City Council Regular Meeting Transcript – 4/9/2026 Title: ATXN-1 (24hr) Channel: 1 - ATXN-1 Recorded On: 4/9/2026 6:00:00AM Original Air Date: 4/9/2026 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. [10:00:09 AM] Council members I will call to order the regular Austin city council meeting that is scheduled for today, April 9th, 2026. We have a quorum of the Austin city council. President, council member harper- madison is joining us remotely, and council member Velazquez will be absent today. We are meeting in the city council chambers, which are located at city hall at 301 west second street in Austin, Texas. Quickly, I'll run through the order of the day in just a minute. I'm going to read changes and corrections into the record. Then we will go to our consent agenda. Members. We do not have any items that have been pulled from the consent agenda, to my knowledge. So if you have something that you want to pull from the consent agenda, please let me know. We will. Then we will hear from the public on the consent agenda items, at which point we will have discussion and vote on the consent agenda at 1030 or as close to 1030 as we can get. We will recess the Austin city council meeting and we will. I will call to order the board of directors meeting of the Austin [10:01:10 AM] housing finance corporation. We will take up the agenda items for afk. We will adjourn that meeting and we will come back to the Austin city council meetings where we will take up non-consent items. Members. I'll read this into the record for the official here in just a minute, but item number 41, which was a consent item, has been withdrawn. Item number 41 has been withdrawn. We will take up items 43, 44, and 45 at noon. We will pause wherever we are. We will pause and we will take up our 12:00 time certain which is public comment and music. We will recess until at least once we finish the public comment. We will recess until at least 115. I'm anticipating that may be until 2:00, and at 2:00 we will take up our other time certain item which are zoning items. Unless there's questions, I will read changes and corrections into the record, [10:02:10 AM] seeing none on the. As I indicated, the one item that is an official change and correction to our agenda is item number 41 has been withdrawn. Item number 41 has been withdrawn. So members, unless there's objection or any questions or comments, I will turn to the city clerk to ask the city clerk to please start calling the names of people that have signed up to speak on the consent agenda. >> Thank you. Mayor, we have no remote speakers this morning, so we will begin with in-person on item one. Jen Robichaud. >> Good morning, city council. I'm Jen Robichaud, a long time Austin resident. I'm here today to speak about trust. Taxpayers deserve representation and our [10:03:12 AM] government exists to serve us first and foremost. On March 12th, city council voted to take a step backward and choose to reduce transparency, avoid accountability, and erode trust. Amendments to the lobbyist ordinance were shortsighted and counterproductive, and your constituents want to know who has your ear. As the remote speaker pointed out, you've also missed an opportunity to show how well you attend to your constituents, tracking community engagement and making the data public is more than simply holding lobbyists accountable for their attempts to influence local policy. It's also an opportunity for the city to demonstrate that you are, in fact, listening to your constituents. I am grateful to my council member, Vanessa Fuentes, and to Ryan alter for taking a stance against these changes to the lobbyists policy. However, I am disappointed in the council members who justified the changes as a way to save resources and improve efficiency. This shows a lack of understanding the problem and a lack of creative problem [10:04:13 AM] solving, without assuming any negative intent. This body as a whole opted for a lazy solution rather than a well-considered one. Trust is a delicate thing. It is hard earned and easily broken, and when it is broken, it takes an enormous effort to restore. This was a step backward. Voters do not see this as an efficiency measure. They see it as a way to avoid accountability. So I'm appealing to you to revisit the lobbyist ordinance, to correct this error in judgment, and to look for creative ways to efficiently and effectively collect data and build trust with the community. Thank you. >> Thank you. Before we go to the next item, members on item number two. Item number two is related to a potential settlement. And so we will ask legal counsel to make a presentation. [10:05:18 AM] >> Morning, Mr. Mayor, mayor pro tem members of the council. I am assistant city attorney Jeremy Thompson, and I'm here today to recommend that you approve a settlement payment and a personal injury lawsuit that appears on your agenda as item number two. Item number two, we recommend that you approve a payment totaling $250,000 to settle the Marvin Reyes, Jeremiah TRE. Daniela TRE as next friend of N, R and N T miners versus city of Austin. This lawsuit relates to a July 2023 car accident involving an Austin police department vehicle, where the plaintiffs seek payment for injuries allegedly sustained in that accident. In exchange for the payment, the plaintiffs will release any and all claims against the city from the accident and will also dismiss their petition and intervention filed in the district court of Travis county. The Austin city attorney's office recommends that you approve payment based upon these terms, and I'm available to answer any questions you may have. >> Thank you for the [10:06:18 AM] presentation. Members. Are there any questions of legal counsel? Thank you sir. Thank you. I'll turn back to the city clerk. >> Next item will be for bill bunch on item number six. Mr. Bunch, you have multiple items, so if you could just stay seated, I'll call the next one. >> Good morning mayor. Council members, thank you for your service to our community. Bill bunch, attorney and executive director with save our springs alliance, speaking on. I'm going to combine this one with the next one, six and seven, six being $9 million for mowing and TRE care with Austin energy, and then another 24 million for Austin energy, also for vegetation management along power systems. Of course, we have to be super careful with [10:07:18 AM] our energy system and make sure