Planned Unit Development Ordinance (PUD)
Planned Unit Development Ordinance (PUD)
Following some controversial Planned Unit Developments (PUD) this year, including the Concordia PUD, Council Members Lee Leffingwell, Mike Martinez and Brewster McCracken have taken on the task of amending the PUD Ordinance. PUD brainstorming sessions began in April of 2007 and three meetings were held with various community stakeholders. RECA's OLRC Chair Jeff Howard and former RECA President Terry Mitchell attended, as well as other representatives from the development community, neighborhoods, advocates and city staff.
The first meeting involved a brief overview regarding the state of the PUD Ordinance from Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Director Greg Guernsey. The group then split into smaller groups in order to brainstorm ideas regarding:
1. The characteristics and qualities that help make a PUD superior
2. Ways to improve the current process for getting PUDs approved
3. Areas of concern that need to be addressed
Comments regarding the characteristics that help make a PUD a superior development included on-site affordability, environmental enhancements, compatibility with the neighborhood plan, contextual compatibility, transportation efficiency and connectivity, and sustainability. Comments on potential process improvements included mandated neighborhood involvement, a more efficient timeline, using an integrated staff team specifically designed for PUDs and more certainty in the process. Finally, a number of concerns where brought up, mostly regarding the need to shorten the process and the desire for a clearer city vision.
On August 24, 2007, stakeholders were presented with a preliminary draft ordinance. This draft is still a working document and city staff has acknowledged that the current point system outlined in the draft needs further analysis and consideration. Concerns and comments were discussed at the August 24th meeting and staff agreed to make changes and come back to the group with a new draft ordinance at the end of September.
On Friday, September 28, stakeholders were presented with a shorter list of changes to the PUD ordinance. New changes were focused on improving the PUD development review process, rather then identifying new requirements concerning specific PUD criteria.
The draft presented to the group included the following:
- A PUD should comply with the Design Standards ordinance.
- Environmental superior: A PUD shall be at least one of the following:
- Green Building 2-Star-Plus; or
- Environmentally superior in a way that is equivalent to or superior to Green Building 2-Star-Plus
- If a PUD seeks a height above its current base height, it shall include an affordable housing component.
- Base height where current zoning is 60 feet or less. The base height for a PUD is the lower of either (1) the current zoning height or (2) 60 feet.
- Base height where current zoning height is above 60 feet (such as DMU). Current base height applies for establishing affordability trigger.
- If an applicant hires an independent planning firm to conduct a charette process in which the planning firm represents both the applicant and the neighborhood, the applicant may request that Development Review participate in the process.
- Development Review shall participate upon receiving such request.
- The purpose of this participation is to ensure that any agreed-upon PUD produced through this process and approved by Council is also approved by Development Review at the time of Council approval.
A draft PUD Ordinance was presented to stakeholders at a meeting on Friday, November 9, 2007. The November 9th draft of the ordinance proposes major changes PUD requirements and the approval process.
The May 9, 2008 draft of the PUD ordinance was posted for public comment and scheduled for consideration by Boards, Commissions, and the Austin City Council as follows:
- Community Development Commission – Tuesday, May 13, 2008
- Planning Commission Codes and Ordinances – Tuesday, May 20, 2008
- Environmental Board – Wednesday, May 21, 2008
- Planning Commission – Tuesday, May 27, 2008
- Zoning and Platting – Tuesday, June 17, 2008 (revised date)
- City Council – Wednesday, June 18, 2008 (revised date)
RECA formally expressed opposition to the May 9, 2008 draft of the ordinance due to serious concerns regarding the reduced flexibility of the new requirements. Additionally, RECA expressed concern about the three Council Member subcommittee who must approve the PUD application in order for the project to move forward.
On Wednesday, June 18, 2008, the Austin City Council approved on all three readings the amendments to the Planned Unit Development Ordinance (PUD), which modified the May 9th draft in a way that RECA could support it as follows:
- The "subcommittee provision" was removed from the ordinance and was replaced by a staff presentation of the PUD project assessment report to the full Council. Council will make no findings nor take any action during the staff presentation, but they will be able to make comments and ask questions. This will not be a public hearing.
- Specific local business requirements were also removed and various clarifications and minor changes were added.
- In addition, Council Member Brewster McCracken amended the ordinance from the dais to allow for the density bonus affordable housing requirement to be either 10 percent of the square footage or 10 percent of the units in the site for rental and five percent of the square footage or units for ownership housing. Before the amendment, the affordable housing requirement would have been based on square footage, which was inconsistent with the recently-approved affordable housing code amendments.
NEW PUD Ordinance considered by Council (June 13, 2008 draft)
Draft PUD Ordinance (May 9, 2008 draft)
Draft PUD Ordinance (November 9, 2007 draft)
Draft PUD Ordinance (August 24, 2007 draft)
