09 NPA-2024-0016.01.SH - 4900 Gonzales Redevelopment; District 3 Staff Report — original pdf

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Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET DATE FILED: February 21, 2024 4900 Gonzales Street NEIGHORHOOD PLAN: Govalle/Johnston Terrace Combined CASE#: NPA-2024-0016.01.SH PROJECT NAME: 4900 Gonzales Redevelopment PC DATE: June 25, 2024 ADDRESS/ES: DISTRICT AREA: 3 SITE AREA: 19.8078 acres OWNER/APPLICANT: Austin Independent School District (A.I.S.D) 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 PHONE: (512) 974-2695 From: Civic Base District Zoning Change To: Mixed Use To: CS-MU-V-DB90-NP Related Zoning Case: C14-2024-0019.SH From: P-NP NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ADOPTION DATE: March 27, 2003 CITY COUNCIL DATE: TBD PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: June 25, 2024 - (action pending) ACTION: Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Recommended for the Applicant’s request for Mixed Use land use. BASIS FOR STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION: The property is approximately 20 acres owned by the Austin Independent School District (A.I.S.D). Currently, the District’s Alternative Learning Center operates on the property and is also the location of a several non-profit organizations. A.I.S.D. has partnered with The NRP Group to develop the property with approximately 600 – 700 apartments with a possibility for neighborhood- serving commercial uses, in addition, a new Alternative Learning Center campus will be built on the property. The project is S.M.A.R.T. Housing Certified which proposes approximately 350 affordable dwelling units. See information below. The project will help meet the Austin Strategic Housing Blueprint’s goal to provide affordable housing throughout the City. Staff supports the applicant’s request for Mixed Use land use because the property is located near existing Mixed Use land uses, has access to public transportation, is near three activity corridors (Springdale Road, Airport Blvd, and E. 7th Street) and is directly south of the Springdale Station Activity Center. Mixed Use land use is appropriate in this location. 2 Below are sections of the Govalle/Johnston Terrace Neighborhood Plan document staff believes supports the applicant’s request. Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 LAND USE DESCRIPTIONS: EXISTING LAND USE: Civic - Any site for public or semi fire facilities, hospitals, and public and private schools. Includes major religious facilities and other religious activities that are of a different type and scale than surrounding uses. Purpose public facilities, including governmental offices, police, ‐ 3 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 ‐ functional institutional uses that serve 1. Allow flexibility in development for major, multi the greater community; 2. Manage the expansion of major institutional uses to prevent unnecessary impacts on established neighborhood areas; 3. Preserve the availability of sites for civic facilities to ensure that facilities are adequate for population growth; 4. Promote Civic uses that are accessible and useable for the neighborhood resident and maintain stability of types of public uses in the neighborhood; 5. May include housing facilities that are accessory to a civic use, such as student dormitories; and 6. Recognize suitable areas for public uses, such as hospitals and schools, that will minimize the impacts to residential areas. Application 1. Any school, whether public or private; 2. Any campus major government administration facilities; 3. Any use that is always public in nature, such as fire and police stations, libraries, and museums; 4. Civic uses in a neighborhood setting that are of a significantly different scale than surrounding non 5. An existing civic use that is likely or encouraged to redevelop into a different land use should NOT be designated as civic; and 6. Civic uses that are permitted throughout the city, such as day care centers and religious assembly, should not be limited to only the civic land use designation. PROPOSED LAND USE: 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; oriented civic facility, including all hospitals, colleges and universities, and civic uses; ‐ ‐ 4 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 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. 5 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 Imagine Austin Decision Guidelines Complete Community Measures Yes Yes 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: • Near the Springdale Station Neighborhood Activity Center • Located within the triangle of Springdale Road, Airport Blvd and E. 7th Street activity corridors. Yes Mobility and Public Transit: Located within 0.25 miles of public transit stop and/or light rail station. Yes Mobility and Bike/Ped Access: Adjoins a public sidewalk, shared path, and/or bike lane. • Sidewalks on Gonzales Street, Shady Lane, and Mansell Ave. Yes Connectivity, Good and Services, Employment: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles to goods and services, and/or employment center. • Numerous businesses surround the property, especially on E. 7th Street and Airport Blvd. No Connectivity and Food Access: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of a grocery store/farmers market. • • • 0.7 miles from Native Grocery Store 0.7 miles from Boggy Creek Farmers Market 1 mile from HEB Yes Connectivity and Education: Located within 0.50 miles from a public school or university. • Site is currently the location of the A.I.S.D. Alternative Learning Center • • 0.9 miles from Brooke Elem. School 1 mile from Govalle Elementary School Yes Connectivity and Healthy Living: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles from a recreation area, park or walking trail. 