20261104-002, City of Austin and University of Texas Brackenridge Interlocal Agreement Recommendation Draft Revised — original pdf

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RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL Environmental Commission Recommendation 20261104-002: City of Austin and University of Texas Brackenridge Interlocal Agreement WHEREAS, the City of Austin and the University of Texas at Austin propose to amend the 1989 Brackenridge Development Agreement (BDA) to preserve Lion’s Municipal Golf Course (Muny) as a public golf course and prepare the remaining 190 acres of university- owned land; and WHEREAS, the BDA will describe the general process for the conveyance of MUNY, a proposed update to the University’s lease of property at Mueller, the exchange of City rights-of-way, the proposed creation of a tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ) and the development of a mutually agreed to regulating plan; and WHEREAS, the Environmental Commission was given a Staff briefing at the October 21, 2026 meeting; and NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Environmental Commission recommends the Council adopt the following additional requirements as part of the amended BDA: • Require the University to retain the Brackenridge Field Laboratory for a minimum of fifty-years under the same conditions as provided by the current BDA agreement. • Should the University decide to close the Brackenridge Field Laboratory, require the University the option to the City to acquire the property for Water Quality Protection Lands purposes via conservation easements, voter approved municipal bonds, fee simple purchase, or other mechanisms. • Require the University to provide a minimum of five-years notice to the Council of its intent to close or restrict the scope of research at the Brackenridge Field Laboratory. • Establish a setback of 250 feet landward from the shoreline of Lady Bird Lake and prohibit impervious cover within the 250-foot setback. • Require a public easement within the setback from Lady Bird Lake to allow for a multi-use trail on par with the Butler Hike and Bike Trail to be implemented by the Austin Parks and Recreation (APR) and managed by APR or an established partner. • Limit building height to 75 feet. • Require adherence to City Codes Chapter 6-2, 25-8-520 and 30-5 regarding the environment and storage of hazardous materials by the University and subsequent owners of the property within the amended BDA. • Enforce the City of Austin’s Heritage Tree Ordinance. Mitigation of trees shall be within the BDA unless authorized by the City Arborist. • Limit impervious cover to 67 percent of each parcel with a total of 70 percent impervious cover for the entire project. Impervious cover shall not be transferred between parcels. • Floor area ratio (FAR) per site development shall not exceed .6:1 unless Council authorizes an increase in FAR for the site using the process to rezone property. • Require adherence to 25-8-341, and 25-8-342 of the City Code regarding cut and fill requirements. • Require adherence to slope regulations including, but not limited to Sections 30-5- 302, 25-2-1122 and 25-2-1123 of City Code. • Require the Regulating Plan to be reviewed by the Environmental Commission and other land use commissions and the Parks Board. • The City shall conduct a full Environmental Assessment Study that includes water quality, soil quality, baseline assessment of the state of the existing ecology on the site with surveillance, cataloging and mapping of all critical environmental features and a tree survey as defined by the Environmental Criteria Manual. Seconded By: Date of Approval: Motioned By: Vote: For: Against: Abstain: Off the dais: Absent: Attest: _____________________________________________ Mariana Krueger, Chair