it's maintained safely. But cutting trees that don't need to be cut, excessive mowing, mowing too short during hot, dry conditions, and especially with climate change and drought, we have can do extremely long term damage. It is absolutely important that this city, not just Austin energy, but across our systems. Austin water parks, wake up to the fact that we're in changed circumstances and that we review our vegetation management, especially our mowing. I'm seeing severe damage in zilker park itself, where we're mowing too short and too frequently, and if that happens through the summer, we're going to have a dust bowl disaster if we don't get more rain. So please wake up, review all of these vegetation management activities and [10:08:19 AM] contracts across the city. And I bet you not only will you get a much better result, but you'll save millions of dollars on work that's not needed or is overdone or improperly done. This is critical for climate change, water protection, parks, wildlife and urban heat island issues. Thank you for your consideration. >> On item ten. Bill bunch. >> Mr. Bunch, hang hang on. You signed up on like ten items. >> Yeah. Okay. So yes, item number ten is $7.3 million to ratify a contract already entered by staff. What's purported to be an emergency basis for erosion and drainage control project along little [10:09:21 AM] walnut creek. This absolutely may well be an emergency, but the backup doesn't tell us when this problem arose. We've seen issues that should have been addressed very quickly. Just sit there for years and years. What we also see frequently, and again, you're in a budget crisis. We're in an environmental crisis. A whole lot of times these erosion issues can be handled with much smaller scale, lighter touch, especially if you jump on them right away with current staff who has the expertise to do riparian vegetation, riparian erosion management. When you do nothing, the the problem balloons and becomes millions of dollars. And I'm guessing this is example number one on this agenda with another one [10:10:21 AM] coming up shortly. Thank you. >> Mr. Bunch. You have item 11. >> I'm passing on that one. >> Item 12 bill bunch. >> Passing on that one. >> Item 13 bill bunch. >> Item 13 is the one I just referenced. This is on the banks of little Barton creek. For those of you who enjoy the hike and bike trail, you know that this has been a problem and the backup tells us it's been a problem for ten years. When a storm event washed out a part of the butler hike and bike trail just before the Barton creek joins lady bird lake on the north shore. Excuse me. On the south side of Barton creek. It was about 30ft stretch that slumped. Your staff that has the expertise could have gone out there with netting and your standard [10:11:22 AM] erosion controls, replanted vegetation and took care of the problem instantly for literally no money. Those scars sat there for almost ten years with no action. When we have the trail conservancy allegedly taking care of the trail, they put their name on this thing. They did absolutely nothing. And you're here today being asked to add $81,000 to a $5.8 million project to stabilize the slope that literally could have been stabilized for free if it had been done immediately. And with your watershed protection staff, jumping in and taking care of it up has a huge false statement. It says not only does it stabilize the slope, but it restores environmental function. If you [10:12:24 AM] go look at this project, which you can see from the opposite side of Barton creek on the butler hike and bike trail, you can look across, it completely destroys environmental function on Barton creek for a very long stretch. Don't do this anymore. Save some money. Save our riparian habitat. >> Thank you very much. But hang on. >> Moving to item 18. Jeffrey Bowen and Jennifer Robichaud. >> You want to go first? Jen? Knock yourself out. >> Good morning, city council. I'm Jen Robichaud, a longtime Austin resident. As stated earlier, I'm here today to talk about trust. Council isn't a [10:13:27 AM] ceremonial role. And I know you know this and I don't say it to be disrespectful. Rather, residents often wonder what level of due diligence this body exercises in reviewing agendas. In recent weeks, we have seen council put unquestioning trust in the legal department and the city manager place unchecked trust in consultants. In both instances, we've seen admissions that recommendations should have been evaluated more carefully, but only after constituents spoke up. While trust is a wonderful thing, it must be earned. And as stewards of the city, it is not unreasonable for you to verify the agenda. Shea is for. Item 18 weren't posted until yesterday, so I had a hard time finding information about Austin's outstanding reimbursements. I did find some in the qa from last budget cycle, and I find that it's too bad that these weren't included in the backup. While I do believe that the city will see a return on this spending, there is a simple issue of arithmetic that undoes this whole item. The contract for [10:14:32 AM] $362,000 exceeds the available budget of $201,000. And I'm wondering who has noticed that the contract exceeds the budget? Who has raised any questions about this? What is your plan to reconcile this budget shortfall? And all this begs the question, how does the council do their research and make decisions on these items? And with that, I urge you to take your job of oversight more seriously. Residents deserve more than unquestioning trust in the bureaucracy. We need leaders who verify, who ask hard questions, and who ensure that basic math adds up before approving spending. Trust must be earned through diligence and transparency. Thank you. >> Mr. Bowen. >> Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Council ladies and gentlemen, I echo exactly what my cohort, miss Robichaud, was just talking about because when I [10:15:33 AM] looked at this, I kind of said, okay, what's really going on here? And it's a lack of trust. I will give kudos to miss Ellis for for making sure that this issue was brought up back in 2025 with a series of questions during the budget, which they're none of this was actually in the backup, nor was the information that was received late last night, which was what was the amount of this. So I have a problem when we start talking about you want more transparency. You want us to trust when