10 NPA-2024-0024.01 - 2700 Gracy Farms Lane; District 7 Staff Report — original pdf

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Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET DATE FILED: January 25, 2024 2700 and 2700 ½ Gracy Farms Lane NEIGHORHOOD PLAN: North Burnet/Gateway CASE#: NPA-2024-0024.01 PROJECT NAME: 2700 Gracy Farms Lane PC DATE: June 11, 2024 ADDRESS/ES: DISTRICT AREA: SITE AREA: 3.07 OWNER/APPLICANT: KREA, LLC AGENT: Drenner Group, PC (Amanda Swor) CASE MANAGER: Maureen Meredith STAFF EMAIL: Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov TYPE OF AMENDMENT: Change in Future Land Use Designation 7 From: Mixed Use Base District Zoning Change To: High Density Mixed Use To: NBG-CMU (Midway Zone)-NP Related Zoning Case: C14-2024-0005 From: NBG-NR-NP NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ADOPTION DATE: November 2007 CITY COUNCIL DATE: TBD PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: August 13, 2024 - (action pending) ACTION: PHONE: (512) 974-2695 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 July 23, 2024 – Postponed to August 13, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of Staff [A. Woods – 1st; R. Johnson- 2nd] Vote: 10-0-1 [C. Hempel and D. Skidmore absent. J. Mushtaler abstained. G. Anderson abstained from Item #15. R. Johnson recused from Item #20]. June 25, 2024 – Postponed to July 23, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of Staff. [R. Johnson – 1st; F. Maxwell – 2nd] Vote: 8-0 [C. Hempel, A. Azhar, A. Haynes, and J. Mushtaler absent. G. Cox off the dais]. June 11, 2024 – Postponed to June 25, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of Staff. [A. Azhar – 1st; F. Maxwell – 2nd] Vote: 11-0 [N. Barrera-Ramirez absent. G. Cox off the dais. G. Anderson recused from Items #12 and #13]. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: To recommended for the Applicant’s request for High Density Mixed Use land use. BASIS FOR STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION: Staff supports the applicant’s request for High Density Mixed Use because it could provide more housing in the planning area and the city. The area has been growing over the years with the Q2 Stadium and the proposed new McKalla Rail Station to be developed approximately two miles south of the subject property. City Council signed resolution 20230504-020 which directed staff to initiate amendments to the North Burnet/Gateway Vision Plan recognizing the area’s growth. Transitioning the property from Mixed Use to High Density Mixed Use is consistent with the development of the area. The applicant proposes will provide approximately 20,000 square feet of activated, ground- floor retail uses with 350 multifamily housing units and 210 hotel rooms. 2 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 Below are some of the North Burnet/Gateway Plan Goals that staff believes supports the applicant’s request: ONE: Transform the aging, auto-oriented commercial and industrial uses into a livelier mixed-use neighborhod that is more pedestrian- and transit-friendly and can accommodate a significant number of new residents. a. Create a dense and vibrant “town center” with an urban form and uses less reliant on the automobile. This means creating a concentration of interrelated uses that provide for a range of activities to occur in close proximity to transit. b. Achieve a balance of jobs, houses, retail, open space and community facilities. The essence of a mixed-use area is that it allows for opportunities to live, work, and play within the same area. c. Enable opportunities for transit- oriented development based on the presence of both the Capital Metro and the potential Austin-San Antonio Inter-municipal Rail District (currently Union Pacific) commuter rail line. 3 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 d. Enable redevelopment and adaptive reuse while accommodating existing uses. Recognize that the auto-oriented uses will be less appropriate and could be reformatted to more local neighborhood-oriented uses. e. Include significant higher density residential uses in the mix to accommodate some of the region’s expected population growth. f. Provide for a variety of housing options and affordability, so that people of all income levels can live and work in the area. Encourage housing to be developed in close proximity to potential jobsites as well as public transit so that residents may reduce their dependency on personal vehicles and save on transportation costs. LAND USE DESCRIPTIONS: EXISTING 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 4 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 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. PROPOSED LAND USE: High Density Mixed Use - An area that is appropriate for a mix of residential and non‐residential uses with floor‐to‐area ratios of 3.0 or higher. 