B-3 C14-2020-0039 Additional Comments — original pdf

Backup

Clark, Kate From: Sent: To: Subject: Hedda Elias Thursday, July 23, 2020 12:59 PM Clark, Kate Revised letter for backup Montopolis cases *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** To Ms. Clark: Please either switch out this letter for the one that is already in the backup for these cases, or include it  after the other letter. Thank you!  I am writing in opposition to cases C14‐2020‐0039, C14‐2020‐0039 & C14‐2020‐0044.  Background  The same group of developers is asking for zoning changes to SF‐6 on four different lots in Montopolis. According to UT‐ Austin's report Uprooted, my neighborhood is one of the few that can still be saved from gentrification. Two of these  cases are on my small street that is already a major bike throuroghfare with no sidewalks and frequent deer crossings,  the same street as the 508 Kemp Street case which was approved for SF‐6 zoning at the planning commission meeting  June 23.  We already have amenities; we don't need developer promises  Know that the sites for 200 Montopolis and Clovis/Kemp have direct access to the public trail into Roy G. Guerrero Park, which has  scenic views from the lawn and one of the best playgrounds in the city. The Saxon Acres site is across from Civitan Park. Any  promises of playgrounds, scenic views or 1 affordable unit ring hollow in these cases, as they did with 508 Kemp St.    In reference to C14‐2020‐0030 & C14‐2020‐0039:  No direct access to highway right of way nor major street  The city staff recommendation states that 200 Montopolis is bordered by the Hwy 183 right of way. This is inaccurate.  This land borders the old Montopolis Bridge and the trail that leads into Roy Guerrero Park and the Lady Bird Lake Hike  & Bike trail. The Old Montopolis Bridge is being converted into a bike and pedestrian bridge. Furthermore, this is not the  main section of Montopolis Drive. It is a tiny road with unmarked lanes and no sidewalks that turns into a right‐turn only  lane onto the main Montopolis Drive just past where it intersects with Clovis/Kemp Street. If drivers from either 200  Montopolis or Clovis/Kemp want to go north or south on Hwy 183 (the only way to head into downtown) they will be  coming on Kemp Street to mix with the bicycles that already pass, deer that cross the road from one field to the other  and kids that ride bikes and play basketballs in the street. Because both projects only have access to small residential  streets, SF‐6 is not appropriate. Number of car trips is what matters in deciding whether a street is safe, not number of  driveways.  In reference to all 3 cases:  SF‐6 just means more gentrifiers in a neighborhood that could still be saved  The developers are proposing market rate condos/townhomes ($314K‐$350K in Montopolis) for both sites and 0 units  that are affordable by city standards, much less for current Montopolis residents. According to the map of MFI by census  tract, the MFI for Montopolis is $30,000‐$40,000, or 40%. Thus, the typical Montopolis resident could only afford a  $110,000 townhome or condo. If the developers build 16 units on each of these lots as proposed, that does not mean  they magically will be affordable to Montopolis residents. SF‐6 does not mean more affordable housing, it means more  gentrifiers. Even to make sure that typical black and Latino families could afford these townhomes, they'd have to be  priced at 50% MFI, since that is the MFI for black and Latino families in Austin.  1 We can reach out to the small numbers of homeowners that buy SF‐3 homes here to build them as allies.  Adding 75+ units on these SF‐6 properties in Montopolis that you are deciding on in this meeting (and decided  on last meeting with 508 Kemp) means a lot more gentrifiers to reach out to, a lot more counters for the TCAD  when we protest our taxes, and that the complete gentrification of Montopolis is much closer to being a  reality.     We have a plan; Don't make it more difficult  The Montopolis CDC, the only CDC made up entirely of black and brown residents of Austin, has developed a plan to  build affordable housing in the neighborhood to help long‐time residents stay in and return to the area. If you are  serious about addressing the city's housing issues and gentrification, you should listen to the people most affected by  those issues. Listen to the Montopolis CDC and listen to the signers of our valid position (as the original signature pages  have been sent in). Listen to those most affected. Please vote against SF‐6 for C14‐2020‐0039, C14‐2020‐0039 & C14‐ 2020‐0044.     All the best,    Hedda Elias  304 Kemp Street    References:  https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Housing/Copy_of_MFI_Chart_Effective_6‐28‐2019.pdf  https://data.austintexas.gov/stories/s/Household‐Affordability/czit‐acu8/  http://austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Planning/Demographics/MSA_ACS_2014_tracts_MFI.pdf  https://www.183south.com/upload/files/02.pdf  https://www.trulia.com/for_sale/6118_nh/APARTMENT,CONDO,COOP,TOWNHOUSE_type/  CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links  or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to  CSIRT@austintexas.gov.   2 Misha Sakellaropoulo Friday, July 24, 2020 11:34 AM Clark, Kate 28 July Planning Commission Meeting *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution ***  I live at 312 Kemp St. and wanted to express my opposition to:  Clark, Kate From: Sent: To: Subject: Hi Kate,  C14‐2020‐0030  C14‐2020‐0039  I lived on Rainey St for 10 years and moved a bit further east specifically to get away from the density. I was drawn to  this particular corner of Montopolis because it was full of single family homes and empty lots, also zoned for single  family homes. It’s been wonderful to watch the neighborhood fill in with other homes and duplexes. Walkers, joggers,  cyclists and families take advantage of Kemp/Clovis and the end of Montopolis to peacefully walk to the park and across  the Colorado.  We do not need a “Camden Rainey” project over here; when that was completed (originally as the Millennium Rainey) it  permanently changed Rainey Street’s composition forever. We lost a half dozen bungalows and a great vibe and instead  got an uninspiring apartment complex that would fit right in anywhere in Plano (gross).  Sincerely,  Misha Sakellaropoulo  CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links  or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to  CSIRT@austintexas.gov.  1 July 24, 2020 Dear Austin Planning Commission and Austin City Council, I am writing to oppose the zoning change requests across Montopolis (case numbers below) and to support my neighbors and community leaders who also strongly oppose them. • • • C14-2020-0030 - 200 Montopolis Rezoning; C14-2020-0039 - Clovis and Kemp Rezone; and C14-2020-0044 - Saxon Acres Residential Zoning Please help fight racial inequality and irreversible harm to one of Austin's most vulnerable neighborhoods by listening to its residents and community leaders who continue to speak clearly against these entitlements and zoning changes as well as Austin's history of racial inequity in land-use. Montopolis is a mostly black and minority family-owned neighborhood fighting to protect its SF-3 zoning and green spaces. We're asking for your support in opposing these changes. There are currently valid petitions against all of these cases. The Montopolis Neighborhood Plan already allows for more density, commercial, multi-family, and mixed-use, than any other part of Austin and specifically designates areas for this type of development. There is no need to destroy existing SF-3 neighborhood streets when there are plenty of empty SF-6 lots along appropriate traffic corridors that have yet to be developed. The developers who are asking for these entitlements (all white) have lawyers who use language like "underutilized" and "neglected" to describe these neighborhoods. This language devalues the thriving community who already lives here and overlooks black and minority homeownership. The developers' lawyers argue that granting them entitlements will somehow make things more affordable through supply-side trickle-down reasoning. This is an extremely limited view that completely discounts all the negative effects that will occur to the ecology, community, and history of this vulnerable area. We know these new developments won't be affordable for the current residents of this neighborhood or attract more diversity in any way, and the developers make no enforceable promise to do so. These changes would overcrowd our peaceful residential streets with cars and add more pavement and flooding throughout an ecologically sensitive preserve and the Colorado River. Adding this much density will accelerate gentrification and rapidly dilute diversity in this important and vulnerable part of town. The city's own statistics show how this has happened throughout Rainey, Holly, and the rest of East Austin. Up- zoning to SF-6 is like putting gasoline on the fire. Our community leaders have built into their plan an allowance for SF-3 so that a current culture of single family dwellings can continue to thrive and grow well into the future. While growth is inevitable, it can still be done thoughtfully and deliberately, which is why the Montopolis Neighborhood Plan has allowed for special infill options such as "cottage lots" and "small lot amnesty" as well as the use of ADUs. These are already welcome compromises currently in place to address density. No more compromises are needed. Developers could instead add density to the proposed SF-3 lots by re-platting using the tools already agreed to within the Montopolis Neighborhood Plan. You are likely already familiar with the history of inequity in land-use in Austin. Please help protect Montopolis by voting against these entitlements, and encouraging developers to use the tools already available or to seek out lots in areas already zoned for this use. I invite all of you to come take a walk down Kemp Street in the coming weeks. Here you’ll find families with young children playing, neighbors taking long walks and chatting in the streets and supporting one another. You’ll find our neighbor Miss Annie, who is 105 years old, out in her front yard every day. A colony of whitetail deer grazes in the meadows at dawn and dusk, and rare birds migrate through our nature preserve. Call us. We would be happy to show you around. Our community has come together time and time again to protect our peacefully thriving neighborhood from big development which would cause irreversible harm. It’s time to listen to them. Sincerely, Peter Simonite 621 Kemp St.