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Northfield Neighborhood - Meeting Minutes - 10/1/07 The meeting was scheduled to start at 7:00, but because of the very large number of people in attendance, the meeting did not start until 7:15. President Sebastian Wren began the meeting describing the agenda: The only topic for discussion is the requested variance for compatibility from the Endeavor Real Estate Group so that they could build a 4-story, mixed-use development on Koenig south of Ave. F. Jay Reddy will speak for 5 minutes about the creation of the Northfield Neighborhood Plan; then Jamil Alam from Endeavor will speak for 10 to 15 minutes; then the floor will be open to questions and discussion with a limit of 2 minutes per person. Sebastian turned the floor over to Jay Reddy. Jay described the creation of the neighborhood plan -- the hundreds of hours of work invested, the surveys filled out by neighbors, the long process of creation. The result was the most progressive plan in the city. The plan mentioned a need for green space, and the use of parkland dedication fees from new development to help the neighborhood build and sustain public green space. There was a question about the parkland dedication fee -- whether that fee was levied on all development or only on residential development. The response was that the parkland dedication fee is only acquired from development that brings new residents -- it is a per-unit fee. At 7:23, the floor was turned over to Jamil Alam and Cindy Harris from Endeavor and from Urban Integration (respectively). Alam described the history of the project. He said that he and Harris wanted to build a high-quality, mixed-use project that would include residential, commercial, and live-work space (where people could maintain a public office in the front of their apartment). Their desire was to build to 2-star green-building specifications, and to build to the city's new Vertical Mixed-Use specifications (which would include a percentage of affordable housing and a pedestrian-friendly sidewalk design). Alam said that when he and Harris read the Northfield Neighborhood Plan, they thought that the plan was very compatible with the development they were wanting to build. They approached the neighborhood in June, and formally presented their vision for the development of the site at the July NNA meeting. They returned again in September to meet with the Neighborhood Association again, and they met with neighbors at the North Loop Neighborhood Planning Team a few days later. Alam noted that the neighborhood plan called for mixed-use development on these sites on Koenig, and that the neighborhood had just "opted-in" for the Vertical Mixed-Use (VMU) zoning created by the city. However, Alam said that he has always maintained that if the neighborhood does not support this kind of development, they will not build it here. He said that to make the mixed-use project work, they need to build to a height of 60 feet, and that without neighborhood support of the variance, they will not build. There was a question about students living in the apartments. Alam stated that it would be illegal to prohibit students from living there, but that his development would be specifically designed to minimize the attractiveness to students. The apartments would be small, meaning that students would be less inclined to share the rent with roommates (a common problem with larger 2-bedroom apartments like those at The Triangle). And he noted that the apartments would be high-end and fairly expensive. There was a question about the amount of commercial space planned for this development. Alam noted that he would like to put as much commercial space as possible on the site because it is more profitable for him. He stated, however, that it was bad business and bad for the neighborhood to have commercial space standing empty. He said he was currently committing to 8,500 square feet of commercial space, and that there would also be "live-work" space that could later be converted to fully commercial space if the demand existed. He said that he was required to put commercial space (under VMU regulations) along Koenig, but that he was interested in adding commercial space around the side of the property (Ave. F). There was a question about the "affordable" apartments -- would that attract undesirable neighbors to the development. Alam noted that "affordable" housing was just a term used to limit the rent in 10% of the units to 80% of Median Family Income (MFI). That would mean that a young professional couple, both making about $35,000 per year, would qualify for the affordable housing. Alam also noted that this development would generate $150,000 in parkland dedication fees (mentioned earlier), and that he would petition the city to spend that money within the neighborhood so that the neighborhood would have more public green space. Harris described the apartments and the structure, showing visuals of other comparable developments. She noted that the building would comply with or exceed current building codes for streetscape and aesthetic design. This would include 12-foot streetscape on all 4 sides of the building (5 feet of sidewalk and 7 feet of tree area). She noted that many buildings have a "front" that is attractive and well