New zoning would allow huge building on South Congress

At the last meeting before the Nov. 5 election, City Council spent more than 11 hours in chambers, with most of their time being devoted to the contract with the Austin Police Association, which they approved. But with a barely noted vote at the end of the meeting, they also approved on first reading a zoning change to allow the 0.81-acre sliver of land just south of the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge to be the site of 480-foot building. The case must come back to Council for second and third reading before the zoning can be finalized.

The usual 2 p.m. zoning hearing did not come up until the end of the meeting and all of the items were approved on consent, including multiple postponements. However, two citizens did hang around long enough to ask Council not to approve a major change for property at 311, 313, and 315 S. Congress Ave., the current home of the Bridgestone Firestone tire and auto shop.

Council approved the change, along with other consent items, with no comment, with Council Member Alison Alter abstaining. According to the zoning change review sheet, the current zoning is vertical mixed use. The new zoning, upon final approval, will be a planned unit development, or PUD, combining district zoning. Staff’s review sheet states, “The ordinance may include exemption from or waiver of fees, alternative funding methods, modifications of City regulations, and acquisition of property.”

The zoning review document indicates that the proposed project will include about 475,000 square feet of multifamily residential space with 488 units and 30,000 square feet of office space, as well as 7,500 square feet of ground floor pedestrian-oriented uses.

Bill Bunch and Bobby Levinski of the Save Our Springs Alliance asked Council not to approve the zoning change. Bunch explained the location, saying, “This is 311 South Congress. It’s the Firestone tire store on the east side of Congress, very close to Lady Bird Lake and immediately adjacent to the Statesman PUD, right across from where Barton Springs Road currently dead ends. It’s 0.8 acres. Our ordinance says a PUD should be 10 acres or more.”

Bunch pointed out that the PUD is supposed to be superior to similar projects. However, this project is “inferior in every way,” he said, starting with the 95 percent impervious cover. “So that’s terrible for flooding, terrible for water quality. And these days, especially, what you should be paying attention to is it’s terrible for urban heat island. It’s in the waterfront overlay for protecting Lady Bird Lake and for design standards for Lady Bird Lake.

“Those regulations are being thrown in the trash can here. This includes the provisions that say that if you’re within 100 feet of Congress Avenue, you should not go up more than 60 feet. The idea here is obviously to protect the view corridor along Congress, which runs from the Capitol pretty much almost all the way to Oltorf.” He added, “This is over twice the height of anything else in that area right now and close to three times taller than the Hyatt,” which is adjacent to the lake.

Levinski reiterated that the site does not meet the requirements of the Land Development Code, which requires that a PUD be at least 10 acres unless the property is “characterized by special circumstances, including unique topographic constraints. This is already developed site, flat, and there is no indication of topographic constraints. Rather, the only justification included in the backup material is proximity to downtown. That is hardly a special circumstance. This is yet another example of site-by-site horse trading, and inconsistent with the comprehensive planning for the area.”

In addition, Levinski pointed out that granting the PUD designation means that the developers are not required to provide on-site affordable housing, “even though the Strategic Housing Blueprint calls for 20 percent income-restricted housing in the South Central Waterfront.”

“None of this would be an issue if, instead of allowing the PUDs to opt out of comprehensive planning, like the Waterfront Overlay and the South Shore Vision Plan, you adopt zoning in a manner that is consistent with these plans and the code,” Levinski said. “Do any of you even know that the Strategic Housing Blueprint calls for 20 percent income-restricted housing in the South Central Waterfront? You get zero on-site affordable housing here.”

He concluded, “When is the city going to make good on its commitment for on-site affordable housing anywhere other than basically east Austin? We need to include income restricted housing all across Austin. Otherwise, you’re going to have enclaves for the rich.”

Amanda Swor of the Drenner Group PC represents the developers, but she did not speak.

The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.

Posted In: Zoning, District 9