A small street in the Zilker neighborhood could soon see denser development due to a rezoning request headed to the Austin City Council. The city Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the change for two small South Austin properties at 1705 and 1707 Evergreen Avenue at its June 13 meeting.
The properties currently have zoning for single-family residences. City staff recommended a change to a mixed-use one that would allow commercial and multifamily uses on the two lots. The Planning Commission agreed unanimously.
The rezoning would allow an office and 12 multifamily units on the property, said city planner Sherri Sirwaitis at the meeting. Various properties near the lots are already zoned for a warehouse, multifamily use, or general commercial services, she added. There are Union Pacific railroad tracks behind the property.
While Evergreen Avenue is a narrow street, city staff recommended the zoning change due to its location near transportation corridors including South Lamar Activity Corridor (and a Capital Metro Rapid Bus line), an urban trail network, and the railroad tracks, as well as to the existing zoning on other of the street's properties.
One resident of the area spoke about traffic concerns at the meeting, but the staff report states that the city's land development code does not require a traffic impact analysis for the rezoning. The question of transportation mitigation requirements would come into play when a site plan application is submitted, according to staff.
Husch Blackwell attorney Nikelle Meade, property owner Helsinki Partners, said that solutions to traffic issues at the intersection of West Mary Street and South Lamar Boulevard had been discussed at a 2020 zoning meeting. Austin Transportation Department has float both a roundabout and a traffic light as possible solutions, she said.
