SRCC GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES (www.srccatx.org)
Tuesday, May 16, 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: 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.
1. 7:00 Welcome Members and Guests
Verification of quorum. Reminder: state your name when presenting or seconding a motion. Try the PayPal subscription option for automatic annual renewals: https://www.srccatx.org/membership-dues
Presenter throughout unless otherwise noted: Noah Balch, SRCC President (5 min)
The meeting was called to order at 7:02pm
2. 7:05 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)
Future agendas will include a PayPal link to allow for dues payment.
Thanks for registering in advance.
Send Ken Burnett (covicepresident@srccatx.org) or Mary (membership@srccatx.org) any photos for use on SRCC social media. You can tag SRCCATX in your social media posts.
3. 7:10 Treasurer’s Report
All reports available upon request: treasurer@srccatx.org
Presenter: Will Andrews, SRCC Treasurer (5 min)
Report was presented through the end of April. Most of the income was membership dues. Expenses were for ANC dues and Quickbooks annual fee; the newsletter bill has been paid but is not reflected in the report as of the end of April.
4. 7:15 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. There are a couple items later on the agenda. Recommendations for action by SRCC membership for these and additional cases will be made in June.
2) Historic Preservation. Lori Martin spoke on behalf of Joellen and Brian Peters at 2101 Travis Heights Blvd, who are applying for Historic Landmark Status. It is a Tudor revival home, and they would like to have it zoned as historic. They have made preliminary presentations to the City. The house was built in 1933 by the Burkes; they came from Midlothian and also built the house next door. The main house was sold to the Charlstroms in 1954 for $20K. The Charlstroms owned a venetian blind company and the Burkes worked for Woodward Manufacturing Co. which was one of the biggest manufacturing companies in Austin until the 1950s.
Requirements for achieving historic status: architecture, historical association, community value, landscape/archaeological features. The applicants are confident in the architectural value, and are trying to strengthen its historical association and value to the City. The Historic Landmark Commission will determine if the criteria are met, then it goes to the Planning Commission, and then Council.
Motion (Historic Preservation): SRCC to support historic landmark status of 2101 Travis Heights Blvd. For 22, Against 0, Abstain 2; motion passes.
3) Finance. Many thanks to Ruth and other contributors for putting together articles for the newsletter. The finance committee chose to support a higher quality newsletter, which resulted in additional cost, in an effort to appeal to folks to join or renew their membership.
4) Mobility. This Saturday May 20 11 am -1 pm at Good Shepherd there will be an open house; they are soliciting input about the design of the cap of Woodland over I-35. These same consultants will be at the SRCC June meeting. Can also go to ourfuture35.com for some additional info.
5) Public Safety. Still looking for neighborhood watch participants – we have the signs and materials.
6) Parks and Environment. Did a bio-blitz to inventory the plants at Blunn Creek Nature Preserve, with the aim of ultimately introducing more diversity to the preserve. Currently working with the city to repair exposed rebar on the Little Stacy trail, and to remedy overzealous weed eating and damage to tree trunk bases in Stacy Greenbelt. Thanks to Jose Martinez and Jeff Kessel for their help here.
7) Schools. Several of the administrators in our local area schools have been recognized by AISD in Salute, the annual awards event. Stacie Holiday, the principal at Lively Middle School was a finalist. In the category of assistant principal, both Samantha Barrett at THES and Sarah Tanner at Lively were finalists. Lively PTA was recognized as the Secondary PTA of the Year.
https://www.austinisd.org/hc/aisd-employee-experience/salute
Thursday the 25th is the last day of school.
8) Communications. The SRCC newsletter has been printed and is in the process of distribution.
5. 7:25 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)
11) ANC. Noah attended the ANC appreciation dinner and got some info about how ANC is organized and what they do.
6. 7:35 Approve Minutes
Meeting minutes available at: www.srccatx.org
Presenter: Chris Phillips, SRCC Secretary (5 min)
Minutes were approved as posted – no comments or corrections were noted.
Upcoming Meetings: GM Jun 20, Aug 15, Sept 19, Oct 17, Nov 21
EC Jun 6, Aug 1, Sept 5, Oct 3, Dec 5
GENERAL BUSINESS ITEMS
7. 7:40 Presentation by Del Valle Community Coalition
- DVCC is a 501c3 nonprofit recently awarded grant funding from the City of Austin to help homeowners in East/Southeast Austin
- Please review their presentation: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFb66mU32g/Ws1PjFEUZ-Bz8hwyrG5ORw/view
There are two main ways they will be assisting homeowners:
- Help residents stay in their homes by connecting them with resources and financial assistance for back mortgage payments, home repairs, home modifications
- Empower homeowners by providing education and support on homestead exemptions, legal counseling for foreclosure or predatory realty practices, ADUs and financial planning
Presenter: Claudia Zapata, Project Manager DVCC (10 min)
Ms Zapata was not available to attend, and Noah provided some background info. The areas in SRCC near St. Ed’s, and on the eastside of I-35 from Riverside to Oltorf are included in DVCC (though Travis Heights is not included). DVCC can help provide education and support to people in need. They can help with foreclosures and ADUs, and other items as noted above.
