B-04 (NPA-2020-0017.02 - 902 Morrow St; District 7).pdf — original pdf

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Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET NEIGHORHOOD PLAN: Crestview/Wooten Combined (Crestview) CASE#: NPA-2020-0017.01 PROJECT NAME: 904 Morrow Street PC DATE: October 13, 2020 August 25, 2020 DATE FILED: February 27, 2020 (In-cycle) ADDRESSES: 902-904 Morrow Street DISTRICT AREA: 7 SITE AREA: 0.7433 acres OWNER/APPLICANT: Vineway, LLC AGENT: Thrower Design (A. Ron Thrower) CASE MANAGER: Maureen Meredith STAFF EMAIL: Maureen.meredith@austintexas.gov TYPE OF AMENDMENT: Change in Future Land Use Designation From: Single Family Base District Zoning Change To: Multifamily PHONE: (512) 974-2695 Related Zoning Case: C14-2020-0047 From: SF-3-NP To: MF-1-NP NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ADOPTION DATE: April 1, 2004 PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: October 13, 2020 – (pending) August 25, 2020 – Postponed to October 13, 2020 on the consent agenda at the request of the neighborhood. [A. Azhar-1st; R. Schneider – 2nd] Vote: 12-0 [J. Shieh recused due to a conflict of interest; owner of property near subject address]. 1 NPA-2020-0017.02 1 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Recommended for the applicant’s request for Multifamily land use. BASIS FOR STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION: Staff supports the applicant’s request for multifamily land use because it will add additional housing to the planning area and the city. Multifamily land use is appropriate for this location because there is multifamily land use to the north and east of the property. The proposed change would allow for additional residential units located near the North Lamar Boulevard Activity Corridor and the Crestview Station Town Center as identified on the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan. The Crestview Neighborhood Plan has objectives and recommendations that seek to protect existing single family uses and to also add housing types currently not available in the planning area for retirees and first time home buyers. The applicant’s proposal to build townhomes could help meet these goals. Land Use Objectives and Recommendations Land Use Objective 1: Preserve the character and affordability of the Crestview and Wooten Neighborhoods. Recommendations 1. Existing single-family residential areas should retain SF-3 zoning. Land Use Objective 5: Provide opportunities for the ultimate redevelopment of the Huntsman Petrochemical site to “complete” the neighborhood and create quality open space. Recommendations 1. Focus more intense commercial and mixed use development along Lamar Boulevard. a. Change the zoning for parcels fronting Lamar Boulevard to allow current uses to continue, but encourage redevelopment with more pedestrian-oriented mixed use. b. Prohibit or limit any additional development of incompatible industrial uses, such as basic industry and mining. c. Preserve the historic farmhouse located at 810 Banyon Street. 2. Encourage the development of residential uses on Morrow Street adjacent to the existing neighborhood. a. Morrow Street should be developed primarily with single family residential that complements the existing homes on the north side of the street. b. Other portions of the site should be used to develop housing types currently not widely available in Crestview, particularly housing for retirees and first time homebuyers. Land Use Objective 9: Encourage the redevelopment of Lamar Boulevard with more residential and neighborhood serving businesses. 2 2 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 LAND USE DESCRIPTIONS EXISTING LAND USE ON THE PROPERTY Single family - Detached or two family residential uses at typical urban and/or suburban densities. Purpose 1. Preserve the land use pattern and future viability of existing neighborhoods; 2. Encourage new infill development that continues existing neighborhood patterns of development; and 3. Protect residential neighborhoods from incompatible business or industry and the loss of existing housing. Application 1. Existing single‐family areas should generally be designated as single family to preserve established neighborhoods; and 2. May include small lot options (Cottage, Urban Home, Small Lot Single Family) and two‐family residential options (Duplex, Secondary Apartment, Single Family Attached, Two‐Family Residential) in areas considered appropriate for this type of infill development. PROPOSED LAND USE ON THE PROPERTY Multifamily Residential - Higher-density housing with 3 or more units on one lot. 1. Preserve existing multifamily and affordable housing; 2. Maintain and create affordable, safe, and well-managed rental housing; and 3. Make it possible for existing residents, both homeowners and renters, to continue to live in their neighborhoods. 4. Applied to existing or proposed mobile home parks. 