20240528-009: NPA-2023-0019.01 - Duval Residences; District 9 — original pdf

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Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET NEIGHORHOOD PLAN: Central Austin Combined CASE#: NPA-2023-0019.01 PROJECT NAME: Duval Street Residences PC DATE: May 28, 2024 May 14, 2024 DATE FILED: December 18, 2023 3303, 3305 Duval Street and 501, 505 Harris Avenue ADDRESS/ES: DISTRICT AREA: 9 SITE AREA: 0.3154 acres OWNER/APPLICANT: 3305 Duval St, LLC / Joshua Lake McGuire AGENT: Clean Tag Permits (Linda Sullivan) CASE MANAGER: Maureen Meredith STAFF EMAIL: Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov TYPE OF AMENDMENT: Change in Future Land Use Designation PHONE: (512) 974-2695 To: Multifamily Residential From: Single Family Base District Zoning Change Related Zoning Case: C14-2024-0035 From: SF-3-NP NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ADOPTION DATE: CITY COUNCIL DATE: TBD To: MF-1-CO-NP August 25, 2004 ACTION: Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: May 28, 2024- (action pending). May 14, 2024 - Postponed to May 28, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of staff due to an agenda posting error. [G. Anderson – 1st; A. Woods – 2nd] Vote: 11-0 [G. Cox and J. Mushtaler off the dais. A. Haynes abstained from Item #27]. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Recommended for the applicant’s request for Multifamily Residential land use. BASIS FOR STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION: Staff supports the applicant’s request for Multifamily Residential land use because Multifamily Residential land use is appropriate in this location. The property has five existing dwelling units that the applicant seeks to preserve. The five dwelling units will provide housing choices for the area and the City. The property has access to public transportation, is near two grocery stores, restaurants and is approximately ½-mile north from The University of Texas. There is existing Multifamily Residential land use on the west side of Duval Street, approximately 0.8 miles south of the property. 2 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 Below are sections form the Central Austin Combined Neighborhood Plan document. The plan focuses on preserving the single-family homes; however, this property has five existing dwelling units with SF-3-CO-NP zoning. Considering the City’s need for housing, staff is not supportive of reducing the number of available housing units. 3 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 LAND USE DESCRIPTIONS: EXISTING LAND USE Single family - Single family detached or up to three 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 Multifamily Residential - Higher‐density housing with four or more dwelling units on one lot. Purpose 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 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 4. Applied to existing or proposed mobile home parks. Application 1. Existing apartments should be designated as multifamily unless designated as mixed use; 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. Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No No No No No No Imagine Austin Decision Guidelines Complete Community Measures Imagine Austin Growth Concept Map: Located within or adjacent to an Imagine Austin Activity Center, Imagine Austin Activity Corridor, or Imagine Austin Job Center as identified the Growth Concept Map. Name(s) of Activity Center/Activity Corridor/Job Center: Mobility and Public Transit: Located within 0.25 miles of public transit stop and/or light rail station. • Bus routes along Duval Road and E. 38th Street Mobility and Bike/Ped Access: Adjoins a public sidewalk, shared path, and/or bike lane. Connectivity, Good and Services, Employment: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles to goods and services, and/or employment center. • • 0.4 miles north of shops and restaurants on San Jacinto Blvd. 0.6 miles south of shops at Duval Road and E. 43rd Street Connectivity and Food Access: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of a grocery store/farmers market. • • 0.7 miles from Fresh Plus Grocery Store 1.1 miles to HEB on Red River St. Yes Connectivity and Education: Located within 0.50 miles from a public school or university. • 0.4 miles from Russell Lee Elementary School • ~0.5 miles from The University of Texas at Austin • 1.3 miles from Maplewood Elementary School Yes Connectivity and Healthy Living: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles from a recreation area, park or walking trail. 0.4 miles from Sparky Pocket Park • • Approx. 0.5 miles from Hancock Recreation Center and Golf Course Connectivity and Health: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of health facility (ex: hospital, urgent care, doctor’s office, drugstore clinic, and/or specialized outpatient care.) • 0.7 miles from St. David’s Medical Center Housing Affordability: Provides a minimum of 10% of units for workforce housing (80% MFI or less) and/or fee in lieu for affordable housing. Housing Choice: Expands the number of units and housing choice that suits a variety of household sizes, incomes, and lifestyle needs of a diverse population (ex: apartments, triplex, granny flat, live/work units, cottage homes, and townhomes) in support of Imagine Austin and the Strategic Housing Blueprint. Mixed use: Provides a mix of residential and non-industrial uses. Culture and Creative Economy: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of