developed, but that all of her projects are fully developed on all 4 sides so that there is no attractive front of the building or an unattractive rear of the building. Harris also described the wrapped parking garage, so that the parking would be as hidden from view as possible. Trash and other service areas would be hidden in the garage -- trash would be rolled out to the curb on the day of pick-up. She showed several pictures of other projects and sketches, but admitted that there was no firm plan yet for this property. Alam pointed out that it is very expensive to develop concrete plans, and that his company was not willing to do that unless they had some assurance that the neighbors would support this kind of development in principle. He said that he was willing to enter into a covenant with the neighborhood committing to a design charette which would allow neighbors to help Endeavor's architects develop a plan that would be beneficial to the neighborhood. Alam said that some neighbors had made the claim that 2,000 car trips per day would be generated by the development. He noted that the argument had been framed as "2,000 car trips per day versus 0 car trips per day," and he said that was not a realistic argument. The zoning of the property allows for over 3,000 car trips per day, and other development could generate that traffic. A medical office or a retail strip-center would be expected (based on traffic studies) to generate about 70% more traffic than the 2,000 car trips per day being proposed with the current development. He also noted that if Parker's Beauty Supply and Howard's Nursery were fully operational, combined, they would be generating an estimated 1,000 car trips per day (again, based on national samples of comparable businesses). Alam noted that there would be one parking space per bedroom in his development. This comment upset a neighbor who thought that was not adequate parking. The neighbor stated that people are already parking in the street in front of her house, and that this development would just make that situation worse if there was not adequate parking for the residents and their guests to park on-site. Alam said that other developments like this one have actually resulted in less traffic per household because people are able to take advantage of the businesses located on-site to take care of errands, and that some people prefer to live in developments like this because they do not want to drive. However, he also noted that he had spoken with near-by neighbors who live on Link and were concerned about the traffic impact this development could have on Link Ave. He said that the City of Austin and the Texas Department of Transportation decide where the curb-cuts for his driveways would go, but that if possible, he would put a "right-in; right-out" driveway on the 56th street side to prevent cars from going down Link Ave. Alam asked Rashid ?? with WHM traffic engineers to discuss the numbers. Rashid said that according to numbers generated by national surveys, this kind of development would be expected to generate 2,000 car trips per day (1,000 cars entering and 1,000 cars exiting). This amount of traffic is not enough to justify a Traffic Impact Analysis, however, Endeavor had hired WHM as consultants anyway to discuss ways to alleviate the traffic burden that the neighborhood was facing. Rashid said that other uses for this property currently allowed under zoning would include a strip-center (3,500 car trips per day) or a medical office (4,000 car trips per day). These numbers do not include other transit, which would include walking, bicycling, or the bus. Given the bus-stop right next to the property, it is likely many people would take advantage of public transportation, but there is no way to predict exactly how many would do that. A neighbor had a question about the height restriction -- why not just build 3-stories, within current zoning? Alam noted that the first floor of mixed-use is really about 15 feet tall, so you really can't even build 3-stories of mixed-use on that property. Also, businesses are more likely to move into the space if they have a large-number of residential neighbors on-site. Retailers are very unlikely to move into a site that does not already have a large-number of potential customers living upstairs. Given the new VMU development codes, and the number of these properties that are currently being developed, retailers are simply more likely to move into a different development with a larger number of residents. Wren interrupted and pointed out that it was already after 8:00, and asked if people would rather have discussion without Endeavor in the room, or would we rather continue with questions about the project. The consensus was to continue discussion with Endeavor. A neighbor asked about the cost of retail -- would retailers in this site steal business away from other existing retailers on North Loop? Harris said that businesses tend to attract businesses -- people tend to go to "business districts" to do their shopping, and the more people walking around an area, the more attractive it is for business. It is more likely that this development would help other existing business in the neighborhood because of the larger number of people coming here to shop, and because of the larger