[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER ]
EVERYONE.WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
THE TIME IS 6:00 PM THIS IS THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
IT IS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3RD, 2026.
WE ARE AT THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER, ROOM 1405 AT 6 3 1 0 WILLAMINA DELCO DRIVE, AUSTIN, TEXAS.
AND WE'LL START BY ESTABLISHING QUORUM.
I'M CHAIR KRUGER AND I'M HERE.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.UM, WE HAVE BECKY WOODWARD HERE FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
UM, SORRY, KAITLYN, DID YOU STILL WANNA DONATE YOUR TIME OR DID YOU WANNA SPEAK ON PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? OKAY.
UM, AND BECKY IS RECEIVING DONATION OF TIME FROM KAITLYN, SO YOU'LL HAVE A TOTAL OF SIX MINUTES.
IS THAT OKAY? YOU CAN HEAR ME.
UM, I WOULD LIKE THE VIDEO TO BE PLAYED FIRST, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
CAN IT BE LOUDER? AND BEFORE THE VIDEO PLAYS, I JUST WANNA SAY MY NAME'S BECKY WOODWARD AND I LIVE IN THE VERANDA APARTMENTS NEAR CARSON CREEK AND DISTRICT TWO ALONG THE ONION CREEK WATERSHED.
RIGHT ON, UH, 71 ON THE SOUTH SIDE BETWEEN MONTOPOLIS AND RIVERSIDE.
AND WHAT YOU'RE HEARING HERE IS THE EFFECTS OF A DATA CENTER.
UM, I'LL KEEP GOING AND THEN MAYBE WE CAN COME BACK TO IT.
BUT I, IT'S REALLY LOUD, I PROMISE.
I LIVE RIGHT HERE AND LESS THAN 300 FEET AWAY IS A DATA CENTER.
AND TO THE WEST, LESS THAN ABOUT 200 FEET AWAY IS ANOTHER DATA CENTER.
AND JUST TO THE SOUTHEAST ARE ABOUT WITHIN ONE MILE, I THINK THERE'S SEVEN DIFFERENT DATA CENTERS.
IT'S EVEN MORE LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT I WAS MOVING INTO DATA CENTER CENTURY OVER THERE.
UM, SO I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE I BELIEVE ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONS SHOULD BE EVALUATED BASED ON BOTH THE ENVIRONMENTAL COST AND THE PUBLIC BENEFITS THAT ARE USED TO JUSTIFY THEM.
THE PROPERTY WHERE I LIVE WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED FOR INDUSTRIAL USES.
THE ENTIRE AREA SURROUNDING IT IS ZONED AS INDUSTRIAL.
AND WHEN THIS, UH, PERSON DECIDED THEY WERE GONNA DEVELOP THIS PROPERTY IN 2018, THEY BEGAN THEIR LONG JOURNEY OVER, I THINK SIX DIFFERENT ORDINANCE CHANGES.
UM, AND I'LL REFERENCE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT NPA 2020 DASH 0 1 4 0 1 AND REZONING CASE C 14 DASH 2020 DASH 0 0 4 2, WHICH WAS WHEN THE ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION, WHICH I KNOW IS NOT Y'ALL, BUT THE ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY AGAINST THE RECOMMENDATION OF CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF TO REZONE THIS AREA AS INDUSTRIAL OR FROM INDUSTRIAL TO MULTIFAMILY HOUSING.
UM, AND THE CITY DID NOT RECOMMEND THIS SPECIFICALLY IN THOSE DOCUMENTS, YOU CAN READ AND IT SAYS THAT THAT AREA IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH HUMANS LIVING NEARBY DUE TO THE INDUSTRIAL NESS OF THE AREA.
SO I'M HERE TODAY AS ONE OF THOSE RESIDENTS THAT HAS THE PLEASURE OF LIVING NEXT TO THOSE DATA CENTERS.
IN AUGUST OF 2025, I STARTED HEARING LOUD BOOMING NOISES, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
AND THEN THEY WOULD GET CLOSER TOGETHER.
AND THAT'S WHAT LED ME ON THE JOURNEY TO FINDING OUT THAT I LIVE SURROUNDED BY DATA CENTERS.
I WAS HONESTLY QUITE SCARED BECAUSE I THOUGHT THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION GOING TO HAPPEN OR IMMINENT.
AND LUCKILY THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
UM, HOWEVER, THAT'S WHEN I REALIZED THAT I'M SURROUNDED BY DATA CENTERS EVERYWHERE AND I CAN'T GET OUTTA MY LEASE.
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DISCLOSED THIS TO ME THAT I WAS GOING TO BE LIVING NEXT TO DATA CENTERS AND MY MIND CAN'T EVEN GO TO THE HEALTH RISK.HOWEVER, THIS AREA BACK HERE, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S GORGEOUS, BUT IT'S ONLY PROTECTED BECAUSE IT IS WITHIN A 25 YEAR FLOODPLAIN, A HUNDRED YEAR FLOODPLAIN AND CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE.
THERE'S LOTS OF BIRDS BACK HERE, BUT AS WE ALL KNOW AND HOPEFULLY KNOW, BIRDS REQUIRE SOUND TO TRAVEL IN ORDER FOR THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
BIRDS ESTABLISH TERRITORIES THROUGH SONG.
THEY THEN ATTRACT THEIR MATE THROUGH SONG, AND THEN THEY COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR YOUNG AND THEIR MATES THROUGH CALLS, ALL OF WHICH REQUIRE THE ABILITY OF NOISE TO TRAVEL.
OVER THE TIME I'VE LIVED HERE, I'VE SEEN NUMEROUS, NUMEROUS BIRDS.
NEVER HAVE I SEEN THEM STICK AROUND.
I'VE SEEN A FEW DEER, A FEW SNAKES, BUT THE COST IS NOT JUST TO HUMANS, THE COST IS ALSO TO THE WILDLIFE BECAUSE THEY DO SOMETIMES STICK AROUND AND THEN THEY WASTE THEIR ENTIRE BREEDING SEASON HERE WHERE THEY ARE DOOMED AND WILL HAVE NO SUCCESS.
ALSO, THIS IS AN AFFORDABILITY ISSUE.
WHEN THIS APARTMENT WAS GRANTED THE ZONING CHANGE, THEY WERE TOLD, THEY TOLD, UH, EVERYONE THAT THE RENT WOULD BE 900 TO $2,000 A MONTH, THE $2,000 A MONTH.
AND I QUOTE, UM, THEM, THEY SAID THAT THE $2,000 A MONTH UNITS WOULD BE THREE BEDROOM, TWO AND A HALF BATH.
I CAN CONFIRM TODAY THAT IS A LIE.
UM, MY NEIGHBORS, THE THE MINIMUM, UH, PAYMENT FOR ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT IS $1,600 A MONTH, NOT 900.
UM, IN ADDITION, THEY SAID THAT THEY WERE GOING TO CREATE 16.1 ACRES OF PARKLAND BEHIND HERE IN THIS AREA TO CONNECT THE TRAIL TO THE MET CENTER AND CREATE A TRAIL HERE THAT NEVER HAPPENED.
AND ALSO THE MET CENTER TRAIL NEARBY SPECIFICALLY HAS SIGNS EVERYWHERE THAT SAYS, FOR MET CENTER EMPLOYEES ONLY.
SO I'M JUST HERE TO TELL YOU THAT YES, PEOPLE COME AND GIVE PRESENTATIONS.
I DO WATCH THEM, HOWEVER, THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS KEEPING UP THEIR END OF THE BARGAIN.
AND I'M HERE AS A PERSON LIVING WITH THESE TRADE OFFS.
UM, AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF THOSE PREVIOUS DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE, IT AFFECTS MY SLEEP.
I HEAR THIS DATA CENTER IN MY SLEEP.
I HEAR IT IN MY BATHROOM FROM THE VENT FAN AREA.
I HEAR IT IN MY LAUNDRY AREA FROM, UH, YEAH.
ANYWAYS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
PLEASE CONSIDER, UM, THE COMMUNITIES WHEN, UM, I KNOW Y'ALL ARE WORKING ON A MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS OR MAYBE ALREADY PASSED ONE.
THANK YOU FOR THAT AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES ]
WITH THAT WE'LL GO TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES AND I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LAST MEETING'S MINUTES.SO MOVED, MOVED BY COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN SECOND, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER LUKI.
ANY OBJECTIONS? ANY OBJECTIONS? HEARING NONE.
[2. Staff briefing regarding the Technical Advisory Review Panel (TARP). Presentation by Brydan Summers, Land Development Rules Administrator, Austin Development Services.]
STAFF BRIEFINGS.ITEM NUMBER TWO, STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY REVIEW PANEL OR TARP PRESENTATION BY BRIAN SUMMERS, LAND DEVELOPMENT RULES ADMINISTRATOR, AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES CHAIR.
WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER SIGNED UP FOR THIS ITEM.
TYPICALLY WE DO THE PRESENTATION FIRST AND THEN THE SPEAKER, I THINK, OH, SORRY.
ALRIGHT, UH, GOOD EVENING ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER.
UH, THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME TO BE HERE TONIGHT.
UM, I'M BRIAN SUMMERS, I'M WITH THE LAND.
I'M THE LAND DEVELOPMENT RULES ADMINISTRATOR WITH THE AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, UH, AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I RUN THE TECHNICAL ADVISOR REVIEW REVIEW PANEL.
SO I'M GONNA TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AS A BACKGROUND AND THEN THE TARP AND HOW IT OPERATES.
AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE TONIGHT.
UM, WILL I LOOK OVER HERE TO CHANGE SLIDES OR IS THERE A AH, PERFECT.
I ALWAYS LIKE TO START WITH THIS.
SO THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CITY'S CODE AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES.
I APOLOGIZE IF THIS IS VERY 1 0 1, BUT THIS COMES UP A LOT IN OUR TARP DISCUSSIONS.
SO, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL WHO WE ALL ELECT, THAT IS WHO PASSES THE CITY'S CODE.
THAT INCLUDES THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
IT ALSO INCLUDES, UH, DIFFERENT SUBSECTIONS WITHIN THE LDC, LIKE DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL RULES, UH, THE ZONING, DRAINAGE REGULATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
[00:10:01]
IN ADDITION TO THE CITY'S CODE, THERE ARE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES.THE KEY DIFFERENCE BEING THAT THESE ARE CREATED BY CITY STAFF.
AND SO THESE ARE STILL REGULATIONS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO FOLLOW IF YOU WANNA GET YOUR PERMITS.
BUT THEY ARE NOT, UH, THEY'RE NOT PUT INTO PLACE BY ELECTED OFFICIALS.
THEY'RE PUT INTO PLACE BY THIS, UH, BY THE CITY STAFF IN VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS.
AND SO THE REASON THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO THIS IS BECAUSE CHAPTER ONE, TWO OF THE CITY CODE ALLOWS FOR DEPARTMENT THAT HAS SOME AUTHORITY TO, UH, IMPLEMENT THE CODE IN SOME WAY, THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO ADOPT RULES THAT IMPLEMENT, ADMINISTER, ENFORCE, OR COMPLY WITH THE CODE.
AND THIS IS, UH, THERE ARE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THIS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT.
THE STATE ALSO DOES THIS AS DOES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UH, BUT IT HELPS US FILL IN THE GAPS WITH THE CODE.
IF CITY COUNCIL IS NOT ABLE TO ACCOUNT FOR EVERYTHING WHEN THEY'RE WRITING THE CODE, THE RULES CAN HELP FILL IN THOSE GAPS.
AND SO THE TARP LOOKS AT THESE EIGHT DIFFERENT CRITERIA MANUALS.
UH, MOST OF THEM ARE VERY SELF-EXPLANATORY, EXPLANATORY IN THEIR NAMES.
THE TWO THAT I USUALLY CALL OUT FOR FOLKS THAT ARE NOT FAMILIAR, THE STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS MANUAL IS TYPICALLY GOING TO GIVE YOU ENGINEERED LANGUAGE ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS, UM, DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THE CITY IS LIKE SPECIFYING IS THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD DO SOMETHING.
THE STANDARDS MANUAL IS GOING TO GIVE YOU TYPICALLY ENGINEERED DRAWINGS THAT ARE DOING THE SAME THING.
UH, BUT THE REST OF THEM ARE WHAT YOU WOULD IMAGINE THAT THEY ARE.
IN TERMS OF HOW THE RULES ARE ACTUALLY ADOPTED, THIS IS WHAT THE TIMELINE LOOKS LIKE.
I WOULD SAY THERE, THERE MAYBE SHOULD BE A PHASE ZERO HERE, WHICH WOULD BE THAT CITY STAFF ARE GOING TO DRAFT UPDATES TO THE RULES, UM, EXCUSE ME, WHETHER THEY WANT TO MAKE A CHANGE TO AN EXISTING RULE, OR IF THEY WANT TO BRING A NEW RULE FORWARD, THEY WILL DRAFT THAT.
AFTER THAT, WE SEND IT THROUGH AN INTERDEPARTMENTAL REVIEW.
UH, WE ASK THE OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK SO THAT WE CAN, UH, TAKE, YOU KNOW, UH, DETERMINE IF THERE'S ANY CONFLICTS OR DETERMINE IF THEY HAVE SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT.
THEN WE GO INTO PHASE TWO, WHICH IS THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY REVIEW, REVIEW PANEL OR THE TARP.
AND I'LL COVER THAT IN MORE DETAIL HERE IN A MOMENT.
EVERYTHING FROM PHASE THREE DOWN IS REALLY ADMINISTRATIVE.
SO IT'S POSTED WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE AS THE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE THAT'S OPEN FOR 31 DAYS.
ANYONE IN THE PUBLIC CAN COMMENT ON THOSE RULES AFTER THAT 31 DAY PERIOD.
DEPARTMENTS DO NEED TO RESPOND TO THE COMMENTS AND AT WHICH POINT THE CLERK POSTS THE NOTICE OF ADOPTION.
AND AT THAT TIME WE'RE SAYING, THIS RULE IS ON THE BOOKS.
YOU NEED TO FOLLOW IT FOR YOUR PROJECTS.
THERE IS AN APPEAL PROCESS IF FOLKS ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE CITY MOVING FORWARD WITH THE ADOPTION.
AND THAT GOES, UH, YOU HAVE TO PUT THAT IN WRITING, THAT GOES TO THE CITY MANAGER TO MAKE A DECISION AT THE END.
ALL OF THE RULES ARE PUBLISHED ON MUNI CODE.
THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AND ALL OF THE RULES.
SO I WANNA TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TARP.
UH, THE BACKGROUND FOR WHY THE TARP WAS CREATED IS BECAUSE IT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
WE HAVE HEARD OVER THE YEARS LOTS OF CONCERNS ABOUT HOW THE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES ARE AFFECTING THE, ARE AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT.
UH, A FEW IN PARTICULAR ARE THAT THE RULES SOMETIMES CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER.
SO THEY'RE WRITTEN BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS TYPICALLY, AND MAYBE THEY WERE NOT HOLISTICALLY LOOKING AT THE IMPACTS THAT THEY HAVE ON EACH OTHER.
UH, WE ALSO GOT FEEDBACK THAT SOME OF THESE RULES ARE GOING BEYOND THE SCOPE OF WHAT COUNCIL HAS GIVEN US, THE, THE AUTHORITY TO REGULATE.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MOVING BEYOND WHAT THE CODE IS ASKING US TO DO AND CREATING ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS.
UM, I WOULD SAY THE BIGGEST REASON THAT THIS CAME ABOUT IS BECAUSE IT'S PART OF COUNCIL'S TOOLKIT FOR AFFORDABILITY.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU'VE SEEN LOTS OF CHANGES RECENTLY, ZONING AND OTHER THINGS, BUT ALSO THEY HAVE BEEN ASKING CITY STAFF MORE AND MORE TO EVALUATE WHAT ARE SOME OF THESE ADMINISTRATIVE THINGS, WHETHER IT'S PROCESSES OR THE ADMINISTRATIVE CRITERIA MANUALS.
HOW ARE THEY AFFECTING COSTS FOR PROJECTS? WE KNOW THAT AS PROJECTS GET DRAWN OUT FROM LENGTHIER REVIEW TIMES OR CREATING NEW REVIEWS THAT CREATES COSTS FOR PROJECTS.
UM, ALSO DIFFERENT REVIEWS THAT WE'RE GONNA CHARGE YOU FOR, THAT'S A COST.
UM, AND SO THE IDEA BEING FROM COUNCIL, UM, THAT IF WE ARE ABLE TO SMOOTH OUT THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, IT SHOULD HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE FINAL PRODUCT OF THOSE DEVELOPMENTS, WHICH IN SOME INSTANCES IS HOUSING.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY THERE HAS REALLY BEEN, UH, LIMITED OPPORTUNITY FOR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ON THE RULES.
I HAD MENTIONED THAT 30 DAY COMMENT PERIOD, THAT WAS REALLY THE ONLY TIME THE CITY WAS ASKING THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW THEY FELT ABOUT THEM.
AND SO THERE IS A DESIRE TO HAVE MORE ROBUST DISCUSSION.
AND SO TO ADDRESS THIS, IN THE FY 2223 BUDGET, CITY COUNCIL FUNDED MY POSITION, LAND DEVELOPMENT RULES ADMINISTRATOR.
UM, IT'S A NEW POSITION FOR THE CITY TO TRY TO DO INTERDEPARTMENTAL OVERSIGHT OF THE RULE.
SO THEY'RE NOT DONE IN THESE SILOS IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
AND THEN IN MARCH OF 2023, COUNSEL PASSED THE RESOLUTION THAT CREATED THE TARP.
AFTER THAT, I WORKED WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE WITH THE PARTNER DEPARTMENTS TO PUT TOGETHER THIS FRAMEWORK AND TRY TO ROLL IT OUT TO OPERATIONALIZE IT.
AND SO HERE IS WHAT COUNCIL TOLD US TO DO.
