[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER]
FOLKS.I'M GONNA FOLLOW THE LEAD OF MY RESPECTED COLLEAGUE, THE MAYOR PRO TEM PAIGE ELLIS, WHO RUNS A TIGHT SHIP AND SHE DON'T MESS AROUND WITH MEETINGS.
AND IT TURNS OUT OUR NEW MAYOR DOES NOT MESS AROUND WITH MEETINGS.
SO IF I CAN FOLLOW THEIR LEAD AND NOT MESS AROUND, LET'S GET US STARTED ON TIME.
I AM CITY COUNCIL NATA CITY COUNCIL MEMBER NATASHA HARBOR, MADISON CHAIR OF THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE.
WE ARE MEETING IN CITY HALL CHAMBERS IN AUSTIN, TEXAS ON JUNE THIR 13TH, 2023.
THE TIME IS 2:02 PM BEFORE WE BEGIN DIVING INTO OUR AGENDA, I'D LIKE TO ALLOW OUR GUESTS
[Public Communication: General]
IN THE AUDIENCE TO SPEAK ON THE ITEMS THAT THEY SIGNED UP FOR.SO, CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE BEGIN BY CALLING UP SPEAKERS? KAI GRAY, FOLLOWED BY LISA GRAY.
UM, SO I'M GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT THE TOP ONE.
UM, THE, I DUNNO IF Y'ALL SEE THE ONE WHERE IT SAYS 15 FEET, 20 FEET, AND 15 FEET.
SO THIS IS HOW COMPATIBILITY AFFECTS MISSING METAL PROJECTS, AND IT BASICALLY COMPLETELY KILLS THEM.
I, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS THE, YOU KNOW, 15 YEARS AGO, WHENEVER, AND THIS WAS MADE, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS THE PURPOSE, BUT WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING IS, ON SMALL SITES, YOU HAVE A 15 FEET COMPATIBILITY.
WHEN YOU ARE NEXT TO SF THREE, OR IF YOU'RE NEXT TO AN MF THREE SITE, BUT JUST HAPPENS TO HAVE A HOUSE ON IT, YOU HAVE A 15 FEET SETBACK THAT'S NOT JUST A 15 FEET SETBACK FOR BUILDING, IT'S A 15 SETBACK FOR ANYTHING.
THAT MEANS YOU CAN'T HAVE A DRIVE THERE.
THAT MEANS YOU CAN'T, IF YOU NEED TO HAVE A DETENTION POND, YOU CAN'T HAVE ATTENTION POND.
SO BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU'RE 50 FOOT WIDE SITE, YOU LOSE 15 FEET ON ONE SIDE AND 15 FEET ON THE OTHER.
SO YOU'RE LEFT WITH 20 FEET IN THE MIDDLE, WHICH YOU CAN'T REALLY DO MUCH WITH IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MISSING MIDDLE.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THREE OR FOUR UNITS.
THERE'S NO WAY TO FIT THREE OR FOUR UNITS WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE 20 FEET TO WORK WITH.
AND SO WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING, AND, AND THIS IS WHY I BROUGHT THIS LOT UP, IS WE, WE, WE HAVE A SLOT AND WE WERE, YOU KNOW, THINKING AT SOME POINT, MAYBE WE'LL DO SOMETHING MISSING, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS MISSING MIDDLE, AND USE THE ZONING, WHICH WAS SF SIX.
AND WE QUICKLY REALIZED WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITH THIS.
SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO WITH IT IS WE'RE JUST GONNA TREAT IT LIKE AN SF THREE LOT, WHICH MEANS WE'RE JUST GONNA DO TWO UNITS ON THERE.
THEY'RE GONNA BE BIGGER AND UNFORTUNATELY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN IF WE WERE ABLE TO DO MORE UNITS.
SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE, THE COMPATIBILITY.
IT'S, IT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE THAT THERE'S VIRTUALLY NO MISSING MIDDLE THAT'S BEEN BUILT IN THE LAST 20 YEARS IN THE CITY.
COMPATIBILITY HAS DONE A VERY EFFECTIVE JOB OF DESTROYING IT.
AND ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS, I DON'T KNOW IF WE NEED TO GO MUCH BEYOND, THERE'S ONLY 20 FEET, BUT, BUT JUST FOR A SECOND, I WILL ON THIS SITE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A 25 FOOT SETBACK.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE'S DEED RESTRICTIONS THAT PUT US 30 FEET BACK.
SO WE'RE GONNA LOSE A LOT OF THAT LAND IN THE FRONT.
UM, I DIDN'T PUT IT ON HERE, BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE 15 FEET IN THE BACK AS WELL.
THEN IF YOU HAVE ANY TREES, THAT 20 FEET JUST GETS SMALLER AND SMALLER AND SMALLER.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO FINISH YOUR THOUGHT.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST THAT IT NARROWS BRIEFLY.
BRIEFLY, YES,
YOU STILL MIGHT HAVE TREES, YOU STILL MIGHT HAVE SETBACKS.
SO IT'S JUST COMPLETELY UNWORKABLE AND THAT'S WHY THERE'S NO MISSING MIDDLE IN THE CITY IN THE LAST 20 YEARS OR VIRTUALLY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TESTIMONY.
CHAIR, CAN I ASK A REAL QUICK FOLLOW UP QUESTION? ABSOLUTELY.
I'M, I'M RECOGNIZING COUNCIL MEMBER VELA.
THE UNOFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE HOUSING AND PLANTING COMMITTEE.
UH, SO THE SETBACKS IN TERMS OF HEIGHT, IS THAT A MAJOR, UH, CONCERN WITH, UH, MISSING MIDDLE PROJECTS? CAUSE I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NORMALLY LIKE HOW TALL WOULD A NORMAL KIND OF MISSING MIDDLE PROJECT BE? YEAH, SO I THINK THE HEIGHT IS AN ISSUE, BUT THE 15 FOOT SETBACK IS SO OVERWHELMING THAT WE NEVER EVEN GET TO THAT PHASE.
BECAUSE WE JUST SEE 20 FEET AND THEN WE'RE JUST LIKE, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF OVER AT THAT POINT.
NOW I HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION, IF YOU MAY.
SO WE SAY WE, WHO'S WE? SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, I'M WORKING WITH SOME VERY, VERY SMALL DEVELOPERS.
THEY'RE ONLY DOING LIKE THREE, FOUR PROJECTS.
[00:05:01]
OUR AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED.SO WE'RE SO FORTUNATE THAT OUR VICE CHAIR BROUGHT FORWARD AN ITEM AND THEN COUNCILWOMAN FUENTES BROUGHT FORWARD AN ITEM TO ADDRESS THOSE ITEMS. BUT THE SETBACK ITEM KEEPS COMING UP.
WHO'S WE, WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? OH, SO WITH WE, IT IS JUST ME AND MY WIFE.
WE, WE MEET EVERY DAY SMALL DEVELOPERS AT OUR KITCHEN TABLE.
YEAH, SO THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO MAKE REFERENCE TO.
AND MY HOPE IS THAT STAFF IS TAKING NOTE THAT ALTHOUGH WE ARE MAKING ALL THESE MOVES ABOUT MOVING AROUND COMPATIBILITY AND SOME OF THE OTHER LAND USE ITEMS FOR SMALL DEVELOPERS, IT DOESN'T WORK.
I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND THANK Y'ALL FOR COMING TO TESTIFY.
TURNS OUT I KNOW YOU YEAH, UM, IN THE OTHER HALF OF THE WE
UM, SO WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET TWO LOTS THAT WERE SF THREE NEXT SF SIX, SORRY, NEXT TO EACH OTHER.
AND, UM, IT DIDN'T HELP BECAUSE SINCE THEY WERE, IT WAS A BIGGER LOT, WE HAD TO HAVE HOT GREATER COMPATIBILITY.
SO IN THIS ONE, YOU CAN SEE WE HAD 25 FEET ON EACH SIDE.
THERE'S A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE IN THE BACK S OF THREE BEING USED AS S OF THREE AS WELL IN THE BACK.
UM, SO WE HAD 25 FEET IN THE BACK.
AND THEN, LIKE YOU SAID, WE HAD A BUILDING ON IN THE FRONT, UH, OF 30 FEET.
SO REALLY WHAT'S FUNNY IS THESE TWO LOTS, IT STARTED OUT 50 FEET REALLY JUST ENDED UP BEING 50 FEET.
AGAIN BECAUSE OF ALL THE SETBACKS, WE REALLY CAN'T DO MUCH MORE WITH THE SF SIX.
SO, AS HE SAID, WE AGAIN HAD TO RESORT RE IT MAKES MORE SENSE FOR US JUST TO BUILD TWO HOUSES ON EACH LOT.
UM, CUZ IF WE BUILT ON THIS, WE COULDN'T GET PROBABLY MORE THAN TWO, MAYBE THREE HOUSES.
UM, AND YEAH, AGAIN, JUST IT'S, IT'S PRETTY RESTRICTIVE.
YOU CAN'T DO DRIVES, YOU CAN'T DO DETENTION POND.
AND ONCE YOU DO MORE, ONCE YOU DO SITE PLANS, IT'S, THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER THING.
BUT ONCE YOU DO SITE PLANS, YOU GOTTA DO DETENTION AND WATER QUALITY.
THE SITE PLAN PROCESS TAKES PROBABLY A YEAR OR SO, AND THAT'S JUST NOT FEASIBLE.
SO THAT'S WHY I THINK A LOT OF DEVELOPERS, EVEN THOSE, THERE IS A LOT OF LOTS THAT ARE ZONED TO SF SIX AND MF, BUT AT THIS POINT THEY'RE NOT USABLE BECAUSE THE COMPATIBILITY, THEY'RE NOT USABLE TO THAT EXTENT.
AND AS FOR THE HEIGHT, I THINK THE HEIGHT, SORRY, I'M JUST GONNA ANSWER A QUESTION SOMEBODY ASKED EARLIER.
UM, SO IF SOMEBODY'S CONCERN BEING NEXT DOOR IS THEIR HOUSE AND THEY DON'T WANT THESE, THIS BIG MONSTROUS, YOU KNOW, 30 STORY BUILDING OR SOMETHING, I GET THAT.
BUT IF AT LEAST IF WE COULD DO WHAT WE COULD DO AT SF THREE IN THAT SETBACK, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE UTILIZING THE SF SIX ZONING AND BEING ABLE TO DO MORE DENSITY, THAT WOULD BE EVEN SOMETHING
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TESTIMONY, WE APPRECIATE IT.
NEXT SPEAKER, RYAN NIL, FOLLOWED BY ELLIE ALLEN.
UM, I'M SPEAKING ON THE CODE PRIORITIES AND CAPACITY ITEM.
AND YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE COMING CODE AMENDMENTS IMPACT LOTS OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES IN AUSTIN.
AND SO I REPRESENT A FEW THAT ARE GONNA BE IMPACTED BY THE ORDER, INCLUDING THE TEXAS MANUFACTURED HOUSING ASSOCIATION, THE COLLEGE HOUSES COOPERATIVE, AND THE AUSTIN COOPERATIVE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION.
