06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 2 - Staff Report — original pdf

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NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW SHEET NEIGHORHOOD PLAN: South Congress Combined (Sweetbriar) CASE#: NPA-2024-0020.01 DATE FILED: November 11, 2025 PROJECT NAME: 6201 Crow Lane PC DATE: May 13, 2025 ADDRESS/ES: 6201 Crow Lane DISTRICT AREA: 2 SITE AREA: 0.9778 OWNER/APPLICANT: Comal Bluff, LLC AGENT: Metcalfe Wolff Stuart & Williams, LLP (Katherine Nicely) CASE MANAGER: Maureen Meredith PHONE: (512) 974-2695 STAFF EMAIL: Maureen.Meredith@austintexas.gov TYPE OF AMENDMENT: Change in Future Land Use Designation From: Mixed Use/Office To: Mixed Use Base District Zoning Change Related Zoning Case: C14-2024-0168 From: LO-MU-NP To: LR-MU-NP NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN ADOPTION DATE: August 17, 2005 CITY COUNCIL DATE: June 5, 2025 ACTION: PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: May 13, 2025 – (action pending) STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends an alternate land use of Neighborhood Mixed Use. 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 21 of 22BASIS FOR STAFF’S RECOMMENDATION: The applicant’s request for LR-MU-NP zoning is more consistent with the Neighborhood Mixed Use land use. The property is located on a cul-de-sac, but has Commercial land use directly to the north, east, and south; Multifamily Residential land use is to the west, and Mixed Residential to the northwest. Neighborhood Mixed Use land use would be approproprite in this location. The property was a daycare center that has since closed and is now operating as a pet services/doggy daycare which is not allowed under the LO-MU-NP zoning. The request for LR- MU-NP would make the pet services use compliant with the zoning. LAND USE DESCRIPTIONS: EXISTING LAND USE: Mixed Use/Office - An area that is appropriate for a mix of residential and office uses. Purpose 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 22 of 22 1. Accommodate mixed use development in areas that are not appropriate for general commercial development; and 2. Provide a transition from residential use to non residential or mixed use. Application ‐ 1. Appropriate for areas such as minor corridors or local streets adjacent to commercial areas; 2. May be used to encourage commercial uses to transition to residential use; and 3. Provide limited opportunities for live/work residential in urban areas. 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 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 23 of 22 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. STAFF LAND USE RECOMMENDATION: 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. scale retail or offices, professional services, convenience retail, and ‐ density Purpose ‐ 1. Accommodate mixed use development in areas appropriate for a mix of residential uses 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. ‐ 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: • 0.35 miles from S. Congress Ave, an activity corridor No Mobility and Public Transit: Located within 0.25 miles of public transit stop and/or light rail station. • 0.35 miles from S. Congress Ave with public transporation Yes Mobility and Bike/Ped Access: Adjoins a public sidewalk, shared path, and/or bike lane. 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 24 of 22 • Sidewalks on the north side of Crow Lane Yes Connectivity, Good and Services, Employment: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles to goods and services, and/or employment center. Yes Connectivity and Food Access: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of a grocery store/farmers market. • 0.50 miles from H&R Grocery Yes Connectivity and Education: Located within 0.50 miles from a public school or university. • 0.50 miles from Pleasant Hill Elementary School No Connectivity and Healthy Living: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles from a recreation area, park or walking trail. 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.) No Housing Affordability: Provides a minimum of 10% of units for workforce housing (80% MFI or less) and/or fee in lieu for affordable housing. 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. • The proposed zoning of LR-MU-NP would allow for residential uses, although the applicant is proposing a dog kennel. Yes Mixed use: Provides a mix of residential and non-industrial uses. • The proposed zoning of LR-MU-NP would allow for a mix of commercial and residential uses, although the applicant is proposing a dog kennel. No Culture and Creative Economy: Provides or is located within 0.50 miles of a cultural resource (ex: library, theater, museum, cultural center). • 0.9 miles from Pleasant Hill Branch Library No Culture and Historic Preservation: Preserves or enhances a historically and/or culturally significant site. No Creative Economy: Expands Austin’s creative economy (ex: live music venue, art studio, film, digital, theater.) No 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 7 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 25 of 22 Proximity to Imagine Austin Activity Centers and Corridors 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 26 of 22 Proximity to Public Transportation and Urban Trails 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 27 of 22 Proximity to Public Parks 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. 