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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.1 - 2143 Downtown Dublin Page 1 of 8 STAFF REPORT CITY COUNCIL DATE: September 18, 2018 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Christopher L. Foss, City Manager SUBJECT: Update on Economic Development Efforts in Downtown Dublin Prepared by: Hazel L. Wetherford, Assistant to the City Manager EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The City Council will receive an update on the City’s economic development efforts to support and enhance Downtown Dublin, which includes a report from the Urban Land Institute’s Technical Assistance Panel. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Receive the report and approve the proposed Work Plan. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Receipt of the report does not directly result in a financial impact; however, if the City Council concurs with the Staff’s work plan items, there will be related costs associated with each action. Future items that exceed the City Manager’s signing or budget authority will be brought back for consideration by the City Council. DESCRIPTION: Overview The City Council, through its Strategic Planning process, continues to place importance on the Downtown. For the next two fiscal years, the City Council has directed Staff to focus efforts on ways to strengthen the City’s economic vitality, including the Downtown, through public investment and economic development. Among some of the actions, the City Council has requested that Staff continue to offer a package of incentives and grants to assist small businesses and to help them make physical improvements to their properties. Additionally, the City Council has asked Staff to assist in marketing Downtown locations as opportunity sites, and work with select property owners to update outdated Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) that have been a barrier to substantive change and transformation in the Retail District. Lastly, the City Council asked Staff to engage with the Urban Land Institute Technical Page 2 of 8 Assistance Panel to recommend some additional ways to advance the City’s Downtown efforts. Staff has been working on these items for the past few mont hs and has assembled information on the City Council’s previous action, current activities, as well as a proposed action plan moving forward. Background In June 2011, the City retained the services of the Urban Land Institute’s Technical Assistance Panel to provide feedback on the Downtown’s new plan. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is the oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world. The Technical Assistance Panels (TAP) are part of the ULI Advisory Services program and they provide expert, multidisciplinary advice to local governments, public agencies and nonprofit organizations facing complex land use and real estate issues. Many of the recommendations from that report seven years ago have been carried o ut by the City Council and the City has seen major transformations in the Downtown Transit District as a result of those efforts. The table below summarizes the City Council’s efforts in relation to the 2011 report recommendations: Recommendations Actions Focus on the Transit District and Key Parcels • Development of the Connolly Station residential project (former vacant parcel) • Development of the Aster residential project and Valor Crossing Veteran’s project (former auto dealer site) • Approval of the redevelopment of the Prologis site (Bayview Development) Leveraging Current Opportunities for Public-Private Partnerships • Worked with BayWest and Eden Housing for the development of the Valor Crossing Veterans housing project Undertake Streetscape Redesign for Golden Gate Drive • Full streetscape improvement completed on Golden Gate Drive, including pedestrian and bicycle improvements (approximately $1.8 million) Assess Downtown Public Improvement Financing Strategies • Commercial Façade Improvement Program was adopted to assist businesses located in the Downtown who wanted to improve the exterior of their building. Since the program’s adoption, four façade remodels have been completed: o Façade remodel of exterior building located at 7114 Village Parkway (Platinum Fitness and miscellaneous retail shops) o Façade remodel and outdoor seating area located at 7032 Village Parkway (Three Sheets Craft Beer and miscellaneous retail shops) o Façade remodel of exterior building located at 7111 Village Parkway (relocation of Rhama Page 3 of 8 Mediterranean Market and new Amalfi Restaurant) o Outdoor dining patio located at 7083 Village Parkway (Mirchi Café) • Small Business Assistance Grant Program was adopted to assist Dublin-based businesses with the cost of complying with federal, state and local laws. Since the program’s adoption, nine grant awards have been completed: o Five grant awards went to assist with trash enclosure improvements (grant recipients include retail shopping centers that were able to attract new businesses such as Tous Les Jours, Burma Burma, Sourdough Bread & Co., and SweetHoney Dessert) o Four grant awards went to assist with Title 24 and accessibility upgrades (grant recipients include Three Sheets Craft Beer, Mirchi Café, Care Administration and Management Professionals, Inc., and Parkway Investors) 2018 TAP REPORT In November 2017, the City Council directed Staff to work again with the ULI’s TAP program to get recommendations on ways to catalyze change in the Downtown Retail District. Based on City Council direction, Staff asked the TAP to analyze and provide recommendations on the following: • Identify ways to create a sense of place in the Downtown. • Evaluate the current mix of property owners and the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions and provide recommendations on how to untangle them. • Prioritize where the City should focus the remaining residential units in the Downtown Pool. • Evaluate the 2012 Village Parkway Parking Reduction Program and recommend whether the program could be replicated in other areas of the Downton. • Identify the best way for the City to invest funds in the Downtown that would have the greatest economic and physical impact. In April 2018, the TAP spent two days (April 17 & 18) in Dublin examining these issues. The TAP toured the area, met with the Economic Development Committee representatives, key City staff, as well as conducted interviews with stakeholders. The TAP panel was made up of a number of well-respected experts, representing a variety of disciplines and bringing a range of perspectives to the assignment: • Bob Burke, Greenheart Land Company, Principal (Panel Chair) As a principal in Greenheart Land Company, Burke is responsible for the acquisition and development of retail, office and apartment properties in the San Francisco Peninsula. Page 4 of 8 • Christina Briggs, Economic Development Deputy Director & Assistant to the City Manager, City of Fremont Briggs has led business and economic development efforts in local government for more than 15 years providing economic health analysis and industry clust er strategies. • Christine Firstenberg, Principal, Retail Real Estate Resources As a principal in Retail Real Estate Resources, Firstenberg has more than 30 years’ experience in the Greater San Francisco and northern California retail real estate industry. • Jane Lin, Partner, Urban Field Studio As a founding partner of Urban Field Studio, Lin has a background in both architecture and planning working on projects that include revitalization of main street retail. • Ken Lowney, President and CEO, Lowney Archite cts As President and Chief Executive Officer, Lowney has extensive experience in modular, grocery stores, retail, multifamily housing, restaurants, offices, parking structures, and master planning. • Ben Sigman, Principal, Economic and Planning Systems As a principal in Economic & Planning Systems, Sigman brings nearly 20 years of experience as an economist providing significant expertise analyzing land use projects and policies. • Rae Smith, Senior Planner and Urban Designer, HOK (TAP Writer) As a Senior Planner and Urban Designer in HOK, Smith brings expertise in the planning, design, and entitlement of corporate, university and health care campuses; mixed-use districts; and transit-oriented developments. Summary of Report Recommendations The Report (Attachment 1) is a culmination of the various disciplines represented on the Panel. There are a diverse set of ideas and suggestions that are part of the recommendations. The overarching theme of the Report is that this change will take time, effort, funding and certainty by the City to effectuate the desired transformation. Some of the recommendations made by the ULI TAP are actions that City staff could begin working now on with the direction of the City Council. Some of those recommendations include the shifting of housing units from the Transit District to the Retail District; identifying locations for pop-up spaces and events; increasing developer clarity regarding the City’s goals for the Retail District ; hiring a consultant to assist with untangling the CC&Rs of two major shopping centers (Dublin Place and Dublin Plaza Center); and working with an architect on design schematics for the Retail District . Other recommendations that will take additional time to accomplish include the identification, assemblage and development of a town square; analyzing Downtown’s infrastructure needs; and attracting and developing mixed-use residential projects. Page 5 of 8 If directed to work on these recommendations, Staff recommends the creation of a Downtown Action Team that will be led by the Assistant City Manager, and consist of an internal multi-disciplinary team, including Economic Development (Assistant to the City Manager and Management Analyst II), Public Works (Senior Civil Engineer - Development), and Community Development (Principal Planner). Upon formation, the Team will flesh out the action plan and associated timeline. Ongoing efforts will be shared with the Economic Development Committee and the City Council as appropriate. Transforming the Downtown and the Retail District will