City of Austin Council Message Board

Councilmembers,

Please review the revised proposal for the policy deep dives. We hope to hear your feedback on the format, scheduling, community voices that should be invited to participate, and key questions that should be considered for each topic. City staff has also requested more time to prepare for these meetings, and February 5 is the suggested date for the first deep dive.

LINK TO REVISED PROPOSAL: http://coacf10i.austintexas.gov/urls/?5QV4H4

Since the first deep dive is nearly upon us, to get the conversation started, we propose the below questions and topics for the deep dive on Comprehensive Plan/Imagine Austin.

All speakers should address:
1. Key issues related to the topic
2. Key decision-points (Pros and cons of alternatives)
3. Role of the Council

Speakers (including staff) should speak from an understanding of:
- How is the Plan being implemented?
- How is the Plan impacting equity in our community?
- How is the Plan affecting how and where we grow?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts. - jmvc

Thanks, John Michael I look forward to reviewing. The posted link, however, isn't working for me -

Best,

Kathie Tovo
Mayor Pro Tem
Council Member, District 9

John-Michael, thanks! If you could double check the URL, that would be helpful. It's not giving me the doc.

Thank you!

Leslie

Sorry about that - let's try this one: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 0FCA66.doc

Revised proposal has been updated. City Staff has requested a change in sequence for the workshops. First one on the 5th, with Imagine Austin Comp Plan and Housing. CodeNEXT and Permitting would be moved to another date. There is a housing issue for council to consider soon, thus the staff wanted to be sure we cover that topic sooner rather than later. Please advise of any comments or questions you have. - jmvc

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 090130.doc

I assume this message board is the appropriate place to submit names for these presentations; John Michael, can you please let us know what names you or staff have received for Thursday's presentation? I am compiling some suggestions for the presentation this week and next.

Thanks!

Kathie Tovo
Mayor Pro Tem
Council Member, District 9

Council members: I just e-mailed Ms. Goodall and Mayor Adler this message regarding speaker request for Thursday mornings' discussion.

I understand we don’t have “process” yet for selecting appropriate voices for the policy deep dives, but I’d like to urge that we consider the two below:

Tim Irvine, Executive Director of TDHCA (or another expert from TDHCA – Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs).

Ingrid Edwards, CPA and District 6 Constituent near proposed housing project.
email@ingridedwardscpa.com
http://www.ingridedwardscpa.com/

Regards,
Don

Council Members:

Linked below is the proposed format and speakers for this week's Policy Workshops on the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan and Housing. Because of the short timeline, the Mayor's office worked with City Staff to identify a diverse set of speakers to invite to this first day of workshops. However, if you believe there are other community voices that need to be heard on these two policy areas, please let us know ASAP. We propose to add an opportunity for those voices to be heard toward the end of each workshop (see link). Because we want to allow plenty of time for council questions and dialogue, we propose to limit that opportunity to 15 minutes for each of these workshops. Please advise us via the bulletin board of the other community voices you will invite to participate on Thursday.

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 155224.doc

For future policy workshops, please advise us of the voices you think should be heard for each issue and the questions you would like them to address. After these first policy workshops, we will also invite your feedback on potential changes to the format of future policy workshops. We wish to ensure that these workshops are as effective as possible for Council, city staff, and our community. -jmvc

Dear Vanessa and Council Colleagues:

We have an “expert” voice that can provide a unique “perspective” on subsidized housing.

Not only is Ingrid Edwards a CPA and constituent of mine in District 6, she is also a legal immigrant from the Czech Republic; Ingrid would like to inform the council of the unsustainability of government subsidized housing projects and redistribution of wealth in general.

In my opinion, this is an incredibly important “perspective” that many people in Austin don’t have – they don’t have the experience of relatives and immediate ancestors living under the corruption and tyranny that develops when government assumes increasing power to redistribute wealth and control more and more aspects of life.

In the 15 years I’ve lived here, I notice such “perspectives” have not been entertained in the past. We can fix that now. The majority of voices will still strongly be in favor of unsustainable subsidized housing projects, which makes it all the more important to hear from the other side.

I urge that you include Ingrid Edwards on the panel.

Regards,
Don

Message from ANC:

"The Austin Neighborhoods Council (ANC) is a major stakeholder of the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan and the future growth of our city. ANC is comprised of members of over 100 member neighborhoods, homeowner associations, and around 30 neighborhood plans. It is appropriate for Mary Ingle, President of the Austin Neighborhoods Council to be one of the panelists for the 45 minute discussion. With regard to other community voices to speak at the deep dive, the Austin Neighborhoods Council requests that Daniel Llanes, Jeff Jack, and Jim Duncan be included as community representatives so that the neighborhoods' perspective and voices are heard."

Here is the schedule for tomorrow's policy forum on Oct. 5th with an updated list of panelists:
If you would like to suggest speakers for future forums, please email vanessa.sarria@austintexas.gov and the policy question they will be speaking to.

