10 NPA-2023-0029.02 - Humane Society of Austin & Travis County; District 4 Staff Report — original pdf

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Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET NEIGHORHOOD PLAN: St. John/Coronado Hills Combined (St. John) CASE#: NPA-2023-0029.02 PROJECT NAME: Humane Society of Austin & Travis County PC DATE: November 12, 2024 DATE FILED: August 3, 2023 October 22, 2024 September 10, 2024 July 23, 2024 June 11, 2024 April 23, 2024 February 27, 2024 January 9, 2024 ADDRESS/ES: 7600 – 7616 Bennett Ave DISTRICT AREA: 4 SITE AREA: 1.69 acres OWNER/APPLICANT: Humane Society of Austin and Travis County AGENT: Bleyl Engineering (Robert Heil) CASE MANAGER: Maureen Meredith STAFF EMAIL: Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov TYPE OF AMENDMENT: Change in Future Land Use Designation PHONE: (512) 974-2695 From: Neighborhood Mixed Use and Single Family To: Mixed Use Base District Zoning Change Related Zoning Case: C14-2024-0132 From: LR-MU-NP and SF-3-NP NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ADOPTION DATE: April 26, 2012 To: CS-MU-NP Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 ACTION: CITY COUNCIL DATE: TBD PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: November 12, 2024 - (action pending) October 22, 2024 – Postponed to November 12, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of Staff. [A. Woods – 1st; F. Maxwell- 2nd] Vote: 13-0. September 10, 2024 – Postponed to October 22, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of Staff. [A. Azhar – 1st; D. Skidmore – 2nd] Vote: 8-0 [P. Howard, G. Cox, A. Phillips, F. Maxwell, R. Johnson absent]. July 23, 2024 - Postponed to September 10, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of Staff. [A. Woods – 1st; R. Johnson – 2nd] Vot: 10-0-1 [A. Azhar, G. Anderson, N. Barrera- Ramirez, G. Cox, P. Howard, F. Maxwell, A. Haynes, R. Johnson, A. Phillips, and A. Woods voted aye. J. Mushtaler abstained. C. Hempel and D. Skidmore absent]. June 11, 2024 – Postponed to July 23, 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]. April 23, 2024 – Renotified for June 11, 2024 due to a posting language error. February 27, 2024- Postponed to April 23, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of Staff. [A. Azhar – 1st; A. Woods – 2nd] Vote: 11-0 [J. Mushtaler off the dais. F. Maxwell absent]. January 9, 2024- Postponed to February 27, 2024 on the consent agenda at the request of Staff. [F. Maxwell – 1st; A. Azhar – 2nd] Vote: 10-0 [G. Anderson and A. Woods absent. One vacancy on the dais]. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the applicant’s request for Mixed Use land use. BASIS FOR STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the applicant’s request for Mixed Use land use because the property has Mixed Use land use to the east and is near a highway frontage road. The applicant proposes to change the zoning to CS-MU-NP for an Animal Shelter and kennel. Please see associated zoning case report for zoning staff analysis regarding the proposed zoning change to CS-MU-NP. 2 Planning Commission: November 12, 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 3 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 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. Neighborhood Mixed Use - An area that is appropriate for a mix of neighborhood commercial (small shopfront retail that serve a market at a neighborhood scale) and small to medium residential uses. Purpose 1. Accommodate mixed use development in areas appropriate for a mix of residential uses scale retail or offices, professional services, convenience retail, and density ‐ ‐ and neighborhood commercial uses that serve surrounding neighborhoods; and 2. Provide transition from residential use to high intensity commercial or mixed use. Application 1. Appropriate for areas such as minor arterials and collectors, small parcels along major family residential development, and areas in environmentally arterials that abut single sensitive zones where high intensity commercial uses are discouraged; and 2. May be used as a transition from high intensity commercial and residential uses to ‐ single family residential uses. ‐ 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. 4 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 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. Yes Imagine Austin Decision Guidelines 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: Complete Community Measures • Southwest of Cameron & 183 Jobs Center • North of Highland Mall Regional Center Yes Mobility and Public Transit: Located within 0.25 miles of public transit stop and/or light rail station. Mobility and Bike/Ped Access: Adjoins a public sidewalk, shared path, and/or bike lane. No Connectivity, Good and Services, Employment: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles to goods and Yes services, and/or employment center. Connectivity and Food Access: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of a grocery store/farmers market. • • 1.0 mile from Step-In Grocery 1.0 mile from La Hacienda Market No No Connectivity and Education: Located within 0.50 miles from a public school or university. • • 0.8 miles from Pickle Elementary School Connectivity and Healthy Living: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles from a recreation area, park or walking trail. 