SRCC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
TUESDAY, February 2, 2021 7:00 PM
Zoom Teleconference
via THE INTERNET
AGENDA
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The meeting was called to order at 7:03 pm by Gretchen Otto, filling in for Megan.
CALL TO ORDER/APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. 7:00 Meeting procedures, Zoom tools, etiquette, welcome & introductions of new members
Presenter throughout: Gretchen Otto, former SRCC President, unless otherwise noted.
Reminder to register for the Zoom meetings ahead of time, so that the Membership Chair isn’t trying to authenticate all members as the meeting starts.
2. 7:05 ANC Report – Resolution in Support of Moratorium on Residential Zoning Amendments and Variances During the Pandemic. See the Resolution here.
Presenter: Betty Weed, SRCC Representative Austin Neighborhood Council (5 min)
The last ANC meeting was on Jan 27. It included all AISD trustees, and they talked about trying to get kids back in classes, increase enrollment, etc.. There was also discussion about the future of I-35 in and around downtown.
The Dawson Neighborhood Association presented a resolution (see linked Resolution item above). They suggested that until we can have in-person meetings, the City should stop all zoning amendments on residential properties. This was in reaction to the lack of ability to participate in the Council meetings, to present the citizens and neighborhood positions. A member felt that a more effective resolution might be to have Council do a better job of allowing people to comment at the meetings. The ANC rep will put together a proposed motion to be voted on at the next GM meeting, and will share it with the EC for review.
3. 7:10 The Role of neighborhood associations in diversity, inequality, and inclusion issues
Presenters: Carol Martin, Angela Reed, DEI Committee (10 min)
The Ad-hoc committee had a meeting in December. They discussed a basic purpose to evaluate how SRCC can be more inclusive and extend more to the neighborhood. They would like to identify if there’s anything that is excluding people, what we can do to get more people involved, including using different terminology (to clearly state that this is a Neighborhood Association, not a homeowners association). Would like to be more accurate about the use of the Affordable Housing term – discerning relative affordability versus managed housing. An idea to get more involvement from the Aria Grand (affordable housing recently built at I-35 and Woodland) would be to invite them to visit us and tell us more about how they were able to get their project built. There was a lot of discussion about affordable housing and how it can fit into our neighborhood.
It was also suggested that a couple of times a year, we bring in a guest speaker to explore a topic for 30 minutes prior to the regular meeting, and feedback was requested about that approach.
4. 7:20 Membership & voting announcements. Reminder that SRCC current dues status is required to participate in SRCC business and actions such as voting and making motions. (2 min)
5. 7:22 Approve minutes from December 2020 Executive Committee Meeting
Reminder: schedule for Executive meetings: 1st Tuesday of the month; 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Location: teleconference during 2020 (eventually will return to Good Shepherd on the Hill).
Remaining meeting dates in 2021: GM Feb 16; EC Mar 2 (tentative); GM Mar 16 skip; EC Apr 6; GM Apr 20; EC May 4; GM May 18; EC Jun 1 (tentative); GM Jun 15; EC Jul 6 skip; GM Jul 20 skip; EC Jul 3 (tentative); GM Jul 17; EC Sept 7 (tentative); GM Sept 21; EC Oct 5 (tentative); GM 19; EC Nov 2 skip; GM Nov 16; EC Dec 7; GM Dec 21 skip (3 min)
No comments or corrections noted – minutes were approved as posted.
6. 7:25 Standing Committee check-ins on events/goals/issues.
Presenters: Committee Chairs. 1) Planning and Zoning 2) Historic Preservation; 3) Finance 4) Mobility; 5) Public Safety; 6) Parks and Environment; 7) Schools; 8) Communications (15 min)
1) Planning and Zoning – the subject was brought up of SRCC potentially donating funds to support the homeless, possibly to a food pantry. It was noted that SRCC GM recently voted to donate $1000 to the Central Texas Food Bank. The chair spoke to a bike shop about potential donations for the homeless.
2) Historic Preservation – we have been able to slow down some of the demolitions, and some of the homeowners have been working with us. We don’t really have a way to stop the demolitions. There is a project coming up that affects the property at Academy and Congress (which is part of Fairveiew Park NCCD), and the owners are trying to get out of the NCCD in order to further development.
3) Finance – nothing to report. In general if you want to request that SRCC spend funds for a specific purpose, put a proposal in writing and send it to the Finance Committee.
4) Mobility – there was a presentation on the Cap Metro Orange Line this morning. The train is expected to run at street level (25’ wide), which concerned the small businesses due to potential disruptions. On March 9th the S. Congress Parking Study group will present their findings to the Urban Transportation Committee. It was noted that the Blue Line is also supposed to be surface level on Riverside through the SRCC area.
5) Public Safety – lost one Neighborhood Watch patroller, but gained one as well.
6) Parks and Environment – the Chair spoke to Watershed, and found out that they are not going to work on the trail on Sunset (near Little Stacy Park) until after Covid. David Todd, Jeff Kessell, and Justin Haynes met to walk the ramble along Kenwood, found a weird pipe, called PARD and they fixed it. There has been no further progress on the project. Neighbors near Heritage Oaks Park have been looking into adding a playground at the park.
