SRCC GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING (www.srccatx.org)
Tuesday, November 17, 2020 7:00 PM
Zoom Meeting
The Internet
AGENDA
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.
Meeting was called to order at 7:07
CALL TO ORDER/APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. 7:00 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: Megan Spencer, SRCC Vice President, vicepresident@gmail.com, unless otherwise noted. (8 min)
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 at the meeting and be eligible to vote. (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)
The treasurer’s report was presented – a little bit of income, no expenses.
4. 7:15 Committee Chairs reports
1) Planning and Zoning; (10 min). 2) Historic Preservation; (10 min). 3) Finance; (10 min) 4) Mobility; 5) Public Safety; 6) Parks and Environment; 7) Schools; 8) Communications; 9) Executive Committee; 10) Land Development Code Rewrite ad hoc committee; 11) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ad hoc committee (30 min)
Representatives: 12) ANC*; 13) SCC*; 14) South Central Waterfront; 15) St. Edward’s; 16) S. Central Affordable CDC (5 min)
Planning & Zoning – see agenda items below
Historic Preservation – the home at 1304 Alta Vista was approved as a historic landmark last night. We recently have had 5 different properties in SRCC that have applied to be demolished. Within the Travis Heights/Fairview Park National Register Historic District there is an incentive to preserve instead of demolish; will want to work with homeowners to try and preserve.
Finance – some updates from the recent Executive Committee meeting. Oliver Caruso did a great job while he was treasurer, though when he recently moved out of the neighborhood he was no longer eligible. Will Andrews has been elected treasurer. Will has been a member of the SRCC Finance Committee for nearly a dozen years. With Will shifting to an officer position, Gayle Goff has joined the Finance Committee. The Executive Committee adopted the budget for next year – we will add this to the next General Membership meeting for approval by the membership. The Executive Committee also approved a $1000 donation to the Capital Area Food Bank. It was mentioned that SRCC continues to make annual donations to each of the schools in our area.
Mobility – Parking reform is moving slowly. No meetings yet of the SoCO PTMD, but COA has shared a map marked with possible boundaries for the zoned parking system. The smaller boundary represents the area studied in the 2019 parking survey by Nelson Nygaard consultants. The larger boundary adds more of the affected streets and includes much more of the neighborhood. The boundaries are drafts. Please email Mark Thompson, mark512512@gmail.com with questions/input regarding the boundaries or neighborhood parking reform.
it was mentioned that the City has shared a preliminary map of some parking changes in the hood.
Public Safety – Neighborhood Watch is patrolling. If anyone is interested in joining the Neighborhood Watch, contact Tom Groce.
Parks and Environment – nothing to report
Schools – the teachers and administrators in our schools are working really hard to support both in person and virtual learning concurrently. All schools that serve SRCC have had positive COVID cases, but there have been very few.
Communications – the SRCC website was updated to reflect the new officers. Working on updating the black bar near the top of the home page. Betty and Dan will look at updating the SRCC contact info on the City website.
Executive Committee – the Executive Committee meeting minutes are posted to the website. A member asked about the transition from the Yahoo listserve to Groups.io. The SRCC Neighborhood Association doesn’t control the listserve, but it can be joined by:
- Going to https://groups.io/g/SouthRiverAustin
- Scroll down and click the blue button that says “+ Apply For Membership In This Groupâ€
- Provide your email address and follow the instructions
Land Development Code Rewrite ad hoc committee – developers are applying for several upzonings of SF3 (single family) to MF 6 (multi family housing). Several neighborhoods are trying to put a moratorium on these rapid upzonings, since the format of the City Council meetings make it difficult for the public to provide input. The committee is working on the idea of getting tax incentives to rent out an ADU at an affordable rate, and working to streamline the process to get an official ADU. It was mentioned that there is a Council runoff for Alison Alter’s seat, and she is one of the few Councilmembers standing in the way of a supermajority to enact the more recent land development code (LDC) rewrite proposal. There are concerns that if she does not win reelection the LDC changes will go into place and it could threaten single family housing in our neighborhood.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ad hoc committee – nothing to report
ANC – the last ANC meeting of the year was on Oct 22. They talked about the problems of food insecurity and homelesness, and that we can expect a large number of evictions in the new year due to COVID losses (evictions have been put on hold in the short term). They also talked about Project Connect. It was discussed that Foundation Communities will help people work through the application process for the housing assistance being offered by the City – renters can call 737.717.4000 for assistance.
