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SR-513-002 (2) "GS:SES:RF:ZH ARTS:DL I Council Meeting: ~tober , 1983 . Santa Manlca, California 5/3-t:JCJ2 II-A TO: Mayor and Clty Councll OCT 2 5 1983 FROM: City Staff SUBJECT: Recommendatlons for the Streets cape of Wilshlre Boulevard and Centinela Gateway ProJect INTRODUCTION This report requests that the City Councll approve: (A) General Services Department concept of enhanced streetscape deslgn as outllned below and (B) the Arts Commisslon's plan to commission its flrst maJor publlC artwork project, which would be known as "The Centlnela Gateway." BACKGROUND On June 10, 1983, the General Servlces/Art In Public Places Subcommittee of the Arts CommlSSlon held a one-day W1Ishlre Boulevard Deslgn Workshop to obtaln publlC and professional lnput regardlng lmprovements on Wllshire Boulevard. Over flfty deslgn and arts professlonals and concerned cltlzens met in an offlce space donated by Wlseman Shenassa, a Wllshlre Boulevard businessman, to determlne an overall deslgn and aesthetlc program for the rehabllitation of Wilshlre, and to make speclfic recommendations for the expenditure of monles. The subcommittee was extremely gratifled by the success of the workshop, the large turnout, the enthuslasm of the particlpants and the level of thelr expertlse, the quality of the ldeas generated, and the 1 /f-A OCT 2 5 198] . . large number of people wishlng to be further lnvolved 1n the proJect. The goals and objectives presented for the group to work with included the followlng: 1. To 1dentlfy and prov1de art1stic opportun1t1es for artlsts and their work as the beglnn1ng of an Art in Publ1C Places program for the City of Santa Monica. 2. To 1mprove and enrich Wilshlre Boulevard in conJunctlon w1th the goals and objectives of the proposed Land Use Element for the City's General Plan, and 1n accordance with other Clty ord1nances. 3. To develop llvable and pedestr1an-orlented public spaces. 4. To lnsure that the needs of the communlty, property owners, merchants, and day-to-day users of W1lshlre are accommodated 1n the design recommendations. 5. To become a model for other areas of the Clty which wlll be undergolng reVlew and renovatlon. City Staff lndlcated its support of the des1gn project by send1ng Department Heads and representat1ves to speak wlth participants, alertlng them to various departmental prlorltles, concerns, and gUldelines. Those present expressed the1r apprec1ation of the lnformation given and felt that the presence of these staff members rooted the proJect 1n reality, maklng the day all the more productlve. 2 . . The organ1z1ng commlttee structured the agenda so that 1n the morning part1cipants conSldered the overall design scheme or program for the street. In the afternoon, they addressed speclflc elements to fit in with the broad concepts artlculated during the mornlng. A) W1lshlre Streetscape Desi9n Project It was recommended that General Servlces select a des1gn team to create an overall deslgn scheme for the W1lshlre Boulevard streetscape. The team will ldentlfy and recommend areas of the Boulevard for first construction of the streets cape lmprovements and also w11l recommend phased fundlng requirements to accompllsh these lmprovements and identlfy sources of funds for the project. The scope of services to be requested from the deslgn team will lnclude: I . Produce an overall schemat1c site plan for Wllshlre Boulevard 2ncluding: a) 11lustrat1ve slte plan b) street level perspectlve of prototype areas c) ldentlfy and site the followlng for speclflc areas: 1. pavement treatment/pedestrian crosswalks 2. speclally deslgned street furnlture and placement thereof lncluding bus benches, shelters, waste receptacles, newsracks, bollards, etc. 3. landscape treatment 4. graph1cs and signage wlthln the purview of the pub11c sector 3 . . 5. 