* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:07] I AM GONNA CALL THIS MEETING [CALL TO ORDER ] TO ORDER. IT'S, UH, 6 0 5, APRIL 27TH, 2026. UH, I'LL START WITH ROLL CALL VICE CHAIR MINORS PRESENT. UH, COMMISSIONER AULA PRESENT. COMMISSIONER CARROLL. COMMISSIONER GALLES PRESENT. COMMISSIONER HOWARD PRESENT. COMMISSIONER CONN PRESENT. COMMISSIONER HENEY. UH, COMMISSIONER LADNER PRESENT. UH, COMMISSIONER MEKI PRESENT. AND COMMISSIONER WICHITA. HE'S NOT GONNA MAKE IT TODAY. ALRIGHT. IS THERE [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ] ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION SIGNED UP FOR TODAY? YES, CHAIR. ALRIGHT. WHO DO WE HAVE? WE HAVE RYAN SAUNDERS. RYAN, WE HAVE, YEAH, THREE MINUTES IF, UH, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. UH, YES. UH, MY NAME'S UH, RYAN SAUNDERS. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE HERE. UM, I JUST WANTED TO, I THINK I CIRCULATED A LETTER TO YOU ALL EARLIER TODAY. I JUST WANTED TO, UM, ASK FOR A POTENTIAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEM ON PLAZA ALT AND THEN ALSO ON ALLEYWAY ACTIVATION. UM, IF YOU ALL ARE AWARE THAT PLAZA ALT WILL BE OUT OF COMMISSION FOR A GOOD PORTION OF NEXT YEAR FOR THE LIGHT RAIL AND THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING MAJOR CONSTRUCTION ON DOUBLE TRACKING. BUT, UM, CAP METRO TOOK BACK OVER RESPONSIBILITY OF PLAZA SALTILLO FROM THE CITY IN 2018 AND SINCE 2024, THEY HAVEN'T ALLOWED ANY EVENTS TO HAPPEN AT THE PLAZA. AND, UH, PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, EAST CESAR CHAVEZ, HAS BEEN ASKING CAP METRO FOR INFORMATION ON WHY THERE IS AN ACTIVE EVENT RENTAL APPLICATION OR ABILITY TO DO ACTIVATIONS OR PUBLIC EVENTS THERE. AND THEY HAVEN'T GIVEN US A SOLID ANSWER. AND SO WE'VE ASKED IF THEY'RE GONNA MAKE ANY IMPROVEMENTS FOR SAFETY OR THE ABILITY FOR IT TO BE USED FOR EVENTS. AND THEY HAVEN'T GIVEN US AN ANSWER ON THAT EITHER. SO I THINK THAT IT'S WORTH LOOKING INTO WHILE IT'S GONNA BE OUTTA COMMISSION, THAT WE CAN MAKE THE IMPROVEMENTS TO DEPOSIT STUFF TO YOU SO IT CAN BE A BETTER PUBLIC SPACE WHEN IT OPENS BACK UP AND BETTER SERVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, AND THIS WILL BE A SEPARATE, UH, REQUEST FOR AN AGENDA ITEM. UM, IT GOES ALONG WITH SOME OF THE FRONT YARD BUSINESS AND ACCESSORY COMMERCIAL UNIT, HOME BASED BUSINESS. UM, UH, SOME NEIGHBORS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON ACTIVATING THE ALLEY THAT RUNS, UH, BETWEEN WILLOW STREET AND EAST CESAR CHAVEZ STREET IN, UH, EAST AUSTIN. UM, AND THERE'S COMMERCIAL ON ONE SIDE OF THE ALLEY AND RESIDENTIAL ON THE OTHER. AND SO THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR SMALL RETAIL, UM, WHICH COULD BE MORE AFFORDABLE, UM, BOTH IN THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE AND THE COMMERCIAL SIDE. IT WOULD ALSO BRING MORE ACTIVITY TO ALLEY LIGHTING, MORE PEOPLE. 'CAUSE UH, THERE'S A LOT OF NEFARIOUS ACTIVITIES THAT HAPPENS IN THE ALLEY. AND SO NEIGHBORS HAVE WANTED ALLEYS TO BE MORE OF A, A LINEAR GREENWAY, A PLACE THAT'S SAFE TO WALK AND KIND OF, UM, JUST MAKE IT, UH, AN AMENITY VERSUS, UH, A LIABILITY BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST BUILD THEIR FENCES TALLER TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE ALLEY. WE WANT TO OPEN IT UP AND PEOPLE TO FEEL COMFORTABLE TO USE IT. AND WITH A LOT OF THE NEW INTERPRETATIONS OF SMALL BUSINESSES AND WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN SMALLER STRUCTURES AND WITH THE, YOU KNOW, PRICE OF COMMERCIAL RENT, THIS IS A GREAT PLACE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SMALLER MICRO RETAIL SPACES AND GIVE OPPORTUNITIES TO SMALL BUSINESSES. SO, UM, I, THAT'S ALL I HAVE. I JUST WANTED TO PRESENT IT AND POTENTIALLY GET IT SO THERE COULD BE A FUTURE WORKING GROUP OR SOME SORT OF, UH, RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL. 'CAUSE THESE ARE TWO REALLY IMPORTANT ITEMS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE ALLEYS. IS THAT MORE OF A GENERALIZED KIND OF ITEM THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN OR IS THAT MORE SPECIFIC TO THIS? SPECIFIC TO THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION? UM, I, I THINK THAT THERE'S QUITE MANY OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CITY. SO I THINK THAT IT COULD BE, THIS COULD BE A PILOT THAT COULD BE REPLICATED. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE GRASS AREAS ON EACH SIDE OF THE ALLEY. MOST OF 'EM HAVE WORN TIRE TRACKS. THAT'S KIND OF A NATURAL EASEMENT. 'CAUSE THERE'S UTILITIES AND TRASH TRUCKS USE THE ALLEYS. BUT ALSO, UH, LONG EAST OF CHAVEZ, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE'S HOMES THAT INSTEAD OF THEM DOING THE AB WHERE YOU HAVE THE DRIVEWAY FROM THE MAIN ROAD AND THE HOUSES ARE STACKED NOW HOUSES, THEIR FULL FRONT YARD FACES THE ALLEY AND THEY DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER FRONT YARD. UM, SO [00:05:01] THE ALLEYS ARE BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT. UM, I LIVED OFF OF AN ALLEY FOR EIGHT YEARS AND RAN INTO A LOT OF THINGS JUST GOING TO THE TRASH CANS. AND SO NEIGHBORS ARE JUST, IT, IT'S BECOME DANGEROUS. AND SO, UH, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF PROVIDE A COMMUNITY BENEFIT FROM AN AREA THAT'S JUST BEING NEGLECTED AND NOT UTILIZED. YEAH. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. ANY, UH, COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER HOWARD? UM, YEAH. FIRST THANKS. THANKS FOR COMING TO PRESENT THIS, UH, TO US FEEDBACK. UM, UH, I, I APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR THOUGHTS ON, YOU KNOW, CREATING MORE EYES ON THE STREET AS A SOLUTION FOR THIS SORT OF THING. I THINK IT'S RIGHT UP KIND OF, UH, OUR ALLEY AS, UH, AS THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND KIND OF THE INTEREST THAT WE'RE WE'RE FOCUSED ON. UM, UH, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU IMAGINE ARE KIND OF THE, THE, UM, WHAT ARE GONNA BE THE ASKS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS, THIS ACTIVATION OF THE ALLEY? IS IT PUBLIC INVESTMENT? IS IT JUST KIND OF EASY PERMITTING? WHAT, WHAT DO YOU, WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT THE HURDLES ARE TODAY AND AND WHAT WOULD NEED TO CHANGE TO MAKE THAT POSSIBLE? YEAH, I MEAN, SO THERE'S A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS. ONE THING WE'VE RUN INTO ALREADY, WE ACTUALLY HAD A BUSINESS THAT WAS ADDING A PARKING LOT. THEY'RE DOING A REDEVELOPMENT OF THEIR PROPERTY AND THE CITY WAS GONNA REQUIRE THEM TO DO ASPHALT FOR THE DURATION OF THEIR PROPERTY ON THE ALLEY. AND SO THEY WERE ACTUALLY WILLING TO INVEST IN A BETTER GROUND SUBSTRATE OTHER THAN ASPHALT. WE DID A LOT OF RESEARCH AND FOUND LIKE THESE PERMEABLE PAVERS THAT ARE BEING, USING, BEING USED IN MUNICIPAL, UH, ACTIVITIES AND OTHER CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY. AND THE CITY SAID THAT IF WE DID ANYTHING OTHER THAN ASPHALT, EITHER THE OWNER OF THE BUSINESS OR OUR NEIGHBOR ASSOCIATION WOULD HAVE TO SIGN A MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT, EVEN THOUGH THESE WERE MORE EASILY, YOU COULD REMOVE ONE BLOCK AT A TIME AND THEN PUT IT BACK INSTEAD OF TEARING UP THE ASPHALT AND REDOING IT. SO THAT'S ONE THING. UM, THE OTHER THING IS, UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE'S TRASH CANS IN THE ALLEY, PRIVATE TRASH CAN GET OUT OF THEIR TRASH TRUCKS AND OPEN GATES OR MOVE, BUT CITY TRASH CAN'T GET OUT OF THEIR TRUCKS. AND THEY USE SOME, FINDING A WAY TO DO COMMUNITY TRASH AT THE END OF EACH BLOCK OR IN A COMMUNITY WAY, INSTEAD OF AT EACH HOUSE TO MAKE THE ALLEYS A LITTLE CLEANER. SO IT'S JUST NOT TRASH CAN FLIES. MM-HMM . UM, AND THEN GETTING PERMISSION FOR PLANTERS AND, UM, IF THERE WOULD BE ANY BARRIERS OF HOMES OR BUSINESSES HAVING GATES TO THE BACKS OF THEIR BUSINESSES OR TO THEIR HOMES THAT OPEN TO THE ALLEY. BUT, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING LIKE A COMMITTEE MEETING AMONGST, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF COMMUNITY PROJECTS. WE BUILT GARDEN BEDS, WE'VE DONE CLEANUPS, WE'VE PAINTED LIKE 10 MURALS. UM, SO WE'RE JUST WANTING TO GET THE BLESSING OF THE CITY. 'CAUSE NONPROFITS LIKE AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION AND OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SAID THEY WOULD BE MORE WILLING TO HELP US IF WE HAD MORE BLESSING FROM THE CITY. BUT RIGHT NOW THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT NERVOUS TO GET INVOLVED 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT SURE WHERE THE CITY STANDS ON IT. I, I THINK THAT'S REALLY GREAT. AND, AND THE ISSUES OF KIND OF THE, THE MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS, LICENSE AGREEMENTS, UH, THAT THE CITY REQUIRES. IT CAN KILL A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAPPEN RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THE RIGHT OF WAY ARE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. UM, UH, AND SO I, I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON AT THE TARP, THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY REVIEW PANEL. UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I, I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN WORKING ON AS PART OF THE TARP, UH, AS WELL. SO YOU MAY WANT TO, UH, TRY TO CONTACT BRIAN SUMMERS AND SEE IF YOU CAN KIND OF TALK TO HIM ABOUT OPTIONS ABOUT MAKING WHAT, WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER STANDARD DETAILS FOR PLANTERS AND PAVERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT ON THE ALLEY. OKAY. I KNOW THAT'S ALREADY KIND OF THINGS THEY'RE CONSIDERING, SO THIS COULD BE AN EXTRA PUSH THAT COULD STANDARDIZE THAT ACROSS THE CITY. MAKE IT SO YOU DON'T NEED THESE MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS. UM, AND ADDITIONALLY, I KNOW THERE'S THIS SORT OF ORGANIZATION WORK IS REALLY, REALLY TOUGH, UH, BUT TAKES A LOT OF INSPIRATION AND MOTIVATION TO KEEP GOING. YEAH. WE HAVE A LOT OF ROADBLOCKS, BUT, UM, UH, I WOULD RECOMMEND REACHING OUT TO LAUREN STANLEY. UH, SHE, SHE WORKED ON THE, UM, THE GREEN STREET PROJECT IN THE JJC BROOK NEIGHBORHOOD. OKAY. AND THAT TOOK ALL SORTS OF WRANGLING AT THE CITY AND, AND, UH, AND ORGANIZING HER COMMUNITY AND, AND SHE WAS ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH QUITE A BIT. UM, SO YOU MIGHT WANNA REACH OUT TO HER FOR SOME, SOME POINTERS, UH, BOTH IN PROCESS AND, AND KIND OF LIKE STRATEGIES FOR ORGANIZING AND WORKING WITH THE Z YOU SAID LAUREN OR LAURA? LAUREN. LAUREN STANLEY. YEAH. AND BRIAN SUMMERS. BRIAN SUMMERS AT THE TARP? YES. OKAY. AWESOME. THANK YOU. VICE CHAIR