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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-26 Development & TransportationCITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON ;,t„ DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORTATION Special Meeting Minutes February 26, 2015 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 5:02 p.m. in Room 1600 of the City Hall Ross Annex. ATTENDANCE The following Committee Members were present: Vincent Sarmiento, Michele Martinez Absent: David Benavides Staff present were: David Cavazos, City Manager; Vince Fregoso, Interim Executive Director /Planning & Building Agency; Fred Mousavipour, Executive Director /Public Works Agency; Robert Cortez, Special Asst. to the City Manager; Scott Kutner, District Manager; Taig Higgins, Principal Civil Engineer; Michael Ortiz, Assistant Engineer; Jorge Garcia, Senior Management Assistant; Alvaro Nuflez, Community Preservation Manager; and Rosa Barela, PBA Executive Secretary. PUBLIC COMMENTS — None AGENDA ITEMS 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. September 30, 2014 Special Meeting B. November 6, 2014 Meeting Motion by Vice Chair Martinez and seconded by Chairman Sarmiento to approve the minutes and approved unanimously by a vote of 2:0 ( Benavides absent). Taken out of Agenda Order 2. UPDATE ON YMCA EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATING AGREEMENT {Strategic Plan No. 3, 5A} Scott Kutner introduced Nancy Loughrey, Taller San Jose Director of Finance and Operations and provided background information on the Exclusive Negotiating Agreement effective November 12, 2014, with St. Joseph Health and Taller San Jose for the YMCA building. He noted the developer submitted supporting material as required within 90 days in early February. Staff now has 90 days to analyze the material and come back with a recommendation to the Council. The agreement also provides for the City Manager to request an extension of an additional 180 days if necessary. Noted staff is currently evaluating the information and there are some additional follow up investigations that are necessary. Staff will keep members of the Council apprised as we receive conclusions and have additional recommendations. Staff is looking at mid -May for staff to complete their review. Vice Chair Martinez noted this project is a one of the top priorities for the Council and reiterated that we need to make sure we are moving as quickly as possible to get them going, noted support from Council and if any issues arise to notify the Council immediately and if staff needs an extension adding to be proactive. David Cavazos noted the item can be placed on every Council Committee agenda to keep Committee members updated on the project. Nancy Loughrey noted they are excited to be in the process, noted there are many issues they are working through and they have engaged an architect to work on the design issues on how they can use the building and expect to have hard numbers in a couple of months. Vice Chair Martinez noted there are a couple of bills at the State level with regards to financing noting there may possibly be tools for the City to utilize and keep that in mind and research on how we would be able to assist in any way. 3. ELKS LODGE UPDATE — EXPLORATION OF JOINT DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS FOR A PORTION OF THE SANTA ANA ZOO AND THE PROPERTY OWNED BY THE ELKS LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE OF ELKS LANE {Strategic Plan No 3, 5A) Vince Fregoso provided an update on the Elks Lodge, noting on February 17, 2015, the Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the Elks to continue discussions on potential redevelopment of the site and joint use of the Elks property and the Santa Ana Zoo property. He noted staff met with a potential developer for the Elks but do not have a plan as of yet. The next step is for the Elks to select a developer and partner with them and do due diligence, research and analysis on how to get a good project for the City and Elks, and noted Larry Kosmont is working on this project. Vice Chair Martinez commented on financial opportunities from the State, noted the First Street Corridor is vital, noted the need to be open- minded and looking at the opportunities that we can present to these partners from an incentive perspective, noted the need to move beyond and make sure we present incentives to retain and attract developers to provide quality projects in the city. Mr. Cavazos noted one of the benefits of the projects is there is a lot of public right of way and the dedication of Elks Lane and possibly make a joint entrance to the Zoo and the project. Mr. Fregoso noted staff will work with Kosmont & Associates to help identify some financial incentives and will explore all avenues for getting the right incentives in place for the best possible project. Peter Katz, resident, suggested to consider developing a condominium project on that site that would require association dues with a percentage of those fees go towards maintaining the upkeep of the Zoo and built right into the sale price of those units. Development & Transp. Council Committee Minutes 2 February 26, 2015 ..r ,%W 4. FUTURE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ETAC) {Strategic Plan No. 5,41 Taig Higgins noted ETAC serves as an advisory body on issues related to trees in the right of way as well as transportation, solid waste & resources and in 1999 the city adopted an ordinance that narrowed the scope of responsibilities to tree planting, removal and associated duties. Staff met with an Ad Hoc Committee of ETAC to discuss roles and responsibilities and possibly re- establish some of those roles such as establish planting trees in the public right of way, establish trees for blocks and neighborhoods, and be involved in major transportation programs such as the Circulation Element and Complete Street Standards. Noted the next step is to receive the recommendation from the Ad Hoc Committee, incorporate those with staffs, and present to Mayor and Council. Vice Chair Martinez noted the