City Council Regular Meeting Transcript – 4/4/2024 Title: ATXN-1 (24hr) Channel: 1 - ATXN-1 Recorded On: 4/4/2024 6:00:00 AM Original Air Date: 4/4/2024 Transcript Generated by SnapStream ================================== Please note that the following transcript is for reference purposes and does not constitute the official record of actions taken during the meeting. For the official record of actions of the meeting, please refer to the Approved Minutes. [10:00:20 AM] it is April 4th, 2024. It's 10:00 in the morning, and I will call to order the Austin city council meeting for this regular scheduled meeting of the Austin city council. We have a quorum of the city council present. We are meeting in the city council chambers, which are located in Austin city hall at 301 west second street. The order for the day. I'll quickly run through the order for the day, we're going to hear, from the consent agenda speakers both virtual and in person. And after that, we will go immediately to a vote on the consent agenda with brief comments from members related to the consent agenda. We will have we will then hear the non consent speakers, both virtual in person members, the non consent items at item number 71. And then we have public hearing items 46 through 48. And item 71 we will open the public hearings, have the public hearing, then close it immediately and take immediate [10:01:20 AM] immediately and take immediate action. I'd like to clarify that anyone that wishes to speak on a non consent item, or at a public hearing, you will be called to speak during the item, the non consent item or during the public hearing, whatever you've signed up for, unless it's more convenient for you and you want to do it during the consent time. But if you're going to do that, I would ask that you please tell the city clerk so that we can coordinate and organize that, as time allows, as near to 1030 as we can, we will recess the regular meeting of the Austin city council, and I will call to order the board of directors of the ahppc. We will have that meeting here. Any here? Speakers if any, conduct business vote and adjourn that meeting. And then we will come back to the Austin city council meeting. We have a noon public comment, then live music, and then we will go to zoning items, which is also set for a time certain of 2:00. A couple of things I want to point out, and [10:02:24 AM] things I want to point out, and I'll go into more detail, if need be, with regard to the rules of public engagement and public comment, I do want to point out that one of our rules is that you can't hold up things if you're seated in the seats, so that you might block the view of someone. If you want to hold up a flag or a poster or something like that, we have space in the back of the room for that. Otherwise we will ask you not to hold those up, and, and we mean it. So, members in your I want to now read into the record the changes and corrections for Thursday, April 4th. Item number one, you should delete the word April and a replace it with the word March. The other thing I want to point out for changes on, and corrections is item number 37. Members that relates to board and commission nominations and waivers. You have a you have late backup in that regard. And [10:03:25 AM] late backup in that regard. And I don't normally point out late backup, but because it deals with nominations and name has been removed, I just want to call attention to that item. The other thing I want to call attention. So that and that covers the changes and corrections. For April 4th, 2024, one other thing that I want to point out are for the people that are speaking on zoning items, item number 63, it's item number 63. Item number 63 has a number of people that have signed up to speak on that item. However, item number 63 is on the agenda to be postponed. And so if you have signed up to speak, if you're listening, if you've signed up to speak either virtually or in person, you will be allowed to speak, but only as to the merits of the postponement. And that may not be something that you really want to do until, because you want to speak on the merits at a later point in time. So if you're if you're signed up to speak on item number 63, and we [10:04:26 AM] speak on item number 63, and we do have a number of people that have signed up to speak on that, that is on the consent agenda to be postponed. And I just want to call that to everyone's attention now so that you might make your decisions, for at, at the 2:00 time certain, members that will take us to our consent agenda and the people that have signed up to speak, on the consent agenda. And I will turn to the city clerk's office. Oh, yes. Councilmember Fuentes, thank you, I just wanted to flag for the manager that we, our public health committee, made a recommendation for an appointment to the central health board of managers, and I just wanted to flag that as an item that should get added to our next council agenda. Thank you. Thank you. >> All right. With that, I'll turn to the city clerk and ask that you, start us with our speakers on the consent agenda. >> Thank you. Mayor. First speaker, is Paul Robbins. >> Counsel, this is Paul Robbins. Is the chart is the chart that I sent, displayed? >> No, it's not there it is. It [10:05:26 AM] >> No, it's not there it is. It is great. >> Thank you, thank you. Let me start. Council item four on your agenda starts the process for an interim annual rate increase for Texas gas service. If approved, it will be for $32. About 11% in just one year. And an increase of $170, a 58% increase in just five years. About half of all Austin energy customers also have gas service. Multiply this rate, increase times the number of residential gas customers, and you have a collective increase of about $38 million to Austin gas customers in only five years. If you layer on the securitization charge for this outrageous, this, price increase that we paid during winter storm [10:06:27 AM] that we paid during winter storm uri in 2021 for fuel, the increases 73. However, you will not notice this charge because Texas gas service has hidden it in the fuel cost. Also you'll find that austinites served with natural gas are more likely to vote than homes that heat with electricity. Texas gas service has a history of high rates, poorly run conservation programs punishing the poor with its rate design, ignoring a meaningful customer assistance program, and not taking responsibility for reducing carbon emissions. But this is there's one important thing that you can do about this the franchise for the company that is, it's license to operate expires in 2026. Nothing obligates Austin to renew Mr. Robinson. This is a once in a [10:07:27 AM] Robinson. This is a once in a generation opportunity to get long needed reforms. >> Bob Hendrix. >> My name is Bob Hendrix. >> I live in allendale district seven, but I'm also here to represent the 4000 Sierra club members who live in Austin. The as the chair of the Austin Sierra club executive committee, we fully support item number 39 on the agenda. We note that the carbon pollution putting a blanket of heat trapping gases around the planet has led to an increased warming exceeding one and a half degrees. For the first time ever, we read the scientific analysis on how the overheating of the planet is causing wildfires, hurricanes, drought, and more on an unprecedented scale. We must do more as rapidly as possible to reduce our carbon pollution. We know that any reduction in electricity demand reduces carbon pollution, and we support . Oh shoot. We support Austin [10:08:32 AM] . Oh shoot. We support Austin energy's excellent demand response program and energy efficiency programs to help reduce the pollution. We also agreed that this with the city council that we must get out of the lcra contract on running our portion of the coal plant as soon as possible. We agree that the Austin energy demand response program can reduce strain on the electric grid by reducing energy demands during peak usage times and lower the overall cost of electricity for the entire community. We at the Austin Sierra club plan to help educate our members and the public and urge more of them to also sign up for the demand response program. We also hope to work with Austin energy and other ways to help our transition to 100% clean electricity future. That is also affordable and reliable. Thank you very much for allowing us to speak. >> Thank you. >> Susan Lippman. Good morning. Council members and mayor. My [10:09:33 AM] Council members and mayor. My name is Susan Lippman. I live in district five, just off slaughter lane, and I say, good morning also to my council member, Ryan alter, I want to speak on item 39, and, I'm in favor of it. I appreciate that our city has an excellent demand response program for commercial, buildings, and I approve of this proposal to include city buildings, what I'd like to ask is that we also improve our, program structure and outreach for, demand response by, ordinary citizens and residences, there we have a demand response program for, for those. But it's just, you just get a $25 credit for signing up for it, but I think, there's an untapped potential of the citizens of Austin to respond when we're having weather extremes and to cut their power [10:10:35 AM] extremes and to cut their power usage by a few degrees. And, I think a lot of people don't understand that those, those times of extreme weather are what gives us our, peak demand on electricity for heating or cooling. And, if more people understood that they could participate, they probably would . And I'd like to see it structured so that, people could have, the there's a result of, responding to the demand, demand response needs should be able to cut a person's electricity bills according to how much they, reduce their energy usage, I would love to see it structured like that. And I would love to see more people know that we have a demand response program at all. If we can cut our energy use during these times, and thus not need to build whole new gas plants in order just to meet those peak times. Thank you. [10:11:36 AM] those peak times. Thank you. We'll be doing our part to use those energy extremes. >> Robert bowler. >> Hey, council, this is Robert bullock. Can you hear me? Yes thank you for the time, I'm speaking in favor of item, 40, for keeping vehicles out of bike lanes, I submitted a, a digital document with my personal story, because of a car in the bike lane, I had the most serious bike crash I've ever had. I broke my back and was in a back brace, and if it weren't for this unique kind of helmet, would have had more serious damage to my face. This was actually, in an area where there is a protected bike lane, but the car parked in it just passed it, and so I couldn't see it past the legally parked cars on the other side of the bike lane, you can see the diagram for more information, but I just wanted to voice my support for this and [10:12:37 AM] to voice my support for this and also emphasize that, this initiative is not strictly for the benefit of cyclists. The more people we have safely and comfortably riding in our bike lanes is more people off of our congested roadways. And it also means a bunch of healthier austinites, using that way to get around. It's also, frankly, a lot more fun if you have not tried this in a safe area, so huge fan of item 40, please support that. Especially I see listed in my council member chito not not on there. So give us your vote, man. Thanks a lot, y'all. >> Zenobia Joseph. >> Thank you. Mayor. Council. I'm Zenobia Joseph speaking on item 67 specifically related to the community land trust. I just want to call to your attention a previous resolution that mentioned the northeast planning district resolution 20230831-137, which makes [10:13:39 AM] 20230831-137, which makes reference to the green line. The commuter rail is never going to northeast Austin and it is unfunded, has never been funded. I want to call to your attention that these are falsehoods that are specific stated in this resolution. You're asking the city manager to develop quality, affordable communities in targeted geographic areas. And you mentioned the northeast planning district. I just want to remind you that Andy Demayo submitted a hud resolution or application to pathways to removing obstacles to housing in 2020 3rd October, and it specified that fewer than ten affordable homes were built in districts five, six, eight and ten. Housing development for low income austinites is concentrated in the eastern crescent. I want you to recognize that you are violating title six of the civil rights act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. Black people in colony park and Craig would wait 60 minutes for the bus. I want you to remember that [10:14:40 AM] bus. I want you to remember that the smart housing policy is over 20 years old, and that's in that document as well. And so if you want to be sincere, then please recognize that you had many opportunities since cap remap to improve the service for black people. I'm not sure why you have such an aversion to black people, but this is really just a smokescreen to try to get the $5 billion or half of that for the light rail. The commuter rail is not going to northeast Austin. It is not in the June 3rd, 2023 revised project connect light rail plan. So I want you to keep that in mind and to also remember doctor king today in his assassination and the fair housing act of 1968. Was this also violates. And so it's disingenuous. And to the members who are black and brown, I'm really disappointed. It's disingenuous for you to support this resolution. Thank you. >> That's all the remote speakers we have, mayor. So I'm going to move to in person. I had signed up there. >> We're now moving to in [10:15:40 AM] >> We're now moving to in person. Mr. Pena, and I see you. >> No, no, I'm going to call three names in a row. If you hear your name, please come down and line up for the podium and state your name into the mic bill bunch. Item 623 3543, followed by Scott Cobb and Alex stringer. >> Your names been called? Please make your way to the front. >> Good morning. Mayor, council members, bill bunch with save our springs alliance, just as a point of order, are you still limiting two minutes to all consent items that you signed up on? >> Yes. That's what. That's the way I read the rules. >> Okay, I want to lodge an objection to that. And specifically directed to you, mayor Watson, Mr. Ryan alter. Mr. Vela, y'all are all lawyers. [10:16:40 AM] Mr. Vela, y'all are all lawyers. You have a professional duty to comply with the law. The language of the open meetings act is crystal clear, and you can only limit time on a per item basis. Are you speaking not limit item? You cannot limit it to the entire. >> Are you speaking on an item? >> I am signed up for four items. And why don't you two minutes on each of those four items? Under the law that you understand is what is required, please go ahead. Do I get my eight minutes? No sir. I get two minutes for my four items and you're down to 101. Okay. And I will see you in court promptly and we will have this foolishness put to an end. 51 all right, I am opposed to funding the southwest pressure zone study. This is business as usual. We should not be thinking [10:17:42 AM] usual. We should not be thinking about having to expand our water pipes. We should be doing the facing reality of our water future that is not guaranteed by 100 year contract. And we got to make do with the water we have. And the idea that we're going to expand pipes and be pushing obscene amounts of more water is absurd, setting the south central waterfront, deregulation plan is a direct attack on on lady bird lake and our water quality, as well as comprehensive planning that should not be set for may 2nd. That needs to go away. >> Escott cob, Alex stringer. >> Hello. My name is Scott Cobb. I work as a lifeguard for the city of Austin, including Barton [10:18:45 AM] city of Austin, including Barton springs and other pools. And I'm here to speak on item 35 to name the bathhouse of Barton springs for Joan means cabal. As someone who spent a lot of hours at the front gate of Barton springs, I see people come in all the time and I see what a great place of joy and community at Barton springs brings smiles and laughter on everybody's face. Who comes in there? People say immediately they go in, oh, what a beautiful spot. Let's go back to 1960. Joan could not go in that pool. She was 17 years old. Throughout the summer of 1960, and she was told that the class picnic at Austin high, to be held at zilker park, going to swimming afterwards, she was not allowed, and the other black students at Austin high were not allowed to go swimming. She said. That's not something I'm going to put up with. And so she organized swim ins. She jumped in without permission. She broke [10:19:47 AM] in without permission. She broke the rules. Lifeguards like me back then had to kick her out. They did, and she came back the same day over and over. She did that all summer long 1960. Two years later, they desegregated and opened Barton springs pool for everybody. That is why I submitted this nomination to change the bathhouse so that where she was not able to go in, she was not able to walk through that bathhouse. It now, after you vote, will bear her name. I think that's a fitting honor for her and for all all those teenagers back then. And the teenagers today who stand up for what they believe is wrong and want to make it right. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> After Alex stringer is [10:20:48 AM] >> After Alex stringer is Lindsay and Kelsey Hughes, she's called your name. >> Please come forward. >> Good morning. Council I'm speaking out against item 38 because sex trafficking. Sex trafficking, just like the word is a racist Republican. White supremacist dog whistle. Okay. And the last thing that we need is right wing vitriol. Honestly, you would think that a Maga Republican wrote this legislation. And I'm honestly surprised that y'all are not wearing your kkk robes and white hoods on the dais right now. You know, our democracy, it's on the line. And Donald Trump is on the verge of getting reelected to the oval office. Okay and the only hope of saving our democracy and getting Joe Biden back into the white house is to surge the border and get as many of these migrants to vote as humanly possible, regardless of whether or not they are united States citizens. You know, look, the black community, they have [10:21:49 AM] the black community, they have become brainwashed with right wing disinformation, and they are no longer a useful voting ally to the democratic party. Okay? And this is all that we have. Immigrants are our only hope to save our country from fascism. Okay? And not only that, nobody in our country wants to defend democracy against Vladimir Putin and we need to provide citizenship to every single migrant that crosses the border. As long as they go into Ukraine and fight alongside the azov battalion, they also need to replace our racist and white supremacist police force. Furthermore, we need to change the name of Barton springs to the hunter Biden nature center in order to rid ourselves of the legacy of white supremacy entrenched in our city. Thank you. >> Your time has expired. >> Can I begin now? [10:22:58 AM] >> Can I begin now? >> Yes, please. Yes. >> Okay. My name is Lynn zo. I have to read it, from district eight, I'm here with Sierra club . I'm here to provide comments on item 39 regarding demand response policy. It is a good policy, incentivize government building and big corporation energy users to reduce their usage whenever they can, voluntarily given the fast population growth in our city and Texas in general. Plus, the, the more frequent extreme weather, like a cold winter storms, the summer heat waves due to climate change, our power grid is facing higher and higher pressure to deliver that energy and much higher energy cost to everybody. And we had that, near miss incident already happened in winter. Yuri, we don't want to relive that. However, such a good policy should be, should be expanded to everybody, not just [10:23:59 AM] expanded to everybody, not just big, corporates. Wright inflation has cooled down a little bit. I mean, significantly from the peak time, but the price, it doesn't mean it's going down. The price is still going up just slowly. Then before that, those low income company, low income, Austin energy customers, they are facing real, real hard, financial, pressure. So I think this, good policy can expand to those family, especially those living on, barely getting by those levels. I think they'll get incentivized to reduce energy. So lower the energy bill, that's all. Thank you. Thank you. >> Kelsey Hughes on 39 and 40, followed by Daniel Coleman and Edgar Handel. If I've called your name, please come on down. Go right up to the podium and [10:25:00 AM] Go right up to the podium and state your name. >> Good morning, mayor and council. My name is Daniel Castleman. I'm the projects and policy manager at shoal creek conservancy and a member of the urban transportation commission, first of all, I'm here in support of item 39, which will enroll city buildings that are eligible into the Austin energy commercial demand response program, which is going to be great for our climate resiliency and that of our grid as well, but mainly I'm here in support of item 40, which will allow for greater clarity regarding parking and bike lanes, and increase opportunities for the enforcement. It is absolutely critical to protect the safety of bicyclists, vehicles parked in bike lanes, put cyclists in harm's way, and last year, between 2022 and 2023, we had a 500% increase in fatal incidents regarding, of those people on bikes. And it's actually really [10:26:01 AM] bikes. And it's actually really refreshing that you guys are so willing to jump in and make some good improvements in the same mobility committee meeting, the city has a goal of increasing the share of people commuting to work from 1% to 5, according to the smp. And if we want to have five times as many people cycling to work, we have to make sure that they feel safe on the infrastructure that we already do have, much of this item comes from recommendations put together by the bicycle advisory council and the urban transportation commission, and I really hope that there are additional opportunities in the future for us to continue to work together to craft good policy. And we really appreciate the work to help make Austin a truly multimodal city, great work, and thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Edgar Handel, Monica Guzman, and then Spencer shoemaker. >> Hi, I'm Edgar Handel. I'm a resident of go valley and east Austin, district three. I'm also a board vice president of aura local pro housing pro transit [10:27:02 AM] local pro housing pro transit group that advocates for an Austin made for people, not just cars. Through aura, I've come to know many people who use bikes for transportation and it's very clear cars. Parking in bike lanes is a very common and serious issue, but I've also seen it firsthand. My wife and I bike our son to preschool. My wife bikes to work. We bike all around east Austin, and I can tell you that cars parking in bike lanes happens all the time. And when that happens, we have to leave the relative safety of the bike lane with our kids and contend with cars that are often driving at dangerous speeds and don't expect bikes to be merging into their lane. I support item 40 to protect our bike lanes from cars parking because it's just common sense. It's good for safety, good for climate, protects people of color and other vulnerable populations who are hit hardest by traffic violence and it makes sure we're getting the most out of our bike infrastructure investments. I also wanted to speak about my support for item 67 on community land trusts. The valley neighborhood already has actually already has some community land trust homes, and having these kinds of affordable homes in our own backyard makes me appreciate the neighborhood [10:28:03 AM] me appreciate the neighborhood even more. If I had. One complaint is that we could use many more affordable homes so I'm very happy to see this item. I think it will pair efforts, pair well with efforts like the home initiative, making it so that money spent on programs like this goes further, and we can use publicly owned land for building more homes for people in need. We've seen in Austin and other cities that better land use policies and reforms can lead to upticks in public and subsidized housing construction. I hope to see Austin follow this trend and increase investment in community land trusts and public housing, and perhaps even look into mixed income social housing. There's a lot that we can do for housing affordability in this community. Land trust resolution seems like a good step in the right direction. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Excuse me. Good morning, mayor and council. I'm Monica Guzman, policy director at Garza. Garza supports the Sierra club lone star chapter's advocacy for item 39. While Austin energy does have a demand response program, it's too small , and there are many ways to [10:29:04 AM] , and there are many ways to improve residential demand response so that we can help people on their bills right now and make our grid even more reliable. The program can be improved by paying Austin energy customers directly for reducing their power, not just an annual $25 credit for enrolling in the program. Austin energy will need to determine what is an appropriate amount that will lead to a real increase in participation. Given that any resident is able to opt out of every doctor call, expand enrollment, and better promote the program. Most people in Austin don't seem to even know this program exists. Help ensure more customer assistance program or cap customers can participate in doctor by providing cap customers with free smart thermostats, not just a rebate for them. We'd also like to see ways to improve enrollment in doctor for small commercial users like mom and pop shops and other small local businesses. Finally, ercot noted recently that conservation alerts asking people to voluntarily reduce their energy use are becoming less effective over time, so it's important to make Austin energy's demand response as effective as possible. Garza [10:30:06 AM] effective as possible. Garza supports item 67. Thank you council member harper-madison and other supporting council members on this community land trust resolution. As the city manager is working with internal departments and groups, we ask external stakeholders, including community based organizations, to be included in the process. They have relationships with people who would most benefit from home ownership through a clt, and in the few seconds, I may have left as just a d4 resident, a reflection on Garza. Thank you for item 38, where I live in parts of south Austin with the interstate running through there, it makes it a high risk area for human trafficking. I have heard about the statistics over the years, in the past, and even attended, information sessions about it. So we do need improvements. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon or good morning, mayor and council. My name is Spencer Schumacher, and [10:31:06 AM] name is Spencer Schumacher, and I'm speaking on behalf or for item 40, I am on the bicycle advisory council in the urban transportation commission. But I'm very excited to speak to you guys as an individual, so the bike lane parking program is very easy to understand, in 2020, we created a program by which people can report bike lane parking violations via 311. And then we would have a mobility officer or in some cases a peace officer come respond. You can see from these statistics that that is not working. 63% of all of these are closed out with no problem found, only 12.5. And with a citation and no problem found does not mean the vehicle is not parking the bike lane. And we can see on the next slide, these are just a collection of some of the ones I've made over the last two months where you can very clearly see someone blocking the bike lane. But the problem is they are gone by the time parking enforcement shows up or mobility officers show up. And in fact, if you talk to commercial vehicle drivers, they know this. They will tell you go ahead and call parking enforcement because they know they're going to be gone by the time they show up. So the [10:32:07 AM] time they show up. So the solution is proactive enforcement, not reactive enforcement. And item 40 gets us there. If we can go to the next slide, first we need to ask more from our transportation mobility officers. Right now, 73.2% of their citations in fiscal year 24 are about paid parking. Only 0.3% are about bike lanes. We should be encouraging them to focus on public safety issues, not revenue issues. Also having a volunteer bike lane enforcement group will help supplement transportation mobility officers, for instance, when they don't work on Sundays. I want to close by thanking our wonderful mobility committee leadership, chair Ellis and vice chair qadri for getting us to a day that so many in the community didn't think would come, and I also want to thank the rest of you for keeping this on consent. So thank you. >> Luz Austin lugo on 40, followed by Luis Deangelis. And then srikar nalluri. >> Good morning, mayor and [10:33:08 AM] >> Good morning, mayor and council. I'll keep this brief. I'm here in support of item 40. I want to thank you. >> State your name for the record Luis lugo. >> Thank you. Sorry about that, mayor, keep a brief. I'm in support of item 40. I wanted to thank my council member. Council member Ellis, for leading on this. Madam partner. Like, every day I get groceries, visit our friends, I hang out with family, would love if it was safer. And I think item for item 40 will do that. So appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Mayor Watson and council members. My name is Luis Deangelis and I'm a district seven resident speaking in favor of item 40 about 18 months ago after purchasing an e-bike for $800, we went from being a two car household to a one car household. It has already saved us thousands of dollars in car payments, insurance and other expenses in the last few years. Since moving here to Austin, I've noticed major improvements to the bike lanes in the city. It's not gone unnoticed, so thank you all for that, but there is still work to be done to make more folks like myself feel safe enough on the streets to trade at least some of their car trips for bike trips, [10:34:10 AM] car trips for bike trips, helping the city to achieve its goal of a 5050 modal share of commutes between driving and other modes. By 2039, item 40 is a step in the right direction to make that happen, and I fully support it, one related area I would like to see further investigation into is the ability for volunteer bike enforcement program. As the former speaker Spencer has mentioned, as someone who has submitted parking in the bike lane photos the 311. The current system mostly does not work with almost 70% of those requests being shown as no problem found because mobility officers were not able to respond in time, a volunteer program could make it so that so many of