Feb 10, 2026 Austin Housing &amp; Planning Committee

AND I MISSPOKE EARLIER.

VICE CHAIR SIEGEL.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

UM, JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.

UM, I GUESS IF YOU COULD SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT IS A ZONING SIGN POSTING UPDATE? SURE.

SO RIGHT NOW, THE, UM, REQUIREMENTS IN THE CODE ESSENTIALLY PUT THE ONUS ON THE CITY TO POST SIGNS FOR ZONING CASES.

AND THESE ARE, SO BASICALLY THE SIGNS THAT YOU WOULD HAVE ON A PROPERTY THAT IS GOING THROUGH THE ZONING CHANGE PROCESS IS THE SIGN THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

UM, AND STATE LAW NOW ALLOWS, UM, THE, THE CITY TO REQUIRE THAT THOSE, OR ACTUALLY STATE LAW CHANGE TO REQUIRE KIND OF HOW THOSE SIGNS ARE POSTED AND HOW THEY ARE MAINTAINED ON THE SITE, SO THAT FOLKS CAN CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THE PROCESS.

UM, AND I THINK THE, THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WILL BE MOVING FORWARD TO THE COUNCIL IS, UM, CONSIDERING A, AN APPROACH TO POSTING THOSE SIGNS THAT WOULD RELY ON THE APPLICANT, UM, TO POST THE SIGN.

OKAY.

FAIR ENOUGH.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

NO PROB NO OTHER QUESTIONS.

WE APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT ONE.

I WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS ONE.

ALL RIGHT.

AH, ITEM NUMBER THREE.

OH,

[3. Briefing on City Manager's Office Update to the City’s approach to creating affordable housing. [Erica Leak, Officer -City Manager's Office].]

ALSO.

WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, HI THERE, MS. LEE, A PRESENTATION FROM THE MANAGER'S OFFICE.

ITEM NUMBER THREE IS A BRIEFING ON THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE UPDATE TO THE CITY'S APPROACH TO CREATING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

THIS PRESENTATION IS PROVIDED BY ERICA LEE.

MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS IN COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS BY, RIGHT.

YEP.

TRY THAT AGAIN.

UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

UM, I'M ERIC LEAK WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE LEADING AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY WORK, AND I WILL BE JOINED BY, UH, PAUL PINGER OF BAE URBAN ECONOMICS, WHO WILL BE GIVING PART OF THE PRESENTATION AND SHOULD BE ON WEBEX NOW OR MOMENTARILY.

THERE HE IS.

PERFECT.

ALRIGHT.

UM, SO AS I BEGAN THE PRESENTATION, UH, I WANTED TO SHARE THAT THIS UPDATE AND THE HOUSING POLICY WORK THAT I'M LEADING IS BEING DONE IN TANDEM WITH AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP, UH, THAT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE IS LEADING, SO THAT BOTH OF THEM WILL REALLY WORK TOGETHER TO ADDRESS THE CITY'S CURRENT CHALLENGES AND TO CREATE A CITY WHERE EVERYONE CAN THRIVE.

SO JUST PUTTING THIS IN THAT CONTEXT TEXT, UM, THE CITY MANAGER'S HOUSING POLICY TEAM WAS CREATED, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE UP TO DATE DATA REGARDING THE CITY'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS, UM, SO THAT WE COULD EXPLORE NEW INCENTIVES TO CREATE, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND MIXED INCOME DEVELOPMENTS, AND ALSO REDUCE BARRIERS TO EXISTING INCENTIVES, UM, WHERE THOSE BARRIERS EXIST.

WE'RE HELPING TO ENSURE THAT THE CITY'S INCENTIVES AND PROGRAMS ARE DESIGNED TO MEET THE CITY'S CURRENT GOALS.

AND THIS IS NECESSARY BECAUSE, UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE CITY'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME, UM, AND ESPECIALLY SINCE THE HOUSING BLUEPRINT HAS WAS, UM, ADOPTED ALSO BECAUSE OF THE TEXAS SENATE BILL EIGHT 40, UH, ALSO CALLED SB EIGHT 40, WHICH DECREASED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOME OF AUSTIN'S DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. AND ALSO SO THAT, UM, THERE IS A TEAM THAT CAN LEAD CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL EFFORTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ACHIEVE DESIRED OUTCOMES.

UM, SO I KNOW MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD AT LEAST PART OF THIS BEFORE, BUT I JUST WANTED TO DO A QUICK REFRESHER ON SB EIGHT 40 SO THAT, UM, EVERYONE REMEMBERS KIND OF WHAT IT DOES AND HOW IT IMPACTS THE CITY'S DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. UM, IT IS SOMETIMES CALLED RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL, AND IT DOES ALLOW, UM, MULTIFAMILY OR

[00:15:01]

UM, IT SETS MINIMUM ALLOWABLE HEIGHTS AND DENSITY AND MAXIMUM SETBACKS.

IT ALSO MAKES IT EASIER TO CONVERT EXISTING COMMERCIAL OR OFFICE BUILDINGS FOR RESIDENTIAL USE.

IT DOES ALLOW THOSE DEVELOPMENTS TO REALLY, TO REACH AT LEAST 65 FEET IN HEIGHT OR THE HEIGHT THAT'S ALLOWED IN THAT ZONING DISTRICT.

SO MANY COMMERCIAL ZONING DISTRICTS ALLOW UP TO 60 FEET IN HEIGHT BY RIGHT? AND SO WITH SB EIGHT 40, UM, THOSE DEVELOPMENTS WILL BE ABLE TO, TO BE BUILT WITHOUT A FLOOR AREA RATIO LIMIT.

UM, AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO PROVIDE COMMUNITY BENEFITS.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S HOW IT MAKES THE CITY'S DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS LESS EFFECTIVE.

UM, IN TERMS OF APPLICABILITY, THIS, THIS SLIDE SHOWS THAT IT'S, UM, IT APPLIES IN ALL OFFICE BASED ZONES, COMMERCIAL BASED ZONES, AND A FEW OTHER SPECIFIC ZONES.

AND SO JUST TO GO INTO A TINY BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT HOW IT IMPACTS THE CITY'S DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS, THE, UH, LIGHT BLUE BAR ON THE LEFT SHOWS THE BASICALLY ENTITLEMENTS THAT USED TO BE ALLOWED IN COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS.

THE MIDDLE BAR SHOWS WHAT IS NOW SORT OF GENERALLY ALLOWED WITH SB EIGHT 40.

SO SB EIGHT 40 INCREASED THE BUYRIGHT ENTITLEMENTS, AND THEN, UH, THE RIGHT BAR SHOWS POTENTIAL BONUS ENTITLEMENTS THROUGH A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM THAT COULD BE IN THE FORM OF ADDITIONAL DENSITY OR HEIGHT.

AND SO IT MEANS THAT THE BONUS VALUE THAT CAN BE LEVERAGED FOR COMMUNITY BENEFITS IS SMALLER NOW THAN IT USED TO BE BEFORE SB EIGHT 40.

AND, UH, CITY STAFF HAS HAVE ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 20% OF THE CITY'S AFFORDABLE UNITS WERE CREATED THROUGH DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. SO, UM, SB EIGHT 40 COULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.

SO, AS I MENTIONED, BECAUSE THE, UH, ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENTS THAT USED TO BE GRANTED THROUGH DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS ARE NOW ALLOWED BY RIGHT, IT HAS DECREASED THE, THE POTENTIAL OR THE LIKELIHOOD OF GETTING AS MANY AFFORDABLE UNITS THROUGH THOSE PROGRAMS. THEREFORE, THE CITY MANAGER'S HOUSING POLICY TEAM IS GOING TO BE LOOKING AT ALL POTENTIAL NEW INCENTIVES TO BE ABLE TO CREATE NEW AFFORDABLE UNITS.

UM, THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN THE CONTACT IN THE CONTEXT OF TEXAS BECAUSE THERE ARE NUMEROUS AFFORDABILITY TOOLS THAT ARE NOT ALLOWED IN TEXAS.

SO THOSE INCLUDE THINGS LIKE RENT CONTROL, MANDATORY HOUSING VOUCHER ACCEPTANCE LINKAGE OR IMPACT FEES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAXES, INCOME BASED PROPERTY TAX ADJUSTMENTS, AND LOCAL MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES IN ADDITION TO INCLUSIONARY ZONING ITSELF, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN DENSITY BONUSES BECAUSE, UM, DENSITY BONUSES HAVE TO HAVE AN INCENTIVE FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE, WHEREAS INCLUSIONARY ZONING IS JUST REQUIRED THROUGHOUT.

UH, I'M GOING TO GO INTO A LITTLE BIT OF DETAIL ABOUT SOME OF THE, UM, HOUSING NEEDS THAT EXIST AT PRESENT IN AUSTIN, AND THEN PAUL WILL WILL GO INTO THOSE IN MORE DETAIL.

SO THIS CHART SHOWS, UH, EXAMPLES OF OCCUPATIONS AND HOW MUCH THOSE OCCUPATIONS GENERALLY MAKE PER YEAR, WHAT THAT EQUATES TO IN TERMS OF MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, AND THEN HOW MUCH, UH, THOSE HOUSEHOLDS ARE ABLE TO AFFORD IN RENT.

SO, UM, AS, AS YOU LIKELY KNOW, RENT IS CONSIDERED AFFORDABLE IF IT ACCOUNTS FOR NO MORE THAN 30% OF A HOUSEHOLD'S INCOME.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE, OCCUPATIONS, INCLUDING FOOD SERVICE WORKERS AND CHILDCARE WORKERS ARE IN THE CATEGORY OF EARNING LESS THAN 30% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME WHILE OCCUPATIONS, LIKE REGISTERED NURSES ARE IN THE 60 TO 80% MFI CATEGORY.

AND WE'LL LOOK AT SOME OF THESE PROFESSIONS IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL.

THIS, THIS CHART IS SHOWING ON THE LEFT THE INCOME THAT IS NECESSARY TO AFFORD MARKET RATE HOUSING.

UM, AND SO ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, IT'S SHOWING THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE APPROXIMATELY $62,000 PER YEAR TO AFFORD A MARKET RATE STUDIO, OR 115,000

[00:20:01]

PER YEAR TO AFFORD 115,000, SORRY, OR 115,000 PER PER YEAR TO AFFORD A FOUR BEDROOM APARTMENT.

UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SALARIES FOR THE OCCUPATIONS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WE SEE THAT A REGISTERED NURSE, UM, COULD AFFORD, YOU KNOW, A MULTI BEDROOM UNIT, WHEREAS A CHILDCARE WORKER COULDN'T EVEN AFFORD A STUDIO WITH TODAY'S RENTS.

THIS IS ONE MORE WAY TO LOOK AT THIS, UH, OVER TIME.

AND SO THIS IS A CHILDCARE WORKER'S SALARY AND, UM, THEIR SALARY SALARY IS SHOWN IN THE PURPLE LINE AT THE BOTTOM.

AND THEN THE DIFFERENT SIZED UNITS ARE SHOWN IN VARIOUS COLORS IN THE DOTTED LINE.

SO, AS I MENTIONED, THE CHILDCARE WORKER CAN'T AFFORD MARKET RATE HOUSING OF ANY SIZE, AND IF THEY CAN'T FIND HOUSING THEY CAN AFFORD, THEY MAY HAVE TO LIVE IN OVERCROWDED CONDITIONS OR MOVE OUT OF AUSTIN AND COMMUTE SO THAT THEY HAVE LESS TIME WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND THE ADDED STRESS TIME AND COST OF COMMUTING.

SO THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF AN OCCUPATION WITH THAT CHALLENGE.

UM, FOR, UH, AN ELECTRICIAN WHO MAKES AROUND $60,000 A YEAR OR 50% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME IN UP UNTIL 2023, THEY COULD HAVE AFFORDED, UM, A ONE BEDROOM UNIT, BUT DUE TO STAGNATING WAGES, NOW THEY CAN ONLY AFFORD A STUDIO.

AND THEN, UH, FOR A NURSE WHO MAKES AROUND 95,000 A YEAR OR AROUND 80% OF THE MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME, THEY COULD AFFORD A THREE BEDROOM UNIT UNTIL 2023, BUT CAN ONLY AFFORD A TWO BEDROOM UNIT IN 2025.

AND SO I, I GAVE A FEW EXAMPLES OF OCCUPATIONS, BUT THEY'RE REALLY INDICATIVE OF A TREND THAT WE'RE SEEING WITH STAGNATING WAGES FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT COLLEGE DEGREES, UM, BUT INCREASES IN RENT THAT ARE ACTUALLY HIGHER THAN, UM, THE, THE WAGES OF PEOPLE WITH COLLEGE DEGREES.

SINCE 1980, THE GAP BETWEEN INCOMES OF PEOPLE WITH COLLEGE DEGREES, WHICH HAS SHOWN IN BLUE, AND PEOPLE WITHOUT COLLEGE DEGREES, WHICH IS SHOWN IN ORANGE, HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY.

ADDITIONALLY, THE MEAN RENT, WHICH IS SHOWN IN A YELLOW DASH THAT'S RIGHT BY THE RED AND IS HARD TO SEE, UM, HAS INCREASED AN EVEN HIGHER RATE MAKING HOUSING EVEN LESS AFFORDABLE FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT COLLEGE DEGREES.

SO THIS IS SORT OF ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UM, A CHILDCARE WORKER AT THE LOWER END OF, UM, THE INCOME RANGE OR A REGISTERED NURSE AND AND GIVES US A SENSE OF THE HOUSING THEY CAN'T CAN OR CAN'T AFFORD.

AND THEN IN AUSTIN, UM, WE CAN SEE THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO MAKE $200,000 OR MORE HAS INCREASED APPROXIMATELY 300% SINCE, UM, 2010, WHEREAS THE PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLDS EARNING LESS THAN $50,000 PER YEAR HAS DECREASED.

UM, RELATIVE TO THAT, APPROXIMATELY 30% OF 38% OF AUSTINITES OVER THE AGE OF 25 DON'T HAVE BACHELOR BACHELOR'S DEGREES.

SO WE KNOW THAT, UH, IT'S LIKELY HARDER FOR THOSE FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO FIND HOUSING THAT'S AFFORDABLE TO THEM.

IN SUMMARY, IN LOOKING AT ALL THE DATA, WE ESTIMATE THAT THERE'S A GAP OF APPROXIMATELY 34,000 UNITS FOR HOUSEHOLDS EARNING LESS THAN 30%, UH, OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, OR ABOUT $36,000 PER YEAR.

AND A GAP OF 12,000 UNITS FOR HOUSEHOLDS EARNING 30 TO 50% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, OR ABOUT 60,000 PER YEAR FOR A TOTAL GAP OF NEARLY 46,000 RENTAL UNITS FOR HOUSEHOLDS AT OR UNDER 50% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.

UH, SO NOW I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO PAUL, UH, TO GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.

ERICA.

CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.

SO MY NAME IS PAUL PENER.

