[00:00:01]
[CALL TO ORDER]
RIGHT ON TIME.UH, MY NAME IS NATASHA HARPER MADISON.
I AM THE CHAIR FOR THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE.
UM, I ALSO GET THE DISTINCT HONOR OF REPRESENTING DISTRICT ONE ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
UH, THE TIME IS 2:00 PM ON THE DOT.
WE ARE MEETING IN CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, THE FAIR CAPITAL CITY ON DECEMBER 3RD, 2024.
UM, WE'RE GONNA CALL THIS MEETING OF THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE TO ORDER.
[Public Communication: General]
DO THIS IS TAKE UP SPEAKERS FIRST.SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE STAFF CALL UP SPEAKERS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE WHO BROUGHT US SOME SLIDES TODAY.
SO WE'LL CALL UP THAT SPEAKER AT THE TIME THAT THE ITEM COMES UP.
STAFF, DO YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND CALL UP SPEAKERS? HI, SORRY.
WE'RE STILL GETTING ORGANIZED.
OH, NOT, UM, WE HAVE CHRIS GANNON.
UM, ON THIS TUESDAY, UM, I'D LIKE TO JUST BRING ONE THING UP.
UM, AND THIS IS ON, UH, ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS THE LCD CHANGES, UM, FOR THE CRESTVIEW TOD HEIGHT AMENDMENT.
UM, WE THROUGH THE A I A ARE, ARE, UM, ENCOURAGING THE CRESTVIEW TOD HEIGHT AMENDMENT TO BE BROUGHT FORWARD AS A STANDALONE ISSUE AS OPPOSED TO A COMPREHENSIVE, UM, UH, AS OPPOSED TO INCORPORATING IT INTO THE COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
UH, THERE'S PROJECTS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR A HEIGHT INCREASE IN THIS AREA RIGHT NOW, AND IF WE HAVE TO WAIT THE 18 MONTHS, IT MIGHT TAKE FOR A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
UM, THOSE PROJECTS MIGHT, YOU KNOW, NOT MAKE IT, THEY MIGHT DISAPPEAR OR THEY MIGHT GET BUILT AT A LOWER DENSITY THAN WHAT COULD BE DONE.
UM, SO THAT IS OUR, OUR ONE COMMENT, AND THAT'S ON NUMBER THREE IF WE COULD, UM, IF WE GET THE CRESTVIEW 2D HEIGHT AMENDMENT AS A STANDALONE ISSUE, AND THIS IS TO, UH, INCREASE THE HEIGHT TO MATCH THE ETOD.
HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER THAT REPRESENTS, UM, CRESTVIEW ABOUT THAT REQUEST? UM, I HAVE NOT.
THIS IS, UM, FROM THE HOUSING COMMITTEE AT THE A I A, THIS WAS A REQUEST THAT WAS SORT OF BROUGHT FORWARD.
UM, I WILL, I'LL HAVE TO, UH, GET WITH DAVID CARROLL, WHO'S, WHO'S WORKING IN THAT AREA.
I ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS TO DO THAT.
DID THEY ROB YOU OF A MICROPHONE TOO? NO.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE CONFIRMING ON ITEM TWO, UM, AND WE'LL, UH, HELP OUR SPEAKERS FOR THAT ITEM.
UM, DURING THAT TIME, I'LL KEEP MY EYES PEELED.
UM, AND, UH, MOVING FORWARD, UH, SO IN ORDER, UH, BY WAY OF OUR AGENDA, UM, THE FLOW'S GONNA GO LIKE, WE'LL TAKE UP OUR ITEMS IN, UM, A DIFFERENT ORDER THAN USUAL.
UH, WE'RE GONNA START WITH ITEM NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS THE APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE UP ITEMS 5, 3, 4, 7, 6, 2, AND EIGHT IN THAT ORDER.
AND THEN FINISHING WITH ITEM NUMBER NINE REGARDING FUTURE ITEMS. UM, SO NOW WE'LL BEGIN WITH
[1. Approve the minutes of the October 1, 2024, Housing and Planning Committee meeting]
THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING ON OCTOBER 1ST, 2024.IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES? UM, MOTION BY VICE CHAIR ALTER, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MORALES.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR LOOKS UNANIMOUS WITH THE THREE OF US ON THE DAY.
AS I WAS REMISS BY NOT MENTIONING THAT.
I AM ALSO JOINED BY VICE CHAIR ALTER AND CHAIR MEMBER ELLIS.
UM, WITH THAT, THE MEETING MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
[5. Discussion and possible action on the 2025 Housing and Planning Committee meeting dates.]
HAVE ITEM NUMBER FIVE, UM, THAT'S DISCUSSION ON THE 2025 HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING DATES.UM, COLLEAGUES, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTED CHANGES? I KNOW THERE WAS A POTENTIAL CHANGE FOR ONE, BUT, UM, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE, I THINK IT WAS COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE IS HERE TODAY, AND IF WE NEED TO ADDRESS THAT LATER, WE HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO.
AND WITH NO CHANGES, I'M GONNA ASK FOR A MOTION FOR US TO, AGAIN, MOTIONED BY VICE CHAIR ALTER AND SECONDED BY, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBER ELLIS.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR, THUS TWO UNANIMOUS VOTES IN A ROW.
UH, NEXT UP WE HAVE ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH
[3. Discussion and possible action on the status and timeline of amendments to the Land Development Code]
IS DISCUSSION ON THE STATUS AND TIMELINE OF AMENDMENTS OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.I BELIEVE WE'LL BE HEARING FROM OUR
[00:05:01]
PLANNING STAFF AT THIS POINT.GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE.
I'M A DIVISION MANAGER IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
UM, IN THE BACKUP FOR THIS ITEM, YOU'LL FIND A MEMO THAT INCLUDES THE NOVEMBER 20, 24 VERSION OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS TIMELINE, GANTT CHART.
SINCE WE LAST BRIEFED THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE IN OCTOBER, SEVERAL ITEMS HAVE MOVED FORWARD AND STAFF HAS MADE A FEW REFINEMENTS TO THE TIMELINE.
UM, ON OCTOBER 10TH, CITY COUNCIL TOOK ACTION TO ADOPT CODE AMENDMENTS RELATED TO PROVIDING A DENSITY BONUS SUPPORTING CREATIVE SPACES.
UM, SEVERAL ADDITIONAL CODE AMENDMENTS ARE IN PROCESS AND LIKELY TO BE ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA IN DECEMBER OR JANUARY.
UM, AND APOLOGIES THERE IS A SLIGHT TYPO IN THE SLIDE THAT SHOULD SAY DECEMBER 10TH.
PLANNING COMMISSION DOES NOT MEET ON SUNDAYS.
UM, THEY WILL BE MEETING ON TUESDAY, THE DECEMBER THE 10TH, UM, ON OCTOBER 22ND, PLANNING COMMISSION CONSIDERED AND TOOK ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO PLAN DEVELOPMENT AREA TWO AND A DENSITY BONUS FOR COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY INDUSTRIAL ZONES.
THOSE ITEMS WERE POSTPONED BY COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 21ST AND ARE CURRENTLY SCHEDULED TO RETURN TO COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION ON DECEMBER 12TH.
ON NOVEMBER 12TH, PLANNING COMMISSION CONSIDERED AND TOOK ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO SITE PLAN LIGHT PHASE TWO AND INFILL PLATS, WHICH WILL BOTH BE MOVING FORWARD TO COUNCIL ON DECEMBER 12TH AS WELL.
ON NOVEMBER 12TH, PLANNING COMMISSION ALSO TOOK ACTION TO POSTPONE CONSIDERATION OF CODE AMENDMENTS RELATED TO SAFETY BOLLARDS AND COLORADO RIVER PROTECTIONS.
UM, THESE ITEMS WILL RETURN TO PLANNING COMMISSION ON DECEMBER THE 10TH.
THE ITEMS ARE BOTH CURRENTLY SCHEDULED TO BE CONSIDERED BY CITY COUNCIL ON DECEMBER 12TH, BUT DEPENDING ON HOW THE PLANNING COMMISSION DISCUSSION, UM, EVOLVES IN TIMING, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THAT AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE ITEMS WOULD BE, UM, POSTPONED AT THE DECEMBER 12TH MEETING.
IN ADDITION, STAFF HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR CONSULTANT TEAM TO FINALIZE A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS AND ANTICIPATE RELEASING THE STUDY WITHIN THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS, AS WILL BE DETAILED BY MY COLLEAGUE ALAN PONEY.
UNDER ITEM NUMBER SIX ON TODAY'S AGENDA, LOOKING AHEAD TO 2025, WE ANTICIPATE ANOTHER BUSY YEAR OF CODE REFORM ACTIVITIES.
