Mar 11, 2026 Downtown Commission

ARE YOU ABLE TO TURN YOUR CAMERA ON COMMISSIONER SILVA? I'M TRYING TO GET IT GOING.

THERE YOU GO.

UH, COMMISSIONER FRANKLIN.

ABSENT.

COMMISSIONER WILEY? HERE.

COMMISSIONER JEALOUS.

IT'S ABSENT.

AND COMMISSIONER HOUSTON PRESENT.

THE, UH, DID EVERYBODY GET A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING LAST WEEK? UM, DOES ANYBODY HAVE CARE TO MOVE THEIR ADOPTION? I MOTION TO APPROVE THOSE MINUTES.

UM,

[1. Approve the minutes of the Downtown Commission regular meeting of February 18, 2026. ]

HAVE A SECOND.

I'LL SECOND.

ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONER SHEPHERD SECONDS.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.

AYE.

ANY OPPOSED? HEARING NONE.

THE NEXT IS THE UPDATE ON THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN THAT CAME IN PERSON THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT.

UM,

[2. Update on the Central City District Plan. Presentation by Shanisha Johnson, Planner Principal, Austin Planning; Aaron A. May, AICP, Associate Principal, AECOM; and Sean P. Tapia, AICP, ENV SP, Digital and Geospatial, AECOM. ]

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, ISHA.

WE APPRECIATE THAT TESTING.

YES, .

GOOD EVENING CHAIR, VICE CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS.

MY NAME IS ISHA JOHNSON AND I LEAD AUSTIN PLANNING'S DISTRICT PLANNING TEAM.

AND I'M HERE, UM, WITH MY SUPERVISOR.

I'LL LET HIM INTRODUCE HIMSELF.

HI THERE.

MY NAME IS CHRIS RYERSON.

I'M A DIVISION MANAGER WITH AUSTIN PLANNING, OVERSEEING COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING AND DISTRICT PLANNING, UH, INCLUDING ASHA'S TEAM.

UH, CAN I RAISE A TECHNICAL ISSUE? I, I MAY BE DOING THIS WRONG, BUT I CAN'T SEE THE SPEAKERS.

IS THERE SOMETHING I NEED TO TOUCH? IS THAT EVERYBODY ONLINE? CAN ANYBODY ONLINE SEE THE SPEAKERS? YOU CAN.

UM, AND THE PRESENTATION, CAN I HAVE THEM? ALL RIGHT.

SO WHILE THE PRESENTATION IS BEING PULLED UP, I'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.

UM, IN TODAY'S PRESENTATION, I'LL DISCUSS OUR PROGRESS ON THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN, UM, AND THEN, UH, HAND IT OVER TO OUR CONSULTANTS AT AECOM TO WALK US THROUGH AN INTRODUCTION OF OUR APPROACH TO, UH, SCENARIO PLANNING.

ALL RIGHT.

TO SET THE STAGE, WE WANTED TO, IF YOU KIND OF JUST REMIND, UM, EVERYONE IN THE ROOM AND EVERYONE LISTENING, UM, WHY WE ARE WORKING ON THIS PLAN.

UH, SO AS A REMINDER, THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN IS OUR DEPARTMENT'S RESPONSE TO, UH, 2024 RESOLUTION, CALLING FOR, UH, AN UPDATE TO THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN.

WE INCLUDED THE AREAS OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AND UT WEST CAMPUS, UM, IN, IN OUR PLAN AND STUDY AREA, AS THEY TOO WILL AND HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR GROWTH AND CHANGE.

A LOT OF PLANNING HAS OCCURRED IN THESE AREAS SINCE THE ADOPTION OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN IN 2011.

SO WE ARE NOT STARTING FROM SCRATCH AND THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN WILL BUILD UP ON THOSE EXISTING PLANS, PROJECTS, AND INITIATIVES.

[00:05:01]

WE LOOK FORWARD TO PLANNING FOR CONNECTIVITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN BOTH THE BUILT TO NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS ACROSS THE DISTRICT.

UM, SO NEXT I'LL DISCUSS THE INTERIM DELIVERABLES NEARING COMPLETION, STARTING WITH THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT.

ALRIGHT, SO THIS REPORT SETS THE FOUNDATION FOR THE REST OF THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN.

UH, PRELIMINARY RESEARCH WAS COMPLETED BEFORE PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT.

KEY TAKEAWAYS WERE SHARED DURING PHASE ONE.

ENGAGEMENT FEEDBACK HELPED IDENTIFY MISSING TOPICS AND WHERE ADDITIONAL RESEARCH WAS NEEDED TO, TO EXPAND UPON THE, UH, INITIAL FINDINGS.

THE DRAFT OF THIS REPORT REPORT IS CURRENTLY IN REVIEW BY OUR INTER, UM, INTER-AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP.

THAT'S A, A NUMBER OF CITY DEPARTMENTS AND OFFICES, PLUS OTHER PUBLIC AGENCIES.

THE REPORT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW THROUGH OUR SPEAK UP AUSTIN PROJECT PAGE IN APRIL.

ALL RIGHT, SO ALL ALSO FOUNDATIONAL TO THE PLAN.

THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN ARE VISION AND GOALS.

THE VISION DESCRIBES THE DESIRED FUTURE STATE OF THE DISTRICT AND THE PURPOSE OF THE PLAN.

THE VISION ALSO ESTABLISHES THE OVERALL DIRECTION FOR THE PLAN.

UH, THE VISION REFLECTS COMMUNITY INPUT, BOARD AND COMMISSION GUIDANCE, COUNCIL DIRECTION AND STAFF FEEDBACK, AND ALSO SERVES AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL FOR THE PUBLIC AND FOR STAKEHOLDERS.

I WON'T READ THE FULL VISION STATEMENT, BUT INSTEAD HIGHLIGHT THAT THIS STATEMENT ENVISIONS THE DISTRICT AS A COMPLETE CONNECTED, UH, AS COMPLETE, CONNECTED AND LIVABLE SUPPORTS HOUSING, JOBS, EDUCATION, CULTURE, AND RECREATION IN THE HEART OF AUSTIN EMPHASIZES INTENTIONAL AND COORDINATED GROWTH ALIGNS INFRASTRUCTURE, SERVICES AND PUBLIC SPACES TO SUPPORT DAILY LIFE AND MAJOR EVENTS FRAMES THE DISTRICT AS THE HEART OF AUSTIN, CONNECTING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DOWNTOWN AND THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AREAS.

UH, THE VISION ALSO PRIORITIZES SAFE STREETS, ACTIVE PUBLIC PLACE SPACES AND STRONG MULTIMODAL CONNECTIONS.

IT CELEBRATES HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS, CULTURAL ASSETS, AND LOCAL BUSINESSES, BUT ALSO, UH, SPEAKS TO GUIDING NEW DEVELOPMENT TO SUPPORT LONG-TERM VITALITY, AFFORDABILITY, EQUITY, AND COMFORT.

SO NEXT TO OUR GOALS, THE GOALS CLARIFY DESIRED OUTCOMES FOR THE DISTRICT PLAN AND ARE DIVIDED INTO EIGHT THEMES.

THESE THEMES WERE INFORMED BY FEEDBACK THROUGH PRE-PLANNING AND PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT.

THE GOALS ILLUSTRATE THE OUTCOME OF THE PLAN AND INFORM IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES SUCH AS SCENARIO PLANNING AND PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS.

THE GOALS, UM, WILL PROMOTE COORDINATION BETWEEN SEVERAL KEY STAKEHOLDERS.

OUR STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP HAS ALREADY WEIGHED IN ON THE VISION STATEMENT AND GOALS, AND OUR INTERAGENCY ADVISORY INTER-AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP WILL BE NEXT TO REVIEW THE VISION AND GOALS.

UM, NEXT WE'LL WALK THROUGH SOME SPECIFICS FOR EACH OF THE EIGHT GOALS.

EXCUSE ME.

OUR HOUSING GOAL IS CENTERED AROUND SUPPORTING HOUSING DIVERSITY AND AFFORDABILITY, ENABLING PEOPLE FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS TO LIVE NEAR JOBS, EDUCATION AND TRANSIT.

OUR MOBILITY GOAL IS CENTERED AROUND PROVIDING SAFE, CONNECTED, RELIABLE, COMFORTABLE, AND EASILY NAVI NAVIGABLE, UH, MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION, EFFECTIVE PARKING MANAGEMENT, AND MAINTAINING ACCESSIBILITY DURING CONSTRUCTION IN LARGE EVENTS.

OUR ARTS AND CULTURE GOAL RECOGNIZES THE DISTRICT AS AN ARTS CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT HUB, AND FOCUSES ON SUPPORTING VENUES AND PUBLIC SPACES THAT SERVE A VARIETY OF USERS BOTH DAY AND NIGHT.

OUR HERITAGE AND IDENTITY GOAL ALSO RECOGNIZES THE UNIQUE IDENTITY OF THE DISTRICT AND FOCUSES ON CELEBRATING HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS, CULTURAL ASSETS, AND LOCAL BUSINESSES WHILE GUIDING NEW DEVELOPMENT TO ENHANCE AND BUILD UPON THE EXISTING CHARACTER OF THE DISTRICT.