I'M A PRINCIPAL WITH AN ECONOMICS FIRM CALLED BAE URBAN ECONOMICS, AND THE CITY RETAINED US TO DO A DEEP DIVE INTO HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN, IN AUSTIN, AND IN PARTICULAR TO LOOK, UM, AT, IN SOME DETAIL AT AFFORDABILITY GAPS BY, UH, BY HOUSEHOLD TYPE AND BY INCOME LEVEL.

SO I'M GONNA SHARE SOME OF OUR FINDINGS FROM OUR STUDY NOW, AND, UM, BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR, OR, UH, ADDRESS ANY COMMENTS YOU MAY HAVE.

GROWTH, POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT GROWTH.

SO FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE OVERALL CONTEXT OF AREA

[00:25:01]

WE'LL LOOK AT THE AFFORDABILITY GAP ANALYSIS THAT WE PREPARED FOR BOTH RENTAL HOUSING AND FOR SALE HOUSING PRODUCT TYPES.

AND THEN WE'LL TALK, UM, JUST BRIEFLY ABOUT SOME OF THE POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF OUR FINDINGS AND HOW THESE FINDINGS CAN BE USED TO INFORM PROGRAMS AND POLICIES TO CREATE MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN AUSTIN GOING FORWARD.

SO, I THINK AWARE AUSTIN'S BEEN ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING, UH, LARGE CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES AND ONE OF THE, THE FASTEST GROWING METRO AREAS IN THE UNITED STATES OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF DECADES.

AND THE, UM, CAPITAL AREA MPO PROJECTS THAT THIS IS GONNA CONTINUE TO BE THE CASE OVER THE NEXT 20 TO 30 YEARS.

SO BY 2050, IT'S PROJECTED THAT THE AUSTIN METRO REGION WILL GROW TO ALMOST 4.5 MILLION RESIDENTS.

AND IN THIS CONTEXT, THE QUESTION FOR AUSTIN IS, UH, NOT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER POPULATION GROWTH IS GOING TO OCCUR IN THE METRO AREA, BUT HOW MUCH OF THAT GROWTH IS GOING TO BE CONTAINED WITHIN THE CITY AND IN AREAS THAT HAVE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE AND AMENITIES AND SERVICES, UM, AND WHAT KIND OF GROWTH IS GOING, WHAT THE GROWTH IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, HOW EFFICIENT WILL BE, AND HOW MUCH OF IT WILL, WILL BE, WILL BE CAPTURED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS OPPOSED TO OUTLYING AREAS.

AND THE SAME THING GOES FOR JOB GROWTH.

IT'S ALSO PROJECTED THAT THE NUMBER OF JOBS IN AUSTIN WILL GROW TO 2.1 MILLION BY 2050.

AND, UM, THIS IS ACROSS THE METRO AREA WITHOUT REFERENCE TO, YOU KNOW, SPECIFIC LOCATION OF WHERE THESE JOBS WILL GO.

AND SO THERE FOR AUSTIN, UH, THE POLICY DECISION IS HOW MUCH OF THIS EMPLOYMENT WILL BE CAPTURED BY THE CITY? WHERE WILL IT GO? UM, HOW WILL THOSE JOBS, UM, AND THOSE JOB OPPORTUNITIES BE COORDINATED WITH HOUSING GROWTH, WITH INFRASTRUCTURE, WITH SERVICES, AND WITH OTHER AMENITIES OVER TIME? SO THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF OVERALL CONTEXT KIND OF ON THE POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT GROWTH, UM, THAT IS OCCURRING IN THE METRO REGION AND IS RELATED TO HOW WE THINK ABOUT HOUSING NEEDS IN AUSTIN GOING, GOING INTO THE FUTURE.

THE AFFORDABILITY ANALYSIS THAT WE PREPARED SHOWS THE GAPS BETWEEN MARKET RATE RENTS AND MARKET RATE SALE PRICES, AND THEN HOUSEHOLD INCOMES BROKEN DOWN BY INCOME LEVEL AND HOUSEHOLD SIZE.

AND IT DOES THIS TO ALLOW FOR A KIND OF PRECISE IDENTIFICATION OF HOUSING NEED, UM, AND PARTICULARLY THOSE HOUSING NEEDS THAT ARE NOT BEING MET BY THE MARKET.

AND IN TURN, USING THAT DATA TO INFORM POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT CAN MEET THE GREATEST COMMUNITY NEEDS AND ADDRESS THE, THE REAL GAPS, UM, IN HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN AUSTIN.

THIS CHART SHOWS THE MULTIFAMILY RENTAL MARKET IN AUSTIN OVER TIME, AND THERE'S A LOT OF DATA HERE, BUT, UM, WHAT IT'S, WHAT IT'S REALLY SHOWING IS THAT RENTS AND, UM, AND OVER REALLY SINCE 2020 AND UP THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 20 23, 20 24 RENTS CONTINUED TO RISE EVEN AS NEW SUPPLY WAS COMING ONLINE IN AUSTIN, EVEN AS THE CITY WAS ADDING OVER 65,000 NEW MULTIFAMILY RENTAL UNITS, WHICH IS AN EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT AND UNIQUE AMONGST LARGE US CITIES, AUSTIN HAS SEEN A GROWTH IN, UH, IN RENTS, BUT THEN ALSO IN, IN THE RECENT, IN THE RECENT PAST, OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS, UM, A A SLIGHT COOLING IN THE RENTAL HOUSING MARKET AND AN EVENING OUT OF THE RENTS AND INDEED A GROWTH IN VACANCY RATES.

SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS THAT THE SUPPLY OF MULTIFAMILY RENTAL HOUSING IS BEGINNING TO MEET SOME NEEDS AND, UM, THAT THE ADDITIONAL SUPPLY HAS, HAS, HAS RESULTED IN A KIND OF EVENING OFF OF THE RENTAL HOUSING MARKET OR THE ESCALATION OF RENTAL HOUSING PRICES AND A GROWTH IN VACANCY RATES.

THE, GOING WITH THE, UM, THE CASE STUDY OF A CHILDCARE WORKER, IF YOU WERE A CHILDCARE WORKER IN A, IN A TWO PERSON HOUSEHOLD, SAY A SINGLE PARENT AND A CHILD WITH ONE INCOME, YOU COULD AFFORD A RENT ON THE ORDER OF $468 A MONTH FOR A STUDIO, UM, A TWO BEDROOM, A TWO PERSON HOUSEHOLD MIGHT BE ABLE TO AFFORD UP TO $506 A MONTH.

HOWEVER, UH, EVEN WITHIN THAT, THAT STRONG RECORD OF OF HOUSING GROWTH AND, UM, WITH THIS SORT OF COOLING OFF OF THE HOUSING RECORD OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS, IT REMAINS THE CASE THAT HOUSEHOLDS EARNING LESS THAN 60% OF THE MULTI OF THE MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME CANNOT AFFORD AN AVERAGE PRICE MARKET RATE RENTAL UNIT, REGARDLESS OF UNIT SIZE.

AND THIS KIND OF BUILDS ON THE INFORMATION THAT WAS JUST PRESENTED, UM, AND SHOWS IN GREATER DETAIL, UH, WHAT KINDS OF RENTS DIFFERENT HOUSEHOLDS, SIZES AND INCOME LEVELS COULD AFFORD IN AUSTIN AND COMPARES THOSE RENTS TO AVERAGE MARKET RATE RENT.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, GOING WITH

[00:30:01]

AND THIS COMPARES TO THE AVERAGE MARKET RENT FOR STUDIOS AND ONE BEDROOMS RANGING BETWEEN $1,200 AND $1,427.

SO THERE'S STILL A VERY BIG GAP, UM, AT THE SORT OF LOWER END OF THE, OF THE INCOME RANGE BETWEEN WHAT FOLKS ARE EARNING AND WHAT THE MARKET IS PRODUCING IN TERMS OF MARKET RATE RENTAL RATES.

AND THAT GAP IS PARTICULARLY ACUTE FOR HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE EARNING LESS THAN 50% OF, UM, OF THE MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME.

THIS IS ANOTHER .

THIS, THIS CHART SHOWS THE AMOUNT OF THE GAP THAT SORT OF THE, UM, THE AMOUNT THAT IS, IS THAT WOULD, UM, NEED TO BE ADDED TO THE INCOMES OF THESE HOUSEHOLDS BY DIFFERENT, BY DIFFERENT MFI LEVELS TO AFFORD DIFFERENT UNIT TYPES.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE CASE OF A STUDIO, A 30% MFI HOUSEHOLD WOULD NEED TO EARN AN ADDITIONAL $784 A MONTH OR HAVE THAT AVAILABLE IN ORDER TO AFFORD A STUDIO APARTMENT.

SO, UM, THE GAPS ARE PARTICULARLY ACUTE THOUGH AS YOU GO TOWARDS LARGER SIZE UNITS WITH THREE BEDROOM UNITS, TWO BEDROOM UNITS HAVING VERY LARGE GAPS OF UP TO 1560, UM, IN THE CASE OF A THREE BEDROOM UNIT, UH, BETWEEN WHAT THE MARKET IS PROVIDING AND WHAT 30% MFI HOUSEHOLDS CAN AFFORD.

WE ALSO LOOKED AT OWN AFFORDABILITY.

AND IN THE CASE OF OWNERSHIP, UH, AS WITH, AS WITH MULTIFAMILY RENTAL HOUSING, THAT THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF NEW SUPPLY ADDED.

UM, UH, A LOT OF THAT SUPPLY HAS BEEN MEETING IN MARKET NEEDS, BUT MUCH OF IT IS UNAFFORDABLE TO HOUSEHOLDS EARNING BETWEEN 30% AND A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.

UM, AUSTIN IS HOWEVER, PRODUCING A, A FAIR AMOUNT OF, OF AFFORDABLE FOR SALE HOUSING THAT'S AFFORDABLE TO HOUSEHOLDS EARNING MORE THAN 120% OF MFI.

WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT THE, THE BIGGEST NEEDS, UM, ARE REALLY FOR HOUSEHOLDS EARNING, UM, LESS THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF MMFI WHO ARE LOOKING TO COMPETE IN THE SINGLE FAMILY HOME MARKET.

AND FOR CONDOMINIUMS, HOUSEHOLDS EARNING LESS THAN 80% OF MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME.

SO WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN? UH, IT MEANS THAT THE PRIMARY RENTAL AFFORDABILITY GAP FOR RENTAL UNITS IS FOR HOUSEHOLDS EARNING LESS THAN 60% OF, OF THE MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME AND THE REALLY ACUTE NEEDS WHERE YOU SEE THE BIGGEST GAPS BETWEEN INCOMES AND RENTAL RATES ARE FOR HOUSEHOLDS EARNING BETWEEN 30% AND 50% OF MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME.

SO THOSE ARE HOUSEHOLDS WITH ONE OR MORE MEMBERS THAT HAVE OCCUPATIONS LIKE CHILDCARE, LIKE CAREGIVER, LIKE FOOD SERVICE WORKER, UM, OCCUPATIONS THAT ARE BEING GENERATED BY THE ECONOMY AND THAT THE ECONOMY NEEDS, BUT WHICH ARE CURRENTLY NOT PAYING, UH, WAGES THAT ARE ALLOWING THOSE HOUSEHOLDS TO COMPETE FOR HOUSING IN THE MAINSTREAM MARKET.

SO FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE, I THINK THAT WHAT THAT, YOU KNOW, SUGGESTS FOR AUSTIN IS A FOCUS ON MEETING THE NEEDS OR ATTEMPTING TO HELP THOSE HOUSEHOLDS, UM, FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN A MARKET WHERE THE, WHERE THE MAINSTREAM MARKET IS NOT PRODUCING A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE FOR SALE MARKET.

UH, AS I JUST MENTIONED, WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT THE MAIN AFFORDABILITY GAP IS FOR HOUSEHOLDS EARNING LESS THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME.

THE GOOD NEWS THERE IS THAT THE MARKET IS PRODUCING, UH, A FAIR AMOUNT OF HOUSING FOR HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE EARNING AROUND 120% OF THE MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME, WHICH IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE IN STRONG MARKET US METRO REGIONS LIKE AUSTIN.

SO THE CITY, UM, AND THE MARKET HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB OF MEETING A LOT OF THE MARKET, A LOT OF THE NEED, BUT, UM, NOT ALL OF IT.

AND SO FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, UM, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ADDRESSING NEEDS FOR HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE EARNING LESS THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF MFI AND FOR CONDOS, LESS THAN 80% OF MFI.

UH, TARGETING LOWER MFI LEVELS WITH CERTAIN POLICIES IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT THE, THAT THE REGULATIONS OR THE INCENTIVES OR THE FINANCING TOOLS ARE REALLY REACHING THE BIGGEST NEED.

SO THE GAP ANALYSIS FINDINGS CAN BE USED TO INFORM POLICY CHANGES IN TERMS OF REGULATORY INCENTIVE AND ALSO FINANCING POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO REALLY FINE TUNE AND TARGET THE POLICIES TO ADDRESS THE GREATEST NEED.

SO IN SOME CASES, THAT MEANS,

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UM, AND SOME CASES IT MEANS MO CONTINUING TO MONITOR OVER TIME THE EVOLVING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INCOMES AND THE HOUSING MARKET AND MAKE SURE THAT, UM, AS YOU'RE IMPLEMENTING YOUR POLICIES, THAT THEY REALLY ARE, THAT THEY REALLY ARE ADDRESSING THE GREATEST NEED.

UH, AND WITHIN THIS AS WELL, IT'S IMPORTANT TO TO SAY THAT THE CITY, UH, RELIES ON PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO MEET HOUSING NEEDS AND ENSURE BALANCED, STRONG AND DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.

SO THE REGULATORY POLICIES, THE INCENTIVE POLICIES, THE FINANCING POLICIES THAT ARE, UH, INTENDED TO ADDRESS THE GREATEST NEED, NEED TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN CONJUNCTION WITH PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND CAN ONGOING PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE NONPROFIT SECTOR AND WITH THE FOR-PROFIT PRIVATE SECTOR TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT AUSTIN'S HOUSING NEEDS ARE BEING MET.

SO WITH THAT, I'LL STOP AND I THINK WE'LL BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THAT YOU HAVE.

AND I ACTUALLY HAVE A FEW MORE SLIDES, SO LET ME GET THROUGH THOSE AND THEN WE CAN DO QUESTIONS ON ALL.

ALRIGHT.

UM, SO JUST IN SUMMARY OF WHAT WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH ALL OF THIS ANALYSIS IS THAT WAGES ARE STAGNATING FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS WHO KEEP AUSTIN RUNNING WHILE THE PERCENTAGE OF VERY HIGH EARNERS CONTINUES TO GROW, AND THAT HOUSEHOLDS WITH THE GREATEST NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING EARN LESS THAN $60,000 PER YEAR.

UM, ONE OF THE, THE GREAT THINGS THAT HAS HAPPENED IN AUSTIN IS THAT WE HAVE CREATED APPROXIMATELY 14,000 AFFORDABLE UNITS OVER THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, WHICH IS AMAZING.

UM, BUT WITH SB EIGHT 40, MAKING SOME OF AUSTIN'S DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS LESS EFFECTIVE, THE CITY WILL NEED TO CONTINUE TO EXPLORE NEW POTENTIAL INCENTIVES FOR THE CREATION OF ESPECIALLY THE MORE DEEPLY AFFORDABLE UNITS UNDER 50% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.

