DOWNTOWN COMMISSION May 15, 2024, TIME: 5:30 p.m. Austin City Hall, Council Chamber, Room 1001 301 W 2nd Street, Austin, Texas 78701 Some members of the Downtown 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, please contact Christi Vitela at Christi.Vitela@austintexas.gov or (512) 974- 2792. CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: August Harris (Chair) David Carroll (District 1) Tania A. Ortega (District 2) Liz Coufal (District 3) Ralph E. Ishmael, Jr. (District 4) Darilynn Cardona-Beiler (District 5) Taylor Major (District 6) Mike Lavigne (District 7) VACANT (District 8) Kimberly Levinson (District 9) Sania D. Shifferd (Mayor) CALL TO ORDER VACANT (Design Commission) David Holmes (Public Safety Commission) Amy Mok (Arts Commission) Spencer Schumacher (Urban Transportation) Jennifer Franklin (Parks and Recreation Board) VACANT (Historic Landmark Commission) Anne Charlotte Patterson (Music Commission) AGENDA PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first ten 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 Downtown Commission April 17, 2024 meeting. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 2. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair. 3. Discussion and approval of a Recommendation on dockless micromobility regulations and transportation-related rule making. 4. Presentation on Street Impact Fees in the downtown Austin area by Nathan Aubert, Supervising Engineer, Austin Transportation Department. STAFF BRIEFING FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Christi Vitela at the Office of the City Clerk, at (512) 974-2792 for additional information; TTY users’ route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Downtown Commission, please contact Christi Vitela at christi.vitela@austintexas.gov or (512) 974-2792.
Downtown Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, April 17, 2024 DOWNTOWN COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY, April 17, 2024 The Downtown Commission convened the regular meeting on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 301 W. 2nd Street in hybrid meeting format. COMMISSIONERS IN ATTENDANCE August Harris, Chair Ralph E Ishmael, Jr. Vice-Chair Jennifer Franklin Kimberly Levinson Sania D. Shifferd COMMISSIONERS IN ATTENDANCE REMOTELY Taylor Major Tania Ortega Amy Mok Anne Charlotte Patterson Spencer Schumacher CALL TO ORDER Chair Harris called the meeting of the Downtown Commission to order at 5:35 pm PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL No speakers. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Downtown Commission March 20, 2024 meeting. The minutes from the meeting on 03/20/24 were approved on Commissioner Levinson’s motion, Vice Chair Ishmael’s second on a 6-0 vote. Commissioners Cardona-Beiler, Coufal and Lavigne were absent. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM 2. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair. Downtown Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, April 17, 2024 The motion to postpone this item to the next Downtown Commission meeting on 05/15/2024 was approved on Vice Chair Ishmael’s motion, Commissioner Levinson’s second on a 6-0 vote. Commissioners Cardona-Beiler, Coufal and Lavigne were absent. 3. Approve a Recommendation to centralize graffiti programs within the City of Austin by creating and funding a new department. A motion to approve Recommendation 20240417-003 was made by Commissioner Levinson and seconded by Commissioner Shifferd. A motion to amend was made by Vice Chair Ishmael, seconded by Commissioner Levinson. The amendment was to add a zero to correct an error and to read as follows: “$546,000” The amendment was approved on a 6-0 vote. The motion to approve Recommendation 20240417-003 as amended was approved on Commissioner Levinson’s motion and Commissioner Shifferd’s second on a 6-0 vote. Commissioners Cardona-Beiler, Coufal and Lavigne were absent. DISCUSSION ITEMS 4. Presentation on mental health resources for people experiencing homelessness by Marlene Buchanan, Director of System of Care, and Kathleen Casey, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Integral Care. Marlene Buchanan, Director of System of Care and Ruth Ahearn, Practice Administrator at Integral Care presented. 5. Presentation on a proposed sound assessment requirement for residential development near Outdoor Music and Performance Venues and a disclosure requirement about nearby venues when units are leased/sold by Brian Block, Nightlife and Entertainment Services Manager, Development Services Department. Brian Block, Nightlife and Entertainment Services Manager at the Development Services Department presented. 6. Update and discussion regarding …
