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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-22-1986 Dwntwn StudyADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING - JULY 22, 1986 An adjourned regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Dublin was held on Tuesday, July 22, 1986 in the West Room of Shannon Community Center. The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m. by Mayor Peter Snyder. ROLL CALL COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Councilmembers Hegarty, Jeffery, Moffatt, Vonheeder and Mayor Snyder. PLANNING COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Commissioners Mack, Raley, Barnes and Burnham. DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT STUDY COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Joe Devane, Steve' Heath, Scott Thompson, Bill Burnham, Arnold Durrer & Tom McCormick. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Mayor led the Council, Planning Commission, Staff and those present in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Planning Director Larry Tong gave a background report of the project and stated that in 'the Spring of last year, the General Plan was adopted and an area was identified as being the downtown area. A Committee was formed consisting of 5 business representatives, 5 residential representatives and one liaison member from the Chamber of Commerce. Joe Devane was elected Chairman of the Committee. The Committee selected 3 firms to help in the preparation of the study. The firms selected were: Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons, Laventhol & Horwath & TJKM. Mr. Tong reported that several land use concepts were to be discussed at this meeting, and direction given to Staff and the Committee. Joe Devane reported that it had taken the Committee this first year to learn the concepts and the parameters of what could and couldn't be done. He felt that 18 months was perhaps too short a time to really come up with any sound recommendations as a Committee. Larry Cannon, representing Wurster, Bernardi and Emmons (WBE), indicated his firm reviewed a lot of material developed by the Committee. They are now at the end of Phase I of a 3 phase project, and are at a point where they need the guidance of the Planning Commission and City Council. Discussion was held with regard to the uncertainty regarding the BART situation. Major intersections such as San Ramon Road @ Dublin Boulevard and @ Amador Valley Boulevard will be improved, but will be back in the same shape in just a few years. 1-680 off-ramps were discussed, and will create substantial havoc on existing development. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CM-5-154 Adjourned Regular Meeting July 22, 1986 Kent Meek, representing Laventhol & Horwath, presented an overview and felt that an important message to keep in mind is that the underlying economic fabric in DUblin is very very strong. Growth projections over the next 10 years are very good and the employment market is substantial. Dublin has an economic advantage in that it doesn't have market constraints. Dublin is identified as a retail market, and captures triple the average sales in the valley. Dublin should stay away from the idea of attracting major stores, but rather should operate to sustain What we have and capitalize on it with specialty shops. There is major competition from the Stoneridge Mall. Dublin needs to work on traffic problems and'image problems, which are non- market constraints. Projecting until at least 1991, Dublin will not be a great office center. Vacancy rates are high and the competition is great, Mr. Meek felt there were no opportunities for development of a hotel market, as that market is now saturated. Chris Kinzel, TJKM, discussed traffic related issues. The short and long term issues were addressed. Mr. Kinzel felt that the problems and opportunities needed to be quantified and then addressed insofar as the .downtown area are concerned. Various land use scenarios were identified which led them to a plan' of action. His firm looked at 11 key intersections in the downtown area. Traffic capacity at the major intersections may be the key restriction with regard to development. The San Ramon Road/Dublin Boulevard intersection is at 99% capacity. The City currently has improvements in process which will bring this intersection down about 10% The widening of San Ramon Road will be the single biggest factor which wiil help traffic flow. Restriping Dublin Boulevard to 6 lanes in the downtown area will also create significant additional capacity and allow for an improved level of service. Creating super capacity overpass type inter- sections were discussed and determined not to be feasible. Larry Cannon showed slides illustrating some of the conceptual ideas discussed. Cm. Jeffery questioned if the concept of covered walkways would be on private property. Response was yes, and it was realized that some of the things the City would.like to see would require a lot of cooperation between the property owners and the City. This will not be easy. Many owners are perfectly happy with their property as it exists. Public improvements are the easiest to accomplish. Brian Raley commented that if foot traffic access in Dublin were improved, it could affect the heavy traffic on City streets. A pedestrian bridge was discussed in earlier meetings and discounted as not being practical and therefore, not given a very high priority. Mayor Snyder addressed the need for improved visual aspects from the freeway. Something could be done with street lights, banners, flags, paint, etc. When driving down the freeway, if motorists could see something colorful, it would help to identify the downtown area. Cm. Hegarty felt the idea of utilizing flags was undesirable and impractical. He discussed the idea that is used in Victoria, B.C., utilizing flower pots all around town. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CM-5-155 Adjourned Regular Meeting July 22, 1986 Bill Burnham felt that colored lighting, such as is used in Castro Valley, is a very nice effect. Cm. Moffatt addressed the issue of private areas versus public areas. He questioned if there was any consensus as to what the City could use as a carrot to attract this type of usage. The consultants indicated that the large parking lot at Handyman & Oshmans would be an ideal location for a major restaurant. The owners, however, did not want to take any chances on blocking their signs. The entire corridor of Amador Plaza Road would be an ideal location to encourage a nice restaurant row. Cm. Hegarty expressed concerns related to market saturation. Brian Raley felt that some type of centralized town square would be desirable, perhaps in front of Gemco or between Gemco and Albertsons. It would also be nice to somehow tie the Library into the total area. Bill Burnham expressed hesitancy with regard to the main courtyard idea. He felt the City has worked very well so far, so why change things. Cm. Jeffery indicated she disagreed to some extent and that unless we change to some degree, we will decay. We need to have gradual change. Discussion was held with regard to the difficulties involved in making contact with the various property owners. Cm. Jeffery suggested perhaps contacting the marketing departments in addition to any other departments contacted. Zev Kahn felt that the City does not have a comfortable green downtown area in which to shop. There seems to be a real lack of interest on the part of property owners in Dublin to improve their property. Larry Cannon felt that if we could improve the landscaping in the public right-of-way along San Ramon Road, this would make it a much stronger entrance and would improve the image of the City. The landscaping done at the new Town & Country Center is very appealing. Mayor Snyder stated it needed to be remembered that everything we see with regard to most of the development of the many shopping centers was done under the auspices of Alameda County. They were allowed to develop with minimal if any aestetic and/or landscaping considerations. This is evident when you compare some of the older centers with for instance the way the old Liberty House Center (Orchard Supply) now looks. The City required that the parking lot be broken up and many trees and landscaping put in, creating a pleasing visual effect. The Village Parkway area was discussed. It was hoped that when the City put all the money into improving the medians that the property owners would be encouraged to make improvements also. This, however, has not happened. The consultants indicated they needed direction with regard to priority for Village Parkway. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CM-5-156 Adjourned Regular Meeting July 22, 1986 Consensus of the Council was to give Village Parkway as high a priority as the other areas. ~ The Chamber of Commerce input was discussed and it appears that everyone seems to be doing their own thing. Joint promotions should be encouraged, as everyone would benefit. With regard to car dealerships' and the Sawmill, Joe Devane felt the City should address what happens when existing leases expire. He felt that perhaps the concept of maybe a 10 story building with offices or retail on the bottom floor and condominiums on top could be considered. Mr. Devane questioned how far the Downtown Improvement Study Committee should go to come up with long range ideas. He also questioned if on a short term basis, Dublin isn't trying to fix something that isn't broken. Cm. Vonheeder felt that if we can overcome the hurdle of private property owners, they will see that the City is trying to make it a better place to live and shop. Short of a redevelopment agency, she questioned what the City can do to make attractive financing available. Some communities have a downtown assessment district or beautification assessment districts. General consensus was that perhaps the City should reevaluate parking requirements as most retail centers seem to have an overabundance of parking. The. consultants presented a strategy summary diagram for reference and discussion purposes.~ Discussion and a consensus was reached with regard to the following areas: 1. Create a visual identity for downtown and tie downtown together a. Entries b. Visual elements (Colored lights with some kind of a theme) c. Visual linkage under freeway (needs continuity, some type of artistic graffiti) 2. Central block concentration of work with private owners a. Improved e~]tries definition (look at access from San Ramon Road into the center where the Sawmill currently exists) b. Improved internal circulation pedestrian/vehicular c. Retail & ammenity focal point of downtown (care should be taken to ensure that no one point is overshadowed) d. Additional development ~ e. Additional parking lot landscaping 3. Village Parkway upgrading (special study area) to be given same priority as central block. (Mayor Snyder indicated he would like consideration of redevelopment of the old Alpha Beta Center.. Cm. Hegarty stated he felt this idea should be carried further and take a hard look at all of~Village Parkway. Brian Raley felt a plan should be in place and this could be the first area for a change.) 4. Restaurant row (On Amador Plaza Road, look at feasibility of turning restaurants with openings toward the Parking lot and developing some type of visually desirable interest.) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CM-5-157 Adjourned Regular Meeting July 22, 1986 5. Auto dealerships a. Do everything possible to retain in Dublin (as leases expire, encourage dealerships to stay within the limits of Dublin) b. Plan for gradual transition to other land uses 6. San Ramon Road improvement a. Public right-of-way improvements b. Encourage businesses to improve access from San Ramon Road and visually improve their property c. Look at access from San Ramon Road onto Starward Drive 7. 1-680 Freeway ramps direction on locational preferences Possible BART stations were discussed which would include some type of retail worked into the location. It was felt that generally, this concept would not be an asset to the retail community. However, with adequate planning, we could capitalize on this. 8. Street improvements: modest improvements rather than extraordinary 9. Provisions for future BART station and mixed use development - study further 10.Improved downtown pedestrian circulation system ll.Seek greater integration of adjacent developments within the downtown area physical connections and visual appearance (coordinated but separate areas) 12.Limit location of fast food restaurants (restrict from restaurant row only) ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 11:00 p.m. ATTEST: City +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CM-5-158 Adjourned Regular Meeting July 22, 1986