0.5 miles from Guthrie Pocket Park 0.8 miles from Govalle Neighborhood Plan 1.8 miles from East Boggy Creek Greenbelt No 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.) 0.9 miles from Austin Regional Clinic East 1.3 miles from Ascension Medical Group Seton Primary Care McCarthy 1.5 miles from Zamora Medical Center Yes Housing Affordability: Provides a minimum of 10% of units for workforce housing (80% MFI or less) and/or fee in lieu for affordable housing. • S.M.A.R.T Housing Letter states 40% (280 units) at or below 80% MFI. Proposed unit mix 10% (70 units) at or below 60% MFI. 40% (280 units) at or below 80% MFI. Affordability period for S.M.A.R.T. units five years. See letter in the staff report. Yes 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. • Approx. 600 – 700 apartment units proposed Yes Mixed use: Provides a mix of residential and non-industrial uses. • Some neighborhood-serving commercial is proposed. No Culture and Creative Economy: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of a cultural resource (ex: library, theater, museum, cultural center). • • 0.7 miles from the Puerto Rican Cultural Center 0.9 miles from the Cepeda Library 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 No Not known at this time Not known at this 6 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 time training. No 9 Industrial Land: Preserves or enhances industrial land. Number of “Yes’s” Proximity to Imagine Austin Activity Centers and Activity Corridors 7  Proximity to Public Parks Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 8 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 Proximity to Public Transportation 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 9 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 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 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 10 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 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 applicant proposes to change the land use on the future land use map (FLUM) from Civic to Mixed Use land use. The applicant proposes to change the zoning on the property from P-NP (Public- Neighborhood Plan) to CS-MU-V-DB90-NP (General Commercial Services district – Mixed Use combining district – Vertical Mixed Use Building combining district – Density Bonus 90 combining district – Neighborhood Plan). For more information on the proposed zoning, see zoning case report C14-2024-0019.SH. The property is owned by Austin Independent School District (A.I.S.D.) and is approximately 19.8078 acres in size. Currently on the property is the school district’s Alternative Learning Center along with several non-profit organizations. A.I.S.D. proposes to lease the property to The NRP Group with plans to build approximately 600 – 700 apartment units within two buildings. Some neighborhood-serving commercial uses are proposed along with open space that will be available to the public. The project has been S.M.A.R.T. Housing certified. See full letter provided in this report. PUBLIC MEETINGS: The ordinance-required community meeting was virtually held on April 1, 2024. The recorded meeting can be found here: https://publicinput.com/neighborhoodplanamendmentcases. Approximately 544 meeting notices were mailed to people with utility accounts and to people who own property within 500 feet of the subject tract, in addition to neighborhood and environmental groups who requested notification for the area. Maureen Meredith from the Planning Department attended, in addition to Nikelle Meade and Grant Prengler from Husch Blackwell, the applicant’s agents. Also in attendance was Nick Walsh and Debra Guerrero from The NRP Group, Paul Saldana from Saldana Public Relations, Jeremy Striffler, Director of Real Estate, A.I.S.D., Sara Andre from Structure Development and Beth Guillot, Fuse Architecture Studio. Nine people from the neighborhood attended the meeting. 