1C - Briefing on VMU2 — original pdf

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CO2-2021-006 Amending Title 25-2(E) 4.3 Vertical Mixed-Use Buildings May 26, 2022 Design Commission Overview  VMU Basics  VMU-Related Direction  Staff Recommendation  Additional Research  Next Steps 2 Vertical Mixed-Use (VMU) Basics VMU is a voluntarydensity bonus program designed to generate community benefits through the use of development incentives. Development Incentive Community Benefit  Adopted in 2010 – Included a one-time opt-in/opt-out process for neighborhood associations or neighborhood planning teams  Applicable along “core transit corridors” – Connects housing and services to transit – May also include other roadways based on original neighborhood opt-in process  Offers development incentives in exchange for community benefits – Improves flexibility for site development – Creates enhanced pedestrian environment – Regulates affordability – Support sustainable development patterns Site Development Flexibility Reduced Parking Requirement No FAR restrictions Additional Allowable Uses Regulated Affordability Heightened design standards Mix of land uses Active ground floor use 3 VMU Combining District Example Zoning String: CS-MU-V-CO-NP VMU-Zoned Sites Base Zones Description commercial services community commercial limited office Max Height 60ft 60ft 40ft Impervious Cover 95% 90% 70% % of Sites 67% 18% 5% neighborhood commercial general office neighborhood office 40ft 60ft 35ft 80% 80% 60% CS GR LO LR GO NO VMU-Zoned Properties with Other Combining Districts % of Sites NP: Neighborhood Plan MU: Mixed Use CO: Conditional Overlay NCCD: Neighborhood Conservation Combing District 5% 3% 1% 94% 53% 67% 5% 4 VMU Site Development Standards •Same as base zoning •Compatibility standards supersede •Same as base zoning •No minimum front or side setbacks •Compatibility standards supersede •Height and Impervious Cover still provide site controls Building Height Impervious Cover Reduced Setbacks No Floor to Area Ratio (FAR) limit •Up to a 60% reduction •Allows residential uses in the minimum number of required parking spaces Reduced Parking Requirement in commercial and office zones •Allows additional commercial uses in office zones Broader Range of Allowed Uses •Pedestrian-Oriented Commercial space requirement on first floor •Minimum of one floor of residential use required Mix of Uses Required 5 Vertical Mixed-Use Affordability Policy Rental Developments 40-year affordability period For-Sale Developments 99-year affordability period 10% set-aside affordable to households earning not more than 60% Median Family Income Or 80% Median Family Income (Varies by neighborhood) 10% set-aside affordable to households earning not more than 80% Median Family Income and 100% Median Family Income (5% at each level) 6 VMU-Related Direction Planning Commission • July 2021 • C02-20210727 • Directed changes to the affordability requirements for Vertical Mixed-Use Buildings City Council • November 2021 • Resolution No. 20211118-052 • Directed an expansion of the VMU program through the creation of new tier with a height bonus 7 Staff Recommendation: Set-Aside Percentages and Affordability Levels Affordability Requirements VMU VMU2 Rental Developments 40-year affordability period 10% set-aside affordable to 60% Median Family Income 10% set-aside affordable to 50% Median Family Income OR 12% set-aside affordable to 60% Median Family Income For-Sale Developments 99-year affordability period 10% set-aside affordable to 80% Median Family Income OR Fee equivalent to 10% of total units 12% set-aside affordable to 80% Median Family Income OR Fee equivalent to 12% of total units A summary of the staff recommendation for affordability requirements in the Vertical Mixed-Use program is shown in the table above. 8 Staff Recommendation: Fee in-lieu for condominium developments  Recommended for ownership developments only – Direct these fees back towards long-term affordable homeownership projects such as Community Land Trusts – Rental developments must provide affordable units onsite  Proposed due to barriers to securing long-term affordability and stability for low-income homeowners in predominantly market-rate condominium developments – Homeowners’ association fees – Property tax assessments Example of proposed fees in-lieu of onsite income-restricted affordable units from the draft LDC Revision citywide Affordable Housing Bonus Program Unit Size Studio 1-Bedroom 2-Bedroom 3-Bedroom Fee-in-Lieu $135,000 $180,000 $335,000 $440,000  If approved, the Housing and Planning Department would bring forward a recommendation for this fee in-lieu for the Vertical Mixed-Use program in the City budget process within the department’s fee schedule. 