The other day I posted in full a reply from Austin Councilmember Chris Riley on his preliminaty vote to approve a zoning case with regard to development along the southeast shore of Lady Bird Lake and Riverside. Today, I'd like to post remarks from Councilman Bill Spelman on the same issue, as he and Riley were specifically targeted as 'swing votes' on the issue. I certainly invite any of the other 4 members of the council and the Mayor to send me a similar posting if they wish to.
Last Thursday, I had a difficult decision to make on the Grayco/South Shore Planned Unit Development (PUD) request. I had to weigh the public benefit of the proposed development against its potential infringement on our treasured Lady Bird Lake waterfront. I spent hours considering campaign declarations, environmental impacts, affordable housing, and tangible positive outcomes. After that deliberation, I feel I have made the best choice for Austin.
During my campaign, I wrote in one of the candidate questionnaires that I would vote against any request that would supersede the Waterfront Overlay because of my desire to uphold the spirit of the Waterfront Overlay. By offering my tentative support to a project that can protect and enhance the natural values offered by this portion of the waterfront, I believe I retained my commitment to the spirit of the Waterfront Overlay. While the project does pose an infringement on the Waterfront Overlay’s height limits, I felt it was necessary to consider more than that one metric to guide me to a decision which best protects the interests of Austin.
The PUD developers own the land and have entitlements to develop the property. Consequently, the decision before us was not a vote to allow development or not to allow development; it was a vote on whether to develop the land with community benefits, for which the developer was requesting additional height, or to develop the property without any community benefits and without the additional height. With that in mind, I examined the community benefits to determine whether they were a good deal for the City, compared to what we might be giving up.
In exchange for the additional height, the PUD developers have offered to provide the following considerable public benefits, plus others:
Affordable Housing. My strongest single concern was for affordable housing. I pushed hard for the developers to help mitigate the loss of affordable housing stock, and they proposed to provide a significant amount of money to the City to buy affordable housing or provide it onsite, as well as a program to help relocate the existing tenants to other appropriate units nearby.
Water Quality. The developers are providing a drainage pond that will not only be a great environmental benefit to clean currently untreated runoff from neighboring properties, but which will also be an attractive natural-looking area as well. The runoff from the developers’ site will also all be treated before it is returned into Lady Bird Lake.
Community Benefits. There will be onsite space for a daycare and a police substation, and the development will preserve many important trees. The trail and Lady Bird Lake will be preserved through a significant setback from the Lake and tree cover, which will make it nearly impossible to see the development when enjoying the trail or the Lake.
In sum, these community benefits are significant. I anticipate that the impact of this development on the Waterfront can be managed and minimized, and I believe that this version of development compares much more favorably to having a development with no community benefits. I am still committed to the Waterfront Overlay and to our crown jewelLady Bird Lake, and I believe that this development will not impinge upon that treasure. I do appreciate your feedback, and look forward to our on-going conversation about these issues and others.
It's not often that I'd post an entire explanation from an elected official. But given the complaints from the local Austin neighborhood/environs who, while well meaning, I believe are wrong on the 'contentious' development proposal known as the Grayco PUD... let's just say that everything in this explanation from Councilman Chris Riley is worth reading.
From Austin Councilmember Chris Riley...
If you want to understand why I voted for the Grayco project on first reading—and why that vote is consistent with my campaign pledges—a good starting point is this street view of Lakeshore Boulevard, about ¾ of a mile east of I-35, looking east: (give it a minute to load).
On the left (north of Lakeshore) is Lady Bird Lake and beautiful, green parkland with both a trail and a sidewalk. This image fits the community’s vision for Lady Bird Lake, and the Grayco project would leave it untouched.
On the right (south of Lakeshore) is a very different scene. Other than the trees along Lakeshore, there’s nothing green about this area: just surface parking behind a steel fence and 2-story, 1970s-style apartment buildings. It is a bleak, car-dominated setting, inaccessible to the public, and I don’t believe it fits the community’s vision for our waterfront.
Without PUD zoning, the owner of this property could rebuild these apartment buildings up to 60 feet high (5 stories). There would be no requirement to provide public access, non-residential uses, or any affordable housing at all.
The owner is proposing something different. Under this proposal, the steel fencing along Lakeshore would be removed and the surface parking would be replaced with greenspace at least 50 feet wide. Instead of the 5-story buildings allowed under current zoning, the existing buildings would be replaced with buildings up to 7 stories tall (90 feet), which would be at least 390 feet from the lake. In exchange for this additional height, the owner would provide community benefits including the following:
· Affordability: Contribution to the city’s Affordable Housing Assistance Fund (at least $1.5 million), and/or affordable units onsite.
· Connectivity: Extension of the urban grid throughout the project, including additional driveways to Lakeshore Blvd.
· Mixed use: Pedestrian-oriented uses at ground level.
· Bicycle-pedestrian amenities: Sidewalks and bike lanes throughout the project, a trail across the front, showers for employees in the commercial spaces, and 3 car-sharing spaces.
· Water quality: A regional wet pond, capturing the runoff from the entire site and over 100 acres offsite.
· Parkland: Contribution of $225,000 for additional trail facilities along the lake (in addition to about $800,000 in required fees).
· Trees: Preservation of the trees along Lakeshore Boulevard (21 in place, 2 relocated and 3 removed) and along Town Creek; restoration of greenspace for better tree growth.
· Greenbuilding: 3 stars from the Austin Energy Green Building Program.
· Public safety: Free space for an APD substation for 25 years.
· Community space: 1000sf rent-free for community meetings, a day care, or a non-profit for 25 years.
· Local small business: Retail space for a local business at 15 percent below market.
· Art: Public plazas with public art.
· Historic preservation: $25,000 for preservation of the Norwood House.
· Parking: No visible parking (all below-grade or integrated).
In light of all the benefits it offers, the proposed project has been recommended by every citizens’ board that has reviewed it: the Environmental Board, the Bicycle Advisory Council, and the Planning Commission. It has also been favorably reviewed by both the Austin Chronicle and the Austin American-Statesman.
