A density bonus program that was approved only eight months ago is already being updated. The Austin City Council passed changes to DB90 – so named because it allows commercial properties to build up to 90 feet in exchange for community benefits such as affordable housing and pedestrian-oriented commercial spaces.— during its Thursday meeting, the Austin Monitor reported.
The council unanimously approved amendments DB90, which was "ushered through the codification process at a more rapid clip than land development changes usually are,” according to the Monitor. Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison was absent and Council Member Alison Alter was off the dais for the vote.
The approved amendments clarify that in cases in which DB90 regulations and existing Land Development Code conflict, DB90 prevails.
Other amendments update a previous DB90 requirement that 75 percent of the entire ground floor be developed as commercial use, changing that requirement to 75 percent of the ground floor along the principal street only. “Commercial use” can include convenience services, food sales, general retail sales, and restaurants, and live/work units may count toward the commercial requirement.
In accordance with citywide rules, the adopted amendments require compatibility screening for such things as expected noise levels and mitigation from new developments and their construction. The Council debated differences between noise from noise that occurs regularly or continually (such as that from live events) and construction noise that it deemed “temporary” but ultimately left current screening requirements in place.
The amendments also require DB90 developments to comply with existing tenant notification and relocation benefits for displaced residents, including notice, relocation funds, and the opportunity to terminate their lease without penalty or lease at the new development for at least a year.
The rapid changes come after complaints from neighborhood groups, including the Cesar Chavez neighborhood, the Govalle/Johnson Terrace Neighborhood Plan Contact Team, and the Austin Neighborhoods Council. The latter two called unsuccessfully for a moratorium on DB90 rezonings “until a review of cumulative impacts can be conducted.”
Of the nine east side cases that the East Austin Conservancy asked for a postponement on, four were postponed, four were approved, and one received initial approval from City Council, the Monitor reported. While they were at it, the council also approved five other DB90 cases Thursday.
