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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCVRC Min 2006/04/27 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CHULA VISTA REDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (CVRC) April 27, 2006 6:00 P.M. A Regular Meeting of the Chula Vista Redevelopment Corporation of the City of Chula Vista was called to order at 6:10 p.m. in the Council Chambers, located in City Hall, 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, California. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Directors: Castaneda, Chavez (arrived at 6:15 p.m.), Desrochers, McCann, Paul, Rindone, Rooney, and Chairman Padilla ABSENT: Directors: Lewis ALSO PRESENT: Chief Executive Officer Rowlands, Chief Financial Officer Kachadoorian, General Counsel Moore, and Secretary Smith PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, MOMENT OF SILENCE CONSENT CALENDAR (Item 1) 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - March 23, 2006 ACTION: Vice Chairman McCann offered Consent Calendar Item 1. Director Rindone seconded the motion, and it carried 7-0, with Directors Chavez and Lewis absent. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were none. ACTION ITEMS 2. PRESENTATION OF CROSSROADS II Staff Recommendation: No action is needed at this time. Patricia Aguilar, representing Crossroads II, made a brief PowerPoint presentation on the establishment and purpose of the organization, noting that it was established in 2003 to protect the quality of life for residents as the west side of Chula Vista grows and redevelops. ACTION ITEMS (continued) 3. PRESENTATION OF ADOPTED GENERAL PLAN UPDATE Staff Recommendation: No action is needed at this time. Planning and Building Director Sandoval provided introductory comments to the process used that were unique to the region: I) The General Plan Update was completed; 2) The process was staff driven not consultant driven. Since staff developed it with experts in different areas, they understand it and can explain it to the community at large as well as developers, and will be able to implement it; and 3) The level of public participation was great, which resulted in the City receiving an American Planning Association A ward for the way it was handled. Director Sandoval then covered the three things that came across very strongly from the community when discussing western Chula Vista: I) they wanted what was unique about western Chula Vista to be recognized and worked with as development occurs, 2) there should be amenities provided by the City such as parks, streetscapes, and other resources important in implementation, 3) they were willing to accept the additional development, but did not want any junk, they want good stuff. Director Sandoval then introduced Advanced Planning Manager Batchelder, who provided a brief PowerPoint presentation on the adopted General Plan Update (GPU) including the following: . Tonight's Presentation- What's in the GPU & how it's used? Major Planning Issues & Plan Proposals - Regional context - Citywide context - Northwest Chula Vista (Urban Core) · General Plan Diagram - Land Use, Public Facilities, Circulation System · General Plan Text . GPU Roles · Typical Planning Hierarchy · What the General Plan Does Not Do, (but a Specific Plan, or Zoning does)... . Why Update the Plan? · General Plan Update Region Housing Units 2000-2030 . South County Sub-Region · Many Sources & Considerations · General Plan Elements . II GPU Chapters . Vision 2020 "Toolbox" · Compact Building Design . Housing Choices . Quality Spaces & Amenities · Key Issues for GPU Page 2 - CVRC Minutes http://www.chulavistaca.gov April 27, 2006 -,.-.......-~-_.._-- '- - ----- ACTION ITEMS (continued) . GPU Major Objectives . General Plan Area & Update Focus Areas . Major Planning Areas . General Plan Update Housing (Residential) Units . Increased Housing Capacity - Otay Ranch . Increased Housing Capacity - Northwest . Increased Housing Capacity - Southwest . Future Employment Land Base - Otay Ranch . Employment Focus Areas - Northwest . Employment Focus Areas - Southwest . General Plan Roadway Network Changes . Changing Mobility Priorities . Urban Arterial Roadways in the Urban Core Subarea . City of Chula Vista General Plan Update Year 2030 Transit Vision Network (SANDAG) Director Rindone commented that the City did very well under the recent Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) conducted by Metropolitan Transit Services (MTS), wherein Chula Vista made significant gains through the implementation of two new major routes. Routes 635 (Eastlake Village Corridor) and Route 627 (out H Street to Southwestern College). Director Rindone then shared with all Chula Vista Redevelopment Corporation members, that when MTS was established, it was under the design of a single transportation hub in downtown San Diego. The difference now, is that it has 7 hub areas for transportation. Director Desrochers inquired as to whether there would be light rail into the eastern area of Chula Vista. Advanced Planning Manager Batchelder responded that at this point in time, SANDAG'S (San Diego