Planners to take closer

Look at impervious cover

Disagreement evident on whether to change assumptions

The Planning Commission decided last night to look more closely at the city’s assumptions about the amount of impervious cover being constructed for new single-family homes. But several commissioners expressed reluctance to tinker with those assumptions. The commission’s subcommittee on codes and ordinances will study the numbers as a result of a report commissioners heard from Pat Murphy, deputy environmental services manager for the Watershed Protection Department.

Murphy reported that his staff had done research on 21 subdivisions to see whether the assumptions the city put in place last April reflect reality. In most categories, he said, the assumptions were correct. But for lots of 5,750-10,000 square feet, 81 percent of the lots had more concrete than the city assumes. The Environmental Board has already recommended that the assumptions in that category be changed to reflect the survey results.

Commissioners Robin Cravey and Jim Robertson seemed ready to recommend that the assumptions be changed. Commissioners Sterling Lands, Silver Garza and Ben Heimsath were concerned about the increased cost to homebuyers. Commission Chair Betty Baker reminded all that no action was warranted since the item was not listed for action.

Murphy told the commission, “I don’t feel there’s a big enough problem to warrant a change. I think we should continue to monitor it (and) maybe adjust the assumptions later. But affordability is as big an issue for the city right now as any—and I don’t want to have a negative impact on affordability.”

Robertson responded, “We should deal with affordability head on,” as opposed to using incorrect assumptions.

Murphy also said he thought the disparity between the assumption of 2,500 square feet of impervious cover and the reality of about 3,000 square feet was not great enough to warrant a change.

Heimsath said, “Your conclusion is there is no crisis here.”

Cravey said, “This disparity seems not trivial to me. It seems substantial.”

Murphy said, “In some subdivisions you have none of the houses over (the assumptions) and in others you have 100 percent over the assumptions. You wouldn’t want to penalize those that are not over—they would lose every sixth house.”

Lands expressed concern that a change in the assumptions would mean “a potential for a significant increase in cost,” and less availability of housing.

Terry Mitchell, who works for Milburn Homes and is frequently involved in affordable housing projects, told the commission that smaller homes inside the city limits are not the problem. He said that zoning regulations only allow for 45 percent impervious cover on a 5,750 square foot lot. That means the maximum amount is 2,587 square feet. He said his company builds about 1,000 such houses per year in the Austin area.

Ken Blaker, representing the Texas Capital Area Homebuilders Association, said the current assumptions are good ones. One subdivision that was part of the study, Picadilly Ridge, showed 31 percent of the homes had more impervious cover than the assumptions, he said. However, the average for all the homes was only 2,094 square feet—well below the assumptions.

GIS software to assist

Planning Commission

Commissioners think of many uses for tool

A computer model of existing land use information compiled by city staff could provide a new tool for more accurate decisions at the Planning Commission.

The use of Geographic Information Software (GIS) is not new to city departments—it’s been in use since 1994—but is new to city commission decision-making. The technology creates a type of three-dimensional map with layers of information attached to pieces of land. The data on each layer includes information as diverse as street names, subdivision lines, zoning maps, jurisdictional boundaries, floodplains and watersheds, and is available at the click of a mouse.

At the request of Commissioner Ben Heimsath and others, the city GIS staff has created a tool tailored to extract information relevant to the city’s Planning Commission. The subset of information on each property includes an infrared aerial view of the property that notes existing vegetation, as well as a layer for subdivision plans and for zoning designations. The layers also note existing overlays.

This is a big improvement for the Planning Commission, which must often struggle with line maps and reproduced aerial photographs of zoning cases. During a presentation at last night’s Planning Commission meeting, GIS Manager Dean Labonte presented the software database.

“This is a fairly simple tool that can bring a lot of data to you in a fairly short time,” said Labonte, as he and members of his department scrolled through some of the options for the commissioners.