SCC – nothing to report
South Central Waterfront – nothing to report
St Edward’s – nothing to report
S Central Affordable CDC – nothing to report
5. 7:45 Approve minutes from the September, 2020 monthly general meeting (available at www.srccatx.org) (5 min)
The meeting was held September 15 2020. Minutes were approved 20 / 0 / 4.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
6. 7:50 The Police Oversight Project (POP) is a group of concerned citizens working toward police accountability and transparency in Austin by petitioning to repeal Chapter 143 which gives the Austin Police Association their power. The mission is to restore civilian oversight of APD and remove barriers to transparency, accountability, and reform created by the Austin Police Association (APA). (5 min; Q&A 5 min)
Presenter: Natalie George, Organizer. Website: https://www.policeoversightproject.com/
A group of people founded this group a few months ago. Chapter 143 is a code that gives the police union a lot more power beyond those of other unions, and restricts the amount of oversight that Council can provide. This was adopted about 70 years ago, and has grown in scope with each negotiation. The PoP are not against public servants, police, or unions, but want Council and the citizens to have more control over the union’s power. They want to keep other Chapters related to the union, and allow the union to continue to exist and negotiate for pensions and wages. Were Chapter 143 to be repealed, Chapter 141 and 142 are the chapters that will remain that will allow for APA to exist and negotiate for wages and benefits. One of the concerns is that the police chief can not be fired, only demoted. There is also a “180 day rule†that says an officer cannot be disciplined for an offense they commit after 180 days from when the offense occurred. This summer Council passed rules about less than lethal (adopting some of the principles from “8 Can’t Waitâ€), but those rules are really just suggestions because of Chapter 143. The City created the Office of Police Oversight, but Chapter 143 limits what they can do to actually investigate complaints or change practices.
There was a question about the role of the Governor, and it was stated this is more of a local issue. A question was asked about the role of the City Manager. The City Manger does have power to remove the Chief, but can only demote them. A question was asked about amending Chapter 143 instead of repealing it. It was stated that they have considered it, but in the last 3 contract negotiations, it appears that the Police Union is uninterested in budging on some of the changes being proposed. There is a petition to get signatures from citizens (they need 10% of registered voters) to put the repeal of Chapter 143 on the ballot for a vote in 2021.
PoP had reached out early on to several local social justice organizations, and asked if there would be problems with repealing Chapter 143, and they got good feedback and agreement about repealing it. The speaker was specifically asked about Austin Justice Coalition (website: https://austinjustice.org/ ) and Campaign Zero’s project Nix the 6 (website: https://nixthe6.org/texas ) focusing on 6 items often found in police union contracts
7. 8:05 1400 Drake Notice of Public Hearing Demolition. This case was heard by the Historic Landmark Commission on Monday, Oct 26, 2020. VOTE EXPECTED. Motion: SRCC to submit a letter to the Historic Landmark Commission stating that SRCC supports preservation of 1400 Drake.
Link to Historic Landmark Commission 1400 Drake: .
Presenter: Paula Kothmann, Committee Chair, Historic Preservation. paula.kothman@gmail.com (15 min)
The Travis Heights/Fairview Park National Register Historic District (NRHD) was recently created, which included a survey of houses, and identification of those that were considered “contributing†(older than 1950 with relevant architectural features). Last night at the Historic Landmark Commission (HLC) meeting, there were 5 different contributing structures in Travis Heights that were asking for demolitions (much more than in other neighborhoods). We would like to work with neighbors to discuss alternatives to total demolitions. Would like to get buy in from the neighborhood to oppose the demolition of 1400 Drake and 1402 Drake. A neighbor indicated that they knew the owner for 1400 Drake and that they had reasons for wanting to demolish. Currently both of these are rentals – there was some discussion about the relative affordability. Our new historic designation brings potential tax incentives for preservation and upgrade of income-producing properties. Landlords contemplating demolitions are likely not aware of these incentives. The SRCC Historic Preservation Committee is working on researching and disseminating this information.
When the SRCC applied for the historic district, both of these houses were identified as “contributing structuresâ€. If too many of the contributing structures are demolished, we are in danger of losing the overall designation of the NRHD.
Motion by Paula Kothmann (Russell Fraser) – that SRCC formally oppose the demolition of 1400 Drake Ave. Approve: 18, Oppose: 4, Abstain: 5; PASSED
There was discussion about voting to oppose the demolition of 1402 Drake, but since this was not included on the agenda, a vote was not taken.
