REGULAR MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2026, AT 6:00 P.M. PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER, ROOM 1405 6310 WILHELMINA DELCO DRIVE AUSTIN, TEXAS Some members of the Environmental 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, contact Nicole Corona, 737-291-3084, Nicole.Corona@austintexas.gov. CURRENT COMMISSIONERS: Mariana Krueger, Chair Jennifer Bristol, Vice Chair Haris Qureshi, Secretary Richard Brimer Isabella Changsut Annie Fierro AGENDA CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Justin Fleury Martin Luecke Allison Morrison David Sullivan 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 Environmental Commission Regular Meeting on May 6, 2026. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 2. Discussion and action to approve a recommendation regarding potential environmental impacts of the MoPac South Project, as presented to the Environmental Commission on May 6, 2026. 3. 4. 5. Discussion and action to approve a recommendation to Council regarding the Barton Springs Road Bridge Project, as presented to the Environmental Commission on May 6, 2026. Discussion and action to approve a recommendation to Council to purchase property located at 6202 and 6204 Caddie Street, 1600, 1604, 1606, 1608, 1610, 1612, and 1614 Montopolis Drive, and 6205, 6211, and 6215 Fairway Street. Presented by Susana Almanza, Poder. Sponsors: Vice Chair Bristol and Secretary Qureshi. Discussion and action to approve a recommendation to Council regarding implementation of efficient, local, natural gas-powered peaker generation units as part of Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan to 2035. Sponsors: Vice Chair Bristol and Secretary Qureshi. COMMITTEE UPDATES 6. Update from the Urban Forestry Committee regarding the meeting on May 13, 2026. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS City Code requires at least two board members sponsor an item to be included on an agenda. This section of the agenda provides members an opportunity to request items for future agendas. Staff should assume that if there is no objection from other members expressed …
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION MINUTES REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2026 The Environmental Commission convened in a regular meeting on May 6, 2026, at the Permitting and Development Center, Room 1405, located at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive in Austin, Texas. Chair Kruger called the Environmental Commission Meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance: Mariana Krueger, Chair Haris Qureshi, Secretary Richard Brimer Isabella Changsut Justin Fleury Martin Luecke Allison Morrison David Sullivan Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Jennifer Bristol, Vice Chair Mar Moretta-Urdiales PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Environmental Commission Regular Meeting on April 15, 2026. The minutes from the Environmental Commission Regular Meeting on April 15, 2026, were approved on Commissioner Sullivan’s motion, Commissioner Brimer’s second, on an 8-0 vote. Commissioners Changsut and Moretta-Urdiales were off the dais. Commissioner Fierro was absent. STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. Staff briefing regarding the Barton Springs Road Bridge Project. Presented by Eric Bailey, Deputy Director, Austin Capital Delivery Services. The presentation was made by Eric Bailey, Deputy Director, Austin Capital Delivery Services. 1 The meeting was recessed from 8:09 p.m. until 8:18 p.m. without objection. PUBLIC HEARINGS 3. Name: SoLa Mixed Use, SP-2024-0397C Applicant: Hannah Riemer, P.E., LJA Engineering, Inc. Location: 2700 and 2800 South Lamar Boulevard Council District: 5 Staff: David Michael, Environmental Review Specialist, Austin Development Services, 512-974- 2263, David.Michael@austintexas.gov Applicant Request: Redevelopment Exception in the Barton Springs Zone, per City Code 25-8- 26 Staff Recommendation: Recommended The public hearing was conducted and a motion to close the public hearing was approved on Commissioner Brimer’s motion, Commissioner Sullivan’s second, on a 10-0 vote. Commissioner Fierro was absent. The motion to recommend the project SoLa Mixed Use, SP-2024-0397C, located at 2700 and 2800 South Lamar Boulevard, to Council with conditions was approved on Secretary Qureshi’s motion, Commissioner Brimer’s second, with the following amendment, on a 10- 0 vote. Commissioner Fierro was absent. The conditions were to: • Augment community benefit and promote alignment with the City’s Comprehensive Vision Plan and the Comprehensive Austin-Travis County Food Plan: • Increase affordable housing units to 25% of all units from 30 - 60% Median Family Income (MFI) • Utilize bird-friendly building design • • Incorporate a community garden on the ground or rooftop level Incorporate dense, native plantings throughout the property, and utilize no- mow and no leaf-blowing principles year-round The amendment was made by Commissioner Fleury, seconded by …
. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL Environmental Commission Recommendation 20260520-003: Barton Springs Road Bridge Project WHEREAS, the Environmental Commission was given a briefing by Austin Capital Delivery Services on May 6, 2026, regarding the update for the Barton Springs Road Project; and WHEREAS, the bridge is noncompliant with current ADA standards; and WHEREAS, the Zilker Park area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 as the Zilker Park Historic District with the existing historic bridge as a contributing feature to the Historic District; and WHEREAS, the citizens of Austin approved a Bond package in 2020, funding $11.1 million for the Barton Springs Road Bridge over Barton Creek; and, WHEREAS, the Austin City Council voted on May 2, 2024, to authorize a professional services contract for engineering services for the design of Barton Springs Road Bridge over Barton Creek in the amount of $9 million; and, WHEREAS, Austin Capital Delivery Services presented to the Environmental Commission on May 6, 2026, the preliminary plan for the new Barton Springs Road Bridge over Barton Creek; and, WHEREAS, the Historic Land Commission, on May 6, 2024, voted to request Council reconsider its decision to demolish the existing Barton Creek Bridge; and, WHEREAS, the Section 106 document supplied by Capital delivery services states, “Removal and replacement of the existing bridge would have as significant an impact on Zilker Park…and the larger mass and scale of the bridge and new design elements would not be complementary to the historic district’s existing physical aesthetics and would impact the historic district’s integrity of design, setting materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. As such, it is recommended that the bridge replacement option would have an adverse effect on the NRHP-listed Zilker Park Historic District.” WHEREAS, the carbon dioxide (CO2) impact of replacing the current bridge is twice the impact of repairing the existing Bridge; and, WHEREAS, construction of the new Bridge may require up to seven acres of Zilker Park to be “taken” for the purposes of constructing the new Bridge; and, WHEREAS, the Bridge is currently rated as a “6” and is “satisfactory” with “minor to moderate deterioration, such as cracks, rust or spalling, which may benefit from maintenance”; and, WHEREAS, the Bridge deck is in need of replacement, and subsequently, some of the spandrel . beams may need to be replaced, and other critical repairs made for the purposes of safety and utility; and, WHEREAS, the …
RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL WHEREAS, the Environmental Commission acts in an advisory capacity on all projects and programs that affect the quality of life for the citizens of Austin, and to make recommendations for standards and recommend and initiate specific studies; and WHEREAS, the Environmental Commission reviews and analyzes the policies relating to the environmental quality of the City; and WHEREAS, community-based organizations, People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources (PODER), have brought forward a recommendation to Austin City Council to purchase the properties at Montopolis and Fairway to secure them for future low-income single-family housing; and WHEREAS, in 2001, the Austin City Council adopted the Montopolis Neighborhood Plan, which called for sustaining its single-family zoning in the heart of Montopolis; and WHEREAS, the 2018 report, “Uprooted: Residential Displacement in Austin’s Gentrifying Neighborhood and What Can be Done About It,” commissioned by the Austin City Council and completed by University of Texas experts recommended that the city make strategic, anti- displacement investments in Montopolis to protect it from further gentrification; and WHEREAS, for years, the Montopolis Neighborhood Plan Contact Team, along with other supporters, have been fighting to sustain its single-family zoning; and WHEREAS, Montopolis already has the highest concentration of multifamily, commercial, and industrial zoning of any planning area in the city, and building under these zoning categories have been constructed at the permitted restriction of 80% impervious coverage, worsening the urban heat island effect, erosion of the Colorado River, and flooding without natural drainage from green spaces that once made Montopolis the most undeveloped neighborhood in East Austin; and WHEREAS, the 1.9 acres, known as the Montopolis-Fairway Zoning case, is currently zoned for single-family housing and includes properties at 6202, 6204 Caddie Street; 6205, 6211, 6215 Fairway Street; 1600, 1604, 1606, 1608, 1612, and 1614 Montopolis Drive; and WHEREAS, while the zoning request from the developer to change the zoning from single-family to vertical mixed-use was denied, the property remains vulnerable to future gentrifying developments; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Environmental Commission recommends that the City of Austin purchase the property included in the Montopolis-Fairway zoning case to build low- income single-family housing and protect the neighborhood from future gentrification.
People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources TO: Mariana Krueger, Chair, and Environmental Commission Members FROM: Susana Almanza, Director DATE: May 13, 2026 Subject: Adoption or Resolution for City of Austin to Acquire Montopolis-Fairway Properties For years, the Montopolis Neighborhood Plan Contact Team, along with other supporters, has been fighting to sustain its single-family zoning. The 1.9 acres, known as the Montopolis-Fairway Zoning case, includes properties at 6202, 6204 Caddie Street; 6205, 6211, 6215 Fairway Street; 1600, 1604, 1606, 1608, 1612, and 1614 Montopolis Drive, which have been under constant threat from profit-seeking real- estate developers with little to no regard for the Montopolis community’s fragile natural and cultural environment, or its iconic history. Our green spaces, like our single-family zoning, are precious and limited. Help us to protect our families and our community by purchasing properties located in the Montopolis-Fairway zoning case. Montopolis already has the highest concentration of multi-family, commercial, and industrial zoning of any planning area in the city, and buildings under these zoning categories have been constructed at the permitted restriction of 80% impervious coverage, worsening the urban heat island effect, erosion of the Colorado River, and flooding without natural drainage from green spaces that once made Montopolis the most undeveloped neighborhood in East Austin. PODER request that the Environmental Commission support our Resolution to have the Austin City Council to purchase the Montopolis-Fairway Properties. PODER P.O. Box 17294 Austin, TX 78744 512-770-7896 email: poder.austin@gmail.com
. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL Environmental Commission Recommendation 20260520-005: Austin Energy Gas Peakers and Alternatives WHEREAS, it is the Environmental Commission’s responsibility to advise “on projects and programs which affect quality of life for the citizens of Austin”; and WHEREAS, the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal established by the Austin City Council in the Climate Equity Plan is to achieve “net-zero community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, utilizing a steep decline path followed by negative emissions,” which translates to approximately 75% reduction in emissions by 2030; and WHEREAS, meeting the greenhouse gas reduction goals adopted by the Austin City Council in the Climate Equity Plan isn’t possible without significant emissions reductions by Austin Energy in the near, medium, and long-term; and WHEREAS, any increase in greenhouse gas emissions does not align with the Climate Equity Plan or the greenhouse gas reduction goals adopted by the Austin City Council; and WHEREAS, reducing and eliminating local air pollution, especially in and near historically and currently marginalized and lower-income parts of the community, is an important equity and community health priority reflected in the Climate Equity Plan; and WHEREAS, methane - the primary component of natural gas - has 86 times the global warming potential as carbon dioxide when emitted directly into the atmosphere, which is a well- documented problem, and natural gas also releases carbon dioxide emissions when combusted; and WHEREAS, the Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan includes a commitment to “incorporating community input, prior to bringing a [natural gas peaker] project forward for approval”, and WHEREAS, the Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan states, “should Austin Energy seek Council approval for any peaker units, we will show any analysis performed demonstrating why a carbon-free alternative was not available and how the requested action will impact the utility’s ability to reach the goal of 100% carbon-free by 2035”, and . WHEREAS, the Austin City Charter states that all purchases greater than $5,000 must be let through a competitive bidding process, and WHEREAS, Texas state law requires municipalities to use competitive purchasing for purchases over $50,000, and WHEREAS, Austin Energy is requesting authorization to develop and execute a contract to purchase 400 megawatts of gas-burning peaker power generation without issuing a request for proposals or bids and without revealing to the public the cost, with whom the contract would be with, where the peakers would be located, how the …
