08 NPA-2025-0012.01 - 2108 and 2110 E. 22nd Street; District 1 - Blackland Neighborhood Association Letter — original pdf

Backup

To: Maureen Meredith Senior Planner City of Austin Planning Jonathan Tomko Planner Principal City of Austin Planning Planning Commission From: Marva Overton President Blackland Neighborhood Association Re: Zoning Case: NPA-2025-0012.01 and C14-2025-0092 Date: January 27, 2026 On behalf of the Blackland Neighborhood Association (BNA) I am writing to state that the association does not support the zoning request referenced above. While there have been various meetings and conversations with Drew Raffaele, Drenner Group, and/or the property owner, Sam Hellman-Mass, it did not ultimately yield a solution that the association felt it could support. Below are the concerns, some of which were previously expressed, that resulted in the no vote: Encroachment of commercial buildings into residential portion of the neighborhood– While the existing FLUM supports the development of businesses along the Manor Road corridor, the proposed rezoning will allow commercial development on interior streets which the plan does not support. This action could set a precedent for similar requests in the future. City Planning states that this request results in “equal treatment of similarly situated properties”. However, there is a major difference in that multi-family dwellings and service oriented businesses do not create the same degree of traffic that another restaurant will. Parking and Traffic – The neighborhood is already inundated with restaurant goers parking on the streets in the neighborhood. Nearby neighbors are challenged with having space for guests to park. Adding a building to serve breakfast and lunch, and offices, will compound the parking problem. The applicant states that approximately 8 parking spaces will be added to the area along the alley that is currently used for parking and that there will be approximately 52 spaces in total. We asked the applicant to do a trips per day study to help the neighborhood gauge 08 NPA-2025-0012.01 - 2108 and 2110 E. 22nd Street; District 11 of 3what the potential increase in vehicle traffic and street parking will be. It is our position that most customers drive to the restaurant and are not walking or taking public transportation. The application stated they would not do a trips per day study prior to the zoning case decision being made because the City only requires this during the site plan review, after the layout and access are finalized. This seems counterintuitive in that the zoning change would already be approved without understanding the traffic impact. Safety – Some neighbors expressed concern regarding the increase in car traffic that another eating establishment would bring to the neighborhood given the current amount of pedestrian traffic. You frequently see parents pushing strollers and dog walkers in the neighborhood. There are limited sidewalks in Blackland and COA’s Alamo park and recreation center are nearby. The additional structures would bring more congestion to an already busy neighborhood. No Estimation of Customer Count – We asked what the expected number of customers will be and the response was that this cannot be predicted at this stage. In regard to maximum occupancy, it was stated that that is not finalized because the interior layout has not been started. The current estimate is 70-100. No estimation of staff occupancy – Applicant is unable to answer how many staff will be occupying the offices. It is not clear if the offices will be used by others in addition to the applicant’s staff. Concern regarding use beyond breakfast and lunch – The applicant is willing to put in a restrictive covenant that the “general restaurant” hours would be limited to 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. but this would exclude “private dining and general pre- and -post business activities”. The exception leaves open the possibility of an unlimited number of occasions where the restaurant would actually be open beyond 4 p.m. The City code allows operation until 10 p.m. The applicant is not willing to negotiate on this point, which is a clear indication that he has in mind uses beyond just breakfast and lunch hours. There could be times when customers are at both properties which would further intensify the traffic problem. Even with breakfast and lunch ending at 4 p.m., Este opens at 5 p.m., Mon-Thurs and 12 p.m. Fri - Sun, thus there would really be no point, until after closing at 10 p.m., when parking and increased traffic will not be an issue. Lack of community benefits - Este is a high-end restaurant which is reflected in its pricing. The neighborhood association has nothing against that. The Blackland neighborhood, like most of East Austin, has experienced gentrification. However, it still retains residents with a diversity of income levels ranging from upper and middle income to families living in transitional housing operated by the Blackland Community Development Corporation. To be a good neighbor, serious thought must be given to how a business operating with a Neighborhood Commercial designation truly benefits the entirety of the neighborhood in which it exists. The definition of LR given by the City of Austin states “it is 08 NPA-2025-0012.01 - 2108 and 2110 E. 22nd Street; District 12 of 3intended for neighborhood shopping facilities which provide limited business service and office facilities predominately for the convenience of residents of the neighborhood.” There are other options for this venture – It is known that the applicant owns property at 2627 Manor Road, the old Ace Motel. While we realize we cannot dictate what he does with other property he owns, we do wonder why this cannot be utilized for this project as it is already zoned commercial and is along the Manor Road corridor. The response was “that property is a separate site and is not associated with this project.” 08 NPA-2025-0012.01 - 2108 and 2110 E. 22nd Street; District 13 of 3