Author: edie

    Special Meeting of ECCNPCT called for January 4, 2017!

    RBJ Tower

    January 5, 2017 UPDATE:  The East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Plan Contact team met on January 4, 2017 and voted in favor of sending the attached letter (ECCNPT Letter in Opposition – Plaza Saltillo, 4 Jan 2016) to the City of Austin Planning Commission to be included in the materials for their agenda item on the CapMetro/Endeavor Plaza Saltillo Development on Tuesday, January 10, 2017

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    The East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Plan Contact team will hold a Special Meeting on Wednesday, January 4th, 2017, at 6:00 pm at the RBJ Residential Center at 21 Waller Street to vote on the Zoning Change requested for the CapMetro/Endeavor Plaza Saltillo Development and other agenda items.

    Click this link to open the AGENDA for the ECCNPCT 1.4.17 Special Meeting

    Supporting documentation from Endeavor Real Estate:

    (1) Plaza Saltillo Infographic (Endeavor)   (2) Plaza Saltillo Overview (Endeavor)

    Endeavor Real Estate is requesting a Zoning Change that would allow them to increase the maximum height on the tract from the currently allowable 40 feet to 125 feet at the Cap Metro/Plaza Saltillo development between I-35 and Waller Street, from 4th to 5th Street.  

    Zoning changes must be approved by the city and the ECC Contact Team has the opportunity to offer our opinion by submitting a letter to the Austin Planning Commission stating whether or not we think the increased height is warranted and good for our neighborhood.

    It is unknown at this time if the 60 to 125-foot office building height increase, if approved, could open the door to upzoning the adjacent single-family (SF) residential areas to central business district (CBD), or a similarly intensive zoning designation.

    They also will ask for an adjustment in the affordable housing allowance, most of which would be located on one small tract of the development, on 4th Street between Navasota and Onion Streets (a range of Median Family Income-MFI levels up to 60% MFI, including 30%, 50% and 60% MFI).

    The Endeavor developers’ plan for Cap Metro/Saltillo Plaza was introduced at an East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (ECCNPCT) meeting in June 2016 with the understanding that future updates would be made prior to submitting the request to the Planning Commission.  Endeavor will present additional information about this development at the Community Meeting on January 4th – see attached document for details as well as this article in Austin Towers, online journal.

    If you have questions and want your voice to be heard, attend the Community Meeting on January 4th and/or notify your ECCNPCT representative and also email members of the Planning Commission directly.

    The Austin Planning Commission will vote on this Zoning Change at their January 12, 2017 meeting at City Hall.

    Categories: General

    Planned vote on Zoning Change for height variance at Plaza Saltillo development in ECC

    NOTE:  Consideration of this agenda item was postponed to the next Planning Commission meeting on January 12, 2017.

    Endeavor Real Estate is requesting a vote at Planning Commission tomorrow, Tuesday, December 13, 6pm at City Hall, for a Zoning Change at the Plaza Saltillo development to allow an increase in the height allowance of three buildings between I-35 and Waller Street, from 4th to 5th Street (from 60 to 68 feet, 60 to 70 feet, and 60 to 125 feet).

    It is unknown at this time if the 60 to 125-foot office building height increase, if approved, could open the door to upzoning the adjacent single-family (SF) residential areas to central business district (CBD), or a similarly intensive zoning designation.

    They also will ask for an adjustment in the affordable housing allowance, most of which would be located on one small tract of the development, on 4th Street between Navasota and Onion Streets (a range of Median Family Income-MFI levels up to 60% MFI, including 30%, 50% and 60% MFI).

    The Endeavor developers’ plan for Saltillo Plaza was introduced at an East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Plan Contact Team (ECCNPCT) meeting in June 2016 with the understanding that future updates would be made prior to submitting the request to the Planning Commission.  Endeavor did not return to the Team for a vote before taking the issue to the Planning Commission, however.

    Therefore, ECCNPCT has not yet sought community input about the Zoning Change request that may be voted on tomorrow, Tuesday, December 13, 6pm at City Hall and no letter of community support has been written.

    For more information about this development, please read the attached document for details as well as this article in Austin Towers, online journal.

    At this point, if you want your voice to be heard, please email members of the Planning Commission directly and also notify your ECCNPCT representative.

    Contact information for the Planning Commission is as follows:

    Chair, Steven Oliver: bc-Stephen.Oliver@austintexas.gov
    James Shieh: bc-James.Shieh@austintexas.gov
    Fayez Kazi: bc-Fayez.Kazi@austintexas.gov
    Jayme Mathias: bc-Jayme.Mathias@austintexas.gov
    Karen McGraw: bc-Karen.McGraw@austintexas.gov
    Tom Nuckols: bc-Tom.Nuckols@austintexas.gov
    Angela Pineyro De Hoyos: bc-Angela.PineyroDeHoyos@austintexas.gov
    Patricia Seeger: bc-Patricia.Seeger@austintexas.gov
    Jeff Thompson: bc-Jeffrey.Thompson@austintexas.gov
    Jose Vela: bc-Jose.Vela@austintexas.gov
    Trinity White: bc-Trinity.White@austintexas.gov
    Michael Wilson: bc-Michael.Wilson@austintexas.gov
    Nuria Zaragoza: bc-nuria.zaragoza@austintexas.gov

    If you do email the PC, please also CC our District 3 rep, Sabino Renteria, and his land use policy aide, Nicholas Solorzano, on your email message:

    Sabino.Renteria@austintexas.gov
    Nicholas.Solorzano@austintexas.gov

    Categories: General

    ECC Draft Local Historic District Design Standards

    The development of Design Standards is one of the three primary components of an application to create a local historic district (LHD). Owners of 51% of the land in a proposed historic district must support  and submit the design standards, a survey of the proposed district, and a narrative history of the neighborhood that includes the history of some of the contributing homes. Since 2008, ECC team members have collaborated with ECC residents, stakeholders, adjoining neighborhood associations and local preservation experts towards the development of all three of the LHD application components. 

    Members of the ECC Historic Preservation Committee worked with residents, architects, and local historians to develop the attached DRAFT document. The document follows the sample template for LHD Design Standards as developed by Preservation Austin and approved by City of Austin Preservation staff. This DRAFT is intended to serve as a tool to foster and support the work of residents interested in pursuing a LHD for their area of the ECC neighborhood. Residents are welcome to use it to start their own conversations with neighbors and our share their feedback with the ECC Historic Preservation Team and Sector representatives.

    ECC LHD Draft Design Standards 5.13.2013

    For more information about Local Historic Districts, please see the Historic Preservation Resource page, or contact the Historic Preservation Chair.

    For examples of architectural styles in the ECC neighborhood as well as example narrative histories of historic structures, see:

    2011 Home Tour Brochure and Map

    2012 Home Tour Brochure and Map

    Categories: Historic Preservation Tags: Tags: , , ,