OUR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ACCESSIBILITY GOAL IS CENTERED AROUND THE IMPORTANCE OF EQUITABLE ACCESS TO SERVICES, DAILY AMENITIES AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES TO ENSURE THE LIVABILITY OF THE DISTRICT FOR A VARIETY OF, OF, UH, PEOPLE.

OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GOAL SPEAKS TO BALANCE AND RESILIENT ECONOMIC GROWTH THAT PRIORITIZES LOCAL

[00:10:01]

BUSINESSES, NEW BUSINESSES, SUPPORTING WORKFORCE RETENTION, AND AS WELL HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED TO STRIKE A BALANCE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH TO, UM, WITH MEETING COMMUNITY NEEDS.

EXCUSE ME.

OUR PARKS OPEN SPACES AND SUSTAINABILITY GOAL EMPHASIZES THE, EMPHASIZES THE ENHANCEMENT OF OUR NATURAL AREAS AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT TO IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, USABILITY, AND CLIMATE COMFORT.

AND OUR EIGHTH GOAL, PUBLIC SAFETY FOCUSES ON IMPROVING REAL AND PERCEIVED SAFETY THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT, PRIORITIZING STRATEGIES THAT SUPPORT AN ACTIVE AND COMFORTABLE PUBLIC REALM.

TOGETHER THESE GOALS SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY'S VISION STATEMENT.

UH, THE NEXT DELIVERABLE IS THE NEEDS AND GAPS, UM, ANALYSIS.

THE NEEDS AND GAPS ANALYSIS SUMMARIZES IDENTIFIED GAPS AND ISSUES ALONG WITH OPPORTUNITIES WHICH HAVE BEEN DIVIDED INTO 10 THEMES.

THOSE THEMES WERE INFOR INFORMED, UH, THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

BY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

THE GAPS IN OPPORTUNITIES INFORM SCENARIO PLANNING AND THE GOALS OF THE PLAN.

THE GAPS, UH, NEEDS AND GAPS WERE WORKSHOPPED AT OUR, OUR LAST STAKE, UH, OUR LAST STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP MEETING.

UM, AND THE CONSULTANT TEAM IS CURRENTLY WORKING TO INCORPORATE THE FEEDBACK IDENTIFIED AT THAT MEETING.

AND THIS IS JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OF OUR ENGAGEMENT TIMELINE.

UM, NOTES.

WE'VE ALIGNED EACH GATE ENGAGEMENT PHASE WITH THE INTERIM PLAN DELIVERABLES.

WE HAVE ALREADY WRAPPED UP PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT THAT CONCLUDED AT THE END OF 2025.

UM, ACTIVITIES WERE OPEN HOUSES, A SURVEY STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP, AND INTERAGENCY ADVISE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP, UH, KICKOFF MEETINGS.

THE OUTCOMES OF THIS ENGAGEMENT INCLUDE, UM, THE FEEDBACK THAT INFORMED THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT, UH, DRAFT VISION AND GOALS AND DRAFT NEEDS AND GAPS.

OUR PHASE TWO, UH, ENGAGEMENT, UH, PERIOD STARTS, UH, NEXT MONTH.

AND, UH, WE WILL FOCUS ON WORKSHOPPING, UM, NEEDS AND GAPS AND VISION AND GOALS WITH THE, UH, INTERAGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP, AS WELL AS PROVIDING A REVIEW OF ELEMENTS THAT HELP BUILD OUT OUR SCENARIOS, UH, THE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE'LL ENGAGE IN OUR SUB AREA FOCUS GROUPS.

UM, UH, WE'VE ALREADY STARTED INTERNAL SCENARIO PLANNING WORKSHOPS, UH, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE THOSE MEETINGS, UH, SCENARIO PLANNING MEETINGS WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, UM, AS WELL AS CONTINUED STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP AND INTER-AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP MEETINGS OVER THE SUMMER.

THE CONSULTANTS WILL SYNTHESIZE FEEDBACK, UM, FROM PHASE ONE, I MEAN FROM PHASE TWO, UH, TO, UH, DRAFT A VISION AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

AND THEN, UM, LASTLY, PHASE THREE'S ACTIVITIES ARE CENTERED AROUND REVIEW OF THE DRAFT, UH, VISION AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

UM, WE HAVE, UH, DETERMINED THAT IN ORDER TO SUCCESSFULLY INCORPORATE THE, UM, AMOUNT OF FEEDBACK THAT WE'LL RECEIVE ON THE DRAFT VISION AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, THAT WE SHOULD BEGIN THOSE ACTIVITIES IN EARLY FALL.

THEREFORE, UH, SAVING ENOUGH TIME TO INCORPORATE THAT FEEDBACK BEFORE HEADING TO COUNCIL.

ALRIGHT, AND JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OR SUMMARY OF OUR PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT IN FURTHER DETAIL.

SO, PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT WAS SHORT, BUT WE LEARNED A LOT.

IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE COMMUNITY HAD BEEN WAITING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THIS NEWER APPROACH TO AREA PLANNING.

UM, AND MEETING MATERIALS FOR PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT WERE GUIDED BY FINDINGS FROM OUR EXISTING CONDITIONS ANALYSIS.

AS, AS MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, THROUGH ACTIVITIES AT OPEN HOUSES, WE GATHERED FEEDBACK THAT HIGHLIGHTED CONNECTED WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOODS AS A TOP PRIORITY.

IN OUR FIRST STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP MEETING, WE HEARD STRONG INTEREST IN PRESERVING HISTORIC CHARACTER, HOUSING, AFFORDABILITY, MOBILITY, SOCIAL SERVICES, INTENTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND INTEGRATED PLANNING.

AND THROUGH OUR SPEAK UP AUSTIN SURVEY, WE RECEIVED 285 RESPONSES, UH, REVEALING THAT CRIME, PERSONAL SAFETY AND PUBLIC BEHAVIOR WERE SOME TOP CONCERNS FOR DOWNTOWN.

FOR THE UT WEST CAMPUS AND SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AREAS.

MULTIMODAL INFRASTRUCTURE EMERGED AS A KEY PRIORITY.

AND BEFORE, UM, I PROVIDE FURTHER DETAIL ON THIS, UH, ON THIS SLIDE, I WANTED TO SAY, SINCE SUBMITTING THIS PRESENTATION

[00:15:01]

FOR BACKUP, WE HAVE PUSHED BACK THE START DATE OF THE FOCUS GROUPS, UM, WHICH WILL NOW OCCUR MORE, UM, IN MID-APRIL BETWEEN THE SIXTH AND THE 18TH.

UM, AND THAT IS SO WE CAN ENSURE A, A SUCCESSFUL OUTREACH PERIOD AND RECRUITMENT OF FOCUS GROUP MEMBERS.

UM, SO OUR GOAL IS TO GET 12 TO 15 PARTICIPANTS.

OH, THIS SLIDE FEATURES OUR PLAN AND APPROACH TO FOCUS GROUPS.

UM, OUR GOAL IS TO GET 12 TO 15 PARTICIPANTS FOR EACH OF THE 15 TOPICS.

THESE SMALL GROUP CONVERSATIONS WILL HELP ROUND OUT THE NEEDS AND GAPS ANALYSIS AND INFORM PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS.

OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, POLICY AND GOVERNANCE WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR ALL TOPICS DISCUSSED.

THE TABLE ON THE RIGHT OUTLINES THE FOCUS GROUP MEETING TOPICS, THE NUMBER OF MEETINGS ALLOCATED FOR EACH TOPIC, AND OUR ANALYSIS THAT HELPED INFORM THE MEETING ALLOCATIONS.

THIS ENGAGEMENT SERIES WILL BE LED BY PLANNING STAFF AS CONSULT CONSULTANTS, LEAD THE DEVELOPMENT OF GROWTH SCENARIOS AND THE INTEGRATION OF PLACE TYPES MAPPING.

I'M NOT SURE IF I SHOULD PAUSE HERE AND, UH, ALLOW FOR QUESTIONS OR IF WE SHOULD MOVE ON INTO, UH, ME HANDING OVER THE MIC TO A, A AECOM TO WALK US THROUGH SCENARIO PLANNING.

UM, I WOULD SAY GO AHEAD AND OKAY.

HAND IT OVER AND THEN WE WILL DO ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS WHEN HE'S DONE.

WONDERFUL.

ALRIGHT, I'LL HAND IT OVER TO AECOM.

NOT SURE IF SEAN OR, UM, AARON IS SPEAKING FIRST.

OKAY, I'LL START.

UH, HI, AARON MAY, UH, FROM AECOM.

UH, I'M THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR THIS EFFORT AND, UH, AND ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL HERE WITH ACOM.

HAPPY TO, UH, SHARE THIS MATERIAL WITH YOU.

SEAN IS GONNA GO OVER THE SCENARIO PLANNING INTRODUCTION AS HE IS LEADING THIS, UH, PORTION OF THE WORK, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO HIM.

THANKS AARON.

UH, YEAH, SO WE'LL, WE'LL QUICKLY GO THROUGH JUST THE PROCESS AND, AND HOW WE'RE ENGAGING WITH THE CITY STAFF, UM, AND THE REST OF OUR STAKEHOLDER GROUPS TO MOVE THROUGH HERE.

