[00:00:05]
[CALL TO ORDER]
WITHIN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM.I NOW CALL THIS MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO ORDER AT 6:02 PM FIRST, LET'S TAKE ROLE.
PLEASE LET US KNOW YOU'RE HERE WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME, CHAIR WOODS.
SECRETARY MAXWELL IS NOT WITH US THIS EVENING.
AND COMMISSIONER LON, COULD YOU TURN YOUR CAMERA ON, PLEASE? I AM TRYING TO.
UM, THE CAMERA'S TURNED ON, BUT IT'S NOT SHOWING UP, SO I THINK I'M HAVING TECHNICAL.
COMMISSIONER HOWARD IS NOT WITH US THIS EVENING.
COMMISSIONER BARRERA RAMIREZ IS JOINING US A LITTLE BIT LATER.
AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO RECOGNIZE OUR EXOFFICIO BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS.
CHAIR COHEN IS HERE WITH US THIS EVENING.
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 FROM HERE IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM 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'RE NOT SPEAKING AND RAISE YOUR HAND TO BE RECOGNIZED.
AND IF I DON'T SEE YOU, PLEASE DO UNMUTE AND LET ME KNOW VERBALLY.
IF YOU'RE A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, YOU SHOULD RECEIVE AN EMAIL BEFORE WE TAKE UP YOUR ITEM AND WE WILL HAVE ASSISTANCE FROM MS. GARCIA IN ANNOUNCING THE SPEAKER IS DURING OUR PUBLIC HEARINGS.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK DURING PUBLIC COMMUNICATION THIS EVENING? YES.PHILIP, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
PHILLIP WILEY, UH, 33 YEAR DOWNTOWN RESIDENT, UM, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY RESIDENT OF THE DISTRICT WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAT REFERRED TO AS JUDGES HILL.
UM, IF, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE PUT THE, THE CHART UP.
UM, I'M NOT COMING AS A REBUTTAL WITNESS AS MUCH AS TO PROVIDE CLARIFICATION ON, UM, ON THE HISTORIC SURVEY STATUS.
I THINK THAT THERE WAS A STATEMENT MADE AT THE LAST MEETING THAT IT HAD BEEN ABOUT 40 YEARS SINCE THE SURVEY WAS DONE.
AND I KNOW WE ALL DO DIFFERENT KINDS OF SURVEYS AND POLLS AND, UM, AND I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTION THAT THERE WAS SOME PARTICULAR EXERCISE THAT HADN'T BEEN DONE IN THAT, IN THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
WE HAVE BEEN DOING, I WOULD SAY, ALMOST PERPETUAL HISTORIC DISTRICT PLANNING IN THE JUDGES HILL AREA FOR MOST OF THE TIME THAT I'VE LIVED HERE, WHICH AGAIN, HAS BEEN 33 YEARS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU, AND THIS IS A CITY CHART, UM, WHEN A HISTORIC DISTRICT WAS BEING PURSUED IN THE JUDGES HILL AREA, UM, THIS IS A PICTURE OF ONE OF THE LOTS THAT WAS BEING LOOKED AT.
UM, IT WAS ACTUALLY CITY OWNED LAND AND IT WAS BEING LOOKED AT TO BE USED AS A BUFFER AROUND THE HISTORIC DISTRICT.
SO THERE'S NO STRUCTURE ON IT.
THEY THOUGHT THAT THERE WAS MAYBE SOME ARCHEOLOGICAL, UM, ARTIFACTS OF INTEREST, AND IT TURNED OUT THAT, THAT THAT WAS AN TRUE.
SO I THINK THEY DECIDED THAT IT HAD A VIEW OF HISTORIC PEACE PARK WAS WHAT THEY WERE GONNA BET THE FARM ON.
UM, SO IT HAS BEEN DONE, IT WAS DONE EXTENSIVELY, AND I JUST DON'T WANT YOU ALL TO HAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN LOOKING AT THIS HARD AND SERIOUSLY, UH, QUITE A BIT OVER THE YEARS.
SO THIS IS, AGAIN, A DIAGRAM THAT SHOWS THE HISTORIC DISTRICT THAT WAS BEING CONSIDERED IN THAT TIME.
UH, THE, THE LOTS THAT I'VE JUST SHOWN YOU, THE TWO LOTS THAT ARE CITY OWNED ARE AT THE BOTTOM LEFT HAND CORNER OF THERE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT PLANS, IF ANY, THEY MAY HAVE FOR THAT LAND.
UH, BUT AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S BASICALLY SOMETHING THEY WERE TRYING TO DO IN THE FORM OF A HISTORIC DISTRICT THAT'S SURROUNDED BY BUFFER, UM, ALL, ALL THE WAY IN THE DISTRICT.
AND SO, UM, THIS IS ONLY SOMEWHAT RELATED.
UM, I THINK IN RESPONSE TO THE NEED FOR MORE HOUSING, THE, THERE'S A NEW INITIATIVE THAT'S BEING, UH, KICKED OFF THAT'S CALLED THE CITY CENTER ASSOCIATION.
THAT'S THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, A HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION.
AND WE HOPE TO PROVIDE YOU BETTER OPTICS INTO WHAT THE PEOPLE THERE REALLY WANT FOR THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, RATHER THAN HAVE A COUPLE PEOPLE LIKE ME COME UP AND TRY TO REPRESENT WHAT WILL
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HOPEFULLY BE 20,000 PEOPLE BEFORE TOO LONG.THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS, CHAIR.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
[Consent Agenda]
ON THE CONSENT AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 11TH, 2024, FEBRUARY 4TH, 2025, APRIL 29TH, 2025, AND OCTOBER 28TH, 2025 MEETINGS.DOES ANYONE HAVE 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.
AFTER THIS COMMISSIONERS, YOU'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REQUEST ANY CONSENT ITEMS BE PULLED FOR DISCUSSION.
MR. HANEY, WOULD YOU MIND READING THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR US? SURE THING.
UM, SO FOR OUR FIRST ITEM, WE HAVE, UH, ITEM NUMBER TWO, NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT NPA A DASH 2 25 DASH 0 16 0 1 PNP 0.72 IN DISTRICT THREE.
UH, THEN ITEM THREE IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 20 25 0 7 3 P AND P 0.72, DISTRICT THREE.
THAT ITEM IS ALSO UP FOR CONSENT.
ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT NPA DASH 2 0 2 5 0 25 3.
ANA TRACK 34 IN DISTRICT EIGHT.
THAT ITEM IS UP FOR NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT UNTIL DECEMBER THE NINTH.
AND ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS REZONING C 14 DASH 2025 DASH 0 0 8 7.
ANA TRACK THREE FOUR IN DISTRICT EIGHT.
THAT ITEM IS ALSO UP FOR NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TO DECEMBER THE NINTH.
ITEM NUMBER SIX IS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT NPA DASH 2 25 DASH 0 0 2 5 0 2 SOUTH TOWN IN DISTRICT EIGHT.
THAT ONE IS UP FOR APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO DECEMBER THE NINTH.
ITEM NUMBER SEVEN IS OF REZONING C ONE FOUR DASH 20 25 0 79 SOUTH TOWN REZONING.
THAT ONE IS ALSO UP FOR APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO DECEMBER THE NINTH.
ITEM NUMBER EIGHT IS EIGHT IS A REZONING C FOUR DASH 20 24 16 FOR 1000 RED RIVER STREET IN DISTRICT NINE.
ITEM NUMBER NINE IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2025 DASH 0 5 1.
UH, WOODWARD MIXED USED FLATS IN DISTRICT THREE.
THAT IS UP FOR STAFF POSTPONEMENT TO DECEMBER THE NINTH.
ITEM NUMBER 10 IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2025 DASH 0 9 8 RCT 600 HAN RCT, DISTRICT NINE.
VICE CHAIR HANEY, DO ANY COMMISSIONERS NEED TO RECUSE OR ABSTAIN FROM ITEMS ON THE AGENDA? OKAY, MS. GARCIA, DO WE HAVE SPEAKERS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ANY OF THE CONSENT ITEMS? YES.
STARTING WITH ITEMS TWO AND THREE, THESE ITEMS ARE OFFERED FOR CONSENT.
WE'LL BE HEARING FROM THE PRIMARY SPEAKER IN FAVOR, CANDACE FOX.
CANDACE, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
MOVING FORWARD TO ITEM SIX AND SEVEN.
THESE ITEMS ARE OFFERED FOR APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO DECEMBER 9TH.
WE'LL BE HEARING FROM THE APPLICANT AMANDA HENDRICKS.
AMANDA, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
MOVING FORWARD TO THOSE SPEAKING IN OPPOSITION.
OUR PRIMARY SPEAKER IN OPPOSITION IS LEE ZIEGLER.
LEE, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
OKAY, MOVING FORWARD TO ITEM EIGHT.
THIS ITEM IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT.
WE'LL FIRST BE HEARING FROM THE APPLICANT PAMELA, ME, PAMELA, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IN FAVOR IS STEVEN VAN SOLEN.
STEVEN, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
I'M HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS AS WELL.
THIS ITEM IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT.
WE'LL BE HEARING FROM THE APPLICANT JULES KANE.
ZERO FIVE MINUTES IS MS. SILER ONLINE CHAIR.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA.
THANK YOU MS. GARCIA, DO ANY COMMISSIONERS WANT TO PULL ANY OF THE CONSENT ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION OR OTHERWISE HAVE QUESTIONS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? I DO HAVE A QUESTION ON ITEM EIGHT.
I DON'T WANT TO PULL THAT ITEM, BUT I JUST, UM, APPRECIATE THE APPLICANT BEING HERE WITH US.
AND I DID JUST WANNA BRIEFLY ASK IF YOU CAN TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE STREET SCAPE DESIGN ON, ON THIS PROPOSED PROJECT.
[00:10:06]
SORRY, PAM.ME DEAR HERE, ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT, WITH RESPECT TO THE STREETS SCAPE DESIGN RIGHT NOW, UM, WE ARE KEEPING IT THE SAME, UM, AS IT IS.
UM, BUT WE ARE GOING TO BE, UH, LOOKING AT WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE WITH RE RESPECT TO THE LANDSCAPING, THE STREETSCAPE AND ALL OF THAT AS WE WORK WITH STAFF WHEN WE COME IN FOR A, UH, MODIFIED SITE PLAN ON THE PROPERTY.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS OR VISIO MEMBERS? I I DID HAVE A QUESTION.
UH, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND ELABORATING.
I AM PART OF THE RED RIVER CULTURE DISTRICT AND WE DID HAVE SOME CONCERNS.
UH, I WAS ALSO THE CHAIR OF THE WORKING GROUP THAT WORKED ON THE PALM DISTRICT.
UH, THE INTENT, UH, OF, OF HAVING THE PALM DISTRICT WAS TO CONNECT ESSENTIALLY THE CONVENTION CENTER WITH THE NORTHERN PART OF THE RRCD MM-HMM
AND JUST LOOKING AT THE DESIGN, I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVEN'T HIT SITE REVIEW YET, BUT COULD YOU TELL ME A LITTLE MORE ABOUT MAYBE WHAT YOUR INTENDED USES? UH, MY GOAL IS JUST TO HEAR THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANOTHER BUILDING DOWNTOWN THAT'S ONLY OPEN FROM NINE TO FIVE.
AND SINCE THEY'RE DARK LIKE TRS DID AFTER THAT, YES.
WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS IS OUT AND WE DON'T WANT PROBLEMS WITH MUSIC OR SOUND EITHER.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, CURRENTLY THE PROPERTY HAS FOUR ZONING DISTRICTS, DMU CS, CS ONE, AND MF FOUR.
AND SO WE ARE SEEKING DMU ZONING SO THAT WE CAN HOLISTICALLY LOOK AT THE PROPERTY.
UM, JUST LIKE YOU INDICATED, WE WANT A VIBRANT PROPERTY, UM, THAT IS OPEN AND AVAILABLE.
AND YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, AS YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU'VE SEEN THE PROPERTY, IT IS, IT IS UNDER DESIGNED, IT IS UNDERUTILIZED.
UM, THERE'S A MOON TOWER THERE AND YOU DON'T SEE THOSE EVERYWHERE.
AND THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE LOVE ABOUT THE PROPERTY.
BUT, UM, OUR GOAL RIGHT NOW IS TO WORK THROUGH THE ZONING BECAUSE WITH THE WAY THE ZONING IS SO BROKEN UP RIGHT NOW THAT THE, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
AND SO THE DMU ZONING GIVES US THE FLEXIBILITY TO REALLY LOOK AT USES THAT MAKE SENSE FOR THAT DOWNTOWN AREA.
UM, AND THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON AND THERE'S SO MUCH VIBRANCY AND AND DEVELOPMENT THAT'S COMING IN THAT AREA.
WE WANNA BE ABLE TO FIT IN WITH SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
AND AS WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, I'M HAPPY TO REACH OUT TO YOU AND KEEP YOU IN THE LOOP IF YOU WOULD LIKE, SO THAT YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, UM, AS WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.
REALLY CURIOUS TO SEE HOW LIKE WATERLOO CONNECTS TO IT ALONG WITH RRCD.
THERE'S SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY IN THAT AREA.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THE MARKET HAS BEEN KIND OF SLOW OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, AND SO IT'S REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TO DO GREAT THINGS AND IT'S A VERY KIND WAY TO PUT IT.
WELL, WE'LL TAKE YOUR NAME DOWN.
JUST WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT COMMISSIONER BREER RAMIREZ HAS JOINED US ONLINE.
UM, ONE LAST CHANCE TO PULL ANY OF THE CONSENT ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION OR OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA FROM THE COMMISSION.
IS THERE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AND APPROVE THE MINUTES THAT I LISTED? MOTION BY COMMISSIONER BRETTON, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BEREN.
WITHOUT OBJECTION, THAT ITEM PASSES.
SO THIS CONCLUDES THE CONSENT AGENDA.
[11. Briefing regarding Staff’s response to Council Resolution 20241121-073 related to Bird-Friendly design by Leslie Lilly, Environmental Conservation Program Manager, Austin Watershed Protection.]
ON TO OUR STAFF BRIEFING.SO THIS IS A BRIEFING RELATED TO BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN.
UH, GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS.
MY NAME IS LESLIE LILY AND I'M WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION.
AND THIS EVENING I'M GOING TO DISCUSS BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IN AUSTIN AND THE STAFF'S RESPONSE TO THE RESOLUTION PASSED BY CITY COUNCIL ALMOST A YEAR AGO TODAY.
SO THIS HAS BEEN A VERY, UH, COLLABORATIVE EFFORT WITH SEVERAL DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS CONTRIBUTING.
UH, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN ACTUALLY TOUCHES A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UH, OPERATIONS ACROSS THE CITY.
SO WE'VE NEEDED A LOT OF INPUT FROM EXPERTS IN ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE LISTED HERE.
UM, THIS IS THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS, UH, PASSED LAST, LAST YEAR BY CITY COUNCIL AND IT DIRECTED STAFF TO DO FOUR THINGS.
ONE WAS TO COME BACK WITH AN UPDATE TO OUR ALREADY EXISTING LIGHTS OUT ORDINANCE, WHICH IS AN, WHICH IS AN ORDINANCE THAT DIRECTS CITY BUILDINGS TO, UH, TURN OFF LIGHTS DURING PEAK MIGRATION.
ADDITIONALLY, EXPLORING THE INTEGRATION OF BIRD FRIENDLY BUILDING TECHNIQUES IN NEW, UH, CONSTRUCTION, UH, CONDUCTING A FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY QUITE INTERESTING, TALKING TO, UH, MUNICIPALITIES ALL OVER, UH, THE COUNTRY.
AND THEN SEEKING INPUT FROM STAKEHOLDERS,
[00:15:01]
ESPECIALLY Y'ALL.I'M VERY INTERESTED TO HEAR ALL OF THE INPUT THAT, UM, YOU HAVE TODAY ON, UH, WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING.
SO WHY IS BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IMPORTANT IN AUSTIN? SO AUSTIN SITS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CENTRAL FLYWAY, WHICH IS A MIGRATORY PATH FOR BIRDS TO PASS FROM NORTH AMERICA DOWN INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA.
UM, IN AUSTIN, YOU CAN SEE ALMOST 400 MORE THAN 400 SPECIES OF BIRDS WITHIN 60 MILES OF THE CITY.
WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT ECOTYPE, THE EDWARDS PLATEAU AND THE BLACKLAND PRAIRIE HABITATS THAT KIND OF CONVERGE IN AUSTIN, MAKING A REALLY UNIQUE PLACE FOR BIRDS TO EXIST, BOTH IN THOSE HABITATS AND IN THE OVERLAP OF THOSE TWO REALLY UNIQUE, UH, PLANT COMMUNITIES.
ALSO, WE ARE MERE DESTINATION FOR BIRDWATCHING.
WE'VE GOT GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLERS, WHICH ARE, YOU KNOW, ARE A CHARISMATIC SONGBIRD THAT PEOPLE COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO PUT ON THEIR LIFE LIST.
UM, AND ALSO WE GENERATE, YOU KNOW, MANY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY, UM, IN REVENUE RELATED TO, UH, BIRDWATCHING, WHICH IS AMAZING.