SO WE CAN WORK TO ADDRESS THESE NEEDS THROUGH POLICY CHANGES SUCH AS, UH, CHANGING THE INCOME LIMITS FOR DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS TO BETTER MATCH, UH, THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS, IMPROVEMENTS TO DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES AND TIMELINES, REGULATORY INCENTIVES, UH, ALSO FINANCAL INCENTIVES AND INNOVATIVE FINANCING.

THE CITY HASN'T PURSUED PREVIOUSLY COST REDUCTIONS FOR DEVELOPMENTS WITH AFFORDABLE UNITS.

AND, UH, AS PAUL MENTIONED, PARTNERSHIPS WITH NEW ORGANIZATIONS AND DEVELOPERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DELIVERING AFFORDABLE UNITS TO BUILD A FUTURE WHERE GROWTH REALLY DOES BENEFIT EVERYONE.

AND, UM, JUST TO, TO CLOSE UP HERE, THIS IS A TIMELINE OF, UH, HOUSING POLICY RELATED INITIATIVES.

IT'S NOT ALL CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE WORK, UM, BUT I WANTED TO INCLUDE RELATED INITIATIVES, UM, SUCH AS THE TIERED DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, UH, THAT STEVIE MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY.

UM, ALSO THAT THE IMAGINE AUSTIN UPDATE AND THE HOUSING BLUEPRINT UPDATE ARE UNDERWAY.

SO ALL OF THIS WORK, UM, IS UNDERWAY AND WE'LL BE, WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH PLANNING STAFF TO BRING FORWARD RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN TANDEM WITH THE TIERED DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

SO PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THESE ISSUES HOLISTICALLY AND, AND ALL OF THESE ISSUES NEED TO INFORM ONE ANOTHER.

SO, OKAY.

NOW, UH, WE ARE, WE ARE READY FOR QUESTIONS.

AND TALK THROUGH THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT AND KIND OF THE MECHANICS OF GETTING THAT DONE.

UM, AND THANK YOU TO OUR GUESTS ALSO FOR PRESENTING.

WE APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT BAE DID ON THIS, THIS, UM, PRESENTATION'S BEEN REALLY GREAT.

I'M CERTAIN WE ALL HAVE QUESTIONS.

I HAVE A COUPLE WHO'D LIKE TO START US MOA .

OKAY.

WELL, SO I'LL START WITH LIKE TOWARDS THE END.

YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT POLICY CHANGES AND BECAUSE THE WHOLE TIME I'VE JUST BEEN SITTING HERE THINKING WE CAN'T DO NOTHING ABOUT THAT OR THAT OR THAT OR THAT.

IN FACT, I WAS THINKING WHEN YOU SHOWED THIS SLIDE WITH THE WHAT CAN'T WE DOS, I KIND OF WISH WE HAD A WHAT CAN WE DOS? UM, MAYBE EVEN JUST FOR THE PURPOSES OF OFFERING SOME ENCOURAGEMENT, OBAMA SAID, ALL WE GOT IS HOPE.

YOU KNOW, LIKE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HOPE THERE.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT, I MEAN, 'CAUSE SOME OF THOSE, THE DISPARITY IN SOME OF THOSE CHART, WE KNOW IT'S THERE ALREADY, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DATA ON PAPER IN A COLORFUL CHART, IT REALLY IS KIND OF TERRIFYING.

SO YOU SAID, UM, THE LAST THING YOU SAID THAT THAT PIQUED MY INTEREST WAS ADJUSTING INCOME LIMITS FOR OUR DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. CAN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT HOW YOU SEE THAT GOING AND LIKE WHAT, SO YOU'VE HEARD US HAVE THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IFC, NO, IFC, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER.

AND THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS HONESTLY THE DISTRICT ONE OFFICE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CRANK A LOT OF STUFF OUT JUST WORKING WITH THE CFO'S OFFICE, WORKING WITH

[00:40:01]

THE CMOS OFFICE.

SO LIKE HOW MUCH OF THIS IS COUNCIL ACTION NEEDED? UM, BECAUSE THAT SORT OF CHANGED THE CONVERSATION WHEN IT COMES TO POLITICAL WILL AND ALL THAT JAZZ.

WELL, SO, SO WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT THE NEW CITYWIDE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, UM, BE AT THE 50% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME LEVEL.

UM, AND SO THAT WILL BE COMING TO YOU ALL THIS SPRING.

UM, SO IT WILL BE, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY YOUR DECISION WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH THAT RECOMMENDATION OR NOT.

UM, IT, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE, WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, ABOUT WHETHER WE CAN GO BACK INTO EXISTING DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS MM-HMM .

AND POTENTIALLY MODIFY THOSE.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE POSSIBILITY TO DO THAT.

UM, AND I THINK THAT CAN COME UP AS PART OF DISCUSSIONS THIS SPRING.

SO NO COUNCIL ACTION IS NEEDED AT PRESENT.

UM, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY LOOK FORWARD TO MORE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UM, ABOUT ALL OF THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.

AND, UM, OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS THERE WILL BE OTHER UPDATES, UM, BOTH FROM ME AND THEN ALSO THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT ABOUT VARIOUS THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING AS A CITY TO ADDRESS THE CURRENT NEEDS.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

UH, I THINK THE THING THAT I KEEP COMING BACK THOUGH IS INCOME, UM, WE'RE OVERPRICED AND UNDER EARNED AND THERE'S JUST NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT THAT PART.

SO IT'S CERTAINLY A CONVERSATION FOR ANOTHER COMMITTEE OR SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT THAT, THAT'S THE THING THAT KEEPS COMING BACK TO ME.

UM, BUT YOU DID SAY, UM, I THINK ONE OF THE SITES SAID SOMETHING ABOUT OUR LOCAL, UH, MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS ON THE LIST OF THINGS WE CAN'T CHANGE.

UM, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M GONNA TABLE THAT CONVERSATIONS ARE TENSE ENOUGH IN OUR COUNTRY, , I'LL KEEP IT TO MYSELF.

UM, SO THEN THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO ASK WAS ABOUT RETROACTIVE ADJUSTMENTS AND YOU SAID YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING INTO THAT FOR PROGRAMS. OKAY.

AND THEN LASTLY, UM, ONE OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT'S BRUIN IS ABOUT, UM, MULTIFAMILY THAT IS SORT OF AGING OUT OF ITS CONTRACT WITH THEIR LI THE TAX CREDITS.

UH, OH, SHE PHONED A FRIEND.

WELL, LET ME ASK THE QUESTION FIRST SO YOU, BUT BEFORE YOU DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT YOU NEED TO PHONE A FRIEND.

VERY GOOD.

THE REASON I WAS ASKING IS DURING THE COURSE OF THIS CONVERSATION, SOME OF THE THINGS WE WERE THINKING IS, IT'S FANTASTIC THAT WE KEEP A CATALOG AND WE HAVE, WE ARE KEEPING TRACK OF COUNCIL MEMBER OR MEMBER VELA.

I KNOW WAS REALLY SURPRISED TO SEE, YOU KNOW, HIS INVENTORY.

THAT SAID THOUGH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WERE A PART OF, THE POINT OF BRINGING FORWARD THAT INFORMATION ABOUT WHICH PROPERTIES ARE, UM, UM, EXPIRING, UH, WAS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN DO WHEN THEY DO EXPIRE.

SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? AND I MEAN, I ALWAYS COME BACK TO MY EXAMPLE OF MOUNT CARMEL IF AND WHEN IT GOES MARKET RATE, I GOT A BUNCH OF FAMILIES THAT HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE THAT'S RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN.

THEY GO TO SCHOOL HERE, THEY GO TO WORK.

SO JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S NEXT.

I, I CERTAINLY REALIZED WE HAVE SOME RESTRICTIONS ON HOW MUCH WE CAN AND CAN'T DO, BUT ONE OF THE THOUGHTS DURING THE COURSE OF THAT DISCUSSION WAS, WHAT CAN WE DO? AND SO LIKE IT, I'M THROWING THIS OUT HERE AND JUST AS A AN EXAMPLE, COULD WE WORK WITH OWNER, YOU WORK TALKED ABOUT WORKING WITH PARTNERS IN THE FUTURE MORE, COULD SOME OF THOSE PARTNERS BE PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN SORT OF MEETING OUR NEED FOR THAT 50% THRESHOLD OR WHATEVER ELSE? THE, THE QUESTION IS, IS THAT AN OPTION WORKING WITH PARTNERS THAT ARE PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS? ABSOLUTELY.

I MEAN, FANTASTIC.

I MEAN, I THINK IT WILL, IT WILL HAVE TO BE SOME OF THAT FOR SURE.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF HOUSING STAFF WANNA ADD ANYTHING, MR. MAY DE MAYO, MANDY DE MAYO, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF HOUSING DEPARTMENT, SO COUNCIL MEMBER, WE HAVE BEEN IN CONVERSATION WITH SEAN MORROW ON YOUR TEAM.

UM, AND WE HAVE TENTATIVELY PLACED, UH, A CONVERSATION ABOUT PRESERVATION AND SPECIFICALLY LITECH EXPIRATION.

UM, ON THE SEPTEMBER HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE, WE'D LOVE TO COME TO YOU TO TALK ABOUT OUR PRESERVATION EFFORTS.

UM, AND WE HAVE, UM, ON OUR TEAM, I SAW NICOLE JOCELYN BACK HERE, WHO IS OUR HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, AND ON HER TEAM, UH, WE HAVE PRESERVED, UH, WITH PARTNERS, UH, NONPROFIT AND FOR-PROFIT EXPIRING, UM, TAX CREDIT PROPERTIES.

UM, AND WE'VE ALSO, UH, ACQUIRED, UM, UH, THROUGH PARTNERSHIP MECHANISM ACQUIRED EXISTING NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

SO WE'RE HAPPY TO SHOWCASE SOME OF THAT, UM,

[00:45:01]

THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

AND I THINK SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO DO BEFORE THEN IS, SO I, I ALSO KEEP COMING BACK TO YOUR POINT MS. LEE, ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS.

I ALSO KEEP COMING BACK TO FINANCING OUR FINANCING MECHANISMS AND OUR, OUR PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.

I'D REALLY LIKE VERY MUCH FOR US TO HAVE A, A COMPREHENSIVE CONVERSATION ABOUT FINANCING MECHANISMS, UNIQUE ONES, STRANGE ONES, YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO? AND I'LL BE HONEST, SELFISHLY, BY THE TIME YOU'RE PRESENTING IN SEPTEMBER, I GOT TWO MONTHS BEFORE I'M OUT OF THIS BUILDING FOR GOOD.

AND SO I'D LIKE VERY MUCH TO BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING THAT'S IMPACTFUL AND TANGIBLE PRIOR TO MY DEPARTURE.

SO I'LL JUST KEEP KIND OF PLUCKING JUST TO SEE IF THERE'S AN AREA WHERE YOU GUYS CAN PUT ME IN COACH.

UM, THANK YOU.

NO OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, VICE CHAIR.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

UM, JUST WANNA ASK MS. LEE, UM, IF YOU COULD SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE VISION FOR HOW HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GO HAND IN HAND.

SO, UM, THROUGHOUT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP WORK, UM, I, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THAT, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CAN ALSO, UM, PROVIDE BENEFITS IN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING REALM.

SO THAT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING FROM IF POTENTIALLY FUNDING THAT COULD COME THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS THAT COULD GO TOWARD AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR THINKING ABOUT ARE THERE WAYS TO INCENTIVIZE LIVING WAGE JOBS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE JUST THINKING OF BOTH SIDES OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COIN AND HOW ARE WE ADDRESSING, UM, THE NEEDS OF, OF PEOPLE THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY.

IS EITHER THEY'RE, I MEAN, THEY CAN BE DIFFICULT TO MANAGE, UH, AS WE'RE LEARNING.

SURE THING.

YOU HAD A QUESTION, AND THEN COUNCILOR, UH, THANK YOU, UM, VERY MUCH.

UH, JUST MY FIRST THOUGHT, UH, AND REACTION TO THE, TO THE PRESENTATION WAS JUST THAT HOW DIFFERENT, HONESTLY, DISTRICT FOUR RENTS ARE FROM, YOU KNOW, THE AVERAGES THAT I I SEE ON THERE WHERE, UH, AND, AND I WOULD, UH, UH, HONESTLY ASK, UH, I'M SO SORRY, SIR.

YOUR, YOUR NAME? PAUL.

PAUL.

ALRIGHT.

UH, THE, THE, THE QUESTION, 'CAUSE IN OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, ESPECIALLY AS WE'VE SEEN RENTS DROP, UH, IN AUSTIN OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, I FEEL LIKE THE MEDIAN, UH, RENT, THE AVERAGE RENT IN DISTRICT FOUR IS PROBABLY IN THAT KIND OF 60% MFI RANGE.

WHEN, AND EVEN WHEN I, WHEN I THINK ABOUT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, EVEN NEW PLACES LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, NEW BRAND NEW APARTMENTS IN DISTRICT FOUR ARE KIND OF AT 80% MFI AND YOUR OLDER UNITS ARE, ARE AT, UH, UH, 60%, UH, MFI, UH, I, I MEAN, IS THAT, IS THAT ACCURATE? IS THAT THE, IS THAT WHAT Y'ALL ARE SEEING? YEAH, THE SHORT ANSWER IS YES.

IT, THE, IT, IT, AUSTIN IS A LARGE CITY WITH DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOOD SUBMARKETS AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN THE HIGHEST RENT INCREASES IN SUB AREAS LIKE THE DOMAIN OR DOWNTOWN.

BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CERTAINLY NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE MARKET RATE RENTAL HOUSING IS ADDRESSING NEED AT THE 60% MFI LEVEL, IT'S MORE UNCOMMON FOR RENTS TO BE REACHING, YOU KNOW, TO BE AFFORDABLE TO FOLKS WHO ARE AT THE 30% MFI LEVEL, PARTICULARLY LARGER SIZE HOUSEHOLDS.

MM-HMM .

HAVE A HARD TIME COMPETING.

BUT YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT THAT IF YOU WERE TO DO A, A MAP OF THE CITY THAT SHOWED THE RENTS BROKEN DOWN BY SAY, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL DISTRICT, THEY WOULD BE PRETTY DIVERSE.

UM, AND THAT THERE WOULD BE A, A VARIATION IN HOW THE RENTS HAVE, HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME AS NEW SUPPLY HAS BEEN ADDED, UM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH VACANCY RATES AND SORT OF THE OVERALL COMPETITIVE ABILITY OF LOWER INCOME HOUSEHOLDS TO, TO RENT HOUSING YEAH.

AND, AND AFFORD TO BUY HOUSING.

SURE.

UH, AND, YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, I I CAME ON A COUNCIL IN, IN IN 22 AND, UH, THE HOUSING MARKET HAS CHANGED A LOT IN, YOU KNOW, SINCE, UH, UH, 22.

