Apr 01, 2026 Historic Landmark

THE, UM, OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, WE WILL BEGIN WITH

[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ]

DO WE HAVE ANYONE WHO HAS SIGNED UP, ANY GENERAL SPEAKERS TO COMMENT ON ITEMS THAT ARE NOT POSTED FOR CURRENT DISCUSSION ON THE AGENDA? YES.

WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER SIGNED UP AND THAT IS MEGAN KING NOMORE.

OKAY, MS. KING.

HI, GOOD EVENING, MEGAN KING NOMORE WITH YOUR MONTHLY UPDATE FROM PRESERVATION AUSTIN.

UM, AS YOU MIGHT KNOW, WE HAVE OUR ANNUAL HOME STORE COMING UP IN A FEW WEEKS ON APRIL 18TH AND 19TH.

IT'S TWO DAYS FEATURING 10 HOUSES ALL OVER TOWN, FIVE ON EACH DAY.

UM, WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE SPREAD OF HOMES, DIFFERENT ERAS, DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS.

WE HAVE OUR FIRST HOME FROM THE 1970S.

WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO SHOWCASE.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE A COUPLE ASSOCIATED EVENTS WITH THE HOMES TOUR.

WE HAVE, UM, UH, OUR VIP PARTY NEXT WEEK ON, UH, TUESDAY, APRIL 7TH, AND THAT'LL BE AT THE HOME FROM THE 1970S.

IT'LL BE A GREAT PARTY.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE AN EVENT ON, UM, APRIL 11TH AT THE KIRK HOUSE IN THE ROGERS, WASHINGTON HOLY CROSS NEIGHBORHOOD.

IT'S AN OPEN HOUSE TO LEARN ABOUT THE, UM, INCREDIBLE HISTORY OF THE KIRK FAMILY.

VERY PROMINENT, VERY SPECIAL, AND WE'RE SO EXCITED, UM, TO SHOW OFF ALL THESE AMAZING HOMES AROUND TOWN.

SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ANY OF THESE EVENTS, YOU CAN BUY A TICKET AND LEARN MORE AT PRESERVATION.

AUSTIN DOT RG.

POINT, WHAT WE SHOULD DO IS GO FOR A, HAVE A REVIEW OF THE AGENDA, THE AGENDA OVERVIEW.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

APPRECIATE IT.

UM, AT THIS

[Consent Agenda]

UH, WE'LL CALL ON STAFF.

THANK YOU CHAIR SETH.

TONIGHT.

OUR FIRST ITEM WILL BE THE APPROVAL OF MARCH 4TH, 2026 MEETING MINUTES.

THAT ITEM IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT.

WE HAVE FOUR BRIEFINGS TONIGHT.

ITEM TWO IS A BRIEFING ON THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM UPDATE.

ITEM THREE IS A BRIEFING ON THE FISCAL YEAR 26, UH, HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANTS.

ITEM FOUR IS A BRIEFING ON THE BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE PROJECT.

AND ITEM FIVE IS A BRIEFING ON 10 10 EAST CESAR CHAVEZ STREET.

IN OUR HISTORIC ZONING APPLICATION SECTION TONIGHT, WE HAVE ITEM SIX C 14 H 20 26 0 0 1 8 AT 1906 MAPLE AVENUE.

THIS IS THE THOMPSON HOUSE AND THIS IS OFFERED FOR DISCUSSION UNDER CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS.

TONIGHT WE HAVE ITEM SEVEN, HR 20 26 0 2 7 5 8 1 7 0 9 RIO GRAND STREET, THE SAYER HOUSE.

THIS ITEM IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT.

ITEM EIGHT, HR 20 26 0 2 8 3 3 8 7 13 CONGRESS AVENUE.

THIS IS THE PARAMOUNT THEATER AND THIS ITEM IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT.

ITEM NINE, PR 2 26 0 8 1 8 8 AT 1005 E EAST EIGHTH STREET IS A CONSENT POSTPONEMENT REQUESTED BY THE APPLICANT.

ITEM 11, HR OR ITEM 10, SORRY, HR 20 26 0 2 1 8 0 0 11 0 7 WEST NINTH STREET WILL ALSO BE AN APPLICANT REQUESTED POSTPONEMENT OFFERED FOR CONSENT.

ITEM 11, HR 20 26 0 2 7 5 4 8 AT 4 0 1 0 AVENUE B IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT UNDER NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT APPLICATIONS.

TONIGHT WE HAVE ITEM 12, HR 20 26 0 1 7 9 90 AT 25 0 2 WOOLDRIDGE DRIVE, OFFER FOR CONSENT APPROVAL.

FINALLY, UNDER DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION APPLICATIONS THIS EVENING WE HAVE ITEM 13, PR 20 26 0 2 2 4 1 1 AT 1406 GARDEN STREET.

THIS IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT UNDER DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS TONIGHT.

ITEM 14, WE HAVE OUR, UH, OFFICER ELECTIONS FOR 2026 AND THIS WILL BE A DISCUSSION ITEM FOR THE COMMISSION.

THAT CONCLUDES THE READING OF THE AGENDA.

THANK YOU VERY

[00:05:01]

MUCH.

THANK YOU MR. TRA.

UH, WE WILL PROCEED NOW WITH A REVIEW OF THE CONSENT ITEMS. IF THERE ARE ANY INDIVIDUALS WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT WAS LISTED FOR CONSENT, YOU ARE WELCOME TO DO SO.

AS LONG AS IT IS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, IF IT IS PASSED, THAT WOULD INDICATE APPROVAL WITH WHATEVER THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS FOR YOUR CASE.

SO WE DO NOT NEED YOU TO, UH, PERSUADE US WITH YOUR DISCUSSION, BUT IF YOU'RE SO INCLINED YOU HAVE THAT RIGHT.

DO WE HAVE ANYBODY AS WE GO THROUGH THE CONSENT AGENDA, UH, SIGNED UP, UH, I GUESS YOU'LL LET US KNOW CASE BY CASE.

IS THAT CORRECT? WELL, LET'S GO AHEAD AND START WITH THE FIRST CASE THAT HAS A SPEAKER SIGNED UP.

AND THAT WILL BE ACTUALLY ITEM SEVEN.

AND OUR SPEAKER SIGNED UP IN FAVOR IS CHAD JOHNSON.

DO YOU WAIVE OR DO YOU WANNA GO? OKAY, HE WAIVES.

AND OUR NEXT ITEM WITH A SPEAKER SIGNED UP IS ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, AND WE HAVE TWO SPEAKERS, UH, BOTH IN FAVOR.

ANDREW GALE IS OUR FIRST ONE, AND THEY ARE A VIRTUAL SPEAKER.

THEY DO NOT APPEAR TO BE ONLINE.

SO OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS ANDREW STAUNCH.

DOESN'T NEED A SPEAKER AND THEY HAVE WAIVED THE RIGHT TO SPEAK.

ALRIGHT, OUR NEXT CONSENT ITEM IS ITEM NUMBER 12, AND OUR ONE SPEAKER FOR THAT IS J QUARTER IN FAVOR AND THEY HAVE WAIVED THE RIGHT TO SPEAK.

WE HAVE NO OTHER SPEAKERS SIGNED UP FOR ANY CONSENT ITEMS. OKAY, SO, UH, COMMISSIONERS, LET ME JUST REVIEW THE CONSENT ITEMS. UH, IF THERE ARE ANY THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE PULLED OR UH, DISCUSSED.

THIS IS THE TIME TO TELL ME.

BUT ITEM NUMBER ONE IS THE, UH, APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 4TH MEETING, THE ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, UH, 7 0 9 RIO GRANDE STREET.

UH, ITEM NUMBER 8 7 13 CONGRESS AVENUE, 11 40 10 AVENUE B, ITEM 12 25 0 2 WILDRIDGE DRIVE.

AND ITEM NUMBER 13 14 0 6 GARDEN STREET CHAIR.

UH, ITEM 10 IS ALSO, UH, OFFERED FOR CONSENT.

THIS IS AN APPLICANT REQUESTED POSTPONEMENT.

UH, I WAS GOING TO TAKE THE TWO POSTPONEMENT REQUESTS, UH, AS A SEPARATE ITEM.

GO AHEAD.

SO, UH, THE NINE AND 10 WILL BE ON A SEPARATE, UH, UH, ITEM, BUT JUST THOSE FOR APPROVAL.

ARE THERE ANY THAT WOULD NEED TO, ANY DISCUSSION THAT COMMISSIONERS WOULD HAVE THAT'S APPROPRIATE? YOU DON'T HAVE TO PULL IT TO DISCUSS IT, UH, OR IF WE'D LIKE TO PULL IT FOR DISCUSSION, UH, TO HEAR THE CASE, EITHER ONE.

IF NOT, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION.

UH, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK QUICKLY TO ITEM 13.

THERE WERE TWO PUBLIC COMMENTS IN OPPOSITION TO DEMOLITION OF THIS PROPERTY IN DISTRICT THREE.

AND I DID WANNA NOTE, UM, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY I WOULD PULL THAT FOR DISCUSSION.

BUT, UH, THEY ARE LISTED IN THE, THE 2016 EAST AUSTIN HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY AS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR LANDMARK STATUS.

I USUALLY STAND BY THAT TO SUPPORT INITIATION RECOMMENDATION LANDMARKS.

I EQUALLY STAND BY IT TO, UH, SUPPORT, UH, LETTING THEM GO, UH, SO THAT WE HAVE SOME CONSISTENCY WHAT TO EXPECT.

AND I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE INTERESTED IN PRESERVATION IN DISTRICT THREE TO READ THIS, UM, ONLINE SURVEY AND GET TO KNOW YOUR PROPERTIES AND GET TO KNOW WHICH ONES HAVE VALUE AND WHICH ONES DON'T.

AND IF YOU THINK THEY DO SPEAK UP, UH, GET INVOLVED.

BUT THESE HAVE BEEN RESEARCHED IN ADVANCE AND, UH, INFORMATION IS OUT THERE AND I JUST DON'T SEE THE NEED TO, TO PULL IT FOR FULL DISCUSSION WHEN IT'S ALREADY BEEN VETTED AS NOT LANDMARK WORTHY.

COMMISSIONER COOK.

ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.

I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR THE CONSENT ITEMS. SO MOVED.

IT'S BEEN MOVED BY COMMISSIONER COOK, SECONDED BY, UH, COMMISSIONER GROGAN.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HAND AND I SEE ALL HANDS RAISED, SO IT'S UNANIMOUS.

THESE ARE APPLICANT REQUESTED POSTPONEMENTS.

UH, I'LL NOW ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ITEMS NUMBER NINE AND 10.

THOSE WOULD BE POSTPONEMENTS TO OUR MAY 6TH MEETING.

AND, UH, I WOULD SAY IN BOTH CASES, UM, IF THEY SO DESIRE, UH, WE WOULD CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE, UM, A VISIT WITH THE ARCHITECTURE REVIEW COMMITTEE, UH, ON EITHER OF THOSE CASES AS WELL, THOUGH THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION.

SO, UM, ITEMS NINE AND 10, I'LL ENTERTAIN A

[00:10:01]

MOTION FOR POSTPONEMENT.

SO MOVED.

COMMISSIONER COOK SECOND.

UM, COMMISSIONER ACTON SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HAND.

AND SO THOSE NOW WILL BE HEARING ON MAY 6TH.

SO AT THIS POINT, THAT BRINGS US TO THE

[2. Staff briefing regarding the Downtown Density Bonus Program Update by Alan Pani, Planner Principal, Austin Planning. ]

FIRST OF OUR BRIEFINGS.

UH, ITEM NUMBER TWO.

MY NAME IS ALAN PANTY.

I'M A PRINCIPAL PLANNER WITH AUSTIN PLANNING.

UM, I'M HERE TO PROVIDE A BRIEFING ON OUR UPDATE TO THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, UH, FOCUSING ON THE PHASE ONE PROPOSAL.

SO I'LL WALK THROUGH, UH, BRIEFLY JUST THE BACKGROUND OF THE PROGRAM, UH, EXISTING PROGRAM AND PROCESS, AND THEN DIVE INTO THE PROPOSED CHANGES, URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS, COMMUNITY BENEFITS, UH, THE NEW PROCESS FOR THE PROGRAM, AS WELL AS GIVE SOME INFORMATION ON OUR ENGAGEMENT SO FAR.

FEEDBACK AND TIMELINE, UH, FOR THE REST OF THIS PROCESS.

SO, UH, QUICK BRIEF, UH, REINTRODUCTION ON WHY WE'RE HERE.

UH, IN JULY, 2024, COUNCIL DIRECTED US TO UPDATE THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

UH, THEY ASKED FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT UPDATES WITHIN THAT PROCESS.

UM, BUT AS WELL AS THAT, IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR, UH, COUNCIL DIRECTLY ASKED US TO BRING BACK PHASE ONE OF THIS PROGRAM BY JUNE, 2026 FOR THREE SUB-DISTRICTS.

AND I'LL GET INTO THOSE, UH, IN A SECOND SO I CAN DESCRIBE THE GEOGRAPHY OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A LITTLE BIT BETTER.

SO THE EXISTING, UH, PROGRAM IS BASED ON A HEIGHT AND FAR MAP.

UM, AFTER RECENT ADOPTION OF THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT'S ZONE AMENDMENTS COUNCIL ASKED US TO BRING BACK, UH, PHASE ONE FOR THE COURSE OF DISTRICT RAINY SUBDISTRICT AND CONVENTION CENTER, SUBDISTRICTS, UH, THOSE ARE THE ONES ON THE MAP ON SCREEN.

CURRENTLY.

ENTITLEMENTS FOR THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM ARE BASED ON THIS HEIGHT AND FAR MAP.

SO ADDITION, IT ESSENTIALLY TELLS EACH PARCEL WITHIN THE AREA WHAT THE MAXIMUM FAR AND HEIGHT THEY CAN ACHIEVE.

UM, IN ORDER TO EXCEED WHAT THE MAP DESCRIBES, THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO TO COUNCIL AND REQUEST APPROVAL FOR ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENTS BEYOND WHATEVER THE MAP SAYS THERE ENTITLED TO IN THE PROGRAM.

SO TO DIVE INTO OUR, UH, UPDATES, SO JUST REALLY BRIEFLY, UH, SPEAKING ON APPLICABILITY, UM, WE ARE ACTUALLY, WE ARE REMOVING RED RIVER CULTURAL SUBDISTRICT FROM THIS FIRST PHASE, UH, OF THE UPDATE.

UH, THAT IS PARTIALLY BECAUSE RED RIVER IS SPLIT BETWEEN TWO SUBDISTRICTS OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS AND WE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE, UH, BASICALLY HALF OF RED RIVER BE IN AN OLD PROGRAM AND HALF OF IT BEING IN A NEW ONE.

SO WE'RE GONNA DO IT IN PART WITH PHASE TWO, UH, TO MAKE SURE IT IS ALL ONE PROGRAM.

UH, THE PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE TO BE A VOLUNTARY, UH, PROGRAM THAT SITES WILL, UH, BE ABLE TO OPT INTO.

UH, AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO SUPERSEDE THE FOLLOWING OVERLAYS, WHICH ARE CAPITAL DOMINANCE OVERLAY, UH, THE EAD, UH, BONUS PROGRAM AND THE WATERFRONT OVERLAY.

I'M SORRY, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION.

UH, WHEN YOU USE THE TERM CAPITAL DOMINANCE OVERLAY, THAT IS DIFFERENT THAN THE CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDOR.

THANK YOU FOR CLARIFICATION.

YES, APPRECIATE THAT, .

COMMUNITY BENEFIT OPTIONS, UM, FOR THAT AREA.

UH, AND I DO HAVE A LITTLE BETTER INFORMATION ON THE CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDOR AS WELL.

UM, THANK YOU.

SO, UH, OUR PROPOSAL WILL BE TO CREATE TWO NEW COMBINING DISTRICTS.

UH, THIS WILL BE DDB 400.

DOWNTOWN DENSITY ONE IS 400, WHICH WILL ADD 400 FEET OF HEIGHT AND DDB EIGHT 50, WHICH WILL ADD 850 FEET OF HEIGHT.

THESE ARE ADDITIVE TO THE BASE ZONING HEIGHT LIMITS.

SO AS AN EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAD A CBD BASE ZONE SITE ADDED WITH D DB 400, THIS WOULD NOW GO UP TO 750 FEET FROM THAT THREE 50 BASE.

PLUS THE 400 BONUS STAFF IS PROPOSING TO REZONE ALL THE PROPERTIES WITHIN PHASE ONE INTO DDB 400.

COMBINING DISTRICT, UH, GRANTING THOSE 400 ADDITIONAL FEET OF HEIGHT, UH, AND SITES WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO REQUEST REZONING AND TO DDB EIGHT 50 THROUGH OUR STANDARD REZONING PROCESS.

THESE HEIGHTS IN THE COMBINING DISTRICTS CANNOT BE EXCEEDED BY COUNCIL APPROVAL.

SO THEY'RE THE MAXIMUM HEIGHTS WITHIN THAT COMBINING DISTRICT.

OUR PROPOSAL WILL BE TO CREATE ADDITIONAL COMBINING DISTRICTS IN PHASE TWO FOR THE REMAINDER, UH, OF THE GEOGRAPHY FOR DOWNTOWN.

SO THERE WILL BE MORE COMBINING DISTRICTS AS WE MOVE ALONG IN THE PROCESS.

THOSE WILL BE AT DIFFERENT HEIGHTS.

THEY COULD BE LOWER OR THEY COULD BE HIGHER OR IN BETWEEN, UH, DEPENDING ON THE GEOGRAPHY.

LASTLY, UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY NOT PROPOSING ANY SUBDISTRICTS FOR THIS FIRST PHASE, BUT THERE COULD BE FUTURE ONES CREATED.

THOSE COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS OR COMMUNITY BENEFIT OPTIONS SUCH AS RED RIVER, AS AN EXAMPLE, MAY HAVE MORE CULTURAL LIVE MUSIC GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS OR

[00:15:01]

UH, SO THIS MAP JUST SHOWS AGAIN, ONCE AGAIN, THE GEOGRAPHY WE'RE SPEAKING TO, UH, IN ORANGE OR THE SITES THAT WILL BE PROPOSED TO BE REZONED INTO DDB 400.

WHILE THE DOTTED AREA, WHICH IS THE SAME GEOGRAPHY, UH, WOULD SHOW THE SITES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO REQUEST DDB EIGHT 15, UH, COMBINING DISTRICT.

UH, LAST TIME WE WERE HERE, Y'ALL HAD MENTIONED, UH, IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO HAVE SOME INFORMATION ON WHERE HISTORIC LANDMARKS ARE WITHIN THIS FIRST PHASE.

AND SO WE HAVE A MAP SHOWING, AGAIN, KIND OF THE DIFFERENT POINTS WHERE, UH, HISTORIC LANDMARKS EXIST FOR THIS FIRST PHASE.

SO THOSE, UH, SITES WOULD STILL HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, UH, A ADHERE TO ANY HISTORIC LANDMARK REQUIREMENTS AS PART OF THIS PROCESS.

PHASE ONE HAS A LITTLE BIT LESS OF AN IMPACT, UH, RELATIVELY SPEAKING TO THE REST OF DOWNTOWN.

IT ONLY COVERS ROUGHLY 3% OF THE, UH, GEOGRAPHY.

UM, BUT THOSE CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDORS WOULD ALSO IMPACT, UH, THE BONUS PROGRAM.

SO YOU WOULD STILL BE LIMITED IN HEIGHT BASED ON WHATEVER THE CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDORS, UH, PROVIDE.

UM, SO HERE'S SOME IMAGES TO HELP CLARIFY SOME OF THE HEIGHTS WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING.

UM, OUR CURRENT BASE HEIGHT FOR CBD IS 350 FEET.

THAT LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE WINDS ARE ON THE LAKE.

THE AVERAGE DEVELOPMENT, UH, WITH CBD ZONES THAT HAVE USED THE DENSITY BONUS IS AROUND 450 FEET CURRENTLY.

OUR PROPOSED MAX HEIGHT FOR DDB 400, UM, IS SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE REPUBLIC, WHICH STANDS AROUND 700 FEET.

UH, AND LASTLY, DDB EIGHT 50, WHICH WOULD'VE A MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF 1200 FEET, UH, WOULD BE ABOVE THE WATERLINE, UH, WHICH STANDS A LITTLE BIT OVER A THOUSAND FEET.

IS AUSTIN'S TALLEST BUILDING IN TEXAS, TALLEST BUILDING AT, AT THE MOMENT.

UH, FOR SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, WE ARE PROPOSING, UM, AS PART OF THE THE PROGRAM, UH, THERE ARE A FEW EXEMPTIONS WE ARE PROPOSING THAT INCLUDE MAXIMUM BUILDING COVERAGE LANDSCAPE, MINIMUM SITE AREA, PRIVATE COMMON OPEN SPACE.

MOST OF THESE DON'T APPLY TO CBD AND DMU, WHICH ARE THE ZONING CATEGORIES THAT MOSTLY COVER THE FIRST PHASE OF DOWNTOWN.

UH, BUT THEY ARE IN LINE WITH OUR OTHER DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. WE ARE PROPOSING TO PROHIBIT OR MAKE CONDITIONAL, UH, NON-TRANS SUPPORTIVE USES.

THOSE ARE IN LINE WITH OUR EO POLICY GOALS.

UM, AND THE USES THAT WERE LISTED UNDER EAD FAR WOULD NOW BE UNLIMITED UNDER THIS PROGRAM.

SO THE REGULATION FOR, UH, DENSITY AND, AND HEIGHT WOULD REALLY BE THE ACTUAL HEIGHT.

UM, WITH THAT MAXIMUM HEIGHT FOR EACH COMBINING DISTRICT, WE ARE PROPOSING TO LIMIT ABOVE GROUND PARKING, UH, 80.

SO IN THEIR CURRENT REGULATIONS, UH, SITES CAN ACHIEVE 80% OF THE PREVIOUSLY REQUIRED APPENDIX A, UH, PARKING REQUIREMENTS.

WE ARE RESTRICTING THAT TO 60%, UM, ABOVE GRADE AND ONLY BEING ABLE TO ACHIEVE 80%, UH, FOR THAT REMAINDER IF YOU GO UNDERGROUND FOR THAT PORTION.

LASTLY, WE'RE PROPOSING TO ADD SOME SCREENING REQUIREMENTS FOR TRASH RECEPTACLES, UM, AND ABOVE GROUND PARKING, THERE ARE THREE MAIN GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS CURRENTLY IN THE PROGRAM.

UH, TWO OF THEM ARE REMAINING FAIRLY UNCHANGED.

SO GREAT STREET STANDARDS BEING THE FIRST ONE.

THOSE WILL CONTINUE TO BE A REQUIREMENT.

UM, AS THOSE ARE UPDATED, THEY WILL CONTINUE TO APPLY AS UPDATED.

CURRENTLY PER, UH, BUILDINGS ON THE PROGRAM HAVE TO BE TWO STAR RATING UNDER OUR AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM.

THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE A GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENT.

HOWEVER, WE ARE ASKING THAT THEY MEET BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN STANDARDS AS PART OF THAT TWO STAR RATING.

LASTLY, THE ONE THAT WILL BE CHANGING, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY IS THE CURRENT PROCESS FOR URBAN DESIGN.

SO CURRENTLY DEVELOPMENTS HAVE TO MEET THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, WHICH INCLUDES A DESIGN REVIEW COMMISSION, UH, DESIGN COMMISSION REVIEW PROCESS.

UH, AND THAT WILL NO LONGER OCCUR.

IT WILL NOW BE SET BY URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS.

UH, I'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL FOR WHAT THOSE ARE AND HOW THAT WILL FUNCTION.

UM, BUT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE DESIGN COMMISSION WORKING GROUP, UH, TO WORK ON THESE URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS.

SO THE NEW PROCESS FOR THESE URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS WOULD BE TO, UH, EVERY PROPERTY THAT IS PARTICIPATING IN THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM WOULD HAVE TO ADHERE TO THE DESIGN STANDARDS.

THEY WOULD FOLLOW A MENU APPROACH WHERE PROJECT WOULD SELECT A NUMBER OF STANDARDS TO MEET.

UH, STAFF CURRENTLY HAS A DRAFT OF ONLY EIGHT STANDARDS.

HOWEVER, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE DESIGN COMMISSION TO EXPAND THAT LIST TO BE BROADER AND SUCH.

AS SUCH, UH, EXPANSION OCCURS, THE NUMBER OF STANDARDS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE MET WILL ALSO CHANGE.

SO CURRENTLY, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE LISTED FOUR OUT OF EIGHT FOR DDB 406 OUT OF EIGHT FOR DDB EIGHT 50.

AS THAT INCREASES, THE NUMBER WOULD ALSO INCREASE,

[00:20:01]

AS I MENTIONED, THE DESIGN COMMISSION WOULD NO LONGER BE REQUIRED AS PART OF THE PROCESS.

AND STAFF WOULD BE REVIEWING FOR URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS AS PART OF THE SITE PLAN REVIEW.

UM, IN FUTURE PHASES, AS AS PHASE TWO, WE MAY CONTINUE TO REVISE, UM, THESE DESIGN STANDARDS TO ADD MORE, UM, AND OR ATTUNE ATTUNE THEM AS NEEDED BASED ON FEEDBACK WE RECEIVE.

I'LL JUST GO OVER THEM VERY BRIEFLY.

UH, THEY'RE A, WE HAVE CURRENTLY, AGAIN, THIS IS A DRAFT AND SO WE ARE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THESE AND THEY WILL BE CONTINUED TO BE UPDATED AND, UH, MORE AND WILL BE ADDED.

UH, BUT THE ONES WE HAVE CURRENTLY ARE REGARDING PRIMARY ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS.

SO LIMITING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN, UH, ENTRANCES, SO HAVING ENTRANCES MORE OFTEN OR A DOWNTOWN AREA, UH, IF YOU ARE PROVIDING A CANTILEVER AS PART OF YOUR DESIGN REQUIRING 40 FOOT MINIMUM CLEARANCE FOR THOSE CANTILEVERS FOR TREES TO BE ABLE TO GROW BELOW THEM.

UH, AGAIN, STEP BACKS IF YOU ARE CHOOSING TO PROVIDE A STEP BACK, UH, AT YOUR, AS PART OF YOUR BUILDING, WE ARE ASKING FOR A MINIMUM OF 10 FOOT STEP BACK ABOVE A 220 FEET OF HEIGHT TO ALLOW FOR LIGHT TO HIT THE PEDESTRIAN REALM.

UH, IF YOU ARE PROVIDING PEDESTRIAN USES, YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE DOING 75% OF THE FRONTAGE AS PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY USES, UH, REQUIRE BUILDINGS TO BE PLACED CLOSE TO LOT LINES IF YOU'RE NOT PROVIDING LIKE AN OPEN SPACE OR PLAZA.

LIMITING THE NUMBER OF CURB CUTS ON EACH FRONTAGE, LIMITING THE NUMBER OF GARAGE LANES, UM, AT THE CURB CUT AS WELL AND PROVIDING MORE REQUIRED LONG-TERM BICYCLE PARKING SPACES, UH, ARE THE FIRST DRAFT WE HAVE SO FAR.

UM, I'LL NEXT TALK ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY BENEFIT OPTIONS WE'RE PROPOSING.

SO PREVIOUSLY, AND THERE IS A CURRENT PROGRAM, UH, THERE IS A 50 50 SPLIT BETWEEN COMMUNITY BENEFITS YOU CHOOSE, YOU DO 50%, THAT'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHETHER IT'S FEE AND L.

UM, AND THE SECOND 50% CAN BE CHOSEN FROM A LIST OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS.

MOST PROJECTS HAVE CHOSEN TO DO AFFORDABLE HOUSING AS WELL FOR THAT SECOND 50%.

UH, HOWEVER, VERY FEW HAVE CHOSEN ONE OF THE OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT WILL BE, UH, REVISED SLIGHTLY, WHERE NOW IT'LL BE A HUNDRED PERCENT AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING EITHER ONSITE OR FEE AND LIE, BUT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO REDUCE THAT, UH, PERCENTAGE OF EITHER UNITS OR FEE AND LIE BY 2% OF UNITS OR 20% OF THE FEE.

AND L IF YOU PROVIDE ONE OF THE FOLLOWINGS, UH, OPTIONS LISTED.

SO OBVIOUSLY FOR THIS COMMISSION, UH, THE ONE THAT WE ARE FOCUSING ON WOULD BE THE ONSITE HISTORIC PRESERVATION WOULD BE ONE OF THE OPTIONS YOU COULD CHOOSE AND THAT WOULD REDUCE YOUR FEE L OR ONSITE UNITS.

THE OTHER OPTIONS ARE GROCERY STORE, UH, USE, PROVIDING A CULTURAL USE OR A LIVE MUSIC VENUE.

UM, MEETING THREE STAR RATING UNDER AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING OR PROVIDING TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE AS PART OF YOUR DEVELOPMENT AS WELL.

JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

UH, THE ONSITE REQUIREMENT IS 5% OF UNITS AT 50% MFI FOR RENTAL AND, SORRY, THIS IS THE TYPE ONE, THIS PRESENTATION, OR 80% FOR OWNERSHIP.

UM, AND THEN THE FEE IN LIEU WE ARE PROPOSING IS $10 PER BONUS SQUARE FOOT UNDER DDB $412 FOR DDB EIGHT 50.

THESE FEES ARE IN LINE WITH OUR CURRENT, UH, PROGRAM.

LASTLY, ONE NEW REQUIREMENT AS WELL IS RELATED TO LEASE AND REDEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS.

UH, THERE ARE KIND OF TWO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.

THE FIRST ONE IS RELATED TO DISPERSION OF AFFORDABLE UNITS AND EQUAL ACCESS TO AMENITIES TO MAKE SURE THE AFFORDABLE UNITS ON THESE DEVELOPMENTS ARE EQUAL TO THE MARKET RATE UNITS.

UH, THE SECOND ONE IS MORE RELATED TO TENANT PROTECTIONS, BOTH FOR EXISTING MULTIFAMILY UNITS THAT ARE AFFORDABLE OR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL USES.

UH, AND THESE ARE MORE ON THE LEGACY, UH, KIND OF HISTORIC OR I GUESS LEGACY, UH, BUSINESSES.

SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A CHILDCARE LOUNGE THAT HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS, UH, RETAIL HAS BEEN MORE, MORE THAN 10 YEARS OF A CERTAIN SIZE, UM, AND DIFFERENT ONES.

AND THAT IS, UH, THE PROTECTIONS WE'RE PROVIDING FOR THEM.

UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND PLEASE, PLEASE PROCEED.

I'LL JUST GO REALLY QUICKLY ON THE PROCESS.

SO AGAIN, UH, THE NEW PROCESS WILL NOT REQUIRE TO DESIGN REVIEW COMMISSION.

THERE WILL BE NO, UH, DESIGN COMMISSION PROCESS IN THIS.

YOU'LL SIMPLY SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TO HOUSING DEPARTMENT FOR CERTIFICATION AND COV RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS.

ONCE THAT IS APPROVED, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIRE SITE PLAN.

DURING SITE PLAN REVIEW.

STAFF WILL BE REVIEWING FOR COMPLIANCE WITH GRADE STREETS AND URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS.

UM, AND IF YOU REQUEST AN ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENT, SO IF YOU WANTED TO GET THAT REZONING FOR THE DDBA 50 FOR THE ADDITIONAL HEIGHT, YOU WOULD GO THROUGH A STANDARD REZONING PROCESS, UH, WHICH WOULD BE REVIEWED BY STAFF PLANNING COMMISSION AND COUNCIL.

IF THAT'S APPROVED, YOU WOULD THEN GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS I JUST DESCRIBED.

UH, LAST COUPLE SLIDES.

SO JUST WANTED TO MENTION, WE'VE BEEN DOING ENGAGEMENT WITH A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMISSIONS, UH, DAA RICA, DANA, A I A, RIVER CULTURE DISTRICT, ULI.

UH, WE'VE PRESENTED TO Y'ALL IN THE PAST DESIGN COMMISSION, HISTORIC LANDMARK, UH, CODE NOR AS WE WILL BE ATTENDING SOON, AND PLANNING COMMISSION AS WELL, AS WELL AS A LOT OF INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS AS WELL.