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 28 of 22 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 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 29 of 22 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 land use on the future land use map from Mixed Use/Office to Mixed Use. The applicant proposes to change the zoning on the property from LO-MU-NP (Limited Office district – Mixed Use combining district – Neighborhood Plan) to LR-MU-NP (Neighborhood Commercial district – Mixed Use combining district – Neighborhood Plan). The owners are operating a pet services/doggy daycare business on the property without the proper zoning. They have been cited by Code Enforcement and are seeking a zoning and plan amendment change to bring the property into compliance with the existing use. Staff is recommending Neighborhood Mixed Use land use instead of the applicant’s request for Mixed Use. Neighborhood Mixed Use is more in line with the proposed zoning of LR-MU- NP and is a “lower-intensity” land use for this location on Crow Lane (a cul-de-sac), yet having commercial zoning and land uses adjacent to the property. PUBLIC MEETINGS: The ordinance-required community meeting was virtually held on February 10, 2025. The recorded meeting can be found here: https://publicinput.com/neighborhoodplanamendmentcases. Approximately 393 community meeting notices were mailed to people who have utility accounts or own property within 500 feet of the subject tract, in addition to neighborhood and environmental groups who requested notification for the area. Two city staff members from the Planning Department attended, Maureen Meredith and Mark Walters. Katherine Nicely from Metcalfe Wolff Stuart & Williams, LLP attended who is the applicant’s agent. Madelyn Hoover Smith, Barrett Smith and Pat Smith attended, who are the property owners, and eight people from the neighborhood attended. Below are highlights from Katherine Nicely’s presentation: • We met with the neighborhood at a previous meeting and these issues come up: o Sidewalk is located on one side of Crow Lane o Feedback from the apartment buildings in the southwest, there hasn’t been complaints from the next-door neighbors. o Do the dogs have enough space on the property to be outside? The property is about one acre. o Access: Is there is enough space for drop-off and pick-up? o There is a setback from the condos. 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 210 of 22 Q: I live in Skybridge Lofts, which is adjacent to the property, my unit looks directly at the property. Does the implication of changing it to LR-MU-NP, allow for more animals in building? A: The current zoning is LO-MU-NP, which allows for office and small-scale apartments. The propose zoning of LR-MU-NP allows for local-serving commercial uses but does not allow car-related uses. The current zoning does not allow pet boarding, but LR does. The zoning does not relate to how many dogs can be there. We have talked to Animal Services at the City, they looked at if there is enough space for the dog kennels and they said we are good. There have been several people from Code Enforcement also look at the space. Q: Are they boarding animals at night, or is it just during the day? A: We have dogs during the day and occasionally they stay at night. We also have pet grooming. We have someone on the property at night when we have overnight pets. Q: Is there a maximum number of dogs you can have? A: We have a maximum of 12 large dogs and 11 medium-size dogs. The amount of space they have limits the number of dogs with the pet crates in that space. Animal Services was OK with the space. Q: When your dogs are out and the residents at the Skybridge Lofts are also out walking their dogs around the trail near your fence, the dogs at your facility rush the fence and there is a dog-frenzy. This needs to be managed properly. A: We want to be respectful neighbors. If you can send me a contact person at your HOA, we can work with Skybridge. Maybe we can put up a screen on the fence, but we don’t want to kill any greenery. We can set up a meeting to discuss this further. Q: It’s my understanding that if there are more than six dogs on the facility’s yard, then there needs to be a buffer, which isn’t there now. Do you plan to meet that commercial requirement to meet the requirements for doggy daycare? A: Could you please provide that reference? We’re not familiar with this rule. We can give you our info so we can get back to you. Q: Is it currently being used as doggy daycare? My concern is the increase in the number of dogs that would be allowed. In the morning, when the dogs are let out there