SO OVERALL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU AN INTRO ON WHAT SCENARIO PLANNING IS, WHAT THE PROCESS IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, THE DESIRED OUTCOMES OF THIS PROCESS, AND HOW IT FEEDS INTO THE OVERALL MASTER PLAN DOCUMENT, EXAMPLES OF SOME PREVIOUS WORK.

AND THEN, UH, THAT STEP TWO THERE IS JUST INTEGRATING WITH THE IMAGINE AUSTIN COMP PLAN UPDATE.

SO WHAT IS SCENARIO PLANNING? IF YOU'VE NOT PARTICIPATED IN THIS SORT OF EFFORT BEFORE, IT'S REALLY FOCUSING ON HOW TO ACHIEVE A DESIRED OUTCOME, UH, USING POLICY OBJECTIVES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT OUTCOME COULD BE AND TESTING WHAT THAT CAN LOOK LIKE.

UNDERSTANDING A SERIES OF OUTCOMES SCENARIOS, UH, SPECIFICALLY IN THIS CASE FOR THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT.

UH, THE WAY WE'RE GONNA GO ABOUT THAT IS LOOKING AT DIFFERENT CRITERIA, BASICALLY LOOKING AT WHAT ARE OUR OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HERE? WHAT ARE WE TESTING AGAINST? IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, THE, THE WEB DESIGN HERE ON THE RIGHT, WE'RE LOOKING AT SORT OF L ONE, L TWO ARE WHERE ARE WE GOING AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE AND HOW DOES THAT SORT OF FORM ITSELF OUT? AND TO GET THROUGH THAT PROCESS, WE LOOK AT DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF CRITERIA, POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD EMPLOYEES, NUMBER OF HOUSING UNITS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GO THROUGH THAT.

WE CONDUCT A LOT OF TECHNICAL ANALYSES, UH, GEOSPATIAL REALLY MEANING WE'RE LOOKING AT A SMALL GEOGRAPHY, TYPICALLY, UH, A PROPERTY LEVEL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE IMPACTS ARE, UH, AND WHERE WHEN WE MAKE CHANGES OR ANTICIPATED CHANGES, WE LOOK FORWARD TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT IMPACT IS GOING TO BE.

THAT'S WHERE POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS COME IN.

AS ISHA MENTIONED AND WALKED THROUGH, WE DO HAVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS A PART OF THIS PROCESS.

WE'RE UNDERSTANDING FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE AND HOW WE GET THERE.

UH, AND THAT CAN COME TO, TO FRUITION THROUGH A SERIES OF CHARETTES AND WORKSHOPS.

UH, WE ACTUALLY JUST FINISHED ONE WITH THE PLANNING TEAM LAST WEEK.

OVERALL BENEFITS, IT ALLOWS US TO TEST MULTIPLE OUTCOMES AGAINST, UM, LOCALIZED OPPORTUNITIES.

WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING IN THIS CASE ON THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT.

SO HOW ARE WE TYING THESE OUTCOMES TO WHAT'S CURRENTLY HAPPENING IN THE DISTRICT AND WHAT WE ANTICIPATE TO HAPPEN MOVING FORWARD, BUT NOT ALS NOT ONLY THERE FOR THE DISTRICT, BUT ALSO HOW DOES THAT IMPACT, UH, THE BROADER CITY AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN REGION AS A WHOLE, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE, UH, ALSO ENGAGING WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TEAM, THE IMAGINE AUSTIN TEAM, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALIGNING THERE.

AND THEN ULTIMATELY, THE OUTCOME OF THIS PROCESS IS AN IMPLEMENTATION AND TRACKING TOOL THAT ISHA HIGHLIGHTED, UH, FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE SUMMER.

[00:20:01]

SO FOR THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO USE IT FOR? UH, LIKE ISHA MENTIONED, THERE IS A SORT OF PLACE TYPES MAPPING PROCESS FOR US.

WE'RE FOCUSING ON PLACE TYPES IN A SE THROUGH A SERIES OF LAND USES, BASICALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT CHARACTER AREAS OF THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT, HOW ARE THEY, HOW DO WE ANTICIPATE THEM REMAINING THE SAME, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS, THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THE PLAN.

BUT THEN WHERE DO WE ENVISION CHANGES OCCURRING? ARE WE DEVELOPING OR DESIGNING NEW CHARACTER AREAS? ARE OTHER ONES BEING STRENGTHENED AND EXPANDED? ARE THERE ONES THAT AREN'T REALLY, UH, GOING TO CHANGE AT ALL? AND SO THROUGH THAT WE ARE ASSESSING UP TO THREE SCENARIOS TO UNDERSTAND WHERE ON THE GROUND, SORT OF AT A LOCALIZED LEVEL, CHANGES ARE GOING TO OCCUR IN THAT CHARACTER.

AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET TO THOSE UPDATED, REVISED, MAINTAINED CHARACTERS THROUGH DIFFERENT DRIVERS, WHICH LOOK LIKE POLICIES, NEW PROJECTS AT A LOCALIZED LEVEL, OR EVEN PROGRAMS, UH, TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE GET TO THOSE CHANGES LONG TERM.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO USE AND HOW IS THIS GOING TO BE HELPFUL OVERALL? SO IT'S FIRST AND FOREMOST GOING TO BUILD CONSENSUS AND ESTABLISH A UNIFIED VISION FOR THE DISTRICT.

LIKE ISHA MENTIONED, ALL THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE UP TO THIS POINT, THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT THAT NEEDS AND GAP ANALYSIS AND THE VISION AND GOALS DEFINITIONS FEED INTO THIS PROCESS.

WE'RE USING THAT TO GUIDE HOW WE UNDERSTAND AND IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SCENARIOS TO TEST, WHICH ULTIMATELY THEN WILL FEED INTO THE POLICIES, THE STRATEGIES, THE PROGRAMS, THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT GO INTO THE FINAL PLAN.

UM, WITHIN THAT WE'LL UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE CAPITAL IMPLI IMPLICATIONS OF THIS PROCESS.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE AS THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TESTING ARE LOOKING AT WHAT'S FEASIBLE, UM, MOVING FORWARD THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THIS DOCUMENT AND THE VISION FOR THIS SCENARIO.

SO UNDERSTANDING IS IT GOING TO BE DEFINABLE AND FEASIBLE, ULTIMATELY IMPLEMENTABLE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THIS PROJECT.

AND THEN ALSO JUST AS IMPORTANT, MAKING SURE WE'RE STRENGTHENING, BUILDING, UH, AND ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OUR DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDER GROUPS THAT WE'VE BEEN ENGAGING WITH THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE PROCESS, BUT ALSO IDENTIFYING NEW ONES.

WE KNOW FULL ON THAT NOT ONE DEPARTMENT, NOT ONE ENTITY, NOT ONE GROUP, NOT ONE ORGANIZATION IS GOING TO BE IN CHARGE OF DOING ALL OF THIS WORK.

IT'S GOING TO TAKE EVERYONE THAT IS A STAKEHOLDER WITHIN THE DISTRICT TO COME TOGETHER AND MAKE THIS HAPPEN AS WE IDENTIFY THIS VISION MOVING FORWARD.

SO THIS PROCESS IS REALLY SET UP TO ALSO STRENGTHEN THOSE CONNECTIONS AND GET PEOPLE INVOLVED AND INVESTED NOW SO THAT AS THE PLAN BECOMES ADOPTED, AND THEN ULTIMATELY WE MOVE INTO IMPLEMENTATION, THEY'RE READY TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING, UH, WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ACTUALIZE WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING AND PUTTING FORWARD.

UNDERSTANDING AND BRAINSTORMING TRENDS.

SO QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS.

UH, WE HAVE THREE PHASES OF THIS SCENARIO PLANNING APPROACH, WHICH IS ONE TASK.

UH, THE FIRST PHASE IS REALLY UNDERSTANDING THREE MAIN THINGS, ESTABLISHING THE BASELINE, DEFINING THE TIMEFRAME, AND UNDERSTANDING FUTURE TRENDS.

THE INTRO TO THE COMMUNITY PIECE IS SORT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW.

WE'RE PUSHING THIS FORWARD.

UH, ESTABLISHING THE BASELINE IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS OUR STARTING POINT, WHERE ARE WE EVALUATING THE SCENARIOS FROM.

FOR US, IT'S GOING TO BE 2025.

UH, THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE DATA FOR, WHICH IS A KEY PART OF THIS TECHNICAL ANALYSIS IN THE MIDDLE PHASE.

SO OUR BASELINE, OUR START YEAR IS 2025.

UH, OUR TIMEFRAME IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO, WHAT IS THE SCENARIO EVALUATING LONG TERM.

UH, AND SO WE'VE ESTABLISHED THAT WE'RE LOOKING, YOU KNOW, 15 YEARS OUT.

UH, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON DEFINING THE INCREMENTS OF THAT EVALUATION, BUT ULTIMATELY THIS IS A, A 15 YEAR PROGRAM THAT WE'RE EVALUATING THROUGH THESE SCENARIOS.

UH, WE WORKED THROUGH WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT TEAM LAST WEEK.

UH, AARON AND I AND A COUPLE OF OUR OTHER COLLEAGUES WERE THERE, UH, FOR A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS WITH THOSE FOLKS.

