SRCC GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING – MINUTES
Tuesday, June 15, 2021 7:00 PM
Zoom Meeting via
The Internet
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.
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm.
CALL TO ORDER/COMMITTEE REPORTS/APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. 7:00 Meeting procedures, Zoom tools, 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: Cynthia Milne, SRCC President, unless otherwise noted. (8 min)
The Chair asked to use the “raise hand†icon if you want to speak about an item, as it helps to make you more visible on their screen.
2. 7:08 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 no less than 2 days prior to the online meeting and be eligible to vote. Contact membership@srccatx.org to renew. (2 min)
3. 7:10 Treasurer’s Report – see reverse of agenda. All reports available upon request to the Treasurer @ treasurer@srccatx.org
Presenter: Will Andrews, Treasurer (5 min)
Through the end of May the income is due to a donation, interest, and dues. Expenses this year have been low. There was a question about the process for spending SRCC money; it was mentioned that an idea for expenditure can go to the SRCC Finance Committee for a vote, then to the Executive Committee for a vote, then to the General Membership for a vote. Another member suggested that we consider hiring someone to work on the website and SRCC domain. There was a question about the contribution to the Travis Heights Art Trail. There was a question about what expenses are regularly included in the budget and some of the typical expenses were mentioned, including Schools donations, newsletter, P.O. box, bookkeeping software, etc.. There was a question about any plans for SRCC 4th of July celebration; while SRCC doesn’t have any formal plans, it was suggested that in the past people would gather at Little Stacy Park.
4. 7:15 Reports of 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 TOTAL)
- See item below
- There is a new focus group (subsidiary of City of Austin Housing and Historic Landmark Commission) that includes a goal of helping to show how preservation can help create affordable housing. The Chair mentioned that they were looking into converting accessory units into affordable rentals. In San Antonio if you rent out a unit at lower rates, the owner gets a break on property taxes. Â
- Nothing to report
- The Chair was contacted by a group about the street slowdown/street closure initiative. The goal is to give kids a place to play if there is not a park nearby. The website is austinlivingstreets.com. They are looking for support to do these reforms.    Â
If you are interested in how to calculate the street impact fee there is a seminar on June 29th (Tues) to review that process – for details you can go to the street impact fee site at the City’s website.
Refraction AI has their pilot program of robot delivery vehicles (tricycles with coolers) on our streets as of yesterday; there are people tracking the vehicles with scooters and vests.
- Nothing to report. The Chair is rethinking the Neighborhood Watch program and looking for volunteers.
- PARD is seeking a permit to serve beer and wine at the Zilker Cafe. The Save Our Springs (SOS) Coalition and others are opposing this initiative. There is a concern that having alcohol will attract more people (resulting in more damage to the natural pool), as well as a concern about safety related to alcohol consumption. There is a meeting on June 17th being hosted by PARD to learn more. The Chair will try and get information about this issue posted to the SRCC website, along with the link to the SOS petition. It was suggested that since SRCC didn’t have time to take a formal position, we ask that individuals participate to make their concerns known.
- Nothing to report – school is out!
- Nothing to report
Reports of Ad Hoc Committees & Representatives:
9) Norwood 10) NPCT 11) ANC*; 12) SCC*; 13) South Central Waterfront; 14) St. Edward’s; 15) S. Central Affordable CDC; 16) Land Development Code Rewrite Ad Hoc committee; 17) Liaison to Foundation Communities Ad Hoc Committee. (10 min)
- There is a meeting between the Norwood Foundation staff and the Parks department. The project is shovel-ready and just waiting for PARD to move forward, using the funds that were previously dedicated for this purpose.
- Nothing to report
- There was discussion at the ANC meeting about the Land Development Code Rewrite. There is a desire to have the development serve the transportation, as opposed to expecting the transportation to be routed to wherever people happen to develop. There is an interest in upzoning along the Blue Line and Orange Line.
- Nothing to report
- There was a meeting last week about recommendations to the board, but nothing substantive about plans for the waterfront itself. It is anticipated that there will be discussion in the upcoming meeting on Monday.
- Nothing to report
- SRCC will need a new representative on the board by the end of 2021. There has been no discussion about the next board meeting. A member asked about the affordable housing component – a lot of the housing that the developers are required to contribute is being considered for being constructed in an area other than their developments (they are continuing to prefer to pay a fee instead of providing the affordable component). The SRCC rep said there has been some discussion about this, and about having a representative for affordable housing; expects more of this conversation on Monday night.
- Nothing to report
- It was agreed that a liaison would be established to develop a working relationship between SRCC and the developers. It was asked that any interested members participate on this committee to work with Foundation Communities. Kathleen Littlepage volunteered to be on the committee.
5. 7:40 Approve minutes from the May, 2021 monthly general meeting (available at www.srccatx.org). Reminder: Schedule for General Membership meetings: 3rd Tuesday of the month, 7:00pm -8:30pm. Location: teleconference during 2021 (eventually will return to Good Shepherd on the Hill). (5 min)
Remaining meeting dates in 2021: EC Aug 3; GM Aug 17; EC Sept 7 (tentative); GM Sept 21; EC Oct 5 (tentative); GM Oct 19; GM Nov 16; EC Dec 7.