UH, WE ARE DOING,

[00:25:01]

UH, ENGAGEMENT ON OUR PROPOSAL, UH, DURING APRIL, MARCH AND APRIL.

UH, AND WE WILL BE GOING FOR FORMAL ADOPTION IN MAY, UH, WITH PLANNING COMMISSION AND COUNCIL CONSIDERATION BEING ON MAY 12TH AND MAY 28TH.

AND WITH THAT, UH, ANY QUESTIONS? UH, YES.

AND IN LIGHT OF THE TIMELINE, UH, I OTHERWISE WOULD NOT FEEL LIKE WE WANT IT TO BE AS SPECIFIC.

WE COULD BE MORE GENERAL, BUT CONSIDERING YOUR TIMELINE, UH, CAN WE MAKE VERY SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOU? YEAH, IT, UH, AND I'M, I'M NOT GONNA BE THE ONLY ONE SPEAKING, BUT LET ME JUST SAY A COUPLE THINGS THAT POPPED OUT.

FIRST OFF, COMPARED TO YOUR, YOUR PREVIOUS BRIEFINGS, WE DO APPRECIATE THAT YOU ARE RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HISTORIC, UH, PROPERTIES WITHIN THESE AREAS.

UH, AS MUCH AS IT'S IMPORTANT TO SHOW THE INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES, WE ALSO HAVE HISTORIC DISTRICTS, AND THOSE SHOULD BE SHOWN ON YOUR MAP.

UH, THAT I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T SEE THOSE.

UH, IN ADDITION, I AM CONCERNED WITH YOUR FLOW CHART.

IF YOU GO A COUPLE OF STEPS BACK, UH, YOUR FLOW CHART WITH, UH, I'M LOOKING AT MY SLIDES HERE THAT YOU SAY SEND US AN ADVANCE PHASE ONE PROPOSED PROCESS.

I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT IF YOU'RE HAVING REVIEWS FOR, UM, STAFF ON SOME OF THESE COMMUNITY ELEMENTS THAT WE GO AHEAD AND MAKE SURE THAT THE LANDMARKS COMMISSION IS CITED IMMEDIATELY.

BECAUSE IF YOU ARE GOING FOR THAT OPTION, IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD DEFINITELY NEED TO BE ABLE TO REVIEW AND BRING OUR EXPERTISE INTO THE CONVERSATION.

A STUDY THAT, UH, THE HISTORIC TEAM IS LEADING.

SO IF YOU'RE DOING ON ONSITE HISTORIC PRESERVATION AS ONE OF YOUR COMMUNITY BENEFITS, CORRECT? UH, WE WORKED WITH THE, UH, STAFF, THE HISTORIC STAFF ON WHAT, HOW THAT WOULD BE PROCESSED.

UM, AND THERE IS A, OR A CURRENT PROPOSAL AT LEAST WOULD BE THAT, UH, THERE HAS TO BE AN APPROVED CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS FROM THE HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION AS PART OF THAT PROCESS.

SO AGAIN, IN YOUR FLOW DIAGRAM, IF WE COULD BE NOTED RIGHT AWAY, SO THAT DOESN'T COME AS A SURPRISE AND I APPRECIATE THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE POSSIBILITIES.

IT NEEDS TO BE PART OF THE FLOW, UH, EVEN IF IT'S ONLY ONE ELEMENT THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DIFFERENT THAN ALL THE OTHER ELEMENTS MM-HMM .

AND WE NEED TO BE CONNECTED TO THAT.

SO I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT.

THAT'S NOT A SURPRISE OR LEFT OFF.

UH, THE LAST ITEM JUST HAS TO DO WITH THE WAY THAT THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED.

IF YOU LOOK AT A NUMBER OF THOSE BLOCKS, THERE'S ONE OR TWO PROPERTIES THAT WOULD BE INDIVIDUAL LANDMARK PROPERTIES.

OF COURSE, WITH THE, UH, THOSE ARE ONLY THE ONES THAT ARE IN THE PROGRAM, NOT THE ONES NECESSARILY THAT ARE ELIGIBLE.

UH, THAT ALSO WOULD BE UNDER CONSIDERATION.

BUT, UM, CONSIDERING THE DENSITY THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, HAS ANYBODY RUN AN ANALYSIS TO REALLY INDICATE WHETHER THE SETBACK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WOULD GIVE BREATHING ROOM TO THESE BUILDINGS? OR ARE WE JUST GOING TO SEE PROPOSALS WHERE THE, THE SPACE ABOVE THESE BUILDINGS IS SO IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE GONNA SEE PROPOSALS WHERE THEY GLOM ON THIS LITTLE TWO STORY BUILDING ONTO A BIG OTHERWISE MEGA BUILDING AND CALL IT PRESERVATION? I, I THINK THERE HAS TO BE SOME RECOGNITION THAT IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME MORE SENSITIVITY FOR THE REST OF THE DESIGN, THE MASSING AND THE SCALE OF THE BUILDING.

AND MY CONCERN IS, IS THAT IF YOU TAKE THE AIRSPACE ABOVE A TWO STORY BUILDING AND YOU KNOW, YOU GO UP A THOUSAND FEET THAT THE ECONOMICS OF THAT JUST MAY NOT EVEN BE WORTH THINKING ABOUT AND WHICH CASE THEN WE'LL HAVE A LOT OF PRESSURE, AS WE SAID IN OUR PREVIOUS, FOR PEOPLE TO COME AND ASK TO DEMOLISH HISTORIC LANDMARKS.

SO I, I DUNNO IF YOU'VE ACTUALLY RUN SOME NUMBERS YET TO SEE IF THOSE BALANCE YET THE CREDITS THAT YOU'RE GIVING BACK ARE GOING TO BE, UH, UTILIZED IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY.

BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT, THAT THAT RATIO ACTUALLY DOES MAKE SENSE.

YEAH, WE, WE DID NOT DO, UH, ANY SPECIFIC ANALYSIS FOR, YOU KNOW, A A SPECIFIC KIND OF HISTORIC, UH, BUILDING IN COMPARISON WITH THE, THE REDUCTION IN IN FEE OR OR UNIT PERCENTAGE.

UM, THAT WILL DEFINITELY BE VERY UNIQUE SITE BY SITE.

UM, SO YEAH, WELL, I THINK YOU CAN HAVE ENOUGH INDICATIONS THAT THERE'S GONNA BE AT LEAST A GENERIC OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIVIDUAL LANDMARKS ON SPECIFIC, PARTICULARLY IF THEY'RE BEING AN ENTIRE BLOCK DEVELOPMENT, WHICH I ASSUME THEY'D ALMOST HAVE TO BE TO MEET SOME OF THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT STANDARDS.

UH, SO ANYWAY, I, I, I, LET ME, LET ME JUST OFFER THOUGH ALL THOSE AS ENCOURAGEMENT MM-HMM .

UH, COMMISSIONERS.

I'M SORRY, THIS, THESE CAME IN MIND IMMEDIATELY AND WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME ON THIS ITEM.

SO ARE THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE NEED THAT JUMPS OUT AT YOU THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE IS, UH, BEING MADE AWARE? THE COMMISSIONER COOK JUST HAD A QUESTION ABOUT TRANSFER, DEVELOP DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS.

I KNOW THE CITY'S LOOKING INTO THAT HEAVILY NOW.

UH, LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF HEIGHT AND A LOT OF WAYS TO GET IT ALREADY.

SO I KNOW WHAT KIND OF MARKET THERE WILL BE, UH, DOWNTOWN, BUT I WAS JUST CURIOUS, IS THAT IT'S GONNA BE A SEPARATE PROCESS? IT MIGHT BE PUT ON TOP OF THIS? OR IS IT CONSIDERED AS PART OF THE OVERALL SYSTEM? UH, IT, IT IS CURRENTLY

[00:30:01]

IT WOULD BE A SEPARATE PROCESS.

UM, THEY ARE LOOKING INTO WHETHER IT COULD BE COMBINED WITH THE DENSITY BONUS OR NOT.

SO THEY ARE LOOKING AT BOTH OPTIONS, UM, FOR THAT.

BUT I, WE DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION OR, OR UPDATES YET.

AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, WE WILL BE COMING TO YOU WITH A BRIEFING WITH THE, WITH THE TEAM ON THE, THE FULL STUDY, WHICH IS UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW.

SO YOU WILL BE GETTING FULLY BRIEFED ON, ON THAT.

FEASIBILITY COMMISSIONERS, ANY YEP.

COMMISSIONER ACT.

UM, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC COMMENT.

UM, JUST A GENERAL ONE.

UM, I GUESS ONE IS THIS PUTS A LOT MORE PRESSURE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY INCREASING THE VALUE OF PROPERTY DOWNTOWN.

MAYBE NOT IN THIS MOMENT SINCE WE HAVE A LOT OF OPEN FLOOR SPACE DOWN THERE, BUT OVER TIME, YOU'RE, AND THAT PUTS A LOT OF PRESSURE ON HISTORIC THINGS OR OTHER THINGS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY HISTORIC IN THE FUTURE OR AT A SCALE THAT PEOPLE LIKE IN A CITY.

UM, THINGS OF DIFFERENT SCALE.

UM, BUT THE OTHER THING, AND ONCE AGAIN, NOT NOT ANYTHING SPECIFIC IS, YOU KNOW, I'VE LIVED HERE FOR A WHILE NOW.

I'VE LIVED A LOT OF OTHER MAJOR CITIES AND IT'S PROBABLY TIME FOR AUSTIN TO STOP GIVING THINGS AWAY SO CHEAPLY AND START TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE INTERESTING AND FORWARD THINKING ABOUT IF WE'RE GONNA BE GIVING PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THEIR BUILDING THREE TIMES TALLER, THEN MAYBE EXPECTING A LITTLE BIT MORE IN RETURN THAN A LITTLE BIT OF PEDESTRIAN FRONTAGE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TALL BUILDINGS WE CAN BUILD WHERE THERE'S ONE BANK LOBBY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A BANK IN THE LOBBY AND THERE'S NOTHING ELSE.

AND WE DESTROY THE ABILITY TO HAVE SMALL, SMALL BUSINESSES AT THE SIDEWALK LEVEL OR, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE MONEY FOR PARKS, BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF THING.

SO BEING, LOOKING AT OTHER CITIES THAT REQUIRE THAT WHEN THERE IS A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENT HERE AND MAYBE BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE CREATIVE ON THAT MIGHT BE KIND OF, MIGHT BE TIME FOR THAT.

SO, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? THE ONLY OTHER THING, UH, GO, GO.

PLEASE GO AHEAD.

OH YES, I'M SORRY.

UM, VICE CHAIR EVANS.

I JUST HAVE A BRIEF QUESTION.

I'M WONDERING IF THE, THE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN STANDARDS RELATE TO ANYTHING OTHER THAN LIGHTING AND IF THERE'S ANY SENSE FOR HOW THAT MIGHT BE A BARRIER, UH, TO SOME HEIGHT, UH, LIMITS THAT DEV, YOU KNOW, FROM DEVELOPMENT? YEAH, IT, IT RELATES TO, UH, MATERIALS USED FOR THE GLAZING, UM, SOME LIGHTING ELEMENTS AS WELL.

UH, IT IS ACTUALLY MOST OF THE BURN FRIENDLY PROTECTIONS, UH, HAPPEN I THINK, I BELIEVE IN THE FIRST, FIRST SIX STORIES OF A BUILDING BECAUSE THAT IS ACTUALLY WHERE, UH, BIRDS, UH, LIVE THE MOST.

ESSENTIALLY.

THAT'S WHERE THEY REFLECT THE MOST AND HAVE THE MOST ACCIDENTS.

SO IT'S REALLY NOT AN IMPEDIMENT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE ACTUAL VERY TALL BUILDINGS, UM, OR YOU KNOW, HIGHER BUILDINGS.

COMMISSIONER RICE, THANK YOU.

WHEN THE BUILDING, THESE BUILDINGS DON'T HAVE THEM.

UM, I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

SO ON THE MAP OF THE CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDORS, UM, DOES THAT ACCOUNT FOR THE VIEW CORRIDORS THAT WERE REMOVED IN THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION? YES.

I BELIEVE THAT LAYER HAS ALREADY BEEN UPDATED IN OUR, UH, MAPS ALREADY.

UM, AND THEN, UH, PULLING SOME PREVIOUS COMMENTS, I, I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, SOME MORE CLARITY ON LIKE WHAT IS CONSIDERED ONSITE HISTORIC PRESERVATION, UM, AND 'CAUSE THAT CAN MEAN A LOT OF THINGS AS, AS WE'VE SEEN.

I MEAN, DOES THAT MEAN JUST PRESERVING A FACADE? DOES THAT MEAN DECONSTRUCTING AND RECONSTRUCTING A FACADE? DOES I'VE SEEN RECENTLY OR DOES THAT, YOU KNOW, MEAN REALLY PRESERVING THE BUILDING? YEAH, SO OUR CURRENT PROPOSAL, UH, IS TO, UH, BASICALLY HAVE PROPERTIES THAT ARE LISTED AS A CITY OF AUSTIN LANDMARK ARE CONTRIBUTING TO A LOCAL DISTRICT.

SO LANDMARKS ARE INDICATED THROUGH OUR H COMBINING DISTRICT OVERLAY OR AN HD.

HOWEVER, PROPERTIES THAT ARE WITHIN THE DISTRICT, UH, THAT ARE LISTED AS NON-CONTRIBUTING MAY STILL HAVE IT.

SO THEY MAY NOT BE ELIGIBLE, UH, BUT THEY CAN BE REVIEWED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.

SO IT'LL BE, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH STAFF ESSENTIALLY AND THE COMMISSION TO MAKE SURE THERE'S THAT CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS, UM, WITH ALL OUR H AND HD UH, ZONE PROPERTIES.

AND JUST, JUST SO I'M CLEAR HERE, SO LIKE IF THERE'S, UM, A PROPERTY THAT IS, THAT IS UP FOR A DEMOLITION PERMIT, UM, THAT THE NORMAL HISTORIC REVIEW WOULD OCCUR FOR THAT THE NORMAL, THE NORMAL PROCESS STILL APPLIES.

UM, THEN I MEAN, I, ANOTHER QUESTION.

OH, I WAS JUST, YEAH, GONNA ECHO, UM, COMMISSIONER ACTON COMMENTS A LITTLE BIT THERE OF JUST, UM, I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO SEE SOME MORE, UM, REFINING OF SOME OF THESE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS I FEEL LIKE, AND MAYBE SOME WAITING BETWEEN THEM.

'CAUSE SOME OF, SOME OF THESE FEEL LIKE NICE THINGS TO HAVE.

SOME OF THEM FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY NOTICE

[00:35:01]

I MEAN, I THINK OF THE MANY TOWERS DOWNTOWN THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, AN ENTIRE BLOCK OF JUST, YOU KNOW, VENTS, UM, WHICH I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IS, WHICH IS WHAT THIS IS SEEKING TO AVOID.

UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, SEE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS AROUND, UM, OR, OR THE, UH, IS IT, YEAH, UNDER PHASE ONE, SOME OF THE TENANT PROTECTIONS, I FEEL LIKE SOME OF THAT COULD BE, MAYBE WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THAT COULD BE INCLUDED IN THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT STUFF.

I THINK THAT WAS MY ONLY, THOSE WERE MY ONLY QUESTIONS.

OH, I, I, YEAH, I MISSED A SLIDE, SO, YEAH, BUT THIS COVERED.

AND I'M SORRY, UH, VICE CHAIR EVANS, DID I CUT YOU OFF? DID YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? OKAY, GREAT.

COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I JUST WANTED TO NOTE, AT LEAST ON THIS GRAPHIC, IT LOOKED LIKE THE OAKWOOD VIEW CORRIDOR WAS STILL ON THERE, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SEPARATE FROM THE, THE REAL MAP, BUT YOU MIGHT WANT TO MAKE SURE THE UPDATES ARE CAPTURED.

SORRY, WHAT WAS THAT? THE OAKWOOD CEMETERY CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDOR WAS, WAS STILL ON THE GRAPHIC THAT YOU SHOWED.

UH, SO YOU MIGHT DOUBLE CHECK.

YEAH, WE WILL DO THAT.

AND LEMME JUST MAKE A COUPLE OF FINAL COMMENTS.

UM, ONE, FIRST OFF, I THINK THIS IS VERY EXCITING AND I THINK ANTICIPATING AND GETTING AHEAD OF BEING ABLE TO HARNESS SOME OF THESE POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS, TURNING THEM INTO SOMETHING THAT REALLY BENEFITS AT MANY LEVELS.

WE DON'T JUST TURN THIS OVER TO PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT ALONE, BUT WE TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY VALUES AND WE INTEGRATE THOSE, UH, IN, IN AN INCENTIVE AND APPROPRIATE WAY.

THAT SAID, BECAUSE THIS IS NEW TERRITORY AND BECAUSE WE REALLY DON'T KNOW NECESSARILY IF THESE THINGS MIGHT WORK, I WOULD STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THIS PROCESS TO ALSO DEVELOP SOME BEST PRACTICES, PARTICULARLY AS IT COMES TO INTEGRATING HISTORIC PROPERTIES INTO SOME LARGER DEVELOPMENTS.

AND SEVERAL OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE HEARD ME TALK ABOUT, UH, A VERY UNIQUE TOUR THAT I WAS ABLE TO HAVE WITH PRESERVATIONISTS IN DOWNTOWN TORONTO ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO.

AND THEY'VE BEEN AT IT NOW FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, AND THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, CAN POINT TO THE THINGS THAT THEY THOUGHT WOULD WORK AND DIDN'T, AND THE THINGS THAT THEY WISH THEY COULD DO MORE OF.

AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF LESSONS TO BE HAD.

WE DON'T HAVE TO START FROM SCRATCH, NOR DO WE HAVE TO SUFFER SOME OF THE MISTAKES.

SO I WOULD SAY RIGHT NOW, SETTING THOSE EXPECTATIONS AS YOU ARE, PLEASE, PLEASE FIGURE OUT A WAY RIGHT UP FRONT TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THOSE DESIGN STANDARDS, BEST PRACTICES, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO.

THERE ARE LOTS OF TOOLS THAT WE WOULD HAVE, BUT I THINK WHEN WE JUST MENTIONED PRESERVATION, AS WE'VE ALREADY KNOWN, NOTED, THAT CAN MEAN A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

SO I THINK THAT EXPECTATION CLARIFYING THAT, ALLOWING SOME OF THE EXPERTISE YOU HAVE HERE ON THIS COMMISSION TO ALSO PARTICIPATE, UH, WE'RE EAGER TO HELP OUT AND AT THE SAME TIME WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THIS GOES FORWARD WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE DIFFICULTIES THAT WE KNOW ARE GOING TO BE THERE, UH, MITIGATED BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN CAREFUL PLANNING.

APPRECIATE YOUR HELP.

UH, AND THIS IS THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANTS.

UH, THAT CONCLUDES OUR FIRST BRIEFING AND WE APPRECIATE, UH, MR. PANY FROM HIS TIME AND WE NOW HAVE A SECOND BRIEFING.

[3. Staff briefing on FY26 Heritage Preservation Grants by Kristina Koufos, Project Coordinator, Heritage Tourism Division, Austin Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment (AACME). ]

AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES WHILE PROMOTING TOURISM AND THE CONVENTION AND HOTEL INDUSTRIES.

MY NAME'S CHRISTINA KUFA, SHE HER, I'M THE PROJECT COORDINATOR IN THE CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND INVESTMENTS DIVISION, UM, IN AUSTIN, ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.

TODAY WE ALSO HAVE ANNE MARIE MCCASKILL DAVIS, OUR CULTURAL FUNDING SPECIALIST SENIOR, TO HELP PRESENT THE INFORMATION.

TODAY I AM GOING TO COVER THE, UM, PROVIDE A BRIEFING ON THE 2026 HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2026.

WE HAVE, UM, RECOMMENDED FOR FUNDING AND AWARDED OVER $24 MILLION IN GRANTS TO 731 APPLICANTS.

WE HAD OVER 1600 APPLICATION APPLICANTS TO THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, ELEVATE, AND THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT.

THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT SUPPORTS, UH, HISTORIC PLACES AND SAFEGUARDS, THE STORIES, VALUES AND IDENTITIES THAT MAKE AUSTIN UNIQUE.

THE PROGRAM AIMS TO PRESERVE AND PROMOTE PRESERVATION PROJECTS, EXPAND ACCESS TO HISTORIC SPACES AND HERITAGE RESOURCES, SHOWCASE LOCAL STORIES ROOTED IN HISTORY, SUPPORT THE CREATIVE ECONOMY, ALL WITH A STRONG FOCUS ON ATTRACTING AND EXPANDING AUDIENCES AND ENGAGING TOURISTS SEEKING

[00:40:01]

HERITAGE EVENTS MAY RECEIVE UP TO $50,000 OR UP TO $150,000 IF HELD AT A HISTORIC SITE OR DISTRICT, UM, OR CITY COUNCIL HERITAGE DISTRICT.

UH, FOR A 1212 MONTH GRANT.

TERM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS MUST OCCUR AT A DESIGNATED HISTORIC SITE OR SITE ELIGIBLE AND MAY UH, RECEIVE UP TO $250,000 FOR A 24 MONTH GRANT TERM.

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS INCLUDE 5 0 1 C3 NONPROFITS AND FOR-PROFIT BUSINESSES WITH AT LEAST TWO YEARS OF OPERATION IN THE AUSTIN ROUND ROCK METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA.

OR THE MSA, UH, PROJECTS MUST TAKE PLACE AT NON-RESIDENTIAL PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE SITES WITHIN AUSTIN, OR ITS EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OR ETJ.

THE PROGRAM FUNDS PROJECT COSTS WITH NO FINANCIAL MATCH FROM THE APPLICANTS.

OUR OUTREACH INCLUDES VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH ACROSS COUNCIL DISTRICTS WITH A FOCUS ON NEW APPLICANTS AND ENCOURAGING PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN HISTORIC SITES AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.

AFTER THE APPLICATION DEADLINE, INTERDEPARTMENTAL STAFF CONDUCT AN INITIAL REVIEW, UH, TO CONFIRM PROPOSALS MEET THE STATE, UH, THE STATE STATUTE AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS, UM, APPLICATIONS ADVANCE TO AN EXTERNAL PANEL REVIEW.

WERE TRAINED REVIEWERS WITH RELEVANT EXPERTISE, EVALUATE AND SCORE SUBMISSIONS BY PROJECT TYPE PANELS ARE COMPOSED OF PROFESSIONALS WITH RELEVANT EXPERTISE IN AREAS SUCH AS TOURISM, MARKETING, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, ARCHITECTURE, PUBLIC HISTORY, AND, UM, EDUCATION, AS WELL AS ANY DISCLOSED.

AND THEY ALSO DISCLOSE ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST THEY MAY HAVE.

UH, PANEL REVIEWERS SCORED ALL NARRATIVE RESPONSE QUESTIONS WHILE PROGRAM STAFF UM, SCORED MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS.

EACH NARRATIVE RESPONSE WAS REVIEWED BY FIVE TO SIX PANEL REVIEWERS.

UM, AND SCORES WERE CALCULATED USING THE OLYMPIC STYLE SCORING METHOD WHERE WE REMOVE THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST SCORES AND THEN AVERAGE THE REMAINING, UM, TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S A BALANCED EVALUATION.

STAFF SCORES WERE AVERAGED AND COMBINED WITH THE PANEL SCORE TO DETERMINE THE FINAL SCORE.

UM, ALL CRITERIA WERE EVALUATED USING A DETAILED RUBRIC ACROSS THESE FOUR CATEGORIES.

PRESERVATION IMPACT, TOURISM IMPACT, UM, NEW VOICES, HISTORIC PLACES, AND, UH, NEW LOCAL HISTORIC DESIGNATION OF THE 45 SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS, 22 PRESERVATION PROJECT PROPOSALS ARE BEING RECOMMENDED FOR, UM, FY 26 HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT CYCLE OVER 72% REPRESENT NEW APPLICANTS TO THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT PROGRAM, AND OVER 72% OF THE PROJECTS ARE OCCURRING AT SITES WITH AN EXISTING LOCAL HISTORIC DESIGNATION.

UH, THERE WAS A TOTAL OF $3 MILLION AVAILABLE TO AWARD BETWEEN THE TWO HERITAGE PRESERVATION PROGRAMS. WE ALLOCATED 1.5 MILLION TO A TOTAL OF EIGHT CAPITAL PROJECTS, AND THE SECOND 1.5 MILLION WAS AWARDED TO A TOTAL OF 14 HERITAGE EVENT APPLICATIONS.

UM, ON OUR WEBSITE YOU CAN SEE, UM, HIGH LEVEL DEMOGRAPHICS FOR ALL OF THE ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS DRILLING DOWN A BIT MORE TO SEE BREAKDOWNS BY PROGRAM AND BY DISTRICT.

UM, AND SO IN THIS SLIDE YOU CAN SEE THE OVERALL ACME FUNDING PROGRAM AWARD AMOUNTS TO EACH DISTRICT AS PART OF THE PRESENTATION.

AND IN YOUR BACKUP MATERIALS ARE THE 22 PROPOSALS BEING RECOMMENDED FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION.

IT ALSO HAS THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS AS WELL.

SO THESE ARE THE EIGHT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING RECOMMENDED FOR FUNDING.

AND THESE, THIS IS SLIDE ONE OF TWO FOR THE HERITAGE EVENTS.

THERE ARE 14 PLACE-BASED HERITAGE EVENT PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING RECOMMENDED AS WELL.

AND HERE'S THE SECOND PART TO THAT LIST OF HERITAGE EVENTS, I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT IF YOU COMPLETED AN ONGOING PROJECTS AS WELL.

SO THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE CINEMAS BAKER, LLC WAS AWARDED $250,000 TO SUPPORT A WINDOW IN TRIM RESTORATION AT BAKER SCHOOL.

THE WORK INVOLVED REPAIRING AND WHERE WOOD ROCK WAS EXTENSIVE REPLACING THE ORIGINAL WOOD JAMS THAT HAD BEEN CONCEALED BENEATH ALUMINUM WINDOWS AS SHOWN IN THE BEFORE IMAGE LOCATED IN THE HYDE PARK,

[00:45:01]

HISTORIC DISTRICT BAKER SCHOOL WAS ORIGINALLY, ORIGINALLY FUNCTIONED AS A SCHOOL AS INDICATED BY ITS HISTORIC NAME.

NOW THE SITE HAS SINCE TRANSFORMED INTO A HUB FOR CREATIVE BUSINESSES AND, AND EVENTS.

TODAY, TOURISTS AND VISITORS CAN EXPERIENCE THE HISTORIC SITE THROUGH PUBLIC WORKSHOPS, PERFORMANCES, AND OTHER PROGRAMMING.

FEATURED AT THE HISTORIC SITE, ZETA FIVE BETA SORORITY INCORPORATED WAS AWARDED $250,000 FOR A CAPITAL PROJECT TO RESTORE THE THOMPSON HOUSE.

THE PROJECT INCLUDED MANY ELEMENTS INCLUDING FOUNDATION STABILIZATION REPAIRS TO EXTERIOR WOOD ELEMENTS.

INSTALLATION OF AN A DA RAMP, WHICH IS IN THE BACK, YOU CAN SEE IN THE PHOTO ON THE TOP LEFT ROOF AND PORCH REPAIRS, WINDOW AND DOOR RESTORATION, AND HVAC IMPROVEMENTS.

BEGINNING THIS FALL, TOURISTS AND VISITORS CAN TOUR THE ZETA CULTURAL CENTER ON THE FIRST AND SECOND SATURDAYS OF EACH MONTH, AS WELL AS BY APPOINTMENT OUTSIDE OF THAT SCHEDULED TOUR WINDOW.

YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THOMPSON HOUSE AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ZETA PHI BETA SORORITY AND THE ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA KAPPA ZETA CHAPTER TO THE EAST AUSTIN COMMUNITY ON THESE TOURS.

THE LAST PROJECT UPDATE I HAVE HAUNTED TEXAS CORPORATION WAS AWARDED OVER $138,000 FOR AN EDUCATIONAL PROJECT DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION WITH MOONSHINE GRILL TO CREATE A TOUR EXPERIENCE.

THE TOUR FOCUSES ON THE 1900 DAM BREAKING AND ITS IMPACT ON DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.

IN PARTICULAR, ITS EFFECTS ON THE HOFF HINES HOUSE.

AND YOU MAY PROCEED, GO AHEAD.

AND THE RESIDENTS WHO LIVED IN THAT SURROUNDING AREA CONNECTED TO THAT FAMILY COMPOUND TODAY, IT IS KNOWN AS MOONSHINE GRILL.

UM, AND YOU CAN VISIT TOURIST TOURISTS AND VISITORS CAN SIGN UP ONLINE AND JOIN THE TOUR IN FRONT OF MOONSHINE, UM, GRILL AND EXPLORE ADDITIONAL STORIES THROUGH ONSITE QR CODES.

WE DO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRATING THESE PROJECTS AND PROVIDING CONSISTENT UPDATES TO YOU ALL.

UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH STAFF TO SET UP A REGULAR CADENCE TO PROVIDE THE PROGRESS ON, UM, THE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE AWARDED IN THE PAST, WHICH WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE AND PLEASE PROCEED.

UH, OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD LIKE TO, UH, YOUR TIME IS NOT SPECIFICALLY LIMITED AS OTHER SPEAKERS SINCE THIS IS A BRIEFING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE HAVE OTHER THINGS ON THE AGENDA, SO PLEASE PROCEED.

WELL AS A RECENTLY AWARDED $32 MILLION FHWA BRIDGE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM GRANT TOWARDS THE CONSTRUCTION COST.

SO JUST TO WRAP UP REALLY QUICKLY, WE ALSO WANTED YOU TO BE AWARE OF SOME OF THE THINGS HAPPENING WITHIN ACME.

UH, WE ARE WITH OUR, UH, FUNDING PROGRAMS, UM, DOING SOME ADDITIONAL REVIEW OF FEEDBACK FROM THE MOST RECENT ROUND OF APPLICATIONS.

UM, SO WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO VARIOUS COMMISSIONS, UM, GIVING YOU ALL AN UPDATE BEFORE WE LAUNCH OUR NEXT ROUND, WHICH WILL BE, UM, LATER THIS SUMMER.

UM, AND THEN I JUST WANT YOU ALL TO BE AWARE THAT WE DO HAVE A GRANT PROGRAM CURRENTLY OPEN CALLED NEXUS.

IT'S FOR, UM, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS AND ARTS GROUPS, UH, SEEKING FUNDING TO DO ART PROJECTS, WHICH COULD CERTAINLY HAPPEN AT, UM, HISTORIC SITES IN THE CITY.

UM, DEADLINE TO APPLY IS APRIL 16TH.

UM, AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE IS JUST CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN REACHING OUT, UM, AND GETTING SUPPORT WITH, UM, OUR GRANT PROGRAMS. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH COMMISSIONERS.

ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS OF OUR BRIEFERS? ALL RIGHT, WELL WE LOOK FORWARD TO MORE, UH, SUCCESS PICTURES.

THANK YOU FOR THOSE.

AND MAYBE EVEN, UH, A WAY OF RECOGNIZING SOME OF THE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED AS WELL.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR EFFORTS.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS.

ALRIGHT, SO THAT BRINGS US

[4. Staff briefing regarding the Barton Springs Bridge Project by Eric Bailey, Department Director, Capital Delivery Services. ]

UP TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR.

UH, THIS IS A BRIEFING REGARDING THIS BARTON SPRINGS, UH, BRIDGE PROJECT.

I, UM, GOOD EVENING.

UH, MY NAME IS ERIC BAILEY.

I'M THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

I'M HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD BRIDGE PROJECT, I THINK.

THERE WE GO.

PERFECT.

UM, SORRY, LET ME GET MY NOTES IN ORDER HERE.

UM, AS A REMINDER, UH, THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE IS A HUNDRED YEARS OLD THIS YEAR.

IT WAS EXPANDED IN 1946 TO ITS CURRENT FOUR LANE CONFIGURATION.