require resources. Currently, the City has $2 million set aside in a General Fund committed reserve for economic development efforts. In order to make substantive change and transformative improvements to the Downtown, additional funding will be needed. In addition to the $2 million set aside by the City Council to assist with either public or private investment in the Downtown, the City can leverage additional, restricted funding for public investment, including: • Downtown Community Benefit Payments • Downtown Public Improvement Reserve • A portion of public facility impact fees from the Bayview project for parkland acquisition and improvement • Public Art In-Lieu Funds • Funds from the sale of the parcel acquired as part of the Bayview Community Benefit Agreement. Following is a short list of items that could benefit from those funding sources: • New and existing economic development programs • Development of a space activation plan • Amending the CC&Rs • Acquiring land for a public Town Square • Developing branding and wayfinding signage at key intersections • Creating a blueprint of the City’s development vision In order to provide confidence to the market regarding future development, the TAP recommended that the City Council provide a level of certainty b y considering additional housing units in the Retail District either by shifting some of the housing units from the Transit District or allow additional development capacity. Additionally, the TAP suggests the City Council further define the form and pla cement of development that would include that residential capacity through some additional visioning process; adding more residential space to the Retail District to incentivize additional investment; and expanding the parking pilot program to both the Ret ail District and all of Downtown. Lastly, the TAP stated that the untangling of the CC&Rs could constitute both a short- term win and, if set up properly would allow for a longer-term vision. The recommendations made by the TAP would provide certainty for future development proposals and would allow the Downtown Action Team the assurance when talking with Page 6 of 8 property owners, potential tenants, and developers about the City’s vision for transformative projects. CURRENT ACTIONS BY CITY STAFF Several of the recommendations are items that Staff is currently working on and others, while worth exploring, may or may not be appropriate for Dublin today. The ULI team makes no representation that all of these ideas must be implemented to ensure a successful Downtown. Below is a summary of projects that are currently underway by the City. Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions Staff has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a retail real estate consultant to coordinate revisions to the CC&Rs for property owners of the two largest shopping centers (Dublin Place and Dublin Plaza Center) in the Downtown Retail District. The goal of the RFQ is to identify a consultant who would engage directly with the property stakeholders and work with the City’s legal counsel to dr aft proposed amendments to the CC&Rs. The CC&Rs for Dublin Place and Dublin Plaza Center, dated 1978 and 1969 respectively, have been amended from time to time with the most recent amendments dated 2000 and 1972 respectively. The CC&Rs are outdated and describe what property owners can and can’t do. Currently, the most restrictive CC&Rs prohibit densification of properties, including housing; sets limits on future uses, including food trucks and events; prohibits development along the out parcel or urban street edges; and restrict leases for certain types of tenants. The CC&Rs, as written, prohibit the transformation of the two centers as expressed by the City Council. In order to see the change desired, the CC&Rs need to be amended. Downtown Streetscape Plan The Downtown Streetscape Plan, which started in late 2017, is almost complete. The City kicked off the planning process with stakeholder meetings and has held two community workshops. The stakeholder meetings held in September 2017 and the first community workshop held in December 2017, encouraged the community to share their ideas, history and experiences with the existing Downtown streetscape. The second community workshop held in August 2018 solicited community feedback on various streetscape components including plantings, furnishings, signage, and street design. The City’s consultant is currently taking all the feedback provided through the community process and drafting the plan. The goal is to be able to present the draft plan to the City Council for consideration in late Fall 2018. Economic Development Activities Staff would like to build upon the successes of the Downtown that have occurred since the last TAP in 2011 which include: Page 7 of 8 Projects Status The re-tenanting of formerly vacant spaces in the Downtown with tenants such as Sprouts Farmers Market, REI, Hobby Lobby, Guns Fishing & Other Stuff, Pieology, Habit Burger, Freebirds World Burrito, Three Sheets Craft Beer, Mirchi Café, Tous Les Jours, Savers, Paris Baguette, Go Goong Korean BBQ, Falafel Town, Almafi Mediterranean Fusion, Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, Inc. 82 Tap Room and restaurant; Ashley Furniture Homestore; and the relocation of Amakara Japanese restaurant to the new mixed-use Aster development project. Ongoing Streetscape improvement completed on Golden Gate Drive, including pedestrian and bicycle improvements. Completed Pedestrian and bicycle improvements along Amador Plaza Road Phase I (approximately $550,000). Completed Development of the Connolly Station residential project. Completed Development of the Aster residential project and Valor Crossing Veteran’s project. Completed Approval of new development at the Prologis site (Bayview Development). Approved Development of The Perch at Downtown Dublin residential project. Under Construction Approval of the Avesta Senior Care Facility. Approved Approval of Amador Corners retail project. Approved Approval of 7505 Dublin Blvd. retail project (former Coco’s site). Approved Approval of Façade Remodel for CVS building on R egional Street. Completed Adoption of the Commercial Façade Improvement Program and the participation of four applicants along Village Parkway. Approved Adoption of the Small Business Assistance Grant Program and the participation of nine applicants. Approved Development of a new pad site at the Amador Crossing shopping center which activated the corner of Amador Plaza Rd. and Amador Valley Blvd. with the addition of Habit Burger and Free Birds World Burrito. Completed City staff is also actively working with the brokerage community to tenant the former OSH building and the World of Shoes building. In Process Given all the improvements and successes that have occurred and the desire to continue to advance those efforts, Staff will recommend additional improvements to at least two of the City’s business incentive toolbox - the Small Business Assistance Program and the Sewer Capacity Assistance Program. Proposed changes to the Small Business Assistance Program include revisiting the grant application and award process as well as the City Manager’s signing authority for grant-related agreements. This will allow Staff to provide more timely assistance and certainty to businesses. Proposed changes to the Sewer Capacity Assistance Program include the additio n of dwelling unit Page 8 of 8 equivalents (DUEs) and setting DUEs aside for the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan area or a district within the plan. Proposed revisions will be brought to the Economic Development Committee for review and then to the City Council for con sideration. Public Outdoor Gathering/Activation Spaces One of the major hurdles in transitioning the Downtown area is to create a sense of place. The creation of a focal point, such as a public green or town square as acknowledged in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan, would establish a clearly identifiable core to the Downtown. Staff is working on identifying a pedestrian-friendly gathering/activation space and complementary amenities in the Retail District. In conclusion, Staff is working to achieve the City Council’s vision for Downtown Dublin as a vibrant and dynamic commercial and mixed -use center. Staff’s work plan, if the City Council concurs, includes: Work Plan Items Timing Establishing the Downtown Action Team. Immediate Hiring a retail real estate consultant to work with City staff and property owners on proposed amendments to their CC&Rs. Immediate Development of a space activation plan, including pop-up spaces and events, public gathering spaces, including siting for a town square. Immediately following adoption of the Downtown Streetscape Master Plan Scheduling two work sessions per year with the City Council. Top priorities would be: 1. Clarity of the City Council’s goals in the Retail District to provide certainty for development community; and 2. Discussion of the potential of shift of units from the Transit District to the Retail District. Beginning next calendar year Scheduling meetings and/or discussion with property owners to discuss the development potential of their properties working in conjunction with the retail real estate consultant handling the CC&Rs updates. Beginning next calendar year Working with an architect on design schematics for the Retail District based on feedback from the City Council and property owners. Following first year of work sessions with the City Council NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: None. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Urban Land Institute Technical Advisory Panel Report TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL Dublin, California April 17–18, 2018 ©2018 by the Urban Land Institute. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the whole or any part of the contents of this publication without written permission of the copyright holder is prohibited. DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO About ULI The Urban Land Institute is a global, member-driven organization comprising more than 40,000 real estate and urban development professionals dedicated to advancing the Institute’s mission of providing leadership in the responsible use of land and creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. ULI’s interdisciplinary membership represents all aspects of the industry, including developers, property owners, investors, architects, urban planners, public officials, real estate brokers, appraisers, attorneys, engineers, financiers, and academics. Established in 1936, the Institute has a presence in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions, with members in 76 countries, including over 2,200 in the ULI San Francisco (ULI SF) district council (sf.uli.org). ULI San Francisco serves the Greater Bay Area with pragmatic land use expertise and education. About ULI TAPs The ULI San Francisco Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) Program is an extension of the national ULI Advisory Services program. ULI’s Advisory Services panels provide strategic advice to clients (public agencies, nonprofit organizations, or nonprofit developers) on complex land use and real estate development issues. The program links clients to the knowledge and experience of ULI and its membership. Since 1947, ULI has harnessed the technical expertise of its members to help communities solve difficult land use, development, and redevelopment challenges. More than 600 panels have been conducted in 12 countries. Since 1996, ULI San Francisco has adapted this model for use at the local level, assisting over 30 Bay Area cities. TAPs include extensive preliminary briefings followed by a one-and- a-half-day intensive working session in the client’s community. A detailed briefing package and guided discussion is provided by the client to each TAP participant before the working sessions. In the working sessions, ULI’s expert panelists tour the study area either by bus or on foot, interview stakeholders, and address a set of questions proposed by the client about a specific development issue or policy barrier within a defined geographic area. The product of these sessions is a community presentation and final report. This report presents highlights of the panel’s responses to the client’s questions as well as contains a diverse set of ideas and suggestions. ULI SAN FRANCISCO 1 California Street, Suite 2500 San Francisco, CA 94111 (628) 231-2197 ULISanFrancisco@uli.org www.sf.uli.org www.uli.org ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 1 City of Dublin Technical Assistance Panel Panel Chair Bob Burke, Greenheart Land Company, Principal Panel Members Christina Briggs, Economic Development, Deputy Director, City of Fremont Christine Firstenberg, Principal, Retail Real Estate Resources Jane Lin, Partner, Urban Field Studio Ken Lowney, President and CEO, Lowney Architects Ben Sigman, Principal, Economic and Planning Systems Rae Smith, Senior Planner and Urban Designer, HOK (TAP Writer) IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS 2 CONTEXT 3 TEAM ASSIGNMENT AND PROCESS 5 STAKEHOLDERS 6 CITY QUESTIONS 7 STAKEHOLDER INPUT: WHAT THE PANEL HEARD 8 THEMES 8 SWOT ANALYSIS 9 REGIONAL MARKET CONTEXT 11 RESPONSE TO THE CITY’S QUESTIONS 12 SENSE OF PLACE 12 CC&RS AND EASEMENTS 14 HOUSING 15 PARKING 16 INVESTMENT 16 BIG IDEAS 19 EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL PLACEMAKING 21 TAP PANEL PARTICIPANTS 23 CONTENTS ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 2 Daggett Place and residential park, San Francisco, concept by David Baker & Associates1 Rockville Town Square and residential development, Rockville, Maryland2 Sunnyvale Town Square and retail development, concept by Sand Hill Property Company 3 Alpharetta Town Square and entertainment venue, Alpharetta, Georgia4 The focus of this technical assistance panel (TAP) is the City of Dublin’s Downtown retail district, located in the northwest quadrant of the I-580 and I-680 interstate highway interchange. Both it and the transit oriented development (TOD) zone are addressed by the Downtown Dublin Specifi c Plan (DDSP). The City’s vision for Downtown Dublin states that “Downtown Dublin will be a vibrant and dynamic commercial and mixed- use center that provides a wide array of opportunities for shopping services, dining, working, living, and entertainment in a pedestrian-friendly and aesthetically pleasing setting that attracts both local and regional residents.” Based on this vision, the retail district offers many exciting opportunities to improve dining, shopping, and entertainment within a thriving, mixed-use district. At the end of the two-day TAP process the panelists recommended the following phased steps to move forward with the revitalization of the Dublin retail district, which could take place over the next two years or three to fi ve years. The elements in these lists are in no particular order. Short Term (one to two years): • Shift housing units from TOD to retail district to allow more residential units and “feet on the ground.” • Hire a consultant or have staff research and develop a space activation plan for pop-up spaces and events along high-visibility areas of the district. • Review the Downtown Dublin Specifi c Plan for potential updates to increase developer clarity regarding the city’s goals for the retail district. • Initiate a CC&R working group and hire a retail consultant to help the city select and hire a lawyer to begin untangling the CC&Rs in order to allow densifi cation and intensifi cation of the district’s uses, particularly those adjacent to the BART station. Intermediate Term (three to fi ve years): • Acquire land to develop a public town square as an identity marker and public gathering place for the retail district. • Analyze infrastructure needs in the district, including sewer lines, water lines, and parking to ensure that the area is optimized for redevelopment. • Attract and develop residential units in the retail district. • Continue citywide economic development activities to promote the retail district within the region. IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO3 CONTEXT Dublin, California, is a suburban city in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and Tri-Valley region of Alameda County. It is located at the intersection of Interstates 680 and 580, with San Ramon to the north, Pleasanton to the south, Castro Valley to the west, and Livermore to the east. Dublin’s population is growing. Contained within an area of about 14.2 square miles, Dublin has been the second-fastest growing city of its size in California for the past five years, with its population doubling in the past decade to about 60,000.1 Median household income grew from $118,773 to $128,403, an 8.1 percent increase, during the same period. The ethnicity of Dublin’s population is 41.2 percent white, 36.6 percent Asian, and 10.1 percent Hispanic. About 40 percent of the residents speak a second, non-English, language, and 85.5 percent are U.S. citizens.2 Dublin extends north of I-580 in a largely linear manner. Its western-most extension contains a semi-undeveloped ridge with single family developments north of I-580 and mostly single-family neighborhoods along I-680. Dublin is fortunate to have multiple recreational trails and multipurpose paths, including Iron Horse Trail, Tassajara Creek trail, Martin Canyon Creek trail, Alamo Canal trail and Dougherty Road Bike Path. Much of Dublin’s land use pattern can be traced to its highway exposure, which has led to automobile-oriented land uses and suburban development. Because of that development pattern and freeway access, most trips in Dublin are made by privately owned cars, and expectations of car access and parking in the area are associated with this suburban scale and mind-set. Similarly, most of the residential development in the city is in the form of suburban tract housing, with schools, parks, and commercial uses along major arterials with the notable and recent exception of new apartment communities within the transit-oriented district (TOD) zones. The median sale price for single family homes is $1,100,0003. The median sale price for condominiums and townhomes in Dublin is $770,0004 and the homeownership rate is 65.4 percent5. Even given its largely automobile-oriented nature, Dublin is very accessible by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), which connects commuters to jobs that are mostly located elsewhere in the FIGURE 1: Specific Plan aerial map I-58 0 I-6801 Kuczynski, Doug / Sharygin, Ethan. “New demographic report shows California population nearing 40 million mark with growth of 309,000 in 2017,“ California Department of Finance, http://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Estimates/E-1/documents/E- 1_2018PressRelease.pdf 2 “Dublin, CA,“ DATA USA, https://datausa.io/profile/geo/dublin-ca/ 3 “Dublin: Detached Single-Family Homes,“ BAYEAST, https://bayeast.org/bayeast/uploads/ dublin_detached.pdf 4 “Dublin: Condominiums & Townhomes,“ BAYEAST, https://bayeast.org/bayeast/uploads/ dublin_attached.pdf 5 “Dublin, CA,“ DATA USA, https://datausa.io/profile/geo/dublin-ca/ ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 4 region. The City has the benefit of two BART stations within its limits—Dublin/Pleasanton and West Dublin/Pleasanton. At the time of the writing of this report, the Tri-Valley San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority is studying a planned extension to Livermore and regional rail connections between BART and the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE)6. The future of transportation is also present in Dublin, where the city hosts shared autonomous vehicle (SAV) testing (by the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority [Wheels]) on public roads. The vision is for SAV to provide first- and last-mile service to public transportation, including the BART system and bus rapid transit (BRT) system. Amador Valley Boulevard, looking east Dublin Boulevard, looking west FIGURE 2: Specific Plan districts 6 “Project Concept,“ Tri-Valley San Joaquin Valley, https://www.acetobart.org/project- concept Shared autonomous vehicle5 DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO5 The ULI TAP panel was made up of real estate and development professionals representing a variety of disciplines and bringing a range of perspectives to the assignment, including market potential; land use and design; finance and development strategies; and governance, policy and implementation, setting the stage for an interdisciplinary approach and discussion. To kick off the two-day TAP process, the panel first took a tour of the downtown retail district and TAP study area, which is north of Dublin Boulevard from the TOD district and west of I-680 and includes largely the parcels that border each side of Amador Valley Boulevard and San Ramon Road. The site is currently used by a number of big-box retail stores, associated pad retail sites, and vast surface parking lots. At the time of the tour, some of the stores were out of business and vacant, some new retail pad developments had recently been completed or were under construction, and others have been recently refreshed with facade improvements, lending a diverse character and sense of transition to the retail environment. After the site tour, the panel asked stakeholders a series of questions in order to better understand the opportunities on site and the potential catalysts for a new era for downtown Dublin. Each stakeholder told the panel about themselves, as well as the organization or business they represented as it related to Downtown Dublin, and then the panel asked them the following list of questions: 1. What area do you consider to be “Downtown” Dublin? 