* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] YOU ARE WATCHING A MEETING OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL WITH MAYOR KIRK WATSON, MAYOR PRO, TIM VANESSA FUENTES, COUNCIL MEMBERS NATASHA HARPER MADISON, JOSE VELAZQUEZ, CHEETO VELA, RYAN ALTER, CRYSTAL LANE, MIKE SIEGEL, PAIGE ELLIS, ZOE CADRE, MARK UCHIN, CITY ATTORNEY DEBORAH THOMAS, CITY CLERK ERICA BRADY, AND CITY MANAGER TC BROAD. GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. IT'S NINE O'CLOCK ON OCTOBER 21ST, 2025, AND I WILL CALL TO ORDER THE CITY COUNCIL OF AUSTIN, TEXAS WORK SESSION. WE HAVE A QUORUM OF THE CITY COUNCIL PRESENT, AND WE ARE MEETING IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, WHICH, UH, THEY'RE LOCATED IN CITY HALL, WHICH IS AT 3 0 1 AT WEST SECOND STREET. UH, THE ORDER OF BUSINESS WILL GO IN IS, I'M GONNA VERIFY HERE IN A SECOND THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPEAKERS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. AND WE WILL THEN GO TO, UH, A COUPLE, WE'RE GONNA DO IT THIS WAY. WE'RE GONNA GO INTO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO TAKE UP ITEM E TWO, AND I'LL ANNOUNCE THAT IN MORE DETAIL HERE IN JUST A SECOND. WE'LL ALSO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, TO TAKE UP ITEM E ONE, AND AFTER THAT WE WILL COME BACK IN AND WE WILL TAKE UP THE BRIEFING ITEM B ONE. UH, I WILL NOTE THAT, UH, THE MAYOR PRO TEM IS ABSENT TODAY CONDUCTING IMPORTANT, UH, CITY BUSINESS. UH, AND SO SHE'S, SHE'S NOT WITH US. I'LL TURN TO THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE TO VERIFY WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPEAKERS. NO MAYOR. THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS, VERY GOOD MEMBERS IN THAT CASE. UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 5 1 0 8 7. HANG ON A SECOND. UH, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA GO INTO EXECUTIVE [E. Executive Session] SESSION AND, AND WE'LL TAKE UP TWO ITEMS. THE FIRST ONE WILL BE PURSUANT TO 5 5 1 0 7 4 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE. WE WILL GO IN TO DISCUSS PERSONNEL MATTERS RELATED, AS I INDICATED ITEM E TWO. THOSE ARE PERSONNEL ISSUES RELATED TO THE APPOINTMENT OF A NEW CITY AUDITOR. AND PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 5 1 0 8 6 AND 5 5 1 0 7, 1 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE, THE CITY COUNCIL WILL DISCUSS UTILITY COMPETITIVE MATTERS AND LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO ITEM E ONE, DISCUSS AUSTIN ENERGY GENERATION OPERATION AND RESOURCE ISSUES. UH, AND AGAIN, THAT'S UNDER 5 5 1 0 8 6 AND 5 5 1 0 7, 1 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE MEMBERS. IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THE, THE ITEMS THAT WERE ANNOUNCED? THAT BEING THE CASE WITHOUT OBJECTION? UH, THE COUNCIL WILL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 9:02 AM AS I INDICATED, AS SOON AS THE EXECUTIVE SESSION IS COMPLETE ON THESE TWO ITEMS, WE WILL COME BACK OUT, UH, AND, AND CONVENE IN OPEN SESSION AND WE WILL TAKE UP ITEM B ONE, WHICH IS THE BRIEFING. THANKS EVERYBODY. HELLO EVERYBODY. IT'S 1129 AND I'LL CALL BACK TO ORDER THE WORK SESSION OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL. WE ARE OUT OF A CLOSED SESSION. UH, IN THE CLOSED SESSION WE DISCUSS UTILITY COMPETITIVE MATTERS AND PERSONNEL MATTERS RELATED TO ITEMS E ONE AND E TWO, UM, MEMBERS. UH, I JUST WANNA POINT OUT, UH, FOR THE RECORD THAT ON THURSDAY WE WILL TAKE UP AN ITEM RELATED TO THE CITY AUDITOR. AND AT THAT TIME THERE WILL BE A MOTION, UH, THAT WILL BE TO DIRECT ROBERT