SEES AN AVERAGE OF 20,000 VEHICLES PER DAY AS A KEY ENTRANCE TO ZILKER PARK AND FOR SOME OF THE CITY'S SIGNATURE EVENTS, INCLUDING THE TRAIL OF LIGHTS, BLUES ON THE GREEN, AND THE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS MUSIC FESTIVAL.

THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED VIA THE CITY'S GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS WITH THE BULK OF THE FUNDING COMING FROM THE 2020 BOND, AS

[00:50:01]

NEXT, I'M GONNA PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE THIS PROJECT IS IN THE DESIGN PROCESS.

BECAUSE OF THE FEDERAL GRANT FOR CONSTRUCTION, THE PROJECT NEEDS TO GO THROUGH THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OR NEPA PROCESS.

UH, AS A PART OF THIS PROCESS, THE ALTERNATIVES THAT WERE PRESENTED IN THE PRELIMINARY BRIDGE REPORT, WHICH YOU ALL RECEIVED A COPY OF AND WAS POSTED AS PART OF THE AGENDA BACKUP ARE ANALYZED.

AGAIN, DETERMINATIONS ARE MADE BY THE ADMINISTERING AGENCY IN THIS CASE IS IT'S TDOT IN COORDINATION WITH THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES, INCLUDING SAVE OUR SPRINGS, WHICH HAS BEEN INVITED TO COLLABORATE ON THE NEPO PROCESS, ON WHAT ADDITIONAL STUDIES NEED TO BE COMPLETED, IF ANY, TO, UH, WRAP UP THAT PROCESS.

AND ADDITIONALLY, THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO PROVIDE COMMENT ON THE NEPA DOCUMENT AND THE PROJECT.

AND THAT PROJECT TAKES AROUND A YEAR TO COMPLETE, UH, AND IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY.

WE'RE LOOKING TO WRAP THAT UP AT THE END OF 2026 AND HAVE THE PROJECT READY TO BID IN EARLY 2027.

UH, DURING THE NEPA PROCESS, WE WORK WITH, UH, TDOT AND THE ARMY CORPS AS WELL AS THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION TO, UM, SORRY, I LOST MY PLACE HERE.

UM, TO DEVELOP THE DESIGN AND DETERMINE HOW TO COMPLY WITH ALL THE RELEVANT REGULATIONS.

UM, AND IN ADDITION TO THE NEPA PROCESS, THIS PROJECT WILL GO THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PERMITTING PROCESS TO OBTAIN APPROVAL FROM ALL THE RELEVANT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND RECEIVE ANY VARIANCES THAT ARE NEEDED AS PART OF THE CONSTRUCTION.

SO LET'S LOOK AT THE CURRENT CONDITION OF THE BRIDGE.

UH, THE PHOTO IN THE UPPER LEFT SHOWS CRACKING AND EXPOSED STEEL UNDER THE BRIDGE.

A PHOTO IN THE UPPER RIGHT SHOWS CRACKING AND DELAMINATION AROUND THE BRIDGE COLUMNS.

PHOTO IN THE LOWER LEFT IS A CONCRETE CORE SAMPLE FROM THE BRIDGE DECK SHOWING DETERIORATION IN THE CONCRETE.

AND THE PHOTO IN THE LOWER RIGHT SHOWS THE CURB, UH, SIDEWALK AND GUARDRAIL.

UH, THE CURRENT BRIDGE IS FUNCTIONALLY OBSOLETE, WHICH MEANS THAT IT DOESN'T MEET THE CURRENT DESIGN STANDARDS.

YOU'VE BEEN ON THAT BRIDGE, YOU'VE SEEN THE NARROW SIDEWALKS, HIGH CURBS AND AND LOW GUARD GUARDRAILS.

UH, THE CONSULTING ENGINEER THAT THE CITY HIRED TO, UM, DEVELOP THE PRELIMINARY BRIDGE REPORT AS WELL AS THE DESIGN, UM, UNDERTOOK A STRUCTURAL EVALUATION OF THE BRIDGE IN 2023 AND FOUND THAT, AND THIS IS A QUOTE BASED ON THE CURRENT LEVEL OF DETERIORATION OF THE LONGITUDINAL BEAM AND CONTINUED INTRUSION OF WATER.

IT'S ESTIMATED THAT IN THE ABSENCE OF REHABILITATION, SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION COULD PROGRESS TO A POINT WHERE INCREASES IN MAINTENANCE COST AND REPAIRS REACH A SIGNIFICANT LEVEL IN FIVE TO 10 YEARS.

REPAIR OF THE LONGITUDINAL BEAM ALONE TO LIMIT WATER INTRUSION MAY NOT BE SUFFICIENT TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE BRIDGE SIGNIFICANTLY.

A PREFERRED METHOD TO LIMIT WATER INTRUSION WOULD BE TO REPLACE THE DECK ENTIRELY AND ELIMINATE THE LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE JOINTS ALTOGETHER.

IN ADDITION, SINCE THE SPANDREL COLUMNS EXHIBIT LOW COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH AND SEVERAL EXHIBIT SPA AND OR DELAMINATION, ANY BRIDGE REHABILITATION DESIRING INCREASED LIFESPAN WOULD INVOLVE STRIPPING THE STRUCTURE DOWN TO ITS ARCH RIBS AND REBUILDING THE SPANDREL COLUMNS, FLOOR BEAMS AND DECK.

SO IF YOU TRANSLATE THAT FROM STRUCTURAL ENGINEER TO PLAIN ENGLISH, THERE IS NO WAY TO HAVE A LIGHT TOUCH REHABILITATION ON THIS STRUCTURE.

UH, THE MAIN STRUCTURAL ISSUES ARE LOCATED IN THE DECK ITSELF AND IT IS BEYOND THE POINT OF REPAIR.

IT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY REPLACED.

ADDITIONALLY, DUE TO THE CONCERNS BROUGHT UP DURING THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT AND SUBSEQUENT TECH STOP BRIDGE INSPECTION REPORTS, THE CITY ENGINEER AND TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT SHIFTED THE TRAVEL LANES TO THE SOUTH TO LIMIT HEAVYWEIGHT TRAFFIC, INCLUDING BUSES AND FIRE APPARATUS, UH, FROM THE OLD PORTION OF THE BRIDGE THAT WAS IN THE WORST STRUCTURAL CONDITION.

AS A PART OF THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT, THE CONSULTANTS STUDIED THE BRIDGE INTERNALLY AS WELL AS EXTERNALLY, AND THE ENGINEER LOOKED AT TRAFFIC PATTERNS, A DA ACCESSIBILITY AND THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS OPTIONS.

FINALLY, THE CITY, THE ENGINEER AND CITY STAFF COORDINATED WITH THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS AS WELL AS THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE HERE THAT THE BRIDGE IS A CONTRIBUTING FEATURE TO THE ZILKER PARK HISTORIC LANDMARK DESIGNATION, AND THE BRIDGE ITSELF IS NOT A, A HISTORIC LANDMARK.

IT'S ALSO EQUALLY IMPORTANT THAT DURING THIS COORDINATION EFFORT, BOTH THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS AND THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION HAVE REVIEWED AND APPROVED FULL REPLACEMENT AS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE FOR THIS PROJECT.

UM, AND ANOTHER POINT HERE, THIS PROJECT HAS UNDERGONE, UH, THIRD PARTY REVIEW BY WEISS JANNIE ELSINORE ENGINEERS, UH, WHICH I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER LAROCHE IS A PRINCIPAL AT THAT FIRM AS WELL.

UM, LET ME JUST TAKE A MOMENT.

CERTAINLY.

SO THERE HAS BEEN ON THE RECORD, A DECISION FROM THE TEXAS HISTORIC COMMISSION.

THEY'VE ALREADY VOTED TO PRO TO APPROVE DEMOLITION.

NO, THEY'VE NOT VOTED TO APPROVE DEMOLITION, BUT WHAT WE'VE DONE IS COORDINATED WITH THEM DURING THE BRIDGE PROCESS AND WE ASKED THEM SPECIFICALLY THE QUESTION, IS DEMOLITION A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE? A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE? CORRECT.

I SEE.

SO YES, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY IT'S ONE OF MANY ALTERNATIVES IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, CORRECT? YES.

THC THAT'LL HAPPEN AS A PART OF THE NEPA PROCESS WHEN WE GET TO THE END OF THAT.

I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S CLEAR.

SO THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO NO DECISION FROM

[00:55:01]

AND WE'LL ASK FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THAT SHORTLY.

HISTORIC, UM, UH, COMMITTEES AND COORDINATING ON WHAT THE BRIDGE IS GONNA LOOK LIKE.

SO THE OPTIONS THAT WERE PRESENTED, UM, IN THE, IN THE BRIDGE ENGINEERING REPORT ARE AS FOLLOWS.

UM, FIVE OPTIONS WERE EVALUATED, UH, PRESERVING THE EXISTING STRUCTURE WAS ELIMINATED FROM FURTHER ANALYSIS DUE TO THE STRUCTURAL CONDITION OF THE EXISTING BRIDGE.

THE THREE REPLACEMENT OPTIONS AND ONE REHABILITATION OPTION MOVED FORWARD FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS.

AND DURING THIS PROCESS, STAFF HELD OPEN HOUSES IN PERSON AND ONLINE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

UH, THE RESPONSES RECEIVED, UH, REHABILITATION AND REPLACEMENT WERE EVENLY SPLIT IN TERMS OF THE PUBLIC, UH, PREFERENCE ON THE ALTERNATIVES.

SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BRIDGE REHABILITATION, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE SCHEMATIC, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE DECK WOULD NEED TO BE FULLY REMOVED FROM THE EXISTING STRUCTURE.

REPAIRS WILL BE MADE TO THE EXISTING ARCHES, AND ADDITIONAL ARCHES WILL BE ADDED TO ACCOMMODATE THE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE TRAFFIC.

THE DECK WOULD THEN BE REPLACED AND LESS THAN HALF OF THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE WOULD REMAIN, AND ALL OF THE OLD ARCHES WOULD BE OBSTRUCTED FROM VIEW BY NEW ONES TO ACCOMMODATE THE ADDITIONAL BICYCLE AND, UH, PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC.

THIS OPTION, UH, COSTS AS MUCH AS THE FULL REPLACEMENT OPTION AND HAS A SHORT, SHORTER, USEFUL LIFE APPROXIMATELY 50 YEARS COMPARED TO 75 PLUS YEARS FOR THE REPLACEMENT ALTERNATIVE.

ADDITIONALLY, UH, THE PROJECT HAS BEEN BEFORE COUNCIL ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.

THE FIRST TIME WAS WITH THE 2020 BOND RESOLUTION, WHICH INCLUDED DIRECTION FOR STAFF TO COMPLETE THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT, AND THEN RETURN TO COUNCIL FOR A PRESENTATION ON THE OPTIONS AND RECEIVED DIRECTION ON WHICH OPTION TO PURSUE.

STAFF PRESENTED THE OPTIONS TO COUNCIL AT A WORK SESSION IN DECEMBER OF 2023 AT A SUBSEQUENT COUNCIL MEETING.

AT THAT POINT, COUNCIL DIRECTED STAFF TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE FULL REPLACEMENT OPTION.

SINCE THEN, THE PROJECT HAS BEEN BEFORE COUNCIL RELATED TO THE APPLICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE FEDERAL GRANT.

THE NEXT TIME THIS PROJECT WE NEED TO GO TO COUNCIL WILL BE FOR A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT AWARD FOR THE NEW BRIDGE.

HOWEVER, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THERE ARE VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT WOULD BE, UH, NEEDED IN TERMS OF OBTAINING APPROVAL DURING THE PERMITTING PROCESS, WHICH WOULD HAPPEN LATER IN 2026.

SO PLEASE, PLEASE PROCEED.

I'M NOT SURE WHO'S, IS THAT A PHONE? OKAY.

ALL RIGHT, GO AHEAD.

EXCUSE ME.

THIS DIAGRAM SHOWS WHAT THE BRIDGE WOULD LOOK LIKE.

UH, PEDESTRIAN BICYCLE LANES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BRIDGE, SAME NUMBER OF THROUGH TRAFFIC LANES AS CURRENTLY EXIST IN THE ADDITION OF A RIGHT TURN LANE ONTO A MORTON TO IMPROVE VEHICULAR CIRCULATION ON THE BRIDGE.

SO NEXT STEPS.

UH, AS I MENTIONED, UH, A PART OF THE PERMITTING PROCESS, WE WILL NEED REVIEW BY THE LANDMARKS COMMISSION MOBILITY COMMITTEE, PARKS BOARD DESIGN COMMISSION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERMITTING OF THIS PROJECT.

ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE'RE HERE TODAY IS WHEN WE RECENTLY PRESENTED THE PROJECT TO LANDMARK COMMISSION, UM, IN FEBRUARY, IT WAS INADVERTENTLY POSTED AS AN ACTION ITEM WHEN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED AS A STAFF BRIEFING WITH NO ACTION REQUIRED.

UH, ACTION FROM ALL THESE COMMISSIONS WILL COME AT A LATER DATE WHEN WE'RE NEARING THE END OF, UH, WHEN WE'VE SUBMITTED FOR THE PERMITTING PROCESS.

WE'RE NOT THERE YET.

THE 90% DESIGN SUBMITTAL IS DUE FROM THE CONSULTANT THIS MONTH.

AND FOR PROJECTS SUCH AS THIS, THAT 90% MILESTONE GENERALLY STARTS THE PERMITTING PROCESS BECAUSE THE PLANS ARE DEVELOPED ENOUGH FOR REVIEWERS TO PROVIDE DETAILED COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSED PROJECT.

UM, BECAUSE OF THE DISCUSSION BY THE LANDMARKS COMMISSION, THE TEAM, THE PROJECT TEAM DECIDED TO REACH OUT TO THE OTHER RELEVANT COMMISSIONS FOR A STAFF BRIEFING AND PROJECT UPDATE.

AGAIN, NO ACTION IS NEEDED AT THIS POINT, UH, FROM ANY OF THE COMMISSIONS THAT I LISTED PREVIOUSLY, AND THAT WILL COME LATER THIS YEAR.

UM, IN THE FEBRUARY COMMISSION, IN THE FEBRUARY MEETING, THIS COMMISSION DISCUSSED RECOMMENDATION OF DESIGNATION OF THE BRIDGE AS A HISTORIC LANDMARK.

AS YOU'RE ALL AWARE, THE RECOMMENDATION FROM LANDMARKS WOULD THEN GO TO PLANNING AND ULTIMATELY TO CITY COUNCIL TO FINALIZE.

UH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE DESIGNATION OF THE BRIDGE AS A LANDMARK DOES NOT PRECLUDE THE REPLACEMENT OPTION.

IT CHANGES THE REVIEW PARAMETERS BY THE TEXAS HISTORIC COMMISSION AND THE RELEVANT REGULATIONS RELATED TO THE DESIGN OF THE REPLACEMENT STRUCTURE.

AND AS AN EXAMPLE OF A PROJECT THAT I'VE ACTUALLY WORKED ON IN THE PAST, UH, WHERE THERE WAS A HISTORIC, UH, COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT WOULD BE THIS YEAR, WHICH IS THE CALIFORNIA INCLINE IN SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA.

YOU CAN SEE, UM, THIS PROJECT PRESENTS SIMILAR ISSUES WITH NARROW SIDEWALKS, LOW RAILINGS.

THIS, UH, FACILITY WAS BUILT INTO AN ERODING BLUFF.

THE RIGHT HAND SIDE SHOWN THERE IS ACTUALLY BUILT ON DIRT, WHERE THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS A SERIES OF, UM, STRUCTURAL BRIDGES THAT GO ACROSS.

THIS WAS IN POOR STRUCTURAL CONDITION AS WELL AS, UH, FUNCTIONALLY OBSOLETE.

AND HERE, UH, IS WHAT THE REPLACEMENT PROJECT LOOK, LOOKS LOOKS LIKE YOU CAN SEE IT HAS, UM, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR, THE SAME NUMBER OF TRAFFIC LANES.

HOWEVER, THE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE, UH, EXPERIENCE HAS GREATLY IMPROVED FOR FOLKS TO GET UP AND DOWN THAT BRIDGE.

UM, THIS STRUCTURE HERE CAN NOW HAS PIERS THAT GO DOWN, UM, YOU KNOW, 50, 60 FEET INTO THE GROUND.

IT CAN ACTUALLY STAND ON ITS OWN IF THAT BLUFF WERE TO, UH, ERODE MORE.

AND IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF, UH, THE CITY WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE RELEVANT

[01:00:01]

THE MAIN HISTORIC ELEMENT HERE THAT WAS PRESERVED WAS THE, UH, ARCHWAYS IN THE RAILING.

YOU CAN SEE THEY GOT A LITTLE BIT BIGGER AND A LITTLE BIT TALLER, BUT ROTATE, REMAIN, UH, RETAIN THE SAME KIND OF LOOK AND FEEL AS THEY MOVE FORWARD.

UM, SO WITH THAT, I WILL OPEN IT UP.

I KNOW THAT THERE ARE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THIS.

AND SPECIFICALLY, UM, BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO COMMISSIONERS, WOULD YOU OUTLINE THE FEDERAL PROCESS, PARTICULARLY AS IT PERTAINS TO THE VARIOUS EVENTS THAT WILL COME UP, THE CHANCE FOR PUBLIC INPUT, AND IN PARTICULAR, A DISCUSSION OF THE HISTORIC NATURE OF THE BRIDGE? YEAH.

THE COORDINATION WITH THAT WILL BE ALL THROUGH THE, THE NEPA PROCESS AS WE GO FORWARD WITH THAT, WE'RE WORKING ON THE PRELIMINARY REPORTING.

THERE, THERE WILL BE PUBLIC NOTICE, UH, INTERESTED PARTIES WILL BE NOTIFIED.

UM, AND THERE WILL BE VARIOUS NOTIFICATIONS TO THE PUBLIC AS WELL AS BOARD AND COMMISSIONS AND INTERESTED PARTIES ARE.

BUT WHERE WILL THEY, WHERE WILL THEY TAKE PLACE? AND ABOUT WHAT TIMEFRAME ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? YEAH, SO THE TIMEFRAME WE'RE WORKING ON THAT RIGHT NOW.

AS I SAID, WE JUST RECENTLY STARTED THAT NEPA PROCESS AND WE HAVEN'T DEVELOPED A TIMELINE.

I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE.

IT WILL BE, YOU KNOW, LATER THIS SUMMER INTO THE FALL WHEN WE HAVE THE PUBLIC EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

BUT IF SOMEONE WERE INTERESTED, WOULD IT BE HERE AT CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS OR IS IT GOING TO BE AT THE STATE AGENCY? WHERE, WHERE WOULD ONE NORMALLY EXPECT THOSE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES? YEAH, GENERALLY WE'D FIND, UM, LOCATIONS, USUALLY NOT AT CITY HALL, BUT USUALLY AT OTHER AREAS.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAD THE PREVIOUS, UM, PUBLIC OUTREACH RELATED TO THE PRELIMINARY BRIDGE REPORT AT ZILKER PARK, UM, AND NOTIFICATIONS AND, AND INVITATIONS FOR THOSE FOLKS.

SO THE LOCATION HASN'T BEEN SET YET.

UM, IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, WE WILL HAVE SEVERAL MEETINGS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE AND BE NOTICED IN, IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND WE CERTAINLY WOULD LIKE TO PLEASE.

SO LET'S GO TO OUR SPEAKERS, PLEASE BEFORE WE CONTINUE WITH QUESTIONS.

UM, WE HAVE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.

OH, WE HAVE SPEAKERS ON THIS SIDE? YES, WE DO.

I WAS NOT AWARE.

UH, ARE THERE ANY IMMEDIATE QUESTIONS? JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, UH, THERE PROBABLY WILL BE MORE AFTER THE SPEAKERS.

SO WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

UH, LET US PROCEED WITH THE SPEAKERS.

ALL RIGHT.

OUR FIRST SPEAKER SIGNED UP ON THIS ITEM IS MEGAN KING MOUR.

GOOD EVENING.

MEGAN KING DE MOORE POLICY AND OUTREACH PLANNER FOR PRESERVATION.

AUSTIN.

I'M HERE TODAY TO EXPRESS ORGANIZATION'S CONCERNS OVER THE PROCEDURAL HANDLING OF THE BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE PROJECT, WHICH SEEKS TO DEMOLISH A NATIONAL REGISTER LISTED BRIDGE, DESPITE A LIMITED PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AND IRREGULARITIES IN THE CITY'S REVIEW OF HISTORIC STRUCTURES.

IN THE SPRING OF 2023, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS HELD A MONTH AND A HALF LONG ENGAGEMENT PERIOD THAT PROPOSED REPLACEMENT AS THE PREFERRED OPTION, AND PRESENTED REHABILITATION AS INFEASIBLE IN RESPONSE PRESERVATION AUSTIN SENT A LETTER REQUESTING A QUALIFIED ENGINEER WITH EXPERTISE IN HISTORIC BRIDGES ASSESSED THE BRIDGES CONDITION BEFORE A FINAL DETERMINATION WAS MADE DURING THIS BRIEF WINDOW, DPW, NEITHER SOUGHT PRESERVATION AUSTIN'S INPUT NOR RESPONDED TO OUR LETTER.

IN DECEMBER, 2023, CITY COUNCIL VOTED ON CONSENT TO APPROVE THE BRIDGES REPLACEMENT APPROVE OF THE BRIDGES REPLACEMENT, EFFECTIVELY AUTHORIZING ITS DEMOLITION WITH LIMITED PUBLIC INPUT AND NO HISTORIC VIEW BY HLC AS IS YOUR PURVIEW.

SINCE THE CITY ANTICIPATES USING FEDERAL FUNDS FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, TWO IMPORTANT LAWS APPLY SECTION 1 0 6 OF THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT AND SECTION FOUR F OF THE DE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ACT.

SECTION FOUR F SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITS APPROVAL OF A PROJECT THAT USES HISTORIC SITE UNLESS THERE IS NO FEASIBLE AND PRUDENT ALTERNATIVE.

AND ALL POSSIBLE PLANNING TO MINIMIZE HARM HAS OCCURRED IS IT IS A SUBSTANTIVE CONSTRAINT, NOT A BOX CHECKING EXERCISE.

NONE OF THESE REGULATIONS GUARANTEE PRESERVATION, BUT THEY WERE ENACTED TO ENSURE THE COMMUNITY HAS A MEANINGFUL VOICE.

THAT PROCESS INCLUDES A SINCERE EVALUATION OF OPTIONS, NOT DEMOLITION AS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION.

THE BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE PROJECT.

BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE IS ICONIC HISTORIC WORK OF INFRASTRUCTURE, FAMILIAR TO LOCALS AND VISITORS ALIKE, ENSURING ITS SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT AND PRESERVATION MAY NOT BE FEASIBLE, BUT WE CALL ON THE CITY TO FOLLOW ITS OWN PROCESSES TO ENSURE ALL OPTIONS ARE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED.

PRECEDENTS LIKE THE MONTOPOLIS BRIDGE AND THE LAMAR LUER BRIDGES SHOW HOW A PRESERVATION MINDED APPROACH CAN IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY, MEET TRANSPORTATION GOALS, AND ENHANCE EXPERIENCE OF THE BUILT AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.

AUSTINITES DESERVE A THOUGHTFUL, TRANSPARENT PROCESS THAT HONORS OUR HISTORY, PROTECTS PUBLIC SAFETY, AND ENHANCES THIS VITAL PUBLIC SPACE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND YOUR SERVICE.

AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, UH, THIS IS A BRIEFING.

WE ARE NOT POSTED FOR ANY ACTION.

HOWEVER, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO TAKE, UH, WHATEVER TESTIMONY IF PEOPLE ARE HERE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM.

AND COMMISSIONERS ARE GOING, I'M CERTAIN TO HAVE CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS, UH, OF THE, UH, OF THE STAFF.

SO WE'LL PROCEED NOW WITH THE COMMENTS.

OUR SECOND SPEAKER SIGNED UP ON THIS ITEM IS

[01:05:01]

TARA O'CONNELL.

I'M TERRY O'CONNELL, A RESTORATION ARCHITECT, AND I'M HERE TO EXPRESS MY STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE LANDMARK DESIGNATION AND PRESERVATION OF BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE.

THE BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE IS NOT SIMPLY A PIECE OF INFRASTRUCTURE.

IT IS ONE OF AUSTIN'S MOST DEFINING PLACES FOR NEARLY A CENTURY.

IT HAS CONNECTED PEOPLE, NOT, NOT ONLY ACROSS BARTON CREEK, BUT TO THE VERY HEART OF OUR CITY'S CULTURAL AND NATURAL LIFE.

I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT ON BEHALF OF THE SAVE OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE, WE HAVE FORMALLY SUBMITTED THE LANDMARK APPLICATION TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN TODAY FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AT AN UPCOMING MEETING.

IN MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION, THIS BRIDGE CLEARLY MEETS ALL FIVE CRITERIA FOR HISTORIC DESIGNATION FOR AUSTIN LANDMARK COMPLETED IN 1926.

THE BRIDGE REPRESENTS A MOMENT WHEN AUSTIN MADE A DELIBERATE INVESTMENT IN ITS FUTURE, EMBRACING MODERN ENGINEERING, EXPANDING PUBLIC ACCESS, AND SHAPING THE CIVIC LANDSCAPE WE CONTINUE TO VALUE TODAY.

FROM A TECHNICAL STANDPOINT, IT IS AN EARLY AND REMARKABLY INTACT EXAMPLE OF AN OPEN SPANDREL REINFORCED CONCRETE ARCH BRIDGE.

THIS WAS NOT A ROUTINE DESIGN, IT WAS A, FOR, IT WAS FORWARD THINKING.

ITS ELEGANT STRUCTURAL SYSTEM REDUCED THE MATERIAL WHILE INCREASING STRENGTH AND ITS VISUAL OPENNESS ALLOWS IT TO SIT LIGHTLY WITHIN BARTON CREEK LANDSCAPE RATHER THAN DOMINATED.

EVEN MORE NOTABLY, ITS DESIGN INCORPORATED GEOTECHNICAL ANALYSIS, IDENTIFYING LIMESTONE BEDROCK AND ANCHORING DIRECTLY INTO IT, DEMONSTRATING A LEVEL OF ENGINEERING SOPHISTICATION THAT WAS AHEAD OF ITS TIME UNDER THE CRITERIA OF SIGNIFICANT PERSONS.

THE BRIDGE IS ASSOCIATED WITH CHARLES TERRELL BARTLETT, ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BRIDGE ENGINEERS IN TEXAS.

HIS WORK HELPED ESTABLISH REINFORCED CONCRETE AS THE STANDARD FOR BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION ACROSS THE STATE, AND THE BARTONS SPRINGS BRIDGE STANDS AS HIS MOST IMPORTANT WORK IN AUSTIN.

THIS BRIDGE IS NOT ONLY A FINE EXAMPLE OF ITS TYPE, IT IS A PART OF A BROADER STORY OF INNOVATION AND PROFESSIONALISM IN ENGINEERING.

BUT WHAT MAKES THIS BRIDGE TRULY IRREPLACEABLE IS ITS LIVING PRESENCE IN THE COMMUNITY EVERY DAY.

THOUSANDS CROSS IT COMMUTERS, FAMILIES, RUNNERS, CYCLISTS, OFTEN WITHOUT REALIZING THEY'RE A PART OF A NEARLY 100 YEAR CONTINUUM OF USE.

IT IS THE THRESHOLD TO ZILKER PARK, A PLACE OF GATHERING, CELEBRATION, AND MEMORY FOR GENERATIONS OF AUSTINITES.

FOR THESE REASONS, IT CLEARLY MEETS THE CRITERIA FOR BOTH ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND ASSOCIATION WITH A SIGNIFICANT PERSON IN AUSTIN HISTORY.

I'D NOW LIKE TO, UH, I BELIEVE THAT LORI MARTIN IS OUR NEXT SPEAKER.

SHE DID THE LION'S SHARE OF THE WORK ON THIS NOMINATION, AND SHE'LL BE ABLE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE OTHER THREE CRITERIA.

OKAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LORI MARTIN.

I'M LORI MARTIN, ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN WITH O'CONNELL ARCHITECTURE.

THANKS FOR HAVING US HERE TONIGHT.

I WANNA BUILD ON TERRY'S REMARKS AND ADDRESS THE REMAINING THREE CRITERIA THAT THE, UH, BRIDGE DOES MEET COMMUNITY VALUE, ARCHEOLOGY, ARCHEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN LANDSCAPE SETTING.

THE BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE IS NOT JUST HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT, IT'S ACTIVELY WOVEN INTO THE DAILY LIFE OF AUSTIN FOR NEARLY 100 YEARS.

100 YEARS AS OF JUNE 21ST OF THIS YEAR, IT HAS SERVED AS A VITAL CONNECTION BETWEEN DOWNTOWN AND ZILKER PARK, ONE OF THE CITY'S MOST IMPORTANT PUBLIC SPACES.

MORE THAN THAT, IT FUNCTIONS AS A GATEWAY, MARKING THE TRANSITION FROM THE URBAN CORE INTO A LANDSCAPE OF RECREATION, ECOLOGY, AND SHARED CIVIC EXPERIENCE.

GENERATIONS OF AUSTINITES HAVE CROSSED THIS BRIDGE ON THEIR WAY TO THE SPRINGS, THE TRAILS AND COMMUNITY GATHERINGS UNDER THE CRITERION OF ARCHEOLOGY.

THE BRIDGE IS LOCATED WITHIN THE BARTON CREEK CORRIDOR, AN AREA WITH A LONG AND WELL-DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF HUMAN ACTIVITY, INCLUDING INDIGENOUS USE, SPANNING

[01:10:01]

THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

THIS LANDSCAPE RETAINS THE POTENTIAL TO YIELD IMPORTANT ARCHEOLOGICAL INFORMATION, AND THE BRIDGE IS PART OF THAT BROADER CULTURAL CONTEXT.

EQUALLY IMPORTANT IS THE LANDSCAPE CRITERION.

THE BRIDGE DEMONSTRATES A STRONG AND INTACT RELATIONSHIP WITH ITS NATURAL SETTING.

ITS OPEN SPANDREL DESIGN, PRESERVES, VIEWS, LIGHT, AND THE FLOW OF BARTON CREEK, ALLOWING IT TO EXIST IN HARMONY WITH THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT RATHER THAN COMPETING WITH IT.

IT'S ALSO CON A CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURE WITHIN THE ZILKER PARK NATIONAL REGISTER, HISTORIC DISTRICT REINFORCING THE INTEGRITY AND IDENTITY OF THE SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL LANDSCAPE.

IN CONCLUSION, THE BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE MEETS ALL FIVE, ALL FIVE CRITERIA FOR LANDMARK DESIGNATION, ARCHITECTURE, HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS, COMMUNITY VALUE, ARCHEOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPE FEATURES.

AS THE BRIDGE APPROACHES ITS CENTENNIAL ON JUNE 21ST OF THIS YEAR, DESIGNATION IS NOT ONLY APPROPRIATE, IT'S ESSENTIAL TO ENSURE THAT THIS DEFINING ELEMENT OF AUSTIN'S HERITAGE IS PRESERVED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

WE HOPE THAT WE'VE PROVIDED ENOUGH INFORMATION TO OFFER YOU A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR YOU TO INITIATE HISTORIC ZONING ON THE BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE.

AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.

NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE.

OUR LAST SPEAKER ON THIS ITEM IS BILL BUNCH.

WOULD YOU PLEASE PULL UP ITEM, UH, SLIDE NUMBER SEVEN ON THE PRESENTATION.

AND THEN I'LL COME BACK TO MY SLIDES, , IF I HAVE TIME.

GOOD EVENING, UH, CHAIR HEIM, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR, UH, SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY.

I'M BILL BUNCH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND ATTORNEY FOR SAVE OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE.

UH, WE ARE EXCITED TO SPONSOR THE, UH, PETITION FOR LOCAL HISTORIC ZONING AND LANDMARK DESIGNATION, UH, THAT MS. O'CONNELL AND, UH, MS. MARTIN JUST REFERRED TO.

I BELIEVE Y'ALL HAVE HARD COPIES AND WE CAN PROVIDE, UH, UH, ELECTRONIC COPIES.

