The Planning Commission on June 13 voted unanimously to rezone a collection of properties in Brentwood to allow mixed-use housing.
Developer Narrow Road Group plans to build approximately 350 housing units on the 2.44-acre site bounded by Clay Avenue, Houston Street and William Holland Avenue.
The developer requests General Commercial Services and Vertical Mixed-Use (CS-MU-V-CO-NP) zoning on the western half of the tract and Multifamily-Highest Density (MF-6-NP) on the eastern half. The current zoning is lower-density mixed-use and multifamily.
The proposed building would rise seven stories along Clay Avenue, thanks to the 90-foot height allowance in VMU2 zoning, and step down to five stories along William Holland Avenue.
Twelve percent of units would be affordable to residents making 60 percent of the median family income – a requirement for VMU2 zoning that the developer plans to voluntarily extend to the portion of the project with MF-6 zoning, which does not require any affordable housing.
Representatives from the Brentwood neighborhood spoke in opposition to the project. While those who spoke said the neighborhood mostly supports the project, managing the increase in traffic is the sticking point (the Brentwood Neighborhood Plan Contact Team voted 11-0 against the project).
Because the site does not have direct access to Burnet Road, neighbors argued that future residents are more likely to drive on neighborhood streets that can’t handle the influx of cars.
Their proposed solution involves blocking Clay Avenue at Houston Street, as a way to direct all traffic from the project onto Burnet Road and away from the predominantly single-family neighborhood to the east.
But city staffers, as well as the developer, said the solution doesn’t work.
Renee Johns with the Transportation and Public Works Department said that the city generally does not block public right of way, and that the idea would mean more cars making dangerous left turns onto Burnet Road at Clay Avenue, where there is no signal. She said the issue is not germane to the decision about whether to approve the rezoning, either.
Johns added that traffic on Houston Street, which neighbors expressed the most concern about, would still conform to city traffic criteria with the additional cars, though she acknowledged the negative effect neighbors may feel with more cars on the street.
While no commissioners opposed the rezoning due to the concerns raised by neighbors, some expressed support for continued talks between staff, neighbors and the developer to find a better solution to mitigate traffic.
“It seems like a huge impact,” Commissioner Grayson Cox said. He urged continued discussion: “I really think that the solution is there.”
Others agreed with staffers’ stance and highlighted the area’s access to public transit.
“Although there are concerns about car traffic in the area, this is on a high-frequency bus route,” Commissioner João Paulo Connolly said.
The rezoning now awaits a final decision from City Council.
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City of Austin Planning Commission: This commission addresses issues of land use as assigned to it by Austin's City Code. These include the abilities "[t]o make and amend a master plan, recommend approval or disapproval of proposed zoning changes and control land subdivision within neighborhood planning areas and submit, annually, a list of recommended capital improvements." It has sovereign authority, or the right to make final decisions on certain cases.
