SRCC General Membership Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023

SRCC GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES (www.srccatx.org)

Tuesday, February 21, 2023, 7:00 PM

Zoom Meeting

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SRCC:  See the future. Shape the future.

MINUTES

To vote or make motions, please become a member. Join or renew online: www.srccatx.org. Not sure if your membership is current? Email: membership@srccatx.org and we’ll let you know. We welcome members and non-members to join our meetings. Please register 24 hours in advance so we can confirm your membership status.

The meeting was called to order at 7:03pm

1.  7:00  SRCC Welcomes District 3 Council Member Jose Velasquez

And welcome to our members. Verification of quorum. Reminder: state your name when presenting or seconding a motion. 

Presenter throughout unless otherwise noted: Wendy Price Todd, SRCC President  (10 min)

Council Member Velasquez introduced himself. He had been concerned about a lack of urgency around affordability, and decided to run for Council and do something about it. He is focusing on affordable housing, missing middle, and universal pre-K. Whatever method of engagement with his office is good – email, phone calls, social media, etc.. His email is district3@austintexas.gov, and multiple communication options can be found at https://linktr.ee/joseforatx 

Erick Saenz from Foundation Communities introduced himself; he works with the Prosper Centers – building a pathway to success for people who face barriers. They help people find and enroll in health insurance, have a financial wellness program, offer career assistance, and free tax help. If interested in volunteering or receiving services go to https://foundcom.org/prosper-centers/. Services are available based on income; for one person income up to $60K per year, for a family of 2-4 income up to $85K per year. His contact information is: Erick Saenz – Foundation Communities, Bilingual Outreach Coordinator – erick.saenz@foundcom.org  (512) 638-0258

2.   7:10    Membership Report

Please send us information, stories, and photos for social media! 

Membership fees:  single: 1/2/3-year: $20/$35/$50;  family: $35/$65/$95

Presenter: Mary Janecek-Friedman, SRCC Membership Secretary  (5 min)

Current membership is 189 households.

3.  7:15  Treasurer’s Report

All reports available upon request: treasurer@srccatx.org 

Presenter: Will Andrews, SRCC Treasurer  (5 min)

Reviewed income and expenses, including ANC annual dues and accounting software. 

4. 7:20 Reports from Standing Committee Chairs

1) Planning and Zoning; 2) Historic Preservation; 3) Finance; 4) Mobility; 5) Public Safety; 6) Parks and Environment; 7) Schools; and 8) Communications  (10 min)

  1. Planning and Zoning. For the proposed PUD at 200 E Riverside, the PUD assessment was completed, and they still need to make their PUD application.
  2. Historic Preservation. At the March 1st Historic Landmark Commission meeting there will be several cases for demolition or new construction to contributing buildings. It appears that 409 E Monroe will not be demolished.
  3. Finance. Nothing to report.
  4. Mobility. Mark attended the I-35 open house, there were a lot of people, and a way to ask questions of some of the authors of the reports. SRCC’s preference to keep Woodland open to auto traffic was mentioned. More info at www.my35capex.com  March 7th is the deadline for comments. Use this link to send comments to Mayor and Council: Contact Us Form | AustinTexas.gov 
  5. Public Safety. Nothing to report.
  6. Parks and Environment. There is a work day in Blunn Creek Nature Preserve, meeting on St. Edward’s Drive at 8:30 on Saturday March 4th, for It’s My Park Day. Register online through Austin Parks Foundation. 
  7. Schools. Texas PTA Rally Day is next week, Feb 27th. There will be some caucuses, and a big rally on the south steps of the Capitol to show support for PTA and public schools. More info: https://www.txpta.org/rally-day 
    Lively Middle School has the “Falcon Showroom”. This is free to students and allows them to get clothes that they need and don’t have. The showroom needs donations of clothing of all kinds. You can go to the school and let them know you’re dropping off clothes for the showroom. If you would like to donate, please contact Lindsey Knowles at LKnowles@AustinISD.org 
  8. Communications. Looking for articles for the upcoming newsletter, provide draft articles by March 7th. Currently the content is a little light – need some contributors. Short articles are OK; 300-500 words. Can also include articles from the standing committees. Send info to Betty, Mary, or Ruth (newsletter@srccatx.org or communications@srccatx.org)