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES STAFF ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING PROPOSALS AND SCHEDULING REVIEW AND ADOPTION PROCESSES FOR AMENDMENTS RELATED TO SHORT TERM RENTALS, AS WELL AS AN UPDATE TO THE PRESERVATION BONUS PROVISIONS OF HOME PHASE ONE AND ANTICIPATE BRINGING THOSE ITEMS THROUGH THE ADOPTION PROCESS.
BEGINNING IN FEBRUARY, PLANNING STAFF ARE WORKING WITH OUR ETOD EQUITABLE TOD CONSULTANT TEAM TO ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS AND DEVELOP A PROPOSAL FOR PHASE TWO OF THE EQUITABLE TOD OVERLAY THAT COULD COME THROUGH THE ADOPTION PROCESS BY MAY NOW THAT COUNCIL HAS APPROVED A PLANNING CONSULTANT BENCH, WE WILL ALSO BE WORKING TO ONBOARD A CONSULTANT TEAM FOR THE POTENTIAL UPDATE TO THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR PLAN, WHICH WILL KICK OFF IN EARLY 2025.
WE WILL BE REVISING THE TIMELINE SHOWN ON THE GANTT CHART FOR THIS WORK ONCE THAT TEAM IS ONBOARDED AND WE HAVE SPECIFIC DATES ATTACHED TO THAT UPDATE PLANNING.
STAFF HAVE ALSO BEEN ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS RELATED TO AN UPDATE OF THE UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLAY AND ANTICIPATE PRESENTING A PROPOSAL IN THE SPRING.
WE'LL BE WORKING TO FINALIZE THE SCOPE FOR AN UPDATE OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM THAT WOULD BE COORDINATED WITH TIMING AND SCOPE OF A POTENTIAL UPDATE TO THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN.
AND WE'LL ALSO BE WORKING TO FINALIZE SCOPE AND PHASING FOR AN UPDATE TO THE NORTH LAMAR, JUSTIN TOD PLAN, AKA CRESTVIEW, UM, WHICH IN THAT TIMING WAS ACTUALLY JUST REFERRED TO BY YOUR SPEAKER AHEAD OF THIS MEETING.
SO WE WILL STILL BE, UM, REFINING AND DETERMINING WHETHER THAT CRESTVIEW TOD HEIGHT AMENDMENT WOULD COME FORWARD AS A STANDALONE AMENDMENT IN THE NEW YEAR.
UM, OR AS PART OF THE LARGER CRESTVIEW UPDATE.
WE HAVE BEGUN TO SCOPE AN APPROACH TO CREATING NEW TRANSIT-ORIENTED MIXED USE SPACE ZONES AND ANTICIPATE CONDUCTING ENGAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THAT WORK IN 2025.
AND WE ALSO ANTICIPATE USING THE RESULTS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS TO GUIDE ADDITIONAL WORK IN THE NEW YEAR.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE MAY BE A DESIRE TO EXPEDITE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT COME OUT OF THIS STUDY OR TO INITIATE ADDITIONAL WORK BASED ON THE STUDY AND ANTICIPATE CONTINUING TO REFINE THIS TIMELINE TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE APPROPRIATELY BALANCING PRIORITIES AND DELIVERING HIGH PRIORITY REFORMS AS EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE AS WE HEAD INTO 2024 OR 2025 HERE, THIS IS THE DETAILED SCHEDULE THAT WAS ATTACHED TO THE MEMO AND THE BACKUP.
UM, I WON'T GO THROUGH IT IN DETAIL SINCE I'VE JUST KIND OF PROVIDED THE HIGHLIGHTS, BUT FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING A COPY OF THIS DETAILED SCHEDULE, UM, FOLKS CAN VISIT SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG/LDC UPDATES OR CALL THE PHONE NUMBER OR EMAIL ON SCREEN.
AND WITH THAT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS, COLLEAGUES, VICE CHAIR ALTER, I WAS CURIOUS IF YOU COULD GIVE AN UPDATE ON SITE PLAN LIGHT INFILL PLAT.
I KNOW WE, IT HAS COME AND GONE AND COME AND GONE.
[00:10:01]
WHAT CAN YOU JUST GIMME AN UPDATE ON? SO I THINK THAT IT'S BEEN, THE POSTPONEMENTS HAVE HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF WAITING FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION TO OCCUR.PLANNING COMMISSION HAS NOW TAKEN ACTION AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT IS READY FOR MOVING FORWARD TO CONSIDERATION.
WE'VE BEEN FOLLOWING SITE PLAIN LIGHT FOR QUITE A WHILE.
UM, I HAD A QUESTION ON A DIFFERENT ITEM.
I SEE MIRRORED GLASS ON YOUR GANTT CHART AS FAR AS A PLANNING COMMISSION PLD SITUATION.
UM, HOW DOES THAT WORK WITH THE RECENT ADOPTION OF THE RESOLUTION THAT WE JUST HAD AT COUNCIL THAT WAS ABOUT KIND OF THE BIRDS AND REFLECTIVE GLASS ISSUE.
ARE THOSE THE SAME OR ARE THEY DIFFERENT ISSUES? THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY RELATED.
THE MERIT GLASS ITEM THAT'S ON THE GANTT CHART IS AN OLDER ITEM THAT WAS INITIATED, UM, SPECIFIC TO THE WATERFRONT OVERLAY REGULATIONS.
THE RESOLUTION RELATED TO BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IS A BROADER, UM, RESOLUTION LOOKING AT HOW TO CREATE MORE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN, UM, CITYWIDE.
SO DEPENDING ON WHAT COMES BACK AS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A CITYWIDE APPROACH TO BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN, THAT COULD ABSOLUTELY END UP ADDRESSING, UM, THE ISSUES THAT WERE RAISED AS PART OF THE MERIT GLASS RESOLUTION.
AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A FEW CONVERSATIONS AROUND THINGS LIKE INTERNATIONAL DARK SKIES AND WE'VE HAD SOME SHARED USE PATHWAYS, UM, THAT HAVE THE KIND OF THE LOWER LEVEL LIGHTING THAT ONLY GOES THREE FEET ABOVE THE GROUND OR FOUR FEET ABOVE THE GROUND.
UM, SO I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THAT CONVERSATION IN THE FUTURE, BUT I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE LOOKING INTO THIS AND UM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT COMPREHENSIVELY IN THE FUTURE.
THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT QUESTION.
ALRIGHT, SO MOVING FORWARD, UM, THIS IS SUPER EXCITING.
[4. Discussion and possible action on the Northeast Planning District Update.]
NUMBER SEVEN, WHICH IS ABOUT, UM, THE NORTHEAST PLANNING DISTRICT.UM, HOPEFULLY THIS CONVERSATION WILL PROVIDE US A BROADER OVERVIEW ON LONG RANGE PLANNING AND, UM, THE EXTRAORDINARY PLANNING EFFORTS BY OUR PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
I SEE A ISHA AND I SEE CHRISTIE MOFFITT FROM TRAVIS COUNTY.
ARE YOU GUYS BOTH COMING UP AT THE SAME TIME? YEAH.
SO THE CADENCE LOOKS LIKE WE'LL GO TO CITY STAFF AND THEN, UM, POSSIBLY JUMP OVER TO, YEP.
JOHN'S THE CHOREOGRAPHER HERE.
CAN YOU, I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU'RE ON.
UM, HELLO, UH, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS ISHA JOHNSON, PLANNER, PRINCIPAL AND PROJECT LEAD FOR THE COLLABORATIVE NORTHEAST DISTRICT PLAN AND THE NORTHEAST PLANNING DISTRICT.
AND I AM ACCOMPANIED HERE BY CHRISTIE MOFFITT AND I'M THE DIRECTOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN THE PLANNING AND BUDGET OFFICE.
THIS UPDATE IS TO BRIEF YOU ON OUR PROGRESS THUS FAR FOR THE COLLABORATIVE NORTHEAST, UM, DISTRICT PLANNING PROCESS.
AS A REMINDER, IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR, CITY COUNCIL AND TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT APPROVED AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR A COLLABORATIVE NORTHEAST DISTRICT PLAN.
THE ILA SCOPE OF WORK OUTLINES THE DELIVERABLES PRODUCED THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS.
THE CITY COUNTY WORKING GROUP, AND STARTING AT THE END OF PHASE ONE, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE WITH CO-CREATION OF VISION PLAN ELEMENTS.
IN THIS BRIEFING, I WILL REVIEW THE NORTHEAST DISTRICT PLAN WORKING GROUP, UH, WHICH IS THE CITY COUNTY WORKING GROUP, UH, THE SUMMARY REPORT, SOME NEXT STEPS FOR THE UPCOMING QUARTER, AND AN INTRODUCTION TO OUR PROJECT WEBSITES, CITY AND COUNTY PROJECT STAFF.
LEADS BEGAN WORKING THE WEEK AFTER ILA ADOPTION TO DEVELOP A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND PREPARE FOR MEETINGS OF THE WORKING GROUP.