9 Staff Recommendation: Addition of Provisions to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing  Applicable to all developments that voluntarily participate in VMU – In the long-term, staff recommends that these requirements apply uniformly in all voluntary density bonus programs within the LDC  Affirmatively furthers Fair Housing and helps to create more inclusive, equitable outcomes for our community  Source of Income Protections  Affirmative Marketing  Enhanced Enforcement  Proportional Bedroom Mix  Comparable Design Standards  Dispersion and Equal Access 10 Staff Recommendation: Additional Direction to Set Non-Residential Bonus Area Fee  Bonus area fee for upper-level non- residential space within VMU buildings never set by Council  Staff will wait for additional direction to bring forward a recommendation for this non-residential bonus area fee for the Vertical Mixed-Use program 11 VMU Research  VMU Developments  Dispersion of VMU Zoning  Other Policies Impacting VMU- Zoned Properties 12 Vertical Mixed-Use Outcomes In Planning Under Construction Completed Possible Combined Impact VMU Projects 25 11 37 VMU Housing Units 6,345 2,563 6,793 Income-Restricted Affordable Housing Units Tenure of VMU Housing Units 641 549 678 Rental Ownership 100% 0% 98% 2% 95% 5% data source: Affordable Housing Inventory (accessed 4/18/22) 73 15,701 1,868 97% 3% 13 Vertical Mixed-Use Developments by Council District 20 15 10 5 0 In the Pipeline Completed D1 6 3 D2 1 0 D3 10 10 D4 8 6 D5 5 8 D6 0 0 D7 4 5 D8 0 0 D9 1 5 D10 1 0 14 Dispersion of VMU Zoning VMU Zoning Total Sites with -V Total Acres with -V ~ 818 ~ 1,900 10 7 4 8 5 9 2 3 1 15 Dispersion of VMU Zoning VMU Zoning by Council District 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 District 6 District 7 District 8 District 9 acres 238 20 262 604 167 0 240 0 272 District 10 96 16 Dispersion of VMU Zoning Displacement Risk Areas  55% of VMU-Zoned Sites are within Displacement Risk Areas VMU-Zoned Sites within Displacement Risk Areas 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Chronic Displacement Risk Area 27% Active Displacement Risk Area 15% Vulnerable Displacement Risk Area 13% 17 Dispersion of VMU Zoning High Opportunity Areas  33% of VMU-Zoned Sites are within High Opportunity Areas High Opportunity Areas are defined by Enterprise Community Partners Opportunity360 Index. 18 Other Policies Impacting VMU-Zoned Sites Conditional Overlays (CO’s)  Conditional Overlay Combining Districts, or CO’s, are used to modify use and site development regulations on a site- by-site basis. CO’s are always more restrictive than the restrictions otherwise applicable to the property. CO’s can regulate many site development regulations, including lowering the maximum allowable building height on a site.  67% of VMU-zoned sites have a Conditional Overlay. Staff did not research specific CO’s on VMU-zoned sites; however, it is possible that many of these sites with CO’s have additional height restrictions that may limit the ability to utilize the 30-foot height bonus outlined in the new tier of the VMU program. 19 Compatibility Standards  Compatibility standards apply to sites that are within 540 feet of the property line of an urban family residence (SF-5) or more restrictive zoningdistrict. – For the purposes of the new VMU height bonus, the distance that could affect a VMU building’s maximum height is 420 feet.  Compatibility standards also apply when a site is adjacent to a lot on which a usepermitted in an SF-5 or more restrictive zoning district is located.  Compatibility Standards require: − Height and Setback Limitations − Scale and Clustering Requirements − Screening Requirements − Design Regulations Other Policies Impacting VMU-Zoned Sites Compatibility height and setback limitations applicable to VMU are summarized in the diagram above. 20 Other Policies Impacting VMU-Zoned Sites Compatibility Standards  41% of VMU-zoned sites could build to their baseheight after compatibility standards are applied. − The remaining 59% of VMU-zoned sites are prohibited from building to the maximum height allowed by their base zoning due to compatibility standards.  34% of VMU-zoned sites would be able to build to the bonusheight under the new tier of the VMU program after compatibility standards are applied. − The remaining 66% of VMU-zoned sites would be prohibited from building to the maximum height allowed with the 30-foot height bonus. *For purposes of this analysis, a site was considered buildable if the maximum height could be achieved for at least 10,000 square feet. VMU-Zoned Sites Allowable Heights with Compatibility Standards 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Achievable 41% Unachievable 59% Achievable 34% Unachievable 66% Base Height Bonus Height 21 Compatibility + VMU Web Map  Interactive Map  View where VMU-Zoned Sites are Located – Including layers for Displacement Risk Areas, High Opportunity Areas, and the Transit Priority Network  View allowable heights with the new bonus on VMU-Zoned sites after Compatibility Standards  View VMU-Developed and Developing Buildings https://austin.