we can't even get to the information. And why is that? I mean, this is almost like looking for an Easter egg over at the botanical gardens, trying to find information. The amount of money is $53 million, which is really a pittance when you look at our overall budget and there's 22 million that's already been approved. I realize after spending over 20 years in the service and dealing with military contracts, yes, federal paperwork is a pain. It is a pain, but it is a [10:16:34 AM] must when you're looking at this. One of my questions also is, was this one of the was this one of the consulting projects that was looked at during the during the audit of all those consultants that was that was given out to the audit and finance committee. We don't know. Why don't we know? Because they didn't list those different contracts, those different items. Why is that a secret? It shouldn't be a secret. We should understand what's going on when we look at these. And we don't even know what the amount of money that we're talking about, then it just leads to making people wonder what is actually going on. And we need to be able to get that trust back by people asking hard, serious questions. Again, miss Ellis, thank you for asking the questions and getting those answers. I just wish we'd have got them earlier. Thank you. >> Item number 22, bill bunch. [10:17:46 AM] >> Good morning again. Bill Barnes, attorney and executive director for save our springs alliance district five resident. I'm here to support an item, thank god. This is purchasing 49 acres on the banks of of of onion creek in far south central Austin, just off of old San Antonio road. The tractor you're buying here adjoins existing parkland and preserve land along the creek. The efforts that this city has made to protect the onion creek %-pwatershed for protecting Barton springs flows because of the recharge that flows from this watershed, and also to help reduce flooding downstream downstream of I-35, which is and this is very close to I-35. It's been a great thing. We this is the kind of spending we need to be doing more of before [10:18:47 AM] it's too late. So thank you to you and your staff for making this investment in adding much needed park land along onion creek. Thank you. >> Bill bunch item 35. >> I get to go home soon. >> We didn't make you do this. >> Right. So item 35 is to resurrect a a water agreement with the city of Round Rock so that the Austin can provide them only emergency water needs. Of course, this sort of support of a neighbor is a great thing. I would just ask and I don't see anything in the backup, and it doesn't really say the contents of the agreement very well, but there should be [10:19:48 AM] reciprocity here because in my view, our water utility, those on the dais that we're sleeping, walking through water issues that need your immediate attention, and to think that we only can, we're in a position of helping others rather than, hey, we might need some help to. Is a wrong mindset. We're running out of water. If you're in a position where you're just assuming you're going to hand over an obscene amounts of money to Elon Musk's tariff ab to other major, major P water demands from data centers, others just stepping up and thinking, oh, we have endless supplies. Those days are over. This is a whole new world and we need y'all need to move quickly to not just take these [10:20:48 AM] kind of water issues for granted and say, yes, we can always help. We can always hand out more water because we can't, we can't. We don't have the water. And it's going to put an incredible financial burden on existing ratepayers. If y'all don't wake up and pay attention to this issue right now. Thank you. >> One more bill bunch. Item 36. >> Pass. >> Murray. That concludes all consent speakers. >> Thank you. Members. As you've heard, that concludes all speakers that have signed up on consent. The consent agenda. Let me ask, is there anyone wishing to pull any other items off of the consent agenda? All right. Then the chair will entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda as read. Is there a motion? Motion made by council member Ellis? Is there a second? Second by council member Siegel discussion on the consent agenda? Council member Siegel [10:21:50 AM] thank you mayor. >> I just want to highlight item 28 on the agenda here and celebrate that we're moving forward with helping central Texas food bank build more food pantries across the city of Austin. I want to thank the council for supporting this budget amendment and our last budget cycle. This is a great program that provides fresh produce and frozen proteins for students and their families, and the city's contribution helps the food bank expand a very successful program both in Austin ISD and also other Austin districts, including Round Rock ISD. So just want to say thank you. >> Thank you, council member. Anybody else? Discussion. Council member alter. >> I just want to also take a moment to highlight the the item that speaker spoke about. Item 22. This is the first acquisition in a series of acquisitions that the council approved money for two budgets ago to increase our park space, increase our open space for the public. We need to have more of these spaces, not less. And I'm really excited that this one is moving forward. The parks [10:22:50 AM] department, and hopefully we will see more to come. But we we need these spaces to not only protect the environmental features, but to be spaces where people can go and enjoy. So I want to thank the parks department for their work on this, and look forward to the ones in the future. >> Thank you. Councilmember. Councilmember duchen. >> Thank you, mayor. Like my colleagues, just want to highlight a couple of items. I want to flag 32, 33, and 34. Last year I talked about I think I said something along the lines of the the best kind of money is somebody else's money. And in this case, we're leveraging state and federal dollars to integrate traffic signals and improve resiliency and reduce congestion. And so I'd like I'm encouraging us to pursue more of these opportunities and look forward to them. I want to flag item six and seven also, which are the vegetation management ones, which are just in a time where we're also conscious about wildfire prevention and traffic [10:23:51 AM] congestion, that same thing that we're using different government funding and coordination to try and address this. And