL, UM, ALSO A, A RESIDENTIAL SPACE THAT DOES NOT HAVE ANY, UH, NOTABLE PERFORMANCE SPACE.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT THAT WILL JUST CONTINUE.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'D SEE BLOCKS AND BLOCKS OF THAT, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, AT WHAT POINT DO YOU, UH, JUST, YOU KNOW, REACH A SITUATION WHERE THERE ISN'T, UH, A VENUE TO PROVIDE THE FEES FROM THE FEE AND LIE PROGRAM BECAUSE THEY'VE ALL BEEN DECIMATED.
SO I, I JUST DON'T THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT APPROACH, AND I THINK YOU WOULD, UM, UH, IT WOULD BE IN THE CITY'S BEST INTEREST TO TAKE IT EVEN FURTHER.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, UH, TOOLS WE HAVE IN PLACE FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TRANSFER OF TITLE OR FOR RENOVATION PERMITTING, BUT I THINK THAT THIS ISN'T EVEN EXHAUSTIVE ENOUGH.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? MARISSA? DO, DO YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR HAND UP THERE, DO YOU? IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S SOMETHING ON YOUR SCREEN.
ALL WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MR. JACKSON FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
[5. Discussion and action to recommend to City Council whether the project 305 W MLK, located at 305 West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, complies with the Urban Design Guidelines for the City of Austin in accordance with Land Development Code § 25-2-586 (C)(1)(a)(ii). Presented by Victoria Haase, Thrower Design. ]
IS FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION TO RECOMMEND TO CITY COUNCIL WHETHER THE PROJECT AT 3 0 5 WEST MLK IS, UM, COMPLIES WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.UH, IT'S GONNA BE PRESENTED BY VICTORIA HAASS WITH THROWER DESIGN.
IS THIS ALREADY ON? THERE YOU GO.
UH, VICTORIA HASI WITH ROWER DESIGN.
I JUST WANNA SAY, FIRST OFF, I'M GETTING OVER A LITTLE BIT OF A HEAD COLD, SO I APOLOGIZE IF MY, IF I NEED TO COUGH OR WHATEVER, HAVE MY WATER APPEAR.
SO, UM, UM, VICTORIA HASI WITH ROWER DESIGN ON BEHALF OF THE LANDOWNER OF THE SUBJECT PROPERTY AT 3 0 5 WEST MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
[01:35:01]
SLIDE IS INTENDED TO ORIENT, UH, ORIENT YOU TO THE PROJECT AND THE LOCATION.IT IS ABOUT HALFWAY BETWEEN, UM, LAMAR BOULEVARD AND I 35 ON THE SOUTH, UH, SIDE OF WEST MLK.
THE LOT IS JUST SHY OF ABOUT A QUARTER ACRE IN SIZE.
IT'S 69 BY 139 FEET AFTER RIDE OF WAY IS DEDICATED.
SO THIS IS JUST, UH, ORIENTING YOU TO THE USES THAT ARE IN THE AREA.
THERE'S THE AT AND T HOTEL AND CONFERENCE CENTER THAT'S, UM, SEVERAL YEARS OLD NOW AT THIS POINT, BUT, UH, COMPLETELY BRAND NEW IS THE ROBERT, UH, B ROLLING HALL IMMEDIATELY ACROSS THE STREET ON THE OTHER SIDE OF MLK OWNED BY UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
THERE'S ALSO THE CAMBRIDGE TOWERS TO THE EAST, UH, THE GREENWOOD TOWERS AND CONDOMINIUMS TO THE SOUTH.
UM, THE NEW TRAVIS COUNTY CIVIL AND FAMILY COURTS FACILITY IS THE BUILDING ON THE LOWER, UM, LEFT HAND CORNER.
AND THEN THE OTIS HOTEL IS ANOTHER NEW BUILDING THAT HAS GONE UP, UM, ON THE WEST SIDE OF GUADALUPE.
SO THIS IS THE SITE TODAY, UM, LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED.
UM, IT'S A ONE STORY, A CONSTRUCTION BRICK AND MORTAR BUILT, PROBABLY LATE 1960S, EARLY 1970S.
AND THIS IS JUST A STREET IMAGE SHOWING YOU, UM, AS YOU LOOKED WEST TOWARDS LAMAR BOULEVARD.
AND THEN LOOKING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TOWARDS I 35, YOU CAN SEE THE NEW CONSTRUCTION ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN AND THE CAMBRIDGE TOWERS IN THE BACKGROUND.
AND THEN ONE MORE, UM, SHOWING THE COMPLETE LOOK DOWN TOWARDS LAMAR BOULEVARD.
YOU CAN SEE BOTH SIDES OF MLK, THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH.
SO THE PROPERTY, UM, HAS DMU ZONING AS, AND IS SURROUNDED BY QUITE A BIT OF OTHER DMU AND COMMERCIAL AND OFFICE MULTIFAMILY ZONING DISTRICTS.
AND THE LAND USE ALSO REFLECTS THAT.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, COMMERCIAL OFFICE.
UM, CIVIC IS THE AREA THAT'S EITHER GOVERNMENT OR, UM, LIKE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF MLK IS THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
AND THEN THE, THESE ARE THE VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS THAT APPLY, UM, THAT ARE ADJACENT TO THE PROPERTY.
UM, THIS, THE WEST AUSTIN, SORRY, I CAN'T READ THAT.
WEST AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AREAS ON THE NORTH SIDE.
UM, AND A PORTION OF THAT PLANNING AREA IS NOW OWNED BY UT, WHERE THAT NEW, UM, NEW HALL IS.
UM, AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THE, THE, THIS PARTICULAR SITE IS IN THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN, UPTOWN CAPITAL DISTRICT, NEXT SLIDE.
AND WITHIN THAT DISTRICT, THERE ARE THE DENSITY BONUS AREAS.
AND THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY IS WITHIN AN AREA THAT ALLOWS UP TO EIGHT TO ONE, ONE FAR, AND 200 FEET IN HEIGHT.
UM, THIS PROJECT WILL, UH, PLAN, DOES PLAN TO GO ABOVE THE EIGHT TO ONE.
SO WE WILL GO THROUGH THE PROCESS WITH PLANNING COMMISSION AND, UH, CITY COUNCIL TO ACHIEVE THAT GREATER FAR.
UM, BUT WE ARE HERE ASKING FOR YOUR FEEDBACK, UM, UM, TO GET THE, UM, DENSITY BONUS THROUGH THE PARTICIPATION IN THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.
THIS IS A SITE SHOWING THE TOPOGRAPHY OR SLIDES SHOWING THE TOPOGRAPHY.
THE SITE DRAINS, UH, EAST TO WEST TOWARDS GUADALUPE.
AND THEN THIS IS, UM, MAP SHOWING THE AREA TRANSIT.
UH, THE YELLOW CIRCLE IS A QUARTER MILE RADIUS AROUND THE PROPERTY.
UM, THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF EXISTING TRANSIT THROUGH CAPITAL METRO BUS SERVICE.
AND THEN, UM, THE LIGHT RAIL THAT'S PROPOSED, UH, PHASE ONE OF THE LIGHT RAIL THAT'S PROPOSED TO COME DOWN GUADALUPE.
AND THERE IS ONE OF THOSE MAIN, UH, TRANSIT HUBS THAT IS GOING TO BE WITHIN THAT QUARTER MILE WALK.
SO THE PROJECT IS, UH, HOME TO SUITES BY HILTON HOTEL.
IT'S PROPOSED AT 14 STORIES, 165 FEET, 170 HOTEL ROOMS. UM, THE FAR OF THE PROJECT AT THIS TIME IS 11.4821, AND WE ARE ASKING FOR, UM, DENSITY BONUS THROUGH PARTICIPATION IN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND, AND THAT WOULD BE FUNDS TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND.
UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH, WE'RE WORKING WITH A SMALL SITE AREA, UM, AND THIS PROJECT IS PROPOSING TO BRING A PRETTY DENSE DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERING HOW SMALL THE SITE IS.
UM, IT WILL ALSO BRING GUESTS OF THE HOTEL AND OF THE CITY CLOSE TO VARIOUS ACTIVITIES AND ATTRACTIONS WITHIN THE CENTRAL CITY, INCLUDING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UH, THE VARIOUS MUSEUMS, UM, WHETHER THAT'S ON UT CAMPUS OR, UM, UM, THE OTHER STATE FACILITY MUSEUMS IN THE AREA.
THERE IS THE, UM, ALSO CLOSE PROXIMITY,
[01:40:01]
UM, TO CONNECTIONS WITH PARKS AND GREENWAYS, INCLUDING PEACE PARK, REPUBLIC SQUARE, UH, LADYBIRD LAKE AND WALLER CREEK.SO THE SITE, UM, HAS A A FEW SITE.
THERE ARE A FEW SITE CONSTRAINTS FOR THIS PARTICULAR LAND, A PIECE OF PROPERTY.
UH, MLK IS A LEVEL THREE S-A-S-M-P CLASSIFIED ROADWAY AND IS CURRENTLY BEING STUDIED.
UM, THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS TO, UH, PROPOSED FOR MOBILITY, UH, SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS TO ACCOMMODATE MULTIPLE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION.
AS I MENTIONED, WE'VE ALREADY GOT, UH, CAPITAL METRO BUS SERVICE IN THE AREA.
UM, WHILE WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, AS PROJECTS HAVE COME ONLINE IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS TO WALKING.
UM, MLK DOES HAVE BIKE LANES AT THIS TIME, ALTHOUGH THEY'RE NOT GREAT BIKE LANES.
UM, AND THEN WE, THE PHASE ONE OF THE, UM, LIGHT RAIL IS COMING AND WILL BE WITHIN PROXIMITY OF THE PROJECT, UM, WITH THIS SITE, WITH THIS SITE BEING SO SMALL.
UM, AND THE CITY IS ALSO REQUIRING, UH, 10 FEET OF RIGHT OF WAY OFF THE FRONTAGE.
AND SO THAT AREA OF RIGHT OF WAY THAT WE'RE DEDICATING IS THE AREA SHADED IN YELLOW.
AND SO NOW WE HAVE EVEN LESS AREA TO WORK WITH TO ACCOMMODATE THE PROJECT.
UM, IN ADDITION, THE LOT WIDTH IS JUST UNDER 70 FEET.
IT'S 69, 69 0.6, I THINK, FEET, UM, WIDE.
AND SO THAT'S ALSO ANOTHER SITE CONSTRAINT.
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, ONCE YOU FACTOR IN, UH, DRIVEWAY WIDTHS AND ALL OF THE OTHER, UM, REQUIREMENTS OF THE CODE, UM, 70 FEET IS NOT A LOT OF SPACE TO WORK WITH IN AN URBAN AREA.
UM, IN ADDITION, THIS PARTICULAR LOT IS THE FIRST WITHIN THIS HALF BLOCK TO REDEVELOP, AND IT'S ALSO MIDBLOCK.
AND SO UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE OF THIS, THERE'S NO OTHER PROJECTS THAT WE CAN PLAN AT THIS TIME TO TIE INTO AND COORDINATE WITH TO BRING SOME OF THOSE, UM, TO BRING A GREATER AREA THAT WOULD SERVE, UM, TO IMPROVE THE PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT.
UM, SO THOSE ARE THE DIFFERENT SITE CONSTRAINTS THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT.
SO THIS IS THE GROUND FLOOR PLAN.
UH, THE BUILDING IS, UH, COVERS ABOUT HALF, A LITTLE LESS THAN HALF THE LOT OF THE GROUND FLOOR.
UM, THIS PROJECT IS 100%, UM, VALET PARKED.
THERE'S NO PARKING PROVIDED WITH THIS HOTEL.
UM, THERE IS ONE WAY CIRCULATION.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT WITH THE ORANGE ARROWS, UM, WITH ENTRY FROM MLK AND THEN EXITING OFF OF, UM, THROUGH THE ALLEYWAY IN THE REAR.
THIS HELPS TO MINIMIZE CURB CUTS, WHICH ALSO ENHANCES THE STREET SCAPE IN VARIOUS WAYS.
UM, IT'S HELPFUL BECAUSE WE ARE DEALING WITH, UM, NOT, NOT A LOT OF FRONTAGE FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY.
SO THE GREEN AREAS ARE GUEST ENTRANCES TO THE HOTEL, THE MAIN ENTRANCE, UM, AND THE LOBBY IS THAT GREEN BOX THAT YOU SEE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE IMAGE.