[00:15:01]
SAID THAT THE TARP SHOULD BE COMPOSED OF CITY STAFF FROM ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN LAND DEVELOPMENT, AND IT SHOULD ALSO BE COMPOSED OF HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS.AND THEN IT ALSO GOES ON TO SAY, REPRESENTATIVES OF HOME BUILDERS, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, INFILL DEVELOPERS, CONTRACTORS, ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS.
WE HAVE FOUND THAT WE NEED TO REALLY HAVE A LARGE SCOPE OF THE EXPERTISE THAT WE NEED.
I HAD MENTIONED WE HAD THE EIGHT DIFFERENT MANUALS THAT WE REVIEW.
AND SO IT'S NOT JUST ENGINEERS AND ARCHITECTS, IT'S ALSO ARBORISTS, UH, TRAFFIC ENGINEERS.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT MORE DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS ON THE TARP THAN WE DO CITY STAFF IN TERMS OF WHAT THE TARP IS SUPPOSED TO DO.
WE ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY CHALLENGING ISSUES, UM, AND HOW WE CAN IMPLEMENT THESE MANUALS.
AND THEN ALSO PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW WE CAN IMPROVE THE RULES THEMSELVES AND THE PROCESS FOR UPDATING THE RULES.
UM, AND THEN, AND WE ALSO ARE TRYING TO CREATE THAT BROADER STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK PROCESS I MENTIONED WAS MISSING.
SO THAT'S WHO'S WORKING ON IT, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
COUNSEL ALSO GAVE US SOME DIRECTION IN TERMS OF HOW WE THINK ABOUT WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD RULE.
BECAUSE AS WE'RE GOING INTO THESE DISCUSSIONS TOGETHER, THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME SORT OF SHARED UNDERSTANDING ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA DETERMINE IF THE PROPOSED LANGUAGE IS GOOD OR IF WE SHOULD UPDATE IT.
AND SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY PUT IN THERE IS TO BETTER ALIGN THESE MANUALS WITH COUNCIL POLICIES, HOUSING GOALS, INDUSTRY INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES, PROTECTING PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY, AND DOCUMENTING THE COST, TIMELINE AND HOUSING CAPACITY.
AND SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS WHAT IS IN THE ACTUAL RESOLUTION.
AND WE TOOK THAT INFORMATION AND CONDENSED IT INTO THESE SEVEN SCREENING STANDARDS.
AND THIS IS WHAT I USE WHEN I AM REVIEWING THE PROPOSED RULES AND HOW I'M TRYING TO FRAME UP OUR TARP DISCUSSIONS.
SO TO QUICKLY MOVE THROUGH THESE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AUTHORITY IS ENSURING ONCE AGAIN THAT WE'RE NOT MOVING BEYOND THE SCOPE OF WHAT COUNSEL HAS ASKED US TO DO.
THAT IT'S KIND OF RIGHT SIZING THE RULES.
HEALTH AND SAFETY IS TYPICALLY WHY MOST OF THESE RULES ARE WRITTEN.
IT CAN BE PROTECTING A WORKER NEAR A PIECE OF INFL UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE.
IT CAN BE PROTECTING A NEIGHBORHOOD AGAINST FLOODING, UM, IMPACTS ON DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL.
WE KNOW THAT NOT EVERY SITE IS GOING TO DEVELOP TO ITS MAXIMUM POTENTIAL FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
BUT IF WE LOOK AT A RULE AND WE SEE THAT IT HAS AN IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL, WE WANNA UNDERSTAND WHY.
WE WANNA UNDERSTAND IF IT'S CORRECTLY CALIBRATED, UM, TO PROTECT THE CITY, BUT ALSO TO ALLOW FOR DEVELOPMENT, HOUSING CAPACITY.
VERY SIMILAR IDEA, BUT FOR, UM, HOUSING UNITS, IF WE'RE ABLE TO COUNT THAT AND IMPACTS THAT, THE RULES HAVE, THAT IS WHAT WE WOULD LOOK AT THERE IN TERMS OF CONFLICTS AND REDUNDANCIES.
WE WANT THE RULES ACROSS THE MANUALS TO READ MORE SIMILARLY TO EACH OTHER TO BE USABLE, UM, TO BE UNDERSTANDABLE.
AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO AGAIN, KIND OF, UH, USE A A CONSISTENT FRAMEWORK ACROSS THEM.
BEST PRACTICES REALLY MEANS TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
ONE, WE WILL LOOK TO DIFFERENT INDUSTRY STANDARDS.
SO LIKE, UM, FOR AN AUSTIN WATER UTILITY CRITERIA MANUAL RULE, WE WOULD LOOK TO THE AMERICAN WATERWORKS AND SEE, HAVE YOU SPEC SPECIFIC MATERIALS? IS THAT WHAT THE CITY IS RECOMMENDING THAT WE SPEC? UH, THE OTHER SIDE OF BEST PRACTICES IS WHAT ARE OUR PEER CITIES DOING? HOW ARE THEY HANDLING SIMILAR REGULATIONS? AND SO OUR PEER CITIES ARE TYPICALLY THE MAJOR CITIES IN TEXAS, BUT IT ALSO DEPENDS ON THE SUBJECT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
SO FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RULES, WE MIGHT LOOK TO OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE STRONGER ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE US.
UH, MAYBE CITIES LIKE SEATTLE, UM, OR IF IT'S A VERY SPECIFIC ISSUE AND WE KNOW OF A PEER CITY, WE WOULD LOOK TO THOSE.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS, UH, WE RECENTLY TALKED ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT DESIGN CRITERIA, AND WE LOOKED TO PHOENIX BECAUSE THEY HAVE A SIMILAR SIZE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT THAT THEY'VE PUT IN PLACE.
SO WE'RE JUST LOOKING TO SEE WHAT THEY DO AND WE CAN DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY IN AUSTIN.
BUT THE QUESTION WE WOULD ASK IS, WHAT IS THE LOCAL JUSTIFICATION AND WHY? SO LIKE, WE HAVE A TREE ORDINANCE THAT'S OBVIOUSLY GONNA MAKE US DIFFERENT.
UH, AND THEN FINALLY, COST ESTIMATES.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO TRY IT DURING RULE CREATION TO UNDERSTAND WHAT COSTS CHANGES MAY BE.
THAT COULD BE BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA CREATE A NEW REVIEW AND AGAIN, A NEW REVIEW FEE OR IF WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO DO IS GOING TO CHANGE, MAKE A CHANGE TO WHAT YOU NEED TO BUILD.
THAT COULD BE TIME, MATERIAL AND LABOR.
AND WE'D LIKE TO HAVE SOME IDEA OF WHAT THAT IS.
INCREASING COST DOES NOT MEAN A RULE CAN'T MOVE FORWARD.
AGAIN, WE JUST NEED BETTER ACCOUNTING OF IT.
AND SO I ASKED DEPARTMENTS TO PROVIDE ME WITH INFORMATION ON ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT AREAS TO INFORM OUR DISCUSSION.
AND SO, UM, IN TERMS OF THE FOLKS ON THE TARP, WHAT WE'RE ASKING THEM TO DO, MYSELF, I AM, UH, IN A, ON MY BEST DAY, UH, PROVIDING A COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT PROFESS DEVELOPMENT STAKEHOLDERS AND CITY STAFF.
UM, AND REALLY, AGAIN, HAVING THE, UH, INTERDEPARTMENTAL OVERSIGHT OF THE RULES.
UM, A LOT OF WHAT I DO LOOKS LIKE A BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS LIAISON IN THAT I AM MANAGING THE ROSTER.
I AM IDENTIFYING AGENDA ITEMS. UM, BUT I ALSO FACILITATE THE DISCUSSIONS.
[00:20:01]
I THINK ONE KEY DIFFERENCE IS THAT I WRITE REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS BASED OFF OF OUR DISCUSSIONS TO TRY TO EITHER SUMMARIZE WHAT WE'VE DONE OR APPROVE CERTAIN RULES TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE POSTING WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE.IN TERMS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF THAT ARE ON THE TARP, WE ARE LOOKING TO THEM TO PROPOSE THE CHANGES THAT THEY WANNA SEE IN THE MANUALS.
WHAT LANGUAGE UPDATES DO THEY WANNA MAKE? UH, WE ARE ASKING THEM TO REPRESENT THE INTERESTS OF THEIR DEPARTMENT.
AND SO WE, WE WANT THEM TO BRING IN THE MISSIONS OF THEIR DEPARTMENT AND KEEP THAT PERSPECTIVE.
AND WE'RE ASKING THEM TO SERVE AS TECHNICAL EXPERTS IN TERMS OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS.
UH, WE NEED THEM TO RAISE THE CONCERNS, UH, OF WHAT, LIKE WHEN THEY'RE RUNNING INTO RULES, TRYING TO DEVELOP PROJECTS, WHERE ARE THEY SEEING ISSUES? LET US KNOW ABOUT THAT SO WE CAN DETERMINE IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD PUT ON OUR, OUR AGENDA.
WE ALSO ARE ASKING THEM TO REPRESENT THEIR PROFESSIONS AND SERVE AS TECHNICAL EXPERTS.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S WHY WE HAVE SO MANY OF THEM BECAUSE WE NEED A LOT OF TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.
AND REALLY WE NEED PEOPLE WHO HAVE USED THESE RULES BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, THE MOST, UM, VALUABLE FEEDBACK AS WE'RE DISCUSSING THEM.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE GETTING CLOSE.
SO IN TERMS OF HOW ALL THIS WORKS, UH, WE HAVE MONTHLY MEETINGS.
IT IS TYPICALLY GOVERNED BY WHAT DEPARTMENTS ARE TRYING TO BRING THROUGH.
THE TARP IS A NEW BOTTLENECK THAT WE HAVE CREATED IN THE RULES ADOPTION PROCESS, BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO, UM, HOLD UP DEPARTMENT'S NEEDS.
AND SO TRYING TO GET ALL OF THEIR RULES THROUGH.
AND THEN ALSO AS RULES ARE IDENTIFIED BY OUR DEVELOPMENT STAKEHOLDERS, WE WILL SCHEDULE THOSE IN OUR AGENDAS.
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF RULES WE LOOK AT.
PROPOSED RULES ARE THE ONES THAT CITY STAFF ARE BRING, BRINGING FORWARD.
ESTABLISH RULES ARE ONES THAT ARE ALREADY ON THE BOOKS THAT WE'RE HEARING CONCERNS ABOUT FROM THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY.
UH, BUT OUR CHARGE FROM COUNCIL IS TO LOOK AT BOTH SETS OF RULES.
UM, MOST OF WHAT WE ARE DOING IS TRYING TO GET DISCUSSION OUT OF THE TARP TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE KEY ISSUES ARE.
UM, WHEN WE CAN GET CONSENSUS ON A LANGUAGE CHANGE THAT'S THE BEST LIKE THAT, WE, WE LOVE THAT.
UM, SOMETIMES, UH, I THINK THAT WE'VE SEEN THERE ARE REALLY HELPFUL SMALL CHANGES THAT REALLY CLARIFY SOMETHING AND, AND THAT'S, UM, THAT'S ALWAYS A REALLY POSITIVE MOMENT.
BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE DON'T ALWAYS REACH CONSENSUS.
AND THEN IT IS KIND OF AN ART OF WEIGHING THESE DIFFERENT SCREENING STANDARDS AND THE NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT TO DETERMINE HOW WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD.
UM, I WOULD POINT OUT THAT WE DO NOT TAKE VOTES IN THE TARP, UH, IN THE SAME WAY THAT LIKE A BOARDS AND COMMISSION MIGHT TAKE A VOTE TO RECOMMEND SOMETHING UP TO COUNCIL.
THERE'S A FEW REASONS FOR THAT.
ONE IS THAT IT'S NOT REALLY A GOVERNMENTAL BODY IN THE SAME WAY THAT A BOARD COMMISSION IS.
AND, UH, THE CITY CODE GIVES THE AUTHORITY SOLELY TO CITY DEPARTMENTS TO UPDATE THEIR RULES.
AND SO WE DON'T WANNA CREATE A SITUATION WHERE TARP PANELS COULD VOTE TO FORCE THE CITY TO UPDATE SOMETHING.
UM, BUT WE OBVIOUSLY ARE TAKING THEIR CONSIDERATION INTO ACCOUNT AND TRYING TO SEE WHERE DEPARTMENTS ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH THEM TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES.
AND THEN, UM, IN TERMS OF HOW I TRY TO PRO LIKE FRAME UP THESE DISCUSSIONS, I WILL TAKE THE RULE LANGUAGE THAT WE'RE GIVEN FROM THE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, WE WILL, I WILL SHOW EVERYBODY OUR INTERDEPARTMENTAL REVIEW COMMENTS.
WE'LL COLLECT THOSE, ANY COMMENTS THAT I RECEIVE FROM THE TART PANELISTS, I'LL PULL THOSE TOGETHER.
AND THEN THE INFORMATION THAT I'VE GATHERED FROM THE SCREENING STANDARDS THAT I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, I TAKE ALL OF THAT AND I PUT IT INTO A DISCUSSION GUIDE.
AND WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO IS BEFORE WE EVEN GET STARTED, IDENTIFY WHERE WE THINK THE STICKING POINTS ARE OR THE THINGS THAT WE WANNA TALK ABOUT MORE.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY NECESSARY BECAUSE WE ONLY MEET FOR TWO HOURS A MONTH.
UM, AND WE HAVE FOUND THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN TIMES WHERE WE WILL HAVE TO REVIEW RULES OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL MONTHS.
UH, WE'VE ALSO IMPLEMENTED THE USE OF WORKING GROUPS TO START TALKING ABOUT RULES BEFORE THEY GO TO THE TARP TO SEE IF WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB OF HASHING OUT SOME OF THOSE ISSUES SO THAT THE TARP IS SORT OF LIKE THE FINAL REVIEW.
UM, AND THEN I, I INCLUDED A SLIDE HERE, UH, JUST TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE RULES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT HAVE HAD AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.
UM, SO E CM ONE SIX, THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST RULE THAT CAME THROUGH THE TARP.
SO THAT WAS QUITE THE LEARNING MEETING FOR ALL OF US.
BUT THAT WAS A JOINT EFFORT BETWEEN AUSTIN WATER AND WATERSHED PROTECTION THAT ALLOWS FOR RAINWATER HARVESTING TO SUPPORT WATER FOR REQUIREMENTS ON LARGER BUILDINGS.
UM, THERE WERE ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES TO THE ENVIR, UM, TO MATCH, UH, CHANGES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL CODE.
UM, THE DISALLOWED THE USE OF CLAY LINERS AND GEO MEMBRANE LINERS.
THAT ONE I THINK WAS A REALLY, UH, HAPPY ONE IN THAT THERE WAS NOT A TON OF FEEDBACK ON IT.
THE WATERSHED PRO, UH, PROPOSED THAT ONE, EVERYBODY SEEMED TO SAY THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
AND SO WE MOVED THAT ONE THROUGH.
UM, THERE'S BEEN SOME OTHER CHANGES TO APPENDICES.
THE CITY ARBORIST, THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES HAD BROUGHT FORWARD SOME CHANGES.
AND ECM THREE THAT PROVIDED CLARITY ON REGULATED TREES AND SURVEYS,
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UM, AND CHANGING THE WAY THAT YOU CAN COUNT, UH, UM, INCLUDE DIFFERENT TREES ON TREE SURVEYS.AND THEN ALSO, UH, LOOKING TO UPDATE THE PRIORITY SPECIES LIST.
AND THEN MOST RECENTLY WE TALKED ABOUT RETENTION, IRRIGATION IN THE BARTON SPRING ZONE.
UH, I JUST WANT TO COMMEND THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT FOR THEIR WORK ON THAT.
I THINK THERE WERE OVER FIVE OR MAYBE EIGHT, UH, WORKING GROUP MEETINGS, SPENT A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TIME PULLING INFORMATION TOGETHER, UM, REALLY WELL RESEARCHED AND WE JUST TOOK THAT THROUGH THE TARP.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK HAVE AN IMPACT FOR YOUR COMMISSION.
AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE FOR YOU, BUT I AM CERTAINLY HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
FIRST WE'RE GONNA GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK FOR COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS.
WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER ON THIS ITEM, BEATRICE ANDERSON.
BEATRICE, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
HI COMMISSIONERS, MY NAME IS BEATRICE ANDERSON, ATTORNEY WITH SAVE OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE.
UM, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THIS NOT BEING EXTREMELY ELOQUENT.
I'M KIND OF PROCESSING THAT PRESENTATION IN, IN REAL TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS COMMISSION HAS DONE A REALLY AMAZING JOB, UM, ACROSS THE BOARD HOLDING THIS CITY COUNCIL TO ACCOUNT, ESPECIALLY IN ITS HANDLING OF TRANSPARENCY ISSUES.
AND THAT'S REALLY MY MAIN CONCERN HERE.
UM, I JUST AM VERY CURIOUS TO SEE HOW THIS GOES FORWARD.
UM, MAINLY THINKING ABOUT WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE TARP, UM, WHOSE INTERESTS ARE, ARE BEING REPRESENTED.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE PURPOSE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, CHANGING THESE RULES OR DEREGULATING TO AVOID CONFLICTS, IT'S LIKE CONFLICTS FOR FOR WHOM, UH, THE, ARE THE RULES GETTING IN THE WAY OF, UH, DEVELOPMENT
WE KEEP REFERRING BACK TO INDUSTRY EXPERTS, BUT IT'S LIKE, ALSO, WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO BE LIVING WITH THE IMPACTS OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS? SO I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, EXAMINING THE RULES AND TIGHT, LIKE TIGHTENING REGULATIONS, AVOIDING, UH, YOU KNOW, MISCOMMUNICATION ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, UH, FOR EFFICIENCY'S SAKE, THAT IS OBVIOUSLY IMPORTANT.
UM, BUT WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN IT'S NOT CLEAR WHO IS ALL INVOLVED IN THE TARP, UM, WHOSE VOICES ARE PUT FORWARD, AND ALSO WHEN YOU'RE CALLING ON, UM, DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AS IN, AS, UH, EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELD, BUT THEN THEIR TIME IS ALSO LIMITED.