UH, A NATIONAL, UM, UH, STUDY CAME OUT BY US FISH AND WILDLIFE, UH, CALCULATING $279 BILLION NATIONWIDE REVENUE GENERATED FROM BIRD BIRDWATCHING.
ALSO, IMPORTANTLY TO KNOW THERE ARE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF BIRDS THAT FLY OVER, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY IN ANY GIVEN NIGHT.
ABOUT A MONTH AGO, UM, DURING FALL MIGRATION, THERE WAS A CALCULATED FOUR AND A HALF MILLION BIRDS FLYING OVER TRAVIS COUNTY IN ONE NIGHT.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT IS QUITE A LOT OF BIRDS, AND THAT'S MORE THAN JUST THE RESIDENT BIRDS.
IT'S THE BIRDS THAT ARE MIGRATING THROUGH.
SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM AND WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IN PARTICULAR? WELL, BIRDS HAVE A DIFFICULTY SEEING GLASS AND PERCEIVING GLASS.
THEY EITHER PERCEIVE IT AS A NAVIGABLE SPACE THAT THEY CAN FLY THROUGH AND INTO IF THE GLASS IS TRANSPARENT OR THEY SEE THE REFLECTED SURFACE AS A SPACE THAT THEY CAN FLY INTO.
SO IN DAYTIME, BIRDS ENCOUNTER THIS REFLECTIVE OR TRANSLUCENT GLASS.
AND THEN THE ISSUE IS EXACERBATED AT NIGHT WHEN BIRDS ENCOUNTER ARTIFICIAL SOURCES OF LIGHT THAT DRAW THEM INTO URBAN SPACES AND, UH, MAKE THE POSSIBILITY OF THEM ENCOUNTERING GLASS SURFACES MORE LIKELY.
SO BIRDS GET VERY CONFUSED IN THESE AREAS, AND THE COLLISION IS OFTEN DEADLY.
IT IS ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 1 BILLION BIRDS DIE IN NORTH AMERICA EVERY YEAR DUE TO BUILDING COLLISIONS.
SO WHAT ARE SOME SOLUTIONS, UH, THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED TO REDUCE, UH, THE BIRD COLLISION? SO THERE'S LOTS OF STRATEGIES THAT ARE APPLICATIONS TO GLASS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, REDUCING THE USE OF GLASS, BUT ALSO YOU CAN TREAT THE GLASS.
YOU CAN, UH, SHADE THE GLASS WITH SOLAR SHADES OR INSECT SCREENS, WHICH ARE REALLY, UH, GREAT FOR RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS.
UM, THERE'S, UH, DECALS THAT YOU CAN PUT ON THE GLASS.
BUT THEN VERY IMPORTANTLY, THERE'S A LOT OF COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS CURRENTLY ON THE MARKET THAT ARE EITHER UV COATED, GLAZED ETCHED, OR HAVE A FRITTED MATERIAL, WHICH IS LIKE A CERAMIC PIECE BAKED INTO THE GLASS.
AND THOSE PATTERNS ALLOW FOR BIRDS TO PERCEIVE THE SURFACE.
ADDITIONALLY, AS YOU CAN SEE THIS REALLY AMAZING AVIARY AND SALT LAKE CITY.
THERE'S A LOT OF DESIGN STRATEGIES THAT CAN REDUCE THE CHANCE OF BIRD COLLISION.
UM, YOU KNOW, EXTERIOR SCREENS, THIS METAL FACADE IS REALLY COOL AND THE BIRD WON'T RUN INTO IT.
SIMILARLY, OUR, UM, ACTUALLY CITY HALL AND THE CENTRAL LIBRARY HAVE, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY ELEMENTS TO THEM JUST BY THE WAY THAT THEY WERE, UH, DESIGNED.
ALSO, LIGHTING IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF IT, BOTH EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR LIGHTING.
SO EXTERIOR LIGHTING, WE WANNA ELIMINATE UP LIGHTING, USE FULLY SHIELDED FIXTURES, UM, HAVE, HAVE LIGHTING POINTED DOWNWARD.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT CERTAINLY IT DRAWS MIGRATING BIRDS, WHICH TEND TO MIGRATE AT A THOUSAND FEET OR MORE ABOVE, UM, ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND.
UM, USING LIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS THAT, UH, WILL SHUT OFF LIGHTS WHEN THEY'RE NOT IN USE OR THAT ARE ON TIMERS OR ARE MOTION ACTIVATED.
AND THEN ALSO USING WARMER LIGHT BULBS THAT ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE RED OR YELLOW COLOR, UM, OF THE SPECTRUM.
AND THEN FOR INTERIOR LIGHT MANAGEMENT USING, YOU KNOW, SIMILARLY PROGRAM AUTOMATIC CONTROLS WITH TIMERS AND USING WINDOW TREATMENTS TO REDUCE THE TRESPASS OF LIGHT INTO THE ENVIRONMENT.
SO WITH ALL OF THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT A NEW TOPIC FOR, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF DECADES.
THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF WORK DONE, UM, ACROSS NORTH AMERICA TO INCORPORATE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN TO REDUCE, UH, THESE KIND OF DEADLY COLLISIONS.
AND OUR GROUP, WE DID A LOT OF BENCHMARKING WORK.
SO WE REACHED OUT TO, UM, SIX DIFFERENT CITIES THAT HAVE, UH, REALLY GREAT ORDINANCES ON THEIR BOOKS.
WE TALKED TO THEIR PLANNING STAFF, WE TALKED TO THEIR, UH,
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ARCHITECTS, WE TALKED TO ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR ORDINANCES LOOK LIKE, THEIR, HOW THEY'RE APPLIED, AND HOW EFFECTIVE THAT THEY'VE BEEN.AND TWO THAT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT HERE IS NEW YORK CITY PASSED AN ORDINANCE IN 2021 REQUIRING THAT 90% OF THE FACADE OF EVERY NEW BUILDING UP TO 75 FEET WOULD BE REQUIRED TO HAVE THIS BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS THAT HAD A THREAT FACTOR, WHICH IS THE, UM, THE, THE STANDARD RATING TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT A GLASS, A PIECE OF GLASS IS LESS LIKELY TO BE COLLIDED INTO THEN, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER KIND OF MATERIAL AND A THREAT FACTOR OF 25 OR LESS.
AND IT HAS BEEN SUPER SUCCESSFUL AND IT'S, IT'S REALLY, IT WAS REALLY GREAT TALKING TO THEM ABOUT ALL OF THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE, ALL THE REALLY INTERESTING BUILDINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DESIGNED.
AND INTERESTINGLY, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN AND THE KINDS OF GLASS TREATMENT THAT IS USED TO REDUCE THESE BIRD COLLISIONS ALSO HAS ENERGY EFFICIENT, UH, BENEFITS.
SO REDUCING THE COST OF, UH, YOUR ENERGY COSTS.
ALSO, ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, THIS IS THE ONLY ORDINANCE ON THE BOOKS THAT HAS, UH, A VOLUNTARY COMPONENT.
SO THEIR, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN COMPLIANCE IS TIED TO THEIR DENSITY BONUS INCENTIVES.
UM, AND THE WAY THAT THEY REGULATE IT IS FACADES OF A BUILDING FROM EIGHT TO 36 FEET.
AND THEN THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT KIND OF, UM, WAY THAT THEY MEASURE IT WHERE THEY HAVE A MAXIMUM WEIGHTED AVERAGE SUCH THAT ALL OF THE FACADES WITHIN THAT HEIGHT RANGE HAS A THREAT FACTOR OF 15%.
SO SOME CAN BE A LITTLE BIT MORE, WHILE SOME CAN BE SAY ZERO.
SO OPAQUE MATERIAL IS, HAS A THREAT FACTOR OF ZERO.
UH, SO WHAT DOES, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IN AUSTIN LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW? BECAUSE IT'S NOT ABSENT? UM, FOR, FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE OUR AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, AND THAT IS OUR, UM, GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM THAT, UH, IS OUR RATING PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND IT'S INTEGRATED AS A MINIMUM REQUIREMENT IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT ZONING AREAS.
IN PARTICULAR, THERE'S PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A TWO STAR RATING AND IN, UH, TO COMPLY WITH THAT RATING.
THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS THAT YOU ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH OR THAT YOU CAN, UM, VOLUNTARILY COMPLY WITH TO GET THAT RATING.
AND ONE OF THEM IS BIRD COLLISION DETERRENCE AND LIGHT POLLUTION REDUCTION.
SO WE HAVE CRITERIA ALREADY AVAILABLE FOR, UM, DEVELOPERS TO USE IN THEIR BUILDING DESIGN.
UM, ALSO WE HAVE THIS LIGHTS OUT, UH, INITIATIVE THAT EXISTS AND IT'S RELATED TO REDUCING LIGHT POLLUTION DURING PEAK MIGRATION.
UM, AND SOME OF THE COMPONENTS OF THAT RESOLUTION ARE LISTED HERE.
AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THIS IS ONLY APPLICABLE TO CITY BUILDINGS MANAGED BY OUR BUILDING SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE LOTS OF LIGHTING AND GLASS REQUIREMENTS CURRENTLY IN CITY CODE.
AND WHILE THEY ARE NOT SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO REDUCE BIRD COLLISION, THEY HAVE, UH, COMPONENTS OF THEM THAT UNINTENTIONALLY WILL REDUCE THE, COULD REDUCE BIRD COLLISION, INCLUDING REDUCING REFLECTIVITY AND ALSO, UH, LIGHT SHIELDING AND OTHER SORTS OF THINGS.
SO THIS KIND OF REGULATION IS ALREADY ON THE BOOKS.
UM, SO WHAT ARE, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE OTHER CITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, MEASURING THE COST IMPACT THAT IT IS HAVING ON THEM? SO, MADISON, WISCONSIN, NEW YORK CITY AND BERKELEY ALL HAD FEASIBILITY STUDIES ON THEIR BOOKS WHEN THEY BROUGHT THEIR ORDINANCES FORWARD.
AND MADISON, WISCONSIN, WHEN THEY, UM, GAVE THEIR ESTIMATE IN THEIR PRESENTATIONS TO THEIR PLANNING COMMISSION AND THEIR CITY COUNCIL, THEY SAID IT WOULD BE ABOUT A TWO TO 3% INCREASE IN PROJECT COST FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION IN NEW YORK.
THEY, THEY ESTIMATED THAT IT WOULD HAVE NO IMPACT ON REVENUES OR EXPENDITURES, WHICH SOUNDS GREAT.
UM, AND IN BERKELEY THEY WERE KIND OF MORE REALISTIC AND SAID THAT IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO ASSESS THE COST.
SEEING ALL OF THIS AND TALKING TO A LOT OF THE MANUFACTURERS OF GLASS AND A LOT OF ARCHITECTS HERE IN TEXAS AND IN ALL OF THESE CITIES THAT HAVE, UH, THESE ORDINANCES ON THE BOOKS, YOU KNOW, WE ENDED UP GETTING SOME PRETTY DECENT SQUARE FOOT, UH, COSTS.
SO THESE ARE THE, UM, PRIMARY COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO DETER BIRD COLLISION.
SO STANDARD GLASS IS UNTREATED, YOUR FRITTED GLASS IS THE GLASS THAT HAS THE CERAMIC PIECES IN IT.
THE ETCHED GLASS IS EITHER ACID ETCHED OR LASER ETCHED.
AND THE LASER ETCHING IS A KIND OF A NEWER, UH, PRODUCT ON THE MARKET THAT IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT LESS EXPENSIVE.
AND THEN ULTRAVIOLET TREATMENT, WHICH IS A TREATMENT THAT IS A BIT MORE TRANSPARENT AND NOT ALL BIRDS CAN SEE, UH, THE UV TREATMENT.
SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE MOST EFFECTIVE OF THE TREATMENT.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE RELATIVE COST OF EACH ONE OF THESE.
[00:25:01]
I DID A LITTLE BIT OF A, UH, YOU KNOW, BACK OF THE NAPKIN CALCULATION TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD COST, SAY FOR A NEW LOW RISE BUILDING, THREE STORIES, 10,000 SQUARE FEET, IF YOU CALCULATED A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE FACADE BEING, UH, GLASS, IT WOULD COST $12,000 TO ADD THAT TO THE NEW CONSTRUCTION COST, MATERIAL COST OF THAT SQUARE.YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYTHING IS A SQUARE AND EVERYTHING IS A LOT MORE COMPLICATED.
YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE DIRECTIONAL PATTERN.
YOU KNOW, NOT ALL THE PIECES ARE CLEAR, SO THEY HAVE TO BE LINED UP CORRECTLY AND THERE'S ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT MIGHT BE ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
NOT EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF GLASS IS GONNA HAVE THIS, UM, THIS TREATMENT ON IT, BUT THERE ARE INCREASES IN NUMBER OF, UH, MANUFACTURING PLANTS, INCLUDING A NEW MANUFACTURING PLANT THAT IS BEING CONSTRUCTED OR WILL BE CONSTRUCTED IN HUNT TEXAS.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE THE INCREASE IN, IN DEMAND FOR THESE KIND OF PRODUCTS, ESPECIALLY WITH CITIES LIKE NEW YORK REQUIRING A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION ADOPT, UH, THESE DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.
THERE'S ALSO DIFFERENT COSTS FOR RETROFITTING BUILDINGS.
UM, AND WE HAVE THAT, YOU KNOW, RANGE COST BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, HIGH, HIGH PROFILE BUILDINGS THAT HAVE, UM, SHOWN THAT THERE ARE REALLY BIG RISKS TO BIRD COLLISIONS.
AND SO THEY'VE RETROFITTED THEIR, THEIR BUILDINGS AND IT KIND OF ENDS UP BEING A SIMILAR COST TO JUST DOUBLING THE COST OF THIS, UH, JUST REGULAR GLASS.
SO RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS, UM, UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S NOT A LOT OF RESIDENTIAL PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET.
UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE LANDSCAPE, WHICH, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE NOT A HIGH-RISE CITY IN TERMS OF LIKE THE LANDSCAPE AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
ABOUT 800,000 PLUS BUILDINGS IN OUR CITY ARE LOW-RISE.
THAT'S LIKE ONE TO FOUR, UH, STORIES.
AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, 18,000 MID-RISE BUILDINGS, THAT'S UP TO 12 STORIES.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT LESS THAN 200 HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS.
WE ARE A CITY FULL OF A LOT OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.
SO ALTHOUGH THERE'S NOT A COMMERCIAL OPTION RIGHT NOW THAT IS, YOU KNOW, COMING, UH, THAT'S COMING ALONG AND THERE HAS BEEN DEMAND FOR THAT.
THERE'S ONLY A COUPLE OF ORDINANCES ON THE BOOKS IN THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW FOR RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION.
UH, LIGHTING, UH, DARK SKY LIGHTING IS ACTUALLY MOSTLY AN INFORMED DECISION MAKING KIND OF COMPONENT.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, REALLY IT COINCIDES WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FIXTURES THAT ARE ALREADY AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET AND IT DOESN'T COST ANYMORE.
IN FACT, IF YOU TURN YOUR LIGHTS OFF, WELL YOU'RE DEFINITELY GONNA SAVE MONEY.
UM, SO LIGHTING CAN DEFINITELY BE INCORPORATED IN A COST EFFECTIVE WAY, UH, AND IN A FEASIBILITY, A FEASIBLE WAY TO, UM, REDUCE BIRD COLLISION.
WE, ON TOP OF THINKING ABOUT THE COST OF IT, WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS A PATHWAY FOR INSPECTION.
UM, WE COLLABORATED WITH DSD BUILDING PLANS, EXAMINERS TO LOOK AT HOW COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEWS GET DONE, AND ALREADY COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEWERS LOOK AT FACADES OF PROJECTS, UH, FOR PROJECTS THAT ARE OVER 10,000, 10,000 SQUARE FEET AND ABOVE.
SO WE DID A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES AND SAT DOWN WITH THE PLANS EXAMINERS AND THE BUILDING OFFICIAL TO SEE HOW IT WOULD BE IF WE APPLIED THESE REQUIREMENTS TO EXISTING COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.
AND IT WAS QUITE CONSISTENT WITH SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY'RE ALREADY LOOKING AT.
UM, AND AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING STAFF ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH REVIEW CRITERIA BECAUSE OF THEIR GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM.
AND SO THEY WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE, UM, UH, TRAINING FOR REVIEW STAFF.
AS I MENTIONED, THERE IS A LOT OF ENERGY SAVINGS COSTS.
THIS WAS A BOX STUDY DONE BY, UH, A FIRM OUT OF NEW YORK SHOWING THAT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TREATMENTS CAN REDUCE ENERGY COSTS.
THERE'S ALL SORTS OF SAFETY COSTS.
IMPORTANTLY, THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT SHOWS WHAT THE IMPACT OF SHIELDING.
SO THE TOP PICTURE, YOU HAVE AN UNSHIELDED LIGHT AND YOU CANNOT PERCEIVE THE FIGURES IN THE BACKGROUND WHILE THE BOTTOM PICTURE, WHEN YOU SHIELD THAT LIGHT, ALL OF A SUDDEN THE FIGURE THAT IS IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT CAN BE PERCEIVED.