IT'S REALLY ABOUT UNDERSTANDING WHERE DO WE INITIALLY SEE THESE SCENARIOS COMING FROM AND WHERE DO WE SEE THE DISTRICT GOING.

SO WE HELD A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS TO REALLY START TO DEFINE WHAT WE THINK THESE POTENTIAL SCENARIOS COULD BE AND HOW WE MOVE THROUGH THAT PROCESS TO THEN GET TO TESTING THEM, UH, AS POTENTIAL OUTCOMES.

PHASE TWO IS THE TECHNICAL WORK.

IT'S TAKING ALL OF THAT PREEMPTIVE STUFF WE DID IN PHASE ONE, DOING A LOT OF MATH AND APPLYING IT THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WOULD BE THE POTENTIAL OUTCOMES OF THOSE TRENDS.

THE SCENARIOS THAT WE BRAINSTORM INITIALLY, WHAT IS, WHAT IS A CHANGE TO A LAND USE IN ONE AREA MEAN TO A POTENTIAL CHANGE

[00:25:01]

TO ANOTHER LAND USE OR TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT IN ANOTHER PART OF THE DISTRICT? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MAINTAIN CERTAIN THINGS? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO IMPROVE OR EXPAND ON TRANSPORTATION ASSETS, UH, AND INFRASTRUCTURE, DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, THROUGHOUT THAT PART OF THE PROCESS, WE'LL CONTINUE TO ENGAGE WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE IMPLEMENTATION IMPLICATIONS ARE.

UH, AND THROUGH THAT WE'LL DEVELOP A SERIES OF, UH, KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND METRICS TO TEST WHAT THOSE OUTCOMES LOOK LIKE.

WHAT IS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HOUSING UNITS POTENTIALLY THAT WILL BE ADDING, UM, OR ALTERING WITHIN THE DISTRICT IF WE'RE LOOKING AT A SPECIFIC SCENARIO VERSUS NEW JOBS THAT COME WITH NEW NON-RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT.

AS WE EVALUATE THOSE PIECES THROUGH THAT EFFORT.

IN PHASE TWO, WHEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT THREE SCENARIOS THAT WE WILL WHITTLE DOWN TO ONE, UH, ONE PREFERRED SCENARIO THAT FOCUSES ON THE IDEAL DESIRED OUTCOME FOR THE DISTRICT, WE'LL DO SOME FINAL CLEANUP AND TESTING OF THAT SCENARIO.

AND WITHIN THAT PROCESS TO THEN DELIVER, UH, AN ARC GS URBAN MODEL, WHICH IS A VISUALIZATION TOOL, A 3D MODEL, UH, THAT WILL FEED INTO THE CITY'S EXISTING MODELING ASSETS TO UNDERSTAND HERE'S WHAT THE LONG-TERM VISION OF THE DISTRICT LOOKS LIKE IN A 3D ENVIRONMENT AND WHAT THOSE IMPLICATIONS ARE WITH THOSE KPIS AND METRICS.

AS A PART OF THAT, WE WILL ALSO HAVE, UM, A GUIDEBOOK FOR PLANNING DEPARTMENT STAFF TO BE ABLE TO UPDATE THAT MODEL POST THE LIFE OF THIS PROJECT.

SO ONCE WE ARE ALL DONE, THE PLAN IS ADOPTED, UH, CITY STAFF WILL STILL BE ABLE TO UPDATE AND REVISE THIS MODEL, THIS TOOL LONG TERM AS CHANGE CONTINUES TO OCCUR WITHIN THE DISTRICT.

SO IT'S INTENDED TO BE A LIFELONG SORT OF IMPLEMENTATION TOOL FOR THE STAFF TO USE EVEN PAST THE LIFE OF THIS PLAN ITSELF, SO THAT IT'S CONTINUING TO BE UPDATED WITH WHAT'S ACTUALLY FEASIBLE AND WHAT'S ACTUALLY ON THE GROUND.

I SORT OF WALKED THROUGH THIS SO WE CAN GO THROUGH THIS QUICKLY.

PHASE ONE, WE'VE SORT OF MADE IT THROUGH ALREADY.

WE'VE GOT OUR BASELINE, WE'VE DEFINED OUR TIMEFRAME OUT 15 YEARS.

WE'VE MOVED THROUGH THIS WORKSHOP, UH, WITH THE CITY STAFF, UH, WHICH WE'VE ALREADY CONDUCTED LAST WEEK.

UH, THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN A ROOM WITH US THAT I THINK THEY OVERALL ENJOYED.

THEY GOT TO MARK UP SOME MAPS, DRAFT SOME NARRATIVES, AND REALLY CONNECT TOGETHER ON WHAT THE VISIONS MIGHT BE FOR THE CITY OR SORRY FOR THE DISTRICT AS WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.

SO WE CONDUCTED THAT KICKOFF WORKSHOP AND HAVE STARTED TO DEFINE THOSE PHASE TWO ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS, LIKE IAN SAID.

SO THE MIDDLE PHASE, UH, IS WHAT WE'RE MOVING INTO NOW.

THAT'S WHERE WE GET INTO THAT DETAILED TECHNICAL ANALYSIS.

WE'VE WORKED WITH, UH, THE DATA TEAMS THERE AT THE CITY TO UNDERSTAND THE DATA THAT'S AVAILABLE.

WE'RE BUILDING OUT A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UM, PARCEL BASED MAPPING APPLICATIONS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE IMPLE IMPLEMENTATION IMPLICATIONS ARE GOING TO BE SO THAT WE CAN START EVALUATING THE SCENARIOS THEMSELVES.

SO THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS, WE'RE GOING TO BE CONTINUALLY CONNECTING WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT FOLKS WITH ISHA AND CHRIS AND THEIR TEAM TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE TESTING AND EVALUATING CHANGES TO THE DISTRICT, UH, AND HOW, WHAT THOSE OUTCOMES LOOK LIKE, WHICH ONES ARE MOST IDEAL, WHICH ONES ARE LESS IDEAL, HOW DO WE WANNA MANIPULATE THOSE AND MAKE THEM ALIGN, YOU KNOW, WITH LONG-TERM VISION MOVING FORWARD.

AGAIN, GOING BACK TO REALLY THE VISION AND GOALS AND THEN ADDRESSING THE OUTCOMES IDENTIFIED IN THE NEEDS AND GAPS ANALYSIS, MAKING SURE WE'RE TOUCHING ON THE ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT NEED TO BE CAPITALIZED UPON.

NEXT SLIDE, THEN THAT WRAP UP PHASE, LIKE I SAID, WE WILL GET DOWN TO A SINGULAR PREFERRED SCENARIO.

WE'LL MOVE THAT OUT SORT OF THROUGH THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING, UM, WHERE THE DRIVERS OF CHANGE ARE GOING TO COME FROM.

WHAT POLICIES WILL HELP US ACTUALIZE THIS PREFERRED SCENARIO.

WHAT PROGRAMS DO WE NEED TO START IMPLEMENTING TO UNDERSTAND THE CHANGES THAT ARE GOING TO HAPPEN, UM, THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT, THE STRENGTHS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BUILD UPON, UH, AND THEN WHAT PROJECTS ARE WE ANTICIPATING, UH, MOVING FORWARD TO AGAIN, GET TO THIS SORT OF DESIRED VISION, UM, AND SERIES OF GOALS THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.

THE ECONOMY FOR THE REGION, UH, BUT FOR TRANSPORTATION, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE, ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CITY OVERALL? YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OF THE DISTRICT, WE HAVE THIS VISION THAT'S GOING TO MOVE LONG TERM, BUT LIKE I MENTIONED, UM, THE DISTRICT AND LIKE ISHA MENTIONED, WE SORT OF DEFINED, YOU KNOW, THE DISTRICT AS THE HEART OF THE CITY, WHICH MEANS IT'S GOING TO HAVE IMPACTS NOT ONLY FOR THE DISTRICT ITSELF, BUT ALL THE NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS AND OTHER ONES ADJACENT AND THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE CITY, AS WELL AS REGIONALLY IT'S A DRIVER, UM, NOT ONLY OF

[00:30:01]

AND THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE RIPPLE EFFECTS IN MAKING SURE THEY ALIGN.

SO IT'LL SERVE NOT ONLY AS THE PHASE VISION FOR THE DISTRICT, BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDING WHAT IMPLICATIONS ARE GONNA HAPPEN MOVING FORWARD, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND HOW DO WE START TO PLAN FOR THOSE AND AGAIN, INTEGRATE WITH, UH, THE LARGER IMAGINE AUSTIN UPDATE EFFORT.

SO REALLY QUICKLY, UH, AN EXAMPLE PROJECT THAT WE DID RECENTLY THAT ALIGNS WITH THIS SAME SCENARIO PLANNING EFFORT WAS DONE FOR ST.

LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI.

UM, WE LOOKED AT THEIR, WE WORKED ON THEIR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, UM, AND THEY ALSO HAD A VERY EXTENSIVE SCENARIO PLANNING PROCESS.

UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS MUCH LONGER TERM THAN WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT.

THAT'S BY DEFINITION WE'RE LOOKING AT A SMALLER AREA AND FOCUSED ON MORE PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT CHANGE.

WHEREAS FOR A A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, A LONGER TERM EFFORT, WE'RE LOOKING AT A LONGER HORIZON.