WELL, LIKE WHO, YOU KNOW, WHO DECIDES HOW MANY TIMES YOU SPEAK ON IT, IF YOU RUN OUT OF TIME TO SPEAK ON IT.
LIKE, DO YOU GET ANOTHER SAY? I JUST HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW, UM, HOW DIVERSE OF A GROUP IS BEING, UH, REPRESENTED AND INCLUDING IS THERE TIME BEING EVENLY DIVIDED? UM, LET ME SEE WHAT ELSE? UM, AND THEN ALSO, AGAIN, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DEVELOPING TO THE HIGHEST POTENTIAL OR, OR LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THAT CERTAIN AREAS ARE BEING DEVELOPED TO THE HIGHEST POTENTIAL.
LIKE WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? POTENTIAL FOR WHAT? POTENTIAL FOR WHOM? YOU KNOW, WE HEARD LAST IN THE LAST MEETING, UM, FROM MEMBERS OF PODER WHO WERE DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET DEVELOPMENT IN MONTOPOLIS TO, TO STOP BECAUSE IT, IT'S BEING GENTRIFIED TO THE POINT WHERE PEOPLE WHO GREW UP THERE OR WHOSE FAMILIES HAVE LIVED THERE, UH, CAN NO LONGER LIVE THERE BECAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, THEIR HOUSES ARE GETTING BULLDOZED AND IT, THEY'RE PUTTING UP A, YOU KNOW, THESE HUGE APARTMENT COMPLEXES IS PUTTING UP A HUGE, THAT'S PROBABLY IN THE INDUSTRY'S, UH, INTEREST TO PUT UP A BIG, UH, APARTMENT BUILDING.
UM, BUT IT'S JUST, YEAH, WHO IS BEING INVOLVED IN THESE DECISIONS? UM, WHO IS BEARING THE COST? BECAUSE WE CANNOT TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, ESPECIALLY IN THIS COMMISSION WITHOUT ALSO EXAMINING THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT.
THOSE THINGS CANNOT BE SEPARATED.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS TART MOVES FORWARD, UM, I REALLY URGE THIS COMMISSION TO HOLD IT TO ACCOUNT AND CONTINUE ASKING THE QUESTION, WHO IS BEARING THE COST OF THESE CHANGES? AND WHO BEARS THE COST OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS? I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S BAKED IN THERE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME CHAIR.
THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS FOR THIS ITEM.
I ALSO WANNA NOTE FOR THE RECORD THAT WE HAVE COMMISSIONER FIERRO ON THE DAIS VIRTUALLY.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND START WITH VIRTUAL COMMISSIONERS, AND I'LL START WITH COMMISSIONER BRIMER FOR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
YEAH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE, UH, PRESENTATIONS.
DO WE HAVE, UH, THE NAMES OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE TARP, UH, COMMITTEE OR WHATEVER THIS IS CALLED? UM, I DO NOT HAVE THEM IN FRONT OF ME TODAY, BUT IF YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO GET A COPY OF THE, THE ROSTER THAT CAN BE PROVIDED TO YOU? YEAH, I'D LIKE TO HAVE THE COPY OF THE NAMES ON THE ROSTER TO SEE WHO'S, UH, YOU KNOW, PARTICIPATING IN THIS EFFORT.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF I UNDERSTAND THIS CORRECTLY, THESE, THIS IS NOT, UH, PART OF THE OPEN MEETINGS, UH, RECORD.
SO THE MEETINGS ARE NOT POSTED FOR
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PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC ATTENDANCE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, WHAT I WOULD SAY ABOUT THAT IS THAT IT IS SIMILAR TO THE WAY THAT THE CITY HANDLES LOTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON.
UM, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERY TIME THAT THE CITY'S UPDATING A PROCESS IS IT POSTED.
I WILL SAY HOWEVER, THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS THOUGHT ABOUT DURING THE TARPS CREATION, AND THERE IS AN UNDERSTANDING THAT WE NEED TO HAVE TRANSPARENCY.
UM, AND SO I WOULD POINT PEOPLE TO THE TARPS PUBLIC FACING WEBSITE, WHICH HAS OUR QUARTERLY REPORTS AND ANNUAL REPORTS, WHICH TALKS ABOUT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT RULES THAT WE DISCUSSED, WHAT THE DECISIONS WERE ON THOSE.
UM, AND SO WE ARE TRYING TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, BUT NO, WE, WE, UM, WE, WHEN WE FIRST DEVELOPED THE TARP, WE TALKED WITH THE, WE WERE IN CONSULTATION WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT, UH, AND WE'RE TOLD THAT THIS DOES NOT CLASSIFY AS A GOVERNMENTAL BODY UNDER THE TEXAS OPENS MEETINGS ACT.
AND SO THAT IS WHY THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.
I I UNDERSTAND, UH, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, UH, BUT A QUARTER OF YOUR ANNUAL REPORT IS NOT REALLY A TIMELY TYPE OF THING.
IT'D BE INTERESTING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE PROFESSIONALS THERE, UH, AND THAT'S GONNA BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHO THESE PROFESSIONALS ARE AND WHAT THEIR PERSPECTIVE IS ON, UH, THIS SORT OF THING.
YOU MENTIONED THAT, UH, YOU'VE IDENTIFIED SOME SAVINGS FROM TARP, IS THAT CORRECT? UM, WE HAVE NOT LIKE LOOKED AT CUMULATIVE SAVINGS.
I THINK THAT WE ARE JUST LOOKING AT WHAT THE COST IMPACTS ARE ON THE DIFFERENT RULES THAT WE'RE EVALUATING.
I WOULD SAY THAT OFTENTIMES THE RULE CHANGES ARE NOT CREATING A LOT OF SAVINGS, UM, FOR PROJECTS, UH, EITHER WE'RE TRYING TO MITIGATE INCREASED COSTS.
UM, BUT I, I DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFIC NUMBERS ON THAT.
IT WOULD SEEM TO ME IN AN EFFORT LIKE THIS WHERE YOU'RE TRYING TO REDUCE COSTS OR MINIMIZE INCREASED COSTS, THAT YOU'D HAVE A SPREADSHEET THAT WOULD SHOW THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION TO, YOU KNOW, DEFINE THE IMPACT OF, OF YOUR EFFORT.
'CAUSE YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, CONSUMING A LOT OF RESOURCES OF THE CITIES AS WELL AS THE PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED.
AND BE NICE TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SAVING A MILLION DOLLARS HERE, $500,000 THERE.
UH, IS THERE NOT ANY ATTEMPT TO PULL THIS OFF TOGETHER? BECAUSE WHAT I JUST HEARD YOU SAY WAS, UH, NO ONE RULE CHANGES SAVING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY.
I, I THINK WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SAVINGS, IT TYPICALLY WOULD BE TO A PROJECT.
UM, IF THERE WAS A DESIRE FOR THE TARP TO CALCULATE COSTS FOR THE CITY TO OPERATE THE TARP, UH, THAT WE'VE, WE'VE NEVER BEEN GIVEN THAT DIRECTIVE.
UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD TAKE UNDER ADVISEMENT, IF THAT'S MORE OF WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT.
WELL, I, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, FREQUENTLY ORGANIZATIONS ARE FORMED WITH THE INTENT OF SAVING MONEY OVER A PERIOD OF TIME BY REDUCING, UH, YOU KNOW, OVERREGULATION, WHICH IS WHAT I UNDERSTAND TO BE THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT HERE.
AND IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO KNOW THE ANTICIPATED SAVINGS THAT'S GONNA BE ACCUMULATED BY REDUCING THE OVERREGULATION THAT'S INVOLVED, WHETHER IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S TOO MANY FEES.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE CHARGING $5,000 FOR A INSPECTION, LET'S SAY, BUT WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING AND NOW IT'S ONLY GONNA BE $2,000.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ACCUMULATED SAVINGS OVER A PERIOD PERIOD OF TIME, SAY FIVE YEARS OF $20 MILLION, LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, ARBITRARY NUMBER.
SO IT'D BE NICE TO KNOW THAT THROUGH THIS EFFORT, THE CITY, UH, THE CITY AS WELL AS THE DEVELOPERS OR THE PARTICIPANTS AS A WHOLE ARE GONNA SAVE, YOU KNOW, A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY.
THERE'S AN ESTIMATE AS THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT'S, THAT'S INVOLVED IN THIS.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF THERE WAS A TARGET NUMBER THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE OUT OF ALL THIS, OR YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT A RUNNING TALLY OF THIS OR, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT WHAT I UNDERSTAND TO BE THE CASE IS THERE ISN'T THAT TYPE OF THING.
IS THAT CORRECT? I THINK THAT'S CORRECT.
WE, UH, YOU KNOW, COST IS NOT THE ONLY, UM, GOAL OF THE TARP.
REDUCING COST IS NOT THE ONLY GOAL.
UM, I WOULD SAY THAT FOR RULES WHERE WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT COSTS AND WHAT CHANGE, WHAT THE RULES IMPACTS WOULD BE ON COSTS, THAT THAT INFORMATION IS IN OUR REPORTS FOR THOSE INDIVIDUAL RULES.
UM, IT'S AN INTERESTING IDEA TO DO A CUMULATIVE REPORT.
SO I'LL THINK ABOUT THAT MORE.
UH, NOW WHEN YOU SAY THAT THERE'S A NUMBER OF STAKEHOLDERS THERE, YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, MEMBERS
[00:35:01]
OF THE PUBLIC AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, AND I'M GONNA USE THE WORD DEVELOPERS, AND THAT MAY NOT BE EXACTLY THE RIGHT WORD, BUT, UM, I'M GONNA ASSUME THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ON TARP ARE DEVELOPERS.I WOULD THINK THAT MEMBERS OF THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS REPRESENT PART OF THE STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL.
'CAUSE OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS ACTUALLY TO ENFORCE THESE REGULATIONS THAT THEY COME ACROSS.
AND WHEN THESE SHOW UP BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, SOMETIMES WE'RE CHALLENGED TO, UH, INTERPRET THESE REGULATIONS.
AND SOMETIMES THEY ARE CONFLICTING AND THEY ARE CONTRADICTORY AND POORLY WORDED.
AND SO MY QUESTION IS THIS, WOULD IT NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR A MEMBER OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO BE PART OF TARP TO PROVIDE OUR EXPERTISE AS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE CHARGED WITH EVALUATING THESE REGULATIONS? SO WHEN THEY'RE BROUGHT BEFORE US TO INTERPRET, YOU KNOW, AN APPLICANT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, REQUEST FOR A VARIANCE OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE SITUATION MAY BE, THAT WE HAVE HAD SOME INPUT INTO THE PROCESS AND CAN PROVIDE OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE AS, I MEAN, I'VE BEEN ON THIS FOR FIVE OR SIX YEARS NOW, AND I THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A PERSPECTIVE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE TO TARP FROM A, UH, YOU KNOW, EVALUATION OF WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS WORDED IN A MANNER THAT IS, MAKES IT EASY FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, FOR EXAMPLE, TO ENFORCE, AND MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT WORD, BUT TO INCORPORATE A JUDGMENT, YOU KNOW, OR AN EVALUATION.
UH, YEAH, I THINK THE, THE TYPE OF EXPERTISE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONERS WOULD BE WELCOME AND HELPFUL ON THE TARP.
I ONLY THING I WOULD SAY TO THAT IS THE COUNCIL DIRECTION THAT I WAS GIVEN.
UM, I HAD SHOWN IT EARLIER, AND SO IT DIRECTED US TO HAVE CITY STAFF FROM THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS RELATED TO LAND DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS.
UM, AND SO WE DID NOT LOOK TO ANY COMMISSIONERS.
UM, I, I, THAT IS NOT A QUESTION THAT I THINK HAS BEEN VETTED.
UM, AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WOULD BE PRECLUDED OR NOT, BUT THAT IS THE REASON WHY WE DON'T HAVE ANY ON THERE TODAY.
'CAUSE I WAS TRYING TO FOLLOW THE DIRECTION FROM COUNSEL.
UH, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO CONSIDER ADDING A MEMBER OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO THE TARP PROCESS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE A MORE 360 VIEW OF THE SITUATION? I, I CAN COMMIT TO EXPLORING THAT MORE.
UH, BUT I CAN'T COMMIT TO MAKING THAT HAPPEN.
UM, I WOULD, I WOULD NOTE THAT THERE ARE, UM, PARTICULARLY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS THAT WE HAVE ON THE TARP THAT I LOOK TO WATERSHED PROTECTION TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FOLKS THAT THEY THOUGHT WOULD BE GOOD CANDIDATES THAT WOULD REALLY CARRY, UH, THE LENS OF, UM, I GUESS SOME OF THE VALUES, UH, MAYBE THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS.
AND SO EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO PUT THOSE SORTS OF FOLKS ON THERE, UH, IN TERMS OF HAVING A COMMISSIONER ON THERE, I WILL, I'LL HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT SOME MORE.
WELL, I WOULD ARGUE THAT A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT IS NOT, NOT NECESSARILY DO THE FULL 360 VIEW OF THE ENVIRONMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, RIPERION AREAS, UH, CUT AND FILL.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A WHOLE LANDSCAPE OF TOPICS, IF YOU WILL, THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION COVERS ON A, UH, YOU KNOW, ON A MEETING TO MEETING BASIS THAT A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT JUST NEVER COVERS, UH, IN THEIR DAY-TO-DAY, UH, THING WHERE THEY PUT IN, UH, YOU KNOW, PLANT TREES, PLANT GRASS, UH, IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, PUT IN A DRIVEWAY OR WHATEVER IT IS THEY DO.
AND THIS IS NOT TO DENIGRATE THE SKILL AND EXPERTISE THESE PEOPLE HAVE IN THEIR JOB, BUT I WOULD ARGUE THAT THE EXPERTISE THAT A MEMBER OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION HAS AND CAN BRING THE TABLE, UH, IS A, IS A BROADER SET OF SKILLS THAN THAT.
ALSO, WHEN THESE REGULATIONS ARE FORMED AND THEN BROUGHT BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, WE ARE THEN CHALLENGED TO INTERPRET THESE REGULATIONS WITH THE INTENT OF TRYING TO MAKE A DECISION TO MOVE THE APPLICANT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, REQUEST FORWARD AND DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD APPROVE A VARIANCE OR WHATEVER THE STORY IS IN A PARTICULAR CASE.
SO WE ARE PART OF THE, UH, COMMUNITY, THE, THE STAKEHOLDERS, IF YOU WILL, IN THIS ENTIRE THING.
AND I THINK WE HAVE A VALID, UH, PERSPECTIVE THAT WOULD ADD, YOU KNOW, ADD VALUE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, A
[00:40:01]
DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW TO THE WHOLE ARGUMENT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE INPUT PROCESS THAT HAS NOT BEEN INCLUDED TO DATE.AND SO I WOULD STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO, UH, LOOK AT ADDING A MEMBER OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO THE ENTIRE PROCESS.
AND I MENTIONED THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ONLY 'CAUSE YOU'RE STANDING BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
I'LL LET THE OTHER BOARDS OF COMMISSIONS, UH, YOU KNOW, DEAL WITH THEIR OWN POINT OF VIEW.
BUT, UH, IN ANY EVENT, WILL THESE CHANGES BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FOR, UH, BRIEFING AS YOU MAKE THESE NO, THESE ARE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES.
AND SO, UH, THEY GO THROUGH THE TARP PROCESS AND THEN IT IS UP TO DEPARTMENTS TO INITIATE THE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE.
BUT THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, WHEREAS I BELIEVE THAT YOU GUYS HAVE SOME, SOME LEGISLATIVE FUNCTION, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THINGS UP TO CITY COUNCIL.
UM, THIS IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE, IT'S A DIFFERENT LANE.
UM, AND SO NO, WE WILL NOT BRING RULES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FOR APPROVAL OR, UM, OR DISAPPROVAL.
IF SO, HOW WILL, UH, IF YOU'RE MAKING CHANGES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL, ARE YOU, UH, GETTING APPROVAL FROM WATERSHED TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES? OR ARE YOU INFORMING WATERSHED THAT THESE CHANGES WILL BE MADE? SO FOR AN UPDATE TO AN EXISTING RULE, UM, WHAT I HAD CALLED AN ESTABLISHED RULE EARLIER, THAT NEEDS TO BE INITIATED BY A DEPARTMENT.
AND SO WE MIGHT HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT AN EXISTING RULE, AND BASED OFF THAT DISCUSSION, I MIGHT WRITE A RECOMMENDATION THAT THAT RULE SHOULD BE UPDATED.
BUT ULTIMATELY, I CANNOT LAUNCH THE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE TO CHANGE THAT RULE.
UM, I WILL NOTE FOR PROPOSED RULES THAT ARE BEING BROUGHT FORWARD BY DEPARTMENTS, UH, AT THE DIRECTION OF THE CITY MANAGER WHEN THE TARP WAS SET UP, UH, THERE IS THE ABILITY FOR ME TO HOLD A RULE FROM MOVING FORWARD WITH THE ADOPTION PROCESS.
IF IT FEELS LIKE, UM, THERE IS NOT, WE HAVEN'T, WE REACH EITHER CONSENSUS OR WE HAVE NOT ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED THE ISSUES RAISED IN THE TARP.
BUT I THINK TO SPECIFICALLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, NO, THE TARP ITSELF CANNOT FORCE A DEPARTMENT TO INITIATE A RULE TO LIKE REMOVE IT OR CHANGE IT.
UH, BUT WE MAY COMPEL THAT DEPARTMENT TO COME AND TALK ABOUT THESE RULES.
NOW, WHEN YOU SAY THAT YOU HAVE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ON THERE, YOU MENTIONED, AGAIN, I'M GONNA USE THE WORD DEVELOPER, AND THAT MAY NOT BE TOTALLY ACCURATE.