BERG, THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF RALPH ANDERSON AND ASSOCIATES OUR CONSULTING FIRM TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT WITH JASON AVI TO BE THE AUSTIN CITY AUDITOR, STARTING IN JANUARY OF 2026. THE NEXT ITEM [B1. Briefing regarding the development assessment for a proposed planned unit development (PUD) located at 1400 ½ and 1404 East Riverside Drive - within the Lady Bird Lake Watershed - Urban Watershed. [Joi Harden, Zoning Officer - Planning Department].] ON OUR AGENDA IS ITEM B ONE, WHICH IS A BRIEFING REGARDING, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSED P LOCATED AT 1400 AND A HALF AND 1404 EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE WITHIN THE LADY BIRD LAKE WATERSHED URBAN WATERSHED. AND I SEE THAT MS. HARDEN HAS FOUND A PLACE TO ADDRESS THIS, AND SO I'LL CALL ON MS. HARDIN. THANK YOU. UH, IT'S AFTERNOON STILL. GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNSEL. I'M JOY HARDIN WITH AUSTIN PLANNING. I'M HERE TO PRESENT THIS PROJECT ASSESSMENT, WHICH WE CALL A DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT FOR CASE NUMBER CD 2 25 0 0 0 2. THIS IS A BRIEFING ON A PROPOSED PLAN UNIT DEVELOPMENT OR P LOCATED AT 14 AND A HALF AND 1404 EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE. I KNOW I PRESENTED A DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT LAST MONTH ON SEPTEMBER 9TH, [00:05:01] BUT JUST AS A QUICK REMINDER, SINCE I DON'T PRESENT THESE OFTEN, THE CITY'S LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REQUIRES THAT PRIOR TO AN APPLICANT SUBMITTING A PUTT APPLICATION, THE APPLICANT IS REQUIRED TO DO WHAT WE CALL A DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT, WHICH IS SENT ESSENTIALLY A DRY RUN OF WHAT THEY'RE PROPOSING TO SUBMIT. STAFF OFFERS COMMENTS AND THE COMMENTS COME BACK FROM NUMEROUS CITY DEPARTMENTS AND WE GIVE THEM BACK TO THE APPLICANT. AND THEN WE GIVE A BRIEFING TO THE COUNCIL ON SOME OF THE OVERALL BIG PICTURE ITEMS AND REFERENCE TO WHAT THE APPLICANT IS GOING TO SUBMIT IN THEIR FUTURE PUD APPLICATION. THIS IS THE TIME WHERE YOU PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO THIS PROPOSAL, AND OF COURSE, AS YOU KNOW, THERE IS A STAFF REPORT PROVIDED IN YOUR BACKUP FOR YOUR FOR YOU TO REVIEW. AS I STATED, THIS SITE IS LOCATED AT 14 AND A HALF AND 1404 EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE. THE SITE IS 2.62 ACRES IN SIZE AND IS CURRENTLY UNDEVELOPED. PREVIOUSLY THE SITE OF ACTON BUSINESS SCHOOL, IT IS ZONE E-R-C-C-M-U, WHICH IS EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR CORRIDOR, MIXED USE SUBDISTRICT. IT IS DESIGNATED AS SPECIFIC REGULATING PLAN ON THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP LUM IN THE EAST RIVERSIDE OLD TORF COMBINED NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN THAT WAS ADOPTED ON NOVEMBER SIX 16, 2006. THE PROPERTY IS LOCATED WITHIN THE LADY BIRD LAKE WATERSHED, WHICH IS CLASSIFIED AS URBAN WATERSHED. AND WITHIN THE WATERFRONT OVERLAY, AGAIN, THE APPLICANT IS PROPOSING PUD ZONING. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL CONSIST OF A RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 381 RESIDENTIAL UNITS. THE APPLICANT IS SEEKING CS GENERAL COMMERCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT ZONING AS THE BASELINE ZONING DISTRICT FOR THE PUD. SO ANY DEVELOPMENT OVER THE HEIGHT OF 60 FEET OR A TWO TO ONE FLORIDA, EVERY RATIO WOULD HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION OF THE PUTT ORDINANCE, WHICH OUTLINES THE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENT. THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING 12 CODE MODIFICATIONS, WHICH ARE OUTLINED IN EXHIBIT D, AND THEIR BIG ASK IS THE REQUEST OF A MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHT OF 180 FEET. JUST KNOW CURRENTLY ANY DEVELOPMENT, UM, ON THIS SITE CANNOT EXCEED A HEIGHT OF 96 FEET. IN EXCHANGE FOR RECEIVING THE INCREASED ENTITLEMENT OF HEIGHT AND OTHER MODIFICATION, THE APPLICANT IS SEEKING, EXCUSE ME, IN EXCHANGE FOR RECEIVING THE INCREASED HEIGHT, ENTITLEMENT OF HEIGHT AND OTHER MODIFICATION THE APPLICANT IS SEEKING. SOME OF THE APPLICANT'S PROPOSED SUPERIORITY ITEMS ARE AS FOLLOWS, 15 ONSITE AFFORDABLE UNITS AT 60% IN MY PHI TOLLING 8,568 SQUARE FEET OFFSITE. STORM WATER WILL BE CAPTURED AND TREATED WITHIN INNOVATIVE WATER QUALITY CONTROLS. 1.17 ACRES OF THE PROPERTY WILL BE DEDICATED AS PARKLINE PARKLAND, WHICH IS 44% OF THE PROPERTY PROVIDING FOR OPEN SPACE THAT IS 10% ABOVE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS AND PROVIDING ON SITE LONG-TERM BICYCLE PARKING AND 150% OF CODE REQUIREMENTS. OTHER SUPERIORITY ITEMS ARE LISTED ON PAGE TWO OF THE STAFF REPORT AND IN EXHIBIT E IN THE BACKUP. ALSO TO NOTE THE PROPERTY IS LOCATED NEAR THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL AND A QUARTER OF A MILE FROM THE PROPOSED RAIL STOP. SO COUNSEL, JUST KNOW THAT ONCE THIS BRIEFING GETS COMPLETE, THE APPLICANT MAY SUBMIT THEIR ACTUAL PUT APPLICATION, IT WILL GO THROUGH THE USUAL PROCESS REVIEW BY MULTIPLE CITY DEPARTMENTS, REVIEW BY A MINIMUM ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION PLANNING COMMISSION. AND FINALLY, BACK TO COUNCIL. SO THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND PLEASE FEEL, FEEL FREE TO RELAY ANY COMMENTS AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU. NO, MAYOR, UH, THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, BUT THE, THE MAYOR PRO TEM AND THE MAYOR OFF AND THE MAYOR ASKED ME TO, TO STEP IN AND THANK YOU. DRIVE THE BUS FOR JUST A BIT. UH, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE DICES COUNCIL MEMBER? ALTER MAYOR, PRO TEM, PRO TEM ? UM, I DO HAVE A QUESTION. THIS IS ACTUALLY NOT ABOUT THE, THE MERITS OF THIS CASE, BUT HEARKENING BACK TO QUESTION I ASKED THE LAST TIME WE WERE HERE TALKING ABOUT A FUTURE PUD AND, YOU KNOW, DON'T NEED EXACT NUMBER, BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, HOW MUCH DID THIS PROCESS COST THE APPLICANT TO GET HERE? I, I DON'T KNOW. I WOULD SAY I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY PAID IN THEIR NOTIFICATION COST AND THEIR SUBMITTAL. I'D HAVE TO LOOK THAT UP IN AMANDA. UM, BUT OF COURSE IT WOULD COST THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND THEN I DON'T HAVE A PRICE FOR THE TIME. YEAH, I DON'T HAVE A COST FOR THAT AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THE APPLICATION PROCESS COSTS FOR THIS. OKAY. I COULD LOOK IT UP AND GET IT BACK TO YOU. JUST, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE HERE AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO WALK AWAY IN NO DIFFERENT SPOT THAN WE WERE 30 MINUTES AGO. UM, AND WE HAVE PUT A LOT OF EFFORT AND [00:10:01] TIME ON YOUR STAFF. WE HAVE REQUIRED THE APPLICANT TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY, UH, JUST TO GET TO THIS POINT. AND I THINK WE NEED TO REALLY START TALKING ABOUT A PROCESS THAT MAYBE IT'S A PARTIAL WAY CHECK-IN OR SOMETHING THAT CAN SHORTEN THIS TIMELINE AND REDUCE THE COST SO THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT ADDS 10 MORE AFFORDABLE UNITS OR MAYBE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS OTHER BENEFITS IN TERMS OF THEY CAN HAVE MORE OPEN SPACE. MM-HMM. UH, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT CARRYING AN EXTRA SIX MONTH OF COST. SO, UM, I JUST, I WANNA TAKE THIS MOMENT ONCE AGAIN TO REITERATE THAT. I THINK WHILE I UNDERSTAND THE WHY WE GOT HERE, IT, IT COULD POTENTIALLY USE A, A FIXING. UH, THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS. UH, COUNCILMAN B ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, COMMENTS FROM THE DIOCESE? COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER. UH, THANK YOU MS. HARDEN FOR THE PRESENTATION. UM, JUST HAD A BRIEF QUESTION. I WAS LOOKING AT THE SUPERIORITY ITEMS AND I DID MENTION THAT, UM, THE PROJECT WOULD PAY, UH, A FEE IN LIEU FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING MM-HMM . AND DO WE KNOW HOW MUCH THAT WOULD BE OR HOW THAT WOULD BE CALCULATED? NO, UM, IT'S $9 A, WELL, THERE'S TWO THINGS. SO FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT, THEY ARE DOING 15 ONSITE AFFORDABLE UNITS. UM, BUT THE CODE DOES ALLOW FOR THEM TO JUST PAY A FEE IN LIEU. SO ANY SQUARE FOOTAGE, AND WE JUST DON'T HAVE THAT AT THIS TIME, BUT ANY SQUARE FOOTAGE ABOVE 60 FEET IN HEIGHT AND ABOVE THEIR FAR, AND THAT'S CALCULATED ONCE THEY ARE READY TO, UM, PRESENT A SITE PLAN, AND WE CAN DO THAT RATIO, IT WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY $9 A SQUARE FOOT, UM, BUT MINUS THE 15 AFFORDABLE UNITS. BUT I DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE, HAVE THE COST AT THIS TIME OF WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE PAYING. THANK YOU, MA'AM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, I JUST WANTED TO ECHO COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER'S COMMENTS. UH, WE, JOY, WE LOVE TO, TO HEAR YOUR PRESENTATIONS, UH, BUT, UH, THIS KIND OF A, A, A PRE-SHOW BEFORE THE SHOW. MM-HMM . UH, MIGHT NOT BE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE BEST USE OF, UH, OF EVERYBODY'S TIME. I DO WANT TO REITERATE IT. COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, UH, THANK YOU, MA'AM. UM, SO 15, 15 AFFORDABLE UNITS IS, IT WOULD BE ONLY 4% AFFORDABILITY. UM, 60%, 60%, 60%, OH, SORRY, 60% AFFORDABILITY. UM, SO THEY'RE, THEY ARE LOCATED CURRENTLY WITHIN THE EAST RIVERSIDE PLAN, AND WITH THE HEIGHT THAT THEY CAN DO UNDER THE PLAN, THAT PLAN REQUIRES APPROXIMATELY 15 UNITS FOR THEIR SQUARE FOOTAGE. NOW, THEY ARE GOING TO KEEP THAT, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE TRYING TO COME OUT OF THE PLAN, THE PLAN DOES REQUIRE, UM, 15 AFFORDABLE UNITS FOR THEIR PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT, AND THEY'RE KEEPING THAT, AND THAT'S AT 60% MFI. AND I APOLOGIZE, MS. HARDEN, I MEANT 4% OF THE ACTUAL UNITS, UH, NOT MFI. OH, I THINK THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. I'M SORRY. JUST TO MAKE A, A GENERAL COMMENT. WELL, WOULD LIKE, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR MY VOICE. MY, UH, MY COWBOYS WON THIS PAST WEEKEND, SO I WAS SCREAMING MY HEAD OFF AT THE ACTUAL GAME. UM, I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT INCREASE AND IF THERE'S, UH, I KNOW THAT THERE, THAT WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF FEE IN LIEU, BUT, BUT THAT'S JUST, JUST MY COMMENT TO THIS, UH, DEVELOPMENT. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THAT. COUNCIL MEMBER. UM, WITH NO FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MS. HARDEN. THANK YOU. THANKS. AND I BELIEVE THAT IS THE LAST ITEM ON OUR WORK SESSION AGENDA. JUST, UH, LET ME JUST DOUBLE CHECK WITH, UH, AND WITH NOTHING FURTHER BEFORE THE COUNCIL, THEN WE ARE ADJOURNED TODAY AT 1139 IN THE MORNING. THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.