[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:05]
HAVING A QUORUM PRESENT WITHIN COUNCIL CHAMBERS.
I NOW CALL THIS MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO ORDER AT 6:05 PM FIRST, I WANNA NOTE THAT WE HAVE A NEW INTERPRETER INTERPRETATION SERVICE AVAILABLE FOR SPEAKERS, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MR. CUMMINGS BRIEFLY TO SHARE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.
I'M EVERETT AND THIS IS MY COLLEAGUE WILL.
WE ARE FROM THE LANGUAGE ACCESS TEAM IN AUSTIN COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT.
TONIGHT WE'RE PILOTING A SERVICE FOR INTERPRETATION.
IT'S A SPEECH TO TEXT, SPEECH TO SPEECH TOOL THAT ALLOWS YOU TO READ OR LISTEN TO TRANSLATIONS OF WHAT'S BEING SAID DURING THE MEETING.
YOU JUST NEED A MOBILE DEVICE IN HEADPHONES.
YOU CAN SCAN THE QR CODE AND LISTEN ON WITH YOUR HEADPHONES OR READ THE TEXT ON YOUR PHONE SCREEN.
THIS IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR HUMAN INTERPRETERS.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING THE SUPERIOR SERVICE OF A PROFESSIONAL INTERPRETER, BUT IN SITUATIONS WHERE WE CANNOT PROVIDE AN INTERPRETER, LIKE WHEN SOMEONE SHOWS UP TO A MEETING NEEDING INTERPRETATION IN A LANGUAGE FOR WHICH WE DID NOT BOOK SERVICE, WE WILL HAVE THIS SERVICE AVAILABLE.
WE HAVE QR CODES BY THE DOOR AND A QR CODE ON A SHEET OF PAPER UP HERE AT THE BOOTH THAT WE CAN PASS AROUND DURING THE MEETING IF YOU WANT TO USE WORDLY TONIGHT.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOU'RE HERE WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME.
COMMISSIONER LAW, I DON'T THINK IS WITH US YET THIS EVENING.
I WANNA ALSO RECOGNIZE OUR EXOFFICIO MEMBER, CHAIR COHEN OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS IS HERE WITH US.
AND I SEE WE HAVE COMMISSIONER LAN HERE AS WELL.
AS USUAL, TONIGHT'S MEETING WILL BE HYBRID ALLOWING FOR A VIRTUAL QUORUM AS LONG AS THE COMMISSIONER SERVING AS CHAIR IS PRESENT IN CHAMBERS.
THEREFORE, WE HAVE COMMISSIONERS HERE AT CITY HALL AND IN ATTENDANCE VIRTUALLY SIMILARLY, SPEAKERS CAN PRESENT HERE FROM COUNCIL CHAMBERS OR PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY VIRTUAL COMMISSION 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.
IF I DON'T SEE YOU, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO UNMUTE AND LET ME KNOW VERBALLY.
IF YOU'RE A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC THAT HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, YOU SHOULD RECEIVE AN EMAIL BEFORE WE TAKE UP YOUR ITEM.
WE'LL HAVE ASSISTANCE FROM MS. GARCIA IN ANNOUNCING THE SPEAKERS DURING OUR PUBLIC HEARINGS.
MS. GARCIA, DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK DURING PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? NO CHAIR.
[Consent Agenda]
OUR FIRST ITEM ON THE CONSENT AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE DECEMBER 16TH, 2025 MEETING.DOES ANYONE HAVE EDITS TO THOSE MINUTES? OKAY, SEEING NONE, THOSE MINUTES ARE ADDED TO THE CONSENT AGENDA AND 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.
VICE CHAIR HANEY, WOULD YOU MIND READING THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR US? ABSOLUTELY.
ITEM NUMBER FOUR, UH, NPA DASH 2 0 2 5 DASH 0 0 3 1 0.0 180 7 0 1 NORTH MOPAC MULTIFAMILY DISTRICT 10 IS UP FOR APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO FEBRUARY 10TH.
ITEM NUMBER FIVE, UH, REZONING C 14 DASH 2025 DASH 88 87 0 1.
NORTH MOPAC MULTIFAMILY DISTRICT 10 IS UP FOR APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT TO FEBRUARY 10TH.
ITEM NUMBER SIX, NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT 2 0 1 8 0 2 1 0 2.
SKYLINE TRF MIXED USE IN DISTRICT THREE IS UP FOR INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT BY THE APPLICANT.
ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, AS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2025 DASH 0 8 3 8 0 9 LYDIA STREET IN DISTRICT ONE IS UP FOR APPLICANT INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT.
ITEM NUMBER EIGHT IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 20 25 8 18 11 C EAST CAESAR CHAVEZ IN DISTRICT ONE IS UP FOR DISCUSSION POSTPONEMENT.
ITEM NUMBER NINE IS A REZONING C ONE 14 DASH 2025 DASH 0 1 0 6 1 0 8 WEST GIBSON AND DISTRICT NINE IS NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT, UH, TO FEBRUARY 10TH.
[00:05:01]
10 IS A PUT AMENDMENT C 804 DASH ZERO SIX DASH 0 1 75 0 7 EAST AVENUE PUD AMENDMENT NUMBER SEVEN, PARCEL A IN DISTRICT NINE IS UP FOR NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TO FEBRUARY 10TH.ITEM NUMBER 11 IS A CODE AMENDMENT, UM, C 20 DASH 2025 DASH EIGHT SIGN CODE CHANGES FOR RIGHT OF WAY SIGNS AND RELOCATING BILLBOARDS IS UP FOR CONSENT.
ITEM NUMBER 12 IS AN INTERLOCAL INTER INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT.
UH, CITY OF AUSTIN AND ROUND ROCK ISD INTERLOCAL DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT IS UP FOR CONSENT.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE CONSENT AGENDA.
VICE CHAIR HANEY, DO ANY COMMISSIONERS NEED TO RECUSE OR ABSTAIN FROM ITEMS ON THE AGENDA CHAIR? MY APOLOGIES FOR INTERRUPTING.
I KNOW THESE ITEMS AREN'T ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT ITEMS TWO AND THREE N PA 20 25 0 0 2 5 0.03, LANTANA TRACK 34, DISTRICT EIGHT AND THE ASSOCIATED REZONING C 1 4 20 25 8 7 LANTANA TRACK 34, DISTRICT EIGHT ARE BOTH OFFERED FOR OR WE'RE BOTH PULLED FOR DISCUSSION NOTED.
DO ANY COMMISSIONERS NEED TO RECUSE OR ABSTAIN FROM ITEMS ON THE AGENDA? COMMISSIONER BRETTON? I HAD PLANNED TO ABSTAIN FROM ITEM 11.
UH, DUE TO, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING AS WRITTEN, IT MIGHT, UH, ALLOW FOR MY EMPLOYER TO WORK THROUGH AN RFP OR SOME SORT OF DIGITAL SIGNAGE ON BUS STOPS, SO I WILL BE WALKING OFF THE DICE.
I WILL ALSO ABSTAIN FROM ITEM 11 FOR THE SAME POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
COMMISSIONER LAN AND YES, COMMISSIONER BREIRA RAMIREZ.
SO THREE ABSTENTIONS ON ITEM 11.
I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER LAN, WAS YOURS A RECUSAL OR AN ABSTENTION? ABSTAIN.
AND COMMISSIONER BREIRA RAMIREZ.
IS ITEM 11 GOING ON CONSENT? 'CAUSE IF IT IS, I'D LIKE TO PULL IT.
IT'S CURRENTLY ON CONSENT AND WE'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS AND PULL IT IN A MOMENT.
UH, WE'LL, WE'LL FIRST HEAR FROM SPEAKERS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.
ANY OTHER RECUSALS OR ABSTENTIONS? OKAY.
SEEING NONE, MS. GARCIA, DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THE CONSENT AGENDA AFTER WE HEAR THOSE SPEAKERS? JUST TO NOTE THE COMMISSION AT THAT POINT CAN EITHER LEAVE THE ITEM ON CONSENT OR PULL IT FOR DISCUSSION.
STARTING WITH ITEM NINE, THIS ITEM IS OFFERED FOR NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TO FEBRUARY 10TH.
WE'LL FIRST BE HEARING FROM THE APPLICANT DREW, RAFAEL DREW.
THE APPLICANT IS WAIVING HIS TIME.
WE'LL NOW BE HEARING FROM THOSE IN OPPOSITION.
OUR PRIMARY SPEAKER IN OPPOSITION IS MIKE RIDGE.
MIKE WILL BE JOINING US VIRTUALLY.
MIKE, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
I AGREE WITH THE POSTPONEMENT.
THIS IS MIKE WI RICH FOR OH FOUR LOSS.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS BRADFORD PATTERSON.
BRADFORD, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE POSTPONEMENT AND I HAD A SHORT STATEMENT, BUT I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE POSTPONEMENT AND I COULD DO A STATEMENT WHEN WE ACTUALLY HEAR THE CASE.
THIS ITEM IS OFFERED FOR NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT TO FEBRUARY 10TH.
WE'LL FIRST BE HEARING FROM THE PRIMARY SPEAKER IN OPPOSITION, COREY MCCLELLAN.
COREY, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
MOVING FORWARD TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER IN OPPOSITION.
WE'LL BE HEARING FROM WHEN, WHEN WE, UH, CHANG, WHEN WE YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
AND MOVING FORWARD TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER IN OPPOSITION, PATRICK CHANG.
PATRICK, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES CHAIR.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA.
DO ANY COMMISSIONERS WANT TO PULL ANY OF THE CONSENT ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION OR OTHERWISE HAVE QUESTIONS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? CHAIR 11, PLEASE.
UH, WE WILL, WOULD ALSO LIKE TO PULL ITEM 11, SO WE WILL GO AHEAD AND PULL THAT FORWARD DISCUSSION.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT ITEM 12.
[00:10:01]
ARE THERE ANY STAFF PRESENT THAT COULD, UH, ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS FOR ME REGARDING THIS CASE? THIS IS THE ROUND ROCK ISD INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT.LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A STAFF MEMBER JOINING US.
VIRTUALLY WE ARE NOT HEARING YOU.
HI, TARA VIRAY WITH AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
UH, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS BEFORE US.
UH, AND I JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
UM, I'D JUST LIKE TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION AS THIS HAS MOVED FORWARD.
UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE ITEMS ON, UH, WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT THAT, UH, SEEM LIKE THEY NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE WORK OR AT LEAST, UH, SOME MORE CLARIFICATION.
UM, SECTION 4.6 UH, SUGGESTS THAT THE, THERE ARE NO MINIMUM SETBACKS OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING USED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.
SO PRESUMABLY ANCILLARY BUILDINGS, TRASH STORAGE, ANY OTHER USAGE COULD BE PUT DIRECTLY ON THE SETBACK FOR THESE BUILDINGS.
UM, IS THAT AN ACCURATE READING OF THAT PROVISION? UM, I WILL HAVE TO PULL THAT UP.
UM, AND JUST FOR AN OVERALL, FOR THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT, UM, WE HAVE BEEN USING THE BASE DOCUMENT, UM, THAT WE USED FOR BOTH HAYES CONSOLIDATED IN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT.
UM, SO MIRROR LANGUAGE THERE, UM, LET ME PULL UP THAT DOCUMENT, UM, SO I CAN VERIFY.
UM, BUT THAT DOES SOUND CORRECT, UM, FROM WHAT YOU STATED.
SO IT, IT JUST OCCURS TO ME THAT WHILE I APPRECIATE THAT THEY'RE MIRRORED DOCUMENTS THAT MAYBE THOSE DOCUMENTS MIGHT NEED SOME REVISION AS WELL,
BUT, UH, PUTTING THERE'S POTENTIAL TO PUT, UH, ADJACENT USES, UH, DIRECTLY ON THE SETBACK WITH THE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.
THAT SEEMS PERHAPS, UH, NOT THE MOST COMPATIBLE USAGE THERE.
SECTION 4.9 ALSO DISCUSSED LIGHTS, UH, RELATED TO SPORTING FIELDS AND LIMITS THEIR PLACEMENT TO WITHIN 25 FEET OF A RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.
UM, THAT ALSO SEEMS TO BE A BIT PROXIMATE TO AN EXISTING RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY FOR, UH, POTENTIALLY BRINGING DAYLIGHT INTO THE EVENING HOURS FOR AN EXISTING RESIDENCE.
UH, THOSE ARE MY TWO MAIN POINTS OF CONCERN.
THERE'S ALSO PROVISION THAT STATES IN 6.6 POINT 12 THAT EQUIPMENT FOR THE PRO PROVIDED, UH, ALLOWED COM TOWER ONLY NEEDS TO BE PLACED ONE FOOT ABOVE THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOODPLAIN.
AND IT FEELS LIKE IN OUR CURRENT CLIMATE SITUATION, ONE FOOT ABOVE THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOODPLAIN GUARANTEES THIS EQUIPMENT IS GONNA BE FLOODED OUT AT SOME POINT.
IT SEEMS AWFULLY LOW, BUT THOSE ARE MY, THOSE ARE MY ONLY COMMENTS.
COMMISSIONER ROJAN, DO YOU WANNA PULL THIS ITEM OR DO YOU JUST WISH FOR YOUR COMMENTS TO BE NOTED? I THINK I JUST WISH FOR MY COMMENTS TO BE NOTED.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE CONSENT ITEMS OR REQUEST TO PULL? OKAY.
SEEING NONE, IS THERE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AND APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING? MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRETTON.
WITHOUT OBJECTION, THAT ITEM PASSES AND THIS CONCLUDES THE CONSENT AGENDA.
[8. Rezoning: C14-2025-0080 - 1811 East Cesar Chavez; District 1 (Part 1 of 2)]
ONLY DISCUSSION POSTPONEMENT CASE FOR THIS EVENING.SO AGAIN, THIS IS A REZONING C 14 DASH 2025 DASH 8 1 8 11 EAST CAESAR CHAVEZ, DISTRICT ONE.
THIS IS A POSTPONEMENT REQUEST BY THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND APPLICANT IS OPPOSED.
AND JUST AS A REMINDER, THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC HEARING AND WE ARE NOT TO DELVE INTO THE MERITS OF THE CASE.
IN OUR DISCUSSION OF THE POSTPONEMENT REQUEST, UH, WE WILL FIRST HEAR FROM THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE POSTPONEMENT.
OUR PRIMARY SPEAKER IN FAVOR OF THE POSTPONEMENT IS RAJ ASHWIN.
RAJ WILL BE JOINING US VIRTUALLY RAJ, YOU WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
IT LOOKS LIKE HE'S NOT CURRENTLY IN OUR QUEUE, SO WE'LL BE MOVING FORWARD TO THOSE WHO ARE IN, WHO ARE IN OPPOSITION OF THE POSTPONEMENT.
WE'LL FIRST BE HEARING FROM THE APPLICANT RICKA KEEPERS.
[00:15:03]
MR. ASHWIN HAS JOINED OUR QUEUE.SO RAJ ASHWIN, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
UM, WE'RE JUST REQUESTING A POSTPONEMENT, UH, SO WE CAN GET ADDITIONAL TIME TO SEEK SIGNATURES FROM THE REST OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AGAIN, MOVING FORWARD TO THOSE IN OPPOSITION OF THE POSTPONEMENT, WE'LL FIRST BE HEARING FROM THE APPLICANT, RICKA KEEPERS RICKA, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
UM, I DO WANNA KNOW WHAT NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THE REQUEST FOR THE POSTPONEMENT IS COMING FROM BECAUSE WE'RE WORKING REALLY CLOSELY WITH E-C-C-E-C CHAVEZ AND WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT IN PLACE WITH THEM AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM FOR OVER A MONTH.
BUT, UM, IT SHOULD BE IN YOUR BACKUP, BUT JONATHAN PROBABLY SENT THAT OUT LATE TO YOU GUYS.
SO WE'RE ASKING NOT TO POSTPONE BECAUSE WE'RE READY TO PRESENT TO YOU GUYS AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
MR. SAUNDERS IS ALSO HERE FOR E CESAR TO PRESENT AS WELL.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS RYAN SAUNDERS.
RYAN, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
UH, YES, I'M HERE, UM, TO REPRESENT THE EAST SAAR CHAVEZ, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT TEAM.
AND, UH, AS RICK HAS SAID, WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE OWNERS AND, UH, WE'RE IN SUPPORT OF MOVING FORWARD AND, UH, NOT POSTPONING.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS SARFARAZ AHMED SARFARAZ.
YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES CHAIR.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.
SO THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC HEARING ITEM AGAIN, SO WE DO NOT NEED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING, BUT WE WILL MOVE INTO OUR REGULAR PC ROUND ROBIN SO WE CAN TAKE QUESTIONS FROM EIGHT COMMISSIONERS FOR FIVE MINUTES EACH.
WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO GET US STARTED ON THIS? I'LL START.
UH, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR MR. TOMKO.
IF YOU COULD KIND OF CLARIFY THE CONFUSION AROUND WHICH NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP IS REQUESTING THE POSTPONEMENT, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
JONATHAN TOMKO WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
I DON'T, I DON'T, UH, FEEL THAT IT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP PER SE.
IT'S A COUPLE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE LOOKING, LOOKING TO START A PETITION.
THEY HAD REQUESTED THAT INFORMATION.
UM, IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY WERE COLLECTING SIGNATURES AND THAT'S WHY THEY SIGNED IN TO SPEAK.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHY MORE PEOPLE DIDN'T SIGN UP TO SPEAK, BUT THEY HAD REQUESTED THE POSTPONEMENT, SO THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE ONE GROUP THAT'S WORKING TOGETHER AND THERE COULD BE DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT REPRESENT A NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND ARE THOSE NEIGHBORS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED THAT ARE WITHIN THAT NOTIFICATION BOUNDARY? THAT IS CORRECT, YES.
AND HAS THIS CASE BEEN POSTPONED BEFORE? IT HAS NOT.
ANY OTHER, AND I BELIEVE THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT REQUEST WAS UNTIL THE 24TH, SO IT WAS A LONG WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY.
SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GRANT A SHORTER POSTPONEMENT OR NO POSTPONEMENT.
YOU COULD HEAR THE CASE TODAY IF YOU WANTED TO.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENT REQUEST IS UNTIL FEBRUARY 24TH.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? OKAY, SEEING NONE, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION ON THIS ITEM.
YES, COMMISSIONER ROEN, GO AHEAD.
UH, SO I NOTICED THAT THE LETTER THAT WE RECEIVED IN BACKUP IN SUPPORT OF OUR, UH, UH, I GUESS AGAINST THE POSTPONEMENT FROM THE EAST CESAR CHAVEZ NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN CONTACT TEAM HAS THE, IS THERE AN ACTIVE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION IN THIS AREA AS WELL AND HAVE THEY BEEN ENGAGED AT ALL? UM, SO THE CONTACT TEAM IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION SHARE SAME BOARD SINCE IT'S TWO SEPARATE ORGANIZATIONS.
AND ARE YOU AWARE OF THE NEIGHBORS THAT ARE REQUESTING THE POSTPONEMENT? HAVE YOU ENGAGED WITH THEM? HAVE THEY ENGAGED WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OR THE PLANNED CONTACT TEAM AT ALL? UH, NOBODY'S REACHED OUT TO THE CONTACT TEAM AND WE'VE HAD THIS ON OUR, UH, MONTHLY MEETING AGENDA, UH, A FEW DIFFERENT TIMES.
UM, AND NO ONE'S COME TO THE MEETINGS TO SPEAK OR REACH OUT TO ANY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS OR CHAIR.
AND HOW ARE YOUR MEETINGS, UH, HOW ARE THEY MADE PUBLIC? HOW DO THEY, HOW DO PEOPLE KNOW WHEN YOU'RE MEETING AND WHAT YOU'RE DISCUSSING? UM, WELL GENERALLY WE, THE MEETINGS ARE THE SAME DAY EVERY MONTH.
[00:20:01]
THERE POSTED ON A WEBSITE AND AN EMAIL IS SENT OUT TO A LARGE EMAIL LIST.ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? OKAY, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION.
UM, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION TO DENY THIS POSTPONEMENT AND GO AHEAD AND HEAR THE CASE FOR A SECOND.
SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY, THOSE IN FAVOR? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 8 OPPOSED? ABSTAINING? I HAVE EIGHT TO, UH, OKAY.
WE WILL COME BACK TO THIS AFTER WE LOOK AT ITEMS TWO AND THREE.
SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE ONTO THOSE.
WE'LL HEAR FROM STAFF FIRST ON THESE ITEMS. WOULD YOU MIND TURNING YOUR MICROPHONE ON?
[Items 2 & 3]
ITEM NUMBER TWO IS NPA 20 25 0 0 2 5 0.03.ANA TRACK 34 WITHIN DISTRICT EIGHT.
PROPERTY ADDRESS IS 7 0 0 9 WEST WILLIAM CANNON DRIVE IS WITHIN THE OAK HILL COMBINED NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AREA.
THE REQUEST IS TO CHANGE THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP FROM OFFICE TO COMMERCIAL LAND USE AND IT IS RECOMMENDED BY STAFF.
GOOD EVENING, JONATHAN TOMKO WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
ITEM NUMBER THREE IS CASE NUMBER C 14 DASH 2 25 0 8 7.
HIS REZONING REQUEST OF 7 9 4 1 AND A HALF AND 7,009 WEST WILLIAM CANNON DRIVE FROM GONP TO G-R-C-O-N-P STAFF RECOMMENDS GRANTING GRCO.
THE CONDITIONAL OVERLAY WOULD PROHIBIT THE 26 UH, USES LISTED IN THE STAFF REPORT.
THE SUBJECT TRACT IS APPROXIMATELY EIGHT ACRES OF UNDEVELOPED LAND AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF WILLIAM CANNON DRIVE AND RIALTO BOULEVARD TO THE WEST AND SOUTH OF THE SITE IS UNDEVELOPED LAND AND A MINOR CREEK KNOWN AS THE MOTOROLA BRANCH, WHICH FEEDS INTO THE WILLIAMSON CREEK TO THE NORTH ACROSS RIALTO BOULEVARD IS ADDITIONAL UNDEVELOPED LAND.
AND ACROSS WILLIAM CANNON TO THE EAST ARE TWO TWO STORY COMMERCIAL OFFICE BUILDINGS.
THE PROPERTY IS LOCATED WITH A MAJORITY OF ITS FRONTAGE ALONG AN A S AND P LEVEL FOUR ROADWAY, AND ALSO HAS FRONTAGE ALONG AN A SMP LEVEL TWO ROADWAY.
AND THE PROPERTY IS WITHIN UH, CAT METRO'S PICKUP AREA FOR THE NORTH NORTH OAK HILL SERVICE ZONE.
UM, LEMME, I'M AVAILABLE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
WE'LL FIRST BE HEARING FROM THE APPLICANT, RICHARD SU.
RICHARD, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
I'LL GIVE YOU MORE THAN HALF OF THAT BACK.
IN ORDER TO DO A HOTEL, WE NEED GR WE'VE AGREED TO ALL THE USES THAT THE CITY STAFF DOESN'T WANT US TO DO, OTHERWISE WE JUST WANT GR TO DO A HOTEL.
IT'S AT THE INTERSECTION OF TWO ROADS.
WE'LL NOW BE HEARING FROM THOSE SPEAKING IN OPPOSITION.
OUR PRIMARY SPEAKER IN OPPOSITION IS WHITNEY CUP LEE WHITNEY WILL BE RECEIVING TWO MINUTES OF DONATED TIME FROM LEE ZIEGLER.
LEE ZIEGLER, ARE YOU PRESENT? WHITNEY, YOU'LL HAVE SEVEN MINUTES.
MY NAME IS WHITNEY CUP LEE AND I LIVE IN THE ANA RICH NEIGHBORHOOD OF SOUTHWEST AUSTIN.
MY HOME IS WITHIN 500 FEET OF TRACK 34 THAT IS PROPOSED FOR THIS REZONING.
I WANNA BEGIN BY BEING VERY CLEAR.
I'M NOT HERE TO CLAIM THAT THIS LAND WILL NEVER BE DEVELOPED.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT DEVELOPMENT IS COMING IN SOME FORM, BUT WHAT WE ARE ASKING THE COMMISSION TO CONSIDER TONIGHT IS HOW IT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED.