UH, I BELIEVE ONE OF THE SPEAKER, I BELIEVE THAT THE, THE SPEAKER MENTIONED, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY AND SO FORTH, UH, ARE THERE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ON THERE? I MEAN, LIKE REGULAR CITIZENS, I DON'T MEAN LIKE AN ARCHITECT OR, OR AN ENGINEER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
ARE THERE LITERALLY MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO LIVE WITHIN THE CITY, JUST LIKE JOE RESIDENT PART OF THIS TAR, TAR PROCESS? OR DO YOU JUST HAVE, UH, PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE WORKING FOR THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE DEVELOPERS? WE JUST HAVE HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS.
UM, AND WE SPECIFICALLY LOOK TO FOLKS THAT HAVE EXPERTISE WITHIN THESE ROLES.
SO IT'S A CLOSE, IT'S A CLOSED CIRCLE.
UH, THE, IT'S NOT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE MEETINGS, IF FOLKS WANTED TO ATTEND THEM, THEY'RE OPEN.
WE DON'T, UH, BROADCAST THEM ON A TXN 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT A BOARDS OF COMMISSION.
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE'S NOTICE OF THE MEETINGS POSTED? UH, THEY'RE NOT IN THE SAME SENSE THAT LIKE, IF A DEPARTMENT WAS TALKING ABOUT ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES THAT THEY WANTED TO MAKE, THAT THEY DON'T POST THOSE.
UM, FOLKS, MY INFORMATION IS ON THE TARP WEBSITE.
UH, AND OUR MEETINGS ARE HELD AT THE SAME TIME.
AND SO FOLKS CAN, CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH ME AND I WOULD LET THEM KNOW IF THEY WANNA SIT IN.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE RECOGNIZE THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE DO AT THE CITY IS SUBJECT TO OPEN RECORDS.
AND SO WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT ATTEMPTING TO HIDE ANYTHING.
BUT THE DEC THE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL WAS HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS.
AND SO THOSE ARE THE FOLKS THAT ARE ON THE TARP.
BUT, UH, I GUESS MY, MY DEAL IN A BROADER SENSE IS TO MAKE SURE THINGS ARE AS OPEN AS POSSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE ISSUE IS.
AND SO, DRIVING THAT, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, MY INTENT IS TO MAKE SURE AS BROAD AS POSSIBLE, THAT THE PUBLIC HAS ACCESS TO THE PROCESS AND SEE THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SAUSAGE BEING MADE, SO TO SPEAK.
COMMISSIONER FIERRO, I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT COMMISSIONER BRIER HAS, HASN'T ASKED.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION THOUGH.
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YOU WANNA GO NOW OR SHOULD WE FOLLOW CONVENTION? I'LL COME BACK TO YOU.SO, UM, LISTENING TO, UM, FIRST OFF, THE PRESENTATION WAS, WAS VERY GOOD.
UM, I SHARE, UM, COMMISSIONER PRIMER'S, UM, CONCERNS THAT COUNSEL, UM, HAS ONLY DIRECTED, UH, PROFESSIONALS FROM THE HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT, UH, TO BE ON THIS.
UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT OUR SPEAKER FROM, UH, SAVE OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE ALSO SHARED THAT CONCERN.
UM, AND I THINK THAT REALLY SHOWS THE, UM, THE HAND OF THIS COUNCIL, THAT THAT'S ALL THEY'RE CONCERNED WITH, UM, AND THAT THEY ARE, UM, NOT CONCERNED WITH THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE GONE LONG BEFORE THIS, LONG BEFORE ME, LONG BEFORE ANY OF YOU, UM, TO, TO VALUE, UM, OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, THE ENVIRONMENT IN THIS GREAT CITY.
UM, AND IT FEELS LIKE THIS IS, THERE'S A BIG INEQUITY HAPPENING HERE.
UM, AND SO I, I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT WE HAVE SOMEBODY FROM THIS COMMISSION, AND I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE PEOPLE ON THIS COMMISSION THAT FIT THE, THE BILL OF, UH, BEING PART OF, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, THE, THE DEVELOPMENT, IF YOU WILL, UM, COMMUNITY THAT ALSO MAYBE HAVE, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE THEY'RE LIKE A PARK PLANNER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, MAYBE THEY'RE A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, MAYBE THEY USED TO BE A L LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AT SOME POINT.
UM, AND SO I, I, I, I'M, I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED.
ANYWAY, UM, WHEN I'M LISTENING TO THIS AND I AM, AND, AND PART OF YOUR PROCESS IS TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY, BUT YOU'RE NOT ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY IN THE PROCESS TO CREATE THE PROCESS TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? I THINK SO, YEAH.
SO I, I THINK, UH, I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME, WHETHER WE GO BACK TO COMMISSION, I MEAN, TO COUNSEL AND ASK THEM ABOUT THIS, OR IF YOU GO BACK TO, UH, COUNSEL AND ASK THEM ABOUT THIS, UM, THERE SEEMS TO BE A, A, A, A, A MISSED OPPORTUNITY, WE'LL CALL IT, UM, TO ENGAGE A, A LITTLE BIT GREATER, UM, YOU KNOW, E ENGAGE A BIGGER, UM, CIRCLE OF THIS BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S INVOLVED.
I MEAN, LOOK AT, LOOK HOW INVOLVED, UM, THE SOS FOLKS ARE, YOU KNOW, WITH PROTECTING, UM, THOSE, UM, THOSE SPRINGS AND, AND HAVE, YOU KNOW, UM, SINCE THEIR FORMATION.
UM, SO, UM, I HAD A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS WRITTEN DOWN, BUT COMMISSIONER BRIER REALLY KIND OF GOT, UM, TO SOME OF THEM, UM, IN YOUR, IN YOUR DISCOVERY SO FAR, UM, HAVE YOU FOUND THAT THERE ARE AREAS THAT ARE UNDER-REGULATED AS OPPOSED TO BEING OVERLY REGULATED? THAT IS A DIFFICULT QUESTION.
UM, JUST IN TERMS OF THE VARIETY OF WHAT WE'VE DEALT WITH, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN GIVE YOU A GOOD ANSWER.
I MEAN, IT'S BECAUSE OF, I THINK THE FOCUS OF WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE REVIEWING, RIGHT? IT'S TYPICALLY THESE INDIVIDUAL RULES THAT ARE ABOUT, ABOUT A VERY SPECIFIC THING.
AND SO, UM, YEAH, I DON'T, I MEAN, I WOULD SAY THE DEPARTMENTS ARE OFTEN BRINGING RULE CHANGES BECAUSE THEY FEEL LIKE SOMETHING IS UNDER-REGULATED.
AND SO IN THAT SENSE, YES, WE ARE DEALING WITH THAT QUITE A BIT.
UM, OR THEY WANT TO CHANGE THE WAY THAT THEY'RE REGULATING SOMETHING.
UM, THOSE ARE ALWAYS GONNA BE THE MOST CONTENTIOUS THINGS THAT WE DISCUSS BECAUSE AS THE DEPARTMENT SAYS THAT THEY WANT TO INCREASE REGULATIONS OR BE MORE STRINGENT, THAT'S GONNA HAVE PUSHBACK FROM THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY.
AND SO, YES, I MEAN, I GUESS WE DO SEE THAT FAIRLY OFTEN BY THE, IN THE SUBSET OF RULES THAT ARE THE PROPOSED CHANGES THAT ARE, THAT DEPARTMENTS ARE BRINGING FORWARD.
[00:50:01]
I, I HOPE, AND, AND, UM, CHAIR, UH, KRUGER, YOU KNOW, MAYBE YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ON THIS, UH, AND, AND YOU'LL GET TO IT IN A LITTLE BIT.UM, YOU KNOW, I REALLY DO HOPE THAT SOMEONE FROM THIS COMMISSION CAN SERVE ON, ON THE TARP.
I, I THINK THIS FEELS LIKE, UM, FEELS LIKE SOMETHING WE REALLY NEED TO BE PART OF.
I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
WE'VE REALLY EXPLORED THIS A LOT.
I, I, I, I DO WANT TO AGREE THAT, UH, I FEEL LIKE SOME OTHER REPRESENTATION NEEDS TO BE ATTACHED TO THIS.
IT, IT SEEMS LIKE TO ME THAT, UM, THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO HAVE MORE OF A SAY IN JUST ABOUT ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN THE CITY.
AND, AND, UH, UH, THIS COMMISSION IS DESIGNED FOR THAT PURPOSE.
AND I WOULD SAY THAT IF A MEMBER, ONE OF OUR MEMBERS IS, IS, IS INVOLVED, AND WE WILL ACHIEVE THAT GOAL.
COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN? WELL, I'D ALSO ADD THAT IF I WERE GOING TO, UM, COMPOSE THE TARP, I MIGHT ALSO INCLUDE SOMEBODY FROM HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OR FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES, UH, TO TALK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY FOR PEOPLE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T TOUCH ON THIS IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT I'LL TELL YOU HOW THE ROSTER WAS DEVELOPED.
SO WE DID REACH OUT TO, UM, FIRST, UH, THESE ADVOCACY GROUPS, RIGHT? SO WE HAD SOME FOLKS FROM SAGE BROOK ON THERE, UM, IN TERMS OF LIKE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
WE LOOKED TO OTHERS, WE ASKED THEM IF THEY HAD RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MEMBERS, UM, THERE.
AND THEN, SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE FROM LIKE AFFORDABILITY LENS.
WE ALSO, AT THE DIRECTION FROM CITY COUNCIL, LOOKED AT THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION, THE INFILL COALITION.
WE ASKED THEM FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.
I THEN WENT TO PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE, SO EXCUSE ME, THE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS, SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS.
I ASKED THEM FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, THEN WE ALSO LOOKED TOWARDS, UM, GROUPS THAT REPRESENT MINORITIES, UH, WITHIN THOSE PROFESSIONS, UH, TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD MORE, UM, BROADER REPRESENTATION ON THE TARP.
AND SO THAT WAS HOW WE, WE STARTED IT.
AND SO, KIND OF JUST TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE HEARD SO FAR, UM, I, ONE, ONE THING I WANT YOU TO KNOW IS WE ARE OPEN TO UPDATING THE TARPS ROSTER.
WE BASICALLY ARE WORKING OFF OF A TWO YEAR TERM.
UM, BUT I HAVE ADDED PEOPLE OR TAKEN PEOPLE OFF THROUGHOUT THE TERMS. IT'S ALSO COMPLETELY VOLUNTARY.
SO AS PEOPLE'S JOBS PICK UP, SOMETIMES THEY HAVE TO DROP OFF, AND THAT'S FINE.
UM, I'M, I'VE BEEN HAPPY TO TALK TO OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS TO GET RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THEM AS WELL.
AND SO HAPPY TO TAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FOLKS THAT YOU THINK WOULD BE GOOD MEMBERS.
THAT IS, THERE IS NO CONCERN THERE.
GOING BACK TO WHETHER A COMMISSIONER SHOULD BE ON THERE OR NOT, THAT IS A QUESTION THAT I THINK IS OUTSIDE OF MY ABILITY TO ANSWER FOR YOU TONIGHT, UH, BECAUSE OF THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION AND BECAUSE OF THE LEGISLATIVE FUNCTIONS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE.
BUT IN TERMS OF YOU SUGGESTING PEOPLE THAT YOU THINK WOULD BE REALLY GOOD FOR THIS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
UM, I, I DO AGREE THAT THE, THE BROADER THE, UH, EXPERTISE AND THE OPINIONS ARE ON THE TARP, THE BETTER OUTCOMES WE WILL HAVE.
HEY, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
UM, YEAH, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST GONNA ECHO WHAT, UH, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONERS HAVE SAID PREVIOUSLY THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I DO THINK THE TARP IS A GOOD THING.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S GOOD TO HAVE PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND, YOU KNOW, PRIVATE SECTOR PEOPLE AND, AND PUBLIC PEOPLE INTERFACING ON HOW WE CAN MAKE THE CITY BETTER.
BUT I DO AGREE THAT, YOU KNOW, INVOLVING, YOU KNOW, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS, YOU KNOW, UH, OR PEOPLE IN THOSE FIELDS, RIGHT? ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, ENVIRONMENTALLY FOCUSED FIELDS, UM, YOU KNOW, AFFORDABILITY FOCUSED FIELDS, WHICH, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU ALL HAVE ENGAGED IN.
UH, I THINK JUST HAVING A HOLISTIC VIEW OF STUFF, UH, IS GOOD.
YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THAT, UH, FOLKS ARE ON A TWO YEAR TERM WITH THE TARP, WHAT EXACTLY IS LIKE THE APPLICATION PROCESS AND, AND WHAT DO Y'ALL LOOK FOR AS FAR AS LIKE, CRITERIA TO SELECT PEOPLE? SO WE, WE DON'T HAVE LIKE A PAPER APPLICATION, THE SAME SENSE OF LIKE, UH, WHAT TYPICALLY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS DO.
AND SO IT WAS BASED OFF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I GOT FROM THOSE GROUPS.
AND THEN I HAD, UH, DISCUSSIONS WITH THOSE FOLKS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.
AND, AND I THINK THAT'S ALSO BEEN A BIT OF A LIMITATION TOWARDS, OR MAYBE NOT A LIMITATION, BUT WHY WE'VE GRAVITATED TOWARDS THE FOLKS THAT WE HAVE.
BECAUSE I REALLY DO NEED THEM TO HAVE EXPERIENCE, HAVE RUN UP TO THE RULES IN THE REAL WORLD, UM, SO THAT, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT THEM IN A WAY WHERE WE'RE GONNA GET PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS.
BUT ANYWAY, I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HOW, HOW THESE FOLKS GET VETTED.
[00:55:01]
KNOW, I THINK, UH, A LOT OF PEOPLE'S CONCERNS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER RIGHTFULLY SO OR NOT, IS THAT THIS COULD LEAN PRETTY, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPER HEAVY.UH, SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LOVE, AND NOT ONLY I, I'M SURE EVERYBODY ELSE WOULD LOVE TO SEE, UH, A DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN, UH, NOT ONLY OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, BUT ALSO LIKE, YOU KNOW, STUFF LIKE AGE, ETHNICITY, WHAT PART OF TOWN YOU LIVE IN, YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT INDUSTRY YOU'RE IN.
UH, JUST SO WE CAN GET A BETTER SENSE OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT INTERESTS ARE REPRESENTED HERE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT POSSIBLE, UH, SHORTCOMINGS WE NEED TO ADDRESS.
UM, NOT SAYING THAT Y'ALL HAVE ANY, BUT YOU KNOW, WE CAN ALWAYS IMPROVE, UH, NO SHOTS, UH, NO SHADE RATHER.
AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION TOO WAS, YOU KNOW, I SEE THAT Y'ALL POST, UH, QUARTERLY REPORTS, RIGHT? YOU SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL MEET MONTHLY AND WE HAVE THESE, UH, QUARTERLY REPORTS.
LIKE, UM, IS THERE ANY KIND OF LIKE QUORUM RULE THAT Y'ALL FOLLOW? LIKE WHERE WE CAN SEE WHO'S AT WHAT MEETING? YOU KNOW, I'M JUST, I'M JUST SORT OF CURIOUS ABOUT THIS.
NO, WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE A QUORUM OR TAKE THE ATTENDANCE AT THE MEETINGS.
UM, PART OF THAT IS, DEPENDING ON THE TOPIC THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, NOT EVERYBODY IS GONNA WANT TO GO TO THAT MEETING.
LET'S SAY IT'S LIKE OUTSIDE OF YOUR EXPERTISE.
UM, SO ANYWAY, WE DON'T, WE DON'T DO THAT KIND OF TRACKING.
YOU'RE LIKE, HEY, SPURS GAME IS ON.
SORRY, I'M DIPPING AND GOING TO THE WATERING HOLE.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IN YOUR VIEW, UH, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT THE, THE TARP CAN IMPROVE ON, AND WHAT ARE SOME, SOME, YOU KNOW, SOME WINS THAT YOU'VE, YOU'VE SEEN IT HAVE? I THINK THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUOUSLY WORK TO IMPROVE THE PROCESS.
LIKE ONE THING THAT I'VE HEARD FROM CITY STAFF IS THAT THIS IS TIME CONSUMING AND IT'S DIFFICULT, RIGHT? AND I THINK THAT WE'VE GOTTA CONTINUE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO MAKE IT LESS OF A BURDEN ON CITY STAFF.
UM, DOING SOME OF THE WORKING GROUPS AND ADVANCES PART OF THE ANSWER THERE, BUT THOSE IN AND OF THEMSELVES ARE TIME AND, AND ARE CHALLENGING, YOU KNOW? UM, AND SO WE'VE GOTTA CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THAT.
UM, STAFF, YOU KNOW, RESOURCES ARE TIED AT THE CITY, SO IT'S TOUGH TO DEDICATE RESOURCES TO DO THIS SORT OF WORK.
UM, IN TERMS OF, I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT WE HAVE HAD SOME REALLY SMALL CHANGES THAT HAVE REALLY IMPROVED RULES.
AND I THINK WE'VE TAKEN ON A FEW REALLY LARGE RULES THAT ARE GONNA HAVE PRETTY BIG IMPACTS ON DIFFERENT PROJECT TYPES.
UM, FOR, FOR ME, I, I THINK LIKE KEEPING GOOD GOVERNANCE IS A FOCUS, RIGHT? THAT IT'S, THE TARP IS NOT JUST ABOUT TRYING TO, UH, REDUCE COSTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OR SPEED UP DEVELOPMENT.
IT'S ALSO THAT THE CITY'S RULES AND REGULATIONS, LIKE THE PROCESS THAT YOU GO THROUGH SHOULD MAKE SENSE.
AND YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT'S BEING ASKED OF YOU AND BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH IT SMOOTHLY AND NOT BE, UM, A DEVELOPER THAT HAS A TON OF EXPERIENCE WITH THE CITY THAT SOMEBODY ELSE CAN COME IN AND DO THAT.
AND I THINK THE RULES, UM, DEPENDING ON HOW THEY'RE WRITTEN, CAN BE A REAL BARRIER.
AND SO THAT'S THE TYPE, THAT'S THE PART OF THE WORK THAT I THINK, UM, I FEEL GOOD ABOUT.
YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, AFFORDABILITY HAS BECOME A VERY HOT TOPIC HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME COMMISSIONERS POINTED OUT PREVIOUSLY.
