B-15 (NPA-2021-0002.01 - 1400 E. 4th Street; District 3).pdf — original pdf

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Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET NEIGHORHOOD PLAN: East Cesar Chavez and Plaza Saltillo (TOD) Station Area Plan CASE#: NPA-2021-0002.01 PROJECT NAME: 1400 E. 4th Street PC DATE: February 8, 2022 January 11, 2022 DATE FILED: July 26, 2021 (In-cycle) ADDRESS/ES: 1400 E. 4th Street DISTRICT AREA: 3 SITE AREA: 0.9982 acres OWNER/APPLICANT: Robert C. Beall & Beth A. Beall AGENT: Armbrust & Brown, PLLC (Richard T. Shuttle, Jr.) CASE MANAGER: Maureen Meredith STAFF EMAIL: Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov TYPE OF AMENDMENT: Change in Future Land Use Designation PHONE: (512) 974-2695 From: Specific Regulating District To: Specific Regulating District Base District Zoning Change Related Zoning Case: C14-2021-0138 From: TOD-NP To: TOD-NP (to change conditions of zoning) NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ADOPTION DATE: East Cesar Chavez NPA approved May 13, 1999. Plaza Saltillo TOD Station Area Plan approved December 11, 2008 CITY COUNCIL DATE: To be scheduled PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: February 8, 2022 - ACTION: 1 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 January 11, 2022 – Postponed to February 8, 2022 on the consent agenda at the request of the neighborhood. [A. Azhar – 1st; J. P. Connolly – 2nd] Vote: 11-0 [C. Hempel abstained from Items B-4 and B-5. P. Howard and J. Mushtaler absent]. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To support the applicant’s request for a Base Maximum Building Height of 85 feet. BASIS FOR STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION: The property 0.99 acres on the north side of E. 4th Street between Navasota Street to the west and Onion Street to the east. The property is within the Central East Austin Neighborhood Plan and the Plaza Saltillo (TOD) Station Area Plan. Operating on the property is the Texas Coffee Traders where coffee is roasted and sold. To the north of the property is an apartment building. Directly northeast is the Plaza Saltillo Station and across Onion Street to the east is an event space and production studio. To the south across E. 4th Street is a vacant lot, a single-family home, and an apartment complex. The existing land use on the future land use map is Specific Regulating District. There is no proposed change to the future land use map (FLUM). The applicant proposes to amend the Base Maximum Building Height from 40 feet to 85 feet. The current Base Maximum Building Height is 40 feet but is allowed up to 60 feet through the Density Bonus Program. In order to increase the Base Maximum Height a plan amendment and zoning change application were required to go from 60 feet to 85 feet. A fee in lieu payment to increase the floor-area-ratio (FAR) will be required for the non-residential use proposed with this project. The proposed development is a six-story office building with ground floor restaurant uses and below grade parking. No residential units are proposed. Staff supports the request because the property is within ¼-mile of the E. 7th Street activity corridor, is within the Plaza Saltillo Neighborhood Center and is less than 50 feet from the Plaza Saltillo Station. The property is also directly south of a portion of the Red Line Parkway (Lance Armstrong Bikeway). The East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Plan supports a mix of businesses in commercial area and retail and commercial services within walking distances from residential areas. 2 2 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 3 3 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 LAND USE DESCRIPTIONS EXISTING AND PROPOSED LAND USE ON THE PROPERTY Specific Regulating District - This map designation is intended for areas that have an adopted regulating plan. This district will be identified on the Future Land Use Map, but is not considered a typical land use category. The purpose of this designation is to make the user aware of the Regulating Plan and that it should be reviewed for development regulations. Approved Regulating Plans: 1. Plaza Saltillo TOD Station Area Plan 2. Martin Luther King (MLK) Boulevard TOD Station Area Plan 3. Lamar/Justin TOD Station Area Plan 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 is a six-story office building. No residential units are proposed. The property is within the Plaza Saltillo Neighborhood Center and is directly southwest of the Plaza Saltillo Station. There are numerous businesses in the vicinity. 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 directly south of the Metro Rail tracks and is southwest of the Plaza Saltillo Station. 4 4 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 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 within the Plaza Saltillo Activity Center and approximately ½ mile from the E. 7th Street 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 is a six-story office building. No residential units are proposed. 5. Ensure harmonious transitions between adjacent land uses and development intensities. • The property is within the Plaza Saltillo Activity center and within 50 feet of the Plaza Saltillo Station and where higher density developments are appropriate. 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 within 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. • The development is proposed to include green areas/space on the four sides of the development. 