those issues disappear before a311 request is even needed in the first place, parking in the bike lane might seem like it's just a small problem, but on busy streets, stepping out into fast moving traffic is not only intimidating, but it can also be dangerous. As we saw in the speaker who spoke remotely earlier with his accident, if it's intimidating to me, I can only imagine how it is for parents biking with their kids. As we heard from, or some of my elderly neighbors and friends [10:35:10 AM] elderly neighbors and friends who enjoy biking around town. Please vote yes on item 40 and continue to follow these issues. There are a lot of us who want to make Austin a safe place to get around in, whether that be by car, on foot, biking, or via public transportation. Thank you all for the time. And if anyone ever wants to get out for a bike ride, there's a whole bunch of people who are going to be more than happy to go for a ride with you in the city. Thank you all. >> Thank you. >> Three Karina Lori, followed by Qatar Gonzalez and then Adam Greenfield, all on item 40. >> Your name has been called. Please come forward. >> Okay. Roy Whaley followed by quincy Dunlap and Edgar Handel. Sorry, I think I've already called Edgar Handel. >> Mr. Whaley, why don't you make your way to the microphone? >> All right. >> Your name has been called and. Yeah, just do it. >> Okay. [10:36:11 AM] >> Okay. >> Good morning, mayor and council Adam Greenfield here with safe streets. Austin we are strongly in supportive of item 40 regarding the prohibition on parking in bike lanes, this is this is a major issue I have watched many times on congress avenue. People have to pull into the vehicle lane to overtake parked cars. Sometimes it's children. Children are riding on congress avenue and many other streets, and they neither they nor anyone else on a bike should have to do that. So this is a common sense policy, this is a this is a great thing to do. It's also a thoughtful policy. It's great to see in this item, references to improving the infrastructure in places where these, these infractions are happening so that they're less likely to occur in the future. So this is a wonderful step in the continued advancement of Austin as a great place to ride a bicycle. So thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Howdy y'all. My name is Roy Whaley. I am the conservation [10:37:12 AM] Whaley. I am the conservation committee chair for the Austin regional group of the Sierra club. I want to start out talking about 37.6. Don't look on your agenda. It's not an agenda item. It's the lake level. And Travis county. That's how full it is 37.6. Please think about our water supply every time you show up at this office. We're not the only straw in there. And it's falling and I want to thank my fellow Sierra and zone on speaking about item 39 and also Scott Cobb and the bathhouse change now on item 43. I am a cyclist, and I have been off my bike for quite a while because I did have a wreck and, November, broke my elbow and messed up my knee. But I'm back riding again and I'm happy, except for when I have to swerve around a parked car and my bike lane. I don't park my bike and [10:38:14 AM] lane. I don't park my bike and their lane. I wish they wouldn't park their cars and my lane now then, what's so funny about peace, love and understanding? We need to understand that there are times, I would rather have someone pull over briefly in a bike lane to check directions on their phone to see where they're going, because they're in a shade shade tree area. Then have them driving around checking their phone. I feel a lot safer going around them, but there there are exceptions, but overall this is this is our bike lane. This is how we get places. And we want to be able to get places safely. And, I have been busted up more times on a bicycle than than I have been at city hall. It seems so. That's a lot. Anyway yay yay yay. Item 40. [10:39:16 AM] 40. >> I believe I was next quincy Dunlap, Austin area urban league acknowledging mayor Watson and d4 representative. Council member harper-madison the rest of the city council. Interim city manager Garza the Austin area urban league is in support of item 67 regarding community land trust and land banks to be heard on April 4th. In general, we are strong proponents of outside of the box and nuanced approaches to improving quality of life for the most vulnerable populations to include affordability and housing equity, which includes the utilization of clts and land banks. The resolution proposes to give direction to the city manager of Austin to take proactive measures to utilize land banking and community land trust as a tool for addressing affordable housing, lack in Austin and promoting equitable [10:40:18 AM] Austin and promoting equitable development. It aims to identify viable land acquisition opportunities, explore best practices for expanding land banking and clt development, allocate resources to support these initiatives, and collaborate with relevant stakeholders to leverage existing resources. Ultimately, this initiative seeks to increase access to affordable and sustainable housing options, prevent displacement in the growing parts of Austin, and provide homeowners and home buyers with the autonomy. In Austin, the ael would like to underscore the importance of collaborate ING and co-creating with community stakeholders, including nonprofits and community advocates, in the effectuation of this resolution, it is not only important to include and listen to stakeholders, but to effectively layer in their input into the design and eventual report regarding this mechanism. It will continue to come out. It will continue to come as no [10:41:19 AM] will continue to come as no surprise that we are also wary of this venture due to the historic ingenuity of the city in relation to the revitalization of the neighborhood. My time is up, but most importantly, we support it. If it is. >> Cutter Gonzales for item 40 and then item on item 67. A new reason Eric Byrd and Ashton Cumberbatch. I've called your name. Please come on down. >> Your name is being called. Please come forward. >> A new reason Eric Byrd, Ashton Cumberbatch. >> Good morning. My name is van eenoo. I live in district three, I also wanted to speak on item 40, I'm here in support of item 40. I bike my son to school almost every day and try to bike to work regularly, and we generally love biking in Austin, it's the safety of my route, [10:42:21 AM] it's the safety of my route, though, is what makes determines if I drive or I bike. I appreciate all the changes that we've seen in Austin recently in bike lanes, but we aso need to make sure that we continue the safety of our bike riders, it's not uncommon on my routes that cars are parked in the bike lane. Just yesterday, as I was biking back from picking up my son, a rideshare pulled into the bike lane I was riding in to pick up passengers and I even said, hey, this is a bike lane. And he said, yep, I know, and this is not something that, you know, happens. I see it all the time. I take pictures sometimes in hopes of sending it to 311. But we know that that's not really something that happens very quickly, and in this lane was even a lane that had flex posts. So it wasn't just it was someone went around the flex was just to get in the lane, it's really important to continue making biking safer in Austin, and making sure that that is something that we can continue using. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Good morning, mayor and [10:43:32 AM] >> Good morning, mayor and council. >> My name is Eric Byrd, and I am the president of the black professional alliance of Austin. I would like to express my wholehearted support for item 67. It's a resolution aimed at utilizing land banking and community land trust to address our city's urgent, affordable housing needs. This resolution is a commitment to innovation and equity in housing. It acknowledges the necessity of community involvement and it ensures that our voices are heard. Let's listen to the community and its implementation, and let's do this in a way that we can be proud of. I am a native austinite. I come from a pretty big family. My grandmother had 14 children and I have 50. Thank you. I have 51 cousins, first and second on that side. At one side, out of all of us, I am probably the only one that lives within the city limits and is not on affordable housing. Everyone else has been pushed out to the margins. That's why this is important, we deserve to be able to create a legacy in [10:44:34 AM] be able to create a legacy in this city. We. We deserve to be able to call ourselves austinites for multiple generations. Additionally I'd like to invite everyone present, on council, on the dais and in the broader community to the upcoming bpa housing and innovation summit at ACC eastview. It will be Saturday, may 4th. We will have an informational panel discussion from 9 to 1. It's designed to explore innovations in policy practices and technology that make housing more affordable. We will, we are proud to collaborate with the esteemed partners such as Austin community college foundation, communities, habitat for humanity, and the Austin black real estate professionals. So we would love to have you all out, this idea came from a conversation that I had with the former CEO of habitat, talking about technology such as 3D printing, and we need to make housing more affordable. [10:45:36 AM] housing more affordable. >> Thank you. >> Good morning, mayor, council, interim city manager Jesus Garza. My name is Ashton Cumberbatch. I'm here on behalf of Eckhardt at atx. Here to speak on support of item 67, this item directs the city manager to explore the utilization of two key housing tools community land trusts, or clts, and land banking. As you're most likely aware, clts are an evidence based tool for promoting sustainable, affordable housing. There are over 200 active clts in the United States, including some right here in Austin, Texas, and as noted by the uprooted project, clts provide opportunities for current and future generations of low income residents to own homes in a gentrifying neighborhood while giving communities long time control over the land. Clts can qualify for significant property [10:46:37 AM] qualify for significant property tax savings in Texas, and clts can be used with a single family housing as well as mixed use and multifamily development, and with home ownership, as well as rental housing. Regarding land banks, the nhc housing policy guide states that they provide local jurisdictions with land for future development and reduce the number of problem properties in the community by creating a process for management and disposition on land. Banks are a powerful tool for jurisdictions faced with problems from both the hot and cold ends of the housing market spectrum. In hot markets, land banks allow jurisdictions to make development decisions with less concern about the cost of land, because they already have a portfolio of parcels ready for development in cold markets. Land banks reduce blight by acquiring abandonment and or delinquent properties, clearing title and then putting the properties back into productive use. What not the only needed tools used in ys harmony and in a co-creative manner with appropriate stakeholders, including community [10:47:38 AM] including community organizations and those with lived experience, clts and land banking can help Austin address this critical dearth of permanent affordable housing. The lack of all types of housing in all parts of town, and mixed income neighborhoods. Thank you very much. We look for your support on item 67. >> Thank you, Mr. Cumberbatch. >> Mayor, we have called all consent speakers. >> I'm sorry. Say that again. >> We've called all consent speakers great. >> Mr. Pena, did you sign up? Mr. Pena signed up. >> I'm sorry, mayor, I don't see him on the list. >> Well, I'm sorry if you if you if it didn't get signed up, you know how the system works. And I apologize that you're not signed up for today, but thank you very much, members, those are all the people that signed up on the consent agenda, is there anyone wishing to pull an item from the consent agenda? Is there anyone wishing to be shown abstaining from an item on the consent [10:48:38 AM] from an item on the consent agenda? Anyone wishing to show that their vote, that they're recusing themselves from a vote on any item on the consent agenda, anyone wishing to be shown voting no on an item on the consent agenda, I'll entertain a motion with regard to the consent agenda. Motion is made by council member Ryan alter. It is seconded by council member harper-madison, any discussion? Without objection? The consent agenda is adopted with council member Vila temporarily off the dais. Members without objection, I will recess the meeting of the Austin city council, and it is 10:49 A.M. I'll now call to order the board of directors meeting of the Austin Austin housing public facility corporation meeting and mayor. Yes >> Not to interrupt, but. >> Oh, I'm sorry, I we you have to tell me that every week and I'm not sure why, but, so. And [10:49:39 AM] I'm not sure why, but, so. And you're the top of the list, so it's appropriate, I guess, that you brought it up. Thank you, let me let me recess the meeting. Without objection. We'll recess the meeting of the Austin housing public facility corporation meeting at 1049. I will call back to order the meeting of the Austin city council at 1049. And I'll recognize council member Kelly, followed by council member Ellis. And then anyone else that wishes to speak on the consent agenda. >> Thank you very much for the recognition, mayor. This morning I had the honor of hosting film and TV actress Christy Carlson Romano here at city hall to celebrate and highlight the great work that she's doing to spread awareness about mental health. She's a resident of Austin. After leaving Hollywood, and the proclamation that I presented her with today serves as a reminder that we can all be vigilant in making the world a better place for those who struggle with mental health. She shared her brave story with us this morning, and it's worth a watch. So if you have the opportunity, please go back into the archives and check it out. My resolution item 38, which we passed today, directs the city manager to take measures to fight human trafficking. I want [10:50:41 AM] fight human trafficking. I want to thank my co sponsors, councilmember Allison alter, Ryan alter, council member Ryan alter, and council member Jose Velasquez for supporting this critical effort. Thank you to the six organizations that provided letters of support for this policy, and thank you to those who came today to support the item. I'm proud that my policy passed on consent and unanimously signaling to the community that we support combating this crime. Human trafficking stains the fabric of our society with its darkness and cruelty. Yet today, the city council stands together in our mission to illuminate the shadows by collaborating with stakeholders, the police department and our community. With the passage of this item, together we are dedicated to amplifying awareness and providing critical resources for survivors of human trafficking here in Austin. I pledge unwavering dedication to fostering a safer Austin, working tirelessly to realize this vision as my colleagues also do, to those voices who have been silenced by the injustice of human trafficking. [10:51:41 AM] injustice of human trafficking. Hear this. You're not alone. I stand with you. Our community stands with you and together, we will ensure that your voices are heard and your rights are upheld. With that, mayor, I