14 C14H-2026-0013 - Nitschke-Versea-Goins House; District 1 - Public Comment 3 - Part 1 — original pdf

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From: To: Cc: Subject: Date: Attachments: River Roaring LandUseLiaison; Contreras, Kalan McKnight, Kim RE: March 24, 2026, Planning Commission Agenda and Speaker Registration Link Tuesday, March 24, 2026 1:03:14 PM image001.png image1774375319821 External Email - Exercise Caution Dear Planning Commission, Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Item 14, 907 East 13th Street, for this evening. I am the next door neighbor to 907, and I am also the previous owner of 907. I plan to testify in person if possible. I have attached and linked several important documents: Around 2019, I sold 907 East 13th Street to Eureka, although they used a holding company name. See attached first page of our contract that closed - it is Eureka. When I sold them the home, I gave them the original hand written deed and requested that they preserve the front two rooms which were built in the 1880s. See attached hand written original deed. When I sold 907 to Eureka, the front two rooms were in magnificent condition. See the 9 photos of the front two rooms at the time I sold it to them in this folder. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/nnllt4st42ncp7s6btnq0/AD4SY5-hONjq6z7mWVHAm1g? rlkey=fpb8q8j99n5m8ie4ujydm53mt&dl=0 Before I sold 907 to Eureka, I hired architect Jamie Chioco to draw up plans for an addition to the property. Jamie Chioco drew up plans, and we had the plans approved by the city and I changed my mind just as we were about to break ground. ... So the plans approved by the city demonstrate that someone can build to maximum envelope on the 907 land AND AT THE SAME TIME, ONLY THE FRONT TWO HISTORIC ROOMS ARE VISIBLE FROM THE FRONT due to the slope of the ground and street level. I looked for the front rendering, and realized that he never rendered the front view because I was going to preserve the front two historic rooms - so there is literally NO CHANGE to the front view even with maximum build behind it. See the attached floor plans that Jamie drew up that show what I mean. Unique Architectural Design 907 is in the Swede Hill Neighborhood Association. My good friend is Finnish and spent summers in Sweden. She said that 907 East 13th reminded her of the typical Swedish home up on a hill that she grew up around in Sweden. No other home in the Swede Hill N.A. has these uniquely Swedish stylings in its front facade. My friend said that there is no other home in Austin that has the subtle architectural details of an authentic Swedish home. Historic Associations My neighbor across the street, Deloria Grant, told me many stories about the block before she passed away. She lived in the home across the street for over 70 years. 907 should be considered not alone, but as part of the block because the whole block functioned as one family at one time. It was an African American block that sat next to a Swede block and there was some intermingling. Two Huston College professors lived at 907 East 13th, one in each of the front rooms. Huston College was 2 blocks away. The home had no running water at first, so they each lived in one room sharing an outhouse. Later, a tailor lived at 907 who drank a lot, and who made clothing for Azie Morton so she could attend Huston College in decent clothes since she was from the country town of San Marcos. The block was like a family. One man had a truck and he would go hunt for squirrel and other local game and bring it home for everyone on the block. Another person on the block made great beans and always shared her beans with others on the block. The tailor in 907 took care of mending and clothes for everyone on the block. In that way, the block functioned as one family caring for one another with their unique gifts they each brought to bear. 14 C14H-2026-0013 - Nitschke-Versea-Goins House; District 11 of 9There was more interracial connection than usual for that time as the African American block was adjacent to the Swede block and one family lived across the line. Across the street, Deloria Grant's father was a famous track coach at High Schools in town, then at Colleges and then a Pro Football coach briefly. Her father organized the group of people, on this block, that strategized about how to get Heamon Sweat into UT Law School. Their tightly coordinated effort resulted in Heamon Sweat being the first ever African American admitted to UT Law. The 907 home is all that is left of this beautiful