SO THERE'S GONNA BE SOME DIFFERENCES THERE.

THE ALIGNED OUTCOMES IS REALLY PARTNERSHIP CREATION, STRENGTHENING AND DEVELOPMENT, LIKE I MENTIONED, SIMILAR TO THIS EFFORT.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE THE FOLKS THAT ARE GOING TO BE LEADING IMPLEMENTATION OF DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THIS PLAN AND OF THIS PROCESS ARE MOVING ALONG AND HELPING DEFINE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FROM THE BEGINNING.

SO WE'VE BEEN ENGAGING THEM, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE ENGAGING THEM, WE'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION WITH YOU ALL NOW.

IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE ONCE WE MOVE IN AND THROUGH ADOPTION.

UM, AS WELL, PROCESS-WISE, IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME.

WE'RE DOING A LARGE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS.

WE'RE DEVELOPING METRICS AND KPIS FOR IMPLEMENTATION TRACKING, YOU KNOW, ONCE THIS PLAN IS ADOPTED AND WE START TO IMPLEMENT WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY RECOMMENDING AND THEN CONTINUING TO HAVE TOUCH POINTS WITH OUR COLLABORATORS, UM, AND FOLKS OVERALL.

THESE WE CAN GO THROUGH QUICKLY.

UM, ISHA OR CHRIS, IF YOU JUST WANNA FLIP THROUGH 'EM REALLY FAST, THESE WERE THE, THE SORT OF FIVE KEY, UH, ISSUES THAT WE WERE BUILDING FROM FOR THE SCENARIOS IN ST.

LOUIS COUNTY.

IT WAS POPULATION STAGNATION, COST, BURDEN OF INFRASTRUCTURE, POP.

OH YEP.

JOB SKILLS, MISMATCH, LACK OF HOUSING, DIVERSITY AND AFFORDABILITY, SAME THING TWICE.

AND THEN SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, VULNERABILITY.

SO FOR US, FOR ST.

LOUIS COUNTY, THESE ARE SORT OF THE FIVE KEY THEMES THAT THEY WANTED TO ADDRESS WITHIN THE VISION.

THIS IS WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT, UM, MAKING SURE WE WERE ASSESSING AND EVALUATING AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE SCENARIO PLANNING PROCESS IN, UH, ST.

LOUIS COUNTY.

SAME THING HERE IN AUSTIN.

WE HAVE, UH, THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT, WHICH IDENTIFIED INITIAL ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT NEEDS GAP ANALYSIS DOVE INTO MORE DETAIL AND IS DEFINING WHAT OUR SORT OF PRIORITY ISSUES ARE HERE FOR THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT.

SO PROCESS WISE, IT TAKES POLICY INTO PLANNING THROUGH THE SCENARIOS AND THEN FINAL OUTCOMES AND MEASUREMENT FOR TRACKING.

SO IN ST.

LOUIS, LIKE I, LIKE WE SHOWED YOU, WE HAD SORT OF THE FIVE KEY ISSUES, THE FIVE KEY POLICY THEMES THAT WERE ALSO DIVIDED INTO FIVE MAIN PLANNING AREAS.

THEY'RE SIMILAR HERE.

THEY'RE THINGS LIKE HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, PARKS AND OPEN SPACE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMY, THINGS LIKE THAT ARE, ARE SORT OF BUCKETS THAT WE WORK WITHIN, TYPICALLY WITHIN A, UH, MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.

UH, THE LAND USE SCENARIOS ARE EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE WENT THROUGH.

YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

YEAH.

UM, OUR EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE WENT THROUGH WITH THE COUNTY.

SO WE STARTED INITIALLY WITH EIGHT WHITTLED DOWN TO ONE, WHICH IS TRANSIT ORIENTED COUNTY.

ONE THING I WANNA POINT OUT ON THIS SLIDE IS YOU'LL SEE THERE FOR NUMBER ONE IT SAYS, UH, SMART WITH CROSS THROUGH SHRINKING AND THEN TRADE-OFFS.

THAT IS TO REALLY SIGNIFY THE ITERATIVE NATURE OF THIS SCENARIO PLANNING PROCESS.

WHEN WE FIRST STARTED TAKING A LOOK AT SCENARIOS IN THE COUNTY, IT WAS INITIALLY CALLED SMART SHRINKING.

THEY WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENS IF THE COUNTY EARNS TOWARD DECLINE INSTEAD OF GROWTH, UM, OR STABILIZATION.

SO WE WERE LOOKING AT WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY LOSE A QUARTER OF THEIR POPULATION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

BUT RATHER AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS PROCESS, IT BECAME LESS ABOUT OVERALL SHRINKING AND MORE TOWARDS TRADE-OFFS OF WHAT WAS, WHAT'S A PRIORITY TO MAINTAIN IF SOME SORT OF LOSS IS TO OCCUR, AND HOW DO WE PRIORITIZE THAN THE DRIVERS, THE POLICIES, PROGRAMS, PROJECTS TO GET TO THE MOST EFFECTIVE, UH, TRADE OFF COMPONENTS IN THAT COMMUNITY.

AND THAT'S THE SAME THING THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH, UH, WITH SIA AND CHRIS AND THEIR TEAM

[00:35:01]

RIGHT NOW.

UH, THE MAPPING EXERCISE HERE IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF MOVING THROUGH THIS PHASE.

SO WE ACTUALLY CONDUCTED THIS EXACT EXERCISE LAST THURSDAY WITH THE PLANNING TEAM.

IT'S TAKING THE INITIAL NARRATIVES AND UNDERSTANDING WHERE, IN THIS CASE, THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY THEY WERE GOING TO BE ACTUALIZED.

WHAT CHANGES WERE WE LOOKING TO SEE AND WHERE WOULD THAT ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY PLAY OUT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY? WE CONDUCTED THE SAME EXERCISE, UH, WITH THE TEAM, LIKE I SAID LAST WEEK, TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT CHANGES ARE WE INITIALLY ENVISIONING THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT, AND WHERE DOES A CHANGE IN ONE PART OCCUR AND IT'S DIFFERENT OR THE SAME IN ANOTHER PART OF THE DISTRICT, AND WHAT ARE THOSE SORT OF SUB AREAS LOOK LIKE AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS PROCESS.

SO THE FINAL SCENARIO WE LANDED ON FOR ST.

LOUIS COUNTY WAS THE TRANSIENT TRANSIT ORIENTED COUNTY SCENARIO.

UM, THE REASON WE WENT TO THAT IS NOT ONLY BECAUSE, UH, TRANSIT AND TRANSPORTATION WERE A KEY FACTOR, UM, AN ISSUE WITHIN OUR INITIAL WORK, BUT ALSO WE BUILT THE DRIVERS OF CHANGE AROUND TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.

UH, LOOKING AT A BROADER SCALE, UM, TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT IS DIFFERENT AT A COUNTY LEVEL THAN IT IS AT A CITY LEVEL OR EVEN AT A DISTRICT LEVEL.

SO WHAT THEN DO WE NEED TO IDENTIFY TO ALIGN WITH THOSE? AND THIS DIAGRAM BASICALLY FEEDS INTO HOW THIS PROCESS GOES FROM AN INITIAL SCENARIO AT THE TOP TO MAIN POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE KEY DRIVERS OF CHANGE INTO IMPLEMENTABLE METRICS MOVING FORWARD THAT WE CAN TRACK SORT OF WITH THE TOOLS THAT WE'RE BUILDING.

AND HOW DID THOSE THEN ALIGN WITHIN THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE, NOT ONLY PRIOR TO THE PLANNING PROJECT IN AND OF ITSELF, BUT ALSO THE THINGS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE PREVIOUS STEPS.

SO CATEGORIZING BY PLANNING TOPIC, UNDERSTANDING WHO OUR STAKEHOLDERS ARE AND WHO'S GONNA BE TAKING CHARGE OF CERTAIN IMPLEMENTATION, UH, COMPONENTS BASED ON THEIR REALM OF EXPERTISE.

ARE YOU AN ECONOMIC LEADER? ARE YOU WORKING IN THE HOUSING SPACE? DO YOU FOCUS MORE ON REAL ESTATE AND DEVELOPMENT? ARE YOU IN OPEN SPACE AND ENVIRONMENT? DO YOU FOCUS MORE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE? DEFINING OUR POLICIES AND OUR METRICS WITHIN THOSE FRAMEWORKS HELPED US NOT ONLY UNDERSTAND WHO COULD BE LEADING WHAT, BUT WHO SHOULD OUR PRIORITY PARTNERS BE AND HOW CAN WE ENGAGE WITH THEM THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS TO, AGAIN, MAKE SURE THEY WERE AWARE OF WHAT WE'RE PUTTING FORWARD, THAT THEY'RE DEFINING WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, KNOWING THE WORK THAT THEY'RE ALREADY DOING AND FUTURE WORK THAT THEY'RE ANTICIPATING, BUT ALSO SO THAT THEY COULD TAKE SOME OWNERSHIP, UM, AND EMPOWER THEIR CONSTITUENTS, THEIR COMMUNITIES, THEIR TEAMS TO TAKE THIS ON AS WELL.

TO BE INVOLVED THROUGHOUT THE, THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ADOPTION OF THIS PLAN.

THE POLICY THEMES IS THE SAME THING.