No comments or changes – the minutes were approved as posted.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
6. 7:45 Request to renew Outdoor Music Venue (OMV) for the Whip In at 1950 S. IH35 SB Svc Road. VOTE EXPECTED
Presenter: Russ Fraser , Chair Planning & Zoning (10 min)
The application was for Sun – Sat from 10am to 10 pm; this makes no changes to the existing OMV. The Planning and Zoning Chair has registered as an interested party, and the President has registered on behalf of the SRCC. The case manager said they had not had any complaints recently, though a resident pointed out there hasn’t been noise recently due to there being no live music on account of the pandemic. It was also mentioned that there are new owners. Some nearby property owners mentioned that they hadn’t received the OMV notice. There was concern that we hadn’t heard from the most directly affected neighbors, though it was stated that SRCC has a limited time to respond, and we can only consider the information that we are presented with. One member indicated that at some point in the past SRCC had met with the City’s OMV group to review all of the OMV permits that affect SRCC, to get a better picture of the sound impact on the overall neighborhood.
Motion (Wendy Todd/Russell Fraser): SRCC to not oppose the Whip-In OMV permit application as mailed on 6/2/2021 which stipulates Sunday – Saturday from 10 am – 10 pm @ 75 dB, case #SO-2021-0185. SRCC’s letter is to explicitly state that we don’t support the extension of these hours now or in the future.
Vote 17 for, 1 opposed, 2 abstentions : the motion passes
7 7:55. SRCC Newsletter Start Up
Presenters: Mary Friedman & Ruth Casares (10 min)
Ruth has volunteered to be the Newsletter Editor, and Mary is assisting with the effort for the newsletter, along with Megan Fernanzdez who is helping with layout, and Ann Linderos who will help with proofreading. We are currently expecting the newsletter to come out in mid-August or before, in digital format only. Please submit any articles to the Editor at rucasar@swbell.net – the deadline for articles is July 9th.
8. 8:05 Cap Metro Project Connect Blue Line
https://www.capmetro.org/project-connect/system-plan/blue-line
Presenters: Mark Thompson, Chair Mobility Committee, Jackie Nirenberg & Jocelyn Vokes with CapMetro (10 min + 10 min Q&A)
The Chair indicated that this project has multiple facets and will be in construction for 13 years. Today SRCC is focusing on getting a feel for what is affecting our neighborhood, getting Jackie’s contact info, and providing Jackie questions and concerns so that she can research the issues and report back.
Jackie Nirenberg is part of the independent agency overseeing the implementation of Project Connect, including Blue and Orange lines. Two rapid bus lines will be serving the south area. There are Park and Rides as well, all working together to create a transit network.
The ongoing phase is an environmental study. Working groups are set up and open to everyone and are hyper-locally focused, with a goal of trying to find out what people value in their neighborhood; they want to find a solution that works for everyone. There has been money set aside for anti-displacement. Interested people can always email Jackie at feedback@projectconnect.com. It was suggested that people sign up for the working groups at www.projectconnect.com. They are also willing to put together a working group just with the SRCC Neighborhood Association.
There was a question about zoning changes along the route, as opposed to just at the stations, and what that impact would be.
Where will the Blue line land at the lake shore? It is currently just conceptual, expect it to be somewhere around the MAC, then go through a tunnel to Republic Square; it will depart from Riverside and cross I-35. A station is planned in Travis Heights, and most of the route will be along Riverside from ABIA to the river downtown.
There was a question about Riverside being narrow, and how this will be fit in. This will be a challenge, and the goal is to make this a complete street, including pedestrian and bike options.
There will be public meetings the last week in July to share some of the details; 2 in-person and 6 virtual meetings.
There was a question about whether rubber wheels or steel will be used on the trains. Jackie believes that it is steel, but this may also change depending on future technology.
There was a question about the timeline and if the federal infrastructure bill will have an impact. It may make things go quicker, and this project may qualify for additional federal funding.
There was a question about the dog park at the Norwood location, and if it will be impacted; it is possible. It’s so early in the process that there’s a lot of uncertainty about what the impacts will be.
It was strongly encouraged that people participate in the working groups.
9. 8:25 GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
SRCC currently has the following volunteer position open:
-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
Do you have questions about using the Neighborhood ListServ? This link will take you to information about subscribing, unsubscribing, posting a message, and more. https://groups.io/g/SouthRiverAustin
Meeting was adjourned at 8:33pm.
The next SRCC Executive Committee meeting is Tuesday, Aug 3, 2021 (tentative). The next General Membership meeting is Tuesday, Aug 17, 2021.
*Frequently used acronyms: ACF: Austin Community Fund; ANC: Austin Neighborhood Council (https://www.atxanc.org/); BoA: Board of Adjustment; 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; PC: Planning Commission; PUD: Planned Unit Development; SCC: South Central Coalition of NAs; ZAP: Zoning and Platting
Agenda Prepared by Megan Spencer, vicepresident@srccatx.org
Agenda subject to change. Please check www.srccatx.org for most updated version.
