SRCC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
TUESDAY, September 7, 2021 7:00 PM
Zoom Teleconference
via THE INTERNET
MINUTES
To be sure you get a vote, be 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
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:00.
1. 7:00 Meeting procedures, Zoom tools, etiquette, welcome & introductions of new members
Presenter throughout: Cynthia Milne, President, unless otherwise noted. (8 min)
2. 7:08 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)
3. 7:10 Approve minutes from June 2021 Executive Committee Meeting
Reminder: schedule for Executive meetings: 1st Tuesday of most months; 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Location: teleconference during 2020 (eventually will return to Good Shepherd on the Hill).
Remaining meeting dates in 2021: GM Sept 21; EC Oct 5 (tentative); GM Oct 19; GM Nov 16; EC Dec 7. (5 min)
No additions or corrections were provided – minutes were approved as posted.
4. 7:15 Treasurer’s Report. All reports available upon request to the Treasurer @ treasurer@srccatx.org
Presenter: Will Andrews, Treasurer (5 min)
This year: total income of dues and donations, expenses for ANC dues, P.O. box, Travis Heights Art Trail ad, and Quickbooks annual fee.
5. 7:20 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)
- Nothing to report
- Nothing to report
- Nothing to report
- See item later in agenda. Also, there will be a vote at the next General Membership meeting regarding the Orange line and support for the short tunnel versus the long tunnel.
- Nothing to report
- Nothing to report
- Tonight is Back to School Night at Lively Middle School. All 3 schools in our area (Travis Heights Elementary, Lively Middle School, and Travis High School) have had COVID cases, but not a sign of community spread. THES is buying a picnic table so kids can eat outside – people can go to the PTA website and make a donation.
- Nothing to report
REPORTS OF AD HOC COMMITTEES and REPRESENTATIVES
6. 7:35 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 Liaison to Foundation Communities. (10 min)
- Nothing to report
- Nothing to report – see item later in the agenda
- ANC met with 44 participants in Aug. Made decisions about keeping the same board and continuing to not meet in person. had some folks from the City’s Development Process Team & Neighborhood Assistance Center speak about how they can help residents (and developers and realtors) who need permits to understand and navigate the permitting process. Council Member Pool talked about the dangers of Prop A (will make it such that City needs to have enough police officers to have 2 officers per 1000 residents, and will increase the budget by over $100M/yr for 5 years and/or reduce City services). It was suggested that we have someone speak at the GM meeting about Prop A, and Betty is going to follow up on this. The City’s CFO spoke about the FY22 City budget, and about the negative impact that Prop A would have on the budget. Bruce Elfant (Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector) spoke about property appraisals and property taxes.
- SCC will be meeting next Saturday.
- Nothing to report
- Nothing to report
- Nothing to report; have not met.
- Some of our concerns with the LDC have to do with inappropriate application of density, which is being proposed at 200 Academy. It has been helpful to see how the folks working on that issue are coming together to oppose the development.
- Nothing to report
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
7. 7:45 Redistricting: SRCC EC will write a letter to the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) asking that all SRCC neighborhoods remain in District 9. See the proposed letter here. Here is a map of SRCC boundaries. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1aeywqU6KDKJZPDMOdtu1cWgml_VYd69k&ll=30.239120445353922%2C-97.7442565&z=14 VOTE EXPECTED
Motion: Motion that the SRCC Executive Committee send the letter to the Redistricting Commission.
Presenter: Betty Weed, Communications Committee Chair (15 min)
One of the issues with the redistricting is that our neighborhood association (one of the oldest and most active in Austin) is currently mostly in D9, but also has parts in D3. We want to keep all of SRCC in a single district. The original letter that was linked in the agenda has been updated, and so the vote will be to write a letter, the details of which will be worked out later. It was mentioned that the EROC neighborhood planning area overlaps with the SRCC areas East of 35, and that EROC similarly (but in opposition to SRCC’s goals) would like all of EROC in a single Council district.