the last thing is just to echo some of the feedback we heard on item 18, this is something that we've seen, or at least I've seen since I started, that does connect with the consulting audit that we got. And I appreciate council member Ellis reviewing some of those details and looking for additional information. But I do think that there's probably a better way that we can approach some of these things. I know the information is not privileged or sensitive, but ideally it should ought to be included in original material with the items on the agendas. And so I don't want to pick on this particular item, but it would be nice to see us be more responsive and responsible for these issues as we publish them. That's all I've got. Thank you. >> Thank you. Councilmember mayor pro tem. >> Thank you mayor. I just wanted to highlight a couple of items. Item ten is the [10:24:53 AM] stabilization project for walnut creek in the in the district. Glad to see this project moving forward. That's a portion of the creek that is struggling, polluted and hope the improvements will improve the overall condition of of the of the creek there and the flows into the rest of walnut creek. I also wanted to highlight item 12, which are wastewater improvements. Again in district four. Just again, just kind of trying to improve and maintain the infrastructure in the city so that the residents of the city can just quietly get the water and wastewater services that they need. I know that doesn't get a lot of publicity, but I just want to highlight that that work that we'll be seeing soon in district four. And I also wanted to, as a council member, alter mentioned item 22. I think that's a great acquisition. I know that that he led the charge in getting [10:25:54 AM] that $50 million for land acquisition a couple of years ago. And this is some of that money actually going to work. This is I believe this is just outside the city limits. But a jacent to another good piece of land. It protects onion creek. It's going to be a great place for, for folks to go and enjoy. I think this is an excellent land acquisition from from parks. Thank you mayor. >> Thank you. Mayor pro tem members, that being all the discussion on the consent agenda is read. Let me ask you first. Is there anyone wishing to abstain from a vote on any item on the consent agenda? Is there anyone wishing to recuse themselves from a vote on any item on the consent agenda? Anyone wishing to be shown voting no on any item on the consent agenda, I. Without further discussion, without objection, the consent agenda is adopted with council member Velasquez absent and that that completes the consent agenda. [10:26:57 AM] Members, we will now go to item item number 43. Item number 43 is a public hearing. Without objection, we will open the public hearing on item number 43. The public hearing is now open. Councilmember qadri. >> Yeah, I don't know if this affects any procedural stuff, but councilmember Laine is not on the dais. >> I'm sorry, I should have called that out. Thank you for calling that to my attention. Councilman. The the vote on the consent agenda, for the record, is the consent agenda, without objection, is adopted with council member Velasquez absent and councilmember Laine temporarily off the off the dais, I assume. All right. Item number 43 is a public hearing. Without objection, we will open the public hearing on item number 43. The public hearing is now open. I'll turn to the. There she is. Well, we'll have to reconsider it here in a minute. I'll. We've opened the public hearing on item number 43. Is there anyone signed up to speak on item number 43? [10:27:57 AM] >> No. Speakers on item 43. >> Members. There are no speakers on item number 43. So without objection, we will close the public hearing on item number 43. The public hearing is now closed. Councilmember qadri moves approval of item number 43. It's seconded by councilmember Ellis. Is there discussion? Hearing none without objection, item number 43 is adopted. Members. Council member Laine has indicated that she would like to be shown voting in favor of the consent agenda. It will not change the outcome of the vote on the consent agenda. I'll move that. Councilmember Laine be shown voting in favor of the consent agenda. Is there a second? Second by councilmember duchen? Any objection? Without objection, councilmember Laine will be shown voting in favor of the consent agenda as it was adopted. Item number 44 is also a public hearing. Without objection, we will open the public hearing on item number 44. The public hearing is now open and I will turn to the city clerk. >> Thank you. Mayor. We do have one remote speaker on item 44, Courtney Mcwhorter. [10:28:58 AM] >> Courtney Mcwhorter, you're called upon. >> Hi, this is Courtney Mcwhorter, the attorney for the petitioner, requesting this annexation. I'm here to answer any questions you may have. >> Miss Mcwhorter is here for questions. Do we have anybody with any questions? Miss Mcwhorter is the only person signed up to speak at the public hearing on item number 44. So without objection, we will close the public hearing on item number 44. The public hearing is now closed, and I will entertain a motion to approve item number 44. Councilmember Fuentes, second by councilmember duchen is the motion is to approve item number 44. Is there discussion? Hearing none without objection. Item number 44 is adopted with councilmember Velasquez absent. That will take us to item number 45, which is also a public hearing. Without objection, we will open the public hearing on item number 45. The public hearing is now open. >> We have no speakers on item 45 members. >> There are no speakers on item number 45. So without objection, we will close the public hearing on item number [10:29:59 AM] 45. The public hearing is now closed. Is there a motion to approve item number 45? Councilmember duchen moves to approve item number 45. It is seconded by council member Siegel. Is there any discussion? Hearing none without objection, item number 45 is adopted with councilmember Velasquez absent members. It is now 1030. So without objection, we will recess the Austin city council meeting. City council meeting is recessed at 1030, and I will call back to order the meeting of the Austin city council members. The next item on our agenda is our 12:00 time certain, which is public communication. So without objection, we will recess the meeting of the