8. 7:50 Planning and Zoning
- Amanda Swor of The Drenner Group will present the rezoning case for 311-315 S. Congress Ave PUD
- Developer William Sayers presenting on 2105 S. Congress
Presenters: Anita Tschurr, SRCC Planning and Zoning Chair, Amanda Swor, William Sayers (15 min)
311-315 S Congress. This is the old Firestone, less than 1 acre of land. The applicant would like to get a PUD designation, in order to go up 400 feet in height. There are also some positive amenities being proposed. There will be discussion about this in future meetings, as it is a complex topic.
There is an update regarding the SACHEM manufacturing plant at 821 Woodward near Home Depot. They are moving their manufacturing facilities to Cleburne, TX. They would like to change the zoning to allow for residential with retail on the bottom. One of the main concerns is encroachment on the creek, and the developer is being proactive about protecting the existing trees.
Amanda Swor represents the owners and she provided additional information. The existing facility has hazardous material permits and will need significant remediation before it can be turned into residential. This is not a short term effort; the owners will partner with a developer to work through the process. The site is currently zoned industrial (also zoned similarly on the Future Land Use Map, or FLUM). They plan to make a FLUM amendment to change the zoning to mixed use. They are planning to develop using Vertical Mixed Use (VMU). The site is just under 16 acres. There was discussion about the environmental features including creek setbacks and the critical water quality zones, including a 100’ minimum setback from the centerline of the creek. The owner expects to protect and enhance the creek and trees on the site. There has been discussion with PARD to see if onsite parkland dedication would be preferred instead of fee-in-lieu.
The zoning case is currently in review by the City, waiting for transportation analysis. Then expect to have public hearings, and the owner would like to ask the neighborhood for support in that process.
There was a question related to SRCC’s previous involvement with the Home Depot project; one of the agreements was preserving 2.5 acres of land via a restrictive covenant (triangle near the access road and Woodward). There is a branch of Blunn Creek on the SACHEM site. Would there be consideration to allow some of that land near the creek to be part of a restrictive covenant? Ms. Swor indicated that they are early in the process and would consider it at the appropriate time.
2105 S Congress is a project contemplating development at Live Oak and South Congress. The developers bought the land of the retirement community, the adjacent auto repair shop, and the windshield repair shop. They are talking about a 7 story residential condo community in the price range of $800K – $1M, and will have some affordable units. They are also considering having apartment units instead of condos. Project Connect may have previously resulted in a transit corridor on South Congress, but some think it is unlikely now; one of the questions is whether the property would still be entitled to some of the amenities related to that zoning category. In a recent meeting a lot of folks liked the project and felt like 5 stories was OK, but 7 stories was too tall for the area. The project will include public parking, and they will try and work on the concrete triangle where there are some camping issues. They are talking about breaking ground in 2024.
It is not uncommon for large projects like Project Connect to get built over many years. If it does eventually get built out, it will likely go down South Congress. South Congress is already a major transit corridor with a bus park and ride near its intersection with Ben White Blvd. So this may explain why the project would still get the additional entitlements, even though the rail line may not initially go down South Congress.
The developer had previously shared that there are a few townhomes that have driveways along Nickerson. In the case information on the City’s website there wasn’t a site plan – you have to make an appointment to see the site plan in person, which seems unusual. Some members have concerns about the development and traffic on Nickerson, especially as it affects the school.
9. 8:05 Mobility
Updates regarding:
- SoCo Parking Transportation Management District
- I-35
- Project Connect
- Vision Zero
Presenters: Mark Thompson, SRCC Mobility Chair and Yorgos Economos (10 min)
Project Connect. When we last met there were 5 different options up for discussion, and now they are down to 2 leading options. One is the North Lamar Transit Center to Pleasant Valley (and it crosses the red line); the connection to the red line results in ROW legalities to be worked out with the state, and those need to be worked out before starting the project. The other route up for discussion is the one that comes down S. Congress; it goes from 38th St to Oltorf, out to Yellow Jacket Lane (near East Riverside and 71). There is also a right of way crossing at Riverside to which the state is in agreement with local officials. . On May 30th there is a City Council work session with Austin Transit Partnership and Cap Metro to discuss the options.
The Parking Transportation Management District (PTMD) group is working on developing operational guidelines. The City has reorganized and will have a new person to oversee all of the PTMDs in Austin. The city is soon launching an alternative text-to-pay system instead of only allowing the ParkATX parking app, as well as a mega parking app (Passport Parking). There will be an online process to register to get permits for residents once the PTMD commences.
10. 8:15 GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Community, Volunteering, and Social Activities
Meeting was adjourned at 8:32 pm.
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 June 6, 2023.
The next General Membership meeting is June 20, 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/tZ0kcOispzIuE9CRghIQEXARrWmKsQDsVo7P