number of residents. Harris said that the plan for the business is to make the space very flexible so that it can change as demand changes. The retails space will have movable walls so that a space can be changed from 500 square feet to 3,000 square feet -- whatever the market demands. A neighbor had a question about how this development would affect property taxes for near-by neighbors. Alam and Harris said that was a tough question -- it is hard to predict. Alam did say that this is a 30 to 40 million dollar project, and that this kind of development can attract other business and development which would add value to the neighborhood in the long-term. A neighbor had a question about whether Endeavor would just develop the property and sell it. Alam said that Endeavor was building this project with intention to own it for a sustained period of time. However, to be successful in business, Endeavor has to be ready to sell a property when the time is right to sell it. A neighbor made the comment that if Endeavor gets this variance, they have no more reason to negotiate with the neighborhood - they can essentially do whatever they want once they get the variance. Alam said that wasn't the case -- first of all, he has agreed to sign a restrictive covenant with the neighborhood holding them to the terms they have negotiated so far. Secondly, there is another process involving all stakeholder input when Endeavor applies for a Vertical Mixed-Use permit. The design charrette is a great experience, and Endeavor loves doing these with neighbors, and he thinks that the neighbors will love being involved in the design charrette as well. Another question: Would parallel parking be allowed on 56th street? Alam's response -- that would be something we could discuss in the charette, and it also depends on what the city allows or wants. Those are city streets, so the city has more power over what happens there. Another question: Could Endeavor work out an agreement with Texas Gas across Ave. F to allow people to park there at night? Alam said he would be happy to talk to them, but could not rely on that. It isn't his property, and can't predict what they would do. Wren pointed out that it was getting late, and that we needed to talk without Endeavor in the room and decide what we wanted for our neighborhood. Alam and Harris and their associates thanked everybody and left. Wren took the floor and took questions. Question: What if we approve of the variance, and they don't build VMU. Wren said that Alam has already agreed to a restrictive covenant in which Endeavor would promise to build to VMU standards if they take advantage of the compatibility variance. Question: Is the variance tied to the project? Wren: No, the variance is granted to the property, not to the developer. If we vote to support this variance, then that property has a compatibility variance for a period of 1 year. Question: If we do not support this variance, will Endeavor negotiate with us? Wren: No, that is very unlikely. Alam has said from the beginning that if the neighborhood does not support this project, they will not build it here. They need this variance to make this project work, and they will not invest in a project they do not think will work. Ervin: At recent meetings, Alam said that he was "99.9%" sure that Endeavor would drop the project if they do not get the support of the neighborhood. Wren: We need to decide if this is a good use of this space. It is consistent with the neighborhood plan, which took 3 years, was supported by and written by neighbors. However, now we need to decide whether we actually like development like this in our neighborhood. If we do not want density and mixed-use in our neighborhood, then we have a chance to stop it now. It is impossible to predict what will happen to this property if Endeavor walks away -- it could be anything. However, it is almost certain that if we do not support this variance, Endeavor and this project will go away. Question: Can we postpone our vote, and ask Endeavor to come back and talk to us? Wren: There is a Board of Adjustments hearing on this case on Monday (a week from tonight), and we need to have some consensus from neighbors one way or another. If we do support this project, the letter to the Board of Adjustment will stipulate our support with the understanding that there will be a charrette, a VMU negotiation, etc. Neighbor: This conversation has been going on for months. It is time to vote up or down. Neighbor: Endeavor has worked with this neighborhood more than any other developer. Developers usually just come in and do whatever they want to. This developer is the only one who actually wants to work with the neighborhood. A little after 9:00, Wren called for a vote, and passed out ballots to neighbors. He asked people to be honest and vote only once. People quickly filled out ballots and turned them in. Five officers of the NNA counted ballots repeatedly, cross-checking the numbers against each other while dozens waited and looked-on. In the end, the results were: 78 people voted to support the compatibility variance. 79 people voted to oppose the compatibility variance. Wren thanked everybody for their work and interest, and adjourned the meeting at 9:25.
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