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File #
AGENDA STATEMENT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: AUGUST 21, 2001
SUBJECT:
Study Session on the Donlon Way Area
(Report Prepared by: Andy Byde, Associate Planner)
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Map of Historic Resources
2. Dublin Hotel
3. Dublin Hotel and Dublin Garage in 1913
4. Zoning Map of the Study Area
5. View Corridor Analysis
a. Picture into the Study Area 1
b. Picture into the Study Area 2
c. Picture into the Study Area 3
6. Existing Dublin Square Property Site Plan
7. Excerpts of Village Parkway Specific Plan Design Guidelines
8. Section 15064.5. oftheCEQA Guidelines Determining the
Significance of Impacts to Archeological and Historical Resources
RECOMMENDATION:~
Provide Staff direction in the area of: Appropriate Land Uses, Design Considerations as shown below:
1. Appropriate Land Uses: Staff requests that the City Council provide direction as to the desired
land use within the Donlon Way area, including the Dublin Square property. The Council should
decide whether an office type development is appropriate on the Dublin Square property, if so
provide direction on the following related items:
a. View Corridors: Staff requests that the City Council provide direction as to whether the
City Council would desire view corridors through the Dublin Square property and, if so,
the extent of the view corridors;
b. Design Considerations: Staff requests that the City. Council provide direction as to what
would be considered an appropriate design theme for the Dublin Square Property.
2. Alternatively, if it is the consensus of the City Council that an office use is not appropriate
under any conditions, provide Staff with the desired alternative land uses (see Appropriate Land
Use section on page 4 for a list of alternative land uses). Also provide direction to Staff on the
following items:
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COPIES TO: Property OwnerslProject Planner
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G:\PA#\2001\Historic Study\cc staff report Study session.doc
a. View Corridors: Staff requests that the City Council provide direction as to whether the
City Council would desire view corridors through the Dublin Square property and, if so,
the extent of the view corridors;
b. Design Considerations: Staff requests that the City Council provide Staff with direction as
to what would be considered an appropriate design theme for the Dublin Square Property.
3. Alternatively, in the event that a consensus direction is not possible on key elements of this
discussion, provide Staff with direction as to whether the preparation of a Specific Plan for the
area is desired.
BACKGROUND:
On March 19,2001, during the Goals and Objectives session, the City Council requested Staff, as a high
priority, to develop plans for a historical district designation on the Donlon Way area. Several City
owned historical resources are located within this area and include: Old St. Raymond's Church, the Old
Murray School House, and the Dublin Pioneer Cemetery. The Green Store, although it has been
significantly altered from its original form, can be described as an historical resource. Both the Green
Store and the Alamilla Springs are two historic properties, which are not located on City owned property
(See Attachment 1 for a map of historical resources in the area).
On June P\ 2001, the Community Development Department received an application for a Site
Development Review, proposing to redevelop the property known as the Dublin Square within the Donlon
Way area, with a new, three-story, 89,000 square foot office building. The proposed building would
attain a height of 44.5 feet above grade (with mechanical and parapets attaining a height of 54 feet) and
would contain a partial below grade parking floor. The existing bank building on the northwest corner
would remain, while the existing retail building would be demolished as a result of the proposed project.
At the City Council meeting of June 19, 2001, the Council voted 5-0 to table the consideration of an
Urgency Ordinance to impose a moratorium within the Donlon Way Area. The Ordinance was being
considered in light of an application for a Site Development Review proposing to redevelop the property
know as the Dublin Square with a new three-story, 89,000 square foot office building.
At the July 3rd City Council hearing, Staff presented two options to the City Council for further actions,
option 1 was a Study Session to examine the scope and the desired direction of the proposed historical
district designation for the Donlon Way area and the integration of the Dublin Square property into the
designation area; option 2 included initiation of a Specific Plan for the Donlon Way area. The Specific
Plan process would include: (1) economic analysis to examine financial constraints and financing options;
(2) a public participation component to determine the needs of the property owners and wishes of the
public; (3) design guidelines to determine appropriate design criteria for the area; and (4) a land use
analysis to determine a compatible mix of appropriate land uses.