8. 8:00 1829 S. IH35 Development Project. Amendment request: To change the future land use designation for the East Riverside/Oltorf Combined Neighborhood Plan (EROC) from Commercial to Multifamily. VOTE EXPECTED. Motion: SRCC does not support the change from Commercial to Multifamily for this property.
Presenter: Russell Fraser, Committee Chair Planning & Zoning, Russ_Fraser@msn.com (15 min)
This property is on the east side of 35, just south of Woodland on the northbound frontage road. It is currently zoned for Community Commercial, and the owner is asking to rezone to the most dense multifamily zoning, allowing for 90’ in height. The neighbors in the EROC area are in opposition. This property abuts a residential property, and the rezoning could allow a 90’ structure within 10’ of the single family property. The City’s Affordability Unlocked plan allows waiving the compatibility requirements, multiple setbacks, etc..
Prior to the Planning Commission meeting, the applicant asked for a 6 month postponement. The principal objection of the neighbors is the 90’ structure height allowed within 10’ of the neighbors. The neighbors were pleased with the original plan that the developer had proposed, which was drastically different from the current proposal. The EROC NPCT voted to oppose this zoning change. In addition, there was a petition that garnered the required 20% support of the neighbors.
Motion by Russell Fraser (Gayle Goff) – SRCC formally oppose the change from Commercial to Multi-Family for 1829 S. IH35. Approve: 22, Oppose: 0, Abstain: 2; PASSED
9. 8:15 1100 Manlove Notice of Public Hearing for Rezoning. Proposed zoning change: From SF-3-NP to NO-MU-NP. The Planning Commission will hear this on November 24, 2020. VOTE EXPECTED. Motion: SRCC does not support the change from SF-3 Residential to Neighborhood Office Mixed-Use for this property.
Link to a map 1100 Manlove St .
Presenter: Russell Fraser, Chair Planning & Zoning Committee, Russ_Fraser@msn.com (15 min)
This property is the last lot on a dead-end street, is zoned single family and has a single family house on the lot. The property is only accessible by driving through multiple residential streets from E. Riverside. The applicant also owns the abutting commercial property along E. Riverside, and would like to expand into the single family lot. The existing commercially zoned area is 3 acres, most of which is undeveloped. The owner stated that the reason for the requested change was in order to allow employees to work in the house (on the single-family zoned lot) during the pandemic. The proposed use (commercial insurance) does not serve a neighborhood need. This conflicts with the City’s zoning principles. There was a previous attempt at changing the zoning on this property several years ago.
Because the applicant owns nearly 50% of the properties within the immediate area, it is difficult to get 20% of the applicable neighbors to sign a petition against the upzoning. There is a 1952 house on this property, and the owner purchased the property in 2010; the owner has not been using it or renting it out. The applicant tried in 2012 to get this rezoned in order to build a 4 story multi-use structure, but there was much pushback from the neighbors. The rezoning did not occur.
The EROC NPCT has voted to oppose the proposed change of zoning.
Motion by Russell Fraser (Betty Weed) – SRCC formally oppose the change from SF-3 Residential to Neighborhood Office Mixed-Use for 1100 Manlove. Approve: 23, Oppose: 0, Abstain: 1; PASSED
10. 8:30 Proposed General Membership Meeting Schedule for 2021 & Proposed Executive Committee Meeting Schedule for 2021. Presenter: Dan Fredine, SRCC Secretary, secretary@srccatx.org (10 min)
The SRCC Bylaws require a minimum of 9 General Membership meetings per year. Meetings will be held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. It is proposed to have meetings in all months except March, July, and December.
The SRCC Bylaws require a minimum of 3 Executive Committee meetings per year. Meetings will be held on the 1st Tuesday of the month. It is proposed to have meetings in all months except January, July, and November.
8:40 GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- 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
- SRCC has an opening for Chair of the Mobility Committee. Anyone interested should contact Dan Fredine, SRCC Secretary at secretary@srccatx.org to find out more.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:00pm.
*Frequently used acronyms: ACF: Austin Community Fund; ANC: Austin Neighborhood Council (https://www.atxanc.org/); 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 Megan Spencer, vicepresident@srccatx.org
Agenda subject to change. Please check www.srccatx.org for most updated version.