1. Encourage dense, pedestrian‐ oriented development in downtown, areas near downtown, and sites with exceptional transportation access; 2. Provide a transition between the central core and surrounding districts; and 3. Encourage redevelopment of sites in or near the center city. Purpose Application 1. Applicable to most mixed‐use/commercial sites in the Central Business District; 2. May be applied to other central areas, such as the Central Urban Redevelopment Area, where existing population and infrastructure can support higher‐density development; 3. May also be applied to areas outside of the central core where higher densities can be supported and neighborhood impacts are minimal; and 4. Can be used to accommodate Transit‐Oriented Development at existing or proposed transit stations. Yes Yes 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: 5 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 • Property is located in the North Burnet/Gateway Station Regional Center 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. • 0.6 miles by foot and bike. 1.6 miles by car Yes Yes Connectivity and Education: Located within 0.50 miles from a public school or university. 0.6 miles from Harmony School of Science Connectivity and Healthy Living: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles from a recreation area, park or walking trail. • Near Northern Walnut Creek Greenbelt 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.) 0.6 miles from St. David's North Austin 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. Yes Yes Yes Yes 350 multifamily housing units proposed Yes Mixed use: Provides a mix of residential and non-industrial uses. No 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. Number of “Yes’s” No Not known Not known No 11 6 Proximity to Imagine Austin Activity Centers and Corridors Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 7  Proximity to Public Parks Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 8 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 Proximity to Public Transportation and Urban Trails 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. 9 Planning Commission: August 13, 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 10 Planning Commission: August 13, 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 applicant proposes to change the future land use map (FLUM) from Mixed Use to High Density Mixed Use land use. The applicant proposes to change the zoning on the property from NBG-NR-NP (North Burnet Gateway – Neighborhood Residential Subdistrict – Neighborhood Plan) to NBG- CMU-NP (North Burnet Gateway – Commercial Mixed Use Midway Zone Subdistrict). For more information on the proposed rezoning, see case report C14-2024-0005. The applicant proposes a mixed use development with approximately 20,000 square feet of activated ground-floor retail uses and 350 multifamily housing units and 210 hotel rooms. PUBLIC MEETINGS: The ordinance-required community meeting was virtually held on April 2, 2024. The recorded meeting can be found here: https://publicinput.com/neighborhoodplanamendmentcases. Approximately 745 community meeting notices were mailed to people who live or own property within 500 feet of the subject tract in addition to neighborhood and environmental groups who requested notification for the area. Two staff members from the Planning Department attended, Maureen Meredith and Mark Walters in addition to the applicant’s agents Amanda Swor and Drew Rafaele from Drenner Group, PC. No one from the neighborhood attended. Below are highlights from Amanda Swor’s presentation: • There is an existing hotel/motel use on the property with 136 rooms. • It is within the North Burnet/Gateway (NBG) Station and Imagine Austin Regional Center TOD • The property has transit access: o It’s on a NBG Pedestrian Priority Collector – Gracy Farms Lane o There are Capital Metro bus routes 244 Kramer/Domain (Local) o There are urban trails and bike lanes on Gracy Farm Lane. There is a planned protected bike lane on Gracy Farms Lane and a Red Line Trail that is in design. • The proposed rezoning is from NBG-NP (North Burnet Gateway – Neighborhood Plan) NR – Neighborhood Residential Subdistrict) to CMU-Midway Zone (Commercial Mixed Use – Midway Zone Subdistrict). • The proposed FLUM change is from Mixed Use to High Density Mixed Use land use. 11  • The largest between the two is the NR has a max. height of 40 feet, Max. FAR 1:1 and Development Bonus max. of 60 feet and 2:1 FAR. The CMU-Midway Zone has a development bonus max. height of 350 feet and FAR 10:1. Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 There were no neighborhood participants in the meeting. 12 Applicant Summary Letter from Application Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 13 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 14 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 15 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 Letter of Recommendation from the Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (NPCT) (There is no Neighborhood Plan Contact Team in the North Burnet/Gateway Neighborhood Planning Area) 16 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 Site 17 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 18 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 19 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 20 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 21  Amanda Swor’s Presentation at the April 2, 2024 Virtual Community Meeting Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 22  Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 23  Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 24  Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 25 Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 26  Planning Commission: August 13, 2024 Correspondence Received (No correspondence received) 27