New zoning makes dense building easier

New zoning makes dense building easier

Written by Christi Covington Friday, 07 September 2007

Jollyville Road may soon be a key site for building higher, rather than wider, in Northwest Austin.

The city council could approve measures as early as November to adopt the corridor into the recently created vertical mixed-use, or VMU, overlay district, a zoning that will allow developers to work within a new flexible design standard.

Similar to what is found downtown at Second Street, buildings in the overlay would have retail or offices on the first floor with residences in upper spaces. In theory, the denser living of VMU could reduce urban sprawl and traffic congestion, but still maintains or increases property values.

“It is aimed at creating an opportunity that accommodates commercial or retail use while supporting a walking environment,” said George Adams, assistant director of neighborhood planning and zoning.

A proponent of VMU, city council member Brewster McCracken said the Jollyville area has the population to support mixed-use living and has an extra benefit as the only corridor targeted for VMU that falls into the Round Rock Independent School District.

“When you’re looking at the geographic center of population in Austin, it is at the Arboretum, not downtown,” he said.

In Austin, developers have had a difficult time building dense mixed-use projects because design standards did not allow it. A Planned Unit Development had to be created to allow for the Domain project because PUDs allow more flexibility in design standards, such as a mixture of housing and business. However, since PUDS are created individually and with the flexibility aspect in mind, they also cause uncertainty. In contrast, the VMU overlay sets universal and comprehensive regulations.

Special requirements

As a part of the design standards ordinance, the overlay concerns all commercially-zoned sites on the Core or Future Core Transit Corridors. These corridors were named by the council as those roadways that have or will have the population density, mix of use and transit facilities that could support public transportation. The overlay largely focuses on major traffic points and central parts of the city.

In the next few months, the council will finalize the areas that will use the ordinance. Once in place, a developer could agree to follow special building frontage and affordable housing requirements in exchange for a reduction in parking space, setbacks and density caps such as those demanded in other venues.

This summer, after six months of preparation, the city gave neighborhood associations approximately 150 days to respond to VMU, declaring whether they would like to be included or not. No one from Jollyville neighborhoods filed an application suggesting any preference, Adams said.

In Northwest Austin, Jollyville is the longest corridor proposed for the standard. Another corridor, this one near Mesa and Spicewood Springs, could also be included, but only with more discussion.

Where to place VMU

Around 300 residents participated at Northwest Austin Civic Assocation’s May 16 meeting to discuss the overlay, board member Charlie Galvin said. By the end of the meeting, 97 percent supported an application opposed to VMU at the southeast corner of Mesa and Spicewood Springs.

Galvin found most residents did not have a problem with denser development, but they did want the council to be careful where it was used.

“I don’t think [VMU] is controversial. The only controversy is that the area have enough parkland and transportation,” Galvin said.

NWACA even asked to include the area between Hart Lane and MoPac to the overlay. Galvin’s concern is that the Mesa and Spicewood Springs plot is near Doss Elementary where parents park on the streets and bus service is limited.

“The idea [of VMU] is to increase density of the city and retain property values while lessening the impact on transportation. If people live close then it might mitigate sprawl, but it is important to have public transportation to reduce parking for that kind of density,” Galvin said.

McCracken said the NWACA’s concerns would be considered, while the other corners of the intersection would be included in the overlay. The area does not have mass transit, however McCracken, as a member of the Capital Metro board, said he has encouraged looking at the corridors for increased public transit service in the future.

Adams has also heard questions of possible residual traffic as a result of more people living in a tighter area and the city’s ability to accommodate infrastructure. That is something Austin has faced in the past, he said.

“It does not seem that different from accommodating redevelopment of older neighborhoods that are 70, 90 or 100 years old. We have to deal with the infrastructure in those situations. Any significant development has to deal with that,” he said.

This fall, the city anticipates the overlay cases will come to the council for public hearings and approvals where each neighborhood will be considered individually. Depending on the level of controversy, some cases could go quickly while others will take longer. Property owners whose businesses or residences fall in the overlay have not yet been contacted, but will be once public hearings begin, Adams said.

Terms to know:

Vertical mixed use: Buildings with a vertical emphasis that include two or more uses, such as retail and residential. In the Jollyville area, buildings will not exceed 60 ft.

Vertical mixed-use overlay: A one-time designation that enables vertical mixed-use redevelopment in commercially zoned areas along core transit corridors and future core transit corridors.

Core transit corridor: Primary areas targeted for vertical mixed-use redevelopment with regulations such as all parking space only allowed behind or on the side of buildings. The CTCS establishes pedestrian-friendly design regulations for all new commercial buildings, whether or not the developer builds with VMU.

Future core transit corridor: Primary areas targeted for vertical mixed-use redevelopment, but with more flexible regulations. Some parking is allowed in front of buildings.

Planned Unit Development (PUD): A type of zoning that encourages large-scale, united land development with mixed uses. Standards are defined as a PUD is formed.

Vertical mixed-use requirements

A few main corridors in Northwest Austin may see Domain-type developments, mixing commercial and residential into a single space. However, a new set of requirements comes with building a vertical mixed-use project.

• The developer must meet with the City of Austin development and affordable housing staff for pre-application conference to ensure they understand requirements.
• A use on the ground floor must be different from a use on an upper floor.
• At least one floor must be residential units.
• At least 75 percent of building frontage along the principal street must meet of standards designed to ensure that ground-floor spaces create an attractive commercial and pedestrian environment.
  • A customer entrance must open directly onto the sidewalk
  • The ground floor space must have a depth of not less than 24 feet
  • The ground floor must have a first floor height not less than 12 feet
  • The front building façade must have a minimum number of windows and doors
• VMU buildings cannot be taller than any other building that a developer could build under existing entitlements on a given site.
• VMU buildings must include affordable housing, but only if the developer takes advantage of relaxed development standards.

Relaxed standard example: Minimum off-street parking for the commercial uses within a VMU building can be reduced to 60 percent of the normal requirements.

Defining affordable housing: For rental units, 10% of the residential units shall be reserved as affordable for at least 40 years for households earning no more than 80 percent of the current median family income. For a family of four in the Austin area, that is $56,900.

Timeline of the VMU process

• 2003
  • October: Stakeholders meet to discuss improving the façade of big box business.
• 2004
  • Stakeholder meetings continue. The group is open to the public, but generally includes neighborhood association representatives, real estate representatives and community leaders.
• 2005
  • May: The city council passes a policy document establishing the basic framework of the design standards with recognition of need for vertical mixed-use development.
  • November: The policy document is revised.
• 2006
  • May: After Colorado-consultant firm Clarion Association codifies the document, the draft returns to the stakeholders.
  • August: The document is passed by the city council with plans to use vertical mixed-use in core transit corridors. The city and council begin to educate the public.
• 2007
  • March: Neighborhoods are asked to respond to the vertical mixed-use overlay and changes to the design standard during a 90-day period.
  • May: Neighborhoods receive an extension for response time.
  • August: The final deadline for neighborhood applications is completed.
  • Fall: The city council is anticipated to vote on each portion of the overlay.

0 Comments