Austin city council until promptly at 12:00 pm. It is 1039. We are in recess. [12:00:02 PM] Good afternoon everybody. It's 12:00 and it's still April 9th, 2026. We have a quorum of the Austin city council present. So I will call back to order the Austin city council for our 12:00 time. Certain, which is our public communications. The way we'll operate is the city clerk will call out the names, but you know, you've signed up. So we would ask that when your name is called out, that you make your way to the desk here and find an open microphone and go in the order that you called. I would also ask that if you would please, even though your name has been called, state your name for the record. With that, I'll turn to the city clerk. >> Thank you mayor. First we have radio aoife Moore and Sam Ratcliffe. >> If you'll please come forward. And by the way, we members, we have a treat today. We have a group of students, and I hope that they will also identify where they're from and what grade they're in as part [12:01:02 PM] of their introduction with their names, so that we will be able to hear their public communication and know a little bit about them. If you'll start and please move that microphone in front of you and make sure it's on. >> It's green. >> Yes. That works. We can hear you. Thank you. >> Honorable mayor and council members. My name is Radia. I am an eighth grade. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people fled downtown Austin for south by southwest acl and our countless of other festivals. When crowd density exceeds five people per square meter, individuals lose the ability to move voluntarily, people get swept and people fall. I'm asking Austin city council to implement pedestrian directional signage at major Austin events, because unmanaged foot traffic is not just an inconvenience, it's a public health risk. Anyone who has been to these events can tell you it feels messy and uncoordinated. Bidirectional foot traffic causes turbulence and misdirection. A pubmed [12:02:05 PM] study found that merging pedestrian flows directly increased density, reduced velocity, and raise the risk of dangerous conflict. While taking an hour to talk to members of our community, I got to hear about some of the troubling experiences people have had. Someone said that they almost got trampled, while others said that they got separated from their groups. If nothing changes, we will continue to see challenges and this will face major legal, financial and reputational costs to the city, which is greater than the cost of signage. Instead of waiting for a major accident to happen, we should take charge now. Why wait to improve and grow as a city? Austin markets itself as the live music capital of the world, and that title depends on people feeling safe at events, not just having a good time. Council members. The ask is simple direct the Austin center for events to create a pedestrian signage and flow management plan before the next [12:03:06 PM] event season. Clear directional markers, designated entry and exit routes. One way corridors. Austin already leads the world in music, culture, and innovation. Let's lead in safety, too, because the same city that welcomes hundreds of thousands of people every spring has that responsibility to make sure all of them get home safe. Thank you. >> Thank you. Yes. >> Honorable mayor and city council members, my name is Samuel Ratcliffe and I am in seventh grade. Imagine intentionally harming somebody in Austin. We don't have to imagine it. We hurt the homeless community every day through hostile architecture. Hostile architecture is architecture specifically designed to discourage human use, such as. I could go outside right now and see a homeless person sitting on the ground instead of on a bench. That is because of a hostile architecture, because of our hostile architecture problem, homeless people are having to go sit on spiked benches and [12:04:07 PM] benches with rails in the middle, which stops them from laying down comfortably. Public spaces should welcome everybody and not push those who need them away most. According to the national coalition of the homeless, hostile architecture drives millions of homeless away from the city every year and away from social services. If they can't get to social services, they can't get help. So if that keeps happening, then more and more people will go homeless. I also asked members of the community whether they wanted to see a hostile architecture moved in. Over 20 people said yes, that's more than 90% of the people I asked. It proves something more than that. We want to change. We need a change. We should remove hostile architecture and replace it with a more equitable, humane infrastructure that supports all members of the community, not just people with housing. Thank you. Thank you. >> Next, we have lulu bresson. Eddie Morgan, Junko, Bobby sue brown. [12:05:14 PM] >> Honorable mayor and council members. My name is lulu bresson and I'm an eighth grade student. According to the city of Austin, around 2.6 million people per year walk, bike and run along the lady bird lake trail. And it's not just people. All sorts of plants and animals call this shoreline home. And that land is quietly being degraded. I'm here to ask Austin city council to improve green spaces around lady bird lake by replanting native vegetation and improving trash infrastructure before rapid development continues to harm our natural habitats. Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in the country, and while that growth is incredibly exciting, it's how we manage it that determines how Austin looks like as it continues to grow. As land gets paved over, surface runoff increases. And according to the EPA, one city block generates five times as much runoff as a forested block of the same size. That runoff [12:06:15 PM] carries pollution, litter, and bacteria directly into the lake. The city is already spending $300,000 a year trying to solve the algae blooms caused by pollution, and that program ends this year with no replacement. When I walk along the lake, I see it firsthand. There's trash tangled along the banks that never made it to where it was supposed to go. The numbers tell the same story. The riparian corridor along lady bird lake is around 200 acres, yet it supports over 190 bird species, 24 mammal species and dozens of reptiles and amphibians. Recently, I took an hour to speak to community