Planning Commission meeting April 8, 2008 Notes

The following items were heard at the Commission on April 8, 2008

1) C14-2008-0030 - Lamar Blvd./Justin Lane TOD Station Area Plan
2) NPA-2008-0017.01 - Crestview/Wooten Combined Neighborhood Plan Amendment - Lamar/Justing Station Area Plan

Commissioner Jay Reddy fought for "public" / "parkland" open space for Crestview. Commissioner Chris Ewen fought for "public" / "parkland" open space for the entire TOD area. Please let Commissioners Jay Reddy and Chris Ewen that we appreciate their efforts to create "public" / "parkland" open space for Crestview and in our area in general

Commissioner Perla Cavazos fought for 1) a left turn from Lamar onto Morrow and 2) Morrow to be opened up to cross Lamar. If you feel so inclined, please let her know you opinion about this option. However Commissioner Clint Small interjected a change to this option stating that we should consider all East/West traffic flow along Lamar from Koenig Lane to Anderson Lane. Small's recommendation ended up being the one passed in the motion (see below)

Commissioner Jay Reddy - jay_reddy@dell.com
Commissioner Chris Ewen - chris@brandocular.com
Commissioner Perla Cavazos - pcavazos_planning@yahoo.com
Commissioner Clint Small - clint_small@hotmail.com

Below is the motion for approval and the recommendations made by the Planning Commission.

Lamar Blvd./Justin Lane Station Area Plan - PLANNING COMMISSION APRIL 8, 2008
LAMAR BLVD./JUSTIN LANE DRAFT STATION AREA PLAN PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION

Motion: The Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the Draft Lamar Blvd./Justin Lane Station Area Plan and associated amendments to the Brentwood/Highland and Crestview/Wooten Combined Neighborhood Plans as presented by Staff with the following amendments:

1. Consider the dedication of public open space on the Austin Energy site and that other parkland be provided in and/or near the TOD District through parkland dedication funds;

2. Establish a Working Group to implement the Station Area Plan as soon as possible;

3. Ask staff to investigate methods of funding the proposed capital improvements to the Lamar Blvd./Airport Blvd. intersection;

4. Ask staff to study the potential of a parking benefit district where on-street parking fees are used to fund future capital improvements to the intersection of Airport Blvd. and Lamar Blvd;

5. Ask staff to examine methods of improving overall east-west movement along Lamar Blvd. between Koenig Lane and Anderson Lane with a goal of dispersing traffic load; and

6. Strongly recommend that the City Council:
a. Establish a clear and firm plan to help developers achieve the 25% affordability goal in the TOD Ordinance using the tools presented by the affordable housing consultant, Diana McIver and Associates;

b. Consider amending the scoring process for the allocation of affordable housing bond funds so that projects in TOD Districts are prioritized;

c. Designate CIP funds to infrastructure improvement projects within and connecting to the TOD Districts;

d. Prioritize fee-in-lieu funds generated from a development bonus in the TOD District for future expenditure within the TOD;

e. In order for a project that wishes to take advantage of a development bonus to be approved for the fee-in-lieu option, the Director of the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department should work with the Community Development Commission to determine if a fee-in-lieu should be approved;