0.4 miles from Virginia L. Brown Recreation Center 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. 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 proposed zoning of CS-MU-NP would allow for residential uses Yes Mixed use: Provides a mix of residential and non-industrial uses. Yes No No Yes 5 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 • The proposed zoning of CS-MU-NP would allow for mixed use development. Yes Culture and Creative Economy: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of a cultural resource (ex: library, theater, museum, cultural center). • 0.4 miles from St. John Branch Public 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 training. Industrial Land: Preserves or enhances industrial land. Number of “Yeses” No No Not known No 7 6 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 7 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 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: November 12, 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: November 12, 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 August 3, 2023. The applicant proposes to change the future land use map (FLUM) from Neighborhood Mixed Use and Single Family to Mixed Use. The applicant proposes to change the zoning on the property from LR-MU-NP (Neighborhood Mixed Use district – Mixed Use combining district – Neighborhood Plan) and SF-3-NP (Family Residence district – Neighborhood Plan) to CS-MU-NP (General Commercial Services district – Mixed Use Combining district – Neighborhood Plan) for an animal shelter/kennel. For more information on the proposed zoning, see case report C14- 2024-0132. PUBLIC MEETINGS: The ordinance-required community meeting was virtually held on November 9, 2023. The recorded meeting can be found here: https://publicinput.com/neighborhoodplanamendmentcases. Approximately 153 community meeting notices were mailed to utility account holders and property owners within 500 feet of the subject properties, in addition to neighborhood and environmental groups who requested notification for the area. Four city staff members attended, Maureen Meredith and Mark Walters from the Planning Department and Drew Sloat and Donald Heisch from the Watershed Department. Robert Heil from Bleyl Engineering and Katherine Loayza from Jackson Walker, LLP representing the applicants attended. No one from the neighborhood attended. Below are highlights from Robert Heil’s presentation: • The property will be used by the Austin Humane Society. • There is creek near the property. The City’s Watershed Department will make improvements to the creek to address stormwater issues. • We will file a CS-MU-NP zoning application, but we will put a conditional overlay (CO) to reduce some of the uses allowed in the CS because some uses are not compatible for this area but the zoning request of CS is appropriate for the Humane Society use. 10 Applicant Summary Letter from Application Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 11 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 Letter of Recommendation from the Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (NPCT) (No letter as of November 6, 2024) From: Meredith, Maureen Sent: Monday, September 30, 2024 12:34 PM Cc: Robert Heil <rheil@bleylengineering.com>; Tomko, Jonathan <Jonathan.Tomko@austintexas.gov> Subject: St. John NPCT Rec?: NPA-2023-0029.02_7600-7616 Bennett Ave Dear St. John NPCT: Cases NPA-2023-0029.02 and C14-2024-0132_7600 – 7616 Bennett Ave are scheduled for the Oct. 22, 2024 Planning Commission hearing date. The virtual community meeting was held on Nov. 9, 2023 and the recorded meeting can be found here: https://publicinput.com/f7273. If your team would like to have a letter of recommendation included in our staff reports, please email it to me and Jonathan, the zoning planner, no later than Weds., Oct. 16, 2024 by 5:00 pm. Thanks. Maureen Maureen Meredith (she/her) Senior Planner, Long-Range Planning Planning Department 512-974-2695 maureen.meredith@austintexas.gov 12 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 13 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 14 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 15 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 16 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 17  Applicant’s Presentation at the Community Meeting Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 18 Planning Commission: November 12, 2024 Correspondence Received 19