Recommendation 20260722-008: Recommendation on Dog’s Head Development — original pdf

Recommendation

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL Joint Sustainability Committee Recommendation 20260722-008: Recommendation on Dog’s Head Development Date: July 22, 2026 Recommendation: WHEREAS, the Joint Sustainability Committee (JSC) has been commissioned to advise City Council on matters related to conservation and sustainability; and WHEREAS, energy use, water consumption, water quality, and potential pollutants are pillars of concern for the Committee, and public trust and transparency are of the utmost importance; and WHEREAS, the proposed tenant of the Dog's Head site, Amazon Robotics, presents several risks to the surrounding environment through massive lithium-ion battery arrays that power the robots, creating fire, explosion, and toxic runoff hazards, and lithium-ion batteries can emit toxic chemicals such as hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide; and energy consumption at similar Amazon Robotics sites has required 9.5 megawatts of power to operate the facility; and WHEREAS, the JSC recognizes and seeks to call attention to, and to reduce, the harms that could be inflicted upon this property, the surrounding environmental area, and the East Austin community where it resides, and is emphatic that historical harms must not be continued through this project; and WHEREAS, the JSC acknowledges that adjacent landowners and neighborhood associations were not made aware of the annexation until after the fact, breaking with the healthy, expected, and necessary processes valued and codified by the City; and WHEREAS, the City of Austin has not conducted an Environmental Assessment Study, an Environmental Resource Inventory, or a Tree Survey, nor worked with the State to assess existing pollutants on the property; and WHEREAS, the City of Austin is recommending expanded access to the Dog's Head site via at least three bridges across the Colorado River as part of the infrastructure package, yet has not conducted an Environmental Assessment or Impact Study; and WHEREAS, the JSC recognizes that this project falls within the Blackland Prairie ecoregion, and that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department states that less than 1% of this ecoregion remains in Texas; and WHEREAS, the JSC acknowledges that the project site is habitat for hundreds of species of migratory and resident birds, drawing birders from around the world each year who contribute millions of dollars to the regional economy; and WHEREAS, the JSC understands that the project encompasses alluvial aquifers that store and filter water along the river, providing drinking water for Austin's Colony, Manor, Travis County, downstream counties such as Bastrop, as well as for livestock and wildlife; and WHEREAS, approximately 20% or more of the area within the Dog's Head Development lies within the calculated 100-year floodplain, a calculation based on historical data that does not account for future modeling or projections; and WHEREAS, the JSC is concerned that an Environmental Assessment Study has not been conducted while floodplain maps are being modified without one, and that information regarding projected energy load, cooling water demands, and expected wastewater from the proposed Amazon Robotics facility is not available; and WHEREAS, the JSC agrees with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's (TCEQ) assessment that the stretch of the Colorado River south of Longhorn Dam is among the most pristine in the river system; and WHEREAS, the JSC is concerned about the potential for a catastrophic flooding event, particularly given the high-hazard-potential categorization of the aging Longhorn Dam, which could cause existing pollutants from historic mining and industrial activity to leach into or be deposited in the river, risking loss of life and property; and further notes that TxDOT is building a massive 22-foot-wide stormwater tunnel running from Lady Bird Lake to Airport Boulevard that will channel runoff into the Colorado River; and WHEREAS, the JSC is concerned that the contract waives hard-won oversight by citizen-driven boards and commissions for 45 years; and WHEREAS, the JSC supports the inclusion of parks throughout the property and a trail along the river, provided the trail remains outside of critical environmental features and both the parks and trail are managed by Austin Parks and Recreation and open to the public; and WHEREAS, the JSC supports mixed-use development that includes residential units and single- family homes meeting the City standard of being within a quarter-mile walking distance of a park, and supports making affordable housing accessible in a timely manner; and WHEREAS, the JSC finds the secretive manner and lack of community engagement in which the City conducted meetings to green-light this project to be highly problematic, exclusionary, and impactful to a region that has already endured historical environmental harms; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Joint Sustainability Committee recommends the following: 1. Delay a vote on the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) until January 2027 or later. 2. Include the Joint Sustainability Committee and other commissions in the process before and after the passage of the TIRZ. 3. Conduct a full Environmental Assessment Study for the proposed site that includes the City of Austin’s flood maps, cataloging and mapping of all critical features, and tree survey as defined by the Environmental Criteria Manual. 4. Adopt the County’s standard of 400 feet of setback along the Colorado River to ensure a full water quality zone. 5. Designate that there shall not be data centers or chip manufacturing plants; require reclaimed water to be a part of this development agreement. 6. Conduct and make public an environmental survey of the existing pollutants on the property. 7. Conduct an Environmental Resource Inventory on the property and in the river. 8. Require best practices for stormwater management and reduce the impervious cover of developable areas to a level that will protect the alluvial aquifer and its recharge zone and prevent against local and regional flooding. 9. Conduct a hydrological survey of the aquifers to better understand the depth of the aquifer and to understand the movement of pollutants in those systems. Date of approval: July 22, 2026 Motioned By: Aaron Gonzales Vote: 10-0 Seconded By: Charlotte Davis For: Diana Wheeler, Charlotte Davis, Aaron Gonzales, Rodrigo Leal, Mridula Madipakkam, Haris Qureshi, Jon Salinas, Anna Scott, Iris Suddaby, Kaiba White Against: None Abstain: None Recuse: None Off the Dais: None Absent: Josh Hiller, Varun Prasad, Lane Becker, Chris Campbell, Chris Crookham, Chris Maxwell- Gaines, Melody McClary, Luai Abou-Emara Attest: Amanda Mortl, Staff Liaison