11 NPA-2023-0005.01 - Montopolis-Fairway Mixed Use; District 3 Staff Report Part 1 — original pdf

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Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET DATE FILED: November 13, 2023 NEIGHORHOOD PLAN: Montopolis CASE#: NPA-2023-0005.01 PROJECT NAME: Montopolis-Fairway Mixed Use PC DATE: July 23, 2024 July 9, 2024 June 11, 2024 May 28, 2024 April 23, 2024 March 26, 2024 February 27, 2024 January 23, 2024 December 12, 2023 ADDRESS/ES: 1614 Montopolis Drive; 6205, 6211, 6215 Fairway Street DISTRICT AREA: SITE AREA: 1.91 acres OWNER/APPLICANT: 3rd Angle Developments LLC, 1614 Montopolis LLC and Ben 6202, 6204 Caddie Street; 1600, 1604, 1606, 1608, 1610, 1612, and 3 PHONE: (512) 974-2695) S. Cobos AGENT: Thrower Design, LLC (Ron Thrower and Victoria Haase) CASE MANAGER: Maureen Meredith STAFF EMAIL: Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov TYPE OF AMENDMENT: Change in Future Land Use Designation From: Single Family and Civic To: Mixed Use Base District Zoning Change Related Zoning Case: C14-2024-0015 From: SF-3-NP and GR-NP To: CS-DB90-NP Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 ACTION: NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ADOPTION DATE: September 27, 2001 CITY COUNCIL DATE: TBD PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: July 23, 2024 – (action pending) July 9, 2024 – Postponed to July 23, 2024 at the request of the Neighborhood. [A. Azhar – 1st; F. Maxwell – 2nd] Vote: 7-0 [G. Cox, J. Mushtaler, and N. Barrera-Ramirez noted nay. P. Howard and A. Phillips absent]. June 11, 2024- Postponed to July 9, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of Staff. [A. Azhar – 1st; F. Maxwell – 2nd] Vote: 10-0 [J. Mushtaler off the dais. G. Cox and N. Barrera- Ramirez absent]. May 28, 2024 – Postponed to June 11, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of staff. [F. Maxwell – 1st; A. Woods – 2nd] Vote: 10-0 [P. Howard and A. Phillips absent]. April 23, 2024- Case was renotified for May 28, 2024 due to an error on the postponement date. March 26, 2024- Postponed to April 23, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of Staff. [A. Azhar – 1st; F. Maxwell – 2nd] Vote: 10-0 [G. Anderson off the dais. P. Howard and A. Phillips absent]. February 27, 2024 - Postponed to March 26, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of the Applicant. [A. Azhar – 1st; A. Woods – 2nd] Vote: 11-0 [J. Mushtaler off the dais. F. Maxwell absent]. January 23, 2024 – Postponed to February 27, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of the Applicant. [G. Anderson- 1st; F. Maxwell – 2nd] Vote: 11-0 [J.P. Connolly and A. Woods absent]. December 12, 2023 – Postponed to January 23, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of the Applicant. [F. Maxwell – 1st: A. Azhar – 2nd] Vote: 11-0 [N. Barrera-Ramirez and P. Howard absent]. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To support the Applicant’s request for Mixed Use land use. BASIS FOR STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION: Staff supports the applicant’s request for Mixed Use land use because the proposed zoning could provide a mix of housing options and commercial services to the area. The property is located within the Riverside Station 2 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 Neighborhood Activity Center as identified on the Imagine Austin Growth Concept Map. The property is near existing public transportation and approximately 0.20 miles from the intersection of Montopolis Drive and East Riverside Drive where a proposed Project Connect Blue Line stop is proposed for the line that will run from the North Lamar Transit Center to Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Below are sections of the Montopolis Neighborhood Plan that states a desire to have a mix of uses along Montopolis Drive but to also preserve the single family zoning and land uses in the planning area, and to create homes for all stages of life in the planning area. The proposed zoning could allow for additional housing options and services for the area. 3 Proximity to Imagine Austin Activity Centers and Corridors Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 4 Planning Commission: July 23, 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 5 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 ‐ ‐ functional institutional uses that serve public facilities, including governmental offices, police, 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. 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 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. oriented civic facility, including all hospitals, colleges and universities, and civic uses; ‐ ‐ 6 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 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; 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. 7 Planning Commission: July 23, 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: • Within the Riverside Station Town Center Activity Center • Approx. 0.20 miles north of East Riverside Drive an Activity Corridor Yes 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. Yes Connectivity, Good and Services, Employment: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles to goods and services, and/or employment center. Connectivity and Food Access: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of a grocery store/farmers market. • • • 0.2 miles from Tomgro Grocery 0.3 miles from JDs Supermarket #9 0.8 miles from Vargas Food Store Yes Connectivity and Education: Located within 0.50 miles from a public school or university. 