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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-18-2004 Approved HCAC Minutes CITY OF DUBLIN HERITAGE AND=CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION, MINUTES OF:NOVEMBER 18,X2004 The November 18,2004 meeting of the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Dublin Civic Center,Dublin, California,by Chairperson Vonheeder-Leopold. Pledge of Allegiance Chairperson Vonheeder-Leopold led the Pledge of Allegiance. • • Roll Call Commissioners Present: Acuff,Fasulkey, Lussie,White,Mack and Vonheeder-Leopold 6A u, e.,r#1 e.- Commissioners Absent: None Oral Communications-None Approval of Minutes ON A MOTION BY CM. ACUFF AND SECONDED BY CM. FASULKEY AND, BY UNANIMOUS VOTE, THE COMMISSION APPROVED THE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 14,2004 AS PRESENTED. Written Communications-None Public Hearing-None Unfinished Business 7.1 Dublin Village Historic Area Design Guidelines Parks&Community Services Director Diane Lowart introduced Associate Planner Kristi Bascom who advised that in August 2004, the City Council approved a contract with RBF Consultants to prepare Design Guidelines for the Dublin Village/Donlon Way area, one of the steps identified to complete development of a Specific Plan. The Design Guidelines will be used to guide the design and architecture of future development(and re-development) in the area so that it is compatible with the City's historic resources. At the meeting on September 9, 2004, the City's consultants discussed with the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission their vision for the future of the area. The consultant's presented the Commission with a Visual Preference Survey to obtain their feedback on preferred architectural designs so that the consultant's could determine what the Commission viewed as the architectural styles they preferred to see retained in the area. Bascom indicated that the consultants have incorporated the Commissions vision for.the Donlon Way area into Draft Design Guidelines that each Commissioner received a copy of. She pointed out that the document is organized into seven chapters (Introduction; Dublin Village: Past, Present, and Future; Commercial and Mixed Use Guidelines; Residential Guidelines; Guidelines for Historic Resources; Streetscape and Public Space Guidelines; and References). She also noted that Staff is recommending that the boundary for the Dublin Village Historic Area be revised to include only those properties located west of San Ramon Road. Finally she noted that the Design Guidelines are advisory, not mandatory. The intent is that the Guidelines will be incorporated into the Dublin Village Specific Plan, which is currently being written. Any development that takes place in the Dublin Village Historic Area will need to comply with the Specific Plan,but not each individual guideline per se. Bascom introduced Jason Jones, Project Planner and Urban Designer, RBF Consulting. Jones advised that tonight's meeting was to obtain feedback from the Commission on the Design Guidelines report. Jones presented an overview of the Design Guideline report to Commission. Cm. Acuff likes the suggestions made in the Design Guidelines Report and feels that the report reflects the Commission's vision and goals for this project. She stated that she does not support reducing the size of the `Minutes—November 18,2004 Page 2 of 5 heritage area west of San Ramon Road because, historically, Dublin was referred to as the "Crossroads" which , means there are two streets crossing each other. If you remove one of these pathways, it would take away from the historical accuracy of Dublin's Heritage. Cm. White felt that the Design Guidelines Report was wonderfully done and stated that it was easy to read and understand and that she really liked the visual examples,with explanations,provided in the report. Cm. Lussie stated that the Design Guidelines Report was very well put together but she felt that the residential guidelines seemed extremely restrictive. Bascom stated that the only residential zone within the historical area is The Springs. In the future should anyone request a rezoning to a residential property, they would be subject to the residential design guidelines in the Design Guideline Report. Cm. Lussie stated that she is also concerned about the streets and signs and wants to know what happens when a big company wants to put up their big signs with big flashing lights. Bascom advised that the signs would have to comply with the City's sign regulations and ordinances, which is fairly restrictive by itself. The Design Guidelines would provide another layer of compliance regulations to place signs in a historical area. Lowart advised that even though the Design Guidelines are advisory, the City Council could enforce the advisory guidelines if they choose to. Cm.Muetterties stated that she is very pleased with the report. She asked if the DaSilva property is included in the historic area. Bascom advised that the historic area boundary lines did not change other than the suggestion to remove properties west of San Ramon Road. The DaSilva property has never been included within the historical boundary area. Cm. Muetterties