WHAT ARE OUR KEY ISSUES AND HOW ARE WE GETTING TO ADDRESSING THEM WITH OUR KEY THEMES? WHAT ARE OUR PRIORITIES FOR THIS PLAN OR THIS DOCUMENT? AND HOW DO, HOW DOES THE SCENARIO AND THE DESIRED OUTCOME GET TO THOSE PIECES? SO IT ALL SORT OF FUNNELS BACK DOWN, BUT THEN YOU CAN EXPAND IT OUT TO FOCUS ON WHATEVER TOPIC THAT YOU ARE, UH, WORKING WITHIN THAT YOU ARE MOST INTERESTED IN, WHAT HAVE YOU.

UM, IT'S A, IT'S A GOOD WAY TO SPLIT IT UP TO UNDERSTAND HOLISTICALLY WHAT AN IMPACT IS, BUT ALSO IF YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON ONE COMPONENT, ON ONE POLICY RECOMMENDATION ON ONE KEY ACTION ITEM, YOU CAN FUNNEL AND FIGURE THAT OUT AS WELL.

UH, THE POLICY THEMES HERE, UM, JUST IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL FOR THEM WERE INCLUSIVE ECONOMIES, COMPLETE COMMUNITIES, SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE, RESPONSIBLE GROWTH, AND LEADING THE REGION.

BECAUSE THIS WAS MORE OF A REGIONAL PLAN, WE HAD THESE THEMES THAT FOCUS BROADLY ON IMPACTING DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOWNS, CITIES, UH, WARDS, DISTRICTS ACROSS THE BOARD SO THAT THEY COULD COLLECTIVELY WORK TOWARDS THE SAME END GOALS.

AND WE COULD FORMALIZE THEM IN A WAY THAT EVEN IF ONE RECOMMENDATION DIDN'T DIRECTLY APPLY TO, UH, THEIR SCALE OR THEIR COMMUNITY, OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS WOULD AND WOULD STILL WORK TOWARDS THESE SAME KEY POLICY THEMES.

OF A HOUSING PROJECT, WHAT IS THAT IMPLICATION, UH, GOING TO BE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND OVERALL REAL ESTATE? HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE ARE AND WORK TOGETHER TO REACH A SIMILAR GOAL AND OUTCOME TO MAXIMIZE THE BENEFITS OF ONE PROJECT ACROSS ALL OTHERS? NEXT SLIDE.

CO-BENEFITS.

SO THIS IS UNDERSTANDING THAT WE DON'T ALL WORK IN SILOS.

WE HAVE TO WORK COOPERATIVELY TO MOVE THE NEEDLE FORWARD.

AND THIS WAS A DEFINITION, A DIAGRAM OF HOW THE TYPICAL PLANNING THEMES, THE TOPIC AREAS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, HOUSING, LAND, TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE, OPEN AND SPACE AND ENVIRONMENT FIT WITHIN THE KEY THEMES THAT WE DEFINE FOR THAT PLAN.

SO REALLY IS UNDERSTANDING THE OVERLAPS NOT ONLY IN THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE, BUT ALSO THE CO-BENEFITS OF WHAT THOSE OUTCOMES ARE.

IF A CHANGE IS BEING MADE TO, UM, A NEW BUSINESS OR DEVELOPMENT

[00:40:01]

I THINK WITH THAT, WE'RE THERE FOR QUESTIONS.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

I CAN, I KNOW THAT I THINK IN OUR NEXT PHASE HERE, THE KPIS ARE GOING TO BE REALLY CRITICAL AND THE METRICS ARE GONNA BE REALLY CRITICAL, SO I'M GONNA BE VERY INTERESTED TO SEE THOSE.

UM, I'M GOING TO ASK IF THERE'S ANYBODY, ANY QUESTIONS ON THE COMMISSION.

THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING THAT EXAMPLE OF THE OTHER PROJECT.

YEAH, THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL.

, I DO, UH, QUESTION.

OKAY, GO AHEAD.

UM, IN HEARING THE VISION STATEMENT AGAIN AND THE GOALS, UM, AND I, I THINK I RECALL THAT YOU SAID IN PHASE ONE, ONE OF THE EMPHASIS, ONE OF THE ES THAT CAME OUT OF PHASE ONE WAS, UM, MOD MOBILITY AND MULTIMODAL MOBILITY.

AND I THINK HE EVEN MENTIONED, UM, WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T REMEMBER SEEING THAT IN THE VISION STATEMENT OR IN THE GOALS AS FAR AS IT BEING, UM, YOU KNOW, WALKABLE.

I DID, YOU DID SAY COMPACT AND CONNECTED, BUT I DON'T THINK EITHER ONE OF THEM SAID WALKABLE.

IS THAT BECAUSE OF SOME EVALUATION OF THE NATURE OF THAT DISTRICT? I THINK WHAT WE EMPHASIZE IS MULTIMODAL CONNECTIVITY THAT'S LIKE RELIABLE, COMFORTABLE.

AND, AND SO IN THAT RESPECT, WE'RE THINKING MANY DIFFERENT MODES AND WALKING IS ONE OF THOSE MODES.

SO WE DON'T CALL OUT SPECIFICALLY WALKABLE, BUT, BUT INSTEAD EMBRACE ALL MODES AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, SUPPORTING ALL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION.

WELL, YOU SHOULD KEEP IN MIND THAT AND IMAGINE AUSTIN AND STUFF IN THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

WALKABILITY WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR THINGS.

SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A LITTLE BIT OF MORE EMPHASIS ON THIS IN THE FINAL REPORT.

THANK YOU, UH, DAVID.

JOBS, GROCERY STORES, PARKS, UM, THE, THE, THE PREFERRED MODE IS WALKING.

UH, I HAVE A QUESTION.

COULD YOU ELABORATE MORE ON THE FOCUS GROUPS AND HOW THOSE ARE GOING TO BE FORMED? AND YOU KNOW, YOU, IT LISTS, UH, SIX, BUT IT SAYS THERE'LL BE 15 FOCUS GROUPS.

SO COULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE MORE? UM, SO 15 FOCUS GROUPS.

UH, WE WERE GONNA HAVE 15 FOCUS GROUPS IN THE THREE DIFFERENT SUB AREAS THAT MAKE UP THE FULL DISTRICT.

UM, AND THE KIND OF SUB AREA SPECIFICITY AND FOCUS GROUPS WAS TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ENGAGED PEOPLE AS A WHOLE DISTRICT, THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE DISTRICT, BUT ALSO WANTED TO, UM, MESSAGE AND, AND, UM, UH, HONORED THAT THEY'RE ALSO, THESE AREAS HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS AS WELL.

AND SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT THE, THE FOCUS GROUPS WERE ABOUT IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GENERAL TOPICS, UH, FOR, UM, THINGS THAT THE ENTIRE DISTRICT NEEDS, BUT THEN THOSE FOCUS GROUPS WOULD ALLOW US TO TALK ABOUT, UM, A SUB AREA SPECIFIC NEEDS.

ARE THOSE THOSE GROUPS BEING FORMED AHEAD OF THOSE EVENTS OR THEY'RE JUST HAPPENING AT THE EVENT? UH, THEY WOULD BE FORMED.

SO WE WOULD, UH, PUT OUT LIKE A SIGNUP FORM AND WE WOULD CONDUCT A, A ROBUST OUTREACH.

SO AT LEAST A FEW WEEKS, UM, INTO A MONTH OF OUTREACH TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GET, GET OUT THERE AND, AND LET FOLKS KNOW THAT THE FOCUS GROUP OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE.

COMMISSIONER W UM, YES, WELL, CONTINUING ON THE WALKABILITY THEME.

UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU BOTH FOR COMING OUT TODAY.

REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

GOOD TO SEE YOU.

UM, SO THERE'S BEEN A FAIR AMOUNT OF WORK TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, IMAGINE AUSTIN AND HOW THAT APPLIES TODAY AND HOW WE COULD KIND OF USE THAT, UM, TO HELP INFORM THIS EXERCISE.

AND, AND SO PART OF THE CONCLUSION IS THAT IT'S PRETTY CLEAR THAT IN IMAGINE AUSTIN, THE INTENT IS TO PRIORITIZE IN THIS ORDER.

UM, WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT ACCESS TO, TO DIFFERENT THINGS IN THE COMMUNITY, UM,

[00:45:01]

SO, SO THE FIRST AREA, THE HIGHEST PRIORITY IS WALKING.

THE SECOND IS BICYCLES.

UM, THE THIRD WOULD BE PUBLIC TRANSIT.

AND THEN BEYOND THAT, YOU'D START TO GET INTO SUPPORTING CARS, I GUESS.

UM, AND, AND SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CURRENT CONDITIONS RELATED TO THAT, UH, SITTING HERE LAST NIGHT, UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTED THE FIRST, UH, BUILDING OVER 400 FOOT TALL IN, UM, ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF DOWNTOWN, WHICH IS A VERY, VERY BIG CHANGE FROM WHAT THE CURRENT CONDITIONS WOULD LOOK LIKE.

IF YOU WERE GOING BACK TO 2025 WHEN WE WERE DEBATING UNO, BUT DIDN'T CONCLUDE ANYTHING, I, I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW YOU, WE HAD A LOT OF DEBATES THAT DIDN'T CONCLUDE, AND SO I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT THE CURRENT, UM, CONDITIONS ARE THAT YOU WOULD BE LOOKING AT AT THAT POINT.

