[CALL TO ORDER]
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UM, 6:02 PM UH, FOR OUR MAY 18TH DESIGN COMMISSION MEETING.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY.
WE WILL MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE DESIGN COMMISSION SPECIAL CALLED MEETING ON MAY 4TH.
UH, LES DOESN'T SEEM TO BE HERE.
THERE'S COMMISSIONER GILLIS PRESENT.
SPEAKER, UH, CHAIRMAN MCKENNEY.
I MEAN, NO, SORRY, COMMISSIONER.
AND COMMISSIONER CARROLL PRESENT.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
RIGHT.SO WE WILL MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE DESIGN COMMISSION SPECIAL CALLED MEETING ON MAY 4TH.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? YEAH, NO SECOND.
ALL IN ANY DISCUSSION REGARDING THE MINUTES FROM THE SOCIAL CALLED MEETING? OKAY.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT.
[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.]
REGARDING ITEMS TWO THROUGH SEVEN, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO START WITH ITEM FIVE.UH, IF WE CAN JUST, 'CAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE, UH, VISITING FOR THAT ONE.
SO IF WE CAN START WITH ITEM FIVE, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND ACTION TO RECOMMEND TO CITY COUNCIL.
WHETHER THE PROJECT FIESTA GARDENS LOCATED AT 2101 JESSE E SEGOVIA STREET, COMPLIES WITH THE CITY DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS, UH, PRESENTED BY CLAYTON KTE AND TRAVIS GREG OF CLAYTON CORTE.
YEAH, YOU CAN, UH, YOU, YOU ALL CAN, UM, SIT UP THERE IF YOU'D LIKE OR WE CAN.
UH, I AM THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR FIESTA GARDENS COMPLEX REHABILITATION PROJECT, AND I AM INTRODUCING THE PROJECT ON BEHALF OF CITY OF AUSTIN PARK AND RECREATION.
UM, THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON PRESERVING, RESTORING, AND REHABILITATING THE EXISTING FIESTA GARDENS COMPLEX IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE COUNCIL APPROVED 2014 HOLY SHORES, EDDO RENDON SENIOR PARK AT FESTIVAL BEACH VISION PLAN.
AND THE, THE WORK, UM, BRINGS THE HISTORIC FACILITIES UP TO CURRENT CODE AND ENHANCES THE USE OF THE SITE.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL LEAVE THE REST TO THE PROJECT ARCHITECTS FROM CLAYTON KTI AND NATHAN QUEING IS HERE, AND AS TRAVIS GREG AS WELL.
NATHAN QUIRING FROM CLAYTON KTI.
UH, AND THANK YOU COMMISSION FOR REARRANGING THE AGENDA THAT WAS VERY GRACIOUS OF YOU.
UM, AS LESLIE SAID, THIS IS A HISTORIC, UH, REHABILITATION PROJECT, UH, FIESTA GARDENS.
UH, IT'S A HISTORIC SITE AND FOR STRUCTURES, UM, AND I GUESS SOMEONE IS IN CONTROL OF THE PRESENTATION.
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UM, SO WE'VE GOT, UH, THE CHARGE FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN.UH, NEW NAME IS AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION, WHICH I'M STILL GETTING USED TO.
UH, INCREASE, UH, USABILITY AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THE PARK AND BRING IT UP TO CURRENT CODE STANDARDS.
UH, BEEN GOING THROUGH SOME NEGLECT.
IT IS HISTORIC PROPERTY, UH, DATES FROM THE SIXTIES.
UH, IT MIGHT BE WORTH, UH, THE, THE QUICK MENTION.
UH, THERE WAS SOME CONTENTION AROUND THE EARLY HISTORY OF THIS PARK.
IT WAS A BIT OF A IMPOSITION ON THE EAST AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE IT WAS BUILT, INVOLVED, DISPLACING FOLKS, PRIMARILY HISPANIC, UH, AND, UH, THEN WAS ITSELF A LITTLE BIT OF A DISNEY WORLD IFICATION OF A, OF A HISPANIC COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE.
UH, THAT'S PART OF THE HISTORY OF THE PARK.
UH, WE'RE LEANING INTO THAT IN TERMS OF INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WILL BE AT THE PARK, BUT WE'RE NOT TRYING TO CHANGE ANY OF THAT AS PART OF THIS PROJECT.
SO THE, UM, HAVE Y'ALL ALREADY, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT HAVING GONE THROUGH THIS PROCESS BEFORE.
ARE THE COMMISSIONERS FAMILIAR WITH THIS PACKAGE? HOW, HOW INVOLVED SHOULD I BE HERE? UH, YOU AS INVOLVED AS YOU'D LIKE, WE ALL RECEIVED THIS AS PART OF BACKUP FROM, UH, THE, IT'S ALL POSTED FOR PUBLIC RECORD.
SO WE HAVE SEEN IT AS PART OF THE BACKUP.
SO I, I WON'T GO THROUGH THE NITTY GRITTY.
I'LL TRY TO KEEP IT A BRIEF PRESENTATION BRIEF AND, UH, ASSUME THAT Y'ALL CAN ASK QUESTIONS IF NECESSARY.
UM, SO PRIMARILY OUR STRATEGIES THAT ARE GONNA BE LISTED HERE ARE THOSE REHABILITATION STRATEGIES.
AND, UH, OUR GOALS INCLUDE BEING MORE CONNECTED TO THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY.
UM, ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT HAS COME UP, UM, AND AS A, A BRIEF REFRESHER, UH, THIS PROJECT BEGAN IN 2019.
IT, WE DID APPEAR BEFORE DESIGN COMMISSION ONCE BEFORE SEVERAL YEARS AGO, UH, WITH DIFFERENT STAFF MEMBERS AND DIFFERENT COMMISSIONERS AS WELL, I THINK FOR THE MOST PART.
UH, AND THE PROJECT WENT ON HOLD DUE TO, UH, FUNDING ISSUES.
UM, BUT, UH, THAT WAS RELEVANT, UH, BECAUSE OF THE, THE CONNECTION STRATEGIES.
SO WE ARE TRYING, ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT WAS THIS, UH, BEING A RESERVATION PARK.
AND THAT IS SORT OF THE WAY THIS PARK HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR, FOR YEARS.
AND THE MANDATE OF THIS PROJECT IS NOT TO CHANGE THE OPERATIONS OF IT, IT WAS JUST TO GIVE IT THE HISTORIC REHABILITATION THAT IT NEEDED.
UH, WE HAVE MADE EFFORTS TO BE MORE CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO THERE IS THE ISSUE OF, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH IT NOW, UH, THE STREET FRONTAGE IS A SOLID CEDAR FENCE.
UH, SO WE HAVE TRIED TO, UH, WELL, WE ARE GOING TO REMOVE THAT.
THERE WILL BE MUCH GREATER VISIBILITY INTO THE SITE.
THERE WILL STILL BE A FENCE AT THE, THE MAIN ENTRANCE, BUT IT WILL BE A, A TRANSPARENT FENCE.
AND THE BUILDINGS THEMSELVES WILL NOT BE HIDDEN BY THAT FENCE ANY LONGER.
AND WE'RE CREATING SOME, UH, LITTLE POCKET GARDENS AND, UH, BEAUTIFUL PLANTINGS AND SHADE TREES SO THAT THE STREET EXPERIENCE, UH, WILL BE FRIENDLIER TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
LESLIE HAS, HAS TOLD YOU ABOUT THESE GOALS ALREADY AND THE ENHANCEMENT OF USE, UH, QUICK REMINDER OF THE SITE.
I THINK YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH IT.
UH, WE DO HAVE SOME TRANSPORTATION, NOT AS CLOSE AS WE WOULD LIKE, BUT, UH, MAYBE THREE EIGHTHS OF A MILE AWAY TO THE NEAREST STATION THERE.
UH, AND HERE'S OUR, OUR PRIMARY SITE.
UH, YOU'LL SEE WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT ON THE STREET.
THE STREET FRONT IS TO THE NORTH, THE TOP OF THE PAGE THERE.
THERE ARE TWO MEANS OF, UH, TRAVERSING THE STREET FRONT OF THE SITE.
UH, THERE IS A CONCRETE SIDEWALK, UH, AS REQUIRED BY, YOU KNOW, THE STANDARD COA DETAIL.
UH, AND THEN THERE'S THE MORE MEANDERING PATH.
AND THAT WAS PART OF WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO AS A, UH, AMENITY FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND SO THAT'S GOT SOME LITTLE DG AREAS THAT ARE, UH, WITH BENCHES, BIKE RACKS, PLANTINGS, LITTLE GARDENS THERE, AND CONNECTED WITH THE PERVIOUS PAVER CONNECTORS THERE.
UH, PHASE TWO OF THE PROJECTS WILL INCLUDE OPENING UP THE MERCADO BUILDING, AND WE'LL SHOW YOU THAT IN JUST A SECOND, UH, TO BE COMMUNITY ROOMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY IN THE SLATE OF FUNDING.
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THE FINALIZED PROJECT WOULD BE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.UH, PHASE ONE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE SOLIDLY FIGURED OUT THAN THAN PHASE TWO AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT, AND I'LL GLOSS OVER THAT QUICKLY.
UH, PLANTINGS, UH, NATIVE PLANTINGS, PART OF THE STRATEGY FOR THE SITE IS REMOVING THE INVASIVE PLANTS THAT EXIST THERE AND REPLACING THEM WITH MORE APPROPRIATE SELECTIONS.
AND THEN OUR FOUR STRUCTURES, THE FIRST AND THE ONE THAT, UH, IS MOST HEAVILY MODIFIED IS THE DINING HALL.
IF YOU'VE BEEN THERE, THE, THE BIG RECTANGLE IS THE ONE THAT EXISTS.
AND A QUARTER OF THAT FLOOR PLAN IS TAKEN UP BY SERVICES.
SO IT'S GOT RESTROOMS, UH, MECHANICAL ROOM, AND SOME STORAGE.
SO IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS BUILDING A LITTLE BIT MORE USABLE, WE ARE REMOVING ALL OF THAT.
SO WE HAVE THAT NICE, WONDERFUL RECTANGLE OF AN EVENT SPACE.
AND THEN YOU SEE THE NEW CONSTRUCTION THERE OFF TO THE RIGHT.
UH, YOU WILL ALSO SEE WHY WE DON'T COMPLY WITH SOME OF THE, UH, STANDARDS THAT ARE NORMALLY REQUESTED.
FOR INSTANCE, BEING ALL THE WAY, UM, UP CLOSER TO THE STREET AS A HISTORIC ADDITION.
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS BE A LITTLE BIT, UH, SUB SUBSERVIENT OR A LITTLE SECONDARY TO THE MAIN STRUCTURE, SO WE DON'T WANT TO GET IN FRONT OF IT.
AND WE HAVE A LITTLE GASKET THERE THAT CONNECTS THE TWO.
AND THEN ON THE BACKSIDE, WE COULDN'T ACTUALLY MOVE FARTHER AWAY FROM THE STREET BECAUSE THERE'S THE A HUNDRED FOOT WATER QUALITY, UH, LINE THERE, WHICH WE ARE JUST BUTTING RIGHT UP AGAINST.
AND SOME OF THE EXISTING STRUCTURES ARE ACTUALLY WITHIN THAT.
AND YOU SEE HERE THAT THAT STREET FRONTAGE, UH, THE WHITE IS THE EXISTING BUILDING.
IT'S CURRENTLY YELLOW, BUT IT WAS ORIGINALLY AN OFF-WHITE.
AND WE'RE GONNA GO BACK TO THAT.
AND THEN OUR NEW ADDITION IS THERE OFF TO THE LEFT, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW IT'S ATTEMPTING TO NOT DISTRACT FROM THE ORIGINAL HISTORIC BUILDING.
AND THEN FROM THE PLAZA SIDE, THIS IS WITHIN THE SITE, THE, UH, THE SAME TWO BUILDINGS THERE, AND JUST SOME PRETTY PICTURES OF WHAT IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
THE SECOND STRUCTURE IS THE MERCADO.
THIS ONE IS CURRENTLY OCCUPIED BY PAR, UH, AP R STAFF, UH, AND WILL REMAIN SO.
AND ALL WE'RE GONNA DO RIGHT NOW IS MAKE REPAIRS, UH, AND IMPROVE THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS, WHICH ARE VERY OUTDATED.
THE FINAL PLAN WOULD BE FOR THESE TO BECOME COMMUNITY ROOMS, BUT NOT PART OF THE CURRENT PROJECT.
UH, THIRD STRUCTURE IS THIS BANDSTAND.
UH, AND THIS PHOTO IS NOW, UH, A LITTLE OUTDATED AS THE STRUCTURE HAS CONTINUED TO DETERIORATE AND THE WOOD ELEMENTS HAVE ALL BEEN REMOVED FOR SAFETY.
SO ALL THAT'S LEFT RIGHT NOW IS THAT CONCRETE SLAB.
UH, BUT OUR, OUR PLAN IS TO, UH, REBUILD THE STRUCTURE THAT LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO THAT, BUT WITH SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN HOW IT'S ACCESSED.
AND THEN FINALLY, IS THIS GRANDSTAND AND THE BIG INTERVENTION THERE IS ADDING SOME ACCESSIBILITY.
SO THERE'S A, A RAMP ALONG THE BACKSIDE THERE.
AND THEN WE'VE REMOVED SEVERAL ROWS OF BLEACHERS IN ORDER TO DO A FLAT AREA THERE FOR WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY.
AND THAT'S THE GIST OF THE PROJECT.
WELL, THIS IS A, UM, DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM.
SO, UH, THIS IS THE MOMENT TO CALL FOR A MOTION ON COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS.
WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER SALINAS.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? WE HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER.
HE'S, UH, AND SO, ANY DISCUSSION RELATED TO THIS ITEM? COMMISSIONER HOWARD? I HAD, UH, SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, PRIMARILY HOW THE BUILDINGS INTERFACE WITH THE STREET.
UM, UH, FIRST THE, I NOTICED THE, THE NEW SIDEWALK Y'ALL ARE INSTALLING IS RIGHT ON THE CURB.
UM, RATHER THAN BEING SEPARATED FROM THE CURB WITH A PLANTING ZONE, UM, YOU KNOW, GENERALLY THE PLANTING ZONE IS BETWEEN THE CURB AND THE SIDEWALK TO HELP, UH, IMPROVE KIND OF, UM, UH, SHELTER THE, THE PEDESTRIANS A LITTLE BIT MORE FROM THE, THE DANGER OR PERCEIVED DANGER AND NOISE OF THE ROAD.
UM, SO THAT'S FIRST, THE FIRST ONE.
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UM, SECOND, UM, I, THERE'S, THERE DIDN'T SEEM TO BE A LOT OF WINDOWS ON THE, THE NEW ADDITION.I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD KIND OF TALK ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND, UM, AND KIND OF THE NECESS NECESSITY FOR THAT.
UM, AND THEN YOU, YOU DID MENTION A FENCE AT THE BEGINNING AND HOW THERE YOU THERE WOULD BE A NEW FENCE ERECTED.
AND IF YOU COULD JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, THE NATURE OF THAT, UH, AND DESIGN OF THAT FENCE.
UH, FIRST ON THE SIDEWALKS, AND THAT WAS AN AREA OF A LOT OF DISCUSSION.
THE, WE FELT LIKE THE, UH, BETTER SOLUTION WAS CREATING A LARGER SPACE, UH, BETWEEN THE BUILDING, UH, OR IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING, UH, AND THE SIDEWALK TO TRY TO TRY TO CREATE A SPOT THAT PEOPLE COULD BE, AGAIN, THIS WAS THE COMPROMISE WITH THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR SAYING, HEY, WE WANT TO GIVE YOU, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE POCKET GARDEN THAT YOU CAN BE IN, UH, AND NOT BISECTING THAT WITH THE SIDEWALK.
SO THE INTENT OF THAT WAS TO MAKE MORE SPACE FOR THERE TO BE THESE LITTLE, UH, SEATING AREAS AND SPOTS WHERE ONE COULD BE.
UM, WE HAVE, AND I, I NOTICED, UH, ON THE SITE PLAN THAT Y'ALL HAVE, UH, FOR ABOUT HALF OF THE SITE, WE HAVE MOVED THAT SIDEWALK DOWN INTO THE EXACT SPOT THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TO GIVE THAT BUFFER.