AND SO THERE IS A SAFETY BENEFIT TO REDUCING UNSHIELDED LIGHT.
AND THEN THERE IS A WHOLE SLEW OF CONSERVATION, BIODIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT BENEFIT CO-BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN.
AND JUST TO BRING IT BACK AROUND TO ECOTOURISM AND BIRDWATCHING, IT DOES GENERATE OVER $5 BILLION IN TEXAS REVENUE EVERY YEAR.
THERE'S A LOT OF BIRDERS OUT THERE.
SO WHAT ARE SOME BEST PRACTICES AND THE STAFF CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOUR FEEDBACK ON TONIGHT? I PUT TOGETHER A GENERAL BEST MANAGEMENT P PRACTICES FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION GENERALLY, THAT ARE KIND OF LIKE A, FOR LIKE NATIONALLY, THIS IS WHAT THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY AND OTHER DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS
[00:30:01]
KIND OF RECOMMEND AS A GENERAL RULE.SO THERE IS THIS RULE CALLED THE A HUNDRED, A HUNDRED A HUNDRED RULE.
AND WHAT THAT INDICATES IS A HUNDRED PERCENT OF NEW CONSTRUC CONSTRUCTION, UH, UP TO A HUNDRED FEET WOULD HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THAT A HUNDRED FOOT FACADE.
UH, WITH THE THREAT FACTOR RATING OF 30 OR BELOW.
UM, THAT APPLIES TO, YOU KNOW, YOUR LOWRISE AND THEN YOUR MIDRISE UP TO A HUNDRED FEET.
AND OBVIOUSLY THE HIGHRISE RULE WOULD APPLY THE SAME FOR LIGHTING SOLUTIONS.
AGAIN, SHIELDED FIXTURES, MOTION ACTIVATED EXTERIOR LIGHTS, AND, UH, LIGHT, UH, LAMPS THAT ARE, UH, THAT WARM LIGHT THAT, UH, THAT RED COLOR.
AND THEN OTHER BEHAVIORAL PRACTICES THAT ALLOW FOR BUILDINGS TO BE MANAGED SO THAT THERE IS A REDUCTION IN LIGHT POLLUTION IF THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT LANDSCAPING ELEMENTS OR EVENTS OR DIFFERENT SORTS OF THINGS, CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES SUCH THAT THERE'S A REDUCTION IN LIGHT POLLUTION FOR TEMPORARY EVENTS AND, AND ONGOING EVENTS.
WHAT WE ARE CONSIDERING TODAY IN OUR RESPONSE TO THIS COUNCIL RESOLUTION IS THREEFOLD RIGHT NOW.
AND WE HAVE GOTTEN RESPONSES BACK FROM SEVERAL COMMISSIONS IN ADVANCE, UH, COMING TO TO PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND THE FIRST ONE IS RECOMMENDING, UH, AN, UH, A CODE AMENDMENT TO OUR LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE SUCH THAT COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS EXCEEDING 10,000 SQUARE FEET WOULD BE REQUIRED TO MEET A BIRD SAFE DESIGN PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AS MEASURED BY THE THREAT FACTOR RATING OF 20 OR LESS FOR ALL BUILDING SURFACES UP TO A HUNDRED FEET.
THE REASON WE WENT WITH A 20 FOOT OR LESS, UH, MA, UH, THREAT FACTOR IS BECAUSE THERE IS, UH, A LOT OF RESEARCH DONE ON THE IMPACT THAT SMALLER BIRDS HAVE, UH, THE IMPACT ON THEIR POPULATIONS, INCLUDING HUMMINGBIRDS, WHICH ARE VERY IMPORTANT POLLINATOR SPECIES.
AND THAT LOWER THREAT FACTOR IS GONNA REDUCE THE COLLISION, IS GONNA MAKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MORE MATERIALS ON THE MARKET THAT HAVE, UH, TIGHTER PATTERNS AND POTENTIALLY WILL REDUCE THE COLLISION THAT, UH, HUMMINGBIRDS AND OTHER SMALL SONGBIRDS WOULD HAVE IN COLLIDING WITH BUILDINGS.
ADDITIONALLY, IN THAT CODE AMENDMENT, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DARK SKY LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS AND A WAIVER OPTION FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THAT IS A REALLY IMPORTANT COMMUNITY PRIORITY IN AUSTIN.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN AUSTIN ENERGY'S GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM DOES HAVE THIS CRITERIA AVAILABLE, BUT IT'S ONLY, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOT A PART OF ONE OF THE CORE REQUIREMENTS.
SO IN THEIR, THEY HAVE A PLANNED UPDATE IN 2030 AND WE ARE PROPOSING TO WORK WITH THEM TO ELEVATE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN INTO A CORE MEASURE.
SO IN THEIR RESIDENTIAL GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM AND IN SOME OF, IN THE MULTIFAMILY AND IN THE COMMERCIAL, UH, IT DOESN'T EXIST IN RESIDENTIAL.
SO WE JUST WANT TO COORDINATE WITH THEM AS DIFFERENT SORTS OF THINGS COME ON THE MARKET AND THE TECHNOLOGY IS MORE AVAILABLE.
AND THEN LASTLY, UH, RELATED TO RESIDENTIAL OPTIONS, RIGHT NOW, THE, THERE'S JUST NOT MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET.
SO IN THE APPENDICES OF THE REPORT THAT WE PUT IN THE BACKUP, WE ALREADY HAVE ONE HANDOUT TO WORK ON, UM, A RESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM HAS EXPERIENCED A BIRD COLLISION, HAS HEARD THE THUMP OF A, YOU KNOW, A BIRD FLYING INTO THE WINDOW.
AND IF EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS AWARE OF THAT HAPPENING LIKE ONCE A YEAR, YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW MANY BIRDS THAT IS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, COLLIDING WITH BUILDINGS EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
SO JUST EDUCATION IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THE RESIDENTIAL, UM, THE RESIDENTIAL SOLUTION.
SO AS OF NOW, UH, WE WENT TO ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION IN SEPTEMBER AND SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT THEY PROVIDED IS VERY POSITIVE SUPPORT, BUT HAVING CONSIDERATIONS AND INCORPORATING REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL CITY BUILDINGS EVEN, UH, BEYOND 10,000 SQUARE FEET.
UH, ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION ADDITIONALLY HAD THE SAME RECOMMENDATION, WANTING TO SEE THAT ALL CITY BUILDINGS WOULD HAVE THE SAME REQUIREMENT.
UH, THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE HAD A LOT OF POSITIVE SUPPORT AND WANTED TO SEE AN INCREASE IN THE TIMELINE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING.
AND THEN DESIGN COMMISSION HAD SOME INPUT ON WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S DATA IN AUSTIN, THE AFFORDABILITY ISSUE, AND THEN HOW THE PROPOSED THREAT FACTOR RANKS UP TO THE, UH, THE NA NICHE AND WIDE, UM, RECOMMENDATION.
SO, AND WITH THAT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE SOME SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM, AND THEN WE WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK MS. LILY QUESTIONS AND ASK QUESTIONS OF OUR SPEAKERS.
YES, CHAIR, STARTING WITH OUR PRIMARY SPEAKER IN FAVOR, LILY ISH.
LILY, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES WILL CIRCLE BACK TO HER.
OH, IS SHE? OH, I'M SO SORRY, LILY, HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
I'M LILY IC AND I'M HERE TO VOICE MY STRONG SUPPORT
[00:35:01]
AND ENCOURAGEMENT FOR Y'ALL TO SUPPORT THESE PROPOSED RECOMMENDATIONS AS A REASONABLE AND AN ESSENTIAL SOLUTION FOR BIRD COLLISIONS IN AUSTIN.BIRD COLLISIONS WITH WINDOWS ARE A DEADLY THREAT TO BIRD POPULATIONS ACROSS THE NATION.
WHEN A BIRD HITS A WINDOW, IT, THE RESULT IS INTERNAL BREEDING AND BRAIN DA, EXCUSE ME, BRAIN DAMAGE THAT CAUSES THE DEATH OF THE BIRD.
APPROXIMATELY 60% OF THE TIME, THIS TRAGIC LOSS OF LIFE REPEATED ACROSS THE NATION AND NORTH AMERICA AND THE WORLD ON BUILDINGS RESULT REPRESENTS A STAGGERING DESTRUCTION OF BIRD POPULATIONS AND THE BENEFITS THEY PROVIDE.
1 BILLION BIRDS DIE FROM WINDOW COLLISIONS EVERY YEAR.
I CAN PERSONALLY ATTEST THAT UNTREATED WINDOWS, WHILE OTHERWISE A BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE CAN COMMONLY AND EVEN ROUTINELY CAUSE THE DEATHS OF BIRDS EVERY SINGLE YEAR FROM PAINTED BUNTINGS AND WARBLERS TO SWALLOWS AND HUMMINGBIRDS.
THE DEAD BIRDS THAT I HAVE FOUND JUST IN MY DAY-TO-DAY LIFE ARE A REMINDER THAT WINDOWS ARE INDISCRIMINATE AND IMPACTFUL KILLERS.
THESE LOSSES ARE DETRIMENTAL NOT ONLY TO THE BIRDS THEMSELVES, BUT ALSO TO US WHO LOSE THE SERVICES LIKE PEST CONTROL AND POLLINATION THAT THEY PROVIDE.
LOSING BIRDS ALSO THREATENS THE OVERALL BENEFITS OF BIODIVERSITY, AS WELL AS THE ECOTOURISM REVENUE FROM WATCHING BIRDS, WHICH AS MS. LILY MENTIONED, CONTRIBUTES $279 BILLION TO THE US ECONOMY ANNUALLY.
HOWEVER, THESE SERIOUS HARMS CAN BE AVERTED SIMPLY BY MAKING GLASS VISIBLE TO BIRDS.
THESE BIRD FRIENDLY STRATEGIES INCLUDE EVERYTHING FROM SPECIALLY DESIGNED GLASS TO WINDOW COVERINGS FOR UNTREATED GLASS.
FURTHERMORE, IT INCORPORATES PRINCIPLES OF INTELLIGENT RESOURCE USE, AND IT CAN BE USED TO SERVE MULTIPLE PURPOSES BEYOND JUST PROTECTING BIRDS.
AS WAS MENTIONED, SOME STRATEGIES LIKE FRITTED GLASS CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND TEMPERATURE REGULATION AND BUILDINGS.
ADDITIONALLY, WINDOW TREATMENTS CAN BE TURNED INTO ART PIECES PROVIDING A CHANCE FOR ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION AND THE CREATIVE SPIRIT THAT WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON.
WHILE THE VIEW OUTTA THE WINDOW IS NOT EXACTLY THE SAME, IT CAN BE AN EFFECTIVE WAY FOR PEOPLE TO CONNECT TO NATURE WITHOUT HARMING THE NATURE.
AT THE SAME TIME, WITH BIRD FRIENDLY SOLUTIONS, THE PLENTIFUL WINDOWS OF AUSTIN COULD BE BEAUTIFUL FOR HUMANS AND BIRDS.
AS THE PLANNING COMMISSION, I SINCERELY HOPE THAT YOU WILL CONSIDER PLANNING FOR BIRD FRIENDLY WINDOWS TODAY, SO THAT WE CAN SUPPORT A THRIVING ECOLOGICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY CITY IN THE FUTURE.
THIS IS NOT JUST A LOGICAL AND EFFECTIVE SOLUTION, BUT IT'S ALSO A CHANCE TO RESPONSIBLY STEWARD OUR VALUABLE BIODIVERSITY FOR FUTURE AUSTINITE.
I URGE YOU TO SUPPORT THIS PROPOSAL AND I HOPE THAT YOU'LL CONSIDER YOUR, YOUR PART IN MAKING AUSTIN A PLACE WHERE BOTH PEOPLE AND BIRDS CAN THRIVE.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS SARAH RUIZ.
SARAH, YOU WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
I LIVE IN CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE, AND I'M HONORED TO SPEAK TO YOU TONIGHT IN FAVOR OF BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN FOR BUILDINGS.
THERE ARE MANY BENEFITS OF BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN THAT WE'VE HEARD ABOUT TONIGHT.
THESE STANDARDS CONSERVE ENERGY, WHICH HELPS OUR ENVIRONMENT.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE, AND THEY PROMOTE DARK SKY FRIENDLY LIGHTING, WHICH IS SEVERAL BENEFITS FOR PEOPLE AS WELL AS POLLINATORS LIKE OUR BELOVED BATS.
BUT TONIGHT I WANNA TALK ABOUT WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO BIRDS WHEN WE DON'T HAVE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN.
FROM 2015 TO 2017, I WORKED ON THE EDGE OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN IN A BUILDING ONLY A FEW STORIES TALL.
OVER THOSE TWO YEARS, I LOST COUNT OF HOW MANY DEAD BIRDS I FOUND.
I'D WALK AROUND THE BUILDING ON MY BREAK ONLY TO FIND A SHIMMERING GREEN HUMMINGBIRD OR A TINY WARBLER.
ITS EYES STILL OPEN, BUT ITS NECK LIMP FROM COLLIDING WITH A WINDOW.
SOMETIMES I'D FIND THREE DEAD BIRDS A WEEK.
DURING MIGRATION SEASON, I FOUND INJURED BIRDS TWO, TWO OF WHICH WERE SPECIES I'D NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
IN BIRDING, WE CALL THAT A LIFER.
I BRIEFLY HELD A NASHVILLE WARBLER, A SMALL GRAY AND YELLOW BIRD BEFORE IT SUDDENLY FLEW AWAY.
AND I WATCHED IN HORROR AS A YELLOW BUILD CUCKOO A BIRD ABOUT A FOOT LONG KEPT FLYING IN CROOKED LOOPS, HITTING WINDOWS AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL IT FLEW OUT OF SIGHT.
I THOUGHT, WELL, MAYBE THEY'LL BE OKAY.
BUT A 2024 STUDY REVEALED THAT ONLY 40% OF BIRDS SURVIVE WINDOW COLLISIONS.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE BEST POSSIBLE REHABILITATIVE CARE.
WITHOUT WILDLIFE REHAB, A WINDOW STRIKE VICTIM IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO SURVIVE.
THAT SAME STUDY REVEALED THAT OVER 1 BILLION BIRDS DIE FROM WINDOW STRIKES EACH YEAR.
THESE DEATHS ARE PREVENTABLE AND BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN HAS BEEN PROVEN TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE COLLISIONS.
[00:40:01]
ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY, TWO-THIRDS OF BIRD SPECIES ARE AT RISK FOR EXTINCTION.RIGHT NOW, EVERY BIRD COUNTS AS WE AS WE'VE HEARD THIS EVENING.
AUSTIN SITS IN THE CENTRAL FLYWAY, AN AREA THROUGH WHICH MILLIONS OF BIRDS MIGRATE EACH YEAR, AND OUR CITY WAS DESIGNATED AN OFFICIAL BIRD CITY IN 2023.
LET'S DEMONSTRATE OUR SUPPORT OF AND COMMITMENT TO THAT TITLE BY ADOPTING THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN STANDARDS, PLEASE TAKE THIS STEP TOWARDS SAVING ENERGY, REDUCING LIGHT POLLUTION, AND PREVENTING THE NEEDLESS DEATHS OF BIRDS THAT ARE JUST TRYING TO FIND THEIR WAY HOME.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS STEVEN FLETCHER.
STEVEN, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
GOOD EVENING, AND THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO MY TESTIMONY.
MY NAME IS, UH, DR. STEVEN FLETCHER.
I'M A PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLICY AT ST.
EDWARDS UNIVERSITY, AND I ALSO AM A MASTER BIRDER AND, UM, HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF TRAVIS AUDUBON SOCIETY FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING MYSELF AND MY STUDENTS WHO YOU MIGHT SEE BEHIND ME WITH SOME SIGNS TO BE HERE TONIGHT TO, TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF, OF, UM, THE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING HERE TO MAKE THIS CITY BIRD FRIENDLY.
UM, I, UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE FLYWAY.
OF COURSE, I PREPARED THE NOTES LIKE EVERYONE AND EVERYONE ALREADY TOOK ALL MY THUNDER, BUT NO, THE, UM, THE FLYWAY THAT, THAT WE SIT IN, UM, AS, AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED, HAS MILLIONS OF BIRDS FLYING IT OVER EVERY NIGHT.
I DID SOME RESEARCH, I ACTUALLY LOOKED ON THE APP FOR TONIGHT, AND THERE ARE GONNA BE 42 MILLION BIRDS FLYING FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTRY TO THE COAST OF FLORIDA AND THE WHOLE GULF GULF COAST AREA ON SATURDAY NIGHT.
AND IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE OF THE FRONT THAT'S PUSHING SOUTH WITH THE COLD AIR, THERE'RE GONNA BE OVER SEVEN 72 MILLION BIRDS MASSING ON THE TEXAS BORDER BEFORE THEY FLY OVER TO SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA WHERE THEY WINTER.