UH, I WILL SAY MY, WHEN I CAME ON, WE WERE REALLY IN A CRISIS SITUATION WHERE MM-HMM .

YOU KNOW, WE DESPERATELY NEEDED 60% M FFI UNITS.

UH, WE'RE NOT REALLY IN THAT SITUATION ANYMORE.

UH, AND AGAIN, I'M THINKING DISTRICT FOUR, YOU KNOW, UH, AND HISTORICALLY, AND, AND AGAIN, LET ME ASK, UH, UH, PAUL, HISTORICALLY THE MARKET HAS BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE 60%, UH, MFI UNITS.

I MEAN, IS IS THAT AN ACCURATE STATEMENT? IS THAT TRUE? AGAIN, THINKING OVER, YOU KNOW, THE, AGAIN, THE LAST 30 YEARS, 40 YEARS KIND OF A, A LONG RANGE VIEW OF THE MARKET.

YOU KNOW, I'M NOT, I'M NOT PREPARED TO SAY THAT

[00:50:01]

ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

I MEAN, I THINK IT'S CERTAINLY TRUE THAT, THAT IN SOME NEIGHBORHOOD SUB AREAS THAT 60% OF MFI HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, THE MARKET'S BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT, UM, AT TIMES, BUT I DON'T HAVE DETAILED DATA LOOKING SORT OF BACK IN TIME OVER 30 YEARS BY, BY DISTRICT, UH MM-HMM .

I, I SUSPECT THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS RIGHT, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE DATA TO, TO SUPPORT IT.

AND, AND I SAY THAT JUST FROM SOMEONE WHO'S LIVED IN AUSTIN FOR A LONG TIME, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN USED TO BE PRETTY CHEAP AND PRETTY EASY TO AFFORD A PLACE.

AND, AND THEN IT BECAME NOT, AND NOW WE'RE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF FLUX.

SORRY, I I WOULD JUST ADD TO THAT, THAT, UH, AUSTIN'S MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME HAS GONE UP QUITE A BIT BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE HIGHER INCOME HOUSEHOLD TO HAVE MOVED HERE, WHEREAS AS, AS WE SAW IN SOME OF THESE CHARTS, THE WAGES OR THE SALARIES OF, UM, OF PEOPLE IN SOME OCCUPATIONS HAVE NOT INCREASED.

SO, SO WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, A 60% MFI RENT IS AROUND, YOU KNOW, 1800 THAT, BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT IS DEFINITELY MORE THAN MANY, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE, WHO ARE IN SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIAL, UH, JOBS.

IT'S MORE THAN THEY CAN AFFORD.

SO I THINK PART OF THE ISSUE IS THAT THE MFI SURE HAS INCREASED FASTER THAN THE WAGES OF ESSENTIAL WORKERS.

AND, AND TO THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WERE, UH, AT 60% MFI INCOME IN AUSTIN, YOU CAN FIND A PLACE FOR LESS THAN 1800 BUCKS.

SO, CORRECT.

THAT'S, AGAIN, I, I THINK THE POINT THAT I'M TRYING TO MAKE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, OH GREAT, THIS PLACE HAS 60% MFI UNITS FOR 1800 BUCKS.

YOU'RE LIKE, FORGET THAT, DUDE.

I CAN GET A PLACE FOR 1400 BUCKS IN DISTRICT FOUR, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND NICE PLACE, YOU KNOW, AND NOTHING WRONG WITH IT.

UH, SO, AND LET ME TO THE, THE POINT I MAKE BY ALL THIS IS, AND I AGREE WITH THE, THE COMING RECOMMENDATION, UH, FROM STAFF THAT I DON'T, THE 60% AND 80% MFI ARE NOT AFFORDABILITY LEVELS THAT I AM, THAT ARE MY PRIORITY.

UH, MY PRIORITY IS MORE IN THAT 30%, YOU KNOW, 40%.

UH, AND, AND YOU LIST THE FOLKS ON THERE, YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOUR ELDERLY OR DISABLED, UH, YOUR FOLKS THAT ARE IN, UH, UH, UH, UH, MORE AND MUCH MORE DIFFICULT SPOT THAT ARE GOING TO NEED, UH, A ASSISTANCE.

SO A, AS A HOUSING, AS A MATTER OF OUR OVERALL HOUSING POLICY.

I AGREE.

WHERE WE, WE NEED TO SHIFT AWAY FROM THIS FOCUS ON 60% TO 80% OF FI AND MOVE TOWARD A FOCUS ON THE 30% TO TO 50%.

UH, AND I WOULD JUST ADD THAT WOULD, AND, AND, AND I, I, I LOOK BACK ON SOME OF THE, THE DEBATES THAT WE'VE HAD, THE STATE'S BEEN PUT A DEBATE FROM, YOU KNOW, A FEW YEARS BACK AND GOING BACK TO THAT KIND OF FEE IN LIEU, UH, DISCUSSION MM-HMM .

WHERE, UM, DO WE WANT, WE CAN USE DENSITY BONUSES TO GET THOSE 80% M FI, 60% MFI UNITS.

UH, WE, I THINK WE'VE CLEARLY SUCCESSFULLY DONE THAT OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.

WE HAVE NOT USED THEM EFFECTIVELY TO GET TO THOSE MUCH MORE DEEPLY SUBSIDIZED UNITS JUST BECAUSE OF THE COST.

AND WE GET SO FEW UNITS AND WE CAN GET MORE UNITS MAYBE OUTSIDE OF THAT.

SO WHERE ARE THINKING ABOUT, AGAIN, THE DENSITY BONUSES, WHAT ABOUT FEE IN LIEU AS AN OPTION WHERE, YOU KNOW, YES, YOU'RE GONNA GIMME 12% AT 60%, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, WRITE ME A CHECK AND I'LL GO AND GET A BUNCH OF 30% UNITS, OR I'LL, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, I'LL COLLECTIVELY GET ALL THESE, UH, FEE AND LOSE.

UM, AND I, I THINK IT WILL BE, UH, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY THINK THROUGH THAT WITH COUNCIL AND, UM, TALK ABOUT THE PROS AND CONS AND SEE WHERE, WHERE COUNCIL LANDS.

BUT IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE THINKING ABOUT.

THERE ARE SOME CITIES THAT HAVE GONE MOSTLY TO FEES IN LIEU, UM, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.

AND SO, UM, IT IS, IT IS A GREAT TIME TO START THINKING ABOUT THAT FOR AUSTIN AS WELL.

AND I WOULD ADD THAT WE, THE, THE PSH CONVERSATION, UM, AND WHICH I'M VERY ENGAGED IN, UM, WE NEED MORE MONEY TO ADEQUATELY SUPPORT OUR PSH, UH, AND I'M LIKE LOOKING AROUND, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? WHERE CAN I GET THE MONEY TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS PSH IS SUCCESSFUL AND HAS THE SERVICES AND HAS THE KIND OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND, AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF THAT

[00:55:01]

UM, SO, UH, AGAIN, THE FEE AND LUGE JUST JUMPS OUT AT ME AS A POTENTIAL SOURCE FOR MONIES TO PROVIDE FOR THOSE CRITICAL HOUSING NEEDS.

IS THAT GONNA BE PART OF THE DENSITY BONUS UPDATE, UH, CONSIDERATION OF USING FEE AND LIE, UH, AS PART OF THE, THE DENSITY BONUS UPDATE THAT'S COMING? UM, WELL, IT WILL BE COMING TO COUNCIL, SO, SO IT WILL BE UP TO YOU ALL.

UM, I, I DON'T, WE'RE WE'RE THINKING OF THAT AS A LARGER CONVERSATION, BUT IT COULD COME UP AS THIS, THIS SPRING AS WELL.

IT WOULD BE GREAT TO AT LEAST HAVE SOME, FOR EXAMPLE, HOW MUCH WOULD THAT GENERATE? LIKE, LIKE, I MEAN, JUST SOME BASIC, SO IF WE DID WANT TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS, AND I WOULD, I'D LIKE TO MAKE SOME OF THESE CHANGES SOONER THAN LATER JUST BECAUSE I CAN SEE THE DEMANDS FROM THE PSH THAT ARE ABOUT TO OPEN.

LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE ONES THAT ARE ALREADY OPEN, WE'RE ALREADY GETTING DEMANDS ABOUT, HEY, WE NEED, WE NEED, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY TO, TO MAKE THIS WORK.

AND THEN WE'VE GOT ANOTHER THOUSAND OR SO UNITS COMING ONLINE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND SO I THINK THOSE QUESTIONS ARE GONNA COME UP.

SO I, I, I THINK IF, IF, IF WE'RE GONNA MAKE THAT KIND OF DECISION, WE'RE GONNA NEED, I THINK DATA, UH, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD WE GET IF WE DID FEE IN LIE ON THIS INSTEAD OF ONSITE AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT COULD WE DO WITH THAT MONEY TO HAVE MAKING KIND OF AN APPLES TO APPLES KIND OF A COMPARISON WHEN WE START THINKING ABOUT OUR, OUR DENSITY BONUSES.

IT WILL BE HARD TO ESTIMATE WITH THE CURRENT MARKET, UH, WHERE WE'RE REALLY, YOU KNOW, NOT SEEING A LOT OF NEW CONSTRUCTION STARTING, BUT, UM, WE COULD CERTAINLY LOOK AT HISTORICAL DATA AND, UH, AND GET A SENSE OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN BASED ON THE PAST AT LEAST.

THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

AND THEN LAST QUESTION, UH, IT'S A CONVERSATION I'VE HAD WITH, WITH DR. JOHNSON.

UH, IS THERE, COULD WE BUY OUT OR COULD DEVELOPERS BUY OUT, UH, PRIOR, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE, LIKE TO SAY THAT, OKAY, YOU OWE US 20, UH, 80% UNITS, BUT JUST WRITE US A CHECK FOR THE REMAINING KIND OF 10 YEARS THAT WE'VE GOT OF AFFORDABILITY ON THESE UNITS.

THAT, THAT WAS ANOTHER KIND OF, AGAIN, THINKING ABOUT WHERE CAN WE GET MONEY TO SUPPORT RPSH AND MAKE SURE THOSE PROJECTS ARE SUCCESSFUL.

THERE MAY BE SOME 80% MFI UNITS THAT WE'RE NOT REALLY GETTING KIND OF ANY VALUE AT THIS POINT FOR MM-HMM .

UH, AGAIN, I WOULD JUST KIND OF ASK IF IS, IS THAT EVEN A POSSIBILITY AS A, ANOTHER POTENTIAL SOURCE OF REVENUE? I'VE, I'VE CERTAINLY HEARD THAT, UH, QUESTION AS WELL, AND WE WILL NEED TO DIG INTO THAT MORE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT WOULD WORK LEGALLY AND, AND IN OTHER WAYS.

I AGREE.

IT RAISES A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT, UH, BUT, UH, AGAIN, I, I'D REALLY LIKE TO KIND OF REFOCUS ON THAT 30 TO 50%, UH, MFI RANGE RATHER THAN THAT 60 TO 80%, UH, MFI RANGE.

THANK YOU CHAIR, MAYOR.

PROBABLY NOT TRY AND LIMIT OURSELVES TO, YOU KNOW, TO ANY ONE THING.

I WOULD LIKE TO ASK, WHAT HAS BEEN OUR MOST EFFECTIVE POLICY SO FAR AROUND HOUSING AFFORDABILITY? I KNOW THERE'S THE STYLE THAT IS THE CITY OWNS IT, OR A NONPROFIT PARTNER OWNS IT AND MAINTAINS THAT LEVEL OF AFFORDABILITY, BUT HOW DO WE INTERACT WITH OLDER APARTMENTS THAT ARE PHASING INTO AFFORDABILITY JUST SIMPLY BASED ON AGE? LIKE, ARE THERE OTHER THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE AS A COUNCIL THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM AND HELP MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY BUILD MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THE FUTURE? AND, AND HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE EFFECTIVE IN, IN THIS CONTEXT? WELL, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT NUMBER OF UNITS OR, I MEAN, NUMBER OF UNITS IS A GOOD PLACE TO START, I WOULD SAY.

I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT LESSONS WE'VE LEARNED OVER THE PAST DECADE OR SO THAT HAS ACTUALLY TURNED INTO UNITS ON THE GROUND.

UM, WE LIKE TO SAY YOU CAN'T LIVE IN THE PIPELINE, SO THIS HOPE AND PROMISE THAT AFFORDABLE UNITS ARE ON THE WAY DOESN'T SERVE A FAMILY MEMBER UNTIL THERE'S A KEY IN A DOOR.

UM, WE HAVE REZONED A NUMBER OF PROPERTIES IN SOUTHWEST AUSTIN THAT FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER HAVE NOT TURNED, TURNED INTO THOSE UNITS.

USUALLY IT'S FINANCING ISSUES THAT COME UP, BUT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE AS A COUNCIL WILL HELP OURSELVES MOVE FORWARD WITH POLICIES AND FINANCING TO ACTUALLY CREATE THE UNITS BEYOND THE PLANS.

YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

UM, I I REALLY KIND OF, I, I, MY PERSONAL OPINION IS IT, IT TAKES ALL THE TOOLS.

LIKE THERE IS NO, I, I DON'T, IN, BASED ON WHAT I'M LEARNING IN, YOU KNOW, OTHER CITIES, IS YOU HAVE TO USE ALL THE OPTIONS BECAUSE THE NEED IS HUGE.

UM, AND, AND SO I THINK WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT HOW, HOW DO WE LEVERAGE ALL THE TOOLS TO THE GREATEST EX EXTENT POSSIBLE AND

[01:00:01]

THAT'S MY QUICK TAKE.

I DON'T KNOW IF HOUSING FOLKS WANNA ADD ANYTHING.

I SEE A LITTLE BIT OF SHUFFLING HAPPENING.

I'M, I'M THINKING OF WHEN COUNCIL CHANGED PARKING REGULATIONS.

THAT'S A LOW HANGING FRUIT OF, HEY, LOOK, IF YOUR BANK NEEDS YOU TO HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PARKING SPOTS PER PER UNIT, THAT'S ONE THING.

YEAH.

UM, BUT WE HAVE A HOUSING BLUEPRINT.

WHERE HAVE WE SEEN THE MOST EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF AFFORDABLE UNITS? YEAH.

WITHIN THAT BLUEPRINT, RACHEL TEER WITH, UM, AUSTIN HOUSING, WE ARE ACTUALLY WORKING ON A PROGRESS REPORT RIGHT NOW.

AS PART OF OUR UPDATE TO THE BLUEPRINT, WE WANNA KNOW WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR AND HOW EFFECTIVE IT'S BEEN.

AND SO WE'RE GOING THROUGH ALL 63 ACTIONS IN THE BLUEPRINT AND REPORTING ON WHAT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS, THE ACTION COMPLETED AND KIND OF HOW MUCH VOLUME OF UNITS.

UM, BECAUSE WE, WE'VE HAD THIS STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT SCORECARD THAT COMES OUT EVERY YEAR AND IT TELLS YOU THE NUMBER OF UNITS, BUT IT DOESN'T TELL YOU HOW WE GOT THERE.

SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THIS KIND OF HISTORIC LOOK AT WHAT THE POLICIES WERE AND WHICH ONES WERE EFFECTIVE, UM, WILL HELP US ANSWER THAT VERY QUESTION.

WE DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER RIGHT NOW.

UM, BUT WE WILL HAVE THAT, UM, BEFORE WE EMBARK ON THE BLUEPRINT UPDATE.

AND WE'RE SCHEDULED JUNE 2ND, AND WE'RE COMING BACK TO YOU ON JUNE 2ND, UM, TO PROVIDE SOME UPDATES ON THAT JUNE 2ND.

OKAY.

THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC.

'CAUSE AS SOMEONE WHO HAS REPRESENTED A DISTRICT THAT HAS CONTINUALLY SUPPORTED AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT HAS YET TO SEE A RIBBON CUTTING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS IN SOUTHWEST AUSTIN, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I'M REALLY CURIOUS TO KNOW.

HOW, HOW CAN WE ACTUALLY MAKE SURE THAT THESE UNITS ARE DELIVERED? THERE'S A LOT OF CONVERSATION WHEN IT COMES TO ZONING, LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDITS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HELPING US NAVIGATE WHERE AND WHEN ARE THE APPROPRIATE PLACES TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS.

AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO GO THROUGH THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JOB OPPORTUNITY, ACCESS TO PUBLIC TRANSIT.

UM, HOW DO PEOPLE GET AROUND AND CREATE THAT LIFE THAT EVERYBODY DESERVES TO LIVE IN AUSTIN? UM, WE KEEP GOING THROUGH A LOT OF BATTLES AND WE DON'T ALWAYS NECESSARILY HAVE THE INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES THAT WE'RE HOPING TO ACHIEVE.

AND SO I REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT IS WORKING, WHAT IS NOT WORKING, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IN A PLACE LIKE THE BARTON SPRING ZONE, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, PRETTY LOW IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMITS.

THOSE WERE ESTABLISHED MANY YEARS AGO SO THAT WE COULD MAKE SURE WE'RE PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER AND BARTON SPRINGS ITSELF.

BUT TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT MY COMMUNITY IS AS INCLUSIVE AS POSSIBLE IS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY HARD.

THE HOUSING IS THE HARDEST PART OF THAT.

THE SENTIMENT IS THERE, THE INCLUSION OF OTHER FOLKS IS THERE.

BUT MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN HAVE PEOPLE WITH ALL TYPES OF JOBS, ALL TYPES OF BACKGROUNDS IN A PLACE WITH LOW IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMITATIONS, IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE CONTINUED TO NOT BE ABLE TO GET OVER THAT SPEED BUMP.

AND I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW HOW WE CAN, HOW WE CAN ACCOMPLISH THAT.

UM, I, I KNOW SOMEONE HAD TIPTOED AROUND THE MINIMUM WAGE CONVERSATION, I'LL JUST DIVE RIGHT INTO IT, , BUT, UM, THE STATE OF TEXAS MINIMUM WAGE MATCHES THE FEDERAL, WHICH IS $7 AND 25 CENTS AN HOUR IF YOU'RE NOT A TIPPED EMPLOYEE.

SERVICE INDUSTRY IS $2 AND 13 CENTS AN HOUR.

BUT TEXAS HAS NOT INCREASED THAT 7 25 AN HOUR SINCE 2008.

THAT IS A LONG TIME FOR, AND IT WAS ON THE LIST OF THINGS WE CAN'T DO , RIGHT? WE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN CHANGE THINGS FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.

WE CAN CHANGE THINGS THROUGH OUR CONTRACTS AND MAKING SURE THAT THE FOLKS THAT ARE WORKING FOR THE CITY ARE CONTRACTING WITH THE CITY ARE ABIDING BY THOSE.

BUT THE WHOLE CONVERSATION AROUND HOW DO YOU AFFORD ANY OF THESE RENTS IN, IN A PLACE WHERE YOU'RE MAKING 7 25 AN HOUR IS SOMETHING THAT JUST CONTINUES TO BAFFLE ME.

SO I REALLY HOPE THAT AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, EVERYBODY STEPS UP TO DO WHAT THEY CAN.

THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT.

CHAIR.

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE THINGS.

AND ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU GUYS' QUESTIONS SPARKED A AND IT'S NOT REALLY QUESTIONS SO MUCH AS STATEMENTS.

UM, MIKE, TO YOUR POINT, I AM, PARDON ME, THAT WAS WAY TOO FAMILIAR.

COUNCIL MEMBER, VICE CHAIR SIEGEL, UM, TO YOUR POINT ABOUT HOW DOES, WHERE DOES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OVERLAP? MOST OF OUR CONVERSATIONS INCLUDE THAT, BUT I'M THINKING ABOUT HOW TO REFRAME IT.

'CAUSE MOST OF OUR CONVERSATIONS THAT INCLUDE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMPONENT INCLUDE INCENTIVES.

LIKE IF YOU TAKE THIS CLASS, THE STIPEND WILL BE, IF YOU DO THE THIS THING, THEN THE REWARD IS THE, THIS THING.

IT'S NEVER SO MUCH.

OR EVEN LIKE CASE MANAGEMENT, PERFECT EXAMPLE.

AND THIS PERSON DOESN'T EVEN DO THIS FOR A LIVING, BUT SHE TOOK ONE OF OUR CONSTITUENTS AND THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE WEEK, TOOK HER TO EVERY APPOINTMENT SHE HAD WENT THROUGH, LIKE MADE SURE SHE GOT THE TAXES FILED.

AND THIS, IT WAS JUST LIKE LITTLE THING TASK THAT SHE'S NOT FAMILIAR WITH, BUT MAYBE MORE IMPORTANTLY, SHE'S MARGINALLY LITERATE.

SHE CAN'T READ ANY OF THIS PAPERWORK, BUT SHE DOESN'T HAVE PEOPLE TO HELP HER DO DAY-TO-DAY

[01:05:01]

LIFE STUFF.

AND SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS THINKING WHEN COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

'CAUSE IF, EVEN IF PEOPLE EARN MORE, IF THEY DON'T KNOW MONEY, IF THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE MONEY, HOW TO SPEND MONEY, HOW TO SAVE MONEY, THAT A 29% INTEREST A PR IS TOO MUCH.

DON'T BUY THAT.

YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT.

LIKE IF FOLKS DON'T KNOW THOSE BASIC THINGS, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH MORE THEY MAKE.

'CAUSE THEY JUST SPEND MORE AND FIND THEMSELVES IN EVEN MORE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS.

OUR MONEY AIN'T GOOD MONEY, LIKE MY GRANNY SAID.

'CAUSE SOMETIMES YOU GET MONEY IN YOUR HAND AND YOU THINK YOU'RE IN A FINANCIAL POSITION THAT YOU'RE NOT BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW MONEY.

AND SO I THINK THAT'S AT LEAST A PART OF THE CONVERSATION IS TO RE HAVE A REAL TALK WITH OUR COMMUNITIES ABOUT FINANCIAL LITERACY.

LIKE GO IN THE ROOM, TAKE YOUR HAT OFF AND SAY, NO, THERE ARE NO PATERNALISTIC DISCUSSIONS THAT ARE ABOUT TO HAPPEN.

I WILL NOT CONDESCEND OR PATRONIZE YOU.

I'M GONNA TALK TO YOU LIKE A GROWNUP.

REAL TALK NO LIES.

YOU AIN'T GOT THE MONEY FOR THAT THING YOU BOUGHT.

AND IF YOU KEEP BUYING STUFF THAT YOU CAN'T AFFORD, YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO PAY YOUR RENT OR THE OTHER EXPENSES YOU HAVE.

THESE ARE REAL THINGS YOU HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE.

I'M A GROWN PERSON WHO HAS TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH MYSELF.

YOU CAN'T AFFORD A PLANT RIGHT NOW, MAN.

IF YOU HAVE TO PUT IT ON A CREDIT CARD, YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT, PUT IT DOWN.

BUT I, I DO RECOGNIZE THAT I HAD, AND I WILL, THIS IS VERY PERSONAL, BUT I'M SO GRATEFUL MY IN-LAWS, WHEN I GOT MARRIED, MY EX-HUSBAND SAID, IF IT WASN'T FOR ME, WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY MONEY.

IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU, WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY FUN.

AND SO , I WAS A PERSON WHO GREW UP, YOU KNOW, CLOSING THE DOOR ON THE BILL COLLECTOR AND TELLING THEM MY MAMA WASN'T HOME.

I NEVER LEARNED MONEY.

I DIDN'T LEARN CHECKS, I DIDN'T LEARN CHECKING.

I DIDN'T LEARN HOW TO MAINTAIN MY CREDIT.

I DIDN'T KNOW NOT TO BUY A LEMON CAR WHEN I GOT MY TAX INCOME.

AND LISTEN EVERYBODY ABOUT TO BE HOODRICH NEXT MONTH AND THE MONTH AFTER, AND THEY'RE GONNA SPEND IT ALL.

YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? LIKE, THIS IS A REAL THING.

AND I THINK OFTENTIMES WHAT WE DO IS SHY AWAY FROM THESE DISCUSSIONS.

'CAUSE YOU DON'T WANNA GO TO AN ADULT AND SAY, I KNOW YOUR LIFE BETTER THAN YOU DO.

YOU SHOULDN'T, IT'S RUDE.

BUT ALSO THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.

WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS IT IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO FULFILL MY OBLIGATION TO MAKING CERTAIN THAT EVERYBODY HAS THE BEST POSSIBLE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE CITY, IN THE CAPACITY THAT I WORK IN.

IF YOU GOING TO ALWAYS NOT HAVE NO MONEY, NO MATTER HOW MUCH MORE YOU MAKE, OR HOW MUCH LESS THE RENT IS NOW THE RENT IS LESS AND YOU GOT MORE MONEY, BUY MORE STUFF.

YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? SO I, I REALLY DO FEEL THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONNECTION, BUT PRIMARILY FROM THE MOST PRACTICAL SENSE, HOW DO PEOPLE KNOW MONEY? YOU KNOW? AND SO I'LL STOP THERE ON THAT.

BUT THEN THE OTHER THING SOMEBODY SAID THAT MADE ME, OH, IT WAS YOU AND WE'RE NOT FIGHTING, I PROMISE, BUT I, I, UNLIKE YOU DO THINK THAT 60 TO 80% IS STILL VERY HIGH IN TERMS OF, I MEAN, JUST MY EIGHT BOARD CONVERSATION TODAY.

BUT BEYOND THAT, THE CONVERSATIONS I'M HAVING WITH DISTRICT ONE CONSTITUENTS, IT'S AMAZING TO BE IN A DISTRICT THAT'S LIKE REALLY FAST GROWING AND REALLY STUCK ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

MY CONSTITUENTS HAVE NEEDS THAT VARY SO WILDLY.

I THE TINY DISTRICT ONE, DISTRICT ONE NEEDS TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS.

'CAUSE WE REALLY, I MEAN, IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO ADDRESS 120% MFI AND NOTHING ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

IT'S, IT'S VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

AND SO THAT SAID, I I DO THINK IT'S A, IT'S OF DUAL IMPORTANCE.

IT'S A DUAL PRIORITY.

THERE'S NO, WHEN WE TALK EVEN THAT AFFORDABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY IN THEORY, FOR EXAMPLE, A PERSON LIKE MYSELF OR SOME OF MY FRIENDS, IN THEORY, WE'RE AT THE 60 TO 80% MFI, WE STILL GOTTA LIVE SOMEWHERE TOO.

I CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE IN OTHER PLACES.

YOU KNOW? YES, IN THEORY, MY 60 TO 80% GIVES ME ACCESS TO MORE OPTIONS.

BUT WHERE I WANT TO LIVE IS CLOSE TO MY KIDS, CLOSE TO MY JOB, CLOSE TO MY MAMA AND THEM JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.

AND I THINK ULTIMATELY WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU LIVE SHOULD BE CLOSE TO THE STUFF YOU DO IF POSSIBLE, AND YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT.

AND THAT'S EVERYBODY REGARDLESS OF YOUR LEVEL OF AFFORDABILITY, IN MY OPINION.

UM, AND THEN LASTLY, UM, THE FEE AND LIE CONVERSATION STRUCK SOMETHING FOR ME AGAIN.

AND I, I DON'T THINK IT STRUCK FOR ME THAT IT WAS CONNECTED TO THE THING THAT I KEEP COMING BACK TO THAT I THINK IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE HOUSING CONVERSATION.

FROM MY PERSPECTIVE SO FAR, IMPERVIOUS IS COVER.

I, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE EVER MET A COUNCIL MEMBER WILLING TO TALK ABOUT IT, LET ALONE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

SO HOW ON EARTH WILL YOU EVER GET CRITICAL MASS ON THIS DAY IS TO MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO IMPERVIOUS IS COVER.

I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU WILL, IN WHICH CASE, IF WE ARE GONNA KEEP BUMPING INTO THAT AS A THING, THEN I, I WONDER WHAT, WHAT ARE OUR WORKAROUNDS IS MY QUESTION.

IT'S NOT A REAL QUESTION.

IT WAS A STATEMENT , BUT THAT WAS ALL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

[01:10:01]

DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE FOR US TODAY? I DID NOT.

THANK YOU ALL.

FOUR IS A BRIEFING ON THE STATUS AND TIMELINE OF AUSTIN PLANNING INITIATIVES.

ALL RIGHT, Y'ALL AND I MISSED THIS WHEN I WAS ANNOUNCING THE ORDER.

WE WERE GONNA TAKE ITEMS UP.

WE HAVE ITEM NUMBER FOUR ALSO.

IT'S ANOTHER BRIEFING ITEM NUMBER

[4. Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, and Mayor Pro Tem José ''Chito'' Vela Briefing on the status and timeline of Austin Planning initiatives. [Chris Ryerson, Division Manager-Austin Planning].]

I, I DON'T KNOW CHRIS RYERSON, SO I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S IN THE ROOM OR SHE, OH YES.

SO CHRIS RYERSON IS GONNA JOIN US FROM AUSTIN PLANNING.

I REMEMBERED WHAT IT WAS.

IT WAS MFI THAT WAS THE OTHER QUESTION.

I'LL WRITE IT DOWN.

ALRIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, CHAIR C MEMBERS.

UH, MY NAME IS CHRIS RYERSON.

I'M A NEW DIVISION MANAGER WORKING WITH THE LONG RANGE PLANNING TEAM IN AUSTIN PLANNING, AND I BROUGHT A WHOLE, A WHOLE TEAM, SO IT'S NOT JUST ME TODAY.

UM, OUR TEAM LAST UPDATED THE COMMITTEE AT YOUR APRIL, 2025 MEETING.

THIS PRESENTATION IS AN UPDATE ON UPDATE ON WHAT IS NEW SINCE THEN.

UM, I'LL BEGIN THIS AFTERNOON'S PRESENTATION WITH AN OVERVIEW OF OUR ONGOING PLANNING INITIATIVES.

AND WE'LL THEN HIGHLIGHT FIVE COMPLETED PROJECTS.