2. What are the three things that concern you most about Downtown Dublin’s retail district? 3. If you could create a single focus in the Downtown retail district, what would it be? 4. What three specific changes would you like to see in the Downtown retail district? 5. Where should the city focus its efforts to help the Downtown retail district thrive and become a place where residents walk, shop, eat, drink, and relax? The intent was for the panel to learn each stakeholder’s vision and how the retail district could help achieve that vision. The inclusiveness of this approach led to a general understanding that the city and its residents do not currently view the retail district as the location of its downtown, and that components of both the TOD and Village Parkway have more elements of a traditional “Main Street” and the more intense development commonly associated with downtowns. The panelists then set about determining a path forward, based on their collective professional experience, in order to redevelop the retail district into a focal point for Dublin. TAP panelists tour the site, April 2018 TEAM ASSIGNMENT AND PROCESS ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 6 TAP panel members received feedback and ideas for the site from a group of interested stakeholders that included more than 20 community members. These stakeholders represented both public and private interests, including Dublin public officials and staff, property owners and managers, housing developers, business owners, and the Chamber of Commerce. Each stakeholder group shared its specific concerns, framed by professional background and industry experience. Stakeholders interviewed included: CITY OFFICIALS • David Haubert, Mayor • Melissa Hernandez, Vice Mayor • Abe Gupta, Council Member • Janine Thalblum, Council Member • Tara Bhuthimethee, Planning Commissioner CITY STAFF • Luke Sims, Community Development Director • Jeff Baker, Assistant Community Development Director • Amy Million, Principal Planner • Hazel Wetherford, Assistant to the City Manager DUBLIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE • Brad Johnson, President PROPERTY OWNERS/MANAGERS • Mark Tekin, property owner, Tekin & Associates LLC, representing Amador Corners in the Dublin Place shopping center • Vic DeMelo, property owner, Browman Development, representing CVS parcel in Ranch 99 Market shopping center • John Ortesi, property manager, Village Square shopping center • Paul Chahin, property manager, Enea Plaza shopping center • Frank Sana, property owner, Baskin Robbins parcel in Ranch 99 Market shopping center • Ellie Lange, property owner, various properties • Diane Scott, Senior Vice President, American Realty, Dublin Place shopping center BUSINESS OWNERS • Myly Carpio, manager, Amakara Restaurant, representing the owner • David Ching, Baskin Robbins DEVELOPERS • Linda Mandolini, President, Eden Housing • Garrett Hinds, Director of Architecture, the Perch residential project Council member Abe Gupta tours the site area, April 2018TAP panelists tour the site, April 2018 STAKEHOLDERS DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO7 CITY QUESTIONS Dublin undertook the TAP process with ULI San Francisco (ULI SF) to examine a path toward achieving a unified, mixed-use retail downtown district as part of a vibrant, well-balanced, and amenity-rich community. With the physical improvements made in the TOD zone of the DDSP area, the City is now considering improvements to the retail district. Dublin asked the panelists to use their expertise in retail and mixed-use planning, architecture, development, and entitlements to help address the following questions: • One of the major hurdles in transitioning the downtown area is to create a sense of place. Do you have any recommendations on ways in which we can create a sense of place, either utilizing the City’s reserves or leveraging other opportunities? • The Downtown retail district is composed of several property owners, many of which abide by extremely dated covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) that limit the ability to see the Downtown vision become reality. Do you have any recommendations for the City on how to untangle the CC&Rs? • The City utilizes an innovative Development Pool program to allocate housing units to specific districts, including up to 400 units in the retail district. To date, 95 of those units have been allocated. Do you have any specific recommendations on where we should focus the remaining units in the pool? • Would the TAP recommend that the City replicate the 2012 Village Parking Reduction Program in other downtown districts or the entire DDSP area, creating flexibility in the city’s parking requirements to allow for a greater variety in tenants? • What is the best way for the City to invest its $2 million in reserves to make the greatest economic and physical impact on the Downtown retail district? Existing development within the retail district ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 8 Lack of focal point or district anchor Largely singular land use - ‘big box’ retail Vacant anchor tenant THEMES Several themes emerged from the stakeholder interviews, with all individuals agreeing that a collective vision for the retail district could address some of the current challenges facing the effort to create a sense of a focused downtown for Dublin. Those themes included: SOCIAL HEART/FOCUSED INTENSITY • Desire for a strong city of Dublin identity and vibrant sense of place. • Desire for a focal point or an anchor that gives people a reason to come to the district. • Developer and property owners’ concerns about spreading retail too thin and diluting its placemaking power; they would like ULI to determine where retail space is most appropriate and have the council concentrate its retail capture efforts there. • A way to work with existing assets to create the feel of a downtown, without attempting to re-create a traditional downtown or main street environment. • Concern about the lack of focus and empty anchor tenants within the district, which has led to reduced foot traffic. MIX OF USES • The need for additional housing, noted as important to get more people into the retail district, because local residences would both add a captive market and increase property values, potentially incentivizing redevelopment. • Desire to make the area more bicycle and pedestrian friendly for retail customers, local residents, and office employees while having a place for events and more entertainment and food and beverage establishments. • Good existing diversity in the retail market base; tenants and residents who live in the area and shop here. STAKEHOLDER INPUT: WHAT THE PANEL HEARD IMPROVED DEVELOPMENT PROCESS • Property owners who are eager for a consolidated vision from the city on the retail district in order to set a degree of certainty for future development. • Concern over development restrictions and prohibited uses in shopping center covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). • Developer and property owner concerns about anti- growth “NIMBYism” (not in my back yard) protests by residents that would prevent strongly needed housing. • Constituents who are aspirational in their economic vision and desire sought-after retail, restaurant, and entertainment tenants. • The city’s need to investigate the capacity and age of the current infrastructure, as well as how to resolve out- of-date and complex easements and restrictions, rather than rely on individual property owners to solve these issues. • Developer and property owners’ desire for financial incentives to assist with the costs of redevelopment. DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO9 SWOT ANALYSIS As a way to assess the current landscape, the panelists began to discern the issues and potential futures on the site by going through a traditional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. In this context, strengths and weaknesses describe existing conditions, and opportunities and threats address potential future conditions. STRENGTHS • West Dublin/Pleasanton BART station is a quarter of a mile away • Auto access (I-680 and I-580 as well as multiple arterial streets) • Regional draw of big-box retail • Large parcels with redevelopment potential • Great, knowledgeable city staff • Strong, high-sales retail tenants in the area • Development-friendly city • Excellent demographics WEAKNESSES • Growing negative perceptions of residential growth by residents/NIMBYism • Complex CC&Rs and easements on many of the properties • Lack of a sense of place; no identifiable gathering area or focal point • Lack of connectivity; not pedestrian friendly or bike oriented • High-volume streets feel unsafe to pedestrians and bicyclists • Surface