UH, SO THAT'S ALL IN FRONT OF THE MERCADO AND OVER THERE.
UH, AND IT'S ONLY IN FRONT OF THE DINING HALL THAT WE'RE SHOWING IT UP AGAINST THE STREET.
UM, BUT YES, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THAT IS, UH, NOT, UH, PER THE LETTER OF THE, UH, UH, IN OUR, IN OUR SITE, THE SITE PLAN, AT LEAST THAT I'M LOOKING AT, UH, THE SIDE SIDEWALKS ALONG THE CURB FOR THE ENTIRE STRETCH.
AND AS WE, UH, EVERYTHING WEST OF THE, THOSE TWO ACCESSIBLE SPOTS, WHICH WE SHOULD PROBABLY MENTION, UH, WOULDN'T REALLY WANT TO BE THERE PER THE RULES, IS EITHER, UM, EVERYTHING WEST OF THAT, WE WILL PULL OFF OF THE CURB, UH, AND HAVE THAT BUFFER.
AND WE ARE SUGGESTING THAT THOSE TWO ACCESSIBLE SPOTS REMAIN, UH, THOSE ARE EXISTING, UH, ALMOST CONFORMING WITH, UH, A DA RULES.
AND WE WILL MAKE THEM SO THAT THEY DO CONFORM, UH, WITH THE TASK STANDARDS.
UM, BUT WE DO WANT THOSE TO REMAIN.
THE OTHER PARKING WILL HAVE TO BE ACROSS THE STREET.
WELL, THERE IS STREET PARKING, AND THEN THERE'S A PARKING LOT ACROSS THE STREET THAT WE CAN ALSO USE.
UH, BUT REALLY WANTED TO KEEP THE ACCESSIBLE SPOTS, UH, AS CONVENIENT AS POSSIBLE.
THE WINDOWS ON THE BUILDING IS, AND, AND WE'RE CLOSE TO THE PERCENTAGE THAT'S ASKED FOR, I THINK WE'RE AT 36% GLAZING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UH, THIS IS DEFINITELY THE SERVICE BUILDING.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, THIS NEW SERVICE WING AND BEING THE NEW COMPONENT, TRYING TO DEFER TO THAT HISTORIC STRUCTURE.
WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO TAKE WHATEVER ACTIONS WE COULD TO, TO MINIMIZE IT.
UH, AND THAT, AND THAT IS JUST A HALLWAY THERE.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE TRUTH IS, WE, WE COULD ADD MORE WINDOWS.
IT, IT TENDS TO MAKE THAT BUILDING FEEL A LITTLE BIT MORE IMPORTANT.
AND WE REALLY THOUGHT JUST HAVING SORT OF A VINE COVERED WALL MIGHT BE THE BEST WAY TO MAKE IT RECEDE.
UM, IF IT'S REALLY A BIG ISSUE, WE COULD CERTAINLY ADD A COUPLE MORE WINDOWS THERE.
UH, WE'D BE OPEN TO THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND THE LAST POINT WAS, I FORGOT YOUR THIRD QUESTION, SORRY.
UH, THE DESIGN AND CHARACTER OF THE, THE FENCE THAT WOULD
AND IT'S REALLY JUST, UH, IN BETWEEN THE MERCADO AND THE DINING HALL.
UM, SO THERE WILL BE NO FENCES IN FRONT OF THE BUILDINGS OR BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS AND THE STREET.
WE WANNA MAXIMIZE THAT AREA AND JUST MAKE IT AS OPEN AS POSSIBLE.
UH, SO THERE'LL BE LIKE A WROUGHT IRON FENCE THAT HAS A BEAUTIFUL GATE, AND THAT IS REALLY YOUR MAIN ENTRANCE INTO THE SITE IS, UH, IS THROUGH THERE AND INTO THE PLAZA, UH, ON THE STREET SIDE ELEVATION.
UH, YOU SEE IT ON THE EDGE OF THE PAGE THERE.
SO I THINK IT'S ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE PAGE AND, AND DOESN'T EXTEND, YOU DON'T SEE THE FULL EXTENT OF IT, BUT YOU SEE THE TRANSPARENCY OF IT THERE.
YEAH, I THINK I, THAT'S, THAT'S INTERESTING.
I THINK FROM AN ARCHITECTURAL STANDPOINT, IT ALL MAKES, IT MAKES SENSE.
I THINK FROM AN URBAN DESIGN STANDPOINT, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GET EYES ON THE STREET, ESPECIALLY IN AN AREA THAT'S GOING TO BE, UM, IT'S NOT GONNA BE LINED BY AN ACTIVE PARK SPACE NECESSARILY ON THAT SIDE.
SO EVEN THE PERCEPTION OF EYES, UH, ON THE STREET COULD HELP.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT AREA DOES KIND OF DIE AT TIMES AND DOESN'T NECESSARILY ALWAYS FEEL SAFE OR WELL LIT.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT I, I, YOU KNOW, I'LL LET THE OTHER COMMISSIONER SPEAK TO, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS.
BUT I, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY THAT IT'S DEFINITELY A CONSIDERATION.
UM, UH, AND, AND I THINK THAT PROBABLY COULD BE DONE WITH, YOU KNOW, UM, TO, IN A WAY THAT CAN
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MAINTAIN THAT BUILDING AS KIND OF SECONDARY AND, UM, NOT CALLING TOO MUCH ATTENTION, UM, AS IT RELATES TO THE PLANTING ZONE.IT, YOU KNOW, UM, I'M MAYBE NOT LOOKING AT THE RIGHT SITE PLAN, BUT, UM, BUT YEAH, I THINK HAVING THE, THE SIDEWALK BUFFER FROM THE STREET FOR THE, FOR THE MOST PART IS, IS A, IS A STRONG MOVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THOSE STREETS ARE QUITE WIDE, EVEN AS JUST A PARK SERVICE STREETS.
THEY WERE DESIGNED IN THE SIXTIES WHEN WE, UH, WHEN WE WERE, YOU KNOW, ROLLING AROUND.
I GUESS I WASN'T, BUT FOLKS WERE ROLLING AROUND IN THEIR MUSCLE CARS, UH, AND, UM, TAKING UP A LOT OF SPACE AND ZOOMING AROUND.
UM, AND THAT WAS KIND OF THE FUTURE.
AND NOW WE'RE REALIZING THAT, UH, NARROWER STREETS ACTUALLY ARE SAFER, EVEN IF THEY FEEL LESS SAFER DRIVERS SOMETIMES.
UM, AND SO, SO I GUESS, UH, I, I, I KNOW FROM MY EXPERIENCE RIDING MY BIKE ALONG THAT STREET AND WALKING, UM, I THINK I PROBABLY CROSSED THE STREET, UH, IN ORDER TO WALK ALONG THE SECTION TODAY, JUST 'CAUSE IT'S SO UNFRIENDLY.
UM, BUT, AND NO SIDEWALK RIGHT NOW, RIGHT? YEAH.
UM, THAT, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT STREET ISN'T NECESSARILY A, A SLOW AND FRIENDLY STREET.
UM, AND SO HAVING PROTECTION FROM THAT COULD BE VERY VALUABLE.
AND I WOULD SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE SIDEWALK LOCATION IS THE LOCATION OF THE TREES BETWEEN, BETWEEN THE SIDEWALK ON THE CURB.
AND SO THE, YOU KNOW, THE MORE THAT CAN CONDITION CAN BE MET, I THINK THE BETTER THE EXPERIENCE WILL BE FOR USERS.
I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND WANTING TO CREATE A MORE, UM, MEANINGFUL SPACE FOR THOSE, THOSE POCKET GARDENS.
UM, BUT I DO ALSO THINK THERE'S REALLY GREAT PRECEDENCE, UM, FOR KIND OF, UH, POCKET GARDENS THAT ARE, UH, ATTACHED OR ALMOST ATTACHED TO THE SIDEWALK.
UM, AND I THINK WE, WE SEE A LOT OF EXAMPLES OF THAT WITH KIND OF DG SORT OF, UH, POCKET GARDENS SPILLING OFF, UM, IN MUELLER AND SOME OF THE, THE PARKS, UM, LIKE BY THE FARMER'S MARKET AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S SOME, SOME INTERESTING PRECEDENTS TO EXPLORE THERE THAT COULD, COULD ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE FOR PEDESTRIANS, UM, ALONG, UH, ALONG THE FRONTAGE THERE.
UM, AND I WOULD ALSO, AND I, I THINK THE FENCE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, SOUNDS LIKE A BRILLIANT SOLUTION.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, IN A LOT OF WAYS THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF CREATING A, UM, A STREET WALL, UH, AND A PRESENCE FOR AN OUTDOOR ROOM.
AND, UM, I DON'T SEE ANY NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THAT SORT OF FENCING BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS.
THANKS FOR, THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND YEAH.
UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THE, UH, PLANS AND, UM, AND THEN THE, AND THE DESIGN UPDATES AND ALL.
UH, QUESTION I HAVE IS, UH, THE USAGE DURING THE CONSTRUCTION, DURING THE
AND, AND ABSOLUTELY IT WILL, UM, THERE WE WILL NEED TO BE, UH, OFFLINE OR SHUT DOWN FOR, UH, A PERIOD OF, UH, PROBABLY EIGHT, 10 MONTHS OR SO, UM, FOR THE, FOR THE MAJOR RENOVATIONS.
UM, AND I THINK THE PLAN IS TO TRY TO DO, UH, ALL OF PHASE ONE AT ONCE, UM, SO THAT IT'S, UM, NOT STAGGERED ANY LONGER THAN IT NEEDS TO BE.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY FOR THE SMALLER STRUCTURES LIKE THE BANDSTAND AND THE GRANDSTAND, THOSE COULD BOTH GET DONE IN A, IN A SHORTER DURATION.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL SEE IF, UH, IF THERE'S A USE CASE FOR OPENING PART OF IT BACK UP.
BUT I THINK FROM A SAFETY POINT OF VIEW, SINCE THERE'S GONNA BE THE ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION SITE AT THE DINING HALL, THAT'LL BE THE, THE BIGGEST ONE.
IT PROBABLY MEANS THE WHOLE PLAZA IS OFFLINE DURING CONSTRUCTION.
COMMISSIONER CAROL, DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UH, I'M, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THIS PROJECT THAT'S FINALLY MOVING FORWARD.
UH, THIS FACILITY HAS BEEN NEEDING SOME LOVE FOR A LONG TIME NOW.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE BEING ASKED TO, UH, RECOMMEND HERE IS THE, HOW THIS PROJECT IS ACHIEVING ITS SUSTAINABILITY GOALS.
AND I'M NOT REALLY SEEING MUCH OF THAT IN YOUR PRESENTATION.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE MEASURES THAT YOU'RE USING? SURE.
UM, WE ARE SEEKING LEAD SILVER, UM, CERTIFICATION.
AND, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THAT COMES FROM THE INHERENT, UH, SUSTAINABILITY OF REUSING THESE EXISTING BUILDINGS.
UH, AND CERTAINLY ALL OF THE, THE, THE NEW CONSTRUCTION, UH, IS WITH AN EYE TOWARDS EFFICIENCY.
[00:25:01]
AND WE ARE REDOING THE MECHANICAL SYSTEM FOR THE, UH, THE DINING HALL AS WELL, WHICH IS VERY OUTDATED.UM, YOUR HONOR, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T ADDRESS THAT IN THE, UH, PRESENTATION.
BUT YEAH, WE'RE ACTUALLY REQUIRED BY A PR, UH, I THINK TO HAVE AT LEAST LEAD CERTIFIED AND, AND WE'RE PURSUING LEAD SILVER, OR ARE YOU DOING ANY WATER REUSE, CAPTURING ANYTHING LIKE THAT? NO, THERE, NO, THERE ARE.
UM, UNLESS THAT'S, I DON'T THINK WE ARE.
UM, AND WE ARE NOT ON THE, THE PINK PIPE OR ANY OF THAT, OR PURPLE.
UM, WE ARE TRYING TO INCREASE THE PERMEABLE PAVING THERE.
THAT PLAZA IS A, A WIDE EXPANSE OF CONCRETE, AND WE ARE TAKING OUT SQUARES OF THAT AND GOING WITH IMPERVIOUS THERE.
UH, THAT WILL SORT OF MITIGATE THE, UH, STORM WATER EFFECTS.
AND ALSO ONE OF THOSE LITTLE, UH, GARDENS IN THE FRONT IS, UH, SERVING ALSO AS SOME RAINWATER COLLECTION THERE.
UM, BUT IN TERMS OF, UH, MINIMIZING THE FRESHWATER USE, UH, THROUGH RE REUSE, WE ARE NOT DOING THAT IN THE FIXTURES.
AND WHAT, WHAT IS THE PROPOSED USE OF THE GRANDING? SO, UH, AT THE LAKESIDE DOWN AT THE, AT THE VERY BOTTOM THERE, UM, WE ARE GONNA PUT A LITTLE PLATFORM THAT, BASICALLY A STAGE THAT THAT'S OUT THERE AT THE BOTTOM.
UH, SO IT CAN BE, IT CAN HOST EVENTS THAT WAY.
I DON'T THINK THERE IS A DESIRE TO, UH, DO A LOT IN THE WATER.
UH, CERTAINLY THERE'S NO MOTOR BOATS ON THE LAKE ANYMORE.
PART OF THE HISTORY OF THIS SITE WAS, YOU KNOW, DRAG BOAT RACES, AND THERE WERE WATER SKI SHOWS, AND, UM, NONE OF THAT WILL COME BACK.
SO IF THERE WAS GONNA BE SOMETHING IN THE WATER, IT WOULD, UH, YOU KNOW, BE A NON-MOTORIZED ACTIVITY.
UH, BUT THE IDEA IS THAT THE WATER COULD JUST BE A BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP FOR, YOU KNOW, A, A BAND OR A, A PLAY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UH, SO A LITTLE, UH, STAGE, YOU KNOW.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS? UH, YES.
COMMISSIONER SALINAS, UH, REGARDING ART, UH, PUBLIC ART, IS THERE, IS THERE ANY PLANS FOR CREATION OF A PUBLIC ART THAT TELLS THE HISTORY OF THIS BUILDING, UH, STORYTELLING, YOU KNOW, ITS HISTORY TO THE COMMUNITY, ITS SIGNIFICANCE TO THE COMMUNITY? OR IS THERE ANYTHING IN THE WORKS FOR, FOR THAT? YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT WOULD QUALIFY AS ART.
UH, THERE IS A PLAN TO HAVE AN INTERPRETIVE PROGRAM, WHICH HASN'T BEEN FULLY FLESHED OUT YET, BUT THERE WILL BE, UH, SOME SORT OF, UH, INTERPRETIVE DISPLAYS THAT HAPPEN, I THINK, AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS, UH, THAT TELLS THAT HISTORY.
BUT, UH, TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, WE DON'T HAVE A ART COMPONENT.
WELL, I MEAN, THAT'S AN, IS THAT AN ONGOING DISPLAY? PERMANENT DISPLAY, YES.
AND, AND IT'S ONLY, AND ITS SOLE PURPOSE REALLY, IS TO KINDA SHARE THAT HISTORY.
THAT WAS, THAT WAS ALL, THAT WAS MY QUESTION THERE.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I ECHO, UM, MY FELLOW COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS.
I THINK THIS IS A REALLY EXCITING PROJECT.
UH, I'M, I, FOR 1:00 AM UH, REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THIS BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE.
YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE SPENT SOME TIME OVER HERE AND, YOU KNOW, BEEN TO EVENTS AT THIS DINING HALL, AND, UM, IT, IT DEFINITELY IS SORT OF WORSE FOR WHERE, FOR, YOU KNOW, THE CONDITION TODAY AND, UM, REALLY LOVING THE PROPOSALS THAT YOU'VE SHARED.
AND MY TWO QUESTIONS REALLY ARE REGARDING AC ACCESS AND, UH, ALSO THE, THE NATURE OF THE PLAZA.
UM, I, I FIND, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S, UM, LACK OF, UH, CLARITY IN THE SIGNAGE AND THE WAY FINDING FOR THIS PROJECT.