WHETHER IT SHOULD BE KEPT AS EXISTING OFFICE ZONING, WHICH FUNCTIONS INTENTIONALLY AS A TRANSITIONAL BUFFER NEXT TO OUR HOMES,
[00:25:01]
OR WHETHER IT SHOULD BE UP ZONE TO MORE INTENSE COMMERCIAL USES, EXCUSE ME, WHICH WOULD PERMANENTLY EXPAND WHAT CAN OCCUR HERE FOR DECADES.I OPPOSE HIGH INTENSITY COMMERCIAL USES BECAUSE IT BRINGS MORE INTENSE TRAFFIC AND LATE NIGHT ACTIVITY.
GREATER, GREATER NOISE, LIGHTING RUNOFF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD AND SENSITIVE CREEK CORRIDOR AND FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS. THAT SAID, MY GOAL TONIGHT IS NOT ONLY TO VOICE OPPOSITION, IT IS ALSO TO BE CONSTRUCTIVE IF THIS REZONING MOVES FORWARD.
THE CITY MUST REQUIRE ENFORCEABLE RESTRICTIONS TO MINIMIZE HARM.
STRICT LIMITS ON ALLOWED USES, IMPERVIOUS COVER MAXIMUMS, WHICH WE KNOW THAT STAFF HAS ALREADY RECOMMENDED, REMAIN AT 25% AS RECOMMENDED BY SAVE OUR SPRINGS, AS WELL AS TRAFFIC FLOW SPECIFICS THAT PROTECT NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS FROM BEING OVERWHELMED BY VOLUME, THAT THEY'RE SIMPLY NOT MEANT TO SUPPORT TRUE DARK SKY LIGHTING STANDARDS AND MEASURABLE NOISE CONTROLS, ALONG WITH PROTECTIONS FOR CREEK HEALTH, DRAINAGE, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY.
I HAVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION IF WE CAN PULL THAT UP NOW.
I SEE IT'S PULLED UP, UM, OUTLINING THE CONCERNS AND THE SPECIFIC CONDITIONS THAT WE ARE REQUESTING.
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO PLEASE LOOK THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION IN GREATER DETAIL FOLLOWING OUR MEETING TONIGHT, AS I WILL CERTAINLY NOT HAVE TIME TO GO THROUGH ALL OF IT, BUT I REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT I'VE BEEN MOONLIGHTING WITH A SECOND JOB AS A
UM, SO I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE YOU LOOKING THROUGH IT, FOLLOWING MY TIME WITH YOU THIS EVENING.
IF WE CAN MOVE ON TO SLIDE THREE, I BELIEVE IT IS.
UM, SO IN THESE OPENING STATEMENTS, I WANTED TO FIRST, UM, JUST SPEND A QUICK MOMENT POINTING OUT THAT, UH, I'VE BEEN A LITTLE CONFUSED WHAT GOT US HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
UM, THE CURRENT ZONING TO ME AS A VERY NEARBY RESIDENCE SEEMS APPROPRIATE, UM, IN MY, YOU KNOW, UH, EDUCATION AROUND ALL OF THIS, WHICH HAS BEEN REALLY ENLIGHTENING.
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME THAT, UM, TRADITIONAL CITY PLANNING, UM, PROVIDES A TRANSITION BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL USES AND MORE INTENSE COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL USES.
I FEAR THAT PUTTING A LARGE COMMERCIAL, UM, USE HERE IS GOING TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE NEIGHBORHOOD NEARBY WITHOUT THAT TRANSITIONAL TYPE OF ZONING THAT WAS INTENDED WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN.
WE DO HAVE SOME KEY CONCERNS THAT I'D LIKE TO OUTLINE AND NEGATIVE IMPACTS THAT WE FEAR THAT THIS DEVELOPMENT WILL BRING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
NUMBER ONE IS AROUND TRAFFIC INCREASES.
THERE ARE APARTMENTS ALREADY GOING IN ON RIALTO, WHICH IS A SMALL NEIGHBORHOOD STREET THAT IS THE ENTRYWAY INTO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD VERY SOON.
SO THAT'S ALREADY GONNA INTENSIFY TRAFFIC.
WE FEAR THAT HEAVY COMMERCIAL USE COULD BE OVERWHELMING TO THESE CITY STREETS, NOT INTENDED FOR COMMERCIAL USE.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ARE ALSO OF GREAT CONCERN.
THERE ARE VERY FRAGILE WILDLIFE ECOSYSTEMS, WATER SYSTEMS IN THIS AREA.
UM, THE SITE DRAINS DIRECTLY TOWARDS A CREEK TRIBUTARY AND LANTANA REGIONAL DETENTION DAM.
ALSO NOISE AND LIGHT POLLUTION IS OF CONCERN.
A HIGH COMMERCIAL USE BRINGS THINGS LIKE 24 HOUR, UH, ACTIVITY AND THE CANYON AND VALLEY TOPOGRAPHY THAT LEADS INTO OUR HOMES.
AMPLIFY SOUNDS IN A WAY THAT WE CAN HEAR ACL FROM OUR HOMES, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, OUT THERE BECAUSE OF THE CANYON.
ALSO, THERE COULD BE NEGATIVE HEALTH, SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IMPACT TO US.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY I FEAR THAT OUR QUALITY OF LIFE MIGHT BE IMPACTED BY THIS NOISE AND THIS LIGHT, UM, DIRECTLY COMING INTO OUR HOMES THAT WE HOLD SO DEAR, OUR OUR CHILDREN PLAY HERE.
SO IF REZONING IS APPROVED, WE ASK FOR THOUGHTFUL DEVELOPMENT AND RESTRICTIONS TO PROTECT THE COMMUNITY.
I WANNA CALL OUT THAT WE'RE ALREADY WORKING WITH THE, THE DEVELOPER ON A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT AGREEMENT.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY AN HOUR AND A HALF BEFORE THIS MEETING, WE ARE INFORMED THAT THEY NO LONGER WANT TO WORK WITH US ON A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT, WHICH I HOPE THAT THEY CONTINUE TO HONOR BECAUSE WE ARE VERY MUCH IN FAVOR OF WORKING TOGETHER.
THERE ARE A HANDFUL OF ITEMS THAT ARE NOT YET INCLUDED IN THAT RESTRICTIVE COVENANT THAT ARE OF HIGH IMPORTANT TO RESIDENTS.
AND I WANNA CALL OUT THAT IF THOSE THINGS ARE ADDED, WE INTEND NOT TO OPPOSE AT COUNCIL.
THAT INCLUDES THAT IMPERVIOUS COVER OF 25% MAXIMUM, OR WE'RE WILLING TO GO UP TO THE 29 TO 30% THAT IS CURRENTLY OUTLINED IN THE ACREAGE PLAN FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE WILL BE A HOTEL DEVELOPMENT ON THIS SITE.
TRAFFIC FLOW WE WOULD LIKE KEPT IN AND OUT ON WILLIAM CANNON INSTEAD OF ON THE RIALTO SIDE, WHICH WOULD DIRECTLY IMPACT OUR SMALLER NEIGHBORHOOD ROADS AND OVERWHELM THEM.
NOISE AND LIGHT SPECIFICS AS WELL AS A RESTRICTED USE SPECIFICALLY AROUND FAST FOOD DRIVE-THROUGHS, WHICH I WAS UNSURE OF WHY,
[00:30:01]
UM, THE DEVELOPER WAS NOT WILLING TO INCLUDE, WHICH GIVES US GREAT CONCERN OF SOMETHING OF HIGH INTENSITY LIKE THAT BEING VERY NEAR OUR HOMES.UM, WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THE INTENTION IS FOR IT TO BE A HOTEL, SO WE WEREN'T SURE WHY RESTRICTED USES LIKE THAT.
WE'RE NOT OPEN TO BE INCLUDED IN THAT AGREEMENT.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS AND RESTRICTED USE ALSO SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS.
IF WE GO, UM, TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS JUST A QUICK, UM, OUTLINE OF WHAT THIS SITE LOOKS LIKE.
SO THOSE ARE OUR HOMES, WHICH ARE IN, WITH WITHIN 500 FEET OF TRACK, 34 PROPOSED FOR THAT COMMERCIAL ZONING.
THE CANYON TOPOGRAPHY AMPLIFY SOUND.
WE ALSO SIT UP ON A HILL, WHICH AMPLIFIES SOUND GOING UP ON THAT.
THEY, THIS SITE DIRECTLY DRAINS INTO A DETENTION DAM.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I DO WANNA CALL OUT THAT THERE ARE TWO ENTRANCES IN AND OUT CURRENTLY PROPOSED FOR THE HOTEL.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THE ONE ON WILLIAM CANNON, WHICH IS A A BUSIER ROAD, IS FINE WITH US.
UM, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO NOT INCLUDE AN IN AND OUT ON RIALTO, WHICH IS A MUCH SMALLER NEIGHBORHOOD ROAD.
SO IN CLOSING, I DO WANT TO EXPRESS GRATITUDE.
IT'S A PRIVILEGE TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO BE HEARD AND FOR OUR CONSIDERATIONS TO BE CONSIDERED.
I WANNA ALSO THANK STRATUS FOR THEIR WILLINGNESS TO, UM, CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE WITH US AND HOPEFULLY GET TO AN AGREEMENT WITH A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT A HOTEL IS NOT THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN HERE.
IS IT OKAY IF I HAVE 20 SECONDS? SURE, IF YOU CAN WRAP UP, THAT'D BE GREAT.
UM, SHOULD OUR ITEMS NOT BE CON UH, CODIFIED, WE WILL LIKELY CHOOSE NOT TO OPPOSE AT COUNSEL.
I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH ONE QUESTION.
DOES THIS CHANGE IMPROVE LIFE FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT SURROUNDS IT? IF NOT, THEN WE ASK THAT WE SIMPLY REQUIRE REASONABLE, MEASURABLE CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY ON IMPERVIOUS COVER AND THE THINGS THAT ARE OF MOST CONCERN TO US.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MALLORY BAKER.
MALLORY, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
I'M ALSO, UH, A RESIDENT WITHIN 500 FEET OF THIS PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT.
UM, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT WHITNEY HAS SHARED.
I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE A FEW OF THOSE POINTS AS, UH, GREAT CONCERN TO MYSELF AND AS SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT, UM, AS WE'VE SEEN IT AS THIS HOTEL IS OUT OF SCALE AND OUT OF CHARACTER WITH OUR RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, THEY'RE PLANNING A VERY LARGE HOTEL, WHICH IS RIGHT NEXT TO, UH, SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
AND THERE'S NO BUFFERING ZONE BETWEEN THIS, UM, PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT IN OUR HOMES.
UM, I'D ALSO JUST WANNA POINT OUT THERE IS A LARGE AC MARRIOTT, UM, ON SOUTHWEST PARKWAY.
UH, SO, SO THE AREA DOES HAVE A VERY LARGE HOTEL ALREADY ON A MUCH MORE, UM, APPROPRIATE SPOT.
UM, GIVEN HOW INCREDIBLY CLOSE THIS PROPOSED HOTEL IS TO THE HOMES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AS WHITNEY MENTIONED, LIGHT NOISE AND TRAFFIC ARE OF HUGE CONCERN, PARTICULARLY NOISE.
UM, WE SIT UP ON A CANYON, WE HEAR THINGS ALREADY, I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE IF THERE'S A GIANT HOTEL WITH EVERYTHING THAT COMES WITH THAT.
UM, RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR BACKYARD.
UM, WE ARE IN AGREEMENT THAT THE, UH, 25% IMPERVIOUS COVER SHOULD APPLY TO, UH, THIS DEVELOPMENT, UM, AS PERTAINS TO THE SAVE OUR SPRINGS ORDINANCE.
UM, JUST FOR REFERENCE, UH, MY HOME, WHICH IS VERY, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NEXT DOOR IS LESS THAN 13% IMPERVIOUS COVER.
UM, WHICH ALSO IS SIMILAR WITH A LOT OF THE OTHER HOMES THAT ARE WITHIN 500 FEET OF THIS DEVELOPMENT.
UM, SO AGAIN, JUST A BIT OUT OF CHARACTER.
UM, WITH, WITH THE REST OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, WE HOPE TO CODIFY, UM, A LOT OF THESE, UM, THESE THINGS THAT, THAT CAN CONCERN US WITH, UH, THE DEVELOPER.
AND, AND AS WHITNEY HAS MENTIONED, WE'VE BEEN WORKING TOWARDS A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT, UM, IN GOOD FAITH, UM, FOR A WHILE NOW.
AND, AND, UH, AGAIN, WE WERE JUST TOLD WITHOUT WARNING ABOUT AN HOUR AGO THAT UM, THEY WERE NO LONGER GONNA WORK WITH US ON THAT.
AND WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE EXACTLY WHERE THAT STANDS.
BUT AGAIN, WE DO HOPE TO HAVE THAT.
UM, MY LAST, MY LAST COMMENT, UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS, THIS DEVELOPMENT WOULD CHANGE THE COMPLEXION OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH IS CURRENTLY A QUIET FAMILY FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SURROUNDED BY GREEN SPACE, WILDLIFE AND TRAILS TO AN AREA WITH A TRANSIENT POPULATION, HIGH TRAFFIC, ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, NOISE, AND SIGNIFICANT LIGHT POLLUTION.
SO WE'RE VERY INVESTED, UH, TO NOT HAVE THAT HAPPEN.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS BOBBY LEVINSKY.
BOBBY WILL BE JOINING US VIRTUALLY.
BOBBY, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
BOBBY WAS ABLE TO JOIN TONIGHT DUE TO A CONFLICT.
MOVING FORWARD, OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS DANIELLE BUCKLEY.
DANIELLE, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
[00:35:04]
GOOD EVENING.UH, I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE OAK HILL NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING CONTACT TEAM THIS EVENING.
WE VIEW THE HOTEL DEVELOPMENT ON THIS SITE AS REASONABLE AND WE SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE ALREADY MADE BY THE CITY STAFF.
WE ALSO APPRECIATE THE PROGRESS THAT NEIGHBORS THE HOA AND THE DEVELOPER HAVE MADE TOWARDS A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT TO ADD FURTHER PROTECTIONS.
OUR ONLY CONCERN IS HOW THE CHANGE IN ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT IS STRUCTURED AND WILL IMPACT NEARBY NEIGHBORHOODS AND FUNCTION IN THE ENVI, ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSTRAINED AREA SINCE THE LOCATION STRETCHES DIRECTLY BELOW THE LANTANA DAM.
SO THIS IS WHY ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS ARE ESSENTIAL THROUGH BOTH A STRONG CONDITIONAL THROUGH A STRONG CONDITIONAL OVERLAY.
UH, IF YOU GO ON TO ACTUALLY GO AHEAD AND SKIP AHEAD TO THE NEXT ONE.
UM, FIRST THE HEIGHT AND IMPERVIOUS COVER SHOULD BE BALANCED AND DUE TO THE PROXIMITY OF THE OUTFALLS OF LAND HANNAH DAM AND THE SIGNIFICANT SLOPE, THE PLANNING CONTACT TEAM SUPPORTS A CAP ON THE IMPERVIOUS COVER BETWEEN 20 AND 30%.
SINCE IT CURRENTLY FALLS WITHIN THE BARTON CREEK CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE HEIGHTENED, I SEE SHOULD BE CAREFULLY CONSIDERED HERE.
UH, SECOND, THE WATER QUALITY AND DRAINAGE SHOULD ALSO BE PROTECTED.
AND SINCE THIS TRACK LIES IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREA, DIRECTLY DOWNSTREAM OF THE LAND, HANNAH DAM, ALLOWING 40% IMPERVIOUS COVER HERE DOES NOT JUST AFFECT THE PROPERTY, IT AFFECTS THE DRAINAGE CAPACITY DOWNSTREAM NEIGHBORS AND WATER QUALITY IN THE LARGER WATERSHED.
ONCE WATER QUALITY PROTECTIONS ARE LOST, THEY CANNOT BE RECOVERED.
SO A CONDITIONAL OVERLAY LIMITING IMPERVIOUS COVER TO 25 TO 30% IS AN IMPORTANT TOOL AVAILABLE TO ENSURE LONG-TERM PROTECTION, REGARDLESS OF FUTURE OWNERSHIP OR REDEVELOPMENT.
UM, GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THIRD ACCESS ON RIALTO SHOULD BE LIMITED TO PROTECT NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY REZONING TO GR OPENS THE DOOR TO COMMERCIAL USES THAT WERE NOT ALLOWED UNDER GEO.
IF A HOTEL IS NOT ULTIMATELY BUILT OTHER GR USES SUCH AS FAST FOOD DRIVE-THROUGHS OR CONVENIENCE RETAIL, WHICH WERE CURRENTLY PROHIBITED BY THE CONDITIONAL OVERLAY WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE TRAFFIC.
ALLOWING ACCESS TO AND FROM THE BUSINESS.
SHOULD PRIMARILY USE WILLIAM CANNON A LEVEL FOUR STREET, NOT RIALTO, A LEVEL TWO STREET.
UM, IN CLOSING THE STAFF RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS ARE A STRONG START, BUT WE ASK THE COMMISSION TO LOOK AT HOW CLOSE THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE DEVELOPER HAVE COME TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HOTEL ON THIS LOCATION, ALTHOUGH IT HAS NOT YET BEEN FINALIZED.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS KAREN LAWLESS.
KAREN, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
I AM A RESIDENT OF TANA AND I'M WITHIN 500 FEET OF THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT.
ALSO, I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT, UM, I AM NOT PART OF THE HOA NOR IS WHITNEY OR, UM, MALLORY, THE PREVIOUS SPEAKERS THAT WERE ALSO RESIDENTS.
NONE OF US ARE PART OF THE HOA AND WE'RE NOT REPRESENTING THEM AT ALL.
WE ARE HERE ON OUR OWN BEHALF.
OKAY, SO, UM, I'D LIKE TO, UH, MENTION A COUPLE THINGS.
GOING BACK TO SOMETHING THAT WAS SAID A FEW MINUTES AGO, UM, THAT IT WAS SIMPLE.
THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T TWO, UM, YOU KNOW, BIG MASSIVE ROADS.
THESE ARE TWO, THESE ARE THIS.
RIALTO IS A NEIGHBORHOOD ROAD AND THAT AFFECTS OUR NEIGHBORHOOD GREATLY.
WE'VE ALREADY SEEN A LOT OF INCREASED TRAFFIC AS MORE DEVELOPMENTS HAVE COME IN.
UM, THAT HAS, UH, CREATED A LOT OF, UH, INCIDENTS WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY ALREADY.
SO, UM, THEN ALSO AS FAR AS IT NEEDS A HOTEL, UM, THERE IS ALREADY A HOTEL JUST IN THE, JUST NORTH OF THE, THE PROPOSED SITE GOING IN THE OTHER DIRECTION TO THE SOUTH.
THERE ARE TWO MORE HOTELS WITHIN A MILE AND A HALF.
SO I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT.
AND AS FAR AS NOISE, UM, THERE, THE WAY THAT THE DEVELOPMENT IS AND WHERE OUR HOMES ARE, WE FACE DIRECTLY BACK TO THIS.
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW THAT NO NOISE COMES TO US, IT COMES TO US.
I CAN HEAR PEOPLE WHO ARE WALKING ON THE SIDEWALK AT WILLIAM CANNON AND RIALTO SPEAKING ON A TELEPHONE OR SPEAKING TO SOMEONE ELSE.
I CAN HEAR THEM IN MY BACKYARD.
THAT'S HOW THE NOISE FOLLOWS AND IT'S LIKE THEY WERE STANDING NEXT TO ME.
SO THAT OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THAT WOULD CREATE A LOT OF NOISE IS OF GREAT CONCERN.
ALSO, THE LIGHTING, AS WITH A DEVELOPMENT SUCH AS A HOTEL, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF LIGHTING AND THAT'S GOING TO GREATLY AFFECT, UM, OUR LIVES.
WE ALREADY DEAL WITH THE, THE ADDITIONAL LIGHTING FROM THE TRAFFIC LIGHT THAT WAS JUST PUT IN AT THAT INTERSECTION, UM, ACTUALLY COMING
[00:40:01]
STRAIGHT INTO OUR HOMES.SO THIS WOULD, THE HOTEL WOULD BE ADDITIONAL LIGHTING ON TOP OF THAT.
I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS CHAIR.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.
WE'LL HEAR FROM THE APPLICANT AGAIN, CHAIR COMMISSION RICHARD, SETTLE AGAIN.
UM, THE GIANT HOTEL THAT IS PROPOSED HERE IS 150 KEYS.
UM, IT'S AT THE INTERSECTION OF TWO PRETTY SIZABLE ROADS.
THE BEST I CAN TELL THIS SITE IS BUFFERED FROM ANY SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE BY PARK AND OPEN SPACE.
UM, WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANY CHANGES IN THE SITE DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS THAT APPLY THIS TRACK, WHICH IS SIMPLY ASKING TO BE ABLE TO ADD A USE, WHICH IN OUR CITY, WE'VE, WE'VE COME A LONG WAY.
OFFICE IS ONE THING, OTHER DEVELOPMENTS ARE ANOTHER, BUT, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING FOR TAX BASE AND, AND HOTEL TAX.
IT'S AT THE, AGAIN, IT MEETS ALL THE PLANNING PRINCIPLES.
WHEN YOU GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE CITY STAFF RECOMMENDATION, WE AGREE WITH ALL THEIR RECOMMENDATION, TOOK OUT ALL THE HARSH USES.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE SIMPLY BEING ASKED TO ADD A HOTEL.
COINCIDENTALLY, WE HAVE GR ACROSS THE STREET.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAPS, WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR AN ISLAND OF GR.
SO WITH THAT, UM, I'LL CLOSE AND BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE AND I SUSPECT THERE WILL BE A FEW.
I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION AND A SECOND TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING MOTION BY COMMISSIONER BRETTON, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY.
WITHOUT OBJECTION, THAT PASSES.
SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO OUR ROUND ROBIN SO WE CAN TAKE EIGHT COMMISSIONERS AT FIVE MINUTES EACH WITH QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM.
COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, I'LL START WITH A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS OF, I I GUESS WE'LL START WITH QUESTIONS FOR THE APPLICANT OF WHAT'S THE CURRENT ENTITLEMENT, IMPERVIOUS COVER ENTITLEMENT ON THE TRACT? IT'S 40% NET SIDE AREA, 40% NET SIDE AREA.
IS THERE ANY PROPOSED CHANGE TO THAT IMPERVIOUS COVER ENTITLEMENT? NO.
OF NOW, INTERESTING ENOUGH, WHAT THAT EQUATES TO IS ABOUT 2.34 ACRES IN PERKISS COVER ON A ALMOST EIGHT ACRE SITE.
SO THERE, THERE'LL BE FIVE AND A HALF ACRES OF OPEN SPACE.
ARE THERE ANY PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE OR WATER QUALITY TRANSITION ZONES? NO.
IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A, AN EXISTING WATER QUALITY POND ALREADY ON THE SUBJECT TRACT AT THE SOUTH SOUTH PIECE ALONG WILLIAM CANNON.
IS ANYBODY FAMILIAR WITH THAT AND WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT MIGHT BE? I'M NOT, BUT I CAN FIND OUT.
UH, IT, SORRY, ENGINEER BRAIN HERE.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S RECEIVING WATER FROM ACROSS THE STREET ALREADY.
SO I'M, I'M TRYING TO, IS THERE ANY, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS ARE THERE, ARE THERE ANY PROPOSED CHANGES TO THAT POND OR WOULD THAT BE, YOU KNOW, I IMPACTED BY THE PROPOSED PROJECT IN THE ZONING PROCESS, WE OFTEN TRY TO DO SITE PLAN RELATED THINGS THROUGH THE ZONING PROCESS AND I TRY TO STAY AWAY FROM THAT BECAUSE SO OFTEN WE'LL TRY TO DO A PRESCRIPTIVE ZONING ORDINANCE AND THEN YOU FIND OUT THAT MAYBE IT DOESN'T WORK WHEN YOU GO INTO SITE PLAN.
UM, NOTHING THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR TONIGHT WILL CHANGE THE POND OR ANYTHING ELSE OTHER, ANY MORE THAN IF WE BUILT AN OFFICE BUILDING, WHICH WE CAN DO TODAY.
THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW.
OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? YES, COMMISSIONER ROJAN.
UH, MR. SUTTLE, I'M INTERESTED TO KNOW WHY THE, UH, NEGOTIATIONS ON THE RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS WENT SOUR IN THE ZERO HOUR HERE.
I WOULDN'T SAY THEY WENT SOUR BECAUSE WE WERE, WE'RE, WE HAVE A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT IT THAT, THAT WE AGREED TO SOME THINGS, THEY AGREED TO SOME THINGS.
THERE'S STILL SOME OUTSTANDING ISSUES.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS IN THESE CASES IS YOU, YOU THINK YOU'VE GOT A COVENANT AND YOU'RE WORKING TOWARDS A COVENANT AND THAT'S TO ALLEVIATE ANY OPPOSITION TO THE CASE.
WE FIND OUT THAT THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE HOA NOT IN THE HOA WON'T BE BOUND BY THE COVENANT WILL BE BOUND.
AND, AND I'M JUST OLD AND GROUCHY ENOUGH WHERE IF I'M GOING TO FACE OPPOSITION, I'M NOT GOING TO DO A COVENANT.
NOW MY EMAIL TO THE FOLKS SAID IF WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN NOW AND COUNCIL AND WE COME TO
[00:45:01]
RESOLUTION, THERE STILL WILL BE A COVENANT.THE COVENANT ADDRESSES THINGS LIKE MORE PROHIBITED USES, NO BALCONIES FACING AWAY, UH, ON, ON WILLIAM CANNON, DARK SKY REQUIREMENTS, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
IN REALITY, THERE'S PROBABLY GONNA BE A COVENANT, BUT IT JUST FLIES ALL OVER ME TO HEAR ON THE DAY OF THE HEARING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE SIX PEOPLE SIGNED UP AGAINST YOU AND I'M STILL COMMITTING TO DO A COVENANT, SO I'M JUST OLD CROTCHETY OLD MAN AND SAID WE'RE NOT DOING IT ANYMORE.
UM, I GUESS I WOULD PROBABLY LIKE TO ENCOURAGE THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOU.
UM, I'M LOOKING AT A COPY OF THE RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS THAT WERE SENT TO ME, UH, BY MS. COLEY EARLIER TODAY.
UH, AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE VERY CLOSE FROM WHAT I CAN TELL IN THE LANGUAGE, UM, AT LEAST MEETING THE SPIRIT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD REQUEST.
UM, I'VE ALSO TALKED TO MS. LER ABOUT THIS.
UH, THERE'S THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING THE NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT TEAM AND NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION INVOLVED BECAUSE TYPICALLY THESE RE RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS COME WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUPPORT OR AT LEAST NO CHALLENGE, UH, WHEN THIS GOES TO COUNCIL.
SO I THINK GETTING ALL OF YOUR NEIGHBORS ON BOARD AND MAKING SURE IT'S NOT JUST A SMALL GROUP OF FOLKS THAT ARE INVOLVED.
GEO AND GR HAVE THE SAME HEIGHT LIMITATIONS.
THEY COULD TEAR DOWN THIS BUILDING AND BUILD A HIGH BUILDING OF THE EXACT SAME SIZE ON THE PROPERTY, UH, WITHOUT THE HOTEL USE.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT AN OFFICE USE NECESSARILY COMES WITH ANY NOISE REDUCTION FROM A HOTEL USE NECESSARILY.
I THINK THAT FOR THE MOST PART, WORKING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT HERE IS PROBABLY IN THE BEST INTERESTS.
IT GIVES YOU GUYS A VOICE AS TO WHAT HAPPENS.
UM, AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ENCOURAGE BOTH PARTIES TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER, PUT ASIDE PERHAPS, UH,
BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THIS PROPERTY IS INEVITABLE AND IMPORTANT.
THIS BUILDING REMAINING IN OFFICE USE IN 2026 SUGGESTS THAT THIS BUILDING COULD END UP UNOCCUPIED AT SOME POINT, WHICH I THINK WOULD BE THE WORST CASE SCENARIO FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO BE DEALING WITH A, WITH A VACANT PROPERTY.
UM, AND I THINK BEING A PART OF THE CONVERSATION OF WHAT MOVES FORWARD IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL AND YOU HAVE MY COMMITMENT ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT.
THOSE CONVERSATIONS WILL CONTINUE.
THANKS COMMISSIONER IAN, COMMISSIONER BRETTON, YOU HAD A QUESTION? SO, UH, TO UNDERSTAND IT IS A 150 KEY HOTEL CURRENTLY BEING WORKED ON THROUGH THE WHILE YOU'RE WORKING ON THE ZONING PROCESS? CORRECT? THAT IS THE PROPOSAL IF WE GET THE ZONING, YES.
UH, AS THE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD HAS POINTED OUT THERE CURRENTLY HAS BEEN COMMUNICATED TO THEM AT LEAST OR COMMUNICATED TO THE CITY THAT THEIR PLAN TO BE TWO ENTRANCES AND EGRESSES, ONE ON WILLIAM CANNON, ONE ON RIALTO.
THOSE AREN'T IN STONE YET, BUT WHEN WE GET TO THE SITE PLANNING PROCESS, YOU END UP GETTING THE FIRE DEPARTMENT INVOLVED AND THEY WANT TO ACCESSES.
YOU GET THE TRAFFIC CONTROL GUYS, THEY WANT TO ACCESS THIS.
I JUST CAN'T COMMIT TO ONE ACCESS POINT AT THE ZONING STAGE ONLY TO BE HUNG UP BY POLICE FIRE EMS SAYING, OH, YOU NEVER SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT.
WOULD YOU EXPECT, UH, THAT ENTRANCE IN EGRESS ON RIALTO BASED ON THE PLACEMENT IN THE PRESENTATION, WHICH I ASSUME IS JUST SORT OF PLACED INDISCRIMINATELY, WOULD YOU EXPECT A LEFT AND A RIGHT ON RIALTO OR MAYBE JUST A RIGHT EXIT OR WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? IT SEEMS THAT THIS, UH, INTERSECTION HAS BEEN RECENTLY SIGNALED, WHICH MAY HELP IN SOME CASES AND HURT IN SOME CASES WITH THE TRAFFIC FLOW IN THE AREA.
I THINK AS WE GET A LITTLE FARTHER ALONG IN THE SITE PLAN PROCESS, THOSE QUESTIONS WOULD BE ANSWERED.
UM, AND THE DEVELOPMENT AS PLANNED, YOU MENTIONED TO COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE'S POINTS, UH, WAS 40% OF NET SIDE AREA, THAT'S WHAT'S ALLOWED YES.
UM, DO YOU EXPECT THAT THAT HOTEL WOULD AND THE ASSOCIATED PARKING AROUND IT MIGHT USE UP THAT MAXIMUM, UH, AREA OR WOULD YOU EXPECT THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADD TO THAT DEVELOPMENT AT A LATER POINT USING MORE OF THAT NET SITE AREA? I DON'T SEE ADDING, BUT AGAIN, AT THIS PHASE WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU HAVE, WHEN YOU'VE PLANNED THAT YOU HAVE 40% OF NET, WHICH ENDS UP BEING TWO ACRES AND SOMETHING OUT OF THE EIGHT, YOU, YOU CAN'T SAY I'LL DO LESS AT THIS STAGE ONLY TO FIND OUT LATER THAT YOU'VE MESSED UP YOUR SITE PLAN.
CERTAINLY IS, I'M JUST INQUIRING MORE INTO THE CURRENT PLANS, NOT NECESSARILY WHAT A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT MAY LOOK LIKE OR ANY RESTRICTIONS AT THIS POINT.
AND IT'S ALSO INTERESTING TO NOTE THIS, THIS PROJECT'S BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME.
[00:50:02]
IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, YOU'LL SEE BIG SWATHS OF PARKS AND OPEN SPACE THAT WERE GIVEN AS PART OF THIS PROJECT.IT JUST, NOW IT'S TIME TO DEVELOP THIS SITE AND EVERYBODY SAYS, OH, WELL WE WANT YOU TO DO LESS AND IT JUST CAN'T DO IT AT THE ZONING STAGE.
I HAVE ONE LAST THING WHICH I'LL MENTION, WHICH CURRENTLY YOU COULD BUILD AN OFFICE BUILDING ON THIS SITE AND YOU'RE LOOKING TO CHANGE THE ZONING TO A HOTEL USE.
I LIVE, UH, IN DISTRICT EIGHT, ACTUALLY RIGHT NEXT TO A HIGHWAY AND RIGHT ACROSS FROM A VALLEY, MUCH OF THE NOISE THAT I HEAR ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS IS TRAFFIC FROM THE HIGHWAY AND, UH, PEOPLE USING PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT USES, WHETHER THAT'S SINGLE FAMILY OR MULTIFAMILY OR THE OFFICES AT THE TOP OF THE HILL AT WHICH I LIVE, UH, I RARELY HEAR THEM.
AND THE TRAFFIC THAT I ENCOUNTER MOSTLY IS FROM THE HIGHWAY, UH, TURNING INTO OUR STREET.
WOULD YOU EXPECT THAT THERE ARE, UH, ADDITIONAL DESTINATIONS WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THE PEOPLE WHO MAY WANT TO COME TO A HOTEL MIGHT THEN GO INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND WORK ONTO THE TRAFFIC ISSUE THAT, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD MIGHT SEE? OR WOULD YOU MAYBE SEE THOSE PEOPLE GOING TO THE HOTEL SITE AND THEN RIGHT BACK ONTO WILLIAM CANNON OR ALONG RIALTO TO GET OUT TO ANOTHER ROAD? MY PERSONAL OPINION IS PEOPLE COMING TO A HOTEL ARE NOT LOOKING TO GO HANG OUT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEY WANT TO GET TO THE ROOM AND THEY WANT TO GET OUT.
THANKS COMMISSIONER BRETTON, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? YES.
COMMISSIONER AHMED, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE APPLICANT AND FOR STAFF.
UM, SO I UNDERSTAND THAT THE, THAT STAFF HAS RECOMMENDED A CONDITIONAL OVERLAY THAT WOULD PROHIBIT 26, UH, USES, UH, FOR THE APPLICANT.
ARE YOU IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT, UH, RECOMMENDATION THOSE, UH, THOSE PROHIBITIONS? YES, AS PART OF OUR NEGOTIATION WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, WE WERE OKAY WITH THOSE USES BEING DELETED.
AND THEN I HAVE A QUESTION FOR STAFF AS WELL.
UM, THERE'S UH, OBVIOUSLY A LOT INCLUDED IN THAT PROHIBITION LIST AND AS I WAS LOOKING THROUGH IT, I SAW GENERAL RETAIL SALES OVER 3000 SQUARE FOOT PLANT NURSERY PRINTING AND PUBLISHING RESEARCH SERVICES, THEATER, COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY FACILITIES.
AND THOSE THAT I MENTIONED, AT LEAST AT FIRST GLANCE, THEY DON'T SEEM LIKE THEY WOULD RESULT IN MORE TRAFFIC OR MORE POLLUTION OR MORE NOISE THAN A FIVE STORY HOTEL.
SO I, I'M JUST CURIOUS WHY, UH, THOSE WERE INCLUDED IN THE PROHIBITION LIST.
JONATHAN TOMKO WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, UM, STAFF HAS A GENERAL LIST AND EACH CATEGORY OF USES THAT ARE MORE INTENSE.
AND SINCE THE APPLICANT WAS VERY ADAMANT THAT THEIR GOAL IN THIS PROJECT IN THIS SITE WAS A HOTEL USE OR THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO A FEW OTHER USES THAT EXIST WITHIN GR UM, WE RESTRICTED IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO BE SENSITIVE TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL AREA AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S CONCERNS.
UM, AND OTHER FACTORS, I MEAN WE WERE REALLY TRYING TO NARROW THE, THE PROJECT DOWN TO THE SCOPE AND, AND WHAT THE APPLICANT WAS ASKING FOR AND, AND NOT ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT.
SO THOSE RESTRICTIONS, UH, DID NOT DIRECTLY COME FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT IT WAS, UH, WHAT YOU THOUGHT WOULD MAKE IT AS, UH, PALABLE AS POSSIBLE? NOT ME PERSONALLY, BUT STAFF GENERAL.
OH, SORRY, THE CITY OF BOSTON? YES, CORRECT.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER MAXWELL? UH, YEAH, I'VE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
I'LL START WITH STAFF AND THEN GO TO THE APPLICANT.
SO FOLLOWING UP ON THE CONDITIONAL USES, I THINK I'M JUST CONCERNED ABOUT THE LONG TERM SITUATION FOR THE SITE.
SO SOMETIMES WE DON'T NECESSARILY WANNA INCLUDE A LOT OF THINGS BECAUSE WE MIGHT HAVE A FUTURE REUSE OF THIS PARTICULAR SITE.
SO I GUESS IS THERE SOME FLEXIBILITY IN TERMS OF WHAT CONTINUES TO BE ON HERE OR THINKING MORE LONG TERM? AND THE SPECIFIC ONES THAT I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT, I'M GONNA BE HONEST, ARE ONES RELATED TO LIKE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY FACILITIES BECAUSE IF THIS FOR SOME REASON WAS BOUGHT SAY BY UT OR SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD WANT THAT FLEXIBILITY AND NOT HAVING TO HAVE THEM COME BACK
SO IS, I GUESS THE QUESTION IS WOULD IT BE SENSIBLE FOR US TO MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT REMOVING SOME OF THESE OR IS THERE A A MAYBE A STAFF OPPORTUNITY TO RECONSIDER SOME OF THOSE JUST AS A NOTE THAT WE MAY HAVE FELT THAT THESE WERE EXCESSIVELY RESTRICTIVE? I I WOULD SAY THAT THIS IS STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION ON THE TABLE WITH THIS SITE AND IF PLANNING COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATION, YOU COULD CERTAINLY INCLUDE UH, OR STRIKE ANY OF THESE AS YOU AS YOU SEE FIT.
AND THEN I GUESS A RELATED QUESTION TO THAT IS, IF THERE IS UM, MORE GENERAL RETAIL DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO THIS, IF I'M LOOKING AT THAT CORRECTLY, IS THAT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT? BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY SOME OF THAT YOU WOULDN'T NECESSARILY WANNA HAVE TWO GROCERY STORES NEXT TO EACH OTHER ANYWAY.
I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I WAS ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT WAS THE, SO THIS LIST CRAFTED, GIVEN THE CONTEXT OF THE ACTUAL SITE, UH, THIS LIST WAS GENERATED IN
[00:55:01]
TAKING CONSIDERATION THE SITE, THE THE LOCATION, THE ROADWAYS, ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE LOOK AT A SITE.UM, THERE WERE SOME USES THAT MAY NOT BE SEEN AS BEING NEAR A HOTEL EITHER.
AND THAT WAS ANOTHER THING THAT WAS CONSIDERED, UM, WITH SOME OF THE SQUARE FOOTAGE USES.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DID GENERAL RETAIL SALES GENERAL, YOU COULD GET, YOU KNOW, A GIANT WAREHOUSE STORE, UM, WHICH I DON'T KNOW THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO SEE IN THAT AREA.
AND HAVING A RESTRICTION OF 3000 SQUARE FOOT FOOT, UM, GAVE US THE FLEXIBILITY TO, TO OFFER THAT USE WITHIN A CONTEXT SENSITIVE SOLUTION.
UM, I THINK THERE WERE SOME OTHER USES HERE.
THE AUTOCENTRIC USES THE, UM, CONVENIENCE SERVICES USES.
UM, WE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS AS A NE A NEIGHBORHOOD KIND OF NODE WHERE THERE COULD BE SOME SERVICES EXTENDED TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT MIGHT BE BENEFICIAL FOR THEM AS WELL IN ADDITION TO THE HOTEL USE.
SO, UM, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF PARCELS THAT EXIST LIKE THAT IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA.
AS IT WAS NOTED, THERE'S A LOT OF OFFICES, A SEMICONDUCTOR FACTORY OR OR OFFICE SPACE THERE.
UM, SO INCENTIVIZING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO POTENTIALLY WALK OR BIKE TO SOMETHING CLOSER TO THEIR HOME WOULD RESULT IN SOMETHING THAT'S MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
YEAH, I APPRECIATE THOSE QUESTIONS AND THEN I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR THE APPLICANT.
UM, SPECIFICALLY I NOTICED THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF OFFICE BUILDINGS AND THERE WAS A CONVERSATION, A COMMENT EARLIER ABOUT THERE BEING SEVERAL OTHER HOTELS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S DEFINITELY DEMAND FOR ADDITIONAL HOTEL SPACE IN THIS AREA GIVEN THE NUMBER OF OFFICE WORKERS AND POTENTIAL OUT OF TOWN VISITORS.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, THERE'S BEEN STUDY DONE THAT SHOWS THAT THERE IS A DEMAND FOR IT.
UM, AND, AND I I GUESS JUST TO ALSO HIGHLIGHT, I THINK YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE IS NOT A GREAT DEMAND FOR OFFICE BUILDINGS RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS PART OF THE REASON WE HAVE SEEN SOME MORE OF THESE SORT OF HOTEL PROJECTS COME THROUGH BECAUSE MORE OFFICE IS NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING THAT WOULD DO WELL AT THIS SITE IN TERMS OF HAVING LEASING OR, YOU KNOW, BEING DEVELOPABLE SO TO SPEAK.
THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY TRUE TODAY.
OR YOU WOULD, YOU COULD END UP WITH A VERY, I'LL SAY INEXPENSIVE OFFICE DEVELOPMENT.
IT WOULD LEASE, SOMEBODY WOULD LEASE IT, IT IT WOULDN'T BE THAT GREAT AND THEN OVER TIME OFFICE WILL COME BACK.
BUT RIGHT NOW THERE'S DEMAND AND THE ABILITY TO ACTUALLY USE THE PROPERTY AND AND DEVELOP TAX BASE AND AND SATISFY A NEED.
YEAH, AND THAT WAS ACTUALLY MY OTHER QUESTION.
YOU MENTIONED THE HOT TAX, THE HOTEL TAX, UM, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT AND I GUESS THAT'S A POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ADDITIONAL REVENUE FOR THE CITY AND TO SUPPORT SOME LOCAL SERVICES, IS THAT CORRECT? IN ADDITION TO THE PROPERTY TAX, THE HOT TAX IS USED FOR LIMITED PURPOSES FOR, UH, ARTS AND TOURISM AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS THAT UM, THAT IF YOU LOOK ACROSS WHAT'S GOING ON AND IT'S AN INTERIM SITUATION, BUT WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER CLOSED AND THE HOTELS ARE REVENUE'S DOWN, WE CAN ALWAYS USE MORE HOT TAX.
UM, AND THEN ONE FINAL QUESTION, UM, AS YOU MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THE SITE PLAN, OBVIOUSLY GIVEN THE SI SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN THIS AREA, THAT WOULD BE VERY SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED BY STAFF.
SO IF THERE WAS A NEED TO REDUCE SORT OF WHAT WAS BUILDABLE AND WHATNOT, I ASSUME THAT WOULD BE DISCUSSED FURTHER, OF COURSE, ALONG WITH MEANS AND METHODS AND TREATMENT AND ALL THAT.
AND, AND I WANNA REITERATE THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS NOT GONNA STOP.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE OUR CONVERSATIONS.
THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS, CHAIR.
THANKS COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? YES, COMMISSIONER HILLER, I'VE GOT, I'VE GOT A COUPLE QUICK QUESTIONS FOR THE APPLICANT.
SO TELL ME THE, THE ROOM COUNT ON THIS AGAIN.
I'M SORRY, THE WHAT? THE ROOM, THE, THE, I KNOW YOU DON'T WANNA BE LOCKED INTO THIS, BUT THE ROOM COUNT ON THE DEVELOPMENT.
150 AND THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE KIND OF A ATTENTIVE ROOM COUNT WOULD INDICATE THAT THERE'S BEEN SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT PROJECT PLANNING IN TERMS OF WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE KIND OF SHOOTING FOR IN TERMS OF, UM, FLOOR PLANS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
AND IN TERMS OF THE, THE CATEGORY OF TRAVELER, LIKE IS THIS MEANT, DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN YOUR, UH, RESEARCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, THIS IS SOMEONE WHO'S STAYING ONE NIGHT OR STAYING MULTIPLE NIGHTS OR IS THAT THE KIND THING THAT YOU, YOUR CLIENT MAPS OUT BEFORE THEY BEGIN A DEVELOPMENT? I AM NOT PRIVY TO THAT INFORMATION IF WE HAVE IT.
UM, ANYTHING I WOULD SAY TONIGHT ON THAT WOULD BE KIND OF ANECDOTAL.
IT IT'S, IT'S A SUBURBAN TYPE HOTEL.
IT'LL, IT'LL BE A NICE HOTEL WHETHER OR NOT PEOPLE ARE STAYING ONE NIGHT, TWO NIGHTS, FIVE NIGHTS TO SERVICE THE OFFICE BUILDING.
[01:00:01]
I DON'T KNOW.WELL I'M I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP BECAUSE A SUBURBAN HOTEL THAT MIGHT ACCOMMODATE SOMEBODY STAYING FIVE NIGHTS SEEMS TO HAVE OVERLAP WITH LIKE AN AIRBNB TYPE, UH, RESIDENCE.
AND SO I MIGHT THINK, AND THIS IS LESS OF A QUESTION, MORE OF A STATEMENT THAT THE, THE PATRON OF THIS BUSINESS IS NOT UTILIZING A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD AND THAT THIS OFFERS THAT HOUSE TO BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR A LONG TERM RESIDENT.
ANYWAY, I I, I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT.
I WOULD AGREE WITH YOUR ASSESSMENT.
THANKS COMMISSIONER HILLER, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? I HAVE A COUPLE FOR MR. TOMKO QUICKLY.
I KNOW THIS IS A VERY ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREA AND THEREFORE THERE ARE A LOT OF USES THAT ARE ALREADY PROHIBITED THROUGH RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS THAT ARE IN PLACE.
I'M WONDERING IF THIS ZONING CHANGE IMPACTS ANY OF THOSE EXISTING RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS? IT DOES NOT.
SO THERE'S NO CHANGE TO IMPERVIOUS COVER.
ANY, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE MORE SLOTS IF ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER BRETTON, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE STAFF RECOMMENDATION MOTION BY COMMISSIONER BRETTON FOR STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND VICE CHAIR? HANEY CHAIR? IF WE WANTED TO ADD AN AMENDMENT TO THAT, UH, LET'S, YES.
SO WE HAVE A SECOND AND WE CAN ENTERTAIN, UH, MOTION FOR AN AMENDMENT.
UM, I THINK THERE ARE SOME OF US WHO ARE CONCERNED, AS WAS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY DURING THE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE BREADTH AND SCOPE OF THE LIMITATIONS, UM, PRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONAL OVERLAY.
SO IF THE COMMISSION IS OPEN TO IT, WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SOME SUGGESTIONS ABOUT REMOVING A COUPLE OF THESE USES AS PROHIBITED.
LET'S GET A SECOND AND THEN YOU CAN SPEAK TO THAT MORE.
COMMISSIONER MAXWELL AND COMMISSIONER AHMED, DO YOU WANNA SPEAK A BIT MORE TO, TO THOSE USES THAT YOU'D LIKE TO REINTRODUCE? UM, YEAH, I THINK WE JUST WANTED TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THE LONG-TERM USE OF THIS SITE.
OBVIOUSLY IT'S PLANNED AS A HOTEL, BUT JUST NOT BEING OVERLY RESTRICTIVE AND GIVEN THAT IT'S ON A CORNER DOOR CORNER WITH A CORRIDOR, THAT THERE IS SOME FLEXIBILITY BUILT IN.
UM, SO THERE'S JUST A COUPLE OF THESE THAT I THINK WE WERE THINKING ABOUT.
UM, SPECIFICALLY AS I MENTIONED IN MY QUESTIONS, THE RESEARCH SERVICES, THEATER, COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY, UM, LOOKS LIKE ALSO POTENTIALLY THE PLANT NURSERY PRINTING AND PUBLISHING AND THEN THE GENERAL RETAIL OVER 3000 SQUARE FEET.
SO THOSE WERE THE ONES WE HAD FLAGGED.
