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NEWSAn unusual battle over a proposed hotelcomplex at Eighth and Congress is finallymaking its way to City Council today(Thursday). The city’s development processhas rarely been criticized for its swiftness,but the saga of the “Austin House: TheHotel of Texas” has taken a particularlyleisurely path through the city’s manyboards and commissions. The initial rezoningrequest was made in September 2011,and the case finally arrived at Council forthe last meeting of 2012 (Dec. 13), whendevelopers promptly requested an “indefinitepostponement.” They were informedno such procedural animal exists, and wereinstead granted a holiday reprieve.Developer David Kahn is seeking a zoningchange in order to build a 28-story projectthat promises a 210-room hotel, 110,000square feet of office space, a music venue,restaurant, and retail shops on the groundlevel of the site (currently home to theA rendering ofthe proposedproject forEighth &CongressL a k e / F L a t o a r c h i t e c t sHickory Street restaurant, which supplantedHickory Street Bar & Grill). The projectwill encompass the historic Bosch-Hoggbuilding next door, preserving its facade.With a price tag of about $90 million, Kahnestimates the finished project will bringover $3 million in annual city tax revenue.For someone hoping to build a multimilliondollar project, Kahn does a fairly convincingjob of portraying himself as aneveryman oppressed by forces far morepowerful. In his presentation to the PlanningCommission, he flashed a slide of the monocled,top-hatted “Rich Uncle Pennybags”of Monopoly fame when discussing hisopponents, calling out Downtown real estateheavy-hitters Thomas Properties and TomStacy as the sources of the vocal oppositionfrom the Downtown Austin Alliance.“I really think that it’s all about our officebuilding. If we were not building an officebuilding, One American Center [Sixth &The DowntownAustin Alliance’smock-up of thenorth-facing viewof the Capitol ifthe proposed hotel(depicted as thedark tower leftof the Capitol) isallowed a setbackvarianceHotel Project Sparks Downtown SkirmishCongress] would not be spending money toprotest this,” said Kahn. “It’s all about theirprivate views.” (The site is not in a stateprotectedCapitol View Corridor.)Certainly, it’s unusual for the DAA tooppose Downtown development – indeed,rare to see any of the many large-scale projectsthat pass through City Hall not gain DAAendorsement. What makes this project different?The major bone of contention is the factthat the proposed design would violate the60-foot setback requirements on the westside of Congress (which require buildings tostep back 60 feet from their facades after theinitial 90 feet). Kahn proposes a tiered designthat would step back 15 feet after the first 45feet of facade, then another 15 feet after anadditional 45 feet of elevation.In September 2011, the board of the DAAunanimously agreed to support the zoningchange and the increased floor-to-area ratio(which allows greater height). But theyc o u r t e s y o F D o w n t o w n a u s t i n a L L i a n c eopposed any variance to the setback – astance that has remained firm. The DAAwarns that violating the setback would becatastrophic, because the resulting competitionfor Capitol views would eventuallycreate a narrow canyon from Lady BirdLake to the Capitol Building. They evenhave a rendering that Kahn says is exaggerated“to get everyone real fired up.”The DAA fears are not without foundation.On the east side of Congress, the unofficialsetback practice quickly went to hellafter the 1975 construction of the Bank ofAmerica Tower, which DAA ExecutiveDirector Charles Betts calls “the blackbuilding.” Indeed, the BoA Tower inspiredthe Congress Avenue Overlay, a developmentplan approved unanimously by CityCouncil in 1984. Since then, the overlay andits required setbacks have been observedon the west side of Congress. (The DAAmockup used to illustrate the visually dystopianhorror that awaits Downtown wascreated by mirroring the east side of theavenue onto the west.)Meanwhile, the Downtown Austin NeighborhoodAlliance has endorsed the project,saying that it would activate a key part ofCongress Avenue while preserving thefacade of the historic Bosch-Hogg building.DANA is careful to state that its support ofthe project does not indicate a blanketacceptance of relaxing the Congress AvenueOverlay. Instead, they stress that encroachmentsinto the setback should be evaluatedon a case-by-case basis, in accordance withDANA’s reading of the recently passedDowntown Austin Plan. Kahn points outthat the plan suggests the city considerrelaxing the 60-foot setback, acknowledgingthe impossibility of developing the westside under current standards.City staff agrees with Kahn’s reading thata 60-foot setback is “greater than necessaryto protect the historic character of CongressAvenue” and goes on to suggest that buildingadditions to historic structures beCouncil Notes: Funky IlluminationsCity Council meets today (Thursday), and among the 99items are several worth special notice. Austin Energy inauguratesperformance-based solar energy incentives fornonprofits (Foundation Communities, Goodwill, Items 2-7),described last week by Amy Smith (“Then There’s This,” Jan.10). If the sun keeps shining and the rain don’t fall, there’llbe plenty more where this came from – and all we’ll have todo is figure out how to pay for it.Also in an environmental vein is Council Member ChrisRiley’s proposal (Item 51) for a one-year pilot program waivingpark curfews to allow 24-hour biking and hiking on certaintrails (Butler, Shoal Creek, and Johnson Creek greenbelts).In previous discussions, there was some nervousnessexpressed concerning safety and consequent liability issues– the hope is a pilot will help determine whether such a programcan fit into the in-progress Urban Trails Master Plan.On a symbolic but potentially national level, CM BillSpelman proposes (Item 53, seconded by Tovo andMorrison, and likely to pass by acclamation) formally supportinga constitutional amend ment or other legislation aimed atoverturning the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in CitizensUnited that effectively allowedunlimited corporate (and other)campaign expenditures. Thedraft resolution would ensurethat “money is not speech,”and call on other jurisdictionsto join the effort. Unlimitedcampaign money, argues theresolution, is “drowning out thevoices of ‘We the People’” andendangers democracy.Somewhere between symbolicand eventually actionable are a couple of other proposals.Item 57 (Spelman) asks the city man ag er to figure out whatthe hell went wrong with traffic fatalities in 2012 (afterdeclining for several years, fatal accidents jumped by 44%over 2011) and report back to Council in a few months onwhether anything specific might be done. Item 61 (SherylCole) would pursue whether to return to the voters foraffordable housing bonds – the only bond initiative rejectedin the November election. The proposal is co-sponsored byj o h n a n D e r s o nItem 51 from ChrisRiley proposes a oneyearpilot programallowing 24-hourhiking and bikingon three greenbeltsaround town.Spel man and Riley, but othermembers have expressed skepticismover bringing back soquickly a rejected proposition.The draft resolution rests on theargument that the successful2006 bonds leveraged muchfederal matching money, havebeen exhausted, and could bereissued without raising theproperty tax rate – but that maystill be a hard sell so quicklyafter a public defeat.On top of all that, there areplenty of zoning cases – likelyled by the Downtown Donny brook over the Austin Hotel(Item 79, see “Hotel Project Sparks Downtown Skir mish,”above). And at Tuesday’s work session, Coun cil appearedpoised to kick the still pending East Riverside CorridorRegulat ing Plan down the road a few more months.There is balm in Gilead; if you can wait until 5:30, featuredmusicians Afrofreque will drive some funky light yourway: “When the music flows, light saves your soul.”– Michael King14 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E JANUARY 18, 2013 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m