AND, UH, IN, IN THAT SAME VEIN, ALSO, NOT REALLY MUCH OF THE WAY IN, IN, WITH REGARDS TO SHELTER, AWNING, CANOPY, UH, IF YOU HAVE TO SORT OF WAIT FOR A PICKUP OR, YOU KNOW, RIDE SHARE, UH, AT THE ENTRANCE, IS THERE, UM, SOME SORT OF SHELTER THAT YOU CAN BE UNDER? IT DOESN'T STRIKE ME AS A, THERE, THERE ISN'T, THERE IS ANYTHING LIKE THAT UNTIL YOU GET INTO THE DINING HALL PROPER.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, MY FIRST QUESTION IS HOW, HOW WILL YOU ADDRESS SIGNAGE AND WAYFINDING? PERHAPS SOME SORT OF CANOPY MIGHT BE A WAY TO TACKLE THAT.
AND, AND THEN SECOND CONNECTED TO ENROLL ON QUESTION IS THE, THE PLAZA.
SO IN YOUR DRAWINGS, YOU'RE, YOU'VE, YOU'VE,
[00:30:01]
SORRY, STATED AND SHOWN THAT AS HISTORIC PLAZA, AND I'M, I'M CURIOUS WHETHER THAT WILL MEAN THAT THE SURFACE STAYS THE SAME, OR IS THERE SOME, ANY SORT OF REMEDIATION TO THAT? UH, HOW, HOW WILL THE HISTORIC PLAZA BE, BE PRESERVED AS YOU'VE NOTED IT, AS A HISTORIC PLAZA? YEAH, THANK YOU.UM, I WILL SAY THERE IS A, UH, A WHOLE SIGNAGE PACKAGE BEING DEVELOPED SORT OF AS A, A SEPARATE AND CON CONCURRENT THING, UH, WHICH WILL INCLUDE IDENTIFICATION AND WAY FINDING AND ALL OF THAT.
I DON'T HAVE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION, SO SORRY, THAT'S NOT PART OF THE PRESENTATION, UH, BUT I ASSURE YOU THAT, UH, IT WILL BE MUCH BETTER WAY FINDING, AND THAT WAS A GOOD COMMENT ON THE SHADE.
UM, WE ARE TRYING TO, I, I, I'LL, I'LL SAY WE DON'T HAVE A SHADE STRUCTURE, UH, FOR A WAITING AREA.
THE REALLY THE ONLY NEW STRUCTURE BEING ADDED IS THAT, UH, SERVICE WING TO THE DINING ROOM.
THERE ARE A LOT OF NEW TREES BEING PLANTED, UH, BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT MAYBE TAKES A LITTLE WHILE, UH, TO, TO REALLY GROW IN AND SERVE AS THAT NEEDED SHADE.
SO THAT IS THE SOLUTION THERE.
UH, AND THEN IN THE PLAZA, UM, THE EXTENT OF THE PLAZA ARE NOT GOING TO BE ALTERED, UH, BUT WE ARE BREAKING UP THAT CONCRETE.
UH, THERE ARE A FEW PLANTERS THERE, AND WE ARE, UH, CONTINUING THAT MOTIF OF THESE LITTLE SQUARES THAT ARE SORT OF CUT OUT OF IT, UH, AND RELIEVING THE MONOTONY OF THE CONCRETE WITH SOME, UH, PERVIOUS PAVERS.
UH, THOSE ARE SORT OF THE HATCHED, UH, SQUARES THAT YOU SEE ON THE PLAN.
UM, BUT YEAH, BUT THE EXTENTS WILL STAY THE SAME.
UM, WE WILL HAVE, UM, HISTORIC, UH, INTERPRETED SIGNS.
UM, SO THAT IS ALSO PART OF THE, THE PROJECT AS WELL.
SO I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION FROM COMMISSIONER? UH, COMMISSIONER WHIR CHAIR? THANK YOU.
UH, NATHAN, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UH, COMMISSIONER CARROLL, UH, UH, ALREADY ASKED THE SAME QUESTION I'M GOING TO ASK, AND I JUST KIND OF WANNA ASK IT AS A REINFORCING THAT WE, WE DON'T ALWAYS DO A PARTICULARLY GOOD JOB OF COMMUNICATING TO APPLICANTS THAT THIS BODY IS, IS, UH, UH, ARE, WE ARE CHARTERED TO REVIEW THE, THE CITY DESIGN, DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS FOR CITY PROJECTS.
UM, WHICH I THINK IS BROADLY INTERPRETED TO BE, UM, THE SUSTAINABILITY GUIDELINES.
UM, YOU'RE MEETING, IF YOU'RE TARGETING LEAD SILVER, I THINK THAT'S EXCELLENT.
UM, I THINK THE, THE MOST, THE, THE MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY BUILDING IS A REUSED BUILDING, RIGHT? THIS IS A, THIS IS A CASE STUDY IN THAT, UH, SO APPLAUD A LOT OF THE THINGS GOING GOING INTO LEAD.
I WOULD, I THINK, BENEFIT FROM A DEEPER DRILLING DOWN OF HOW THE, HOW THE TEAM IS INTERACTING WITH WATERSHED, UM, THE, THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY AND O AND OTHER PARTNERS TO, UM, SEE HOW MUCH THIS PROJECT CAN PUSH, UM, TOWARD GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, IN A WAY THAT SUPPORTS THE, THE SORT OF RECREATION OF A, OF A RIPARIAN, UH, CONDITION ALONG, ALONG THE LAKEFRONT.
UM, GENERALLY SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE SOME SPACES AND SOME GARDENS THAT WOULDN'T TAKE A LOT OF DESIGN CHANGE TO MAKE THOSE INTO MORE OF A FUNCTIONAL GREEN ELEMENT, UM, AND, AND COUNTERPART TO THIS BUILDING.
SO I, I KNOW YOU WEREN'T, UM, GEARING THE PRESENTATION TOWARD THAT, BUT ANYTHING THAT YOU COULD ELABORATE ON THE POTENTIALS FOR, UH, GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE OR, UM, UH, ANYTHING THE DESIGN TEAM DID TO LOOK INTO THAT, UH, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT.
UH, AND THEN FINALLY, I'LL JUST, I JUST WANNA MAKE, TAKE A SECOND TO, TO TALK ABOUT THAT BAND STAND.
UM, I LOVE THESE LITTLE MOMENTS WHERE WE'VE BUILT SOMETHING OUT ON THE LAKE, THAT LITTLE BREAK IN THE LAKE AND THE, THE SEA HOME INTAKE AND THIS BANDSTAND, THE KIND OF, UM, WEIRD URBAN PALS THAT COMES OUT.
SO I, I APPLAUD THAT YOU GUYS ARE INVESTING IN, IN MAKING THAT USEFUL, UM, THAT LITTLE STAGE THAT YOU'RE BUILDING.
IT TOOK ME A MINUTE TO, AFTER GOING THROUGH YOUR PRESENTATION TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING THERE, BUT I SEE IT NOW, UM, BE INTERESTED TO SEE, UM, HOW, WHAT IS GOING INTO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THAT? ARE YOU HAVING TO DEAL WITH LCRA OR WHAT, WHAT ARE THE FOOTING TYPES AND HOW, HOW, WHAT DOES THE, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU SPEAK TOWARD ANY EFFORTS TO HAVE THAT BAN THAT, THAT STAGE PORTION OF THE BANDSHELL, IT'S NEW, UM, STEP LIGHTLY ON THE, ON THE LAND? YEAH.
[00:35:01]
I'M LOOKING AT YOU, IS THAT, I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY, UH, FLOATING.THE, UH, THE, UH, UH, OR THE, THE STAGE AT THE GRANDSTAND.
WE HAVE A GRAND STAND AND A BAND STAND
UH, AND THE, UH, THE STAGE UP AT THE BANDSTAND, WHICH IS THE ONE THAT'S RIGHT ON THE PLAZA, THAT'S THE BIG CONCRETE MASS THAT'S ALREADY THERE.
UH, THE NEW ONE THAT WE WOULD BE ADDING IS AT THE BASE OF THE GRANDSTAND, WHICH RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE ALL THESE BLEACHERS YOU CAN SIT ON, UH, AND YOU CAN SIT THERE AND MEDITATE ON THE LAGOON, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT, RIGHT? IT, UM, AND SO THAT'S THE ONE WOULD GET A FLOATING STAGE THERE, UH, IN FRONT OF IT SO THAT YOU COULD HAVE EVENTS THERE.
UM, AND BRENDAN, I'M SORRY, I DON'T KNOW, UH, ALL THE TECHNICAL INS AND OUTS OF HOW IT WORKS, BUT I KNOW THAT THERE, UH, IS SOME OF THE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT IS HAPPENING THROUGH GREEN PLANTED AREAS.
AND TRAVIS, DO YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT OR NO.
BUT I COULD, I COULD, UM, FOLLOW UP WITH MORE INFORMATION ON THAT FROM THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS AND CIVIL ENGINEER TEAM.
I, I THINK FOLLOW UP WITH THIS GROUP IS, IS HARDLY NECESSARY.
BUT AS, AS YOU GUYS ARE TAKING THIS INTO FINAL DESIGN, I HOPE, I HOPE THAT THAT WILL CON CONTINUE TO BE SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE, ARE PUSHING WITH YOUR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS AND, AND WITH WATERSHED AND OTHER PARTNERS.
AND I, YEAH, I, UM, PROBABLY NOT DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE, UM, RAIN GARDEN THAT YOU WERE ASKING, BUT WE HAVE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE DRILL CONSERVANCY, UM, IN, IN THE AIM TO CONNECT PEDESTRIAN OR HAVE A BETTER PEDESTRIAN ACCESS.
BUT, UM, I THINK THE WATER QUALITY, UH, CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE AS, UH, NATHAN EXPLAINED, UM, BEFORE, MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO ADD MORE INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, SO, BUT YEAH, WE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH MORE DETAILS ON, ON THE LOCATION FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR WATER QUALITY.
AND I, I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, WITH THE CEF AND CERTAINLY DON'T WANT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTERVENTIONS TO COME AT THE COST OF THE HEALTH OF THE LAKEFRONT.
SO, UH, APPRECIATE YOU NAVIGATING THAT BALANCE.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS? ALL RIGHT.
WELL, THE MOTION ON THE TABLE IS FOR, UM, RECOMMENDATION THAT THE PROJECT COMPLIES WITH THE CITY DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS.
ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED, ALL MOTION PASSES.
YEAH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
[2. Staff briefing regarding the Barton Springs Road Bridge. Presented by Eric Bailey, Austin Capital Delivery Services. Sponsors: Chair Salinas and Commissioner Carroll.]
RIGHT.THAT BRINGS US BACK UP TO, UM, STAFF BRIEFINGS.
AND SO, UH, ITEM NUMBER TWO, UH, STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD BRIDGE, PRESENTED BY ERIC BAILEY, AUSTIN CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
I'M THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON.
HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE TODAY ON THE, UH, BARTON SPRINGS ROAD BRIDGE PROJECT.
AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A STAFF BRIEFING AND AN UPDATE OF WHERE WE'RE AT IN THE DESIGN PROCESS, UM, FOR THE PURPOSE OF KEEPING Y'ALL UPDATED ON, UM, WHERE WE'RE GOING AND THE FUTURE STEPS THAT ARE GONNA BE TAKING PLACE BEFORE WE COME BACK TO Y'ALL FOR ANY KIND OF OFFICIAL ACTION.
SO, UM, AS A REMINDER, THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE HERE IS A HUNDRED YEARS OLD THIS YEAR.
IT WAS EXPANDED IN 1946 TO ITS CURRENT FOUR-LANE CONFIGURATION AND SEASON, AN AVERAGE OF 20,000 VEHICLES PER DAY.
IT'S A KEY ENTRANCE TO ZILKER PARK AND 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 THAT FUNDING COMING FROM THE 2020 BOND, AS WELL AS A RECENTLY AWARDED $32 MILLION FHWA BRIDGE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM GRANT TOWARDS THE CONSTRUCTION COST OF THE PROJECT.
SO NEXT, I'M GONNA PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OF WHERE THE PROJECT IS IN THE DESIGN PROCESS.
BECAUSE OF THAT FEDERAL GRANT THAT WE RECEIVED FOR CONSTRUCTION, THE PROJECT NEEDS TO GO THROUGH THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OR NEPA PROCESS.
[00:40:01]
PART OF THE PROCESS, THE ALTERNATIVES PRESENTED IN THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT, UM, ARE, ARE ANALYZED AGAIN, AND DETERMINATIONS ARE MADE BY THE ADMINISTERING AGENCY, IN THIS CASE, TXDOT IN COORDINATION WITH THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION AND THE ANY OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES, INCLUDING THE SAVE OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE, WHICH HAS BEEN INVITED TO COLLABORATE WITH US ON THE NEPO PROCESS, ON WHAT ADDITIONAL STUDIES, IF ANY, NEED TO BE COMPLETED.ADDITIONALLY, THE PUBLIC HAS INVITED A COMMENT ON THE NEPA DOCUMENT AND THE PROJECT.
THIS PROJECT, THIS PROCESS TAKES ABOUT A YEAR TO COMPLETE AND IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY.
WE'RE LOOKING TO WRAP THAT UP IN, BY THE END OF 2026 AND HAVE THAT PROJECT READY TO BID IN 2027.
THOSE DATES ARE ACTUALLY PUSHING JUST A LITTLE BIT BASED ON THE WORKLOAD THERE.
UM, AND DURING THAT NEPA PROCESS, WE'LL BE WORKING WITH TXDOT, THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, TEXAS HISTORIC COMMISSION, UM, TO REVIEW AND DEVELOP, UM, ANY RELEVANT REPORTS, MAKE SURE THAT THE DESIGN IS COMPLIANT WITH ALL RELEVANT REGULATIONS.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THE NEPA PROCESS, THIS PROJECT WILL GO THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PERMITTING PROCESS AND OBTAIN, UH, APPROVAL FROM ALL RELEVANT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS FOR ANY VARIANCES OR OTHER APPROVALS THAT ARE NEEDED.
SO, UH, LET'S REVIEW THE CURRENT CONDITION OF THE BRIDGE.
THE PHOTO IN THE UPPER LEFT SHOWS CRACKING AND EXPOSED STEEL UNDER THE BRIDGE.
UH, UPPER RIGHT SHOWS CRACKING IN DELAMINATION, UH, AROUND THE BRIDGE COLUMNS.
AND THE PHOTO IN THE LOWER LEFT IS A CONCRETE CORE SAMPLE FROM THE BRIDGE DECK SHOWING DETERIORATION IN THE CONCRETE.
AND THE LOWER RIGHT SHOWS THE CURB, UH, SIDEWALK AND, AND GUARDRAIL.
UH, THE CURRENT BRIDGE IS FUNCTIONALLY OBSOLETE, WHICH MEANS THAT IT DOESN'T MEET CURRENT DESIGN STANDARDS.
UH, IF YOU WALKED ACROSS THAT BRIDGE AND YOU'VE SEEN THE NARROW SIDEWALKS, HIGH CURBS, LOW GUARD RAILS, AND LOW GUARDRAILS, UH, THE CONSULTING ENGINEER 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 THE ABSENCE OF REHABILITATION SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION COULD PROGRESS TO A POINT WHERE INCREASES IN MAINTENANCE AND COSTS AND REPAIRS REACH SIGNIFICANT LEVELS 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, ELIMINATE THE LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE JOINTS ALTOGETHER.
IN ADDITION, THE, SINCE THE SPAND COLUMNS EXHIBIT LOW COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH AND SEVERAL EXHIBIT SPA AND OR DEAMINATION, ANY BRIDGE REHABILITATION DESIRING INCREASED LIFESPAN WOULD INVOLVE STRIPPING THE STRUCTURE DOWN TO THE ARCH RIBS AND REBUILDING THE SPANEL COLUMNS, FLOOR BEAMS AND DECK.
SO IF YOU TRANSLATE THAT FROM ENGINEER INTO PLAIN ENGLISH, THERE'S NO WAY TO HAVE A LIGHT TOUCH REHABILITATION WHERE THE SPING IS FIXED AND THE THE CRACKS ARE REPAIRED.
