* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:07] FIVE [CALL TO ORDER] AND THE TIME IS FIVE 30. THE FIRST ITEM IS FOR, UM, CHRISTIE TO PLEASE CALL THE ROLE, IF YOU DON'T MIND. NOT AT ALL. CHAIR ED ISHMAEL PRESENT. REBECCA BERNHARDT. PAT BTA. PRESENT. DAVID CARROLL. PRESENT. KEVIN JEN. LIZ KOEL. PRESENT. JENNIFER FRANKLIN. PRESENT. LES GINA HOUSTON SHOULD BE JOINING SHORTLY. KIMBERLY LEVINSON. PRESENT. NATHAN MCDANIEL? HERE. CHARLES VETO PRESENT. NANCY P*****K. SONYA SCHIFFER. PRESENT. JOE SILVA. PHILLIP WILEY HERE. THANK YOU. UM, WE HAVE A QUORUM. SO OUR NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS PUBLIC COMMENT, AND I BELIEVE WE DO HAVE SOMEONE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. CHAIR. WE HAVE SOMEONE SIGNED UP ON ITEM NUMBER EIGHT. ONE MOMENT PLEASE. I'M NOT CERTAIN THAT THEY'RE HERE. LET ME CHECK. ALL RIGHT. THIS STATE. OKAY. ITEMS, ITEMS UP WITH THE ITEM. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. UM, MOVING ON. IT'S, [1. Approve the minutes of the Downtown Commission Regular Called meeting on December 17, 2025.] UM, A MINUTE TIME FOR APPROVING THE MINUTES. HAS EVERYBODY HAD A CHANCE TO READ THOSE? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT? I'LL MAKE THE MOTION. WELL, COMMISSIONER MCDANIEL RAISED HIS HAND FIRST. OKAY. YOU CAN BE, YOU CAN BE A SECOND. I, I'M SECOND COMMISSIONER VETO SECONDED. UM, SO ALL IN FAVOR? A MOTION CARRIES. OKAY. NOW MOVING [2. Presentation regarding the Downtown Density Bonus Program Update by Alan Pani, Planne Principal, Austin Planning.] ON TO OUR PRESENTATIONS. UM, FIRST UP WE HAVE A PRESENTATION REGARDING THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, UPDATED BY ALAN PONTY, PLANNER, PRINCIPAL AUSTIN PLANNING. THANK YOU, SIR. YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. UH, AS YOU MENTIONED, ALAN PONEY, UH, WITH AUSTIN PLANNING. I'M HERE TO PROVIDE JUST AN UPDATE ON THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PHASE ONE, UH, PROCESS TO UPDATE. UM, AND WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING A LOT ABOUT THE PROGRAM ITSELF AND THE FORMAT THAT IT WILL BE TAKING. UH, YEP. SO JUST TO GUIDE US A LITTLE BIT, THE ON HOW THE CURRENT DEN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM WORKS. UM, YOU GUYS MAY BE AWARE, BUT THE CURRENT PROGRAM, UM, YOU HAVE BASE ENTITLEMENTS BASED ON, ON YOUR SITE. SO YOU HAVE SPECIFIC HEIGHT AND FAR LIMITS SET BY YOUR BASE ZONING. FOR EXAMPLE, CBD ZONING HAS 350 FEET OF HEIGHT AS OF THE AMENDMENTS WE DID EARLIER THIS YEAR OR LAST YEAR, SORRY. UM, AND HAS EIGHT TO ONE FAR. SITES THAT PARTICIPATE IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, UM, MUST MEET GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS AS WELL AS PROVIDE COMMUNITY BENEFITS. AND IN EXCHANGE THEY RECEIVE ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENTS. IE THEY RECEIVE ADDITIONAL HEIGHT. AND FAR, UH, THE CURRENT PROGRAM FUNCTIONS WITH A HEIGHT AND FAR MAP. THIS HEIGHT AND FAR MAP INDICATES WHAT ADDITIONAL HEIGHT OR FAR LIMITS CAN BE ACHIEVED WITHIN EACH SUBDISTRICT. SO BASED ON WHERE THE PROPERTY MIGHT BE LOCATED, UH, THE MAP DID DICTATE HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL FAR AND HEIGHT, UM, THEY CAN OBTAIN. UH, SITES CAN REQUEST COUNCIL APPROVAL TO EXCEED THE ALLOWED HEIGHT AND FAR LIMITS FROM THE MAP. UM, AND THEY CAN DO THAT IN ANY, UH, SPECIFIC MANNER. SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF THERE WAS A SITE THAT WANTED TO GO TO 657 FEET, UH, VERY ACCURATELY, RIGHT, UH, THEY CAN REQUEST THAT EXACT DIMENSION, OR IF THEY WANTED A SPECIFIC FAR, THEY CAN REQUEST THAT VERY SPECIFIC FAR AND THEN COUNSEL HAS TO APPROVE IT. UM, JUST A QUICK SIDE NOTE THAT BASED ON STATE BILL EIGHT 40, WHICH, UH, OCCURRED LAST YEAR, FAR LIMITS DO NOT APPLY TO RESIDENTIAL OR MIXED USE PROJECTS THAT MEET THE SP EIGHT 40 STANDARDS. UM, SO WHILE BASE ZONING AND OTHER PARTS OF THE PROGRAM STILL HAVE FAR, IF YOU ARE A PROJECT THAT MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OR THE CATEGORIES OF SP EIGHT 40, UH, YOU DO NOT HAVE FAR LIMITS. SO IT MOSTLY APPLIES TO COMMERCIAL REALLY FOR FAR. UM, SO AS WE ARE LOOKING AT PHASE ONE, THE EXISTING DOWNTOWN BOUNDARIES, UH, FOR THE KIND OF WHAT I'M CUTTING CORE SUBDISTRICTS, UH, FROM PHASE ONE ARE SHOWN ON THE MAP. UH, REALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS THE, THE MAIN KIND OF CORE OF DOWNTOWN RAINY, UM, AND KIND OF CONVENTION CENTER AREA. YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THERE IS A SLIGHT SECTION [00:05:01] THAT IS CUT OUT FROM WHAT WAS PART OF THE CORE ON THE NORTH, UH, EAST CORNER. AND THAT IS WHERE RED RIVER IS LOCATED. UM, WHEN COUNCIL INITIATED THIS RESOLUTION FOR PHASE ONE TO COME BACK EARLIER, THEN PHASE TWO, WE NOTICED THAT THE COURSE SUB DISTRICT REALLY SPLITS RED RIVER, UH, CULTURAL SUBDISTRICT IN TWO PARTS, UM, AND THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM. AND WE WANT TO CHANGE THAT MOVING FORWARD AND HAVE ALL OF RED RIVER KIND OF BE ITS OWN SUB-DISTRICT. SO RED RIVER WILL BE COMING BACK AS PART OF PHASE TWO, UH, TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T HAVE DIFFERENT REGULATIONS FOR KIND OF ONE HALF OF RED RIVER WHILE THE OTHER HALF IS NOT, UH, HAVE THAT QUITE YET. YEP, THAT MAKES SENSE. UM, JUST FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON, UH, THE AREA WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, MOST OF THE PHASE ONE IS SEWN FOR CBD, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, OUR HIGHEST INTENSIVES BASE ZONING. UM, WE STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A MIX OF DMU, SO DOWNTOWN MIXED USE AS WELL AS A COUPLE OTHER ZONINGS IN THE AREA WITH, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE CS PROPERTIES OF GR UM, A COUPLE IN ZONE PROPERTIES AS WELL AS PARKS AND, AND PUBLIC OWNED PROPERTY. SO WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING, UM, AS OUR APPROACH FOR THIS PROGRAM WILL BE IN PHASE ONE, WE WILL BE CREATING A NEW ZONING COMBINING DISTRICT OR DISTRICTS THAT INCLUDE UPDATED PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND REGULATIONS. FOR THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS. WE WILL REZONE THIS PHASE ONE GEOGRAPHY INTO THE NEW COMBINING DISTRICTS OR DISTRICTS THROUGH AN AREA WIDE REZONING. THEN FOR PHASE TWO, WE WILL CONTINUE TO REFINE REGULATIONS AS NEEDED. WE WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL COMBINING DISTRICTS AS WELL AS NEEDED AND REZONE THE REMAINDER OF THE GEOGRAPHY INTO THESE NEW COMBINING DISTRICTS. AND I'LL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY COMBINING DISTRICTS. UH, LASTLY, MOVING FORWARD, PROPERTY OWNERS WOULD BE ABLE TO REQUEST REZONING INTO HIGHER INTENSITY COMBINING DISTRICTS. AND AGAIN, I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT IN A SECOND. SO FOR PHASE ONE, UM, WE WILL BE CREATING NEW COMBINING DISTRICTS. UM, WE DON'T HAVE ANY OFFICIAL ZONING STRING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. SO D, DB, YOU KNOW, DASH DDB OR OTHER SIMILAR, UH, LETTERS THAT WILL GO INTO THE ZONING STRING. EVERY PROPERTY WITHIN A COMBINING DISTRICT WOULD GET THE SAME HEIGHT IN EXCHANGE FOR THE SAME AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, NOT ANY PROPOSED NUMBERS, JUST EXAMPLES COMBINING DISTRICT ONE COULD EXIST WHERE IT WOULD PROVIDE A HUNDRED FEET OF ADDITIONAL HEIGHT IN EXCHANGE FOR SAY, 5% OR FOUR L UNITS, OR THE FEE IN LIE EQUIVALENT. WHILE THERE COULD BE A COMBINING DISTRICT TWO THAT PROVIDES 400 FEET IN EXCHANGE OF 7% OF AFFORDABLE UNITS OR A FEE IN LIE, THE ADDITIONAL HEIGHT WOULD BE ADDITIVE TO THE PROPERTIES BASED ZONING HEIGHT LIMIT. SO AGAIN, IF YOU STARTED, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS CBD BASED PROPERTY THAT HAD 350 FEET AS ITS BASE ZONING COMBINING DISTRICT ONE WOULD GIVE YOU A HUNDRED FEET AND YOU WOULD GO UP TO 450 OR COMBINING DISTRICT