parking exceeds demand, creating vacant asphalt areas • Budget-oriented retailers and community retail expectations are misaligned • Existing regional retail is not as aspirational as residents desire; they want the look and feel of upscale retail offerings, but not the price point • Multiple, bifurcated retail districts in Dublin limit the ability to attract critical retail tenants to the retail district • Multiple ownership: goals may not be aligned among diverse property owners—mom-and-pops to international retail REITs Weakness: Abandoned retail tenant Strength: West Dublin BART station6 ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 10 OPPORTUNITIES • Aspirational mind-set of residents and council members • Potential for a town square or other public space on vacant parking areas • Potential for community programming—events and pop-ups • City’s excellent financial reserves • New and different community entertainment uses • Surplus parking spaces THREATS • Rapidly changing retail market nationwide, with big-box retail demand decreasing • Property ownership in retail district by a series of different owners that may not want to do the same thing • High development impact fees, as well as very high sewer and water connection fees • Unmotivated ownership of retail buildings • Increase in no-growth NIMBY mind-set among residents • Growth of local competitive retail landscape in east Dublin Threat: Too much surface parking Opportunity: Potential for community programming, such as Spark Social SF7 DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO11 REGIONAL MARKET CONTEXT The Bay Area fi nds itself in a very particular and unique set of circumstances with regard to regional economics. The following is a series of trends and conditions that relate to the specifi c development context that Dublin’s retail district fi nds itself in. REGIONAL MARKET FORCES While San Francisco and Silicon Valley have been the Bay Area’s epicenters of real estate investment in recent years, the East Bay has also enjoyed a building boom. With the strong economy and new development, there have been some growing pains in the region. Traffi c throughout the Bay Area has worsened, resulting in increased interest in transit-oriented development sites. GROWTH TRENDS Dublin and the Tri-Valley have evolved dramatically since the early 2000s: since 2001 the population of Dublin has grown by over 70 percent. However, job growth has not kept pace, with total job counts about the same today as nearly 20 years ago. Nonetheless, Dublin has recovered from the 2008–2009 recession, with job growth topping 30 percent since 2010. DOWNTOWN DUBLIN Despite the lack of a historic downtown, Dublin has successfully organized planned development around its western BART station. New multifamily residential projects (Connolly Station, Aster, and Valor Crossing) along Golden Gate Drive, along with extensive streetscape improvements implemented by the city, have transformed this sub-area. While there has been some investment north of Dublin Boulevard (Perch, Habit Burger, REI), the suburban retail fabric there remains largely unchanged since the 1970s. RETAIL REVOLUTION The retail real estate industry is changing rapidly. After the 2008 recession, consumers altered their spending habits. Shifting spending patterns and competition from online retail have resulted in sustained demand for either luxury or value-oriented retail real estate, with internet purchases now capturing a growing share of midmarket retail sales. In general, successful retail landlords have helped evolve tenant mixes and formats to cater to luxury or value consumers. Downtown Dublin retail remains viable, with bargain retailers such as Target, Burlington Coat Factory, and Savers seeing high-volume sales. HOUSING CRISIS Although Dublin historically has supported housing development, the ongoing economic expansion in the Bay Area has intensifi ed demand for housing at all price points. The regional housing shortfall has resulted in dramatic price escalation, and housing affordability challenges continue to be amplifi ed. This comes at a time when Dublin’s appetite for continued housing development appears to be waning. Like most other communities around the Bay, the city’s residents are demanding increased scrutiny of new development projects, as evidenced by recent Planning Commission actions. FIGURE 3: Retail market overview: aerial map from Collier’s International ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 12 Taking the regional market context and Dublin’s growth and demographic changes into consideration, the TAP members investigated the potential for transforming one of the city’s key retail districts from a more traditional, automobile-oriented, big- box retail zone into a more densely developed, walkable district. After its site tour and stakeholder interviews, the panel identifi ed responses to the city’s questions about the retail district in order to help guide the city toward creation of a united district vision for the area’s property owners, residents, and businesses. The panelists reordered the questions as they unpacked the issues and discussed recommendations for fi rst steps to enhance and revitalize the retail district. SENSE OF PLACE One of the major hurdles in transitioning the downtown area is to create a sense of place. Do you have any recommendations on ways in which we can create a sense of place, either utilizing the city’s reserves or leveraging other opportunities? This question gets to the heart of “What is unique about Dublin?” The existing development has a fragmented identity and lacks a sense of place—a clear marker identifying what is unique about Dublin. The buildings are set back from the street, are behind a disorienting fi eld of surface parking, and do not frame a central gathering point. Further confusing the legibility of the place, there is no pedestrian-oriented, publicly accessible destination. Instead, the parking of vehicles takes both visual and physical priority. The creation of a focal point, such as a public green or town square, would establish a clearly identifi able core to the district around which new development could be created. This focal point would be in addition to the Downtown Dublin Streetscape Plan currently underway at the time of the writing of this report, which is intended to strengthen the identity of Downtown through a unifi ed streetscape and identity program. The panel believes that in order for a public square to serve as both a destination and an organizing element, its preferred location would be at the end of Golden Gate Drive across Dublin Boulevard, establishing a visual connection to BART. An alternative location might be in the area of existing retail development fronting Amador Plaza Road, where existing CC&Rs allow more growth and change to existing development, and where a quality pedestrian experience already exists. Either way, capturing a sense of urbanism would begin to answer the question, “Where is Dublin’s downtown?” by creating a vibrant, urban pocket of activity in Dublin. FIGURE 4: Identity “gateways” FIGURE 5: Potential locations for the “town square” RESPONSE TO THE CITY’S QUESTIONS Urban seating by taller de casqueria in Madrid, Spain8 Beer Garden, Garden Grove, Califonia9 The Lawn on D, Boston, Massachusetts10 Catalina Island, Avalon, Califonia11 Pop-up park at the Oval, Philadelphia12 DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO13 STRATEGIES FOR CREATING A SENSE OF PLACE COULD INCLUDE: • Short term (one to two years): o City-supported programming and temporary uses in the district that will inspire public gathering. o A focus on public realm improvements, such as branding and wayfinding, at key intersections to serve as “identity gateways.” • Long term (two-plus years): o Development of a permanent public gathering space—a town square—with a recommended minimum size of a half acre. However, the land procurement, design, and development of a new city park or public space takes time. So, in the interim, the panel suggests that the city negotiate an agreement with a property owner to set up a series of temporary uses and events as a way to kick-start the identification of this area by residents as the city’s downtown. One benefit of temporary or other short-term uses is the immediate activation of a space at a low cost and the ability to test alternative uses or programs against resident interest and demand for more permanent uses. Temporary uses might include elements like seating around fire pits or beer gardens, pop-up retail spaces, and/or parklet-style green spaces for use by children and pets and for socializing or games. The energy created by these experiments could translate into more permanent development in the future. A successful example of this approach is Spark Social in San Francisco. Longer term, creating a sense of place will largely center on building a permanent public feature as a gathering space or “town square” around which infill development could create a more experiential urban environment with a vertical mix of uses, including residential development above ground-floor food and beverage businesses. This town square would support the retail district and compliment the city by doing the following: • Take advantage of the site’s proximity to the BART station and support up-zoning portions of the district closest to transit. • Add housing via densification and infill development, particularly along Dublin Boulevard. • Secure the development of permanent entertainment facilities in the district—which could include mini-golf, an arcade, or a premium theatre—in order to better establish a permanent sense of place in downtown Dublin. TEMPORARY USES CREATE AN EARLY SENSE OF PLACE WITHIN A DISTRICT. Notes taken during TAP panel Beer Garden, Garden Grove, Califonia9 ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 14 CC&RS AND EASEMENTS The downtown retail district is composed of several property owners, many of which abide by extremely dated covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) and easements that limit the city’s ability to see the downtown vision become reality. Do you have any recommendations for the city on how