UM, IF, IF, CAN YOU GO TO THE PRESENTATION THAT THE STAFF PRESENTED? I'M SORRY.

I WAS WELL, YOU'RE HERE.

JUST, I APOLOGIZE.

HAPPENED SINCE 2023, WE DON'T NEED TO DO THAT DOUBLING.

SO, UM, FIRST THANK YOU, UH, CHAIR SETH FOR ASKING THAT CRITICAL, UH, QUESTION OF THE PRESENTER ABOUT, UH, MAKING THE POINT THAT YES, TEARING IT DOWN AND REPLACING IT MIGHT BE VIEWED AS VIABLE IN, IN SOME RESPECTS.

UH, BUT WHAT HE STILL DIDN'T TOUCH ON, AND WHICH YOU'VE HEARD PREVIOUS SPEAKERS IN WHICH I PUT IN MY DETAILED LETTER TO Y'ALL, THE LEGAL STANDARD THAT APPLIES HERE IS THAT IT HAS TO BE NO FEASIBLE AND PRUDENT ALTERNATIVE, UH, TO DEMOLISHING THE BRIDGE.

AND HERE THE CITY'S OWN RECORDS, THEIR OWN INFORMATION, THEIR OWN RE ENGINEERING REPORTS SHOW THAT WE CAN IN FACT SAVE THIS BRIDGE FOR LESS MONEY AT THIS POINT THAN TO TEAR IT DOWN AND REPLACE IT NOW.

AND, AND THE ANALYSIS TO REJECT THAT AS AN ALTERNATIVE, UH, AS SOMEHOW THEY'RE NOT SAYING IT'S NOT FEASIBLE.

THEY'RE NOT SAYING IT WOULDN'T BE PRUDENT.

THEY'RE JUST SAYING WE DON'T WANT TO DO IT.

THIS SLIDE, THOUGH, ILLUSTRATES THEIR, UH, FALSE ANALYSIS.

AND, UH, THE BRIDGE ENGINEER FROM TXDOT THAT SPOKE TO YOU LAST MONTH, UH, HIGHLIGHTED THIS SLIDE.

AND I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSCORE IT FIRST.

IT SAYS ACROSS THE BOTTOM THAT LESS THAN HALF OF THE ORIGINAL RESTRUCTURE WOULD REMAIN IF YOU, UH, TEAR IT DOWN.

AND THAT 50% IS KIND OF A, A, A STANDARD FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION.

UH, THERE'S NO SUPPORT FOR THAT STATEMENT.

UH, IN FACT, IT'S FALSE.

IT'S COUNTING THE BRIDGE DECKING, WHICH IS THE ONE PLACE WHERE WE ALL AGREE THERE'S SOME PROBLEMS, BUT THE DECKING IS JUST A SLAB.

IT HAS REALLY NO ARCHITECTURAL OR HISTORIC VALUE.

YOU DRIVE ON IT.

IT'S THE REST OF THE BRIDGE THAT COUNTS, THAT HAS THE ARCHITECTURAL SPECIALTY TO IT, THAT HAS THE HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE.

EVERY BRIDGE HAS A FLAT DECK, AND THEY'RE COMPLETELY, YOU KNOW, INTERCHANGEABLE.

SECOND, AS YOU SHOW IT SHOWS ON THE THIRD PICTURE, THEY ONLY LOOKED AT ADDING THESE ADDITIONAL SPANDRELS AND EXPANDING IT, DOUBLE THE FOOTPRINT.

WE NOW KNOW SINCE WHAT'S

[01:15:01]

SECONDLY, THEY DIDN'T EVEN LOOK AT THE OBVIOUS ALTERNATIVE, WHICH IS WHAT WE DID AT THE LAMAR BRIDGE, WHERE YOU HAVE A PARALLEL BRIDGE NOT ON TOP OF IT.

SO IT'S INTERFERING WITH THE VIEW AND ALSO EXTRA EXPENSIVE, BUT NEARBY.

AND WE CAN DO THAT JUST LIKE WE DID WITH THE LAMAR BRIDGE OF, UH, AND LOOK AT THAT AS AN ALTERNATIVE.

SO PLEASE DON'T ACCEPT THIS AND, UH, LET'S APPLY THE LAW AND THE FACTS CORRECTLY HERE.

ANY OTHER SPEAKERS? NO OTHER SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM? OKAY.

UM, I, I THINK WE DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.

SO, UM, WE SHOULD HAVE, UH, STAFF BACK COMMISSIONERS.

UM, I KNOW YOU HAVE LOTS OF, UH, QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTERS, SO, UH, I'LL, I'LL TURN IT OVER ONE BY ONE.

UH, COMMISSIONER ACTON, DO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO START? UH, SURE.

I'LL START.

UH, FIRSTLY, THANK YOU FOR COMING AND GIVING THIS PRESENTATION.

AND I, I AM ONE OF THE, UH, ENGINEERS ON THIS BODY.

I HAVE 20 PLUS YEARS OF FORENSIC ENGINEERING, INCLUDING REPAIR OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES IN MY BACKGROUND.

SO I'VE BEEN KIND OF ASKED AS ONE OF THE PEOPLE TO ASK CERTAIN TYPES OF QUESTIONS TO TRY TO GET A TECHNICAL REASON FOR, TO EDUCATE THIS GROUP ON WHY IT MAY NEED TO BE SAVED OR MAY NOT.

SO, I HAVE A LOT OF TECHNICAL QUESTIONS AND MY FIRST QUESTION IS, CAN YOU ANSWER THE TECHNICAL QUESTIONS OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ACTUALLY GET, MAYBE TALK TO THE, THE PEOPLE THAT DID THE ASSESSMENT? IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THE TECHNICAL QUESTION IS.

I'M ALSO A REGISTERED ENGINEER BY THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, SO I CAN ANSWER SOME OF IT.

STRUCTURAL IS NOT MY SPECIALTY, BUT I HAVE READ AND STUDIED THE REPORTS THAT WERE PREPARED BY THE ENGINEER.

SO WE HAVEN'T BEEN PROVIDED THE REPORTS 'CAUSE THEY'VE BEEN CLASSIFIED.

HOWEVER, WE DID, WE WERE PROVIDED THE THIRD PARTY, UM, REVIEW OF THE REPORTS DONE BY WJE IN 2023.

UM, THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A PREVIOUS ONE.

THIS ONE WAS ACTUALLY DONE OFF OF AFTER SOME OF THESE DECISIONS HAD BEEN MADE AND IT WAS NOT DONE OFF OF THE ORIGINAL, UM, REPORT THAT'S BEEN CLASSIFIED.

HOWEVER, THERE ARE REFERENCES TO THE ORIGINAL REPORT IN HERE.

UM, EVEN THOUGH WHEN YOU GO TO THE BASIS OF THIS DOCUMENT, THOSE WERE REDACTED OR NOT INCLUDED.

SO I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THIS FIRST AND THEN ASK A FEW OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT LIKE TEXTILES, CODING REQUIREMENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, SO IN COMMENT NUMBER ONE OF THE DOCUMENT, AND YOU REFERENCED THIS IN YOUR OWN PRESENTATION DOCUMENT NUMBER ONE STATES THAT THIS BRIDGE HAS A SCORE OF SIX WITH OTHER ELEMENTS OF IT BEING A FIVE PER TEXT UP.

SIX IS SATISFACTORY, FIVE IS FINE OR FAIR.

UM, SO IT ISN'T ACTUALLY BEYOND REPAIR, FALLING APART, PROTECT DOT'S OWN STANDARDS.

UH, THE SIX READS SATISFACTORY CONDITION STRUCTURE ELEMENTS SHOW SOME MINOR DETERIORATION.

SO, AND NUMBER FIVE IS ACTUALLY FAIR CONDITION.

ALL PRIMARY STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS ARE SOUND MAY HAVE MINOR SECTION LOSS, CRACKING, SPING, THINGS LIKE THAT.

THERE'S SOME REFERENCE TO A VARIATION IN THAT SCORING ON THE DECK.

UM, WE DON'T HAVE THAT REPORT, I CAN'T TELL YOU.

AND I THINK THAT THE DECK MAY HAVE BEEN THE REASON WHY IT WAS CLASSIFIED.

THAT'S NOT HOW PEOPLE BLOW BRIDGES UP, BUT THAT'S FINE.

UM, SO SINCE HAVE YOU GUYS REINSPECTED THIS SINCE THIS WAS ASSIGNED TO SIX, THERE'S AN UPCOMING TEXTILE INSPECTION THAT'LL BE HAPPENING THIS SUMMER RELATED TO THIS.

THEY'RE ON A TWO YEAR CYCLE FOR THEIR INSPECTION, SO IT'S UPCOMING.

SO WHEN THE LAST TIME THIS WAS DONE WAS 2016, 2017.

MM.

I THINK WE HAVE A MORE RECENT, UH, TEXAS BRIDGE, UH, TEXAS BRIDGE INSPECTION REPORT.

I'M NOT SURE OF THE EXACT YEAR, BUT I THINK IT WAS 2020 OR 2020.

WHAT WERE THE RATINGS IN THAT? I DON'T KNOW OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.

I DON'T HAVE IT.

AGAIN, I CAN GIVE YOU THE, UH, UH, MAINTENANCE INFORMATION FROM TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS.

UM, THERE AT LEAST SOME OF THE DISTRESSED PHOTOS THAT WERE PROVIDED IN THE, IN THE PRESENTATION WHERE FOR 2016 MM-HMM .

UM, WHICH HAS BEEN 10 YEARS.

UM, IS THERE A REASON THOSE WEREN'T REPAIRED OR NOTHING WAS DONE TO MITIGATE DISTRESS? UH, TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS HAS UNDERTAKEN THE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO.

I CAN GET YOU A LIST OF THE, THERE'S BEEN NO CONCRETE PATCHING ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE BRIDGE.

WHY HAVEN'T THERE NO BEEN CONCRETE PATCHING ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE BRIDGE? I CAN GET YOU A LIST OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT OKAY.

TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS HAS UNDERTAKEN AS PART OF THEIR ONGOING MAINTENANCE EFFORTS RELATED TO THE, THERE'S ALSO NO OVERHEAD PROTECTION OR NETTING.

SO IF IT'S A, IF THERE'S DISTRESS CONDITIONS THAT ARE PROBLEM, THAT PROBLEMATIC, KIND OF WHAT YOU GUYS ARE INSINUATING AS FAR AS HAVING TO DROP THIS BRIDGE.

UM, THERE ARE, THERE IS CORROSION AND THERE'S SOME SPALDING, THERE'S SOME NEAR SURFACE.

MOST OF IT'S PROBABLY ASSOCIATED WITH A LACK OF CLEAR COVER OVER THE TOP.

UM, THERE ARE SOME ACTIVE SPAS THERE.

SO THE CITY UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS IS A BRIDGE THAT THEY HAVE TO, THEY HAVE TO BRING DOWN, HAS NOT REGULARLY GOING UNDER THERE, PUTTING OVERHEAD PROTECTION, PUTTING NETTING, DOING ANYTHING TO PROTECT THE SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE.

[01:20:01]

UM, AS I MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PRIMARY ISSUE IS NOT WITH THE SPA AND CONCRETE 'CAUSE THAT, AS YOU KNOW, THAT CAN BE REPAIRED.

THE ISSUE IS WITH THE CONDITION OF THE BRIDGE DECK ITSELF.

UM, AS I MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION, ONE OF THE ACTIONS THAT, UH, THE CITY ENGINEER AND TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS WAS FORCED TO TAKE WAS SHIFTING TRAFFIC AS A PART OF THE STRUCTURAL REPORT AWAY FROM THE OLDER SECTION OF THE BRIDGE AND SHIFTING IT SOUTH TO MAINTAIN, UM, THE LOADING CAPABILITIES OF THE BRIDGE.

SO IT WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE LOAD RATED, WHICH WOULD RESTRICT, YOU KNOW, BUSES.

THERE'S A VERY ACTIVE BUS ROUTE THAT RUNS ALONG THAT AREA BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ANY LOAD RESTRICTION.

NOW, THERE ISN'T A SIGN OR ANYTHING RESTRICTING LOAD.

THERE'S JUST A SIGN THAT SAYS SHIFT TO TRAP BUSES AND, AND TRUCKS INTO THE RIGHT LANE.

CORRECT.

WE HAVEN'T HAD TO LOAD LIMIT THE BRIDGE, BUT DEPENDING ON WHAT COMES FORWARD WITH THE NEXT TEXTILE REPORT, THAT WOULD BE THE NEXT THING THAT WOULD COME FORWARD.

AND WE OBVIOUSLY WANT TO AVOID THAT, UH, AS MUCH AS WE CAN.

SUPERSTRUCTURE, SUBSTRUCTURE OR ALL SIXES SATISFACTORY CONDITION.

COMET 19, THE CONDUCTION RATING OF THE DECK.

SO SIX A SIX WOULD DENOTE THAT THERE ISN'T A LOAD CARRYING COMPONENT OF THAT.

IT WOULD, THAT IT'S SATISFACTORY PER TDOT.

THIS IS OCTOBER 10TH, 2023.

SO IS THAT, THAT THEY DIDN'T, THEY DIDN'T RATE THE BRIDGE PROPERLY? YOU'D HAVE TO, THAT IS A, A QUESTION THAT'S BEYOND MY LEVEL OF EXPERTISE IN TERMS OF THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEER.

WE'D HAVE TO GET THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEER BACK TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.

UM, AND THAT WAS DONE IN THE 2017 REPORT.

I, I, I'M ASSUMING THAT EVERY COMMENT IN HERE WAS PROBABLY BASED OFF THE 2017 ISH REPORT.

NOT ANYTHING NEWER.

UM, WHAT'S THE DATE ON THAT? THIS IS 2023, I THINK.

2023.

THE W YEAH.

SO IF TEXTILE RATES BRIDGES EVERY TWO YEARS, UM, LIKE I SAID, I BELIEVE THERE WAS A, A BRIDGE RATING REPORT IN THE 20 20, 20 21 RANGE THAT THOSE COMMENTS WOULD'VE BEEN BASED OFF OF.

SO OF EVEN IN 2021, THE DECK IS RATED SIX.

I, I DON'T KNOW.

I'M NOT LOOKING AT WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, SO I DON'T, OKAY.

YEAH, I'LL ASSUME IT'S RATED IN TWO SIX ON 2021.

UM, ONCE AGAIN, COMMENT 24 ON THIS IS, IT'S RATED AS SIX SIMILAR AREAS ARE RATED AS FIVE.

UM, THERE'S SOME SERVICE LIFE.

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW MUCH, THERE'S, THERE'S A A, A LENGTHY COMMENT ABOUT CARBONATION IN HERE.

DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WEIGHT THE CONCRETE CARBONATION WAS AS FAR AS ANY DIS ANY ISSUES WITH THE DECK THEY REFERENCED? YOU REFERENCED SOMETHING YOU QUOTED THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE OUR HANDS ON ABOUT NEEDING TO LIMIT THE WATER GOING THROUGH THE DECK, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE TO DO THAT.

THAT'S DONE TOPICALLY TYPICALLY, AND I THINK THAT THIS IS, THIS BRIDGE HAS BEEN RE RE TOPPED WITH, WITH HOT ASPHALT A FEW, A FEW TIMES PROBABLY SINCE 2017.

UM, SO YOU DON'T, YOU PRETTY EDUCATING CARBONATION OF CONCRETE? I'M NOT.

OH, OKAY.

NO, THAT, AGAIN, THAT'S A QUESTION FOR THE, THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEER THAT OKAY.

WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION.

UM, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T LIVE IN A HIGH CORROSIVE ENVIRONMENT.

SO CARBON CAR CONCRETE CARBONATION DOESN'T CARRY A WEIGHT REALLY.

UM, IT'S ESSENTIALLY THAT CARBONATION HAPPENS WITH CONCRETE OVER TIME WITH, WITH CARBON DIOXIDE DROPS THE PH OF THE CONCRETE LOSES, PASSIVITY, REINFORCING CAN CORRODE.

MORE EASILY CAN CORRODE ANYWAY.

UM, BUT WE DON'T, I DON'T ALSO, YEAH, YOU WOULDN'T KNOW IF THEY DID ANY CHLORIDE LEVELS OF THE CONCRETE.

THEY DID ANY SAMPLING FOR THAT? I DON'T KNOW.

UM, THE PHOTOS THAT YOU HAVE, LIKE OBVIOUSLY THE DECK BEING THE BIGGEST CONCERN WITHOUT THE REPORT, IT'S HARD TO SAY ANYTHING WITH IT.

THERE IS SOME SPALLING ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE DECK.

IT'S PRETTY SUPERFICIAL.

UM, THE DECK IS PRETTY THICK.

IT THINS OUT TO THE EDGES WHERE THE SIDEWALKS ARE, THEN IT THICKENS INSIDE.

UM, HOPEFULLY CARBONATION WASN'T, WASN'T AN ISSUE THERE.

THE, THE OTHER SPALLING IS PRETTY, UM, EVEN IN THE, IN THE REPORT IS PRETTY SUPERFICIAL.

A LOT OF THE SPAULDING'S ACTUALLY OUTSIDE THE REINFORCING CAGE.

SO IT DOESN'T, IT'S NOT DOING ANYTHING.

UM, THERE.

AND THEN EVERYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD AGREE IS TO THE, TO THE STRUCTURE ITSELF IS PRETTY REPAIRABLE.

THE THIS, AS I MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION, THE STRUCTURE ITSELF WITH THE ARCHES IS REPAIRABLE.

THE, THE ISSUE THAT'S THERE AND THAT'S WHAT THE FINDINGS WERE IN THE REPORT.

THE ISSUE IS REALLY WITH THE BRIDGE DECK ITSELF.

UM, AND THEN IF WE'RE LOOKING AT FULLY REPLACING THE BRIDGE DECK, THEN YOU GET INTO THINGS, UM, IN TERMS OF THE COST BENEFIT AND THE FUTURE LIFE OF THE PROJECT THAT WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT AS STEWARDS OF THE PUBLIC MONEY IN TERMS OF SPENDING THAT OBVIOUSLY, UM, YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THIS PROCESS WITH THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT, WITH THE NEPA PROCESS AS WELL.

WE'RE GONNA BE GOING THROUGH THE EVALUATION OF THOSE OPTIONS AND THE CRITERIA WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION AND ALL THE OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.

UM, IN TERMS OF PROJECT SELECTION, RIGHT NOW WE ARE OPERATING UNDER COUNCIL

[01:25:01]

DIRECTION MM-HMM .

TO PURSUE THE REPLACEMENT OPTION.

AND SO THAT'S THE MARCHING ORDERS THAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN AND THE DESIGNATION FROM OUR COUNCIL IN TERMS OF HOW TO PROCEED WITH THE PROJECT BASED ON THEIR INSTRUCTION AS A PART OF THE 2020 BOND ELECTION.

THEY WANTED TO BE THE ONES THAT MAKE THE DECISION ON WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE BRIDGE IN TERMS OF THE REPLACEMENT VERSUS REHABILITATION OPTION.

UM, LIKE I SAID, A LOT MY TIME, I'M JUST, LET, LET ME YOU'VE SAID THAT TWICE NOW.

SO LET ME JUST JUMP IN BECAUSE THEY MADE THAT DETERMINATION, BUT YOU USURP THE PROCESS THAT SHOULD HAVE HAD US WEIGH IN BEFORE THEY MADE THATER DETERMINATION.

SO WE, WE WERE GIVEN NO BRIEFING UPDATE AWARENESS.

THIS IS A HISTORIC BRIDGE AND A HISTORIC DISTRICT, UH, A NATIONAL REGISTER DISTRICT.

AND YOUR RECOMMENDATION BY THE TIME YOU DECIDED THAT DEMOLITION WAS THE ANSWER, I CAN'T FATHOM THAT SOMEBODY WOULD NOT HAVE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO AT LEAST UPDATE THIS COMMISSION OR GET OUR INPUT.

I STILL HAVE SOME FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ANSWERED BECAUSE YOU JUMPED FROM THE BRIDGE ISN'T SOUND AND WOULD BE BE BETTER REPLACED TO THE WAY THAT YOU ARE PROPOSING IT BE REPLACED.

SO LET, LET, LET'S JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAD THIS CONVERSATION BEEN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS.

YOU WOULD HAVE MORE OPTIONS ON THE TABLE AND WE MIGHT HAVE HAD A MORE MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION BY THE TIME COUNCIL WAS ASKED TO MAKE A DECISION ON IT.

BUT WE WERE NOT WAY ALLOWED IN EVEN THOUGH THAT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY AND COUNCIL DOES RELY ON OUR EXPERTISE WHEN THEY COME TO MAKING THESE TYPES OF RECOMMENDATIONS.

BUT THAT WAS NOT AVAILABLE TO THEM.

MY UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE PROCESS WORKS IS THAT THE LANDMARK COMMISSION INVOLVEMENT IS A PART OF THE PERMITTING PROCESS AS YOU MOVE FORWARD WITH PERMITTING.

NOW, IF WE HAD NOT BEEN DIRECTED BY COUNSEL TO PROCEED WITH THE REPLACEMENT ALTERNATIVE AT THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT, WE I WOULD AGREE WITH YOU THAT, UM, THE, THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE LANDMARK COMMISSION IS AS WE GO THROUGH THE PERMITTING PROCESS.

WELL, LET ME, LET ME JUST STOP YOU THERE.

WE VERY STRONGLY RECOMMEND, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS, THAT A OWNER CONSIDERING ANY ACTION ON A HISTORIC BUILDING BEFORE THEY START INVESTING A LOT OF EFFORT AND MONEY AND START MAKING DECISIONS, CONSULT WITH US.

WE HAVE LOTS OF WAYS AND LOTS OF RESOURCES TO BRING TO THE TABLE, TO THOSE OWNERS.

PRIVATE SECTOR, PUBLIC, DOESN'T MATTER.

THEY BYPASS THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AT THEIR PERIL BECAUSE IF THEY WANNA DEMOLITION PERMIT AFTER THEY'VE ALREADY SPENT A LOT OF MONEY AND WE DON'T GRANT IT, THAT'S ON THEM.

SO NO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO COME TO US, I GUESS.

BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE THAT YOU WOULDN'T HAVE.

SO THAT'S STILL SOMETHING I I'VE NOT GOTTEN FROM YOUR PRESENTATION.

NOR HAS THERE BEEN ANY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT THERE WOULD'VE BEEN SOME REASON OR VALUE TO THAT CONSULTATION.

UH, YOU, YOU WENT STRAIGHT TO COUNCIL AND YOU THEY DIDN'T GET OUR, OUR, UH, INPUT.

WELL, LET'S, LET'S BE REALLY CLEAR ON THIS.

THIS WAS NOT A DECISION THAT PUBLIC WORKS MADE, THAT TRANSPORTATION MADE, THAT CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES MADE.

THIS WAS DIRECTION THAT WAS GIVEN TO US BY COUNSEL TO RETURN TO THEM AT THAT POINT.

SO WE'RE FOLLOWING DIRECTION FROM COUNSEL, UM, IN TERMS OF HOW TO PROCEED WITH THE PROJECT, HOW TO EVALUATE THOSE ALTERNATIVES AND WHICH ARE ALTERNATIVES TO MOVE FORWARD UNDER NOW.

AND NOW THAT YOU HERE, WE WILL GIVE YOU OUR ADVICE AND TO, WELL TO SAY, SAY WE HAVE NOT YET THAT TO SAY THAT THERE WAS NO NOTICE, I THINK IS A FALSE NARRATIVE AS WELL.

DURING THIS PROCESS.

THERE WERE PRESENTATIONS TO MOBILITY COMMITTEE, THERE WAS PUBLIC OUTREACH, THERE WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION IN PUBLIC MEETINGS THAT WERE HELD DURING THE PROCESS FOR FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO COMMENT ON THE PROJECT AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THEIR INPUT TO WHAT WAS GOING ON.

SO, BUT NOT AS A NATIONAL REGISTERED WELL, IT, AGAIN, IT'S A CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURE TO THE DESIGNATION NATIONAL REGISTER DISTRICT.

THAT'S CORRECT.

AND THERE ARE RULES AROUND THAT.

AND THAT, THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE'VE BEEN COORDINATING WITH THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT AND WALKING CAN, YOU'RE HERE NOW.

WE ARE GONNA GIVE YOU OUR ADVICE.

PERFECT.

THAT'S, THAT WE SHOULD, SHOULD PROCEED.

UM, I GUESS LIKE MY LIST OF CON OF QUESTIONS IS SOMEWHAT TRUNCATED BY LIKE NOT BEING ABLE TO SPEAK TO THE BRIDGE ENGINEER LIKE THAT.

THE EXISTING BRIDGE AND THEN BUILDING A SEPARATE STRUCTURE, UM, WAS NOT A COST EFFECTIVE USE OF THE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO BUILD THIS PROJECT.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO PREPARE THOSE IN WRITING, I'M HAPPY TO GET WRITTEN RESPONSES TO THOSE AS WELL.

THAT'S NO PROBLEM.

WE CAN FORWARD THOSE ALONG AND HAVE THE FOLKS THAT ARE DOING THE, DOING THE WORK AND HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUCTURAL CONDITION RESPOND TO THOSE.

HAS DURING THIS PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE PROPOSED PLANS WAS, AND, AND INCLUDING THE REHAB, WHICH WHICH SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN KICKED TO THE CURB RELATIVELY QUICKLY, WAS REHAB WITH SEPARATING THE PEDESTRIAN OFF TO THE SIDE IN A, IN A, IN A BRIDGE THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE VERNACULAR TO, TO AUSTIN LOOKED AT WAS, YOU KNOW, OR WAS IT, WAS IT REHAB EXPENSIVE DECK REPLACEMENT, NOT FEASIBLE.

LET'S MOVE ON FROM THAT IN, IN TERMS OF THE COST OF THE PROJECT BUILDING REHABILITATING

[01:30:01]

SO EVEN A STRUCTURE THAT'S A PEDESTRIAN STRUCTURE, LIKE THE ONE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED METERS DOWN THE CREEK FOR, FOR BIKES AND PEDESTRIANS, IF YOU RETAIN THE STRUCTURE FOR TRAFFIC MM-HMM .

AND THEN YOU JUST MOVE THE PEDESTRIANS.

MOVE THE PEDESTRIANS, WHICH YOU REALLY, YOU PROBABLY ONLY HAVE TO BUILD ON ONE SIDE 'CAUSE THE OTHERS COULD BE KICKED DOWN THE, THAT BRIDGE.

BUT THEN THERE'S THE COORDINATION OF HOW YOU GET PEOPLE TO THAT SEPARATE STRUCTURE, SEPARATION BETWEEN THE STRUCTURES AND, AND THAT KIND OF THING.

THERE'S A LOT OF CONSIDERATION THAT GOES IN THERE AND A LOT OF ANCILLARY WORK THAT WOULD NEED TO GO INTO GETTING MM-HMM .

BICYCLES AND PEDESTRIANS FROM THE SIDEWALK ON THE STREET TO A SEPARATE STRUCTURE AND THEN BACK WHERE IT ALREADY HAPPENS ON ONE SIDE.

'CAUSE THAT BIKE PATH GOES TO THE SEPARATE BRIDGE THAT'S OVER THE CREEK.

AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE YOU'D BUILD THE BRIDGE THAT AND IT WOULD, THE PEOPLE WOULD JUST KEEP GOING STRAIGHT AND THEN YOU'D DRIVE OVER THE FOUR LANE BRIDGE THAT'S ALREADY THERE.

WELL, I THINK AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF THAT TOO IS REGARDING THE, THE A DA COMPLIANCE THAT WOULD NEED TO BE, UM, ACHIEVED AS WELL.

AND THAT'S MM-HMM .

UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE PRIMARY ISSUES WITH THE, UH, STRUCTURE THAT'S EXISTING ON THE TRAIL RIGHT NOW AND GETTING TO IT FROM THAT, THERE ARE ISSUES OBVIOUSLY WHEN IT RAINS AND THINGS LIKE THAT THERE YEAH.

THERE'S SOME SLOPES AND THINGS THAT ARE NOT, UH, AADA A COMPLIANT, WHICH WE'RE NOT GONNA BUILD SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T COMPLY WITH THE, WITH A DA.

SO THERE, I MEAN, THERE'S SOME THOUGHT, THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT HAVE TO GO INTO IT AS WITH ANYTHING, RIGHT.

I MEAN, THIS IS NOT, BUILDING THIS THING IS NOT EASY MM-HMM .

EITHER.

UM, SO I, I WILL PROVIDE MORE OF THESE IN WRITING.

PERFECT.

UM, TO YOU AND THEN I WILL GIVE YOU MY 2 CENTS ABOUT THE AESTHETICS OF THE, OF THE PROPOSED.

UM, I, I WOULD, I WOULD HOPE THAT PEOPLE WOULD LOOK AT, RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE A HIGHWAY OVERPASS AND NOT ANYTHING THAT LOOKS LIKE WHAT I, IT DOESN'T NEED TO LOOK LIKE WHAT WAS THERE, BUT IN KEEPING WITH THE KIND OF THE DISTINCTION OF WHAT WAS THERE MM-HMM .

UM, AND NOT LIKE YOU'RE DRIVING UNDER 180 3, UH, WHICH EVEN 180 3 HAS H-S-H-P-C CONCRETE.

SO THEY HAVE THESE REALLY LONG, UH, POST-TENSION BEAMS THAT ARE ACTUALLY KIND OF FROM AN ENGINEERING STANDPOINT OR KIND OF NEAT.

UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IN UNDER THE PR WHEN THE, THEY CAME PREVIOUSLY, ONE OF THE POINTS THAT THEY MEN MENTIONED WAS LIKE TRYING TO KIND OF MIMIC AND A LOT OF THE HOT TIMES IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION, ONCE SOMETHING GOES AWAY, YOU DON'T TRY TO MIMIC IT, YOU DO SOMETHING ELSE MM-HMM .

AND SOMETHING THAT MIGHT HAVE ITS OWN VERNACULAR WITH THE OTHER BRIDGES AND THINGS, WHICH WOULD MAYBE BECOME A NEW INTERESTING, UH, ATTRACTION AND NOT TRY TO POORLY MIMIC WHAT WAS THERE BEFORE.

AND SO I, THAT MIGHT BE TOO FAR DOWN THE ROAD, BUT, UH, IT, IT DEFINITELY LOOKS LIKE A BRIDGE IS DESIGNED BY HIGHWAY ENGINEER AND NOT A BRIDGE ARCHITECT.

SO.

, I'LL TURN IT OVER FROM THERE.

COMMISSIONER ACTON, COMMISSIONERS OTHER DISCUSSION? YES.

COMMISSIONER RICE AND THEN COMMISSIONER, UH, VICE CHAIR EVANS.

UM, SO A QUESTION BECAUSE I'M, I'M NOT TOTALLY CLEAR HERE.

SO FOR IN, IN BOTH CASES IS THE, UM, IS THE, IS THE, IS THE BUDGET FOR EITHER REHABILITATION OR THE RECONSTRUCTION THAT IS HOW MUCH OF THE INTERSECTION AT LIKE BARTON SPRINGS AND AOR AND ALSO JUST OF THE HILLSIDE THERE THAT I KNOW HAS HAD SOME SIGNIFICANT EROSION CONCERNS AND THERE'S BEEN SEPARATE PROJECTS GOING ON AROUND STABILIZING THAT.

HOW, HOW MUCH DOES THE POSSIBILITY OF REHABILITATION AFFECT THOSE, UM, THOSE ISSUES? UM, THE TYPE OF REPLACEMENT OR REHABILITATION OF THE BRIDGE SORT OF STANDS ON ITS OWN COMPARED TO THE OTHER ANCILLARY THINGS.

PART OF THIS PROJECT IS GOING TO BE REINFORCING THAT HILLSIDE THAT'S AT THE LAU THERE AND PROVIDING, UM MM-HMM .

YOU KNOW, IMPROVED TRAFFIC CIRCULATION AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

WHETHER YOU REPLACE THE STRUCTURE ALTOGETHER OR WHETHER YOU UNDERGO THE, THE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT REHABILITATION OPTION, UM, THAT DOESN'T PRECLUDE ANYTHING ELSE FROM, FROM HAPPENING.