AND BASED OFF OF FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED THROUGH THE COM WORKING GROUP, UM, MEETING, UM, THERE WAS A DESIRE, A DESIRE TO BRING MORE PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY, UM, ENTRANCE FROM THE MLK, UM, FACADE.
AND SO WE DID PROVIDE THAT ADDITIONAL ENTRANCE, UM, WHICH IS THE GREEN BOX YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN.
ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT WE HEARD THROUGH THE WORKING GROUP, UM, MEETING WAS THAT THIS PROJECT DOESN'T PROVIDE A LOT OF FENESTRATION TO THE STREET FRONTAGE.
AND AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE DEALING WITH LESS THAN 70, UH, 70 FEET OF, OF STREET FRONTAGE HERE.
BUT ALSO FURTHER COMPLICATING MATTERS IS THAT, UM, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT IS, UM, IN ORDER TO MEET THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT REQUIREMENTS, WE ARE HAVING TO PUT, UM, THOSE UTILITIES IN THE FRONT, UM, THE FRONT LOWER CORNER OF THE IMAGE THAT YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
SO THAT TAKES UP A LOT OF THE AREA THAT WE COULD HAVE POTENTIALLY BROUGHT FORWARD SOME, UM, GREATER STREET ACTIVATION AND FENESTRATION WITH THIS PROJECT.
BUT BECAUSE OF THAT, UH, UTILITIES HAVE TO COME FROM THAT SIDE.
THERE AREN'T SUFFICIENT UTILITIES AT THE REAR OF THE PROPERTY IN THE ALLEY.
SO WE'RE, UM, KIND OF BOXED IN AND PROVIDING THOSE, UM, UTILITIES AT THAT CORNER OF THE BUILDING.
SO THESE ARE, UH, TWO BUILDING ELEVATIONS.
UH, THE ONE ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS THE ALLEY FACING ELEVATION, AND THEN THE ONE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE IS THE MLK OR THE FRONT FACING ELEVATION.
MOST OF THE WINDOWS IN THIS PROJECT, UM, FACE NORTH OR SOUTH ON THESE ELEVATIONS.
AND THIS IS A ZOOMED IN IMAGE OF THE 3D RENDERING SO THAT Y'ALL CAN GET AN IDEA OF WHAT THE FRONT FACING ELEVATION LOOKS LIKE AT THE STREET, UM, WITH SOME OF THE ELEMENTS THAT WE'RE BRINGING IN.
[01:45:01]
AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF STREET WIDTH TO WORK, UH, TO WORK WITH HERE, OR NOT STREET WITH, UM, LOT WITH TO WORK, WORK WITH.UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN AND WE'RE OPEN TO FEEDBACK, HEARING, HEARING FROM Y'ALL TONIGHT.
SO, UM, ZOOMING INTO THE ELEVATION, THE, THE GREEN BOX IS THE AREA WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT.
UM, WE BASED OFF OF FEEDBACK FROM THE DESIGN COMMISSION WORKING GROUP, WE ADDED THAT PEDESTRIAN ENTRANCE FROM THE MLK FRONTAGE.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE, UM, MOVING TO THE RIGHT, WE'VE GOT THE DRIVEWAY THAT RUNS THROUGH THE ONE WAY DRIVEWAY.
AND, AND ORIGINALLY THAT WAS PLANNED AT 15 FEET WIDTH.
AND BASED OFF OF SOME OF THE FEEDBACK FROM THE DESIGN COMMISSION WORKING GROUP, WE WERE ABLE TO MODIFY THAT AND DECREASE THE WIDTH AND THE CURB RADI.
UM, THEREFORE GIVING MORE AREA TO THE PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT.
UM, THAT WAS ALSO POSSIBLE BECAUSE IT IS A ONE-WAY, UM, DRIVE THROUGH.
UM, SO IT MADE IT A LITTLE EASIER TO ACCOMMODATE THAT.
WE WERE A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AND, AND WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.
BUT WE'VE RECEIVED SOME FEEDBACK ALREADY THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO ALLOW THIS REDUCTION IN DRIVEWAY WITH, UM, CONSIDERING THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
UM,
THE PURPLE AREA IS A SEMI, UH, SEMI-OPEN GROUND FLOOR SEATING AREA THAT RIGHT NOW WE'RE HOLDING FOR A LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY.
WE'RE STILL IN SITE PLANNING REVIEW, UH, PROCESS.
UM, WE ANTICIPATE HAVING MORE COMMENTS, UM, MORE EXCHANGES OF, OF COMMENTS BACK AND FORTH WITH CITY STAFF.
AND SO WE'RE KIND OF HOLDING THAT SPACE, UM, AT THIS MOMENT, UM, AS, UH, TO PROVIDE A LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY, BUT IT COULD, COULD PROVIDE SOME GREATER OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, ENLIVEN AND ENHANCE THE, THE STREETSCAPE AS WELL.
THE BLUE AREA IS, UH, OUR, IS AN OUTDOOR TERRACE BALCONY THAT IS, UH, COMING OFF OF THE RESTAURANT AND THE BAR AREA ON THE SECOND FLOOR.
UM, BECAUSE WE ARE, WE ARE DEALING WITH THE SITE CONSTRAINTS, UM, UTILITIES AND WHATNOT ON THE FIRST GROUND FLOOR.
UM, IT DOES BECOME OUR MAIN FOCAL POINT IN TERMS OF HAVING STREET ACTIVATION AND EYES ON THE STREET ONTO MLK FROM, UM, GUESTS AND, UM, PEOPLE STAYING AT THE HOTEL.
THIS IS THE WESTERN ELEVATION OF THE THE PROJECT.
UH, THE, THE YELLOW ARROW IS SHOW ARROW IS SHOWING THE ONE-WAY DRIVE-THROUGH.
UM, AND THEN YOU'RE LOOKING INTO OPEN AIR ON THAT FIRST GROUND FLOOR.
YOU CAN SEE THE GREEN BOX IS THE MAIN ENTRANCE INTO THE HOTEL LOBBY.
SO TODAY THE SITE IS, UM, NEARLY, IF NOT 100% IMPERVIOUS COVER, AND THERE'S ONE VERY LONELY TREE AT THE ALLEYWAY AT THE LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THIS, UM, OF THE SITE, UH, LANDSCAPE PLAN HERE.
UH, WE ARE BRINGING FOUR TREES, TWO OF THOSE BEING STREET TREES AT THE MLK FRONTAGE.
NEXT SLIDE, AND BASED OFF OF DE UH, WORKING GROUP, UM, FEEDBACK, ANOTHER ELEMENT OF DECREASING THE DRIVEWAY WIDTH IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE GREATER AREA FOR TREE HEALTH AND WELLBEING LONG TERM.
SO WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE USING, UM, SILVA CELLS, UM, TO HELP SUPPORT THE TREES, UM, AS THEY GROW IN PLACE.
AND WHILE NOT SHOWN HERE, UM, WE ARE PLANNING AND EXPLORING, UH, WE'RE EXPLORING WAYS TO MEET THE PEDESTRIAN SCALED LIGHTING.
UM, AT THIS TIME WE ARE, AGAIN, INSIGHT PLAN REVIEW.
WE'RE NOT, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF SPACE AND THERE'S UTILITY REQUIREMENTS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MEET AND COMPETING WITH.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW THIS PROJECT CAN, UH, BRING FORWARD SOME PEDESTRIAN SCALED LIGHTING, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THOSE DETAILS AS OF YET.
SO THIS IS A CROSS SECTION VIEW, UM, AGAIN, BASED OFF OF WORKING GROUP FEEDBACK, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL TO BE ABLE TO SEE HOW THE BUILDING INTERACTS WITH THE PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT.
AND, UM, THIS PROJECT DOES SHOW THAT.
UM, SO SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO NOTE, WHILE WE'RE DEDICATING 10 FEET OF RIGHT AWAY, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE BORROWING BACK SOME OF THAT AREA THROUGH LICENSE AGREEMENT, UM, TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE SIDEWALK WITH REQUIREMENTS.
AND THEN ALSO THERE'S SOME OTHER DESIGN ELEMENTS ON THE FACE OF THE BUILDING THAT WILL, UM, NEED THAT LICENSE AGREEMENT.
[01:50:01]
ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UM, AT THE DESIGN COMMISSION WORKING GROUP, WE TALKED ABOUT BRINGING SOME ELEMENTS OF PEDESTRIAN, UM, PROTECTION FROM, FROM WEATHER ELEMENTS, UM, TO THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT AT THE STREET FRONTAGE, WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE, THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING SOME, UM, OVERHANGS OR, UM, AWNINGS, EXCUSE ME, LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT FOR A SECOND, MY WORDING, UM, PROVIDING SOME AWNINGS ON THE FACE OF THE BUILDING, BUT UNFORTUNATELY WITH THE STREET TREES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING, THE AWNINGS WOULD COMPETE WITH THE CANOPY OF THOSE STREET TREES.AND SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WE'RE NOT PLANNING AND PROPOSING TO HAVE ANY AWNINGS, BUT, UM, IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT THIS PARTICULAR BUILDING IN THE FRONT OF IT, UM, AND THE PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT IS NORTH FACING.
THE BUILDING ITSELF WOULD BE SHIELDING PEDESTRIANS FROM THE HOTTER, UM, HOTTER THE SUN THAT'S HOTTER IN THE LATER PART OF THE DAY.
THIS IS JUST SHOWING A GROUND, UH, A FLOOR PLAN OF THE SECOND FLOOR.
YOU CAN SEE THE BLUE AREAS, THE, UH, OUTDOOR TERRACE, UM, AND THE DARK.
THE DARKER BLUE AREA IS THE RESTAURANT AND BAR, INTERIOR RESTAURANT AND BAR AREA.
THOSE AMENITIES ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
AND THEN THIS IS THE EASTERN FACING FACADE.
IT HAS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WINDOWS ON THIS PARTICULAR FACADE.
AND THEN FINALLY ENDING WITH THE TOP FLOOR.
UM, IT DOES INCLUDE A ROOFTOP POOL, UM, BUT THAT POOL IS INTENDED FOR GUESTS AND RESIDENTS ONLY, UM, RESIDENTS MEANING, UM, UH, CUSTOMERS OF THE HOTEL.
UM, THE ROOFTOP WILL ALSO INCLUDE MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT THAT WILL BE SCREENED.
THOSE SCREENING DETAILS ARE NOT DETERMINED AT THIS TIME.
UM, BUT THEY WILL BE SCREENED FROM VIEW, UM, ESPECIALLY FROM OTHER BUILDINGS, ROOFTOPS OF OTHER BUILDINGS IN THE NEARBY VICINITY.
SO, AND WE'D LOVE TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO GO FORWARD WITH THE MOTION IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION AT THIS POINT.
UH, I'D MOTION THAT THIS DOES NOT SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLY WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE TABLE AND A SECOND THAT THIS PROJECT DOES NOT, UH, COMPLY WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.
UM, WE'RE OPENING IT UP FOR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER HOWARD, UM, I'M, I'M CURIOUS, UH, WHICH DESIGN GUIDE OR DESIGN GUIDELINES DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS PROJECT COMPLIES WITH MOST SPECIFICALLY? UM, A W ONE CREATING DENSE DEVELOPMENT.
I MEAN, THERE IT, TO BE CLEAR, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE AVOIDING HISTORICAL MISREPRESENTATIONS AND VARIOUS OF, VARIOUS OF THESE GUIDELINES WE DO MEET, BUT AREN'T THE HEART OF THE PROJECT.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT NOTE.
UM, WE ARE PROVIDING A LEVEL OF PROTECTION FROM THE PEDESTRIANS.
SO PSW ONE WHERE THE BUILDING MEETS THE STREET, UM, MINIMIZING CURB CUTS, PS TWO, UM, WE ARE ENHANCING THE STREET SCAPE.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A LOT MORE THAT PROJECTS CAN TYPICALLY DO, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE DEALING WITH A VERY, VERY NARROW LOT 70 FEET.
SO WE'RE NOT, WE DON'T HAVE A TON OF SPACE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A LOT OF THE ELEMENTS THAT PROPERTY LARGER WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE STREET FURNITURE, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
UM, BUT I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE IT IS GOING TO BE A SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED STREET SCAPE FROM WHAT IT IS TODAY.
