10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 9 - Staff Report — original pdf

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ZONING CHANGE REVIEW SHEET CASE: C14-2026-0006 – Holly Wu Restaurant DISTRICT: 9 ZONING FROM: GO-NP ZONING TO: GR-NP *as amended LR-CO-NP ADDRESS: 1608 West 6th Street SITE AREA: 0.52 acres (22, 651 sq. ft.) PROPERTY OWNER: Chin Hong (Jimmy) Ng (Lin Asian Bar LLC) AGENT: Taniguchi Architects PLLC (Evan Taniguchi) CASE MANAGER: Cynthia Hadri 512-974-7620, Cynthia.hadri@austintexas.gov STAFF RECOMMENDATION: The staff recommendation is to grant neighborhood commercial – conditional overlay – neighborhood plan (LR-CO-NP) combined district zoning. The conditional overlay will prohibit service station. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION / RECOMMENDATION: April 28, 2026: CITY COUNCIL ACTION: ORDINANCE NUMBER: ISSUES: On April 15, 2026, the applicant amended their application to request neighborhood commercial – conditional overlay – neighborhood plan (LR-CO-NP) combined district zoning. The original zoning request was for community commercial – neighborhood plan (GR-NP), after meeting with Old West Austin Neighborhood Association (OWANA) the applicant amended their request to match staff’s recommendation with service station as a prohibited use. On April 17, 2026, OWANA and the applicant agreed to the following prohibited uses on the property: Alternative Financial Services; Club or Lodge; College and University Facilities; Communication Service Facilities; Community Events; Community Garden; Community Recreation (Private); Community Recreation (Public); Consumer Convenience Services; Consumer Repair Services; Custom Manufacturing; Hospital Services (Limited); Medical 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 91 of 17C14-2026-0006 2 Offices exceeding 5,000 square feet gross floor area; Medical Offices not exceeding 5,000 square feet gross floor area; Off-Site Accessory Parking; Pedicab Storage and Dispatch; Pet Services; Plant Nursery; Printing and Publishing; Private Primary Educational Facilities; Private Secondary Educational Facilities; Safety Services; Service Station; Theater; Urban Farm. Staff does not object to these prohibited uses in addition to the staff recommendation of neighborhood commercial – conditional overlay – neighborhood plan (LR-CO-NP) with service station prohibited. CASE MANAGER COMMENTS: The property in question is approximately 0.52 acres, currently zoned general office – neighborhood plan (GO-NP) combined district zoning and developed with a parking lot and an office building. There is access to West 6th Street, which is an ASMP Level 3, Imagine Austin Corridor and an ASMP Transit Priority Network Corridor. This site is in the Old West Austin Neighborhood Plan and is characterized as mixed use. The surrounding area has several office and commercial uses around it (LO-NP; CS-MU-V-CO-NP; GO-NP; CS-MU- CO-NP; NO-MU-H-CO-NP; PUD-NP) and various residential types such as condominium residential and multifamily residential (MF-4-NP; UNZ; MF-4-HD-NP). Please refer to Exhibits A (Zoning Map) and B (Aerial View). The applicant is requesting the neighborhood commercial – conditional overlay – neighborhood plan (LR-CO-NP) combined district zoning to allow for a high-end restaurant use (not fast-food or drive thru). “We currently have 5 restaurants in Austin, with one going up in Cedar Park, and have been good neighbors at all of our locations.” On April 15, 2026, the applicant amended their request to align with staff’s recommendation to add the conditional overlay to their request. Please refer to Exhibits C (Applicant’s Summary Letter) and D (Applicant’s Amended Summary Letter). The staff is recommending LR-CO-NP combined district zoning here, with service station as a prohibited use. The proposed zoning is compatible and consistent with surrounding land uses and zoning patterns in this area. The requested rezoning for restaurant use is a reasonable use of the property based on the location and surrounding zonings. The property is in Old West Austin Neighborhood Plan and falls within the recommended areas for neighborhood friendly commercial uses based on the neighborhood plan. Per the comprehensive plan review comments, this site meets six (6) of the Imagine Austin Decision Guidelines. The site is adjacent to the 6th Street Activity Corridor and has access to a bus stop on West 6th Street, 0.05 miles away. The site provides connectivity to healthy living, goods and services and food access. 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 92 of 17 C14-2026-0006 3 BASIS OF RECOMMENDATION: 1. The proposed zoning should be consistent with the purpose statement of the district sought. The neighborhood commercial district is intended for neighborhood shopping facilities which provide limited business service and office facilities predominately for the convenience of residents of the neighborhood. The conditional overlay combining district may be applied in combination with any base district. The district is intended to provide flexible and adaptable use or site development regulations by requiring standards tailored to individual properties. The neighborhood plan district denotes a tract located within the boundaries of an adopted Neighborhood Plan. 2. Zoning should allow for reasonable use of the property. The Old West Austin Neighborhood Plan states that “the neighborhood planning team has identified "neighborhood-friendly" commercial areas where office, retail, and residences can be mixed vertically and horizontally. These areas include West 5th and 6th Streets between Lamar and Mopac”. This site falls within the recommended areas based on the neighborhood plan. The applicant is proposing to add restaurant use to the property, this use is permitted in neighborhood commercial and would be a reasonable use of the property based on the location and surrounding zoning patterns. 