THE FIRST MEETING WAS HELD ON MAY 8TH, AND AFTER THAT MEETING, A RESTRUCTURING OF THE WORKING GROUP SIZE OCCURRED.
THE SECOND MEETING WAS HELD ON JULY 10TH, AND SINCE THEN, MEETINGS ARE OCCURRING AT A CADENCE OF EVERY TWO WEEKS.
ON OCTOBER 16TH DURING THE WORKING GROUP'S EIGHTH MEETING, THE GROUP CHARTER WAS COMPLETED AFTER THE FULL FORMATION OF THE WORKING GROUP.
THE ILA SCOPE OF WORK STIPULATES THAT A WORK PLAN MUST BE CREATED TO GUIDE THE CREATION OF THE SUMMARY REPORT.
AT THIS TIME, THE WORKING GROUP IS WRAPPING UP THE FINAL EDITS OF THE WORK, THE WORK PLAN, AND WE ANTICIPATE THIS WORK
[00:15:01]
PLAN WILL BE COMPLETE.ONCE THE WORK PLAN IS COMPLETE, STAFF WILL BEGIN ACTIVITIES SUCH AS DATA COLLECTION, FORMATTING, AND ASSEMBLAGE OF THE SUMMARY REPORT.
THE SUMMARY REPORT, WHICH IS BRIEFLY DESCRIBED ON THE SCREEN, WILL SERVE TWO MAIN PURPOSES TO SPRINGBOARD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY ON THEIR NEEDS AND GAPS, AND TO ASSIST THE COUNTY IN DEFINING THEIR PLANNING BOUNDARY, WHICH MAY EXTEND BEYOND THE CURRENT NORTHEAST PLANNING DISTRICT.
AFTER FURTHER ANALYSIS, CITY STAFF HAVE ONBOARDED A CONSULTANT TEAM TO HELP WITH TASK RELATED TO THE CITY'S PORTION OF THE ILA SCOPE OF WORK.
THIS INCLUDES A SHORT TERM PROJECT LIST AND PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR LAND USE AND REGULATORY RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE CONSULTANTS WILL ALSO HELP, UH, WITH DATA COLLECTION FOR THE SUMMARY REPORT.
AND THIS WORK IS TO BEGIN SOON, LOOKING TO THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2025.
THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE PROJECT BEYOND WHAT I JUST DISCUSSED ABOUT THE SUMMARY REPORT INCLUDE THE INITIATION OF AN INTER-AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP TO REVIEW DELIVERABLES CREATED BY THE WORKING GROUP.
THE INTER-AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP, ALSO KNOWN AS A TAG, INCLUDES OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS AND AND AGENCY SUCH AS CAP METRO, UH, BUT WILL NOT INCLUDE THE COUNTY AND MEETS ONCE MONTHLY.
UH, WE WILL ALSO WORK ON DEVELOPING A STRATEGY FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF AN ENGAGEMENT CONSULTANT TO HELP OVERSEE THE ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND POTENTIALLY ASSIST WITH ENGAGEMENT PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.
AND, UM, AS WELL, THE COUNTY WILL FINALIZE THEIR BOUNDARY, UM, UH, WITH THE CREATION OF THE SUMMARY REPORT, THE CITY AND COUNTY LAUNCH, UH, RESPECTIVE OR PROJECT WEBSITES ON RESPECTIVE PAGES.
UH, WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SLIDE IS A SCREENSHOT, UH, AT THE TOP OF THE COUNTY'S, UH, COLLABORATIVE NORTHEAST DISTRICT PLAN, UM, PROJECT PAGE ON TRAVIS COUNTY TEXAS.GOV.
AND, UH, JUST BELOW, UM, THE CITY'S PROJECT PAGE ON SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG.
OH, THERE WAS ONE THING I FORGOT.
SO THE CONTENT ON EACH OF THE PROJECT PAGES, BOTH SITTING COUNTY ARE IS CO-CREATED.
SO YOU'LL FIND THE SAME INFORMATION ON EACH PAGE NEARLY VERBATIM.
THAT WAS GONNA BE A QUESTION FOR ME.
AND AS I MENTIONED, I'M THE CITY'S PROJECTS LEAD FOR THIS PLANNING EFFORT, AND MY COUNTERPART AT THE COUNTY IS BILL WILSON AND HIS BOSS IS CHRISY MOFFITT.
WE'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
UM, DID YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO PRESENT OR JUST AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS? I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR, UM, THE CITY FOR INVITING ME HERE TO BE HERE TODAY TO SUPPORT THIS WORK AND TO SHOW THAT THE COUNTY AND THE CITY ARE WORKING TOGETHER ON THIS EXTRAORDINARY EFFORT.
AND THEN WE'LL BE PROVIDING OUR QUARTERLY PRESENTATION TO THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT ON DECEMBER 17TH.
WOULD YOU SAY THAT GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE CONTENT WILL BE SIMILAR? YES.
AND WILL WE BE PRESENT FOR THAT PRESENTATION AS WELL IN CASE, UM, UM, WE'VE NOT DISCUSSED YET.
UM, BUT UH, WE WILL CERTAINLY HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
I ASSUME THAT ONCE WE KNOW MORE AROUND THE TIMING, THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHO FROM THE CITY CAN BE PRESENT, UM, SO THAT WE CONTINUE TO SHOW THAT WE ARE WORKING, UM, IN LOCKSTEP TOGETHER.
UM, NOT TO TOOT MY OWN HORN, BUT TO TOOT MY OWN HORN
AND I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING ABOUT THE EXPANSION OF Y'ALL'S BOUNDARIES, UM, JUST RECOGNIZING THERE'S SO MUCH POTENTIAL THERE.
UH, COLLEAGUES, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? VICE CHAIR ALTER? I WAS GOING TO TOOT YOUR HORN A LITTLE BIT MYSELF,
I THINK IT'S A REALLY EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY AND HOPEFULLY CAN BE A MODEL FOR HOW WE PLAN OTHER AREAS THAT ARE ALSO GONNA BE GROWING.
SO, UM, JUST WANNA GIVE YOU A LITTLE TOOT.
I KNOW QUESTIONS FROM ME, BUT JUST, UH, APPRECIATE THAT THESE CONVERSATIONS TAKE A LOT OF PEOPLE TO MAKE THEM WORK.
UM, AS SOMEONE WHO ALSO REPRESENTS A
[00:20:01]
DISTRICT THAT HAS A LOT OF OVERLAPPING, UM, NEIGHBORHOODS WITH THE COUNTY AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE WORK WITHIN AND WITH, YOU KNOW, INSIDE THE, THE CITY LIMITS, OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS, AND KNOWING THE GAPS THAT EXIST ON THE EAST SIDE ALREADY.UM, IT'S FANTASTIC THAT GROUPS ARE TRYING TO GET THEIR HEADS TOGETHER AND REALLY SAY, WE WANNA HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY.
WE WANNA SEE WHAT IT IS WE CAN DO WITH THIS, WITH THIS PROCESS AND AND WITH THIS INPUT.
AND SO I THINK GOOD THINGS ARE GOING TO COME OF IT AND JUST REALLY APPRECIATE THAT THIS, THIS FOCUS HAS ALREADY TAKEN PLACE AND THAT OUR ELECTED LEADERS IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN ARE TRYING TO MAKE BIG THINGS HAPPEN AND THAT YOU'RE HERE TO, TO MAKE IT WORK.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
[6. Update on the City’s comprehensive density bonus analysis]
GONNA MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER SIX, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AROUND THE COMPREHENSIVE DENSITY BONUS.UM, WE TOUCHED ON IT BRIEFLY WITH, UM, MS. GREATHOUSE AND GONNA EXPAND.
HI, UM, MY OR PRINCIPAL WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND I'M HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF DENSITY BONUSES.
UH, SO BACKGROUND, UH, THAT YOU ALL ARE AWARE OF.
BUT, UH, LAST YEAR IN JUNE, CITY COUNCIL KIND OF APPROVED THE RECOMMENDATION FROM HPC REGARDING PRIORITIZING INITIATED AMENDMENTS TO THE LDC.
UM, LATER THAT JUNE, UH, HPC APPROVED THE STAFF BRIEFING TO ADDRESS DENSITY BONUSES THROUGH A MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS, WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON.
UH, SO I WILL BE PROVIDING JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE STUDY, UH, WILL ENTAIL AND, UH, WHAT THE NEXT STEPS WILL BE ONCE IT'S RELEASED.
SO THE STUDY, UH, WILL INCLUDE A PROGRAM COMPARE AND CONTRAST BETWEEN OUR DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. IT WILL HAVE SOME INFORMATION ON DENSITY BONUS ECONOMICS TO HELP KIND OF EDUCATE AND INFORM, UH, LITTLE BIT OF THE INFORMATION THAT IS IN THERE.