AND I'VE SAT OUT AT NIGHT LOOKING AT THE MOON TO SEE IF I COULD SEE THEM FLYING ACROSS IT.
I NEVER HAVE BECAUSE THEY USUALLY FLY LOWER THAN THAT.
WE HAVE SOME CHALLENGES BECAUSE WHEN THEY SEE LIGHTS, THEY GET CONFUSED AT NIGHT.
AND SO, UM, SO WHEN THEY, UH, WHEN THEY CRASH INTO BUILDINGS AND, AND FALL TO THE GROUND AND THE HUNDREDS OR THE THOUSANDS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN SOME OF THE LARGER CASE STUDIES, IT'S SORT OF A CANARY IN THE COAL MINE MOMENT.
AND THAT IF THE CANARY KILLED OVER, THEN THE MINERS KNEW TO GET OUT BECAUSE THERE WAS CARBON MONOXIDE OR ANOTHER TYPE OF GAS DOWN THERE.
IN THE SAME WAY, WE'RE SEEING MORE AND MORE BIRDS STRIKING BUILDINGS.
AND I THINK IT'S A REAL CHALLENGE AND ALSO A REAL OPPORTUNITY NOW FOR US TO CONSIDER WAYS THAT WE CAN, THAT WE CAN CHANGE THE COURSE OF THAT STORY SO THAT AS A CITY, UH, WE'RE SETTING AN EXAMPLE FOR, UH, FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD AND THE REST OF THE COUNTRY AROUND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A STEWARD OF OUR ENVIRONMENT.
IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
BIRDS ARE, UM, AN VITAL PART OF THE ECOSYSTEM.
THEY EAT, THEY EAT BUGS THAT ARE PRESS PESTS IN OUR, IN OUR WORLD.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE AMAZING TO LOOK AT.
THEY ARE, UM, WONDERFUL FOR HUMAN HEALTH.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE LOTS OF STUDIES THAT SHOW THAT BIRDWATCHING OR BEING OUT IN NATURE IN GENERAL IS INCREDIBLY VALUABLE FOR KIDS.
UM, I WAS A SCIENCE TEACHER BEFORE I WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL, AND SO, YOU KNOW, UM, I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE THAT YOU DON'T LEARN FROM A, UM, FROM A WHITEBOARD OR, UH, AN INSIDE OF A CLASSROOM SPACE, YOU LEARN BY BEING OUTDOORS AND BEING AROUND THE SPACE THAT YOU LOVE AND SUPPORTING THIS MEASURE WILL HELP THE FUTURE GENERATIONS DO THAT.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS AVA PERRY.
AVA, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
MY NAME'S AVA PERRY, AND I'M AN ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY STUDENT AT ST.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SPEAK WITH ME WITH THE HELP OF AUDUBON TEXAS.
I'M CURRENTLY WORKING ON AN OUTREACH PROJECT WITH, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE LOCAL BUSINESS TO LIMIT THEIR USE OF A SEARCHLIGHT AT NIGHT TO CLARIFY, SEARCHLIGHTS ARE POWERFUL LIGHTS WITH A CONCENTRATED BEAM THAT MOVES THROUGHOUT THE SKY.
IT HAPPENS TO DISRUPT MIGRATION ROUTES, AS WE'VE RECENTLY MENTIONED, UH, LOCATED WITHIN ITS VICINITY THAT KNOCK SPECIES LIKE THE WESTERN KING BIRD AND THE ENDANGERED WHIPPING CRANE, UM, OFF THEIR ORIGINAL ROUTES.
I WAS MOVED TO ACTION BY THE EXTRAVAGANCE OF THE LIGHT
[00:45:01]
AND KEPT THINKING TO MYSELF, HOW IS THIS LIGHT? EVEN LEGAL INSTANCES LIKE THESE ARE EXACTLY WHY I INCORPORATING THE LIGHTS OUT INITIATIVE IS SO CRUCIAL TO THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN.THOUGH I WOULD NOT CONSIDER MYSELF THE MOST AVID BIRD ENTHUSIAST, I WOULD CONSIDER MYSELF SOMEONE WHO IS PASSIONATE ABOUT THE LONGEVITY OF OUR WORLD.
EACH ANIMAL GROUP PLAYS A ROLE WITHOUT THE DIVERSITY OF OUR BIRDS, PLANTS WOULD BE TAKEN OVER BY INSECT, PESTS AND SEEDS WOULD NOT BE SPREAD TO CREATE NEW POPULATIONS.
A DECREASE IN THESE MIGRATING FRIENDS MEANS A DECREASE IN THEIR, IN OUR ABILITY TO CULTIVATE A HEALTHY FUTURE FOR OUR PLANET.
I HAVE CENTERED MY FUTURE CAREER OF AROUND THE CONSERVATION OF OUR PLANET, AND THAT MEANS I NEED TO START ADVOCATING FOR IT.
THIS STARTS AT OUR URBAN CENTERS, ONES THAT CAN INVOKE CHANGE AT A LOCAL LEVEL, THAT CAN MAKE WAVES TOWARDS GLOBAL CHANGE AND GIVING HOPE TO STUDENTS LIKE ME WHO WANNA SEE OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS THRIVE INSTEAD OF PERISH.
THAT BEING SAID, I URGE YOU TO INCORPORATE APPROACHES WITHIN THE LIGHTS OUT IN INITIATIVE SUCH AS REDIRECTING UNNECESSARY SIGNAGE, LIGHTING, AND SHIELDING OUTDOOR LIGHTS AT NIGHT TO REDUCE OUR HEART IN THREATENING OUR BIRDS AND IN TURN OUR FUTURE.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS ERIC KLAU.
ERIC, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? UH, SO MY NAME IS ERIC KLAU AND I LIVE IN THE WALNUT PLACE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF THE, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN INITIATIVE.
UM, SO I WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO SPEAK ABOUT THE MAGIC OF BIRDS, THE QUIET BEAUTY OF A YELLOW WARBLER GLEANING INSECTS FROM A SYCAMORE TREE, THE TINY BIRD SO CLOSE, YOU CAN MAKE OUT ITS CHESTNUT STREAKS THAT RUN DOWN ITS BREAST.
THE SUN GLIMMERING IN ITS BLACK BEAD LIKE EYES.
THE THRILL OF AN INTREPID YOUNG BLUEBIRD TAKING ITS FIRST FLIGHT.
ITS PARENT URGING IT ON AS IT REPEATEDLY POKES ITS HEAD OUTTA THE SMALL ENTRANCE HOLE, AND EVENTUALLY LAUNCHES ITSELF ACROSS THE YARD.
THE BREATHTAKING AWE OF A BLACK CHIN HUMMINGBIRD COURTSHIP DISPLAY WHERE THE MALE BUZZES UP AND DOWN IN A U-SHAPED TO IMPRESS THE FEMALE PERCHED AT THE END OF A TWIG.
TO WITNESS SUCH INTIMATE MOMENTS IN THE LIVES OF WILD BIRDS IS TO EXPERIENCE TREMENDOUS JOY AND WONDER.
EVERY IRRITATION, EVERY SORROW, EVERY PAIN JUST INSTANTLY EVAPORATES.
I'VE HAD THE INCREDIBLE PRIVILEGE TO EXPERIENCE THESE WONDERS IN THE COMFORT OF MY AUSTIN BACKYARD.
IN FACT, SOME 70 BIRD SPECIES HAVE VISITED OUR YARD, BUT THAT'S ONLY A FRACTION OF THE 400 PLUS SPECIES THAT PASS THROUGH AUSTIN.
THROUGH SHARING THEIR BEAUTY, THEIR GENIUS BIRDS CAN LIFT US FROM THE DEEPEST DEPRESSIONS.
THEY CAN SOOTHE OUR PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL PAINS.
AND I KNOW THIS BECAUSE THEY DID.
SO FOR ME, WHEN MY NEUROMUSCULAR CONDITION MADE PLAIN MUSIC IMPOSSIBLE, I LOST MY GREATEST PASSION.
I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER EXPERIENCE JOY AGAIN.
AND THAT'S WHEN BIRDS ENTERED MY LIFE.
THEY REKINDLED MY CREATIVITY, INSPIRING ME TO WRITE AGAIN.
AND I NOW LEAD MONTHLY ACCESSIBLE WALKS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE, UH, A LIST OF A HUNDRED FOLKS THAT JOIN US, AND BIRDS QUITE LITERALLY SAVED MY LIFE.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE STAND TO LOSE IF WE DON'T SUPPORT BUILD, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS IMAN HADDA.
IMAN, YOU WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
I'M AN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLICY STUDENT AT ST.
EDWARDS UNIVERSITY, AND I ALSO LEAD THE BIRDWATCHING CLUB THERE.
UM, AND SO VERY CLEARLY I CARE ABOUT BIRDS, BUT I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE, NOT JUST FOR ME AND NOT JUST FOR THE BIRD WATCHERS BEHIND ME, BUT JUST FOR SOCIAL WELLBEING AS A WHOLE.
UM, AS IN MY TIME ON CAMPUS, I'VE HAD, UNFORTUNATELY TO SEE SO MANY BIRDS THAT HAVE DIED OF MORTALITY AND QUITE A SMALL CAMPUS.
IT'S A LOT OF BIRDS AND IT'S SHOCKING TO SEE.
UM, BUT THE OTHER THING THAT IS SHOCKING TO SEE IS THAT THERE ARE OTHER STUDENTS WHO MAYBE HAVE NEVER GONE BIRDWATCHING, MAYBE HAVEN'T NOTICED BEFORE, BUT THEY'VE COME UP TO ME AND THEY'VE TOLD ME, HEY, I FOUND THIS DEAD WARBLER.
[00:50:01]
I I FOUND A DEAD BIRD.WHAT DO I DO? WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP? I'VE HAD A JOURNALISM STUDENT COME UP TO ME AND ASK, HOW CAN WE MAKE OUR UNIVERSITY BETTER? AND WHAT THIS TELLS ME IS TWO THINGS.
IT'S ONE, STUDENTS REALLY CARE AND PEOPLE REALLY CARE.
ALMOST EVERYBODY HAS A POSITIVE ASSOCIATION WITH BIRDS IN SOME WAY, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT DEEPLY ENTRENCHED IN IT.
MAYBE BIRDS REMIND YOU OF YOUR GRANDMA OR YOUR GRANDPA.
UM, BUT IN SOME WAY THEY'RE GOOD FOR PEOPLE.
AND I KNOW THAT, I KNOW THAT FOR ME, THEY'VE BEEN THE GREATEST SOURCE OF JOY.
AND I WANT TO PROTECT THAT, UM, FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
UM, AND THAT'S JUST, JUST LIKE WHAT'S PREVIOUSLY SAID.
WE STAND TO LOSE THAT JOY AND THAT PASSION AND THAT CARE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.
IF WE DON'T IMPLEMENT THIS BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN AND THIS DESIGN, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO DETRACT FROM OUR HUMAN QUALITY OF LIFE.
WE CAN HAVE ARTISTS COLLABORATING AND WORKING ON MAKING OUR BUILDINGS BOTH BEAUTIFUL AND SAFE FOR BIRDS.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I'M IN SUPPORT OF, UM, OF THIS INITIATIVE.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MIRA POWERS.
MIRA, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
UH, I'M A MEMBER OF AUSTIN AUDUBON AND I'M HERE TODAY TO EXPRESS THE CHAPTERS ENDORSEMENT OF THIS BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN INITIATIVE.
HE HAS RECENTLY CAUSED A LITTLE BIT OF A VIRAL MOMENT FOR AUSTIN WILDLIFE RESCUE.
LAST WEEK HE FLEW DOWN TO AUSTIN, UH, TO ENJOY THE WINTER HERE.
THIS IS WAS HIS FINAL DESTINATION, BUT HE HIT A WINDOW AND BROKE HIS SCAPULA SO HE COULDN'T FLY ANYMORE.
BUT FORTUNATELY IT WAS PROBABLY SOMEBODY'S HOME THAT HE HIT BECAUSE A HUMAN CAME OUT AND TOOK HIM TO THE RESCUE.
MOST BIRDS, WHEN THEY HIT THE WINDOW, THEY DIE IMMEDIATELY, OR THEY DIE SHORTLY THEREAFTER AND ARE PICKED UP BY A CAT OR SOME OTHER PREDATOR.
SO THIS IS AN AMERICAN WOODCOCK.
HE'S, UH, VERY EXOTIC LOOKING, IN MY OPINION.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE IN REAL LIFE, BUT OBVIOUSLY THEY ARE HERE.
UM, AS MS. LILY EXPLAINED, RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS ARE NOT REALLY INCLUDED IN THIS, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN PROJECT, UH, BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ENOUGH GLASS PRODUCTS AVAILABLE TO BE SOLD IN BULK, IN BULK TO DEVELOPERS.
BUT IT WAS JUST IN THE AUSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL THIS WEEK THAT A NATIONAL DEVELOPER IS COMING TO AUSTIN TO BUILD, UH, SUBDIVISIONS FOR BUILD AND RENT HOMES.
AND SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST IS THAT ADJACENT TO THE BIRD DESIGN PROJECT THAT MS. LILY IS TALKING ABOUT, THERE ALSO BE A, UH, DECISION TO MAKE SOME CHANGES TO THE MASTER PLAN OF VOLUME BUILDERS.
BECAUSE IN FACT, RESIDENTIAL HOMES ACCOUNT FOR MORE BIRD STRIKES THAN OFFICE BUILDINGS DO OR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.
AND THE POINT OF THAT WAS TO SAY SCREENS SHOULD BE REQUIRED ON NEW HOMES AND, UH, LIGHTING.
AND THOSE WOULD BE NO COST FOR DEVELOPERS TO DO.
NOW WE ARE ON A TIPPING POINT WITH THESE BIRDS.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MIRIAM CROWNOVER.
MIRIAM, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
UM, MY NAME IS MIRIAM CROWNOVER AND I'M AN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MAJOR, AND I THINK EVERYONE SAID ALL THE IMPORTANT STUFF.
UM, IF, IF WE, LIKE ALL CREATURES ARE IMPORTANT, AND IF THE BIRDS ARE SOMETHING THAT AS CITY PLANNERS, WE CAN DO SOME OR YOU GUYS CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT TO HELP, THEN I THINK YOU KNOW ALL THE REASONS WHY THEY SAID, BUT THEY'RE JUST REALLY AWESOME AND IT'D BE COOL TO HELP THEM.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS CHAIR.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM, BUT I JUST WANNA CHECK, DID I MISS ANYBODY? I KNOW PEOPLE WERE COMING IN LATE.
JUST WANTED TO DOUBLE CHECK THE CHAIR.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.
AND THANK YOU MS. LILY FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
[00:55:01]
OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION.SO THESE CAN BE QUESTIONS OF MS. LILY OR OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE HERE SPEAKING WITH US.
AND WE CAN TAKE QUESTIONS FROM EIGHT COMMISSIONERS AT FIVE MINUTES EACH.
SO WHO WOULD LIKE TO START US OFF? YES, COMMISSIONER AHMED.
UH, MS. LILY, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE, UH, PRESENTATION AND I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THE TESTIMONY AS WELL.
IT WAS EXTREMELY MOVING AND THE NUMBERS WERE JUST STAGGERING.
UH, I I HAD NO IDEA THAT I THINK THE NUMBER WAS 1 BILLION, UH, BIRDS DIE NATIONALLY IN THE US AND I JUST DID A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH.
IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S 10 BILLION BIRDS OR SO, UH, IN THE US OR NORTH AMERICA.
SO THAT'S A HUGE PERCENTAGE EVERY YEAR THAT ARE DYING THROUGH, UH, DUE TO THIS.
UM, MY QUESTION IS, IT'S CLEAR THAT THERE'S A BIG PROBLEM HERE.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO KNOW, WHAT DATA DO WE HAVE THAT THESE, UH, DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO MAKE AN IMPACT HERE? THERE'S SOME CITIES THAT HAVE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED THESE AND DO WE KNOW IF THERE, IS THERE ANY DATA THAT'S COME OUT IN TERMS OF A REDUCTION OF THE NUMBER OF BIRD, UH, FATALITIES FROM CITIES LIKE NEW YORK THAT HAVE IMPLEMENTED SOME OF THESE CHANGES? UH, YEAH.
SO, UH, THERE IS A NATIONWIDE ORGANIZATION, THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY, AND THEY HAVE BEEN VERY ENGAGED IN RECOMMENDING ORDINANCES THAT ARE EFFECTIVE ALONGSIDE WORKING WITH THOSE CITIES THAT HAVE IMPLEMENTED, UM, MONITORING PROGRAMS TO BOTH MONITOR THE, UH, COLLISIONS THAT ARE EXISTING AND THEN THE REDUCTION IN COLLISIONS THAT ARE, UM, PROVIDED WITH THESE TREATMENTS.
THEY'RE ALSO THE ORGANIZATION THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, STANDARDIZING THE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN, THE THREAT FACTOR.
SO THEY RUN THESE TUNNEL TESTS.
UM, SO THEY'RE THE PRIMARY ORGANIZATION THAT HAS BEEN, UH, DEVELOPING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES OVER THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES, LOOKING AT BOTH THE MONITORING PROGRAMS THAT HAVE HAPPENED ACROSS, UH, NORTH AMERICA, AND THEN ALSO ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF, YOU KNOW, THE, ALL OF THE ORDINANCES THAT HAVE PASSED.