11 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 Below are highlights from Nikelle Meade’s presentation: It is currently where the Alternative Learning Center (ALC) for A.I.S.D. operates. It is currently zoned P-NP and the proposed zoning is CS-MU-V-DB90-NP. • The property is approximately 20 acres. It’s the Anita Ferrales Coy Facility. • AISD has owned the property since the 1950’s. • • • The FLUM change request is from Civic to Mixed Use land use. • The proposed development is a new Alternative Learning Centers Campus and 600- 700 apartments, parkland and open space that will be available for the public. • Over the past two years A.I.S.D. hosted a series of community meetings and various input opportunities on how to best respond to community needs and conducted a survey to gather information about employees experience with housing in Austin. • March 23, 2023 – The Austin ISD Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolutions to direct the Interim Superintendent to identify a development partner for the Coy Site. • AISD sought proposals from 14 qualified and experienced real estate developers to redevelop the Coy site into a new mixed income residential community offering housing that is affordable for our teachers, staff, and families, as well as the community at large. • November 2023 – The NRP Group was selected as Austin ISD’s partner in the development. • The NRP Group will be solely responsible for the cost of constructing, managing and operating the housing and associated amenities. In addition, the district will use generated revenue from the site to construct a new facility for the ALC. Q: I see some trees have already been marked. Is that indicating trees to be taken out on the property? A: We are preparing a tree survey, so that is why you’re seeing marked trees on the property. No trees have been marked for removal at this time. Q: What is the Medium Family Income? How many units will be for staff and families? A: At least 50% of the units will be affordable for families earning at least 80% MFI or below. Now the proposal is for 10% of those units to be at 50% and 40 % to be at 80%. AISD determined that this meets the target that their teachers and staff can afford. Q: My experience with AISD renovations that they have raised the finish floor between four and five feet. Will that happen here? My concern is having neighbor’s yards and gardens five feet lower than A.I.S.D. property. It is unsafe, unpleasant, and ugly. A: We are not at the point of knowing if a change in finished floor elevation will occur. We are currently working with engineers to define the exact area that is buildable. That makes sense and is great feedback. We don't have an answer yet, but I appreciate getting your thoughts. I will make sure to relay that concern to the design team and welcome your follow up. 12 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 Q: Will it be only residential? Is there commercial proposed? A: We are looking at potential of some neighborhood-scaled commercial, but we have not finalized it yet or defined it at this time. It will not be most of the room on the site. Q: Will the non-profits there now. Will they be allowed to come back? A: There are discussion to keep the non-profits on the site and maybe have more located there. Q: What is the vision for the City to continue to own the site in the future? A: The property is owned by A.I.S.D. and not the City. A.I.S.D. will continue to own the site in perpetuity. There are no instructions from the Board of Trustees to sell the property. Q: What community engagement has been done or is planned to be done? There are special events coming up where you can do outreach. A: The City sends out notification to people who live within 500 feet of the property when zoning and plan amendment cases are filed. Also, we have posted signs on the site with our phone numbers on the signs and QR codes so people find information. This is the beginning the process. Thank you for letting us know about the events coming up. We have a robust community engagement plan. Q: How does A.I.S.D. Administration respond to creating affordable housing for staff when AISD is causing the problem for staff who needs affordable housing? A: Jeremy Striffler, AISD: Our leadership and Board of Trustees knows more than anyone that our teachers and staff should be paid more. We have gone into a $50 million deficit after a 7% increase for all our teachers and librarians this fiscal year along with a $4.00 per hour increase for all our classified staff. The fact of the matter is $950 million of our property taxes that we all pay are leaving Austin ISD and going directly to the State to distributed to other school districts or is being pushed over into the General Fund for the State of Texas. In addition, the State of Texas pays $4,000 less per average to the national average per student, so it’s not, per se, just an issue of the District not wanting to pay more, that’s far from it, it's an issue that we can’t pay more at this point. Q: Is AISD considering selling the property? A: The property has the ALC Students that have been moved around a lot. We want them to be in this building. If we sell the site, they will have no where to go. We will be ground- leasing land and will retain full ownership. A one-time check doesn’t really benefit a school district our size. Q: My concerns are about the demolition of the current building and if there will asbestos in the building that will be disbursed into the air. What are the safety precautions will be taken? A: Demolition will be done with all proper procedures and notifications in place. We will work with a license firm to access if there is asbestos on the property. The building was built in the 1950’s so there is a possibility it is present on the site. It will need to be removed and remediated prior to demolish taking place to limit exposure. 