Association of Governments) approach would be BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), which would be rubber tired technologies due to it being Y, cost of a rail project as well as more flexible in terms of grades, turn radius, and design issues, to work into the existing street systems. Advanced Planning Manager Batchelder continued on with the presentation. . Transit First: Transit Priority . Open Space System - Greenbelt, Regional Parks, Wildlife Refuges and the MSCP (Multiple Species Conservation Program) Preserve Area . Transit Areas . Northwest Chula Vista . Phase IV; (7/04-12/04) & (03/05-09/05) . Major Focuses . H Street Transit Corridor Special Study Area . Northwest Planning Area Preferred Plan . Policy Considerations & Choices . Obstacles & Challenges . Increased Housing Demands/Supply . Expanding Employment . Improving Mobility Page 3 - CVRC Minutes http://www.chulavistaca.gov April 27, 2006 ACTION ITEMS (continued) · Neighborhoods & Character . Increased Amenities . Managing our Environment . Growth Management . Achieving Revitalization · Implementation; now comes the real work- . Questions & Comments A copy of this presentation is on file in the Community Development Department office. Director Rindone added comment that to retain the community character, a traffic flow, that is not a speedway, will need to be developed, and an acceptance by the community of this traffic flow concept and the technical methods used to slow down the traffic will be necessary for success. Director Rindone then requested that a joint meeting of the City Council and the CVRC be included in the weekend Council tours of the City so that the independent CVRC Directors will also have first hand knowledge through review of the various areas of the City. Prior to beginning discussion on Item 4, Chairman Padilla recognized General Counsel Moore. General Counsel Moore stated that Councilmember Rindone owns a home within the Urban Core Specific Plan Area. An opinion has been received from the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) that provides that Councilmember Rindone may participate in decisions regarding the Urban Core Specific Plan Area because he falls under the public generally exception of the Political Reform Act. Councilmember Castaneda has recently purchased a home in the Urban Core Area, and legal staff has advised him that he should abstain from participating on this matter, until a written ruling has been received from the FPPC as to whether the public generally exception rule applies to him. Director Castaneda left the dais at 7 :05 p.m. and did not return for the duration of the meeting. 4. PRESENTATION OF PROPOSED URBAN CORE SPECIFIC PLAN Staff Recommendation: No action is needed at this time. Planning Manager Ladiana, presented the staff report consisting of a PowerPoint presentation covering the following: · General Plan Update Focused Planning Areas · Existing Conditions · Urban Core Specific Plan and Redevelopment Areas . Public Participation - Key Events . 2005 General Plan Land Use Diagram · USCP = "Tool" to Implement the new General Plan vision . Vision Plan Page 4 - CVRC Minutes http://www.chulavistaca.gov April 27, 2006 ACTION ITEMS (continued) . Specific Plan Area . Village District Characteristics . Village District Design Principals . Urban Core District Characteristics . Urban Core District Design Principles . Corridors District Characteristics . Corridors District Design Principles . Old Zoning Sheet . New "User Friendly" Zoning Sheet . Form Based Approach . Consolidates Entitlement Process . Neighborhood Transition Districts and Transit Focus Areas . Changing Mobility Priorities . Public Realm Design Guidelines . Photo simulations of implemented plan depicting 3'd Avenue, H Street, F Street and Broadway . Plan Implementation Through 2030 . Funding Public Improvements . Public Value of Redevelopment . Urban Core Development Permit Design Review Process . Next Steps . Proposed Bikeways . West Side Shuttle A copy of this presentation is on file in the Community Development Department office. Planning Manager Ladiana then stated that the next steps would be to finalize the Draft EIR (Environmental Impact Report), and commence the 45-day public review period. Tonight was the first workshop presentation, the Planning Commission and Design Review Committee will receive the presentation in May, and the goal is to have public hearings in July and August on the plan. Director Rooney commended staff on the remarkable job done in putting together the plan and expressed his commitment to study and understand the plan and proceed with implementation. Regarding prior discussion on style of architecture, he stated they come and go, and that what is important is to establish guidelines to live by, scale, proportion, time tested principals that pull the plan together to create community character such as pedestrian walkways and the approach that pedestrians are the most important not the car. Transportation and development of transit oriented development with higher density around the trolley stations, variety of scale, not mundane street fa~ades, such as towers and elements of colonnades on the facades, areas where people could come in to as walkways, is very important. A variety of pricing for housing and bringing new housing into Chula Vista that meets the demands for workforce housing not just high end units is needed. Public space, parks, sidewalks, the ideas of opening up the streets and creating a parkway down the center, creating deeper sidewalks for cafes and those kinds of concepts are very important. Page 5 - CVRC Minutes http://www.chulavistaca.gov April 27, 2006 ACTION ITEMS (continued) Director Paul requested copies of the presentation materials for the Directors for further study. Director Rindone requested that one of the roles of Director Lewis and the others be to look at the flexibility of the zoning to be sure opportunities are afforded for development to bring new dollars in and revitalize the downtown area. He also requested a walking tour be scheduled of the ENA (Exclusive Negotiation Agreement) sites for all Directors, and that staff review other planning documents from cities like Denver and Pasadena to determine how they calculate building height and report back. Patricia Aguilar, representing Crossroads II, confirmed that the Urban Core plan is still a draft and open for change. Her group agrees with the compliments that have been given and stated that on the whole, it is a very good plan. In terms of the substance of the plan, the one major concern of her group is the issue that new development should take design queues from existing good development. The presentation does not mention that a lot of new development is being brought into the oldest, most historic part of the city. It does not seem that the design guidelines and zoning sheets respond to the history and heritage of the area. This is very important as the primary audience for this document of 400 pages is going to be architects. Ms. Aguilar then proposed the creation of a small, thin, no more than 8 pages or so, booklet that describes the spirit of what the oldest, most historic part of Chula Vista is with photos of existing buildings that represent that spirit. This can be given to architects to look at and take the zoning sheets and put together design concepts for developments that respond to the heritage and character and unique spot that northern Chula Vista is. Another major concern is with the process. For a project that is in the redevelopment area, the design review is now under the authority of the CVRC. Is the board going to be given sets of architectural plans to review page by page? Also, the other process issue that is still of concern is the scale of projects proposed to be administratively reviewed by staff. As currently proposed, the CVRC will never see projects of 50 units or less. Crossroads feels that most of the projects that corne along will be 50 units or less and that 50 is not an appropriate threshold. For non-residential projects, the threshold is 50,000 square feet. They think that for the first two years, everything should corne before the CVRC and nothing should be decided by staff administratively except for small remodels and building additions. OTHER BUSINESS 5. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORTS a. Update on CEO Recruitment . Chief Executive Officer Rowlands announced that the recruiting firm had received 40 applications and will take 3-4 weeks to screen them down. Once screened, the top candidates will be brought to the CVRC Board to begin the interview process. This should occur during the June/July timefrarne. Page 6 - CVRC Minutes http://www.chulavistaca.gov April 27, 2006 . OTHER BUSINESS (continued) Director Rindone requested staff calendar the selection process for the Redevelopment Corporation at the next meeting for discussion and dialogue of the selection process. Additionally he requested staff present different options and ideas for consideration by the members to assist them in forming the process they will follow. b. Public Participation Workshop The Exclusive Negotiating Agreements (ENA's) will be brought to the CVRC for discussion on May 11th. A full briefing on the Bayfi-ont Development Plan will be brou~ht forward on May 25th. A public participation workshop is being scheduled for June 8 that will involve participation from the public. It is currently in the design phase with a facilitator to assist in handling a large number of people and work through some outcomes. 6. CHAIRMAN'S REPORTS There were none. 7. DIRECTORS' COMMENTS Director Desrochers noted that the Vogue Theatre on Third A venue is for sale and, being a historic building and cultural issue for the community, particularly the Village, it would be appropriate for the CVRC to explore the possibility of purchase or partnership with another interested organization. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Padilla adjourned the Regular Meeting of the Chula Vista Redevelopment Corporation at 8:04 p.m. to the next regularly scheduled meeting on May 11,2006, at 6:00 p.m. / / , / "f.,,,, . ,'/ "-"-t../~ Dana M. Smith, Secretary Page 7 - CVRC Minutes http://www.chulavistaca.gov April 27, 2006