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=bff1cf81f6534a0bb2f8a23988d499c2 The web map can be accessed here: 22 Extras 24 What is the Median Family Income? 25 What does median income look like disaggregated by race? Austin Median Household Income Difference from the Austin Median Household Income by Race / Ethnicity (2019) $120,000 $100,000 $80,000 $60,000 $40,000 $20,000 $- $25,000 $20,000 $15,000 $10,000 $5,000 $- $(5,000) $(10,000) $(15,000) $(20,000) $(25,000) White $15,237 Asian $19,875 Latino $(19,790) Black $(25,242) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 White Non-Hispanic Black / African American Latino / Hispanic Asian Data Source: American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates for Austin city, Texas; Table S1903 26 What are affordable rents?  Market-rate rent in VMU developments is on average $1,832  Affordable rent limits at 50% of MFI is about $898 on average*  Affordable rent limits at 60% of MFI is about $1,077 on average*  Affordable rent limits at 80% of MFI is about $1,436 on average* *averages are weighted and account for differences by number of bedrooms 27 VMU-Developed Buildings: AMLI 5350 Total Units: 174 Affordable Units: 17 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2010 Council District: 7 Corridor: North Burnet 28 VMU-Developed Buildings: Camden Lamar Heights Total Units: 314 Affordable Units: 31 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2015 Council District: 7 Corridor: North Lamar 29 VMU-Developed Buildings: Texan North Campus fka Uptown Lofts Total Units: 23 Affordable Units: 2 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2011 Council District: 9 Corridor: North Lamar 30 VMU-Developed Buildings: Aura on Lamar Total Units: 279 Affordable Units: 28 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2021 Council District: 4 Corridor: North Lamar 31 VMU-Developed Buildings: West Koenig Flats Total Units: 210 Affordable Units: 21 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2018 Council District: 4 Corridor: North Lamar 32 VMU-Developed Buildings: Lamar Union Apartments Total Units: 441 Affordable Units: 44 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2015 Council District: 5 Corridor: South Lamar 33 VMU-Developed Buildings: The 704 Total Units: 378 Affordable Units: 38 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2014 Council District: 5 Corridor: South Lamar 34 VMU-Developed Buildings: Nexus East Total Units: 49 Affordable Units: 5 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2021 Council District: 3 Corridor: Airport Blvd 35 VMU-Developed Buildings: Lenox 7th Total Units: 279 Affordable Units: 28 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2020 Council District: 3 Corridor: East 7th 36 VMU-Developed Buildings: Axiom East Total Units: 60 Affordable Units: 6 Tenure: Ownership Year Built: 2020 Council District: 1 Corridor: East 7th 37 VMU-Developed Buildings: 7East Total Units: 177 Affordable Units: 18 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2015 Council District: 3 Corridor: East 7th 38 VMU-Developed Buildings: Alexan East 6th Street Total Units: 208 Affordable Units: 21 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2015 Council District: 3 Corridor: East 6th 39 VMU-Developed Buildings: Lamar Union Apartments Total Units: 441 Affordable Units: 44 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2015 Council District: 5 Corridor: South Lamar 40 VMU-Developed Buildings: Gibson Flats Total Units: 95 Affordable Units: 10 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2014 Council District: 5 Corridor: South Lamar 41 VMU-Developed Buildings: The 704 Total Units: 378 Affordable Units: 38 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2014 Council District: 5 Corridor: South Lamar 42 VMU-Developed Buildings: The Tree Apartments Total Units: 336 Affordable Units: 34 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2014 Council District: 3 Corridor: South 1st St 43 VMU-Developed Buildings: 44 South Total Units: 227 Affordable Units: 23 Tenure: Rental Year Built: 2021 Council District: 3 Corridor: South Congress 44 VMU-Developed Buildings: Frank Total Units: 69 Affordable Units: 7 Tenure: Ownership Year Built: 2019 Council District: 9 Corridor: South 1st St 45 VMU-Developed Buildings: Willa Total Units: 61 Affordable Units: 6 Tenure: Ownership Year Built: 2021 Council District: 9 Corridor: South 1st St 46 VMU-Developed Buildings: 3114 SoCo Total Units: 20 Affordable Units: 2 Tenure: Ownership Year Built: 2017 Council District: 3 Corridor: South Congress Ave 47