1. Existing apartments should be designated as multifamily unless designated as mixed 2. Existing multifamily-zoned land should not be recommended for a less intense land use category, unless based on sound planning principles; and 3. Changing other land uses to multifamily should be encouraged on a case-by-case basis. Purpose Application use; 3 3 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 IMAGINE AUSTIN PLANNING PRINCIPLES 1. Create complete neighborhoods across Austin that provide a mix of housing types to suit a variety of household needs and incomes, offer a variety of transportation options, and have easy access to daily needs such as schools, retail, employment, community services, and parks and other recreation options. • The property is located within 400 feet of North Lamar which is an Activity Corridor and directly north of the Crestview Station Town Center. It is near numerous business located along North Lamar and Morrow Street. The property housing development of townhomes will add housing units to the planning area and the city and will add to the variety of housing options. 2. Support the development of compact and connected activity centers and corridors that are well-served by public transit and designed to promote walking and bicycling as a way of reducing household expenditures for housing and transportation. • The property is within 400 feet of the North Lamar Activity Corridor where transit services are located and across the street of the Crestview Station Town Center Activity Center. 3. Protect neighborhood character by ensuring context-sensitive development and directing more intensive development to activity centers and corridors, redevelopment, and infill sites. • The property is located within 400 feet of the North Lamar Activity Corridor and directly north of the Crestview Station Town Center. It is an infill site that could enhance the neighborhood character. 4. Expand the number and variety of housing choices throughout Austin to meet the financial and lifestyle needs of our diverse population. • The applicant proposes to change the land use to multifamily to build townhomes which could expand the number and variety of housing types for the planning area and the city. 5. Ensure harmonious transitions between adjacent land uses and development intensities. • The property has multifamily land use to the north and east of the property. To the south is the Crestview Station Town Center. Multifamily is appropriate for this location. 6. Protect Austin’s natural resources and environmental systems by limiting land use and transportation development over environmentally sensitive areas and preserve open space and protect the function of the resource. • The property is not located in an environmentally sensitive area such as the Drinking Water Protection zone. 7. Integrate and expand green infrastructure—preserves and parks, community gardens, trails, stream corridors, green streets, greenways, and the trails system—into the urban environment and transportation network. 4 4 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 8. Protect, preserve and promote historically and culturally significant areas. • To staff’s knowledge, there are no historic or cultural significance to this • Not applicable. property. 9. Encourage active and healthy lifestyles by promoting walking and biking, healthy food choices, access to affordable healthcare, and to recreational opportunities. 10. Expand the economic base, create job opportunities, and promote education to support a • Not directly applicable. strong and adaptable workforce. • Not applicable. creative art forms. • Not applicable. 11. Sustain and grow Austin’s live music, festivals, theater, film, digital media, and new 12. Provide public facilities and services that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decrease water and energy usage, increase waste diversion, ensure the health and safety of the public, and support compact, connected, and complete communities. • No applicable. 5 5 of 32B-4Proximity to Imagine Austin Activity Corridor and Centers Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 6 6 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 Proximity to Parks 7 7 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 Proximity to Capital Metro Bus Routes IMAGINE AUSTIN GROWTH CONCEPT MAP Definitions Neighborhood Centers - The smallest and least intense of the three mixed-use centers are neighborhood centers. As with the regional and town centers, neighborhood centers are walkable, bikable, and supported by transit. The greatest density of people and activities in neighborhood centers will likely be concentrated on several blocks or around one or two intersections. However, depending on localized conditions, different neighborhood centers can be very different places. If a neighborhood center is designated on an existing commercial area, such as a shopping center or mall, it could represent redevelopment or the addition of housing. A new neighborhood center may be focused on a dense, mixed-use core surrounded by a mix of housing. In other instances, new or redevelopment may occur incrementally and concentrate people and activities along several blocks or around one or two intersections. Neighborhood centers will be more locally focused than either a regional or a town center. Businesses and services—grocery and department stores, doctors and dentists, shops, branch libraries, dry cleaners, hair salons, schools, restaurants, and other small and local businesses—will generally serve the center and surrounding neighborhoods. 8 8 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 Town Centers - Although less intense than regional centers, town centers are also where many people will live and work. Town centers will have large and small employers, although fewer than in regional centers. These employers will have regional customer and employee bases, and provide goods and services for the center as well as the surrounding areas. The buildings found in a town center will range in size from one-to three-story houses, duplexes, townhouses, and rowhouses, to low-to midrise apartments, mixed use buildings, and office buildings. These centers will also be important hubs in the transit system. Job Centers - Job centers accommodate those businesses not well-suited for residential or environmentally- sensitive areas. These centers take advantage of existing transportation infrastructure such as arterial roadways, freeways, or the Austin-Bergstrom International airport. Job centers will mostly contain office parks, manufacturing, warehouses, logistics, and other businesses with similar demands and operating characteristics. They should nevertheless become more pedestrian and bicycle friendly, in part by better accommodating services for the people who work in those centers. While many of these centers are currently best served by car, the growth Concept map offers transportation choices such as light rail and bus rapid transit to increase commuter options. Corridors - Activity corridors have a dual nature. They are the connections that link activity centers and other key destinations to one another and allow people to travel throughout the city and region by bicycle, transit, or automobile. Corridors are also characterized by a variety of activities and types of buildings located along the roadway — shopping, restaurants and cafés, parks, schools, single-family houses, apartments, public buildings, houses of worship, mixed-use buildings, and offices. Along many corridors, there will be both large and small redevelopment sites. These redevelopment opportunities may be continuous along stretches of the corridor. There may also be a series of small neighborhood centers, connected by the roadway. Other corridors may have fewer redevelopment opportunities, but already have a mixture of uses, and could provide critical transportation connections. As a corridor evolves, sites that do not redevelop may transition from one use to another, such as a service station becoming a restaurant or a large retail space being divided into several storefronts. To improve mobility along an activity corridor, new and redevelopment should reduce per capita car use and increase walking, bicycling, and transit use. Intensity of land use should correspond to the availability of quality transit, public space, and walkable destinations. Site design should use building arrangement and open space to reduce walking distance to transit and destinations, achieve safety and comfort, and draw people outdoors. BACKGROUND: The application was filed on February 27, 2020, which is in-cycle for neighborhood planning areas located on the east side of I.H.-35. The applicant proposes to change the future land use map from single family to multifamily land use. The associated zoning change proposes to change the zoning on the property from SF-3-NP to MF-1-NP to build 11 to 12 townhomes on approximately seven acres. 9 9 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 PUBLIC MEETINGS: The ordinance-required virtual community meeting was held on July 9, 2020. Approximately 243 meeting notices were mailed to people who own property or have utility accounts within 500 feet of the property, in addition to neighborhood groups and environmental organizations who requested notification for the area. Five city staff members participated in the meeting, in addition to Ron Thrower and Victoria Haase, the applicant’s agents. After staff gave a brief presentation about the applicant’s plan amendment and zoning change requests and an overview of the neighborhood plan amendment process, Victoria Hasse gave the following presentation. Victoria Haase said the property is about seven acres of land. She said there is an existing house on the property that is in poor condition and is vacant. A permit to demolish the house has been approved by the city, although no demolition work has started. The request is to change the future land use map from single family to multifamily to allow the construction of eleven to twelve townhouse-style homes that will be sold individually. The rezoning request is to rezone the property from SF-3-NP to MF-1-NP. The benefits of a multifamily development is to protect more trees and it will provide greater building setbacks and required compatibility standards. A multifamily development will have less impact to taxpayers because multifamily development must have privately constructed and maintained internal drives, water detention, water quality ponds. At this point, Ms. Haase presented the PowerPoint slide presentation that is provided at the end of this report. After her presentation, the following questions were asked. Q. Are there any preliminary site plans for the proposed development available? A. No, not at this time. We wanted to wait to see how this goes before the client starts expending resources. It’s an expensive endeavor. Q. Do you know how many people are participating in this meeting? A. I think two or three that I’m aware of, but we are unable to know how many people are viewing on the web cast. We ask people to sign their name in the chat and what their affiliation with the community is. If people would like to add their name to the sign in sheet, we will know who is here. Note: After the meeting ends, an attendance list is generated which shows the number of people who participated in the meeting. Q. How long is the overall application and approval process expected to take? A. The application was filed in February but because of COVID 19 there was delay in scheduling this community meeting. The cases will be scheduled for Planning Commission probably in August but the City Council date has not been determined yet. When the cases are scheduled, a public hearing notice will be mailed to people who live or own property within 500 feet of the property. 10 10 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 ACTION: (Pending) CITY COUNCIL DATE: September 17, 2020 11 11 of 32B-4Applicant Summary Letter from Application Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 12 12 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 13 13 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 14 14 of 32B-4Letter of Recommendation from the Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (NPCT) Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 (No letter received, see below) From: Chip Harris Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2020 1:03 PM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Subject: Re: Crestview NPCT Rec?: NPA-2020-0017.02_902/904 Morrow *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Maureen, Thank you for the update. Chip From: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2020 12:53 PM To: Chip Harris <austinchip@>; Mike Lavigne <mglavigne@> Cc: Victoria <Victoria@throwerdesign.com>; Ron Thrower <ront@throwerdesign.com>; Graham, Mark <Mark.Graham@austintexas.gov> Subject: RE: Crestview NPCT Rec?: NPA-2020-0017.02_902/904 Morrow Chip and Mike: This case is returning to Planning Commission on October 13. I checked my emails and it appears that I have not received a recommendation from the NPCT. If you’d like the Crestview NPCT recommendation added to staff case reports, please email to us no later than Tuesday, Oct. 6 by 4:30 pm. If we get the recommendation after that date and time, we will send it to the Commissions as late back-up. Thanks. Maureen 15 15 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 Correspondence Received From: Don Shepard Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2020 7:00 AM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Cc: Lisa Shepard Subject: Advance Rezoning Request Comments Re: 902 and 904 Morrow Zoning Case #: C14-2020- 0047 *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Hi Ms. Merideth: My wife Lisa and I own property in the 800-900 Block of Taulbee Lane at 7700 North Lamar in the Crestview/Wooten combined planning area, one block away from the proposed rezoning case C14-2020-0047. We oppose rezoning of the vacant lot at 902 Morrow and the house & lot at 904 Morrow from SF-3 to MF-1. Rezoning and cluster-building on what were large single family dwelling unit lots in the four block area from N. Lamar to Gault, Stobaugh to Taulbee, has had an adverse effect on affordability, walkability, traffic, safety, and quality of life here on the Eastern edge of Crestview. The only positive impact of overbuilding has been to profitability (to developers), and not to affordability of actual neighbors. This anti-affordability and anti-quality-of-life rampage by developers violates our approved neighborhood plan. We currently have five similar such housing developments within our four block area, causing housing prices to shoot up from $300,000 to $800,000 per home as a result of overbuilding, all as lot sizes and neighborhood harmony have shrunken dramatically. Moreover, Morrow has become a traffic and walkability mess due to already overbuilt Crestview Station Austin Commons development. This has to stop to maintain what little sense of harmony and affordability remain in our neighborhood. Please disapprove of the rezoning request and honor our City approved neighborhood plan. Lisa and I may try to listen in tonight on the virtual meeting, but wanted to submit our comments in advance, in accordance with the letter which your department mailed and emailed. Thank you! Don Shepard and Lisa Shepard 512-799-0202 16 16 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 From: Tanner Blair Sent: Friday, July 10, 2020 11:34 AM To: Graham, Mark <Mark.Graham@austintexas.gov>; Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Subject: NPA-2020-0017.02 - 902 & 904 Morrow Street *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Hello Mark and Maureen, I’m glad to see this plan come to fruition, and as an interested party in this case I’m supportive of multi-family uses on this site. I’m especially supportive of the townhouse/garden home vision that the owner seems interested in developing there, and it is a great opportunity to provide homes for a dozen people at a location that underutilized now and close to transit and amenities. Regards, Tanner Blair 17 17 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 From: Caroline Bailey [mailto: Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2020 8:54 AM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Subject: Support for NPA-2020-0017.02 *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Good morning Maureen, I am writing to express my support for the 902 & 904 Morrow Street case (NPA-2020-0017.02). I believe it should be approved and upzoned - it is the perfect location for more homes. It is close to a light rail station and several bus stops; within walking distance of several destinations; on a corridor; and a high opportunity area. We have a housing crisis and we desperately need more homes in all of these areas - Council has said they would like to see more homes built that meet these criteria, so this case seems perfect. I urge City Council to vote yes on this project. Thank you! Caroline Bailey, AICP Candidate Caroline Bailey | Planner | AICP Candidate AURA Board Member, Social Chair, Land Use Committee Chair Austin Pedestrian Advisory Council Member 18 18 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 From: Meredith, Maureen Sent: Friday, August 21, 2020 12:31 PM To: austinchip@ mglavigne@ Cc: Ron Thrower; Victoria Subject: Aug 25 PC: Speaker Registration Deadline Monday Aug. 24th @ Noon Dear Crestview NPCT and Interested Parties: As you may know, the 902-904 Morrow Street plan amendment and zoning cases are on the August 25 PC hearing date. Please see the attached instructions on how to sign up to speak at the public hearing. Speaker Registration Deadline is Monday Aug. 24th @ Noon. Maureen From: Don Shepard [mailto: Sent: Monday, August 24, 2020 7:20 PM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Cc: austinchip@ mglavigne@ Ron Thrower <ront@throwerdesign.com>; Victoria <Victoria@throwerdesign.com> Subject: Re: Aug 25 PC: Speaker Registration Deadline Monday Aug. 24th @ Noon Thanks for telling me, Maureen. I hate to tie up valuable planning commission time with my comments. There are, however, real concerns to do with existing street size, anticipated traffic and street parking, and a fairly newly unanticipated aspect of retail- paradigm-shift yielding large delivery vehicles blocking all of our neighborhood roads and driveways night and day, including along Morrow at the site of his proposed development. With work-at-home becoming the norm now, and online ordering exploding delivery routes, Morrow is blocked many times each day, choked up with Amazon, UPS, USPS, and Fedex trucks as well as hot-shot document and grocery delivery gig workers‘ vehicles. It is amazing to see and deal with the shopping/delivery paradigm shift within our predominately single family neighborhood. I think any project of this size should have to facilitate the new shopping/delivery paradigm within their land use or impervious footprint. Two-lane Morrow cannot really be widened or enlarged because of the already oversized Crestview Station housing development, although pull-offs or bump-ins could alleviate the traffic blockade by delivery vehicles. I believe I have met Mr. Thrower before at his presentation on a different project at an NLCT or Georgian Acres Neighborhood Association meeting in the past, do not oppose his work per se, just cannot easily drive my car or ride my bike down Morrow as it is. Perhaps, as he is ccd, he can address three foreseeable issues with the time afforded by this delay: first, how will his plan accommodate off-of-Morrow egress and parking of huge delivery trucks dozens of times per day for this fourteen unit development; how will his project design avoid negatively impacting the users of the youth playing fields on Morrow near the railroad tracks; and how will pedestrians and bicycle users along 19 19 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 Morrow be protected against the spike in both small, and large, vehicular traffic into, and out of, his proposed development? Regards, Don 20 20 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 21 21 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 22 22 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 Site 23 23 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 24 24 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 25 25 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 26 26 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 27 27 of 32B-4 Site (View east) Site (View west) Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 28 28 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 Southside of Morrow Street – view west. 29 Southside of Morrow Street – view east towards N. Lamar Blvd. 29 of 32B-4Applicant’s Virtual Meeting Presentation Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 30 30 of 32B-4 Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 31 31 of 32B-4Planning Commission: October 13, 2020 32 32 of 32B-4