UM, SO I THINK WE DEFINITELY NEED TO MAKE MOVES TO INCREASE STAFF CAPACITY TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THE CODE AMENDMENTS THEY HAVE ON THEIR PLATE.
I THINK THE EASIEST THING WOULD BE TO HIRE A CONSULTANTS TO ASSIST.
UM, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT Y'ALL SHOULD REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT THE HIRING PRACTICES, LIKE THE THINGS THAT KEEP PEOPLE FROM BECOMING STAFF.
UM, SO MY WIFE HAS A FUNNY STORY ABOUT HOW SHE APPLIED FOR A CITY JOB AND SHE GOT AN INTERVIEW.
UM, IN THE MEANWHILE, SHE APPLIED FOR A NONPROFIT JOB.
SHE GOT THE INTERVIEW, SHE GOT THE JOB OFFER, SHE STARTED THE JOB BEFORE THE CITY OFFERED HER THE INTERVIEW.
UM, I ALSO HAVE A STORY ABOUT A FRIEND WHO APPLIED FOR A CITY JOB AND YOU KNOW, I THINK FOUR MONTHS LATER HASN'T HEARD BACK OR NEVER HEARD BACK.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S DEFINITELY A LOT OF BOTTLENECKS IN GETTING STAFF ON BOARD.
ON THE, ON THE TOPIC OF REPRIORITIZING, YOU KNOW, IN MEETINGS MOVING FORWARD, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR Y'ALL TO HAVE
[00:10:01]
SOME PLAN FOR CHANGING THE PRIORITIES BECAUSE YOU'LL GET NEW INFORMATION THAT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO EITHER INCREASE THE PRIORITY OF AN ITEM OR DECREASE A PRIORITY.UH, SO AN EXAMPLE FROM THIS COMMITTEE'S PAST, THERE WAS A EFFORT TO DO PRE-APPROVED ADU PLANS AND THEN STAFF REPORTED THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE A PRE-APPROVED PLAN, BUT IT WOULD BE NOT APPROVED BECAUSE MCMANSION PREVENTED THE PRE-APPROVED ADU PLAN.
AND ALSO THEY FOUND THAT IN OTHER CITIES THAT HAD THIS, LIKE IT WAS VERY MINIMAL IMPACT.
SO I THINK YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AND THEN ALSO I'M, I'M AWARE THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT FEEL LIKE THEY HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN HEARD ON SOME OF THESE AMENDMENTS.
SO REPRIORITIZATION AT LEAST GIVES PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T BEEN HEARD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE YOU SOME OPINION ON WHERE IT SHOULD BE IN THE PRIORITY LIST, WHETHER THEY THINK IT SHOULD BE HIGHER OR LOWER.
UM, AND THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTARY.
I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THAT OUR UNOFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE BODY COUNCIL MEMBER VELA IS HERE.
WE'RE ALSO JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER LESLIE POOLE TODAY, COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ.
AND UH, IT LOOKS LIKE ONLINE WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE AND COUNCILWOMAN VANESSA FUENTES.
SO JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS WHO'S HERE.
UH, AND OBVIOUSLY MY VICE CHAIR IS HERE AS WELL.
I AM HERE TO TALK ABOUT OUR COMMERCIAL SITE THAT WE PURCHASED LAST YEAR ON CAMERON ROAD.
UM, IT'S ON A MAJOR COMMERCIAL ROAD IN A CORE TRANSIT CORRIDOR, UM, WHICH MAKES IT AN IDEAL LOCATION FOR A MORE DENSE RESIDENTIAL PROJECT.
UH, WE PURCHASED THE SITE, WE PLAN TO REZONE IT FROM RETAIL COMMERCIAL TO MULTI-FAMILY MIXED USE, WHICH WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN.
UH, WE WANTED TO DEVELOP A RESIDENTIAL PROJECT THERE.
UM, WITH THE CURRENT COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS IN PLACE, THE TRIGGERING SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ON SEVERAL SIDES, UM, LET'S SEE, SORRY.
THEY RESTRICT THE USE OF THE SITE TO THE SAME LEVEL OF DENSITY AS THOSE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
UH, COMPATIBILITY IS PREVENTING US FROM BEING ABLE TO BUILD TO THE HEIGHT THAT OUR, THE BAY ZONING ACTUALLY ALLOWS.
UH, BECAUSE OF THIS WE HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THESE COMPATIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.
WE ARE ONLY ABLE TO DEVELOP ABOUT 25 TOWN HOMES IS CURRENTLY THE PROJECT THAT WE ARE PLANNING.
IF IT WAS NOT FOR THE COMPATIBILITY RESTRICTIONS, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO BUILD 80 TO 90 NEW UNITS OF WORKFORCE HOUSING IN A MULTI-FAMILY PROJECT THAT'S THERE.
UM, RENTS FOR A PROJECT LIKE THAT FOR THE 80 TO 90 UNITS WOULD PROBABLY RANGE FROM 1200 TO $2,100 A MONTH IN RENT FOR A BRAND NEW UNIT.
UH, TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE COMPARISON AGAINST THE TOWN HOMES, IF WE WERE TO BUILD THE TOWN HOME PLAN, THE PRICES OF THOSE WOULD RANGE FROM ABOUT 550 TO 650,000.
AND WITH CURRENT INTEREST RATES, MORTGAGES ON THOSE HOMES WOULD BE 3000 TO $3,500 A MONTH.
SO THERE'S A MASSIVE DELTA IN THE MONTHLY COST OF THOSE HOMES, UH, BECAUSE OF INCOMPATIBILITY, UH, THIS COMPATIBILITY RESTRICTION, IT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST LIMITERS IN OUR AUSTIN HOUSING SUPPLY AND WE'VE EXPERIENCED IT FIRSTHAND WITH THIS SITE.
IT'S SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE NUMBER OF UNITS WE COULD BUILD AND MAKE THEM, AND IT'S MAKING THEM MORE UNAFFORDABLE FOR THE AVERAGE AUSTINITE.
UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO TO NOTE THAT REMOVING OR REDUCING COMPATIBILITY DOESN'T JUST ALLOW US TO PUT SKYSCRAPERS OR TOWERS EVERYWHERE.
LIKE WE JUST WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP THIS SITE TO THE HEIGHT THAT OUR BASE ZONING ALREADY ALLOWS.
SO WOULD YOU MIND REMINDING US OF YOUR NAME? THAT'S ALLEN AND I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASKING EVERYBODY.
ELLIE ALLEN WOLF CAPITAL INVESTMENTS.
AND WHO ARE YOU REPRESENTING WOLF CAPITAL INVESTMENTS? WE'RE A LOCAL DEVELOPER.
WE DO PROBABLY 20 TO 30 RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS A YEAR IN AUSTIN.
WOULD ANYBODY ELSE LIKE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, WHAT'S THE ADDRESS OF THE CAMERON ROAD PROJECT? 76 0 1 CAMERON ROAD, WHICH MEANS IT'S MINE.
CAN I ASK ONE QUICK QUESTION? VICE THAT'S ON YOUR SIDE OF THE STREET, THAT'S ON MY SIDE OF THE STREET.
YES, I BELIEVE WE WORK WITH YOU AND OUR COUNCIL DID WITH THIS REZONING PROJECT.
IT WAS PROBABLY IN FRONT OF Y'ALL LIKE MAYBE THREE OR FOUR MONTHS AGO.
IT LOOKS LIKE THE VICE CHAIR HAS A QUESTION FOR YOU AS WELL.
HOW MUCH OF YOUR RESTRICTIONS ARE THE SETBACK ISSUE VERSUS THE HEIGHT ISSUE? I MEAN, I THINK TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, TO BUILD THE HEIGHT OF THE BUILDING NEEDED TO GET THIS DENSE OF A PROJECT, IT'S THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE SITE.
SO TO EVEN BUILD SOMETHING THAT GIVES US THE SCALE TO JUSTIFY.
CUZ I WILL ALSO ADD THAT THE COST TO BUILD A DENSE PROJECT
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IS VASTLY DIFFERENT FROM BUILDING HOMES, RIGHT? IT'S MORE EXPENSIVE.SO WE NEED PROBABLY THIS UNIT RANGE TO MAKE SENSE OF IT.
AND THE FIRST PLACE THAT WALL COULD BE IS LIKE FURTHER EVEN THAN THE SITE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF CAMERON ROAD.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, BUT IT'S REALLY COMPATI IT'S, IT IS THE COMPATIBILITY SETBACK.
THANK YOU GUYS, WE APPRECIATE IT.
NEXT SPEAKER JUAN MIRO, FOLLOWED BY JEN WEAVER.
CAN YOU PUT THE FIRST LINE? CAN YOU PUT THE FIRST SLIDE? OKAY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK, UH, HERE TODAY.
I'M, UH, AN ARCHITECT HERE IN TOWN.
UH, THE NAME OF MY FIRM IS CALLED MIRO RIVER ARCHITECTS.
WE'RE WORKING ON THE ADDITION RENOVATION OF THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER.
I'M ALSO A PROFESSOR AT THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, UH, HERE AT UT.
AND, UH, I'M HERE TO ASK FOR YOUR HELP BECAUSE BASICALLY THE IMAGE THAT YOU SEE IS A STUDENT OF MINE.
I HAVE FOR 20 MORE THAN 20 YEARS.
I'VE BEEN TEACHING THERE SINCE 1997.
AND FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, I'VE GIVEN MY STUDENTS AN ASSIGNMENT THAT IS BASICALLY A CONSTRUCTION DRAWING OF THEIR WINDOW IN THE ROOM.
AND, AND I DISCOVERED TWO YEARS AGO THAT STUDENTS WERE TELLING ME THEY DON'T HAVE WINDOWS IN THE ROOMS. SO THESE PHOTOS FROM A STUDENT THAT'S LIVING IN ONE OF THE BRAND NEW BUILDINGS ON WEST CAMPUS THAT IS BASICALLY BUILT WITH NO WINDOWS.
SO THE STUDENTS ARE BEING, ARE WITH ALL THE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, THE COVID PROBLEMS BEING ENSUED.
THEY'VE BEEN LIVING IN THESE ROOMS FOR NOW THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
AND WE DISCOVERED MOST PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS ILLEGAL.
LIKE ME, MOST PEOPLE THOUGHT IT'S ILLEGAL.
YOU CANNOT BUILD BUILDINGS WITH NO WINDOWS.
AND THEY SAY, I SAID THE SAME THING TO MY STUDENT, YOU CANNOT LIVE IN A WINDOW WITHOUT WINDOWS.
AND AND SO SURE ENOUGH, WE HAVE IN AUSTIN THE PROBLEM THAT MANY CITIES DISCOVERED A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, AND THEY HAVE PASSED LAWS TO PREVENT WINDOWLESS ROOMS. SO IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT, THIS IS HAPPENING WEST CAMPUS, IT'S HAPPENING IN OTHER PLACES OF THE CITY.
WE DON'T KNOW THE EXTENT OF IT, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT AUSTIN NEVER HAD TO CONFRONT BECAUSE IT'S A, WAS A SPREAD OUT CITY, A LANDSCAPE CITY.