is a lot of barking and I’m assuming this will increase with more dogs. A: Yes, it is currently being used as doggy daycare, which is why we are pursuing the zoning request. They didn’t know that LO didn’t allow doggy daycare. Maybe we can work on the schedule of letting the dogs out in the morning or maybe we can let out fewer dogs at a time in the morning. Q: The zoning change is not specific to this business. The owners could sell their business to someone who is less responsible. We need to be equitable across the board, for example, someone down the street puts in a music venue that’s not allowed in the zoning district, and now they look at this property and want an exception, too. We need to be fair and 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 211 of 22 consistent. You could have chosen a business that was consistent with the zoning and not a doggy daycare that is not allowed in the zoning. A: This property has been a family business for many years and is very sentimental to us. We want to keep the properties in the family and have businesses that the community needs. Maybe we can look at the LR permitted use chart and do a Conditional Overlay that prohibit uses that the neighborhood feels is not appropriate for this area. Q: If you have pets overnight, you will need fire suppression. A: If we have pets overnight, we will either have someone staying the night with the dogs or fire suppression. Q: We are worried about traffic coming out because Crow Lane is a narrow street. When the daycare shut down, a gambling situation happened there. They were also renting out RV spaces. We had an issue of dogs digging under the fence and coming onto the Skybridge property. We don’t want more animals there trying to get onto our property. These past issues raise concerns for us. A: There was someone else renting out the property. That was not one of our dogs that dug under the fence onto the Skybridge Property. We are very interested in meeting with Skybridge residents to discuss the issues and come to some resolution on the issues we discussed. 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 212 of 22 Applicant Summary Letter from Application 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 213 of 22 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 214 of 22 Letter of Recommendation from the Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (NPCT) (No letter as of May 2, 2025) From: Meredith, Maureen Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2025 10:23 AM To: gsadams2003@yahoo.com; sdadams64@gmail.com; catbacon@gmail.com; balcomboone@msn.com; tater@sbcglobal.net; kittybest406@aol.com; mariocantu@atxnative.com; mfossum@austin.rr.com; paulgaither@pobox.com; cynthia_gaona1@yahoo.com; courtneymariehans@yahoo.com; jhayden01@yahoo.com; keena.miller@gmail.com; achookem@aol.com; alixhorton@gmail.com; fayez@civilitude.com; rajukota@yahoo.com; george.comm@hotmail.com; Krugalug@MAIL.com; emily@emilylaytondesign.com; nlworldc@yahoo.com; mgmill@mail.utexas.edu; jmiddleton@ieee.org; mgmill@mail.utexas.edu; paul.m.montgomery@sbcglobal.net; walter.moreau@foundcom.org; elpattie@aol.com; jfsalinas@SBCglobal.net; alan.sears@gmail.com; vanhorn1060@att.net; zvega@austin.rr.com; klataske@gmail.com; bewhiteside@gmail.com; gregsteinberg@hotmail.com; hcurtistx@gmail.com; steven.p.apodaca@gmail.com Cc: Villela, Beverly <Beverly.Villela@austintexas.gov> Subject: South Congress NPCT Rec Ltr?: NPA-2024-0020.01_6201 Crow Lane Importance: High Dear South Congress NPCT: Cases NPA-2024-0020.01 and C14-2024-0168_6201 Crow Lane are scheduled for the April 8, 2025 Planning Commission hearing date. If your team would like your letter of recommendation to be included in our staff case reports, please email it to me and Beverly Villela no later than Wednesday, April 1, 2025 by 5:00 pm. If we get it after this date and time, we will submit it late back up for the Planning Commission. Thanks. Maureen Maureen Meredith (she/her) Senior Planner, Long-Range Planning Planning Department 512-974-2695 maureen.meredith@austintexas.gov Please Note: Correspondence and information submitted to the City of Austin are subject to the Texas Public Information Act (Chapter 552) and may be published online. Por Favor Tome En Cuenta: La correspondencia y la información enviada a la Ciudad de Austin está sujeta a la Ley de Información Pública de Texas (Capítulo 552) y puede ser publicada en línea. 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 215 of 22 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 216 of 22 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 217 of 22 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 218 of 22 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 219 of 22 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 220 of 22 Katherine Nicely’s Presentation at the February 11, 2025 Virtual Community Meeting 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 221 of 22 Correspondence Received (No correspondence received) 06 NPA-2024-0020.01 - 6201 Crow Lane; District 222 of 22