UH, THE STRUCTURAL ISSUES ARE IN THE DECK ITSELF, AND THAT IS BEYOND A POINT OF REPAIR.
IT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY REPLACED.
AND ADDITIONALLY, DO THE CONCERNS BROUGHT UP.
IN THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT AND SUBSEQUENT T INSPECTION REPORTS, THE CITY ENGINEER AND TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT SHIFTED THE TRAVEL LANES TO THE SOUTH TO THE LIMIT HEAVYWEIGHT TRAFFIC, UH, LOADING ON THE OLD PORTION OF THE BRIDGE THAT WAS IN THE WORST STRUCTURAL CONDITION.
UH, AS A PART OF THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT, THE CONSULTING ENGINEER STUDIED THE BRIDGE INTERNALLY AS WELL AS EXTERNALLY.
THE ENGINEER LOOKED AT TRAFFIC PATTERNS, A DA ACCESSIBILITY, AND THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS OPTIONS.
FINALLY, THE ENGINEER AND CITY STAFF COORDINATED WITH THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, AS WELL AS THE TEXAS HISTORIC COMMISSION.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE HERE THAT THE BRIDGE IS A CONTRIBUTING FEATURE TO THE ZILKER PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT, AND THE BRIDGE ITSELF IS NOT A HISTORIC LANDMARK.
EQUALLY IMPORTANT IS THAT DURING THIS COORDINATION EFFORT, BOTH THE ARMY CORPS AND THE TEXAS HISTORIC COMMISSION HAVE APPROVED FULL REPLACEMENT AS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE FOR THIS PROJECT.
SO IN THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT, FIVE, UH, OPTIONS WERE EVALUATED.
PRESERVING THE EXISTING STRUCTURE WAS ELIMINATED FROM FURTHER ANALYSIS DUE TO THE STRUCTURAL CONDITION THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
THREE REPLACEMENT OPTIONS AND ONE REHABILITATION OPTION MOVED FORWARD FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS.
DURING THIS PROCESS, THE STAFF HELD OPEN HOUSES IN PERSON AND ONLINE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, REHABILITATION AND REPLACEMENT WERE PRETTY EVENLY SPLIT IN TERMS OF THE PUBLIC PREFERENCE ON THE ALTERNATIVES.
SO NOW, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BRIDGE REHABILITATION, UH, THIS GETS TO WHAT I WAS SPEAKING TO EARLIER ABOUT NEEDING TO STRIP THE BRIDGE DOWN TO THE ARCH RIBS.
UM, THIS IS A SCHEMATIC OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
THE DECK OVER THE BRIDGE WOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE EXISTING STRUCTURE.
REPAIRS WILL BE MADE TO THE ARCHES, AND ADDITIONAL ARCHES WILL BE ADDED TO ACCOMMODATE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE TRAFFIC.
THEN THE DECK WOULD BE REPLACED, LESS THAN HALF OF THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE WOULD REMAIN, AND ALL OF THE OLD ARCHES WOULD BE OBSTRUCTED FROM VIEW BY NEW ONES.
THIS OPTION, UH, WOULD COST AS MUCH AS THE FULL REPLACEMENT OPTION, BUT HAVE A SHORTER, SHORTER USEFUL LIFE, APPROXIMATELY 50 YEARS COMPARED TO 75 PLUS YEARS FOR THE REPLACEMENT.
THIS PROJECT TOOK KIND OF A WINDING PATH TO GET WHERE IT WAS AT.
[00:45:01]
IT HAS BEEN TO CITY COUNCIL ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.THE FIRST TIME WAS WITH THE 2020 BOND RESOLUTION, WHICH IS FUNDING THIS PROJECT, WHICH INCLUDED DIRECTION FROM STAFF TO COMPLETE THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT, AND THEN RETURN TO COUNCIL FOR A PRESENTATION ON THE OPTIONS AND DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL ON WHICH OPTION TO PURSUE.
STAFF PRESENTED THOSE OPTIONS AT A WORK SESSION IN DECEMBER OF 2023.
SUBSEQUENT COUNCIL MEETING STAFF WAS DIRECTED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE FULL REPLACEMENT OPTION.
SINCE THEN, THE PROJECTS HAS RETURNED TO COUNCIL RELATED TO THE APPLICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE FEDERAL GRANT.
AND THE NEXT TIME THE PROJECT WOULD NEED TO GO TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL, BE FOR A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT AWARD, UH, FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW BRIDGE.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THIS PROJECT WILL NEED TO GO TO VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AS A PART OF THE PERMITTING PROCESS, WHICH WILL HAPPEN LATER IN 2026, IN EARLY 2027.
UH, THIS DIAGRAM SHOWS, UH, THE LANE ARRANGEMENT OF THE NEW BRIDGE, PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE LANES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BRIDGE WITH THE SAME NUMBER OF THROUGH TRAFFIC LANES AS CURRENTLY EXIST.
IN ADDITION OF RIGHT HAND TURN LANE ONTO AZ MORTON TO IMPROVE VEHICULAR CIRCULATION ON THE BRIDGE, THIS IS A RENDERING OF WHAT THE UNDERSIDE OF THE BRIDGE AFTER CONSTRUCTION, INCLUDING IMPROVED ACCESS FOR THE ZILKER EAGLE, AS WELL AS THE TRAIL UNDER THE BRIDGE, INCLUDING SLOPE STABILITY, REINFORCEMENTS ALONG THE STREAM BANK.
AND THEN HERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL CROSS SECTIONS OF THE CIRCULATION IMPROVEMENT, PROPOSED CIRCULATION IMPROVEMENTS UNDER THE BRIDGE, UH, SLOPE STABILITY THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
UM, IF YOU'VE BEEN UNDER THE WEST SIDE OF THE BRIDGE, YOU'VE SEEN THE CHALLENGING CONDITIONS FOR THE, UH, ZILKER EAGLE, AS WELL AS THE SEPARATE BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN FACILITY.
THESE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS WOULD, UH, IMPROVE THE EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA.
AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, UH, A FEW SLIDES BACK, PART OF THE PERMITTING PROCESS, WE'LL NEED TO REVIEW BY THE LANDMARK COMMISSION MOBILITY COMMITTEE, PARKS BOARD DESIGN COMMISSION, AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, THE ACTION FROM ALL THESE COMMISSIONS WILL COME AT A LATER DATE WHEN WE'RE NEARING, UH, WE'RE FURTHER ALONG IN THE DESIGN PROCESS.
UH, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH A LOT OF THE NEPA DOCUMENTS AND DEVELOPING THAT AS A WHOLE, UH, REEVALUATING SOME OF THE ALTERNATIVES THAT ARE OUT THERE.
AND, UH, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE WORKING WITH, UM, OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS, UM, FROM PARKS, UH, TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS, AS WELL AS WATERSHED PROTECTION, UH, TO MINIMIZE THOSE IMPACTS AND IDENTIFY ANY POTENTIAL VARIANCES THAT WOULD THEN NEED TO COME FORWARD FOR, FOR BOARD AND COMMISSION, COMMISSION REVIEW AND APPROVAL.
UH, WITH THAT, I WILL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONER HOWARD? UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT IT, UM, WOULD, THIS NEW BRIDGE WOULD BE CARRYING THE SAME NUMBER OF, UH, THROUGH LANES AS EXIST TODAY? UM, WHEN I, WHEN I LOOK AT THE BRIDGE NOW, AND, UM, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER LAST TIME I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE BRIDGE, 'CAUSE I KNOW IT'S BEEN RECONFIGURED A LITTLE BIT, BUT, UM, I, I BELIEVE THERE ARE THREE THROUGH LANES, ONE OF THE THROUGH LANES ACTING ALSO AS A TURN LANE TO ASIE MARTIN.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S DIVIDE, YOU KNOW, SEPARATED BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, AND WHAT I'M SEEING IN YOUR DIAGRAM IS I'M SEEING, UH, GOING FROM THREE LANES ON THE BRIDGE, THREE AUTO LANES ON THE BRIDGE TO, TO FIVE LANES ON THE BRIDGE, AND THEN, UM, HAVING SHARED USE PATH, UM, IN, IN, INSTEAD OF SEPARATED BIKE LANES.
UM, AND SO, AND I GUESS PART, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M THINKING ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, LIKE, WHY, WHY IS THE BRIDGE SO BIG, RIGHT? I MEAN, THE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE RECONFIGURED BARTON SPRINGS TO THE EAST, UM, TO WHERE IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE LANE IN EITHER DIRECTION WITH A TURN, YOU KNOW, A CENTRAL TURN LANE BETWEEN, UM, MEDIAN, AND WE HAVE PROTECTED BIKE LANES.
UM, AND IT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE SWITCH AT THIS BRIDGE WE GO, WE THEN GO TO TWO, UM, TWO LANES IN EITHER DIRECTION, BUT THE BRIDGE IS KIND OF LIKE A TRANSITION ZONE.
SO I GUESS, UM, ONE OF THE MAJOR QUESTIONS I HAVE IS, IS, UH, YOU KNOW, RELATED TO THE VISION OF, OF THIS ROAD AND HOW, HOW IT PERFORMS IN THE FUTURE, IT SEEMS, IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE GETTING A LOT MORE AUTO TRAFFIC, BUT WE'RE STILL, WE HAVE THE, STILL THE EXACT SAME PINCH POINT AT, AT BARTON SPRINGS, AND WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY, AND, AND WHILE WE'RE GETTING, UM, CURB SEPARATED BIKE LANES, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY GETTING, UM, MODE SEPARATION FROM PEDESTRIANS ON, ON THE SIDEWALK.
SO I'M CURIOUS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MORE WHAT'S, WHAT'S GOING INTO THAT AND, AND WHAT THE THINKING IS ABOUT THE, THE NEED FOR THE ADDITIONAL, UM, TRAFFIC CAPACITY WHEN BARTON SPRINGS ISN'T GONNA HAVE ANY.
YEAH, SO THE CURRENT BRIDGE DOES HAVE FOUR LANES, TWO LANES IN EACH DIRECTION.
BUT AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE DUE THE CONDITION OF THE BRIDGE, THE FAR NORTHERN LANES HAD TO BE LOAD LIMITED.
AND SO THAT'S WHY THERE'S THAT REDUCTION IN LANES WHERE THERE'S ONLY THREE, THERE'S TWO, UH, EASTBOUND, ONE WESTBOUND NOW AS IT'S CURRENTLY ALIGNED, THE BRIDGE IS DESIGNED AS A FOUR LANE BRIDGE.
SO REALLY ADDING THE RIGHT HAND TURN LANE ONTO AZ MORTON, UM, WOULD BE THE ONLY ADDITIONAL VEHICULAR LANE FROM WHAT THAT BRIDGE IS DESIGNED FOR ORIGINALLY.
UH, IN TERMS OF THE SIZING OF THE LANES AND THE COUNT OF THE LANES, THE NUMBER OF LANES, THAT'S BASED ON, UM, THE TRAFFIC, UM,
[00:50:01]
PROJECTIONS AND THE TRAFFIC COUNTS THAT WERE DONE AS A PART OF THE PRELIMINARY BRIDGE ENGINEERING REPORT, THE SIZE AND DIMENSIONS OF THE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE FACILITIES ARE IN COORDINATION WITH THE, UM, AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, WHICH IS PUT OUT BY TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS, AND ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL IN TERMS OF THE OVERALL NEED AND CAPACITY OF THOSE FACILITIES.UM, SO I KNOW THAT WHEN THIS, UH, BRIDGE WAS ORIGINALLY, WELL, NOT ORIGINALLY DESIGNED, BUT ORIGINALLY EXPANDED IN 1946, THERE WEREN'T DIVIDED BIKE LANES ON IT, BUT THE USE OF THE BRIDGE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED FROM THEN.
SO WHILE IT MAY HAVE BEEN, UH, ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR FOUR THROUGH LANES, IT'S CURRENT CONFIGURATION, IT DOES HAVE, UH, SEPARATED BY SICKLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND ONLY THREE THROUGH LANES.
UM, UH, AND, AND SO I'M, I'M, I'M PERSONALLY JUST, YOU KNOW, I'M WONDERING, UH, IF IT, IF IT'S WORTH THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT TO HAVE THAT MUCH BRIDGE.
UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I I, I WOULDN'T ARGUE AGAINST, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, THAT, THAT WE, THAT MAYBE WE DO NEED TO REPLACE THE BRIDGE, BUT I, I DO, UM, I, I DO WONDER ABOUT THE, UM, HOW, HOW WISE IT IS TO EXPAND THE CAPACITY ON THE BRIDGE WHEN WE DON'T HAVE ADDITIONAL CAPACITY EAST OF THERE.
AND WE'VE ALREADY, UM, INTENTIONALLY CHANGED THE CHARACTER AND HOW THIS, THIS ROAD WORKS TO BETTER ACCOMMODATE, UH, BICYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIANS BECAUSE IT IS A HUGE, UM, ACTIVE SORT OF CENTER, UH, FOR, FOR THE CITY.
AND SO I THINK, UM, MAINTAINING THAT PRIORITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
SHARED USE LANES, JUST DON'T DO THAT.
ANY COMMENTS FROM OTHER COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER CARROLL, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UM, COMMISSIONER HOWARD'S LINE OF QUESTIONING WAS WHERE I WAS GONNA GO AS WELL, AND I, I WOULD ECHO THAT, THAT, UH, REGARDLESS OF HOW THE ORIGINAL BRIDGE WAS DESIGNED, HOW IT'S BEING USED TODAY, UH, AND, AND WORKING TODAY IS THREE LANES.
AND SO MOVING TO FIVE, UH, SEEMS UNNECESSARY TO ME AND, AND A WASTE OF, OF, OF TAXPAYER MONEY, FRANKLY.
UM, I THINK WE SHOULD RE-LOOK AT THIS, UM, AND, AND TRULY UNDERSTAND WHY WE NEED TO BUILD, UH, A TURNING LANE, FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE BRIDGE THAT, THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE USING.
UM, AND, AND JUST TRY TO MINIMIZE THIS IMPACT BECAUSE THIS HAS A HUGE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.
OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A VERY SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, AREA, UH, WITH ENDANGERED SPECIES.
AND THE, THE BIGGER THIS BRIDGE IS, THE MORE LIKELIHOOD WE ARE OF NEGATIVELY AFFECTING THE ENVIRONMENT AND THOSE SPECIES.
SO I WOULD JUST RECOMMEND, UH, THAT THIS GETS A LITTLE DIET TO IT, UH, BECAUSE AGAIN, AS COMMISSIONER HOWARD SAID, UH, THE ROAD BEING USED ON BOTH SIDES OF THIS BRIDGE TODAY IS FAR LESS THAN, THAN WHAT THIS BRIDGE IS BEING PROPOSED AS.
AND WE DON'T NEED TO GO BACKWARDS.
UH, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CARROLL.
THE, UH, THE LANE REDUCTION PROJECTS OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD EAST OF HERE HAS BEEN SO PHENOMENALLY SUCCESSFUL IN REDUCING FATALITIES, INJURIES AND CRASHES GENERALLY.
IT HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL IN MAKING THAT A SAFER AND MORE COMFORTABLE PLACE TO WALK.
UM, THAT'S OUR FRONT DOOR TO ACL.
IT'S, UH, A HUGELY IMPORTANT STRETCH, AND IT'S BEEN AMAZING TO SEE IT SO VIBRANT, UH, SINCE THE LANE REDUCTION PROJECT.
AND I, I COMMEND THAT PROJECT.
THIS FEELS LIKE WE'RE GOING IN EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS A, UH, A CAR MOVEMENT PROJECT AT ITS CORE.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR BICYCLES AND FOR PEDESTRIANS, UH, BUT I QUESTION THE TURN LANE.
UM, I ALSO QUESTION WHY WE HAVE A, UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE TRAVELING EASTBOUND, WE'RE GOING FROM TWO LANES WHEN WE KNOW WE'RE CHECKING DOWN TO A SINGLE LANE AS SOON AS WE GET PAST THE BRIDGE, UH, WHY NOT GO AHEAD AND MAKE THAT BRIDGE ONE LANE, AND THEN WE COULD HAVE A MUCH SMALLER PROJECT THAT INCORPORATES THAT MULTIMODAL, UH, OR GIVES MORE OF IT OVER TO, TO BIKES AND PEDESTRIANS.