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Urban Transportation Commission Recommendation Number 20240506-006: Dockless Micromobility Regulations and Transportation-related Rulemaking WHEREAS, the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan calls on the city to “Emphasize and incentivize shared mobility solutions” by developing and focusing on ”shared mobility services and systems to provide first-mile/last-mile mobility solutions and increase shared trips on the transportation network”; WHEREAS, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) highlighted Austin in its 2022 Report on Shared Micromobility in the U.S. and Canada as having the second most used e-scooter system in North America with a ride per vehicle per day average of 2.7, which NACTO called “stand out for e-scooter rides per vehicle per day compared to peer cities.”; WHEREAS, following Superpedestrian/Link ceasing operations in North America at the end of 2023, the Austin e-scooter system contracted in size by 29%, losing 2,000 scooters from the system; D R A F T WHEREAS, on March 28th, 2024, Transportation and Public Works (TPW) Director Richard Mendoza briefed the City Council Mobility Committee on “upcoming changes to our department regulations regarding the operations of micro-mobility devices” and cited safety, general aesthetics, and watershed protection as the main issues the regulations were meant to address; WHEREAS, according to the City of Austin Vision Zero Viewer, the number of e-scooter-related serious injuries decreased 50% from 12 in 2022 to 6 in 2023, and the number of deaths decreased from 2 to 0 over the same period; WHEREAS, despite the regulations being effective April 1st, the changes were not incorporated into the “Director’s Rules for Deployment and Operations of Shared Small Vehicle Mobility Systems”, the changes are not listed anywhere on the City of Austin website, and vendors were not formally notified of the changes until April 11th; WHEREAS, the changes communicated to vendors in the “Enhanced Regulations to the Shared Mobility Program” included the following changes: ● “Maintain the number of licensed micro-mobility vendors at 2”, ● “No increases to device permits for current licensed operators”, ● “Maintain the total number of permitted scooters citywide at 6,700”, ● “Reduce the number of scooters allowed to operate in the Downtown Area Project Coordination Zone (DAPCZ) to 1,125 per licensed vendor”, ● “Reduce maximum speed from 15mph to 10mph between 10pm and 5am daily in the main entertainment districts of the urban core”, and ● “Assign restricted and designated device staging areas and require rebalancing of devices to assigned areas each …
Street Impact Fees Overview – Downtown Commission Nathan Aubert, P.E. | Supervising Engineer | May 15, 2024 1 5/15/2024 Street Impact Fees (SIF) Presentation Overview • Implementation Timeline • Street Impact Fee (SIF) Applicability • SIF Calculation Overview • SIF Calculation Worksheet Overview • SIF Calculation Worksheet Details • SIF Guidelines Timeline • Questions/Answers 2 5/15/2024 Street Impact Fees (SIF) Implementation Timeline STREET IMPACT FEE SIF Ordinances Adopted (TIA Deadline for Grace Period) Fee Collection Begins (New TCM Effective) Fee Collection grace period ends (All TIAs) Dec 2020 Jun 2022 Dec 2023 Jun 2021 Dec 2022 Report to Council on Review Fees Public-Facing SIF Dashboard 3 5/15/2024 Street Impact Fees (SIF) SIF Applicability • SIF Applies to projects which generate 10 Peak Hour Trips (PHTs) or more • Dependent on what is on the site before construction • Mid-rise (4-10 floors) multifamily developments: ~23 units • High-rise (11+ floors) multifamily developments: ~28 units • Office developments: ~9,000 Square Feet • Projects that started the Building Permit (Plan Review) process in June 2022 or later (without a previous TIA) • If a Plan Review was applied for in June 2022 or before, no SIF was collected • TIA memo must be dated before Dec 21, 2020 • Projects that started the Building Permit (Plan Review) process after Dec. 21, 2023 (with a previous TIA) 4 5/15/2024 Street Impact Fees (SIF) SIF, Fee-In-Lieu, and Mitigations • SIF replaced transportation