The City Council voted 4-1 to proceed with a study session to examine the Donlon Way area including:
possible design considerations, appropriate land uses, and possible view corridors into the historical sites
from Dublin Blvd and Donlon Way. At the hearing, the City Council requested the Heritage and Cultural
Art Commission provide input to the City Council in relation to the historical resources around the
Donlon Way and the potential future uses of the Dublin Square property.
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Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission Comments
At the August 9 meeting of the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission, the Commission discussed the
possible uses of the historical resources around the Donlon Way and the potential future uses of the
Dublin Square property. Although the Commission came to no consensus, there was agreement that any
future construction on the Dublin Square property should include landscaping and a view corridor into the
Heritage Center. While brainstorming possible uses, individual Commission Members indicated a desire
for the inclusion of a cultural arts building (museum, cultural arts gallery, performing arts center, and/or
reading room). The cultural arts building could either be a separate building or incorporated into the
proposed development. Other uses raised by the Commission were a park or a public/private development
emphasizing the historic aspects of the area. The vision of the public/private development could include
retail. The Commission also agreed that any new construction on the Dublin Square Property should be
located on a footprint situated on the property so as to provide the maximum view corridor and have
architecture compatible with the historic flavor of the area, although not architecture which imitates
historic construction methods.
The Commission agreed that regardless of the outcome of the construction on the Dublin Square property,
the entire Donlon Way area including Alamilla Springs should be pursued as a designated historic district.
ANALYSIS:
The City Council requested that a Study Session to examine the proposed historical district designation
and the integration of the Dublin Square property into the designation area. It is anticipated that the
buildings on the Dublin Square property will be redeveloped within the near future, due to the fact they
appear to be approaching the end of their intended usefulness. For the purpose of this Study Session,
Staff has identified four items for discussion: (1) the importance of subject Dublin Square Property from
a historical perspective; (2) appropriate land uses on the subject property; (3) possible view corridors into
the historical sites; and (4) potential design considerations for new projects. For items 2, 3, and 4, Staff
requests that the Council provide consensus direction for each item. In the event that consensus direction
is not possible, Staff has prepared a Specific Plan procedure for further evaluation of the project in
relation to the nearby historic resources. The description of the procedure will be discussed in greater
detail at the end of this Agenda Statement.
Historical Perspective
The Donlon Way - Dublin Boulevard area is the location of the City's last remaining historical structures.
The Dublin Heritage Center, consisting of the Original Murray Schoolhouse (1856), Old St. Raymond's
Church (1859) and the Pioneer Cemetery, are owned and operated by the City. The Green Store built in
1860 is in private ownership and currently houses a church. Alamilla Springs, the site of the original
adobe structures built by Jose Maria Amador in 1834, is located on San Ramon Road north of Dublin
Boulevard. Alamilla Springs is also privately owned.
The Dublin Square property is the location of Dublin's first hotel. In 1860-61, having successfully built
and operated the General Mercantile (Green Store), John Green constructed a hotel called the Amador
Valley, Amador or Dublin Hotel (see Attachment 2). It was located on the southwest comer of Dublin
Boulevard and Donlon Way (see Attachment 3). The hotel became a stopping place for stagecoaches thus
establishing Dublin as a crossroads. The original building burned and was rebuilt in 1912 by Louis
Bianchi. The Dublin Garage was built next to the hotel circa 1912. In 1947-48 the hotel was purchased
by Mr. Hall and the structure was demolished in order to build Don's Restaurant. The restaurant burned
in 1961. Subsequent to the destruction of the restaurant, the Dublin Square retail building was
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constructed, essentially as they stand today. Fire would strike again, and in 1998, the bank building at
northwest corner of the property was destroyed by fire. In Early 2000, the bank building was again
reconstructed in its same location.