MINORS. YES. UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE INITIATIVE THAT YOU'RE DOING TO GET THE COMMUNITY, UH, ORGANIZED AND, UH, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO FIND SOLUTIONS. I THINK IN PARTICULAR WHAT STRIKES A CHORD WITH ME IS FINDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES, INCUBATING LOCAL BUSINESSES, UM, GOING BACK TO OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD KIND OF MONIKER. UM, SO I THINK WITH THAT, UM, I MEAN, JUST AS AN INDIVIDUAL I, YOU KNOW, FULLY ENDORSE WHAT YOU'RE DOING. UM, I'M CURIOUS IF YOU'VE HAD ANY TRACTION [00:10:01] WITH I THINK D THREE, UH, OR D TWO, I FORGET WHERE WHERE IT IS EXACTLY, BUT I BELIEVE THAT'S UNDER, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ. HAVE YOU HAD ANY, ANY INTERACTION WITH HIM? AND THEN I'M ALSO CURIOUS, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FROM A CAP METRO PERSPECTIVE, UH, I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, VELA AND ELLIS, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T REPRESENT THAT DISTRICT, BUT THEY ARE ON THE CAP METRO BOARD. UM, SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF YOU'VE HAD ANY I OUTREACH OR, YOU KNOW, SUCCESS WITH ANY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS? UH, SO YEAH, WE'RE, I'M ON THE EAST CHAVEZ NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT TEAM, SO I'VE IN PRETTY CLOSE CONTACT WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ. UH, I HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO COUNCIL MEMBER VELA OR ELLIS ABOUT THIS SPECIFICALLY. UM, WE DID RECENTLY ENGAGE MOVABILITY TO KIND OF HELP US, UM, BRIDGE THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND CAP METRO. UM, BECAUSE IT'S, IT IS A LITTLE BIT TOUGH TO GET CAP METRO TO GIVE YOU ANSWERS. UM, SO WE ARE TRYING TO BRIDGE THAT GAP 'CAUSE WE DO ALSO HAVE THE PTMD. AND SO THAT'S BEEN ANOTHER CONVERSATION. I'M JUST GONNA HAVE TO CUT IT OFF THERE SINCE WE'RE NOT LISTED FOR DISCUSSION. YEAH. BUT, UH, THIS IS SOME, THESE ARE SOME GREAT POINTS THAT YOU, YOU BROUGHT TO US AND, UM, I THINK MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD, WE COULD, UH, VOTE TO BRING TO THE TABLE. OKAY. SOUNDS GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY. THANK YOU. CHAIR. IF I MAY, YES, PLEASE. UH, WOULD THIS BE THE POINT TO, UM, PUT FORWARD THE MOTION TO BRING THIS AS AN AGENDA ITEM? OR WOULD THAT COME IN OTHER BUSINESS? I THINK, UH, AT OUR, AT THE END WHEN WE DO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, WE, THAT'S WHERE I THINK WOULD BE A GOOD POINT FOR US TO BRING IT UP. THANK YOU. UM, SO OUR NEXT ITEM IS THE [APPROVAL OF MINUTES ] APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING. UH, HAS ANYONE, WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES FROM LAST MONTH? MOTION TO APPROVE? I'LL SECOND THAT. UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES? ANYONE? ANYONE AGAINST? COMMISSIONER MARCUS? YOU'RE ABSTAINING. I HAVEN'T SEEN THEM. I DON'T SEE THEM ON ONLINE, SO I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY'RE, HUH? I LOOK AT . WAS I LOOKING AT LAST MONTH'S NOW? OH, SO IT'S THE LAST MONTH AT THE VERY LAST, UM, UH, ITEM THERE. RIGHT? LET ME SEE. SO WE HAVE OUR POSTPONEMENTS, SO, SO CLARIFY ME. YES, PLEASE. LOOKS LIKE THEY WERE POSTED ON THE MARCH 23RD. AH, THAT'S WHAT IT'S DATE. SO THEY ARE POSTED. THEY'RE JUST POSTED ON THE WRONG. GOT IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I KNEW I SAW IT SOMEWHERE. ALL RIGHT, SO WE HAVE, YOU'RE STILL ABSTAINING FROM THE VOTE. I APPROVE IT. OKAY. DID YOU SAY APPROVE . OKAY. SO WE'VE GOT UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. ALRIGHT, OUR NEXT [2. Staff briefing regarding the Barton Springs Road Bridge. Presented by Eric Bailey, Austin Capital Delivery Services. Sponsors: Chair Salinas and Commissioner Carroll.] ITEM IS NUMBER TWO, OUR STAFF BRIEFING. THIS IS A POSTPONEMENT ITEM. UM, IS THERE ANY ACTION THAT WE NEED TO TAKE IN ORDER TO POSTPONE IT? WE JUST MOVE FORWARD. CORRECT. ALRIGHT. SO ITEM NUMBER [3. Staff briefing regarding Downtown Density Bonus Phase I Updates. Presented by Alan Pani, Austin Planning. Sponsors: Vice Chair Meiners and Commissioner Howard.] THREE, UH, A STAFF BRIEFING, UH, REGARDING THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PHASE ONE UPDATES, UH, PRESENTED BY ELLEN PONTY. [00:15:05] GOOD EVENING COMMISSION. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. UH, MY NAME IS ALAN PANTY WITH AUSTIN PLANNING. I AM HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, UH, PHASE ONE PROPOSAL THAT WILL BE GOING TO COUNCIL IN THE COMING MONTHS. UM, I WILL BE WALKING THROUGH, UH, THE BACKGROUND FOR WHY WE ARE HERE TODAY, THE EXISTING PROGRAM AND HOW THAT PRO PROGRAM CURRENTLY WORKS. AS WELL AS GOING INTO OUR PROPOSED CHANGES, WHICH INCLUDE THE URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS, COMMUNITY BENEFITS, UH, THE UPDATED PROCESS FOR THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, UH, AND THEN SUMMARIZE SOME OF OUR ENGAGEMENT AND TIMELINE. SO, UH, WE ARE HERE TODAY BECAUSE COUNCIL ASKED US IN 2024 TO UPDATE THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM. UM, IN THAT REQUEST, THERE WAS A NUMBER OF UPDATES REQUESTED, UH, INCLUDING UPDATES TO GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS INTEGRATION OF RAINY CREATION OF NEW SUBDISTRICTS AMONGST OTHERS. UH, AS ADDITIONALLY LAST FALL, UH, WITH THE RESPONSE TO SENATE BILL EIGHT 40 COUNCIL ADOPTED AN ORDINANCE WHICH AMENDED THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT ZONING AND ASKED US TO BRING PHASE ONE OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS UPDATES BY JUNE OF THIS YEAR FOR THREE OF THE SUBDISTRICTS WITHIN DOWNTOWN. AND I'LL GET INTO THOSE IN A SECOND. SO, UH, BEFORE I DO THAT, THE EXISTING PROGRAM, SO AGAIN, AFTER THE ADOPTION OF THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT'S ZONING AMENDMENTS AND UPDATES TO THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, THE THREE SUBDISTRICTS THAT COUNCIL ASKED US TO BRING BACK, UH, IN PHASE ONE, WHERE THE COURSE OF DISTRICT RAINY SUBDISTRICT AND THE CONVENTION CENTER, THOSE ARE SHOWN ON THE MAP ABOVE, UH, AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY DICTATED IN THE CURRENT PROGRAM WITH AN HEIGHT AND FAR MAP. SO, UH, ALL THREE OF THEM HAVE A MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF 350 FEET, AND THEY HAVE VARYING, FAR ALLOWED WITHIN THAT, DEPENDING ON WHICH SUBDISTRICT THEY'RE WITHIN. IF ANY PROJECT THAT IS PARTICIPATING IN DENSITY BONUS WANTED TO GO ABOVE THAT HEIGHT OR THAT FAR THAT IS ALLOWED BY THE MAP, THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO TO COUNCIL TO REQUEST ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENTS. SO AS PART OF OUR UPDATE, UH, WE ARE PROPOSING TO SLIGHTLY REVISE THE AREA THAT COUNCIL DIRECTED US TO UPDATE. UH, MOSTLY IT IS TO REMOVE THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT THAT WAS IN THIS PHASE ONE, UH, BECAUSE THAT WAS ONLY HALF OF THE DISTRICT THAT WAS REALLY WITHIN THIS FIRST PHASE. SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE ADDRESSING ALL OF RED RIVER AT ONE TIME, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE HUNTING PART OF THAT PHASE INTO PHASE TWO OF THE UPDATE. THE DENSITY BONUS WILL CONTINUE TO BE A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM, UH, FOR ANYONE WHO WISHES TO PARTICIPATE AND WILL CONTINUE TO SUPERSEDE, UH, THE FOLLOWING OVERLAYS, WHICH ARE THE CAPITAL DOMINANCE OVERLAY, UH, DENSITY BONUS OVERLAY, AND THE WATERFRONT OVERLAY. AS PART OF OUR PROPOSAL, WE ARE PROPOSING TO CREATE TWO NEW COMBINING DISTRICTS THAT WILL HAVE, UH, DIFFERENT ENTITLEMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS. WE WILL BE CREATING DDB 400, WHICH WOULD GRANT 400 FEET OF ADDITIONAL HEIGHT TO SITES PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM AND DDB EIGHT 50, WHICH WOULD GRANT 850 FEET OF ADDITIONAL HEIGHT. AGAIN, THIS IS ADDITIVE HEIGHT TO THE PROPERTY'S BASE ZONING. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAD A SITE THAT WAS ZONED FOR CBD, WHICH HAS A BASE HEIGHT OF 350, AND YOU GRANTED DDB 400, THAT WOULD NOW BE 750 FEET OF MAXIMUM HEIGHT THAT THEY COULD BUILD TO STAFF IS PROPOSING TO REZONE, UH, ALL OF THE SITES WITHIN PHASE ONE TO THE DDB 400 COMBINING DISTRICT, MEANING THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM FOR THE DDB 400 IF THEY CHOSE TO, AND THEN THOSE SAME SITES WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO REQUEST THE REZONING AND TO DDB EIGHT 50 THROUGH OUR STANDARD REZONING PROCESS. UH, UNLIKE THE CURRENT PROCESS, THERE WOULD BE NO ALLOWANCE FOR COUNCIL TO APPROVE AN ADDITIONAL HEIGHT IN THESE COMBINING DISTRICTS. THE WHATEVER HEIGHT IS IN THE COMBINING DISTRICT WOULD BE THE MAXIMUM ACHIEVABLE. WE WILL BE CREATING ADDITIONAL COMBINING DISTRICTS AS PART OF PHASE TWO, WHICH WILL BE, UH, MAPPED FOR THE REST OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF DOWNTOWN. AND WHILE WE ARE NOT CREATING ANY SUBDISTRICTS WITHIN THIS FIRST PHASE, THERE COULD BE SUBDISTRICTS CREATED IN THE FUTURE WITH EACH SUBDISTRICT HAVING POTENTIALLY DIFFERENT GATEKEEPER OR COMMUNITY BENEFIT OPTIONS, UH, USING RED RIVER AS AN EXAMPLE WHERE WE MAY HAVE ONE THAT MIGHT HAVE MORE OF A CULTURAL LIVE MUSIC GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENT OR COMMUNITY BENEFIT OPTION AS PART OF IT. SO JUST TO REITERATE A LITTLE BIT OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR PHASE ONE, THIS SHOWS CURRENTLY ON THE MAP, THE AREA IN ORANGE, UH, THE SITES THAT WOULD BE REZONED INTO DDB 400 AND THOSE SAME SITES AGAIN WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE AND REQUEST A REZONING IN DDB EIGHT 50. UH, JUST SOME EXAMPLES ON THE HEIGHTS WE ARE SPEAKING TO. SO AGAIN, THE CURRENT CBD BASE HEIGHT, WHICH IS 350, IS SIMILAR TO OUR WINDSOR [00:20:01] ON THE LAKE, WHICH IS STANDS AT 330. UH, THE AVERAGE HEIGHT FOR SITES THAT HAVE PARTICIPATED THAT ARE CBD IN THE CURRENT PROGRAM IS FOUR 50. SO SIMILAR TO 300 COLORADO. THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO BE ACHIEVED, UH, IN DDB 400 IS SIMILAR TO THE REPUBLIC AT 7 0 7. AND LASTLY, DD EIGHT 50, MAXIMUM HEIGHT, WHICH IS 1200, WHICH WOULD BE ABOVE THE WATERLINE, WHICH STANDS AT A THOUSAND FEET, UH, IS CURRENTLY AUSTIN'S TALLEST BUILDING, TALLEST IN TEXAS, AND, UH, ONE OF THE 25 TALLEST IN THE COUNTRY. SO THE PROGRAM WILL HAVE, UH, A STRUCTURE WHERE THERE WILL BE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS THAT WILL BE APPLICABLE TO ANY PARTICIPATING DEVELOPMENT. AND THOSE INCLUDE APPLICABILITY GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS, USES SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, DESIGN STANDARDS, PARKING ALLOWANCES, UH, OTHER REQUIREMENTS. AND THEN, AS I MENTIONED, THERE COULD BE IN THE FUTURE ADDITIONAL OR DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SUBDISTRICTS THAT COULD BE CREATED IN PHASE TWO THAT MIGHT HAVE MORE SITE SPECIFIC OR MIGHT MORE SUBDISTRICT SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS OR GATEKEEPER COMMUNITY BENEFITS STUFF. SO WE ARE PROPOSING AS, AS OUR UPDATES, UH, TO REVISE SOME OF THE SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS FOR THIS PROGRAM. UH, SO THE CURRENT, UH, PROGRAM FOR CORE REIGNING CONVENTION DON'T HAVE ANY EXEMPTIONS. HOWEVER, WE'RE PROPOSING TO ALLOW, UH, SOME SIMPLE SITE DEVELOPMENT EXEMPTIONS, INCLUDING MAXIMUM ON COVERAGE LANDSCAPING REQUIREMENTS, MINIMUM SITE AREA, AS WELL AS THE PRIVATE COMMON OPEN SPACE. MOST OF THESE REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT REALLY APPLICABLE TO CBD AND DMU, WHICH ARE THE MOST COMMON ZONING IN DOWNTOWN. HOWEVER, THAT WE DO HAVE OTHER ZONING, UH, THAT THESE WOULD APPLY TO, WE'RE PROPOSING TO MAKE CONDITIONAL OR PROHIBIT SOME NON-TRANS SUPPORTIVE USES AS PART OF THE UPDATE, UH, FAR WILL BE COMPLETELY UNLIMITED. SO THAT WILL NOT BE A FACTOR IN THIS, UH, CALCULATION ANYMORE. AND AGAIN, THE HEIGHT THAT I'VE LISTED BEFORE, THE GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS WILL BE CHANGING SLIGHTLY, AND I'LL BE GOING MORE INTO, INTO MORE DETAIL FOR THOSE. BUT THERE WILL CONTINUE TO BE ENCOMPASSED BY THE GREAT STREET STANDARDS, UH, TWO STAR ENERGY GREEN BUILDING AND THEN DESIGN STANDARDS, WHICH AGAIN, I'LL GET INTO SOME MORE DETAILS ABOUT THOSE. SO, AS I WAS MENTIONING, OUR PROPOSED UPDATED GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENTS WILL BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. UH, GREAT STREET STANDARDS WILL REMAIN COMPLETELY THE SAME IN THE SENSE THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE GREAT STREET STANDARDS AS THOSE ARE UPDATED, AS IS CURRENTLY PLANNED FOR THE END OF THE YEAR. WHATEVER THE NEW STANDARDS THAT ARE ADOPTED, A NEW PLAN WILL BE CONTINUED TO BE WHAT IS REQUIRED. THE TWO STAR RATING UNDER OUR ASEN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING FIRM WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO APPLY, HOWEVER, WITH A SMALL, UH, REQUIREMENT UPDATE THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO COMPLY WITH BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN STANDARDS AS PART OF THAT REQUIREMENT. LASTLY, THE ONE THAT WILL BE CHANGING VERY SIGNIFICANTLY IS THE URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS, WHICH PREVIOUSLY WOULD'VE BEEN THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES. SO PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPMENTS WOULD COME TO THE COMMISSION, UM, AND PRESENT THE PROJECT AND HAVE TO RECEIVE A RECOMMENDATION ALONG WITH, UM, THAT RECOMMENDATION. MOVING ON TO STAFF FOR THEIR FINAL RECOMMENDATION THAT GOES FORWARD WITH THE PROJECT, THOUGH THAT PROCESS WILL NO LONGER BE REQUIRED. INSTEAD, SITES WILL HAVE TO COMPLY WITH URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS, WHICH WILL BE A SET NUMBER OF STANDARDS THAT WILL COMPLY OF SOME REQUIRED STANDARDS, AS WELL AS A SELECTION FROM AN OPTIONAL LIST OF STANDARDS. AND DESIGN COMMISSION REVIEW WOULD NO LONGER BE REQUIRED AS PART OF THIS PROCESS. SO GETTING INTO WHAT THOSE DESIGN STANDARDS ARE. SO IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM, UH, THIS, THE PROJECT WILL ADHERE TO THE MANDATORY URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS AND THEN SELECT A NUMBER FROM THE OPTIONAL LIST. OUR CURRENT, UH, LIST INCLUDES 14 DIFFERENT STANDARDS. IT WILL BE SOMEWHAT OF A MENU APPROACH WHERE PROJECTS WILL SELECT WHETHER THEY'RE IN DDB 400, WHICH THEY WOULD HAVE TO MEET SEVEN OUT OF THE 14 OR DDB EIGHT 50, WHICH WOULD BE 10 OUT OF THE 14. AGAIN, DESIGN COMMISSION REVIEW WOULD NO LONGER BE PART OF THE PROCESS. HOWEVER, STAFF WOULD BE DETERMINING COMPLIANCE WITH THESE STANDARDS AT THE TIME OF SITE PLAN REVIEW. IN FUTURE PHASES, UH, AKA PHASE TWO STANDARDS MAY BE REVISED OR ADDITIONAL OPTIONS COULD ALSO BE ADDED AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THIS. UM, SO WE WORKED, UH, AND COLLABORATED, UH, WITH, YOU KNOW, DESIGN COMMISSION WORKING GROUP, AS WELL AS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS TO COME UP WITH THESE. UH, SO THE LIST WE HAVE FOR MANDATORY DESIGN STANDARDS ARE SCREENING REQUIREMENTS, PARKING LIMITS, REQUIRING PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED FRONTAGE, AND PRIMARY ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS. UM, WE HAVE THE FULL KIND OF DRAFT LANGUAGE IN THE BACKUP IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN KIND OF THE SPECIFIC, UH, LANGUAGE FOR EACH OF THESE. BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, SCREENING IS PROVIDING SCREENING FOR WASTE, UTILITY, MECHANICAL, AND ABOVEGROUND PARKING, UH, PARKING LIMITS IS REDUCING SLIGHTLY WHAT IS ALLOWED ABOVE GROUND, UH, AS FAR AS WHAT PARKING IS ALLOWED WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. UH, REQUIRING 75% [00:25:01] OF THE FRONTAGE TO BE PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY USES ALONG OUR PRINCIPAL STREET. AND THEN FINALLY, UH, REQUIRING BUILDING ENTRANCES EVERY 150 FEET, UH, OF FRONTAGE. THEN PROJECTS WOULD HAVE TO CHOOSE FROM THE OPTIONAL MENU, UH, WHICH I GUESS I MENTIONED IS 14 DIFFERENT ITEMS SO FAR. AGAIN, I WON'T GO INTO DETAIL ON, UH, ALL OF THESE, BUT THAT INCLUDES, FOR EXAMPLE, ENHANCED PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED FRONTAGE. SO THAT WOULD BE 75% OF THE TOTAL BUILDING FRONTAGE TO BE PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY USES. UH, IT COULD ALSO BE ENHANCED PRIVATE ENTRANCES, WHICH WOULD BE ENTRANCES EVERY 75 FEET INSTEAD OF 150. UH, AND JUST TO USE A COUPLE OTHERS, YOU KNOW, PROTECTION FOR PEDESTRIANS FROM PRECIPITATION, WHICH WOULD BE OVERHEAD SHELTER, UH, ALONG, UH, 60% OF THE STREET FRONTAGE. UM, IT COULD BE LIMITING THE NUMBER OF CURB CUTS AND OTHERS LISTED ON THE PAGE. THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS, UH, FOR THE PROJECT, FOR THE PROGRAM WILL FUNCTION A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. UNDER THE CURRENT PROGRAM SITES CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN DOING 50% AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THEN 50% TO CHOICE FROM A MENU. WHILE MOST SITES STILL CHOOSE TO DO AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THAT SECOND 50%, UH, IT WILL BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT WHERE NOW IT'LL BE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT WILL BE PROVIDED AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHETHER IT'S ON ONSITE OR FEE AND LIE. UH, HOWEVER, IF YOU PROVIDE ONE OF THE ITEMS FOR COMMUNITY BENEFITS LISTED, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO REDUCE THE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENT BY UP TO 2% OF UNITS OR 20% OF THE FEE AND LIE. AND THAT INCLUDES ONSITE HISTORIC GROCERY STORE CULTURAL USES, UH, LIVE MUSIC VENUES, UH, THREE STAR RATING OR TRANSIT SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE. JUST TO GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENTS. SO WE ARE PROPOSING TO REQUIRE 5% OF ALL OF THE UNITS. UH, IF YOU'RE DOING ONSITE UNITS AT EITHER 50% MFI, IF YOU'RE DOING RENTAL UNITS, OR 80% IF YOU'RE DOING OWNERSHIP, IF YOU ARE DOING A FEE IN LIEU AS OPPOSED TO ONSITE UNITS, UH, YOU WOULD BE REQUIRED TO PAY $10 PER BONUS AREA SQUARE FOOT IN UNDER DDB 400, AND THAT WOULD BE $12 PER BONUS SQUARE FOOT UNDER DDB EIGHT 50. THE FEE IN LIEU ARE, UH, SOMEWHAT ALIGNED WITH THE CURRENT EXISTING FEES IN THE PROGRAM. UH, THE CURRENT PROGRAM HAS A KIND OF MUCH MORE VARIED RANGE OF FEES DEPENDING ON WHAT TYPE OF ZONING YOU HAVE AND WHAT TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT YOU DO. ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS STREAMLINE THOSE FEES SO THAT IT IS NOT AS COMPLICATED. SIMILARLY, FOR THE ONSITE, UH, WE HAVE ONE PERCENTAGE, UH, REQUIRED VERSUS, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, RAINY HAS A ODD REQUIREMENT WHERE IT'S 5% OF UNITS UP TO EIGHT TO ONE FAR, AND THEN YOU CHOOSE IF YOU DO A FEE AND LIE OR IF YOU WANNA DO ONSITE. UM, SO IT GETS A LITTLE BIT MESSY FOR ALL OF THESE. LASTLY, ONE OF THE THINGS WE ARE PROPOSING TO ADD ARE OUR CHAPTER CODE, CHAPTER FOUR 18, UH, REQUIREMENTS, WHICH RELATES TO DENSITY, BONUS, LEASE, AND REDEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS. SO THOSE INCLUDE AMONGST OTHER THINGS, UH, DISPERSION OF AFFORDABLE UNITS AND EQUAL ACCESS TO AMENITIES. IT REQUIRES SOME TENANT PROTECTIONS AND REDEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING AFFORDABLE MULTIFAMILY AND CERTAIN COMMERCIAL USES. UH, SO FOR EXISTING AFFORDABLE MULTIFAMILY, THAT WOULD BE, UH, REQUIRING THE TENANTS BE PROVIDED NOTICE RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND RELOCATION ASSISTANT AS WELL AS A RIGHT TO RETURN AND REPLACING, UH, ONE TO ONE UNITS OF THE EXISTING AFFORDABLE ONES UP TO A TWO TO ONE RATIO , WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT CONFUSING. AND THEN THE CERTAIN COMMERCIAL USES IS PROTECTING SOME OF OUR LEGACY BUSINESSES, SO KIND OF OUR LONG OPERATING LEGACY BUSINESSES WITHIN DOWNTOWN. UM, SIMILARLY PROVIDING THOSE BUSINESSES WITH RELOCATION BENEFITS, UH, THE RIGHT TO RETURN AND PROVIDING THAT SAME SPACE BACK IN YOUR NEW DEVELOPMENT. SO JUST DIVING LASTLY BACK INTO, UH, SOME OF THE NEW PROCESS. SO AS I MENTIONED, UH, THERE WILL NO LONGER BE A DESIGN COMMISSION REVIEW PROCESS. UM, SO THE APPLICANTS WOULD SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION TO THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT FOR CERTIFICATION, UH, AND COVENANTS AT THAT POINT, ONCE IT IS, UH, CERTIFIED, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO SUBMIT THEIR SITE PLAN AS PART OF THAT SITE PLAN REVIEW. AMONGST THE MANY OTHER REVIEWS THAT WOULD HAPPEN, UH, OUR PLANNING STAFF, UH, WOULD REVIEW FOR GRADE STREET COMPLIANCE, URBAN DESIGN COMPLIANCE, UM, AND THEN ONCE ALL THOSE ARE APPROVED, YOU WOULD RECEIVE YOUR PERMITS. IF YOU WERE SEEKING ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENTS AND WANTED TO USE DDB EIGHT 50, YOU WOULD GO THROUGH THE REZONING PROCESS BEFORE STARTING THAT. SO YOU WOULD GO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION FOR, FOR A REZONING, STAFF WOULD REVIEW AND PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION PLANNING COMMISSION, AND COUNSEL WOULD APPROVE THAT. IF IT'S APPROVED AS A REZONING, YOU WOULD GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF SUBMITTING YOUR, UH, APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION. SO LASTLY, UH, WE'VE DONE A NUMBER OF ENGAGEMENT, UH, FOR THIS PROCESS. WE'VE MET WITH MANY [00:30:01] GROUPS INCLUDING, UH, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, UH, RICA, DANA, A I A RIDGE RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT, URBAN LAND INSTITUTE. WE'VE ENGAGED, UH, MULTIPLE COMMISSIONS AS WELL AS WORKED WITH A LOT OF THE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY. AS PART OF THIS, WE ARE CURRENTLY AT, UH, THE DESIGN COMMISSION BRIEFING. WE'RE SCHEDULED TO GO TO COURT AND ORDINANCES ON WEDNESDAY THIS WEEK. MOVE ON TO PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, CONSIDERATION ON MAY 12TH, AND THEN FINALLY COUNSEL CONSIDERATION ON MAY 28TH. AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE FOR YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER HOWARD? UH, WHY DON'T YOU LET, UM, COMMISSIONER GALLES GO FIRST. COMMISSIONER GALLES, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR THE, THE PRESENTATION. UH, I, I WANT TO, UM, I WANT TO JUST EXPRESS SOME, UM, SORT OF MILD CONCERN AND I THINK, UH, FIRST OF ALL, COM COMMENDATION ON GETTING THIS TO THIS POINT. I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF EFFORT, YOU KNOW, PUT IN WITH THE, THE REWRITE AND THE CLARIFICATION OF WHAT THIS NEW DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM WILL LOOK LIKE AND HOW IT WILL OPERATE. AND SO I JUST WANNA, YOU KNOW, APPRECIATE THAT IT'S GOTTEN TO THIS POINT. UM, AS OF COURSE YOU'RE AWARE, THIS COMMISSION HAS FOR QUITE SOME TIME BEEN FOCUSED ON RAFTING THOSE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, WORKING TOGETHER WITH STAFF AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL, I WANNA SAY SEVERAL YEARS WERE, YOU KNOW, PUT INTO CAREFUL CONSIDERATION, UH, FOR THOSE GUIDELINES. AND, UM, I THINK WHAT I'M SEEING IS A LOSS OF THE, THE HUMAN SCALE, UH, CONCERN IN THE DRAFT THAT YOU'VE PRESENTED. UH, I, I DO THINK THIS COMMISSION WAS ASSEMBLED, UM, YOU KNOW, A GROUP OF PROFESSIONALS WHO HAVE EXPERTISE IN URBAN DESIGN AS THE COUNCIL'S OVERSIGHT INTO THAT URBAN AND PUBLIC REALM, SPECIFICALLY FOR THE INTEREST OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC. AND, AND WHAT I SEE IN THE DRAFT CURRENTLY IS, UM, AS YOU'VE SAID, IT SORT OF MANDATORY AS WELL AS OPTIONAL MENU ITEMS THAT DON'T PUT THE PEDESTRIAN AT THE, THE LEVEL OF PRIORITY THAT I, I THINK IS WARRANTED. AND IF YOU ARE A DEVELOPER AND YOU'RE CHOOSING, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN, YOU CAN ALWAYS SORT OF MIX AND MATCH AS YOU'VE PRESENTED IT, BUT I REALLY FEEL THAT HUMAN CENTERED, UM, HUMAN ORIENTED DESIGN, UH, IS NOT PUT FORWARD AS A PRIORITY AND IS SORT OF LABELED IN OR CATEGORIZED WITHIN THE OPTIONAL, UM, OPTIONAL, UH, MENU ITEMS, HUMAN SCALE METRICS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WORK CAREFULLY TO TRY TO INCLUDE, UM, THAT HELP AND CUT DOWN RISK. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, AS IT COMPLIES WITH CURB CUTS, UM, PEDESTRIAN SAFETY, YOU KNOW, HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELLNESS HAS TO BE PARAMOUNT IN, IN A LOT OF OUR CONSIDERATION. AND ALSO THE CHARACTER OF, OF THE DOWNTOWN, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH IS WHAT IT IS. IT'S, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, CENTER, BUT ALSO ESSENTIALLY A NEIGHBORHOOD. AND SO I, I WOULD, UM, JUST PUT FORWARD THE QUESTION AS THIS GOES FORWARD TO PLANNING, WHAT ARE THE NEXT OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, ESSENTIALLY FURTHER INPUT? AND IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH THERE'S ONE MORE STOP ALONG THE WAY. UH, WHAT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IS, YOU KNOW, ONE OR TWO MORE MANDATORY ITEMS THAT FOCUS PRIMARILY ON PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AND, UM, HEALTH AND WELLNESS AT THAT HUMAN SCALE FOR THE PUBLIC REALM. YEAH. JUST TO KIND OF ANSWER THE, THE QUESTION ABOUT, UH, POINTS OF PROVIDING FEEDBACK. UM, OBVIOUSLY, UH, GIVEN THE TIMING, THIS COMMISSION MAYBE DOESN'T HAVE EXACT TIME TO PUT FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION BEFORE PLANNING COMMISSION. HOWEVER, YOU ALSO ARE VERY WELCOME TO SEND ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO COMMISSIONERS OR TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION. UM, THEY ARE ABLE TO AS WELL MAKE OR PROPOSE UPDATES TO OUR RECOMMENDATION. AND SIMILARLY TO COUNCIL, YOU CAN SEND RE REQUESTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL FOR THEM TO MAKE AMENDMENTS. UM, SO THOSE WOULD BE KIND OF THE TWO POINTS OF, UH, BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND ASK FOR, LIKE YOU SAID, ANY, ANY AMENDMENTS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE. THANK YOU. AND JUST TO FOLLOW UP, UM, YOU KNOW, FORGIVE ME IF I FEEL SOMEHOW THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE STEPS, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU'VE JUST [00:35:01] OUTLINED. AGAIN, WE WORKED WITH STAFF. WE, UM, AS FAR AS I'M AWARE, UH, SENT OUR, UH, DRAFT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UM, MONTHS AGO. IF I, IF I DON'T KNOW THE TIMING, IT MIGHT EVEN BE MORE THAN A YEAR AT THIS POINT. AND SO, UM, THE PROCESS SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, I THINK HAS BEEN, UM, NOT AS SMOOTH, UH, IN, IN CONVEYING OUR FEEDBACK, UH, FROM THIS COMMISSION AS I THINK WE WOULD LIKE. AND SO GIVEN THE BREVITY OF THE TIMELINE THAT IS NOW AHEAD OF US, I FEEL LESS, UH, OPTIMISTIC, LET'S SAY. BUT THANK YOU AND WE'LL, WE'LL TRY TO PURSUE THAT LINE, A COURSE OF ACTION. COMMISSIONER HOWARD. THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, I, I, I WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, ECHO EVERYTHING THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER GALLA SAID. I THINK THAT THAT WAS REALLY WELL PUT. UM, AND I, I THINK, AND, AND I APPRECIATE THAT, UH, YOU AND YOUR TEAM MAKING YOURSELVES AVAILABLE TO WORK WITH US ON THE WORKING GROUP ON THIS. I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR PROCESS, LIKE SHE MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, TOOK YEARS, UH, INCLUDING A LOT OF STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT. UM, AND, UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS HAS GONE THROUGH A, A LOT OF, A LOT OF, UH, VERY INTENTIONAL ITERATION AND, AND THINKING, UM, AND YEAH, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A BIT CHALLENGING WHEN YOU GUYS, YOU, YOU GUYS ARE FORCED TO COME IN AT THE END AND TRY TO JUST GET SOMETHING OVER THE FINISH LINE. UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GONNA, IT'S NOT GONNA HAVE THAT LEVEL OF INTENTIONALITY TO IT. IT'S JUST IMPOSSIBLE. LIKE THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE DO FOR THEIR FULL-TIME JOBS, FOR TWO YEAR CONTRACTS, FOUR YEAR CONTRACTS, UH, SOMETIMES. SO I UNDERSTAND THE, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU GUYS ARE COMING FROM ALSO. UM, BUT I, I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS, UH, THESE STANDARDS ARE GOING TO REPLACE THE URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS. THEY'RE GOING TO REPLACE DESIGN REVIEW, WHICH MEANS THAT THESE PROJECTS THAT ARE COMING IN THAT ARE HIGH RISE, SUPER TALLS, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING THAT'S COMING INTO ARE MOST PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED, MOST TRANSIT ORIENTED, UH, PART OF, OF AUSTIN, UM, ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT FILTER FOR QUALITY DESIGN, WHICH PUTS A LOT OF PRESSURE ON THESE, UH, ON THESE STANDARDS. UM, AND I THINK, UM, AND I THINK THAT IS THE, YOU KNOW, THE OPINION OF THE, OF THE, THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINE WORKING GROUP AT THIS MOMENT, UM, AT LEAST FROM FROM THE SURVEY, THE SMALL SURVEY THAT I TOOK LAST TIME WE SPOKE, UH, THAT THIS ISN'T, THIS IN ITS CURRENT STATE IS NOT A SUFFICIENT REPLACEMENT FOR, UH, FOR THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES AND STILL NEEDS A BIT OF WORK. UM, UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE PROVIDED A LOT OF VERY DIRECT FEEDBACK, UM, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WASN'T TAKEN AND WE WEREN'T, WE ALSO DID NOT RECEIVE ANY, UH, RATIONALE FOR A LOT OF THAT. I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE WORKING WITH A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS, SO YOU, AND YOU'RE WORKING FAST, SO IT'S VERY HARD TO DOCUMENT ALL THAT AND SHARE. UM, BUT, UH, IT DOES KIND OF, WE'VE LOST THE FEEDBACK LOOP TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LIMITATIONS ARE. I THINK WE'RE ALL PLANNING A LITTLE BIT OF A TELEPHONE WITH THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT THAT ARE, THEY'RE IN HIGH DEMAND, UH, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS. UM, UH, AND SO, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, I THINK THAT THAT'S ALSO A, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S A, THERE'S BIG OPEN QUESTIONS THERE. UM, I, I LISTENED TO BOTH THE, UH, PLANNING COMMISSION AND THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, UH, PRESENTATIONS. UM, AND I, AND YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS EXPRESSED HOW YOU GUYS WERE WORKING WITH A WORKING GROUP OF THE, THE DESIGN COMMISSION, UM, TO COME UP WITH THESE URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS. UM, AND GIVEN THE LEVEL OF ADOPTION OF OUR, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, IT FEELS A LITTLE BIT OF A MISCHARACTER MISCHARACTERIZATION IN THAT I THINK IT WAS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UM, THE SENSE WAS THAT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE ARE SOMEHOW, YOU KNOW, COLLABORATING AND BLESSING THIS TO SOME POINT, AND THEREFORE THEY DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IT AS MUCH. UM, AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S QUITE TRUE AT THIS, AT THIS POINT IN TIME. UM, UH, I THINK THAT, UM, I THINK THAT WE REALLY, WE SHOULD, WE WILL CONSIDER, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME VERY, UM, CLEAR DIRECTION, UH, AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO PLANNING COMMISSION, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO CHAT WITH THE, I KNOW THEY HAVE A WORKING GROUP MM-HMM . ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO DEDICATED THIS TO, HOPEFULLY WE CAN KIND OF WORK THROUGH SOME OF THIS AND GET, YOU KNOW, UH, GET CLARITY AROUND BUY-IN AROUND SOME OF THESE THINGS. BUT I THINK, UM, IN, IN THE CONVERSATIONS THAT I'VE HAD WITH FOLKS THAT ARE ON THE WORKING GROUP WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, SO FAR, I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF AGREEMENT AROUND THE DESIGN STANDARDS BEING SUCH A HIGH PRIORITY BECAUSE THESE ARE SUCH DURABLE, IT, IT'S LIKE A, IT'S THE DNA OF THE DURABLE PART OF OUR DOWNTOWN, RIGHT? UH, THE ECONOMY AND FINANCING CAN, CAN TAKE A HIT SINCE 2022. AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GONNA GET DEVELOPMENT, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, TO COME THROUGH THESE PRO THESE PROGRAMS, UM, WOULD BE TO PAY THEM TO PROVIDE THESE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT THIS POINT. UM, 'CAUSE THE, THE ECONOMY'S JUST NOT THERE FOR IT, RIGHT? WE CANNOT CALIBRATE OUR DESIGN STANDARDS TO THE CURRENT MARKET. WE NEED TO CALIBRATE OUR DESIGN STANDARDS TO OUR [00:40:01] POLICY INTENT WITHIN REASON, OBVIOUSLY. UM, AND SO THE DURABILITY OF THE DESIGN OF OUR DOWNTOWN, UM, IS, IS A LOT HIGHER THAN THE DURABILITY OF OUR CURRENT FINANCIAL SITUATION. I KNOW THERE WERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT CALIBRATION, LIKE, OH, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE RESIDUAL VALUE FOR THESE PROJECTS IS, IS BEING DEDICATED TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THESE PUBLIC BENEFITS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. UM, BUT, BUT WE ALSO, I THINK WE NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ISN'T CALIBRATION HAPPENING. WE DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THESE DESIGN STANDARDS COST. WE'VE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE, RIGHT? NO ONE'S EVER APPLIED THEM TO DOWNTOWN PROJECTS. UM, AND WE CAN, AND, AND AS FAR AS I KNOW, I'VE WORKED WITH SOME OF THE CONSULTANTS THAT ARE ON, UH, ON, THAT HAVE HELPED Y'ALL ON THIS, UM, ON THAT, UM, RESIDUAL VALUE CALCULATION FOR DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM. AND I, AND I KNOW THE LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT THEY'RE OPERATING AT, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DEFINITELY NOT CONSIDERING THE, THE DESIGN STANDARD IMPLICATIONS. POTENTIALLY. THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THE TIME, TIME COST OF, OF, UH, COMING TO THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND ALL THAT IS VERY TANGIBLE AND REAL. AND, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN GET BETTER RESULTS WITHOUT THAT, LET'S DO IT. RIGHT? A HUNDRED PERCENT, UH, IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT. BUT I THINK THAT, UM, I THINK THAT WE, WE NEED TO BE, WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT, ABOUT SETTING STANDARDS THAT AREN'T GOING TO CHANGE EVERY YEAR, UM, TO CALIBRATE TOWARD THE, AN ECONOMY THAT WILL CHANGE EVERY FEW MONTHS. UM, BUT YEAH, I THINK I, UM, MY ONLY OTHER POINTS ARE GONNA BE, UH, FOR, FOR FOLLOWING, UH, AGENDA ITEMS. SO THAT'S, THAT'S ALL FOR ME. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER HOWARD, UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UH, VICE CHAIR MINORS? YEAH, I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED FRONTAGE REQUIREMENTS, BECAUSE I'M SEEING THAT, UM, IT IS A REQUIREMENT FOR 75%, BUT THEN I SEE ENHANCED PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED, UH, AS OPTIONAL. SO I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE TWO. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, JUST FROM A BASELINE, I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT A PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED, UM, REQUIREMENT IS, LIKE, WHAT IS THE STANDARD FOR THAT? SO IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN ANSWER? YEAH, SO THE, UH, THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN JI TWO IS, SO THE, THE MANDATORY WOULD REQUIRE 75, 70 5% OF THE FRONTAGE ALONG THE PRINCIPAL STREET. SO IT WOULD ONLY BE ONE OF THE FRONTAGES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT VERSUS THE ENHANCE WOULD BE FOR ALL OF THE FRONTAGE FOR THE WHOLE BUILDING. SO YOU WOULD BE PROVIDING FOR 75% OF THE ENTIRE DEVELOPMENT AS OPPOSED TO THAT. UM, AS FAR AS WHAT THAT MEANS, UH, THERE, IT'S KIND OF IN OUR CODE, BUT THERE'S BASICALLY DIFFERENT USES. SO IT'S KIND OF ONE OR MORE COMMERCIAL OR CIVIC USES, AND IT HAS SPECIFIC DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE IN SUBCHAPTER E. UM, AGAIN, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT THAN THE OTHER BACKUP DOCUMENT THAT HAS THE FULL LANGUAGE FOR EACH OF THE STANDARDS. UM, BUT IT IS SOMETHING WE HAVE IN OUR OTHER DENSITY BONUSES SUCH AS, LIKE DB 90 AND DBE E TODD HAVE THAT 75% OF THE, UH, PRINCIPAL STREET REQUIREMENT. OKAY. UM, I, I THINK JUST LOOKING AT THIS OVERALL, I MEAN, CLEARLY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN, UH, WORKING QUITE A BIT ON DESIGN GUIDELINES, SO I DON'T KNOW TO WHAT EXTENT CITY STAFF RELAYED SOME OF OUR DISCOVERIES, UH, IN THIS PROCESS. UM, BUT I DO THINK THE LACK OF OVERSIGHT, UM, FROM THE COMMUNITY, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I FEEL WE SERVE IN THAT CAPACITY, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING IT, UH, GO STRICTLY TO THE CITY, I THINK IS, UH, A LOSS FOR THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. UM, BECAUSE WE REALLY DON'T HAVE A FILTER OR ANY, UM, YOU KNOW, GATEKEEPER TO, UH, TALK ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF CHOOSING SOME OF THOSE OPTIONAL, UH, REQUIREMENTS OR NOT REQUIREMENTS, THE OPTIONAL, UM, UH, ELEMENTS THAT, THAT CAN BE INCLUDED. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN, UH, ENTRUST THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, CITY STAFF IS GOING TO BE CALIBRATED TO THE SAME EXTENT THAT WE'VE BEEN. UM, AND CLEARLY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS THE CONCERN OF VESTED INTEREST REGARDLESS. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, I, I, I DON'T KNOW, UM, IF REMOVING TRANSPARENCY, UM, FROM A BOARD LIKE US, UH, IS GOING TO JUST LEAD, UM, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, APPLICANTS ESSENTIALLY, UM, MEETING THE BARE MINIMUM JUST TO GET COMPLIANCE. UM, I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THESE OPTIONAL, UH, ELEMENTS THAT THEY CAN INCLUDE, UH, I THINK SOME ARE CHEAPER THAN OTHERS, AND FROM WHAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED, UH, DEVELOPERS, UM, WILL TAKE THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE IN MANY CASES. UM, AND I THINK THAT, UH, THE SUCCESSES OF OUR BOARD HAVE BEEN THAT NOT ONLY [00:45:01] HAVE WE PUSHED FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE EXISTING URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, BUT WE'VE ACTUALLY PUSHED FOR EXCEEDING THAT GRADE OF EXECUTION AND BEEN ABLE TO EXPLAIN THE RATIONALE FOR WHY, UM, FROM VERY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES FROM ACROSS THE CITY, UM, AND NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, AS A TASK FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR EVERYDAY WORK, UH, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UM, THE, THE FOLKS THAT ARE ON THIS BOARD ARE VERY PASSIONATE. AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT CITY STAFF ARE NOT, BUT I DO THINK THAT THE MOTIVATION, UM, AND, UH, THE DISCUSSIONS THAT THAT ARE HAD ARE LIKELY GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. UM, SO I THINK THIS IS A BIG LOSS FOR THE COMMUNITY. UM, I ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAVE A LOT OF CONCERN JUST FROM AN ECONOMIC STANDPOINT. I MEAN, IF WE LOOK AT DOWNTOWN, UM, WE HAVE SEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE MOST ROBUST NIGHTLIFE, UM, SCENES IN THE COUNTRY BE CHIPPED AWAY. UM, WE'VE HAD OTHER PROPOSALS OUTSIDE OF RED RIVER, YOU KNOW, FOR THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT THAT IF IT WEREN'T FOR OUR INTERVENTION, UM, YOU KNOW, IN OUR, IN OUR DISCUSSIONS, UH, WE LIKELY WOULD HAVE HAD, UM, LESS COMMUNITY BENEFIT THERE. SO I THINK ALL IN ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE AT LEAST MORE, UM, CONSIDERATION FOR MANDATING, UM, SOME OF THESE, UH, ELEMENTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE DEEMED OPTIONAL. UM, AND I, I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A CONSIDERATION FOR THE ECONOMIC, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT THAT THIS IS GONNA HAVE ON OUR CITY. UM, IF WE'RE NOT ATTRACTING, UH, YOU KNOW, TOURISTS, UH, TO OUR CITY BECAUSE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, STREETS AND STREETS FULL OF LOBBIES, UM, I DON'T THINK THAT SERVES IN THE BEST INTEREST FOR THE CITY, UH, ECONOMICALLY. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE, UH, SOME OF THE, THE ELEMENTS THAT ARE DEEMED AS OPTIONAL. I JUST THINK THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE STRONGER REQUIREMENTS. UM, SO WITH THAT, I, I'D SAY OVERALL I'M PRETTY DISAPPOINTED, UM, IN THE APPROACH THAT THE CITY IS LOOKING TO TAKE. THANK YOU. VICE CHAIR. MR. ULA, DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT? OKAY. UM, THANK YOU CHAIR. UH, I SECOND WHAT, UH, THE VICE CHAIR HAS TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE, HAVING THEM AS OPTIONAL, YOU KNOW, OUT OF CERTAIN, SO SOME THINGS YOU NEED TO MANDATE. I DON'T KNOW IF THE TRAIN HAS ALREADY GONE OR, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT CERTAIN THINGS HAVE TO BE MANDATED. IF NOT, THEN THE DEVELOPER WOULD PICK THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE ONES. AND I'M ALSO A LITTLE BIT DISAPPOINTED ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PART OF IT, UH, BECAUSE THEY CAN PRETTY MUCH BUY THEIR WAY OUT OF THOSE THINGS BY 2% HERE, TWO PERSON DOING CERTAIN THINGS. AND SO THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS GOING TO IMPACT US IN THE LONG TERM. UM, BECAUSE YOU, YOU CAN, ONCE YOU DO THE CALCULATION, THE BE DEVELOPER MAY BE ABLE TO BUY OUT OF CERTAIN THINGS. SO, UH, AGAIN, I'M NOT, I DIDN'T PAY A LOT OF ATTENTION TO THOSE GUIDELINES AND ALL, WHICH I SHOULD BE, BUT, UH, BUT YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE MY CONCERNS THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER. COMMISSIONER MARCUS. UM, THANK YOU FOR COMING TO PRESENT TO US. UM, I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS. MM-HMM . ONE IS, UM, THERE'S CLEARLY A CHANGE IN THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES. UM, AND I'M WONDERING, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHAT WAS CONSULTED TO CREATE, UM, THESE TYPE OF DESIGNS, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF, UH, HISTORICAL DATA OR WHAT KIND OF OTHER ADDITIONAL, UH, INFORMATION