5. 7:30  Reports from Area Coordinators and Representatives 

9) GSRC NPCT; 10) EROC NPCT; 11) ANC; 12) SCC; 13) South Central Waterfront; 14) St. Edward’s; and  15) S. Central Affordable CDC  (10 min)

  1. GRSC NPCT. Nothing to report.
  2. EROC NPCT. Nothing to report.
  3. ANC. There was a report from each of the 9 APD sectors. There has been a problem with crime, as well as crime not being reported to the police. An officer spoke from Frank Sector, and encouraged people to have the sector reps come talk to neighborhood associations.
    ANC is planning on switching to in-person meetings, with possibly a Zoom component (and they are looking for a meeting location). 
  4. SCC. Had a meeting and discussed current concerns.
  5. South Central Waterfront. Meeting tonight was canceled since the applicant at 200 E. Riverside Dr was not available. 
  6. St. Edward’s. Wendy and Noah spoke with Liz Johnson in Dec 2022 (Director of Govt and Community Relations). They presented some of the concerns that SRCC had; contact Noah via email for more detailed info at vicepresident@srccatx.org. One of the goals was to find a way to get St Ed’s more involved with SRCC. Discussed parking issues, and St. Ed’s offered to support RPP. The fireworks displays were discussed. There was some concern about the “Brothers of the Holy Cross”, and it was explained that they are separate from the university. The school is a 501(c)3, and 41% of their students are Pell Grant eligible. It was suggested that SRCC talk to CM Velasquez about supporting SRCC with issues related to St Ed’s.  
  7. South Central Affordable CDC. There was a recent meeting. 

6. 7:40  Approve Minutes 

Meeting minutes available at: www.srccatx.org

Presenter: Dan Fredine, SRCC Secretary  (5 min)

Discussed the Jan 17th GM minutes. Motion by Sarah Campbell/Betty Weed to approve the minutes. No comments or corrections were provided; minutes were approved as published.  

Upcoming Meetings: GM Apr 18, May 16, Jun 20, Aug 15, Sept 19, Oct 17, Nov 21

EC Mar 7, Apr 4, May 2, Jun 6, Aug 1, Sept 5, Oct 3, Dec 5

GENERAL BUSINESS ITEMS

7.  7:45 Planning and Zoning 

  • 2105 South Congress (converting retirement community to multi-family apartments or condos). This is at Live Oak and S. Congress; a few former businesses have been combined into about 3 acres. They are not asking for rezoning, but have submitted a site plan. This is a VMU2 Corridor, so they plan to take advantage of VMU2 to go to a 7-story residential building with a restaurant on the bottom floor. The existing residential property has 65 units, and the proposed development is 375 units. They do not plan to expand Nickerson to Live Oak. 
    Gloria commented that her mother lives there currently, and that this project will displace the residents in a facility for people with disabilities. She is concerned about what the impact will be on the residents.
    There is concern that the size of this proposed development will be out of scale with the neighboring structures. It would be helpful to support lower heights. 
  • Penn Field 3601 South Congress (recommend approval of rezoning, will present plans to SRCC when ready).  There is no update on this. They have submitted a rezoning for office and multifamily, though it is unclear what they are intending to do.
  • 805 and 821 Woodward (recommend approval of rezoning, aware of setbacks for Blunn Creek). The applicant has requested rezoning from LI-NP and LI-PDA-NP; they initially were considering using another Industrial zoning category but stripping out the industrial uses. SRCC suggested finding a non-industrial zoning, and they came back with GR-V-CO-NP (general retail with a conditional overlay and regulated by the neighborhood plan). The project is proposed to include ground floor retail and multifamily housing. They have said they want to go a little higher than 60’ , and will provide the required affordable housing. We shared that we want them to set back further than required from Blunn Creek, in order to protect the creek. 
  • 311-315 South Congress PUD (recommend approval for community benefits, reserving right to rescind if plans change). This is the Firestone building and adjacent retail strip. The current zoning is CS-1-V-NP, allowing 60’ height and 95% impervious cover, and the PUD is proposing to go to 400’ in height. This has been reviewed by staff; they have submitted their formal PUD application, and it sounds like it is likely to be approved. 

No zoning votes were taken.