Staff has been informed that the possibility exists of Native American remains on the Dublin Square
Property, located adjacent to the Pioneer Cemetery. As part of the Environmental Review of any project
on the Dublin Square Property, Staff would contact Sonoma State University, which maintains a
confidential database of known locations of artifacts and remains. Subsequent to the consultation with
Sonoma State, Staff would consult with a qualified archeologist to determine whether a further records
search is appropriate and or should excavation occur. Included, as Attachment 8 to this Agenda
Statement, is an excerpt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines that sets forth
the standard for dealing Native American human remains on a project site.
Appropriate Land Uses
The Land Uses within Donlon Way area include: offices, research and development uses, retail, and
residential.
The Dublin Square Property has a General Plan land use designation of Retail/Office (which allows a
floor area of 0.25 to 0.50). Retail/Office land use designation allows: shopping centers, stores,
restaurants, business and professional offices, motels, service stations. This land use designation currently
prohibits residential uses.
The Dublin Square Property is currently zoned C-1 which, according to the Zoning Ordinance (Section
8.24.020(C)(1)), is intended to provide for the continued use, expansion, and new development of retail
commercial use types along major transportation corridors and intersections and to ensure compatibility
with adjacent residential and commercial uses. The uses allowed within C-1 zoning district, include:
banks, building material sales, blueprinting, eating and drinking establishments, health services, office-
professional/administrative, parking lots, personal services, repair shop, retail-general, retail
neighborhood, and commercial schools. The surrounding uses include: office-administrative and
professional to the north; office-research and development to the west; office-administrative to the east;
and the historic resources of the Heritage Center to the south (see Attachment 4 for a Zoning Map of the
Study Area).
Staff requests that the City Council provide direction as to the desired land use within the Donlon Way
area and the Dublin Square Property. The Council should decide whether an office type development is
appropriate on the Dublin Square Property. If an office type development is appropriate, provide Staff
with information under what conditions an office use would be appropriate as outlined in View Corridors
and Design Considerations sections below (examples of conditions for which an office use may be
appropriate might be an office with expanded view corridors and/or architecture which is consistent with
historical designs).
Alternatively, if it is the consensus of the City Council that an office use is not appropriate under any
conditions, provide Staff with the desired alternative land uses. If appropriate, Staff should then be
directed to begin the process to change the Zoning (and General Plan if applicable) to a district that
permits and restricts uses as the Council finds appropriate (included on the following page is are two lists
of uses, one list are uses not allowed within the C-1 zoning district and the other is Uses allowed within
the C-1 zoning district).
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Uses not allowed within the C-l zoning district
. Mixed use (at least one use consisting of
residential)
. Residential
. Mixed Use with a portion utilized for private
uses and a portion being utilized for public uses
. Semi-Public (i.e. school, museum, day care,
cemetery expansion, and religious uses)
. Public Use (i.e. park, or open space)
Uses allowed within the C-l zoning district
. General and Neighborhood Retail
. Office
. Eating and Drinking establishments
. Personal Service
View Corridors
Staff has conducted a brief visual analysis of the Dublin Square Property. The existing building on the
subject property, to a large extent, blocks visual access into the Heritage Center historic resources from
Dublin Blvd. (the bell tower on Old St. Raymond's Church is partially visible at some viewing angles).
Due to the location of the Dublin Square retail building and the buildings on Dublin Blvd (east of Donlon
Way), the angle of visibility down Donlon Way is severely limited. A vehicle traveling west or east on
Dublin Blvd would have less than 2 seconds to view the Heritage Center. As shown on Attachment 5,
Staff has included pictures taken from various locations along Dublin Blvd. These pictures show the lack
of visibility of the Heritage Center from Dublin Blvd. Future development on the Dublin Square property
could allow for broader view corridors into the Heritage Center. The redevelopment of the Dublin Square
property could provide an excellent opportunity to establish greater visibility into the buildings of
Dublin's past.