Feb. 5, 2015
Topic 1
9 am to 11:00 am - Comprehensive Plan - Imagine Austin
• Context - City Staff (City will rotate in staff as necessary) – speaking on the comprehensive plan and its priority programs, role of council, what tools are available to Council to achieve Imagine Austin objectives, and issues and questions that will go before Council in the next 60 days.
• How was Imagine Austin intended to be implemented? - Cookie Ruiz, Ballet Austin and Imagine Austin Citizens Advisory Task Force
• How is Imagine Austin affecting affordability in our City? - Mandy DeMayo, Executive Director, HousingWorks
• How will Imagine Austin affect how and where we grow? - Cid Galindo, President, Central Texas Chapter of Congress of New Urbanism and Heidi Gerbracht, VP of Public Policy, Real Estate Council of Austin
• How do neighborhood plans fit in with the Imagine Austin Plan? – Mary Ingle, Austin Neighborhoods Council

Other Voices (last 20 minutes, each person gets 3 minutes):
• Jeff Jack, District 5
• Daniel Llanes, District 6
• Jeanette Booher or Pat Smith, Southeast Austin Neighborhood Action Team, District 2

Topic 2
12:30 pm to 2:30 pm - Housing (including land banking, bonds, Section 8 vouchers)
• Context - City Staff (City will rotate in staff as necessary) – speaking on how the city and community are work to address the need for housing in Austin, role of Council, tools available to City Council to achieve housing objectives, and issues and questions that will go before Council in the next 60 days.
• How do we preserve existing affordable housing in Austin? – Liz Mueller (generally) and Mike Gerber, Housing Authority of the City of Austin (Section 8 housing)
• How do we increase housing supply in Austin and achieve geographic dispersion? – Terry Mitchell, Momark Development
• What are key considerations for scoring housing projects? Tim Irvine, Executive Director, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
• How do we ensure safe housing and address substandard housing? Ruby Roa, The Ladies of Charity of Austin

Other Voices (last 20 minutes, each person gets 3 minutes):
• Jay Wiley, District 6
• Ingrid Edwards, District 6

Topic 3
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm – No Policy Workshop Schedule, presentation on Land Use by Greg Guernsey, and other items. See: https://austin.siretechnologies.com/sir ... ype=Agenda.

Related to Policy Forum on Monday, October 9 - Topic of Water, 9 to 11 am

Suggested Policy Questions:
1) How do we provide the city and region's water? A brief explanation of how our systems work together.
2) What is the status of the drought and how does it affect Austin?
3) How will we plan for our future?
4) How will the business model need to change to keep the utility financially healthy?

Water Experts recommended for Monday's session by Austin Water Utility
•John Hofmann, Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Executive Vice President of Water
•Mickey Fishbeck – Water and Wastewater Commission Member, Joint Financial Subcommittee Chair
•Sharlene Leurig – Water Resource Task Force Chair
•Daron K Butler – Austin Area Research Organization (AARO) Water and Energy Committee

Water Experts recommended for Monday's session by Council Member Kathie Tovo
•Christianne Castlebury, consultant, water supply planning, utility optimization, Dist. 5
•Jennifer Walker, Sierra Club, water resource planning, Dist. 1
•Lauren Ross, watershed master planning, Dist. 5
•Sharlene Leurig, Water Resource Task Force Chair, Dist. 5
•Joe Trungale, long-term water planning, Dist. 5
•Kathy Sokolic, state-wide water supply, Texas Municipal Water Consortium, Dist. 9
•Markus Hogue, Texas Water Conservation Advisory Council, Dist. 6
•Annie Kellough, Waller Creek Conservancy Board, water law, Dist. 7
•Ruthie Redmond, TCEQ, Dist. 7
•Luke Metzger, served on Joint Committee on Austin Water Utility Financial Planning and on the Austin Water Resource Planning Task Force, District 1
•Brian Smith, groundwater expert, Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and Austin's Environmental Board, various Districts
•Jenee Briesmeister, consumer advocate for affordable utility service, served on Texas Low Income Housing Information Service and the Texas Ratepayers Organization to Save Energy, Dist. 5

Others who have shown interest: Bill Bunch, SOS Alliance, wants to speak to changing the utility business model that would make Austin a leader in water efficiency, innovation, affordability, and sustainability.

Monday, October 9
Topic 3 - Transportation and Mobility (including CapMetro)
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Suggested policy questions:
1) How is the region organized to provide transportation services and what role does the City of Austin play? This would include an explanation of how TXDOT, CapMetro, CAMPO, Lone Star, City of Austin provide different transportation modes and how they work work together.
2) What is causing our congestion? How bad is it? What can we do about it?
3) How can we move forward to improve our transportation network? This would include different agency's role, finances, planning, etc.
4) How do we achieve a jobs, housing and transportation balance?

Suggested Speakers:
Cap Metro (CEO - Linda Watson),
CAMPO (Executive Director Ashby Johnson),
TxDOT (Austin District Engineer Greg Malatek),
Lone Star Rail (Board Chair Sid Covington and Engineer Joe Black),
Moveability Austin ( Director Glenn Gadbois).

I apologize for using incorrect dates above. The water and transportation policy forums would take place on February 9th, not October 9th.