AND, UH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, FIGURING OUT HOW TO REMOVE UNNECESSARY BARRIERS, UM, AND REDUCE FRICTION, BUT AT THE SAME TIME NOT COME ACROSS AS LIKE TOO DEVELOPER FRIENDLY, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
'CAUSE YOU CAN BE DEVELOPER FRIENDLY AND ENCOURAGE, YOU KNOW, GROWTH AND, AND BUSINESS, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE IS A LINE WHERE YOU CROSS WHERE IT'S LIKE, OKAY, NOW INSTEAD OF BEING FRIENDLY WITH THE DEVELOPERS, WE'RE JUST PUPPETS OF THE DEVELOPERS, RIGHT? NOBODY REALLY WANTS THAT.
AND SO I THINK IT'S JUST LIKE A FINE LINE THAT WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DANCE ALONG, WHICH IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, REDUCING EXPENSES AND MAKING THINGS MORE AFFORDABLE, BUT ALSO KEEPING, YOU KNOW, THE AVERAGE RESIDENT OF AUSTIN IN MIND.
SO, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY LOOKING TO SEE HOW, YOU KNOW, WE AS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS CAN SUPPORT Y'ALL AND VICE VERSA.
AND I THINK THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS.
ALSO NICE TO MEET YOU IN PERSON.
WE'VE TALKED ON THE PHONE BEFORE, SO
UM, YEAH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING HERE FOR THIS PRESENTATION AND JUST FOR YOUR OPENNESS TO TALK ABOUT THIS.
ADMITTEDLY, I WAS NOT AWARE OF THE TARP UNTIL A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.
UM, SO I'M GRATEFUL THAT NOW WE'RE HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT.
'CAUSE FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, THIS IS A VERY POWERFUL, INFLUENTIAL GROUP, UM, THAT I DO THINK DESERVES, YOU KNOW, GREATER PUBLIC ATTENTION AND SCRUTINY.
AND I'M GRATEFUL THAT YOU'RE WILLING TO ENGAGE WITH THAT BY BEING HERE TONIGHT.
SO I THINK, I THINK THAT'S STEP ONE.
UM, AND FROM MY UNDERSTANDING RIGHT NOW IN THE TARP,
[01:00:01]
IS, IS IT 40 PEOPLE OR IS THAT KIND OF THE, ABOUT THE NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO BE ON IT? IT'S CLOSER TO 50.IS THERE A CAP IN MIND? THERE IS NOT REALLY A CAP IN MIND.
THE, THE CONSIDERATION IS A GROUP GETS SO LARGE THAT IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO GET ANYTHING DONE.
UM, SOME OF THAT GETS SELF-REGULATED BY NOT EVERYBODY'S GONNA COME TO EVERY MEETING.
UM, AND I UNDERSTAND, SO THOSE 50 PEOPLE ARE BOTH STAFF AND NON-STAFF.
DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF THE BREAKDOWN ROUGHLY OF STAFF VERSUS NON-STAFF? YES.
THERE IS, THAT IS IN FLUX AS WELL THOUGH, AS DEPARTMENTS ARE BRINGING RULES FORWARD, THEY'LL OFTEN BRING SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT HAVE WORKED ON THAT RULE LANGUAGE TO THE MEETING TO HELP TALK ABOUT IT.
BUT I HAVE, THERE IS ONE SPOCK FOR EACH DEPARTMENT THAT I TYPICALLY AM WORKING WITH.
UM, AND SO THAT KEEPS IT, IF YOU'RE JUST COUNTING THOSE FOLKS, IT'S BELOW 15.
AND LOOKING AT THE LIST, UM, I KEEP SCROLLING THROUGH DIFFERENT PAGES IN, IN YOUR PRESENTATION 'CAUSE THEY'RE ALL IMPORTANT.
BUT, UM, THE LIST OF THE CRITERIA MANUALS, WE HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA, MANUAL FIRE PROTECTION, MANUAL TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL, THOSE THREE IN PARTICULAR.
THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY IS A PART OF THAT.
AND I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIVE OF COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR.
SO I, I FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT.
AND I THINK IF WE NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR, THEN, THEN WE SHOULD DO THAT.
UM, BUT I'M WONDERING IN PARTICULAR ABOUT THE STAFF BREAKDOWN WHEN IT COMES TO DISCUSSIONS AROUND THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA, MANUAL TRANSPORTATION, FIRE, SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT TO ME, I SEE LESS OVERLAP WITH IN TERMS OF HOUSING.
SURELY THERE IS OVERLAP, BUT LESS SO THAN SAY, THE BUILDING CRITERIA MANUAL, WHERE THAT IS VERY OBVIOUS.
UM, I, I WOULD POINT OUT THAT THE TARP IS NOT SOLELY FOCUSED ON HOUSING.
IT IS ALSO JUST DEVELOPMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS GENERALLY.
UM, THOSE, AND YOU HAD MENTIONED THE FIRE CRITERIA MANUAL, WHAT WERE THE OTHER TWO? FIRE, ENVIRONMENTAL AND TRANSPORTATION ARE JUST THREE.
THAT STUCK OUT TO ME THAT WHEN I THINK ABOUT YOUR DIRECTIVES FOR THE COMPOSITION OF THE GROUP, I I SEE A GAP IN EXPERTISE.
I, UM, I, I'M NOT SURE I WOULD TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT, IN THAT WITH THE TRANSPORTATION CRITERIA MANUAL, IT'S GONNA GOVERN ALL THE WAYS IN AND OUTTA SITES, CURB CUTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA MAKE YOU DO FOR THE RIGHT OF WAY.
UM, A LOT OF THOSE HAVE LARGE COSTS FOR DEVELOP, UH, DEVELOPMENTS.
THE FIRE PROTECTION MANUAL IS GOING TO SIMILARLY TELL YOU.
IT'S IN THE SENSE THAT IF THE BUILDING CRITERIA MANUAL IS GONNA HAVE COST FOR DEVELOPMENT, SAME THING THERE.
UM, AND THEN, I'M SORRY, I FORGOT THE OTHER, THAT'S, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENVIRONMENT.
UM, TYPICALLY IS GOING TO, THE COSTS ARE GONNA, AND, AND REALLY WATERSHED STAFFS COULD SPEAK TO THIS BETTER THAN I COULD, BUT OFTEN IT HAS TO DO WITH LIKE, UM, WATER TREATMENT.
UM, WHEREAS THE DRAINAGE CRITERIA, MANUALS KEEPING, MAKING SURE YOU'RE NOT FLOODING, KEEPING IT CONTAINED.
IF YOU NEED TO TREAT WATER, THOSE SYSTEMS CAN BE EXPENSIVE.
SO THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THAT, UM, THE TREE PROTECTIONS, UM, MAYBE NOT AS EXPENSIVE, BUT YOU NEED TO DO MITIGATION FOR YOUR PROJECT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE PROTECTING THOSE TREES.
AND SO THERE ARE, THROUGHOUT ALL OF THOSE MANUALS, I'D SAY THERE ARE QUITE A FEW RULES THAT IMPACT COSTS.
UM, IF WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT COST OR DEVELOPABLE AREAS SOMETIMES.
BUT I ALSO SEE AREAS BEYOND THAT SCOPE TOO, WHICH I THINK IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY, THAT THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO BRING IN OTHER STAKEHOLDERS THAT, THAT ARE MISSING AT THE TABLE.
UM, CAN YOU REMIND ME WHAT YEAR THIS STARTED? YES.
UM, I, IT'S ON THAT SIDE, I THINK IT 2023.
AND YOU LAID OUT THE RULES ADOPTION PROCESS.
IS THERE A TIMELINE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF THIS GROUP? OR IS THIS A GROUP THAT NOW EXISTS IN PERPETUITY? OR HOW, HOW IS PROGRESS BEING MEASURED? IS THIS, IS THERE GONNA BE A SUNSET ON THIS GROUP? THERE IS NO DIRECTION TO SUNSET THIS, AND SO IT IS INTENDED TO BE A PERMANENT PROGRAM AT THE CITY.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THEN TO YOUR OWN POINT, IN TERMS OF SELF-EVALUATING WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED, I DO THINK LIKE THINKING ABOUT THE PROCESS IS IMPORTANT, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA EXIST WITHIN CITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND PERPETUITY.
UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THESE CRITERIA MANUALS ARE ADMINISTRATIVE AND ARE INHERENTLY DIFFERENT THAN COMMISSIONS, UM, THAT ARE SOLELY, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THE PUBLIC, THEY'RE PUBLIC CONDUITS FOR ENGAGEMENT.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, THIS GROUP DOES, THE MAJORITY ARE PRIVATE CITIZENS.
THE MAJORITY ARE NOT CITY STAFF.
SO, UM, I THINK ENSURING THAT THERE IS DIVERSE AND
[01:05:01]
INCLUSIVE REPRESENTATION OF THE PUBLIC IN THAT GROUP IS, IS IMPORTANT.I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT HERE.
UM, AND SO IF, IF SOMEONE WERE INTERESTED IN BEING A PART OF THIS GROUP, DO THEY EMAIL YOU? LIKE, WHAT, WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR THAT? MM-HMM
THAT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME.
UH, BRIGHTON.SUMMERS@AUSTINTEXAS.GOV.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, THERE'S AN EMAIL ON THE TARPS PUBLIC FACING WEBSITE, AND FOLKS CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH ME.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN MY, I I RELATE IT TO MY EXPERIENCES ON SERVING ON COMMISSIONS, THINKING ABOUT, UM, THE L-G-B-T-Q CULTURAL CENTER TASK FORCE THAT WAS COMPOSED, THINKING ABOUT THE IMAGINE AUSTIN GROUP THAT I'M NOW SERVING ON.
UM, AND IT IS INTERESTING TO ME HOW SEEMINGLY DIFFERENT THE, THE PROCESS WAS FOR THIS IN TERMS OF HOW IT WAS CREATED AND THEN WHO IS ON IT.
BECAUSE IN EACH OF THOSE INSTANCES, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LONG RUNWAY WHERE, AND A THOROUGH APPLICATION PROCESS WHERE DEMOGRAPHICS WERE COLLECTED, WHAT ZIP CODE DO YOU LIVE IN? ARE YOU A RENTER OR A HOMEOWNER? UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS YOUR ETHNICITY, COUNTRY OF ORIGIN TO ENSURE DIVERSITY? UM, AND I'M NOW, I'M, I ALSO SERVE ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AND WE'RE DEVELOPING A HATE CRIMES, UM, WORKING GROUP AND ARE NAVIGATING SOME OF THE THINGS WITH CITY LEGAL.
BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US TO REALLY DO THE DUE DILIGENCE OF MONITORING THOSE KIND OF, OF FACTORS, BOTH DEMOGRAPHIC AND INDUSTRY SPECIFIC.
BECAUSE I CERTAINLY BELIEVE THAT THE MORE DIVERSE WE ARE, THE THE BETTER IDEAS THAT WE ARRIVE AT.
UM, AND I IMAGINE YOU AGREE TOO.
AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE PUT IN A POSITION WHERE YOU RECEIVED A DIRECTIVE AND YOU'RE PROBABLY GIVEN A TIMELINE AND YOU HAD TO EXECUTE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS HAS JUST BEEN AROUND FOR A FEW YEARS.
WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS SOME OF THIS.
SO I WILL JUST, YOU KNOW, ECHO MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS IN SAYING THAT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE GROUP.
UM, AND JUST TO HAVE A SENSE FROM YOU THAT WE HAVE YOUR ASSURANCES THAT THIS IS A DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE GROUP WHEN, WHEN LOOKING AT ALL DIFFERENT MEASURES, WHILE STILL ADHERING TO THE DIRECTIVES THAT YOU WERE GIVEN BY COUNCIL.
AND I THINK ALL OF THAT IS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE.
IT'LL JUST TAKE, TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF WORK.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONALLY, LIKE TO HAVE MEMBERSHIP, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S, IT'S YOUR SOLE DISCRETION.
LIKE PEOPLE EMAIL YOU AND, YOU KNOW, I WONDER IF THERE COULD BE SOME KIND OF PANEL OF PEOPLE IF IT'S ONE PERSON FROM DSD ONE PERSON, FROM WATERSHED, ONE PERSON, YOU KNOW, TO LIKE HAVE A COLLECTIVE VETTING PROCESS.
'CAUSE I THINK IT JUST, UM, IS A LOT OF POWER THAT IS RESTING IN YOU RIGHT NOW.
AND I HAVE NO REASON TO DISTRUST YOU.
I HAVE A LOT OF REASONS TO TRUST YOU.
UM, BUT I JUST THINK MOVING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE OF AN EVEN HANDED PROCESS TO HAVE MORE PEOPLE AT THE TABLE TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD OFFER THAT AS WELL.
UM, OH, AND THEN I DID HAVE A QUESTION.
SO AGAIN, WITH THE RULES ADOPTION PROCESS, UM, ONCE A RULE IS ADOPTED, A NOTICE IS PUT OUT AND THEN THERE'S 31 DAYS FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.
I'M CURIOUS, LIKE HOW MANY RULES HAVE BEEN ADOPTED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS AND WHERE, WHERE ARE THOSE POSTED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? YEAH.
UM, WE HAVE ADOPTED OVER 10, THE LAST TWO YEARS.
I THINK IT'S PROBABLY CLOSER TO 15.
BUT I DO HAVE THOSE EXACT NUMBERS IN THOSE REPORTS.
WHEN THEY'RE POSTED, THEY'RE POSTED ON THE CLERK'S WEBSITE.
UM, THEY'VE GOT A LAND DEVELOPMENT RULES POSTING PAGE.
AND SO, AND THERE'S TWO THINGS THAT GET POSTED.
ONE IS THE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE, WHICH SAYS WE'RE, LOOK, WE ARE INTENDING TO ADOPT THIS, BUT WE'RE GONNA COLLECT COMMENTS.
AND THEN THERE'S THE NOTICE OF ADOPTION THAT SAYS THIS HAS NOW BEEN ADOPTED.
AND SO THAT'S ALL ON THE CLERK'S WEBSITE.
I MEAN, I THINK ANOTHER THING THAT YOU COULD DO JUST TO, UM, HELP WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PUBLIC WOULD BE TO ADVERTISE THAT INFORMATION A LITTLE MORE AND MAYBE THINK ABOUT POSTING IT ELSEWHERE.
OR HOW CAN THAT BE AMPLIFIED? IS THERE AN EMAIL THAT GOES OUT TO STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY? UM, JUST WANNA OFFER THAT AS AN IDEA.
'CAUSE AGAIN, I DIDN'T, I WASN'T AWARE OF THAT.
AND I DON'T VISIT THE CLERK'S WEBSITE OFTEN ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT.
I'M SURE INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS ARE PROBABLY CHECKING THAT PAGE REGULARLY.
BUT YEAH, WE DO, WE DO SEND OUT INFORMATION TO THE, THE DE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES STAKEHOLDER LIST.
UM, COULD GO OTHER PLACES, BUT TYPICALLY THEM BEING THE USERS OF THESE MANUALS, WE'RE MAKING SURE THEY KNOW ABOUT IT.
AND THEN FOR PEOPLE HERE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN APPLYING, WOULD YOU MIND SHARING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS? YES.
S-U-M-M-E-R S@AUSTINTEXAS.GOV.
[01:10:02]
AND WOULD YOU ALLOW ME TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT SOME OTHER THINGS THAT YOU SAID EARLIER? OF COURSE, PLEASE.I, I THINK ONE THING I DO WANT FOLKS TO KNOW IS LIKE YOU, I THINK YOU PUT IT WELL RIGHT THERE.
I, THERE ARE DIRECTIVES THAT WE WERE GIVEN FROM COUNCIL, AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO EXECUTE ON.
I DO WANT FOLKS TO KNOW THAT WHEN WE CREATED THE TARP, I USED THE GOVERNMENT ALLIANCE ON RACIAL EQUITY EQUITY TOOLKIT TO DO AN EVALUATION.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CONTINUE TO LOOK BACK TO, TO DO SOME BENCHMARKING OFF OF.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, BEEN KEEPING IN MIND.
UM, I THINK WHERE THERE, YOU KNOW, MIGHT BE, UM, FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO SEE OTHER REPRESENTATION ON THE TARP, I AM STILL GOING BACK TO THE COUNCIL DIRECTION THAT I HAVE, BECAUSE THAT'S MY ROLE HERE AS CITY STAFF.
UM, HOWEVER, I DO THINK THERE ARE SOME GOOD SUGGESTIONS THAT I'M CERTAINLY WILLING TO INCORPORATE.
AND ALSO, AS I HAD MENTIONED EARLIER, I SINCERELY AM HAPPY TO GET SUGGESTIONS FOR PANELISTS, UM, TO TRY TO INCLUDE THEM ON THE CHART.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YES, VICE CHAIR, BRISTOL.
UM, AND, UM, IS THE, IS THE PERSON FROM SOS STILL HERE? YES.
UM, SO I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES HERE AND IT FEELS LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, A MEMBER FROM SOS, UM, WOULD BE AT MINIMUM, UM, YOU KNOW, A GREAT START TO HAVE, UM, ON, ON THAT TEAM.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, EQUITY AND INCLUSION, I THINK KIND OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, IT'S NOT GONNA POP UP IN A MANUAL.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT, AND IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE THERE'S REAL DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT, UM, ON THERE.
AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE REVIEWING PART OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE NEEDS TO BE THAT PERSON THERE THAT WAKES UP EVERY SINGLE DAY THINKING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, AND SO THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT THOSE POLICIES WITH THAT LENS.
UM, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT PERSON THERE, THEN THEY'RE ONLY GOING TO REPRESENT THESE OTHER LENSES THAT EACH ONE OF THESE INDIVIDUALS HAS.
AND I, AND I WILL ALSO SAY, AND I SHARE YOUR CONCERN, SIR, THAT HAVING 50 TO 60 PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, UM, ON A, UH, ON A COMMITTEE TRYING TO MAKE SOMETHING GO FORWARD, THAT'S A LOT OF FOLK.
