SRCC GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING – MINUTES
Tuesday, August 17, 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 first newsletter in a long time has been published and is on the website. The Newsletter Editor, the Membership Secretary, and the Newsletter Designer did some redesign and put together a newsletter. If you have any ideas for articles, please contact the newsletter editor.
The Chair asked that when you want to speak, you use the Zoom feature to raise your hand, which helps you be more visible. The chat function can also be used.
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. All reports available upon request to the Treasurer @ treasurer@srccatx.org
Presenter: Will Andrews, Treasurer (5 min)
The income since Jan has been dues, with some donations and interest. There have been expenditures for ANC dues, the SRCC P.O. box, and the SRCC bookkeeping software.
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)
- Update on the Brackenridge variance request – the variance was granted and construction is proceeding. There was a variance request on Avondale for a small lot; P&Z committee reviewed the variance with the owner and decided not to take action due to the BoA review the next week and the variance passed BoA 11 to 0. A neighbor had asked about changing deed restrictions on Fawn Dr., and Tom Groce was able to assist.
- The National Register Historic District has been officially approved!!! One of the benefits is that it incentivizes preservation over teardown, due to the possibility of tax benefits related to the NHRD. The district is from Kenwood, to Live Oak, to Congress Ave, and Riverside.
- Nothing to report.
- See item later in meeting.
- There is a public safety article in the newsletter. See item later in meeting.
- It was determined that there would not be alcohol sales at Zilker Park.
- Today was the first day of school. Masks are mandatory, and classrooms have additional precautions. Not sure about the return to in-person events.
- There has been some website cleanup, but more is remaining.
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 18) CapMetro Orange Line Project Team (10 min)
- Nothing to report.
- We don’t have a report, but we will try and get more info soon.
- ANC met July 28, mostly focused on a presentation from City Development Services staff, talking about residential and commercial building inspections. One of the problems facing ANC is they are having trouble getting a nominating committee, and are considering suspending the bylaws to keep the current board on for another year.
- The SCC met and talked about redistricting, and are concerned about the process. There are also concerns about development at Cumberland and S. 1st, and the City is giving the developer a lot of extra entitlements.
- Had a meeting last night and there will be another this Friday. The focus of the group is transitioning from Housing and Planning to Economic Development. There isn’t much going on in the way of actual development right now, mostly working on the structural changes to the organization.
- Nothing to report.
- Had a meeting and elected new officers. Mary Freidman will be the new CDC Treasurer, and will also be the SRCC Representative.
- It seems like developers are working around the code, going straight to the City to get added density. See later item in meeting related to 200 Academy.
- Nothing to report.
- See item later in meeting.
5. 7:40 Approve minutes from the June, 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: GM Aug 17; EC Sept 7 (tentative); GM Sept 21; EC Oct 5 (tentative); GM Oct 19; GM Nov 16; EC Dec 7.
No revisions or changes were proposed. Minutes were adopted as published.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
6. 7:45 Physical Attack on June 30, 2021 – Tom Groce will provide information on this event and general safety issues in our neighborhood.
Presenter: Tom Groce , Chair Public Safety Committee (10 min)
Information about the attack was posted on NextDoor, and Tom has spoken with the victim. The incident occurred along Alameda near Blunn Creek around 7am, and the victim passed by the attacker. When she got near Riverside the person attacked her. She screamed and attracted attention, though suffered a sexual assault and broken bones. She is recovering and doing well.
There was another incident in Barton Hills, and there is a picture of the perpetrator. It appears that this is the same person who attacked the victim in Travis Heights. It was suggested that women walking alone should be cautious, especially before dawn or after dark.
There was some discussion about the SRCC Neighborhood Watch and needing more participants. It was also mentioned that there is a 311 app for non-emergency complaints, and that it is a good way to get nuisance issues addressed, especially if multiple people submit.
7. 7:55 City of Austin Redistricting – Current information will be provided on the activities of the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission which is redrawing districts in the City of Austin based on the 2020 census data. Find more information about public presentations at: https://www.speakupaustin.org/search?query=redistricting.
General information can be found at https://redistrictatx.org/
Presenter: Cynthia Milne, SRCC President (5 min)
The City needs to redraw the districts due to the updated Census data. The City auditors are trying to redraw these boundaries, and keep it completely separate from the City Council. There is a diverse team of citizens that are responsible for redrawing the districts, which is a difficult task. All the districts have increased in population. There are public forums for each of the districts, and the District 9 meeting has already occurred.
The Speak Up Austin website (listed above) allows you to interact directly with the commission. They ask you questions that allow you to provide feedback on several topics that impact your daily life and community.