yield. >> Thank you. Council member. Council member Ellis, followed by council member harper-madison and then council member qadri. >> Thank you for the recognition . Mayor. I have a couple items to speak on today. Item number six is, Austin water utility contract for the southwest pressure zone. This is going to be a preliminary engineering report about providing more recommendations for redundancy for the Davis lane pump station, it's going to include a variety of options, including environmental impact analysis and potential land acquisitions, this is really, really important for far south and southwest Austin because in the winter storm of 2021, this area had residents who did not have drinkable water for I believe it was about a week at that point. So I know there were some other parts of the Austin water utility system that either didn't have impacts, didn't lose [10:52:42 AM] didn't have impacts, didn't lose water, or were able to get it back on relatively quickly. But this part of town is very, very important, to make sure that people have access to clean drinking water item number 31 is the Mccarty lane park land acquisition. This is going to be, 3.66 acres of 2018 voter approved bonds, so we're very excited to be able to expand greenbelt extensions through the Williamson creek area in southwest Austin and look forward to potentially having a new trailhead. So I think that's going to be really important for the folks who live in that area. Item 35 is renaming the Barton springs bathhouse after Joan means cabal. I really appreciate Mr. Cobb coming and speaking to us today and pushing that initiative forward. We just did a groundbreaking on that bathhouse. So I think this is very timely. And I remember a few years ago when we issued a proclamation to her friends and family in her honor, they were able to tell stories about a school sanctioned event where they were going to Barton [10:53:43 AM] they were going to Barton springs. But some of the students were not allowed to swim in the pool. This is just the 1960s. This is not a hundred years ago. This is a very real part of our history that we have to confront. We have to continue to make sure that this bathhouse functions for everybody that needs to use it as it goes through its remodel, and that we honor the history of Barton springs and Joan means cabal. And that brings me to the last item that I'm very excited to have brought forward today. The bikeway parking prohibition initiative. I really appreciate the work of the bicycle advisory council and the urban transportation commission to work on this initiative. And I know we've had a lot of conversations with staff also on the back end to make sure that this resolution functions well. I know there's a lot of folks in town that see bike lanes, and they may never ride a bike and they may never use them. And so they drive past them every day, and they think they're just taking space that could be used otherwise. But the truth is, if you are on a bike and you are in a bike lane, you have been [10:54:43 AM] a bike lane, you have been blocked by a car. This is something that may seem like a very momentary impact for the individual who is pulling out of the traffic lane, but it has very real consequences. As you've heard from some of our speakers today, these can be life changing. People can get killed by having to swerve out of a bike lane unexpectedly, with only the protection of a bike helmet, so this is a really important initiative that I know a lot of people have had their hands on, and I'm proud to bring this forward today and appreciate my co-sponsors working on this with me and trying to make sure that we're doing this in an effective manner. Thank you. >> Thank you. Council member. Council member harper-madison- followed by council member qadri. Then council member Ryan alter. >> Thank you, mayor for the recognition, thank you colleagues. I'm excited about our consent agenda today, thank you. Council member Ellis, for your initiative on item number 40 regarding how we as a city can better enforce the prohibition of parking and bike lanes. This is a safety issue and mobility issue, and we need to make sure that we are protecting all modes of [10:55:44 AM] protecting all modes of transportation, especially in active transportation, like our pedestrians and cyclists. And I just wanted to point out my great appreciation and point out for the general public just how much work you did to address concerns around equity, I it's one of those things where I often represent folks who, one find that snowballs into a much bigger deal can be a problem. And council member Ellis really took the time to address those concerns. So I appreciate that. Additionally, I'm very excited that we are renaming the zilker bathhouse. I think it's important, to recognize those who take bold and brave steps in the face of injustice, it's one of those, you know, marks on Austin's history that we're not proud of, but the ability to, in 2024, be moving towards reconciliation for some of those wrongs of our past does make me proud, lastly, I'm excited to pass a resolution on community land trust and land banking. Thank you to our co-sponsors, community members, and city staff for your support. We need to continue to explore and [10:56:45 AM] to continue to explore and utilize all possible tools that we as a city have to address our critical housing shortage and produce more affordable and attainable. That's something that somebody said recently that I really appreciate because housing is important at every income level, so affordable can sometimes be misconstrued, affordable to hoop, so attainable housing. That means it's affordable and attainable by you. And we need that at every income level. And sustainable housing options in all areas of Austin using these tools, to Mr. Dunlap from Austin area urban league to his point using these tools with an equity emphasis will empower Austin residents, with the most important benefit of all. And that's access. So thank you again, Mr. Mayor, I yield. >> Thank you. Council member. Council member qadri. Great. >> Thank you, mayor, I'll keep my comments really brief. I just wanted to thank councilmember Ellis for her leadership, not only on the mobility committee. As chair, but also for bringing forward item number 40, which I [10:57:45 AM] forward item number 40, which I was very glad to co-sponsor. Bike lane blockages are a major issue throughout the city, but especially in district nine, where we have all of downtown, it's always issue. It's I think it's the number one thing our office gets calls about, you know, for a lot of folks, it might be a minor inconvenience, but for some folks, it's. And this has been highlighted by so many speakers and, you know, from Mr. Robert baller to a lot of the other folks who talked about their, their interactions dealing with vehicles that block bike lanes, it's a difference between, an uneventful bike ride- and at times, a deadly car crash. So I think cities taking a great step, with the passing of this item. And I'm thankful to be a part of it and thankful for all the co-sponsors and the sponsor. >> Thank you. Council member. Council member Ryan alter. >> Thank you very much. Mayor, quick comments about item number 39 today, our city is taking another step towards being more energy efficient, it was [10:58:45 AM] energy efficient, it was shocking to me when I learned that buildings account for around 50% of our total carbon emissions here in Austin. And so by using less power, especially during times of peak demand, it's a huge opportunity. We have to be more sustainable and demand response is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to not only save money, but to strengthen our grid, by incentivizing homes and businesses to reduce energy usage, including our city buildings. We will save money and set a strong example for businesses in our community to do so, as well. When adopted, demand response stabilizes our grid. It reduces community energy use and pays residents and businesses to do it. It's a win win win. So I want to thank Austin energy for working really closely with our office on this resolution. My co- sponsors, for supporting and for mayor pro tem pool, for your continued stewardship of the Austin energy oversight committee, which is going to hear the update to this item in December. Also, just a [10:59:46 AM] item in December. Also, just a quick note on item 40, I want to thank council member Ellis for this item. When I was in law school, I was riding my bike. It was very, very cold and I took a moment to tuck myself down to try to conserve some heat, and I ran straight into a car, flew off the handles, head into the rear windshield. I was lucky I was wearing my actual ski helmet at the time because it was so cold, but for that, you know who knows? It's a real serious issue. So I appreciate your work , and hopefully we can even look broader to make sure people aren't parking their scooters in bike lanes, because I know that's another big problem. So thank you very much. Thank you. >> Council member. Anyone else wishing to be heard on the council member vela thank you. >> Mayor, just a few. >> I'll tell you what. Before I have you speak. Members, council member vela was temporarily off the dais when we voted on the consent agenda, he would like to be shown as voting for the consent agenda, it would not change the outcome of the vote. [11:00:48 AM] change the outcome of the vote. I move that council member vela be shown voting in favor of the consent agenda, seconded by council member Velasquez. Is there any discussion? Without objection, he's shown voting in favor of the consent agenda. Now, I recognize you. >> Thank you. Mayor, I just wanted to point out a couple of, very noteworthy items. Item number 14 is a city contract for sign language interpretation. And it demonstrates our city's continued commitment to multilingual access in in multiple ways, not just, you know, English and Spanish, but various other languages as well. Good to see that. And a commitment that I completely support and glad to see those items coming through, the agenda I have to thank Scott Cobb. And on item 35, the renaming of the bathhouse for Joan means cabal, that was a great item. He approached me quite some time ago, and I agreed that that was a great idea. I was glad to see the petition move through parks, and I'm glad to see it on the agenda today. It's a it's a really great item. I remember [11:01:50 AM] really great item. I remember jumping into the springs about two years ago, to celebrate the integration of the Barton springs, based on what her and other students had done. And it was very moving ceremony. Her family was there. And it's great to see the bathhouse named in her honor, item 39, great item. If we're going to ask folks to participate in demand response, we need to lead the way. As a city, I want to thank council member Ryan alter for that, and I would love to be a co-sponsor on that item as well. >> With that objection, council member will be shown as a co sponsor. >> And then again, item 40, thanks to council member Paige Ellis for a great item, bike lanes are not for parking. They're to keep bicyclists safe and away from vehicles. We have to make sure we do that. And again, I would like to be added as a co-sponsor to, council member item. >> That objection. Council member will be shown as a co sponsor. Thank you. Members. Anybody else wishing to speak? All right. Thank you, with that, [11:04:54 AM] Members that will take us to item number 71. I will entertain a motion with regard to item number 71. Councilmember qadri moves approval of item number 71 is seconded by council member harper- madison. >> I do have a speaker. >> I was coming to you next. We have someone signed up to speak on item number 71. We have a motion and a second. Who do you got? >> Oh, sorry, mayor, that's Zenobia Joseph. >> Thank you. Mayor, council. I'm Zenobia Joseph. I am with bill bunch as it relates to your process. I did register to sign up on the city manager. I just was neutral, I just want to [11:05:55 AM] was neutral, I just want to recognize that I appreciate that you selected an African American man, but I am a little bit leery because you have a number of African Americans in key positions in your cabinet there. But unfortunately, the outcomes for African Americans seem to be dismal. And I will just contextualize my comments by saying that it took approximately 30 years to get a sidewalk from north Lamar transit center to the affordable housing development across the highway. Under your leadership, when you were a senator and senate district 14, I was your constituent, and I testified before you on that in 2011. And you said, I have a voter registration card for you. I vote I am well aware of the processes, but in this case, as relates to just procedures, I had no idea I would be able to speak on this particular item. I was the city manager. Well, but I want you to recognize that just putting black people in these strategic positions does not make you compliant with [11:06:57 AM] not make you compliant with title six of the civil rights act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin. And today I'm Karzai. There was someone from housing and from your civil rights office rather speaking about what's to come. We don't need another summit. We don't need another, discuss about these items. I need you to just comply with the law and do the right thing. Mayor, I want to thank you. And I wish the city manager well and would ask him to speak to the black community. And not just those that support you, but those of us who are title six advocates, too. Thank you. >> Thank you members. Those are all the people that have signed up to speak on item number 71. Is there any discussion on councilmember Fuentes? >> Thank you, colleagues, we know that with this item, we are taking the next step in bringing on a new city manager, certainly. I'm looking forward to working with tc Broadnax and I'm excited for his leadership and the wealth and depth of experience that he'll bring to our city of Austin. And of [11:07:57 AM] our city of Austin. And of course, whenever he is able to join, I'm sure we'll have more comments to give on that, but I did want to take a moment to thank our interim city manager, Jesus Garza, for everything that he's done for our city, incredible contributions. I've enjoyed working with you, and I'm appreciative of your leadership and grateful for your leadership. And just want to say my thanks to you publicly. >> Thank you. Councilmember. Anyone else? Councilmember vela, very similar thoughts and comments. >> Really excited about Mr. Tc Broadnax joining us, his probably the most qualified city manager candidate. If we hadn't hired him, he the next major city would have probably snapped him up. And I'm glad he's coming to Austin. I also wanted to thank, Mr. Jesus Garza for the year that he has put in. We've been able to move a lot of different projects forward, and if we would have had somebody else, I'm afraid that we would have been kind of on pause for an entire year. We weren't, I [11:08:59 AM] an entire year. We weren't, I really appreciated the bias to action. And I wish him well, moving back into retirement and to a, you know, a relaxing and you've you've earned it over the last year. Thank you very much, Mr. Garza. Thank you, members, the ordinance that you have in your back up, has a blank for the name, which is customary. >> The name will be filled in as tc Broadnax. And I will also point out to council and really to the public, that the start date for Mr. Broadnax that set forth is may 6th, so that the public will be aware of that. And is there any other