importance of an advisory board or commission to the Council, requested once the ETAC Ad Hoc Committee submits their suggested roles and responsibilities to compile it with staff's suggested roles, review by staff and City Manager and then forward to the Mayor and Council to augment, add or omit responsibilities. She noted she wanted to make sure they have the right roles within transportation planning process, adding the Capital Improvement Program should be reviewed by ETAC, to play a vital role in Active Transportation, as well as the Climate Action Plan in making sure the goals & objectives are met which is mandated by the Sustainable Communities Strategy and tied to the Regional Transportation Plan by the State. Noted she sits on the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) who is responsible for distributing $31 million for private action and reduction of greenhouse emissions whose funds come from vehicle registration fees and mandated by the State legislature, inquired how much the City is receiving in funding and what we are doing with those funds and how we can leverage and match those to meet our goals and objectives within our Climate Action Plan, noting when dealing with the environment there are monies being brought to the city, and wanting to make sure ETAC's role is one of importance. Chairman Sarmiento noted he is supportive of expanding ETAC's roles and responsibilities, noted the importance of the Commission structure and value of public input on transportation and environmental issues, noted he'd like to see item come back for further discussion. Carl Benninger, ETAC Vice Chair and member of the Ad Hoc Committee, noted the Committee met on February 16 and will be submitting their recommendations to the city for Council review and comment. Tom Morrissey, ETAC Member and member of the Ad Hoc Committee, noted the value of the Committee and the benefits to the city including at their urging they changed the landscaping on Bristol Street to drought tolerant landscaping as opposed to artificial turf. Development & Transp. Council Committee Minutes 3 February 26, 2016 Julie Stroud, resident, noted she previously served on ETAC, requested some sort of educational opportunities for residents, noted previous projects such as the composting program and commented that ETAC needs to look at the treescape of streets and keep the same type of trees on the street and not plant other types of which some residents have done. Mr. Cavazos noted the report from ETAC Ad Hoc Committee will be forwarded to Council as soon as report is received either Friday or Monday. Staff will review and will place on a future Council meeting for direction. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS Vice Chair Martinez: • Noted the importance to move forward with Circulators and possibly begin at The Depot, proceed to the Downtown, Civic Center, Main Place Mall, Discovery Science Center, Bowers Museum and circle back; wanting to do more complete streets and also along First Street by the Elks Club & Zoo, noted people who to take the train need to find a way to their destination by riding their bike, take Uber or Lyft or ride on a Circulator to move forward on this before the street car and hoping to agendize this item to see how we can move forward and make this happen and possibly provide funding through MSRC with matching funds from the city • Noted the OCTA Bike Share program in Fullerton has been terminated and noted the possibility of the city buying the bikes from OCTA • Noted she has the opportunity to bring funding from the MSRC Committee and needs to know exactly what money the city has that is coming down the pipeline from the State to see how we can leverage and maximize our opportunity to provide a true multimodal system • Asked that staff provide more detailed information to the Mayor and Council on the Active Transportation efforts so they are aware of the projects staff is working on and what type of grants they will be applying for and an update on the Circulation Element • Noted the need to make Safe Mobility a top priority with the recent pedestrian fatality to make sure as we move forward to continue to do whatever we can to eliminate incidents, noted she is pleased with those who are completing survey and to get information out through the media and the importance to also have a relationship with the Latino and Vietnamese media Chairman Sarmiento: • Noted the Anaheim Resort Transportation (ART) bus has a stop at MainPlace Mall, noted the city had previously had a red trolly and maybe that is something to revisit and possibly bring before the Economic Development Committee, and noted to possibly include stops at South Coast Plaza and Main Place • Noted a future item for discussion is the First Street Overlay on the possibility of extending the Metro East Overlay Zone to incorporate First Street from the 1 -5 Freeway to Grand Avenue • Noted another item for discussion is to bring back the Willowick Golf Course noting the City of Garden Grove approached him indicating they would like to discuss • Noted for pedestrian safety he spoke with Julie Stroud who suggested a way to off -set costs is to do more enforcement and citations for jaywalkers Development & Transp. Council Committee Minutes 4 February 26, 2015 ,%W Peter Katz suggested a tax on top of a bed tax for funding of a trolly similar to a special tax that Garden Grove and Anaheim created for the Tourist Information District (TID); and suggested a 500 foot strip "Stop Sign Ahead" be placed at south -bound lane of Cabrillo Park Drive before Fruit Street for drivers noting people unfamiliar with the winding street are driving fast and a sign would prevent accidents at the intersection. I� %ftw FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • Circulators in the Downtown Area • First Street Overlay Zone • Willowick Golf Course ADJOURNED - 6:02 P.M. Vince Fregoso, CP Interim Executive Director Planning & Building Agency rb:Council Comm \Devel & Transp CC \02 -26 -15 Devel & Transp CC Minutes Development & Transp. Council Committee Minutes 5 February 26, 2015