UM, THIS IS A PROJECT THAT I WANTED TO SUPPORT COMING INTO THE MEETING TONIGHT.
UM, I, I DO SUPPORT AN INVESTMENT IN RECONSTRUCTING THIS BRIDGE.
IT'S A VITAL PIECE OF INFRASTRUCTURE, AND WE KNOW THAT IT'S STARTING TO, TO HIT ITS LIFESPAN.
UM, WE DO NEED TO FIX THIS BRIDGE.
WE NEED TO REBUILD THIS BRIDGE, BUT TO REBUILD IT AT THIS SIZE IS A MASSIVE STEP BACKWARDS THAT I, UM, AM I'M DISAPPOINTED TO SEE TONIGHT.
[00:55:03]
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YES, COMMISSIONER MARCUS.I'M GONNA, UM, SWITCH GEARS A LITTLE BIT, UM, AND ASK ABOUT, UH, A DIFFERENT FEATURE.
SO I'M WONDERING, UM, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE TRAFFIC WHILE THE CONSTRUCTION WILL BE ONGOING? HOW WOULD IT BE ROUTED? YEAH, SO THE, DURING CONSTRUCTION, THERE WILL BE ONE LANE OPEN IN EACH DIRECTION ACROSS THE BRIDGE TO FACILITATE, UH, CONTINUED, UM, CIRCULATION IN THAT AREA.
UH, MOST CRITICALLY, AND AGAIN, THIS TIES IN A LITTLE BIT WITH THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIENCIES THERE, THE, IN TERMS OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE, AS WELL AS THERE'S A HIGHLY TRAVELED CAP METRO BUS LINE THAT RUNS, UH, ALONG THAT ROADWAY.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE AND KEEP ALL OF THOSE OPEN.
ONE OF THE OPTIONS THAT WE, UH, LOOKED AT RELATIVELY RECENTLY, AND THEN DISCARDED WAS ACTUALLY CLOSING THE BRIDGE ENTIRELY FOR ABOUT A YEAR, UM, IN ORDER TO, TO DO THAT.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THAT WOULD CAUSE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT DISRUPTION, BOTH IN TERMS OF OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIME, AS WELL AS THAT BUS ROUTE IN TERMS OF THE CIRCULATION THERE.
SO, UM, THAT WAS, UM, PUT TO THE SIDE AND, UM, THE PROJECT DURATION IS APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS, BUT YEAH, THERE WILL BE ONE LANE OPEN IN EACH DIRECTION ACROSS THE BRIDGE DURING CONSTRUCTION.
AND THEN JUST A FOLLOW ON QUESTION IN TERMS OF, UM, UM, PRESENTATION DEALS WITH THE REHAB PROJECT MORE THAN BUILDING THE NEW STRUCTURE.
SO I'M WONDERING, WELL, HAS IT BEEN DECIDED WHETHER IT'S GONNA BE A REHAB VERSUS BUILDING A NEW STRUCTURE TOGETHER? YEAH, COUNCIL DIRECTED US TO, TO PROCEED WITH A, UH, FULL REPLACEMENT OF THE BRIDGE.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE IN SOME OF THE RENDERINGS THERE.
UM, THERE HAVE BEEN QUESTIONS AMONGST OTHER COMMISSIONS ABOUT WHAT A REHAB STRUCTURE WOULD LOOK LIKE, AND THAT'S WHY THERE'S DETAILED INFORMATION IN THE PRESENTATION ABOUT WHAT A, A REHABILITATION WOULD LOOK LIKE.
ULTIMATELY, WE ARE OPERATING UNDER DIRECTION FROM CITY COUNCIL TO PURSUE THE FULL REPLACEMENT OPTION AS WE GO THROUGH THE, UH, DESIGN PROCESS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER GALLES? THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UH, I AG AGAIN, ECHO ALL THE COMMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE REGARDING THE INCREASED CAPACITY AND, YOU KNOW, THE QUESTIONING OF WHERE THAT TRAFFIC IS GONNA BE REDIRECTED TO.
BUT THE QUESTION I, I HAVE ACTUALLY WANT, I WANT TO FOCUS IN ON THE CHARACTER AND, UH, AS COMMISSIONER MARCUS JUST, UH, MENTIONED BEFORE THIS, THE PRESENTATION FOCUSES QUITE HEAVILY ON WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE TO TRY TO PRESERVE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PRESERVATION ASPECT OF THIS, I THINK CANNOT BE, UM, OVERLOOKED, SHOULDN'T BE OVERLOOKED, AND WE WANT TO TRY TO FOREGROUND THAT CHARACTER OF A PLACE.
A SENSE OF PLACE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, AND YOU CANNOT REALLY PUT A, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF VALUE ONTO IT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, ONCE IT'S GONE, IT'S LOST.
UM, THERE'S SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, THAT IS, IS VERY DEEPLY SAD ABOUT LOSING THE CHARACTER OF THIS BRIDGE.
AND I SEE THE IMAGE OF THE REPLACEMENT, AND I'M HOPEFUL THAT THERE'S STILL ROOM FOR DESIGN INPUT IN THAT.
AND I'M SURE, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER'S COMING BACK IN HERE CAN ALSO BE CHARACTERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL AND NOT AS, UH, STARK AND UTILITARIAN AS, UH, SORT OF THIS VERY THICK CONCRETE EDGE THAT IS BEING EXPRESSED IN THE IMAGE, UM, SHOWS.
AND IF IT CANNOT BE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, SIMULACRA OR SORT OF REPLICA OF WHAT WAS THERE, UH, YOU KNOW, ALSO SOMETHING THAT'S CELEBRATING THE ARCH, SOMETHING THAT'S CELEBRATING THE, THE HISTORY AND THE, YOU KNOW, PRESERVING, UM, THE MEMORY OF THE BRIDGE THAT USED TO BE THERE WOULD BE WHAT WE WOULD HOPE FOR.
I, I, I HOPE MY COMMISSIONERS SHARE THAT SAME, SAME, UH, SENTIMENT.
I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN IS A SPECIAL PLACE, UH, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, TOWN LAKE, THIS LOCATION JUST IN GENERAL, OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE WATER IS VERY IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE WHO, WHO LIVE IN THIS CITY.
AND THIS IS GOING TO CREATE A DRAMATIC CHANGE, WHICH ONCE IT'S DONE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN NEVER BE UNDONE AGAIN.
AND SO, UM, WHILE I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE SAYING THE COST OF REPAIRING PATCHWORKING, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO SORT OF BANDAID WHAT WAS THERE PERHAPS DOESN'T SERVE THE CITY IN THE BEST WAY, I WOULD REALLY URGE FOR ELEGANT DESIGN THAT, UH, SOMEHOW ECHOES AND HEARKENS BACK TO THAT ORIGINAL CHARACTER AS THIS PROJECT MOVES FORWARD.
AND NOT TO LOSE THAT IN THE REDESIGN OF IT.
SO NOT A QUESTION, BUT A STATEMENT AND, AND PERHAPS MY, I SHOULD ASK WHO, WHO AND HOW WILL THIS BE DESIGNED? IS THERE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLANNED AND, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE ARE WE IN THAT? I SEE RENDERINGS.
IS THAT THE FINAL PROPOSAL? Y YEAH.
SO WHERE WE ARE AT IN THE PROCESS IS WE'RE PROGRESSING THE DESIGN, UM, TOWARDS THE 90% MILESTONE.
[01:00:01]
REQUIREMENT BY GETTING THE FEDERAL GRANT HAS SHIFTED OUR TIMELINE AROUND FROM WHAT WE NORMALLY DO.AND SO WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA BE GOING BACK AND DISCUSSING AND TAKING INPUT ON POTENTIAL DESIGN OPTIONS.
ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS HERE TODAY ARE, WOULD BE GREAT COMMENTS THAT WOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT NEPA PROJECT REVIEW IN TERMS OF APPROPRIATENESS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
ULTIMATELY, AT THE END OF THE D THE DAY, THE DESIGN OF THE PROJECT AND THE ULTIMATE LOOK AND FEEL WILL COME TO THIS COMMISSION FOR REVIEW.
UM, BUT WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT THERE YET.
WE HAVEN'T DONE THE DESIGN YET.
WE HAVE THOSE RENDERINGS THAT ARE VERY PRELIMINARY RENDERINGS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY PART OF THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT.
UM, SO ONCE WE GET TO A MILESTONE WHERE WE'RE READY TO, UM, WE FEEL IT LIKE WE HAVE A FINISHED PRODUCT, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO INCORPORATE INPUT FROM, UM, THE NEPA PROCESS AS WELL AS PUBLIC INPUT AND, AND RESPONSES TO THOSE, UH, DESIGN OPTIONS, THEN WE WILL BE ABLE TO COME BACK AND, AND TALK MORE ABOUT LOOK AND FEEL.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
AND DID YOU HAVE ONE MORE ACTUALLY? OH, SORRY.
UM, OF IF AT RISK OF BELABORING THE POINT I REALLY RECOMMEND THIS PROJECT, WHAT WE WERE SHOWN TONIGHT WAS A TRANSPORTATION PROJECT AT ITS CORE, UM, THAT HAS PLACEMAKING ELEMENTS.
UH, AND WHAT I THINK THIS LOCATION AND, AND MONUMENT AND PIECE OF AUSTIN DESERVE IS A PLACEMAKING PROJECT THAT HAS SOME TRANSPORTATION ELEMENTS.
I THINK THAT CONCLUDES COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.
[3. 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.]
RIGHT.MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE INCLUSION OF WEST CAMPUS INTO THE DOWNTOWN AREA, PRESENTED BY ISHA JOHNSON FROM AUSTIN PLANNING.
MY NAME IS ISHA JOHNSON AND I'M A PRINCIPAL PLANNER WITH AUSTIN PLANNING.
I SERVE AS, UH, THE PROJECT LEAD FOR THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN, AND I'M JOINED HERE BY MY SUPERVISOR, DIVISION, ONE OF THE DIVISION MANAGERS OVER LONG RANGE PLANNING IN THE DEPARTMENT, CHRIS RYERSON.
UM, THIS EVENING I WILL INTRODUCE YOU TO THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN, PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE PLAN STRUCTURE, ACQUAINT YOU WITH OUR TWO ADVISORY GROUPS, ESTABLISH THE PROJECT TIMELINE, AND INFORM YOU OF OUR PRO OUR PROGRESS SO FAR.
UM, THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT AREA INCLUDES THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DOWNTOWN, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AREAS BEYOND, UH, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AREA.
BEYOND UT CAMPUS ITSELF, THE PLAN, UH, THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PLAN WERE SPECIFICALLY ESTABLISHED TO REINFORCE THE CONNECTIVITY OF THE BUILT TO NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS, UH, WITHIN AR WITHIN THE AREAS, UM, OF GREATEST AND EXISTING FORECASTED DENSITY.
ADDITIONALLY, THE PLAN AREA RECOGNIZES THE ROLE THAT THESE THREE AREAS PLAY AS A REGIONAL CENTER, UM, IS IDENTIFIED IN THE IMAGINE AUSTIN GROWTH CONCEPT MAP.
UM, SO WE WANTED TO, UH, USE A BROADER PERSPECTIVE, UH, TO CONSIDER THE URBAN CORE OF AUSTIN.
WE WANNA EMPHASIZE AND CELEBRATE THE DOWNTOWN AREA, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AREA, AND THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AREA.
UM, AS THE CITY'S URBAN CORE, EACH WITH UNIQUE BUT COMPLIMENTARY GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT CHARACTERISTICS, UH, THESE AREAS SHOULD BE TREATED AS INTERCONNECTED AREAS OF INNOVATION, COMMERCE, AND CULTURE WITH ALIGNED PLANNING APPROACHES THAT MAINTAIN THEIR DISTINCT IDENTITIES WHILE ENABLING GROWTH.
FINALLY, THE PLANNED BOUNDARIES ALIGN WITH EXISTING AND PROJECTED URBAN CORE PROJECTS, LIKE I 35 ENHANCEMENTS AND PUBLIC TRANSIT CORRIDORS AND, AND HUBS.
UM, THIS APPROACH HELPS TO CAPTURE AND INCORPORATE LOCAL AND STATE INVESTMENTS IN PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THE URBAN CORE.
SO I'D LIKE TO EMPHASIZE THAT THE INCLUSION OF THE WEST CAMPUS AREA IN THIS PLANT AREA IS NOT ABOUT EXPANDING DOWNTOWN, BUT ABOUT PLANNING MORE EFFICIENTLY FOR THE BUILT TO NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS OF, OF OUR DENTIST AREAS IN THE CITY.
[01:05:01]
SO MORE ON THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN.THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN WILL HELP INFORM THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AREA AND THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT BY GUIDING THE NEXT 10 YEARS OF GROWTH AND INVESTMENTS.
THIS IS DONE, DONE THROUGH A COMMUNITY INFORMED VISION AND GOALS, A PLACE TYPES MAP THAT WILL HELP GUIDE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS, ESTABLISHING PUBLIC REALM AND MULTIMODAL IMPROVEMENTS, AND CREATING PARTNERSHIP RECOMMENDATIONS THROUGHOUT THE PLANNING PROCESS.
THE INTERAGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP HAS HELPED INFORM THE PLAN'S CONTENT AND DIRECTION.
THIS GROUP IS MADE UP OF CITY DEPARTMENTS AS WELL AS OTHER PUBLIC AND PARTNER AGENCIES, WHICH INCLUDE A CC, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP CAP, METRO CENTRAL HEALTH RALLY, AUSTIN TXDOT, TRAVIS COUNTY, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
UM, BEYOND THE PLANNING EFFORT AND POTENTIAL PLAN ADOPTION, WE WILL, UH, REACH OUT TO THIS GROUP, UH, TO HAVE THEM WEIGH ON ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION TRACKING.
THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP WAS DEVELOPED USING FOCUS TOPICS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED IN IN THE 2024 RESOLUTION, CALLING FOR A DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN UPDATE.
WE STARTED WITH A STRATEGY TO IDENTIFY THOSE THAT LIVE, WORK AND VISIT THE AREA, BUT ALSO, UH, THOUGHT ABOUT UNDERREPRESENTED VOICES, SO SOUGHT ORGANIZATIONS THAT OFTEN REPRESENT THOSE UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS.
THE LIST TO THE LEFT OF THE SLIDE CAPTURES THE TYPE OF REPRESENTATIVES WE SOUGHT IN THE PROCESS.
WE VETTED OUR LIST, UM, WITH VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS ESPECIALLY, BUT NOT IN ESPECIALLY AUSTIN.
UM, HOMELESS STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS, AUSTIN CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE, AUSTIN EQUITY AND INCLUSION, AUSTIN HOUSING, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, AUSTIN ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT, AND THE DISTRICT NINE COUNCIL OFFICE.
OUR STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP WAS CREATED TO MORE CLOSELY WORK WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY TO REVIEW PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT FEEDBACK, AND TO ALSO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DRAFT DELIVERABLES.
SO THEY'RE REALLY THE RECIPIENTS OF, UH, PUBLIC, UM, ENGAGEMENT FEEDBACK.
THIS GROUP IS SCHEDULED TO MEET SIX TIMES, UM, THROUGH DECEMBER OF 2026.
THE PLAN AND PROP PUBLIC, UM, FACING PART OF THE PROCESS, UM, KICKED OFF IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR.
OUR STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP MEETINGS ARE CONDUCTED IN WORKSHOP FORMAT.
IT'S ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE COULD REALLY, UH, GET THAT MANY FOLKS TO, UM, TO EFFICIENTLY WORK THROUGH PROMPTS, UM, AND ACTIVITIES.
SO THIS IS OUR PROJECT TIMELINE.
WE DIVIDED THE, THE PROJECT TIMELINE BY ENGAGEMENT PHASES.
UM, AND SO WE HAVE THREE ENGAGEMENT PHASES.
OUR FIRST PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT, UM, WAS NOVEMBER THROUGH DECEMBER OF 2025.
UM, WE, UM, HAD ACTIVITIES SUCH AS OPEN HOUSES, UM, A SPEAK UP AUSTIN SURVEY, AND WE KICKED OFF MEETINGS OF THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP IN THE INTER-AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP.
