UPDATE (2:38 p.m. CST 3/26/15): Austin City Council unanimously approved the ordinance extensions during its March 26 meeting.
A temporary ordinance that addresses noise from overnight concrete pouring at downtown Austin construction sites could be extended March 26 by Austin City Council.
Construction-related noise complaints prompted council late last year to temporarily prevent concrete pouring after 2 a.m. until a more permanent compromise could be reached between downtown residents and surrounding developers. Despite some progress toward reaching a solution, there is not enough time to draft a replacement ordinance before the temporary rule, which only applies to projects that submitted building plans after Dec. 1, expires March 31, said Chris Johnson, manager of the city's Development Assistance Center.
"Even if council did come up with a resolution and some draft language, I still don't think there is enough time to get a new ordinance finalized before the temporary rules expire," Johnson said.
City staff is instead proposing to extend the temporary ordinance until June 30. There are, however, some steps toward compromise, Johnson said. Downtown residents and developers were unable to agree upon new concrete pouring guidelines during a fourth stakeholder meeting March 10, according to Johnson, but that did not stop Downtown Commission, a council-appointed board that makes recommendations, from drafting its own set of proposed rules.
The Downtown Commission appointed a working group and also asked staff to compare Austin's rules to those in other major cities, including Portland, Ore., Denver and Seattle as well as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Fort Worth, among others. Those comparisons helped the commission during its March 18 meeting recommend setting a 75-decibel limit until 2 a.m. and a 65-decibel limit for projects that receive permission to pour after 2 a.m., according to Johnson.
Those recommendations will be forwarded to council, Johnson said, although any proposed rule changes are unlikely to be implemented before the initial temporary ordinance expires March 31—thus necessitating an extension of the temporary ordinance, he said.
Developers and concrete industry officials previously told Community Impact Newspaper the temporary ordinance causes significant delays and increases the cost of downtown Austin projects. Joe Basham, a partner in the Austin-based construction law firm Allensworth & Porter, said in February that he was approached by a client who intends to break ground on a large-scale downtown project between April and June. The temporary ordinance, should it remain, would delay the project’s completion by 60 days and increase costs up to $500,000, Basham said.
“They are really hoping they can pour concrete at night,” said Basham, who at the time could not reveal the developer, its project or its location. “They’re sitting back and waiting. This is is going to be the first real test of this new council—what are they going to do?”