First, Labonte showed the aerial of the land, with the option to zoom in and zoom out on the property. When a button shaped like a polygon was clicked a mustard green subdivision view complete with case notation would rise to the top. Another button led to a simple diagram of the property with the notation for zoning designation on all surrounding properties, as well as streets, floodplains and overlays. Some land, Labonte pointed out, has as many as five zoning overlays.

Labonte said his staff adds data to the database of information within three weeks of a zoning or subdivision application, and the software allows each case to be pulled up by its zoning case number. The software can allow commissioners to pull up all of the information on a property at once and also see any other zoning or subdivision cases on surrounding properties, Labonte said.

Site plans are the only major aspect of the Planning Commission’s work that’s not on the new software model right now. Labonte said the department does not currently have the manpower to complete the task, but that site plan designations on the GIS map could be in the future. Labonte said the multiple layers of the map allow the commission ‘to drill down through the data.”

Staff members working with the Planning Commission could choose to incorporate the GIS model into their presentations, something that Heimsath is strongly encouraging. He said some cases are “frustratingly impossible to discern when we have limited information.”

Labonte is still tweaking the software, and commissioners did have some additionalrequests, including topographical information, appraisal values, impacted neighborhood associations and neighborhood planning information. CommissionerJean Mather considered the software a way to sort out the appropriate neighborhood associations to be notified in zoning cases.

The city has more than 400 neighborhood associations. Some of those associations, Mather pointed out, are not associations at all and were created simply to receive notification about zoning cases on a particular property. A good map and a simple phone call could resolve that problem, she said.

Chair Betty Baker disagreed. She said that even with a map, determining the proper neighborhood associations is difficult. During her tenure in the planning department, multiple associations would occasionally claim a single property. During the Southpark Meadows case alone, two or three associations were formed to fight the case, Baker said.

Neighborhood associations have never had the incentive to clear up overlapping boundary issues, Heimsath said. The GIS map, he said, might provide that incentive.

Labonte will be talking to his staff today about recommendations for the software and will return to the Planning Commission in two weeks with a final version. A simple version of the GIS software minus the aerial views appears on the city web site.

City still looking to save

Historic Schneider vaults

Archaeologist excavating site now

The city continues to work on a lease agreement with AMLI Residential to preserve the limestone vaults under the former Goad Motor Company at 400 West Second Street. The vaults were built in the 1850s by the Schneider family and were intended to be cold storage vaults for beer. The location of the Schneider Store was eventually part of Guy Town—Austin’s infamous red light district—and then part of the downtown warehouse district. Now the site plays a major role in downtown redevelopment plans.

Under the city's plans, the city-owned property would be leased to AMLI for residential development. The decision to try to the preserve the vaults came last fall, just after the Historic Landmark Commission (HLC) voted unhappily to allow the demolition of the Tips Warehouse across the street. Both AMLI and the HLC were positive that the Schneider vaults could be preserved with proper planning.

Last Friday, members of the Austin City Council were invited to tour the vaults with an archaeologist excavating the site. Commissioner Jim Fowler said preservation efforts still look favorable and that the city would work the preservation of the vaults into its lease. The lease will come back to the Historic Landmark Commission before going to Council.

©2000 In Fact News, Inc. All rights reserved.

Step up the pace . . . City Council Members Beverly Griffith, Jackie Goodman and Will Wynn are sponsoring a resolution on this week’s Council agenda directing the City Manager to issue the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Mueller master developer by Feb. 22. Staff would select candidates from those submitting RFQs to make development proposals . . . No City Hall talk . . . The presentation on a design for the new City Hall has been postponed to Feb. 1. Council Member Beverly Griffith’ s office reports receiving a number of emails critical of the proposal. Next door, Council Member Will Wynn’ s office reports receiving only a few . . . Oak Hill zoning . . . The Planning Commission voted 5-4 to recommend GO (general office) zoning for property at 7525 W. Hwy. 71 last night. The commission also recommended a conditional overlay to prevent the owner from putting medical offices in the building. The land has been zoned RR (rural residential)

© 2000 In Fact News, Inc. All rights reserved.