8. Protect, preserve and promote historically and culturally significant areas. 5 5 of 41B-15 • To staff’s knowledge there is no historic or cultural significance to this property. Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 9. Encourage active and healthy lifestyles by promoting walking and biking, healthy food choices, access to affordable healthcare, and to recreational opportunities. • The area is in a walkable and bikeable environment close to numerous commercial uses. 10. Expand the economic base, create job opportunities, and promote education to support a strong and adaptable workforce. • The six-story office building could create jobs opportunities for the area and the city. creative art forms. 11. Sustain and grow Austin’s live music, festivals, theater, film, digital media, and new • The property is located near Downtown where live music venues are located primarily along E. 6th Street. 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 41B-15Imagine Austin Growth Concept Map Activity Centers and Corridors Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 7 7 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 Proximity to Park Facilities 8 8 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 Proximity to Public Transportation Facilities 9 9 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 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. 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. Regional Centers - Regional centers are the most urban places in the region. These centers are and will become the retail, cultural, recreational, and entertainment destinations for Central Texas. These are the places where the greatest density of people and jobs and the tallest buildings in the region will be located. Housing in regional centers will mostly consist of low to high-rise apartments, mixed use buildings, row houses, and townhouses. However, other housing types, such as single-family units, may be included depending on the location and character of the center. The densities, buildings heights, and overall character of a center will depend on its location. 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. 10 10 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 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 29, 2021, which is in- cycle for neighborhood planning area located on the east side if I.H.-35. The existing land use on the future land use map is Specific Regulating District. The plan amendment application is not requesting a change is the future land use. Because the property is within a Station Area Plan (Plaza Saltillo TOD), the Land Development Code requires proposed changes to go through the plan amendment process, which required this plan amendment application and the ordinance-required community meeting. 25-2-766.23 AMENDMENTS TO STATION AREA PLAN. (A) Council may, by zoning ordinance, amend a station area plan at any time. (B) Amendments to a station area plan may be proposed by land owners not more than once each calendar year for each property owned. (C) For a station area plan that is within an adopted neighborhood plan area, an amendment to the station area plan must be reviewed and approved in accordance with the neighborhood plan amendment process established by council. The applicant proposes to amend the Base Maximum Building Height from 40 feet to 85 feet. The current Base Maximum Building Height is 40 feet but is allowed up to 60 feet through the Density Bonus Program. In order to increase the Base Maximum Height a plan amendment and zoning change application were required to go from 60 feet to 85 feet. A fee in lieu payment to increase the floor-area-ratio (FAR) will be required for the non-residential 11 11 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 use proposed with this project. Please see the associated zoning case report C14-2021-0138 for more details on the proposed change. PUBLIC MEETINGS: The ordinance-required community meeting was virtually held on September 23, 2021. The recorded meeting can be found here https://www.speakupaustin.org/npa. Approximately 1,858 notices were mailed to renters and property owners with in 500 feet of the property, in addition to neighborhood and environmental groups who requested notification for the area on the Community Registry. Maureen Meredith and Mark Walters from the Housing and Planning Department attended the meeting, in addition to Amanda Morrow and Richard Suttle from Armbrust and Brown, the applicant’s agents. Also in attendance were Clay Golden and David Blackbird from Stream Realty. Fourteen people from the neighborhood attended the meeting. After city staff gave a brief presentation, Amanda Morrow, from Armbrust and Brown, provided the following information. Her presentation is provided at the back of this report. • The property is the home of the Texas Coffee Traders. The prospective owners want to build an office building. Stream Realty Partners has the property under contract. • Proposed is an 85-foot building with six stories. • The development will activate all four sides of the building. • There’s a Pecan tree on the property that will be preserved and incorporated into the • The Lance Armstrong Bikeway is to the north, Onion Street to the east, E. 4th Street to the south and Navasota to the west. The design of the building is recessed to allow a pedestrian atmosphere around the