UM, BUT BECAUSE THEN, THEN YOU'RE NEVER REALLY GONNA HAVE A REAL CONSISTENCY OF THOUGHT ROLLING THROUGH, UM, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ALWAYS GONNA HAVE, YOU KNOW, OH, I'LL MAKE ONE MEETING THIS WEEK AND, AND THEN SKIP FOUR, AND THEN ANOTHER ONE.
AND, YOU KNOW, UM, FEELS LIKE THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITY THERE TOO TO SORT OF MAYBE TIGHTEN THAT PROCESS UP A LITTLE BIT.
THAT'S ALL I WANNA SAY, BUT I, I, I DO, I, I DO HOPE THAT MAYBE AT MINIMUM SOMEBODY FROM SOS CAN BE ON THAT COMMITTEE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
I YOU HOPE WE CAN HAVE YOU BACK WITH AN UPDATE DOWN THE ROAD, PERHAPS, BUT REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
[3. Discussion of the Bond Election Advisory Task Force. Presentation by Commissioner Sullivan. Sponsors: Chair Krueger and Commissioner Sullivan.]
WE'RE MOVING TO DISCUSSION ITEMS. DISCUSSION NUMBER THREE, UH, DISCUSSION OF THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE PRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN.WHICHEVER'S COMFORTABLE FOR YOU.
NOW IT IS, YEAH, THE BEIF THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE.
SO HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE HAD OUR LAST MEETING LAST MONTH.
'CAUSE WE WERE HAVING TWO MEETINGS A MONTH FOR ABOUT A YEAR.
AND, UM, THIS IS A VERY SHORT PRESENTATION.
I THINK I ONLY HAVE SEVEN SLIDES, SO GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, OR I CAN DO THAT HERE.
SO ANYWAY, THE POINT IS THE COUNCIL IN 2024, THEY CREATED, UH, THE IDEA OF HAVING A BOND PACKAGE IN NOVEMBER OF 2026.
THEY CREATED THE BEIF, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, REPRESENT THEIR DIFFERENT DISTRICTS.
THERE WERE 22 MEMBERS, EACH COUNCIL MEMBER POINTED TWO MEMBERS.
AND, UH, TO POINT OUT WHAT WE DO, WHAT, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT GOES INTO A GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND ELECTION.
THESE PAY FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS, IT'S NOT FOR, UM, OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE, BUT IT'S FOR HARD THINGS LIKE SIDEWALKS, BUILDINGS, STORM WATER CONTROLS, ET CETERA, WHICH ALL WILL NEED OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE LATER, WHICH IS A, ONE OF WHICH TURNED OUT TO
[01:15:01]
BE ONE OF OUR CONCERNS.WE CREATED SIX WORK GROUPS, ONE OF WHICH WAS STORM WATER AND WATERSHED PROTECTION.
I WAS NOT ON THAT WORK GROUP, BUT THAT'S MAINLY WHAT I'M GONNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT.
I WAS ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THE, UH, FACILITIES AND ASSETS WORKING GROUPS.
UM, CITY, CITY STAFF PRESENTED US WITH A LIST OF $3.9 BILLION OF NEEDS.
AND FROM THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO SELECT A MUCH SMALLER AMOUNT, UM, THAT WOULD BE THE HIGHEST, UM, YOU KNOW, HIGHEST NEEDS.
AND, UM, WE WERE GIVEN A NUMBER, 750 MILLION, UH, FOR, UH, FOR A CAP ON THAT.
SO, UM, WE ALSO HEARD FROM THE CITY COUNCIL ABOUT MAYBE COMING UP WITH A SMALLER BOND PACKAGE.
I MENTIONED THE 750 MILLION, BUT, UM, THERE WAS A SUB QUORUM OF FIVE MEMBERS WHO SUGGESTED A SMALLER PACKAGE.
AND SO WE CAME UP WITH A SMALLER PACKAGE AS WELL.
UM, THAT ONE, IT'S KIND OF INTERESTING THAT WE DID, ONE OF OUR GROUPS WAS ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THEY FOUND THAT HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION WERE THE TOP PRIORITIES.
AND THAT THIS WAS FROM A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THEY WENT OUT TO TALK TO PEOPLE.
THIS IS FROM HAVING MEETINGS, FROM GETTING EMAIL, UM, HAVING SURVEYS DONE.
AND, UM, HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION WERE THE TOP PRIORITIES.
WELL, THEY WERE NOT IN THE SMALL AMOUNT, THE SMALLER PACKAGE THAT THE, UM, UH, THE SUB QUORUM ASKED FOR, THEY DID ASK FOR SOMETHING FOR TRANSPORTATION, BUT NOT FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT WAS THAT, UM, THERE'S STILL MONEY LEFT OVER FROM AN EARLIER HOUSING BOND.
I THINK IT WAS LIKE 160 MILLION.
BUT THE RATE THAT WE SPEND MONEY ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS IN THE AREA BETWEEN 60 AND $80 MILLION A YEAR.
I MENTIONED THEM WHEN I WAS LISTENING TO, TO BRI UP HERE ABOUT THE FACT THAT, UH, FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, UH, CARITAS, ET CETERA, AND SOME OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UH, GIVE, ASK FOR GRANTS.
AND THAT ADDS UP TO ABOUT SIX 60 TO $80 MILLION A YEAR.
SO WE WOULD BE DONE WITH THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING MONEY IN A SHORT TIME PERIOD FROM NOW.
UM, BUT THEN IT CAME OUT THAT CITY STAFF HAS PROPOSED POSTPONING THIS NOVEMBER 20, 26 BOND PACKAGE UNTIL NOVEMBER OF 2028.
UM, IN, IN 2028, WE WOULD HAVE A LARGER NUMBER OF VOTERS BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEAR DEBT FROM EARLIER BOND ELECTIONS WOULD BE PAID OFF.
AND I WAS TOLD BY A COUNCIL AIDE THAT WE COULD AFFORD A LOT MORE, UH, A MUCH BIGGER PACKAGE IF WE WAITED TWO MORE YEARS AND TELLING THE HOUSE HOW HARD IT WAS TO GET DOWN TO 750 MILLION FROM THE LIST OF PROJECTS THAT WE WERE PRESENTED WITH
THAT WOULD BE A BIG RELIEF IF WE COULD WAIT A LITTLE BIT AND THEN HAVE A LARGER PACKAGE.
BUT I DON'T, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
AND COUNCIL HASN'T, UH, FULLY DECIDED ON THIS YET.
SO, HERE'S WHAT WE CAME UP WITH.
AND WE COULDN'T HOLD TO OUR $750 MILLION, UH, TOTAL.
WE GOT 766, BUT WE FIGURED THAT, YOU KNOW, THINGS COULD BE CUT, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD THERE TO JUST GET DOWN TO 750 MILLION.
BUT, UM, THE, I, THE DIFFERENT PACKAGES WERE TRANSPORTATION, WATERSHED PROTECTION, PARKS AND RECREATION, COMMUNITY FACILITIES, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS ALL ONE BIG BUCKET.
THERE'S NOT, WE DIDN'T HAVE LIKE, UM, INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.
'CAUSE AGAIN, I MENTIONED THAT DURING THE YEAR FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES, HABITAT, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS SUBMIT PROJECTS.
AND SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE HAD, UM, WE DO HAVE, UM, UH, HOME OWNERSHIP AND RENTAL AS TWO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, BUT, UM, STILL WE DIDN'T HAVE THEM, YOU KNOW, THE BUCKETS LINED UP TO PUT THEM INTO THIS PACKAGE.
SO IT WAS ALL IN ONE PACKAGE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
BUT FOR WATERSHED, THERE WERE VERY SPECIFIC THINGS, AND I'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT THESE, UH, NEXT.
BUT YOU CAN SEE ON THE PIE CHART THERE, IT'S MORE OR LESS, YOU KNOW, EVENLY DISTRIBUTED.
[01:20:01]
BUT IT WAS 113 MILLION FOR WATERSHED PROTECTION, 175 MILLION FOR PARKS AND PARKS AND RECREATION, 147 MILLION FOR TRANSPORTATION.AND THAT INCLUDED THINGS LIKE SIDEWALKS AND BIKEWAYS AND URBAN TRAILS, AS WELL AS SOME ROAD PROJECTS.
BUT A LOT OF IT HAD TO DO WITH PUBLIC SAFETY, LIKE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL AND VISION ZERO, AND THINGS LIKE, UM, ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING, WHICH WOULD BE FOR CITY VEHICLES, NOT FOR THE AVERAGE CITIZEN, BUT THAT WOULD, THAT ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, 13 MILLION, THAT WAS FOR THE CITY, UH, CITY VEHICLES.
SO THESE ARE THE STORM WATER WATERSHED, STORM WATER PROJECTS.
NOW I WASN'T NOT ON THIS WORK GROUP, SO I DON'T KNOW ALL OF THE DETAILS ABOUT THEM, BUT YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS LIST, LIKE THE VERY FIRST ONE IS $12 MILLION FOR OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION.
AND THAT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH PROTECTING WATER QUALITY.
AND THEN THERE'S SMALL SCALE STORM WATER AND DRAINAGE, UM, WHICH WOULD BE ON, UH, YOU KNOW, HANDLING STORM WATER ON, ON SMALLER SCALES AND THEN ON LARGER SCALES AND PARTNERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS, UH, HAVING, UH, PARTNERSHIPS WITH DIFFERENT OR ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THEN VERY SPECIFIC PLACES ON CREEKS LIKE TANNEHILL CREEK AND BOTH ARM, BOTH HARLEM PARK, WALNUT CREEK, UP IN NORTH THE NORTH ACRES NEIGHBORHOOD, TANNEHILL CREEK AT THE MORRIS WILLIAMS, UH, STORMWATER BOGGY CREEK AT KEELING PARK, WALNUT CREEK AT MCNEILL MCNEIL DRIVE, LOW WATER CROSSING THE COLORADO RIVER.
I THINK WE HAD A, UM, WE HAD A PRESENTATION ON THE CAPEX, UH, PROJECT HERE, UM, ET CETERA.
SO, UM, YOU ALL HAVE THIS IN YOUR BACKUP AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MILLIONS OF DOLLARS GOING TO SOME OF THESE THINGS.
IT'S 1.5 MILLION AS LOW AS, UH, 1.4 MILLION, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME SMALLER THINGS, BUT FOR SOME BIGGER THINGS IT'S UP TO 20 MILLION, 21 MILLION, UM, FOR THESE WATERSHED PROJECTS.
AND THE TOTAL WAS 113 MILLION.
UM, STAFF HAD COME UP WITH A $750 MILLION, UH, DEAL.
E AND, UM, YOU CAN SEE THEIR NUMBERS.
I, I HAVE ANOTHER TABLE, MY NEXT SLIDE THAT I'LL GET TO ABOUT COMPARING THEIR NUMBERS WITH OUR NUMBERS.
BUT, UM, THEY HAD ZERO FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND AS I MENTIONED, THAT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE MONEY FROM AN EARLIER BOND THAT WE HAVEN'T SPENT YET, BUT WE WILL LIKELY SPEND IT ALL BY EARLY 2028.
SO WE WILL HAVE TO GET SOME CAPITAL FOR THAT.
HERE'S A COMPARISON BETWEEN, UH OH, NO, NO.
SO THIS IS THE OTHER THING THAT WE DID FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUFF.
UM, WE DID HAVE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON OUR PANEL, THE 22 MEMBERS OF OUR PANEL, WHO WERE VERY INTERESTED IN LIKE, WHAT WOULD BE THE EFFECT ON, UH, LIKE, UH, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM ALL THESE PROJECTS.
AND I THINK IT'S VERY INTERESTING THAT ARE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS WOULD'VE CREATED A NEGATIVE INCREASE IN GREENHOUSE GASES.
AND THIS IS BECAUSE SO MUCH OF THE TRANSPORTATION MONEY WAS FOR SIDEWALKS, TRAILS, ELECTRIC CHARGING STATIONS FOR THE CITY, FOR CITY VEHICLES, AND PROBABLY AN INCREASE IN THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES FOR THE CITY THAT WE HAVE A NET NEGATIVE INCREASE IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS OVERALL FOR ALL, ALL OF THE, UM, THE $766 MILLION TOTAL WOULD'VE A NEGATIVE GREENHOUSE GAS, EVEN THOUGH ONLY ONE OF THE CATEGORIES WAS NEGATIVE.
IT WAS TRANSPORTATION AND IT WAS A VERY LARGE NEGATIVE, AND THAT OVERWHELMED THE POSITIVE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM STORM WATER WATERSHED, THE SMALL AMOUNT FOR CITY PARKS, THE MODERN AMOUNT, FAC, FAC, HOUSING FACILITIES, AND A SMALLER AMOUNT, A REGULAR AMOUNT FOR, UH, CITY HOUSING.
SO ANYWAY, I THOUGHT THAT WAS A POSITIVE OUTCOME FROM, FROM OUR WORK.
AND I THINK THAT'S MY LAST SLIDE.
SO NOW WE'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE CITY COUNCIL DOES.
UH, YOU CAN GO TO THIS WEBSITE THOUGH, AND THERE'S DETAIL ABOUT THE BOND DEVELOPMENT, THE STEPS WE WENT THROUGH RE RESULTS FROM OUR MEETINGS.
AND, UM, YOU GO TO THAT LINK AND YOU, THE SECOND LINK AND YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WAS THE, UM, THE NEXT TWO, YOU'LL SEE THE NEXT TWO SLIDES THAT I HAVE ON THIS PRESENTATION, WHICH ARE ACTUALLY TOO SMALL TO READ, BUT
[01:25:01]
JUST GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.SO THIS IS THE, UM, THREE, UM, CATEGORIES THAT THE, UM, CITY COUNCIL SUB QUORUM ASKED FOR, WHICH WERE TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES AND PARKS.
I MEAN, PARKS HAVE NOT BEEN THERE, THERE WAS NOT A SPECIAL, UM, YOU KNOW, PARKS IS OUT OF MONEY.
THAT'S, THAT'S A, THAT WE REALLY DO NEED MONEY FOR PUBLIC PARKS.
AND, UM, SO THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT CATEGORY.
AND, UM, I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO READ THIS, BUT YOU'VE GOT THIS IN THE BACKUP.
AND ANYBODY WHO'S A CITIZEN CAN DOWNLOAD THIS FROM THE, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION'S WEBSITE.
THE LAST SLIDE IS THE BIG TICKET, THE 760 MILLION.
AND THIS SPELLS OUT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND THE ONE ON THE BOTTOM THAT HAS ALL THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, THAT'S STORM WATER PROTECTION.
SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF STORM WATER PROTECTION ELEMENTS SPREAD OUT ACROSS THE CITY, WHEREAS LIKE WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IT'S ALL JUST ONE BUCKET OF MONEY THAT'S AT THE TOP.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S ALL I HAVE, AND I CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
I'VE BEEN REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT THIS PROCESS.
WELL, I MEAN, IT WAS A PRETTY DEMOCRATIC PROCESS.
I MEAN, WE HAD ALL OUR MEETINGS WERE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, WE HAD, UM, WE, WE HAD A, UH, ONE OF OUR WORK GROUPS WAS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT COMMUNITY, UH, INPUT, GETTING COMMUNITY INPUT AND DOING SURVEYS AND ASKING PEOPLE WHAT'S IMPORTANT, WHAT DO YOU WANNA SEE? PUT UP A WEBSITE, YOU KNOW, ASK FOR INPUT ON THAT.
AND COMBINED IT ALL INTO ONE SURVEY DEAL E THAT WE COULD LOOK AT AND SAY, WELL, GEE, HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION LOOK PRETTY BLOODY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY, THEY CAME OUT ON TOP.
LET ME GO FIRST ONLINE TO COMMISSIONER FIERRO COMMENTS, QUESTIONS.
I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN FOR YOUR WORK ON THE PRESENTATION AND JUST ON EVERYTHING ELSE.
YEAH, I, YEAH, THANKS, UH, DAVE, I APPRECIATE THIS.
UH, IT'S HARD TO FIT, UH, 25 POUNDS OF MANURE IN A FIVE POUND BAG,
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I, THERE IS NO, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT IT.
THIS WAS A HORRIBLE JOB
YEAH, I, I'LL ADMIT TOO THAT THIS, THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT I DID THIS.
I DID THIS ONCE BEFORE IN THE 1990S WHEN I WAS ON THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION.
SO THIS IS MY SECOND GO AROUND ON A BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE.
SO YOU, YOU CAME UP WITH A QUESTION FOR ME TO ASK, SINCE YOU ALREADY DID THIS ONCE.
WHY DID YOU VOLUNTEER TO DO THIS THANKLESS JOB AGAIN? WELL, 'CAUSE I'M, I'M A, I'M A NUMBERS GUY.
I LIKE DOING THINGS WITH NUMBERS AND I LIKE THE, OKAY, I, I KNOW THE CITY.
I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 1981 AND I KNOW PRETTY WELL WHAT GOES ON AND WHERE WE NEED FACILITIES.
WELL, ANYWAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR IT.
I DO APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR PUT PULLING ALL THIS STUFF TOGETHER.
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I FOLLOWED THIS PROCESS FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE THAN YOU.
AND I KNOW IT'S JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, JUST A TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE THING.
YOU KNOW, ON, ON THAT THING AND YOUR TIME IN PUTTING THIS, UH, PRESENTATION TOGETHER.
VICE CHAIR, BRISTOL, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE ME.
I, I REALLY JUST AM SO IMPRESSED THAT YOU SERVED ON, ON, UM, THIS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, DEDICATED YOUR TIME, NOT JUST ONCE BUT TWICE.
UM, AND, UM, I, I KNOW THAT Y'ALL WERE GIVEN A REALLY BIG TASK.
UM, I, I GUESS I HADN'T REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT OR EVEN HEARD, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT IF WE WAITED UNTIL THE NEXT ELECTION CYCLE, UM, THAT THAT WOULD PUT US IN A BETTER POSITION.
UM, AND YOU KIND OF SOLD ME ON THAT.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, UM, I KNOW THAT THAT KIND OF SOMEWHAT KICKS THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD FOR, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE REALLY WAITING ON SOME OF THIS.
BUT CERTAINLY IF IT PUTS US IN A BETTER POSITION, UM, AND GIVES, UH, YOU KNOW, ALLOWS THE CITY TO GET IN INTO THAT BETTER RATING.
UM, BOY, YOU KNOW, I, I, I'M, I'M KIND OF FOR IT.
SO, SO THANKS FOR, FOR POINTING THAT, THAT PIECE OUT.
AND, UM, AND, AND CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, THANKS FOR COMING BACK AND SHARING THIS REALLY DETAILED REPORT WITH US.
[01:30:01]
UM, IT CERTAINLY HELPS ME UNDERSTAND WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS.'CAUSE I GOTTA BE HONEST, I KIND OF HAD LOST SIGHT OF
WELL, YOU KNOW, I'LL MENTION TOO THAT THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO PAY FOR THINGS.
THAT'S THE, THE, YOU KNOW, CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION IS ANOTHER WAY THAT THE CITY HAS TO PAY FOR THINGS.
AND THEN ALSO WE HAVE, UH, FEE AND WE HAVE, UM, MONEY THAT DEVELOPERS PAY, UM, FOR GETTING AN INCREASE IN THEIR, UH, ENTITLEMENT FOR BUILDING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, THERE ARE SOME WAYS THAT WE COULD PUT IT OFF FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS.
UM, IT WOULD BE A HARDSHIP, I THINK, FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
BUT, UM, THEY, AGAIN, THERE, THERE MAY BE SOME WAY FOR THE CITY TO FIND SOME MONEY FOR PARKS, UH, IN THE MEANTIME.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IF WE COULD PAY OFF BILLS ALONG THE WAY AND THEN HAVE LESS TO WORRY ABOUT, BECAUSE THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S, THAT'S OF CONCERN.
WE DON'T WANT, UH, TO BE GO TOO MUCH INTO DEBT.
AND WE DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ANYTHING THAT WE, ANY OF THE GEO BONDS THAT WE SPEND CAN BE CONSTRUCTED IN A SIX YEAR PERIOD.
BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE GOALS IS TO FINISH BEFORE THE NEXT GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND ELECTION.
AND THAT HAS BEEN WHAT OUR SEQUENCE HAS BEEN FOR A LONG TIME, BUT NOW WE'RE AT AN EIGHT YEAR GAP BECAUSE OUR LAST BIG ONE WAS IN 2018, AND IF WE WAIT ANOTHER TWO YEARS, THAT'LL BE A 10 YEAR.
BUT IN BETWEEN, WE DID HAVE THESE OTHER BOND ELECTIONS FOR SPECIFIC ITEMS. AND SO TRYING TO AVOID THAT AND PUTTING EVERYTHING INTO ONE GEO BOND ELECTION WITH FIVE CATEGORIES, THAT'S ONE WAY TO GET EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE AND, UM, DO IT IN A WAY THAT IS FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE.
SO ANYWAY, WHETHER WE GO IN THIS YEAR OR IN TWO YEARS, UM, WE MAY EVEN BE ABLE TO ADD MORE THINGS IN TWO YEARS.
UM, BUT WE'LL JUST SEE WHAT HAPPENS, WHAT THE CITY COUNCIL DECIDES.
DAVE, I COMMEND YOU ON YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, I FEEL LIKE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF US SITTING HERE THAT ARE KIND OF DOING THE SAME THING ON, ON A LOT OF DIFFERENT LEVELS.
AND SO, UM, UH, WE, WE KNOW YOUR PAIN, WE REALLY FEEL FOR YOU.
AND, UH, AND IT'S A GOOD KIND OF THING TOO, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU FIND OUT WHAT, UH, NUMBER ONE, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, NUMBER TWO, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET THERE.
I THINK THAT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO, TO, TO ALWAYS BE LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER, UH, TO ALL THESE QUESTIONS.
UH, THE MAIN QUESTION I HAVE NOW IS CONSIDERING WHAT HAPPENED TO PROPOSITION QQ, THE FACT THAT, UH, THE, THAT LOST BIAS SIGNIFICANT YEAH.
AMOUNT, UH, I THINK IT WAS 60 40, 63 MM-HMM
37, WHATEVER, THAT, THAT THE, THE, THE FINAL TALLY WAS THAT REALLY WAS A SHOT ACROSS THE BOW ON SPENDING MONEY IN THE CITY.
RIGHT? AND IT, IT FELT LIKE THAT THE, THE BOND ELECTION WAS MAYBE DOOMED FOR THE VERY PURPOSE OF, OF, UH, NOT SPENDING MORE MONEY.
AND SO MY QUESTION IS, HOW ARE WE GONNA GET PEOPLE CONVINCED TO ACTUALLY GO AND DO THIS IN TWO YEARS, MUCH LESS IN, IN A FEW MONTHS? YEAH.
MY MY ANSWER TO THAT IS THAT I NEVER SAW WHAT I WAS GONNA GET FROM PROP QI MEAN, THERE WAS VERY, NO, THERE WAS NO, UM, CAMPAIGN FOR IT, BUT FOR A BOND, IT'S PARKS, IT'S STORM WATER DETENTION, IT'S LOW INCOME HOUSING, UM, IT'S BETTER SIDEWALKS, TRAILS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL THE THINGS THAT WE DID SURVEYS ABOUT AND PEOPLE SAID, YES, WE WANT THESE THINGS FOR OUR QUALITY OF LIFE.
WE WANT THESE THINGS FOR, UH, PUBLIC BENEFIT.
WE WANT THESE THINGS BECAUSE WE ARE, MY PART OF TOWN DOESN'T HAVE THIS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT WE WOULD PROVIDE THE CITIZENRY OVER THE NEXT DEC OR MAYBE HALF A DECADE OR MORE, UM, IN TERMS OF PUBLIC ASSETS.
WHEREAS WITH PROP Q, IT WAS LIKE, I DON'T KNOW.
SO ANYWAY, I DO BELIEVE WE COULD CAMPAIGN AND WE COULD PASS, PASS THIS.
AND YOU'RE, AND YOU'RE CORRECT, UH, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY FELT LIKE PROPOSITION Q WAS ACTUALLY AFFECTING, UM, QUALITY OF LIFE.
WHEREAS THE PARKS, UH, AND, AND, UH, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS ARE, ARE DEFINITELY A QUALITY OF LIFE, UH, ITEM.
AND, AND AUSTIN HAS OVER THE YEARS SUPPORTED THAT, UM, IDEA.
SO, UM, I WISH YOU GOOD LUCK ON THAT IN THE FUTURE.
WELL, AGAIN, IT'S FOR US, THIS ISN'T, THIS ISN'T FOR THE BEIF, THIS IS FOR ALL OF US.
[01:35:01]
SECRETARY RESI.TRYING TO SILENCE ME YET AGAIN.
IT'S, THAT'S A JOKE TO ALL THE REPORTERS OUT THERE.
UM, YEAH, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL ECHO WHAT YOU SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, PROPOSITION Q IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM BOND.
LIKE YOU SAID, A BOND HAS VERY SPECIFIC THINGS THAT YOU SET OUT TO SAY THIS IS WHAT THE MONEY'S GONNA BE USED FOR.
AND ALSO TOO, A BOND HAS A TIME LIMIT, RIGHT? A PROPOSITION Q WAS ESSENTIALLY, UH, A PROPERTY TAX RAISE IN PERPETUITY, UM, WITH BASICALLY CITY COUNCIL DECIDING THEY WOULD SPEND THE MONEY, HOW THEY SEE FIT WITH NO REAL OVERSIGHT STRUCTURE.
UH, SO A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE HESITANT, EVEN THOUGH IT MEANT THAT A LOT OF TOUGH DECISIONS WOULD HAVE TO BE MADE ON HOW TO DEAL WITH THE IMPENDING DEFICIT, UH, WHICH IS WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY I UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE FEEL LIKE, UH, KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD, UH, UNTIL THINGS FEEL LIKE THEY'RE, UH, A BETTER SITUATION CAN BE GOOD.
HOWEVER, I WOULD POINT OUT THAT IF WE LOOK AT STUFF LIKE PROJECT CONNECT, RIGHT? WHERE THIS IS WORK WE SHOULD HAVE DONE, YOU KNOW, DECADES AGO, RIGHT? AND BECAUSE WE DECIDED, OKAY, WELL NOW THE TIME IS POLITICALLY, UH, EXPEDIENT TO, TO PASS THIS, WHAT WE ENDED UP WITH WAS A LOT OF INFLATION.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL PAY ATTENTION TO THE NEWS TODAY, BUT INFLATION IS, UH, HAPPENING.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA SLOW DOWN IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
SO WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, WE WANT TO, TO BE POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT ABOUT WHEN WE PASS THE BOND, I THINK IF YOU TURN, IF YOU LOOK IN TERMS OF LIKE HOW EFFECTIVE THE MONEY WILL BE, RIGHT? YES, WE CAN GET MORE MONEY DOWN THE ROAD, BUT IS THAT MONEY ACTUALLY GOING TO BE WORTH MORE, NOT TO SOUND LIKE A DOR, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST LIKE, THIS IS KIND OF UNFORTUNATELY THE, LIKE THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REALITY THAT WE LIVE IN.
UM, AND THEN ALSO TOO, I FEEL LIKE IF YOU GO TO THE CAPITOL EVERY WEEKEND, SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE PROBABLY GONNA VOTE THIS COMING ELECTION TOO THIS YEAR.
UM, CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IS THAT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ARE PRETTY POPULAR, BUT I WOULD IMAGINE THAT FOR REASONS WE'RE ALL AWARE OF, THIS MIDTERM ELECTION WILL PROBABLY BRING OUT A LOT OF PEOPLE TO VOTE AS WELL.
UM, BUT I'M NOT IN THE, THE FISCAL WEEDS AS MUCH AS Y'ALL ARE.
SO I DEFINITELY TRUST WHAT Y'ALL SAY ON THIS.
THAT'S JUST SORT OF MY DEVIL'S ADVOCATE POSITION ON THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE.
BUT, UH, YEAH, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WHEN I LOOK AT THE NEEDS VERSUS THE MONEY COMING IN, WHY DO I GET REMINDED OF MY OWN FINANCES? YOU KNOW, UH, A LOT OF NEEDS, NOT ENOUGH MONEY TO GO AROUND.
SO APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT Y'ALL DO.
AND, UH, YEAH, NO, NO REAL QUESTIONS FOR OTHER THAN THAT.
UM, I'LL ECHO WHAT EVERYONE SAID IN THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'M GLAD THAT PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE THE ONES MAKING THE DECISIONS FOR OUR CITY ON THIS.
LIKE, ALRIGHT, WE HAD DAVE SULLIVAN IN THE ROOM.
THAT'S, THAT'S A WIN FOR US ALREADY.
UM, IF THIS IS PUSHED OFF TO 2028, WILL THESE NUMBERS STAND OR WILL THERE HAVE TO BE A NEW, BE A TIFF THAT'S FORMED FOR 2028? YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, THAT QUESTION HAS NOT BEEN PUT TO ANYBODY YET BECAUSE NO.
'CAUSE THE DECISION HAS NOT YET BEEN MADE.
AND, UM, ONE THING I CAN IMAGINE IS THAT WE COULD SAME, HAVE THE SAME PACKAGE, BUT ESCALATE ALL THE VAL ALL THE VALUES BY 10% TO ADJUST FOR INFLATION.
AND, UM, WHAT I WAS TOLD, UM, I DON'T WANT TO DISCLOSE ANYBODY, UM, BUT I WAS TOLD BY SOMEBODY IN CITY HALL THAT WE COULD AFFORD A MUCH BIGGER PACKAGE IN 2028 THAN THE 750 MILLION THAT WE COULD GO FOR CLOSER TO A BILLION IN 2028.
AND SO JUST INCREASING EVERYTHING BY 10% WOULD JUST ADD ANOTHER 700, YOU KNOW, 75 MILLION TO THE 750 MILLION AND WE'D STILL BE UNDER THAT.
UM, SO I THINK THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE IN A GOOD POSITION.
AND REMIND ME, DID THE TASK FORCE TAKE AN OFFICIAL POSITION ON WHETHER OR NOT TO RECOMMEND ADOPTION THIS YEAR? NO.
UM, I KNOW THIS IS ALREADY, YOU KNOW, SAID AND DONE AND THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE AT THE TABLE AND IT WAS SO HARD.
BUT I AM JUST SAD TO SEE FOR OPEN SPACE LAND ACQUISITION, IT'S JUST $12 MILLION WHEN I JUST THINK ABOUT, WELL, THAT WAS, THAT'S FOR WATERSHED.
UH, BUT FOR, BUT FOR PARKS, UM, THERE'S ADDITIONAL THINGS UNDER PARKS.
WHERE I GUESS I'M LOOKING, WHAT PAGE IS THIS? I'M LOOKING AT PAGE FIVE.
LET'S SEE, IF YOU GO TO THE VERY LAST, UM, THE LAST TWO SLIDES.
ONE IS FOR 400 AND SOMETHING MILLION, AND THE OTHER ONE IS FOR 760 MILLION.
I SEE PARKLAND ACQUISITION 45 MILLION.
SO IF YOU ZOOM IN ON THAT, YOU CAN SEE THAT FOR PARKS THERE'S INCREASED, UM,
[01:40:01]
LAND PURCHASES FOR THAT.IS IT JUST THE 45 MILLION PARKLAND ACQUISITION? YEAH.
AND SOME OF THAT IS OPEN SPACE.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SOME PARKLAND HAS A LOT OF BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE TOO, SO RIGHT.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S PARKLAND ACQUISITION, AND THEN UNDER WATERSHED THERE'S ALSO LAND ACQUISITION THERE.
MAINLY FOR FLOOD PLAIN AND, UM, STORM WATER AND WHATNOT.
I JUST KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE LAND IS BE EFFICIEN AND THAT, UH, STORM WATER STUFF UNDER WATERSHED.
AND THEN I'M JUST CURIOUS, UM, YOU NOTED THAT A NUMBER OF THE BUCKETS HAD LINE ITEMS DELINEATED, BUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS JUST ONE BUCKET.
IS THAT BECAUSE IT'S ALL GOING TO A SINGLE CITY DEPARTMENT OR WHAT IS YEAH.
WELL, IT GOES THERE AND ALSO THERE'S UM, THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT GOES TO THE, UH, UH, HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE.
AND, UM, WE HAD SOME, YOU KNOW, DIFFICULTY WITH THE TOTAL REQUESTS THERE.
I MEAN, THEY REQUESTED 350 MILLION.
I MEAN, ALL THE, WE, UH, LIKE I SAID, EVERYBODY NEEDS MONEY.
THERE WAS $3.9 BILLION IN REQUESTS.
AND HOUSING ASKED FOR 340 MILLION.
AND THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE ASKED FOR, UH, 50 MILLION.
AND SO WE DIDN'T GIVE THEM THAT TOTAL AMOUNT BECAUSE NOBODY GOT THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT THEY REQUESTED.
AND, UM, WE KNOW IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD BECAUSE THERE'S OTHER WAYS TO PAY FOR THINGS, UH, THROUGH TAXES OR FEE IN LIEU FOR DEVELOPERS OR CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION OR WHATEVER.
BUT YOU GUYS DIDN'T NEED TO BREAK OUT, YOU KNOW, THIS MUCH GOES TO HOMELESS STRATEGY.
THIS MUCH GOES TO NO, WE DID, WE DID.
IT WAS 25 MILLION FOR HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE.
AND THAT WAS UNDER FACILITIES THOUGH.
THAT WAS NOT UNDER, UM, THAT WAS NOT UNDER H HOUSING.
SO, YEAH, I GUESS I'M JUST STILL CONFUSED ABOUT THE 200 MILLION UNDER AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT THAT ISN'T BROKEN DOWN.
BECAUSE IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO, I MEAN, WITH PARKS, YOU CAN TALK ABOUT, WE NEED PARKS IN THIS AREA, WE NEED PARKS IN THIS AREA, STORM WATER, WE NEED IT ON THIS CREEK, WE NEED IT ON THIS CREEK.
BUT WITH LOW INCOME HOUSING LIKE HABITAT OR FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES OR CARITAS OR SOMEBODY ELSE, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL COME IN WITH A PROPOSAL TO CONVERT A HO EMPTY HOTEL INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR, UM, A SET OF TINY HOMES INTO LOW, LOW INCOME HOUSING, AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT'S GOING TO BE.
OR WHETHER IT'S GONNA BE FOR OWNERSHIP OR FOR RENTAL.
AND SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO PREDICT THAT IN ADVANCE.
I, I, I MEAN, I WAS ON THAT, I WAS ON THAT WORK GROUP AND YOU KNOW, WE ASKED ABOUT, WELL, WHAT HISTORICALLY HAVE WE DONE? AND THEY GAVE US THE HISTORIC NUMBERS, BUT IT VARIED SO MUCH FROM YEAR TO YEAR THAT WE DIDN'T PITCH IT AS WELL, LET'S SAY THIS MUCH FOR RENTAL AND THIS MUCH FOR HOME OWNERSHIP.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REPORT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I, OKAY.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
WE'RE GOING TO GO TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND OF COURSE YOU CAN ALWAYS EMAIL ME, EMAIL NICOLE AT ANY TIME IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK UP IF I COULD.I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE, AT THE NEXT MEETING, UH, BRING UP DOG HEAD.
THAT, UM, HAS BEEN, OH YEAH, VICE CHAIR BRISTOL, YOU WANNA COMMENT ON THAT? OH, YOU'RE MUTED.
UM, I DO WANNA COMMENT ON THAT.
UM, COMMISSIONER BRIER, HEAR YOUR CONCERNS, AND, UM, I'VE ALSO HEARD FROM SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, UM, TO KIND OF DELAY THIS A LITTLE BIT TO GET, UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY AROUND THIS A LITTLE MORE.
UM, AND SO I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE A WORKING GROUP, UM, US LOOKING AT A WORKING GROUP, UM, AND, UH, TO BRING IN THAT GREATER COMMU THAT ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY.
BUT THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE A FAST ONE.
LIKE THIS ISN'T JUST A, OH, YOU KNOW, WE'LL GET IT DONE BY THE END OF THE SUMMER.
LIKE THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE REALLY PRETTY QUICK, UM, OVER THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS.
BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S MY PROPOSAL BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF VOICES THAT NEED TO COME TOGETHER ON THIS ONE, NOT JUST US.
WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THIS, I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH A WORKING GROUP.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A TERRIFIC IDEA.
[01:45:01]
THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE A INTEREST IN IT OR AGAINST WHATEVER, WHATEVER THE STORY IS.THE ONLY THING I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT IS THAT, UH, COUNCIL IS GONNA VOTE ON THE TURS IN JULY, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE BE ABLE TO PRESENT WHATEVER OUR RECOMMENDATION MIGHT BE PRIOR TO THAT MEETING.
SO I, YOU KNOW, MY RECOMMENDATION IS THAT NOT ONLY WE HAVE A BRIEFING, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A ACTION, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATION FOR ACTION AT THAT TIME AS WELL.
SO YES, LET'S HAVE A, UH, YOU KNOW, A, LET'S HAVE A, A, A COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, A WHATEVER YOU CALLED IT, AND LET'S DO THAT.
GET PEOPLE TOGETHER AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE INTERESTED PARTIES, IF YOU WILL.
BUT LET'S GET IT WRAPPED UP AND GET SOMETHING TOGETHER BEFORE, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WE CAN HAND TO COUNCIL PRIOR TO THEM VOTING ON THE JURORS SO WE CAN PROVIDE OUR ADVICE TO THEM PRIOR TO THEIR MEETING.
SO THAT, THAT, THAT'S MY ONLY COMMENT.
YEAH, WE'LL TAKE NOTE OF THAT.
AND YOU KNOW, WHAT I CAN SAY IS THAT THIS IS ON OUR MINDS, AND I CAN COMMIT THAT IT WILL BE ON THE AGENDA AT SOME POINT.
I THINK WE'RE JUST TRYING TO WORK OUT THE FINER DETAILS OF WHEN, UM, AND THE QUESTION OF THE WORKING GROUP.
SO MAYBE WE CAN TAKE THIS OFFLINE TO, TO KEEP DISCUSSING, BUT OH, BUT NOTED.
BUT WE SHOULD PUT IT ON THE AGENDA AT THE NEXT MEETING TO ESTABLISH THE WORKING GROUP.
IF THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING, YES.
THINK ABOUT IT NOW AND PLAN NOW AND THINK ABOUT WHO TO BE ON IT.
BUT WE NEED TO VOTE ON IT AT OUR NEXT MEETING.
QUESTION? I, I HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, IN THE RULES, AND THIS IS A NICOLE OR DAVID QUESTION, CAN WE FORM A WORKING GROUP THAT, HOW DO I WANNA SAY THIS? LIKE, CAN WE FORM A WORKING GROUP JUST ONLINE? LIKE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IF I PUT SOMETHING FORWARD AND SOMEBODY SECONDS IT, AND THEN, AND THEN WE HAVE A, A WORKING GROUP, HELP ME UNDERSTAND THAT.
WELL, WELL, WORKING GROUPS DON'T HAVE TO, WE CAN HAVE MEMBERS THAT ARE NOT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION CAN BE ON IT.
AND YOU CAN HAVE MEETINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, AS YOU, LIKE, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE OPEN MEETINGS, WHETHER THEY HAVE TO BE ADVERTISED OR NOT.
WORKING GROUPS I DON'T THINK ARE SUBJECT TO TOMA.
AND THEY CAN BE VIRTUAL AND THEY CAN BE, AND THE MEETINGS COULD ALL BE VIRTUAL.
I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THAT'S WHAT WE DO IN ORDER TO EXPEDITE THE PROCESS, UH, SO THAT WE CAN GET THIS DONE.
AGAIN, MY, THE REASON FOR URGENCY IS THAT, UH, WE NEED TO GET A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL PRIOR TO THEM VOTING ON THE TURS.
'CAUSE ONCE THE TURS IS DONE GAME OVER, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NO, YOU KNOW, THE CONTRACT SIGNED, WHATEVER HAPPENS, HAPPENS.
AND WE HAVE NO ABILITY TO, TO CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF COUNSEL ON THIS.
YOU KNOW, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, SEND THEM A, UH, A STRONGLY WORDED MEMO, BUT THAT'S ABOUT ALL WE CAN DO.
IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING TO THEM BEFORE THEIR MEETING, WHICH IS IN JULY, AND I DON'T KNOW WHICH, WHAT DATE THAT IS.
BUT IF WE CAN PROVIDE THEM WITH A SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION PRIOR TO THE MEETING, THEN THAT WILL BE INFORMATION THAT THEY CAN, CAN DIGEST AND WRAP INTO WHATEVER THEIR FINAL DECISION IS.
AND THAT'S WHAT MY GOAL WOULD BE, IS TO PROVIDE THEM WITH SOME ACTIONABLE INFORMATION.
TO, UH, COMMISSIONER BRISTOL'S ONLINE THING WITH VIRTUAL STUFF.
AND SINCE WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A, A QUORUM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, IT BECOMES INFORMAL AND WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THE THING WE CAN DO, YOU KNOW, SET IT UP ONLINE.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE, NOT THAT WE NEED A, A SECOND AT THIS POINT WITH THE VICE CHAIR INTERESTED, BUT WE'LL PUT THAT ON FOR NEXT TIME.
WE CERTAINLY HAVE MULTIPLE PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED.
SO WE'LL DISCUSS THE WORKING GROUP AND WE'LL CONSIDER OTHER ACTION ON THAT AT THE NEXT MEETING.
I HEAR YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT THE TIMELINE BEFORE THE TOURS TOO.
THAT'S, THAT'S MY CONCERN AS WELL.
I WILL SAY THAT, UM, WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT ENDEAVOR REAL ESTATE GROUP IS WILLING TO COME AND MEET WITH US AFTER THAT VOTE IN JULY.
AND WE'RE UNSURE OF WHETHER OR NOT STAFF WILL BE ABLE TO GIVE A PRESENTATION FOR US BEFORE THEN.
SO WE'RE JUST NAVIGATING A COUPLE OF LOGISTICAL QUESTIONS, BUT REGARDLESS, I THINK THE WORKING GROUP CAN MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT
[01:50:01]
THAT.WELL, MAY I ADD THAT ENDEAVOR COMING TO US AFTER THE TURS IS KINDA LIKE CLOSING THE GATE AFTER THE HORSE LEFT? UH, I THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH DOG HEAD ARE AVAILABLE SHOULD THEY CHOOSE TO PRESENT BEFORE US IF THEY CHOOSE NOT TO PRESENT BEFORE US.
THEN THERE'S THE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION THAT WAS PRESENTED TO COUNCIL.
AND THEN THERE'S THE COUNCIL MEETING, WHICH I'VE BEEN REVIEWING OFF AND ON TODAY LISTENING TO, UH, ITEM 68 OR 60 AND 38 AND 39.
SO THERE'S THE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION THAT WE CAN USE AS BRIEFING MATERIAL SHOULD, UH, YOU KNOW, ENDEAVOR OR WHOEVER ELSE FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, WHO'S QUALIFIED TO PRESENT, BE UNAVAILABLE TO DO THAT.
UH, AGAIN, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I GUESS WE CAN LISTEN TO ENDEAVOR AFTER THE TOURS HAVE BEEN VOTED, BUT I DON'T REALLY SEE THE POINT.
I TEND, I TEND TO AGREE THERE IS, UM, AN ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY PLAN, LESLIE, IS THAT THE CORRECT TERMINOLOGY FOR IT? UM, AND THAT'S BEING DECIDED IN THE FALL.
BUT YEAH, LESLIE, IF YOU WANNA SHED ANY LIGHT ON THIS, UH, YES.
OH, LESLIE LILY WATERSHED PROTECTION.
TO CLARIFY, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY JUST AN ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY PLAN.
IT'S A REGULATING PLAN THAT WILL DEFINE ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF HOW, UH, THE DOG'S HEAD WILL BE DEVELOPED, UM, WHEN EXACTLY IT'S COMING FORWARD IN THE FALL.
UM, IT'S NOT TOTALLY CLEAR, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WILL BE FORTHCOMING THAT WILL, UM, GIVE EVERYBODY A CHANCE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE COMPONENTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S GONNA BE PROPOSED.
IF YOU READ THE DRAFT AGREEMENT FOR DOGHEAD, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION HAS BEEN EXCISED FROM EVERY PART OF THE PROCESS AND JUST READ IT.
IT'S BEEN EXCISED ZIPS IS NOT A NOTHING, OUR ENTIRE PURVIEW OVER THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY IS GONE AND YOU CAN READ IT FOR YOURSELF.
IT, I MEAN, THERE, THERE'S NOTHING AMBIGUOUS ABOUT IT.
ALL THE RESPONSIBILITIES WE HAVE HAVE BEEN MOVED INTO ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS THAT ARE DONE BY THE PERSON THAT'S NAMED IN THE DOCUMENT.
AND SO, WAITING UNTIL SEPTEMBER TO BE TOLD THAT WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN DOESN'T REALLY DO A WHOLE LOT OF GOOD.
I THINK IF WE'RE GOING TO TAKE DECISIVE ACTION THAT'S MEANINGFUL, THE SOONER THE BETTER.
IF WE WAIT TILL SEPTEMBER, YOU KNOW, TIME'S GONE.
AND I THINK THE TIME FOR ACTION IS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
I DON'T MIND DOING SOMETHING IN SEPTEMBER AS WELL, OR AUGUST OR THE END OF JULY, OR, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER THAT IS.
BUT I THINK THAT IF WE WANT TO HAVE, TAKE AN ACTION THAT HAS A CHANCE TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE WAY THINGS GO, THEN I THINK WE NEED TO ACT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
LESLIE, IF WE DO, OR NICOLE, IF WE DO DISCUSSION AND ACTION FOR NEXT TIME DOGS HEAD DEVELOPMENT, AND MAYBE WE CAN GET A STA STAFF BRIEFING.
COULD PUTTING IT UNDER THAT HEADING ENCOMPASS BOTH THE FORMATION OF A WORKING GROUP AND POTENTIALLY A RECOMMENDATION? OR WOULD THOSE NEED TO BE TWO SEPARATE ITEMS? CHAIR, THOSE WOULD NEED TO BE TWO SEPARATE ITEMS. OKAY.
UM, AND DO WE HAVE ANY UPDATES YET FROM STAFF ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WE COULD GET A PRESENTATION AT THE NEXT MEETING? UH, I, I POINT OF CLARITY, WHY WOULD THOSE NEED TO BE TWO SEPARATE THINGS? UM, WE WOULD NEED ONE ITEM TO FORM A WORKING GROUP AND THEN ANOTHER ITEM FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON THE DOG'S HEAD, UM, DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT.
THEY WOULD BE TWO SEPARATE ITEMS. SO I THINK THAT GOES BACK TO MY QUESTION IS, CAN, CAN WE FORM THE WORKING GROUP WITHOUT HAVING TO, HAVING HAVE THAT BE WITHIN A MEETING? CAN THAT BE DONE ONLINE? CAN I SEND OUT A REQUEST TO OTHER COMMISSIONERS AND SAY, HEY, CAN WE CREATE THIS WORKING GROUP? UH, WORKING GROUPS ARE FORMED, UM, BASED OFF, UH, AGENDA ITEM.
SO AGENDA ITEM TO FORM A WORKING GROUP.
[01:55:02]
I MEAN, Y'ALL ARE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, YOU CAN ORGANIZE, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE YOURSELF.SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL WANNA DO, THAT'S, UM, UP TO Y'ALL.
BUT TO FORM A WORKING GROUP FOR THE COMMISSION, IT'LL HAVE TO BE AN AGENDA ITEM AT THE NEXT MEETING.
SO IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, COMMISSIONERS COULD TALK AS LONG AS THERE WASN'T A QUORUM ISSUE.
AND THEN ONCE THE NEXT ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ROLLS AROUND, THAT'S WHEN THE WORKING GROUP WOULD BE FORMALIZED.
THE WORKING GROUP COULD BE FORMALIZED AT THE NEXT MEETING.
WELL LET'S DEFINITELY DO THAT.
AND THEN WE'LL WAIT TO HEAR BACK FROM STAFF ABOUT A PRESENTATION ON THE DOG SIDE.
WELL, TO MAKE IT CLEAR, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ON THE NEXT MEETING A RECOMMENDATION OR, YOU KNOW, A BRIEFING AND OR BOTH A RECOMMENDATION FOR ACTION.
THAT IS MY SUGGESTION FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
AND THEN WE CAN ALSO HAVE WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER BRISTOL SUGGESTED IS A WORKING GROUP THAT MIGHT TAKE, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WE CAN HAVE AN INFORMAL THING, LIKE SHE DISCUSSED OR LIKE HAS BEEN DISCUSSED.
BUT WE CAN ALSO, AT THE NEXT MEETING, HAVE A WORKING GROUP THAT MIGHT ADDRESS ADDITIONAL ITEMS. OKAY.
IS THERE A SECOND FOR THAT? I'LL SECOND.
SO THAT'LL BE ON THE NEXT AGENDA.
ANYTHING ELSE? ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? COMMISSIONER LUKI? YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE, THE DATA CENTERS THING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT'S A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM ALREADY.
UM, SO WE, WE PREVIOUSLY HAD A PRESENTATION FROM COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN AND WE DID HAVE A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE APPROVED THAT INCLUDED A NUMBER OF DIRECTIVES TO CITY COUNCIL, INCLUDING, UM, DEFINING WITHIN CITY CODE WHAT IS A DATA CENTER.
UM, AND THE LAST LINE WAS CALLING FOR A MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS.
SO WE HAVE TAKEN ACTION, BUT I THINK MORE FOLLOW THROUGH FROM COMMISSIONERS WITH, WITH THEIR COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, I RECENTLY SAW THE NUMBERS ON HOW MANY DATA CENTERS EXIST IN AMERICA, WHICH IS SHOCKING.
GERMANY HAS ABOUT 500 MORE THAN CHINA.
UH, AND I, I'M SEEING A VERY ODD THING HAPPENING HERE.
'CAUSE THEY'RE SAYING THEY WANNA BUILD 5,000 MORE.
AND I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY.
AND I'M SURE DAVE IS A NUMBERS GUY, YOU CAN TELL US THAT DOESN'T ADD UP, DOES IT? MONEY LAUNDERING FOR VENTURE CAPITAL, PRIVATE EQUITY.
THAT'S BASICALLY THE BOTTOM LINE.
UM, NOT, BUT I, IT WAS, YEAH, I JUST, I'M JUST KIND OF CURIOUS IF WE CAN EXPLORE THIS IN A WAY THAT REALLY LOOKS AT WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THESE DEVICES ACTUALLY IS.
BECAUSE I'M WONDERING WHAT IT REALLY IS.
'CAUSE I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON THERE.
HONESTLY, AND IT'S KIND OF SCARY.
CAN'T RECALL RECALL IF YOU WERE AT THAT MEETING, BUT I WOULD YEAH.
SUGGEST REVISITING THAT AND SEEING IF THERE'S ANYTHING WITHIN THE RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU THINK WE DIDN'T COVER AND THEN WE COULD BRING THAT UP.
'CAUSE THIS IS CERTAINLY A BIG TOPIC.
I THINK MAYBE THE, THE NOISE COMPONENT.
WELL, I, I'M, I THINK THE RECOMMENDATION ADDRESSED NOISE, BUT THAT COULD BE AN AVENUE FOR US TO PURSUE.
I MEAN, I I, OUR PURVIEW IS, IS ENVIRONMENTAL AND, AND, UH, THE NOISE, THE, UH, POLLUTION, NOISE, POLLUTION, ALL THOSE THINGS ARE CERTAINLY A, A MAJOR ISSUE.
UH, AND, AND, UM, I'M JUST WONDERING AS A COMMISSION HOW DEEP WE CAN GO INTO THIS QUESTION OF WHAT THESE THINGS ARE DOING AND WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OF THEM.
I MEAN, I'M SHOCKED TO HEAR THAT THERE'S WHAT, SEVEN OF 'EM AROUND YOUR, WITHIN TWO MILES OF WHERE YOU LIVE WITHIN ONE MILE? I HAD NO IDEA.
SO I THINK, I THINK AN ANALYSIS OF THIS ISN'T, IS REQUIRED.
AND THEN WE CAN DO AN, UH, DO THE NUMBERS ON HOW MUCH POLLUTION THEY CREATE, YOU KNOW, AS A, AS A, AS A WHOLE.
WELL IT'S MORE THE, UH, ENERGY USE AND WATER USE.
AS OPPOSED THE RESOURCE AS OPPOSED TO THE WASTE.
WELL, THAT'S OUR IMMEDIATE CONCERN.
I HAVE ANOTHER FURTHER CONCERN, HONESTLY.
UM, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH CH GPT.
WELL PLEASE DO TAKE A, TAKE A LOOK AT THE RECOMMENDATION.
'CAUSE I THINK IT'S AN ISSUE THAT WE COULD REVISIT FOR SURE.
AND COMMISSIONER BRIER, DID YOU HAVE ANOTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEM? WELL, NO, I JUST WANTED TO RIFF OFF OF, UH, COMMISSIONER LUI'S, UH, THING ABOUT, UH, DATA CENTERS.
UM, WE MIGHT CONSIDER A DATA CENTER THAT MIGHT, YOU KNOW, JUST AS A SAMPLE DATA CENTER TO LOOK INTO IS ONE THAT MIGHT BE LOCATED
[02:00:01]
IN DOG HEAD.SO THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF A DATA CENTER WE MIGHT EXPLORE.
BUT THAT'S THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT I'VE GOT.
ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? OKAY.
HEARING NOW, THE TIME IS 8:01 PM AND WE ARE ADJOURNED.