fees-in-lieu • SIF can be reduced (constructed improvements, previously paid fees, affordability, etc.) • SIF reductions captured via Offset Agreement • SIF payments not earmarked • SIF money remains in Service Area (map) • SIF collection and Roadway Capacity Plan (RCP) 5 5/15/2024 Street Impact Fees (SIF) SIF Guidelines & Collection Guidelines provide in-depth direction for: • SIF Calculation Worksheet • SIF Ordinance information • Offsets and what can be counted • Reductions based on: Internal Trip Capture • Affordable housing provided • • Proximity to Transit • Parking Reduction Created a collection dashboard • Real-time collections • Outstanding invoices • Spent fees 6 5/15/2024 Street Impact Fees (SIF) Helpful Links www.AustinTexas.gov/StreetImpactFee StreetImpactFee@AustinTexas.gov https://www.austintexas.gov/page/transportation-project-development-program 7 5/15/2024 Street Impact Fees (SIF)
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Downtown Commission Recommendation Number 20240515-003: Dockless Micromobility Regulations WHEREAS, following Superpedestrian/Link ceasing operations in North America at the end of 2023, the Austin e-scooter system contracted in size by 29%, losing 2,000 scooters from the system; WHEREAS, the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan (ASMP) calls on the city to “Emphasize and incentivize shared mobility solutions” by developing and focusing on ”shared mobility services and systems to provide first-mile/last-mile mobility solutions and increase shared trips on the transportation network”; WHEREAS, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) highlighted Austin in its 2022 Report on Shared Micromobility in the U.S. and Canada as having the second most used e-scooter system in North America with a ride per vehicle per day average of 2.7, which NACTO called “stand out for e-scooter rides per vehicle per day compared to peer cities.”; D R A F T ● “Maintain the number of licensed micro-mobility vendors at 2”, ● “No increases to device permits for current licensed operators”, ● “Maintain the total number of permitted scooters citywide at 6,700”, ● “Reduce the number of scooters allowed to operate in the Downtown Area Project Coordination Zone (DAPCZ) to 1,125 per licensed vendor”, ● “Reduce maximum speed from 15mph to 10mph between 10pm and 5am daily in the main entertainment districts of the urban core”, and ● “Assign restricted and designated device staging areas and require rebalancing of devices to assigned areas each morning”; WHEREAS, on March 28th, 2024, Transportation and Public Works (TPW) Director Richard Mendoza briefed the City Council Mobility Committee on “upcoming changes to our department regulations regarding the operations of micro-mobility devices” and cited safety, general aesthetics, and watershed protection as the main issues the regulations were meant to address; WHEREAS, the “Enhanced Regulations to the Shared Mobility Program” took effect on April 1st, 2024, and the following changes were communicated to vendors on April 11th, 2024: WHEREAS, on March 30th, 2024 the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association released a statement opposing the moratorium on new vendors, caps on the number of new vendors, reduction of vehicles in the DAPCZ, and elimination of dockless e-bikes, and further requested the city “delay its planned changes and instead moves towards solutions that more prudently balance the impacts on mobility users, the city’s mobility goals, and safety”; WHEREAS, according to the City of Austin Vision Zero Viewer, the number of e-scooter-related serious injuries decreased 50% from …
Urban Transportation Commission May 7, 2024 Shared Mobility Program Update Joseph Al-hajeri, Parking Enterprise Manager Michael Kimbro, Shared Mobility Supervisor 1 5/3/2024 Shared Mobility Services BRIEFING OVERVIEW 2023 System Overview Speed Limit Reduction Operational Policies/ Data Collection Regulation Background Recent Program Updates: Licensing & Permitting Designated Staging/ Parking Areas Recent Program Updates: Operations Next Steps Q&A 2 5/3/2024 Shared Mobility Services 2023 System Overview Current Operators | Fleet Size Lime | 3,700 scooters & 180 ebikes Bird | 3000 scooters 2023 Total Trips Lime 1,868,208 scooters & 63,402 ebikes Bird 791,337 Link 224,246 Wheels 33,109 Total Distance Travelled 2,927,690 miles Trips per Major Area 2,081,017 (70%) within DAPCZ 395,048 (13%) within UT/West Campus