UM, ONE OF THE MAIN DIFFERENTIATING FACTORS, AGAIN, LIKE I MENTIONED FOR THE PROJECT TEAM, WAS TALKING ABOUT THE, UM, EFFICIENCIES AND THE OVERALL COST OF WHAT THE REPLACEMENT WOULD TAKE VERSUS WHAT A REHABILITATION WOULD TAKE.

UM, OKAY.

IMPROVED, UH, THE NEW STANDARD FOR, UH, PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE ACCESS ON JUST THE EXISTING FOOTPRINT.

UM, HAS, HAS THE CITY STUDIED A, UM, THE POSSIBILITY OF, OF A NEW CONSTRUCTION UNDER THE EXISTING FOOTPRINT? UH, BASICALLY IF THE CAR LANES WERE TAKEN DOWN TO HOW THEY ARE ON THE EAST END OF THE BRIDGE UNDER THE, UNDER THE NEW TRAFFIC CONFIGURATION AND POT, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF EXTENDING THAT CONFIGURATION FURTHER WEST, BECAUSE I I SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WOULD HAVE TO ASSUME THAT WOULD THE EXISTING, EXISTING, THE, THE EXISTING STRUCTURE ISN'T WIDE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE, UM, THE

[01:35:01]

THE BRIDGE IS TOO NARROW TO DO THAT WITH THE THROUGH TRAFFIC LANES AND THE MINIMUM WIDTHS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO EVEN IF, EVEN IF THE THROUGH TRAFFIC LANES WERE TAKEN DOWN TO ONE LANE EACH WAY WITH THE TURN LANE? WELL, CURRENTLY RIGHT, IT'S TWO LANES, UH, EASTBOUND, ONE LANE WESTBOUND.

UM, AND SO YES, YES.

SO TO MAINTAIN THOSE, IN ADDITION, ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT THE NEW ALIGNMENT SATISFIES IS A DEDICATED RIGHT HAND TURN ONTO AZ MORTON, WHICH RELIEVES A LOT OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND ISSUES RELATED TO THAT, UH, TRAFFIC MOVEMENT COMING THROUGH.

UM, OKAY.

SO JUST LIKE AS HAS, HAVE THERE BEEN ANY, I GUESS LIKE WHAT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE WAY THAT THE, THIS PROJECT HAS, HAS DRAGGED IN THE WAY THAT THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GRANT ISN'T, YOU KNOW, IF I'M CORRECT, IS NOT ENTIRELY COVERING THE CURRENT PROJECTED COST OF THIS, OF THE POTENTIAL NEW CONSTRUCTION.

HAS THE CITY BEEN TAKING STEPS INTO POTENTIAL RESCALING OF THE NEW CONSTRUCTION OR, OR IS THAT MONEY GONNA BE HAVING TO BE PULLED FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE TRANSPORTATION BUDGET? NO FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FOR THE FULL CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROJECT IN THE EXISTING TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, UH, BUDGET FOR BARTON SPRING ROAD BRIDGE.

UM, THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY GRANT, UH, FOR $32 MILLION, UM, OBVIOUSLY ASSISTS IN THAT QUITE A BIT, BUT THE FUNDING IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN THE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS BUDGET TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT.

QUESTION REAL QUICK, GO AHEAD.

JUST THE BACK DOOR ON WHAT YOU JUST SAID.

SO HOW MUCH OF THE 22, 20 20, UM, BOND HAS BEEN SPENT SO FAR OR ALLOCATED FOR THIS PROJECT? ON THIS PROJECT? YES.

UM, ABOUT $10 MILLION HAS BEEN ALLOCATED.

UM, AND THAT'S TOWARDS THE DESIGN EFFORT AND SOME OF THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING AND GETTING THOSE THINGS THROUGH.

UM, AND THEN WITH THE, UM, MATCHING FUNDS, OBVIOUSLY THAT HELPS QUITE A BIT TOWARDS THE, THE CONSTRUCTION COST AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

IT DOESN'T COVER IT A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT IT DOES COVER A, A LARGE PORTION OF THE CONSTRUCTION COST.

AND WHEN YOU REFER TO THE MATCHING FUND, YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE FEDERAL, THE FEDERAL GRANT? YEAH, THE BRIDGE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM CONSTRUCTION GRANT.

AND WITH THAT, UM, I DON'T SEE NUMBERS OF WHAT IT WOULD COST TO, YOU KNOW, REHAB VERSUS REBUILDING.

THOSE NUMBERS ARE INCLUDED IN THE, IN THE BRIDGE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT.

UM, THE COSTS HAVE INCREASED SINCE 20, UH, 23 WHEN THAT REPORT WAS PUBLISHED.

UM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE COST FOR REPLACEMENT IS ROUGHLY THE SAME.

IT'S WHEN THE, WITHIN THE MARGIN OF ERROR OF THE ESTIMATES OF THE COMPLETE REPLACEMENT OPTION AND BECAUSE OF THE EXTENDED USEFUL LIFE OF THE REPLACEMENT OPTION, THAT WAS ONE OF THE FACTORS THAT WEIGHED HEAVILY ON MAKING THAT AS THE INITIAL RECOMMENDATION.

WILL THAT BE A PART OF THE NEPA REVIEW? I'M SORRY, SAY AGAIN? WILL THAT BE A PART OF THE NEPA REVIEW? THE COST? OH, YES.

UH, WELL, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION NECESSARILY.

USUALLY THE, THE NEPA PROCESS DOESN'T NECESSARILY TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, UH, COST AS PART OF IT.

UM, AND THERE ARE OTHER FACTORS THAT, THAT WEIGH IN THERE AS WELL.

SO AS WE MOVE THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND HAVE THOSE REPORTS AND THINGS GENERATED AS A PART OF THE NEPA PROCESS, UM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO REVIEW THOSE, UM, OPTIONS.

VICE CHAIR EVANS, YOU WERE WISHING TO SPEAK? YEP.

PLEASE PROCEED.

OH, CAN SHE HEAR US? UH, VICE CHAIR EVANS? NO, I DON'T KNOW.

WE'RE, WE'RE READY FOR HER TO SPEAK.

MAYBE SOMEBODY CAN GIVE HER A CALL.

VICE CHAIR EVANS.

OH, SHE CAN, CAN HEAR US.

SO WE'LL HAVE TO FIGURE THAT OUT.

I MAY HAVE QUESTIONS FOR MR. BAILEY AFTER I CONFER WITH STAFF TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE NOT REDUNDANT.

UH, COMMISSIONER KOCH? YES.

UM, I JUST WANTED TO NOTE THAT THIS IS AN OBJECT, UH, AND, BUT IT'S ALSO WITHIN THE DISTRICT AND IT, IT'S BEEN STATED, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THERE IS THE RETENTION OF THE EXISTING BRIDGE IN WHOLE AND PART, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO THE NEW BRIDGE AND THOSE ARE TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS.

UH, BUT I, I DO BELIEVE THE NEW BRIDGE IS JUST ENORMOUS IN THE IMPACT OF ITS PRESENCE WITHIN THE DISTRICT IS AS MUCH A THING AS THE LOSS OF THE EXISTING BRIDGE.

AND I ALSO WANTED TO NOTE THAT THE PHOTOS FROM SANTA MONICA, I THINK KIND OF SHOW WHAT MAYBE THIS COULD HAVE ENDED UP WITH, THAT THERE HAVE BEEN A BIGGER CONVERSATION TO BEGIN WITH.

'CAUSE THE BEFORE AND AFTER ON THOSE LOOKS A WHOLE LOT BETTER THAN THE BEFORE AND AFTER ON WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE.

I, I THINK THAT, I'M HOPING YOU CAN HEAR ME.

I, I CAN'T HEAR, I'VE LOST MY AUDIO.

UM, SO

[01:40:01]

BUT IN THE MEANTIME, IF ANYONE COULD RECONNECT MY VOLUME OR MY SOUND, IT'D BE REALLY APPRECIATED.

AND I APOLOGIZE FOR JUST KIND OF JUMPING IN THERE, BUT I'M AUDIO CHALLENGED ON THIS THEN.

AND, AND VICE CHAIR EVANS, WE CAN HEAR YOU BUT IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE YOU CAN HEAR US.

IS THAT CORRECT? RIGHT NOW? YEAH.

SEE IF YOU SEE IF YOU CAN, MAYBE SOMEBODY CAN GIVE HER A CALL.

ALRIGHT, GO AHEAD, MR. COOK.

KNOW REGARDING THE, THE THIRD PATH THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THE SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN THE JUST RIGHT FIX, I DO THINK IT WOULD'VE REQUIRED MAYBE A MORE CREATIVE DESIGNER OR ARCHITECT RATHER THAN A TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THAT WORK SIMILAR TO THE, HOW THE FLUGER BRIDGE PROCEEDED.

I'M JUST WONDERING, IS THAT AT ALL AN OPTION NOW TO GIVE IT A SHOT? I, GRANTED I UNDERSTAND THE, THE LEVELS AND THE ELEVATIONS AND THE WITS AND YOU'RE TRYING TO MEET CERTAIN STANDARDS, BUT MM-HMM .

DO YOU HAVE TO MEET THE FULL STANDARDS? CAN YOU HAVE A LITTLE COMPROMISE? CAN YOU GET CREATIVE WITH IT? IS IT AT ALL AN OPTION TO PURSUE THAT? YEAH, IF THEY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE, UM, THE DESIGN ALTERNATIVE, THE DESIGN, UH, DOCUMENTS NOW.

UM, AND THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT I CAN BRING BACK TO THE TEAM.

AND AGAIN, PART OF THE NEPA PROCESS, WORKING THROUGH WHAT THE, UM, YOU KNOW, CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS ARE AND, AND HOW THAT WORKS, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE THAT, UH, INFORMATION BACK TO THEM, UM, AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO ON THAT FRONT.

YEAH, I JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET SOMEONE CREATIVE WHO CAN THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX BECAUSE IT, IT SEEMS CLEAR AS A BELL TO ME THAT YOU GO BACK, YOU SAVE THE MOST HISTORIC ARCHES, THE OLDEST PART THAT IS IN THE BEST SHAPE, YOU REPLACE THE DECK AND YOU KEEP IT NARROWED DOWN TO THE SAME WIDTH THAT IS NOW, WHICH TIES TO THE NARROWED, UH, LANES THAT WE HAVE NOW.

AND YOU HAVE SEPARATE BEAUTIFUL CREATIVE AUSTIN STYLE BRIDGES THAT TRULY SEPARATES IT.

UM, EASIER SAID THAN DONE.

I, I KNOW, BUT IT, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT WAS DROP VERY EARLY IN THE PROCESS AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT EVERYONE REALLY WANTS.

UH, AND I YEAH, ENCOURAGE YOU TO PURSUE THAT.

AND I, I WILL JUST ALSO NOTE THAT, UH, TALKING ABOUT THE NARROWED LANES WHEN THIS HAPPENED, THE LANES WEREN'T NARROWED.

I KNOW THERE WAS, UH, THERE WERE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER IT WOULD WORK AND THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WERE AGAINST IT THAT NOW AGREE THAT IT, IT DOES WORK AND THAT DOES SEEM TO BE NEEDED TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION BECAUSE I DON'T THINK IT'S UNREASONABLE FOR PEOPLE TO GET CONCERNED ABOUT SOME BIGGER PLAN TO MAKE A NEW PATH INTO DOWNTOWN FROM MOPAC OR TO DO THIS, TO SERVE OCCASIONAL EVENTS IN THE PARK.

AND LIKE, WHAT IS REALLY DRIVING THIS NEED TO MAKE THIS SO MASSIVELY WIDE IS IN.

AND I JUST WANNA NOTE THAT I THINK IT'S REASONABLE FOR THAT QUESTION TO COME UP.

AND I THINK REALLY PUTTING AN EFFORT INTO KEEPING THE WIDTH AS IT IS AND HAVE THE SEPARATE BRIDGES WOULD SHOW A GOOD FAITH EFFORT TO, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE CAN LIVE WITH THE BRIDGE AT THE WIDTH THAT IT REALLY IS AT THAT IT CURRENTLY IS.

WHICH IS WHAT I ASKED YOU TO, WAS THAT CONSIDERED THEN YOU COULD BUILD A NEW HIGHWAY BRIDGE AND THEN PRESERVE THIS WITHOUT HAVING TO HAVE THE WORRY ABOUT BUSES OR LARGE, UH, WEIGHT ON THAT PRESERVED BRIDGE.

ANY COMMISSIONERS MORE DISCUSSION? SO THE, THE FINAL THING I'D LIKE TO SAY AND KIND OF PIGGYBACKING THERE, UH, COMMISSIONER COOK ON YOUR POINT, UH, I AM HOPING THAT IT'S NOT SO FAR ALONG THAT WE CAN'T ASK YOU TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER SOME OF THESE ALTERNATIVES AT THE PREVIOUS SESSION.

I SPECIFICALLY DID ASK HAD THERE BEEN CONSIDERATION OF TAKING THE EXISTING BRIDGE AND KEEPING IT FOR THE PEDESTRIAN PASSAGE AND DOING ALL NEW CONSTRUCTION JUST FOR THE AUTOMOBILES.

I HAVEN'T SEEN IN ANY OF THE DESIGNATION OR ANY, ANY OF THE PRESENTATIONS YOU'VE GIVEN THAT THAT WAS A SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED ALTERNATIVE.

THAT MAY BE SOME CONSIDERATION THAT WOULD MAKE THAT INFEASIBLE.

I CAN SEE AS AN ARCHITECT THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THAT WOULD PRESENT.

UH, BUT I THINK, UH, IT IS IMPORTANT VERY MUCH THAT EVERYBODY BE AWARE, THE REVIEW THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS TWOFOLD.

ONE OF THEM IS THE EXISTING BRIDGE, BUT THE OTHER IS WHATEVER, IF THERE IS NEW CONSTRUCTION IS THERE TO REPLACE IT.

BOTH OF THOSE ARE IN OUR PURVIEW.

BOTH OF THOSE WILL REQUIRE OUR REVIEW.

AND WE REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU AT THIS STAGE NOT TO COME PRESENT US, UH, WITH A DONE DEAL AND EXPECT A RUBBER STAMP THAT'S NOT APPROPRIATE.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE ARE A LOT MORE QUESTIONS THAT THAT BRINGS UP THAN ANSWERS.

UH, WE SEE THE POSSIBILITY FOR SOME VERY OPTIMAL SOLUTIONS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO SOLVE MANY PROBLEMS, INCLUDING SOME OF THE ONES YOU HAVE PERTAINED, UH, YOU'VE INDICATED THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR TRANSPORTATION.

BUT SOME OF THESE SOLUTIONS MAY ACTUALLY SOLVE THE PROBLEM BETTER, UH, INCLUDING THE OPPORTUNITY OF KEEPING THE BRIDGE INTACT FOR TRAFFIC WHILE THE NEW TRAFFIC BRIDGE MIGHT BE BUILT PARALLEL OR BESIDE IT AND THEN TURNING IT BACK OVER TO PEDESTRIANS.

THEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE WEIGHT PROBLEM THAT CAUSES YOU TO CONCERN IT TO BE A 75 YEAR, UH, AS OPPOSED TO A, A LONGER TERM SOLUTION.

SO IF IT WAS A PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE, ONLY THEN PRESERVE FOR THAT,

[01:45:01]

JUST TO, TO CLARIFY A COUPLE OF THINGS ON THERE.

NUMBER ONE, THIS IS NOT A HIGHWAY BRIDGE.

THERE'S NO ONE THAT'S SAYING THIS IS A, A HIGHWAY BRIDGE, BUT NUMBER TWO, YOU'RE SAYING PRESERVE THE EXISTING STRUCTURE FOR PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLES AND THEN BUILD A NEW STRUCTURE ADJACENT FOR VEHICLES.

WAS THAT EVER CONSIDERED? WELL, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, ALIGNMENT ISSUES IN TERMS OF HOW YOU WOULD GET THE VEHICLES FROM THE EXISTING BEGINNING AND END AND YOU WOULD JOGGING AS YOU ALREADY ARE MAKING MANEUVERING AROUND.

THOSE, THOSE, THAT IS AN OPTION THAT I BELIEVE THERE'S ENOUGH ROOM ON BOTH SIDES TO THE SOUTH THAT, THAT AT LEAST SHOULD AT LEAST SHOW US THAT THAT WAS CONSIDERED.

UH, WELL, IT, THE ISSUE PARTICULARLY ON THE, UM, ON THE WEST SIDE WOULD BE THE CON OF THAT TYPE OF OPTION WOULD BE THE CONNECTION INTO ZILKER PARK AND THE EFFECT THAT WOULD HAVE ON THE DESIGNATED PARKLAND THAT'S ON THE WEST SIDE, THAT WOULD THEN BE, UM, CONVERTED TO A ROADWAY IF YOU WERE TO HAVE THE, BUT THEN PART OF THAT ROADWAY WOULD THEN BE CONVERTED TO A PEDESTRIAN PATH.

SO AGAIN, IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE THE STUDY, WE JUST ASK THAT YOU DO OR SHOW US THAT IT WAS DONE.

I, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE THAT BACK TO THE TEAM AND, AND ASK.

AND, AND AGAIN, I'LL REINFORCE, UH, THE, THE, THE BRIDGE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT AS THE ALTERNATIVE, UM, LEAVES MUCH TO BE DESIRED.

ANY OTHER COMMENT? COMMISSIONERS? OKAY.

WE DO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

I DO BELIEVE WE WE'LL BE ASKING FOR, UH, MONITORING YOUR PROGRESS, SO, UM, WE'LL LOOK FOR FOLLOW UP.

HAPPY TO COME BACK.

OUR NEXT BRIEFING ITEM NUMBER FIVE.

ALRIGHT COMMISSIONERS, THAT BRINGS US UP TO

[5. Briefing regarding 1010 E. Cesar Chavez St. by Ingrid Gonzalez Featherston, AIA, Senior Architect, MF Architectu]

UH, THIS IS REGARDING THE 10 10 EAST CESAR CHAVEZ STREET.

AND AGAIN, LET ME REMIND COMMISSIONERS AND THE PUBLIC.

THIS IS NOT POSTED FOR ACTION.

THIS IS A BRIEFING.

SO WE WILL HEAR FROM THE PRESENTERS AND WE CAN CLARIFY, ASK QUESTIONS.

UH, BUT AGAIN, UH, THIS IS NOT A, UH, PUBLIC DISCUSSION OR A PUBLIC HEARING.

PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF.

MY, OH, WE NEED YOUR MICROPHONE.

SORRY.

MY NAME IS INGRID GONZALEZ EDISON, A SENIOR PROJECT AND MANAGER AT MF ARCHITECTURE.

AND I HAVE HERE WITH ME SARAH JOHNSON, PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT AT MF ARCHITECTURE.

WE'VE ALSO INCLUDED OUR GC ADAM LUCAS WITH AR LUCAS CONSTRUCTION HERE TO SPEAK AS WELL FOR ANY Q AND A.

IN ADDITION TO OUR STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, SAM COBY, PRINCIPAL AT WORK STRUCTURES, WE FIRST WANNA BEGIN BY THANKING THE COMMISSION FOR INCLUDING US AND THIS EVENING'S BRIEFING AND ALLOWING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THIS PROJECT.

WE HAVE PREPARED AN EXTENSIVE BACKUP DOCUMENT THAT SHE'S, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED AND ILLUSTRATES THE EXTENT OF THE EXISTING BUILDING CONDITIONS.

WE'LL NOT REVIEW EVERY ASPECT SO THAT WE CAN ALLOW FOR Q AND A AFTERWARDS, UM, BUT WE WILL TOUCH ON SOME HIGH LEVEL POINTS.

WE FIRST AND FOREMOST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE MILITIA THAT OCCURRED WAS MORE THAN INTENDED AND REVIEW THE CIRCUMSTANCES WITH WHICH WITH THE COMMISSION, WHICH LED TO THIS AS AN OUTLINE OF EVENTS.

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR INTENT TO WORK WITHIN THE BUILDING'S FOOTPRINT AND PRESERVE THE CHARACTER OF THE BUILDING.

OUR PREVIOUS HLC MEETINGS AND PERMITTED DRAWINGS ALL CENTER AROUND ADAPTING THE BUILDING WITH THE CONTINUED USE AS A RESTAURANT AND MEETING THE LIFE AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS OF THE CURRENT CODE.

AS THE ASBESTOS REMEDIATION CONCLUDED AND SELECTIVE DEMOLITION BEGAN THE EXTENT, OH, IT WAS REALISTICALLY SALVAGEABLE BECAME CLEAR AND A DECISION HAD TO BE MADE TO PROTECT THE SITE AND SAFETY OF THE REMAINING STRUCTURE.

THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTATION ILLUSTRATES A LEVEL OF UN UNANTICIPATED STRUCTURAL DETERIORATION.

AS PRESENTED IN THE BACKUP INFORMATION, OUR DESIGN PROFESSIONALS WERE ABLE TO SHARE THEIR DOCUMENTATION OF THE CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF THE DETERIORATION AND THE BUILDING ENVELOPE FROM MOISTURE DAMAGE, DRY ROD, AND INSUFFICIENT STRUCTURAL SUPPORT.

WE HAVE INCORPORATED A PER WALL DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE DIFFERENT AREAS WHERE THE DAMAGE OCCURRED AND CAN RETURN TO ANY OF THESE DURING THE Q AND A.

WE HAVE OUR DESIGN TEAM HERE TO FACILITATE ANY DIRECT QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE REPORT.

OUR STRUCTURAL ENGINEER PROVIDED THEIR STRUCTURAL LETTER AND DOCUMENTATION OF THE STRUCTURE'S, CUMULATIVE STRESSES THAT LED TO AN UNSTABLE STRUCTURE.

ONCE SELECTIVE DEMOLITION BEGAN, THE GCS ALSO PROVIDED DOCUMENTATION OF THE INTERIOR CONDITION OF THE WALLS WHERE MOISTURE DAMAGE CAN BE FOUND, EVEN AT THE HISTORIC PORTION THAT WAS PRESERVED.

THE HISTORIC FACADE THAT REMAINS IS NOT EXEMPT FROM THE DAMAGE, BUT WE KNEW THESE ELEMENTS TO BE MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THE CHARACTER OF THE BUILDING AND WORK TO PRESERVE THOSE AND, AND REINFORCE THEM DURING CONSTRUCTION.

OUR TEAM IS HERE TO REITERATE OUR DEDICATION TO THE REBUILDING THE STRUCTURE AND RESTORING THE CHARACTER.

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR INTENT TO REBUILD WHERE WE CAN FROM OUR DRAWINGS AND NOTES.

ONLY

[01:50:01]

THE EXTENT OF REBUILDING DUE TO THE UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES HAS CHANGED.

THE DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATES THE AREAS FOR RESTORATION AND BLUE WITH THE INSERTION OF STEALING GLASS WINDOW SYSTEMS, WHICH WERE ORIGINALLY PERMITTED IN RED.

AND THE MAGENTA OUTLINE IS THE REBUILT PORTION OF THE BOARD AND BATTEN AREAS.

THE AREAS LEFT IN GRAY WERE PORTIONS OF THE ADDITIONS THAT WERE ALREADY APPROVED IN OUR PERMANENT DRAWINGS AND PREVIOUSLY SHOWN AT OUR HLC MEETINGS.

WE'VE ALSO BEEN COORDINATING WITH THE PRESERVATION OFFICE TO ACCURATELY NOTE AND CALL OUT AREAS OF THE REBUILD AND SPECIFIC NODES REQUIRED FOR RESTORATION OF THAT FACADE.

AS YOU CAN SEE IN RED, IMPLEMENTING AND EXPANDED USE INTO AN OLDER STRUCTURE IS INHERENTLY COMPLEX.

CONSTRUCTION IS OFTEN LAYERED UNFOLDING PROCESS THAT REVEALS THE BUILDING'S TRUE NATURE AND WORK DEVELOPS.

SO ONE THING THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE AND NOTE IS THE CHARACTER OF THE EXISTING BUILDING THAT WE'RE SHOWING HERE AND OUR STEPS TO STILL MAINTAIN THAT DESIGN.

OUR INTENT HAS NOT CHANGED FROM THAT.

WE ARE NOT MAKING UPDATES TO THAT.

THAT IS WHAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN APPROVED.

AND SO WE JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE COMPLEXITIES THAT COME WITH BUILDING OF THIS AGE AND HOW TO WORK WITHIN THAT DURING CONSTRUCTION AND THE STEPS THAT WE'RE TAKING TO PROTECT THAT AND THE STEPS THAT WE'RE TAKING TO WORK WITH THE COMMISSION IN THE FOLLOWING REBUILDING PORTION OF THE BACK.

OUR ORIGINAL RESTORATION STRATEGY TO PRESERVE THE BUILDING'S CHARACTER WILL REMAIN AND WE'RE SENSITIVELY ADAPTING TO THESE CONDITIONS WHILE ALSO MEETING CURRENT BUILDING STANDARDS TO PROMOTE THE LONGEVITY OF THE BUILDING'S CHARACTER FOR DECADES TO COME.

WE REMAIN COMMITTED AS A TEAM WITH THE DESIGN PROFESSIONALS, OWNERS, AND CITY TO MOVE THIS PROJECT FORWARD.

AND WE'D LIKE TO OPEN THE FLOOR FOR SPECIFIC QUESTIONS AS WE KNOW, YOU PROBABLY HAVE SEVERAL.

UM, THANK YOU.

UM, I DO KNOW THERE ARE A NUMBER OF COMMISSION QUESTIONS.

UM, ARE THERE OTHER SPEAKERS OR WE'LL HAVE THEM, UM, FOR RESPONSE ONLY AS QUESTIONS, RESPONSE, DIRECT RESPONSES.

BEFORE WE PROCEED, ARE THERE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM? THERE IS ONE SPEAKER ON THIS ITEM SIGNED UP AND THAT IS MEGAN KING NOMORE.

IT WAS WITHIN THE HISTORIC PERIOD.

UH, MS. KING LAMAR.

GOOD EVENING.

MEGAN KING LAMOUR POLICY AND OUTREACH PLANNER FOR PRESERVATION AUSTIN AS THE CITYWIDE NONPROFIT FOR HISTORIC PLACE PRESERVATION.

SORRY, EXCUSE ME.

IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY.

AS A CITYWIDE NONPROFIT FOR HISTORIC PLACES WE'RE DEEPLY TROUBLED BY WHAT HAPPENED AT THIS SITE.

THIS 100 AND 40-YEAR-OLD BUILDING WAS SPECIAL TO MANY IN OUR COMMUNITY AS A SITE OF A HUGELY POPULAR CAFE FOR MORE THAN A DECADE.

AND IT WAS A SHOCK TO SEE HOW LITTLE OF IT IS LEFT.

WE GAVE CENOTE A PRESERVATION MERIT AWARD FOR THEIR WORK REHABILITATING THE HOUSE IN 2011.

THEY CREATED SUCH A BEAUTIFUL, UNIQUE SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO GATHER FOR OVER A DECADE, AND IT'S REALLY DEVASTATING TO SEE THAT WIPED AWAY CTE'S OWNER.

OUR PAST AWARD RECIPIENT CONTACTED PRESERVATION AUSTIN AS THE DEMOLITION WAS HAPPENING.

WE QUICKLY REACHED OUT TO THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE, REVIEWED THE APPROVED PLANS, AND WATCHED THE RECORDING OF THE 2024 HLC MEETING TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SITUATION.

AFTER ALL OF THIS, WE'RE STILL STRUGGLING TO SEE HOW WE'VE LOST THIS BUILDING.

AFTER SUCH CAREFUL REVIEW BY THE HLC AS A PRESERVATION NONPROFIT, WE'VE SEEN COUNTLESS BUILDINGS BROUGHT BACK FROM THE BRINK BY EXPERIENCED PROJECT TEAMS WITH PRESERVATION AS THEIR GOAL.

WE SEE THIS TIME AND TIME AGAIN THROUGH OUR GRANTS PROGRAM, THROUGH OUR AWARDS PROGRAM AND MORE.

WE JUST FINISHED REHABBING OUR OWN BUILDING AND LIKE THE BUILDING WE'RE DISCUSSING TONIGHT, IT HAD A DAMAGED FOUNDATION, ASBESTOS IN THE WALLS AND SERIOUS STRUCTURAL ISSUES.

AND EVEN AS A SMALL NONPROFIT, WE SAVED IT.

WHAT IS THE POINT OF PERMITTING IF PROJECT OUTCOMES RESULT IN SUCH LOSSES? WE'RE DEEPLY CONCERNED FOR THE PRECEDENT THIS COULD SET AND URGE THE CITY AND COMMISSION TO ENSURE THAT THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN, IS AN UNACCEPTABLE OUTCOME FOR SUCH A SIGNIFICANT BELOVED AND PRESERVATION WORTHY HISTORIC PLACE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, I THINK AT THIS POINT, UH, I THINK EVERYBODY'S GONNA NEED TO SAY SOMETHING HERE, BUT, UH, I'LL JUST TURN IT OVER TO COMMISSIONERS.

I'LL COMMISSIONER COOK.

YEAH, I'D LIKE TO SPEAK AS CHAIR OF THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE THAT THIS TEAM CAME BEFORE NUMEROUS TIMES BEFORE THIS PASS THROUGH COMMISSION.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE EXPECTED WAS THE PORCH TO THE EAST WAS GONNA BE OPEN, THE BACK LEFT CORNER OF THE ORIGINAL 19TH CENTURY STRUCTURE WAS GONNA BE OPENED AND EXPANDED, AND THEN THE ROOF WAS GONNA BE REPLACED.

UM, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT WHAT HAPPENED.

I'LL FIRST START WITH THE POSITIVE THAT I'M APPRECIATIVE THAT YOU REMAIN COMMITTED TO PRESERVING WHAT IS LEFT OF THE 19TH CENTURY STRUCTURE FACING CESAR CHAVEZ AND TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO PRESERVE WHAT'S LEFT.

I DEFINITELY DO APPRECIATE THAT.

I, UH, WE DEFINITELY HAD MISGIVINGS OR WERE MULTIPLE ROUNDS AT THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE BECAUSE THERE WAS QUITE A BIT OF LOSS TO BEGIN WITH, BUT, UH, THE PORTS THAT WAS BEING OPENED UP HAD BEEN ENCLOSED AT ONE POINT IN THE HISTORY.

AND SO, YOU KNOW,

[01:55:01]

SO WE KIND OF HAD HEARTBURN ABOUT OPENING THAT PORCH UP.

AND THEN OF COURSE, THE BACK LEFT CORNER OF THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE.

WE DIDN'T LIKE THAT EITHER, BUT WE OFTEN HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS WHERE IF WE'RE SAVING 80% OF THE BUILDING AND THE MOST HISTORIC PORTION FACING THE BUSIEST STREET VERSUS, UH, TRYING THE LANDMARK, IT FAILING AND THEN SOMEONE ABLE TO BUY IT AND DESTROY IT COMPLETELY.

WE, WE OFTEN HAVE TO MAKE THAT, THAT, UH, THAT CALL.

AND I, I WILL SAY THE TEAM WAS FULLY STAFFED AND COMMITTED AND CAME TO US MANY TIMES.

AND SO WE WERE, I WAS REALLY SURPRISED AT THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, WHICH I HAD HIGH, HIGH HOPES FOR, WENT DOWN THIS WAY.

UM, YOU KNOW, I, THE PICTURES THAT WERE SHOWN ON THE DAMAGE, IF I HAD SEEN 'EM BEFORE, I WOULDN'T BUY 'EM THEN.

I DON'T BUY IT NOW.

UH, IT WAS SHOWING SPOT MOISTURE DAMAGE.

IT WAS ALL EXTERIOR.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN SEEN BEFORE.

I, I DON'T KNOW IF THE TEAM THAT DID THIS WASN'T FAMILIAR WITH PRESERVATION.

THERE'S NOT MANY COMPANIES THAT ARE IN THE CITY, AND I KNOW THAT'S A PROBLEM.

UH, I HAD HOPED THAT THIS OWNER SHOWN THE SENSITIVITY THAT THEY HAD AND THE TEAM WOULD'VE, WOULD'VE FOUND SOMEONE THAT THAT CAN DO IT.

I JUST WOULD, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WE WANNA DRILL INTO IT.