IT WILL HAVE SOME PROGRAM PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS ON HOW OUR DENSITY BONUSES ARE CURRENTLY PERFORMING.
UH, WE INCLUDES ALL THE STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED AS WELL AS PEER CITY CASE STUDIES.
AND THEN FINALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT SECTION WILL BE THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF THE STUDY.
UH, SO AS I MENTIONED, THERE WILL BE A SECTION FOR PROGRAM COMPARISON, WHICH WILL INCLUDE, UH, GEOGRAPHY OF WHERE THE DIFFERENT DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS PERFORM, UH, THE DIFFERENT INTENTS AND PURPOSES OF EACH DENSITY BONUS, UH, THE INCENTIVES THEY ALL HAVE, AS WELL AS HOW AFFORDABLE HOUSING WORKS IN EACH ONE OF THOSE AS IT RELATES TO INCOME LEVELS, YOU KNOW, MFI RENTS, PERCENTAGES, REQUIRED FEES LIMIT AND WHATNOT, AS WELL AS OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT SOME OF THEM HAVE.
UH, AS I MENTIONED, THERE WOULD BE A SECTION ON DENSITY BONUS ECONOMICS, UH, WHICH WILL INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, MATHEMATICAL EXAMPLE OF TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, COST OF CONSTRUCTION MARKET RATE AND AFFORDABLE UNITS YIELDS ON COST, HOW THOSE AFFECT, UH, DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS, THE COMPARISON OF IN LIEU FEES VERSUS, UH, THE COST OF HAVING ONSITE UNITS, AS WELL AS HOW THESE CAN VARY BY TIME, PLACE HEIGHT AND DENSITY.
UH, THE PROGRAM ANALYSIS AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK SECTIONS WILL INCLUDE, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT HOW OUR PROGRAMS ARE CURRENTLY BEING UTILIZED.
SO, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION SUCH AS RATE OF PARTICIPATION, HOW MANY UNITS OR IN THE CASE OF UNO, FOR EXAMPLE, BEDROOMS HAVE BEEN PRODUCED, UH, FEES AND L THAT HAVE BEEN COLLECTED FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE.
AND THEN INFERENCES BASED ON THIS ANALYSIS, THE STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK WILL INCLUDE HOW WE, UH, CONDUCTED THE OUTREACH PROCESS, GENERAL FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED ABOUT THE PROGRAMS IN GENERAL, OR THE PROCESS OF GOING THROUGH A DENSITY BONUS, UH, AS WELL AS SPECIFIC FEEDBACK FOR, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS. PURE CITY, UH, CASE STUDY WILL INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION ABOUT WHICH CITIES WERE REVIEWED.
GENERAL TRENDS WE ARE SEEING, UH, NOT ONLY NATIONWIDE BUT IN TEXAS AS WELL AS BEST PRA BEST PRACTICES THAT, UH, WE ARE FINDING AND POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THESE CASE STUDIES.
LASTLY, THE RECOMMENDATIONS SECTION WILL HAVE BROAD RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE ALL BASED ON STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK, THE ANALYSIS AND THE CASE STUDIES.
THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT GENERALLY HOW OUR PROGRAMS CAN BE MORE IN LINE, UH, PROCESSES THAT THE CITY CAN, UH, TAKE ON TO HELP IMPROVE FOR, UH, INTERNAL USE AND EXTERNAL USE.
UH, AS WELL AS OBVIOUSLY INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THOSE SAME FEEDBACK OF STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS AND CASE STUDIES THAT WILL ACTUALLY BE SPECIFIC UPDATES OR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR UPDATES, UH, ON THE INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS. SO OUR TIMELINE AND NEXT STEPS IS I'M HERE PROVIDING THE UPDATE.
UH, THE STUDY ITSELF WILL BE RELEASED BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
WE ARE HOPING TO HAVE OUR CONSULTANT COME TO WHAT IS SOUNDING LIKE THE FEBRUARY 4TH MEETING BASED ON YOUR SCHEDULE, UH, TO PRESENT ON THE STUDY, UH, AND HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT IT.
AND THEN ONGOING FROM THERE, UH, WE WILL HAVE RECALIBRATION SLASH CREATION OF NEW PROGRAMS
[00:25:01]
AS NEEDED.UH, I DO WANT TO, YOU KNOW, BRING UP THE FACT THAT WE ALREADY HAVE SOME OF THESE IN PROCESS.
SO OBVIOUSLY OUR, UH, STUDY WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE PROGRAMS WE ALREADY HAVE IN OUR SCHEDULE BASED ON THE GANTT CHART THAT WAS UPDATED TODAY.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR IS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL, UH, THE UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLAY, WHICH IS IN MAY.
AND THEN CRESTVIEW DOWNTOWN AND NORTH BERNETT GATEWAY AS WELL.
UH, ANY RECOMMENDATIONS WE'RE GETTING OUT OF THE STUDY AND ANY OTHER, UH, GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE TRIED TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THESE AS WELL AS RECALIBRATION, UH, FOR THESE.
UM, HERE IS MY CONTACT INFORMATION IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AND YEP, THAT IS ALL.
ANY QUESTIONS, COLLEAGUES? I HAVE A, A HIGH LEVEL AND HOPEFULLY BRIEF MM-HMM.
I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DENSITY BONUSES AT THIS POINT.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER CONDITIONS LIKE OVERLAYS THAT WILL BE PRESENTED WITH THIS? THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT AREAS LIKE THE UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLAY WHERE THERE'S KIND OF A BASE HEIGHT, AN OVERLAY, AND A DENSITY BONUS.
AND SO CAN YOU TALK US THROUGH THOSE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF, OBVIOUSLY BASE ZONING IS ITS OWN CONVERSATION, BUT YEAH, SO THE STUDY WAS ONLY RELATED TO THE DENSITY BONUS OF THOSE OVERLAYS.
AS WE WORK ON UPDATES, IT WILL BE A COMPREHENSIVE, SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLAY WILL BE AN UPDATE THAT RELATES NOT ONLY TO THE DENSITY BONUS COMPONENT OF THAT, BUT THE OVERLAY ITSELF SIMILAR WITH DOWNTOWN AND ANY OTHER PROGRAMS THAT HAVE, UM, KIND OF LIKE YOU SAID, MULTIPLE LAYERS.
THE STUDY HOWEVER, IS MORE ON THE PERFORMANCE AND ANALYTICS AND HOW TO IMPROVE THE ACTUAL DENSITY BONUS COMPONENTS OF THOSE.
I WAS CURIOUS ON, ON SLIDE FIVE WHERE YOU TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMICS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE ALWAYS HOPED WE'D BE ABLE TO DO, AND I KNOW IT'S VERY COMPLICATED AND, AND MAYBE IT'S NOT PRACTICAL, BUT WE CREATE THESE DENSITY BONUSES BASED ON SOME SET OF ASSUMPTIONS, WHETHER THAT IS, AS YOU MENTIONED HERE, COST OF CONSTRUCTION, UH, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT THE POTENTIAL PREVAILING RATE IS OF THAT UNIT.
BUT AS WE HAVE SEEN OVER THE PAST TWO, THREE YEARS, RIGHT? YOU CAN HAVE HUGE SWINGS THAT HAPPEN REALLY FAST AND A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM THAT MADE SENSE THREE YEARS AGO TODAY MAKES ZERO SENSE.
AND DO WE WANT TO CONSIDER HAVING SOME KIND OF FLEXIBILITY IN THERE SO THAT AT A LATER DATE, YOU KNOW, IF LET'S SAY IT'S 10% WHEN THINGS ARE REALLY BURNING AND AND REALLY GOOD, BUT 5% WHEN CONDITIONS ARE REALLY TOUGH, YOU KNOW, 5% OF SOMETHING IS ALWAYS MORE THAN 10% OF ZERO.
UH, AND SO I KNOW THERE ARE SO MANY NUANCES AND CHALLENGES IN DOING THAT, BUT AS YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS, IF YOU SEE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, I THINK IT WOULD BE INCREDIBLY BENEFICIAL FOR THESE PROGRAMS. YEAH, UNDERSTOOD.
UM, CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? IF, IF THAT WERE TO BE A POSSIBILITY, WHEN COULD WE EXPECT TO HEAR BACK FROM YOU ALL ABOUT MAKING THAT POTENTIAL ADJUSTMENT? UM, IT, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE ON A KIND OF DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM BY DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.
BECAUSE WE'D HAVE TO INDIVIDUAL INDIVIDUALLY UPDATE THEM, UM, OR IF WE DID A REVAMP OR A, A NEW PROGRAM.
BUT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE BASICALLY UPDATING EACH DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM AS WE DID IT.
IF THERE WAS A WAY TO DO THAT WHERE, YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN, FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE SAID IN THESE CONDITIONS IT DOES THIS AND THAT, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE AS PART OF AN UPDATE TO THAT, WE COULDN'T DO IT GLOBALLY VERY EASILY, I GUESS I WOULD SAY.