UM, YEAH, IT'S, SO I THINK THAT THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A COMMENT, BUT, BUT RELATED TO THAT, THERE WAS, UM, ALSO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL, WHEN WE DID THE DAP THE LAST TIME, THERE WAS A DISTRICT REFERRED TO AS JUDGES HILL THAT'S IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER, UM, THAT WAS, HAD GONE THROUGH A DECADE LONG CONSIDERATION AND DEBATE ON WHETHER TO IMPLEMENT A LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT.

AND, AND AFTER THREE DIFFERENT MAPS AND, AND, UM, THAT EFFORT WAS FINALLY ABANDONED SO THAT THIS NEW 433 FOOT BUILDING IS ACTUALLY GOING UP ON THE, THE EDGE OF THAT DISTRICT.

SO I, I JUST, I, I'M TRYING TO PROCESS ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE SEEING REAL TIME HAPPEN RELATED TO UNO AND MORE RECENTLY HERE WITH, UM, WITH THE CURRENT CONDITIONS REPORT.

SO COULD YOU KIND OF TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW WE ACTUALLY MAKE IT A CURRENT CONDITION OR LIKE WHAT, WHAT DOES IT, WHAT DOES IT MEAN? I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU WANT.

PARDON? I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.

WELL, IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT IS, IT, IS THERE GOING TO BE, IT SOUNDS LIKE I, I THINK IN, IN ONE OF YOUR CHARTS IT SAID THE BASELINE'S GONNA BE 2025 MM-HMM .

SO IN, EXCUSE ME, I'M SORRY.

BUT TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, IS THERE ANY WAY FOR THE PEOPLE ON WEBEX TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHOEVER'S TALKING? I DON'T KNOW.

YEAH, I'M, I'M, I GUESS I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, OKAY, THERE'S GONNA BE SOME POINT IN TIME FROM 2025 THAT WE'RE USING AS CURRENT CONDITIONS, BUT WITHIN THAT UNDERSTANDING, WE KNOW THAT THERE WAS A, A MAJOR REVISION TO THE UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLAY, UM, THAT WAS LOOKING AT CERTAIN SCENARIOS.

SO ARE THOSE SCENARIOS PART OF THE CONDITION OR ARE THEY JUST LOOKING AT WHAT WAS ACTUALLY IN PLACE? AND LIKEWISE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE OTHER MORE RECENT ZONING CASES THAT MAY, THAT MAY INFORM THE DIRECTION THAT THE, UH, PLANNING COMMISSION AND COUNCIL IS TRYING TO, TO LEAD US TO, AND GOING INTO THIS EXERCISE, I THINK THAT THAT'S ALL VERY IMPORTANT IS WE, WE'RE REALLY STARTING THE EXERCISE AND ALL THESE THINGS HAVE HAPPENED.

SO HOW, HOW DO WE MAKE THOSE PART OF THE CURRENT CONDITION DISCUSSION IS, IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT.

ONE THING I CAN SAY, UM, LIKE THE PARTICULAR CASE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ON WEST, UM, MLKE JUNIOR BOULEVARD, YEAH.

MM-HMM .

UM, WHILE THAT TYPE OF CASE, UM, WASN'T CAPTURED IN THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR, OUR, UH, COLLEAGUES HAVE DONE IS BROUGHT US IN ON PARTICULAR CASES LIKE THAT TO WEIGH IN.

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, HONESTLY.

SO MY TEAM WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO WEIGH IN ON THAT PARTICULAR CASE AND OUR RECOMMENDATION WAS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN, THAN WHAT WAS APPROVED.

UM, BUT UM, YEAH, SO WE ARE, WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF STAYING IN THE KNOW AND KEEPING UP WITH CURRENT, UM, KIND OF CURRENT TRENDS AS WE, AS WE THINK ABOUT SCENARIO PLANNING.

IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY A BALANCE OF, WE KNOW GROWTH IS COMING, WE KNOW IT NEEDS TO GO SOMEWHERE, BUT WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO HONOR PRESERVE AND JUST, UM, YEAH.

I WAS, IT, I WAS JUST TRYING TO, TO BRIDGE THE UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE IF, UH, IF, IF THERE'S A 200 FOOT KIND OF ASSUMPTION THAT THIS IS WHAT WE WE'RE RECOMMENDING, AND THIS IS WHERE STAFF AND STAFF IS ADVISING THE CONSULTANTS AND WE'RE USING 200 FOOT AS A BASE, AND WE FIND OUT THAT NO, IT'S ACTUALLY 433 MM-HMM .

[00:50:01]

THAT'S A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE.

YEAH.

DIFFERENCE IS, IS MY POINT.

SO, AND I KNOW IT'S ALWAYS A CHALLENGE BECAUSE THE WORLD IS CHANGING EVERY DAY AND I I DO APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, UH, SO I, I DO HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION, BUT ONE MORE , UH, YOU AT THE FLOOR, IF SOMEONE ELSE WANTS TO GO, GO AHEAD.

FIRST, IT'S, UM, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WALKING AND BIKING AND, AND TRANSIT, THAT, THAT'S ALL RELATED TO WHAT I THINK WE WOULD CONSIDER ONE OF THE, THE PRIMARY GOALS OF THE CITY, WHICH IS RELATED TO 50 50 MOAT SHARE MM-HMM .

BY 2039 MM-HMM .

AND, UM, IS THERE, IS THERE SOME KIND OF MODELING THAT THERE, THERE WAS DURING CODE NEXT A MODEL FOR, FOR DOING THAT ASSESSING IF YOU DO THIS, THIS IS WHAT THE IMPACT'S GONNA BE.

AND I, I PARTLY ASKED THAT BECAUSE, UH, ANOTHER THING THAT'S CHANGED THAT'S PUT US IN A LITTLE BIT OF A HOLE IS, UH, WE, WE HAD ANOTHER 47 ACRES UP AT THE DOMAIN THAT WERE REZONED TO BE OVER 400 FEET.

AND, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT WE DO THAT AND WE DON'T OFFSET IT DOWNTOWN, THEN, THEN ACTUALLY WE'RE GETTING FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY FROM THAT 50 50 MODE SHARE GOAL.

AND, UH, SO I DON'T KNOW IF SPECIFICALLY IT WASN'T SPECIFIC IN, IN THE MOBILITY, UM, SECTION OF THE GOALS THAT, THAT WERE ACTUALLY HONED IN ON 50 50.

AND THE MODELING FOR THAT IS, IS THAT PART OF THE DATADRIVEN WORK, OR IS IT GONNA BE MORE GENERIC? IT IS A PART OF THE DATA DRIVEN WORK AS WE THINK ABOUT KIND OF THE, UM, THE FUTURE VISION AND A NARRATIVE FOR THE SCENARIOS, UM, ONE OF THE, THE KIND OF, UH, KEY SCENARIO NARRATIVES THAT WE'VE COME UP WITH IS THAT, UM, INCREASED MODE SHARE, UM, THE KIND OF, NOT NECESSARILY A 50 50 SPLIT, BUT INCREASED MODE SHARE AND, AND INCREASE IN MULTIMODAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

GO FOR IT.

MM-HMM .

I WOULD JUST ADD, AND MAYBE SEAN FROM AECOM CAN CHIME IN, BUT ONE OF THE DRAFT SCENARIOS THAT WE WORKED ON LAST WEEK IS KIND OF A SCENARIO DRIVEN BY THAT PUSH TOWARDS GREATER MULTIMODAL ACCESS THROUGHOUT DOWNTOWN.

AND KIND OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT, AND AGAIN, SEAN CAN PROBABLY SAY THIS BETTER THAN I CAN, BUT I THINK PART OF THE VALUE OF THE WAY THEY BUILD OUT THESE SCENARIOS IS, IS TO KIND OF BE ABLE TO TEST LIKE IF WE'RE ABLE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THINGS CAN WE DO TO PUSH IT ALL THE WAY UP TO THAT 50 50 MODE SPLIT VERSUS, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS IF WE ONLY, YOU KNOW, GET PARTWAY THERE.

UM, AND SEAN MIGHT BE ABLE TO SAY A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW WE'RE ABLE TO KIND OF CALIBRATE THAT AND UNDERSTAND THE LONG-TERM IMPLICATIONS BASED ON WHAT ENDS UP TRANSPIRING.

WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN YOUR SCENARIO THREE? THAT WAS THE FOUR MULTIMODAL ONE.

UM, I, I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE IS, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF KIND OF DRAFT SCENARIOS AND THEN WE'VE BEEN GIVEN HOMEWORK BY THE CONSULTANTS TO REALLY THINK THROUGH THOSE IN DETAIL AND PROBABLY NARROW IT DOWN TO FOUR.

GOTCHA.

UM, YEAH, SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY NUMBERED YET OR ORDERED YET, BUT ONE OF THE SCENARIOS WE HAD WAS, SORRY, WAS GEARED TOWARDS, UH, A MULTIMODAL EMPHASIS.

SOUNDS GOOD.

YEAH, AND I, I CAN SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.