to untangle the CC&Rs? CC&Rs not only describe what property owners can do, but also what they cannot do. Currently, the CC&Rs on site prohibit densification, including housing; set limits on future uses, including food trucks and events; prohibit development along the out parcel or urban street edges; and restrict leases for more diverse tenants. The panel believes that untangling the CC&Rs could constitute both a short-term win and, if set up properly, allow for a longer-term redevelopment vision. In the short term, the panel recommends that the city work with the property owners by first hiring a retail consultant who can work with the City and its attorneys who specialize in complex retail CC&Rs and easements. This will help ensure that the CC&R untangling proposals will not hurt the retailers and will allow the retail property owners to actually benefit from a successful redevelopment made possible by the new CC&Rs and easements. The lawyer/retail specialist team can assist in negotiations with retailers and property owners to advance an outcome that will benefit both the city and the property owners. This negotiation process is most commonly seen around the United States in the aging mall properties that are undergoing revitalization. The immediate goal would be to rewrite the CC&Rs so that redevelopment can begin to take place under current market conditions. The panelists believe that market conditions today support redevelopment through densification, including development of additional residential space and/or second-floor, small-footprint office space. 99 Ranch Market Shopping Center (Blue parcels) 1. EPE Dev. (Fastsigns) 2. Sandelman (Ranch 99) 3. Tsai (shops) 4. Browman (CVS, etc.) 5. Cortana (Savers & Sports Authority) 6. Wells Fargo 7. Kumar (Citibank) 8. Valero City of Dublin Parcels (Black parcels) 9. Dublin Senior Center 10. Wicklow Square Senior Housing Dublin Place Shopping Center (Yellow parcels) 11. ASVRF (Grocery Outlet) 12. EvCap Amador Plaza & TA Amador Plaza (new restaurant pad & retail approved) 13. ASVRF (Target) 14. ASVRF (Hobby Lobby) 15. Burlington (BCF, ToysRUs and Bassett) 16. Nunberg (PetSmart) 17. ASVRF (new restaurant pad & retail approved - former Coco’s) FIGURE 6: Parcel map of 99 Ranch Market shopping center and Dublin Place shopping center TEMPORARY USES CREATE AN EARLY SENSE OF PLACE WITHIN A DISTRICT. Notes taken during TAP panel Connolly Station apartments13 Aster apartments DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO15 HOUSING The City utilizes the innovative Development Pool program to allocate housing units to specific districts, including up to 400 units in the retail district. To date, 95 of those units have been allocated. Do you have any specific recommendations on where we should focus the remaining units in the pool? Recognizing housing as a primary value driver in this district, the panelists recommend that the city consider adding more residential space to the retail district in order to incentivize additional investment in this transit-proximate area. Adding as many units as is feasible—at least 500 to 750 units in areas nearest the BART stations and the TOD zone, particularly along Dublin Boulevard and at the intersection of Golden Gate Drive and Dublin Boulevard—will mean more people within walking distance of the retail district, a key factor in nationally recognized examples of retailer success. In sum, sufficient housing density is needed to create the land values that will motivate landowners to invest and redevelop. Focusing this housing within a half-mile radius of the BART stations is the simplest way to deliver a development product with high market demand. Based on feedback from the stakeholder interviews, the panelists believe that the city can maximize value by encouraging construction of smaller multifamily units, with fewer bedrooms, with very little burden on schools by aiming new development at young professional commuters who prefer denser, more walkable environments adjacent to transit. There are many examples of this building type within the Bay Area that have had a positive impact on their respective cities.FIGURE 7: New housing development could line Dublin Boulevard and/or town square. If the city is able to develop a permanent town square space, establishing the appropriate regulatory conditions for housing development in this area will further establish a focused sense of place and a more walkable district. Designing for housing in this area will encourage transit use and leverage existing city infrastructure and assets toward promoting the area’s highest and best uses. This will support the city in providing community benefits for the residents of Dublin while creating attractive investment opportunities for any future development partners. NEW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN ADJACENT TOD DISTRICT Notes taken during TAP panel ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 16 PARKING Would the TAP recommend that the city replicate the 2012 Village Parkway Parking Reduction Program in other downtown districts or the entire DDSP area, creating flexibility in the city’s parking requirements to allow for a greater variety in tenants? In 2012, the City Council approved the Village Parkway Parking Reduction Program, which created a pilot parking reduction program in the Village Parkway District. The program allows parking supply and demand to be managed by the property owners and tenants, and not regulated by the City. The goal of the program was to enable a wider variety of businesses to be established in the Village Parkway District without the encumbrance of parking requirements. In 2014, the City Council approved extending the program for an additional five years. The panelists agreed that expanding the pilot program to both the retail district and all of downtown would be a positive element that could provide certainty for future development proposals. The panelists also recommended that the city hire a parking management consultant to analyze paid parking and meters, particularly near the BART stations, to discourage day parking in on-street spaces and potentially allow on-street parking during off-peak times along Dublin Boulevard’s third lane. Because needs are changing, any parking program and associated standards should be written in a way that is flexible. Long-term prospects for demand for large amounts of parking, including both garages and surface lots, are uncertain. City staff should continue to identify opportunities for decreased parking standards, including shared parking, as expectations for parking for individually owned vehicles, automated vehicle drop-off as a service, and other transportation modes shift in the future. INVESTMENT What is the best way for the city to invest its $2 million in reserves to make the greatest economic and physical impact on the downtown retail district? Dublin’s fiscal reserves provide an immediate opportunity for the city to achieve some of the shorter-term or easier-to- reach goals set forth in this report. The following is a list, by priority, of action items that the panelists believe would help place the retail district in the best light to attract collaborative development partners for its repositioning and revitalization near the BART stations. ACTIVATE PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SPACE WITH CITY-SPONSORED POP-UP-STYLE EVENTS AND PROGRAMMING Most immediately, the city could consider investing in events programming to establish a sense of place. This programming might include events like “First Friday” walks and farmers markets, or play/bike/stroll festival spaces. Communities all over the world have found great success in creating temporary but high-impact spaces focused on food, culture, or arts in order to shape community experience and impressions. These spaces allow cities to create a “there” there before one really exists. As a first investment, a well-programmed pop-up space would begin to establish a focal point through color, materials, or objects; build local awareness and presence; and encourage would-be entrepreneurs to test ideas in the marketplace. Notes taken during TAP panel Notes taken during TAP panel Temporary pedestrian wayfinding in Rochester, New York16 TWO EXAMPLES OF TOWN SQUARE DEVELOPMENTS THREE EXAMPLES OF SIGNAGE AND STREETSCAPES TO ENHANCE WALKABILITY Directions for cyclists, Christchruch, New Zealand17Parson’s Alley, Duluth, Georgia 14 Town Fair Plaza, Fremont, California 15 Northeast 61st Avenue, Hillsboro, Oregon18 DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO17 INVEST IN A PERMANENT TOWN SQUARE, EITHER THROUGH PURCHASE AND PARTNERING OR THROUGH PUBLIC EASEMENT DEDICATION Building on the idea of the pop-up space and allowing for a longer timeline, a permanent town square could establish a local social heart within the retail district, provide a prime office and/ or residential address, and enhance the site’s value and future development potential. Suggested to be at least a half acre in size, the town square would likely best serve Dublin by being on axis with the BART station at the end of Golden Gate Drive in order to create a visual anchor and a transit-oriented, walkable destination. The town square would then become the permanent location for community-hosted movie nights, afternoon music performances, and holiday events, as well as serve as the local destination for informal experiences like meeting for coffee or walking the dog. INVEST IN OFF-SITE IMPROVEMENTS TO IMPROVE WAYFINDING AND BRANDING Within the context of Dublin’s downtown, reinforcing attractive landscapes, signs, and branding along corridors will both advance the city’s economic development strategy and make rights of way and key nodes more beautiful and more pleasant to travel. The use of branded signs at highway on- and off-ramps, at key entry corridors to BART stations, and along arterials will help direct people to the downtown retail district and town square. Other strategies include continuing to invest in streetscape improvements to enhance walkability between BART stations and the retail district and investing in public art and gateway entry landscaping to designate arrival at a “place.” Signage within the Specific Plan area and the TOD zoneLandscaping along Amador Plaza Road, looking south ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 18 ATTRACT NEW RESTAURANTS, UPDATE CITY CODES, AND LOWER SEWER AND WATER CONNECTION FEES During the stakeholder interviews, the panelists heard that new restaurants are desired in the downtown area by constituents. Retail and restaurants are an essential and vibrant part of any mixed-use district. Finding a way to reduce the burden of opening a restaurant in the retail district could be a way in which the city invests in the district’s success. Two strategies could support the proper mix of uses within the district: 1) Care should be given to the city’s planning and design codes so that retail spaces are designed and built to be suitable for lease to retailers and restaurants. Retail space can end up unleasable due to improper design elements that make the space physically obsolete. For example, retail shop spaces need to have high ceilings, spaces with depths of 50 to 65 feet, and have access to hot/cold water and service. Also, retail and restaurant space in vertical mixed-use projects do not generate as much value as the above-ground-level residential component. Therefore, codes should reflect market conditions to maximize inclusion of residential units and flexibly incorporate an appropriate amount of ground-floor retail or restaurant space. 