OBVIOUSLY WE'RE VERY DISAPPOINTED.

UM, BUT DID THE ROOF COME OFF COMPLETELY FIRST? DID NOT, YOU KNOW, IF I WAS PHASING IT, I WOULD'VE CREATED THE TWO OPENINGS IN THE SIDE.

I WOULD'VE KEPT THE FOUNDATION, I WOULD'VE KEPT THE ROOF, DONE THE OPENINGS, BUILT THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE, AND THEN REPLACED THE ROOF.

IF THERE'S FOUNDATION TO BE DONE, YOU DO IT IN SEQUENCES.

SO I I I JUST HAVE A FEELING IT WASN'T, THE FACT THAT THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF WATER DAMAGE WAS THE REASON THAT IT ALL ENDED UP.

I SUSPECT THAT THERE WAS SOME SEQUENCING THAT WENT DOWN WRONG.

UH, AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WE WANT TO GET INTO FORENSICS OF WHY THIS WENT AWRY, BUT, UM, ANYWAY, I I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT'S GOING.

I, I JUST, I'M GONNA SAY I'M, I'M, I'M NOT BUYING IT.

THAT THAT'S WHY IT WENT DOWN, THAT IT WAS NECESSARY.

UH, IF THAT ROOF WAS THERE AND THAT FLOOR WAS THERE, THAT HAD BEEN SERVING THAT BUSINESS FOR I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY YEARS BEFORE AND REMAINED INTACT WITH THE FRONT FACADE AND THE REAR FACADE, IT WASN'T GONNA COLLAPSE.

AND I DON'T, I DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW, UNLESS WE SEE PHOTOS OF THAT AND THEN I ALSO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TWO STORY BUILDING IN THE BACK.

YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT, THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO REMAIN INTACT? THAT'S JUST GONE.

SO THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS AND KIND OF OPEN QUESTIONS.

WOULD YOU LIKE US TO RESPOND NOW? UH, THERE'S A QUICK RESPONSE.

WHAT, WHAT, WHAT HAPPENED? WELL, I THINK WE HAVE OUR TEAM HERE THAT THEY CAN ELABORATE FURTHER ON THAT.

BUT THE DAMAGE WAS NOT JUST MOISTURE RELATED, IT WAS ACTUALLY ALSO AFFECTING THE FOUNDATION ITSELF.

UM, SO THAT WHEN WE MADE THOSE FIRST SELECTIVE DEMOLITION CUTS AND SEPARATED THOSE PORTIONS THAT BECAME UNFEASIBLE FOR THOSE WALLS TO REMAIN, THE WATER DAMAGE WAS COMING FROM BENEATH AND SEEPING INTO THE STUD WALLS FROM BELOW, AFFECTING THE STRUCTURAL, THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THOSE WALLS ONCE WE MEET THE CUT.

BUT I DO HAVE HERE, UM, I, I'LL, I'LL JUMP IN.

UM, HELLO SAM COVEY WITH FORT STRUCTURES, UH, STRUCTURAL ENGINEER.

UM, UH, I'LL JUST ADDRESS ONE POINT OF PRESERVATION, UH, THAT'S VERY CHALLENGING IS JUST THE, THE CHANGING OF THE, THE LIVE LOADS THAT ARE REQUIRED WHEN YOU WORK ON A BUILDING LIKE THIS.

SO THESE ORIGINAL BUILDINGS WERE DESIGNED, I MEAN, THEY, THEY WEREN'T TECHNICALLY ENGINEERED.

AND OUR CURRENT RESIDENTIAL LIVE LOADS ARE 40 POUNDS PER SQUARE FOOT.

A RESTAURANT IS A HUNDRED POUNDS PER SQUARE FOOT, AND A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN IS 150 POUNDS PER SQUARE FOOT.

SO PRESERVING THESE STRUCTURES TAKES, UH, A QUITE A BIT OF REINFORCEMENT AND FOUNDATION REPAIR ALL THROUGHOUT, AND THE ACCESS AND LOCATIONS.

MANY OF THESE, UH, WOOD BEAMS WERE SITTING ON THE GROUND AND ROTTING.

AND FOR THE BACK BUILDING, IT WAS BUILT LIKE A, A POLE BARN STRUCTURE.

SO LARGE CEDAR POSTS GOING UP AND THEN, UH, ONE BY TENS KIND OF WRAPPING.

AND THOSE WERE JUST SITTING ON THE GROUND AND ROTTING OVER TIME.

SO THERE'S NOT, THERE WE'RE VERY CHALLENGED FROM A SEQUENCING STANDPOINT IN SUPPORTING THE LOADS OF THE STRUCTURE TO MAKE IT MEET THE CURRENT CODES THAT ARE REQUIRED OF US AND REINFORCING IT ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

SO THAT, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE, WE FACE AS AN ENGINEER MEAN.

WAS THE EXISTING FOUNDATION A SURPRISE TO YOU WHEN YOU FIRST CUT INTO IT? DID YOU NOT KNOW WHAT IT WAS WHEN YOU PLANNED THIS PROJECT? I MEAN, CERTAIN PORTIONS WERE ACCESSIBLE AND VISIBLE.

UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE CRAWL SPACE DOES TAPER TO VERY CLOSE TO GROUND SO MUCH THAT THE WOOD IS SITTING ON THE GROUND AND ROTTING.

SO THOSE WERE INACCESSIBLE UNDER OUR FIRST EVALUATION.

AND IT, YOU KNOW, THAT NEEDED TO BE INVESTIGATED FURTHER.

AND AS THE SKIRT GOT PULLED OFF, YOU KNOW, WE COULD SEE IT WAS ROTTING AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, AND THEN YOU DIDN'T STOP THEN AND REPLACE IT.

MM-HMM.

WHEN YOU PULLED THE SKIRT OFF AND COULD SEE THE FOUNDATION HAD AN ISSUE, INSTEAD OF JUST DECIDING THE WHOLE THING NEEDED TO COME DOWN BECAUSE YOU OPENED THE SKIRT AND SAW THAT HAD SIMILAR FOUNDATION TO EVERY 19TH CENTURY BUILDING IN THIS, IN

[02:00:01]

THIS CITY, CEDAR PIERCE.

SO I'M NOT THE ONE ULTIMATELY MAKING THOSE DECISIONS.

UM, I'M, I'M JUST ADVISING HOW TO REPAIR.

I'M, I'M, I'M SORRY TO BE SO AGGRESSIVE ON THIS.

I, I JUST, I'M, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IT'S VERY UPSETTING AND, UH, I PICTURE IT GOING DOWN IN MY HEAD.

YOU PULL OFF A SKIRT, YOU SEE IT'S GOT CEDAR P OR SOMETHING YOU PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED, AND THEN SAY IT'S NOT GONNA, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT 150 POUNDS PER SQUARE FOOT AND THEN TEAR THE WHOLE THING DOWN.

IT JUST, IT, IT DOESN'T ADD UP TO ME.

WELL, WE CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT FURTHER TO THAT EFFECT, IS THAT WHEN WE WORKED WITH THE OWNERS AND DESIGN TEAM, THE OWNERS WERE COMMITTED TO ALLOWING THE RESTAURANT TO STAY IN FUNCTION THROUGH THE MOST OF THE DESIGN PROCESS.

SO WE COULDN'T BE CUTTING INTO THE SLAB WHILE THE DESIGN, LIKE, WHILE THE RESTAURANT IS STILL FUNCTIONING.

SO BY THE TIME THAT WE HAD ALREADY BEEN PERMITTING, THAT'S WHEN ONCE WE GOT OUR PERMIT, THAT THEY KIND OF GAVE MAYBE A MONTH OR TWO ADVANCE NOTICE FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO LEAVE THE, TO LEAVE THE BUILDING.

UM, AND THAT WOULD GIVE THEM THE TIMELINE FOR US TO THEN START CONSTRUCTION OVERALL.

UH, EXCUSE ME.

YOU SAID SLAB.

THERE IS NO SLAB FOUNDATION HERE, THOUGH.

THIS IS ALL PAIR AND BEAM.

WE'RE GONNA BE GOING BACK WITH A NEW SLAB, UM, TO SUPPORT, SUPPORT THE NEW LOADS.

JUMP IN.

YEAH, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER ACT PLEASE.

UM, AND I WANT TO GET INTO THE, THE ENCLOSURE THINGS IN A MINUTE.

UM, I, I WANT TO ME, I WANT TO ECHO COMMISSIONER COOK'S, MOST OF THIS IS STUFF THAT A HOME INSPECTION WOULD'VE FOUND MUCH LESS ANYTHING ELSE.

AND SO IT LOOKS LIKE THERE WASN'T A LOT OF DUE DILIGENCE DONE AT THE BEGINNING.

UM, THERE'S ALSO A FUNDAMENTAL UNDER MISUNDERSTANDING OF HOW HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES WORK.

IT APPEARS, UM, THIS IS KNOWN, THIS IS A BARRIER CLAD SYSTEM, AS WITH ALL OLD HOUSES.

DO, DO EITHER ONE OF YOU LIVE IN AN OLD HOUSE? I DO.

DO YOU THINK THAT THERE'S A, A FUNCTIONING WEATHER BARRIER BEHIND YOUR SIDING? THERE WAS NOT.

WE REPAIRED IT AND HAD TO INSTALL ONE AND REMOVED IT.

NO, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO.

YOU DID.

UM, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW EVERY, EVERY OLD BUILDING IS THE SAME AS, AS LOADING WISE.

UM, THIS BUILDING AND, AND WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS.

THIS WOULD FALL UNDER THE INTERNATIONAL EXISTING BUILDING CODE.

WELL, WITH THE AMOUNT OF, UH, PROPO LIKE PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS, WE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH THE BUILDING REVIEWER AND HAD TO GO TO CURRENT CODE.

AND SO YOU FOUND THAT THE, THE FOUNDATION WAS BY NOT SUFFICIENT, INSUFFICIENT, SO EVEN THE ADDITION OF EXTRA FOOTINGS AND THINGS WOULDN'T HAVE WORKED? CORRECT.

SO WE CAN SUPPORT MOST EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD OFF OF ADDITIONAL FOOTINGS.

IN FACT, I'VE WORKED ON BUILDINGS WITH 300 FOOTINGS THAT ARE A HUNDRED FEET DOWN INTO THE GROUND, BUT ADDITIONAL FOOTINGS WOULDN'T HAVE WORKED UNDER THIS.

THAT WAS NOT THE DESIGN DECISION THAT WAS MADE FOR OUR TEAM.

SO IT WAS FEASIBLE, BUT MAYBE NOT ECONOMICALLY.

I'M NOT SURE IF WE HAD THAT PRICED OUT.

BUT FOR THE LIVE LOADS THAT WE WERE WORKING WITH AND HAVING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN AND A LARGER FOOTPRINT, AND FOR THE NEW BUILDING THAT THE KIND OF THE EXTENDED USE OF IT, WE WENT FOR SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE A LITTLE MORE SUBSTANTIAL.

SO YES, WE WENT WITH A SLAB.

OKAY, WELL YOU WENT WITH A SLAB.

NOW THAT EVERYTHING'S GONE, BUT THERE'S, I MEAN, UH, I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO THAT, I GUESS, I SUPPOSE I JUST, UH, IT, IT IS, IT IS DISAPPOINTING BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN, I MEAN, YOU, YOU POINT TO UNSEALED PENETRATIONS IN THE BUILDING WALL.

WELL, WE WERE, I WANNA STATE CLEARLY OUR TEAM WAS ALSO DISAPPOINTED IN THE EXTENT OF WHAT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO KEEP BECAUSE OF WHAT THE EXISTING BUILDING'S CONDITION WAS.

OUR INTENT HAS ALWAYS REMAINED FROM THE ORIGINAL PROPOSALS THAT WE'VE MADE TO BE ABLE TO KEEP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

BUT WHEN WE ARE COME UP AGAINST A FOUNDATION THAT ISN'T WORKABLE AND WE NEED TO REPLACE, WE NEED TO REPLACE THE ROOF BECAUSE OF THE MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THE MECHANICAL SYSTEMS FOR A PROPERLY WORKING, IT WASN'T, THE ROOF ALREADY IS GONNA BE REPLACED.

THAT WAS ALREADY GOING TO REPLACE AND APPROVED BY THE HHL CS PART OF IT.

SO WITH THOSE KIND OF CUMULATIVE THINGS, IT LED US DOWN TO THAT PATH, WHICH I THINK WE ARE NOW SEEING, WAS UNFORTUNATE THAT WE COULDN'T PRESERVE MORE.

AND WE WANT TO, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT OUR OWNER EVEN PURCHASED THE BUILDING FOR.

AND DID YOU, WHAT IS Y'ALL'S EXPERIENCE IN HISTORIC BUILDINGS? AS IN PROJECTS WISE? WE'VE WORKED WITH IT IN A RESIDENTIAL SCALE.

BUT WE ARE NOT PRESERVATION, LIKE, UH, I WOULD CLASSIFY US AS PRESERVATION ARCHITECTS.

AND YOU DIDN'T HIRE A CONSULTANT OR ANYTHING TO HELP WITH THAT? NO, SIR, WE DID NOT.

UH, BECAUSE AS WE SIT AND SOMEONE THAT WORKS ON HISTORIC BUILDINGS IS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF MY JOB.

AND ONCE AGAIN, UM, KIND OF ECHOING, UH, COMMISSIONER COOK, THIS IS ALL STUFF THAT IF YOU DROVE BY IT, THEY WOULD'VE TOLD YOU WHAT THE FOUNDATION WAS AND WHAT THE CONDITION WAS, UM, OF IT PRETTY EASILY.

NOW, WHAT WOULD'VE TAKEN TO SUPPLEMENT THAT FOUNDATION MAY HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT.

YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO PULL THE SKIRTS OFF AND THINGS.

SITE DRAINAGE IS SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE HAS TO DEAL WITH.

UH, RECONNECTING DOWN LEADERS AND CEILING PIPE PENETRATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT IS ALL STUFF THAT'S VERY COMMON.

BUT THERE, UH, IT'S SHOCKING TO HEAR THAT SOMETHING WAS A SURPRISE BECAUSE, I MEAN, THERE'S, WELL, I THINK IT'S THE EXTENT OF IT.

ONCE WE MADE THOSE INITIAL CUTS.

SO I THINK ADAM CAN SPEAK TO SOME OF THE, THERE WERE ALREADY KIND OF REPAIRS THAT WERE MADE HAPHAZARDLY MM-HMM .

THAT WE WERE ALSO HAVING TO WORK WITH.

MY NAME'S ADAM LUCAS WITH AR, LUCAS CONSTRUCTION, THE GC.

[02:05:06]

AS FAR AS THE SEQUENCING OF THE PROCESS, WE ESSENTIALLY WENT IN AND DID OUR ABATEMENT FOR ASBESTOS.

WE THEN WENT IN AND DID OUR SELECTIVE DEMOLITION WHERE WE DID CUT THE FLOOR SYSTEM AWAY FROM THE WALL SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE ROOF LINE.

WE THEN PROVIDED SHORING ON ALL FOUR SIDES OF THE BUILDING.

AS WE WENT THROUGH WITH OUR CONTINUED SELECTIVE DEMOLITION, WE CUT THE PORTIONS THAT WE KNEW FROM THE COURTYARD AREA AND THAT OTHER SIDE FREE MM-HMM .

AND THE REAR PORTION OF THE BUILDING, THE SUBSTRUCTURE WAS SO SHOT BECAUSE IT WAS THE ACTIVE PART OF THE RESTAURANT IN THE PREVIOUS, UH, GENERATION OF THE RESTAURANT THAT IT BEGAN TO TWIST MM-HMM .

SO THAT'S WHERE WE STOPPED AND WE HAD TO MAKE THE DECISION TO ESSENTIALLY EITHER LET THE BUILDING FALL OR GO AHEAD AND DO A FULL DEMOLITION ON IT.

SO WAS THE SHORING PLAN PROVIDED BY FORT? NO.

SO IT WASN'T, THE SHORING PLAN WASN'T PROVIDED BY A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER LICENSED IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.

I DIDN'T HAVE A SHORING PLAN ON MY PLANS.

NO.

BUT I WENT AHEAD AND DID EXTERIOR COLUMNS WHERE I POURED FOOTINGS OUTSIDE THE PERIMETER OF THE BUILDING AND SHORED UP THAT FRONT WALL, IS KNOWING THAT WAS OUR MOST HISTORICAL PRESERVATION PORTION OF THE BUILDING.

SO WE WENT TO EXTRA LENGTHS TO SALVAGE THAT PART.

AS WE GOT INTO THE REAR OF THE BUILDING WHERE THE GRADE STARTED TO DROP OUT, WE KNEW WHAT WE WERE GONNA ENCOUNTER AS FAR AS ROCK AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.

THE WALL SYSTEMS THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MAINTAIN BEGAN TO TWIST ON US.

SO WE HAD TO MAKE A DECISION.

I HAD TO MAKE A DECISION TO TAKE THE REAR PORTION DOWN, JUST BECAUSE FROM A LIFE SAFETY STANDPOINT, THERE'S A LARGE POPULATION OF UNHOUSED PEOPLE IN THAT AREA THAT WERE IN OUR JOB SITE QUITE A BIT.

SO WE MADE THE CALL.

THERE WAS NO, LIKE, IT WAS VERY SHORT.

SO THE COURT WASN'T INVOLVED IN, IN OBSERVING THE STRUCTURE AS IT WAS AND, AND HELPING MAKE THE CALL AS A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER INSTEAD.

YES, HE WAS.

YEAH, THEY WERE, HE'S SHAKING HIS HEAD BEHIND YOU.

NOW.

WE, WE CAME OUT AND INSPECTED THE DAMAGE, BUT WE WERE NOT DOING A, WE WERE NOT DOING A COMPREHENSIVE THERE THE ENTIRE TIME.

IT WAS A, SO YOU DIDN'T PROVIDE A SHORING PLAN.

WAS IT A IMMINENT LIFE SAFETY ISSUE WHEN YOU SAW IT? SPEAKER? WHEN I WENT OUT THERE, IT WAS MAINLY TO INSPECT, UM, THE ROTTING DAMAGE AND I WASN'T INSPECTING THE SHORING.

COMMISSIONER GROGAN, GO AHEAD.

UM, YEP.

LET'S CONTINUE THEN.

UM, I'M JUST GONNA SAY THAT AS A MEMBER OF THE A RC, WE SAW THIS PROJECT COME TO US AND, AND HAD REALLY GREAT CONVERSATIONS.

AND I THINK ECHOING WHAT COMMISSIONER COOK SAID, I AM SO DISAPPOINTED.

'CAUSE I WAS SO EXCITED FOR THIS PROJECT.

I WAS VERY EXCITED AND SEEING THE EXTENT OF, OF DEMOLITION, I'M NOT BUYING IT EITHER.

I MEAN, WE'RE ALL PROFESSIONALS UP HERE THAT WORK IN PRESERVATION.

WE CLEARLY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S INVOLVED.

AND I DO NOT KNOW HOW IT GOT THIS FAR.

SEVERAL OF YOU HAVE MENTIONED OF THAT AS DEMO BEGAN, A DECISION HAD TO BE MADE BY YOUR TEAM.

I WANNA UNDERSTAND WHY NO ONE STOPPED AND THOUGHT WE NEED PERMISSION TO GO TO THIS EXTENT.

TO ME, THIS IS A, AS AN ARCHITECT, I WOULD SAY THIS IS AN A CHANGE IN SCOPE.

THIS IS EXACTLY AS IF YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SUDDENLY GONNA JUST PUT A SECOND STORY ON THIS STRUCTURE.

TO ME, IT'S THE SAME THING.

THAT WAS NOT WHAT WAS IN YOUR PERMIT.

SO WHY DID NO ONE STOP AND THINK WE NEED TO TALK TO OFFICIALS? OR MAYBE YOU DID.

I, THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW.

AT WHAT POINT DID NO ONE ON THIS TEAM REALIZE THIS WAS NOT WHAT WAS APPROVED.

AND WE NEED TO GET PERMISSION TO GO FURTHER BECAUSE WHAT'S DONE BEEN WHAT HAS BEEN DONE HAS BEEN DONE.

AND I REALLY DON'T CARE IF IT'S REBUILT.

I MEAN, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS IT'S NOT GONNA BE REBUILT AS IT WAS.

YOU'RE PUTTING A SLAB IN PLACE.

THAT'S, TO ME, THAT'S NOT REBUILDING WHAT WAS THERE.

YOU KNOW? SO I GUESS I JUST WANNA KNOW, YOU KNOW, SO WE DON'T HAVE THIS SAME PROBLEM WITH FUTURE PROJECTS.

I WANT EVERYONE TO HEAR WHY IT'S NOT POSSIBLE FOR YOU ALL AS A BUILDING PROFESSIONAL TEAM TO STOP AND THINK THIS IS NOT WHAT WAS APPROVED IN OUR PERMIT.

THIS IS OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE.

WE NEED TO ASK FOR PERMISSION.

I THINK IT COULD GO BACK.

I THINK IT COULD GO BACK TO WE DID HAVE PERMIT APPROVALS FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ROOF, THE FOUNDATION AND THE ADDITION PORTIONS AND THE SELECTIVE DEMOLITION THAT WE HAD THERE.

SO REALLY IT GOES INTO THE MEANS AND METHODS OF LIKE WHERE CONSTRUCTION BREAKS DOWN WHEN YOU'RE ON SITE AND SAY, OKAY, WE MADE THIS CUT.

NOW THINGS ARE NOT WORKING.

HOW DO WE NOW, I'M SORRY.

A WHOLE, A WHOLE STRUCTURE ALSO DISAPPEARED.

WE NOTED, THAT STRUCTURE WAS ROTTING ON THE GROUND WITH THE PIER AND DEAN FOUNDATION.

THE TWO STORY, I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING VERY EXTENSIVE DEMO HERE.

AND I THINK AS

[02:10:01]

THERE WAS A DIRT FOUNDATION.

DID YOU HAVE A DEMO PERMIT FOR THAT BUILDING? WE HAD THE SELECTIVE DEMOLITION PERMIT FOR AREAS.

SO THAT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, AS YOU KNOW, AS AN ARCHITECT THAT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN FULL DEMO.

SO THAT IS MY QUESTION.

NO ONE CONSIDERED THIS IS NOT WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE PERMIT.

I THINK AT THAT POINT, WE UNDERSTOOD WHERE THE SITE LOCATION WAS AND HAD TO MAKE A CHOICE OF WHO WAS GOING TO BE LIABLE TO PROTECT THE SITE MOVING FORWARD.

AN INSPECTOR COULD NOT BE CALLED THAT DAY.

WE DID HAVE INSPECTORS CALL OUT AND COME OUT TO THE SITE.

I WAS GONNA SAY, I THINK ADAM SHOULD SPEAK TO THE INSPECTOR AND EVEN SUBMITTING THE STRUCTURAL REPORT TO THE BUILDING SYSTEM, UH, DURING CONSTRUCTION.

UH, AND SHOULD, WHO, WHO, EVERYBODY WHO SPEAKS.

WOULD YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELF FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE, ADAM LUCAS? AS FAR AS THE SEQUENCING WITH IN BUILDING INSPECTOR, I DID MY PRE-CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION WITH THE BUILDING INSPECTORS.

WE WENT THROUGH PLANS BEFORE WE DID ANY SHORING PLANS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

WE DID OUR ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTIONS.

WE THEN SUBMITTED FOR, UM, THE ABATEMENT TIMELINE TO START CONSTRUCTION.

SO WE DID BRING IT TO THE ATTENTION OF OUR BUILDING INSPECTOR AND OUR ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTOR AS FAR AS THE SCOPE.

ONCE WE STARTED THE SELECTIVE DEMOLITION.

AND I HAD STRUCTURAL ENGINEER COME OUT, EVALUATE IT AS WELL, AND THEN UPLOADED THOSE LETTERS TO THE A, B, C.

SO THERE IS NO LIKE, REAL SEQUENCE FOR ME TO STOP CONSTRUCTION, UH, THAT I'M AWARE OF.

TO BE ABLE TO GET PERMISSION TO GO FURTHER.

I HAD TO MAKE A CALL IN THE FIELD BASED ON, ONCE WE STARTED SELECTIVELY DEMOING, THE ROOF WAS OFF, THE FLOOR SYSTEM WAS LOOSE.

I WAS, I HAD TO PULL MY PEOPLE OUT TO BRING IN THE ROOF TO TAKE THE REST OF THE BUILDING DOWN BECAUSE OF THE CONDITION OF IT.

THERE'S NO WAY TO REALLY SHORE UP AND BUILD THE SUPPORT BELOW THAT STRUCTURE AS A SLAB FOUNDATION, WHICH WAS ON MY BUILDING PERMIT TO DO BY FLOATING THOSE WALLS IN, YOU KNOW, IN SPACE.

SO, WELL, I I JUST WANNA POINT OUT THAT I THINK THERE'S PLENTY OF TIMES DURING CONSTRUCTION THAT A SCOPE CHANGES AND A PLAN REVISION HAS TO BE ISSUED FOR A PERMIT THAT'S VERY STANDARD AND COMMON.

SURE.

AND I UNDERSTAND YOU NEED TO SECURE AND SITE AND STUFF, BUT THAT STUFF IS DOABLE.

IT'S DOABLE.

AND, AND I THINK WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE WAS NOT THE CORRECT FOLKS ON THE JOB.

UM, OR A, A LACK OF WANTING TO SPEND MONEY TO GET SOME GOOD CONSULTANTS.

AND, YOU KNOW, FULL DEMO IS ALWAYS MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE THAN TAKING SOME TIME EXTRA MONEY TO SAVE WHAT'S THERE.

BUT, OKAY.

OWNER TOO, IF YOU GUYS REMEMBER THE PINATA STORE ON EAST CAESAR CHAVEZ, THAT BECAME AN UNTENABLE CONDITION FOR ANYBODY EVER MOVING BACK INTO IT, AT LEAST FOR A WHILE.

I, I THINK YOU KIND OF ANSWERED MY QUESTION WHEN YOU SAID THE ROOF WAS OFF, BECAUSE I WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT THE BACK PORTION.

'CAUSE I BELIEVE DURING THE DESIGN MEETINGS I SAID, WELL, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, BOARD AND BATTENS NOTORIOUSLY, IT'S JUST A THIN SHELL.

IT DOESN'T HAVE A FRAME OF ITS OWN.

BUT IF YOU HAD AN INTACT SHEAR FRAME OF THE ROOF CEILING STRUCTURE AND ROOF STRUCTURE AND INTACT SHEAR FRAME OF THE FLOOR JOIST AND PERIMETER BEAMS, I DON'T SEE HOW THE WALLS COULD HAVE, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU TOOK THE ROOF OFF AS PART OF THE DEMOLITION RATHER THAN JUST PUNCHING THROUGH THE, THE WALLS AND LEAVING THE OVERALL FRAME INTACT IS, WAS THE ROOF GONE? THE ROOF WAS NOT COMPLETELY REMOVED.

I CUT BACK THE ROOF SYSTEM ABOUT FOUR FEET BACK.

WHY DID YOU DO THAT? AND THEN SUPPORTED THAT WALL.

SO THAT, WHY DID I DO THAT SO THAT THEN WE CAN GO AND LIKE, SUPPORT AND SHORE UP THE WALL SYSTEMS THAT NEED TO BE SALVAGED.

SO THE INTENT WAS TO REMOVE THE ROOF AND SHORE THE WALLS AND THEN REPLACE THE ROOF RATHER THAN LEAVING THE ROOF AS A TYING STRUCTURAL ELEMENT FOR ALL THE WALLS AS IT HAS BEEN FOR 120 YEARS.

130.

I'M SORRY, I'M GETTING TOO MUCH IN THE MEANS AND METHODS AND DETAILS, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THE SEQUENCING COULD HAVE GONE BETTER THAT THE ROOF SHOULD HAVE STAYED AND PUNCHED THROUGH THE WALLS.

YOU LOOK AT THE, YOU SEE FOUNDATION PROBLEMS, YOU LOOK AT THAT, HOW DO WE ADDRESS THAT? YOU DON'T CUT BACK THE FLOOR AND CUT BACK THE ROOF ON A BUILDING WITH A BOARD AND BATTEN JUST EXTERIOR JUST FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

YEAH, I MEAN, WE'VE PUT, WE'VE UNDERPINNED AND ENTIRE FOUR STORY COURTHOUSES BY DIGGING OUT UNDERNEATH OF THEM AND REPLACING THE FOUNDATION WITH THE BUILDING A LOAD BEARING MASONRY INTACT.

SO AS I'VE SAID UP HERE BEFORE, EVERYTHING CAN BE SAVED.

IT JUST, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT AND WHAT ARE WE, HOW MUCH TIME, EFFORT, AND MONEY ARE WE WILLING TO SPEND TO DO THAT? IF THIS WAS A BUILDING THAT GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS BUILT IN IT, IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT.

RIGHT? AND I THINK THAT EARLY ON, THE DECISIONS WERE MADE TO TRY TO SAVE THIS.

AND I, I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS COMING AND TAKING YOUR POUND OF FLESH AND, AND EVERYTHING.

AND, AND REALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE INTERESTED IN IS, IS INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY IS MAKING SURE STUFF LIKE THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN WITHOUT SOMEONE STOPPING AND SAYING, HEY, WHAT, WHAT DO WE DO HERE? AND THE OTHER THING I WOULD, I DO WANNA MENTION THAT THIS HAS HAD A FAIRLY LARGE PUBLIC OUTCRY AND THERE CAN BE CONSEQUENCE TO THAT.

UH, AND I WANT YOU GUYS TO BE AWARE OF THAT BECAUSE IN THE

[02:15:01]

AND SO, UH, I, I APPRECIATE YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY GONNA GO BACK LIKE IT WAS WITH SOME CHANGES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

THERE'S ITS OWN PRESERVATION ARGUMENT ABOUT THOSE TYPE OF THINGS.

BUT, UM, BEYOND JUST, AND, AND APPRECIATING YOU COMING IN AND HELPING US UNDERSTAND THIS UNDERSTANDING THERE, THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY, THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY IT JUST WASN'T DONE.

UM, BUT ALSO AS YOU MOVE FORWARD, ONE THING WE ALSO DON'T WANT IS A SITE THAT THIS BUILDING IS, IS EMPTY IN SIX MONTHS BECAUSE OF KIND OF THE, THE SHADOW OF THIS ON IT.

SO I THINK THAT THERE'S GONNA HAVE TO BE SOME WORK TO THAT END DONE AS WELL TO KIND OF REESTABLISH BECAUSE, UM, IT WAS, IT WAS PRETTY NOISY WITHIN CERTAIN CERTAIN GROUPS IN THE CITY.

SO THANK YOU.

UNDERSTOOD.

I THINK WE HAD, OH, SORRY.

I COULD RESPOND.

I, UM, I THINK ONE THING THAT WE, EVEN IN THIS PROCESS AND HAVE BEEN LEARNING THROUGH, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT PRESERVATION ARCHITECTS, AS YOU CLEARLY NOTED MM-HMM .

UM, IS THAT WE WANT MORE UNDERSTANDING OF THAT PROCESS AS WELL DURING CONSTRUCTION AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE HLC AND OUR TEAM.

YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE MEANS AND METHODS? ARE THERE REQUIRED CHECK-INS VERSUS LIKE, HEY, CAN YOU JUST LOOK AT THIS? LIKE, WHO IS THE CONTACT FOR THAT? OR ARE THERE FORMAL REVIEWS THAT ARE PART OF THAT? LIKE, I THINK UNDERSTANDING THAT MORE WHEN WE'RE WORKING ON OLDER STRUCTURES SO THAT WE DON'T LIMIT WHO CAN WORK ON OLDER STRUCTURES WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR THE CITY TO OUTLINE WHAT A LITTLE BIT OF THAT IS, UM, GETS INTO A LARGER CONVERSATION ABOUT STAFFING OF THAT OFFICE.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK ON OUR SIDE WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH IS THE INSPECTION SIDE OF THINGS AND HAVING THEM AT LEAST BE A LITTLE BIT MORE COGNIZANT OF THIS HAS THIS ELEMENT.

'CAUSE ONCE THIS ELEMENT IS IN YOUR PLANS AND IT'S PERMITTED THIS WAY, THIS IS A REQUIREMENT TO BE DONE A CERTAIN WAY.