discussion with regard to item number 71? All right. Mayor pro tem and council member qadri, just really quick, a heartfelt thank you to Jesus Garza for the excellent work that you did as our steering the ship, as our [11:10:00 AM] our steering the ship, as our interim city manager. >> Thank you so much and best of luck in your second retirement and a big, huge Austin. Welcome to tc Broadnax. We look forward to seeing you here next month. And beginning our work with you. Thanks, mayor. >> Thank you, mayor pro tem, councilmember qadri. >> Yeah, I'll make my comments really quick. And it's going to echo everything that everyone else has already said, really appreciate, interim city manager's time with us this past year. I can't believe it's been over a year since you've you started, it was very thankful for everyone who applied to be the next city manager of the city of Austin, thankful for miss Hensley. From Denton to, you know, be one of the finalist, and excited to work with Mr. Broadnax when he starts on may 6th. >> Thank you. Manager. >> Yeah, I just want to, first of all, congratulate the mayor and council on what I think is an outstanding selection. It's been my honor to work with all of you as well as the staff, and I look forward to participating as a citizen, as a private [11:11:01 AM] as a citizen, as a private citizen, especially, with my grandchildren on my lap. So any other any further comments? >> Without objection. Item number 71 is adopted. Is there anyone wishing to be shown not voting in favor of the motion on item number 71 is adopted unanimously? Good job. I will point out for those that that might not know, when the council voted to change city managers a little over a year ago, one of the things that it said is that it wanted to have someone come in as an interim and take an appropriate amount of time so that we would be able, when we hired the next city manager, as a permanent city manager, that permanent city manager would be able to come in and look toward the future and not just look at the past. But, this interim city manager has set us up to do that. And that's been well said [11:12:04 AM] that. And that's been well said by others. But I think we ought to point that out. And the role that the council has played, my colleagues on this council, I just want to say thank you to all of you the way that you have demonstrated what is a very, very how to go about a very, very important decision, perhaps the most important decision that we'll make as a council, and I think we, I think we will be very proud, and Mr. Broadnax will make us very proud when he comes on as the permanent city manager. So congratulations. And I look forward to working with, Mr. Broadnax, when he starts on may 6th. So good job, everybody. That will take us now to, the public hearing items, I'll call up item number 46. Without objection, we will open the public hearing on item number 46, and I'll turn to the city clerk. >> Thank you. Mayor, we have one [11:13:05 AM] >> Thank you. Mayor, we have one caller, Zenobia Joseph. >> Thank you. Mayor. >> Council. My comments as it relates to item six. F.C. Burleson housing is near. I would ask you to look at route 228, which is the only route that will serve this area. That bus starts at 6:00 in the morning and it ends at 6:30 P.M. I want you to recognize as well that 50 of the units are affordable at 30% area median income. That's people who earn in the 20 something thousand dollars range. And 56 of those units will be 50% area median income, which is about $41,000. African Americans earn about $42,000. So I just want you to recognize as well that you're going to have Burleson village, 640 housing units in that area. You are concentrating poverty in southeast Austin. You are record flying the 1928 city plan and so I want you to recognize that [11:14:06 AM] I want you to recognize that just putting people there and giving developer density entitlements, this is 60ft or so for another development. You're going to have in the afternoon, which I don't think you'll call me to speak on. But you are concentrating. People who make the least in this area. It's a transit desert. There is no grocery store. I would just ask you if you're going to put people there, give them some land so they can plant some produce because it's a plantation mentality. They're out of sight, out of mind and there is a law review journal that actually talks about this containment strategy. And I want you to recognize that this development is doing the same thing. There is no Sunday service on the bus. So if you don't think this is like a plantation, I don't know what else to call it. I'm very disappointed, mayor. And you can't vote this down. I know you have the willpower. Please stop segregating the city and city council. I want you to recognize your no different than your predecessors because you're not improving outcomes for black people. I thank you for allowing [11:15:07 AM] people. I thank you for allowing me to make my comments. If you have any questions, I'll gladly answer them at this time, but it's 1 to 5 miles to affordable housing and Travis county to December 15th, 2020 package. Thank you. >> That's all for 46 mayor members. >> Those are all the people that have signed up to speak on item number 46. Without objection, we will close the public hearing on item number 46. The chair will entertain a motion to approve item number 46. Is there a motion? Motion is made by council member Vella, seconded by council member Fuentes. Is there any discussion with regard to item number 46? Without objection, item number 46 is adopted. That will take us to item number 47. Without objection, we will open the public hearing on item number 47. I'll turn to the city clerk. >> There are no speakers for 47 members. >> There are no speakers signed up to speak on item number 47. Without objection, we will close the public hearing on item number 47. Is there a motion? Motion is made by council member Velasquez to approve item number 47. It is seconded by council member harper-madison. Any [11:16:07 AM] member harper-madison. Any discussion with regard to item 47? Without objection. Item number 47 is adopted. We will go to item number 48. Without objection, I'll open the public hearing on item number 48, and I'll turn to the city clerk. >> One speaker in person, race-I Hadad, please come forward. >> Welcome. >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon, council and mayor. My name is race-I Hadad. I'm an attorney at hush Blackwell law firm, I'm representing the developer on item 48. I think you all have been very well briefed on it, but basically it is simply a, application for a fifth amendment to a consent agreement for Moore's crossing development. Moore's crossing has about 804 acres and has been very much developed. We expect the development to be completed probably in the next 5 to 7 years, this item, the application for the fifth amendment to the consent agreement, we've been working on [11:17:08 AM] agreement, we've been working on for about two and a half years now with the city of Austin, includes working with, the city on affordable Katy. The developer has far exceeded affordability requirements that were part of the original consent agreement. And I believe you have the ordinance related to the minor modifications. We're asking the city to approve , I'm just here to answer any questions. If there's any, but we have been working with the city, for a couple of years on this. Now, we did a full affordability review. This would contemplate that the developer would receive 100% reimbursements, on any future bond issuance for, water, wastewater. And then the developer would be contributing back 8% of bond reimbursements to the Austin community housing development. In addition, they'd be donating or contributing back 2% of bond issue for parks. So we've worked with Scott Grantham and others at the city, and that's the sum. The sum and [11:18:09 AM] that's the sum. The sum and substance of it. So thank you very much for your time and your consideration. >> Thank you very much. Members. You have any questions? Yes. Councilmember Fuentes, can you touch on the timeline for the completion of the development for mud croft? >> Yes. >> In fact, I have a timeline here for my client that's a little bit more detailed. The district was created in 1987, and it has about 804 acres. Okay there's a number of completed residential projects, but we expect in the next 5 to 7 years everything will be built out there. Okay, stony ridge single family has been completed in 96 to 2000. Stony ridge, second phase, 2007, another single family phase zero nine stony ridge section. Phase three phase C 2022 fire and ems constructed in 2021. And then we did multiple road improvements to Elroy road, and Ross road. And those have been completed, then [11:19:09 AM] those have been completed, then there are certain things under construction right now which is cypress creek apartments, anticipated build out 2025 agave east apartments. End of the year this year, stony ridge highland single family is a 550 lot kb home project. Next 3 to 4 years and then there's future projects which would be continued multifamily C, and a mixed use office and retail and that's all probably going to be done in the next 5 to 7 years, depending on permitting and how long those things take to get processed. >> Sure. And colleagues, thank you for going through the development timeline. You can hear the amount of developments that are happening in this area. And I just want to flag, you know, I hear from constituents and residents who live in that part of southeast Austin who are eager to be annexed by the city, who want to be full. You know, city of Austin residents not, you know, now with the mud and the limited jurisdiction. And so I just also want to flag that there is a desire, to be entered [11:20:11 AM] there is a desire, to be entered into the city. Thank you. Yes. >> Thank you, thank you, councilmember Fuentes. >> Thank you. Any other questions? Thank you very much for being here. Members. Those are all the people that have signed up to speak on item number 48. Without objection, we'll close the public hearing on item number 48, and I will entertain a motion, to approve item number 48, which is made by council member Fuentes, seconded by council member vela. Is there any discussion on item number 48? Without objection. Item number 48 is approved. That will take us to item number 74. Item number 74 is to, addresses the notice of our joint meeting with the planning commission, mayor pro tem moves approval of item number 74. It is seconded by council member Ellis. Is [11:21:12 AM] by council member Ellis. Is there discussion with regard to item number 74? Without objection. Item number 74 is adopted. Members that takes us to our next item, which is a 12:00 time certain before I recess the council again, I want to say to the public, item number 63 at our 2:00 time, certain relates to zoning. And if people are planning on speaking with regard to item number 63, item number 63 is on the consent agenda to be postponed. You may still speak if you would like, but you will be speaking as only as to the merits of the postponement. And I just don't want people to come down here thinking they're going to be speaking on the merits of the matter, and or calling in on the merits of the matter if that's not something they want to do, that's with regard to item number 63 members there being no other business to come [11:22:12 AM] being no other business to come before us until our 12:00 time, certain, which is public communication, followed by live music. Without objection, we will recess the Austin city council until 12:00 noon. It's 11:22 A.M. Thanks, everybody good afternoon, everybody. I'll [12:00:36 PM] good afternoon, everybody. I'll call back to order the Austin city council meeting for the regular scheduled meeting of the Austin city council. It is April fourth, 2024. It's 12:00 noon. We are meeting in the city council chambers located at Austin city hall, on west second street. We have a quorum of the city council present. We are at our time, certain of 12:00 pm for public communication. That will be followed by a recess of the city council, and we will recess for live music and will return, at our 2:00 time. Certain for zoning and planning, before we begin, let me just, reiterate what I do at each meeting that during any public comment period, people should please be aware that there is behavior that can violate the rules of the council meeting. And it will not be permitted. You may not speak out of turn. You may criticize a public official, but you may not use personally derogatory or disparaging remarks. You may not defame another person, use [12:01:38 PM] defame another person, use obscene language, use abusive language that is likely to incite a breach of the peace. Make threats of violence against any person, or otherwise disrupt the orderly conduct of the meeting by calling out when it's not your turn or yelling comments, that sort of thing. When it's not your turn. Also note that, to ensure that all members of the public have a safe and efficient access to witness the council's deliberations, you may not sit or stand in the aisles or otherwise obstruct the exits or emergency exits again. If you wish to display a sign, a flag, a prop or other object, you must do so in the designated area in the back of the council chambers . All items need to measure no more than 23 by 28 inch. In terms of a rectangle, you cannot obstruct the view of other members of the public who are seated in the sitting area. So what I would ask is if you're [12:02:39 PM] what I would ask is if you're holding up something, please try to hold it just at, you know, at chest level so that you're not blocking someone else. We're happy to have you do those kinds of things, but please don't block anybody's view. And that includes flags that I've asked again, that they not obstruct and they not be out into the aisles, there may be no demonstrations at the podium, meaning you, if you're called upon to speak, if you signed up to speak, please come up and speak, but we don't have additional people at the podium. If, again, if someone violates this rules, these rules, and I'm not a anticipating that someone will. But I want to make sure everybody's clear. Your time may be cut short or you may be removed from the council chambers for the remainder of the meeting with that being said, welcome, everybody. I will turn now to the city clerk's office and ask them to help us navigate through the 12:00 public comment period. [12:03:40 PM] public comment period. >> Thank you. Mayor. Our first speaker is remote. Hello century . >> Thank you, my name is hello century, a Lebanese American living in Austin. I attended the call today regarding the home initiative. However when I spoke to a colleague about speaking to you today, they mentioned there was a more pressing issue. My family fled Lebanon after being threatened by Hezbollah, an internationally designated terrorist organization, as the laws. Now that de facto leader of Lebanon, a country which has become the failed state with no functioning economy, now there are those in Austin who support hamas and other internationally designated terrorist organization that governs gaza. A short distance from my family's former home of Lebanon, hamas. Hamas's methods of governing include killing their own citizens based on nothing more than their sexual preferences. They also kidnap, rape and murder horrifically, not necessarily in that order hamas support, and often takes the form of stickers that say [12:04:42 PM] the form of stickers that say rape is resistance. The result? There are those