11ght1ng - street and decorat1ve 6. color scheme 7. placement and des1gn of specific artworks/murals events, etc. and amenltles. d) general deslgn princlples/guldel1nes for Boulevard ln wrltten form In the 1983-84 f1scal year, $250,000 was appropriated from Gas Tax funds for Wilshire Boulevard beautlfication as ProJect No. 421-907 in the eIP Budget. ThlS proJect 1S programmed ln the 1983-86 Transportatlon Improvement Program (TIP). Upon fleld reVlew and final approval by the Federal Hlghway Admlnistrat1on, the C1ty will be elig1ble to recelve $215,525 (86.21%) from FAD money. Fleld reVlew 1S scheduled for the week of October 17. Flnal approval for FAD fund1ng 1S expected 4 to 6 weeks after review. Once the proJect is approved, deslgn and engineer1ng can begin. Federal H1ghway Adm1nlstrat1on wlll not relmburse for work completed pr10r to proJect approval. B) Cent1nela Gateway Pro~ect Workshop participants recommended to the Arts Commission the need for a sign1flcant marker announcing one's entrance into Santa Monlca from Los Angeles to the east. The slte chosen for thlS publlC artwork proJect was Wl1sh1re Boulevard, extendlng from the Los Angeles/Santa Monica border at Centinela, two blocks west, to Berkeley. The slte was deflned as being the entlre two-block strip, in order to glve the artlst more flexibillty In responding to the Slte, and to take maX1mum advantage of the view along 4 . . W1lshire all the way west to the Pacif1c Ocean. Th1S two-block area is referred to as "The Centl.nela Gateway." The s~te 1S phys1cally a problematlc one, in that lt 1S a busy commerclal str1p, with narrow sidewalks and mixed-use development. w1th w1ldly divergent arch1tectural styles and s~gnage. The heavy traff~c is an advantage, however, in that the project will be highly vis~ble. It presents a challenge which wlll call for an 1nnovative solut1on, and hopefully, will prov1de a model for the lmprovement of other commerc1al strips 1n the Clty. Based on these general recommendatlons resultlng from the Wilshire Boulevard Design Workshop, the Arts Commlssion approved of the Centlnela Gateway Project at 1ts meeting on August 15, 1983. The specific provisions of the proJect are proposed as follows: Purpose The purpose of the Centlnela Gateway 1S to announce one's arrlval ~nto Santa Monlca from Los Angeles along the maJor commercial corridor of W1lshire Boulevard. In the massive urban sprawl that is greater Los Angeles, once-dist1nct nelghborhoods and cltles have merged lnto anonym1ty. The Gateway should commemorate Santa Monlca's speclal character and celebrate the traveler's approach to the ocean. 5 . . Slte Descri~tion The slte conslsts of the two-block stretch of Wllshlre Boulevard between Centinela and Berkeley Streets. The term "Gateway" mayor may not be interpreted literally to signlfy an archltectural gatelike structure. All elements of the streetscape may be conSldered in the proposal: landscaping, street furniture, lighting, slgnage (excludlng prlvate commercial slgnage), and sldewalk or street pavlng. Permission to utlllze walls of privately owned bUlldlngs or other private property must be obtalned from the owner prlor to the applicatlon. Applicatlon Procedure An "Open/Invltatlonal" competition wlll be conducted to select an artlst/deslgner(s) to deslgn the Centinela Gateway. The term "0pen/lnvltatJ.on" lndJ.cates that the competition would be open to anyone who responds to the call for entrles (which would be wldely publ1c1zed), and that the members of the selectlon panel wlll also be able to specifically lnVJ.te artJ.sts to apply. ThJ.s process has been found to be most succesful 1n assurlng that the most promlSJ.ng artlsts are consJ.dered, and lS recommended by the Natlonal Endowment for the Arts. Because of the physlcal challenges of the site, artists/deslgners wJ.II be requlred to submlt a prelJ.mJ.nary proposal as well as slldes of past work. The proposal would 6 . . consist of a prellmlnary drawlng, budget, and description of the artist's lntent. Artists would be encouraged to seek lnnovatlve Solutlons to the problems associated wlth the slte. Selection Procedure A three-step selectlon procedure would be used to select the artist(s} and/or deslgner(s) for the proJect. Th~s procedure would be as follows: Step 1: A thirteen-member Adv~sory Commlttee, with lts membershlp being drawn from area resldents, property owners, and representatlves of the arts community, would meet to recommend gUldelines and general consideration for the selectlon of the artist(s}/deslgner(s). Step 2: The Selection commlttee would meet to reVlew the proposals and select the winner{s}, uSlng the guidellnes recommended by the Advlsory Committee. ThlS panel would include Jerry Pomerantz, Archltectural Deslgner, Member of Mid-Clty