asked if there have been any discussions about what type of business development would prosper in this area. Bascom stated that the Design Guidelines does not address uses,just site planning and architecture. At this time, there is no land use changes proposed so the existing zoning that is on the properties will remain in place. Cm. Mack questioned the pedestrian safety zones for this area. Jones stated that RBF had suggested placing Pedestrian Safety Zones across the two major intersections of the historic area. Cm. Fasulkey stated that she is really pleased with the report. She asked what time period the historic area would reflect. Jones stated that the time period reflected in the Design Guidelines Report begins when the first Irish settlers arrived in Dublin,up to the 1930's. Cm. Fasulkey indicated that she loved the photo shown on Page 15, which reflects the historic commercial architecture of Dublin Boulevard and would like to see more of this type of planning and architecture in the future. Cm. Fasulkey asked if there has been any thought put into how to curtail traffic or slow down traffic near Silvergate Drive. Bascom stated that lowering the speed limit is really not an option but the City can enhance walkways to help pedestrians circulate through the area comfortably and safely. Cm. Fasulkey stated she liked the idea of little spaces along the pedestrian walkway to retreat to. Cm.Lussie asked if it would be possible to install a bridge or an overhead walkway across Dublin Boulevard. Chair Vonheeder-Leopold stated that she is very impressed with the Design Guidelines Report and felt that Jones did an excellent job of putting the Commission's ideas into words. She stated that she supports removing the area west of San Ramon Road from the historic plan. She also stated that Dublin Boulevard is way too busy to reduce the speed and creates a dangerous environment and unending traffic jams. She indicated that the intersection where the Green Store and Donlon Road meet could be a nice focal point and that she likes the idea of a bridge or walkway across Dublin Boulevard. Minutes—November 18,2004 Page 3 of 5 Chair Vonheeder-Leopold asked what the timeline will be to receive the Specific Plan. Bascom stated that she is hoping to bring the Specific Plan to City Council January 18, 2005. Chair Vonheeder-Leopold asked Bascom to send a copy of the Design Guideline Report to the private owners in the historic area. Bascom stated that all property owners have been contacted and advised that the Design Guidelines Report is available for their review but, she would be happy to send a copy to the private owners to make sure they received this information. Chair Vonheeder-Leopold thanked Jason Jones for his detailed report. Cm. Acuff asked for clarification on the intent of use in the area located on Page 13 of the Design Guidelines Report, in front of The Springs Apartments noted as an Opportunity Site for Historical Resource Renovation. Jones explained that there is an opportunity for a community space or open space park area. Cm. Acuff believes that the space is reserved because it cannot be built on because it lies on the fault line. Bascom confirmed that the City would not plan on building on this site. Lowart stated that she would advise the Commission when the Specific Report is going to City Council for review and would encourage all Commission Members to attend that City Council meeting to oversee this project to ensure the intent of this project is adhered to. 7.2 Dublin Transit Center Art Project Lowart explained that in 2004-2005 the Dublin City Council rated as a high priority goal: "work with the developer to locate significant works of art in two key places of the Dublin Transit Center, the Village Green Center and the "Iron Horse"Plaza." In May 2003, the Surplus Property Authority of Alameda County entered into a Development Agreement with the City of Dublin for the Dublin Transit Center Project. As part of the agreement, the Developer agreed to contribute Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($ 250,000.00) for construction of public art. The focused area for the artwork will include the Village Green and the BART plaza. The project will be undertaken in two phases with the first phase being public art for the Village Green. In July 2003 the City Council approved formation of a Selection Committee to work with the City and the Alameda County Surplus Property Authority on selection of the public art. The Selection Committee met to review the qualifications of the submitting artists and selected three artists to move forward with the process. Each artist was directed to submit a maquette of their proposed artwork as well as a detailed written description of their proposal. The maquettes of the proposed artworks were put on display in the Civic Center Rotunda starting November 15, 2004 and a public reception to view the artworks was held on November 18,2004. The next step in the process is for the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission to make a recommendation to the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee will then conduct interviews with the artists, consider the recommendation of the Commission, and make a