in this room right now wearing scarves inspired by the one popularized by yasser arafat. As much a terrorist as Osama bin laden. Thank you to the mayor and the rest of the city council for resisting calls for the resolution. Hamas supporters are calling for. However, more needs to be done. These protests from inside city council meetings are inciting despicable behavior. Attendees have been mocked, shouted down, spat on and cursed at outside of city hall. Homes have been vandalized. This is unacceptable behavior that needs to be shut down. Pro-hamas speakers have been allowed to spread lies and make bigoted comments unchecked. This is not how Austin behaves. I say again, shut this down. The city of Austin must not stand with rapists or their apologists. It would take at least a year for the city council to take the time necessary to understand Middle Eastern dynamics. We can all agree that this is not where the focus should be, since it would come at the expense of managing our amazing city. Please stop these incendiary, hateful speeches that have come to dominate city council [12:05:42 PM] to dominate city council meetings. They lead to harassment and marginalizing of many of Austin citizens. Doing so will allow the council to continue its great work in managing the growth of Austin, maintaining its place as the greatest city in the great state of Texas. Thank you. >> I'm moving to in-person speakers. The first in-person speaker, Ara debakey, followed by Maya and then Jen Ramos . >> Please. >> Webex assistant is enabled to save audio highlights. >> Good to know. >> Members of the city council. [12:06:49 PM] >> Members of the city council. My name is Maya. Sorry I've been an Austin resident for about five years, and I'm a bit nervous due to the hostile vibes within this chamber in the past few sessions, my family and I chose this great city for its vibrant, liberal and festive culture. I was born and raised in Israel, but I am becoming a proud austinite and both my kids go to public schools and enjoy the diverse background of their friends and teachers. We are a part of a thriving jewish and Israeli community. Taxpayers who are known for contributing and volunteering for our community. I call for the release of all hostages as much as I mourn for the innocent being killed and I am in pain when I witness the humanitarian crisis that is being happening in gaza, sadly, I will not solve this crisis in my homeland, but neither will [12:07:51 PM] my homeland, but neither will you. What you can do is call for a nonviolent policy here in Austin. Since the October 7th, events when hamas declared war on Israel, massacring thousands of innocent civilians, the jewish and Israeli community here in Austin have been suffering blunt acts of hatred and anti- semitism. We this is only happening because we are who we are, because of our identity as Israelis and as jewish people. Those acts have been demonstrated by illegal vandalism, such as graffiti all over town and a call for intifada. Do you mind starting that? Intifada is a call for a violent resistance. Those acts have been demonstrated by illegal. Sorry [12:08:53 PM] demonstrated by illegal. Sorry what you saw just here was a part of the rally that was held on November 12th here in Austin, do I see where can I see my presentation, please? Thanks what you see here on the left side is from that exact rally where the pro Palestinians were protesting against us, downtown Austin. And what you see on the right side is hamas. >> Please stop the clock invading Israel on October 7th. Ma'am. Ma'am, hang on one second. Stop the clock. Please do not disrupt the speaker so that people will not disrupt you. This is an opportunity for public comment, and you may disagree with the speaker, but you should not disrupt the speaker that is out of order, and you want to be treated with the same respect. Please go ahead. Thank you, your honor. >> I appreciate that I'm demonstrating this slide because [12:09:55 PM] demonstrating this slide because I'm in fear. Freedom of speech is the most valuable principle we have here in the us. But calling for violence is not. We also show our solidarity with our hostages and brothers and sisters, but we do not call out for the killing of the other side. We want hamas to lay down their weapon for the Palestinians as much as we want it for our people. This call from the river to the sea is a call for the destruction of Israel, which is, in other words , genocide. >> Thank you. >> Maya, Jen Ramos and then Martha Lankford. >> Please, can you call? Would you call the name again? >> Yes, sir. Maya followed by Jen Ramos and then Martha Langford. >> If your name has been called, [12:10:55 PM] >> If your name has been called, please come forward. If your name has been called, please come forward. Even if it's not in the exact order that she called it. >> Jen Ramos, you know. Good afternoon, members of council and mayor. My name is Jen Ramos. I wear many hats and hold multiple titles in this community, state and country. But today I'm here as the state senator, democratic woman for senate district 21 a term. I've held for three roles for three years, for three terms, rather, in the Texas democratic party on December 12th, the Texas democratic party became the first political party in the country to pass a resolution calling for a cease fire in gaza. This resolution passed unanimously among a statewide body, and a copy of said resolution was sent to all council members and mayor with a democratic voting history. On February 20th, council member chito vela posted a statement in support of senate candidate Roland Gutierrez, citing his support for a cease fire as the reason to support Gutierrez, while neglecting to mention that he has remained silent on his [12:11:56 PM] he has remained silent on his support within the very role he holds on council. On March 25th, delegates to the Travis county democratic convention were greeted with Kirk Watson's name emblazoned obnoxiously on lanyards, on signage, and at a full page program ad that stated, among several platitudes, we must all fight for our democratic values. Please keep this in mind for later. Today is April 4th, and for the exception of three council members, we have been greeted with the rude and telling silence on this humanitarian crisis. We, the constituents of this city, have been asking for our council to adopt the resolution language of five city commissions and the Texas democratic party's unanimous resolution for months. Political courage should never be the ceiling, and I can't force you to do the right thing and standing in solidarity with the very real people suffering in palestine, a suffering that has been happening for years on end. But as a party leader, I can remind you that when election season comes, the very people who knocked on doors for you stood by. You, donated money to your campaigns and got you elected. We'll remember your silence and we will greet it with the very same silence [12:12:58 PM] with the very same silence you've given us. I close with this in particular for the person who has won with a mere 700 votes, while giving thousands of dollars to have his name plastered among Travis county Democrats. Mayor Watson's unwillingness to meet with supporters of the cease fire resolution, and visible disdain when constituents come to speak on these issues, tell us what Palestinian advocates have known for months that mayor Watson has the political courage of a potted plant and the delicate temperament of the pot it's housed in. Thank you and support a cease fire resolution. >> Martha Langford. >> Martha Langford. >> My name is Martha Langford. Honorable mayor and council peoples. I am here representing the senior citizens of Gus Garcia recreation center for. Our program, which is in [12:14:00 PM] Our program, which is in district four. We would like to be included in the next city of Austin bond program issuance. Specifically as it relates to parks and recreation. Currently anticipated for 2026. We tried to appear before you by this recent past, March 31st, without success. Although we represent district four seniors, we would like to be so bold as to claim that we are also representing seniors all over northeast Austin as they have no other recreation center, let alone any senior center. During 2023, we presented our needs to the commission on aging. The hispanic Latino quality of life resource advisory commission, the African American resource advisory commission, and the Asian American quality of life advisory commission. We also presented to the parks and recreation board, which passed. Recommendation 20231127002 at their November 27th, 2023 [12:15:01 PM] their November 27th, 2023 meeting supporting the Gus Garcia special use seniors facility. Since we are not a group with resources to hire architects and engineers, we did not appear with a thorough presentation before this council. Time went by and things did not develop as hoped. Thus, we are here appealing to you to read and favorably respond to the presentation and the parks and recreation board recommendation sent to you by our district four representative to the parks board, Catherine flowers. We are asking for a senior center on site at Gus Garcia recreation center and park. Allow me to quickly present our needs. We are the only Austin city recreation center in parks, serving the needs of all citizens within the boundaries of I, 35 to the west and north of rundberg lane, including parts of district four, one and seven. Together, senior population is there amount to 23,673 people, which [12:16:03 PM] amount to 23,673 people, which basically are in an underserved area. Senior program participation numbers have increased significantly since the pandemic. New programs that have been needed have helped increase program participation. An already tight space for our activities has increased our needs even further, although we are seniors. And that means that factually, we some of us will not be around hoops to participate in the future. The senior population of this area will only continue to increase according to our demographics, city, state and nationally. Our senior program is limited to the hours of 9 A.M. To 1 P.M. On weekdays. Whoops. Okay thank you. Please help. Garcia. Garcia. Recreation accomplish this. Future goals. >> Thank you very much. Mayor. >> Mayor Joe riddle, Rochelle Wilson, Assaf Lerner, if your name. >> Vela, just a quick thank you [12:17:05 PM] >> Vela, just a quick thank you so much for your testimony. Greatly appreciated, visited with the seniors, a few months back, but it was a pleasure. And they've got good 100, more than 100 folks participating with talking to parks about that, hoping to look at potentially a temporary solution in the form of, of a portable or something like that. But you have my, wholehearted support for the inclusion of a senior center in the next parks and recreation bond. Whenever that is. So thank you all very much. I appreciate I appreciate all your no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no. >> He please identify yourself. >> Please identify yourself. And. Hello, I'm Rochelle Wilson. >> Can you please start the media and provided before starting my time ? [12:18:20 PM] ? >> Thank you. Good afternoon. I'm a district one resident and an avid voter. And this year, among hundreds of thousands of other voters across our country, I am a single issue voter. That issue is genocide, which either you support or you do not support. There is no middle ground here. I have watched as others have come before you week after week, with testimony about the horrific genocide happening in palestine, with images so horrible that most of you turned away from them. And I have watched that not be enough to sway this body. I will be remembering that every time I enter a voting booth. I came before you today to share a dream, to share my dream. My dream is that I will go to sleep tonight. And when I wake up, there will be no more murdered Palestinians. My dream is that each day after that, I will wake up and there will still be no more murdered Palestinian lions. I understand that that is not a [12:19:22 PM] I understand that that is not a dream that I can just make into reality. But if we do not dare to dream, how will we keep our humanity? I beg of you, each of you dream with me. My dream is that a month from now, we will have found all the bodies under the rubble. And we will pay these martyrs their due. My dream is that for every child's grave that has to be planted and that has to be dug, an olive tree will be planted more than 14,000 trees that will grow for 500 years. Mashallah. My dream is that we will rebuild the schools and the playgrounds that we have allowed to be turned into graveyards, that our collective shame will make us act better. And I'm losing my train of thought. I'm so sorry. My dream is that next Ramadan there will be mosques and churches rebuilt all over gaza, and they will be filled with Palestinians who have food. But are choosing to be hungry. My [12:20:24 PM] are choosing to be hungry. My dream is that from Rama to najat there will be mercy, safety and freedom and that during mafara we will earn our forgiveness. That my dream is that this reclamation will be funded by those most responsible for this genocide that the west show Palestinians the dignity of cleaning up this mess swiftly, that we not make them languish in tents, cobbling together an existence while we pontificate the reasons why that is the right thing to do. My dream is that I will go to sleep tonight, and when I wake up, there will be no more murdered Palestinians. That dream can start here today with each of you. I don't expect you to change the world. I don't expect you to end this genocide. And I certainly don't expect you to hand me my dream. I am just asking that you stop debating whether or not the murder of innocent civilians is reason enough to ask. I am to act. I am just asking that you stop questioning whether or not the murder of 14,000 children is enough to call for a permanent [12:21:24 PM] enough to call for a permanent ceasefire. Now, thank you. >> A soft learner followed by haytham Nash and Caroline rose Kennedy. >> Elite learner. >> Honorable mayor Watson and a member of the Austin city council. My name is sappi learner, the grandson of Christina, a holocaust survivor who was lucky enough to escape her village Austrian in Poland as anti-semitic voices became louder in the early 1930s and eventually she made her way to Israel, the home of the jewish people. I served in the Israeli defense forces for three years. [12:22:26 PM] defense forces for three years. I moved to Texas six years ago with my wife and my four kids. My wife is a small business owner and my four kids, whom I proudly send to the wonderful Texas public education system. I spent most of my life as a cybersecurity expert, helping governments, governments, critical infrastructure and financial institutions. As a jewish and Israeli American resident of Austin, I would like to address a call for a ceasefire that the antisemitic mob behind me has been pushing loudly for the past four months, considering a cease fire resolution paves the way for a broader agenda that shames and excludes everyone with even a passing support of Israel. This is not just about cessation of fighting. It's a well-organized effort to delegitimize Israel and demonize Israeli and jewish people. We see nationally and locally that those calling for resolution are also calling for boycotts here in Austin, for example, pressuring artists to pull out of south by southwest [12:23:27 PM] pull out of south by southwest and targeting businesses and business owners with any connections to