FROM OTHER CITIES WERE CONSULTED, UM, TO CREATE THE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE MANDATORY AND OPTIONAL? UM, AND THE SECOND QUESTION, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE, UM, DESIGN GUIDELINES CHANGE, THERE IS ALSO A PROCESS CHANGE AND THE DESIGN COMMISSION IS REMOVED FROM THE PROCESS. COULD YOU, UM, SPEAK MORE ON THAT? UH, WHAT'S DRIVING THAT PROCESS CHANGE? YEAH. UH, SO I'LL ANSWER THE SECOND QUESTION FIRST, BUT, UH, WE, WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROCESS, WE, UH, SPOKE AND MET WITH OUR LAW DEPARTMENT. UM, THEY MENTIONED THAT THE WAY THE CURRENT PROGRAM WORKS, WHERE PROJECTS COME TO THE DESIGN COMMISSION IS A DISCRETIONARY REVIEW, RIGHT? SO THE DESIGN COMMISSION PROVIDES A, UH, DISCRETIONARY RECOMMENDATION BASED ON THE GUIDELINES, WHICH AREN'T CONCRETE STANDARDS, ALL OF OUR NEW DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. AND AS WE UPDATE THEM, FOR EXAMPLE, THESE HAVE TO BE SET WITH VERY DESIGNED AND STRUCTURED STANDARDS AND CANNOT HAVE ANY DISCRETIONARY PART OF THE PROCESS. SO THAT IS WHY THE DESIGN COMMISSION WAS NO LONGER PART OF THAT PROCESS. SIMILARLY, FOR THE DESIGN GUIDELINES AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE AND THE STANDARDS IS THE DOCUMENT THAT Y'ALL HAD BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS WAS VERY COMPLETE, BUT HAD A NUMBER OF KIND OF DISCRETIONARY REVIEW AND, AND THE STANDARDS IS PART OF IT, RIGHT? SOME OF THEM DEFINITELY READ [00:50:01] AS A STANDARD, YOU KNOW, YOU DO FIVE FEET OF THIS OR WHATEVER. UM, BUT A LOT OF THEM WERE VERY, UH, BASED ON KIND OF DISCRETIONARY LANGUAGE AND, AND SHALL IN MAY. AND, UM, NOT CONCRETE, WHICH WAS A, A KIND OF A BIG COMPLICATING FACTOR FOR US WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO APPLY THOSE INTO STANDARDS. UM, A SECOND PART OF THAT AS WELL WAS A NUMBER OF THE GUIDELINES REALLY SPEAK TO RIGHT OF WAY, UH, ITEMS THAT ARE MORE APPROPRIATE FOR OUR GREAT STREETS OR OUR TCM OR OTHER RIGHT OF WAY, UH, KIND OF REQUIREMENTS. SO WE ALSO HAD TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THOSE BECAUSE THOSE, UM, ALL SHOULD BE, OR, OR ARE ADDRESSED BY OUR KIND OF RIGHT OF WAY STANDARDS, WHETHER THAT'S GREAT STREETS OR OTHERS. UM, AND I KNOW THAT GREAT STREETS IS, YOU KNOW, WORKING ON AN UPDATE AND HOPEFULLY THEY WILL ALSO KIND OF BE CONSIDERING WHAT WAS IN THE GUIDELINES AS PART OF THOSE UPDATES. UM, SO THAT WAS KIND OF THE FACTORS WE, WE HAD TO CONSIDER FOR HOW WE WERE CONVERTING THEM. AND THEN LASTLY, AS I MENTIONED, WAS THE FACT THAT THEY NEEDED TO BE STANDARDS AND NOT DISCRETIONARY, AND THEY HAD TO BE, GENERALLY SPEAKING, APPLICABLE TO EVERY SINGLE SITE IN DOWNTOWN. SO THERE ARE ALSO SOME GUIDELINES THAT APPLY KIND OF MORE SPECIFICALLY TO A CERTAIN TYPE OF SITUATION OR, OR A CERTAIN TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT. UM, AND THOSE AREN'T REALLY SOMETHING WE CAN REALLY ADD TO THE STANDARDS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BE AVAILABLE TO EVERY SITE, WHICH ALSO KIND OF REDUCES THE, THE WHAT AND HOW WE CAN USE THEM AND APPLY THEM. AND JUST TO CLARIFY, DID YOU BY ANY CHANCE, UH, HAVE A, UM, AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMPARE THESE STANDARDS TO STANDARDS IN OTHER CITIES? UH, UM, IN, WE DID NOT IN THE US OR THE TECH OH, TEXAS, ANYWHERE? NO, WE DIDN'T REALLY DO A KIND OF PURE CITY COMPARISON. A LOT OF OTHER CITIES DO HAVE A VERY DIFFERENT TYPE OF KIND OF DESIGN REVIEW PROCESS, WHETHER THAT'S WITH COMMISSIONS OR PLANNERS, WHERE THERE IS, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE OF ALLOWANCE TYPICALLY FOR MORE DISCRETION IN, IN THAT REVIEW. UM, SO WE, WE DIDN'T REALLY DO TOO MUCH OF A KIND OF PEER CITY COMPARISON JUST BASED ON HOW OUR PROGRAMS, ESPECIALLY DENSITY BONUSES, FUNCTION SO DIFFERENTLY THAN ANY OTHER PART OF THE COUNTRY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? UH, I HAVE A, A FEW COMMENTS. UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY AND COMING BACK TO TALK WITH US AND GIVE US THIS UPDATE. UM, QUESTIONS MORE. A LITTLE SPECIFIC IS NUMBER 13, UH, MATCH HISTORIC BUILDING SCALE. I WAS JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THAT, AND IF YOU CAN JUST KIND OF GO INTO WITH THAT ACTUALLY MEANS THERE, UH, YEAH. THAT CAME FROM, UH, KIND OF THE DESIGN GUIDELINES AND I CAN FIND A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE, UH, LANGUAGE THAT HAS MORE DETAIL. UH, SO PART OF THE REQUEST WAS KIND OF MATCHING THE, THE DEVELOPMENT PATTERN OF A HISTORIC PROPERTY THAT MIGHT BE ADJACENT TO SAID DEVELOPMENT. SO THE REQUIREMENT ACTUALLY ASKS THAT THE DEVELOPMENTS WOULD INCLUDE A BASE WITH A HEIGHT THAT IS WITHIN 15 FEET OF THE HEIGHT ADJACENT TO THE HISTORIC PROPERTY. UM, AND THEN ANY PORTIONS THAT OF THE NEW BUILDING THAT IS GONNA EXCEED THAT HEIGHT OF THE ADJACENT HISTORIC PROPERTY BY MORE THAN 15 FEET WOULD STEP BACK AT LEAST 15 FEET FROM THE BASE OF THAT FACADE. SO AGAIN, TRYING TO MATCH KIND OF THE CONTEXT OF THAT HISTORIC, UH, FACADE. AND THAT'S IF YOU'RE ADJACENT TO HISTORIC PROPERTY? CORRECT. SO THIS TECHNICALLY WOULDN'T FALL UNDER THE COMMENT THAT SHE WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW THIS HAS TO APPLY TO ALL THE BUILDINGS DOWNTOWN. SO LIKE 13 AND 14 SEEM LIKE THAT'S NOT FOR EVERYBODY. YES. I MEAN, AGAIN, WE TRIED TO INCLUDE KIND OF AS MUCH AS WE FELT CALL IT COMFORTABLE WITH THAT COULD BE APPLICABLE TO ANY SITE, GENERALLY SPEAKING, THAT COULD APPLY TO ANY SITE THAT IS NEXT TO A HISTORIC PROPERTY. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE KIND OF SOME, A LITTLE BIT OF LEEWAY WITH HOW WE ADDRESS HISTORIC PROPERTIES GENERALLY. SO WE FELT A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLE INCLUDING SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WELL, I, I WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND HOW MUCH WORK Y'ALL HAVE DONE IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY TIGHT DEADLINE HERE, AND, UM, BUT I DO, I DO AGREE WITH MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS ABOUT THE, THE LACK OF THE, THE HUMAN ELEMENT AND THIS, THE, UH, THE HUMAN ENGAGEMENT ON, ON THESE AND SO, YEAH. AND THE, AND THE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. UM, SO YEAH, I THINK, I THINK WE'RE GONNA PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO AS FAR AS MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, UM, TO ADDRESS THOSE ITEMS. UM, BUT YEAH, AND ALSO THE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMISSION AND THE WORKING GROUP THAT HAS BEEN WORKING HARD. UH, THE ENTIRE COMMISSION HAS BEEN WORKING HARD FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, UM, TO KIND OF SEE IT WHITTLED DOWN TO THESE 14 POINTS PLUS THE FOUR MANDATORY. UM, AND I DO THINK THAT TERM OF ENGAGEMENT IS USED PRETTY LOOSELY IN WORKING WITH THE DESIGN COMMISSION. UM, BUT I UNDERSTAND Y'ALL'S TIMELINE AND [00:55:01] THE PROCESS, AND YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT A, YOU KNOW, A DEADLINE HERE AT, AT THE END OF MAY TO IMPLY WITH. UM, SO YEAH. SO ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER HOWARD? JUST, JUST ONE MORE COMMENT. SO, UM, UH, BETWEEN THE, YOU KNOW, THE LAST DRAFT THAT I SAW AND, AND THIS MOST RECENT DRAFT, I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF, UH, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT LOOK A LOT ABOUT LIKE, LIKE THE CHANGES THAT, THAT OUR WORKING GROUP HAD BEEN, HAD BEEN THINKING ABOUT, UM, MAKING SUGGESTIONS FOR. SO, UM, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE DIRECTION HERE RIGHT AT THE END IS, IS LOOKING GOOD. I, I, I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN KIND OF MAKE AN EXTRA PUSH WITH, WITH PLANNING COMMISSION AND WE APPRECIATE THE, THE EFFORT THAT YOU'VE MADE KIND OF IN, IN RECENT DAYS. MM-HMM . YEAH. ANYBODY ELSE? WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND REALLY APPRECIATE THE UPDATE. THANK YOU. ITEM FOUR [4. Staff briefing regarding the inclusion of West Campus into the Downtown area. Presented by Shanisha Johnson, Austin Planning. Sponsors: Chair Salinas and Vice Chair Meiners. ] HAS BEEN POSTPONED AND ITEM [5. Discussion and action to recommend to City Council whether the project Fiesta Gardens, located at 2101 Jesse E. Segovia St., complies with the City Design and Sustainability Standards. Presented by Clayton Korte and Travis Greig of Clayton Korte. ] FIVE, UM, AND THEY WILL BE PRESENTING AT OUR NEXT MEETING, UH, FOR BOTH OF THOSE. UM, OH, SO WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEM NUMBER [6. Conduct officer elections for Design Commission Chair and Vice Chair. ] SIX. SO IT'S APRIL. SO WE ARE, UH, CONDUCTING OFFICER ELECTIONS FOR THE DESIGN COMMISSION FOR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR. AND I DON'T THINK WE'VE HAD ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT LEADING UP TO THIS, SO I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE'S INTERESTED IN BEING EITHER OF THOSE. CHAIR, IF I MAY? YES, PLEASE. YOU'LL NEED TO OPEN THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS. ALRIGHT. I'LL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS. THANK YOU CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, UH, VICE CHAIR MINS. I WOULD LIKE TO WITHDRAW ANY POTENTIAL FOR CANDIDACY AND GIVEN OPPORTUNITY TO SOMEONE ELSE, GIVEN THAT I'VE DONE THIS, I THINK THREE, UH, ELECTIONS IN A ROW. UM, AND I'VE BEEN REALLY IMPRESSED WITH, UH, THE CONTRIBUTIONS BY, UM, SO MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE, UH, ON THIS BOARD. UM, I, I THINK IN PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME WHEN I FIRST BECAME THE VICE CHAIR WAS THAT, UM, I KIND OF PROVIDED A COUNTERPOINT TO, UM, SOME OF THE INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS. UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, I THINK MOST OF YOU PROBABLY KNOW THAT I'M NOT, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE IN THE SAME FIELD, UM, AS MANY OF YOU. SO I, I FEEL LIKE I'M MORE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. UM, BUT I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, JUST IN, UM, WHAT I'VE SEEN, UM, I REALLY THINK COMMISSIONER, UH, HOWARD, UM, HAS DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, ARTICULATING AND DEMANDING A HIGH GRADE OF, UM, QUALITY FROM DEVELOPERS. UM, SO I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE HIM AS THE VICE CHAIR IF HE'S INTERESTED. COMMISSIONER HOWARD? UM, MY, MY TERM IS, IS WRAPPING UP, UM, WITH, UH, WITH, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, HARPER MADISON'S TERM MM-HMM . UM, AND SO I DON'T NECESSARILY WANNA TAKE ON A, A ELEVATED RESPONSIBILITY, UH, AND THEN, AND THEN LEAVE Y'ALL SO SHORTLY. IT'S GOOD TO KNOW. I, I, I MEAN, I WILL, I WOULD CONSIDER A, A SHORT TERM I SUPPOSE, BUT YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE SOME ALL RIGHT. CONTEXT. UM, AND VICE JEREMIAH, YOU, YOU, YOU SAID YOU'RE FOR SURE I'M HAPPY TO DO IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I, I JUST FEEL LIKE I, BASED ON THE PRESENTATION THAT WE JUST HAD, I DON'T KNOW, , YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT THE, THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR THIS COMMISSION. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, IF I WERE SOMEONE WHO WAS A DESIGN PROFESSIONAL, UM, I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE A TITLE, YOU KNOW, LIKE VICE CHAIR OR CHAIR ON MY RESUME. UM, FOR ME, IT DOESN'T REALLY DO ALL THAT MUCH FOR ME, UM, SINCE, YOU KNOW, I'M AN ENGINEER FOR, UH, APPLE MUSIC, UM, . SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANTED TO, TO JUST THROW IT OUT THERE THAT I THINK SOMEONE WHO REALLY IS INVOLVED IN THE INDUSTRY AND CAN SPEAK, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, UM, THE, AS THE, UH, THE COUNTERPOINT, UM, TO, TO SOME OF THE DEVELOPERS, UH, I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT. CHAIR, IF I MAY YES, PLEASE. SORRY. THANK YOU. AT, AT THE RISK OF BREAKING THE OUTMOST SUSPENSE ON THE NOMINATIONS MM-HMM . THERE IS A CERTAIN LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY THAT THE VICE CHAIR CARRIES. THE PERSON WOULD HAVE TO TAKE OVER THE DUTIES OF THE CHAIR, SHOULD THE CHAIR NEED TO BE ABSENT FOR ANY MEETING. YEAH. THAT INCLUDES BEING PRESENT PHYSICALLY AT COMMISSION MEETINGS IN ABSENCE OF THE CHAIR. SO THAT'S A STATE LAW REQUIREMENT, SO WE CAN GET AROUND THAT. UH, THE VICE CHAIR IS WELCOME TO JOIN VIRTUALLY [01:00:01] AS THE VICE CHAIR IS PRESENT TODAY VIRTUALLY. HOWEVER, WHEN TAKING OVER THE DUTIES OF THE CHAIR, THE PERSON WOULD HAVE TO BE IN PERSON LIVE HERE AT THE BUILDING TO CARRY ON THE DUTIES OF THE CHAIR. OTHER THAN THAT, IT'S PRETTY STANDARD PROCEDURE AND WE'RE HAPPY TO WORK WITH WHOMEVER GETS NOMINATED FOR BOTH CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, SO I'M JUST GONNA ASK, IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN, IN VICE CHAIRING? I WILL. I'LL, UH, I'LL ACCEPT THE NOMINATION FOR VICE CHAIR. ALL RIGHT, I WILL SECOND THAT. ALL RIGHT, SO WE'VE GOT, UH, A SECOND ON THE TABLE. SO, ALL IN FAVOR OF COMMISSIONER HOWARD, UH, BECOMING VICE CHAIR. I SAY AYE. BE OPPOSED. LOOKS UNANIMOUS. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. UM, SO THE CHAIR IS ALSO UP FOR GRABS IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN, IN BECOMING CHAIR. UM, I'M IN THE SAME BOAT AS, UH, AS VICE CHAIR MINORS OR COMMISSIONER MINORS NOW, UM, OF SAYING, YES, I'VE, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A FEW YEARS NOW, BUT I DO WANNA GIVE OPPORTUNITY FOR ANYONE WHO'S INTERESTED IN STEPPING UP AND BECOMING THE CHAIR. UM, COMMISSIONER GALLES. THANK YOU, CHAIR. I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, SAY, UH, A WORD IN FAVOR OF ONE OF OUR FELLOW COMMISSIONERS WHO'S NOT PRESENT TODAY. UH, IRONICALLY, UH, FOLLOWING THE STAFF COMMENT ON HAVING TO BE PRESENT. I DO FEEL AS THOUGH, UM, COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY HAS A LONGEVITY WITH THIS COMMISSION THAT WOULD WARRANT A NOMINATION FOR THE CHAIR POSITION. AND EVEN THOUGH SHE, SHE'S NOT HERE WITH US TODAY, UH, CAN'T SPEAK TO WHETHER SHE WOULD ACCEPT IT OR NOT, I WOULD FEEL VERY CONFIDENT WITH HER TAKING ON THAT ROLE AND WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT DOES HER TERM, UH, YOU KNOW, REMAIN. IS SHE ALSO IMMINENTLY ROLLING OFF AND, AND WOULD SHE BE ABLE TO TAKE ON THAT POSITION? THAT'S A GOOD POINT. UM, IN THE EVENT THAT SOMEONE IS NOT HERE YES. CHAIR, IF I MAY. YES, PLEASE. THAT'S DIFFICULT CHAIR. IT'S JUST, IT'S COMMON PROFESSIONAL COURTESY TO HAVE THE PERSON ACCEPT THE NOMINATION. YEAH. UM, I'M NOT SURE HOW WE CAN ADVISE YOU ON THAT FRAME. YEAH. COULD, YES. IS IT POSSIBLE TO DO DELAY, UH, NOMINATION FOR THE NEXT, FOR THE, UH, A FOLLOWING MEETING? THAT'S WHAT I WAS WONDERING. CAN WE, AND, AND IT MAY, UM, BE CONNECTED TO A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM THAT I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS AS WELL. OKAY. UM, LET'S SEE WHAT THESE GUYS, SO, CHAIR, IF I MAY? YES, PLEASE. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT DOCUMENTATION THAT DOES REQUIRE THE PERSON TO ACCEPT THE NOMINATION, SO, OKAY. SHOULD THE COMMISSION AT THIS TIME WISH TO NOMINATE COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY? YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO THAT TONIGHT. NOW YOU COULD POSTPONE ELECTION OF A CHAIR TO YOUR MAY 18TH REGULAR MEETING. ALRIGHT. WHERE HOPEFULLY YOU HAVE A BROADER REPRESENTATION OF COMMISSIONS. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER HOWARD. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO, UH, POSTPONE TO OUR MOST IMMEDIATE FOLLOWING MEETING. OKAY. UH, I SECOND THAT. UH, ALL IN FAVOR, POSTPONING THIS ITEM. ALL RIGHT. UNANIMOUS, THE CHAIR JUST CLARIFIES THE ELECTION OF THE CHAIR YES. FOR THE ELECTION OF THE CHAIR. OUR NEXT [7. Discussion and action to appoint a member of the Design Commission to serve as the Commission’s representative on the Downtown Commission. Sponsors: Chair Salinas and Vice Chair Meiners.] ITEM IS THE DISCUSSION AND ACTION TO APPOINT A MEMBER OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND SERVE AS THE, UH, REPRESENTATIVE ON THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF US HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT WHAT THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION DOES AND IF THEY'RE INTERESTED IN BEING THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THIS COMMISSION ON THAT COMMITTEE. UM, OR IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, UH, COMMISSIONER GALLES IS HERE AND SHE COULD, UH, SPEAK TO HER EXPERIENCE ON THAT. UM, IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN SERVING ON THE, UH, DOWNTOWN COMMISSION? [01:05:06] ALL RIGHT. IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GONNA POSTPONE THIS ONE, TOO. WE'RE GONNA KEEP, WE'LL BRING THIS UP AGAIN NEXT MONTH. WE'LL NEED A MOTION CHAIR, IF YOU DON'T MIND. WHAT'S THAT? WE'LL NEED A MOTION TO POSTPONE THE ITEM, PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. I'D LIKE AT LEAST AN ACTION ITEM, SIR. OKAY. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO POSTPONE THIS ITEM TO OUR NEXT MEETING. SECOND THAT. ALL RIGHT. ALL IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT. WE'RE DOING GOOD TODAY. ALL RIGHT. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ] COMMISSIONER HOWARD, I HAVE AN AGENDA ITEM LIKE I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE. ALRIGHT. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, MOVE THAT WE CALL A SPECIAL MEETING, UM, UH, AS, AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE TO, UH, BEFORE, UH, THE DESIGN STANDARDS GO TO PLANNING COMMISSION. UM, SO IDEALLY, I THINK THAT WOULD BE NEXT WEEK, THE 12TH. I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC DAY IN MIND, BUT I THINK, YEAH, LET'S, LET'S SAY, WELL HOLD ON. TODAY IS THE, THE, THIS 27TH. SO NEXT WEEK WOULD BE THE FOURTH. AND WHAT DAY IS IT GOING TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION? IT'S ON THE, ON 12TH. IT'S GOING ON THE 12TH. THE, I SEE IT'S ON A SUNDAY. NO, IN APRIL. YEAH. SO THAT WOULD BE THE TUESDAY FOLLOWING CLARIFY. MAY PARDON? YES. JUST TO CLARIFY, THE COMMISSION CANNOT MAKE A MOTION FOR A SPECIAL CALL MEETING. ONLY THE CHAIR CAN CALL A SPECIAL CALL MEETING. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION FOR A SPECIAL CALL MEETING ON OPEN FOR DISCUSSION. IF WE WANT TO DO IT ON A MONDAY, THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE NEXT MONDAY THE FOURTH, OR IT COULD BE THE 11TH. I WOULD RECOMMEND THE, THE FOURTH SO THAT WE HAVE TIME AHEAD OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING ON THE 12TH TO DO ANY COMMUNICATION WITH THE WORKING GROUP OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION. YEAH. I SECOND THAT. THE FOURTH. THE FOURTH. OKAY. SO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SPECIAL CALL MEETING REQUEST TO A SPECIAL CALL MEETING ON, UH, MAY 4TH. UM, SO DO WE NEED A VOTE ON THAT? YOU DON'T NEED A VOTE ON THAT. YOU CAN JUST CALL THE MEETING. WE'LL NEED AN ITEM TO PUT ON THE AGENDA. WHAT, OKAY. SPEC SPECIFIC ITEM. SPECIFIC ITEM IS TO, UH, TO DRAFT THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S REVIEW FOR ON THE DENSITY BONUS, UH, PLAN DESIGN STANDARDS. THE DESIGN STANDARDS. I HAVE A QUESTION. UH, SO YOUR, YOUR MICROPHONE COMMISSIONER PLEASE. YEAH. SO, UM, WE'RE GOING TO MEET ON THE FOURTH AND ARE WE GOING TO DRAFT IN THE MEETING, OR, OR IS THERE A POSSIBILITY THAT A WORKING COMMITTEE CAN ACTUALLY CREATE SOMETHING AND THEN HAVE THIS MEETING LOOK AT IT? YEAH. MR. HOWARD? UM, YEAH, THE, UM, THE WORKING GROUP HAS BEEN WORKING ON AN ALTERNATIVE DRAFT TO PROPOSE TO THE DESIGN, THE PLANNING COMMISSION WORKING GROUP, OR THE PLANNING COMMISSION. AND WE HAVE ACTUALLY MET WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION WORKING GROUP ONCE ALREADY TO DISCUSS THEM. AND THERE'S A LOT OF SUPPORT AROUND THEM. AND SO I THINK WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS PROB PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE, UH, AN UPDATED SORT OF DRAFT OF WHERE WE'RE AT. THAT'S A WORKING DRAFT VERY MUCH, UM, AND POTENTIALLY, UH, A RED LINE, UM, OF THE EXISTING DRAFT. UM, JUST IDENTIFY LIKE KEY ISSUES THAT WE'RE FINDING SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THAT FOR Y'ALL TO, TO REVIEW AHEAD OF THE MEETING. AND THEN WE CAN GO OVER JUST, UH, THE HIGH LEVEL SORT OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE IN, UH, THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THAT ALTERNATE DRAFT AND, UM, AND WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION GROUP SO FAR. ALL RIGHT. SO, COMMISSIONER HOWARD, I HAVE A SECOND AGENDA ITEM FOR THIS, FOR THIS MEETING. UM, COULD, COULD I PROPOSE THAT? YEAH. COULD HE PROPOSE AN AGENDA ITEM FOR THAT MEETING? NO. ONLY I CAN, CAN I ACCEPT HIM WITH AN IDEA? ALL RIGHT. , POTENTIALLY WE COULD, IF MCKENNEY CAN MAKE IT, PERHAPS WE CAN, UH, WE CAN, UM, UH, NOMINATE AS SHE CAN ACCEPT A NOMINATION OR, OR REFUSE A NOMINATION TO BE THE CHAIR. CAN WE MOVE THAT? AND INSTEAD OF OUR NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING, MOVE IT TO THE 12TH. SO MOVE THE, THE, UH, YEAH, MOVE THE, UH, 12TH, I'M SORRY, THE, THE 18TH WAS