members downtown. In just that hour, I met 33 people who firmly agreed with this proposal. That shows me that this isn't a silly concern. It's something that our community sees and deeply feels. And they're right to care because the more polluted lady bird lake gets, the more our community is harmed. Not only is the health of our community [12:07:16 PM] at risk, but so is our economy. Because lady bird lake sits at the center of Austin's $7.4 billion tourism industry, we already know what's working. The city is already in partnerships with. Local nonprofits revegetating and Williamson creek. So I'm asking Austin city council to bring the same commitment to lady bird lake, improve green spaces by replanting native vegetation and improving trash infrastructure so our community can continue to use these spaces without harming them. Thank you. >> Thank you. Please. >> Honorable mayor and council members. My name is Eddie martynenko. Imagine going to a city meeting thinking your voice matters, and then realizing some of the people there were paid to show up. I believe Austin city council should require disclosure when individuals are being paid to city meetings or public events. Right now, there is no clear way to tell when [12:08:16 PM] people are being paid to appear as local residents. This can create a misleading picture of public opinion. For example, a report by the New York state attorney general found that over 18 million public comments submitted to the FCC were fake, many generated by organizations and paid campaigns using people's identities without their consent. This shows how easily public input can be manipulated at a large scale. When I took time to speak to local residents, all 40 of them said yes to disclosure and even said things like, it's not okay that people from out of town make our decisions and Paige voices are not real voices. This matters because city leaders rely on public input to make decisions. If that input isn't genuine, policies may not reflect the actual needs of the community, and trust in the process starts to break down. But more importantly, you can [12:09:17 PM] make easier decisions with even better results. So I ask city council leaders for a simple transparency. If someone is being paid to participate, that should be disclosed. So that way we can make decisions based on our community. Thank you. >> Thank you. And nobody's paying you, right? >> No, sir. >> Appreciate your being here. Thank you. Thank you. And thanks for taking a good joke. >> Next we have Aaliyah Klinefelter, Scott Cobb, Elisa hogan. >> Justin. I forgot one thing. >> You're fine. Just whatever you want to say. >> I have to say that. [12:10:18 PM] >> Take your time. >> It's okay. Take a deep breath. Your nose out through your mouth. Do it. One more. Mackenzie honorable city council members, honorable mayor, council members, people who care about important matters. Okay, give it a go. Try. [12:11:32 PM] Okay. Your voice matters. Sure. It's okay to be. Clear, just pushing here. Could you give me your first line? Be ready. Just imagine speaking. Okay. And I know you want to do this, so let's make it happen. Woldman and delivery. Thank you. Never. What's your first line? What's your first line? Okay. What's your first line? Calm down. We don't have a whole lot [12:12:34 PM] of time because we need to solve our speech. Okay. Let's do it. Okay. Now's the time. Let's go. You got it, you got it, you got it, you got it, you got it, you got it. You're so capable. I know you can do it. Let's do it. Running out of time, girl. Let. >> Mr. Cobb, are you here? Mr. Cobb? Scott Cobb. Lisa hogan. Alisa hogan. Alisa hogan, Mr. Robbins. [12:13:43 PM] >> Council. I am vice chair of the city's resource management commission. I'm here to speak about two resolutions we've recently sent you. First, in January, we passed a multifaceted set of recommendations on the new franchise being negotiated with Texas gas service. This is a once in a generation opportunity to get very long needed reforms. While our commission hopes you will support most or all of our recommendations. We are not a sovereign board and we cannot speak for council. I'm asking you to officially go on record for what you want from this new franchise. Second, in February, our commission asked council to challenge Austin energy's regressive residential rates that punish consumers who use less energy. Austin energy's [12:14:46 PM] 2022 rate case proposal was to decimate the Progressive rate structure from $0.08 per kilowatt hour difference between the lowest and highest tiers to only $0.01 between the lowest and highest tiers and the. Though the utility was not wholly successful, the rate structure was weakened to the point where it unevenly hurts. Many council districts more than average, particularly districts three, four, six, seven and nine and majorities in every council district are paying above average rate increases so large homes can get a rate break. If all this were not bad enough, Austin energy is hiding rate increases in the chaotic budget process, [12:15:47 PM] where the increases will receive little attention and where stakeholders will not have the power of discovery to determine if the rate cases are justified. Council. Our commission is asking that any future rate increases be evenly distributed to both low and high consumers, and that detailed analyzes like the district maps that I recently presented. So that you can see which districts are being adversely affected. We also ask that proposed rate increases, receive their own separate hearings and proceedings. Apart from the city budget process, so that they can receive adequate attention, and that so that stakeholders can be granted discovery power to determine if the increases are [12:16:48 PM] justified. >> Thank you sir. >> Thank you. >> Yes. Please come forward. We're happy to hear from you. >> Honorable city council, honorable mayor and city council. >> Honorable mayor and city council. My name is aliya Kleinfelder and I'm in eighth grade. What if a bird a good. What if. >> You're doing great? >> Great. >> And we're all here for you? >> Tell me about it. And remember, look right at the mayor. He's so kind. You met him? Look at the mayor. Grandpa. You got this. >> Let me ask you something. Would it be helpful for you if when we finish this part, the [12:17:51 PM] council comes down and has a picture made with you and all of your friends, and you can