0.4 miles from IDEA Montopolis 1.0 mile from Allison Elementary School 1.0 mile from Baty 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 Montopolis Recreation and Community Center 0.5 miles from Montopolis Park No Yes Yes 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.) Housing Affordability: Provides a minimum of 10% of units for workforce housing (80% MFI or less) and/or fee in lieu for affordable housing. • DB90 would require 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. • The site could accommodate approx. 180 dwelling units. Yes Mixed use: Provides a mix of residential and non-industrial uses. • The proposed CS-DB90-NP zoning could accommodate approx. 180 dwelling units and approx. 5,000 sq. ft. of retail and 5,000 sq. ft. of office uses although no formal site plan. Yes Culture and Creative Economy: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of a cultural resource (ex: library, theater, museum, cultural center). • 0.5 miles from Ruiz Branch, Austin Public Library No Not Known Not Known No 11 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. Number of “Yes’s” 8 Proximity to Imagine Austin Activity Centers and Corridors Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 9  Proximity to Public Parks Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 10 Planning Commission: July 23, 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 11 Planning Commission: July 23, 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 12 Planning Commission: July 23, 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 future land use map (FLUM) from Single Family and Civic to Mixed Use. The applicant proposes to change the zoning on the property from SF-3-NP (Family Residence District – Neighborhood Plan) and GR-NP (Community Commercial district- Neighborhood Plan) to CS-DB90-NP (General Commercial Services district – Density Bonus – Neighborhood Plan). For more information on the proposed zoning see zoning case report C14-2024-0015. PUBLIC MEETINGS: The ordinance-required community meeting was virtually held on April 24, 2024. Approximately 463 meeting notices were mailed to people who have a utility account or own property within 500 feet of the subject property. Two staff members from the Planning Department attended, Maureen Meredith and Mark Walters, in addition to Victoria Haase from Thrower Desing, LLC, the applicant’s agent. Five people from the neighborhood attended. Below are highlights from Victoria Haase’s presentation: • We are requesting a change in the future land use map from Single Family and Civic to Mixed Use on all the parcels. • There are multiple owners of the seven parcels. • There was at one point a small strip center, but now there is just a concrete slab. • There is an associated rezoning with the plan amendment application where we are asking for CS-DB90-NP. This will allow for this site to achieve a greater number of units and income-restricted affordable units as well. • The site is close to the East Riverside Corridor and the Imagine Austin activity • corridor that runs along East Riverside Corridor. It’s about a ¼-mile from the Montopolis Recreation Center and about a ¼-mile from the intersection of Montopolis Drive and East Riverside Drive which is where the proposed stop for the Blue Line is located. • The property is beneficial to gaining density because it is close to existing transit and where a more robust transit is planned in the future. The Project Connect Blue Line will have a stop at Montopolis Drive and East Riverside Drive • There is great access to services and will be more in the future. These services are within walking distance and that means there will be less reliance on a car for someone who may not want to or can afford to have a car. • This is why we are asking for this zoning at this location. • I know there are concerned about displacement, but the properties currently do not have development on them and will not increase the property values on the 13 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 surrounding properties. Any new development will not have direct impact on the single family homes in the area. But if the zoning remained as single family zoning, the new homes would have direct impact on the existing homes. • There is no developer on board at this time so we don’t have specific details, but it’s a good time to hear what the concerns are from the neighborhood so we can inform any future developer. Q: What specific plans are there to address traffic congestion because with the residential and commercial proposed I suspect there will an impact. A: With this application to include DB90, we submitted a TIA Worksheet to Transportation Public Works with a general idea of what the property could accommodate. They told us a neighborhood traffic analysis will be required. Q. Has there been an analysis on the development and the high crime levels in the area? A: I don’t know how that would be done, but now with the property not having any development on it, there are no eyes on the street and the potential for more things to happen. I would think that with development there would be less crime, but I really don’t know. Q: What’s the number of units? A: We haven’t done a full site plan analysis on the 2-acre, but we looked at it in at summary level, but anticipate the property could accommodate 180 dwelling units, but I’m not saying that’s how many units would be built. Q: How many floors or high will the building be? A: The project with frontage closet to Montopolis Drive could be as high as five stories. With single family uses west would have to meet compatibility