TWO WOULD GIVE YOU 400 FEET. AND SO YOU'D START AT THREE 50 AND GO UP TO SEVEN 50. SO IT WOULD BE HEIGHT THAT IS ADDED TO WHATEVER YOUR BASE ZONING IS. WE ARE GONNA BE DEFINING THE CORE SUBDISTRICT ON THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE. SO PROPERTIES WITHIN THEN EACH SUBDISTRICT WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO REZONE TO THE COMBINING DISTRICT. SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE HAD TWO DIFFERENT COMBINING DISTRICTS, WE COULD SAY THIS AREA IS ELIGIBLE FOR BOTH. UM, GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS OR COMMUNITY BENEFITS MENU COULD BE CUSTOMIZED FOR EACH SUBDISTRICT. SO AS A EXAMPLE, I LIKE TO USE RED RIVER CULTURAL SUBDISTRICT. WE MAY WANT TO INCORPORATE MORE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS OR COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT ARE TAILORED MORE TOWARDS LIVE MUSIC AND CULTURAL VENUES. UH, SO WE'LL BE REZONING PROPERTIES WITHIN THE COURSE OF DISTRICT TO THE NEW COMBINING DISTRICT. SO PROPERTIES WILL HAVE THAT ADDED, UH, FIXED AMOUNT OF HEIGHT ABOVE THEIR BASE HEIGHT IN EXCHANGE FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM. SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE DECIDED TO REZONE EVERYONE INTO WHAT WE'RE CALLING AN EXAMPLE, COMBINING DISTRICT ONE, YOU GET A HUNDRED FEET OF HEIGHT. IF PROPERTIES WANTED ADDITIONAL HEIGHT, THEY COULD REQUEST REZONING INTO HIGHER INTENSITY COMBINING DISTRICTS SO THEY COULD GO ASK FOR A REZONING AND MOVE INTO THE SECOND COMBINING DISTRICT, WHICH WOULD GIVE THEM MORE HEIGHT. SO JUST AS A LITTLE BIT OF A VISUAL FOR HOW THIS WOULD BE WORKING AGAIN, SO YOU HAVE YOUR BASE HEIGHT. IF YOU WERE A CBD SITE, YOU HAVE 300 AND FEET, 350 FEET BY RIGHT TODAY, UH, AFTER THE DENSITY BONUS IS ADOPTED AND WE DO THESE INITIATED REZONING AT THE SAME TIME, YOU WOULD HAVE ADDITIONAL HEIGHT FROM THERE, AND THEN THERE WOULD BE A FUTURE MAX ENTITLEMENT THAT COULD BE REQUESTED VIA REZONING. THE COMBINING DISTRICT WOULD BE CREATED AT THE SAME TIME, UM, BUT IT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE APPLIED TO A PROPERTY. THEY WOULD HAVE TO COME AND ASK FOR THAT ULTIMATE HEIGHT. UM, JUST SOME INFORMATION ON CURRENT HEIGHTS, YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN. SO AGAIN, OUR CURRENT CBD BASE HEIGHT IS 350. AS AN EXAMPLE, WE HAVE WINDS AROUND THE LAKE, WHICH IS AROUND THREE 30, OUR CBD AVERAGE HEIGHTS. SO PROPERTIES THAT ARE [00:10:01] CBD AND HAVE DEVELOPED USING THE PROGRAM SO FAR AVERAGE AROUND 450 FEET. SO FOR EXAMPLE, 300 COLORADO. UM, OUR CURRENT TALLEST BUILDING, WHICH IT DEPENDS A LITTLE BIT ON HOW YOU DEFINE WHAT'S FINISHED OR NOT, UH, BUT SIX IN GU IS AT 8 75. AND THE WATER LINE, WHICH IS TECHNICALLY POPPED OFF, IS OVER A THOUSAND FEET AT THE MOMENT. A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT AGAIN ON HEIGHTS. SO, UM, WE HAVE SOME PIER CITY HEIGHTS, UM, AS WELL AS HOW MANY HIGH RISES HAVE BUILT TO DIFFERENT HEIGHTS. FOCUSING ON AUSTIN FOR A SECOND, YOU WILL SEE THAT 17 OF OUR HIGH RISES ARE AROUND THAT 500 FOOT HEIGHT LIMIT, UM, AROUND FIVE OF THEM OR CLOSER TO 650. AND VERY FEW REALLY HAVE GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND UP TO THE, YOU KNOW, THOUSAND FEET, FOR EXAMPLE. UM, AND THAT IS VERY TRUE FOR ALL OF OUR PEER CITIES. UM, THEY MAY HAVE MORE DEVELOPMENTS THAN WE HAVE, BUT REALLY IT'S A VERY, VERY SMALL PORTION OF DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE BUILDING ABOVE THAT KIND OF 650, UH, 700 ISH FOOT LIMIT. MOST OF THEM ARE BELOW THAT FOR HIGH RISES. UM, SO LASTLY, UM, WE DID HAVE SOME, YOU KNOW, UH, INFORMATION THAT WE WANTED TO GET FROM Y'ALL. UH, SO DURING THIS PROCESS, YOU KNOW, THE CURRENT GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING DEVELOPMENTS ARE TO COMPLY WITH OUR URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, UM, TO COMPLY WITH THE GREAT STREET STANDARDS AND STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS, AS WELL AS THE MINIMUM TWO STAR RATING UNDER THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM. WE ARE HOPING TO CONTINUE THOSE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS. UM, WE ARE FIND, WE'RE WORKING ON SEEING HOW THEY WOULD WORK UNDER THE NEW FORMAT OF THE PROGRAM. UH, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE THREE COMPONENTS CONTINUE TO EXIST IN SOME FORM AS WELL AS COMMUNITY BENEFITS. SO THERE'S CURRENTLY A, A LARGE MENU OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT CAN BE CHOSEN, UH, IN EXCHANGE OF THE ENTITLEMENTS CURRENTLY. THAT INCLUDES, YOU KNOW, ONSITE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, UH, DAYCARE AMONG OTHERS. UM, I DID WANT TO CLARIFY, UH, COMMISSIONER CARROLL, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE CHACONE, I DO BELIEVE YOU'RE RIGHT, I DON'T THINK THIS PROJECT RECEIVED HTF OR AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUNDS, UH, FOR ITS FUNDING. UM, SO WE WILL REVISE THAT. SO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE, WE WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, RECEIVE FROM Y'ALL AND FROM FROM THE PUBLIC IS ONE, WE, WE KNOW, UH, WE, THE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS, UM, HAVE PRODUCED A LOT OF GREAT STREET STANDARDS, RIGHT? WE'VE HAD GOOD OUTCOMES FROM THEM. WE WANT TO KNOW HOW THEY ARE WORKING, IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE NOT WORKING AND IF THINGS THAT ARE WORKING. UM, AND THEN SIMILARLY FOR COMMUNITY BENEFITS, MOST OF OUR COMMUNITY BENEFIT FROM OPTIONS ON THE LARGE MENU HAVE NOT BEEN UTILIZED. UM, AND SO IF THERE ARE WAYS THAT WE CAN IMPROVE THOSE COMMUNITY BENEFITS TO MAKE THEM MORE LIKELY TO BE UTILIZED, WHAT THOSE MIGHT BE, AND AS WELL, IF THERE ARE OTHERS THAT WE ARE NOT CONSIDERING, UM, THAT COULD BE A PART OF THE PROGRAM, WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR, UH, YOUR THOUGHTS ON THOSE SO WE CAN LOOK INTO IF THAT'S AN OPTION TO INCORPORATE. UM, LASTLY, UH, JUST A QUICK, UH, UPDATE ON OUR TIMELINE FOR PHASE ONE. UM, WE ARE STILL WORKING THROUGH OUR STAFF PROPOSAL AND DOING AN EARLY ENGAGEMENT. UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO FINALIZE OUR STAFF PROPOSAL THROUGH FEBRUARY AND MARCH, UM, DOING A LOT OF INTERDEPARTMENTAL DISCUSSIONS. UM, WE WILL BE BRINGING BACK THE PROPOSAL, UH, AND DOING ENGAGEMENT CALIBRATION, UH, BASICALLY MARCH THROUGH APRIL, UM, AS WELL AS BRING IT THROUGH THE OFFICIAL PROCESS OF ADOPTION, UM, FROM MARCH THROUGH MAY. AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I KNOW COMMISSIONER LEVINSON HAS A QUESTION. I HAVE A COUPLE THINGS TO DISCUSS, BUT ONE OF THEM IS THAT I'VE HEARD ZERO PEOPLE SAY THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS AN EASY AND UNCOMPLICATED BUILDING CODE. PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY YOU THINK THAT IT'S BETTER TO COMPLICATE IT EVEN MORE WITH SUB-DISTRICTS AND NEW ZONING THIS AND NEW ZONING THAT, I MEAN, WOULDN'T IT JUST BE A LOT EASIER TO SIMPLY DO AS HAS BEEN SUGGESTED IN THE PAST AND GO AHEAD AND LET PEOPLE BUILD AND TAKE THAT MONEY AND FUNNEL IT INTO WHERE YOU NEED IT TO GO TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY UNNECESSARY. UM, YEAH. UM, UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS NOT MY DECISION TO MAKE. I WAS GIVEN DIRECTION BY COUNSEL, UH, TO BRING BACK AN UPDATE TO THE PROGRAM. UM, AND SO THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THE TASK WE WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW, WE ARE TRYING TO STREAMLINE THE PROCESS. UM, SO COMPARED TO HOW IT WILL IT FUNCTIONS CURRENTLY WE'RE WORKING ON MAKING THE NEW PROCESS SIMPLER. THAT IS, WILL ALSO BE PART OF THE REASON WE ARE IN DOING A CITY INITIATED REZONING INTO THESE COMBINING DISTRICTS. SO A SITE THAT HAS THE NEW DENSITY BONUS WILL ALREADY HAVE IT AS PART OF THEIR ZONING STRING. UM, AND WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE IT MORE STREAMLINED FOR THEIR PROCESS WHEN THEY [00:15:01] SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION AND SITE PLAN TO GO FROM THERE. WELL, THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR BECAUSE IT'S SERIOUSLY COMPLICATED RIGHT NOW. IT'S VERY DIFFICULT. UM, AND AS FOR YOUR, UH, THE BENEFITS AND GREAT STREETS PROGRAM AND SUCH LIKE THAT, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S AN ISSUE THAT YOU CAN'T SIMPLY REQUIRE IT BECAUSE OF THE STATE LAW. IS THAT CORRECT? UH, SO GREAT STREET SPECIFICALLY, WE CANNOT REQUIRE IT AS OUR BASE, UH, KIND OF STREET STANDARDS. RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT I WAS ASKING. UM, YES, THERE'S, THERE'S STATE LAW THAT REQUIRES, UM, BASICALLY PROPORTIONAL, UM, ABILITY TO PROVIDE IT. SO YOU, YOU CAN'T REQUIRE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF IT THROUGH A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM BECAUSE IT'S A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM, WE CAN REQUIRE COMPLIANCE WITH IT. YEAH. THAT'S ALWAYS BECAUSE YOU ARE OPTING INTO THE PROGRAM, RIGHT? AND SO YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY SAYING YOU WILL DO THESE THINGS IN EXCHANGE OF THE OTHER THING. SO YES. RIGHT. OKAY. JUST WANTED TO BE CLEAR ON THAT. MM-HMM . OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, COMMISSIONER TIDO, I HAVE ONE COMMENT. THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION. UM, I HAVE TO MAKE A COMMENT TO THE FACT THAT MY BACKGROUND HAS ALWAYS BEEN HISTORIC PRESERVATION, AND THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT THING FOR ME FROM MY CAREER, EVERYTHING I'VE DONE. AND IT'S, UM, NOT ONE OR THE OTHER. YOU KNOW, I SUPPORT, UM, UM, INCREASE IN DENSITY, UM, ABSOLUTELY. UM, BUT IN PLANNING, I'VE ALWAYS TAKEN THE APPROACH. UM, IT NEEDS TO BE A BALANCE OF NEW AND OLD AND YOUR GOAL OF BRINGING HIGHER DENSITY TO DOWNTOWN. AND, UM, OUR CITY IS A VERY, UM, HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT CITY, YOU KNOW, AND HAVING MEANINGFUL PLANNING LED BY, UM, INTERPRETIVE STRATEGY IS IMPORTANT. AND, AND THERE'S BEEN NO MENTION OF, OF OUR LAYERS OF HISTORY. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN TYING EVENTUALLY INTO GREAT STREETS INTO WAY FINDING, YOU KNOW, INCORPORATING, UM, INTERPRETATION IS VERY IMPORTANT AND PUSHING FOR THE HIGHER DENSITY. SO I JUST, I HAD TO MAKE THAT COMMENT. I, I APPRECIATE IT, EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING. COMMISSIONER WILEY, UH, YEAH, TH THANK YOU. THANK YOU FIRST OF ALL FOR THE, FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND I, UM, I ESPECIALLY APPRECIATE THE ADDITION OF, UH, THE BENCHMARKING DATA IN HERE SHOWING WHAT OTHER CITIES WERE DOING AND, UH, WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONSIDER, EVEN THOUGH IT IS IN A US CITY TO CONSIDER VANCOUVER, BECAUSE MANY CONSIDER THAT THE BENCHMARK FOR THE CONTINENT. UM, BUT THIS, THIS IS VERY HELPFUL. UM, I HAVE TWO DIFFERENT AREAS THAT I'D LIKE TO JUST GENTLY PROBE ON. UM, THE FIRST IS THE SCHEDULE AND HOW THIS EXERCISE FITS INTO THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN, BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE HOPING THAT WE DO ALL THAT WORK SO THAT AT THE END WE COULD UPDATE THIS. AND HERE YOU ARE UPDATING IT. SO COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, PLEASE? YEAH, SO THE REASON PHASE ONE IS COMING EARLY IS AGAIN, COUNCIL INITIATED, UH, WELL, THEY INITIATED THE PHASE ONE TO BE BROUGHT BACK FOR THESE THREE SUB-DISTRICTS BY MAY. UM, WE ARE STILL WORKING WITH THE CENTRAL CITY TEAM, UH, WHICH THEY ARE SCHEDULED TO FINISH THE KIND OF DISTRICT PLAN BY THE END OF THE YEAR. AND THAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR PHASE TWO AS WELL. UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM TO, UH, INCORPORATE ANY FEEDBACK AND, AND ENGAGEMENT THERE THAT THEY WILL BE DOING, UM, INTO OUR, YOU KNOW, PLAN AS WELL. SO SUB-DISTRICTS AND COMMITTEE BENEFITS AND THOSE TYPES OF DISCUSSIONS WILL DEFINITELY BE, UH, INTERTWINED WITH THEIR DISCUSSION. WE ARE ALSO AWARE THAT DUE TO KIND OF ACCELERATED TIMELINE OF PHASE ONE, THERE MAY BE COMMUNITY BENEFITS OR, OR LITTLE AREAS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT NEED TO BE REVISED AS PART OF THE SECOND PART OF PHASE TWO. SO WE'RE DEFINITELY OPEN TO PHASE ONE, NOT NECESSARILY BEING THE FINAL, UH, YOU KNOW, ITEM ON THIS PROGRAM. AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO TAKE THAT ENGAGEMENT AND, AND WORK THAT IS BEING DONE FOR THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN, UH, TO REVISE THE, THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM AS NEEDED WHEN WE BRING BACK PHASE TWO, REZONE THE SECOND, OR THIS, YOU KNOW, THE SECOND HALF OF THE AREA AND MAKE ANY CHANGES THAT MIGHT BE NEEDED. OKAY. AND, AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THE, THE SECOND GENERAL SUBJECT IS TO, UH, TO KIND OF FOLLOW UP ON, UH, VICE CHAIR LEVINSON'S COMMENT ON, ON COSTS. SO WHAT FEEDBACK DO WE HAVE ON THE, UH, GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS AND, AND DO WE THINK THERE ARE ANY REQUIREMENTS THAT SHOULD BE ADDED? UM, I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS EXERCISE, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T REALLY DONE A DAP IN A LONG TIME, WE HAVEN'T DONE IMAGINE AUSTIN IN A LONG TIME. UM, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS EXERCISE, WE TAKE KIND OF A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER MINDSET AND REALLY LOOK AT IT AND SAY, WHAT ARE ALL THESE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE TODAY? HOW MUCH DO [00:20:01] THEY COST? ARE THEY STILL WORTH THAT MUCH TO US THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING THAT? AND MAYBE THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE ADD, BUT MAYBE THERE ARE THINGS THAT JUST AREN'T, REALLY, DON'T HAVE THE ROI BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON OUR, OUR CODE AND OUR ZONING AND EVERYTHING COMBINED IS PUSHING US FURTHER AND FURTHER INTO VERY HIGH END OFFICE SPACES, VERY HIGH END RESIDENTIAL SPACES. AND, UM, I THINK THAT THERE'S A, WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF MOMENTUM FOR TRYING TO CHANGE THE DEMOGRAPHICS A LITTLE BIT, NORMALIZE THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THE DIRECTION THEY USED TO BE. UM, SO I, AGAIN, ARE WE JUST LOOKING TO ADD, OR ARE WE ALSO LOOKING YEAH, SORRY, I, I SHOULD HAVE SAID, YOU KNOW, ADD, REMOVE, OR CHANGE. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, WE WANT THE PERM TO BE FUNCTIONAL. IS REALLY RIGHT. THE REALITY, WE, WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT. WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR, OR FEE AND LEGAL FOR IT IF WE CAN. UM, BUT WE ALSO, LIKE YOU SAID, DON'T WANT TO OVERBURDEN THIS PROGRAM AND CREATE A SCENARIO WHERE WE WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, GETTING ANY DEVELOPMENT IN THIS AREA. OKAY. YEAH. THANK, THANK YOU. BECAUSE WHEN WE ADD THEM ALL TOGETHER, ALL THESE GOOD IDEAS, THEY'RE EXPENSIVE . YES. AND THEN WE RECOGNIZE, YOU KNOW, AS WE WORK, AS THE CENTRAL CITY TEAM WORKS THROUGH THINGS, THE COMMUNITY OBVIOUSLY IS GONNA WANT A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS. THE DENSITY BONUS IS REALLY ONLY ONE SMALL TOOL OF THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE CITY CAN DO TO ENCOURAGE, YOU KNOW, CHANGE IN, IN, IN THIS AREA. UM, AND SO WE ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS THAT WE CAN HAVE THE DENSITY BONUS HELP WITH THINGS. UM, BUT IT IS DEFINITELY NOT GONNA BE THE, YOU KNOW, END ALL, BE ALL SOLUTION FOR, FOR EVERY TYPE OF COMMUNITY BENEFIT OR ANYTHING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CITY NEEDS IN DOWNTOWN. OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU. IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU HERE. APPRECIATE