SRCC GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES (www.srccatx.org)
Monday, October 7, 2019 7:15 PM
LIFE IN THE CITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (formerly Grace UMC)
205 E. MONROE, AUSTIN, TEXAS
AGENDA MINUTES
To be sure you get a vote, become a member. You can join or renew online www.srccatx.org. Not sure if you are current? Email membership@srccatx.org and we’ll let you know.
CALL TO ORDER/APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. 7:15 Meeting procedures, etiquette, welcome newcomers. Verification of quorum. Reminder: state your name when presenting or seconding a motion. If an acronym is stated during the meeting and you don’t know what it means, please feel free to raise your hand and ask.*
Presenter throughout: Eric Cassady, SRCC President, president@srccatx.org, unless otherwise noted. (8 min)
2. 7:23 Membership and voting. Pay multiple years in advance and get a discount. Single membership: 1-yr $20; 2-yr $35; 3-yr $50 / Family membership: 1-yr $35; 2-yr $65; 3-yr $95 NOTE: In order to vote or make motions, dues must be paid a month in advance, with the exception that if a former member’s dues have lapsed no more than 2 years, they may renew at the meeting and be eligible to vote. (2 min)
3. 7:25 Treasurer’s Report – see reverse of agenda. All reports available upon request to the Treasurer treasurer@srccatx.org
Presenter: Oliver Caruso (Treasurer) (5 min)
4. 7:30 Committee Chairs reports
1) Planning and Zoning; 2) Historic Preservation; 3) Finance; 4) Mobility–see item below; 5) Public Safety; 6) Parks and Environment; 7) Schools–see items below; 8) Communications; 9) Executive Committee; 10) Land Development Code Rewrite ad hoc committee –see item below
Representatives: 11) ANC*; 12) SCC*; 13) South Central Waterfront–see item below; 14) St. Edward’s; 15) S. Central Affordable CDC (20 min)
Planning and Zoning—There are continuing construction issues at 504 Sunny Lane. There will be a presentation about this issue at the November SRCC General Membership meeting, and it will also be heard at the Board of Adjustment in November. The Music Lane development on South Congress has submitted for Site Plan approval.
Historic Preservation—On November 14th there will be a public meeting about the pending National Register Historic District in SRCC. The meeting will take place at Life in the City Church from 5:30 – 7:30.
Finance—Nothing to report.
Mobility—Paula (new chair of the committee) shared the Mobility Committee fact sheet (linked here), summarizing the scope of the committee, calling for volunteers, giving proposed meeting times/dates, and major issues for the committee to discuss. Anyone who is interested in getting involved in mobility issues should contact her at mobility@srccatx.org.
Public Safety—We could use more volunteers for the Neighborhood Watch program. Please contact Tom Groce to participate at tgroce71@gmail.com.
Parks & Environment—David Todd reported that the Indiangrass Wildlife Sanctuary will be renamed in honor of Rene Barrera. It will be during a volunteer workday on October 20th starting at 9:00 am. The reopening of Little Stacy Park is scheduled for October 31st. In November Sunset Lane near Little Stacy will be closed for conversion to a walking path (this is expected to take about 3 months).
It’s My Park Day is on November 2nd; there are volunteer opportunities in SRCC at Blunn Creek Preserve and at Heritage Oaks Park.
Schools—Gretchen reported that the Travis Heights Elementary School Fall Carnival fundraiser will be October 18th from 5-8 pm; there will be 22 booths set up, all are welcome, and are encouraged to come in costume. Lively Middle School (formerly Fulmore) is having an information session on their magnet program on Tuesday, October 8th from 6:00 – 7:00 pm, and a second session on Tuesday, November 12th from 6:00 – 7:00 pm.
Communications–The fall newsletter is ready to be printed; expect distribution the last week or two of October. Should anyone have something of interest to post to the SRCC website, please send it to Berry Weed (communications@srccatx.org) including a brief blurb and any attachments or links.
Executive Committee–Nothing to report.
Land-Development Code Rewrite Ad Hoc—See separate item.
Austin Neighborhoods Council—Gabriel reviewed highlights from the last two ANC meetings.
August: presentation on Project Connect; presentation on visualization tool “Upzone Game” to show effect of zoning changes, particularly related to up-zoning from single to multi-family in residential areas; results of the Land Development Code survey were all but unanimous.
September: Travis County Taxpayer’s Union spoke about the Cap Metro Mobility Plan;
Assistant Director of the Development Services Department spoke about HB 3167; PODER presented on the Riverside Corridor; an update on the LDC survey and nominations for 2020 executive committee members for ANC.
South Central Coalition—Nothing to report.
South Central Waterfront—The first round of comments from City reviewers was sent related to the Statesman development; there were a lot of questions and they were not ready to sign off. There was a fruitful meeting regarding the South Central Advisory Board Waterfront Framework Vision Plan.
St. Edwards—Nothing to report.