The Redistrict ATX website (listed above) provides background information about the redistricting process
There are 2 upcoming at-large meetings Saturday August 21st 10am – noon, and Friday Aug 27th 11am – 1pm, both via Zoom.
This is a very important process that will have an impact on the City, our district, and the SRCC Neighborhood Association. It was suggested that we might want to petition to get St Ed’s and the Willow Springs area (part of SRCC) incorporated into District 9, so that all of SRCC is in the same district.
This effort is required to be complete by November 1st. The delays due to the pandemic and delays in compelling the census data is causing these efforts to be very expedited.
8. 8:00 Paula Kothmann will discuss the proposed project at 200 Academy involving upzoning impact on SRCC neighborhood. Paula will submit a motion to present SRCC’s position before the Planning Commission considers the applicant’s project on September 14th. See the Notice of Public Hearing to Amend a Neighborhood Plan here.
Motion language: Move that SRCC distribute the Outline of the South River City Citizens’ Position 2019 Regarding Proposed Land Use Code Revision to City decision makers regarding the proposed zoning changes or changes to the neighborhood plan affecting 200 Academy. VOTE EXPECTED (10 min)
The ad-hoc committee is trying to figure out what compromises we are willing to accept in order to address Austin’s need for more housing. Part of the concern is that a lot more density is being asked by developers, but is not resulting in more affordable housing. SRCC previously adopted a position paper outlining SRCC’s preferences for the update to the LDC.
For the project at 200 Academy, the neighborhood NPCT tried to get more information from the developer on the details of the proposed development. The developer never responded, but is now heading straight to the Planning Commission to try and get approval. This would put a proposed 120 unit condo building directly across from single family houses within the neighborhood.
It was proposed that the previously-approved positions related to the LDC be adopted in relation to the proposed development of 200 Academy. SRCC is to write a cover letter saying that SRCC took positions related to the LDC and feel that they apply to the development at 200 Academy.
Motion by Paula Kothmann (David Swann) – that SRCC distribute the Outline of the South River City Citizens’ Position 2019 Regarding Proposed Land Use Code Revision to City decision makers regarding the proposed zoning changes or changes to the neighborhood plan affecting 200 Academy. Approve: 18, Oppose: 0, Abstain: 2; PASSED
9. 8:10 CapMetro Orange Line Proposed Plan for tunnel exit on Congress Avenue.
CapMetro proposes two options for the underground tunnel exit which will impact construction time and traffic patterns of Congress Avenue. See the Orange Line Preliminary Summary Report for more information on the project.
For information on the CapMetro Blue Line see: Blue Line | Project Connect by Capital Metro – Capital Metro – Austin Public Transit
Presenter: Mark Thompson, Chair Mobility Committee (15 min)
Aug 27th is the last day to leave feedback on the website to be included in the official report. At this point there are two options for how the train will transition from underground to the surface, along South Congress.
Initial discussion about the Orange Line south route proposed “daylighting†(coming to the surface) in downtown and then crossing over Lady Bird Lake. Instead, because of utility lines, they will continue to tunnel under the lake to Auditorium Shores (Barton Springs and S 1st). It will stay underground and resurface along S Congress. With the grade of Congress it will be difficult to surface – it is called “chasing the gradeâ€.
The closest area that they could “daylight†would be adjacent to Texas School for the Deaf close to the intersection with Academy, The train would then run on the surface, without stopping, to a passenger platform adjacent Lively MS. Left turns from Academy and Nellie would be blocked. In addition, the street level train will remove the parking zones along S Congress and remove the tree zones.
The second option would keep the train underground longer and not “daylight’ until the intersection with Crockett. This longer tunnel option would block left turns from Crockett and Leland. The passenger platform would be underground and is planned near the intersection with Elizabeth St. Under this option, parking zones and the tree zone would remain.
Regardless of the option selected, S Congress will be disrupted during the construction phase. The longer tunnel will be more disruptive as it will require a larger 3 story hole to build the platform. The longer tunnel, due to its underground station, would keep S Congress closer to its current layout but could cause greater short term hassles to the merchants along S Congress.
10. 8:25 GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
The August 2021 SRCC Newsletter is now available on the SRCC website. We hope you enjoy it!
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.
Also, could use a liaison for the Foundation Communities project at the Parker Lane church.
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 8:30pm.
The next SRCC Executive Committee meeting is September 7 2021 (tentative). The next General Membership meeting is Tuesday, September 21, 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; 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
Agenda subject to change. Please check www.srccatx.org for most updated version.