building. There is a 25-foot-wide paseo between the two buildings running north and south from E. 4th Street and the Lance Armstrong Bikeway. • There is a proposed restaurant along Navasota Street side with a deck around the Pecan tree that will be preserved. • Some concepts for the retail areas are a coffee shop and bike shop on the ground project. floor. • Underground parking entrance would be off E. 4th Street. • The proposed FAR 3.8:1. Maximum square 16,5400 sq. feet. Participation in the Density Bonus at $12 per square foot would be $942,000 for the fee-in-lieu because there are no residential uses proposed for the site. Q: Does the building have parking? A: There will be underground parking. Q: How many stories on the building to the north? A: I believe that’s a five-story apartment project. Q: Have there been any buildings higher than 40 or 60 approved south of railroad tracks? A: Foundry Two is a six-story office project. They were approved for 74 feet. 12 12 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 Q: To what extent are the ground floor green areas be public? A: Its plan is for public activation space throughout. It will not be gated off. Q: What about the construction traffic coming of Onion Street? A: That has not been determined yet. Most of the traffic will flow north/south and east/west. Q: Habitat owns the two lots to the south and they seem to be used for staging for construction. Do you plan to use this property as well? A: I don’t know what the future plans are for this property. Q: How is 60 feet allowable on the site? There’s a precedent of higher building closer to homes. A: The property is within the Plaza Saltillo TOD boundary. It has a by-right 40 feet and Density Bonus height of 60 feet. We are requesting to lift the by-right height to 85 feet and allow the density bonus to be paid in the FAR for the project. Q: Would this set a precedent to alter the height affect the rest of the properties in the TOD? A: I think there is a framework to ask for additional height to amend the base maps and that establishes that pathway forward. Q: This property is much closer to the residential neighborhood and doubling the building height is going too far. Allowing this base height to be increased does impact other parcels. A: The Fair Market project is to the north of this project, but we are close to the Plaza Saltillo Station. A 60-foot building with the Density Bonus is five-stories to a 6-story building at 85 feet and you get a much more useable floor plate and the pedestrian activation space at ground floor that you would not get with a 60-story building because you would have to build property line to property line to maximize and pick up that additional 27,000 square feet lost by staying at 60 feet in height. Q: How much affordable housing would the project have if it didn’t pay fee-in-lieu? A: The square footage difference between what is allowed at 2:1 FAR and then what you get if you increase that by five stories at 60 feet or six stories at 85 feet. At 2:1 you get 86,842 square feet if you build at five stories and 60 feet in height that’s additional 51,558 square feet with six stores. That pencils out to about 78,000 and some change so we would be asking to pay the fee-in-lieu for that additional density. Q: Has there been any consideration given to the surrounding residents and the vicinity in general as to the design of the building? Has there been any surveys made? A: There is the adjacent to the Plaza Saltillo Station and some other uses in the area and being down the street from Plaza Saltillo development, it seemed like a redevelopment corridor. Pulling the building back from the street to make it an inviting space as opposed to a big blocky building is not typical of developers I’ve worked with who really just want to maximize as much as they can at the ground level. Q: Why was the decision made to not include housing in this development? 13 13 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 A: Because Stream Realty is an office developer. Q: Any plans on how to change the bike lane that dumps into a one-way alley way in the opposite direction of the bike lane? Will this developer address this? A: There will be traffic mitigation required that ATD will identify through site plan process. It might be something they identify as an approvement. It will depend on if it’s in the ROW or on the private land. Q: Where is the closest single-family home from this development? A: There are two single family homes across the street and catty-corner from the property. Q: Is there an estimate of how long construction will take if approved? A: The site development process takes 9 to 12 months for approval. There will be about 18 months of construction after that. Q: Will the single-family home trigger Compatibility Standards? A: As the Plaza Saltillo Regulating Plan is written, Compatibility is triggered but can be waived through the Density Bonus Program. Q: Will construction close streets? A: Typically during development there are some street closures, but they will be staged so there is no negative impact. There will be a traffic control plan and will be approved through the permitting process. Q: So there is an alternative plan for 60 feet of height and five stories. Does this include retail business space? A: I haven’t seen a ground floor plan of what that would look like. Comments: • I own a business to the east. I think Stream has done a nice job of creating a good pedestrian experience and I support this development. 