Presenters: Sarah Campbell, SRCC Planning and Zoning Chair and Noah Balch, SRCC Vice President (10 min) [VOTE]

8.  7:55  Mobility

Presenters: Mark Thompson, SRCC Mobility Chair and Yorgos Economos (10 min) [VOTE]

The City did not make their deadline for the SoCo PTMD outreach, so it is being delayed slightly. Instead of the yard signs they were planning to use, they put out a survey which has been shared on the listserve. They are continuing to accept input related to the map. The final documents for the PTMD application were released on Friday, but didn’t include some of the expected details (parking bundling, measures of success, fee increases during special events, etc.). There were questions about how to split the revenue between the SRCC area (east of Congress) and Bouldin area (west of Congress) – would revenue be split 50/50, or would it be based on revenue generated in each geographical area? Here is a link to the Parking Survey  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3QVRZ82

Joseph Al-Hajeri is leading the SoCo PTMD effort on behalf of the City, and his email is Joseph.Al-Hajeri@austintexas.gov 

Motion (Sarah Campbell/Sam Martin): SRCC to request that revenue for neighborhood association mobility projects be split geographically based on which side generates the paid parking income (as opposed to an even split).  For 18, against 2, abstain 1; motion passed.

Yorgos gave an update related to the proposed I-35 alternatives. The current status is that TXDoT has selected its preferred alternative, though any changes since earlier iterations are minimal despite community feedback. They have also removed vehicle access to cross Woodland Ave and instead designed a circuitous pedestrian ramp. For cars, they will have to take a u turn at Riverside and double back to get to Woodland or other nearby streets. This is up to 22 lanes wide depending on how you count the lanes. Overall, the distance to cross the highway is greatly expanded compared to the status quo. We can expect a large increase in traffic on Riverside and Oltorf due to the expansion of I-35 and reduced crossing points. There have been suggestions that traffic be routed around the City, instead of funneling it directly through the City via I-35. It was also suggested that capping the highways can allow for greenspace, additional housing, and other features. It was suggested that you email TXDoT before March 7th, contact your council member by Feb 22, or sign the Rethink35 petition (primarily as a push for alternatives).
Presentation: https://www.srccatx.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/SRCC-I-35-Presentation-022123_To-SRCC.pdf 

Link to Rethink35 Petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/rethink35 

Email TxDot: capexcentral@txdot.gov 

9.  8:05 In-person, Hybrid, or Zoom Meetings

Let’s discuss the types of meetings we prefer and the most convenient day of the week.

Presenter: Noah Balch, SRCC Vice President (5 min) [VOTE]

General discussion about in-person meetings versus Zoom.

It was asked how it worked when we did the impromptu Zoom for the Feb EC meeting at the Church. A couple members said that they were able to effectively attend the meeting via Zoom.

There were concerns about managing votes during a hybrid meeting – it would require a few people attending in person who will be helping to manage the Zoom interface.

Shared a poll about preference for Zoom vs. in-person. The results were pretty evenly split.

There was discussion about having meetings via Zoom and social events in person.

It was suggested that in-person meetings would help increase membership and forge interpersonal interactions.

There was discussion about doing the March 7 Executive Committee meeting in person to support the interface with CM Quadri, who will be in attendance.

We may want to have a General Membership meeting in person to see how much participation we would get compared to Zoom. 

10.  8:10  GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Community, Volunteering, and Social Activities

Meeting adjourned at 8:49pm.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: contact Tom Groce, SRCC Public Safety Chair at: tgroce71@gmail.com  

If you have questions about using the Neighborhood ListServ: https://groups.io/g/SouthRiverAustin

The next Executive Committee meeting is March 7, 2023.  

The next General Membership meeting is April 18, 2023.

Frequently used acronyms: 

ACF: Austin Community Fund

ANC: Austin Neighborhood Council

BoA: Board of Adjustment

CDC: Community Development Corporation

EROC: East Riverside/Oltorf Combined Contact Team

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

NPCT: Neighborhood Planning Contact Team

PC: Planning Commission

PUD: Planned Unit Development

SCC: South Central Coalition of neighborhood associations 

SF: Single Family zoning category

ZAP: Zoning and Platting

Agenda Prepared by Noah Balch, vicepresident@srccatx.org Agenda subject to change. Please check www.srccatx.org for most recent version.

ZOOM LINK:         https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsf-Ctrz4rHtYrqL_mAw0af4y4z0pvq2ZO     

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