Owners of the Austin Oaks office complex at the intersection of MoPac and Spicewood Springs Road submitted a new planned unit development, or PUD, application to the city of Austin on April 21. This is the third plan submitted to the city in the past two years. Surrounding neighborhood groups have rallied against previous proposed plans that residents said were too large for the property. The latest plan is largely based on a charrette, or collaborative design process with the surrounding neighborhoods, that was held in January. It includes a total footprint of nearly 1.2 million square feet, with office buildings, a hotel, a multifamily residential building, retail and restaurant space, and two parks. Currently zoned for limited office, neighborhood commercial and community commercial, PUD zoning would allow land developer Spire Realty more flexibility to redevelop the property in exchange for certain community amenities. Spire Realty’s attorney Michael Whellan, of Graves Dougherty Hearon and Moody, said after the charrette, the developer continued to receive feedback from residents in regards to tree preservation, building height and traffic congestion. “[Designers] found a way to reduce the building at the tallest point on the property by a story,” Whellan said. As a result, one of the three seven-story buildings proposed on the portion of the property lining MoPac was lowered to six stories. Buildings farther west along Spicewood Springs would be no more than five stories high. In addition, the developer agreed to remove one of the office buildings planned for the property next to Hart Lane—which was included in the final charrette design—to create a larger buffer between the existing residential community and the development, Whellan said. Removal of the building also created more green space, he said. The proposal also no longer includes a new driveway leading from the development to Spicewood Springs Road. City staffers will examine the application and set a date for the case to be heard by the Austin Zoning and Platting Commission. The commission postponed the Austin Oaks case indefinitely on March 15, meaning the case must be heard by Sept. 15 or it will expire. Ultimately, Austin City Council would have to approve the application for construction to begin. Community members may speak for or against the application at any open city meeting. Kathy Cramer is a resident of the Williamsburg Charleston Place Homeowners Association who attended the charrette as well as several city meetings related to Austin Oaks. Cramer said the latest plan for the property violates Austin’s Code NEXT land use concept of a neighborhood center—which is what the city envisions for the property. "Anything above five stories will, I believe, create density that is beyond what this area’s predominantly residential neighborhood is designed to support. The impact on the surrounding area will degrade its character," she said in an email. Traffic The latest application includes a traffic impact analysis, or TIA, showing how the redevelopment would affect mobility in the area. Construction is scheduled to occur in phases. The TIA predicted the redevelopment would add more than 15,500 daily trips to the existing 4,086 daily trips by 2024—the estimated completion date of the project—if recommended traffic improvements to the surrounding area were implemented. Whellan said the projected additional daily trips is less than the number that would be generated if Austin Oaks were developed under current zoning regulations. “That is not something that Spire Realty is suggesting or requesting,” he said. Traffic improvements are recommended in phases to coincide with construction. The TIA listed nine improvements for 2016, including adding a traffic signal at the intersection of Hart Lane and Spicewood Springs; five improvements for 2018, including constructing a roundabout at Executive Center Drive and Wood Hollow Drive; adjusting traffic signal timing in 2020; restriping the eastbound lane of Far West Boulevard and Wood Hollow Drive in 2022; and four improvements in 2024, including road restriping and signal timing adjustments. The TIA stopped short of suggesting improvements to MoPac. “Regional improvements are required to achieve an acceptable [level of service] at the intersections along Loop 1. Determining these regional improvements is beyond the scope of mitigation for a local development,” the TIA stated. The TIA also recommended the developer pay $1.46 million out of a total estimated cost of $3.3 million for all recommended traffic improvements. Tree preservation The developers plan to preserve 59 of the existing 71 heritage trees—certain species that are at least 24 inches in diameter—on the site and 66 of the 98 protected trees—any species that is at least 19 inches in diameter. Any heritage tree that is removed must be mitigated, according to city regulations. After the charrette, a member of the Balcones Civic Association suggested the developer should mitigate as many trees as possible by replanting trees on the property, "which was a good suggestion," Whellan said. For any tree that cannot be replanted, the developers will pay $200 per diametric inch of the tree being removed, according to the application. Nearly 240 non-protected trees would be removed from the property under the April 21 plan. Whellan said he circulated a draft copy of the PUD application to surrounding neighborhood groups and met with neighborhood leaders on April 13 and 14 to solicit feedback on the application. He said he also sent copies of the final application and TIA to everyone who participated in organizing the charrette. “And I will continue to do so,” he said.