In late 2016, while researching a neighborhood property, East Town Lake Citizens Neighborhood Association (ETLCNA) members encountered a surprising proposed amendment to the city’s Waterfront Overlay. We soon discovered it had bypassed proper channels and was ready to go to the Planning Commission. We informed the ETLCNA and East Cesar Chavez Contact Team and, after sending a scathing letter about how they were helping poor elders, the Austin Geriatric Center (a nonprofit group) begrudgingly presented at the neighborhood meetings as protocol required.
The proposed amendment involved the Rebecca Baines Johnson Center (RBJ). The Rebecca Baines Johnson Center administrators and the Austin Geriatric Center planned to renovate the old facility.
The Rebecca Baines Johnson Center was originally a truly low-income housing complex for seniors within the Festival Beach Sub-district of the Waterfront Overlay. This facility lies within the park in sight of Lady Bird Lake, but is not parkland. An additional 26+ acres of City land around the Rebecca Baines Johnson Center were also included in the proposed RBJ redevelopment.
This upzoning amendment to the Waterfront Overlay did two things: It diminished the number of RBJ affordable units required by nearly 100. The argument was it was not cost- effective. AND it increased the allowable impervious cover so that the group could more profitably sell 3 acres of land and thereby help fund their project. Originally the allowable percentage of impervious cover was 40%. The ordinance increased it to 70% which would allow a dense development.
The Austin Geriatric Center representatives claimed that, without the increased impervious cover, their land would sell for significantly less. This was not backed up with data, it was just a claim.
After an initial postponement at the Planning Commission, the city returned the next month and supported the changes at the City Council. Our intervention managed to restore some of the affordable housing units. The overall affordability matrix still took a hit due to the addition of market-rate units where there had been none. The impervious cover upzoning was also actually expanded to cover the Festival Beach Sub-district of the Waterfront Overlay—90 acres of which was parkland! To our group, it made no sense at all to increase impervious cover limits in a green zone when it was only necessary for the Rebecca Baines Johnson Center redevelopment.
We protested this change but the city representatives claimed that eight provisions would keep any potential development at bay. The measure was ultimately adopted by the City Council.
We felt and still deem the increased density to be a dangerous precedent. Given that several private and nonprofit entities have been proposing developments in our parks, we feel Chicano Park is at risk if the 70% allowable impervious cover is allowed to stand.
One has only to visit to see the result of this ordinance in the area of (city) land surrounding the RBJ to understand the danger. Because of the ordinance, around the RBJ there are now offices, cafes, a hotel and market-rate apartments. Covering the 3 acres that were sold is a dense market rate apartment complex of 500 units. All this is surprising because the intent of the city planning was for the lake shore to remain open and green for everyone, not to be monopolized by private interests. While the RBJ is and was a worthy facility, the additions (allowed by the increased impervious cover) do not reflect the intent and spirit of the Waterfront overlay which was created in part to prevent this very kind of development on the shores of Lady Bird Lake.