Events Austin City Limits Festival Weekend One: 59,175 trips Weekend Two: 62,881 trips SXSW 142,540 trips 16,556 median trips per day (7,315 typically) 3 5/3/2024 Shared Mobility Services Quick Background Regulation Texas Transportation Code, Title 7 • Chapter 551. - Operation of bicycles and mopeds, golf carts, and other low- powered vehicles. Title 14 Use of Streets and Public Property • § 14-9-23 - City-wide dockless transportation license authorized. • § 14-9-24 - City-wide dockless transportation unit placement plan. • § 14-9-25 - License amendment, suspension, or revocation. Title 12 Traffic Enforcement • § 12-2 - Micro-Mobility Devices and Bicycles. Director Rules for Deployment and Operation of Shared Small Vehicle Mobility Systems City Approved Fees Fee Type License Fee Fee Schedule $1,500 per year Collection Collected bi-annually in December & June Per Device Permit Fee $80 per device/ per year Collected bi-annually in December & June Per Trip Fee $0.15 per trip Collected Monthly 4 5/3/2024 Shared Mobility Services Operational Policies/Data Collection Data from provider API utilizing Mobility Data Specification Data aggregated by Ride Report Real-time visibility and reporting How TPW Monitors/ Enforcement • Third-party data management • Geofencing/device performance restrictions • Calls/Customer Service Requests (CSR) • CSR response audits • Staff device audits • Shared communications channel during special events Results of Enforcement of Director Rules • • • Impounds Reduction in Service Denial of license and/or device permits 5 5/3/2024 Shared Mobility Services Recent Program Updates License & Permit Changes Maintain the number of licensed micro-mobility vendors at 2. No increases to device permits for current licensed operators. ACTIVE ACTIVE Maintain the total number of permitted scooters citywide at 6,700. ACTIVE 6 5/3/2024 Shared Mobility Services Recent Program Updates Operations Changes Reduce …
Downtown Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, May 15, 2024 DOWNTOWN COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY, May 15, 2024 The Downtown Commission convened the regular meeting on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at 301 W. 2nd Street in hybrid meeting format. COMMISSIONERS IN ATTENDANCE August Harris, Chair Kimberly Levinson Spencer Schumacher COMMISSIONERS IN ATTENDANCE REMOTELY Ralph E Ishmael, Jr. Vice-Chair Liz Coufal Mike Lavigne Taylor Major CALL TO ORDER Chair Harris called the meeting of the Downtown Commission to order at 5:33 pm. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL No speakers. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Downtown Commission April 17, 2024 meeting. The minutes from the meeting on 04/17/24 were approved on Commissioner Levinson’s motion, Commissioner Major’s second on a 6-0 vote. Commissioners Cardona-Beiler, Carroll, Ortega and Shifferd were absent. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 2. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair. The motion to postpone this item to the next Downtown Commission meeting on 06/26/2024 was approved on Commissioner Levinson’s motion, Commissioner Downtown Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, May 15, 2024 Major’s second on a 6-0 vote. Commissioners Cardona-Beiler, Carroll, Ortega and Shifferd were absent. 3. Discussion and approval of a Recommendation on dockless micromobility regulations and transportation-related rule making. A motion to approve Recommendation 20240515-003 failed on Commissioner Levinson’s motion, Commissioner Major’s second on a 4-1 vote. Those members voting aye were: Vice Chair Ishmael, Commissioners Coufal, Levinson and Major. Voting nay was: Chair Harris. Abstaining was: Commissioner Lavigne. Commissioners Cardona-Beiler, Carroll, Ortega and Shifferd were absent. STAFF BRIEFING 4. Presentation on Street Impact Fees in the downtown Austin area by Nathan Aubert, Supervising Engineer, Austin Transportation Department. Presentation was given by Nathan Aubert, Supervising Engineer, Austin Transportation Public Works Department. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Officer Elections Downtown Plan Staff Presentation ADJOURNMENT Chair Harris adjourned the meeting at 6:38 pm without objection. The minutes were approved at the June 26, 2024 meeting on Commissioner Levinson’s motion, Commissioner Shifferd’s second on an 8-0 vote. Commissioners Cardona-Beiler and Major were absent.