requirements. Q: How close would the buildings be to the existing homes, there are concerns about privacy? A: Currently, compatibility requires there not be any buildings be closer than 25 feet from the shared property line. This this will help provide privacy with also screening with fences and vegetative buffers. Q: How do you know that this development would not affect our property taxes? A: Travis County Appraisal District compares commercial developments to other commercial developments, and single family homes to other single family homes. They don’t compare taxes of commercial development to single family homes. However, if single family homes were to be built here, then the values of those new homes would be compared to the existing single family homes. Q: This development would also increase traffic and parking on the surrounding streets. How would you handle that? A: Projects are still building parking even though the City doesn’t require parking anymore. Austin is still autocentric and any new development that goes on the property will provide parking. Streets are public and anyone can park on the street whether it’s from this development or anyone else in the neighborhood. 14 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 Comment: • This zip code has a higher crime rate than other zip codes. This multiuse development would negatively affect the crime rate in the area. 15  Applicant Summary Letter from Application Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 16 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 Neighborhood Postponement Request to July 23, 2024 From: Victoria <Victoria@throwerdesign.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 2, 2024 4:36 PM To: Susana Almanza < Cc: Jama Joseph (WE ACT) <jama.joseph@ >; Velasquez, Jose <Jose.Velasquez@austintexas.gov>; Meredith, Maureen <Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov>; Hadri, Cynthia <Cynthia.Hadri@austintexas.gov>; Hall, Victoria <Victoria.Hall@austintexas.gov>; Ron Thrower <ront@throwerdesign.com> Subject: RE: Postponement Request July 23rd-C14-2024-0015 & NPA-2023-0005.01 External Email - Exercise Caution Hello Susana, We agree with the neighborhood’s request to postpone this case to July 23rd. Even so, we met with the NPCT about this case on October 30, 2023, and we agreed to disagree very quickly and respectfully. The NPCT made it very clear that an upzoning of any SF-3 zoned lands will never be supported. The DB90 overlay recently added to the request for rezoning will ensure that a development must include affordable units, something that was not required with the original request. If the NPCT’s position has changed, please let me know. Thank you, Victoria Haase www.throwerdesign.com 512-998-5900 Cell 512-476-4456 Office Mail: P.O. Box 41957 Austin, Texas 78704 From: Susana Almanza < > Sent: Tuesday, June 4, 2024 2:02 PM To: Hadri, Cynthia <Cynthia.Hadri@austintexas.gov> Cc: Victoria <Victoria@throwerdesign.com>; Jama Joseph (WE ACT) <jama.joseph@weact.org>; Velasquez, Jose <jose.Velasquez@austintexas.gov> Subject: Postponement Request July 23rd-C14-2024-0015 & NPA-2023-0005.01 Hello Cynthia Hadri- Today I had a discussion with Lauren-Middleton-Pratt and Maureen Meredith regarding the above zoning case and the NPA case. 17 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 The C14-2024-0015 (6202 6204 Caddie Street; 1600, 1604, 1606, 16098, 1610, 1612, and 1614 Montopolis Drive; 6205, 6211, 6215, Fairway Street) has not been reviewed by the Montopolis Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (MNPCT). The MNPCT meets the last Monday of each month. Our next scheduled meeting is June 24th, 2024. We are requesting that the case be postponed until July 23rd, 2024. Several of the Contact Team members are on vacation during the first two weeks in July. The MNPCT respectfully request that the developer present his plan for the present tract of land zoned Single Family and Civic on July 23rd Contact Team Meeting at 6 pm, at the Montopolis Recreation Community Center, 1200 Montopolis Drive. The original request for this land was for Mix Use designation, we have received notice that the new request is CS-BD90-NP. This is a new designation for the Montopolis planning area. Also, we need to know if CS-DB90-NP falls under the designation of Mix Use. Thank you in advance for your assistance. Susana Almanza, President MNPCT -- PODER P.O. Box 6237 Austin, TX 78762-6237 www.poderaustin.org 18 Letter of Recommendation from the Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (NPCT) Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 19 Letter of Recommendation from the Montopolis Neighborhood Plan Contact Team Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 20  Letter of Recommendation from the Montopolis Neighborhood Plan Contact Team Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 21 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 Site 22 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 23 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 24 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 25 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 26  Victoria Haase’s Presentation at the Virtual Community Mtg Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 27 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 28  Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 Correspondence Received 29 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 30 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 31 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 32 Planning Commission: July 23, 2024 33