32 CPA-2025-0001 - North Lamar Transit Center Station Area Vision Plan Memo — original pdf

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M E M O R A N D U M TO: Planning Commission Chair and Commissioners FROM: Ana Villarreal, Planning Department DATE: March 19, 2025 SUBJECT: North Lamar Transit Center Station Area Vision Plan Adoption This memo provides a brief synopsis of the North Lamar Transit Center (NLTC) Station Area Vision Plan planning process. On December 12, 2022, City Council approved Resolution No. 20221208-036, which initiated planning for the North Lamar and South Congress Transit Center station areas. On March 9, 2023, City Council approved Resolution No. 20230309-016, accepting the ETOD Policy Plan framework and initiating work to deliver Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) to Austinites based on this policy guidance. The station area planning engagement process kicked off with a series of workshops involving community members in the spring of 2023. A second round of engagement took place in the fall of 2023, and the third and final round occurred in the fall of 2024. During this planning process, staff has engaged the community through a number of methods, including: • SpeakUp Austin! website (https://www.speakupaustin.org/ETODstationareas) • On-line and paper surveys in English and Spanish • Social Media and E-mail newsletter • Courtesy notification postcard to residents and businesses • Recordings of the virtual events to the SpeakUp Austin! website • Outreach to community leaders through email • Paid focus groups • In-person and virtual community meetings The NLTC Station Area Vision Plan includes a review of existing conditions, as well as a vision of how the transit center and the station area could evolve to bring the benefits of ETOD to the community. In addition to the land use elements described in the Vision Plan, the City also has other tools to create more equitable places. These are described in the ETOD Policy Plan and the implementation section of the station area vision plan. Page 1 of 2 32 CPA-2025-0001 - North Lamar Transit Center Station Area Vision Plan1 of 2Neighborhood Plan Amendments (NPAs) are proposed concurrently with the Station Area Vision Plans to ensure that the Plans’ vision of future land use in the station area does not conflict with any pre- existing neighborhood plan’s Future Land Use Map (FLUM). Community Meeting notifications for the NPAs were mailed out on February 17, 2025, for the meeting held on March 4, 2025. Additionally, a dual meeting notice for the Planning Commission Meeting on March 25, 2025, and the City Council Meeting on April 24, 2025, was mailed on March 11, 2025. In addition to the Planning Commission, the following boards and commissions were briefed about the North Lamar Transit Center Station Area Vision Plans in the spring of 2025. • • • • Project Connect Community Advisory Committee Pedestrian Advisory Council Bicycle Advisory Council Small Area Planning Joint Committee Page 2 of 2 32 CPA-2025-0001 - North Lamar Transit Center Station Area Vision Plan2 of 2