NOW IT'S HAPPENING BECAUSE WE ARE BUILDING THE DENSITY THAT ALL THE CITIES HAVE DEALT WITH MANY YEARS BEFORE.
SO IT'S BEEN BANNED IN NEW YORK, MADRID, OR MEXICO CITY FOR MORE THAN A HUNDRED YEARS.
SO MY, MY CALL FOR HELP IS LET'S DO SOMETHING.
SO WE DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN HERE AS WELL.
SO YOU GO TO THE NEXT, YOU CAN SEE THIS IS THE KIND OF TESTIMONIALS THAT SOME OF THE STUDENTS HAVE GIVEN TO ME.
THEY'RE SAYING THAT IT'S ABSOLUTELY DEPRESSING.
THAT IS TERRIBLE FOR THEIR SLEEPING RHYTHMS. AND THIS IS HAPPENING.
SO THIS IS ANOTHER STUDENT, THIS IS THE WAY THEY'RE SELLING.
AND THE DEVELOPERS ARE BASICALLY SAYING IF WE, IF, IF IT'S LEGAL, ONCE THEY KNEW, MOST DEVELOPERS ARE ASKED, THEY SAY, NO, YOU CANNOT DO THAT.
AND THEY DISCOVERED THAT THEY CAN BECAUSE OF THE LOOPHOLE THAT THE I B C HAS.
THAT'S THE LOOPHOLE THAT I'M ASKING TO HELP, TO, TO CLOSE.
SO THIS IS THE WAY THEY MARKET IT.
AND THE WINDOW LESS ROOMS ARE CHEAPER.
SO OBVIOUSLY THE PEOPLE ARE GONNA END UP LIVING IN THESE ROOMS ARE THE PEOPLE THAT CANNOT AFFORD THE OTHER ONES.
SO THIS IS ANOTHER STUDENT BASICALLY LIVING IN A GROUND FLOOR APARTMENT BUILDING IN A BRAND NEW BUILDING.
NO WINDOWS IN ANY OF THE BR BEDROOMS. SO THEY'RE TELLING ME ALL THESE THINGS.
ANOTHER STUDENT, SHE DECORATED THE ROOM, BUT HE'S DEPRESSING.
I ALWAYS SAY MY, MY PARTNER TELLS ME, MIGUEL, MY, MY BUSINESS PARTNER, SAY, ASK PEOPLE IF THEY WOULD LIKE THEIR CHILDREN TO LIVE IN A WINDOWLESS ROOM LIKE THIS.
AND IT'S JUST THE PRESENTING THE IDEA THAT STUDENTS ARE GOING TO COLLEGE.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY TOLD ME THE SAME THING.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS TO OUR STUDENTS WHEN THEY ARE ALREADY HAVING ALL THESE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES? GO TO THE NEXT ONE.
SO THIS IS HAPPENING 44% OF THE WINDOWS IN THIS BUILDING.
YOU'RE LOOKING FROM THE OUTSIDE, LOOKS JUST LIKE A PERFECTLY FINE BUILDING.
44% OF THE STUDENTS THERE HAVE NO WINDOWS.
THIS ONE, FOR EXAMPLE, IS ONLY 22%.
SO IF DEVELOPERS ARE TOLD YOU DON'T HAVE, YOU CANNOT DO THIS, THEY WILL NOT DO IT.
THESE ARE NATIONAL DEVELOPERS.
WHEN THEY GO TO STATES WHERE IT'S ILLEGAL, THEY JUST HAVE ANOTHER TEMPLATE AND THEY USE THE ONE WITH WINDOWS.
SO THIS IS A CALL TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TESTIMONY.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU THOUGH, THERE'S A VERY TALL, RED-HEADED GENTLEMAN RIGHT BEHIND YOU.
UM, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND GIVING HIM YOUR INFORMATION, I'D LIKE TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU.
UM, IS THIS INFORMATION THAT YOU LEFT IN OUR BACKUP, EXCUSE ME, DO WE HAVE THIS INFORMATION? YOUR PACKET? I, I, I HAVE, WE HAVE GIVEN THE PRESENTATION, SO IT'S IN YOUR HANDS.
AND I THINK THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE NEED MORE ADDITIONAL, WE APPRECIATE IT.
COLLEAGUES, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, LOOKS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE HAS HIS HAND RAISED.
UM, CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? GREAT.
UH, WELL, I WANT TO THANK THE CHAIR FOR, FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
UH, AND I WANNA THANK THE GENTLEMEN FOR BRINGING IN THIS, UH, ISSUE UP TO THE COMMITTEE.
UH, IT'S AN ISSUE I HEARD A LOT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL.
UH, AND I HAVE A LITTLE SISTER THAT ACTUALLY GOES TO UT NOW AND SHE LIVES IN A WINDOWLESS BEDROOM.
UH, AND HEARING FROM HER AND HER CLASSMATES AND, AND FOLKS ON THE CAMPAIGN
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TRAIL, UH, THE MENTAL DISTRESS THAT A LOT OF STUDENTS FACE, UH, NOT WANTING TO, I MEAN, THERE'S ALREADY SO MUCH STRESS BEING A STUDENT, AND THEN THE ANXIETY AND THE DEPRESSION THAT A LOT OF THESE, UH, SITUATIONS CAUSED, UH, IN WEST CAMPUS.IT'S, YOU KNOW, TRUTHFULLY, IN MY OPINION, VERY INHUMANE.
AND I KNOW THE SOLUTION WILL AND CAN HAVE A CITYWIDE IMPACT.
SO I INTEND TO, AS, AS AN OFFICE, AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, TO WORK WITH STAFF AND STAKEHOLDERS TO ADDRESS THE WINDOW LIFT BEDROOMS ISSUE THIS YEAR.
UH, IT'S OBVIOUSLY A HUGE ISSUE IN WEST CAMPUS.
UH, AND AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK, UH, THE GENTLEMAN FOR BEING HERE.
ANYONE ELSE WHO MIGHT SPEAK LATER ABOUT THE WINDOWLESS BEDROOM, UM, ISSUE EMERGENCY.
UH, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AND, AND MY COLLEAGUES ALONG WITH
WITH MY HELP, I CAN SHARE ALL THE INFORMATION.
I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN, WHEN WE, BEFORE WE ADJOURN, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN ADD FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION.
IT LOOKS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL HAS A QUESTION AS WELL.
YEAH, I, I THINK THAT PREVIOUS COUNCILS HAD WORKED ON THIS ISSUE AND IT WAS WRAPPED UP IN OCCUPANCY LIMITS BECAUSE IT WAS DISCOVERED.
AND THAT WAS BEFORE I WAS ON COUNCIL, WHICH I WAS ELECTED IN FOUR, ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO.
AND BEFORE IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT IN SOME INSTANCES STUDENTS WERE LIVING IN CLOSETS.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVEN'T REALLY MOVED TOO FAR FROM THAT, BUT I DO KNOW THAT THAT WAS OF DEEP CONCERN TO COUNCILS IN THE PAST.
I THOUGHT THAT I DID NOT KNOW THAT THIS WAS STILL HAPPENING.
I, I, I KNOW STUDENTS ARE GIVEN THE OPTION TO CHOOSE A ROOM WITHOUT A WINDOW, BUT THERE'S PROBABLY ALSO A LOWER PRICE TAG ATTACHED TO THAT.
IT'S PRETTY COERCIVE IF I MAY.
AND, AND SO THERE WILL BE SIGNIFICANT RESISTANCE IF THE COUNCIL DECIDES TO TAKE THIS ON.
BUT I AM READY TO TAKE THAT ON BECAUSE FOR MANY, MANY REASONS BEYOND THE ONES THAT YOU MENTIONED.
THANK YOU SIR, UM, FOR COMING TO TALK TO US ABOUT THAT.
UM, I THINK THE COUNCIL IS WELL POSITIONED TO TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
I ALSO, I WOULD JUST ADD, YOU SAID YOU'RE READY TO TAKE IT ON.
I THINK YOU'D LIKE TO FIGHT AND I'D LOVE TO JOIN YOU IN THE FIGHT.
UM, I'D LIKE TO ADD MY VOICE TO THAT FIGHT.
UM, SO WE'VE BEEN SPEAKING WITH D NINE, UM, MELISSA BUELLER FROM D NINE'S OFFICE.
I APPRECIATE, I DON'T WANT TO INTERRUPT MS. WEAVER, BUT CAN YOU SAY IF YOU'RE REPRESENTING A SPECIFIC ORGANIZATION OR ENTITY? UH, I AM CHAIR OF DESIGN COMMISSION AND I'M HERE TO TALK ON WINDOWLESS WINDOW REFORM AND WHY I THINK WE SHOULD SKIP THE COMMISSIONS FOR THIS ITEM.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH D NINE'S OFFICE.
UH, THEY HAVE A, MELISSA HAS A COPY OF THE DROPBOX, UH, PROFESSOR MOREAU HAS PREPARED, UH, AND I APPRECIATE THE URGENCY THAT EVERYONE'S BRINGING TO THIS.
AIA ADVOCACY LED BY DAVID CARROLL HAS STARTED WORKING ON CODE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, MET LAST FRIDAY.
UNFORTUNATELY, HE COULD NOT BE HERE TODAY TO SHARE THEIR INITIAL FINDINGS, BUT THEY'RE WORKING WITH URGENCY AS WELL.
UM, THIS IS NOT A LAND USE ITEM, IT'S A BUILDING CODE REFORM.
UH, BUILDING CODE IS ONLY ADOPTED EVERY, I THINK THAT IT'S UP IN 2024.
UH, AND IT MAY NOT, WE MAY NOT BE ADOPTING NEW BUILDING CODES.
SO IF YOU SEE THIS AS AN URGENT ITEM, IT HAS TO COME AS A DIRECTIVE.
UM, WE ARE ALSO TRYING TO WORK WITH THE DIFFERENT, UM, PRACTITIONERS, A BORKA URBAN AND INFO COALITION, H V A, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THIS IS SPECIFIC TO D NINE, IT DOES, IT WOULD BE A CITYWIDE CODE CHANGE.
AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS NOT, THERE'S NO NEGATIVE RAMIFICATIONS FOR THIS BUILDING CODE AMENDMENT.
UM, SO DESIGN AS CHAIR OF DESIGN COMMISSION.
REALLY HAPPY TO, TO SKIP OUT ON THIS.
UH, WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE PUBLIC SPACE IS.
THIS IS NOT PLANNING COMMISSION, IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S LAND USE.
SO, UM, JUST REALLY APPRECIATE THE COUNCIL OFFICES LOOKING INTO THIS MATTER WITH URGENCY.
WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR TESTIMONY AND I'D JUST LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND SAY, UM, WE ALWAYS, ALWAYS SHOULD REMIND FOLKS THAT WE APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE.
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IS ABSOLUTELY APPRECIATED.DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, MS. WEAVER.
NOW, SPEAKER, THAT'S ALL THE SPEAKERS.
SO MOVING FORWARD, UM, IF THERE'S NOBODY ELSE WHO'S SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, I WANNA MAKE SURE WE DON'T PASS ANYBODY UP? GOOD TO GO.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OUR SPEAKERS AND THANK YOU FOR COMING IN AND SHARING YOUR TESTIMONY WITH US.
