Backup — original pdf

Backup

August 26, 2020 Dear Chair Escobar and Commissioners, Thank you all for your diligent and thoughtful review of the URP changes proposed by your staff as well as the individual amendments offered by commissioners and by the Organization of Central East Austin Neighborhoods. The URP and NCCDs are foundational documents that represent two decades of community work and compromise that we all rely on to inspire and guide growth and change that preserves and enhances livability and honors the history and culture of this area. As regards the issues the Board is slated to consider this week, OCEAN respectfully urges you to: 1. Amend and support the two bullet point statements under the Accomplishments section that capture the URB’s preference for preservation in place of historic assets by reinserting the words “current, potential or recommended” in front of “landmarks” to fully reflect the URB’s action in April 2019. 2. Adopt Commissioner Motwani’s suggested language for Vision and Purpose statements, as it retains the connection between the Plan and the community that created it and will continue to be impacted by its implementation. 3. Adopt use language that carries forward the legal, non-conforming status of Cocktail Lounge use as permitted at specific sites under the original Plan but does not expand the use along the street or provide for physical expansion of existing uses. 4. Adopt use language that carries forward under the ‘Save and Except’ section the legal, conforming status of all existing Funeral Service, Condominium Residential/Townhome, Single-Family Attached Residential, Single-Family Residential, Small-Lot Single-Family Residential, Two-Family Residential, Club, Lodge and Hotel/Motel (ground floor) uses. 5. Ensure that the Use Chart reflects that Cocktail Lounge is prohibited, except as a legal non-conforming use at the addresses listed in the draft. 6. Ensure that the Use Chart clearly reflects that Professional Office is a permitted ground floor use on East 12th Street. 7. Postpone approving the package of URP amendments until all proposed amendments to the East 12th Street NCCD are published for adequate review, as the NCCD text is to be appended to and serve as the primary reference for site development standards permitted by the Plan. As of today, those changes are not posted on your Meeting Materials page. Thank you, all, again for your willingness to take the time to engage the community in this review and carefully consider what ought to be preserved and what changed so the text may serve the city and the community well for many years to come. Sincerely, Nate Jones President, Organization of Central East Austin Neighborhoods