AND, UM, SPEAKING WITH THEM AND COORDINATING WITH THEM ON A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO INCORPORATE IN AN ORDINANCE.
AND THINGS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN REALLY INEFFECTIVE IS ALL DATA DRIVEN BASED ON, YOU KNOW, MANY DECADES OF THEM LOOKING AT MONITORING PROGRAMS AND ORDINANCES IN PLACE ACROSS NORTH AMERICA.
BUT YOU DON'T HAVE ANY NUMBERS OFFHAND ON WHAT THE ACTUAL PERCENTAGE DECREASE HAS BEEN IN CITIES THAT HAVE IMPLEMENTED THIS, OR WHAT IF WE WERE TO DO THIS IN AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH OF A DECREASE YOU WOULD SEE IN TERMS OF BIRD FATALITIES IN THIS CITY OR ANY ESTIMATE? SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, THERE.
WHAT WHAT WE UNDERSTAND IS THAT THERE IS A REDUCTION THAT OCCURS WHEN A BIRD CAN SEE THE SURFACE OF A BUILDING.
THERE, UM, WAS A A, THERE'S A STUDY THAT CAME OUT THAT ASSESSES POTENTIALLY THE IMPACT OF BIRD COLLISIONS ACROSS THE CITY BASED ON ITS BUILDINGS.
SO LOW-RISE BUILDINGS WOULD HAVE THIS NUMBER OF COLLISIONS PER YEAR, MID-RISE, HIGH-RISE, COMMERCIAL VERSUS RESIDENTIAL.
AND YOU CAN GET A CALCULATED NUMBER, POTENTIALLY AN ESTIMATE OF WHAT THOSE BIRD COLLISIONS WOULD LOOK LIKE BECAUSE THERE IS NOT ANY CITY THAT HAS GONE FROM ZERO BIRD COLLISIONS TO, OR I MEAN ZERO, YOU KNOW, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY BUILDINGS TO A HUNDRED PERCENT BIRD FRIENDLY BUILDINGS.
IT'S HARD TO SAY EXACTLY WHAT THE REDUCTION IS, BUT THE MONITORING PROGRAMS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT THERE CAN BE, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS A REDUCTION OF 90% COLLISIONS IF THERE IS CERTAIN MEASURES PUT IN PLACE.
IT REALLY DEPENDS TO WHAT DEGREE YOU REDUCE, YOU KNOW, THE REFLECTANCE OR TRANSLUCENT GLASS THAT IS, UH, VISIBLE TO BIRDS OR THAT, YOU KNOW, IS EXPOSED TO THE ENVIRONMENT.
SO IT'S KIND OF ON A BUILDING BY BUILDING BASIS.
THERE IS A LOT OF DATA ON INDIVIDUAL BUILDINGS AT THE CITY SCALE.
YOU CAN ESTIMATE USING LIKE THIS LITTLE, UH, EQUATION THAT WAS DEVELOPED.
TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND, FOR AN INDIVIDUAL BUILDING, IF IT ADHERES TO ENOUGH OF THE STANDARDS, THERE ARE STUDIES THAT SHOW THAT COULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF FATALITIES FOR THAT BUILDING BY UP TO 90%.
AND DEPENDING ON THE MEASURES THAT ARE DONE, IT CAN GO UP TO 90%.
AND THAT IS, UM, SOME BUILDINGS IN NEW YORK HAVE WITH REALLY GOOD MONITORING PROGRAMS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THE REDUCTION IN, UH, COLLISIONS UP TO 90% REDUCTION.
COMMISSIONER AHMED, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? YES, COMMISSIONER ROEN.
UM, UM, SPEAKING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ARCHITECTURE
[01:00:01]
COMMUNITY, I THINK THE MOVING TOWARDS CODE THAT SUPPORTS THIS IS, IS INHERENTLY NECESSARY TO ACTUALLY SEE BUILDINGS REALIZED WITH THESE FEATURES.UM, LARGELY BECAUSE AS WONDERFUL AS MY CLIENTS ARE, A LOT OF THEM WILL PROBABLY OPT FOR CLEAR GLASS OVER SOMETHING THAT HAS A FRITTED QUALITY OR COSTS MORE MONEY.
UM, BUT I WOULD DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE US TO PURSUE THAT, THAT TREND.
I'M INTERESTED IN THE THREAT FACTOR, HOW THAT, HOW THAT IS ASSESSED.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT AT, AT, AT, AT ALL? IS IT, IS IT BY PRODUCT? IS IT BY STRATEGY? IT'S BY PRODUCT.
UM, SO THE, AS I MENTIONED, THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY CONDUCTS THESE TESTS THAT HAVE A WIND TUNNEL.
UM, AND THERE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE MATERIALS THAT ARE TESTED ARE PUT ON ONE SIDE AND, UM, THERE'S A CONTROL MATERIAL ON THE OTHER SIDE AND THE PERCENTAGE THAT BIRDS FLY TO OR TO THE, UH, MEASURED, UH, MATERIAL OR TO THE CONTROL MATERIAL DETERMINES THEIR THREAT FACTOR.
SO THEY GO THROUGH SEVERAL ROUNDS AND THERE ARE CERTAIN SPECIES OF BIRDS THAT GET USED FOR THE TEST.
UM, AND THERE ARE MANY HUNDREDS OF PRODUCTS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THE TESTS, AND I KNOW THAT THEY'RE, UM, SPEAKING TO THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY LAST WEEK, THERE'S LIKE PRODUCTS, UH, YOU KNOW, MANUFACTURERS AND DEVELOPERS AND ARCHITECTS LIKE LINED UP TO GET MORE PRODUCTS TESTED.
SO THEIR DATABASE OF PRODUCTS THAT HAVE, UH, THREAT FACTORS ASSIGNED TO THEM IS QUITE SIGNIFICANT.
AND YOU MENTIONED ALSO THAT THERE ARE OTHER STRATEGIES WHEN IT COMES TO SAY, SHADING AND COVERING WINDOWS, ET CETERA, OUTSIDE OF JUST TREATING THEM, ARE THERE ANY, DOES THE, DOES THE THREAT FACTOR ANALYSES, DOES IT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ANY OF THOSE MORE KIND OF PHYSICAL ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AS OPPOSED TO JUST PRODUCT BASE COATINGS OR CLADDINGS? ABSOLUTELY.
SO THE, I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE 75 TO A HUNDRED DIFFERENT SURFACES THAT ARE NOT JUST GLASS THAT HAVE, UM, A THREAT FACTOR ASSIGNED TO THEM.
SO THERE'S A WAY TO CALCULATE IT.
UH, AND THERE IS EVEN WAYS TO CALCULATE, SAY IF YOU HAD DIFFERENT SHADE FEATURES ON TOP OF THE GLASS, THAT YOU COULD ESTIMATE THE THREAT FACTOR FOR THAT PARTICULAR WINDOW BASED ON EXISTING THREAT FACTORS.
AND THAT HAPPENS A LOT IN, UM, OTHER CITIES THAT ARE ASSESSING, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MORE CONCEPTUALLY DESIGNED BUILDINGS THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLICATED THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ASSESS, UH, THE THREAT FACTOR BASED ON EXISTING THREAT FACTORS OF MATERIALS THAT ARE IN THAT DATABASE.
AND DO WE HAVE AN IDEA, AND I DON'T WANNA, THIS SHOULDN'T BE A REASON NOT TO DO THIS, BUT IF A CERTAIN BUILDING IS TREATED IN EXPERIENCES, 90% REDUCTION, I HATE TO SAY IT THIS WAY, BUT DO THOSE BIRDS FLY INTO THE NEXT ADJACENT BUILDING THAT ISN'T TREATED? IS THERE ANY INDICATION THAT, IS THERE A THRESHOLD WE NEED TO ACHIEVE WHERE THAT ACTUALLY STARTS TO HAVE A LARGER IMPACT ON THE SURVIVABILITY OF BIRDS? I THINK THAT'S HARDER TO ASSESS, UM, WHAT THE THRESHOLD IS.
YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD PROBABLY REQUIRE A LOT MORE ADOPTION ACROSS NORTHER AMERICA TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT THRESHOLD IS.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, ANY REDUCTION IN COLLISION, UM, IS, YOU KNOW, AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS, UH, LIKE A GENERAL, NOT, NOT JUST CREATING THE ENVIRONMENT THAT'S GOING TO REDUCE COLLISION, BUT ADOPTING AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO, WHEN YOU SEE IT IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT, YOU UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S THERE.
UM, I THINK IT'S HARDER TO ASSESS LIKE, HOW MANY BUILDINGS DO YOU NEED TO GET TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE REGIONAL POPULATION OF BIRDS.
UM, BUT HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET THERE.
AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO JUST CALL OUT THE COMMENT, UH, BY ONE OF THE SPEAKERS ABOUT THE VOLUME CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSING, RESIDENTIAL HOUSING.
IT DOES SEEM LIKE ON A DEVELOPMENT LIKE THAT, THAT COULD HAVE A MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT EFFECT JUST BECAUSE OF THAT WOULD EFFECTIVELY ACHIEVE A HUNDRED PERCENT FOR A GIVEN AREA OF LAND.
SO I THINK FINDING WAYS TO INCLUDE THOSE TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE HOPEFUL TO DO, AND ONE STRATEGY THAT WE THINK CAN START TO GET US ON TRACK TO ADOPTION OF RESIDENTIAL STANDARDS IS THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, BECAUSE THERE ARE RESIDENTIAL CRITERIA, BUT BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IS NOT A PART OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
UH, THERE ARE MATERIALS COMING OUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED TO ONE MANUFACTURER A COUPLE WEEKS AGO WHO INDICATED JUST THIS GROWING INCREASE IN, IN DEMAND FOR PRODUCTS.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANNA MENTION THIS, BUT OUR PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT, UH, ORDINANCES, THOSE KIND OF ZONING ORDINANCES
[01:05:01]
HAVE WITHIN THEM, UH, REQUIREMENT.LIKE WE HAVE A LOT OF REQUIREMENTS IN THERE THAT WE CAN START TO INTRODUCE AS THE TECHNOLOGY BECOMES AVAILABLE.
UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S LOTS OF STRATEGIES THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO, TO GET INTO, TO, TO INCORPORATE THIS.
YEAH, WE THINK RESIDENTIAL IS REALLY IMPORTANT TOO.
WE, WE HOPE WE GET THERE SOONER THAN LATER.
I WAS, UH, VERY LUCKY TO HAVE RECEIVED THIS PRESENTATION AT THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE AS OUR, UH, ALTERNATIVE REPRESENTATIVE THERE.
UM, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN RISK OF COLLISION BASED ON HEIGHT, WHICH IS WHY, FOR EXAMPLE, NEW YORK CITY HAS A REGULATION OF SOMEWHERE LIKE ZERO TO 100 FEET.
CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT? SO, UM, THE, SO NEW YORK'S HEIGHT IS 75 FEET.
75, UM, AND THE GENERAL, YOU KNOW, NATIONWIDE RECOMMENDATION IS A HUNDRED FEET BASED ON, YOU KNOW, THE CANOPY OF TREES.
SO WHEN YOU HAVE TREES, YOU HAVE BIRDS FLYING AROUND THEM, AND THAT IS KIND OF THE AREA IN WHICH BIRDS INHABIT.
IF YOU ARE UP IN A, YOU KNOW, 20 STORY BUILDING, HONESTLY, MY, MY OFFICE IS ABOVE A HUNDRED FEET AND I'VE HAD A BIRD FLY INTO THAT WINDOW.
SO THERE IS GOING TO BE A LOT OF BIRDS THAT EXIST IN SPACES OF ABOVE A HUNDRED FEET, BUT THE MAJORITY OF BIRD FLIGHT IS GONNA OCCUR IN AND AROUND THE CANOPY.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE LOWER, UH, STORIES ARE GONNA EXPERIENCE THE MOST BIRD COLLISION, UM, BUT THEY'RE STILL HAPPENING UP TO A HUNDRED FEET AND, AND EVEN HIGHER OF COURSE.
UM, BUT THE RECOMMENDATION IS A HUNDRED FEET BASED ON, YOU KNOW, THE CANOPY OF TREES AND THE HABITAT THAT BIRDS ARE EXISTING IN AND FLYING AROUND A, A FOCUS ON A HUNDRED FOOT AND LOWER, NOT NECESSARILY AN ONLY FOCUS, BUT A MAJOR FOCUS.
SO I WILL, UH, I HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT ARE GUIDING SOME OF THIS.
SOMETHING I WAS INTERESTED IN IS IF WE HAVE AN ESTIMATE, IF STAFF HAS AN ESTIMATE OF THE PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL COLLISIONS BY BUILDING TYPE, BASED ON THAT ESTIMATE, UH, FORMULA THAT YOU MENTIONED, WHERE YOU COULD LOOK AT RESIDENTIAL VERSUS COMMERCIAL AND SO ON.
UM, WE, SO A RESEARCHER OUT OF MAINE CREATED THIS MM-HMM
ESTIMATE, AND IT WAS, SO, THE AMOUNT WAS SO HIGH, WE WEREN'T SURE THAT IT NECESSARILY WAS APPLICABLE TO AUSTIN.
WE, WE WEREN'T SURE THAT IT WAS MOST APPLICABLE, BUT IT WAS BASED ON DATA OF A MULTI-YEAR MONITORING PROGRAM THAT PORTLAND, MAINE CONDUCTED AND, UH, MAINE AUDUBON DID BASED ON THEIR CONDITIONS, THEIR BUILDINGS, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CONSTRUCTION MM-HMM
SO, UH, IT WAS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, WE WEREN'T SURE THAT IT WAS NECESSARILY APPLICABLE TO OURS.
AGAIN, WHY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MORE NEED FOR REGIONAL, NATIONAL, UM, DATA COLLECTION ON THIS EFFORT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT, IT EXISTS AND IT WAS HELPFUL FOR MAINE AND I, WE TRIED TO APPLY IT HERE AND IT SEEMED JUST A LITTLE BEYOND WHAT WE THOUGHT THAT IT WAS.
THE REASON I ASK THOSE TWO PREVIOUS QUESTIONS IS BECAUSE I THINK THAT WILL HELP US FOCUS ON EXACTLY WHERE THE BIGGEST PAIN POINTS ARE.
BECAUSE IF IT IS THAT MOST OF THE COLLISIONS ARE HAPPENING AT RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS UNDER 50 FEET, THEN WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
IF MOST COLLISIONS ARE HAPPENING FROM 75 TO A HUNDRED FEET IN THE DOWNTOWN CORE, WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON OFFICE BUILDINGS.
SO THAT IS, UH, KIND OF GUIDING ME TO, TO WANT TO KNOW MORE INFORMATION THERE.
UM, WHAT I AM INTERESTED IN, UH, IT SEEMS THAT THE THREAT FACTOR IS CALCULATED BASED ON PRODUCT, UH, BASED ON YOUR, I BELIEVE ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA.
UM, STUDY OR, OR WHAT THEY DO, THEY HAVE A MEASURE FROM EIGHT TO 36 THAT'S FACADE AND SQUARE FOOTAGE BASED.
I WOULD LIKE US TO LEAN TOWARDS THAT SORT OF CALCULATION RATHER THAN A CALCULATION BASED ON THE SINGLE PRODUCT OR MIX OF PRODUCTS THAT A DEVELOPMENT IS USING.
BECAUSE THE DEVELOPMENT IS HOLISTIC, THE FACADE IS HOLISTIC.
IT'S NOT JUST THE PRODUCT, BUT IT'S HOW MUCH OF WHAT PRODUCT IS BEING USED.
UM, SO, UH, JUST TO SPEAK TO THAT, OUR GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM CRITERIA ACTUALLY DOES BOTH.
UM, AND WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING NECESSARILY AT THIS 0.1 OR THE OTHER BECAUSE WE, YOU KNOW, DON'T HAVE A CODE AMENDMENT REQUIRED.
BUT THE CRITERIA, BOTH DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEASUREMENT IS, IS ALREADY IN OUR PROGRAM.
[01:10:01]
I THOUGHT OF WHEN I RECEIVED THIS PRESENTATION AT THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE WAS, UH, THIS IS INHERENTLY A GEOGRAPHIC TO COMMISSIONER PEDRO'S POINT, A GEOGRAPHIC TREATMENT.IT HAPPENS AT A BUILDING LEVEL MM-HMM
UM, WITH THE ADDITIONAL BUY-IN OR IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE REDUCED THREAT FACTOR BUILDINGS, MORE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN.
I AM INTERESTED TO SEE, BASED ON WHAT I'VE HEARD, UH, THERE ISN'T A WHOLE LOT OF DATA, UH, BUT I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO SEE IF THERE'S A CUMULATIVE FACTOR WHERE IF THERE'S A BUILDING IN THE MIDDLE THAT DOESN'T HAVE IT, BUT BUILDINGS ALL AROUND IT DO, THEN WE WOULD ACTUALLY SEE BETTER USAGE.