7) Schools – an update at a recent PTA meeting stated that many of the teachers have gotten the first round of the vaccine. All teachers and staff at THES will have an opportunity to get a vaccine by the end of March. A neighbor noticed the THES loudspeakers doing morning announcements when walking, and were wondering if that was related to Covid, or if the announcements were usually audible outside the school; it was unclear if this is typical.
8) Communications – nothing to report.
REPORTS OF AD HOC COMMITTEES and REPRESENTATIVES
7. 7:40 Check-ins on events/goals/issues
Presenters: Committee Chairs/Representatives. Norwood; NPCT; ANC* ; SCC*; South Central Waterfront; St. Edward’s; S. Central Affordable CDC; Ad-hoc Land Development Code Revision; Ad-hoc Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (10 min)
Norwood – nothing to report
NPCT – the team met and discussed the potential development on Academy.
ANC – see item above
SCC – Elloa Matthews is our current rep, and there is nothing to report at this time.
South Central Waterfront – there is a lot going on, and expect it to move quickly in the near future. There is a transition to the new representative (Tom Groce), but Wendy will continue to serve in the interim.
St Ed’s – nothing to report.
S. Central Affordable CDC – nothing to report
Ad Hoc LDC – nothing to report.
Ad Hoc DEI – see item above.
It was mentioned that there was a public hearing about the potential demolition of a historic schoolhouse in our neighborhood at 1601 Brackenridge. The building has some historical significance, and it would be a contributing structure to the NRHD. The HLC people felt like it was structurally sound, and gave some pushback.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
8. 7:50 Appointment of Mark Thompson as Standing Committee Chair for Mobility. Appointment of Tom Groce as SRCC Representative to the South Central Waterfront Advisory Board (SCWAB). He will replace Wendy Todd, who served two terms.
Presenter: Megan Spencer, Vice President (10 min)
A nomination was made for Mark Thomspon to be appointed as the Chair of the Mobility Committee. No objections were voiced, and Mark was confirmed as the Chair.
A nomination was made for Tom Groce to be appointed as the SRCC Representative to the South Central Waterfront Advisory Board. No objections were voiced, and Tom was confirmed as the Representative.
9. 8:00 Austin Water: The Purple Pipe is coming to SRCC.
Presenter: Russ Fraser, Chair Planning & Zoning Committee. (10 min)
Austin Water has a project for the Oltorf Street Reclaimed Water Main, which is a year away from starting Phase 1. The SRCC area will be affected by Phase 2. This will be a pressurized pipeline of treated wastewater (it is NOT potable water), which could be used for irrigation, etc. This can help reduce the water utility by reducing the amount of potable water that is purchased and treated. The intent is that the local homeowners along the route will have the option for the City to tap into the pipe and provide a meter, and the homeowner will add piping to connect to the house/irrigation. The project will dig a tunnel under I-35 for the pipe. This tunnel could be pretty deep, as TXDoT is lowering I-35 as part of the upcoming I-35 projects. When the pipe is installed in the neighborhood, the trench will be in the street, not in peoples’ yards. There were concerns with how this can be installed on Mariposa (which is a twisty street), and why it is running through the neighborhood (but it is unclear if it is going further). There was interest in having Austin Water come talk about this at a General Membership meeting.
ADDED ITEM
There was discussion about the potential Foundation Communities project on Parker Lane. Notice was given to neighbors within 500’ of the project, and some are concerned about the project. It was requested that some time be included in the April General Membership for discussion about this project. The notice indicated rezoning from SF3-NP (single family) to a MF (multi family). The applicant also filed a Neighborhood Plan Amendment to update the Future Land Use Map, which is required when requesting a zoning change on a property that falls with an area that has a Neighborhood Plan. There was concern about increasing density; this area has a lot of multifamily housing, but not much space is used for parks, schools, etc. The opposition is not in regard to the low income housing, though there is some concern that the low income housing is being put on the east side. It would be useful to have people who are familiar with discussions that the EROC NPCT folks had related to this item.
It was noted that this property isn’t in SRCC, but SRCC adjacent (on the other side of a boundary street).
There was a question about which school these residents would go to – as of right now, it would be Linder.
It was noted that this project could be affected by the ANC resolution for the moratorium on upzoning. The site is zoned for SF but is used as a church, so it’s a little unclear if this would apply.
10. 8:10 ANNOUNCEMENTS
SRCC currently has the following volunteer positions open:
-Outreach Committee Members/Chair
-SRCC President
Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.
A member has asked about the transition from the Yahoo ListServ to Groups.io. The SRCC Neighborhood Association does not control the listserve, but it can be joined by:
â— Going to https://groups.io/g/SouthRiverAustin
â— Scroll down and click the blue button that says “+ Apply For Membership In This Groupâ€
â— Provide your email address and follow the instructions.
The next SRCC Executive Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, March 2, 2021 but will be skipped, if no business.
There will be no General Membership meeting in March due to Spring Break. The next General Membership meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021.
Minutes Prepared by Dan Fredine, secretary@srccatx.org
Agenda Prepared by Megan Spencer, vicepresident@srccatx.org