[1. Approve the Minutes of the May 23, 2023 Housing and Planning Committee meeting.]
THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING OF MAY 23RD, 2023.IS THERE A MOTION TO PASS THE MINUTES? LOOKS LIKE THE CHAIR, THE VICE CHAIR IS MAKING THAT MOTION.
OH, IT LOOKS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE SECONDED THE MOTION AND WHICH CASE, UM, MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALTER, VICE CHAIR AL ALTER AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.
LOOKS LIKE WE ARE UNANIMOUS VOTE COLLEAGUES.
I AM NOW GOING TO RECOMMEND THAT WE TAKE UP OUR REMAINING AGENDA ITEMS IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER FOR CLARITY.
I HAVE ASKED THAT MY STAFF TO SHARE THE SUGGESTED SCHEDULE UP ON THE SCREEN.
I'M GUESSING THAT'S A CTM ITEM.
SO, ITEM NUMBER TWO, APPOINT A NEW MEMBER TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION.
ITEM NUMBER FIVE, RESCHEDULE OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING DATE TO DUE TO CHANGE IN COUNCIL SCHEDULES.
ITEM NUMBER SIX, A BRIEFING FROM STAFF ON THE STATUS OF COMPATIBILITY REFORM AND HOW LAST WEEK'S RESOLUTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, UM, IMPACTS THAT PROCESS.
ITEMS NUMBER THREE AND FOUR, BOTH DEAL WITH CURRENT LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS, INCLUDING FOLLOW UP FROM LAST WEEK'S COUNCIL MEETING WHERE STAFF AND OUR COMMITTEE WERE DIRECTED TO CONTINUE PRIORI PRIORITIZING EXISTING HOUSING AMENDMENTS AND COLLABORATION ON FUTURE ITEMS. AND THEN ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS A PROPOSAL FROM VICE CHAIR ALTAR TO DIRECT THE COUNCIL MANAGER TO CLEAN UP, UM, ADDITIONAL PORTIONS OF THE LDC WHEN IT IS CONVENIENT AND SUPPORTED BY PREVIOUS COUNCIL DIRECTION.
THEN ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, WHICH IS THE EXCITING PART OF OUR MEETING, WHICH MEANS WE CAN DISCUSS FUTURE ITEMS AND OR INITIATIVES OUR COMMITTEE CAN VISIT OR REVISIT FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. SPECIAL NOTE, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL WILL BE JOINING US TODAY TO DAYLIGHT A HOUSING INITIATIVE THAT WILL INITIATE, UH, I'M SORRY, A HOUSING INITIATIVE THAT WOULD REDUCE LOT SIZES AND INCREASE RESIDENTIAL INFILL DEVELOPMENT.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY IN THE ROOM WANTS TO CLAP ON THAT, CUZ I PERSONALLY WANT CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.
FOLLOWING THE JULY 20TH COUNCIL MEETING.
I'VE LET HER KNOW THAT SHE IS MORE THAN WELCOME TO DISCUSS THIS INITIATIVE DURING ITEM NUMBER SEVEN ON OUR AGENDA, UH, AND FUTURE ITEMS. BUT WANNA MAKE SURE THAT STAFF, THE PUBLIC AND OUR COLLEAGUES ARE AWARE THAT WE WILL HAVE TO DETERMINE HOW AND WHERE THIS FITS IN OUR NEW PRIORITY AND TIMING CHART.
COUNCIL MEMBER, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
WE APPRECIATE HAVING YOU COLLEAGUES, WITHOUT ANY OBJECTION, I'D LIKE TO MOVE ON TO ITEM
[2. Recommend a representative to be appointed to the Community Development Commission.]
NUMBER TWO.I'M NOT CERTAIN WHO'S SUPPOSED TO SPEAK TO THE APPOINTMENT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION PERSON.
[00:30:03]
IN WHICH CASE WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION FOR MR. DELGADO'S APPOINTMENT? LOOKS LIKE OUR VICE CHAIR IS MAKING THE MOTION.I'M LOOKING AT THE SCREEN AND THE DAYS.
UM, CAN WE ALL, EVERYBODY IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION LOOKS LIKE A BUNCH OF AYE.
IN WHICH CASE, UP NEXT IS ITEM
[6. Briefing on City-wide compatibility reform]
SIX, THE BRIEFING FROM CITY STAFF ON THEIR CURRENT COMPATIBILITY REFORMS AND HOW LAST WEEK'S COUNCIL DIRECTION FOR CITYWIDE VERSUS QUARTER BASE REFORMS WILL IMPACT THE PROCESS AS STAFF STEPS FORWARD.I WILL REMIND THE COMMITTEE THAT ESPECIALLY THOSE MEMBERS WHO WERE NOT PRESENT FOR LAST YEAR'S DEBATE ON THIS ISSUE, THAT CITY COUNCIL SPENT A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME DEBATING THE COMPATIBILITY ON THE CORRIDOR'S PROPOSAL.
BUT THAT SAID, THE PROPOSAL AND ITS EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN CORRIDORS AND HIGH OPPORTUNITY AREAS, EXCUSE ME, CREATED A DISPARITY BETWEEN AREAS AT RISK OF DISPLACEMENT VERSUS NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE LARGELY EXEMPTED THEMSELVES FROM PREVIOUS HOUSING REFORMS. IN FACT, CITY STAFF'S EQUITY ANALYSIS FOUND THAT THE CORRIDOR APPROACH TO BE INEQUITABLE, INEFFECTIVE AND UNLIKELY TO HELP US ADDRESS OUR STATED GOAL, ALLOWING ALL AUSTINITES TO LIVE IN ALL PARTS OF AUSTIN.
I ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, UH, THE LEADER OF THIS CITYWIDE REFORM IS HERE TODAY.
COUNCIL MEMBER, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS BEFORE THE BRIEFING? JUST, UH, HONESTLY, JUST THANKS TO, TO STAFF AS, AS, UH, CHAIR NOTED.
UH, THEY'VE DONE A LOT OF, UH, GOOD WORK ON, UH, FLESHING OUT A LOT OF THE DISCUSSION AROUND COMPATIBILITY AND ITS EFFECTS.
UH, A LOT OF GOOD GIS MAPPING, AND I JUST, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO THEIR, UH, UH, PRODUCTS WHEN IT'S, UH, READY TO GO.
REMI, I WOULD BE REMISS NOT TO MENTION THAT WE'VE BEEN JOINED BY OUR INTERIM CITY MANAGER, WHICH WELCOME.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TO INTERRUPT THE COUNCIL MEMBER.
WELL, I MEAN, I APPRECIATE, UH, THE RECOGNITION AND WANT TO ALSO THANK THE STAFF FOR THE GREAT WORK THEY'RE DOING AND, AND THE COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR LEADING US ON THIS, UH, JOURNEY OF AFFORDABILITY AND HOUSING.
AND SO WHEN YOU CONSIDER, UH, THIS, UH, PRESENTATION YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET RELATIVE TO COMPATIBILITY, UH, I WANNA JUST ASSURE THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS THAT WE AS A STAFF ARE COMMITTED TO ACHIEVING THOSE OBJECTIVES WHEN IT COMES TO HOUSING AND AFFORDABILITY.
BUT I ALSO WANT YOU TO KNOW, OR WOULD LIKE, UH, TO EXPRESS THAT YOU'LL SEE FROM THE PRESENTATION THAT ONE OF THE, THAT WE DON'T COMPLETELY ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF COMMUNITY AND THE ISSUE THAT'S SO ESSENTIAL TO A VIBRANT AND HEALTHY CITY.
AND THAT'S THE ELEMENT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND SO WHAT I'VE ASKED THE STAFF IS TO REALLY LOOK AT THE EQUATION THROUGH A LENS OF ADDITIONAL HOUSING COMPATIBILITY AND THE NA AND BALANCE THAT WITH THE INTEREST OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS.
WHEN JANE JACOBS WROTE HER BOOK, THE DEATH OF THE GREAT OF AMERICAN CITY BACK IN THE 1960S, WHAT SHE EXPRESSED WAS A REAL CONCERN.
AND THIS WAS THE HIGHWAY SYSTEM THAT HAD DESTROYED NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND THESE WERE DENSE NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT THEY WERE, THE FABRIC OF THOSE COMMUNITIES WERE HELD TOGETHER BY THE CHURCHES, THE, THE COMMUNITY CENTERS.
AND THAT SOMEHOW HAD BEGUN TO LOSE SOME OF ITS FOCUS.
SO I WOULD WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE BALANCE THE INTEREST, AND I KNOW YOU WILL, I KNOW YOU THAT YOU HAVE THAT IN YOUR HEART.
AND I JUST WANTED TO A BE ASSURE YOU THAT I'VE ASKED THE STAFF TO TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE ISSUES AND ADDRESS THEM BY ADDING A COMPLETENESS TO THIS PRESENTATION THAT IS MISSING RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO ADDRESS IT.
AND I WANTED JUST TO EXPRESS THAT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ABOUT THAT REQUEST THAT CAME FROM ME.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS, COLLEAGUES, COUNCIL MEMBER, PO.
I JUST WANNA THANK THE CITY MANAGER FOR BEING HERE AND EXPRESSING THOSE, UH, PRINCIPLES.
THANK YOU FOR YEAH, FOR THAT DIRECTION, AND JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW WE STRONG, WE FEEL STRONGLY BOTH WAYS.
AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE YOUR PRESENCE.
I THANK YOU FOR NO OTHER REASON FROM A COMPREHENSIVE PERSPECTIVE, US ALL AS A COMMUNITY, TO YOUR POINT, UM, COMMUNITIES DON'T JUST EXIST WHERE PEOPLE LIVE,
[00:35:01]
COMMUNITIES EXIST WHERE PEOPLE LEGISLATE.WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE, STEPH.
UM, MY NAME'S RACHEL TEPPER AND I'M A PRINCIPAL PLANNER IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
AND TODAY I'M JUST HERE TO PRESENT, UM, STAFF'S METHODOLOGY, UM, AND APPROACH FOR HOW WE'RE ANALYZING CITYWIDE COMPATIBILITY.
SO I'LL BEGIN WITH AN OVERVIEW OF CITYWIDE COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS.
SO JUST FOR THE PUBLIC, I JUST WANNA EXPLAIN HOW THEY WORK.
UM, AND THEN I'LL GO OVER THE COUNCIL DIRECTIVE TO DO THIS ANALYSIS.
UH, THE METHODOLOGY OF OUR ANALYSIS AND OUR NEXT STEPS, UM, WHICH SPEAK TO, UM, THE AMENDMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN INITIATED.
SO OUR CITYWIDE COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS THAT ARE FOUND IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, UH, GENERALLY APPLY TO SITES WITHIN 540 FEET OF A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE.
UM, OR URBAN FAMILY RESIDENTIAL SF FIVE OR MORE RESTRICTIVE ZONING.
UM, COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS ALSO COME INTO PLAY WHEN A SITE IS ADJACENT TO A LOT WHERE A USE PERMITTED IN SF FIVE OR MORE RESTRICTIVE ZONING IS PRESENT.
FOR EXAMPLE, A LOT THAT CURRENTLY IS USED FOR SINGLE FAMILY, A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE OR A DUPLEX THAT THAT USE TRIGGERS, UM, COMPATIBILITY REGARDLESS OF THE ZONING DISTRICT.
UM, ON THIS SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE A DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE ALLOWED HEIGHT AT VARIOUS DISTRICT DISTANCES FROM THE TRIGGERING PROPERTY.
SO AT FROM ZERO TO 25 FEET, NOTHING IS PERMITTED, NO DEVELOPMENT IS PERMITTED.
UM, FROM 25 TO 30 FEET, YOU CAN REACH A HEIGHT, UH, OR 25 TO 50 FEET, EXCUSE ME, YOU CAN REACH A HEIGHT OF 30 FEET AND SO ON AND SO, SO FORTH, ALL THE WAY UP TO 540 FEET.
SO IN DECEMBER OF 2022, UH, COUNCIL PASSED ORDINANCE NUMBER 20 22 12 1 2 0 1 0 5 6, UH, WHICH MODIFIED COMPATIBILITY STANDARDS ALONG SPECIFIC CORRIDORS.
AND THEY ALSO DIRECTED STAFF TO DEVELOP AN ANALYSIS, UM, TO UNDERSTAND HOW, UM, HOW CITYWIDE COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS, UM, IMPACT OUR, UM, A STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT GOALS AND IDENTIFY POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE METHODOLOGY FOR CONDUCTING THIS ANALYSIS, UH, WAS ASKED TO BE PROVIDED AT LEAST 90 DAYS, UM, BEFORE PRESENTING THE FINDINGS TO COUNCIL.
AND ON MAY 5TH, UH, 2023, UH, THE DIRECTORS OF BOTH THE HOUSING AND THE PLANNING DEPARTMENTS, UH, PRESENTED A, UH, RELEASED A JOINT MEMO SUMMARIZING THE PROPOSED METHODOLOGY AS THE, UM, AS OUTLINED IN THE MEMO STAFF, INITIAL STAFF, UH, WILL INITIALLY MEASURE THE FOOTPRINT OF CITYWIDE COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS.
UH, THIS MEASURE WILL INVOLVE CALCULATING THE TOTAL AREA OF COMMERCIAL AND HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.
BASICALLY ANY PROPERTY THAT TRIGGERS COMPATIBILITY, UM, WITHIN 540 FEET OF THOSE TRIGGERING PROPERTIES AND ESTIMATE THE POTENTIAL HOUSING UNIT CAPACITY LOST, UH, DUE TO THESE REGULATIONS AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES.
UM, TO ESTIMATE THAT IMPACT ON POTENTIAL HOUSING CAPACITY, WILL ME, WILL MULTIPLY THE ALLOWABLE BUILDING COVERAGE BY THE ALLOWABLE HEIGHTS, UM, IN THE COMPATIBILITY SETBACK.
AND WE'LL COMPARE THAT TO THE HEIGHTS ALLOWED BY CURRENT ZONING.
WE'LL REC, RECOGNIZING THAT OTHER REGULATIONS SUCH AS WATERSHED AND PARKING REQUIREMENTS ALSO LI UH, LIMIT DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL WILL USE A LIMITATION FACTOR TO ESTIMATE A MORE REALISTIC RANGE OF POTENTIAL UNITS.
AND WITH THIS INFORMATION, WE WILL ANALYZE HOW THE CHANGES TO THE DISTANCE OF COMPATIBILITY REGULATIONS MIGHT AFFECT THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT AND EQUITY GOALS SUCH AS HOUSING SUPPLY NEAR EXISTING AND PLANNED TRANSIT DISPLACEMENT RISK AREAS, HIGH AMENITY AREAS, AND OUR DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS. WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT THIS FROM A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS PERSPECTIVE AS WELL.
UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY CONDUCTING A SURVEY OF, UH, APPLICANTS WHO'VE PARTICIPATED IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTS OF COMPATIBILITY, RE REGULATIONS ON PROJECT TIMELINES, RESIDENTIAL UNIT YIELD DEVELOPMENT COSTS AND AFFORDABILITY.
THIS SURVEY HAS BEEN SENT TO APPLICANTS THAT HAVE SUBMITTED DENSITY BONUS APPLICATIONS, MULTI-FAMILY SITE PLANS,
[00:40:01]
OR MULTI-FAMILY BUILDING PERMITS WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS.THE RESPONSES WE RECEIVE WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONTEXT TO INFORM POTENTIAL REGULATIONS.
AND FINALLY, UM, IN JULY OF 2023, JUST AS OUTLINED IN THE MEMO, UH, IN THE, IN THE METHODOLOGY MEMO, UH, WE PLAN TO RELEASE OUR FINDINGS, MEMO, UH, OR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
AND FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF THAT STUDY, STAFF WILL DEVELOP THE SPECIFIC CODE AMENDMENTS, UH, BASED ON THE STUDY'S OUTCOMES AND THE INITIATED AMENDMENTS.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THIS BRIEFING.
THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, BUT MY COLLEAGUES AND I FROM BOTH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENTS ARE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS.
LOOKS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL HAS A QUESTION.
I JUST WANTED TO CONFIRM IMPERVIOUS COVER AS PART OF THE ANALYSIS AS WELL.
SO FOR THE ANALYSIS, WE'RE ACTUALLY ESTIMATING A LIMITATION FACTOR THAT IS BASED ON IMPER, JUST LIKE PARKING, WE'RE, WE'RE USING IMPERVIOUS COVER TO ESTIMATE KIND OF A, UM, AN A, A A REALISTIC MAXIMAL MAXIMUM BUILDING AREA THAT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT IMPERVIOUS COVER.
IS THAT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 45% AND 55%? IT'S, UH, IT DOES RANGE BECAUSE OF OUR, UM, PARTICULARLY ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE CITY, THERE'S SIGNIFICANT IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMITS THROUGH THE EDWARDS AQUIFER, RIGHT.
SO IN SOME CASES IT DOES EVEN GO DOWN TO 20 OR 15% MM-HMM.
UM, AND THEN IN OTHER AREAS WHERE YOU'RE IN THE URBAN ZONE AND, AND YOU'RE, AND YOU'RE, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, IF IT'S CSM U YOU COULD ACTUALLY GET UP TO 80 OR 90%.
SO IT DOES RANGE DEPENDING ON YOUR ZONING, AND THAT'LL BE, THAT'LL BE REFLECTED IN THE INFORMATION THAT YOU'LL BE BRINGING.
WE'LL, WE'LL INCLUDE IT ALL IN OUR, IN OUR BACKUP TO OUR MEMO.
VICE CHAIR, UH, LOOKS LIKE VICE SHARE.
AL ALTER ALSO HAS A QUESTION AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS AND DOING YOUR ANALYSIS, ARE YOU LOOKING AT THESE NOT JUST THE HEIGHT QUESTION IN TERMS OF, OR WHERE WE DRAW THE LINE, YOU KNOW, 300 FEET, 200 FEET, BUT LOOKING AT MAYBE THE SLOPE OF THAT ANGLE? SO LIKE, IF WE WERE TO, INSTEAD OF DO ONE FOOT OF HEIGHT EVERY 10 FEET, ONE FOOT EVERY FIVE FOOT OR SOMETHING, JUST, I THINK WE OFTEN GET SO MIRED IN THE DISCUSSION OF HOW FAR AWAY THE TRIGGERING PROPERTY IS.
WE DON'T ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE OTHER TOOLS, WHETHER IT'S, LIKE I SAID, THE SLOPE OF THE, THE, THE SLOPE OF WHAT IS ALLOWED, YOU KNOW, UNDER OUR TENT AS IT WERE, OR THE, THE SETBACK QUESTION THAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER, SOME OF THE OTHER LIMITATIONS WITHIN COMPATIBILITY THAT AREN'T JUST SOLELY DRIVEN ON, WELL, YOU'RE 200 FEET AWAY, YOU'RE 300 FEET AWAY, YOU'RE 540 FEET AWAY.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL ARE ALSO CONSIDERING IN YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS? YES.
SO WE WILL BE ABLE, OUR ANALYSIS WILL INFORM WHETHER WE'RE SEEING, UM, IT, IT'LL INFORM THE, MAYBE THE SLOPE AND HOW, UM, CERTAIN PROPERTIES MIGHT BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY DUE TO THE, TO THE WAY THAT THAT SLOPE ST.
UM, SO WE WILL, WE MIGHT HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, THAT SPEAK TO THAT.
UM, AND ALSO WE DO HAVE THE, THAT CASE STUDY ANALYSIS THAT WAS DONE, UM, PREVIOUSLY THAT LOOKED AT OTHER CITIES, AND WE CAN COMPARE MAYBE HOW THOSE OTHER CITIES, UM, DO THEIR, YOU KNOW, SLOPES, WHETHER IT'S 45 DEGREES, UM, OR SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THE, WHAT WE HAVE TODAY.
BUT, UM, SO WITH THE DATA THAT WE GATHER, WE WILL BE ABLE TO LOOK INTO THAT AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, I, UH, I SOMETIMES FIND MYSELF A LITTLE FRUSTRATED BEING VIRTUAL AND NOT BEING RECOGNIZED.
I'M ACTIVELY LOOKING AT YOU AND WANNA MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE SPEAKER.
WE APPRECIATE THE TIME AND THE EFFORT THAT Y'ALL PUT IN FOR, UH, OH.
DID I SEE A HAND? OH, THAT WAS A PIN.
[5. Discuss and set remaining meeting dates for 2023.]
LET'S MOVE TO OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING.MY UNDERSTANDING THAT DUE TO THE CHANGE IN OUR COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULE, WE WILL NEED TO MOVE OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING, ONE WEEK FORWARD.
CAN YOU GIVE US AN UPDATE AND CONFIRM FOR US THAT WE WILL HAVE CHAMBERS AND STAFF AVAILABLE FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH AT 2:00 PM CHAIR? I CAN CONFIRM THAT WE'VE, UM, HAVE THE ROOM FOR CONFIRMED FOR SEPTEMBER 6TH.
I APPRECIATE THAT CONFIRMATION.
[00:45:01]
UH, COMMITTEE, CAN WE PLEASE MOVE TO VOTE OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING UP TO WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH AT 2:00 PM CAN I GET A MOTION AND A SECOND? SO MOVED.SO MOVED BY THE VICE CHAIR AND THEN SECONDED BY
WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?
UM, IN WHICH CASE, UH, CAN WE ALL TAKE A VOTE? UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, HOW DO YOU VOTE? OH, UM, I'M, I'M FOR THE CHANGE.
LOOKS LIKE WE'RE UNANIMOUS ON THE DAYS.
UH, THANK YOU N OUR NEXT TOPIC IS WE ARE LIKELY TO BE COVERING AT EACH OF OUR MEETINGS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, THE PRIORITIZATION OF PREVIOUS LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS AND ORGANIZING THEM AS NEEDED.
[3. Discuss Council priorities for previously initiated code amendments, resources that are needed to accomplish the code amendments, and whether Council efforts to prioritize code amendments should be ongoing/recurring.]
ITEM THREE SAYS, DISCUSS COUNCIL PRIORITIES FOR PREVIOUSLY INITIATED CODE AMENDMENTS RESOURCES THAT ARE NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH THE CODE AMENDMENTS AND WHETHER THE COUNCIL EFFORTS TO PRIORITIZE CODE AMENDMENTS SHOULD BE ONGOING AND OR RECURRING.AS A REMINDER FOR THE PUBLIC AND FOR OUR COMMITTEE, CITY COUNCIL VOTED LAST THURSDAY TO DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER'S STAFF AND OUR COMMITTEE TO PROCEED WITH COLLABORATING ON THE PRIORITIZATION AND TIMING OF LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS, AND ORGANIZE CURRENT AND FUTURE POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS FOR THE GREATEST IMPACT ON HOUSING.
I'LL PAUSE THERE FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT, GIVEN THAT DIRECTION, I WILL BE ASKING STAFF TO KEEP AN ITEM ON ALL FUTURE AGENDAS FOR 2023 THAT ALLOWS FOR DISCUSSION AND THE RELEVANT ACTION RELATED TO PRIORITIZATION AND ORGANIZING OF LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS.
I KNOW THAT WE ALL APPRECIATE THE TRUST AND THE WORK, FRANKLY, THAT THE COUNCIL HAS PUT F IN FRONT OF US, BUT THE COMBINED SUPPORT OF OUR PLANNING AND HOUSING DEPARTMENTS, OUR NEW CODE CABINET LED BY THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, ACM.
I AM CERTAIN THAT WE WILL GET THE JOB DONE.
STEPH, COULD YOU PLEASE OFFER US AN UPDATE, UM, FOR THE COMMITTEE ON THE NEXT STEPS FOR YOUR PROCESS, HOW COUNCIL DIRECTION HAS IMPACTED IT, AND HOW OUR COMMITTEE CAN WEIGH IN AND SUPPORT YOUR CRITICAL WORK? GOOD AFTERNOON HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE.
I'M WITHIN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, UM, AND THE KEEPER OF THE GANTT CHART, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM FOR MY ROLE IN THIS PROCESS.
BUT I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, THAT WE'RE REALLY BACKED UP BY AN ENTIRE TEAM, UM, LED BY ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, BURO, UM, AND AN INTERDEPARTMENTAL CODE CABINET.
SO THE SOLUTION TO THE CITY'S, UM, KIND OF NEED TO AMEND OUR LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE DOES NOT BELONG TO ANY ONE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN PARTNERSHIP.
UM, BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY DELIVERED THIS PRESENTATION AS A BRIEFING ITEM, UM, AT THE FULL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION LAST TUESDAY.
I WASN'T NECESSARILY GONNA RUN THROUGH THE ENTIRE SLIDE DECK, UM, BUT I DID WANNA, THE SLIDE DECK IS AVAILABLE, UM, AND BACK UP FOR FOLKS THAT WANT TO REFER TO IT.
I DID WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SINCE WE MADE THE PRESENTATION AT THE COUNCIL WORK SESSION ON TUESDAY, UM, COUNCIL DID TAKE ACTION TO INITIATE SEVERAL NEW AMENDMENTS, UM, THAT STAFF WILL BE ADDING, UM, WITH WORK PROGRAMS, UH, TO THE GANTT CHART TO BE ABLE TO UPDATE THAT AND BRING THAT BACK, UM, TO UPDATE THE FULL COUNCIL, INCLUDING THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, THERE WAS ALSO ACTION, UM, AT THE COUNCIL MEETING ON THURSDAY TO APPROVE, UM, AN AMENDMENT TO THE CODE THAT WAS ON THE AGENDA RELATED TO CORRECTING THE COMPATIBILITY ON COURT ORDERS, UM, ORDINANCE.
AND SO THAT ITEM WILL, YOU'LL SEE THAT ROLL OFF OF THE GANTT CHART, UM, WHEN WE WE PREPARE A NEW UPDATED VERSION, UM, OF THE GANTT CHART.
UM, AND I THINK FROM STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE, UH, WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THAT GANTT CHART UP TO DATE WITH A TIMELINE, UM, BOTH FOR COUNCIL, FOR THE COMMITTEE, FOR THE PUBLIC TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHERE THINGS ARE IN THE PROCESS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, I THINK FOR TODAY'S MEETING, WE, BASED ON THE CONVERSATION, UM, WE'RE NOT COMING BACK WITH A PROPOSAL OTHER THAN ADDING NEW ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED AND REMOVING THE ITEMS THAT HAVE, UM, BEEN ADOPTED.
UM, OUR PROPOSAL IS THAT I THINK THEY CAN'T CHART REFLECTS WHAT WE ARE PREPARED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH.
[00:50:01]
LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION, UM, WITH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE ABOUT WHETHER THERE IS, UM, DIRECTION OR DESIRE TO, UM, TRY TO GO BACK AND REPRIORITIZE ANY ITEMS. WE HEARD A LOT OF CONVERSATION AT THE FULL COUNCIL, UM, WORK SESSION RELATED TO RESOURCES AND WHETHER WE COULD SPEED UP, UM, PARTICULAR ITEMS BY ADDING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.AND SO WE ARE HAPPY TO HAVE, UM, THAT CONVERSATION.
BUT I THINK MOVING FORWARD, UM, WHAT OUR INTENTION IS, IS TO REALLY CONTINUE TO KEEP, UM, THAT THAT GANTT CHART, THAT TIMELINE, UM, THAT SHOWS SORT OF THE COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF ALL OF THE CODE AMENDMENTS MOVING FORWARD, UM, UPDATED AND BE ABLE TO BRING THAT AS PART OF THE BACKUP MATERIAL, UM, FOR THIS COMMITTEE MEETING, UM, ON THE REGULAR EVERY COMMITTEE MEETING BASIS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT WHETHER THERE ARE THINGS THAT SHOULD MOVE UP, SHOULD SPEED UP.
UM, AND THEN SO THAT THE COMMITTEE AS, UM, YOU ALL DO YOUR WORK IN DISCUSSING POTENTIAL NEW CODE AMENDMENTS TO BE INITIATED CAN DISCUSS THOSE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE OVERALL WORK PROGRAM OF WHAT'S ALREADY, UM, ON TAP.
AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO HOPEFULLY ALSO LOOK AT IT IN THE CONTEXT OF IF THERE IS ANOTHER AMENDMENT THAT FOLKS ARE SEEKING TO COMPATIBILITY, HOW MIGHT THAT RELATE, YOU KNOW, TO THE BODY, THAT SORT OF MORE GLOBAL AMENDMENT RELATED TO COMPATIBILITY.
UM, WITH THAT, I'M NOT SURE THAT I HAD ANYTHING ELSE THAT I, UM, WANTED TO ADD.
I'M LOOKING, YOU STARTED THE CONVERSATION BY CALLING YOURSELF THE KEEPER OF THE GANTT CHART.
AND SO MOVING FORWARD YOU'RE THE K G C AND THAT'S IT.
THAT'S, I'M EVER GONNA CALL YOU COLLEAGUES.
ANY QUESTIONS? LOOKS LIKE VICE SHARE HAS A QUESTION I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU.
ARE THERE ANY OF THESE ITEMS THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY IDENTIFIED OR ARE ALREADY USING, UM, THIRD PARTIES OR SOME KIND OF CONSULTANT FOR? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
THERE ARE SEVERAL OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE LIST, UM, THAT THE HOUSING OR THAT THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, EXCUSE ME, IS LEAD ON WHERE WE WILL BE USING A THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT.
SO ONE OF THOSE IS THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY, WHICH WE ENVISION BEING THAT KIND OF TYPE THREE LARGE ROBUST ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
WE WILL BE ONBOARDING A CONSULTANT SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT AND ARE IN THE, THE KIND OF THE PROCESS OF GOING THROUGH PROCUREMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT CONSULTANT ONBOARDED FOR NEXT YEAR.
UM, THE OTHER TWO ITEMS ON THE LIST THAT WE ANTICIPATE WOULD BENEFIT FROM WOULD NEED THAT KIND OF CONSULTANT AUGMENTATION AS REALLY THE ITEM, UM, RELATED TO SORT OF LOOKING THE OVERALL LOOK AT THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED BY THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT WOULD, WOULD NEED CONSULTANT AUGMENTATION AS WELL AS THE ITEM.
UM, THAT SHOWS UP ON THE, THE GANTT CHART THAT SAYS ZONING COMPREHENSIVE.
THAT'S REALLY LOOKING AT KIND OF OUR OVERALL PACKAGE OF ZONES AND MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT NEW ZONES.
UM, WOULD DEFINITELY NEED CONSULTANT AUGMENTATION IN GENERAL, AT LEAST STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION FOR SORT OF THE DAY IN AND DAY OUT, UM, DEVELOPING AND PROCESSING OF SOME OF THOSE MORE GRANULAR TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
UM, THAT THE, THE TIMELINE IS REALLY SORT OF THE PROCESSING TIMELINE THAT THAT IS WORK THAT WE WOULD BE DOING IN-HOUSE BECAUSE A LOT OF THE PROCESSING WORK IS REALLY SORT OF, UM, NEEDS TO BE VERY DEEP, HAVE DEEP KNOWLEDGE ON HOW CITY PROCESSES WORK AND WHO ALL IS INVOLVED IN THEM IN ORDER TO HAVE THAT BE EFFECTIVE.
SO FOR, FOR THOSE CODE AMENDMENTS, REALLY THOSE SORT OF LARGER AMENDMENTS.
UM, AND THERE MAY ACTUALLY BE A NEED AS, UM, WE CONTINUE TO DISCUSS AND GET THE RECOMMENDATIONS BACK AROUND THE COMPATIBILITY STUDY DEPENDING ON WHAT THE DIRECTION IS TO MOVE FORWARD TO DEVELOPING A PROPOSAL.
IF WE END UP MOVING FORWARD WITH A COMPLEX PROPOSAL, WHICH WE COULD, BECAUSE COMPATIBILITY IS COMPLEX, UM, THERE MAY ALSO BE A RECOMMENDATION FOR CONSULTANT AUGMENTATION FOR THAT ONE AS WELL.
AND ACTUALLY ON THAT, AND THIS KIND OF IS PREVIEWING WHAT WE'RE GONNA GET TO WITH THE ITEM I HAVE, BUT AS WE LOOK AT THE COMPATIBILITY ISSUE, I KNOW THE COMPATIBLE AND CORRIDOR'S EXPANSION, IF THAT PIECE OF IT POTENTIALLY IS DONE BEFORE THE, THE BROADER COMPATIBILITY, SINCE I KNOW IT'S JUST ADDING THOSE CORRIDORS TO WHAT'S ALREADY EXISTING.
UH, I KNOW THERE ARE SOME PROJECTS THAT ARE, SOME OF THEM ARE AFFORDABILITY IN LOCK PROJECTS.
WELL, I GUESS THEY DON'T HAVE COMPATIBILITY, SO, UH, I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY VMU THAT THE INDIVIDUALS TALKING TO US ABOUT, BUT THAT IF, IF WE CAN SPLIT THOSE OUT, IF THEY'RE DONE NOT, UM, JUST TO DELIVER 'EM FASTER.
SO THAT, UM, AND THAT'S GONNA BE WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT HERE SHORTLY.
AND FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, THAT'S A PERFECT SEGUE.
UM, AND ALL THE HARD WORK THAT STAFF DOES TO BRING US UP TO SPEED AND KEEP US MOVING IN THIS REALLY
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POSITIVE DIRECTION.UM, WITH THAT I WOULD LIKE TO, OH, I'M SO SORRY.
IT IS JUST, YOU KNOW, I HAVE FOUND MYSELF FRUSTRATED JUST WAVING AND WAVING, SO THANK YOU FOR SOMEBODY RECOGNIZING COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE HAS A QUESTION.
DO YOU MIND APPROACHING THE PODIUM AGAIN? THANK YOU.
YEAH, WELL, I, I AND I APPRECIATE THAT, UH, CHAIR.
UM, I, I KNOW WHEN THE ROLES ARE REVERSED, I, I'M ALWAYS LIKE HARPER MADISON'S ASKING THE QUESTIONS.
I'M, I'M VERY THANKFUL FOR YOUR, YOUR HELP ON ALL THIS.
UM, YEAH, I HAD A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS FOR STAFF AND, AND I ALSO WANT TO ECHO WHAT THE CHAIR SAID.
I MEAN, STAFF DOES SUCH A WONDERFUL JOB, AND I THINK WHEN CITY STAFF AND COUNCIL STAFF ARE LIKE IN SYNC, THAT'S WHEN A LOT OF BEAUTIFUL THINGS CAN HAPPEN, UH, FOR US AS A, AS A CITY.
UH, BUT, BUT I GUESS I HAVE, UH, TWO QUESTIONS.
UH, YOU KNOW, I NOTICED IN THE GANT CHART OF THE ESTIMATED TIMELINE ON THE, UH, EXISTING CODE INVITATIONS THAT ELIMINATE PARKING MANDATES IS EXPECTED TO RE RETURN BY MAY, 2024.
UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR COMMITTEE RANKED AS A HIGH PRIORITY.
UH, AND I'M THANKFUL FOR, UH, VICE CHAIR ALTAR ON HIS REALLY NIFTY, UH, PRIORITY LIST, UH, YOU KNOW, AS A HIGH PRIORITY.
AND STAKEHOLDERS WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS BY THE END OF THE YEAR, UH, AS STATED IN THE RESOLUTION.
SO WHAT IS, SO I GUESS MY, MY FIRST OF OF TWO QUESTIONS.
UH, WHAT DOES CITY STAFF NEED TO DO TO MAINTAIN THE TIMELINE TO GET IT TO THAT SWEET SPOT OF DECEMBER, 2023? SO THAT PARTICULAR, UM, AMENDMENT IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE LED BY THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
AND DO WE HAVE ANYONE FROM ATD AND THE WEBEX BY ANY CHANCE? AND IF NOT, I MAY ACTUALLY NEED TO TAKE THAT QUESTION AND GET BACK TO YOU ALL BECAUSE THE BOSTON TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT HAS ESTIMATED THAT THAT IS THE QUICKEST THEY COULD DELIVER THAT AS PROJECT LEAD, UM, BASED ON THE CONVERSATION AND COORDINATION THAT IT WOULD TAKE, NOT ONLY WITH COMMUNITY, BUT WITH OTHER ASPECTS OF, UM, HOW WE DO PARKING MANAGEMENT IN THE CITY RELATED TO ADA PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND ALSO KIND OF HOW IT WOULD IMPACT, UM, UH, RESIDENTIAL PARKING PERMIT PROGRAM AND OTHER, UM, NON, UH, REQUIRED PARKING PARTS OF OUR CODE TO MAKE.
IT WAS, AS THE CITY MANAGER DESCRIBED, I BELIEVE PRETTY WELL AT THE, THE WORK SESSION LAST WEEK, UM, THAT'S ONE OF THOSE ONES THAT HAS A LOT OF, UM, POTENTIAL IMPACTS TO OTHER WAYS THAT WE REGULATE THINGS AND OTHER WAYS THAT WE PROVIDE PARKING SERVICES, UM, TO THE CITY AND TRANSPORTATION IN GENERAL.
SO I WOULD NEED TO NEED TO GET A RE A RESPONSE BACK FROM AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION ON COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.
I WOULD ASK YOU, DO YOU YOU WANT TO ADD THAT FOR AN ITEM FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION, OR IS THAT THE KIND OF ITEM THAT YOU WANT THEM OR THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY ASKING STAFF TO SEND US A MEMO ON PRIOR TO FUTURE CONSIDERATION FOR OUR NEXT MEETING? YEAH, I, I, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR STAFF CAN, CAN WORK, UM, ON.
LIKE, I, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK IT NEEDS TO BE A FUTURE CONSIDERATION ITEM.
UH, BUT WE AS A, AS AN OFFICE CAN GET WITH TRANSPORTATION AND, AND, AND WE'LL WORK WITH Y'ALL TO, TO GET THAT.
AND, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO FUNNEL THE INFORMATION AS WELL.
I JUST DON'T WANNA TRY TO ANSWER IT WITHOUT, UM, MY TRANSPORTATION COLLEAGUES ABSOLUTELY APPRECIATE THAT I SHOULD GET GOOD INFORMATION, THE BEDDING INFORMATION, BUT MY HOPE IS THAT YOU'LL SEND IT TO US ALL.
AND THEN MY, MY, MY SECOND, UH, IS, IS KIND OF A QUESTION AND IT ALSO MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT, UM, TRANSPORTATION COULD GET US A BETTER IDEA OF.
BUT IF STAFF IS CONSIDERING THIS TO BE TOO COMPLEX OF A RESOLUTION, IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN DO TO ENACT THE BULK OF THE PARKING, UM, YOU KNOW, LIMITATING EFFORTS, INCLUDING ADA PARKING BY THE END OF THE YEAR AND HAVE ANY REMAINING REMAINING CLEANUPS, UH, COME IN APRIL OF NEXT YEAR? UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LIKE HOW WE'VE CREATED PART ONE AND PART TWO TIMELINES FOR OTHER CODE IN INITIATIONS? YEAH, AND THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I'M DEFINITELY HAPPY TO, TO FOLLOW UP WITH AWESOME TRANSPORTATION TO SEE IF THERE'S A WAY OF PHASING THE AMENDMENT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION.
IT SOUNDS LIKE WE HAVE SOME A T D CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO HAVE, AND MY HOPE IS THAT ALL OF THE COUNCIL GETS THAT INFORMATION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, WE, YOUR CONTRIBUTION.
[4. Discussion and possible recommendation to Council related to initiating code amendments that allow the City Manager to propose additional code amendments when responding to Council-initiated and housing-related code amendments.]
ITEM BROUGHT FORWARD BY VICE CHAIR AL ALTER, I WOULD LIKE TO ALLOW HIM THE OPPORTUNITY TO LAY OUT ITEM FOUR AND READ THE POSTING LANGUAGE.IT'S, UH, POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL RELATING INITIATING CODE AMENDMENTS THAT ALLOW THE CITY MANAGER TO PROPOSE ADDITIONAL CODE AMENDMENTS WHEN RESPONDING TO COUNCIL INITIATED IN HOUSING RELATED CODE AMENDMENTS.
THIS IS A, UH, BASICALLY TWO SECTION RESOLUTION THAT ONE JUST GIVES THE STAFF OR THE MANAGER OF THE AUTHORITY TO, WHEN THEY'RE
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LOOKING AT SOME OF THESE ITEMS, IF THERE IS CODE CLEANUP THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN WHILE THEY'RE DOING THAT, UH, AND, AND ADDRESS THESE MORE HOLISTICALLY AND GET RID OF ANY KIND OF CONFLICTS OR, UH, ANTIQUATED PROVISIONS, THEY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DO THAT.AND THEN THE SECOND IS IF WE DO HAVE AN ITEM THAT HAS MULTIPLE COMPONENTS FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO RETURN WITH A PIECE OF THAT IN ORDER TO, TO GET THESE IN EFFECT QUICKER, AS WE HAVE DISCUSSED ON A COUPLE ITEMS HERE.
UH, AND THAT IS ALL IT DOES WITH THAT, UH, I, UNLESS IF THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA MOVE THAT WE SEND IT TO THE FULL COUNSEL.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? LOOKS LIKE IT'S SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ.
UM, I, UM, I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS SO MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE MOVING FORWARD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AS A BODY TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY CLEARLY EXPLAIN FOR THE PUBLIC SURE.
WHAT SOME OF THESE REALLY COMPLEX ITEMS MEAN.
THAT'S THE ONE LIKE STICKING POINT FOR ME.
IT FEELS LIKE, I THINK THE GENERAL PUBLIC MAYBE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HALF THE TIME WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COMPLEX LAND USE ITEMS, THEY'RE RELATIVELY OBSCURE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE, IT, IT, ABSOLUTELY.
AND SO I, I WOULD LIKE FOR US AS A BODY TO REALLY FIGURE OUT HOW TO BRING THE COMMUNITY IN TO THE CONVERSATION MORE.
UM, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A, THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR AND IT'S SECONDED.
UM, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE.
COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, HOW DO YOU VOTE? LOOKS LIKE AN AYE, UH, LOOKS LIKE THAT'S A UNANIMOUS VOTE.
UM, SO, UH, THE MOTION WAS TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY MANAGER BE ALLOWED TO PROPOSE ADDITIONAL CLEANUP AMENDMENTS WHEN RESPONDING TO OUR MANY CURRENT AND FUTURE AMENDMENTS.
UM, AND WE GOT THAT VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
SO I, FOR ONE, BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A MORE EFFECTIVE THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT FORWARD, AN IMPACTFUL WAY OF FIXING OUR CURRENT CODE THAN THE CONTINUED USE OF AD HOC IFCS AND STANDALONE FIXES.
VICE CHAIR AL ALTER FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD.
UM, STAFF, WE ARE TRUSTING THAT YOU WILL USE THIS TOOL WELL.
UM, AND ALSO JUST GENERALLY SPEAKING, I THINK APPROPRIATELY WE DEFER TO STAFF, THE PROFESSIONALS, THE EXPERTS OFFER ONE, DON'T HAVE ANY LAND USE PROFICIENCY BY WAY OF MY EXPERTISE OR MY EDUCATION.
WE'RE TRUSTING Y'ALL TO DO WHAT YOU CAN WITH THE TOOLS THAT WE PROVIDE YOU.
[7. Identify items to discuss at future meetings]
WE ARE DOWN TO OUR LAST TWO ITEMS, FUTURE ITEMS RESCHEDULING OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING DATE, WHICH WE ALREADY DID.UM, THIS IS WHERE WE HIGHLIGHT ANY FUTURE ITEMS THAT WE'D LIKE THE COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS.
I BELIEVE WE'VE ALREADY HEARD A FEW DURING OUR PUBLIC TESTIMONY.