IT. OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, COMMISSIONER CARROLL. THANK YOU, CHAIR. A COUPLE QUESTIONS AND THEN A COUPLE OF COMMENTS. DO YOU, HAVE YOU IDENTIFIED HOW MANY COMBINING DISTRICTS YOU WILL HAVE? UM, NO. SO FOR THE FIRST PHASE, WE ARE GETTING CLOSE TO THE PROPOSAL THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T PRESENT QUITE YET. UM, BUT WHAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING TWO, LIKE I KIND OF SHOWED RIGHT NOW FOR COMBINING DISTRICTS, WE ANTICIPATE THERE WILL NEED TO BE MORE AS WE GET TO THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF PHASE TWO, BECAUSE THERE MAY BE DIFFERENT HEIGHTS THAT ARE DESIRED IN THOSE AREAS. UM, BUT I THINK WE WILL BE TRYING TO CREATE A SIMILAR SCENARIO WHERE THERE WOULD BE TIERED DENSITY OR TIERED HEIGHTS THAT PEOPLE COULD REQUEST REZONING INTO. HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, THEY MIGHT BE STARTING AT A DIFFERENT POINT THAN THIS CORE AREA WILL. OKAY. THAT KIND OF LEADS INTO MY SECOND QUESTION. WILL THE CURRENT BOUNDARIES BE EXPANDED WITH THIS UPDATE? SO WE ARE, WE ARE NOT SCOPED AT THE MOMENT TO BE EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES, UM, OF THE DENSITY BONUS AREA. UM, SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CURRENT AREA. OKAY. UM, AND THEN MY COMMENTS ARE, UM, THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS IN MY OPINION, UH, AND I SAY THIS HAVING, I THINK REVIEWED ALMOST EVERY PROJECT, UH, THAT HAS COME THROUGH USING THIS PROGRAM IS THAT, THAT IT'S BROKEN. IT, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU ALLUDED TO IT IN YOUR PRESENTATION THAT, UM, VERY LITTLE OF THESE COMMUNITY BENEFITS HAVE EVER BEEN PROVIDED. AND AS I RECALL, THE ORDINANCE ALSO ALLOWS FOR APPLICANTS TO PROPOSE THEIR OWN. AND SO IT'S, IT'S PRETTY OPEN. UM, AND MY GUESS IS IT'S BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S DOING THE FEE IN LIEU FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING INSTEAD. SO I WONDER, YOU KNOW, COMING FROM SOMEONE WHO, WHO DESIGNS AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, HAS THERE BEEN ANY DISCUSSION ON ALLOWING, OR I SHOULD SAY, EXEMPTING PROJECTS FROM PAYING A FEE IN LIEU, FOR INSTANCE, TO PROVIDE OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS INSTEAD? UM, YES AND NO. SO, UH, LAW HAS TOLD US, UM, AND YOU KNOW, KIND OF FOR THIS PROGRAM AND OTHERS WITH NEW DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE CREATING, UM, THE FOCUS OF THEM HAS TO BE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. THAT'S KIND OF HOW THEY'RE DEFINED UNDER STATE LAW. SO THE, THERE ALWAYS HAS TO BE EITHER UNITS PROVIDED OR A FEE IN LIEU OF THOSE UNITS THAT WOULD BE PROVIDED. UM, AND IT CANNOT BE REALLY A PROGRAM THAT CREATES SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. WE, YOU CAN ADD THINGS TO A PROGRAM, BUT YOU CANNOT KIND OF GET RID OF, PER SE, THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING KIND OF COMPONENT OF IT. THAT MAKES SENSE. TO THAT I'LL JUST SAY, WELL, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO HEAVILY INCENTIVIZE OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS OR THEY'LL [00:25:01] CONTINUE TO NOT BE INCLUDED IN PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD. UM, AS FAR AS THE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS, I PERSONALLY THINK THEY'RE FUNCTIONING WELL EXCEPT THE ONE, THE ONE HOLE IS THERE'S THREE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS, BUT ONLY TWO OF 'EM ARE ACTUALLY BEING INSPECTED IN THE FIELD. AND, AND THAT'S GRAY STREETS AND GREEN BUILDING. THERE'S NO INSPECTIONS FOR THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES. AND WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS THAT ON MANY PROJECTS, ONCE THEY GET THE STAMP FROM URBAN DESIGN THAT THEY'VE MET THE GUIDELINES, THEIR DESIGNS COULD CHANGE. THEY DO SITE PLAN CORRECTIONS, UH, MAYBE AUSTIN ENERGY, ASK THEM TO DO SOMETHING ELSE, AND THOSE PLANS ARE NEVER CHECKED AGAIN. UH, EITHER THE DRAWINGS OR IN THE FIELD. AND SO I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THERE'S SOME TYPE OF FIELD INSPECTION FOR THOSE GUIDELINES, LIKE THERE IS FOR THE OTHER TWO GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS, JUST SO WE CAN CHECK THAT, THAT WE'RE GETTING, BECAUSE THOSE GUIDELINES DO CREATE, UH, COMMUNITY BENEFIT, RIGHT? THERE'S THINGS THAT ARE BUILT INTO THEM, AND IF PROJECTS ARE GETTING APPROVAL BASED ON SAYING THEY'RE GONNA APPROVE THOSE THINGS AND THEY REALLY NEED TO, TO PROVIDE THOSE THINGS. SO, UM, THAT'S MY RECOMMENDATION ON THOSE. THANK YOU. OTHER QUESTIONS? IF NOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. YEAH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. NEXT ON THE AGENDA PRESENTATION FROM THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE ON GOALS, TRENDS AND CHALLENGES. I DON'T SEE HERE. SO DO WE HAVE ANYONE HERE FROM THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE? OR ONLINE? OR ONLINE? WELL, LET'S COME BACK TO THAT, THEN WE WILL MOVE ALONG. UM, ITEM FOUR, AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE HIDEOUT THEATER PRESENTATION BY JESSICA ARJE, OWNER, YOUTH PROGRAMS DIRECTOR, HIDEOUT THEATER CHAIR. I JUST RECEIVED WORD THAT THEY'LL NEED TO COME NEXT MONTH. OH, OKAY. ALRIGHT. OKAY. RESCHEDULE THEM THEN. SO, UH, ITEM NUMBER FIVE, [5. Update on the City of Austin Cultural Arts Funding as discussed at recent Arts Commission meetings.] UPDATE ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING AS DISCUSSED AT RECENT ARTS COMMISSION MEETINGS. HELLO, I AM GINA HOUSTON, CHAIR OF AUSTIN ARTS COMMISSION, UH, BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAY, OUR COMMISSION MEETING WAS MOVED TO THIS COMING WEDNESDAY. SO WE HAVE NOT HAD OUR UPDATE FROM AG B YET ABOUT THE CULTURAL FUNDING, BUT WE DID, UH, COMPLETE ALL OF THE PANEL TRAINING. WE FOUND ALL THE PANELISTS WE NEED, AND WE COM WE COMPLETED THE PANELISTS TRAINING IN EARLY JANUARY. SO NOW WE'RE GOING INTO PANELIST REVIEW IN END OF JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND MARCH, UM, ANNOUNCING AT THE END OF MARCH, UH, FOR, UH, ELEVATE, UH, HERITAGE, CULTURAL HERITAGE PRESERVATION, AND I THINK THAT'S ALL. LIVE MUSIC, LIVE MUSIC, LIVE MUSIC, LIVE MUSIC. BUT I'LL HAVE A BETTER UPDATE FOR YOU BECAUSE I DIDN'T REALIZE OUR MEETING GOT MOVED. . ALRIGHT. THIS WILL PROBABLY BE THE LAST TIME I COME IN PERSON THOUGH, BECAUSE IT IS, IT IS TOO HARD FOR ME TO GET DOWN HERE AT FIVE 30. OH, OKAY. ALRIGHT. WELL THANK YOU FOR THAT UPDATE. I'M SORRY, I SAID YOU'RE APPLYING THROUGH THIS AGENDA CHAIR. I KNOW, I KNOW. WE ARE. GREAT TO MEET YOU . YOU'RE FRIENDS. SO, UH, ITEM NUMBER [6. Discussion of the Central City District Plan.] SIX, DISCUSSION OF THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN. SO I GUESS, IS THAT AMONGST OURSELVES IN CREATING THE WORKING GROUP? IS THAT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? THAT IS PART OF IT, YES. AND ALSO ANY SUGGESTIONS THAT PEOPLE HAVE THAT, THAT WORKING GROUPS SHOULD BRING TO THE CITY? COMMISSIONER WILEY? I KNOW YOU HAVE THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ABOUT THIS. YEAH, I I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, IF YOU, IF YOU'RE GONNA PUT UP THE TWO CHARTS YOU HAD ASKED ME LAST TIME YES. TO COME BACK WITH SOME SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS YES. THAT WERE A LITTLE BIT MORE ORGANIZED AND I APPRECIATE YOU DOING THAT. AND SO, UM, OR IF NOT, THEN MAYBE PEOPLE HAVE THE HANDOUT. IT'S JUST, UH, TWO CHARTS AND THE, THE, THE FIRST ONE WAS, UM, KIND OF GIVING SOME, SOME BACKGROUND FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH REALLY STARTS WITH, UH, UH, IMAGINE AUSTIN BEING AS THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SITTING AT THE TOP OF THE PLANNING HIERARCHY AND, UM, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN, UH, UNDERNEATH