BUT I UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT THOUGH.
YOU KNOW, I WAS READING A HEADLINE THE OTHER DAY ABOUT, UM, HOW NATIONALLY THERE'S BEEN A TREND TO SLOWING DEVELOPMENT, IN WHICH CASE, TO YOUR POINT, 10% OF NOTHING IS STILL 10% OF NOTHING.
UM, AND SO BEING ABLE TO HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THOSE KINDS OF FLUCTUATIONS WITH THE MARKET WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, I DO UNDERSTAND THOUGH THAT A UNIVERSAL APPROACH MAY NOT BE, UM, PRACTICAL AND, AND I DON'T POTENTIALLY WILDLY IMPRACTICAL, BUT IF THE DENSITY BONUS IS A FORMULA BASED ON SOMETHING THAT CHANGES MM-HMM.
SO, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S SOME, IF THAT'S MULTIPLIED IN SO THAT IT UPDATES ITSELF WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO UPDATE IT,
[00:30:02]
I THINK THAT WOULD BE INNOVATIVE.YEAH, I MEAN THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK AT DURING RECALIBRATION OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS, FED FUNDS.
THAT'S THE WORD I WAS LOOKING FOR.
'CAUSE I LIKE THE FLEXIBILITY OF SOME OF THESE, IF WE ARE GOING TO BE HINGING THEM UPON THINGS LIKE COST OF LIVING OR OTHER SORTS OF CONSUMER PRICE INDEXING.
UM, I KNOW AT LEAST THE DOWNTOWN BONUS, IF I'M CORRECT, HAS SOME OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THINGS LIKE GREEN ROOFTOP GARDENS OR OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
ARE THOSE GOING TO BE FACTORED IN AS WELL? THESE SEEM TO BE FOCUSED MORE ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING COST.
CAN YOU TALK ME THROUGH AFFORDABLE HOUSING AS A COMMUNITY BENEFIT VERSUS OTHER THINGS LIKE, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS? SO THE, THE STUDY DID INCLUDE SOME ANALYSIS AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK ON THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITY BENEFITS, WHICH ONES ARE BEING USED, WHICH ONES ARE NOT BEING USED, UH, YOU KNOW, PARTICIPATION RATES, HOW TO CALIBRATE.
UM, AND SO I THINK AGAIN, ONCE WE DO INDIVIDUAL RECALIBRATIONS OF THE DENSITY BONUS AS WE'RE, AS WE'RE UPDATING THEM, THAT WILL BE THE TIME WHEN WE CAN LOOK AT EITHER ADDING OR, YOU KNOW, UPDATING OR INCLUDING OR HAVING A FORM TO RECALIBRATE DIFFERENT COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
UM, LIKE DOWNTOWN HAS THAT, THAT'S MORE THAN JUST AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
I KNOW THIS D CARES A LOT ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND MARKET RATE HOUSING THAT CAN BECOME MORE AFFORDABLE OVER TIME.
UM, BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDING OUR HEAT ISLAND SITUATIONS AND DIFFERENT RAINWATER RECAPTURE AND GREEN STORM WATER STUFF THAT, THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT OVER THE YEARS.
IT'D BE GREAT TO KNOW HOW WE CALIBRATE THAT, HOW WE LET PEOPLE WHO ARE BUILDING THESE PROJECTS PICK AND CHOOSE WHAT WORKS FOR THEM.
WE WANT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT WE ALSO WANT SOME OF THE, THE OTHER GOOD COMMUNITY BENEFITS TO COME FROM IT TOO.
WE NEED EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE.
SO, UM, IF YOU ALL WILL BEAR WITH ME, WHAT I DID WAS I SKIPPED OVER ITEM NUMBER FOUR AND WENT DIRECTLY INTO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
NOW THAT COULD BE FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS AND I'LL LET YOU TAKE YOUR PICK EITHER, I WAS TRYING TO LET CHRISTIE MOFFITT GET BACK OVER TO THE COUNTY, OR I WAS TAKEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THE NORTHEAST PLANNING DISTRICT TWICE, UM, OR I INADVERTENTLY SKIPPED OVER ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
UM, IT'S A, IT'S MULTIPLE CHOICE.
[7. Update on long-range planning efforts by the Planning Department.]
ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, WHICH IS ABOUT LONG, I'M SORRY, WHICH IS ABOUT LONG RANGE PLANNING.THE PREVIOUS ITEMS SHOULD HAVE BEEN NUMBER FOUR, WHICH WAS AN UPDATE ON NORTHEAST PLANNING DISTRICT.
I WAS JUST MAKING SURE WE HAD THE RIGHT PRESENTATION.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M ERIC LEE, DEVELOPMENT OFFICER FOR THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
TODAY I'LL BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT'S PLANNING IN INITIATIVES.
SO THIS CHART SHOWS THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT'S LONG RANGE PLANNING INITIATIVES THAT ARE SCHEDULED THROUGH 2026.
IT INCLUDES ACTIVITIES RANGING FROM THE IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE TO A DOWNTOWN HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY TO A GREAT STREETS PLAN AND STANDARDS UPDATE.
AMONG OTHER THINGS, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT SOME OF THESE HAVE A PHASE DESIGNATED IN YELLOW.
THESE PROJECTS ARE IN THE SCOPING AND COST ESTIMATING PHASE.
AND I'LL GO INTO THAT IN A BIT MORE DETAIL ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO REGARDING THE IMAGINE AUSTIN UPDATE, WE'RE, WE'RE CURRENTLY COLLABORATING WITH COUNCIL TO DEVELOP A SCOPE FOR THE UPDATE AND WE'LL BE BRINGING THAT, BRINGING FORWARD A RESOLUTION FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION IN EARLY 2025 FOR THE 7 8 7 0 2 INITIATIVE, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN UPDATE AND OTHER DISTRICT PLANS POTENTIALLY INCLUDING DELL VALLEY.
WERE WORKING TO DEVELOP THOSE SCOPES OF WORK REGARDING THE TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS ANALYSIS FOR HISTORIC PROPERTIES.
WERE THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WAS A RECOMMENDED IMPLEMENTATION ITEM FROM THE EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN.
AND WE'RE WORKING TO BETTER DEFINE WHAT THAT WORK SHOULD INCLUDE IN TERMS OF THE TIMELINE FOR THE INITIATIVES AND THE SCOPING AND COST ESTIMATING PHASE.
WE'RE PROVIDING THIS UPDATE ABOUT THE POTENTIAL PLANNING PROJECTS TODAY AT THIS COMMITTEE MEETING.
WE'LL THEN BE DEVELOPING THE SCOPES OF WORK FOR THESE PROJECTS BY EARLY 2025 AND WE'LL THEN REQUEST COST ESTIMATES FOR THEM, WHICH SHOULD BE COMPLETE BY MARCH.
AT THAT TIME, WE'LL PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO COUNCIL ABOUT THE COST ESTIMATE ABOUT THE COST ESTIMATES THAT WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO CONFIRM INITIATIVE FUNDING AND POTENTIAL TIMELINES IN APRIL.
AND, UH, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
[00:35:01]
QUESTIONS? COLLEAGUES? UM, ONE HIGH LEVEL QUESTION, UM, AS WE LOOK AT IMAGINE AUSTIN, UM, HOW WILL THE INFORMATION AROUND WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED OR PROPOSED TO BE DEVELOPED WITHIN SOME OF THE COMMUNITY CENTERS IN IMAGINE AUSTIN? HOW WILL YOU FACTOR IN WHAT, WHAT IS ALREADY BUILT VERSUS GOING TO BE BUILT POTENTIALLY AND WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE LEFT TO REACH THE GOALS THAT WERE INITIALLY SET OUT IN 2012? SO THAT TYPE OF ANALYSIS WOULD, WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE LOOKED AT AS PART OF, OF THE UPDATE.UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY CONSIDERING THE, THE GROWTH CONCEPT MAPS, ET CETERA.
I KNOW I LIVE IN ONE THAT OVERLAPS ONE OF THE, UM, ENVIRONMENTALLY, UM, SENSITIVE AREAS THAT'S IN ONE OF THOSE GROWTH CONCEPT AREAS.
I KNOW WE'VE ALREADY DONE ANOTHER REZONING NEARBY IN, UH, VICE CHAIR ALTERS DISTRICT THAT INCORPORATE SOME OF THOSE ISSUES, BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE DRAWN AS CIRCLES, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE NEAR THOSE AREAS THAT DON'T QUITE KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS AND WHAT IS LEFT FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO GET THOSE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OUT OF THOSE AREAS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED.
SO I, I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT, BUT I REALIZE WE'RE EARLY IN THE PROCESS AND WOULD LOVE TO KNOW MORE AS THOSE CONVERSATIONS CONTINUE.