I DUNNO IF THERE'S ANYBODY ELSE HAS CONCERNS.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION TO REMOVE THOSE SPECIFIC USES FROM THE STAFF.
RECOMMENDED LIST OF PROHIBITED USES MADE BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER AHMED.
BEFORE WE MOVE INTO DEBATE, JUST ON THE AMENDMENT.
DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS FOR THE AMENDMENT MAKERS ABOUT THOSE USES? YES.
JUST A QUICK QUESTION FOR COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
COULD YOU JUST REPEAT THOSE FIVE AGAIN? YEAH, A ABSOLUTELY, I'LL READ THEM IN ORDER.
UM, BASICALLY IT'S THE GENERAL RETAILER THREE K, UH, PLANT, NURSERY, PRINTING AND PUBLISHING, RESEARCH SERVICES, THEATER, COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY.
SO THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WOULD BE REMOVED FROM THAT LIST.
AND IF THERE IS, THAT'S, WE'RE OPEN TO OTHER SUGGESTIONS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE AMENDMENT MAKERS? YES, COMMISSIONER, LONG, GO AHEAD.
UM, WHAT IS THE REASON BEHIND REMOVING SOME OF THESE RESTRICTIONS WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO THE NEIGHBORS? I FEEL LIKE SOME OF THESE ARE PRETTY LARGE USES.
IF YOU'RE SUGGESTING FOR RETAIL SALES OVER 3000, IT MIGHT BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO ASK NEIGHBORS WHETHER THIS IS SOMETHING THEY MIGHT WANT IN A NEIGHBORHOOD.
I THINK WE'RE DEFINITELY OPEN TO THAT.
I THINK WHAT WE'RE JUST SAYING IS A PLANNING COMMISSION.
WE'RE RECOMMEND RECOMMENDING THAT THE STAFF POTENTIALLY GO BACK AND LOOK AT THIS BETWEEN NOW WHEN IT GOES TO COUNCIL.
SO I, I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS THE FINAL OF THE CONVERSATION.
WE'RE PROBABLY MORE JUST FLAGGING THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT.
STAFF DOES NOT LOOK AT THEIR RECOMMENDATION AGAIN BETWEEN PLANNING COMMISSION AND COUNSEL, SO, OH, THANK YOU.
JUST, SORRY, I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE, I WAS, WASN'T SURE IF THIS, IF THERE WAS A SPECIFIC CONCERN ABOUT ANY OF THESE THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD MIGHT BRING UP.
SO WHATEVER Y'ALL RECOMMEND WOULD GO INTO THE DRAFT ORDINANCE THAT GOES BEFORE COUNCIL AND IT WOULD NOT BE LOOKED AT AGAINST BY STAFF, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION.
UH, FOR THE PEOPLE PUTTING THE AMENDMENT FORWARD, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT THE PRINTING, UH, SERVICES DOES SUGGEST THAT THERE WOULD BE CHEMICAL USAGE ON THE SITE AND MAYBE TOO AGGRESSIVE FOR THE SITE ADJACENT TO THE CREEK.
[01:05:01]
UM, AND BECAUSE GENERAL RETAIL SALES COULD BE SOMETHING AMAZING OR IT COULD BE SOMETHING AWFUL, I WOULD PROBABLY BE INCLINED TO LET, UH, A FUTURE APPLICANT COME BACK TO US WITH A REQUEST FOR THAT PARTICULAR USE IN ORDER FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO BE ALLOWED TIME TO WEIGH IN ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT.UM, AS TO THE OTHERS, I HAVE NO EXCEPTIONS.
UH, I THINK THOSE ARE BOTH REASONABLE CONCERNS, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE FACT THAT THIS WOULD GO INTO THE ORDINANCE.
OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE AMENDMENT MAKERS, OTHERWISE I'LL RESTATE AS UPDATED.
UNDERSTANDING THAT Y'ALL ARE OKAY WITH THAT.
UM, SO WE HAVE AN AMENDMENT BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER AHMED TO REMOVE THE FOLLOWING USES FROM THE PROHIBITED LIST, PLANT, NURSERY, THEATER, COLLEGE, AND UNIVERSITY USES.
UH, AND I BELIEVE RESEARCH SERVICES IS ON THERE.
DOES EVERYONE UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON RIGHT NOW? IT'S JUST THIS AMENDMENT.
SO WE WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEBATE.
UH, WOULD THE AMENDMENT MAKERS LIKE TO SPEAK FOR THE MOTION? UM, I THINK WE ARE JUST TRYING TO ENSURE THAT THE FUTURE USE, UM, OF THE SITE HAS SOME FLEXIBILITY AND THAT THESE PARTICULAR ITEMS MAYBE, UM, ARE NOT ANY PARTICULARLY MORE INTENSIVE THAN WHAT WE WOULD SEE WITH THE HOTEL PTH.
ANYONE SPEAKING AGAINST THE MOTION? OKAY, FOR COMMISSIONER AHMED, GO AHEAD.
YEAH, I WOULD JUST SAY, UH, NOT ONLY FUTURE USE FOR THIS SITE, BUT ALSO THE PRECEDENT FOR, UH, OTHER SITES CLOSE BY AS WELL.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE ANYTHING THAT COULD POTENTIALLY WORK HERE, UH, THAT IS SIMILAR OR IN LINE WITH THE INTENSITY OF A HOTEL VERSUS, UH, PRESCRIBING THE ZONING SPECIFICALLY FOR THE PROJECT THAT IS PROPOSED HERE.
ANY OTHER SPEAKERS FOR OR AGAINST THIS AMENDMENT? YES, COMMISSIONER BRETTON.
I WILL SPEAK FOR, IS THE PERSON WHO MOVES STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
I THINK THIS IS A WONDERFUL AMENDMENT.
ANYONE AGAINST? ALL RIGHT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE JUST ON THE AMENDMENT AND THEN WE'LL MOVE BACK TO THE BASE MOTION.
THOSE IN FAVOR? THAT'S UNANIMOUS.
LET'S MOVE BACK TO OUR BASE MOTION, WHICH WAS STAFF RECOMMENDATION MADE BY COMMISSIONER BRETTON, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY, WE CAN SPEAK FOR AND AGAINST THIS.
UM, COMMISSIONER BRETON, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK FOR YOUR MOTION? I LIKE THE MOTION AS AMENDED.
I THINK IT INCLUDES A WONDERFUL LIST OF POSSIBLE USES AND LOOK FORWARD TO ADDITIONAL PROPERTY TAX REVENUE FOR OUR CITY WHEN IT IS DESPERATELY NEEDED.
ANYONE SPEAKING AGAINST THE MOTION? ANYONE ELSE FOR? YES, COMMISSIONER ROSN.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, UH, SAY TO THE APPLICANT THAT WE HEARD, UH, YOU SAY THAT YOU WERE COMMITTED TO WORKING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S ON THE RECORD.
UM, AND NEIGHBORHOOD REPRESENTATIVES, THANK YOU FOR COMING TONIGHT.
I ALSO APPRECIATE YOU WORKING WITH THE APPLICANT UP TO THIS POINT.
UH, AND OBVIOUSLY I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO DO SO.
CHAIR, UH, JUST POINT OF CLARIFICATION.
UM, IS THIS A MOTION FOR STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR BOTH ITEMS TWO AND THREE? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING THAT QUESTION.
I'LL ASK THE MOTION MAKER, DOES YOUR MOTION INCLUDE STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR ITEMS TWO AND THREE? YES.
ANYONE ELSE SPEAKING FOR OR AGAINST THE MOTION? ALL RIGHT, LET'S TAKE A VOTE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THOSE FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHO CAME OUT TO SPEAK.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND THANK YOU TO THE APPLICANT.
[8. Rezoning: C14-2025-0080 - 1811 East Cesar Chavez; District 1 (Part 2 of 2)]
ON TO ITEM EIGHT, WHICH WE'RE RETURNING TO AS A DISCUSSION CASE.FIRST, WE WILL HEAR FROM STAFF ON THIS ITEM, JONATHAN TOMKO WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
ITEM NUMBER EIGHT IS CASE NUMBER C 14 DASH 2 2 5 DASH 0 8 0 IS RE ZONING REQUEST OF 1 8 0 OR 1 8 1 1.
EAST CESAR CHAVEZ STREET FROM C-S-M-U-C-O-N-P TO CS ONE CONP ON A FOOTPRINT OF 1000 SQUARE FEET, STAFF DOES NOT RECOMMEND GRANTING CS ONE CONP ON A FOOTPRINT OF 1000
[01:10:01]
SQUARE FEET AT THE SITE.THE PROPERTY IN QUESTION IS CURRENTLY A CONVENIENCE STORE OF APPROXIMATELY 1,750 SQUARE FEET AND A SINGLE FAMILY HOME, UH, BEHIND IT OF APPROXIMATELY 1200 SQUARE FEET TO THE NORTH ACROSS CAESAR CHAVEZ IS AN OFFICE RETAIL USE IN A SINGLE FAMILY HOME AND A SINGLE FAMILY HOME TO THE EAST ACROSS CHICONE STREET IS A SMALL STORE AND A THREE STORY COMMERCIAL STRIP CENTER TO THE SOUTH ACROSS THE ALLEY IS A SINGLE FAMILY HOME WITH AN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT.
AND TO THE WEST IS A HISTORIC TRIPLEX CONSTRUCTED IN APPROXIMATELY 1900.
CAESAR CHAVEZ IS AN IMAGINE AUSTIN ACTIVITY CORRIDOR AND A SMP LEVEL THREE CORRIDOR.
UH, THE SITE IS APPROXIMATELY 1000 FEET FROM THE PLAZA SALTILLO IMAGINE AUSTIN ACTIVITY CENTER.
UH, STAFF IS NOT RECOMMENDING THIS ZONING BASED ON, UH, FEELING THAT IT COULD CONTRIBUTE TO OVER ZONING OF THE AREA.
UM, GRANTING THIS REQUEST WOULD RESULT IN A TOTAL OF FIVE ESTABLISHMENTS, SELLING LIQUOR WITHIN A TWO TO THREE BLOCK AREA, ABUTTING A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD AND WITHIN 250 FEET OF ANOTHER RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND BY, UH, ZONING, NOT PROMOTING A TRANSITION BETWEEN THE ADJACENT AND NEARBY ZONING DISTRICTS, LAND USES AND DEVELOPMENT INTENSITIES.
BY GRANTING A FOOTPRINT OF CS ONE ZONING IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE SINGLE FAMILY HOME ON THE SUBJECT TRACT ONLY AN ALLEY WOULD SERVE AS A BUFFER RESULTING IN THE USE BEING LESS THAN 50 FEET FROM THE NEAREST SINGLE FAMILY.
HOME STAFF HAS CONCERNS ABOUT ALLOWING A CS ONE ZONING DISTRICT THIS CLOSE TO AN ADJACENT ALLEY WHERE IT IS THE ONLY THING PROVIDING BUFFER BETWEEN A COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR AND A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD GRANTING THIS ZONING CHANGE WOULD NOT PROMOTE COMPATIBILITY WITH ADJACENT OR NEARBY ZONING DISTRICTS LAND USES AND DEVELOPMENT INTENSITIES.
I'M AVAILABLE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
WE'LL FIRST BE HEARING FROM THE APPLICANT, RICKA KEEPERS RICKA, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HEARING ME TONIGHT.
I AM REPRESENTING THE OWNER OF 1811 EAST CAESAR CHAVEZ.
UM, THE OWNER IS LOCAL AND HE'S, UM, OWNED IN THE AREA FOR MANY, MANY YEARS AND OF 10 PLUS YEARS AT THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION.
THE GAS STATION, UM, FACES, UM, EAST CAESAR CHAVEZ, WHICH WE'VE HEARD THE PROPERTY RIGHT BEHIND IT IS A VACANT SINGLE FAMILY HOME THAT IS BEING REDEVELOPED.
UM, AND JUST TO KIND OF LET YOU KNOW, UM, ONE, WHEN THOSE NOTIFICATIONS GO OUT, MY CELL IS ON THERE.
UM, E CESAR CHAVEZ, WE STARTED WORKING WITH THEM ABOUT OVER A MONTH AGO, AND WE'VE BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COME TO AGREEMENTS AND WE COME TO COMPROMISES THAT FIT THE NEIGHBORHOOD WELL BECAUSE THIS BUSINESS IS GROWING, UM, AND IT'S, UM, GROWING AND AS PART OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND SO WE WANT IT TO BENEFIT THE NEIGHBORHOOD AS WELL, UM, AS A LOCAL SHOP.
AND AS THAT, UM, YOU DID RECEIVE AND AS PART OF YOUR BACKUP, A PART OF SOME OF THE AGREEMENTS WE'VE LISTED, WE'VE REMOVED SOME OF THE USES, UM, MAINLY, UM, ANY KIND OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ON SITE.
AND TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF EXPLAN, A LITTLE BIT ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION BEFORE I GO INTO COMMUNICATION WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, THAT VACANT HOUSE IS GOING TO BE DEVELOP REDEVELOPED WITH A PARTITION IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
SO ONE SIDE WILL BE, UH, TO GO RESTAURANT FOR NEIGHBORS, KIND OF A LOCAL BISTRO, IF YOU WILL.
AND THE OTHER SIDE WILL BE THAT, UM, LIQUORICE STORE, UM, TO GO ONLY IN LESS THAN IT'LL BE A THOUSAND SQUARE FEET.
NOW, WE WORKED ON THIS WITH STAFF SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHERE WE DID GET PRELIMINARY SUPPORT FROM THEM, BUT THEN THEY CAME BACK AFTER WE SUBMITTED AND DECIDED SINCE IT'S NOT FACING CHACONE, WE CAN'T GET, UM, FRONTAGE ON CHACON BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE HOUSE IS FACING.
UM, ACTUALLY CHACON, WE CAN'T FACE CESAR CHAVEZ, EXCUSE ME.
UM, THEY WOULD NOT SUPPORT OUR, OUR, UH, OUR REQUEST.
SO, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR TONIGHT.
UM, WE DO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF E CESAR CHAVEZ.
WE ARE WORKING ON FINALIZING OUR AGREEMENT AND WE WILL HAVE THAT FINALIZED BY THE TIME CITY COUNCIL COME AROUND IS HAS COME AROUND, SO EXCUSE ME ABOUT THAT.
UM, BUT WE'RE HERE FOR QUESTIONS AND, UM, WE'RE ALSO JUST TO NOTE THAT THE OWNER IS IMPROVING THE ALLEYWAY AS A PART OF THE GOOD NEIGHBOR INITIATIVE ORDINANCE THAT, UM, ECZ CHAVEZ IS WORKING ON.
SO THE OWNER WILL BE A PART OF THAT AND IMPROVING THE ALLEYWAY IN ADDITION TO CAMERAS, LIGHTING AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, JUST TO MAKE THAT, UM, ALLEYWAY MORE WALKABLE AS THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS TRYING TO ALSO, UM, CREATE THAT INITIATIVE.
AND MR. SAUNDERS IS HERE TO TALK ABOUT IT, THAT AS WELL
[01:15:01]
TONIGHT.I'M HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
WE WILL NOW BE HEARING FROM RYAN SAUNDERS.
RYAN, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
SO THE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD'S POSITION IS THAT, UM, THE OWNERS ARE GOOD NEIGHBORS.
UM, THEY'VE BEEN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR A LONG TIME.
SOMEONE LIVES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN BUSINESSES FROM OWNERSHIP TO OWNERSHIP, AND THEY'VE BEEN REALLY WILLING TO WORK WITH US.
AND, UM, BEING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT TEAM AND BOARD FOR OVER TWO YEARS, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON A STRATEGIC PLAN, A LOT OF UPGRADES FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND WE FEEL THAT THE INVESTMENTS THAT THEY'RE MAKING IN THEIR STORE ARE GONNA OVERALL, UM, IMPROVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND MEET THE GOALS THAT WE HAVE.
AND THE ALLEYWAY IS SPECIFICALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THERE IS HIGH SPEED AND A LOT OF VEHICLE TRAFFIC ON EAST SCISSOR CHAVEZ.
THE SIDEWALKS, ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD BE WALKABLE, ARE NOT AS WALKABLE AS WE WOULD LIKE.
SO THE ALLEYWAY HAS BECOME OUR IDEA FOR, UH, KIND OF A LINEAR GREENWAY AND, AND THE, UM, OWNERS HAVE, UM, OFFERED TO CONTRIBUTE AND WORK WITH US TO MAKE THEIR SECTION OF THE ALLEYWAY FIT OUR OVERALL, UM, VISION.
AND THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER, UM, BARS AND, AND USES ON THE STREET THAT DID NOT WORK WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO THE SAME EXTENT THAT THEY HAVE.
AND LIQUOR STORES DO HAVE, UH, RESTRICTIONS WITH HOURS AND THINGS THAT DON'T CONTRIBUTE THE SAME AMOUNT OF NOISE AND, UM, OTHER CONCERNS THAT NEIGHBORS WOULD HAVE WITH, UH, ON-PREMISE, YOU KNOW, SERVING LIQUOR BY THE DRINK.
UM, SO OVERALL THAT'S WHY THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS AGREED TO SUPPORT AND WHILE, WHILE I'M HERE TODAY.
AND, UM, YEAH, I WOULD SAY THAT THIS IS A POSITIVE ADDITION TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND ALSO, UM, CHACON SHOULD BE IT'S COMMERCIAL ALL THE WAY TO THE ALLEY.
THEY'RE IN COMMERCIAL ZONING AND WE NEED MORE NEIGHBORHOOD RETAIL.
AND WHETHER IT'S A LIQUOR STORE OR A SMALL FOOD OPERATION, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD PRECEDENT TO SET BECAUSE WE NEED MORE PEDESTRIAN, WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOOD RETAIL.
AND THIS IS A GOOD, UH, STEP TOWARDS THAT.
UM, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS SARAH RAZ AHMED.
UH, I, I, I HAVE RIKA HERE AND THANK YOU GUYS FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT.
UH, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO WORK WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND MOVING FORWARD AND, UH, JUST SEE THE NEIGHBORHOOD GROW.
AND SINCE I'VE BEEN, WE HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A FEW YEARS AND, UH, BEEN A GOOD NEIGHBOR.
SO I'D JUST LIKE TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME.
WE'LL NOW BE HEARING FROM OUR PRIMARY SPEAKER AND OPPOSITION, RAJ ASHWIN.
RAJ WILL BE JOINING US VIRTUALLY.
RAJ, YOU'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
UM, I'LL KEEP IT VERY SHORT AND SIMPLE HERE.
UH, THERE ARE MULTIPLE PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN, UH, THE 200, UH, FOOT RADIUS THAT ARE IN OPPOSITION TO THE REZONING.
UM, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM AND, UH, THAT, THAT'S WHY I CAME HERE TO SPEAK TODAY, ESSENTIALLY TO, UH, AFTER ADDITIONAL TIME, UH, TO GET THE SIGNATURES FOR RE AND SOME OF THEM ARE CURRENTLY OUTTA STATE, BUT THEY'RE COMING BACK.
UH, SO ONCE WE CAN GET WET SIGNATURES ON THE, ON THE EXTENSION REQUEST, UM, WE CAN, UH, THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING FOR THE EXEMPTION HERE.
WE'LL NOW BE HEARING FROM THE APPLICANT FOR A TWO MINUTE REBUTTAL.
LOOKS LIKE MS. KEEPERS IS WAIVING HER TIME CHAIR.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.
I AM LOOKING FOR A MOTION AND A SECOND TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS ITEM MOTION BY COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRETTON.
SO WE'LL MOVE INTO OUR ROUND ROBIN.
WE CAN TAKE QUESTIONS FROM EIGHT COMMISSIONERS AT FIVE MINUTES.
WHO WOULD LIKE TO START? YES, COMMISSIONER ROSN.
UH, I'VE GOT A QUESTION FOR STAFF.
UH, IT FEELS LIKE, UM, A, A GENERAL MOVEMENT IN THE CITY IS TO TRY TO CLEAN UP ZONING AND NOT HAVE, UH, DISTINCT ZONING ACROSS THESE SITES.
IS THE, IS THE CURRENT ASK FOR THE CS ONE ACROSS THE ENTIRE SITE? IT IS NOT.
THE APPLICANT'S LETTER STATED IT WAS FOR A 1000 SQUARE FOOT FOOTPRINT, WHICH ENCOMPASSES A LARGE PORTION OF THE SINGLE FAMILY HOME THAT IS AT THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE SITE FACING, UM, CHICO STREET.
SO IF I WERE TO SEE THIS ON A ZONING MAP, WOULD I SEE A STRIPE IN THE MIDDLE THAT WOULD INCLUDE THAT? HOW DOES THIS GET HANDLED ON THE ZONING SIDE? SO THE APPLICANT WOULD PROVIDE
[01:20:01]
A MEETS AND BOUNDS DESCRIPTION OR A LEGAL FOOTPRINT, UH, OF WHERE THAT WOULD BE ALLOWED AND THEN THAT WOULD BE COLOR CODED IN TERMS OF A BOX WHERE THAT 1000 SQUARE FEET WOULD BE.AND IF THE USE, IF THE OWNERSHIP EVER IS THIS RIDES WITH THE PROPERTY IN PERPETUITY, IS THAT CORRECT? UNTIL REZONED AGAIN? YES.
AND WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO CHANGE THE MEETS AND BOUNDS OR THE MEETS AND BOUNDS BE FIXED? IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD'VE TO GO THROUGH A REZONING PROCESS IF YOU WERE EVER TO MOVE THE SITE IN WHICH YOU WERE SERVING ALCOHOL OR A CS ONE ZONING.
AND IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY TO ALLOW THIS USAGE? IN OTHER WORDS, IS THERE ANY WAY TO AREA RESTRICT THE USAGE TO THE SITE WITHOUT ESTABLISHING MEETS AND BOUNDS? NOT THAT I KNOW OF.
AM I ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE, UH, SPEAKER IN OPPOSITION? YOU MAY.
UM, IF I CAN ASK, UH, THANK YOU STEPH.
IF I CAN ASK A QUESTION OF THE SPEAKER WHO SPOKE IN OPPOSITION.
UM, ARE YOU ASKING FOR A POSTPONEMENT OR FOR, ARE YOU JUST, UH, AGAINST THE CASE ENTIRELY? UH, YES, AGAINST THE CASE ENTIRELY.
UH, ESSENTIALLY THERE'S MULTIPLE PROPERTY OWNERS THAT DON'T AGREE WITH THE REZONING.
UH, DUE TO, UH, THERE IS AN ACTIVE NEEDLE NEEDLE EXCHANGE IN THE AREA, UM, THAT DRAWS A LOT OF INTERESTING FOOT TRAFFIC.
UM, AND IT'S ACTUALLY RIGHT NEXT TO OR RIGHT BETWEEN, UH, ONE OF THE PROPERTY OWNER'S PROPERTIES.
ANOTHER PROPERTY OWNER ALSO, UH, REJECTS TO THAT IDEA BECAUSE OF WHAT, UM, JOHN JUST BROUGHT UP OF TOO MANY LIQUOR STORES IN THE AREA ALREADY.
UH, HE'S THE PROPERTY OWNERS ACTUALLY ON THEIR PROPERTIES, UM, AND LIVE IN THE AREA, BUT THEY'RE JUST OUT OF TOWN RIGHT NOW.
SO WANTED TO GET WET SIGNATURES TO INCREASE THE THRESHOLD, UH, FOR THE REZONING, UH, FROM I THINK HALF OF THE COUNCIL TO A SUPER MAJORITY COUNCIL, UH, AMONG OTHER THINGS THAT I WAS WOR WORKING ON AS WELL.
SO THE OPPOSITION BY THE NEIGHBORS IS RELATED TO THE ALCOHOL USE.
UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE THE EXISTING CONDITION OF, UM, NEEDLE USE IN THE AREA MIGHT BE, UH, AMELIORATED BY THE VACANT BUILDING IN THE BACK BEING UTILIZED ONCE MORE INSTEAD OF REMAINING VACANT.
WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT? UH, ACTUALLY IT'S NEEDLE EXCHANGE THERE.