THAT [00:30:01] AS BEING A SUPPORTING AND, AND MORE DETAILED PLAN. UM, SO WITH, WITH IMAGINE AUSTIN AND I, I CAN, IF, IF WE'RE NOT SHOWING CHARTS, I CAN JUST GO BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE PAGES. BUT, UM, FIRST OF ALL, FOR, FOR IMAGINE AUSTIN AND THE DOWNTOWN PLAN, I THOUGHT A, A VERY HELPFUL STARTING POINT FOR EVERYBODY HERE AND EVERYBODY IN THE PUBLIC WOULD BE FOR US TO GET AN OVERVIEW OF IMAGINE AUSTIN AND THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN. AND MAYBE THOSE COULD BE DONE TOGETHER, UM, BECAUSE THAT KIND OF GIVES US A BASELINE FROM WHICH WE'RE WORKING FROM. OKAY. AND, AND, AND SOME HISTORICAL CONTEXT. UM, AND I, AND I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION WITHIN IMAGINE AUSTIN, UH, THE WAY IT READS, THE SUSTAINABILITY IS THE BASIS OF THE VISION STATEMENT. SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GO, WE'RE TRYING TO BECOME A MORE SUSTAINABLE CITY. THERE ARE SIX CORE PRINCIPLES FOR ACTION. UM, THE FIRST ONE IS GROW AS A COMPACT CONNECTED CITY. AND SO I WON'T READ ALL SIX OF THEM, BUT THIS WILL SEGUE INTO SOME OTHER THINGS I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT. SO THE, THE TOP PRINCIPLE IS GROW AS A COMPACT CONNECTED CITY. UM, AND THEN I THINK IT'S VERY HELPFUL AND, AND EYE-OPENING FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS THE INTENT OF THAT, WHAT DOES THAT REALLY MEAN? AND THERE'S NO BETTER WAY TO FIND OUT THAN TO LOOK FOR A DEFINITION. AND, UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF THIS DOCUMENT AND IT, IT WAS NOT EASY TO FIND IT, BUT IT'S VERY CLEAR. SO I WOULD LIKE TO READ IT TO YOU AND READ IT TO ANYBODY LISTENING OUT THERE. A COMPACT COMMUNITY IS ONE IN WHICH HOUSING SERVICES, RETAIL JOBS, ENTERTAINMENT, HEALTHCARE, SCHOOLS, PARKS, AND OTHER DAILY NEEDS ARE WITHIN A CONVENIENT WALK OR BICYCLE RIDE OF ONE ANOTHER WITHIN A CONVENIENT WALK OR BICYCLE RIDE OF ONE ANOTHER IS THE DESIGN POINT FOR A COMPACT CITY. NOW THE, THE DEFINITION CONTINUES TO SAY A COMPACT COMMUNITY IS SUPPORTED BY A COMPLETE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, ENCOURAGES HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES AND COMMUNITY INTERACTION, AND ALLOWS FOR MORE EFFICIENT DELIVERY OF PUBLIC SERVICES. SO OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SUPPORTS THE COMPACT, UM, COMMUNITY NOTION. IT'S, UM, AND, AND IT, SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE GET A LITTLE BIT LATER ON AND WE TALK ABOUT STREET DESIGNS AND SIXTH STREET, AND ONE WAY AND TWO WAY TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE, THE PRIORITY REALLY IS, UM, TO, TO EVOLVE TO WALKING AND BIKING. UM, AND THEN ON THIS FIRST PAGE, THE ONLY OTHER COMMENTS THAT, THAT I WANTED TO MAKE IS, IS WHEN WE AS A COMMISSION LOOK BACK, UM, AND IT SAYS ON HERE, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION WAS LITERALLY CREATED TO GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF DOWNTOWN. IT WAS ALSO LITERALLY CREATED WHEN WILL WYNN CAME UP WITH A PROPOSAL THAT WE REDESIGNED AND RETHINK AUSTIN, SO THAT OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN HAD 25,000 PEOPLE, UH, AS RESIDENTS LIVING DOWNTOWN WITH 10 YEARS. SO THE SHORT TERM GOAL WAS GOING FROM 5,000 PEOPLE TO 25,000 PEOPLE IN 10 YEARS, WHICH WAS VERY AGGRESSIVE. AND UH, OBVIOUSLY WE DID NOT GET THERE EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE . UH, SO, SO THE COMMENT THERE IS, WE, WE DIDN'T GET THERE, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT IMAGINE AUSTIN, WHICH WAS A SEPARATE EXERCISE, BUT, BUT VERY LINKED IN WITH, UH, WITH, WITH, UH, THE DOWNTOWN PLAN IN TERMS OF THE TIMING OF WHEN, WHEN THESE WERE DONE. THE, UH, THE, UH, ONE OF THE KPIS WAS JOBS, UM, TO HOUSING BALANCE. SO IT'S A RATIO OF JOBS TO PEOPLE. AND THE, UM, THE OTHER WAS HOUSEHOLDS WITHIN HALF MILE OF RETAIL AND MIXED USE CENTERS. SO WHAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT IS, IS, UM, THE CENTER, WHICH IS DOWNTOWN PLUS A HALF A MILE CIRCUMFERENCE AROUND DOWNTOWN, IS THE TARGET AREA FOR THE COMPACT AND CONNECTED NOTION BEING, BEING REALIZED. SO HAVING SAID THAT, AGAIN, THE FIRST THING I WOULD RECOMMEND WE START WITH IS, UH, IMAGINE AUSTIN OVERVIEW, DOWNTOWN PLAN OVERVIEW. IF I HAD TO ASK FOR ONE PRESENTATION FROM THIS WHOLE THING, IT WOULD BE FOR THE [00:35:01] 50 50 MODELING. UH, WHICH IS HOW ARE THEY MODELING OUR PROGRESS AND ABILITY TO ACHIEVE 50 50 MODE SHARE SUPPORT BY 2039, WHICH AGAIN, AT THIS POINT IS VERY AGGRESSIVE, BUT WE HAVE A MODEL FOR TRYING TO, TO HEAD IN THAT DIRECTION, UH, ESPECIALLY THE MODELING AROUND DOWNTOWN AND THE CENTRAL CITY. SO THAT WOULD BE NUMBER ONE ON MY WISHLIST. SECONDARILY, I THINK IT'D BE VERY HELPFUL BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN SO MUCH FOCUS ON PROJECT CONNECT AND THE TRANSIT SYSTEMS AND, UH, AND RIGHTLY SO, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF THE ROLE THE TRANSIT CAN PLAY IN, IN ENHANCING AFFORDABILITY AND OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN. UM, THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT MODELING, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS DONE VERY RECENTLY FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUBMISSION. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I WOULD THINK THAT'S READILY AVAILABLE. THE THIRD GENERAL AREA IS IF, IF YOU ALL HAVEN'T SEEN IT OR IF YOU HAVE, YOU MIGHT WANNA SEE IT. AGAIN, JUST AN OVERVIEW OF THE VALUE OF DOWNTOWN. WHAT, WHAT, NOT JUST AUSTIN, BUT WHAT DO DOWNTOWNS BRING TO THE EQUATION? WHAT, WHAT IS THE VALUE THAT THEY PROVIDE TO THE CITIES? AND, AND REALLY TO SOME EXTENT, WE'RE LIKE A CASH COW FUNDING A LOT OF THINGS THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN. AND UH, AND, AND MY SUGGESTION IS THAT WE INCLUDE DAA IN THERE WHO IN A TYPICAL CITY OF OUR SIZE WOULD'VE A EXTREMELY ACTIVE ROLE IN AN EXERCISE LIKE REVISING THE PLAN. AND, AND THE LAST ONE WOULD BE, UM, WE ARE UNIQUE. WE HAVE UNIQUE CHALLENGES, WE HAVE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES. IT WOULD JUST BE REALLY INTERESTING TO BENCHMARK HOW OTHER CITIES APPROACH SOME OF THE ANOMALIES OR UNIQUENESS THAT THEY HAVE IN AREAS LIKE, LIKE TAX BASE AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT, UM, WHATEVER THEIR GOALS ARE FOR DEMOGRAPHICS, UM, PLACEMAKING, WHICH IS KIND OF A BROAD CATEGORY. AND, UM, AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST THE INCUMBENT PREFERENCES. SO THAT IS, THAT'S MY, UH, ANSWER TO THE ASSIGNMENTS, SIR. THANK YOU. I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. IT WAS VERY HELPFUL. IT'S A GREAT, UM, OVERVIEW AND ROADMAP FOR MOVING FORWARD. UH, ANY QUESTIONS THAT ANYONE HAS? COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? YES, COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, I, I DO HAVE ONE CONCERN THAT IN IN, IN THE EFFORT TO GET TO 25,000 DOWNTOWN, IT WOULD SEEM LIKE IT WOULD BE CRUCIAL TO KNOW HOW MANY UNITS YOU HAVE AVAILABLE. AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MANY UNITS YOU HAVE AVAILABLE, THEN YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH BUILDING CAN BE NEEDS TO BE DONE. BUT YOU DEFINITELY, IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY LIVE IN, THERE HAS TO BE SOME KIND OF GUARDRAIL AROUND BUILDING UNITS THAT ARE 3000 PLUS DOLLARS A MONTH THAT PEOPLE GENERALLY CAN'T LIVE IN. THAT DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF TRYING TO GET PEOPLE DOWNTOWN IF ALL THE UNITS ARE GONNA BE THINGS THAT ONLY PEOPLE COMING INTO AUSTIN CAN MOVE INTO. THANK YOU. AND I DO BELIEVE SOME OF THOSE STATISTICS ARE AROUND, AS FAR AS THE UNITS WE HAVE NOW. YEAH. HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO, HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND ANYTHING. I, I FOUND PERCENTAGES, BUT OH, INTERESTING. BUT WHAT STAFF SENT ME WAS, WAS NOT, THERE WAS NO LIKE, NUMBER AT THIS, ON THIS DATE, WE HAVE X AMOUNT OF UNITS AVAILABLE. OH, THAT'S INTERESTING. OKAY. THE TOTAL UNITS ARE AFFORDABLE UNITS. WHAT, WHAT IS IT? WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR? NOT, I, I HAD BEEN ANYTHING. IT, I JUST GOT THE, THE REPORT THAT SHOWED WHAT THE PLAN, WHAT IT WAS. I THINK IT WAS 2000. I CAN'T REMEMBER THE DATE ON IT, BUT IT WAS A REPORT ABOUT WHAT THE DOWNTOWN HOUSING SITUATION WAS AND THAT IT WAS PERCENTAGES OF THIS AND THAT, BUT THERE WAS NO NUMBER. OKAY. I THINK THAT THE LAST TIME I SAW ANYTHING, UH, THEY WERE SAYING THAT THERE WERE ABOUT 15,000 RESIDENTIAL UNITS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA AT THIS POINT. SO, UM, THAT WOULD 15,000 UNITS WOULD BE WHAT THAT WOULD BE MM-HMM . UM, BUT IF YOU HAVE 15,000 UNITS AND YOU WANT, YOU HAVE A POPULATION OF 15,000, THEN YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW HOW MUCH OF THAT IS ACTUALLY BEING USED AND HOW MUCH IS AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE TO MOVE INTO. YEAH. AND THERE IS SOME THAT'S STILL AVAILABLE. 