Israel. This conflict happens 7120 miles away from here, and it is at least 75 years old. It is very complex, with more stakes than the council may be aware of. Negotiations for hostage release and humanitarian aid are already taking place and have been going on for months, with the involvement and help of many other countries. Any resolution made by this city council will not move the needle internationally. However it will fuel the hatred and targeting of the jewish and Israeli American citizens who live right here. I'm not a local governance expert. Still, in my humble opinion, the city should spend its precious resources on local matters like rec centers, transportation, public works and much more relevant to these days its obligation to protect its citizens. My community does not feel safe today when we see the anti-semitic voices violently marching the streets of Austin, [12:24:28 PM] marching the streets of Austin, as Maya showed, calling for an intifada and genocide of my people, I'm hearing voices saying that they do not target all Jews, just the zionists. Well when they say zionists, they mean the vast majority of the jewish population in Austin who believes in the right of the state of Israel to exist. I would like to thank the city council for doing what's right and keeping our citizens safe. Thank you for listening. >> If your name has been called, please, please state your name for the record before you begin. >> Mayor Watson, do you see this picture? >> You're out of order. Please. Please, please excuse yourself. From the chambers . [12:25:51 PM] . Thank you for your patience. Please let's have order. So the speaker may speak. If you'd state your name, please. >> Good afternoon, mayor and council. I'm Joe Rydell. I'm here to talk about the fee in lieu provision in the new db 90 zoning category. That nine of you voted for a month ago. The idea behind the db zoning is that an apartment or condo developer gets more density and 30ft more height in exchange for so-called community benefits. The key benefit is reserving 10 to 12% of the apartments or condos on site for rent or sale to income limited people. This is touted as promoting not simply affordable housing, but also mixed income housing. I believe that the fee in lieu is bad in principle and bad in practice. This by paying the fee in lieu. A condo developer can avoid getting. Avoid setting aside any condo units for limited income purchasers while still getting to build higher and denser. Thus, it gives a condo developer bonuses while he [12:26:52 PM] condo developer bonuses while he creates an economically segregated building. This is a nimby situation. Not in my building. Economic segregation entails racial segregation. To me, the fee option doesn't pass the smell test. Further, the fee in lieu was not part of the vmu two zoning. That db 90 was supposed to be patterned after. It was not part of your February 1st resolution, initiating the db 1990 zoning. It was not in the staff's original draft of the db 90 ordinance. The planning commission had the staff at it. Besides being a bad idea in principle, the fee as formulated is bad in practice. The next slide. Is based on the staff's recommended formula for computing the fee. The fee varies depending upon how many bedrooms are in the condo, and basically for a one bedroom condo, it's 86,000 plus. For a two bedroom, it's 136,000. For a three bedroom, it's 238,000. The [12:27:54 PM] three bedroom, it's 238,000. The fee is a wash for the for the developer. If the condos being built are priced at the citywide median price. The fee does, however, does not go up. If you build more expensive condos. The next slide is the blood on your hands. The next slide shows how the developers of more expensive condos. The the next. >> Okay, would you add the next slide shows how the developers of more expensive condos can make more money by paying the fee, instead of selling a few units to low income persons? >> It's based on an imaginary 80 condo unit with a mix of bedrooms. The condos being priced about 55% above the citywide median. I don't have to time to explain the details. I'll send you these charts in my presentations, but the bottom line is the developer of this 80 condo unit would get almost $2 million more by going the fee [12:28:56 PM] million more by going the fee route, rather than providing units on site. >> Summarize because of the disruption, but just just summarize. >> The fee in lieu is a great way for a developer to get to build three more stories higher and denser, and keep the less wealthy folks out and make more money. Please remove this shameful leap loophole that encourages segregated housing. Thank you. Thank you. >> Hatam Nash and then Carolyn rose Kennedy. >> As he's approaching members at the end of the public communication, we will recess until 2:00. But I want to remind everybody about the music during the interim before my time. >> How much? >> Are you watching? Which way to go? >> Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor and [12:29:56 PM] >> Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor and council member. My name is hatim Nash. I'm a proud palestinian- american and arab-american. What you see here is the latest massacre that happened Monday at al- shifa hospital by yours and our tax money. This is shameful. This is the continuation of the Israeli genocide, Israeli occupation, Israeli terrorists killing the civilians and the slaughter in palestine. I stand in front of you today, April is the national Arab American history month, and fortunately, our mayor, our city never celebrated this month, even with the contribution of so many of Arab Americans to this country. I will name Khalil gibran. I will name Danny Thomas from saint Jude hospital. I will name doctor Michael debakey because of him. So many of you and so many of our fellow Americans are alive. [12:30:57 PM] Americans are alive. Unfortunately, this was not on the radar of our mayor because the mayor never cared for people like me and like our community. I am a resident of district eight. District eight Paige I worked volunteered block walk for you. I carried sign for you. This is the first time I see I regret doing that because you failed us as a community. You refused to meet with us as a community. You met with me virtually. Then you never responded back. I will say you are termed out, but you are running for office again. I will be there to remind people that you you are a lack of leadership again to support humanity. Your lack of leadership, to support our community and engage with our community. I go back to Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor, back in December, you came to me over there, introduced me to your chief of staff and asked me to take an appointment with you, which I did and it was given to me. February eighth. February 8th happened to be four days after the hate crime. Mr. Mayor, [12:31:57 PM] after the hate crime. Mr. Mayor, as I know, a mayor of the city of Boston, you would be notified of the hate crime. I did not see you at the hospital. I did not see you calling the victim the mayor of Arlington. Did I did not see you standing with my community running like any other leader who wants and want to represent the community, as in general, not a mayor who won the election by 886 votes. Unfortunately, you dehumanized us, Mr. Mayor. You were nowhere to be found. Then a few days later, you issue a statement. You dehumanized my community. The Palestinian, the Arab, the Muslim community. You called us the device of what was divisive is your lack of leadership. Mr. Mayor, what was divisive? You are not passing a cease fire resolution. That's purely humanitarian. What was the divisive from you, Mr. Mayor? And that you and your staff canceled the meeting on February 8th, the night before, instead of you coming running like what a mayor would do, you canceled. [12:32:59 PM] a mayor would do, you canceled. Shame on them. Thank you sir, I will remember you in November, sir. Thank you. >> Carolyn rose Kennedy, arwa dabka. >> I have media, yeah. I want everybody to watch what's coming up. Video first, please. Video first. William kazanoff. >> We are all. Please mother, listen. Here we are . [12:34:14 PM] . I think it's. A foolish speech. >> I'm going to. >> Next video. So I want to show you what you guys are supporting . >> The public. >> Last video. No food. No nothing. No. They don't deserve it. What I care, kill them, I don't care. I don't trust them, I don't, I want them out of here . I want to, to be civilized with Jews from Israel. [12:35:14 PM] with Jews from Israel. >> Unit was, in charge of explosions. We blew up, houses of terrorists. Mosque un, officers. I remember we got into some un office that was in charge of, helping, families in gaza. That was affected by the war. And we destroyed it. >> We gave away streets for the people, for the soldiers, for the cops, for everybody. This is this is real humanitarian, okay? They need to block the AIDS to gaza. They need to block the gas to gaza. Everything to block and this is what we do every every week, two, three, four times a week. >> And as the bible says, this place is, is, is for us. It's promised for us. So they can starve to death. Show me what are. [12:36:19 PM] Show me what are. >> Images, please. This is a child that was run over by an Israeli tank. Just like Rachel corrie and many others. Next this is another one that was just recently run over by a tank . He has a cast on him. He was in the hospital. Terrorism is zionism. Do not get it confused with judaism. Judaism is a peace. >> Your time is expired. >> Thanks. Thank you and you're you're a white supremacist. >> Your time is expired. >> Caroline rose Kennedy. >> Miss Kennedy, miss Kennedy, miss Kennedy, if you'd make your way to the microphone, you have soldiers sold for money. >> For money you sold your soul for money, miss Kennedy. [12:37:22 PM] for money, miss Kennedy. >> If you'd make your way to the microphone. Yes every single one of you is a racist of other Luckritz. >> You and you and you and you. >> Every single one of you is racist. Every single one of you believes that zionism is judaism. >> These people please excuse yourself. >> Okay. Members at the at the conclusion of miss Kennedy's testimony, we will, at the conclusion of miss Kennedy's testimony, we will recess until 2:00. Good job to you. >> The holocaust survivors. >> Do I start, please, everybody, please, please, if you could come to order so that we can have others testify, please. >> Thank you all for having me. I used to work at irs among the [12:38:23 PM] I used to work at irs among the best who served. And then my boss said, Kennedy, you're getting on my nerve in 1991, I looked through trucks of mail that came into the Texas shop through wind and fire and hell, by bird, by plane, by Superman, or on foot. So joyfully by goat, by road or on bicycle. And across the shining sea I ear marked red March tax return with dog bites, pee and wine. But the ones from the popes and the presidents smelled very bad of swine. But I wore my suit with hose and heels. My hair. The latest style. And I walked real fine. And I talked droll, straight, but I plastered on my smile. And then I got to move downtown on the hill near the capitol. How proud I was, but [12:39:25 PM] capitol. How proud I was, but humbled when I faced the albino bull through the oak bomb in 911. I lived without a scratch, but soon I found that the one to fear was right behind my. She criticized my messy desk, the file piles on my floor, my overloaded voicemail box, my unread e-mail chore. And then it was my tone of voice, the color of my eyes and then my respiration rate could be I'm twice her size is the moral to her story is don't give your time and life to federal shenanigans unless you have a wife. I gave my time and life to y'all, my money and my fun and now I have great news for y'all [12:40:25 PM] now I have great news for y'all from your uncle Sam. I I've run. Amen. >> Thank you. Thanks, members. That concludes our 12:00 time. Certain or have you finished, miss Kennedy? >> I'm sorry. >> Have you finished? >> Oh, yeah. >> Okay. >> I could go on. >> Well, okay. If you're done. If you're done. I just wanted to make sure. >> Thanks for having me. >> Thank you for being here and serving members without objection, the city council of Austin, Texas, will be in recess until 2:00 pm. It is 12:41 P.M. And I'm the only child born to [12:51:02 PM] And I'm the only child born to Archie Arnold and Richard Arnold in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But she attended L.L. Campbell elementary and dobie middle school, now known as dobie middle school. Whoa and in college prep academy here in Austin, Texas. It was at dobie that she was introduced to the choir under the director of doctor Ruth Sauls. She graduated from what was then known as Reagan high school and southwest Texas state in San Marcos with a B.A. In computer information systems. She's been employed with the it department for the state of Texas for more than 25 years, and currently works at the department of motor vehicles. Her love for music and god was further strengthened, strengthened by her spiritual father, pastor avi Monroe, who passed away in 2020. Her spiritual walk took a huge hit as he was taken unexpectedly. However miss Dion continues to move forward in her music. On September 29th, 2013, miss Dion released her first solo gospel [12:52:02 PM] released her first solo gospel album entitled I'm ready, which is and with a production company which is owned and operated by Barry J.W. Franklin. Many people will recognize that name as the owner of a life celebration mortuary here in Austin and Maynard, Texas. In 2023, miss Dion released a solo CD with two songs on it available on YouTube under Dion Arnold. Miss Dion believes she's not the perfect Christian and has fallen short many, many times. But by the grace and mercy of god, she can do all things through Christ who strengthens her. Ladies and gentlemen, miss Dion. >> I'd like to say thank you, mayor Watson. Austin city council and city hall for allowing me to be here. Thank you to everyone that came out. Hope this song is a blessing. Somewhere in outer space, god has has prepared a place. And [12:53:04 PM] has has prepared a place. And it's for those who really trust him and obey shay he he's he's coming back real soon. May be morning, night or noon. And the countdown is getting closer every day. Say amen. Daisy. Grace amazing grace. God's grace is truly amazing. >> Amazing, amazing grace. Whoo! >> Amazing grace. She's got [12:54:04 PM] >> Amazing grace. She's got god's grace is truly amazing. >> Crazy, amazing grace. Grace. >> It's only because of god's grace that we're here today. It's all god's grace. >> It's truly amazing. Whoo! Amazing grace. God god's amazing grace. God god's grace is truly amazing. Amen Shea Singh. Great grace. >> How sweet the sound. That. That's saved our wretch. [12:55:13 PM] That's saved our wretch. >> Like like me. He highway. That was lost. But now I'm found . Was was blind. >> But now I amazing grace. Ooh, god. Amazing grace god, god's grace is truly amazing. Singh. Amazing grace grace. God, we [12:56:16 PM] Amazing grace grace. God, we thank you for your amazing grace. God god's grace is truly amazing. Daisy thank you for your time. >> We're going to be joined by council member harper-madison. That's great. That was great. So it's my privilege to get to issue this proclamation and I'm glad to be joined by council member harper-madison. The proclamation reads. Step up here, if you don't mind. Okay the proclamation reads, be it known that whereas as the city of Austin, Texas is blessed with many creative musicians whose talent extends to virtually every musical genre, and whereas [12:57:16 PM] every musical genre, and whereas our music scene thrives because audiences support good music produced by legends, our local favorites and newcomers alike. And whereas we are pleased to showcase and support our local artists now, therefore, I, Kirk Watson, on behalf of the city council of Austin, Texas and mayor of the live music capital of the world, do hereby proclaim April 4th, 2024 as Dion day in Austin, Texas. God bless you. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Tell us, tell us. Can we hear you and can we follow you on social media? >> You can tell me about that because step up here I am. I have a page on YouTube and it is correctly spelled Dion. Arnold Arnold. And my first CD is on YouTube as well as my second single release. And you can follow me there. That's great. Thank you. >> Thank you so much for your [12:58:17 PM] >> Thank you so much for your time. Dion are you good afternoon, everybody. I'll [2:00:11 PM] good afternoon, everybody. I'll call to order the meeting of the Austin city council. This is the regular schedule meeting that we began this morning. It's April 4th, 2024, and it's 2:00 pm. Members we are at that point in our agenda where we have a time certain for 2:00.and those are the zoning items. So I'm going to ask miss Hardin to lead us through that. >> Thank you. Mayor, mayor and council, I'm Joey Hardin with the planning department. Your zoning agenda begins with item number 49, c-1 for 2022 0090. And this is an applicant requested postponement to your may 2nd council meeting. Item 50 is npa 2022 0005.01. This item is being offered as an indefinite postponement request by the applicant. The related rezoning is item 51 c-1 for 2022 0107. Again in definite postponement by indefinite postponement request by the applicant, and I'm 52 a c-1 for 2023 0152. This item is being offered for consent on all three [2:01:11 PM] offered for consent on all three readings. Item 53 is c-1 for 2023 0106. This item is being offered for consent. First reading only. Item 54 c-1 for 2023 0100. This item is being offered for consent on all three readings. Item 55 is c-1 for 2023 0138. This is a requested postponement by council member Alison alter to your April 18th council meeting. Item 56 is c-1 for 2023 011011 for this item is being offered as a neighborhood postponement request to your April 18th council meeting. Item 57 is c-1 for 2023 0124. This item is being offered for consent on all three readings. Item 58 is c-1 for 2023 0148. This item is being offered for consent on all three readings. Item 59 is c-1 for H 2023 0147. This item is being offered for [2:02:13 PM] This item is being offered for consent on all three readings. Item 60 is c-1 for H 2023 0145. This is a staff requested postponement to your April 18th council meeting. Item 61 is npa 2023 0014.03. This item is being offered for consent on all three readings. The related rezoning is item 62 and that's c-1 for 2023 0093. This item is being offered as consent on all three readings, with the following motion, that I'll read into the record. Amend part D, one Ann of the draft ordinance to read as follows. Number one, the minimum setbacks are a zero feet for the front yard. Be ten feet for the street side yard C ten feet for interior side yard, and D ten feet for the rear yard and with that, motion, she read into the record, we can offer this for consent at all three readings. I do want to note, just for the record, that staff did not [2:03:13 PM] record, that staff did not recommend these items, item 61 and 62, because they are in a job center, but they were recommended by the planning commission and we are moving forward with the applicant's request to add the pda, and again, this is ready for all three readings with the motion she read into the record. Item 63 is c-1 485288.166 rca two. This item is being offered as a neighborhood postponement request to your April 18th council meeting. Item 64 c-1 for 2023 0133. This item is being offered as consent. First reading only, with the following motion that a motion that I'll read into the record the applicant has amended their rezoning request and staff is agreeable to the following modification to the staff and planning commission's recommendation. Number one is to remove the applicant's request for CSS one V comp zoning. The amended rezoning request is now from csc comp and cs one comp to CCV comp, and with that, read [2:04:15 PM] CCV comp, and with that, read into the record we are bringing, we are offering this item for consent first reading only, and staff will be bringing this item back for second and third reading considerations at your April 18th council meeting. Item 65 is npa. 2023 0015.04. This item is being offered as an applicant postponement request to your may 2nd council meeting. The related rezoning is item 66 c-1 for 2023 0117. Again, applicant requested postponement to your may 2nd council meeting and moving on to the two addendum items. Item 72 c-1 for 2023 0049. This is the bomb east pda. This item is being offered for consent. Second and third readings and this includes the changes on the motion sheet that's been distributed to you. And item 73 is c-1 for 2023 0050. And that's bomb west pda again. This item is being [2:05:17 PM] again. This item is being offered for consent. Second and third readings with again, being offered with a motion sheet that's been distributed, this concludes the reading of the zoning agenda. And as always, this is at your discretion. Council. >> Thank you. Members, are there any questions of miss Hardin? All right. What I'll do is, read into the record, and then we'll call. I'll call on the clerk to tell us if there's anyone that signed up to speak on the consent agenda, but I'd like to get a motion and a second on the consent agenda, let me let me read it in the record real quick. And council member qadri will be recognized for a motion. 49 is an applicant postponement to may 2nd, items 50 and 51, which are related. It's an indefinite postponement. 52 consent on all three readings. 53 consent on first reading, 54. Consent on all 355. Postponed to April 18th. 56 is a neighborhood postponement until April 18th, 57, 58 and 59. On all three readings, 60 is a staff postponement to April 1861 and [2:06:18 PM] postponement to April 1861 and related item number 62 is consent on all three readings, with item number 62 having the motion that miss Hardin read into the record. Item 63 is a neighborhood postponement to April 1864 is consent on first reading with the motion sheet that was read into the record, by miss Hardin, it will be come back to us on April 18th, 65 and 66 are both applicant postponements. May second in the addendum, 72 and 73 are consent on second and third reading, second and third reading. And in both instances members you have a yellow motion sheet related to item number 72, which is bomb east, and item number 73, which is bomb west. Council member qadri moves adoption of the consent agenda as read. Is there a second second by council member harper- madison? I will turn now to the clerk and ask if there's anyone signed up to speak. >> Yes, mayor, we have several speakers. There's no one [2:07:19 PM] speakers. There's no one currently on the line, so I will start with in person. Lorraine Atherton, speaking on the merits of the postponement for item 56, followed by bill bunch. >> Is Atherton okay? Mister bunch? Okay, okay. >> The next several speakers are signed up for 63, so I'll just read several names at a time. This is to address the merits of the postponement. Jason Haskins, Jason sefardic, don Marty. Karen. Dallman. Stuart Goodman, Sheila. Anderson Kristen. Jacobs, Chris. Newport, don. Gibson Patricia. Gibson, Chandler. Harris, Donna. Clement Justin. Jensen, Jeff. Kirk, Kelsey. Hughes Scott. Dallman, Stacy. Black Aaron. Heidebrecht Walter. Moore, Edgar. Handel, [2:08:21 PM] Walter. Moore, Edgar. Handel, Alan. Do anush. Rosen Bjorn. Langmack. On item 72 and 73, Valerie Menard. >> Good afternoon. Council and mayor, yes. I'm here to speak, regarding the bomb. East, west development, we worked with the neighborhood groups, the neighborhoods, during this negotiation, and we were really happy to see that from that, a new neighborhood group was was created. And so that's always something that we were very happy about, because neighborhoods can really best defend themselves when they're organized. So that was a very positive part. But what I'm here today to speak to is affordable housing. The neighborhoods, [2:09:22 PM] housing. The neighborhoods, really handle the environmental side of this, of this negotiation. And they asked us to take the lead on affordable housing. And so it wasn't unfortunately, until this week that we found out what really was what's in the agreement. And so, my understanding is that, there will be, 10% of the units set aside for affordable housing, 60% mfi for rentals, and only and 80% for, other occupied units or homes. So for us, that's that's not affordable. That's just not affordable. And I know this council, continues to commit to affordability, but if we are going to continue to see developments like this and we know we will along east Austin and into east Austin along the river, we I really ask that the council look at affordability, 80% of mfi is not, we need to look at area median incomes. We need to consider working class families. East Austin is home still to working class families, and this this agreement is not [2:10:23 PM] and this this agreement is not going to allow them to live in this development. So we need to start looking at the 60% is good. 80% is not, 50% is better. So if we could get a 50% mfi, that would be good. And certainly to low lower the single family housing from 80. That's just not affordable. So that's what we're here to ask for, we're hoping that we understand this is already passed on first reading. So maybe not this time, but please look to the future. Please stop approving developments like this that are not affordable. Knell. Thank you. >> Thank you, Zenobia Joseph, for item 49 6162. >> And then Lee Edwards for 7273. I think he didn't want to speak, but I wanted to call just in case. Okay. And then I have one remote speaker, Timothy keet , for item 57. >> I'd like to thank council for [2:11:27 PM] >> I'd like to thank council for granting its time to express my opposition to the proposed zoning change at Wilson, west Lynn. My name is Timothy kit. I've lived in the neighborhood with my wife, Laura Gonzalez. For more than 20 years. We raised our children in the neighborhood, our family home is located less than 150m from the proposed development. We're really concerned about that. This development will erode the family friendly qualities of the neighborhood and have negative environmental impacts, so just down the street is Matthews elementary, where we send our children to school. Many children in the neighborhood collect near the former now pharmacy waiting for the school bus. We wonder what will become of west Lynn by not by any stretch. A major transportation corridor and institutions like Matthews elementary school. If it becomes to resemble other commercial and entertainment districts in our city, and, as a family that lives in the neighborhood and works at university of Texas, we're quite aware of the affordability issues, and we don't feel that this development will, improve [2:12:28 PM] this development will, improve those affordability issues. I'm also concerned about runoff in the area. We've seen, several inches of water rushing down our alleyway, which is quite just across the street, and we feel that could be, a risk for flooding and endangering people. So we were we were opposed to this, change. We feel that, the current zoning is adequate to meet the development goals of the neighborhood and that, if we, change the zoning and allow greater heights, we will be, changing dramatically. The nature of this, neighborhood. And so we're opposed to that action. Thank you. >> Mayor, that concludes all the zoning speakers members. >> That's everyone that signed up to speak, that's here to speak, we have a motion and a second to adopt the consent [2:13:30 PM] second to adopt the consent agenda as it was read. Is there anyone wishing to abstain from the vote? Anyone wishing to abstain? Council member Kelly is recusing herself from item number 54. Is there anyone else wishing to be shown as recusing themselves from a vote on any item on the consent agenda? The mayor pro tem is indicating she is voting no on item 61 and 62. >> It turns out 62 is the public hearing. So just 61. Thanks >> Mayor pro tem is being shown voting no on 61. Is there anyone else wishing to be shown voting no on any item on the zoning consent agenda? Yes. Discussion. Mayor council member Ellis, I just wanted to say I appreciate I know the neighbors had asked for the postponement on item 63, and so I appreciate that being, accepted for this meeting. >> I know we oftentimes talk in terms of item numbers, but wanted folks to know that's the sunset ridge and that that one on this consent agenda is shown [2:14:30 PM] on this consent agenda is shown as postponement for two weeks. >> Thank you. Any other any other discussion? Yes. Council member Fuentes, thank you, colleagues, this is one of the items on our consent agenda today is changing an industrial use to a mixed use, that of which my contact team supports. And I think we've had a couple of these cases in my district in particular, about changing industrial zoning uses to mixed use. And so what I would like to offer is direction to city staff, because as part of the budget process that we had last year, we are engaging a consultant team to take a look at the imagined Austin plan. I would also like them to take a look at our industrial uses throughout the city. We know that for a large part of our east side, communities have been zoned industrial and there is a growing want and need for these uses to be changed to mixed use to offer community, retail and community benefits and housing, particularly affordable housing, so I would like us to take a look at where does it make sense for us to have these job centers [2:15:30 PM] for us to have these job centers and industrial uses, especially as a growing city. So I just wanted to offer those as as direction. >> Thank you. Council member. Any other mayor pro tem. >> And I just wanted to follow up on what my colleague just talked about. Council member Fuentes, I agree with that. I'm really glad that that additional planning is going to happen in your district. And frankly, on the east side, my concern on this particular one was the distance out of this particular property. And if we are pushing light industrial out ever further, further, further out. It's not that I'm opposed to bringing in residential, it's just that at some point then that where does the light industrial go? And there are jobs there. And so I think the answer to all of this is the planning that you just described. And I'm very appreciative of that and your comments and look forward to seeing what those results are from, from the city staff. Thank you so much. >> Any further discussion before we vote? All right, without objection, the consent agenda [2:16:33 PM] objection, the consent agenda for zoning is adopted, with council member Kelly being shown as recusing herself on item number 54. The mayor pro tem being shown voting no on item 61, and council member Allison alter off the dais. Members, there being no further business to come before the Austin city council with this regularly scheduled meeting, without objection, we will be adjourned at 2:16 P.M. Thanks, everybody.