* 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. SENSITIVE [00:00:01] MICROPHONE. UM, WE'RE GONNA START WITH, UH, WE'RE CALLING THIS MEETING TO ORDER. DO WE, WELL, WE'LL START WITH [CALL TO ORDER] ROLL CALL. UH, VICE CHAIR MINORS HERE. UH, COMMISSIONER AULA? HERE. COMMISSIONER CAROL. PRESENT. COMMISSIONER GILLIS. PRESENT. COMMISSIONER HOWARD. HE'S ON THE SCREEN. CAN YOU HEAR US? COMMISSIONER HOWARD? CAN ANY OF Y'ALL HEAR US? UH OH. HI. ARE YOU HAVING TROUBLE HEARING THEM? YEAH, I CAN'T, I CAN'T HEAR THE CONDITIONERS NOW, OR I CAN HEAR YOU. I'M HAVING TROUBLE HEARING THEM. YEAH, I'M, I'M NOT HEARING THEM ALL. ? YEAH. CAN YOU GUYS HEAR US ALL RIGHT? YEAH, WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW. ALL RIGHT. COMMISSIONER HOWARD, NOW WE CAN. YEAH, WE'RE DOING ROLL CALL HERE. AND COMMISSIONER KHAN. COMMISSIONER CONN? CAN YOU HEAR US? I WILL COME BACK TO YOU. COMMISSIONER LADNER. PRESENT. COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY? NOT HERE. COMMISSIONER PRESENT. OH, THERE, SHE'S COMMISSIONER MEKI NOT HERE. AND COMMISSIONER WIRA? HERE. COMMISSIONER KAHN. CAN YOU HEAR US? IS THIS ON HER END? I THINK SO. EVERYBODY ELSE, IT'S REALLY, IT'S COMING IN LIKE REALLY FAINT FOR YOUR MIC CHAIR. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GONNA WORK ON IT HERE, JUST SURE. COMMISSIONER KANT, CAN YOU HEAR US OR DOES IT SOUND ANY BETTER ON Y'ALL'S END? COMMISSIONER HOWARD? OR COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY? YOU SOUND ALL RIGHT FOR AT THE BEGINNING. YEAH. OKAY. I THINK I FIXED IT. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. DOES THIS SOUND ALL RIGHT? UH, HIT OR MISS? OKAY. WE'RE GONNA GET IT. WE'RE GONNA GET IT WORKING GUYS. UM, AND I'LL GO CHECK WITH YOU AGAIN. COMMISSIONER KAHN, CAN YOU HEAR US AT ALL? I DON'T KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH HER IF TO MAYBE CHECK HER VOLUME. WE WOULD YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE HER CELL PHONE NUMBER THAT YOU COULD TEXT HER OR SOMETHING? NICOLE? I'M SENDING HER AN EMAIL RIGHT NOW. IS, IT'S ON, I DON'T KNOW. YEAH, THE VOLUME CHECK. GO AHEAD ON MY COMPUTER TESTING AND I CAN HEAR KEVIN PERFECTLY CLEARLY. ALL RIGHT. AND, ALL RIGHT, WELL, COMMISSIONER KAHN, HOPEFULLY YOU CAN ADJUST YOUR VOLUME AND MAYBE THAT'LL FIX IT. UM, AND I'M GONNA ASSUME THAT YOU GUYS CAN HEAR ME ON THE BOTTOM. COMMISSIONER HOWARD? COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY. . OKAY. NOT REALLY LIKE YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE REALLY FAR AWAY. AH, CAN WE TEST OUT OTHER COMMISSIONER [00:05:01] MICROPHONES? IS IT JUST YOUR MICROPHONE? IT'S DEFINITELY A, DEFINITELY A STRUGGLE TO HEAR THE CHAIR. IF SOMEONE ELSE TALKS. CAN YOU HEAR SOMEONE ELSE? NO. IS IT THE SAME? IT'S VERY LOW VOLUME. LOW FOR EVERYONE? YEAH. OKAY. YEP. SAME ISSUE. WE HAVE OUR AV TECH WORKING ON THE AUDIO RIGHT NOW. UM, THE, THE SOUND IS LOW ON Y'ALL FROM THE WEBEX SIDE TOO, IN HERE, SO, BUT THEY'RE WORKING ON IT RIGHT NOW. SHOULD WE JUST MOVE FORWARD, OR IS THIS, DO WE NEED TO GIVE HIM A FEW MINUTES? IF WE COULD GIVE HIM A FEW MINUTES TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE, SPEAK A LITTLE BIT. SURE. UM, TESTING. TESTING. MIC CHECK. STAFF, CITY STAFF. HMM. UM, SURE. ALL RIGHT. COMMISSIONERS. CAN Y'ALL HEAR US OKAY? ALRIGHT. AND COMMISSIONER CONN, YOU STILL CAN'T HEAR US? ALL RIGHT, WELL, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE. UM, ROLL CALL IS GOOD. COMMISSIONER MEKI, WE HAVE YOU ON HERE. UM, ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION GENERAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATION CHAIR, THERE IS NO ONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. ALL RIGHT, SO [APPROVAL OF MINUTES] LET'S MOVE TO THE APPROVAL OF LAST, UH, MONTH OR IN AUGUST. AUGUST 25TH. MEETING MINUTES. Y'ALL, THE AUDIO'S NOT WORKING AGAIN. IT WENT OUT. WE CAN CATCH LIKE THE FIRST FIVE WORDS OF WHAT YOU SAY AND THEN IT FADES BACK OUT. AH, I SWEAR I I COULD HAVE MOVED OVER THERE. ALL RIGHT. DOES THIS HELP? CAN Y'ALL HEAR US HEAR ME? OH, ALL RIGHT. HOW ABOUT, HOW ABOUT NOW? CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME? THIS IS NOT WORKING. NEGATIVE. STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU, . ALRIGHT. SURE. UM, YEAH, IT'S, THIS ISN'T WORKING. HELLO? NO. SURE. A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S. NO TV. WXYZ. BUT NOW YOU HAVE TO SING IT. CHAIR . UM, ALL RIGHT, WELL, WE'RE JUST GONNA KEEP TALKING UNTIL YOU GUYS CAN HEAR US AS THEY'RE WORKING ON THIS, ON THE CABLES. UM, ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE CHECKING IN WITH Y'ALL. ANY, ANYBODY HAVE A GOOD STORY TO TELL? ANYBODY HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND THAT WE NEED TO CHAT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OF ANY UPCOMING EVENTS? COULD YOU TRY SETTING THAT WORK? SURE. LEMME JUST GO TEST IT. [00:10:16] ALL RIGHT. CAN Y'ALL HEAR THAT? NO. TECHNOLOGY. HELLO? CAN YOU POSSIBLY HEAR ME? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? I DON'T THINK SO. OKAY. I THINK YOU SHOULD BE COMING IN. ALL RIGHT. CAN Y'ALL HEAR US NOW? ? YES. ALL RIGHT. AND COMMISSIONER CON, YOU CAN HEAR US. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE AT THE APPROVAL OF LAST, OUR LAST MEETING, WHICH WAS AUGUST 25TH. IS THERE A MOTION ON THE TABLE? ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONER YULA, IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND VICE CHAIR MINORS, IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE ADDRESS FROM THE MINUTES, IF NOT ALL IN FAVOR OF SUPPORTING IT? ARE YOU VOTING? NOT VOTING? OH, OH, WE GOT IN FAVOR. ALL YOU'RE IN IS YOUR CAMERA WORK. COMMISSIONER UCK. THERE WE GO. ALL RIGHT. YOU'RE IN FAVOR. IN FAVOR. ALL RIGHT. AND COMMISSIONER CONN, YOU TWO AND COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY WITH YOU HAD YOUR HAND UP. OKAY. SO ALL FOUR PLUS US COMMISSIONER. CAROL, ARE YOU UP? ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. MEETING MINUTES ARE APPROVED. PARDON ME. CHAIR. WHOA, SORRY. . UM, WHO IS VOTING? IS ANYONE ABSTAINING FROM THE MINUTES? OKAY. NO, TWO. OKAY. SORRY, FOX. ALL RIGHT. OUR [2. Staff briefing regarding the Green Infrastructure in the Right of Way. Presented by Michelle Marx, Austin Transportation and Public Works.] SECOND ITEM IS A STAFF BRIEFING RE REGARDING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, UH, PRESENTED BY MICHELLE MARKS FROM THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS. D IS IS YOURS. HOPEFULLY YOUR MIC WORKS. HELLO. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AGAIN. IT'S A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU ALL. UM, I, LET'S SEE YOU ALL. THEY'RE PULLING UP THE PRESENTATION. I'M HERE TO PROVIDE YOU A BRIEFING ON THE WORK THAT STAFF HAS ENGAGED, UM, THE TARP IN, UH, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. UM, IF, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE TARP, THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY REVIEW PANEL, THIS IS A RELATIVELY NEW GROUP, UM, ESTABLISHED BY COUNCIL, I BELIEVE, UM, WITH THE PURVIEW OF OVERSEEING AND PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON ADMINISTRATIVE, UH, RULES IN OUR VARIOUS CRITERIA MANUALS. UM, SO WHAT WE HAVE FOR YOU TODAY IS, UM, AN UPDATE ON, UH, A, A BODY OF WORK THAT THE TARP HAS DEVELOPED AUSTIN ROADMAP FOR ADVANCING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. UM, AND I THINK I CAN PROGRESS MY OWN SLIDES HERE. THERE WE GO. OH, THERE WE GO. UM, SO THE, THIS WORK THAT, UM, I'M GOING TO KIND OF PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW FOR YOU ABOUT, UM, THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO A COUNCIL RESOLUTION PASSED, UH, MARCH, 2024, ASKING STAFF TO WORK WITH THE TARP TO, UM, TAKE A LOOK AT THE BARRIERS IN AUSTIN, UH, TO THE PROVISION OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN, IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. UM, AND THIS IS, THIS IS A CHALLENGE THAT I THINK, UM, PRECEDED MY TIME [00:15:01] HERE AT THE CITY, BUT, UM, IT'S, IT'S JUST HISTORICALLY BEEN, UM, DIFFICULT TO, UH, KIND OF NAVIGATE OUR VARIOUS, UM, REGULATIONS, BE THOSE IN CODE OR IN ADMINISTRATIVE CRITERIA MANUALS, UM, AS WELL AS OUR, OUR, OUR PROCESSES AND OUR PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS. UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S BEEN A BIT OF A, KIND OF A CONSTELLATION OF, OF CHALLENGES WHEN IT COMES TO PROVIDING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN OUR RIGHTS OF WAY. UM, SO THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION ASKED US TO KIND OF ANALYZE THOSE VARIOUS BARRIERS WITH THE TARP, UM, AND THEN TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW WE AS A CITY MIGHT, UM, ADDRESS THOSE BARRIERS SO THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, REALIZE MORE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN OUR RIGHTS OF WAY. UM, AND I LIKELY DON'T HAVE TO, UM, KIND OF PROSELYTIZE REGARDING THE, THE BENEFITS OF STREET TREES. UM, THOSE ARE ENUMERATED IN, IN THE VARIOUS WHEREASES OF THE RESOLUTION. BUT, UM, AS AN OVERVIEW, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE, THE TARP REALLY FOCUSED THEIR EFFORTS ON STREET TREES SPECIFICALLY. UM, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IS A FAIRLY BROAD TERM. UM, IT CAN ENCOMPASS LOTS OF THINGS. UM, STORM WATER INFILTRATION, LOW LEVEL LANDSCAPING, UM, BUT REALLY, STREET TREES IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE COST BENEFIT BANG FOR THE BUCK IS WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, HEAT ISLAND MITIGATION, CARBON ABSORPTION, STORM WATER ABSORPTION, UM, AND, AND BEYOND THOSE JUST KIND OF MICROCLIMATE, UM, AND MACROCLIMATE BENEFITS ALSO, UM, PROVIDING SAFETY BENEFITS FOR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION USERS ALONG THE STREET, SLOWING TRAFFIC, UM, ACTUALLY SERVING AS A PHYSICAL BARRIER BETWEEN KIND OF VULNERABLE, UM, PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS AND, AND MOVING, UM, VEHICLES. UM, AND, AND PROVIDING, YOU KNOW, THE KINDS OF, OF MENTAL HEALTH AND, AND PUBLIC HEALTH BENEFITS. UM, REALLY WHERE THE BANG FOR THE BUCK IS, IS, IS IN STREET TREES. AND, AND THAT'S WHY THE TARP, UM, YOU KNOW, THOUGH THE, THE LANGUAGE OF THE RESOLUTION SPEAKS TO GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, THE TARP INTENTIONALLY FOCUSED THEIR EFFORTS ON LOOKING AT THE BARRIERS TO THE PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE SPECIFICALLY OF STREET TREES, UM, ALONG OUR STREETS IN AUSTIN, UM, AS, AS THE KIND OF LOW LYING FRUIT, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT, THAT THIS IS CERTAINLY WHERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES HAVE BEEN FOR US AS A COMMUNITY. UM, AND IF WE CAN ADDRESS THOSE BARRIERS, UM, WE WILL REALLY HAVE, UM, SOLVED, UM, THE VAST MAJORITY OF, OF THE ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT AS A COMMUNITY. UM, THE TARP, UM, I MENTIONED, UM, IS, IS IS THE BODY THAT ADVISES ON OUR ADMINISTRATIVE RULES. AND GIVEN THAT MANY, MANY OF THE BARRIERS THAT, UM, WERE IDENTIFIED WERE KIND OF EMBEDDED AND, AND, AND, UM, KIND OF, UM, IN KIND OF SOME ALIGNMENT ISSUES AND MISALIGNMENT BETWEEN VARIOUS CRITERIA MANUALS. UM, YOU KNOW, THE TARP REALLY WAS AN APT BODY TO, TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS, THIS PROBLEM. UM, I WILL SAY THOUGH, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE TARP IS, IS ONE STAKEHOLDER HERE. UM, AND THE INTENT WAS THAT THIS KIND OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY MULTI-AGENCY WORKING GROUP, UM, FEED RECOMMENDATIONS AND RECOMMENDED ACTIONS TO CITY AND DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP. AND THAT'S WHERE WE ARE NOW. UM, THE GROUP, UH, DID INCLUDE REPRESENTATIVES FROM ALL OF THE, THE DEPARTMENTS THAT YOU SEE HERE LISTED ON YOUR SLIDE. AND THESE ARE REALLY THE, THE DEPARTMENTS MOST IMPACTED BY THE DECISION MAKING THAT HAPPENS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE NEED TO MAKE KIND OF TRADE-OFFS AND POLICY DECISIONS, UM, AND COMPROMISES ABOUT HOW WE FIT ALL THE STUFF IN THE RIGHT OF WAY THAT WE NEED TO FIT. UM, SO WE DID HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM ALL OF THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY IMPACTED DEPARTMENTS ON, UM, THE WORKING GROUP. UM, THE TARP IS A, A PRETTY LARGE, UM, UH, GROUP. SO THEY DID SELF DESIGNATE, UM, A GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP, UM, AS A SUBGROUP TO, TO WORK ON THIS PROBLEM. UM, I WILL SAY, NOT ONLY DID WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM ACROSS DEPARTMENTS IN THE WORKING GROUP, UM, WE DID, AS YOU SEE HERE ON THE SLIDE, ALSO HAVE FOLKS FROM THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT, UH, WORLD ALSO PARTICIPATING. THESE ARE LARGELY FOLKS WHO, UM, HAVE FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET STREET TREES, UM, PERMITTED AND APPROVED IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, UM, FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE WITH THE TYPES OF BARRIERS THAT WE, [00:20:01] WE NEED TO, UM, RESOLVE. UM, SO IT WAS GREAT TO HAVE THAT PERSPECTIVE AS WELL. IN TERMS OF PROCESS, UM, THE WORKING GROUP, UM, REALLY HAD A THREE-PRONGED APPROACH. FIRST WAS, UM, TO COLLABORATIVELY IDENTIFY THOSE BARRIERS. UM, I SPOKE TO THIS A LITTLE BIT ALREADY, BUT, UM, REALLY THE BARRIERS THAT THEY CATALOGED WERE EITHER REGULATORY IN NATURE, BE THAT, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS OR, UM, KIND OF INCONSISTENCIES OR, UM, OTHER ISSUES WITHIN CITY CODE. THEY ALSO LOOKED AT PERMITTING RELATED BARRIERS, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, PROGRAMMATIC BARRIERS. SO THAT MIGHT BE BARRIERS THAT, UM, ARE RELATED TO THE WAY WE JUST ORGANIZE OURSELVES AND RESOURCE OURSELVES AS A CITY, FOR EXAMPLE. UM, WITH THAT ANALYSIS IN HAND, THE GROUP THEN KIND OF WORKED WITH OUR CONSULTANT TEAM TO STEP BACK AND TAKE A LOOK, UM, AT SOME OF OUR PEER CITIES. UM, WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT THE FIRST CITY IN NORTH AMERICA TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET STREET TREES INTO OUR RIGHTS OF WAY AND HOW TO RECONCILE THE VARIOUS CONFLICTS THAT COME ALONG WITH THAT. SO WE WANTED TO LEARN, UM, FROM CITIES WHO HAVE, UM, ADDRESSED SIMILAR TYPES OF BARRIERS AS WE'RE CONFRONTING HERE IN AUSTIN. UM, AND THEN WITH THAT IN HAND, THE TARP THEN, UM, FELT EQUIPPED TO, TO KIND OF SYNTHESIZE, UM, THOSE, THOSE ELEMENTS AND, AND START TO RECOMMEND ACTIONS, UM, FOR HOW WE MIGHT ADDRESS OUR BARRIERS IN AUSTIN. AND I'LL WALK THROUGH ALL OF THOSE TO 12, UM, DISCREET ACTIONS IN A MOMENT. UM, THEY ARE ORGANIZED KIND OF BY THIS COLOR CODED SYSTEM YOU SEE HERE ON YOUR SLIDE. UM, REGULATORY FOUNDATIONS. SO ACTIONS LOOKING AT THOSE CRITERIA, MANUAL AND, AND, AND CODE CONFLICTS THAT I SPOKE OF. UM, PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW WE CAN STREAMLINE, UM, HOW WE REVIEW AND, AND PERMIT, UH, STREET TREES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT ACTIONS FOR HOW WE ADDRESS MAINTENANCE OF, OF STREET TREES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. AND THEN FINALLY LOOKING AT HOW WE KIND OF THINK ABOUT, UM, PROGRAM AND FUND AND PLAN FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS. UM, SO THERE, THERE IS A FULL, UM, KIND OF DOCUMENT THAT, UM, WILL SOON BE KIND OF PUBLISHED ONLINE. IT INCLUDES, UM, SOME ROBUST APPENDIX ITEMS, UM, WITH TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM, UM, IDENTIFYING THOSE BARRIERS AND, AND, UM, KIND OF DOCUMENTING THE BEST PRACTICES, RESEARCH BOTH OF THOSE ELEMENTS THAT INFORM THOSE TARP RECOMMENDATIONS. AND THEN, UM, ONE MORE NOTE JUST BEFORE WE START TO WALK THROUGH THEIR RECOMMENDED, UM, ACTION ITEMS IS, YOU KNOW, THE GROUP ALSO GAVE SOME THOUGHT TO HOW, UM, CITY AND DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP MIGHT CONSIDER, UM, UM, PHASING THIS WORK. UM, AND THE THINKING HERE IS THAT THERE REALLY IS KIND OF, UM, A SENSIBLE APPROACH TO HOW WE MIGHT KIND OF WATERFALL AND, AND, UM, APPROACH THIS IN A KIND OF LOGICAL PROGRESSION. UM, SO THINKING FIRST ABOUT THOSE REGULATORY FOUNDATIONS WITHOUT UPDATING, UM, OUR, UM, STANDARD REQUIREMENTS, UM, WE'RE AL WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO HAVE BARRIERS. SO WE REALLY HAVE TO START WITH THE REGULATIONS AND THEN WITH THOSE REGULATORY AND FOUNDATIONS IN PLACE, UM, AND CRITERIA MANUALS AND CODE UPDATED AS NEEDED WILL THEN BE IN A PROCESS TO THINK ABOUT, OKAY, HOW CAN WE STREAMLINE, UM, OUR PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS AND OUR REVIEW PROCESSES, AND HOW DO WE NEED TO START SETTING UP MAINTENANCE, UM, UH, SYSTEMS THAT MAKE SENSE, UM, AS WE'RE STARTING TO SEE MORE STREET TREES COME THROUGH THE SYSTEM. UM, AND THEN FINALLY, WITH KIND OF THOSE TILES IN PLACE, WE'LL BE IN A POSITION AS A CITY TO START TO KIND OF THINK STRATEGICALLY, OKAY, HOW CAN WE START TO PROGRAM CAPITAL PROJECTS, CAPITAL NEEDS, LOOK FOR FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES TO ADDRESS OUR GAPS IN STREET TREE INFRASTRUCTURE AND, AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE KIND OF STRATEGICALLY ALIGN OUR CIPS TO MAKE SURE THAT STREET TREES ARE PART OF KIND OF BASELINE SCOPES AND BUDGETS WHERE WE NEED THEM. SO WITH THAT, UM, I'LL PROVIDE JUST KIND OF A QUICK 30,000 FOOT OVERVIEW OF THE 12 RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE TARP HAS PASSED ON TO CITY LEADERSHIP AND STAFF. UM, UH, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I DID MENTION THAT THERE WILL, UH, WITHIN A COUPLE OF WEEKS BE PUBLISHED THE, THE FULL REPORT. AND WITHIN THAT REPORT, YOU'RE GONNA SEE THAT THERE ARE KIND OF EXTENSIVE CUT SHEETS ON EACH OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS. AND AS YOU MIGHT ASSUME, WITH SOMETHING KIND OF AS, UM, TECHNICALLY COMPLEX AS THIS WORK, THERE ARE LOTS OF, UM, NOTES ABOUT CONTEXT AND, UM, CONSIDERATIONS [00:25:01] THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. SO THERE IS A LOT OF, OF NUANCE, UM, THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED. UM, SO, UM, BUT I'LL ASK YOUR KIND OF GRACE AND FORGIVENESS IF I'M NOT ABLE TO DIVE INTO THAT LEVEL OF KIND OF TECHNICAL NUANCE, UM, AS I JUST KIND OF BRIEFLY ACQUAINT YOU WITH, WITH THESE 12 ACTIONS. SO, UM, THIS FIRST KIND OF TRANCHE OF RECOMMENDATIONS ARE RELATED TO THE, THE REGULATORY BARRIERS, UH, TO STREET TREES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION, UM, FOR THE CITY IS, IS THAT WE, UM, KIND OF REPOSITION THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL TO VERY CLEARLY, UM, ESTABLISH, UH, THE TCM AS THE HOME WHERE STREET TREES ARE REGULATED WITHIN THE RIGHT OF WAY. UM, AND THIS IS AS A CONSIDERATION, A COMPONENT OF THE SIDEWALK CORRIDOR. UM, WE ALREADY, UM, REQUIRE STREET TREES IN THE TCM ON, ON, UM, LEVEL TWO AND ABOVE STREETS. UM, BUT THERE, THERE'S SOME LACK OF CLARITY ABOUT, UH, THE STREET TREE REQUIREMENTS IN THE TCM. THERE'S ALSO A LOT, A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO GET MUCH MORE SPECIFIC WITH HOW THOSE SIDEWALK CORRIDOR REQUIREMENTS INCLUSIVE OF STREET TREES AND EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING AROUND THEM AT SURFACE LEVEL, AT STREETSCAPE LEVEL, INTERACT WITH, UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING BELOW GROUND AND ABOVE GROUND TO CREATE A MORE KIND OF COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS AND REGULATIONS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY COHERE AND COME TOGETHER, UM, TO CREATE SOMETHING IMPLEMENTABLE. SO SAID DIFFERENTLY IN THE TCM WHEN WE'RE ESTABLISHING OUR STREET TREE AND OTHER SIDEWALK CORRIDOR REQUIREMENTS, WE NEED TO DO THIS IN A WAY THAT IS COGNIZANT OF AND TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION THE UTILITY REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING BOTH BELOW AND ABOVE GRADE. UM, WHAT HAPPENS TODAY OFTENTIMES IS UTILITY SPACING CRITERIA, MANUAL REQUIREMENTS ARE HAPPENING IN ONE MANUAL, TREE REQUIREMENTS ARE HAPPENING IN ANOTHER, AND THEN THEY'RE COMPETING WITH EACH OTHER. WE NEED TO DO THE INTER-AGENCY WORK OF FIGURING OUT HOW THESE VARIOUS REQUIREMENTS COME TOGETHER TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY CAN BE, UM, BUILT IN THREE DIMENSIONS. UM, SO AS WE'RE ESTABLISHING THAT KIND OF TREE PIT REQUIREMENT OR TREE TRENCH REQUIREMENT, THINKING ABOUT, OKAY, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR WHERE UTILITIES CAN BE LOCATED AND HOW DO WE CREATE COMPREHENSIVE FULL RIGHT OF WAY LINE TO RIGHT OF WAY LINE REQUIREMENTS THAT POTENTIALLY LOOK AT ESTABLISHING UTILITY CORRIDOR ZONES, FOR EXAMPLE, AND HOW DO WE ESTABLISH UTILITY LO LOCATION REQUIREMENTS AND CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS THAT DON'T, UM, PRECLUDE, BUT THAT ALLOW FOR THAT, UM, VEGETATION ZONE IN THE SIDEWALK. UM, AND, AND ALSO IN THE TCM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING A LOT MORE CLARITY ABOUT HOW THAT TREE, THAT THAT VEGETATION ZONE NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED. SO WHAT KIND OF SOIL VOLUMES WILL BE REQUIRED, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, AND, UM, AND, AND THINKING, I THINK MORE ROBUSTLY ABOUT PROVIDING THE TC USING THE TCM AS THAT, THAT GUIDANCE WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, RIGHT OF WAY DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS. UM, SO WITH STREET TREES VERY CLEARLY CALLED OUT AND REQUIRED IN THE TCM. THEN, UM, ITEM NUMBER TWO HERE IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE CONCURRENTLY UPDATING OUR STANDARDS MANUAL, UM, TO PROVIDE KIND OF THE MENU THAT, THAT FOLKS NEED TO, TO PROVIDE TREES IN THE SIDEWALK CORRIDOR PER THE TCM. UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS RIGHT NOW WE REALLY DON'T HAVE VERY MUCH IN THE WAY OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF PLANTING DETAILS DO I NEED TO FOLLOW WHEN I'M PROVIDING A TREE PIT OR A TREE TRENCH, OR SOIL CELLS, WHAT HAVE YOU IN, IN THE SIDEWALK CORRIDOR. THOSE DETAILS, THOSE STANDARD DETAILS DON'T EXIST. UM, AND, AND AS YOU MIGHT ASSUME, THAT CREATES SOME FRICTION FOR PEOPLE TRYING TO PROVIDE STREET TREES IN THE SIDEWALK. SO LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE STANDARD DETAILS THAT WE NEED, UM, THAT WE HAVE KIND OF SOME CLEAR SPECIFICATIONS ON WHAT KIND OF IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, WHAT KIND OF SOIL CELL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS WE NEED TO PROVIDE, UM, SO THAT WE'RE NOT LEAVING APPLICANTS, UM, AND PROJECT DESIGNERS TO, UM, KIND OF HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT ON THEIR OWN. UM, IN CONCURRENCE WITH ITEMS ONE AND TWO HERE IS, UM, THE THIRD RECOMMENDATION. AND, AND THIS IS REALLY, UM, RECOMMENDED TO HAPPEN KIND OF IN TANDEM WITH ONE AND TWO, AND THAT'S ALSO UPDATING THE UTILITY CRITERIA MANUAL, UM, TO TAKE A LOOK AT AT WHERE THERE MIGHT BE OPPORTUNITIES [00:30:01] FOR EFFICIENCIES AS WE'RE, UM, KIND OF, UH, MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT HOW WE ALLOCATE SPACE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE ARE UPDATING OUR PLANTING REQUIREMENTS OR OUR STANDARDS, UM, TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, MORE ROBUST, UM, UH, UH, ROOT BARRIERS, FOR EXAMPLE, OR IF WE ARE UPDATING OUR PLANTING REQUIREMENTS TO PROVIDE, UM, MORE GENEROUS MINIMUM SOIL VOLUMES SO