IT'S, UM, RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO, OH, SO THE, THIS IS THE CORNER UNIT RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO IT IS ONE OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
NEXT TO THAT IS THE NEEDLE EXCHANGE, AND NEXT TO THAT IS ANOTHER ONE OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
UH, SO ESSENTIALLY THAT NEEDLE EXCHANGE IN THE MIDDLE DRAWS, UH, TRYING TO USE THE, THE RIGHT TERMINOLOGY, BUT IT DRAWS INTERESTING INDIVIDUALS TO THE AREA THAT, UH, SOME OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS ARE AGAINST, LIKE BRINGING UP LIQUOR STORE IN THERE.
IT COULD BE PERCEIVED AS BRINGING ADDITIONAL PEOPLE THAT THEY WOULD NOT WANT.
AND TO ASK THE QUESTION, HAVE YOU ENGAGED THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OR THE PLAN CONTACT TEAM ABOUT THIS CASE PRIOR TO, UH, SEEKING SIGNATURES FROM YOUR NEIGHBORS? UM, INTERESTING NEIGHBORS DID COME TO ME INITIALLY, UH, BECAUSE OF THIS.
UM, SO WE HAVE NOT REACHED OUT TO THE NEIGHBOR ASSOCIATION BECAUSE THE PROPERTY OWNERS ARE PART OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, AND THEY WERE THE ONES THAT WERE AGAINST IDEA.
COMMISSIONER AHMED, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? NO, I WAS
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? YES.
I GUESS I HAVE A QUESTION FOR STAFF OF TRYING TO FORMULATE IT HERE OF, I KNOW THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST WAS FOR THIS ZONING CHANGE FOR THIS 1000 SQUARE FOOT RECTANGLE, ESSENTIALLY IN HALF OF THAT HOUSE OF THAT ZONING CATEGORY IS NECESSARY TO ALLOW, UH, LIQUOR SALES.
IS THAT, THAT THAT IS CORRECT.
YOU CANNOT DO, UH, LIQUOR SALES ON A NON CS ONE ZONE PROPERTY.
OH, COULD WE REZONE THE ENTIRE SITE CS ONE AND NOT HAVE THIS ISSUE OF A SLIVER OR, I DON'T KNOW THAT STAFF WOULD SUPPORT THAT REQUEST.
UM, IT WAS ORIGINALLY, UM, KIND OF REQUESTED THAT WAY AND STAFF SOUGHT CLARIFICATION, UH, TO SEE IF IT WAS REDUCED, IF WE COULD SUPPORT IT.
I MEAN, HAVING, UH, LIKE COMMISSIONER PERIAN SAID, IF IT WAS REZONED THAT WAY, IT WOULD BE THAT WAY IN PERPETUITY.
SO SOMEONE COULD OPEN A BAR ENCOMPASSING THE ENTIRE PROPERTY OR A LIQUOR STORE RATHER THAN THE SMALLER FOOTPRINT.
SO TYPICALLY A SMALLER FOOTPRINT IS PERCEIVED AS A, A WAY TO LIMIT THE SIZE OR THE SQUARE FOOTAGE.
RIGHT, BECAUSE ONCE YOU REZONE AN ENTIRE PROPERTY THAT WAY YOU COULD FEASIBLY BUILD SOMETHING LARGE ENOUGH TO ENCOMPASS THE ENTIRE PROPERTY WITH THOSE RIGHTS.
SO IF WE'VE STARTED FROM HAVING THE WHOLE SITE REZONED TO NOW JUST REQUESTING A 1000 SQUARE FOOT, THE HALF OF THE HOUSE AS A, I, I DON'T KNOW, AS A COMPROMISE OR AS
[01:25:01]
A FURTHER LIMITATION, AND, AND STEPH IS STILL OPPOSED TO THAT? THAT IS CORRECT.I KNOW IT'S IN THE BACKUP, BUT COULD YOU MAYBE SUMMARIZE THE TOP TWO OR THREE POINTS AS TO WHY STEPH IS OPPOSED? YEAH, SO I HAD MENTIONED THAT THERE'S ALREADY TWO COMMERCIAL CS ONE ZONED PARCELS OF FOOTPRINTS WITHIN 300 FEET OF THE SITE, AND THERE'S ANOTHER TWO WITHIN A TOTAL OF 500 FEET.
SO THIS WOULD BRING THE TOTAL TO FIVE CS ONE ZONE PROPERTIES OR FOOTPRINTS WITHIN 500 FEET OF THIS SITE.
SO THAT KIND OF SKIRTS THE, WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER A, A BAR OR OR LIQUOR SALES.
IS CS ONE CODE FOR LIQUOR SALES? IS THAT BASICALLY, I WANNA MAKE SURE UNDERSTAND IT'S, SO IS IT FAIR TO SAY THE STEP IS OPPOSED TO IT BECAUSE THEY'RE PROPOSING LIQUOR SALES? NO, I THINK THE, THE REASON IS REALLY AROUND THE CONCENTRATION.
WHEN YOU HAVE A CONCENTRATION OF THESE ESTABLISHMENTS, YOU SEE AN INCREASE IN, YOU KNOW, OTHER ISSUES.
UM, FROM A PLANNING PRINCIPLES, THIS IS A COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR THAT IS A MIX OF USES THAT IS ABUTTING A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD ON BOTH SIDES AT THIS POINT.
UH, THERE IS A NEIGHBORHOOD TO THE NORTH AND A NEIGHBORHOOD TO THE SOUTH.
SO IN APPLYING OUR PR PLANNING PRINCIPLES, STAFF DID NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE GRANTING A, A FIFTH CS ONE ZONING, UH, ALONG THIS AREA IN THIS GREATER CONCENTRATION.
SKIDMORE, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? OKAY, SEEING NONE.
I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION ON THIS ITEM.
UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE APPLICANT REQUEST LOOKING FOR A SECOND.
OKAY, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR MOTION? UH, YEAH, I THINK I'M ENCOURAGED BY THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE OWNER AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE COMPROMISE THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO COME TO WITH THIS PARTICULAR SITE.
AND I THINK THAT THE IDEA OF INCREASING WALKABILITY AND REALLY MAKING UTILIZATION OF THE ALLEYWAY BEHIND THIS AREA IS REALLY GREAT, UM, ASSET TO WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED HERE.
AND I DO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS SOMETIMES A COMPLICATED SITUATION WHERE WE END UP WITH SOMETHING, A USE THAT MAY NOT MAY SEEM, UM, EXCESSIVE FOR A SPECIFIC AREA, BUT I THINK WE ALSO KNOW THAT GENERAL NEIGHBORHOOD AND IF THE NEIGHBORHOOD FEELS COMFORTABLE WITH THIS AS AN OPTION MOVING FORWARD, I FEEL LIKE THAT SHOULD BE SOMETHING WE SHOULD SUPPORT.
ANYONE SPEAKING AGAINST THE MOTION? YES.
COMMISSIONER AHMED? YEAH, I'M JUST, UH, CONCERNED ABOUT SOME OF THE, UH, REPERCUSSIONS THAT ARE BROUGHT UP BY THE SPEAKER ABOUT, UM, ADDITIONAL CRIME OR OTHER ISSUES IN THE AREA.
UH, AND ALSO THAT WAS BROUGHT UP BY THE, UH, CITY AS WELL, BY THE BY STAFF.
UH, AND, UH, THE FACT THAT, UH, AS THAT, UH, AS THE SPEAKER HAD SAID, UH, SEVERAL OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS, UH, UH, IMMEDIATELY NEXT TO OR VERY CLOSE TO THIS PROPERTY, UH, HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERN.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, ACCORDING TO THE SPEAKER, UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE SIGNING A PETITION AGAINST IT.
UH, GIVES ME PAUSE AS WELL TO, UH, APPROVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS RIGHT NOW.
ANYONE ELSE SPEAKING FOR COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE? YEAH, I'LL SPEAK BRIEFLY, UH, FOR IT.
I THINK REALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS ALLOWING A VACANT HOUSE TO BE REUTILIZED FOR TAKEAWAY OF FOOD AND THEN FOR A LIQUOR STORE OF IN A WALKABLE CONTEXT.
AND I, I KNOW THAT PEOPLE HAVE STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT ALCOHOL, RIGHT? AND THE SALE OF ALCOHOL.
BUT I THINK MY PERSPECTIVE AS SOMEBODY WHO LIVES IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN AND WHO APPRECIATES FROM TIME TO TIME, THE FACT THAT I CAN WALK TO A LIQUOR STORE TO GET, I DON'T KNOW, TEQUILA FOR MAKING MARGARITAS AND WE'VE RUN OUT AND NOT HOP IN A CAR AND DRIVE SOMEWHERE TO, UH, TO GET THAT, UH, I THINK IT'S ONLY ENCOURAGING OF, YOU KNOW, THE USE FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND NOT EVERYBODY HAS TO BUY ALCOHOL OR DRINK ALCOHOL, BUT I THINK THAT, UH, US KIND OF POLICING WHO DOES AND WHERE, UH, JUST DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT TO ME.
ANYONE ELSE? SPEAKING AGAINST THE MOTION, COMMISSIONER LON, I WANT TO COMMEND THE APPLICANT WORKING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
I THINK THE APPROACH THAT YOU'VE GUYS DONE TRYING TO WORK THAT OUT IS REALLY ADMIRABLE.
UM, I DO OPPOSE BASED ON THE PRINCIPLE THAT I THINK IT IS TOO MANY LIQUOR STORES PER, UM, CONCENTRATION OF NEIGHBORHOODS, ESPECIALLY WITH SO MANY SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN THE AREA.
IT IS FIVE LIQUOR STORES WITHIN 500 FEET THAT'S A 10TH OF A MILE WITHIN VERY SHORT WALKING DISTANCE.
[01:30:01]
MY CONSIDERATION.ANYONE'S ELSE SPEAKING FOR, WE HAVE ONE MORE SPOT FOR AND AGAINST.
COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER ROJAN.
YOU WANNA TAKE IT? I'LL TAKE IT.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH WORKING WITH THE APPLICANT.
UM, I WOULD SAY, UH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF WHILE I AM SUPPORTING THIS, I WOULD SAY THAT THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF NEIGHBORS THAT HAVE VOICED OPPOSITION, THAT SHOULD BE DISCONCERTING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, THE PLAN CONTACT TEAM.
AND I WOULD WANT TO BRING THOSE FOLKS INTO FUTURE DISCUSSIONS OF THIS CASE.
UH, AND I WOULD HOPE BEFORE IT WENT TO COUNCIL THAT YOU AT LEAST HAD A CHANCE TO HEAR WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY.
UH, EVEN THOUGH IT MAY BE DIFFICULT AT TIMES TO WORK WITH ALL THE NEIGHBORS AROUND US TO REACH CONSENSUS, OFTENTIMES EVEN THOSE THAT WE DISAGREE WITH HAVE GOOD POINTS THAT MAY ENRICH THE IDEA AND HELP MAKE THIS A BETTER PROJECT.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD NOT, UH, PUSH THOSE FOLKS TO THE SIDE AND I WOULD INVITE THEM IN AND I WOULD LIKE SOME DIALOGUE WITH THEM BEFORE YOU GO TO COUNCIL, UM, IN THE HOPES THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY FIND A WAY TO FIND A COMPROMISE BETWEEN EVERYBODY.
UM, THAT SAID, THE FACT THAT, UH, THE APPLICANT DID SEEK APPROVAL FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS RATHER VOCAL IN SUPPORT, UH, FOR ME IS SWAYING MY VOTE.
ANYONE ELSE SPEAKING AGAINST THE MOTION? OKAY, SEEING NONE, LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE.
THOSE IN FAVOR? UH, COMMISSIONER BARR RAMIREZ? I DO.
UH, SO I AM SEEING, SORRY, HOLD YOUR HANDS UP ONE MORE TIME.
THOSE OPPOSED TO TWO AND ONE ABSTAINING.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO OUR SPEAKERS FOR BEING HERE.
UM, IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, I'M GONNA REQUEST A 10 MINUTE RECESS BEFORE WE JUMP INTO ITEM 11.
SO IF WE COULD RETURN AT SEVEN 50, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
THANK YOU FOR THAT BRIEF RECESS.
[11. C20-2025-008 - Sign Code Changes for Right-of-Way Signs and Relocating Billboards ]
ON TO ITEM 11, WHICH IS A CODE AMENDMENT C 20 DASH 2025 DASH 0 0 8 SIGN CODE CHANGES FOR RIGHT OF WAY SIGNS AND RELOCATING BILLBOARDS.DO WE HAVE A STAFF PRESENTATION ON THIS ITEM? PATRICIA LINK WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT? WE DON'T HAVE A PRESENTATION, BUT I CAN BREAK DOWN.
THE CODE CHANGES INTO TWO COMPONENTS.
UM, ONE IS TO ALLOW FOR OFF-PREMISE ADVERTISING ON RIGHT OF WAY INSTALLATIONS.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE A BUS STOP.
IT'S GONNA BE SOME WAY FINDING KIOSKS, UM, THAT THE CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL ARE INTERESTED IN.
UM, IT'S ALSO GOING TO BE, UH, BUS STOPS WHERE THOSE, UH, SIGNS CAN BE.
SO BUS STOPS, BIKE KIOSKS AND WAY FINDING KIOSKS.
UM, AND SO THIS CODE AMENDMENT ONE PART OF IT WILL SAY THAT WE CAN HAVE ELECTRONIC IMAGES, THAT WE CAN HAVE LIGHTING.
UM, THE SCREEN SIZE IS ABOUT 86 INCHES MEASURED DIAGONALLY.
UM, THE WAY WE HAVE IT SET UP IN THE DRAFT ORDINANCE IS THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS WILL DETERMINE SPEED OF IMAGES, LIGHTS, THOSE KINDS OF ISSUES.
AND PART OF THAT IS KIND OF SO THAT STAFF CAN ENSURE THAT THE IMAGES, THE LIGHTING, ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAPPEN IN CONTEXT OF WHERE THE SIGN IS LOCATED.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE KIOSKS WILL PROBABLY BE LIKELY DOWNTOWN AND SO THAT MAY BE A DIFFERENT CONSIDERATION THAN A BUS STOP THAT IS CLOSER TO A RESIDENTIAL AREA.
SO THE WAY THAT THE ORDINANCE IS DRAFTED, THEY WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, THE DEPARTMENT WILL TO KIND OF HELP MAKE SOME OF THOSE ASSESSMENTS AND ENSURE THAT WE ARE, UH, PROTECTING OUR GOVERNMENT INTEREST OF TRAFFIC SAFETY AND AESTHETICS.
THE SECOND PIECE OF THE CODE AMENDMENT IS TO, UH, ADDRESS RELOCATION OF BILLBOARDS.
SO WE CALL THEM NON-CONFORMING SIGNS, BUT THEY ARE TYPICALLY A BILLBOARD THAT YOU SEE.
UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN PROHIBITED NEW BILLBOARDS, UH, OFF-PREMISE ADVERTISING IN 1983.
UM, WE HAVE EXISTING BILLBOARDS THAT CAN BE RELOCATED AND UH, THE COUNCIL ASKED THE MANAGER TO WORK ON A CODE AMENDMENT THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY WHEN RELOCATING AN EXISTING BILLBOARD BECAUSE OF TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.
WE HAVE A LOT OF THOSE COMING IN BETWEEN I 35 AND WE'VE HAD SOME SIGNS THAT HAVE HAD TO MOVE BECAUSE THEY'RE ON I 35.
[01:35:01]
UM, AND ALSO JUST THE DIFFERENT, UH, YOU KNOW, CAP METRO, UH, SORRY, UH, PROJECT CONNECT AND THE DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION, UM, PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY.SO THIS WILL ALLOW FOR THOSE BILLBOARDS IF THEY ARE GOING TO BE CONDEMNED OR THEY'RE UNDER THE THREAT OF CONDEMNATION TO RELOCATE TO A DIFFERENT, UM, PLACE IN THE CITY.
DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM? NO CHAIR.
SO AT THIS POINT I THINK WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
UNLESS STAFF HAS ANYTHING TO ADD AT THIS POINT, WE MAY HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING IN A SECOND MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER SKID.
WELL SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL WITHOUT OBJECTION.
SO WE'LL MOVE INTO OUR ROUND ROBIN.
SO WE HAVE SLOTS FOR EIGHT COMMISSIONERS AT FIVE MINUTES EACH.
UM, TO ASK QUESTIONS OF STAFF COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE, GO AHEAD.
OKAY, I, I WILL KICK US OFF OF, I'M JUST, I GUESS TO STAFF LOOKING AT THE RED LINE, JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
CLARIFICATION OF TWENTY FIVE TEN ONE OH FIVE HAS, ITEM C SAYS, A SIGN INSTALLED ON A RIGHT OF WAY INSTALLATION MAY NOT EXCEED 86 INCHES MEASURED DIAGONALLY.
SO I UNDERSTAND THAT SORT OF SCREEN SIZE ON ALL OTHER RIGHT OF WAY INSTALLATIONS.
I GUESS I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT SENTENCE.
SO, UH, WHEN WE WENT TO CODES AND ORDINANCES, WE ACTUALLY HAD TWO SIGN TWO PROVISIONS.
SO THE ORIGINAL TODAY IN THE CODE FOR A BIKE KIOSK, IT IS A MUCH SMALLER SIGN, UM, AT THE RECOMMENDATION OF UH, CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE, THEY RECOMMENDED JUST HAVING THE ONE SIZE SIGN AND THAT WAS JUST AN INADVERTENT, FORGOT TO TAKE THAT LAST LITTLE BIT OFF.
SO ANY OF THESE RIGHT OF WAY INSTALLATIONS CAN HAVE SCREENS UP TO 86 INCHES WHEN MEASURED DIAGONALLY.
OKAY, THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
UH, I GUESS MY NEXT QUESTION RELATES TO, UH, WHAT YOU JUST SPOKE ABOUT WAS OF COUNCIL'S DESIRE TO HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY ON THE RELOCATION OF EXISTING NON-CONFORMING SIGNS, A AKA BILLBOARDS, UH, THAT MIGHT NEED TO BE MOVED DUE TO RIGHT OF WAY CONDEMNATION.
I ASSUME WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE I 35 CONDEMNATIONS OR PROJECT CONNECT CONDEMNATIONS OF THE BOARDS OF, I GUESS I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, IS IT NOT POSSIBLE TO RELOCATE THEM NOW UNDER THE CURRENT ORDINANCE THAT THIS PARAGRAPH NEEDED TO BE ADDED SO IT CAN, UM, YOU CAN RELOCATE A SIGN NOW BECAUSE OF THE THREAT OF CONDEMNATION? OKAY.
UM, THE RESOLUTION ASKED FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY.
OUR CURRENT PROVISIONS, UM, YOU HAVE TO, YOU CANNOT RELOCATE IT TO AN AREA 500 FEET OF A HISTORIC SIGN DISTRICT RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNIT.
UM, SOME OF OUR, UM, RESIDENTIAL OR SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL, MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL OR MIXED USE, UM, OR RESIDENTIAL LOT IN A RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION IN THE ETJ.
SO IT IS MORE RESTRICTIVE WHERE YOU CAN RELOCATE ASSIGNED TO.
WHAT WE'VE PROPOSED AT, UH, BASED ON COUNSEL'S RESOLUTION IS TO, UH, LIMIT THE RELOCATION, UH, TO, OR ALLOW FOR RELOCATION EXCEPT ON A SCENIC ROADWAY.
AND IF IT IS GOING TO BE, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE SECOND PIECE, UH, WITHIN A RESIDENTIAL BASE ZONE.
SO THE, SO WE WENT FROM LIKE FIVE CRITERIA FOR THE SITE DOWN TO TWO CRITERIA.
AND SO THEN AGAIN, I MAYBE I'M TRYING TO VISUALIZE THIS.
SO IF THERE'S A SIGN ON GUADALUPE, THERE'S A BILLBOARD ON GUADALUPE THAT NEEDS TO BE MOVED BECAUSE IT'S IN THE WAY OF PROJECT CONNECT RIGHT OF WAY MM-HMM
WHERE WOULD WE BE ALLOWED TO RELOCATE THAT BILLBOARD, UH, ELSEWHERE ON GUADALUPE? POTENTIALLY AND UNDER THE CURRENT ORDINANCE, THAT'S NOT, UH, POSSIBLE UNDER THE CURRENT ORDINANCE.
UM, ONE OF THE CONCERNS WITH GUADALUPE WOULD BE THE 500 FEET OF A RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNIT POTENTIALLY, UM, ALSO, UH, THE MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL USE.
UM, AND SO WE HAVE TRIED TO PAIR THAT DOWN, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT, THERE SHOULD BE MORE OPTIONS TO RELOCATE THOSE BILLBOARDS, UM, THAT ARE, THAT HAVE TO BE RELOCATED BECAUSE OF, UH, TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.
DO WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE THE OWNERS OF THOSE BILLBOARDS WHOLE? IS THAT THE CHALLENGE WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE? SO UNDER TEXAS LAW, UM, IF WE DO A CONDEMNATION OF PROPERTY, WE DO HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PAY FOR THE TAKING OF THAT SIGN.
[01:40:01]
SOME ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS IN OUR TEXAS LAW ABOUT WHEN WE MAKE SIGNS COME DOWN AND WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IN RESPONSE TO THAT.UM, SO I THINK THE EASIEST WAY I CAN EXPLAIN IT IS IF THERE IS A CONDEMNATION, WE WILL OWE MONEY FOR THE SIGN.
AND SO INSTEAD OF HAVING TO PAY FOR THE SIGN, IT CAN BE, UH, THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THE TAKING OF THE SIGN BY PUTTING IT IN A NEW PLACE.
UNDERSTAND ESSENTIALLY, I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M ON TIME OF, I STILL HAVE TIME, I GUESS.
SO, UH, HOW MUCH DOES A THE CONDEMNATION OF A BILLBOARD, THE TAKING OF A BILLBOARD TYPICALLY COST? THERE IS NOT A, UH, THERE'S NOT A TYPICAL NUMBER THAT I COULD GIVE YOU 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA DEPEND ON WHERE IT'S CURRENTLY LOCATED.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS THAT GO INTO CALCULATING THAT.
ABOUT HOW MANY BILLBOARDS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? UM, IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN WE ARE LIMITED TO, UM, OH, I THINK WE HAVE LESS THAN 600 BILLBOARDS ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, AND SO IT'S JUST, IF YOU HAVE TO REMOVE ONE OF THOSE, YOU GET TO REPLACE IT IN ANOTHER LOCATION.
IT'S NOT A NEW BILLBOARD IN THE SENSE THAT YOU GET AN, SO IF YOU HAVE 10, IF YOU OWN 10 BILLBOARDS AND WE MAKE YOU RELOCATE THEM, YOU WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE 10 BILLBOARDS STILL.
THANKS, COMMISSIONER SKIDMORE.
AND BEFORE WE MOVE TO OUR NEXT COMMISSIONER, I APOLOGIZE FOR FAILING TO NOTE THIS SOONER, BUT I DID LEARN THAT THE COMMISSIONERS WHO ABSTAINED ON THIS CASE, COMMISSIONER BRETTON, BREYER RAMIREZ, AND LA NOW NEED TO RECUSE.
UM, SO I WANNA NOTE THAT THEY'RE ALL RECUSING ON THE CASE AND I'LL ASK Y'ALL TO LEAVE THE DAAS PLEASE.
UH, ANOTHER COMMISSIONER WITH QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM.
I'LL JUMP IN WITH SOME QUESTIONS.
UM, JUST FIRST, UH, THIS WOULD NOT NECESSARILY APPLY ON A STATE HIGHWAY, IS THAT CORRECT? OR, OR DOES THE SUPPLY LIKE THE RELOCATION? YEAH, UM, THEY COULD PLA BE PLACED ON A STATE HIGHWAY? YES.
IF THEY ARE COMPLYING WITH OUR RULES, TDOT'S RULES, UM, AND ANY OTHER PERMITS THEY MAY NEED.
UM, BUT LIKE, SO IF A BILLBOARD NEEDED TO BE MOVED OFF OF LAMAR, WOULD THE APPLY TO THEM? I MEAN, WOULD, WOULD OUR, WOULD, WOULD CITY CODE LIKE NECESSARILY APPLY TO A BILLBOARD ON A STATE HIGHWAY? LIKE IF IT WAS ON, YOU KNOW, I 35 OR LAMAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? YES.
YES, BECAUSE WE, WE REGULATE THEM AS WELL AS THE STATE.