OUTCOMES OF THAT, UM, PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT INCLUDED, UH, FEEDBACK THAT INFORMED THE FULLER EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT.
WE INITIALLY HAD ANALYSIS THAT, UM, HELPED US JUMPSTART CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY FOR PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT.
UM, OUTCOMES OF THE, UH, PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT ALSO INCLUDED DRAFT VI, UH, VISION, A DRAFT VISION STATEMENT AND GOALS, AND ALSO SOME DRAFT NEEDS AND GAPS.
PHASE TWO OFFICIALLY KICKED OFF AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR AND IS STILL, UH, ONGOING.
THE FOCUS OF THIS PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT IS TO REALLY, UM, WORKSHOP VISION AND GOALS AND NEEDS AND GAPS, AND ALSO EVENTUALLY PROVIDE REVIEW OF, UH, GROWTH SCENARIOS.
SOME KEY ACTIVITIES FOR THIS PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT THAT WE ARE IN, UM, IS, UM, OUR OBJECTIVES OR OUR SECOND OPEN HOUSE, WHICH, UM, WE HAD THE COMMUNITY REVIEW OUR PLAN OBJECTIVES, UM, AND THEN WE ALSO KICKED OFF SOME INTERNAL SCENARIO PLANNING WORKSHOPS.
UM, AND THEN WE WILL ALSO, UH, FOLLOW UP WITH SOME MORE EXTERNAL FACING SCENARIO PLANNING
[01:10:01]
WORKSHOPS WITH KEY IMPLEMENTERS OF THE PLAN.SO WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH IMPLEMENTERS TO ONE BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT'S IN THEIR PURVIEW AND HAVE THEM WEIGH IN ON THINGS THAT THEY HAVE, UM, ARE HOPING FOR THEIR FUTURE.
SO WE ARE IN ALIGNMENT IN CREATING THOSE INITIAL PARTNERSHIPS, IF NOT ALREADY PARTNER WITH, UM, THOSE TYPE OF, UM, ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND WE WILL OF COURSE CONTINUE OUR, OUR STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP AND INTERAGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP MEETINGS.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE'LL HAVE A PUBLIC, UM, OPPORTUNITY FOR, UH, FOR THE COMMUNITY TO WEIGH IN ON, UM, INFORMATION RELATED TO, UH, SCENARIO PLANNING.
AND THEN LASTLY, PHASE PHASE THREE BEGINS.
UM, IN FALL OF THIS YEAR AND PHASE, WE WILL ENTER PHASE THREE WITH A DRAFT PLAN.
UM, THAT DRAFT PLAN WILL ALSO BEGIN A, UH, WHAT WILL MOST LIKELY BE OUR SECOND ROUND OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UH, BRIEFINGS.
UM, AND, UH, WE WILL ALSO, UM, POST PUBLISH THE DRAFT PLAN FOR THE COMMUNITY TO WEIGH IN ON NO LESS THAN ONE MONTH.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE HOPING FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER, WE'LL HAVE OUR FINAL ROUND OF OPEN HOUSES.
AND THEN WE WILL, UM, KIND OF WRAP UP OUR STAKEHOLDER ADVISOR GROUP AND INTERAGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP MEETINGS.
NOW, I EXPLAINED THIS, UH, PROJECT TIMELINE IN DETAIL, UM, BUT NOW, UH, THERE, THERE'S A CAVEAT IN THAT, UH, SINCE SUBMITTING THIS PRESENTATION FOR BACKUP, WE, UM, UH, ENTERED A NUMBER OF INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS, UM, TO REALLY, UM, EXPLORE EXTENDING OUR ORIGINALLY AMBITIOUS PROJECT TIMELINE.
UH, WE WERE LOOKING AT THIS, UM, REASON BEING THAT, UH, WE'RE AT A CRITICAL, WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY DONE WITH THE, THE PLANNING PROCESS, AND WE'VE REALLY REACHED A CLIMAX AND, UM, THE TYPE OF INFORMATION THAT NEEDS TO BE REVIEWED AND CREATED.
UM, UH, REALLY THIS IS A CRITICAL POINT IN THE PLANNING PROCESS.
AND SO TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE NOT RUSHING THROUGH THAT, THAT CRITICAL STAGE, AND ULTIMATELY PRODUCING HIGH QUALITY WORK, THAT REALLY STANDS THE TEST OF, OF TIME WITH, UM, THIS AREA'S GROWTH.
WE ARE NOW PROPOSING THAT WE BRING A DRAFT PLAN TO, UM, TO THE PUBLIC IN VERY EARLY 2027.
UM, AND THEN WE ARE, UM, GOING THROUGH, THROUGH A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND WE WILL, UM, BRING OUR PLAN TO COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION IN LATE SPRING.
THAT'S QUICK UP, QUICK UPDATE THERE.
BUILT, UH, THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT HAS BEEN A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION THROUGHOUT THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UH, DISPLAYED IS, ARE A COUPLE OF KEY, UH, COMMENTS.
UM, UH, EXCUSE ME, UH, COMMENTS THAT ARE, UH, MOST OF THEM ARE RELATED TO, UM, THE COMMUNITY BEING INTERESTED IN MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT IN DOWNTOWN AND THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT.
UH, PARTI PARTICULARLY ACHIEVED BY REDEVELOPING UNDERUSED SITES LIKE PARKING LOTS, GARAGES, AND LOW RISE BUILDINGS.
UM, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK ON THIS SLIDE ALSO HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED TO IMPROVE BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING SAFER PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE FACILITIES, BETTER CROSSINGS AND SIGNALS AND REPAIRED SIDEWALKS AND STREETS.
PUBLIC SAFETY AND PERCEIVED SAFETY ARE KEY CONCERNS FOR THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY WITH CALLS FOR IMPROVED LIGHT LIGHTING AND MORE ACTIVE STREET LEVEL RETAIL.
UM, SO THIS SLIDE, UM, ILLUSTRATES HOW WE GO FROM JUST MORE OF LIKE A HIGH LEVEL VISION STATEMENT TO VERY SPECIFIC AND DETAILED ACTIONS.
UM, SO THE PLAN IS DEVELOPED IN KIND OF FOUR KEY PIECES, UH, THE MOST GENERAL BEING THE VISION STATEMENT, WHILE THE ACTIONS ARE THE MOST SPECIFIC.
UM, AND SO IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES, I WILL PRESENT THE VISION STATEMENT AND OUR, OUR GOALS, THE FIRST TWO COMPONENTS.
SO THE VISION STATEMENT DESCRIBES THE FUTURE, UH, DESIRED FUTURE STATE OF THE DISTRICT, AND THE PURPOSE OF THE PLAN.
IT ESTABLISHES THE OVERALL DIRECTION FOR THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN, AND REFLECTS COMMUNITY INPUT, BOARDING, COMMISSION'S, GUIDANCE, COUNCIL DIRECTION, AND STAFF FEEDBACK.
[01:15:02]
UM, THIS VISION STATEMENT SERVES AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL FOR THE PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDERS.I'LL PAUSE HERE FOR A MOMENT, UM, TO, UM, LET YOU ALL READ, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HADN'T HAD TIME TO REVIEW THE BACKUP BEFORE THIS MEETING.
ALRIGHT, I'VE SEEN MOST OF THE HEADS, UM, LOOK UP, SO I WILL, UM, HEAD ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THIS SLIDE, UM, FEATURES OUR PLAN GOALS.
EACH GOAL SERVES TO ACCOM, ACCOMPLISH AND SUPPORT THE VISION STATEMENT.
UM, THE GOALS WILL SERVE AS A FRAMEWORK FOR THE PLAN WITH EACH GOAL REPRESENTING A CATEGORY OF PLAN OBJECTIVES AND ACTIONS.
UM, THESE GOALS WERE DEVELOPED USING KEY THEMES FROM COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, PUBLIC SAFETY, MOBILITY, AND HOUSING WERE THE TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
I'LL PAUSE HERE FOR 30 SECONDS JUST TO LET YOU ALL SKIM OVER THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE.
SO, UM, AS, UM, UM, A COUPLE OF SLIDES BACK, WE SHOWED HOW WE GET FROM A VISION STATEMENT, WHICH IS LESS SPECIFIC TO, UM, OUR ACTION ITEMS, WHICH ARE VERY DETAILED AND SPECIFIC.
SO WE WANTED TO PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE GET FROM, YOU KNOW, OUR, SO WE HAVE VISION STATEMENT GOAL, AND THEN HOW WE GET TO ACTIONS.
UM, SO WE FOCUSED ON A MOBILITY GOAL, UM, THAT BEING PROVIDED SAFE, CONNECTED AND RELIABLE MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
UM, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OBJECTIVES THAT RELATE TO EACH GOAL, BUT WE SELECTED ONE THAT, UM, CARRIED A SIMILAR LANGUAGE.
AND THEN SOME EXAMPLE RELATED ACTIONS ARE THINGS THAT WE KNOW THAT, UM, ARE, ONE OF OUR IMPLEMENTERS IS WILL BE IMPLEMENTING, UH, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS IS WORKING ON SMALL AREA MOBILITY PLANS.
THEY'RE LOOKING TO REALLY ATTACH ON TO DISTRICT, UM, DISTRICT AREA PLANS.
AND SO WE KNOW THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT, UH, CREATING A SMALL AREA MOBILITY PLAN IN THE UNIVERSITY AREA, AND THEN ALSO CREATING A SMALL AREA MOBILITY PLAN IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT, BUT ARE ACTUALLY LOOKING BEYOND THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT TO TIE THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT TOO.
OTHER, UM, SOUTH CENTRAL AREAS OF THE CITY, EXCUSE ME.
AND EXCUSE ME, THIS CONCLUDES MY, UM, INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN.
I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS AND MY CONTACT INFORMATION AS WELL AS MY SUPERVISOR'S INFORMATION IS DISPLAYED ON THIS SLIDE.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER MARCUS.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS, UM, PLAN TO US.
I DO HAVE A QUESTION, AND IT'S A, IT'S A BIT NITTY GRITTY.
UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU CHOSE TO PRESENT AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE MOBILITY GOAL, HOW YOU GO FROM THE GOAL TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT AN ACTION.
I DO HAVE A QUESTION ON PAGE 10, SORT OF THE LAST SENTENCE THAT SAYS, UM, YOU LIST THE PRIORITIES THAT ARE BEING, UM, UH, IDENTIFIED AS, UH, ELEMENTS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT.
AND MOBILITY IS NOT PART OF THAT.
SO I AM WONDERING WHETHER IT'S BEEN REFLECTED, UM, SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE DRAFT VISION STATEMENT, UM, OR, OR IT'S JUST SIMPLY YOU HAVE DECIDED TO FOCUS ON THESE SPECIFIC PRIORITIES.
I DIDN'T CATCH THE FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION.
SO THE FIRST PART IS, SO WHEN I LOOK AT, UM, THE LAST SENTENCE ON PAGE 10, OKAY, MOBILITY, UM, OR CONNECTIVITY, UM, IS NOT PART OF PRIORITIES.
AND I'M WONDERING UNDERSTOOD WHAT, WHETHER IT'S REFLECTED SOMEWHERE
[01:20:01]
ELSE.AND I SIMPLY DID NOT CATCH THAT.
IT'S HARD TO KNOW WHAT, WHAT EXACTLY YOU'RE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SLIDE 10? CORRECT.
UM, I'M, IT'S DEFINITELY LIKE A KEY GOAL.
IT'S, IT'S KIND OF ELE, I WOULD SAY TOP THREE.
UM, AND SO IT PERHAPS WAS JUST OUR KIND OF MISSTEP THAT WE DIDN'T, UM, MENTION IT, BUT IT IS LIKE, UM, UM, HIGH PRIORITY.
SO ON THE SLIDE, I THINK IT'S NUMBER 11, VISION AND GOALS, THE DRAFT GOALS MM-HMM
ARE THERE ANY ORDER OF PRIORITY OR IS IT JUST ALL OF THEM RIGHT NOW HAVE EQUAL PRIORITY? BECAUSE I SEE THAT GO LAID, THE PUBLIC SAFETY, THE LAST ONE.
AND I JUST FEEL THAT THAT HAS TO BE, THERE'S ANY ORDER OF PRIORITY THAT HAS TO BE SOMEWHERE UP THERE.
SO, YEAH, THAT, AND THAT KIND OF KINDA GOES AGAINST WHAT I, WHAT I JUST, UH, SHARED.
UM, THE, THE GOALS ARE NOT PRIORITIZED.
I MEAN, IT, I THINK IT WOULD BE HARD TO PRIORITIZE, BUT WE KNOW THAT, UM, THERE IS A LOT OF SUPPORT AND MOVEMENT AND POLICY IN THE CITY TO, UM, TO MATCH OUR INVESTMENT IN HOUSING WITH, WITH, UH, INVESTMENT IN MOBILITY AND THAT TYPE OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I FEEL CONFIDENT SAYING THAT IS BECAUSE THAT'S, I MEAN, UM, THAT'S REALLY DRIVING GROWTH AND CHANGE IN THE CITY.
UM, BUT YEAH, IN TERMS OF THE, THE GOALS THAT GOALS LIST THERE, IT'S NOT PRIORITIZED RIGHT NOW.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER HOWARD.
UM, THANKS FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
IT'S, UM, GREAT TO, I KNOW THIS IS A REALLY BIG PROJECT AND I APPRECIATE YOU KIND OF GIVING US THE, THE BIG ZOOMED OUT VIEW.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WOULD BE EFFICIENCIES IN PLANNING THESE AREAS TOGETHER MM-HMM
UM, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, WHAT, WHAT KIND OF EFFICIENCIES YOU'RE IMAGINING WILL WILL COME FROM THAT? YEAH.
AND, UM, I, I'M GONNA TAG JUST MY SECOND QUESTION RIGHT ONTO THAT, THE END OF THAT ONE, WHICH IS, UM, YOU GUYS, YOU'RE GETTING INTO PLACE TYPES RIGHT NOW, AND I THINK THAT'S, UM, AND, AND YOU ALSO SPOKE ABOUT PUBLIC, UM, PUBLIC REALM AND MULTIMODAL IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH I THINK YOU KIND OF INSINUATED, UH, SOME OF IN THEIR EXAMPLES, WHICH IS GREAT.
BUT, UM, SO I'LL FOCUS ON THE PLACE TYPES.
UM, PLACE TYPES ARE, ARE A CONCEPT THAT IS, UM, IS ROOTED IN URBAN DESIGN.
I'M JUST CURIOUS, WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF PLACE TYPES Y'ALL ARE IMAGINING AND HOW ARE YOU USING THAT IN THIS PLANNING EFFORT? THOSE WERE TWO QUESTIONS.
I'VE GOT THE FIRST ONE I'M GONNA CALL ON MY SUPERVISOR FOR THE SECOND.
UM, SO I MEAN, REAL REALISTICALLY, AND THIS KIND OF GOES BACK TO THE DISTRICT PLANNING APPROACH IN GENERAL, THE SMALLER SCALE WE PLAN ON, THE LONGER IT TAKES US TO PLAN FOR ALL AREAS OF THIS GROWING CITY, THE CITY, THERE ARE AREAS OF THE CITY THAT HAVEN'T BEEN INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY PLANNING PROCESS.
AND SO PART OF THAT PLANNING EFFICIENTLY, UH, UH, EFFICIENCY IS JUST LOOKING AND PLANNING AT A LARGER SCALE.
AND ALSO IN THAT RESPECT, WE, WE ARE ABLE TO THINK ABOUT CONNECTIVITY VERSUS LIKE MORE DISCRETE AREAS THAT REALLY DON'T, UM, KIND OF BALANCE EACH OTHER'S NEEDS.
THAT'S ANOTHER THING WE'RE THINKING ABOUT.
MAYBE WE WON'T GET A, A LIBRARY OR A PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITY IN EVERY, UM, MORE DISCREET NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT IF WE THINK ABOUT THE AREAS ON A, A LARGER SCALE, UM, THEN, THEN WE CAN MEET THOSE NEEDS COMPLETE COMMUNITIES.
UH, YEAH, SO CHRIS RYERSON ALSO WITH AUSTIN PLANNING.