UH, SAME IN TERMS OF, UH, THE QUESTION BEING HIGH LEVEL, JUST CURIOUS IS SPEAK UP BOSTON THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE LOCATION FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS TO GO TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION FOR EACH OF THE INITIATIVES BEING PROPOSED TO DISCUSS MOVING FORWARD? I THINK SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, MY OFFICE HAS MADE A CONCERTED EFFORT, UM, MOST ESPECIALLY TO ENCOURAGE THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO BE INVOLVED IN THESE DISCUSSIONS.
BUT I THINK IT FEELS VERY MUCH LIKE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT EXCLUSIVE AND I REALLY LIKE MORE FOLKS, YOU KNOW, LAY PEOPLE FROM THE COMMUNITY TO BE INVOLVED IN THE DISCUSSIONS, IN WHICH CASE HAVING THAT OPPORTUNITY ON THE FRONT END REALLY FRONT LOAD THEIR KNOWLEDGE BASE, EXCUSE ME, ABOUT SOME OF THE SUBJECTS WE'RE DISCUSSING IS VERY HELPFUL.
AND YES, AS PROJECTS LAUNCH, UM, PROBABLY ALL OF THEM WILL HAVE SPEAK UP PAGES.
UM, I'M, I'M TRYING TO THINK IF THERE ARE ANY EXCEPTIONS, BUT IN GENERAL, UM, WE DO TRY TO USE THAT AS A TOOL, UM, BECAUSE IT HAS LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN IT TO SHARE DOCUMENTS EASILY TO CREATE SURVEYS, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO TRANSLATE IT FAIRLY EASILY.
SO, UM, SO THEY, THEY WOULDN'T ALL HAVE SPEAK UP PAGES YET BECAUSE THEY MAY NOT BE IN THE ACTIVE PHASES AND WE GENERALLY DON'T LAUNCH THE SPEAK UP PAGES UNTIL WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO, UM, BEING AT A STAGE TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC.
UM, BUT THAT IS THE INTENTION.
AND THIS IS NEITHER HERE NOR THERE FOR YOU, BUT I WAS ACTUALLY TALKING TO A FRIEND ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND KEEPING FOLKS INFORMED AND SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT HOW THERE ARE STRATEGICALLY PLACED QR CODES AROUND THE CITY FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO BE ABLE TO SCAN THE QR CODE, WHICH TAKES THEM DIRECTLY TO ISSUE AREAS.
AND I JUST, I HOPE THAT MOVING FORWARD AS WE THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SORT OF SMART CITY INNOVATION, THAT'S ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE ENGAGE WITH, UM, THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF ETOD WORK DONE AROUND THE TWO OF THE THREE METRO RAPIDS WITH PROJECT CONNECT.
IS THERE A PLAN TO PUT OAK HILL AREA INTO THIS? A LOT OF THOSE CONCRETE PARKING LOTS ARE LOOKING AT REDEVELOPING AND HOW TO BE MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AND WE WOULD LOVE FOR MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION TO BE PART OF THIS.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHEN THAT'S GOING TO BE ADDED TO THE LIST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS? SO THE TOD UM, PLAN AND, AND I MIGHT BRING STEVIE UP IF WE WANNA GET INTO MORE DETAIL, BUT, UM, IN GENERAL THE, THE TOD PLANNING IS KIND OF ITS OWN LINE IN, IN THE CHART IN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE QUITE A BIT OF ETOD PLANNING PLANNED.
UM, I DON'T OFFHAND KNOW THE SEQUENCE OF ALL OF THAT.
I THINK WE'RE TRYING, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO DETERMINE THAT.
I THINK WE'RE STILL TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING.
THERE'S BEEN THREE OR FOUR REZONINGS OR RESTRICTIVE COVENANT AMENDMENTS IN THAT AREA ALREADY.
UM, SO THOSE, THOSE PROPERTIES ARE GOING TO REDEVELOP AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THEY REDEVELOP IN A SMART WAY AND THAT THE CITY IS AT THE TABLE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT OUR MULTIMODAL GOALS.
I WANT DISTRICT EIGHT TO BE PARTICIPATING AS MUCH AS ANY OTHER DISTRICT IN TOWN.
UM, BUT I DON'T THINK THERE'S BEEN COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING HAPPENING YET.
[00:40:01]
DOING IT ON THEIR OWN IN A SILO.AND I WANNA MAKE SURE FOLKS KNOW WHAT IT IS THE COMMUNITY WANTS, THAT WE HAVE A CHANCE TO PROVIDE OUR INPUT AND TO TALK ABOUT WALKABLE FIRST FLOOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
WHERE DO WE WANT THAT TO BE IN THE DISTRICT, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT MISSING THE BOAT 'CAUSE THEY WILL REDEVELOP, THEY JUST WON'T REDEVELOP IN A WAY THAT ACTUALLY HELPS US REACH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THOSE CONSIDERATIONS SOMEBODY BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION RECENTLY, UH, DURING THE COURSE OF THE CONVERSATION, UM, ONE OF THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TALKED ABOUT THE RETAIL STACK.
UM, AND IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW TO MAKE ALL THE NUMBERS MAKE SENSE FOR A VERTICAL MIXED USE PROJECT, RECOGNIZING THE RELEVANCE OF THE RETAIL STACK AND HOW THIS BUSINESS COMPLIMENTS THIS ONE AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
I THINK SOMETIMES WE JUST FORGET THAT NOT EVERYBODY SPEAKS, UM, URBAN PLANNING.
AND SO I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THOSE CONSIDERATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERYBODY TO CONTRIBUTE SUBSTANTIVELY TO THE DIALOGUE.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
ALRIGHT, SO ONE OF OUR FINAL ITEMS TODAY, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE SEVERAL SPEAKERS JOINING US IN ADDITION TO THE INFORMATION WE GET FROM STAFF.
[2. Discussion about building designs that support sustainability including green rooftops and solar panels.]
ITEM NUMBER TWO.I REQUESTED THIS TOPIC TO BE ON OUR AGENDA TODAY.
UM, SO WE CAN REALLY START A CONVERSATION AROUND BUILDING DESIGN THAT SUPPORTS TO YOUR POINT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER LSR SUSTAINABILITY GOALS INCLUDING GREEN ROOFTOPS AND SOLAR PANELS.
I SORT OF ALWAYS FIND MYSELF DRIVING OVER THAT 180 3 FLYOVER WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE TOP OF ALL THESE BIG BOX STORES AND BUILDINGS THAT ARE JUST CONCRETE AND IMAGINING A WORLD WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE CONCEPT OF WHAT COULD BE.
UM, I'D LIKE TO TAKE THIS TIME TO ALLOW MYSELF AND MY COLLEAGUES TO REALLY HEAR FROM LOCAL EXPERTS AND CHECK IN WITH CITY STAFF JUST TO SEE WHERE, WHERE WE ARE IN INCENTIVIZING AND ENCOURAGING SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PRACTICES.
UM, BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, AND MY HOPE IS THAT WE REALLY GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF DIG INTO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW PRACTICAL, UM, THESE ASK ARE AND WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE TO MAKE IT MORE PRACTICAL.
UM, WHICH ACTUALLY LEADS ME TO, TO BE EXCITED ABOUT FUTURE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ALTERNATIVE BUILDING MATERIALS AND OTHER THINGS THAT, UH, I THINK THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN SO MANY WAYS HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, AT THE FOREFRONT OF, UM, INNOVATION NATIONWIDE.
I JUST LOOK FORWARD TO US TAKING THAT OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO AGAIN.
SO, UM, FIRST IS MR. PLIN FISK, ONE OF THE CO-DIRECTORS FROM THE CENTER FOR BUILDING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL BUILDING SYSTEMS. HE HAS A BRIEF PRESENTATION FOR US ON THE TOPIC THIS AFTERNOON.
THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME HERE AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
SO WE'VE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE.
WE'RE NOW THE OLDEST IN THE US DOING SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING.
WE WERE ON THE THINK TANK TO CREATE LEAD.
WE DID THIS BUILDING, WE DID THE LIBRARY DOWN THE STREET, MANY THINGS THAT YOU ALL KNOW ABOUT, INCLUDING MANY, MANY SCHOOLS.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT IS THAT YOU ALL SHOULD COME AND VISIT.
WE'RE IN THAT SECTOR CALLED ONE.
HAVE YOU BEEN THERE? I KNEW IT.
SO OTHER PEOPLE SHOULD ALSO COME BECAUSE THE STATE GREEN BUILDING IS THERE AND TWO SOLAR DECATHLONS ARE THERE, WHICH ARE OFF THE GRID AFFORDABLE BUILDINGS.
SO OUR LIMIT FOR THE FIRST ONE WAS $250,000 TOTAL, INCLUDING ALL ENERGY SYSTEMS, WATER SYSTEMS, EVERYTHING.