Monday, February 9th
Topic 2
12:30 pm to 2:30 pm - Neighborhood Issues (including Code Compliance, ADU’s, short term rentals, occupancy limits, parking, etc.)

Suggested policy questions and speakers by COA Code Department:
• What do you see as Code’s role in your neighborhood? Barbara Scott—Colony Park Neighborhood Association and Randy Tiech—North Austin Civic Association
• How might the Code Department better assist residents with cultural barriers? Neighborhood Advocate
• What are the major Code issues affecting Austin? Heather Way and David Kirk—University of Texas
• What are the benefits of Code being in Public Safety? Bill Bryce—Downtown Austin Alliance , Nuria Zaragoza—Central Austin Neighborhood Plan Area Committee and Planning Commission Codes and Ordinances, Tressie Damron-Caswell Heights Neighborhood Association
• How can Code better service the needs of businesses in Austin? Rebecca Melancon—Austin Independent Business Alliance and Bill Bryce—Downtown Austin Alliance
• What makes it difficult for property owners or managers to maintain the required standards? Paul Hilger, Austin Board of Realtors
• What programs would you like to see Code implement to address neighborhood issues? Austin Neighborhood Council

Other suggestions for policy questions by Mayor's Office:
• How we maintain compatibility (new and existing structures) in a growing city?
• How do decisions regarding neighborhood issues (accessory dwelling units - ADUs, short-term rentals, occupancy limits, parking) affect how and where we grow?
• What is the relationship of neighborhood plans and Imagine Austin to decisions made about neighborhood issues (ADUs, etc.)?
• How do we protect the character of neighborhoods while accommodating growth?

A point of clarification to Vanessa's post yasterday regarding the water session Monday: The list provided below was not intended to be recommendations for speakers atthe policy forum, but ideas for other council members to consider for appointment to the Integrated Water Planning (IWRP) Task Force. Appointments to this task force will be posted for discussion at the February 10th worksession. The individuals on this list have expressed interest in serving, and their districts and qualifications are included:

Water Experts recommended by water planning stakeholders for consideration as appointees to IWRP Task Force•

•Christianne Castlebury, consultant, water supply planning, utility optimization, Dist. 5
•Jennifer Walker, Sierra Club, water resource planning, Dist. 1
•Lauren Ross, watershed master planning, Dist. 5
•Sharlene Leurig, Water Resource Task Force Chair, Dist. 5
•Joe Trungale, long-term water planning, Dist. 5
•Kathy Sokolic, state-wide water supply, Texas Municipal Water Consortium, Dist. 9
•Markus Hogue, Texas Water Conservation Advisory Council, Dist. 6
•Annie Kellough, Waller Creek Conservancy Board, water law, Dist. 7
•Ruthie Redmond, TCEQ, Dist. 7
•Luke Metzger, served on Joint Committee on Austin Water Utility Financial Planning and on the Austin Water Resource Planning Task Force, District 1
•Brian Smith, groundwater expert, Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and Austin's Environmental Board, various Districts
•Jenee Briesmeister, consumer advocate for affordable utility service, served on Texas Low Income Housing Information Service and the Texas Ratepayers Organization to Save Energy, Dist. 5

More background information on the pervious water resolutions will be posted today.

Thanks!
Shannon

Dear Colleagues:

I’m formally requesting that Mr. Jim Skaggs, retired NASA engineer and former Tracor CEO, Director of Coalition On Sustainable Transportation (www.COSTaustin.org), be included on the discussion panel for the Monday Feb 9th “Transportation and Mobility” forum, as an expert voice, NOT an “other voice”.

Mr. Skaggs has tremendous depth of policy understanding on transportation and his expert views on passenger rail have now been affirmed by voters in two very high profile electoral campaigns.

On behalf of suburban constituents, I urge that he be featured on the main panel.

Regards,
Don

Revisions per Council Member Don Zimmerman

What is the City’s approach to public safety service delivery? How does the City work with the County and other partners in delivering services?
• Rey Arellano, Assistant City Manager
• Roger Jefferies, Travis County Justice & Public Safety Executive

What are key community concerns and what is being done or should be done to address those concerns? (e.g. response time, property crime, etc.) What is the community’s role in partnering with public safety to keep neighborhoods safe?
• Margo Frazier, Austin Police Monitor
• Cary Roberts, Executive Director, Greater Austin Crime Commission
• Ramey Ko, Former Associate Judge for Austin Municipal Court and Former Member of the Public Safety Commission
• Gary Bledsoe, President, Texas NAACP

What is the community expectation for how the City of Austin responds to disaster recovery efforts during citywide emergencies and keeps the community informed?
• Josh Jackson, Regional Disaster Program Officer, Red Cross OR Bill Bischof, FEMA Region 6 Community Preparedness Program Manager
• Mike Levy, EMS and Wildfire Constituent

Other voices:
o Allen Graham, Mobile Loaves and Fishes
o Nancy Hohengarten, Community Justice Council
o Human Rights Commission
o Center for Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities
o Mike Manor, Building Bridges Brick by Brick

Thanks for posting this Vanessa. Our Public Safety Committee is going to have to do real "deep dives" on some of the more complex issues, but this mix should make for a good policy primer forum.