'CAUSE A LOT OF THIS WAS JUST FAIRLY RECENTLY BUILT, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE MODERN IS NOT FULL YET AND STUFF LIKE THAT. SO, UH, YOU'RE RIGHT. THAT'S A, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD DATA POINT THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, CHRISTIE, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD MAYBE TRY TO TRACK DOWN SOME OF THOSE STATISTICS? UH, THE CLERK'S OFFICE CERTAINLY WOULDN'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION, BUT IF YOU WANTED TO SEND IN A REQUEST, I COULD MAYBE SEE IF, UM, PERHAPS PLANNING OR [00:40:01] ANOTHER CITY DEPARTMENT HAD IT. I KNOW COMMISSIONER HOUSTON ASKED FOR SOME RELATED INFORMATION RECENTLY AND I PROVIDED WHAT WE HAD. UM, IT MAY BE A QUESTION OF SUBMITTING A PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST AS WELL, BECAUSE IT MAY STRADDLE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS. OKAY. ALRIGHT. WE CAN TALK OFFLINE AND OKAY. SEE IF WE CAN FIGURE THAT OUT. BUT THANK YOU FOR RAISING THAT. YEAH. THANK YOU. UM, YEAH. YEAH. CAN AND AND IF I CAN MAKE ONE COMMENT, I THINK THAT, THAT THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF, UH, DEMOGRAPHICS AND, UH, AND, AND I I WAS KIND OF VISUALIZING THAT SOME OF THESE THINGS MAY COME TO US A LITTLE BIT LATER IN THE PROCESS. THAT THE GENERAL CATEGORY OF THINGS THAT I HAD AND, AND THE EARLY ONES THAT I HAD UP AT THE TOP WERE MORE INTENDED TO BE DIRECTLY FOCUSED ON THE COMPACT AND CONNECTED PORTION. HOWEVER, IF YOU GO BACK AND LOOK AT, IMAGINE AUSTIN, WE HAVE A LOT OF GOALS FOR OUR CITY AND, AND WHAT YOU BROUGHT UP, UH, KIND OF BLEEDS OVER INTO SOME OF THOSE OTHER GOALS TOO. AND SO I I WAS NOT TRYING TO, UH, SUGGEST THAT THIS IS A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE GONNA WANT TO HEAR JUST AS, AS MUCH AS TO, UH MM-HMM . TO KIND OF GET THE DISCUSSION GOING ON SOME OF THE THINGS WE WOULD WANNA SEE EARLY FOR COMPACT AND CONNECTED. THANK YOU. YEAH. I THINK BLENDING, UM, WITH THE, MY TWO COLLEAGUES JUST SHARED IS WHAT ARE THE SERVICES THAT ARE NEEDED TO KEEP PEOPLE LIVING DOWNTOWN? TO YOUR EXACT POINT OF THAT COMPACT COMMUNITY, RIGHT? WE OFTEN DON'T THINK ABOUT THE SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT PEOPLE NEED IN ORDER TO LIVE AND THRIVE AND WANT TO WANT TO LIVE DOWNTOWN, NOT JUST WORK DOWNTOWN. AND THE RENT FOR THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES IS, IS OFTEN ASTRONOMICAL BECAUSE MOST OF OUR REAL ESTATE WAS BUILT UP DURING A CERTAIN TIME PERIOD AND IT'S NEWER, SO IT'S MORE EXPENSIVE. SO THAT'S COST PROHIBITIVE FOR FLORISTS, NAIL SALON AND TAILORS AND NAIL SALONS AND DRY CLEANERS. RIGHT? RIGHT. LIKE THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT WE ALL FREQUENT, OFTEN WE GO OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN BECAUSE IT'S PROHIBITIVE. SO FOR YOUR POINT ON COMPACT COMMUNITY AND YOUR POINT ON, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE GET PEOPLE TO LIVE DOWNTOWN? HOW MANY UNITS DO WE HAVE? LIKE WHAT ARE THOSE SURROUNDING PERIPHERY LIFESTYLE SERVICES THAT WE NEED? INCLUDING, INCLUDING CHILDCARE TOO. LIKE, I, I ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW HOW MANY DAYCARES ARE DOWNTOWN. MM-HMM . WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY, HONESTLY. YEAH. LIKE, THAT FEELS SUPER IMPORTANT TO, TO BRING CHILDCARE INTO THIS. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER BTA. YEAH, JUST ADD TO COMMISSIONER HOUSTON'S, UH, QUERY HERE. I, I THINK IT ALSO WOULD BE INSTRUMENTAL TO FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S POSSIBLE, UH, HOW MANY OF THESE UNITS ARE REALLY JUST INVESTMENT PROPERTIES THAT SIT VACANT, UH, AS OPPOSED TO ACTUAL HOMESTEADS AND RENTAL PROPERTIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF UNITS THAT ARE BOUGHT THAT SIT EMPTY FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS. SO IT MIGHT BE ILLUSTRATED TO FIND THAT DATA AS WELL. ABSOLUTELY. BUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE THE BUILDING OF UNITS. YEAH. , WE NEED TO INCREASE THE SUPPLY, RIGHT? YEAH. BUT IF WE'RE INCREASING SUPPLY AT A PRICE POINT THAT'S OUT OF REACH FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE CITY, IT SERVES ON PURPOSE. IT DOES SERVE SOME PURPOSES. IT DOESN'T SERVE THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE HEREAFTER, IT SERVES THE PURPOSE OF SUPPORTING TRANSIT AND SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES. I'M NOT SAYING THAT'S THE ONLY PURPOSE THAT DOES SERVE SOME PURPOSE. I'M, I'M NOT SAYING WE SHOULDN'T BUILD A WORKFORCE HOUSING AT ALL. THAT'S ALL. I I AGREE THAT WORKFORCE HOUSING IS IMPORTANT. WELL, THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR POINTS. I APPRECIATE THAT. UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? CHAIRMAN? I HAD A QUESTION. YES. SO IN TERMS OF THE DISCUSSION TONIGHT, WHAT'S NEXT? I MEAN, YOU SAID THERE'S A WORKING GROUP OR WHAT, WHAT ARE WE GONNA, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? THAT'S ON OUR LIST. YEAH. SO THE NEXT THING [7. Approve the formation of a working group to provide recommendations on the Central City District Plan.] ON THE NEXT, UH, ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS TO CREATE THE WORKING GROUP FOR DOWNTOWN. LOOK AT THAT. I KNOW YOU COULD HAVE DRAWN UP THE AGENDA FOR US . UM, SO I THINK LAST TIME WE EXPLAINED THAT COMMISSIONER LEVINSON AND I HAD SPOKEN WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND WITH THE CENTRAL DISTRICT PLAN LEAD. YES. UM, AND EXPRESSED OUR STRONG DESIRE AND NEED AS THE COMMISSION FOR MORE INFORMATION AND MORE INPUT. AND, UM, THERE WAS SOME PUSHBACK, UH, BUT EVENTUALLY WE WERE ABLE TO WORK OUT AN AGREEMENT WHERE THEY, UM, THEY'RE CERTAINLY WILLING TO KEEP US ABREAST. UM, AND AS FAR AS COMING TO THE COMMISSION AND PRESENTING, THEY SUGGESTED ONCE EVERY THREE MONTHS, I BELIEVE IT WAS. RIGHT. [00:45:01] BUT IN THE INTERIM, ONCE A MONTH, UM, THERE WOULD BE A MEETING WITH A WORKING GROUP AND IN THE INTERIM BETWEEN THOSE MEETINGS, THEY WOULD STILL BE OPEN TO OUR INPUT AND TO PROVIDING US INFORMATION. SO IT SEEMS LIKE THE NEXT, UM, STEP WOULD BE TO CREATE THAT WORKING GROUP. UM, WE, UH, COMMISSIONER LEVINSON AND MYSELF AS CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR, WE'RE GOING TO BE PART OF THAT WORKING GROUP AND WE CAN ONLY HAVE FIVE WITHOUT HAVING A QUORUM. RIGHT. SO, UM, I GUESS WE'LL OPEN IT UP NOW TO WHO IS INTERESTED. I THINK COMMISSIONER WILEY WAS INTERESTED. COMMISSIONER CARROLL AND COMMISSIONER MR. SCHIFFER. ALRIGHT, THAT'S THREE. AND THE TWO US IS FIVE. IS THAT, IS THAT ANYONE HAVE ANY OBJECTION TO THAT? UH, COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER, WILEY, CARROLL LEVINSON AND MYSELF. I'M ALREADY REPRESENTING SIR. CANCER. YES. YEAH, YOUR, UM, COMMISSIONER VETO IS ALREADY ON THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. UM, AND SO THE, UH, CENTRAL DISTRICT, UH, PLANNING GROUP DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE SOMEBODY THAT WAS ON THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ALSO BE ON THE WORKING GROUP CURRENTLY. UM, COMMISSIONER WILEY IS ON THE GROUP ON THE ADVISORY GROUP, BUT HE'S STEPPING DOWN. YES. HE'S RESIGNING FROM THAT. AND SOMEBODY ELSE FROM DANA IS TAKING THAT POSITION, SO HE'S NOW ELIGIBLE. SO I BELIEVE IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, THE SLATE OF, UH, COMMISSIONER'S WORKING, UH, THAT WILL BE MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP WOULD BE MYSELF AND COMMISSIONER LEVINSON, COMMISSIONER WILEY, COMMISSIONER CARROLL, COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER. THAT WOULD BE SORT OF THE SLATE THAT WE NOW PRESENT. SO DOES SOMEBODY WANNA MAKE THAT MOTION? I'LL MOVE IT SECOND. SO COMMISSIONER LEVINSON MOVED IT, COMMISSIONER SCHIFFER SECONDED. UM, CHRISTIE, IS THERE ANY CONCERN OR PROHIBITION AGAINST SOMEBODY THAT IS GOING TO BE ON THE WORKING GROUP? MOTIONING AND SECONDING. OKAY, THEN WE'RE GOOD. SO ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. THE MOTION CARRIES AND THE WORKING GROUP IS CREATED AND UH, NEXT STEPS IS COMMISSIONER LEVINSON AND I WILL WORK OUT HOW WE HAVE OUR FIRST MEETING AND GO FROM THERE. YEAH. THE INTENT OF THAT WORKING GROUP IS NOT JUST FOR THE WORKING GROUP TO GET THE INFORMATION, BUT FOR US TO REPORT BACK TO THIS COUNCIL, TO THIS COUNCIL OFTEN. YEAH. UM, AND WE ARE ALSO OPEN TO ANY SUGGESTIONS PEOPLE HAVE. SO IF ANYTHING COMES UP IN YOUR, YOU KNOW, DAILY LIFE OR IN WORKING WITH ANY OTHER COMMISSIONS OR GROUPS THAT YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT FOR THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN GROUP TO ADDRESS AND PLEASE SEND IT TO US BECAUSE WE WANT TO KNOW, IS THERE, I HAVE A QUESTION. YEAH. MM-HMM . FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU GUYS FOR PUTTING IN THE EXTRA EFFORT. I WOULD LOVE TO BE ON IT AND I JUST DON'T HAVE CAPACITY. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT EXTRA EFFORT THAT YOU'RE ALL PUTTING ON, ON BEHALF OF US AND THIS COMMUNITY. WOULD IT BE BOTH POSSIBLE AND WITHIN, UM, KIND OF OUR FRAMEWORK FOR YOU TO OPEN UP JUST A SIMPLE GOOGLE DOC THAT WE COULD ADD IN OR A WAY TO STREAMLINE OUR THOUGHTS AND SEND TO YOU AS OPPOSED TO, HEY KIMBERLY, IT'S 11 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT, HERE'S MY IDEA. YEAH. THE, THE ISSUE WITH THAT IS JUST THE OPEN MEETINGS. RIGHT? OPEN RECORDS, RIGHT. THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING. UM, ACT AND, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO DO AND MEET ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF STATE LAW. SO JUST EMAIL YOU IS THE RIGHT THING. YEAH. THEN THAT'S FINE. YOU CAN EMAIL. OKAY. EMAIL, TEXT, WHATEVER, . UM, NOW I, I THINK TO EMAIL US, TECHNICALLY YOU WOULD DO IT THROUGH THE CITY WEBSITE MM-HMM . BECAUSE IT IS CITY BUSINESS, SO. RIGHT. DID I SAY ANYTHING WRONG THERE? ? NO, YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK. THAT JUST USE YOUR, YOUR BOARD OF COMMISSION EMAIL TO EMAIL ABOUT BOARD OF COMMISSION BUSINESS. YEAH. OKAY. ALRIGHT. PERFECT. WELL THANK YOU THOUGH FOR THAT SUGGESTION. 'CAUSE WE, WE DO WANT TO HEAR THOSE YEAH. THOSE THOUGHTS AND THOSE IDEAS. UM, ALRIGHT, SO I GUESS MOVING ALONG, THE NEXT ITEM [8. Approve a Recommendation to Council regarding Two-Way Streets in the Downtown Area.] IS TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL REGARDING TWO-WAY STREETS IN DOWNTOWN AREA. COMMISSIONER CARROLL WORKED VERY HARD ON CREATING THE DRAFT RECOMMENDATION. COMMISSIONER CARROLL, WOULD YOU MIND READING THAT CHAIR? I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT. UH, WE DID HAVE ONE SPEAKER SIGNED UP. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT MAYBE THEY WEREN'T HERE NOW. UH, WE HAD JOSH GOLDENBERG. OH, OKAY. SIGNED UP FOR AN ITEM EIGHT. FANTASTIC. ON UP JOSH, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS JOSH GOLDBERG AND, UH, I'M CURRENTLY A HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR [00:50:01] AND I'M HERE REPRESENTING MYSELF AS WELL AS AURA, WHICH IS A GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION ADVOCATING FOR TRANSIT, WALKABILITY AND BETTER LAND USE. UH, AS PART OF OUR EFFORTS WE HAVE, WE'RE SUPPORTING THE INCLUSION OF DOWNTOWN TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS IN ONE OF THE RELEVANT CITY PLANS SUCH AS THE AUSTIN COURT TRANSPORTATION PLAN, THE GREAT STREETS PLAN, OR THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN. UH, I SUPPORT THIS ISLAND BECAUSE TWO-WAY STREETS ARE BOTH AN EASY AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPROVE SAFETY, MOBILITY, AND LIVABILITY FOR ALL USERS OF DOWNTOWN STREETS, AS WELL AS TO INCREASE THE ECONOMIC VITALITY OF THE AREA. THE PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION EMPHASIZES HOW TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS ARE CONSISTENT WITH VISION ZERO AND MO SHIFT GOALS OUTLINED IN THE AWESOME STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN. THESE GOALS ARE NOT ONLY WORDS IN A PLAN, BUT ALSO POLICIES WHICH IF IMPLEMENTED, WOULD AFFECT THE OLD PEOPLE'S LIVES. AS A YOUNG PERSON WHO WANTS TO LIVE CAR FREE, WHEN I GROW UP, I WANT TO FEEL SAFE WHILE WALKING AROUND DOWNTOWN. CURRENTLY, I FEEL MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE WALKING ON SECOND STREET, WHICH IS A TWO-WAY THAN I DO ON MY OTHER STREETS IN THE AREA. THAT FEELING OF SAFETY AS WELL AS THE ADDITIONAL FOOT TRAFFIC, WHICH TWO-WAY STREETS HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO INDUCE, CONTRIBUTES TO A PLEASANT WALKING EXPERIENCE AND DYNAMIC STREET ENVIRONMENT, WHICH I HOPE TO ENJOY WHEN I GROW UP. FROM MY EXPERIENCE WALKING AROUND DOWNTOWN, THE PREVIOUS CONVERSIONS TO TWO-WAY STREETS HAVE BEEN AMAZING DECISIONS THEY COULD AND SHOULD BE REPLICATED. IN ADDITION TO THE BENEFITS TWO-WAY, TWO-WAY STREETS ARE A VERY COST EFFECTIVE WAY TO TANGIBLY IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL THE LIVE VISIT AND DO BUSINESS IN THE URBAN CORE. 'CAUSE THESE, THESE CHANGES OFTEN INVOLVE A LITTLE MORE THAN PAINT AND CAN BE ADDED TO STREET RECONSTRUCTIONS, WHICH ARE, WOULD ALREADY HAPPEN. THE FUNDS AND RESOURCES NEEDED TO MAKE THESE CHANGES HAPPEN WILL BE NEGLIGIBLE. THE COMBINATION OF LOW COST AND PROVEN RESULTS MAKES THIS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE THINGS WE CAN DO TO CREATE A MORE SAFE, LIVABLE, AND VIBRANT CITY. WITH SUCH A HIGH RETURN ON INVESTMENT. SUPPORTING THIS ITEM SHOULD BE A OUTBREAK ON TOP OF THE PRACTICAL BENEFITS OF TWO-WAY STREETS. I HOPE YOU ALL ALSO CONSIDER THE STRONG COMMUNITY SUPPORT BEHIND THIS PROPOSAL. AURA AND SAFE STREETS AUSTIN HAVE GOTTEN THE SUPPORT OF OVER 50 LOCAL BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS FOR TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS. UH, ADDITIONALLY, THE AUSTIN YOUTH COUNCIL, OF WHICH I'M A MEMBER, RECENTLY VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO SUPPORT THIS INITIATIVE AS WELL. UH, AS THE YOUTH COUNCIL IS THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE WHO WILL LIVE WITH THIS CHANGE FOR THE LONGEST AMOUNT OF TIME. I HOPE YOU'LL TAKE OUR SUPPORT INTO CONSIDERATION. UM, ON THE SIDE, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION. UH, PLEASE SUPPORT THIS RECOMMENDATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING DOWN. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER CARROLL. DO, ARE YOU OKAY READING IT IN OR DO YOU WANT ME TO READ IT IN? I MEAN, HE, HE SAID IT BETTER THAN I COULD. HE DID F BUT WE STILL HAVE TO READ IT INTO THE RECORD. SO , UH, I WAS AFRAID YOU WERE GONNA ASK THAT CHAIR. FMA YOU DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO READ IT INTO THE RECORD. IT HAS BEEN POSTED TO BACK. OH YEAH. SO HAS EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO READ IT? OKAY. THAT'S GREAT. ANY CHANGES? MUCH RAMBLING CONCERNS. ANY QUESTIONS? YES, COMMISSIONER HOUSTON? I DID HAVE A QUESTION BECAUSE THE, THE PRESENTATION THAT I REMEMBER HEARING WAS THAT THE, THE PLAN WAS TO EVALUATE EACH STREET INDIVIDUALLY AND MAKE A DETERMINATION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO CHANGE THAT STREET. WHEREAS THIS RECOMMENDATION SAYS TO JUST BLANKET CONVERT ALL THE STREETS. PERIOD. I JUST WANTED TO POINT, I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. AND IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO CONVERT ALL OF THE STREETS? YES. YES. OKAY. IT IS. WELL, THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT. APPRECIATE IT. UM, ALRIGHT, SO I THINK WE'RE READY TO VOTE. SO DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION AS WRITTEN? SO MOVED. COMMISSIONER LEVINSON. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. COMMISSIONER CARROLL I THINK BEAT YOU BY A SECOND. . ALRIGHT, ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. THE RECOMMENDATION HAS BEEN ADOPTED. GREAT. ALL RIGHT. NOW, UM, [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, COMMISSIONER CARROLL, ACTUALLY, COMMISSIONER WILEY, WHEN YOU WERE SPEAKING, YOU MENTIONED IMAGINE AUSTIN A REQUEST FOR AN OVERVIEW OF IMAGINE AUSTIN. MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, WHO WOULD BE BEST TO PRESENT THAT? WHO DO WE ASK TO COME AND PRESENT? WELL, I, I WOULD UM, I I COULD IMAGINE THAT, UH, JORGE AND I, I I'M NOT SURE HOW RU I'M I'M SURE I WOULD BUTCHER IS RU RU IS RULAND. YEAH. JORGE IS IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT. AND SO WE WOULD ASK THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT [00:55:01] TO HAVE SOMEONE PRESENT TO US AN OVERVIEW OF IMAGINE AUSTIN. YEAH. 'CAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THAT TOO. IT'S BEEN A WHILE. I MEAN, I REMEMBER IT'S BEEN QUITE A WHILE. YEAH. I MEAN, I REMEMBER SOME OF IT, BUT IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME. AND, AND JORGE WAS VERY, VERY DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THE DOWNTOWN PLAN. HE WAS THE DOWNTOWN PLAN PERSON, SO, OKAY. AND I KNOW I, I I KNOW WE CAN REQUEST THAT. YEAH. IF YOU CAN REQUEST BY PERSON, BUT WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T GUARANTEE WE CAN'T FORCE THEM TO SEND HIM TO SPEAK TO US. SURE. UM, YES. IF I, IF I COULD ADD TO THAT. YES. UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO UNDERSTAND THE, THE CURRENT, UH, PROCESS TO UPDATE THAT PLAN, WHICH HAS BEEN TRYING TO START FOR OVER A YEAR NOW. UM, SO UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE SCHEDULE IS FOR ACTUALLY DOING, YOU HAVE THE TIMELINE ON THAT BECAUSE THAT PLAN IS NOW WHAT, 13, 14 YEARS OLD YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IMAGINE AUSTIN UPDATES? YEAH. IT'S LIKE 15 YEARS OLD NOW. YEAH. 2011. YEAH. SO THE WAY THIS NORMALLY PLAYS OUT IS THAT WE, UM, WE COME UP WITH AN AGENDA ITEM THAT ONE OF US WANTS TO HAVE A PRESENTATION BEFORE THE COMMISSION. WE LET, UM, CHRISTIE KNOW SHE REACHES OUT AND THEN INEVITABLY THEY REACH BACK AND SAY, WELL, WHAT TOPICS WOULD YOU LIKE US TO ADDRESS? MM-HMM . UM, SO WE NOW ARE TALKING ABOUT AN OVERVIEW OF IMAGINE AUSTIN, BUT ALSO THE TIMELINE FOR WHEN THEY'RE TIMELINE FOR THEIR FUTURE PLANNING PROCESS BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO RESTART THE IMAGINE AUSTIN PLAN. I GOT AN EMAIL ASKING ME TO APPLY FOR ONE OF THEIR WORKING GROUPS AND I DID, AND I'VE HEARD NOTHING BACK. SO , YOU KNOW, SO ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT WE THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL? YES. WITH WITHIN THAT PRESENTATION? YES. YES. OR, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT THE, THE DOWNTOWN HOUSING ASSESSMENT, THE 25,000. THE, THE, UM, THAT'S A GREAT POINT. THE JOB TO HOUSING BALANCE THAT RATIO. THESE ARE THINGS FROM IMAGINE THEY'RE, THEY'RE FROM THE PLAN, THEY'RE NOT THINGS I WANT. THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE IN THE PLAN. YEAH. THAT AND, UH, HOUSEHOLDS. HOUSEHOLDS WITHIN A HALF MILE OF THE CENTER. SO THAT WOULD BE INCLUSIVE OF THE CENTER AND OUTSIDE THE CENTER AND HOW THEY'RE LOOKING AT THAT ALSO. OKAY. 'CAUSE UH, AND UM, YOU MENTIONED 50 50. YES. SO THAT WOULD BE ALL OF THIS. THE, THE, THE JORGE, UH, IMAGINE AUSTIN DOWNTOWN PLAN WOULD BE BACKGROUND ON THAT. UM, RELATED TO HOW WE'RE DOING ON COMPACT, THE, THE, THE KEY MEASURE FOR COMPACT, WHICH IS THE FIRST, FIRST GOAL, PART OF THE GOAL, THE VISION IS THE 50 50 MODELING. SO OUR TOP, IT'S AN ENVIRONMENTAL GOAL, IT'S AN AFFORDABILITY GOAL. IT'S EVERYTHING THAT AT THE TOP OF, OF TRANSIT AND MOBILITY IS 50 50 MODE SHARE BY 2039. AND THEY HAVE A MODEL THAT THEY CAN USE THAT ESTIMATES THE IMPACT ON ADDING PEOPLE THAT ARE LIVING WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF, OF JOBS, UH, DOING THINGS TO IMPROVE BIKES, LANES, DOING THINGS TO IMPROVE SIDEWALKS, ALL, ALL OF THAT. BUT HOW ARE THEY MODELING THAT? AND DO YOU SEE THAT AS A SEPARATE PRESENTATION? I SEE THAT DEFINITELY AS A SEPARATE PRESENTATION AND A SEPARATE PERSON. IT'S A, IT'S A PLANNER THAT HAS A MODEL SOMEWHERE. OKAY. UM, SO GOING BACK TO THE OVERVIEW, I GUESS COMMISSIONER WILEY, UM, MAKES THAT AS A REQUEST. AND WHO WANTS TO SECOND THAT? 'CAUSE WE ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE A SECOND. I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. UM, AND THEN ON THE 50 50 MODE SHARE, AGAIN, COMMISSIONER WILEY IS MAKING THAT SUGGESTION. WHO WOULD LIKE TO SECOND THAT QUESTION ON THE 50 50 MODE SHARE? YES. ARE WE WANTING TO LOOK INTO MORE SPECIFIC STUFF TOO? IS LIKE THE COMPACT CITY OR WOULD THAT BE, I MEAN LIKE THE THINGS THAT YOU OUTLINED BASICALLY. SO IT'S NOT JUST THE 50 50. YOU TALKED ABOUT HOUSING AND WALK, LIKE WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY, HOW, HOW THEY'RE MODELING THAT 50 50 MO SHARE BY 2039 IS, IS THE CORE OF WHAT YOU WANT? IS THE, IS THE, THE CORE GOAL? YEAH. AND BENEATH THAT, IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THAT GOAL, WE HAVE PROJECT CONNECT. IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THAT GOAL, WE'RE GETTING BIKE LANES. SO, UH, THAT IS THE, THE TOP LEVEL GOAL. AND SO I THINK IT'D BE USEFUL TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT'S BEING EVALUATED AND, AND HOW, HOW WE'RE EVALUATING DIFFERENT IDEAS TO HELP US TO SUPPORT THAT GOAL. SUPPORT THE GOAL. YES. THANK YOU. SO YOU'RE TALKING ALSO ABOUT NITTY GRITTY IN DEPTH UNDERSTANDING HOW THE MODEL IS DONE. YEAH. THIS, THIS IS A MODELING PERSON. UM, OKAY. IT SOUNDS LIKE HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION I GUESS IS WHAT I'M TRYING, I'M TRYING TO YES, IT IS. OKAY. IT'S MO YEAH. MOBILITY. YEAH. YEAH. BECAUSE MOBILITY YEAH. [01:00:01] IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT BROADER THAN TRANSPORTATION. YEAH, EXACTLY. SO COMMISSIONER MCDANIEL, DO YOU SECOND THE REQUEST? OH YEAH, I'LL SECOND THAT ONE. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU, YOU HONOR. THANK YOU. UM, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER BUSINESS? YES. COMMISSIONER, I'D LIKE TO REQUEST THE AGENDA TIME TO GIVE AN UPDATE FROM THE JANUARY ARCH COMMISSION MEETING. IT DOESN'T HAPPEN. I, UNTIL NEXT WEDNESDAY I'LL THAT THANK YOU. AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED TO, UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE THE HIDEOUTS ALREADY CONTACTED US, BUT DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, I GUESS WE'LL INVITE THEM TO COME BACK. YES. OR THEY'LL REACH OUT TO COME BACK. WE'LL INVITE THEM BACK. ALL RIGHT. WELL, IF THERE'S NOTHING MORE THEN UM, I THINK, DO WE HAVE TO HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? OKAY. I THINK WE STAND ADJOURN. THANK YOU. I DO NEED A. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.