AFTER THAT, MY FOUR COLLEAGUES WILL GIVE BRIEF PRESENTATIONS ON THE IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE THE NORTHEAST AND CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLANS, THE GREAT STREETS PLAN AND STANDARDS UPDATE, AND THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR PLANNING INITIATIVE.

SO AUSTIN PLANNING'S, I SHOULD MOVE THIS OVER.

UH, EIGHT ONGOING PLANNING INITIATIVES ARE SHOWN ON THIS CHART.

SINCE MY COLLEAGUES ARE PRESENTING ON FIVE OF THESE.

I WILL PROVIDE BRIEF OVERVIEW, UH, OVERVIEWS OF THE OTHER THREE, STARTING WITH TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS ANALYSIS.

SO TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS OR TDR IS A MARKET-BASED TOOL TO SUPPORT THE PRESERVATION OF SMALL SCALE HISTORIC PROPERTIES IN AREAS TARGETED FOR HIGHER DENSITY.

IN SHORT, TDR HAS ALLOWED HIS ALLOW HISTORIC PROPERTY OWNERS TO SELL OR TRANSFER UNUSED DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY TO PROPERTIES IN OTHER DESIGNATED AREAS, WHICH CAN THEN BUILD ADDITIONAL SPACE.

AUSTIN PLANNING IS CONTRACTED WITH LIONHEART PLACES AND ECONOMIC AND PLANNING SYSTEMS TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF A TDR, UH, PROGRAM IN AUSTIN, INCLUDING HOW TDRS COULD WORK WITH OTHER CITY INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. THE PROJECT, UH, WILL BE COMPLETED BY SUMMER OF 2026.

THE NEXT ITEM IS THE URBAN DESIGN, UH, GUIDELINES UPDATE.

SO ORIGINALLY ADOPTED IN 2000 AND MODESTLY UPDATED IN 2008.

THE CITY'S URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES WERE CREATED TO PROMOTE ARCHITECTURAL AND URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS THAT REFLECT AUSTIN'S SHARED VALUES.

SINCE THEN, AUSTIN'S URBAN LANDSCAPE HAS EVOLVED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH NEW POLICIES, PLANS, AND COMMUNITY PRIORITIES, MANY OF WHICH ARE NOT REFLECTED IN THE CURRENT GUIDELINES.

THE PROPOSED UPDATE RECOMMENDED BY THE DESIGN COMMISSION FOCUSES ON THREE KEY PRIORITIES.

ONE IS BROADER APPLICABILITY, THE SECOND ONE IS ALIGNMENT WITH COMMUNITY GOALS.

AND THE THIRD ONE IS IMPROVED USABILITY.

AND THEN THE FINAL ITEM I'LL COVER IS THE EAST AUSTIN HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY.

HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEYS, UH, DOCUMENT BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES, AND OBJECTS THAT ARE AT LEAST 50 YEARS OLD.

THEY SUPPORT CITY STAFF IN EVALUATING PERMIT AND HISTORIC DESIGNATION APPLICATIONS, AS WELL AS PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR PROPERTY OWNERS SEEKING HISTORIC DESIGNATION, THE STANDARD PRACTICES TO UPDATE THESE SURVEYS EVERY 10 YEARS.

THUS, WE'RE EXCITED TO UPDATE AND EXPAND THE 2016 EAST AUSTIN HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY DURING 2026, BEGINNING WITH AN AN ANTICIPATED PROJECT KICKOFF IN APRIL.

AND THEN FINALLY, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE FIVE INITIATIVES WHICH HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AND ARE THEREFORE NO LONGER INCLUDED ON THAT PREVIOUS CHART.

UH, AND THESE INCLUDE THE NORTH LAMARR AND SOUTH CONGRESS, UH, TRANSIT CENTER STATION PLANS, THE DOWNTOWN HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY, THE AGRICULTURALLY FOCUSED, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS RESPONSE AND THE EQUITY OVERLAY STUDY, WHICH I THINK YOU RECEIVED MOST RECENTLY.

UH, AND NOW EVELYN MITCHELL WILL COVER THE IMAGINE AUSTIN UPDATE.

UM, THANK YOU CHAIR AND MICROPHONE.

UH, THANK YOU CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR INVITING US HERE TODAY.

MY NAME IS EVELYN MITCHELL, PRINCIPAL PLANNER OF AUSTIN PLANNING'S COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING TEAM, AND TODAY I'LL BE GIVING AN UPDATE ON THE IMAGINE AUSTIN UPDATE.

SO IMAGINE AUSTIN WAS ADOPTED IN 2012 AND IS OUR 30 IS OUR CITY'S 30 YEAR LONG RANGE PLAN THAT IS SHAPED BY IDEAS AND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY AND SERVES AS A ROADMAP THAT GUIDES CITY DECISION MAKING, UH, WHEN SETTING GOALS, POLICIES, AND FUTURE LAND USE RECOMMENDATIONS.

[01:15:02]

ON AUGUST 28TH, 2025, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A RESOLUTION TO UPDATE IMAGINE AUSTIN.

BELOW OUR PROJECT GOALS, CREATING A CITYWIDE PLACE TYPES MAP TO GUIDE AND INFORM MORE HOLISTIC PLANNING FOR OUR CITY.

IT'S ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT TO US THAT THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IS GROUNDED IN INCLUSIVITY AND MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION WITH REGULAR OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.

UPDATING POLICIES THAT REFLECT CURRENT CITY PRIORITIES IN STRENGTHENING ALIGNMENT WITH IMAGINE AUSTIN AND OTHER CITYWIDE PLANS, INCLUDING THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN.

UM, DUE TO THE REVISED BUDGET DECISIONS AND THE REDUCED FUNDING ALLOCATION FOR THE IMAGINE AUSTIN UPDATE, WE'VE REVISED OUR SCOPE A BIT.

HOWEVER, SOME OF THE PLAN ACTIVITIES AND DELIVERABLES ARE STILL EXPECTED TO MOVE FORWARD.

THERE ARE FOUR PHASES THROUGHOUT THE UPDATE, REALLY FIVE WITH THE FIFTH BEING IMPLEMENTATION.

BUT FOR HERE WE'RE GONNA SHOW THOSE FOUR PHASES.

UH, SOME OF THE OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES INCLUDE, UH, SURVEYS AND TABLING TO CHECK IN WITH COMMUNITY ABOUT, UH, THE CITY AND COMMUNITY PRIORITIES.

UM, AND OUR VISION STATEMENT.

UM, A COUPLE OF ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES INCLUDE FORMING AN IMAGINE AUSTIN COMMUNITY WORKING GROUP, UH, WHICH WE'RE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, SELECTING AND FINALIZING, UH, THE 45 COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT WILL BE PART OF THAT WORKING GROUP AND HOSTING COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT WILL MOSTLY FOCUS ON SEEKING INPUT AND COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY ON THE CREATION OF THE CITYWIDE PLACE TYPES MAP.

IN REGARDS TO OUR DELIVERABLES, WE HAVE THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT, THE PLAN DIAGNOSTIC REPORT, WHICH WILL HELP ASSESS HOW WE CAN BETTER ALIGN OTHER CITYWIDE AND STRATEGIC PLANS WITH IMAGINE AUSTIN AND THE POLICY FRAMEWORK, WHICH WILL HELP INFORM THE REVISION OF IMAGINE AUSTIN POLICIES, AS WELL AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR PLACE TYPES MAP METHODOLOGY, AND THEREFORE THE CREATION OF THE PLACE TYPES MAP.

UH, FOR NEXT STEPS WE'LL HAVE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT, UH, THAT WILL BE COMPLETED, UH, THIS SPRING SLASH SUMMER, AS WELL AS PREPARING TO OFFICIALLY LAUNCH ENGAGEMENT THIS SPRING WITH THE RELEASE OF A SURVEY IN MARCH, UH, MAYBE EARLY APRIL.

SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND I'LL HAND IT OVER TO ISHA JOHNSON TO PRESENT ON THE NORTHEAST DISTRICT PLAN TESTING.

HELLO CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS ISHA JOHNSON, PRINCIPAL PLANNER AND PROJECT LEAD WITH AUSTIN PLANNING'S DISTRICT PLANNING TEAM.

TODAY I WILL PROVIDE UPDATES ON TWO DISTRICT PLANNING INITIATIVES, STARTING WITH THE NORTHEAST DISTRICT PLAN.

THE NORTHEAST DISTRICT PLANNING PROCESS IS GUIDED BY AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR PLANNING PARTNERSHIP WITH TRAVIS COUNTY.

THE PLAN AREA IS APPROXIMATELY 30 SQUARE MILES WITH ONE THIRD FALLING IN THE COUNTY'S JURISDICTION AND THE OTHER TWO THIRDS IN THE CITY'S JURISDICTION.

SINCE APPROVAL OF THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BY BOTH, UH, COUNCIL AND UM, COMMISSIONER'S COURT IN MARCH OF 2024, THE 14 MEMBER CITY AND COUNTY STAFF WORKING GROUP HAVE PRODUCED TWO OF NINE DELIVERABLES, THOSE BEING ESTABLISHING THE STAFF WORKING GROUP AND COMPLETING A SUMMARY REPORT OF EXISTING CONDITIONS WITH THE HELP OF THE CITY'S LAND USE CONSULTANT.

THIS PLANNING TIMELINE SHOWS THE PLANNING WORK COMPLETED THUS FAR.

IN ADDITION TO FORMING THE STAFF WORKING GROUP AND PRODUCING THE SUMMARY REPORT, THE WORKING GROUP HAS ALSO INITIATED STEPS TO FORM THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

THESE STEPS INCLUDE DEVELOPING A CHARGE DESIGN AND SELECTION PROCESS, WHICH ONCE COMPLETED MUST GO TO COMMISSIONER'S COURT FOR APPROVAL BEFORE FINAL SELECTION OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

ONCE THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS ONBOARDED, THEY WILL HELP CREATE AN ENGAGEMENT PLAN AND TOGETHER WITH THE STAFF WORKING GROUP, ENGAGE THE PUBLIC ON SEVERAL KEY DELIVERABLES.

UM, THE NEEDS AND GAPS ANALYSIS, THE LAND USE AND REGULATORY SUPPORT, DELIVERABLE PROJECT IDENTIFICATION AND PRIORITIZATION, AND FINALIZING THE VISION PLAN.

AT THIS TIME, WE DO NOT HAVE A COMPLETION DATE FOR THE, UM, COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE FORMATION OR FOR THE DELIVERABLES THEY WILL SUPPORT.

YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THERE ARE TWO DELIVERABLES, SHORT TERM PROJECT LIST AND LAND USE AND REGULATORY SUPPORT THAT ARE LABELED AS CITY ONLY.

THESE DELIVERABLES ARE LED BY THE CITY WITH CITY FUNDING, WHICH IS WHY CITY STAFF HAVE ALREADY BEGUN ENGAGING A LAND USE CONSULTANT.

OUR NEXT STEPS FOR THIS PLANNING PROCESS INCLUDE CONTINUING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CACS CHARGE DESIGN AND SELECTION PROCESS.

THERE ARE A COUPLE OF ADDITIONAL STEPS

[01:20:01]

WITH THAT, WHICH INCLUDE THE DE UH, THERE ARE A COUPLE DETAILS TO THAT, UM, WHICH INCLUDE THE DESIGN STRUCTURE, THE DESIGN AND STRUCTURE OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UM, BEING INFORMED BY FEEDBACK SHARED BY FIVE KEY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS LISTED IN THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT.

UM, AS MENTIONED, THE CA'S CHARGE DESIGN AND SELECTION PROCESS WILL BE PRESENTED TO COMMISSIONER'S COURT FOR APPROVAL.

AN ENGAGEMENT CONSULTANT WILL BE USED TO CONDUCT MEETINGS OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, FACILITATE MEETINGS OF THE STAFF WORKING GROUP AND IMPLEMENT THE ENGAGEMENT PLAN.

THE ENGAGEMENT CONSULTANT SCOPE MUST BE APPROVED BY COMMISSIONER'S COURT AND A REQUEST FOR SERVICES POSTED TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A CONSULTANT ON BOARD.

BEFORE WE KICK OFF MEETINGS OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THE CITY HAS COMPLETED THE PLANNING WORK OF SELECTING ONE SHORT-TERM PROJECT TO IMPLEMENT AND WILL BEGIN ITS IMPLEMENTATION OF A FIVE MONTH FOOD ACCESS PILOT PROJECT STARTING THIS MONTH.

ALL RIGHT, THE SECOND DISTRICT PLANNING INITIATIVE IS THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN.

THIS INITIATIVE IS GUIDED BY A 2024 RESOLUTION, CALLING FOR AN UPDATE TO THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN.

STAFF HAVE DEVELOPED A DISTRICT PLANNING APPROACH TO THE UPDATE, WHICH EXTENDS THE PLAN AREA TO INCLUDE THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AND THE WEST CAMP CAMPUS UNIVERSITY AREAS.

THE PURPOSE AND GOALS OF THE PLANNING PROCESS INCLUDE DEVELOPING A VISION AND ACTION ORIENTED, UH, IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, ENGAGING ALL AUSTINITES THAT LIVE, WORK, PLAY, AND VISIT THESE AREAS, BUT ALSO ENSURING THAT UNDERREPRESENTED VOICES ARE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS AND ALIGNING THE PLAN WITH CITYWIDE POLICIES AND STRATEGIES, INCLUDING THE IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

A VISION AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WILL BE BROUGHT TO COUNCIL FOR POTENTIAL ADOPTION IN DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR.

THIS SLIDE PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF OUR PLANNING PROCESS TIMELINE.

I'VE GROUP KEY, I'VE GROUPED KEY MILESTONES, AND THOSE KEY MILESTONES INCLUDE PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT KICKOFF WITH ACTIVITIES SUCH AS THE LAUNCH OF OUR SPEAK UP AUSTIN PROJECT PAGE, THE KICKOFF OF OUR INTER-AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP AND INTERNAL ADVISORY GROUP.

THAT ALSO INCLUDES, UM, REPRESENTATIVES FROM PUBLIC AGENCIES SUCH, SUCH AS TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, CENTRAL HEALTH, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, CAP METRO, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.

ADDITIONAL MILESTONES ACHIEVED, UM, THUS FAR OUR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT KICKOFF INITIATED WITH TWO OPEN HOUSES IN A SPEAK OF BOSTON SURVEY, THE KICKOFF OF OUR STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP.

THIS GROUP INCLUDES BUSINESSES, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.

DELIVERABLES INFORMED BY PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT INCLUDE THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT, UH, DRAFT VISION AND GOALS, AND THE DRAFT NEEDS AND GAPS ANALYSIS.

THE NEXT, UH, NEXT, UH, SET OF MILESTONE SET, UH, SURROUNDS THE KICKOFF OF PHASE TWO ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, WHICH INCLUDE CONTINUED INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ADVISORY GROUP MEETINGS, KICKOFF OF SUB AREA FOCUS GROUPS OF WHICH THERE WILL BE 15 LAUNCH OF A SPEAK UP AUSTIN SURVEY ON FUTURE GROWTH SCENARIOS.

