Item #7 - DC Recommendation No. 20260518-007 — original pdf

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RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL Recommendation: Design Commission Description of Recommendation to Council: Date of Approval: 5/4/2026 The Design Commission recommends to City Council that the Downtown Density Bonus Program Urban Design Standards be adopted as recommended by the Planning Commission. Recommendation Number: 20260518-007: Urban Design Working Group Alternative Draft for the Urban Design Standards DRAFT ● The Urban Design Standards recommended by the Planning Commission were developed by the Design Commission to promote quality urban design that ensures safety, comfort, and vitality within the downtown public realm. These standards were directly informed by the Urban Design Guidelines update process. Commission and City Council in issues of urban design and should be engaged as a primary stakeholder in future phases of the Downtown Density Bonus program update and Citywide Density Bonus program updates to support the development of appropriate gatekeeper urban design standards. Urban Design Standards; the Commission believes it is essential to maintain the stronger mandatory and enhanced standards and frontage designations as recommended by the Planning Commission. ● The Design Commission does not support Staff’s recommended draft of the ● The Design Commission serves a critical function advising the Planning Rationale: The proposed amendments to the Downtown Density Bonus Program before City Council would eliminate both administrative design review and the public-facing Design Commission review for DDB projects, changes that significantly alter the role and function of the Design Commission and the Urban Design Guidelines. This process has historically helped secure meaningful public benefits and improve the quality of Austin’s Downtown. The removal of this process risks leaving the City of Austin without leverage to require that downtown projects contribute meaningfully to the urban fabric of downtown. The Commission supports continued growth and increased housing production downtown. We also recognize the evolving legal constraints surrounding discretionary development review and the value of a more predictable entitlement process. For this reason, we support the Urban Design Standards as recommended by the Planning Commission. The Urban Design Standards proposed by staff were a rushed and insufficient replacement for the previous design review process. In contrast, the standards recommended by the Planning Commission were developed by the Design Commission through a substantial multi-year effort to update the Urban Design Guidelines. These standards were shaped through extensive engagement with stakeholders, practitioners, and staff, and calibrated against real projects, professional practice, and national best practices for drafting objective design standards. Recognizing the relative inflexibility of objective standards compared to design guidelines, the proposed Urban Design Standards represent a significant compromise from the broader urban design outcomes envisioned in the draft updated Urban Design Guidelines. Instead, they focus narrowly on the most impactful standards while emphasizing objectivity, clarity, and ease of administration. DRAFT With this update, the role of the Design Commission in reviewing individual Downtown Density Bonus projects will be terminated. However, the Design Commission and the urban design expertise it offers is more critical now than it has ever been. As staff continue updating the Downtown Density Bonus program to include Red River and South Central Waterfront, the Design Commission should be engaged as a primary stakeholder to ensure following Staff recommendations are properly drafted and calibrated to strengthen downtown as it grows. Likewise, as the City undertakes broader updates to density bonus programs citywide, the Design Commission should play a central role in shaping urban design standards that ensure increased density is accompanied by safety, sustainability, and long-term urban vitality. While we are currently experiencing a down-market, the Urban Design Standards adopted now will shape the quality, vitality, and sustainability of the public realm in our downtown, centers, and corridors for generations. It is important that we get this right. For this reason, we support the Urban Design Standards as recommended by the Planning Commission. Motioned By: Chair McKinney Seconded By: Commissioner Howard Vote: For: Against: Abstain: Off the dais: Absent: Attest: __________________________________ (Staff or commissioner can sign) DRAFT