tell us individually at that time. >> Would you like. >> How about we do that? I'm happy to do that. And I think the council would all enjoy that topic. >> The topic about the topic coming soon. >> But I want to start with the hook. >> Go for it. Start with your hook. Yeah. >> Go ahead. What if an entire species was survival was depending on the decisions made right here in Austin. Austin Austin should ensure protection of the person have habitat consciousness planning before development, because the survival of entire species depends on it. The golden cheeked warbler is not just another bird, it is an endangered bird that lives exclusively in central Texas. This makes our region one of the only places where it can survive. It depends entirely. It depends on one TRE the ash, juniper, the U.S. Fish and [12:18:51 PM] services reports that the bird uses the. Uses the bark of the mature ash juniper to build its nest. Without them, it cannot survive without. It cannot reproduce. Sorry. Yet these very trees are being cleared at an alarming rate due to urban development. They are often mislabeled as invasive, even though they are essential and native to the ecosystem. According to the national audubon society, the bird has lost a significant portion of its breeding habitat due to land clearing. I forgot the rest of my speech. >> A significant portion of it due to land clearing. >> I forgot the rest of my speech. >> It's important to remember the community voice. >> This also matters to our community. We met group, spoke [12:19:52 PM] with Austin residents. 36 people supported protecting both the ashe, juniper and the warbler, including someone who originally had a dislike for birds. Yes yes yes yes yes. >> Why does it matter? >> That wasn't part of my. >> Speech, though. Sorry. You're doing great. What's your call to action? Next? >> I urge Austin city council to ensure protection of the ashe juniper. The juniper have habitat consciousness development before building on land. Because when you lose this TRE. When we lose this. Please replace. >> The TRE. What happened? >> When they lose a TRE, we lose something that is essential to the warbler. And when we lose the warbler, there is no bringing it back. Thank you, thank you. [12:21:01 PM] >> So. Extremely well done. Thank you all for being here and thanks for that kind of makes our day getting here from you all. What we're going to do right now, just so that you'll know what the process is, is typically what we do is at the end of public communication, which you've just participated in, we recess the Austin city council, we have live music, and then we come back at a point in time to continue with the business, the city council. But what we're going to do today is a slightly different. I must admit, we don't always take pictures with the people that come in and speak to us during public communication. But but I think everybody would really like to do that today. We're we're moved by your your being here. We're also moved by the level of preparation you put into what you've done today, including going out and talking, talking to folks before you come down and talk to us. That really means something to all of us. So without objection, [12:22:01 PM] counsel, what I'm going to do is we will recess the Austin city council meeting. Our next agenda item is, is our time certain at 2:00. So we'll recess until 2:00. I ask you all to feel free to stay and listen to the live music that we're going to have, but we will be in. Without objection, the Austin city council is in recess until 2:00. It is 12:22 P.M. Now. We're in recess, and the council will come down and greet you all and have pictures made. Is that okay? Good deal. Thank you all. We're in recess. [2:00:03 PM] And I'll call the Austin city council back to order. Members were at our 2:00 time. Certain. And I'll recognize our staff. >> Thank you mayor. Mayor and council. I'm joy harden with Austin planning the zoning and neighborhood plan amendment. Portion of agenda begins with item 40 6npa 2023 00022.01. This item is offered as an applicant indefinite postponement. The related rezoning is item 47 c14 2024 0010. This item is offered for an applicant indefinite postponement and item 48, which is also related to items 46 and 47. C14, 2024 0017 and again, this item is offered as an applicant indefinite postponement. Item 49 is N pa 0107. And again, this item is offered as an applicant indefinite postponement. Item 51 N pa 2024 005.01 this item is offered as an applicant postponement to your may 28th council meeting. The related rezoning is item 52 c14 2024 [2:01:06 PM] 0099. Again, this item is offered as an applicant postponement to your. May 28th council meeting. Item 53 is c14 2025 0109. This item is offered for consent on all three readings. Item 54 is c14 2024 0160. This item is offered for consent on all three readings. Item 55 is c814060175 .07. This item is offered for consent on all three readings with the following motion which reads and this is a little lengthy, but it begins with the applicant's consent. Staff requests the following changes to the draft ordinance. Number one amend part four of the draft ordinance to replace exhibit B with the attached exhibit B amend part six of the draft ordinance as follows. Part six. Part eight. L5 of the original ordinance, as amended, is amended to read as follows. Part five development of parcel [2:02:07 PM] a is limited to a maximum height of 160ft, except the maximum height is limited to 90ft for that portion of parcel a along the eastern boundary line and measuring 30ft along the southern property line, as depicted on exhibit B number three at a new part nine of the draft ordinance as follows. And remember the remaining parts of the draft ordinance. Part nine, part eight F of the original ordinance is amended to read as follows. Landowners shall construct a vegetative wall along the west side of the first three stories of all buildings and structures. Number four add a new part ten of the draft ordinance as follows. And remember the remaining parts of the draft ordinance. Part ten landowners shall comply with the dimensional standards in subsection C one, section 4.3.3 standards. Subchapter E. Chapter 25 two zoning on the ground floor of a structure or building with frontage located [2:03:08 PM] on concordia avenue. Five at a new part 11 of the draft ordinance as follows. And remember the remaining parts of the draft