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HOME Phase 2: Letter from GENA President (April 21, 2024)
Hi Neighbors,
Here’s hoping your spring is off to a great start!
First off, I wanted to let everyone know about some major zoning changes the city is planning to implement that could have a dramatic impact on our neighborhood and the entire city.
You should have received a purple postcard from the city notifying you of the upcoming public meetings for the HOME Amendment, Phase II, which will allow all single family home lots to be subdivided with a minimum lot size of 2000 sqft. A 5750 sqft lot would have the potential for three dwelling units.
The HOME acronym now stands for Home Options for Mobility Equity; it was formerly Home Options for Middle Income Empowerment. The upcoming meetings will be at City Hall with the Planning Commission on April 23, 2024, and with the City Council on May 16, 2024.
Neighborhood residents whose homes are within 500 feet of South 1st St should have also received a notice from the city dated March 29th, 2024 (Case Number: C20-2023-004) outlining additional proposed changes which would designate South First as an Equitable Transit Overlay Combining District (ETOD).
The intent of the ETOD proposal in HOME Phase II is to “prohibit or make conditional certain non-transit supportive uses” and to create a Density Bonus Combining District (DBETOD) program that allows residential uses and eliminates compatibility standards. The amendment will allow buildings of up to 120 feet in height among other changes and reduce property setbacks and parking requirements for new construction.
Even if you didn’t get notified about the ETOD’s, you need to pay attention to these proposals. The multi-storied complexes that will be allowed to be constructed with no parking or very minimal parking will increase the off street parking throughout the neighborhood. The lack of a turn lane and increased traffic on South 1st St will exacerbate cut through traffic on cross streets like Cumberland Rd and Cardinal Ln and on shortcuts through the neighborhood like South 5th St and Garden Villa Ln. The decreased setbacks (how far from the property line the structure is sited) will negatively impact the single family houses that border and backup to South 1st St.
The amendment also targets 34 business types that will not be allowed on these “transit corridors” to include auto repair shops, service stations, and storage units. Some businesses like pawn shops, commercial off street parking and bail bond services will be allowed with a conditional use permit.
These ETOD amendments will be heard with HOME Part II but will have a separate meeting of of the Planning Commission on April 30, 2024 at 4:00pm with a final vote on the same day as the City Council HOME hearing of May 16, 2024.
Are you confused yet? ETOD, DBETOD’S, CS-1-MU-CO-NP to CS-1-MU-ETOD-DBETOD-CO-NP?? I am!
It is hard to comprehend how dramatically the extensive changes already approved in Phase I of the HOME amendment, and the proposed changes in HOME Phase II will impact our neighborhood and the city. More time is needed to fully understand how these changes will reshape our neighborhood and city. The commercial businesses along South 1st St deserve to have enough to time see how these changes may affect their businesses or do away with them all together.
GENA is recommending a postponement of the vote by the council to provide more time for residents of the city to become better informed about the impact the HOME amendment and the ETOD proposed for South 1st St will have on our neighborhood and the entire city.
Please let your elected representatives know how you feel about this by attending one of the remaining meetings below at City Hall:
- Planning Commission public hearing – Wednesday April 24, 2024 at 4:00pm
- Planning Commission public hearing on ETODs – Tuesday April 30, 2024 at 4:00pm
- City Council Meeting and public hearing – Thursday May 16, 2024 at 10:00am
Please Call the Mayor and our District 3 representative José Velásquez to express your concerns. This is the best way to get their attention, or send them an email with your concerns. They need to hear from as many constituents as possible and to honor their campaign promises to make this an inclusive process that benefits all Austin residents.
- Mayor Kirk Watson – 512.978.2100 / kirk.watson@austintexas.gov
- José Velásquez –512.978.2103 / jose.velasquez@austintexas.gov
Check out our resolution that GENA sent to the mayor and council in the fall to express our concerns as a neighborhood here, which was approved at the general membership meeting on November 27th, 2023: https://gena.org/home-initiative-gena-response/
— Patty Sprinkle, GENA President