WHEN WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE OUR, FOR THE 25TH 18TH, UM, TO MOVE OUR NOMINATION OF THE DESIGN, UH, OR COMMISSION CHAIR TO THE FOURTH. [01:10:01] YES. I HAVE JUST ONE MORE AGENDA ITEM. I, I, UM, I INTENDED WHEN I MADE THIS, UH, NOT FOR, NOT FOR, UH, THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, BUT FOR FUTURE, UM, FOR FUTURE MEETING FUTURE MEETINGS, I INTENDED TO HAVE A, UM, A REOCCURRING AGENDA ITEM FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION, UH, OF, UH, TO DISCUSS, UM, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE URBAN DESIGN, UM, GUIDELINES. UM, AND I, AND I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THAT ON THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, UH, SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE, CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION. I THINK IT, THROUGH THIS CONVERSATION WITH, WITH STAFF, UH, IT HAS BEEN VERY CLEAR THAT NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE THIS BIG HURDLE OF GETTING THESE DESIGN STANDARDS FOR THE PRIVATE SIDE, BUT ALSO, UH, GREAT STREETS IS DOING A MASSIVE, UH, UH, UH, REWRITE RIGHT NOW. AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE DESIGN GUIDELINES AND THE INTENTION THERE IS BEING INTEGRATED THERE. SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A REOCCURRING AGENDA ITEM TO CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF ALL OF THAT HARD WORK WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST HANDFUL OF YEARS. OKAY. AND THIS IS JUST GENERAL, THIS DOESN'T NEED TO HAPPEN AT OUR NEXT MEETING, THIS CURRENT IN GENERAL. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO DID Y'ALL GET THAT? SURE. IF I MAY? YES. YES. WE'LL DOUBLE CHECK WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE. THEY DON'T ALLOW US TO PUT REOCCURRING ITEMS. OKAY. SO WE INDEFINITE. SO YOU'LL NEED A SPECIFIC TIMEFRAME TIED TO A SPECIFIC EITHER COUNCIL DIRECTIVE THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON. AND SO, UH, WE'LL CHECK ON THE WORDING ON THAT AND, AND GET BACK TO YOUR CHAIR. SO YOU WANT THAT ON THE SPECIAL CALL OR THE REGULAR MEETING? I THINK IT, YEAH, WE COULD DO IT ON THE REGULAR. OKAY. THAT'S, THANK YOU CHAIR. COMMISSIONER GALLES, YOU HAD MENTIONED EARLIER IN OUR MEETING ABOUT, UH, ANOTHER ITEM BASED ON THE PUBLIC INPUT. THAT'S RIGHT. UH, THANK YOU CHAIR. BASED ON THE EARLIER PUBLIC INPUT REGARDING ALI ACCESS, I WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT, UH, THAT AS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM FOR OUR UPCOMING MEETING. NOT NECESSARILY SPECIAL CALLED, BUT THE SUBSEQUENT MEETING. AND THIS IS JUST TO DISCUSS THAT, OR DO WE WANNA BRING SOMEONE IN TO TALK ABOUT IT? IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE STAFF, UH, RECOMMEND AND, YOU KNOW, TWO REFERENCES, I THINK WERE PUT FORWARD. I DON'T BELIEVE IT WOULD BE LAUREN STANLEY, BUT CERTAINLY SOMEBODY WHO COULD SPEAK TO THE CONCERNS OF THE GENTLEMAN WHO PRESENTED TO US TODAY. I THINK THIS, UH, CONVERSATION ABOUT ALLY ACCESS AND PROMOTING, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, USE OF THAT SPACE FOR ECONOMIC VI VITALITY HAS COME UP MULTIPLE TIMES IN THIS COMMISSION. AND SO IF THERE WAS, UH, SOMEBODY FROM STAFF WHO COULD TALK TO THE PROCESS AND WE CAN THEN FOLLOW UP WITH A DISCUSSION, I THINK IT WOULD BE WARRANTED AT OUR UPCOMING MEETING. OKAY. YEAH. UH, JORGE, THANK YOU CHAIR. SO WE'LL, WE'LL NEED A MORE SPECIFIC POSTING LANGUAGE. WE CAN WORK WITH EITHER COMMISSIONER GILLES OR YOURSELF CHAIR, JUST SAYING DISCUSSION ON ALLEYS IS TOO BROAD. YEAH. AND THAT'LL GET YANK FROM THE AGENDA. IS THERE ANYONE WITHIN STAFF THAT CAN TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT ALLEYS OR ANY KIND OF FUTURE PLANNING ABOUT ALLEYS? WE, WE CAN INQUIRE WITH, UH, TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS AND, AND EXTEND AN INVITATION. OKAY. HOWEVER, THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE AVAILABLE RIGHT. FOR YOU. SO WE'LL WORK BOTH ON TRYING TO GET THIS, WHICH DATE DID YOU WANT? CHAIR OR COMMISSIONER GILLIS THE ITEM, I THINK IN OUR, WHICH DATE? OH, I GUESS, WHICH, WHICH DATE WERE YOU THINKING ON THE SPECIAL CALL OR THE REGULAR? UH, I SUGGEST, UH, WE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION IN OUR REGULAR, UH, CALLED MEETING. I THINK OUR SPECIAL CALLED MEETING WILL BE FOCUSED HEAVILY ON, UH, THE CONVERSATION REGARDING THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES. AND SO WE CAN, UH, HOST THIS CONVERSATION AT THE NEXT UPCOMING REGULAR DESIGN COMMISSION MEETING. OKAY. SO WE'LL MAKE AN ATTEND CHAIR TO GET STAFF TO ATTEND ON THE MAY 18TH. WE CAN'T GUARANTEE WE WILL BE EXTENDING THAT INVITATION THIS WEEK. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND, AND HE HAD BROUGHT UP ANOTHER ITEM, WHICH WAS THE PLAZA SALTILLO. UM, IS THERE AND A GROUP THAT WE COULD TALK TO ABOUT THE STATUS OF THAT, OR, WELL, THAT IT WASN'T VERY SPECIFIC AS TO WHAT ACTION THE PERSON WAS SEEKING FROM THIS COMMISSION ON PLAZA SALTILLO. I, SO THAT'S A CONSTRUCTION CAPITAL PROJECT THAT CAP METRO IS WORKING ON. WE CAN EXTEND AN INVITATION TO CAP METRO TO COME SPEAK ABOUT THAT. YEAH, I THINK JUST TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE, BECAUSE AS IT WAS, AS, AS I UNDERSTOOD IT, THE ACTIVITY THAT USED TO HAPPEN THERE OBVIOUSLY IS, HAS HALTED AND THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PROCESS IS, IF IT'S GONNA COME BACK OR, SURE. SO WE'LL MAKE THAT, WE'LL EXTEND THE INVITATION TO CAB METRO. OKAY. AND THAT'LL BE ON JUST OUR REGULAR MEETING. WE'LL TRY FOR THE 18TH CHAIR, BUT IT'S, IT'S EXTREMELY CHALLENGING SURE. [01:15:01] IN A THREE WEEK TIMEFRAME TO GET BOTH TPW AND CAB METRO TO COME AT THE MAY MEETING. USUALLY THERE'S A SUBSTANTIAL LEAD TIME TO PREPARE MATERIALS AND SO ON. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU. OH, LOOK'S HERE. COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY. I'VE BEEN HEARING EVERYTHING YOU GUYS ARE SAYING FOR LIKE THE LAST HALF HOUR. I JUST, OH, WELL, GOOD. I HOPE YOU'RE, I HOPE YOU'RE EXCITED TO BE HERE. CHAIR, IF I MAY, YES. IF YOU WOULD NOTE THE TIME MR. WHEN COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY WAS ON SCREEN, PLEASE, ON THE RECORD, UH, I NOTICED YOU AT SEVEN 20. SO, UM, THANK YOU. CAN WE GO BACK TO OUR ITEM? YOU'LL NEED A MOTION TO RECONSIDER THE ITEM CHAIR. ALL RIGHT. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO RECONSIDER THE ITEM FOR POSTPONEMENT OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION CHAIR. I'LL SECOND. ALL RIGHT. WE NEED A VOTE ON THIS. ALL RIGHT. ALL IN FAVOR? ALL. ALL RIGHT. SO, UM, COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY, UH, IT'S TIME FOR US TO VOTE FOR OFFICER ELECTIONS. UH, YOUR NAME HAS BEEN, YOU HAVE BEEN NOMINATED BY COMMISSIONER GALLES TO BE CHAIR, AND WE JUST WANTED TO SEE IF THAT IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN TAKING ON. SURE. ALL RIGHT. I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION AND WE'LL GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON IT. ALL IN FAVOR? I GET TO VOTE FOR MYSELF, RIGHT? YEAH. OH, YEAH. ALL RIGHT. IT'LL SEE UNANIMOUS. CONGRATULATIONS, CHAIR. ALRIGHT, WE'LL SEE YOU AT THE NEXT MEETING. UH, WE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAUGHT THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING DATE MONDAY. YEAH, I, YEAH, KEVIN TEXT ME. OKAY. SHE'S ACTUALLY CHAIRS OF THIS MOMENT. YEAH, BUT HOW SHE DO, HOW IS IT OKAY FOR HER TO DO IT REMOTELY? BUT THE VICE CHAIR WOULD'VE TO TAKE OVER 'CAUSE SHE NEEDS TO BE PRESENT. IT'S ALL YOU VICE CHAIR. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? WE'RE CONTINUING WITH THE AGENDA. OH, OKAY. UM, UH, IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION. OH, HERE, UH, YEAH, COMMISSIONER, I DO. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD A, AN ITEM TO OUR FUTURE MEETING ON MAY 18TH. UM, I'D LIKE TO, UM, HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT CLARIFYING AND FI AND TIGHTENING, UM, THE PURPOSE AND MANDATE OF THIS COMMISSION. I FEEL LIKE, UH, WITH THE REMOVAL OF DESIGN COMMISSION FROM THE PROCESS OF APPROVING THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS, UM, I THINK IT CHANGES AS AN ADVISORY BOARD TO, UH, THE CITY COMMISSIONERS. UM, THE CITY COUNCIL. WE, WE'LL NEED A CO-SPONSOR FOR THAT. I'LL, I'LL COSPONSOR THAT. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, UH, VOTE EVERYONE IN FAVOR OF HAVING THIS, DO WE VOTE ON THE ITEM? WE DON'T HAVE VOTE ON THE ITEM THERE. THERE'S NO NEED FOR THAT. IT'S, UH, I'LL, I'LL LEARN QUICK. UH, ANY, ANY OTHER ITEMS IF, IF I MAY PLACE, JUST TO CLARIFY. SO THE, THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE SETS THE PURPOSE AND MISSION OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION AT A FUTURE AGENDA WHERE THIS ITEM GETS POSTED. YOU'RE WELCOME TO DISCUSS THE CODE LANGUAGE AND PROPOSE CHANGES TO THE COUNCIL AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE WHO'S IN CHARGE OF SETTING THE MISSION SCOPE, UM, OF EACH APPOINTED COUNCIL APPOINTED BOARD AND COMMISSION. SO YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE CHANGES BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE A CODE AMENDMENT, BUT YOU CAN MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL'S AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE TO MAKE ANY CHANGES YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE FUTURE REGARDING THE CONSTRUCT, THE MISSION, THE SCOPE OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION. THANK YOU. VICE CHAIR. THANK YOU. UM, YEAH, THAT, THAT ALL MAKES SENSE. I THINK, I THINK IT'S, UM, WORTHY OF CONVERSATION WHETHER WE MAKE ANY SORT OF FORMAL RECOMMENDATIONS RIGHT. BEYOND HERE JUST TO DISCUSS AMONGST OURSELVES, WHAT, HOW DOES OUR ROLE CHANGE IN THIS LANDSCAPE? EXACTLY. YEP. THAT MAKES SENSE. PERFECT. RECOGNIZE THE SERVICE OF THE CHAIR AND THE VICE CHAIR. AND THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO PEOPLE I'VE KNOWN FOR MY SHORT TERM ON THIS COMMITTEE. BUT, UH, I FELT THAT THEY HAVE HANDLED VERY PROFESSIONALLY, UH, AND, UH, I FELT THAT I WAS A PRODUCTIVE MEMBER EVEN THOUGH I CAME COMPLETELY NEW WITH NO BACKGROUND ON THE, UM, ON THE AREA THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR. I AGREE. ANY OTHER, UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS, ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION BEFORE WE CLOSE? ALRIGHT, WELL, UM, I WILL CLOSE THIS MEETING AT 7 25. MOTION TO, [01:20:01] YEAH. OKAY. THAT'S FINE. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU. THINK SO. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.