SO IF IT'S ON A STATE HIGHWAY, THEY HAVE TO HAVE A STATE PERMIT AND THEY HAVE TO HAVE A, A AUTHORIZATION FROM US.
UM, AND SINCE YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S A TAKING COULD, COULD WE AMORT, COULD, COULD, COULD WE USE AMORTIZATION OR IS THAT NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING WE CAN DO? UM, THE WAY THAT TEXAS LAW IS WRITTEN, WE CANNOT USE AM AMATEURIZATION FOR BILLBOARDS.
AND THEN DO WE HAVE ANYONE HERE, UM, FROM THE, WELL, I MEAN I GUESS I WOULDN'T SAY THE APPLICANT, BUT, UH, DO WE HAVE ANYONE HERE FROM THE, UM, DIGITAL SIGNAGE, DIGITAL SIGNAGE VENDOR,
UM, CAN I ASK A QUESTION OF THAT? UH, COULD WE HAVE THOSE THAT PERSON COME UP IDENTIFY WHO YOU'RE, HELLO COMMISSIONERS, I'M GIRON SHE MOHAMMED WITH IKE SMART CITY, LLC.
UM, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
UH, NUMBER ONE, I'M GUESSING AUSTIN IS NOT THE FIRST CITY THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE THIS IN.
WE ARE LIVE IN HOUSTON, SAN ANTONIO, ARLINGTON, TEXAS, AND UH, ALSO WE'LL BE LIVE IN DALLAS VERY SOON.
UH, WE'RE ALSO LIVE IN BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO, PHOENIX, ATLANTA, MIAMI, UM, OVER 25 CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, AND IS, AND THERE'S A REVENUE SHARE ELEMENT OF THIS PROPOSAL, CORRECT? YES SIR.
AND DO WE HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH REVENUE THE CITY WOULD GET OVER THE CONTRACT TERM? YES.
OVER THE TERM THE CITY'S ESTIMATED TO RECEIVE $126 MILLION.
UM, THE ANNUAL REVENUE SHARE TO THE CITY WILL BE, UH, OVER $6.3 MILLION AT FULL BUILD OUT.
UM, AND THERE'S ALSO A GUARANTEED PORTION OF THAT.
SO IN THE EVENT THAT THE REVENUE GENERATION IS NOT AT FORECAST, THE CITY IS STILL GUARANTEED AT LEAST $2 MILLION ANNUALLY.
[01:45:01]
THIS IS PROBABLY FOR CITY STAFF SINCE THAT'S NOT PROPERTY TAX REVENUE, THAT'S NOT SUBJECT TO OUR 3.5% ROLLBACK RATE, THAT'S JUST FREE MONEY SORT OFUM, AND I THINK THOSE ARE MY ONLY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW.
VICE CHAIR HANEY? YES, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, GO AHEAD.
OH, I HAD A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS FOR THE
UH, JUST TO FOLLOW UP, SINCE I THINK THERE'S BEEN SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THESE LOOK LIKE AND AUSTIN HAS OBVIOUSLY HELPED PROUD TRADITION OF MAYBE BEING VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW WE DO DIGITAL SIGNAGE.
CAN YOU MAYBE EXPLAIN HOW THESE WORK IN TERMS OF WAY FINDING AND THE TYPES OF ADS WE MIGHT SEE ON THEM? YES.
COMMISSIONER, UM, IMAGINE AN EIGHT FOOT TALL IPAD.
UM, YOU WALK UP TO THE SCREEN, YOU TAP THE SCREEN, IT UNLOCKS AND IT OPENS A SERIES OF APPLICATIONS THAT HELP YOU FIGURE OUT WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK, WHERE TO SHOP, WHERE TO PLAY, WHERE TO STAY, GENERALLY HOW TO NAVIGATE THE CITY.
UM, ONE ELEMENT THAT'S CRITICAL IS THAT NOBODY'S ABLE TO PAY FOR SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION ON THE DIRECTORY SERVICES.
SO LET'S SAY YOU SELECT EAT AND DRINK, YOU FILTER FOR COFFEE SHOP, STARBUCKS WILL NOT BE THE TOP, UM, UH, TOP LISTING EVEN THOUGH THAT'S OFTEN THE TOP LISTING ON YOUR CELL PHONE.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE STARBUCKS CAN PAY FOR SEARCHES AND OPTIMIZATION ON THE VARIOUS APPS AND SEARCH ENGINES ON YOUR CELL PHONE, BUT CANNOT ON THE KIOSK BY CONTRACT.
AND SO AS A RESULT, WE'RE PRIORITIZING THOSE BUSINESSES THAT ARE IN CLOSEST PROXIMITY TO EVERY KIOSK AND EVERY BUSINESS IS LISTED BY VIRTUE OF EXISTING, SO NO BUSINESS PAYS FULL PLACEMENT ON THE SCREEN.
AND SO PEOPLE ARE GUIDED TO THOSE BUSINESSES AROUND EACH KIOSK.
THE ONLY TIME THERE IS PAID ADVERTISEMENT IS WHEN THE KIOSK IS SHOWING A SCREENSAVER WHEN IT IS NOT BEING USED DURING THAT TIME, THERE'S A SCREENSAVER SLIDESHOW.
AND IN THAT SLIDESHOW, A NUMBER OF THOSE ADS ARE SOLD BY OUR COMPANY.
UH, THE REVENUE, THAT'S HOW WE GENERATE THE REVENUE.
AND THEN THE REMAINDER OF THOSE SLIDES ARE USED FOR ART CONTENT AND OTHER, OTHER PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EMERGENCY CONTENT AS WELL, IF THAT EVER COMES THROUGH.
SO COMMISSIONER I MAY ADD REAL QUICK.
AND SO UNPAID ADVERTISING IS PROVIDED TO PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO IT PROVIDES US OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CITY IF WE WANT TO DO SPOTLIGHTS ON COUNCIL MEMBER DISTRICTS OR WHAT.
SO IT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY SHARE CITY GOVERNMENT BUSINESS AS WELL AT NO CHARGE TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I MIGHT ADD, UH, AS HE WAS MENTIONING, THIS REALLY IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SHOWCASE LOCAL TALENT, LOCAL EVENTS, UH, ANY TYPE OF MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT, UH, AND REALLY PROVIDE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN AUSTIN AN OPPORTUNITY OF WHAT TO DO IF THEY'RE IN DOWNTOWN AREA, WHAT, WHAT'S TO DO TONIGHT.
THEY CAN LOOK AT THIS KIOSK AND SHOW YOU THOSE THAT ARE OUT OF TOWN.
UH, GUESTS LOOKING TO DO SOMETHING AS WELL PROVIDES THAT SAME OPPORTUNITY.
AND INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, WHEN I'VE TALKED TO COUNCIL MEMBERS ABOUT THIS, THEY SAID, HEY, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU COULD PUT ONE OF THESE KIOSKS OVER THERE ON MLK.
CAN YOU IMAGINE RIGHT AFTER A FOOTBALL GAME, SOMEBODY COMING OUT GOING, OH MAN, I'M OUT OF TOWN.
OR I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M GOING.
AND USING ONE OF THESE KIOSKS TO FIND OUT WHERE TO GO.
A FOLLOW UP QUESTION RELATED TO THIS, YOU MENTIONED THERE WAS AN RFP PROCESS AS YOU'VE DONE THESE OR WE'VE SEEN THESE DONE IN OTHER CITIES, THERE HAS BEEN A PROCESS TO SORT OF SELECT A VENDOR AND DO AND THAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENED HERE IN AUSTIN? THAT'S CORRECT.
UH, WE HAD SOLICITED DURING SUMMERTIME AND THERE WAS THREE SUBMITTALS RECEIVED AND UH, WE SELECTED IKE.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THIS ALSO COMES WITH A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM SAY DOWNTOWN, OTHER CITIES ALREADY HAVE THIS SO THAT THERE'S COMMUNITIES THAT, PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT ADDING THIS AS A FEATURE IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE CITY.
MY ENGAGEMENT HAS ALREADY BEEN WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THE DECK OF CHAMBERS AND, UH, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT, OR ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT THE DAA HAS SAID, IT'S ABOUT TIME WE'RE GETTING THESE, UH, WE HAD THESE IN LOUISIANA AND EVERYBODY WAS WONDERING WHEN WE WERE GONNA GET THESE THINGS HERE.
SO ABSOLUTELY GOT A LOT OF, UH, HOOPLA ON THESE COMING AND THE INFORMATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE GONNA BE AVAILABLE TO THESE.
AND SO YES, WE HAVE A LOT OF UH, UH, SUPPORT FROM, UH, THESE BUSINESSES ALREADY.
AND THEN I DID HAVE A QUESTION FOR MS LINK BECAUSE I KNOW THIS CAME UP WITH
AND I GUESS MY SPECIFIC QUESTION IS HOW DOES THE CURRENT VERSION OF THIS ADDRESS ALL OF THAT? UM, SO THE CURRENT VERSION WILL ALLOW ANY ONE OF THOSE SIGNS, THE CAP METRO SIGN, A SIGN ON CAP, METRO BUS STOP, UM, ON A BIKE KIOSK OR ON THESE WAYFINDING KIOSKS TO BE UP TO 86 INCHES WHEN MEASURED DIAGONALLY.
SO IN THEORY THEN CAP METRO COULD ACTUALLY DO AN RRP RFP FOR EXAMPLE, OF THEIR OWN
[01:50:01]
AND HAVE A SIMILAR TYPE OF REVENUE SHARE THAT WOULD GO DIRECTLY TO SAY BUS STOP MAINTENANCE AND THEN BIKE SHARES, ET CETERA, THAT THEY WOULD DO THAT AS THE CAP METRO TRANSIT AGENCY? CORRECT.THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED TO ADD IT TO THEIR BUS STOPS? CORRECT.
AND JUST ONE FINAL QUESTION BECAUSE I KNOW THIS HAS COME UP.
THERE IS GONNA BE SOME RULEMAKING REGARDING SORT OF NOT HAVING BRIGHT LIGHTS WHEN IT MIGHT SHINE IN SOMEBODY'S FACE OR THAT THESE BEING PLACED IN A PLACE WHERE WE MAYBE HAVE A BIKE PATH, SO THERE'S GONNA BE SOME ADDITIONAL RULEMAKING TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE ARE SORT OF FITTING IN THE LANDSCAPE OF THE CITY.
UH, I THINK THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS.
UH, YES, COMMISSIONER AHMED, GO AHEAD.
UH, I'VE GOT A FEW QUESTIONS HERE.
UH, SO FOR THE IKE REP REPRESENTATIVE HERE, UM, HOW DO YOU DETERMINE EXACTLY WHICH BUSINESSES SHOW UP THERE AND HOW DO YOU KEEP IT UP TO DATE? SAY A NEW BUSINESS OPENS UP, YOU KNOW, UH, NEXT WEEK OR SOMETHING, UH, HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT'S INCLUDED? AND THEN, UH, RELATED TO THAT, HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT OR MORE VALUABLE THAN AN OUT OF TOWNER SIMPLY JUST SEARCHING FOR RESTAURANTS AND GOOGLE MAPS OR, OR APPLE MAPS? I'M GLAD YOU ASKED.
UM, SO, UH, WE ACTUALLY TAP INTO AND OFTEN TRAIN LOCAL BUSINESSES WHERE WE DO BUSINESS TO KEEP GOOGLE PLACES, WHICH IS A DATABASE, NOT GOOGLE SEARCH, RIGHT? GOOGLE PLACES IS PULLING FROM STRAIGHT STATE BUSINESS REGISTRATIONS AND KEEP THAT DATABASE UP TO DATE.
UM, SO THE SHORT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS BY VIRTUE OF EXISTING, THE BUSINESS IS FEATURED ON OUR KIOSK.
NOW WE ALSO WORK WITH GROUPS LIKE DAA ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE AWARE OF HOW TO MANAGE THEIR LISTINGS, ARE FEEDING US NEW PHOTOGRAPHS, WE'RE HELPING THEM, UH, REVISE THEIR LISTING, PUTTING IN TIME PLACES AND EVEN COUPONS ONTO THE SCREEN SO THAT WAY IT CAN BE A REALLY GREAT USEFUL TOOL FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES.
NOW THE WAY IT DIFFERS FROM YOUR PHONE IS THAT THE PHONE, AND YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THIS, IS FULL OF THESE PAROCHIAL INTERESTS.
FOR INSTANCE, YELP, GOOGLE OR WHATEVER SEARCH ENGINE THAT YOU USE TO IDENTIFY RESTAURANTS, THEY'RE PAID.
AND SO THE LISTINGS THAT YOU'RE SEEING ON ALL OF THESE VARIOUS OTHER APPLICATIONS ARE PAID LISTINGS.
HOWEVER, WITH THE KIOSKS, WE ARE PROHIBITED FROM SHOWING ANY SORT OF PAID LISTING.
SO THERE'S NO IN EFFECT CURATORIAL ELEMENT FROM IKE THAT ALLOWS US TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BUSINESS THAT THESE LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE, ARE TRYING TO GENERATE FOR THEMSELVES.
AND SO WE'RE COMPLETELY AGNOSTIC TO THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE FEATURED ON THE KIOSK AND THAT RESULTS IN SMALL BUSINESSES BEING ABLE TO BE ON PARITY WITH THE BIG NATIONAL BRANDS THAT OFTEN, UH, TAKE OVER THEIR BUSINESS.
COMMISSIONER, I MIGHT ADD REAL QUICK, WE'RE OFFERING DISCOUNTS AT HALF THE PRICE TO OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES IN COMPARISON TO THE NATIONAL BRANDS TO PROVIDE THEM BETTER OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ABLE TO SHOWCASE THEIR BUSINESSES THERE.
SO WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S FAIRNESS.
SO SORRY, UH, DISCOUNTS TO THE BUSINESSES TO SHOW UP THERE.
NO, UH, IT, IT'S WHAT, UM, UH, WHAT ANTHONY MEANT WAS THAT ON THE, THE PASSIVE MODE SLIDESHOW, AS I WAS DESCRIBING EARLIER, THERE ARE TWO MODES OF OPERATION.
ONE IS IN LOCKED SCREEN MODE ESSENTIALLY, AND IN THE LOCKED SCREEN MODE THERE ARE SLIDES OF ADS.
AND THOSE ADS WE'VE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING A 50% DISCOUNT TO LOCAL BUSINESSES IN THE EVENT THEY WANT TO BUY FOR THOSE AS WELL.
AND THEN IF THERE ARE, UH, DISCOUNTS THAT THEY ARE OFFERING TO CUSTOMERS THROUGH YOUR APP, THEY'RE NOT PAYING YOU ANYTHING TO, UH, FEATURE THOSE DISCOUNTS.
AND THEN I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE BILLBOARDS AS WELL.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE THERE WERE SOME REASON FOR THE RESTRICTIONS BEFORE ON RELOCATING BILLBOARDS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO PARE DOWN RIGHT NOW.
UM, IS THE ON, IS THERE ANY REASON FOR PAIRING THOSE DOWN OTHER THAN SIMPLY THE FINANCIAL REASON OF HOPING THAT UH, MORE OF THESE BILLBOARD OWNERS END UP, UM, YOU KNOW, RELOCATING AS OPPOSED TO HAVING THE CITY PAY THEM FOR THE CONDEMNATION? COULD YOU REPHRASE YOUR QUESTION? I'M NOT SURE I CAUGHT IT.
I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
I'M SURE INITIALLY WHEN THEY HAD COME UP WITH THE DIFFERENT RULES ON, UH, ON WHERE A BILLBOARD COULD BE RELOCATED, THERE WAS REASON AND THOUGHT THAT WENT INTO THOSE AND YOU'RE LOOKING TO PARE DOWN THOSE RULES, RIGHT? CORRECT.
LIKE THE EXAMPLE OF GUADALUPE THAT WE SAID MM-HMM
I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND WHY ARE YOU LOOKING TO PARE THAT DOWN? IS IT BECAUSE THE CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE IN TERMS OF WHERE BILLBOARDS ARE APPROPRIATE AND WHERE THEY AREN'T? OR IS IT FOR FINANCIAL REASONS WHERE YOU ARE HOPING THAT PARING DOWN THAT LIST WILL, UH, REQUIRE THE CITY TO PAY LESS IN CONDEMNATION FEES? I THINK THE WAY THAT COUNCIL IS LOOKING AT IT IS WE HAVE, UM, A SIGNIFICANT UPTICK IN TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE NOT HAD BETWEEN PROJECT CONNECT I 35.
[01:55:01]
ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS, I THINK COUNCIL WAS TRYING TO ENSURE THAT THESE BILLBOARD OWNERS COULD RELOCATE THEIR SIGNS.I MEAN, THEY'RE STILL, THAT IS STILL THEIR BUSINESS, IT'S STILL THEIR BUSINESS MODEL TO HAVE A BILLBOARD.
SO IN ORDER FOR THEM TO ESSENTIALLY WE'RE NOT TAKING AWAY THE BUSINESS, WE'RE JUST HAVING THEM RELOCATE.
IT IS ULTIMATELY WE HAVE A, A MORE SIGNIFICANT UPTICK IN NEEDING TO DO THAT NOW BASED ON OUR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THAN WE HAVE HAD PREVIOUSLY.
A TYPICAL TIME WE WOULD RELOCATE A BILLBOARD IS IN THE EVENT OF AN AE TRANSMISSION LINE.
IF THAT BILLBOARD IS IN THE WAY, YOU HAVE TO MOVE IT.
AND IF IT'S TOO CLOSE TO THE LINE, WE HAVE TO MOVE IT.
SO WHEN, UM, WHEN WE DO THAT, WE ALLOW THEM TO RELOCATE, WE JUST HAVE A MUCH LARGER NUMBER OF BILLBOARDS POTENTIALLY NEEDING TO RELOCATE BECAUSE OF THE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THAT I THINK COUNCIL WANTED TO REDUCE THE BARRIERS SO THAT THEY CAN RELOCATE THOSE SIGNS IN LIEU OF THE SIGN JUST GOING AWAY.
BECAUSE HERE THE SIGN GOES AWAY ONCE IT'S DOWN, IF IT'S NOT RELOCATED, YOU HAVE LOST THAT SIGN FOREVER.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? YES.
I HAVE QUESTIONS FOR A VARIETY OF FOLKS HERE.
I'M GONNA START WITH THE VENDOR AND GO IN SAME ORDER AS, UH, COMMISSIONER AHMED.
UM, FOR THOSE OF US THAT HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE NUMBER OF SCREENS IN OUR LIVES ALREADY, I THINK THERE IS AN ARGUMENT TO BE MADE THAT THE, THE KIOSKS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED AT THE CAP METRO STATIONS PROVIDE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TRANSIT INFORMATION THAT IS HELPFUL TO A BUS RIDER OR SOMEBODY WHO MIGHT BE INCLINED TO RIDE THE BUS ABOUT THE NEXT BUS ROUTE COMING, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION THAT THEY WOULD NEED IN ORDER TO BE A BETTER USER OF THAT SERVICE WHEN IT COMES TO DOWNTOWN.
I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THE AMOUNT OF USAGE THAT YOU SEE IN OTHER CITIES WHEN WE ARE SO ACCUSTOMED TO USING THE DEVICE THAT WE ALREADY HAVE IN OUR POCKET FOR FINDING OUT ABOUT ALL THESE THINGS.
YES, COMMISSIONER, UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE REALLY GREAT DATA ON USAGE.
UM, ONE THING TO CLARIFY, UH, AN ELEMENT OF THE INTERACTIVE KIOSK THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN A CONVENTIONAL BUS SHELTER, EVEN A CONVENTIONAL BUS SHELTER WITH A TICKER MM-HMM
TELLING YOU ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE TIME IS THAT OUR TECHNOLOGY ACTUALLY GIVES YOU A MULTIMODAL TRIP PLAN TO GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B.
SO IDENTIFY THE BUSINESS YOU WANNA GO TO AND IT'S GONNA HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THERE'S A BUS TO THIS DESTINATION THERE, THERE'S A BIKE SHARE DOCKING STATION WITH AVAILABLE BIKES AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY PICK UP A BIKE AND THERE'S A DOCKING STATION WITH AVAILABLE SPACES ADJACENT TO YOUR DESTINATION.
YOU CAN PARK A BIKE THERE AND THEN YOU CAN SCAN A QR CODE AND SEND THAT TIP TRIP PLAN TO YOUR PHONE AND TAKE IT WITH YOU.
AND SO THE IDEA HERE IS THAT IT'S ACTUALLY COMPLIMENTING YOUR PERSONAL DEVICE BY HELPING YOU ACCESS ALL OF THE MODES OF TRANSIT THE CITY HAS TO OFFER AND THEN, UM, MAKING THEM MORE ACCESSIBLE TO YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL.
UM, IF YOU'RE STANDING AT A BUS SHELTER, YOU KNOW HOW TO USE THE BUS SHELTER.
UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO CONTINUE TO OTHER QUESTION.
SO, AND I THINK THAT THIS WOULD APPLY TO THE KIOSKS THAT ARE NOT ATTACHED TO BUS SHELTERS AS WELL.
MY, MY COMPANY'S ONLY DOING THE KIOSKS THAT ARE NOT ATTACHED TO BUS SHELTERS.
WE DON'T DO THE BILLBOARDS, WE'RE NOT DOING THE BIKE SHARE, WE DON'T DO THE BUS SHELTERS, WE JUST DO THE DIRECTORY KIOSK.
UM, WITH REGARD TO YOUR, YOUR SECOND QUESTION, UM, WOULD YOU MIND REPEATING IT? I THINK YOU'VE ACTUALLY ANSWERED THE SPIRIT OF THE OVERALL QUESTION THAT I WAS PUTTING FORTH AND I'M HAPPY TO SHARE STATISTICS IF THEY'RE HELPFUL.
IN OUR MOST RECENT CALCULATION, WE HAD OVER HALF A MILLION UNIQUE ENGAGEMENTS WITH OUR KIOSK NETWORK, UM, ACROSS 750 UNITS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND ONCE THE KIOSK WAS OPEN HALF A MILLION TIMES, WE HAD OVER A MILLION ENGAGEMENTS IN THAT MONTH ALONE WITH BUSINESS SERVICES APPLICATIONS.
AND SO IT IS A VERY ROBUST, UM, SERVICE OFFERING AND USED EXTENSIVELY ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO, UH, THESE ARE OBVIOUSLY GONNA BE PLACED IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY AND THEY'RE SUBJECT TO THE ARTISTIC, UH, TENDENCIES OF OUR LOVELY NEIGHBORS.
HOW DO YOU ADDRESS, UH, GRAFFITI DAMAGE, ET CETERA TO THESE AND, AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THESE DON'T BECOME A BLIGHT IN OUR CITY? UM, WE'RE ALIVE IN OAKLAND, IN CLEVELAND, IN WYNWOOD IN MIAMI WHERE GRAFFITI IS A PART OF THE CULTURE.
UM, AND WE, WE KNOW WHAT IT IS TO OPERATE INFRASTRUCTURE IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT.
WE CLEAN THEM FIVE DAYS A WEEK AND WE CLEAN THEM ON A WEEKEND DAY.
WE, UM, HAVE REMOTE MONITORING ON THE SOFTWARE SO WE KNOW WHEN THE SOFTWARE HAS BEEN DAMAGED AS WELL.
THE SHORT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS WE CHECK ON THEM REGULARLY AND HAVE COMMITTED UNDER A CONTRACT TO CLEAN THEM AND IF WE DON'T MAINTAIN THEM AT THE LEVEL WE'VE COMMITTED, UH, WE'RE IN BREACH.
AND THEN YOU WOULD HAVE STAFF STATIONED
[02:00:01]
HERE IN AUSTIN TO TAKE CARE OF THESE? YES SIR.UM, OKAY, SO, UH, MY NEXT QUESTION GOES TO STAFF.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THE, IF WE MOVE ONTO BILLBOARDS, I'M JUST GONNA USE THE, THE KIND OF MORE COMMON TERMINOLOGY HERE IN TERMS OF THE DECISION TO RELOCATE OR FOR, UH, TO USE THE LACK OF THE CORRECT TERM FEE IN LIEU HERE, WHERE WE WOULD EFFECTIVELY PAY FOR THE VACATED SIGN.
WHO MAKES THE DETERMINATION BETWEEN THOSE TWO OPTIONS? IS THAT THE CITY OR THE SIGN OWNER? THE SIGN OWNER.