a cultural resource (ex: library, theater, museum, cultural center). Culture and Historic Preservation: Preserves or enhances a historically and/or culturally significant site. Creative Economy: Expands Austin’s creative economy (ex: live music venue, art studio, film, digital, theater.) Workforce Development, the Economy and Education: Expands the economic base by creating permanent jobs, especially in industries that are currently not represented in particular area or that promotes a new technology, and/or promotes educational opportunities and workforce development training. Industrial Land: Preserves or enhances industrial land. 5 6 Number of “Yes’s” Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 Imagine Austin Priority Program PUD Specific Bonus Features Public Space Features and Public Art: Incorporates public space features and/or public art into project (Ex: plazas, streetscapes, gardens, and other people-friendly spaces where different ages can socially interact). Integrates and/or Expands Green Infrastructure: Preserves or expands Austin’s green infrastructure (ex: parkland, community gardens, green streets, creeks, stormwater features that mimic natural hydrology) into the urban environment and transportation network. Protects the Environment: Reduces greenhouse gas emissions, water, energy usage, and/or increases waste diversion. Protects Environmentally Sensitive Lands: Protects Austin’s natural resources and environmental systems by limiting land use and transportation development over or near environmentally sensitive areas, preserves open space, and protects natural resources more than ordinance requirements. Water/Wastewater Infrastructure: Sustainably manages Austin’s water resources and stream corridors through on-site use of storm water, effective landscaping, flood mitigation, and other low- impact development techniques more than ordinance requirements. Total Number of “Yes’s” n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a PUD Zoning is NOT proposed Proximity to Imagine Austin Activity Centers and Corridors 6 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 Proximity to Public Transportation 7 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 Proximity to Public Parks 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 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 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. Activity Centers for Redevelopment in Sensitive Environmental Areas - Five centers are located over the recharge or contributing zones of the Barton Springs Zone of the Edwards Aquifer or within water-supply watersheds. These centers are located on already developed areas and, in some instances, provide opportunities to address long-standing water quality issues and provide walkable areas in and near existing neighborhoods. State-of-the-art development practices will be required of any redevelopment to improve stormwater retention and the water quality flowing into the aquifer or other drinking water sources. These centers should also be carefully evaluated to fit within their infrastructural and environmental context. 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 9 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 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 December 18, 2023. The applicant proposes to change the future land use map from Single Family to Multifamily Residential land use. The applicant proposes to change the zoning on the property from SF-3-CO-NP (Family Residence district – Conditional Overlay combining district – Neighborhood Plan) to MF-1- CO-NP (Multifamily Low-Density district – Conditional Overlay combining district – Neighborhood Plan). There are five existing residential units on the property. The applicant requests a rezoning to make the five dwelling units conforming uses so updates can be made to the units. For more information on the zoning request, see case report C14-2024-0035. PUBLIC MEETINGS: The ordinance-required community meeting was virtually held on March 6, 2024. The virtual meeting can be found here: https://publicinput.com/l0711. Approximately 298 community meeting notices were mailed to people who rent or own property within 500 feet of the property in addition to neighborhood and environmental groups who requested notification for the area on the Community Registry. Two city staff members attended the meeting, Maureen Meredith and Mark Walters from the Planning Department. Linda Sullivan from CleanTag Permits, the applicant’s agent attended and eight people from the neighborhood. Below are highlights from Linda Sullivan’s presentation: • There are no plans to change the character of the structures. • The rear residence was built in 1938, based on what the permit said. That was constructed pre-WWII. It was originally a garage with an apartment residence above. • The front residence was constructed as a duplex in 1947. Since 1947 there has never been fewer than three units on the property. • Since that time, the rear units were remodeled (without permits) to have two-units in the back and then a third area, that was a storage area, was turned into an apartment in the 1980’s as best as we can tell. • Since the early 1990’s there have been five residences on the property. • My client bought the property in late 2020 and found deficiencies in the property. The property was not maintained properly. He attempted to get building permits to make updates, which is when he discovered the property was not legal to have five units. He decommissioned the efficiency apartment because it was not livable. 