AND AS, AS COMMISSIONER GROGAN STATED, LIKE ONCE, ANYTIME YOU HAVE A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE PERMITTED TO DO IN YOUR PLANS, YOU ACTUALLY, YOU HAVE TO STOP AND RESUBMIT OR YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION OR FIGURE SOMETHING OUT.

AND IT, IT'S EASY FOR THAT TO GET IN THE WASH.

AND WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF THOSE IN, IN THIS CITY, UH, AS YOU KNOW.

AND SO THERE ARE, THERE ARE ELEMENTS WITHIN THE, THE DESIGN WORLD OF AN UNDERSTANDING OF, OKAY, THERE IS A LET'S STOP, LET'S TALK TO SOMEBODY OR AT LEAST STOP AND FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO.

AND THEN ON THIS SIDE, IT'S, IT'S THROUGH THE INSPECTORS THAT GO TO SITES, IT'S, IT'S THROUGH SOME OWN INTERNAL PROCESSES.

IT'S HOPEFULLY AT SOME POINT THE STAFF OF THAT OFFICE GROWING SO THAT THEY CAN DO THEIR OWN ALMOST INSPECTION OF IT.

SO IT, IT'S, YOU'VE STUMBLED UPON A, A, A VERY LARGE CONVERSATION AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU REALIZED THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'D BEEN NICE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE TO CALL AND BE LIKE, CRAP, WHAT DO WE DO? YEAH.

UM, AND WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.

BUT IT, AS IT SITS NOW, IT'S A LOT OF IT IS JUST THE DESIGN PROFESSIONALS SAY SAYING, I'M OKAY, I'M GONNA STOP AND WE'RE GONNA FIGURE THIS OUT.

YOU KNOW, AND THERE'S NOT A PERFECT PROCESS FOR IT, BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE TO TALK TO AND, AND THINGS ON IT.

SO THANK YOU.

I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.

COMMISSIONER, WHAT WAS STOPPING YOU TO COME BACK TO THE COMMISSION AND TALK TO US? THAT IS, UH, WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH THE PRESERVATION OFFICE VIA EMAIL AND PHONE CALLS ALREADY PRIOR TO GET THE DOCUMENTATION AND THE NOTES UPDATED FOR WHAT, HOW WE SHOULD REBUILD.

UM, SO THOSE, UH, DOCUMENTS WITH THE RED OUTLINES THAT WE HAD IN THE BACKUP INFORMATION, THOSE ARE ALREADY CONVERSATIONS THAT WE IMMEDIATELY STARTED HAVING.

UM, EVEN OUR BUILDING REVERE WAS LIKE, OH, I'M SURPRISED THAT YOU GUYS CALLED, LIKE, MOST PEOPLE DON'T WANNA TALK TO US.

AND I'M LIKE, NO, WE WANT TO CONTINUE MOVING THIS FORWARD.

LIKE WE, WE ARE SHEPHERDING THIS FOR THE CLIENT, FOR THE CITY, FOR THE DESIGN TEAM.

LIKE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HONORING THAT PROCESS AND TRYING TO DO WHAT WE CAN WITH WHAT WE KNOW.

OKAY, BECAUSE YOU HAD A SELECTIVE DEMO PERMIT, CORRECT? NOT A FULL, AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU COMPLETELY DEMOED THE BUILDING.

IT'S WHAT WALL LEFT.

NOW, HOW DO YOU CIRCUMVENT THE PROCESS? HOW DID YOU KNOW, HOW DID Y'ALL GET PAST THAT AND JUST GET COMPLETELY DEMOED? WELL, I THINK THE, AGAIN, IT'S ADAM LUCAS, THE, THE FRONT SECTION, THE HISTORICAL PORTION OF THAT WALL SYSTEM, AND THE WA THE WINDOW SYSTEMS AND ALL OF THAT WAS PRESERVED IN OUR SELECTIVE DEMO.

IT IS, AS I REMOVED THE REAR PORTION OF THE BUILDING AND THE FLOOR SYSTEM AND CUT THAT LOOSE IS WHEN MY WALL SYSTEMS IN THE REAR PORTION THERE BECAME UNSTABLE.

SO IT BECAME SELECTIVE TO GO AHEAD AND REMOVE IT.

SO LIKE THE SELECT, YEAH.

CORNER, THE SOUTHEAST CORNER, THE CORNER OF MEDINA AND CAESAR CHAVEZ.

JUST WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR, AND I, I HATE TO GET INTO GORY DETAILS, BUT WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE 19TH CENTURY STRUCTURE? I MEAN, WOULD, WOULD'VE BEEN MORE SOLID THAN JUST A SINGLE WALL.

WHY, WHY DIDN'T YOU BRING IT ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE CORNER INSTEAD OF AT LEAST LEAVING THE AMOUNT OF RETURN THAT WAS ORIGINALLY IN THE DESIGN? THE SOUTHEAST

[02:20:01]

SO THEN THE BASEMENT, YEAH, THE MAIN FACADE AND THE FACADE JUST KIND OF ENDS AND THERE'S NO RETURN.

AND TYPICALLY A CORNER IS STRONGER THAN JUST A, A SINGLE PLANE.

AND THERE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, WHAT, FIVE TO EIGHT FEET OF THAT WEST WALL SOUTH, SORRY, SOUTHWEST.

THERE WAS ABOUT FOUR FEET OF THAT.

UH, THERE WAS A LITTLE PUNCH WALL ON THE INTERIOR THAT WAS THERE, AND THAT'S WHERE WE TIED SOME OF OUR SHORING IN.

SO WE PULLED IT BACK TO THE CORNER OF THAT, UH, KIND OF WITCHES HAT PORTION OF THE BUILDING.

WELL, SO THE, I HAD SHORING PUTTING INTERIOR AS WELL.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

AND, UM, I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT WHY YOU CUT INTO THE, THE TOP OF THE WALL.

TOP OF THE WALL WHERE YOU HAVE THE ROOF DETAILS, BUT I THINK WE'VE GONE INTO IT ENOUGH.

UM, BUT APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.

I THINK HOPE THAT'S A SIGN THAT WE DO AT LEAST GET TO SALVAGE WHAT REMAINS AND, UH, HAVE THAT HISTORY REMAIN ON CAESAR CHAVEZ.

SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

A REGULAR BASIS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S HAPPENING.

I I DO HAVE A FEW REMAINING QUESTIONS AND I, I ALSO AM VERY CONCERNED.

NOTHING I'M HEARING IN THIS PRESENTATION JUSTIFIES THE ACTIONS THAT YOU TOOK.

UH, THAT IS A BUILDING THAT'S, IT'S A CERTAIN INTEGRITY.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AN EXPERT TO KNOW WHAT THAT IS.

YOU HAVE TO BE CURIOUS ENOUGH AND INTERESTED ENOUGH TO TAKE CARE OF WHAT YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN.

AND I SEE POOR JUDGMENT.

I SEE DECISIONS THAT PERHAPS WERE MADE FOR OTHER REASONS.

THE END RESULT OF WHICH IS THAT YOU'RE HERE NOW BECAUSE A HISTORIC HOME WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN.

WHERE WE ARE NOW, HOWEVER, IS THAT WE HAVE TO ENTRUST BACK TO YOU THAT A REMEDY WILL BE TAKING PLACE THAT WILL AT LEAST SALVAGE WHAT WE CAN AND PUT SOMETHING BACK THAT WILL HAVE SOME LEVEL OF INTEGRITY.

NOW, CONSIDERING THAT WE ENTRUSTED YOU WITH THIS BUILDING TO BEGIN WITH, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY WE DON'T WANNA JUST TAKE YOUR WORD FOR WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE DOING.

I WOULD LIKE A COMMIT FROM COMMITMENT FROM YOU AS A TEAM THAT YOU WILL NOT ONLY CONSULT WITH STAFF, BUT YOU ALSO COME IN FRONT OF THE ARCHITECTURE REVIEW COMMITTEE AND OUTLINE WHAT YOUR PROPOSED REBUILD IS GOING TO BE.

AND THAT WE ALSO WORK OUT A PROCEDURE SO THAT STAFF CAN CHECK ON YOU DURING THIS COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION.

AND IF YOU'RE AGREEABLE TO THAT, I BELIEVE THAT IS PROBABLY SALVAGING THE BEST WE CAN OUT OF A BAD SITUATION.

ONE THAT WE DIDN'T CAUSE AND ONE THAT YOU ACTIONS IRRESPONSIBLY CREATED.

NOW, HAVING SAID THAT, WHEN YOU PUT THE BUILDING BACK, I SUSPECT THERE'S ANOTHER STEP THAT YOU MISSED AND THAT I DON'T BELIEVE YOU DID, UM, ADHERE TO THE RECONSTRUCTION.

UH, THE, THE, THE RECONSTRUCTION ORDINANCE THAT WE HAVE FOR OLDER BUILDINGS WHEN THEY'RE OVER A CERTAIN AGE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THEY'RE COMMERCIAL, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SALVAGE USEFUL MATERIAL.

NOW, I BELIEVE IF YOU HAD DONE THAT, NO ONE'S TOLD ME THAT YOU DID, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE WINDOWS AND DOORS AND WOOD AND FRAMING AND OTHER MATERIALS, WHICH YOU COULD PUT BACK.

BUT MY GUESS IS IS THAT YOU ALSO IGNORED THAT OR CHOSE TO BE IGNORANT OF THAT REQUIREMENT AS WELL.

AM I CORRECT? WAS ANY MATERIAL SALVAGED ON THIS BUILDING OR IS IT ALL IN, IS IT ALL IN A DUMPSTER, IN A LANDFILL SOMEWHERE? WELL, WE LOOKED AT SALVAGING THE MATERIAL, BUT THE FLOORING THAT WE WERE TRYING TO WAS ALREADY ROTTED THROUGH IN THE AREA.

BUT THIS IS A JUDGMENT ONCE AGAIN THAT YOU MADE UNILATERALLY.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AN EXPERT, YOU JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW A PROCEDURE.

AND THE DEMOLITION ORDINANCE, THE RECONSTRUCTION ORDINANCE REQUIRES A PROCESS OF EVALUATION TO DETERMINE WHICH ALBUMS CAN BE USED OR REUSED AND WHICH ONE'S NOT.

AND IT'S NOT UP TO THE OWNER TO DECIDE WHAT THAT IS BECAUSE OTHERWISE IT WOULD ALL WIND UP IN THE LANDFILL, WHICH IS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE HAPPENED.

IS THAT CORRECT? I MEAN, TO SPEAK TO ALL OF THE EXTERIOR WINDOWS ON THAT FRONT FACADE, THERE'S ABOUT NINE OF 'EM.

ALL OF THOSE ANTIQUE WINDOWS ARE THERE.

ALL OF THE ANTIQUE PINE, UH, SHEATHING ON THE INTERIOR AND THE EXTERIOR.

OUR INTENTION IS ALL OF THE EXTERIOR TRIM PACKAGES ARE GONNA BE RESTORED AS THEY ARE.

SO DO WE HAVE ANY SIDING FROM OTHER BALLS OR ANY OF THESE? WE DO HAVE SOME, THE SIDING AND ALL OF THAT SIDING IS GONNA BE REPLICATED ON THAT WRAP PORTION.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR INTENTION IS TO MAINTAIN ALL OF THAT FROM FACADE EXACTLY AS IT IS REHAB IT.

UM, I HAVE EXPERIENCE IN THAT AND MY TEAM HAS EXPERIENCED IN THAT WE HAVE ANTIQUE PINE TO EVEN MATCH SOME OF THOSE TRIM DETAILS WHEN THEY'RE NOT SALABLE.

UM, EVEN LONGLEAF PINE IN OUR SHOP THAT WE WILL UTILIZE TO REPLICATE IF WE HAVE TO ANY OF THAT TRIM DETAIL.

SO THERE IS SALVAGE IN THAT AND ALL THE WINDOW PACKAGES ARE GONNA BE RESTORED.

AND AGAIN, WE WOULD VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT, BUT WE VERY MUCH ALSO APPRECIATE YOUR COMMUNICATING WITH US ON

[02:25:01]

THE FINAL QUESTION THAT CAME UP IS, WITHIN THE SELECTIVE DEMO, I'VE HEARD SEVERAL RENDITIONS ABOUT THE FOUNDATION WAS THE ORIGINAL PERMIT TO REPLACE THE EXISTING FOUNDATION WITH A SLAB.

YES, THAT'S CORRECT.

SO THE ORIGINAL IDEA WAS THAT YOU WOULD'VE PICKED THE BUILDING UP ANYWAY, POURED A SLAB AND THEN PUT IT BACK DOWN.

THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU COULD DO THAT.

YOU CAN'T PUT A CONCRETE SLAB DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH A WOOD FLOOR.

THAT'S CORRECT.

SO THERE, WAS THERE ANY INDICATION THAT YOU WERE PICKING THE BUILDING UP OR TRYING TO MOVE IT OR ADJUSTING IT? WE ARE GOING, WE'RE STILL PLANNING TO DO THAT WITH THE FRONT FACADE.

WELL, JUST WITH THE FRONT FACADE, BUT YEAH.

BUT AM I, WAS THAT PART OF THE SELECTIVE DEMO THAT THEY WOULD'VE TO REPLACE THE FOUNDATION? FOUNDATION? JUST THE ROOF.

SO I THINK THAT ALREADY YOUR ASSUMPTIONS THAT WHAT YOU PRESENTED TO US AND THEN WHAT YOU SUBMITTED, I DON'T KNOW IF THE BUILDING PERMIT EVEN WAS THE SAME.

SAME, THE BUILDING PERMIT DOES HAVE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE FOUNDATIONS IN IT, AND THAT WAS ALSO WITH SLAB ON GRADE.

YES, THAT'S CORRECT.

AND SO IT'S OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT ONCE THE BUILDING PERMIT GOES BACK THROUGH THAT THE HLC WAS GONNA ADMINISTRATIVELY REVIEW THE DOCUMENTS THAT WE SUBMITTED.

THAT DETAIL MAY HAVE COME AFTER OUR REVIEW.

AND IN THE PROCESS, WELL ALREADY IT BECOMES A DIFFERENT BUILDING IF YOU'RE USING A DIFFERENT FOUNDATION.

BUT IF YOU WERE USING A DIFFERENT FOUNDATION THAT KIND OF NEGATES SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU TOLD ME BECAUSE YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE TAKEN THE BUILDING APART IN PIECES.

YOU WOULD BE HOLDING IT TOGETHER AND RACING IT SO YOU COULD LIFT IT UP AND THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO PEEL THE FRONT FRONT OFF AND DECIDE THAT WAS ALL YOU WANTED TO KEEP.

SO I, THIS DOESN'T, IT'S NOT ADDING UP, IT'S NOT COMPLICATED.

OBVIOUSLY, SOMEBODY MADE A DECISION SOMEWHERE TO JUST LEAVE THE FRONT FACADE AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EASIER.

AND NOW YOU'RE HERE.

SO LET'S US ASK YOU NOT TO DO THAT AGAIN.

AND LET'S MAKE THE BEST OF A BAD SITUATION.

WE NEED YOU TO COOPERATE WITH US.

UH, THE ALTERNATIVES AREN'T VERY HAPPY FOR EITHER OF US.

SO, UM, MAYBE THAT'S THE LAST WORD, UNLESS ANYBODY ELSE WANTS TO ADD SOMETHING ELSE TO SAY.

I HAVE A QUESTION FOR STAFF COMMISSIONER ALVARS.

UH, UH, YES, I UNDERSTAND THIS HAS A STOP WORK ORDER ON ENVIRONMENTAL GROUNDS.

SO GIVEN THE CHANGE IN DEMOLITION SCOPE, BOTH THE ADDITIONAL DEMOLITION TO THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE AND THE TOTAL DEMO OF THE SECONDARY STRUCTURE, UH, WHAT, WHAT IS NEXT? WHAT DOES OR DOES AN AMENDED PLAN NEED TO BE FILED? UH, DOES IT COME BACK AROUND TO US? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.

UM, IT'S OUR UNDERSTANDING, UM, AND OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH THE BUILDING OFFICIAL THAT, UM, SHOULD THE APPLICANT CONTINUE TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM UNDER THE PLANS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY Y'ALL, UM, THAT WERE ORIGINALLY APPROVED, UM, THEY WILL BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE, UM, UNDER THE SITE PLAN EXEMPTION THAT WAS ALREADY IN PLACE.

UM, HOWEVER, THAT'S GOING TO BE CONTINGENT UPON THEIR BUILDING TO PLAN, UM, AS IS ON THE RECORD, AS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON THE RECORD.

UM, AND THE APPLICANT WILL ALSO BE COMING BACK TO ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK ON APRIL 8TH, UM, FOR REVIEW, UM, AND FOR DISCUSSION THERE.

THE MEMBERS OF THE THOMPSON HOUSE, UH, HAVE BEEN VERY PATIENT WITH US AND I WILL THANK THEM VERY MUCH FOR BEING ABLE TO SIT THROUGH ALL OF THIS SO THAT WE CAN NOW CALL THEIR ITEM TO, UH, THE AGENDA.

AND AGAIN, MY UNDERSTANDING THE, THE BAD SITUATION WE'RE IN IS THAT LEFT IN ITS CURRENT CONDITION.

IF SOMETHING DOESN'T HAPPEN QUICKLY, THAT'S NOT GONNA BENEFIT ANYBODY.

SO THE FASTER WE CAN MAKE THIS RESOLVED, GET YOU BACK TO A PROJECT THAT WILL WORK, THE BETTER.

BUT WE ABSOLUTELY, UH, HAVE TO INSIST THAT THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO PROCEED.

AND WE CERTAINLY, AGAIN, APPRECIATE YOU FINDING A WAY TO DO IT RIGHT THIS TIME.

ALRIGHT, I THINK THAT'S THE END OF THIS BRIEFING.

WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH, APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.

UH, LET US GO ON TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, AND WE ALSO THANK OUR APPLICANTS HERE AT ON ITEM NUMBER NUMBER SIX HERE.

UH,

[6. C14H-2026-0018 – 1906 Maple Ave. ]

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU CHAIR.

UM, THIS IS A, UH, COMMISSION INITIATED, UM, HISTORIC, UH, DESIGNATION FOR THE HILL THOMPSON HOUSE LOCATED AT 19 0 6 MAPLE AVENUE, UM, IN THE ROGERS, WASHINGTON HOLY CROSS, UH, LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT.

UM, THE BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATION IS ON HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS AND COMMUNITY VALUE.

THE HILL THOMPSON HOUSE HAS NUMEROUS SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS, INCLUDING WITH ARCHITECT JOHN SAUNDERS, CHASE ZOOLOGIST, AND GENIST, UH, OSCAR LEONARD THOMPSON, AND SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF THE PROMINENT HILL FAMILY.

JOHN S. CHASE WAS AN AUSTIN BASED ARCHITECT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE, THE DESIGNS OF NUMEROUS HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS IN THE CITY, AS WELL AS AROUND TEXAS, INCLUDING SEVERAL BUILDINGS AND THE CAMPUS MASTER PLAN AT TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY.

[02:30:02]

IN THE EARLY 1950S, CHASE BECAME THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE.

THOUGH HE WAS UNABLE TO FIND WORK AT ANY WHITE, WHITE FIRMS AFTER GRADUATION, HE WOULD GO ON TO HAVE SUCCESS WITH HIS OWN PRACTICE BEGINNING IN 1952.

THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT HIS, THAT HIS FIRM WAS INVOLVED WITH WERE NUMEROUS AND LOCATED THROUGHOUT TEXAS.

AS HISTORIAN LORI MARTIN WRITES CHASE'S DOCUMENT, DOCUMENTED AUSTIN WORKS, INCLUDING THE 1952 COLORED TEACHER STATE ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS DAVID CHAPEL, UH, UH, MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, AND THE PHILLIPS PHILLIPS BANK, UH, HOUSE AT, UH, 2310 EAST MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

BOULEVARD, UH, DEMONSTRATED CONSISTENT MODERNIST VOCABULARY ADAPTED TO BLACK INSTITUTIONAL AND RESIDENTIAL NEEDS IN EAST AUSTIN.

THE IRENE HILL THOMPSON HOUSE AT 1906 MAPLE AVENUE ALIGNS WITH THIS BODY OF WORK THROUGH ITS MID-CENTURY, UH, MODERN PLANNING, CLIMATE RESPONSIVE ROOF OVERHANG SLASH OVERHANG SYSTEM, AND ITS PRIVACY CONSCIOUS RESIDENTIAL APPROACH IN ITS DESIGN.

THE HOME ON MAPLE AVENUE WAS CHASE'S FIRST RESIDENTIAL PROJECT LATER IN HIS CAREER AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL DE UH, DESIGNS, INCLUDING THE HILL THOMPSON HOUSE.

CHASE HAD SEVERAL BRANCHES OF HIS FIRM LOCATED ACROSS TEXAS.

HE WAS LATER INVOLVED ALONG WITH 12 OTHER ARCHITECTS WITH THE FOUNDING OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF MINORITY ARCHITECTS.

UH, LIKE CHASE, OSCAR THOMPSON WAS ENROLLED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IN THE 1950S WHERE HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS ADMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY THERE.

HE WORKED TOWARDS A MASTER'S DEGREE IN ZOOLOGY AND GRADUATED IN 1952 AS THE FIRST BLACK GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY.

AT THIS TIME.

HE ALSO MET IRENE HILL AND THEY WERE MARRIED ON AUGUST 9TH, 1952.

SOON AFTER THEY MOVED INTO THE HOUSE AT 1906 MAPLE AVENUE, DESIGNED BY THEIR FRIEND AND RISING ARCHITECT, JOHN CHASE THOMPSON WOULD CONTINUE WORK IN THE SCIENCES AND WAS PURSUING HIS PHD IN TEACHING AT, UH, HOUSTON TILSON UNIVERSITY UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1962 AT THE AGE OF 55 IN HIS HONOR, FLAGS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS WERE FLOWN AT HALF MAST.

IRENE HILL AND HER FAMILY WERE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC ROLES THROUGHOUT EAST AUSTIN.

HER SIBLINGS, JAMES HILL AND WAL RAY PLICATE, UH, ACHIEVED ACADEMIC SUCCESSES THAT WERE IN SERVICE OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND PURSUIT OF, UH, BROADER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES.

JAMES HILL WOULD SERVE FOR A TIME AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AND LATER AS A VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL, UH, SCHOOL RELATIONS WALDEN RAY WORKED, UH, FOR MANY YEARS IN THE AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, INCLUDING AS ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT OMO AND ADOBE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS, AND EVENTUALLY AS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR PERSONNEL FOR THE DISTRICT.

IRENE ALSO WORKED WITH A ISD WITH HER TENURE LASTING 34 YEARS, MANY OF WHICH WERE AT LC ANDERSON HIGH SCHOOL, THE MAPLE STREET PROPERTY WITH ALL ITS PROMINENT, UH, INDIVIDUALS ASSOCIATED DIRECTLY WITH IT ALSO BECAME A MEETING PLACE FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, ESPECIALLY FOR POLITICAL ORGANIZING AND SOCIAL GATHERING FOR THE GREATER EAST AUSTIN AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

DURING THE 1964 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF LYNDON JOHNSON, IRENE HILL THOMPSON AND HER DAUGHTER SERVED AS BLUEBIRD, WHO WERE TASKED AS LIAISONS BETWEEN THE CAMPAIGN AND THE LARGER AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN EAST AUSTIN.

IN AN EFFORT TO RALLY SUPPORT THE HOUSE WOULD LATER SERVE AS AN A GATHERING SPACE FOR OTHER POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS AND CAUSES, WHICH GENERATED A CATALYST, A GRASSROOTS ENGAGEMENT IN THIS SECTION OF THE CITY, AND PARTICULARLY THE ROGERS, WASHINGTON HOLY CROSS NEIGHBORHOOD.

THE DECADES-LONG FAMILY SUPPORT AND DRIVE THEIR POLITICAL VOICE CREATED VALUE TO AND OF THE COMMUNITY THAT BECAME SOUGHT AFTER BY LOCAL AND STATEWIDE POLITICAL, UH, OFFICIALS.

UH, THE HOUSE RETAINS STRONG INTEGRITY FROM ITS ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION.

THE UNIQUE JOHNS CHASE DESIGN IS APPARENT AND ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES SUCH AS THE ELEVATED FRONT PORCH WITH STONE BASE IS IN GOOD CONDITION AND HAS NOT BEEN ALTERED.

SOME DETERIORATION HAS OCCURRED AS A RESULT OF WEATHERING AND USE, BUT NOTHING THAT IS BEYOND REPAIR OR LIKE REPLACEMENT.

THEREFORE, THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS TO, UM, APPROVE THE PROPOSED OR RECOMMENDED PROPOSED ZONING CHAINS FROM FAMILY RESIDENTS, HISTORIC DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, SF DASH THREE DASH HD DASH NP TO FAMILY RESIDENTS HISTORIC LANDMARK, HISTORIC DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, SF DASH THREE DASH H DASH HD DASH NP, COMBINING DISTRICT ZONING, UH, ON THE BASIS AGAIN FOR HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS AND COMMUNITY VALUE.

COMMISSIONERS, CHAIRMAN, COMMISSIONERS.

UH, WE HAVE A, UM, PRESENTATION, UH, OR FROM THE APPLICANTS OR FROM THE OWNERS, I GUESS THE CITY IS THE APPLICANT.

WE, WE CERTAINLY, UH, UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OF STAFF OKAY.

WOULD THE OWNERS LIKE TO COME AND SPEAK? CHAIRMAN, GOOD EVENING.

AND FOR THE RECORD, JUST HAVE YOU READ YOUR NAME AND TO THE RECORD, HOW DON'T YOU GO FIRST? OKAY.

MY NAME IS STEVEN, UH, WEBB.

I AM THE HUSBAND OF, UH, MARILYN POOLE

[02:35:01]

WEBB.

UM, UH, DID YOU WANT BOTH OF OUR NAMES BEFORE WE SPOKE? THAT'S FINE.

NO, GO AHEAD.

OH, OKAY.

TO THOSE WHO SENT LETTERS OF SUPPORT.

UM, IT REALLY HAS BEEN MY PLEASURE, UH, TO BE MARRIED INTO THE HISTORY.

UH, UH, AT 1906, UH, MAPLE, UH, WHEN I WALKED INTO THE STRUCTURE, IMMEDIATELY SAW THAT IT WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL.

UH, I CAME TO AUSTIN IN 76 TO GO TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UH, LAW SCHOOL.

UH, AND, UM, I CAN SAY THAT THIS STRUCTURE REALLY IS THE, UM, RE REALIZATION OF, UH, THE INTEGRATION, UH, THAT STARTED, UH, AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UH, IN THE LANDMARK CASE WITH THE PAINTER.

UH, IT IS REALLY, UH, INTERESTING THAT THE, UM, UM, ORIGINAL, UH, SOME OF THE ORIGINAL STUDENTS THAT, UH, WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UH, ENDED UP, UH, APPLYING THEIR TRADE, SO TO SPEAK, UH, AT THIS LOCATION.

UH, THE ONLY TRAGEDY IS AT OSCAR, UH, THOMPSON, THE FIRST BLACK, UH, GRADUATE, UH, DIDN'T LIVE TO SEE, UH, IT, UH, ITS FRUITION.

UH, BUT, UH, HIS WIDOW CERTAINLY DID CARRY ON, UH, HIS ORIGINAL VISION AND THE VISION OF, UH, JOHN SAUNDERS CHASE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COMMISSIONERS.

YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED LETTERS THAT DETAILED THE HISTORY OF THE HOME.

BUT I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT MY AUNT IRENE.

MY AUNT IRENE WAS A VERY KIND WOMAN, VERY GENTLE AND RESPECTFUL, WELL ORGANIZED.

SHE WAS VERY SUITED TO BE THE WIFE OF A RESEARCHER, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, AND A LARGE CHURCH SENIOR PASTOR.

SHE'S ACTED AS ARCHIVIST TO NUMEROUS COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND BUSINESSES IN EAST AUSTIN.

IRENE KNEW WHERE ALL THE SKELETONS WERE BURIED, AND SHE KEPT THEIR SECRETS.

SHE WAS A VERY HUMBLE WOMAN SERVING AS THE WIND BENEATH THE WINGS OF SO MANY PROMINENT PEOPLE AND SOCIAL SOCIETIES, INCLUDING HER ACCOMPLISHED SIBLINGS AND HER BELOVED ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY.

SHE RELISHED THE ROLE OF A SERVANT, AND SHE WOULD CONSIDER THIS PROCEEDING AN INVITATION TO BE SEATED AT THE TABLE OF HONOR JOHN CHASE.

UNCLE JOHN ACKNOWLEDGED HER SINGULAR SPECIALNESS IN DESIGNING THAT HOME.

AND HE PERSONALLY OVERSAW ITS CONSTRUCTION IN DETAIL, PAYING HOMAGE NOT ONLY TO HIS LATE CLASSMATE AND FRIEND OSCAR THOMPSON, WHO ALONG WITH CHASE ENDURED AND OVERCAME THE INDIGNITIES AND STRIFE AS PRECURSORS AT AN INHOSPITABLE INSTITUTION.

UH, BUT CHASE ALSO PAID TRIBUTE TO OSCAR'S WIFE AND WHO, WELL, IRENE WAS STRIVING FOR ADVANCEMENT IN SOCIETY, UM, THAT OFFERED RESTRAINT AND DEROGATION.

SHE ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS UNIQUE HOME, AND SHE GENEROUSLY SHARED IT WITH HER COMMUNITY OF LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS.

THE HILL THOMPSON HOUSE IS A REFLECTION OF DREAMS WITHIN A C COMMUNITY THAT DARED TO DREAM BEYOND ITS PHYSICAL REALITIES.

AND YOUR VOTE TODAY WILL FACILITATE DREAMS OF NEW GENERATIONS AS MY HOME CONTINUES TO TELL THE STORIES OF THOSE DREAMS THAT WERE FULFILLED.

UM, I DO WANNA THANK THE TEAM THAT BROUGHT YOU THE NOMINATIONS, UH, THIS NOMINATION, LORI, MARY CATALINA.

MEGAN, UH, I'VE ENJOYED WORKING WITH ALL OF YOU.

THANK YOU ALSO

[02:40:01]

I CHECKED, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THEM NOW, YOU WILL HAVE THEM SOON.

UH, LETTERS CAME FROM PROFESSOR TARA DUDLEY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, FROM PRESERVATION AUSTIN, FROM MIDT MOD FROM THE CHILDREN'S HAVEN ASSOCIATION, WHICH IS AN 80-YEAR-OLD EAST AUSTIN NONPROFIT FROM THE ROGERS, WASHINGTON HOLY CROSS NEIGHBORHOOD, AND FROM OUR BELOVED EBENEZER THIRD BAPTIST CHURCH, WHERE MY FAMILY HAS BEEN A MEMBER FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS.

VERY SPECIAL.

UM, ANY QUESTIONS OR THE COMMENTS TO THE FAMILY? WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ARE THERE OTHER SPEAKERS SIGNED UP? UH, YEAH, WE HAVE A FEW SPEAKERS.

WE'LL HAVE PLEASE COME TO THE MICROPHONE.

ANYBODY CALL THEM UP BY NAME.

OUR FIRST SPEAKER THAT WE HAVE IS CATALINA BERRY.

GOOD EVENING CHAIR.

HI.

AND MEMBERS OF HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION.

MY NAME IS CATALINA BERRY AND I AM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EAST AUSTIN CONSERVANCY.

AND I'M HERE TODAY IN STRONG SUPPORT OF THE HISTORIC DESIGNATION OF THE HILL THOMPSON HOUSE ON MAPLE AVENUE.

I WANNA TAKE A MOMENT TO SPEAK, NOT JUST ABOUT THE HOUSE, BUT ABOUT THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT.

I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF LEARNING ABOUT THIS FAMILY THROUGH SUPPORTING LORI MARTIN AND HER RESEARCH.

THROUGH THAT PROCESS, I CAME TO UNDERSTAND JUST HOW SPECIAL AND BEAUTIFUL THIS FAMILY AND THIS HOME TRULY ARE.

AND THEN THERE IS MARILYN.

