Posting Language
Title
Authorize the negotiation and execution of a 45-year development agreement for approximately 2,614 acres located in the City’s extraterritorial jurisdiction bounded by the Colorado River, US Highway 183, and State Highway 130, in the area generally known as “Dog's Head”, that establishes allowable land uses, trail and open space requirements, development regulations, including impervious cover requirements, water quality requirements, drainage and floodplain requirements, and site development standards for a mixed-use development; includes the property owner’s consent to annexation under certain conditions; delays the requirement to pay temporary use of right-of-way fees; includes provisions for income-restricted housing; and establishes the parties’ expectations related to proposed changes to the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan (ASMP), the creation of a regulating plan, the creation of a tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ), and the creation of a local government corporation that would manage and implement the TIRZ.
De
Lead Department
Dr. Eric Johnson, Assistant City Manager, City Manager’s Office.
For More Information:
Dr. Eric Johnson, Assistant City Manager, City Manager’s Office, 512-974-2607.
Additional Backup Information:
Dog’s Head Land, JV, LTD, a Texas Limited Partnership (“Dog’s Head LTD”) owns a total of approximately 2,614 acres of land (“Dog’s Head Property”) located in Travis County, Texas bounded by the Colorado River, US Highway 183, and State Highway 130, in the area generally known as “Dog's Head”. The Dog’s Head Property is a former sand and gravel mining site that is currently under reclamation efforts and is a blighted and underutilized area that is in the City’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Dog’s Head and the City Manager’s Office anticipate that through this partnership, the Dog’s Head Property can become a revitalized mixed-use district that enhances mobility, open space and housing and creates a new economic opportunity zone. Without a partnership with the City, the Dog’s Head Property would not redevelop in the same manner in the reasonably foreseeable future.
Dog’s Head LTD and the City Manager’s Office initiated discussions regarding the long-term development of the Dog’s Head Property and the conditions under which development and redevelopment could occur. Based on those discussions, the City Manager’s Office negotiated the terms of a Development Agreement, authorized under Section 212.172 of the Texas Local Government Code, to promote development and redevelopment within the Dog’s Head Property. A summary of the major terms of the Development Agreement are listed below:
1. The term of the Development Agreement is 45 years.
2. The City will consider the creation and designation by the City of a tax increment reinvestment zone (“TIRZ”) in accordance with the Tax Increment Financing Act, Texas Tax Code Chapter 311 to fund the cost of construction of future infrastructure on Dog’s Head Property.
3. Dog’s Head LTD will consent to annexation of the Dog’s Head Property subject to the Consent Conditions. The Consent Conditions are that the City:
a. adopt an ordinance creating a TIRZ to provide the appropriate amount of financing necessary for the construction of infrastructure,
b. enter into a development financing agreement to provide for reimbursement to Dog’s Head; and
c. adopt a Regulating Plan for the Dog’s Head Property.
4. Dog’s Head LTD can withdraw consent for annexation if certain conditions have not been met. If Dog’s Head withdraws their consent, they would be able to disannex and withdraw from the City’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
5. Development within Dog’s Head Property will be reviewed under all City Code, uncodified ordinances, manuals, and administrative rules in effect as of the Effective Date of the Development Agreement unless specifically modified.
6. The Development Agreement establishes permitted land uses, spacing requirements between certain land uses, and allow existing identified land uses and activity that can continue after annexation.
7. All non-zoning variances can be approved administratively.
8. Site development standards including impervious cover, height, compatibility standards, and commercial design standards are established.
9. Dog’s Head LTD will provide affordable housing.
10. Dog’s Head LTD will construct a publicly accessible trail that will be privately maintained along the Colorado River. Additionally, Dog’s Head LTD or any successor Landowners will designate 266 of acres within the Dog’s Head Property as open space.
11. The Development Agreement establishes the drainage requirements for the construction of a Regional Stormwater System and Interim Drainage and Water Quality Facilities.
12. Acknowledging the Dog’s Head Property is undergoing active reclamation activities, the Development Agreement also modifies critical water quality zones, critical environmental features, and cut and fill requirements.
13. Temporary Use of Right-of-Way fees are not applicable to the Development within Dog’s Head Property for 20 years.
14. The City will initiate amendments to the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan (“ASMP”) to accommodate regional mobility improvements for the Development of the Dog’s Head Property.
15. The City will establish two development review teams, Dog’s Head Development Permit Review Team and Dog’s Head Long Range Planning Team, for individual site development and long-term infrastructure planning purposes.
16. The Development Agreement provides for the timing and terms of annexation, including essential elements of the Annexation Service Agreement.
17. The Development Agreement contemplates additional land can be included.
18. The Development Agreement establishes dispute resolution measures, defaults, and remedies. State law waives the City’s governmental immunity for breach of contract.