City Council passes East Riverside Corridor resolution
On August 5, 2010, the Austin City Council adopted a resolution directing the City Manager to establish an expedited public input process to develop regulations and a development bonus system for implementation of the East Riverside Corridor Master Plan; and to expedite the board and commission process for the proposed regulations and bonus system. The full resolution can be found here.
First Working Group Meeting Scheduled for August 30th The first Working Group meeting has now been scheduled. It will take place on Monday, August 30th, 6:00-8:00pm, City Hall room 1029 (also known as the Staff Bull Pen), 301 W. Second Street.
All are welcome to attend the Working Group meetings, but please be aware that this first meeting will be focused on administrative matters such as introductions, setting a regular monthly meeting time, developing ground rules for the group, discussing Working Group ethical matters, discussing roles and responsibilities, and answering questions. If you’d like to attend, there is parking available in the parking garage beneath City Hall, which can be entered from Lavaca Street. Bring your parking ticket with you to the meeting and we’ll validate it so you won’t be charged.
Click here for more info on the ERC Working Group.
SUMMER 2010: Stakeholder Meetings Staff will meet with stakeholder groups to discuss the ERC Regulating Plan creation process and opportunities for public input.
MAY 27, 2010: Regulating Plan Kickoff Meeting Thanks to those who joined us for the Regulating Plan kickoff meeting on May 17 at the ACC Riverside Campus. View the presentation from that meeting.
Project Info
Background
East Riverside Drive is a highly traveled roadway located a few minutes from downtown Austin. In addition to being a primary route to and from the Austin Bergstrom International Airport, it is an important commercial corridor to the diverse group of residents living in proximity to the roadway. Much of East Riverside Drive epitomizes the car-dominated environment that is typical of much of the modern American landscape. However, pedestrian activity along East Riverside Drive is much heavier than average. Many residents rely on public transportation and walk to and from local services, bus stops, and existing retail establishments.
Recently there has been significant interest in redevelopment of several large properties in the area due to its proximity to downtown and Lady Bird Lake. East Riverside Drive has an extremely wide right-of-way (up to 120’) which could provide locations for future pedestrian, bicycle or transit-friendly improvements. In order to ensure that future development is intentional and high quality the City of Austin recognized that a focused and comprehensive planning effort was needed.
Master Plan
After more than a year of public input, Council adopted the East Riverside Corridor Master Plan on February 25, 2010. The Master Plan encourages the transformation of the ERC area, emphasizing the importance of transit oriented and walkable development as well as sustainable practices, while also maintaining housing options for people with a range of incomes. The study area covers properties near East Riverside Drive from I-35 to Highway 71/Ben White Boulevard and is located within the Montopolis and East Riverside/Oltorf Combined Neighborhood Planning Areas. The Master Plan provides land use and urban design recommendations as well as transportation recommendations and infrastructure improvements. More info about the Master Plan (including the plan itself) is available here.
Regulating Plan
The city will be re-zoning properties within the ERC and creating new development regulations to help achieve the vision described in the Master Plan. Recently, city staff and the community kicked off the Regulating Plan process. The Regulating Plan aims to translate the recommendations outlined in the Master Plan into a design-based code that ensures future development meets the vision established by the community. Find out more about about the Regulating Plan in our Frequently Asked Questions.
This website will identify opportunities for public input and be updated with other information as the draft regulations are developed. Ultimately the draft Regulating Plan and recommended property re-zonings will be presented to City Council for their consideration and approval.
Hardcopies of the adopted Master Plan are available for review at the Planning and Development Review Department (505 Barton Springs Road , 5th Floor) and Daniel Ruiz Library ( 1600 Grove Boulevard). Downloads of the ERC Master Plan broken into smaller sections are available on the East Riverside Corridor Master Plan page.
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Staff Contact
Erica Leak, Senior Planner,
erica.leak@ci.austin.tx.us, (512) 974-2856
City of Austin
Planning and Development Review Dept.
P.O. Box 1088
Austin, TX 78767