WE HAVE ALSO SEEN HIGH REGULATIONS ON BUILDINGS MEAN LESS, UH, IMPLEMENTATION ACROSS THE CITY BECAUSE IT IS A MARKET, NOT JUST THE BUILDING LEVEL.
COMMISSIONER BRETTON, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? YES.
COMMISSIONER POWELL, GO AHEAD.
FIRST OFF, I WANNA JUST, UH, THANK STAFF FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THIS BRIEFING, UH, AS WELL AS THANK THE, YOU KNOW, STUDENTS FROM ST.
EDWARDS, THE AUDUBON SOCIETY FOLKS WERE COMING IN AND SHARING YOUR INPUT, UH, ON THE OUTDOOR PATIO I'M CURRENTLY AT, THERE WAS A BIRD'S NEST BACK IN THIS CORNER, AND IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST JOYFUL THINGS, UH, AS THOSE HATCH LINKS CAME ABOUT.
UH, NOW BACK TO THE SUBJECT, AND I DO HAVE A QUESTION IS, UH, FOR STAFF, HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED INTO KIND OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RETROFITTING ON MORE HISTORIC BUILDINGS? YOU KNOW, IT STRIKES ME THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR THE PAST FEW DECADES, OR MAYBE GOING BACK TO THE SIXTIES OR SEVENTIES APARTMENT BUILDINGS, SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIALS, ALL PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
UM, HAVE THERE BEEN KIND OF ANY IMPLICATIONS FOR MAYBE THOSE OLDER STYLE WINDOWS OR DESIGNS? YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF OPTIONS AVAILABLE, AND WE DID LOOK AT A LOT OF THE MATERIALS THAT ARE AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET.
UM, IT IS CERTAINLY FEASIBLE, UM, AND IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION REVIEW, AND THAT'S THE LENS KIND OF THROUGH WHICH WE CAN REGULATE, UM, THAT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO MANDATE.
UM, THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF, UH, INSTANCES OF BUILDINGS EXISTING THAT HAVE HAD LIKE MASS COLLISION EVENTS THAT HAVE GARNERED SO MUCH ATTENTION THAT IT HAS MADE THOSE BUILDING OWNERS RETROFIT THEIR BUILDINGS WITHOUT HAVING ANY OTHER RENOVATIONS REQUIRED.
THEY JUST WENT AND DID IT BECAUSE THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, THE CAUSE OF SO MUCH DEATH.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THAT, UH, IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO EDUCATE AND HAVE ADOPTION THROUGH THAT KIND OF EDUCATION.
NOBODY REALLY WANTS TO BE PICKING UP, YOU KNOW, BEAUTIFUL DEAD BIRDS.
IT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD TO HAVE TO DO THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
SO WE THINK THAT EDUCATION IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART AND THAT ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, REGULATING THROUGH DEVELOPMENT REVIEW IS THE, THE FEASIBLE WAY THAT WE CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, APPLY THESE REGULATIONS.
BUT WE, WE DO WANT HISTORIC BUILDINGS TO ADOPT THEM.
SO I, I TOTALLY HEAR YOU AND THANK YOU FOR, FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
AND I MOSTLY SURFACE IT THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, KINDA RIGOROUS REVIEW OF EXTERIOR STRUCTURES, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF CITY LANDMARKS OR, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT JUST KIND OF PASS THROUGH THE WORK OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE.
IT STRIKES ME AS SOMETHING WHERE AN IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS POLICY, UM, WHICH I, I, I THINK IS, UH, AGAIN, A TO Y'ALL'S WORK AND RESEARCH TO BE BRIEFING US ON SOMETHING SO EXCITING.
IT MAKES ME THINK THAT IN IMPLEMENTATION THERE COULD BE MOMENTS WHERE SAY THE EXTERIOR OF A HISTORIC BUILDING, UM, MAYBE WOULDN'T BE COMPATIBLE THROUGH THOSE PROCESSES WITH THESE RETROFITS.
SO JUST FOGGING IT AS SOMETHING WHERE MAYBE, HEY, THERE COULD BE FRICTION THERE THAT CAN BE AVOIDED, BECAUSE OF COURSE WE WANT HISTORIC BUILDINGS TO BE RETROFITTED, UH, FOR BIRD FRIENDLINESS AS WELL.
I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY AN IMPORTANT ISSUE.
ALL BUILDINGS, HOW CAN THEY ALL GET BIRD FRIENDLY? YOU KNOW, WE'RE DEFINITELY TRYING TO ASK OURSELVES THAT QUESTION TOO.
SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE.
COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, GO AHEAD.
UH, I THINK SOME OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS TOUCHED ON THIS ALREADY, SO, UH, MOST OF MY QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED, BUT, UH, I'M WANTING TO UNDERSTAND THE, IN THE PROPOSAL FOR, UH, UNDER LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT, THAT WOULD BIRD SAFETY DESIGN PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AS MEASURED BY THE MATERIAL THREAT FACTOR RATING OF 20 OR LESS FOR ALL BUILDING SURFACES UP TO 100 OF, I WANNA, IS THAT OF A COMPOSITE CALCULATION FOR THE ENTIRE FACADE OF THE BUILDING, OR DOES THAT MEAN THE MINIMUM OR THE MAXIMUM
[01:15:01]
MATERIAL THREAT FACTOR FOR ANY MATERIAL ON THAT SURFACE? SO WINDOWS AND OPAQUE MATERIALS ALIKE IS 20 OR LESS.DOES THAT MAKE SENSE QUESTION? YEAH, NO, GREAT QUESTION.
I THINK COMMISSIONER BRETTON ALSO HAD A SIMILAR QUESTION AND THEY CAN BE MEASURED EITHER WAY.
AND RIGHT NOW OUR GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM DOES A COMPOSITE, LIKE WHAT IS THE AVERAGE OF ALL OF THE MATERIALS.
UM, AND THEN YOU CAN ALSO DO JUST A MAXIMUM, LIKE NOTHING CAN BE ABOVE THIS CERTAIN THREAT FACTOR.
SO WE, WE LEFT IT, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OPEN, UM, KNOWING THAT IF THERE IS A FUTURE, UM, CODE AMENDMENT INITIATED, THAT WE WOULD DIG INTO THAT MUCH MORE INTO THE ACTUAL LANGUAGE AND INTO THE, WHAT THAT REQUIREMENT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, SO I THINK, I THINK FLEXIBLE IS IMPORTANT AND HAVING MULTIPLE OPTIONS TO, TO REACH THE, THE DESIRED TARGET WOULD BE IDEAL.
'CAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE JUST DOING A LITTLE BIT OF DIGGING IN TERMS OF OTHER ORDINANCES, I MEAN, I KNOW Y'ALL SPOKE TO NEW YORK AND MADISON, IT LOOKS LIKE FOLKS IN YALE UNIVERSITY HAVE PRETTY GOOD DATABASE OF DIFFERENT ORDINANCES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND UM, A RATING OF 20 IS, UH, IS LOWER THAN ALMOST ALL OF THEM.
I THINK MAYBE, UH, THERE'S A CITY OF VIRGINIA THAT IS LOOKING AT MAYBE 15, BUT IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE THAT RATING OF 20 SIGNIFICANTLY LIMITS THE TYPE OF GLASS MATERIAL THAT ARE AVAILABLE FEELS LIKE THERE'S A HUGE CHANGE FROM 25 TO 20.
SO I, I THINK I, I'M HAPPY TO HEAR THAT THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE SORT OF FURTHER REVIEW AND DISCUSSION BECAUSE I, I WORRY IF WE LIMIT, UM, TO LIKE THE ARCHITECTURAL TYPE CHOICES TOO CLOSELY WITH RESPECT TO ONE PARTICULAR MATERIAL.
AND, UM, THAT IS, THAT'S FAIR FEEDBACK.
YOU KNOW, WE WERE BEING VERY ASPIRATIONAL IN THAT RECOMMENDATION BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE IS INCREASING AMOUNT OF DATA SHOWING THAT THE, A VERY SMALL, YOU KNOW, SONGBIRDS AND POLLINATOR SPECIES ARE PRIMARILY LIKE PREDOMINANTLY AFFECTED BY BIRD COLLISION.
UM, AND SO GOING FOR A LOWER, LOWER THREAT FACTOR WOULD NOT ONLY ACHIEVE, YOU KNOW, UM, REDUCING BIRD COLLISION, BUT WOULD HELP, UH, POTENTIALLY REDUCE BIRD COLLISIONS FOR THOSE VERY VULNERABLE SPECIES.
UM, THERE, AND, AND JUST TO BE COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT, THERE IS MAYBE 175 ISH MATERIALS THAT HAVE RATINGS THAT ARE 20 AND BELOW.
AND THEN YOU GET AN ADDITIONAL LIKE 75, MAYBE 80 IF YOU GO UP TO 25 AND YOU GET EVEN MORE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GO UP TO 30, UM, AT 20 WE WERE, YOU KNOW, JUST BEING PARTICULARLY ASPIRATIONAL BECAUSE WE DO CARE ABOUT THE HUMMINGBIRDS.
AND THAT'S WHY I THINK MAYBE CONSIDERING IT ON A COMPOSITE BASIS FOR THE FACADE MIGHT BE USEFUL.
IT MIGHT INCENTIVIZE PROJECTS TO BUILD MAYBE JUST LESS GLASS SURFACE, RIGHT? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FEEDBACK.
THANKS COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, I'M GONNA JUMP IN WITH A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANNA CONFIRM THAT WE ARE NOT TAKING ACTION ON THIS TONIGHT.
WILL WE BE TAKING ACTION ON THIS AT A FUTURE MEETING? UM, WELL, IF WE COME BACK WITH THE CODE AMENDMENT, POSSIBLY
SO THIS IS JUST KIND OF A FIRST ROUND WHERE YOU'RE JUST COLLECTING FEEDBACK FROM US, CORRECT, YES.
UM, AND I'M HEARING A CODE AMENDMENT TO REQUIRE COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS EXCEEDING 10,000 SQUARE FEET TO MEET THESE STANDARDS.
WOULD THAT BE JUST FOR NEW BUILDINGS OR WOULD THERE BE AN A REQUIREMENT FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS TO RETROFIT TO THESE STANDARDS? YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE ARE LOOKING AT NEW BUILDINGS.
IF IN THE CONVERSATION, UM, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCERN SOME, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, MEET, MEET A CERTAIN THRESHOLD AT WHICH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE MAYBE CONSIDERED A RETROFIT BUT ARE REPLACING SO MUCH OF THEIR GLASS, THAT IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THESE REGULATIONS TO APPLY TO THEM.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I KNOW A LOT OF CITIES HAVE, UH, HAVE NAVIGATED IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING CODE AMENDMENTS.
LIKE HOW MUCH OF YOUR GLASS ARE YOU REPLACING IN YOUR RENOVATION? UM, AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, AN AVENUE TO KIND OF, TO TO SORT OF RETROFIT, YOU KNOW, THE REMAINING GLASS.
SO, UM, THAT'S PRIMARILY THE WAY THAT PEOPLE HAVE INCORPORATED RETROFIT OPTIONS AND THERE CAN, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY BE,
[01:20:01]
UM, INCENTIVES INCORPORATED INTO RETROFITS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, MORE CONVERSATIONS.THERE'S ALREADY SHADE, YOU KNOW, SOLAR SHADE INCENTIVES THAT AUSTIN ENERGY OFFERS AND SOLAR SHADES ARE AN EXCELLENT BIRD COLLISION DETERRENT.
UM, SO OTHER INCENTIVES, YOU KNOW, WE'RE INTERESTED IN EXPLORING THAT TOO AS A OPPORTUNITY TO INCENTIVIZE RETROFITS.
I WOULD, I WOULD REALLY LOVE TO RECOMMEND THAT.
AND THE OTHER FEEDBACK THAT I WOULD LOVE TO GIVE IS JUST THAT I UNDERSTAND THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET FOR RESIDENTIAL AT THIS POINT, BUT IT DOES SEEM LIKE THINGS LIKE, UH, SHADING, LIGHTING AND WINDOW SCREENS WOULD BE EASY ENOUGH TO REQUIRE AT THIS POINT.
AND I WOULD REALLY RECOMMEND, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY UPON HEARING THAT THE MAJORITY OF BIRD STRIKES ARE HAPPENING IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS, IN SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS AS OPPOSED TO MULTIFAMILY AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS, UM, MAKING THESE REQUIREMENTS APPLY ACROSS THE CITY, INCLUDING SINGLE FAMILY BUILDINGS.
I'M VERY UNCOMFORTABLE ANYTIME WE HAVE A REQUIREMENT THAT IS ADDING ADDITIONAL COSTS JUST FOR RENTERS OF MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS.
AND OBVIOUSLY THOSE COSTS ARE ADDED TO THE DEVELOPER, BUT THEY'RE CERTAINLY BORN BY THOSE FUTURE RENTERS WHEN WE'RE NOT ADDING THOSE COSTS ACROSS THE BOARD FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMEOWNERS AS WELL.
AND UNDERSTANDING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR CITY IS MADE UP OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, WHERE A LOT OF THESE BIRD STRIKES ARE HAPPENING.
I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE YOU, YOU KNOW, MAYBE NOT A GLASS REQUIREMENT, BUT SOMETHING LIKE WINDOW SCREENS AND DOWN LIGHTING INCLUDED IN A, A FUTURE, UM, ORDINANCE THAT I HOPE WE WILL GET TO TAKE ACTION ON IN THE FUTURE AND SUPPORT.
AND ALSO JUST WANTED TO SAY REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF OUR SPEAKERS THIS EVENING, AND ESPECIALLY THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE TAKEN TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULES TO SPEAK WITH US.
WE'RE REALLY GRATEFUL TO HEAR FROM YOU.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WE HAVE TWO MORE QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANNA ECHO THAT BECAUSE LIKE THE ENVIRONMENTAL NERD IN ME WOULD NOT HAVE BELIEVED THAT ALL OF Y'ALL SHOWED UP JUST FOR THIS, THIS ONE I'M JUST SUPER EXCITED.
UM, I, FUN FACT THAT YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT IS THAT WE ARE ALSO THE SIGN REVIEW BOARD AND UH, WE WERE THE FIRST BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT IN TEXAS TO START REQUIRING DARK SKY LIGHTING AS A CONDITION.
UM, MY QUESTIONS ARE, I HAVE A COUPLE, I WANNA START WITH DARK SKY COMPLIANCE 'CAUSE THAT'S A PERSONAL PASSION OF MINE.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY EFFORT, UM, TO IMPLEMENT DARK SKY COMPLIANT LIGHTING OUTSIDE OF JUST NEW OVER 10 KEY DEVELOPMENTS? BECAUSE IT AFFECTS MORE THE DISPER, IT AFFECTS ALL NOCTURNAL LIKE MAMMAL WILDLIFE.
UM, THERE, THERE IS REQUIREMENTS FOR, UM, SHIELDED LIGHTING AND DOWN LIGHTING FOR CERTAIN DISTRICTS IN AUSTIN.
SO THERE'S LIKE SOME ZONING DISTRICTS THAT HAVE REQUIREMENTS FOR SHIELDED LIGHTING.
UM, AND THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY FULLY DARK SKY BECAUSE YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE OTHER PUBLIC LIGHTING, UM, THAT MAYBE IS NOT, UM, COMPLIANT WITH DARK SKY.
BUT THERE ARE, THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT KINDS OF REGULATIONS THAT EXIST.
THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY DARK SKY BRANDED, BUT THEY ARE FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDUCING LIGHT POLLUTION IN THOSE, YOU KNOW, SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AREAS LIKE THE HILL COUNTRY OVERLAY, OBVIOUSLY VERY SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AREA, REALLY IMPORTANT LIGHT POLLUTION REDUCTION IS IMPORTANT FOR A WHOLE LOT OF REASONS THERE.
UM, SO THAT'S ONE, THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE.
IT'S NOT, UM, A BROAD APPLICATION FOR EVERY SINGLE AREA OF AUSTIN THOUGH.
AND THEN, UH, MAYBE QUESTION FOR THE CHAIR OR, OR THE COMMISSION, UH, IF THIS GETS PRESENTED TO US AS AN AMENDMENT IS POTENTIALLY INCLUDING DARK SKY COMPLIANT LIGHT ACROSS THE BOARD.
SOMETHING THAT THIS COMMISSION WOULD BE OPEN TO, LIKE, UH, SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT WHEN WE GET TO IT.
UH, JUST THROWING THAT OUT THERE.
UM, I WAS CURIOUS WHY WAS 10 K UH, OR GREATER THAN 10 K, THE, THE, THE MARK FOR IMPLEMENTING THIS? SO THAT IS THE, UM, SIZE AT WHICH COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEWERS REVIEW GLAZING AND LIGHTING PLANS.
SO THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUB-CHAPTER E WHERE ALL OF THE GLAZING REQUIREMENTS ARE, THAT'S WHEN THOSE REVIEWERS, UH, BECOME INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW APPLICATION.