AND THE SECOND WAS MORE EXPENSIVE.
BUT THAT ONE BEGAN TO GET INTO ISSUES OF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION WHERE OUR COMPETITORS WERE SPENDING 3.4 MILLION ON A PROTOTYPE AND WE WERE DOING 650,000.
ANYWAY, THE SLIDES THAT I HAVE, GREEN ROOFS IS A HUGE TOPIC.
GREEN BUILDING PROGRAMS ARE A HUGE TOPIC.
SO IF I WERE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THIS? WELL THAT WAS INTERESTING.
WHAT DO I PRESS HERE? SHOULD BE THE, THE, THE RIGHT ERA.
SO THIS IS WHO I AM BASICALLY AND WHO WE ARE, UM, TO GIVE YOU A FEW CREDENTIALS AND I'M AT PROFESSOR EMERITUS AT THAT PLACE CALLED TEXAS A AND M.
UH, THE PROBLEM IS A QUITE AN INTERESTING ONE BECAUSE THE NEXT SLIDES ARE GONNA SHOW AUSTIN AS BEING PART OF A GLOBAL ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND AS A FRIEND SAID, YOU'LL SOON REALIZE THAT WE ARE LUCKY AND LUCK IS NOT A PLAN AS HER BOOK
[00:45:01]
SAYS.SO WHAT IT DOES IS IT BASICALLY GOES OVER THE FACT THAT WE ARE ABOUT TO BE INUNDATED WITH MANY DIFFERENT CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES.
SO ROOFS IN GENERAL CAN, YOU KNOW, RELATE TO TEMPERATURE.
CITYWIDE TEMPERATURES 20 TO 30 DEGREES COOLER OF CITY AT 80% GREEN ROOFS ACCORDING TO A PA, UH, WE GREW ROOFS LIKE BUILDING PROGRAMS, YOU KNOW, WATER HARVESTING.
WE'VE DONE, AND SOME PEOPLE CALL THAT A GREEN ROOF WIND RESISTANCE, WHICH IS MAJOR.
OUR PARTICULAR NON-PROFIT ON FM 9 69 AND DECKER LANE HAS HAD AT LEAST TWO TORNADOES.
TWO ROOFS HAVE DISAPPEARED ACROSS THE STREET IN AUSTIN.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU SORT OF WONDER IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A TORNADO ALLEY IN A TORNADO CONFIDENT CITY? AND WE HAVE LOOKED AT THAT EXTENSIVELY IN SOME WAYS IN THE PAST.
ENERGY IS A BIG ISSUE AND SOME PEOPLE CALL THE ENERGY ISSUE RELATED TO GREEN ROOFS, THE GREEN ROOF OF THE FUTURE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID FOR A COMPETITION FOR ICON, FOR AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMUNITY RELATED TO AGRI HOODS IS WE ACTUALLY USED A QUO ROOF IN ORDER TO CREATE ENERGY WITH FLEXIBLE PVS AND ALSO RERADIATE TO THE NIGHT SKY, WHICH ENABLED US TO BRING A POSSIBILITY TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH A QUANTUM TYPE ROOF THAT HAS PROVEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO HANDLE THE EXTREME VARIATION IN CLIMATE CONDITIONS THAT WERE HANDED IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY.
UH, AND THEN I'M GONNA SAY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE OPPOSITE END, THE BOTTOM OF THE BUILDING CALLED ROOF OF COLD FOUNDATIONS VERSUS THE ROOF.
SO FOUNDATIONS ACTUALLY ARE PER MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF ACTIVITY, THE HIGHEST GREENHOUSE GAS SUPPLIER INTO THE ATMOSPHERE OF ALL MATERIALS RELATED TO SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING.
AND WE RARELY DO ANY VERY MUCH ABOUT IT.
SO WE LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE AND WE REALIZE THAT THE BIG PICTURE ALSO SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT, UH, A LEARNING SYSTEM.
CAN WE LEARN FROM THESE OTHER PLACES THAT HAVE SIMILAR CONDITIONS? AND WE'VE LEARNED A LOT, BUT I CAN'T POSSIBLY GO OVER THAT IN THIS PRESENTATION.
WE ARE VERY SUSCEPTIBLE TO WILDFIRES EVEN THOUGH THAT DATA THERE DOESN'T SHOW US IN WILDFLOWER FIRE CONDITIONS, FLASH FLOOD, WE KNOW ABOUT TORNADO, WE KNOW ABOUT CROP DISRUPTION.
ALL THESE THINGS COME TOGETHER AND SEEM TO WANT TO PLACE THEMSELVES IN TEXAS.
SO WE DID THIS GREAT THING OF CALLING ALL THESE OVERLAID AND SEE WHAT OVERLAYS WOULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN IF WE SAID, LET'S GO AND LOOK AT TEXAS.
SO HERE WE ARE IN SOME OF THE DARKEST AREAS IN TEXAS, WHICH MEANS THAT MANY OF THESE DISASTERS COULD HAPPEN HERE.
AND SO ROOFS ARE THE FIRST THING THAT CONNECT TO THIS ISSUE.
SO OUR BUILDING AT THE TIME RELATED TO WATER.
SO WE INCREASED THE UH, SERVICE AREA OF OUR ROOF BECAUSE AUSTIN ENERGY SAID THAT A LOT OF THE ENERGY THAT THEY USE IS FOR PROCESSING AND PUMPING WATER AND DISTRIBUTING IT AS WELL AS WASTEWATER.
SO THIS BUILDING AS THE STATE DEMONSTRATION BUILDING IN AUSTIN EMPHASIZED TWO THINGS, WATER AND WASTEWATER RELATED TO THE THAT DATA.
SO THIS BUILDING HAS MANY, MANY THINGS IN, IT HAS 14 DIFFERENT MATERIALS, EIGHT DIFFERENT WALLS, UH, ZERO PORTLAND CEMENT, UH, THAT IS NOW COMING AROUND AGAIN 20 YEARS LATER TO ACTUALLY BE A POSSIBILITY BECAUSE THERE WAS A GAP PERIOD WHERE WE COULDN'T USE OLD MATERIALS THAT WE WERE USING PREVIOUSLY.
NOW WE CAN, ACCORDING TO WORK DONE AT MIT, THE OTHER THING ABOUT GREEN BUILDING THAT IS VERY CRITICAL IS WHERE IS YOUR MONEY GOING? SO WE MIGHT DO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WE MIGHT DO ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
I'M ABOUT TO SHOW IS THAT HOUSING, AS WE SHOWED IN THE STATE DEMONSTRATION, BUILDING ACTUALLY TRACKABLE TO BUSINESSES WITHIN OUR REGION AND OF THOSE BUSINESSES BEING EMPHASIZED BECAUSE OF THEIR GOOD WORK IN ANY NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND HOW DID THEY COME TOGETHER TO ACTUALLY PRODUCE A BUILDING THAT IS RELEVANT FOR THE FUTURE.
I'M GONNA SHOW SOME PROJECTS NOT BUILT BECAUSE WE COULDN'T GET FUNDING.
THIS IS A PROJECT CALLED AVIARY AND IT WAS ALL BASED ON QUO TYPE BUILDINGS AND IT HAD
[00:50:01]
GREEN ROOFS AND OTHER ROOFS, BUT IT ALSO HAD A PROTECTED AREA ON A SIDEWALK.THERE IS SORT OF A MICRO GRID THAT SHADES PEOPLE BUT ALSO PROTECTS UTILITIES AS WELL AS PEOPLE IN SUPPLYING WHAT'S GOING ON IN THAT SMALL COMMUNITY.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE MICROGRID WINDING THROUGH THIS COMMUNITY AND HOW THESE BUILDINGS ACTUALLY USING AN EXISTING BUILDING SYSTEM IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS CAN ACTUALLY END UP TO BE A FAIRLY ATTRACTIVE, UH, POSSIBILITY.
SO THESE BUILDINGS WERE SPECIFICALLY DONE IN ORDER TO NOT HAVE OVERHANGS, TO NOT HAVE THE THINGS THAT ACTUALLY CREATE HAVOC RELATED TO OR TORNADO SITUATION.
AND THAT RIBBON THROUGH IT ACTUALLY IS THE UTILITY SYSTEM SO THAT WE DID NOT HAVE TO PUT THESE THINGS ON ROOFS.
AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE WANTED THE ROOF TO BECOME FLEXIBLE TO DO MANY DIFFERENT OPTIONS.
SO THESE WERE SOME OF THE OPTIONS THAT THE ROOF WAS DOING, BUT THESE WERE SOME OF THE CONFIGURATIONS THAT USUALLY THOUGHT OF AS A GEOMETRIC SHAPE THAT DOESN'T HAVE TOO MANY OPTIONS.
