* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] EVERYBODY HAVING [CALL TO ORDER] A QUORUM PRESENT WITHIN COUNCIL CHAMBERS. I NOW CALL THIS MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO ORDER AT 6:01 PM FIRST, LET'S TAKE ROLE. PLEASE LET US KNOW YOU'RE HERE WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME, CHAIR WOODS. I AM HERE, VICE CHAIR HANEY HERE. SECRETARY MAXWELL IS NOT ON AT THE MOMENT. I THINK SHOULD BE JOINING A LITTLE BIT LATER. COMMISSIONER AHMED HERE. COMMISSIONER LON IS NOT YET WITH US THIS EVENING. COMMISSIONER HOWARD HERE. COMMISSIONER BARRERA RAMIREZ. I SEE THAT SHE'S ONLINE. WE'LL CIRCLE BACK TO HER. COMMISSIONER ROSN HERE. COMMISSIONER POWELL? HERE. COMMISSIONER BRETTON. HERE. COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE. HERE. COMMISSIONER HILLER HERE. THANK YOU. AS USUAL, TONIGHT'S MEETING WILL BE HYBRID ALLOWING FOR A VIRTUAL QUORUM AS LONG AS THE COMMISSIONER SERVING AS CHAIR IS PRESENT IN CHAMBERS. THEREFORE, WE HAVE COMMISSIONERS HERE AT CITY HALL AND IN ATTENDANCE VIRTUALLY SIMILARLY, SPEAKERS CAN PRESENT HERE FROM COUNCIL CHAMBERS OR PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY VIRTUAL COMMISSIONERS. PLEASE REMEMBER TO SEND YOUR SIGN IN SHEET TO OUR STAFF LIAISON PER THE CLERK'S GUIDELINES. AND PLEASE HAVE YOUR GREEN, RED, AND YELLOW ITEMS FOR VOTING. PLEASE REMAIN MUTED WHEN YOU ARE NOT SPEAKING AND RAISE YOUR HAND TO BE RECOGNIZED. AND IF I DON'T SEE, SEE YOU, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO UNMUTE AND LET ME KNOW VERBALLY. MS. BROWN, DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK DURING PUBLIC COMMUNICATION THIS EVENING? NO. CHAIR. WE DO NOT. THANK YOU. THE FIRST ITEM ON THE [Consent Agenda] CONSENT AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE OCTOBER 14TH MEETING. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY EDITS TO THOSE MINUTES? OKAY, SEEING NONE, THOSE MINUTES WILL BE ADDED TO THE CONSENT AGENDA. OUR FIRST ACTIVITY TONIGHT IS TO VOTE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. ITEMS THAT ARE CONSENT APPROVAL, DISAPPROVAL, POSTPONEMENTS OF PUBLIC HEARINGS OR NON-DISCUSSION ITEMS. VICE-CHAIR HANEY WILL READ THE PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA AND SPECIFY THOSE THAT ARE CONSENT, POSTPONEMENT AND NON-DISCUSSION. AND AFTER THIS COMMISSIONERS YOU'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REQUEST ANY CONSENT ITEMS BE PULLED FOR DISCUSSION. VICE HANING, WOULD YOU MIND READING THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR US? ABSOLUTELY. UM, ITEM NUMBER TWO IS NPA 2 0 2 4 DASH 0 0 1 6 0.05 SHADY LANE, DISTRICT THREE, APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO DECEMBER 9TH. UH, ITEM NUMBER THREE IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2025 DASH ZERO FIVE SHADY LANE, DISTRICT THREE APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO DECEMBER 9TH. UH, ITEM FOUR IS UH, PLAN AMENDMENT NPA DASH 2 25 0 0 1 16 0.01 PNP 0.72 DISTRICT THREE APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO NOVEMBER 13TH. ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS, UH, REZONING C 1420 PNP 0.72 DISTRICT THREE APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO NOVEMBER 13TH. ITEM NUMBER SIX IS PLAN AMENDMENT NPA DASH 2025 DASH ZERO 9.0 3 10 12 EAST 38TH STREET IN DISTRICT NINE IS UH, ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, UH, A REZONING C 14 DASH 20 25 0 0 8 2 10 12 EAST 38TH STREET, DISTRICT NINE IS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, PLAN AMENDMENT NPA DASH 20 25 0 9 4 1 9 4 SAN GABRIEL DISTRICT NINE IS ON CONSENT. ITEM NUMBER NINE IS REZONING C 14 DASH 20 25 6 19 0 4 SAN GABRIEL DISTRICT NINE. ALSO ON CONSENT. ITEM NUMBER 10 IS A PLAN AMENDMENT NPA DASH 2 25 DASH 0 24 0 1 9400 METRIC BOULEVARD AND DISTRICT FOUR IS OF CONSENT. ITEM NUMBER 11 IS A REZONING C ONE FOUR DASH 20 25 0 0 5 2 9400 METRIC BOULEVARD ON DISTRICT FOUR IS ELIGIBLE, UH, ON CONSENT. ITEM NUMBER 12 IS PLAN AMENDMENT NPA DASH 2 0 2 5 DASH 0 0 2 5 0.02. SOUTH TOWN DISTRICT EIGHT IS AT FOR NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TWO NOVEMBER 13TH. ITEM NUMBER 13 IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 20 25 79 SOUTH TOWN REZONING DISTRICT EIGHT, ALSO FOR NEIGHBORHOOD POST POSTPONEMENT TO NOVEMBER 13TH. ITEM NUMBER 14 IS A PLAN AMENDMENT NPA DASH 20 23 0 0 4 4 43 2 KNUCKLES CROSSING DISTRICT TWO IS UP FOR STAFF POSTPONEMENT TO DECEMBER 9TH. ITEM NUMBER 15 IS PLAN AMENDMENT NPA [00:05:01] 2 0 2 3 0 2 5 2 55 24 WEST US HIGHWAY TWO 90 IN DISTRICT EIGHT. THAT IS UP FOR AN INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT, UH, BY THE APPLICANT. ITEM NUMBER 16 IS A REZONING C 14 H DASH 2025 DASH 0 0 9 5 CALHOUN HOUSE AND DISTRICT ONE IS UP FOR CONSENT. ITEM NUMBER 17 IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2024 DASH 0 1 46 13 17 EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE AND DISTRICT NINE IS UP FOR APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO DECEMBER 9TH. ITEM NUMBER 18, REZONING C 14 DASH 2024 DASH 1 47 14 0 5 EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE IN DISTRICT NINE IS UP FOR APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO DECEMBER 9TH. ITEM NUMBER 19 IS, UH, REZONING C 14 DASH 2025 DASH 0 0 5 1 WOODWARD MIXED USE FLATS. DISTRICT THREE IS UP FOR STAFF POSTPONEMENT TO NOVEMBER 13TH. ITEM NUMBER 20 IS, UH, REZONING C 14 DASH 2025 DASH 0 8 5 1200 WEST GIBSON STREET AND DISTRICT NINE IS ON CONSENT. ITEM NUMBER 21 IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2025 DASH 0 7 4 4 1 0 AND 4 0 8 WEST ST. JOHN'S REZONE. DISTRICT FOUR IS UP FOR CONSENT. AND ITEM NUMBER NUMBER 22 IS, UH, CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT S PC 2 0 25 DASH 0 1 9 9 A FOR MONKS JAZZ CLUB AND DISTRICT THREE IS UP FOR CONSENT. THANK YOU. VICE CHAIR HANEY. I WANNA RECOGNIZE COMMISSIONER MAXWELL WHO'S JOINED US VIRTUALLY AND COMMISSIONER BARRERA RAMIREZ WHO'S ALSO WITH US VIRTUALLY DO ANY COMMISSIONERS NEED TO RECUSE OR ABSTAIN FROM ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? OKAY, MS. BROWN, DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THE CONSENT ITEMS? YES. CHAIR. OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS FOR ITEM SIX AND SEVEN, GRIFF WAYLAN, WHO IS THE APPLICANT? GRIFF, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES. LOOKS LIKE MR. WAYLON'S WAIVING HIS TIME. OKAY. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS FOR ITEMS EIGHT AND NINE. PHILLIP WILEY. PHILLIP, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES. MR. WILEY'S WAIVING HIS TIME. . SO FOR ITEMS 10 11, WE HAVE THE APPLICANT, LEAH BOJO. LEAH, YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES. MS. BOJO IS WAIVING HER TIME AND NOW WE HAVE, WE'RE GOING TO THOSE IN OPPOSITION. WE HAVE THE PRIMARY SPEAKER EMIT. SHE AMIT, YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES. OKAY. GOING ON, WE HAVE OUR NEXT SPEAKER. UM, FOR ITEMS 12 AND 13, WE HAVE THE APPLICANT, RICHARD S. RICHARD, WE HAVE TWO MINUTES. MR. SETTLE'S WAVING HIS TIME AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, GOING TO THOSE IN OPPOSITION. WE IN FAVOR OF THE POSTPONEMENT. WE HAVE LEE ZIEGLER, UM, WHO IS JOINING US VIRTUALLY. LEAH, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES. OKAY. GOING ON. WE HAVE OUR NEXT SPEAKER FOR ITEM 14. UM, JOSHUA. JOSHUA IS JOINING US VIRTUALLY. JOSHUA, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. UM, WE HAVE OUR NEXT SPEAKER FOR ITEM 20. WE HAVE THE APPLICANT, LEAH BOJO. LEAH, YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES. MS. BOJO IS WAIVING HER TIME. OKAY. FOR ITEM 21, WE HAVE THE APPLICANT, LISA GRAY, WHO IS JOINING US VIRTUALLY. LISA, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES. HELLO? HELLO, MY NAME IS LISA GRAY AND I AM OBVIOUSLY IN FAVOR IN DOING THIS. WE'RE ZONING FROM SF SIX TO SF THREE, BE ABLE TO TAKE, UM, PARTICIPATE IN HOME. AND THAT'S IT CAN KNOW IF ANYBODY ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY, OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS FOR ITEM 22, MAX MILANO MARTINEZ. WHO IS THE APPLICANT? MAX MILANO. YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES. MR. MARTINEZ IS WAIVING HIS TIME. AND DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS WHO POPPED UP ON THE, OKAY, THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. THANK YOU MS. BROWN. DO ANY [00:10:01] COMMISSIONERS WANT TO PULL ANY OF THE CONSENT ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION OR OTHERWISE HAVE QUESTIONS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? COMMISSIONER AHMED? UH, YES, I HAVE UH, SOME QUESTIONS FOR STAFF ON ITEM SIX AND SEVEN. UM, FROM WHAT IT SEEMED LIKE READING THROUGH THE BACKUP MATERIAL, UH, AND THIS IS FOR 10 12 EAST 38TH STREET. UM, FROM WHAT I CAN TELL, THIS SEEMS TO BE A, A PRETTY SMALL LOT ABOUT AN EIGHTH OF AN ACRE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER LOTS THAT ARE VERY SIMILAR, UH, TO THIS ONE, INCLUDING ONES ON THAT STREET. AND IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE FROM THE BACKUP MATERIAL THERE WAS ANY IMPENDING PROJECT OR ANY PLANNED PROJECT, UH, FOR THIS LOT AS WELL. UH, SO MY QUESTION IS, IF WE THINK THAT THIS LOT SHOULD BE REZONED FROM SF THREE TO, UH, LO, UH, IS THERE ANY WAY TO GO ABOUT, ESPECIALLY SINCE THERE'S NO PLANNED PROJECT FOR THIS SPECIFIC LOT TO GO ABOUT CONSIDERING THIS FOR THE ENTIRE STREET OR FOR A LARGER PART OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, GIVEN THAT, UH, THESE PROPERTIES ARE ALL ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AND DOING THE, UH, DOING THIS LOT BY LOT WHEN THERE'S NO SPECIFIC PROJECT THAT IS PLANNED ON, UH, ON THESE LOTS WOULD JUST CREATE A MISHMASH OF ZONING WHERE, UH, IN, IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE CONSISTENCY, EVEN THOUGH ALL THESE LOTS ARE EFFECTIVELY THE SAME IN TERMS OF THEIR CHARACTERISTICS. HI, COMMISSIONER AHMED. THIS IS CYNTHIA HARI, UH, AUSTIN PLANNING. UM, SO THIS ZONING REQUEST IS FOR THIS APPLICATION AND THAT'S THE ONE WE'RE CONSIDERING AT THIS TIME. JUST THIS LOT. HI COMMISSIONERS. ERIC THOMAS WITH AUSTIN PLANNING. JUST TO ELABORATE A LITTLE FURTHER, THE APPLICATION SUBMITTED WAS JUST FOR THAT, UM, PROPERTY, SO WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LOOK AT EXPANDING, UM, THE AREA OF WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED TO BE REZONED. UH, THIS IS ALSO SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF THE PROPERTY OWNER. SO, UH, WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LOOK AT EXPANDING TO OTHER PROPERTIES WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF OTHER PROPERTY OWNERS. SO IN, IN CERTAIN LARGER COUNCIL INITIATED REZONINGS, WE COULD LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANS OR, UM, ZONING DISTRICTS OR LARGER LAND AREAS. BUT FOR THE PURPOSES OF JUST THE CASE BEFORE YOU WE'RE LIMITED TO THE ONE LOT. GOT IT. AND ONE FOLLOW UP, IS THERE ANY CONCERN THAT ON A STREET WHERE ESSENTIALLY ALL THE LOTS ARE THE SAME, YOU END UP HAVING, YOU KNOW, VARIOUS DIFFERENT ZONINGS BETWEEN NEIGHBORS EVEN THOUGH THERE'S NOT MUCH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OR REALLY ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE LOTS IN LIKE IN A CASE LIKE THIS ON, ON EACH REZONING APPLICATION THAT WE RECEIVE, WE DO ABSOLUTELY LOOK AT THE EXISTING LAND USE PATTERN, THE CONTEXT OF THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD. UM, AND IN THIS SITUATION, I BELIEVE THERE WAS, UM, MATCHING ZONING. WAS IT DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET? YES, DIRECTLY NORTH FROM PROPERTY. SO, UH, WE FOUND THAT IT WAS COMPATIBLE WITH THE EXISTING LAND USE PATTERN. CORRECT. AND I AM CORRECT IN SAYING THAT THERE'S NO PLAN DEVELOPMENT FOR THIS. IT'S JUST, UH, UH, THE ZONING IS NOT IN RESPONSE TO ANY SPECIFIC PROJECT THAT'S, UH, THAT HAS BEEN COMMUNICATED THIS STAFF. IS THAT CORRECT? THERE'S, THERE'S NOT A SITE PLAN IN AT THIS TIME FOR THIS CASE. OKAY. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER AHMED, WOULD YOU LIKE TO PULL THESE ITEMS OR LEAVE THEM ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? WE CAN LEAVE THEM ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU TO OUR STAFF. UM, IS THERE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AND APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING? MOTION BY COMMISSIONER BRETTON, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HILLER. ANY OBJECTION? OKAY. SEEING NONE, THAT ITEM PASSES. AND THIS CONCLUDES THE CONSENT AGENDA. SO LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR FIRST [23. Staff briefing regarding the Downtown Austin Historic Resource Survey. Presentation by Sofia Wagner, Planner III, Austin Planning, Historic Preservation Office. ] STAFF BRIEFING FOR THE EVENING. THIS IS ITEM 23, A STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN HISTORIC RESEARCH RESOURCE SURVEY. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS SOPHIA WAGNER. I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE WITH AUSTIN PLANNING, AND I'M HERE TO PRESENT TO YOU AS SOME INFORMATION ON THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN HISTORIC RESEARCH SURVEY. UH, THIS PROJECT WAS LED BY THE CITY'S, UH, HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE IN COLLABORATION WITH HHM AND ASSOCIATES. THEIR, UH, LOCAL CONSULTING PRESERVATION FIRM. THE, UM, HAVE EXPERTISE IN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AND CULTURAL, UM, RESEARCH SURVEYS. TONIGHT I'LL WALK US THROUGH WHAT HISTORIC RESEARCH SURVEYS ARE, HOW THIS SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED, OUR [00:15:01] KEY RECOMMENDATIONS, SOME QUESTIONS WE HAVE RECEIVED, AND, UH, WHAT'S NEXT FOR FUTURE EFFORTS. HISTORIC RESEARCH SURVEYS, UH, DOCUMENT BUILDING STRUCTURES AND OBJECTS THAT ARE AT LEAST 50 YEARS OLD. THEY EVALUATE ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER IN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS AND RECOMMEND ELIGIBILITY FOR DESIGNATIONS SUCH AS LOCAL LANDMARKS, HISTORIC DISTRICTS, AND NATIONAL REGISTER LISTINGS. THESE SURVEYS ARE A FOUNDATIONAL TOOL FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND, UH, STANDARD PRACTICES, UM, THAT THEY SHOULD BE UPDATED EVERY 10 YEARS. THE DATA FROM THESE SURVEYS SUPPORTS, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF IN MAKING MORE INFORMED, INFORMED DECISIONS ON PERMITS AND DESIGNATION APPLICATIONS. THEY ALSO HELP PROPERTY OWNERS THAT ARE LOOKING TO DESIGNATE THEIR PROPERTIES. AND BECAUSE THE RESEARCH FOR THE PROPERTIES HAS ALREADY BEEN COMPLETED, UM, THE DATA IS ALSO INTEGRATED INTO GIS PLANNING MAPS AND THE SURVEY DATA SPOTLIGHTS SITES THAT MATTER TO UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES AND HERITAGE TOURISM. THE LAST TIME THAT DOWNTOWN AUSTIN WAS SURVEYED WAS BACK IN 1984, WHICH WAS OVER 40 YEARS AGO. THE, UH, THESE 2024 UPDATE COVERS 1,964 RESOURCES ACROSS 1,553 PARCELS. AND HERE YOU CAN SEE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE SURVEY. UH, WE HAVE INFIELD ROAD AND MLK BOULEVARD TO THE NORTH, UH, I 35 TO THE EAST LADY, BIRD LAKE TO THE SOUTH, AND MOPAC TO THE WEST. THE APPROACH FOR THE SURVEY WAS, UH, THOROUGH AND, UM, MULTI-FACED. UH, THE FIRST STEP WAS FOR THE CONSULTANTS TO, UH, GET A FOUNDATION. UH, THIS MEANT THAT THEY HAVE TO BUILD A GEOSPATIAL DATABASE, WHICH IS A DIGITAL MAP, UH, USING HISTORICAL AND, UH, PROPERTY DATA. THEY PULLED ALL THIS DATA FROM, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, HISTORIC ZONING, NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, AND, UM, HISTORIC MAPS OF DOWNTOWN. UH, ONCE THEY CREATED THE MAP WITH, UM, ALL THIS DATA, THEN, UH, THEY HEADED ONTO THE FIELD TO CONDUCT A FIELD SURVEY. UM, THEY DOCUMENTED EVERY RESOURCE BUILT BY 1975, NOT JUST PRIMARY BUILDINGS, BUT SECONDARY STRUCTURES LIKE ANY OUTBUILDINGS, SHEDS, GARAGES, PARKING LOTS EMPTY, UH, VACANT LOTS. EACH RESOURCE WAS PHOTOGRAPHED TWICE AND EVALUATED FOR ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER AND PHYSICAL INTEGRITY, MEANING HOW MUCH OF THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE WAS STILL INTACT. UM, THIS STEP WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT WAS, UH, CAPTURING THE CURRENT CONDITION OF THESE BUILDINGS AND ALSO ALL THE STYLES OF, UH, DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURE OF ALL THE PROPERTIES. UM, THE THIRD STEP WAS CONNECTING ALL THE DOTS. UH, CONSULTANTS LOOKED INTO OCCUPANCY HISTORY, UH, WHO HAS LIVED OR WORKED IN THESE BUILDINGS OVER TIME. UH, THEY IDENTIFIED ANY HISTORICAL THEMES LIKE COMMERCIAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND ALSO ANY ARCHITECTURAL TRENDS IN ALL THESE BUILDINGS. THEN THEY, UM, EVALUATED EACH RESOURCES ELIGIBILITY, UH, FOR LOCAL AND NATIONAL HISTORIC DESIGNATIONS AND ASSESS WHETHER THEY WERE A CLUSTER OF BUILDINGS THAT WERE ELIGIBLE TO BECOME, UH, HISTORIC DISTRICTS. SO LOOKING AT, UH, WHAT WE FOUND, UM, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, 1,964 RESOURCES WERE SURVEYED ACROSS DOWNTOWN AUSTIN. UM, OUT OF THOSE 982 WERE LOCATED IN, WITHIN AREAS THAT ARE EITHER ALREADY LISTED OR NEWLY IDENTIFIED AS ELIGIBLE FOR, UH, HISTORIC DISTRICT DESIGNATION IN DOWNTOWN. THAT'S 50% OF THE TOTAL OF ALL THE RESOURCES, UH, SEPARATELY OUT OF THE 1,964 RESOURCES, 275 RESOURCES WERE FOUND TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR LANDMARK DESIGNATION, WHICH IS WHERE THAT 14%, UM, COMES FROM. THESE ARE BUILDINGS THAT HAVE UNIQUE ARCHITECTURAL TREND AND HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION THAT IS SIGNIFICANT, UH, TO STAND OUT ON THEIR OWN AND BECOME CITY LANDMARKS. THESE ARE SOME, UH, SAMPLES OF RESOURCES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR HISTORIC DESIGNATION. I BELIEVE SOME OF THESE ARE ALREADY, UM, LANDMARKED. UH, THIS IS A MAP THAT SHOWS THE [00:20:01] PROPOSED, UH, LOCAL AND NATIONAL HISTORIC DISTRICTS WITH THE BOUNDARIES. UM, SOME COMMON QUESTIONS, UH, THAT THE PUBLIC MAY HAVE IS IF MY PROPERTY IS PART OF THE SURVEY AREA, DOES THIS MEAN THAT IT RESULTS IN AUTOMATIC, UH, ZONING OR TAX CHANGES? UH, THE ANSWER IS NO. UH, THE SURVEY IS FOR INFORMATIONAL AND ADVISORY PURPOSES ONLY, UM, FOR STAFF AND ALSO FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SEEK HISTORIC DESIGNATION. UM, WHAT HAPPENS IS PROPERTY OWNER, UH, SEEKS DESIGNATION, UH, AT A LOCAL LEVEL. THE DESIGNATION WOULD ADD THE H OR HD ZONING, AND IT'S GONNA UNLOCK, UH, TAX INCENTIVES AT A FEDERAL LEVEL. THERE ARE NO ZONING CHANGES, BUT, UH, THERE ARE PROPERTIES THAT MAY QUALIFY FOR REHABILITATION TAX CREDITS. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE INCENTIVES ABOUT, UH, BEING IN A HISTORIC, UH, DISTRICT OR BEING A LANDMARK. UH, THIS IS THE PROJECT TIMELINE. UH, THIS PROJECT KICKED OFF ON DECEMBER OF 2023. UH, THERE WERE SOME BRIEFINGS, UH, IN THE, THE MEANTIME, SOME, UH, PUBLIC MEETINGS. WE HAD A PUBLIC FEEDBACK PERIOD THAT OPENED IN MARCH AND CLOSED IN MAY. UH, WE HAD THE SURVEY DELIVERED TO US IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR. IT'S AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE, UH, AND WE HAVE THE LAST BRIEFING TODAY, WHICH IS IN FRONT OF YOU. UM, LOOKING AHEAD, WE PLAN TO UPDATE AND EXPAND OUR 2016 EAST AUSTIN HISTORIC RESEARCH SURVEY AND HOPE NOT TO WAIT ALMOST 40 YEARS LIKE WE DID WITH THE DOWNTOWN AREA. WE WANT TO PRIORITIZE NEIGHBORHOODS UNDER HIGH DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE, UH, PLACES WHERE HISTORIC RESOURCES ARE, UM, AT RISK DUE TO DEMOLITION OR ALTERATIONS. UH, AND THESE EFFORTS ARE PART OF OUR STRATEGY, UH, TO ENSURE THAT AUSTIN'S HISTORIC RESOURCES ARE DOCUMENTED, UM, THEY'RE VALUED AND ALSO PROTECTED. AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS. WAGNER. DO ANY COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM CHAIR? WE DO HAVE JUST ONE SPEAKER. OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH MS. BROWN. OKAY. WE HAVE PHILIP WILEY. PHILIP, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. MR. WILEY'S WAIVING HIS TIME. OKAY. NOT SEEING ANY QUESTIONS. THAT CONCLUDES. OH, I'M SO SORRY. THAT'S, THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS. THANK YOU. UH, WE DO HAVE A QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER POWELL. YEAH, JUST A, IN TERMS OF TIMELINES FOR THE UPDATE OF THE AND HISTORIC RESEARCH SURVEY, UM, HOW'S THAT LOOKING ON Y'ALL END? UH, RIGHT NOW WE ARE ON THE EARLY, VERY EARLY STAGES OF, UH, THE SCOPEY SCOPE OF WORK AND WE ARE STILL TRYING TO DECIDE, UM, HOW THAT'S GONNA GO. HOPEFULLY WE DON'T TAKE THAT LONG AND WE, THERE'S SOME ITEMS THAT WE ALSO WANT TO, UH, DO BETTER. UH, YOU KNOW, THE DOWNTOWN SURVEY WAS A, LIKE A TRIAL RUN FOR US, UH, FOR STAFF, BUT, UH, HOPEFULLY WE GET THAT TAKEN CARE OF, UH, FASTER. SO NEXT YEAR WE'LL SEE. YEAH, AND HOPEFULLY A START WILL BE NEXT YEAR, JANUARY, I THINK. PERFECT. THANK YOU. AND THEN OUT OF CURIOSITY, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK TO 1984, UH, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE LIKE BIGGEST OBSTACLES THERE, LIKE CHANGES IN METHODOLOGY OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS OR SO? LEMME MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION. LIKE, HOW, HOW IS THIS SURVEY DIFFERENT FROM THE LAST SURVEY? IS THAT YEAH, I JUST, I IMAGINE THERE'S SOME MASSIVE DIFFERENCES. JUST CURIOUS TO LEARN A BIT MORE. I MEAN, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY JUST FUNDAMENTALLY DOWNTOWN HAS TRANSFORMED, UM, QUITE A BIT. UH, WE, YOU KNOW, THE 50 YEARS IS THE THRESHOLD. 45 TO 50 YEARS IS THE THRESHOLD. UH, SO IF FOR HISTORIC SORT OF CONSIDERING SOMETHING, EVEN ELIGIBLE FOR DESIGNATION. SO IF YOU CAN IMAGINE IF WE WERE DOING THIS IN 1984, UM, WE WERE LOOKING AT RESOURCES IN THE 1930S AND SO, UM, ANYTHING, YOU KNOW, NOTHING WOULD'VE BEEN CAPTURED. UM, SORT OF 1930S AND ON. AWESOME. THANK YOU ALL THIS, THIS IS GREAT WORK. THANK YOU FOR THE BRIEFING AND I'M SURE I IDENTIFY MYSELF, KIM MCKNIGHT, DIVISION MANAGER FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION. AWESOME. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION ON THIS ITEM? AWESOME. WELL THANK YOU SO MUCH MS. WAGNER AND MS. MCKAY. I HAVE A QUESTION. OH, I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY. IT DOES, THANK YOU. JUST REALLY QUICKLY, UM, IT'S FOR STAFF. I'M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW, IS THERE A REGULAR PROTOCOL FOR HOW FREQUENTLY YOU DO THIS SORT OF STUDY? 'CAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE A LONG GAP, SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THAT'S NORMAL. I'M USED TO FIVE TO 10 YEAR PLANS, SO I'LL ANSWER THAT. THIS IS KIM MCKNIGHT AGAIN. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. UM, THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE HAS LACKED THE RESOURCES AND FUNDING TO PERFORM THESE SURVEYS ON A REGULAR BASIS, AND IT ONLY HAS BEEN IN SINCE. RIGHT? I WOULD SAY, [00:25:01] YOU KNOW, THE LAST 10 YEARS OR SO THAT WE HAVE BEEN RECEIVING SUPPORT, ONE FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IS, UH, SUPPORT FROM THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND, WHICH IS HOTEL OCCUPANCY, TAX REVENUE, EARMARKED FOR, UH, SORT OF TOURISM AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION. SO WE ARE APPLICABLE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO TAP INTO THAT FUNDING SOURCE AS, AS YOU CAN SEE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN CLEARLY, UM, HISTORIC TOURIST. UM, SO IT MAY NOT WORK FOR EVERY SINGLE PART OF TOWN, BUT THAT'S BEEN A REAL GAME CHANGER. AND THAT'S THE SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR THE UPDATE FOR THE EAST AUSTIN, UH, HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY. UM, TO GO 40 YEARS WITHOUT A HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY IN A DOWNTOWN IS, IS NOT GREAT. UH, SO WE HOPE TO RECTIFY THAT AND WE HOPE TO EXPAND TO OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY. I THINK MANY PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ENTIRE COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS ALONG SOUTH CONGRESS, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVEN'T BEEN SURVEYED AREAS ALONG SOUTH LAMAR, SOUTH FIRST IMPORTANT RESIDENTIAL AREAS HAVE NEVER BEEN SURVEYED. UH, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF CATCHING UP TO DO. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I'M SORRY FOR MISSING OUR ONLINE COMMISSIONERS. OKAY. SEEING NONE, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO OUR STAFF ON THIS ITEM. LET'S MOVE ON TO [24. Discussion and action on proposed amendment to the University Neighborhood Overlay (UNO) boundaries to change the designation of properties located at 900–908 West 22nd Street from the Outer West Subdistrict to the Inner West Subdistrict. (Sponsored by Commissioner Breton and Secretary Maxwell)] ITEM 24. THIS IS DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLAY BOUNDARIES TO CHANGE THE DESIGNATION OF PROPERTIES LOCATED AT 900 THROUGH 908 WEST 22ND STREET FROM THE OUTER WEST SUBDISTRICT TO THE INNER WEST SUBDISTRICT. THIS ITEM IS SPONSORED BY COMMISSIONER BRETTON, SO I'M GONNA PASS IT TO HIM TO SPEAK FIRST AND THEN WE'LL HEAR FROM OUR SPEAKERS. UH, THIS ONE'S PRETTY SIMPLE. UH, I WAS APPROACHED BY A DEVELOPER WHO WAS INTERESTED IN ADDING ADDITIONAL HOUSING IN AN AREA WHERE WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A NEED AND USING A PROGRAM THAT WE KNOW SUPPORTS THE CITY'S GOALS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AND OTHERS, OF COURSE, UH, HAD THE UPDATES TO UNO BEEN PASSED BY COUNCIL IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS, THIS AMENDMENT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN NECESSARY AND THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS BENEFITS TO STUDENTS IN RESIDENCE OF WEST CAMPUS. THERE WOULD'VE ENHANCED IT WOULD HAVE ENHANCED AN ALREADY VIBRANT NEIGHBORHOOD. AND IT'S GENERALLY GOOD POLICY, BUT WE ARE NOT THERE THIS EVENING. AND SO I'M BRINGING FORWARD THIS ITEM. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER BRETTON. MS. BROWN, I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE A COUPLE OF SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM. YES. CHAIR. WE HAVE LEAH BOJO. LEAH, YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES. MS. BOJO IS WAIVING HER TIME. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS PHILLIP WILEY. PHILLIP, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, MR. WILEY'S WAIVING HIS TIME CHAIR. THAT CONCLUDES SPEAKER ON THIS, ON THIS ITEM. THANK YOU. UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS ITEM, LOOKING FOR A MOTION AND SECOND TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER BRETTON, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY. ANY OBJECTION? SEEING NONE, THAT ITEM PASSES. SO LET'S MOVE INTO OUR ROUND ROBIN ON THIS ITEM. UM, WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EIGHT COMMISSIONERS AT FIVE MINUTES TO ASK QUESTIONS OF COMMISSIONER BRETTON OR STAFF, UM, OR THE PUBLIC ON THIS ITEM. UM, IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. CO YES. COMMISSIONER AHMED? YEAH, I HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS HERE AND I APOLOGIZE IF THERE'S, UH, JUST ONE SECOND. ACTUALLY, IF YOU CAN COME BACK TO ME, IT'D BE GREAT TO DIDN'T HAVE IT. SURE. ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION ON THIS ITEM? COMMISSIONER BRETTON, WOULD YOU MIND, UH, ELABORATING ON THE REASON FOR THE CHANGE AND WHAT THIS WILL AFFORD THE DEVELOPER? WELL, IT WOULD AFFORD THEM SOME ADDITIONAL HEIGHT ON THIS, I BELIEVE HALF ACRE OF, UH, THE PROPERTY THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT. IT DOES INCLUDE AN ADDITIONAL PROPERTY THAT, UH, WAS NOT NECESSARILY UNDER CONSIDERATION BY THIS, UH, PROPERTY OWNER. UH, BUT TO KEEP THE DISTRICT CONTIGUOUS, I, UH, INCLUDED THAT IN THE MOTION. UH, IT WOULD AFFORD ADDITIONAL HEIGHT AND WOULD AFFORD US A MORE ADDITIONAL FUNDING OR UNITS OR BEDS, UH, THAT ARE DESIGNATED AFFORDABLE. THANKS. COMMISSIONER IAN, COMMISSIONER AHMED, COMING BACK TO YOU. I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION ANYMORE. I'M GOOD. OKAY. UM, LOOKING FOR A MOTION ON THIS ITEM. SORRY, I'M GONNA JUMP IN. GO AHEAD. COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE. YEAH, NO WORRIES. I JUST HAD A QUESTION, I THINK FOR THE SPONSOR OF THIS ITEM, COMMISSIONER BRETON. I JUST WANNA, UM, MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING THE GEOGRAPHY. WE'RE AT, UH, 900 WEST 22ND. SO THAT'S THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF PEARL AND 22ND STREET, AND WE'RE [00:30:01] PROPOSING TO, UH, SHIFT THE BOUNDARY OF, IS THE CURRENT BOUNDARY ON PEARL STREET? I BELIEVE SO, YES. OKAY. I'M, I WAS TRYING TO PULL IT UP FROM OUR PAST MEETINGS, BUT I I I COULDN'T GET MY HANDS ON THE MAP OF, UH, SO, SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE ESSENTIALLY SHIFTING THE BOUNDARY THAT IS ON THE BUILDINGS ON THE EAST SIDE OF PEARL STREET OR IN THE DISTRICT. WE WERE JUST ADDING THIS, THIS PROPERTY, UH, TO MATCH THE BUILDINGS ACROSS PEARL 900 AND ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO 908, UH, 900 WEST 22ND STREET. OKAY. 900 TO 908. OKAY. THANK YOU. JUST WANTED TO GET MY BEARINGS STRAIGHT. APPRECIATE IT. THANKS COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? SEEING NONE, I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION COMMISSIONER. BRETON, CAN I, CAN I MOTION THE, THE POSTED LANGUAGE OR, WELL, I GUESS I HAVE TO READ IT OUT MORE APPROPRIATELY. PLEASE READ IT OUT FOR US. THANK YOU. UM, TO AMEND A MOTION TO AMEND THE UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLAY BOUNDARIES, UH, SUBDISTRICT MAPS, SPECIFICALLY TO CHANGE THE DESIGNATION OF THE PROPERTIES LOCATED FROM 900 TO 908 WEST 22ND STREET, FROM THE OUTER WEST SUBDISTRICT TO THE INNER WEST SUBDISTRICT. THANK YOU. LOOKING FOR SECOND. SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY. ALL THOSE IN, OH, EXCUSE ME. UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK FURTHER TO YOUR MOTION? COMMISSIONER BRETON? I THINK I SAID ALL THAT. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, ANYONE LIKE TO SPEAK AGAINST THE MOTION? OTHERS WANTING TO SPEAK FOR THE MOTION? OKAY. LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE. THOSE IN FAVOR, THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER BRETTON. WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM 25, [25. Discussion and action on proposed amendment to § 25-2-643 to modify the Downtown Parks Overlay District requirements. (Sponsored by Commissioner Skidmore and Vice Chair Haney)] DISCUSSION ACTION ON PROPOSED AMENDMENT 25 DASH TWO DASH 6 43 TO MODIFY THE DOWNTOWN PARKS OVERLAY DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS. COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, I'LL START WITH YOU AND THEN WE'LL HEAR FROM OUR SPEAKERS. OKAY. THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU FELLOW COMMISSIONERS OF, THIS IS AN ITEM THAT I ASKED AND, AND VICE CHAIR, UH, HANEY AND I BROUGHT FORWARD TO BEGIN A CONVERSATION OF REVISING OR LOOKING AT, OF CHANGES TO THE DOWNTOWN PARKS OVERLAY DISTRICT PURPOSE AND BOUNDARIES. SO OF MAYBE, I THINK IT'D BE USEFUL IF STAFF COULD BRING UP THE, UH, BACKUP FROM THIS. AND I MIGHT JUST SPEAK FROM OF ONE OF THE PAGES OF BACKUP. SO IF YOU WANNA GO, UH, FORWARD TO THE PAGE THREE, I BELIEVE, WHICH IS THE, THE GIS GRAPHIC OF THE LOCATIONS. JUST WANNA, YEAH, THAT'LL WORK PERFECTLY. THANK YOU. SO THE, THESE ARE THE, THE LIMITS OF THE DOWNTOWN PARKS OVERLAY AS THEY EXIST TODAY OF GENERALLY SPEAKING, THEY'RE OF SETBACKS FROM OUR FOUR OR WELL, THREE REMAINING DOWNTOWN SQUARES OF, AND THEY'RE DEFINED CURRENTLY AS 60 FEET OF PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY SURROUNDING REPUBLIC SQUARE, BRUSH SQUARE AND WOOLRICH SQUARE OF, AGAIN, THIS IS IN THE BACK IN THE BACKUP, BUT OF IT APPEARS AS I DID SOME DIGGING THAT WOOLRICH SQUARE HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY AMENDED. SO THAT'S WHY IT KIND OF LOOKS SORT LIKE A JAGGED PUZZLE PIECE INSTEAD OF A CONSTANT 60 FEET OF, THAT'S WHERE Y'ALL SEE IN PAGE ONE OF THE BACKUP. UM, I DON'T KNOW WHY , BUT WOOLWORTHS SQUARE'S BEEN TWEAKED, UH, FOR THAT. UM, THE CURRENT OVERLAY LIMITS DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIRST 60 FEET OF PROPERTIES THAT ARE ADJACENT TO THE SQUARES TO 120 FEET OF HEIGHT. AND OF IT ALSO REQUIRES THAT THE DEVELOPMENT SORT OF HAVE A, AN ENTRANCE FACING THE PARKS RIGHT OF, SO OF THE QUESTION AT HAND IS LIMITING THE HEIGHT OF A BUILDING TO 120 FEET ADJACENT TO THE PARKS IS, UH, LIMITING OUR ABILITY TO, UH, DEVELOP SOME OF THE REMAINING TRACKS OF LAND THAT EXIST ADJACENT TO THESE SQUARES. THE ONE THAT IS PROBABLY MOST INTERESTING IS THE ONE AT BRUSH SQUARE AT FIFTH STREET. SO OVER BY THE CONVENTION CENTER ON THE NORTH SIDE OF FIFTH STREET OF WHERE THE PARCELS ADJACENT TO BRUSH SQUARE ARE OF DIVIDED BY THE ALLEY BETWEEN