SO IN TERMS OF A FEASIBILITY THING, LIKE, YOU KNOW, OUT THE DOOR, YOU COULD ADOPT IT, THERE'S REVIEWERS THERE THAT AREN'T GONNA SLOW DOWN YOUR, UM, DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION REVIEW.
[01:25:01]
ACTUALLY, UM, A, UM, A STANDARD THAT A LOT OF OTHER ORDINANCES HAVE ADOPTED AS WELL.UM, UH, MADISON, WISCONSIN, THEY USE 10,000 SQUARE FEET AND A LOT OF OTHER, UM, UH, ORDINANCES HAVE, HAVE GONE WITH THAT SIZE TOO.
AND WE JUST SO HAPPEN TO HAVE THAT AS OUR, UH, CUTOFF FOR COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEWS THAT LOOK AT THOSE REQUIREMENTS NOT TO BE OVERZEALOUS OR WANT TO ADD ANY ADDITIONAL BURDEN TO SLOWING BUILDING HOUSING OR OR BUILDING AT ALL.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO MAYBE CHANGE THAT? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT COULD BE LOOKED AT? 'CAUSE EVERYTHING I SEE SO FAR SEEMS TO BE REALLY FOCUSED ON COMMERCIAL AND TO ECHO CHAIR WOODS, UH, IF WE WANNA START TALKING ABOUT THIS STUFF, REALLY WE NEED TO GET INTO THE RESIDENTIAL OR EVEN SMALLER MULTIFAMILY STUFF THAT'S UNDER 10 KEY.
SO IF THAT'S WHERE WE'RE REQUIRING GLAZING, MAYBE LIKE INCENTIVES FROM THE CITY OR AE FOR MORE SOLAR GUARDING OR SHADING, YEAH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY EXPLORE MORE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS STRUCTURES IN PLACE SO THAT THERE IS REVIEWERS THAT CAN DO THE WORK OF REQUIRING IT.
'CAUSE WE WANT IT REQUIRED, IF IT'S GONNA BE REQUIRED, WE WANT THERE TO BE PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE TO REQUIRE IT.
UM, SO, UH, I WOULD LOVE TO DO SOME MORE EXPLORATION INTO THAT.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT SOME FEEDBACK ON HAVING ALL CITIES, UH, SORRY, ALL CITY BUILDINGS REQUIRE IT.
I MEAN THAT'S, THERE'S A LOT OF BUILDINGS THAT ARE LESS THAN 10,000 SQUARE FEET, SO THAT'S KIND OF ALREADY ON OUR RADAR AS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD NEED TO NAVIGATE HOW IT WOULD GET REVIEWED.
SO, UM, WE'LL LOOK INTO THAT MORE BECAUSE I AGREE THERE, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF, IF WE CAN HAVE A MECHANISM TO, TO DO ALL, TO DO ALL THE BUILDINGS.
'CAUSE WE'VE GOT A LOT OF BUILDINGS THAT ARE, UH, LESS THAN 10,000 SQUARE FEET.
OKAY, LAST QUESTION FOR, I'M OUT OF TIME AND I JUST WANNA JUMP INTO THE FUTURE HERE BECAUSE JAPAN HAS INVENTED IN EIGHT BY FOUR CLEAR SOLAR PANEL, UH, THAT CAN BE USED AS WINDOWS HAS.
YOU CAN FEEL FREE TO FINISH YOUR QUESTION.
UH, HAS THERE BEEN ANY INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLY INCLUDING THAT BECAUSE WE SHOULD BE SEEING THAT IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS? YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T, UH, NOTICED IF THAT'S ON THE THREAT FACTOR RATING, UH, DATABASE, BUT MAYBE IT IS.
UM, I KNOW THERE'S NEW THINGS COMING ON THAT DATABASE LIKE EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SO, UM, I KNOW PHOTOVOLTAIC, UH, PANELS ARE ON THERE.
UM, AND THOSE ARE GREAT AT REDUCING BIRD COLLISION ALSO NOT SUPER CHEAP.
UM, SO, UH, I'M SURE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE A GOOD REDUCTION AND THEY WOULD REDUCE YOUR ENERGY COSTS AND CREATE ENERGY.
THANKS, CHAIR CON ANYONE LIKE TO TAKE A LAST QUESTION SLOT? YES, COMMISSIONER HILLER, GO AHEAD.
CAN YOU CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION IS IN PART JUST TO SOLICIT FEEDBACK FROM US.
IS THAT, IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT, YES.
WELL, UH, I I I WANT TO KIND OF TOUCH A LITTLE BIT MORE ON A, ON SOMETHING THAT CHAIR WOODS BROUGHT UP AND THAT'S THE AFFORDABILITY COMPONENT.
UM, APOLOGIES IF THIS IS PURELY ASKING QUESTIONS, BUT WE JUST HAD AN ELECTION WHERE WE SAW THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN, UH, VOTE AGAINST THE TAX REBATE.
I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THIS MAKING HOUSING JUST MORE UNAFFORDABLE.
GENERALLY, MY RECOMMENDATION AS YOU CONTINUE TO PRESENT THIS IS TO NOT OMIT AFFORDABILITY CONSIDERATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO HOW YOU, YOU PITCH IT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
LIKE IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS AND YOU'RE SAYING, HEY, I HAVE THIS IDEA AND IT'S GONNA BE REALLY GREAT FOR, UM, THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE AND SAVING BIRD LIVES AND THAT KIND OF THING, BUT IT'S GONNA COST EVERY SINGLE FAMILY HOME AND ADDITIONAL $2,500 AND UPGRADES.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S THE KIND OF THING, AND YOU KIND OF TOUCHED ON THIS TOO, ABOUT CREATING SOME TYPE OF GREEN DESIGNATION OR BEING FOLDED UNDER THAT, OR MAYBE HAVING THAT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ELECTIVE AND NOT A REQUIREMENT MIGHT BE AN EASIER SELL.
BUT ANYWAY, I I, I, I'M TRYING TO GIVE YOU SOME CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK, BUT I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ASIDE FROM THAT.
AND, UM, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK.
UM, YOUR CONCERNS ARE ECHOED ACROSS EVERY OTHER CITY THAT HAS BROUGHT THIS FORWARD.
UM, AND THROUGH ALL OTHER, YOU KNOW, PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS THAT HAVE TAKEN UP THIS ISSUE, UM,
[01:30:01]
THEY, THERE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION IN THE REPORT THAT WE HAVE RELATED TO MORE AFFORDABLE OPTIONS, INCLUDING LIKE DIY OPTIONS THAT YOU CAN DO ON YOUR HOME THAT DO NOT REQUIRE THESE VERY EXPENSIVE PRODUCTS AND ARE JUST AS EFFECTIVE IN, YOU KNOW, INCLUDING INSECT SCREENS, WHICH ARE COST NEUTRAL.UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT IS CERTAINLY AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE RESIDENTIAL SOLUTION.
UM, AND IF YOU SAW, YOU KNOW, THE SQUARE FOOT COST, THERE IS AN OPTION WHERE A, YOU KNOW, FRITTED GLASS IS THE SAME SQUARE FOOT COST, UM, AS STANDARD NON, UH, YOU KNOW, NON-CUSTOM GLASS.
SO THERE IS A WAY TOWARDS AFFORDABILITY THAT WE THINK THAT DOESN'T REALLY HAVE A VERY LARGE IMPACT.
IF THERE IS AN ABILITY TO USE THOSE KIND OF PRODUCTS, IT, IT NARROWS YOUR RANGE OF PRODUCTS THAT YOU'RE AVAILABLE TO USE.
I'LL JUST SAY THAT THE VIRGINIA, UH, ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA, I USE THAT EXAMPLE BECAUSE ACROSS ALL OF THE DIFFERENT EXAMPLES OF ORDINANCES OR PROGRAMS, THAT IS THE ONLY ORDINANCE PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN ADOPTED THAT HAS A VOLUNTARY COMPONENT THAT HAS BEEN EFFECTIVE.
UM, OTHERWISE THERE HASN'T BEEN VERY MUCH ADOPTION IF IT'S JUST VOLUNTARY BECAUSE IT'S LINKED TO DENSITY BONUS, WHICH IS GREAT.
UM, SO WE, WE WISH EVERYBODY WOULD JUST VOLUNTARILY BUILD ALL THEIR BUILDINGS BIRD FRIENDLY.
UM, SO, BUT HEARD ON THE AFFORDABILITY COMPONENT, WE, WE SHOULD INCORPORATE THAT MESSAGE ALWAYS.
WELL, THAT WRAPS UP OUR QUESTIONS, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH MS. LILY FOR ALL OF THIS INFORMATION AND FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, AND WE HOPE WE WILL SEE YOU BACK SOON TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS AND HOPE WE'LL HAVE OUR SPEAKERS BACK AS WELL.
SO THIS ITEM HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN AND NO ACTION IS GONNA BE REQUIRED ON THIS ONE.
[13. Discussion and action to review and revise the Draft Planning Commission Rules of Procedures. (Sponsored by Chair Woods and Vice Chair Haney)]
13 IS DISCUSSION ACTION TO REVIEW AND REVISE THE DRAFT PLANNING COMMISSION RULES AND PROCEDURES.SO THIS IS COMING FROM THE RULES AND PROCEDURES WORKING GROUP.
EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED IN THEIR BACKUP A RED LINE OF OUR RULES AND PROCEDURES AS WE'VE AMENDED THEM.
DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS ON THE CHANGES THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED BY THE RULES AND PROCEDURES WORKING GROUP? I DO HAVE SOME, YES.
SORRY, I DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
I'M POINT AT MY NOTES RIGHT NOW.
UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I ASKED, UM, WE WERE DISCUSSING EARLIER IS HOW DO WE HAVE A STATED LIMITATION ON HOW MANY POSTPONEMENTS CAN BE REQUESTED EITHER FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR FROM AN APPLICANT? I WOULD WANNA ASK THAT QUESTION OF STAFF.
WHAT WAS THE QUESTION? IS THERE A NUMBER OF POSTPONEMENTS THAT, UH, A MAXIMUM NUMBER OF POSTPONEMENTS IT'S NOT IN, SO WE HAVE NOT CHANGED IT AS PART OF THE RULES AND PROCEDURES WORKING GROUP, BUT I THINK THAT'S A HELPFUL PIECE OF INFORMATION TO HAVE.
UM, ERIC THOMAS WITH AUSTIN PLANNING? TO MY KNOWLEDGE, NO, THERE IS NOT A MAXIMUM NUMBER.
UM, THE, IT SPEAKS TO THE, WELL, NO, I'LL JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT.
TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THERE'S NOT A MAXIMUM
IT SEEMS LIKE THE COMMUNITY IS VERY USED TO COUNSEL WHETHER THERE ARE LIMITATIONS IN THE AMOUNT OF POSTPONEMENTS EITHER AN APPLICANT OR A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OR NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP CAN MAKE.
BUT IN OUR, IN OUR GROUP, THERE IS NOT A MAXIMUM.
UH, THAT IS, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.
DOES THE QUESTION MAKE SENSE TO EVERYBODY? YEAH, IT DOES.
CHAIR COULD, COULD I COULD, TO CLARIFY, AND I, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I DON'T THINK THERE'S A NUMBER OF LIMITATION ON POSTPONEMENTS BECAUSE THAT'S USUALLY SET BY THE BODY, BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN ITEMS THAT ARE HEARD THAT DO HAVE TIME RESTRICTIONS, UH, DUE TO THE AMOUNT OR FOR WHEN THEY HAVE TO BE HEARD, RIGHT? LIKE I KNOW BOA, WE HAVE CERTAIN APPEALS THAT HAVE TO BE HEARD WITHIN 60 DAYS, AND I KNOW COUNSEL HAS TO HEAR CERTAIN ZONING REQUESTS WITHIN A NUMBER OF TIMES.
RIGHT? THAT IS, THAT IS CORRECT.
AND, AND ADDITIONALLY, A A CASE CAN ONLY BE POSTPONED FOR SO MANY DAYS WITHOUT NOTICE BEING REQUIRED AGAIN.
UM, BUT, AND THAT IS HOW MANY? 60.
BUT BEYOND THAT, UM, AS LONG AS THE CASE ISN'T EXPIRING, UH, THERE, THE CODE DOESN'T SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THERE BEING JUST A, A SET NUMBER OF MAXIMUM POSTPONEMENTS.
ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER ROEN? I'VE GOT SOME, I'M JUST LOOKING THROUGH MY NOTES RIGHT NOW.
UH, IN SECTION 5.4, UH, THE SECTION REGARDING, UM, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT CAN SIGN UP TO TAKE A, UH, CASE OFF THE CONSENT AGENDA.
IS THAT AUTOMATICALLY DONE IF THEY'RE SIGNED UP BEFORE
[01:35:01]
THE THEY HAVE, SORRY, GO AHEAD.BEFORE THE MEETING, IF THEY, IF THERE ARE MORE THAN THREE, THREE PEOPLE SIGNED UP BEFORE THE MEETING, DOES IT TAKE THE ITEM OFF THE CONSENT AGENDA OR DOES THAT ONLY HAPPEN IN WHEN WE'RE IN SESSION? SO IT'S NOW FIVE IS WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING AND THEY HAVE TO BE PRESENT.
BASED ON THE READING OF THE RULES.
THE NEXT ONE SAYS IF THEY'RE NOT THERE.
I THINK I WAS READING AN EARLIER VERSION OF THIS, UH, EARLIER TODAY.
SO WE, WE SHOULD HAVE SENT OUT THE RED LINE VERSION AND A CLEAN VERSION.
THAT JUST SHOWS THE NEW RULES.
THESE DOCUMENTS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE IN BACKUP IF YOU'RE, I I, I'VE, I HAVE READ THROUGH THEM.
THERE WAS AN UPDATE TO THEM LATER TODAY.
I THINK THE PREVIOUS VERSION HAD SOME CORRECTIONS THAT WERE NOT ACTUALLY PULLED THROUGH.
IF ANYBODY ELSE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, I CAN RUN THROUGH MY NOTES PERSONALLY HERE FOR A SECOND.
COMMISSIONER BRETTON, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? OH, OKAY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE UPDATED RULES AND PROCEDURES? ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONER DREN, IT'S ALL YOU.
UH, MY LAST ITEM HERE IS, IS IT REASONABLE TO REQUEST A STAFF THAT EITHER THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, CONTACT TEAM CHAIR OR THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION CHAIR BE INCLUDED IN THE BACKUP FOR, UM, FOR ANY CASES THAT COME BEFORE US THAT WE HAVE THERE CONTACT INFORMATION IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE.
ERIC THOMAS, AGAIN, AUSTIN PLANNING, COULD YOU ELABORATE JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU MEAN BY THAT? BY BEING INCLUDED IN THE BACKUP? SO WHEN WE RECEIVE THE REPORT FROM STAFF ON, UH, WHETHER IT'S A ZONING CHANGE OR WHETHER IT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT, THE ONLY WAY THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO UNCOVER WHO THE ACTUAL PLAN CONTACT TEAM CONTACT IS, IS TO EITHER DO MY OWN RESEARCH OR TO LOOK FOR ANY LETTER THEY MAY HAVE WRITTEN THAT WOULD INCLUDE THAT CONTACT INFORMATION.
IS IT REASONABLE TO ASK THAT THAT BE INCLUDED IN THOSE STAFF REPORTS?
UM, SO I, I WILL LOOK FORWARD TO YOU AND I TALKING ABOUT THIS MORE IN THE FUTURE THEN.
SO I THINK IF WE, JUST, A SUGGESTION IS IF WE DID NOT WANNA DELAY TAKING ACTION ON OUR NEW RULES AND PROCEDURES, COMMISSIONER ROSN, YOU COULD PUT A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM ON TONIGHT THAT WOULD BE DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON AMENDING THE RULES AND PROCEDURES TO ADD, INCLUDING A NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT PERSON ON IN THE STAFF REPORT.
AND THEN WE COULD HAVE SOME TIME AND HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT AT A FUTURE.
AND IS IT IN OUR RULES THAT THAT WOULD APPROPRIATE WOULD BE LOCATED? OR IS THAT MORE, SHOULD THAT BE HANDLED IN A DIFFERENT WAY? 'CAUSE IT'S NOT REALLY OUR PROCEDURES.
IT WOULD BE STAFF'S PROCEDURES THAT WE'D BE MODIFYING, I ASSUME CHAIR GO AHEAD.
MAY I MAKE A SUGGESTION? UH, SOMETHING THAT OUR LIAISON DOES? I, I THINK THIS IS AN ASK AND SORRY, I DON'T MEAN TO GIVE YOU MORE WORK, BUT
UH, THERE'S, WHAT DID TWO, TWO OF Y'ALL, TWO OF Y'ALL.
I MEAN, COULD THAT BE ADDED EITHER MAYBE IN THE EMAIL, UH, THAT COMES OUT, LIKE WHEN, IF THERE'S A NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT TEAM PERSON OR INTO A, I DON'T KNOW IF AGENDA WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE PLACE, UH, WITH ALL THE, THE RESTRICTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PLACED UPON IT LATELY.
UH, SO I THINK THERE ARE DEFINITELY A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE COULD HANDLE IT, WHETHER IT'S IN AN EMAIL FROM STAFF TO THE COMMISSION OR WHETHER IT'S IN THE STAFF REPORT.
