B-08 (Crestview Neighborhood Association) — original pdf

Backup

Dear Planning Commission, I'm writing on behalf of the Crestview Neighborhood Association Executive Committee regarding item B6-7-8 on the agenda for the July 14th meeting.. Before Covid-19 shut everything down, we (CNA and some neighbors) had a couple of meetings with the developer and his agent (Michael Gaudini) to discuss their exploring options for that property. The first meeting was in January but was requested too late to be included on our published agenda. We allowed them to come anyway and speak though because there wasn’t any previous notice to the community there wasn’t much turnout. At that time the biggest request of us seemed to be whether we would support a change from Commercial to Multi-Family. This was exciting to the neighborhood as a whole and brought us to the table hoping to work out a deal to both create a large amount of housing where there was none previously, along a corridor and near transportation. At that time (and in subsequent meetings), most of the usual concerns with the current occupants such as ill placed dumpsters with poorly timed disposal pick-ups, inadequate fencing and the lack of compatibility standards under the current zoning were quickly appeased. We encouraged the developer and the neighbors immediately behind the property to talk about potential concerns regarding height over their backyards and reduction in privacy. They did discuss this, and the developer produced a "compromise package" in June, pushing the start of 40 feet a little further than they could do it by right under current compatibility standards. We appreciated the willingness to talk, and it kept us at the table. As you will see in your back-up material on page 10, at the March 3 public meeting we were told the height of the front of the building would be "60-75 feet" at that time. Here is what was asked: Q. The current zoning of CS allows a maximum height of 60 ft. The proposed zoning of MF-6 allows up to 90 feet. A. We don’t want the 90 feet that would be allowed under the MF-6. We maybe need 60-75 feet with five to six floors. Mid March through April was, admittedly, a down time for our communication as a neighborhood association. We didn't have a lot of pressing items on our plate and were unclear as to what was going to be prioritized by the city. Clearly, this became a priority in May. Crestview Neighborhood Association | crestviewna.com | P. O. Box 9505, Austin, TX 78766  After Covid-19 made it difficult to meet, we continued conversations, congenially, by phone. Michael and I spoke very often, and I conveyed our conversations to our executive committee, which now meets by Zoom as often as is necessary. I've expressed our concerns over several factors, namely the height of the structure since it seemed it was now going to be well over 80 feet despite previous assertions. I've offered 75 feet as a compromise position several times. That seemed like enough entitlement to get well over 300 units on the property and still provide the paltry 10% affordable housing they set as a goal. They did not budge meaningfully. We've also yet to see any recent drawings of what they would like to do with the MF-6 entitlement, any copies of drafts of restrictive covenants to enforce the compatibility compromise, any sense of what the size of affordable units would be or the overall mix of unit bedroom counts (we'd prefer as many 2-3 bedroom units as possible). While I understand that the site planning process will dictate much of the final product, we find it unlikely they don't have a sense of what they are going to ask for. We genuinely went into this process with the hopes of being able to support a large-scale multi-family project in our neighborhood. We are disappointed that our offer to work together to support a shorter tower was unheeded. We enjoy working with Michael Gaudini and don't blame him personally for this. But at this time the most height we could support at this location would be 75 feet along the front of the property (Burnet Road). We've tried several times to get there, but we just haven't yet. Thank you for attention and consideration of our plea. Sincerely, Mike Lavigne President, Crestview Neighborhood Association Crestview Neighborhood Association | crestviewna.com | P. O. Box 9505, Austin, TX 78766