B-06 (NPA-2021-0029.01.SH - 1021 E. St. Johns; District 4).pdf — original pdf

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Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET NEIGHORHOOD PLAN: St. John/Coronado Hills (St. John) CASE#: NPA-2021-0029.01.SH PROJECT NAME: 1021 E. St. John PC DATE: September 14, 2021 DATE FILED: March 12, 2021 (In-cycle) August 24, 2021 July 13, 2021 May 25, 2021 April 13, 2021 ADDRESS: 1021 E. St. Johns Ave DISTRICT AREA: 4 SITE AREA: 0.29 acres OWNER: Talia at E St John, LLC (Kenda Dawwami) APPLICANT: Capital A Housing AGENT: Civilitude, LLC (Conor Kenny) CASE MANAGER: Maureen Meredith, Housing & Planning Dept. (512) 974-2695 PHONE: STAFF EMAIL: Maureen.meredith@austintexas.gov TYPE OF AMENDMENT: Change in Future Land Use Designation To: Urban Single Family From: Single Family Base District Zoning Change Related Zoning Case: C14-2021-0005.SH From: SF-3-NP NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ADOPTION DATE: To: SF-4A-NP April 26, 2012 1 1 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: September 14, 2021 - August 24, 2021 – Postponed to September 14, 2021 on the consent agenda at the request of staff. [C. Hempel – 1st; R. Sneider – 2nd] Vote: 11-0 [Y. Flores and J. Shieh absent]. July 13, 2021 – Postponed to August 24, 2021 on the consent agenda at the request of the applicant. [C. Hempel – 1st; Y. Flores – 2nd] Vote: 8-0 [A. Azhar, P. Howard, S. R. Praxis, C. Llanes Pulido and R. Schneider absent]. May 25, 2021 – Postponed to July 13, 2021 on the consent agenda at the request of the applicant. [G. Cox – 1st; C. Hempel – 2nd] Vote: 10-0 [J. P. Connolly, Y. Flores and C. Llanes Pulido absent]. April 13, 2021 – Postponed on the consent agenda to May 25, 2021 at the applicant’s request. [A. Azhar – 1st; R. Schneider – 2nd] Vote: 12 – 0 [J. Shieh absent]. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Recommended for applicant’s request for Urban Single Family land use. BASIS FOR STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION: Staff supports the applicant’s request for Urban Single Family land use because the property is located in a dense urban area where this land use is appropriate. The St. John/Coronado Hills Neighborhood Plan supports a variety of housing types with the desire for more single family homes to be provided in the planning area. 2 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 2 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 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. 3 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 3 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 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 Urban Single Family - Single family detached, small lot single family, or two family residential uses at urban densities. 1. Provide options for the development of higher‐density single‐family housing in 2. Allow small lot development to make efficient use of urban land while providing new home ownership opportunities. Purpose urban areas; and Application 1. Small‐lot single family is generally most appropriate for larger infill sites in urban neighborhoods with easy access to transportation corridors; and 2. Can be used to provide a buffer between high‐density residential and low‐density residential areas. 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 development will provide additional housing units that is near public transportation and near a variety of commercial uses along IH-35 to the west and along Cameron Road to the east. 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. 4 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 4 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 • The property is not located on an activity corridor or within an activity center, but is located on St. Johns Avenue that has access to public transportation. 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 on a busy transportation corridor although St. Johns Avenue is not an activity corridor. 4. Expand the number and variety of housing choices throughout Austin to meet the financial and lifestyle needs of our diverse population. • The proposed development will provide additional housing units and add to the variety of housing choices in Austin and the neighborhood. 5. Ensure harmonious transitions between adjacent land uses and development intensities. • Urban Single Family land use is appropriate in this location for property located along St. Johns Avenue, a busy transportation corridor. 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 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. 8. Protect, preserve and promote historically and culturally significant areas. • To staff’s knowledge there is 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 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. 5 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 5 of 25B-6• Not applicable. Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 Proximity to Imagine Austin Activity Centers and Corridors 6 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 6 of 25B-6Proximity to Park Facilities Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 7 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 7 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 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 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 8 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 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 January 11, 2021 which is out-of-cycle for neighborhood planning areas located on the east side of IH-35. The property is a certified S.M.A.R.T (Safe, Mixed-Income, Accessible, Reasonably Priced, and Transit-Oriented) Housing project which allowed the out-of-cycle application. The applicant proposes a change in the St. John/Coronado Hills Neighborhood Plan future land use map from Single Family to Urban Single Family for eight single family dwelling units. 9 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 9 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 The applicant proposes a change in zoning from SF-3-NP (Family Residence district) to SF- 4A-NP (Single Family Residence Small Lot district). PUBLIC MEETINGS: The ordinance-required virtual community meeting was held on February 25, 2021. Approximately 273 meeting notices were mailed to people who rent or own property within 500 feet of 1021 E. St. Johns Avenue. Two staff members attended the meeting with three people from Civilitude, LLC, and the agents representing the property owner. There were three people in attendance from the neighborhood. After city staff gave a brief presentation, Conor Kenny, Director of Public Affairs from Civilitude, made the following presentation. Conor Kenny said Civilitude is an engineering and planning company that also started a company called Capital A Housing which has projects that have substantial affordability components. They are proposing to develop a small infill affordable housing development on the property. They are proposing to rezone the property from SF-3-NP to SF-4A-NP which is