UM, WE ARE INSTALLING STREET, STREET TREES, PS EIGHT, AIR SCREENING, MECHANICAL AND UTILITY EQUIPMENT, PS 11, AND THEN UNDER THE PLAZAS AND OPEN SPACES, UM, PZ TWO, WE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO OPEN SPACE NETWORK IN THE SENSE THAT, UM, IT ACTUALLY PZ TWO AND PZ THREE, I'M KIND OF TYING TOGETHER, BUT IT IS EMPHASIZING
[01:55:01]
SOME CONNECTIONS TO PARKS AND GREENWAYS IN THE SENSE THAT THE PROJECT IS LOCATED IN VICINITY OF THOSE AREAS.IT IS PROVIDING A GREATER PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT THAT DOESN'T EXIST TODAY.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF AREAS BETWEEN THIS PROPERTY AND THESE OTHER PARKS AND FACILITIES THAT NEED IMPROVEMENTS AS WELL, BUT IT'S, IT'S A PIECE OF THE WHOLE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING SPECIFICALLY.
SIDEWALKS RIGHT OF WAY DEDICATION.
UM, PZ 12, UM, WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF PZ 12 IS, IS CONCERNED WITH PLANTS OR, OR TREES OR IF THAT'S PART OF THE SAME, THAT'S PART OF THE SAME, UM, GOAL.
AND THOSE ARE PRIMARILY THE, THE DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT ARE BEING MET.
UM, I, I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE'S AN ARGUMENT FOR SOME OF THOSE.
I THINK THAT SOME OF THEM ARE QUESTIONABLE AS WELL.
BUT I GUESS MY, MY MAIN CONCERN, UM, IS WHEN THIS PROJECT IS COMING TO THE DESIGN COMMISSION, UM, IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE IT'S QUITE READY.
LIKE IT DOESN'T, IT'S LIKE THE SCREENING FOR THE MECHANICAL ISN'T CONFIRMED.
LIKE THE, THE ACTIVATION OF THE SIDEWALK LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE A, AN AREA FOR SMOKING MAYBE NEXT TO THE DRIVEWAY, OR IT COULD JUST BE A PLACE TO PUT SOME GARBAGES OR, OR JUST FOR PEOPLE TO THROW GARBAGE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT AREN'T DEVELOPED ENOUGH TO BE, BE ABLE TO D DETERMINE WHETHER IT MEETS THE DESIGN GUIDELINES.
AND SO IT MAKES ME WORRY ABOUT HOW THIS PROCESS IS BEING USED.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S STILL KIND OF BACK OF THE NAPKIN AND WE DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING TO REACT TO OTHER THAN KIND OF THE, THE MASSING AND SOME OF THE BIG SITE PLAN MOVES, WHICH I ALSO TAKE ISSUE WITH.
UM, SO MY BIGGEST ISSUE IS WHERE THIS PRO, HOW THIS PROCESS IS BEING USED AND WHETHER THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE USE OF THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND, BUT I THINK, UM, I, I ECHO A, A LOT OF WHAT THE WORKING GROUP, UM, SORT OF MENTIONED.
UM, I THINK THOSE ISSUES ARE STILL KIND OF AT THE HEART.
I THINK IT, IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS PROJECT COMPLY, UH, OR SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLY WITH URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, IT'S GONNA NEED A, LIKE A REAL RE UM, RESORTING.
UM, I WOULD SAY, UH, RIGHT NOW THIS IS, THIS PROJECT IS BUILT LIKE A, UM, A DRIVE-THROUGH, UM, WHICH IS, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE DRIVE-THROUGHS FARTHER DOWN, UH, MLK.
THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'RE REWARDING WITH THE DENSITY BONUS.
UM, THIS IS A GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENT.
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S JUST, THERE'S ISSUES RELATED TO THAT.
AND OBVIOUSLY I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE PAIRING IT DOWN TO A ONE-WAY, UH, LANE, WHICH I THINK IS A, IS A GOOD MOVE.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IF REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT, ABOUT THE URBAN DESIGN HERE, YOU WOULD ALSO CONSIDER, UH, NO, UH, NO DRIVEWAY AT ALL, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT IT'S A 70 FOOT, UH, LOT.
UM, BUT IF YOU DESPERATELY HAD TO HAVE A DRIVE THROUGH, YOU WOULD CONFIGURE THE SITE SUCH THAT, UM, YOU WERE PUSHING THE DRIVEWAY ALL THE WAY TO ONE EDGE.
SO LET'S SAY YOU NEED, STILL NEEDED YOUR FIVE FOOT CURB, UM, CURB RADIUS.
YOU'VE GOT A 10 FOOT SIDEWALK.
THAT MEANS THE FIRST 15 FEET YES, ARE DOMINATED BY DRIVEWAY, BUT YOU STILL HAVE THE ROOM, YOU KNOW, THE REMAINING 55 FEET, UM, THAT COULD BE ACTIVATED, UM, AND BE MORE CONTINUOUS AND PUT TREES IN A CONTINUOUS, UM, YOU KNOW, A CONTINUOUS TRENCH AND SO FORTH.
UH, YES, ALSO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS CHALLENGING IN THIS, IN THIS CASE, YOU'RE GIVING 12 AND A HALF FEET TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT, UM, FOR THE, THE PUMP AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PROJECTS COMPLY WITH, WITH THE FIRE, UH, RULES AND DON'T COMPLY WITH URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.
BUT I THINK EVEN IN WITH THAT CONSTRAINT, YOU HAVE PROBABLY 42 AND A HALF FEET OF THAT FRONTAGE THAT YOU COULD ACTIVATE WITH REAL USABLE SPACE.
AND SO EVEN WITH ALL OF THE CONSTRAINTS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, I THINK IT COULD BE RECONFIGURED IN A WAY AND HAVE A DRIVEWAY EVEN, WHICH I WOULDN'T ADVISE, BUT COULD BE DONE, UM, IN A WAY THAT WOULD ACTUALLY, UH, MEET A LOT OF THESE STREETSCAPE STREET SCAPE GUIDELINES ESPECIALLY.
UM, I THINK, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD HOPE THAT BEFORE, UH, BEFORE THIS PROJECT ADVANCES MUCH FURTHER THROUGH SITE PLAN REVIEW, WOULD WE, YOU GUYS WOULD COME BACK TO US ONCE THE PROJECT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, AND YOU GUYS HAVE SHOWN KIND OF LIKE HOW YOU'RE ADDRESSING THE URBAN DESIGNING GUIDELINES.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A, THIS IS A VERY SMALL SITE, AND I THINK HONESTLY, SMALL SITES LIKE THIS CAN REALLY ENRICH A CITY.
UM, AND I THINK THAT FIGURING OUT HOW TO GET SMALL SITES TO WORK IS OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE.
A LOT OF OUR SYSTEMS AREN'T BUILT FOR IT.
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S NOT BUILT FOR IT, YOU KNOW, OFTENTIMES AT D'S NOT BUILT FOR IT.
UM, SO LIKE FIGURING OUT THE JIGSAW PUZZLE IS REALLY CHALLENGING ON THESE SITES, AND A HUNDRED PERCENT GET IT.
UM, AND, AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S MAKING IT EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO GET THROUGH THE URBAN DESIGN
[02:00:01]
GUIDELINES, RIGHT? BUT I THINK THAT WHY THESE SITES ARE SO INCREDIBLY RICH FOR A CITY IS BECAUSE THEY OFTENTIMES DON'T HAVE DRIVEWAYS, RIGHT? THEY, THEY ARE SMALL PIECES OF, OF URBANISM THAT CAN LIKE, BECOME A COMPOSITION WITH OTHER SMALL PIECES OF URBANISM.AND SO YOU GOTTA THINK ABOUT THE BLOCK FACE, RIGHT? THERE'S GONNA BE THAT PROPERTY AND THERE'S A BUNCH OF PROPERTIES, UH, THERE'S A PROPERTY ON EITHER SIDE THAT AREN'T GONNA BE CONSOLIDATED.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA BE SMALL AND FILLED PROPERTIES AS WELL.
AND IF EVERY SINGLE ONE OF Y'ALL HAVE HAVE A, UH, DRIVEWAY THAT, UH, BLOCK FACE IS GONNA BE HORRIFIC.
IT'S GONNA BE, I MEAN, MAYBE AS BAD AS TODAY, MAYBE NOT, MAYBE NOT AS BAD AS TODAY, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF REPEATING A CONDITION BASED ON KIND OF OLD SCHOOL WAYS OF, OF, UH, DEVELOPING OUR CITY.
UM, I, I COULD KEEP GOING ON, BUT I'VE TALKED TOO LONG ALREADY.
I WILL, I WILL SAY THAT, UM, THAT WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE HAD WITH THE WORKING GROUP WAS HOW, HOW IS THE CITY LOOKING AT PROJECTS LIKE THIS THAT DEVELOP, WHERE IT'S A SMALL LOT, IT'S MID-BLOCK, IT'S THE FIRST.
HOW DOES THAT TIE INTO THE REST OF THE BLOCK? BECAUSE WE KNOW IT'S GOING TO REDEVELOP OVER TIME AND PROBABLY IN NOT THE VERY DISTANT FUTURE.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT CAN BE DONE TO MAKE SURE THAT A, AS THEY DEVELOP INDIVIDUALLY, THAT IT, IN THE END, YOU, YOU END UP WITH A COHESIVE, YOU KNOW, THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT IS, IS I THINK ANY OF THESE PROJECTS, RIGHT? WELL, THE CORNER LOTS WOULD PROBABLY HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF PROVIDING SOME OF THESE THINGS BECAUSE THEY HAVE MORE FRONTAGE, EVEN IF IT'S ON TWO SEPARATE STREETS.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ARE GOING TO BE, LIKE YOU SAID, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING TO BE CONSTRAINED WITH NOT A LOT OF, OF FRONTAGE.
I THINK IT'S WORST WOULD SAY, YEAH.
I WOULD SAY TO THAT THOUGH, THIS SITE KIND OF IS OPTIMALLY POSITIONED.
UH, YOU HAVE A TERRIFIC HUGE, I MEAN, IT'S A TERRIFIC STREET IN SOME WAYS.
IT'S A BIG STREET, UH, WITH A LOT OF VISIBILITY.
SO YOU CAN REALLY, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ACTIVATE YOUR USES PRETTY, PRETTY WELL.
UM, YOUR, YOUR BUSINESSES AREN'T LIKELY TO DIE.
UM, AND YOU HAVE AN ALLEYWAY, RIGHT? YOU HAVE A DEEP LOT WITH AN ALLEYWAY.
UH, IT'S A LITTLE BIT LESS DEEP.
'CAUSE YOU HAD TO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA DEDICATE SOME RIGHT AWAY OR YOU'RE GONNA GET A, UM, PUBLIC ACCESS EASEMENT.
UM, BUT THAT ALLEYWAY, THAT'S HOW CITIES HAVE DONE IT IN THE PAST AND STILL HAD, UH, SERVICE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY IT'D BE GREAT IF WE COULD GET A FIRE ENGINE BACK THERE, BUT I, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT ALLEY'S SET UP FOR THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT THAT REALLY IS, LIKE A LOT OF PLACES WE DON'T HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY LIKE LEANING HARD ON THAT ALLEY AND FIGURING OUT HOW TO CONFIGURE THE SITE THAT REALLY FOCUSES THE BACK TOWARDS SERVICE AND VEHICLES AND THE FRONT TOWARD PEOPLE.
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT WAS JUST SAID.
UM, I THINK, I MEAN, EVEN TO ME, AS GLARING OF AN OPPORTUNITY AS IN AS INCORPORATING ART IN PUBLIC PLACES, YOU'RE AT THE UNIVERSITY.
THERE ARE A LOT OF EXAMPLES OF MURALS.
UM, WE'VE SEEN THE LINE HOTEL THAT DEDICATED, YOU KNOW, AN ENTIRE WALL, UM, TO A MURAL, UH, ALONG, UM, CONGRESS AND CESAR CHAVEZ.
UM, SO TO ME THAT THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES WHEN I DON'T EVEN SEE ANY ATTEMPT FOR PUBLIC ART.
UM, SO YEAH, I, I JUST, I'M PRETTY DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS.
AND THAT IS, UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR WE, WE DID COMMUNICATE THAT, 'CAUSE THAT WAS ALSO SOMETHING THAT CAME FROM THE DESIGN COMMISSION WORKING GROUP.