2) From the point of view of existing restaurateurs, area water and sewer connection fees are particularly high, limiting the plans of many would-be entrepreneurs. Thought should be given to coordinating or encouraging the water/sewer districts to reduce or eliminate their connection fees within the mixed-use districts. This will encourage the right uses in the right areas for the creation of a mixed-use district that will withstand the ups and downs of any economy. DRAFT DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS ALONG AMADOR PLAZA ROAD Building on the work taking place along this edge of the site, parcels along Amador Plaza Road are best positioned to benefit from city streetscape enhancements. Recent improvements have included enhanced pedestrian safety and streetscape beautification. Future design guidelines could encourage expanding this enhancement zone and adding outdoor seating along street-facing buildings as a way to strengthen the street’s identity as a walkable area destination. REINFORCE DUBLIN BOULEVARD AS DISTRICT GATEWAY Once the CC&Rs are updated and improved, design guidelines could also address the streetscape experience through build- to lines for new, infill development along the retail district’s edges. Strengthening Dublin Boulevard as the retail district’s key connector—providing a sense of arrival and connection to the TOD zone—will clarify the district’s role as the urban center of downtown Dublin. Lining the boulevard with mixed-use development that reflects what is occurring in the TOD zone—with up to five or six stories of residential or office development—would put much-needed density in an environment the city has already created to support it. DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO19 The following “big ideas” emerged as key themes from the panel’s conversations with stakeholders. As a representation of what the stakeholder community deemed to be critical factors for the retail district’s redevelopment, this list is in order according to what the panelists believe will have the greatest potential impact and should be given the highest priority in support of the retail district. 1. Create a city blueprint to increase density (as a catalyst for community benefits) and walkability within the district. A unified blueprint is critical to the success of community initiatives to guide and support early development processes toward mutually beneficial outcomes. 2. Attract an entertainment anchor for the retail district. Behind the creation of a unified blueprint, an entertainment anchor would significantly change the character of the area, helping it become a place where people want to spend time and socialize, further supporting both the retail uses in the district and a sense of community space. 3. Reduce level of development uncertainty. Reducing uncertainty for proposed developers will decrease the amount of time a development takes from creation to execution. It allows a proposed developer to better understand the costs of development at the beginning of the process so there are fewer false starts. Reducing the false starts and the overall development time line, ultimately reduces costs for the City. Some suggested ideas are: • Clearly outline all impact and permit fees, in writing. This might require coordination with other local agencies but leaving the gathering of information and calculations up to proposed developers allows for too much misinformation to occur. • Thoroughly define the Community Benefit Program costs and where these fees can be applied. • Consider a change to a Form Base Code or developing a Precise/Specific Plan for areas of development focus. This creates certainty and can speed up the development process. Be sure to include specialists in the creation of the plans, i.e. multi-family residential, mixed use specialists, and/ or retail specialists, so the Precise/Specific Plan will have the market feasibility to allow it to be built. BIG IDEAS TWO EXAMPLES OF POP-UP ENTERTAINMENT AND WALKABILITY FEATURES Hayes Valley, San Francisco, California19 Arcade Plaza, Seattle, Washington20 FOUR EXAMPLES OF POP-UP PARKS AND TOWN SQUARE FEATURES ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 20 M&S pop-up park, London, England21 Windsor Town Green, Windsor, California22 4. Evaluate the potential to subsidize or finance sewer and water fees from the Dublin San Ramon Services District. Currently, these fees are largely prohibitive of new restaurant development, a desired community use that relies heavily on these services. The sentiment exists in the development community that these fees are outsized compared with those in other communities. Open space in context of entertainment district in Yarraville, Austalia23 Public road turned public park in Yarraville, Australia24 Pier 70, San Francisco, California26 Boxpark, London, England27 DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO21 Looking at comparable local cities, the panel suggests that Dublin explore a similar Form Base Code and fast-track development process for the retail district as that employed for Redwood City’s downtown area. The city could also look into the Congress for the New Urbanism’s charrette process, made famous by architect and urban designer Andrés Duany, in order to bring a more diverse group of stakeholders together to unify the city’s vision for the district. In addition to these two examples, the panelists provided a short list of notable examples of successful placemaking and temporary space activations: PROXY SF Proxy SF was a pioneer in temporary development and placemaking in response to the Great Recession, when land had been purchased for housing and the developer could not fund the development. The project, located in Hayes Valley, has become a jewel in the community. Developers are now starting to move forward with entitlement and will begin developing in the next year or so. (https://www.facebook.com/pg/proxysf/ photos/?tab=album&album_id=201829336529091) PIER 70 Developer Forest City’s Pier 70 at the Port of San Francisco uses programming and event space during the short, interim phases of redevelopment. Without the semi-permanent structures and landscape used by Proxy, the project focuses purely on the events and programming to activate the space. (www.pier70sf.com) BOXPARK Located in London, this shipping-container project was designed to pilot the ultimate feasibility of higher-end retail space in this location. The project ended up being a huge success, and the developer has kept the shipping-container structure instead of building a more traditional mall. (https://www.boxpark.co.uk) Proxy SF, Hayes Valley, San Francisco, California25 EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL PLACEMAKING The Cube, Sao Paulo, Brazil 28 Biscayne Green, Miami, Florida29 Guerrero Park, San Francisco, California30 Spark Social SF, San Francisco, California31 ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 22 THE CUBE An example in São Paolo, Brazil of how a single new interactive piece of infrastructure in a public space can be programmed in order to revitalize a park space and generate excitement. However, the key here (and in Dublin) is continual city support through active programming. (https://www.pps.org/places/the- cube) BISCAYNE GREEN Located in downtown Miami, Biscayne Green received a Knight Foundation grant to support a sense of community in the area through a one-month installation under an underpass that was closed to cars one summer. (https://www.biscaynegreenmiami. com/about) SAN FRANCISCO’S GROUNDPLAY PROGRAM/ GUERRERO PARK Leveraging public/private partnerships to activate the public realm, San Francisco supports installations and the temporary transformation of infrastructural remnants into active play spaces and parks in neighborhoods like Guerrero Park, Mission Bay, and the Bayview. Using ground murals, fiberglass structures, and drought-resistant plantings, these temporary solutions require fewer permits and little investment other than neighborhood support and creative imagination, and allow residents to become reacquainted with their own neighborhood—a lasting investment in community. (https:// groundplaysf.org/projects/san-jose-guerrero-park/) SPARK SOCIAL SF Spark Social, a new urban gathering space located in the heart of Mission Bay, is a food truck park, beer/sangria garden, and event space designed to bring the neighborhood together for fun times, day or night. It collaborates with small businesses to ignite the spirit of community by creating warm and welcoming spaces to eat and gather. It works with more than 150 food trucks from all over the Bay Area that are rotated every day for both lunch and dinner. (http://sparksocialsf.com) DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO23 CHRISTINA