Motion by Betty Weed (Mark Thompson): SRCC to write a letter to the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) asking that all SRCC neighborhoods remain in District 9. Approve: 11, Oppose: 0, Abstain: 2; MOTION PASSED.
8. 8:00 IH 35 Project Connect: TxDOT is proposing a major expansion to I-35 through Austin that largely disregards proposals from Reconnect Austin, Rethink35, and the Downtown Austin Alliance.
The deadline for public input on TxDOT’s proposal for IH35 is September 24, 2021. The link for public input is https://capexcentral.mobility35openhouse.com/ Please review the information in this link so that we can use our time for Q&A rather than background.
Presenter: Mark Thompson, Mobility Committee Chair (10 min)
There are 3 options between Lady Bird Lake and Oltorf. Alternative 1 is the tunnel (this allows the current footprint of the highway to remain about the same width), the E-W crossing at Woodland would stay at the same level. Alternative 2 has no tunnel, and it will be wide and will affect the Right of Way (RoW) quite a bit (would result in taking land from several hundred established properties that are along I-35). The managed and regular lanes would be adjacent to each other and would all be visible. Alternative 3 has no tunnel but is taller to reduce the width and RoW impacts.
There was a question about the availability of federal infrastructure funding to help with the tunnel.
The portion between Oltorf and Ben White has already been constructed, and will not be changed by the work between Lady Bird Lake and Oltorf.
There was a brief discussion about the impacts and options in the other areas in the downtown and campus areas.
There will be a longer discussion about this with 2 representatives of TXDoT in the GM meeting, to focus on the impact in our neighborhood. This will be heavily focused on Q&A from SRCC folks.
9. 8:10 200 Academy: Claudette, Area 1 Coordinator, will present the Report adopted by the GSRCCNPCT (NPCT) in opposition to the 200 Academy Application for Amendment to Neighborhood Plan. She requests an SRCC letter be sent to the City of Austin Planning and Zoning Commission in support of the NPCT when the Commission considers the Application on September 14, 2021. You can read the NPCT Report here. The proposed SRCC letter can be viewed here. VOTE EXPECTED
Proposed Motion: The SRCC to submit a letter to the City of Austin Planning and Zoning Commission in support of the Greater South River City Combined Neighborhood Plan Contact Team.
Presenter: Claudette Lowe, Area 1 Coordinator (15 min)
The Opera House (which was at 200 Academy) was always an issue in the neighborhood when it was open (total of 4 years over 3 different periods of operation), due to the noise, congestion, and public drunkenness spilling into the neighborhood. During the neighborhood planning (or NCCD) process, it was designated as Office zoning. The new owners want to remove those restrictions (density, setbacks and compatibility standards); they are proposing a music venue, bar, restaurant, retail, and apartments, and to build on top of the Opera House. In order to change the zoning they must change the Neighborhood Plan. They are suggesting that this development is just an extension of Congress Avenue. They are proposing to have underground parking for the whole development. The traffic analysis was done during Covid and while Academy was closed, so it isn’t a valid assessment of the impact.
The proposed letter basically follows the letter that was sent by the NPCT. The proposed development would change the zoning, FLUM, NCCD, and set a precedent for encroachment of development into the neighborhood. The developers are pitching this as a restoration of a historic building.
Motion by Claudette Lowe (Paula Kothmann): The SRCC to submit a letter to the City of Austin Planning and Zoning Commission in support of the Greater South River City Combined Neighborhood Plan Contact Team. Approve: 12, Oppose: 0, Abstain: 0; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
10. 8:25 ANNOUNCEMENTS
SRCC currently has the following volunteer position open:
Area 7 Coordinator. Anyone interested in becoming the Area 7 Coordinator, please contact Ken Burnett at covicepresident@srccatx.org.
The neighborhood ListServe is on the new Groups.io platform. Find everything you need to know about SouthRiverAustin group here: https://groups.io/g/SouthRiverAustin
The next SRCC General Membership meeting is Tuesday, September 21, 2021.
The next SRCC Executive Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, October 5, 2021.
The Chair adjourned the meeting at 8:23pm.
*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; NHPA: National Historic Preservation Act; 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