AND TO ACCOMPANY THE LAUNCH OF THAT, UH, GROWTH SCENARIO SURVEY, WE'RE GONNA HOLD TWO INFO SESSIONS TO JUST WALK FOLKS THROUGH ANY QUESTIONS THEY MAY HAVE ON THE MORE COMPLEX MATTER OF OF GROWTH SCENARIOS.

DELIVERABLES INFORMED BY, UH, PHASE TWO ENGAGEMENT INCLUDE THE FINAL VISION STATEMENT AND GOALS, FINAL NEEDS AND GAPS ANALYSIS, DRAFT LAND USE AND GROWTH SCENARIOS, AND A DRAFT VISION PLAN AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

PHASE THREE MILESTONES ARE CENTERED AROUND BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC REVIEW OF THE DRAFT VISION AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

THIS PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT BEGINS, UM, IN LATE SUMMER, ENSURING THAT THERE IS ENOUGH TIME TO INCORPORATE THE LAST ROUND OF FEEDBACK BEFORE HEADING TO COUNCIL IN DECEMBER.

AND SOME KEY NEXT STEPS INCLUDE FINALIZING THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT.

UM, IT JUST SAY FEBRUARY.

SINCE THEN, THERE HAS BEEN UPDATED TO BE MORE LIKE IN EARLY MARCH, UH, PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PHASE TWO ENGAGEMENT

[01:25:01]

AND FINALIZING THE NEEDS AND GAPS ANALYSIS.

I'LL HAND IT OVER TO JILL TO SHARE MORE ABOUT URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVES.

GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS JILL ESCO AND I'M THE PRINCIPAL PLANNER IN THE URBAN DESIGN DIVISION AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN THE HOUSING, OR SORRY, PLANNING DEPARTMENT.

SO TODAY I WILL BE GOING OVER THE GREAT STREETS PROGRAM AND WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE HISTORY.

SO IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS, THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED THE GREAT STREETS PROGRAM.

SO IT'S A 25-YEAR-OLD PLAN.

AND IN 2003, THE CITY COUNCIL DEDICATED A PORTION OF THE PARKING METER FUNDS OF DOWNTOWN TO THE GREAT STREETS PROGRAM.

AND THEN IN 2014, THE CITY COUNCIL ESTABLISHED GREAT STREETS AS A GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENT, AS PART OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

SO BECAUSE THIS IS A 25-YEAR-OLD PLAN, THERE'S A NEED FOR AN UPDATE, UM, TO UPDATE THE GRAY STREETS PLAN.

SO THE UPDATE INCLUDES AN EXISTING CONDITIONS ANALYSIS.

SO THAT ANALYSIS INCLUDES TWO THINGS.

ONE WAS URBAN DESIGN DIVISION WALKED 231 BLOCK FACES IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN OVER THE COURSE OF EIGHT MONTHS TO CREATE AN INVENTORY THAT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE IN THE PAST 25 YEARS.

SO NOW WE HAVE DATA TO INFORM, UH, THE REST OF THE PLAN AND THE REST OF THE UPDATE.

AND WITH THAT, WE LOOKED AT GREAT STREETS ELEMENTS.

SO WE LOOKED AT TREES, BIKE RACKS, UH, TRASH RECEPTACLES, THE PEDESTRIAN REALM LIKE PAVING, LIGHTING, AND OTHER ELEMENTS IN THE, UH, PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.

WE ALSO DID A EXISTING CONDITIONS ANALYSIS.

SO WE FOUND WITH THAT ANALYSIS THAT THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST SCORING ELEMENTS, UM, AND LOOKING AT THO EACH OF THOSE ELEMENTS PER BLOCK FACE.

SO WE DID NOT DO A TREE INVENTORY, WE JUST LOOKED AT HOW THOSE ELEMENTS ARE DOING IN EACH OF THOSE CONDITIONS IN THAT SPECIFIC AREA.

AND WE FOUND THE HIGHEST SCORING ELEMENTS INCLUDED, THE LIGHT POLES, THE BIKE RACKS, AND THE TREES, THE LIGHT POLES.

TAKE NOTE THAT THAT WAS DONE DURING BUSINESS HOURS, THAT WAS NOT DONE AT NIGHT.

THAT'S JUST A CONDITION OF THE BIKE RACKS OR THE LIGHT POLES AS THEY STAND, UM, IN THE DAYTIME.

AND THE LOWEST SCORING ELEMENTS INCLUDED BENCHES, TRASH RECEPTACLES, AND RECYCLING RECEPTACLES.

THAT'S DUE TO THE HEAVY USE OF EACH OF THOSE ELEMENTS.

SO SOME OF THE GREAT STREETS UPDATE GOALS INCLUDE WHAT'S LISTED ON THIS SLIDE HERE, BUT ONE IS TO ALIGN THE PROGRAM WITH OTHER INITIATIVES IN DOWNTOWN.

SO AS YOU ALL KNOW, THERE ARE MANY, UM, ONCE IN A GENERATION, UH, ITEMS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN DOWNTOWN SUCH AS CAP AND STITCH PROJECT CONNECT, THE, UM, SIXTH STREET PROJECT, THE ACT PLAN, CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN.

THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, MOVING AND SHAKING IN DOWNTOWN.

SO HOW DO WE ALIGN THE GREAT STREETS PROGRAM WITH EACH OF THOSE INITIATIVES? AND SOMETHING THAT WE'VE HEARD, UM, IS MODERNIZATION AND CLARIFICATION OF THE STANDARD.

SO BECAUSE THIS PROGRAM IS 25 YEARS OLD, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO UPDATE LIKE THE BENCH, FOR EXAMPLE.

THERE'S NEW BENCHES, THERE'S NEW PAVING MATERIAL THAT'S AVAILABLE.

SO HOW DO WE INCORPORATE THOSE NEW STANDARDS INTO THIS UPDATE? AND ALSO CREATING CHAMPIONS FROM THE PROGRAM.

SO THOSE THAT ARE THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY EXTERNALLY, UM, LIKE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS THAT WE WORK WITH TO INSTALL GREAT STREETS EVERY DAY.

HOW CAN WE WORK WITH THAT COMMUNITY TO CREATE THOSE CHAMPIONS EXTERNALLY AS WELL AS INTERNALLY AND HAVING OUR SISTER DEPARTMENTS, UM, BE ADVOCATES FOR THE GREAT STREETS PROGRAM? WHAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR WITH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGE, WHICH I'LL GET TO HERE IN A SECOND, IS INCREASED FLEXIBILITY.

SO RIGHT NOW, GREAT STREETS IS VERY RIGID, BUT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INCREASED FLEXIBILITY WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PROGRAM.

SO WITH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OVERVIEW, SINCE JULY, 2025, THE GREAT STREETS, UM, UPDATE HAS BEEN ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND URBAN DESIGN UNTIL THIS PAST MONTH.

THIS IS AN ONGOING PROCESS.

WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT RIGHT NOW, BUT WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR IS WE'VE HAD AN ONLINE SURVEY WHERE OVER 300 PARTICIPANTS HAD AN OPEN HOUSE THAT WAS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL WITH OVER 75 ATTENDEES TO NOT ONLY INFORM THE COMMUNITY, BUT WHAT GREAT STREETS IT IS, WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE UPDATE AS WELL.

WE ALSO HAD STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WHICH HAS SHOWN THE SLIDE HERE.

WE DID A WALKING TOUR WITH, UM, THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS OWNERS OF DOWNTOWN AND HEARING ABOUT THE SUCCESSES OF GREAT STREETS ON SECOND STREET.

WE ALSO HAD AN IMAGINE AUSTIN SPEAKER SERIES EVENT WHERE WE PARTICIPATED IN THAT AS WELL.

SO SO FAR WE'VE HAD OVER A THOUSAND COMMENTS FROM THE COMMUNITY.

WE'LL CONTINUE TO SYNTHESIZE THAT DATA MOVING FORWARD WITH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PORTION OF THIS UPDATE.

AND SO FAR WE'VE FORMULATED 22 RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON WHAT WE'VE HEARD.

SO WHAT WE'VE HEARD.

SO IN THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, WE TOOK THE SURVEY RESPONSES AND ANALYZED THAT DATA.

WE'VE HAD OVER 600 OPEN-ENDED SURVEY COMMENTS.

WE READ AND ANALYZED EACH ONE OF THOSE COMMENTS AND DISTILLED 20 DIFFERENT COMMUNITY THEMES AND TOOK THAT DOWN INTO

[01:30:01]

SIX CORE VALUES.

THOSE CORE VALUES.

WHAT WE HEARD CONSISTENTLY WAS FOCUSING ON THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE IN DOWNTOWN, AS WELL AS CREATING A SENSE OF PLACE AND HAVING SHADE AND SAFETY FOR EVERYONE AND HAVING CONNECTIVITY.

SO GREAT STREETS IS NOT JUST FOR A PLACE TO SIT ON THE BENCH AND ENJOY DOWNTOWN, BUT ALSO HOW DO YOU GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B AND WHAT DOES THAT PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE FEEL LIKE, AND THEN HOW IS THAT MAINTAINED? SO IN THE LAST SLIDE HERE FOR THE GREAT STREETS UPDATE, THIS IS OUR SCHEDULE.

SO RIGHT NOW WE, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE IN THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PHASE AS STARTED LAST SUMMER, AND WE'LL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS SPRING.

SOMETHING NEW THAT I'VE ADDED TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS SLIDE IN THIS PHASE IS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS.

SO HAVING DESIGN WORKSHOPS WITH THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND, UM, WORKING WITH EACH OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO INSTALL GREAT STREETS, UM, EACH DAY TO TEST FIT THE NEW STANDARDS AND MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING IS ACTUALLY GOING TO WORK WHEN WE'RE IMPLEMENTING GRAVE STREETS.

WE'RE ALSO GONNA CONTINUE TO SYNTHESIZE FEEDBACK AND WORK ON THE PLAN ITSELF.

AND OUR GOAL IS FOR AT THE END OF THIS YEAR TO GO TO COUNCIL FOR POTENTIAL ADOPTION.

AUGMENT OUR ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY.

HELLO, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

UH, THIS IS THE LAST ITEM, SO HANG IN THERE.

UM, I'M HERE TO, UH, PROVIDE SOME UPDATES ON THE EAST RIVERSIDE ORDER PLANNING INITIATIVE.

MY NAME IS ANA AL, I'M PRINCIPAL PLANNER WITH THE ETOD STATIONARY PLANNING TEAM.

UM, SO LET ME GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THIS PROJECT.

UM, COUNCIL ADOPTED THE ETOD POLICY PLAN IN THE SPRING OF 2023, WHICH SET A FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTING ETOD ALONG THE PROJECT CONNECT TRANSIT SYSTEM AND THE NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND IT.

FOLLOWING THAT COUNCIL INITIATED THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR PLANNING INITIATIVE VIA RESOLUTION IN FEBRUARY, 2024, AND WE'LL BE REFERRING TO THIS PROJECT AS THE ERC PLANNING INITIATIVE, WHICH WILL HAVE TWO DIFFERENT COMPONENTS.

THE FIRST IS THE UPDATED, UH, VISION PLAN, WHICH WILL BE ADOPTED AS AN ATTACHMENT TO THE IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND WILL INCLUDE A FUTURE LAND USE MAP TO GOVERN THE STUDY AREA.

THE SECOND PART OF THIS PLANNING INITIATIVE IS THE UPDATE TO THE REGULATING PLAN, WHICH WOULD REPLACE THE EXISTING EAST RIVERSIDE ORDER REGULATING PLAN AND WILL BE AN ATTACHMENT TO THE CITY'S LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.

UH, IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS THAT THIS PLANNING INITIATIVE WILL BE TAKEN CONCURRENTLY WITH VARIOUS RELATED INITIATIVES UNDERWAY, AND THOSE INCLUDE THE PROPOSED AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL PHASE ONE, WHICH WILL GO, UH, THROUGH EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE, ALSO THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE GROVE RIVERSIDE SITE, THE VISION ZERO STREET INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS ON ONTOP OF THIS DRIVE AND THE COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE OF CITYWIDE BONUSES.

UM, WE ARE COLLABORATING WITH THE PROJECT LEADS TO ENSURE COORDINATING COORDINATED PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WHERE POSSIBLE.

UM, NOW THE STUDY AREA EXTENDS FROM I 35 ON THE WESTERNMOST EDGE, UH, ALL THE WAY TO STATE HIGHWAY 71, I MEAN 71, YEAH, 71 AS THE EASTERN MOST EDGE.

UM, ON THE SCREEN YOU'LL SEE THE BLACK OUTLINE, WHICH INDICATES THE BOUNDARY OF THE EXISTING ERC REGULATING PLAN.

AND THEN THE GREEN AREA, UH, REPRESENTS OUR PROPOSED BOUNDARY EXTENSION, WHICH SLIGHTLY EXPLA EXPANDS BEYOND THE CURRENT REGULATING PLAN TO ENSURE A HALF A MILE RADIUS AROUND THE PROJECT CONNECT STATIONS.

AND THAT IS TO MAXIMIZE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THE NEW LIGHT RAIL INVESTMENT.

UM, HOWEVER, NOTE THAT THE BOUNDARIES ARE NOT FULLY DEFINED YET.

UM, THOSE WILL BE REFINED WITH THE HELP OF THE COMMUNITY DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS.

UM, UH, THIS PLANNING INITIATIVE WILL REVISIT THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR VISION PLAN ADOPTED IN 2010, AND THE REGULATING PLAN ADOPTED IN 2013 TO ENSURE THEY ADEQUATELY ADDRESS FUTURE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.

THIS UPDATE WILL INCLUDE INTEGRATING EQUITY AS AN ACTIONABLE GOAL, PROMOTING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE WORKFORCE, AND SMALL BUSINESSES ALSO RECALIBRATING THE E RIVER SITE CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT BONUS PROGRAM TO ALIGN WITH CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS AND ALIGN THE PLANS WITH EQUITABLE TOOLS AND THE ETOD POLICY PLAN.

AND LASTLY, WE'LL BE UPDATING THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP TO SUPPORT TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT THAT ALIGNS WITH LONG-TERM COMMUNITY GOALS.

THE PROJECT TIMELINE OUTLINES A 12 MONTH PLANNING PROCESS THAT INCORPORATES THREE DIFFERENT ROUNDS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

LAST FALL, WE FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY OUTREACH BY ATTENDING VARIOUS COMMUNITY EVENTS AND TABLING EVENTS, AND WE ONBOARDED A GROUP OF PAID AMBASSADORS TO

[01:35:01]

LAST NOVEMBER, WE ALSO MAILED OUT A COURTESY POSTCARD TO INFORM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE START OF THIS PLANNING INITIATIVE.

UM, AND WE HAVE JUST CONCLUDED OUR FIRST ROUND OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHICH WAS THE VISIONING STAGE WHERE WE GATHERED INPUT ON COMMUNITY PRIORITIES, DESIRED BENEFITS AND DEVELOPMENT INTENSITY NEEDS.

THIS ROUND INCLUDED THREE FOCUS GROUP SESSIONS, ONE IN-PERSON, OPEN HOUSE, AND ONE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY MEETING.