BRIGGS City of Fremont, Deputy Director of Economic Development and Assistant to the City Manager Briggs has led business and economic development efforts in local government for over 15 years. As such, she provides economic health analysis and helps develop industry cluster strategies. Briggs takes particular pride in serving as an interface between business and government and has led several “win/ win” collaborations in the development process. Briggs is the public sector co-chair of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Northern California P3 committee, a member of Urban Land Institute, the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance, and the East Bay Economic Development Alliance; and is actively involved in several other regional industry associations. She received her B.A. in language studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her master of public administration degree from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. KEN LOWNEY Lowney Architects, President and Chief Executive Officer Lowney founded Lowney Architecture in 2003 and is president and chief executive officer of the firm. He has worked with small and large companies, nonprofits, city governments, communities, and private developers in northern California and throughout the United States. Project expertise includes modular, grocery stores, retail, multifamily housing, restaurants, offices, parking structures, and master planning. Lowney Architecture has won particular acclaim for its vertical grocery store and prefabricated multifamily housing designs. The firm has won numerous design awards from professional organizations, including the Golden Nugget Award and the American Institute of Architects. The San Francisco Business Times consistently ranks Lowney Architecture among the top firms in the Greater Bay Area. Lowney received his M. Arch from the Southern California Institute of Architecture. BOB BURKE Greenheart Land Company, Principal (TAP Chair) As a principal in Greenheart Land Company, Burke is responsible for the acquisition and development of retail, office, and apartment properties on the San Francisco Peninsula. Greenheart recently developed 195 apartment units adjacent to Facebook’s world headquarters in Menlo Park. Currently, 183 apartments, 200,000 square feet of office space, and 25,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space are under construction in a Greenheart development known as Station 1300, located adjacent to the Menlo Park CalTrain station. Before joining Greenheart, Burke managed the Northern California Group of Shea Properties, where he developed over $500 million of office, retail, and apartment projects. Burke also was a senior development manager for three different northern California development companies. Burke received his MBA in real estate and finance from the University of California, Berkeley. JANE LIN Urban Field Studio, Founding Partner Lin, AIA, has a background that includes both architecture and city planning. She consults for both the public and private sectors on early-stage concepts for development. Many of Lin’s projects and plans shape new development in suburban areas that are growing. These areas often include revitalization of main street retail and the improvement of the walkability and transit. Lin is also part of faculty for the ULI/National League of Cities Daniel Rose Fellowship this year. She received her M. Arch and Masters of City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. CHRISTINE FIRSTENBERG Retail Real Estate Resources, Principal Firstenberg has over 30 years’ experience in the Greater San Francisco and northern California retail real estate industry. She is currently a principal with Retail Real Estate Resources/ Metrovation. Prior to that, she spent three years as senior vice president at JLL. In 2002, she founded Metrovation Brokerage with ICSC retail legend Merritt Sher, which she led for 13 years. Prior to that, she spent nine years at San Francisco–based Terranomics Retail Services and six years at McMasters and Westland/TRI in Walnut Creek. Over the last few decades, Firstenberg has been very active in shopping center sales and redevelopments selling over 3.2 million square feet of retail product and leasing over 2.6 million square feet. TAP PANEL PARTICIPANTS ULI SAN FRANCISCO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL DUBLIN CALIFORNIA 24 TAP panelists, April 2018 BENJAMIN C. SIGMAN Economic & Planning Systems, Principal Sigman is an economist with nearly 20 years of experience providing consulting services for public, private, institutional, and not-for-profit clients. Bringing significant experience analyzing land use projects and policies, his expertise includes real estate, municipal finance, regional economics, and environmental economics. Sigman’s practice spans residential, retail, office, industrial, hospitality, entertainment, infrastructure, and open- space conservation projects throughout the United States. He has advised on urban infill, transit-oriented development, and brownfield redevelopment, as well as large-scale master- planned developments and habitat conservation plans. Sigman is particularly interested in program and policy analysis at the intersection of economic development and environmental sustainability. Sigman holds a BA in economics from Colby College and an MS in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Davis. RAE SMITH HOK, Senior Planner and Urban Designer As a certified planner and registered architect, Smith has nine years of experience in the planning, design, and entitlement of corporate, university, and health care campuses; mixed-use districts; and transit-oriented developments. A proponent of walkable urbanism, Smith’s approach is supported by strong analytic skills and graceful persistence and dedication to improving the neighborhoods in which she works. Smith holds a B.S. of architecture, and dual M. Arch and MCRP (master of city and regional planning) degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. FIGURES LIST IMAGE SOURCES DUBLIN CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL ULI SAN FRANCISCO25 1: Specific Plan Area aerial map 2 2: Specific Plan Districts 3 3: Retail market overview - aerial map from Collier’s International 10 4: Identity “Gateways” 11 5: Potential locations for the “Town Square” 11 6: Parcel map of 99 Ranch Market shopping center and Dublin Place shopping center 13 7: New housing development lines Dublin Boulevard and/or Town Square 14 1: David Baker+Partner s, SocketSite, http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2009/04/ david_bakers_daggett_place_destiny_to_be_decided_today.html 2: Tracy Trac, Realtor Events & Co, Tracy Trac, Realtor Events & Co, http:// washingtonhg.com/rockville-md/ 3: Sand Hill Property Company, Sand Hill Property Company, http://www.shpco. com/past_projects/mixed_use_stc.php 4: Alpharetta Convention & Visitors Bureau, HOSPITALITY HIGHWAY, http://www. hospitalityhighway.com/history-on-the-highway/ 5. Angela Ruggiero, Bay Area News Group, https://www.mercurynews. com/2017/03/06/san-ramon-driverless-shuttles-make-their-debut/ 6: Jeremiah Cox, The SubwayNut, http://subwaynut.com/california/bart/west_ dublin_pleasanton 7: Parklab, PARKLAB, https://www.parklab.com/our-work/ 8: Paisaje Transversal, PaperBlog, https://es.paperblog.com/nueva-sesion-de- autoconstruccion-de-gradas-en-el-campo-de-la-cebada-1008673/ 9: Garden Decor Near Me, GREATEST DECOR, http://terryflew.com/garden- decor-near-me.html 10: Signature Boston, Signature BOSTON, https://www.signatureboston.com/lawn- on-d/community-activities/lawn-games 11: Catalina Island Company, Catalina Island Company, https://www. visitcatalinaisland.com/activities-adventures/golf/mini-golf 12: M.Fischetti, VOICE, http://www.phillyvoice.com/opening-day-oval/ 13: Map Data: Google, DigitalGloble, https://www.google.com/ maps/@37.7025438,-121.9286985,3a ,75y,201.5h,103.85t/ data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sazopIk-yN8DsHZbBpuPJKw !2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0 14: CNU, Public Square, https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2018/01/23/suburban- town-revitalizes-incrementally 15: Town Fair Plaza, TOWN FAIR PLAZA, https://townfairplaza.com/about/ 16: Scott Wolf, Rochester Subway, http://www.rochestersubway.com/ topics/2012/06/roc-transit-day-june-21/ 17: Aspect Studios, ASPECT Studios, https://www.aspect-studios.com/project/ frome-street-bikeway/ 18: Steve Szigethy, CityRegionNationWorld, http://cityregionnationworld.blogspot. com/2013/10/when-backage-becomes-frontage-and.html 19: WIRED, If Trump Wants To Fix Infrastructure, He Has to Learn From These Projects, https://www.wired.com/2016/11/trump-wants-fix-infrastructure- learn-projects/ 20: Linnea Westerlind, Year of Seattle Parks, http://www.yearofseattleparks. com/2018/04/23/arcade-plaza/ 21: London the Inside, LONDON THE INSIDE, https://londontheinside.com/ ms-pop-up-park/ 22: WRT, WRT, http://www.wrtdesign.com/work/windsor-town-green 23. World Landscape Architect, City Creates Pop-up Park in Yarraville, http:// worldlandscapearchitect.com/city-creates-pop-up-park-in-yarraville/ 24. Maribyrnong News, Was a road, now a public park: the permanent park in Ballarat Street, Yarraville, https://cityofmari.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/was-a- road-now-a-public-park-the-permament-park-in-ballarat-street-yarraville/ 25. Twitter, @ProxySF, https://twitter.com/PROXYSF 26: Pier70, PIER70, http://www.pier70sf.com/future/ 27: Boxpark, BOXPARK, https://www.boxpark.co.uk/croydon/about/ 28. Project for Public Spaces, Great Public Spaces, THE CUBE, https://www.pps.org/ places/the-cube 29: Biscayne Green, Biscayne GREEN, https://www.biscaynegreenmiami.com/ gallery?lightbox=dataItem-iykhuxtc 30: Twitter, @BrianJencek Guerrero Park Community Visioning Pop-Up, https://twitter. com/BrianJencek/status/960282392341577728 31: Spark Social SF, SPARK Social SF Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/pg/ sparksocialsf/photos/?ref=page_internal ULI San Francisco 1 California Street, Suite 2500 San Francisco, CA 94111 (628) 231-2197 ULISanFrancisco@uli.org www.sf.uli.org www.uli.org