WHAT A LOVELY HUMAN BEING.

IT IS ADMIRABLE TO SEE HER DEDICATION, NOT JUST TO PRESERVING HER FAMILY'S BEAUTIFUL HOME, BUT TO HER COMMITMENT ON MAKING IT AVAILABLE FOR EDUCATION, FOR THE COMMUNITY, FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

EAST AUSTIN CONSERVANCY STRIVES TO DO THE SAME.

IN OUR WORK, OUR MISSION IS TO PRESERVE THE PEOPLE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF EAST AUSTIN.

AND THAT MISSION IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS DESIGNATION HONORS THE HILL.

THOMPSON HOUSE IS NOT JUST A STRUCTURE, IT IS A WITNESS.

IT HOLDS THE STORIES OF THE FAMILIES, THE COMMUNITY, AND THE GENERATIONS WHO BUILT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD LONG BEFORE IT WAS CONSIDERED DESIRABLE BY ANYONE OUTSIDE OF IT.

I WANNA COMMEND PRESERVATION AUSTIN FOR THEIR CONTINUED ADVOCACY AND ENCOURAGES COMMISSION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH DESIGNATION.

THE COMMUNITY HAS SHOWN UP, THE RESEARCH IS THERE, THE FAMILY IS READY, AND THE CASE IS CLEAR.

WE KNOW THAT IN EAST AUSTIN, HISTORIC DESIGNATION IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL TOOLS WE HAVE TO PROTECT.

WHAT REMAINS.

ONCE THESE HOMES ARE GONE, THE STORIES GO WITH THEM.

THERE IS NO GETTING THEM BACK.

PLEASE VOTE.

EAST AUSTIN'S HISTORY AND THIS FAMILY'S LEGACY DESERVE TO BE PROTECTED, NOT JUST REMEMBERED.

HISTORIC DESIGNATION FOR THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.

NEXT SPEAKER.

OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS A VIRTUAL SPEAKER, AND, UH, THAT IS MARY KAY.

HELLO, CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME? YES, PLEASE PROCEED.

OH, HI.

THANKS.

YEAH, IT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE DONE THIS.

UH, I'M MARY KALE, I'M ON THE BOARD OF PRESERVATION AUSTIN, AND I CHAIR ITS ADVOCACY COMMITTEE.

UH, THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

I, I KNOW WHAT A LATE NIGHT YOU HAVE SOMETIMES, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, I'M CALLING IN TONIGHT IN SUPPORT OF HISTORIC DESIGNATION FOR 1906 MAPLE, ALSO KNOWN AS THE HILL THOMPSON HOUSE.

AND IT'S SO WONDERFUL TO HEAR THESE PEOPLE, UM, INCLUDING AND ESPECIALLY MARILYN TALKING ABOUT THE HOME BECAUSE IT'S OBVIOUSLY A, A SOURCE OF, OF MANY MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS.

UM, WE ARE DELIGHTED TO PARTNER WITH THE HOMES OWNER MARYLAND POOL WEBB, ON THIS NOMINATION.

UM, AND YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT WHAT AN ELEGANT, YOU KNOW, ONE STORY, WOOD FRAME, MID-CENTURY MODERN HOUSE.

IT IS, I ALSO WANNA SAY IT IS AN INCREDIBLY COOL HOUSE.

THE FIRST TIME I STEPPED INSIDE, I WAS BLOWN AWAY BY THE AQUA COUNTERTOPS AND THE DIFFERENT LEVELS IN THE HOUSE AND JUST THE INTERESTING CABINETRY AND EVERYTHING.

AND I REALLY WANNA, UM, I REALLY WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY OF THAT.

AND, YOU KNOW, OTHERS HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANT FIGURES IT'S ASSOCIATED WITH, ESPECIALLY ARCHITECT JOHN CHASE, UM, AND THEN THE FAMILY THAT HE BUILT IT FOR.

OSCAR THOMPSON AND HIS INCREDIBLE WIFE, IRENE HILL THOMPSON.

SO THOSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS ARE THERE.

AND I ALSO, I ALSO WANTED TO REITERATE THAT WHEN, UM, IRENE THOMPSON WAS LIVING IN THE HOME, IT WAS SORT OF A LOCUST FOR A LOT OF POLITICAL ACTIVITY.

THEY HOSTED, UM, UH, EVENTS FOR PRESIDENT JOHNSON FOR, UH, CONGRESSMAN LLOYD DOGGETT, JAKE PICKLE, AND MANY OTHERS.

AND I ALSO WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS LEGACY OF CI CIVIC ENGAGEMENT EXTENDS TO THE CURRENT OWNER, MARILYN POOL WEBB AND HER HUSBAND.

UM, MARILYN WAS A LEADER IN THE EFFORT TO ACHIEVE LOCAL

[02:45:01]

AND SHE'S BEEN A LONG TIME FRIEND OF PA AND OF PRESERVATION IN GENERAL.

UM, AND SO THAT'S WHY IT'S SUCH AN HONOR TO SUPPORT THIS, UM, THIS NOMINATION TONIGHT.

AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO ADD THAT MARILYN CONTINUES TO HOST, UM, EDUCATIONAL TOURS AND OPEN HOUSES IN THE HOME.

AND SO SHE CONTINUES TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY VALUE.

SO, UM, SHE CONTINUES TO SHARE THAT LEGACY WITH FUTURE GENERATIONS.

SO, YOU KNOW, ALL THAT'S JUST TO SAY I'M THRILLED TO BE PART OF THIS.

UM, I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY WHO WORKED HARD ON IT, DID THE VOLUNTEERS TO DO THE RESEARCH AND THE WRITING.

AND, UM, I ESPECIALLY APPRECIATE MARILYN AND HER HUSBAND FOR, UM, FOR, UM, SAVING THIS LEGACY FOR AUSTINITES.

THANKS VERY MUCH.

NEXT SPEAKER.

OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MEGAN KING MOUR.

I, MS. KING LAMAR.

HELLO, MEGAN KING NOMORE, UH, POLICY AND OUTREACH PLANNER FOR PRESERVATION.

AUSTIN.

IT'S MY LAST TIME AT THE MIC TONIGHT AND I'M SO EXCITED THAT WE GET TO END ON A VERY HAPPY NOTE AND WE GET TO CELEBRATE THE HILL THOMPSON HOUSE AND MARILYN POOLE WEBB, WHO HAS BEEN AN AMAZING FRIEND AND PARTNER OF PRESERVATION AUSTIN FOR SO MANY YEARS.

AND WHAT AN INCREDIBLE STORY THIS HOUSE HAS.

I MEAN, IT'S ALL IN THE BACKUP, OBVIOUSLY, BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S SO BEYOND WORTHY OF DESIGNATION.

AND JUST LIKE MARY SAID, THE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE IS COOL, BUT THE INSIDE IS REALLY, REALLY COOL.

AND MARILYN'S DONE AN AMAZING JOB OF IT.

WE HAD, UM, THE HOUSE ON OUR HOME TOUR A COUPLE YEARS AGO, SO YOU GUYS MIGHT'VE HAD A CHANCE TO SEE INSIDE OF IT, BUT IT, IT REALLY IS SUCH AN AMAZING PIECE OF ARCHITECTURE AND SUCH A SPECIAL PIECE OF JOHN CHASE'S LEGACY, I THINK, WITH THE CONNECTION TO OSCAR THOMPSON.

UM, BUT YEAH, WE'RE JUST, WE'RE JUST THRILLED THAT WE WERE ABLE TO, TO HELP PREPARE THIS NOMINATION.

I'M SO GRATEFUL TO LORI MARTIN AND CATALINA BARRY WHO DID THE RESEARCH ON THIS.

I'M SO GRATEFUL TO COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ AND COMMISSIONER PLEASANT WRIGHT, WHO INITIATED THIS, AND OF COURSE, ALWAYS TO AUSTIN FOR HIS HELP SHEPHERDING US THROUGH THIS PROCESS.

SO, AS YOU KNOW OR MIGHT NOT KNOW, UM, WE'VE BEEN TAKING ON DESIGNATED UNDERREPRESENTING HERITAGE SITES AS A CITY, AS CITY OF AUSTIN LANDMARKS, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO.

UM, SO WE HOPE TO BRING SOME MORE CASES TO YOU LATER THIS YEAR.

BUT TONIGHT IT'S ALL ABOUT MARYLAND.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE HILL THOMPSON HOUSE.

WE ARE THRILLED, SO EXCITED TO SEE THIS FINALLY GETTING ACROSS THE FINISH LINE 'CAUSE IT IS VERY, VERY COOL, VERY AMAZING HOUSE.

SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK.

MARTIN, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

ARE THERE ANY MORE SPEAKERS? OUR LAST SPEAKER IS LORI MARTIN.

NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.

UH, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANOTHER WORD THAT COULD BE SPOKEN THAT HASN'T BEEN SAID BY EVERYONE ELSE HERE TONIGHT, BUT I DID JUST WANT, MY FIRST IMPRESSION WHEN I HEARD, UH, MR. AND MRS. WEBB UP HERE WAS THAT THE GRACIOUSNESS OF, UM, IRENE HILL, THOMPSON CONTINUES AND THAT SHE, UH, MS. WEBB JUST COMPLETELY CONTINUES TO SHARE THAT LEGACY WITH OTHERS AND TO OPEN HER HOME AND SHARE IT WITH PEOPLE WHO, UH, MAY BE LESS FORTUNATE THAN THEM OR ARE ABLE TO FIGHT FOR IMPORTANT POLICIES AND ADVOCACY THAT WE NEED PEOPLE TO BE ENGAGED IN.

AND WE'RE JUST SO LUCKY TO HAVE HER IN OUR COMMUNITY AND FOR HER TO CONTINUE THE LEGACY.

AND I THINK, I THINK IT WAS STATED, BUT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THE HOME HAS BEEN IN THE SAME FAMILY SINCE ITS, UH, CONSTRUCTION IN 1962.

AND TO REITERATE AGAIN THAT IT WAS, UH, JOHN CHASE'S FIRST RESIDENTIAL PROJECT.

SO, UH, THOSE TWO POINTS I WANTED TO HIT ON, BUT JUST TO, UM, CONGRATULATE MS. WEBB ON SUCH A LOVELY HOME AND HOPE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE WITH THE DESIGNATION TONIGHT.

UH, NO MORE SPEAKERS THEN.

UH, COMMISSIONERS.

I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.

SO MOVED, BEEN MOVED.

UH, SECOND AND SECONDED, UH, COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ AND, UH, COMMISSIONER ACTON.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HAND.

OTHERWISE, IT ABSOLUTELY.

THE PUBLIC HEARING IS CLOSED.

I HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION OF STAFF.

UH, I UNDERSTAND THE RECOMMENDATION AND, UH, WE HAVE BY HISTORIC ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY VALUE, WOULD YOU NOT INCLUDE THE ARCHITECTURE? UH, BECAUSE IT'S LOCATED IN A LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT? UM, ARCHITECTURE CANNOT BE USED AS A, UM, UH, UH, ONE OF THE CRITERIA.

UM, I SEE.

SINCE IT'S ALREADY BEEN RECOGNIZED.

EXACTLY.

THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.

YEAH, BUT I MEAN, OF

[02:50:01]

ALL, OF ALL THINGS, YOU KNOW, JOHN CHASE'S FIRST HOUSE AND WE CAN'T ADD ARCHITECTURE TO IT.

THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.

IT'S ALREADY THERE.

HOWEVER, I DO THINK THAT IF THE COMMISSION WANTS TO, UH, JUST AS A MATTER, UH, OF A RECORD, UM, INCLUDE ARCHITECTURE IN THE, UH, IN THE CRITERIA AS MOTION, I ALMOST HAS TO BE, I THINK IT DOES THIS, THIS WAS BROUGHT FORWARD BY, UH, COMMISSIONER PLEASANT WRIGHT, UH, AND COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ.

SO I WILL LEAVE IT TO THESE COMMISSIONERS TO, UH, MAYBE GIVE US A MOTION.

COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ, I MEAN, OR GO AHEAD.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO THE HONORS? NO, YOU GO AHEAD, .

UH, YES, UH, I'LL START OFF BY, UH, UH, I WANT TO THANK, UH, MR. WEBB FOR REMINDING THIS, UM, HOW, YOU KNOW, THIS FITS ALSO INTO THE STORY OF, UH, UH, MR. HEMAN HEMAN, MARION SWEAT AND SWEAT V PANNER AND HOW, UM, HE OPENED THE DOOR, MR. OSCAR THOMPSON, HE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE.

HE BECOMING THE FIRST BLACK GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.

THEN MR. JOHN CHASE BECOMING THE FIRST, UH, UH, ARCHITECTURAL GRADUATE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE.

UH, FIRST LICENSED ARCHITECT GOING ON TO HAVE A, A GREAT CAREER.

UM, SO I MEAN, THAT'S HISTORIC, UH, ASSOCIATION RIGHT THERE, MS. THOMPSON, OF COURSE CREATED COMMISSIONER, LET ME JUST STOP YOU FOR JUST A SECOND.

WE NEED A MOTION.

OH, SURE, SURE, SURE.

AND THEN YOU, I WILL MOVE TO, UH, RECOMMENDING HISTORIC ZONING ON THE BASIS OF HISTORIC ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY VALUE, AND I HAVE TO INCLUDE ARCHITECTURE.

AND I SECOND COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ'S.

MOTION COMMISSIONER, I SECOND COMMISSIONER PLEASANT WRIGHT.

SECOND.

PLEASE PROCEED WITH YOUR DISCUSSION.

YEAH, I, I WAS GONNA PART MIXED UP WHERE I, I WANNA DO THE TALKING FIRST BEFORE THE MOTION YOU, YOU GET STARTED, BUT WE CAN KEEP YOU GOING.

GO AHEAD.

YES, YES, YES.

UH, UH, ONCE AGAIN, I, I THINK, UH, HISTORIC ASSOCIATION IS, UH, SOLID HERE, OF COURSE, UH, COMMUNITY VALLEY AND THE HOUSE IS ALSO GREAT.

SO I, I THINK WE ALL HAVE TO INCLUDE ARCHITECTURE, AND I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

SO THANK YOU AND COMMISSIONER PLEASANT WRIGHT.

UM, IT WAS JUST AN HONOR TO, UM, INITIATE THIS, THIS HOUSE SITS IN A DISTRICT, UM, WELL, A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT I, YOU KNOW, PASS BY ALL THE TIME AS I LIVE OFF OF MLK AS WELL.

AND, YOU KNOW, BEING A PART OF THIS AND GETTING IT A HISTORICAL LANDMARK IS AN HONOR.

THANK YOU FOR PRESERVING THIS HISTORY.

COMMISSIONERS FURTHER DISCUSSION.

I JUST WANTED TO NOTE, I'M GOING TO HAPPILY VOTE FOR THIS AFTER A ROUGH NIGHT IS GONNA BE KIND OF A PALATE CLEANSER, UH, TO DO THIS.

BUT, UH, HAVEN'T BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO VISIT THIS ON THE PRESERVATION AUSTIN HOME HOMESTORE, UH, GRACIOUS WAS THE WORD THAT CAME TO MIND.

THOSE STEPS THAT YOU SLOWLY RISE UP, YOU KNOW, TO THAT, TO THE, THE DECK OUTSIDE AND THEN THE TIER INSIDE THE KITCHEN.

AMAZING.

WITH THE ORIGINAL APPLIANCES EVEN IS JUST ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

AND THE WAY IT RELATES TO THE NEIGHBORING HOUSES ON THE SAME LEVEL, THE WAY IT NESTLES INTO THE LANDSCAPE, THE WAY IT'S ELEVATED ABOVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BOTH BOOKING OUT ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD ON THIS POWER INTERSECTION OF A WONDERFUL NEIGHBORHOOD.

AND ALSO YOU CAN LOOK IN ON IT TO SEE WHO'S GATHERING.

IT WAS CLEARLY DESIGNED WITH SOMEONE WITH A VERY CLEAR INTENT OF WHAT THEY WANTED AND SOMEONE WITH A CLEAR INTENT OF HOW TO, HOW TO PROVIDE IT.

SO, UH, FOR, FOR ITS PURPOSE OF A PLACE OF GATHERING THE, THE SECONDARY STEPS TO THE DOOR, TO THE, TO THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE, WHICH I KNOW IS A PATTERN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IS ALL OF IT'S TO MAKE THE STONE ON THE FIRST FLOOR.

JUST, IT'S, IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS PROTECTED AND, AND HONORED.

SO THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER GUESTS? UH, VICE CHAIR ADAMS? YES.

I WANNA SAY I AM, UH, UH, EXCITED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS.

I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN A, UH, A GUEST IN THIS HOME FOR ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.

IT'S CERTAINLY WELL LOVED AND THE ARCHITECTURE IS AMAZING.

AND I WANNA ADD THAT NOT ONLY IS THIS HOME HISTORIC, BUT HISTORY WAS MADE IN THIS HOUSE AT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LEVELS.

AND SO I'M JUST REAL EXCITED TO SEE THIS MOVE FORWARD.

AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT WORKED ON THIS, AND PARTICULARLY TO, UH, MARILYN AND MARILYN POOLE WEBB AND STEVEN WEBB FOR THEIR GOOD STEWARDSHIP OF THIS, UH, VALUABLE HISTORIC PROPERTY.

THAT, UH, WHOEVER WOULD HAVE LOOKED AT THOSE, IF THIS IS HIS FIRST PROJECT OUT OF SCHOOL, THIS MAN WAS BRILLIANT.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS? COMMISSIONERS? I, I JUST WANT TO ALSO, UH, EXTEND JUST THE WARMEST THANKS TO THE WEB FAMILY FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD, FOR BEING GOOD STEWARDS AND ALLOWING THE CITY INTO THE PROCESS.

SO THAT WILL HAPPEN, UH, AND CONTINUE FOR A LONG TIME TO COME.

UH, I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE FOLKS WHO PUT THE PACKAGE TOGETHER, THAT YOU INCLUDED JOHN CHASE'S ORIGINAL DRAWINGS.

AND I CAN TELL YOU

[02:55:01]

AND SO, UH, A A ANYBODY WHO WOULD'VE LOOKED AT THAT AT THAT PERIOD OF TIME AND NOT HIRED HIM, THAT WAS, THAT, THAT WAS THEIR MISTAKE, BY ALL MEANS.

AND WE CERTAINLY, HISTORY HAS BORNE THAT OUT.

BUT, UH, WHAT HE WAS ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE IN STRAIGHT OUTTA SCHOOL TYPE OF PROJECT, UH, WAS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.

AND THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, IT HAS, IT HAS, UH, BEEN ABLE TO BE A SITE WITH SO MANY WONDERFUL EVENTS AND HAS BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FOR SO MANY YEARS, CERTAINLY IS ANOTHER TESTIMONY TO THE SUCCESS OF THAT.

BUT, UH, I JUST, AGAIN, REMINDS ME JUST HOW IMPORTANT THAT, UH, THIS BUILDING REALLY IS IN SO MANY WAYS, BUT ESPECIALLY WITH THE ARCHITECTURE, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, I WILL CALL THE QUESTION, UH, WE HAVE A MOTION TO, UH, RECOMMEND HISTORIC ZONING.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HAND.

AND I SEE ALL HANDS RAISED, IT IS UNANIMOUS.

AND SO THAT WILL BE ON TO PLANNING, COMMISSION AND COUNCIL.

BUT, UH, WE HOPE EVERYTHING GOES VERY SMOOTHLY 'CAUSE WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVE YOU ON YOUR WAY.

UH, ITEM NUMBER 14 ON THE AGENDA.

ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THE TOUGH PART AND THE FUN PART, AND NOW WE JUST HAVE SOME HOUSEKEEPING PARTS.

SO, UH, LET US GO TO THE,

[14. Conduct officer elections for 2026. ]

UH, WE ARE TO CONDUCT OFFICER ELECTIONS, UH, THAT IS FOR A CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR EACH YEAR.

AND I, UH, AM HAPPY TO OPEN THE NOMINATIONS FOR VICE CHAIR.

I'M ALSO HAPPY TO, UH, LET YOU KNOW THAT OUR VERY CAPABLE VICE CHAIR HAS AGREED THAT IF WE NOMINATE HER, SHE'LL SERVE FOR ANOTHER YEAR.

SO, UH, WITH THAT IN MIND, UH, I WILL, UH, PLACE HER NAME AND NOMINATION.

UH, IT'S MY HONOR TO, UH, PLACE, UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, EVANS IN THE, UH, NOMINATION FOR VICE CHAIR THIS COMING YEAR.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? OKAY, HEARING NONE, THEN I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO CLOSE THE NOMINATIONS.

COMMISSIONER, UH, ACTON, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER COOK.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF CLOSING THE NOMINATIONS, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HAND.

IT IS UNANIMOUS.

AND THEN SINCE WE ONLY HAVE ONE CANDIDATE, THEN I CAN PROUDLY SAY BY ACCLIMATION, WE HAVE A NEW VICE CHAIR OR CONTINUING VICE CHAIR.

THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR EVANS.

NOW, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT PROCEDURALLY, BUT I DO BELIEVE THE CLERK WILL ALLOW ME TO, UH, ASK OUR VICE CHAIR TO PRESIDE JUST BRIEFLY FOR THE NOMINATIONS FOR CHAIR.

SO VICE CHAIR EVANS, CAN I TURN THE CHAIR OVER TO YOU? BRIEFLY.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT COMMISSIONERS.

I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE, UH, CHAIR HEIM STAFF, OR A CONTINUED TERM AS CHAIRMAN OF THE HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION.

AND I WOULD LIKE TO ASK IF WE HAVE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS.

IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL NOMINATIONS BY ACCLIMATION, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THAT WE, BUT WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO CLOSE THE NOMINATION.

COMMISSIONER, UH, VICE CHAIR.

WE CLOSE.

CLOSE THE NOMINATIONS FIRST.

YOU'RE ALMOST THERE.

UH, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER NOMINATIONS, I WOULD LIKE TO CLOSE THE FLOOR TO NOMINATIONS AND BY ACCLIMATION, ASK THAT WE CAST OUR VOTE FOR THE CONTINUING CHAIR.

I DON'T BELIEVE WE NEED A NOMINATION.

SO CAN WE JUST VOTE BY ACCLIMATION? I, I THINK WHAT WE'VE JUST DID IS A, A MOTION, UH, WAS, UH, BY COMMISSIONER ACTON, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER COOK.

AND THEN YOU'LL VOTE ON THE MOTION.

THANK YOU FOR THE MOTION.

AND SECOND, I NOW ASK FOR A VOTE FOR COMMISSIONER HEIM STAFF CONTINUING FOR ANOTHER ONE YEAR TERM.

PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS.

THOSE ARE IN SUPPORT.

THAT APPEARS TO BE A UNANIMOUS, UH, UNANIMOUS VOTE.

I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE.

MY, UH, SYSTEM HAS BEEN PLAYING APRIL FOOL'S JOKES ON ME TONIGHT.

SO, UH, MY SYSTEM'S BEEN A LITTLE WONKY, BUT THANK YOU.

AND, UH, I'M SURE COMMISSIONER, UH, CHAIR, HE SAYS MYSELF, LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING, UH, WITH THIS COMMISSION IN THE FUTURE.

UH, ITEM 15, UH, REPORT FROM THE ARCHITECTURE REVIEW COMMITTEE.

VICE CHAIR EVANS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

UH, I THINK WE HAVE A GREAT YEAR AHEAD OF US, SO APPRECIATE

[03:00:01]

IT.

UH, WE NOW WILL GO ON TO ITEM, UH, COMMITTEE UPDATES.

[15. Update from the Architectural Review Committee regarding the March 11, 2026 meeting. Members: Commissioners Koch, Alvarez, and Grogan.]

UH, YES, WE HEARD, UH, IT'S ALL THREE CASES.

ONE IN ALDRIDGE PLACE, WHICH WE DON'T SEE OFTEN, A HOUSE THAT NEEDS SOME, SOME HELP.

AND WE'LL BE NEGOTIATING HOW MUCH, HOW THAT GOES ABOUT.

UH, WE LOOKED AT THE CHURCH AT 1308 WEST LYNN, UH, WHICH I THINK YOU MAY HAVE SEEN IN, IN SOME PRESS THAT, UH, IS LOOKING TO BE CONVERTED INTO A BOOKSTORE AND, UH, WITH SOME INTEREST IN POTENTIAL LANDMARK DESIGNATION.

SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, IT'S A MID-CENTURY MODERN ADDITION TO A, UM, MID-CENTURY, UH, STRUCTURE.

UM, SO I, I KNOW WE, SOME OF US HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR THOSE.

UH, SO HOPEFULLY THAT MOVES IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

AND THEN ALSO A, A CITY STRUCTURE IN THE EDWARD ONG PARK, UM, UH, IS GETTING SOME WORK DONE AND LOOKING AT DESIGNATION AS WELL AT 1621 NATIONAL.

AND SO YOU'LL SHOULD BE SEEING ALL THOSE HOPEFULLY SOON.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

UH, ITEM NUMBER 16,

[16. Update from the Operations Committee regarding the March 18, 2026 meeting. Members: Commissioners Rice, Acton, and McWhorter.]

UH, REPORT FROM THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE.

SAME AS IN CERTIFICATE APPROPRIATION LANGUAGE, THERE ISN'T A THING ABOUT SIGNS OR ANYTHING.

SO, UM, IN OUR LAST MEETING WE'VE DISCUSSED, UM, A COUPLE DIFFERENT THINGS.

SO WE TALKED ABOUT HISTORIC DISTRICT, HISTORIC DISTRICT TAX ABATEMENT, AND THE UPDATES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AROUND INCLUDING PERMANENT ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS AS, UH, AN ELIGIBLE EXPENSE ON THAT LIST.

IN OUR COMMITTEE, WE DISCUSSED SOME ADDITIONS TO THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS.

UM, I'M GENERALLY AGREEING WITH WHAT, WHAT THEY'VE RECOMMENDED, AND PARTICULARLY WE'VE DISCUSSED, UM, INCLUDING HAZARDOUS MATERIAL ABATEMENT AND, UM, AIR INDOOR AIR QUALITY, UM, FILTRATION SYSTEMS, YOU KNOW, AIR PURIFIERS, HEPA FILTER, SORT OF, UH, IMPROVEMENTS IN LIKE, LIKE PERMANENT, UH, OR LIKE FIXED SYSTEM, UM, THAT WE HAVEN'T, DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE ABOUT THAT YET.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ANY SORT OF EXPERTISE IS REALLY ENCOURAGED AND WELCOME, UH, BOTH FROM OTHER COMMISSIONERS, BUT ALSO FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

AND OF COURSE WE'RE CONTINUING TO REVIEW, UH, THE HISTORIC SCIENCE, HISTORIC SCIENCE STANDARDS.

EXCUSE ME.

COMMISSIONER ACTON HAS DONE A LOT OF REALLY WONDERFUL WORK ON THAT, UM, AND HAS PUT TOGETHER A REALLY GREAT FRAMEWORK FOR FINALIZING THAT LANGUAGE AND BEING ABLE TO BRING THAT FOR THE FULL COMMISSION.

UH, I THINK IF COMMISSIONER ACTON WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT BASICALLY THERE'S A NEW DRAFT AND WE'RE GONNA BE GOING OVER IT AND FOR THIS NEXT MEETING, MAKING OUR OWN NOTES AND THEN HOPEFULLY GETTING SOMETHING PASSED THEN THAT CAN COME BEFORE THE FULL COMMISSION.

UM, ONE, ONE NOTE THAT, UM, THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IS THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING SOME SORT OF VISUAL COMPANION, UM, FOR LIKE A BEST PRACTICES OR PEOPLE WHO ARE WANTING TO, YOU KNOW, WORK ON HISTORIC SIGNS OR PUT SIGNS ON THEIR HISTORIC BUILDINGS TO HAVE SORT OF A REFERENCE GUIDE WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, NECESSARILY ONLY HAVING TO RELY ON THE WORDS ON THE GUIDE.

SO YEAH, IF COMMISSIONER ACTON, UH, HAS ANY OTHER S ON THAT, UM, DO YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING? SURE, YEAH, WE'RE PRETTY CLOSE.

I THINK IN THE NEXT MEETING WE'RE GONNA FINALIZE THE LANGUAGE AND THEN IT'LL BE PRESENTED TO YOU IN A FOLLOWING MEETING.

UH, ONE OF THE BIGGER ISSUES IS, OTHER THAN EDITING SOME OF THE EXISTING LANGUAGE IS TRYING TO ADD IN LANGUAGE REGARDING HISTORIC OR VINTAGE SIGN.

SO IF THE, IF THE HIS, IF THE SIGN IS ORIGINAL TO THE BUILDING OR IF IT HAS ITS OWN PROVENANCE TO IT AND HAVING SOME LANGUAGE REQUIRING LIKE MAINTENANCE AND RESTORATION OF THOSE AS WELL.

AND KIND OF INCORPORATING THAT INTO THE WHOLE PROCESS OF THE BUILDING ITSELF AND NOT LOOKING AT IT SEPARATE.

HAVE YOU ALSO, UM, BECAUSE IN THE PAST WE'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH THIS, UH, WORK WITH EITHER, UH, ARTISTIC OR MURALS OR ANYTHING LIKE THIS? UM, YEAH, WE'RE TYING IN MORE OF THE DEFINITIONS AND LANGUAGE BECAUSE THE, THE, THE DEFINITION OF SIGN AND AND LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE IS ACTUALLY REALLY BROAD.

AND SO BY WORKING IN THE DEFINITIONS THEMSELVES, IT KIND OF, IT SPEAKS TO THAT AS FAR AS PAINTINGS AND ALSO, UM, SPECIFICALLY REFERENCING LIKE GHOST SIGNS, WHICH ARE THE PAINTED, THE OLD PAINTED SIGN.

SO BRINGING IN DEFINITIONS SO NO ONE CAN CLAIM IGNORANCE AND THEN TRYING TO WORK IN UNDER THE ORIGINAL LIKE LANGUAGE TYPE FRAMEWORKS OF, OF YOU HAVE TO PRESERVE THE SIGN ALSO, UH, EVEN IF IT'S NOT IN LET'S SAY THE, THE LANGUAGE OF THE LANDMARKING OR WHATEVER BECAUSE IT IS A COMPONENT, BECAUSE A LOT OF THAT LANGUAGE IS NOT,

[03:05:01]

SO, UM, TRYING TO WORK THAT IN.

AND THEN I THINK THE BIGGER PART OF IT IS THE NEW LANGUAGE ABOUT HISTORIC PRESERVATION OF, OF EXISTING SIGNAGE.

I WAS ALSO, UM, JUST GOING TO NOTE THAT WE'RE, UM, GETTING A BRIEFING HOPEFULLY AT THIS MEETING.

UM, PENDING STAFF CAPACITY AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF HISTORIC DESIGNATIONS FOR OBJECTS AND WHAT IS ALLOWED AND WHAT IS NOT ALLOWED AND WHAT THAT EVEN MEANS.

UM, 'CAUSE THERE'S A FEW THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED, UM, THAT WAY BEFORE, BUT PARTICULARLY AS IT PERTAINS TO HISTORIC, LIKE SIGNS THAT ARE THEMSELVES HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT, BUT ALSO OTHER ARTIFACTS THAT, UM, COULD BE OF INTEREST LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT STAFF IS ABLE TO PRESENT.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

AND I, I NOTE THAT UM, WE DON'T HAVE POSTED THE REPORT FROM THE PRESERVATION PLAN COMMITTEE, BUT I'M SURE THERE, THERE'S ACTIVITIES GOING ON, SO WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THAT IN THE NEXT COUPLE, NEXT MEETING OR TWO? YES, OUR NEXT MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR THE THIRD THURSDAY IN MAY.

TERRIFIC.

COMMISSIONER PLEASANT WRIGHT.

THAT'LL BE NOT NEXT MEETING, BUT THE MEETING AFTER.

ALRIGHT, UH, COMMISSIONERS, IS THERE ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT WE NEED AT THIS MEETING? STAFF? HAVE WE COMPLETED OUR AGENDA? THEN I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN.

COMMISSIONER MWATER AND THERE SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HAND.

AND I SEE ALL HANDS RAISED.

WE ARE ADJOURNED.