AND I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE SUCCESSFULLY ENGAGED OVER 200 COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, THROUGH THESE, UH, VARIOUS OPPORTUNITIES AND ARE NOW IN THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZING THE COMMENTS WE RECEIVED INTO A FULL REPORT THAT WILL BE SHARED WITH THE COMMUNITY IN MARCH.

THE SECOND PHASE WILL FOCUS ON THE PREFERRED GROWTH SCENARIO BASED ON THE FEEDBACK RECEIVED, WHILE THE THIRD WILL INVOLVE A MORE DETAILED EXPLORATION OF PROJECT CONNECT STATION AREAS, UM, INCLUDING SOME POTENTIAL CATALYTIC SITES AND RENDERINGS.

NOW, THE FINAL PHASE WILL INCLUDE REVIEWING THE DRAFT PLANS, UH, WITH THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND WE AIM FOR AN ADOPTION DATE OF LATE FALL OF 2026.

OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY, UM, HAS INCLUDED AND WILL CONTINUE TO INCLUDE NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPATION, ENSURING THAT EVERY VOICE CAN BE HEARD.

HOWEVER, THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF UPDATES AND INFORMATION WILL CONTINUE TO BE OUR EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR SPEAK OF BOSTON PAGE.

UM, IN THAT PAGE, COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN REVIEW THE PROJECT TIMELINE, LEARN ABOUT UPCOMING EVENTS, SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE UPDATES, AND SHARE FEEDBACK.

SO FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR FURTHER INFORMATION, THE COMMUNITY CAN REFER TO THE E EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR OR SPEAK OF BOSTON PAGE OR ALSO CONTACT US VIA EMAIL.

UM, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO EVERYONE'S PARTICIPATION IN THE UPCOMING ROUNDS OF ENGAGEMENT.

UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, WE ARE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE REGARDING THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR PLANNING INITIATIVE OR ANY OF THE PLANNING EFFORTS THAT WE DISCUSSED DURING THIS PRESENTATION.

I, I REALLY DO SEE HOW LONG THESE THINGS TAKE AND HOW THEY CHANGE AND EVOLVE AND BECOME A WHOLE, AND OUR CONSTITUENTS DON'T SEE THOSE THINGS.

I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH.

THIS IS A GREAT PRESENTATION.

IT'S CHOCK FULL OF INFORMATION.

I VERY MUCH LIKE THAT Y'ALL DID THIS THING WHERE YOU, UH, SEGMENTED OUT WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHICH THING.

SO MOVING FORWARD, FOLKS, YOU KNOW, ON THE DAYS KNOW WHO TO CONTACT, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THIS IS IN THE BACKUP SO FOLKS KNOW WHO TO CONTACT JUST IN GENERAL.

SO THAT'S GREAT.

UM, I WAS GONNA SAY THANK YOU MR. RSON AND YOUR TEAM, AND THEN SAY THEIR FIRST AND LAST NAMES.

BUT JILL, YOU GOT ME.

I CAN'T SAY IT.

HOW DO I PRONOUNCE IT? AMES QUO.

AMES QUO.

THANK YOU, UM, TO ALL OF YOU GUYS FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS, I HAVE A COUPLE OF MORE STATEMENTS THAN QUESTIONS TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.

LIKE, UM, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD FOR NORTHEAST PLANNING DISTRICT, THE TPD THERE, AND THEN US HAVING ACCOMPLISHED TWO OUTTA NINE THINGS.

UM, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HEARD ME SAY THIS A LOT, UM, BUT MY TERM HAS COME TO A CLOSE AND I'D LIKE VERY MUCH FROM MY SUCCESSOR TO BE PREPARED AND READY AND HAVE THE INITIATIVES THAT WE WORKED SO HARD ON THIS EIGHT YEARS, YOU KNOW, BY THAT TIME TO BE IN THE QUEUE AND PREPARED FOR THEM TO PICK 'EM UP.

YOU KNOW, IN MY, IN MY MIND'S EYE, OUR DISTRICT OFFICES ARE NOT ABOUT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS SERVING THAT DISTRICT.

THEY SHOULD BE AUTONOMOUS.

IT SHOULDN'T MATTER WHAT HUMAN IS IN THERE.

IT SHOULD WORK FOR THE DISTRICT REGARDLESS.

AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY OBSERVATIONS AND SOMETHING I FEEL STRONG ABOUT IS IT TOOK ME A COOL TWO YEARS TO GET ACCLIMATED AND OUR COUNCIL MEMBER FOR DISTRICT ONE WON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT.

SO I'D LIKE VERY MUCH TO LEAVE A COMPLETE PACKAGE.

SO THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT ARE TBDS I'LL BE ASKING Y'ALL OVER THE COURSE OF THE MONTH.

SO LIKE, IT'S FEBRUARY, YOU KNOW, ALL OF JULY, MOST OF DECEMBER.

IT'S LIKE, YOU GUYS, IT'S CLICKING DOWN SO FAST.

I GOT LIKE SEVEN MONTHS TO GET THIS BOOK READY FOR MY SUCCESSOR.

SO I'M, I'M ASKING, UM, THE DIVISION, UH, DIRECTOR AND YOU GUYS AS MUCH AS YOU'RE ABLE TO HELP THE DISTRICT ONE TEAM GET READY FOR OUR SUCCESSOR TO COME IN HERE AND KICK SOME BUTT.

THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF QUESTIONS WE'LL BE ASKING.

IF THERE'S TBDS, WE'LL BE LIKE, OKAY, SO WHEN WE PUT THIS ON THE CHRONOLOGICAL TIMELINE FOR OUR SUCCESSOR, WE'LL PUT IT WAS TBD ON THE 10TH OF FEBRUARY WITH THE EXPECTATION WE'LL HEAR BACK.

BYE.

AND SO I, I'LL JUST BE ASKING QUESTIONS LIKE, I WAS JUST TRYING TO PREFACE IT, YOU KNOW, BEFORE I NAG ALL YEAR LONG.

WHEN DID YOU SAY, UM, JUST, I REALLY JUST WANT THEM TO BE READY AND I MEAN, I, I COMPLAINED, BUT I, I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO, SO, YOU KNOW, I COMPLAINED TO THE MANAGER.

I WAS LIKE, I'M LEAVING THIS OFFICE DOING THE SAME FOUR THINGS I WAS DOING WHEN I GOT HERE IN 2019, AND IT WAS DEFLATING A BIT, BUT THEN I LOOK AT HOW LONG SOME OF Y'ALL HAVE BEEN WORKING IN SERVICE TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND OUR CONSTITUENTS AND REALIZE THEY DID MY LOVE.

SEVEN YEARS, AIN'T NOTHING COMPARED TO SOME OF YOU GUYS.

SO I JUST WANNA SAY I,

[01:40:01]

SO I, I I DO WANNA SAY I RECOGNIZE THAT WHEN THINGS GROW, CHANGE AND DON'T HAPPEN OR WHATEVER, THE, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU POINTED OUT ADJUSTMENTS TO GREAT STREETS.

PEOPLE LOVE 'EM UNTIL THEY DON'T, YOU KNOW, IT, IT DOESN'T, BUT I APPRECIATE THAT, THAT IT'S FLUID, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, IT SHOULD BE FLEXIBLE TO MAKE MOVES WHEN IT'S NOT WORKING FOR THE PEOPLE.

AND SO, UM, I, I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU GUYS DO.

THANK YOU FOR PUTTING IN THE HARD WORK.

AND I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE DISTRICT PLANS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US, BUT I JUST, I, THE NORTHEAST PLANNING, THE NORTHEAST DISTRICT PLAN IS REALLY JUST SO NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART.

I, I, I JUST, I, I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE SO FAR, AND I VERY MUCH HOPE THAT WITHOUT ANY RUSHING THAT WE CAN DO A LITTLE MORE SO IT FEELS A LITTLE MORE LIKE IT'S READY TO HAND OFF.

AND THAT WAS THE LAST FOR ME, VICE CHAIR, MADAM CHAIR.

UM, JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS.

UH, I GUESS THE FIRST ONE IS FOR MS. JOHNSON REGARDING THE, UH, CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN.

UH, SEEING THAT NOW THE DOWNTOWN PLAN IS GONNA INCLUDE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT OVERLAY, AND WANTED TO ASK, UH, IS THERE A PLAN FOR HOW TO DEAL WITH THE SOUTH CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD AND IS THAT GONNA OPERATE UNDER ITS CURRENT CONDITIONS OR IS IT GONNA BE ALTERED IN SOME WAY? WE HAVE BEEN IN RECENT TALKS WITH, UM, UM, I'M GONNA STRUGGLE WITH THE NAMES OF THE DEPARTMENTS, UH, OUR, UM, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOLKS.

UM, AND, UH, I THINK THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION.

I THINK, UM, UM, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU ALL ARE AWARE, BUT, UM, SCHWAB HASN'T MET THEIR LIKE, KIND OF MEETING REQUIREMENTS.

AND SO, UM, THERE IS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, UM, HOW, WHAT, UM, SCHWAB AND, AND, AND HOW THEY CAN BE SUPPORTED .

MM-HMM .

SOUNDS LIKE A DIPLOMATIC, UH, TO BE DETERMINED ANSWER.

THAT DOES.

THANK YOU MA'AM.

AND THEN, UH, I GUESS, UH, MS. UH, VIAL, UM, REGARDING THE, UH, ERC REGULATING PLAN UPDATE, UM, AND ALIGNING WITH E TODD GOALS, UM, UH, I GUESS WE'RE RECEIVING UPDATES TO E TODD IN THE COMING WEEKS.

AND WILL ANY UPDATES ON THE ERC DENSITY BONUS RECALIBRATION BE DISCUSSED AT MEETINGS WITH COUNCIL OFFICES? YES, UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE VISIONING STAGE, BUT WE DO HAVE PLANS TO, UH, MEET WITH COUNCIL AND MEET WITH, UH, WORK WITH OUR SYSTEMWIDE TEAM, WHICH IS COORDINATING THE CITYWIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. UM, THAT IS OUR PLAN THAT WE BRING FORWARD.

SOMETHING THAT IS NOT ONLY, UH, NOT ONLY WORKS FOR THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR, BUT ALSO, UM, IS IN SYNC WITH WHAT THE CITY'S THINKING CITYWIDE.

OKAY, GREAT.

AND DO YOU KNOW IF, UM, ANTI DISPLACEMENT EFFORTS ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED INTO THE UPDATE? YES, DEFINITELY.

ANTI DISPLACEMENT IS, UH, A BIG DRIVER FOR THIS PLAN.

UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE E IN EQUITY AND THAT IS GONNA BE, UM, ONE OF THE MAIN GOALS THAT WE TRY TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS PLAN, YOU KNOW, THROUGH DIFFERENT, UH, REGULATIONS WORKING, WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH AUSTIN HOUSING TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THROUGH DIFFERENT TOOLS THAT WE CAN INCLUDE, UH, IN THIS PLAN.

UM, AND, UM, MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, PROJECT CONNECT AND SOME OF THE FUNDING THAT THEY HAVE FOR ANTI DISPLACEMENT, UM, IS ALSO, UM, ACCOUNTED FOR, UM, IN THIS FUND.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

AND SO, UM, ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN SHARE IN TERMS OF WHEN WE MIGHT SEE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, ABOUT ANTI DISPLACEMENT PRIOR TO THE REGULATING PLAN UPDATE? UH, WELL, THE SECOND ROUND OF ENGAGEMENT, UH, WILL INCLUDE LIKE A MARKET ANALYSIS.

SO WE'RE GONNA START TO LOOK AT LIKE CASE TO CASE STUDIES, UM, AND, AND JUST ANALYSIS IN GENERAL FINANCIAL ANALYSIS.

SO I THINK WE'LL PROBABLY GONNA HAVE SOMETHING, UH, FOR THE THIRD ROUND OF ENGAGEMENT, WHICH WILL BE IN THE SUMMER.

SO, UM, THOSE WILL BE SHARED WITH Y'ALL.

AND AS WE START TO, UM, HAVE ANY DELIVERABLES, WE ARE UPDATING OUR SPEAK OF BOSTON PAGE, SO DO SUBSCRIBE FOR UPDATES.

UM, FOR ANYONE THAT'S LISTENING, UH, WE ARE TRYING TO KEEP THAT, UH, WEBSITE, UH, REGULARLY UPDATED TO PROVIDE AS MUCH INFORMATION TO THE COMMUNITY AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF THIS PLAN.

THANKS SO MUCH.

THE, IN PARTICULAR, THE, UH, THE, UH, THE, UH, URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR THOSE, UH, TYPES OF PROPERTIES.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE? I JUST WANNA JUST, UH, MORE FOR MS UH, UH, AMES.

UH, UH, MY OFFICE IS WORKING WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, UH, AND COUNCIL MEMBER LANE ON SOME OF THE, THE GREAT STREETS RELATED, UH, UH,

[01:45:01]

AND JUST KIND OF THINKING THROUGH WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE, WHAT OUR CONSTITUENTS, UH, WOULD LIKE TO SEE.

UH, AND BOTH IN THE KIND OF WHAT DO WE WANNA MAKE MANDATORY, WHAT IS PART OF THE DENSITY BONUS, UH, UH, UPDATES.

BUT THAT'S A FREQUENT, I MEAN, JUST IN THE, THE HANDFUL, ESPECIALLY FOR THE LARGER, UH, REMAINING PLOTS THAT ARE GOING THROUGH REDEVELOPMENT OR AT LEAST KIND OF THINKING ABOUT, UH, REDEVELOPMENT, UH, WHEN I TALK TO THE CONSTITUENTS AROUND THE AREA ABOUT THOSE PLANS, THE, UM, ACCESS AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH IT FROM KIND OF A TRAFFIC PERSPECTIVE, FROM A PEDESTRIAN PERSPECTIVE, LIKE THOSE KINDS OF, UH, THOUGHTS LIKE THAT ARE JUST ABSOLUTELY THE, THE, THE PRIORITY.

SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF FLAG THAT TO SAY THAT OUR OFFICES ARE, ARE WORKING THROUGH THOSE KINDS OF, UH, UH, ISSUES AND ESPECIALLY IN THE DISTRICT FOUR CONTEXT.

THOSE REALLY LIKE THE, THE, THE RED LINE TRAIL, UH, EXTENSIONS, ANY KIND OF, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY THROUGH THE PROJECT, UM, THE, UH, COMMERCIAL KIND OF, YOU KNOW, IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT DO WE GET OUT OF IT? YOU KNOW, DO, DO WE GET A SIDEWALK OUT OF IT? DO WE GET A BIKE TRAIL OUT OF IT? DO WE GET A COFFEE SHOP OUT OF IT? DO THO THOSE KINDS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, DISCUSSIONS, OBVIOUSLY THE COFFEE SHOP STUFF, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY WITH THE, THE, THE GUIDELINES AND ALL THAT, BUT, UH, STILL THOSE ARE REALLY, UH, I IMPORTANT, UH, DISCUSSIONS.

SO JUST WANTED TO FLAG THAT.