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sr-121410-3mc7® City Of City ~®~7 Y6/'' Rep®~ Santa Monica City Council Meeting: December 14, 2010 Agenda Item: 3- M To: Mayor and City Council From: Eileen Fogarty, Director of Planning and Community Development Andy Agle, Director of Housing and Economic Development Subject: Visioning Process for City-Owned Downtown Property Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council: Approve a set of Guiding Principles that should be considered in creating a vision for the future use of the City-owned property located on Fourth and Fifth Streets, south of Arizona Avenue. 2. Approve the proposed process for seeking community participation in creating a vision for the City-owned property. 3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Second Modification to Contract #9113 with Allan D. Kotin and Associates for additional economic consulting services in the amount of $35,000. 4. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a First Modification to Contract #9062 with Nelson Nygaard for additional transportation and parking consulting services in the amount of $20,000. Executive Summary As part of the implementation of the Downtown Parking Program, the City has assembled 120,000 sq. ft. of property on Fourth and Fifth Streets, south of Arizona Avenue, in Downtown Santa Monica (the Site, see Attachment 1). Staff proposes an outreach effort, including four community workshops beginning in January 2011 to solicit community participation in developing a vision for future use of the Site, which would include parking within a mixed use site, in accordance with the goals of the LUCE and Downtown Parking program. Concurrently, the Planning and Community Development Department (PCD) is initiating a Specific Plan for the downtown, and the proposed effort will provide valuable community feedback for the first steps of the process. Draft guiding principles are proposed as a basis for formulating a vision for the Site. Staff recommends contract amendments with Allan D. Kotin and Associates to provide financial and marketing analysis, and with Nelson Nygaard to provide transportation/planning analysis of the alternatives that arise from the community process. Additional economic consulting services by Allan D. Kotin and Associates will cost $35,000. Additional parking consulting services by Nelson Nygaard will cost $20, 000. Background Since 2007, the City has been assembling property in accordance with the Downtown Parking Program. The most recent acquisition, authorized on May 11 2010, was a 52,500-square foot property at 1301-1333 Fourth Street. Escrow on this acquisition closed on November 1, 2010. The City now owns 120,000 square feet in the area south of Arizona Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets in Downtown Santa Monica, as shown on Attachment 1. Discussion With its recent acquisition of 1301-1333 Fourth Street, the City is well positioned to begin planning for the future. use of the entire Site. Establishing key decisions which provide a vision for the re-use of the Site will inform both the public and private projects in Downtown Santa Monica that are in early concept phases, including the planned reconstruction of Parking Structure 6 (1431 Second Street) and the proposed replacement of Parking Structure 3 (1320 Fourth Street) with a contemporary cinema. The recently adopted Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) anticipates the preparation of an updated Downtown Specific Plan, which is underway. Preparing a community vision for the Site will provide valuable community feedback. and input to support the first steps of the Downtown Specific Plan process Staff anticipates that the community planning process will result in a vision for re-use of the Site to be considered by the City Council. Rather than developing a detailed plan for the Site, staff recommends that a broad vision be developed which identifies the general types of uses and key public benefits desired for the Site. Once approved by Council, the vision could then be used as the basis for a request for qualifications, request for proposals, or similar process to select a development team to implement the community's vision for the Site. This process for developing a vision will allow the 2 eventual designers and developers of the Site to use broad creativity in implementing the community's vision. Guiding Principles In facilitating community participation regarding the reuse of the Site, direction from the City Council regarding key parameters is helpful in guiding the discussions. Staff recommends that Council endorse the following Guiding Principles as a basis for formulating a vision for the Site: Re-use of the Site should exemplify the principles, policies, and recommendations set forth in the LUCE. • Re-use of the Site should provide a model of sustainable development. • Re-use of the Site should help animate Fourth Street, Fifth Street, and Arizona Avenue with pedestrian-oriented ground floor urban design. • Key amenities should include a wide range of public benefits including open space options and public parking. • As a large portion of the Site was purchased as part of the Downtown Parking Program, reuse of the Site should plan for incorporation of public parking spaces into the integrated Downtown/Civic Center shared parking program, including special consideration as an alternative replacement parking location to replace those proposed for demolition elsewhere in the Downtown. In considering re-use of the Site, special consideration should be given to the needs of tenants with long-term leases on the Site. Community Visioning Process Staff recommends holding a series of community workshops to solicit ideas and recommendations that can be translated into a vision to serve as a basis for soliciting developer interest in response to a Request for Proposal. The community process is recommended to include two phases, a "Listening Phase" and an "Alternatives Phase." • Listening Phase: The purpose of the Listening Phase will be to discuss the Site, its context in Downtown Santa Monica, planned projects near the Site, guidance provided by the LUCE, and to solicit community ideas regarding the types of uses and public benefits that would be preferred on the Site. Following the model that was successfully used during the LUCE process, the Planning Commission would host a joint hearing and community listening workshop in early 2011, ,followed by listening meetings with the Bayside District Corporation Board. 3 would. host a joint hearing and community listening workshop in early 2011, followed by listening meetings with the Bayside District Corporation Board. • Alternatives Phase: Based on review of community comments, staff and consultants will develop alternatives, including preliminary market and financial analysis for community review. The Planning Commission will host a second workshop to solicit feedback and recommendations and the Bayside District Corporation Board will also review the alternatives and provide recommendations to the City Council. Following the alternatives workshop and meetings, staff will return to Council to relay the community's response to the proposed alternatives, as well as the recommendations of the Planning Commission and Bayside Board. At that time, staff will also seek Council authorization to solicit a development and design team to implement the City's vision. Staff anticipates that the visioning process could be completed by the end of April 2011. Consulting Services The success of the community visioning process workshops will depend in part on the quality of information that staff can provide the public regarding re-use opportunities and constraints. Staff recommends that assistance be provided by Allan D. Kotin and Associates for economic analysis and Nelson Nygaard for parking analysis. Staff will return to Council at a later hearing for authorization for design consulting services associated with developing alternatives, and assisting staff through the process of soliciting, selecting and negotiating with a development team. Allan D. Kotin and Associates has assisted the City in its negotiations for most of the properties included within the Site. The firm has extensive experience with public/private developments and leasing, and understands market conditions and development parameters. ih Santa Monica. The City first entered into a contract with Allan D. Kotin and Associates in 2006 after a Request for Qualifications process. Council authorized the First Modification to contract #9113 on September 8, 2009, increasing the total 4 contract amount to $120,000. Staff recommends an additional $35,000 to allow Mr. Kotin to assist in this project. Nelson Nygaard has assisted the City in assessing parking options for the Civic Center, including opportunities on the southern edge of downtown. They were one of two firms who responded to a Request for Proposals issued in 2008 seeking consultants who could assist the City in developing a parking assessment and strategy for the Civic Center area., Staff recommends amending the existing contract #9062, first entered into on May 12, 2009 for $130,876, to add an additional $20,000 to provide analysis for this project. Nelson Nygaard will assist staff with space planning the parking for the project on the Site. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions Funds for the additional contract costs for Allan D. Kotin and Associates in the amount of $35,000, and Nelson Nygaard in the amount of $20,000 are available in Account No. C 172075.589000. Prepared by: Miriam Mack, Economic Development Manager Sarah LeJeune, Principal Planner Approved: Forwarded to Council: :n Fogarty Dir for Rod-Gould Wing and ommurli evelopment City Manager Andy Agle, Director Housing and Economic Development Attachments: 1. Map of City-Owned Property 5 Attachment 1 Reference Amended Contract Nos. 9113 (CCS) and 9062 (CCS) .