UM, AS FAR AS THE PLACE TYPES, UM, PART OF THE REASON ISHA WANTED ME TO CHAT ABOUT IT IS ONE OF MY OTHER TEAMS WITHIN THE DIVISION IS THE ONE WORKING ON THE IMAGINE AUSTIN UPDATE, WHICH IS WHERE WE'RE DERIVING THE PLACE TYPES THAT WILL BE USED IN THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN, THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR PLAN, ET CETERA.
SO THE PLACE TYPES FOR IMAGINE AUSTIN AND THOSE OTHER SMALLER PLANS ARE CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT.
UM, UM, AND I DEFINITELY TAKE YOUR POINT THAT THEY, THEY KIND OF HAVE THEIR ORIGIN, I DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD SAY ORIGIN, BUT THEY'RE RELATED TO URBAN DESIGN.
AND CERTAINLY PART OF THE MOTIVATION WAS NOT TO JUST HAVE PLACE TYPES, JUST BE ANOTHER WORD FOR LAND USE, BUT TO CERTAINLY HAVE THEM HAVE A MORE HOLISTIC LOOK AT HOW WE LOOK AT COMMUNITIES AND HOW WE LOOK AT DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS.
[01:25:01]
I THINK URBAN DESIGN IS ONE IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THAT.UM, RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD TO SAY EXACTLY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE NAMES THAT WE'RE GONNA USE.
LIKE WE'RE WORKSHOPPING ALL OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE GOING OVER PERMITTED ZONING DISTRICTS WITH OUR ZONING TEAM.
UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF SETTLING IN ON LIKE A, A RANGE OF 12 TO 13, MAYBE 14 TOTAL PLACE TYPES FOR THE CITY THAT WILL ENCOMPASS THE FULL RANGE OF DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS THAT WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE FROM LOWER DENSITY RESIDENTIAL AREAS UP THROUGH OUR HIGHEST DENSITY, MIXED USE, DIFFERENT TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL USES.
UH, THERE MAY BE AN AIRPORT SPECIFIC PLACE TYPE, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN SOME OTHERS THAT MAY BE TARGETED TOWARDS, UM, KIND OF SPECIAL USE RECREATION TYPE AREAS THAT GET KIND OF INFLUXES OF PEOPLE FOR EVENTS.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THAT INFLUX OF PEOPLE WILL LEAVE.
SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO LOOK AT THE FULL RANGE OF THE TYPES OF PLACES THAT WE NEED TO HAVE DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS FOR, AND THEN LOOK AT THEM VERY HOLISTICALLY, NOT JUST THE LAND USE IN THE PERMITTED ZONING DISTRICTS, BUT WHAT OTHER TYPES OF, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE ARE APPROPRIATE IN EACH OF THOSE PLACE TYPES.
UH, WHERE SHOULD WE HAVE DIFFERENT TYPES AND SCALES OF PARKS, LIBRARIES, DIFFERENT TYPES OF PUBLIC AMENITIES.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, BUT I'M HAPPY TO EXPAND ON ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT.
UM, YEAH, I GUESS IN YOU, YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, IT IS NOT SPECIFICALLY LAND USE, IT'S KIND OF A LITTLE MORE HOLISTIC THAN THAT.
IS THIS, UM, ARE THESE PLACE TYPES GONNA BE USED SIMILAR TO LIKE, UH, A FUTURE LAND USE MAP? THEY WILL BE, YES.
AND CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW THEY'RE, HOW THEY'D BE DIFFERENT SPECIFIC IN THAT SPECIFIC CASE? YEAH, SO THEY WILL BE MAPPED LIKE FUTURE LAND USE CATEGORIES WERE, UM, I THINK PART OF THE IDEA IS, UM, WANTING THEM TO NOT BE AS SPECIFIC AS, YOU KNOW, REALLY TRADITIONAL, UM, TRADITIONAL LAND USE CATEGORIES.
SO EACH ONE WILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT BIGGER KIND OF TENT OR UMBRELLA TO ENCOMPASS, UH, ENCOMPASS A LITTLE WIDER VARIETY OF USES.
ONE IN THE HOPES THAT IT, IT MAKES THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBLE AND HOLISTIC, LIKE I SAID.
UM, BUT ALSO HOPEFULLY REDUCING THE, THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO REQUEST A PLAN AMENDMENT, UH, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, TO JUST SHIFT SLIGHTLY WHAT THEY WANNA DO WITH THE PROPERTY AS LONG AS IT FITS, OOPS, EXCUSE ME, TALK WITH MY HANDS TOO MUCH, UH, AS LONG AS IT FITS WITH THE, WITH THE OVERALL VISION OF WHAT HAS BEEN ENVISIONED FOR THE AREA.
BUT ULTIMATELY THE PLACE TYPES WILL BE MAPPED OUT.
THEY WILL BE, HAVE TO ESSENTIALLY BE APPLIED PARCEL BY PARCEL THROUGHOUT THE CITY BECAUSE THEY WILL BE USED FOR LAND, UM, FOR PLAN AMENDMENT AND ZONING CASES IN THE FUTURE.
SO THEY HAVE TO BE APPLIED AT A PARCEL BY PARCEL LEVEL ULTIMATELY.
BUT REALLY THE STARTING POINT IS THINKING ABOUT THE BROAD PATTERNS THAT WE WANNA SEE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
WHAT TYPE OF ADJACENCIES MAKE SENSE AND DON'T MAKE SENSE WHERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRANSITIONS BETWEEN USES OR PLACE TYPES ARE NEEDED.
THAT'LL CERTAINLY BE THE STARTING POINT BEFORE WHEN WE FINALLY GET TO THE END, THEY'LL BE MAPPED PARCEL BY PARCEL.
ANY OTHER, UH, COMMISSIONER CARROLL? UM, I, I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, I AM, I'M, UH, ON THE DOWNTOWN, UH, COMMISSION WORKING GROUP THAT GETS REGULAR UPDATES FROM ISHA AND CHRIS AND THEIR TEAM, UH, WHICH IS GREAT.
UH, BUT THE LANGUAGE HERE TONIGHT ON THE AGENDA IS POSTED, UH, REFERS TO ESSENTIALLY THE BOUNDARIES.
SO I JUST WANTED TO GO ON RECORD TO SAY I FULLY SUPPORT, UM, THE INCORPORATION OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AND THE WEST CAMPUS AREAS, UH, INTO THE CENTRAL DISTRICT, CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER SALINAS, JUST A COMMENT AND JUST SEEING THIS, YOU KNOW, I'VE LIVED IN, IN THE CITY SINCE LATE NINETIES, AND IT'S ALWAYS FELT LIKE THERE'S BEEN A HUGE DISCONNECT, UH, RIGHT THERE AT MLK ONCE YOU HIT THE UNIVERSITY, AND THEN THE BLOCKS BEFORE THAT UNTIL YOU, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE CAPITAL AREA AND THE STATE BUILDINGS.
UM, AND NOW WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF GROWTH IN THOSE AREAS.
UM, BUT JUST TO SEE IT KIND OF GET ALL WORKED TOGETHER, LUMPED TOGETHER IN A WAY WHICH WOULD BRING A LITTLE BIT MORE CONNECTIVITY, YOU KNOW, IT'S GREAT TO SEE IT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO AS COMMISSIONER CAROL HAD MENTIONED THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AND EXPANDING INTO, YOU KNOW, SOUTH OF THE RIVER, UH, 'CAUSE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, SAME THING DOWN THERE, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN EXCLUDED.
SO I JUST WANNA SAY THANKS FOR YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY.
IT'S GREAT TO SEE KIND OF THIS GROWING IN THAT SPACE.
[01:30:02]
COMMISSIONER GILLIS.UM, YES, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY INTRIGUING AND I KNOW YOU'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, AT THE SORT OF EARLY STAGES OF THIS PLAN.
AND, UH, MY QUESTION IS REALLY AROUND THE SORT OF MULTI-AGENCY COORDINATION THAT SOME OF THESE PROPOSALS WILL, UM, INEVITABLY, YOU KNOW, BRING ABOUT.
UH, AND I KNOW AS YOU'RE SAYING, THESE SORT OF, UH, IDENTIFIERS ARE, ARE STILL BEING WORKED OUT, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, CAP METRO, UH, UT TEXTILE, I MEAN, THERE'S SO MANY, UH, FOLKS WITH, WITH, UH, WITH A STAKE IN IN MANY OF THESE AREAS.
I'M CURIOUS, HAS THERE BEEN CONVERSATION ABOUT, UM, A SORT OF UNIFYING FIGURE, UH, LIKE PERHAPS SOME OF, SOME OF THE OTHER CITIES IN THIS, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE US HAVE SORT OF CITY, UM, YOU KNOW, MASTER URBAN PLANNER, IF YOU WILL, OR MASTER ARCHITECT? I DON'T KNOW.
THERE IS A, I THINK THERE IS ALREADY A CITY, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN ARCHITECT, BUT, UM, AND, AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOUR ROLE IS TO IMPLEMENT THIS SORT OF LONG RANGE PLANNING, BUT IT STRIKES ME AS THOUGH THERE MIGHT BE A NEED FOR SOMEBODY TO HELP, UH, LINK AND CROSS OVER SOME OF THESE MULTI-AGENCY CONVERSATIONS.
HAS THAT BEEN DISCUSSED? IT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED, AND DISCUSSIONS WILL CONTINUE IS, UM, UM, ESPECIALLY AS WE GET INTO THE IMPLEMENTERS MEETINGS FOR SCENARIO PLANNING, IT'S REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, IMPLEMENTERS TO, YOU KNOW, HELP US, UH, DECIDE WHERE, WHERE THEY'RE WILLING TO GO WITH US KIND OF THING.
UM, PERHAPS THAT'S SOMETHING THAT PERHAPS THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN MAYBE SPEAK, UM, TO, UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE OR, UM, UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS OR DEPUTY CITY MANAGER.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE, UH, DOWNTOWN STRATEGY OFFICE, UM, IS KIND OF ONE OF THOSE IMPLEMENTATION, UM, UH, SORT OF, UH, PROJECT MANAGERS, BUT, UM, DON'T WANNA SPEAK TO THEIR PURVIEW BEING THE ENTIRE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT.
I THINK WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS, UM, WE, WE MAY NEED SOME, SOME HELP FROM, FROM HIGHER UP, UM, TO REALLY, UH, BE THAT LIAISON BETWEEN, UM, THESE LARGER STAKEHOLDERS.
UM, SO WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING IT, BUT I, UM, YEAH, DEFINITELY NEED SOME CONTINUED DISCUSSIONS ALL THE WAY THROUGH, UM, POTENTIAL PLAN ADOPTION.
THAT WAS A ROUNDABOUT WAY OF SAYING WE, WE
THERE, THERE'S CERTAINLY PRECEDENT FOR IT, BUT YEAH, UNDERSTOOD.
COMMISSIONER KAHN, DID YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, YEAH, PART, PARTIALLY A COMMENT.
AND THEN PARTIALLY JUST A, UM, SIMILAR, SIMILAR QUESTION TO, TO COMMISSIONER GALES.
BUT, UM, YEAH, FIRSTLY JUST, I ALSO, UM, I LIVE IN BOLDON CREEK AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTING TO ME JUST HOW SOME OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA AND DISCUSSION AND DISCUSSED AND, UM, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT WEST CAMPUS AND, AND, UM, MORE OF LIKE CENTRAL AUSTIN IS JUST BEING THOUGHT OF HOLISTICALLY AND WE'RE THINKING ABOUT DOWNTOWN IN THAT AREA.
UM, WOULD, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE SAME, THE SAME ISSUES AND THE SAME CONCERNS FROM THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO IT'S GREAT TO SEE THIS AND, AND EXCITING TO KIND OF OBSERVE THE, THE, IT'S EARLY, I KNOW, IN THE PROCESS, BUT JUST TO SEE HOW THIS IS ALL GOING TO UNFOLD.
UM, YEAH, I WAS CURIOUS AND I, AND I GUESS WHAT YOU JUST, UH, HOW YOU JUST RESPONDED, UM, IT'S PROBABLY SIMILAR, BUT YEAH, IN TERMS OF JUST LIKE THE PRIORITIES AND THE, AND THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT YOU GUYS WERE THINKING THROUGH AND, AND FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AND HOW, HOW THAT WAS ALL, UM, WHAT THE NEXT STAGE WAS, UM, UH, WITH RESPECT TO THAT AND HOW THAT, HOW THAT TYPICALLY LOOKS.
I'M, I THINK I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION, WHICH IS ONCE WE UNDERSTAND THE COMMUNITY'S PRIORITIES, HOW THAT, HOW THOSE PRIORITIES ARE APPLIED TO THE, OKAY.
AND THEN ALSO, ALSO PARTIALLY JUST HOW, UH, WHAT THE NEXT STEP USUALLY IS IN TERMS OF, I GUESS THE, UH, RECEIVING THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK.
AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS HOW THAT PROCESS USUALLY WORKS, UM, FOR RECEIVING COMMUNITY FEEDBACK IN GENERAL.
UM, WE LIKE TO GO BACK AND KIND OF, UH, MAKE SURE THAT ALL COMMUNITY FEEDBACK IS DIGITIZED, UM, AND THEN WE SYNTHESIZE THAT FEEDBACK, PULL OUT KEY THEMES, UM, AND ALSO RUN, RUN, UM, OUR FINDINGS THROUGH, YOU KNOW, DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP, UM, WHERE THERE'S A DETERMINATION ABOUT WHAT, WHERE PRIORITIES CAN BE TWEAKED,
[01:35:01]
WHERE WE CAN COMBINE PRIORITIES, WHERE WE, UM, WHERE SOMETIMES THE COMMUNITY HAS SUGGESTIONS, BUT IT'S, IT'S NOT ACTUALLY IN THE PURVIEW OR IN THE SCOPE OF THE PLAN.SO LIKE WHERE, WHERE ELSE WE COULD RESPOND TO THAT COMMUNITY FEEDBACK OR, OR WHO'S RESPONSIBLE.
UM, WE CONSIDER ALL FEEDBACK AND WE, WE REALLY TAKE, UM, ALL FEEDBACK INTO ACCOUNT AND SEE HOW WE CAN, YOU KNOW, UM, REMEDIATE THE, THE, THE CONFLICT, BUT STILL, UM, DO OUR BEST TO, TO CAPTURE THE, THE INTENT OF THE, THE FEEDBACK.
I HOPE THAT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION.
I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS, SO I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT SOME OF THE PROCESS ON THAT.
SO MANY STAKEHOLDERS,
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
[6. Discussion and action to appoint a member of the Design Commission to serve as the Commission’s representative on the Downtown Commission. Sponsors: Commissioner Salinas and Chair Meiners.]
ALL RIGHT.UM, ON THAT NOTE, I THINK IT MAY BE APPROPRIATE TO, UH, HEAD TO ITEM SIX FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS, UH, DISCUSSION AND ACTION TO APPOINT A MEMBER OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION TO SERVE AS THE COMMISSION'S REPRESENTATIVE ON THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, WHICH I BELIEVE IS CURRENTLY IT'S OPEN.
IT HASN'T BEEN, COMMISSIONER GILLIS WAS THE LAST ONE WE HAD, BUT, UM, IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN BECOMING THE DESIGN COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE? YOU GET TO SEE COMMISSIONER CARROLL? UH, YES.
COMMISSIONER MARCUS? I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
HOW LONG IS THE, UH, REPRESENTATIVE? IS IT AN ANNUAL ROLE OR IS IT LONGER? JUST ONE YEAR OR MORE? UH, I, YEAH, IT'S FOR REALLY AS LONG AS THE PERSON IS WILLING TO BUILD A ROLE.
UM, AND JUST ATTEND, UH, THE MEETINGS OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
YEAH, I'D LIKE TO COMMIT FOR ONE YEAR.
UH, CAN YOU MAKE A MOTION OR CAN WE GET A MOTION TO NOMINATE COMMISSIONER MARCUS? I WILL.
MOTION TO NOMINATE COMMISSIONER MARCUS.
CAN WE GET A SECOND? ALL RIGHT.
WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER HOWARD, A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER SALINAS.
ALL IN FAVOR? OH, I APOLOGIZE.