UM, AND WE COMMUNICATED THAT TO THE LANDOWNER, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE CONTEMPLATING.
UM, IT'S JUST GONNA TAKE SOME MORE CONSIDERATION FEEDBACK BEFORE THEY MAKE THAT FINAL DECISION OF WHAT THAT'LL LOOK LIKE.
COMMISSIONER GILLES, DID YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? THANK YOU.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I ALSO SHARE THE SAME SENTIMENT AND, UH, APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS FROM THE WORKING GROUP AND THE EFFORT THAT YOU'VE TAKEN TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE ISSUES.
AND, AND, UH, I THINK, AS HAS SAID, MY MAIN CONCERN IS THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST, UM, ALONG THIS, THIS, UH, THOROUGHFARE.
AND WE WOULDN'T WANT, UH, A PRECEDENT TO BE SET EXACTLY AS YOU'VE DESCRIBED IT.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE COMING IN AS BEING ONE OF THE, THE NEW STRUCTURES ALONG THE STREET AND CREATING THE DRIVE-THROUGH PRECEDENT IS EXACTLY, I THINK THE OPPOSITE APPROACH OF, OF HOW WE WOULD, UM, HOPE THAT A BUILDING THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE IN THIS LOCATION FOR 25 50, YOU KNOW, UPWARDS OF HOPEFULLY A HUNDRED YEARS, UM, WOULD BE TAKING, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HOPE THAT THIS WOULD BE A, A FORWARD THINKING, FUTURE PLANNING, UM, DESIGN EXERCISE WHERE DEFINITELY PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY IS FOREGROUNDED.
AND, AND THE AT FIRST TAKE, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH, UH, VEHICULAR ACTIVITY IS JUST GIVEN FAR TOO MUCH PRECEDENT OR, UM, PRIORITY, I WOULD SAY, AS HAS BEEN ME MENTIONED, YOU'VE, ONCE YOU'VE COME IN THROUGH THAT, UM, CURB CUT, YOU'VE
[02:05:01]
GOT YOUR, UM, PEDESTRIAN DROP OFF, WHICH, UH, ACCORDING TO YOUR PLAN IS VERY WELL, UM, DEFINED.BUT FOR A HOTEL OF THIS SIZE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GIVEN A GENEROUS, YOU KNOW, UH, 10 FOOT PLUS WIDE PEDESTRIAN AREA, AND THEN ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, 20, 21, 22 FOOT WIDE CAR AISLE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ADDITION THERE, THE 32 FOOT WIDE AREA THAT IS JUST FOR, YOU KNOW, DOUBLE CAR LOADING.
UM, AND, AND PEDESTRIAN JUST, JUST SEEMS VERY EXCESSIVE FOR A HOTEL OF THIS SIZE.
AND I MEAN, I, I'VE RECENTLY STAYED IN, UH, UH, IN CHICAGO.
I, I'M NOT SAYING AUSTIN IS CHICAGO, BUT CERTAINLY IN THE MID-BLOCK OF A CITY OF THAT, UM, DENSITY NOW AS IT CURRENTLY IS, THERE'S REALLY NO EXPECTATION TO HAVE ANY SORT OF CAR DROP OFF FOR, FOR THOSE HOTELS.
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A, UM, ADJACENT PARKING STRUCTURE OR A SHARED SURFACE PARKING LOT, YOU PARK AND THEN YOU, YOU MAKE YOUR WAY OVER TO THE HOTEL ON, ON FOOT AND, YOU KNOW, WALKING IS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M NOT CERTAIN OF THE CLIENTELE OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE, BUT HAVING THE EXPECTATION THAT YOU CAN DRIVE THROUGH AND HAVE THIS SORT OF GENEROUS DROP OFF ISN'T NECESSARILY EVEN SUPPORTED, I WOULD SAY BY THE SIZE OF THE LOBBY THAT YOU FIND AFTER YOU'VE ARRIVED AT THIS SORT OF OPULENT ARRIVAL SPACE.
IT, IT HAS ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED.
I THINK, UM, THIS SORT OF CORNER, UH, PICNIC AREA OR A SEATING AREA SEEMS LIKE A MISSED OPPORTUNITY.
I THINK THERE'S AN, THERE'S A WAY THIS CAN BE RECONFIGURED TO GIVE LESS DRY AISLE AND PERHAPS PROVIDE POTENTIALLY FOR, UM, THAT SPACE TO BE ACTUALLY, UM, A RENTABLE SMALL, UM, COFFEE SHOP OR CAFE.
AND, YOU KNOW, COMBINING THAT WITH THE LOBBY, I THINK ACTUALLY IS A, IS A MUCH MORE, UH, ENJOYABLE, UH, HOTEL ARRIVAL EXPERIENCE.
UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE CURRENTLY MISSING THE SPACE THAT A KITCHEN OR SORT OF BACK OF HOUSE OF ANY SORT OF SMALL SCALE RESTAURATEUR WOULD NEED.
BUT IF YOU REDUCE SOME OF THAT DRY VI, I THINK THAT COULD BE PROVIDED IN, IN THAT SPACE.
AND THEN YOU HAVE AN ADDITIONAL ACTIVATED FRONTAGE, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, GOING SOME WAY TO CONTRIBUTING TO ECONOMIC DIVERSITY, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, A BIG PART OF, OF WHAT THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES IS ASKING FOR.
UM, SO YEAH, THERE'S SORT OF SOME REWORKING RE UM, JUGGLING.
I THINK THAT COULD, COULD STILL ALLOW THE DRIVE THROUGH APPROACH TO WORK.
HOWEVER, IT'S NOT AN IDEAL APPROACH.
I THINK IF, IF THERE WAS AN, AN ADDITIONAL ACTIVATED FRONTAGE, THERE MIGHT BE SORT OF A NICE BALANCE THAT COULD BE STRUCK THERE BETWEEN THE CAR AND THE PEDESTRIAN.
I'VE GOT A QUESTION ABOUT THE FLOOR PLAN.
CAN WE BRING THE PLANS BACK UP, PLEASE? SPECIFICALLY THE FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
UM, UH, WHAT IS THAT SPACE AS YOU, AS THE VEHICLE ENTERS AND COMES UNDER THE BUILDING, THE SPACE IMMEDIATELY EAST OR PLANNED SOUTH IN THIS VIEW, IS THAT PARKING? WHAT IS THAT SPACE NEXT TO THE DRIVE, I BELIEVE? ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE COURTYARD? SO IT'S AT THE MLK FRONTAGE, THE MLK FRONTAGE, THE AREA JUST SOUTH OF THE DRIVEWAY.
OH, SOUTH NEXT TO THE FIRE RISER.
SO, UM, THE GREEN, THE GREEN BOX SHOWS THE PEDESTRIAN ENTRANCE, UM, DOUBLE DOORS THAT ACTUALLY OPEN UP INTO AN OPEN AIR WALKWAY.
UM, THAT LEADS TO THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE HOTEL, WHICH IS THE GREEN BOX IN THE CENTER OF THE IMAGE.
BUT WHAT'S THE WHITE BOX ABOVE IT? UM, HOLD ON ONE SECOND.
[02:10:14]
SO IT LOOKS LIKE THAT'S JUST ADDITIONAL, UH, SIDEWALK SPACE? UH, YEAH.'CAUSE IT'S, AND ALL THE PLANS, IT'S SHOWN DIFFERENTLY.
UH, IT, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A CURB, UH, OR A HATCH IN THIS CASE, BOTH BETWEEN THAT AND THE DRIVEWAY OR BETWEEN THE WALKWAY AND THAT SPACE.
UH, AND, AND PART OF WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS I THINK THE DOOR TO MLK IS A GREAT THING, BUT IT REALLY GETS TO BECOME A PINCH POINT.
IT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE THERE'S FOUR FEET BETWEEN THE COLUMN AND, UH, WHAT IS THAT? A MECHANICAL ROOM.
AND GIVEN THAT THESE PEOPLE DON'T HAVE CARS, THEY'RE GONNA BE WALKING EVERYWHERE.
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE FOUR FEET IS NOT MUCH CLEARANCE FOR EVERYBODY TO BE COMING AND GOING.
AND SO, AND SO, YEAH, I WAS THINKING THAT THAT LINE NEEDS TO MOVE UP TO THE EDGE OF THE DRIVE TO MAKE THAT ALL WALK AWAY TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO BETTER ENTER AN EXIT INTO THOSE DOORS.
UH, COMMISSIONER CARROLL, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MOVING THE COLUMN LINE? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? UM, JUST, SO I'M JUST TRYING TO GET, I MEAN, THAT WOULD HELP TOO, BUT NO, I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT MAKING IT CLEAR THAT LITERALLY FROM THOSE CLOSETS TO THE EDGE OF THE DRIVEWAY IS ALL PEDESTRIAN SPACE BECAUSE IT LOOKS DIFFERENT IN THIS IMAGE.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN TREATED DIFFERENT.
UM, AND THEN I, I AGREE WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER HOWARD'S COMMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT OUTDOOR SITTING AREA IS A, IS A BIT ISOLATED IN THAT IF YOU DID MOVE THE DRIVE, SAY WEST, THEN THAT AREA COULD BE REINCORPORATED INTO THE REST OF THE BUILDING IN BETTER USE OF THAT SPACE.
BECAUSE AS IT SITS NOW, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GONNA USE IT.
UM, YEAH, IT, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S A SHAME THAT THE OTHER FORCES DON'T MAKE THESE, THESE SHOULD BE EASY PROJECTS TO DEVELOP.
'CAUSE THESE ARE THE KINDS OF SMALL LOTS THAT WE WANNA SEE MORE OF.
AND YOU'VE GOT FIRE TAKING THEIR, THEIR BIT AND, UH, ELECTRICAL.
AND IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S A STRUGGLE.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING FOR MYSELF, THIS IS THE KIND OF PROJECT I WANT TO SUCCEED.
UM, I THINK THE FEEDBACK YOU'RE GETTING TONIGHT IS, IS GOOD.
UH, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY AT THIS POINT, I THINK WE ARE USED TO SEEING LIKE AN ILLUSTRATED LANDSCAPE PLAN.
I THINK THAT'S GENERATING A LOT OF QUESTIONS, UM, FROM MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE ADDITION OF THE DOORS, THE, UH, FRONTING MLKI THINK MISCONSTRUES THE FEEDBACK FROM THE WORKING GROUP A LITTLE BIT IN SO FAR AS YOUR OPENING DOORS AND YOU'RE STILL OUTSIDE.
UM, SO JUST GET RID OF THE DOORS.
UM, BUT I DO LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE STARTING TO BUILD A NICER PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE INTO THAT FRONT DOOR.
I THINK THE IDEA OF SHIFTING THE DRIVEWAY AND MAKING THAT SPACE MORE COMFORTABLE AS MERIT, I THINK YOU KNOW IT AT SOME POINT, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE IF WE CAN, CAN'T GET THAT TO, UH, A SPACE WHERE IT'S BIG ENOUGH TO BE A VIABLE, YOU KNOW, S SMALL ENCLOSURE OF SOME SORT OF RETAIL.
UM, DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
I WANTED TO REVISIT A CONVERSATION FROM THE WORKING GROUP ABOUT, UM, USING THE ALLEY FOR THE, UM, UH, FOR THE VALET AND DOING KIND OF A PULL OFF, UH, THROUGH THE ALLEY.
UH, I KNOW THAT WAS DISCUSSED, IT IS NOT WITHOUT ITS OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES AS WE DISCUSSED, BUT IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE DESIGN TEAM HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT? UH, 'CAUSE FROM WHERE I'M SITTING, THIS PROJECT IS KIND OF HITTING ALL THE MARKS AND THEN THE DRIVEWAY KEEPS GETTING IN YOUR WAY AND YOU JUST RUN THIS MASSIVE HOLE THROUGH AN OTHERWISE GREAT PROJECT.
I LOVE THE SECOND STORY ACTIVATION.
I LOVE THAT WE'RE NOT PARKING THIS.
THERE'S A LOT GOING RIGHT HERE.
AND THAT DRIVEWAY IS GETTING IN THE, IN THE WAY OF OUR CELEBRATING IT COMMISSIONER WHIR.
UM, THE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ALLEY ARE VERY UTILITY UTILITY ORIENTED.
WE'VE GOT THE ELECTRIC VAULT BACK THERE, WE'VE GOT THE DUMPSTER ACCESS AND ALL THAT.
[02:15:01]
WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT AN IDEA OF CREATING A VALET DROP OFF AREA IN THE BACK.IT'S JUST GONNA CAUSE ALL OF THAT TO PUSH FURTHER BACK INTO THE SITE.
BUT, UH, WE, WE APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONER HOWARD.
UM, I, I JUST HAD A QUESTION ABOUT WHERE THE VALET LOT YOU GUYS ARE USING IS RIGHT NOW.
THERE'S A CONTRACT WITH THE PARKING COMPANY.
THERE'S NOT A SPECIFIC SINGLE GARAGE.
AND I, I THINK THAT, UM, IF YOU GUYS ARE SHIFTING THINGS AROUND, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IF THE DRIVEWAY'S NOT THERE, THAT'S TAKING UP 50% OF THE DRIVE THE GROUND FLOOR RIGHT NOW, UM, IT OBVIOUSLY IS A TOTAL RESORT OF YOUR STRUCTURE AND YOUR SITE PLAN, BUT THERE IS, THERE IS MAYBE MORE ROOM TO EXPLORE THAT IF YOU GUYS ARE UP FOR THAT SORT OF, THAT SORT OF, UH, STUDY AND CHAIR JUST BROADLY.
I I, WE KEEP, WE KEEP COMING BACK TO THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, I THINK THE APPLICANT IS WELL WITHIN THEIR RIGHT TO WANT A DRIVEWAY.
UH, AND WE ARE WELL WITHIN OUR WANT RIGHT? TO NOT WANT THE ENTIRE FUTURE BLOCK TO BE ALL DRIVEWAYS.
UH, AND FOR LACK OF A MORE COORDINATED CITY PLANNING MECHANISM, THINKING BIGGER PICTURE.
WE'RE GONNA KEEP RUNNING INTO THIS.
AND IT'S, IT'S FRUSTRATING FOR US AS URBAN DESIGNERS.
I'M SURE IT'S FRUSTRATING FOR THE APPLICANTS TOO, AND I JUST THOUGHT I'D PONTIFICATE ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND.
UM, THERE'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, SIDE LOADED DEVELOPMENT FOR, FOR AGES RIGHT THERE.
THAT'S A VERY TRADITIONAL FORM, EVEN COMMERCIAL OR RESIDENTIAL, ONCE WE HAVE REALLY NARROW LOTS, EVEN FRONT FRONT DRIVES WHEN THEY STILL ARE PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED, BECOME, UH, SIDE DRIVES.
UM, WE HAVEN'T HAD A LOT OF THAT SORT OF HISTORIC FABRIC IN AUSTIN.
UM, MOST EVERYTHING WE HAVE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, TWO CAR GARAGES FACING THE STREET OR BIG CURB CUTS.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE, THERE IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO REALLY KIND OF GET INTO THE DETAILS AND PLAY WITH INCHES RATHER THAN FEET IN ORDER TO MAKE PROJECTS OF THIS, OF THIS SIZE WORK.
BUT I THINK THAT A SHY SIDE DRIVE APPROACH IS MAYBE, IT MAY BE ONE TO EXPLORE IF YOU, IF YOU CAN'T FIGURE OUT A REAR ACCESS APPROACH.
I GUESS I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF ALLEY'S IS TO, UH, IS TO OBVIATE THE NEED FOR THAT DRIVEWAY.
AND SO I'D ENCOURAGE THIS AND GET SORT OF, GET REWORKED AND MAKE THAT MLK FRONTAGE BE THE URBAN SETTING, THE URBAN, UH, FACADE THAT IT SHOULD BE.
DID, DID YOU MENTION THAT THERE WAS AN, LIKE A CANOPY, UH, AS THAT WAS, IS SUPPOSED TO BE PART OF THIS, BUT IT'S NOT SHOWN? NO, WE, WE CONSIDERED CANOPY, UM, AS PART OF A PEDESTRIAN, UM, ELEMENT AT THE FRONT.
BUT WITH THE STREET TREES BEING WHERE THEY ARE, THERE'S CONCERNS THAT THE CANOPY WILL IMPEDE THE, UM, CANOPY OF THE TREE, UH, GROWTH OF THAT CANOPY.
SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WE'RE NOT PROVIDING THEM.
I THOUGHT, I JUST THOUGHT I HEARD YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE LICENSE AGREEMENT AND A, UH, SOME SORT OF ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE THAT HAS TO DO WITH, UH, AN ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE THAT'S ACTUALLY ON THE SECOND FLOOR.
SO, YEAH, UM, I, I SHARE THE SAME SEDIMENTS AS MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.
UM, THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES A MISSED OPPORTUNITY, WHICH IS PRETTY EASY.
UM, AND THEN I DO SHARE THAT SAME CONCEPT OF TRYING TO INTEGRATE THAT SEATING AREA INTO THE ENTRANCE OF HOW IT BECOMES PART OF THAT PEDESTRIAN PROCESSION INTO THE BUILDING, UH, WHICH WOULD REALLY HELP A LOT.
BUT COMMISSIONERS BRING UP A GREAT, UH, THOUGHT OF, YEAH, ONCE THESE OTHER SITES GET DEVELOPED, YOU KNOW, WE START HAVING THESE SMALL SITES WITH A BUNCH OF DRIVEWAYS, IT STARTS REALLY IMPEDING THAT SIDEWALK, WHICH IS A VERY BUSY SIDEWALK.
UM, AND THAT WHOLE AREA THERE, IT'S EXTREMELY PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY.
UM, SO YEAH, THOSE ARE THE ONLY COMMENTS I HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE.
BUT DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER HOWARD, YOU GOT A COMMENT?
[02:20:01]
I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE MY INITIAL CONCERN ABOUT THE PROCESS, UM, THAT THIS IS MAYBE NOT THE RIGHT TIME FOR THIS PROJECT.LIKE THE PROJECT'S NOT DEVELOPED ENOUGH YET TO COME TO SHOW WHETHER IT'S SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLIANT WITH URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES AND THAT, UM, I, I, I FOR ONE, THINK THAT IT WOULD BE GOOD IF THE PROJECT CAME BACK, UM, TO US ONCE IT WAS FURTHER DEVELOPED, UM, JUST TO, JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, PAYING THE, PAYING THE RESPECT THAT THAT, THAT THIS PROCESS IS BUILT FOR.
DO WE NEED A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT FOR THAT? ALL RIGHT.
WELL, WOULD YOU, I GUESS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROPOSE THAT AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO, AND THEN I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT
THANKS TO TO HAVE, UM, TO HAVE OUR GUESTS COME BACK AND PRESENT, UM, IN MORE DETAIL, UH, WHAT THEY'RE PROPOSING.
DO YOU SECOND THAT? I SECOND IT.
COMMISSIONER CARROLL, I HAVE A QUESTION.
IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
'CAUSE IF WE COULD YOU MAKE US SAY IT DOESN'T COMPLY AND THEY WON'T COME BACK, RIGHT? THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION.
COULD YOU RESTATE THE ORIGINAL MOTION? AND I THINK THIS IS SOUNDING MORE LIKE IT WOULD BE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO THE ORIGINAL.
AND COMMISSIONER HOWARD, IF WE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, THEY WILL NOT COME BACK.
SO IT EITHER NEEDS TO BE A RECOMMENDATION OR OF YES OR NO, OR THAT THEY COME BACK.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION THAT WE DO NOT, WE DO NOT SAY THIS COMPLIES OR DOES NOT COMPLY, BUT RATHER WE REQUEST THEM TO RETURN ONCE THE PROJECT IS FURTHER DEVELOPED.
AND I WILL SECOND THAT
JORGE LAN EXECUTIVE LIAISON TO THE COMMISSION.
JUST, JUST FOR CLARITY AND IN TERMS OF THE PROCESS OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, STAFF IS RELYING UPON A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS OF THE PROGRAM.
LACK OF A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMISSION, WHICH IS YOUR CHOICE AS A COMMISSION, WOULD NOT ALLOW STAFF TO EVALUATE THE PROJECT WITH YOUR RECOMMENDATION.
IT WOULD BE UPON STAFF TO EVALUATE THE PROJECT FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.
YOU MAY FIND, OR YOU MAY ELECT TO FIND THE PROJECT NOT COMPLIANT WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES AND PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO STAFF AND THE APPLICANT AS TO WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO REACH COMPLIANCE.
YOU MAY ALSO ASK THAT THE APPLICANT COME BACK TO YOU.
YOU CANNOT MAKE THAT A CONDITION OF YOUR FINDING THAT'S A SEPARATE PATHWAY.
SO THE PROGRAM DOESN'T ALLOW FOR THAT.
IT'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS.
UH, STAFF WOULD CERTAINLY APPRECIATE ANY RECOMMENDATION YOU WOULD WANT TO PROVIDE TO STAFF AND THE APPLICANT FOR EVENTUAL COMPLIANCE WITH THE GUIDELINES.
SORRY, BEFORE YOU YOU GO, CAN I ASK SOME QUESTIONS? UM, SO IF WE, SO IN ORDER TO KIND OF OBSERVE THIS PROCESS, I THINK FOR THE, FOR THE WHOLE COMMISSION REALLY, UM, WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND, UH, US DO IN THE, IN THIS CASE, WOULD WE JUST MAKE A RECOMMENDATION THAT IT DOES NOT COMPLY AND LIST OUT ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED SO FAR AND, AND THEN REQUEST IN, IN ADDITION TO THAT MOVEMENT THAT THAT, UH, THEY RETURN TO THE DESIGN COMMISSION? IF I MAY CHAIR, YES, PLEASE, COMMISSIONER.
THAT IS ONE PATHWAY YOU MAY CHOOSE TO TAKE AS A COMMISSION TO FIND THE PROJECT NON-COMPLIANT WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, AND ADDITIONALLY PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO STAFF AND THE APPLICANT ENUMERATING SPECIFIC GUIDELINES YOU SEE ARE LACKING IN THE PROJECT FOR US TO EVALUATE AND WORK WITH THE APPLICANT ON POTENTIAL MEETING OF THOSE GUIDELINES.
AND THEN YOU CAN ASK A COURTESY PRESENTATION FROM THE APPLICANT IN THE FUTURE.
THE PROGRAM'S NOT SET UP TO HAVE MULTIPLE PRESENTATIONS.
WE'VE HAD THAT ISSUE IN THE PAST WHERE WE CANNOT HOLD UP A SITE PLAN PROCESS FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION THAT'S ALLOWED IN THE CODE.
I GUESS MY, MY QUESTION IS MORE, UM, IF A PROJECT HAS NOT PREPARED THE APPROPRIATE, UM, DESIGN DOCUMENTATION AND CONFIRMED CERTAIN, UH, DESIGN ELEMENTS THAT COULD EVEN SHOW OR NOT SHOW, UH, CONFORMANCE WITH A GUIDELINE, IT SEEMS THAT WE'RE KIND OF GETTING A BACK OF THE PAPER SORT OF, UH, DIAGRAM OF A PROJECT RATHER THAN ACTUALLY A PROPOSED PROJECT.
AND I THINK WE'RE HAVING SOME ISSUES JUST,
[02:25:01]
I MEAN, EVEN AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A NEW, A NEW DRAFT OF THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES OR REVISIONS, YOU KNOW, WHERE DO WE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE SEE OURSELVES IN THIS PROCESS? RIGHT? AND SO THESE, THESE QUESTIONS KEEP COMING UP.UM, YOU KNOW, IS IF THIS IS JUST A PROCEDURAL CHECKBOX, THEY CAN, THEY COME IN HERE AND THEY PRESENT ANYTHING, WE SAY NO, AND THEN THEY GO AND THEY CAN CON CONVERSE WITH YOU GUYS INFINITELY, POTENTIALLY, RIGHT.
UM, IT, IT PUTS THE COMMISSION IN A STRANGE POSITION, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT THERE AREN'T A LOT OF FEEDBACK LOOPS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY, ANY THOUGHTS OR, UM, ADVICE FOR US? I DO CHAIR, IF I MAY SEE, THANK YOU.
UH, CERTAINLY STAFF IS NOT TAKING THE POSITION THAT THIS IS SOME KIND OF CHECKBOX OR STEPPING STONE IN THE PROCESS.
IF WE HAVE GIVEN YOU THAT IMPRESSION, I APOLOGIZE.
HOWEVER, YOU MAY MAKE THAT AS A, UH, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN YOUR MOTION OR IN THE RECOMMENDATION YOU WISH TO PROVIDE, THAT THE DOCUMENTS OR THE EXHIBITS PROVIDED AS PART OF THE PRESENTATION OR THE BACKUP MATERIAL HAVE BEEN LACKING.
AND THEN PROVIDE SPECIFIC DIRECTION ON THE TYPE OF INFORMATION YOU WISH TO SEE SO THAT STAFF CAN WORK WITH THE APPLICANT TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT STAFF IS LOOKING FOR IS YOUR GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION AS MANDATED BY THE CODE TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT ARE LACKING THAT COULD HELP STAFF WORK WITH THE APPLICANT TO ACHIEVE COMPLIANCE.
I BELIEVE THIS IS CONJECTURE ON MY PART.
WE'RE ALL AIMING TOWARDS MEETING COMPLIANCE WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, AND I SEE THAT THERE'S GOOD FAITH EFFORT FROM THE APPLICANT TO ACHIEVE THAT.
WE'RE ALL ASKING, I BELIEVE THIS EVENING FOR YOUR GUIDANCE ON WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO ACHIEVE COMPLIANCE WITH THOSE.
BUT THERE'S NOTHING THAT PRECLUDES THE COMMISSION FROM SPECIFYING ANY INFORMATION THAT IS LACKING AS PART OF THE APPLICANT'S PRESENTATION OR DOCUMENTATION THAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO YOU.
SO WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE IS WE ARE BE PROCEEDING AS WE DID BEFORE, AS A, WHICH WE'D HAVE TO DO A SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO GO BACK, AND THEN ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS, WE'LL PUT THAT INFORMATION.
I'M HAPPY TO SUBSTITUTE MY SUBSTITUTE MOTION.
YEAH, WE CANNOT HAVE A SUBSTITUTE TO SUBSTITUTE AND WE DID NOT VOTE ON THE ORIGINAL SUBSTITUTE.
YOU CAN DISPOSE OF THE SUBSTITUTE.
UM, THAT BRINGS US BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION THAT THE PROJECT DOES NOT COMPLY.
I WILL DISPOSE OF MY SUBSTITUTE MOTION.
UM, BUT I, I, I WOULD LOVE TO ENUMERATE SORT OF THE GUIDE THE GUIDELINES THAT WE THINK IT SHOULD, YOU KNOW, SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON HERE.
UM, I DO FEEL LIKE BASED ON THE, THE SLIDESHOW THERE, THERE WASN'T A CLEAR FRAMEWORK OF HERE ARE THE GUIDELINES AND HERE HOW, HERE'S HOW WE'RE MEETING THEM.
UM, AND SO I FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL, UH, IN US AT THIS STAGE TO MAKE THE, MAKE THE A RECOMMENDATION LIKE, HEY, IN ORDER TO MEET THAT GUIDELINE THAT YOU'VE IDENTIFIED, YOU'RE ATTEMPTING TO MEET, WE WOULD, WE WOULD HOPE YOU WOULD IMPROVE IT IN THIS WAY.
BUT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THAT, THERE'S A WHOLE, UM, A WHOLE BOOK OF GUIDELINES THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO KIND OF SCOUR AND, AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS UPON WHICH WE COULD DO.
UM, BUT I PERHAPS THERE'S ANOTHER SUGGESTION, UH, THAT'S MORE TIMELY.
THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UM, COMMISSIONER CARROLL, PERHAPS YOU COULD ASK THE APPLICANT IF THEY'RE WILLING TO COME BACK AND THEN IT COULD BE ADDRESSED, THEN.
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO COME BACK TO THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND PRESENT AGAIN WITH, UH, UH, MORE DETAILED EXHIBITS THAT CAN SHOW THE INTENT AND HOW THEY'RE, HOW THE, UM, DESIGN GUIDELINES ARE BEING MET? YES.
COMMISSIONERS, UH, WITH RESPECT REAL QUICK BEFORE I, I HAVE TO SECOND THE MOTION OF CAROL.
OH, I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS MAKING A MOTION.
WE'RE STILL, WE'RE ON THE ORIGINAL MOTION THAT IT DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE GUIDELINES MOTION BY HOWARD AND SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR MINORS.
SO, SO MY POINT WAS, IF THE APPLICANT IS WILLING TO COME BACK, THEN WE COULD POST POSTPONE THE RECOMMENDATION UNTIL THAT TIME.
IF THEY'RE NOT WILLING TO COME BACK, THEN WE NEED TO MAKE OKAY A YES OR NO RECOMMENDATION.
[02:30:01]
UH, WE WOULD REALLY ENJOY A DECISION TONIGHT.WE'VE ALREADY GOT A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM A LOT OF Y'ALL TODAY.
THAT IS, WE'RE GONNA BE PASSING ALONG TO THE ARCHITECTS AND FIGURING OUT WHAT WE CAN DO ON THE SITE.
BUT IF WE CAN, LET'S TRY AND WORK ON GETTING SOME FEEDBACK FROM Y'ALL ABOUT THE DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT Y'ALL WOULD LIKE TO SEE US TRY AND INCORPORATE INTO THIS PROJECT.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE TABLE, AND IT'S SECONDED, UM, THAT THIS PROJECT DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.
UM, OUR RECOMMENDATION WOULD CLARIFY ANY OF THE OTHER, UH, POINTS THAT WERE MADE TONIGHT.
ALL IN FAVOR THAT THIS PROJECT DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT WE HAVE.
AM I WRONG? I MAY BE MISINTERPRETING THIS, BUT IN OUR MOTION, WE HAVE TO ALSO INCLUDE THE LIST OF ENUMERATED GUIDANCE, DON'T WE? WE WOULD HAVE TO DO A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO INCLUDE THE NO, NO.
THANK YOU FOR BEING OUR, OUR, UH, OUR COACH HERE,
WE'LL, LET JORGE TELL US CHAIR IF I MAY.
I APPRECIATE, UH, YOU ALLOWING ME TO COME BACK AND JUST PROVIDE YOU WITH SOME GUIDANCE.
I AM NOT A COMMISSIONER AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE TO BE ON THE DS WITH YOU.
UH, BUT IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COMMISSION TO GUIDE STAFF AND THE APPLICANT WITH SPECIFIC GUIDELINES YOU WISH TO SEE ADDRESSED OR NOT ADDRESSED.
HOWEVER, AS THE CODE LANGUAGE IS WRITTEN, STAFF SHALL CONSIDER THE EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE COMMISSION.
SO BEYOND JUST FINDING THE PROJECT NON-COMPLIANT WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, I CANNOT SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT, BUT STAFF WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR GUIDANCE ON SPECIFIC GUIDELINES, AS MANY AS YOU SEE FIT, THAT COULD PROVIDE STAFF GUIDANCE ON EVALUATING THE PROJECT FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE URBAN ASSIGNED GUIDELINES.
AND DOES THAT, THAT, UH, GUIDANCE NEED TO COME INTO IT HAS TO BE PART OF THE MOTION, CORRECT.
PART OF THE MOTION AND THE ACTION.
SO IT COULD BE DOCUMENTED IN THE CHAIR'S LETTER ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION.
THAT IS PART OF THE OFFICIAL REVIEW FOR URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINE COMPLIANCE.
ALRIGHT, SO THERE'S A MOTION ON THE TABLE AND A SECOND.
AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THIS MEANS THAT WE'VE GOT TO ADD FRIENDLY AMENDMENTS ON SPECIFIC ITEMS THAT ARE NOT MET.
YOU MAY ADD A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO INCLUDE WHAT DOES NOT COMPLY FOR Y'ALL.
CAN, CAN I MAKE A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT? YES.
AND THIS MAY NOT BE EXHAUSTIVE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, ADD THAT THE REASON THAT THIS DOES NOT MEET, UH, A RECOMMENDATION IS BECAUSE OF P FIVE ONE, PROTECTING THE PEDESTRIAN WHERE THE BUILDING MEETS THE STREET.
UH, P FIVE TWO, MINIMIZING CURB CUTS, UH, P FIVE, P FIVE FOUR OR IS AN S I'M SORRY.
AND WHERE'S MY ART? ONE COMMAND F WHAT IS A W FIVE? A W FIVE CIVIC ART? YEP.
A W FIVE CIVIC ART IS, SO THAT'S MY AMENDMENT.
DO YOU ACCEPT THAT THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENT? CAN I ADD, UH, THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENT? I BELIEVE YOU CAN ADD TO IT.
AND THEN HE'S GOTTA ACCEPT THE ONE YOU HAD
NO, I DON'T THINK WE, JORGE WAS NODDING HIS HEAD THAT WE CAN'T DO A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO ANOTHER FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
I, I'M WILLING TO ADD ONTO MY OWN AMENDMENT.
LIKE I HAVEN'T FULLY FLUSHED IT OUT.
SO CAN I ASK FOR GUIDANCE ON MY
[02:35:01]
OWN FRIENDLY AMENDMENT? NO.JUST TO CLARIFY, THERE'S NOT A WAY FOR THE MAKER OF THE ORIGINAL MOTION TO AMEND THE MOTION, THEN YOU'LL BE AMENDING THE ORIGINAL MOTION.
YOU'RE NOT MAKING A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT BECAUSE IT IS YOUR MOTION COMMISSIONER.
SO YOU CAN AMEND YOUR MOTION ALONG WITH THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENTS, BUT NOT MAKE A FRIENDLY MOTION TO YOUR MOTION BECAUSE IT IS YOUR MOTION.
SO I CAN MAKE A, AN, AN AMENDMENT TO MY MOTION IN A, UH, A, IN ACCORDANCE LIKE, OR, UM, COMPAT WITH HIS FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO INCLUDE THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENTS, FOR EXAMPLE.
I YOU CAN'T CALL IT A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT BECAUSE IT'S YOUR ORIGINAL, YOUR ORIGINAL MOTION.
SO I'M, I WOULD BE AMENDING MY ORIGINAL MOTION, CORRECT.
AND THEN THE MAKER OF THE SECOND WOULD, PARDON ME.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S, I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE PROCESS.
THEN LET'S, LET'S GO WITH THE RIGHT PROCESS.
SO THERE'S AN ORIGINAL MOTION ON THE FLOOR, CORRECT? MM-HMM?
THERE'S A SECOND AND THERE'S A SECOND.
WERE THERE ANY AMENDMENTS MADE TO THAT ORIGINAL MOTION? UM, PERHAPS COMMISSIONER HOWARD, YOU COULD MAKE A SUGGESTION TO INCLUDE TO, TO ADD TO VICE CHAIR MINORS FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
BUT NOT AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
HE'S JUST A, HE'D BE AMENDING HIS ORIGINAL MOTION.
COULD I JUST MAKE, COULD WE CONTINUE DISCUSSION AND THEN PERHAPS HE CAN AMEND HIS FRIENDLY AMENDMENT? YOU MAY CONTINUE DISCUSSION BECAUSE YOU HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR AND YOU HAVE A SECOND.
SO DISCUSSION CAN CONTINUE HOWEVER YOU WANT TO CLARIFY WHAT THE ORIGINAL MOTION IS.
AND AS AMENDED BY OTHER COMMISSIONERS, I BELIEVE WE'RE SAYING THE SAME THING AS AS OR ADMINISTRATIVE LIAISON.
WE'RE JUST SAYING YOU CAN'T CALL IT A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
THAT'S WHERE IT GETS CONFUSING BECAUSE YOU'RE THE MAKER OF THE MOTION AND YOU HAVE A SECOND.
SO I'M NOT GOING TO FRIENDLY AMEND ANYTHING.
BUT YOU MAY ADD THE COMMISSIONER'S SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS AS PART OF YOUR ORIGINAL MOTION, WHICH THEN WOULD HAVE A SECOND.
SO I AM GOING TO AMEND MY ORIGINAL MOTION TO INCLUDE ALL OF, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER MINOR'S FRIENDLY AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENT THAT WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES, UH, THAT IT DOESN'T COMPLY WITH.
UH, B2B THREE, B FOUR, UH, B FIVE AND B SEVEN.
I THINK CHAIR MINOR SAID PS 10 B.
I WILL EMBRACE THOSE INTO MY AMENDMENT.
ANY OTHER FRIENDLY AMENDMENTS? I THINK WE GOT THROUGH THAT
CHAIR, IF I'M, IF I MAY, YES, PLEASE RECOMMEND THE ADDITION OF LANGUAGE THAT THE APPLICANT IS ENCOURAGED TO REMOVE THE DRIVEWAY OR PROVIDE ACCESS VIA ALLEY OR FAILING THAT LINE DRIVEWAY TO EDGE OF SIGHT TO MAXIMIZE PUBLIC SPACE AT PEDESTRIAN ENTRY.
A PEDESTRIAN ENTRY LINE DRIVEWAY TO TO EDGE OF SITE.
TO MAXIMIZE, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S THE MEAT OF IT.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER AMENDMENTS THAT FRIENDLY AMENDMENTS FROM ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? NO.
AND WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO CONFIRM THAT WE AGREE WITH THAT.
UM, DO YOU ALL ACCEPT THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENT FROM COMMISSIONER TRO? YES.
SO THE MOTION ON THE TABLE IS THAT THIS PROJECT DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS, URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.
UM, SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING TO PS ONE, PS TWO, PS FOUR, PS SIX, PS 10, PS 13, A W FIVE PS SEVEN PS NINE, PS 12, B2B THREE B FOUR, B FIVE, AND B SEVEN.
UH, THE CLIENT, THE, THE, UH, THE PRESENTER IS, IS ENCOURAGED TO REMOVE THE DRIVEWAY TO PROVIDE ACCESS THROUGH THE ALLEY, UH, IF THAT'S NOT FEASIBLE, TO, UH, PROVIDE A LINE DRIVE TO THE EDGE OF THE SITE.
[02:40:01]
ALL RIGHT, DAVID.ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
ANY AGAINST? AND COMMISSIONER CARROLL, YOU'RE, I'M GONNA ABSTAIN.
COMMISSIONER LUKINS, WHAT WAS YOUR VOTE? I, UH, I VOTE IN FAVOR.
[6. Discussion and action to amend the Design Commission annual schedule for 2024.]
THE AGENDA IS, UM, TO AMEND THE DESIGN COMMISSION ANNUAL SCHEDULE FOR 2024.SO THIS IS, UM, SO THERE WERE SOME, THERE WAS AN ERROR WITH THE POSTING LANGUAGE, UM, AND MAKING THE NOVEMBER 19TH A REGULAR MEETING.
UM, SO THIS IS JUST A MORE FORMAL PROCESS OF GETTING NOVEMBER 19TH, UM, I'M SORRY, REPLACING THE NOVEMBER 11TH MEETING, WHICH WAS SCHEDULED ON LABOR DAY BY MISTAKE.
UM, AND MOVING THAT MEETING TO TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH IN THIS ROOM.
UM, AND THIS WAY WE CAN UPDATE THE COMMISSION WEBPAGE AND IT'LL BE A REGULAR MEETING.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE ALREADY DONE, AND WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS TWICE,
DO WE NEED A MOTION OR DO WE JUST VOTE ON IT? UM, YES.
IN A SECOND VOTE, I'LL MAKE A MOTION.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
CAN WE DISCUSS? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
UM, I WON'T BE ABLE TO MAKE IT.
SO I'M JUST NERVOUS ABOUT QUORUM.
LIKE, IF ANYONE ELSE IS LIKE ME AND IS GONNA BACK OUT, LIKE THERE MIGHT BE A QUORUM ISSUE, SO, OH, YOU CAN'T MAKE IT EITHER I SEVEN OR SIX.
WHAT DO WE NEED? WHAT DO WE NEED? SIX.
SO, I MEAN, THERE'S PLENTY OTHERS, I THINK WITH TWO OUT AND THEN ONE VACANCY.
I'LL, UM, IN FAVOR OF THAT DATE.
[7. Discussion and action to approve the Design Commission annual schedule for 2025. ]
IS DISCUSSION AND ACTION.TO APPROVE THE DESIGN COMMISSION ANNUAL SCHEDULE FOR 2025.
SO THIS IS A SCHEDULE FOR NEXT YEAR.
UM, I DID SHARE THE MEETING DATES AS BACKUP.
I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL WANNA SEE THAT OR NOT.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL COULD SEE IT 'CAUSE THE SCREEN IS FAR AWAY.
BUT, UM, UH, YEAH, IT'S JUST THE SCHEDULE FOR 2025, THE REGULAR MEETING DATES, UM, TRIPLE CHECKED IT FOR HOLIDAYS, SO HOPEFULLY NO ISSUES THERE.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS SCHEDULE FOR 2025.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR? I ALL RIGHT.
[8. Select a representative to serve on the Downtown Commission per City Code § 2-1-140. ]
WE GOTTA SELECT A REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.SO, IS ANYBODY INTERESTED IN JOINING THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION? COMMISSIONER CARROLL? UH, YEAH, I JUST WANT TO, I'VE HEARD, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A STRUGGLE, UH, GETTING SOMEONE APPOINTED THIS POSITION, BUT IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ANYONE HAS, I HEARD MAYBE ONE OF THE HES HESITANCY WAS, UH, THE LENGTH OF THE MEETINGS, BUT, UM, SINCE I'VE BEEN ON, LIKE, OUR LAST MEETING WAS ACTUALLY 45 MINUTES.
THIS MEETING, TONIGHT'S BEEN LONGER THAN ANY DOWNTOWN, UM, MEETING.
[02:45:01]
IT'S ACTUALLY VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE WE GET TO SEE THE OTHER PROJECTS THAT, THAT DON'T COME HERE, ESSENTIALLY.AND ALL MEETINGS ARE AT CITY HALL, SO IT'S MUCH EASIER TO GET TO, AT LEAST FOR ME, UM, THAN THIS BUILDING.
SO, BUT IF ANYONE HAS ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, UM, I'VE BEEN TOLD I'M NOT ALLOWED TO REPORT, UH, YEAH.
THE DESIGN COMMISSIONS, 'CAUSE THAT'S NOT MY POSITION ON THERE.
UH, PLUS I'M, I'M TIMING OUT OF THIS COMMISSION IN FEBRUARY, SO, UH, WOULDN'T, WOULDN'T BE THERE MUCH LONGER TO REPORT EVEN IF I WAS ALLOWED TO.
SO ANYONE HAVE ANY INTEREST IN SERVING ON THE, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION? I, I DO HAVE INTEREST IN IT, BUT I AM THINKING PROBABLY NOT THIS MONTH, BUT NEXT MEETING WE HAVE TO BE PART OF IT.
SO, UM, SO WE'LL JUST HOLD THAT.
[9. Select a representative to serve on the South-Central Waterfront Advisory Board per per City Code § 2-1-172.]
TO SELECT A REPRESENTATIVE ON THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD, AND WE NEVER GOT ANY FEEDBACK OF WHETHER THEY'RE GONNA KEEP THAT.I DID REACH OUT TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND THEY SAID THERE'S BEEN NOTHING TO DECOMMISSION IT.
SO IT'S, UH, IT'S STILL UP AND RUNNING.
SO COMMISSIONER LADNER ISS ON IT STILL.
HE DIDN'T RESIGN FROM IT, SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS PAPERWORK THAT SAID HE DID OKAY.
I THINK IT MIGHT'VE BEEN WHEN I WAS AWAY AND I THINK A MISCOMMUNICATION OR SOMETHING, BUT, UH, OKAY.
UM, BUT THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY MEETINGS, RIGHT? IT REQUIRES NOTHING RIGHT NOW.
SORRY, I'M JUST GETTING, IT'S, IT, YEAH, IT'S BEEN ON HOLD.
I GOT AN EMAIL IN SEPTEMBER THAT BASICALLY SAID IT WAS KIND OF SHELVED UNTIL COUNCIL, I BELIEVE MEETS, ACTUALLY, HOLD ON ONE SECOND.
I'VE GOT THE EMAIL, UH, LAST, UH, IT SAID ON THURSDAY, COUNCIL POSTPONE THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ITEM INDEFINITELY, UH, TO QUOTE A MEMBER OF COUNCIL ON THE ITEM.
THERE IS A TARGET IN MIND OF FIRST QUARTER NEXT YEAR, 2025 FOR THIS ITEM TO BE HEARD BY COUNCIL.
SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S BEEN, ALL OF MY MEETINGS CONTINUE TO GET CANCELED FOR IT, I BELIEVE UNTIL COUNCIL, I GUESS FIRST QUARTER, SO, OKAY.
I, WE HAD REACHED OUT TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
WE WERE UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU HAD STEPPED DOWN.
SO IF WE COULD, UH, GET A MOTION AND A, AND A VOTE THAT YOU WERE STILL THE REPRESENTATIVE.
DO WE HAVE TO NOMINATE HIM? YES, PLEASE.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE NOMINATED? ALRIGHT.
I NOMINATE COMMISSIONER LADNER FOR THE, UH, SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD.
ALL IN FAVOR? HERE WE ARE UNANIMOUS.
[10. Select a representative and alternate representative to serve on the Joint Sustainability Committee per City Code § 2-1-206. ]
REPRESENTATIVE AND AN ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVE TO SERVE ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.SO I JUST STEPPED DOWN FROM THIS LAST MONTH.
UM, IT MEETS THE WEDNESDAY, USUALLY IT'S THE WEDNESDAY AFTER THIS MEET, SO IT'LL MEET, BUT I THINK LAST, I THINK THIS MONTH IT MEANT IT MET LAST WEEK.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN, UH, YEAH, ON THE FOURTH? LEMME PULL IT UP.
WHAT TIME? WHERE DOES IT MEET HERE? IT MEETS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS.
SO SOMETIMES IT'S HERE IN ONE OF THESE TWO ROOMS. IT'S BEEN AT AUSTIN.
ENERGY'S BEEN AT, UH, LA LATELY.
A LOT OF IT'S BEEN AT THE, UM, CITY HALL.
AND YOU CAN DO, YOU COULD LOG IN REMOTELY.
YEAH, I COULD, UH, I'LL GIVE THAT A SHOT.
SO, UH, COMMISSIONER LUKINS, YOU ARE AN ALTERNATE FOR THIS, FOR THE REPRESENTATIVE.
I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA, SO WE HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE AND AN ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVE.
SO DOES HE NEED TO RESIGN FROM BEING AN ALTERNATE OR, UM, CAN WE, SO WE'RE POSTED FOR BOTH, UH,
[02:50:01]
POSITIONS.Y'ALL CAN NOMINATE HIM FOR THE REPRESENTATIVE, AND THEN YEAH.
AND THEN WE'LL GET AN ALTERNATE.
WELL NOMINATE COMMISSIONER LUKINS FOR A REPRESENTATIVE ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
YOU ACCEPT THIS NOMINATION SECOND? OH YEAH, SURE.
ALL IN FAVOR? ALRIGHT, UNANIMOUS AGAIN.
SO THIS BOARD REQUIRES AN ALTERNATE FOR SOMEONE TO BE BACK UP IN CASE COMMISSIONER LUKINS CAN'T BE THERE.
IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN TAKING OVER THAT ROLE? UM, I'LL DO IT.
ANYBODY WANNA NOMINATE ME? I NOMINATE CHAIR SALINAS.
TWO AND A HALF TO COUNT THE ALTERNATE.
[11. Discussion on built outcomes and challenges to implementing the existing Urban Design Guidelines. ]
DISCUSSION ON BUILT OUTCOMES AND CHALLENGES IMPLEMENTING THE EXISTING URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.AND COMMISSIONER HOWARD, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU HAD MENTIONED, AND I THINK IT'S A GREAT TOPIC.
I'M JUST GONNA KEEP IT REALLY SHORT BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S A BROADER CONVERSATION AROUND THIS THAT MIGHT, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME MORE BACKGROUND ON.
UM, BUT JUST AS THE, UM, THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINE REVISION WORKING GROUP HAS BEEN, HAS BEEN MEETING, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? HOW IS THIS IMPLEMENTED? HOW ARE WE SURE THAT, UH, THESE GUIDELINES ARE FOLLOWED IN THE FUTURE? AND KIND OF IDENTIFYING KEY ISSUES WHERE, YOU KNOW, UM, WHERE PERHAPS, UH, A PROJECT TEAM PROMISED CERTAIN THINGS TO THE DESIGN COMMISSION, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, FOUR MONTHS LATER THEY'RE TOTALLY GONE.
