The Zoning and Platting Commission recommended a rezoning Tuesday for a 43-acre property at 7900 S. Congress Ave. to make way for a huge mixed-use development.
The project includes 1,218 multifamily units – at least 5 percent of them affordable – across several buildings, 210,000 square feet of offices, and 136,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. The developer also plans to build and maintain a 13.5-acre park, which will include an extension of South Boggy Creek Trail.
The site, home to an auto salvage yard, is along the proposed Project Connect Orange Line. Nikelle Meade, the developer’s agent, said the planned light rail makes the site a unique opportunity for a large-scale, mixed-use project.
The developer requested Vertical Mixed-Use zoning for the site. VMU allows buildings up to 90 feet, though Meade said the project will go no higher than 60 feet and might not take advantage of VMU’s relaxed site development standards.
Among several neighbors who spoke Tuesday, one was in favor of the project, and others said they were OK with everything except for the proposed multifamily building next to Peaceful Hill Lane and the extension of Foremost Drive to connect with Peaceful Hill.
“While we are not opposing the development, we are requesting development that is compatible with the existing and nearby zoning,” said Margaret Valenti, who lives across from the site. Valenti and others preferred a shorter multifamily building or single-family homes along Peaceful Hill.
In response, the developer agreed to maintain an existing vegetative buffer, sparing single-family homeowners from seeing a multifamily building across the street. But the developer did not agree to height and density restrictions proposed by the neighbors, which would cut 125 homes from the project, according to Meade.
Meade summarized the opposition as “just coming down to not wanting those apartments close to your homes.”
A conceptual site plan for the site shows how the project interacts with existing single-family homes on Peaceful Hill Lane. Image by Land Strategies, Inc. via city of Austin.
Neighbors also argued that the extension of Foremost Drive would increase traffic on Peaceful Hill, increasing light and noise pollution and making the street less safe.
“We’re concerned about headlights in our bedroom at all hours and the possibility of an impaired driver going right through that intersection,” Mia Ibarra said. She and others suggested only allowing bike, pedestrian and emergency access between Peaceful Hill and Foremost.
Commissioner Betsy Greenberg argued that connectivity to the development and to South Congress would be a good thing overall for the neighbors. “Connectivity is a two-way street,” she said, adding, “It’s also for you.” The road will have protected bike lanes and sidewalks, Meade said.
Commissioners decided that the project’s benefits – housing, parkland, retail space – outweighed concerns of neighbors, and that the developer had sufficiently addressed those concerns. The vote to approve the requested zoning, which included conditional overlays solidifying the developer’s promised height limits and vegetative buffer, was unanimous. City Council will likely take up the case early next year.
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.
And we’re honored you look to us for serious, in-depth news. You know a strong community needs local and dedicated watchdog reporting. We’re here for you and that won’t change. Now will you take the powerful next step and support our nonprofit news organization?
City of Austin Zoning and Platting Commission: The City of Austin's Zoning and Platting Commission addresses issues of land use as assigned to it by Austin's City Code. It has sovereign authority, or the right to make final decisions on certain cases.