3. Zoning changes should promote a balance of intensities and densities. The adjacent property to this site is zoned MF-4-NP, the MF-4 base zoning district is equivalent to GO, GR and CS commercial base zoning districts based on height and/or other site developments standards. The requested rezoning is for LR base district zoning which is the equivalent of MF-2 and MF-3 base zoning districts based on height and/or other site developments standards. This rezoning would be more restrictive than the neighboring property, which would in turn provide a balance of intensities and densities for the area. 4. Zoning changes should promote compatibility with adjacent and nearby uses. The surrounding area is characterized as mixed use with various commercial, office and residential uses. The rezoning to neighborhood commercial is compatible to adjacent uses as it provides limited business services to the area. There are many existing zonings (GR-NP; CS-MU-V-CO-NP; LR-MU-CO-NP; GR-V-CO-NP) that allow for similar and more intense uses, approximately 0.25 miles to the east and west. In summary, this rezoning would promote compatibility with the adjacent and nearby uses. 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 93 of 17 C14-2026-0006 4 EXISTING ZONING AND LAND USES: Site North MF-4-NP; NO-MU-H-CO-NP ZONING GO-NP South East West LO-NP; CS-MU-V-CO-NP MF-4-NP; LO-NP; GO-NP MF-4-NP; UNZ; GO-NP LAND USES Office and Parking Condominium Residential and Multifamily Residential Commercial Uses Multifamily Residential and Commercial Uses Multifamily Residential and Commercial Uses NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AREA: Old West Austin WATERSHED: Lady Bird Lake (Urban) CAPITOL VIEW CORRIDOR: No SCENIC ROADWAY: No SCHOOLS: Austin Independent School District Mathews Elementary School O Henry Middle School Austin High School COMMUNITY REGISTRY LIST: Austin Independent School District Austin Neighborhoods Council Friends of Austin Neighborhoods Homeless Neighborhood Association Old West Austin Neighborhood Association AREA CASE HISTORIES: NUMBER C14-2015-0044 – Project Name REQUEST LO-NP to GR-V-CO-NP * amended the zoning request to LR-MU- CO-NP. The applicant is proposing Vertical Mixed Use Zoning C14-2007-0237 - Old West Austin Neighborhood Planning Area Vertical Mixed Use Zonings Old West Austin Neighborhood Plan Contact Team Preservation Austin Save Barton Creek Association Shoal Creek Conservancy COMMISSION To Grant LR-MU-CO-NP with a conditional overlay to limit trips to 2,000 trips per day and the following prohibited uses: service station, restaurant limited and restaurant general. (5/26/2015) To Grant -V CITY COUNCIL Approved LR-MU-CO-NP as Planning Commission Recommended (6/11/2015) Approved -V as Planning Commission Recommended (3/27/2008) 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 94 of 17 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 95 of 1710 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 96 of 17C14-2026-0006 7 PARD – Planning & Design Review: Parkland dedication fees may apply to any future site or subdivision applications resulting from this rezoning. As of January 1, 2024, new commercial, non-residential uses are not subject to parkland dedication requirements at the time of site plan and subdivision. Site Plan: Zoning Cases FYI: All comments regarding the effects of the proposed rezoning on subsequent Site Plan Review applications are intended to assist in identifying potential development constraints but do not include all regulations which may affect a specific proposal. Changes to property boundaries and requests for development cannot include all regulatory limitations which may apply to a specific subject to modification or reconsideration if affected by a change in property boundaries or if development is proposed on only a portion of the land proposed for rezoning. These comments are intended to assist in identifying potential development constraints, but do not address the actual restrictions which will apply to a specific development proposal. Austin Development Services offers a variety of pre-application review options to assist in evaluating specific development proposals prior to Site Plan Application. Site plans will be required for any new development except for residential only projects with up to 4 units. Any new development is subject to Subchapter E. Design Standards and Mixed Use. Additional comments will be made when the site plan is submitted. Compatibility Standards The site is not subject to compatibility standards. Reference 25-2-1051, 25-2-1053 Austin Transportation Department – Engineering Review: Existing Street Characteristics: Name ASMP Classification ASMP Required ROW Existing ROW Existing Pavement Sidewalks Bicycle Route W 6TH ST Level 3 80’ 50’ 40’ Yes Yes Capital Metro (within ¼ mile) Yes 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 97 of 17 C14-2026-0006 Austin Water Utility: No comments on zoning change. 