AND WHEN CONSTRUCTION GETS, UH, COMPLETED, THERE'S EVEN LESS.
AND SO JUST, UM, I THINK THAT THERE'S, THERE ON MY END, THERE'S INTEREST IN STUDYING, UH, KIND OF, UH, DOING A LITTLE BIT OF CORRELATION LIKE WHAT HAPPENED AT DESIGN COMMISSION? WHAT WAS THE FINAL RESULT? WHERE DO WE HAVE IM, WHERE DO WE HAVE, UH, IMPACT SO THAT WE CAN MORE TARGET OUR EFFORTS, UM, AND ALSO PERHAPS, UH, IDENTIFY PROCESSES, UH, OR, UM, EMBED OURSELVES MORE PROPERLY IN THE EXISTING PROCESSES TO GET TRUE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.
UM, WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT.
UM, BUT I, I, I BELIEVE THAT SOPHIA MAY HAVE SOME, SOME MATERIAL JUST FROM CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD WITH ON THE URBAN DESIGN WORKING GROUP, OR THE DESIGN GUIDELINES WORKING GROUP THAT SHE MAY BE ABLE TO PRESENT AT THE NEXT MEETING AS WELL.
JUST TO ADD TO THAT, UH, THERE, THERE ARE NUMEROUS EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS THAT HAVE RECEIVED THE DENSITY BONUS, UM, AND DID NOT BUILD EVERYTHING THAT, UH, WAS IN THEIR APPLICATION.
AND, UH, PARTLY WE FEEL THAT'S BECAUSE, UM, THERE'S NO ONE ON THE BACK END MAKING SURE THAT IT'S HAPPENING.
WHEREAS ALL THE OTHER PIECES OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, M UH, WHETHER IT'S THE HOUSING, UH, OR THE GREEN BUILDING, ALL HAVE INSPECTIONS DURING CONSTRUCTION.
UM, THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE ANY INSPECTIONS DURING CONSTRUCTION FOR COMPLIANCE.
AND SO WE'RE FINDING THAT FOR WHATEVER REASON, WHETHER IT'S VALUE ENGINEERING OR, OR WHATEVER, UM, THESE PROJECTS ARE MODIFYING THEIR DESIGNS OR DELETING ELEMENTS OF THEIR DESIGNS THAT HELP THEM ACHIEVE THE DENSITY ENTITY BONUS.
SO, WANTED TO START THE CONVERSATION OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT COULD WE DO TO, TO PREVENT THAT AND TO ENFORCE THESE, THESE GUIDELINES.
SO OUR NEXT MEETING IS, ARE YOU GONNA HAVE SOME IMAGES OR SOME A PRESENTATION TO SHOW OR, YEAH, I CAN PUT TOGETHER A PRESENTATION ON LIKE, FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE.
UM, I THINK RIGHT NOW, THIS IS A REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO BE TALKING ABOUT IT SINCE WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES UPDATE.
AND SOMETHING THAT I KNOW IS ALREADY HAPPENING, BUT I STILL WANT TO CALL IT OUT AND ENCOURAGE IT, IS DEFINING SUBSTANTIAL, DEFINING COMPLIANCE.
AND YOU'LL NOTE COMPLIANCE, SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE.
HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT IN THE CODE LANGUAGE? IT SPECIFIES THAT THE SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE IS WHAT
[02:55:01]
IS WHAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW DOES.SO STAFF AND THAT DESIGN COMMISSION DETERMINES COMPLIANCE.
SO I THINK THAT'S NOTABLE JUST TO ADDRESS, UM, AND DISCUSS.
UM, I THINK LOOKING AT HOW A SITE PLAN, WHAT I, I THINK COULD BE HELPFUL FOR ME TO PRESENT IS HOW A SITE PLAN GOES THROUGH ITS COURSE OF LIFE.
AND FROM WHEN WE SEE IT HERE AT COMMISSION STAFF MAKES THE REVIEW TO ULTIMATELY WHEN THEY'RE POOLING PERMITS, WHAT, WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL FOR CHANGE? AND WHERE, WHERE ARE WE IN THE PROCESS? I HAVE SOME THINGS THAT I CAN PRESENT ON THAT.
I'LL, I'LL HOLD THAT UNTIL THAT MEETING.
THERE'S, YEAH, ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE, I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT PROCESS.
WHAT ARE SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO CHANGE IT? AND THEN WITH URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES GETTING UPDATED, WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO KIND OF ELIMINATE AMBIGUITY IS SOMETHING I SEE.
SO AGAIN, TALKING ABOUT WHAT COMPLIANCE MEANS, WHAT, WHAT SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE MEANS.
UM, I THINK THE APPROACH TO THE GUIDELINES IS, IS LOOKING PRETTY SOLID AS FAR AS BREAKING DOWN COMPLIANCE.
I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING, RIGHT? WITH IDENTIFYING TIER ONE AND TIER TWO.
SO I THINK IN ELIMINATING AS MUCH AMBIGUITY AS POSSIBLE IS, IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE VERY HELPFUL.
UM, NOT, NOT JUST FOR COMMISSION TO BE ABLE TO WEIGH IN ON THESE PROJECTS AND HAVE THE DISCUSSION THAT HA HAPPENS HERE BETWEEN THE APPLICANT AND COMMISSION, BUT ALSO FOR STAFF TO END UP INTERPRETING NOT JUST THE RECOMMENDATION, BUT WHAT COMPLIANCE MEANS.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER HOWARD? UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, HOW WE WOULD EXPLORE THIS, BUT, UM, IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO HAVE SOME, I MEAN, 'CAUSE THESE, THE PROJECT TIMELINES ARE SO LONG.
UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, NONE OF US, EXCEPT FOR MAYBE DAVID HAS, HAS SEEN, UH, A LARGE ENOUGH, UM, QUANTITY OF THE, THE, THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF PROJECTS.
UM, AND SO I WONDER IF WE CAN, IF THERE'S A WAY, IN ADDITION TO KIND OF YOUR ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE, COULD WE, YOU KNOW, GET A, A HAVE A STORY TIME HERE, UM, FROM PERHAPS JORGE'S PERSPECTIVE OF A, A PARTICULAR SET OF PRO UH, A PROJECT OR TWO TO KIND OF, UH, LOOK AT ITS FINAL BUILT OUTCOME.
UH, KIND OF TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, UH, TO GET THERE AND THEN TALK ABOUT, UM, THE DESIGN COMMISSION MEETING AND WHAT WAS HAPPENING, WHAT HAPPENED THERE, SO WE CAN KIND OF UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS BETTER FOR OUR OWN REFERENCE AS WELL.
AND SO THIS ESSENTIALLY WOULD BE LOOKING AT HISTORICALLY, 'CAUSE AS YOU ARE POINTING OUT, THESE PROJECTS TAKE YEARS TO BE BUILT.
SO MAYBE LOOKING AT PROJECTS FROM 20 18, 20 19, SEEING WHAT THEY LOOKED LIKE, MAYBE THE BACKUP THAT CAME TO COMMISSION, THE FINAL APPROVED SITE PLAN, A GOOGLE STREET VIEW IMAGE OF WHAT IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE, AND, AND KIND OF TRYING TO DISCUSS LIKE, WHERE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES, IF IT'S NOT, IF IT DOESN'T LOOK THE SAME, MAYBE WHAT WENT WRONG AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT.
THAT KIND OF A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND I MEAN, ALSO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, SO MUCH THAT HAPPENS ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE IS, YOU KNOW, NUANCED AND IT HAS TO DO WITH PROJECT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE KIND OF CONSTRAINTS OF THE PROJECT, CONSTRAINTS OF THE SITE, YOU KNOW, UH, THE REALITIES AT THE TIME.
UH, AND SO UNDERSTANDING THAT COULD ALSO BE HELPFUL.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN REALLY, THERE'S NO DOCUMENTATION THAT'S GONNA TELL THAT, TELL US THAT, UH, UH, AND KIND OF PAINT THE PICTURE THAT'S GONNA HELP US UNDERSTAND.
[12. Update from the Urban Design Guidelines Working Group regarding the meeting on October 18, 2024.]
IS OUR LAST ITEM OF THE NIGHT.IT'S AN UPDATE, UH, FROM THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES WORKING GROUP.
THE, THE UPDATE IS, WE'VE STILL BEEN MEETING REGULARLY TO GO THROUGH SOME OF THE GUIDELINES THAT WE FELT WEREN'T NECESSARILY COMPLETE, I GUESS, UM, AND WORKING ON THOSE.
AND, AND THEN WE ALSO EXPECT TO RECEIVE COMMENTS FROM CITY STAFF BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK, I BELIEVE.
UM, SO WE'LL BE WORKING TO INCORPORATE THOSE AFTER THAT TIME AS WELL AS ANY COMMENTS FROM THIS COMMISSION.
YOU HAVE A QUESTION? DO WE HAVE THE LATEST AND GREATEST?
[03:00:02]
I KNOW I'VE GOT ONE FROM A FEW WEEKS AGO.HAS THERE BEEN ANY ADDITIONAL NO.
UM, I BELIEVE THERE WAS STILL A QUESTION ABOUT THE BEST WAY FOR THIS COMMISSION TO SHARE THEIR FEEDBACK.
WOULD THAT GO DIRECTLY TO STAFF BY EMAIL OR WAS THERE, UH, A CHANGE IN THE WAY WE WANTED TO HAVE THAT FEEDBACK DISTRIBUTED? YES, I DID ASK THE QUESTION ABOUT THE ABILITY TO CREATE, YOU KNOW, LIKE A SHARED GOOGLE DOC.
IN OUR CASE WE USE SHAREPOINT, AND UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S NO, THE ANSWER I GOT BACK WAS, UM, IN ORDER TO BE TOMA COMPLIANT, THERE'S NO FURTHER NO WAY FOR THIS TO OCCUR OUTSIDE OF A POSTED MEETING.
UM, SO UNFORTUNATELY THAT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET TO SHARE A DOCUMENT AMONGST ALL THE COMMISSIONERS.
UM, THE, THE BEST SUGGESTION THAT I RECEIVED WHEN I WAS ASKING THIS QUESTION, UM, SHE OFFERED, THE BEST SUGGESTION WOULD BE TO HAVE THE WORKING GROUP DO AS MUCH WORK AS THEY ARE ABLE AND MAKE THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL BODY.
AND WHEN THAT IS POSTED AS ON THE AGENDA, THAT IT SHOULD BE POSTED AS DISCUSSION AND ACTION, UM, FOR THE COMMISSION TO DISCUSS AND KIND OF VOTE ON THEIR COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO TO CLARIFY, I CANNOT MARK UP A PDF SEND IT TO YOU, AND THEN YOU SEND IT TO THE WORKING GROUP.
THAT IS, IF YOU WANNA DO IT THAT WAY, THEN YES, THAT IS OKAY.
AND, AND WE CAN PROCEED IN THAT WAY, LIKE HAVE INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS COMMENT ON, AND I SENT THE WORD DOCUMENT, SO EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THAT.
SO YOU CAN DO THAT AND SEND IT BACK TO ME, AND THEN I CAN FACILITATE THAT TO THE WORKING GROUP.
AND TO CLARIFY, UM, IF THE COMMENTS ARE, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OF JUST SORT OF, UH, GRAMMATICAL, YOU KNOW, CORRECTIONS OR JUST ADDING VERBIAGE, BUT IT'S MORE OF SORT OF A, A WIDER CONVERSATION THAN YOUR RECOMMENDATION IS, WE HAVE THAT AS A DISCUSSION AT AN UPCOMING MEETING, IS THAT CORRECT? IT, IT WOULD EITHER BE THAT OR A DISCUSSION AT THE WORKING GROUP.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ANY FUTURE I AGENDA ITEMS ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE? COMMISSIONER CARROLL THANK YOU CHAIR.I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS COME TALK TO US ABOUT THEIR CORRIDOR PLANNING PROCESS.
NEED TO VOTE ON THIS OR IS THAT IT? ALL RIGHT.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S IMPLIED, BUT I'D LIKE TO GET THE AGENDA ITEM OF THE, THE, UM, NEXT, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT THE CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENTATION OF EXISTING URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES ON THAT AGENDA.
AND WELL, YOU NEED TO COS I'LL CO-SPONSOR THAT.
WELL IT IS 9 0 5 AND I'M GOING TO ADJOURN THIS MEETING.