THAT TREES DON'T NEED TO GO OFF SEARCHING FOR SOURCES OF WATER AND NUTRIENTS, UM, AS AGGRESSIVELY, UM, DOES THAT THEN IN TURN GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT OUR CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS FROM UNDERGROUND INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, TO MAYBE NARROW THOSE UP FOR A LITTLE BIT. FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, ONE EXAMPLE THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED. I THINK THERE ARE, UH, MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK WITH, YOU KNOW, OUR COLLEAGUES AT AUSTIN WATER, AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, PRIVATE UTILITY PROVIDERS TO LOOK AT OPPORTUNITIES FOR EFFICIENCY. HOW DO WE, UM, YOU KNOW, EFFECTIVELY FIT THIS ONE MORE THING INTO THE RIGHT OF WAY AND DO IT IN A SMART, A SMART AND EFFICIENT WAY, UM, THAT, UH, PROTECTS OUR UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, BUT MAYBE IT'S NOT, UM, OVERLY AGGRESS, OVERLY CONSUMPTIVE OF PRECIOUS SPACE. UM, NUMBER FOUR, AGAIN, UM, THINKING ABOUT THESE CRITERIA, MANUAL UPDATES IN CONCERT, UM, IS TO WORK WITH, UM, THE CITY ARBORISTS TO UPDATE OUR APPROVED TREE SPECIES LIST. UM, THE FOCUS HERE IS MAKING SURE WE'RE PUTTING THE RIGHT TREE IN THE RIGHT PLACE THAT IS, UM, REFLECTIVE OF CONTEXT. SO WHAT KIND OF SOIL VOLUMES DO WE HAVE AVAILABLE? WHAT KIND OF SPACE DOES THIS TREE HAVE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY? UM, WHAT KIND OF CONSTRAINTS DO WE NEED TO WORK AROUND BOTH BELOW OR ABOVE GRADE? UM, AND LET'S PUT THE RIGHT TREE IN THE RIGHT PLACE SO THAT WE'RE NOT ENDANGERING NOT JUST UTILITIES, BUT SIDEWALKS AND CURBS, FOR EXAMPLE. UM, MAYBE WE DON'T WANNA PUT LIVE OAKS UNDERNEATH OVERHEAD POWER LINES. UM, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES HERE TO CREATE SOME WIN-WINS AND, AND MAKE SURE WE'RE PUTTING TREES IN A PLACE WHERE THEY WILL THRIVE. UM, AND ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THINKING AHEAD TO KIND OF THE CHANGING, UM, CHALLENGES WE HAVE, UM, HERE WITH KIND OF HOTTER, MORE ARID CLIMATES, UM, HOW CAN WE KIND OF GET IN FRONT OF THAT WITH OUR APPROVED TREE SPECIES LIST? UM, AND THEN NUMBER FIVE IS A BIT OF A PLACEHOLDER. YOU KNOW, THE, THE TARP REALLY SEES THESE KIND OF CRITERIA, MANUAL ALIGNMENT OPPORTUNITIES AS KIND OF THE LOW LYING, UH, FRUIT HERE, UM, WHERE WE'RE GONNA GET A LOT OF BANG FOR THE BUCK. SORRY TO MIX MY METAPHORS THERE. UM, BUT THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY DID WANT TO KIND OF IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO UPDATE CITY CODE TO KIND OF EXPRESSLY CODIFY, UM, A REQUIREMENT FOR STREET TREES AS PART OF FRONTAGE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, AS SOMETHING WE COULD CONSIDER IN FUTURE. THIS IS, UM, NOT, NOT AN UNCOMMON REQUIREMENT. WE DO SEE THIS IN IN PEER CITIES. OTHER CITIES THAT I'VE WORKED FOR DO REQUIRE TREES, UM, BY CODE TO BE, UM, PROVIDED ALONG WITH FRONTAGE IMPROVEMENTS. UM, SO AGAIN, THE THINKING IS WE'RE WE'RE GONNA REALLY BE ABLE TO ADDRESS, UM, THE, THE PREPONDERANCE OF OUR BARRIERS WITH THESE CRITERIA MANUAL UPDATES, UM, BUT WANTING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS ANOTHER OPTION TO LOOK AT AT CODE AMENDMENTS IN THE FUTURE IF, IF WE AS A COMMUNITY FEEL THAT THAT'S WARRANTED. UM, THE KIND OF NEXT GROUPING OF, OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CITY STAFF IS TO LOOK AT PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS. SO WITH KIND OF THIS, UM, THESE REGULATORY FOUNDATIONS IN PLACE, UM, WHAT CAN WE DO AS A CITY TO MODIFY OUR DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESSES AND WORKFLOWS TO M MAKE THESE RIGHT OF WAY DETERMINATIONS, NOT JUST EARLIER IN THE PROCESS. SO MAKING SURE APPLICANTS UNDERSTAND WHAT THE RIGHT OF WAY REQUIREMENTS ARE EARLY. UM, SO THAT FRONTAGE IMPROVEMENTS AND THE STREET TREES THAT ARE INCLUSIVE OF FRONTAGE IMPROVEMENTS ARE NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT, UM, THAT THEY'RE PLANNED WITH UTILITY ALIGNMENTS AND, AND DONE KIND OF IN CONCERT. BUT ALSO HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT OUR, UM, DEVELOPMENT REVIEW AND RIGHT OF WAY DETERMINATIONS ARE MADE IN A, IN A KIND OF COLLABORATIVE CROSS DEPARTMENTAL FASHION. UM, I THINK ANYBODY THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WORKED IN, UM, CONSTRAINED URBAN CONTEXT KNOWS THAT NINE TIMES OUTTA 10 YOU'RE GONNA BE DEALING WITH A NON-STANDARD SITUATION. AND, AND, UM, REVIEWERS [00:35:01] AND DESIGNERS ARE GONNA HAVE TO, UH, MAKE TRADE-OFFS, MAKE, UM, KIND OF, UH, COMPROMISES AND DECISIONS. UM, AND THIS IS THE SORT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AS A REVIEW TEAM IN AN INTER-AGENCY FASHION. UM, WE, WHAT WE DON'T WANT IS A LINEAR REVIEW PROCESS. WE WANT, UM, RIGHT OF WAY REQUIREMENTS TO KIND OF BE DETERMINED, UM, BY GROUPS AND COMPROMISES AND DECISION MAKING TO HAPPEN, UM, WITH THOSE STAKEHOLDERS AT THE TABLE, UM, ALBEIT WITH CLEAR KIND OF DECISION MAKING AND KIND OF ESCALATION PARAMETERS. UM, SO, UM, THAT'S NUMBER SIX. AND THEN NUMBER SEVEN IS, YOU KNOW, WITH THOSE REGULATIONS AND PROCESSES UPDATED, WE DEFINITELY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR COLLEAGUES AT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, UM, TO MAKE SURE NOT ONLY THAT THE, THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND THE DESIGN COMMUNITY IS AWARE OF, OF, OF THE, THE REQUIREMENTS FOR STREET TREES AND THE UPDATED, UM, UH, UH, KIND OF STANDARD PROCESSES FOR REVIEWING THOSE, UM, BUT ALSO OUR INTERNAL CAPITAL PROJECT DESIGNERS AND OUR REVIEWERS AS WELL. SO DOING SOME EDUCATION AND OUTREACH THERE. OKAY, MAINTENANCE. UM, ONE OF THE BIGGEST BARRIERS TO STREET TREES THAT, UM, COMES UP OVER AND OVER AGAIN, UM, ARE LICENSE AGREEMENTS. UM, I SEE SOME HEAD KNOTS. SO, UM, LICENSE AGREEMENTS ARE KIND OF A ROUNDABOUT SYSTEM THAT'S BEEN INSTITUTED AT THE CITY JUST TO LEGALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE THING YOU'RE PUTTING IN THE RIGHT OF WAY WILL BE LEGALLY OWNED AND MAINTAIN MAINTAINED BY THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNER. UM, AND THIS IS AN, AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT WE AS A CITY DON'T HAVE THE KIND OF RESOURCES OR CAPACITY TO, TO MAINTAIN, UM, STUFF IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. UM, AND RIGHT NOW, STREET TREES ARE ONE OF THOSE ELEMENTS THAT REQUIRE A LICENSE AGREEMENT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A, A, YOU KNOW, A THE CITY, UM, PROGRAM OR APPROACH FOR MAINTAINING THOSE ELEMENTS. UM, UNFORTUNATELY, UM, THE LICENSE AGREEMENT PROCESS IS ALMOST LIKE AN EXTRA SITE PLAN REVIEW. UM, IT IS SO ONEROUS, YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH A WHOLE NEW COMMENT OF A WHOLE NEW ROUND OF COMMENTS. UM, OFTENTIMES THEY CAN BE, THOSE COMMENTS CAN BE CONTRADICTORY TO WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD THROUGH WITH YOUR FIRST ROUND OF COMMENTS IN SITE PLAN. SO IT IS SUCH, UM, AN ONEROUS PROCESS THAT A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT WORLD JUST DON'T EVEN INCLUDE STREET TREES IN THEIR PROPOSALS BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO AVOID THE LICENSE AGREEMENT PROCESS. SO LICENSE AGREEMENTS ARE, UM, A HUGE BARRIER, UM, TO THE PROVISION OF STREET TREES. AND NUMBER EIGHT IS JUST TO DO AWAY WITH THEM FOR STREET TREES, UM, JUST TO NOT REQUIRE LICENSE AGREEMENTS ANYMORE FOR STREET TREES, YOU MIGHT STILL REQUIRE A LICENSE DEGREE IF YOU'RE PUTTING LIKE, SPECIAL ART OUT IN THE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT OF WAY OR, OR ANY OTHER ELEMENTS THAT, UM, BUT NOT STREET TREES, WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION OF, OKAY, HOW WILL WE APPROACH MAINTENANCE MOVING FORWARD? UM, AND, AND THERE ARE A RANGE OF OPTIONS HERE, UM, AND A RANGE OF OPTIONS THAT WE SEE USED IN, IN OUR PEER CITIES. NOW, NUMBER NINE HERE, THE TARP, UM, YOU KNOW, IS MAKING KIND OF AN AGGRESSIVE RECOMMENDATION TO LOOK AT, UM, HOW THE CITY MIGHT ASSUME MAINTENANCE FOR TREES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, WHICH, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY COMES WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, A BIG FUNDING NEEDS. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER YOU'RE MANAGING THAT WITH CITY CREWS OR CONTRACTS, THAT'S, THAT'S A NEW PROGRAM THAT NEEDS KIND OF DEDICATED FUNDING. UM, SO, UM, WE WANNA ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE FULL RANGE OF THE FULL, FULL SPECTRUM OF OPTIONS HERE. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IN OUR PEER CITIES, WE DO SEE SOME CITIES THAT, THAT DO THIS, THAT HAVE THE RESOURCES. UM, ON THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, WE SEE CITIES THAT, UM, JUST STATE UNIVERSALLY WANTS IN CITY CODE THAT THE ADJACENT PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF STREET TREES ALONG THEIR FRONTAGE, UM, SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO KIND OF RECREATE THE WHEEL WITH EVERY INDIVIDUAL LICENSE AGREEMENT. UM, THERE'S ALSO A MIDDLE GROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS. UM, SOME CITIES HAVE, YOU KNOW, FRIENDS OF GROUPS THAT ASSIST WITH MAINTENANCE AGRE, UH, PLANTING AND MAINTENANCE AND, AND PERMITTING THEREOF OF STREET TREES. UM, SO THERE, THERE, THERE'S A SPECTRUM HERE. AND, UM, WE WANNA DO SOME COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF ALL OF THE OPTIONS ALONG THIS SPECTRUM SO WE CAN, UM, KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHERE'S THE RIGHT [00:40:01] PLACE FOR US TO LAND IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UM, BUT WE GOTTA FIGURE THIS OUT BEFORE WE CAN ELIMINATE LICENSE AGREEMENTS. SO WE'RE VERY MOTIVATED TO DO THIS , BECAUSE WE ALL WANNA ELIMINATE LICENSE AGREEMENTS. UM, SO THIS MAY BE, UM, KIND OF AN EARLY OUT OF THE GATE EVALUATION, UM, THAT THAT STAFF MAY PRIORITIZE. UM, THE, YOU KNOW, THE TARP IS REALLY KIND OF PUSHING THE CITY LED MAINTENANCE INTO THE SPECTRUM, JUST AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT, UM, THAT PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT TREES ARE MAINTAINED PROPERLY, UM, ON A REGULAR SCHEDULE, UM, IN ADVANCE OF ANY KIND OF DEBILITATING STORM EVENTS. UM, THAT WOULD OF COURSE REQUIRE, UH, NUMBER 10 HERE, HOWEVER, WHICH IS, UM, A REALLY GOOD, UM, INVENTORY AND AUDIT OF THE STREET TREES THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE TO START TO BUILD THAT ASSET MANAGEMENT DATABASE. UM, INCLUDING A CONDITION ASSESSMENT AGAIN. SO YOU CAN START TO BUILD THOSE ANNUAL MAINTENANCE CYCLES. YOU CAN KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE, YOU CAN KNOW WHERE YOUR GAPS ARE, UM, AND YOU CAN START TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE GET OUT THERE ON A REGULAR ROTATION TO START TO TAKE CARE OF THIS NEW ASSET. AND THEN FINALLY, THE LAST CATEGORY HERE, AGAIN, WITH THOSE KIND OF, UM, BLOCKS IN PLACE, WE'LL BE IN A PLA IN A POSITION AS A CITY TO START TO THINK STRATEGICALLY ABOUT, OKAY, NUMBER 11, HOW DO WE START TO DEVELOP A GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PLAN TO ADDRESS THOSE GAPS THAT ARE INVENTORY IDENTIFIED? HOW DO WE SET KIND OF, UM, REALISTIC AND ATTAINABLE PROGRAMMATIC TARGETS, UM, FUNDING SOURCES? HOW DO WE KIND OF LEVERAGE CIPS ACROSS DEPARTMENTS? IF DEPARTMENT A IS TEARING UP A STREET TO MOVE UTILITY LINES, WELL LET'S MOVE THEM IN A WAY THAT ALLOWS FOR A CONTINUOUS PLANTING TRENCH ON THE SIDEWALK AND, UM, COMBINE OUR INVESTMENTS, UM, AS AN EXAMPLE. AND THEN NUMBER 12, UM, STEPPING BACK TO MORE KIND OF AN INDIVIDUAL CIP LEVEL, HOW DO WE GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE START TO INCORPORATE STREET TREES AS JUST BASELINE SCOPE AND BUDGET ELEMENTS IN OUR LARGE CAPITAL PROJECTS? UM, IF WE'RE OUT THERE DOING A CORRIDOR, UM, IF WE'RE DOING KIND OF BIG CIP WORK, UM, STREET TREES ARE JUST BECOME PART OF OUR BASELINE SCOPES. UM, IT'S PART OF THE SIDEWALK CORRIDOR. UM, SO THAT'S WHAT I HAVE FOR YOU TODAY. UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. WE ARE KIND OF ON THE TAIL END OF KIND OF THIS FALL 25, UM, OUTREACH SCHEDULE. UM, WE DID BRIEF MOBILITY COMMITTEE ON THIS CONTENT BACK IN SEPTEMBER. UM, SO DEFINITELY IF YOU HAVE TIME, GO BACK AND, UM, TAKE A LOOK AT THAT TAPE. UM, SOME KIND OF POSITIVE, UM, ENCOURAGEMENT FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS AT THAT BRIEFING. WHERE WE ARE NOW IS, YOU KNOW, HAVING WRAPPED UP, UM, OUR COMMISSION BRIEFINGS, UM, STAFF, UM, WILL BE, UH, DEVELOPING AND SHARING A MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UM, IN THE COMING WEEKS, UM, THAT IDENTIFY KIND OF THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL, UM, RESPONSE FOR HOW WE INTEND TO FOLD SOME OF THESE TOP RECOMMENDATIONS INTO OUR DEPARTMENTAL WORK PLANS, UM, OVER THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS. THIS IS, UM, A BIG COMPREHENSIVE KIND OF ROBUST SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS. SO, UM, I ANTICIPATE THIS WOULD TAKE US, UM, A COUPLE OF YEARS, UM, TO KIND OF GET THROUGH. UM, AND SO WE'RE HOPING TO, UM, IN THAT MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UM, CLARIFY, UM, OUR THINKING AND PLAN FOR HOW, UM, OUR WORK PLANS COULD START TO, UM, REFLECT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS MOVING FORWARD. SO WITH THAT, UM, THAT'S ALL I HAVE TODAY. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS. THANK YOU, , THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, I'M GONNA OPEN THIS UP FOR ANY COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. COMMISSIONER LADNER. GREAT, THANKS SO MUCH. I MEAN, AS A PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND SOMEONE THAT WORKS DOWNTOWN AND WALKS AROUND, I'M REALLY EXCITED, UH, THAT YOU GUYS ARE DIVING INTO THIS. I GUESS, UM, CERTAINLY WHAT I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT AND IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE WE'RE THERE, IS HOW DO WE GET THAT PLAN TO BECOME SOME LEVEL OF A REALITY? AND I THINK YOU, YOU MAYBE KIND OF DIDN'T GET TO THAT, OR WERE JUST NOT QUITE THERE YET. I MEAN, EVEN IF YOU JUST SOLVED THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OUT OF ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED, IF YOU JUST SOLVED THAT, UM, THAT WOULD BE SIGNIFICANT. AND IT'S NOT JUST A CITY OF AUSTIN PROBLEM, RIGHT? THIS IS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. SO IT'S EXCITING THOUGH THAT WE'RE TAKING THE LEAD POTENTIALLY IN SOLVING SOME OF THESE ISSUES. SO I GUESS I'M JUST MOST EXCITED TO HEAR MORE, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS OF WHAT THOSE KIND OF MEASURABLE [00:45:01] OUTCOMES MIGHT POTENTIALLY BE OUT OF THIS PLAN. THANK YOU. YEAH. UM, I HEAR THAT MY UNDERSTANDING IS, YOU KNOW, I'VE ONLY BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR LIKE THREE YEARS, BUT THIS SOUNDS LIKE A PROBLEM THAT'S BEEN, UM, IN THE HOPPER FOR MANY YEARS. UM, SO, UM, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THESE TARP RECOMMENDATIONS IS THAT THEY'RE HIGHLY ACTIONABLE. UM, AND YES, THAT MEMO, UM, FORTHCOMING MEMO IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS, UM, WE'LL, UM, IDENTIFY THOSE ACTIONS THAT WE THINK WE CAN START MOVING ON. FIRST ANTICIPATE THAT WILL INCLUDE STARTING TO LOOK AT THE LICENSE AGREEMENTS AND STARTING TO LOOK AT THOSE, UM, UH, HOW WE CAN START TO WORK TO UPDATE OUR CRITERIA MANUALS. UM, SO HOPEFULLY SOMETHING REAL WILL HAPPEN SOON. OKAY. AND, UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER CARROLL? THANK YOU, CHAIR. UH, I HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS. UH, THERE'S A LOT TO UNPACK HERE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UH, AS THIS IS, I KNOW YOU PREFACED AT THE BEGINNING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TREES, BUT THIS IS A GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE RESOLUTION. SO WHEN THINKING ABOUT LICENSING AGREEMENTS, ARE WE JUST SAYING WE WOULD GET RID OF THEM FOR TREES, OR WOULD IT BE FOR ANY LANDSCAPING AND IRRIGATION IN THE RIGHT OF WAY? GOOD QUESTION. UM, THE ANSWER MIGHT BE UNSATISFYING BECAUSE I THINK IT'S, I DON'T KNOW. UM, THE, I ANTICIPATE, UM, THAT WE WILL IN SOME FORM OR FASHION STILL NEED TO REQUIRE PRIVATE MAINTENANCE OF LA LIKE GROUND LEVEL LANDSCAPING. UM, I DON'T, UM, AN AVENUE BY WHICH THE CITY HAS THE CAPACITY TO TAKE ALL VEGETATION MAINTENANCE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY ON. UM, BUT IT'S, UM, THAT'S MY OFF THE CUFF ANSWER. I THINK IT'S, UH, JURY'S STILL OUT, UM, BUT DEFINITELY FOR STREET TREES, BUT IT, IT, PER YOUR PREVIOUS STATEMENT, IT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT'S JUST WRITTEN IN THE CODE MM-HMM . THAT THEY MUST MAINTAIN THESE THINGS COULD BE VERSUS GOING THROUGH AN ENTIRE LICENSING AGREEMENT PROCESS. YEAH, COULD BE. OKAY. UM, NEXT QUESTION. YOU HAD A LONG LIST OF PEOPLE WHO ARE INVOLVED, UM, BUT I DIDN'T SEE THE A-U-L-C-C ON THERE. HAVE THEY BEEN ENGAGED IN THIS PROCESS AT ALL? GREAT QUESTION. UM, THEY HAVE, AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING, UM, WITH THE KIND OF OWNER OF, OF THAT PROCESS ABOUT WHEN THE RIGHT, UM, MOMENT IS TO HAVE THAT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE REVIEW, WHETHER IT'S AT SITE PLAN AT A-U-L-C-C, UM, AND RIGHT NOW THE GUIDANCE THEY'VE BEEN PROVIDING US IS THAT IT'S MORE APT AT SITE PLAN THAT MOVING FORWARD, BECAUSE OF CHANGES TO THE A-U-L-C-C CHARTER, THEY'RE GONNA BE JUST INCREASINGLY LIMITING THEIR SCOPE TO LOOKING AT, DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT MEET CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS. UM, AND EVERYTHING ELSE IS GONNA BE KICKED TO SITE PLAN. SO PER THAT RECOMMENDATION, UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY NOT, WE'RE CURRENTLY PROPOSING TO ENGAGE MORE AT THAT SITE PLAN LEVEL THAN RATHER THAN A-U-L-C-C. OKAY. UM, AND I, I WANTED TO MAYBE GET YOU TO ELABORATE. IT SOUNDED LIKE THE REPORT THAT STAFF WAS WORKING ON FOR COUNSEL THAT WASN'T NECESSARILY GOING TO INCLUDE ALL OF THESE TARP RECOMMENDATIONS THAT STAFF WAS GONNA CHOOSE. SOME, MAYBE NOT ALL OF THEM. IS THAT, UM, SORRY, DID I HEAR YOU CORRECTLY? UM, NOT QUITE. UH, THE MEMO THAT WE WILL BE RELEASING WILL, WOULD RA RATHER, IT WILL, UM, REFLECT UPON HOW LONG IT MIGHT TAKE TO, UM, START TO INTEGRATE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS INTO WORK PLANS AND START TO THINK ABOUT, UM, THE SEQUENCE AND TIMELINE FOR THAT. SO I WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T SAY, UM, THAT THE MEMO WILL, WILL PICK AND CHOOSE. UM, YEAH. DOES THAT CLARIFY? UH, IT DOES. IT DOES. YEAH. AND, AND I THINK THESE ARE, THESE ARE ALL VERY GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS. UH, BUT NUMBER [00:50:01] FIVE REALLY JUMPED OUT AT ME, AND THAT'S JUST REQUIRE THE TREES. 'CAUSE WHAT WE SEE A LOT TODAY IS THE TREES ARE SACRIFICED FOR MANY OTHER THINGS BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED. OR EVEN WHEN THEY ARE REQUIRED, THEY SAY IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE WE HAVE TO DO THESE UTILITIES. SO I, I THINK THAT IS THE BIG ONE TO PRIORITIZE, UH, TREES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONER. WI WE'LL GO TO THIS. WE'LL GO BACK AND FORTH. THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, YEAH, A NUMBER OF, UH, MORE, UM, COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS. UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE WORK ON THIS. I, I KNOW WE'VE COME A LONG WAY AND, UH, AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER CARROLL THAT THESE ARE GREAT RECOMMENDATIONS. UM, IT, I'M GONNA BOUNCE AROUND A LITTLE BIT, UM, ON, ON ITEM NUMBER TWO ON THE STANDARDS MANUAL. JUST WANTED TO REFLECT THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT. AND THE, UM, WE'RE SEEING THE, THE, THERE'S THE OUTDATED, THE 3 1 4, UH, DETAIL THAT THE CITY ALWAYS USES. AND LATELY WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO PUT IN, UM, TREE WELL AT CURB DETAILS INTO PROJECTS, UH, FOR STREET TREES THAT AREN'T IN WELLS. UM, IT'S SUPER CONFUSING FOR A PRACTITIONER TO, TO MAN TO NAVIGATE THE SITE PLAN PROCESS RIGHT NOW. UM, MY RECOMMENDATION, AND YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY ALREADY DOING THIS, IS THAT THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM OFFICE PUT TOGETHER A LOT OF DETAILS AND THEY WERE REALLY GOOD. UM, AND A LOT OF THOSE HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN USED PUBLICLY IN THE CODE. AND THAT WILL BE, I THINK YOU ALREADY ANSWERED THAT, THAT'S GOING. SO THAT'S, THAT'S EXCELLENT. UM, ON, UH, RIGHT ALONG HERE, UM, JUST WANT TO, UH, ECHO SOME OF THE CONCERNS FROM COMMISSIONER CARROLL, UH, REGARDING THE LICENSE AGREEMENT. UM, FIRST OF ALL, I, IF IT WERE UP TO ME, I WOULD, I WOULD NAME THIS DOCUMENT, THE AUSTIN ROAD MAP FOR GETTING RID OF THE LICENSE AGREEMENT AND ADVANCING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. UM, IT IS, UH, YOU, I HAD WRITTEN THE WORD ONEROUS IN MY NOTES BEFORE YOU SAID IT. UM, AND JUST WANNA UNDERSCORE HOW PAINFUL THAT PROCESS IS TO BE A PRACTITIONER TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR SO MANY REASONS AND JUST BEING ROUTINELY REBUFFED BY, BY HOW WE'RE DEALING WITH THAT. UM, BUT THE, THE, THE POISON PILL HERE IS THE IRRIGATION. UM, 'CAUSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM TO ESTABLISH THE STREET TREES. AND IN A PERFECT WORLD, THAT WOULDN'T BE SO, BUT PRACTICALLY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IRRIGATION. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE BUBBLERS ON EVERY TREE THAT GETS PLANTED. SO MAKING SURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ELIMINATING THE LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR STREET TREES ISN'T GOING TO DO ANYTHING IF WE DON'T ALSO PAIR IT WITH THAT. SO, UM, THAT MIGHT BE IN THE DETAILS, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING I WANT, I WOULD WANNA CONVEY, UM, MOVING FORWARD. AND I, YOU KNOW, I FEEL SIMILARLY ABOUT PLANTING AND, AND, YOU KNOW, UM, STACK DETENTION, BUT THE, THE IRRIGATION IS THE REAL, TO ME, POTENTIAL POISON PILL. UM, ON NUMBER NINE, UM, ALL SAID, YOU'RE ALREADY INTERFACING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, AS AN AUSTINITE WITH EYES. IT'S PAINFUL TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO THE TREE CANOPY IN THE LAST YEAR. I UNDERSTAND WHY. BUT WE ARE CREATING THE FUTURE DEAD AND DISEASED TREES, UM, THAT ARE, ARE, ARE NOT SHAPED FOR, FOR LONGEVITY AND, AND SUPPORT. AND THERE, THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY. UM, SO I THINK, I HOPE, I HOPE THE CITY HAS THE ABILITY TO COORDINATE WITH AE, UM, WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, NOT JUST TO PRODUCE A HEALTHY CANOPY, BUT ALSO TO ALIGN THOSE STANDARDS SO THAT, UM, UH, THE PRACTITIONERS AND RESIDENTS HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING. UM, ON NUMBER 10, THE TREE, UH, INVENTORY, YOU GUYS MIGHT HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY LOOKED AT THIS, BUT THE NEW YORK CITY TREE MAP IS AN INCREDIBLE GIS MAPPING OF, OF ALL THE STREET TREES. AND, UM, I HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT THAT GOING INTO THIS MEETING, BUT, UM, AS YOU TALKED ABOUT THE INVENTORY, I CAN IMAGINE THIS IS SUCH A, A TREE LOVING CITY. THERE COULD BE SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY FOR THE, THE FRIENDS OF AND OTHER, UM, OTHER ENTHUSIASTS TO PARTICIPATE IN A, IN A MASSIVE GIS PROGRAM. I REALLY LIKE THAT A LOT. UM, I, I WANTED TO UNDERSCORE HOW DEEPLY IMPORTANT TO ME, THE, THE, THE, THE INFILL PLAN IS THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN. UM, WE DIDN'T USE THE WORD EQUITY TODAY, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT HERE NOW IS, IS, IS ACCESS TO, TO HEALTHY PLACES. AND I, I DON'T NEED TO TELL ANYONE IN THIS ROOM WHAT THAT MAP WOULD LOOK LIKE IF WE DREW IT TODAY. UM, SO REALLY WANNA UNDERSCORE THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF, OF BUILDING THAT, THAT IN. UH, SO FINALLY, UM, I THINK AS YOU SAID, YOU, YOU'RE SENDING THE MEMO TO COUNCIL OUTLINING THE PROPOSAL OR FOR RESPONSE. AND I, I HAVE THE SAME, UH, REACTION AS, AS, UH, COMMISSIONER LADNER IS THAT THIS IS AWESOME AND IT'S GONNA COLLECT DUST SOMEWHERE. WE'RE SO FEARFUL THAT THIS WILL COLLECT DUST SOMEWHERE. UM, SO APPRECIATE THAT RESPONSE. I KNOW THAT I WILL, UM, AND PROBABLY MANY OF MY COMMISSIONERS WILL BE EAGER TO REVIEW THAT RESPONSE AND TO WORK WITH OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO PRIORITIZING THAT. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY SORT OF PRIORITIZATION, UH, OF GETTING [00:55:01] THESE THINGS. YOU KNOW, MAYBE LOOKING AT LOW HANGING FRUIT VERSUS WHAT ARE THE MOST KIND OF PRESSING ONES. COUGH, COUGH, LICENSE AGREEMENT, COUGH, COUGH. UM, IN TERMS OF HOW THE, THE STAFF ORGANIZES THAT. UM, AND I JUST WANNA CLOSE BY SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED, THIS COMMISSION REVIEWED THE, UH, THE CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN A COUPLE MONTHS AGO. UM, WE ULTIMATELY DID PROVIDE OUR SUPPORT FOR THAT PLAN WITH THE PROVISION AS I RECALL, THAT THE STREET TREES BE MANDATORY BECAUSE THEY WERE A LINE ITEM ON THE SIDE. UM, AND I'M, YOU KNOW, AS IN AUSTINITE WHO LIKES TO WALK ANYWHERE OUTSIDE, I CAN'T LOOK AT THE AIRPORT CORRIDOR, BOULEVARD CORRIDOR AND NOT FEEL LIKE SOMEONE PUNCHED ME IN THE STOMACH. IT IS SUCH A TREMENDOUS MISSED OPPORTUNITY, UM, THAT WE, WE, WE WERE SKITTISH ABOUT, UM, SUPPORTING THE OTHERWISE GREAT, UM, ACT PLAN. SO GETTING THIS INTO THE COURT CODE, AS COMMISSIONER CARROLL SAID, JUST WRITING INTO THE CODE THAT THEY'RE MANDATORY. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL STEP. SO THANK YOU. I HOPE WE CAN HELP SUPPORT IT AND APPRECIATE YOUR TIME TONIGHT. THANK YOU. AND, UM, I CAN HAPPILY REPORT THAT WE ARE MOVING FORWARD RIGHT NOW WITH PRELIMINARY INJURY REPORTS FOR SIXTH AND SEVENTH STREET, AND THEY INCLUDE STREET TREES. SO THANKS COMMISSIONER GILLI. THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, I ECHO MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS. THANK YOU, UH, FOR BRINGING THIS TO US. I AM VERY THRILLED AND HAPPY TO SUPPORT MANY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE YOU'VE PRESENTED HERE. UM, I'VE HEARD, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CONFLICTS FROM, YOU KNOW, THE CRITERIA MANUALS THAT HAVE BEEN OCCURRING AND PREVENTING A LOT OF PROJECTS FROM MOVING FORWARD. SO, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE PREACHING TO THE CHOIR WITH, WITH A LOT OF THIS. UM, I HAVE, I HAVE NARROWED IN ON SOME AREAS OF CONCERN. I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THE BENEFITS. WE'RE ALL AWARE, UM, MITIGATING THE HEAT ISLAND EFFECT FOR ME AS A MAJOR ONE, IT MAKES ALL THE SENSE THAT THIS SHOULD FALL WITHIN, UM, TRANSPORTATION. 'CAUSE WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT HEALTHY, WALKABLE CORRIDORS, AND THAT'S WHAT STREET TREES PROVIDE. I'M HAPPY THAT YOU MENTIONED A MAPPING AND, YOU KNOW, TO, UM, COMMISSIONER SR'S, UH, COMMENT. I, I REALLY HOPE THAT THE RESULTS OF THAT ARE MADE PUBLIC AND SHARED BECAUSE I THINK, UM, AS HAS ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED, IT'LL BE CLEAR WHERE THE NEED FALLS ONCE WE CAN IDENTIFY WHAT THE EXISTING CANOPY IS DOING. UM, AND THAT BRINGS MY ATTENTION TO YOUR RECOMMENDATION NUMBER 10, TO CREATE THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PLAN. UH, I THINK FUNDING TO PROVIDE THE ESSENTIAL TREE CANOPY COVER IN THE AREAS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO IDENTIFY AS BEING ABSENT IS CRITICAL. IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH A LOT OF THE RESPONSIBILITY, UM, MOVING FORWARD WILL BE PLACED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT MAINTENANCE BURDEN IS NOT SMALL. AND SO I DO APPLAUD YOUR COMMENTS TO INVOLVE COMMUNITY GROUPS TO, UM, COME TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT HOW THAT BURDEN IS GONNA BE HANDLED. UM, THERE'S GREAT PRECEDENTS IN OTHER CITIES FOR PROVIDING, UM, FUNDING. UM, TREE REBATES ARE, YOU KNOW, A THING THAT LOS ANGELES CITY OF LOS ANGELES PROVIDES. UH, I DO. UM, I DO THINK THAT THERE ARE A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THIS CITY THAT WILL NOT FIND, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AFTER THEIR TREES ALONG THEIR STREETS TO BE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. AND THERE ARE OTHERS WHO JUST WON'T DO ANYTHING AT ALL. AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S GONNA BE, UM, A LOT OF CONCERN AND DAMAGE, UH, THAT THAT MIGHT CAUSE. AND SO THAT PIECE, I THINK NUMBER 10 SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN OUT. IT SHOULD DEFINITELY BE HEAVILY CONSIDERED, BUT, UM, IT'S GONNA BE A GROUP EFFORT AND I THINK TO FIGURE OUT HOW THAT'S GONNA BE FUNDED, UM, A BIG COMMUNITY GROUP EFFORT. UM, AND THEN I WANNA COME BACK TO RECOMMENDATION NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS, UM, INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF SPECIES THAT WILL BE PLANTED. I THINK WE'RE ALREADY SOMEWHAT BEHIND, YOU KNOW, WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING BY JUST PICKING ONE OR TWO SPECIES BECAUSE THERE'S THE MOVEMENT TOWARDS MICRO FOREST STYLE PLANTING AND REALLY DIVERSIFYING THE, UM, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE LANDSCAPE ESSENTIALLY ALONG STREETS, UM, TO, TO CREATE A MORE RESILIENT ENVIRONMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, IS NOT GOING TO BE, UH, SUBJECT TO, UH, DISEASE. WHERE ALL THIS, YOU KNOW, THE TREES ARE SORT OF COME DOWN WITH A BOUT OF PLAGUE OR SOMETHING AND, AND ALL DIE. AND SO FUTURE PROOFING THIS, I THINK AS WE'RE SELECTING THE SPECIES, IS ALSO GONNA BE, UM, SOMETHING TO LOOK AT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE BEING A BIT MORE RADICAL RATHER THAN JUST ONE OR TWO. LOOKING AT THAT MICRO FOREST MODEL AND, YOU KNOW, LOOKING 10, 20 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE, UM, I THINK WOULD BE, UH, GREAT TO SEE [01:00:01] AND BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, AGGRESSIVE WITH THE PROPOSALS OF HOW THAT MICRO FOREST COULD COME TOGETHER, UH, WOULD BE AMAZING. UM, BUT ANYTHING WITHIN THIS IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THOSE COMMENTS. UM, I'LL DEFINITELY TAKE THAT BACK TO OUR CITY ARBORIST WHO WILL BE LEAD ON THAT ACTION ITEM. AND, UM, I THINK, UM, SHE IS VERY MUCH IN, IN LINE WITH THE DIRECTION THAT YOU'RE ARTICULATING, STARTING TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE, UM, CREATE SOME BIODIVERSITY AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, NOT MONOCULTURE IN OUR RIGHTS OF WAY, AND HOW DO WE GET IN FRONT OF KIND OF THE NEW TYPES OF, UM, PESTS AND DISEASES THAT WE'RE SEEING HERE WITH A CHANGING CLIMATE. SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT. I'LL SHARE THOSE COMMENTS WITH HER. COMMISSIONER CARROLL. THANK YOU CHAIR. I WANTED TO ADD A FEW MORE COMMENTS. ONE WAS TO PIGGYBACK ON COMMISSIONER GALLES, AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT IN THIS COMMISSION MANY TIMES IS WE'RE IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS, WE'RE TAKING NATIVE TREES AND WE'RE PUTTING THEM IN NON-NATIVE CONDITIONS. AND IT, IT DOESN'T REALLY SEEM THAT WE'RE RECOGNIZING THAT WE'RE PUTTING THEM, ESPECIALLY DOWNTOWN, IF THEY'RE, THEY'RE SHADED BY TOWERS, THEY'RE NOT GETTING ANY SUN, UH, THEY'RE GETTING INCREASED WIND. UM, SO BROADENING THAT DIVERSITY AND LOOKING AT CLIMATE AND, YOU KNOW, THESE WEATHER EVENTS THAT WE'RE HAVING AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE SHOULD BE PLANTING. AND THEN SECONDLY, I JUST WANT TO BEAT UP ON THE LICENSING AGREEMENT ONE MORE TIME, AND, AND THAT'S TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF HOW IMPACTFUL THIS IS, THAT I'VE HAD PROJECTS THAT HAD PLENTY OF RIGHT OF WAY TO PLANT LANDSCAPE AND IRRIGATION, AND THE CLIENTS HAVE SAID, NO, NOT GOING TO SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THE LICENSING AGREEMENT PROCESS. SO JUST GETTING RID OF THAT PROCESS AND PUTTING IN A REQUIREMENT FOR MAINTENANCE AND CODE COULD GET US GREEN AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. SO IT'S, IT'S A BIG DEAL. SO THANK YOU COMMISSIONER, ARE OR YEAH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST ASK OR CAN WE ARE COVERED ALREADY. UH, MY QUESTION IS, DOES THE GREEN TREE INFRASTRUCTURE, DOES IT INCLUDE SHRUBS AS WELL, OR IS IT LIMITED ONLY TO TREES BECAUSE A LOT OF NATIVE SHRUBS THAT ACCOMPANY THE TREES AND, AND YOU KNOW, SO JUST THAT'S ONE QUESTION. AND ALSO, NOT ONLY JUST THE SPECIES OF THE TREES, THE TIMING OF WHEN YOU PLANT THEM IS ALSO IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU JUST DO IT AS A CHECK MARK IN GETTING THIS. SO TIMING IS ALSO HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS, UH, THIS ONE. AND THEN THE THIRD ONE ON THE LICENSE AGREEMENTS IS, I THINK I HEARD ABOUT SOME COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, THREE FOLKS LOCALLY OR, OR ALREADY THIS ONE. SO AT LEAST WE SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEM AND GET THEIR INPUT AND GET THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GREAT COMMENT ABOUT TREE FOLKS. UM, UH, NUMBER ONE, SHRUBS. UM, SO I THINK AS WE, UH, MIKE KIND OF OFF THE CUFF RESPONSIVE IN REGARD TO WHERE I THINK THIS WILL GO, UM, AS WE UPDATE THE TCM, UM, YES, OUR FOCUS WILL BE ON MAKING SURE WE'RE CLEARING ALL THE OBSTACLES, UM, FROM A REGULATORY PERSPECTIVE TO, UM, PROVIDE THE STREET TREES. UM, BUT WHILE WE HAVE KIND OF THE BOOK OPEN, UM, I THINK THAT IS ALSO GONNA BE AN, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UM, ENCOURAGE GROUND LEVEL LANDSCAPING, UM, AS WELL. UM, I THINK YOUR COMMENTS TODAY ABOUT THE IMPACT OF LICENSE AGREEMENTS ON LOW LEVEL LANDSCAPING, UM, ARE, UM, NOTED AND, AND PERTINENT. UM, SO HOW CAN WE CLEAN THAT UP AS WELL? UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T SEE A FUTURE WHERE WE'RE GOING TO REQUIRE THAT KIND OF GROUND LEVEL LANDSCAPING. WE WILL ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE THE TREE. UM, BUT WHILE WE'RE, UM, KIND OF CLEANING THINGS UP, LET'S, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CLARIFYING, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE WOULD ENCOURAGE PRIVATELY MAINTAINED LANDSCAPING, UM, WHILE WE'RE, WHILE WE'RE DOING THAT WORK AS WELL. AND WAS THERE ANOTHER QUESTION I SKIPPED? I'M SORRY. YEAH, UH, IT WAS REGARDING THE TIMING OF PLANTING OF THE TREES MM-HMM . IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. YOU PLANTED THE WRONG TIME FOR THIS SURVIVAL. YEAH, I'LL HAVE TO WORK WITH, UM, OUR CITY ARBORIST ON THAT ONE. UM, I KNOW, YOU KNOW, ONE ITEM THAT'S COME UP IS, UM, [01:05:01] AS WE'RE UPDATING OUR SPECIES LIST, UM, TO TAKE KIND OF MICRO CONTEXT AND BIODIVERSITY INTO, UM, ACCOUNT, UM, ALSO THINKING ABOUT, UM, SUPPLY CHAINS AND WHAT, UM, IS ACTUALLY THE GROWERS HAVE AVAILABLE TO US AND, AND FACTORING THAT IN AS WELL. SO, UM, I'LL TAKE THAT BACK TO HER. UM, I'M SURE SHE WOULD BE, UM, UM, MUCH MORE COGNIZANT ABOUT THAT. AND, AND ALSO COMMISSIONER WHIT STRUCK YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT, UM, UM, IRRIGATION AND LICENSE AGREEMENT. UM, AND, AND THAT KIND OF BEING A BUNDLE THAT MUST COME WITH THE TREE IS ALSO NOTED. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR COMMISSIONER MEKI? THANK YOU. UM, IT'S A GREAT PRESENTATION. UM, I DO HAVE A QUESTION THAT IS ACTUALLY A JOINT QUESTION WITHIN, UM, THE COMMISSION HAS BEEN WORKING ON NEW GUIDELINES AND I'M WONDERING AT WHAT POINT WOULD WE BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE THE TARP GUIDELINES INTO OUR GUIDELINES AND WHEN WOULD IT HAPPEN OR WHAT WOULD BE THE MECHANISM TO DOING IT? WELL, I MEAN, THE MECHANISM WOULD BE HERE, WE CAN DISCUSS IT AND, AND FIGURE OUT WHICH ELEMENTS. AND I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME PORTIONS OF IT ALREADY IN THERE. UM, BUT YEAH, WE CAN, AS WE'RE STARTING TO GO THROUGH THOSE NOW, UH, AS A COMMISSION, UM, YEAH, WE COULD JUST, WE'LL KEEP NOTE OF IT AND THEN ONCE WE GET ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS TOGETHER, WE'RE GOING TO GIVE THAT TO THE WORKING GROUP TO INCORPORATE INTO THE NEXT DRAFT OF IT. OKAY. AND THE TARP GUIDELINES WILL COME, WILL GO THROUGH, THERE'S, UH, SET OF APPROVALS THAT IS NEEDED. OH, YEAH. OKAY. AND, UM, AS WE BEGIN TO, AGAIN, I AM, UM, ANTICIPATING THAT SOME OF THE EARLY, UM, WORK ITEMS FOR US WILL LIKELY BE THE LICENSE AGREEMENT ISSUES AND THE CRITERIA MANUAL UPDATES. UM, SO AS WE BEGIN TO SCOPE THAT WORK OUT AND PROVIDE SOME MORE CLARITY REGARDING WHAT SORT OF TREE PLANTING AND FURNISHING ZONE, UM, ENHANCED REQUIREMENTS WILL BE FOLDED INTO THE TCM, I'M HAPPY TO COME BACK AND SHARE THAT WORK WITH YOU ALL, UM, FOR CONTINUING, UM, KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVIDE INPUT ON THAT. AND PERHAPS THAT CAN HELP THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE RIGHT HOME FOR BASELINE REQUIREMENTS AND MANUALS VERSUS ENHANCED REQUIREMENTS AND, AND KIND OF STEPPED UP DESIGN DISTRICTS, FOR EXAMPLE. SO I'M HAPPY TO CONTINUE TO BE PART OF THAT CONVERSATION AND COME BACK. THANK YOU. THAT WOULD BE AWESOME. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? SURE. IF I MAY JUST, I, YES. JUST LEAD A DEAD HORSE HERE. THE, THE, THANK YOU. THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR. AGAIN ON THE LICENSE AGREEMENT. I THINK WITH THE, IF WE IMPLEMENTED THE REQUIREMENT TO PUT STREET TREES WITHOUT THE LICENSE AGREEMENT, WE'RE STILL GONNA HAVE WHAT, WHAT COMMISSIONER CARROLL TALKED ABOUT. AND I'VE, I'VE SEEN THIS TOO, PROJECT AFTER PROJECT WHERE WE'RE GOING TO PUT, WE'RE GONNA TREE ON THE, ON THE PROPERTY LINE SIDE. UM, AND THOSE TREES ARE NOT GONNA BE ANY SORT OF PROTECTION TO PEDESTRIANS FROM TREE. WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA RUN INTO THAT SAME PROBLEM. SO THERE'S A LOT OF THESE THINGS THAT WE, WE MIGHT GENERATE SOME NEW TREES, BUT THAT MAN, THAT LICENSE AGREEMENT IS, IS, IS SUCH, IS SUCH A, I JUST CANNOT UNDERSCORE ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS. SO I'M, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT'S A PRIORITIZATION AND, AND WANNA UNDERSCORE THAT WITH MY REMAINING TIME. THANK YOU. I CAN, UM, KINDA LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT STAFF DON'T LIKE IT EITHER, SO WE'RE EXTRA MOTIVATED TO GET RID OF IT. ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS ANY MORE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU NEED FROM THIS BODY THAT, THAT CAN HELP FURTHER YOUR CAUSE I APPRECIATE THAT. UM, I WOULD, AS I MENTIONED, LOVE TO KIND OF KEEP YOU ALL ABREAST AS WORK PLANS AND IMPLEMENTATION MOVE FORWARD. THIS WILL BE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHERE THE, YOU KNOW, THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS, RIGHT? SO, UM, I WOULD, YOU KNOW, WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK AGAIN AND KEEP YOU ALL APPRISED AS WE'RE KIND OF DOING THIS INTERDEPARTMENTAL, UM, HEAVY WORK. IT'LL, THIS WILL DEFINITELY BE A LIFT FOR US, BUT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU. WE'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HAVE YOU BACK. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT ITEM ON THE [3. Staff briefing on proposed amendments to City Code Title 25 (Land Development Code), Case C20-2025-010, related to establishing a maximum building height limit within the Central Business District (CBD) zoning district, and amending the Downtown Density Bonus Program (DDBP) and Rainey Street Subdistrict regulations to modify allowable maximum building height when participating in the DDBP. Presented by Alan Pani, Austin Planning. Sponsors: Chair Salinas and Commissioner Carroll.] AGENDA IS A, UH, STAFF BRIEFING ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO COUNCIL OR TO CITY CODE TITLE 25, UH, RELATED TO ESTABLISHING A MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHT LIMIT WITHIN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, UM, AND AMENDING THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM AND RAINY STREET SUBDISTRICTS TO MODIFY, UH, MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE BUILDING HEIGHT WHEN PARTICIPATING IN THE DDB. UH, THIS IS GONNA BE PRESENTED BY ALAN PANY. IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS ALAN PANY [01:10:01] WITH AUSTIN PLANNING. I'M A PRINCIPAL PLANNER. UM, APOLOGIES FOR THE LATE, UH, BRIEFING AND PRESENTATION ON THIS, BUT THIS WILL BE PRESENTATION ON THE CENTRAL BUS BUSINESS DISTRICT AMENDMENTS, UH, THAT WENT TO COUNCIL LAST WEEK. THANKS. I WILL WALK YOU THROUGH THE BACKGROUND, UH, OF THE PROPOSAL AS WELL AS OUR PROPOSED CHANGES, UM, AND NEXT STEPS, WHICH THERE ARE STILL NEXT STEPS TO BE. UH, SO I'LL START WITH EXPLAINING THAT, UH, TEXAS SENATE BILL EIGHT 40, UH, WENT INTO EFFECT ON SEPTEMBER 1ST. GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE STATE BILL ALLOWS FOR MULTI-FAMILY OR MIXED USE IN ANY COMMERCIAL ZONE IN THE CITY. UH, UNDER THE STATE BILL, MULTIFAMILY AND MIXED USE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN COMMERCIAL ZONES ARE BY RIGHT ABLE TO REACH IN A HEIGHT OF 45 FEET OR GREATER. UH, DEPENDING ON WHAT APPLIES TO THAT COMMERCIAL BASED ZONE, IT CAN REACH A DENSITY OF UP TO 54 DWELLING UNITS PER ACRE, WHICH IS THE MAXIMUM, THE HIGHEST DENSITY, UH, WRITTEN IN OUR CODE, UH, WHICH IS EQUAL TO MF FIVE. LASTLY, IT INCLUDES SETBACKS THAT ARE LESSER THAN 25 FEET, OR THE SETBACK IMPOSED ON OUR COMMERCIAL USES FOR THE CITY. MOST OF OUR SETBACKS ARE SMALLER THAN 25 FEET, SO THAT IS NOT REALLY IMPACTFUL IN MOST OF THE AREAS. UM, AND LASTLY, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE FOR THIS CODE AMENDMENT, IT, UH, ALLOWS SITES TO DEVELOP UNLIMITED FLORIDA AREA RATIO. SO THE CITY CANNOT, UH, REGULATE FLORIDA AREA RATIO OR FAR IN THESE NEW DEVELOPMENTS. UH, AS YOU ALL MAY BE FAMILIAR, THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT IS THE DESIGNATION FOR OFFICE COMMERCIAL, RESIDENTIAL CIVIC USE LOCATED IN DOWNTOWN AREA. UM, IT IS REGULATED BASED ON FLORIDA AREA RATIO. THAT FLORIDA AREA RATIO ALLOWED IS EIGHT TO ONE. AND, UH, AS OF TODAY, UNTIL THE AMENDMENT THAT WENT TO COUNCIL IS IN EFFECT, UH, THERE IS NO MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHT UNDER CBD. SO AS OF SEPTEMBER 1ST, THE CITY COULD NO LONGER REGULATE FAR AND DEVELOPMENTS THAT WERE UTILIZING THE SENATE BILL EIGHT 40. UM, OUR DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PRODUCES SOME OF THE HIGHEST DENSITY AND HEIGHTS IN OUR CITY. UH, IT PRODUCES MOST OF THE MOST AFFORDABLE HOUSING FEES IN LIEU FOR OUR CITY. UH, IT IS COMPOSED OF CBD AND DMU, OUR DOWNTOWN MIXED USE ZONING. TODAY, AS I MENTIONED, OUR CBD ZONING DOES NOT HAVE A HEIGHT LIMIT, BUT IT DOES HAVE THE FAR LIMIT OF EIGHT TO ONE. UH, WHILE DMU DOES HAVE A HEIGHT LIMIT OF 120 FEET AND A FAR LIMIT OF FIVE TO ONE, OUR DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS ALLOWS DEVELOPMENTS TO GO ABOVE THESE BASE ENTITLEMENTS. UH, THESE ARE MAPPED, BUT IN GENERAL, THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS CAN INCREASE THE CBD AND DMU SITES UP TO 25 TO ONE OF FAR AND UP TO UNLIMITED HEIGHT. SO WHAT WE PROPOSED TO COUNCIL, UH, FOR A CHANGE WAS WE LOOKED AT WHAT CBD ZONING MEDIAN HEIGHT EQUIVALENT WAS. SO WE ANALYZED THE MEDIAN AND AVERAGE FOR SITES PARTICIPATING IN A DENSITY BONUS, UH, TO FIND WHAT THAT EQUIVALENT OF AN EIGHT TO ONE FAR WAS. WE FOUND THAT IT WAS SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN 210 AND 230 FEET, UH, FOR SITES THAT WERE PARTICIPATING IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS. AS WE WERE DOING OUR ANALYSIS, YOU KNOW, WE DID, UH, FIND THAT THERE WAS A PATTERN OF HEIGHTS INCREASING. UH, OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS, DEVELOPMENTS IN DOWNTOWN HAVE BEEN GOING TALLER AND TALLER AND SIMULTANEOUSLY, UH, THE LOTS THAT THESE ARE BEING DEVELOPED ON ARE GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER. UH, WE ALSO LOOKED AT A, GENERALLY SPEAKING, REMAINING DEVELOPABLE LOTS. SO SITES THAT HAVEN'T DEVELOPED ON RECENT YEARS, UM, THAT AREN'T PARKS OR OTHER, YOU KNOW, TEXAS OWNED BUILDINGS, THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, AND FIND THAT THE LOTS THAT REMAIN TO BE DEVELOPED ARE ALSO SMALL AND CONTINUE TO BE SMALLER. WE KNOW THAT DEVELOPMENTS, UH, NOWADAYS TEND TO HAVE TO GO TALLER TO MAXIMIZE THEIR RETURNS WITH THESE SMALL SITES. SO WHAT WE PROPOSED TO CANCEL WAS TO CREATE A NEW MAXIMUM BUYRIGHT HEIGHT LIMIT OF 300 AND FEET, 350 FEET FOR THE CBD ZONING. UH, IT FOLLOWS THE TREND OF ALLOWING TALLER BUILDINGS IN DOWNTOWN TO HELP SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH IN THE CITY CENTER. HOWEVER, IT WILL ALSO HELP ADDRESS THE EFFECTS OF THE REMOVAL OF THE FAR LIMITS FOR RESIDENTIAL AND MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS UNDER THE STATE BILL. DEVELOPERS WILL STILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM TO EXCEED THIS NEW MAXIMUM HEIGHT WITH CANCEL APPROVAL. UH, THEY WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE ALL OF THE REGULAR GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS, UH, COMING TO DESIGN COMMISSION, GREAT STREETS, ALL OF THOSE ARE NOT BEING CHANGED. UH, LASTLY, UH, ONE NOTE OF IMPORTANCE IS THAT THE 350 FEET INCLUDES PARKING, UH, WHICH THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, UH, REGULATIONS DID NOT COUNT AS PART OF THE FAR WHEN THEY WERE DOING THAT, UH, CALCULATION. UH, SO IT INCLUDES PARKING IN ANY OTHER ABOVE GRADE STRUCTURE AS PART OF THAT MAXIMUM HEIGHT. UH, JUST AS A EXAMPLE OF REFERENCE FOR EACH OF [01:15:01] THE HEIGHTS WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING. SO THE CURRENT EIGHT TO ONE FAR MEDIAN HEIGHT EQUIVALENT, WHICH IS AROUND 207 FEET. WE HAVE CITIZEN M HOTEL, WHICH IS AROUND 204, OUR PROPOSED CBD MAX HEIGHT, WHICH WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL OF 350, WHICH IS, UH, SIMILAR TO WHAT WINDSOR ON THE LAKE HAS AT 330. UM, AND LASTLY, ALLOWABLE HEIGHTS UTILIZING THE DENSITY BONUS, UH, WHICH ARE IN THEORY UNLIMITED, UH, WITH 44 EAST AVENUE, AS AN EXAMPLE, REACHING 570 FEET OF HEIGHT. AS PART OF THESE, UH, AMENDMENTS, WE DID HAVE TO AMEND THE TEXT IN DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS TO IMPLEMENT THE PROPOSED CBD HEIGHT, THE AMEND, AND INCLUDED THE HEIGHT MAPS, UM, AS WELL AS LANGUAGE IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS AND RAINY SUBDISTRICT, UH, TO MAKE SURE THE HEIGHT LIMIT WAS INCORPORATED INTO THE PROGRAM. UM, IT'S NOT ON THIS SLIDE, BUT I WILL HIGHLIGHT THE ONE KEY DIFFERENCE, UH, OF WHAT WAS HAD TO BE CHANGED IN THE HEIGHT MAPS WAS THERE ARE THREE SUBDISTRICTS WITHIN, UH, THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS THAT WILL NO LONGER HAVE ANY ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL. SO IF YOU WANT TO GO ABOVE THAT 350 FEET OF HEIGHT, YOU WILL GO DIRECTLY TO REQUESTING COUNCIL APPROVAL. WHEREAS PREVIOUS TO THIS, UH, THERE WAS A GAP. IF YOU WERE DOING AN FAR REQUEST, YOU WOULD GO FROM EIGHT TO ONE UP TO 25 TO ONE WITH ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS OF STAFF APPROVAL, AND THEN ABOVE 25 TO ONE, YOU WOULD GO TO COUNCIL. SO NOW FOR HEIGHT, YOU HAVE TO GO DIRECTLY FROM 350 TO COUNCIL REQUEST FOR APPROVAL. UM, SO AS I MENTIONED, UH, THIS WENT TO COUNCIL ON OCTOBER 23RD. UH, WE WENT TO COJC EARLIER IN, AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER IN PLANNING COMMISSION AND DOWNTURN COMMISSION OCTOBER 14TH AND OCTOBER 15TH. AS I MENTIONED, COUNCIL APPROVED, UH, THE AMENDMENT WITH SOME AMENDMENTS, UM, WHICH I WILL ALSO MENTION NOW. THEY ASKED US, UH, TO COME BACK BY THE END OF MAY, ESSENTIALLY WITH A UPDATE TO THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS FOR THE THREE SUB-DISTRICTS WERE AFFECTED BY THAT ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGE. UM, AS A STAFF, WE ARE STILL ALSO PLANNING ON DOING A FULL UPDATE TO THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS OF THE WHOLE AREA. UH, THAT IS INCLUDED IN DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS BY THE END OF NEXT YEAR AS WELL. UM, BOTH OF THESE EFFORTS WILL BE DONE, UM, IN COORDINATION AND WITH THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN, WHICH, UH, IS STARTING OFF. UM, AND SO THOSE WILL BE KIND OF THE NEXT STEPS WE HAVE FOR BOTH CBD AND DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, UM, UPDATES THAT WILL BE COMING. AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE FOR THE BRIEFING. HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, I'M GONNA OPEN THIS UP FOR OUR COMMISSIONERS FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. UH, IS THAT COMMISSIONER HOWARD, OR IS THAT, DO I SEE YOUR HAND? COMMISSIONER HOWARD, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. ALRIGHT. UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, APPRECIATE YOUR GUYS'S QUICK WORK ON THIS. UM, I, I HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW YOU GUYS ARRIVED AT 350 FEET FOR THE BASE HEIGHT AND THE PROJECTS THAT Y'ALL STUDIED TO COME TO THAT CONCLUSION. UM, BUT, UH, BEFORE I GET TO THAT, I WANT, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY, WAS THE PURPOSE OF SETTING THIS BASE HEIGHT TO CONTINUE TO, UM, ENCOURAGE DOWNTOWN PROJECTS AND RAINY STREET PROJECTS TO, UH, SEEK THE DENSITY BONUS IN ORDER TO CREATE, YOU KNOW, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND IN LIEU OF FEES? UH, YEAH, THAT, THAT WAS PART OF THE, THE REASON, UM, WE, OKAY. CBD DOES NOT HAVE A HEIGHT LIMIT, AS I MENTIONED. UH, IT WOULD, IS ESSENTIALLY THE ONLY ZONING IN THE CITY THAT DOESN'T HAVE A HEIGHT LIMIT. IT WAS THE ONLY ONE REGULATED, UH, SOLELY BY FAR. UM, AND SO WE, WHEN STATE BILL WENT INTO EFFECT, UM, AND THAT WAS NO LONGER SOMETHING WE COULD REGULATE, UH, STAFF WAS CONCERNED ABOUT HAVING A UNREGULATED BASE ZONE. UM, SO THAT WAS DEFINITELY ONE PART OF IT, AS WELL AS OBVIOUSLY WANTING THE PARTICIPATION IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS WHEN WE COULD, UM, FOR THOSE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FEES, THE GREAT STREETS AND OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT COME WITH IT AS WELL. OKAY. SO IT, UM, MAYBE I MISHEARD THIS, BUT IT SOUNDED LIKE YOU GUYS, THE, THE PROJECTS THAT YOU STUDIED WERE PROJECTS THAT WERE PARTICIPATING IN THE BONUS PROGRAMS? YES, WE DID LOOK AT PROJECTS THAT DID NOT PARTICIPATE AS WELL. UM, BUT WE, WE FOCUSED ON, ON BOTH. HMM. I, I GUESS I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THAT. 'CAUSE UM, IF YOU'RE SETTING A BASE HEIGHT THAT'S LIKE YOUR BY RIGHT, UM, ENTITLEMENT, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE A STRANGE APPROACH TO STUDY PROJECTS THAT WERE, UH, PROJECTS THAT USED BONUSES TO SET YOUR BASE, UM, YOUR BASE ENTITLEMENT. COULD, COULD YOU TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT? YEAH, SO WE WERE TRYING TO FIND THE EQUIVALENT OF THE EIGHT TO ONE FAR [01:20:01] AND A LITTLE BIT LESS SO NECESSARILY, UM, WHAT A BASE HEIGHT WAS. SO WE WERE NOT TRYING TO ESTABLISH A NEW BASE HEIGHT. WE WERE TRYING TO FIND WHAT AN EQUIVALENT WOULD BE, UM MM-HMM . WITH SOME EXCEPTION TO KNOWING THAT ONE PARKING WAS NOT INCLUDED IN FAR. SO OBVIOUSLY THAT CHANGES HEIGHTS WHEN YOU'RE MAKING A CONVERSION. UM, AS WELL AS KNOWING THAT THE CBD BASED ZONE HEIGHT IS RELATIVELY SPEAKING OLD AND WE WANTED TO PROVIDE FOR AN UPDATE WHILE WE WERE HERE, UM, BUT ALSO ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE WERE PLANNING ON COMING BACK ORIGINALLY, WE WERE PLANNING ON COME BACK AT THE END OF NEXT YEAR WITH AN UPDATE, UM, THAT COULD BE KIND OF MORE CALIBRATED FOR A NEW REALITY THAT WE WANT DOWNTOWN FOR BOTH DENSITY BONUS AND CVD. UM, ALSO THAT WILL NOW BE PARTIALLY DONE BY MAY, BUT YEAH, SO IT WAS A, A NUMBER OF OF FACTORS. OKAY. SO I, I GUESS, UM, WHERE, SO I SEE THE EXAMPLES. YOU HAVE CITIZEN AT EMMA HOTEL AND YOU HAVE WINDSOR ON THE LAKE. I'M, UH, I'M ASSUMING WINDSOR ON THE LAKE USED A BONUS IN ORDER TO GET THE HEIGHT THAT THEY THEY REACHED. IS THAT, IS THAT CORRECT? UM, I WOULD HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK. THOSE ARE MORE JUST FOR REFERENCE ON THE ACTUAL HEIGHTS RIGHT. THAT WE ARE PROPOSING. YEAH, THAT MAKES SENSE. MM-HMM . UM, I GUESS WHEN I'M, WHEN I LOOK AT IT, AND IF I WERE, YOU KNOW, UM, I, I'VE DONE A LOT OF ZONING WORK AND UM, UH, AND THAT SORT OF, THAT SORT OF CALIBRATION IS REALLY CRITICAL TO SETTING KIND OF THE, UM, THE INCENTIVES, RIGHT. AND SO I'M, UH, IT SEEMS LIKE, AND I KNOW THIS IS KIND OF A DONE DEAL, BUT AS YOU GUYS ARE MOVING INTO THE NEXT PHASE, IT SEEMS THAT, UM, BY, YOU KNOW, IF, IF A EIGHT TO ONE FAR BASE ZONING IS ABOUT ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO THE 204 FOOT CITIZEN AMOUNT HOTEL, WE'RE ACTUALLY ENTITLING WITHOUT BONUS A MUCH, UH, A SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER BUILDING THAN WOULD BE ALLOWED TODAY UNDER A BASE ENTITLEMENT. SO ESSENTIALLY THE INCENTIVE APPEARS TO BE REDUCED FOR USING THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM. UM, AND IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THAT IS IN LINE WITH THE, THE, UM, INTENT OF THE, OF THIS AMENDMENT. SO I'M JUST CURIOUS IF YOU GUYS HAD TALKED ABOUT THAT, THOUGHT ABOUT THAT AND HOW YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT MOVING FORWARD. YEAH, THERE'S, THERE IS ALSO THE FACTOR THAT, UM, OUR DOWNTOWN DENSITY, OR, OR SORRY, OUR DENSITY BONUSES IN GENERAL, UM, ARE MEANT TO BE OPTIONAL PROGRAMS THAT DEVELOPMENTS OPT INTO. UM, AND SO WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT BE, YOU KNOW, A, A REALITY WHERE THERE ARE SITES THAT ARE ABLE TO DEVELOP UNDER THEIR BASE ENTITLEMENT, ARE NOT FORCED INTO A DENSITY BONUS TO DEVELOP. WE ANTICIPATE A LOT OF DEVELOPMENTS WILL CONTINUE TO GO TOLERATE AS THE TREND HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, IN DOWNTOWN. UH, HOWEVER, WE DON'T WANT THAT TO BE A REQUIREMENT TO DEVELOP IN DOWNTOWN. MM-HMM. SO THAT IS SOMEWHAT OF THE FACT THAT THAT WAS ALSO PLAYED INTO THE HEIGHT THAT WAS CHOSEN. AND, AND HAVE YOU, DID YOU GUYS LOOK INTO ANY TRENDS AROUND, YOU KNOW, I SAW, I SAW THAT YOU BUILDINGS ARE GENERALLY GOING TALLER, THE SITES ARE GENERALLY GOING LOWER. WHAT IS THE TREND IN, IN UTILIZATION OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM? UM, IT HAS REMAINED HIGH AND HAS CONTINUED TO BE HIGHER AND HIGHER. UM, THERE ARE OLDER PROJECTS THAT ARE NOW COMING TO FRUITION, AND I BRING THAT UP BECAUSE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE WATERLINE, WHICH IS OUR TALLEST BUILDING, DID NOT USE THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, BUT THAT WAS BECAUSE THEIR ZONING WAS PROCURED YEARS AGO, UH, WHEN WE HAD SOMETHING DIFFERENT CALLED CURE, WHICH, UM, IS NO LONGER AN OPTION. SO IN GENERAL, FOR NEWER PROJECTS THAT DON'T HAVE ALL THEIR ZONING, THEY'RE, UH, MOSTLY USING, UTILIZING THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS. OKAY. WELL, I, I GUESS SO FROM MY PERSPECTIVE ON THE DESIGN COMMISSION, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, UH, PROGRAM PLAYS A REALLY, REALLY CRITICAL ROLE. UM, ALL OBVIOUSLY IN CREATING, UH, FUNDS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND, AND, AND SOMETI IN SOME CASES ACTUAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS. UM, BUT ALSO IN, UM, ENCOURAGING MORE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE FRIENDLY, UM, STREETSCAPE, UH, THROUGH THE GREAT STREETS PROGRAM AND, UM, ENHANCED, UH, ARCHITECTURAL AND URBAN DESIGN OF THE, OF THE PROJECTS THAT COME THROUGH THIS, UH, THROUGH THIS BOARD OR THIS COMMISSION. UM, AND SO I, I'M, I THINK I WOULD EXPRESS SOME CONCERN I, UH, IN INCREASING THE BASE ENTITLEMENT. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, A 16 STORY, UM, BUILDING IS, IS PLENTY. UM, UH, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GO, UH, MAKE ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE STREET SCAPE, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A MUCH BIGGER CONVERSATION THAT GOES BEYOND THE DE THE DESIGN COMMISSION. BUT, UM, JUST ONE COMMISSIONER'S OPINION IS, UH, LET'S, LET'S HOLD THE LINE SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND BETTER STREETS SCAPES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER HOWARD. UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMERS? COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY? OKAY. WAS THERE ANY ANALYSIS DONE WHEN [01:25:01] YOU LOOKED AT THE HEIGHT? UH, THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE HEIGHT, UM, BECAUSE IT NOW INCLUDES PARKING, WHICH STRUCTURED PARKING RANGES ANYWHERE FROM 30 TO $60,000 A SPACE, UM, TO BUILD THAT. AND I KNOW WE NO LONGER HAVE A PARKING REQUIREMENT. UM, SO ANY PARKING THAT IS BUILT IS DRIVEN, MARKET DRIVEN PARKING THAT'S PROVIDED. UM, BUT WAS THERE ANY ANALYSIS DONE TO SAY THAT WHAT THIS MINIMUM HEIGHT OR IS THAT SET AT WHICH TRIGGERS THE DENSITY BONUS, WHAT THIS WILL DO TO DEVELOPMENT AS A WHOLE TO EITHER INCENTIVIZE, UM, THE USE OF THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM OR WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE COST IMPACT TO THIS, TO PEOPLE WHO DEVELOP IN AUSTIN? UM, SO WE, THERE WAS NO ANALYSIS DONE IN RELATION TO PARKING. IF, IF THAT WAS THE, THE QUESTION, UM, THE COST IMPACT FOR DEVELOPERS, UH, WILL BE A SLIGHTLY, WELL, RELATIVELY SPEAKING, A LOWER, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING FEE IN LIEU. UM, AS YOU MENTIONED, OR YOU KNOW, THE PREVIOUS COMMISSIONER MENTIONED THE FEE IN LIEU, UM, TYPICALLY WAS PAID ONCE YOU WENT ABOVE YOUR EIGHT TO ONE FAR, WHICH CAN BE SOMEWHERE IN THE 220 FEET OF HEIGHT. UM, SO NOW WITH A HIGHER BASE HEIGHT, THE BONUS WILL BE LOWER, AND SO THE FEE IN LIE WOULD BE SLIGHTLY LOWER. SO FOR DEVELOPERS, IT IS SLIGHTLY CHEAPER TO DEVELOP. NOW IF YOU'RE USING IT WELL, I DON'T THINK THAT'S NECESSARILY TRUE, BECAUSE NOW IT'S INCLUDING PARKING AND IT WASN'T PREVIOUSLY INCLUDING PARKING. SO, YES. SO YOU'RE, YOU WERE ASKING IF, IF PARKING WOULD PUT IT ABOVE THE 350. SO WE, WE DID DO A, AN ANALYSIS OF AVERAGE. UH, WELL, WE USE ACTUALLY THE DOWNTOWN PARKING ANALYSIS THAT WAS DONE LAST YEAR, UH, TO FIND WHAT THE AVERAGE PARKING WAS IN PROJECTS, WHICH WAS AROUND SIX STORIES FOR MOST OF THOSE. UM, THAT WOULD PUT A LOT OF DEVELOPMENTS WHEN WE ANALYZED IT AROUND 290 FEET OF HEIGHT WITH PARKING. UM, OBVIOUSLY IT VARIES BY PROJECT, SO IT COULD BE, IN SOME SITUATIONS MORE EXPENSIVE IF THEY HAD, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY MORE PARKING AND THEY WOULD GO ABOVE THE 350, BUT IN MOST CASES, IT WOULD LIKELY STILL BE A, A SLIGHTLY CHEAPER FEE IN LIE. OKAY. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER GILLIS? THANK YOU, CHAIR. UM, YEAH, THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT, UH, DRAMATIC CHANGE AND, UM, I DON'T WANNA UNDERPLAY THAT I, I FIND IT VERY SUDDEN AND SURPRISING IT'S GOING TO IMPACT THE WAY DOWNTOWN LOOKS AND FEELS, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY AND DRAMATICALLY. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE CHANGE AND THE ADJUSTMENT IS TO ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT, UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, AS AN ARCHITECT OF COURSE, UH, THAT, THAT SOUNDS GREAT. UM, WE'RE LOSING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF VALUE BY PROVIDING ADDITIONAL, UH, RIGHT TO HEIGHT TO DEVELOPERS. I THINK IT'S BEEN SAID, UM, THE AFFORDABLE, UH, UM, HOUSING PROGRAM THAT THE DENSITY BONUS, UH, FUNDED IS DEFINITELY GOING TO SUFFER. IT'S, IT'S ALREADY BEEN SAID, BUT I WANT TO ASK ABOUT HOW THE PROGRAM, UM, CALIBRATION IS GOING TO HAPPEN. IS THERE A TIMELINE SET OUT FOR THAT PROCESS? WHEN IS THAT BEGINNING? IS THAT GOING TO COME BEFORE COUNCIL, UM, AS WELL? UM, AND YEAH, I PROBABLY HAVE FOLLOW UP. SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY QUESTION. YEAH. SO, UM, AS I MENTIONED, COUNSEL DIRECTED US TO COME BACK BY MAY WITH AT LEAST ONE PORTION OF AN UPDATE TO THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS FOR THOSE THREE CORE SUBDISTRICTS, UM, WHICH ARE KIND OF THE CENTER CORE OF DOWNTOWN, AND THEN RAINY, AND THEN WHAT'S RIGHT ABOVE RAINY, WHICH I DON'T KNOW, IS IT REALLY HAS A NAME. BUT, UM, THOSE THREE SUBDISTRICTS, WE ARE PLANNING ON DOING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, INCLUDING COMMISSIONS, UH, STAKEHOLDERS. WE ARE WORKING WITH THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN TO COORDINATE, UH, ENGAGEMENT AS THEY ARE STARTING THEIR ENGAGEMENT AS WELL. THERE'S, I'LL JUST PUT THAT OUT THERE AS AN OPEN HOUSE ON NOVEMBER 10TH AT THE A CC, UH, ON RIO GRANDE, UH, FOR THE DISTRICT, THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT, UM, AT 6:00 PM SO PLEASE GO TO THAT. BUT FOR THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY ONE AND SPECIFIC, UH, AS THIS WAS JUST PASSED LAST WEEK AND THEY ASKED US TO COME BACK BY MAY INSTEAD OF DECEMBER, WE DON'T HAVE A SCHEDULE QUITE YET, BUT WE WILL BE WORKING, YOU KNOW, IN THE COMING WEEKS TO START COORDINATING, UH, THOSE EFFORTS THAT WILL INCLUDE CALIBRATION AND UPDATES TO THE PROGRAM. SO [01:30:01] I WILL HAVE MORE INFORMATION IN THE COMING WEEKS, BUT I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT TIMELINE OR, OR SCHEDULE FOR ENGAGEMENT AND CALIBRATION AT THE MOMENT. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND, AND TO FOLLOW UP WITH JUST SORT OF OUTLINING THE CONCERNS, WHICH I'M SURE WE'RE ALL WELL AWARE OF, BUT THE INTENTION IS NOT JUST TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DEVELOPMENT THAT IS HAPPENING DOWNTOWN IS CONTRIBUTING TO A THRIVING URBAN ENVIRONMENT WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. UM, AND THAT ALSO INVOLVES PROVIDING, UM, FUNDS FOR AMENITIES THAT SHOULD AND, AND, UM, MUST EXIST DOWNTOWN. SIMPLE AMENITIES, DAYCARE, UH, CENTERS, PARKS, UM, YOU KNOW, OPEN SPACES THAT OTHERWISE DO NOT GET PROVIDED FOR BY INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENTS. UM, AND SO WHILST IT SEEMS THE TEETH HAVE SOMEHOW BEEN, YOU KNOW, TAKEN OUT OF THIS, UM, THE, THE GAP BETWEEN THE BASE THREE 50 AND THE SORT OF TALLEST BUILDING IN AUSTIN, WHICH IS CURRENTLY CAPPING OUT, UM, I BELIEVE IT'S 650 FEET, I THINK IS THE WATERLINE, IT SEEMS, UM, THERE'S NOT REALLY THAT THAT MUCH IN IT. AND SO, UH, I FIND IT, I FIND IT TO BE PERHAPS, UH, AND I DON'T WANNA ANTICIPATE, BUT NON-PERFORMING MIGHT, MIGHT BE THE TERM IF IT SORT OF JUST GO, GOES BY THE WAYSIDE. SO I WOULD CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE, UM, ANNOUNCING LOUDLY, UM, THAT THIS IS HAPPENING, THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A RECALIBRATION, SO MORE VOICES CAN PARTICIPATE IN THAT PROCESS AND OFFER RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGE AND ADJUSTMENT, UM, AND, AND LOOK TO OTHER AVENUES, PERHAPS NOT LOOKING FOR FEE IN LIE, BUT ACTUALLY REVERSING THINGS SO THAT ONSITE AMENITIES MUST BE PROVIDED, UM, WOULD BE ONE RECOMMENDATION TO SEE SOME OF THESE PROJECTS STILL ADHERE TO THE SPIRIT OF THE PROGRAM. UM, BUT THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE IMMEDIATE SCHEDULE. UM, YEAH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER, UH, VICE CHAIR MINORS. OKAY. SO, OH, I AM MORE OF A LAYMAN THAN A LOT OF THE PEOPLE HERE, , SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND. BUT I GUESS MY CONCERN IS, UM, NOT KNOWING, UH, YOU KNOW, ALL THE CONSTRAINTS, UM, THAT A DEVELOPER WOULD HAVE OUTSIDE OF PARTICIPATING IN THE DENSITY PROGRAM. I'M JUST WONDERING, IS THERE ANY POTENTIAL THAT WE'RE POTENTIALLY ENCOURAGING, UH, A DEVELOPER TO BUILD, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE A 350 UH, FOOT TALL PARKING GARAGE, YOU KNOW, LIKE, IS THAT MORE FEASIBLE NOW GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY FOR MORE DENSITY THAN MAYBE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CURRENT KIND OF CONSTRAINTS WITH FAR? UM, NO, IT REALLY IS NOT CHANGING KIND OF INCENTIVES FOR DEVELOPING SOMETHING LIKE A, YOU KNOW, ONLY PARKING, UH, BUILDING, UNLESS THAT'S WHAT THE FINANCIAL SAY IN GENERAL FOR THE AREA. BUT THAT WOULD BE REGARDLESS OF THE DENSITY BONUS, REALLY. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE'RE MAKING THAT MORE FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE, THOUGH BY DOING THIS, BY GIVING THEM THE BENEFIT OF HAVING MORE DENSITY? 'CAUSE I WOULD ASSUME THAT WITH THE FAR BEING CONSTRAINED THAT IT WOULDN'T BE ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. BUT I THINK IF YOU HAD A LARGE ENOUGH AREA, I WOULD JUST ASSUME THAT MAYBE THAT WOULD BE, FAR WOULD NOT HAVE COUNTED IN THE PAST. SO IN THEORY, IF YOU WANTED TO BUILD 350 FEET OF PARKING, THAT WOULD NOT HAVE COUNTED AS A SINGLE SQUARE FOOT OF YOUR FAR. SO IT IN ESSENCE, IS MAKING IT MORE LIKELY THAT PEOPLE DON'T DEVELOP THAT BUILDING. AGAIN, I DON'T THINK THAT'S A REALISTIC SCENARIO EITHER WAY, BUT IT IS ACTUALLY THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. AND I'M JUST CURIOUS TOO, BECAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A BIAS TOWARD, UH, THE PROJECTS THAT COME BEFORE US, SO WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY, NECESSARILY SEEING A LOT OF THE PROJECTS THAT DON'T PARTICIPATE IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS MM-HMM . AND I, I JUST WOULD LIKE A BETTER SENSE OF KIND OF WHAT HASN'T PARTICIPATED AND WHAT HAS ULTIMATELY BEEN EXECUTED. UH, YOU KNOW, TO ME IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE, UM, SOME DEVELOPMENTS THAT CLEARLY DIDN'T PARTICIPATE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE JUST BASED ON THE HEIGHT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE, UH, SERVICES LIKE DRIVE THROUGH BANKS AND WHATEVER ELSE. SO I'M JUST WONDERING, ARE THERE ANY OTHER ARE, UM, KIND OF LIMITATIONS THAT WE CAN APPLY, UM, GIVEN THE, THE NATURE OF, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CONSTRAINTS, YOU KNOW, BY THIS REGULATION? UM, NOT REALLY. SO I, OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE ZONED CBD, UM, IN THE LAST ABOUT 15 YEARS THAT HAVE NOT USED THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, UH, IF I HAVE MY LIST CORRECTLY, I BELIEVE THERE'S ONLY TRULY THREE PROJECTS THAT DEVELOPED USING, UH, THEIR BASE ENTITLEMENTS. UM, IN SOME OF [01:35:01] THE CASES, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF THEM WAS A 1.75 ACRE SITE, SO VERY, VERY LARGE SITE WHERE THEIR BASE FAR ALLOWS FOR A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT. SO THEY WERE NOT CONSTRAINED BY THE, THE THINGS I WAS TALKING ABOUT. MOST OF THE CBD PROJECTS THAT HAVE NOT USED THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS HAD OLD ZONING CALLED CBD CURE, WHICH ALLOWED FOR, UH, REQUESTING ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENTS WITHOUT HAVING TO PROVIDE COMMUNITY BENEFITS. AND THIS WAS YEARS AND YEARS AGO THAT THEY OBTAINED THESE, THESE, UH, RIGHTS. UM, SO THEY DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS WITHOUT THAT. SO REALLY ALMOST EVERY SINGLE PROJECT DEVELOPING WITH CBD ZONING IS UTILIZING, UH, THE PROGRAM. OKAY. THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW. MM-HMM . UM, YEAH, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SOMETIMES THERE'S UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, OF SOME OF THE ACTIONS THAT WE TAKE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T REALIZE UNTIL AFTER THE FACT. UM, SO I THINK IF Y'ALL HAVE DONE YOUR DUE DILIGENCE TO KIND OF, UM, GET A SENSE OF, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY, UH, PROJECTS COULD POTENTIALLY BE BUILT, UM, WITH, UH, WITHOUT PARTICIPATING IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, UM, I, I'D BE CURIOUS TOO, YOU KNOW, LIKE HOW MANY SITES ARE, ARE EVEN, UH, FEASIBLE TO, TO BUILD, UH, 350 FEET OR BELOW AT THIS POINT? UM, 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY ONCE YOU BUILD SOMETHING THAT'S 350 FEET TALL OR TALLER, WE'RE LIKELY MORE LIKELY, I WOULD SAY, TO BE STUCK WITH IT THAN MAYBE LIKE A LOW RISE BUILDING. YEAH. THAT, THAT'S CERTAINLY TRUE. UM, AND THERE, THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE ANALYSIS DONE ON WHAT SITES REMAIN AS DEVELOPABLE AREAS, UH, IN DOWNTOWN AS PART OF THE UPDATE. UM, THAT WILL DEFINITELY BE SOMETHING WE LOOK AT, UM, AS WE ARE LOOKING AT HOW TO UPDATE THE PROGRAM AND HOW TO CALIBRATE IT IS LOOKING AT WHAT AREAS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP OR ARE OUT THERE STILL TO BE DEVELOPED. UM, AS WE KNOW, MOST OF OUR BIG LOTS AND PARCELS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA HAVE ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED, AND AS YOU'VE MENTIONED, WILL NOT REDEVELOP ANYTIME SOON. AND I WOULD JUST SAY LIKE, IF THERE IS ANY AREA, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT EXISTS WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T, UM, HAD A LOT OF PROJECTS PARTICIPATE THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE ARE AREAS WHERE WE WOULD WANT TO OVERLAY, YOU KNOW, SOME SORT OF OTHER DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, LIKE WHETHER IT'S, UH, A NIGHTLIFE DISTRICT OR WHATEVER ELSE THAT MAY BE, I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT, UM, UH, WHAT STRINGS WE CAN EVEN PULL IN THAT REGARD. BUT JUST SEEING LIKE IF THERE ARE ANY UNMET NEEDS, LIKE IN THOSE AREAS AND, UH, MAYBE ESTABLISHING CODE, UM, THAT HONORS AND RESPECTS THE, THE NEW REGULATIONS, BUT ALSO ENSURES THAT OUR NEEDS ARE MET, UH, FOR THE CITY. YEAH. COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER CARROLL. THANK YOU. CHAIR. UH, I'M CURIOUS, I, I RECOGNIZE THAT THIS EXERCISE WAS IN RESPONSE TO SBA 40, UH, BUT THE RESULT, UH, SEEMINGLY HAS GREATLY INCREASED THE ENTITLEMENTS FOR CBD WITHOUT INCREASING ANY ENTITLEMENTS IN DMU, WAS THE DMU ZONE EVER LOOKED AT. AND AS PART OF THIS EXERCISE, N NOT AS PART OF THIS UPDATE, AS I MENTIONED, UM, IT IS PLANNED AND IT, IT WAS PLANNED TO BE UPDATED WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE TO THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS. UM, AND WHETHER THAT'S REVISING DMU OR LOOKING AT WHERE CBD IS OWNED IN COMPARISON TO DMU, UM, THAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN. BUT WE, WE DID HAVE THAT AS PART OF OUR PLAN TO BE LOOKED AT MORE COMPREHENSIVELY, BUT NOT AS PART OF THIS AMENDMENT. YEAH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THE FAR PREVIOUSLY, CBD WAS ABOUT ONE AND A HALF TIMES SQUARE FOOTAGE, BUT NOW WITH HEIGHT ONLY, IT'S THREE TIMES, UH, THAT OF DMU. SO IF I OWNED A DMU PROPERTY, I'D BE FEELING PRETTY BAD RIGHT NOW. UH, I'D BE LOOKING TO REZONE IT TO CBD IF I COULD. UM, BUT YEAH, JUST SOMETHING TO TAKE A LOOK AT, I GUESS, WHEN YOU'RE DOING THE, THE LARGER UPDATE. MM-HMM . DEFINITELY. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER WI STRUCK? JUST A QUICK, UH, FOLLOW UP ON, ON, I, I WANTED TO TALK BEFORE COMMISSIONER HOWARD SO I DON'T SOUND DUMB. UH, A A A QUICK FOLLOW UP ON COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY'S LINE OF QUESTIONING, UH, ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE COSTS INVOLVED. AND, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE CAN'T GAME OUT EVERY POSSIBLE SCENARIO, BUT I HAVE FROM THIS DIOCESE ARGUED FOR PARKING TO BE EXCLUDED FROM FAR COUNTS, UM, UH, OR, UM, AS THIS IS DOING. AND, UM, AND THAT'S, I THINK, A GOOD THING COMING OUT OF THE CITY'S STAFF'S RESPONSE. I I APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S INCLUSION THAT WE RECENTLY SAW A PROJECT HERE THAT DID, UM, A SPLIT PARKING WHERE SOME OF IT WAS UNDERGROUND AND SOME OF IT WAS ABOVE GROUND. MM-HMM . AND AT FIRST BLUSH THOUGHT, WELL, THAT'S AN INTERESTING WAY TO REDUCE PARKING PLANTS. AND ON, ON FURTHER INSPECTION WITH [01:40:01] THIS COMMISSION, WE DETERMINED THAT WHAT THAT DID WAS CREATED A SECONDARY DRIVEWAY SYSTEM FOR THE PROPERTY, WHICH RAN COUNTER TO SO MANY OF THE OTHER URBAN DESIGN GOALS. AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS, IF, IF STAFF HAS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THAT OR WHETHER YOU EVEN HAVE ANY POWER TO PREVENT, UM, SPLIT PARKING LIKE THAT, BUT, UM, HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE, THE, THE CALIBRATION OF, OF WHAT WE'RE DOING. I WOULDN'T WANT IT TO NECESSARILY INCENTIVIZE THE, THE SPLIT PARKING IN A WAY THAT STARTS TO FILL UP OUR CITY STREETS WITH DRIVEWAYS. UM, WE, WE DID NOT LOOK AT THAT, UH, AS PART OF THIS AMENDMENT. UM, I DO KNOW WHEN YOU DO UNDERGROUND PARKING AND ABOVE GRADE PARKING, YOU ARE ALMOST ALWAYS IN NEED OF TWO DRIVEWAYS JUST BECAUSE OF THE DESIGN REALITIES AND THE SMALL SITES ESPECIALLY THAT DO NOT ALLOW FOR, YOU KNOW, KNOW A LARGE PARKING LOT AREA THAT WOULD HAVE ONE DRIVEWAY WITH ONE ENTRANCE ONLY. UM, SO YEAH, I KNOW IT'S A REALITY, BUT WE DIDN'T LOOK AT IT AS PART OF, OF THIS COMMISSIONER HOWARD. UM, YEAH, I THINK THIS IS, THIS IS RELATED TO, UM, WHAT COMMISSIONER WHIT STRUCK SAID, AS WELL AS A FEW OTHERS, I THINK, UM, AROUND THE INCENTIVES, UH, TO STRUCTURED PARKING. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE, THE POLICY, UH, COMING FROM COUNCIL HAS BEEN TO, UM, DISCOURAGE OR AT LEAST NOT ENCOURAGE STRUCTURED PARKING. UM, AND, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF, IT'S THAT'S A SMART MOVE, UM, FROM A LOT OF, A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UM, PERSPECTIVES. UM, AND I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, TO CALIBRATE APPROPRIATELY, TO LIKE, TO CONTINUE TO, UM, ENFORCE THAT POLICY, UH, THROUGH OUR ENTITLEMENTS. UH, I THINK THAT IT DOES, UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THE, THE GUMPTION TO DO IT THROUGH, UM, AND INCLUDING PARKING IN, UM, AND ACCOUNT FOR FAR, NOW WE DON'T HAVE THAT OPTION, AND WE'RE JUST DEALING WITH HEIGHT. AND SO IT'S AN OPTION TO REALLY DO THAT. AND SO I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE WERE A LOT, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF THINKING ABOUT THIS, UM, IN THE PREVIOUS SYSTEM THROUGH THE FAR, UM, AND I KNOW THERE WAS A ULI WORKSHOP THAT PLANNING COMMISSIONERS TOOK, UH, TOOK PART OF, AND EVEN COUNCIL OFFICES WERE ENGAGED, UM, THAT WERE REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE, WHAT SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED, WHAT'S A FAIR SOLUTION FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT SIZING PARKING AND ENTITLEMENTS, UH, AT BASE ENTITLEMENTS EVEN. UM, AND SO I, I THINK JUST KINDA REVISITING THAT AND KIND OF MAKING SURE THAT WHATEVER, UM, WHATEVER DECISIONS Y'ALL ARE MAKING IS, IS, UM, FULLY AWARE OF AND TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, DO YOUR PART IN, IN, UM, IN, UH, IMPLEMENTING THOSE POLICIES THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR WHAT FEELS LIKE AN EON NOW, UM, I THINK WOULD, WOULD, IT'S A HUGE OPPORTUNITY. AND I, I LOOK FORWARD TO KIND OF FOLLOWING UP WITH Y'ALL. YEP. DEFINITELY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? WELL, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. I DO SHARE THE SAME CONCERN ABOUT THE HEIGHT AND THAT WE'RE GONNA MISS OPPORTUNITIES FOR WHAT WE SEE IN THIS COMMISSION IS TO CREATE A MUCH SAFER AND INCLUSIVE URBAN DESIGN, UH, FOR AN ENTIRE DOWNTOWN FABRIC, IF YOU WILL. AND SO I THINK IN MY INITIAL INITIAL THOUGHTS, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THIS SENATE BILL GOT PASSED AND YOU HAD TO ACT QUICKLY, BUT THE OPPORTUNITY AS A COMMISSION, WE WOULD'VE LOVED THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE OUR CONCERNS AND FIGURE OUT IF THERE WAS A BETTER WAY FORWARD. UM, I UNDERSTAND Y'ALL WENT PRETTY QUICK, BUT ANY FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS, WE WOULD LOVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE YOU HERE AND TALK ABOUT IT SO WE CAN EXPRESS ANY CONCERNS WE HAVE ABOUT CREATING SOME OF THOSE URBAN SPACES THAT ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED IF WE'RE NOT THERE TO MAKE NOTE OF IT. UM, BUT I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION UNTIL LATE. UH, THANK YOU. YEAH, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. OUR NEXT ITEM IS WE'RE GONNA HAVE, WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION CHAIR. WE HAVE TWO SPEAKERS SIGNED UP ON ITEM FOUR. OKAY. SO BEFORE WE GET TO ITEM FOUR, UM, ARE THE TWO SPEAKERS HERE IN PERSON? UM, WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER WHO'S JOINING US VIRTUALLY, AND THEN THE OTHER SPEAKER IS HERE IN PERSON. OKAY. OKAY. SO, UM, WE'LL DO THE PERSON, UH, WE'LL DO THE PERSON ON ONLINE FIRST, IF YOU CAN TURN YOUR CAMERA ON. UM, SHE'S JOINING US [01:45:01] VIA TELECONFERENCE, SO SHE WILL JUST BE SPEAKING. OKAY. UM, AND THEN ALL SPEAKERS HAVE THREE MINUTES? YES. OKAY. SO YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES, UH, TO SPEAK, UH, ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS RELATED TO THE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN. UM, CAN YOU HEAR ME? ARE YOU SPEAKING TO ME? YES. MARA POWERS? YES. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES? UH, YES I CAN. THE FLOOR IS YOURS. OKAY. UH, I'M MARA POWERS. I LIVE IN DISTRICT 10, AND I'M A VOLUNTEER WITH TRAVIS AUDUBON, UH, WHICH IS A NON-PROFIT THAT PROMOTES BIRD CONSERVATION HERE IN AUSTIN. I'VE ADVOCATED FOR LIGHTS OUT TEXAS AND BIRD FRIENDLY BUILDING DESIGN FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, AND I SUPPORT THIS INITIATIVE. UM, UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE NO MAJOR CITIES WITH A SUITE OF BIRD FRIENDLY RECOMMENDATIONS OR CODES. SO I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND TO YOU ALL SINCE YOU ARE DESIGN PEOPLE, UH, THAT YOU CHECK OUT TORONTO, ONTARIO TO SEE HOW GREAT THE RESULT CAN BE. TORONTO IS THE FOURTH LARGEST METROPOLITAN AREA IN NORTH AMERICA AND 60 MILES FROM NIAGARA FALLS. IT HAS ABOUT 5 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA, AND AIR CANADA PROVIDES NONSTOP FLIGHTS FROM AUSTIN. THE CITY IS FILLED WITH SOPHISTICATED, MODERN, BEAUTIFUL COMMERCIAL . I WAS THERE LAST WEEK FOR THE FIRST TIME STRICTLY AS A TOURIST AND DINING IN THE REVOLVING RESTAURANT ATOP OF CEN TOWER AFTER DARK, WHEN I NOTICED HOW LOW THE LIGHTING WAS IN THIS HUGE MODERN CITY. AND IT CROSSED MY MIND THAT MAYBE THIS WAS A BIRD FRIENDLY CITY, AND IT TURNS OUT TO BE A VERY BIRD FRIENDLY CITY. AND YOU MAY KNOW THEY EVEN CALL THEIR BASEBALL TEAM THE BLUE JAYS. SO TORONTO PUBLISHED ITS FIRST BIRD FRIENDLY GUIDELINES IN 2007, NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO. IN 2013, A TORONTO BUILDING OWNER WAS PROSECUTED FOR MAINTAINING A BUILDING THAT KILLED BIRDS. THE OWNER TOOK STEPS TO MITIGATE THE HARM, AND SO HE WASN'T SIGNED, BUT THEY GOT THE WORD OUT THAT THEY WERE SERIOUS. SO I WAS SURPRISED, AND THIS IS MAINLY THE REASON I'M TALKING TO YOU NOW AT HOW THE REDUCTION IN LIGHTING TO BENEFIT THE BIRDS HAD A CALMING AND WARM EMOTIONAL EFFECT ON ME. LIKE BEING AT HOME WITH ONLY ONE LAMP ON IN THE ROOM AT NIGHT, IT WOULD BE A BIG IMPROVEMENT OVER THE LIGHT POLLUTION WE HAVE IN TEXAS CITIES. NOW, I COMMEND LESLIE LILLY AND HER TEAM FOR ALL THE WORK THEY HAVE DONE IN PULLING TOGETHER A COHESIVE PROPOSAL, EXCUSE ME. AND I HOPE THE DESIGN COMMISSION WILL RECOMMEND IT. AND THAT'S IT FOR ME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT AND PARTICIPATING, UH, OUR NEXT OH, YOU'RE WELCOME. OUR NEXT, UH, PUBLIC INPUT. GOODNIGHT. YES. HOW EXCITING TO BE ON THIS SITE OVER HERE INSTEAD OF OVER THERE. . MY NAME IS JENNIFER BRISTOL, AND FOR DISCLOSURE, UH, I'M THE CHAIR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UH, AND CHAIR OF THE WORKING GROUP, UH, FOR THE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN COMMITTEE. I'M HERE TODAY, THOUGH AS A CITIZEN, AND, UM, SHARING MY ABSOLUTE SUPPORT OF WHAT CITY STAFF HAS COME UP WITH. UM, IN ANSWER TO THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS PASSED LAST NOVEMBER, UM, AS A MEMBER OF TRAVIS AUDUBON IN TEXAS ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY, AND SOMEONE WHO WRITES BOOKS ABOUT WHERE TO GO BIRDING IN TEXAS, UM, I CAN SAY WITH ALL HONESTY, BIRDS ARE DYING. THEY'RE DYING ON OUR WATCH. THIS IS HAPPENING IN REAL TIME, AND WE HAVE TO ACT NOW. UM, WE LOSE OVER A BILLION BIRDS EVERY SINGLE YEAR, BUT THE COOL THING IS THIS IS A SOLVABLE PROBLEM, AND WE CAN ALL SOLVE IT TOGETHER. AND I THINK WE HAVE A PACKAGE OF SOLUTIONS THAT IS INCREDIBLE. UM, I THINK THAT STAFF HAS DONE A GREAT JOB WITH LOOKING AT WHAT ARE ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTIONS AND THE INNOVATIONS THAT OTHER CITIES ARE TAKING, AND HOW CAN WE DO OUR BEST JOB IN AUSTIN, TEXAS TO PUT THOSE INTO ACTION WILL BE THE FIRST CITY, UH, IN TEXAS. I'M A LITTLE COMPETITIVE, BY THE WAY, AND, UH, I, WE, IF IT, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN BE THE FIRST, HOW EXCITING IS THAT? LET'S DO THAT. UM, SO I REALLY HOPE, UH, THAT Y'ALL ENJOY MORE THAN ENJOY, UH, THE DOUBLE LILLY'S PRESENTATION TODAY. UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, RECOMMEND THIS AND, UM, AND SPREAD THE GOOD WORD OF HOW WE CAN, HOW WE CAN DO MORE IN OUR PERSONAL [01:50:01] LIVES AND ALSO IN OUR PUBLIC LIVES AS WELL, ECONOMICALLY. I JUST WANNA SHARE THIS BECAUSE I, I DON'T THINK, I DON'T KNOW HOW, HOW MUCH THE PRESENTATION GOES INTO THIS, BUT, UM, IN THE, IN NORTH AMERICA, IN THE UNITED STATES, PEOPLE SPEND AROUND $280 BILLION EVERY YEAR ON BIRDWATCHING ACTIVITIES. EVERYTHING FROM BUYING BINOCULARS TO GOING ON A BIRDING TRIP, UH, TO BIRD BUYING A BACKYARD FEEDER, $280 BILLION. AND TEXAS, THAT IS A HUGE NUMBER BECAUSE TEXAS IS THE NUMBER ONE STATE THAT PEOPLE VISIT FOR BIRD TOURISM. UM, SO ANYTHING AGAIN THAT WE CAN DO HERE. AND CENTRAL TEXAS, AUSTIN IN PARTICULAR, UH, IS ONE OF THOSE DESTINATIONS. THEY COME TO SEE THE ENDANGERED GOLDEN CHEEK, WARBLER BLACK CAP RIO, AND ALL THE OTHER BIRDS THAT COME HERE, UH, DURING THE SPRING, AS WELL AS WINTER HERE, UH, DURING, UM, THE NON BREEDING SEASON. SO, AGAIN, JUST REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S TIME AND, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. ALL RIGHT, LESLIE [4. Presentation and discussion regarding Staff’s response to Resolution 20241121-073 related to Bird-Friendly design. Presented by Leslie Lilly, Austin Watershed Protection.] LILY, SO THIS WILL BE A PRESENTATION AND A DISCUSSION REGARDING THE, UM, STAFF RESPONSE RESOLUTION 20 24 11 21 DASH SEVEN THREE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN. THE FLOOR IS YOURS. GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS LILY IC, AND I'M HERE WITH THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT TO DISCUSS THE CITY'S RESPONSE TO THE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN RESOLUTION PASSED BY CITY COUNCIL LAST NOVEMBER. WE WERE HERE EARLIER IN THE SUMMER TO INTRODUCE THE TOPIC TO Y'ALL, AND WE ARE EXCITED TO PRESENT OUR CURRENT FINDINGS TO YOU. I, ALONG WITH MY FELLOW WATERSHED PROTECTION INTERNS, CONTRIBUTED TO THE RESEARCH BEHIND THE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT TONIGHT. ADDITIONALLY, THIS TOPIC IS PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL TO ME BECAUSE I LOVE BIRDS, AND I FIND APPRECIATING THEM HELPS ME BETTER CONNECT TO THE NATURAL WORLD AND COMMUNITY AROUND ME. I WANT TO BE AN ORNITHOLOGIST WHEN I GROW UP AND CONSIDERING HOW MUCH JOY I OWE TO BIRDS, I'M ALL THE MORE GRATEFUL THAT THE CITY IS TAKING STEPS TO ADDRESS THE FUTURE OF BIRDS AND THEIR BENEFITS IN AUSTIN. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR CONSIDERING THIS ISSUE, AND I'LL NOW HAND IT OVER TO LESLIE LILY. THANK YOU, LILY. HELLO, EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS LESLIE LILY, AND I'M SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE HAD SOME REALLY AMAZING SUMMER INTERNS JOIN US. UM, LILY IN PARTICULAR HAS BROUGHT SO MUCH, UH, WONDERFUL ENERGY TO THIS EFFORT. UM, SO THIS EVENING I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT OUR WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE IN RESPONSE TO THE RESOLUTION THAT WE CAME EARLIER THIS SUMMER AND, UH, INTRODUCED TO THIS COMMISSION. OOPS. SO THE RESOLUTION THAT WE ARE RESPONDING TO WAS PASSED LAST NOVEMBER, AND IT SPECIFICALLY DIRECTED STAFF TO DO FOUR THINGS. ONE IS TO PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION TO UPDATE OUR LIGHTS OUT AUSTIN, UH, INITIATIVE ALSO TO EXPLORE THE INTEGRATION OF BIRD FRIENDLY BUILDING TECHNIQUES ON LOW AND MID AND HIGH RISE BUILDINGS TO CONDUCT A FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS ON THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF THESE STANDARDS, AND TO SEEK INPUT FROM STAKEHOLDERS LIKE YOU. NOW, AS, UH, COMMISSIONER BRISTOL, UH, MENTIONED, AUSTIN IS QUITE A BIRDING DESTINATION. WE ARE LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL FLYWAY, AND SO WE SEE HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BIRDS VISIT CENTRAL TEXAS. AND WITHIN A 60 MILE RADIUS, WE CAN SEE OVER 400 SPECIES OF BIRDS FROM, UH, FROM AUSTIN. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF HABITAT. THE EDWARDS PLATEAU AND THE BLACKLAND PRAIRIE HABITAT TYPES KIND OF CONVERGE IN AUSTIN. SO, NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE BIRDS REPRESENTED IN THOSE TWO HABITATS, BUT ALSO UNIQUE TYPES OF BIRDS THAT LIKE THE, WHERE THOSE TWO TYPES CONVERGE. AND WE ARE A PREMIER DESTINATION FOR BIRD WATCHERS. YOU CAN SEE THIS PICTURE OF A GOLDEN CHEEKED WARBLER. THIS IS AN ENDANGERED SONGBIRD THAT PEOPLE COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO VISIT. AND WE IN TEXAS, MAKE A LOT OF MONEY DOING BIRDWATCHING. PEOPLE TRAVEL HERE, PEOPLE SPEND MONEY HERE. IT'S A, IT'S A BIG INDUSTRY. Y'ALL, COULD WE GET THE VISUAL FOR THOSE OF US JOINING REMOTELY? YES. WE'LL, OKAY. SO WHAT, SO [01:55:01] THE REASON THAT WE WANT TO INCORPORATE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN INTO OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT IS BECAUSE BIRDS HAVE DIFFICULTY PERCEIVING GLASS. INSTEAD OF SEEING THE SURFACE AS IT IS, IT IS PERCEIVED AS A NAVIGABLE AREA, EITHER WITH THE REFLECTED SURFACE OF HABITAT ADJACENT TO A BUILDING OR IT'S TRANSLUCENT AND IS PERCEIVED AS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE FLOWN THROUGH. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, DEADLY COLLISIONS OCCUR. SO THOSE COLLISIONS OCCUR IN THE DAYTIME. HOWEVER, THAT PROBLEM IS EXACERBATED BY LIGHT POLLUTION. SO AT NIGHT IS WHEN BIRDS MIGRATE, AND THEY ARE DRAWN INTO CITY AND URBAN CENTERS WITH LIGHT POLLUTION, UH, DISORIENTING THEM AND BRINGING THEM INTO SPACES WHERE THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO ENCOUNTER GLASS SURFACES. SO THE BIRDS, YOU KNOW, ENCOUNTER ALL OF THESE GLASS BARRIERS, AND THERE IS A LOT OF DEADLY COLLISIONS. AN ESTIMATED 1 BILLION BIRDS DIE EVERY YEAR, UH, DUE TO THE BIRD BUILDING COLLISIONS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. OKAY. SO SOME OF THE SOLUTIONS, THE PRIMARY SOLUTION FOR BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IS USING GLASS STRATEGIES, EITHER THAT'S ACTUALLY THE REDUCTION OF GLASS IN THE BUILDING'S FACADE DESIGN, OR USING GLASS THAT IS TREATED WITH DIFFERENT PATTERNS OR DIFFERENT TREATMENTS THAT CREATE PATTERNS THAT BIRDS CAN PERCEIVE. SO THOSE INCLUDE, UM, SO I ACTUALLY HAVE SOME EXAMPLES UP HERE THAT I'LL PASS AROUND IN A, IN A BIT, BUT FRIT, THAT IS A CERAMIC, UH, COMPONENT BAKED INTO GLASS ACID ETCHED UV COATING OR OTHER KIND OF RETROFIT, UM, MATERIALS THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO THE GLASS, LIKE DECALS OR STRING OR PAINT. UM, ALSO REDUCING GLASS EXPOSURE. SO SHADING THE GLASS WITH SOLAR SHADES OR EXTERNAL INSECT OR SOLAR SCREENS. ALL OF THOSE ARE VERY EFFECTIVE IN DETERRING BIRD COLLISIONS. AND THEN ALSO THERE'S DESIGN STRATEGIES TO INCORPORATE INTO THESE SOLUTIONS THAT PROVIDE PHYSICAL BARRIERS BETWEEN GLASS AND, UH, A BIRD FLIGHT. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS REALLY COOL AVIARY IN, UH, SALT LAKE CITY HAS THIS BEAUTIFUL, UH, METAL FACADE THAT IS CREATING A PHYSICAL BARRIER BETWEEN BIRDS FLYING INTO THE SIDE AND, UH, THE GLASS. SO IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT DESIGNING THE BUILDING AND USING THESE DIFFERENT KINDS OF MATERIALS. IT'S ALSO ABOUT INCORPORATING LIGHTING THAT REDUCES THE LIGHT POLLUTION. SO THERE'S TWO KINDS OF LIGHTING TO CONSIDER. THE EXTERIOR LIGHTING, WHICH IS DESIGNED TO REDUCE UP LIGHTING AND HAVING FULLY SHIELDED FIXTURES USING LIGHTING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS WITH AUTOMATIC, UH, YOU KNOW, SHUTOFFS. AND THESE KIND OF LIGHTING SYSTEMS ARE NOT JUST BENEFICIAL TO BIRDS, THEY'RE NOT JUST BENEFICIAL TO BATS AND LIGHTNING BUGS, BUT THEY'RE BENEFICIAL TO US AS WELL. ALSO USING, UH, WARMER LIGHT BULBS THAT ARE IN THE KIND OF RED TO ORANGE RANGE HELPS REDUCE THE DISORIENTATION THAT BIRDS EXPERIENCE WHEN COMING INTO, UH, THESE URBAN ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE LIT. INTERIOR LIGHTING ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO LIGHT POLLUTION, SO INCORPORATING AUTOMATIC, UH, CONTROLS WITH TIMERS AND OCCUPANCY SENSORS WITHIN BUILDINGS. THIS IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT OUR LIGHTS OUT INITIATIVE INCORPORATES, IS REDUCING, UH, OR SCHEDULING JANITORIAL SERVICES DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS AT PEAK MIGRATION TO REDUCE THE USE OF LIGHT, UH, WHILE, YOU KNOW, FOLKS ARE IN THERE WORKING TO REDUCE LIGHT SPILLAGE INTO THE ENVIRONMENT. NOW THESE ARE THE SOLUTIONS, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF THINGS THAT CITIES HAVE DONE OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS. TORONTO, AS MENTIONED BY THE CALLER, HAS BEEN ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, MAJOR CITIES THAT HAS DONE SO MUCH IN THIS EFFORT TO BRING BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN INTO THE MARKET. AND THEY ARE ONE OF SIX CITIES THAT WE INTERVIEWED AND TALKED TO ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THEIR REQUIREMENTS BECAUSE WE WANTED TO KNOW, OKAY, HOW DID YOU GUYS ROLL, ROLL THIS OUT? WHAT WAS THE FEEDBACK THAT YOU GOT FROM DEVELOPERS? WHAT WERE THE COMPLEXITIES IN ACTUALLY REVIEWING THESE KIND OF REGULATIONS ON YOUR COMMERCIAL? DID YOU DO ANY REG, UH, YOU KNOW, RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS? SO WE INTERVIEWED SIX DIFFERENT CITIES THAT HAVE HAD REALLY EFFECTIVE ORDINANCES. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL DIFFERENT CITIES THAT HAVE IMPLEMENTED ORDINANCES THAT ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY, WHICH IS THE MAJOR, UM, ORGANIZATION THAT ASSESSES, UM, UH, MATERIALS AND THEIR THREAT FACTOR AND ASSESSES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ORDINANCES, THEY HELPED US KIND OF SORT THROUGH [02:00:01] ALL OF THE DIFFERENT CITIES THAT HAVE THEM ON THEIR BOOKS AND, UM, RECOMMENDED THESE SIX CITIES. AND IT WAS REALLY, REALLY, UM, ENLIGHTENING. THE TWO THAT I HAVE LISTED HERE IN NEW YORK CITY AND ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA, HAVE REALLY DIFFERENT, UM, STRATEGIES. SO IN NEW YORK, THEY PASSED THEIR, UH, ORDINANCE IN 2021, AND WHAT THEIR ORDINANCE REQUIRES IS THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF NEW BUILDINGS UP TO 75 FEET FROM GRADE ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE 90% OF THE ENVELOPE OF THE BUILDING WITH A THREAT FACTOR OF 25 OR LESS. UM, SOME OF THE MATERIALS THAT I BROUGHT UP HERE FOR YOU TO SEE, YOU CAN KIND OF, UH, YOU KNOW, VISUALLY ASSESS WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS, THE PATTERNS OF THREAT FACTOR, UH, MATERIALS THAT ARE MUCH LESS HAVE, YOU KNOW, A LOT MORE TEXTURE, OR THEY HAVE A LOT MORE PATTERN ON THEM, UH, WHERE THINGS THAT HAVE A HIGHER THREAT FACTOR, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY HAVE MUCH SPARSE OR SPACED PATTERNS, UM, OR MORE TRANSLUCENT ARE ABLE TO REFLECT, UM, HABITAT OR SOMETHING, UH, MORE EASILY. SO THEY'VE BEEN VERY, VERY EFFECTIVE IN ADOPTING THIS ORDINANCE. THEIR CITY COUNCIL AT THE TIME WAS SUPER HAPPY TO, UH, TO ADOPT IT. AND THEY HAD, UM, YOU KNOW, FULL LIKE UNANIMOUS SUPPORT FROM THEIR CITY COUNCIL WHEN THEY ADOPTED THIS ORDINANCE. UH, AND THEY HAVE ALSO BEEN A BIG DRIVER OF MATERIALS. SO BECAUSE NEW YORK CITY IS, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTING A LOT OF BUILDINGS, A LOT OF THE INDUSTRY IN DEMAND IS ACTUALLY HAD A BIG IMPACT BECAUSE NEW YORK HAS ADOPTED THIS ORDINANCE FOR A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THEIR BUILDINGS. NOW, NEW YORK IS PREDOMINANTLY COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS, SO IT'S A DIFFERENT URBAN LANDSCAPE THAN IT IS IN AUSTIN, AND WE CERTAINLY TOOK THAT INTO ACCOUNT WHEN WE WERE TALKING TO THEM. NOW, ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA IS INTERESTING AND DIFFERENT BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONLY CITY THAT HAS ANY KIND OF, UM, DESIGN CRITERIA THAT IS VOLUNTARY, AND IT'S A PART OF THEIR DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM THAT'S WRAPPED INTO THEIR GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM. SO IN EXCHANGE FOR DENSITY, AND THEY, UH, PROJECTS COMPLY WITH A SLEW OF DIFFERENT GREEN BUILDING, UH, REQUIREMENTS. AND BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IS ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT HAS TO BE MET FOR THEM TO GET THEIR DENSITY BONUS. THEY'VE GOT A VERY DIFFERENT STRATEGY FOR REGULATING FACADES THAN NEW YORK. THEY'VE GOT, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY ONLY REGULATE FROM EIGHT TO 36 FEET. UM, THE MAXIMUM WEIGHTED AVERAGE FOR THE FACADE IS 15. SO THEY DON'T NECESSARILY JUST LOOK AT ANY INDIVIDUAL MATERIAL, BUT THEY KIND OF DO A WEIGHTED AVERAGE, UM, AND THEY INCLUDE OUTDOOR LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS. WE THINK THAT IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO, UH, PAIR THE, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF THE BUILDING WITH LIGHT ORDINANCES BECAUSE THE TWO INTERACT AND REALLY HAVE AN IMPORTANT, UH, YOU KNOW, SYNERGY THAT CAN HELP REDUCE BIRD COLLISIONS. SO WHAT DOES CURRENT BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IN AUSTIN LOOK LIKE? WE DO HAVE SOME THINGS THAT ARE A PART OF OUR REGULATORY LANDSCAPE. SO AUSTIN ENERGY'S GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, UM, WHICH IS OUR AUSTIN SPECIFIC GREEN BUILDING RATING PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY AUSTIN ENERGY IS SOMETHING THAT IS REQUIRED IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT ZONING, UH, DISTRICTS AND INCLUDING PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENTS. AND AS A PART OF GREEN BUILDING RATING, THEY'RE SIMILAR TO LEAD. THERE'S ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT CRITERIA THAT ARE MINIMALLY REQUIRED AND THEN SOME VOLUNTARY MEASURES THAT, UH, PROJECTS CAN COMPLY WITH. AND BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IS ONE OF THOSE. SO AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM STAFF HAVE BEEN VERY INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING THOSE CRITERIA. AND SO WE KIND OF ALREADY HAVE THOSE ON OUR BOOKS AND HAVE BEEN ABLE TO, UH, REVIEW PROJECTS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THOSE CRITERIA. ADDITIONALLY, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE A LIGHTS OUT, UH, INITIATIVE, AND THIS PARTICULAR INITIATIVE IS FOR CITY, UH, CITY MANAGED BUILDINGS. AND WHAT IT DOES IS IT'S A PARTICIPATION IN A PROGRAM TO REDUCE LIGHT POLLUTION BY TURNING OFF NON-ESSENTIAL LIGHTS DURING PEAK MIGRATION, UM, AIMING LIGHTS DOWNWARD, USING LIGHT SHIELDS TO DIRECT LIGHT DOWNWARDS, AND SEVERAL OTHER DARK SKY PRINCIPLES, UH, FOR BUILDINGS SPECIFICALLY MANAGED BY THE CITY. ALSO, WE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT GLASS AND LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS ALREADY THAT EXIST IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE. NOW, NONE OF THESE ARE SPECIFICALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, DES LIKE CREATED FOR BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN, BUT REDUCTIONS IN REFLECTIVITY DOES HELP REDUCE BIRD COLLISIONS, ALTHOUGH IT DOES NOT FUNCTION ALONE. AND SO WE ALREADY AS A, UH, YOU KNOW, REGULATORY BODY LOOK AT BUILDINGS AND THEIR FACADE FOR, UH, GLASS AND THEIR LIGHTING PLANS. NOW, WHEN WE WERE CONSIDERING [02:05:01] WHAT TO DO WITH OUR FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS, WE WERE LOOKING AT THE OTHER CITIES AND WHAT KIND OF FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS THEY PROVIDED IN THE BACKUP OF THEIR ORDINANCES. NOW, MADISON, WISCONSIN, THEY HAD AN ESTIMATE OF TWO TO 3% INCREASE IN ANY PROJECT'S COST. UM, WHEN WE TALKED TO THEM, THEY SAID IT WAS REALLY AN ESTIMATE, KIND OF LIKE AN OFF THE CUFF, BACK OF THE NAPKIN KIND OF ESTIMATE. UM, AND DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A CLEAR, YOU KNOW, IT DIDN'T CLEARLY LINE UP WITH LIKE, THIS IS DEFINITELY THE COST OF THIS TODAY AND HAVE DONE FULL CALCULATIONS OF A COST ESTIMATE. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT FAR OFF. I THINK THAT MIGHT BE TRUE FOR SOME KIND OF PROJECTS IN NEW YORK, HOWEVER, THEY ESTIMATED THAT THERE WOULD BE NO IMPACT ON REVENUES AND NO IMPACT ON EXPENDITURES. I MEAN, THAT SOUNDS GREAT. I WOULD LOVE IF THAT WAS TOTALLY TRUE. I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT IS NECESSARILY WHAT WE FOUND WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE COST OF THE GLASS THEMSELVES, BUT BERKELEY KIND OF, THEY PROVIDED A MORE REALISTIC, UH, UNDERSTANDING OF THE FACT THAT IT IS QUITE COMPLICATED. NOW, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT A HIGH RISE BUILDING THAT IS REQUIRED TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST A HUNDRED FEET BIRD FRIENDLY, WELL, IS THAT FIRST A HUNDRED FEET PARKING GARAGE? IS IT GLASS? UH, WHAT ABOUT A COMMERCIAL BUILDING? THAT'S ONLY THREE STORIES. HOW MUCH OF THE FACADE OF THAT IS GONNA BE GLASS? SO REALLY THE INCREASE IN COST PERCENT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ASSESS. BUT WHAT WE DID IS WE JUST LOOKED AND TRIED TO FIND WHAT IS THE SQUARE FOOT COST OF TREATING, OF PUTTING THESE APPLICATIONS, THESE COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS ON WINDOWS. SO WE TALKED TO A LOT OF MANUFACTURERS AND A LOT OF ARCHITECTS TO COME UP WITH THESE NUMBERS. SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE PRODUCTS, THERE IS OUR, YOU KNOW, STANDARD UNTREATED GLASS, THE FRITTED GLASS THAT HAS BAKED IN CERAMIC PIECES, ETCHED GLASS THAT IS ETCHED WITH, UM, ACID, ALTHOUGH LASER ETCHED GLASS IS BECOMING MORE, UH, COMMON. AND THEN ULTRAVIOLET, UH, TREATED GLASS WAS, WHICH IS ACTUALLY, UH, MORE TRANSLUCENT. SO YOU WOULDN'T NECESSARILY SEE THE PATTERN WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING THROUGH THE GLASS. THAT IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE ONE. UM, AN IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE IS YOU CAN GET TO A, UH, SAME COST AS STANDARD GLASS WITH A VERY SIMPLE FRITTED PATTERN. A LOT OF OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER IS THE COST OF GLASS. IT'S SO SOLD IN BULK, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY CUT. I MEAN, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY PROVIDED, YOU KNOW, A CUSTOM ORDER OF TREATED GLASS, ESPECIALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ETCHED GLASS. IT'S, YOU KNOW, A A WHOLE ORDER IS PROVIDED AND THERE'S, THERE'S DEFINITELY GONNA BE CUTOFF COMPONENTS. UM, OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OR HOW MANY, UH, PANES OF GLASS ARE GOING INTO A WINDOW, YOU ONLY TREAT ONE SURFACE, PREFERABLY THE FIRST SURFACE, THE MOST EXTERIOR SURFACE OF A WINDOW TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE. BUT YOU THEN DON'T TREAT THE OTHER PANES OF GLASS THAT ARE INCORPORATED INTO A WINDOW. SO THE SQUARE FOOT COST WOULD ONLY AFFECT ONE SQUARE FOOT OF THE WINDOW, NOT EVERY SINGLE PANE OF THE GLASS. ALSO, THERE'S ENERGY CODE REQUIREMENTS AND OTHER LAMINATION, UH, REQUIREMENTS THAT MIGHT BE INCORPORATED IN THE GLASS. ALL OF THOSE IMPORTANT THINGS TO CONSIDER INTO THE COST THERE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHEN YOU'RE ORDERING THE GLASS NEW CONSTRUCTION. WE DID ALSO LOOK INTO THE RANGE OF TREATMENTS FOR RETROFIT OPTIONS. AND WHAT WE FOUND, THE PRODUCTS THAT ARE ON THE MARKET ARE ABOUT 12 TO $14 A SQUARE FOOT TO, UH, YOU KNOW, INSTALL LIKE THE DECALS OR DOTS ON AN ALREADY CONSTRUCTED BUILDING. AND THAT INCLUDES INSTALLATION COSTS, YOU KNOW, UH, ESTIMATE OF AN INSTALLATION COST. THE WARRANTY ON THAT IS ONLY ABOUT 15 YEARS THOUGH, SO IT'S MUCH MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO PUT THE, UM, UH, ONE OF THE, THE MAIN TREATED TYPES OF GLASS IN FIRST THAN TO RETROFIT WINDOWS. SO WE FOUND OUT A, I MEAN, WE LOOKED AT A LOT OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR HOW COMMERCIAL GLASS AND ALL OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET. NOW, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT RESIDENTIAL GLASS, UM, THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE PRODUCTS RIGHT NOW. THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF INTEREST. ALMOST EVERY GLASS MANUFACTURER ON THE MARKET, FROM OUR UNDERSTANDING, IS CREATING BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS PRODUCT. AND SO THERE IS ALSO A LOT OF INTEREST IN RESIDENTIAL GLASS, AND AS THOSE DEMANDS KIND OF INCREASE, A PRODUCT WILL BECOME MORE AVAILABLE. BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF DIY SOLUTIONS FOR RESIDENTIAL, UH, DEVELOPMENTS. AND THOSE CAN RANGE FOR FI FROM 50 CENTS TO $7 A SQUARE FOOT BASED ON THE PRODUCTS AVAILABLE. UM, COMMERCIALLY, LIKE ON ON THE INTERNET, WHEN [02:10:01] WE WERE LOOKING AT THE COST OF LIGHTING, WHAT WE REALLY FOUND IS IT'S INFORMED DECISION MAKING. UM, WHEN YOU HAVE SHIELDED LIGHT FIXTURES, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE ANY MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE THAN UNSHIELDED LIGHT FIXTURES BULB TEMPERATURE DOESN'T CHANGE IN COST ACROSS THE, THE SPECTRUM OF, UH, BULB TEMPERATURE AND AUTOMATIC LIGHTING CONTROLS. WELL, IF YOU TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS, YOU'RE, YOU'RE DEFINITELY GONNA SAVE MONEY. SO THAT IS A, A GOOD INFORMED DECISION. SO WE WERE CONSIDERING THE FEASIBILITY OF, UM, HOW THESE REGULATIONS MIGHT BE IMPLEMENTED. AND WHEN WE WERE CONSIDERING LIKE HOW WOULD THIS, UH, BECOME A STREAMLINED REVIEW, WE, UH, SPOKE WITH MANY DSD BUILDING PLANS, EXAMINERS AND ASSESSED AT WHAT, LIKE AT WHAT SCALE IS GLAZING AND LIGHT PLANS BEING REVIEWED. AND IT IS AT THE 10,000 SQUARE FOOT PROJECT LEVEL, WHICH IS ACTUALLY SIMILAR TO SEVERAL OTHER CITIES. THE THAT'S THE CUTOFF THAT THEY START REGULATING BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN REQUIREMENTS IS 10,000 SQUARE FEET. SO OUR COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEWERS, ONCE THAT PROJECT IS THAT SIZE, THAT'S WHEN THEY'RE STARTING TO LOOK FOR GLAZING REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE ALREADY IN OUR LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE IN SUB-CHAPTER E OF OUR ZONING CODE. SO THOSE KIND OF THINGS ARE ALREADY BEING REVIEWED. AND WE DID A COUPLE OF EXERCISES WITH OUR AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING STAFF AND KIND OF WALKED THROUGH WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE TO REQUIRE THESE SORTS OF PRODUCTS ON A BUILDING THAT EXISTED TODAY. AND IT WAS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND EVERYBODY GENERALLY AGREED THAT IT WOULD BE A PRETTY STREAMLINED PROCESS TO REVIEW FOR THESE REQUIREMENTS. NOW, WE THOUGHT IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT CO-BENEFITS BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST THAT WE'RE DESIGNING FOR BIRDS, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER REASONS WHY GREEN BUILDING. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS BIOPHILIC BUILDING HAS AND EXTENDS TO OTHER KINDS OF BENEFITS. SO WITH GREEN, UM, WITH BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN, THERE WAS A STUDY DONE BY A NEW YORK FIRM THAT LOOKED AT THE REDUCTION OR THE SAVINGS OF ENERGY COSTS FOR DIFFERENT TREATED GLASS. AND THIS WAS A, A BOX STUDY THAT IS NOT EASY TO SCALE UP TO A FULL BUILDING, BUT WHAT IT DID SHOW IS YOU HAVE CLEAR GLASS COMPARED TO FRITTED GLASS, UV COATED GLASS, GLASS THAT HAS HORIZONTAL LIKE SHADE STRUCTURES, AND THEN GLASS THAT HAS INCORPORATED OPAQUE SURFACES WITHIN THE BOX. AND WHAT ALL, WHAT IT SHOWED IS IN EACH ONE OF THESE DIFFERENT TREATMENTS, YOU HAD A REDUCTION IN ENERGY USE ACROSS THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF TREATMENTS FOR EVERY TREATMENT THAT, UH, UH, THAT IS AVAILABLE THAT LIKE THESE COMMERCIAL TREATMENTS. SO WE THOUGHT THAT WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT THING TO, TO REPORT OUT IS THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS THAT BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN PROVIDES FOR A BUILDING. ADDITIONALLY, THERE'S SOME SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. NOW THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF CAME ACROSS, AND ONE IS, YOU KNOW, OUR WWE CODE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE CODE REQUIRES THAT THERE BE A DEFENSIBLE SPACE AROUND A BUILDING, WHICH MEANS THERE'S A REDUCTION IN VEGETATION IMMEDIATELY AROUND A BUILDING TO REDUCE THE TRANSFER OF WILDFIRE TO A STRUCTURE. AND IN DOING THAT, THERE IS ALSO SOME ADDED BENEFITS OF REDUCING THE VEGETATION THAT MIGHT BE REFLECTED IN A WINDOW. NOW WHEN IT'S PAIRED WITH NO BIRD FRIENDLY TREATMENT OF THE GLASS THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DRAW. A LINE LIKE THIS IS HOW YOU DESIGN YOUR YARD TO PROVIDE BIRD FRIENDLY BENEFITS. BUT WHEN DONE IN CONCERT WITH BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS, THE REDUCTION IN BIRD COLLISION IS NOTED. UM, SO THAT YOU KNOW THAT IMPROVEMENT IS REALLY IMPORTANT AND WELL, UM, LIKE WELL ALIGNED WITH OUR CURRENT WOO WE CODE. ADDITIONALLY, THERE IS THIS THOUGHT THAT BRIGHTER MEANS SAFER. NOW, THIS, UH, PARTICULAR PHOTOGRAPHIC EXAMPLE SHOWS THE BLINDING EFFECT THAT UNSHIELDED LIGHT CAN HAVE ON YOUR EYES. AND IN THE TOP PICTURE, YOU HAVE THIS UNSHIELDED LIGHT, AND IT APPEARS IN THE BACKGROUND AS A DARK SPACE THAT YOU CANNOT PERCEIVE ANY FIGURES. HOWEVER, WHEN YOU MOVE TO THE PICTURE BELOW AND THE HAND COMES IN FRONT OF THE LIGHT CREATING A SHIELDING EFFECT, ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE IS AN ABILITY TO PERCEIVE, UH, THE FIGURE IN THE BACKGROUND. NOW, THIS HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, DOCUMENTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN THE THE SAFETY IMPACT OF SHIELD UNSHIELDED LIGHT ON PERCEIVING THINGS WITHIN YOUR ENVIRONMENT. AND I THINK IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE THAT OUR DELL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL HERE IN AUSTIN HAS A DARK SKY CAMPUS. AND I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT PLACE WOULD YOU WANT TO BE SAFER THAN THAT? AND IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF BEING ABLE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THE PARKING LOT AND TO WALK AROUND A PLACE AT NIGHT AND TO BE ABLE TO FEEL SAFE, BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE ALL THE, THE FIGURES IN YOUR SPACE. [02:15:01] NOW, OTHER CO-BENEFITS, OBVIOUSLY, CONSERVATION, BIODIVERSITY, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WE PUT THIS ON HERE BECAUSE WHEN PEOPLE SEE TREATMENTS ON WINDOWS, THEY'RE INTERESTED. WHAT IS THE TREATMENT? WHY IS THERE PATTERNS ON THIS WINDOW? AND IT, AND, YOU KNOW, ENGAGES THE COMMUNITY AROUND, YOU KNOW, WHY WE'RE DESIGNING OUR BUILDINGS LIKE THIS. WELL, IT'S TO SAVE BIRDS IN ONE RESPECT. ALSO, IT CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED. THE IMPACT OF ECOTOURISM HAVING THE IMPACT THAT ECOTOURISM HAS ON THE, UH, ECONOMIC, UH, BENEFITS FOR THE STATE. NOW WE HAVE DEVELOPED OUR, YOU KNOW, WE'VE COLLECTED ALL OF THE BEST PRACTICES AND HAVE DEVELOPED OUR STAFF CONSIDERATIONS. NOW, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE ARE BRINGING FORWARD TO, TO COUNCIL THAT WE ARE WANTING FEEDBACK ON. UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE CONSIDERED. YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT PRIORITIES, AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT COST AND CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL, YOU KNOW, GREEN BUILDING ARE BOTH THINGS THAT ARE VALUED IN OUR COMMUNITY. SO WE PUT TOGETHER THIS CHART THAT KIND OF LOOKS AT GENERAL BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION GENERALLY. SO THIS DOESN'T NECESSARILY TAKE INTO ACCOUNT OUR UNIQUE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, LIKE OUR UNIQUE CONSIDERATIONS. BUT IN GENERAL, LOW-RISE BUILDINGS SHOULD HAVE, UM, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE BUILDINGS, UH, WITH A THREAT FACTOR OF 30 OR LESS. THESE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY, KIND OF LIKE A BLANKET RECOMMENDATION. UH, THE SAME IS TRUE FOR MID-RISE AND HIGH-RISE, EXCEPT THERE'S THIS RULE THAT COMES INTO EFFECT THAT THEY DESCRIBE AS THE A HUNDRED, A HUNDRED A HUNDRED RULE AT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF BUILDINGS, UP TO A HUNDRED FEET HAVE, UH, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE ENVELOPE OF THE BUILDING WITH A THREAT FACTOR OF 30 OR LESS. NOW THAT A HUNDRED FOOT, UH, HEIGHT IS RELATED TO THE CANOPY, THE MATURE CANOPY OF TREES. NOW THAT'S DIFFERENT EVERYWHERE. AND THE MATURE CANOPY OF TREES, YOU KNOW, IN, IN CENTRAL TEXAS, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME TREES THAT CAN GET UP TO A HUNDRED FEET. YOU KNOW, OUR BALD CYPRESSES GET UP TO A HUNDRED FEET. SO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE RECOMMENDING A HUNDRED FEET. AND I THINK THAT DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE IN THE COUNTRY, YOU MIGHT CONSIDER THAT IT DOESN'T NEED TO GO ALL THE WAY UP TO A HUNDRED FEET BASED ON THE HEIGHT OF YOUR TREES. UM, FOR LIGHTING SOLUTIONS, I THINK WE'VE ALREADY KIND OF GONE THROUGH SHIELDED LIGHT LIGHTINGS THAT ARE LIGHTING THAT'S DIRECTED DOWN, THAT'S ON TIMERS, AND THAT HAS A TEMPERATURE OF 3000 KELVIN OR LESS. AND THEN THERE IS A SLEW OF BEHAVIORAL PRACTICES THAT CAN BE EMPLOYED TO MANAGE A BUILDING, TO REDUCE, UM, LIGHT POLLUTION, UH, TO COINCIDE THE, DEVELOP THE, THE MANAGEMENT OF THE LANDSCAPE TO REDUCE BIRD COLLISIONS AND, YOU KNOW, OTHER PRACTICES THAT CAN HELP MANAGE THE BUILDING TO REDUCE, UM, UH, BIRD COLLISIONS WITH THE BUILDING. NOW, WITH ALL OF THESE THINGS CONSIDERED, THERE ARE THREE, UH, PARTICULAR, UH, COMPONENTS OF OUR WORK THAT WE ARE BRINGING FORWARD TO COUNCIL, AND ONE IS A LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT. SO WE BELIEVE THAT THE BEST WAY TO INTRODUCE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN INTO THIS LANDSCAPE IS TO HAVE A CODE AMENDMENT THAT REQUIRES THAT ALL COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS EXCEEDING 10,000 SQUARE FEET WOULD BE REQUIRED TO MEET BIRD SAFE DESIGN PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AS MEASURED BY A MATERIAL THREAT FACTOR RATING OF 20 OR LESS FOR ALL BUILDING SURFACES UP TO A HUNDRED FEET. NOW, THE REASON THAT WE ARE CHOOSING 20 IS BECAUSE THE LESS YOU HAVE A MATERIAL THREAT, LIKE THE LOWER THE MATERIAL THREAT FACTOR GOES, THE MORE PROTECTION YOU ARE PROVIDING TO BIRD POPULATIONS. AND IN PARTICULAR, THE MOST IMPACTED BIRDS ACTUALLY ARE OUR SMALLEST BIRDS, ESPECIALLY HUMMINGBIRDS. AND THOSE BIRDS NEED A MUCH MORE CONDENSED PATTERN SO THAT THEY CAN SEE AND NOT TRY AND NAVIGATE THROUGH THE PATTERN THAT WOULD BE, UH, APPARENT ON THE GLASS. SO WE ARE RECOMMENDING A LOWER THREAT FACTOR THAN JUST KIND OF THE STANDARD MINIMUM, BECAUSE WE, YOU KNOW, WANT TO PROTECT THE SMALLEST AND MOST VULNERABLE BIRDS. ADDITIONALLY, WE THINK THE CODE AMENDMENT SHOULD INCORPORATE DARK SKY LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS, AND THEN CONSIDERING, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS INCORPORATE A POTENTIAL WAIVER FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE PROJECTS. NOW, WE DON'T HAVE ALL OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A SAMPLE ORDINANCE HERE, BECAUSE THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN. YOU KNOW, WE WOULDN'T DEVELOP ORDINANCE LANGUAGE UNTIL THIS GETS INITIATED. SO THAT WOULD BE THE NEXT STEP IF FOR, [02:20:01] IS FOR CITY COUNCIL TO INITIATE A CODE AMENDMENT. FOR US TO DEVELOP AN ORDINANCE. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE WOULD PUT IN IT SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LIKE HOW, YOU KNOW, UH, MAYBE SOME HIGH RISK FEATURES. LIKE IF YOU HAVE A GREEN ROOF THAT IS ABOVE A HUNDRED FEET, THAT'S DEFINITELY GOING TO ATTRACT BIRDS, AND YOU WOULD WANT THE SPACE AROUND IT TO ALSO BE BIRD SAFE AND ALL OF THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS THAT GO IN AND HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES ORDINANCES. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO ARE PROPOSING TO INCORPORATE, UM, UH, A LOT OF COORDINATION WITH THE 2030 UPDATE TO THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM. NOW, THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM EXTENDS TO RESIDENTIAL UNITS. RIGHT NOW, WE CAN'T SAY WHAT THE FEASIBILITY OF THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE, SO WE ARE JUST GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, AGREEING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF THAT WE WANT TO COLLABORATE ON ASSESSING THE FEASIBILITY OF BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN ACROSS THE PROGRAM WHEN THEY DO THEIR BIG UPDATE, UM, INCLUDING UPDATING THE GREEN BUILDING POLICY, WHICH SPECIFICALLY REGULATES THE, UH, DEVELOPMENT OF ALL CITY BUILDINGS. AND THEN LASTLY, BECAUSE THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF OPTIONS FROM A REGULATORY PERSPECTIVE FOR RESIDENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES, WE DO WANT TO LAUNCH A LARGE RESIDENTIAL EDUCATION CAMPAIGN WITH LOTS OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING OUR ANIMAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, WHO RESPOND TO A LOT OF, UH, HOA AND NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS ABOUT WILDLIFE. AND WE'VE ALREADY DEVELOPED SOME HANDOUTS TO PROVIDE TO THE COMMUNITY AND HAVE PROVIDED SOME OF THESE TO THE COMMUNITY ALREADY. SO, NEXT STEPS. WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, VISITING WITH YOU TONIGHT TO GET SOME FEEDBACK ON WHAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER. UH, MOST RECENTLY WE WENT TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, WHERE WE, UH, SAW POSITIVE SUPPORT WITH AN INTEREST IN INCREASING THE TIMELINE ON THE UPDATE TO THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, UH, CRITERIA. BEFORE THAT, IN, UH, OCTOBER 13TH, WE SAW ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION AND SIMILARLY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UH, MID-SEPTEMBER, WHERE WE RECEIVED POSITIVE SUPPORT AND ALSO AN INTEREST IN CONSIDERING ALL CITY BUILDINGS, NOT JUST THOSE THAT ARE 10,000 SQUARE FEET AND ABOVE. WE WILL THEN BE GOING TO DESIGN COMMISSION, I MEAN, SORRY, PLANNING COMMISSION AND DOWNTOWN COMMISSION NEXT MONTH. UH, AFTER THAT WE WILL BE PROVIDING OUR FORMAL NON DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY MANAGER AND TO CITY COUNCIL. AND WITH THAT, THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. APPRECIATE Y'ALL STAYING LATE AND, AND HEARING THIS PRESENTATION. IT'S BEEN LONG, LONG MEETING. THANK YOU YEAH. FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UH, A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION IN HERE. UH, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER GILLES? THANK YOU. I'M, UM, DEFINITELY AN AVID SUPPORTER OF THIS INITIATIVE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. I, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. I HOPE THERE HAS BEEN DOCUMENTATION AS TO THE NUMBER OF BIRD CASUALTIES OR, UH, BUILDING RELATED BIRD DEATHS SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN. I KNOW THIS IS PROBABLY A NATIONAL MEASURE, BUT I'D LOVE TO KNOW SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN SO THAT WE CAN CLEARLY SEE THE CHANGE WHEN ALL OF THIS IS IMPLEMENTED, SORT OF BEFORE AND AFTER LOOK. YEAH, YOU KNOW, THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION. AND IN AND INTEREST, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME SMALL EXAMINATIONS OF BIRD COLLISIONS. THEY HAVE MOSTLY FOCUSED ON OUR HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS AND ON AND ON. THERE WAS A, THERE WAS AN EFFORT ON ST. EDWARDS CAMPUS LOOKING AT BIRD COLLISIONS. AND TWO, UM, WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO, UM, A