ordinance. Part 11 landowner shall, at the time of site plan, incorporate a sidewalk treatment plan for any concordia avenue driveway and construct a sidewalk with contrast to enhance visibility and pedestrian safety. As approved by the director of transportation and public works. Number six. Add a new part 12 of the draft ordinance as follows. And remember the remaining parts of the draft ordinance. Part 12 prior to the approval of the first site plan on the property owner shall pay the Austin transportation and public works the amount of $150,000 for pedestrian improvements to be constructed by the city at the intersection of Harmon avenue and concordia avenue. If these improvements are not approved. If these improvements are not approved by the director of Austin transportation public works, the funds will remain with arts [2:04:09 PM] and public places. And with that, again, this item is offered for consent on all three readings. And lastly, item 56 c14 2025 0080. This item is offered as an applicant postponement to your April 23rd council meeting. And this concludes the reading of the zoning and neighborhood plan amendment portion of your agenda. And as always, this is at your discretion. >> Members, are there any questions of miss Hardin? Okay, I'll entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows. 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50. An indefinite postponement 51 and 52. A postponement to may 28th, 53, 54 and 55 a on all three readings on 55. Please note that it involves the motion that was read into the record by miss Hardin, 56. A postponement to April 23rd. Is there a motion motion made by the mayor pro tem seconded by council member Laine. We will now look at the city clerk to see if we have people signed up [2:05:10 PM] to speak on the consent agenda. >> Thank you. Mayor. We do have one remote speaker, Nicole Chaparro. >> I am executive director of the red river cultural district. Apologies for not being there in person today due to scheduling conflicts. Thank you, mayor and council, for your patience as the cultural district and the owner of 1000 red river were able to determine a path forward regarding the rezoning, the cultural district would like to emphasize that this three acre site at 1000 red river is a unique opportunity to serve as a catalyst and bridge within the red river cultural district corridor, especially as the innovation district, medical district and Waterloo greenway continue to evolve, we emphasize the need for a broader vision, one that adds value to Austin's culture and does not diminish it, and we look forward to collaborating with the landowner and development team as the project moves forward. We just ask that mayor and council hold the applicant accountable to the commitments outlined in their letter of intent, and ensure that future opportunities continue to support the downtown evolution while [2:06:10 PM] maintaining culture. We thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> We will now move to in-person speakers. Charles d'harcourt. >> Yeah. Are you waiving your right to speak or are you just waving because you think we're pretty? Okay. Thank you mayor. >> That concludes all speakers. >> Members, that concludes all the speakers on the consent agenda. Consent zoning items. Is there discussion? Yes. Councilmember qadri. >> I guess we won't set a record after all. >> No, no. You. Apparently councilmember qadri had the over for 210. >> Just want to quickly touch on a few items. A few exciting things happening in district nine. Want to touch on item 53, which is the wesleyan church site. If anyone's ever been to Hyde park and gone to all day pizza and got a delicious slice of pizza, and then also gone over to first light book, that is what's going to be coming to that, that church on Westland. So I'm really excited to have the first light book concept [2:07:11 PM] continue throughout the district. That's item 53, item 54, red river. I know Nicole just spoke. You know, we've talked about a as an office from this dais about the potential that that site has bringing together the red river cultural district as well as the innovation district. So I really do appreciate the work done to reach an agreement on, you know, through engagement from both the applicant and the red river cultural district. We know that this the the eastern part of downtown is guaranteed to evolve. And it's imperative that we are intentional about how we evolve to ensure that no, that no one is currently who's currently in this area is ever left behind. Our actions should reflect our verbal commitments, and I want the cultural innovation districts along red river to thrive in tandem. And I know we can achieve that if we begin to think of red river cultural district as a holistic placemaking effort. So looking forward to the continued work in that area. And then lastly, [2:08:11 PM] item 55. It was great to see Charles, so I appreciate him waving both his time to speak and also waving to to the dais. But I appreciate the time, energy, and thought that the neighborhood put into the process. I know it takes a lot of people's personal time to work on these cases, and I greatly appreciate Charles and and the folks in the Hancock neighborhood around this. And I also want to thank the applicant for working diligently with the neighborhood in my office to reach an agreement. We remain committed as an office, working with the neighborhood and 80 and £0.80 W on on next steps for this area, particularly when it comes to the mobility impacts on concordia that have been raised throughout this process. So really excited that we we got to the place where we are, but I know there's a lot of work to be done and I'm looking forward to to working with everyone. >> Great. Thank you. Councilmember. And yes, reiterate what he said. Thank you for your work. Any other discussion? Is there anyone wishing to abstain from a vote on the consent agenda as it was [2:09:12 PM] read? Anyone wishing to recuse themselves from a vote on any item on the consent agenda as it was read, anyone wishing to be shown voting no on any item. All right. And then, without objection, the consent agenda as read is adopted. Members, that concludes all the business. We have to come before the Austin city council at this regularly scheduled meeting of the Austin city council. So without objection, the Austin city council is adjourned at 2:09 P.M. Thanks, everybody.