FIFTH AND SIXTH STREET. SO YOU CAN IMAGINE LIMITING HEIGHT TO 120 FEET ON THE FIRST 60 FEET OF THE PROPERTY OF WOULD MAKE THE, THE BUILDING A HIGH RISE SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER THAN IT COULD BE OTHERWISE. SO OF REALIZING THAT THAT'S LIMITING OUR ABILITY [00:35:01] TO DEVELOP OF, YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN DENSE OF, UH, BUILDINGS, EITHER COMMERCIAL OR HOUSING IN ALL LIKELIHOOD OF DOWNTOWN. UH, I'D LIKE US TO START A CONVERSATION OF, OF REVISING THIS OF, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT MEANS SIMPLY ELIMINATING OF, OR IF IT MEANS LOOKING AT ANOTHER MECHANISM TO OF PROTECT OUR PARKS, BUT, UH, STILL, UH, ACHIEVE SOME REASONABLE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT NEAR THE PARKS. THE LAST THING I'LL SAY, AND THEN I'LL, I'LL STOP PRESENTATION IS THIS PREDATED MY, UH, SERVICE ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION, BUT WE WENT THROUGH A SIMILAR QUESTION WITH THE CAPITAL OF DOMINANCE AREA. I THINK I MIGHT BE GETTING THAT TERM RIGHT. THE, THE, UH, YEAH, THE CAPITAL DOMINANCE OVERLAY, AND THAT WAS REVISED, I BELIEVE TWO YEARS AGO TO ALLOW OF DENSITY, DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUSES WITHIN THAT OVERLAY. SO ESSENTIALLY TO ALLOW, UH, PROJECTS TO BE BUILT TALLER OF IF THEY'RE SUPPORTING OUR DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM. SO THAT'S THE, THE CONTEXT. I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT SINCE IT WOULD BE A OF A CODE CHANGE, THAT RIGHT NOW I'M ASKING THAT WE, UH, INITIATE THE PROCESS, TAKE A VOTE ON INITIATING THE PROCESS FOR THAT CODE CHANGE. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE. MS. BROWN, DO WE HAVE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM? YES. CHAIR. WE HAVE PHILLIP WILEY. PHILLIP, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. THANK YOU. PHIL WILEY, DOWNTOWN RESIDENT. I, I SWORE I WASN'T GONNA GET UP HERE TONIGHT, BUT I CAN'T RESIST. UM, I DO LOVE PARKS. UM, BUT I WANTED TO BRING UP, AND IT MAY BE INTENTIONAL, BUT IT MAY, UH, I WANTED TO BRING UP THAT THERE WAS A PROJECT ON WEST AVENUE THAT I BELIEVE WAS BETWEEN EIGHTH AND NINTH THAT WAS NEXT TO THE BMX PARK, AND THEY ALSO HAD A CHALLENGE WITH AN OVERLAY. UH, SO MAYBE YOU, YOU JUST WANNA LOOK AT THESE THREE, BUT IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT 'EM ALL DOWNTOWN, THERE'S A SITUATION OVER THERE WHERE THEY WERE LOOKING TO MAKE IT A RETIREMENT, UH, A TALL RETIREMENT COMMUNITY, AND THE ASK WAS THAT THEY WERE GONNA HAVE TO CHANGE FROM DMU TO CBD IF I REMEMBER THIS CORRECTLY, IN ORDER TO NOT BE AFFECTED BY THAT OVERLAY. SO, SO YOU MAY WANNA INCLUDE THIS AT THE SAME TIME. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE, MS. BROWN. DO WE HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS? THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM. THANK YOU. LET'S MOVE INTO OUR ROUND ROBIN SO WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EIGHT COMMISSIONERS TO ASK QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM OF COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE OR STAFF OR THE PUBLIC. ANY COMMISSIONERS WANNA START? COMMISSIONER BRE RAMIREZ, GO AHEAD. HI, I THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS. I, I UNDERSTAND THE RATIONALE, BUT I ALSO HAVE A FRIEND WHO DOES LANDSCAPING AT REPUBLIC SQUARE AND HE TALKS ABOUT HOW NOTHING GROWS THERE AND THEY HAVE A REALLY HARD TIME MAINTAINING TREES. UM, JUST IN GENERAL. I KNOW THE TREES ARE VERY OLD, BUT I'M, I GUESS I, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT KIND OF THE SHADE AND SOLAR IMPACT TO THE PARKS. UM, AND MAYBE I, AND I'M NOT AN EXPERT, RIGHT, BUT MAYBE THERE'S LIKE AN EAST WEST PREFERENCE OR SOMETHING, BUT I JUST KNOW THAT THERE IS CHALLENGES WITH HIGHER BUILDINGS AND NOT GETTING ENOUGH SUNLIGHT. SO THAT WOULD BE MY ONLY CONCERN WITH THIS. AND I, I, AGAIN, I'M NOT AN EXPERT, BUT I, I HAVE FRIENDS THAT DO THIS WORK AND, AND THEY MIGHT HAVE SOME CONCERNS OR BE ABLE TO, UH, BETTER DESIGNATE THE REQUIREMENTS. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'D BE WILLING TO LOOK INTO FURTHER? THANKS, COMMISSIONER BARR RAMIREZ COM. COMMISSIONER AHMED, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE RATIONALE WAS FOR THE 120 FOOT, UH, UH, LIMIT THAT IS THERE TODAY? UH, I GUESS THAT WOULD BE FOR, FOR STAFF. UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA BEHIND, UH, WHY THAT 120 FOOT LIMIT WAS THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE? OH, JOY, HARD AND PLANNING AND ZONING. SO, UH, I DO NOT HAVE THE RATIONALE WITH ME. I JUST WANNA REMIND THESE ARE NOT PUBLIC HEARINGS. THIS IS AN INITIATION AND THESE ARE YOUR ITEMS. SO STAFF IS NOT HERE PREPARED TO DISCUSS. THESE ARE ITEMS INITIATED [00:40:01] BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR Y'ALL TO TALK AMONGST YOURSELF. IF THESE ITEMS ARE INITIATED, STAFF WILL BE BACK AND BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS AT THAT TIME. THANK YOU. UH, YES, UH, THAT MAKES SENSE. UM, DO, UM, I GUESS NO OTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT. THANKS COMMISSIONER AHMED, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER MAXWELL? UH, YES, I JUST WANTED TO TOUCH ON THIS BECAUSE I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE THIS COME FORWARD. I KNOW THAT SEVERAL OF THE PARKS, UM, HAVE BEEN INTERESTED IN CREATING MORE VIBRANCY AROUND THE SQUARES. UM, THERE'S LIKE A, A MASTER PLAN BASED, OR I SHOULD SAY A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR ALL THE SQUARES AND BRUSH SQUARE IN PARTICULAR HAS ALREADY GOTTEN SOME REVITALIZATION. SO I THINK THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BE TALKING ABOUT THIS. UM, I ALSO DID WANNA MENTION THAT I THINK A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHY THIS HAS BEEN PROBLEMATIC IS THE POST OFFICE, WHICH IF YOU LOOKED AT AT COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE'S, UM, DIAGRAMS, THAT'S THE ONE RIGHT ON FIFTH AND THAT THEY'VE HAD A REALLY HARD TIME REDEVELOPING THAT. AND PART OF THE REASON WE ENDED UP WITH THE POST OFFICE DOWNTOWN WITH A HUGE SURFACE PARKING LOT WAS BECAUSE OF THAT OVERLAY. SO I THINK IT IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE REVISITED BECAUSE IT'S CAUSED SOME, UM, I WOULD SAY NEGATIVE IMPACTS AND SORT OF REALLY IMPACTED THE VIBRANCY AROUND SOME OF OUR PARKS THAT WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE BETTER UTILIZATION. UM, AND I WOULD ALSO AGREE WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER BERES IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD BE LOOKING AT SOMETHING LIKE THAT A A STEP BACK, LIKE WHAT, WHAT WE HAVE ALONG OUR WATERFRONT OVERLAY. I THINK THERE'S JUST THE SENSE THAT THE WAY IT'S, UM, CRAFTED CURRENTLY ACTUALLY ENCOURAGES ZERO DEVELOPMENT VERSUS ENCOURAGING SOMETHING THAT WOULD REALLY FIT IN WITH OUR CURRENT DOWNTOWN. UM, AND I'M ALSO GLAD TO SAY THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S SOME CITY WORK GOING ON, LIKE OUR DOWNTOWN CORE PLAN IS BEING COMING TOGETHER SO IT FEELS REALLY APPROPRIATE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS AS A PIECE OF THAT BIGGER PUZZLE. SO THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE AND I DUNNO IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANTED TO ADD TO THAT. COMMISSIONER BRETTON, I HAVE A, A QUESTION FOR COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE. SO, UH, AND MAYBE ALSO OUR PARLIAMENTARIAN, I HAVE A QUESTION AS TO THIS IS JUST GOING TO ALLOW US TO MORE, UH, TO SPEAK TO THIS IN A MORE INFORMED MANNER, FIGURE OUT WHAT WE MIGHT WANT TO PROPOSE WHILE ALSO NOTIFYING THE COMMUNITY AND STAFF THAT WE ARE INTERESTED IN POTENTIALLY AMENDING THIS. YES, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING AS WELL OF IS THAT WE ARE NOT OF AT, AT THIS POINT CHANGING THE CODE, ALTHOUGH CORRECT IT WAS EXPLAINED THAT, UH, I PUT FORWARD A A DRAFT RIGHT TO GOT IT, TO HAVE SOMETHING TO START FROM ESSENTIALLY. BUT NO, THE MOTION IS TO INITIATE THIS PROCESS OF, SO THAT STAFF CAN CAN DO, UH, DO THEIR, THEIR BACKGROUND WORK AND THEN IT CAN ALSO MOVE FORWARD THROUGH I THINK WHAT WHATEVER'S DECIDED IS THE APPROPRIATE PROCESS. I GUESS IT WOULD GO THROUGH CODES AND ORDINANCES AND ALL LIKELIHOOD BEFORE IT CAME BACK TO US. SO THIS IS JUST KICK STARTING THE PROCESS, THE CONVERSATION OF HOW MIGHT WE CHANGE THIS? THAT IS CORRECT. JOY HARDEN WITH OFTEN PLANNING I HE'S THE WRONG. UM, AND THAT IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. THIS WOULD JUST INITIATE, UM, AND IT WOULD GO TO CODES AND ORDINANCES CORRECTLY AND THEN BACK TO PLANNING COMMISSION AND THEN COUNCIL WOULD MAKE THE FINAL DECISION. SOUNDS GREAT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? OKAY, LOOKING FOR A MOTION. OH, I GUESS I WILL GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION SINCE I BROUGHT THE AGENDA ITEM FORWARD. SO IT'S A MOTION TO INITIATE THE PROCESS OF MODIFYING OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM OF, I'M TRYING TO FIND OF DOWNTOWN PARKS OVERLAY DISTRICT. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE. LOOKING FOR A SECOND. SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY AND COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK FURTHER TO YOUR MOTION? NO, I THINK WE'VE COVERED IT ACTUALLY IN OUR CONVERSATION HERE. UH, JUST TO REITERATE FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT, UH, UH, THAT'S THE POINT OF STARTING THIS CONVERSATION AS I'M NOT CERTAIN EXACTLY WHAT THE RIGHT SOLUTION IS, AND MAYBE THE RIGHT SOLUTION IS NOT ONE THAT'S TRYING TO FIT A DISCREET DISTANCE AROUND ALL THREE OF THESE PARKS. IT ALREADY PROVES IT DOESN'T WORK BECAUSE THEY'VE CHANGED IT, THEY'VE AMENDED IT SINCE THEN. BUT TO FIND A WAY TO HONOR OUR PARKS AND THEN STILL ALLOW US TO BUILD, UH, YOU KNOW, IN LOCATIONS THAT ARE REALLY WHERE WE WANNA BE DEVELOPING, THEY'RE ON OUR, ON OUR TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS. SO, UH, HOPE TO HAVE Y'ALL'S SUPPORT. THANKS COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE. ANYONE SPEAKING AGAINST ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO SPEAK FOR? YES, COMMISSIONER POWELL. I [00:45:01] GUESS TECHNICALLY JUST WANT TO BE SHOWN AS, UM, OR ADD IN CONTEXT. I'D LIKE TO ABSTAIN FROM THIS ITEM TO AVOID ANY APPEARANCE OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST WITH MY PROFESSIONAL WORK. UM, I'M GONNA STEP OFF THE DICE UNTIL WE FINISH THIS ONE. THANK YOU. LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A, OH YES, COMMISSIONER ROEN. I WAS JUST GONNA MENTION THAT THE 120 FOOT HEIGHT, UH, FOR THE FIRST 60 FEET, UM, UH, ADDRESSING, UM, THE OTHER COMMISSIONER'S POINT ABOUT THE TREES AND THE LANDSCAPING IN THE PARKS DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT'S A SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH SETBACK TO ACTUALLY ADDRESS GETTING SUNLIGHT INTO OUR PARKS. AND I DO THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE OF FURTHER CONCERN ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR PARKS. BUT WITH THE CURRENT DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THAT SETBACK, THAT OBVIATES THE SETBACK AND SEEMS TO MAKE IT SOMEWHAT UNIMPORTANT AT THAT POINT ANYWAY. SO I WOULD SUPPORT THIS AS A, AS SOMETHING TO LOOK INTO. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS SPEAKING FOR OR AGAINST THIS MOTION? SEEING NONE, LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE. THOSE IN FAVOR? THAT ITEM PASSES UNANIMOUSLY WITH COMMISSIONER POWELL ABSTAINING. MOVING ON TO THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE FOR BRINGING THIS ITEM. UM, MOVING ON TO ITEM 26. THIS ITEM HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO NOVEMBER 13TH, SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM [27. Approve the 2026 annual schedule of the Planning Commission. ] 27. THIS IS THE APPROVAL OF THE 2026 ANNUAL SCHEDULE OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION. SO EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED THAT SCHEDULE IN BACKUP. I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE 2026 PLANNING COMMISSION SCHEDULE OR ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SCHEDULE? IT'S PARDONING MY INTERRUPTION. I BELIEVE Y'ALL WILL NEED TO VOTE. IF YOU LOOK DOWN AT THE LAST COUPLE LINES, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE'RE OFFERING UP A FEW DIFFERENT DATES FOR THAT NOVEMBER 24TH AND THE DECEMBER 22ND MEETING. WE'RE OFFERING UP THOSE TWO ALTERNATE DATES. THOSE, THOSE DATES ARE EITHER A MONDAY OR A WEDNESDAY, AND THEY'RE GONNA BE THE WEEKS THAT WE HAVE THE ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS. AND THAT'S JUST DUE TO THE HOLIDAYS DURING THAT TIME OF YEAR. SO I BELIEVE IN ORDER FOR US TO FULLY APPROVE THE SCHEDULE, WE WILL NEED TO DECIDE, MEET THOSE MEETING DATES. WE CAN ALWAYS AMEND THE SCHEDULE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR OR CALL SPECIAL CALLED MEETINGS. BUT I DID JUST WANNA STATE THAT ON THE RECORD. THANK YOU SO MUCH MS. GARCIA. SO JUST SO THAT I UNDERSTAND CLEARLY THE DATE IN RED IS A PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE DATE. IS THAT CORRECT? THE DATE IN RED IS WHAT THE DATE WOULD'VE BEEN IF WE WERE FOLLOWING THE SECOND AND FOURTH TUESDAYS OF THE MONTH. AND SO THOSE TWO DATES, WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE A COUPLE OPTIONS. Y'ALL COULD CHOOSE OTHER DATES IF Y'ALL WOULD LIKE. IT'S UP TO Y'ALL'S DISCRETION, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO OFFER SOME ALTERNATIVES THAT SEEMED LIKE THEY MAY WORK. OKAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO IT SEEMS LIKE MAYBE WE SHOULD FIRST GO AHEAD AND APPROVE ALL OF THE DATES THAT DON'T HAVE ALTERNATIVES. SO THAT WOULD BE THE DATES IN JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER 10TH AND DECEMBER 8TH. UM, SO LOOKING FOR A FIRST, A MOTION TO APPROVE THE 2026 SCHEDULE JUST FOR THOSE DATES LISTED. AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK AND SELECT A DATE IN NOVEMBER AND A SECOND DATE IN DECEMBER. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER POWELL, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRETTON. ANY OBJECTION TO ADOPTING THAT SCHEDULE? SEEING NONE, THAT MOTION PASSES. OKAY, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A LOOK AT NOVEMBER. SO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING IN NOVEMBER WOULD'VE FALLEN ON NOVEMBER 24TH, 2026 ARE TWO ALTERNATIVE DATES THAT WE HAVE ARE NOVEMBER 16TH, WHICH IS A MONDAY AND NOVEMBER 18TH, WHICH IS A WEDNESDAY. UM, LET'S JUST GO AHEAD AND TAKE A QUICK, UH, INFORMAL POLL HERE ON PREFERENCE FOR THOSE BETWEEN THOSE TWO DATES. UM, WE'LL START WITH, WHAT I'M GONNA ASK IS ARE YOU AVAILABLE, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT THIS IS A YEAR IN ADVANCE, THEORETICALLY ON THE 16TH, AND THEN I'LL ASK IF YOU'RE AVAILABLE THEORETICALLY ON THE 18TH. SO FEEL FREE TO VOTE FOR BOTH IF YOU THINK YOU'RE THEORETICALLY AVAILABLE FOR BOTH. UM, AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, COULD I SEE THE COMMISSIONERS VIRTUALLY ON OUR SCREEN PLEASE? THANK YOU SO MUCH. THAT WILL HELP ME COUNT. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS MIGHT CHANGE, WHO IS THEORETICALLY AVAILABLE ON MONDAY THE 16TH? PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. OKAY. AND THEN HOW ABOUT THE 18TH? OKAY, I'M SEEING A ONE COMMISSIONER PREFERENCE FOR THE 16TH THERE. AND THEN LET'S TALK THROUGH THE DECEMBER DATES. THE MEETING WOULD HAVE FALLEN ON DECEMBER 22ND, 2026. OUR ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS ARE MONDAY THE 14TH AND WEDNESDAY THE 16TH. I THINK THE TWO COMMISSIONERS THAT COULD NOT MAKE THE WEDNESDAY MEETING WERE COMMISSIONER [00:50:01] MAXWELL AND VICE CHAIR HANEY. IS THAT A STANDING WEDNESDAY COMMITMENT THAT WOULD ALSO AFFECT DECEMBER? NO. COMMISSIONER MAXWELL? NO. OKAY. SO LET'S DO OUR QUICK POLL ONE MORE TIME FOR DECEMBER. ANYONE, UH, KNOW THAT THEY WILL THEORETICALLY BE AVAILABLE ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 14TH? CAN YOU RAISE YOUR HAND? OKAY. AND HOW ABOUT WEDNESDAY? OKAY, SO IT LOOKS LIKE THAT ONE IS EVENLY SPLIT BETWEEN THE 14TH AND THE 16TH. UM, MS. GARCIA, CAN WE AMEND THIS IN THE FUTURE IF WE NEED TO? YES, CHAIR. OKAY. SO FOR THE PURPOSES OF MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS, THIS EVENING, I'M GOING TO LOOK FOR A MOTION TO SCHEDULE OUR NOVE, OUR SECOND NOVEMBER MEETING IN 2026 ON NOVEMBER 16TH AND OUR SECOND DECEMBER MEETING IN 2026 ON DECEMBER 16TH. JUST SO WE SPLIT OURSELVES UP BETWEEN MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY, KNOWING THAT WE CAN AMEND THIS IN THE FUTURE, MAKE A MOTION TO HAVE THE SECOND NOVEMBER MEETING OF 2026 ON NOVEMBER 16TH AND THE SECOND DECEMBER MEETING OF DECEMBER, 2026 ON DECEMBER 14TH. ON DECEMBER 14TH. OH, DID WE SAY 16TH? YOU MAY. YOU CAN MOTION, WE CAN DO LIKE, LET'S DO 16TH. LET'S DO 16TH. MY BAD. THANKS. COMMISSIONER POWELL. UH, JUST LOOKING FOR SECOND. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER ROJAN. ANY OBJECTION? OKAY, SEEING NONE, THAT ITEM PASSES. THANK YOU FOR WORKING WITH US TO GET THAT 2026 SCHEDULE APPROVED. LET'S MOVE [COMMITTEE UPDATES ] INTO OUR COMMITTEE UPDATES, CODES AND ORDINANCES. JOINT COMMITTEE, UM, VICE CHAIR, HANEY, SECRETARY MAXWELL, OR COMMISSIONER BREIRA RAMIREZ. WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THAT COMMITTEE? UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE WAS AN UPDATE BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT MET RECENTLY. THANKS. COMMISSIONER MAXWELL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN JOINT COMMITTEE. UH, NO UPDATE OTHER THAN OUR LAST MEETING'S. UPDATE ON THE FORMER MEETING. THANK YOU. JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE. UH, I, UH, ATTENDED IN, UH, THE ALTERNATE POSITION FOR COMMISSIONER HILLER. WE HAD A PRESENTATION ON GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, STREET TREES EXPLAINING TARP, UH, WITH SOME PROGRAMMATIC BARRIER CONVERSATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STAFF. UH, WE ALSO HAD A PRESENTATION ON BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN. I BELIEVE THEY'LL COME PRESENT TO US NEXT WEEK OR NEXT MEETING, RATHER. UH, ALSO A CONVERSATION ON THE BOND PROCESS. THE COM UH, COMMITTEE IS PLANNING TO HAVE A THREE LISTENING SESSIONS IN NOVEMBER TO DISCUSS THE WAITING OR HOW TO WAIT THE RUBRIC FOR EVALUATING BOND PROJECTS. THANKS. COMMISSIONER BRETON. SMALL AREA PLANNING JOINT COMMITTEE. THERE IS NO UPDATE. THANK YOU. VICE CHAIR HANEY, SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT [BOARD/WORKING GROUP UPDATES ] ADVISORY BOARD. WE DID NOT MAKE QUORUM. OKAY. UM, GOVERNANCE RULES AND PROCEDURES WORKING GROUP. WE MET YESTERDAY AND WE WILL BE BRINGING A NEW SLATE OF RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE COMMISSION'S DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL TO OUR NEXT MEETING ON NOVEMBER 14TH, I BELIEVE. UM, WHICH MOVES US INTO [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ] OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM. OH, NOT NOVEMBER 14TH. THAT IS NOVEMBER 18TH. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO PLACE ON THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS LIST, UH, DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON RULES AND PROCEDURES AS OUTLINED BY THE GOVERNANCE RULES AND PROCEDURES WORKING GROUP FOR THAT NEXT MEETING, PLEASE. ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? ALL RIGHT, A SECOND. OH, CAN I GET A SECOND ON THAT? UH, YES. COMMISSIONER HILLER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR HANEY. UM, I AM GOING TO ADJOURN THIS MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION AT 6:55 PM THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.