8 FYI: The landowner intends to serve the site with existing City of Austin water utilities. Depending on the development plans submitted, water and or wastewater service extension requests may be required. All water and wastewater construction must be inspected by the City of Austin. For more information pertaining to the Service Extension Request process and submittal requirements contact the Austin Water SER team at ser@austintexas.gov. INDEX OF EXHIBITS AND ATTACHMENTS TO FOLLOW: A. Zoning Map B. Aerial Map C. Applicant’s Summary Letter D. Applicant’s Amended Summary Letter Correspondence from Interested Parties 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 98 of 17 Exhibit A 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 99 of 17Exhibit B 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 910 of 17March 2, 2026 Mrs. Lauren Middleton-Pratt Director of Planning City of Austin 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr Austin, Texas 78752 Via Online Submittal re: Application for Rezoning; 22,651 sf, located at 1608 West 6th Street (the “Property”) Dear Mrs. Pratt: As Architect/ owner representative for the above-referenced Property, I respectfully submit the attached Application for Rezoning. The Property consists of a vacant building formerly used as an engineer’s office. The current zoning on the Property is General Office-Neighborhood Plan (GO-NP) as indicated on the attached map. The Application for Rezoning requests to change the zoning of this Property to General Retail-Neighborhood Plan (GR-NP) to allow for high-end restaurant use (not fast-food or drive- thru). Our proposed hours of operation are 5-10 pm, seven days a week. These hours should minimize any disturbance to most of our direct neighbors, who are primarily 9-5 offices. We also propose only 60 (+/- ) seats so we can provide on-site parking for most of our customers. We currently have 5 restaurants in Austin, with one going up in Cedar Park, and have been good neighbors at all of our locations. The Property is located within the Old West Austin Neighborhood Plan, and we understand that a future land use map amendment is not required since OWANA does not have one, but we want to do whatever we can to be good neighbors. A Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) is not required pursuant to the TIA Determination Form included within the attached Application. If you have any questions about this Application for Rezoning or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at your convenience. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Respectfully submitted, Evan K Taniguchi, AIA Principal Exhibit C 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 911 of 17April 15, 2026 Mrs. Lauren Middleton-Pratt Director of Planning City of Austin 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr Austin, Texas 78752 Via Online Submittal re: Application for Rezoning; 22,651 sf, located at 1608 West 6th Street (the “Property”) Dear Mrs. Pratt: As Architect/Owner representative for the above-referenced Property, I respectfully submit the attached Application for Rezoning. The Property consists of a vacant building formerly used as an engineer’s office. The current zoning on the Property is General Office-Neighborhood Plan (GO-NP) as indicated on the attached map. The Application for Rezoning requests to change the zoning of this Property to Local Retail-Conditional Overlay-Neighborhood Plan (LR-CO-NP) with a restricted covenant that has been negotiated with OWANA and the adjacent neighbors, to allow for high-end restaurant use (not fast-food or drive-thru). The conditional overlay (CO) prohibits service station use of the site. Our proposed hours of operation are 5-10 pm, seven days a week. These hours should minimize any disturbance to most of our direct neighbors, who are primarily 9-5 offices. We also propose only 60 (+/-) seats so we can provide on- site parking for most of our customers. We currently have 5 restaurants in Austin, with one going up in Cedar Park, and have been good neighbors at all of those locations. The Property is located within the Old West Austin Neighborhood Plan, and we understand that a future land use map amendment is not required since OWANA does not have one, but we want to do whatever we can to be good neighbors. A Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) is not required pursuant to the TIA Determination Form included within the attached Application. If you have any questions about this Application for Rezoning or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at your convenience. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Respectfully submitted, Evan K Taniguchi, AIA Principal Exhibit D 10 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 912 of 1710 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 913 of 1710 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 914 of 1710 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 915 of 1710 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 916 of 1710 C14-2026-0006 - Holly Wu W. 6th Street Restaurant; District 917 of 17