Nelghborsi Beverly J. Moore, Vlce-President of Flrst Women's Bank, Vlce-Presldent of the Santa Monlca Chamber of Commerce, and Rlchard Koshalek, Dlrector, Angeles. Step 3: The declsion of the Selectlon Commlttee is ratified the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los by the Arts CommlsS1on. 7 . . Budget/Financlal Impact A) Wilshlre Streetscape Des19n Pro~ect Deslgn and first phase construction will be funded from Capital Improvement ProJect No. 421-907 in the amount of $250,000 pending Federal Highway Admlnistratlon approval. Appropriatlon authorlty appears in Account No. 43-500-421-000-907 and revenue has been budgeted In Account No. 43-905-076-000-000. Further construction funding would annual capltal budget approprlatlons grants as they may become aval1able. be required from and from speclflc B) Centlnela Gateway ProJect At the moment there lS no budget lmpact on the Centinela Gateway ProJect. At such tlme as the grant is secured and/or private funding comes in approprlate lnformation wlll be brought before the Clty Councll and City agencles. Adminlstration A) Wllshlre Streetscape Deslgn Project ThlS proJect wll1 be handled under General SerVlces Department procedures requirements. regular and wlll stafflng comply and with administratlve FAU/TIP grant 8 . . B) Cent~nela Gateway Project Process~ng of applicat10ns and support for the Adv1sory and Select~on comm1ttees would be accompl~shed by Arts Commlss1on staff, w1th the ass1stance of the General Services representative and the Arts Comm1ss1oner who will be facllitat1ng the process. RECOMMENDATION City staff recommends that C1ty Council: 1) Approve the concept of enhanced streetscape deslgn for W1lsh1re Boulevard and the proposed scope of serVlces for a des1gn teamj and, 2) Approve of the Arts Commiss1on's plan to commlSS1on 1ts f~rst maJor pub11c artwork proJect, liThe Cent1nela Gateway. " Prepared by: Stan Scholl, Director of General Services Rusty Fllnton, Consultant Davld Lutz, D1rector, Arts Commlss1on 9 . . DESIGN WORKSHOP PARTICIP~NTS Architects Jerry Pomerantz, Santa Monlca Mid-City Neighbors Ralph Mechur Craig Hodgetts Robert Kramer Historians Paul Gleye, City of Santa Monica Historic Survey Contractor leslle Heumann, Pasadena Heritage Landscape ~ Ron Kammeyer, Kammeyer & Partners Rodd Bennitt, POD, Inc. George Gentner, Lang & Wood Regula Campbell, Campbell & Campbell lighting Ray Grenald, Grenald & ASSoClates Ronald Rezek, Rezek ASSoclates Graphlcs Gere Kava~augh, Gere Kavanaugh Deslgn Urban Deslgners Wl111am Morrish, Babrow Thomas & Associates Murray Sllversteln, JacobsonjSl1verstein/Winslow Gary Squire, Santa Monlca Communlty Group Urban Planners Delores Hayden, Graduate School of Architecture, Urban Plannlng, UCLA John Given, Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency . . Street FUr"1 ture Stacey Dukes, Century Plastlcs Chrls Edwards, Forms & Surfaces Jerry McCabe Robert Maxwell, Artlo Industries Arti sts Kent Twitchell G i 1 be rt L u J a n Marlo Bartel s James- Ga nze r Lloyd Hamral Dora De Larios Uta Albuquerque Ann Robbins Maren Hassinger WilShire Property Owners Beverly Moore, First Women's Bank Pattl Glick J~ne Ullman Mr. & Mrs. Tugrul Uke Wiseman Shenassa Wilshire Merchants Cyd ?ercin Shelley Reimer Cean Mi edel ~ommunity Residents Fay Kessler, Mid-City Neighbors -'" . . Randy Grant, Communlty Crlme ResistancejWestslde Independent Servlces to the Elderly Sy1 vi a Gent i 1 e Heidi Aspaturian Cit,Y Staff Stanley E. Scholl, Director of General Se~vices Ray Davis, Traffic & Parking Engineer Doug Stafford, Parks Superintendent Chris Rudd, Long Range Planning, Community Development Dept. Curtis Ansel, Wilshire Project Engineer John Jali1;, Assistant City Manager Mark Tigan, Director af Community & Economic Development ~ Ot he rs ,- : Susan Cloke, Planning Commissioner Herbert Kendall, Developer/Arts Commissioner Bruria Finkel, Arts Commissioner General Services Arts in Public Places Subcommittee Claudla Carol, Architect Sara Faulds, Member, Santa Monica Archltectural Review Board Wl11iam Fleissig, Architect, City West Rusty Fl1nton, General Services Consultant Roger Genser, Art Dealer Arlene Hopkins, Mld-City Neighbors Art Love, Welton Becket Associates Eudora Moore, Art Consultant Deborah Perrin, Art Editor Sarah Tamar, Santa Monica Arts Commissioner