FEW DIFFERENT VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS TO TRY TO COORDINATE KIND OF, UM, UH, A PEAK MIGRATION, UH, LIKE DATA COLLECTION EFFORTS AS A PART OF OUR EDUCATION CAMPAIGN. THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT PLATFORMS THAT YOU CAN REPORT, BIRD COLLISIONS, INATURALIST, AND D BIRD, WHICH IS LIKE YOU REPORT BIRD COLLISION, LIKE BIRD DEATHS. UM, AND THOSE ARE BOTH NATIONAL USED. AND SO THAT'S KIND OF A PART OF OUR EDUCATION CAMPAIGN BECAUSE IT TAKES SOME EDUCATION TO BRING THE COMMUNITY INTO AWARENESS. AND WE DO BELIEVE THAT IT WILL TAKE A COMMUNITY LEVEL UNDERSTANDING TO KIND OF RECEIVE THAT SORT OF DATA. THERE ARE, HOWEVER, SOME MODELS THAT EXIST THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED BY SOME ORNITHOLOGISTS THAT SAY, THIS IS HOW, HOW MANY BUILDINGS YOU HAVE EQUAL, UH, AN ESTIMATE FOR THIS MANY BIRD COLLISIONS. UM, SO, [02:25:01] YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING RIGHT NOW. THERE'S NOT AN ENTIRE, LIKE, CITYWIDE BODY OF DATA. UH, AND THERE IS NOT A TON OF BIRD DESIGN, LIKE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGNED BUILDINGS, BUT THEY DO HAVE, UM, MONITORING PROGRAMS WITH THEM. UM, YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH, I WOULD HIGHLY ENCOURAGE SOME RECORDING AND COLLECTING OF THAT SPECIFIC DATA. I, IT STRIKES ME AS THOUGH THIS INITIATIVE IS STRANGELY AT THE FOREFRONT OF IMPLEMENTING SOMETHING PRETTY MONUMENTAL IN THAT A SMALL CHANGE TO LIGHTING CAN, UM, POTENTIALLY HAVE A MASSIVE IMPACT ON, YOU KNOW, THRIVING, UH, UH, LIFE FORMS. AND YES, THOSE ARE BIRDS, BUT THE SPEED WITH WHICH THIS HAS BEEN ADOPTED AND THE AVENUE THROUGH WHICH IT WILL BE SORT OF TAKEN ON THROUGH THE AUSTIN GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, UM, IS FRANKLY REMARKABLE. UH, I THINK IF WE COULD ONLY LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THE LIVES OF OUR CHILDREN IN CLASSROOMS AND SOMEHOW IMPLEMENT LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THAT, THOSE SPACES YEAH. UM, THAT WILL BENEFIT THEIR MENTAL HEALTH AND THEN HAVE A RECORD OF SUCCESS THERE IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE ARE PROTECTING THE BIRDS, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE AMAZING. SO, UH, I FOR ONE, AM REALLY INTERESTED IN BEING ABLE TO SAY, LOOK AT THIS, THIS, WE'VE MADE THESE CHANGES, THIS WORKED. WE SAVED THIS NUMBER OF BIRDS. AND CONSEQUENTLY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S GOING TO HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON MENTAL HEALTH OF PEOPLE IN THE CITY BY, YOU KNOW, JUST REDUCING THE COLOR TEMPERATURE OF THE LIGHTING FROM 4,000 TOWARDS 3000. UH, IT ALL REMAINS TO BE SEEN, BUT CERTAINLY I'M, I'M IN SUPPORT, SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER CARROLL. THANK YOU. CHAIR. WILL THESE RECOMMENDATIONS BE FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION ONLY? YES. OR WOULD IT APPLY? IT WOULD, IT WOULDN'T APPLY TO RENOVATIONS OR ALTERATIONS, UM, OF EXISTING BUILDINGS. UM, WELL, IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ORDINANCE, WE WOULD PROBABLY NEED TO DISCUSS LIKE TO WHAT EXTENT, UM, REDEVELOPMENT WOULD QUALIFY FOR THESE REQUIREMENTS. A LOT OF OTHER CITIES HAVE DEALT WITH LIKE CERTAIN CUTOFFS, LIKE WHAT, AT WHAT POINT IS THE RECONSTRUCTION CONSIDERED ENOUGH THAT IT WOULD TRIGGER THESE REQUIREMENTS? SO THAT HAS NOT BEEN FIGURED OUT YET, UM, IN OUR CONSIDERATION, BUT SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD WORK ON DEVELOPING IF THE CODE WERE, UM, INIT, IF THE CODE AMENDMENT WERE INITIATED. OKAY. UM, ALSO I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE POTENTIAL WAIVER FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. MM-HMM . IT'S, AS SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN IN THIS SPACE FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UM, WHILE I A HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE THAT BIRDS MATTER, UM, THE CURRENT CLIMATE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS VERY BLEAK. CONSTRUCTION PRICES HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER. THE, THE TARIFFS, UH, DON'T MAKE THAT ANY EASIER. AND FEDERAL FUNDING HAS BEEN CUT FOR MANY FEDERAL HOUSING PROGRAMS. YEAH. UH, THAT MEANS THERE'S MANY PROJECTS THAT AREN'T PENCILING TODAY, AND EVEN A TWO OR 3% INCREASE THAT YOU TALK ABOUT COULD KILL A PROJECT. SO I WOULD JUST HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO REALLY CONSIDER THAT. UM, IF KNOW, GIVING PROJECTS A CHOICE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS, A CHOICE TO, IF, IF THEY CAN WORK IT IN THE BUDGET, THEN THAT'S FANTASTIC, BUT I'D HATE TO SEE PROJECTS DIE BECAUSE OF YEAH. UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID PUT IN THE, IN, IN OUR REPORT WAS LIKE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT COMMUNITY VALUE TO INVEST IN THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN AUSTIN. UM, AND WE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY, LIKE, THAT'S WHY WE WANTED TO PUT A WAIVER OPTION IN THERE. A LOT OF OTHER CITIES HAVEN'T EVEN CONSIDERED IT, AND WE'RE LIKE, WE HAVE TO PUT SOME KIND OF WAIVER OPTION IN THERE. UM, I AM A LITTLE BIT HEARTENED TO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF GLASS MANUFACTURING HAPPENS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND A LOT OF THE PRODUCTS, UM, THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS. THERE'S ACTUALLY A, UM, A GLASS ETCHING, UH, PLANT THAT IS BEING BUILT IN HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS. UM, SO IT'S GREAT TO KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME LOCAL PRODUCTS THAT DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BE SHIPPED VERY FAR. UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DEMAND WILL DRIVE A LOT OF THAT. UM, BUT WE ARE, WE ARE VERY CONSCIOUS OF THE, THE NEED FOR HOUSING, UM, AS, AS THAT IS A, A HIGH PRIORITY COMMUNITY, UH, VALUE IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW. SO I APPRECIATE THAT COMMENT, AND WE'RE DEFINITELY THINKING [02:30:01] ABOUT THAT. YEAH. AND A LOT OF THOSE PROJECTS USE RESIDENTIAL WINDOWS, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S LIMITED OPTIONS CURRENTLY FOR, FOR THOSE TOO. FOR SURE. UM, I'LL, I'LL SAY THAT, UM, INSECT SCREENS THOUGH ARE EXCELLENT BIRD LIKE COST NEUTRAL, BIRD SAFE DESIGN, UH, ELEMENTS FOR, FOR WINDOWS. SO YOU KNOW, THAT THAT CAN, YOU KNOW, ALREADY BE AVAILABLE, UM, AND ISN'T TREATED GLASS. RIGHT. AND THERE ARE SOLAR SCREEN INCENTIVES TOO THAT PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, COSTS, BENEFITS TO, WELL, YOU KNOW, THE, THE OWNER OR THE OCCUPANT THAT IS OFFERED THROUGH AUSTIN ENERGY, AND THAT IS ALSO BIRD FRIENDLY. UM, IT PROVIDES, IT'S A REDUCTION IN, IN COLLISION WITH WINDOWS TWO, BUT IT'S FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDUCING ENERGY COSTS. GREAT. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS. YEAH, THANK YOU. AND COMMISSIONER TRO THANK YOU, CHAIR. I'M GLAD FOR THAT CONVERSATION. 'CAUSE THAT WAS ONE OF MY QUESTIONS TOO, ABOUT WHAT THE, UH, THREAT FACTOR RATING FOR A STORM SCREEN OR MESH SCREEN WOULD BE. UM, I, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT, IT'S, IT'S BELOW 20. IT'S BELOW 20. YEAH. THIS IS A LITTLE GLIB, BUT I, IT'S, I, I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE, UH, IF, UH, WHY WE'RE EXEMPTING A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE FROM THESE RECOMMENDATIONS. UM, WOULD HONESTLY LOVE TO SEE THAT WRITTEN INTO THE RECOMMENDATION. UM, I WOULD BE ALL OVER THE PLACE IN MY TIME, UH, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED HAVING THIS CONVERSATION WITH, UH, ON, ON THE DAIS, UH, EARLIER THIS YEAR, I THINK WE WERE SO ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE, THE IDEAS AND RECOMMENDATIONS I THINK WENT RUN AROUND AND WROTE IT INTO THE DRAFT OF THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT, UM, HASN'T, HASN'T BEEN, UH, CODIFIED YET. UM, I, I DO HAVE SOME, I, I HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT SOME OF THE, UM, THE PLACES WE'VE ARRIVED, ALTHOUGH I FULLY SUPPORT THE LOGIC AND, AND, AND, AND THIS PROCESS GOING FORWARD. UM, JUST TO KIND OF A PROCEDURAL QUESTION, FIRST ON DSD REVIEW, WOULD WATERSHED BE THE REVIEWING AGENCY OR THE DEPARTMENT FOR IN A SITE PLAN REVIEW? NO, UH, COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEWERS IN DSD WOULD BE REVIEWING THE FACADE SINCE THEY ALREADY REVIEW GLAZING. THEY WOULD TAKE THAT ON. OKAY. YEAH. MAKES SENSE. THEY WOULD DO THAT. UM, AND HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT THE, THE, I KNOW WE HAVE, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THE KUT ARTICLE EVERY NOW AND THEN ABOUT ALL OUR BUILDINGS BEING BLUE, AND WE'VE GOT THE, THE, THE LOW E, THE, UM, A GB REQUIREMENTS FOR THE GLAZING MM-HMM . UNDERSTANDING THAT'S MOSTLY ABOVE THE THRESHOLD YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. BUT, UM, HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT KIND OF THE, ARE THERE PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET ON A QUICK SCAN WHILE YOU'RE TALKING, IT LOOKED LIKE THERE ARE SOME, BUT ARE, UM, YOU LOOKED INTO THE PRODUCT AVAILABILITY? MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THERE ARE PRODUCTS AVAILABLE WITH BOTH THE LOW ODING AND THE, THE TREATMENT ON THE GLASS AND DIFFERENT GLAZING COLORS OF ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COLORS AND DIFFERENT REFLECTIVITY THAT YOU CAN GET. A LOT THAT THE TECHNOLOGY HAS COME QUITE FAR. UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, UNLIMITED. THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO DO, BUT IMPORTANTLY, UM, HAVING THE PATTERN ON THE NUMBER ONE SURFACE, UM, IS THE THING THAT MAKES IT THE MOST EFFECTIVE. I WENT TO, UM, A CONFERENCE, UH, EARLIER, LIKE A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, AND, AND HEARD FROM SEVERAL OF THE GLASS MANUFACTURERS ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRODUCTS AVAILABLE WITH HAVING THE LOW E COATING WITH THE FRIT OR ETCHING WITH GLAZE COLORS, AND THERE BEING PRODUCTS AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET FOR, UM, WHERE THERE HADN'T BEEN BEFORE, UM, FOR ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT, UM, TYPES OF FEATURES THAT YOU WOULD WANT IN A PANE OF GLASS. SO I WAS, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY KIND OF SURPRISED THAT THERE WERE SO MANY OPTIONS AVAILABLE. AND I DIDN'T THINK I WAS GONNA GET TO TALK ABOUT THE BLUE JAYS FROM THE DIA TONIGHT, BUT GO JAYS, UH, I WAS ALSO IN TORONTO THIS SUMMER AND A HOTEL THEY'RE STAYING AT, UM, SAID TO MY PARTNER, I THINK THEY HAVE A BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IN TORONTO. I WAS LOOKING AT THE FRITTED GLASS, AND SHE'S LIKE, CAN YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR TWO SECONDS, ? UM, AND I LOOKED IT UP AND I DID, AND I THAT REALLY GOOD, UM, UH, REFERENCE. UM, I DID KNOW WHILE WE WERE TALKING, I WAS LOOKING AT SOME OF THE LEAD CREDITS, AND THE LEAD PILOT LOOKED LIKE IT STARTED AT THE THREAT FACTOR AT 25, AND IT'S ROLLED BACK TO 30. UM, SO I HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT OUR, THE FRAMING, THE PHRASING OF THE SENTENCE OF THE RATING OF 20 FOR ALL BUILDING SURFACES VERSUS THE SORT OF AVERAGE THAT, UM, UM, ONE OF THE OTHER CITIES THAT YOU TOOK. YEAH. THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE. THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE, THAT, AND I COULD SEE THE, THE, THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. I LOVE THE FLEXIBILITY THAT COMES WITH THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE. YEAH. I THINK THE, THE PHRASE FOR ALL BUILDING SERVICES IS CONCERNING SINCE WE ARE GOING FOR SUCH A STRINGENT NUMBER. YEAH. [02:35:01] UM, AND THAT'S GONNA ELIMINATE A LOT OF THE PRODUCTS THAT ARE, NOT ALL OF THEM, BUT SOME, AND I WOULD E EITHER RECOMMEND FLEXIBILITY GOING BACK TO 25 OR 30, OR ADJUSTING THE LANGUAGE ABOUT, ABOUT THE ALL BUILDING. YOU'RE SMILING, LIKE YOU GUYS HAVE HAD THIS CONVERSATION ALREADY. SO I, WE HAD A REALLY IN DEPTH CONVERSATION WITH AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY ABOUT THIS, THIS MORNING BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS. SO THERE'S LIKE THE BUILDING MATERIAL FACTOR WHERE THERE'S A WEIGHTED AVERAGE, AND THAT'S ACTUALLY ONE WAY IN WHICH OUR GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM ALLOWS FOR FLEXIBILITY. SO YOU CAN DO, LIKE, ALL OF THE MATERIALS ARE UNDER, YOU KNOW, 15 OR THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE IS 15. UM, SO THERE BEING MULTIPLE WAYS TO GET TO THE CRITERIA THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR. ADDITIONALLY, SOMETHING THAT I LEARNED TODAY IS, SO A THREAT FACTOR OF 20 OR LESS GETS YOU 124 SURFACES THAT HA OR MATERIALS THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED. WHEN YOU GO UP TO 25, YOU GET AN ADDITIONAL 70 PRODUCTS AVAILABLE THAT, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN I HEARD THAT, I WAS LIKE, OH, THAT'S A REALLY INTERESTING THING TO CONSIDER. WE WANT FLEXIBILITY IN MATERIALS. UM, THE 30 MARK, THE, THE THING THAT WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT IS THAT THE, WHEN YOU START TO GET INTO THE 30 RATING, THAT IS LIKE THE ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM THAT THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY WOULD RECOMMEND. AND THAT IS ALSO THE AREA AT WHICH YOU START TO GET MORE VULNERABILITY TO THE SMALLER BIRDS, UM, INCLUDING HUMMINGBIRDS, WHICH ARE IMPORTANT POLLINATOR SPECIES. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO START, UH, THE CONVERSATION AT 20, UM, BECAUSE WE THINK THAT CONFERS THE MOST PROTECTION TO POLLINATOR SPECIES THAT ARE MOST VULNERABLE. AND, AND WE WANT FLEXIBILITY. I MEAN, EVERYBODY WANTS FLEXIBILITY. REVIEWERS WANT FLEXIBILITY TOO. SO IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ORDINANCE, WE WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE A LOT OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS LIKE KIND OF UNDERSTANDING WHERE WE CAN, UM, MAKE AN EFFECTIVE ORDINANCE BECAUSE WE WANT IT TO BE EFFECTIVE AND ALSO FLEXIBLE, WHICH IS TRUE IN LIKE LEAD AND IN OUR GREEN BUILDING CRITERIA THERE, THERE'S A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY BUILT IN. AND, AND WITH THAT IN MIND, ENDORSE THIS IN SPIRIT, AND I, I DON'T SEE THE FLEXIBILITY AND THE LANGUAGE IS PRESENTED TO US, BUT WE'LL UNDERSTAND THAT THE ORDINANCE WILL HAVE THE, THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THAT. UM, I, I WILL THE, UH, TWO MORE, TWO LAST THINGS. ONE, UH, JUST SORT OF AS A CARROT AND STICK BALANCE. YOU DIDN'T, YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS DIDN'T COME WITH ANY SORT OF INCENTIVIZATION OF LIKE SCREENING OR OTHER MATERIALS. AND I THINK THAT COULD BE A REALLY INTERESTING WAY THAT BOTH PROMOTES REALLY COOLER DESIGN AND SHADE AND, AND BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WILL WORK ITS WAY INTO THE FINAL. YEAH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE RECEIVED THAT FEEDBACK, A COUPLE OF ATI A COUPLE OF TIMES, AND, UM, WE HAD NOT ORIGINALLY INCORPORATED IT BECAUSE THE FEASIBILITY OF LIKE, WHICH DEPARTMENT RUNS AN INCENTIVE BASED PROGRAM, BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE KIND OF TALKED THROUGH IT A LOT, BUT BECAUSE WE'VE RECEIVED A LOT OF FEEDBACK, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA INCORPORATE SOME KIND OF LANGUAGE. IT'S IN THE REPORT, LIKE AS A STRATEGY TOWARDS, UM, BRINGING MAYBE UNREGULATED BUILDINGS INTO, YOU KNOW, ADOPTING THAT KIND OF, UH, DESIGN. SO, UM, WE THINK INCENTIVES ARE, ARE AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT. WE'RE NOT ENTIRELY SURE HOW THEY WOULD ROLL OUT, AND WE DEFINITELY WERE LOOKING HARD ON THE FEASIBILITY, LIKE LITERALLY WHAT STAFF PERSON IS GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS. UM, SO WE'LL KEEP EXPLORING THAT BECAUSE I, I DO THINK IT IS A REALLY IMPORTANT COMPONENT THAT HAS BEEN, UM, BROUGHT UP A FEW TIMES. SO THANKS, THANKS FOR BRINGING, BRINGING THAT UP. WE'LL, AND I'M, I'M ARRIVING SLOWLY THE POINT OF MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS THAT IF, IF THIS BECOMES CODE, WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT GUIDELINE. BUT THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT THIS BODY CAN DO AS A RECOMMENDATION FOR DENSITY BONUSES IS EXPLORE, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THE CAPACITY TO REC, MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THAT KIND OF DESIGN. YEAH. UM, WHERE SOME OF IT MIGHT BE A CHALLENGE FOR SOME OF THE OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS TO DO SO. YEAH. UM, FINALLY, JUST LAST COMMENT. I WANNA ECHO, UM, WHAT, WHAT COMMISSIONER CAROL SAID, I THINK IT'S CHALLENGING ENOUGH FOR CAPITAL A AFFORDABLE HOUSING RIGHT NOW. AND THIS SORT OF POTENTIAL WAIVER OPTION KINDA GIVES ME CHILLS. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, I, I MEAN, I WOULD, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO WEIGH THESE THINGS AGAINST EACH OTHER. BUT, UM, I DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT, THAT THE DEEPLY AFFORDABLE CAPITAL, AFFORDABLE PRO PROJECTS, UM, HAVE, HAVE, HAVE A CLEAR AVENUE FOR SOME RELIEF FROM COST, COST BURDENS ON JUST NOT THIS, NOT THIS ONE, BUT ALL THE OTHER THINGS WE LAY ON ON CODE THAT, THAT MAKE IT A CHALLENGE. SO I DON'T WANNA MAKE THIS THE VILLAIN OF THAT, BUT YEAH, [02:40:01] I THINK IT DESERVES TO BE SAID THAT I FEEL LIKE CLARITY IS, UH, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS ANYTHING ELSE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS SOMETHING, UM, IT DESERVES. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU FOR THAT. COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY. HI. SO THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, FOR THE UPDATE. UM, I KNOW WE'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE AND IT'S GOOD TO SEE IT PROGRESSING. UM, I WANNA KIND OF TAG ON TO THE AFFORDABILITY AND THEN THE SORT OF MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS. UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE CITY IS TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM WAIVERS. UM, RIGHT. IT'S JUST ANOTHER IMPEDIMENT TO DEVELOPMENT THAT YOU HAVE TO APPLY FOR A WAIVER, EVEN IF THE WAIVER IS ALWAYS GRANTED, IT'S STILL THE EXTRA STEP. I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE BUILT INTO THE CODE THAT IF YOUR PROJECT MEET, AND I, I DON'T KNOW AS MUCH AS COMMISSIONER CARROLL, UM, AND EVEN COMMISSIONER HOWARD ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, AND WHAT THOSE DIFFERENT BENCHMARKS ARE. BUT I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE WRITTEN IN THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CERTAIN PROJECTS THAT, THAT, UM, REQUIRE CERTAIN FUNDING AND THAT TO BE JUST WRITTEN INTO THE CODE, THAT IF YOUR PROJECT GETS THIS LEVEL OF FUNDING, YOU AUTOMATICALLY ARE EXEMPT FROM HAVING TO DO THIS NO WAIVER REQUIRED. IT'S AUTOMATICALLY DONE, UM, BECAUSE THE WAIVERS, THE PAPERWORK ARE ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT SOMEONE HAS TO PAY DAVID TO FILL OUT, UH, WHEN HE DOES A PROJECT. SO, UM, THAT'S MY FIRST SUGGESTION TO THAT. I THINK MY SECOND IS ALSO TO KIND OF TAG ONTO WHAT COMMISSIONER LES SAID. UM, WE DON'T, WE DON'T APPEAR TO HAVE A LOT OF METRICS ON THIS. AND SO BY SETTING THE BASE REQUIREMENT AT A THREAT FACTOR OF 20, I THINK WE'RE GOING AS A CITY FROM LIKE ZERO TO A THOUSAND. AND WE'RE, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF BACKUP TO SAY, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT NATIONALLY THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT WE FACE AND THAT, YOU KNOW, ANY THAT, THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING THESE THINGS TO PROTECT OUR BIRD POPULATIONS. AND THAT IN TEXAS WE HAVE AN EXTENSIVE POPULATION OF BIRDS DUE TO MIGRATION. BUT I THINK WITHOUT A LACK OR WITH A LACK OF METRICS BY SETTING SORT OF AN EXTENSIVE, A MORE EXTENSIVE STANDARD THAN THE MINIMUM THAT WOULD BE SET BY A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT LOOKS AT THESE SORTS OF THINGS, WE MAY STEPPING A LITTLE TOO FAR. SO I THINK MY, MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE TO SET IT AT THE MINIMUM THREAT LEVEL OF 30, BECAUSE THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION. AND THEN WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK IN FUTURE CODE ITERATIONS AND TIGHTEN THAT IF WE'RE NOT SEEING THE RESPONSE THAT WE, THAT WE THOUGHT WE WOULD. BUT AGAIN, WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IF WE'RE SEEING THE RESPONSE THAT WE THOUGHT WE WOULD BECAUSE WE HAVE NO NUMBERS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS. SO I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE THE POTENTIALLY THE PUSHBACK FROM PEOPLE, UM, IN, YOU KNOW, THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY TO SAY WE'RE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND WHEN WE DON'T EVEN HAVE THE DATA REALLY TO SUPPORT THE ABOVE AND BEYOND. YES. THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK. I ACTUALLY LOVE THE SUGGESTION OF INCORPORATING THE WAIVER INTO THE CODE. I THINK YOU'RE, WE, WE DON'T LIKE WAIVERS. LIKE IT'S NICE TO HAVE SURETY, YOU KNOW? I TOTALLY AGREE. I LOVE THAT FEEDBACK. THANK YOU FOR, UH, PROVIDING THAT. UM, WE'LL DEFINITELY TALK ABOUT THAT ONE. THAT ACTUALLY HASN'T COME UP QUITE LIKE THAT. SO I'M SO GLAD THAT YOU SAID THAT. IT'S A CONVERSATION THAT HAS BEEN, IS BEING HAD ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS. UM, SO YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THAT. I THINK THAT RELATED TO THE, THE METRIC DATA, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ONE THING THAT AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY DOES NOT NECESSARILY RECOMMEND IS WAIT TO GET THE DATA BEFORE YOU ACT FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CITY. 'CAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF DATA IN THE UNITED STATES, UM, BUT DEVELOPING LIKE A, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEAR DATA COLLECTION PROGRAM BEFORE ACTING IS, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BIRDS DYING IN ADVANCE OF ACTING. AND WHEN WE DO HAVE ORDINANCES THAT DO HAVE, UM, ACTIVE ORDINANCES IN PLACE LIKE TORONTO, LIKE NEW YORK, LIKE MADISON, WISCONSIN, THAT HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE AND HAVE, AND ALSO DO HAVE MONITORING PROGRAMS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT DOES PROVIDE SOME GUIDANCE. WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, JUST FLYING TOTALLY BLIND. UH, YOU LIKE WHAT I DID THERE WITH THE FLYING BLIND, UH, THAT, [02:45:01] UM, SO WE WANNA COLLECT DATA. WE JUST THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S IMPERATIVE TO ACT, UM, KNOWING THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE. I'LL JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, LAST TWO WEEKS AGO, THREE, THREE WEEKS AGO, THERE WAS FOUR AND A HALF MILLION BIRDS THAT FLEW THROUGH TRAVIS COUNTY IN ONE NIGHT. AND THAT IS HOW, LIKE, THAT IS THE NUMBER OF BIRDS THAT ARE PASSING THROUGH, MIGRATING THROUGH OUR COUNTY IN ONE NIGHT. SO THE IMPACT, LIKE IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN A BIRD STRIKE A WINDOW THAT TIMES EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE CITY, UM, GATHERING THAT DATA, UH, WHEN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS HAVE DEFINITELY DONE LIKE YEARS AND YEARS OF DATA COLLECTION AND ADVANCE OF ACTING IS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT I THINK, UM, ROBS US OF BEING ABLE TO HAVE A BIRD FRIENDLY CITY. BUT THE GOING TO 30, THE 30 THREAT FACTOR, I THINK IS WELL TAKEN. I APPRECIATE THAT FEEDBACK BECAUSE THAT'S BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION. SO I APPRECIATE THAT FEEDBACK. COMMISSIONER HOWARD, UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK THAT I, YOU KNOW, EXPRESSED A LOT OF THE, THE SAME SUPPORT, UH, IN GENERAL, THE SENTIMENT OF THIS AND, AND TRYING TO GET TO, YOU KNOW, AN ORDINANCE THAT'S GONNA REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, CROSS ALL THE T'S AND DOT THE, I'S THE RIGHT BALANCE HERE IS, IS THE KIND OF THE NEXT STEP THAT I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE HEADED TOWARD. UM, BUT YEAH, I, UM, I THINK IN GENERAL, LIKE, YOU KNOW, I, I, I PERSONALLY FULLY SUPPORT THIS AND, AND, UM, I'M SURE YOU'LL GUYS ALL GET THERE. UM, AND I, I GUESS AS YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE, UM, THE THRESHOLD FOR THE FIRST 100 FEET AS IT BEING RELATED TO THE HEIGHT OF TREES MM-HMM . JUST KIND OF SENT ME SPINNING ABOUT THINKING LIKE, HOW MANY A HUNDRED FOOT TREES DO WE ACTUALLY HAVE IN URBAN AUSTIN? UH, ESPECIALLY WHERE WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR OPEN SPACES, UM, WHICH OFTENTIMES TEND TO BE, UM, UH, OUR RIGHT OF WAYS. OBVIOUSLY THERE'S PARKS AND THINGS AND SURROUNDING PARKS, IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, I'M, I JUST THINK ABOUT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THAT RIGHT OF WAY. WE HAVE, UM, THE TREES, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT SEEING A LOT OF STREET TREES AT A HUNDRED FEET. WE'RE PROBABLY, UM, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT MAYBE MAYBE LIKE 40 FEET OR SO. UH, MARISSA? NO, PRETTY TALL TOO. . YEAH, SHE'S, SHE'S GOT IT OFF THE TOP. WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT A, IN AN URBAN TREE, MAYBE 25 FEET. YEAH. I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A FAHE PER A URBAN TREE. AND MOST OF OUR TREE CANOPY HERE IS GONNA, AS YOU MOVE FURTHER OUT, YOU ARE GONNA MAX OUT AT ABOUT 50. TYPICALLY, YOU MAY HAVE THE OCCASIONAL BULB CYPRESS ALONG THE LAKE SUCKING WATER OUT OF THAT LAKE EVERY DAY THAT WILL GET TO 70 FEET. BUT THAT 70 IS REALLY ABOUT WHERE WE MAX OUT HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS. SO THINKING, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT THOSE DIMENSIONS AND I'M, AND ALSO THINKING ABOUT LIGHT, DISORIENTING LIGHT IN THE, IN THE STREET, UM, IN THOSE SPACES, IN THOSE URBAN SPACES, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, UH, I KNOW AUSTIN ENERGY IS INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS AND, AND I, SO I'M THINKING ABOUT LIGHT SOURCES OTHER THAN JUST WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE, ON THE PRIVATE SIDE, YOU KNOW, DID YOU GUYS LOOK AT THE, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY STANDARD STREETLIGHT? UM, I THINK IT'S MOUNTING HEIGHT IS PROBABLY LIKE 30 FEET OR MORE IN SOME PLACES. UM, AND TREES ARE, THAT'S ABOVE TREE LEVEL. UM, AND THEY'RE NOT, UH, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE, THEY MAY BE SHIELDED, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY, LIKE, THEY DON'T GO ABOVE THE, THE HEIGHT OF THE, THE FIXTURE. IT HAS LIKE A ZERO HORIZON SORT OF CUTOFF. IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT TARGETED. AND SO FROM DARK SKY PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, 30 FEET IN THE AIR ABOVE MOST OF OUR TREES, WE HAVE A LIGHT SOURCE, UM, THAT THE CITY HAS PRESCRIBED. UM, AND SO, AND I KNOW THAT HAS A LOT OF CONFLICTS WITH STREET TREES AND OTHER THINGS THAT ARE ALSO GOOD FOR THE, THE, THE, UM, BIRD POPULATION. SO I'M, I, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST, I'M THINKING ABOUT LIKE, WHAT IS THAT THE RIGHT NUMBER FOR OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR URBAN, UM, OUR FOR URBAN AUSTIN PLACES, UH, AS FAR AS THE FIRST, HOW MANY FEET OF THE BUILDING? AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD REALLY BE PUTTING OUR, OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR STANDARD STREET LAMP IS, IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH THESE, UM, THESE GOALS. YEAH. UM, ALL GREAT COMMENTS. YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN BRINGING SOME GREAT FEEDBACK. I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE. THESE ARE REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL COMMENTS. UM, RELATED TO THE STREET, THE LIGHTING, PUBLIC LIGHTING STANDARDS, IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT THING. SO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT IS WORKING ON A LIGHTING PLAN, AND THEY'RE [02:50:01] LOOKING AT, UM, YOU KNOW, STREETS AND PARKS AND PUBLIC OPEN SPACE, AND WE'VE BEEN COLLABORATING WITH THEM TO, YOU KNOW, UH, IMPRESS OUR CONCERNS ABOUT THESE, OTHERWISE NOT VERY DARK SKY, UM, PUBLIC OPEN SPACE KIND OF LIGHTING DESIGNS. UH, SO THAT, THAT'S KINDA HAPPENING, UM, ON THE SAME TIMELINE AS WHAT WE'RE DOING. AND WE'RE TRYING TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON, ON THAT EFFORT. UH, SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINITELY CONCERNED ABOUT HOW THAT GETS INCORPORATED TO, INTO, LIKE, THE ENVIRONMENT THAT IS, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE PLACE WHERE WE'RE PUTTING TREES, THE CANOPY QUESTION IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT A LOT. YOU KNOW, I'M A BIKE COMMUTER, I BIKE AROUND, I LOOK AT THE TREES, I'M LIKE, I, UH, I HAVE DOLLARS THAT TREE, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, MAYBE NOT A HUNDRED FEET. AND THAT IS SOMETHING I THINK WE WILL KIND OF, YOU KNOW, IN DEVELOPING ACTUAL LANGUAGE, UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO SEE WHERE OUR COMMUNITY IS REALLY INTERESTED IN MAINTAINING SOME OF THE BASELINE RECOMMENDATIONS AND WHERE THERE IS A STRONG NEED TO PUSH ON THOSE. I KNOW THAT THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY HAS SOME, YOU KNOW, THEY WANT A HUNDRED FEET BECAUSE BIRDS ARE STILL FLYING AT A HUNDRED FEET. BUT THE, THAT'S DEFINED AS LIKE THE GENERAL HEIGHT OF THE CANOPY. AND IF THAT'S THE GENERAL HEIGHT, I MEAN, IF THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE MEASURING THIS REGULATORY AREA, OURS MAYBE IS NOT THAT HIGH. UM, HOWEVER, IT DOES STILL PROVIDE PROTECTION, AND THEY WOULD NEVER, YOU KNOW, IN OUR CONVERSATION THIS MORNING, THEY WEREN'T LIKE, OH, WE WOULD EVER RECOMMEND YOU GO LOWER IF YOU CAN STAY AT A HUNDRED. THAT'S GREAT. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, SUPER VALID, UH, POINT AND SOMETHING THAT WE, WE HAVE EVEN LIKE TALKED ABOUT, LIKE WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE? I THINK 30, DOING ANYTHING ABOVE 30 IS NON-NEGOTIABLE. DOING ANYTHING THAT JUST LIKE EXCLUDES SIDES OF A BUILDING, IT'S NOT EFFECTIVE. UM, DOING THINGS THAT ARE LIKE, UH, ZONE BASED, LIKE THIS AREA OVER HERE IS LESS EFFECTIVE THAN THIS AREA OVER HERE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT EFFECTIVE. UM, SO THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE MORE, UH, WE HAVE MORE ROOM TO, UH, DISCUSS AND FIND FLEXIBILITY AROUND. AND I THINK THAT ONE, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT, BUT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE DID WANNA START AT THAT KIND OF BASELINE. I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. YEP. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER MEKI, COUPLE OF THINGS. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU FOR COMING BACK. UM, I DID WANNA, UM, COMMENT ON THE DATA AND DATA AVAILABILITY. I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE, UH, WE DON'T WANNA BE WAITING TO COLLECT THE DATA. I WAS WONDERING IF THERE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO REACH OUT TO THE UT OR ANY OTHER LOCAL UNIVERSITY TO SEE IF THEY HAVE THE DATA. YEAH. AND, AND IF IT'S AN OPTION THAT MAYBE SOMETHING TO LOOK INTO. UH, I ALSO WANTED TO FIND OUT IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO, UM, WORK WITH THE TARP INITIATIVE, UH, BECAUSE THERE'S DEFINITELY A LOT OF, UM, UM, A LOT OF OVERLAP IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO, WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO. YEAH. AND FINALLY, IT'S A, JUST A SUGGESTION IN TERMS OF RESIDENTIAL EDUCATION CAMPAIGN, I WAS WONDERING IF IT, UM, WILL MAKE SENSE TO ENGAGE THE LOCAL YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS GIRL SCOUTS AND BOY SCOUTS IN, UH, PROVIDING EDUCATION TO THE COMMUNITIES HERE. YEAH. UM, JUST TO SPEAK TO THAT LAST THING FIRST, WE'RE REALLY INVESTED IN THE YOUTH. I LIKE OUR INTERNS BEING REPRESENTATIVE OF THE YOUTH. UM, THAT IS A REALLY IMPORTANT THING. UM, AND AS IF WE GET THE DIRECTIVE, YOU KNOW, TO REALLY PURSUE THAT, WE HAVE A LOT OF IDEAS OF HOW TO REALLY MAKE AN IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT, YOU KNOW, IS LOOKING AT SCHOOLS. I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF SCHOOLS WITH A LOT OF GLASS SURFACES AND A LOT OF KIDS THAT PROBABLY CARE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, BIRDS HITTING THEIR, THEIR, UH, BUILDINGS. UM, I'LL JUST SAY HAYES COUNTY IS BUILDING A HIGH SCHOOL THAT IS BIRD FRIENDLY. THEY'RE BUILDING, THEY'RE DESIGNING IT RIGHT NOW AND GOING THROUGH REVIEW, WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING THAT THEY AGREED TO DESIGN THEIR HIGH SCHOOL TO BE BIRD SAFE, UM, AND THE TARP. SO I'M GLAD YOU, YOU MENTIONED THE TARP, AND THAT'S, THAT'S A, UM, A STAKEHOLDER GROUP THAT WILL PROBABLY, UM, TAP IF THE CODE AMENDMENT GETS INITIATED. SO I'M ACTUALLY A REPRESENTATIVE FROM WATERSHED ON THE TARP, AND I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT LIKE, WHEN ARE WE GONNA [02:55:01] BRING THIS TO THE TARP? BECAUSE IT WILL BE FUN. IT'LL BE A LIVELY, LIVELY CONVERSATION. UM, AND I THINK THEY'RE A GREAT RESOURCE TO TAP, ESPECIALLY TO REALLY VET WHAT ISSUES MIGHT COME UP IN ROLLING SOMETHING LIKE THIS OUT. BUT I, BUT WE'RE WAITING. IF IT, IF IT GETS INITIATED, THEN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, WE'RE GONNA TALK TO THE TARP FOR SURE. UM, AND THEN WE HAVE TALKED TO THE LOCAL, UH, WE'VE TALKED TO SOME FOLKS AT UT AND SOME FOLKS AT ST. EDWARDS AND THEY HAVE SOME DATA, UM, ON, ON THEIR CAMPUS. AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF REACHING OUT TO SOME OF THE OTHER UNIVERSITIES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, LIKE A AND M, UM, THEY HAVE DATA THERE, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ON THE CENTRAL FLYWAY TOO, SO THAT, THAT'S HELPFUL TOO. UH, AND TALKING TO AUDUBON AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AUDUBON, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS, WE'RE, WE'RE MAKING AS MANY CONNECTIONS, LIKE WHO HAS DATA, GIVE US ALL YOUR DATA. SO WE'RE VERY INTERESTED IN FINDING AS MUCH DATA AS POSSIBLE, YOU KNOW, SCANNING ALL THE INATURALIST PROJECTS, UM, TRYING TO COLLECT THAT BECAUSE WE, WE DO WANT TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION. UM, SOME OF THE MOST ROBUST STUDIES, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN DONE, UM, UNFORTUNATELY HAVEN'T BEEN DONE IN TEXAS, BUT THERE, THERE'VE BEEN LIKE, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS AND THAT'S REALLY EXCITING. IF, IF WE COULD GET SOME MOMENTUM AROUND THE ORDINANCE BEING ADOPTED, IT WILL BE A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO FIND MOMENTUM AROUND FINDING THAT INFORMATION TOO. SO WE'RE HOPING. THANK YOU. YEAH, THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. YEAH. UM, AND YOUR NEXT STEP IS THE PLANNING COMMISSION, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO DOWNTOWN COMMISSION AND THEN, UM, PLANNING COMMISSION. YEAH. AND THEN AFTER THAT IS THE, THEN WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT, UM, TO THE CITY MANAGER AND ALL THE, UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE IN ADVANCE OF GOING TO CITY COUNCIL IN JANUARY. WE'RE NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT THE DATE IS, UM, PRESENTING OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FORMALLY TO CITY COUNCIL, BUT SOMETIME IN JANUARY. OKAY. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD NEED FROM US AS A DESIGN COMMISSION TO BRING UP IN A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM? UM, I THINK THAT AS YOU CONSIDER, UM, ANY INTEGRATION OF DESIGN, OF, OF LIKE CRITERIA THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO INCLUDE IN, UM, WE, WE WOULD WANNA COLLABORATE WITH Y'ALL VERY CLOSELY ON THAT. OKAY. UM, FOR SURE. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT AND ALL YOUR FEEDBACK. THIS HAS BEEN A LOT OF REALLY WONDERFUL COMMENTS AND IT'S VERY HELPFUL IN GIVING A, A LOT OF CLEAR INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING FOR. SO I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THIS CONVERSATION'S BEEN REALLY HELPFUL. WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, OUR NEXT ITEM, UH, WE'RE ON ITEM NUMBER FIVE. AND SO IF Y'ALL DON'T MIND, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK, UM, IF Y'ALL ARE OKAY WITH THAT, AND THEN WE'LL, WE WILL RECONVENE HERE AT 9 0 9, SO WE'LL TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK. APPRECIATE EVERYONE AT HOME STICKING IN THERE. COMMISSIONER HOWARD, I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE THAT WE, UM, MOVE THE DISCUSSION OF THE DESIGN GUIDELINES AND THE, UM, AND THE PREVIOUS PROJECTS TO THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING, . UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE SHOULD, WE CAN STILL, YOU KNOW, LOOK, I, I PROPOSE THAT WE STILL LOOK AT THE, UM, THE SCHEDULE, BUT, UM, PUSH THE OTHER TWO ITEMS TO THE, TO THE, UM, NOVEMBER MEETING. ALL RIGHT. I WOULD SECOND THAT MOTION. ALL RIGHT. IS THERE, WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO HAVE ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? IF THAT WORKS FOR OR DOESN'T WORK FOR ANYONE? UM, ALRIGHT, LET'S TAKE A VOTE ON IT. ALL IN FAVOR OF MOVING ITEM FIVE AND SIX TO NEXT MONTH'S MEETING? SAY AYE. ALL RIGHT. GO AHEAD AND VOTE. ALRIGHT, WELL, IT'S UNANIMOUS CHAIR, IF I MAY. YES, PLEASE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASSIGN THE COMMISSIONERS ANY HOMEWORK AHEAD OF YOUR DISCUSSION OF THE GUIDELINES? WELL, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT THE, THE GUIDELINES, THE DRAFT IS PART OF THE BACKUP. AND SO, AND WE'RE JUST TRYING TO PIECE CHUNK BY CHUNK, YOU KNOW, GO. SO LOOKING AT, UH, THE VALUATION AND THE INTRODUCTION AND INTO THE FIRST TWO PORTIONS OF THE, UH, PROPOSED, UH, DRAFT. SO JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT, YEAH, TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND SEE WHAT [03:00:01] KIND OF QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE FOR OUR NEXT MEETING, THAT WOULD BE EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL. UM, I WOULD LIKE ALSO TO TALK ABOUT OUR, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THESE PROJECTS FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS. I DON'T KNOW IF WE WANT TO CONTINUE THAT. I WOULD LIKE TO JUST STOP THAT AFTER OUR NEXT ONE. UH, BUT JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. UM, I I'M GOING TO, SO OUR DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM, IF WE'RE MOVING FIVE AND SIX NOW, WE'RE MOVING TO SEVEN, WHICH IS SELECTION OF A, SELECTION OF ANOTHER PROJECT FROM THE PAST 10 YEARS. SO, UM, IS THERE, LIKE I SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO STOP DOING THIS, BUT IF THERE'S ANYBODY THAT DOES HAVE SOMETHING THAT THEY'D LIKE TO DISCUSS THAT'S ON THE LIST, NOW'S YOUR CHANCE. NO. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'LL MOVE AWAY FROM DOING THAT PORTION ON OUR NEXT MEETING. UH, WE'LL STILL DISCUSS ITEM NUMBER FIVE AT OUR NEXT MEETING. UM, YES. OH, COMMISSIONER HOWARD. UM, COULD I PROPOSE THAT WE, UH, BRING THE SUBJECT OF CONTINUING THAT, UM, THAT, UH, AGENDA ITEM, THAT REOCCURRING AGENDA ITEM, UH, AT THE NEXT, UH, MEETING AS WELL? SURE. SO MOVE FIVE, SIX, AND SEVEN TO THE NEXT MEETING? YEAH. ALL RIGHT. WELL, I, I GUESS I, MORE THAN ANYTHING, I'D JUST LIKE TO HAVE A, A LARGER DISCUSSION ABOUT KIND OF LESSONS LEARNED AND THINGS LIKE THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, SO THAT WE CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, SO WHEN WE'RE ALL A LITTLE MORE FRESH. OKAY. SO WE'LL NEED A SECOND ON THAT, SIR, IF I MAY? YES, PLEASE. YOU CAN VOTE TO POSTPONE ALL THREE ITEMS TO YOUR NEXT MEETING. OKAY. CAN WE JUST ADD IT TO THE OTHER VOTE? CAN WE JUST ADD IT TO THE OTHER VOTE? YOU'LL NEED TO REVOTE THOUGH, 'CAUSE YOU DIDN'T VOTE FOR THAT LAST ONE. ALRIGHT. SO, UM, MAKE A MOTION TO POSTPONE THE THOSE FIVE, SIX, AND SEVEN TO THE NEXT MEETING. UH, ALL SECOND. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN WE WILL YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT. SO ALL IN FAVOR OF MOVING FIVE, SIX, AND SEVEN TO THE NEXT MEETING. AND THEN, ALL RIGHT, THAT'S EVERYONE. CHAIR. I HAVE A QUESTION ON NUMBER SEVEN. I DON'T KNOW ALL THE BACKGROUND, SO MAYBE NEXT TIME I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE ARE DOING THAT'S, WE CAN, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT WE CAN DISCUSS NEXT TIME IS AS COMMISSIONER HOWARD WAS, UH, BROUGHT UP. SO YEAH, WE CAN BRING THAT AS PART OF THE DISCUSSION. UM, ALRIGHT, OUR [8. Discussion and action to approve the Design Commission annual schedule for 2026.] NEXT ITEM IS DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM TO APPROVE DESIGN COMMISSION ANNUAL SCHEDULE FOR 2026. PULL IT UP CHAIR. I WILL MOTION APPROVAL OF THE SCHEDULE. I'LL SECOND. ALRIGHT. UM, ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONFLICTS OR WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS ANY PARTICULAR DATE? I, ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. ALL IN FAVOR OF, UM, APPROVING THIS SCHEDULE. ANY, ALL RIGHT. THAT'S UNANIMOUS. ALL [9. Update from the representative of the Downtown Commission regarding the meeting on September 17, 2025, and October 15, 2025.] RIGHT. COMMITTEE UPDATES, UPDATE FROM THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, UH, REGARDING SEPTEMBER OR FOR MEETING SEPTEMBER 17TH AND OCTOBER 15TH. THANK YOU CHAIR. I'LL KEEP THE REPORTING BRIEF. UH, AS A SUMMARY OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETING THAT TOOK PLACE ON SEPTEMBER 17TH, UM, THERE WAS A REPORT ON THE DARCI, THE DOWNTOWN STRATEGIC OFFICE AND THE FORMING OF THAT OFFICE AND, UH, EXPLANATION OF THEIR INITIAL FOCUS, WHICH IS TO ONBOARD STAFF FOR THE DIRECT IMPLEMENTATION OF THEIR OBJECTIVES, WHICH ARE, UH, COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS OFFICER AND A DOWNTOWN STRATEGIC OFFICER. UM, THOSE ARE THEIR MAIN PRIORITIES AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU. AND THEN REPORTING ON, UM, SUMMARY OF THE MEETING THAT TOOK PLACE ON OCTOBER 17TH. MUCH OF THE DISCUSSION WAS AROUND THE SENATE BILL EIGHT 40. UH, I THINK THE SAME PRESENTATION WAS GIVEN THIS EVENING. SO WE WERE ALL AWARE OF WHAT WAS ENTAILED THEREIN. AND THEN A FOLLOW ON PRESENTATION [03:05:01] FROM THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, UM, AND THEIR BUS BUSINESS RESILIENCY STRATEGY AS THEY PREPARE FOR CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION. UM, CONSIDERING ALL THE PROJECTS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE DOWNTOWN, IT'S A SIGNIFICANT EFFORT. UM, I ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO, UH, TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR WEB BASED STRATEGY FOR, UM, UPTODATE REAL TIME INFORMATION AND NAVIGATION, INCLUDING MAPS OF THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY. AND THE INTENTION IS TO SUPPORT BUSINESS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER. UM, [10. Update from the representative of the Joint Sustainability Committee regarding the meeting on June 25, 2025, August 27, 2025, September 24, 2025, and October 22, 2025.] AN UPDATE FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING. UH, BASED ON OUR MEETING FROM JUNE 15TH, AUGUST 27TH, SEPTEMBER 24TH, THERE WAS NO MEETING. AND OCTOBER 22ND, SO JUNE 15TH OR JUNE 25TH, UM, WE GOT A UP STAFF BRIEFING ON, UH, SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT, UH, IN WHICH THEY WANTED TO FOCUS ON CONSTRUCTION AND ELECTRIC UTILITY FACILITIES AND GROUNDS, GENERAL GOODS, GENERAL SERVICES, INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND OPERATIONS, INFORMATION TECH, UH, MOBILITY AND WASTE. UM, IT WAS A WHILE AGO, UM, AND I THINK, OH, THE OTHER, UH, THAT WAS JUST A STEP BRIEFING THAT WE GOT FROM, FROM THE PROCUREMENT FOLKS. WE ALSO GOT, UH, WE ALSO HAD A, AND THIS IS ON AUGUST 27TH, SOLAR ON ALL FACILITIES. SO PER RESOLUTION IS TO CONDUCT AN ANALYSIS OF THE CITY PROPERTIES AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE AREAS THAT WOULD MAXIMIZE INSTALLATION OF SOLAR GENERATION, PRIORITIZING THE GENERAL FUND PROPERTIES. UM, AND THIS WAS A QUICK EXERCISE THAT THEY HAD TO DO OR THAT THEY'RE UNDERTAKING, UH, DUE TO THE, UM, ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ACT THAT WAS PASSED THAT'S PHASING OUT. UM, THE OTHER PROGRAM. SO THEY HAVE SMALL WINDOW, UM, TO CONDUCT THIS TO UNDERSTAND WHICH BUILDINGS WOULD BE THE BEST APPLICABLE PROJECTS TO, UM, TO PUT SOLAR, TO INSTALL SOLAR. UM, UNFORTUNATELY WE WERE UNABLE TO, UH, VOTE ON THIS AND BECAUSE WE LOST QUORUM RIGHT AFTER THIS WAS PRESENTED. BUT IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING, UH, OPPORTUNITY THAT THE, UM, THAT THE OFFICE OF, UH, REAL ESTATE, OR I'M SORRY, RESILIENCY, UM, IS UNDERTAKING. UH, WE HAD NO MEETING IN SEPTEMBER AND IN OCTOBER WE HAD A VERY SIMILAR MEETING TODAY WITH BIRD FRIENDLY GLAZING AND GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE BRIEFING. UM, SO YEAH, THAT CATCHES US UP TO, UM, WHERE WE'RE AT. SO AN UPDATE [11. Update from the representative of the South-Central Waterfront Advisory Board regarding the meeting on September 15, 2025, and October 20, 2025.] FROM THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD. WAS THERE A MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 15TH AND OCTOBER 20TH? THERE WAS NO MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 15TH THAT WAS CANCELED DUE TO A LACK OF AGENDA ITEMS. UM, THERE WAS A SCHEDULED MEETING FOR OCTOBER 20TH, BUT THEY DID NOT MEET FORUM. UM, AND THE AGENDA ITEMS WERE LIMITED TO, UM, OFFICER ELECTIONS AND, UM, ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULE. SO PRETTY BENIGN. ALRIGHT, THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW. THEY'RE MEETING, TRYING TO MEET. UM, IS THERE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT OUR NEXT HAVE FOR OUR NEXT MEETING? ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE? ALRIGHT, NATHAN. ALL RIGHT. WELL, IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, UH, I'D LIKE TO ADJOURN TODAY. TONIGHT'S MEETING, THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT NINE 20. * 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.