13 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 Q: With 600-700 apartments on a 20-acre site, how was this number determined? This will more than double the apartments in the neighborhood. Also, how much will be a mixed use building and how much will be green space? A: We are currently anticipating for this site the new Alternative Learning Center (ALC) and two apartment buildings. The phasing and the unit count has not been finalized. That is roughly a two-to-three hundred dwelling units per apartment building which is similar in size to existing apartment buildings in the neighborhood. We want to go with a similar design as properties in the neighborhood although plans have not been finalized. We want to maximize the green space that is available to tenants and to the neighborhood. We spent many months proposing a project to A.I.S.D. and worked with building massing studies, putting blocks on site plans trying to determine what can be fit on the property with the goal to preserve open space. We took into consideration any flood plain issues, set back requirements, etc. to come to these numbers. Q: Is this something people of Austin voted on that AISD be a landlord for 600 residents? A: Austin ISD is leasing the land to The NRP Group who will be solely responsible for the cost to build and to maintain the housing. They will be the landlord, not A.I.S.D. Q: Is there any speculation of what will happen with the surrounding property values with this new development? A: It’s difficult to say. The school will still be there, so that won’t change. It’s difficult to say how this will affect the single-family development because it’s a totally different use. Overall, new development is difficult to directly attribute to the increase in property values in an area. Q: Is there a target for what the units will cost or an amount in rent you don’t want to exceed? A: These are rental units and not for sale. It will be a mix of income restricted units and non- income restricted units at various income levels, 50% to 80% MFI and no greater than 110% MFI. Q: With the significant volume of apartments proposed, traffic safety is a concern. Is there going to be a focus on transportation and bike lanes in the area? A: We are in the initial stages of traffic study, I can’t say at this point where bike lanes will go, for example. We are working with the City on this and will mitigate any traffic impacts. 14 S.M.A.R.T. Housing Letter Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 15 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 16 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 Applicant Summary Letter from Application 17 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 Letter of Recommendation from the Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (NPCT) From: Daniel Llanes < Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2024 4:03 PM To: Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov> Cc: Meade, Nikelle <Nikelle.Meade@huschblackwell.com>; Tomko, Jonathan <Jonathan.Tomko@austintexas.gov>; Candi Fox < >; Raul Alvarez < > Subject: Re: G/JT NPCT Rec?: NPA-2024-0016.01.SH_4900 Gonzales St Importance: High External Email - Exercise Caution Hi Maureen, Sorry for the late response. Discussed this case with the consultant few days ago, said he would talk to his client, and only heard back from him just now. Please include our recommendation in the case file. Re: NPA-2024-0016.01.SH and C14-2024-0019.SH_4900 Gonzales Street The Govalle/Johnston Terrace Neighborhood Contact Team is Opposed to the rezoning to DB90. Our Neighborhood Plan calls for a maximum of 60’ and no other project has gone above that height limit in our planning area. 7th St is the “ V" corridor in our Neighborhood Plan. We already supported this project in including the 5th St. section to “V” to be consistent with the 7th St. Please keep in mind that DB90 is an attempt replace the VMU 2 attempted designation, which was struck down by the courts, and may be going the same way. In this particular case, the Contact Team already helped the developer by supporting inclusion of “V” on the 5th St portion. Feels like “give them an inch and they’ll take a mile”. Thank you, Daniel Llanes, Chair G/JTNP Contact Team 512-431-9665 …………. 18 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 Site 19 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 20 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 21 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 22 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 23 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 24  Nikelle Meade’s Presentation at the April 1, 2024 Cmty Meeting Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 25 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 26 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 27 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 28 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 29 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 30 Planning Commission: June 25, 2024 Correspondence Received (No correspondence received as of June 20, 2024) 31