S. Central Affordable CDC—Nothing to report.
5. 7:50 Approve minutes from the September 2, 2019 monthly general meeting (available at www.srccatx.org) (5 min)
Motion: Betty Weed/Wolf Sittler to approve the minutes from the September meeting. 27/0/0 PASSED
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
6. 7:55 The City is releasing the draft of the Land Development Code Rewrite on October 4, 2019. Indications are that things are better than the initial proposals – homeowners who need to rebuild within a Transition Zone will no longer be forced to erect a 4-plex. Members of our ad-hoc committee have been poring over the draft, and will tell us what they’ve found.
Presenter: Paula Kothmann, Land Development Code Rewrite ad hoc Committee Chair, paula.kothmann@gmail.com
(10 min + 5 min Q&A)
There is a District 9 meeting to discuss the LDC rewrite effort at City Hall on October 10th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Paula provided a document (linked here) summarizing recent activities by the LDC committee.
NEW BUSINESS
7. 8:10 AISD put forth a proposal document listing proposed school changes, including several school closures. It does not appear that SRCC-zoned schools are directly affected.
Link to AISD School Changes Scenarios.
Presenter: Gretchen Otto, SRCC Schools Committee Chair, gretchenotto7@gmail.com (5 min)
AISD is proposing some changes and school closures due to declining enrollment and deferred enrollment. The current scenarios show closing 12 campuses in the next 5 years, though nothing is decided for sure yet. AISD is trying to launch programs, retain teachers, and modernize schools. The plan is expected to save $240M of capital cost and $10M of annual operating budget. There is a proposal to provide extended hours at no cost to parents, from 6:00 am to 6:30 pm.
8. 8:15 The Downtown Austin Alliance is conducting a parking study on South Congress Avenue. Several SRCC members and businesses have been participating.
Link to fact sheet about the parking study.
Presenter: Casey Burack, General Counsel & VP of Government Affairs, cburack@downtownaustin.com
(15 min+10 min Q&A)
The City got the Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) involved in the South Congress Parking Study based on an existing contract that was in place, and the team includes Nelson\Nygaard Consulting. Phase 1 is wrapping up, and the results show how parking is being used and managed in and along the South Congress Corridor; a fact book will be completed this week to reflect the findings. There are 5400 parking spaces in the study area, which does include some parking lots. The goal is to find a comprehensive parking strategy. Peak usage is from noon – 2 pm, with 60% of spaces used.
A meeting with neighborhood residents is planned November 5th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at the High Road. A meeting with merchants will be scheduled on November 6th.
The consultants will digest the study findings and the feedback from the upcoming meetings, then will put together a suite of solutions. Then in January they will meet and negotiate between the stakeholders.
It was asked if SRCC could appoint someone to attend a biweekly phone call to discuss the project.
9. 8:40 SRCC is considering changing the location for the General Membership meetings from Life in the City to Good Shepherd on the Hill (1700 Woodland). Discussion with and input from the membership is being solicited.
Presenter: Eric Cassady (15 min)
There was discussion about some of the pros and cons to changing the meeting venue to Good Shepherd on the Hill. The site includes free on-site parking (with handicapped and overflow street parking available), a ground-floor meeting space for better accessibility, and a larger and more accommodating meeting space. This change of venue would also require a change to meeting dates; the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm is currently being considered. If feedback is positive, then a change of venue and date would no earlier than February 2020, and this would be done in conjunction with an update to the SRCC meeting yard signs. It would be a good opportunity to consider re-branding and marketing of SRCC overall.
SRCC has formed an ad-hoc committee to explore this possibility and gather input from SRCC members and the community. Anyone who would like to serve on the committee or provide feedback regarding the potential move should contact SRCC President Eric Cassady at president@srccatx.org.
In general, feedback about the change of venue was positive. One member indicated that they had conflicts with the proposed date change. There was a concern about the impact to people who currently walk to Life in the City, although the ample parking at Good Shepherd may offset that concern. The move would also send a message that SRCC extends East of I-35 and those members are important as well.
8:55 GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Travis Heights Art Trail is scheduled for November 2-3, 2019. Charlotte Bell has more information – contact her at charwolf100@gmail.com
- 5th Annual SoCo Pumpkin Patch at Christ Lutheran Church
- Backyard of Christ’s Workshop
- 212 East Monroe Street
- October 11-31 (or until we sell out of pumpkins)
- VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We need volunteers for open positions including
- OUTREACH COMMITTEE MEMBERS/CHAIR
- SRCC has restarted the NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH program, and is looking for participants. Anyone interested should contact Tom Groce, SRCC Public Safety Chair at tgroce71@gmail.com to get involved!
- Greater South River City Neighborhood Planning Contact Team members are stewards of our 2005 Neighborhood Plan. To join or for information, visit this page:
https://www.srccatx.org/about/greater-south-river-city-neighborhood-plan/ Contact Terry Franz if interested: tmfranz@airmail.net
*Frequently used acronyms: ACF: Austin Community Fund; ANC: Austin Neighborhood Council; SF: Single Family zoning category; FLUM: Future Land Use Map; GSRC NPCT: Greater South River City Neighborhood Planning Contact Team; NCCD: Neighborhood Conservation Combining District; PUD: Planned Unit Development; SCC: South Central Coalition of NAs
Agenda Prepared by Dan Fredine, vicepresident@srccatx.org
Agenda subject to change. Please check www.srccatx.org for most updated version.