14 14 of 41B-15Applicant Summary Letter from Application Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 15 15 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 16 16 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 17 17 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 18 18 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 19 19 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 Letter of Recommendation from the Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (NPCT) N (No letter received as of January 4, 2022) 20 20 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 21 21 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 Site 22 22 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 Site 23 23 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 24 24 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 25 25 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 26 26 of 41B-15 Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 27 27 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 1400 E. 4th Street – subject tract View east 28 28 of 41B-15 View south View west Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 29 29 of 41B-15 Applicant’s Presentation at the September 23, 2021 Community Meeting Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 30 30 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 31 31 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 32 32 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 Correspondence Received 33 33 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 34 34 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 From: Cade Ritter Sent: Friday, September 24, 2021 4:00 PM To: Chaffin, Heather <Heather.Chaffin@austintexas.gov>; Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Subject: Expressing my support for the zoning amendment at 1400 E. 4th St. (ECC NP & Plaza Saltillo TOD) *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Hi there, I'm a neighbor in the area and was notified of this meeting. I just watched the video and wanted to express my strong support for allowing the building to be built higher than current code allows. We need as much density as possible in this area due to high transit density, cycling access and walkability of the neighborhood. Thanks, Cade Ritter 35 35 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 36 36 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 37 37 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 38 38 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 39 39 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 From: Barbara Joyce Sent: Tuesday, January 4, 2022 10:14 AM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Subject: Case Number NPA-2021-0002.01 *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Re: Case Number NPA-2021-0002.01 Contact: Maureen Meredith Public Hearing: Jan 11, 2022 I oppose the requested change to the Base Maximum Building Height from 40 feet to 85 feet. Thank you, Barbara Joyce 1213 E 2nd St Austin TX 78702 From: Pamela Colloff Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2022 11:25 PM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov>; Chaffin, Heather <Heather.Chaffin@austintexas.gov>; walters.mark@austintexas.gov Subject: Zoning Case #: C14-2021-0138 / 1400 E 4th Street *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Planning Commission: This email is in regard to: • Plan Amendment Case #: NPA-2021-0002.1 • Zoning Case #: C14-2021-0138 • Property Address: 1400 E 4th Street I am opposed to the extraordinary height that has been requested for this property, a property that is located in the heart of our residential neighborhood. East 4th Street is a quiet street lined mostly with single family homes and low-slung multi-family dwellings. The proposed height is in no way suitable for this location. This request makes a mockery of the many years of assurances that both the city and developers alike have given our neighborhood--assurances that requests of this kind would never, ever be considered south of Saltillo. Make no mistake about it: if this height is allowed, the rest of our residential neighborhood--a thin strip of single family homes that extends from E. 4th down to Cesar Chavez--will be open season for these height requests. This will set a new and dangerous precedent. 40 40 of 41B-15Planning Commission: February 8, 2022 Even the Saltillo Plaza development itself was only allowed to build at this height where Saltillo is adjacent to the Interstate. We all feared this day, however: that these height requests would be made deeper and deeper into the neighborhood. Now we are here. I am begging you to hold the line so that our residential neighborhood can peacefully co-exist along with Saltillo. Development and growth must occur in a way that is compatible with the heavily residential part of our neighborhood. This height request is in no way compatible. Sincerely, Pamela Colloff 1305 E. 2nd Street 512-550-2854 From: Cade Ritter Sent: Friday, January 7, 2022 6:34 PM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Subject: Support for NPA-2021-0002.01 rezoning *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Hi, I am emailing to express my support for this request for maximum building height. Austin needs density and we need it ASAP to meet our climate and affordability goals. Best, Cade 41 41 of 41B-15