ANY DISCUSSION RELATED TO THIS ITEM? OKAY.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER MARCUS.
[Additional Item]
UM, WE ARE GOING TO, I THINK I, I FEEL LIKE IT'S APPROPRIATE TO COVER ITEM SEVEN, UM, PRIOR TO ROUNDING IT OUT WITH ITEM FOUR.UM, I DON'T NORMALLY PLAN TO HAVE MEETINGS BE THIS CHAOTIC WITH THE AGENDA, BUT, UH, THAT'S JUST KINDA HOW MY BRAIN'S WORKING TONIGHT.
SO ITEM SEVEN, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON A LETTER FROM DESIGN COMMISSION TO CITY COUNCIL REGARDING THE DENSITY BONUS STANDARDS.
UM, I BELIEVE THE, UM, LETTER WAS PROVIDED AS BACKUP COMMISSIONER HOWARD.
UH, THIS IS FOR POSSIBLE ACTION AS WELL, RIGHT? SO I'LL, I'LL MAKE A, A MOTION THAT WE, UH, RECOMMEND THIS LETTER TO COUNSEL.
WE HAVE A MOTION, SECOND MOTION.
UH, WE HAVE A MOTION FROM, UM, COMMISSIONER HOWARD AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER CARROLL.
I THINK HE WAS QUICKER ON THE, ON THE DROP.
DO WE HAVE ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? YES.
I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
I KNOW LAST TIME WE MET AT THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, UH, THIS HADN'T YET GONE TO, UH, PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND, UM, UH, DAVID WAS THERE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING.
AND, UM, UH, I, I STAYED UNTIL THE END, WHICH WAS AT 11:00 PM UH, IT WAS A LONG ONE.
UM, AND, UH, UM, IN THE END, SO WE, WE MADE OUR RECOMMENDATION TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO, UM, TO TAKE OUR ALTERNATE DRAFT TO FROM STAFF'S DRAFT AND ADOPT THOSE WITH THEIR, UM, WITH THEIR RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL.
AND THEY DID MAKE THAT, UM, THEY MADE THAT KIND OF VERBATIM, THEY STRUCK THE URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS STAFF DRAFT FROM THEIR RECOMMENDATION AND REC, UH, USED OUR LANGUAGE INSTEAD.
SO AS, UM, AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND, IT IS EXACTLY OUR DRAFT AS WE PRESENTED IT, THAT IS BEING RECOMMENDED FROM PLANNING COMMISSION TO COUNCIL.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS ON THIS? ALL RIGHT.
HEARING NONE, UM, BAY, I HAVEN'T SEEN ONE SET UP THIS WAY BEFORE.
UM, SO I'M GONNA ASK STAFF HERE.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT REQUIRES INDIVIDUAL VOTES FROM INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS INSTEAD OF A,
[01:40:01]
YOU CAN CALL THE QUESTION CHAIR.AND JUST THERE, THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND, I BELIEVE WAS THE MOTION, JUST TO CLARIFY, TO RECOMMEND THE LETTER AS DRAFTED.
SO IF YOU HAVE A MOTION, A SECOND, YOU CAN CALL THE QUESTION AND THEN EACH COMMISSIONER CAN INVOKE YAY OR NAY.
UH, WELL, WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE TABLE FROM COMMISSIONER HOWARD AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER CARROLL.
ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT.
[4. Discussion and possible action on recommendations regarding the future of the Design Commission and their role in the development review process. Sponsors: Commissioner Murkes and Vice Chair Howard.]
WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM FOUR, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE FUTURE OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND THEIR ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS.IS THERE A MOTION ON THE TABLE? ALL RIGHT.
WELL, WITHOUT A MOTION, I, WE CAN DISCUSS THE ITEM, BUT IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THERE WOULD BE ANY COMMISSIONER HOWARD.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION, UH, THAT THE, UM, THE DESIGN COMMISSION, UH, FORMS A WORKING GROUP, UM, TO, UH, SORT OUT A DETAILED RECOMMENDATION TO PROPOSE TO COUNCIL, UM, AFTER SUMMER RECESS, UH, UM, AS TO, YOU KNOW, RECOMMEND THE, UM, HOW THE ROLE OF THE PLANNING, UH, THE DESIGN COMMISSION MAY, UM, CHANGE, UM, MOVING FORWARD AND KIND OF, UM, MAKE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS SPECIFIC, UM, THAT WOULD ENABLE THAT, THAT CHANGING ROLE.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? WE'LL GO WITH COMMISSIONER MARCUS, SINCE COMMISSIONER HAS ONE.
ANY DISCUSSION RELATED TO THIS ITEM? COMMISSIONER MARCUS.
I JUST WANTED TO SPECIFICALLY SAY WHY I'D LIKE, I WANTED TO HAVE THIS ITEM ON THE AGENDA BECAUSE WHEN, UM, I LOOK AT THE CURRENT DESCRIPTION OF THE, UM, DESIGN COMMISSION, UM, IT SEEMS TO BE DEVIATING FROM, UH, WHAT WE WOULD NEED TO BE FOCUSING GOING FORWARD.
UM, AND I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS THAT DISCREPANCY.
COMMISSIONER HOWARD? UM, YEAH, I, I, I WANTED TO KIND OF, UM, SPEAK TO KIND OF A HIGH, HIGH LEVEL SORT OF CONCEPT AROUND, I THINK, UM, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE WINDS ARE, ARE HEADED.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS, UH, GENERALLY BASED ON KIND OF LEGAL CONSTRAINTS, UM, THERE WILL NOT BE DESIGN REVIEW, UM, IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND, AND POTENTIALLY NOT EVEN ALTERNATIVE EQUIVALENT COMPLIANCE.
UH, AND, UM, AND SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WAY THAT THE, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I WOULD, I WOULD ARGUE THAT THE CITY IS AT A JUNCTURE RIGHT NOW WHERE, UM, URBAN DESIGN LEADERSHIP IS REALLY, REALLY CRITICAL.
AND, UM, AND I WOULD ALSO SAY, YOU KNOW, WELL, WELL PLAN, UH, WELL PLANNING COMMISSION AND COUNCIL AND PLANNING AND ZONING, THEY ALL, THEY, UM, WHILE THEY MAY HAVE SOME, UH, URBAN DESIGN, URBAN PLANNING, UH, EXPERTISE, THAT IS NOT THEIR, THEIR FOCUS.
UM, AND, AND I THINK THAT IN CONSIDERING A LOT OF THESE, UM, DESIGN STANDARDS, UH, SMALL AREA PLANNING, A LOT OF THESE SORT OF, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, PROJECTS, UM, MOVING FORWARD, THAT, UM, THERE'S A REAL, UM, THERE'S A REALLY REAL OPPORTUNITY, BUT ALSO I WOULD SAY A, UM, AN ABSENCE OF THAT LEADERSHIP RIGHT NOW THAT, UM, THAT THE CITY COULD REALLY BENEFIT FROM.
AND I THINK THAT WE CAN KIND OF IMAGINE OUR ROLE IN THAT, IN THAT SPACE.
COMMISSIONER SALINAS, THIS BRINGS UP A, A GOOD POINT OF, YOU KNOW, THE, THE UPDATES TO THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES AS THEY WERE, UM, I MEAN, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT INFRASTRUCTURE AND, AND THAT PART, YOU KNOW, WAS SOMEWHAT PART OF THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.
IS THAT A PART THAT WE DO FOLLOW UP ON THAT TASK OR NO? CAROL COMMISSIONER.
I MEAN, I, I HAVEN'T HEARD THAT OFFICIALLY, BUT I'M JUST ASSUMING IF WE CAN'T HAVE DESIGN GUIDELINES, URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, WE CAN'T HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN GUIDELINES, UH, 'CAUSE IT WOULD STILL BE A DISCRETIONARY PROCESS.
SO I WOULD ASSUME NO, YOU COMMISSIONER HOWARD.
UM, I, I THINK THERE MAY ACTUALLY, I THINK THE, THE LEGAL CONSTRAINT EXISTS AROUND THE REQUIREMENT FOR A DISCRETIONARY REVIEW PROCESS FOR DEVELOPMENT PERMITS.
[01:45:01]
UM, AND SO IN, IN THE CASE OF THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, UM, THERE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO REAL WAY AROUND THAT, THAT IT'S A, IT'S A GATEKEEPER REQUIREMENT THAT THEY GET APPROVAL THROUGH THE, YOU KNOW, THE ADMINISTRATIVE DESIGN REVIEW THAT WE ARE ADVISING ON.UM, THAT ISN'T, THAT ISN'T SOMETHING THAT CAN BE CONTINUED FORWARD, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLIC PROJECTS WHERE THE, YOU KNOW, THE CITY IS TRYING TO, UH, IMPLEMENT ITS VISION THROUGH ITS, UM, THROUGH ITS INVESTMENTS, UM, I THINK THAT'S A, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THAT WE ARE A GATEKEEPER, UM, A GATEKEEPER BODY FOR THEM GETTING THEIR PERMITS AT ALL.
BUT I THINK THAT, UM, THAT I, I DON'T, I DON'T SEE, UH, UH, LEGAL CHALLENGE WITH US CONTINUING TO BE AN ADVISOR, YOU KNOW, ADVISING, UM, AS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, CITY DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS.
IT WAS, HAS ALWAYS BEEN A, UH, HAS ALWAYS INTRODUCED A LOT OF QUESTIONS TO WHAT THAT IS.
I THINK THAT THIS EXPLORATION, UM, INTO OUR FUTURE ROLE AND HOPE, UH, CAN HOPEFULLY PROVIDE SOME CLARITY TO WHAT, WHAT THAT IS, WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE DESIGN COMMISSION'S INTENDED ROLE, UM, IN THAT SORT OF THING.
AND I DON'T, I DON'T THINK, AS LONG AS WE ARE NOT, UH, A, WE ARE NOT IMPOSING THE REQUIREMENT TO ADHERE TO URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES THROUGH THAT DISCRETIONARY DISCRETIONARY PROCESS AS A, UH, REQUISITE FOR APPROVAL.
I, I DON'T THINK THERE'S A, A LEGAL CHALLENGE, BUT I, I WOULD SAY THAT WE PROBABLY, MAYBE NOT ON THE NEXT MEETING, BUT IN A FUTURE MEETING, MAY WANT TO CALL UPON CITY LEGAL TO SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THE CONSTRAINTS, UM, AHEAD OF US.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION I'D, UH, DISCUSSION RELATED TO THIS ITEM? ALL RIGHT.
WELL, THE MOTION ON THE TABLE IS TO CREATE A WORKING GROUP TO COLLABORATE ON, UM, A RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION.
AND WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE TABLE BY COMMISSIONER HOWARD AND A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MEKI.
CHAIR, IF I MAY, BEFORE YOU CALL THE QUESTION MM-HMM
THERE ARE EXISTING WORKING GROUPS ALREADY ON THE DESIGN COMMISSION.
THE CREATION OF A NEW WORKING GROUP IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO CLEAR THROUGH THE CLERK'S OFFICE, UNLESS YOU WERE GIVEN SPECIFIC DIRECTION BY COUNSEL TO CREATE ANY WORKING GROUP.
SO YOU HAVE WORKING GROUPS AVAILABLE TO YOU, YOU CAN USE ONE OF THOSE WORKING GROUPS.
COMMISSIONER HOWARD, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, PROVIDE A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT
UH, BUT OPEN THIS UP TO, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, TO OTHER MEMBERS TO JOIN AND, AND ALLOW OTHERS TO COME OFF IF, IF THAT'S DESIRED.
COMMISSIONER MARCUS, ARE YOU, I MEAN, ABLE TO THAT? YES.
SO THE REPLACEMENT MOTION IS TO UTILIZE THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES WORKING GROUP AS A CONDUIT FOR DISCUSSION REGARDING THE FEATURE OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION, AND, UH, EVENTUALLY PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL.
UM, WE HAVE THE MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HOWARD, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MEKI.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? PROVIDING THE REPLACEMENT MOTION.
ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
UM, LAST ITEM BEFORE WE ADJOURN IS ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE JUNE MEETING? ARE THERE ANY PROPOSALS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? I HAVE A QUESTION.UM, ARE WE PROVIDING ANY, UM, REPORTS FROM OUR OTHER COMMISSIONS? YOU KNOW, THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY, UH, DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, WE'RE GONNA BE DOING THAT ON FUTURE AGENDAS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS, OR IT'S JUST USUALLY IN HERE, SO I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS BEING ELIMINATED.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? COMMISSIONER HOWARD? UM, I'M NOT SURE IF WE CAN GET THIS, UH, FOR THE JUNE MEETING, BUT I, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD, UH, PUT A REQUEST IN TO CITY
[01:50:01]
LAW TO COME AND CONSULT ON A, UH, WHAT, UH, CONSULT US ON KIND OF UNDER, UH, HELP US UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE LEGAL BARRIER, UH, BARRIERS AROUND, UM, NOT ONLY DISCRETIONARY REVIEW, BUT ALSO URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS AND DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. UM, I THINK THOSE ARE KIND OF KEY LEVERS, UM, THAT CITI CURRENTLY USES.UM, AND I THINK THAT IT, IT WOULD, UH, BENEFIT US TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE, AT LEAST HAVE SOME OF THE SAME BACKGROUND THAT STAFF HAS.
UM, AND, AND, UH, I'M SURE THEY HAVE A LOT TO SHARE WITH US.
DO WE HAVE A CO-SPONSOR FOR THAT ITEM? COMMISSIONER CAROL.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM FOR A FUTURE AGENDA REGARDING THE MAKEUP OF THE, UM, URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES WORKING GROUP, UM, IN CASE, UH, WE HAVE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO JOIN OR ROLL OFF OF THAT WORKING GROUP.
UM, IS THERE A SOMEONE WHO WOULD CO-SPONSOR THAT? COMMISSIONER WHIR.
ANY OTHER FUTURE ITEMS? ALL RIGHT.
WE WILL CLOSE OUT OUR MEETING AT 7:53 PM CHAIR, IF I MAY.
I WAS TRYING TO CATCH YOU BEFORE WE CLOSE THE MEETING.
IN REGARDS TO POSTING, STAFF WILL BE REQUIRING THAT ANY COMMISSIONERS WISHING TO ADD ITEMS TO THE AGENDA WITH A CO-SPONSOR DO IT 10 DAYS IN ADVANCE, 10 CALENDAR DAYS.
WE HAD THIS SITUATION WHERE WE HAD A REVISED AGENDA AND THEN AN ADDENDUM AT THIS MEETING.
AND THE CLERK IS REALLY CRACKING DOWN ON THAT.
SO IF WE ARE NOT ABLE TO GET A SPONSOR AND CO-SPONSOR BY 10 DAYS, IT'LL BE ON YOUR NEXT AGENDA.
'CAUSE WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO POSTING REQUIREMENTS, WHICH REQUIRES CITY CLERK REVIEW AS WELL AS LEGAL REVIEW OR AGENDAS.
AND SO, UH, THE FRIDAY, 10 DAYS PRIOR TO IS THE DUE DATE FOR COMMISSIONERS TO SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.
AND THERE WAS AN EXAMPLE OF ITEM NUMBER SEVEN THAT MADE IT AFTER THE COMMISSION MEETING, WHICH WE WERE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE, BUT IT TOOK A REVISED AGENDA AS WELL AS AN ADDENDUM TO GET TO THAT POINT.
SO WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REPEAT THAT EXERCISE.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A HEADS UP COMMISSIONERS THAT YOU WILL REQUIRE A 10, WE WILL REQUIRE A 10 DAY, 10 CALENDAR DAY NOTICE FOR YOU TO GET YOUR ITEM ON THE AGENDA WITH A CO-SPONSOR.
WE'LL BE HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU TO GET THAT ON THE AGENDA.
AND JUST AS A REMINDER, IF YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, UM, YOU CAN EMAIL STAFF WITH YOUR, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND JUST COPY YOUR CO-SPONSOR ON THOSE ITEMS. UM, SO PLEASE DON'T COPY ALL THE COMMISSION SO WE AVOID A QUORUM.
UH, SO WE WILL REVISE CALL FOR OUR REVISED ADJOURNMENT AT 7:54 PM THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING.