REGULAR MEETING OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026, 6:00 P.M. PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER, ROOM 1405 6310 WILHELMINA DELCO DRIVE AUSTIN, TEXAS Some members of the Design Commission may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once, either in-person or remotely, and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, call or email Nicole Corona at 512- 974-3146 or nicole.corona@austintexas.gov. CURRENT COMMISSIONERS: Jon Salinas, Chair Josue Meiners, Vice Chair Ramachandra “Rao” Aradhyula David Carroll Nkiru Gelles Kevin Howard CALL TO ORDER AGENDA Saira Khan Conners Ladner Marissa McKinney Evgenia “Jenny” Murkes Brendan Wittstruck PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first five speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Design Commission regular meeting on December 15, 2025. STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. Staff briefing regarding the update to the Downtown Density Bonus Program. Presentation by Alan Pani, Austin Planning. Sponsors: Commissioners Howard, Murkes, and Wittstruck. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. Discussion of the Design Commission’s strategy prioritizing urban design in Density Bonus Program projects in the City of Austin. Sponsors: Commissioners Howard and Wittstruck. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 4. 5. 6. Discussion and action to recommend to City Council two-way conversions downtown. Presented by Adam Greenfield and Brandon Nidday, Safe Streets. Sponsors: Commissioners Carroll and Howard. Discussion and action to recommend to City Council whether the project W. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard & Nueces Street, located at 601, 607, 611, 619 West Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, 1809 Rio Grande Street, 1806 Nueces Street, 1801 Rio Grande Street, 604 West 18th Street and 1800 Nueces Street, complies with the Urban Design Guidelines for the City of Austin in accordance with Land Development Code § 25-2-586 (C)(1)(a)(ii). Presented by Leah Bojo, Drenner Group, PC, Justin Short, STG Design, and Chris Jackson, Fable Landscape Architecture. Approve a recommendation to City Council to recognize the Design Commission as an official stakeholder in the Density Bonus Program update process and recommend that the Design Commission and Staff advance …
DESIGN COMMISSION MINUTES REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2025 The Design Commission convened in a regular meeting on Monday, December 15, 2025, at the Permitting and Development Center, Room 1405, located at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive in Austin, Texas. Chair Salinas called the Design Commission meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance: Jon Salinas, Chair Ramachandra “Rao” Aradhyula David Carroll Nkiru Gelles Kevin Howard Evgenia “Jenny” Murkes Brendan Wittstruck Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Conners Ladner Marissa McKinney PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Design Commission regular meeting on October 27, 2025. The minutes from the Design Commission regular meeting on October 27, 2025, were approved on Commissioner Howard’s motion, Commissioner Aradhyula’s second, on a 7- 0 vote. Commissioners Gelles and Murkes were off the dais. Vice Chair Meiners and Commissioner Khan were absent. DISCUSSION ITEMS 2. Discussion of analysis on the Design Commission's recommendations and the final approved Downtown Density Bonus Program projects from the past ten years. 1 The item was discussed. 3. 4. Discussion of the draft Urban Design Guidelines regarding the sections: Introduction, Core Principle A: Protect Pedestrians and Bicyclists from the Elements, and Core Principle B: Protect Sidewalk and Bikeway Users from Motor Vehicles. The motion to postpone the item indefinitely was approved on Commissioner Howard’s motion, Chair Salinas’ second, on a 9-0 vote. Vice Chair Meiners and Commissioner Khan were absent. Discussion of the timeline and obstacles of the update to the Urban Design Guidelines. Sponsors: Chair Salinas, Vice Chair Meiners, and Commissioner Howard. The item was discussed. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 5. 6. Discussion and action to select Downtown Density Bonus Program projects from the past ten years to analyze outcomes. Sponsors: Chair Salinas and Vice Chair Meiners. The motion to postpone the item indefinitely was approved on Commissioner Wittstruck’s motion, Chair Salinas’ second, on a 9-0 vote. Vice Chair Meiners and Commissioner Khan were absent. Discussion and action to select members for the Planning and Urban Design Working Group. Sponsors: Chair Salinas and Commissioner Howard. The motion to assign Commissioner Gelles to the Planning and Urban Design Working Group was approved on Chair Salinas’ motion, Commissioner Howard’s second, on a 9-0 vote. Vice Chair Meiners and Commissioner Khan were absent. COMMITTEE UPDATES 7. 8. Update from the representative of the Downtown Commission regarding the meeting on November 19, 2025. The update was given …
DDB Phase 1 – Program Format Austin Planning | Design Commission | 1/26/25 DDB Phase 1 Current Downtown Density Bonus Program Base Entitlements Sites have height and FAR limits set by their base zoning (e.g., CBD = 350ft of height & 8:1 FAR*) Participating in DDB Sites must meet gatekeeper requirements + community benefits in exchange for additional entitlements (i.e., height & FAR) Height & FAR Map Existing height & FAR map indicates additional height and FAR limits that can be achieved within each subdistrict Exceeding Height & FAR Map Sites can request Council approval to exceed allowed height and FAR limits *FAR limits do not apply to residential or mixed-use projects meeting SB840 standards 3 4 5 Proposed Amendment Approach Phase I: Create new zoning combining district(s) that include updated program requirements and regulations for Downtown Density Bonus Rezone Phase I geography into the new combining district through area-wide rezoning Phase II: Refine regulations, create additional combining districts as needed, and rezone the remainder of geography into the new combining districts Moving forward: Property owners would be able to request rezoning into higher intensity combining districts 6 Downtown Density Bonus Program – Phase 1 Create New Combining Districts (-DDB or similar) Every property within a combining district gets the same height in exchange for the same affordable housing (e.g., combining district 1 provides +100ft in exchange for 5% affordable units (or fee-in-lieu) while combining district 2 provides +400ft in exchange for 7% affordable units (or fee-in-lieu) ) Additional height is additive to the property’s base zoning height limit Define New Core Subdistrict in the Land Development Code Properties within subdistrict are eligible to rezone to the DDB Combining Districts Gatekeeper requirements or community benefits menu could be customized for each subdistrict Rezone properties within Core Subdistrict to new DDB Combining District Properties can add a fixed amount of height above their base height in exchange for participation in the DDB program If properties desire additional height, they can request rezoning into higher intensity combining districts 7 Program Heights Max. Height (?? ft) Height (?? ft) Base Height (350 ft) CBD by-right entitlements today Entitlements after DDB update and city-initiated rezoning Future max. entitlements to be requested via rezoning 8 Downtown Heights Current CBD Base Height …
Two-Way Street Conversions in Downtown Austin One Policy: Many Benefits 49% Fewer crashes 23% Less crime 39% Property value rise Two-Way Street Conversion: Evidence of Increased Livability in Louisville KY (Riggs & Gilderbloom (2015), Journal of Planning Education and Research 10-20% Increase in retail sales (Vancouver WA) "One-way streets should not be allowed in prime downtown retail areas. We've proven that." Rebecca Ocken, Executive Director, Vancouver WA Downtown Association “The design has facilitated a better response from police and fire.” “When we experience a problem, we are provided with more options to redirect traffic.” Wm. Todd Bailey, Police Chief, New Albany IN Less Congestion, Shorter Travel Times “Dozens of cities have reconfigured one-way streets into two-way streets as a means of bringing their downtowns to life.” Governing Magazine Two-Way Conversions: One Policy, Many Benefits ● Safer streets ● More walking and bicycling ● Healthier local businesses ● Faster emergency access ● Lower crime ● Higher property values ● Easier navigation and access Addressing Left-Turn Lanes & Transit Reliability ● Left-turn pockets ● Leading left-turn traffic signals ● All-way stops ● Prohibit left turns at certain intersections and/or at certain times Two-Way Conversions: Success Every Time in Austin 1992: First Street / E Cesar Chavez, Second Street (east of I-35) 2008: Cesar Chavez, Second Street 2015: Brazos Street 2017: 5th Street 2018: Colorado Street 2019: 16th, 17th, 18th Street “Sixth Street should be immediately converted to two-way traffic…" Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT) of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), 1991 “Just do it.” “15 minutes after you make the change [to two-way], people will be asking why you didn’t do it 25 years earlier.” Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak (2010)
. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL Design Commission Recommendation Number: 20260126-006: Completion of Updates to the City of Austin Urban Design Guidelines WHEREAS, the City of Austin Urban Design Guidelines, created in 2000 as a set of recommendations that promote urban design standards reflective of Austin’s planning goals and policies and shared values, have not been revised since 2009 and are in need of a substantive update to address today’s development context, support current best practices in urban design, provide more clarity and predictability for applicants, improve objectivity and consistency in interpreting design guidelines, and broader applicability across the city’s urban corridors and centers, and WHEREAS, the Design Commission is chartered to offer policy recommendations regarding specific issues on urban design and participate in developing design guidelines, and WHEREAS, to receive density bonus area, the director must determine that projects seeking to participate in the Density Bonus Program substantially comply with the Urban Design Guidelines; and the Design Commission shall evaluate and make recommendations regarding whether the project complies with the Urban Design Guidelines; and the director shall consider comments and recommendations of the Design Commission, and WHEREAS, City Council Resolution No. 20210902-046 directed the City Manager to “initiate an inclusive and robust multi-phased stakeholder process for updating the Urban Design Guidelines” and to “provide the necessary support and resources to the Commission to achieve the multiple phases of the update, including preparation, creation and finalization of the guidelines and ensure appropriate review by relevant City departments and boards and commission before returning to city council for approval upon completion of this work” in September 2021. WHEREAS, the Planning Department provided a memo to Council extending the response deadline for Resolution No 20210902-046 to November 21, 2024, following initial Commission-led stakeholder meetings with subject-matter experts, and . WHEREAS, the Urban Design Guidelines Working Group of the Design Commission responded to staff comments from relevant city departments and delivered a working draft of the updated guidelines to the Design Commission liaison staff in May 2025 and was not informed until December 2025 that staff had concerns over the draft language. WHEREAS, the Design Commission has requested but has not received these new written comments on the working draft of the updated guidelines from staff and thus has not had the opportunity to refine the draft to address staff comments. WHEREAS, Council Resolution No. 20210902-046 cites the needs for design recommendations for architecture, site …
