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SRCC General Membership Meeting Notes - 8/2/10

1. meeting procedures, etiquette, welcome newcomers.
presenter throughout: sarah campbell, president, unless otherwise noted below

2- membership announcements.
presenter: carol martin, membership chair
carol has continued to send out membership renewal reminders with good results.

3. approve minutes from monday, June 7, 2010, regular monthly meeting
MOTION: to approve the minutes = PASSED

4- tv series "my generation" being filmed at park lane b&b.
presenters: zach heine, locations, film production; charles newman, resident 215 park lane.

my generation is a fictitious show about 10 high school students who graduated in 2000 and has been picked up by ABC to film a full season with possible future seasons. filming is taking place at the park lane b&b approximately once a week including some night shots. they have acquired all the necessary permits to film till 10pm and restrict traffic flow. neighbors are complaining that the permitting process was done too quickly and the people most affected are having their voices drowned out by support by residents farther from the scene. the block permit gives them access to the street and house with use of the parking lanes given they acquire 80% neighbor approval. no proposal was made for a solution so the parties agreed that a mediator should be involved to work out the details and hopefully satisfy demands from everyone.

5- moving forward with traffic calming in area 8.
presenter gary schatz, assistant director, traffic management, austin transportation dept.

area 8 was awarded money from the developer of the apt/condos on south congress by ruta maya to be used for traffic calming. the city wants the neighborhood use its funds for architectural plans and some of the implementation such as planting. the city is offering to build the curbs, ada ramps, sidewalks and is open to any creative designs that include artwork or whatever. they want the hood to take ownership of the project. on october 1st public works will take over island maintenance from parks. $42,700 of SRCC money is available for this project and the city sees a possible start date before year end. he (shatz) asked that we form a group to explore some ideas and designs which can also be a phased in project depending on the details.

6- make recommendation to residential design and compatibility commission on variance request for 812 edgecliff terrace to increase FAR above allowable limit.

this is the second time paul rolke (owner) has come before the srcc with this property and last time we opposed all 5 of his variance requests. since then he has succeeded in having 4 of the 5 approved by the Board of Adjustment, all but the FAR which Paul has chosen to take to the rdcc. jean mather has been working on this case and while she is pleased with the reduction in overall size she is still concerned with the request to allow for a 25% increase in FAR (floor to area ratio). we agreed to reiterate our original position of opposition.

7- final decisions on near-total demolition/historic designation of 1608 travis heights blvd.
the builder has agreed/decided to keep the facade and build a multi-story project incorporating it.

8- a new rezoning case for 1307 newning ave.
presenter: danette chimenti, member

the owner of the property wanted to upzone to SF-5 (high density residential) in order to make it easier for potential buyers to get financing. the srcc opposed this zoning change and was unanimously supported by the planning commission, but the city council approved SF-3 with a conditional overlay that would allow townhomes on this lot. the problem with this council "solution" was that the FLUM would remain single family and therefore not match what would be allowed on the lot. plus, council's actions were basically taken to bail out a single developer who made a bad investment, not something supported by the srcc or the npct. neighbors collected a valid petition of disapproval with over 45% signing it. it was learned that this property had never joined the surrounding NCCD, under which individual rules can be applied to individual properties. an idea was hatched to have the 1307 newning property owner join the NCCD in exchange for SF-3 NCCD zoning to allow townhomes on the lot. the owner is willing. city council has been apprised of the solution and is willing to back it. council member morrison will present at next meeting. a new zoning case will be started. while the actions still benefit a single developer who made a bad investment, the deal is considered worth it because the lot joins the nccd which puts greater restrictions on the adjoining MF property looking to also upzone.
MOTION: danette/sam - to support the SF-3 NCCD with conditional overlay zoning = PASSED

9- update on street improvements to live oak, the circle and annie/woodland.

the project is still in the planning phase and it appears that the details of our past discussion with the engineers was completely forgotten. more information is being gathered.

10- ad hoc communications committee report and request for funds.
presenter: carol martin, chair

carol shared information with us about the N2 project that would give the SRCC a monthly newsletter delivered to all residents in our boundaries. details are still being discussed but we need $60 to get a copy of property addresses from the tax assessor to provide to N2 to help in making the decision on whether to move forward or not.

MOTION: carol/danette - to approve $60 for the list pending the recommendation from the committee = PASSED

11- variance request for 808 rutherford pl to decrease side yard setback from 5' to 2' in order to build a 2nd story addition to the existing structure.

the home was originally built with only a 2' setback and a pitched roof that borders the setback. the first floor is grandfathered but the second floor changes are not. the requested changes would would add 2nd floor space above the existing 1st floor space and change the roof pitch but not the setback. the current setback rules could be satisfied by "notching" the 2nd floor back 3'. the owner claims that expansion of the existing footprint would exceed impervious cover limit. the membership was divided on the issue.

MOTION: jean/russel - without a legitimate hardship as defined by the city code, there is no support for the variance = PASSED

12- street closures:
a) austin triathlon, s congress from bridge to w mary, 6-11am labor day, sept 6, 2010, except for one lane each way.
b) aids walk, s congress from bridge to barton springs rd, 2-3pm, sunday oct 17, 2010
c) livestrong challenge 5k, s congress from riverside to live oak, 7:30-noon, saturday, oct 23, 2010

13- some residents are ignoring basic code requirements in area 8.
presenter: maria martinez, area co-coordinator, area 8

residents are leaving their garbage cans in the bike lane well beyond garbage day. it was determined that residents should call 311 to report the violations and see if that corrects the issue.

14- new grants for blunn creek preserve.
presenter: david todd, co-chair for parks, schools and environment standing committee.

the 42 acre blunn creek preserve has been awarded 2 new grants thanks to david todd. KAB (keep austin beautiful) and the austin parks foundation have contributed a total of $20,000 to helping fight invasive species and plant natives in the preserve. david is looking for help from a web designer to build a site for the preserve that would include a detailed map of the area and it's unique features.

15- norwood estate feasibility study by austin parks and recreation dept.

wolf sittler and other members of the norwood posse will be meeting with parks director to discuss this recent news.

16- the save town lake organization is opening up its board for new members who are interested in holding any new development along the lake corridor to the 1986 waterfront overlay ordinance (before it was altered in 1999, illegally, according to STL's lawsuit against the city). should the SRCC elect a board member?

17- travis county is seeking input into a new downtown facilities master plan. fill out survey until august 6, 2010, at www.co.travid.tx.us/facilities/central campus study

garret

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