IF IT IS IN OUR CODE, THE SIGNER CAN UTILIZE WHAT'S IN OUR CODE TO RELOCATE THEIR SIGN.
ASSUMING THE SIGN OWNER IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH ALL OF OUR REGULATIONS, THEY ARE ELIGIBLE TO REMOVE AND RELOCATE THAT SIGN.
UM, ONE OF OUR LARGEST, UH, BILLBOARD OWNERS IN TOWN, UM, HAS DONE THIS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, UM, AS, AS THINGS HAVE COME UP.
SO THEY ARE, IF THEY'RE, IF IT'S IN THE CODE, THEY'RE ALLOWED TO DO IT, THEY'RE ALLOWED TO RELOCATE.
BUT IF THEY WERE, FOR INSTANCE, TO SAY, NO CITY, WE WANT YOU TO PAY US FOR THE SIGN, ARE THEY ABLE TO DO THAT OR IS THE CODE, DOES IT DEFAULT TO THE CODE, WHICH IS YOU ARE NOW ALLOWED TO RELOCATE SO IT'S RELOCATE OR VACATE? YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD THAT SCENARIO THAT I'M AWARE OF.
UM, I WOULD SAY PART OF THE REASON WE DON'T IS BECAUSE WE HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF BILLBOARDS AND THEY DO NOT LIKE THEM TO GO AWAY.
UM, SO, UH, THEY, GENERALLY SPEAKING, UM, I I THINK MORE OFTEN THAN NOT MY EXPECTATION IS A BILLBOARD OWNER IS GOING TO WANT TO MOVE THE SIGN AND RELOCATE IT.
AND I REALIZE I'M OUTTA TIME, BUT I THINK THERE IS AN ELEMENT OF ENCOURAGING THE SIGN OWNERS TO TAKE A DIFFERENT OPTION THAT SOME OF US MIGHT APPRECIATE OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS, OTHERWISE I WILL JUMP IN.
UH, MS. LINK, MY FIRST QUESTION IS FOR YOU, WHICH IS WHERE DO WE ALREADY ALLOW DIGITAL ADVERTISING IN AUSTIN? SO WE ACTUALLY, OUR BILLBOARDS, SO LET ME TAKE ONE STEP.
WE HAVE NOT ALLOWED OFF-PREMISE ADVERTISING SINCE 1983, LIKE NEW ADVERTISING.
AND SO OUR EXISTING BILLBOARDS ARE CONSIDERED NON-CONFORMING AND THEY CANNOT CHANGE THEIR TECHNOLOGY.
SO THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, UH, NON-DIGITAL NOW AND THEY HAVE TO BE NON-DIGITAL FOR GOING FORWARD, EVEN IF THEY RELOCATE IT.
UM, AND SO YOU MAY HAVE, UH, SIGNS THAT ARE ON PREMISE THAT COULD HAVE SOME DIGITAL INFORMATION ON THEM.
SO LIKE THE SIGN AT THE HEB MAY HAVE ADS ON IT FOR THE THINGS THAT THEY SELL AT THE HEB BECAUSE THEY'RE AVAILABLE THERE.
SO JUST TO CLARIFY, WE DON'T CURRENTLY ALLOW OFF-PREMISE NEW DIGITAL ADVERTISING ANYWHERE, NOT OFF PREMISE.
SO THIS IS REALLY OPENING THE DOOR FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1983 TO DIGITAL ADVERTISING OFF PREMISE IN AUSTIN TO ALLOWING NEW OFF-PREMISE ADVERTISING.
I WOULDN'T EVEN, I WOULDN'T LIMIT IT.
I GUESS MY POINT BEING, I WOULDN'T LIMIT IT TO DIGITAL TO OFF-PREMISE ADVERTISING PERIOD.
THAT'S, THAT'S ACTUALLY HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND.
ARE THERE LIMITS TO WHAT CAN BE ADVERTISED OFF-PREMISE, UM, SUBJECT MATTER WISE? YES.
UM, SO IN TERMS OF WHAT A, UM, A, A SIGN OWNER MAY PUT ON THEIR SIGN, WE DON'T HAVE CONTROL OVER THAT FROM THE FIRST AMENDMENT STANDPOINT, BUT OUR, UH, THE CITY'S AGREEMENT WITH THE VENDOR ADDRESSES ADVERTISING ISSUES AND CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE AS AN ORGANIZATION.
UM, MY EXPECTATION IS CAP METRO WILL PROBABLY HAVE SOMETHING SIMILAR IF THEY PUT THEM ON THEIR BUS STOPS.
UM, SO THERE ARE SOME CONTROLS FROM THE STANDPOINT OF IT BEING ADVERTISEMENT ON SOMETHING THAT IS A CITY, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE OR IF IT WAS THE CAP METRO INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO FOR OFF-PREMISE SIGNS THAT ARE NOT REGULATED BY THIS SPECIFIC VENDOR, THERE ARE NO CONTROLS IN TERMS OF CONTENT ON THOSE ADVERTISEMENTS.
SO ON YOUR TYPICAL BILLBOARD MM-HMM
FROM THE FIRST AMENDMENT STANDPOINT, THEY ARE OFF-PREMISE ADVERTISING.
UM, IF WE GET INTO CONTENT, UH, WE HAVE, WE HAVE SOME ISSUES THERE.
AND SO MAYBE MR. SHE HANLEY, YOU CAN SHARE WHAT THE REGULATIONS ARE ON WHAT CAN BE ADVERTISED ON THE KIOSKS THAT YOUR VENDOR IS PROPOSING.
UM, BY CONTRACT WHERE THE CONTRACT WE EXECUTED WITH THE CITY WE'RE PROHIBITED FROM SHOWING ANYTHING LEWD, ANYTHING OBSCENE, ANYTHING BIGOTED, ANYTHING VIOLENT, CANNABIS, AND THEN ALCOHOL WITHIN 500 FEET OF A SCHOOL, CHURCH, OR PARK OR
[02:05:01]
LIBRARY, FIREARMS, SPORTS BETTING, COSMETIC SURGERY, LIKE PREDATORY FINANCIAL PRODUCTS, POLITICAL ADS, ALL FAIR GAME.NO POLITICAL AD IS PROHIBITED.
FIREARMS WOULD BE PROHIBITED UNDER THE, THE VIOLENCE PROHIBITION.
UH, AND THEN WHAT'S THE NATURE OF THE CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR THESE KIOSKS? HOW LONG DOES THAT CONTRACT LAST? FIVE YEARS AND THEN SUBJECT TO RENEWALS BASED ON PERFORMANCE CRITERIA, INCLUDING MAINTENANCE AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE.
AND SO IF THE CITY AND RESIDENCE DECIDE WITHIN THAT FIVE YEAR PERIOD THAT THEY DON'T LIKE HAVING THIS DIGITAL ADVERTISING IN OUR DOWNTOWN PUBLIC SPACES, DO THEY HAVE ANY RECOURSE TO GET OUT OF THAT CONTRACT? THE CITY HAS RECOURSE IF WE'VE BREACHED OUR CONTRACT.
BUT THE CONTRACT'S ALREADY BEEN EXECUTED.
THE CONTRACT'S ALREADY BEEN EXECUTED? YES, MA'AM.
AND THEN I THINK WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CLEANING.
WHO'S RESPONSIBILITY IS IT TO REPAIR THE KIOSKS IF THEY'RE DAMAGED? OURS.
AND IS THERE A TIME LIMIT ON THAT? YES.
INCLUDED IN THE CONTRACT? YES.
I THINK THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? YES, CHAIR COHEN.
I'M TRYING FOLLOW LAST I HAVE, UH, A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR LEGAL.
WE'LL START WITH, UM, IS THERE A SIGN REVIEW BOARD IN AUSTIN? IS THERE A WHAT SIGN REVIEW BOARD? YES.
AND, AND WHO WOULD THAT BE? BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT.
SO
DO YOU FAMILIAR WITH THAT? I'M ASSUMING? YES.
WHEN WAS THAT DECIDED? IT WAS, THE OPINION CAME DOWN FROM THE SUPREME COURT DURING COVID AND THEN THE FIFTH CIRCUIT, UM, UPHELD OUR REGULATIONS, UH, SHORTLY THEREAFTER.
AND WHEN WAS THAT? IN 23, 24 TIMEFRAME.
SO OBVIOUSLY WE, WE KIND OF CARE ABOUT OF WHAT WE PUT ON OUR ROADWAYS.
UM, WHEN ASKED EARLIER, YOU'RE ASKED RIGHT NOW UNDER THE CURRENT REGULATIONS WHETHER OR NOT A BILLBOARD OWNER COULD RELOCATE A BILLBOARD.
LEGALLY YOUR ANSWER WAS YES, BUT PRAGMATICALLY SPEAKING IS, HOW DIFFICULT IS THAT? CAN YOU REALLY RE YES.
I MEAN IT SEEMS LEGALLY YES, BUT YES.
NO, ACTUALLY IT'S, NO, YOU CANS ALMOST POSSIBLE.
I CAN, I KNOW OF AT LEAST ONE COMPANY IN PARTICULAR THAT HAS RE RELOCATED SIGNS.
UM, ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE ORIGINAL INTENT BEHIND WHY THE CITY OF BOSTON CHOSE TO START LIMITING SPECIFICALLY BILLBOARDS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS AND THE ETJ, UM, TO PROTECT OUR, UH, TRAFFIC SAFETY AND AESTHETICS AND GOVERNMENT INTERESTS? GOVERNMENT INTERESTS? I WASN'T FAMILIAR WITH THAT ONE.
CAN YOU ELABORATE PLEASE? SO IN 1982 OR THREE, THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, UH, ACKNOWLEDGED THAT CITIES CAN REGULATE, UM, FOR TRAFFIC SAFETY AND AESTHETICS.
THOSE ARE GOVERNMENT INTERESTS THAT WE CAN, UM, REGULATE OR WE CAN REGULATE UNDER THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO PROTECT TRAFFIC SAFETY AND AESTHETICS.
AND WE CAN DISTINGUISH BETWEEN ON-PREMISE AND OFF-PREMISE SIGNS.
THAT'S WHY WE HAVE ON-PREMISE EVERYWHERE PREMISE IS ONLY WHAT EXISTED IN 1980.
I, UH, SORRY, I'M NOT TRYING TO CUT YOU OFF JUST SHORT ON TIME.
THAT BEING THE CASE, HAS SOMETHING CHANGED IN HOW WE VIEW OUR CITY'S AESTHETICS AS TO THE KIOSK PIECE OR AS BILLBOARDS TO THE RELOCATION OF THE BILLBOARDS BILL? BILLBOARDS? NO, OUR, OUR INTERESTS ARE STILL THE SAME.
THEN WHY MAKE IT EASIER? THE CONCERN THAT THE COUNCIL WAS RAISING IN THE RESOLUTION RELATES TO THE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THAT ARE COMING INTO THE CITY COMING UP, RIGHT? MM-HMM
BUT IF THE ORIGINAL INTENT WAS TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF BILLBOARDS SPECIFICALLY, WHY NOT JUST LET THEM FADE AWAY? AND I KNOW THAT THERE ARE BILLBOARD OWNERS THAT WOULD NOT BE VERY HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE HUGE MONEY MAKERS, BUT, SO IF WE TAKE PROPERTY FOR CONDEMNATION, THEY CAN'T REALLY FADE AWAY.
WE HAVE TO PAY FOR THEM, BUT THERE WON'T BE A SIGN.
ON THE KIOSKS, JUST REAL QUICK, 'CAUSE I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
UH, 86 INCHES IS D ON THE DIAGONAL.
UM, THAT'S APPROXIMATELY, UH, 2.3 METERS.
UH, AND THIS MIGHT BE BETTER ASKED FOR THE VENDOR.
UH, WHAT KIND OF, UH, CANELA PER METER ARE WE TALKING HERE? UH, I, I'M, I'M REALLY NOT GREAT AT CONVERTING TO METRICS.
UH, THE WAY WE CONSIDER THIS IS THINKING ABOUT, UH, FOOT CANDLES FROM A DISTANCE.
SO IT'S GONNA BE, UM, FIRST, EACH KIOSK IS GONNA HAVE A BRIGHTNESS MONITOR ON EVERY SINGLE ONE AND WILL DIM BASED ON AMBIENT LIGHT CONDITIONS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE NEVER GONNA BE ABOVE THE LIGHT CONDITIONS OF A STREET LIGHT.
[02:10:01]
BE REQUIRED TO BE AT THE SAME CONDITIONS WITHIN ITS AMBIENT ENVIRONMENT.UM, I, WITH RESPECT TO DISTANCE, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE BELOW 0.2 ELAS MEASURED AT 200 FEET AT MINIMUM.
THAT'S, UH, THE ONLY REASON I BRING THIS UP IS BECAUSE THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE A DARK SKY COMPLIANCE, UH, PORTION WRITTEN INTO THE CODE YET, WHICH I'M HOPING, HINT HINT, WE WILL BE SEEING SOMEDAY PLANNING PUBLISHERS COP COUGH.
UH, WE DO HAVE THE OBLIGATION IN OUR CONTRACT TO HAVE A LIGHT SENSOR AND DIM, UM, TO MAINTAIN AMBIENT LIGHT CONDITIONS.
THEN I'M JUST GONNA STOP THE QUESTION WITH THAT.
OH, I DID HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION.
UH, YOU SAID YOU GUYS ARE IN HOUSTON, RIGHT? YES, MA'AM.
UH, NORTHLINE STATION METRO RAIL, UM, IS THAT NOT, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT ON THE RAIL STATIONS.
WE'RE ON THE SIDEWALKS ACROSS THE CITY.
WE WERE THE FIRST AND THE REMAIN THE ONLY FORM OF DIGITAL IN HOUSTON.
IT HASN'T LED TO PROLIFERATION OF OTHER FORMS OF DIGITAL ADVERTISING THERE.
UM, WE HAVE ONE MORE SLOT FOR QUESTIONS.
I'M HAPPY TO GO BACK TO COMMISSIONER BEREN.
I KNOW HE HAS MORE, BUT I WANNA JUST DOUBLE CHECK WITH COMMISSIONER POWELL AND COMMISSIONER HILLER THAT YOU DON'T WANT A FIRST ROUND OF QUESTIONS.
SO, UH, MY FINAL QUESTION FOR TODAY IS RELATED TO STAFF.
I THINK THE, THE CONCERN THAT I'VE BEEN HEARING FROM CONSTITUENTS, UH, IN THE LAST COUPLE DAYS RELATED TO THIS CASE LARGELY COMES FROM THE FOLKS THAT WERE A PART OF THE ORIGINAL DRAFTING OF THE RESOLUTION THAT LED TO THIS CODE.
UM, THEY FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE NOT BEEN CONSULTED OR, UH, HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE NEW CODE, UM, OR WEIGH IN ON IT.
IS THERE A REASON THEY WERE NOT ENGAGED DURING THIS PROCESS? I THINK THE WAY THAT, UM, THE INTEREST FROM THE COUNCIL, UH, TO MOVE THESE CODE AMENDMENTS FORWARD.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, WITH THE CONTRACT FOR THE WAY FINDING KIOSKS TO MOVE FORWARD.
SO THEY HAVE, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD AT THE SPEED THAT WE'VE BEEN DIRECTED TO MOVE UP.
UM, THAT, THAT DID NOT PERMIT TIME TO REACH OUT TO ANY OF THE FOLKS THAT ACTUALLY HAD AN INTEREST IN MAKING THIS POSSIBLE AND ARE THE RESPONSIBLE ONES FOR EVEN MAKING THIS CONTRACT POSSIBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
LET ME, LET ME, LET ME RESTATE THIS.
THAT MY QUESTION, I THINK THE, THE, THE DISAPPOINTMENT FOR MANY IS THAT THEY WORKED A GOOD LONG TIME ON AND, AND BRINGING THIS TO THE CITY AND ENCOURAGING THESE ELEMENTS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, UH, AND FELT LIKE THEY HAD MORE, UH, INPUT TO GIVE AS TO THE SPECIFICS OF THE, OF THE CODE AS IT WAS WRITTEN.
AND I THINK HAVE CONCERNS WHILE MAYBE NOT ENTIRELY, UH, FOUNDED IN THE WAY THAT THE RED LINES WERE PROVIDED TO US, STILL HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT THERE, THERE ARE FURTHER REACHING IMPLICATIONS OF THIS CODE, UH, I THINK MORE SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO BILLBOARDS THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
UM, AND ARE CONCERNED THAT THERE ARE STILL SOME DEMONS HIDDEN IN THE CODE THAT COULD BE, UM, MONOPOLIZED ON BY THOSE THAT DO OWN BILLBOARDS IN OUR CITY.
UM, ARE YOU OPEN TO, UH, ENGAGING WITH THEM FURTHER, UH, DURING THIS PROCESS? IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEND ME THEIR CONCERNS, I CAN REVIEW THOSE AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS.
WOULD YOU BE OPEN TO HAVING A MEETING WITH THEM? SURE.
SO THAT IS ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS SLOTS.
SO USUALLY WE WOULD AT THIS POINT TAKE A BASE MOTION, WHICH WOULD BE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE, UM, BUT I WILL LOOK FOR A MOTION TO START US OFF.
ACTUALLY, MADAM CHAIR, I WOULD LOVE TO ASK STAFF ONE MORE QUESTION.
UM, SO I KNOW THAT THERE IS A COMMON THEME IN, IN THIS, UH, CODE AMENDMENT AND THAT IS SIGN, BUT THESE ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OF SIGNS AND TWO VERY DIFFERENT ITEMS. UM, I DID HEAR THAT WE HAVE ALREADY SIGNED A CONTRACT.
I I DON'T THINK I REALIZED THAT WHEN WE WERE COMING INTO THE MEETING.
SO THERE MUST BE SOME EXPOSURE TO THE CITY IF WE DON'T MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CONTRACT.
UM, BUT I'M WONDERING IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE FROM A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE IF WE WERE TO SEVER THESE TWO DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE CODE AMENDMENT AND VOTE ON ONE AND NOT THE OTHER, OR, OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
UM, TO YOUR FIRST PART ABOUT EXPOSURE, THE CONTRACT WITH THE VENDOR DOES ACKNOWLEDGE THAT COUNSEL WOULD NEED TO CHANGE THE CODE.
[02:15:01]
BEEN VERY UPFRONT WITH ANYONE WHO, UM, SUBMITTED A RESPONSE TO THE, UH, RFP THAT THEY WOULD KNOW THAT CODE DOESN'T CURRENTLY ALLOW FOR THIS AND THIS WOULD NEED TO CHANGE.UM, SO THERE'S THAT, UM, ONE OPTION THE, THE BOARD CAN CONSIDER IS TO HAVE TAKE ACTION ON THE RIGHT WAY, INSTALLATION PIECE SEPARATE FROM, UM, THE BILLBOARD RELOCATION.
AND YOU CAN EITHER PUT BOTH OR ONE OR, YOU KNOW, MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON BOTH, MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON ONE, UM, HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE.
BUT YOU CAN ESSENTIALLY SPLIT THE QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
SO I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE TAKE THESE UP AS TWO SEPARATE MOTIONS.
UM, BILLBOARD RELOCATION BEING THE FIRST AND THEN OFF PREMISE ADVERTISING AS A SECOND.
SO LET'S, UM, CHAIR, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO MAKE A MOTION ALONG THOSE LINES, PLEASE? UM, CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT WE RECOMMEND THAT AS A PLANNING COMMISSION, WE SPLIT THE QUESTION AND DIVIDE THESE INTO TWO DIFFERENT ISSUES.
ONE RELATED TO THE BILLBOARD CHANGES IN OUR CODE AND ONE RELATED TO THE DIGITAL SIGNAGE AND RIGHT OF WAY, I GUESS I'LL JUST SEND THIS TO STAFF AND MS. LINK, DO WE NEED TO MAKE A MOTION TO SPLIT THEM OR CAN WE JUST TAKE UP TWO SEPARATE MOTIONS? YOU CAN TAKE UP TWO.
IF EVERYONE'S IN AGREEMENT, THEN YOU CAN CONSIDER BEING UNANIM.
ANY OBJECTION TO SPLITTING THEM.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE US A BASE MOTION FOR THE BILLBOARD RELOCATION? YES, I'D LIKE TO MAKE STAFF, UH, MOVE STAFF RECOMMENDATION ON THE, UM, DIGITAL BILLBOARD AND RIGHT OF WAY ITEM.
CAN, CAN YOU CLARIFY? OH, SORRY.
UH, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY.
UH, I'M GOING TO MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION THAT WE POSTPONE DISCUSSION ON THE RIGHT OF WAY INSTALLATION TWO WEEKS TO JANUARY 27TH.
NOW WE'LL LOOK FOR A SECOND ON THAT.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER POWELL.
AT THIS POINT WE CAN TAKE AMENDMENTS, BUT WE WON'T DO THAT TO A POSTPONEMENT MOTION.
WE'LL JUST TALK THROUGH, WE'LL JUST DEBATE ON THAT BASE MOTION.
UM, I WILL GO AHEAD AND SPEAK FOR MY POSTPONEMENT MOTION.
I AM ABSOLUTELY INTERESTED IN WAYFIND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM.
AND THIS VENDOR SEEMS VERY REPUTABLE, BUT I'M EXTREMELY CONCERNED THAT THE OFF-PREMISE ADVERTISING PORTION OF THIS CODE CHANGE DOES REALLY OPEN THE DOOR TO DIGITAL ADVERTISING IN OUR PUBLIC SPACES IN A WAY THAT IT FEELS LIKE WE MAY NEVER BE ABLE TO COME BACK FROM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE FULLY REALIZE HOW UNIQUE, AND I'LL JUST SAY SUBJECTIVELY FOR ME, IT IS VERY NICE TO NOT BE INUNDATED WITH DIGITAL ADVERTISING IN OUR PUBLIC SPACES.
AND I FEAR IT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT WE WON'T TRULY APPRECIATE UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE AND WE'RE LOCKED INTO A CONTRACT THAT HAS A LOT OF DIGITAL ADVERTISING BUILT INTO IT.
UM, I KNOW THAT OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE IT THIS WAY, BUT I THINK WE NEED SOME MORE TIME TO THINK THROUGH THIS, HEAR FROM THE STAKEHOLDERS, AND HAVE A BIT MORE CONVERSATION AND POTENTIALLY BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME AMENDMENTS AROUND THIS.
AND I'M JUST REALLY GONNA ASK THAT WE TAKE TWO WEEKS TO POSTPONE UNTIL JANUARY 27TH SO THAT WE CAN LOOP SOME MORE STAKEHOLDERS INTO THE CONVERSATION.
I, I THINK THAT IF THERE WERE MORE PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING HERE, THERE WOULD BE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT CONCERN ABOUT THIS.
WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO SPEAK AGAINST THE MOTION? CAN I ASK A CLARIFYING QUESTION OF THE MOTION MAKER? SURE.
OF, AS I READ THE DRAFT ORDINANCE, THE, THESE DIGITAL KIOSKS ARE UNDER RIGHT OF WAY INSTALLATIONS AND NOT OFF-PREMISE SIGN.
SO I'M, ARE WE OPENING THIS PANDORA'S BOX FOR OFF-PREMISE SIGN OR NOT? I THINK IT'S THIS WHERE I'M CONFUSED.
I THINK MS. LINK, CAN YOU, CAN YOU ADDRESS THAT? SO THE CODE AMENDMENT WOULD ALLOW OFF-PREMISE ADVERTISING ON RIDE OF WAY INSTALLATIONS ON RIGHT OF WAY INSTALLATIONS THAT HAVE TO BE PERMIT APPROVED BY THE CITY, CORRECT.
THAT WAS NOT, SHE'S NOT GONNA SPEAK IN FAVOR, YOU'RE NOT SPEAKING AGAINST, THAT WAS JUST A CLARIFYING QUESTION.
YEAH, I'M STUMPED AT THE MOMENT.
I'LL BE SILENT I'LL ANYONE SPEAKING AGAINST POST MEMO YET.
COMMISSIONER MAXWELL? UM, YEAH, I I THINK I'M, I'M ENCOURAGED TO MOVE THIS FORWARD.
I THINK WE'VE HEARD A LOT OF GREAT QUESTIONS ASKED TONIGHT AND A LOT OF GREAT ANSWERS.