THANKS, CHRISTIAN SHANEA, UM, THE, THE FOCUS HERE IS REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT ARE LIKE THE HOLISTIC IMPACTS AND IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT.

AND IF WE'RE SAYING, WHICH WE ARE, YOU KNOW, INCREASE IN MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION AND ACTIVITY IS A PRIORITY, LET'S SAY FOR THE DISTRICT, THEN WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE HOLISTIC IMPACTS OF THAT ARE GOING TO BE.

SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR A JOB ACCESS PERSPECTIVE? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR A HOUSING ACCESS PERSPECTIVE AND A NEED PERSPECTIVE ON BOTH SIDES OF THOSE PARKS AND OPEN SPACE? HOW DOES THAT CHANGE THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS HOLISTICALLY THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT? SO IT'S, IT'S NOT DEFINED AS LIKE 50 50 FOR EXAMPLE.

AND THEN I WOULD, BECAUSE I THINK YOU MENTIONED THAT WAS PUSHING UP TO 2039, SO WE'RE ON DIFFERENT TIMEFRAMES HERE, AND, AND THAT NUMBER'S GONNA BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

BUT I WOULD ALSO ADD THAT WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA PUSH FOR WHAT IS, WHAT WE WOULD EVALUATE IS HIGHER THAN 50 50.

'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO TEST HERE, RIGHT? YOU WANNA REALLY LOOK AT THE EXTREMES OF WHAT THESE POSSIBILITIES ARE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S THE SWEET SPOT AND WHERE DO WE GET IN THE MIDDLE.

AND SO FROM A EVALUATION PERSPECTIVE,

[00:55:01]

WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT TRAVEL DEMAND, FOR EXAMPLE.

THAT IS, THAT'S A TRANSPORTATION MODEL THAT COMES OUT OF A MORE DETAILED TRANSPORTATION ANALYSIS.

AND I'M, I'M SURE THE TRANSPORTATION TEAM THERE AT THE CITY'S GOTTEN INTO A LOT OF THAT ALONG WITH THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.

BUT ONE OF THE HOPEFUL OUTCOMES OF THIS, UH, WILL BE HAVING SOMETHING READY FOR THE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS TO THEN MODEL AGAINST FROM THAT SORT OF DEMAND PERSPECTIVE.

MEANING ONCE WE HAVE OUR SCENARIO ESTABLISHED, RIGHT, AND WE HAVE A FULL BUILD OUT OF THE PLACE TYPES OF THE DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, RIGHT.

REALLY SAYING, THIS IS WHERE WE WANT THE DISTRICT TO GO IN THE NEXT 15 YEARS, THEN OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS CAN TAKE THAT AND RUN A MORE DETAILED MODEL ON TOP OF THIS TO UNDERSTAND, OKAY, IF WE ACTUALLY SHOW BUILD DEVELOPMENT, I THINK, UM, TO ONE OF THE COMMISSIONER'S POINTS, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 200 FEET VERSUS 400, WHAT'S THAT DIFFERENCE AND HOW IS THAT, HOW DO WE ANTICIPATE THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT TRAVEL OVERALL? AND SO THAT KIND OF HITS TO BOTH POINTS OF WE WANNA EVALUATE THE EXTREMES AND FIND A SWEET SPOT, BUT THEN ONCE THAT'S ESTABLISHED WITH OUR BASELINE, WHAT IS THAT DIFFERENCE? AND THEN HOW DOES THAT PLAY IN WITH OUR COLLABORATORS, OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY WITHIN THE DISTRICT SPECIFICALLY, BUT THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND THEN AGAIN THROUGHOUT THE REGION TO UNDERSTAND HERE'S WHAT'S GONNA BE DRIVING, UH, THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT, BUT THEN HERE'S WHAT THE IMPACTS ARE GONNA BE FARTHER OUT, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE REGION AND HOW WE'RE REALIGNING AND COLLABORATING TO SORT OF BENEFIT TOGETHER.

GOING BACK TO SOME OF THOSE CO-BENEFITS EXAMPLES OF WHERE THIS REALLY MOVES THE NEEDLE FORWARD FOR EVERYONE.

SO WE'RE ALL IN ALIGNMENT AND ALL WORKING TOWARDS THE SAME OUTCOMES.

SO I WOULD, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE 20 39, 50 50 MIGHT BE A LITTLE SHY FOR WHAT WE WANNA EVALUATE HERE, JUST TO UNDERSTAND AGAIN, WHAT THOSE EXTREMES LOOK LIKE.

AND I, I WAS JUST TRYING TO WEAVE ALL THESE THINGS TOGETHER JUST BECAUSE IT'S FRESH AND THE DISCUSSION WAS RELATED TO, IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY A, UH, SINGLE STORY BUILDING THAT'S, THEY'RE ALLOWED TO GO UP TO 120 FEET, SO THE CURRENT CONDITIONS WOULD BE 120.

UH, AND THE PROPOSAL OR THE STAFF SUPPORTED 200 AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION 4 33.

AND THE REASON FOR THAT WAS BECAUSE OF THE WALKABILITY, UH, TO, UH, TO THE TWO BIGGEST JOB CENTERS, UM, IN THE, IN THE CENTER, WHICH IS THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND THE CAPITAL COMPLEX.

AND, UH, WITH THAT, I THINK I'M THROUGH WITH MY COMMENTS, AND AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TONIGHT.

APPRECIATE IT AS ALWAYS.

WOULD ANYBODY ELSE LIKE TO COMMENT? I'M JUST GOING TO REITERATE THAT WE NEED TO TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY THAT WE DON'T UP ZONE THE DOMAIN BEYOND DOWNTOWN BECAUSE IT WILL DRAW A WEIGHT AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN.

ABSOLUTELY.

UH, DAVID, THANK YOU.

IT'S JUST A, A COMMENT, UH, TO, UH, I WOULD REALLY URGE YOU TO BE, I REALIZE THESE, THESE GOALS SAY DRAFT GOALS, BUT TO BE VERY THOUGHTFUL WITH THE LANGUAGE THAT IS USED ON THESE FINAL GOALS, TO THE POINT WHERE YOU MIGHT EVEN HAVE TO DEFINE SOME OF THESE TERMS. BECAUSE WHEN I SEE SOMETHING VAGUE LIKE EXISTING NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER, IT MAKES ME CRINGE BECAUSE THAT IS A TERM THAT HAS BEEN USED IN AUSTIN, SPECIFICALLY HISTORICALLY AS AN EXCLUSIONARY TOOL TO OPPOSE ANYTHING THAT SOMEONE MIGHT NOT LIKE, UM, AND COULD ACTUALLY GO AGAINST THE ACTUAL GOAL ITSELF.

AND SO I WOULD JUST CAUTION ON SOME OF THESE TERMS THAT YOU'RE USING BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL POINT TO IT LATER, UH, AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, INTERPRET IT HOW THEY SEE FIT.

SO, AND I WOULD SECOND THAT.

I'VE SEEN THE SAME THING HAPPEN.

ALRIGHT, WELL, IF WE HAVE NO FURTHER COMMENTS, UM, THEN I'M GONNA LET YOU GO AND HAVE A NICE EVENING.

AND I REALLY WANNA THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THIS WAS REALLY HELPFUL.

THE PRESENTATION WAS GREAT, AND, UM, YOU GAVE US ALL A LOT TO THINK ABOUT.

SO THANK YOU.

ON TO OUR FINAL ISSUE IS OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATION THAT I BROUGHT BACK TO THE COMMISSION, UM, OPENING IT UP FOR DISCUSSION.

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

THANK YOU ALL.

THANKS ALL.

OKAY, AND MOVING

[3. Approve budget recommendations for the City of Austin FY2026-27 budget. ]

ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS? I'LL JUST OFFER THAT.

UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DOWNTOWN SAFETY AND CULTURE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK CERTAINLY YOU GUYS HEARD

[01:00:01]

ME, UH, PRESENT ABOUT THIS LAST YEAR, BUT I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF ELEMENTS HERE THAT, UH, ARE PRETTY GROUNDBREAKING AND PRETTY VITAL, UH, TO PRESERVING, UH, ARTS AND CULTURE DOWNTOWN.

UM, AND, UH, I'M JUST REALLY HONORED TO HAVE WORKED ON THIS WITH, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, LEVINSON, UH, SHIVER.

ISHMAEL, THANK YOU FOR, UH, THE WORK HERE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, WORK TO GET THIS, UH, PUSHED FORWARD, I THINK THAT WE CAN REALLY MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE, UH, IN TERMS OF SAFETY FOR MUSICIANS, UH, AND SERVICE INDUSTRY WORKERS DOWNTOWN AS WELL.

SO, WELL, UM, IF EVERYBODY'S READ IT, I WOULD CERTAINLY MOVE TO ADOPT IT.

I'LL SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.

AYE.

ANY OPPOSED? WELL, THERE YOU HAVE A UNANIMOUS RECOMMENDATION.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, FINAL THING,

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. SO IS THERE ANYTHING ANYBODY WANTS TO GO AHEAD AND GET ON THE FUTURE AGENDA? MS. HOUSTON? I WILL HAVE A REPORT FROM ARTS ON THE, THE CULTURAL FUNDING, UH, FOR APRIL FINAL, FINAL PROGRAMS. I'LL HAVE THAT REPORT IN APRIL.