part of Austin history. Community Value There are not many homes left from the original Austin plat. On this block, only 907 and 909 remain. I've iived in one or the other for 23 years, and I will continue to preserve 909. The condition of the front two rooms was perfect when Eureka purchased the home. It has remained vacant since then, and it has deteriorated under the ownership of Eureka. However I do not feel it would be fair to reward Eureka for this neglect. See the images of the front two rooms when I sold it to them, referenced above with the link. Thank you again for your time and attention. Please preserve the front two rooms of this home for the benefit of the city of Austin and her people. With love and light, River del Llano 909 East 13th Street Austin, Texas 78702 On Tuesday, March 24th, 2026 at 11:24 AM, Contreras, Kalan <Kalan.Contreras@austintexas.gov> wrote: Hi River, Thanks for reaching out, and we will see you there tonight. And yes, the Planning Commission will use the same Code section to evaluate eligibility. Please send documents to this thread ASAP, as they must be queued for posting by 2. Kalan Contreras Principal Planner, Historic Preservation Office Austin Planning 512-974-2727 kalan.contreras@austintexas.gov Correspondence and information submitted to the City of Austin are subject to the Texas Public Information Act (Chapter 552) and may be published online. 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. 14 C14H-2026-0013 - Nitschke-Versea-Goins House; District 12 of 9 External Email - Exercise Caution Kalan thank you for your support so that I can offer my testimony in person this evening. I'm copying both you and Ella. What are the criteria for item 14 on the agenda, 907 East 13th? In other words, what is the rule or law that the Planning Commission will be deciding related to this property? Is it the exact same standards that the historic commission used to decide? Also, I want to send in documents - do I send them here to you both today by 2pm? Or is there a different way to get them to the Commissioners for this evening? Thanks in advance. With love and light, On Monday, March 23rd, 2026 at 7:52 AM, Contreras, Kalan <Kalan.Contreras@austintexas.gov> wrote: Dear applicants, property owners, and interested parties, Your historic zoning case is scheduled to be heard at the March 24 meeting of the Planning Commission, beginning at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St. Please view the Planning Commission Webpage for the agenda, also attached to this email. To sign up to speak on this item, click the following link: https://forms.office.com/g/W9r6dSSkUG . 14 C14H-2026-0013 - Nitschke-Versea-Goins House; District 13 of 9 For questions on the participation and signup process, please contact LandUseLiaison@austintexas.gov. Kalan Contreras Principal Planner, Historic Preservation Office Austin Planning 512-974-2727 kalan.contreras@austintexas.gov Correspondence and information submitted to the City of Austin are subject to the Texas Public Information Act (Chapter 552) and may be published online. 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. Good afternoon, You are receiving this email because you have an item on the March 24, 2026, Planning Commission meeting agenda. Please view the Planning Commission Webpage for the agenda, also attached to this email. Speaker registration link to be shared with applicants and interested parties: https://forms.office.com/g/W9r6dSSkUG Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns. Thanks! Ella Garcia Business Process Specialist 14 C14H-2026-0013 - Nitschke-Versea-Goins House; District 14 of 9 Land Use Liaison | Planning and Zoning and Platting Commission 512-978-0821 landuseliaison@austintexas.gov From: LandUseLiaison <LandUseLiaison@austintexas.gov> Sent: Friday, March 20, 2026 4:44 PM CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". From: River Roaring <river@riverroaring.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:19 AM To: Contreras, Kalan <Kalan.Contreras@austintexas.gov>; LandUseLiaison <LandUseLiaison@austintexas.gov> Cc: McKnight, Kim <Kim.McKnight@austintexas.gov> Subject: Re: March 24, 2026, Planning Commission Agenda and Speaker Registration Link CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 14 C14H-2026-0013 - Nitschke-Versea-Goins House; District 15 of 9 14 C14H-2026-0013 - Nitschke-Versea-Goins House; District 16 of 914 C14H-2026-0013 - Nitschke-Versea-Goins House; District 17 of 914 C14H-2026-0013 - Nitschke-Versea-Goins House; District 18 of 9