UH, THIS IS THE HOOD THAT WE PROPOSING AT OUR PLACE AT DECKER LANE AND 9 69 AND IT HAS THE SAME KIND OF ROOF.
AND I DON'T WANT TO KEEP OVEREMPHASIZING THE FACT THAT THIS ROOF HISTORICALLY HAS UNBELIEVABLE PRECEDENCE IN LASTING AND THAT'S WHY MANY FARMS HAVE THIS KIND OF THING.
BUT THE FACT IS THAT IT CAN BE DONE AN ATTRACTIVE WAY.
UH, BUT THE COMBINATION HERE IS VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE THIS WAS AN ICON 3D PRINTED COMPETITION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND WHAT WE DID IS THAT WE HAD OUR GANTRY TO DO ALL THE HOUSING SPANNING THE ENTIRE THING FROM ONE, UH, MICROGRID, UH, SPINE TO THE END NEXT AND POWERED THE ENTIRE THING WITH SOWER TO MANUFACTURE THE BUILDINGS IN SITU.
THE ROOFS THEMSELVES ARE STRIPED.
IN FACT, IT BECAME A LITTLE BIT OF A JOKE.
PEOPLE SAID THAT THIS IS A ZEBRA ROOF, BUT THE ZEBRA ROOF IS ZERO ENERGY BUILDING ROOF.
AND WHAT IT DOES IS THAT EVERY OTHER STRIPE THAT YOU SEE THERE RERADIATE TO THE NIGHT SKY USING THREE M'S.
NEW FILM THAT BRINGS THE TEMPERATURE 20 TO 30 DEGREES BELOW AMBIENT.
NEXT TO THAT IS A FLEXIBLE PV BETWEEN THE FLEXIBLE PV BEING BLACK AND THE EFFICIENCY OF THAT BLACKNESS ENDING UP PART ELECTRICITY, BUT ALSO PART KEAT.
WE BEGAN TO REALIZE AS WE MODELED THIS, THIS IS ZERO ENERGY, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND A LOT OF THE, UH, CONCRETE THAT I'M NOT IN THIS CASE A BIG FAN OF BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT USING QUITE THE RIGHT CONCRETE YET, UH, IS A HEAT SINK.
SO AS WE GO AND MODEL THIS WITH UT, WE BEGAN TO REALIZE THIS IS ONLY REQUIRING A FAN TO RUN ANY ONE OF THESE BUILDINGS.
THE BUILDINGS THEMSELVES, BY THE WAY, INTERNALLY WERE MADE TO BE VERY FLEXIBLE BECAUSE DIFFERENT FAMILIES NEED DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO YOU COULD START OFF WITH NO TWO STORIES WITHIN AND YOU COULD BUILD THOSE TWO STORIES OVER TIME WITH A KIT THAT WE WERE SUPPLYING WITHIN THE SYSTEM.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN ALL THIS IS THAT ALL THE GADGETRY AND ALL THE TECHNOLOGY IS GREAT, BUT IS IT A LIVABLE ENVIRONMENT? SO THE FIRST THING THAT PEOPLE LOOK AT, DO I WANNA LIVE THERE? SO WE WERE VERY CONSCIOUS OF TRYING TO MAKE THESE BUILDINGS LOOK AND FEEL WARM AND ATTRACTIVE TO PEOPLE THAT WERE APPARENTLY TRYING TO GET AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING WAY OF OPERATING.
LAST ITEM, THE OTHER END OF THIS IS THE FOUNDATION.
SO ONE OF THE MANY THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE OVER THE YEARS BESIDES DOING ALL THE GREEN SPECKING FOR THE LARGEST BUILDING IN OUR COUNTRY CALLED THE US PENTAGON, WE BEGAN TO FIND CERTAIN THINGS AND AS WE INVESTIGATED MORE AND MORE WITH THE 12.5 MILLION BUSINESSES WITHIN OUR DATABASE, WE WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO TAKE A BUILDING TYPOLOGY, ONE OF 18 IN THIS CASE, SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND DRILL DOWN HIERARCHICALLY ALL THE WAY TO THE FACT THAT OF ALL THE ISSUES RELATED TO MATERIALITY AND GREEN BUILDINGS AND SO ON AND GREENHOUSE GASES WAS HOW YOU DO THE FOUNDATION.
SO I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO FOUNDATIONS TODAY, BUT I WILL WELCOME YOU ALL TO COME AND VISIT US TO SEE WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THIS AREA.
OH, WELL IF YOU WANTED TO SEE SOME OF THAT IN MORE DETAIL,
[00:55:02]
ONE CAN READ ALL THAT STUFF.AND I'M, I, IT'S SAFE TO ASSUME THAT ALL THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN PROVIDED FOR US IN BACKUP, BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE SHARON WITH THE COUNT, WITH THE BROADER COUNCIL, UM, AND THE MAYOR, I, I FULLY INTENDED FOR THIS CONVERSATION TO JUST BE THE START OF MANY CONVERSATIONS AND REALLY US DIGGING DOWN DEEP.
I HADN'T HEARD THAT STATISTIC ABOUT THE FOUNDATION BEING THE LARGER PRODUCER OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND I ALSO HADN'T HEARD, OR MAYBE IT JUST DIDN'T REGISTER FOR ME, THAT AE PUT EMPHASIS ON THE GENERATION OF, UM, AND DISTRIBUTION OF WATER, UM, BEING SUCH A, A LARGE ENERGY EXPENDITURE.
AND SO, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM YOU TODAY AND FOR US TO REALLY JUST GET THE CONVERSATION STARTED IN A COMPREHENSIVE SUB SUBSTANTIVE WAY.
UM, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS? VICE CHAIR ALTER, UH, REALLY A, A A COMMENT AND WE HAVE, UH, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH ZACH IN THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE, UH, TO DO THIS FROM A CITY PERSPECTIVE.
YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GONNA TRY TO HAVE PRIVATE DEVELOPERS DO MORE WITH THEIR ROOFS, WE SHOULD LEAD THE WAY, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, ZACH IS, HAS BEEN WORKING ON HOW WE CAN GET, UH, MORE SOLAR PANELS ON OUR CITY FACILITIES WHEN WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE STUDY OF, OF CITY ENERGY USAGE, WHICH WE ARE THE NUMBER TWO ENERGY USER IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN BEHIND SAMSUNG AS AN ENTITY.
UM, BUT AUSTIN WATER IS ALMOST 50% OF THAT BECAUSE OF YEP.
THE PUMPING AND THE MOVING AND EXACTLY.
SO IT'S A, A HUGE PIECE OF THE PIE WHEN IT COMES TO WATER.
BUT, UH, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE WHERE THAT GOES.
I THINK AT A BARE MINIMUM, IT JUST, IT CAN SAVE OUR GENERAL FUND OVER TIME IF WE ARE ABLE TO PUT THE SOLAR ON THESE ROOFS, BUT WE CAN ALSO DEMONSTRATE TO THE PUBLIC THAT HEY, THIS IS REALLY POSSIBLE AND, AND WE CAN DO THIS AND WE'RE GONNA LEAD THE WAY.
SO I SEE ZACH OUT THERE APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH
I'D LIKE TO PICK UP A LITTLE BIT ON WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT WATER AND WASTEWATER THOUGH, BECAUSE I JUST VISITED THE ONLY FACILITY APPARENTLY IN THE US THAT HAS PIGGYBACKED ONTO THEIR WASTEWATER SYSTEM WITH A GERMAN SYSTEM THAT IS ANCIENT, THAT HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN UNTIL SIX YEARS AGO CALLED HYDROTHERMAL CARBONIZATION.
AND THIS TAKES THE WASTEWATER AND THE ORGANICS AND CONVERTS IT TO HYDRO CHAR INSTEAD OF BIOCHAR, WHICH NO ONE'S EVER HEARD OF.
EVERYBODY IS A BIOCHAR BUT NEVER HYDRO CHAR.
BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT ALL THE PFAS, ALL THE HEAVY METALS AND EVERYTHING IS CAPTURED IN A WAY THAT DOES NOT ENABLE IT GET TO GET INTO THE ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE IT USES THE SILICA TO ACTUALLY TRAP CHEMICALLY ALL THOSE BAD THINGS.
SO THEY ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
BUT ANYWAY, IF ANYONE EVER WANTS TO SEE THAT PRESENTATION, THEY, THEY CITY JUST SENT IT TO ME TO SHARE WITH YOU FOLKS.
I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT PRESENTATION IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND CHEERING WITH OUR OFFICES.
ALSO SOUNDS LIKE A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR A STUDY TRIP ABROAD.
UM, SO JUST PUTTING IT OUT THERE.
ANY QUESTIONS? UH, NO QUESTIONS, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT HOW WE CAN BE MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AND HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO BE LEADERS IN THIS SPACE.
AND I, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE BUILDING STRUCTURES RIGHT NOW IN THIS CITY THAT