10 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 • He has made repairs that do not need permits and some repairs with permits. • He could subdivide the lot into two lots, which would cause some demolitions because of the rear unit is over the setbacks and would require another curb cut. And the two residences on the property would not meet the new setbacks because of the new lot lines, demolition would have to happen. • The least disruption would be the MF-1-NP, which would allow up to 17 units per acre, but this lot size allows a maximum of five units, which is already there. • The plan is to maintain both structures. Early in the process demolition permits were approved by the COA and the Historic Preservation Office, but we don’t plan to use them because reuse of the structures is the goal. • The owner would like to remodel and possibly add on to the front structure and add on to the back. The front structure would remain a duplex and the back structure could remain three units depending on how best to use the residences. Both have been cleared for structural integrity, so they can be reused. Q: Why aren’t there other options for these illegal uses without the upzoning? A: We have exhausted all other ways. We tried amnesty, but because they are illegal, the amnesty doesn’t work. This is the only way to move forward other than complete demolition. Board of Adjustment is an option for the setbacks, but not for the number of units on the lot. Q: You said if you subdivided you would need two curb cuts, but with parking no longer required, why? A: Because people would still probably want to park off-street, and I assume the neighborhood would not want the property with no off-street parking. There would not be another curb cut if left as it is. Q: Would you be OK with a CO to a maximum of five dwelling units? A: It would not be necessary because the lot could not support more than five units. Q: Will you need to exceed the 40% impervious cover? A: I believe it maxed out as it is. The SF and the MF-1 is about the same at this point, with the HOME Amendment. Q: Is there a way for the City to say this is an exception and would not set a precedent? A: A conditional overlay would not set a precedent. I don’t know of a City tool that would address this. Q: Would there be a need for any variances if the zoning is approved? A: No. There is no intention to do anything that would not be allowed in MF-1. Q: What is the City’s position on Spot Zoning? A: Staff: We will have to differ to the City’s Law Dept. Q: It sounds like you are saying if we don’t get the MF-1 zoning we demolish the buildings and the new HOME initiative because we have the permits to do it. 11 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 A: Sorry if that is what it sounds like, but that is not our intention. The demolition permits were obtained because we initially did not know how structurally sound the structures were and if we waited too long, we needed to know what the options are. This was advice given from the City. Comments: • We followed the law for our property on Duval Street and didn’t add illegal dwelling units. • What would stop any other property owner on Duval Street with 15,000 sq. ft. ask for MF-1? This is a domino with zoning on Duval Street. I am very sympathetic to people who live on Duval Street. • 12  Applicant Summary Letter from Application Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 13 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 Letter of Recommendation from the Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (NPCT) 14 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 Site 15 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 16 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 17 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 18 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 19 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 20 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 21 Correspondence Received Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 From: Mary Ingle Sent: Tuesday, May 7, 2024 10:42 AM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Cc: Hadri, Cynthia <Cynthia.Hadri@austintexas.gov> Subject: 3305 Duval NP Amendment & C14-2024-0035 Dear Maureen, I would like to submit this Public Hearing Comment form for 3305 Duval ST. Thank you-M 22  Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 23 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 From: Betsy Greenberg Sent: Tuesday, May 7, 2024 12:07 PM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Cc: Hadri, Cynthia <Cynthia.Hadri@austintexas.gov>; CANPAC <canpacaustin@googlegroups.com> Subject: NPA-2023-0019.01 and C14-2024-0035 (Duval Street Residences This property is surrounded by single family properties and should not be spot zoned to multifamily. Similarly, the plan amendment changing the use to multifamily should not be approved. Rationale: 1) This property is 13576.04 sq ft which is more than large enough to subdivide into two properties that each could accommodate 3 units while retaining the current zoning classification. MF-1 is not required to retain the existing units. 2) The conversions of the garage and shed into living units were done illegally. This behavior should not be used to justify a zoning change and plan amendment. Thank you, Betsy Greenberg 24 Planning Commission: May 28, 2024 25