a weird rezoning because you don’t see this zoning very often. SF-4A-NP is actually a down- zoning because with SF-3 you could have two dwelling units per lot with a duplex configuration, but with SF-4A you can only build one dwelling unit. We plan to use Affordability Unlocked which is a tool available for any residential lot in town that at least half the units are affordable. With SF-3 the impervious cover maximum is 45%, but with SF- 4A it is 65% maximum impervious cover. When we met with the neighborhood we heard that parking is a concern, so with each unit there will be a parking space for each unit. With the driveways and parking for each dwelling unit we will need the higher impervious cover. We plan to have front porches for every unit because we think it’s important for people to engage in the community. We also plan to have trees in the front yard. We tried to get street trees but unfortunately the City regulations were not conducive for this. Conor Kenny said they have already submitted applications to the city to lower the affordability level of all of our units down to 70% of the Austin median family income, which is about $65,000 for a family of four. The reason that we did that is because St. Johns income distribution is substantially lower than the city which is 80% for Austin medium family income. $80,000 a year is the upper end of income for St. Johns area. We really wanted this housing to be an opportunity for people who are rent stressed to be able to buy a home and build some equity. He said he wanted to point out that even though they are providing a parking spot in a driveway for every unit, there will be a driveway off of Providence Ave. There is a very good transit access adjacent to the property and our experience with these projects is some people will have one car, others may have two. You might see three cars parked on the street. Through our research we have not seen that Providence Avenue is highly parked so we don’t think parking will be an issue on Providence. After his presentation, the following questions were asked. 10 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 10 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 Q. What do you mean by “adequately parked”? A. We looked at similar developments with similar bedroom counts and we see how much parking people use and we look at on-street parking. We see how much parking is used on the street and we saw that Providence Avenue there is typically less than 50% of the street that is utilized. We are providing garage parking for every unit, but we think probably there will be a few additional cars on average that are not able to be served by that one car garage for each lot or for each unit. This is why there might be a few additional cars on the street, but in our view there is enough capacity to make up for that without having someone walk more than 30 feet from their car to their home. Q: I’m not sure the last time you saw the parking situation on Providence Avenue, but the house next to your property was remodeled and since then there have been trucks and cars parked on the left and right side of the road, even parking up to the stop sign. A: Unfortunately, with on-street parking people can go overboard. What the city and what we have found is that larger single-family homes typically come with more cars. We are not required to provide any parking, but we want to be good neighbors, so we added more parking than one spot per home. If we added more parking, we would have to reduce the number of housing units. People aren’t supposed to park within 15 feet of a stop sign or an intersection, but this is just what happens living the city. I wish I had a better answer. Q: Do you have any renderings of what the project will look like? A: We don’t have any renderings because this is a little infill project, but we are planning on having all the units with three-bedroom townhouses. They will be three stories but under the 35 feet allowed for any home in Austin. There will be a one-car garage and a small bedroom on the first floor, which could be an office or spare room. The second floor will be a big open space with the combined living, dinning and kitchen are. The third floor will have two additional bedrooms. These are intended to be family units based on the buyers we see for these kinds of homes. CITY COUNCIL DATE: Not scheduled at this time ACTION: 11 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 11 of 25B-6S.M.A.R.T. Housing Certification Letter Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 12 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 12 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 13 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 13 of 25B-6Applicant Summary Letter Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 14 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 14 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 Letter of Recommendation from the Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (NPCT) (No formal letter received as of September 7, 2021) Last email communication received: From: Akeem McLennon Sent: Wednesday, April 7, 2021 12:14 PM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Cc: jweeks <jweeks@ Anissa Carbajal-Diaz < >; Thelma Williams < >; B Taylor < >; Robert Meisel < >; Aisling O'Reilly <aisling@civilitude.com>; Conor Kenny <conor@civilitudegroup.com>; Chaffin, Heather <Heather.Chaffin@austintexas.gov> Subject: Re: NPCT Rec Ltr? April 13 PC: NPA-2021-0029.01.SH_1021 E. St. Johns Ave *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** OK, thanks. From what I recall, neighbors were generally in support of the development, but I'll send out an email to others to confirm before giving a recommendation. 15 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 15 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 16 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 16 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 17 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 17 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 18 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 18 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 19 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 19 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 20 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 20 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 21 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH Site: 1021 E. St. Johns Ave (0.29 acs) 21 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 Site View west of E. St. Johns Ave. Site View east on St. Johns Ave. 22 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 22 of 25B-6Presentation by Conor Kenny at the Feb. 25, 2021 Virtual Community Meeting Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 23 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 23 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 24 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 24 of 25B-6Planning Commission: September 14, 2021 25 NPA-2021-0029.01.SH 25 of 25B-6