UM, SO I DO THINK WE WOULD PROBABLY JUST WANNA THINK ABOUT WHAT THE, THE BEST METHOD WOULD BE, UM, BEFORE WE TAKE ACTION ON THAT, ON THAT SPECIFICALLY.
AND I HAVE NO IN, IN IMPLICATE.
I DON'T WANNA HOLD BACK WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH TODAY.
I THINK I WAS ABLE TO UNCOVER SOME OF THESE CONTEXTS, UH, TODAY FOR SOME OF THE CASES THAT WERE COMING BEFORE US ON THE CONSENT AGENDA WAS HELPFUL FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THOSE PEOPLE DIRECTLY AND UNDERSTAND THE NEIGHBORHOOD PERSPECTIVE.
AND I THINK REDUCING THE BARRIER FOR THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY DIRECTLY, UM, SO THAT WE HEAR FROM THEM BEFORE THEY COME BEFORE US WOULD BE ASSISTIVE.
UH, I DON'T WANNA PUT MORE WORK ON YOUR PLATES, OBVIOUSLY WE ALSO WE'RE NOT GETTING PAID TO BE HERE AND WE HAVE JOBS THAT WE HAVE TO DO OUTSIDE OF THIS.
AND A LOT OF RESEARCH GOES INTO WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE THIS MEETING TAKES PLACE.
SO I THINK ANYTHING THAT CLEARS THE WAY AND MAKES THAT MORE, UM, EXPEDIENT FOR US MEANS THAT THE COMMUNITY JUST GETS TO HAVE MORE INVOLVEMENT IN THESE PROCEEDINGS.
AND IN, IN THE MEANTIME, YOU ARE ALWAYS MORE THAN WELCOME TO CONTACT THE CASE MANAGER
[01:40:01]
DIRECTLY IF YOU NEED TO FIND THAT INFORMATION QUICKLY OR IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE THE MEETING.IS THAT ALL YOUR QUESTIONS? YES.
COMMISSIONER BRETT, DID YOU QUESTION? I WANTED TO ADDRESS COMMISSIONER TROJAN'S, UH, SORT OF SUGGESTION, WHICH IS I WILL SAY AS A PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT SPECIALIST, UH, TWO THINGS POP OUT AT ME.
STAFF REPORT PUBLIC INFORMATION, UH, AND HAVING SOMEONE'S CONTACT INFORMATION IN A PUBLIC DOCUMENT MAY BE, UH, A QUESTION FOR STAFF TO FIGURE OUT IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT.
THE SECOND PART IS TO YOUR POINT THAT YOU DO RESEARCH AHEAD OF TIME TO FIND OUT THE APPROPRIATE CONTACT.
THAT IS NOT ALWAYS AN EASY THING TO DO, AS I'M SURE YOU KNOW, AND I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE CITY'S PROCESSES, BUT IN THE PROCESSES THAT I HAVE IN MY ROLE, UH, IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY TO HAVE A CLEAN AND, UH, CORRECT CONTACT TO A GROUP OR A, A SET OF PEOPLE.
UM, WHETHER THAT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP OR THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR WHETHER THAT'S ANOTHER INTERESTED PARTY.
SO AS A, SOMETHING THAT MIGHT MAKE THIS EASIER IS RATHER THAN SAYING, THIS IS WHO THIS PERSON IS, BECAUSE THAT MAY CHANGE AND STAFF ON THE CITY SIDE MAY NOT BE UPDATED AS TO WHAT THAT IS, IS THE LAST CONFIRMED CONTACT OR SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH A, A TAGLINE THAT OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, ONE PERSON IS NOT A REPRESENTATIVE FOR A FULL GROUP NECESSARILY TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THERE'S MORE THAN JUST ONE PERSON OR ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT CAN REPRESENT A LARGE DIVERSE SWATH OF PEOPLE.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS ON THE AMENDED RULES AND PROCEDURES? OKAY.
I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION AND A SECOND TO ADOPT THE RULES AND PROCEDURES, WORKING GROUPS, UPDATED RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR PLANNING COMMISSIONS.
MOTION BY VICE CHAIR HANEY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRETTON.
THOSE IN FAVOR? PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS OR SHARE YOUR GREEN.
[COMMITTEE UPDATES ]
MOVE ON TO OUR COMMITTEE UPDATES.SO CODES AND ORDINANCES, JOINT COMMITTEE, I BELIEVE WE HAVE VICE CHAIR HANEY OR A COMMISSIONER BREIRA RAMIREZ TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THAT MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, RIGHT? UH, YEAH, I WAS JUST PULLING IT UP.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN JOINT COMMITTEE.
JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
SMALL AREA PLANNING JOINT COMMITTEE.
OUR NEXT MEETING IS DECEMBER 10TH.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR BOARD AND WORKING GROUP
[BOARD/WORKING GROUP UPDATES]
UPDATES.SO THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD.
ANY UPDATES? COMMISSIONER BRETON, I BELIEVE LAST PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING I MENTIONED WE TRIED TO MAKE QUORUM AND WE'RE NOT ABLE TO.
THERE IS ANOTHER SCHEDULED MEETING FOR THIS UPCOMING MONDAY, THE 17TH OF NOVEMBER.
UH, AND WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN DO IT.
AND THE GOVERNANCE RULES AND PROCEDURES WORKING GROUP.
WE'VE COMPLETED OUR WORK THIS EVENING, SO WE WILL BE DISSOLVING THAT WORKING GROUP GOING FORWARD.
VICE CHAIR HANEY AND COMMISSIONER BREYER RAMIREZ FOR YOUR WORK ON THAT GROUP.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
AGENDA ITEMS THAT ANY COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO BRING? YES, CHAIR COHEN.ON MONDAY, THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT DENIED A RECONSIDERATION FOR A CASE WE HEARD LAST MONTH, WHICH WAS AN APPEAL TO A PERMIT, UH, WHERE THE APPLICANT NICELY FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, WAS TRYING TO PASS OFF A FOUR UNIT, UM, DEVELOPMENT AS A THREE UNIT DEVELOPMENT.
AND WE FOUND THAT THERE WAS SOME CONFLICT BECAUSE IT HAPPENED TO BE IN THE UNO NCCD.
AND THE PROBLEM WE RAN INTO WAS THAT THERE IS NO ALLOWANCE WITHIN THE NCCD FOR THREE UNIT PROPERTIES, WHICH ARE NOW ALLOWABLE UNDER HOME.
UH, WE OPTED NOT TO MAKE A COR AN INTERPRETATION FOR THAT ACTUAL PART.
INSTEAD JUST DETERMINE THAT THE ORIGINAL INTERPRETATION SHOULD HAVE BEEN FOUR INSTEAD OF THREE, WHICH HELPED US TO AVOID THAT.
BUT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THIS COMMISSION NEEDS TO PICK UP AND LOOK AT.
UH, THE OTHER THING IS THAT BECAUSE OF THAT SAME INTERPRETATION, WE DID INTERPRET, UM, THAT ATTIC SPACES
[01:45:01]
WITH A CERTAIN HEIGHT AND SLOPE OF THE ROOF, IF THEY HAVE LOAD BEARING STRUTS, THAT COULD BE EASILY FLOORED THAT THOSE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS FAR.UH, THE REQUEST FROM SEVERAL OF MY BOARD MEMBERS WAS TO PERHAPS RESEARCH, UH, THE COMPLETE REMOVAL OF FAR BY MAKING AN EXEMPTION FOR HABITABLE ATTIC SPACES.
UM, I'M WAITING TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT A NOTIFICATION WOULD BE REQUIRED.
CITYWIDE, WHAT I'M HEARING SO FAR IS THAT WOULD BE A NOTE TO MAKE A SIMPLE AMENDMENT TO, UH, GOD, DON'T GET ME THE LINE.
IT'S 25 2 7 7 3 B ONE C WOULD BE THE ADDITION, ET CETERA.
AND YEAH, GOD, BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT HAS DONE THIS TO ME.
UH, AND I'LL TOUCH BASE MORE WITH YOU ON THAT.
BUT THESE ARE TWO THINGS THAT I, I ADVISE THE COMMISSION TO LOOK INTO, TO PUT FORWARD INTO, UH, CODES AND ORDINANCES AS AMENDMENTS.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR COMMISSIONERS TO MAKE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS AS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. ONE WOULD BE CLARIFICATION AS TO WHETHER HOME SUPERSEDES CCDS.
UH, UH, I WOULD SAY MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY SUPERSEDES NCCS SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF NCCD.
SOME ARE MORE RESTRICTIVE AND SOME ARE LESS RESTRICTIVE.
UM, CLARIFICATION AS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOME AND CCDS.
AND THEN THE OTHER ONE WOULD BE CLARIFICATION REGARDING ATTIC SPACE.
SO ARE THERE ANY COMMISSIONERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE THOSE, EITHER OF THOSE TWO ITEMS AS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AT THIS TIME? CAN ALSO LOOK AT IT IN THE FUTURE? CAN I ASK A QUESTION? SURE.
CAN YOU, UH, ELABORATE MORE ON THE ATTIC EXEMPTION YOU ARE LOOKING TO BE MORE PERMISSIVE OF AT EXEMPTIONS? YES.
I MEAN, I DO, I MEAN, I'M NOT SUGGESTING EITHER OR, UH, I'M SIMPLY SUGGESTING THAT WHAT WE DID MADE IT MORE RESTRICTIVE.
UH, IT IS NOW THERE'S GOING TO BE MORE THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED AS, UH, F INCLUDED FAR.
SO IF THE COUNCIL OR COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE THAT, THEN Y'ALL WOULD NEED TO RESEARCH AND ADDRESS IT.
I MEAN, I'M, I AM DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN THAT FROM THE ARCHITECTURAL PERSPECTIVE.
TYPICALLY, IT, IT ADDS OCCUPIED HABITABLE SPACE INTO A BUILDING THAT DOESN'T TYPICALLY ADD MUCH TO THE ACTUAL MASS OF THE BUILDING.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S WHY THE EXISTING EXEMPTION EXISTS IN THE CODE CURRENTLY.
BUT IT IS A PRETTY FUZZY, UH, BIT OF CODE AS TO WHAT EXACTLY ADDS TO THE MASS OF THE BUILDING MEANS.
AND, UM, THERE ARE SOME EXCEPTIONS IN THERE.
IT, IT, IT FALLS MOSTLY UNDER SUB F DOES FOR HABITABLE ABS.
AND THAT, THAT WAS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED, AT LEAST MY UNDERSTANDING FROM MY VICE CHAIR WHO SERVED ON THE BOARD DURING THE CREATION OF MCMANSION, WAS TO PREVENT, UH, WHAT IS COLLOQUIALLY KNOWN AS STEALTH DORMS. UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU COULD PUT A DORMER OR, UM, YOU KNOW, A SHED ROOF AND A WINDOW INTO THE TOP OF A BUILDING.
AND EVEN THOUGH IT PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE TECHNICALLY HABITABLE, IT WAS, AND THEY COULD GET TWO OR THREE EXTRA ROOMS OUT OF IT.
AND IT'S ROOMS THAT MAYBE NOW, UH, WITH THE NEW REQUIREMENTS TO HAVE A WINDOW IN EVERY ROOM MAYBE NO LONGER EXIST AS A POTENTIAL.
BUT, UH, THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL INTENT WHERE YOU WOULDN'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, 30 PEOPLE CRAMMED INTO, UH, A HOUSE THAT WAS REALLY ONLY DESIGNED FOR SIX.
SO COMMISSIONER ROSN, YOU'D LIKE TO BRING A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM THAT IS DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON A RECOMMENDATION, CLARIFYING WHETHER HABITABLE ATTIC SPACE, UH, CLARIFYING HABIT, HABITABLE ATTIC SPACE AS IT RELATES TO FAR REQUIREMENTS.
WOULD I WOULD BE HAPPY TO CO-SPONSOR THAT WITH YOU BASED REMAIN SECONDS.
UM, SO THAT WILL AUTOMATICALLY GO ON A FUTURE AGENDA.
UM, WOULD ANYONE YES, COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE? UM, I GUESS I HAD A QUESTION FOR CHAIR COHEN ABOUT THE ISSUE.
THE FIRST ISSUE YOU DISCUSSED RELATED TO NUMBER OF UNITS BETWEEN THE QUESTION THAT Y'ALL FACED WAS RELATED TO WHETHER THREE OR FOUR UNITS WAS ALLOWED UNDER A HOME.
DID I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY? NO.
UH, IT WAS WHETHER OR NOT STAFF HAD CORRECTLY INTERPRETED WHETHER THE DESIGN WAS THREE OR FOUR UNITS.
WHAT IT ESSENTIALLY WAS, WAS TWO DUPLEXES THAT SHARED, UH, SAME WALL BACK TO BACK.
AND WHAT WAS DONE AT THE BOTTOM FLOOR
[01:50:01]
IS A WALL THAT PREVIOUSLY SEPARATED THE TWO.THEY BASICALLY CUT A GIANT RECTANGLE OUT OF IT TO JOIN THE TWO TOGETHER.
SO THOSE TWO UNITS, TECHNICALLY THEY WERE TRYING TO SAY WERE ONE, UH, BUT IT DID NOT LOOK LIKE ONE AND DID NOT SMELL LIKE ONE.
AND IT WALKS LIKE A DUCK, TALKS LIKE A DUCK.
AND IT WASN'T ONE, IT WAS TWO IS WHAT WE INTERPRETED, BUT THAT'S, THAT CHANGED IT FROM THREE UNITS, UH, WHICH WOULD'VE FALLEN UNDER HOME INTO FOUR UNITS.
THERE WAS NO, UH, PROVISION WITHIN THE NCCD, WHICH WAS MORE RESTRICTIVE IN THIS CASE, FOUR, THREE UNITS BECAUSE IT HADN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE.
SO IT IS JUST ONE OF THOSE LITTLE THINGS THAT GOT CAUGHT UP, UH, INSIDE OF HOME, BUT NEEDS CORRECTION NOW THAT WE'VE RUN INTO THE PROBLEM SO THAT IT DOESN'T COME BEFORE THE BOARD AGAIN, BECAUSE IT WILL, WELL, I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT THERE IS SOME QUESTION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT UNDER HOME YOU CAN BUILD THREE UNITS OR FOUR ARE REQUIRED.
SO, UH, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO EXPLORE IN A FUTURE MEETING, BUT I'M NOT READY TO BRING IT, BRING IT FORWARD AS AN AGENDA ITEM.
'CAUSE I, I NEED TO EXPLAIN IT BETTER TO Y'ALL ONCE I UNDERSTAND IT BETTER.
THANKS COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? SO CAN I POTENTIALLY ADJUST, UH, THE WORDING THAT YOU HAD, UH, NOTED ABOUT CCDS AND THE HOME INITIATIVE OF COURSE INSTEAD? UH, SO DO YOU MIND REPEATING WHAT YOU HAD WRITTEN IF YOU HAD WRITTEN IT DOWN? I JUST SAID CLARIFICATION AS TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOME AND N CCDS.
I AM TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO SAY, UH, NCC DS AND OUR CURRENT LAND USE CODE WITH A SPECIFIC LENS TOWARDS HOME.
SO THERE HAVE OBVIOUSLY BEEN MORE LAND USE CODE UPDATES SINCE AND CCDS HAVE BECOME A THING.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT THEM HOLISTICALLY AS THEY FIT INTO OUR CODE AND HOW THEY MAY NEED TO BE ADJUSTED AS WE'VE MADE UPDATES.
CHAIR, I STRONGLY SUPPORT THIS IDEA.
WOULD YOU MIND HELPING ME CHECK OUT? I MEAN, I, I THOUGHT THAT WAS ACTUALLY GOOD.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, BECAUSE YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE GOING FOR THAT HOLISTIC APPROACH, UH, HOW YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO CHOOSE SOMETHING MAYBE WITH, I'M REALLY TRYING TO FIND THE VERB AT THE FRONT.
UH, SO COULD WE EXAMINE HOW CCDS AND OUR CURRENT LAND USE CODE INTERACT AND WHETHER UPDATES, UPDATES NEED TO BE MADE? I THINK THAT'S WONDERFUL WORDING.
I WILL MAKE THAT MOTION LOOKING FOR A SECOND.
THAT'S A BIG ANSWER THOUGH, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY.
ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? THANK YOU CHAIR COHEN FOR BRINGING THOSE ITEMS TO OUR ATTENTION.
UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE ONE ANNOUNCEMENT, WHICH IS THAT IT IS NOT CONFIRMED, BUT THERE IS A POSSIBLE JOINT MEETING WITH CITY COUNCIL ON JANUARY 20TH AT 1:00 PM AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DO HAVE QUORUM FOR THAT MEETING.
SO PLEASE IF YOU CAN HOLD 1:00 PM IN YOUR CALENDAR ON JANUARY 20TH, 2026, PLEASE DO SO AND WE WILL CONFIRM WHEN THAT MEETING IS FINALIZED.
OTHERWISE, WE ARE ADJOURNING THIS MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION AT 7:56 PM THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH,