B-02 (NPA-2020-0016.04 - 712, 714 Pedernales St & 2409 Coronado St; District 3).pdf — original pdf

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Planning Commission: April 27, 2021 DATE FILED: July 31, 2020 (In-cycle) NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET 712, 714 Pedernales Street and 2409 Coronado Street NEIGHORHOOD PLAN: Govalle/Johnston Terrace Combined (Govalle) CASE#: NPA-2020-0016.04 PROJECT NAME: 712, 714 Pedernales St. and 2409 Coronado St. PC DATE: April 27, 2021 ADDRESSES: DISTRICT AREA: 3 SITE AREA: 0.344 acres OWNER/APPLICANT: AGENT: Husch Blackwell, LLP (Nikelle Meade) CASE MANAGER: Maureen Meredith STAFF EMAIL: Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov TYPE OF AMENDMENT: Change in Future Land Use Designation Jose Soto From: Single Family Base District Zoning Change To: Mixed Use PHONE: (512) 974-2695 Related Zoning Case: C14-2021-0011 From: SF-3-NP To: CS-MU-NP NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ADOPTION DATE: March 27, 2003 PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: April 27, 2021 – (pending) STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To grant the applicant’s request for Mixed Use land use. 1 1 of 33B-2 BASIS FOR STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION: Staff supports the applicant’s request for Mixed Use land use because the property is located within 150 feet of E. 7th Street, which is an Activity Corridor and within the Plaza Saltillo Activity Center where Mixed Use land use is supported. The property is on the far western edge of the Govalle Neighborhood Planning area with Commercial land use to the south and southeast with Single Family land use to the north and west. Further west of the property on the opposite side of the railroad tracks is Mixed Use land use. To the north of the property is newly developed single family homes with a mixed of uses to the east along Pedernales Street running south of the property. The Govalle/Johnston Terrace Neighborhood Plan supports a mix of land uses and zoning where people can live and work and a balanced and varied pattern of land uses. Below are sections of the neighborhood plan that supports the applicant’s request. 2 2 of 33B-2 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. 3 3 of 33B-2 PROPOSED LAND USE ON THE PROPERTY Mixed Use - An area that is appropriate for a mix of residential and non‐residential uses. Purpose 1. Encourage more retail and commercial services within walking distance of residents; 2. Allow live‐work/flex space on existing commercially zoned land in the neighborhood; 3. Allow a mixture of complementary land use types, which may include housing, retail, offices, commercial services, and civic uses (with the exception of government offices) to encourage linking of trips; 4. Create viable development opportunities for underused center city sites; 5. Encourage the transition from non‐residential to residential uses; 6. Provide flexibility in land use standards to anticipate changes in the marketplace; 7. Create additional opportunities for the development of residential uses and affordable housing; and 8. Provide on‐street activity in commercial areas after 5 p.m. and built‐in customers for local businesses. Application 1. Allow mixed use development along major corridors and intersections; 2. Establish compatible mixed‐use corridors along the neighborhood’s edge 3. The neighborhood plan may further specify either the desired intensity of commercial uses (i.e. LR, GR, CS) or specific types of mixed use (i.e. Neighborhood Mixed Use Building, Neighborhood Urban Center, Mixed Use Combining District); 4. Mixed Use is generally not compatible with industrial development, however it may be combined with these uses to encourage an area to transition to a more complementary mix of development types; 5. The Mixed Use (MU) Combining District should be applied to existing residential uses to avoid creating or maintaining a non‐conforming use; and 6. Apply to areas where vertical mixed use development is encouraged such as Core Transit Corridors (CTC) and Future Core Transit Corridors. 4 4 of 33B-2 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 proposed zoning of CS-MU-NP would allow for retail, office and residential uses. The property is near Capital Metro bus routes and walking distance to a range of commercial uses. The Parque Zaragoza Neighborhood Park is directly northeast of the property 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 on the edge but within the Plaza Saltillo Activity Center and less than 150 feet north the E. 7th Street which is an activity corridor. There are numerous businesses within walking distance to the property. 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 at the edge but within the Plaza Saltillo Activity Center and 150 feet north of E. 7th Street which is an Activity Corridor. Mixed Use land use and zoning is appropriate in this location. 4. Expand the number and variety of housing choices throughout Austin to meet the financial and lifestyle needs of our diverse population. • The applicant’s zoning request of CS-MU-NP with a request of Mixed Use land use would allow for residential uses that could expand the number and variety of housing choices. 5. Ensure harmonious transitions between adjacent land uses and development intensities. • The applicant’s request for Mixed Use land use is appropriate because there is a mixed of zoning and land uses surrounding the property. To the south and east is Commercial land use, Single Family land use is directly to the north and west and Mixed Use on the west side of the railroad tracks. 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. 5 5 of 33B-2 8. Protect, preserve and promote historically and culturally significant areas. • To staff’s knowledge there is no historic and/or cultural significance to the • 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. • The property is in an area with businesses within walking distance to the property and near Paraque Zaragoza Neighborhood Park. 10. Expand the economic base, create job opportunities, and promote education to support a strong and adaptable workforce. • Not directly 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. • Not applicable. 6 6 of 33B-2 Proximity to Imagine Austin Activity Center and Corridor 7 7 of 33B-2 Proximity to Park Facilities 8 8 of 33B-2 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. 9 9 of 33B-2 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 plan amendment application was filed on July 31, 2020, which is in- cycle for neighborhood planning areas located on the east side of I.H.-35. The applicant proposes to change the land use on the future land use map from Single Family to Mixed Use. The applicant proposes to change the zoning on the property from SF-3-NP to CS-MU-NP for a multifamily family and retail (general) development. For more information on the zoning application, please see the case report for the associated zoning case C14-2021-0011. 10 10 of 33B-2 PUBLIC MEETINGS: The ordinance-required community meeting was held on September, 21, 2020. Approximately 251 community meeting notices were mailed to people who rent or own property within 500 feet of the subject property. Micah King, the applicant’s agent attended the meeting, in addition to two staff members and six attendees. After staff gave a brief presentation, Micah King, the applicant’s agent, gave the following presentation. Micah King said the property owner is requesting a change in use from Single Family to Mixed Use. The properties are just over 1/3 of an acre and are currently zoned SF-3-NP. The proposed zoning is CS-MU-NP, but the rezoning application as not been filed yet because they wanted to talk with the neighbors first. [Note: The rezoning application was filed on January 28, 2021]. The historic use of the property has been for a tire and auto repair shop with three single-family homes. The area had industrial zoning until the neighborhood plan was approved in 2003. The plans for the property are to have a ground-floor retail with neighborhood-centric small business office or retail, or a small restaurant with some residential units above. He said the proposed change to the neighborhood plan would help increase opportunities for people to live in close proximity to shopping and transportation needs which has become more important these days especially with the city's emphasis on making the city more connected and compact and a city that promotes walking and biking. He said we str all learning that we don't like being in cars or being in confined spaces as much and that he believes that this change in use would be promoting the city's goals. He said the Mixed Use land use and zoning would provide a transitional area between the highly commercial nature of E 7th Street and between Coronado Street, which has single family uses on its western part. The owner is proposing to still have some commercial on the Pedernales Street side of the property that would be consistent with Land Use Goal Three of the neighborhood plan which is “to develop a balanced and varied pattern of land uses in the neighborhood.” Compatibility standards would apply regardless of the zoning. Compatibility setbacks would apply to be respectful of the single family residential to the west including a 25-foot set back on the side, a 25-foot set back on the front and then limiting the height to two stories and 30 feet within 50 feet of nearby residential property as measured from the structure to the property line and maximum three stories and 40 feet from 50 feet to 100 feet of residential. After his presentation, the following questions were asked: Q: What is the plan for parking to accommodate additional residents and/or traffic? A: We don't have a final design yet, but we wouldn't be asking for any parking variances, we would have to comply with all of the city's normal parking requirements. The number of parking spaces would depend on the number of bedrooms. We’re not seeing a very intensive 11 11 of 33B-2 use of the property, so we don’t think it would generate much traffic. Our goal is to minimize that impact. Q: The primary historic use of the property was affordable housing, which is what we need more of in this area. Would the owners be open to keeping the FLUM Single Family while increasing the density? A: I don't know that the historic use of the property was for affordable housing because the price point was not restricted, which is how we define affordable housing. There are also commercial businesses on the property such as the auto use that was there for decades until the property owner closed it down later in his life. We see the proposed uses as being consistent with the history of the property. Q: How much input do we actually have in this process? A: This community meeting is part of your opportunity to provide input to our zoning and plan amendment requests. Any letters that you write will go to the Planning Commission and City Council during their public deliberations of the cases. It will also inform what we seek from the city, so part of why we're here today is to gather input from the neighbors just like the questions that came up like with parking concerns. I spoke with the owner and he said that he would be willing to ensure that any commercial use would be not be on the residential side of the property but facing Pedernales Street instead. Q: Will there be a traffic study done? A: There are two types of traffic studies in this city, one is a Traffic Impact Analysis and that's required if the proposed use would generate 2000 trips per day or more, which this property would not generate because it’s only 1/3rd of an acres. The other is a Neighborhood Traffic Study. Any traffic issues would be determined at the time of site plan. There's a transportation reviewer at the city who would review any site plan and they would have to sign-off on the plan and make sure it complies with all the city code requirements. Q: If the owners get the property rezoned, do they plan to sell the property to the adjacent property owners on the southern border? A: No, that’s not part of this discussion. The owner is not planning to sell the property. CITY COUNCIL DATE: May 20, 2021 (tentative) ACTION: 12 12 of 33B-2Applicant Summary Letter from Application 13 13 of 33B-2Letter of Recommendation from the Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (NPCT) (No letter received as of April 20, 2021) 14 14 of 33B-2Site 15 15 of 33B-2 16 16 of 33B-2 17 17 of 33B-2 18 18 of 33B-2 19 19 of 33B-2 712 Pedernales Street 2409 Coronado Street 714 Pedernales Street 20 20 of 33B-2 Coronado Street Site 21 21 of 33B-2 Micah King’s Presentation at Sept. 21, 2020 Community Meeting 22 22 of 33B-2 23 23 of 33B-2 24 24 of 33B-2 25 25 of 33B-2 26 26 of 33B-2 27 27 of 33B-2 28 28 of 33B-2 29 29 of 33B-2Correspondence Received 30 30 of 33B-2 From: Meredith, Maureen Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2020 1:49 PM To: Ricky Hennessy Subject: RE: NPA-2020-0016.04 Information You can write your comments in an email to me and I will add them to staff case report and/or when you get the public hearing notice in the mail, you can send in the comment form that is attached to it. The comment form can be scanned and emailed, it doesn’t have to be sent USPS, but it’s up to you. Maureen From: Ricky Hennessy Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2020 1:36 PM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Subject: Re: NPA-2020-0016.04 Information This is great, thank you! I'd also like to express my support for the rezoning. Is there an official way for me to show support? 31 31 of 33B-2To the Planning Commission of the City of Austin, We’re writing in regards to the project at 712, 714 Pedernales St and 2409 Coronado Street (Case Number NPA-2020-0016.04 | C14-2021-0011). These are two residential lots with two abandoned houses and a used tire shop immediately to the east of our properties at 2405 and 2401 Coronado St. We live on a short street that dead-ends into a train track (with the red line), with six houses in total before the intersection with Pedernales. It’s a small street that feels like a cul-de-sac where neighbors sit on their front lawns and dogs run off leash between yards. John, his wife, and two daughters have lived here for almost thirteen years, and Hudson, a native Austinite, has lived here for the last four years. We knew and spent regular time with the former residents of the property in question. We’re writing to oppose both the change in the future land use map from single family to mixed use and to oppose the change in zoning from SF-3-NP to CS-MU-NP. Since September 2020 we have worked with the neighborhood contact team and Hush Blackwell regarding a change in use for Mr. Soto’s property. The team from Hush-Blackwell has been communicative and pleasant to work with, and while we’ve made progress in our discussions, we have not reached an agreement and run out of time - leading to our opposition to this request. We’re hopeful for more residential density in our city (especially when it creates more affordable housing) and open to a request to up-zone the property in question, however our concerns with the impacts of a change to CS-MU-NP were not adequately addressed in the current proposal. Those concerns are as follows: ● Evening use. We’re concerned about restaurants or bars with usage when families are home. ● Traffic at the light. The light at Pedernales and 7th often backs up past Coronado and we worry more density on the corner lot would make that light impassable during peak hours. ● Height. We would prefer a two-story addition to our neighborhood instead of the currently proposed three story building. ● Trash. There’s an alley to the west of the property that also goes behind both of our lots. We’re concerned trash bins and collection will negatively impact the livability of our street. ● Street parking. Parking is limited on our street, with roughly ten existing spots shared between seven homes. When any family hosts friends, all the parking is taken and we coordinate ahead to make sure events don’t impact our neighbors. We’re concerned increased use will make it feel like parking downtown such that friends won’t want to visit. ● Change in historic use. The property in question, while a used tire shop, was primarily two residences for three generations of a single east Austin family. We’re hopeful the future use will focus on providing other east Austin families a long-term place to raise families. The architecture plans, as currently proposed, show a three-story block building that represents a sharp departure from the character of the neighborhood and surrounding buildings. The ~10,000 square feet of residential, ~2,600 square feet of office, and thirty-three parking spots seem high next to the adjacent 930 square foot home at 2405 Coronado St. 32 of 33B-2We appreciate the implications of existing setbacks and compatibility on the site development options, and don’t believe they solve all of our concerns. We are open to a change in use that creates a transition zone between SF-3 on Coronado and CS-MU on 7th street, and explored an increase in residential density (likely to SF-4) or a change in use to office (-NO, -NO, -LO). Neither of those options were agreeable to the landowner at the time of this letter. We’re grateful for the consideration of the Planning Commission and respectfully request you deny any change in the neighborhood plan and zoning until an agreement can be reached between the property owner and neighborhood contact team for a use that integrates our concerns into proposed change in use that we can all agree upon. Sincerely, John Mistrot & Hudson Baird 2401 Coronado St & 2405 Coronado St 33 of 33B-2