UM, I FEEL LIKE THERE WAS A VERY ROBUST RFP
[02:20:01]
PROCESS THAT THIS HAS GONE THROUGH.THERE'S BEEN SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND ENGAGEMENT, WHICH WE ALREADY DISCUSSED EARLIER.
AND I THINK THAT THERE IS OBVIOUSLY ALWAYS A CONCERN THAT WE POTENTIALLY OPEN PANDORA'S BOX, BUT I THINK IN THIS CASE HAS BEEN REALLY CAREFULLY REVIEWED BOTH HERE AND AT THE, AND JOINT ORDINANCES COMMITTEE AS TO WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WILL BE.
AND IT IS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE DIGITAL WAY FINDING AND SUPPORT OUR TRANSIT AGENCY, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY A GREAT PLUS OF THIS.
SO I AM NOT FEELING THAT A POSTPONEMENT IS NECESSARY OR WOULD NECESSARILY ADD ANYTHING TO THIS PARTICULAR CHANGE.
ANYONE ELSE? SPEAKING FOR THE POSTPONEMENT, FOR COMMISSIONER HILLER? UM, I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHY THIS FALLS UNDER THE PURVIEW, THE PLANNING COMMISSION, BUT AS IT DOES, AND IT'S ON THE AGENDA, IF, IF WE'RE BEING ASKED TO EVALUATE ON THE MERITS, I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME OF THE MATH.
UM, IT SEEMS TO BE AN AREA OF OVER, YOU KNOW, OF, OF OVERSIGHT.
YOU KNOW, I, YOU KNOW, PITCH ME THE DEAL AND, UM, ANYWAY, I I JUST DON'T THINK THAT WAITING TWO WEEKS AND GETTING A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION IN THE INTERIM ABOUT, HEY, THIS MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE AND HELPS US SUBSTANTIATE THE COST BENEFIT OF IT IS, IS TOO MUCH TO ASK.
SO ANYONE SPEAKING AGAINST THE POSTPONEMENT, VICE HANEY? UM, I, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ECHO THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DO BELIEVE WE HAVE HAD A ROBUST RFP PROCESS.
I I REALLY DO APPRECIATE OUR CITY STAFF, UM, FOR GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
AND OF COURSE, I, YOU KNOW, I AM ONE OF THE FEW COMMISSIONERS WHO'S ALSO ON COJC, SO I WAS PART OF THE LAST PUBLIC INPUT THAT WE HAD, UM, ON, ON THIS PARTICULAR PROPOSAL AND, UH, ENJOYED HEARING FROM THE PUBLIC.
AND I KNOW THAT WE INCORPORATED SOME OF THOSE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS INTO THIS PROPOSAL AS WE MOVED FORWARD.
SO, I MEAN, THERE, THERE HAS BEEN PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND I KNOW THIS WAS A UNANIMOUS, UM, UH, MOTION FROM COUNCIL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS AS WELL.
SO I KNOW THAT THEY WERE ALSO, UM, UH, RECEIVING SOME PUBLIC COMMENT AT THAT TIME, UM, AS WELL.
SO I, I, I DO BELIEVE THERE HAS BEEN QUITE A LOT OF, UH, REVIEW OF THIS, THIS AS WELL, UM, UH, FROM THE BUSINESS SIDE.
AND I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, EACH FORTNIGHT WE MOVE ALONG, THAT'S ANOTHER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN LOST REVENUE THAT OUR CITY DESPERATELY NEEDS.
ANYONE ELSE SPEAKING FOR THE POSTPONEMENT? WE HAVE ONE MORE SLOT.
YEAH, I, I DEFINITELY WANT TO ECHO WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE COMMISSIONERS HAVE MENTIONED OF THE COMPETITIVE RFP PROCESS, THE RIGOROUS NATURE OF WHAT'S HAPPENED SO FAR.
BUT I ALSO REALLY THINK PUBLIC APPEARANCE AND COMMUNITY TRUST ON THIS MATTERS A LOT, UH, AT EVERY SINGLE STEP.
SO JUST AS THERE'S BEEN GOOD COMMUNITY TRUST AND BUY-IN AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AT THE RFP PROCESS WITH CITY COUNCIL'S INITIAL MOTION.
AND AS I HOPE TO SEE ONCE THIS, YOU KNOW, IF THIS PASSES THIS BODY MOVING FORWARD TO COUNCIL, I ALSO REALLY FEEL THAT THE TIMING HERE IS NOT IDEAL COMING FROM THE HOLIDAY BREAK, UH, FIRST KIND OF SIZABLE MEETING IN A WHILE FOR THIS BODY.
I DON'T WANT TO HAVE ANY TYPE OF PUBLIC PERCEPTION THAT, UM, US AS A BODY, AS A PLANNING COMMISSION HAVEN'T DONE OUR DUE DILIGENCE.
'CAUSE AS CHAIR WOODS SHARED, THIS IS A MASSIVE CHANGE AND IT COULD BE DIFFICULT TO PUT THE RABBIT BACK IN THE HAT.
SO, SPEAKING TRANSPARENTLY AS A COMMISSIONER, I, I THINK WITH THE VENDORS SHARING SOUNDS GOOD.
I, I DON'T THINK I WOULD NECESSARILY BE IN OPPOSITION, BUT I STRONGLY SUPPORT POSTPONING THIS WORST CASE SCENARIO.
LET'S JUST TAKE A COUPLE MORE WEEKS AND GET SOME QUESTIONS ASKED FOR WHAT IS A PRETTY NOTABLE CHANGE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, MAKE SURE THE COMMUNITY FEELS THEY HAVE SKIN IN THE GAME ON THE STEP IN THE PROCESS.
ANYONE SPEAKING AGAINST THE POSTPONEMENT? OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE.
THOSE IN FAVOR OF POSTPONEMENT UNTIL JANUARY 27TH.
FIVE THOSE AGAINST FIVE TO THREE.
SO WE'RE BACK TO OUR BASE MOTION, WHICH IS A STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR SIGN CODE CHANGES FOR RIGHT OF WAY SIGNS, UH, WHICH WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY.
UM, LET'S LOOK FOR AMENDMENTS TO THAT BASE MOTION.
UM, WE DID NOT QUICK, QUICK QUESTION.
UM, GIVEN THE NATURE OF THE SEPARATION, SHOULD WE BRING BACK THE RECUSALS ON THIS PART, PART OF THE ISSUE? THIS IS THE PART, THIS IS THE PART THAT THEY'RE, UH, RECUSING ON, BUT APPRECIATE THE CONSIDERATION.
SO WE DID NOT HAVE A WORKING GROUP ON THIS ITEM, SO WE DON'T HAVE AMENDMENTS FROM A WORKING GROUP.
[02:25:01]
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY AMENDMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN SHARED BY COMMISSIONERS AHEAD OF TIME? MS. GARCIA? NO.UM, DO COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY AMENDMENTS THAT THEY'D LIKE TO SHARE FROM THE DAAS ON THIS ITEM? MAY I ASK A QUESTION? YES.
IS IT STILL POSSIBLE TO MAKE A MOTION ON THIS, UH, THIS CASE TO, TO POSTPONE THE ENTIRETY OF THIS AS A WHOLE? STILL IT WOULD BE A QUESTION FOR OUR PARLIAMENTARIAN, BUT I WOULD THINK THAT BECAUSE WE'VE BROKEN IT OUT AND VOTED AGAINST A POSTPONEMENT ON THIS ASPECT, WE CANNOT.
UH, ANY COMMISSIONERS WITH AMENDMENTS ON THIS CODE CHANGE? OKAY.
UH, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR MOTION? UH, YEAH, I THINK WE'VE COVERED A LOT OF THE DETAILS OF THIS AND I DO APPRECIATE THE REALLY, UM, THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS FROM THE FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.
AND I DO ALSO APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT STAFF HAS PUT INTO IT.
SINCE THE PRESENTATION HAPPENED BEFORE CHRISTMAS AT CGOC, THERE HAVE BEEN UPDATES TO THIS.
SO I THINK IT IS A STRONGER AMEND, UH, VERSION OF THIS CHANGE THAN WE SAW PREVIOUSLY.
AND I WILL ALSO SAY THAT SHOULD THERE BE ADDITIONAL CONCERNS THAT THERE IS TIME FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO RAISE THIS IN A WORKING GROUP MEETING AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, THROUGH COUNCIL ACTION ON THE DIOCESE WHEN THIS IS ACTUALLY BROUGHT TO THEM.
SO THIS IS BY NO MEANS THE FINAL VERSION OF THIS ORDINANCE.
THERE'S DEFINITELY OPPORTUNITY FOR CONTINUED CONTINUE, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND CONVERSATIONS AROUND THIS CHANGE.
I FEEL THAT WE HAVE HAD A ROBUST DISCUSSION AROUND THESE SPECIFIC CHANGES TONIGHT AND HEARD SOME GREAT INFORMATION THAT REALLY CLARIFIED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS, AND THAT'S WHY I FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE MOVING FORWARD THAT WE HAVE ACTUALLY DISCUSSED THIS IN A VERY HOLISTIC MANNER.
COMMISSIONER POWELL? YEAH, I, I WILL BE VOTING AGAINST THIS, BUT I WANNA BE VERY CLEAR AGAIN, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY ON THE CONCEPT, JUST MORE SO THE TIMING, TIMING, UM, NOT TO REHASH THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION, WOULD PREFER POSTPONEMENT STILL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
SO, UM, THAT'S INFORMING ME BEING AGAINST THE SPECIFIC MOTION.
ANYONE ELSE SPEAKING FOR THIS MOTION? OKAY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE SECOND AGAINST SPOT.
I LIKEWISE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW THAT I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS.
I'M JUST NOT READY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH RECOMMENDING THIS SEISMIC CHANGE TO WHAT IS ALLOWED IN OUR CITY IN TERMS OF DIGITAL ADVERTISING.
AND THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE KIND OF CODE CHANGE THAT I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A LENGTHY DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, AND HAVE AMENDMENTS THAT WE WOULD BRING.
AND UNFORTUNATELY WE DON'T HAVE ANY AMENDMENTS PREPARED THIS EVENING.
AND, UM, I THINK IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
SO I'LL BE VOTING AGAINST IT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION AND HAVEN'T HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS IT FULLY.
ANYONE ELSE SPEAKING FOR THE BASE MOTION? OTHERS AGAINST? OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE.
SO THIS IS FOR STAFF RECOMMENDATION ON SIDE CODE SIGN CODE CHANGES FOR RIGHT OF WAY SIGNS, REMOVING RELOCATING BILLBOARDS FROM THE CONVERSATION.
UM, THIS IS A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY.
SO THAT FAILS FOR FORCE THAT WILL MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT A RECOMMENDATION.
I'M LOOKING FOR A BASE MOTION ON THE SIGN CODE CHANGES FOR RELOCATING BILLBOARDS.
COMMISSIONER AHMED, I MAKE A MOTION TO POSTPONE.
UM, CAN YOU GIVE US A DATE CERTAIN, UH, TWO WEEKS.
SO HAVE A MOTION TO POSTPONE TO JANUARY 27TH, THE SIGN CODE CHANGES FOR RELOCATING BILLBOARDS BY COMMISSIONER AHMED.
I'LL SECOND, UH, LET'S MOVE INTO DEBATE.
COMMISSIONER AHMED, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR POSTPONEMENT MOTION? SURE.
I THOUGHT ON THE, UM, DIGITAL SIGNAGE PIECE, WE HAD, UM, UH, A LOT OF DISCUSSION ON THAT AND I, I FELT LIKE A LOT OF MY QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED THERE.
UM, ON THE PIECE OF THE BILLBOARDS, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS SOME OF THE, UH, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM THE COMMUNITY WAS, UH, WAS TARGETING THE BILLBOARDS ALSO.
UH, AND SO THERE MAY BE SOME, UH, UH, SOME MORE PUSHBACK FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON THAT.
BUT ALSO IMPORTANTLY, UH, I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND BETTER, UH, BEFORE WE VOTE ON THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT THE REDUCTION IN
[02:30:01]
THE, UH, REQUIREMENTS FOR WHERE THESE BILLBOARDS CAN BE MOVED HAS ANY IMPACT ON THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS, BECAUSE I'M SURE THERE WAS SOME THOUGHT THAT WENT INTO THOSE THAT, UH, INITIAL SET OF RESTRICTIONS AND I DON'T FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOTTEN A GOOD ANSWER TO, UM, WHY THEY WERE EXACTLY PRUNE THE WAY THEY WERE OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, JUST MAKING IT EASIER FOR THE SIGN OWNERS TO, UH, BE ABLE TO RELOCATE THEIR BILLBOARDS.UH, COMMISSIONERS SPEAKING AGAINST THE POSTPONEMENT.
COMMISSIONER HILLARY, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WILL BE REASSURING.
I JUST SEE THIS ONE AS, AS FAR LESS CONTROVERSIAL.
UM, IT'S BASICALLY LIMITED IN SCOPE BY THE OTHER REGULATIONS IN TERMS OF WHERE BILLBOARDS CAN BE PUT.
UM, I FEEL REASONABLY ASSURED THAT THERE'S A PRETTY FINITE NUMBER OF LOCATIONS WHERE THESE CAN BE MOVED TO AND THAT THEY'RE GONNA MORE OR LESS LOOK LIKE THE KIND OF LOCATIONS WHERE THEY CURRENTLY ARE.
IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S BEING MOVED SOMEPLACE CLOSE, BUT REASONABLY, YOU KNOW, SAME TYPE OF, UM, BUILDING INTENSITY AND THAT KIND OF THING.
OTHERS SPEAKING FOR THE POSTPONEMENT? YES, COMMISSIONER IAN.
UH, AS I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF STAKEHOLDERS THAT FEEL THAT THEY HAVE, UH, MORE INPUT TO GIVE AND WOULD LIKE BETTER CLARITY ON THE WAY THAT THE CODE HAS BEEN DRAFTED.
EVEN IF PERHAPS MYSELF, I FEEL LIKE I HAVE REACHED SATISFACTION, THOSE STAKEHOLDERS THAT ORIGINALLY SUPPORTED THE RESOLUTION OF THE, ARE THE ADVOCATES THAT YOU WILL NEED IN THE COMMUNITY TO SELL THIS TO THE PUBLIC.
AND I THINK HEARING THEIR VOICES AND GIVING THEM A CHANCE TO ASK QUESTIONS AND BE SATISFIED WILL BRING THEM IN AS ADVOCATES FOR THESE THINGS AND HELP THIS MOVE THROUGH THE PUBLIC IN A MORE, UH, SMOOTH AND SEAMLESS WAY.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S, IT, IT IS DUE TO THEIR EFFORTS THUS FAR THAT WE'RE WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW WITH BOTH OF THESE, UH, BOTH OF THESE, UH, CASES BEFORE US.
AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO SCHEDULE A MEETING AND GET THEIR INPUT.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, I'M SUPPORTING, UH, THE POSTPONEMENT.
ANYONE SPEAKING AGAINST THE POSTPONEMENT? ANYONE ELSE FOR OR AGAINST? YES, JUST BRIEFLY FOR THE POSTPONEMENT AGAIN.
AND MAYBE TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO STAFF AND TO OF, YOU KNOW, THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, A TP, THE FOLKS THAT ARE TRYING TO DELIVER THESE HUGE TRANSFORMATIONAL TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CITY IS, I UNDERSTAND HOW COMPLICATED THIS IS AND I ALSO REALIZE HOW EXPENSIVE, PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE IT IS TO CONDEMN A BILLBOARD.
I MEAN, I KNOW I'VE LOOKED AT OTHER CASES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SO I KNOW THE PUZZLE WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE HERE RIGHT, IS TO KEEP MOVING THESE PROJECTS FORWARD.
'CAUSE WE WANNA GET STUFF DONE.
BUT I THINK WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND BETTER, ESSENTIALLY THE COST BENEFIT, THE PROS AND CONS AS TO WHY THESE AMENDMENTS IN TERMS OF WHERE THE SCIENCE COULD BE RELOCATED TO, OF WHY WE'RE DOING THAT.
AND, AND FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AS AN ENGINEER, IT'S LIKE, HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT FOR EACH OF THESE INSTALLATIONS? AND I THINK THAT GOES TO, UH, OUR ABILITY TO, TO THE COMMISSIONER IAN'S POINT, TO CONVEYED IT TO THE PUBLIC AS TO WHY WE'RE DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING.
OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE.
SO THIS IS AS A REMINDER, UH, MOTION TO POSTPONE THE SIGN CODE CHANGES FOR RELOCATING BILLBOARDS.
ACTUALLY, MADAM CHAIR, I I DO HAVE ONE.
UM, SINCE THIS DOES NOT PERTAIN TO THE FOLKS WHO RECUSE THEMSELVES, WOULD THEY BE OKAY TO COME BACK IN OR, I I WOULD JUST BE CONCERNED THAT BECAUSE THEY SAID THEY RECUSED ON THE ITEM, THAT WOULD BE OH, RIGHT.
THE ITEMS ALL POSTED TOGETHER.
I'LL SAY THAT THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT US SPLITTING THIS UP AND THIS DOES GET POSTPONED, THAT THEY WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE INPUT BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT BE PART.
SO THAT WOULD SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGE THE MAKEUP OF THE ES.
SHOULD THIS COME BACK? YOU ARE ALWAYS FINDING A SILVER LINING.
OKAY, LET'S TAKE A VOTE ON THIS MOTION TO POSTPONE THE SIGN CODE CHANGES FOR RELOCATING BILLBOARDS TWO WEEKS TO JANUARY 27TH.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR CODE ITEMS FOR THIS EVENING.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO STAFF FOR BEING HERE.
UM, AND THANK YOU TO OUR SPEAKERS FOR ANSWERING OUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ITEM.
[Items 13 - 16]
GONNA MOVE ON TO DISCUSSION ACTION ITEMS. SO WE HAVE FOUR ITEMS RELATED TO APPOINTING MEMBERS TO SERVE ON JOINT COMMITTEES.UM, AND I'M GONNA PASS IT TO MS. GARCIA TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
[02:35:01]
ARE CONSIDERATION OF RENOMINATIONS TO SEVERAL JOINT COMMITTEES.STAFF IS BRINGING THESE FORWARD TO ENSURE THE COMMISSION'S APPOINTMENTS REMAIN IN COMPLIANCE WITH CITY REQUIREMENTS AND STAFF IS REQUESTING RENOMINATION OF THE FOLLOWING COMMISSIONERS TO THEIR CURRENT JOINT COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS.
COMMISSIONER JOSHUA HILLER TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
COMMISSIONER ANNA LAND TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN JOINT COMMITTEE COMMISSIONER PETER BRETTON TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE AND VICE CHAIR CASEY HANEY TO THE CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE.
CHAIR WOODS FOR NOMINATIONS AND A MOTION.
SO BEFORE I MAKE A MOTION TO REAPPOINT ALL OF THOSE COMMISSIONERS, ARE THERE ANY COMMISSIONERS THAT, UH, OBJECT TO BEING REAPPOINTED IN IN THE WAY THAT WE SPEAK NOW OUTLINED? YES.
COMMISSIONER PRETON AS I HEARD IT WALKING BACK IN, I WOULD BE APPOINTED TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE AS I UNDERSTOOD IT RECENTLY.
I WAS APPOINTED AS AN ALTERNATE FOR COMMISSIONER HILLER.
IS THAT THE CASE? I WOULD BE REAPPOINTED AS AN ALTERNATE, CORRECT.
NO OTHER OBJECTIONS TO THOSE REAPPOINTMENTS.
MOTION TO REAPPOINT COMMISSIONER HILLER TO JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE COMMISSIONER LAW TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN JOINT COMMITTEE COMMISSIONER BRETTON TO JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE AS ALTERNATE AND VICE CHAIR HANEY TO CODES AN ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
[COMMITTEE UPDATES ]
OKAY, LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR COMMITTEE UPDATES.SO CODES AND ORDINANCES, JOINT COMMITTEE, UH, WE HAVE VICE HANEY, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL OR COMMISSIONER BREIRA RAMIREZ TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THAT.
AND WE HAD A ROBUST DISCUSSION ABOUT SIGNAGE,
WE MET LAST WEEK, UM, MOSTLY TO DISCUSS SCHEDULING AND ANTICIPATION OF A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN REVAMP, WHICH SHOULD BE HITTING THIS COMMISSION IN THE INCOMING MONTHS.
JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
GREAT SMALL AREA PLANNING JOINT COMMITTEE, NO UPDATES AT THIS TIME.
[BOARD/WORKING GROUP UPDATES ]
SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD.UH, WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO MEET, I BELIEVE ON THE 20TH OF THIS MONTH.
COMMISSIONER BRETTON, DO ANY COMMISSIONERS
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
HAVE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THEY'D LIKE TO PLACE ON THE AGENDA? YES, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.I THINK THIS WAS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, BUT IN THE PAST, UM, IN THE PAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, UH, THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE UH, EXPANDED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS SUCH AS OURSELVES TO HAVE DIGITAL MESSAGE MESSAGING BOARDS, WHICH OF COURSE ARE GREAT COMMUNICATION, PARTICULARLY AROUND CODE AMENDMENTS AND ITEMS SUCH AS THE DISCUSSION THIS EVENING.
UM, SO WE ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE BRINGING ITEM THE NEXT TIME RELATED TO SB SEVEN 10, WHICH IS THAT LEGISLATIVE, UM, INTENT FROM THE LEGISLATURE, UH, REGARDING NEXT STEPS.
AND PLEASE BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THAT INFORMATION.
THAT'LL BE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA.
OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION? OKAY, SEEING NONE, WE JUST HAVE ONE BIT OF HOUSEKEEPING, WHICH IS, UM, AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THERE WILL BE A JOINT MEETING ON FEBRUARY 19TH WITH CITY COUNCIL AT 1:00 PM.
UM, IF I COULD GET A SHOW OF HANDS FOR WHO WILL BE ATTENDING THAT MEETING PERIOD AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BREAK IT OUT A BIT BY, UM, HOW YOU'LL BE ATTENDING.
SO COULD YOU PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'LL BE ATTENDING THAT JOINT MEETING ON FEBRUARY 19TH AT 1:00 PM OKAY, I'LL BE ATTENDING.
AND COULD YOU PLEASE KEEP YOUR HANDS UP IF YOU'LL BE ATTENDING IN PERSON AS OPPOSED TO VIRTUALLY? AGAIN, THAT'S 1:00 PM OKAY.
THAT'S VERY, YOU GOT IT? I THINK SO.
DID YOU WANNA JUST DO AN
LET'S ALSO GET A SHOW OF HANDS FOR WHO'S GONNA BE ATTENDING VIRTUALLY.
UM, MS. GARCIA, DID WE HAVE AN ITEM RELATED TO RESCHEDULING SOME NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER MEETINGS? YES, CHAIR.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REMINDING US OF THAT.
I HAVE SOME BACKUP THAT WE'LL PULL UP RIGHT NOW.
OH, I THINK I HAVE IT ACTUALLY, I'M SORRY.
UH, SO THIS IS, I THINK I'M MAKING A MOTION TO RESCHEDULE THESE MEETINGS.
[02:40:01]
I JUST WANNA CLARIFY CORRECT CHAIR.UM, SO WE HAVE CURRENTLY SCHEDULED MEETINGS ON NOVEMBER 16TH AND DECEMBER 16TH.
HOWEVER, COUNCIL CHAMBERS AND THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM ARE UNAVAILABLE FOR THOSE DATES.
SO WE ARE SWITCHING BOTH OF THOSE MEETINGS WITH YOUR PERMISSION TO NOVEMBER 17TH AND DECEMBER 15TH FOR 5:00 PM CONSENT ONLY MEETINGS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THAT WILL GO OUT.
UM, BUT I'M GONNA MOTION TO CHANGE OUR NOVEMBER 16TH MEETING TO NOVEMBER 17TH AT 5:00 PM AND OUR DECEMBER 16TH MEETING TO DECEMBER 15TH AT 5:00 PM CAN I GET A SECOND? SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR HANEY? WITHOUT OBJECTION, THAT ITEM PASSES.
UH, NOT SEEING ANY OTHER BUSINESS.
I ADJOURN THIS MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION AT 8:59 PM THANK YOU SO MUCH.