Staff requests that the City Council provide direction to Staff as to whether the City Council would desire
view corridors through the Dublin Square Property and, if so, the extent of the view corridors. For
example, the Council could decide at what point while traveling east bound on Dublin Blvd. should
someone be able to see the Heritage Center (refer to Attachment 5).
Design Considerations
Currently no specific design requirements or design guidelines exists for the Donlon Way area. Some of
the buildings that have been constructed within the area have incorporated historic themes into the design
with varying degrees of success. The design guidelines, which were prepared for the Village Parkway
Specific Plan, contained design themes that were intended to be reminiscent of an agrarian past. Although
the guidelines contained designs often associated with days gone by, the building materials and methods
of construction are intended to be up to date. The key to proper execution of architecture that is respectful
of the past is the use of quality building materials, proper use of traditional architectural forms, and an
acknowledgement of modem design and building practices. Included as Attachment 7 are excerpts of the
Village Parkway Specific Plan Design Guidelines, which illustrate modern buildings that are respectful
and reminiscent of the past. Many of the photos included with guidelines are of buildings located in small
towns within the Central Valley that developed around the same time and in the same way as Dublin.
Staff requests that the City Council provide Staff with direction as to what would be considered an
appropriate design theme for the Donlon Way area and the Dublin Square Property. For example, should
the design of the building at Dublin Square be reminiscent of past, as shown on the attached excerpts of
the Village Parkway Specific Plan Design Guidelines (Attachment 7)? Alternatively, should the design of
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the Dublin Square Property have more modern design themes and instead focus on view corridors and
setbacks to provide the relationship between the subject property and the Heritage Center.
Specific Plan Process
In the event that a consensus direction is not possible on such key elements of this discussion,. such as
land use compatibly or design, Staff has outlined a Specific Plan procedure below to implement the
Council's goal of establishing a historical district designation on the Donlon Way area.
. City Council institutes Specific Plan process to evaluate possible historic district designation
Donlon Way Area;
. City Council appoints a Task Force;
. Staff and the Task Force would evaluate: historical district potential; compatible land uses;
setbacks, views, access, and open space; architectural considerations; and economic constraints;
. Staff with input from the Task Force would prepare the Specific Plan and present progress reports
to Planning Commission and City Council;
. Upon completion and adoption of the Specific Plan, Staff could then actively process the Dublin
Square project.
The anticipated completion time for Specific Plan process would be one year, concluding around
September of next year. The project would require approximately 400 hours of Staff time. Staff would
anticipate the need for approximately $50,000 for a historical consultant, economic consultant, and design
consultant. Additionally, Staff would return to the Council at a later date for a revaluation of current
priorities, due to the additional time required to complete the Specific Plan.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council review the Agenda Statement and Attachments, conduct the
Study Session, and provide the Staff direction in the area of: Appropriate Land Uses, Design
Considerations. as shown below: .
1. Appropriate Land Uses: Staff requests that the City Council provide direction as to the desired
land use within the Donlon Way area, specifically on the Dublin Square property. The Council
should decide whether an office type development is appropriate on the Dublin Square property,
if so provide direction on the following related items:
a. View Corridors: Staff requests that the City Council provide direction to Staff as to
whether the City Council would desire view corridors through the Dublin Square property
and, if so, the extent of the view corridors;
b. Design Considerations: Staff requests that the City Council provide direction as to what
would be considered an appropriate design theme for the Dublin Square Property.
2. Alternatively, if it is the consensus of the City Council that an office use is not appropriate under
any conditions, provide Staff with the desired alternative land uses (see Appropriate Land Use
section on page 4 for a list of alternative land uses). Also provide direction to Staff on the
following items:
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a. View Corridors: Staff requests that the City Council provide direction to Staff as to
whether the City Council would desire view corridors through the Dublin Square property
and, if so, the extent of the view corridors;
b. Design Considerations: Staff requests that the City Council provide Staff with direction as
to what would be considered an appropriate design theme for the Dublin Square Property.
3. Alternatively, in the event that a consensus direction is not possible on key elements of this
discussion, provide Staff with direction as to whether the preparation of a Specific Plan for the
area is desired, as outlined above.
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Map of Dublin Historic Resources
within the Donlon Way Area
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Historic
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Pioneer Cemetery ~
Dublin Hotel (Also known as the Amador Valley Hotel)
Attachment 2
the Dublin Hotel)
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in 1913
Looking East on Dublin Blvd
Attachment 3
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Picture 1
looking south east from Dublin Blvd.
Attachment Sa
Picture 2
looking due south from Dublin Blvd.
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Picture 3
looking south west from Dublin Blvd.
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Attachment 5c
ite Plan of the Existing Buildings at
The Dublin Square Property
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Architectural Character, Building Farm and Massing
Village Parkway Urban Design Guidelines
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Architectural Character, Building Form and Massing
Village Parkway Urban Design Guidelines
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Guidelines for Implementation of the
California Environmental Quality Act
Section 15064.5. Determining the Significance of Impacts to Archeological and
Historical Resources
When an initial study identifies the existence of, or the probable likelihood, of Native
American human remains within the project, a lead agency shall work with the
appropriate native americans as identified by the Native American Heritage Commission
as provided in Public Resources Code SS5097.98. The applicant may develop an
agreement for treating or disposing of, with appropriate dignity, the human remains and
any items associated with Native American burials with the appropriate Native
Americans as identified by the Native American Heritage Commission. Action
implementing such an agreement is exempt from:
(1) The general prohibition on disinterring, disturbing, or removing human remains from
any location other than a dedicated cemetery (Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5).
(2) The requirements of CEQA and the Coastal Act.
(e) In the event of the accidental discovery or recognition of any human remains in any
location other than a dedicated cemetery, the following steps should be taken:
(1) There shall be no further excavation or disturbance of the site or any nearby area
reasonably suspected to overlie adjacent human remains until:
(A) The coroner ofthe county in which the remains are discovered must be contacted to
determine that no investigation of the cause of death is required, and
(B) If the coroner determines the remains to be Native American:
1. The coroner shall contact the Native American Heritage Commission within 24 hours.
2. The Native American Heritage Commission shall identify the person or persons it
believes to be the most likely descended from the deceased native american.
3. The most likely descendent may make recommendations to the landowner or the
person responsible for the excavation work, for means of treating or disposing of, with
appropriate dignity, the human remains and any associated grave goods as provided in
Public Resources Code Section 5097.98, or
(2) Where the following conditions occur, the landowner or his authorized representative
shall rebury the Native American human remains and associated grave goods with
Attachment 8
appropriate dignity on the property in a location not subject to further subsurface
disturbance.
(A) The Native American Heritage Commission is unable to identify a most likely
descendent or the most likely descendent failed to make a recommendation within 24
hours after being notified by the commission.
(B) The descendant identified fails to make a recommendation; or
(C) The landowner or his authorized representative rejects the recommendation of the
descendant, and the mediation by the Native American Heritage Commission fails to
provide measures acceptable to the landowner.
(f) As part of the objectives, criteria, and procedures required by Section 21082 of the
Public Resources Code, a lead agency should make provisions for historical or unique
archaeological resources accidentally discovered during construction. These provisions
should include an immediate evaluatiol1 of the find by a qualified archaeologist. If the
find is determined to be an historical or unique archaeological resource, contingency
funding and a time allotment sufficient to allow for implementation of avoidance
measures or appropriate mitigation should be available. Work could continue on other
parts of the building site while historical or unique archaeological resource mitigation
takes place.
Attachment 8
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