UM, FOR MYSELF, I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE AND VERY DEEP DIVE INTO OUR DENSITY BONUS PROGRAMS AND FEE WAIVERS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SMART HOUSING DENSITY, BONUS, UNO, YOU NAME IT.
LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN ACTIVELY REALLY STAND BEHIND WHAT WE SAY IS OUR COMMITMENT TO PRODUCING HOUSING IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, I'M GONNA GO OFF SCRIPT JUST A LITTLE BIT.
I YESTERDAY TALKED TO A FRIEND WHO WAS TRYING TO RENT AN APARTMENT IN CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN, $3,200 FOR 2 1 980 SQUARE FOOT.
TELL ME HOW THAT WORKS FOR PEOPLE.
THE 365,000 PEOPLE WHO WORK IN OUR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, TELL ME HOW THAT WORKS.
IT DOESN'T, THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE HERE.
WE REALLY ARE GONNA HAVE TO QUADRUPLE DOWN ON OUR EFFORTS AROUND AFFORDABILITY AND HOUSING.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I'M SO PROUD TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHAIR THIS COMMITTEE CUZ I THINK WE'RE GONNA DO GOOD WORK.
AND I THINK MY VICE CHAIR AND I SHARE SIMILAR COMMITMENTS AND I, I REALLY, IT, IT MEANS SOMETHING TO ME ANECDOTALLY AND OTHERWISE.
UM, THE 90 PLUS THOUSAND PEOPLE THAT I REPRESENT IN DISTRICT ONE, ALL OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS, ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE ON THIS DAY IS HAVE PEOPLE THEY REPRESENT WHO CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE IN THIS CITY.
SO I'LL MOVE FORWARD BY SAYING SMART HOUSING DENSITY, BONUSES, UNO, I'D LIKE FOR US AS A COMMITTEE TO HEAR FROM STAFF WHAT IS AND
[01:05:01]
WHAT IS NOT WORKING.AND COME TO US WITH SOLID RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW WE CAN JUST REALLY AS A CITY RECALIBRATE AND REFORM WHERE WE NEED TO.
STEPH, CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION AND YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN SEPTEMBER? THAT'S AN ACTUAL QUESTION.
I SEE SOME HEADS NODDING, BUT
UM, I THINK SEPTEMBER IS, IS A GOOD TIMEFRAME.
UM, I THINK IT PROBABLY WON'T BE POSSIBLE BEFORE THEN, BUT I, I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHAT WITH MY TEAM AND IF WE THINK THAT'S REALLY NOT FEASIBLE, I'LL, I'LL GET BACK TO THE CHAIR AND THE VICE CHAIR ON, ON IF OCTOBER MIGHT BE BETTER.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S A GOOD, THAT GIVES US ENOUGH LEAD LEEWAY, LEAD TIME THAT WE CAN GET OUR, OUR HEAD TOGETHER AND COME BACK TO YOU.
ANY QUESTIONS, COLLEAGUES? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
DIRECTOR SNEAKER TRUE LOVE COLLEAGUES.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? COUNCIL MEMBER POOL? DO YOU WANNA LEAVE THE LAST ITEM THERE? OH, SORRY.
MY TEAM AND I ARE WORKING ON WITH THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT STAFF FOR THE JULY 20 COUNCIL MEETING.
THE GOAL OF MY PROPOSAL IS TO CREATE MORE MIDDLE INCOME HOUSING AND ALLOW GENTLE DENSITY INSIDE NEIGHBORHOODS.
AUSTIN HAS DONE A GREAT JOB ON THE OUTER EDGES OF OUR BUSY HOME MARKET BUILDING LARGE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND BIG MULTI-FAMILY PROJECTS, BUT VERY LITTLE IN THE MIDDLE.
THE CITY'S OWN HOUSING MARKET ANALYSIS FROM 2020 SHOWS THE TOWNHOME OR TRIPLEX STYLES ATTAINABLE FOR MIDDLE INCOME FAMILIES MAKE UP ONLY ABOUT 12% OF OUR HOUSING STOCK.
THIS LEADS TO THE EXPECTED RESULT IN AN EXPENSIVE MARKET, AND THAT IS UPDATED RESEARCH FROM LAST YEAR SHOWS THAT HOME OWNERSHIP FOR MIDDLE INCOME EARNERS IN AUSTIN DROPPED TO 28% OF THAT GROUP, AND THAT'S DOWN FROM NEARLY 50% IN 2012.
THIS PHENOMENON IS NOT UNIQUE TO AUSTIN, BUT IF BY PULLING THE LEVERS WE MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR MORE FAMILIES TO ENTER THE HOUSING MARKET, THEN WE SHOULD LOOK AT THAT.
TO THAT END, THE FIRST PART OF MY INITIATIVE REDUCES LOT SIZES AND ENCOURAGES MORE TOWN HOMES, ROW HOUSES AND GARDEN HOMES, UH, OR COTTAGE COURTS.
THE SECOND PART OF MY INITIATIVE PROPOSES INCREMENTAL CHANGES TO ALLOW THREE UNITS ON EVERY SINGLE FAMILY LOT.
IT'S EXPENSIVE TO BUILD ONTO A HOME, BUT FOR THOSE WHO CAN MANAGE IT, WE CAN HELP REDUCE THE COST BY SIMPLIFYING THE PROCESS.
THIS CHANGE CAN HELP FAMILIES CREATE INCOME OFF THEIR PROPERTY TO PAY THEIR MORTGAGE AND TAXES, OR CAN PROVIDE BETTER OPTIONS FOR MULTI-GENERATIONAL LIVING.
HOW WE DO THIS, HOW FAR WE PULL THE LEVERS IS A QUESTION I WILL PUT TO OUR EXPERT STAFF AS PART OF THE JULY 20 RESOLUTION.
WE NEED THE EXPERTISE OF OUR STAFF TO BRING ALL OF THIS TO LIGHT AND TO DO IT RIGHT.
SO ESSENTIALLY THE RESOLUTION WILL EXPRESS A SET OF GOALS AND GIVE GENERAL DIRECTION TO THE CITY MANAGER ALONG THE LINES AS FOLLOWS, NUMBER ONE, ALLOW FOR DIVERSE HOUSING TYPES, INCLUDING ROW HOUSES AND TOWN HOMES AND, AND ANALYZE THE FOLLOWING.
REDUCE LOT SIZES IN SINGLE FAMILY ZONING DISTRICTS, ADJUST SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS TO ALLOW FOR NEW TYPES OF HOUSING.
SIMPLIFY THE VARIOUS GOVERNORS THAT MANAGE BUILDING FOOTPRINT AND MASSING AND EXPLORE INNOVATIVE METHODS TO MITIGATE POTENTIAL RUNOFF FROM ADDITIONAL IMPERVIOUS COVER.
NUMBER TWO, ACHIEVE THREE UNITS BY RIGHT IN ALL SINGLE FAMILY ZONES AND ANALYZE THE FOLLOWING.
ALLOW THREE UNITS PER LOT BY RIGHT.
ALLOW THREE STORY TRIPLEX BUILDINGS.
ACHIEVE A FLEXIBLE CON CONFIGURATION FOR THREE SEPARATE ATTACHED OR DETACHED HOMES ON ONE LOT LIKE A COTTAGE COURT AND EXPLORE INNOVATIVE UTILITY LAYOUT AND CONNECTION.
MY TEAM AND I ARE ALSO DISCUSSING CERTAIN ISSUES WITH STAFF SUCH AS WHAT ENTITLEMENTS MIGHT BE ALLOWED ONCE A LOT HAS ALREADY BEEN SUBDIVIDED.
[01:10:01]
BUT I REALLY WANNA MAKE A BIG POINT HERE THAT I WOULD ALSO APPLY TO SOME OF THE EARLIER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE ORDINANCES AND THE CHANGES TO THE CODE AND THE WORK THAT OUR EXPERT PROFESSIONAL STAFF ARE DOING.AND THAT IS, WE WANNA PREVENT ANY UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
WE WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CHANGES THAT WE ARE PROPOSING ACTUALLY CAN CAUSE AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE MAY BE NEGATIVE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES TO MITIGATE FOR THOSE.
UH, SO WE'RE LOOKING, I'M LOOKING TO THE STAFF REALLY SINCERELY AND DEEPLY FOR THAT ASSISTANCE IN THIS ANALYSIS.
UM, JUST TO CLOSE, IF I MAY, UM, PLEASE MY THANKS TO THE COMMITTEE AGAIN FOR ALLOWING ME THE SPACE TO TALK ABOUT THE INITIATIVE TO KIND OF INTRODUCE IT AND TO OUR STAFF FOR ASSISTING US WITH ALL OF THE DETAILS.
AND I'M, I'M JUST HAPPY TO BE OPENING THE DOOR ON SOME OF THESE TOPICS THAT HAVE BEEN OFF LIMITS FOR SUCH A LONG TIME.
THESE MAY BE HARD CONVERSATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY AND I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THEY ARE, AND I THINK WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT.
UH, I DO THINK THE TIME IS RIGHT TO BEGIN TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS WHEN THE NEED IS SO GREAT.
AND I'M HAPPY TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MANNER.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE PERFECT WAY TO ADJOURN A MEETING.
LOOKS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE HAS A QUESTION.
UH, WELL, I I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT ON THE, UH, ITEMS TO DISCUSS FOR, FOR FUTURE MEETINGS.
UH, IT'S JUST GOING OFF OF THE, WHAT WAS SAID EARLIER ABOUT THE WINDOWLESS BEDROOMS, UM, YOU KNOW, WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, DISCUSSED GOING FORWARD.
AND IN THE MEANTIME, OUR STAFF WILL BE WORKING WITH COMMITTEE STAFF AND STAKEHOLDERS, UH, ON SOLUTIONS TO THIS, UM, TO THIS ISSUE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION.
I'M ASSUMING THAT, UH, MR. LAWLER AND THE AUDIENCE HAS TAKEN NOTE OF THAT FUTURE ITEM FOR CONSIDERATION.
UM, ANY OTHER FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS FOLKS? COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT ON, UH, I THINK I'M EXCITED TO SEE THE ITEM FROM COUNCIL MEMBER PAUL.
AND, UH, I JUST THINK THAT WAS, UH, EXCELLENT WORDS AND, AND, AND EXCITED ABOUT THE PROSPECT OF, UH, OF AGAIN, YOU KNOW, CREATING THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, UH, HOME OWNERSHIP.
YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S AT THAT SUB HALF A MILLION DOLLAR LEVEL, YOU KNOW, MORE REALISTIC HOME OWNERSHIP.
AND, AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR, FOR BRINGING THE ITEM.
COUNCIL MEMBER, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION.
ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? CHAIR? YES.
IF WE CAN FOR THE RECORD, JUST, UH, NOTE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS IS OFF THE DIAS TODAY.
ARE WE ALL SET WITH THAT? UH, LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE COMMENTARY WITH THAT.
I THINK WE ARE ABOUT TO ADJOURN, SO IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 3:15 PM ON THE 13TH OF JUNE IN 2023.
THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR YOUR TIME AND EFFORT AND YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE DISCUSSION.
BE YOUR WAY, YOURE STRONG DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOU, I'VE GOT BULLY FOR YOU.