final recommendation to the City Council. Cm.Acuff asked if the City Council could override the Commission's recommendation. Lowart advised that since this project is privately funded, that the process for artist selection differs from other projects. The Commissions' recommendation will go to the Selection Committee and the Selection Committees' recommendation (along with the Commission's if it differs) will go to the City Council. Although it hasn't happened in the past, the City Council could override the recommendations. Cm. Lussie stated that she liked Bryan Tedrick's sculpture but feels the subject matter is not appropriate. Cm. Lussie also liked Yoshio Taylor's fountain and felt it was most appropriate. Minutes—November 18,2004 Page 4 of 5 Cm. Fasulkey stated that she does not feel the Bryan Tedrick is appropriate for this project. Cm. Fasulkey liked the Yoshio Taylor fountain but felt that a fountain is not appropriate for this area because of the noise and wind in the area, which may blow the water from the fountain onto the pedestrians in the area. Cm. Fasulkey's choice is the David Middlebrook design and feels that this art piece encourages people to stop and look at the art. Cm. White likes the Yoshio Taylor piece the best. She feels the fountain would be soothing in a fast paced environment. Cm. Mack stated that her first choice would be the David Middlebrook piece and her second choice would be Yoshio Taylor's fountain. Cm.Muetterties stated that she likes the Yoshio Taylor fountain the best. Cm. Acuff stated that although she likes the Bryan Tedrick piece but does not feel it is appropriate for this project. Her first choice would be the Yoshio Taylor fountain. She likes the feeling of being drawn into a sense of balance and likes the tile work also. Cm. Acuff also liked the David Middlebrook piece because it was interesting. Chair Vonheeder-Leopold stated that the Bryan Tedrick piece is not appropriate. She liked David Middlebrook's art but didn't understand his interpretation. Therefore, her first choice would be the Yoshio Taylor fountain and felt it was the most appropriate match for this project. Cm. Fasulkey stated that she felt the statue shown in the Yoshio Taylor fountain does not relate to Dublin Heritage. Rather than having a "nameless" statute, she would encourage the statute to be of someone that relates to the Dublin's history or heritage. Lowart stated that based on the Commission discussion of the Dublin Transit Art project, four Commissioners selected the fountain created by Yoshio Taylor as their first choice for this project. These four votes make up a majority selection for the Commission. Chair Vonheeder-Leopold asked if the Commission could get one more look at the project before it goes for final approval to make sure that the comments made about the statute are incorporated into the final piece. Cm. Lussie suggesting having Yoshio Taylor and David Middlebrook work together on the project. Lowart stated that she does not see this as a possibility as the Yoshio Taylor project will most likely need the project's entire budget to complete the fountain project. New Business-None Other Business Brief INFORMATIONAL ONLY Reports from Heritage and Cultural Arts Commissioners and/or Staff Cm. Acuff stated that the November 13th Winter Concert featuring Jim Earp was outstanding. However, the pews at Old St. Raymond's Church are very uncomfortable and she recommends putting seating pads on the pews for future events. Elizabeth Isles, Heritage Center Director, stated that DHPA has offered to help with this task, if needed. Isles will also put out more padded folding chairs at the next concert. Lowart advised that John Harnett has been hired for the Heritage and Cultural Arts Supervisor position. Harnett is scheduled to start his new position with the City on Monday, December 6, 2004 and should be in attendance at the next Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission meeting. Cm.Mack stated that she attended the last meeting of the Fallon Sports Park Task Force. The Task Force findings will be going to the Parks Commission shortly. Cm. Vonheeder-Leopold asked if the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission was going to be able to review the Fallon Sports Park plans before it goes to City Council for Minutes—November 18,2004 Page 5 of 5 approval. Lowart stated that she would be happy to bring a copy of the report to the next Commission meeting. Lowart also stated that there are two opportunities for public art planned within this project. Isles invited the Commission to come view the Crate Expectations exhibit currently on display at the Heritage Center. Isles also advised that the Homespun Holiday Workshop is scheduled for December 12th from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the Heritage Center and will feature homemade ornament making, apple cider and old-fashioned carolers. Later that evening on December 12th, the Bay Bells Concert will be held at Old St. Raymond's Church. Tickets will be sold at the door starting at 6:30 p.m. Adjournment Being no further business,the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Christie Marks • Senior Office Assistant APPROVED: Thlita Chairperso „/J OriV